End of September.
Classes are back in session.
The factory has been rebuilt so Ernesto and Mark have a job again
But this Saturday, Madame Cobb decides we should all go to the beach. The 6 starlets make a rush for upstairs as they start fighting over clothing.
It is a beautiful, sunny and warm day on the beach; and it is full of people.
The rumour is that Micky Cowen’s yaught is out there somewhere. Acrobats are working out on the beach, demonstrating their art. Madame Cobb and Rosie go and get funnel cake. Mark’s coming back with a beer when he hears someone taps him on the shoulder. It’s Gia (Steel Chrysanthemum). She tells him that they were supposed to find the LA Heroes tonight as the Alchemist wants to speak with us.
Ernesto wins the strength contest and gets a prize (a skip-rope for his sister).
And a fun time is had by all.
We head back home in the late afternoon, gear up and go to Chinatown to visit Master Wong.
We meet up with Steel Chrysanthemum, and head deeper into Chinatown to Wu Lang’s Tea and Herbal shop. Tonight the Alchemist is in mage robes. He has the parts of a Geomancy watch in parts hovering before him. He assembles it without touching it and eventually it puts it in his palm. It no longer works in detecting El-Nino.
He inspects El-Nino and tells him he’s been transformed to gain his power.
Noh remembers a man who said he’d have to end the experiment early; she wonders if this has to do with El-Nino’s powers set. Domino makes an illusion of him for all to see.
El-Nino takes the device and goes to seek the highest concentration of the magical drugs.
He finds the source is some kind of private hospital or rest home: the Elisia-Moyer’s Rest Home. It’s a gated facility with bars on the doors and windows. A guard at the gate and one inside. It’s a mansion with gardens. He takes note of the address and returns to old China town.
Steel Chrysanthamum comes with us. We fly and get the car, then drive up into the Hollywood hills towards the Elisia-Moyer’s Rest Home. Elisia-Moyer was a rich philanthropist who came to LA after the civil war. She started lots of foundations and hospitals are named after her. This home is a well known recovery home; it gets mentioned in society papers but it’s not that high-profile. It’s for men only.
We find a quiet spot to park the car. When we get out, Steel Crysanthamum is impressed by the car.
The patients don’t strike El-Nino as being the rich and powerful set. Instead, they’re all big and burly guys and a lot of them have military tattoos on their forearms. One of which has the same tattoo as Mark/Dynamo. There are 12 men in residence. There are more security guards (3) inside. He also finds a doctor in his office; who looks a lot like the image of the man Domino displayed previously. There are two guards outside and two dogs. Inside there are 6 female nurses.
The detector points to the Doctor and a cabinet in one of the doctor’s rooms. The cabinet is triple locked and contains vials of medicine.
Domino goes to test one of the residents. She shows him Dynamo walking into the room and blasting him! He reacts violently, throwing the bed at the wall; then he wakes up. He’s badly bent the bed frame. Guards come and fetch the doctor. Domino opens the window slightly and a guard notices. She remains concealed out of sight.
Noh notices that the other residence are kind of edgy.
The bedroom door opens and the doctor enters. He addresses the resident as Phillip. The bed was bolted onto the floor and he tore it off! The doctor hears Phillip’s tale and looks to the window. It whips open and a snake made of smoke rolls out of the room and begins looking around. Noh sees the snake’s head is that of the Doctor’s – right down to the red tie pin.
El-Nino goes through the doctor’s files. He sees files of men between the ages of 25 and 40, service records (all these men are military). There are files for incoming and outgoing. The outgoing files talk of people being transferred to the Mexican facility (Laguna Clamente). El-Nino finds a cane with a brass pommel, it has a blade hidden inside. It has buttons, so he takes it. He also finds a sleek pistol in the desk drawer. He takes that too.
Noh hides, but I think the Doctor spotted her.
When Domino gets back, everyone is gone.
There’s movement in the commons room. The front doors open and the patients and the guards all come out. The Doctor follows them. The snake thing spreads out, looking for intruders. They’re fanning out. The Doctor directs them. The nurses are all standing around frozen.
Noh watches the Doctor bend his knees and suddenly he elongates so that he can circle the house. He displays the tie pin prominently and when he goes by Noh’s hiding spot – he sees her and announces her location! In the tree!!
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El-Nino attacks the large men closing on the tree that Noh is hiding in. One of them falls back, unconscious.
Noh teleports behind one of the big guys and strikes at him with her naginata. The swipe strikes down his back. It knocks him flat.
Dynamo flies in, he spots two more guys rounding the house from each direction. He charges one of the four he sees and throws a punch. The other one is faimilar to Dynamo — he’s from the same unit.
Steel Chrys climbs up over the fence. El-Nino helps her down. She disarms one of the armed guards with a knife.
The Doctor elongates and manages to strike Noh. He entangles her, but she manages to get out of the way. He ends up 50 feet up, and the pin is actually embedded in his flesh and it’s glowing.
Domino flies up and over the building. The Doctor sees her and starts to say “I know you.” and she dazzles him, responding “No, good doctor, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.”
A thug jumps Dynamo. His shock field goes off and does some damage, but knocks Dynamo about.
One jumps Domino, and she is now -1 toughness, but manages to dodge out of the way.
El Nino tries to remove the red gem from the Doctor’s chest, but the doctor slapped him away.
Noh strikes at the mook that tried to land on her. He falls back, unconscious.
Dynamo breaks the hold of the mook that had him in a bear hug and knocks him back, unconscious.
Steel Chrys charges towards the guy that’s looking for his gun, and kicks him in the back. She pops knives out of nowhere and nails him to the grass.
The Doctor tries to cover his crystal with one of his hands. He expands out towards the house and breaks through a window. An arm reaches out, grabs someone and throws it at Noh.
Noh manages to block the blow, and the poor missile crumples against her. And the arm retracts into the building.
Domino conceals the mook at herself and clears his mind. She chats briefly with him and learns that it’s part of the Super Soldier program.
A mook shoots at Noh.
El Nino sees the Doctor in the office. He tries to grab the gem through the back of the Doctor’s neck. He succeeds. THe Doctor siezes up and becomes stark white and then turns to liquid.
The last mook grabs his head in pain.
Domino gets directed to a phone and calls Aegis.
The people inside are fairly passive. One has a panic attack.
The Doctor, before the gem shorts out, says “Let me introduce myself, I’m Dr. Essex.”
The house has been here a year. The US army sends them prospective members. One of the nurses is really doubtful; as she thinks they’re sent really damaged goods.
Agent Corel arrives in a lone Buick and he looks really really angry!