The L.A. Runaways Story: For as long as they can remember, the children of five wealthy married couples have been meeting once a year at the Wilder family manor in Los Angeles, California. The adults and their children began the evening by mingling in the main room, and then the children go off to another room while the adults migrate to the dining room. Whenever one of the children ask their parents what kinds of things the adults talk about, or how they even met, the adults always evade the questions and offer sly answers instead. "We are old, old friends, that's all", is a common reply. The children have had no reason to doubt their loving parents in all these years. But what if the children went down to the dining room to see what was really going on? What would they find? And would they still feel the same about their parents once they learned their deepest, darkest secrets? And how long can they survive after they learn these secrets? Gameplay: You are the children of the five married couples. You may craft and personalize your characters however you want and choose which parents you want to be the children of. How you choose your parents will determine your character's ethnicity and (in the future) their range of abilities. Choice of parents will be determined on a First Come, First Serve basis. PM me your Character Templates and once approved you may post them on the Discussion Thread. As the story progresses, your char's will visit their homes one by one and discover their true heritage, and you will have the chance to choose their abilities. One Adept power and three small ones to start, and then on from there. Based on LoveToWrite's Jumper RPG, each character will begin the game with 100% energy percentage and 100 experience points. When you reach 150 exp. pts, you will choose a new power for your char (or upgrade an existing power) and receive 15 extra energy. Depending on how much energy each attack costs is how much damage it will cause. You will upgrade again at 200 exp pts, and again at 250, and on and on. Plot: The story begins on the night of another dinner gathering at the Wilder residence. Your char's meet every year once a year, but they aren't exactly friends. They've never clicked before and all they're conversation has been generic and superficial. So it's okay for your characters to not know each other that well and to begin to forge friendships--or maybe even love connections--as the story progresses. Your first post will be the night of another annual meeting as your char's are arriving and instructed to give their parent's some privacy, just like every year. But this time, they don't just talk about what they think is going on in the dining room with their parents--they go and find out. Parents Selection: Listed below are the assumed aliases of each couple and their secret ones. Once all the parents have been claimed, this RPG will be locked to new members and the story will commence. (The GM, me, will write for the parents.) Mr & Mrs Yorkes(British-American): Alias: Historians. True Identities: Time-travelling criminals. CLAIMED. Mr & Mrs Dean(Caucasian): Alias: Astronomers. True Identities: Alien invaders. Mr & Mrs Hayes(Caucasian): Alias: Retired wrestlers. True Identities: Mutants. Mr & Mrs Minoru(Japanese-American): Alias: Art dealers. True Identities: Cultists. CLAIMED Mr & Mrs Stein(Caucasian): Alias: Inventors. True Identities: Mad scientists. CLAIMED. Mr & Mrs Wilder(African-American): Alias: Professional bankers. True Identities: Mafia bosses. (These parents are reserved for the GM.) CLAIMED Character Templates: Parents: Name: Gender: Age(16-18yrs): Appearance: Personality: Rules: No God-moding, no controlling other characters, no excessive bad language.
Eusebius Wilder Eusebius stood at the top of the stairs, leaning on the rail, as he watched his parents invited in the old gang. The Yorkes, the Deans, the Minorus, the Steins, and lastly, the Hayes family. Mr and Mrs Wilder greeted their friends with laughter and soon the adults were embracing and making friendly jokes. At first glance, they looked like your average, good-looking middle-aged parents. But Eusebius was not so sure. When snooping around his father's office last night, he had found what looked suspiciously like a map of tunnels and chambers. He had replaced it before he got caught, but it was still on his mind--and in his memory. Eusebius had a flawless photographic memory, nothing he laid eyes on escaped his fortress-like mind. "Why don't you kids head up to Eusebius's room?", Mr Wilder said, his deep, booming voice filling the hall. "Us adults don't want to bore you with our grown-up conversations..." The kids knew when to take their cue to leave, and they all filed up the stairs, going through the same motions they had gone through for years, as long as they could recall. Eusebius went to his room and let everyone in. Once they had all settled in (there were several bean-bag chairs and a sofa to sit on), Eusebius sat at his desk chair and cleared his throat to get their attention. He looked around at the other teens that he had known most of his life. They weren't exactly friends, they only met once a year, but they were nice enough to each other. But Eusebius had a feeling they had sensed something was wrong about their parent's friendships, too. What kind of friends only met once a year? And why on the same day, in the middle of the school semester? And how come none of them knew how their parents had met? There were too many un-answered questions, and Eusebius was beginning to think of a way to solve them... "Guys, there's something up, with our 'rents", Eusebius began slowly, looking from each person to the next. "I know you guys know it, too. My dad and my mom always dodge my questions, about how and where they all met. It's probably the same for you all, right? What I'm getting at is..." He looked at the door, as if he was checking that no one was eavesdropping. "Do you guys wanna go see what they're up to?" His voice had dropped to a conspiritorial whisper and his eyes behind his lenses shined with mischief.
James taking a seat on one of the bean bag chairs and looking around the room. man i hate coming here, i dont know any of these people why didnt they let me stay home like i had asked them. he thought. and began drifting off into space when he heard Eusebius question. "im not so sure thats a good ideal man. they could be doing business and if we interrupt them well never hear the end of it and i would rather not have to listen to them complain that we wont leave them alone."
Taiga Metiis Stein Metiis looked up at Eusebius, leaning against the wall comfortably. Out of everyone here, he was the only one she was really willing to talk to, and that was rare enough indeed. Yes, they have been doing odd things as of late . . . why do i keep hearing things at night when I'm in bed? And why do they keep the door locked? she wondered, and her amber eyes gleamed as the pupils dilated for a moment, then retracted back to their normal size. "Well, it's better to have something to do than be bored for another hour," she commented, her voice a low, serpentine rasp. Tapping her fingers speculatively against her forearm, she stepped away from the wall with an exaggerated, but smooth, movement. Her eyes trailed over Eusebius and then James, a faint smile quirking her lips. But everyone knew better than to think it was friendly. "Why don't we go?" she purred, tilting her head to gaze longingly at the door, "There's nothing else we can do."
June Minoru June pursed her lips with confusion. "Who is he to question what his parents are doing?" All she really wanted was time to herself. June didn't mind listening to the ramblings of teenage minds. But eavesdropping on adults, much less her own parents, was out of the question. Where was the respect for their elders? "Erm..." whimpered June. She tried to assert herself but what would've been the point. They'd hardly noticed her before ...on all of the reunions prior to the present one at hand. Eusebius was headstrong, James was afraid, Metiis was bored and the other two hadn't said a word yet. No, it was better to remain quiet and think happy thoughts. June's parents dealt in a world that she didn't find interesting anyway. If they weren't blaring theories on neo-classicism one week, it was impressionist "masterpieces"... and talks of "acquired tastes". June did not want to come all of the way over there, just to get treated as if she were back at home. She might have been among the youngest, but June was wise enough to realize that parents were boring. Any kid that actually wanted to be around his parents during his free time was probably just as uninspired. Clearly, Eusebius is one of these kids.
Eusebius "Im not so sure thats a good ideal man..." "Why don't we go? There's nothing else we can do." "Erm..." Eusebius let out a long, frustrated sigh. She thought more of them would be on board with his plan. Weren't they the least bit curious? Only Tag, the cute creepy girl, was fully on board. James wanted to talk and June just squeaked like a mouse, as always. "Guys, we're going down there," Eusebius said, standing. "How could we not? Isn't the curious eating at you?" He looked at each of them with an expression of disbelief. "If we do this and nothing's going on, then everything will go back to normal and we can laugh about it. I'll even take you guys out to eat somewhere, my treat. If not..." He cracked a smile. "Well, then at least we would know the truth. So, you guys with me?"
"alright man if y'all have to ill go to" i pull a flask out of my trench coat and take a long drink. holding the flask out i ask "anyone want some?" i hope we don't get in trouble their about to send me to military school as it is.
Taiga Metiis Stein Taiga took one look at the flask and sniffed in distaste, "No thanks. I prefer water." Taking a glass from the table nearby, she took a sip and sighed, leaning against the wall again. Her hair had draped over one shoulder, revealing the odd, bony crest at the back of her pale, slender neck. "Beleive me, if anyone want so know about what those guys are talking about, it's me." she grumbled half to herself, not caring if the others heard. "Why else would they keep my room locked very night..."
James "your loss, this is good stuff." standing and stretching he says "if where going to do this lets get it over with im staring to get bored." he takes another drink from the flask and puts it back in one of his hidden pockets in his trench coat and heads for the bedroom door.
June Minoru Stifling from the fumes of -- what she assumed to be -- whiskey in the air, June was troubled by the fact that everyone agreed on leaving the room. Even though she wanted to be alone, June didn't want to be isolated in a place she barely knew. Her parents have locked her in her bedroom as far as she could remember. "It was curfew. It was for her safety." There, mystery solved. As much of a foregone conclusion this excursion would be, June had no choice but to follow the lead of the others. Sheepishly, June nodded in Eusebius' direction ...casually leaning away from James with a stiff glance. Shame was inevitable.
James looking over his shoulder and seeing that no one has moved to fallow him he says "well guys are we gonna get this over with or not?" then he headed out into the hallway. better wait a second to see if anyone's coming.
Eusebius So it was settled. Eusebius got up and followed the others out of the room and then took the lead, showing them which stairs they should avoid because they creaked. It took them almost a full three minutes to get down the stairs because Eusebius was so particular, if he heard even the faintest sound he made them all stop and listen. Once they were on the first floor, Eusebius led the gang to the closed sliding doors that led into the room where their parents were congregated. Eusebius put a finger to his lips--and slowly parted the doors a crack. Their parents all stood around the long dinner table, which was covered with a plastic sheet for some reason. They looked normal enough, except for their grim expressions and how irritable they acted with each other. Mrs Yorkes called Mr Stein a chattering monkey, and he called her an idiot; Mrs Stein thought this wa sfunny and burst out laughing. Mr Yorkes was about to join in, but Mrs Wilder slapped a hand on the table--hard--and said, "We don't have time for your nattering, you fools!" Her voice was ice-cold and authorative; Eusebius had never heard her speak this way. "The Blue Moon is at it's highest--we have work to do, remember?" Eusebius had just realized his dad was missing, when Mr Wilder came in from a side door holding a red-headed woman who's arms and ankles were bound; she was also gagged so she couldn't scream. Mr Wilder dropped her on the table like a sack of potatoes. "I don't know that woman", Eusebius whispered faintly, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. He didn't know what was going on, it was definitely not what he had expected. The next moment, all their parents became solemn. Mr Wilder took out a long, cruel knife with a blue-black blade that glinted evilly. Everyone stared at the knife, quiet as the grave. "Light the candles", Mr Wilder barked. Mr and Mrs Minoru scowled at him, then raised their hands in the air. Suddenly the electric lights dimmed and a dozen candles around the room blazed to life. The Minorus had always been eccentric, with their collection of shrunken voodoo heads and animal-skin books, but now the kids knew just how eccentric they really were. "It is time", Mr Wilder continued, "to sacrifice the virgin, as we do every year at this time. For the Undergods!" "For the Undergods!", the others intoned. They all put their hands on the handle of the knife and raised it over the virgin's chest. "What should we do?", Eusebius whispered fiercely, his eyes wild behind his glasses. His enitr ebody was shaking with fright. He looked at the others for their answer.
James "im not letting this happen." he said and looked them all in the eyes daring them to try and stop him. then he forced open the doors and ran at the adults
Taiga Metiis Stein Taiga surprised even herself when the blood in her veins started pounding loudly in her ears. Rage unlike anything she had ever known came over her, and her whole body trembled as her amber eyes locked on the woman lying on the table. She could literally smell the panic coming off of the poor girl in waves. The ridge on the back of her neck started to grow, heightening painfully until it poked out through her hair like a shark's fin. Her pupils dilated to slits, and claws grew from her fingertips. All of this she was completely unaware of, as the moon filtered through the curtains behind her and struck her pale skin with a line of blue. "Wrrrrrrrrrrroonnnnnnnggggg." her voice resonated as it lowered to a growl, and she glanced at Eusebius, not registering the horror on his face. Her mouth opening in a hiss she felt something sharp prick her gums and blood dribbled from her mouth as she moonlight continued to burn into her back. This is why they always kept me locked up at night. she realized, but didn't flinch away from what instinct was telling her. An animal had been let loose, and it was keening for blood. "Stop!" she shouted as she dashed through the door on James's heels.
James running to the nearest adult and tackled him to the ground and punched him hard in the neck and the started punching him in the face while he was choking from the blow to the neck. remember they're trying to hurt a woman so its ok to kill them.
The nearest adult was Mr Yorkes. He was so surprised by James' attack that he barely fought back, but then he kicked James off of him and jumped to his feet, ninja-like. "James! How dare you!", Mrs Yorkes cried, running to her husband's side and glaring at James. Mr and Mrs Stein were preoccupied with their daughter. Taiga came running forward and growled like a wild creature. Mr Stein dug in an inside pocket of his sports jacket and flung white powder in the air. As it settled over Taiga, she felt dizzy and confused--her strange transformation reverted and she became a normal girl again. "Insolent brat child", Mrs Stein said angrily. She had her hand on her clunky wristwatch and it was glowing electric blue. There was no telling what she would have done if her husband had not thrown that powder. Mr and Mrs Minoru stepped in. They raised their hands and red energy fuzzed around their upper arms. Their clothes whipped as if they stood in a gale, but their was no wind. "Everyone, STOP!", Mr Wilder's deep voice boomed. All the adults froze and looked at him, then they looked at each other and stopped what they were doing. The Wilders were obviously the ones in charge. "This is ridiculous, we don't fight amongst ourselves", Mr Wilder continued, putting down his knife on the table. "We are family." "Children, please, this is a big misunderstanding", Mrs Wilder interjected. Her voice was like warm honey again. "Everything we are doing, we're doing it for you!" She looked around, her big dark brown eyes pleading with them. But when she took a step toward her son, Eusebius stepped back. Mrs Wilder froze, her mouth gaped in shock. "Son...?", she stammered, confused. "What do you guys think?", Eusebius said, talking to the other kids. He was not shaking anymore--he was standing tall, his fists balled at his sides.
James laughing one of the most evil laughs ever hear he says "misunderstanding? there is nothing here to misunderstand, and how dare me? your kidding me right you were about to kill someone." pulling a butterfly knife out of his trench coat he cuts the binds on the woman's lags and says "anyone who try's to stop me taking her out of here gets cut that goes for you to mom and dad."
June Minoru "This is..." murmured June, transfixed in disbelief. What child could make sense of the things that have occurred? After seeing the courage of both James and Eusebius in the face of their parents, June shook her self back to reality. She didn't want to fight her parents like the boys wanted. June just wanted answers. How did her parents do ...that? Who was the girl they were about to sacrifice ...and what in the world was an "Undergod"? "--Dad?!? What's going on?" Mr. Minoru keeled his head forward to meet his daughter's face eye to eye. As he moved forward, so too it seemed Eusebius and James, in response. June held the boys back with a gentle tug at their forearms ...still, Mr. Minoru kept his distance. "We are all a part of something very important," Mr. Minoru stressed, looking at Mr. Wilder in agreeance. "This includes you, June ...all of you, in fact!" "But you weren't supposed to find out this early! Why didn't you stay in Eusebius' room like we asked?" charged Mrs. Minoru. June turned to Taiga, and James, and Eusebius. "I see." said Mrs. Minoru answering her own question. "I suppose this is a blessing in disguise, and maybe it really is time for all of you to finally know." June's solemn fright turned to solemn curiosity. For the first time in her life, her mother recognized the fact that she was growing up. June wanted to know everything her parents knew. Clearly, "everything" was going to include what freaky deal this whole meeting was.
Taiga Metiis Stein Taiga stumbled back towards Eusebius, glaring daggers at her parents. "Undergod . . ." she muttered, her eyes glowing faintly with that predatory look again. "Undergod . . . it is obviously not a nice god. Not a good one." She hissed when her dad made a move as if to throw the powder at her again, and something inside her bellowed for release. The moonlight emanating through the window felt so tempting, despite the agony it sent across her exposed skin. For a moment, a shadow spread across the wall, revealing the image of barbed wings and an angled head, and something was dripping from the monster's jaws. A long, whip-like tail flicked and a candle went out as the shadow threw back its head in a silent roar. She caught the momentary flicker of pride in her parent's eyes, and her pupils dilated to slits again. "What did you do to me?" she growled.
Mr Wilder stepped forward and held up his hand, stopping any of the othe rparents from answering their kids' questions. Then he tugged his shirt sleeves smartly and spoke. Apparently, he was the speaker of the group. He gave James a distasteful look as he untied he blonde woman, but he didn't say anything aout it, yet. "The Undergods are higher beings capable of miraculous feats of power", he began slowly. "But they have slept for a very, very long time and they have turned mostly to stone. Their power has dwindled greatly in their petrified state, as well. Thirty years or so ago, they reached out to us, all of us--your parents. We were all...young, ambitious entrepeneurs. Me and my wife were petty thieves. The Yorkes were time-travelling criminals. The Minorus dabbled in the Black Arts. The Steins were, well, experimental scientists. The Deans are visiter from another planet in another dimension and lastly the Hayes are superhumans. The Undergods saw our potential and promised if we were willing to sacrifice a virgin on every Blue Moon, they would make us rich and insure that we would enjoy our time on this earth. We call ourselves The Pride." The others nodded in agreement. "What do you mean by 'our time on this earth'?", Eusebius snapped. His sharp gaze flicked from his dad to his mom, studying their stony expressions. "Is the world going to...end? Is that what the Undergods want?" Mrs Wilder raised her chin defiantly and spoke in her un-momlike ice-cold voice. "You don't understand. If we did not help them, they would have found others who were willing. And we did not just do it for us, we did it for you, too. The Undergods said that if we sacrificed virgins to them and restored their powers, they would let us live forever in the new world they create, like Adams and Eves--and that we could bring one other person with us, each. Thats why we each had only one child, so that we could bring our offspring with us, to live with us. Now do you understand?" Her cold gaze swept over the kids. "We did it for you as much as we did it for us. Or would you rather be destroyed with the rest of the world when the time comes?" Before they could answer, Mr Wilder nodded to Mr Minoru. Mr Minoru pointed a blazing red finger at James and barked a short phrase in Japanese. James was seized by an invisible force and thrown back across the room into the wall. The blonde woman screamed a bloodcurdling horror-movie scream, but Mrs Stein pointed her watch at her and an electric bolt zapped her in the neck. The woman was shocked into unconciousness. Then Mr Wilder stepped in and, in one quick motion, picked back up his knife and stabbed the woman in the chest. The woman's bright blue eyes flashed open and her mouth parted--then she slumped back and was dead. Blood oozed from around the knife wound onto the plastic-covered table. "For the Undergods", all the adults said at once. The blue-black knife glowed emerald green, so bright that it lit the room up like daytime. Then it dimmed and the light was gone. "Do you still chose to pit yourselves against us?", Mr Wilder said calmly, wiping the blood off his knife with a silk hankerchief. All the parents leered at their chidren, their eyes hidden in shadow, waiting for the kids' answers. Eusebius hesitated, unsure. Then he came to a conclusion and turned to the others. There was only one thing they could do. He spoke one word and one word only: "Run."
James staggering up to his feet he says " believe me, one day i will kill all of you that includes you to mom and dad." limping out of the room and holding his side he turns back and looks at his parents and says "no let me rephrase that i will kill ALL of you and that includes you to Mr and Mrs Yorkes . Im no longer your son." with that he leaves the room and follows the others. as of today he has no one but his other companions.
Taiga Metiis Stein Taiga took one last look at her parents, confusion and hatred flickering across her gaze before she followed after Eusebius. She wasn't sure what this was all going to end up like, whether she should trust herparents or the group of kids, but instinct had ahold of her, and she ran.
Taiga Metiis Stein Taiga took one last look at her parents, confusion and hatred flickering across her gaze before she followed after Eusebius. She wasn't sure what this was all going to end up like, whether she should trust herparents or the group of kids, but instinct had ahold of her, and she ran.
