Money for Nothing

Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. The low-income borough of Lambeth has been largely taken over by London's mutant population and is now known as Mutant Town.

Money for Nothing

Postby Miriam Bell » Fri Jun 30, 2017 7:31 pm

Miriam had been rather generous in spending her casino winnings and now, faced with having to keep up appearances with Alessia and flying Wanda out for a Christmas in the sun, she's found her funds a little lacking. And while she had some ideas about sweet-talking a casino into paying her for keeping an eye out for cheaters, that is a plan that's going to take time. And right now she just needs some cash on hand. Long-term plans could wait until the next year anyway. So she gets dressed up in a slinky dress and smokey-eyes make-up and heads out to London in a cab, destination Genting Crockfords Casino on the premises of a former Gentlemen's Club. She has a thousand Pound in her purse she swaps out for a ten of the smallest chips and sets out to multiply them.

About an hour later the lack of open Poker tables sees her down to 200 Pound and she sits at one of the Black-Jack tables, getting increasingly nervous about her liquidity. So when the next hand she's dealt adds up to 16 she's biting her lip nervously and decides she can't risk it without pushing a little harder. One brief moment of eye-contact with the dealer and a sly smile is enough and over the next couple hands Miriam manages one winning hand and four that pull through on account of the bank going bust. She had to push the poor man's mind a little harder than she would have liked to make him go against the dealing guidelines set by his employer, but everyone has lapses in judgement, right? She tries her best to ignore the mounting anxiety about his job radiating from the dealer as she gathers up her winnings and moves over to the Baccarat table with a satisfied smirk.
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Narrator » Fri Jun 30, 2017 7:46 pm

With her newly flush purse, a spot opens up for her quite easily. As she continues to play, and the winnings continue to accrue, she begins to become aware that there are more people watching her.
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Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Miriam Bell » Fri Jun 30, 2017 8:08 pm

Of course people pay attention to the one winning, she tells herself. Maybe she can even leverage that into a position at one of the Poker tables, which is where her telepathy can really shine. Now that she's averted running out of money she's noticeably relieved and a little more reckless. Last time there had been another telepath around, which had kept her on her toes, but she hasn't felt anybody here who could block her out, so she gladly pushes her luck here and there, helping it along as needed by encouraging the dealer to make mistakes. As she's going she gets increasingly better at it. Find a strong memory, embarrassing, exciting, devastating, anything that's powerful enough to be distracting if she forces it to the forefront and then slip in seemingly absentminded mistakes. It's almost too easy, really and she lets her eyes wander for a moment to see if she's caught the attention of anybody who could be convinced to let her join their game. Surely somebody who just won a lot and is in a good mood would be a welcome addition to some Poker players who think they can exploit that...

What she doesn't pay attention to is the fact that the casino keeps a close eye on those kind of people as well. And while they didn't care previously when she'd lifted money from other gamblers, this time she's taking it from the bank. And worse, the closest observers would probably be behind the lenses of security cameras, the minds monitoring them safely out of reach of her notice.
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Narrator » Fri Jun 30, 2017 10:50 pm

Some of the people watching her get bored and wander away. A few others hang around with more of a curious interest. One of them reaches up to touch his ear and as he turns, she can see the earpiece wire. The man's whole manner is very blase with nothing particularly strong coming off of him. Whatever was said to him doesn't seem to have disturbed him at all.
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Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Miriam Bell » Sat Jul 01, 2017 8:50 pm

Miriam's not particularly happy that security has taken note of her, but winning a lot of money is probably bound to draw their attention. At least the man seems pretty calm about it, so she pushes it to the back of her mind. Surely she'll notice if she pushes it too far. And so she continues playing and slowly growing the pile of chips in front of her.
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Narrator » Sat Jul 01, 2017 10:55 pm

Eventually, she gets the impression from the dealer that she should be moving on. As she glances around again, she notices a non-descript man approaching her. "Miss, if you'll come with me, I think I have a table more suited to your tastes."
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Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Miriam Bell » Sun Jul 02, 2017 6:53 pm

"Oh? Far be it from me to turn down an offer like that." she smiles. A high-roller table was going to be a bit trickier, but she really only needs t win one or two hands there and she can leave. Really, she could leave now. She's turned her initial investment into a tidy sum, but the chance to turn the small pile of chips in front of her into a mountain in just a couple games is too alluring to turn down. With that kind of money she could begin considering making some really big purchases. Maybe rent a loft in the city somewhere for starters... Still day-dreaming she gets up and gathers up her chips into a case before following the man.
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Narrator » Sun Jul 02, 2017 7:45 pm

The man leads her back past the other tables and through a door. If she weren't so busy daydreaming, she'd notice the security guys breaking off to follow them. By the time she realizes that they've walked into one of the back "not for customers" areas of the casino, she senses the ill intent behind her a moment before the blow connects with the back of her head.
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Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Miriam Bell » Sun Jul 02, 2017 9:17 pm

"Hang on, where are we--"she can feel the intent coming a split-second in advance, but even if she tried to spin around her muscles don't respond as fast as her thoughts are suddenly racing. Until everything is suddenly blacked out by the blow reverberating through her head and everything turns dark. Miriam, rather unceremoniously, collapses on the ground.
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Narrator » Mon Jul 03, 2017 7:48 pm

When Miriam comes to again the first thing she notices is the throbbing head-ache, followed shortly by the strain on her shoulders and the bite of metal cuffs on her wrists, pulling her arms behind the back of the chair she's sitting on. The room is poorly lit, bare metal shelves line the walls filled with janitorial supplies and such. A voice behind her speaking up makes her jump in her seat, pulling painfully on her shoulders and wrists.

"I bet you think you're clever, but plenty of muties have tried to cheat the system and most of them are much more subtle about it."

Miriam tries to crane her neck and when that fails she just tries to focus, feel out the man's mind and just throw all the mental switches she can find, seizure, crippling anxiety, something to just disable him immedia-- She can barely finish the train of thought when the speakers left and right of her suddenly scream in a high-pitched feedback loop that hurts in her ears and drives a spike of pain through her mind. Gritting her teeth any attempt to focus on the man's mind evaporates before it can take shape.

"But all the ones who think they're smart got powers that don't work so well when you can't focus." the mans voice says when the feedback cuts out after a couple of seconds. Miriam can barely hear him over the sound still echoing in her ears. "And the owners value being able to offer an unsullied experience to their legitimate patrons. So sometimes muties have to be reminded of their place." Miriam opens her mouth to respond but before she can the man places his boot on her shoulder and with a practiced kick sends her falling sideways to the ground along with the chair. She cries out when her shoulder hits the hard floor, followed quickly by her head and for a moment sparks dance in her vision.

"Guessing telepathy, cause it can't be luck manipulation if you walked into this place, eh?" the man goes on and Miriam barely has blinked the stars from her eyes when a shadow falls over her and a moment later a boot hits her stomach and drives the air out of her. "And unfortunately for you, we've learned that you people can be pretty vengeful, so we oughta make sure the lesson sticks, eh luv?" She feels herself being lifted up again as the man grabs the back of the chair and rights it again along with her...



After who knows how long of fading in and out of consciousness between beatings there's finally enough of a pause that she bothers trying to open her eyes. One of them refuses to cooperate, too swollen to really function. She's on the ground again and just as she manages to peel one of her eyelids open she catches a brief glimpse of the man towering over her. She barely manages to register the boot being pulled back before it comes flying at her face again, snapping her head back and riving her neck against the back of the chair and with an almost imperceptible crack everything is swallowed up by the darkness.
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Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Miriam Bell » Mon Jul 03, 2017 11:49 pm

For the longest time there's nothing but the darkness. Tugging gently but with the insistence of inevitability, unmovable as a mountain the abyss seems to welcome her. She briefly wonders if there shouldn't be someone there, waiting for her and that she'd be strangely okay with everything if that was the case. But like sands between her fingers her thoughts seem to leave her mind until she's left with nothing but the vague feeling of having forgotten something desperately important and if she could just... remember then she could find her even in the dark. Who though? And why? And for a while she hates herself for having forgotten the unforgettable and somewhere in the darkness the hate sparks something else. Wanting to remember, to not let go, to not sully Norma's memory. Norma. The name rolls through the crumbling mind for a while as she tries to remember why it's so important that she doesn't let go of this when she suddenly feels something else. Like a raging fire in her chest it jolts through her very being and suddenly red cracks blossom out form her through the darkness, a crimson web keeping her from slipping away. No, not cracks, more like...

Before she can finish her thought it's like the world around her suddenly shrinks away, into her until it feels like she envelops the entire world as it's being pulled into her and she's yanked along somehow until, as suddenly as it started, it stops and her eyes fly open, her chest arched upwards and she realizes she's screaming, fingers clenching the soft ground. And then the smell hits her. Stagnant and muggy she bolts upright all the way and she throws up, puke pooling among the garbage in the cramped box she's in, little streaks of crimson among it that she distantly realizes she shouldn't be able to make out in the darkness of what must be a garbage container. She dry heaves for a while as she tries to calm herself and her stomach down but the stench and grime drives her to throw open the lid and climb out despite the fact that she's far from calm. At least she manages to keep the rest of her stomach content to herself as she shakingly steadies herself against the garbage container as a fine misting rain mixes with the dirt and grime that feels like it's clinging to her very being.
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Narrator » Tue Jul 04, 2017 4:19 am

Down the alleyway that she finds herself in, she notices a homeless person, male possibly inching along the alleyway towards her. He's wanting to see if she's alright, but afraid to get too involved, especially since she was screaming. Finally, courage overcomes caution and he asks in a soft voice, "You alright, lass?"
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Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Miriam Bell » Wed Jul 05, 2017 11:51 pm

Miriam nearly jumps at the voice and the thought of somebody seeing her like this is mortifying in it's own right, which probably says a lot about her priorities after what she just went through. But to be fair, she's a rather miserable sight and her torn and sullied dress only vaguely hints at the fact that she's not the kind of person to sleep in a dumpster. She also seems to have lost her shoes somewhere along the way. "Just peachy." she says sarcastically.

"Where's my phone?" it suddenly occurs to her when she tries to figure out what to do next and how to get back to the school. She feels roughly like the contents of the container she just climbed out of and just wants to crawl into a hole for a couple days. Maybe stop somewhere on the way and get some food. She can't really recall if she'd had dinner, but it feels like she hasn't had anything all day. All the more reason to find her phone and get a cab.
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Narrator » Thu Jul 06, 2017 12:02 am

"Maybe it's in the bin?" The man suggests helpfully. He moves closer to peer into the dumpster, obviously not threatening. He cranes his head over the edge of the dumpster.
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Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Miriam Bell » Thu Jul 06, 2017 4:06 pm

Miriam really doesn't want to dive back into the dumpster. And her head still kind of feels like somebody crammed 20 pounds of cotton-balls in there, which is making it hard to focus on the homeless man's mind. He seems harmless but when you rely on an omni-present sense to read people you get a little tripped up when it's not working. And as she slowly pieces together what happened she comes to the conclusion that it's unlikely the people who literally dumped her here did her the courtesy of depositing her purse as well. Yet her focus seems to be drawn to the homeless guy for some reason, despite the fact that he is completely useless in solving any of her problems right now. Food, a ride home, a hot shower, the cash to facilitate all that as soon as possible.

"Don't find many designer purses in the trash, I'd imagine..." she mutters as she looks down the alley and the thin strip of yellow city-lights that seems like a portal out of whatever grime-filled dimension she woke up in. "You didn't happen to see the people who escorted me to your doorstep?" she asks in what's probably several layers of rude.
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Narrator » Thu Jul 06, 2017 4:11 pm

"No," the man says in a tone that means 'maybe'.
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Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Miriam Bell » Thu Jul 06, 2017 4:19 pm

"Maybe try that again." she says, looking back at the man and narrowing her eyes. The feeling that he has something she needs is getting stronger now. Maybe they did throw her out along with her purse and he swiped it before she woke up...
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Narrator » Thu Jul 06, 2017 4:41 pm

He holds up his hands, taking a step back. "Look, everyone down here knows you don't get involved in their business. It's a good way to end up in a bin, no offense."
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Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Miriam Bell » Thu Jul 06, 2017 5:13 pm

"Great, thanks. Where were you..." she stops when she realizes she's not entirely sure how long it's been. She'd spend at least an hour or two gambling and then her ordeal must have lasted at least as long if not more... At this rate it must be close to dawn, but the sky still looks solidly dark. How long had she been out? Did she spend all day lieing in the trash? The thought turns her stomach, but that mostly just reminds her of how hungry she is. Which is making a lot more sense now. "...bloody hell. How long ago did they throw me in there?"
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Narrator » Thu Jul 06, 2017 5:27 pm

"Last night sometime. I don't have a watch. Usually there's nothing to do for the people they dump down here." He relaxes a bit as she doesn't seem about to attack him and his pulse slows.
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Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Miriam Bell » Thu Jul 06, 2017 8:01 pm

Miriam rubs her eyes with one hand. She'd been lieing in this filth all day? At least that explains why she doesn't feel as broken and battered as one might expect. Not that she feels amazing, but not like she'd been at the receiving end of a beating like that. Certainly not like she'd been left for dead the day before. "Guess they went easy on me..."
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Narrator » Thu Jul 06, 2017 8:03 pm

"Maybe so. Maybe you got lucky," he says, turning his attention back to the dumpster for her phone, "I can see if I can find your phone, but it's probably long gone. There's some real vultures down here." He thinks for a moment, "There's also a shop round the corner. They sometimes let us use their phone for important stuff."
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Re: Money for Nothing

Postby Miriam Bell » Fri Jul 07, 2017 5:19 pm

Miriam throws one last glance back at the man and the garbage bin and decides that the minuscule chance of her phone being in there somewhere is not worth delving back into it. She has enough trouble not gagging just from what is still clinging to her. So instead she heads for the entrance of the alley and the glow of the streetlamps turning into a narrow rectangle of light.
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow



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