The P-Files

XandZero2 wrote:As Blade and Airborne zip down Bon Bon, picking up speed as they pass City Hall on the right and Labyrinth's United on the left, Airborne slowly but surely starts to pull ahead. He grins, yelling over the roar of the wind whistling in your ears, "THAT ALL YA GOT?! WEAK, DUDE! WEAK!"

After focusing his eyes and plotting out a course through the crowd of pegesi, Blade yells back, "DON'T GET AHEAD OF YOURSELF! WE ONLY JUST STARTED!" He starts speeding up a bit himself in order to try and keep up with Ace, but his speed doesn't increase very significantly. Partially because he's a bit afraid of accidentally hurting somepony and partially because he's saving that burst for an open stretch.

((12 (roll) + 18 (bonus) + 3 (Pips) = 33))

"Ok... Now knowing some magic is involved sadly, kinda ruins it for me..." Gleeda admits with a frown. "But yeah, I'm not sure sure what to say about the thieves... Other then I say we should find a way to catch one and interrogate them..."

"It's so cuuuuuuuuute." Whisper said/thought in objection(?) to Gleeda and have it a hug.

"Well, I think the first step would be to find out what the police and other shop-owners that have been targeted know, if we want to catch them. You could just focus on defending your own shops, hoping they turn to easier targets who then lose buisness when they have troubles or such but, since you've got such a big, Mike sized, brand, it'd end up pretty clear that how you're doing things. This makes you look, well, like a big self-centered heartless no-good where instead if you help everyone you look like you care not just about yourself but, for the city." Whisper said solely with her voice as she wasn't playing around at the moment.

"Oh, and I have another buisness proposition for you if you want to build up your good public image some more. Though, I guess it depends how much you're into or willing to get into the properties and construction businesses." she added, having almost forgot.

She then released the doll (yes, she'd been hugging it the whole time) and handed it over to Chitin while thought projecting, "Your turn."

"That's vigilantism." Chitin noted absentmindedly as she took the doll and hugged it for a moment. "Between what we've seen of the police and what Happy said about Theorycraft. I'm not sure that the city will take too kindly to Mike taking the law into his own hooves...err...hands like that."

Chitin was silent for a moment, stroking the doll's head like a cat before speaking up again. "How's the toy business, if you don't mine my asking."

Out on Bon Bon Street...

As Blade navigates his way through the traffic diving, rolling, swooping out the way of Pegasi and wagons, ponies shout and horns blare in surprise.

He can see Airborne just up ahead dodging traffic as well, yelling, "PARDON ME! MY BAD! WOAH! GNARLY! DUDE! HEY BABE!" - as he bumps into pegasi but keeps on going. He glances back at you for a split second and frowns.

As he turns back to the road, his wings rise.

Everything seems to slow to a crawl as those feathered pinions rise in the night sky - and as they reach their peak, everything stops. Time itself stands still.

Then Airborne's wings fall...

-Time speeds up again in a hurry and the Captain of the PWDF becomes a black and gold blur, boosting forward through the herd - literally knocking ponies out of his way. He breaks out the other side of the pack, having gained a decent lead between the two of you.

He slows long enough to look back at you again and smirk - as if daring you to even try and keep up.

((Nah. Airborne didn't just stop time. That was my way of dramatizing the fact that he just done traded in his 3 Adrenaline PiPs to get a Turbo Boost, allowing him to move up one position in the race. For some reason (I'm not sure why) I like to think of the positions as band widths, and currently Airborne is 1 band ahead of Blade.

That duly noted, Blade Blocker now also has the option to use his PiPs to Turbo Boost if he wants. This would put him tied up with Airborne again. It's your choice to make though Yawn. You still have the option of just stockpiling PiPs for later too.))

Xel Unknown wrote:"Ok... Now knowing some magic is involved sadly, kinda ruins it for me..." Gleeda admits with a frown.

Mike shrugs, "To each their own, but it's not like Mighty Mike enchanted the doll with a Want-It, Neeeeeeeeeed-It spell." The gold-tufted Minotaur laughs, dismissing the idea with a wave of his hand. "That would be immoral. No, it's just a visual enhancement charm cast with permanency. The foals love it though, 'specially the magically inclined."

Mighty Mike listened to Whisper's thoughts on the thieves and her call for action, watching her over his clasped hands but remaining silent. He frowned at "big self-centered heartless no-good" but still refrained from speaking.

Then when Chitin mentioned vigilantism, and Theorycraft especially, Mighty Mike's frown grew even more defined. He glanced around at the three of you. "If Mighty Mike may be so bold?" He nodded. Theorycraft...That pony's caused Mighty Mike nothing but trouble... Always used to attack Mighty Mike's men without provocation. It's good the city finally sees him for the threat he is..."

He shook his head, laughing bitterly, "And as for the police? Mighty Mike sees them as nooooo bett-er... Wait for the NOPPD to get a job done? If he did that, Mighty Mike would be wait-in' a loooooooong time..."

The gold tufted Minotaur pauses for a moment to regain his composure. He clears his throat. Then he adds, "As for the toy business?" He grins and shrugs, "It is what it is Chitin. Good for ex-pan-diiiiiiiiiiiing Mighty Mike mer-chan-diiiiise to a younger target audience, and a lucrative business overall, ex-spe-cial-lyyyy during Hearth's Warming Eve. Currently, Mighty Mike has four Mikey Likey Toy locations throughout the city, with many more going up daily all throughout Equestria..."

He turns to Whisper, "And what was that Mighty Mike heard about prop-er-tiiiies and con-struc-tioooooooooon?"

"Ah... Now that type of magic I can get behind. More to make it's craftsmanship shine brighter... That works..." Gleeda said as she then took a hug of her own with the doll. "Cause... This this was, bucking, well made stuff." After the hug she thinks. "Mmm... Well I do hope you mind me saying what's on my mind. Don't know much, but I assume this Theorycraft was some type of, 'real world' superhero? It's not hard to figure out why he attacked your men... I mean even I could easily how much your stuff seems to serve your own ego to insane supervillain-ish levels... So I bet that's why he couldn't help but think you just gotta be evil and upto no good by his logic. I'd guess... Just my two bits on this issue from an outsider viewpoint. I do mean no offence by this. Just what I'd guess..."

"Sad as it is, I'll have to say that after running into those three bullybodies, I'd have to agree on your assessment of the police in this city." Whisper responded.

Then Whisper laid out her idea, "Oh, well I just noticed how bad the area south of Bonnabell has gotten and that it seemed like you had a ton of people looking for work when we came in earlier. I'm sure you wouldn't have much trouble purchasing the properties from their rightful owners and then renovating the area into, maybe, low income housing, maybe a homeless shelter or two, things like that. Of course you'd have to set up some stores there too, can't have ponies having to go all the way to Gently just to buy groceries or whatnot. I'm sure you could do something more lucrative with the waterfront properties as well. It'd be a bit of an investment sure but, you'd end up with a lot of good will and set yourself up for some good long term profits, not to mention whatever benefits there might be to owning the entirety of a sizable bit of the city."

---

Yeah, Whisper just made up that word. At least I'm pretty sure that's not a real term.

Xand, if I got any of the geography here wrong, just tell me and I'll edit it.

XandZero2 wrote:Everything seems to slow to a crawl as those feathered pinions rise in the night sky - and as they reach their peak, everything stops. Time itself stands still.

Then Airborne's wings fall...

-Time speeds up again in a hurry and the Captain of the PWDF becomes a black and gold blur, boosting forward through the herd - literally knocking ponies out of his way. He breaks out the other side of the pack, having gained a decent lead between the two of you.

He slows long enough to look back at you again and smirk - as if daring you to even try and keep up.

"Hey! What's the point of this if your just gonna bowl ponies over!" Blade yells too quietly for Airborne to hear.

Blade continues diligently weaving through the crowd. After getting honked at Blade does his best to stay above the first floor and below the third floor of any building. His reasoning being that he would probably cause less of an issue for air traffic than ground traffic.

((^-- Please make that an ongoing thing. I'd much rather risk accidentally crashing into another pegasi then a wagon or something.
And I'm definitely gonna save my Pips. They're gonna come in very handy for future flight checks and I think Ace will be less likely to use his boosts if I'm a bit behind him. Heck maybe I can even slip him into a false sense of security.))

Coffee sighs at the messy atmosphere. He grabs a notepad and pen and makes to leave.

Chitin simply stayed silent, not having much of anything to add at the moment. Instead looking around the room as Whisper and Mike talked.

perception check:

Out on Bon Bon Street...

Blade continues zig-zagging through air traffic, careful not to hit anypony as he makes his way through the herd. Finally he breaks out of the pack and puts on a burst of speed to close the distance between him an Airborne, who he can still make out not far up ahead - but as he pushes his wings to the limit, Blade becomes aware of something he didn't notice before - Airborne's slipstream. It's like a path cut through the air, and as Blade slips into it he feels the difference in wind resistance almost instantly. He rides the stream like a wagon, and his speed increases significantly.

((Since Blade is currently behind Airborne at the start of the new round, his Adrenaline gain is doubled as he's able to draft in Airborne's wake. Blade gets 2 more Adrenaline PiPs, taking his total up to 5 if I'm not mistaken...))

But as you pass the intersection at Bon Bon and Clearview, you look ahead and see an overpass coming up at 12 o'clock - straight ahead. It's not a bridge - but a building that extends across the length of the road, with the space of roughly a floor and a half left open underneath so that wagon and hoof traffic can drive through in a sort of underpass. It looks like it's going to be a tight fit though... and it could be pretty dangerous... Doesn't look like there'd be much room to maneuver if a big wagon came through...

Airborne glances back at you, then dives into the underpass without a moment's hesitation.

((If Blade's still following the Captain, he's going to need to make a DC 35 Flight Check this time around. Remember to add +5 for your Adrenaline bonus))

((BTW - Nice use of the map Ramsus! That makes me happy to know you're utilizing it.))

Might Mike nods thoughtfully as he listens to Gleeda and then Whisper. As Whisper finishes talking, he turns to Gleeda first, "You know, you're not the first to say that Mighty Mike looked like a super villain... But Mighty Mike has to wonder, why does everypony think he's an evil mastermind?!" The Minotaur leans back in his chair, threw up his hands and laughed (heartily, not maniacally), "He doesn't even have a cat!"

"Could have something to do with your... uh... gold-plated palace, Mr. Mike." Buck chimes in from beside Whisper. He'd been remaining relatively silent for the majority of the conversation, but now he grinned sheepishly as Mike looked at him for a long moment.

Then the Minotaur laughs again, "OHHHHHHHHHHHH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!! You probably got a point there, Buck - but Mighty Mike has good reason for covering Labyrinth's United in gold plating, you know." Then he looks at the rest of you, leans forward, and puts one hand to the side of his mouth. "It's a great magic conductor. Magnify's telepathic signals by hundreds of times their normal limitations. Great for sending messages over long distances. Just the thing for a business like Mighty Mike's..."

Mike leans back in his chair again kicks his feet up on top his desk. "Plus... If truth be told... Mighty Mike does like being surrounded by gold..." He grins, "But that's not the main reason he has a gold-plated building. That's his story. He's sticking to it."

"Now, as for the area south of Bonabell..." Mighty Mike rests his hands behind his head and stares up at the ceiling for a moment, his face growing a bit more serious, "Whisper, you must mean the Vieux Mare' Projects... As Mighty Mike recalls, the entire area suffered from some serious flooding a few years back during Katrina. The canal side got the worst of it from what Mighty Mike remembers... Many shops in the area had to close up, and a lot of families moved out of the area for good... Mighty Mike's went there before to see the damages himself, but the place is pretty rough. It would take quite the construction project to get it up and running again."

Mighty Mike sits up in his chair and turns to Whisper, "The problem with those groups you saw down in the front lobby is that none of them have been approved to work for Mighty Mike yet, and many of them never will be. What you have to understand is that Mighty Mike doesn't take in just anypony off the street. They have to meet his specifications. He handpicks only the best and the brightest, and puts them to work where they can best serve him, themselves, and their community."

Mighty Mike leans forward in his chair and laces his fingers together before him. "Now, this project you have in mind sounds admirable, but costly. Mighty Mike likes to help out when he can - he really does - but if he kept giving his money away to every good cause that came along, wouldn't be long before he'd be living out on the street himself. He needs to know his investments won't go to waste, that either the long-term gains will outweight the costs, or that the costs were used to pay for a valuable service rendered."

"Look. Mighty Mike'll be blunt here," Mighty Mike raises two fingers. "If you're really serious about this project, then you have two options. One - prove to Mighty Mike beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a wise business investment... Or two - do a favor for him, and not just any favor - but a Migh-ty Miiiiiiiiiiike-sized favor."

Mighty Mike lets his words sink in for a moment, then he raises an eyebrow. "So... is this why you came to see Mighty Mike? Or were you primarily here looking for work?"

I came because Buck asked me meet you before judging you as an unhelpful pony. Whisper thought projected (and somehow it gave the impression that being judged unhelpeful would have been bad) while saying aloud, "Yes kinda a bit yeah but, I could use money as it so happens so a job would be swell." And before she even finished saying it she thought projected (since thinking is faster than speaking), I'm not really all that good with buisnessy stuff so if you have a favor in mind, pardon the pun, ... and then she finished aloud, "Otherwise I'll just keep my eyes peeled for an opportunity to help you help me help everypony from the Projects."

....

and then a bit of information finally clicking, Whisper tried to use the gold amplification of telepathic projections to contact Mike's Mothership, Hailing Alien Mothership, this is Whisper, *crackle sounds*, over.

---

Yes, she thought radio crackling noises at it.

"Also there is the fact a good deal of your stores refer to your name in some bit. That just makes it look like you painted your ego all over it..." Gleeda notes. "But yeah, really I'm just in need of work to keep myself from having to return to my homeland and be forced to rule when I know very well I'm not the ruler they want, need, or even deserve. But if I get myself a job and get some good income to support myself, I'm in the clear..."

Chitin stared at the Watchponies book, somehow feeling like it contained knowledge that should not be readily available. She blinked, shaking her head to clear her thoughts and looked at Mike. "I'm here looking for work. I can't live off what I brought with me forever." Chitin shrugged slightly. "And if I had to guess a reason why ponies might think you're a villain, the giant tower looming over the city might have something to do with it."

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