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You reach out during an errant motion, and grab the man's wrist when he's distracted, twisting the razor painfully out of his hand.

“Ow! What da fuck are you doing-”

”Go!”

The woman, frozen in fear before, suddenly starts to move. She shuffles towards the alleyway's exit. “T-Thank you!”

”Let go of me you dumb cop bitch! I wasn't doing nothing! You'll regret this! You know I work for the Pacelli's, right?!”
”Shut up! You're under arrest, stop resisting!”

>Kick him in the balls
>Pepper spray

>>6170572
>Pepper spray
You can stop a ball kick, or move out of the way, good luck stopping pepper spray without a mask.

Also, we're back! Hell yeah! I thought you were gonna do an fantasy thing, but honestly, I was really looking forward to this.

>>6170572
>Pepper spray
More professional.

>>6170572
>>Pepper spray
EAT IT BITCH

>>6170572
>>Kick him in the balls

>>6170572
>Pepper spray

>>6170572
>Pepper spray

Vigilante time!

>>6170572
>>Kick him in the balls

>>6170572
>Kick him in the balls

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”...NINE MONTHS PROBATION!?!”

Your boss holds up his hand, as if to silence you.

”Officer Elmore, you are lucky it wasn't much worse. You assaulted a man in broad daylight-”
”He was attacking a woman with a razor!”
”You. Have. No. Proof! He claimed to be shaving. What's to say he wasn't?”
”Shaving. In an alleyway, with no water or shaving cream, in front of a terrified woman who he claims owes her money. Come on! That's bullshit chief, and you know it!”
”Of course I know it is! That's not the point! The Peace Keepers have a very select set of protocols to be in line with city policies. You can't just take things into your own hands like that, Cheryl. You're lucky the woman corroborated your story. She could have been on Pacelli's payroll as a setup to trap an idealistic young officer, and then we'd really never hear the end of it. They have lawyers you know.”
”So they can just do whatever they want, then, huh? No officer of the law can say anything, we just have to stand there until he actually cuts somebody's face off, right?”

The Chief softens.

”You know that's not what I meant. Listen, Cheryl, you're a good cop. I know you've been working very hard. You're one of the few people to move your way up from level 5 to level 4, that's a huge accomplishment. But if you want to go from level 4 to level 3, it's going to be just as hard. Your record needs to be spotless, you understand? This cannot happen again. I'm appeasing the city by appearing harsh on you, even though everyone here knows you did the right thing to that creep. Alright? Focus on doing your job the right way, by the book, not your own judgment. That's just the way things are. Don't make things worse by trying to be some hero, ok?”

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You won't give the chief, or anyone in your department, the satisfaction of seeing you cry. You go to the bathroom instead, and that's where you cry. You've just been under so much stress lately, and this is just another nail in the coffin.

Nine months of probation and shredding any chances of an early promotion... all for that, huh? You sniffle. You wish it was Max up there instead. You smile at that thought. He doesn't have to deal with any bullshit politics or police chief or nothing. He just does exactly what he thinks is right. Max would have beaten the shit out of that guy, wouldn't you, Max?

>Update to be continued

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Your name is now Max Montagu and you live on level 5. Currently, you are with your friends.

“I'm glad you suggested this group roleplaying thing, Jason! I haven't had this much fun with my imagination in years.” Nathan says.
”If anything we should be thanking you,” says Jason. ”You let us use your apartment while your wife isn't here! Guy's night!”
“She's out with her friends. Lady's night, you know? It's nice that we can do our own things sometimes.”

The idea of a bunch of women going out alone on level 5, unchaperoned, was unthinkable just a few months ago. Nobody says anything about it; the concept of this is met with a welcome, happy silence.

Currently, you are sitting with your friends from left to right; Nathan, Yourself, Jason, and Carlos. Carlos is the youngest, and he's a bit big. You also know he's got a bit of a criminal record, which would certainly make you more distrustful of him, but Jason seems to vouch for him.

”Alright- no more time wasting! I'm the Quest-Master for this game! Did anyone bring any character concepts along? We can try to work everyone's characters together to make it more fitting.”
”I have one.” You say.

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”He's a mysterious knight who always wears an armored mask and a long red cloak. He's known to fight bandits and highwaymen, and prefers to fight them over monsters in the wilderness or dungeons. His weapons are two swords which he uses with equal skill to be able to defeat multiple foes at once...”
”Oh, you're copying that mask guy.”
”...?”
”You know, the Masked Vigilante. The one everyone's been talking about on Level 5? Come on- don't pretend you haven't heard of him.”
“He literally saved me himself!” Nathan said with a sudden look of awe. You avoid his gaze.

Truthfully... that Masked Vigilante is actually you. You're well aware of his antics, because you are the one doing them when not in your civilian clothes. You adopt a whole different persona, and for the past several months, have been using your newfound skills and fitness to stop the criminal elements of Level 5, as well as putting a dent in the whole of punk culture.

But, of course, you didn't mean to directly compare yourself to the vigilante. After all, it's supposed to be your secret identity, both to avoid getting in trouble with the law, but also to protect your friends or others who may end up as targets to your enemies.

”I mean, that IS what you intended your character to be modeled after. Copying the mask guy? Like I think it's pretty cool but that's what you meant, right Max?”

What should you say?

>Yeah, because that's me lol
>I don't know I thought he was cool
>Maybe it was less original then I thought
>No I didn't copy and I don't know anything about that mask guy!

>>6171329
>I don't know I thought he was cool
If you go "Geeeeee I don't know whoooo he is" that's just gonna look suspicious. Better to play it off as just awkwardly admitting you based your character on him.

As a vigilante, we should try as hard as we can do maintain the 'masquerade'. The least people know, the better. If Cheryl remains the only one to know of our identity, good.

>>6171329
>>I don't know I thought he was cool

>>6171329
>I don't know I thought he was cool

>>6171329
>>I don't know I thought he was cool
Closest thing we have to a real-world superhero

>>6171329
>I don't know I thought he was cool
It's a reasonable deflection and allows us to gauge their sentiment.

>>6171329
>>Yeah, because that's me lol

>>6171329
>I don't know I thought he was cool
>New thread when i'm sick.

>>6171593
I mean...does your sickness prevent you from reading or posting? Clearly not. It sucks that you're sick but I fail to see how that's related to there being a thread.

>>6171329
>I don't know I thought he was cool
I am a lemming.

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“I don't know... I just thought he was cool.”
“Well, I certainly think he's cool. But if anyone should be playing him, it should be ME. After all, I'm the only one of us who has even seen the guy.”
”Cool for a psycho, maybe. Isn't that what the Peace Keepers are supposed to do.”
“You know they don't do shit.”
”...Do you guys smell that? See, Carlos coughed. There's smoke.”

Peaking your head out the window, the other men in the room get up to look down at the alleyway below, revealing a plume of smoke coming up towards your faces. Right at the foot of the building, some punks and troublemakers are starting a fire.

“What the fuck!? Hey!” Nathan yelled down, “Hey! People live here! HEY!”
”Shit, we need to evacuate the building. Then someone can get the emergency phone outside for the fire fighters. Somebody could easily get trapped inside.”

Slipping away from the others, you find yourself called to action once again. Setting random fires to get your enjoyment isn't quite the same as beating people up but it isn't a victimless crime either! Looks like this is a job for the masked vigilante...

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In a flash, you've gone downstairs of the large apartment building and gotten into your disguise. Your two batons hidden away, now ready to be used. You run straight to the alleyway to stop the arsonists before the fire becomes too big to control.

“Oh shit! It's that guy!”
“You got a problem with us, bud? Get lost! We wanna see this piece of shit building burn to the ground. You ain't going to stop us.”

You spin your baton, inviting the first one forward. The first thug charges with a raised fist on unsteady feet, and you quickly dodge and hit him on the back of the neck with a downward strike, glancing your baton off the back of his skull in a smooth motion.

“Argh!”

The second comes in with a punch which you dodge, and respond with a shove against his face and nose with your baton, stunning him with the long hard implement. As you reels back, you spin your other baton quickly to gain force, smacking him once and then twice in the chest, opening up his face for a smack that causes him to fall down, stunned.

Easily dispatched, you turn to the last one. The smallest of the three punks, who doesn't seem eager to fight you.

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“H-Hey! You know, you act real tough for someone who carries around weapons. Without those batons, I bet you can't fight at all. You're a wimp, aren't you!”

You pause. You're pretty sure he's about to run, and you have little interest in running him down if he does. It'd be much easier if he just came at you first.

“Level 5 is full of big tough guys. They don't need clubs or knives or whatever. The Viking would cream you with one hand.” He says smugly. He raises his hands up in fists. “I bet I could whoop you, so drop those batons and fight like a man!”

He absolutely could not whoop you. The only question is, should you humor him?

>Drop your batons and fight with fists
>Just smack the shit out of him

>>6171875
>Just smack the shit out of him
What, so he can pull out a knife or some shite? No thanks. This is obviously a taunt. Back in the first thread, we didn't quip or say anything when we helped Nathan. DA MISSION is more important than our ego.

>>6171875
>Just smack the shit out of him

Never underestimate an enemy. There's a reason he isn't running.

>>6171875
>Just smack the shit out of him
Yeah, no, no point risking it.

>>6171875
>>Just smack the shit out of him

>>6171875
>Just smack the shit out of him

You know, I gotta wonder: just how big, exactly, is the city? I mean, just a few months of vigilantism, if i got that correctly, were enough to have seemingly most people in level five know who we are to the point 'punk behavior' has dropped, right?

I can't imagine it's *that* big, right? If this was a full on hive-city then most people wouldn't have so much as heard about us, even if the city is somehow strict enough to stop most hooligans from having guns and other real weapons.

>>6171875
> Without those batons, I bet you can't fight at all. You're a wimp, aren't you!
Good thing I have those tonfas I guess.
>Just smack the shit out of him

>>6171595
>.does your sickness prevent you from reading or posting?
While not that bad, but i've done nothing for the past 4 days.
>>6171875
>Just smack the shit out of him
Is setting fire, fighting like a real man?

>>6171875
>Just smack the shit out of him

>>6172009
Someone made a viral tiktok about us

>>6171875
>>Just smack the shit out of him

>>6171875
>Just smack the shit out of him

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Give him a fair chance? No, you don't think you will. What respect do you have for the rules or “honor” of criminals like him?

Instead, you step forward and dodge his first weak punch, keeping your arms extended in a stance he can't counter, blocking his ability to move with the hard edges of your batons, and following with quick strikes to the face and head.

WHAM! BAM!

He bleeds from his nose as you strike him down, crumpling to the floor in a heap, stunned from your baton blows. You hear sirens as the fire department, and Peace Keepers, arrive just seconds after you are done.

“Hey! You there! Stop! We want to talk to you! We can't give you the help you need unless if you come with us!”

The Peace-Keepers won't arrest you unless you let them; they can't legally give chase. It's time to go.

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You meet up with your friends at the local diner, the DeliDiner. Nobody is hurt from among them, or anyone from the building it seemed. The Arsonists were unlikely to have caused any real damage regardless of your intervention.

“Did you see that!? I told you, the vigilante guy was there again.”
”I wasn't able to see. I'm glad he beat their asses though. Who just sets fire to a random building?!”
“They're probably just bored.”
”That's even worse!”

You don't have much to say. It was a bit of a close call, you don't want anyone to know that the masked man is really you. It's not normally who you target during your patrols, but an opportunity to dispense some street justice like that... you just feel like it was the right thing to do.

”They need to try to do something with their lives. Look at Carlos here, he's moving up in his job, he's trying to get a promotion to level 4!”
“I mean, it's not like they can rent books and study from the library with a criminal record...”
”Carlos just burrows books from me.”
“You know you could get banned yourself from that, right?”
”What, are you gonna snitch on me? It's a risk I'll take for my friend.”

Carlos smiles, but you look away.

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You've been a resident of level 5 your entire life. Despite this, you've never felt especially oppressed or deprived or anything like that. Life is a struggle, yeah, but the government takes care of your basic needs. Everything else you'd need to find or make yourself, or work your way up to it. It's always felt pretty fair to you, maybe not good, but that's just what life is.

But you don't think others feel the same way as you. Many feel angry, trapped, or hopeless to change their situation. You almost wonder if the city's own policies and rules keeps them trapped on purpose sometimes. People who always do the right thing aren't hurt, but for those who slip up, even once, things can be tough for them. They turn to crime and destruction just for something to do, more then anything. You've stopped them over and over, you've beat up people who fall into 'punk culture', who build their reputation and find some belonging among others who just fight and try to act tough all the time. They could be anti-authority as a way to rebel against their negative circumstances.

Of course, your life feels- was just as aimless as theirs. And you never did that. It was their choice that lead them there, in the end.

The criminals, the punks, the destructive and aimless- do you feel empathy for them?

>Definitely, it is society's fault they are this way
>Yes, but only a little bit
>No, they chose their path

>>6172991
>>Yes, but only a little bit
Society is giving them EVERYTHING that should not turn them to crime.

>>6172991
>>No, they chose their path
Total hobo death

>>6172991
>Yes, but only a little bit
I pity them, but that doesn't mean i'm going to stop beating their faces.

>>6172991
>Yes, but only a little bit

There is no free will without personal responsibility and accountability which enable you to take more control over life through improvement.
That said, vertical meritocratic thinking must be tempered with horizonal empathetic, merciful thinking. Not all who mess up are at fault, some are faced with hard choices or are victims in their own right.

>>6172991
>>Yes, but only a little bit

>>6172991
>Yes, but only a little bit

>>6171365 is me. I'm on mobile.


>>6173001
Everything but purpose, opportunity, or soothing distraction... Good recipe for a restless underclass. That said, setting buildings on fire for shits and gigs remains unacceptable.

>>6173157
>purpose
Get out of level 5
>Opportunity
There are some : library, gibs...
>soothing distraction
Oh yeah, /qsting/ is forbidden on level 5

>>6173168
Well, if you commit a crime they seem to bar you from the library forever and punish anyone who even tries to help you learn or advance ever again (as we just discovered). Social cohesion seems low and isolation high, based on Thread 1, so there are few opportunities to form game groups.

>>6172991
>No, they chose their path

>>6172991
>Yes, but only a little bit

There's probably a few unfortunates who tripped over the official rulings and couldn't right themselves, and these we have some small sympathy for. The ones who are actively choosing to make life horrible for others... nope, none there.

>>6172991
>Definitely, it is society's fault they are this way

>>6172991
>Yes, but only a little bit

>>6172991
>No, they chose their path

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You do pity them, but only a little bit, after all, the ones who choose their new lifestyle? They did it by their own choice...

Which reminds you. Level 5 is at least partially ruled by something called Punk Culture. Growing up in it, you didn't think it was that strange, but you can see how it entices and intoxicates people, especially the strong. Thankfully, those within the Punk Culture save the worst of the violence for among themselves.

In your society, where advancement thru society is greatly roadblocked and material wealth is inaccessible; advancement among your peers is done through its own method. You call this Punk Culture, though it's not really that complicated. It's like the law of the jungle, the strongest are well respected, and men fight for dominance. Those not a part of the culture are not allowed to participate, and are sometimes preyed upon, but aren't expected to fight back and aren't held to its rules.

It's kind of like a pyramid. The strongest people who fight on level 5 are considered the most valuable, receiving attention from others, women, and respect among the punks. It's a hierarchy. Currently, the two in contention for being the strongest are the Viking and the Samurai; both physically larger and stronger then everyone else. Just underneath them are the Rhino, the Mohawk, and a bunch of others vying for lower positions on the totem pole.

Before, in your normal life, you were never going to “fight” any of these people. Even if you were among the punks, you'd stay out of the way of people on the top of the pyramid; they'd be out of your weight class. But given your current life choice and the trajectory of your time as the masked vigilante... are you going to need to fight these people? Every little kid dreams of being on top of the punk pyramid, the strongest, biggest, meanest dog until they realize exactly what that entails and how most people simply aren't born with the strength to compete.

The idea of fighting people at the top of this pyramid? It scares you. You don't want to fight them. But if they prey upon the innocent... are you going to have a choice?

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After you and your friends retire for the evening, leaving the diner and saying goodbye, you decide to spend the rest of the evening at your own personal Fortress of Solitude; the garage.

On the outskirts of level 5, Cheryl's father owned a little garage. She gave it to you after your very first stint fighting against the punks and criminals of level 5 as a sort of reward, and thus far, it's served you very well. The inside has been converted to a nice man cave; several tools and mechanical parts, an entertainment system and a couch to sleep on, and a working motorcycle- just an issue of refueling it. There isn't exactly any gas stations on level 5 after all... gas powered vehicles were banned and scrapped for parts before you were even born.

You've also made all the parts of your new superhero identity here. Your batons, your mask, cape, and other bits of your uniform and equipment. Plus, you learned a lot about fighting from studying the video tapes, and used this place as your own personal training grounds. You often start your patrols as the vigilante from here as well, making it harder to track you back to your regular apartment. Normal people, including punks, don't come this far out of the city limit for no reason...

You have a moment to check out more of the garage, or maybe tinker with a few things. What should you do today?

>Look at the safe under the workbench
>Train for the inevitable
>Customize your equipment a bit
>Other (Write-In)

>>6174024
>Look at the safe under the workbench
Please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think we've ever checked it. Could be good.

Otherwise, I'd definitely vote for training. Either that or getting a "backup" weapon.

>>6174024
>Look at the safe under the workbench
MYSTERY BOX MYSTERY BOX

>>6174024
>Look at the safe under the workbench

>>6174024
>Train for the inevitable

Where are the monkeys?

>>6174022
>Rhino and Mohawk
Oh hey, Bebop and Rocksteady.

>>6174024
>Customize your equipment a bit
What we lack on height or strength, we can make up for in technology.

>>6174024
>Look at the safe under the workbench

>>6174024
>Train for the inevitable

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You decide to check out the safe under the work table, a mysterious thing you haven't tried to open for months. I mean, you don't know the combination. Technically it's your safe now, and whatever is inside it is yours too, but you really didn't feel like messing with it until now.

What could be inside? You figure something sentimental is more likely then something truly valuable. But pulling out the safe and fiddling with it, you realize it's locked. You spin the wheel a bit to feel around for a bite, but no luck, it's oiled and smooth. How old is this safe anyway? You feel your fingers along the back of the heavy metal and feel it touch cardboard. On the back, a small slip with something written on it. Her birthday.

Whose birthday? This was her Dad's safe after all. Maybe his wife? Is Cheryl's mother still alive? You don't know her birthday. Cheryl's birthday? You don't know that either. Maybe you'll ask her the next time you see her? Or would that be awkward? Why would you ask for her birthday unless you were planning something? What if it's soon to come, and she'd think you wanted to give her a gift?

For the first time, you feel a twinge of awkwardness. Your relationship with Cheryl has been totally platonic this entire time. Yet suddenly, the concept for asking for her birthday seems personal and terrifies you in a weird way. You want to get in the safe but... would it be too forward to just ask? You don't know any of her friends on level 4, that would be a lot easier to ask in a roundabout way. Why are you feeling so nervous about asking her this all the sudden?

>Because you have feelings for Cheryl
>You don't want to spoil your friendship
>There could be something really valuable or bad in this safe and you don't want her to know about it

>>6174923
>Because you have feelings for Cheryl
You're not a real hero unless you have a civilian girl you like. Your Mary Jane. Your Lois Lane.

Plus come on, Max is (was?) a total shut in nerd. No way he wouldn't fall for a cute girl who acted all nice to him. His superhero autism isn't that strong.

>>6174923
>>There could be something really valuable or bad in this safe and you don't want her to know about it

>>6174944
You know, I don't feel like deciding he'd want to keep something if it was valuable and not want to tell her because of that feels accurate.

>>6174923
>You don't want to spoil your friendship

>>6174923
>Because you have feelings for Cheryl

>>6174923
>You don't want to spoil your friendship
We can do it bros... we can defeat First Girl syndrome...

>>6174923
>>Because you have feelings for Cheryl

>>6175090
>First Girl syndrome...
Is it really first girl syndrome when she's kind of the only option? Like, I guess you could say there's the nerdy library girl, but Max didn't seem to like her one bit. In fact, he actually thought she was lame and cringeworthy.

>>6174923
>>Because you have feelings for Cheryl

>>6175225
The universe Bananas may send us a second girl if we don't go for first girl.

>>6174923
>>You don't want to spoil your friendship

>>6174949
Hey, vote what you wanted to vote for. I just expected people to rush for "I LOVE CHERYL" so I voted for something else.

>>6175281
I find that unlikely, though. Like I said, if there were 'other options', Max would have responded a little better to the cute librarian girl that was acting all blushy around him, no? Max having a crush on Cheryl makes sense. She is pretty much the reason he was able to become a hero. She wants to get rid of criminals like him, and even looked to him for advice when she was feeling down.

>>6174923
>>Because you have feelings for Cheryl

>>6174923
Sorry ladies, Max is actually super into Jason.

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You guess... you guess you really do have feelings for Cheryl. Asking her for the birthday is so minor, but even implying you like her would just... you'd just be so embarrassed! What if you come on too strong? What if she isn't interested? ...What if she has a boyfriend already? You wish you weren't so socially awkward, maybe you'd have a better able to deal with this kind of thing!

You know... you'll just be sneaky. You'll talk to her, get to know her more, and ask these kinds of things real subtle. If you figured out how to beat the shit out of criminals yourself, you can figure out how to ask a girl out on a date without being totally awkward. It might take a little practice but...

You really do like her, you think. You put your head on the cold safe and sit there for a minute. Maybe for the first time, you do actually know a girl you like. You just don't want to mess it up...

Later, you patrol the city streets. Level 5 is a highly industrial zone of the city, with many small buildings, depots of various resources and machines, factories, and back alleys. Nobody walks down these except for punks and maybe yourself; preferring to stick to the main roads where they are less likely to be caught alone. In a way, it's helpful, giving you a stealthy jump on anything out of the ordinary. Today, you walk past a playground and stop short, seeing someone familiar.

Hey, that's Carlos! And he's standing in the playground for little kids with six other guys, all crowded around. They don't look very friendly; it's a gang of punks! You decide to sneak a bit closer, hiding behind the playground equipment to listen in...

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Wait a second, you know that guy! That punk, the leader of this gang, is known as the Mohawk! You know him because he's one of the punks who used to steal from you!

Of course, you've been mugged before too. Tax collectors taken bits of your UBI or other things you carried around. Thankfully they never took your clothes or shoes or your roleplaying stuff, since it has no value to them. But you know this guy. He's a real piece of shit. He used to steal from you and intimidate you, and you feel humiliated just remembering it. The things you'd say to avoid getting a beating.

”No, please don't hurt me, I'll do whatever you want.”
”No, I'm not a tough guy. You're tougher then me.”
”Please just leave me alone...”

You burn up thinking of those days. You had no power then, no way to fighting back. Not that you even could if you wanted; you wouldn't want to piss of the punks by fighting with one of them, even in self defense. That would just get you jumped by all his friends. You never thought about it before, but you should put on the mask and just beat this guy to get even. Then again, you don't want him to figure out it's you behind the mask...

Still, the fact Carlos is talking to him at all is a bad sign. Is he a part of the gang? You know Carlos used to be a punk, or at least he claimed it. Looks like he's backsliding, still friends with these pieces of shit. You should have known! What are they talking about!? You were so shocked to see the Mohawk here you couldn't even listen in. What should you do?

>Put on the mask and beat all of them up
>Listen closer to figure out what is going on
>Sneak away and stay out of it

>>6175620
>Listen closer to figure out what is going on
Measure twice, cut once.

>>6175620
Part of me really wants to just put on the mask, go full Strongman Kurosawa and challenge the whole ass giant crowd of punks. That would be the cool option. BUT! We should probably try to hear what they're saying first, right? We can jump them after we do, anyways.
>Listen closer to figure out what is going on
We should definitely put the mask, though. We don't want to get found out without it. That would reveal our identity.

>>6175631
Wait, I just realized, it's not a crowd, it's six dudes. That's way easier. And not as nearly as cool.

Ah well, one day we'll get to fight a whole big ass crowd of punks solo.

>>6175620
>Put on the mask and beat all of them up

>>6175620
>Listen closer to figure out what is going on

>>6175620
>Listen closer to figure out what is going on

>>6175620
>>Listen closer to figure out what is going on

>>6175620
>>Put on the mask and beat all of them up

>>6175620
>Listen closer to figure out what is going on

Carlos!

>>6175620
>Listen closer to figure out what is going on

>>6175620
>>Listen closer to figure out what is going on

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Clearly, they're up to no good. But how can you know exactly how they're up to no good? You sneak a bit closer. Now, you're curious. What does Carlos have to do with it?

”...You know, The Viking is looking for a gang with the biggest guys. You're pretty big, Carlos. You should roll with us again.”
“I don't really know about that... I kind of don't want to do that anymore.”
”What, are you scared? Come on, you're already one of us. This is a big opportunity, we need to be at full strength if we're going to impress him.”

The Viking is looking for a gang of punks? That's strange. You figured he was the biggest guy on Level 5 already. What could he mean by that?

”Listen, Carly. You remember when you first joined our gang, we beat you in? Remember? Well that's what it takes to join the gang, that's the rule since we started it. But leaving the gang? That means you need to get beaten out, which is always at least twice as bad. Maybe more.”
“Oh Jeez...”

You can tell Carlos is starting to waffle. He's clearly scared of his relationship with these punks. You just know he'll fold and slip right back into his criminal ways. You prepare your mask either way, before a random kid on the playground rolls up on a tricycle.

”...If you have to get beaten in to the gang to join, but you started it, then who beat you in?” The Kid asked, eavesdropping on the conversation.

”Shut up and mind your business, stupid ass kid.” Mohawk said, trying to shoo him away. The Kid seemed to enjoy being annoying instead.

”Seems a little unfair.”
”Shut up!”

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Carlos laughed, seemingly broken from the spell of Mohawk and his punk culture.

“Yeah... I think I'm going to go. I'm not about that life any more.”
”Hey! Don't think I was kidding! Get back here!”
“What, so you can beat me up for wanting to leave? I just won't come back.”
”You'll regret this, fucker!”

You smile from your hiding place. Mohawk got owned by a little kid, that's karmic justice right there. Thankfully, Carlos doesn't seem to want to be a criminal like them anymore, and isn't swayed by Punk culture anymore. You're happy for him. There's no way Mohawk is gonna punch a kid so-

Oh wait, he just punched the kid. Okay, time to intervene.

Pulling on your mask, you rush behind the group in surprise, taking out the smallest guy in the outskirts with a blow to the back of the head. Your batons ready, you rush towards the main group- finally ready to get your revenge on the Mohawk after all these years. You briefly wonder if it's a misuse of your new persona of justice to get petty revenge on your bully... but you think it'll work itself out.

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You leap over the playground equipment, and they finally notice you with a swish of your cape.

“Oh shit! It's that guy!”
”Get him!”

With a quick swipe of your baton, you slap back one, while dodging the blow of another. The third punk kicks you in the leg weakly, which you respond by jumping over his next kick and bashing his wrist away with an expert aim. Then, you spin on your heel to dodge another punch, while a third grabs you.

Truthfully, you've fought a lot of punks at this point. You've trained, and have gotten fast and strong. Plus, your weapons feel like an extension of your arm, able to be used in many ways. But there's a small problem; groups like this? You can easily be overwhelmed. Five or six punks at once mean a lot of angles. Most of the time it's just two or three guys at most, and most of them aren't too big or aggressive. These guys know how to fight though...

Seeing an opportunity for the Mohawk himself, with both his arms raised up into fists, you duck under another attack before coming up in the thin space between with your tonfa-

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WHACK!

With an upwards strike, you hit Mohawk just at the tip of his nose, pushing back and in, and breaking apart his stupid fucking nosering, shattering it into pieces, blood flying off from the smashed nose and shards of artificial gold.

”Gah!”

That felt really good. But then, realizing too late you dived into the crowd too deep, two of the goons grab you around the arm, first one, then the other, quickly cutting off your means of fighting back. You pull as hard as you can, trying to wrench free, but even with your strength the two full body weight of the goons, bigger then you, can't be shaken off.

The Mohawk gets up from the ground, dusting himself off, touching his sensitive nose and wincing, before putting a hand in his hoodie jacket and pulling out a long sharp knife.

”Hold him! I'm going pull off that mask and take a chunk out yo' face, so I never forget it!”

You struggle in their grip. This is bad. Getting overpowered by multiple big guys at once isn't exactly something you can train for. But you need to escape. The Mohawk draws closer. How are you going to get out of this one?

>Perform an Acrobatic stunt to get free
>Throw one away with a wrestling move
>Use a contingency you've prepared for this situation

>>6176205
>>Use a contingency you've prepared for this situation
RANDOM BULLSHIT, GO.

>>6176205
>Perform an Acrobatic stunt to get free

>>6176205
..We have a contingency? I kinda wanna see it, but if it seems like a one-time deal we probably won't be able to use again by how these things go. Ah, what the heck, I'd rather beat him in a straight up fight.
>Use a contingency you've prepared for this situation

Of course, you'd think we could just like, kick one of them. There's a reason why people have to get real close behind someone they're holding, you know. It's so they cant kick you. Or at least stomp really fucking hard on your foot and then shake themselves free. I really doubt either of these punks wouldn't react to having their foot broken (surprisingly easy if you stomp really hard)

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>>6176205
>>Perform an Acrobatic stunt to get free
Martial-art anon that recommended tonfas here.
With how the green guy is holding, it's simply a matter of twisting and pulling right arm away. This let us rotate to face Silver from Pokemon Gold and sent him to the floor with a flying scissor - escaping AND wrestling-projecting him away in one smooth go.

>>6176387
We can else do the same by elbowing green guy in the nose - notice how he's holding us down and not up?
Else, his left knee is protecting his balls - but Silver have a wide stance : opening him for a rising heel to the groin.
So yeah, even if they know how to fight, I see at least 2 or 3 way to destroy them in the fraction of second we got before Mohawk close the distance.

I prefer the scissor kick, because it can project the red-hait on the Mohawk and feels the "safest" despite how acrobatic it looks. Plus, it's a great move to synergize with a reverse-hold of the tonfa to use the "hook" to climb bigger guys

As displayed on the video, this move works well even if there is a massive size difference between the kicker and the target, which is suited for the bigger punks to come. The tonfa reverse-hold hooking will even give us more range and leverage (and parkouring fulcrums) to pull it

>>6176205
>>Perform an Acrobatic stunt to get free

>>6176205
>Use a contingency you've prepared for this situation

>>6176205
>Throw one away with a wrestling move

>>6176387
What if the punk we do this to counters by biting our nutsack?

>>6176692
Sounds kinda gay, bro.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

Tiebreaker roll, 1 for Acrobatic and 2 for Contigency

>>6176692
This is a valid concern and why it's mandatory to cross the leg during the spinning motion : at worst you'll get biten in the thigh.
Granted, you don't see that much on the video

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You've prepared for this moment. No matter how strong or brave you are, a group of opponents could overpower you. You just gotta get enough time to deploy your countermeasure, a helpful gadget to get out of this mess. But as the Mohawk gets closer, it starts to get dicey. Just then, a tiny pebble hits the punk, causing him to whirl around.

”Who da fuck-!”

You look off in the distance and see Carlos! He threw the rock! He throws another at the Mohawk, before turning and running away.

”Carlos you piece of shit!”

Wow, Carlos actually helped you. He saw you fighting the punks and stood up to them, throwing a rock to distract the Mohawk just long enough to push back against one of the punks; getting him to grip your cape fully. You were wrong about Carlos. You guess you owe him a bit of an apology.

You twist and shove back as hard as you can, and the punk grabbing onto your cape tears it with a quick satisfying rip. The backwards force of him trying to keep you in place makes him stumble, and with one arm freed, you can jab the other, blocking his punch with your hard baton. You designed your cape to tear free like that just in case it caught on something, instead of choking you, a clever little trick you came up with when designing your outfit. You take out the punk in front of you, before a quick whip with the one who grabbed your cloak. The Mohawk is next, still holding the knife...

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You flip your grip and use the end of your tonfa to grip around his wrist, pulling and disarming his knife, your other hand free to make its attack at his undefended face. They were tough, but you were toughed.

You give the Mohawk an extra smack smack to put him down, before whirling around and checking out the gang of punks. You've won. You're exhausted, feeling the sweat and breathing heavy from the effort.

Truth be told, you've never fought this many guys before. You don't think it's such a good idea. Six punks at once... that might just be your limit. You go to check out the kid, just to make sure he's okay. You see him sitting up, you realizing instantly he watched the whole fight with rapt attention. You guess you shouldn't be surprised he didn't run away, this is prime entertainment for a kid on Level 5...

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”Hey kid, you okay?”
“Yeah... I'm fine.”
”That black eye will be hard to explain to your parents. Don't tell them you were fighting punks, alright? I don't think they'd want to hear that.”
“I was just being brave, like you. I was thinking of you when I said that.”
”...I don't want you to get hurt because of me. Be smart, kid.”
“But you're cool. All the other kids talk about you. You're right up there with the other cool badass guys, like Mohawk!”
”Mohawk is not cool.”
“Well, I don't mean cool like that... But every kid talks about the strongest punks. Who would win in a fight, you know? Who is the stongest? And they all have a cool name. Except for you- I only ever heard people call you viga- vigi-”
”Vigilante. It's not a name.”
“All the cool strong guys who fight have names though! Like the Viking, the Samurai, Rhino, Snake, the Whip & Weaseal- you know the twins?- Crazy Carl, Mohawk...”
”I never really thought about it like that. I thought they had nicknames based on what other people called them.”
“Nah, usually Reggie picks them.”
”...?”
“But what about you, Mister? What do you want your cool, strong-guy name to be?”

I mean... you've never really thought about it. What should your name be?

>Red
>Sticks
>The Mask
>The Cape
>The Fool
>Other (Write In)

Note We will be using partial approval voting for this choice. You may vote for two names you like.

>>6176832
>Redsticks
I'm obviously ok with either Red or Sticks.

Also, glad that even though my argumented post didn't won any more support, it inspired you to include a reverse-tonfa hold.
Knifes are serious business.

>>6176832

>>6176837 +1

I'm soft vetoing Redsticks, kinda a dumb name.

Alright that was a little mean I just don't like it.

>>6176837
Redsticks sounds retarded

>>6176862
Don't be, it is.

Now let's try to think of one that isn't.

Alright, let's see. I was thinking that we should get something that fits the theme - Punks seem to have "names" that are simple and descriptive. The Viking, the Samurai, The Mohawk...so obviously we should follow it. For flavor reasons and all.

So obviously, my first thought was The Mask. It's not a bad name by itself, but, yknow...there's THE Mask, and that might make it sound silly.

My second thought was just "The Vigilante", but that might be a little bit too generic, right?

The big issue is that our one real feature is our Mask, but the name "The Mask" is kinda taken unless we want to start wearing a banana-yellow suit

>>6176832
The Red Masque

>>6176832
I got it.
>The Red Mask
See, I like to think of a "practical scenario" when I'm thinking of a name. To see if it'd actually sound good in action. So I had the idea - how would a name sound if it was called out by a punk with that old BTAS "Goon Voice"?

I can certainly picture a goon saying "It's the Red Mask!", so I think it fits.

>>6176892
Lol, Ninja'd. I think "Mask" is better than "Masque" though. Sounds the same but less...fancy? We're not a fancy Villain.

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>>6176832
We're White-Masked, and we're in a Red Hood.

Let's take the ancient Videogame reference and be:
>The Shy Guy.

>>6176832
>We're Nobody Special.

>>6176958
>MY NAME...IS NOTIMPORTANT

>>6176958
+1
Team Nobody Special/NOTIMPORTANT/Good Citizen

>>6176832
>The Crimson Mask
Basically voting for The Red Mask too, but I think Crimson is a little bit better.
If Crimson is too lame, just swap to The Red Mask.

Gonna give this one a bit more time to cook, though I'm not sure how many voters are undecided. Currently looks like a 3 x 3 tie between Mask and Nobody.

>>6177231
Huh? >>6176961 is not a vote. I was just making a joke.

>>6176832
>The Mask
It'd be pretty funny if we named ourself The Cape without even wearing a cape.

>>6176859
Based...

>>6176832
>>6177231
I (>>6176856) will back
>Nobody

>>6177797
Anon, you realize you just made it a tie again right? As I said, >>6176961 is not a vote. I made a joke. So it was 3 vs 2. Now it's back to 3 vs 3

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”Sticks, Red... I like those names. But I'm not sure.”
“What about the Nobody, young master? That would be an interesting name.” Athena says.
”That's too confusing. Just imagine a crook going- “Look out! It's Nobody!” See what I'm saying? They'd use something else. Something less cool.”
“Perhaps name him “The Immortal”, like the Persian Immortals, rising whenever struck down to be replaced by another.”
”Too historical. Plus, there's only one of them. Maybe if there was a group with the same training all pretending to be one superhero vigilante...”
“Anonymous?”
”I don't know, I just don't like that one. His mask is the defining feature... The Mask.”
“The Mask it is.”

You adjust your Spyscope, twisting the knob, you can see thru the buildings and adjust the rangefinder all the way to level 5 from here, within your comfortable, secure treehouse. It picks up the sound of the masked vigilante making sure the fellow kid is alright. It definitely makes him more appealing in your eyes.

Your name is Reginald Noth Murdoc Esquire, but you much prefer Reggie. Your “noble title” is way too long, and sounds dumb. You have a thing for names. You like to give them to interesting people, the exemplary, those who define human excellence, the unique. Heroes... or villains. It's much more interesting then what goes on here, on Level 2.

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The subtle mood lighting of your treehouse fort illuminates your penpal letters and little posters and notes, observations taken from your Spyscope. You turn it off before turning to your sapien companion, the owl Athena.

”What do you think, Athena? Isn't it so... so special? So unique? Somebody on level 5 without great strength or size, yet still fighting among the punks, but only to protect others? I've never seen anything like it.”
“It is unique, but...”
”But what?”
“As your companion, I will never lie to you, or lead you astray. I simply hope you remember how much your father disapproves of this sort of obsession of yours. He thinks it unbecoming.”
”Oh yeah.” You say, slumping. ”He would hate this, wouldn't he? We're all just cogs in some big machine.”
“He is the mayor of the city, after all. His perspective may be a bit different.”

You look at the owl, seeing the implant on the side of her head beep with recognition whenever you speak and she responds. You always liked to imagine it was translating your words into some owl-screech for her to respond to, but you don't think it really works like that.

”...He will be home soon, won't he?”
“Yes. You should go greet him, with the other children in the neighborhood. It's most respectful.”
”We should.”

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You watch the road leading up to your family's manorial estate on level 2. The white picket fences and fine landscaping, along with the quiet lack of vehicles, kind and soft-spoken neighbors, and natural features exemplify the type of peaceful calm of perfect, Utopian society. It's all you've ever known, even though you know better.

It's not that you don't appreciate it. It's just...

With Athena on your arm, her sharp eyes spot the movement of your father's carriage before you can. You feel her talons gently squeeze your arm in anticipation, and you stand slightly more at attention. Nearby you, the other children of the upper crust standby for the carriage. Your father has been gone on a long trip to another city, requiring a special armored traincar to go through many deep mountain tunnels and passes. Despite the technology, you know it's a long and harsh journey. He'll be home for a few days to recuperate, but likely be too busy to talk to you much. You can't hold it against him.

What should you say?

>I've had a great time with my tutors, Father
>Where did you go on your trip, Father?
>Welcome home, Father

>>6177893
>Welcome home, Father.

>>6177893
>Where did you go on your trip, Father?
Our boy here clearly hungers for more out of life.
Damn, if the mayor is only on Level 2, who's on level ONE?

>>6177893
>>Where did you go on your trip, Father?

>>6177893
>>Welcome home, Father
respect the patriarch

>>6177893
>Welcome home, Father
Uh...hey, anybody find it just a little weird that there's an talking owl?

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He arrives in an electric carriage, the device silently drawing power from the city's invisible power grid, its greased wheels not disturbing a single cobblestone on the quiet and peaceful street. It stops by itself near the curb, the door sliding open, the air conditioned interior revealing your father, Frank Murdoc, the mayor of Panopolis. Along with his aide, the two arrive alone with no security detail or body guard or paparazzi of anykind. To you, this is normal.

”Welcome home, Father.” You say. Your father nods his head, but does not smile. He never smiles any more. Athena squeezes your arm with her talons again, as if to remind you of what you've talked about before.

You know he still loves you- even if he can't show it anymore.

“Thank you for meeting me here, Son. And the other children of the neighborhood, a nice surprise.” He would name them by their parents titles; The Treasurer's Boy, the Health & Safety Minister's Girl. But you don't blame him for that. He is, after all, a very busy man.

”Everyone was excited for your return, Father. It would be nice to have you back home for a time, but I know you have responsibilities beyond family.”
“That is correct. Your maturity shows beyond your age, my son.” You wince.
”T-Thank you, Father.”
“How goes your classes? I'm sure your mother and the nanny are keeping you on track.”
”Of course, Father. I will show you my marks when we get back.”
“And your companion. Athena! Have you been a good owl?”

“Of course, Mister Murdoc.” She bows her head. Sapiens are only supposed to speak when spoken to first; this rule holds true especially on level 2.

”...Father, you've never told me about your companion. You had one as a boy too, right?”
“I did.” He said, implacably. “-But it was just another force to shape me into the man I am today. As Athena is to you. Of all the lessons I wish to impart upon you, my son, this is the most important one. We are all, in the end, what we are shaped to be.”
”Of course; Father.” You say, trying as hard as you can to smile.

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You're Max again, and now you're in the UBI office. Everyone on level 5 gets monthly stipends from the government to pay for basic expenses, and is the closest thing you have to a job. It's just enough for food, rent, and a few other discretionary expenses. Everything else you have to find, recycle, or make yourself. It's why you only have a few outfits, and your superhero costume was a considerable investment. Without any real method of investing or long term saving, caution and conservation is the method to keep afloat financially.

To you, this is normal.

Even though all citizens on level 5 experienced a small drop in their stipend recently; coincidentally right as you ended the practice of “tax collection” by fighting the punks who stole from people every month for their UBI. Regardless, there is a much more relaxed atmosphere this time as you go to collect your own month's worth of money. You've noticed it, people just walk in and out of the office without needing to go in with a group, women unchaperoned, no unsavory characters waiting just outside to tail someone home. It's nice.

But today, as you exit the office, you happen to notice someone nearby, sitting on a bench idly. It's the Mohawk! The same guy who stole from you years ago, the same punk who made your life hell, and the same one you humiliated as The Mask just a few days ago! And here he is, his usual spot to try and steal from honest people, sitting by, bandaged up face and broken nosering.

You aren't exactly a vengeful person, but you just... you just want to walk right past him. Envelope of money in your pocket, and yet he can't do anything. Almost to rub it in. You deserve that, you fucker. But you don't want him to discovery your secret identity if you suddenly have to defend yourself...

What should you do?
>Walk right past him, but say nothing
>Insult him a bit as you pass
>Avoid the confrontation

>>6178334
>Beat him until he is permanently maimed.

>>6178334
>Walk right past him, but say nothing
Fuck it, I won't just play safe. No reason to straight up admit it though, he'd definitely recognize our voice.

>>6178334
>Walk right past him, but say nothing

>>6178334
>>Walk right past him, but say nothing

>>6178334
>Avoid the confrontation

Best just not take the risk.

>>6178334
>Avoid the confrontation

>>6178334
>>Walk right past him, but say nothing
We can beat him up "closely" as the bastard is still wounded.

>>6178334
>Walk right past him, but say nothing

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You decide to walk right past the Mohawk. You won't antagonize him, but you've spent your life hiding, cowering from people like him. Not anymore. With a pocket full of money, you stride right past him on the sidewalk, sparing only a glance to see his bandaged nose, bruises, and similarly injured friends; all from the same night when they met the Mask for the first time.

“Pssht.” He hisses impotently, only barely shifting in his seat. You keep walking, satisfied.

“...Don't get used to it. The Masked guy won't be around to protect you forever.”

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It's gone a bit quiet.

The last few weeks have seen a downturn in punk activity, as well as the sort of thing you'd deal with as The Mask. Trouble often finds you, but now, walking through the city streets and keeping just out of sight of the population, seeing the punk types hanging back and just hanging out among themselves, and normal people living their lives, you are finding your unique brand of justice less necessary.

That doesn't mean there aren't things happening on level 5 you should put a stop to, it just means you can't see them. You decide to head back to a very specific alleyway...

Because you missed a lead after a man was attacked by some sort of weird chemical with a bad smell, you don't have any way to follow up from that investigation, and will likely be blindsided by the consequences. You just have to stay ready to see if it comes up again.

Then again, maybe you can find out yourself by doing some digging. But it may be a bit more adventurous then you're used to. You're already breaking the law by taking justice into your own hands, but maybe...

>Break into people's apartments to search for clues
>Walk around and wait for something to happen
>Ask Cheryl to be bait for you
>Go looking for trouble
>Maybe take this time to relax and enjoy it

>>6179070
>Maybe take this time to relax and enjoy it

>>6179070
We can't just choose to train some more right? We're gonna need it to beat up the Viking.

Anyway, maybe we can go ask Cheryl out or something. We still need her birthdate for the locker, right?

>>6179073
it would be good to have some plans and specific training to fight against the Viking, we already know he's the biggest guy around, everybody knows that
if we can't take him on, nobody can

>>6179070
>Go Train Yourself

A quiet time sounds like good training time, best to pick up more strength and agility and new moves. If they're coming at us with surprises, let's have some surprises ready for them.

>>6179070
>Go Train Yourself

We arent a great detective

>>6179070
Supporting the Train for Viking/Date Cheryl line of thought

>>6179070
>Maybe take this time to relax and enjoy it

Can't wait to see more of Level 4.

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You decide to spend some of the time you have off, with a bit of training on the side. You were going to keep training anyway, but while the iron is hot...

You don't exactly have the best equipment, but you can use what you can scavenge. No dummies, but trash bags filled with packing peanuts, tied up to poles and tied with rubber hoses, that will have to work for now. You put on some of the video tapes in the garage.

“Krav Maga has no competitions, as it cannot have rules. Once rules are introduced, it is no longer Krav Maga. Real fights, in a real self defense situation, do not have honor. There is only the mechanics of biology, and the consequences of injury. To “win” any fight, one must consider the weakness of the human body as their primary targets, while protecting their own weak points.”

BANG! FWIP- POW!

The bag pops from a solid hit, spilling onto the floor.

“The primary human weakpoints are as follows; the neck, the eyes, the groin, the head, the joints. The secondary weak points are the nose, the ear lobes, fingers and toes, the soft lumbar and kidney regions BELOW the ribcage, and the xyphoid process.”

You aim your strikes towards these places as closely as you can, practicing with your imagination. Your technique is sharpened, your tonfa swiping and striking as accurately as a speartip at the body parts you project over your improvised target dummies. You lift weights with your inherited home gym, able to impressively lift over half your body weight, as well as cardiovascular exercise. Perhaps you could get stronger at some point, but without improvements to your equipment or training methods, you're close to your peak.

You've been putting it off, but finally you decide to consider it. You create an extra large dummy, measuring the distance from the floor, tying off his known height and attaching it with a ladder, estimating his arm's reach based on human anatomy principles from the library. You might be off by a little bit, but this is pretty close to what the Viking is like.

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“...When it comes to a physical confrontation, training and conditioning can overcome differences in size. But this has a limit. When the difference between combatant begins to reach over one hundred pounds, a standard deviation in height or more, physical mechanics begin to favor the larger combatant. No amount of preparation or skill can overcome an overwhelming advantage. The equivalent is an adult fighting a child, or a man fighting a woman. In such cases, the only proper method of self defense is a bladed weapon or firearm, coupled with avoidance.”

“Remember, there is nothing to be gained from a direct physical confrontation. Human beings evolved intelligence and the ability to fight at range for a reason. It is more averse to risk. No amount of skill can overcome the inherent risk involved in conflict. There is a reason societies have advanced to punish those who rely on physical conflict to further their goals and ambitions. We call these people violent, the criminals, and sociopaths. The purpose of this training tape is to protect yourself from these people, while living your life, hopefully, avoiding these conflicts at all costs...”

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You spend some time hanging out with your friends again. Nathan, Justin, Carlos, and yourself. More enjoyable time spent playing your RPGs, talking, even going outside and seeing the few nice spots on Level 5. It's been nice.

”Hey, Max! You're looking clean dude! You've been lifting weights?!”
“Yeah, I noticed too. You're looking shredded, like the punks. You going to start fighting with them, huh?”
”Ah! Haha ha! No- j-just cardio, mostly! Ha.” You say, awkwardly.

The conversation shifts, talking about stuff happening on your level of the city, including punks. Carlos pipes up.

”Yeah, the Rhino actually knelled down to the Viking...”
”Really?”
”Yeah. He's serving the Viking now, so he's kind of the top dog.”

That's interesting. Considering you beat the Mohawk as the Mask, you think it's unlikely he'd join up with the Viking now, so with the Rhino, that means the Viking is basically undefeated at the top of the pyramid, minus the Samurai you suppose. You aren't too familiar with punk culture, though you sure have fought a lot of them.

You look over to Carlos. In a way, you owe him for saving you from the Mohawk's knife, though he doesn't even know it. He seems quiet, like he knows more then he's letting on. Could he have more information about what's going on with the punks? He probably doesn't want to be a snitch, but it would really help your investigation. Is there a way you can get him to open up?

>Ask him to share because you're curious
>Try to get Justin or Nathan to jump on the subject
>Tell Carlos to send in an anonymous tip with the Peace Keepers, get it from Cheryl later
>Let him keep quiet about it, he's earned it

>>6179766
Hmm, I just had a thought...what if we said he should try sending info to Da Mask? Hear me out, anons. Max has already admitted he thinks The Max is cool, right? And it's public knowledge he beat the punk right? At least, we saw him as our civvie identity, so we could say it.

My logic is, if we just tried to say we were curious, that'd be suspicious - why did a nerd who didn't really care about Punks suddenly get real interested in them at the same time he's started getting buff?

By telling him to go talk to the mask directly, we'd be able to pass ourselves off as a fan boy. It wouldn't be hard to explain either.
>Hey, dude, this other day I went collect a check, and the punk was there, but he didn't even touch me! Imagine how much better the level would be if he also beat up the Viking? If you know anything, you should tell it to him...

>>6179766
>Ask him to share because you're curious

>>6179766
>Tell Carlos to send in an anonymous tip with the Peace Keepers, get it from Cheryl later.

This way he'll be careful not to say anything that leads back to him.

>>6179766
>>Tell Carlos to send in an anonymous tip with the Peace Keepers, get it from Cheryl later
Picking mostly because of the "Cheryl" part of the choice

>>6179766
>Tell Carlos to send in an anonymous tip with the Peace Keepers, get it from Cheryl later

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Low effort OOC post- How are you all liking the Quest so far?

I feel like it's been a little too tightly focused on the training and fighting stuff, but I've been trying to keep a good pace.

>>6180395
It's fun. It gets a lot better once you leave the realism mindset of asking yourself why no one has guns and just take it like a good old street level story with goons who try to beat you up with their hands instead of just pulling out a 12-barreled DIY shotgun

>>6179766
>Tell Carlos to send in an anonymous tip with the Peace Keepers, get it from Cheryl later
Good excuse to see her, since we decided that she's waifu material.

>>6180398
The setting seems to handily justify that with the shortage of materials, education, and a tightly-controlled culture of helplessness.

>>6180395
This isn't my favorite of your quests, but I'm enjoying the thread well enough. More than the first, so far, actually. Bananas quests are reliably interesting even when they aren't specifically my kind of thing.

The pacing's been good, too. I'm interested to see how Reggie, Cheryl, and Max's plots overlap.

>>6180395
I like it very much; including the focus on streetfights and training

>>6180395
batman didn't get buff in a day

>>6180573
Batman was a rich dude who could afford all the fanciest diets and supplements and trainers. Our dude eats fake meat and punches garbage bags with packing peanuts.

>>6180803
So what, three days?

>>6180803
Man, there is something hinky about that Redmeat joint.

I like how you highlight thatit seems like the System doesn't control people through direct violence but instead through scarcity, a welfare nanny state, and directing people' anger towards the criminals they allow to be such a problem. Its reminiscent of real life in some very painful ways.

Real food for thought.

>>6181199
Ehh....the city is a *lot* more competent than real governments, though. Being a nanny state that barely punishes criminals is a lot less ridiculous when the criminals are Punks who beat people up instead of Gangsters playing GTA in real life and machete-wielding lunatics

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Carlos could have some really useful information. He's been among the punks before; or at least was, you don't really know if “ex-punks” are a thing; and may help you decide on what to do next. But at the same time, you don't want to seem too interested, after all, you're still just a civilian to everyone in your life. Everyone except Cheryl...

That's a good idea. You know Cheryl has access to police records and can probably share the anonymous tip with you; if anything she's probably want to help! You wait until Carlos has a moment and whisper to him.

”...You know, Carlos, the city lets people put in anonymous tips and statements for the Peace Keepers. That way, nothing would get tracked back to you.”
“I didn't know that... why are you telling me this?”
”Well I just... I don't know. You seem so versed in punk culture and stuff, maybe the cops could really use the help. They seem pretty useless most of the time. If I knew something actually important I would probably tell them anonymously so the punks couldn't find out I did it, is all I'm saying...”

You hope that wasn't too suspicious. After a few days, you decide to call Cheryl on one of the few payphones on level 5, decimating a good chunk of your UBI payment for the month. It's alright, you wanted to talk to her anyway. You start to talk about Peace-Keeper business, but she stops you.

”Not all phone lines are secure Max, especially between levels. I'll just talk to you in person, I wanted to give you something anyway. This is perfect timing! We should meet on this day...”

Should you ask about her birthday? You start to gather up the courage, falling silent for a second, but she interrupts you before you can ask.

”Max? Hello? Is it a date?”
”A d- A date?! Uhh, yeah! Yeah totally!”
”Alright, see you then! Meet me at the gate, you know the one.”
”O-Okay! I will!”

Dammit. Oh well.

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It's the day to meet up with Cheryl. You admit to preening yourself a bit more then normal, and then hurry along to meet her. You take a few of the back alleys, more familiar to you now with your new double life, and then you happen to see somebody in particular.

Is that...

You think it's the Rhino, but it's hard to tell from this distance. One of the major punks, and the one who bowed down the Viking recently, according to Carlos. You don't know exactly what that means, but you have a strange feeling it's important. You watch as he, with a small gang, moves past one of the giant washes in the city. He looks around skeptically, and then tosses a small object (a bottle?) down into the ditch. Then, he keeps walking.

Damn. That's a problem.

You didn't bring your vigilante gear with you to meet Cheryl; you get a little nervous carrying that nearby the security checkpoint between levels, and besides, you had no interest in using it when not on patrol. Better if you get searched or if something else happens. So you can't just go over the gang of punks and beat the information out of them, if you even wanted to go looking for trouble like that... Not like they've done anything wrong. Yet.

But secondly, he just threw something away in a city wash. These giant ditches carved into level 5 are specifically designed to not only take the rain water to prevent flooding, but also the rush of water from higher levels. Everything from sewage to industrial byproduct to moisture sinks all expunged down the massive pipes to lower levels of the city; down to level 5. It's actually really important for the industry and recycling down on level 5, as all that water is recaptured, cleaned, filtered, and used for various purposes in the factories and important facilities on this level.

You'd really like to get that bottle and see what it's about. This could be important evidence. This wasn't just a piece of random trash, the Rhino wanted to dispose of it intentionally where nobody could ever find it. The problem? These washes are extremely dangerous. At any moment, water from the city above could rush like a flood, washing away anything. From a young age, kids on level 5 are taught to never play or go scavenging in the washes for salvage, because at any moment it could kill you.

Getting down is easy enough. There's no fence or anything, but getting back out quickly is the hard part. How will you escape from the wash?

>Improvise a useful tool
>Be aware of your surroundings
>High speed agility and parkour

>>6181232
>Be aware of your surroundings

Listen for water. Feel for vibrations. Watch for punks. A lifetime of being prey has honed your senses.

>>6181232
>Improvise a useful tool
I don't know, maybe use something like an umbrella stick as a hook to grab onto stuff. Well, preferably something stronger, but you get the point.

Still, diving in sewage before a date?

This is also kinda the "pick how your superhero gets around the cityscape" secret vote to make it feel more holistic instead of just inventing it later. I was thinking of keeping it more of a secret choice to make it a callback but now I feel people may get the wrong impression that this is a "puzzle choice" or "get injured if you pick wrong" which isn't what I'm going for. You can pick any of the three choices and you can get away, it's just for flavor and character building.
Also I do this sort of thing a lot with these threads. I guess I could save it for an end of thread question but do you enjoy that kind of thing? Char-gen through the quest?

>>6181238
Char-gen through quest is the ideal way, as long as it's clear it's chargen

>>6181232
>>High speed agility and parkour
I knew this was the case for punk-fight with a focus on contingency/acrobatics/wrestling projection.

So, is nobody gonna break the tie?

If nobody breaks the tie, you can consider >>6181236 to be changed to
>High speed agility
Bananas.

>6181232
>Be aware of your surroundings

We won't always have tools on hand, but our senses will always be a part of us.

>>6181232
>Be aware of your surroundings

>>6181232
>>Be aware of your surroundings

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Thinking fast, you descend the concrete slope into the dangerous wash, running towards the bottle. You already feel something happening; a far off metallic screech, the rumbling, the smell of moisture. In a single motion, you approach the bottle with an outstretched hand to grab the bottle, your eyes scanning. There; that water-level gauge and its sealed electric box. Your hand grabs the evidence before you grab the box, swinging yourself up, following the sealed cable up a support beam and safely out of the wash just before the gray water comes to sweep it away.

While you didn't overcome it with pure athleticism, some scrappy improvisation will suffice. Now, time to check out that bottle. You see its empty, which isn't a good sign, but the inside is stained with something. You lean in and give it a sniff only to recoil back. Yuck!

It smells like... rubber shit! Wait, you recognize this nasty smell. It was that same stink that was around those poor people that were mugged with some kind of gas attack; you could easily see how this could knock the air out of your lungs if just the residue is this bad. You look at the side of the plastic bottle, seeing a hand-written label. Clearly, this wasn't produced by the city or any real business.

LOT- 14b
BOTTLE 13

Bottle thirteen? It could just be a random number, but this seems to imply that whatever gang threw this away would have at least a dozen more. Maybe they opened it to see if it worked? What would they need so many of these powerful stinkbombs for? If the Rhino had it, then could the Viking be involved somehow?

Realizing you are carrying a nasty ass bottle right before your “date” with Cheryl, you frown and shake the piece of plastic trash. You don't think there is much more purpose to it, so you throw it right back in the wash where it came from.

”Hi Max!” Cheryl says, coming out from the security checkpoint. You arrived early, even with your diversion. She's carrying a big heavy suitcase with her.

”Hey.” You say, trying to play it cool.

You talk for a bit. Cheryl tells you about her probation, and some stuff that happened on level four.

”...Though it's nothing compared to what you've been doing here.”
”Well you know, for all the guys asses I kicked on Level 5, not one of them has sent a lawyer after me. Sounds like you've got it worse.”

Cheryl laughs. You tell her about your friends; glancing around before mentioning anything else. Only when you're truly alone can you speak freely.

”So... About that Anonymous tip?”
”Yeah, we got it. Level 4 has access to almost all records from Level 5. It mentioned the Viking by name.”
”What did it say, Cheryl?”
”It... the “tip” was for a plan to rob a store. A “Delidiner” in specific?”
”Oh, that's funny. You know that's the place I was right before you arrested me.”
”The Peace Keepers only level 5 are not taking it seriously. Most punk activity is a lot less sophisticated then something like that. More then one has said they “plan” to rob a UBI office, but they never do. This time though... I don't know.”
”You're gonna tell me not to fight him next, aren't you?”

Cheryl frowns.

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”...No. But you know that this “Viking” guy has been around for a while. He's older then both of us anyway. When I was serving on Level 5, I saw complaints for all the big punks; people complaining about getting mugged or threatened or whatever. We never did anything with it.”
”Oh, did the Viking have a lot of those?”
”No, he didn't. That's what concerns me, Max. “Fredrick” didn't have any complaints about fighting or robbing people or anything like that. You know what complaints we got about him? Domestic violence and abuse. He would get into relationships with women, invite them to live with him, and then steal from them until they escaped or he got bored of them.”
”So he likes beating up women more then men, I guess?”

Cheryl sighs.

”...You know he could overpower almost anyone on Level 5, Max. Yet he didn't just steal from people to get money? Instead, he found a way to get the money to come to him. All I'm saying is he's a lot more clever then he lets on, that's all I'm worried about.”

You shouldn't joke around with this kind of thing, you think Cheryl is worried. You've never spoken two words to the guy, but strangely, you feel like you're on a collision course with The Viking no matter what you want or try. Almost like it's inevitable. The battle to be the strongest on Level 5...

”Speaking of which, this is for you.”
”Oh! Yeah, let me take that heavy thing off you.”

You grab it effortlessly, compared to Cheryl's struggling. She looks impressed with how easily you one handed it. You place it down on the ground, and Cheryl clicks the lock open, revealing a suitcase completely filled with charged canisters of pepper spray with their warning labels and tags; the exact same ones the Peace Keepers carry.

”Oh shit! Cheryl!” You hurriedly go to close it, looking around in a panic to make sure nobody sees. ”You can't possibly be allowed to give this to me... only Peace Keepers can own weapons like these!”

Cheryl rolls her eyes. ”Who cares? I'm stuck at a desk for the better part of a year anyway. I'm not going to be able to use them even if I wanted to. Besides, they're not for you, the civilian, Max. They're for...”

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”The Mask! Oooooooohhh!” She makes her fingers wiggle and extends the note, moaning like a spirit. You laugh.

”Come on! I- He's not like a ghost!”
”I thought it was a Phantom of the Opera kind of thing.”
”Oh- The Masked Phantom, the Red Phantom... Shit! I should have named it that.”
”You... named it?”
”It's a long story. But really,” You say, putting a hand on her shoulder. ”I appreciate it a lot Cheryl. Really, I do.”

You talk a bit more, lugging around your new weapons in your hands. You enjoy spending time with Cheryl. You suddenly remember; and ask her for her birthday. Then she asks you the dreaded question.

”Why do you ask?”
”Well, I mean... I just gotta pay you back for this, you know?” You say, shaking the case.
”Haha- pfft. Don't worry about it, Max.”
”Come on. Can't I buy you lunch or something.”

She frowns, then smiles teasingly.

”Guys on level 5 got no money, Max. You can't afford me.”
”Aww... come on... that's not fair.”
Cheryl smiles, and takes your hand. ”I just want you to be careful for me, okay?”

Finally, you return to the garage. You put everything down, realizing now you have to prepare, and the lull in punk activity is the perfect opportunity. But first, that safe.

You input Cheryl's birthday in the dial lock, trying left then right, before eventually it clicks. You pull the lever, and open the safe. It probably hasn't been opened in decades, you think, given how stiff it is. The inside is still clean, and you greedily examine it, curious.

The top shelf has a few bags and letters, one of which including the deed for the garage itself, glad to see it here. But next to it are a few bars of gold and silver. They're small, but you instantly recognize their value. Any precious metal, but especially pure ones, not mixed with alloys to improve conductivity and dilute it for use in more devics and electronics, can fetch quite a lot of money. Damn. You really don't feel comfortable keeping this, Cheryl probably didn't even know this existed. The picture of her father starts to appear more clear. Was he one of those crazy conspiracy types who hoarded food and supplies for the collapse of society? Well, society already collapse once buddy, and it's still going strong. Though you suppose in the end, he was proven right.

But then you check the bottom shelf. Oh shit. Wait, is that actually...

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It's a gun.

You hold its weight in your hands gingerly. You, as well as the vast majority of all people, have never seen one in person. It doesn't even feel real to hold this, like seeing an extinct animal trotting right down one of Panopolis's streets.

Every single gun in the entire world was destroyed hundreds of years ago. In the aftermath of the resource wars and the incorporation of the world's businesses and governments into The Cities, it was decided that they needed to be destroyed and had no place in the future. Everyone, from the private citizens, police, even armies, all gave up their firearms and had them melted down. Nobody was allowed to make or study them and the knowledge was largely lost; the gun was reviled as a tool of destruction and a symbol of a previous, less enlightened age. People were given strong incentives to turn in any gun they saw, paid out a lot of money and celebrated as heroes, and culturally interest in them dwindled. They still appear in movies and books and the like, as a part of history only.

And yet, here one is.

You check the little plastic rectangles, seeing bullets inside. You carefully look at the gun in your hands, feeling its weight and difficulty of operation, and see it's loaded too. You think it could still work, as its been well maintained. This could be the very last gun in all of Level 5, if not all of Panopolis. It seems Cheryl's father never gave his up, probably passed down secretly from his own father come to think of it. There is zero chance Cheryl knows about this already; the Peace Keepers were formed to get rid of guns in the first place. You wonder if she'd feel differently about her father if she knew he kept this thing locked away illegally, just in case...

Now you have a difficult choice to make yourself. This gun represents something very special. It is a tool used for killing and only for killing, but represents something immeasurably rare, valuable, and dangerous. You know that Cheryl would want you to destroy this gun, but what do you want to do with it?

>Carry it with you as The Mask as a last resort weapon
>Turn it in to the Peace Keepers as yourself, for the reward money and peace of mind
>Dispose of it as The Mask, for a boost in popularity and respect among the Peace Keepers
>Keep it in the safe, and tell no one.

>>6182290
>Keep it in the safe, and tell no one.
Our little secret.

>>6182290
>Carry it with you as The Mask as a last resort weapon
We need an ace up our sleeve. Something that no one else has access to.
We shouldn't need, nor want, to spend ages doing TRAINING MONTAGES. Gun wins.

>>6182295
We have limited bullets, and shooting somebody makes us instantly wanted by everybody forever. I don't think it's a good idea to carry it around willy-nilly. What if it gets stolen?

Huh, guess we finally know what happened to guns. Somehow I feel like this isn't the only one in the city, though...

>>6182296
But on a similar idea, what happens if this place gets raided or something? We're a vigilante, mate. I don't *want* to use a gun, but we might have to at some point. I do agree that carrying it all the time might be a bad thing, but we can't just leave it in a place someone might get.

Do you think it'd be possible to 'hide' the safe somewhere? Somewhere even more 'hidden' than what it already is?

>>6182290
Would
>Keep it in the safe, and then hide the safe where only you can find
Be a valid option? I feel like just letting the safe out in the open is too risky still.

>>6182296
>>6182335
>>6182338
If you truly don't want to worry about the gun, then you have the option to get rid of it permanently. No write-ins are allowed.

>>6182344
Okay, I guess we're just leaving the safe with the ridiculously rare, ridiculously illegal item out in the open for no particular reason, I guess.

>>6182290
>Keep it in the safe, and tell no one.

>>6182345
Hey man, you looking forward to the next Monke quest?

>>6182351
Despite the railroading, yes.

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>>6182352
How strange, I was able to correctly determine you were a Monke player. Very curious...

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>>6182359
>I bet someone [playing my current quest] has [played my previous quest]!

Don't know yet. Tied between keeping it with us or in the safe.
Also
>>6182351
>>6182352
>Monke mentionned
>Shitflinging starts
As clockwork.

>>6182290
>Keep it in the safe, and tell no one.

this makes me think, why does everyone fight melee or almost melee? and with mostly blunt weapons too
yeah it's "illegal" to have them, but making a piece of plastic pointy is hard to prevent
and if the library has basic mechanical principles, making a crossbow shouldn't be too hard (if guns are in stories, I don't see why crossbows wouldn't)
nobody wears much armor either, seemingly due to not many resources, but that just means making a crossbow as an ace in the hole should be damn effective

>>6182290
>Keep it in the safe, and tell no one.

We need to hold onto this... so we can mass produce it later.

>>6182290
Wait a second. Full size. Hammer fired. exposed barrel with only a short slide at the back.
That looks like a Beretta 92FS.
If it has a threaded barrel you should be able to easily add a 6 ounce or less weighted suppressor and have it function without a Neilson device.
Based as usual Bananas.

Won't change my previous vote to keep it in the safe though.

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>>6182344
Found Cheryl's dad?

>>6182405
Its possible that people are just conditioned against killing. I'm just wondering when we'll see that juicy, delicious librarian again.

>>6182603
she seems mentally unwell, I'd still hit it without a single doubt

>>6182603
For her own sake, it might be better not to. Better she not get hopes of something that won't happen.

Honestly, if they had met earlier...even just a few weeks earlier? Max would have probably been all over her. Cute awkard horny nerd girl? For a lonely nerd guy in his 20s it'd be like hitting gold. Alas, he stopped being a nerd when he got a hit of that sweet hero fighting adrenaline. Now he just thinks she's lame and creepy.

>>6182612
maybe we could hook her up with one of our nerdy friends?

>>6182617
Isn't one of them already married?

>>6182290
>Carry it with you as The Mask as a last resort weapon
A most interesting development.

>>6182344
A bit lame, but I'm in a FUCK IT WE BALL mood, anyway.

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You need to be careful with this. Owning a Gun is certainly not legal, so the easiest thing to do would be to surrender it to the Peace Keepers. But... this is something special. And given your new lifestyle, it might even be something you'll need later. Keeping it here confers some risk, but then again, it's already been at this garage in this safe for... how long? At least until before Cheryl's dad died, and probably even before that.

The garage is like your base of operations, and is where you keep all your Superhero gear. It's locked when you're not here, and far away from everyone on the outskirts of Panopolis. The garage was probably once a place that fixed vehicles and stuff for private citizens, even as the city was built from the ground up to be walkable and rely on public transit. That was a long time ago, and the garage probably went out of business who knows how long ago. Cheryls dad seemed to use it as a man cave, a little project of his. It makes sense he hid his gun here. As long as nobody knows it's here, it's unlikely anybody else will come looking for it.

You put the gun in the safe very carefully, pointing the barrel away from yourself as you do. You're still worried it might go off somehow, the bullet ricocheting back into you from the back of the safe, or making you deaf from the loud explosion... but it doesn't fire, it just lays there. You close the safe and lock it up with all the other valuables. Safe and sound, for now.

In the meantime, you have something else to think about. Cheryl mentioned the Viking's plan to rob the diner. It's a huge step up for normal criminal activity on this level. Based on Carlos's anonymous tip, he isn't going to rob the place just yet, but you know you're going to need to put a stop to it. But then the question is... What's his next move?

It seems the Viking is consolidating power on level 5. He is amassing weapons, recruiting a gang to serve under him, and removing some of his rivals- the Rhino serves him now and you personally knocked down the Mohawk a few pegs. It seems like he's planned this all out, removing obstacles or threats that could interfere with his plan, and it seems like he doesn't want to be caught out too early, hence why it's been secretive. With that in mind... what is his most likely next course of action?

>Lay low for the heat to die down
>Rob a smaller store for practice
>Train his combat skills
>Other (Write in)

>>6182658
>Other
Dealing with the Samurai

He's the only punk left on level five that has neither knelt to him or been taken out like Mohawk. It follows that he'll want to either beat him or get him to join him.

>>6182663
>+1 Samurai
Makes sense either to remove an obstacle or recruit an ally. Though... what do do about it? Anything?
I think the best thing we could do is break into the delidiner and find out what makes it such a worthwhile target. Does anyone else feel this way?

>>6182678
I dunno. If we found out when he was about to move we could even wait until they fought to take them out when they were weak.

Alternatively, begin chopping off the limbs of the beast. Would beating the shit out of a lieutenant of his help? We might not be a killer, but I don't think I'd feel bad about hospitalizing someone like The Rhino.

>>6182663
Makes sense, +1

>>6182658

I wonder what the Viking has as a final objective. Clearly he is a schemer and ruthless. So far he has been haply with small time stuff. Hard to see what he gets out of capturing a bunch of food and... meat cutting implements?

>>6182663
+1

>>6182663
+1

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That's it. It's the Samurai. It makes the most sense; the Viking has dealt with all the other major rivals, except the Samurai. He's the second biggest punk on level 5, big and strong, and has quite the reputation.

You've never seen him yourself, all you know about him is he is big. From a young age, he knew eating food was the way to get big and strong, and while he did grow tall, he kept growing sideways too. In other words, he's pretty fat. In fact, you know his nickname used to be "The Sumo", which he wore with pride, until he learned what Sumo wrestlers looked like, and assumed it was all a fat joke. So he forced everyone to start calling him the Samurai instead.

While you don't know where the Viking is, you figure that using the Samurai as bait is your best option. So you head out to the restaurant where the Samurai frequents and you decide to have your first ever stake out!

Upon getting there, you realize it may be difficult to stay hidden inside a crowded restaurant with limited places to hide. So you look around, and using your instincts, you find a ladder to the side of the building held up by a rusty padlock. You smack it open, and climb to the roof, just where a skylight acts as the perfect way to see what is going on. As you crouch up there, you can see the Samurai below, eating away, several employees waiting on him while the owner fiddles with his hair near the kitchens. Looks like the Samurai doesn't intend to pay for his onions-based noodle soup.

Watching this all unfold for a while, you wonder why the Viking has such an interest in restaurants. Though, you realize that this is probably where the most money on all of level 5 is located at a time; customers paying for food goes right into a register, before being sold to the food vendors who supply the store. It looks like they barely break even; and given you know that employers on level 5 have to pay their employees quite a lot since everyone is guaranteed enough money to survive by the UBI; you wonder how they even stay in business. But such high level business concepts are still beyond you. You've been watching for a while now. You wish you brought snacks.

You realize, however, that it may be difficult to actually hear what anyone says below. You assumed the Viking would just come in and attack the Samurai... but if he's that clever, he may just try to talk to him instead. You never considered what you would do if they actually team up...

If they did team up, do you actually think you could beat them together?
>Yeah
>Probably not

>>6183396
>Probably not
Not in a pure 2-on-1, at least. These are heavy bruisers, and we're a kid who's been working out for a few weeks (months?). If we rigged up some traps or did other preparation, it might be possible.

>>6183396
You mean like...at the same time? The two of them? With just our tonfas?

Uhhh, probably not. We could beat them one by one, maybe, but two? They'd probably just tank the tonfa strikes. If we had used a staff like I wanted, then sure. A big ol swing to the head with a long metal pipe will take out anyone. But Tonfas aren't that tough

Of course, it's not really that this is a limit. But it's more like you're just not strong enough yet. We need more muscle. We've gotten better but it's nothing. We need to be shredded.

But at the same time, if this is supposed to be a mindset thing, I don't want Max to be defeatist.

>>6183396
>Yeah
GUN.

>>6183396
>Probably not
Let's be realistic here. We have a gun, sure, but a 2v1 against guys way bigger and stronger than us is something we probably couldn't beat 9 outta 10 times.
Maybe if we bother actually grabbing the gun, sure, but otherwise? No.

>>6183396
>>Probably not
Not even sure we can 1v1 Viking, so...

>Probably not
At least, not when they're both together in the same location. We're not THAT skilled yet.

>>6183396
>Probably not

Divide and conquer.

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Yeah, you probably can't take both of them at the same time, if they team up. Maybe one or the other, but certainly not both. You decide not to get too big for your britches- overconfidence will only end up harming you.

After all, you've never relied on pure brute strength. Your weapons, your tactics, your tools and gadgets; these are the things you rely on to succeed. While defeating low level punks has given you an ego boost, you internalize right now that you aren't invincible, and you may not be able to overcome every challenge put before you...

You watch the Samurai from the safety of the roof hatch, seeing him gorge himself and sloppily spill the dishes over the floor, expecting others to clean up after him. The restaurant is still rather busy despite this; you wonder if the Viking will even show up before the Samurai is finished with his large meal. You can actually smell the food from up here, wafting up into your nostrils following the architectural elements. Come to think of it, you can hear the Samurai huffing as he eats... do you have some special acoustics? Maybe you can hear what they talk about, if only he'll show up soon...

Soon enough, the Viking does appear. He struts into the front door, going right up to the Samurai by himself. His huge and imposing frame making smaller men jump out of the way, employees and patrons alike. He approaches the large central banquet table and puts his hand down, speaking to the Samurai in his signature gruff and too-deep baritone voice.

"Sup. Gotta talk to you."
"Lotta balls to come here, Vicky."
"It's important. You probably know I've gotten the Rhino under my sway now, I'm still hiring you know, and you're on the list."
"Rhino is a little pussy, always has been, always will be."
"Yeah, I happen to like being surrounded with pussies. You wouldn't know the feeling, fat boy."

You've only seen the Viking once before in person. He was tormenting a man who didn't get out of his way and show him the proper respect- stabbing him in the hand with his trusty sword after he was already defeated and knocking him to the ground. The Viking is quite sadistic. But you wonder why. Thinking about it more, you realize that his style of talking and dealing with others is almost the opposite of your own. When you want to get along with someone; you capitulate, find a compromise, try to get along and avoid unnecessary confrontation. The Viking doesn't do that, instead escalating, insulting, probing- forcing others to obey him instead. It comes from someone who feels unassailable.

"...It's about the food, you fool. The Fumigator told me that the smell is basically impossible to wash out. You steal the money, destroy the kitchen appliances, and ruin the property; it'll never come back. Then, everyone on Level 5 will be forced to only buy prepackaged stuff. Once we begin tax collections on that..."

>Quest continues tomorrow

>>6184119
Hmm, so the plan is to basically get rid of restaurants and then control the supply of pre-packaged food? I thought he just wanted to run a protection racket, but I guess that's also a good idea.

I guess we'll find out more tomorrow...but I think we should get rid of one of viking's guys soon. I don't know if he's going for the plan yet - but if we took out Rhino or Samurai (if he joins) that might make things easier.

The Viking doesn't seem to have us in his sight, though. He's probably considering us to be a low level non threat for now.

>>6183396
>onions-based
Oh 4chan...

>>6184119
Fiendish. We've got to stop them.

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You can see the two of them getting into it. If there was any actual intention of the Samurai joining the Viking, it would be spoiled by the latter's taunts.

”And yet you come here carrying a sword on your hip.”
“I don't draw it unless I've already one.”
”You're a coward.”
“You're a cow.”

The Viking presses a finger under one of the Samurai's rather large man breasts, causing him to get angry. He slapped his hand away, before following up with an open handed slap that the Viking quickly dodges. The massive banquet platform doesn't budge as the two fight around it; bolted to the floor.

You watch closely, feeling privileged to get to watch this clash of the titans. But more importantly, this is useful recon for yourself.

The Viking is quick, despite his size. He's a natural fighter, dodging punches and open handed slaps. True to his word, he doesn't draw his sword, preferring powerful punches. His footwork is good too, avoiding the bulk of the ex-Sumo, and he gives the Samurai a powerful hook to the side; but the big man hardly reacts. Oh! His body fat is actually absorbing the punch. You didn't expect that.

To be fair, you feel a little bad for the Samurai, but it's also just so unusual. Food is expensive, and the city's culture strongly emphasizes low impact eating habits to cut down on food waste. Basically nobody on level 5 is obese, so this unique style of “fighting” is something new.

Despite this setback, the Viking very clearly realizes what is happening, and changes his approach quickly. Instead of just relying on pure brute strength and aggression like most of the punks on level 5, he actually changes his strategy. He grabs the Samurai instead, bypassing his natural armor, quickly wearing him out. Despite his “armor”, the fat is slowing him down and clearly affecting his cardiovascular stamina. He is already sweating all over. The Viking's powerful arms grab and swing the big man around, going around the restaurant and knocking over objects. The guests pile on into the corners or run away; though you see several trying desperately to stuff their meals down their throats before they get tipped over or forced out of the restaurant, trying to get their money's work. The employees stand back and peak in from the kitchen, helpless. You suddenly realize why the Viking would want to confront his main rival in front of all these people. It's the infamy he's really after.

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Their hands are intertwined, not wanting either to be able to punch the other. They push and pulls with their arms, but the Viking is clearly stronger. The sweat underneath the Samurai's neck, arms, everywhere shows he can't handle a fight lasting this long. Clearly, he just throws his weight around, which is enough for most people... who won't actually fight back.

You watch as the Viking wrestles the Samurai around. Despite being a little bit taller then him, you can't imagine it being easy pulling that fat guy around. Eventually, the Samurai is too winded to really fight back, letting the Viking grab both his hands in a hold. He grips both of the Viking's wrists with one of his massive hands, freeing one of his own. You expect him to start punching the Viking in the head, but instead, he takes a step up on the raised banquet platform. You hear it creak.

What!?

The Viking strains for a moment, and then lifts the Samurai up. Everyone is silent watching.

WHAT!?!

The Viking impossibly lifts the fatter, heavier man up off the ground with one hand, forcing the panting and helpless Samurai to kick his legs like an infant, while the Viking draws his sword. He takes aim, and swings for the Samurai's wrists.

With a loud crash, the Samurai falls to the ground. He screams in agony as his stumps bleed everywhere, the Viking laughing, holding both of his fat, now severed hands in his single outstretched hand.

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“Haha! Don't worry fats, I'm sure the hospital could reattach them, if you can carry them there. Haha!”

The Viking drops the Samurai's severed hands on the floor next to the defeated Samurai, who tries desperately to pick them up with his bleeding stumps. He realizes its futility in a moment, clearly going into shock and unable to think of what to do, just sitting there with a look of absolute fear and confusion on his face.

”H-Help...!” He says weakly, looking around for anyone to pick up his hands and help him. Nobody does. Not the guests, nor the employees. Clearly, even if the Viking wasn't watching, you wouldn't expect any of them to spring to his aid in the first place.

You back away from the skylight, feeling a little nauseous.

That wasn't regular strength. That was super human strength. The Viking just lifted up the Samurai in one hand and just... holy shit. The world is spinning from watching that scene of abject cruelty unfold.

And you're supposed to fight that guy?

You just lost your nerve.

Whenever you lose your nerve, you won't be able to achieve the greatest feats of heroism you aspire to. You'll still be able to live your life, talk to people, maybe even fight a little crime on the side. But with your nerve shaken, you won't be able to put it all on the line for your ideals. The only way to get your nerve back is to do something extremely risky, stupid, or brave or something that invigorates you and makes you feel alive again. Until then, your nerve is shaken.

You're ready to slink away from the restaurant. After this, the Viking is the undisputed top of the punk hierarchy, and is the King of Level 5. What are you going to do...

>Yell down at the Viking and promise to stop him (Reveals you know his plan, but regain your nerve)
>Leave and plan your next move

>>6184852
>Leave and plan your next move
Any way we can help (and maybe gain as an ally) Mr. Sumo/Samurai?

>>6184852
>Leave and plan your next move

>>6184852
>>Yell down at the Viking and promise to stop him (Reveals you know his plan, but regain your nerve)

>>6184852
>>Leave and plan your next move

A major permanent debuff until we take a notable (hopefully temporary) disadvantage to get rid off, shit.

>>6184852
>Yell down at the Viking and promise to stop him (Reveals you know his plan, but regain your nerve)

Let's not keep the 'lose your nerve' debuff.

Hm...I'm trying to wonder which option might be best. See, the thing we neeed the most is *time*. We need *time* to find a way to defeat this literal superhuman (our tonfas will do literally jackshit)

On one hand, wouldn't it make sense for him to 'wait a little' now that he's done something so public? I mean, dude just fucking killed a man unless someone manages to stop Samurai's bleeding real fuckin' quick there.

On the other hand, if we reveal his plan, wouldn't he decide to 'hunt us down' before going forward with it? Or would he just rush it into action even quicker because we know his plan and might report him to the Popo?

>>6184986
>killed a man
that's how it seems to me too, but it seems so strange, why is level 5 dominated by gangs like these brutish bullies instead of actual murderers, the police is forbidden from doing anything
why can't a person carve his way up the spire?
there has to be something we're not seeing here, some line that I suspect the Viking either already tripped or is close to doing so

>>6185117
>that's how it seems to me too
I mean, I guess you could just say he somehow survives, but like...dude chopped off his hands at the root. PLike, he cut him off at the damn wrist. Slightly below it, from the looks. His artery is just fucking open, man. Dude's fucking dead unless there's an ambulance literally sitting outside.

Still, there's the question of the vote. I haven't voted yet because i'm not sure which one will give us more time. Like I said, i'm half stuck between "Yelling at him will cause him to stop his plans to hunt us down" and "Yelling at him will cause him to rush ahead with the plans as fast as possible before he reports us to the authorities"

>>6184852
>Leave and plan your next move

We need a group of guys, all armed with guns.