Issue 1 Downtime

A special courier drops off a number of envelopes in the mail slot that eventually find their way to their various recipients. The envelopes are a deep red with a golden border and addressed to peoples' full names in elaborate handwritten script. Inside is a placard that is deep red with an intricate crest on the backside and this on the front:





((If your character is over 18 and you're interested you can chose to have received an invitation, though it helps if your character has at least a little bit of a reputation.))

Victoria looked at the delivery, frowned, then peeked through until she found one with her name on it. "Well, this is... odd," she murmured as she opened it. She quirked an eyebrow and smirked as she read the invite, though. "And... now it's less odd. This should be... interesting."

"What should be interesting?" John asked as he happened by.

"That depends entirely on if you find an envelope with your name on it, darling," Victoria said.

Curiosity piqued, John searched for and located one with his name on it. Opening it with care not to tear it, he read it and frowned.

"I... don't like where this is going."

"Oh come now, darling, when was the last time you got to go to a formal party? It ought to be fabulous. My sister took me to one of these in New York when I was sixteen, this should be amazing."

"I'm more worried about them being a club primarily for supervillains," he said before tapping his chin, "Though I do so rarely have an occasion to wear one of my nice tailored suits."

"You have to get past the ball room for the evil plans to take effect," Victoria said, waving a dismissive hand. "This is all about rich and important people mingling and them trying to get their hooks in you by making deceptively lucrative offers. It's like if you mixed chess and Monopoly and made it real life."

"Why are we mixing chess and Monopoly?" Melissa asked, coming up to check her mailbox.

"It's too early for board games, who's playing board games?" Ryan, looking tired, said as he came in to check the mail as well.

"I don't know, but it looks like we're the pieces."

"What's that?" Ryan said, looking at the envelopes and picking out one with his name. He took a minute to look it over. "Hm. I'd say it's ominous, but I'd also feel a little insulted if I never got one of these."

Melissa flipped through and found her envelope, pulling it open and reading it. Then she frowned, "I'm just curious how they knew I was here."

Ryan cocked an eyebrow. "Twitter feeds, sighting reports. It was kind of in the news, too..."

"Not in any confirmed state though. And I haven't gone to Maldon either." She sighed, "Well, there's only one reasonable answer for an invitation like this." And with that, she tore the invitation in two.

"Oh geez."

Bear pulled out her own invitation from her mail slot, not quite sure what to make of it herself.

"We might be better off going to keep an eye on them."

"The Hellfire Club is no joke.. Maybe we should."

Bear looked over the invitation, the reputation alone enough to give her a shiver.

Melissa tossed the remains of her invitation in a nearby trash can and shrugged. "It's your reputation on the line, so as long as you're good with all the smudges and dirt they're going to put on it, go for it."

"My reputation has survived quite a bit.."

"Some things are more important than reputations." Also, when your press is good enough...

Melissa's eyes narrowed at Ryan briefly before she stalked off.

"I'm with you Ryan," John nodded, smirking "Besides, some scary rumors might help in board meetings."