frenchkissed: (【 825 】)
charles edward allan brock ([personal profile] frenchkissed) wrote in [community profile] metalogs2022-07-20 07:50 am

Can You Do It In The Dark?

Who: Eddie Brock [personal profile] frenchkissed, Peter Parker [personal profile] tinglesense, and you!
What: Meddling kids lead to an entire city of people losing their powers.
When: Jul 20 — Jul 31
Where: Excelsior!
Content Warnings: Potential violence, identity issues
Opt-Out: Don’t be in Excelsior during this event!






CAN YOU DO IT IN THE DARK?



An investigation headed by Eddie Brock and Peter Parker results in not only a city-wide blackout, but hundreds of metahumans losing their powers!

In the days that follow, those affected by the blast will be forced to contend with what it means to exist without their powers. All the while, bad guys will be looking to take advantage of the situation and move in on vulnerable areas within Excelsior. People who are used to relying on their abilities will need to find new ways to fight back.

In the end, all powers are restored, but not without some hijinks along the way.


RUMOR MILL —

Everyone loves a good urban legend. There's the story of Bloody Mary, the vanishing hotel room, the one about the tall, slender man who dresses in a tuxedo, that story about the abandoned bunker beneath Excelsior that no one can get into, the one filled with untold riches and gold... Naturally, some stories are more far-fetched than others. Some die off as whispers in the night, while others get entire forums dedicated to them. Leave it to bored teens take it upon themselves to go urban exploring in the dead of night, or hokey paranormal YouTube reporters saying they've found the clue that everyone's been missing.

Maybe you even went poking around yourself, having caught wind of these rumors and wanting to see the land of legends for yourself.

Unfortunately, most hunts lead to dead ends and boring drives home. There's nothing to see, really. The bunker doesn't even exist. It's all just a thrilling goose chase to pass a boring evening.

...
But if it did exist, shouldn't something more practical than a mountain of gold lie inside? Eddie Brock seemed to think so.

If nothing else, these rumors sure are a conversation starter.


Stranger Than Fiction


Unsurprisingly, like most rumors, there's a hint of truth to this bunker of gold story. With Spider-Man's technomancy powers and Eddie's investigative prowess, the two are able to find the source of all these rumors. There's no untold riches, but there is a treasure trove of strange, old technology.

However, investigating this space quickly goes awry when Peter's technomancy accidentally brings something to life.

Upon being powered on, a machine rapidly begins draining the power from the city. One by one, skyscrapers flicker out, televisions go dark, refrigerators stop humming. The entire city is steadily plunged into darkness, silence. Like with most power outages, most wait for the lights to flick back to life. Here, there's no such luck. Waiting for things to right themselves won't yield any results.

Once that realization sets in, it might be best to help those who really need it. Beyond the crying, frightened children and the teens who can't bear to part with their computers, there are those for whom the darkness holds unseen terrors. Be there for those in need, for those afraid of the dark, for those who've gotten separated from their families and can't find their way back on their own.

No power also means no computer systems, which means no credit cards. And who carries cash these days? No, in times like this, it makes sense to go back to the old bartering system.

Someone on the street is hawking four flashlights and a can opener in exchange for some batteries. Someone else is looking for what he can get for two cans of tuna and a roll of dimes. Get in there and make a deal!

Or... you could get in with the good crowd and begin looting stores. But, no, you're heroes! You should stop the looters! Ignore that little voice telling you otherwise. Instead, join up with those organizing shelters for everyone and working to get people out of the city as quickly as possible.


I Don't Want To Be You...



Just as people are beginning to work through this city-wide blackout, the real trouble begins. Not long after this loss of power comes, well, a loss of powers. All the juice in the city has to be used to fuel up something. Instead of a super-mega death ray, or some other magnificent murder device, the machine in question sucks away superpowers.

Metahuman abilities, extraordinary talents, basically, anything that makes a metahuman different from their average human counterpart, is drained away and trapped within. Of all the devices for Spider-Man to stumble into...


How this power loss manifests varies from person to person.

A keen observer might notice the correlation between someone's emotional attachment to their powers and just how difficult it is for them to be taken away. Someone who has a strong connection to their powers, for example, might go through immense pain when it comes to losing them. On the other hand, someone who never wanted powers in the first place might not even realize they've lost their abilities until it's too late.
Like the power outage before it, simply waiting for your abilities to return to you won't be enough. Even if you leave the city premises, your powers won't return to you. For all intents and purposes, this is who you are now.


Punch, Kick, Bite... Fight!


What better time to contemplate your identity without your powers than in the face of danger? Ne'er-do-wellers exist in all shapes and sizes, and some take it upon themselves to take advantage of this chaos. While powers might have been the preferred method for taking care of trouble, knives, fists, and guns still work just fine. Hoodlums and robbers roam the streets, wielding all sorts of makeshift weapons. They'll corner anyone in an attempt to see what they can get.

Chief among these miscreants are Lola and the Gang, a once quiet gang of Pink Lady and Greaser-types armed with brass knuckles, switchblades, and cigarettes.

Chances are you'll smell their brand of smokes before you see them rolling up six deep and ready to brawl. Hand over everything you own and they'll leave you be, but put up any resistance and it's time to scrap.

Of course, you could try to talk your way out of this, but their patience for talking is small enough to flip your lid. So make like a tree, and get to fightin'.


Even if you don't encounter them, there's no telling what number of con artists, thieves, jokers, and jesters you'll encounter. Be sure to keep your wits about you!


Topsy-Turvy


With the recent spur of Confluences, more metas have made their home in this world than those who crafted this device had ever accounted for.

Eventually, both in part to a team of dedicated scientists and due to the device's own shortcomings, the device containing all of the powers in Excelsior will combust. Powers, neatly contained like orbs, are sent bursting through the sky on their hunt for their rightful owners.

These orbs, somehow, know where they're meant to go. They're far from sentient, but they know their homes and they know they're meant to be there.

Things rarely go as planned, however, and these power orbs are eager to get into anybody, or any body, they see. Once they're free, chances are you won't make it far without taking an orb straight to the chest. Within moments, the new power is absorbed into your body and, congrats, you're now capable of super sonic hearing! Or acid spit! Or the ability to have pockets that never get full! Who knows what you might end up with.

Along with the new dose of powers comes an image of their rightful owner, something that the orbs brings along with them—a mental portrait of someone you may or may not have met before. You could do the right thing and help these wayward powers get to the right person, or you can take your new abilities for a spin and try your hand at being a god for a day.

Be careful, however, because these powers won't stick around for long. They've got a home to get to! The last thing someone needs is to try out their new flight abilities only to lose them mid-air.


AFTERMATH —

With the device in shambles, power steadily returns to the city and, though it may take some time, all superpowers end up returning to the right people. There's no clear indication of who this technology belonged to or what its original purpose was, but surely Reddit, Facebook, and Conspiracy!YouTube will be in a tizzy trying to figure it out.


IN SUMMARY...

  • Peter and Eddie stumble onto a device that wipes the city of its power and all metaheroes within it of their superhero abilities.

  • During the blackout, gangs attempt to take hold of the city.

  • Those who leave the city will not regain their powers, but those who enter the city will lose them. Eddie and Peter will also be asking for help from any mech-heads, scientists, tech specialists, and anyone else who might know how to turn off the machine.

  • When the machine is destroyed, powers don't immediately go to their rightful owner. Characters might cycle through as many as ten different powers before their rightful abilities are returned to them.

  • Ask any questions here!


planetary_bonds: (polished by me) (susssspiiiiccciiooouuusssss)

[personal profile] planetary_bonds 2022-07-27 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
Um.

[His voice sounds a little raspy. The branch cracks a little more.]

I was...using my wind abilities to avoid looters, and then.

[crack. his expression becomes slightly more panicked.]

I'm...not sure what happened. Everything went black.

[What happened is that he passed out the moment his powers ran dry. He's not aware that he's lost them yet.]
dothelokimotion: Jotun Loki (I do what I can)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2022-07-27 01:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ loki sighs. ]

Everyone's powers are gone. Now get down.
planetary_bonds: (NO)

[personal profile] planetary_bonds 2022-07-27 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
...Oh.

[this is said very, very softly. he looks like he's very close to figuring out how he got in this precarious mess.

then loki tells him to get down from there, and almost right after he nods his assent -

the branch gives way.

Yusei screams as his fall is broken by a few more branches on his way down, but he just barely manages to grab onto a sturdier one about a third of the way up the tree before he ended up as a splatter on the pavement.

Not quite the way he planned on getting out of there, but it's a start, he supposes.]


I'll - [wow, his voice is sounding super hoarse, he must be really tired] - be down in a minute.

[ha ha.]
dothelokimotion: Jotun Loki (I do what I can)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2022-07-27 02:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ loki sighs heavily. hopeless. ]

Take your time.
planetary_bonds: (Deep in thought)

[personal profile] planetary_bonds 2022-07-27 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
[despite his clear exhaustion, yusei's able to swing himself out of the tree after carefully letting himself drop down to another branch. it takes him a few minutes, but he's able to get out with only a few scratches! yay!

thanks for the help.]


This blackout, and then everybody suddenly losing their powers...

[He blinks up at Loki in the middle of his musing, only just now apparently absorbing the fact that his employer is now blue in the face. And blue everywhere else, too.]

...I...guess that happened to you as well?

[the blue is making him question that statement.

yusei himself doesn't look much different - but the one change is rather striking. his eyes aren't glowing the usual spiral of rainbows they usually are, returning to their normal shade of blue. now, nobody would say that his eyes are inconspicuous or anything - the shade would normally be rather striking. but compared to the whirling glow of momentum, that cobalt blue looks almost dull.

never mind that they've lost that nifty glow-in-the-dark feature of theirs. without them, the hollow-eyes and haggard appearance of someone who's gone without sleep for far too long is heavily apparent on his face.]


Um. You don't think these incidents are related, do you?
dothelokimotion: Jotun Loki (To blame)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2022-07-27 02:51 am (UTC)(link)
[ buddy,,, ]

They are obviously related.
planetary_bonds: (you have got to be kidding me)

[personal profile] planetary_bonds 2022-07-27 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
[listen. listen. he has literally not slept in months. forgive him if he's a little. slow.]

...That machine that caused the blackout did this?
planetary_bonds: (agony)

[personal profile] planetary_bonds 2022-07-27 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
...I wonder if it's just cancelling out our powers or actually absorbing them...

[a grimace.]

Not sure which is worse.
dothelokimotion: Jotun Loki (A fly on the wall)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2022-07-27 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
. . . We'll worry about it later.