groovygamers.com

December 24 through January 6th 2007

In the News
Christmas Miracle for local children.  Christmas came this year for hundreds of area children thanks to toys donated by the students of Oak Park High School and Fenwick High School.  The toy drive was organized by Oak Park student Samantha Jameson to benefit area children who might not have the most Merry of Christmases.  The toys were delivered over the weekend before Christmas day by volunteers.  It was a massive undertaking and shows that the true spirit of the holidays isn't forgotten by today's youth.

Police are continuing to investigate the attack on eighteen year old Elrod Janush at his home.  Police have cleared their initial primary suspects and are focusing in a new direction says Chicago PCD detective Kevin Kiernan.  No details on who the new focus of the investigation is, or who the cleared suspects were because of their status as minors.

The police investigation into the death of Tom Renquist took a surprising twist when a mysterious benefactor donated a large sum of money to the parents of Tom Renquist so they could afford to hire an independent forensics team to examine the evidence in the case.  This has led police down a fresh line of inquiry, and they say they are confident this will lead to an arrest in the next couple of weeks.

Chicago PCD received an anonymous tip which has led them to a small internet hacking group they feel is responsible for the creation of an elusive false identity that is connected to numerous criminal enterprises in the state.  A joint task force of Chicago PD, State Police, and FBI agents stormed a small apartment on the South side of Chicago and arrested five people.  Police say that they were fortunate in that both of the hacker groups fail safes for destroying their data apparently failed, leaving the information intact for investigators to examine.

School News

Holiday Break

School Talk

Holiday Break

Events

Police call Sammy and Donnie in to let them know they've been cleared in the attack on Elrod.  They have a court order requiring them to submit to an examination by an NSA psychic to see if they're had their memories tampered with.  It's painless, and it's actually over before they even know it's started. 

The woman in the room with the police officer when the examination takes place asks Donnie to recall the conversation where he got "instructed" by Torrance, and he's able to with complete clarity. 

Sammy is asked by the woman to describe her bout of unexplained anger in the hall when she had her confrontation with Torrance.  Sammy is able to recall the sound of Torrance's voice in her head urging her on, telling her how 'Elrod was never going to stay with her, that she was just a pit stop for him and nothing more'.

During the break, Sylvia is also notified by the police they have a court order for her to be examined by the NSA Psychic.  An appointment is made (This sill be a thread)

OOC:

I got word from opensesame that they were not going to be around for a while.  To facilitate this I'm having Sarah and family move down to Florida or someplace temporarily (perhaps permanently) so mom can take some extension classes and dad can take a consulting position.  I'm sure there was a tearful good-bye when Sarah told Colin, and they made the most of the time they had left together.

As usual, if there is anything you need/want to do or have happen feel free to ask.  If you need clarification ask here or in a PM.

Since all her other plans have significantly changed, Sammy has to make new ones.

She wants to celebrate that she and Donnie are no longer being blamed for the assault on Elrod.

Additionally, but maybe concurrently, she wants to hang out with Nick for some of the time.

Separately, is anybody having a New Year's Eve party?

Also:  she doesn't hide anything from the Psychic.  One of the very first things she thinks, as loudly as she can, is "I'm a paranormal too."  She thinks about the good things she has done to help people since the onset of her powers.  Then she gets on to the business of remembering about what Torrance did.  This also explains another part of how come she was so very upset; she didn't want to be provoked into using her powers to beat up someone, especially at school or where other people could be accidentally injured.  She wants to make it perfectly clear to the investigator that she is not only innocent, that she is one of the good guys.

Donnie does nothing to hide his abilities either, though he is secretly scared that the police will somehow let it slip that he has powers. Besides, they already know about him due to the near fatal attack of that bastard from Iceland.

Donnie is keen on a Christmas party, though he is reluctant to ask his parents to have one.

Sammy's folks always have some sort of Holiday Open House on a day between Christmas and New Year's.  Usually the people who show up are friends of her dad from work, neighbors, and other friends of her parents.  Usually the sisters hide down in the basement or up in a bedroom, or go to visit friends elsewhere.  When Sammy says she wants to celebrate her innocence, she is given the option of inviting her own friends; they can still hide down in the basement and goof around there if they want.

Sammy invites the Usual Suspects, a couple of her band buddies, and a couple of the drama club kids (including Nick.)

OOC: We want a thread for this I assume?

OOC:  I guess so.  Most of the other friends invited are going to be girls.  It'll even things out.  People can bring dates too, if they want and it doesn't get too complicated for the gm...

Sammy also suggests going into the City to watch the fireworks display on New Year's Eve.

The skies over Chicago explode with colour, light and noise on New Year's Eve as pyrotechnicians launch a huge array of fireworks in Grant Park.
Revellers come together at Buckingham Fountain and in the surrounding park. The celebration begins at 10pm with recorded music, followed by the countdown and a huge firework display choreographed to music to welcome the new year.

If you're going to be anywhere in Chicago on New Year's Eve, checking out the fireworks and their reflection in Lake Michigan has got to be high on the list.

The news of Sarah's imminent departure devastates Colin on the inside, though he tries, and mostly manages, not to let it show. He visits her on Christmas with his presents for her. A pair of black special combat boots, sturdy but light, retrieved from John's contacts as an exchange of favor. A special 'magic' photo of the two of them together, with their auras intertwining. And finally, a pair of sparkling red dance shoes. He manages to get her to wear them only once to dance with him, on St. Stephen's evening. After that, she has to pack for the move, and he tries to spend all the time he's got helping her, trying to cheer her up, to be strong for them too. There will be time for tears when she'll be gone. Until she's there it's time for happiness.

After she moves away, he falls into a deep depression, and for a few days he doesn't get outside for any reason. He misses New Year's Eve, unless someone comes and forcefully drags him out. He doesn't cry a lot though. Only at night, when he thinks no one can hear him. After that, he begins to spend a lot of time outside instead. He writes her a lot, he writes for himself, and takes a lot of pictures of the town and the city cloaked in winter. He goes quite often to Resurrection Cemetery. He offers Tom Renquist help if he'd like to appear in his parents' dreams.
After that, he goes back to what he considers his job. He wants to know everything about the investigations on the Renquist case and the Hackers that were arrested. He questions Chris, Stan, anyone he knows. He goes visit Logan, and asks him if he knows anything about the mysterious donation to the Renquist family or the anonymous tip. It isn't over yet. He wants to see or meet anyone who is behind the Vandross moniker. He fears the rats will leave the sinking boat, and the true mastermind will escape if he isn't vigilant.

Bossy Sylvia will come to drag Colin out on New Year's Eve.  Would Donnie come, too?

Sammy pulls Colin aside one day.  "Colin," she says, "It'll be okay."  She starts counting on her fingers.  "First, when Sarah gets better at using her powers, maybe she can come here all on her own.  Now she has a really good reason to practice long distance teleportation.  Second, until she can, maybe John can take you there to see her every once in a while.  Ask him.  He might surprise you.  And third... I don't know how far I can fly, or how long I can stay airborne, but I'd try to get you there if you wanted me to try."  She pulls a folded up newspaper travel ad out of her pocket and hands it to him.  "Of course, its probably less complicated to get a cheap direct flight from O'Hare or Midway to Orlando.  That way you'd get peanuts and a coke too.  I haven't yet figured out how to serve snacks in flight."

Colin manages to retrieve a little smile from some forgotten place and manages to put it on just for Sammy.

"With my head, I know you're right. With my stomach, I feel ashamed to be this way, since John had it much worse. But my heart at the moment is deaf, and he won't listen to reason. Thank you for trying, though. It's just that after all we went through, I thought we could deserve some happiness for a change."

Sammy tries to encourage him.  "Maybe the Universe has taken her away so she can become the woman you're supposed to meet when you're 25, and you can become the right man to meet her.  Then when you meet again, boom! Lightning strikes, and you have a romantic story to tell your great-grandchildren."  She looks at her watch.  "That leaves you with 11 years to fill.  Want to get some ice cream?  That'll take care of at least half an hour."

"This year has been all about me learning how to have faith. It looks like I'll never be done learning, though." He shakes his head.

"No, thank you, no ice cream. Can you put on some music?"

"Anything you want."  She deliberately picks out some older, slower, sadly sweet kind of music and lets it play.  If he wants to be sad and cry, this is the kind of music to fit that mood.  She sits back in a chair across from him with her eyes mostly closed.  She doesn't talk, but every once in a while, when something moves her heart, her voice joins with the music.

You don't even have to ask. Sylvia and Colin are his best friends. You think he's going to let Colin mope about for a month without some serious intervention?

On December 30th the new papers report that Torrance Shippman was arrested in connection with numerous criminal enterprises and activities at Oak Park High School and the greater Chicago area.  Over the course of the next week she implicates numerous students in a large criminal conspiracy, and the most surprising person she names is Donald Howell Jr. the son of the former mayor of Oak Park.  The news run with the story of Howell's involvement in the case, and then they really have a field day when someone leaks to them that evidence supports him as being the mastermind behind the Emile Vandross criminal cartel which is behind, among other things, the Superman drug.

News coverage gets heavy with the national networks picking up the story and Oak Park is crawling with all manner of news teams from all over the country and some of the major international wire services.  Sylvia fields a lot of messages and calls from new agencies for copies of articles and pictures from prior editions of the Husky News, and Colin gets some calls for photos that he might have (since he was credited with some shots in the Tribune).

Sammy, Donnie, and Sylvia get asked about the attempts on their lives and why they think Torrance tried to kill them.

Logan Darklighter is taken downtown for questioning by the police about every other day, but they never seem to hold him.

By the Friday before you all go back to school (January 4th) things have begun to get quiet.  They're extraditing Donald Howell for trial, and his father is coming with him.  His youngest daughter and mother are remaining in England.  There have been numerous arrests at the school, including one of the science teachers, Stephen Hamilton.  Hamilton is apparently the person responsible for creating the drug Superman.

"No clue," Sylvia says.  I am not the droid you are looking for.  "She was nuts, right?"


By phone call:  "Logan, is everything okay?  Need anything?"

Now that it looks like the system is working, Colin tries to make sure if all the strands of the web he thought Vandross spun are looked upon. In particular he keeps poking Chris about the death ray. That's dangerous and shouldn't be left around. Vandross/Howell, or at least someone involved with him, worked the ray into the robots that have been used for many robberies in the city. If possible, (that is if at least part of the stolen goods are recovered) he insists for Mr. Perch to have his jewels back. There is also the matter of the robbery at the Chicago PD evidence storage warehouse. If the investigations from the various US were correct, some kind of mechanical tentacles were stolen. Were they used for the robots too? He can't wait for Donnie Howell to be interrogated.

After the news about her brother come out, he writes a letter to Megan, explaining her what happened, and asking how she feels about the whole thing. When he writes to Sarah, he asks her too to call Megan, since she would probably like a friend to talk with.

He also thinks about selling the photos he's asked for. In the end he decides to do it, and to keep the money aside for when they'll need something important. His mood slowly improves.

Sammy won't comment beyond saying that she told the police what happened, and they're dealing with the case.



Sammy calls John to make sure he's all right and doesn't go tearing off alone after young Mr. Howell.

"It seems that my name keeps coming up on lists of friends that people those who have been have in common.  Considering how many groups I'm in at the school, I don't really find this too great a surprise.  Thanks for asking though.  I appreciate the thought."


"That's not how it's done Sammy."  John says with a chuckle.  "But I'm touched that you would think of me as someone with that kind of passion.  That's really sweet of you."


The Death Ray is in the NSA's care.  Preston Wilde was responsible for building them, but he had his memories altered so that he didn't know he'd done it.  Mr. Perch will get his jewels back once they are no longer needed as evidence.

The robbery at the evidence storage warehouse is also linked to Vandross/Howell, but they don't have a suspect on that yet.

Because of the scope of the crimes and the nature of some of them the case has been moved to the federal level and the NSA and the Department of Justice have taken over, so Chris is mostly out of the loop.

Donnie notices that after Christmas mom stops drinking as much, and by New Years she's quit completely.  She starts to become involved with some of the social circles that Carolyn and Mitzi are part of, and her general mood changes as well.

Sammy scoffs at his statement.  "'Sweet'?  You're making fun of me now."



[/quote]

Donnie keeps out of the limelight, glad to see his friends determination and vigilance having a positive effect on cracking the case. He trails Sylvia as she is constantly bothered for news articles and past editions of the school papers, making occassional joes about power and responsibility. He doesn't want his dragons to hit the news, so he keeps them away while newshounds snuffle all across Oak Park and Chicago.

At dinner one night, as Donnie and his mother have a quiet dinner of baked chicken and steamed vegetables, Donnie looks pointedly at the glass of milk sitting next to her napkin and nods. "I'm really proud of you mom." His eyes blur with tears and he concentrates on his chicken, not seeing but knowing the small smile that spreads over Mary Douglas' face.

He has Dylan over for dinner at least once a week, working on his grilling capabilities. They do so safely away from Donnie's mom, who would be quietly horrified at how little cooking actually gets done on the steaks they eat. Dylan has begun teaching Donnie some languages, some ways of thought, and appreciation for rarer meats.

That elicits a chuckle.  "Ok, it's nice of you, kind, give me a break my social graces are not very graceful."

Sammy makes a rude noise into the phone.  "Nah, its worse than that.  I'm accusing you of being as bad as I feel like being sometimes.  That might not be something you want to thank me for saying."

After the party at Sammy's, Colin visits the Resurrection cemetery and looks for Kenneth. He brings a drawing of Marnie, Sammy's grandma, and what little he knows about her. He hopes his spirit friend will be able to find her.

Kenneth agrees to look into the matter.

At some point, Sammy goes to see a matinee with Nick.  She buys lunch at a relatively inexpensive Italian restaurant, the kind of place where you order at the counter because they don't have waiters, but the food is still really good.  It was his assignment to pick the movie.

Would have been either a romantic comedy or a classic that was being shown at the college theatre or an art theatre.

How about a classic romantic comedy then?  Whatever it is, Sammy went with the intention of enjoying herself, so probably did unless something happened to ruin her mood.

Nothing would have happened to spoil it.

OOC:


OK.  Then they enjoy their movie and lunch and each other's company.