Chicago:Sessions:20040911

September 11 - September 25, 2004
GM: Bill S.

[Since Bobby was out of town, Bill created a scenario set in the so-called Alternate Chicago, also known as "the supers world."]

It is 10:00am Saturday, and Megan Starling's cellphone chimes. Why, it's Earl Grimes, the well-known wizard from Team Infinity. Goodness, Earl... after the last big thing Megan extended you a lunch invitation... and it's only taken you SIX MONTHS to respond. "I've been in and out of reality," Earl says, "and I need your help." He invites her to have dinner this evening with him and Travis Burton (someone else who only calls when he wants something). Dress is casual, "a step up from blue jeans," and Earl will send a limo to pick her up at 7:30.

Earl then gets around to inviting Travis. "Somebody wants to kill me, and I need your help... it's somebody from 'out of town' who has never been our friend." Earl says that Enigma knows about this problem, but Baldy's only response was "Ooh, you're in trouble."

At the appointed time, Earl (dressed all in black) and Travis (in slacks and the always-stylish bulletproof vest) pick up Megan in the limo, which whisks them all to... a train station. Earl slips the porter some cash, and we enter a sumptuously-furnished dining car. The train begins to move. We're the only people in the car, but Earl mentions he has other people coming.

Over dinner, Earl reveals to Megan and Travis that a demon prince is after him. His friends, the fairies, informed him of this. (Earl explains to Megan that a spell that backfired on him opened his personal gate to the faerie realm.) Another demon pinpointed Earl and Thaemon -- but "the boss" told Earl not to bother Thaemon. Not long ago (relatively speaking), some demons entered the faerie realm, described Earl, and asked "Do you know him?" The fairies responded, "Yes, he's our friend." One of the demons grabbed a high-ranking fairy (a member of the royal family), growled "Find him," and vanished.

Earl stares at the tablecloth, concentrating -- and a fairy appears on the table. He introduces the fairy as Tinkerbell, from Never Never Land. Last evening, Earl was on another train talking with Tinkerbell; the train stopped and a man entered the car. Tinkerbell lit up, jumped on Earl's shoulder, and whispered excitedly, "That's Peter Pan -- we've been searching for him!"

Our train stops. Earl summons the waiter and orders dessert... as well as a hamburger, fries, and a Coke. He excuses himself and leaves the dining car. While he's gone, Megan asks Tinkerbell a few questions. The fairy says that Earl "did something" to Peter before she could talk to him.

Earl re-enters the car, bringing with him a man who appears to be asleep. The man has a youthful face, and looks to be about 5'10" and of slender build, with slightly pointed ears. Earl says the man's ID gives the name 'Peter Smith'. "He doesn't know he's Peter Pan." Peter is an elf with unusually small ears, which his original kinfolk considered a deformity. He was outcast and went to live in Never Never Land. Years later, members of Peter's family found him and banished him from Never Never Land; the fairies think they were trying to kill Peter. The fairies banded together and drove Peter's family out of Never Never Land.

Earl knows there are no spells on Peter (except the Sleep spell), so he wants Travis to repair Peter's mind, then help Earl deal with the demon. With Peter still asleep, Travis sets to work. He discovers that there are many mental walls in Peter's mind, set there as defenses due to trauma. Travis figures out that the elves didn't make Peter *forget* who he is... they made him *remember*.

Meanwhile, Megan offers Tinkerbell a bite of her cheesecake. Tink has never tasted cheesecake before, and the delicious treat literally sends her into fits of ecstacy.

Travis indicates his brain work is done, though he maintains his presence in Peter's mind. Earl awakens Peter. Peter's eyes go first to Earl, then to Tinkerbell, without appearing to recognize either of them. Earl greets him, "Hi, Peter." Cautiously, Peter replies, "You have the advantage of me."

As Travis jolts Peter's memory, Earl starts asking Peter questions about his childhood. Peter remembers when he was ten years old he "fell through a hole into another world, surrounded by lights that look like" and he points to Tinkerbell. He remembers flying, then he thinks a happy thought and is able to fly.

Peter asks Tinkerbell, "Why'd you let me fall and not come after me?" She replies that his parents banished him, and she can't gate him back to Never Never Land right now due to "troubles". A little cynically, Peter says, "I know how to get there -- second star on the right and straight on till morning," and as he says the words something more clicks in place in his head.

"Why would I want to go back to Neverland?" Peter asks. Tinkerbell answers, "We miss you -- and we need you." "Let me guess -- Hook." Tink reveals, "Your parents killed Hook." She explains that his parents hate him and want to kill him, and the fairies finally drove them out of Neverland.

Tinkerbell: "Are you coming back to Never Never Land?" Peter: "Maybe." Peter recalls something else, then asks Tinkerbell for his sword. However, she doesn't quite remember where it is.

Travis, figuring the action is about to start, flies away. He returns wearing his 'business suit'. To Peter he tosses a sword -- and a suit of green leathers. Peter looks askance at the latter: "I'm supposed to put that on?"

Earl stops the train at the next station, and we all step out onto a platform. Peter makes a quick trip to the restroom to accouter himself.

Earl prepares a flying spell. Travis offers Megan a ride. Peter raises his sword and thinks a happy thought. Everyone rises into the air. A mile or so up, a gate opens into Never Never Land.

It's nighttime. Peter finds that things look familiar. Tinkerbell indicates the cave Peter lives in. As we approach, both Travis and Earl's Danger Sense goes off, and there's an unpleasant smell. About twelve hours ago, 8 Lost Boys, 2 demons, and 4 pirates with flintlocks entered the cave.

Megan goes ahead to scout. She returns and reports one very alert pirate, armed with crossbow and cutlass, guards the passage. In the common room, the eight boys are tied together on the table. At the head of the table two demons are seated; one is pitch-black with red eyes and a goatlike lower body, and the other is red with black eyes and hooves like a horse. They are chewing on what appear to be fairy arms. The other three pirates have their backs to the table and are watching the three entrances into the common room. Travis's Empathy indicates that the first pirate is human, and his red eyes indicate that he is possessed.

Peter leads the way around to a secret passage. Through a peephole Peter can see into the common room; the table is about 20 yards away. Peter kicks open the door and flies out, shouting, "Lost Boys! To arms!" Travis opens fire with a submachine gun... but only one bullet goes off, and a demon dodges it.

Travis grabs the red demon with Telekinesis and raises him 8 yards in the air. Earl appears behind the black demon. The Lost Boys try to dive to the floor, but they are bound together such that they cannot. Tinkerbell seems to freeze. Peter, thinking really happy thoughts, dives toward the pirates. Megan uses Confuse on the black demon, which starts to drool. The three pirates turn around and aim their crossbows at Peter. Travis and Earl feel a shudder.

Travis bounces the red demon off the ceiling, hard, headfirst. The demon actually cries "Ow!" Peter thrusts his sword into a pirate's throat. The black demon rises 6" and stops. Two pirates fire at Peter; he dodges both bolts and yells, "Naa naa!" The skewered pirate's eyes glow bright red and then fade, then he slumps.

Peter increases his flight speed, swoops up and around, and cuts a pirate in the leg. "Woo hoo!" Megan Confuses the other pirate. Pirate #4 shows up from the corridor and fires at Peter, but misses. Travis slams the demon against the ceiling again, and something in its neck goes pop. Earl stabs the black demon through the spine and heart, and the demon falls down.

Pirate #4 starts running away; Tink shouts "Get him, Peter!" Peter swings and gashes the pirate in the leg, but the pirate continues to flee. Peter slashes several more times at the pirate; the pirate manages to hit Peter with the flat of his cutlass, and Peter sticks out his tongue in response. Peter slashes the pirate's belly and the pirate passes out.

Tinkerbell unties the Lost Boys, who gaze wide-eyed at Peter. "Peter, you've got big! Where you been?" Peter answers, "It's a long story."

Peter asks Earl, "Which of these [indicating the demons] are the guy you were supposed to kill." Earl: "Neither, these are minions."

The stunned pirate is tied up. Travis shakes him awake and asks him where the demons' base is. The pirate has no idea. Travis knocks him out again.

Underneath the table Earl finds a couple of boxes containing two live fairies, who thank him profusely for freeing them.

Peter has Tink heal the wounded pirates so they can fight again another day. He asks the Lost Boys where the other demons are; they say "the funny-looking guys" ambushed them.

Peter orders the Lost Boys to take the pirates away. The pirate camp is a collection of huts about 3/4 mile away.

[September 25, 2004]

Travis, Megan, Earl, Peter, and Tinkerbell arrive at the pirates' campsite, which is little more than a fire and some sleeping platforms. Travis notices that the pirates are quite subdued, indeed vacant-eyed. He tries Telereceive -- nobody's home. Brainwipe? Something involving the black-eyed demon ("Demon Doug") happened to them a week ago, but they have forgotten it all. Travis remarks, "They're puppets for the demons."

Tinkerbell chimes, "We need to go this way, to the pirate ship." We all fly up, but there's no ship, just a big black spot out on the water.

Peter wonders out loud why there aren't more fairies around. Tink, strangely evasive, answers "They're hiding from the demons... maybe."

As we fly out over the sea, the black spot resolves to a dome of darkness. Within the dome Megan can see the pirate ship, manned by 20 skeletons.

Tinkerbell now says there are *two* royal fairies captive on the pirate ship. In a whisper, Megan asks Travis if he can read Tink's mind. He does -- and there's no mind there, but *something* is retreating very rapidly away from him. He pursues but can't catch it.

The ship has moved and now we're all inside the dome of darkness. Earl verifies that there is a fairy aboard, belowdecks. The skeletons aren't skeletons, they are cursed men. With his telekinesis, Travis lifts one of the cannons and bashes a big hole in the side of the boat [John quipped that he invented the cannon-opener].

The skeletons start jumping off the ship; Peter tries to help them, but they turn and draw sword on him. Earl casts a Clean spell and the skeletons' clothes fall off, which seems to distract them a little. Travis flies into the hold and grabs a cage containing a fairy; Megan says "I'll take that" and makes the cage disappear. Megan opens the cage; the fairy emerges and heads straight for Peter. Travis reads the fairy's mind -- it's Tinkerbell, but he knows he has never been in this one's mind. Tink addresses Peter as if he's Peter Smith, one of the Lost Boys, rather than Peter Pan.

Travis asks Tink where Peter Pan is. "He's with my folks," she replies. She says a demon had caged her.

Travis decides to destroy the fake Tinkerbell, which he has determined is some sort of artificial construct. He burns it up using pyrokinesis. At this there is the sound of a disembodied evil laugh, and a triumphant "Yesss!"

We follow Tinkerbell into a place that suddenly lights up with fairies who greet Earl, Tink, and Peter. Several Lost Boys emerge; they remember Peter as Peter Smith. A young boy flies down; he looks to be about 10 years old, and carries himself with an arrogant swagger. "Peter, what are you doing here? I thought you didn't want to be a Lost Boy anymore." Peter, his brain warring between his actual memories and the implanted ones, finally replies, "I came with these people because Tinkerbell said you had problems with demons." (Peter Smith had been a Lost Boy for about a hundred years; when he said he didn't want to be a Lost Boy anymore, Peter Pan had taken him to an orphanage in Chicago. This was about 10 years ago.)

About all the information we get from the fairies is that "the big demon winked out a half-hour ago."

After spending quite some time talking with the fairies, Earl asks aloud if we can leave. At this, Peter Pan grasps Peter Smith's hand, and Travis grabs Earl. As we emerge from the gate, Travis's Danger Sense sounds an alarm. There is a brilliant blinding flash of light. A dark figure is barely visible for a second or two, then vanishes. Earl, too, has disappeared. However, Travis still senses a 'presence'.

Peter Pan makes noises about going back to Neverland. Travis tells him "You're staying here, unless you want the demon to follow you." Travis moves toward the 'presence' and it suddenly "steps out" of his perception.

Travis sends out a call on his headset. Eon (Evonne Nelms) and Thunderbird answer. Eon uses Telescan, and reports that Earl is not within her eight-mile range.

Peter Pan reopens the gate and goes back to Neverland.

It is evening of Sunday, September 12th.

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