Mob 5.8 (Un-Betaed Preview) (Patreon)

Mob 5.8

                                                              – o – o – o – o – o – o – o –​

April 18, 2011

12:23 PM

A figure sat atop one of the newer buildings in Brockton Bay’s downtown area, feet dangling over the edge of the rooftop as they kicked the air. Dressed in all black with a splash of red around his neck acting to break up the singular color scheme, his appearance as a cape told a story about his affiliations that many in the Bay would quickly latch onto.

For better or worse.

Regardless, as the rain fell on Greg Veder, he couldn’t bring himself to care much about how he might have appeared to any onlookers, not that there were any around. The blond simply sat where he was, overlooking the empty streets below as droplets of water peppered his body, the drizzle more of an annoyance than any actual problem Greg felt like rectifying. 

He hadn't even given it a thought in the first place, simply at peace with having something to wear other than what ragged strips remained of his pants from the day before. Really, it wasn’t like he had much choice when it came to what he was wearing at all. The costume he had on right now, as well as the dark-tinted sports goggles and black balaclava he used to cover his face, all came from his inventory and despite everything else Greg had made sure to stock up on, clothing was something he had not thought much about.

Well, apart from accessories for his costume.

Dressing up in the costume that PHO had termed ‘Hardkour’ would not have been his first option but it’s not like he had a great many other to choose from. At the very least, it kept him warm. Although, on further reflection, that might have not much to do as much with the clothes as he thought. (Resistance: Cold + 2)

Regardless of the actual reasons, he was finally both clothed and clean, the latter mainly being achieved by his willingness to sneak into the building he currently sat atop, the city’s newest rec center/library that thankfully came equipped with hot showers.

No soap or shampoo, of course, but you couldn’t have everything.

Breaking in to the recreational center hadn’t been his first choice but after engaging in several fights covered in filth along with his own dried blood and remaining entrails, Greg felt that a change was in order. All that led him to where he was now, sitting atop said aforementioned rec center in the rain with a beat-up old smartphone in hand, mouth area of the balaclava pulled down as he spoke into the device.

“I don’t know what to tell you, man…” His voice was as calm as it had been the last time he had called this number, each word spoken with as little intonation as the one before it. “I went down to the addresses you texted me. I snuck in, found some ABB, fought pretty much all of them and then asked them some questions.” (Stealth + 2, Disarm + 3, Parry + 1, Beginner Combat + 3)

“...”

“Sp-” He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again as his friend continued speaking.

“...”

“Sparky… it was nothing. A few bruises here and there. At worst, a missing tooth or a black eye.” One thing Greg could appreciate about Gamer’s Mind was that it seemed to calm everything down. From his heart rate to his blinking and all the way down to his speech, there was a sense of purpose to everything he did and said. Something like that took all the stress and worry out of telling a lie… no matter how big. “No broken bones or anything like that.”

“...”