|
|
Post by Belladonna Atropa on Feb 14, 2018 21:52:42 GMT -6
|The Search Continues| BELLADONNA'S BASE PL: 4,000
BELLADONNA'S CURRENT PL: 8,000 |
| GAIN BONUSES: None | | PL MULTIPLIERS: None |
”Holy. Crap.”
Head tilted back, Belladonna’s neck craned to find the ceiling high above. Unlike the other various stops along her list, this place was gigantic. Not wanting to leave anything out in her search, she included the strange listing regardless of the fact that a warehouse wasn’t exactly ideal. With fifty foot ceilings and a concrete floor the old paper factory definitely had that industrial feel. Was that what they wanted? Uhg, she didn’t know.
Thank goodness she invited Koban to look at this one with her. Although it needed to be explain twice when she reached out to him, he agreed to come take a look. Perhaps she should have filled him in before she set out in the morning, it would have been easier in person. The Saiyans were on Earth and what that meant was uncertain, but she was certain it meant something. In her heart she hoped peace would prevail, yet she wasn’t foolish enough to believe it would last forever.
The main reason she wanted the Captain’s input here was because of the price. This type of building did not come cheap and although she knew he trusted her, Koban was the one in charge. He might debate that claim, his demeanor painting his allies as friends above all else, but Bella knew why she was part of the Troop and whose vision its foundation was built on.
Sleeveless shirt and pants still on from earlier, the semi-casual attire left her looking a little out of place in the middle of the vast floor. Both hands rested on her hips as she gave a slow turn, amber eyes taking in the details of the aging building. Older than half of the fancy spaces she looked at towards the middle of the day, it wasn’t nearly as decrepit as the first one place she stopped. A small shiver went down her spine as she recalled the spooky structure.
Out came her notebook and down went her thoughts. Like with nearly everything in her life, the hybrid recorded and compiled notes on the potential space. She found writing down her thoughts so she could reread her later helped in all aspects of who she was. It might have started with an obsession, but it had sense evolved.
Spacious. Expensive. Dirty. Pricey.
Short hand indicated that the cons outweighed the pros. With a click of her tongue she looked around the dusty factory one more time. A long soft exhale followed shortly after, her uncertainty clear in the exasperated sound. Hopefully he would be there soon.
TAGS: Captain Koban
OOC NOTES:
Techniques used:
KP 3/3
|
|
|
|
Post by Captain Koban on Feb 19, 2018 13:09:22 GMT -6
The Pride Troopers were LONG overdue for a proper headquarters, until recently the team had been working primarily without any true centralized ‘base’ with the closest being Tysco’s home and the house that Ayoshi had left Koban, neither of which were actually particularly suitable for the needs of the team, while Tysco came from money he was not overly fond of relying upon his family’s money instead preferring to earn things himself, it was one of the things that Koban most respected about his long time friend. And because of that Koban had no interest in intruding further on his friend’s home, as for his own home it was simply just not large enough for the team especially if they were to ever expand their ranks. Ayoshi had not bought the house as some sort of Galactic Patrol secret base, it was simply a single story home that he had used when visiting Tysco’s parents or when he decided to use his vacation time on Earth. And perhaps for somewhat more selfish reasons Koban did not want to use the house as a base because it would then place it in danger down the road and while the house had not been exceptionally sentimental to Ayoshi it held some sentimentality for Koban due to its connection to his father figure. The main problem with getting a base was that Koban knew basically nothing at all about real estate, as such he had put out the word to the others to keep an eye out for anything good and to Koban’s eternal relief Bella had taken up the task of doing some serious searching, which lead them into today. Until recently Bella had been mostly handling the search on her own though Sam had found some places with potential as well, earlier Bella had given him a call about a place she wanted him to look at. Koban had arrived unfortunately a bit later than he had planned having stopped on the way to stop a purse snatcher and then deliver him to the authorities. Now however he flew over the aged warehouse that stood in the area Bella had said to meet him, not far away he sensed his friend and landed next to her giving Bella a wide grin “Hey Bella, is this the place you wanted us to take a look at?” Koban said tilting his head at the warehouse. PL: 8,000
|
|
|
|
Post by Belladonna Atropa on Feb 19, 2018 20:20:23 GMT -6
There he was. Belladonna turned when she sensed the familiar signature draw close. With a well practiced motion she tucked her notepad away and let her hands come to her hips. The pose wasn’t because he was late, but because she simply felt comfortable there. She knew he was often busy and if anything he was late because he had chosen to give someone a hand. Smile spread across her soft lips, her eyes were on him as soon as he crested the edge of the giant building.
”Hey, Koban. She started with a one handed wave as he touched down. ”Yeah, this is it. Ill be honest, its not exactly what I thought it was going to be. When the listing described it as “aged factory with plenty of charm,” I expected it might need some cleanup work, but frankly, its filthy.” She finished with a turn as she motioned for him to come take a look inside.
Already having taken a look within, the place left unlocked after she called the seller, she shoved the heavy doors that marked the entrance open. In she went and quickly she stepped aside to let him take a look. The fast building was empty of anything with any value, just boxed stacked her, a pile of trash there and dust everywhere.
”See? Disgusting.”
A clean girl, shirts always pressed and dark plants always lint free, her apartment was immaculate. This place was her lifestyles antithesis. Unsure what Koban might think and uncertain if he might like it, it hadn’t stopped her from starting to plan internally how to get the place spotless. Money for a cleaning crew was out of the question so Koban and Tsyco were going to need aprons.
”What do yah think?” She asked outright as he would begin to look around. Her own assessment done and jotted down in her notes, she wouldn’t say much more to influence him...as if the disgusting comment and the frown on her face weren’t enough.
|
|
|
|
Post by Captain Koban on Feb 21, 2018 17:08:00 GMT -6
Koban listened intently as Bella gave her rundown of the Warehouse which really genuinely turned into her running it down considering how she seemed to have nothing positive to say about the building. He could definitely get where she was coming from considering the description she had been given. “I can see why you’re not quite happy with the place, it’s definitely not perfect but I think it does have a few advantages. If we used this place as our HQ we would end up being able to have a lot of control of how it ends up looking on the inside, with a normal house we’ve got all the problems of them already having rooms set up that we might have to tear down the walls of to expand”“This place though it's got a lot of open if dusty, space.” Koban let out a sigh and took in a deep breath as he debated the merits this place had, the, however, was a crucial mistake as the sheer volume of dust caused a massive coughing fit from the blue hero. “But maybe the amount of work just isn't worth it if we find anything even remotely better” PL: 8,000
|
|
|
|
Post by Belladonna Atropa on Feb 22, 2018 12:49:47 GMT -6
”Yeah…I guess.” She agreed. The large structure would allow a lot of creative freedom in terms of layout, but at the same time that meant more work. Not against hard work exactly, construction and the like weren’t a strong suit of hers. If anything she would fair best as the one in charge of the floor plan, while the others did the labor. Yeah, that sounded right. ”I do suppose it would be ideal for setting up some sort of open training area, although we would want to reinforce the place to be safe.” She added as she completed a slow turn to take in everything she could.
By the time she completed the rotation her eyes came to rest on him, concern in those amber pools as he broke into a coughing fit. Well, they could renovate it if the place didn’t kill them first. With a small step she was at his side.
”You alright?” Bella asked with genuine concern. To her, at least in her own eyes, Koban was one of her best friends. One she looked up too and cared about as much as her own flesh and blood. The string of coughs wasn’t life threatening, but it was partially her fault for asking him to check out the place. When he was able to recover she gave him a nod to signify she agreed. This one could be left on the list, but it wasn’t near the top…then again, most of the place available left a lot to be desired.
”Well, sorry to waste your time, Koban. This has just been more frustrating than I imagined it would be. I guess it is good I didn’t try and go into the real estate business, right?” She said with a light chuckle. As with everything she did for the PT, her heart was in it, but this time she came up a little short.
|
|
|
|
Post by Captain Koban on Feb 25, 2018 0:41:37 GMT -6
“Urk.. Yeah I think I’ll be fine, a little dust won’t be what finally takes me down Bella” Koban said patting his chest and grimacing slightly from the experience. It was really more the surprise of it than anything else that had allowed the dust to do what damage it had done. “No need to be so hard on yourself Bella, you’ve taken on a lot of work to try and find us a good spot for the Headquarters. I don’t think anyone could do much better than you have. This place might not be perfect right now, but I don’t think we will necessarily find anywhere that will start off perfect” Koban said with a grin, no matter what the place they eventually ended up with would likely require work. “It’s a bit like the team itself, we aren’t perfect yet, but one day we will get there!” Koban declared with a grin striking a victorious pose… and inhaling another small cloud of dust resulting in yet another coughing fit. PL: 8,000
|
|
|
|
Post by Sam on Feb 25, 2018 10:30:29 GMT -6
Sam stood at the entryway to the old paper factory, leaning against an old wooden crate. Neither Bella nor Koban had specifically called him here for his input, but he’d been in the area on an investigation and had noticed Koban heading towards the factory. In the interest of making sure the man would not stumble across the subject of his investigation and once again get himself cursed, Sam followed the Captain and found himself overhearing their conversation.
“Hate to eavesdrop,” he said, calling attention to his presence, “I didn’t realize we were lookin’ for a proper HQ for the Troopers.”
He walked a little further into the building, taking in the scenery. All things considered, the place wasn’t all that bad, though it would need a fair amount of work to suit their purposes, so the price would need to be right.
“How much are they asking for the place? A factory isn’t a bad idea, but a place like this is gonna take some work and some cash to get it ready for a bunch of miscreants like ourselves.” He smiled - or rather, very slightly smirked - at Bella and Koban before putting his hands in his pockets.
“If I’d known we were looking I could have made some suggestions though. In my line of work, I come across my fair share of abandoned buildings - the sort that, like this place need a little work, but that the banks are willing to offload for cheap.”
PL 5500
|
|
|
|
Post by Belladonna Atropa on Feb 26, 2018 9:01:24 GMT -6
Koban’s words were reassuring. Despite any real progress in her search, she had been working hard. That was what mattered most, right? The blue superheroes work ethic was another thing Bella took inspiration in. His drive for justice relatable to her current dedicated search for real-estate. Hopefully the former would continue to be successful and the latter would soon join in that success.
One clear difference between the two though, was real estate didn’t require poses.(Well, neither did the fight for justice, but that was a whole different matter.) As he friend struck his pose which resulted in another inhale of dust, she only shook her head. If she wasn’t already aware of his deeds this might have been a good time to question his ability. Before he recovered and before he likely asked if she had found her own heroic pose yet, Sam’s arrival saved her.
”Hey there, Sam. She greeted with a wave. Unconcerned that he had eavesdropped on the conversation, her smile welcomed him. He was a Pride Trooper, how could listening in on PT business be eavesdropping? With the question about the price, her trusty notepad was back out. Flip after flip she sorted through the note scribbled pages until she found the right one. Price was definitely a factor they needed to take into consideration, it’s not like they were government funded or anything.
”Yeah, it’s one of the more expensive ones on the list. You have a place to suggest that might be similar? I’ll be honest, if we go big, we might as well go with the biggest thing we can afford. All depends how much cleaning you guys are willing to do.” It wasn’t accidental that she left herself out. Her part in all of this was the search and then the interior décor. Cleaning a factory or abandon building sounded like a man’s job.
Bella’s hands folded across her chest as she stepped forward, eyes on Sam now. Interested to hear what the man had to suggest, she probably should have thought about bringing in on this from the start. Pretty sure he had adequate resources, he was a reliable source in most aspects. There was a realistic chance that his options were better in the long run as the listings she was able to find in the area left quite a bit to be desired.
|
|
|
|
Post by Captain Koban on Feb 28, 2018 23:30:58 GMT -6
“Sam! It's good to see you.” Koban exclaimed excitedly as the well dressed man made his presence known and revealed that he had not known they were looking for a HQ, Koban blinked several times at that and then quickly tapped his shoulder pad causing it to open so he could retrieve his phone. Scrolling through the device Koban found that apparently he had not actually sent out word to him that they were searching for an official HQ, Koban had intended to begin a sheepish apology but then Sam and Bella got to talking with Sam bringing up that this place might be good if it was not expensive but that he knew of a few abandoned buildings, then Bella revealed that his was actually one of the EXPENSIVE places. “This is one of the expensive ones? But its such a mess!” Koban remaked looking around again to try and figure out WHY this place would be expensive, as far as he could see there was not even any machinery left behind by whatever company had used this place that might itself be the reason for the expense, maybe it had to do with where the building was located? He really had no mind for real estate but location was not necessarily a huge factor for the HQ's needs since the Troopers could pretty much all either fly or enhance there movement enough to make it irrelevent. “I’m fine with doing a lot of cleaning, I just want to make sure we have somewhere that will work out well for what we need at the end of it all.”PL: 8,000
|
|
|
|
Post by Sam on Mar 1, 2018 0:07:29 GMT -6
Sam nodded to Bella as she greeted him. He’d not had a chance to really get to know the woman, but he knew her to be someone Koban trusted and she’d been friendly and pleasant, so that was more than enough for him. He figured once the Troopers really became a cohesive unit that he and Bella would get along nicely. When she revealed that this place was one of the more expensive on her list, he wasn’t too surprised. And Koban’s response was somewhat amusing.
“The place is a mess, but the foundation looks solid and there’s not a lot of roof damage or anything like that from what I can tell. Location isn’t terrible either. Might be best if we leave this one to someone who can write off the expense as a tax break.”
He reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and produced a small, battered old journal. Several colorful strips of paper stuck out of the edges serving as impromptu bookmarks. He opened it and flipped to a few pages in the back, looking at them fairly closely.
“Let’s see...there’s this one, but it was built on a Native burial ground so probably a bad call...this one is too small...this one burned down….”
His face scrunched up. He had to know of at least one available building that might be a suitable choice. Then he spotted an address from an investigation he’d completed just the other day.
“Ah! We should check this one out. It’s a lot like this one, but a bit smaller and a bit further off the beaten path. The bank should be willing to sell it for a really good price considering the fact that it’s superhauntedandhasamysteriousroominthebasementthatIcouldn’topen but we can deal with that. Want to go check it out?”
|
|
|
|
Post by Belladonna Atropa on Mar 1, 2018 20:23:16 GMT -6
Arms still folded, she snorted at Koban’s exclamation.
”It’s down right disgusting.” She agreed. Sam was right, it was sound in terms of construction, but the price was far to high for what it was. Whether it was the location or it was simply overpriced, this place wasn’t right.
When Sam pulled out his journal, she smiled wide in appreciation. Judging by the colored strips that stuck out from various parts of the small booklet, he kept adequate notes and bookmarks to quickly reference what he needed. She respected good organization and note taking when she saw it.
As he found the right section, her eyes widened at the mention of a Native burial ground as the site. He wasn’t serious was he? Someone would do that? The very thought of even stepping foot on a place like that sent a chill down her spine. A very spookable girl, she wanted nothing to do with ancient grave sites. She’d seen that movie.
The second one he mentioned sounded good though, out of the way, cheap and whatever that detail was she missed in the middle of his sentence. Considering how disappointing her whole search had gone so far this day, she definitely wanted to go check this place out if it had any promise.
”Lets go check it out then, yah? Is it just open house style or what? I don’t feel like getting arrested for trespassing, but if its all good we should definitely go. Maybe this place will be just what we need. Oh, does it have enough rooms for housing?” She asked although they were about to go inspect in person. Getting ahead of herself just a little she struggled to hold in her interest.
|
|
|
|
Post by Captain Koban on Mar 4, 2018 4:25:36 GMT -6
Koban slowly floated his way behind Sam curious about the journal as Sam gave some vague snippets about the houses within, Koban caught a few peeks at the various buildings the Sam considered not particularly worthwhile and really had to agree with as he flipped past each one. “Off the beaten path sounds good, that probably means that when we eventually start doing training we will not have to hold back as much compared to if we ended up somewhere more densely packed with other buildings” Koban said with a grin, his grin however faltered slightly as he caught a bit of Sam’s explanation of why they might end up getting a good deal on the place. “Haunted? I really hope I don’t end up cursed again” Koban said with a groan “But it does sound pretty good nonetheless and maybe we can make it un-haunted with a bit of work, or maybe the ghosts will turn out to be friendly.” Koban said with a grin, he had of course not actually interacted with a friendly ghost so far but there was a first time for everything! PL: 8,000
|
|
|
|
Post by Sam on Mar 4, 2018 22:51:53 GMT -6
Sam was surprised when neither of his fellow Troopers raised much of a concern about the fact that the building he was suggesting was haunted. Bella seemed to not even notice, showing more concern for whether or not they would be trespassing. Koban seemed confident that they could resolve the haunting, or perhaps that the haunting would be benevolent rather than dangerous. Sam chose not to explain how this particular haunting would be difficult to resolve, as it was more residual energy than active ghostly habitation. However, Koban wasn’t entirely off the mark in that the building in question was not haunted by anything particularly harmful. In fact, the spirits within that place were more likely to make coffee than cause someone harm.
“The bank owns the property, but it isn’t monitored. Very few people go there - even school children don’t bother with their childhood dares. It’s just not a very interesting place. My investigations brought me there when the original owner was getting sick of the strange occurrences, but ultimately there was little I could do to alleviate his concerns and so he let his loan default and the bank took possession. Even if we were to be found by local police, they’d likely just ask us to leave the premises, considering who we are. As far as rooms, there should be enough spaces to repurpose into housing, and if not I’m sure we can put on some new walls without compromising communal training space.”
Sam started to walk out of the dusty factory, waving for his friends to follow him.
“Follow me - it’s not too far by flight, thankfully.”
Sam took to the sky, his body surrounded by that telltale black smoke that revealed his true nature, and led Koban and Bella north and east, towards the abandoned building. They passed over the industrial district of the city, as well as some low-income housing before coming to land just outside a large brick-and-mortar warehouse. It was surrounded by a perimeter of chain link fence that was in dire need of repair, and in all honesty the place looked like it could have been a prison as much as a warehouse.
“Before we go in,” Sam said, “Just remember that nothing inside is capable of harming us. Even your average human would be safe from the haunting, barring an unfortunate coincidence. It might be a bit spooky in some places though - the basement is a bit rough if you’re not used to hauntings, and like I said there’s a weird door I couldn’t get to open, not by force or by magic. To be honest I’d love the opportunity to investigate it further.”
|
|
|
|
Post by Belladonna Atropa on Mar 5, 2018 15:09:50 GMT -6
Wait, what?
Apparently the small ramble in the middle of Sam’s initial explanation was the most important part. Koban who understood his friend’s mannerism and mumbled speech better than she clarified what was said with his own question. Bella did not consider herself a coward, but certain things did spook her. There was a reason that the very first place she looked at, an abandoned corner house with an eerie aura made her uncomfortable, creepy places were scary. Yet, the two of them almost dismissed it as if it were some joke. “I really hope I don’t end up cursed again.” Was that a thing?
Bella missed the answer to her own question as Sam invited them to follow and take a look, lost in worry until the two of them took off. In the back of her head she wanted to put the brakes on all of this right now, but both of them seemed interested. Would it be fair to call it off without even taking a look? With a swallow she went after them, silent as they travelled and doing her best to hide her concern as they landed outside the large structure. The location was good, but it looked old, old like all the places teenagers explored at the start of a horror movie. Right before one of them got offed.
Perhaps she wasn’t as good at hiding her hesitance as she thought. In fact, historically, she was horrible at it. Sam’s attempt to explain that nothing in there could hurt them, all she could focus on was the fact that SOMETHING was IN there. Hands rubbing together as she eyed the door she could have sworn the temperature outside increased.
”Are you sure it is safe? I wouldn’t want any of us to get hurt if we uhh, disturb something.” She asked nervously with a glance from Sam to Koban and then back. Cheeks a little flush she was clearly a little embarrassed, but her discomfort with the potential spirits inside trumped that. If they insisted she would step inside for the sake of the Pride Troopers…but she wasn’t going to like it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Captain Koban on Mar 8, 2018 3:18:20 GMT -6
Koban found himself very interested in the building the more Sam told them about it, for the most part his exposure to paranormal things was on the more distinctly negative scale, spooky skeletons, wrathful spirits, and vengeful demons made up his normal encounters, his and Sam's last haunted house, in particular, had been a VERY unpleasant encounter, to say the least. Heck Sam and Bella were the only ‘paranormal’ creatures he knew that had not actually tried to attack or curse him in any manner, so to finally get a chance to see some more of the more benign elements of the paranormal was VERY interesting to the Captain, maybe he really would make it through this house without getting cursed! Sam had been right that it was not particularly far but the closer they got the more nervous Bella seemed to grow which surprised Koban considering she was herself part Demon, perhaps she just lacked the exposure to these sorts of things that Sam had? He didn't know too much about how much contact Bella had with the demon half of her family only really knowing that she was more in touch with her Human side. “Don’t worry Bella! If Sam thinks that its safe then I am sure it is, and at worst usually I’m the one that gets hit with the weird paranormal stuff so you will be perfectly fine!” Koban said giving her a wide grin as he placed a hand on her shoulder hoping his upbeat attitude would calm her nerves. As he did so Koban took a long look at the building, it WAS a rather ominous looking building but with a bit of work and probably a whole lot of paint and perhaps some magic from Sam, he was certain they could make it into a proper headquarters! And perhaps if the spirits that lived within truly were benign then they might be pleased by the idea of having others to interact with on some level, Koban certainly had no qualms with sharing the base with spirits as long as they made no efforts to hinder the Patrol's work. PL: 8,000
|
|
