Blackout arrives at a wealthy mansion overlooking Stellalucens City. Security lights fade as he crosses the threshold, leaving polished stone and tall walls swallowed in controlled darkness.
The negotiation room is lavish but airless. Its windows are blacked out, and tiny camera lenses track each movement from the corners, glinting beneath the recessed lights.
A middle-aged man steps forward from behind a walnut table. He is lean, sharply groomed, and dressed in a charcoal suit, with silver at his temples and a gold watch.
the employer
Blackout. Your reputation arrived before you did. Sit, stand, or remain a rumor. The terms can accommodate any of those.
The wall behind him flickers alive. A live feed shows a downtown intersection several miles away, where traffic lights fail and pedestrians gather beneath a pulsing red emergency beacon.
the employer
That is happening now. Someone is disrupting a client’s operation, and my people cannot reach the site without drawing attention.
the employer
Prove what the name is worth. Resolve the situation, and then we discuss a permanent role.
✓ Quest Accepted
Resolve the downtown disruption
✓ Quest Accepted
Earn the employer's permanent role
Director's note
Blackout's voice is low and clear from the voice changer in his mask
“So, you are starting to use that name. (he laughs) I never really like that name but there's not much I can do about it now. As long as I'll get paid for it, I'll deal with the situation. afterwards, we can talk about permanent employment.”
FAILURE (Terrible Persuasion, rolled +0)
Blackout
So you are starting to use that name. I never liked it, but there is not much I can do about that. As long as I get paid, I will deal with the situation. Afterwards, we can discuss permanent employment.
The voice changer renders his words low and clear, while a brief laugh disturbs the room’s controlled silence. The employer’s expression tightens almost imperceptibly.
the employer
You misunderstand the arrangement. Permanent employment is not a reward for completing a single contract, and your reluctance makes a long-term role less attractive.
He taps the table. The mansion feed shifts from the intersection to a stark contract summary, its payment figure smaller than the promise implied by his earlier confidence.
the employer
You will receive the listed fee only if the operation is resolved cleanly. There will be no employment discussion afterward unless I choose to reopen it.
The screen restores the failing intersection. Red emergency light pulses across stranded cars, while the employer folds his hands and waits, having made the bargain narrower and final.
“Are there going to be any super heroes/villians at this job?”
NO, AND WORSE (Even, rolled 91)
The intersection feed fractures into overlapping camera angles. No capes, masks, or impossible signatures appear, only stalled traffic, flashing alarms, and a widening knot of civilians.
Blackout
No superpowered presence is visible in the disruption.
the employer
There are no heroes or villains involved. That would be simpler.
A new window opens beneath the traffic feed: a service tunnel schematic, its emergency doors marked in red. Three maintenance crews are sealed underground beneath the intersection.
the employer
The outage is not an attack on my client. It is a containment failure. Someone has locked the tunnel system from inside.
The mansion lights flicker once. Every camera lens turns toward Blackout, and the contract display changes again, adding a countdown measured in minutes.
the employer
My security systems just lost control of this room. Whatever is in that tunnel has reached the mansion network.
“"Yeah, I'm doing this job. We can finish this meeting later" He exits the room and disappears into the darkness. Blackout goes to the service tunnel immediately after. He observes, covered completely in darkness.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +2)
Blackout
Yeah, I’m doing this job. We can finish this meeting later.
Blackout turns from the negotiation room and passes through the mansion’s controlled darkness. His outline dissolves completely, leaving only the faint disturbance of air where he moves.
the employer
The tunnel access is through the east service corridor. Do not mistake urgency for permission to alter the terms.
Darkness carries Blackout through the corridor and down into the service network. The mansion’s cameras lose him between frames, while the countdown continues unheard behind him.
He arrives inside the sealed service tunnel, covered completely in shadow. Concrete walls, locked emergency doors, and dormant maintenance equipment stretch beneath the intersection.
Blackout
Three crews are sealed underground, and the lockout originates inside the tunnel system.
Through darkness and intervening material, faint glowing souls mark several people beyond the nearest doors. Somewhere deeper, machinery clicks in an irregular, deliberate rhythm.