Neon rain slicks the park plaza, and a field of high-frequency scanners stands in a ragged ring around Stella : Nabokov ). Rosa Lewis crouches at the control rig, feeding the generator a final calibration burst.
The emitters whine. Blue lines skate over the ground, then crawl up the waiting line of bodies, making their silhouettes stutter like bad holo-feed.
Rosa Lewis
Hold still. If the readings spike again, I need to know who is causing it before this whole grid blows.
Jane Singer flinches, Young Dave shifts his grip on his sword, and Sasami Yoshida watches the scanners with tight, focused breath.
Stella Sparkling Mode
I am not the problem here.
Gal Incognito leans on her cane, eyes narrowed, while Stella : Nabokov ) feels the air around her crackle, as if something unseen is tugging at the edges of the world.
Rosa Lewis
Then prove it. Step forward, Stella, or shut the whole system down with whatever is chasing you.
The generator flickers hard. One scanner tilts, locks onto Stella : Nabokov ), and throws a bright warning glyph across the wet pavement.
✓ Quest Accepted
Stabilize the group’s physical forms
“Step into the scanner beam to stabilize my flickering form.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled +1)
Stella : Nabokov ) steps into the blue wash of the scanner beam. The warning glyph shivers, then the light settles around her outline instead of tearing at it.
Rosa Lewis
There. That is the signature. Keep her in the beam.
The generator’s note drops from a shriek to a steady hum, and the other flickering silhouettes start to lock into place.
Sasami Yoshida
The readings are leveling out.
Jane Singer
Oh. I can actually stand without buzzing.
Young Dave
Good. I hate looking like corrupted feed.
Gal Incognito
So the problem was the resonance, not the people.
The glyph on the pavement dims to a thin, harmless outline, and Rosa eases one hand off the control rig, eyes still on Stella : Nabokov ).
Quest Complete
Stabilize the group’s physical forms