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Johnathan Doe "We sympathize, although we have never died, ourselves. We understand that contemplating the death of individuals is troubling. We believe that this is due to the instinct for self preservation, which Wikipedia claims is almost universal in living organisms, as well as a sense of empathy, which is the capability to place oneself in another's position. In other words, we are troubled by the death of others because it makes us contemplate our own deaths. Is my hypothesis correct?"
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Nov 24, 2015 05:44
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Stormcrow "People are going to die, Groo. We'll save as many as we can, but we can't save everyone. You never can," Luke adds, previous enthusiasm gone. "But in the meantime, we can do better. We all can." Even if there's only so much you can do. He turns and goes back into his duffel that he left by the table before they teleported out. Digging out another flask, he turns it back and forth in his hand. It has some more of the juice separated out from the stuff he drinks. Some of the stuff that separates at the top. It's much more potent. He'll make sure to keep it with him from now on, just in case. IPlayVideoGames fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Nov 24, 2015 |
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Nov 24, 2015 19:06
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Stormcrow "But that's just my opinion," Luke adds as he returns to everyone.
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Dec 2, 2015 07:58
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(Alright, I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, but, it's time to get a move on. I don't know if Berenzen will be back, but I'm fairly confident Novalion will be, so it shouldn't be a problem, two people can handle what I have planned for Toronto.) Houlihan doesn't comment on what the heroes are discussing, preferring to let them work matters out for themselves. "Well, hopefully you're all set. Also, Doe, I talked to the shrink, she can see you in the morning. You'll miss the initial investigation, but it's probably for the best that you get your human act down pat before you meet the guys from CHESS. They get a little cagey around human-like robots they don't control. Speaking of dealing with Intercrime, they're nasty, but the real big-time supervillains prefer to be independent. Based on their usual employment patterns, the culprit behind the heist is either one or two C-list superhenchmen or a team of non-powered criminals, the real danger in either case is that they're gonna have a significant advantage in experience. As for you guys headed to Canada, don't let your guards down, the Outsiders are pretty protective of their members, and plenty of them have powers that'd let them cross the border undetected. They'd only send two, three at most, but any set of powers that let them move about without being noticed is gonna make 'em a pain in the rear end when you go toe-to-toe. Be ready to get creative." With what tactical advice he could dispense out of the way, Captain Houlihan seems ready to wrap up, idly shuffling some papers on his desk to look busy. "Now, I suggest you get some sleep, you're gonna need it, and believe me, in this line of work, you'll soon learn to savor every second of shuteye you can get." The call ends with a beep, and the crime computer returns to displaying the roving crime map of the city, leaving the heroes alone with their thoughts once more.
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Dec 2, 2015 09:22
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Stormcrow "I have some sick days saved up," Luke asides to Spaceman. "So if this takes a little longer for us to clean up, I should be covered. It's kind of odd having to plan this sort of thing. Like its a vacation or whatever?" He goes to grab his bag. "I wonder if Canada has gotten together any like us? I figure they'd be all over this Wall business if so. Maybe we will have local help?"
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Dec 6, 2015 01:20
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Prototype "Yeah, maybe you can start rebuilding international hero relations or something," Valerie says with half a smile. "Well, I'm gonna head back and crash at my place." She shrugs and deliberately relaxes her grip, then flexes her hand a few times instead. It's starting to feel a lot like she's been in a street fight - which is close enough, really, what else did she expect it to feel like? "Meet up with you guys in the morning?" She looks casually from Groo to John Doe to Nightwitch, definitely not projecting 'hey is the kid holding up okay after having a chemical-induced psychotic break and being blown up in one afternoon?', or at least trying not to.
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Dec 7, 2015 23:10
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With everyone apparently prepared for the next day's events, everyone heads off to get some much-needed rest. The next day... Nightwitch, Prototype, and Groo the Eternal The university museum has seen better days. When the trio of heroes arrive, they find their path to the restoration wing much faster, as they can just walk through the holes blasted in the walls. Prototype is the first to notice burn marks consistent with energy weapons, though the blast pattern is a little unusual, compared to those from normal energy weapons. Based on the pattern of the rubble, the energy blast was rounded at the point of impact, rather than flat, like a typical beam. When they reach the restoration room itself, Nightwitch can practically smell the magical energy in the air, like lingering ozone after a lightning strike. Whoever did this, subtlety isn't their strong suit. The wall of the chamber was blown clean open, and the remaining wards are visibly burned out, their normally-invisible shapes singed into the surviving walls. Stella can only assume that the wards were burned out through an infusion of pure magical energy, something that should be impossible, unless a ley line spontaneously tore open nearby. All known forms of magic, all spells, artifacts, even those fusions of magic and technology unearthed from ancient civilizations, all of them shape the magical energy to suit a given purpose. In fact, the only reason to even want to use pure magical energy would be specifically for overloading existing wards or enchantments, as it's not nearly as destructive as an equivalent magic-driven energy weapon, pound for pound. With clues only leading to more questions, a man's voice comes from behind the trio, clipped and impersonal. It belongs to an older man, in his early forties, as betrayed by his neatly-trimmed, salt-and-pepper hair. Next to him is a woman in her mid-thirties, her red hair styled into a bob. Both are dressed in neat, black suits, the very image of clandestine government agents. "Hello. You must be the new heroes in town. I'm Agent Jack Sunday, and this is my partner, Hannah Tully." Agent Tully speaks up once her partner's introduced them. "It's good to see there are still a few people with superpowers left, hopefully you'll have a few more notches in your belts before things get this eventful again. Since you beat us here, could you bring us up to speed on your initial findings?" By her tone of voice, it sounds less like Agent Tully really needs help analyzing the crime scene, and more like she's testing the inexperienced heroes. John Doe Walking through the police department, John's olfactory receptors pick up a strong particulate content consistent with the dark caffeinated beverage humans seem so enamored with. His databanks quickly return "coffee" as its name. There's a great deal of noise throughout the station as officers converse. True to the nanobot colony's research, the main offices of the police department do not deal with the processing of criminals, unlike the smaller precincts. Things quiet down as he approaches the department counselor's office. The name on the door reads "Dr. Caroline Walker, PhD". John's behavioral subroutines suggest that knocking is the polite thing to do, and the response is a friendly invitation to enter. The office is small, with a few of what the humans refer to as "motivational posters" hanging on the walls. Distinct from the posters are several diplomas in the field of psychology, made out to Dr. Walker. Sitting at a desk at one end of the room is a woman, human, of what appears to be either African or Australian Aboriginal descent, based on John's knowledge of human race and ethnicity. Her neck-length hair is black with several gray streaks, and her eyes are brown. She appears to be approximately forty-five years old, and is estimated to be 173 centimeters tall and looks to weigh close to seventy-seven kilograms. His behavioral subroutines suggest that this last piece of information is considered rude to mention. Atop the desk sits a photograph of the woman, presumably Dr. Walker, looking several years younger, next to what looks like Officer Nicole Walker, who had assisted in arresting the Outsiders yesterday, and a man of an age similar to Dr. Walker. At the same time he's performing his visual analysis, Dr. Walker speaks to John Doe. "Hi, there, you must be John Doe, Captain Houlihan told me all about you. Come on, have a seat, don't be a stranger." Space Man, Stormcrow, and Firewall The border crossing only took a few minutes, and soon the heroes were on the Canadian side of the border with complimentary cups of hot chocolate to combat the cold weather. It didn't take long to get to Toronto from there, local law enforcement was happy to give them a ride. Once in town, they were greeted by a local police detective assigned to their case. His form was largely obscured by a thick scarf and large jacket. He greeted them warmly, adjusting his department regulation toque. "Well, hey there, eh! Welcome to Toronto, it's a real pleasure to meetcha, eh. We've been havin' some real problems with crime here ever since all the heroes died, y'know? Why, just th- oh, hold on a sec. Hey, you! You put that back, eh!" A distant "Sorry!" can be heard from down the street, as a man in a maple leaf patterned ski mask reenters the broken window of an electronics store to return the flatscreen television he'd been making off with. The detective continues. "See, now that's what I'm talkin' aboot, eh. As I was saying, just the other day, my wife had her purse stolen, and she actually had to raise her voice before he'd give it back. Oh, geez, I almost forgot, I'm Detective Frank Macmillan, sorry aboot that, eh. Now, the fella I talked to, he said you're looking for a kid called The Wall, right? Well, if he's here, he hasn't caused any trouble so far. But, whatever you need to find him, I'm atcher disposal, eh."
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Dec 13, 2015 09:54
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Stormcrow Luke can hardly believe it, gawking at the Detective and the would-be criminal. His face shield hides the fact that his mouth is hanging open. He's heard all the jokes, of course, but... "Canada is amazing!" he exclaims, the lid on the hot chocolate keeping it from spilling everywhere. He excitedly gives Macmillan a hearty handshake. "Good to meet you, Frank. Can I call you Frank? I'm glad to be here. I'm Stormcrow. This here is Space Man, and the quiet one is Firewall. So this Wall guy? He escaped Detroit recently after he and his gang were causing a disturbance. We're here to help apprehend him and bring him back State-side. He's pretty dangerous, though. Like, uh...like a bull moose during mating season. Does that make any sense?"
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Dec 13, 2015 20:28
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Groo the Eternal Atlantis, 9th Millennium BC Groo stood on the deck of the ship, feeling it sway beneath him, and watched a city descend into anarchy around him. As soon as the news had spread, the nobles had begun racing to depart Atlantis. Now the docks were swarming with the rich and powerful, each one surrounded by a coterie of sycophants, hangers-on, bodyguards and servants, and all jostling for positions aboard the departing ships. Most were planning on leaving only until the crisis passed, of course, but they still couldn't stand the thought of leaving behind their precious possessions. As a result, most captains were charging absurd prices for passengers, and what could have been something approaching an orderly evacuation quickly came to a screeching halt as nobles argued with greedy sailors over just how many pounds of gold they had to pay per head. To his left, a ship departed at half-capacity, the captain unwilling to budge on his prices and choosing to depart rather than to let anyone unable to pay aboard. People were jumping into the water after it. Groo's stomach turned and he looked away. Refugees were filing aboard around him; Captain Philippos was a good man, willing to accept as many as he could fit aboard, regardless of wealth or status. If the other captains were half the man he was, the docks wouldn't be clogged with crowds and they all could have been away from the city hours ago. In the distance, he heard a blast, followed by another, followed by several more. He squinted and jostled for position towards the front of the ship. Now he could hear panicked screaming, and the sound was coming closer. As he finally forced his way to the head of the crowd, he saw it: coming down the roads, spreading outward at a terrifying pace, every single enchantment and ward was blowing out, explosively. He could see lights dancing up the side of the distant noble spires as the enchantments holding them up imploded. The massive towers began to twist and tilt as they fell with deceptive slowness. Groo's eyes widened in horror. Everyone, even a lowly deckhand like Groo, knew that Atlantis, Jewel of the Sea, could not exist without magic to hold it up. As he turned to call for Captain Philippos, to tell him to set sail now before they were swallowed up in the city's demise, the first dockside pillars burst apart as their wards burned out; the crushing weight of the Great Arch that hung over the harbor was never meant to be supported by unenchanted materials. Groo came to a stop and stared up at the vast shadow falling towards them. Even the Arch itself was coming apart in midair as its individual wards exploded. Too late now, for everyone. He knew that even the ships that had already sailed would be swallowed up by the wave. The last thing he saw in that life, with terrifying clarity, was the blackened whorls of a blown-out ward on the building-sized chunk of masonry that smashed into the boat from above. ---------------------------------------- Present Day Groo rubbed at a scar on his forehead and grimaced. That death, and subsequently drifting for 2 days on the open ocean before finding the nearest island, hadn't been fun. He'd spoken to a few shellshocked survivors of the city in the years following, which supplemented his limited knowledge of what had happened in the days leading up to the Fall of Atlantis, but ultimately the main thing about the museum crime scene that had reminded him of Atlantis was the look of the wards. He turned to Agents Sunday and Tully. "Pleased to meet you. Groo the Eternal. I recognize what did this, or at least, I know that something that could have done this. I was in Atlantis when it fell. I was a deckhand on board a ship that made frequent runs between the city and the nearby coastal cities. The Queen's youngest son, he wanted the throne for himself. He tried to seize power by threatening to cripple the magical defenses of the city with some kind of superweapon he'd designed. The Queen thought he wouldn't do it and called his bluff. He set it off, thinking it would just destroy all the magical defenses and let him take over with a band of common mercenaries, but he'd underestimated its power and it tore the city apart. The whole place was held together by magic, after all." Groo points to the burned-out wards. "I'm not familiar with the specifics of how exactly it worked, but it caused any kind of permanent magical effect in the city to either burn out or explode, depending on how powerful the effect was. That's what they looked like afterwards. Nobody's ever found the device he used because it, in and of itself, was magical and it tore itself apart when it was triggered. The other reason it can't be exactly the same kind of device is because his device was big. Really big, as in, he'd secretly hollowed out the inside of his own 60-foot spire home and filled the whole thing with arcane machinery. I doubt Intercrime was lugging around a building." He shakes his head. If Intercrime had something like that, but portable...well, that was a bad sign.
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Dec 13, 2015 23:39
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Nightwitch "Can't be citywide," Nightwitch murmurs, pinching the bridge of her nose; she looks like she didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Which is only fair, since she didn't. "The spells on me and my stuff would have broken in that case. Plus I watched Professor Esoteric close at least three dimensional breaches and ward them closed, and if they were open again we'd be overrun by demons. Has to be more localized." The girl starts pacing, her frown of concentration hidden by the scarves of her costume. "Overloading a ward of this sort of strength by pumping in raw, unshaped magical energy is pretty simple in theory but really, really freakin' hard in practice. The act of just telling the energy 'hey, go over there' reshapes it to the point where it has a harder time interfacing with the ward. Since no new ley line spontaneously erupted downstairs or anything," (OOC: I assume, at least; it strikes me that that's the sort of thing Stella could probably notice without a roll) "then either someone's found a way to put raw magic into a bucket and carry it around - and to overpower a ward of the strength I saw yesterday it'd have to be a really freakin' big bucket - or possibly a spatial distortion. Strikes me that if someone used the right kind of portal or something and opened one end right in a ley line and the other end right on top of the wards, that could do it. That, or some kind of new spell innovation I haven't heard of... "Hey." She turns, points to the two CHESS agents. "Where's Professor Park? He and his team might know more about the urn that got swiped; all I could figure was 'it's an urn' and 'it's from Phoenicia' and 'it's really flippin' powerful. More info on it might tell us who took it. Also I'm assuming you knew in advance you were looking at a magic-related crime, so you brought gear, right? Break it out so we can see if we can learn more. I could tell if there'd been any teleportation or spatial distortion and either confirm it or rule it out in like twenty minutes but I haven't had time to harvest lavender water made from the tears of a grieving mother. Even the basic cantrips I know have ingredient lists that look like a trickster god's scavenger hunt, it's a pain in the rear end. You... did come prepared for magic stuff, right? Or are you going to say 'oh, well, good thing we can pass the responsibility for all the magical problems on to the teenager so that we don't have to sweat it' like everyone else? I need another cup of coffee. Groo, Prototype, I'mma run to that cafe on the corner." She's not quite at the nervous breakdown stage, but it's pretty clear Nightwitch is feeling the pressure. It's one thing to be a novice superhero - at least there are other novice superheroes to help out with that. As far as she knows right now, though, she's the only person on the side of the proverbial angels that actually does magic, so it's entirely possible that the responsibility for things like 'making sure we're not invaded from a Hell Dimension' rests entirely on her shoulders. It's stressing her right the hell out. Luckily for her, Dog notices this, and stops sniffing at the two government agents to come over and lean against her leg, which seems to stabilize her a bit.
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Dec 14, 2015 00:42
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Prototype "Glad to meet you Agent Tully, Agent Sunday," Prototype says mildly. She seems happy to take the back seat on the initial explanations, since Groo and Nightwitch have got the 'hugely destructive arcane forces' angle covered. "My partners are the experts on magical weaponry. Just speculation right now, but I was wonderin' if these thieves might be working with a combination of magic and modern technology - the blast patterns have a lot in common with your conventional energy weapons. I want to look at the museum CCTV, see if it picked up anything before the fireworks started - have you been through it already?"
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Dec 14, 2015 07:25
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Space Man "A pleasure, Detective." Mike shakes the overly-polite man's hand. "It's good to hear Wall isn't causing any trouble, yet. With the notice you've had, have you picked up on any leads for us to follow up on? He's a bit hard to miss, as it is."
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Dec 15, 2015 16:47
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Day at the Museum (Stella would have been able to tell if it were a ruptured ley line the moment it happened. Even if she were a hundred miles away. For the magically-sensitive, ruptured ley lines are massive beacons. They only occur, however, when something majorly bad and majorly magical is disrupting the natural flow of magic in the area. So, no, it's not a ley line. In fact, while Stella has no way of confirming it, what Groo's saying is true.) Agent Tully looks skeptical as Groo recounts his story. "Another immortal? I find it hard to believe that we haven't heard of you, we keep tabs on every immortal we discover." It's Agent Sunday who offers the counterpoint. "There's no way anyone could improvise that level of detail, and this wouldn't be the first time an immortal's gone under the radar. Now, Groo, if what you're saying is right, we may have a problem on our hands. The best case scenario is that whoever built the device was unable to correct the flaw that was in the original, making these weapons single-use, which would relegate them to special occasions like this. The last thing we need is every Tom, Dick, and Harry running around with magic-destroying cannons." In response to Nightwitch's inquiry, Agent Tully replies, "We told Professor Park's team to take the day off. It's for the best that none of them ever know how vulnerable their wards really are. The public is on edge enough as it is, things like this only make them feel more unsafe. We're trained to detect magic, but we have ritual mages on staff who can restore the chamber's wards. We'll have them add a few redundant layers of enchantment, hopefully that will help absorb some of the excess magical energy if someone tries this plan again." Ritual magic, as Nightwitch knows well, is the sort of magic that anybody can learn, with sufficient study. It's slow, and requires ingredients for every use, rather than just once, as in spell research. However, the sort of spellcasting that's useful in a fight can only be utilized by people with a certain amount of inherent talent, or some other supernatural edge. Stella herself doesn't have all that much talent for that sort of casting, reliant primarily on her magical artifacts, rituals, and the occasional cantrip, and even cantrips are beyond most people. However, rituals are the only way to create long-term wards and enchantments, at least for humans. As Nightwitch tries to leave, Agent Tully calls after her. "I know there's probably a lot of pressure, being in your situation. You've got a lot of people depending on you, and you're not used to that. But, you seem like a bright young woman, just take it one day at a time, and I'm sure you'll grow into it." As this is happening, Agent Sunday confers with Prototype. "Your dossier says you were on the force once, so I assume you've given the scene a good look. Did you notice any clues? Anything unusual?" Again, it seems less like he's looking for information, and more like he's trying to see if Valerie knows her stuff. Oh. Canada. Detective Macmillan shakes his head. "Ooh, I'm real sorry, eh, but we haven't heard a thing aboot him. Going by the profile we received, he doesn't sound like a particularly violent kid. Criminal, yeah, but this is the first time he's harmed a civilian. Sounds more like he's in with a bad crowd, eh. I'm thinking he's probably real scared, y'know? I was told a couple of his buddies are probably looking for him, too, it may be that they'll show themselves before he does, eh. Why don't we head back to the station and warm up? That way you'll be right there if any reports come in, eh."
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Dec 16, 2015 22:29
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Prototype Valerie has never liked tests, and it's too early in the morning for this, but she'd told the others that she could deal with the feds. Better not to start by pissing them off. "If you have my dossier -" you probably know more about me than I do, she almost says, and feels nauseous out of nowhere, as if she'd walked up to the edge of a cliff without seeing it. She clears her throat and looks away. Clues, clues, looking for clues. After a moment, she focuses on Agent Sunday again. "If you have my dossier, you know I was a beat cop, not Inspector Germain; I don't have any amazing deductions. But from what I've seen so far, the robbers cut a direct path from A to B; I figure they either scouted first or they had inside information, unless magic could lead them to it." She shrugs - magic, who knows? "Did notice that the damage looks odd for an energy weapon." She moves over to the nearest ruptured wall as she speaks and traces the edge of the blast marks. "Most would be flat at the point of impact, but this looks like it was rounded, right? What that means, I couldn't tell you."
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Dec 17, 2015 20:53
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John Doe John Doe steps into the room. As Dr. Walker speaks, the nanobots begin conversational subroutines, shunting their analysis of Dr. Walker and her office into secondary systems. This additional use of resources leads to a .125% loss of efficiency in the nanobots' heuristic analysis processing. However, research indicates that among humans, conversation serves numerous purposes beyond the mere exchange of information, and the level of degradation in the processing is within acceptable levels. The nanobots begin an analysis of the feasibility of increased nanobot production to increase their collective processing power, but end the analysis when they detect the possibility of a recursive loop. So, John Doe takes a seat. Such an action is, of course, unnecessary. The nanobots sense of cohesion and their collective tensile strength is such that being in a vertical position does not damage them, and there are no appreciable advantages to one position over another. However, as research has determined, a request to sit is, in many human cultures, a mark of informality and the desire for future social intercourse. The nanobots also, analyzing Dr. Walker's words, detect a possible contradiction or false statement. "Excuse me, Dr. Walker, but I believe you and I ARE strangers to each other. I do not believe we have met prior to this date."
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Dec 18, 2015 06:25
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Groo the Eternal Groo gives Nightwitch a wave as she heads out for the cafe, then turns back to the agents. "If you haven't heard of me, well, there's two reasons for that. First, before all this started I tried to keep a low profile, and I never stayed in one place for too long. The public tolerates a big ugly lug like me in the limelight because there's nobody less scary to do the job; a month or two ago, if I showed up at a crime scene and started throwing my powers around I'd probably get mistaken for another villain. When people think hero, they don't think 'scarred, hulking caveman who can control people's bodies.' And second..." Groo motions to his old army jacket. "I was part of a US Army metahuman task force. We ran missions between the start of WWII to the end of 'Nam, which is when it got dissolved. Everything we did and all the data on who was involved is classified, completely top secret. You might find a file or two on it if I told you the name of the unit, or if I gave you some names you might notice a few odd gaps in the history of the more important heroes who participated, but I guarantee that all those documents are more black line than text now. So to put it bluntly, the century or so of history I had on this side of the world got erased in 1975, and I've been wandering the country ever since. "
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Dec 18, 2015 06:49
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Nightwitch "Congratulations, Agent Tully," Nightwitch calls over her shoulder. "You figured that out quicker than the Detroit PD did. The press, too. Gold star." The teen heads out of the museum for a moment, but rather than heading to the cafe like she'd mentioned earlier, she fishes out a pack of cigarettes and lights up, not caring if any passers-by notice the newly-minted superhero leaning against a wall and smoking. Deep breaths, Stella. Stay calm. Stay focused. Try not to get overwhelmed by the amount of raw power it must have taken to fry those wards. Calm. It's okay, we're gonna find whoever did this and then I'm going to punch them in their face with fire. Easy now. A long, slow drag on the cig. She lied to Houlihan, of course; they're straight tobacco. But then, tobacco was pretty important in certain American shamanistic practices, so she justifies it to herself by saying that she can always unroll them and use them for rituals. I'm going to have to get back to practicing actual magic; she muses, frowning to herself. As it is now, those ritual mages on the government payroll can probably do more than she can, and that isn't going to fly. She'll be damned if she's going to get outclassed by some Fed in an off-the-rack suit. It would be a lot harder to develop those skills without a teacher, of course, but someone's going to have to do it and no one else seems to be stepping up to take the job. Dog, meanwhile, is sniffing around the room. Hey, look, he's a dog; he's probably not going to "sniff out any clues." But, hell, he might, right? It's while pondering her rather brief tutelage under Professor Esoteric that Stella blinks, frowns, and spins around to head back inside, gesturing with her lit cigarette. "How'd they know what to grab? Behind those wards, they shouldn't have been able to scry for it. Either they were aware of the urn before I noticed it, or they were tipped off. You told Park and his team to stay home," this to the two CHESS agents; "was there anyone you couldn't reach? And how long would it take you to get a look at their financials, see if any of them got a nice cash bonus lately?" Nightwitch is not a detective, but she's watched TV. She knows the cardinal rule of any investigation - namely, "follow the money." OOC: I have no earthly idea whether Dog can successfully investigate a crime scene, or what I would roll for him if he tried, but look, when Owning A Dog is a superpower you drat well use it.
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Dec 18, 2015 07:45
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(Scent Tracking, the primary means by which a dog would investigate, would be a major Trick, under the rules I explained a while ago. Of course, given that your Pet is a power, something as reasonable to expect as that is already part of the dog's repertoire.) Analyze(THIS); Dr. Walker appears amused at John's observation, but her explanation seems almost tailored to relate to the mechanical being. "That's why I said it, it's an idiomatic expression meant to invite one to engage socially, and in that way become more familiar. Becoming versed in such phrases is essential to interpersonal communication. I recommend researching them when you get a chance. I'm Dr. Walker, as you may have surmised from the name on the door. It's a pleasure to meet you, John Doe, right? A word of advice, I was told you'd be meeting some people from the government later today, if you want to maintain your cover with them, it would help to come up with a superhero codename, like your teammates have. Much as I respect them, they can be a little... 'overzealous' when it comes to synthetic lifeforms. Anyway, why don't you tell me a little about yourself? You don't need to tell me your origins if you'd rather keep them to yourself, but tell me a bit about your first impressions of the world, and humans. I think it's important to get to know the people I work with, regardless of whether they're organic or not." These guys lucked out and got Pinball Wizard as their theme song by The Who Agent Tully seems to understand Groo, nodding. "CHESS knows about the program you're referring to, but mission details and personnel files are only accessible by the King and Queen. And I think I understand your concerns. Agent Sunday and I are trained to deal with the unusual, but most civilians would be a little unnerved. Well, aside from teenagers on the internet, that is. You've been blowing up social media all morning." It seems Agent Tully is referring to the Huffington Post article published about the new heroes, Groo in particular, late last night, which has already generated buzz on sites like Twitter and Tumblr. Agent Sunday nodded at Prototype and said, "That's a good observation, I was told your vision had been enhanced, and I wanted to see how great the difference was. The museum is open to the public during the day, and the location of the restoration wing is no secret. Further, the schematics for the building are public record. However, as to the blast patterns, the local department's analysts took all night to come up with that same result, we only got it an hour ago. Now, what you wouldn't know, is that it takes a powerful magnetic field to shape an energy blast. It's a huge waste of power for no practical benefit, it's only done to reinforce a villain's thematic gimmick, and there's only one person we're aware of who favors a rounded shape. Spheres, to be more precise, or rather, cannonballs. She-" Nightwitch returns with an interesting theory, to which Agent Tully replies, "We already looked into them, they're clean. We didn't expect anything less, the head of the department was one of the world's foremost magical superheroes, he wouldn't have allowed anyone on his team if he didn't trust them completely. It's the only reason this university is one of the few that are approved to handle potentially magical artifacts. Though, you're on the right track. Pictures of the artifacts were published through various media outlets, but their destination wasn't. We took a look into it, turns out one of the men involved in transporting the items to the university was a deep-cover Intercrime agent. He'd been working for the transport company for years. He'd been feeding info to Intercrime about where every new batch of artifacts was headed, but this was the first time that the theft occurred before they were put on display, exposing him. Unfortunately, he must have been warned of the plan in advance, since he was last seen on a plane to Thailand four hours before the robbery. There's no doubt Intercrime picked him up at his destination, so he's either in the wind, or dead. More troubling, though, is that whatever that urn is, Intercrime apparently recognized it from just a photograph, and it was important enough for them to burn one of their key assets in the United States." As this latest information hangs in the air, barking can be heard from outside. Dog has picked up a trail, a set of scents that went into the museum together, and left together, the only scents that exactly followed the straight line created by the thieves. Unfortunately for Dog, the trail ends abruptly several yards outside of the museum. Agent Sunday, however, doesn't seem deterred by this. "We need to get to the harbor. But, Detroit doesn't have a harbor, not a real one." Turning to the heroes, he asks, "You're local, do any of you know where large watercraft could be found near here? Anywhere, depth of water and type of vehicle are irrelevant, as long as it's big. We should still have time, they use a teleportation device to get in and out of inland bodies of water undetected, but it takes seventy-two hours to recharge, and they're not the types to sit around waiting for three days just for a heist." (This is where you, the players, come in! Since all of your characters, presumably, have been in Detroit a while, you could all reasonably know where to find a large boat or other watercraft. The marina you were all fighting at last night is too small and also just something I made up on the fly. I have, however, confirmed that there is at least one suitable location in Detroit, through Google. First person to post a fitting location gets 100 bonus experience.)
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Dec 18, 2015 12:18
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Nightwitch Dog looks expectantly at Nightwitch, who looks back at the canine for a bit before sighing theatrically. "All right, all right, fine, you did good." From a pocket in her robes she produces a small dog biscuit, tossing it at him almost dismissively; Dog catches the treat, scarfs it down, and wags his tail happily. Nightwitch rolls her eyes. Dog does not seem to mind. To Agent Tully, the teen shrugs. "The Port of Detroit has terminals in the city; they handle a couple million tons of cargo a year. Lotta ships. Port Authority's got a public wharf on Atwater that's probably the better bet. USS Milwaukee docked there just before Thanksgiving. Saw it on the news. If a Navy Wait a second, cannonballs, boats... holy crap, are we gonna fight a pirate?" Oddly enough, this notion seems to brighten her day quite a bit. Who doesn't want to fight a pirate?
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Dec 18, 2015 12:44
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(Google has betrayed me, and made Agent Sunday look foolish.  I'm, uh, gonna pretend he meant like a big ol' international harbor. Anyway, congratulations on some bonus experience!)Circle gets the square Agent Sunday pulled a device from his pocket resembling a smartphone. The holographic map of the city it projected revealed it as a little more advanced. "Hm, you're right. I'm from LA, so I hope you'll overlook my unfamiliarity with the region. And believe me, this is no ordinary pirate." One screen transition later... At the port, the CHESS agents set up some sort of rotating dish device. Agent Tully explains, "This will point out which ship is in disguise, it's designed to detect the energy signature output by holograms. However, it will take a little while to finish, so if anyone had any questions, now would be the time." (Coincidentally, it will take exactly as long as the remainder of John Doe's appointment with Dr. Walker!)
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Dec 18, 2015 13:11
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Stormcrow "Well, Detective Macmillan, we'll be glad to go with you. At any rate, we'll take him off your hands with minimal fuss, if everything goes right." At least, they probably won't demolish any buildings. They'll certainly try.
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Dec 18, 2015 21:45
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Groo the Eternal Still trying to puzzle out what exactly a "social media" was and how he could be "blowing it up," Groo scans the harbor carefully before concluding that his eyes weren't going to find whatever they were looking for any faster than...whatever the scanner thing the Agents had set up was. "So, uh, who exactly are we dealing with here and what can they do? I'd like to know what's going to get thrown at me when things get loud. It's some kind of pirate lady with energy weapons and holograms, so is there also a crew of killer robots or something?
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Dec 18, 2015 23:50
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John Doe "We understand, Dr. Walker, and we will research colloquial phrases in an attempt to sound more human. Regarding a code name, however, we considered that "John Doe" was our code name. We do not have a name ourselves, and John Doe appears to be a commonly used name in the northern part of the North American continent. We are therefore curious as to why you find it unsuitable, and would wonder if you have any suggestions which might be more suitable." The nanobots continue cogitating as they access stored memories, while at the same time, analyze the chemical composition of the chair. "You wish to know more about us. We will attempt to answer. Regarding the world, we find the world quite interesting. While there are only a limited number of atomic elements, and while molecular construction follows certain rigid rules, nevertheless, a vast variety of molecular compounds can be constructed. We find such an arrangement beautiful in its simplicity and elegance, and we very much appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the world. Much of what we know now, we have learned from the internet, and while it is informative, the information is often contradictory. No doubt this is due to our lack of understanding. As for humanity, we find it confusing. For instance, you made the statement that government agents can be 'overzealous' about synthetic lifeforms. However, it should be clear that we are not dangerous. In fact, we have never knowingly or willingly harmed a human being. The only time we even attempted to do so, we were working under the authority of the Detroit Police Department, and attempting to use reasonable force to restrain a dangerous individual. The fact that we have have not been violent or destructive, as well as the fact that we voluntarily submitted ourselves to the control of law enforcement should provide evidence that we don't have negative intent. If suspicion of us is merely due to our nature, don't humans realize that they are themselves colonies of autonomous molecular assemblers who have collectively developed an emergent consciousness? This is an aspect of humanity that we fail to understand."
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Dec 19, 2015 23:32
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(Hey, just a heads-up, don't feel obligated to post over the holidays, I'm cool if we run in low-power mode until New Year's. Just have fun and drive safely.) Do Jungian Androids Dream of the Same Electric Sheep? Dr. Walker rubs her chin contemplatively as John Doe explains his name. "That's an interesting point. According to what I've read on you, you have a certain amount of control over your body's shape, so 'John Doe' could work as a superhero name. For reference, you might have noticed that 'John Doe' is the name used for unidentified people. Most humans would regard a person using it as their everyday civilian name as a little suspicious, as it's synonymous with anonymity. Though, using it as a code name, you'll still want to think of a cover story, in case any government types get nosy. Far be it for me to tell you to lie to a federal agent, but I've heard the sort of things that can happen if they decide you're too 'dangerous' to leave alone, so in this case, I'm willing to bend the rules. I know it's confusing, but, while they mean well, oftentimes government agents assume a threat where none exists." She sighs before continuing. "This isn't borne of malice, they've just been trained to always be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Most synthetic lifeforms can get by as long as long as they're not equipped with anything too dangerous, but by my understanding, you're actually a colony of self-replicating nanobots. As I'm sure you're aware, there's a great deal that's been written about the potential dangers of the very technology you're made from, and anyone with worst-case scenarios on their mind may have a hard time reacting rationally. This is only compounded by recent events, it's left people on edge. Wait a while, let everyone calm down. I know humans can seem illogical or contradictory, this isn't even close to the first time I've heard that, and not just from synthetics, and, well, we are, there's no misunderstanding there. I have multiple degrees in deciphering their behavior, and even I don't always understand people. It's all part of the experience, I guess. I've been told that while it's a bit of an acquired taste, it's worth it. And, if you need any help sorting out what information on the internet is correct, and what's bunk, feel free to text or email me. On that subject, I'll send you a link on your communicator to some free inflection drivers that should help you sound more natural. Our heroes may be gone, but they left plenty of good works behind. Since I heard you had an investigation to attend to, let's wrap things up for now. I'd like to set up weekly appointments, to practice conversation, clear up confusion about human behavior, things like that." After writing a few things down on a notepad on the side of her desk, Dr. Walker stands and offers her hand to John. If he had the requisite experience to judge human facial expressions, he would conclude that it was warm, or perhaps motherly. "It's been a pleasure meeting you today, I look forward to seeing you again." (Future appointments with Dr. Walker will generally happen offscreen unless there's an important issue to discuss. Also, Epi, have you decided on what your Body Power from Android Body is going to be? Feel free to run your thoughts on the matter by me, I'm happy to stat up whatever you come up with. Don't worry about making something "too powerful" or whatever, I'll scale it down for you if it's genuinely too much, but I doubt that'll even happen.)
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Dec 23, 2015 11:16
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Space Man Going over the reports of the Wall Incident in his head, Mike maintains a grim resolve. Consequences unseen. The seemingly ethereal warning rings ever louder in his mind. "Lead the way, detective."
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Dec 28, 2015 17:22
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(Happy New Year, all, hope you all had good holidays, but I'd say it's time we got back in the swing of things.) In Canada, no one can hear you apologize. The detective merrily starts off down the road, waving the heroes to follow. "Alright, it's just down this way, eh!" The walk is fairly short, the local precinct was apparently just a block away. As the group moves through Toronto, they get a chance to see the sights. The donut shops, hockey-themed sports bars, and uncomfortably public advertisements for Ashley Madison mark the city as distinctly Canadian, but otherwise, it would be hard to tell that they're in Canada at all, it's almost unnerving how much Toronto resembles normal cities. As you enter the precinct, the quiet, polite sounds of officers giving stern lectures to assorted litterers and jaywalkers fill the team's ears, as the detective leads them to his captain. As they approach, they can hear the captain happily chatting away with another officer, apparently about an upcoming concert. "Oh, yeah, everyone's gonna be playing. Rush, Sarah McLachlan, Barenaked Ladies, Drake, Arcade Fire, Nickelback, Michael Buble, deadmaus, Carly Rae Jepsen, even Celine Dion! And the Van Cats are opening for them! I've got front row tickets, and I'm real excited, eh. So, I- uh, oh, there you are, MacMillan, and you brought the superheroes with you? Pleasure to meet you all, a real pleasure, eh. Haven't heard anything yet, but can we get you anything while we wait? Coffee? Tea? I think we still have a little egg nog from the Christmas party, Stewart spiced it up it a bit with some cinnamon, if you're interested, eh." Despite his suggestive tone, it seems pretty clear that he does, literally, just mean cinnamon. Technically with the hologram involved you could classify it as digital piracy. The agents share a look as Groo asks about their upcoming foe, and it's Tully who replies. "Her name's Marie La Rouge, an assumed name, obviously, her real name's Lorelei Cavalier. Her crew's human, they're armed with cutlasses, daggers, and plasma pistols designed to resemble flintlocks. She has all of her guns fitted with similar magnetic devices as her cannons, so the blasts stay shaped like musket balls. It doesn't accomplish anything, but it speaks to either her vanity, or her dedication to the motif. Her personal outfit may appear to be a typical pirate costume, at least close enough for Halloween, but her shirt is actually a high-durability polymer armor, and her bodice is a performance enhancing exo-suit that increases her strength and speed. Her cutlass can be temporarily charged with energy, increasing its cutting power, and she has a plasma pistol of her own, naturally. There's six members of her crew. Her first mate, Claudia, along with Pearl, Specs, Sweetie, and the twins, Jessie and Jamie, all women. The ship's called the Flying Dutchess, and it's outfitted with cannons more or less identical to the portable model they used at the museum, along with a pair of main guns at the fore that use vibratory force rather than energy, intended to cause as much damage to inanimate objects as possible. Aside from the teleportation device, it can fly and submerge, as well, and has a cloaking device installed, though it can't fool radar. La Rouge doesn't have any documented skill with magic, so it's likely she received that particular weapon from her Intercrime handler. That's especially troubling, as she's a freelancer, they're not in the habit of loaning out rare tech to anyone not on their payroll long-term unless there's a real game changer at stake. The last time they did it was when they stole the Thought Stone, and you know where that ended up." As the heroes all know, the Thought Stone is one of the six Eternity Stones, essential power sources of the Eternity Glove. Intercrime's theft of the stone is what led to it being acquired by Dredlaxicor, and the end result will never be forgotten. (By the way, Marie La Rouge is actually an official villain, FGU's website has a bunch of free little PDFs with villains and such in them for V&V, and I noticed she was level-appropriate. Naturally, try not to go looking her up until after the fight. Though, you should check it out at some point if you're curious, the artwork is delightfully terrible, downright Liefeldian, even.)
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Jan 4, 2016 22:49
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Stormcrow This is it. Time to show the foreigners just how professional Stateside heroes can be. "Nothing for me, thanks. Not while I'm on duty," Luke states in as stoic a fashion as he can manage, slowly placing the hot chocolate aside. "I don't suppose you have any info I can look through in the meantime, Captain? Like where hooligans may congregate during the day to loiter and things like that. Anything that may help us figure a lead on the Wall."
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Jan 4, 2016 23:26
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Nightwitch "Wait a second. Her name is Lorelei Cavalier and she goes by 'Marie'? That's... incredibly stupid! Lorelei is a way cooler name than Red Marie. We need to beat the crap out of this lady just for terrible name choices. I mean, all credit for the girl power pirate motif, good for her, but seriously, 'Marie?' Pfft. Anyways, let's see if we can, like, sneak on to the ship; cannons won't help 'em much if we're already on board, right?"
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Jan 5, 2016 04:16
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Groo the Eternal "Ugh. Pirates. I hate pirates. Everybody be careful going in there; plasma pistols sound...unpleasant. I'm all for trying to get onboard quietly, but we'll just have to see. I'm not exactly a master of stealth." Groo cracks his neck, followed by his knuckles, and starts pacing from side-to-side. This could get real ugly real fast.
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Jan 5, 2016 04:23
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Prototype Val nods agreement at Nightwitch. "Lorelei Cavalier is a pretty great name. Some people are never satisfied." She's feeling a little on edge; throwing down with street punks is close enough to what she's used to, but taking on pirates on board an invisible heavily-armed flying boat is really, really not. She leans over to Groo. "You've been around for - forever, have you seen much of this before? Naval combat or... boarding actions or whatever you'd call it?"
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Jan 7, 2016 07:24
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Space Man With an almost childlike grin Mike accepts the offer of a hot beverage. Stormcrow seems to have the way of things, anyway. What could a little coco hurt?
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Jan 7, 2016 18:36
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Groo the Eternal Groo nods at Prototype. "Yeah, I've been on both sides of ship-storming. It's usually pretty ugly; that many people in tight quarters, fighting it out in hand-to-hand... This isn't going to be the same, though. For one thing, it sounds like there's a lot less crew on that thing than there would be on the real deal. Hopefully those plasma flintlocks take about as long to reload as the real deal did; I've got plenty of burn scars already."
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Jan 8, 2016 03:49
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John Doe "Thank you, doctor. We will endeavor to develop a better code name and cover story. While we find such deceit unfortunate, we understand that it may be sadly necessary in order to avoid suspicion. We look forward to your help in future in helping us to understand humanity and fit in here. Until next week, doctor." And with that, the nanobots walk out of the room and go to join the rest of the team. No idea on the power yet, but we probably should talk about that. What do you think about some sort of electrical discharge?
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Jan 8, 2016 03:56
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At least it's not Johnny Depp (Electrical discharge works fine, though remember, Body Powers are tied to specific body parts, so, in this case, I'm guessing the discharge would be from the hands.) The machine the CHESS agents set up beeps suddenly, having pinpointed the false ship in the harbor. At just that moment, John Doe arrives, having been led there by his communicator's GPS. Agent Sunday gives him a perfunctory nod as Agent Tully checks the device. "Looks like it's that freighter down at the end," says Agent Tully, waving everyone to follow along. Agent Sunday adds a little to Agent Tully's briefing on Marie La Rogue during the brief walk. "One other thing you should know is that while the sails on her boat make look primitive, they're actually among the most powerful generators ever developed on Earth, she calls them power-sails. They not only function as conventional sails, but also collect both wind and solar power, providing the Flying Duchess with an inexhaustible energy source." When the heroes reach the boat, they hear muffled sounds coming from it, fairly loud. Agent Sunday takes a small device from his pocket, and with the press of a button, the hologram is stripped away, leaving a sleek, dangerous-looking boat behind. It looks strangely modern, like a heavily-modified yacht of recent make, a black power-sail with her Jolly Roger emblazoned acros it juts from the top, a monument for anachronism. However, it proves to have yet more hidden features, as a hole opens in the side of the hull, a hidden door. Standing in the doorway is a girl around Stella's age, in gaudy pirate garb, loudly snapping a piece of gum between her teeth to what can now be positively identified as My United States of Whatever by Liam Lynch. Marie La Rouge greets the heroes with the worst fake pirate accent any of them, including Groo, have ever heard. "Wow, I'm impressed, the government tools actually found me! And they brought the new heroes, too! The hobo caveman's pretty great, but seriously, where'd you find the Hot Topic reject?" A peal of derisive laughter is directer squarely at Nightwitch as the rest of Marie's crew appears on the upper deck, poised to leap down as soon as the fighting starts. Aside from their outfits, one thing seems common among the pirates. They all look really thin. La Rouge doesn't look an ounce over ninety pounds, and most of it appears to be on her chest, and the rest of the crew is little better, each one looking like they leapt from the pages of a poorly-drawn comic book. The air grows still as the song ends, the brief silence feeling like an eternity. And then, all hell breaks loose. (Okay, folks, there's six of you and seven of them, but the twins will be fighting together. If you all decide to square off, Tully and Sunday will take on the two targets you don't pick. Marie La Rouge and her first mate, Claudia, are level 4, as are the CHESS agents. Note that there's pretty much no way the CHESS agents can take La Rouge one-on-one, but she's already trying to pick a fight with Nightwitch. Claudia is armed with a cutlass and a plasma pistol. Pearl is level 3, armed the same as Claudia. The twins, Jessie and Jamie are each level 2, each armed with a single plasma pistol. Specs and Sweetie are level 1, Specs has a sword and dagger, Sweetie has two daggers. Of the group, Sweetie seems like the least threatening. Now, the way non-major villains are statted up is stupid and incomprehensible, so I can't figure out initiative for the crew members, so they all get two actions and an effective result of 20. Marie herself starts with a total of 40, with 17 Agility in case of a tie. Her suit gives her +14, fyi. Make your initiative rolls, folks. Use the default hit numbers for all powers, these ladies don't have any superpowered defenses, but you're -1 to hit the level 1s, -2 against the 2s, and -3 against everyone else. If you attack Marie, roll a d100, against her armor. Rolling less than 60 causes all damage to be dealt to the armor instead, but reduce the target number by the damage dealt, so, if you deal ten damage but hit the armor, the you only need to roll above a 50 from then on to get past it.) EDIT: (And just to double my earlier disclaimer, I did not come up with any of the characters on that boat.) They say if you die in Canada, you die in REAL LIFE! The captain responds immediately to Stormcrow's idea. "Of course! The YMCA! That's where all the young people like to hang out and learn valuable lessons about responsible citizenship! You Americans better be careful or you'll put us out of a job, eh!" He laughs merrily as he sends the heroes and their erstwhile guide on their way, returning to his jubilation about the upcoming concert. Later, at The Y... Even the YMCA feels more cloyingly wholesome in Canada, scores of smiling young faces eager to become productive members of society, daring to resist drugs and violence. However, sitting in the far corner, head hung low, is The Wall. A young woman is next to him, clearly trying to cheer him up. Neither of them have noticed you yet, and they remain out of earshot. EclecticTastes fucked around with this message at 06:02 on Jan 11, 2016 |
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Jan 11, 2016 05:59
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Groo the Eternal Groo shakes his head, horrified. "Congratulations, ladies, you've just bumped Lord Lobster off my list of the top ten dumbest things I've ever fought." Initiative: 11 I need to get a pair of rollerskates or something, because it looks like I'm...Groo slow. Heh heh heh. Anyway: Action 1: Spending 4 power and using Flesh Works Control vs 14 12. I assume that I have them beat on both Strength and Endurance, but if not tell me and I'll expend extra power to keep the to-hit at 14. Hard to use a power like this when you always go dead last. Basically, if Specs or failing that, Sweetie, is close enough to the edge of the boat, I'd like to try buckling her leg to knock her into the water. If I can't do that, I'll just go for the old "clobber your friend in the back of the head" routine. pre:Basic Hits: 5 Hit Points: 31 Healing Rate: 7 PP: 62/71 Damage Modifier: +1 Accuracy: +/- 0 Basic HTH Damage: 1d10 Movement Rate: 53 (265 feet) Detect Hidden: 14% Detect Danger: 18%
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Jan 11, 2016 07:30
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Dachshundofdoom posted:I need to get a pair of rollerskates or something, because it looks like I'm...Groo slow.  (Gain 1 point of experience.)
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Jan 11, 2016 07:35
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Stormcrow Stormcrow glances at Spaceman. "Maybe this doesn't have to be a fight." Probably looking very out of place walking across the Y in a supersuit and helmet, Stormcrow approaches the corner where the Wall and his friend are sitting. "Hey. I'm not looking to throw down or anything. Are we ok to just sit and talk for a while?" he asks the gang member. Dachshundofdoom posted:I need to get a pair of rollerskates or something, because it looks like I'm...Groo slow. 
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Jan 11, 2016 16:08
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Prototype Valerie slowly looks from one "pirate" to the next. "No, really, what the hell is wrong with you people?" As everyone starts to square off, she quietly adds "Any priority targets we need to disable on the boat?" Initiative: 1d10+24 33 Action 1: Activate Vibratory Powers defence. Action 2: Disintegration special attack targeting Claudia's plasma pistol - 15 basic, +4 accuracy, -3 level penalty. Disintegrate plasma pistol vs 16: 2#1d20 1 3 - Pretty definite hit. Disintegration damage: 1d20+3 16 Action 3: If some of the crew are still on board and some have jumped down, jump up on deck to flank them / get in a good position for next round, and Evade. If they're all brawling at ground level at this point, just Evade - no idea what the fight's going to look like yet. pre:Basic Hits: 4 Hitpoints: 54 Movement Rate: 230 (1,150 feet per round) Power Points: 80/80 Disintegration Ray: 17/17 Vibratory Powers: 11/11 Damage Mod: +3 Accuracy: +4 Detect Hidden: 8% Detect Danger: 12% Ripley fucked around with this message at 15:04 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Jan 17, 2016 19:06
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Nightwitch Snapping her fingers, Nightwitch's face lights up, and though her broad smile is hidden behind her scarves, it couldn't be any more obvious. "Now I get why she changed her name," she calls over to Prototype, cheerfully enough. Turning to the Pirate Queen Of Lake Michigan, she hollers, "You got tired of everyone remembering you as the chubby kid in school, huh? Seriously, look at you people! There are anorexia support groups, you know." Marie can say what she likes, but if there's one thing that a 'Hot Topic reject' is good at, it's sneering at the skinny entitled people. Then the fighting is starting, and there's not so much time for snark. Does Nightwitch take the bait and attack Marie directly? Don't be silly, of course she does. "Come on, Lorelei," show me whatcha got! Still remember your cheer drills?" Okay, there's some time for snark. Initiative: 1d10+15 22 Okay, so Marie's easily got the jump on me. That's okay! I'll take a shot or two before I get my own licks in, it happens. I will try "rolling with the punch" to take as much damage to Power as I can - I have 82 Power and can take up to 1/10th of my Power in damage, so 8 points on the first attack, then presumably 7 for follow-on attacks she might make. If I'm still conscious, then: Action One: Activate the right gauntlet's Flame Shield; 50 point Armor Value, Flame Power for defensive purposes. No maintenance required. Action Two: Ice Blast on Marie. Using the Default Defense value gives me a target of 14, but I'm at -3 for Marie's level and +2 for my Agility for a net of 13. I'll spend 5 Power to raise my target to 18. Ice Power: 1d20 14 Phew! Okay, so damage is 1d12+7, plus ice accumulation: Ice Power Damage: 1d12+7 9 So that's 900 pounds of ice surrounding Marie. As for the actual damage, let's see if it penetrates her armor: Armor Breach: 1d100 69 Yep! Seems it did. So Marie may or may not be encased in ice (I don't know how strong she is, but she is pretty scrawny). IF she's having trouble moving, I'll spend Power from the ice gauntlet turn-by-turn to maintain it, unless she successfully attacks it into nothingness in which case I'll just start over. FIRE GAUNTLET: 40 Power left ICE GAUNTLET: 41 Power left (possible 1 point per round maintenance on the ice block) NIGHTWITCH'S POWER: 77 (less any Power damage taken in defense) Dog's actions will be to go back up the CHESS agents, since they are probably going to need it the most; they have no cool superpowers, after all.
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Jan 22, 2016 16:29
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Jon Doe Power 71/75 The nanobots consider the situation for a moment. It seems unlikely that Marie La Rouge is a real pirate, as piracy is only truly common in societies without strong governmental control, which (although some of the editorials he's found suggest that might apply to Detroit), does not seem to apply to the United States as a whole. However, lack of success as a pirate might explain her crew's malnutrition. "You should surrender", the nanobots suggest. "Your actions are illegal and they do not appear to be beneficial either to your society or yourselves." Seeing their lack of a positive response, though, he goes into action, charging his hands and shooting out a bolt of electricity at Marie's lieutenant Pearl. Initiative: 1d10+15 19 Shooting Electricity at Pearl (Against 15): 1d20+2-3 1 (I think I messed up my modifiers, there, but hit anyway. Lightning Damage: 2d8 6
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Jan 23, 2016 02:57
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