R. Bluefish

I'm sorry to say I'm going to have to take my leave from this site for the time being. I'm sorry especially to the people I'm in threads with, because it's not fair to you, but I feel it would almost be more unfair to remain and have you all be constantly waiting on me for days on end. It's nothing anyone did, understand. I'm just not feeling very...creative these days, thanks in part to my general life situation and thanks in part to the state of affairs in general just taking the wind out of my sails. Hopefully I'll be back at some point, because you're all great, but I just don't think this is working out for me right now.

The building that housed the Mercury Shipping corporate headquarters looked no different from any one of a hundred towering monoliths that littered Freedom City - an imposing fifty-story structure made of stone-like concrete, lined with window panes turned into black mirrors by the night. On a nearby rooftop that afforded a good view of the target building sat Echo, fidgeting slightly in her new attire. She had decided to take Miracle Girl's advice and ditch her blue-and-silvers for something slightly more subtle. She now wore sturdy navy jeans with heavy boots, a dark grey sweatshirt with the hood raised, gloves, and a black scarf she had wrapped around her face to serve as a mask. A ski mask might have been more practical, but she didn't want to lean too heavily on the "going to go knock over a Zippy Mart" look. Her utility belt remained buckled around her waist. She sat as she was accustomed to, with her legs dangling casually over the ledge, in a manner that belied her inner anxiety. Rolling up her sleeve, she checked her watch for what was probably the tenth time in as many minutes. As nonsensical as it may be, she was used to doing her Echo thing in her normal costume, not decked out like a crook. And damn it - I'm also going to need to think of a new name, aren't I.

Oops, sorry, I missed that you had already posted their init roll. Echo doesn't really see that she has the luxury of running off to change, so she's just going to throw caution to the wind and start throwing knuckles. Move action: Move into melee range of the Robosaurs, getting as many into her reach as possible. Standard action: Superfast Fists vs. Robosaur: 1d20+14 30 That's +8 damage with Autofire, and Takedown Attack 2.

Lena shook off Luthor's protective arm irritably. "Justicar," she said. She still didn't love the name, but she needed something to call herself, and "Lena" wouldn't exactly work. Looking down at where the mass of writhing snakes had vanished, she suppressed a grimace. So much for resolving everything quickly and cleanly - that...thing was still out there. The sound of the sirens penetrated her awareness, and she stepped back abruptly. Sticking around the scene of a crime wasn't a good idea in Bedlam. "Yeah, we're out of here. You two...whoever you are," she pointed to Lady Horus and Judex, "you'd better make yourselves scarce." She wanted to stick around to find out what they knew about the snake-man, but they didn't exactly have time for a conversation.

Echo's initiative: 1d20+14 24 Hmm, being out-of-costume might make this a little interesting for us...

Standard action: Unarmed strike vs. The Scion: 1d20+6 17 Damage is +8, though that probably doesn't hit.

Buffy couldn't keep the sudden flash of frustration from showing on her face as she recoiled from Chris's strike. As much as she liked him, he was very good at getting under your skin when he wanted to. In the back of her mind, the more sensible part of her warned that that was exactly the point, but her mouth had already taken over. "Oh, you want to see me trying, huh?" She leaped forward. As she jumped, her form blurred, and she spun in midair, her feet lashing outwards in a series of impossibly rapid kicks. Most of them struck only empty air - to the left of Chris, to the right of him, above his head. But the very last one tapped him with surprising gentleness directly in the center of the forehead. Triumph filling her stomach, she landed, stumbling ever so slightly as she eased her hold on the laws of physics. "See, I'm trying now," she said as she raised her hands back into a boxer's pose, making no attempt to hide her smugness. "Want me to stop?"

Bluff check to resist Taunt: 14. Yeah, that wasn't happening. (Cripes, Chris has a +21 Bluff? Why does he even bother hitting people, he could just convince them that he's actually their long-lost mother.) Move action: Fast Acrobatic Feint (again). With Skill Mastery, that's a 32 to beat. Standard action: Have at thee: 1d20+14-2 29 My, my my. Woulda look at that.

Stars swam before Lena's eyes as she fought her way back to consciousness. The hell hit me? Prying her eyes open, she saw she was lying on her side in a filthy alleyway, her cheek pressed against the cold pavement. Was that a...snake guy? Pushing herself up on one elbow, wincing with pain, she looked up to see her brother standing over her. Belatedly, she remembered what had happened, and realized her must have dragged her here to get her out of harm's way. "I'm fine," she said, waving him off as she got to her feet, fixing her mask back in place. "Just got the wind knocked out of me is all." Poking her head out of the alleyway, she saw what appeared to be Grizzly Adams fighting a giant snake-man. I hate this city. "Hey!" she shouted, charging out of the alley, red energy crackling over her body as she gained speed. "I dare you to try that again, snakehead!"

(Sorry for going MIA and holding things up like that.) Move action: Get up from her prone position. Additional move action: Get into melee range with the Scion. Tempted to burn a hero point to get in an attack on this round, but I'll hold onto it.

Echo blinked. "Weeell, I had been just planning to show up and assume it would work out, but come to think of it maybe we should work out some kind of plan first. Planning isn't my usual MO, but it's just wild enough to work this time." I usually just go there, hit things, and run away if they hit back too hard. Which is probably not a great long-term strategy. She sank back down into a crouch. "Right. Plan. Bear with me here, I'm new to this whole 'thinking ahead' thing." Tapping her chin thoughtfully with her finger, she said, "Getting inside without breaking anything won't be a problem, at least. I can teleport us past any barrier we run into, so long as I have a good sense of where I'm going. So we won't need to be smashing down any doors today. "So I guess if we know which floor we're headed to, we could just go right up the side of the building and 'port in through the window. I can walk on walls, kinda, so I can carry you if you'd rather not fly. It would save us having to work our way down or up from the ground or rooftop entrances." She looked at Casey. "Any more thoughts?"

"Don't be ridiculous. We'd use you for...whatever people use geckos for." Shifting into a sprint, Buffy took about three running steps towards Chris before suddenly vanishing with a whumph. Reappearing directly behind him, she lashed out towards his back with the edge of her hand. He must have heard her, because at the last second, he twisted aside, striking out at her with a blow of his own. She ducked, but her attack was ruined, and she danced backwards. "Hey, you're quicker than you look, old man."

Stealth check: 1d20+15 19

Move action: Teleport behind Chris. Standard action: Unarmed attack. 1d20+14 16

Echo cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. "Hmm. Not a half bad idea, come to think of it." All the time she had been doing somewhat-less-than-legal missions, that had never occurred to her, but it might save her a world of trouble under the right circumstances. "Although sounding different might be a tall order. I don't know if you've noticed, but I kinda have trouble shutting up." Still, it couldn't hurt to have a layer of insulation between her Echo persona and her imminent misdeeds. "I think I should be able to get something together, though." Standing, she pulled her mask back down and looked out over the city. "You ready to head out and do this thing?"