Thevshi

Okay, here is the initiative order, though, with Dirge having the initiative you can decided how you want to start the encounter. Round One 14 Dirge (unharmed, 1 HP) 11 Pirates (several)

GM Unknown Location For each of the four paragons, the transportation from where they were was instantaneous. One moment they were no longer where they had just been, but instead found themselves each standing on a large rock floating in the air, like floating rock islands. There were more than a dozen of these floating rock islands, but each of the four paragons could see the others from where they currently were located. Beyond the rock islands there was a fuzzy grey mist that extended in all directions, like a massive sphere well over a mile in diameter. In addition to being transported from wherever they had been, those that had been in other clothing found themselves also in their costumes. Before any of the four could do much more than take in their sudden new surroundings than a large imaged appeared in the air above them all. The figure was dressed in a yellow hooded robe, a bright golden mask covering its fact. "Welcome mighty heroes, I am the Gamemaster. I have gathered you here for a grand contest." A voice boomed from the figure. "For eons I have held contests and games across the cosmos and have seen many great contestants. One of the greatest of those was the man known to many of you as Centurion. It was a tragic day when he sacrificed himself to save his adopted world. Powerful, noble and possessing a steely determination, he was seemingly without equal." "Searching this galaxy, I have identified the four of you as being of potentially equal caliber. So, I have gathered you four here for a battle to determine which of you is the most worthy of being the next Centurion!"

Velocity "It certainly would look bad if I was late." Velocity stated with small grin as Leilani described the crowd of reporters waiting for them. "Thanks Leilani." She then added as she moved to follow after the others, restraining herself from just zipping ahead of everyone in the blink of an eye and instead staying at normal speed. "Happy to let you handle the speech Gabe." She added as they went. "But am also comfortable in answering questions from the press as well so it is not all left on you."

GM Planet Kobalii, During the Communion Incursion As Hazmat fired a barrage of pulsing orbs of radiation, the three approaching Communion needle fighters agilely banked and avoided the attack. Having drawn the attention of the fast attack craft, Hazmat saw the three needle fighters turning her direction, aiming their sharp points at her and speeding up slightly. A burst of green energy erupted from each of the needle fighters as they opened fire, with Hazmat flying out of the path of several of the bursts. However, she was not quick enough for the third attack, the bright energy streaking toward her. But even as Hazmat braced from the impact from the attack, there was a WOOSH of air as Paradigm moved between the free Grue and the attack. The green energy struck harmlessly against the Naram paragon, as she focused her gaze on the approaching ships.

The needle fighters move into attack Hazmat, getting 18, 28 and 12 for their attack rolls. So, two misses and a hit. I will use Paradigm's interpose to take that hit, which glances off her harmless thanks to Impervious 15. Moonmoth is up @Exaccus

Velocity "Or eleven years, in one case." Megan responded to Stesha with a small smile. While the speedster was in her bright yellow costume with the checkered flag pattern along the sides, she was not wearing her goggles or mask (and its accompanying wig). It some ways the speedster still found it hard to believe she was the senior member among the group in terms of when she joined the League and had spent well over a third of her life as a member. There was the faintest hint of a blur of yellow, and Megan was then wearing her goggles and mask. "But as Gaian said, Fleur or Gabriel are good choices." The speedster stated, using her powers to slightly change the inflection of her voice.

@Grumblefloof Grumble, lets get an initiative roll.

GM The nearby residents of the community Dirge had been staying in turned toward the booming sound of the Fryxian's words, regarding their hired protector for a moment before seeking shelter in their homes or other nearby buildings. A few gathered up what weapons they had and took up positions near several of the buildings. Dirge's makeshift transport quickly moved him through the community and towards the fields located on its outskirts. As the Fryxian reached the edges of the fields, he spotted several small, fast moving objects heading his direction. Several armed beings of various species were speeding toward the community on small hoverbikes….

Hey Monsterpoodle, welcome to the site. Working on characters in parts is great, but they should be in the Character Building forum. Characters are only posted to the Character Bank when they are finished and ready to submit for Ref approvals. I will move this over for you. Let us know if you have any questions.

OOC for this thread. @Dariusprime @Tiffany Korta @angrydurf For your first posts, just make one with your characters somewhere, they could be doing something heroic like I did with Paradigm, or just going about their routines. Then they disappear at the end in a flash of light.

Paradigm Lor-Van System The Former Seat of the Lor Republic Lor Time Mark 1898.7 (July 31, 2019 Terran Calendar) Despite the destruction of Lor-Van during the Incursion, the system still saw space traffic on par with what had been the norm when the planet had still been in place. This was due to the existence of a wormhole where the planet had once been, which was part of a network of wormholes created by the Communion, which provided rapid travel to other parts of the galaxy. Given the existence of this wormhole in the heart of the Lor Republic, it was of little surprise that the Lor had established a significant military presence in the system to monitor the wormhole. There were several large military space stations, as well as a large number of Lor naval vessels. The later were primarily there to monitor the flow of space traffic passing through the wormhole. At the present, those Lor military vessels were spread out in a cordon around the approach to the wormhole, bringing to a halt the long lines of transports that had been in que to enter the wormhole. As the gathered transports continued to hold their positions even as more moved up towards the end of the lines. Then, suddenly the large form of a cargo transport began to emerge from the wormhole, although it moved in a somewhat more unusual manner. The transport's engines appeared to be dead, and there was only minimal power operating on the vessel. Yet it continued to move out of the wormhole at a steady pace. Once clear of the wormhole, the transport began moving away from the entry point and in the general direction of the largest of the Lor space stations. Now that the transport was completely clear of the wormhole, a small figure could be seen at one end of the massive vessel, apparently providing the disabled transport with its propulsion. The figure as dressed in a full length white bodysuit, with black diamond shapes on the shoulders, upper chest, these shapes surrounded by golden yellow trim. The black gloves and boots the figure wore also had similar golden trim, as did the long black cape that trailed behind it. Once the transport had moved far enough away from the wormhole, several small Lor vessels moved up and locked onto it with tractor beams and began to pull it towards the space station, allowing the caped figure flying freely in space to stop pushing and fly around the transport toward the station at higher speed. Elsewhere, the Lor military vessels began allowing the waiting transports to resume their approach to the wormhole. The caped figure approached the space station, flying towards a landing bay protected by a forcefield that was keeping out the vacuum of space. The forcefield allowed the figure to pass easily through, where it came down to land in front of a Lor officer. "It took a little while, but I found them Commander E’tten. A energy spike within the wormhole system damaged their power core, leaving them with barely enough power to keep life support operational. There were a few injuries, but no fatalities." The caped figure stated. She was a female humanoid with dark orange skin and long hair that was dark purple and black. "Thank you Paradigm." The Lor office responded with a respectful nod. "If it had not been for you, they would have been another of the handful of vessels lost in the network every cycle." "I am more than happy to be of assistance Commander." Responded Paradigm. "Hopefully the researchers in the Lor Science Academy will….." She had then begun before vanishing in a flash of light, leaving a very shocked Lor officer behind.

GM Location Unknown Lor Time Mark 1898.6 (July 30, 2019 Terran Calendar) A pair of figures walked down a long marble hallway. Great pillars held up a vast, vaulted ceiling as light from some unknown source gleamed off the gilded sections of the ceiling and the smooth marble. One of the figures was tall and thin, dressed in a yellow robe and hood, a golden mask covering its face. The other was short, no more than four feet tall, with a stout body and dark red skin. It had a bald head and wide face. Along the hallway the two figures passed several alcoves, each containing a hologram image sometimes depicting individual beings, other times a small group of beings. "See all the great champions of contests past Kanto?" The tall hooded figure asked as the pair passed some of the alcoves and their holograms. The smaller figured nodded its bald head, a grin on its wide face. "It has been far too long since I have had any truly entertaining contestants for any games." The taller figure continued, a note of disappointment in its voice. The figure came to a halt in front of one of the alcoves. The hologram contained within was of a single muscular human, wearing blue tights over which were a golden breastplate, matching forearm guard and knee-high boots. A long white cape hung from the man's shoulders. "Now here Kanto, here was one of the greatest champions I have ever seen." The tall figure stated as it looked upon the hologram. The shorter figure nodded excitedly, looking up at the tall figure and then back at the hologram. "Centurion of Terra. His noble nature meant he always refused to compete in any contest I put before him." The hooded figure stated. "But, in the end I always found a way to compel him to compete, even if he did not see it that way." It then added, a hint of humor in its tone. "But alas, he is now lost to use, fallen in battle against the great Omega." The hooded figure said as the shorter one looked at the hologram with a sad look on its face. "But…" The hooded figure began before pausing in thought, causing the shorter figure to look back, a quizzical look on its wide face. "Perhaps it is time for another to take up the mantle Kanto." The hooded figure stated, looking down at the shorter for a moment before looking back to the hologram. "Yes, that is the answer Kanto. There needs to be a new Centurion, then I can have hold the greatest contests in the cosmos once again!"

GM As Veronica and Kam discussed the best way to carry out the investigation, Janus and Àjàṣorò had confidently strode ahead into the city after disembarking from the yacht. Despite the mid-day heat, there was still a considerable crowd of tourists and others filling the streets and sidewalks around the marina. This was particularly true of the narrow, winding old walkways that twisted among the buildings and were well shaded from the overhead sun, at least partially helping to keep the heat in check. As the pair went they certainly attracted some level of attention from those they passed, whether it was due to Janus’ unusual attire or just Àjàṣorò and her brightly colored dress. The area closest to the marina was filled with shops, street vendors and restaurants, all of which were crowded with people. Now the real question was how the pair wanted to go about making their distraction.

Veronica Veronica gave Kam a slightly sympathetic look at how much his sister and Janus seemed to enjoy their position as the main distraction for the beginning of their investigation in the town. The teenage Danger had little doubt that Janus and Àjàṣorò would be able to keep attention focused on them. Tailing a short way behind with Kam, Veronica gave a small sigh of her own when he asked if she wanted to get up above for a different vantage point for watching the area. Glancing down at the dress it was very unusual to see her wearing, she gave a weak smile. "While normally I would be more than ready to jump at such an opportunity. But I am hardly dressed to be climbing up on rooftops." "To be honest, I am feeling somewhat exposed not being in my more normal attire. But I would probably stand out almost as much as Janus if I went around town looking like I was ready to go on adventuring in a jungle or the like."

Veronica "Yeah, I think we can handle being the overly curious sightseers." Veronica said in agreement with Janus, nodding at her cousin's idea of how they should go about their role. Janus wasted no time in stepping into their part of someone with little or no knowledge of technology. A faint smirk passed over Veronica's face before disappearing as she looked up at the lighting for the street, an expression of calm patience coming to her face as she gave her cousin a small smile. "No, not magic." She replied in Dakanan, allowing her normally faint French accent to deepen as well. "Nor as simple as the electric lighting used in Freedom City. No, these use a much more robust Daka crystal powered energy grid…" The teenager began to explain looking over to some of the nearby locals they passed as if inviting them to join in the discussion.

GM The trio made their way down the corridor that led them deeper into the pyramid. After a dozen or so meters, the low ceiling and narrow walls opened up into a large, rectangular room with a ceiling that rose up nearly into darkness above. Unlike the two chambers higher in the pyramid, this one had no stone tables nor a sarcophagus, it was merely an empty room. There were more drawings and writings on the wall, going up nearly hallway toward the top of the high ceiling. The three teens fanned out to start searching the area, Veronica and Liz trying to use their more unusual senses more than their normal ones. As it turned out, it was Kam that first noticed something out of place in the chamber. As the young noble was moving across the room towards a far wall, something about the floor seemed slightly off, causing him to halt for a second look. Upon closer inspection, Kam was certain one of the stone slabs of the floor was ever so slightly lower than all the other sections, which were smoothly joined together.

Veronica gets a 24 on her notice check.

@Avenger Assembled AA, finally figured out what Veronica's magic would likely sound like. There would actually be a couple sounds. The first would be lots of smaller, individual sounds coming together like a choir. The other would be something that sounds very old, but incomplete somehow.

Veronica Veronica gave a small smile as Masque commented about how many magic practitioners had appeared at this gathering. "There are quite a few, and this is just those more or less on the side of good. I don't expect we will see any Thule sorcerers here tonight." The teenage Danger responded, referencing the pairs’ encounters with some members of the mysterious cult. Then there was the loud arrival of the Deep One, Aquaria. But Veronica was temporarily distracted from Aquaria's arrival and Nicole going over to talk with her when Phantom came over to greet Veronica, Arcana and Masque. "Hello Madam Master Mage." Veronica replied with a wide smile. "Uncle Ace is pretty much the same as always, though he is at least in theory in local parentis for my cousin Janus and myself while were are at Claremont."

OOC for this thread.

Wyvaan IV Outer length of the Perseus Arm Lor Time Mark 1894.1 (July 15, 2019 Terran Calendar) The Wyvaan system had been too far out on the fringes of any of the major galactic powers during the Communion War to see any of the fighting, particularly given it was uninhabited by any sentient species at the time. Since the end of the Incursion, some of the displaced sentients from the war had migrated out to the system to start anew. The fourth planet from the system's star was by far the most hospitable for many sentient lifeforms. Covered with several large landmasses, the world was warm and possessed many large tropical forests. The various displaced beings that had settled on Wyvaan IV had done so in several small communities along the coastlines of one of the largest continents. The inhabitants had primarily focused on agriculture, but industrial development was slowly starting to expand as well. But given the relatively low population and current lack of any organized planetary government thus far, the world had remained outside of the Coalition and only had minimal connections with any of the other major spacefaring powers. As a result, the world had come to be seen as easy prey by some pirate groups operating in the nearby Stellar Khanate or the region controlled by Sovereign. The Star Knights tried to provide assistance, but could not afford to have a Star Knight constantly on the world. So, several of the communities on Wyvaan IV had pooled together some resources to try to hire protection. It was this that had brought Dirge, the last remaining Fryxian in the galaxy to this humid world. He had been on world for a little over a standard week, and thus far it had been rather dull, with Dirge using his magnetic powers to help the locals with some construction projects and the like to fill the time as he waited for something to possibly happen. Today had started out rather similar to the ones before, Dirge being provided a filing breakfast of local vegetables and other plants and then having time to relax. But just before mid-day, several of the community leaders had arrived at the quarters that had been provided to Dirge to inform him that a vessel matching one of the raiders that had attacked other communities in the past had sat down in one of the fields just outside of town.

Veronica Veronica took a sip of water before she turned to answer Lulu's question. "No, no submersible for this expedition." She replied with a shake of her head. "While it would allow us to get down there and get a closer look at the wreck and possible identify it, it would not allow us much opportunity to explore the interior." "No, we will be relying on scuba equipment to dive down to the wreck." The teenage Danger continued. "Not sure if you noticed the air tanks marked with green and yellow bands that the crew were loading aboard the larger tender? Well those are NITROX tanks, which have a greater percentage of oxygen than normal air, which allows for extended bottom time and helps reduce the risk of problems that can occur on deeper dives." "And I wouldn't worry too much Louise, I learned to dive when I was twelve in sunken ruins in the Aegean. There will be several experienced divers on hand to make sure everyone is safe. We will be doing a shallower practice dive before we go down to the wreck."

Veronica Danger Veronica stepped through the portal that had been formed by her friend and classmate, a smile on her face at Abby ability to pave the way through the wards for her and Liz to easily follow. "Great work Abby." She said to the other teen as she moved up beside her. As usual, the teenage Danger was wearing what she typically did around campus (and out traveling the world), a pair of cargo shorts (black this time), a light grey T-shirt and a pair well-worn hiking boots. Veronica had actually heard about this little gathering from her Uncle Ace and had confirmed that Abby and Liz were going as well so the three had planned to make their way over together. Looking about, the teen had her magical third-eye fully active, as she looked over the scene around them a grin coming to her face. This was going to be an interesting gathering to be sure.

@angrydurf @Fox Lets have some Search and/or Notice checks!

Veronica Veronica smiled and gave a small laugh at Liz's antics with her illusions. "It is still something of a mystery." She admitted to her friends. "There are no tool marks and there does not appear to be any imperfection in the stone. So we have not yet come up with a good answer." She paused a moment then gave a small shrug. "Maybe this mystery with the mask might provide some answers, assuming we have not been misled by that Thule Society sorcerer." The teenage Danger once again shone her flashlight back down the tunnel in the direction she had indicated they needed go. "I guess we won't know one way or the other until we search the rest of the structure." She stated as she started forward once again.