Thevshi

The gathered police officers and fire fighters all started slightly at Blue Jay's sudden appearance near them. Several of the police officers gave the teenage heroine rather distrustful looks, but the fire fighters did not appear to have the same reaction. "No idea." One of the fire fighters responded. "They just sort of slammed into place about five minutes ago. Must have been concealed in the window and door frames until something triggered them. No idea why anyone would want to go to all the trouble to rigging that up though."

Happy Birthday Trollthumper!!

Mutnick smirked slightly at Harry's response. "Yeah, sure Harry, sure." He then turned back to Mr. Chen as he added, "well Mr. Chen, I think we have everything now. We will be in touch as soon as we get anything. There is no need for you to waste your money on the likes of Harry here." With that, the detective started back up the pier, signaling for the couple of uniformed officers that were nearby to follow. Mr. Chen had given Mutnick a courteous, but somewhat dismissive nod before he turned his attention back to Harry and the others. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance Ms. Harker, unfortuante that it is under less than ideal circumstances." He stated to Lucy with a bow. "And a good morning to you Mr. Furlong." He then added, looking over to Freddy with a polite nod before he focused back on Harry. "I can certainly say that things have been better Mr. Hound. Last night someone stole aboard the Jin Tian," Mr. Chen gestured towards the cargo ship the four were standing next to the gangplank of, "and broke into one of the cargo containers aboard. The only thing stole was an antique I was importing for a client." "Naturally the police had to be notified, but as you say, it may take some time for them to make any headway. So I wish to retain your services to help locate and recover the stolen statue."

Dee listened to Smith's response, and far from being insulted by his statement about how far down she was in the Ministry's choices, she viewed the statement as something of a victory. And she simply smirked slightly as he mentioned how the Ministry would appreciate her assistance in helping to look for the missing members of Vanguard. She began to scowl however as he began to make what sounded like a thinly veiled threat about having to closely monitor her due to her abilities. While the young woman certainly was not surprised by the fact the Ministry would want to keep an eye on here, Smith seemed to be suggesting something more. And when he finished with the comments about how the Ministry was working to help her sister, she was quick to responded. "And the Ministry damn well should be paying for my sister's care! Let us not forget that she is in her current state due to the Ministry's little program and your man Crab." "As for me, I remind you I never asked for my abilities either, again, the Ministry and John Crab's doing." Dee then paused a moment, as she considered the situation a bit more carefully, doing her best to detach the strong emotions involved and examine it more logically. It was then an idea came to her that could potentially make working with the Ministry something she could suffer through. "But I tell you what. I will agree to join this taskforce your putting together, if you give me access to Crab's notes on the psi initiative process that he put my sister and I through, and in particular any notes he made about the two of us."

The trio made their way outside and piled into the battered Caddy to make their way to the docks. On the way, Harry recounted to Lucy how he and Freddy had first been put into contact with Mr. Chen to assist them in That investigation quickly took an unexpected turn when a Singapore based Triad sent a hitman to try and kill Chen for asking questions about the girl. After Freddy and Harry saved Mr. Chen from the hitman, he assisted them in at the Chinese New Year celebration in Freedom City's Chinatown, just as agents from another Triad located her as well. Harry had just finished the story when they had reached Pier 11. As Mr. Chen had stated, it was easy to spot, as there were a number of police cars parked near the entrance to the pier. But, whatever they had been doing there, the FCPD seemed to be in the process of wrapping things up. After parking the Caddy, the trio made their way out onto the pier, at which two large cargo ships were moored. Harry and Freddy spotted Mr. Chen down the pier next to the gangplank leading up to one of the cargo ships. With him was a man whom looked to be a plain clothes policeman. As usual, Mr. Chen was impeccably dressed, in a fine dark grey suit, red dress shirt and black tie. As the three drew near, the plain clothes detective turned to regard them and Harry recognized the face of Stan Mutnick, who had been far from one of his favorite fellow officers on the force. "Well, Harry Hound." Mutnick stated in a somewhat surprised tone. "What is a washout like you doing down here?"

Okay, make a Notice check for Mali (which does not have to do with looking for a place to move to )

GM The hallway the three teenagers were led to turned out to be rather sleek and futuristic, the walls curving outward before curving back in to the ceiling. It seemed so brightly lit that it was unnerving and disorienting, though it was possible that was a side effect of the drug induced sleep the teens had experienced since their capture in Freedom City. There were a number of doors spaced along the walls of the corridor, which went on for a good hundred feet before intersecting with another hallway and then continuing on at least another hundred feet. But the teens and their guards stopped just short of the intersection at what was clearly an elevator. They did not have long to wait when the elevator was summoned before the doors slide quietly open, reveling a circular elevator car. It was immediately clear that the elevator would not fit all the guards that had accompanied the teens. Instead, only about half the number of guards entered with the superteens, the ones still holding either arm of each of the teens, and the four guards that had been waiting for the arrival of the transport in the hanger. The apparent leader of the guards glanced at the three teens once they were all inside and the doors began to close. "Do not think to try anything." He began in rather heavily accented English. "Those collars can deliver a considerable shock."

After waiting for Blue Jay and Blodeuwedd to go back to their dorm room to fetch anything they might need for the mission, Crow teleported them all out of the Headmaster's office and off into Southside. A mere moment later, the trio appeared on a rooftop overlooking the building Warp had indicated was where she and the others had been trying to help with a fire. The shimmering wave of heat that had formed around them helped conceal the three from view as the first light of morning began to shine from the East. The six story building across the way clearly showed signs of a fire, with some of the outer walls blackened and showing other fire damage. But something was rather out of place with the building, as some sort of metal grating covered all the visible windows of the building. Down on the sidewalk beside the building, a group of policemen and fire fighters were gathered around the main entrance to the building, which also covered by a similar metal grating. They all looked to be either confused or alarmed by something.

Dee reluctantly made her way out into the hallway, giving her sister a smile and a small wave as she went. Once back outside, her disposition once again became stern, a scowl on her face as she looked over at Mr. Smith and her father as Doctor Green spoke briefly before leaving. The young woman listened as Mr. Smith then spoke, explaining somewhat the reason for his presence. "Yeah, I read about that when I got back in England last week." Dee replied. "But are you so desperate that you have no other options than trying to recruit my sister? I rather think the Ministry has already done her enough harm." "And as for me, what makes you think I want to have to anything to do with you either?"

The two mercs roll reflex saves:one misses, one makes it. They make Toughness saves: the one who missed the reflex save also misses his toughness save and is out, the other makes his toughness save. Manta 5 misses its toughness save and is now heavily damaged and inoperable. Go ahead and post IC.

A few other fighters and their manager or trainers were already gathered in the garage with a number of the other mob thugs. One of the thugs looked over towards the new arrivals and gestured them over. "Alright then, seems someone thinks you all have some fighting skill. We will know if that is the case or not before the night is out." He began saying the small group. "But in the meantime, let's get down to the pits so you all can get your fight assignments for tonight and start getting ready." With that the group of mobsters led the fighters over towards some elevators in the garage. The car was already there waiting, and the man who had spoken unlocked the controls and pressed the button for a floor that appeared to be four floors below where they currently were located. Meanwhile outside… Crimson had moved up onto a rooftop just across from the site where the van had passed through the security gate. The teenage could see a few security guards slowly making the rounds around the fenced perimeter and a pair of guards located at the gate. But try as she might, she was unable to see any sign of the van the others had been transported in.

Dee was starting to feel a bit worried about Susan as she felt some anxiety building up. But she did not have time to say anything more when Mr. Smith stepped forward and began to speak. However, Susan gave him no time to explain why he was there as she began to reject any idea that she might go work for the Ministry. Beyond the annoyance Dee felt for Smith agitating her sister, the young woman was rather shocked to hear there had been another time were someone from the Ministry had offered Susan a chance to go work for them. The young woman glared a moment at Smith as she reluctantly rose from in front of Susan when Doctor Green spoke up saying it was time to leave. While Dee would prefer to stay longer, she understood the doctor's concern and could always come back later in the week or the following week when there was less going on to upset Susan. "No one is going to hurt you Susan." She offered. "I will be back to visit very soon."

The tough and confrontational attitude that Dee had displayed in the hallway slipped away as she entered her sister's room along with the others. The musical notes that filed the room stabbed at her heart, for she knew them only too well. It was one of the last songs she and Susan had learned to play together, Dee on the piano and Susan on the guitar, back before Susan had been committed. A smile came to Dee's face as she looked at Susan and she moved closer, kneeling down in front of her. Her eyes were moist as she looked at her twin. "Hey sis. It is good to hear you are doing better. I am so sorry it has been awhile since I last visited."

Edited my IC post

Dee seethed at her father's reaction, but she held any response in check just long enough for Doctor Green to interject. Though her words did little to dissipate the anger the young woman felt, they did appeal to her extremely logical mind. Certainly the last thing she wanted was to do anything that might further harm her sister. "Yes, you are quite right doctor." Dee replied in agreement, her tone much more neutral now. She wondered about the presence of this Mr. Smith and the need to "assess the situation." Dee did not see how her sister could be any more a security risk that she had been the last ten or so years. Unless of course this had something to do with the somewhat recent disappearance of Vanguard. But right now, she could really care less, as she only wanted to see her sister.

Okay, Velocity will use a hero point to remove her fatigue, then power stunt a new alt power: Disarm 8 (Extra: Area [Targeted, Burst, 200-ft]; Selective; Feat: Accurate 4 (+8 hit); Progression 2 (x5 Area)) {30/30} She will Power Attack (-3 atk, +3 Disarm: for +11 attack and +11 on the disarm) and gets a 23 on her attack roll against each of the masked women (?) with visible weapons. Assuming that hits any of them, she gets a 21 on the disarm check. I will edit my post based on the results.

Dee had barely been back in England a week, but it had taken her longer to get out to see Susan than she had intended. The young woman was in a black leather jacket with a white T-shirt with the words "Rage Against the Machine" emblazoned across the front. Black jeans and a pair of Doc Martins completed the outfit, along with a motorcycle helmet tucked under one arm. She had bristled some at the staff's use of her full name and title, but did her best to keep that irritation under control. She had made some efforts at insisting on being called Dee, but too little avail. Most likely that was due to the fact her parents were the ones paying for Susan's care, and the facility likely did not wish to somehow insult them. Despite the formality displayed by the staff, Dee had to admit they were quite professional. From what she had been able to see, she doubted there could be any better option for her sister. Once inside the corridors of the facility, following the nurse towards her sisters room (though Dee hardly needed the guide, having memorized the route years ago), she was quite surprised by the news that her father was already there. "My father is here?" She asked with a bit of a scowl and cold tone, even as she reminded herself that the bad blood between her and her parents was hardly the nurse’s fault. Even as she began preparing herself for a confrontation with her father, Dee focused on what the man had to say about her sister. The news helped to push aside some of the anger that had been building up, at least for the moment. "That is very good to hear." She replied, her tone much warmer than it had previously. "I have felt rather badly about being gone for so many months, particularly if that means missing such strides." But then the pair came within sight of her father and the other two individuals speaking with him near Susan's ward. Dee's attention quickly turned to the unknown member of the group, the man in the suit with the enormous briefcase. For a brief moment, she considered digging into his mind to learn what might be in there, but then her father spoke up, and she turned her attention to him. The young woman noted the stiff tone he used and look in his eyes as he addressed her. Good, nice to know you still have two daughters you would prefer not to acknowledge. She thought before glancing over to "Mr. Smith" as he was introduced before focusing fully on her father once more. "Ah, of course, I was wondering what might bring you out here when it is not time for your annual visitation with mother." Dee stated in a frosty tone as she turned her gaze back to the man in the suit.

Hmm, about how many stooges? How many with grenades vs. guns? And how spaced out are they?

Okay, a post with Velocity doing nothing but taking a few free action Take 20 notice checks all around her, just in case.

Though part of her brain was screaming that she need to be moving and try to do something to deal with the escalating situation, Velocity remained where she was on the stage. Graft had managed to stem the rising anger among the crowd, and the last thing she wanted to do at the moment was anything that might get them agitated once more. There was certainly something unusual going on, she could feel it trying to drain her, but right now she did not have a good idea what it might be or how to react. She had noticed Foreshadow had disappeared to somewhere, she just hopped he was on the trail of whomever might be behind all this and alerted the rest of them when the time arrived. The speedster continued to check the area all around her and Graft, looking for any sign of threats or other problems. As she scanned the crowd nearby, Velocity once again marked the masked women that had been attempting to stir up the crowd. But this time she noticed that they were moving forward with various weapons in their hands. Though she did not want to stir up the crowd again, she also knew she could not sit back and wait until it was too late, especially as some of the masked women were carrying grenades that could harm members of the crowd. "We have armed women in masks approaching Graft." She speedster stated to the man nearby in the rather unusual and unnerving armor. Then she was a blur of yellow as she speed around the nearby crowd, moving up towards each of the masked woman as she snatched their various weapons out of their hands. After she succeeded in disarming each of them, the speedster came to a halt almost where she had started.

Giang swam alongside her roommate as the pair continued their pursuit of the fleeing mini-sub. They did not have far to go before they came within sight of the surface of the waves. The mini-sub was up there alongside the other damaged submersible that had previously escaped and two others that were undamaged. All four submersibles were floating next to the far larger form of some sort of cargo ship. "It appears we will have the opportunity to confront Natas himself now." The Asian teen commented to her friend before swimming a bit closer towards the surface. As she came to about a hundred feet from the surface, she thrust her hands up above her head and towards the mini-sub they had just been pursuing before sweeping her hands out to her side. As before, several quick bursts of water shot out from her hands, streaking up towards the surface of the water where they struck both the mini-sub they had most recently fought and the one they had both damaged previously. Both submersibles were thrown up into the air a short distance from the power of the impacts. The more heavily damaged one crashed back into the waves, showing heavy damage as it listed to the side and began to sink. Two of the mercenaries in reinforced wetsuits crashed into the water as well, apparently having been standing up atop the submersible, appearing somewhat disoriented. The second submersible also hit the water hard once more, sinking back below the surface. While it now showed more damage, it was still in operating condition.

Tsunami will stick with her stunted power, moving in closer and attacking the two already damaged mini-subs from below. She easily hits with a 27 Manta 2 gets a 13 on its toughness save, so is heavily damaged and out of commission. Manta 5 does better with a 19 for a toughness save, taking only another injured (but still being rocked by the water blast). When Manta 2 gets upended, a couple of mercs get dumped into the water. Glamazon’s action!

Before Harry could answer Lucy's question, the agency’s phone rang. Shifting back to his human form, the rumpled private investigator picked up the receiver. On the other end he heard the measured, refined voice of Mr. Chen. "Good morning Mr. Hound, I hope you and Mr. Furlong have been well. I find myself in need of retaining your services. If you are able to begin immediately, I am currently down at the Waterfront, pier 11. It should not be difficult to find me, there are still currently a number of police at the scene. And while I have the deepest respect for our law enforcement officers, I am not confident that they will be able to investigate the matter as quickly as you and Mr. Furlong might be able too."

Giang also managed as smile for her friends at their responses. Though she was not feeling any of the cold that was affecting the other two, she certainly was feeling fatigued and sore from fighting Devil Ray. "The ship seems stable enough for the moment." She replied in response to Blod's comments. "It should only take me a few moments to get to the island to inform the authorities about the situation and then back here to ensure the ship remains afloat until they arrive." With that, the Asian teen moved back to the ship's railing and dove over the side and back into the stormy seas. She then cut easily through the rough waters towards the Naval base.

Velocity (5) (1) (1) (3) Tsunami (11) (3) (3) (3) (1) (1) Synapse (12) (12) GM (42) (please shift enough of these to Synapse and Tsunami so each of them recieve 25, the rest to Velocity) (2) (6) (8) (10) (3) (4) (9)