Thevshi

Nope, Merc 6 is out. Go ahead and post IC.

Velocity listened as Ana responded, sort of, to her question about how might be the best way to disrupt the finale, frowning slightly as the woman was a bit dismissive about the incidents thus far. "The chief of police may be corrupt, but the attack on him also injured or sickened a number of others, so it was hardly justice." The speedster responded as she considered the artist’s responses to Foreshadow's questions. "I have worked with the US government at times, as well as UNISON and the United Nations, but I am certainly not an employ of any government." She replied. "As Foreshadow said, I am not against the views of yourself or whomever may be behind these events, or the right to express those views or protest. I am here to make sure that expression or protest does not hurt anyone else." The young woman turned her head to glance out at the crowds in the plaza, though she did not actually need to do so to look at them. "I visited Rio several months ago for New Years, and in preparing for the stop, I did a bit of research about the city. I know that is has its problems, poverty being a major one. But I also read about how city's beaches act as something of an equalizer, a place where rich and poor both gather, and there is no distinction between the two. I would imagine Carnival is a lot like that as well." Focusing back on the others, she then continued. "So, thirty minutes or so till the finale. That is like twenty nine more minutes than I need to search all of this plaza and its surrounding buildings for anything that might be part of any plan for the finale. Depending on what I find, we can then decide how we want to proceed."

Gritting her teeth slightly from the blast she took, Giang glanced over at the mercenaries who had reveled their positions among several buildings. Given the rather ineffectiveness of their ambush, she had little doubt that she and Thaelia could easily deal with them, the question was how much of a delay of their search for Natas would dealing with the ambush cause? But of course, the Asian teen knew that if they continued on without dealing with the group, the mercenaries could cause further damage to the city and harm to its inhabitants, as well as potentially being able to follow after the two teens and attack them from behind. Swimming forward slightly, Giang once again was weaving and twisting as she went, making herself a very difficult target. As she went, her gaze fell on the mercenary who had hit her, and one of her hands shot forward to send a precise blast of water twisting through the waves at the man. The blast struck him squarely in the upper chest, knocking him back out of sight.

The mercs do not do so well on initaive. I will keep the same initiatives for us. Round One: 22 Tsunami (bruised, 2 HP) 20 Glamazon (unharmed, 1 HP) 20 Beta Merc 1 17 Beta Merc 5 17 Beta Merc 6 11 Beta Merc 4 6 Beta Merc 2 Tsunami will go defensive again, Def Atk: -5 atk, +5 def. She swims forward some, and takes 10 to blast one of them. That merc goes down. Glamazon’s action.

GM The teenage girls were moving swiftly through the water as they discussed the possible targets that the mercenary and his men might be after. In doing so, they failed to notice another squad of the wetsuit garbed men lying in ambush among some buildings. Suddenly the sound of multiple energy weapons erupted to the pair’s right, as the water was filled with a small hail of blasts. But despite catching the two by surprise, half the mercenaries missed their targets. One blast managed to strike Giang, but once again, her watery forcefield absorbed the worst of the blast and she was able to the hit without any ill effect. Two blasts impacted against Thaelia, however, this group had apparently not been informed of the ineffectiveness of their weapons against the Atlantean, as both blast bounced harmlessly off her durable skin.

Tsunami only gets a 12 on her Notice check. However, a group of mercs lying in wait get a 21 in setting up their ambush. (I made the range penalty for noticing them a bonus to their roll). The ambush has the first three firing at Tsunami, the second three at Glamazon. 1 hit on Tsunami, 2 hits on Glamazon. Glamazon once again shrugs off the shots, Tsunami just makes her toughness save.

"I do not believe he has any particular interest in Deep Ones." Giang replied as she swam alongside her roommate. "Natas is a mercenary, as I understand it, he was hired to kidnap the Deep One infants by some unknown third party. It is possible that same party may be his employer this time as well, and has him seeking something else connected to Lemuria. Or he could have a completely different objective. Unfortunately, we simply do not have enough information at the moment." The Asian teen was quiet a brief moment as they swam towards the center of the city. "Perhaps it would be best to investigate the other temples first, particularly if the majority of them are close together. If this Lemurian temple is underneath the rest of the city as you say, access to it would not be easy, providing us with a bit more time to catch up with Natas if that is his goal."

HG, please give me a Notice check for Glamazon.

Carl still had something of a scowl on his face as he had watched the round between Freddy and his two fighters, but it was also clear he was rather impressed. "That will do." He commented, ringing the bell to end the round, a slight look of relief coming to the face of the fighter that had been left to face Freddy alone before he went over to help his companion who had been knocked out. Carl focused back on Harry. "Yeah, your boy has the chops, that is for sure. He will have his first shot tonight. Give me your number and I will pass it along. You will be contacted early this evening with detail on where to go and what to do."

Velocity listened quietly as Ana Tavaras spoke to them, all the while wistfully watching the scene around them (which her goggles allowed her to do without turning her head away from the woman in front of the group). When Tavaras had finished, the speedster spoke up. "Well Ms. Tavaras, we are not here by our choosing, but because someone has been causing problems that necessitated our intervention. Believe me, I would far rather be out there dancing and enjoying what you have created. If anything, we are here to help ensure that this does not get 'messed up." "Seeing as you know more about your creation than anyone else, you are likely the one best able to help us try to prevent any other trouble. If you were trying to disrupt the finale, or use it to make a statement, how would you best accomplish that?"

Cape, you can go ahead and exposition this little match, I do not want to slow us up making a bunch of rolls. As my IC post indicates, Mess' two opponents are good, but not very experienced at fighting alongside each other against one opponent, something Mess should be able to use to make the round look good.

Carl arched an eyebrow slightly at Freddy's response to the challenge. "Getting a bit cocky there boy?" The elderly man asked as he glanced over towards the two fighters that were already in the ring. "Looks like it will be both of you." He called out, the two rough men both nodding as they waited for Freddy to get on his gloves and make his way into the ring. Once the private investigator was in the ring, his two opponents spaced themselves out in front of him, one to the right, the other to the left. Carl rang the bell on a table next to him and the match began. Freddy's two opponents immediately got into the guard position, moving forward and studying Freddy as they did so. It was rather clear that they knew what they were doing, but, at the same time, did not have much in the way of experience in working with another fighter against one opponent. Meanwhile, outside…. Lucy and Crimson Tiger were both easily able to find locations from which they could keep an eye on the gym. There was little in the way of traffic in this part of Greenbank, and far less in terms of people out and about on the sidewalks.

Velocity was with the others on Gaian Knight's flying rock platform this time. Though it was moving rather slowly in her view, given what has been reveled regarding Biosphere A, she had the feeling that running along what appeared to be the back of the creature at hypersonic speeds was unlikely to help with trying to keep it asleep. Glancing over the side of the platform, the speedster felt she had probably made the right choice. Unfortunately, that choice meant she was left waiting and watching, which provided LOTS of time (from her perspective at least) for her mind to wonder some. The yellow clad heroine glanced over to Fluer, giving the other woman a small smile, as she recalled her visit to Sanctuary a couple of weeks ago to talk to the plant controller about some personal issues. Based on the advice Stesha had given her, as well as tests run by Supercape and Dadelaus, the speedster had come to a decision. She just had not had much chance to act on that decision just yet. As Gabriel began his attempt to lull Biosphere A back to sleep, Velocity focused back on the present, readying herself should she be needed.

"I take no pleasure in being proven correct." Giang replied as she and Thaelia began swimming away from where they had just fought the first group of mercenaries. For a brief moment, the Asian teen wondered what the Atlantean settlers would do with their prisoners, but realized it was not really her place to question whatever their laws might be, though she certainly hoped they would not be summarily executed. As the two teens swam towards the center of the town, Giang reached out with her water sense to try to get a feel for the area around them to help locate any possible groups of mercenaries. "Do you know where this temple the mercenary spoke of is?"

GM <"We will take charge of this miscreant princess, so that you and your companion may continue on to deal with those working with him."> Stated one of the Atlanteans who had moved over near Thaelia and the captured mercenary in a cold, hard tone. The Atlantean teen was able to see that other Crantorium inhabitants had moved over to the damaged mini-sub and secured its driver, who was still conscious, but rather disoriented. Off in the distance, a faint *BOOM* of an explosion punctuated that the mercenaries' attack on the city was far from over.

Beneath the waves, Tsunami was unaware of what was taking place on the deck of the Prince Edward as she remained focused on resisting the unnatural current that was still attempting to propel the ship toward the naval base. Thus far, the Asian teen had the upper hand in the contest, having brought the ship to a complete halt despite the efforts of whatever force was behind the current. But though she was able to maintain her control over the waters around the Prince Edward, Tsunami was unable to provide any other assistance to her friends upon its decks. Hopefully, they would be able to stop whatever was control the waters soon.

As discussed in chat, Tsunami will continue to keep the ship from moving.

"Ana Tavares. Okay, got it." Velocity replied over the phone when the mayor requested that they concentrate on the currently untouched center of the carnival. After getting directions on where she could find this Tavares, the speedster hung up and waited for Graft to arrive. Unfortunately, for Velocity, any amount of time more than a few seconds was far too long, but she still gave Graft a small smile when he appeared. "Well, our sweep of the area has been cancelled for the moment. The mayor wants us to go met with the woman who organized and put this whole thing together, one Ana Tavares." The yellow clad speedster then gave the directions to the biosuited hero. "See you there." And with that, she was off in a blur of movement, speeding through the crowds towards the location where they would met up with Foreshadow and Lady Brazil.

Carl scowled slightly as he listened to Harry, his gaze shifting from the rumpled private detective to Freddy. "Hector huh?" He replied in a less-than-impressed tone. "More oftent than not that punk wastes my time. Doesn't have an idea what real talent is." "So, you're the fighter eh?" He then barked at Freddy, still sizing up the former boxer. "Certainly built for it, and move like one." Not really waiting for an answer, he looked back to Harry. "Okay, if you want your boy to move on, he is going to have to show me he deserves it." The old man gestured to the ring in the center of the room. "He just needs to get on some gloves and step inside for a round or two."

"Some sort of robot from the future." Velocity called down in answer to Steed's questions as she assessed the damage it had caused. "It looks as if it disabled the Bug as well, likely is going after the other fragment back at base." "I am getting Robert back into the warmth of the base, he looks pretty bad off." The speedster called out as she hefted her boyfriend up into a fireman’s carry over her shoulders. "I will be back for the others." With that, Velocity was off, running into the snow towards the research base. Even with Robert's weight and the slippery ice, she was still fast enough to cover the distance in seconds.

The mercenary struggled for a few moments against Thaelia's steel like grip, but too little avail. A quick glance around him revealed that the Asian teen was swimming over to the pair and a number of the inhabitants of Crantorium had arrived as well. The man stopped struggling, realizing that it was futile. "The main objective is something from the temple at the center of town. That is where Natas is going with half a dozen others." He replied, hoping that cooperation might help his situation. "The other teams are merely to draw away defenders or otherwise cause confusion."

He can't beat that, so she has him.

Giang looked over worriedly as her roommate was caught in another shockwave, feeling a sense of relief as the durable Atlantean teen emerged without any obvious injury. The Asian teen then quickly turned her attention back to the mini-sub. Trusting in her friend to deal with the last diver, Giang focused all her attention on the vessel. Taking a deep breath, she pulled her arms inward a moment, focusing her energy before thrusting them out in front of her and sending a powerful blast of twisting coils of water up towards the mini-sub. This time, the Asian teens attack struck the vessel squarely, the powerful jets of water smashing through the hull and the internal systems inside. There were a few small explosions inside as various systems were destroyed, and then the vessel listed, losing power as it went dead, and then slowly sunk towards the ocean floor, crashing down hard.

Round Four: 22 Tsunami (bruised, 2 HP) 20 Glamazon (unharmed, 1 HP) 4 Merc 3 3 Mini-Sub Tsunami will attack the mini-sub once more, Power Attacking -2 Atk, +2 Dam, getting a 20 on her attack roll, which hits. The mini-sub get as 12 on its toughness save (vs DC 27), so it is destroyed! Glam is up!

The last of the divers watched as Glamazon sent one of his companions flying backward through the water unconscious. He had seen how ineffective their weapons had been on the girl, so knew it was futile to attack her himself. "Manta 3, concentrate fire on the Atlantean, I will deal with the other girl." The man stated, as he aimed at Giang once more. This time his attack came closer, but still missed the Asian teen. Meanwhile, the mini-sub turned slightly, launching another micro-torpedo at Glamazon. The micro-torpedo zipped past the Atlantean, exploding behind her as she was caught in its shockwave. But as before, the Atlantean teen was able to brace against the concussive wave and emerge unscathed.