Thevshi

GM Inside his control room, Warden watched with satisfaction as first one of the teenage heroes, and then the other, fell to his various traps. Neither had been easy to capture, with each resisting as hard as they could, but ultimately falling prey to his genius. The master trapmaker keyed controls to make sure both capture teens were well secured before turning his attention to the last of the teens still active, and the one he had been commissioned to capture. The Asian girl was still outside, dousing the "fires" on the building’s outer walls. Warden needed to lure her inside, and into particularly prepared rooms. But he had a good idea on how to do that…

Velocity smiled slightly at Lvov's response. She was glad he was willing to be somewhat reasonable, and certainly glad he understood they both had secrets they wanted to keep. "Well, you might be underestimating Frost's connections with the Kremlin. But even in a best case scenario, it would likely take him a few minutes to make the right calls, and then it could take a few more minutes for anything to be communicated down to you here, and that is far longer than I have the patience for. So I am perfectly fine with being pragmatic and each of us having secrets." She stated. "Back in mid-February, I encountered a device similar to these pieces, but apparently far more refined. A group from the future was seeking to recover the device here, and used agents who were well trained in infiltrating the present timeline, even impersonating members of present day organizations as well." "Ms. Steed recovered one of the pieces of this other device that only became active recently, and alerted me to the discovery. Hronos discovered another. We were led here looking for the third piece, which you…hypothetically have uncovered. There is much to suggest that these pieces of this other device are connected to the one I encountered back in February, and if that is the case, the time travelers I mentioned might come looking for them as well."

Velocity was glad the Russians were at least willing to be friendly and somewhat helpful, though she was a bit concerned about their little exchange in Russian. But before she could respond, Hronos spoke up, mentioning that Professor Sobchak worked in the field of temporal physics, which caused the speedster to pause a moment (which was a considerable amount of time from her perspective). She then recalled having read in one Robert’s scientific magazines while visiting him in England that this research station had only been established about a month ago. That knowledge and what Hronos had to say next, apparently having understood the small exchange in Russian, had the young woman frowning slightly. She certainly did not want to cause some sort of international incident here, but could now see that it might be very difficult to get the third piece if the Russians had it already. She could try to contact Comrade Frost to get his help in this, but was not completely sure how much he would be willing to work against any Russian interests. But then Ivov's reaction quickly made her question that. "Thank you Captain." She stated as they made their way inside, the speedster not taking a seat, as she tended to be a little more high energy than normal when in costume, given she did not need to hide her speed. "As Hronos stated, we are not here to uncover any state secrets or the like. Our concern is the danger posed by the pieces of this device, of which we have two parts. I believe this facility was only set up about a month ago? That is interesting, as these pieces only became active in mid-February." "While I understand your concerns, this is a matter far beyond America or Russia, and possibly even this planet. If you like, I can get in touch with Comrade Frost, who is currently acting as a liaison with the Freedom League to address some of those concerns."

Cool TA! What is the date for the thread?

Okay, now everyone but Tsunami is caught (or otherwise incapacitated). That will be corrected shortly as we will be ready to move on to part 2!

GM While Net Fly tried to regain his bearings after crashing to the ground, the first pair of drones reversed course to come back for another pass. This time the teen was unable to dodge the electrical arc that formed between the two, the current coursing through him. But somehow, he was able to shrug off the effect as he tried to stand back up. But that was when the second pair of drones made their next pass, their electrical arc also catching Net Fly solidly. This time, the teen's body went ridged, as his vision began to narrow, before everything went completely black. Just as the superteen began to collapse unconscious to the floor, a pair of metal pinchers attached to long thick metal cables extended from the hallway walls to catch Net Fly and restrain him…

What convinent timing!

No dice on Kn: Physical Sciences (not Megan’s strong point) Only a 24 on Gather Info, not enough to recall the professor’s work on temporal physics, but does that yield any other info?

Velocity gets a 17 for her Diplomacy check (which includes the -2 penalty), though it is 21 if Attractive figures in. She does not have a clue as far as Sense Motive.

Velocity had donned one of the cold weather coats on the Pegasus as they made their way out to meet their greeting party. She smiled and gave a small nod as Captain Lvov introduced himself and the other two individuals with him. "A pleasure to meet you all." She replied. "I am Velocity, of the Freedom League, my companions are Hronos, Lord Harrow and Ms. Steed." The speedster stated, indicating each of the others in turn. When Doctor Konev asked if they needed medical attention, the young woman shook her head. "No doctor, we are all fine, thank you." She then turned to Lvov, as he more directly asked the question that she knew they all likely had. "Well, we are actually looking for something that could pose a significant threat to this facility and possibly the world. A piece of a crystal that can cause time distortions and other phenomena near it."

Vince gave Carmen a small shrug as she suggested he take the curse more seriously, still seeming to be unconvinced. Sergio's attention, along with much of the rest of the family, remained on Nick. "It has long been believed that the ghost of the wife of one of my uncles haunts the north tower, having committed suicide in a room there after my uncle died from the curse eighty years ago. But I do not believe there have been any other reports of hauntings here, despite the number of family members who have died in this house over more than a century, both due to the curse and other causes." "As for whether there have ever been any attempts to contact ancestors who have passed, I am not aware of any documented attempts to do so. One of my great-aunts had a keen interest in the occult and mysticism back at the end of the nineteenth century, and regularly held seances in the house. It is possible some of those could have been attempts to contact some of our ancestors." "Must we have a seance?" Asked Gretchen from where she sat on one of the couches. "I..I am not sure I am comfortable with being present for one of those." She added, her hand once again on the cross around her neck. Sergio appeared as if was about to respond to Gretchen's comment, when Jonathan spoke up first. "Gretchen, Mr. Cimitiere is the expert on these matters. If he feels a seance is necessary, then we will follow his advice." He said in a gentle tone. Gretchen did not seem particularly satisfied with the response, but she did not speak any further. Most of the West Coast members of the family, particularly Vince and Paul, still appeared rather skeptical of the entire matter, along with Martin III, but the rest of the family was rather clearly on board with doing whatever was required to break the curse. As Nick focused his unusual senses more closely on the family members showing traces of magic and then the wards on the house around them, he was able to discern a number of things. The faint magic on those family members who had lived through at least one prior occurrence of the curse had apparently been marked by whatever magic was driving it, but for whatever reason had been passed over for other victims. The stronger reading from Sergio was due to the fact that he had already survived the curse twice. The various wards that had been placed on the home, apparently at various points in time, were not serving to ward much of anything. In part that was because they were relatively weak, either quite old or due to the ability of the one who placed them. But they also generally served to cancel each other out, given their patchwork nature. Nick could sense several from a number of Christian faiths, a couple placed by voodoo practitioners, and even a trace of the infernal, coming from below the house in what he assumed was somewhere in the basement.

Megan had been watching Robert with growing concern as the Pegasus spaceplane took them further and further south. It certainly seemed that the increasing proximity of the three pieces was affecting him, but far less clear as to why the effect was so sever, compared to what the Stopwatch had done. Now she was really wishing they had stopped to drop him off in Freedom City before continuing, but he would have likely resisted being left behind. When the plane's radio crackled to life, the speedster was somewhat glad to be able to focus back on the mission at hand. With a blur of motion, she reached out to key the transmitter to respond. "Research Station Yesltin, this is Velocity from the Freedom League. Requesting permission to land."

Elegy, I would certainly be interested with one of my characters, Tsunami, who is certainly aquatic in nature. I do not know if it has been mentioned to you, but when using canon elements in an thread (be it a member of the Freedom League, a villain, or an organization like OVERTHROW), you need to send a PM to the Refs to get approval. If you have already done so, sorry, just not sure if that has been mentioned to you.

The next pair attack, also hitting. So, another DC 20 Fort save. In the meantime, some automated restraints reach out to grab Net Fly, hitting. They get a 35 for a grapple check.

As she talked Velocity was able to see the expression on Robert's face, though she was directly focused on Hronos, thanks to the three hundred and sixty degree vision her goggles provided. She had a pretty good idea of what was bothering him, she herself felt a bit guilty about leaving out the fact that Collapse was their possible son. But, that was still a rather personal issue for her, and not one she was willing to just tell someone she knew only a little about. Instead, the speedster focused on answering Hronos’ question. "Well, I believe one goal was to remove the Stopwatch from this timeline. But, they also talked about wanting it to help them against Collapse." When Hronos mentioned the location of the third, and possibly last, piece, Velocity perked back up, glad to be getting back to the task of locating and dealing with these artifacts, instead of dwelling on the issue of Collapse. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" She stated.

Round Two Net Fly: 35 (unharmed, 1 HP) Drones 2: 28 Drones 1: 19 Manacles: 14 The first pair of drones come back for another pass, getting a 22, which easily hits as Net Fly is now flat footed because he is stunned. Need another DC 20 Fort save.

"Lemurians? I am not sure about any such connection." Giang replied to Thaelia's question. "But I was told that the Serpent People in the Lost World are believed to be somehow connected to those here on Earth." The Asian teen was somewhat concerned as the Atlantean teen appeared somewhat on edge by the mention of the Serpent People, glancing around some. But whatever concern Thaelia had, it seemed to pass quickly, as she began attempting to mimic the odd appearance of a fish that was swimming by. The effect was enough to have Giang laugh lightly, glad for levity to remind her that they were on vacation, away from the responsibilities of school, and far removed from any possibility of conflict with her father or any of Dr. Sin's other lieutenants. The Asian teen let herself float freely in the waters near the reef for a short while, making as little movement as possible, taking the opportunity to take in the majestic beauty of the sea around her. Finally, she looked over to her roommate. "So, did you want to look some for one of those undersea forests? Or return to Crantorium now?"

Using Create Object to form the wall of water between the "man" and the stone wall.

Giang frowned as she inadvertently alerted their target to her presence. With any pretext now gone, the teen felt little need for continued stealth, and broke into a run after the fleeing figure. There was certainly something unusual about the man, as he was able to move quite quickly, but still be relatively silent regardless. Noting the man's apparent path lead him straight towards a seemingly solid stone wall, the Asian teen decided it might be best to deny him access to the wall. Bringing her hands up as she ran, Giang summoned a wall of solid water to form between the man and his destination.

Vince looked over at Carmen as she asked her question. "You don't believe that story do you? It is just an old wives tale, that some here have chosen to believe." He asked. "Deny it if you want boy." Sergio stated, looking over at the young man. "It will not mater after tomorrow evening when death comes for you." The old man then turned to regard Carmen. "In answer to your question young lady, the victims of the curse have died in all manner of ways. Most by what would appear to be freak accidents, some apparently by natural causes, and a few by what would appear violent means. But in all instances, the deaths fell within the thirteen hour timeframe the curse follows." The D'Ascenzo elder then looked over to Nick. "Her name was Rosalia Belleci. And there have been a number of attempts to contact her spirit over the centuries, all have failed. The first that I know if took place within a century of the start of the curse, back in Italy. The medium that performed the seance reportedly fled the house screaming in terror within minutes of beginning the ceremony." "The most recent attempt to contact Rosalia's spirit took place just before the turn of the century, in this house. But no contact was ever made. Over more than a century and a half, various members of our family have sought to have wards placed one this house to protect them from the curse. But none have succeeded in stopping a single death when the time for the curse arrived."

GM Elsewhere, on the surface of the Tyrrhenian Sea…. The midday sun shone brightly on the clear waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Seagulls bobbed on the surface of the relatively calm waters, resting before preparing to set off in search of food once more. But with the approach of a large vessel, the birds took flight, squawking as they scattered to the winds. The Python was a somewhat battered trawler, but still sturdy enough for the calm weather these waters were currently enjoying. Several crew members were moving about the decks, busy with the routine tasks that filled their days. On the ship's bridge, one crewman was watching the Python's GPS as the vessel slowly chugged through the waves. The ship had just reached a waypoint that had been set in the GPS, a small "ding" sounding to ensure the event was noticed. "We've arrived. Someone needs to go tell the captain." The man said to the other two crewmen on the bridge, both of whom hesitated a moment, neither very keen on the idea of going alone to speak with their employer. After a moment, one of the men gave a faint grunt before speaking up. "Fine then, I'll go tell 'im." Turning away from the other two, the man made his way off the bridge, headed for the lower decks. A short while later, he was moving through the corridors of the deck bellow, arriving at the door to the captain's cabin. Knocking on the door, the man spoke loudly, in order for his voice to carry through the heavy wood. "Sir. We have reached the location you set." "Have us hold position and inform the assault teams to prepare for a dive." Came a cold, hard voice in return. "Aye sir." The crewman replied before setting off once more back towards the bridge to carry out his orders. Inside the cabin, a six foot tall man with a heavily scarred face turned away from the door to regard the maps spread out on the desk located on one wall of the small cabin. Natas scowled slightly as he considered the last few months. Just five months ago, he would have been launching a mission like this from the large submarine that had served him as a mobile base. But the submarine had been lost during a job in Freedom City, sunk by a pair of teenage superheroines who had also prevented him from completing his job. In fact, the mercenary had barely escaped capture with a handful of his old crew, the rest ending up in prison. Between using a large chunk of the money he had saved over the years and some extra money eared on a few easy jobs, the supermerc had been able to buy the Python and hire a new crew of mercenaries. Now, he had managed to land a contract that would put him well on his way toward being able to replace the lost submarine. This time, he would not let anyone prevent him from completing the job. Picking up the green helmet designed to resemble a snake with its mouth open around the opaque faceplate, the scarred supermerc placed it over his head, attaching it to the reinforced black and green wetsuit he wore. Natas then turned and made his way towards the cabin door to join the rest of the assault teams.

Eh, not quite that bad. Net Fly's flight does shut off, and he does stay stunned, but is not worse off (least for the moment). You can make a IC post if you like (including the falling down). If not, let me know and I will move on in the second round.

Okay, Net Fly is stunned by the second pair. I need a concentration check to see if he can keep his flight power active. Also, you get a new Fort save to shake off the Stun, with a +1 on the roll.

GM Flying up through the hole he had blasted in the ceiling, Net Fly found himself in another smoke filled hallway. Thankfully, there was no sign of anyone that could have been hurt by his blasting his way through. Just as the young hero arrived, another set of metal bars slammed into place to block the stairway entrance on this level. Just then he heard a humming sound from below, as a pair of small rotating disks flew up through the hole and started towards him. As the two disks drew close to Net Fly, they each veered to either side of him, a ribbon of electricity arching between them as they went. The young hero was able to duck down beneath the crackling electricity as the two disks flew past. No sooner was he righting himself than a second pair flew up through the hole and started towards him as well. This time, he was not able to avoid the electrical arc, the current coursing through him as the disks flew past. The shock caused the teen's body to spasm slightly as his vision blurred slightly and things began to spin slightly.

Megan skidded to a stop near the unconscious police chief, not feeling a need to be subtle anymore now that she was in costume. Glancing over at Luiza, the speedster rolled her eyes slightly. I really wish she would shut up. But then, she focused on the much more serious issue of the unconscious police chief, who had stopped breathing! Oh no! Knowing her own medical skills were lacking, the speedster quickly began scanning the area for any signs of some emergency medical personnel that might be nearby for any injuries to the crowd. A quick scan of the immediate area around her (which took only a fraction of a second) showed no visible EMTs or the like. Thinking the police chief was too heavy for her to lift and move quickly, the young speedster decided to do a quick loop in the surrounding area to look for someone to help. If she could not find anyone quickly, she would have to figure something else out. Setting off in a yellow blur of movement, Velocity zipped around through the crowd, searching for any EMTs. Passing by the seedy bar in which she had earlier spotted Erick, she spotted the young man once more, alongside someone who was finishing up providing medical attention to someone with a serious head wound. I hope he is finished up here. She thought as she skidded to a halt near the pair. "Hi there, I hope you can speak English. I'm Velocity, and someone just let loose some tear gas in a crowd nearby. The chief of police, or someone similarly important, got a extra does and is unconscious and has stopped breathing!"