Thevshi

Round Four: Velocity: 60 (2 HP) Zoom Dark Fist 3: 37 Dark Fist 5: 23 Ye Quan: 18 (bruised) Dark Fist 3: 18 Siphon: 9 (3 HP) Dark Fist 4: 7 Velocity’s chase roll for this round is a 38 so she is going where she wants. Gang leader gets a: 12 ZDF 3 gets a: 15 The gang members on the bikes get: 11, 1, 14 Velocity will stick with Def attack, -3 atk/+3 def and attack the gang leader once more, getting a: 12, which is a big miss.

2:32 PM (BST) It was mid afternoon when Megan finished her last class of the day. The day had warmed up sufficiently that the young blonde had discarded her sweater between classes. Though she was enjoying the warm spring day, Megan still could not help but dwell some on the conversation with Robert earlier that morning. While she certainly found the idea of spending a few months cruising around the Mediterranean with Robert very appealing, Megan was still somewhat troubled by the fact that there had still not been any attempt to directly talk about what would happen after she went back to the States. But then it is not as if I have brought the subject up either. She reminded herself. Maybe I could condition my agreeing to go to the Med with him on us at least discussing what we both want for the future. That thought brought a brief pause to the rush of thoughts and feelings that had been speeding through her head. Do I even know what I want out of our relationship for the future? As she considered the question, Megan realized she did not have a solid answer. Robert was smart, handsome, charming and rich (though that did not mean as much to Megan as it might to some, considering she had trust funds with a considerable amount of money herself). She had enjoyed the last several months with him, even with the occasional tension. Their relationship had in a number of ways been quite unlike any of the young woman’s previous one. But for all of that, the Megan still struggled with some doubts. Would their feelings for each other survive long stretches of being separated for close to a year while she finished at Yale? Or would that distance only serve to cause Megan to grow bored with the relationship (something that had happened in a few other relationships even where there had been not such separation)? And even if the relationship did survive her last year at Yale, would she then move to England to be with him? Of course, Megan had the ability to make the trip back to England in less time than it took some people to drive across town to see their significant other. But that would of course involve reveling her identity as Velocity to Robert. That of course led to a whole other area of questions about what continuing her relationship with Robert would mean for continued superheroing as Velocity, whether Robert knew her secret or not. Megan knew from experience that simply trying not to use her powers was not easy, so she was not certain it was something she could just give up, never mind the sense of responsibility she had developed over the years. Yeah, what right do I have trying to press him for an answer when I cannot even answer the question myself. The young woman thought. Megan was interrupted from her thoughts by a faint beeping from her bag that she recognized as coming from her Freedom League communicator.

Velocity runs in to attack Coppertop, getting a 31. Thanks to Improved Crit 2 on her Strike power, that is a critical hit, so DC 33 toughness save for Coppertop (and a +18 attack for purposes of knockback).

The two members of FoS group 2 rush in to attack Myr, getting a 21 and 10. So one hit (DC 19 toughness save needed for Myr), the other misses. Mess is up!

GM The armored martial artists gathered around Myrmidon and Giang all seemed to react with shock as the grey suited man falls to the ground unconscious. There is a brief moment in which none of them move or otherwise act. Then two of the butterfly sword wielding men rush forward to attack Myrmidon. The first rushes in straight at the armored clone, slashing with both swords which are easily dodged by the man's intended target. But even as the first attack continues a short distance onward, the second arrives, leaping slightly into the air off a piece of mechanical equipment and bringing his twin short swords down and scoring a hit on the clone soldier's right shoulder.

Myrmidon's attack impacted squarely with the sorcerer's forcefield, but this time, the glowing golden energy buckled under the attack, and the clone's sword struck him squarely, managing to cut through the man's grey suit and at least partially into the flesh below. The force of the blow lifted the man off the ground, sending him flying backward some twenty feet, where he landed hard on the rooftop, clearly injured and dazed. The glowing barrier that surrounded him seemed to flicker slightly, then vanished altogether as he lost his concentration on maintaining it. Up in the air nearby, the golden "serpent" made of mystical energy also flickered before vanishing as well, releasing Giang. The Asian teen reacted quickly to her sudden freefall, flipping over to land gracefully on her feet in a low crouch. Standing back upright, she extended one hand back towards the grey suited man as he tried to push himself upright. There was no visible indication that she had done anything to him, but a moment later the grey suited man's arms buckled and he fell flat on the rooftop, unconscious.

Giang gets an 18 for her Acrobatics check to land on her feet and avoid taking any damage when she is freed in midair. For her action, she will hit the sorcerer with her stunted Dehydrate attack once again. Power attacking -5 atk/+5 DC. Her attack roll is a 23, so it is a hit. Sorcerer’s Fort save (vs DC 25) is a: 16, so he goes unconscious from fatigue.

The sorcerer makes concentration checks for his sustained powers (DC 25): His TK/Move object check is a 24, so the “serpent†that was holding Giang vanishes, freeing her. His Forcefield check is a 21, also a fail, meaning his forcefield goes down as well.

I take it to mean your attacking the sorcerer again. He gets a 23 on his toughness save, meaning another bruise and dazed. Go ahead with your IC post.

The faint morning light was starting to creep in through the curtains and provide some illumination in the dark bedroom. Exiting the bathroom near the large bed, Megan could see Robert still asleep under the covers. Making her way along the side of the bed, the blonde young woman gathered up her clothing from where it had been discarded the night before. Megan then moved over to a bag sitting on top of one of a dresser from which she took out clean clothes before stuffing the old ones inside. Taking off her towel, the young woman began dressing. She was about halfway dressed when she heard Robert's voice from the bed. "So, you are going to try to make your morning class." The handsome young aristocrat stated, a slight hint of amusement in his voice. Megan just smiled as she continued dressing. "My professors tend to be rather strict about keeping attendance. And I had the unfortunate luck that one of the classes I absolutely wanted to take while I was here was only offered early in the morning." "The simple solution would have been just to transfer and finish your degree here." Robert offered. Megan let out a little laugh. "I hardly would call that simple. There would be all the paperwork involved, and the question of how all my credits from Yale would transfer. No, I think I just need to suffer through the early classes for the next month and a half." But even as she dismissed the idea, Megan glanced over to look at Robert where he lay half propped up on one elbow looking at her. While not explicitly clear, it was certainly possible that Robert’s comment was at least partially motivated by a desire that she remain. "Though, I admit it would be nice to stay here." She offered. Robert gave a small smile. "Speaking of that, once the semester ends next month, there is no reason for you to rush back to the States is there? I mean, you won't start again at Yale until the fall. The yachting season will be starting soon down in the Rivera. We could go down and spend the summer on my family's yacht." Megan paused a brief moment after pulling on a light sweater. This time Robert was giving clearer indication that he wanted their relationship to continue, at least through the summer, but still without any clear discussion of what the future might hold beyond that. Then why don’t I press him to talk about that. Megan thought to herself. Maybe because I am afraid of the answer. The young blonde instead smiled, as she moved over next to the side of the bed where Robert was lying. "That does sound like it could be fun." Megan commented as she leaned down, placing her hands on either side of him. "I think I could be convinced to stick around for most of the summer." She added just before their lips met. As sometimes was the case for Megan, her perception of time slipped some, making the moments of the tender kiss seeming to last far, far longer. Feeling increase arousal, the young woman increased the passion behind her kiss, to which Robert, naturally, responded. As she felt his hands come up to grab her upper arms and start to pull her fully onto the bed, Megan snapped back to normal speed, resisting against Robert's gentle pull as she lifted her face away from his. "I do need to go to class." She said as she did her best to slow her breathing down somewhat and gave him an apologetic smile. "We can pick this back up later tonight." Robert gave Megan a small smile as one of his hand reached up to gently caress her cheek. The young woman then stood back up and started towards the door to the room, picking up her bag on the way out.

Megan could feel a number of conflicting emotions swirling around inside her. There was the part of her that had not fully let go of her feelings for Robert yet. Then there was the rational part that pointed out that it was unclear how much of what Robert was saying was really how he felt, or just the influence of the Stopwatch. There was the part of her insisting that she owed Kyle more than to casually toss him aside like this. And then there was the cold logical part that stated none of this mattered when faced with the terrible possibility of what might happen if she and Robert were to renew their relationship. "Things are not that simple Robert." Megan replied, her voice sounding tired. "I was told about your possible son by you, or at least an older you from a possible future where we did have a son, and had seen what destruction that son could cause." She continued. "I was quick to point out the Many Worlds Hypothesis as well, but the older you indicated that, somehow, both our possible son and that Stopwatch do not follow the normal rules of time and space." "You talk about what you feel is right, but how can I trust that while your holding that Stopwatch? I don't even know if I can trust all of what the older you told me, but the mere possibility it might true certainly gives me pause." "All of this has made me realize that it is probably time for me to get some answers about what else the accident that gave me powers might have changed about me. I have avoided seeking these answers for a number of reasons, either I was just too young, or I did not have a discrete means of getting them, or I just was not ready to know what those answers might be." The blonde young woman let out a small sigh as she continued. "But I cannot keep hiding from this any longer." Looking back at Robert, Megan had tears in the corners of her eyes. "I don't know what the future might hold for us Robert. But I have done my best to move on for now, and you should as well. You deserve to be happy, and I am not sure I can truly offer you that."

"Then you are well ahead of me, and I would imagine a good number of other students here." Giang replied as Elias mentioned already knowing what his future course would be. "Whatever I may have thought my future might be, that has dramatically changed. And so my time here provides me the opportunity to consider new possibilities, all of which will involve their own hardships and challenges." The Asian teen looked over towards the school’s buildings as she continued, "but I must admit, that I have enjoyed the opportunity to interact with those my own age that this school provides. Even as frustrating and confusing as that can be at times. But then, I am able to shut everything out when I choose to."

Velocity frowned slightly as the scientist gave something of an explanation about what they had learned so far, and at the mention of some samples they did not want to discuss more. Not that the speedster had any particular reason to believe the scientists were engaging in something improper, but given her last experience with some UNISON operatives, she could not help but be a bit suspicious. "Yeah, that really doesn't make things sound much better." She commented. "We could probably due with a more concrete explanation if possible, especially as we have two teammates looking further into the seismic activity after they determined it wasn't the volcano." "So unless Comrade Frost or Gabriel are going to help with transporting any of you off the island, we should probably get back to the beach so the nearby US carrier can get transports here to pick you all up."

Thursday, May 3, 2012 Cambridge, England 7:20 AM (BST: British Summer Time) Megan Howell closed her eyes as the warm water of the shower washed over her. The twenty year old was in the house owned by her current boyfriend, Robert Harrow, who was finishing his graduate work at the University of Cambridge. Megan was nearing the end of a year studying economics at Cambridge as part of a study abroad program through her school back in the States, Yale University. Though she had her own apartment near the university, since the end of the Christmas holidays Megan had generally been spending more nights at Robert's than at her own place. Of course, spending so much time with Robert had made it more difficult for the young woman to be out as Velocity, but she did what she could to get out in costume at least a couple of times a week, even if it was not for more than an hour or so (which was still enough time for her to get out to the European continent and to deal with some situation if she wanted). Those outings had been the source of some tension, as Robert at times questioned the reasons she gave for being unreachable if he happened to try to contact her while she was out. But thus far Megan had been able to defuse most of that and had generally tried to time her outings for when she knew Robert was busy and thus far less likely to try to get in touch with her. The young blonde had a fair bit of experience (not that she wanted it) with the problems her superheroing could place on her relationships, particularly romantic ones. The need to lie and keep secrets had caused tension in a number of her past relationships, but Megan had yet to really figure out when, if ever, was the right time to tell someone she was with about her dual life. But she was starting to wonder if perhaps it might be time to tell Robert the truth. The nearly seven months since she had begun dating Robert ,not long after Megan had arrived at Cambridge, was very nearly the longest relationship Megan had ever had. In some ways, the entire relationship with Robert was still somewhat unreal to Megan, particularly given how they had first met, more than two years before she had come to study at Cambridge. It had been during the summer after Megan's senior year in high school, when she and a couple of friends took a European vacation before they started at their respected colleges in the fall. Part of that trip included a several day stop in Ibiza, where Megan had celebrated her eighteenth birthday. It had been that night that she and Robert had met at one of the clubs on the island, before they ended up going back to Megan's hotel room together. That prior night together actually was a part of the reason Megan had not yet told Robert about her powers or her life as Velocity. There was a part of her which worried that for Robert, their relationship now was nothing more than a tryst he knew would end when she went back to the States to finish her undergraduate degree back at Yale. Overall, Megan was starting to feel this was less and less likely, but it was still a fear in the back of her mind. The blonde young woman's anxiety over the possibility was not helped by the fact that Robert had been somewhat quiet about any thoughts he might have on the future of their relationship after she did return to the States. Turning off the water, the Megan stepped out into the steam filled room, taking a nearby towel to dry herself off. The young blonde still had tan lines from the recent vacation she and Robert had taken to the Maldives over the Easter holiday. The trip had been very relaxing, allowing her and Robert to just spend time together with little else to distract them. For her part, Megan had been able to get through the tip without feeling a need to use her powers, though she had gone out as Velocity the very first night after they had returned from the trip. Wrapping her towel around herself, Megan took another to dry her hair some as she looked into the foggy mirror. Even if Robert wanted their relationship to continue after the end of the academic year, there was still the fact that she would be returning to the United States to finish her last year at Yale. While Robert would be done at Cambridge next month, his father had been ill recently, and the young man would likely be needed to help in running his family's holdings, meaning any continued relationship would need to be a long distance one for at least a year or so. Getting her hair about as dry as she could for the moment, Megan looked at her reflection in the mirror for a few more moments before turning to make her way out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom.

Straight CHA roll as asked. Only get a 8 I think I'll use a hero point to reroll: much better, a 20

Megan felt heart sink slightly as Robert talked about what the watch was allowing him to understand, and about their possible child. "What happened to us Robert was I had prior responsibilities I should have told you about but foolishly did not. The Freedom League requested I assist some UNISON agents in an operation in Eastern Europe, something that was only supposed to take a couple of hours. Things did not go as planned and that turned into a couple of days." "When you came to my apartment after I got back, I should have told you. But..I was tired, I had almost been killed, and even had lost my powers for a short time, so I was not thinking very clearly that morning and I let the chance slip away." As he gestured towards the bag of medical equipment and confirmed what Megan had been suspecting, the young woman gave him slightly affronted look. "Really Robert? Where is the fun in that?" She stated, not quite able to help herself from trying to alleviate some of the tension. Her expression quickly turned serious again. "Robert, please listen, our son is the very reason this watch is dangerous. I don't fully understand how or why, but its only purpose seems to be bringing him into existence. And he can destroy everything, rending both space and time." "Do you really want to potentially be responsible for the destruction of everything, everywhere?"

Okay, so Jubatus, Blue Jay and Edge will go with the South team, leaving Myr, Tsunami and Arcturus for the North. I will work on updating today/tonight

Giang had watched as Cerys had stepped forward to address the Roman Senate, stating that she had a means of revealing one of the Serpent People that was present. The Asian teen's focus went back to the golden haired young man they had seen meeting with the other Serpent People, anticipating his unveiling. She was not disappointed, as the Serpent Person's concentration broke and his true form was reveled to the gathered senators, even as he tried to claim it was all a trick. Giang did not hesitate once he was exposed. Taking a slight step forward, the Asian teen brought one hand up in front of her and sent a blast of water streaking across the room. The powerful jet of water slammed into the Serpent Man's chest, sending him flying backward into a wall before he crumpled onto the marble floor, very unconscious.

Tsunami sends a blast of water at the uncloaked Serpent Man, getting a 16. The blast is a DC 25 toughness save.

Velocity frowned slightly as she recognized some of the equipment that Robert had in the bag in the room, but quickly focused back on the young nobleman himself. Reaching up, she pulled off her mask, goggles and wig, letting her long blonde hair fall out as she looked at Robert as Megan, and not Velocity. "Robert, I never left you!" She replied. "You broke up with me after I was inexplicably gone for two days. I admit, I handle things rather badly, both before that, and most certain when you found me back at my apartment after I had gotten back. As I stated back in the lab in Sweden, you had every right to dump me." "I..I did love you Robert. As short as our time together might have seen to you, it was long for me. One of my longest relationships ever, to be honest, and certainly the deepest. Or at least to me." Megan added. "I am sorry I kept this secret from you," she gestured slightly at her costume, "but it is something I had been keeping as a secret for almost three years before we met that first time on Ibiza. A year ago, I was struggling with trying to decide if the time was right to tell you." "But please listen to me Robert, that watch is dangerous. I think it is influencing you. You need to stop listening to it, put it down for a moment and listen to what I have to say."

Velocity just makes her roll with a 15 (luckily she's smarter than average).

It had only taken Velocity a few minutes to reach Paris. Once there, the yellow clad speedster had focused on places where she had gone with Robert, greatly narrowing the places she would be searching. Checking those locations took about a minute or so, but turned up nothing out of the ordinary. However, for the young woman, being back at those places stirred up memories, much like her stop in the Maldives had during her New Year's Eve trip around the world. Memories she had spent a good bit of the last ten months getting past. Those memories, and the feelings still associated with them, were complicated by Velocity's current feelings towards Kyle, and to a smaller degree Siphon, not to mention what she had been told by the older Robert Harrow. Why of all the ex-boyfriends that could come back to haunt me did it have to be Robert? The young woman thought to herself as she left Paris and continued on to Nice. It took much less than a minute to reach Nice, and about that long to search the places she had visited there with Robert, which were considerably fewer than they had visited in Paris. Once again finding nothing out of the ordinary, she speedster continued on towards Verbier, Switzerland. Again, the trip to the mountain resort was quite short, and Velocity had a narrow list of places to investigate. A quick pass through the lobby of the Aube Blanche allowed her to speed read the hotel’s ledger, showing her that Robert had apparently just checked in to the room they had shared during their trip there. Coming to a halt a short distance from the hotel, the young superheroine looked back at the structure as she let out a small sigh. Yeah, that figures. She though as she once again felt memories returning from her visit here only a little over a year ago. "This is Velocity, I believe I have found Harrow in Verbier." She said into the communicator Fenris had provided her. "I am investigating the Aube Blanche here." With that she was off again in a burst of speed, vibrating her body's molecules as she passed through the walls of the hotel and then the door to room 17. "Robert!" She called out as she stopped just past the door. "Are you ready to talk yet?"

Megan smiled slightly as Amir mentioned enjoying driving. "Well, that is something I have never fully understood I am afraid." The blonde young woman commented. "I understand the ascetic that some attach to particular cars, and I appreciate the practicality some cars provide. I have just never really felt strongly about any ‘thrill of driving.’ I'd say it's a bit more of a 'guy thing,' but certainly not exclusive, after all, I know Jen certainly feels similar to you on the subject." Megan then gave a small nod in agreement as Amir mentioned how expensive parking places could get. "Yeah, I think am paying more just for the parking space with my apartment here in the Wading Way than many pay for an entire apartment in other parts of the city." She gave a small shrug. "Still, I like the convenience of having my SUV there if needed."

Cape, need an initiative roll for Mess.

A moment after Freddy had made his way out into the ring, his opponent entered as well, a young African American man in his early twenties. The young man towered over Freddy, standing about six feet tall, and was well built, but not as thick as the shorter private investigator. Watching how his opponent moved, Freddy was fairly certain that he was a boxer as well, and he certainly had a longer reached than the private investigator. Up on the balconies where the spectators were gathered some were gathering their winnings from the previous bout, while those that had lost were looking forward to the next match and a chance to change their fortunes. The bookies were busy taking bets for the next round, as spectators studied the two men that had made their way out into the ring, trying to look for any hint as to who might be the best prospect. After a couple of minutes, the referee moved up to the center of the ring, calling the two fighters over to him to begin their match.