Thevshi

GM Lawrence turned to regard Lulu when she offered her apology and talked about wanting to make things right between them. The pre-teen was quite for a moment before he replied. "No Lulu, you should not have to apologize. I don’t know the details, but I know you came here from a bad situation, with a chance to begin anew. My parents were certainly wanting to provide you that chance, and I probably could have been more welcoming. I would be lying if I tried to say I was not at least a little bit jealous of suddenly having to share my parents’ attention with someone else. You likely picked up on that on at least some level." "So, if anything, we sort of became a circular negative reinforcement loop, each picking up on some subtle negativity, which in turn renewed our own negative impressions of each other." Lawrence paused a moment before he continued. "So, perhaps the way to resolve this is break the loop." He paused again for a moment and then spoke again. "I am glad you came here Lulu. I hope that moving here and attending Claremont has been as good for you as my parents seem to feel it has been."

Synapse "She certainly was not the only one to have such views of Crab, as I told her during some of our meetings" Dee replied with a hint of anger in her own voice. "While giving me my powers and training me in their use, Crab similarly left weaknesses in my mind that he could exploit, Over the last six years I have tried to root out and eliminate any I can find." "But I was luckier than most who went through the Psi Initiative, including my twin sister." Dee then continued, her rage far more direct than what Eira had displayed. "His program destroyed her psyche, resulting in her having to be institutionalized and kept on medications to suppress the powers that would otherwise be out of control." When Eira asked about whether he was still in prison and whether this had been verified, Dee did not hesitate to respond. "Since his capture, Crab was being held in a secure military installation, his powers being suppressed by the very drug he had developed to keep my sister’s in check so she could be safely cared for. He died a few days ago, I was present for the autopsy."

Velocity "It has been good so far, though we are not learning anything nearly as fascinating." Robert replied with a small shrug. "Looking forward to starting at Claremont in a couple years really." Just then Megan and her husband, Robert Harrow, made their way back into the kitchen. Unlike just a short time ago when she had left the two teens in the kitchen, Megan was now in a long red dress that accented her slim figure. Robert was tall and handsome, dressed in a black tuxedo that was well tailored to his lean frame. Appearing a few years older than Megan, the resemblance to Lawrence was impossible to miss. "Hello Adam, good to see you again." The Englishman said with a warm smile. "Okay, food should here any minute." Megan said as she walked over and leaned down slightly to give Lawrence a kiss on the forehead, much to his annoyance. "Be good and listen to Lulu and Adam dear." She said with a smile. "Of course." Robert replied with a slight blush in his cheeks. "We will probably be rather late." Megan said to Lulu and Adam as she started walking towards the backdoor towards the garage as Robert opened it for her. "No need to worry about Lawrence getting to bed, he will either go to sleep when ready, or just play video games till we get home." She added, a slight roll of her eyes with the later.

Veronica Danger Veronica was clearly in her element, hiking and climbing with ease as she helped Ben track the missing scientists. Of course, she did tend to keep a very regimented exercise routine through the school year to keep herself in shape for such activity. As Heroditus mentioned ancient Atlanetans going to other parts of the world after the disaster that had befallen them, the teenage Danger glanced back towards him as she reached the top of a short steep section of the rise. "Well, it is possible that object you found was something that was brought here through trade, rather than by displaced Atlanteans. Or some of them could have brought it with them as they traveled along the Silk Road for some other purpose." As Heroditus looked up at Veronica, he noticed something that he almost missed at first, a trace of magic in the air. Initially he had dismissed it as something emanating from the magical items Veronica herself carried. But then he realized it was not that at all, as it was spread throughout the air on the path ahead of them. But he could not seem to pinpoint what was the source of these wisps of mystical energy. Veronica herself did not seem to notice it at first, but when she turned back around to continue up the pass they were currently in, she froze for a moment, looking directly ahead and past Ben at something no one else could see. "Everyone stop!" She stated in a very firm voice, holding out one hand to signal a stop as well. The teenager then rushed forward to catch up with Ben, grabbing his arm to get him stop as well and moving around so he could see her. "Stop Ben, there is something up ahead." "I think I know what happened to the missing scientists." She stated as she turned back to look out ahead of the group, seemingly studying something. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Down in the base camp, Kemal shook his head slightly at Danica’s question. "No, I do not believe so." He stated as he and the teenager followed after the two men off across some of the sand dunes towards the nearby dig site. Over a few dunes, Danica found a rather large area of the desert had been cleared away some, reveling a number of stone foundations under the sands. Workers had clearly been continuing to clear sand away from within the foundations, looking for other signs of human built structures and any artifacts which might have been lost in the sands over time. A few areas had been reinforced with long plywood planks, allowing the workers to dig deeper into the sands in search of artifacts from the past. It was around one of these deeper sections that all of the workers were now gathered, looking down into the deeper pit from above. Kemal and Danica made their way over towards the crowd, Kemal shouting in Pashto and getting a path cleared for them to move up to the edge. Once there, Danica looked down into the pit where a couple workers were standing over what they had apparently just uncovered. It was the remains of some animal, and as Danica studied it, she realized what it was, it was a fossil, but one that appeared to be in remarkably excellent shape, although there was something odd about it. Taking a bit longer to study what was down in the pit, the teenager realized she had seen plenty of pictures of fossils similar to these, it was a dinosaur, a smaller one (relatively) that appeared to walk on two legs. As she studied one of the feet of the dinosaur, Danica recognized the large curved talon on the foot, it was some sort of raptor. But, she realized it was much larger than most she was familiar with, from the looks of it likely standing higher than the average person and many times as long. As all of this was going through the teenager’s mind, she suddenly realized something else. The remains down in the pit were not fossilized, but actual bones.

Well, Veronica only gets a 20 on her Notice check, but the DC is lower for her because of her extras on magic awareness.

Synapse Dee had also gone off to one of the living quarters in one of the "spokes" off the central hub of the Haven. A short time later she emerged in her medium grey and purple full bodysuit along with the domino mask she wore. As she waited for everyone to gather, the Englishwoman checked the information of some of the screens once more. Once everyone had gathered together, she reached out with her mental powers, connecting to each of the others gathered there. Okay, our mental network is in place. She said to all four of the others as once. Muirne, you will be able to use the mental network I set up to communicate with all of us during the mission, as long as you stay within about a kilometer and a half of me.

Synapse Dee listened as Eira gave some information regarding her last interaction with Kay, brining one hand up to rub a finger on her cheek as she thought about what she heard. "Hmm, interesting Kay would make the jump that your situation was a threat to synthetic rights, as opposed to just parents choosing to send their child to a particular school, regardless of how their daughter might feel about the choice." The Englishwoman reached out with both hands and began pulling up new holographic screens into the air as part of the Kay cluster. "I do not know how much Kay ever told you about the project to create her synthetic body, but it was over seen by one of the original Vanguard members, John Crab, also known as Headcase." One of the screens displayed an image of a man with a grotesquely huge head on a small, frail, childlike body seated in some sort of hovering chair. "An incredibly powerful psychic and supergenius, he created a number of technological marvels for the Ministry of Powers and Vanguard, assisting the Ministry in a number of initiatives to develop Powers, including the project that gave me my powers. As such, he was the primary force behind Project Kay. He was also a right bloody bastard." There was true venom in Dee’s voice with the last description of Headcase. "Six years ago, Crab had a falling out with the leader of Vanguard, Champion, and both of them along with the other two members of Vanguard disappeared. The Ministry recruited myself and three other individuals to investigate the disappearance and we ultimately learned that Crab had been secretly trying to control the other Vanguard members and using his powers to exert influence over other parts of the British government to pursue his own agenda. Crab was captured and imprisoned. My first interactions with Kay were to check her systems to ensure Crab had not left any weaknesses or backdoors that he could exploit if the need arouse. I found more than a dozen which I removed."

Goanna only gets a 22 on his toughness save, giving him his third bruise! @KnightDisciple Thunderbird is up!

Synapse "It had bloody well better be." Dee replied with a grin as Erick suggested the next six years were likely to still be wild, even if different. Taking a drink of her water after the toast, Dee seemed to give the suggestion of Tokyo consideration for a moment before smiling. "We could certainly go to Tokyo. Of course, by then I likely will have started to be slowed down. And if there is not international scandal brewing, we can always start one ourselves." She added the last with a mischievous grin. But even as she was relaxing and enjoying the night there was the sudden feeling of something seeming amiss, causing the Englishwoman to turn and look out over the dance floor below and then scan more of the area in the restaurant, her expression becoming more serious. I just had the strangest sensation. She informed Erick over their mental link. It…was like someone's mind was copied, but only for a brief moment before disapearing.

Synapse "There are indeed." Dee replied in agreement when Eira mentioned some of the means by which Talos could be fooling the satellite imaging of the various governments of the world. When the robotic teenager connected with the outer layer of the house’s systems, she could sense just beyond multiple firewalls and other protections which were quite formidable. Perhaps not quite equal to those in Miss Americana’s systems, but not far off. "Yes, Kay Tregennis." The Englishwoman then stated as Eira turned to the subject which had been the reason for the meeting in the first place. Reaching her hands up and bringing them together, Dee caused the holographic screens showing the satellite images to shrink slightly. Then with reverse gesture she enlarged the ones showing Kay, moving those Eira had added into the cluster around the central image. Dee looked over at Eira as the teen mentioned her conversation with Kay before she had gone to Claremont. "Was she?" Dee asked. "Tell me about it, why did she feel like she needed to come and save you?" But even as she asked, the older woman had a suspicion she knew at least part of the answer.

Paradigm "Well, within all the habitat zones currently in operation, as well as the archology zones, there are approximately two hundred and fifty million sentients on CoVic Station." Paradigm stated in response to Lulu's question. "Within the habitation zone we are currently in, there are about thirty million of those individuals." The leader of the Praetorians and Seresk led the Claremont teenagers out of the hanger and into a wide hallway with arched ceilings which rose about two dozen feet into the air. There were other smaller hallways and various doors off the one they were walking through, which apparently was all part of the Praetorians' headquarters on the station. The hallway eventually ended in a balcony overlooking a large room containing a number of seating areas gathered together, decorated with various plants and what appeared to be holographic sculptures. The far wall of the room was made entirely of transparent material, rising up to the ceiling. Beyond could be seen what appeared to be an outside space. Taking a set of stairs down to the lower section of the room and through a pair of glass doors the Praetorians led the group of students to the area beyond the glass wall. The exterior of the Praetorians' headquarters opened into a large spacious area that stretched out further than any of the gathered teens could see in each direction. Multistory buildings, most averaging around four or five stories high, ringed various open plazas and park areas, though in the distances the Claremont students could see some buildings at least a dozen stories high or more. Looking up, the teens saw a high domed ceiling covered the entire space, in which many large sections (easily as big as several city blocks each) had been replaced with some sort of translucent material, through which they could see the glowing nebula cloud which floated near the station. The wide sidewalks which crisscrossed through the buildings, plazas and parks were filled with a wide assortment of beings of all shapes and sizes. Some of the nearby beings passing by stopped briefly at the sight of the two Paretorians as they stood in the small plaza in front of the Praetorian headquarters with the Claremont students. "This is the Main Plaza." Paradigm stated as she turned back towards the teens. "There are numerous sights on this level, as well as transit tubes and passages to other sections of the zone should you wish to visit them. Eira is familiar with the zone, so for the moment we will leave you to take in the sights on your own."

Veronica Danger Veronica gave a small laugh at Janus' comment about having not fallen through a portal or activated some doomsday device, if only because it was entirely possible something like that could have occurred! Just a couple months earlier that Veronica and their fellow classmate at Claremont Felix had gone down to Brazil to deal with a giant robot which had been sitting in a Danger International warehouse for some seventy years. Danger Manor was no less a collection of unusual and sometimes dangerous objects collected by the family members for nearly a century. "Well, I am pretty sure Aunt Rachel was not expecting us to finish this in day, nor spend all day at this." Veronica replied to her cousin's comment about lounging by the pool or watching a movie. "So maybe see what we can get to for part of the morning and spend the rest of the afternoon doing one or both of those things and then come back at it over the next few days?" She suggested. Setting the lantern down on a table concealed under a drop cloth, Veronica went over and picked up a box of her own and moved it over near where Janus had sat theirs. "Method? No, I am pretty sure this is an exercise in futility. But I guess just start looking through things and anything that is obviously just junk we can either get rid of or maybe donate."

Synapse "Please, call me Dee." The Englishwoman stated as she looked over at the teenager with a small smile at the compliment about her taste in music. "And thank you, I have noticed you have pretty good musical tastes yourself." Dee focused back on the various displays suspended in the air as Eira asked about hard connecting to the house’s system. "Sure thing, that Blueray player is not just for Blueray." She stated almost absentmindedly as she pointed over towards the electronics underneath the large flatscreen TV mounted on one of the walls. At the teen's last question, Dee frowned slightly as she replied. "Well, we have heard a number of things, but mostly it has been shock at how this could just happen without any of the world's intelligence agencies catching much in the way of a hint that it was in the works. The Ministry of Powers, Defense and SIS have been working overtime trying to learn more about what is going on in Rurland, without much success. Not to mention what is going on in the defense departments and intelligence agencies in countless other countries." "Take this for example." Dee continued, pointing at the satellite image of the area Rurland now occupied. "This is real time. But, we are not certain it is an accurate depiction of what is down there."

Veronica Danger Between Lulu and Pan, the man threatening the shop owner was fooled into leaving the scene. With Lulu tracking the man, Veronica turned her attention to the shop keeper. Removing a few of the small trinkets from a necklace, the teenage Danger reconnected them to a small silver chain which she then slipped around one wrist. Moving out of the illusion, she knelt down next to the old man. "Are you okay sir." She asked as her hands glowed with mystical energy and she reached up to gently touch his shoulder with her right hand in order to heal his injuries. "What was that man after?"

As we are out of combat time, Veronica will set her magic pool to: Healing 10 (Feat: Stabilize) [21 PP] Then go over to heal the shop owner.

Synapse (MAXED) (21) Wait Till the World is Mine (11) I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper (3) Future Shock (1) New to Freedom (3) Bubblegum Heart (3) Paradigm (MAXED) (1) Intergalactic Sightseeing (1) Velocity (MAXED) (1) A Quirk in Time (1) Tsunami (MAXED) (1) Spring Cleaning (1) Veronica Danger (23) Fairy Talers (2) Shadows of the Sapphire Moons (7) Ancient Enemies (4) Tropical Hideway (2) Dead Men Tell No Tales (2) Reptile Brain (1) New to Freedom (5) GM (5) A Quirk In Time (2) Reptile Brain (2) Campus Calamity (1) (So, rollover enough posts to get Veronica to 25, then the rest to Kath’lana. Ref point to Veronica as well, thanks)

Synapse Synapse had asked Eira to meet her at the North Bay home of her fiancé, Erick Sloane. The home was a white two story villa nestled on the southern shore of North Bay, overlooking the cove in which sat the North Bay Yacht Club. Just as Eira had knocked at the door, she heard a voice from inside that was drawing closer. "Ms. Katastroff is here." The artificial teen heard as the voice drew closer. Dee Farrington, also known by some to be Synapse of Vanguard, opened the door, offering the artificial teenager a half smile. The Englishwoman was dressed in a pair of black jeans and red Rage Against the Machine T-shirt, a Bluetooth headset in one ear. "Hello Eira, thank you for coming." Dee said as she invited the teenager in. The interior of the home was of a sleek, modern design and décor, consisting of mostly various shades of white. Dee led Eira a short distance from the foyer to a large, spacious living room filed with leather sofas and chairs. Tall windows looked out on the back patio, swimming pool and yard, and beyond that the cove containing the yacht club and Great Bay itself. But as impressive as the view was, Eira's attention was likely more quickly drawn to the multitude of holographic screens that were suspended in the air throughout the living room in various clusters. The largest one that was more or less in the center of the clusters was clearly showing satellite imaging of the area that was now being claimed by Talos as Rurland. There were a number of smaller screens around that one, some showing images of abandoned buildings from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Each of the various clusters of other holographic screens also had a larger, central screen, each of them depicting Talos and the other machine intelligences who had been with him during the broadcast which had announced Rurland: the robotic Centurion, Silver Mask, Whiplash, Fiddler, and of course, Project Kay. The other smaller screens in each of the clusters contained file images of each of the individuals in question (where available) and other files regarding each. "Greetings Eira Katastroff." Spoke a mechanical sounding voice as Eira and Dee entered the room. "Eira, that is VERA, the AI that oversees the Haven back in London." Dee said almost absentmindedly as she moved over towards the center of the room. The Englishwoman glanced back at the artificial teen with a small smile. "Erick used to have all the computer and communications equipment in a secure bunker under the house. I think it is a compulsion that goes with the entire masked vigilante motif. When we needed to renovate after the house was damaged during the most recent Terminus invasion a couple years ago, I convinced him to let me network in some projectors and secure comms. up to her so we could work where there is more space and natural light. He still gets to have his dark, dingy bunker."

Veronica Danger Veronica looked over at Danica as she mentioned staying behind, feeling a bit guilty about dragging the other girl out here into this cold, inhospitable place. When Micah spoke up in agreement that it might be good to have someone at the base camp, the teenage Danger nodded in agreement. "We will be sure to stay in touch." She replied as she had radios brought out, giving one to Danica after she checked they were on the same channel and putting the other in one of the pockets of her parka. The rest of the Claremont students then started up into the rocky foothills to the west of the camp. Between Ben and Veronica it was not long before the trail of the two missing scientists being located, Ben being able to pick up traces of their scent (aided by Micah reducing the wind in the area), while Veronica found traces of their passage on the ground, such bits of tracked mud and rock chipped by climbing equipment. Although the terrain was steep at times, the group made good time, truly only slowed by the need to keep on the trail of the missing men. As the sun continued to rise above the horizon, the air warmed slightly taking the bite out of the cold. During the climb they saw a couple hawks flying high above, and at one point spotted a pair of mountain goats with heavy winter coats on a nearby hill, grazing on the rough patches of grass and sparse vegetation that covered the foothills. As the teens went higher into the foothills, they were able to look back at the desert behind them and see the dunes stretch out in all directions like a rolling sea of sand as far as they could see. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As her classmates made their way into the Pamir Mountain foothills, Danica did her best to get comfortable down at the basecamp. One of the men who had initially met them, Kemal, remained with her, showing her some of the other artifacts that had been uncovered by the dig. About an hour after the others had left, and about ten minutes after their last radio check in, a pair of the other workers came rushing back to the basecamp, clearly excited about something. They ran over to Kamal, speaking quickly in Pashto. The man tried to calm them down and asked a couple of questions. After getting some additional answers, he looked over to Danica. "They say something unusual has been uncovered at the main dig site."

Hey Grumble, can I get a Notice check for Octoman for tracking. Veronica will also make a roll with Survival, getting a 34.

Well, there is a remote chance Goanna can make a Sense Motive check to not be feinted, but he does not. So yeah, between the feint and being entangled, that will hit. He gets a 24 on his Reflex save though. @Electra E, Chelone is up!

Synpase Dee Farrington was also drinking water, given her current expectancy, and unlike Erick, her food was mostly gone by now. The Englishwoman was dressed in a black off the shoulder crop top with half sleeves (arguing she might as well show off her abs while she still could), a black leather miniskirt and a pair of comfortable heels. She gave Erick a small smirk at his question. "Salsa is the Spanish word for sauce." She stated. "We just felt it was best to call it what it is, without needing to incorporate the Spanish word for an already existing word like you Americans seem to like to." Dee then picked up her glass of water as she heled it out towards Erick. "Well, here is to just over six years. I imagine the next six will be wildly different."

After doing some more healing and while waiting for Legatus, Veronica will reset her magic pool. She will keep the Comprehend, but drop the healing and replace with: Blast 10 (Feat: Accurate) (21 PP) The gem's pool will remain as previously indicated.

Veronica Danger <"I am glad we were able to help."> Veronica responded to Mr. Francisco after she had managed heal the worst of his injuries. Looking back down the path of destruction caused by the Centuritron, the teenage Danger gave a small frown. <"Hopefully we will be able to catch up with it before it can cause too much more damage."> She said. When Felix came over to let her know he was going to help herd the cattle, Veronica gave a small nod. "Okay, I will make sure no one else is in any significant need of medical attention and then get ready to start following after the Centuritron." As Felix took to the air on his rustling mission, Veronica moved around the site of the train wreck, healing anyone else with any significant injuries, including any of the livestock. After she finished with that, she made her way back over to the Danger Cycle, pulling a motorcycle helmet out of her pocket dimension as she prepared herself to start following the trail of destruction.

Doktor'd -- though be sure to remember our house rules on Skills & Feats in VPs! Going to spend 18 of Veronica's unspent points as follows: Adding 10 points to stats: +2 Dex; +2 Int; +2 Wis and +4 Cha Adding 2 ranks (8 PP) to her Amulet (for 10 DP to be used, but only spending 9 of those and saving the others for now): Gem 2: Variable Power 2 (10 PP variable pool; 4 PP per rank (One ability score at a time); Extras: Action (Move); Drawbacks: Limited 1 (cannot be for CON)) {9} This upgrade is for towards the end of the current academic year.

Danger Manor North Bay, Freedom City Saturday, June 20, 2020. 10:23 AM The current academic year had recently ended at Claremont Academy, and for a change, Veronica did not have something that immediately needed her attention. This meant both she and her cousin, Janus, were able to spend some time at Danger Manor before they set off for any summer plans. Of course, given that allowing a pair of teenage Dangers to remain idle for too long was asking for trouble, the cousins had been set to work straightening up an attic in one of the wings of the large estate. Veronica climbed the last set of stairs that led up to the attic space in question, holding a LED camp lantern in one hand as she reached the top and began to look about the shadowy stacks of boxes, furniture and other objects that were illuminated by the lantern. "I remember coming up here during a game of hide and seek when we were eight." She said over her shoulder to her cousin. Moving further into the attic, Veronica went over to the nearest pile of boxes to start getting an idea of just how monumental this task might be. The teenage Danger was dressed in her typical attire, dark grey cargo shorts, an olive green T-shirt over which she wore a light brown thin linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up, along with her well-worn hiking boots. The brown haired Danger had been a bit more quiet than normal since the end of the school year. Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that during the last week of school Veronica had ended her relationship with a graduating Senior from North Bay Academy whom she had started dating before the winter break.