Dr Archeville

"Heya, Push!," the many-layered figure shouted as it leaped into the fray, drawing a familiar shovel from a holster strapped to his back (and hidden by a thin coat, so it had not been immediately obvious). "Nice hit there -- lessee if I can match it!" The Revenant's shovel struck a solid blow, but this hound was just a bit tougher. The beast was unsteady, but not staggering about like the one Push had walloped. "Hrn." Another dog -- a smaller and normal-looking mastiff, normal save for the cheery & cherry-red eyes -- appeared by Cannonade. "Hello, Helmet-Man! Are you alright?"

Digital Defenders is a good name, though it makes it sound like we'd focus just on electronic/computer-related villainy. Which is why my vote is still for "Tech Titans" :)

Slick is up! Then a new round, with Rift! Also, Reflex save (DC 22); Will save (DC 22 or 16) (1d20+3=14, 1d20+10=24) Silver Scream fails the Reflex save, but passes the Will save.

Free Action: Draw Smoke Pellet (Obscure Visual & Olfactory) from Utility Belt Move Action: Fly back to edge of room, approximately 30 feet away. Standard Action: Using smoke pellet, filling a 25-ft. radius area (the entire chamber) with thick, garlic-scented whitish-yellow smoke. It's Independent & has Total Fade, so (unless countered) will remain for 12 rounds. Free Action: Extra Effort to SURGE for another action Standard Action: Shooting! In the Face! At the obscured and thus susceptible-to-surprise-attack Valkyrie! With an X-Ray Laser! Blast 13, +2 Sneak Attack; All-Out Attack (-5 Defense, +5 Attack), Power Attack (-5 Attack, +5 Damage) vs. Valkyrie (Defense 14). DC 35 Toughness if it hits (1d20+15=17) Valk: Bruised, Injured -- 4 HP Chevalier/Evil!Dok: Bruised, fatigued

Chevalier reeled back a few steps from the force of the blow, but showed no sign of so much as a slowing of his reactions. "What kind of warrior?," his electronically broadcast voice screamed. "The kind who erroneously thought those subhuman vampires would be able to take of a simple-minded slattern like you!" He kept his cannon-arm trained on Valkyrie, and with his free hand retrieved something from the ring of small panels at his waist. His boots-jets kicked on, and as he flew back to the edge of the room, he tossed the item down. A smoke pellet! The chamber filled with a thick whitish-yellow smoke, one that smelled strongly of garlic. (During their fights he did say he'd come prepared to fight vampires; this must be one of his anti-vampire weapons.) "But now I see that if I want something done, I must do so myself! Die, you superstitious fool!" Now Valkyrie was off-balance and in an impenetrable haze. Her eyes and nose stung almost as bad as the scorch mark on her back... but irritated nasal passages would soon be the least of her worries!

Yes, since it's a Will save effect, and thus not blocked by walls (be they brick or sonic). Bystanders, with +0 Reflex and Will, automatically fail, since they can't make the DC 22 saves.

I still think this group should not be all Dimension-y or Cosmic-y, and focus on Earth-based tech threats (or on alien stuff that comes to Earth, not go out seeking alien threats). The Midnighters, Claremont, and the proposed "Other Guys" team have all done otherdimensional stuff.

Archeville nodded, "was it a known villain stealing the tech, or someone new? I have faced more than my share of that sort, and I like to keep up with any new ones, and I do not recall hearing of anything lately from any known villains." "The chaotic sensory inputs you describe are typical," he said as he began a cursory examination, checking her eyes, ears, respiration, heart rate, reflexes, and other standard responses, "for someone who gained such abilities in an accidental, rather than intentional and directed, fashion. Seeing through a webcam does go beyond simply receiving and directing electrical devices, though." He smiled reassuringly, "you may develop further abilities!" He cleared his throat, "ah, first things first, of course -- making sure there is no damage. So," he reached into his labcoat pocket and drew forth his Electromagnetic Screwdriver, "if you would lay back, I can do a simple MRI scan of your brain to start."

Of those, I like Tech Titans the best.

"I am native to this area; I came online precisely four minutes nineteen seconds ago in the abandoned domicile behind me. Are you a cybernetically-enhanced organic?," it asked 'Caradoc.' "If so, was enhancement performed by self, or by others? Was enhancement elective, or necessitated by injuries to organic components?" It looked at Dragonfly as she circled him, its head rotating 360 degrees as it tracked her. When Miss Americana spoke, it paused in its tracking to look up at her. "I am a robot. My function is to preserve organic life; logic dictates the best way to do so is to preserve the dominant sapient organic, Homo sapiens. What are your functions?" It turned its head back to Dragonfly, "I regret to say that I cannot reveal my inner workings to you until I assess what your intentions are. You appear malnourished; do you require food?" To Supercape, this new robot was a fascinating sight. Well, not "sight," since the sensations he was getting weren't strictly visual. It was made of some heavy alloys, based on the mass/weight fluctuations he was sensing. He sensed traces of all sorts of EM and gravitic energy around it, though he'd never seen those combinations before; they didn't match any teleportation signatures he knew of, but that could just mean it was teleported in using a technique with which he was unfamiliar. Electricity ran through it, as expected for any robot, but he sensed scores of small 'gaps' in it, as if from incomplete circuits or some sort of internal damage. The neighborhood children, initially panicked by the arrival of the terrible robot, slowly began peeking out from behind their snow forts and parents cars when the heroes arrived. They seemed especially interested in 'Caradoc' and Miss Americana, but also interested in Supercape and Doc Titan; most looked over Dragonfly.

"Those are, in fact, exactly the steps we took!," he replied enthusiastically. "Have you considered work in the metahuman medical field? You seem to have the quick-thinking needed for it!" The signals had been drastically muted, though not completely muffled. When he closed the door behind him, it door sealed shut, fading seamlessly into the stark white wall; once the door had sealed, the signals that had been streaming into Jessica all stopped completely. She was cut off, with the signal from the visitor's badge being the only signal she detected. Looking around, she saw the room was sparse: an exam table, a small stool, an eye chart, ear/nose/throat light on the counter next to a sink that was off to the side, and a small cabinet above it. There were no obvious light fixtures, but rather the entire ceiling gave off a soft and warm light. Archeville gestured towards the exam table, and began retrieving some basic examination gear from the cabinets. "Now, let us start at the beginning, please: tell me again everything that happened which lead you to contact me about your new condition."

I hadn't pictured her as standing right next to him, more like 10 feet away. But, I didn't specify, so we'll go with what you wrote. Toughness save, DC 32; Fort save, DC 25 (1d20+16=27, 1d20+11=17) Tough fails by 5 = Bruise + Stun. Fort fails by 8 = Paralyzed & Helpless. And since you bought her Paralyze to Sustained, it'll be one full minute before he gets to try another save. (We really need to be more restrictive about combos like that) GM Fiat to shake off stun; have an HP. GM Fiat to re-roll Fort save on Paralysis; have another HP. Fort save, DC 25; re-roll (1d20+11=28) passes! So, "Chevalier" takes one bruise, and resists/shakes off everything else.

Dead Head did a double-take at Warlock, "Kay Cee? Izzat really you?" He laughed, "git outta town! I'd heard ya got attacked -- sorry I didn't swing by, been busy on my end, though not as busy as it was a few couple'a months back! Good ta see ya up an' about, though!" He looked over Push's bike, and the food on it, then back to Push. "Ya do know I don't eat, right? Not just don't, but cain't. Don't you worry none, though, I'll find some other way ya kin repay me for mah services..." Under the scarves, he grinned. The grin faded when he saw Ironclad and Powerhouse effortlessly haul their packages. "Uh, ya know I ain't that strong, neither, right? I'm mostly good fer endurance stuff, y'know?" A dog's bark echoed through the chill air. "Ah, Mutt's comin'! I bet he'd be int'rested in whatever yer makin' in that there pot!"

"Oh, this is nothing like mental manipulation!," he said, waving dismissively. "It is just beaming images and sounds directly into the parts of the brain that store those short-term memories. I used it to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy -- the super-long extended director's cut -- in six minutes!" "But if you are dead set on not going that route," he continued, at first a bit sad but quickly smiling again, "I do have many of them here in the system, and you can watch them on any of the monitors, either down here or upstairs in a more comfortable seat. Popcorn, too! Come, come," he waved her closer, "you can see the trailers for them here, decide which ones you want to see."

Bruised + Injured + Stunned. I know Kenson's suggested the extra damage from Sneak Attack doesn't add to knockback, but I cannot recall if the extra damage from Power Attack would. I'll say it does. Actually, looking back over the KB rues, I'm reminded of a RefCave discussion we'd been having on KBack, and ways to make it better (since, as written, it's actually near-impossible to knock someone through a even a standard house or shop wall). So I'll say this attack has/does no Knockback, so I don't have to deal with it! :)

Move Action: Draw Shovel from holster at back. Standard Action: Dead Head charges towards Hound #2! Charging (-2 Defense, +2 Attack), All Out Attack (free version; -2 Defense, +2 Attack), Power Attack (-5 Attack, +5 Damage); total modifiers -4 Defense, -1 Attack, +5 Damage. DC 28 Toughness if it hits (1d20+11=27) If Hound #2 is flat-footed, Dead Head's sneak attack raises that to DC 30.

"Indeed, though the table is in a shielded room," he said with a smile as he lead her down the hall, "so that we can gradually test your interactions with assorted frequencies. And so you do not accidentally interfere with any of the delicate equipment here!" As he led her down the hall, she could see numerous wide examination rooms along either side. Most held conventional equipment, both for study and for rehabilitation, and a few held some advanced devices. Some rooms were more like giant tanks, filled either with water or non-standard atmospheric mixes, some of which looked decidedly toxic to humans. In one, a man of stone was hovering over a large metal disk, which she recognized as an antigravity generator. In another, a woman with tree-like growths on her extremities was getting some wayward roots trimmed with a small handheld laser. "As you can see we have many station set up for a wide variety of environments, as well as a number of unique tools for our cases. These are needed for those metahumans whose mutations necessitate a non-standard environment, or for whom standard medical equipment would not suffice. For example, a little over a month ago, we had a young metahuman come in, suffering form a nasty infection. We tried to do some standard reads off him, but the standard monitoring equipment got nothing. That was when he told us his body projected a skintight force field around him -- which was preventing the leads from making contact with his skin!" He laughed, "getting medications into him proved a challenge, too -- but one, I am happy to say, that we were able to overcome!"

"I think that may actually be why Scarab and I get along so well," Viktor mused. "The fact we have both faced fear and prejudice due to our abilities, our natures. Even without knowing of the full breadth and depths of my mental problems, the simple fact of whose grandson I am, and my so-good-it-is-scary faculty with science and technology of all stripes; my fabulous wealth and movie star looks only mitigate some of the prejudice," he chuckled. "As for Jack, heh, I know exactly how intelligent and perceptive he is." He gave her a wink, "I am the one who recruited him, remember? Him and Lynn and Billy. There were some others, gone their own way, but those three have established a fine dynamic. I was surprised they took the initiative to reach out to others, like you and Dynamo, and offered a place on the team." He stroked his chin with his free hand, "you know, I never have asked him if he gets any 'vibes' off me. I would think not -- he detects energies, but I am not sure if that extends to mental energies. I have been meaning to go see him, see if he would be interested in doing some sparring. Not that I think I am anywhere in his league, but seeing some new moves would be useful. William, too, for some firearms training... and a closer look at those guns of his!" "I have worked with Arrowhawk, briefly. We were on a team, with Scarab and some others, though it did not last long. Too many..." "... internal conflicts. Too many alpha personalities, not enough sharing. But, yes, you are right, he is the type to be 'crazy prepared'. I... appreciate the foresight for having those, though there is always the danger of those contingencies being confiscated by another. Which is why I myself do not make those types of plans -- I know there is another -- an Other -- who could easily access them and do terrible, terrible things with them." His smile had faded, as he began reflexively thinking about all the ways his Other would use his scientific and technical skills to incapacitate or kill other people.

"Greetings, organics!" the gold-and-chrome figure exclaimed. "I am Protectron! I am here to help! Are any of these small organics your offspring?" It turned to "Caradoc," "Greetings! Query: are you an organic being in a suit of armor, or a mechanical being such as myself?" It turned to Dragonfly, "Greetings, technology-using human female! Query: what function do your devices serve?" It turned to Miss Americana, "Greetings, human female! Observation: you are very aesthetically pleasing." It turned to Doctor Titan, "Greetings, large human male! Query: do you require assistance in obtaining proper attire?" It turned to Supercape, "Greetings, human male! Query: By what means are you able to teleport?" Yeah, this year was already starting off odd.

Alright, then I'll edit so it's just her flying around inside the dome. Muse is up!

Well, Breakdown putting a dome around himself and her is do-able, but it'd make it hard for Muse or Rift or Slick to help, since (by default) Created Objects aren't transparent and thus they can't see through to target anything. A solid vertical wall between the stage and audience would work to protect the audience, but the performers on the stage (and the techies above and to the sides) would still be open to attack.

Ah, see, I thought you were just making something like an umbrella/dome over them, a foot or so thick at most. Not an entire wall between the stage/Scream and the rest of the audience.

Right, let's get on with this! GM Fiat to have Evil!Archeville succeed at his attempt to trick Valkyrie into turning around, leaving her flat-footed against his attack. Have an HP! Blast 13, +2 Sneak Attack; All-Out Attack (-5 Defense, +5 Attack), Power Attack (-5 Attack, +5 Damage). DC 35 Toughness if it hits. (1d20+15=33) Blast is Incurable Gamma radiation, and this is Lethal.

The battles were long, and the foes dreadful, but in the end the two were victorious, standing ankle-deep in the ashes of dozens of vampires, who had been using some of the natural tunnels under Providence to reach inside and feed on the residents. Their fights almost brought them into the Asylum itself, but never broke up into it, though one resident would spend all the next day complaining about the worm turning under his bed. Now they were in one of the larger cavern chambers under the Asylum, a few hundred feet from the cliffside opening they'd entered through (assuming their memory of the paths they'd ran through were correct!). "You are tres formidable, madame! Dze power weetheen you, dze fury... yet you exert such control over eet! C'est magnifique! Valkyrie, would... would you be willeeng to 'elp me with something? I 'ave fought dze monsters and dze culteests for some time, and I 'ave found it is 'ard to find solid allies, but I theenk you could be one." He gave her a solid pat on the shoulder, the one not almost bitten off by one of the larger vampires that had attacked them. His own shoulders slumped slightly, "I do dzees -- all dzees -- because... well... you see, my seester, she was was taken from me, some years ago, and-" Chevalier suddenly raised one hand, pointing, "Valkyrie! Behind you!" Hammer at the ready, she spun around, her warrior's senses focused on whatever might have been trying to sneak up on them unawares. She did not see that sections of Chevalier's armor, at the forearm, were reconfiguring themselves into a new energy weapon, a potent Gamma radiation blaster. "I said 'behind you'," Chevalier repeated, in a much colder tone, and without any accent. And then pain flooded into her.

A pinprick of blue-gray light suddenly appeared five feet in front of Jessica. She felt the tiniest twinge of vertigo, and she knew why: gravitational fluctuations playing hob with her inner ear, the calling card of Doktor Archeville's 'Schwarzschild Wormhole Aperture Producer,' or SWAP. The pinprick became a disk, the disk a hoop, and out of it appeared Doktor Viktor Archeville himself. "Hello, Miss Parker! Hope I did not startle you!," he chuckled, and extended his hand to her. The wormhole winked out of existence as soon as he emerged, and the blinking lights on his belt slowed, then most went out. "No problems getting here, I trust?," he nodded towards her visitor's badge. "I was concerned your new abilities might have interfered with the signals it gave off and the sensors embedded" he swept his hands out, "all throughout the building."