Dr Archeville

"What things was waitin' for ya, sir?" Dead Head asked, growing agitated. "People? Critters? An' didja get a good look at th'old lady?" The zombie looked back to Robin, then back to the spirit, then to the sorceress again. "Sez he was under a bridge, with Harry an' Carl an' Gina, an' went to 'ih shack ta get a coat, an'... an'... hold on a sec." The zombie closed its eyes, but that did not diminish the emerald glow from his eyes; if anything, the glow was getting brighter. A moment later, wisps of green-flecked light gray smoke -- some form of ectoplasm -- billowed forth from its mouth, and spread around the area, giving temporary substance to any and all spirits nearby. "Been wonderin' if I can do that," the zombie mused, then turned back to the spirit. "Sir, can ya pleas tell us yer name? We wanna make sure ya get a proper burial... an' that the ones what did this know full well what they did."

Dead Head laughed slapped his thigh, "that does sound like a great thin'! Lil' kids runnin' around, seein' where their great-great-grandfolks is stayin', bringin' some joy to the place. I mean," he paused and cocked his head slightly, "assumin' the kids are respectful, they don't run around knockin' over stuff or spraypaintin' the headstones." "But, guess that kinda attitude's gone tha way'a Queen Victoria." The zombie sounded a tad saddened, but quickly perked back up, "I mean, there was huge interest in tha Dead back then, spirit mediums an' seances an' such. Ya don't see much interest in that nowadays, 'cept in horror movies, or that 'reality' show. Whatsitcalled... Ghost Facers."

And how would Fearsome Presence work? Or would it?

You'd said something in Chat about Takedown Attack interacting with thisversion of the Mass Combat rules. Howso?

No! 200%, quite a bit more than the 20% that's normally recommended/expected for a tip. Two cups of coffee (one being really nice) and a raspberry danish would come to, what, $15 at most? So with the 200% tip (leaving twice the total price of the meal as a tip), that'd be $45 total.

"No, no," Archeville assured as he waved the techno-wand over Rift's shoulder. The graze quickly healed. "de next vould involved a speedometer und altimeter." "But first, let me patch you up, please," the Doktor said, smiling. "Dere is no reason you should leave her mit such injuries... dough it is better to haff suffered dem in a controlled environment, razher dan on de streets, ja?!"

What's the Japanese script on the crate say? And what's on the papers?

The zombie shrugged, "park yerself wherever, Red, I'm sure no one'll mind. Jes' don't knock over anythin'." [bg=#000000]I most certainly do mind![/bg] The zombie turned from Divine and appeared to address the air, "calm down, Raul, she ain't gonna hurt anythin'." He turned back to face her, "so, what brings ya by? Lookin' ta have another chat with Freedom Angel?"

I think we need Toughness saves for the things Hellion attacked, then it'll be Fleur's turn.

Archeville's brow furrowed during the first part of the transmission as his mind raced to figure out who that Captain Thunder impostor could be. When he revealed himself to be Atlas, his face fell. "Nein, nein, nein, nein, nein...." he whispered. And then Atlas mentioned power going out. The Doktor mentally braced himself... but there wasn't even a flicker. "... von must admit," he opined, "he is thorough...." "Right," he announced with a sharp clap, then spun around and began to pace. "Grue invasion, multiple fronts, Freedom League is down. Most of de city's infrastructure has been smashed, de access points blocked, und now de power is out. Riots und looting are rampant, und dat is just from our own people; dere is also de escape at Blackstone to contend mit. Und who knows how many Grue spacecraft above us, how many Grue agents are on de ground already, und how many more of dose... Kaij-Grue are out dere. On de plus side, dere are stil a lot of superheroes out dere, und several of deir bases haff independent power supplies und communications systems, so ve are not completely cut off."

... are you aware how much that line I bolded makes you sound like a horrible, horrible 90s Kid-esque player? "Ex-Assassin" is something that's probably not going to work as a PC Hero in this setting. Also, garrotes are probably the least Heroic weapons I can think of, so I'd really prefer not seeing that, either. (And, no, I don't want anyone suggesting weapons which could be even less heroic.)

"Think I found 'im," the zombie stage-whispered to the as-yet-unnamed sorceress. He turned back to the spirit, and nodded towards it, "I don't know who did it, sir, or why, but I will find out, an' I will make sure it gets de-magic-ified an' returned to yer body. An' this lil' lady here," the zombie jerked its head towards Robin, "is gonna help me." Dead Head brushed off the top of one headstone, "Now, sir, why don'tcha jes' set yersef down here, he patted the headstone, "an' tell us all about what happened, 'kay? We's gonna do all we can ta help ya, but we need to know all we can about what happened. Where was it you was killed? Didja get a good look at 'em? Didja hear anythin' peculiar?"

Dead Head snapped his fingers, "I figured that was you what did all that work! Yeah, I saw, an' I was impressed! An' so was a lot'a the locals!" He gently took the flower-cup and held it carefully in his hand, in part because he was not entirely sure what to do with it. "Y'know what else is a shame? The way cemeteries don't do headstones anymore. Least, not the public ones. Most states passed laws back in th' 60s sayin' graves could only have flat markers, not big headstones, so's to make it easier to mow the grass. I mean, a cemetery just loses a lot'a it's... whatchacallit... ambiance if it ain't got no tombstones!" "But, yeah, that's jes' the way'a things, I s'pose," the zombie opined, "th' livin' fergettin' the' dead, the old makin' way fer th' new. An', in a way," he kicked off his boots and let his toes brush against the new grass, "that is how it should be, there should be a movin' on, fer both th' livin' an' th' dead. But they ought not ferget 'em, not entirely. Which is, y'know, my whole... thang. That's why Memorial Day's actually become my favorite holiday."

"Ah... vell..." Archeville was clearly trying to stay calm and relaxed, but was also clearly becoming more and more anxious, "you see..." The Doktor took in a deep breath, and let it slowly out, rising slowly into the air as he did so via his Gravimetric Belt. He turned and looked her in the eyes, "de ding is, dis is all new to me. Mein dating history fluctuates from 'nonexistent' to 'dings Ace Danger vould do a double-take at.' For most of de year, I don't date, don't have any sort of relationships, und focus entirely on mein vork. Except for de 'sabbatical' I take every year at Oktoberfest, vhen I let mein hair down, und... make up for all de lost time. Und... vell..." He glanced away slightly, just enough to break eye contact, "dere vas no end of villing und eager co-eds who vere happy to spend an hour or so mit Der Doktor." "But," he looked back to her, "as I said yesterday, dat is losing its appeal, und I no longer vant it. I vant -- I need -- someding more to sustain me."

Oh, and for the record, the whole time he's had his Enhanced Wisdom up (to better get a read on her, and fight off those Evil!urges), not his Enhanced Charisma.

Archeville worked quickly on the wounds he'd inflicted, using his Electromagnetic Screwdriver to remove the numerous shotgun pellets with focused beams of magnetic energy, cauterize the wounds with a precision laser, and then a mix of infrared radiation and magnetic energy (and a few other rare EM wavelengths he'd noted Dark Star used when he did his healing thing) to promote healing. "An excellent performance, Herr Rift!" the Doktor exclaimed as he helped him up. He was grinning like a madman... and perhaps Rift was concerned about just how much of the "Mad Scientist Act" was really an act. "Even better dan I had anticipated! I vas sure de heavy pistol vould be de von to take you down, but no! You vere able to adapt to it! Und mit practice, I am confident you can deflect a wide shotgun-like blast just as easily!"

Switching Gadgets 3 to Which will give him a +7 bonus on his recovery check, and the ability to make a recovery check instantly (rather than after one hour of rest, as normal for a staggered condition). With his Con of 14/+2, his total recovery bonus is +9. Since the DC is 10, Rift automatically makes it. Hooray !

Dead Head's rictus grin grew a bit wider as he watched Stesha work her magic. Wish they was all this nice "Not a whole lot, an' most'a what I do see are the villainous type. Folks comin' t'rob a grave, either of valuables or of the corpse within, or lookin' t'enslave spirits what haunt the place. Some of 'em -- mostly the petty graverobbers an' jaded teens lookin' to th' Dark Side fer a thrill -- I can scare off, but sometimes it takes more, an' that's when I gotta get physical. Sometimes a case a hero's workin' on'll see their paths cross with mine, but I'm the only one what regularly patrols the cemeteries an' other restin' places." Dead Head hopped up on a headstone and sat with his legs dangling, getting out of the way of the new growth Stesha was calling up. He looked down at the blooming flowers, then up and grinned at Stesha. "Guess that's somethin' you an' I got in common: we both work on things what come after the 'Big Events'."

The zombie calmed at her touch; Stesha got the feeling he didn't get a lot of non-violent physical contact like that. "Yeah, but that gal ain't. What I seen in her was that everyone she loved, everyone she knew -- her whole world -- was eaten up by undead ghouls. So," he gave a slight shrug, "yeah, I get why she attacked me on sight, and hates my guts. I don't even hold a grudge fer the second beatin' she then gave me in th'Arena, where she punched mah head clean off." Dead Head slowly began circling the area, making sure no bones were missed. "So, like I said, there I was, frozen an' smashed by Lady Winter, an' this other gal -- I think she goes by th' name Wander -- shows up outta nowhere and goes after the folks I'd raised like a fox in a henhouse. I get up, Winter an' I have words, an' of course Wander takes Winter's side. Eventually I realize th'error I made in actin' 'fore I got the whole picture, an' apologize ta Winter, then I get the locals back up so's they can re-bury theyselves. Wander looked none too pleased at that, I half-expected her t'smash 'em again and tell me ta do the diggn' myself!" "But, as ya can see," he spread his arms wide, "the combination of the cold from Lady Winter, the locals diggin' theyselves up, Wander smashin' 'em all up, and then me helpin' e'm back up so they could re-bury theyselves, did a number to th' landscape. So, I called you. While I was headin' to th' phone, I heard one's them weird sci-fi movie noises, an' when I looked back, Winter an' Wander was gone. Guess Wander can teleport, an' she took Winter back ta some safehouse."

The Nullifiers come with a CCA*-approved Decency Filter. * Clothier's Code Association

How are Doc's devices able to nullify Jack & Grim's magical powers, when he doesn't believe in magic and he can't make things that affect magic? Simple: he called in Ace Danger, Phantom, and/or Quark to help set up something . ;)

"Nawww," The zombie drawled, "Lady Winter -- that's what th'Ice Princess called herself -- froze me solid, an' smashed me, but th'other gal, the one from the Fisticuffs thing, is the one what smashed all the skeletons I raised up, and looked t'do th' same t'me." They'd reached the edge of the small family plot. "Not that I can' really blame her, given what I saw back at th'Arena. First time we met, the gal attacked me, like a mad dog after a steak. A... friend got her t'stop-" Dead Head chose not to mention Avenger by name, or even code-name. He knew the vampire didn't have the best reputation, in either identity. "- and she went on, but later she came back an' started askin' me questions about what I am. I answered, an' asked some questions'a my own, but she said it weren't none'a my business. But I kept askin', an' then... then..." The zombie's mouth tightened for a moment, and the emerald flames in his eyes flared a tiny bit. "I still don't know how I do it, but sometimes, when I look at someone, I can see all the ways Death has touched 'em. Know about anyone they's killed, or anyone they'd lost. An' that's what happened there, in th'Arena: I loked at her, an' saw..." Was Dead Head... shaking?

Wherein the Scarab reveals to Doktor Archeville things about the Interceptors he's failed to notice.

Date: June 2010, around the same time as Bananaphone and Interceptors: The Sweet Science of Stabpunching, between the first and second halves of Interrupting Cow. Viktor Archeville had done many great things in his life. If asked what his greatest one was, he would be torn between the establishment of ArcheTech, and joining the Freedom League. The former allowed him to more widely distribute the fruits of his genius, and the genius of others, and the money the multinational chain of research & development laboratories made was used to help local educational programs, helping humanity not just with better technology but also with better minds. He also hoped that ArcheTech could stop from supervillains from ever forming, by giving the often eccentric minds of the hyperintelligent a place where their ideas would flourish and be recognized, and give them less incentive to turn to crime. The latter, though, proved that he had been at least somewhat successful in opposing the forces of evil, and in undoing the great harm his grandfather had done both to the world (with bits of Nazi super-science that were still being uncovered by others, or still used by SHADOW) and to the family name. But there was another big project Archeville was proud of, one few knew he was involved in. He had formed the Interceptors at around the same time ArcheTech debuted, about nine months ago, from a small group of superheroes (and two reformed supervillains) who he'd anticipated would work well together and could do a great deal of good for Freedom City. He provided them with a place to live and work from, some advanced surveillance technology and an impressive team transport, and an overseer/"mascot" in Vince, his latest experiment in Artificial Intelligence. There was some friction at first, and a few members left, but a strong core remained, and in time more members were added in. He watched them closely for the first few weeks, but eventually his focus was drawn to the mounting demands of running ArcheTech (and an attack on it by Captain Knievel and Malice), becoming a member of the Freedom League, his new relationship with Fulcrum (his first real long-term relationship), helping Avenger and Phantom with their own unexpected (and unique) problem, and the Grue invasion. Unfortunately, the Interceptors were not something he should have taken his eyes off of. The reputation of both the team as a whole and of several of the members had nosedived, and there was concern that the team would wind up getting themselves or someone else killed. Which was why so many among the superhero community were eager to participate when word got out the team was going to be "tested" by Avenger. Fortunately, there was someone who would bring these concerns to Archeville. Someone with a very direct line to the Doktor, who was at this moment at his home in Hanover, going through his music collection. "," he murmured to himself in German, ""