Dr Archeville

Archeville shut off the Magnetic Nullifier and tucked it under one arm as he zipped down to Jack. "You are injured, ja?," the Doktor asked as he began to manipulate the controls of his techno-wand again. "I should have a setting here dat can help you; ve vill need every edge ve can against Knievel."

*goes back and checks* Yes, that does indeed appear to be the case. *ponders* *awards one HP*

Holy Shazbot!

Um, if Hot Shoe fails for Divine's Distraction (and since she'd get a 44, he probably will be), doesn't that mean he does nothing (but gawk at her bewbs)? Distracted = takes no action, but not flat-footed. Unless Stellar's action is to carry him away... but if he's staggered, that's a bit difficult ;)

"Ooh, yes, dat vould be a fascinating experience!," the Doktor exclaimed, far too eagerly for Ace's liking. "To see de immense forces of a singularity strrreeetch out dese invaders like so much vermicelli! Ha-HA! Und if ve do it right, you von't die from it, you'll all be in an eternity of slowed sensations!" The gadget in his hand continued hissing and sparking like an angry cobra.

Can I get a copy of that pic of Doc without the background? Come to think of it, it might be good to have pics of all those chars without the background uploaded to the Wiki. I'm working on a pic for Dead Head. And a quote. The quote used in Thor's image -- "I defend those that cannot defend themselves" -- isn't a bad fit. Or maybe "I speak for those that cannot be heard."

"Holee...." Dead Head had seen much in his time, but the utter devastation being done by these creatures was unlike anything he had seen. He'd never even dealt with anything this big before, and was at a loss as to what he could do to stop them. A wailing toddler snapped him out of his fugue. When he saw exactly why it was screaming -- it lay next to an woman sprawled out on the sidewalk, unconscious from being struck by errant debris, and a large telephone pole was about to fall on them both -- he sprang to action. He ran to them, scooping the baby up in his right hand and hefting the woman over his left shoulder, just in time to narrowly avoid being struck by the collapsing pole. "There, there, kid, yer safe now," he soothed as he laid them both next to a fire hydrant. "Firefighters'll come here first, so they'll find ya both, an- oh, look, yer mommy's wakin' up!" She was indeed coming to, but as soon as she saw the revolting revenant, she let out a high-pitched shriek, and madly clutched at her baby. He did not pause to give any sort of deadpanned response, he just ran off after the creature, pushing or scooping up and re-depositing those he could out of harm's way. Several people beat him with purses and umbrellas, and a few snapped out of their momentary paralysis and ran once they got a glimpse of him, which did at least get them out of the immediate danger. "Man, what the heck am I gonna do against that thing?! I cain't- oh!" He suddenly got an idea of just what he could do against the beast, but he'd have to hustle and get ahead of it.

Vignettes are due this Sunday evening!

"Taxi!," he called out as he jogged across to the idling vehicle. "Taxi!," he repeated once he reached the door, opening it and peering inside, "you are open for service, ja?"

I hope what I said for him was okay; if you prefer some other words, I'm happy to edit. And now it's your show :)

Dead Head nodded, "alright, kiddies, time t'go back t'bed." [bg=#000000]... good night... good night... good night...[/bg] All but Physicus laid back down in their morgue drawer shelves, slid themselves back into their holes in the all, then shut the doors. "C'mon, kiddies, sit up, let the nice spaceman get a good look at ya!" Dead Head walked in to the room with Physicus -- both of them -- quickly latching the doors of all the briefly awakened dead. When that was done, he walked over to his two guests and looked them both over. [bg=#000000]W-Where am I... Z-Zakitaj? Zakitaj, is that you?[/bg] "It is him, sir," Dead Head said to the original Physicus, "come to pay respects and say his farewells." [bg=#000000]Farewells? Who... what are you? Where is this? Why is everything so dark, and cold?[/bg] "Folks call me Dead Head, sir, an' I am here t'help. You've passed, sir, but-" [bg=#000000]'Passed'? Oh, I made it through the Broan blockade! I- wait... no, I remember...[/bg] "No, sir, I am afraid you did not make it through the Broan blockade..." Zak may have noticed that Dead Head pronounced 'Broan' the exact same way his mentor did. "... but Zakitaj, and others, did make it out, thanks to yer efforts. I can let you speak to him, sir, if you wish to pass on any final words." [bg=#000000]Speak? Yes, yes, let me speak to him![/bg] "Alright, sir, just hold still a moment... this may tickle." Zak saw Dead Head reach out to cup the back of his mentor's head with his left hand, while reaching into the air over the deceased's body with his right. He grabbed at something, then brought his right hand to the corpse's chest. As he did this, the green lames in Dead Head's eyes flared brighter, and Zak saw similar light seep out from under his mentor's closed eyelids. The eyelids flicked open, and a smile came to the dead face. The head lolled due to the broken spine, but he was clearly glad to see Zakitaj... and, thus, defying all logic, animate again!

"'When th' livin' make traffic with th' dead'," Dead Head repeated, staring bewildered at the vampire vigilante. "Avenger, what do ya think it is I do every wakin' hour?! Heck, technically it's what you an'-" He caught himself before blurting out Taylor's name, "it's what you an' yer woman do every day, too! Don't tell me yer some closeted biophobe, thinkin' the th' dead an 't he living' ought not t'have any interactin' at all... are ya?" A moment later his irked expression broke into a laugh. "How is th' little woman, anyway?" he asked between chuckles.

So would DH know Phantom's preggers? She may not be visible by this time (or maybe she is), but is it something they would have shared with the other Midnighters?

"Vhite Knight? No, I do not believe he-" His fingers faltered on the controls for the briefest of moments. To Fulcrum, the sudden increase then snapback in weight fell like hitting a pothole. Archeville let out a small sigh, "ja, ja, mein gandfazher vorked mit de Nazis. He did many, many horrible dings, und I try to do vhat I can to erase dat stain, to show dat Science can be used for good as vell as evil, und show dat not all who share mein name und profession are madmen." A weak smile flashed across his face, "vell, not de bad kind of 'mad', anyvay." He took another deep breath, "und, no, it vas not inappropriate -- not compared to some of de dings I haff heard in mein homeland. Dere are some places dere vhere mein family name is spoken of only in hushed vhispers, so great is de horror associated mit it. It took me many, many years to build up trust dere, even vhen I vas working mit some of de superhero teams dere. Dough I am sure stopping some of de remnants of de Nazi party und deir secret projekts -- such as de vons mein grandfazher vorked on -- helped vin some points mit de people. But de distrust und suspicion lingered, vhich is part of de reason I came here to Freedom."

Thomas may have been a bit surprised to see a large smile break across the Doktor's face. "I vould say dat is precisely why I am doing dis projekt: to find answers. At de risk of sounding immodest, I am von of de top scientific minds on de planet, mit both an immense depth und breadth of skill. Dere are few dings I cannot vork out, given enough time und data, und I am confident dat I could find a pattern to, und de underlying mechanism of, lycanthropy. Und a... reversal of de condition, if it vas so desired." "Your mention of volfsbane is particularly interesting to me," he continued. "De legends are full of references to volfsbane in relation to verevolves, dough of course de details differ. Some legends claim dat it is toxic to dem, und a sure vay to kill von... vhich, after a fashion, is true, in dat volfsbane is a toxin to most lifeforms. Some claim it is merely a vay to vard von off, dat its smell is offensive to dem. Und other claims dat a remedy for lycanthropy can be concocted from volfsbane, either permanently removing de condition or holding it in remission for as long as de treatment is taken regularly. You said dat no application of it has made any impact on de condition -- does it haff any impact at all, physical or mental, or importance in terms of your culture und beliefs?"

Judge dismisses suit over Marvel heroes

:awesome: :GreatJob:

I'd say that's a given, yes.

Standard action to reconfigure Gadgets to while using a Move Action to fly up 45 feet. Extra Effort to SURGE and gain another action (a standard one); HP to nix fatigue (down to 2 now). Standard Action to blast the power-less Emperor. In the face. With lightning. Attack vs. Emperor; DC 22 Toughness save if it hits (1d20+10=25) Free action to make Black Forest HAM!

Keeping the magnetism-nullifying rifle in his right hand, the beam still trained on Emperor, Archeville withdrew his Electromagnetic Screwdriver and began manipulating controls. As he did, he began rising into the air. One of the three focusing chambers at the wand-like omnigadget's end retracted slightly, while the other two extended out and moved apart slightly, now looking more like something that should be plugged into an electrical outlet. He looked down at the magnetic miscreant, and spoke loud enough to be clearly heard by the young assailant (and probably everyone else),"Did you dink you could get avay mit assaulting mein company? Mit assaulting me?! You call yourself 'Emperor', but vhat is an Emperor to a Man of Science!? Justice shall strike you all down... strike LIKE LIGHTNIIING!!!" It was a bit difficult to make out that last word, as that is when the lightning bolt lanced out from Archeville's hand, appearing to twine around the nullifier beam to strike Emperor dead-on.

It was, in fact, a clock, a very ornate wood-and-brass chalet-style cuckoo clock; at the bottom left was a spinning water wheel. At the bottom right were two figured in an embrace -- tiny representations of Jack and Taylor! "I do hope you like it," Archeville said, beaming, "und dat you haff room for it on your valls. Dere is a key in de back, you vill need to vind it every night to keep it running. De volume control is back dere, too, and- oh! It is about to chime de hour! Look!" A few seconds later, as the hour struck, the little door at the top opened and the cuckoo sounded, once for each hour. When it withdrew at last, the figures of Jack and Taylor began to move, turning, bending, and pecking each other on the lips.

Doktor Archeville was at the ArcheTech corporate headquarters in Hanover, signing off on a new arrival of raw materials. Normally he would not be needed for such a transaction, except in cases where the arriving material was something extra-special, which this one was. Daka crystals weren't easy to come by, and it was largely the good graces of Ace Danger that allowed his company to purchase them. Of course, even with Danger's okay, he had to pay through the nose for them, but it was definitely worth it. As he signed the last form on the deliverer's clipboard, the sound of a helicopter zipping towards his building drew his attention. When it began landing maneuvers, his interest grew by leaps and bounds. "Dat is all de papervork, ja," he said (not asked) to the driver. He then turned to the two workers carrying off the last of the shipment and nodded to them, "get de rest of dis secured quickly, please... " He glanced up to the roof, and got the impression that this was not going to be something resolved quickly or easily. "... I haff a bad feeling about dis." In less time than the two workers could blink, Archeville had flown up to the roof and set down near the helipad. It was a dark blue helicopter, marked with the red-A-on-gold-eagle emblem of AEGIS, the American Elite Government Intervention Service, Defenders of Liberty and the Shield of Freedom. Two men in dark suits and sunglasses had exited the chopper and were headed towards the entrance when they saw Archeville's arrival. "Gentlemen, how may I be of serv-" the Doktor began, but was abruptly cut off. "Doctor Viktor Archeville," one shouter over the roar of the chopper blades, "you are needed for matters of vital import. Come with us, now." "Vhat, not even a 'please' or a-" "Now," the man repeated, quite insistent. The Doktor entered the helicopter.

I try to work within others' plans While looking up stuff about AEGIS (for the Grue Invasion), I found this Fulcrum-relevant tidbit:

Dead Head's initiative is... Initiative (1d20+2=20)! I hope saying the spiky mole critter's near the hospital is okay.

Dead Head rarely came to Midtown, seeing as it was the central and thus busiest part of Freedom City, and he knew his appearance could set off panic in those who were too uptight (which, in his mind, was most everyone). However, there were frequently reasons for him to come into this part of the city: a number of churchyard cemeteries and crypts, including the one under St. George's Cathedral, as well as the morgue at McNider Memorial Hospital, all provided spirits in need of his unique services. He was at the latter, leaning back in a folding chair next to one of the morgue drawers, chatting with Michael Jensen. Michael, a man in his late 40s with an ex-wife and two kids (under her custody), had passed away of a heart attack two nights ago. However, he was so neurotic and obsessive-compulsive that he could not move on until he was sure a lengthy list of tasks had been done. A very lengthy list. [bg=#000000]... and rosebushes must be thoroughly watered, on Tuesdays and Fridays, precisely four hours after sunrise... [/bg] "... Yes, Mr. Jensen, I'll be sure to water them..." [bg=#000000]... with the special water reserve on the top shlef of the refrigerator in the garage. That contains my special formula, and to make more of it you... [/bg] "... special water, yes, Mr. Jensen, I'll be sure to- whoa!" Tremors began to shake the building, as a gigantic spiky mole-like creature tunneled past. Dead Head sprang to his feet. "Sorry, Mr. Jensen, I've gotta see what's goin' on!"