Dr Archeville

/action flashes Neuralyzer. There are no errors.

"Veird? Vell, it depends, really. I mean, some metahumans know exactly vhen und vhere dey received deir powers -- falling into a vat of chemical vaste, or being exposed to intense radiation, or de day you find a fallen meteor, is not something von is likely to forget. Dey may not know exactly how dey do vhat dey do, de mechanisms behind it, but dey do at least know vhy dey are different. Some -- like you, apparently -- are born mit de potential for deir powers already mitin dem, und deir powers slowly manifest over time. Vhether or not dey qvestion it is a matter of personal curiosity. Some simply accept deir gifts, some pursue knowledge in de hope of learning vhat is happening to dem, to learn vhat dey are." "It's easier to do so now, of course, since knowledge of metahumans has grown so much over de past several decades. It is mein theory dat many of de myths und legends of de vorld -- of heroes, gods und monsters -- vere stories und recollections of metahumans und extraterrestrials, but de people of de time could only relate to dese dings by seeing dem as supernatural beings." Two of the tentacle-sensors came closer to Hellbound, and these actually touched his skin as they ran over him. One was chilly, but one was quite warm. As they went over him, Holo-Hellbound's skeleton got his organs back, and a red network of blood vessels appeared. Archeville peered closely at the forming circulatory system. "You said your blood has some explosive properties? Vhat, exactly, do you mean by dat? Has your blood ever been spilled vhile in an unusual atmosphere, or in a vacuum? If so, did it explode den?"

Did you ever get to this, Ecal?

Hunh, so it does. Weird. Updated by Doc.

"I made dem meinself!" he said with a smile. "My, dat's quite de grip you haff dere, Herr Faretti. Are you a craftsman by trade?"

"Dere is a bit of difference between 'treating mit kid gloves' und 'simply being polite,' you know. Besides, vhen I insult somevon, I usually do it in German or French." Hellbound's mention of his blood made the Doktor cock his head a bit, "really? Vell, it is a good ding I don't need to actually cut you to see vhat is inside you." A new set of metal tentacle-sensors snaked up out of the floor, and scanned around Hellbound. As they did, he saw the flesh on the hologram become transparent, revealing his musculature. Then the muscles became transparent, revealing his skeleton and organs. Then the organs faded, leaving just his skeleton. "Curioser und curioser... Hellbound, vould you mind telling me how you got your powers? Vas it after some accident, or did you just notice von day dat you vere stronger und tougher dan de other boys?"

An ocean liner would require Str 105 to lift over your head... but if you're just moving it around the water (which buoys up most of the liner's weight), you'd need considerably less. Tugboats are strong, but not that strong.

Updated by Doc. Improved Range IS Progression, effectively. Improved Range on Blast 3 gets a range increment of 75 feet (3x25 instead of 3x10), with a maximum range of 750 feet (10 increments). Is that what you want?

Archeville took out his may-as-well-be-a-magic-wand "Electromagnetic Screwdriver" and adjusted it some. Parts of the holographic Hellbound grew, as if the camera were focusing in closer... which, in fact, was exactly what the tentacle-cams were doing. "Vell, at first glance, dese readings are a bit odd. You're 1.8 meters tall und, based on your physique you look to veigh about 85 kilos, but de sensors in de floor indicate dat you veigh 172 kilos." He glanced back at the real Hellbound, "no, I am not going to make a joke about you being 'dense'." "However," he tuned back to the hologram, and fiddled a bit more with the control on his gadget, "dere are some other anomalies here, namely in de scans of de structure of your skin und bones. Vould you mind if I took a more... in-depth look?" "Muah hah hah hah hah hah hah!!!"

And now the question is: what does the Captain do with an unconscious mutant freak?

I should've asked for this at the same time, but... roll initiatives, too! First round's a surprise round, because none of the combatants are seen/sensed by Scarab (and one baddie is seen by no one). Scarab gets to do nothing (and is flat-footed). Avenger and Slamdance (and all the Baddies) may take one move or one standard action in this surprise round. Bad Guy Rolls Fox: 23 Concealed thing no one's seen: 16 Shark: 15 Vulture: 7 EDIT: None of the Bad Guys can see Avenger, God of Stealth, so they just see Slamdance and Scarab. Everyone gets 1 HP. Scarab gets one more HP, because the bad guys took measures against some of her mental abilities (most pertinently, her Uncanny Dodge). Specifically,

All three noticed fresh police tape on the front door. Avenger and Slamdance noticed some people hidden behind the trees, hedges, trash cans, and assorted things in the front yard. Avenger spots two: Vulture (in either a repaired or spare Vulture costume) and, judging by his outfit, the one known as Shark. He looks sorta like the mutant man-shark Megalodon. Slamdance spots those two, and a third, around the corner of the house: someone in a Fox costume. He's holding a large ultra-tech rifle in one hand, and... something shiny in the other. [Check OOC thread] EDIT Fox steps out from around the corner -- making himself visible to all the heroes -- and fires a blue-white beam from an ultra-tech rifle at Scarab. At first it appears to be off, but it was apparently a trick of the light, for it does indeed strike her -- with bone-numbing cold! "Die!"

An odd look crossed Arceville's face, a mix of confusion and irritation. "I do not believe you saw vhat you dink you saw, Herr Cale. For von ding, dere is no 'Detect Magic' function in mein Elektromagnetischer Schraubenzieher." He tapped his forehead with one end of his gadget, "und for anozher ding, I know de source of mein fantastic mind. Und it is not magic, no more dan de abilities of de Atom Family."

End round 5/begin round 6

When Knievel hits the ground, he hits with what feels like the force of a semi. He is once more pinned under crushing gravity.

After going through all your edits, you're now 2pp over. Your attribute points were 2pp off. It wasn't. Updated by Doc. Whine, whine, whine... Updated by Doc. Refs decided to not allow Second Chance (Mind Reading), so she has Skill Mastery. Updated by Doc.

I'll have something for the closing post. ;)

:( Let her know we wish her the best.

Working on them now, actually :)

"Ah, straight to the point," the intruder said, still using Eric's mother's voice, "you always were quick to get the the heart of a problem." The intruder began to pace back and forth some. "Who I have already answered. I am called Legend. It is an adequate enough moniker, for I am here to make legends." "Which also answers Why. I test people, specifically those of a, shall we say, immoral, unethical, and/or otherwise unwholesome nature. Villains, if a label must be used. I test them, to learn what they are capable of, and what they are not capable of, and to see how they handle this knowledge. I've been sending you invitations to my Arena for some months now, but you never replied, so I took it upon myself to come here." He stopped, "as for What and How -- well, What I am and How I did this is... not something you need worry yourself about."

"Eric? Eric, wake up," Malice heard. The voice was the same he'd heard during the onslaught, though softer this time. And now that it was softer, and not a yell, he could place it: it was the voice of his mother! Still very wary -- was this some mentalist trick? some form of emotional torture? -- Eric opened his eyes, and immediately noticed three things. One, he was in his bunker, but it was wholly undamaged, with no sign at all of any attack. Two, he was alone, or at least didn't see anyone in the immediate area. Three, he was looking with his own eyes, not via the suit's HUD. Eric immediately checked himself, and found he was indeed wearing his armor and helmet; the faceplate was up. "Ah, good, you are up," his mother's voice said. "I must say, I am impressed: it's rare to see such spirit, such determination. It even made up for your little 'invention' for countering Argo." Movement from the corner of his eye drew Eric's attention: a figure was approaching from the shadows. The figure's outline did not match Eric's mother's; in fact, it looked more like a long-haired man in a lab coat. "And you actually made a Shrink Ray!," the figure said with a bit of a laugh. "You just don't see things like that nowadays. Shame, that." The figure stepped into the light, and whatever unexploded bits of Eric Micheals' brain remained went off. It looked almost exactly like Eric's father, the face, the build, the posture, the clothes... except for the lab coat, the softly glowing circuitry-lined belt, and the long golden-blonde hair... and the voice that was a dead match for Eric's mother. "Ah, where are my manners?" The intruder bowed a bit, "I am called Legend."

That was meant to be said aloud, actually. I just failed at coding.

Archeville nodded, "oh, I can certainly do all dat, ja. But first..." The Doktor moved Hellbound a few steps to the left, and he saw he was now standing in a very faint circle in the middle of the dais. "Ja, ja, right dere. Now, I'll need to get your measurements, so I can tailor de vings to you. Und not just height und veight -- I need to test some other aspects, such as your strength, to make sure I make de vings study enough dat you do not accidentally tear dem." The Doktor took a step back, nodded, then spoke aloud, clearly not to Hellbound. "Computer! Fangen sie biometrischen scan an." Concealed panels in the floor pulled away and long flexible multijointed mechanical arms with senors on the ends* rose up and began to scan over Hellbound. As they did, a life-sized 3-d hologram of him (with assorted readings along the sides, bottom and top) appeared floating in the air next to the mad scientist and his subject. "Hurm... dat's odd." * Yes, they look like Doc Ock's arms from Spider-Man 2, except these don't have the grasper/claw things/giant spikes at the end, just the sensor lenses.

Well, now we finally know what Charles Deveaux's power was.

Fine by me. *PMs some whip-cracking for those two*