Dr Archeville

"No worries at all, Elena, I haff faced far vorse," he says as he escorts her to a chair, snagging two glasses of champagne from a passing server. "By de vay, I do still haff some investment matters to disc-" He cut himself off as he realized her attention was elsewhere.

If he's searching a big area -- the entire city, or even just all of Midtown -- that's an extended Search check (as described under the Search skill).

Oh, and please make an entry for these patrols for the Timeline :)

The two continue one, down the murky depths of the maintenance/sewer tunnels. Knight's life-sight still detects no traces of regular life, nor of any more poo-blobs. A faint light in the distance -- a good 100 feet away -- catches the duo's attention. Two poo-blob life-signs near the light draw Knight's attention.

Many moons ago, I had asked for one to be done with Doc. I'm perfectly fine with letting several of the newer folks go ahead of me, though.

I like the 4th one, but the rest are pretty bad. Though the eighth one, Hellworld, had a pretty decent twist on it (aided by Lance Henriksen's presence).

Doc's Notice = 10 with all modifiers (just makes it!)

Just to be clear, was And if anything ever happens to her, they won't find enough pieces of the culprits to identify the bodies. sent across to him, or just kept in her own mind?

And yes, the Succubus was summoned in much the same was as Angelique from Hellraiser IV: Bloodlines.

"I summon demons!" he squeaked. "Hell Hounds, mostly, though once I summoned a winged monkey demon thing. Scaring others, mostly, or theft. I... I've never actually killed anyone with 'em before. I wasn't even planning to kill that shopkeeper, just scare 'im." "And the suit lets me fly! Offers some protection, too, but not much more than a kevlar vest would. And it's got some sensory enhancements, IR and UV lenses, and a radio. It's all just tech, no magic involved." Scarab knows he's leaving things out, but he's not, strictly speaking, speaking false about anything. She sees memories of him summoning other things -- bat-winged shadows, swarms of hellish hornet-like things, and on one memorable yet ultimately disappointing occasion, a Succubus. That summoning was a lengthy ritual that did entail a human sacrifice, though he is not the one who did the killing: Scarab sees a toned man in a fox mask do the actual killing, with a red silken garrote. The Succubus -- now wearing the skin of the murdered woman -- seemed initially very attracted to Vulture, but Fox talked him into handing her over to him. Scarab also sees memories of him, in the (intact) suit, using some sort of area burst sonic attack on the shopkeeper -- the 'Hobo' you all saw earlier -- which temporarily stunned the man. Also, the suit offers ultrasonic hearing. He did not plan to kill the shopkeep, just to scare him, but once he saw how badly the guy reacted, Vulture got swept up in the power and decided to go all-out.

I probably won't (a least, not using quote blocks), simply because it could get cluttered with the Shoulder Daemons. Hopefully my last post was clear enough, though. Something that could possibly go without saying, but I'm saying it anyway just to be perfectly on the up-and-up: Doc's got his Mind switched to "Wining and Dining" mode, with this Enhanced Charisma active. Which means his Int, Wis, and Cha are all 20/+5.

"General qvestions vould be appropriate for a general discussion, ja," Archeville said cooly, "but dis is not a general discussion, dis is a fairly specific presentation on Materials Science. However..." Archeville stepped out from behind the podium, "I might be persuaded to answer your qvestions on Metahumans, depending on vhat you can offer me in return. Vhat are mein answer vorth to you, hrm?" The crowd was a-buzz as hushed words were exchanged. However, over this, Arrowhawk, Captain K, and Archeville all heard one of the security guards speaking in hushed tones into his walkie talkie. He was reporting the Captain's presence, that things were calm at the moment, but wanted backup there just in case.

Archeville nodded to the maître d' upon being greeted, and followed behind, walking rather than gliding. No point in being too obvious, after all. Besides, he'd flown most of the way over, and his legs needed the exertion. Once at the booth, he began to sit, then noticed someone else was already there, and was rising to greet him. "Buenas tardes, Doctor Archeville. My name is Elena Guerrero..." Archeville took her hand, "Guten abend, frau-" ...And it is a pleasure to finally meet you under better circumstances. Archeville cocked his head to one side, then released her hand and sat across from her. He was quiet, but only for half a moment. When he spoke again, it was with a smirk. "I take it, den, dat Frau Cruz will not be showing tonight?"

Is Scarab just reading surface thoughts, or going for the full mind probe?

And Arrowhawk actually can't fail that check, so I just need Dark Star's Notice.

The OOC thread. Please make an entry for this for the Timeline.

Everyone make a Notice check, please. DC is 15. Doc = 29!

I did not have the computer respond verbally because I've not yet chosen which German American actor or actress it should sound like. ;)

Archeville drifted back to his laboratory, looking the letter, cheque, and invitation many times. Once there, he called Eastern Seaboard Bank and made arrangements to stop by later that afternoon and deposit the grant into his accounts. They were all too happy to oblige, especially since he had recently given them so pointers on upgrading their security. Then he tossed the letter onto his ever-growing "to-file" stack. "I'm guessing the invite for dinner is from Ms. Cruz herself. Might as well look her up," he said as he drifted over to the large pillar of monitors in the center of his laboratory-workshop. "Computer! Bring up all data on Ms. Sofia Hernandez de la Cruz, CEO of the Rhodes Foundation." Images and video clips of Sofia popped up, along with brief bios and descriptions of both her and the Rhodes Foundation. "Hunh - maybe I should move my investments and holdings to Rhodes, they seem to have a better reach than E-Sea." Archeville went back to work on some of his projects, though part of his mind was still on the Rhodes foundation. He intended to stop before 4pm, to give himself enough time to get to the bank... but that didn't happen. By the time he did stop to check the time, it was almost 6:30. "Sonuva..." After a quick change of clothes -- into his formal khakis, shirt and lab coat -- and making sure the cheque was secured in one of his coat's inner pockets, he flew off to the Pyramid Plaza. * All dialogue translated from German, of course.

"An interesting proposal, Herr Kapitan," Archeville said, simultaneously raising his arms and waving down the armed guards at the doorways. "I am scheduled to give a presentation on Metahumanity's Impact on Social Dynamics in a few months, so you could attend dat...."

I'm gonna say.... Cap's Sense Motive vs. Arrow's Bluff, but if Cap beats at best he'll just sense something a tad off about the guy. Maybe the guy's car got wrecked during some scuffle the Captain was in with one of those damn, dirty muties. (One skill check is not going to reveal a secret ID.)

I should've said this earlier, but at the beginning of this thread, and until I indicate otherwise, Doc's Pseudonaturally Enhanced Mind is set to Enhanced Charisma mode (putting him at 20/+5 for his Int, Wis, and Cha).

"Sir, I zhink you haff de wrong building. De sports complex is two blocks north of here."

Someday I should do a story explaining what happened to Robo-Simian's furs and arm. Or not.

A brief bit of harsh German escaped the unseen speakers before they cut off. The door opened, though initially nothing could be seen at all. Until the robotic gorilla came into view. It was quite obviously robotic, with no skin or fur, and its left arm appeared newer than the rest of it. Shinier, less pitted or scuffed. "Follow," it said simply, and then began to walk off to the left. Its voice was that of Archeville, though slightly distorted. "Whoah, whoah, whoah! I ain't goin' down no hallway with no robotic ape!" the delivery man protested. The gorilla let out a digitally distorted approximation of a grunt as it turned around to face him. "Fine, fine, I'll be up in a moment." I don't get paid enough for this, the delivery man thought. Meanwhile, down in the laboratory... Archeville removed the bluetooth headset-like device from his ear -- the one that let him see, hear, and speak through the robo-gorilla -- and set it down on the workbench. Strewn about it were assorted plastic tubes and pipes and trigger mechanisms, as well as assorted chemical flasks; he appeared to be working on a series of water guns. He already had his Electromagnetic Screwdriver in hand,and it was easy to swing by the recharge station and pick up his Gravimetric Belt. He then made his way towards the foyer. "So, vhat's all dis den, hrm?"