Dr Archeville

... that would make more sense, yes. SC? Confirm?

Sounds like a hit to me!

It goes by points, not rank, but since Dok's Helpless, the point's a tad moot. (Wish I'd realized it was Defense 13, I would've saved the re-roll to re-do his Fort save vs. the Nausea! Ah, them's the breaks. Although, since I did fail that save as bad as I possibly could have, that should be enough of a setback to earn an HP, yes?) (Also wish I'd figured a way to increase the Duration of the Damage, to represent Dok's nanites continuously chewing on the Gremlin's nanites.)

Luckily, when Archeville returned to the cabin, he found the syringes were in the chair where he'd left them. As was the Gremlin, who'd just tore a large gash in Kristin's abdomen! Ahh, got to work fast, before it takes her out... or my own nanites take me out! Already feeling some effects... Fighting growing gastrointestinal distress, the Doktor dashed over to hes chair, snatched up one of the syringes, tore the cap off with his teeth, and plunged the needle into his arm to draw out the nanite payload. He let out a yelp as he did -- Hnnn! Must've hit a nerve! -- which drew the Gremlin's attention. "That's right! It's me! I'm the one you're after, right?" He tried to stalk towards the creature, but his growing distress mad hie gait uneven. "You say you're a part of me? Well let's see how you do," he held the syringe up high, slammed it down onto the Gremlin's neck, and depressed the plunger, "with a bit of me in you- The Doktor staggered and fell, vomiting and doubled over in pain, as the altered nanites that were chewing on the Gremlin were doing terrible things to his own insides.

As Archeville scurried back towards the passenger area, he was swiftly mentally reprogramming a few clusters of the nanites within him, a trick he'd tried once while on that dying desert world months ago. But then, he had time to do so carefully, and a slightly more controlled environment. ... and remove the tertiary safety interlocks, dial down the IFF sensors, and... that should do it. I've ramped up their aggressiveness, so they will attack anything that is not directly, unequivocally me... which means they will soon start attacking the bacteria in my guts, but if I can get it into that Gremlin before I'm incapacitated, they should reduce it to inert components. I know I had taken out some syringes from my bursting pockets, and laid them on my seat -- I just hope the rolling and rocking this plan has been doing has not tossed them to some inaccessible spot!

"Business, ya say?," Dead Head drawled, spinning to face Samedi and pointing at him with the business end of his shovel. "Seems t'me our business ain't jes' done yet." Yo, Mutt, look menacin'. I mean, real menacin'. Responding to he revenant's soul-linked message, the Legba-hound turned from Cimitiere and stalked slowly towards Samedi. His eyes began glowing a hellish red, and faintly luminescent foam flecked from his mouth. "'Course, we all know you can jes' pop out any time ya want, an' avoid whatever manner o' violence we may wanna visit 'pon ya. An', speakin' solely for myself, that's a lot of violence. But I got somethin' else in mind." He thrust the shovel's head right in front of Samedi's face, coming just short of smacking him in the nose. "You see that? That's blood -- Kriminel's blood. That Nick, 'Nox, an' I shed, while you sat there cowerin'! We saved yer miserable, wretched hide, an' you know damned well what that means."

Alright, here's my tentative plan, assuming the round stats with him popping up out of the ductwork: Last Round (while crawling through ductwork) Free Action: Extra Effort to stunt a new effect off his Enhanced Mind Nanites. Drain Toughness 10 (Extra: Affects Objects, Linked [Damage]; Flaw: Side-Effect; PF: Improved Critical) {11PP} + Damage 10 (Extra: Linked [Drain Toughness]; Flaw: Side-Effect) {5PP} {11+5=16/16PP} Side Effect: Damage 5 (Extra: Alternate Save [Fort]) {10} + Nauseate 11 {22) {10+22=32/32) Descriptor: Reprogrammed nanites in body (via his own Datalink) to be more aggressive in attacking invaders (which includes his own harmless gut bacteria), then using a syringe to draw off some of his blood and inject it into the Gremlin, so they attack it from the inside-out) Move Action: to switch to the new setting Move Action: Hustle along to the others This Round Starts off Fatigued Reaction: Spend HP to remove Fatigue; 3 HP now Move Action: Dash over to the pile o' Equipment in Dok's seat. Free Action: Quick Draw to pick up a syringe. Technically it's a Move Action to load a weapon, but since the 'ammo' is coming from Dok's stunt, which he already spent a Move action on last round switching to, should this be a non-Action thing? Standard Action: Attack ze Gremlin Attack; All-Out Attack (-2 Def, +2 Attk) (1d20+10=15) Hrm, no, think I'll use an HP to re-roll that Attack; All-Out Attack (-2 Def, +2 Attk); HP re-roll (1d20+10=25) much better! Now the Side-Effects (and since I used an HP to re-roll this round, I cannot use an HP to re-roll any of these!) Fort saves vs. Damage (DC 20) and Nauseate (DC 21) (1d20+4=12, 1d20+4=6) :shock: Damage one fails by 8, so he's Bruised & Dazed. Must have nicked a major nerve when drawing blood. Nauseate one fails by 15 -- that puts him at Helpless! He falls to the ground, probably quite messily. 2 HP, Bruised, Dazed, Helpless!

"Ah!" Now it was the Doktor's turn to be shocked; he truly had no expected the Omegadrone conversion process to leave those bits, for fear of distracting the converted from the dread deeds Omega would put it to. "Well, then, I guess the old joke about 'never assume' is right!" "Well, then, since you have no concerns in that aspect of your relationship," he sat back in his chair and took the glass of brandy a small robot had just brought him, "then my main advice would be to simply stay honest with her. And I do not mean just not telling lies -- I mean not hiding any truths, no matter how unpleasant, from her. I don't mean tell her everything about you -- I know there is much you have seen that you would not want to share, and that few would want to hear -- but if there is something that would affect your two, let her know," he downed about half of his drink, "and try to work it out together."

Wait a second... he did just - Mark Lucas is Edge?! My mi- No, no, it's going to take a lot more than that to rock my boat. Archeville did wince slightly at Nina's remarks to Edge. "I will add that to the large list of reasons I have not to lose my mind again," he said, half-smiling. He glanced up at the ascending Nina, I would ask what you see in her, but, well, you are young still, and from here I can see the... assets that probably drew you, then back to Mark. "I had heard about your father, and the sacrifice he made. I am sorry for your loss." He placed a hand on Mark's shoulder, but could think of nothing more to say on the matter. Not quite sure I'm ready to get into a discussion on lost fathers. Maybe later, but... but not now. "Sooo...," he remove his hand from Mark's shoulder and put it behind his back, "how has Africa been? I am sure there are a number of projects you could be working on -- what have they had you do? How free a choice do you have in deciding which missions you take?"

Initiative roll for Dok for Round 2 (1d20+7=18)

Definitely her father's daughter, this one. "Oh, yes, all kinds," he replied back to Nina, hoping his smile his his sneer, "but that is not unexpected, is it? I am sure you and Edge here know all kinds of people, too, owing to all your varied experiences." Stay calm, mustn't start an international incident. He turned back to Mark, "a tragedy, yes, though I am extremely grateful that no innocents here were harmed, and were evacuated safely." He turned back to the crater, "such loss, though. You know, it was not just my advanced technology in there that was destroyed -- I had several cultural artifacts, too. Books, paintings, sculptures -- all irreplaceable. Lost forever, because I could not keep that invader out."

Archeville nodded and smiled, "it is good you have found an honest and accepting partner; I am happy for you!" He reached down for another few cheese cubes from the platter, "and you say she is the quiet, work-focused type? Ah, they can be a tough nut to crack, but I am sure you are up to the challenge, else you would not be asking for advice! I'd even bet you've already started to see the real her under there, which has only attracted you more, yes?" He chuckled softly, "ah, but now you approach unexplored territories! You want to please her, and to feel pleasure in return, and in that regard I am certain I can help! I may not be quite as gifted in prosthetics work as Miss Americana, but to replace that which was taken by the Omegadrone process, I can see why you would want to come to a male doctor, one with direct experience in the sensations of those parts...."

... hunh. Archeville worked quickly to finish what repairs he could ion the cramped space, but his mind never let go of the creature he'd faced. So, nanotech, not biological. Good, now I know which direction to go in fighting it.. assuming I can find any technology that escaped his effect. Ah, there is one thing -- the nanites in my body! Either my own bioelectrical field shielded them, or the Gremlin's "do no direct harm to me" directive prevented it from shutting them down. Perhaps if I introduce some of my nanites into it, they could attack, but its own systems would not fight back since it would still detect them as 'me'... though I have no idea how far the 'do not directly harm me' directive in it actually is. Ah, but as a collection of nanotech, it could be reprogrammed... though surely I would have put in failsafes against Evil!Me doing just that. Aaah! Finishing what work he could do, Archeville scampered his way back up to rejoin the others as fast as he could. "Whatever Kristin id going, I hope she is able to keep it -- us -- up!"

Archeville froze when he saw clearly who it was on his fractured doorstep. "Ah, of course, Agent Lucas!," he said after a moment's fugue, greeting Edge warmly in his native English. He took Mark's hand; his grip was firm, though not as firm as he would've liked. He then turned and gave a slight bow to Nina, addressing her in slightly accented Soqotri, "" "So what brings you here? I was under the impression UNSION's work at the... site... was done, at least for the immediate future. Has there been some change?"

Archeville was silent as Steven talked, carefully listening to every word as the freed Omegadrone before him bared his soul. "That is a fine place to be, and I hope she realizes how much you care for her. I also hope she is sincere -- I do not know how good a judge of character you are," he said with the unease of someone trying to give warning to a child without sounding condescending, "so I do not know how good you would be at detecting deceptions." "But," he quickly changed to a more positive, upbeat tone, "these are concerns I am sure you are already keeping in mind, so let us focus on the positives. How many dates have you two gone out on? Do you have any planned for the near future?"

Protectron radioed the police dispatcher again, Be advised, multiple Harry Prints located on street in front of Don's Gym, at site of vehicular collision. Seven Prints spotted, six onlookers and one emerging from one vehicles; other vehicle's occupants unseen. Will investigate. "Please remain calm, citizens," the golden robot announced as it hovered near the scene. "Assistance is on the way to tend to any injuries and assist in filing insurance claims." It hovered down to the other car, the one that did not have a Harry Print crawling out of it, to get a better look inside.

"Well, it mostly keeps vampires away," he responded to Mona's quip, "though they can bring quite a bit of stress and disease!," he laughed. "Not sure how it does against ghūls, though." "Ah, tea and water are fine," he replied back to Afareen. "Never have liked sodas that much; if I want caffeine, I would have tea or coffee! Many long nights in the laboratory have lead me to become quite the connoisseur of those two beverages -- I have even tried to invent a few new brews myself!"

Unknown to Mark or Nina, they were not alone. Further up the path, right at the edge of the crater, gazing down into it, was the former lord of the manor, Doktor Viktor Heinrich Archeville. He had been by the site numerous times before, but always with others -- with Freedom League members, with AEGIS or UNISON agents, with ArcheTech board members -- to oversee the safe dismantling of any lingering or potential threats that Edge's orbital bombardment had not obliterated. He had lead them down what subterranean corridors still existed, pieced out what still functioned to other ArcheTech facilities. He had worked on plans for what and where the new European HQ for the international chain of research laboratories would be, as well as compensation for the peoples and places damaged by "the unknown supervillain who had usurped Archeville's facilities and technologies and used them against the world"; while the public did not know it was Archeville (kinda) who did it, few forgot that it was his equipment that was used against them. Now, though, he was here alone, having finally set aside a moment for quiet reflection on the personal impact the loss of his 'ancestral home' had made. It had not been much when he inherited it on his 16th birthday -- a five-story tower, straining under decades of neglect (his father had never set foot in it, and his grandfather spent most of his time either on the front lines or in laboratories in Berlin). But it was in a prime spot, a hill overlooking the Danube River, and its "Old World charm" appealed to a part of him. He'd cleaned it up, then expanded it into a massive 110-room castle, which he set as the European headquarters for his company. And then it all came crumbling down. What the Doktor buildeth, the Doktor taketh away... He let out a sigh, then drove the maudlin thoughts from his mind, and turned to start his walk around the perimeter. It was then that the site of two people embracing caught his eye. "," he called out in German as he walked down the broken path, "

Even Archeville's superhumanly fast mental processes could not hide his shock, though it did insure it was only a momentary pause. "Well, you are wise enough to know not to trust everything you see on television, so that's definitely a point in your favor! But... well... " The Doktor distracted himself momentarily by intently studying the deli platter at their side, "I am not sure how much advice I can give you. It is true that 'courting' is something I've been studying the past few years, due to my relationship with Mona, and before then I had a... number of relationships, but those would not be relevant here. I suppose my first question would be," he reached over and plucked a ham roll and two small cubes of cheese, "what is it you are looking for in the relationship? What do you want, and what are you willing to give?"

So what's the Gremlin up to?

"If men were made to die," Dead Head spat at Kriminel as he raised his shovel up again, "which I strongly disagree on -- then 'when' is all that matters!" He brought the shovel down again on the vile loa, hoping that this time he'd stay down and depart whatever hapless mortal was serving as his cheval. We're wearin' 'im down, sure, but then what? If he's knocked out, will that be enough to drive out Kriminel's spirit? If so, we'll have a badly beaten mortal, human dude, who may or may not have any idea what's goin' on. An' once Kriminel is beat back, what about Samedi? Is he just gonna walk off? Do we just let him walk off? Nick felt a cold nose push against one hand. Nick could not see him, but he knew Mutt's presence well enough to know it was the Legba-hound.

Sorry, gang, RL's been craaazy lately. Dead Head Kriminel's not really moved, so DH is still in melee range of him. Standard Action: Attack vs. Kriminel (Defense 23); All-Out Attack (-4 Defense/+4 Attk), Power Attack (-5 Attk/+5 Dmg); DC 29 toughness if it hits (1d20+12=14) Attack vs. Kriminel (Defense 23); All-Out Attack (-4 Defense/+4 Attk), Power Attack (-5 Attk/+5 Dmg); DC 29 toughness if it hits; HP re-roll (1d20+12=27) Not as good as the crit from last round, but still a solid hit. DH has 2 HP now (2 last round, +1 for Kriminel not being KO'd then, -1 for using one this round). Mutt Move Action: Runs over to Nick's side; he's the most injured of us, so he looks like he'd be most in need of help

Looks okay to me! :approved:

Archeville nodded, and smiled, shaking off the grim mood that had started to descend. "Oh, we are doing well. She is recruiting more staff for her art company, and we- wait. You what?!" Now, now, be nice. He lead his guest upstairs to the parlor, filled with numerous comfy chairs, and the deli tray he'd been eating on earlier, moved there by technopathically-instructed housebots, along with a bot of hot water and an assortment of teas. "I... well, that's wonderful, Steven!," he exclaimed after fumbling a bit. "Anyone I know? One of the FLSCH? Oh, I'd love to hear all about her!"

Why were they never- ah, of course, their service was as much a punishment to them as anything, but brainwashing them would remove that small part that resisted. So... Steelgrave knew? He must have known... right? "I am pleased, and honored, to have been able to give you this," Archeville replied warmly. "I wish I could give you more, but... well, my last attempt at time travel proved... unwise." He fidgeted a moment at the awkward half-joke. And what does that make of me? Here is what seems evidence for nature over nurture -- Steven is a good man, underneath the hardness, and his parents did not give in to the monstrous conditions around them; did he inherit some moral and ethical strength from them. And I... I was what I was, but now... now I have no link to my monstrous past, no connections. So what am I?