Avenger Assembled

Okay, the horde! They burst in and get hit by the gasoline! They're a pretty big group, so let's say there's an overall Tou of 14 - but with damage doubled because it's fire! TOU vs. 36: https://orokos.com/roll/988198 Nine are down; four are left! (they really should have brought their guns, good thing Paul is dumb! https://orokos.com/roll/988201 okay, that's just two hits out of the remains of the horde! Tou vs 19; I know you're already badly hurt, but you may spend an HP to do things like double your dodge bonus, pass those saves, etc. You've earned plenty!

I forgot about the horde! I am a little too tired to deal with that right now, but I'll get in there tomorrow

It was a great plan - except they weren't alone in the garage! From underneath the closed doors came a hissing cloud of smoke that swooped towards Rev. A shout from Pete gave her just a moment's warning as the cloud resolved itself into a humanoid figure that tried to bite down on her neck! She dodged just in time, giving the vampire time to reform himself nearby. "Blah! I just couldn't pass up a chance to sink my teeth into this - personally!" hissed a man who must have been Paul from accounting. It was clear where he'd gotten his visual styling; his black suit and cape, sharp features and dark hair, were all designed to look like Dracula. But it was - an unconvincing look. The suit, even to Rev's limited sense of fashion, did not fit, and the cape looked like the product of a cheap Halloween store. His skin was blotchy where it wasn't pale and his hair so dark it was obviously dyed. He must have been in his late twenties when he'd died, with the puffy build and features of someone who'd gotten little of the outdoors before then. Was this what vampire lords were made of these days?

The scene was wild, a mayhem of frantic security and rapidly-fleeing wealthy people. Echohead found good news at the scene. Well. In a manner of speaking. He could tell as soon as he'd gotten close that no man had died on his watch, at least no manner of man he was familiar with. The bisected remains of the billionaire revealed nothing human; only sparking microcircuits in a bed of dripping machine fluids, inside a chassis shaped and colored like a man but seeming to be made of some sort of plastic to the touch. It was clear what had 'killed' him from up close too; a burnt-out crater inside the podium showed that something had been planted there. Echohead was old enough to remember the Day of Wrath ten years earlier, and similar events in subsequent years when it became clear humans and heroes alike had been replaced by robot imposters. If people realized that Cardenas had been - was always? a robot, who could say what would happen next? Whatever they were going to do, they needed to do it fast. Mirror Knight's efforts to find an assassin in the crowd failed, but he was able to spot one of the event crew who seemed to be going in the wrong direction from the rest of the staff - a stout, serious-faced redhead who slipped away from her counterparts by the serving tables and who was making a beeline for the exit. Of course, with the crowd and growing panic, she wasn't making much progress. Predator's leadership was able to get Iron Talon deployed, taking up positions at the exits to stop the crowd from fleeing, calling actual first responders, and otherwise doing what you'd want private security to actually be doing. It looked like nobody else had been injured from the electrical blast that had taken Cardenas apart; and the debris hadn't done more than cause scrapes and cuts from flying shards. But things were hanging on a knife's edge...

Aquaria pick up anything with her super-senses? Super-Senses 12 (Darkvision, Radius Sight, Detect Magic 3 [auditory], Hearing [Extended], Sonar [Accurate Ultrasonic Hearing], Scent [Acute], Tremorsense) [12PP]

Sea Devil Aquaria breathed a low rumble of relief. It was very unlikely that so many intact bodies would be left behind by an incursion of Deep Ones, or even a rogue who had taken shelter in the park. Deep Ones would have sensibly eaten the meat and left the bones in the sacred positions, or if pressed for time simply pulled to pieces and taken away. Unless they are simply different than me. Some of them are. She had been around Surfacers long enough to know not to share such truths, however. Instead she rumbled "Hmmm! The waters of the park run deep! Many things might be within!" She padded alongside the officer, her three-fingered armored hand gripping her trident, feet noisily thumping beneath her. At the edge of the lake, she said, "What did the body look like? Was it all together?" As she spoke, she experimentally put her feet in the water, letting the lake water gradually replace the water inside her suit to get a feel for it against her skin.

Okay, let's see: the good news is, the trap over the door works and is still in place. the bad news is, ??? flies in through the window! (the bomb still isn't triggered, since the thing to trigger the action hasn't gone off yet! He goes for a bite of Rev! https://orokos.com/roll/987933 and misses! okay, ambush failed - lemme get you an IC post

Okay, any rolls from anybody else?

Sea Devil Around this time, a STAR Squad van arrived at the scene. As their supervisor checked in with the scene commander, uniformed, armored officers walked around to the back of the van, opened the rear doors, and disgorged their passenger. The Sea Devil was instantly recognizable in armor that gleamed pearlescent shades of white and green in the glaring lights of the streets, her armored limbs long and strange, her face invisible behind an armored form that betrayed nothing of the shape of the being inside. She did make slight, definite squishing sounds as she hopped over to the scene commander. She faced the officer, an older and experienced man by any judge, and spoke: Her voice was a booming buzz that echoed across the crime scene, an artificial sound so deep it was almost infrasonic: "HELLO! I AM SEA DEVIL! I AM HERE ABOUT THE DEAD BODY!" She rapped lightly on the ground with her black trident and added "I help the police with dead bodies! Please show it to me!" Sure enough, the ex-con turned community service heroine was on the files of the FCPD as an expert in water-related crimes.

Okay: Rev: 23 ???: 16 Vampire Horde: 15 you're up! You can post a readied action if you like, or a more detailed description of the gas bomb thing

The Patriot II An All-American Cheeseburger It's a simple enough picture. The Patriot is sitting down in a 1950s-style diner with a cheeseburger and french fries on the plate in front of her. The burger is big, with a thick brioche bun, melted cheddar cheese, and a succulent slab of beef on the inside; lettuce, tomatoes, and onions so thick you can see them from outside. The fries are thin-cut shoestring fries, crisp and salty. The drink is a Coke, brown and bubbling, the image so vivid you can practically hear the pieces of ice clinking together inside. It's a vivid scene, like you might find anywhere in America. But there are complications. First, the Patriot's costume has to be completely immaculate (or nearly so, anyway) - red white and dark blue polished spotlessly but not so bright that she reflected off the overhead lights in the diner. Her jacket has a few new buttons on it; symbols of the Lor Star Navy's medical corps if you happen to know a lot of alien lore. You can't see her red and blue dyed hair with the helmet on but she has to make sure that looks okay anyway, just to be on the safe side. The same goes for her makeup; enough that she looks like she's wearing makeup, not enough that you can tell that she is. Luckily the Patriot has a very good set of costuming and makeup people. The diner has to be just the right kind of place, owned by just the right kind of people. This one is a veteran-owned business on the South Side of Freedom, the owner a stocky, middle-aged woman whose hair is still in an immaculate crewcut from her days in the Marines. (This isn't one of _those_ Fifties nostalgia places; Madge has mostly fixed up the old fixtures that were already here when she bought it.) Her teenage son Lawrence (carefully vetted, just like his mom) is the Patriot's server and he makes sure you can see the rainbow pin on his apron when he brings the Patriot her burger and fries. There was a time when the Patriot herself was the person who did that kind of vetting, and honestly she misses it. But these are nice people, eager and excited to be on the national stage with the national hero; it's going to be all right. It has to be just the right kind of day outside. It's okay if it's raining (it is) and it's okay that it's not a perfect day; you never get perfect in Freedom. But it's a quiet day with the Freedom League not on active duty and crime low. The Patriot can afford to take some 'time off' today - though a day of signing autographs, making a few remarks, and shaking hands isn't really a day off. The burger itself has to be carefully vetted. The beef is from a Jersey farm; the brioche bun is from a national bakery chain that's never done anything too illegal. There's enough cheese to taste good without any risk of it spurting out onto her costume; the burger is thin enough that she can take a big wholesome bite without looking weird on national television. The potatoes are from a local urban farm; not actually very cost-effective from what she hears but a touch of green is great for any small business, and it's great for the Patriot to be seen patronizing a place that agrees. The Coke is from the Coca-Cola corporation, a big, powerful business with international ties, friendly relations with the US government, and a universal brand. She tries to keep the label out of sight of the cameras but everybody knows what it is. It really is a very good burger; and she's not above mopping up some of the juices with her fries when she's done. The Patriot knows she doesn't eat right but with her lifestyle she's certainly burning these calories as fast as they come in. She does a one-handed pull-up and hits the "I ate well!" bell on the side of the door as she's heading out. The darkly-painted van outside is big and well-equipped, with all the people she'd been missing. She's done public appearances with her wife, talking about the importance of marriage and family - all-American values she believes in very much. She's already talked this over with Stesha; Fleur de Joie, a friend and mentor and many other things, has always told the press that she and her daughter and her son are a family that does just fine for itself, thank you very much. But Fa'Rua had good reason to stay in the van with the support crew; Ashley still hasn't sold her on burgers and fries, though she has passed the non-negotiable test of eating the banh mi po'boy. There was no reason to make her pretend not to gag while Ashley ate her "perfectly, uh, normal Terran food." And besides, Fa'Rua had a mission of her own, with somebody who Ashley was not going to put on-camera for a long time. Kids deserved a normal life, even if their parents weren't very normal at all. One-month old Phillip Starshine Tran's mother and biological sister (it was better not to think about, really) passed him off to his mommy, who smiled and swept him up in her arms. The bright green Sanctuary-knitted blanket matched his eyes. "Hi trẻ nhỏ! Hi trẻ nhỏ! Did you miss me?"

okay team - what do?

The mood was easy and light throughout the party, or so it seemed anyway. The visiting bigwigs, venture capitalists, and idle rich didn't seem to have the pretensions of many of their counterparts. They were here to have a good time and didn't care who knew it. Jean's unusual appearance meant she was a major object of attention but she was certainly used to that after so much time in this dimension, the boys had an easier time mingling in the crowd. Echohead could get a good feel for what the people thought; though one might argue most of them weren't really thinking at all between the champagne and the politics, or lack thereof. The general consensus seemed to be that they weren't so much interested in Cardenas's social and political message as looking for "what kind of show is he going to give us this time?" They might reward the ringmaster of this particular circus if they liked the show he put on, but they weren't particularly true believers in his cause. When the comedy wound down, the heroes got the update about Cardenas's arrival, the audience growing just a bit restive as they waited. The Iron Talon staff checked in with them on their earpieces, letting them know exactly what was happening. Cardenas had arrived. Cardenas was signing autographs, Cardenas was "IN THE BATHROOM and has requested PRIVACY" in what sounded very much like a euphemism for something. Finally, Cardenas made his appearance. "My friends!" he said as the doors flung open and a laser show began to play, music rising as his voice rose. "My friends, it's time for us to take things - to the NEXT LEVEL!" The pumping electronic beat played louder as Cardenas zoomed into the room on a hi-tech hoverboard, zipping along fast as an oncoming car just a few feet above ground level. He did tricks and flips, showing an admitted acrobatic talent if nothing else, the excited crowd now firmly in his pocket as they whooped and applauded. He landed on stage, flipped the board under his arm, and winked at the audience before he walked right up to the podium. "My friends!" he said, spreading his arms - and then he exploded in a shower of electric sparks and flaming debris. For a moment it all looked like part of the show; the music was still playing and the laser lights blaring - until the horizonally bisected remains of the fallen billionaire collapsed, smoking, and the crowd began screaming where fragments of debris had shot through it at super-speed. The lights came up and the music abruptly ended. The party was over.

Okay, typically you'd need Inventor, but this is a fun idea so I'll see what I can do. We'll go ahead and make this combat; roll initiative. (we'll say you set up the trap before it happened) https://orokos.com/roll/987429 the first wave of vampires will hit at 15!

APPROVED

"...well screw you then!" Paul declared. "I'm going to send my children-in-darkness to kill you, what do you think about that! And then they're gonna take that boyfriend of yours, and then they're going to-" Technically most of what he proceeded to describe was anatomically impossible, but vampires were presumably much stronger and more flexible than humans. "I dunno," said Pete, "it's pretty dark out." Checking the wall clock revealed that it was 4 AM, which meant probably about two hours until sunrise. "Pretty tired..." He was sitting in a secure spot in what had typically been his office, back to the brick wall and in a corner. Luckily there weren't any windows in here, it wasn't that kind of place. A quick search of the garage revealed little in the way of anti-vampire technology - at least not of the spiritual sort. But between the fully stocked tool kits, the fuel tanks, armor and spare parts for a fleet of overarmored and overengined Iron Talon jeeps and trucks, there was certainly plenty of gear here, if Rev's battered body and the soon-to-be-arriving vampire horde would allow for it...

Okay @Exaccus, we just need you

"Fuel's out in the garage w'the trucks. Oh man it's cold..." He didn't say much after that, but luckily he was light enough for Rev to carry. The fire alarm was going on everywhere in the building, of course; ringing loudly and flashing bright lights as Rev and her cargo made their escape out to the garage where Iron Talon kept their extra vehicles and equipment. There was, perhaps surprisingly, nobody in the room - but one look at the gasoline and other flammable items told her exactly why vampires might be avoiding this space if they thought the building might be on fire. Indeed, she could see figures forming up outside in what looked to be the aftermath of an evacuation. Then came a voice on the loudspeakers. "Attention please, attention." The voice was cold and nasal, sounding like it belonged to a person younger than Pete or Rev. "This is a message for the cyborg chick. Lexa Venn. Yeah, I know who you are. We took your wallet and we drank your nasty blood! All I have to do is tell the day shift about you being a nasty robot terrorist and they'll send in people to burn your house down and put a bullet in your head! You'll never be safe in this city!" There was a brief hesitation and then "You-you hit the call button on the intercom to respond. You dumb robot bimbo!"

Okay, let's see: it looks like everyone is looking around and getting a feel for people and places, either with their regular senses or their mental senses. So let's see some Notice and Sense Motive checks.

yep!

Pete, somewhat blearily, told her his tale: "They all got bit! Got turned," he said, leaning against her as she unstrapped him. "Thought they were stealing time off, taking a week off and going night shift...got nosy. You know me..." He blinked wearily. "They were smart. Never saw 'em bite anybody, but came back here out of the garage and saw this. Thought they didn't see me but they did! Said this is what I deserved for being a drunk. Thought it was just some of them, but it's...everybody. Everybody inside." Freed, trying to gather his thoughts, he said "new guy...new guy Paul, Paul from accounting, he started it." He tried to get up and failed, slumping back into Rev's arms. "You came to help me. But you should leave me. Can't fight them and carry me." He looked at her closely and said "Oh baby...I hurt you again. You came here for me!" He leaned his forehead against hers and looked like he was about to start crying. Before he could, the fire alarm blared in a symphony of light and noise, triggered by the lingering smoke coming from the rotting ashes of the dead vampire.

The vampire turned around - and immediately burst into flames! Rev had a good view of fire trailing up the blood and oil around the vampire's mouth and down inside it. Of course, it had just recently voided itself of all the oil-soaked blood it had drunk. Leaving only the fumes behind. The flammable fumes. The vampire's upper torso exploded in a shower of fire, ash, and rapidly decomposing flesh, its lower body crumbling to gore as it collapsed entirely. Overhead, Rev could see a fire alarm that hadn't been triggered just yet, but for the moment they were still alone in the cells-turned-feeding chambers. The watching Pete Moss said "mother of-" and fainted briefly, his eyes rolling back in her head.

And the complication is just fine - I'll hit there come the morning!

Rev - 2 HP - Bruised/Injured x3, Staggered is I think how we have her, with the idea that she woke up when she recovered from Disabled. (Which is not quite how it works, but is a nice way to look at it.) Okay, that's 18... which hits! Tou vs 23: https://orokos.com/roll/985579 all right, my unfortunate man has failed by nine, he is stunned and injured! Since he's a minion, that means he goes up like ash!