Avenger Assembled

Okay, @Spacefurry, would you care to describe how your character does the thing?

"But-" A wide variety of emotional responses played across Eira's face - she'd never been terribly good at hiding them, and seemed less interested in doing so now that she was deeply into her late teens. The overall look was similar to the one Miss A remembered from when a much younger Eira (in a very different body) had found out that her parents' allergies meant she was never going to get a cat. When she was finished, she said, "All right. I will be ready." She folded her arms across her chest and, once they were safely out of view of anyone at street level, flexed her wings down behind her shoulder blades and reactivated the electrical currents that colored and shaped her flesh, while taking advantage of the morphic molecule outfit that was similarly outfitted.. By the time anyone else was on the roof, a teenage girl was standing behind Miss Americana who looked like she belonged there as much as anyone could in the company of the patriotic paragon - her blonde hair in a short ponytail behind her head, silver piercing in her nose, white lab jacket on over a black metal T-shirt, eyes hidden behind dark, rimless sunglasses that looked vaguely like something out of the 19th century.

Summer 2020 Angelic had been full of questions ever since she'd found out what was in the sealed sample container that had been personally delivered to Miss Americana - the one that the latter was now in the process of flying to HAX personally. "Active computronium!" She sounded excited; considerably more excited, Miss Americana knew, than the teenager usually was these days. A few years earlier she might have been buzzing around Miss A as they flew, as it was, her wings were spread and there was a smile on her quicksilver face as her magnetic flight propelled her along after Miss A. "Do you think it has a live connection to the Communion hive mind?" She rubbed her wrists, where the inactive computronium that she used to interface with cybernetic systems lay buried. "I wonder if a full-on interface is possible using terrestrial equipment. We may need to take it into deep space." - The announcement of Miss Americana's imminent arrival with her dangerous cargo hadn't quite interrupted babysitting-the-playdate time but it was close. Via closed-circuit camera, Mara could check in on the littlest kids visiting. "The robots are making soup!" declared Charlie, Mia's friend from Nicholson, whose precognition and enhanced intelligence were intermittent enough that he wasn't actually a threat to anybody's job at HAX yet. Mia turned to her friend and declared, a wide smile on her face, "More like...poop!" Charlie grabbed his sides and fell over laughing, with the sweet innocent laughter of an early kindergartener, the sound ringing all through the small office. "You're so funny!" Charlie's mom worked long hours and was a single parent, so he went on a lot of playdates. Luckily the Nicholson program was very good at arranging time out with trusted friends in safe company. Wander was close by, after all. And come to think of it, it was about time for Chitin's visit!

Eira cocked her head and smiled at Pan. "I told you I would dress up, yes?" The others got - well it wasn't a smile, but it wasn't a frown, either. "Good," she told Micah shortly, showing teeth. "My parents say they want me to be happy here. I am going to show them just how happy I am." "Family can be tough," said Quickstep uneasily. "When the Curator kidnapped me into space sophomore year, my parents thought the robot double he'd left behind was the real me, and that made things awkward for...oh, most of my teenage years." Come to think of it, that particular Claremont story had been passed down to the current generation of students. "Hey you're all right," she added more easily to Soliton. "With me it's stepping through the 5th dimension. I used to have to do it blind till I got the goggles," she added, tapping them where they hung around her neck. "Speaking of which, here's this if any of you are prone to motion sickness," she added, handing out goggles to everyone besides Eira. "Quickstep is a friend of a friend," said Eira with a confident smirk. "I thought this would save us the trouble of an airplane flight." "Oh man, the last time I saw Eira," said Dorothy cheerfully, "she was about this big!" She held her head out several inches below Eira's current height. "I was interning with Miss Americana and we...well, that's a story for another day!" It did not look like Eira wanted this story told. - Once you stepped through a portal, passing through the Fifth Dimension turned out to vaguely resemble falling into an acid rock album cover from the early 1970s, albeit one in eerie silence. Removing the goggles revealed that the colors were vibrating even more violently than they first appeared, a bizarre symphony of visual assault that - And then they were out. While Eira shook Quickstep's hand and the latter said goodbye to the kids, the other Claremont students had time to notice exactly where they were. It was afternoon here, some six or seven hours later than in Freedom City, and the sky was an ominous shade of grey that promised a cold Nordic summer shower if they stayed outside too long. They were standing in a curved private driveway in front of a two-story manor house set amid a substantial private estate, the stony remains of an even older structure visible just above the rolling hills behind the house. The landscaping around them was impeccable and substantial, the drive leading down past rows of massive old trees to the road beyond. This wasn't just wealth - this was a long time wealth. "Welcome to Natt och Dag Manor," said Eira dryly as she led the way towards the building. "Mother and Father are expecting us but I didn't give them a time. It's funnier this way." Above them, lightning flashed.

You can! His Reflex save is +5, so he can potentially beat a +7 Snare even while blinded but he doesn't! Go ahead and post.

The firecrackers hit the windshield and the thoroughly driver began swerving dramatically! Before a real disaster could happen, Angelic whipped past Gimmick and landed in front of the car, digging in her heels and shoving her armored hands directly into the car's engine block! She skidded a few feet, then sunk ankles-deep into the asphalt as she stopped the car's forward motion via sheer application of machine force. She was shouting something in Swedish and sounded distinctly annoyed about something, but for now there was a bigger problem as their target leaped out of the car and began running away, blindly racing towards oncoming traffic in the nearby street!

Angelic: moves all-out, then spends an HP to grab the car We'll call it DC 20 to catch it 23 the dealer: takes off running on foot, blind! You're up as soon as I post IC

"Oh, I'm always live and turned on," said Katie with a saucy smile. She seemed to be focusing in on Danica, largely ignoring Eira. It was hard to read Eira's expression when she didn't have a human face 'on', but she seemed to be scowling as she looked from cameras to livestreamer. "I'd be happy to answer any questions you have, but I've only been here a few days myself. Do you know anything about all the robots here in town?" Angelic crossed her arms over her chest, fixing her flat white gaze on the livestreamer, and said throatily, "Yes." "Well good!" said Katie with a laugh - and a lie. "Because I hardly know anything. I'm just here for the lulz and to see what's up." She hopped from the bed where she'd been sitting and zipped over to Danica's side. "You are just so cuuuute! Do you have any merchandising deals?"

"I have nothing against the zoo," said Ashley with a wave of her hand. "I just said that was probably the place we were going to...see the most of. They're a pain in the ass for security but honestly I've taken Judy to places much scarier than the zoo." "That does sound really fun!" said Judy to Danica. "Ah've hardly ever gotten the chance to do that. Anything like that." She shot a glance at Ashley, then turned back to Danica to say firmly, "...we'll do it. We'll find a way to make it happen." Ashley stared at Judy, seeming to forget about Pan entirely, then said, "...all right. I'll see what we can do. I think we can sell it as powers training-" "And Ah'm turning eighteen this year," Judy added to Danica, "so Ah can...Ah can do more than Ah did before, when Ah was just a kid." Ashley flushed with suppressed emotion - but didn't actually seem angry. She put a hand on her sister's shoulder and said, "Okay. I'm with you." There was something of an awkward silence before she released her and stepped back, leaning against the wall. She gave Judy a worried look before saying to Pan, "Danica's got useful powers, and she knows something about science too. Not really any of our fields. And the magic thing, wow, is it true you don't even fall at normal speed?"

Angelic Classic Systems The Steel Angel games follow Eira's adventures, typically in the fictional Freedom City with Eira as the player character. She is often joined by her mother, Steel America, and occasionally by other members of the Angel cast. As in platform video games, the player runs and jumps across platforms and atop enemies in themed levels. The games have simple plots, typically with Eira rescuing the kidnapped Prince Peter from the primary antagonist, Soliton. The first title in the series, Steel Angel Girls., released for the Freetendo Entertainment System (FES) in 1985, established gameplay concepts and elements prevalent in nearly every Steel Angel game released since. These include a multitude of power-ups and items that give Steel Angel special powers such as lightning-throwing and size-changing into both giant and miniature sizes. Synopsis - Steel Angel Girls In the heroic setting of Freedom City, a group of alien creatures known as the Boo Grues invade Freedom City and uses the magic of their queen, Soliton, to turn its inhabitants, known as the Freedomites, into inanimate objects such as bricks, stones and horsehair plants. Soliton and her army also kidnap Prince Peter, the Master Mage of Freedom City and the only one with the ability to reverse Soliton's spell. After hearing the news, Steel Angel sets out to save the prince and free the kingdom from Soliton. After traveling through various parts of the city and fighting Soliton's forces along the way, Steel Angel reaches Soliton's final stronghold. Once there, she reassembles the scattered fragments of the Power of Freedom. (She has already located and braved the eight strongholds, and retrieved each fragment from their defeated guardians. With the completed Power of Freedom, she is able to infiltrate Soliton's lair in Claremont Academy, confronting the princess of darkness and destroying her with the Lightning Spike. Obtaining the Power of Freedom from Soliton's ashes, Steel Angel returns it to the rescued Prince Peter, and peace can return to Freedom. Synopsis - Steel Angel Sunshine The game takes place on the tropical Isle Vibora, where Eira, Kimber, and Prince Pan are taking a vacation. A villain resembling Eira, known as Skadi Eira, vandalizes the island with graffiti as Eira gets blamed for the mess. Eira is ordered to clean up Isle Vibori, using a device called the Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device (F.L.U.D.D.), while saving Prince Pan from Skadi Eira. Synopsis - Pan's Mansion Prince Pan is notified he has won a mansion in a contest he did not enter. He informs Steel Angel, and they agree to meet up outside the mansion that evening. Prince Pan follows a map to the mansion, finding it more sinister looking than the supplied photo. With Steel Angel nowhere to be found, Prince Pan enters the mansion alone. He is attacked by a zombie, but is saved by a scientist who tries unsuccessfully to suck up the zombie with a vacuum cleaner. The two evacuate before more ghosts can arrive, and the woman introduces herself as Steel Dragon, who explains the mansion is supernatural in origin and only appeared a few nights prior. Steel Dragon tells Pan that she saw Steel Angel heading towards the mansion, but has not seen her since. Upon learning that Pan is Eira's "good friend', Steel Dragon entrusts Pan with her zombie-hunting equipment, including the Zombuster 3000 vacuum cleaner and Game Gal Horror communication device, and Pan re-enters the mansion to look for Steel Angel. Synopsis - Dr. Angel In this falling block puzzle game, the player's objective is to reprogram the robots populating the on-screen playing field by using colored circuits that are tossed into the field by Steel Angel, who assumes the role of a scientist complete with lab coat costume. The player manipulates each circuit as it falls, with the goal being to align similar colors which removes the robots. The player progresses through the game by reprogram all the robots on the screen in each level. Synopsis - Steel America Teaches Typing The CD-ROM release of Steel America Teaches Typing and Steel America Teaches Typing 2 feature a story in which Steel Angel and Steel America encounter a magical typewriter. After Steel Angel incorrectly types a phrase that would destroy Soliton's castle, the typewriter - and Steel Angel - explode into three pieces. The pieces of the machine are retrieved as the player progresses through the game lessons; when the typewriter is fully repaired, Steel Angel is able to type the phrase correctly, resulting in the destruction of Soliton's castle. "For me, the interesting relationship is the one between Steel Angel and Soliton; I mean on some days they fight to the death in fiery climactic showdowns, while on other days they go go-karting together, play tennis, even team up in some of the RPGs. Sure, she kidnaps Prince Pan a whole bunch, but no-one seems to begrudge her for that anymore; it's just what she does."

Okay, @Dr Archeville, @Spacefurry, @Electra, @TheAbsurdist I need the person with the highest Computers (or INT, failing Computers) to roll here - everyone else can make an aid roll, where if you get 10 or above on an unmodified d20, you add +2 to the roll. You may all spend HP on all these rolls, as you like, as we are nearly at the end.

"Someone finally asked!" said Eira, her particularly synthesized voice sharp in acknowledgement of Danica's question. "Here is what you must do." She sketched out a plan for the heroes in the control room that, boiled down, required them to reboot the system via keystrokes and power-downs at exactly the right time, in exactly the right way. "Otherwise the main power will reactivate and we will be in the same situation all over again." Down below was a wild melee of duplicates and holograms, as if their classmates were trapped in an actual malfunction of some kind. Eira was sounding fatigued on the comm, her voice breaking up into static and Swedish from time to time.

https://orokos.com/roll/815685 That works - he is dazzled! Go ahead and post IC

Looks good! Go ahead and drop that IC, Fox

Hmm - guy is speeding away inside a car, so a tazer may not be the right weapon...

Yup!

Okay, do you want to spend that HP/surge to act and hit him?

That hits, and under current circumstances, it works! Tou vs 25 https://orokos.com/roll/815492 = 27 No visible damage, though. @Fox, Masque is up. @alderwitch, you can still post for Nighthawk

"Ah'm fine," lied Judy. It occurred to her suddenly that maybe Danica hadn't heard about the end of her relationship with Leroy, and impulses warred within her briefly before she realized there wasn't really any point in talking about it, was there? "Ah've just had a rough time lately." She looked up at the sight of the flying tortoise above her head and managed a smile, a real one, even. "Bet you'll get to fly higher than Ah do," she said with a glance at Ashley. "Yes, well," said Ashley diplomatically, "Danica can take a fall at terminal velocity better than you can. No offense, Pan," she added with a little wave of her hand. "Trust me," she added to Danica, "even negative thoughts won't necessarily knock you out of the air. And I should know." "The zoo sounds awfully nice," said Judy thoughtfully. "And back in New Mexico! Ah'm-Ah'm gonna be in Arizona for a couple of weeks," she offered, "maybe we can get together then?" Ashley winced and said, "Let's talk about that later. I know we'll be hitting the zoo a few times this summer, maybe you can Facetime with Danica there?"

At that moment, the air in front of them seemed to catch fire. It was a strange sort of fire that burned in a perfect circle, though, and after a moment two figures stepped out through the seeming gateway. The first was familiar to the students. Eira Katastroff was dressed up for the occasion, her long hair cut short and pulled up in a bright blue fauxhawk, a studded leather jacket around her slim shoulders and black T-shirt emblazoned with BATHORY and sinister-looking red-eyed goat. She had a stud through one eyebrow and another in her lip, and dangling metal pentagrams hanging from her ears. "Hi Pan," she said throatily, reaching down and taking his hand. "Mia, Micah, Lulu. So you all made it." As the fiery portal closed behind them, Eira's companion took off bright-red goggles and looked around. "Wow!" She was slim and athletic in a dark purple bodysuit run through with green lines, a confident smile on her freckled face, her red hair in a neat bun behind her. "The old place hasn't changed too much!" She grinned at the kids and stuck out a gloved hand. "Hey there! I'm Quickstep, I'm your ride to Sweden. Don't mind me, I'm Class of '15 myself."

Okay, Gimmick = 13 Angelic = 12 Baddie = 12 Okay, he moves Speed 5 in his car - you can catch up with him if you move all-out. i.e. you'll need to surge if you want to get there in time to attack him, and you won't be able to pursue for long. Lemme know if any of this needs a translation, I'm writing this while a little loopy! ?

Artificer's well-placed blast cut through the power box for the control room, powering down whatever systems were holding the room in lockdown automatically and rolling the windows up. The Atlantean had cut right to the heart of the matter, sparing them the time it would have taken to override the existing security systems or even pry the windows themselves open. The team found themselves facing a bizarre scene down below; the Doom Room's holographic systems in lockdown and a gigantic holographic version of Sun Dragon locked in combat with their classmates - and a version of Chelone watching the whole struggle. Both of the projections were obviously fake - oversized and twice the height of the originals, with eyes the color of the Doom Room's projections. Suddenly, the room's speaker's crackled to life in a familiar voice: "Professor al-Salaaf, Chelone, Artificer, Paper - can you hear me?" It was the unmistakable, slightly fuzzy, voice of Eira Katastroff, who was vaguely visible in the melee below, her arm buried in the system's interface.

Okay, @alderwitch, post when you can. @KnightDisciple, Thunderbird is up.

Summer 2020 The first thing you have to understand is that Eira Katastroff was decidedly not bringing her boyfriend home to meet her parents. This was a real summer trip (albeit a short one) with her, Pan, Lulu, Mia, and Micah all heading across the Atlantic for a week or so to visit lovely Sweden. So what if they were going to start at her parents' house? The Natt och Dag estate was a natural place for their first arrival and convenient to much of the rest of the country. She'd asked (and not whined, definitely not that) to get hero visas for all of them and it had all worked out fine. Everything was going to go perfectly. So here they were, a couple of weeks after Claremont had dismissed its students for the summer, standing on a campus that was mostly deserted except for a few unhappy students stuck there rather than with their families, the sky overhead bright and sunny, the trees and grass a brilliant shade of green. It looked to be a good day. There was no sign of Angelic yet.

Ashley'd been about to congratulate the new kid on his good detective work when Callie dropped the anvil onto her lap. "Is that so?" There was a time when that sort of months-long lie-by-omission would have made her curse Callie out right there in front of everyone, but even as her tone dropped low and frosty Ashley reminded herself that she was a lot older now. Hell, looking around she was the oldest person in the room save for the former Raven herself. She walked over to a nearby wall and leaned against it, snapping one of her laser pistols from her belt and beginning the quick process of checking it for wear. "Hey, go ahead and ask your questions," she told the younger heroes in the room. "Nothing I need to know here." Evidently.