alderwitch

I forgot to mention here. Phantom is also fearless :)

No worries. Is dramatically appropriate Its really what the HP system is for ;)

"Wouldn't be the first time we rebuilt," Phantom replied to Atlas as she floated up over the ground fighters. It wasn't comforting but at least it was truth. She watched Jack wade into the first masses, her lips a grim line, before she forced her eyes up to the sky. She had a task to do too. Floating up, Phantom gathered the rubble around her in a whirling vortex, before firing the first volley at the demons darkening the sky. Rocks and large chunks of rubble went pelting through the air like missles.

Gonna switch out of intangible for the 'force field'. And then Phantom will use her tk to lob debris at flyers.

Psyche's brows drew together, her face chalky white with strain under the bright red leather of her facemask. She bit her lower lip, as she rummaged around in his thoughts, looking for the weakness she knew he had to have. Blasting away at James brain would be infinately easier but she still hoped it wouldn't come to that. It did look more and more like the inevitable conclusion of this altercation. She did have one last trick up her sleeve to try before it came to that. Even as James' blade sliced through Wander's skin, Psyche struck through James mind with her power focused into a searing lance of power. She latched mental claws into any scrap of hidden guilt she could find and raked it up to the forefront of his brain with surprising ruthlessness.

Also, James shouldn't be able to act since he's mentally grappled but is okay, I think is best just to take the HP and have him 'fight through the grapple' for his action. I could use that HP ;)

I will use emotional control to try and get James to notice how bad hurting his friends makes him feel (ie, Emotion Control Guilt). I will burn my last HP to clear my fatigue and Extra Effort so that it is a DC 22 Will Save (PL12 effect), leaving Psyche fatigued again.

Phantom's throat closed up and she settled for giving Fulcrum a small nod a shaky smile as those used to mobilizing people set to work. As Avenger had begun to shout out orders, picked up by Ace, Phantom was examing the glimmering ward. Even as she approached it, she knew they were out of time. It would have taken minutes, if not hours, to rework the holy sigils and it was simply time they didn't have. The ward flickered under her gloved fingertips and without waiting for it's determined resurgance, Phantom teleported back to Jack's side. "I'm going out into the middle. Tell Dark Star to center his attacks around me. The best I can do now is neutralize their abilities while someone pounds on them." Phantom spoke quickly, but her voice was steady. This was what she'd trained for, and that training blunted fear and focused adrenaline into something she could harness and use. She caught the sides of his face up in between the soft leather of her gloves and pressed a bittersweet kiss against his lips. "I love you, hero." Phantom blinked away from the front lines and out into the first crush of the horde. Spreading her hands wide, she focused. Black energy formed in her hands and expanded outward with a soft whump, stealing magical powers from the demons within the radius of its fell light. It was fitting, Phantom thought in the small portion of her brain that was cool and remote, that she be out here to make a last stand. This was her responsibility, and she would be no place else but in the very teeth of hell. I hope you choke on me.

12,19 Is good?

Training kept Psyche's muscles from tensing under the strain of holding James' will in her thrall but beneath her mask, her face was bloodless and sweat began to bead at her temples. Her eyes were closed, but beneath her lids they flickered back and forth as if she were in REM sleep. She could feel Mark's shoulder tensing under her hand but she had to hope he would be able to shake off anything on his own. She didn't dare divert one fragment of her attention right now. 'Show me how to set you free, James,' she commanded, her psychic grip like iron around him even as she kept the channel open for their memories and emotions. Psyche knew she couldn't hold him like this too much longer so she had to make the best of it. Show me.

(16:42:20) alderwitch: Reminder for everyone, we still have a +2 from master plan (16:42:32) Electra: Appears to be (16:43:17) ChatBot: alderwitch rolls 1d20 and gets 2. (16:43:23) Electra: Ouch (16:43:36) Cyroa: well, it's an 8 (16:43:38) alderwitch: Yeah, that's a reroll (16:44:01) ChatBot: alderwitch rolls 1d20 and gets 9. (16:44:12) Electra: Yay! (16:44:24) AvengerAssembled: Yay! (16:44:24) Cyroa: sheesh... (16:44:52) alderwitch: So 19 + 7 (after the half power, +extra effort), +2 = 28 And is fatigued

"Young Freedom," Phantom said, shoulders squared and her feet braced against the ground as she named off the youngest group of super heroes active in Freedom City currently. She lifted her chin a notch and coolly surveyed the group. If there was going to be an outcry, better now than when it really hit the fan. "They have the best shot of closing that gate down."

Taylor flashed a dimpled grin after her at least impassioned contribution to the nights karaoke. She caught herself before floating off the edge of the stage - the problem with hanging out with one's super hero friends in civillian identity - and caught herself with only a little bit of a wobble on one heeled foot before sashaying down the stairs with a faintly guilty look. Next she'd be phasing through the table and she didn't even have alchohol as an excuse. It didn't affect her after all. Maybe she could blame it on that anyways. She scooted in next to Jack a little breathless from both the song and her near stage-mishap and grinned, "Mental note: no stage diving. So who's the next brave soul up?" Taylor let her hand fall casually on Jack's knee as she glanced around the table cheerfully, "We haven't even put it on random yet. That's when the pain truely starts."

Phantom leaned into the touch on her shoulder, one gloved hand slipping up to cover his and give it a squeeze. She returned his smile with a shaky one of her own and said quietly, intending the words just for his ears, "I don't even know how Eldritch built it. I'd guess he's got a relic in there but that's only going to have so much oomph. We'll manage something." She pivoted and looked at the assembled faces. Not for the first time, she wished the Master Magus was here but he had other tasks to attend to. The sphere of his duties was more than one city, after all. Phantom would bet her last dollar that he was making sure that if the city fell, it wouldn't spread to the rest of the world. That did mean she was rather on her own, mystically speaking. "There's a group, the best group suited, to trying to reverse this invasion." Phantom said, her tone measured and even. Only Jack with his hand on her shoulder would feel the tension in her body. The plan hadn't been an easy one or a choice made lightly, but it was not only the best hope, but the only one. She knew her voice would carry, and she knew these people wanted answers so she gave them what she could, "We were trying to buy them time by taking on the brunt of the Horde deeper within the city. In Riverside. That group is going to be on its way here to bolster the numbers. This is the last unclaimed scrap of Freedom City, which means every demon pouring through the hell gate will be on its way here and, eventually, that barrier is not going to be enough to hold them back. It can't."

As Erin turned back to the console, a look of deep sorrow flickered across Alex's face as she watched Erin. She knew Erin still struggled with her survivor guilt, and with her own self loathing. Even before, Alex could have removed that burden. Now it would take no more effort than a thought or two. But then she wouldn't be Erin anymore. "I think if God exists, It suffers with all of Its creations," Alex said very quietly. She tucked her hands into her back pockets and her expression smoothed back into her usual serenity, "I'm going to go for a midnight flight before resting. Wanna come?"

"I think that a heaven must exist just like hell seems to but so do the other realms of other faiths. I don't think that makes any of them right," Alex said softly, still looking at her glowing fingertips. "I think that we believe because they already exist and that makes divinity easier to digest. I think the real divine force is so much more than angels with fluffy wings and trumpets, or a pantheon of petty bickering concepts wearing flesh. I think we are loved, though, and that we are forgiven for our failures. I don't think it takes anything more than trying. The same way people love babies. Not because they did anything. They simply are, and are loved. I think its probably more like that." Alex waved her hands and glanced up from them, her smile a little abashed as she knew she'd gotten into a rambling response.

Alex snuggled into the arm around her shoulders and playfully reached up to tap the end of his nose, scooting halfway into his lap to do so. "Being further along in the emotionally mature spectrum doesn't make one a more worthwhile person. Or even a better one. That is entirely to do with what choices people make." She beamed at the end of her ethics 101 rant. "But, to give you the compliment you were neatly fishing for, yes. Yes, you are worth it." The hand she'd used to tap him softened and she splaid the fingers of her delicate hand over his cheek, and tilted her head to examine him thoughtfully.

"I wish" Alex said ruefully, looking down at the glow around her palms. She wiggled her fingertips, causing the sparkles to dance, "As far as I can tell my brain's regulating my forcefield like it does my breathing or my pulse, so I guess a streak of inspiration mid sleep isn't that unlikely. Mike's got similar power growth going on but he got eyebeams. S'kinda weird."

As Jack's reappearance created a ripple in the crowd of folks backing away, Taylor pulled up the edge of her cloak that was now more holes than fabric and ripped a portion of it off. Folding it into a small pad, she tilted her head to listen to Ace and Dark Star, nodding occasionally as they spoke but without contributing as she weighed her options. Taylor stepped into the empty circle around the vampire and reached up to blot some of the demonic blood from Jack's face. It didn't take a mystical expert to realize the blood was not so good for Jack, even if it had been neccesary. Her expression was solemn, and her hands still trembled from exhaustion intermittantly. "If Eldritch were here, I would say most definately it could be done. As I don't see anyone more mystically skilled than myself, I will say that it is possible." She said finally, almost reluctantly. Taylor paused, turning her face towards the waning barrier. She was so very tired and knew she was no where near Eldritch's calibur. She might end up taking the whole thing down by accident. There was no margin for error and she was far from her peak but they didn't have Eldritch, they had her so she would have to suit. Shaking herself back to the present, she rallied enough to volunteer her thoughts, "I might be able to route the energies of the field through my own powers. The manor is already in a state of dimensional flux. I might be able to shift the manor out of synch with prime and into the void. Then, yes, we could bring the barrier down in incriments." She'd never tried anything like it but the metaphysics were sound. Heshem knew what it would do to her in the process. She fell silent again as she tried to work out other angles to approach the problem.

Phantom coughed at the dust plume from the shattered building. It was always strange to her that though her lungs didn't need air, she retained the human auto reponse to clear them. She gestured, using mystical wind to clear the air and spoke to her companions as the Horde approached. "These demons are going to have more tricks. Poison, fire, flight, mental tricks, you name it. The bigger they are, the tougher they are is a general rule. The exception are the ones who look utterly human. Those will hopefully be succubi or doppelgangers. They might be a true hell lord though. Backs to the wall. This is about to get a whole lot worse." Phantom's voice was rock steady if hoarse as she floated down to the others and headed over to the best curve of rubble she could see at first glance. Solidifying, her booted feet hit the ground with a soft thump, the tattered folds of her cloak ghosting down around her. Her gaze fixed on the masses, Phantom's throat worked as she tried to find something to say. What sort of words did anyone have when the goal of the fight was simply to last as long as possible against overwhelming numbers. They were going to be hurt and badly. They simply had to last long enough. Her gaze skimmed over their small band, resting finally on Avenger. She swallowed again and settled on, "I'd say whoever gets the most demons wins but I think Atlas is up by about a thousand so I'll settle on last man standing gets bragging rights."

Without opening her eyes or removing her hand from Edge's shoulder, the bright glow around Psyche solidified to deflect the fire away from her fragile body. She frowned, her expression white with focus behind her mask as she continued her hold on James's mind. Ignoring his threats, she murmured to Edge, "They need to take the demons down before I lose him."

32 toughness save

"We can't send them home because this is hell. You can't banish something that belongs here." Exhaustion and pain made Phantom's voice sharp as she stood up, reaffixing her mask in place securely over her face. It was torn below one white glowing eye but it would simply have to do. She didn't have the time or energy to spare to mend it now. "We can't fall back to the mansion as I imagine they'll evac the civillians if the ward falls. We'd be best off if they punch through rather than bring the whole thing down but its more of an art than a science with wards." Giving what information she could, Phantom turned her attention to Avenger. Either Colt would take her advice or discount it but she wasn't up to bickering. With their resistance gone, the horde would be on its way here directly. Lowering her voice for Avenger, as much as she could in the crowd, she said in what she hoped was an aside, "You ought purge that out of your system. You're not using it up in the fighting anymore."

She touched Jack's hand, squeezing it lightly in support. After all, she knew full well how difficult it was to face the ex Knights with his secret out in the open, but he was here, with them all and for her birthday. "Sure," Taylor agreed with a gamine grin as she stood up to pull the jacket that had made her outfit 'parent appropriate' earlier in the evening, pausing to fold it neatly over the back of her chair. The one good thing about running around in a leotard was she didn't feel nearly so akward in shorter skirts these days. She hurried up to the small stage and sighed as she had to pull the mike off the stand as both Ace and Jack had almost a foot on her. Even in tippy high heels, she wasn't going to be able to use the stand. She shook the cord out and launched fearlessly into the selection. It wasn't professional, but she had a husky alto voice that worked well for the song and she threw herself into the campy song with an infectious amount of enthusiasm that made up for a good deal when it came to karaoke.

Taylor dredged up a smile for Atlas as she shoved herself up to a sitting position. Taylor put one bracing hand on Jack as she surveyed the ground. "It's a holy ward, in layman's terms. It also is going to come crashing down. Without anyone left out there, this is the last ground to claim." Frankly, it was a miracle that it was still standing but Taylor didn't see a point in sharing that. She coughed, a harsh rasping sound, before she found her voice again, "The dimensions are merging, but this is still Freedom City, out there, it isn't. Not anymore." It was so very tempting to sit there on the ground and hide her face against the people she loved. But there was a last stand to make, and while Taylor wanted to weep with exhastion, Phantom had a job to do. Chin firming with determination, she shifted to get her feet under her and reached out to Jack to steady herself as she stood up slowly. "We haven't lost yet."