alderwitch

Jack's guess was an accurate one as Taylor thrashed awake with a shout ripped from a voice that was hoarse from smoke and screaming over the din of battle. Her cloak was little more than tatters under her, more holes and scorch marks than not. Her blasts fired harmlessly off into hapless shrubbery as she arched her back. She'd gone down fighting, and she intended to make the demons pay until there was nothing left to throw at them. She was phasing free of the iron grip on her hands even as her brain caught up to the faces around her and the grass under her bare thighs. She blinked, forcing her eyes to focus. No demons. Holy Ward. Danger Manor. Taylor stopped fighting, her hands unclenching. Her body was healed but she was as ragged as the rest of them from the endless waves of demons. "S'gonna take me a second." Popping in and out of phase normally took Taylor no effort much less thought, but the edges of her body blurred a few times before she managed to turn fully solid under Jack's hands, her body sagging with exhaustion. She looked up at Jack with bleary eyes, taking note of his condition and not for the first time. Her voice rasped softly, "Dark Star pull us out?"

Alex glanced down at her sparkling hands and shrugged, "Without tests, it's hard to say for certain but probably. I'm well aware that there was Terminus energy that we produce that wasn't used. When Mike and I lost our tempers, we accessed some of that. There's no real way to put it back, now. I've kinda re-wired my brain to handle it. But, like I said, without tests that's only my best guess. It isn't anything from the demons, no. Although the dimensional flux might have had something to do with it happening right then. The government was pretty complete in their research and this was not an unheard of possibility from puberty."

Alex shrugged and admitted easily, "I have a temper. No one is perfect. I felt it was only fair to warn him that should he hurt her, I would feel obligated to hurt him in return. It's not rational or even helpful but I know that I'd do it anyways." She leaned into his side with a soft sigh, "That's probably the best. I don't like the inactive thing though. I wish I could just fix people, but I can't. I mean I could technically but it would be wrong. It's hard though."

Taylor's nose wrinkled up seconds before Doc popped around the corner. It was still hard to get used to the way her senses jangled around the German. He was, of course, invited and Taylor gave him a genuine smile as she stood up to return his greeting. "Thank you. You have excellent timing. We'd only just settled in." Out of her costume, and even with the strappy heels, Taylor was downright tiny as she offered him a quick hand and a smile that dimpled both her cheeks, "Ace just finished 'showing us how it's done' and Lynn's trying to figure out what to sing. I've put my choice in Jack's hands." She flashed a teasing grin back her boyfriend's direction.

Phantom floated in place, her cloak billowing despite the minute rips and tears it was accumulating in the frothing demon frenzy that seemed to be getting ever worse around her. She knew, better than any of the men she fought alongside that even if they killed hundreds and hundreds, there were still thousands and thousands and thousands left to go. Her dimensional senses screamed as hell was juxtaposed over earth-prime. Every second the gate stood open, it would only grow worse and as long as it stood, this was a war that would be impossible to end. With that in mind, Phantom flung her hands out infront of her and sent another nearby truck at the demons, crunching into them. It really wasn't quite big enough. "Atlas!" She called out, her voice booming out impressively over the battlefield, "That building? Can you knock it over onto that flank?"

I suck and have not put my updates up, so still at my PL11 stats for this round. Hurling another large object at demons that go squish. TK 15.

"Or accidentally telekinetically re-arrange the computer terminal into a cot. Now that would be less than helpful," Alex said with a ghost of her wry humor returning. She sent the coffee over to a potted plant to pour itself out with a wave of her hand, "There's just too much to do and we never know when a break might come. Of course, I'm making myself nuts and ignoring all that very excellent advice I gave to you." She shrugged and the coffee cup flew over to the sink to rinse itself out and put itself neatly away.

Psyche turned back to her friends, her sparkly corona of energy not looking like it was going anywhere at the moment. "I think you have a concussion. Hold still," She said as they all tried to re-group. She picked her way over to Edge and reached out to touch his head, the energy spreading from her hand over his face as she focused on putting the parts of his skull back where they belonged. Psyche was surprised as anyone that it worked, even more, how easily and intuitively it was to manipulate things down to a molecular level. It was something she was going to have to look into later, they had more important matters at hand, clearly. When she pulled her hand back from him, even his shattered goggles were restored. She twisted to Erin then, holding out her hand as she asked permission to help Erin the same way. "May I?"

She braced as Phalanx came flying at her, the glow around her brightning automatically as she deflected the brunt of his weight away from her fragile body without thinking. Psyche's gaze flicked from the place James had been dragged down to hell, and then narrowed on the one remaining demon. Without gesture or corona trail to show and with an ease she'd never before possessed with her telekinetics, she sent the demon careening into a headstone with a sickening thud.

Psyche remained silent through the taunting words from their friend, her expression growing ever more solemn behind her mask. She reached out to settle one hand on Edge's shoulder, hoping that his luck and belief would provide that little edge they'd need. They'd certainly never needed it any more than they did right at this very moment. James' gaze had skipped over her, but she knew that he'd never counted her out of this fight. James was too smart for that, no matter how evil he might have become. She let all fear and doubt slip away, stealing a bit of Edge's confidence for her own as she focused and then dove her entire conciousness out of her body and at James. Even knowing he'd expect it, she was shocked at how hard it was to wrest his will away from his body. But she, too, was stronger than the friend that he remembered. It maght have only been that edge that allowed her to lock his spirit to hers and draw his thoughts high above the battle. Look, she whispered to him, her hold on his mind as gentle as it was steadfast, Look how much we love you. You, who have always been in search of love. Look, we've brought it to the gates of hell itself. For you. She laid them each bare, starting with her own memories of him. They were simple things, images she'd captured with that perfect recall of her brilliant brain. Things James had never known, or even noticed, because that had always been Alex's way. The times she'd nudged people out of the way from the place she'd known he'd curled up to sleep. Little moments in time, in the way that Alex always saw the world, until she'd finally come to the memory that he'd just thrown at them, their attempted rescue. She relived it unflichingly, although her aura grew a little more blue as she held onto him. Then she moved it past, to the memories he hadn't been there for. Her exhausted searching of database banks. Their endless planning and re-planning. The hours on hours on hours they'd devoted to this moment. We tried, because you were worth saving. You are still worth saving. Even fallen, we love you still. Please, look.

Mental Grapple: 1d20+20=32 HP for the reroll: 35 with the plus 10: 1d20+20=25 Your roll to oppose is +Will or +Mind Reading, which ever is higher.

1d20+13=25

We have Edge on our side Alex has moved to the top of the init order also but is still holding her action.

Alex will smack the remaining demon into a headstone with her perception range tk. She doesn't have to roll to hit, so the grapple check for the demon to make is 1d20+22=42. Two nat 20's in one night. Now I am going to get nothing but ones. If he is grappled, ALex will use her move action to toss the demon for a DC26 toughness save.

Psyche flinched at the bolt of acidic slime as it flew past her head, but moved gamely forward. The fact that her voice was not in the chorus of the team trying to win James back over was some small clue that the redhead was up to something as she shifted to find a better stretch of ground. It wasn't that she'd given up on James any more than the rest of the kids had, but she had her own opinions on what it would take to wrest James back from hell. Opinions that she was more than ready to act on but Psyche was also the most patient member of Young Freedom, so she watched and bided her time. She knew full well that she'd not get a second chance.

Alex will hold her action to reset it to the top of the order. I'll put up an IC post with her reactions.

Save: 1d20+13=19 That sucked. For the re-roll then. 1d20+13=33 Hallo thar nat 20.

"Well, we can't interfere too much. That'll just make Zoe cling that much harder to Eddie. I just hope she sees who he is now rather than think of him as the adult she knew." Alex made a 'yick' face at that, her nose wrinkling up before she confessed, "I tried to point out the problems to Eddie but he was a little too, well, Eddie to focus. So I settled for warning him I'd give him psychosematic erectile dysfunction if he screwed up."

1d20+14=18 I'll spend my last HP for a reroll on that cuz I have it and I think we're outta combat. 1d20+14=31 Much bettar

"I am tired," Alex admitted, leaning her hip against the counter, "Which is a bit more dangerous than I'd like until I get a handle on what all I can do. My shields used to slip when I got too run down. Its just hard to sleep. Even this tired. I lie down and my mind spins."

Alex will power up, using her pl11 powers, fire off a mental blast, using extra effort to bump it up to a dc28 will save vs damage. She will be doing lethal.

Psyche watched her friends fall. She blinked back tears of frustration and fear as she dove back to the ground. She took up position between Wander and Edge and the big demon. Never in all of her experience had Alex ever wanted to hurt another creature as much as she did in that moment. Reaching down the psychic link she shared with Phalanx, Psyche pulled on the raw Terminus energy that she knew was barely tapped and pulled. She didn't need to ask Phalanx's permission. In this, they were of one mind and one purpose. If it had even a chance of changing the outcome, it was worth any risk. Any price. Rather than fade, the corona of power brightened around Psyche until it near blinded her. Earlier, shielding James, she'd pushed the boundries of her mental powers. Now, Psyche knew she was at risk of burning her brain out utterly. When she could hold nothing more, Psyche released the energy. She channeled that raw energy through her own brain in a single lethal blast that drove her to her knees.

Here, to be helpful Init Order Breakdown - 24 "James" - 23 Edge - 22 Demons - 20 Psyche - 19 Phalanx - 17 Wander - 16

Phantom will be hucking a truck at a cluster of demons with move object :)

Phantom was the last to join the fray. She remained unmoveable as the demons leapt at and through her ghostly form in a frenzy of violence. Once the street was filled with demons and monsters piled bodies thick around the car, her hands snapped out to gesture. Like the other midnight monsters here, Phantom had always been hampered by fighting in the shadows. Minimize the collateral damage, take out the target with surgical attention to detail. When all that was left was a battlefield filled with only monsters, however, it became a very different ballgame. Black energy poured from her fingertips to cover one of the abandoned trucks on the side of the road. A quick slicing gesture sent the vehicle broadside at another front of demons. It tumbled end over end with a satisfying series of crunches and squeals. Destroy the city to save a world? An easy choice to make considering. "Please tell me you brought more than third circle wretches to try and take this world," Phantom asked one of the demons scrabbling uselessly at her, in cold almost conversational tones.