Electra
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Freedom City Guidebook
Freedom City PBP: A How-To Guide
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Koshiro's eyes were wide as he looked at the images of violence and war playing out on the screens, but to admit to fear in front of his teammates, especially less seasoned, attractive female teammates, would've been unthinkable. Instead he slicked cool over the nerves, standing hipshot with one thumb hooked in the pocket of his jeans. "Sounds like fun," he told Sharl with a wry quirk of his lips. "Your pretty boss going to give us some fancy equipment to take with us too? I think a couple of tanks would stand us pretty well, maybe a rocket launcher or five. Going in with just an extra pad of paper for backup doesn't seem like a victory plan."
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"I'm afraid I already have a very nice chicken in the crockpot for tonight," Fleur demurred diplomatically, "but we'll check on the cow as soon as we get all these people settled down. In the meantime, we should probably call in a League disaster recover team," she suggested to GK, looking at the torn-up square of land, the overturned vehicles, and the masses of confused people. "I need to sort the refugees back on Sanctuary and get them to their homes or to a clinic. Vector can probably help me with the debriefings, if you want to oversee matters here?" She sighed, thinking of the work that lay ahead, even with the monster vanquished. "And to think it was supposed to be a nice little festival photo op."
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"I'm afraid you won't have an opportunity to corrupt any more innocent people!" Fleur called out. "You've done quite enough damage already, and it's time you leave this world. Perhaps you'll find greener pastures elsewhere. Tiamat, back away!" Even as Fleur warned the dragon, the broken vines were braiding themselves back together and growing once more, this time with a massive red flower the size of a circus tent budding and blooming on the end. With one decisive move, oddly violent for a plant, the vine slumped forward, dropping the massive bloom over the cow, which suddenly was no more.
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Fleur pockets the Interrupting Co(moo!)w with a roll of 13.
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"If most people found themselves needing this kind of room for storage, they'd probably just have a garage sale," Erin joked, even as the increasing darkness and depth required more of her attention. Shadows seemed larger here, and sounds more deceptive, their own footsteps bouncing and rebounding off the walls to make it sound as though they were shadowing themselves. She knew the Hunters would not have neglected security even down in this part of the Manor, but it was hard not to fall back into old watchful habits. Really, given the line of work she was in, she'd often found it better not to fight those instincts, just to temper the part that tended to have her reacting to startlement with violence. "But I guess most people don't have spaceships in their basement. Have you ever thought about giving some of this stuff to the museum?"
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"All right, hmm." Miss A paused and considered for a moment, looking over the mass of frozen equipment. "Getting a set of detailed scans on you may have to wait for another day," she decided, her voice cheerful enough despite a shadow of annoyance in her eyes. "I'm going to get a maintenance team in here to take care of all this, then we can walk right over to the testing gymnasium down on the tenth floor. You can do whatever you like down there and I'll get some video footage of you in action. Every little bit of data we can collect helps to give a better picture of metahuman potential, after all!" She jotted a quick message to the staff on her pad computer, then gestured Kimber towards the door. "Right this way."
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With the civilians safely out of the way, Fleur turned her full attention to the battle. She winced sympathetically as the doom-cow turned its attention to Vector, but before she could move to assist, Gaian Knight was there to defend the young heroine, who seemed only slightly rattled from the blast. The transformation of Tiamat was a sight worth a moment's pause as well. Stesha had seen many amazing things during her years in Freedom City, but a woman suddenly exploding into a giant winged fire-breathing reptile was still one for the mental scrapbook. "Catch its hooves!" Fleur suggested to GK, even as she raised her arms and prepared a little spectacle of her own. All around the field where the cow stood, the torn ground gave a little grumble, then seemed to explode with life as vines sprang forth, each one as thick around as a man's torso. They whipped along the ground like loaded fire hoses, then raced up the legs and body of the massive beast, twining around it and binding it to the ground. It could still shoot, but for the moment, the massive cow wasn't going anywhere.
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"I'm sure you will," Fleur assured the eager young hero, for young he obviously was, even under the anonymizing cover of the power suit. "Everyone deserves a chance, and you more than earned a favor today with the way you helped out on that bank robbery." She patted his shoulder, the metal of her gold wedding bands tinking lightly against the metal shell. "You're going to do just fine in Freedom City. There's no better place on Earth to learn the hero game." It amused her that in just a few short years, she'd gone from being a scared and excited newcomer in her own right to a dispenser of wisdom and advice, but that was just how it went. It was a good sign that so many young heroes were coming to the city! The forces of good needed all the help they could get. The clearing where Superbee had let them off looked like a simple gap in the trees at first, but a closer look revealed it was much more. Tucked back amongst the sturdy hundred-year trunks was a structure that seemed to be carved out of the forest itself, its walls built of leaves going brilliant with autumn, its doors and eaves made of wood with the living bark still on. It was an odd sight, but still oddly charming and cozy, with a crushed-shell path that stretched nearly to where they were standing, and a small pink push-bike standing out front. "I would invite you in for some tea and cookies," Fleur told him, "but you're probably just about done in after all of this. Maybe a raincheck?" she suggested kindly.
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"The police don't have the League in custody," Wander reported tersely as she finished her phone call. "Vanguard should've been able to do it with time to spare by now. I don't trust the word of a liar and a murderer for anything," she added with another glare for Medea, "so it could just be another Crime League trap. He could easily be their ally and waiting to spring a trap on us with her as the bait. But I don't see as how we can avoid chasing them down again, we did put them in Vanguard's custody. Whether her kidnapped them or let them get away, they're still our problem." The disgust for this idea was ripe in her voice, but she was resigned.
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Erin chuckled at what was, for Trevor, a substantial startle. "Sorry," she murmured, only seeming a little bit actually sorry. She took his hand instead, the staircase just wide enough to let coordinated people to walk abreast. "So it's an actual Martian UFO from another dimension. That's really cool," she decided as they walked through the flickering shadows. "I just hope it hasn't got a Persephone or something like her. That was weird. I think she had it in for me." Erin shook her head at the memory of the cheerful yet oddly sinister AI on James' spaceship, then put it aside in favor of gawking at their surroundings. They were deeper now than they'd gone to use the scanner, and the cave disappearing into darkness overhead was awe-inspiring and creepy. "This place is always bigger than I thought," she marveled.
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Fleur will try to lasso the cow! First snare roll is hoooorrible! Spending an HP! Second roll is a 26! DC 28 reflex save to avoid the vines
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"What was it used for?" Erin asked, ducking her head to avoid catching her wig as she followed Trevor through the secret door. "Did your grandfather build it, or was it an artifact from someone else?" As they walked down the many stairs to the deep basements, she looked around, taking in the shrouded equipment and closed-off doors. She rarely came down to this part of the Manor, lower even than the secret HQ from which the Midnights had always done their hero work. Last time she'd been here, it was to determine whether she'd been compromised as part of Dr. Archeville's evil scheme to take over the world, and she hadn't really been in any frame of mind to explore. Tonight, though, the darkness and general air of disuse were entertainingly spooky rather than unnerving, and the destination a lot more fun. Reaching out, she brushed a hand lightly across the back of Trevor's neck, right where she'd painted a very stylized scar for him. They really didn't get to spend enough time alone together these days, she decided. Maybe she'd actually take some of that vacation time she'd accrued, before Thanksgiving and Christmas and all that baggage came down, and they could just take a weekend off somewhere.
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Miss Americana seemed briefly nonplussed as she took in the frozen equipment, but she recovered quickly with a professional smile. "You may have voided a few warranties there, but this equipment is supposed to be rated for metahuman testing. It ought to be able to take a little ice. But yes, a bit of warning next time might be in order. We have special testing rooms for the display of powers that might be dangerous or destructive. Still, no real harm done," she assured the ghostly girl. "And the readings were good, before things started switching off." She rose and walked to one of the frozen pieces of equipment, tapping a perfectly manicured nail against the frozen block. "I don't suppose you can whisk the ice away as handily as you made it appear?"
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"It's definitely possible," Fleur assured him staunchly as Superbee buzzed past the bee meadow and over a dense deciduous forest. "It can feel so difficult when you're just starting out, like you'll never get the hang of heroing, or that all the bad things out there are overwhelming. But it gets much better once you break that initial learning curve." She laughed. "I remember when I was just starting out, I would be spending time with Dark Star and Phantom, watching them reshape the very fabric of reality to their whims, while I hid behind the nearest cover and tried to trip some unwary bad guy with a vine. But I learned, and you will too." "Oh, and don't worry about the other heroes," she added. "I can put the word out that there's a new Beekeeper in town, and that you're on the side of the angels now. It'll pass down the grapevine, so to speak, quickly enough, and nobody should give you a hard time." She paused as the massive bee alighted in a clearing in the middle of the woods, waving a hand to encourage a vine to rise to meet them. "Thank you, Bay- ah, Superbee," Fleur told their obliging chauffeur. "I'll be over tomorrow to make new flowers for you all."
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"Really?" Erin asked, surprised and pleased. He'd mentioned the flying saucer a few times, but they'd never managed to get around to actually taking the tour. "Hell yes," she assented with a laugh. "I've been hoping to see that thing for ages, but I've never caught sight of it anywhere in the garage. I should probably change my clothes," she added, "but I've only got my work uniform with me, and I don't want it dirty." She shrugged. "I guess this way we'll be like our own horror movie double feature, right?" She checked to make sure her wig was still on straight, then swiped one more candy bar from the bowl. "Lead the way!"
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Erin coughed, her cheeks coloring a little at Trevor's words. "Yeah, ah... yeah, well. Looks like the table survived." She looked over at Quo-dis, cocking her head at the story. "Wait, your mom went out on your first date with you guys? That seems like it would be kind of awkward even before the sex talk started." It was much more comfortable to talk about someone else's embarrassing sex stories than to try and think of how to explain one's own occasional bouts of broken furniture and dented walls. "Was she like chaperoning you, or did she just show up to check things out?"
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"That's certainly true," Erin agreed, kicking back in her chair and looking at the clouds that scuttled across the moon. "The way my work schedule's been lately, plus street patrols, plus Liberty League work, I can't remember the last time before tonight that I wore anything that wasn't some kind of uniform or pajamas." She glanced over at him, a smile curving the corners of her mouth. "I suppose we could always just stay in tonight," she offered. "Your grandpa will probably be heading to bed before too long. We could, you know, work in the garage or whatever." As she spoke, the outside light display that Travis had been controlling shut down entirely, bathing them in darkness. Erin cast a wary glance up towards the house, wondering if she'd been overheard or if it was just fortuitous coincidence.
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Miss Americana cast a slightly concerned look at the condensation building up on the machines, but the demonstration was actually quite helpful, so she let it continue while she took her readings. "Excellent," she murmured, shivering in a slightly belated fashion. "I think I'm starting to get some energy readings on the frequencies your powers seem to operate on. This is very good." She made notes on her pad computer, then looked up at the ghost once more. "I think that's enough of that, before we start tripping the moisture sensors in the room. Can you produce any other widespread environmental effect?" she asked curiously. "It seems the aggregate effect of your energy distribution over the entire room is easier for my equipment to pick up."
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"You're very welcome," Fleur told him with a warm smile, balancing on the giant bee like it was second nature. "The Beekeeper legacy is one with a lot of potential, and I'm glad you're going to take it up as a hero. It's a dangerous universe for heroes, dangerous and often lonely." She seemed pensive for a moment, but her smile was still in place as she went on. "We all need to stick together and help each other out, whether that's backing each other in a fight or simply being there to lend an ear or pay a visit. I'm sorry again about the misunderstanding earlier. Beekeeper II and I have a lot of history between us, and it tends to make me a bit... hmm, a bit oversensitive, perhaps. I'm glad you weren't hurt or badly frightened."
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For a moment, Fleur was too flabbergasted to say anything, just staring at the massive beast. Watching her colleagues leap into action jolted her out of it, and sparked a memory as well. "It's an aurochs," she called to the others. "Like an ancestor of the cow, but much, much bigger! Stay out of its eyeline, and go for the udder! This thing may have been a terrestrial cow at one point, but I imagine that is buried very deep!" For her own part, Stesha had priorities that came before joining the attack. "Listen, everyone!" she called to the imprisoned civilians. "Everyone hold still, I'm going to send you where you will be safe. When the battle is over, you'll be returned to your homes and everything will be all right," she promised. With that, a giant blossom seemed to envelop the whole jail, picking up all the prisoners and whisking them away without a trace but for the lingering smell of spoiled milk and fear. Fleur brushed her gloved hands together. "Right then. Giant cow, make a note about smacking Gaian Knight."
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Fleur also goes on 11, but her modifier is lower, so she will be after Vector
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Yeah, I thought that the two boxes were completely encased in rock and that's why Fleur was able to begin clearing the air and use her plant powers.
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"Especially if he takes after his father," Erin pointed out with a chuckle, not seeming to notice the lapse. "Every time I come home and don't find him right away, I feel sure he's learned to walk through walls or teleport or whatever it was that Oliver could do. So far he usually turns up in the closet, but I think it might be a matter of time." They got one more group of trick or treaters in the waning minutes of the trick-or-treating hours, a group of high school students who were quite entertaining to scare the living daylights out of. As the clock struck eight and the lights along the driveway went out, Erin looked to Trevor. "Well, we can hit up that fancy party," she suggested. "There's still plenty of time left. Or we could just go out, maybe take a ride somewhere." If she stayed here, Erin suspected she would only stuff herself on leftover candy till even her enhanced metabolism regretted it.
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As the movie started, Koshiro folded up a paper loveseat that was sturdier than it looked, and considerably more comfortable than sitting on the chilly rooftop. "You want one?" he asked Sharl and Eliza casually, even as he waited for Mali to settle in. The movie didn't seem too interesting to him, but that was okay. He'd rather concentrate on other things anyway, and chances were good that, given the way Freedom City seemed to operate, something freakish would happen before the third reel and they wouldn't see the whole thing anyhow. "You comfortable?" he asked Mali, sitting down himself on the slightly crinkly cushions.
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"And stay out," Miss Americana muttered with some satisfaction, watching the hole in space close. She kept an eye on Harrier for a moment, just to make sure he didn't plan on following through on that excellent punch, then knelt down next to the frightened civilians. "You're all right now," she assured them as she undid their bonds. "Everything is going to be okay. We're going to see to it that your sons get the help they need to keep them from being a danger any longer." Her voice was pitched to soothe, and if she felt contempt for the young criminals and near-dimensional traitors, it didn't show at the moment. "Are either of you hurt?"