Electra
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It took Gina two rings to realize that her phone was ringing, and another ring and a half to find it, even though it was in her jean pocket. It wasn't her own phone, of course, that hardly ever rang, it was Miss Americana's phone. Everybody wanted to talk to Miss Americana! She managed to catch it just before it dumped to voicemail. “Hellooo?†she asked curiously. The phone automatically adjusted her vocal tones to Miss Americana’s speaking register, but her voice was still slow and a bit slurred. “Merry Christmas!â€
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Emerson was an excellent and well-programmed bartender, keeping Gina’s cup assiduously filled to the brim so that it was hard to tell how much she’d actually had to drink. After awhile, though, she started to feel pretty good. She turned on music, something she rarely did anymore, and bounced along to some Frontalot and Jonathan Coulton while she finished her shopping. All her lab assistants got nice wine and cheese baskets, and the superheroes who were her friends got fancy-ass picnic hampers. After buying all those things, Gina realized she was probably hungry herself, and had Emerson make her a Hot Pocket while she checked her newsfeeds. There were charities out there that needed funding for Christmas, she discovered. That was a damn shame near Christmas, that people should be unhappy simply for lack of money when there were so many other reasons to be unhappy. She made several generous donations, then stumbled across a site where you could send animals to people in foreign lands in honor of other people for Christmas. That was perfect! After careful perusal, she found the very biggest gift, two of every kind of animal in the catalog, and bought that, arranging for the gift to be in honor of her mother, with a card to say so sent to her in the mail. If Gina knew anything, Lissy Evans would lose no time in figuring how much that charity gift had cost, and know down to the penny how much money she herself hadn’t gotten. That was very satisfying. By the time she finished with that, it was getting pretty hard to type, even if she concentrated hard on the keys, so Gina took bottle and cup and carefully headed back upstairs to the living room. She didn’t spend much time in here, either, but it was nice, with a big TV and all the channels, and a huge overstuffed couch that was like resting on a soft leather cloud. She turned on the TV and watched It’s A Wonderful Life as the temporary giddiness of a good tipple wore off into the maudlin stupor of intoxication.
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The strange green bottle had drawn little attention when it was delivered to ArcheTech; it was hardly the strangest thing every to be couriered to the attention of Miss Americana. Few of those things, however, arrived as gifts. Miss A had run a few tests on it, just for safety’s sake, and although it had a startling percentage of alcohol by volume, as well as a few other trace chemicals that might be of questionable legality, it seemed safe to consume, in small quantities. Since it was the holidays, she discreetly took it home with her. Twas the season, after all. She waited a few more days before she did anything with it, until Friday night, when she had some time on her hands and nothing to do the next day. Sharl was away on some Christmas adventure with all the friends he’d made at school, so she had the house to herself for her annual tradition. Sitting down with the lists she’d painstakingly assembled through means fair and foul, she purchased a number of rather expensive presents for her nieces and nephews, the sort her brothers couldn’t afford to dish out for. Most of them were video games, which made her sort of happy. Most of the happiest times of her own childhood involved video games, before she’d gotten into the computer. Her brothers got new televisions, which she figured they’d appreciate. Daddy had run up his credit card bill again, she noted upon checking into his finances. He hadn’t found a job he could do with his bad back, and the disability checks weren’t making ends meet. Gina stared at the balance for a moment, paid it all off, and then went to pour herself her first drink of the night. She was entitled, it was the happiest goddamn time of the year, wasn’t it? Her analysis had warned her to be wary of the evil-looking concoction, but even mixed liberally with grenadine and Mountain Dew, the first sip made her eyes water. “Merry Christmas,†she croaked, standing in the kitchen and raising a glass to no one before taking another healthy slug. Ordering Emerson to bring the mixers, she carried cup and bottle back down to her lair.
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Fleur uses her Stun attack to try and subdue the bound monster. This is a full round action, but since I got skipped over last round, can I say that I spent that action finding convenient cover to shoot from behind? 1d20+7=26 With Improved Crit 2, that makes it a critical hit, so it's a DC 33 Fort Save, assuming it hits.
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"We know what you're trying to do," Fleur called. "I'm truly sorry about what happened with your child, but this is not the way to solve anything. We can't let you just abandon him, then come back and kidnap him. It doesn't work that way! We won't let you risk your son and all these innocent people, and we will stop you." As she said that, the plants around Madame Zero came to life, twisting and sliding up the cold-controller's body until she was entirely wrapped in a cocoon of vines and leaves. "Stand down now and nobody has to get hurt!" Fleur called to the minions.
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Fleur will attempt to snare the villainess with her planty snaringness! Her snare hits with a 24. That's a DC 28 save against being entangled, bound, (re)blinded and deafened.
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With a surprisingly good roll, Fleur remains stalwart in the face of transcendent WTF. She is going to hold her action for the moment, in the hopes that someone drops the baddie's defense to let her get a better shot in.
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Fleur goes on 20
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Fleur goes on 19. Guess the monster gets the first shot, eep!
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Koshiro goes on 25
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Placing the young Deep Ones was easy enough, a plant at the bottom of the tank suddenly began to grow to massive proportions, then bloomed strange purple flowers that swayed in the gentle current of the water. From the flowers belched bubbles of air, each one containing one or two or a handful of the little creatures, who settled to the bottom as the air rushed away to the top of the tank. Their gills began to flutter as they coughed up the remaining gaseous air in their lungs, then they set about exploring their new environment. It was a bit cozy with so many in there, but these were just temporary quarters. It was certainly warmer and nicer than the bay in December! "I think they'll do fine here for the time being," Fleur decided, "until provisions can be made for their permanent placement. Hopefully they're still young enough to be socialized." She looked over at Caradoc. "We understand why you did it," she told him. "They're just children, even if they aren't human children. It would've been nice if you'd given us a heads-up so we could've handled it months ago," she added with a hint of reproof.
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ic Can I Borrow A Cup of Adventure? (IC)
Electra replied to Avenger Assembled's topic in The North End
Erin Prime considered that, and for a moment Mark saw a shadow of the stubborn independence that kept the other Erin from accepting even the best-intentioned gifts from her friends. Her expression cleared, though, and she smiled again. "I'll take you up on that," she decided, "but only because you swept me away without my wallet. Next time I'll treat you." She finished her coffee and stood up with him, taking his arm once more as they headed back into the beautifully lit streets of Paris in the early evening. "What do you think, would a miniature Eiffel tower be too obvious?" -
ic Can I Borrow A Cup of Adventure? (IC)
Electra replied to Avenger Assembled's topic in The North End
"We were just talking about my new place," Erin told him, accepting the note with a curious glance. She unfolded the message to read it, and despite her best efforts was unable to keep a faint look of dismay off her face. Folding the note again, she tucked it in her pocket, then looked at Trevor, trying to hide her consternation. If he faux-parents hadn't been sitting right there, she'd have had a few choice words about Mark's impulsiveness, but as it was, she simply asked, "Call him?" -
"I don't think most cats like socializing with other cats that much," Erin murmured back. She had her eyes on the crowd, but things were going smoothly enough to let her feel confident to chat a little. She and Murdock didn't have a whole lot in common that either of them were comfortable discussing, but they did both have new cats. "I mean, if you have two cats, they'll eventually probably play together and stuff, but you have to introduce them through closed doors for a couple days, stuff like that." She shrugged, focusing in on one pushy-shovy interaction across the room until it became obvious that it was a couple of friendly journalists teasing each other. "If it were Oliver, I'd bring him over because he always knows how to handle himself, but Charlie's still a baby." Or close to it, though it was weird how long he seemed to be lingering in kittenhood. Maybe it had to do with being Oliver's kitten. Oliver had certainly never seemed to age. "Maybe he just needs more attention from you."
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ic Can I Borrow A Cup of Adventure? (IC)
Electra replied to Avenger Assembled's topic in The North End
"The girls on my floor are really great," Erin Prime told him, sampling one of the pastries from the tray between them. "We've had so much fun and it's only been one semester. I still stay in touch with my high school friends, but we only see each other on holidays anymore. This summer I'm sure we'll all get together. As for other kinds of friends," she continued, giving him a little grin, "I believe in keeping my options open. We're young, it's time to have fun, right? What about you?" she asked. "You work halfway around the world from where you went to school. How do you manage it without getting lonely?" -
ic Can I Borrow A Cup of Adventure? (IC)
Electra replied to Avenger Assembled's topic in The North End
"Right out in the hallway, opposite the stairs," Clarissa told Trevor, gesturing to the door where they'd come in. "How do you like your new apartment?" she asked Erin Keeley. "Have you had any trouble with it yet?" Erin and her facsimile parents began discussing the ins and outs of her new apartment, leaving Trevor free to slip out of the room and let the door fall closed behind him. There was no noise from upstairs, but out the front window he could see Megan, well-padded and helmeted, carefully riding the skateboard around on the driveway. -
Fleur thought hard for a moment, then shook her head, looking defeated. "I just don't know," she admitted to Pyre. "If there weren't so many of them, if they weren't feral Deep Ones... I can't keep then on Sanctuary," she reasoned aloud. "I haven't even touched the pollution in the ocean, so it's still totally toxic. And I just don't have the resources to build a giant saltwater creche! Maybe the Freedom City Aquarium can help us out for the moment, at least with the ones I've captured. It's better than letting them wake up hungry and dry and with nowhere to put them."
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"Somebody's in a fight," Wander commented, hefting her bat as she looked towards the door. "Maybe it's an enemy of our enemy, or maybe they're just smacking each other around, but either way, it could be a good distraction. We need to see what's inside there, so might as well go now." Bat at the ready, she headed for the door and pulled it open, interposing her body at the crack and looking in. When nothing immediately jumped out at her, she pulled it wider and stepped in, looking swiftly around for the source of the noise, as well as checking for exits, enemies, and potential ambush sites.
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"Wait a minute," Koshiro interrupted, holding up a hand. Next to him, the paper soldier mimicked the moment perfectly. Koshiro glared at it till it subsided. "I've heard of that Shrub Niggeroth, that's like H.P. Lovecraft stuff. He wrote the one about the tentacle-mouth monster that got run through by a boat. We talked about him in my Lit class, till somebody complained to the principal." He glowered at the machines. "That stuff's not even real. This has gotta be like some villain thing, mind control juice or something. Tell people you can give them superpowers, then give them this stuff and get them doing whatever you want."
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Fleur listened to the radio message, then massaged her temples. "So she escaped without her child, and they decided that meant they could just adopt the kid out without any problems? Are they mental? Plenty of people are going to be crying by the end of this, but all we can do is stop her from suffocating an entire city block. Hey, look at that." She pointed to the cloth arranging itself against the wall. "There's a hero already in there, and he knows something about what's going on. We'd better get in there too." Putting a hand on Rene's shoulder, she touched the flowers in her hair and teleported them to the closest plant life under the bubble of ice.
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Halfway across town, Stesha Madison was also having a rather difficult day. "What's the matter with you?" she asked her wailing daughter in mixed concern and frustration. Amaryllis had a very festive look going, with her green hair and red screaming face, but it was one Stesha found hard to appreciate right now. "You're full, your diaper is clean, you had a lovely nap, so what gives, kid? All I want to do is get some groceries!" Near them, people were walking in and out of the grocery store, many of them staring at the mother-daughter duo who lingered outside. "I just don't know what could be bothering you." The more Stesha thought about it, the more she realized she herself wasn't feeling quite right either. On a hunch, she ignored Ammy for a moment and closed her eyes, extending her senses through the plants that surrounded them, all through the many gardens, parks and neighborhoods of Freedom City. Many plants were dead or sleeping at this time of year, but there were more than enough for her purposes. As soon as she reached the North End, though, Stesha stopped cold and had to ratchet her senses back into her body. Something bad was happening there, something bad and strange enough to have bile rising in her throat. She swallowed hard a few times, her face now winter white in contrast to Amaryllis' ruddy red. "Okay, pumpkin," Stesha said faintly. "We're gonna go pay a quick visit to Grammy's house, won't that be nice? The nasty stuff won't bother you there." In the wink of an eye, the pair was in the Chicago suburbs, at Stesha's parents' comfy house. Her mom was only too happy to look after the baby for a couple of hours, though as always Stesha had to promise to be very careful. Within minutes of sensing the disturbance, Fleur de Joie was in uniform and teleporting her way towards the center of the strange sensation.
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Koshiro stood by as the other teens attempted to comfort Kimber. Honestly, he didn't know her well enough to even know what to say, besides "sorry you got reminded of your death by that guy catching on fire" or something totally stupid like that. Luckily, the others were doing a pretty good job without him. Rather than continuing to feel useless just standing there, he jumped on the chance for action. "Here," he told Corbin. "I got it." Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a cardboard box lined with tissue paper. From inside, he withdrew a small figure, no larger than his hand from wrist to fingertip, that was nonetheless a perfectly-formed paper soldier. It had taken hours to make the intricate origami design, even working from a crease pattern, but having something with hands and eyes seemed like a wise precaution to take. He set the figure on the ground, where it stood for a moment before growing, just like Koshiro's planes did. It reached the height of a normal man within seconds, then made a slight rustling noise as it stepped forward and tested the door. The handle stuck for a moment, then opened with a firmer hand. The soldier stepped forward into the strange room, Papercut behind it.
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"Hello, Caradoc!" Fleur greeted him warmly, for all her smile was a bit subdued. "We had a strange incursion just a few minutes ago, hundreds of juvenile Deep Ones poured out of the ocean and over the pier, trying to eat everything edible they could find. There were no civilian casualties beyond a couple of bruises and twisted ankles. And if Devil Ray hadn't showed up, there wouldn't have been Deep One casualties either." She sighed, looking over at the small bagged corpses, then refocused. "In any case, I was very lucky that Pyre was here to help get things under control. Pyre, this is Caradoc, a friend of mine and an excellent hero. Caradoc, Pyre. I've released Devil Ray into the care of the Star Squad, but I still have over a hundred Deep Ones in a drugged sleep between dimensions. I need to find something to do with them, hopefully before they wake up and are hungry again." She blew out a breath. "Devil Ray intimated that there were more of them, maybe a whole lot more, down in the bay."
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Koshiro's going to use an origami critter to open the door, using Move Object. That requires a power check. First roll is bad! Spending an HP. Second roll is a 31.
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ic Can I Borrow A Cup of Adventure? (IC)
Electra replied to Avenger Assembled's topic in The North End
"You shouldn't bother them," Erin Prime pointed out, "they're probably still talking with my parents." The emphasis on "my" was subtle, perhaps too subtle for Mark to notice at all. "Why would they want to go all the way to Seattle just to leave after half an hour? Besides, it's more fun with just the two of us." She wrapped her hands around her cup of coffee and smiled at him over the rim. "Tell me more about what it was like being on Young Freedom."