Electra

Stesha watched Taylor change into her costume, then looked back to Dark Star. She was right, Stesha quickly realized, even with no facial features, no outward physical differences, there was something very wrong with this version of the man. She couldn't put on her costume in an instant like Taylor could, but Stesha reached into her pocket and pulled out her bag of seeds, holding it like a shield while she reached inside it. "Who are you?" she demanded, taking a step forward into the space separating Phantom and this doppelganger. "Where's the real Dark Star?"

1d20=19

Stesha gaped at him blankly, trying to process everything that was wrong with this picture. She was in her civilian clothes, they both were, and she was holding a lamp shaped like a teddy bear, for crying out loud. What was he doing here in "costume," acting like he knew them? He was more discreet than that, even if he was sometimes a little iffy on the social niceties. When he started talking, well, that only raised more questions. "Derrick," she asked, forgetting herself about secret identities for a moment, "what are you doing? Why are you acting like this?" She glanced towards the clerk, who was wisely scrambling away, still a little more concerned with the spectacle they were all presenting than with any current danger. After all, this was Dark Star, the cosmic boy scout, it was Derrick, her true love. He was acting strange, but he wasn't going to hurt anyone.

"Okay," Stesha said affably. "I don't know much about cribs, my folks used the same one for all six of us, but I'm sure someone can help us out after you've gotten to look at all of them. Oh, look!" Grinning, she wound up a mobile of little plush monkeys swinging from vines, sending them swaying around in a circle to the tune of Brahms' Lullaby. "Kinda reminds me of those kids we rescued out of the tree last year." There were several different kinds of cribs, with various staggering price tags, as well as different mattresses for each, and a dizzying assortment of crib set options. Stesha could sort of appreciate now why that other woman had started hyperventilating. Eventually one of the clerks made her way over and cheerfully began explaining the features of the various cribs, the safety mechanisms and the ways they could unfold to become bigger beds. Cribs had come a long way since she was a baby, Stesha decided.

"Guys don't know how to shop for baby stuff," Stesha agreed, picking up and examining a classic-version stuffed Winnie the Pooh. "As for the rest... well, maybe you should give people an opportunity to celebrate with you, and you might be surprised. I mean, what are they gonna do but say no? And if they did, you wouldn't be any worse off than just feeling bad because you didn't try." She passed the toy over to Taylor for inspection. "Have you thought about a theme for the nursery yet? I've done three jungle theme showers this year, a Winnie the Pooh, one with trains, and a couple that were just color-themed. Or you could always go eclectic and just find what looks nice to you."

"They don't really need all this stuff," Stesha confided with a grin, "a lot of it is more for mom's benefit than the baby. But you've got the room and you've got the money, you may as well get a really nice layette." She looked around for the clerk, but both the pastel-clad ladies who seemed to work there were in the back of the store, attending to an enormously pregnant woman who looked like she was having a panic attack over several colors of crib sheets. Shrugging, Stesha began to look around on her own. "We can start with the big and basic stuff. Crib, rocking chair, bassinette, changing table, playpen, carseat. That's the stuff I'm pretty sure you can't get by without. And, you know, baby clothes, but people will buy most of those for you, if you have a big enough shower. You're having a shower, right?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Stesha said, most of her attention on the android Dark Star was talking to. She gestured to the giant flower now lying on the empty floor, it jerked once and vomited out the purloined film. "You're probably right, we can take her to the Freedom League and they can help her. I mean, she was basically being mind controlled, they won't stand for that, even if someone's not really human." Remembering the other androids, Stesha scooped them up with flowers as well, sticking them in a sequestered portion of her pocket for safekeeping. "But I suspect Doc Otaku may need a real doctor before he goes to jail or wherever."

Taking off for an afternoon a week before Valentine's Day wasn't a great idea for a florist, but luckily for Stesha, not sleeping had its advantages. Now that she had a key to the shop, she could come in at night to work, with the bonus of having privacy to use her powers. Besides, she had priorities. Baby shopping with Taylor was more important, and certainly a lot more entertaining that putting together one more boring bouquet of roses. Guys were so unimaginative when it came to Valentines Day. That made her think briefly about Derrick, and wonder what they should do for the holiday. Chances were good that some idiot villain would come out of the woodwork and ruin half the day, but they could always plan a nice dinner at home, and not have to worry about missed reservations and secret identities. That would work fine. Stesha had worked enough baby showers to have a pretty good handle on the fancy baby stores in town, for all she'd never really thought about shopping at one. But why not, when Jack was loaded anyway? Might as well have some fun and ignore the possibility that some crazy monster was growing in Taylor's tummy instead of a baby. The first place they ended up was a chic little place in the middle of downtown called Butterfly Kisses. It smelled faintly of baby powder and was filled to bursting with tiny clothes and accessories guaranteed to get the estrogen flowing. "Oh, look," Stesha cooed as soon as they walked in, picking up a pair of tennis shoes so small they both fit on the palm of her hand. "Aren't they adorable?"

Erin wasn't entirely sure what Steelgrave was talking about, but she caught the general idea. "You won't be destroying any more worlds today," she promised him, clenching her fists around her bat. The temptation was there, and horribly strong, to toss aside the bat and damn the consequences, and do her best to take him apart with her bare hands. I'm a hero, she reminded herself, tightening her grip to white knuckles. The reminder didn't help much, not when faced with someone who was so obviously a monster and a killer of millions. Her teammates were depending on her to stick to the plan, she reminded herself. Chris couldn't help Mark unless she did what she was supposed to do. Steelgrave deserved to die, but if she tried to kill him, some of her teammates might try and stop her, and that could get them all killed. That was enough. Leaping sideways, she ricocheted off one of the consoles and used the momentum to drive her bat right into Steelgrave's helmet again.

Second verse, same as the first, a little bit louder and a little bit worse! Or, less lyrically, another acrobatic bluff, followed by an all out power attack, attack at 13, damage DC 33, defense to +8. For the bluff, rolling this time after seeing his Sense motive: she gets a 31. And for the attack: Ooh, natural one. That sucked. Hero pont time! Much better, a 26. Erin's down to 4HP now.

If he's staggered and prone already, I assume I don't need an attack roll to pocket him?

Stesha gaped at the sudden violence by the androids against their maker, without a single clue as to what was going on. Still, like Derrick, she couldn't just stand by and watch the kid, villain or not, get beaten to death by his own robot. As Dark Star moved to restrain the robot, she tossed a seed onto the prone young man, growing it instantly into a flower that swallowed him up in its petals. He probably needed a doctor, but that would have to wait just a few little minutes. "Everybody calm down," she urged. "Nobody else has to get hurt from all of this."

Stesha gave Jack the coolly polite look she reserved for her most obnoxious customers. "It was fine," she told him, "very quick." Being moral support for Taylor would inevitably mean dealing with Jack, but he was breaking their unspoken agreement to stay as distant as circumstances permitted. This whole hideous situation had happened because of him, and it certainly didn't change her opinion of him as a selfish bastard with no concern for anyone he might hurt. But fighting with him would cause more stress for Taylor, and that was the last thing Stesha wanted to do. She walked past Jack instead, setting the flowers down on the slightly-gnawed coffee table. "How are you feeling?" she asked Taylor. "Any more morning sickness? Any dizziness or headaches? Are you eating well?"

Think this is how it goes now: Patchwork Girl: 29 Arrowhawk: 25 Grim: 19 Moira: 19 Phantom: 17 Colt: 16 Arcanix: 16 Iron Golem: 16 Ace: 16 Atlas: 15 Fleur: 15 Hellion: 15 Avenger: 14 Dark Star: 12 Doc Archevielle: 4

Erin goes on 25

Strength roll for Erin is a 30. The ball is rolling!

Fleur de Joie: Con Games Crossroads Friday Outing Childhood Dream White Wedding Coo-Coo's Nest Pressing Concerns Pruning and Tending Wander: It's a Jungle Out There Battle of the Sexes Money for Nothing

Surprise round! Erin is going to perform a fast acrobatic bluff with skill mastery for a check of DC 25, assuming Steelgrave isn't already flat-footed from failing the notice check. She is also going to make an all-out power attack, because that's just the way she rolls. Attack remains at 13, Damage DC to 33, Defense drops to +8. She rolls a 31!

Erin looked at Chris and nodded grimly, taking a moment to size up her enemy. She'd read about Shadivan Steelgrave in classes, just enough to know that he was not going to be any easy fight. Not to mention that he had a bunch of Omegadrones just waiting to come to his assistance. Maybe there was a better way to distract him and let Chris free Mark, but she couldn't think of it right now. Besides, she'd gleaned just enough from the reports on her world to know that Omega had come to it at some point, too. That gave her a score to settle. Jumping up onto the console, she leapt into the air, coming down on the battlesuited villain from overhead and aiming fort the junction at the neck where many battlesuits were weak.

Erin got a 19.

Erin listened, then nodded, looking over at Chris. "You'll probably have a better shot of actually getting him out of the tube, unless we have to actually smash it open. I'll fight off anything we run into there, give you time to see how it ticks, and we'll go from there." She pulled out her bat and spun it open, looking towards James to wait for the transit.

"Chinese it is," Stesha agreed. "I know just the place. I'll come by plant so everything stays hot." She paused thoughtfully for a second. "And because when I think about it, I don't think I know how to get to your house any other way. See you in a few minutes!" Stesha hung up and went to get the takeout menu off her fridge, shaking her head a little. She wanted to support her friend in this hour of need, would support her friend, but she had no idea what the right thing was to say or do right now. What did you say to someone who was accidentally pregnant with a vampire baby, anyway? She still hadn't quite worked out that thorny problem by the time she teleported through Taylor's one sickly houseplant and into the library, but at least she came bearing gifts. The bag of Chinese food she had in one hand smelled great, and the vase of pink and blue daisies bobbed their heads cheerfully as Stesha looked around. "I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I got a sampler platter," she reported.

"Sure, just let me wash up and I'll drop by," Stesha replied, looking over at her plants. Immediately one of the ferns sprouted a new frond, wrapping it around a nearby whisk broom and beginning to sweep up the mess she'd made of the propagation table when she'd gone diving for the phone. A pot formed around the lonely seedling she hadn't yet transplanted, ensconcing it securely, if a bit crookedly. "I can grab takeout on the way if you want, what are you in the mood for?" She'd noticed on previous visits that Taylor and Jack didn't keep much food in their house, though that was probably going to have to change, with as hungry as Taylor had been lately. Maybe that was a good sign, meant that the baby would eat food, regular food, as well. Stesha was about dying of curiosity to hear what they'd learned from the doctor, but it wasn't the sort of question you could just come out and ask over the phone.

Erin cocked her head and looked at the boys in the ball, then shrugged and did the same thing. Putting her hands against the outside of the ball, she began to run, pushing it in front of her easily while it rolled like the hamster ball Psyche had suggested. In just a moment she'd pushed it to the mouth of the alley, and out to the street beyond, then with one final shove sent it rolling into the busy street beyond, in the direction that seemed more downhill.

Erin noticed the barrel starting to go a bare instant before it blew, and neatly tumbled out of the way before the flying shrapnel could catch her. She came up ready to engage again, but was momentarily stymied by the shimmering bubble encasing the boys. "What does it do?" she called to Alex, not quite sure if it was the sort of thing one could punch into, or if she'd be better off trying to roll them into traffic or something.