Gizmo
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Jill let Wander and Harrier take point, but shimmering blue crescents floated ahead of them and at shifting intervals around the rest of the group as they stepped out of the drone ship. While one glowing hand maintained the force fields, the other adjusting the strap of the shoulder-slung bag she'd picked up on the surface and used to carry VINCE's hard drive. "Eugh, robots..." she muttered uncomfortably under her breath, glancing at the still but menacing inorganic figures with trepidation. Hazarding a guess in a field well outside her area of expertise she agreed with Erin, "Makes sense? Like he's got somewhere better to be, or to at least pay attention to for now?" As the group shifted formation and began to move out, her face fell with a creeping feeling of dread. Not wanting to shake up the younger abductees, she stepped a little closer to Wander and lowered her voice. "Aw nertz, what if he's ignoring us 'cause he's too busy controlling the things that replaced us back home? The sick freak could be pulling his big play right now."
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Gal Vanic Move Action: Fly above the battle between Citizen and the Curator. Standard Action: Use Move Object to throw tentacles back up at the mothership. With Effective Strength 100, a light load is 4000 tons! Throw Tentacles. (1d20+11=19) That should be DC 28 for both the tentacles and the mothership.
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Gal Vanic Initiative. (1d20+3=17)
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Gal Vanic, clad in purple and black tiger stripes and electric blue tattoos across bare shoulder made effectively solid inside the simulated world of Tronik, rose slightly into the air with eye crackling with angry lightning. "You... you outrageous creep!" the paragon of power shouted back at the maddeningly calm computer avatar, finger pointing accusingly. Her expression seemed barely able to contain the unaccustomed fury she was feeling "You can't 'delete' people being good and brave! Not even death can do that and buster it's a lot bigger and scarier than you are, I don't care how many robots and spaceships and crazy plans you've got!" The air around her crackled as the programming around them balked at the ghostly presence, manifesting as arcs of electricity that gathered around her fists. "'Cause there's always gonna be people to stop you, just like we're about to right now! It's showtime, Citizen!"
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While I'm thinking of it, would Willow have any familiarity with the Curator? I don't recal if he had any connection to the Preservers or not.
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Midnight had remain silent as Cannonade and Cobalt Templar arrived, mind churning like precision clockwork drowned in the syrup of the day's traumas. The former's reassurances fell on apparently deaf ears but as Corbin slipped into a stream of rustic idiom born of nerves, a knot formed in the black clad hero's shoulder, visibly tightening through his jacket. "Templar," he interjected brusquely, his voice pitched low but with a taut edge to it, "stop talking." After a beat, he sighed and raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose through his featureless mask. "Please." Turning about he looked to the group. "Need more information. Renard is investigating Grant--" He was interrupted by a single tone in his mask's earpiece as the automated communications relay he'd set to work the moment he'd realized how wrong things were finally managed to get through to HAX. "Hallomen," he intoned, placing two fingers to the side of his mask. "Midnight. Need expert analysis of gynoid remains." After a brief exchange, he stepped quickly over to the Night Cycle. "Edge, take that to HAX building in Hanover. Mara Hallomen waiting for you. Will meet you there; need to check Erin's appartment first." Mounting the bike, he pulled back enough to give the reality warper ready access to the partially burned robot before turning about. "Cannonade, back-up Renard then contact Freedom League, anyone with information, pool resources. Templar, city flyover. Help where you can, keep us informed. Stay in contact." He addressed the last instruction to the group as a whole. "No one else gets picked off."
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"Good," Midnight replied, as close to polite thanks as he seemed likely to get. Some of the serrated edge to his voice faded, remaining low and modulated even as Mara got the sense he was carrying out multiple tasks at once just as she was. "Sending someone now. Tying up another loose end; be at HAX as soon as possible." It sounded like he was about to end the call right there but after a pause and a quiet breath, he continued, "Be careful. Employees may be infiltrated." With that the line went dead.
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"Hallomen," the gravelly voice on the other end of the line acknowledged flatly, just as terse as the harried inventor sounded herself. "Midnight. Wander... compromised. Robotic doppelganger." It was tough to tell through the vocal filters but it sounded like the detective was grinding his teeth. "Weeks, at least, likely related to citywide chaos. Need expert analysis of gynoid remains." There was a brief pause, then the detective added in an even quieter voice, seeming to talking to himself more than Mara, "Need to find her."
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Pacing nearby as Baxter spoke, Jill gave him a silent, nonplussed look for a moment as the morose youth suggested an early retirement. The young woman's crimson jacket had held up fairly well throughout their ordeal, while her bandana mask hung around her neck where it could be more useful in case she needed to cover her nose and mouth, the time for hiding their faces having long since passed. Calmly, she walked over to the unarmored teenager and bent her knees enough to crouch down next to him, her expression sympathetic. Then she promptly smacked him forcefully upside the back of him head. "I know you're barely old enough for them to have dropped, but reach around for a minute and nut up, buzz brain," she told him firmly, looking him straight in the eye and using a tone that was oddly calm and reassuring for its aggressive wording. "You. Are. A. Super. Hero. Okay? You stuff that stripey tin can in a closet when you get home and I guarantee you you'll be pulling it out again before the week is out." She pointed a thumb over her shoulder at most of the other occupants of the cramped ship. "The inter-dimensional stone cold badass club members here are one thing, but you and I know the score. Being out there, helping people, it gets under your skin." She stood up again and spread her arms to encompass the immensity of the Curator's world ship. "There's bad stuff out there. There is some ridiculously huge, need-a-fresh-pair-of-panties terrifying stuff out there. And we are going to stab it in the face." She poked a finger into Baxter's forehead. "Superhero. Remember that." Folding her hands behind her head, the medic's sober expression melted into a lopsided smirk. "But less about that and more about the cute foreign girl. I'm thinking... redhead?"
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Kimber picked Avro up from her lap and set him atop Koshrio's shoulder before she followed Sharl through the hull of the Wonderbus, stopping just long enough to give the manticore cub a quick scratch behind the ears, eliciting a brassy, trumpet-like purr, and to give the rest of the team an encouraging thumbs up. Then she was off, the hood of her tattered reaper's cloak raising over her head of its own accord as her domino mask wavered into being. Falling in behind the holographic youth, she made a beeline through the mechanical tentacles and tendrils that happened to be in her way, leaving minor sparks and electrical damage in her wake. She pulled a face when Citizen explained what they were looking at inside the Sanctum, about as pleased to be inside a big, carnivorous, alien computer brain as one might expect. The sight of Tronik's impaled drive brought a gasp from her breathless lungs. Flying in after Sharl, Ghost Girl's preternatural being crackled, interfacing with the sufficiently advanced technology of the simulated city.
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For a beat there was no response, then Jack abruptly sat bolt upright, taking a great, shuddering breath as he rose, both hands clutching his chest. For a moment all he was able to sort out in his jumbled thoughts was that he had a pounding headache in his whole body, he was on a rooftop somewhere, his shirt was missing and he was covered into something dark and sticky. Not again... In the time it took him to spit out whatever was under his tongue, however, the events of the last hour came rushing back to him. "No!" the fencer snarled in the tone of a cornered animal, rolling to his feet with a grace that proved Fleur's arts had been successful while also suggesting stiffness in his usually acrobatic movements. Holding his masked forehead for a moment as blood rushed about in newly healed arteries, making up for lost time, Jack grimaced and looked about. "Fleur. Thanks," he nodded, too tired to tinge his gratitude with a joke or wry aside. He took Willow's hand and gave it a light squeeze before looking to Dragonfly and Geckoman. "How long was I down? What do we know? Give me something."
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Bringing the Night Cycle to a stop almost instantly thanks to the inertial dampeners Redbird had deployed, Midnight pulled a handful of small capsules from his belt and threw them atop the burning corpse. The pellets expanded into white foam on impact, quickly smothering the strange flames and preserving what was left of the revealed metal frame and faux humanity. He looked down at it silently while the pincers holding it retracted and the entire motorcycle resumed its original form. "Detecting no Terminus radiation or other identifiers," the autonomic intelligence supplied. "This was something else." Midnight didn't answer right away, dismounting the bike and stepping closer to the wreckage. "Weeks," he mumbled under his breath, finally looking away to address Mark. "Month, maybe more. Noticed. Didn't understand." Turning back to the doused gynoid, he opened and closed his hands in tight, painful fists. "Meant what I said. Going to find her. Whomever took her will pay."
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With the robotic nature of the imposter, Jack didn't know what to think. He'd been so sure that Archeville's nanites were back and to blame for his sister's actions but this was completely unexpected. Ellie had been acting more aloof than usual for weeks; had she been kidnapped and replaced that long ago without any of them noticing? He felt a wave of guilty nausea lap around the bottom of a towering rage just before his knee gave out and he collapsed gracelessly to the rooftop. "Ngh. Got-gotta call Fleur. Hckkh. Could b-be more, League needs to..." The swashbuckler's vision swam, darkening around the edges as he grimaced and moved a hand to clutch his stomach. "Aw nertz," he managed to cough before finally blacking out.
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"Maybe... maybe it's like if the Curator can't have it nobody can?" Kimber hazarded a guess, casting a glace over her should in the general direction of the spot where the Erde-Tronik's drive was secured. "Or, oh! He collects rare stuff from all over, right? So if there's two Troniks, he'd want to destroy one and steal the other one back so the first one was more, like, valuable!" The phantom was pleased with her deductive reasoning for a brief moment before the implications sank in. "Aw jams, that's really messed up. That's the main one, right?" she asked, pointing to the head-shaped mothership. "Maybe I can fly right in and fry the modem or whatever, the thing that lets the Curator remote control it?"
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Reflex Save vs. DC 15. (1d20+15=20) Evasion 2 means Jack's unharmed.
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Midnight made a harsh, flat sound in the back of his throat before cutting in. "Mark. I know. Quiet and hold on." As he leaned forward flush against the body of the Night Cycle, it was already beginning to shift impossibly beneath them, the front wheel extending further forward as the entire vehicle lowered itself toward the blur of pavement rapidly disappearing behind them. "Redbird. Speed, power, options." The autonomic intelligence's voice growled with throaty exaltation of a warrior in battle and tradesperson called upon for their craft. If Edge hadn't known better, he would have sworn there was a woman sitting right behind him on the motorcycle, speaking as clearly as if they were parked on a calm day. "Atomic turbines engaged!" With a thrum that traveled through their legs to their rib cages, the Night Cycle's panels shifted to make room for aggressive looking exhaust pipes that guttered with neon black flame before accelerating even further, leaving a line of gooey, half-melted tar in its wake. "Reviewing assault forms. Solar Ion Arrow. Corona Glaive. Gravity Blowgun. Rai--" "Non-lethal detainment," Midnight snapped, flicking the handlebars of the transformed vehicle with immaculate ease to weave through the gardens on the river front before skimming along the surface of the water itself. "Index for disabling nanites, implants, transmitters." Behind them, a wave rocketed backward with a deafening boom as they crossed the sonic barrier. The front of the Night Cycle began rearranging itself again even before Redbird replied, "The Plasmic Shock Vice! Could hold a void whale and turns Omegadrone armor to a locked metal prison." Twin pincers took shape on either side of the the bike's front wheel, white electricity arcing dangerously between them as they crossed over to the other side of the river and back onto land, still picking up speed. Within a heartbeat, Wander was visible on the horizon. Another heartbeat and the pincers sprung forward like the mandibles of a stag beetle thrumming with energies humanity hadn't yet chosen names for. Trevor's heart skipped the third beat as he set his jaw and rammed the weapon tipped Night Cycle into Erin at more than six and a half times the speed of sound. The vice clamped closed immediately, sending currents through the unhinged powerhouse that would turn any hidden electronics into dust while leaving organic matter distressed but unharmed. Fingers gripping the controls tightly enough to strain the seams of his gloves, Midnight willed himself to breath, never taking his eyes from the young woman in front of him.
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"Jill O'Cure" Toughness Save vs. DC 32. (1d20+9=21) Staggered, Disabled, Dazed Fortitude Save vs. DC 27. (1d20+6=9) Dying, AKA Destroyed!
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Redbird Full Round Action: Enhance Vehicle: Speed 3 (Rank 9 Total, 5000MPH, ~9.5 mile/Move Action; Power Feats: Move-By Action) [4PP] Snare 0 (Power Feats: Tether) [1PP] Super-Movement 1 (Water Walking; Flaws: Limited [While Moving]) [1PP] Super-Strength 7 (Effective Strength 55, +12 Applications of Strength) [14PP] Midnight II Free Action: Arrange Gadgets: Furion Shock Vice. Damage 10 (Extras: Autofire, Linked [+0], Penetrating; Flaws: Action [Full Round]; Limited [Objects], Limited [Electronics]) [5PP] + Drain Toughness 10 (Extras: Affects Objects, Autofire, Linked [+0]; Flaws: Action [Full Round], Limited [Objects], Limited [Electronics]) [5PP] + Paralyze 10 (Extras: Linked [+0]; Flaws: Action [Full Round], Limited [slow]) [5PP] + Snare 10 (Extras: Linked [+0]; Flaws: Action [Full Round], Range [Touch]) [5PP] Standard Action: Evasive Maneuvers. With Skill Mastery, Master Plan and Inspire, his Drive check is 10 + 15 + 3 + 5 = 33. Extra Effort: Surge. Full Action: Charge Wander with Furion Shock Vice; +2 Charge, +5 Inspire, +3 Master Plan, -5 Power Attack 5. (1d20+19=22) Hero Point: Charge Wander with Furion Shock Vice; Hero Point ReRoll; +2 Charge, +5 Inspire, +3 Master Plan, -5 Power Attack 5. (1d20+19=35) Alright, that's a DC 25 Fortitude Save vs. Drain Toughness and a DC 30 Toughness Save for any electronics on or inside Wander, along with a DC 25 Will Save against being Slowed and a DC 25 Reflex Save against being Entangled or Bound. The Night Cycle's Defense this round is 31.
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Jill looked crestfallen for a brief moment at Harrier's analysis before abruptly straightening to her full height in realization and snapping her fingers. "Looks like the Interceptors are going to have to drag everybody's butts out of the fire yet again," she announced, slinging the knapsack over her shoulder down and unzipping it, confidence flowing back into her voice like hot ginger tea down a sore throat. "Who needs clumsy meat pilots when you've got Mr. Fifth Iteration Networked Computer Entity himself!" With a flourish, the medic produced the hard drive holding the alternate version of VINCE.
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Redbird and Midnight hold their actions until after Edge so he can Inspire them.
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Even the usually talkative Ghost Girl had been quiet during the trip, concentrating on letting the minor scorch marks in her ectoplasmic form heal themselves once Wraith had made it clear that fussing over her while she thawed wasn't helping things. The jolted at the sight of the giant mechanical head, disturbing the dozing manticore in her lap as she moved to get a better look and observed the reactions of her extraterrestrial teammates. "What? Guys, we can't just leave!" she protested, struggling to remember what she'd been told about this Curator beyond that he was very, very bad news. "I know I don't really know what we're looking at but I almost never what's going on and I don't let that stop me, right? If this has something to do with all the craziness back in Freedom City, we're probably the only ones around to stop it!"
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Jill hissed softly in frustration from her vantage point with the rest of the group. The convenient arrival of a spaceworthy vessel was beyond suspicious, especially given her suspicions that they'd been manipulated throughout the entire horrible affair, but she couldn't afford to pass up the opportunity or play it safe by approaching the proverbial gift horse cautiously. For some unknown amount of time Mara had been at the mercy of malicious forces with the power to create entire worlds for their own inscrutable reasons and every moment they were stranded away from home was another moment she was in danger. "Watch your tail, birdie," she told Blue Jay as the younger girl jogged off to scout, biting back on her better judgement.
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Toughness Save vs. DC 30. (1d20+12=30) AH FIRE AH oh I guess that's fine then.
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Jack of all Blades (4) The Espadas School: You Hold This End (4) Midnight II (8) And Countless Screaming Argonauts (1) Midnight City (5) Where the Love Light Leads (2) Wail (3) Street Sharks (2) Wood and Clay Will Wash Away... (1) Ghost Girl (11) Mile in My Shoes (1) Enchanted Species (1) A War-Torn World (9) NPC - Jill O'Cure (16/2=8) Merry HAXMas (3/2) Test Site I (13/2) Pass enough posts up to get Jack to an effective 15, then down to Ghost Girl. Send the Ref Point through Jack to Ghost Girl, too.
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Kimber had just enough time to look from the outer wall and back to the devastated ventilation system before Sharl started pulling electricity from the surrounding area in a crackling light show. Setting her jaw, the phantom silently recited the advice Eve had given her during their tutoring sessions and wrenched with all her willpower. Unseen power gripped Indira, icy bonds and all and carried the whole frozen mass through the reopened window with the velocity of a cannonball. The poltergeist herself was right behind, passing through the wall just moments before their ceased to be a wall to pass through. The concussive force of the explosion meant nothing to the undead Canadian but the heat of the flames crashed into her as painfully as if she still had flesh to sear and for a terrifying moment she was seized by blinding white panic. She was dimly aware of screaming and melting ice somewhere nearby but was too disoriented even to flee. The crunch of tires on loose dirt shook her from her stupor. Straining under her Kinigosi friend's weight she floated unsteadily toward the approaching Wonderbus. "Mhrrr?" A dark russet ball of fur and spines clamored about her feet where the hovered above the ground, Avro the manticore kitten having unexpectedly tracked down his mistress amidst the chaos. The cub seemed unbothered by the entire affair, happily chewing on a black, steel soled boot with singed laces he'd found somewhere with three rows of serrated teeth and looking up with feline eyes and a simian expression of expectant pride, scorpion tail twitching back and forth. "Ohmigoodness, Avro! C'mon, buddy, we've gotta go!" Kimber implored, scooping up the tiny beast and carrying him along with his leathery snack.
