Gizmo

Trevor let out a soft, wry breath as they began to spin, wrapping her arms around Erin's back and focusing on her face to shut out the mild discomfort that accompanied the suddenly arbitrary direction of 'down'. He didn't much care for weightlessness himself, but the auburn haired young woman had enjoyed their last trip to the Freedom League's space station and there was a lot he could put up with in exchange for seeing her smile. Besides, he was open to being persuaded to her way of thinking. "Hm? 'This'? Spinning about?" he asked with feigned obliviousness.

"Enjoy it while you can," Wail advised, layering his hands across the small of his back and bending to crack his spine audibly. "Before you know it you've blinked and you're jaded and going on and on about how things were in 'your day'." Stretching out as many of the kinks as he was able, the aging educator turned to Eliza. "You did good. Wouldn't have even known those crow things were there if you hadn't noticed them, and it might have been too late for the Doctor by the time somebody came looking."

Wail Move Action: Move to Shark 3. Standard Action: Unarmed Attack Shark 3; All-Out Attack 5, Power Attack 5. (1d20+8=23) That's DC 33. Improved Grab: Opposed Grapple Check. (1d20+23=43)

Midnight Free Action: Midnight mist. Move Action: Auto-DC 30 Demoralize on one Spartoi. Standard Action: Escrima Stick attack; Inspire 5, Power Attack 5, Sneak Attack 2. (1d20+14=32) That's a DC 30 Toughness Save. If that takes down the first minion: Takedown Attack: Escrima Stick attack; Inspire 5, Power Attack 5, Sneak Attack 2. (1d20+14=31) Let me know how that goes and if there are any other minions close enough to step to.

The word 'Omegadrone' brought forth a another stream of profanity under Jill's breath. "It's deserted. I'm starting to think we're a little late for first aid anyway," she told Wander, matching her brusque tone and indicating the piles of scattered bones. To the medic the heaps of the dead outside the clinic were monuments of failure that set the edges of her taxed composure alight with anger. "And unless you suddenly figured out how to make force-fields, you're not going anywhere without me. You heard the pike blast, somebody's fighting over there. Let's move." Without waiting for a counter argument, she was tearing off again in the direction of crash site.

Ellie did a bit of a double-take at seeing the black-and-purple clad powerhouse but she skidded to an absolute stop when she saw the ruined city around them. "Er-Wander? I don't know, sounds like the same thing happened to me, too." She caught the muted shudder from the other young woman, bringing to mind more than a few whispered rumors from their briefly shared time at Claremont, but to her credit the pre-med student didn't hesitate to place a reassuring gloved hand on Erin's shoulder. "The Interceptors got pulled into a-- well, a fairy tale book one time, it was sort of similar? Or it could be an alternate reality? If this was really home, it wouldn't-- I mean, it--" At a loss for words she instead rubbed the bridge of her masked nose with her other hand. "We'll figure it out. Did you see what crashed down out here?"

The jacket of Trevor's costume joined Erin's wig early on, along with the faux bolts affixed to his neck once one of them fell off of its own volition. He hadn't taken much time to really explore the saucer before; amazing as it was he'd just never gotten around to more than a cursory tour in the past and Erin was absolutely right about it being engrossing work. That didn't stop him from taking a moment to cast an admiring look at the half of her not concealed by Martian interior design, naturally, but he'd also managed to make good progress reconnecting the systems he'd discovered closer to the saucer's cockpit. "Probably need to machine them," he agreed, closing the panel and waiting for the controls to light up with power. "Or make a trip to a hardware store one dimension over. Slide out of there for a second." Waiting until Erin had disentangled herself from the circuitry she was working on, he indicated the sliding lever to his right. "Artificial gravity. Including..." The young man pulled the lever into the lower half of its notched scale. As he did so, everything and everyone not mounted to the spacecraft itself floated gently into the air. "...artificial anti-gravity." He removed his hand from the lever somewhat reluctantly, crossing his arm and trying to maintain his weightless dignity as best he could.

The crash didn't actually knock Kimber around, but it did send the seat she was occupying right through her immaterial form and back out the other way, leaving her floating in the cab and looking at what they'd hit. Running her hands across her face with enough force to stretch the ectoplasm out of shape for a moment, she tried to shake the visions of robotic death machines out of her mind. "M-maybe anybody with an actual neck to snap should stay inside the Wonderbus for a bit?" she suggested shakily, putting hands to her throat reflexively and swallowing. "I can go out and say hello or something. It's not like they can shoot me!" She'd managed to remind herself that the androids couldn't kill her but fear of what had happened to the guards happening to her mortal friends was a chill even the frosty poltergeist could feel.

Ellie's body was already on its feet before her mind had a chance to register her disturbing surroundings; when it did, a string of hissed oaths followed. It made no sense for her to be in the clinic, it made no sense for the clinic to be deserted, it made no sense for it to be obviously devastated. Memory loss, disorientation -- concussion? Before she could catch her breath, the air around her exploded with the sounds of disaster and reflexes were carrying her in a sprint down the hallway to the exit. A hand glowing with dappled blue light rose to clutch the side of her head, accomplishing nothing. Didn't hit my head. Dios, don't let it-- The young woman quashed the thought and clenched her jaw hard enough to hurt. Surge of panic aside, this didn't feel anything like the horrible loss of control inflicted by Doktor Archeville's nanobots and judging from the sound of the crash, there could very well be people who didn't have time for her to stand around figuring out what was going on. Throwing the clinic's door open, she sprinted out into the street.

Trevor murmured in agreement but made no move to produce such a device, simply standing silently at the base of the ramp for a beat, then another before shrugging. "What? I see in the dark," he responded in an airy deadpan, the careful lack of inflection giving away to someone who knew him as well as Erin that he thought he was being particularly funny. Finally he relented, pulling a flattened rectangle with two rows of powerful LEDs lining one edge from his back pocket, passing it to the wig-wearing young woman and allowing himself a small smile. She'd known, of course, that he wouldn't have ever gone down into the deeper levels of the Manor without bringing some sort of portable illumination with him and equally how much he enjoyed pulling out just the right device as needed, having already anticipated a need.

Kimber hesitated for a moment, floating a step's distance behind the others standing about the dead guard, before moving forward, one foot absently passing through Koshiro's shoulder unhindered as she focused on the rain-splattered corpses. "I, um... I think I've got this one, guys. Y'know how I've been getting tutoring with magic and stuff? Turns out already being dead is super convenient for necromancy." The phantom didn't sound particularly thrilled about it for once, clenching and unclenching her hands as if steeling herself and settling down with her feet in the mud. "I'm pretty sure I can show us what happened to these guys. You... might want to hold onto something." With a final affected but psychologically helpful steadying breath, she connected herself to the fresh aura of death before her the way Nick Cimitiere had taught her. With a muted gasp, Kimber's ectoplasmic body went stiff and her eyes turned a milky white, visions of the first guard's moment of death blasting into the team's minds with the force of an icy gale.

Kimber wilted noticeably as she looked up at the projected flag against the clouds. It was one thing to know what they were getting into and it was another to have it hanging so literally and all-encompassingly over their heads. "I don't think I'm going to like it much either," she told Kristin quietly before her nose twitched involuntarily. The chilling wind reeked of fear, even this far away from the actual town, too much for her pick out any one source from such a distance. The bright blue of her irises faded momentarily into white as her eyes narrowed and she continued in a very different tone, "And it's going to get a lot colder before we're done." Shaking it off, she seemed to flicker out of existence for a moment, as if stepping into the peripheral vision of anyone watching, before reappearing with the illusion of solid flesh and similar attire to Sharl.

Jack of all Blades' Party Gallade ♂‚ Hitmonchan ♂‚ Haxorus ♀ Nature: Rash Nature: Adamant Nature: Lonely Ability: Justified Ability: Iron Fist Ability: Rivalry Moves: Swords Dance Moves: Thunder Punch Moves: Outrage Psycho Cut Ice Punch Dragon Tail Close Combat Fire Punch Dragon Dance Attract Counter Earthquake Scizor ♀ Pawniard ♂‚ Nature: Impish Nature: Brave Ability: Technician Ability: Defiant Moves: Aerial Ace Moves: Metal Claw Metal Claw Night Slash Fury Cutter Swords Dance Feint Payback Erik's Gallade was originally one of two Ralts left by his father when he disappeared. Having been his constant companion and fencing partner for years, a lot of Erik's personality has rubbed off on Gallade. He never bothers with a Pokéball and wears a bandana mask similar to his trainer's when aiding Jack of all Blades; fortunately, he decided against adopting a matching wig as well. Hitmonchan belonged to the owner of the antique shop where Erik found the card which unlocked his mantle as the Jack of Swords and witnessed the first use of the metamagi's powers. At Hitmonchan's ardent request, his owner gave him leave to train with Erik, mastering manipulating the elements together. Erik met Axew early in his career as Jack of all Blades, attempting to take on a group of drug dealers and their Pokémon by herself. The swashbuckler intervened and though he never learned exactly how the Dragon Pokémon had ended up in that situation she joined his team. She finished evolving into a Haxorus only recently while helping to fight off an attack by the House of Swords. She considers Scizor to be her rival despite the other Pokémon's total lack of interest in such an arrangement. Scyther was first encountered in the forest bordering the West End and made an impression both by keeping up with Gallade in battle and being immune to the confident Fighting/Psychic type's charms. She refused to join Erik's team but was a frequent sparring partner and ally. She was present for Doktor Archeville's betrayal and when Erik became the sole leader of the Interceptors she finally joined his party officially, evolving into a Scizor in the process. Pawniard is the party's most recent addition, joining when Erik opened his school for self-defense and swordsmanship. The serious young Pokémon is determined to become as strong as possible and join the ranks of Freedom City's heroes. He has a lot of raw talent but has a long way to go before reaching his goal. Jill O'Cure's Party Gardevoir ♀ Happiny ♀ Nature: Sassy Nature: Calm Ability: Synchronize Ability: Friend Guard Moves: Heal Pulse Moves: Heal Bell Toxic Copycat Double Team Protect Stored Power Sweet Kiss Ellie's Gardevoir evolved from the second Ralts left by her father when he disappeared just before her birth. Just as Gallade has come to resemble her brother, Gardevoir has adopted Ellie's studious nature and sardonic attitude. Like her trainer, she specializes in both healing and harming, useful talents given the increasingly exasperating situations they find themselves in. Happiny was presented as an egg to Ellie when she was accepted into FCU's pre-med program. The Pokémon hatched before long bonded with her trainer immediately despite Ellie's half-hearted protests that she just wasn't any good with infants or children. Happiny seems to view Gardevoir as an elder sister, frequently following behind the older Pokémon and imitating her movements and even attacks. Yolanda Morales-Espadas' Party Deino ♀ Nature: Modest Ability: Hustle Moves: Bite Headbutt Dragonbreath Hidden Power Deino followed the refugees from Yolanda's home dimension through the HAX portal to Earth Prime when they escaped its destruction by Mandragora and his Terminus Hydreigons. Although obviously related to those beasts, the young Dark/Dragon type seemed innocent enough, gently headbutting the shellshocked girl and grinning toothily at her until getting a smile in response. She was subsequently adopted into the Espadas family along with her new trainer. Midnight II's Party Umbreon ♂‚ Houndoom ♀ Ghastly ♂‚ Nature: Careful Nature: Hasty Nature: Quiet Ability: Inner Focus Ability: Flash Fire Ability: Levitate Moves: Foul Play Moves: Smog Moves: Mean Look Snarl Embargo Clear Smog Moonlight Dark Pulse Hypnosis Last Resort Inferno Curse Honchkrow ♀ Klink Nature: Hardy Nature: Relaxed Ability: Moxie Ability: Clear Body Moves: Fly Moves: Gear Grind Brave Bird Mirror Shot Night Slash Charge Payback Charge Beam Umbreon was one of a litter of Eevees hatched by Duncan Summers and the last of its siblings to be presented to a Claremont student. A good match for the equally quiet Trevor, Eevee joined in the intense training regimen the legacy hero had set out for himself, evolving into his nocturnal form in surprisingly short order at the same time Trevor's secondary mutations took hold. Eve Martel's Espeon is one of his siblings and the pair have proven devastating in two-on-two matches. Descended from the Houndoom that accompanied the original Midnight throughout most of his career, the excitable Houndour was Trevor's sole Pokémon as a youth. Trevor's grandfather helped in her training once the teen's metahuman powers developed and she evolved into a Houndoom herself shortly after his sixteenth birthday. Midnight frequently rides her into battle, outpacing theoretically faster but less well trained Pokémon with ease. On Hallowe'en 2010 the veil between life and death had been stretched thin and for related reasons Midnight had been having a very bad day. The cold ferocity with which he dispatched members of the zombie horde that threatened the city drew Ghastly to him. Trevor accepted the Ghost type's help in the long battle and was surprised when Ghastly stuck around even after Hades' plan had been thwarted. He serves as invaluable reconnaissance in the field. Before the Furion known as Red Falcon sacrificed himself to stem the tide of Omegadrones poised to overrun Young Freedom, he presented Midnight with a Pokémon egg and Dusk Stone. The Murkrow which hatched from the egg almost immediately evolved into a Honchkrow, displaying far more power than a typical newborn. The Furion-bred Dark/Flying type soon proved worthy of Red Falcon's legacy, serving as Midnight's wings for aerial missions and partnering with Houndoom without need of direction. Trevor's Klink and several like it habitually float around the Engineering buildings of FCU. When this one in particular caught Trevor changing into his Midnight costume, the young detective added it to his team. Rarely participating in battles, Klink prefers to stay in the Midnight Manor, helping develop new gadgets or restore old equipment, providing electrical power and an extra set of eyes. Travis Hunter's Party Ninetales ♀ Liepard ♀ Lilligant ♀ Nature: Calm Nature: Naughty Nature: Modest Ability: Flash Fire Ability: Prankster Ability: Own Tempo Moves: Fire Spin Moves: Captivate Moves: Teeter Dance Fire Blast Taunt Quiver Dance Faint Attack Nasty Plot Petal Dance Extrasensory Dark Pulse Aromatherapy All of Travis' Pokémon from his days as the original Midnight have passed away apart from the naturally long-lived Ninetales. The serene Fire type's mere presence is usually enough to keep the household's other Pokémon in line and she rarely leaves Travis' side, providing her elderly trainer with support when needed. Ninetales are something of a status symbol among Freedom City's wealthy families and she makes a point to greet any visitors to the mansion at the door. The mischievous Liepard is technically a wild Pokémon and seems to hang about the Hunter mansion mainly to make off with small baubles and try to get a rise out of Ninetales. She always returns everything she steals after growing bored with the prize, however, and displays nothing but affection for Travis himself. It's not clear if she sticks around solely for lack of anywhere better to be or if she's been sent to keep an eye on things specifically. Lilligant was originally Margery's Petilil. She now serves as the mansion's groundkeeper, seeing to the gardens once tended by her original trainer while the other, largely nocturnal members of the household are asleep. She's also the one who first taunt Trevor to dance and works herself into a tizzy with worry any time he returns from a patrol or mission with injuries. Wail's Party Exploud ♂‚ Alakazam ♀ Mienshao ♂‚ Nature: Bold Nature: Hasty Nature: Naughty Ability: Soundproof Ability: Magic Guard Ability: Regenerator Moves: Uproar Moves: Teleport Moves: Detect Strength Trick Force Palm Hypervoice Psychic Wide Guard Hyper Beam Telekinesis Reversal Like LaMarr himself, all of Wail's Pokémon are aging but experienced and powerful battlers. Loudred was part of the same experiments that resulted in LaMarr's powers and followed after him during the subsequent breakout. While testing on Pokémon was not strictly illegal in the early 1970s, it was frowned upon. To avoid a further public relations incident after LaMarr's wrongful conviction came to light, Loudred was allowed to stay with him, fighting beside 1-800-JUSTICE and eventually evolving into an Exploud. Kadabra originally belonged to Yelena Vostok, a gifted teleporter like her trainer. Having a somewhat distant personality by nature, it took the Psychic type a while to warm up to their new home in Freedom City and even longer to bond with the rest of 1-800-JUSTICE. When the team came out of retirement to fight against the 1993 Terminus Invasion, Yelena perished saving her friends and Kadabra became LaMarr's Pokémon, finally evolving into an Alakazam in the process. The monks who provided part of Javed Randeep's martial training kept Mienfoo and Mienshao about their temple. When he returned to the United States, one of them with an adventurous spirit accompanied him. Mienshao had plenty of opportunity to hone his fighting abilities along side his trainer in the ninja filled alleyways of the 1970s. Mienshao stayed by Javed's side for many years, but like Alakazam eventually outlived his original trainer. Ghost Girl's Party Froslass ♀ Abomasnow ♂‚ "Skitty" ♂‚ Nature: Quirky Nature: Adamant Nature: Rash Ability: Snow Cloak Ability: Snow Warning Ability: Illusion Moves: Hail Moves: Ingrain Moves: Scratch Blizzard Wood Hammer Hone Claws Ominous Wind Ice Shard Dig Frost Breath Seed Bomb Pursuit When Daniel Storm found Kimber haunting the wooden cabin in the woods outside Thunder Bay, Froslass was already there, scaring hikers away alongside the human poltergeist. Restoring Kimber's mind seemed to have a calming affect of Froslass as well, and the Ice/Ghost type accompanied her back to Claremont Academy when the new line-up of Young Freedom came to collect her. More than one classroom has ended up coated in a layer of ice with the pair of friends each pointing at the other accusingly. Abomasnow is actually Daniel Storm's Pokémon, sent to keep an eye on Kimber in the United States. He managed to go largely unnoticed on the Claremont grounds for a few months before the weather started to heat up. Headmaster Summers tolerates his presence gladly enough given his protective attitude towards children and his willingness to help the students train... although the number of irrecoverable throwing discs on campus has shot dramatically upward. Kimber and Indira returned from an evenings' excursion with a newly hatched Skitty in tow, having rescued the feline from black market Pokémon poachers alongside Nick Cimitiere. Which would be fine... apart from the fact that Skitty are hardly rare enough to justify poaching. And the way he can sit on Kimber's shoulders when most Normal types pass right through her. And the way his Tackle attack looks a lot more like Pursuit. Still, it's probably nothing to worry about.

Midnight II Toughness Saves vs. DC 24 (1d20+12=29, 1d20+12=32)

Ghost Girl floated slowly toward the spot where Milliner's invisible form was revealed by the bonds of ectoplasm holding him in place, her eyes narrowed with a cold, calculating fury that looked out of place on her features. Once the phantom was close enough she wordlessly unhinged her jaw and loosed a blizzard of unnatural power and cold, snow and ice whipped so violently by wind that the space between her and the ensnared poached was completely obscured. She continued on, still floating closer, still pouring forth the inexhaustible fount of pure winter until she was literally on top of her foe. Finally she snapped her mouth shut and the howling gale died down to reveal a jagged glacier completely enveloping Milliner.

Initiative. (1d20+5=16)

"Ah! Relief supplies! That's perfect," Kimber enthused, snapping Sharl a loose but heartfelt salute and a ear to ear grin. She didn't want to say anything out loud, but she was grateful for something to keep her occupied. Unlike the others, there was no last minute preparations that would make a difference for her or any final perfect night to sum up her life before heading into a potentially deadly situation. She was already dead. He chances for such moments had already long since come and gone and she'd probably never know if she'd taken advantage of them while she could. Better, then, to keep herself distracted making sure others would survive. "C'mon, Kristin! I'll race you!" she challenged the Australian with a laugh already floating through the wall of the room.

There was literally nothing in Quo-Dis comments that Trevor wanted to comment upon. He could have gone a long time indeed without participating in a conversation debating the younger man's ability to satisfy his partner or the potency of his vril. The Ultimen might have used it to refer to a measure of life force but in his study of Superior the detective had always gotten the impression that it was at least partially euphemistic, particularly given the fascist superman's eugenic leanings. That same knowledge of history made Quo-Dis' father and his views impossible to tackle diplomatically. As for plans for children... he returned Erin's look with a faint wince, rubbing his collar uncomfortably with one hand. His options for small talk seemed nonexistent. Fortunately, if there was anything the Hunter heir excelled at, it was remaining silent where others would feel the need to speak. Letting the broached topics clatter awkwardly to the floor, he turned back to the game.

Trevor shook his head in the negative. "Dr. Tomorrow disabled anything like that before Gramps, Johnny Rocket and Envoy could use it to get on board the alt-Martian mothership," he explained, his usual matter-of-fact manner tinted with the pride that went along with his heroic heritage. Reaching up to grip one of the smaller modules protruding from the lowered edge of the saucer, he turned it clockwise then counter-clockwise then clockwise again in specific increments. In response a ramp lowered itself from the ship's underbelly to the ground with a hiss of compressed gas and the smell of stale, dry air that contrasted with the mild damp of the cool cave.

Well, Ghost Girl doesn't actually have any Toughness save abilities, so I don't think she can perform a coup de grâce! I guess she could... freeze him in a big block of ice or something?

"Congratulations, you've all mastered standing in a line. Already you're surpassing all expectation," Erik informed the group, his voice a level deadpan bu his expression turning up in a small grin at the tense focus and indecision brought on by the first actual instructions of the session. "I'm actually not just screwing with you, this is important. Being able to get back into a balanced, stable position quickly right after moving sets you up to defend and turn your opponent's momentum against them without falling on your butt yourself." Sauntering around behind the line up, he nudged Baxter's foot into a better stance with his own and gently guided one of Jasmine's shoulders a little higher. Circling around the other side, he resumed his own stance across from them. "Under the 'if you learn one thing' category, we'll start with deflecting an overhead strike, like this." He mimed coming down with a bludgeoning or stabbing weapon in a sweeping motion.

"Oh, I just meant like Universal Monsters not Nazis or Omegadrones or something crazy like that!" Ghost Girl explained with a little laugh. "Mainly undead folks are pretty okay with the 'm' word; I dunno if that's like reclaiming it or just 'cause a lot of us have sort of a compulsion to cause terror, y'know, but I guess it still sounds kinda bad to most people? Alive ones, that is." Shrugging without concern, she turned her attention to the scientist's brief synopsis of her job. "Oh no, it sounds really neat! I haven't got any body parts, so I definitely get how important that kind of this is! ...not that I'd want to walk around in a robot body, but still." That didn't really appeal to her any more than possessing another person did but she supposed it at least had the virtue of being less meaty. Trying to imagine what a synthetic body made entirely of prosthetics would even look like occupied most of her concentration until the reached the testing facility. Giving Miss Americana a thumbs up, she floated inside and waited a few moments before calling, "Ready?"

Erik responded to Blodeuwedd's slight ceremonial bow with a inclination of his head and a somewhat less serious flourish of one arm, flicking the wrist of his empty hand while his rapier remained pointed downward, hanging loosely at his side. His expression remained calmly impassive, observing the young woman observing him as she advanced. He still hadn't reacted by the time she dropped into a ready stance and only moved to turn out of the way of the feinting swipe to better ready for the inevitable true attack. The Welsh teen's sword struck unerringly and only an interception a fencing blade raised with almost preternatural speed kept it from its mark. The sudden riposte was yes significant than the palpably surprised look in the instructor's eyes. He hadn't honestly been expecting to even need to use his own weapon but Blodeuwedd's attack had been too close to simply sidestep out of the way even for the older acrobatic. Dabbling in multiple styles is one thing, he mused to himself as he withdrew his foil, metal scraping lightly on metal, but she's legitimately effective with at least three distinct forms. The nod he gave her had none of the light amusement of his earlier gesture. "I think I wouldn't mind meeting this Grandfather of yours some time."

Alright, back at it; sorry for the delay, folks. Tiff, not going to worry about initiative in this case, but give me an attack roll to give us an idea what we're talking about.

"Well, I guess so, yeah," Leonard agreed uncertainly, not sure that was really the reaction he was looking for, but at least glad his hard work was evident. "So, uh...?" "Leonard, this is Mara," Ellie supplied in answer to the uncertainly implied question, "my girlfriend. Finally convinced her to some out to one of these things." She tried not to sound too much like she was bragging but didn't strain herself over it. There was something surprisingly satisfying about not being the single one in the elevator. It took the red headed pre-med student a moment to process, visibly concentrating on memorizing the name before the rest of the sentence sunk in. "Oh... oh! Uh, I--" The young man's cheeks lit up to practically match his hair as he mumbled apologetically, "...can we pretend I didn't just sound like an idiot?"