Gizmo
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Becky gave Eve a curious look, tilting her head slightly to one side as poured syrup onto the last of a stack of waffles from a small glass pitcher. "Who? I don't think so, doesn't really sound familiar." The slim brunette furrowed her brow earnestly as she wracked her memory, but evidently the name wasn't ringing any bells. "Are you guys, like... hunting for her or something?" The local girl's voice became a little breathless at the thought of an international game of cat and mouse, laying the fingers of one hand over Eve's wrist on the restaurant table.
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Fortunately Wail's greater height allowed him to peer over the window's ledge without too much difficulty; the side of the warehouse certainly wouldn't have supported his weight. The older hero raised an eyebrow at the bizarre gathering before backing away from the window to consider. This wouldn't be the first demagogue he'd dealt with; Lincoln had been through some tough times and there were always those looking to use the resulting frustrations to their own ends. The mismatched outfits were a new, bizarre twist, however. "Hnn. Shoulda changed before following you. Going to be the only one out of costume." Looking over Wander's dramatically different ensemble, a thought occurred to him. "You think those new threads still have a little anonymity left in them?" he asked the young woman, nodding significantly to the warehouse door.
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True North's database clearly hadn't been designed with someone of Sharl's specific abilities in mind, but the security was tight enough to keep him out of any national secrets. Annoyingly, while he was able to access a considerable amount of information on the Canadian team's members, Daniel Storm was evidently classified officially as a 'consultant'. The sheer number of incidence reports he featured in made that claim somewhat suspect, but it meant that mandatory physicals, psyche evaluations and the like were conspicuously missing from his files. Doing a little digging and slipping past a few firewalls, however, Sharl was able to find an entry which clearly listed the occult expert as having no known living relatives. Of a Kimber Storm there was no mention. Becky for her part was clearly enthralled by the multinational group. It was easy to see why the young woman had taken a job at the airport, given her penchant for hearing about far off places. It seemed the trait ran both ways, as she was more than happy to related the various local legends about the haunted cabin in the woods. Most of the stories were variations on ones the human teenagers were already familiar with: a masked killer with a cleaver, a ravenous beast that only appeared at night, the ghosts of a disturbed burial site. The tales were mutually exclusive for the most part and presumably flights of fancy; even Becky herself considered them nothing more than macabre entertainment. Still, if there really was a cabin at the end of the trail marked for them, it sounded like a perfect place for anyone looking to avoid being found.
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Okay this is an exercise in extreme silliness, but follow my 'logic', if you will... Jack of all Blades - James T. Kirk Despite a weakness for beautiful women and pithy dialogue, he's a charismatic leader who never gives up regardless of the odds. He's not afraid to defer to his teammates when he needs a second opinion, but if push comes to shove, he's going to pull a move so crazy it just might work. Doktor Archeville - Dr. Phlox Absolutely brilliant and the source of much exposition, he's still pointedly apart from the rest of the team. As much as he's there to help them, he's also openly studying them, though in a genial manner that's hard to find fault with. Plus there's that unexpectedly prominent sex drive. Colt - Will Riker Practically from another genre, while others are deliberating over options, he's already checked out the angles, chosen his shot and taken it. A competent leader, he's laid back enough to prefer a support role. Besides, it gives him more time to spend with his lady friend. Grimalkin - Deanna Troi Whether she spends the adventure talking about feelings or keeping her more impulsive teammates from doing something monumentally stupid, chances are she's going to be wearing an outfit there's really no good explanation for. Vocal about being from a noticeably different culture. Dynamo - Mr. Spock It's not that this guy doesn't have emotions, he's just seen where letting them run wild can get you, and he'd just as soon be the one to keep a level head, thank you very much. There may be flashier characters around these days, but he's still in way better shape than most. Fulcrum - Jadzia Dax Fighter, artist, confidant, lover - she's comfortable playing a lot of different roles, always with a confidence and sureness of self. She owes a lot of that to the passing of her predecessor, with a couple nasty side-effects tossed in, but she's definitely going to do the legacy proud. Thrude - Worf A proud warrior who is proud to be a warrior! It's hard to miss that she isn't from around here, but if it's going to come down to a fight, she's the one you're going to choose for the away mission. She doesn't talk about it much, but she's mixed up in some pretty epic family drama. Willow - Odo A powerful being with incomplete memories, her origins turn out to be connected to a huge threat to our heroes. Though not in the manner we're used to in the setting, she's a guardian of order, and a relationship with a teammate has a pronounced humanizing effect on her. Geckoman - Tom Paris He might have a hard time taking much of anything seriously, but he's the best pilot around and he knows it. He makes a lot of jokes and has an uncanny ability to tick people off at first, but they'll come around eventually, just like his tech savvy girlfriend did. Ferros - Harry Kim From the moment we see him, he's getting caught up in a whole lot of trouble that's not his fault. Sometimes it's pretty obvious he's new at this, but he knows when to temper his buddy's harebrained scheme with some caution and when to back another equally harebrained play. Jill O'Cure - B'Elanna Torres She's smart, maybe smarter than you were expecting, but more importantly she's trained her butt off to be the very best at her chosen field. Her wit is acerbic and her praise is rare, but that's all part of her charm. She downplays it, but she comes from a history of butt-kickers, too. V.I.N.C.E. - The Doctor (No, not that one) Sure he's 'just' an artificial intelligence, but he's got more personality than a lot of you meatspace folks, especially with all those quirks his designer wasn't expecting. He doesn't go out and about much, but runs a tight ship when given the chance, and gets some of the best lines.
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ic [ArchEvil] Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit [IC]
Gizmo replied to Dr Archeville's topic in North Bay
"Willow!" Jack shouted as the dryad appeared, the fiery blade in his hand evaporating into the air charged with static even as branch and root wrapped around the slender woman. "Wait, we-- gah!" His words were cut short as lightning poured from the sky toward the unconscious Archeville. The fencer ducked reflexively even as Fulcrum surged to meet the assault, shielding the intended target. "Sonova... Everybody! Stand. The Hell. Down!" The bellow managed to cut through the din of the storm, the wind whipping his greatcoat furiously. "Thrude, park your you-damned daddy issues for five freaking minutes, alright?!" Pausing for a beat, Jack tiled his head briefly to one side apologetically. "Sorry. That... was pretty mean. Not actually evil anymore, just... tense." He aimed the latter assertion in Willow's direction, his weaponless hands held outward from his sides. "Look, the Dok's down for the count already, and if there's a chance he is being controlled -- like Thor was -- we have to give him a chance, whether we like it or not." The metamagi's mouth twisted in a grimace, but he continued. "And yeah, people are probably going to talk smack no matter what we do at this point. So what's it gonna be, ladies? You want to look good, or you want to be good?" -
Jack regarded the approach of the fae queen with a broad grin. "See, that's what I like about immortal women," he remarked casually. "I keep getting older, and they--" His sentence was cut short as his sister stomped forcefully down on his toes. "I am not getting frozen to death just so you can finish that joke," Jill hissed to him under her breath. "Ow, tough crowd," he muttered in return before raising his voice to address the Queen. "Grand festivities, huh? Y'know, I'm told I'm the life of any party..."
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Frank grumbled something largely unintelligible but vaguely curmudgeonly as he saw the teenagers off, but wasn't able to hide how clearly pleased he was at Erin's approval and thanks. The portly tailor also gave Trevor a pointed look at Erin's offhand mention of 'home', which the younger man responded to with typical stoic deadpan. As much as Erin's stay at the estate was intended to be a temporary measure, it had felt surprisingly natural. "Could eat," he agreed as they stepped out onto the street. "But... Hrn. No good way to say this," he decided, giving his girlfriend a frank look. "Want to examine you for mind-altering nanites."
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"Nah, not really," Erik dismissed with a wave of his hand as he watched Willow tie her hair back before pausing for a moment to reconsider. "Well, actually... a bit, I guess? I mean, knowing that much went into making sure you'd be awesome at something is a confidence booster," he chuckled a little ruefully, a reflexive boast taking a surprising turn for the self-conscious at the ancient guardian's sincere interest. "On the other hand, precision instrument, blunt instrument... Euh." It took a long moment for the athletic young man to marshal his feeling into words. "I'm not about to be anybody else's weapon, right, but when it comes down to it, fighting's the only thing I'm good at."
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ic [ArchEvil] Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit [IC]
Gizmo replied to Dr Archeville's topic in North Bay
Throughout Fulcrum's explanation, Jack's expression remained dark, his features and the violently flashing arc of fire in his hand betraying a barely contained urge to finish the fight with far more finality. "Fine," he snapped finally, "he can go to therapy in a body cast. Get out of the damn way." "Erik..." his sister called quietly, staring down at her feet with one arm wrapped across her own stomach while the other remained lit with bioelectric energies. The young woman seemed to be keeping her composure through sheer force of will, but the momentary pause in the fighting has cost Jill a considerable amount of momentum. "No!" the elder sibling snapped back without turning around. "I don't care what his damage is, he blew up our home with our friends inside!" The snarling edge to his voice robbed it of its usual melodic ease while he gesture angrily with his free hand. "Turned Vince into a suicide bomber! Thrude and Gecks were only there because he brought them in! And Willow..." And that, perhaps, was the crux of his rage. Archeville hadn't been responsible for the dryad's presence in the Wreck Room. She hated being underground, in the metal rooms without any plants... Even with adrenaline pounding in his ears, he knew that was his fault, that he would have to live with-- The fencer was interrupted from turning his destructive fury inward as he realized that the pounding was coming from without a moment before the goddess of wind and lightning made her entrance. "Thrude!" he shouted over the noise of her storm. "You're-- The others! Are they alright?" -
The blow caught the frothing martial artist squarely, sending him reeling backward, clearly having trouble even keeping his feet underneath him and his bearings in the wintery gale. The crimson suited villain did manage to provide a distraction for his porcelain masked compatriot, and Guy Fawkes II took the opportunity to make furious assault on the young inventor who had cause so much trouble in their last encounter, spinning knives jabbing at Dragonfly's defenses but failing to find purchase there.
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That does hit, but... Fort Save vs. DC 20. (1d20+8=25) ...he shrugs off the effect easily.
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Wail rumbled in agreement at Wander's comment about the heat, stroking his grey streak beard absently with one hand. "That's a red flag, alright." The sparse light of the late evening glinted off teeth revealed in a broadening if largely humourless smile. "Well, it's been a while since I was in the mystery solving biz, but old habits and old dogs." He gestured with a muscle bound arm for the young heroine to lead the way. He'd seen her in action well enough to know she had no difficulty fending for herself, and this way she might have a chance to use the element of surprise before he made use of his less subtle talents.
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Becky arrived shortly after Eve's call, wearing a blouse and jeans which were considerably more flattering on her tall, slender frame than her work uniform. As it turned out, Corbin had spotted just one of several buffet style restaurants in the area of the city around the airport and multiple hotels, but the one their local guide directed them to was clearly on the nicer side and offered the option of more traditional menu selections as well as an 'all you can eat' alternative. The brunette seemed both relieved and disappointed that they were going out to eat as a group, but was quickly distracted by her interest in the recently well traveled teens. Back at the hotel, Sharl had a chance to do a more thorough search on the name Eve and Corbin had been given for the third student they were to pick up: Kimber Storm. Just as before, they'd been given little more to go on then a name and plane tickets; given the last two eventful stops the chances that the entire tour was something of a test were seeming more and more likely. Disconcertingly, even with his considerable talent for ferreting out information online, Sharl wasn't able to much of anything. Varying his keywords a bit turned up a few pages on Daniel Storm, a sometimes member of Canada's national super team, but that was it.
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LaMarr tilted his head slightly as he regarded the young woman more closely, recognizing the untalkative powerhouse from the bizarre saurian incursion on the Brick. "Huh. You got a haircut," he noted aloud, not even bothering to mention the entirely new costume. Inwardly he decided it was a good look for the teen, certainly more adult, but he'd found over the years that nothing put a young person off a new image like approval from a teacher. "Starting to sound like I'm coming in halfway through," he admitted, scanning the area around them, spotting the puffing smokestack. "What am I-- hey now. Somebody's cooking."
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Looking over the shorter pair's shoulders, Trevor was mostly impressed by the way Frank was able to render a recognizable version of Erin's face with a few simple lines and by how different a shape that face took on with the proposed mask. The aesthetics of such a thing were largely abstract to him, but it seemed effective and perhaps more importantly Erin liked it. Nodding briefly in support, he looked questioningly to Frank. "Adhesives...?" The older man gave a pleased harrumph at the design before shaking his head. "Well, you know how I feel about that morphic molecule jazz, but in this case, it's the way to go," he explained. "Bonds like a second skin when you put it on, peels right off if you know where to pinch it. Handy as all get out, I gotta admit."
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Naturally, Doc. In this case I was speaking in broad strokes on the issue as a whole. For Redbird and the Night Cycle, my thinking was something along the lines of the 'only the worthy' Restriction of Thrude's weapon. Being of Furion origin (the setting's version of the New Gods), Redbird has more in common with Vendrvapn than with most terrestrial artificial intelligences. There would, of course, be different criteria for 'worthy' involved. I just wanted to find out if the idea of a Restricted vehicle was acceptable before hammering out the specifics.
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"Falling off's no problem," Frank assured her airily, waving one meaty hand as he dug out a sheet of paper and a stubby pencil from a drawer with the other. "Introduce enough super-geniuses to the indignities of spirit gum, and just watch what they come up with. Can keep the eye holes wide enough, too, cut the style to emphasize that bone structure of yours..." Trevor watched as the tailor quickly sketched out a few possibilities. "Could use lenses, like mine," he suggested, frowning almost imperceptibly in thought. "Red eyes have a psychological effect." The older man pulled a face. "Red and purple? Kid, intimidation is one thing, nausea is another."
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Putting this up in Character Building because it's potentially precedent setting. Midnight II's motorcycle was recently fitted with a Furion artificial intelligence. As part of that, I'd like to make the Night Cycle Restricted, as per the Device Power Feat, so represent that Redbird won't let just anyone drive. In this case, since vehicles have to be Equipment, that would mean buying it as a Feature, for 1 - 3EP, depending on the level of restriction. This isn't suggested anywhere in the rules as is, but seems like a pretty reasonable extrapolation to me. Can we get a ref team sound off yay or nay on the idea?
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As Wander landed easily on the ground, heavy footsteps and the pointed clearing of a resonant throat from behind her alerted her to a much less stealthy presence. "Now, I know how popular the whole cloak and dagger approach is these days," the broad-shouldered form noted in a rumbling bass as it stepped close enough for the teen to recognize the sonic shouting hero Wail. "But in my time ninjas were dime-a-dozen punks, so can't say I really 'get it'." From his manner, it was clear that between the dark and her new look, he didn't recognize Wander in turn.
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"I figured that was already the idea, kiddo," Frank called as he ambled back into the fitting room. "Purple on the field of black draws the eye, keeps attention off your face, hmm?" The tailor adjusted his glasses for a moment, giving the young couple a wry look. "I assume a mask has already come up in discussion?" Trevor rose from his stooping position to stand next to Erin, giving Frank a slight nod. "Of course." Huffing a bit, the older man drummed his hefty fingers on a nearby workbench. "Well, covering up isn't as important as distraction. All folks remember is the domino mask, not the face," he noted with the seriousness of someone who'd spoken to the issue more than once. "Get too busy, though, and the brain'll filter it all out, go the other way." The fedora wearing hero looked thoughtful. "Hrn. Focusing on height, build, hair colour instead of complex patterns, ornate elements?" In response Frank tapped one finger to the side of his nose before pointing to Trevor.
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Colour sprang up in Ellie's cheeks at Mara's offhand remark while several steps ahead her brother studiously failed to notice as he unlocked the doors to the training room. "I swear, the things you say sometimes, Marbar..." she murmured with a rueful smile through the blush, giving her girlfriend's hand a brief squeeze. "Entirely mutual, obviously, but still." "I wouldn't worry about the Wreck Room going bad," Erik called back to them. "Vince keeps an eye on everything the whole time, and he's not about to randomly turn evil all of the sudden."
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Keith LaMarr may have been accustomed to hot summer nights in Lincoln, but his heavy physique didn't make the heat any more bearable, even without taking his super-dense muscle tissue into account. Clad in a thin black tank top and worn jeans, the metahuman high school teacher reclined in a chair that was more cinder block than furniture next to a pitcher of lemonade and a stack of unmarked papers as he looked out into the dark of the night from the porch outside his first storey apartment, accepting that sleep was unlikely to come any time soon. The quiet ricochet of a pebble sized piece of loose brick drew his attention upward just in time to see the faint outline of a dark form running speedily bu silently across the rooftops on the other side of the street. Eyebrows lifting, the audible educator decided that perhaps a light workout was just the thing and started off in the same direction.
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With a short, baritone chuckle, Trevor shifted his head toward her hand. "Hah. True." As much as the responsibility of his inherited mantle weighed on him sometimes, it had removed certain logistical challenges from the equation. Erin also had a good point about the potential repercussions of even well-intentioned confusion over her increasing number of interdimensional counterparts living on Prime. "May want to get a more objective second opinion, though. Might end up with a fedora otherwise."