Gizmo

"Another accomplice abates!" Guy Fawkes II remarked sharply as Diehard vanished into Dragonfly's spatial rift with a maddened shout. ""Shall we abscond apace, my admired augurer?" the knife fighter suggest to Heka as another well placed skewer was turned aside by the engineer's superior defensive technology. "Flee?" the ancient Egyptian sneered as his glowing, ruby hand construct made a grab for the acrobatic Jill O'Cure, who was still clearly winded and struggling to remain moving. "Just because the odds are now even? Show some spine, Fawkes." For once without a ready quip, the young woman stayed a step ahead of the spell and threw a punch dripping with malicious green energy at the masked villain. He proved a little too fast for her, but was now certainly feeling the strain of fighting two opponents at close range at once.

Guy Fawkes II Move Action: Auto-DC 20 Acrobatic Bluff against Dragonfly w/ Skill Mastery Standard Action: Attack Dragonfly. (1d20+14=24) That's a DC 21 Toughness Save. Heka Standard Action: Initiate Grapple vs. Jill O'Cure. (1d20+10=15) Pfft. Jill O'Cure Standard Action: Autoimmunity Touch vs. Guy Fawkes II. (1d20+12=21) A miss! Diehard Will Save vs. DC 20. (1d20+7=16) Blackfire Will Save vs. DC 19. (1d20+9=14) 26 - Guy Fawkes II - Uninjured 25 - Angel - Unconscious, Dimensional Pocket'd! 19 - Heka - Uninjured 17 - Diehard - Uninjured, Dimensional Pocket'd! (+1) 16 - Blackfire - Uninjured, Dimensional Pocket'd! (+4) 10 - Jill O'Cure - Staggered 9 - Dragonfly - Uninjured* - 1HP

Diehard Reflex Save vs. DC 20. (1d20+8=16) Pocket'd! Angel, too, if you like.

Fawkes managed to roll away from Dragonfly's grip, disrupting the chained effect of the spacial pocket. A quick swipe of his blades as he escaped did little other than providing a brief deterrent from pursuing him as he regrouped, apparently put off balance by the close call. Outside of the gauntlets' range, Heka raised his jackel headed scepter once more, forming a different arcane gesture as a giant, ethereal hand of the same red energy sped forward in an attempt to crush Dragonfly in its grip. The mystical fingers found themselves blunted against the inventor's protective fields, however, leaving her free for the moment. With an inarticulate shout, a recovered Diehard redoubled his assault on Jill O'Cure, swinging with a terrifying combination of trained precision and total lack of regard for his own well being. This time, however, the medic was ready for him, keeping on the defensive before attempting to form a force field to encapsulate the man in the still smoking jumpsuit. Just as Heka's grasping hand had proven ineffective so did Jill's attempt as Diehard leapt upward just as the bubble snapped closed, feet clearing the distance to freedom by the slimmest of margins. To one side, Angel attempted to regain her feet before doubling over again with a wet sound of regurgitation, collapsing in a disheveled mess. "...you're despicable," she mumbled weakly before passing out entirely.

Guy Fawkes II Move Action: Auto-DC 21 Startle w/ Skill Mastery vs. Dragonfly. (She's Fearless, but he doesn't know that.) Standard Action: Attack Dragonfly. (1d20+14=15) I guess that evens out after escaping the Dimensional Pocket! Heka Standard Action: Initiate Grapple w/ 'Mage Hands'. (1d20+10=14) Diehard Move Action: Feint Jill O'Cure. (1d20+5=15) Standard Action: All-Out Attack 5, Power Attack 5. (1d20+12=18) Angel Fortitude Save vs. DC 27 (Secondary Effect). (1d20=9) Unconscious! Jill O'Cure Standard Action: Create Object to trap Diehard in a force field bubble. Diehard Reflex Save vs. DC 22. (1d20+8=24) ARGH. Blackfire Will Save vs. DC 20. (1d20+8=12) Still trapped! 26 - Guy Fawkes II - Uninjured 25 - Angel - Unconscious 19 - Heka - Uninjured 17 - Diehard - Uninjured 16 - Blackfire - Uninjured - Dimensional Pocket'd! (+3) 10 - Jill O'Cure - Staggered 9 - Dragonfly - Uninjured - 2HP

Guy Fawkes II - Reflex Save vs. DC 20. (1d20+8=28) Diehard - Reflex Save vs. DC 20. (1d20+8=22) Angel - Reflex Save vs. DC 20. (1d20+7=25) ...ow. Have an HP back for the set back.

Diehard was sent sliding backward a few steps, teeth clenched in pain as smoke rose from the hand print charred into his crismon jumpsuit. Eyes wide and wild, the martial artist took several fast, ragged breaths as the exposed, burnt flesh reknitted itself before the eyes of the rest of the combatants. Skipping his alliterative banter for the moment, Fawkes renewed his assault on the otherwise occupied Dragonfly with roaring laughter, giving the impression of a predatory grin beneath his smooth, ceramic mask. Bizarre idiosyncrasies aside, he was obviously an experienced knife fighter, landing a long, horizontal slash on the diminutive engineers amid the whirling hurricane of sharpened steel. "Honestly, the seer idiocy of this time's so-called champions never ceases to astound even my unparalleled intellect," Heka comment airily, his words flowing and immaculately enunciated despite English evidently not being his native tongue. "Dying in the defense of a subpar, public eating establishment? How... ignoble an end." Circling around the disoriented Jill O'Cure with a smug sneer, Angel taunted, "Aw, little blonde girlfriend comes to your rescue." Swinging her hoverboard in close, she used the platform's momentum to add force to a snap punch at the other young woman's injured midsection. Marshaling her scattered wits with painful effort, Jill brought her hand up suddenly to catch Angel's blow. "Yeah," she grunted as she set her jaw, face lit from below by the virulent green light that seethed into being about her attacker's trapped fist, ominous dark shapes floating through the glow, "she does. Notice how nobody's helping you." The sickly energy seeped into Angel's hand, flowing through her veins just under the surface of her skin. Finally managing to pull away, she tumbled off of her hoverboard to crash into a nearby table, the affected arm buckling under her weight as she shuddered and threw up on the floor with a weak moan.

Diehard Fortitude Save vs. DC 20. (1d20+8=13) Stunned! Dragonfly also gets an HP for her Relationship Complication, naturally. Guy Fawkes II Move Action: Auto-DC 20 Acrobatic Bluff vs. Dragonfly. Standard Action: Attack Dragonfly. (1d20+14=32) Yow. At least it just misses his improved crit range, so it's only DC 21. Angel Move Action: Taunt Jill O'Cure. (1d20+15=24) Standard Action: Attack Jill O'Cure. (1d20+12=18) Jill O'Cure Beats the Taunt with Skill Mastery; Toughness Save vs. DC 23. (1d20+4=24) Heka Standard Action: Attack Dragonfly. (1d20+6=13) Jill O'Cure Standard Action: Autoimmunity Touch vs. Angel. (1d20+12=26) Angel Fortitude Save vs. DC 22. (1d20+6=16); Fortitude Save vs. DC 27. (1d20=17) Staggered and Stunned! Diehard Fortitude Save vs. DC 20. (1d20+8=25) He clears the Stun! Blackfire Will Save vs. DC 19. (1d20+7=10) Still trapped! 26 - Guy Fawkes II - Uninjured 25 - Angel - Staggered, Stunned 19 - Heka - Uninjured 17 - Diehard - Uninjured 16 - Blackfire - Uninjured - Dimensional Pocket'd! (+2) 10 - Jill O'Cure - Staggered 9 - Dragonfly - Uninjured* - 2HP *pending Toughness Save.

Blackfire shouted in surprised outrage, a sound that was strangled off as he disappeared into Dragonfly's gauntlet. "See, my partner knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em," Jill remarked dryly, placing one hand on her hip with careless confidence. Inwardly, her heart was pounding as she realized that this was the first time she'd been in a real fight without her brother nearby to pull her butt out of the fire if she screwed up. Luckily enough, I've got someone else here with a vested interest in the continued well-being of said butt. "Abject adolescent antagonist!" Fawkes cried, bounding with surprising speed across table tops, knocking dishes and glasses to crash to the floor as twin, gleaming blades suddenly appeared in his hands from somewhere within his coat. "I arrogate acquittal for my autonomous ally, anon!" Fortunately the odd masked man's haste to attack Dragonfly made him sloppy, his blow missing their mark by a wide margin. With a high pitched sound of querulous frustration, Angel followed close behind him on her hoverboard. "Gawd, I have to do everything for you guys!" she complained as she balanced on both her hand while delivering a split kick in Jill's direction. While the move showed uncommon balance and poise, the attack itself was sloppy, and no match for the acrobatic young woman's defenses. "Children and imbeciles," Heka grumbled to himself as he lifted smoothly into the air with a sudden gust of wind that swept up a train of debris into a cloud behind him. Pointing his scepter at Dragonfly, he let loose a blast of searing light a particularly malicious shade of red, evidently with little concern for his compatriots nearby, leaving the inventor to dodge to one side. Momentarily distracted by the chaos of movement around her, Jill was taken off-guard as Diehard was suddenly everywhere around her, bobbing and weaving with the uncanny speed of an athlete honed for one purpose. The medic took a series of punishing blows across her torso, stumbling backward as the force field she'd brought up around the civilians flickered out of existence with an ominous hiss and pop. Vision swimming, the young woman managed to cough, "...nertz."

26 - Guy Fawkes II - Uninjured 25 - Angel - Uninjured 19 - Heka - Uninjured 17 - Diehard - Uninjured - Dimensional Pocket'd! 16 - Blackfire - Uninjured 10 - Jill O'Cure - Uninjured 9 - Dragonfly - Uninjured - 1HP Guy Fawkes II Move Action: Move! Standard Action: Charge Dragonfly. (1d10+16=17) Miss! Angel Move Action: Move! Standard Action: Split-Kick Jill O'Cure. (1d20+12=18) Miss! Heka Move Action: Move! Standard Action: Mystic Blast Dragonfly. (1d20+10=19) Miss! Diehard Move Action: Acrobatic Bluff vs. Jill O'Cure. (1d20+10=29) Standard Action: Attack Jill O'Cure. (1d20+12=26) Jill O'Cure Acrobatics vs. DC 29. (1d20+10=23) Flatfooted! Flat-Footed Toughness Save vs. DC 23. (1d20+4=10) Staggered and Stunned! Blackfire Will Save vs. DC 19. (1d20+6=13) 26 - Guy Fawkes II - Uninjured 25 - Angel - Uninjured 19 - Heka - Uninjured 17 - Diehard - Uninjured - Dimensional Pocket'd! (+1) 16 - Blackfire - Uninjured 10 - Jill O'Cure - Staggered, Stunned 9 - Dragonfly - Uninjured - 1HP

Maintaining her barrier around the wounded security guard with a application of energy and will, Jill gave an outraged yelp as she nimbly avoided the reaching vines. "Hey! If you're gonna hijack a body, you could at least take better care of it, obsidian-for-brains!" the young woman called out, attracting the besieged god before he could capitalize on Nick's capture. "And that outfit!" her brother interjected from Xipe Totec's opposite side, using the sudden foliage as verdant stepping stones to carry him up into the air before lunging at a downward angle with a flurry of unrelenting blows. "Where's a bucket of red paint when you need one, amirite?" he quipped, matching his verbal assault to his physical attack, keeping the immortal from focusing and bringing his full power to bear.

Jack of all Blades - Reflex Saves. (1d20+15=22, 1d20+15=30) Jill O'Cure - Reflex Saves. (1d20+10=30, 1d20+10=18) That should keep them both free, one way or another! Jill O'Cure Free Action: Sustain barrier around the security guard and the alter thing-a-mabob. Standard Action: Auto-DC 30 Taunt w/ Skill Mastery vs. Xipe Totec. Jack of all Blades Move Action: Auto-DC 36 Feint w/ Fast Talk and Skill Mastery vs. Xipe Totec. Standard Action: Energy Sword Flurry; Power Attack 5. (1d20+15=16) HP: Energy Sword Flurry; Power Attack 5; HP reroll. (1d20+15=19) So that's 29, instead, and a DC 30 + Autofire Toughness save.

Reflex Save vs. DC 19. (1d20+5=13) Not so much!

"Runners," Diehard remarked as he watched the pair of young women at the back of the restaurant disappear into the washrooms. Idly picking up the largest piece of wood left over from the destroyed podium, Blackfire flung it with ease into a glass case filled with a decorative display of wine bottles, glass shattering at multiple pitches while liquid cascaded down the wall to pool on the floor. "Not much of a plan, is it?" he mused following the martial artist in that direction. Leaving Fawkes to terrorize the hostages with a sputtering incendiary while Heka muttered to himself under his breath, Angel brought her hoverboard around as she snapped at the less fancifully clad members of her group. "You can't follow them in there!" the debutante insisted. "It's the ladies' room!" As Blackfire paused to regard the pink clad villain for a moment as though trying to discern whether or not she could possibly be serious, Dragonfly and Jill O'Cure burst back into the restaurant's main room. The metamagi medic gestured urgently, a shimmering blue force field appearing around a family seated at their table just in time to deflect a small bomb from Fawkes that bounced upward before exploding to take a chunk out of the ceiling. In the beat of surprised silence that followed, Jill noted that they were outnumbered and divested of the element of surprise. "So..." she began with a smirk, "Who feels like giving up before the severe butt kickings commence?" "Get them!" Angel practically screamed, balling her hands into fists and snapping them angrily to her sides. "Now you're talking sense," Blackfire chuckled darkly as he and Diehard advanced.

Jill - Stealth Check. (1d20+10=16) Fearsome Five - Notice Check. (1d20+10=18, 1d20+10=19, 1d20+15=16, 1d20+8=22, 1d20+12=14) To set the stage, then, Blackfire and Diehard are toward the rear of the restaurant, near the washrooms, while Angel in the middle of everything, floating a couple feet off of the floor while Guy Fawkes II is busy collecting wallets and valuables. Heka is hanging back near what's left of the door basically pouting. I'll get an IC post up reflecting that, then Dragonfly can actually act.

Sounds like to consensus is that Spellbound is still grappled. With her delaying, I'll get the NPCs' actions up shortly. 18 - Crimson Katana - Uninjured - Disarmed 17 - Jack of all Blades - Injured - 5HP, Extra Effort 16 - Geckoman - Bruised - 0HP 16 - Spellbound - Bruised - Fatigued, Delaying 16 - Security Guards - x1 10 - Freebooter - Bruised, Stunned 3 - Robots x5 3 - Katanarchists - x13 3 - Miss Americana - Uninjured - 4HP

Recognizing that his disguise was unsettling to the Gravois family, Midnight did another brief check for surveillance before tapping his belt buckle, causing his costume to once again ripple with morphic molecules as it darkened to pitch black. "Not The Blank," he clarified for them brusquely, even as he seemed to instinctively occupy the shadowiest part of the foyer. "Not a test. Not much time." The young man shifted his uniform back to pristine white before crossing his arms, refraining from adding that the issue was also not open for debate.

26 - Guy Fawkes II - Uninjured 25 - Angel - Uninjured 19 - Heka - Uninjured 17 - Diehard - Uninjured 16 - Blackfire - Uninjured 10 - Jill O'Cure - Uninjured 9 - Dragonfly - Uninjured - 2HP Boo... okay then.

Initiative! Jill - Initiative. (1d20+4=10) Angel - Initiative. (1d20+8=25) Blackfire - Initiative. (1d20+2=16) Heka - Initiative. (1d20+3=19) Diehard - Initiative. (1d20+7=17) Guy Fawkes II - Initiative. (1d20+11=26)

I'll have to check the rules for multiple grapplers. I'll get back to you on that.

Even disguised as The Blank, Midnight slipped into the shadows, avoiding attention from the residents of the area and whenever possible the ever-present surveillance systems. He was confident in his electronic counter-measures, but there was no sense pushing their luck. The entire area put his nerves on edge, a picture perfect image of the American dream by way of the uncanny valley. It reminded him more than a little of the home Rick Lucas had created from his twisted worldview and reality warping powers. Then again, Midnight didn't really care for normal suburbs, either. Clearing his mind, he closed with Caryatid's house and began systematically disabling anything that might give the team difficulty. With that accomplished, he slid back into view and subtly waved the others forward.

"Don't look at me," Ellie protested with mild amusement as she unbuttoned her vest and tossed it atop her bag on the floor. "These things only happen to heroines, not sidekicks." Shimmying out of her khaki pants revealed black tights while she pulled her blouse over her head and added it to the pile along with her bracelets. She was in too much of a rush to make the undressing particularly alluring, but on the upside she was also in too much of a rush to be self-conscious about it, too. Retrieving and slipping on her black top and crimson jacket, she proceeded to tie on the bandanna mask of Jill O'Cure. "Can you toss this stuff in your, uh, 'glove box' for me?" she asked, gathering together the discarded outfit. With that squared away, the medic stepped in closer and ducked under Dragonfly's visor for a quick kiss before nodding back into the restaurant. "Ready?"

"Well, so long as you're offering," Ellie replied agreeably as she leaned forward in her seat, toeing the line between suggestive flirting and legitimate interest in trying her girlfriend's dinner selection. Before she could, however, a sudden explosion rocked their table as the front door of the restaurant was blow open in a burst of fire, smoke and noise. Through the dark cloud and fluttering debris, a figure road in on a silvery, floating surfboard that gleamed in the light of the remaining flames. Clad in a hot pink tube top at least a size too small and a pair of black, baggy cargo pants equally too large, the manically grinning Latina girl threw her hands up in the air as though playing to an adoring crowd and crowed, "Let's make some noise!" "'Let's make some noise'?" a more modulated voice asked in a weary drawl, metal creaking as the new arrival carelessly tossed what was left of the restaurant door into the street with obviously superhuman strength. Tanned with dusty blond hair and a strong jaw, the man looked surprisingly normal in simple brown pants and a cream coloured shirt. "I suppose that's this week's catchphrase then, Angel?" The obscuring cloud blew away in a gust of wind that didn't seem to touch anything else, revealing a bald man with sharp features and a glowering scowl making a terse, arcane gesture. "Pheh," the darkly robed villain scoffed dismissively, brandishing a golden scepter with a jackal head motif. "In my age there was a respect for subtlety, not this... garish spectacle." "Ah, my antediluvian ally, arrest your autogenetic accusations!" A forth member of the bizarre group stepped forward, concealed almost entirely by a heavy black duster and a broad brimmed hat, exposing only a smooth white mask with a moustachioed face painted upon it. He tossed a small, hissing object toward the maître d's podium, sending the hostess fleeing moments before the wooden pedestal was ripped apart by another explosion. "Enough talking," insisted the final figure, a taciturn looking Chinese man in a simple crimson jumpsuit with a black stripe up the legs and down the arms. Although he made no grand display like his peers, his smooth body language and ready posture suggested a trained warrior spoiling for a fight. Despite his body's grace, his dark eyes seemed to almost rattle in their sockets, snapping back and forth between the frightened civilians. At the apex of the group, Angel balled her hands in petulant fists. "It was, Blackfire, until you totally ruined it, gawd! Guy, Diehard, mi bellos, find the till and start collecting wallets," she demanded, pointing the restaurant patrons. "Heka, do your magic thing, or whatever. Give the people a show!" After a brief pause, she snapped at the terrified crowd, "What, you don't have camera phones?!" Against the far wall, Ellie slipped out of her seat and grabbed her bag in one hand and Mara's wrist in the other, dragging the inventor toward the washrooms. "That'd be our cue, Marbar!"

Jack: Initiative. (1d20+9=10) Jill: Initiative. (1d20+4=11) Sooo bad...

"Could knock them out," Midnight suggested absently in his soft, gravelly rumble, his attention focused on monitoring the security systems around them for any red flags they might have inadvertently set off. Gradually becoming aware of the reactions to his off-hand remark, he glanced up. "...as a last resort. Of course." Admittedly, it would probably save a lot of time to abduct Caryatid's family quickly and quietly and explain the situation once they were back on Earth-Prime, but even the pragmatic vigilante agreed that they should at least be given the chance to come on their own first.