Gizmo

Woof, gotta free some points for knowledge skills at some point. Intelligence check. (1d20=11) Not great. For the sake of argument, Vince can use Ultimate Skill to get an automatic 35 on Gather Information, and he's Well Informed. Should Jack just ask the ol' eyes and ears of the Interceptors?

Taking a few steps back from the edge of the warehouse, Jack let his electrical sword dissipate as he gave Force a smile that was all teeth. "You want to get in my head, pretty lady? Well then, let's connect as people!" Springing forward, he sprinted to the end of the roof and launched himself off, soaring through the air directly at the surprised flying criminal. With unerring accuracy, the swashbuckler collided with his target, sending them both plummeting to the ground. As they fell, the acrobat twisted, getting Force under him so that she took the brunt of the damage when they finally landed. Keeping his wits about him despite the violent shudder, he quickly pinned the woman to the pavement, the dangerous grin never leaving his face.

"I'll bet you do, Skippy," Jack replied dismissively. As he led Ace and the young hero out of the garage and to the Underground's hub, the corridor lit up around them. "Hey, Vince, you home?" A seemingly ordinary wall blinked to life as the image of a tourist covered beach appeared. In front of it stood a gregarious man in a loud Hawaiian shirt, bucket hat and sunglasses, with sunscreen covering his nose and a drink with an tiny umbrella in his hand. "No, I'm in Aruba!" the artificial intelligence chuckled, before snapping his fingers. Suddenly he dressed in the suit of a talk show host, leaning on a desk in front of an image of Freedom's skyline. "Where else would I be, Jacko, m'boy? Ooh, company! If I'd known you were coming, I would've baked a cake!" A chef hat appeared on his head for a moment, then was gone just as quickly. "Vth Iteration Networked Computer Entity, at your service, gents!" As he spoke, the words appeared on the screen like the phone number for a telethon. "Or Vince to my friends, which is just about everybody. I'm a very likable guy!" The trio arrived at the base's nerve center, with all of it's readouts and surveillance from around the city. "So, what's the deal, Ace?" Jack asked, turning to the immortal adventurer with his arms crossed.

Jack of all Blades was a bit taken aback when the room's other occupants responded with derision to his suggestion that a pregnant woman not be purposefully placed in harms way, but he shrugged, conceding the point. "Well, you folks are crazy, but I like that," he grinned shamelessly. When the conversation moved back to the formation of a specific plan, the swashbuckler indicated himself, saying, "Well, I make pointy things then stick them in people. Kinda my thang. Should probably stick to that." Pausing to consider for a moment, he continued, "Actually, let me try something." Reaching out with his right hand, he pulled a sliver of the mystic energies surrounding Taylor toward him. It was barely enough for Phantom to even notice, and easily replenished, but once it lazily twisted through the air the the energy manipulator's hand as though carried upon unfelt winds, he was able to stoke it into enough power to shape into a shimmering rapier. Holding it aloft he inspected the sword. It's shape better defined than his usual fare, the blade flickered in and out of sight, mimicking the behaviour of its source. "Ooh, dimension-y," Jack of all Blades remarked.

Despite his foul mood, Jack couldn't help but feel for the heroine. This was devastating news for her, given her career choice, and he regretted the necessity of his ultimatum. He'd suspected her to be a native to the West End, and her familiarity with the Jade Dragon confirmed it as much her open admission. When she mentioned her real name, however, a wave of delayed recognition flowed over him. "Wait. Mona? As in Mona Teymourian?" The fencer placed his face in his hand and grimaced. "Oh, for &^*#$ sake..."

*whistles* Man, Mongrel Angel can really dish out some hurt when she feels like it, huh? Glad we didn't have to skip her turn. Hope things get a little less crazy for you Nyrath! I'll get a post up once Geez makes a ruling on how the whole midair grapple thing is going to work. EDIT: Alright, as I already explained that Jack leaps and tackles Force in midair. Geez said in chat that the grapple succeeds, and they both hit the ground from 30' up. Jack uses Acrobatics at a -5 penalty to reduce that to DC 16, and makes a toughness save: Toughness save vs. DC 16. (1d20+6=19) So he manages to avoid damage. Meanwhile, Force takes DC 18 from the fall unless she can lessen it, and she's now pinned. (Jack can haz 'Pretty Face' complication HP plz?)

The final football player staggered back from the wall, wobbling about on his feet, but remaining upright, looking blearily at Billy. Eric ambled around the fallen Firebirds to stand next to the cowboy, shaking his head. "Jeez, I better put this guy out of his misery before you launch into a stand-up routine." Stepping forward he tapped the confused bruiser on the cheek to get his attention before bringing his fists together on either side of the jock's head. The man dropped to the floor like a stone. Eric turned to those of the starting line-up who were beaten but conscious. "This is the part where you collect your snoozing buddies and make tracks." One of the Firebirds managed to pick himself up off of the floor with some difficulty. "Man, we'll... we'll call the cops on you!" The fencer snorted. "And tell them what? That two guys took out eleven of you putzes? Even if they believe you, good luck ever being taken seriously again." He folded his arms and stared down the jock with an infuriating smirk. After a long moment, the FCC students began lifting their fallen teammates up and making their way out the door. "I'll assume, 'and don't come back,' is implied," Eric called after them. Once they'd left, Tricia ran up to Billy, her hands covering her mouth. "Ohmigawd, that was amazing! You were so fast! You're like a real life cowboy!" Standing nearby, Eric resisted the urge to throw up his hands in exasperation, and moved to begin righting the bar's displaced furniture.

Okay, spending a HP to reroll; rolling a 11 and up is a hit so there you go. Toughness save vs. DC 22. (1d20+3=17) Fails by 5 so he's stunned and bruised. Jack will finish him off with an Unarmed Power Attack 5. (1d20+6=22) Toughness save vs. DC 22. (1d20+2=3) Ha, yeah, he's unconscious.

Eric grimaced at Billy's joke. "That's why you should leave the funny stuff to me, man." The last jock of the group that had been attacking his attempted to grasp the swordsman is a crushing grapple. Nimbly leaping backward and out of the way, Eric launched forward off of a chair to arc over the football player, where a sharp kick to the top of the head was enough to send the heavy college student sprawling to the ground. Landing lightly, Eric indicated the broken table. "Too much collateral damage." The final Firebird charged forward with a roar, intent on knocking Billy off of his feet. The cowboy stepped around him easily, and the football player struggled to regain his balance.

One of the remaining Firebirds tries to grapple Jack - Initiate grapple. (1d20+3=15) - but fails. The other one charges Colt - Charge. (1d20+5=10) - and is similarly disappointed. Jack makes an Unarmed Power Attack. (1d20+6=16) Toughness save vs. DC 22. (1d20+3=12) His target is Stunned and Staggered.

Toughness save vs. DC 18. (1d20+3=8) Fails by 10, Staggered and Stunned. And all of the sudden it's 2 on 2! I'll have Jack act once you make your IC post.

He could pin her, but I'm not sure if that would have any effect on her mental powers. I think what he wants to do is knock her to the ground and continue to grapple. If we're waiting much longer, is there some kind of policy of skipping a player's turn? Can the GM control the character for a round or something?

Feint save vs. DC 30. (1d20=5) Fails. Grapple check. (1d20+6=21) Fails. Toughness save vs. DC 17. (1d20+3=7) Fails by 10, stunned and staggered. I'm going to say to hit another guy you need to make a ranged attack roll; if it hits, I guess the DC is 18, since these guys have +3 Toughness.

Swinging off of the car's roof, Jack landed lightly beside Ace. The acrobat tiled his head questioningly. "You're saying there's something strange? In my neighbourhood? Good thing you knew who to call," he deadpanned. Jack regarded the young man for a moment as the immortal adventurer introduced him. Looks less like an 'Edge' than a 'Blunt', he observed wryly. The teen hero seemed fairly normal to the swashbuckler's energy awareness as well, though the ambient energies around him seemed oddly less random. When Edge spoke, Jack thought he caught an echo of rolling dice, and there was faint aftertaste to his presence the older hero couldn't place. Magic, perhaps? There were so many specific types it was often hard to tell. Considering, he turned back to Ace. "Well, Colt and Grim are probably out, but we could swing by the Underground. I'll lead you to the garage entrance; between the car and the Caped Crusader, we might draw some unwanted attention pulling up in front."

"Bill, you're so naive," Eric sighed as cowboy's target took a hardwood chair to the face. "These are football players at a community college. They don't take classes." As their teammates fell to the floor like flies, the remaining Firebirds became increasingly desperate, swinging wildly at the amused pair. One of them recovered from him attack just in time to see Eric's fist coming straight at his mouth, but there was nothing he could do but stagger back to collapse across a table as the blow connect solidly. The fencer shook his hand out. "Sheesh, hard head."

Toughness check vs. DC 24. (1d20+3=4) Ooh, and he goes down hard! Alright, there's only five of them left now. They get desperate and all attack normally, two against Eric and three against Billy. 8, 13, 18, 15 and 10 No hits. This is not terribly surprising. Jack Feints, then swings. Feint save vs. DC 26 (1d20=20) The jock actually makes it, but Unarmed Power Attack 5. (1d20+6=16) Jack hits anyway. Toughness save vs. DC 22. (1d20+3=8) Fails by 14, that's another one Stunned and Staggered. 4 to go!

Sorry, quote, but Nyrath still hasn't gone as Mongrel Angel for this turn. Jack will go after her. For the sake of argument, though, he'll use Acrobatics with Skill Mastery to add to his jump distance, then extra effort to double that, reaching Force. Grapple Check. (1d20+16=35) I'd guess that's successful, but I'm not sure what my options are with them both up in the air now. Can Force support Jack's extra weight or what?

You're attack the guy who's already staggered? Harsh! I'm just going to have the staggered guys give up; these aren't supper villains, after all. You want to attack one of the healthy guys instead? DC 24 sounds good to me. Let's just go with that.

"You guys have to remember, you're not just embarrassing yourselves here," Eric admonished the jocks as the remaining Firebirds joined the ruckus. "You're representing your school, even the city!" The Firebird Billy had easily sidestepped around went down with a groan, trying in vain to steady himself with a barstool. His teammates swarmed the swashbuckler and cowboy, coming at them from every side. Even so, their combined efforts meant nothing to the two Interceptors, who avoided their blows almost casually. Their numbers and close grouping offered Eric some interesting options, however. His arms shot forward, catching two of the football players upside the head, and he forced their skulls together with a mighty crack. The teammates' head rebounded off of each other, and they collapsed in a heap atop their quarterback, unconscious. "So much for school spirit, huh?"

With Power Attack, that should be +9, but 21 is still more than enough to hit. Firebird Toughness save. (1d20+3=12) Fails by 10, Staggered and Stunned like his pal. Okay, the remaining six guys make it to our heroes, so they're not outnumbered 4 to 1! Oh noes! The football players wise up and use Aid to grant some attack bonus: The guys attacking Eric all make their Aid checks, so the forth guy gets +6 to attack! It's not enough to hit ol' Eric, though: Unarmed attack. (1d20+10=16) Same deal with the guys attacking Billy: They make their Aid checks, then one Unarmed attack. (1d20+10=13) Colt mocks their attempts. Right, Jack's gonna dish out another Feint at DC 26, Firebird fails: Feint Save DC 26 (1d20=14). Unarmed Power Attack 5. (1d20+6=21) Hits, natch, so Toughness save vs. DC 22. (1d20+3=5) Fails by 17, unconcious. That means Jack get's a free Takedown Attack against the next Firebird! Unarmed Power Attack. (1d20+6=26) Crit! That's DC 27! Toughness Save vs. DC 27. (1d20+3=12) Fails by 15, also unconscious. Sweet. After all of that, Billy's up. 3 unconscious Firebirds, 2 staggered and 6 still up and swinging.

"Not just fire, kid, but you're on the right track." Jack managed to successfully suppress a grimace. Knew that charity boxing thing was a bad idea, he groused to himself. After years of purposefully keeping a low profile, he'd gotten cocky and started making his presence known in the city at large. 'Famous' he says. You just know that's going to bite me in the butt sooner or later. Looking past the enthusiastic youth, Jack addressed Ace. "So, Skippy the Boy Wonder here aside, what's up?" Glancing down the street, he added, "Eyes on the road, though, huh?"

Ace's Aston Martin had only just started into the West End when something landed on its roof with a loud thump. The mystery was quickly resolved as the masked face of Jack of all Blades swung down into the passenger window, the tails of his bandanna dangling below his as they flapped in the wind. "Sup, Ace? Looking for someone?" The acrobat quirked an eyebrow as he noticed Edge. "Nice costume, kid. Is this one of those 'World War II team gets sent to future, has a brawl with the current heroes' sorta things?"

The quarterback hit the floor hard, out cold. Tricia let out a small squeak as the rest of the Firebirds paused for a moment in shock. The player who had been sitting next to Paul snarled. "Get 'em!" The four jocks who had been sitting on the side of the tables closer to the door rushed forward while the rest of the bar's patrons began to flee to the exit. The bartender bucked behind the bar and the remaining six players quickly maneuvered out from behind their tables. The Firebirds tried to use their superior numbers to their advantage, with two jumping at Eric and another pair attacking Billy. Reflexes sharpened through actual, deadly combat put football field tactics to shame, however, and the Interceptors easily stepped around the clumsy swings. "I know I should feel bad about this," Jack smirked as he drove the palm of his hand into the nose of one of his opponents. The jock staggered back clutching his face, blood running between his fingers. "But it's a little bit hilarious," the swashbuckler concluded.

Okay, I screwed up the formatting on the rolls a bit, but the gist is two of them attack Eric with combined attack, and two attack Bill, same deal. They all miss. Eric pulls a move action Feint at DC 26 on the first attacker, who fail his save badly. Eric takes a swing at him: Unarmed attack. (1d20+11=21) That hits, DC 17, Toughness save. (1d20+3=4). Fails by 13, Staggered and Stunned.

Toughness save. (1d20+3=8) No, he is not. That fails by 19. He's unconscious.