Gizmo

September 12, 2009 Ellie Espadas awoke to the sound of the pager hidden under her pillow vibrating softly. She shook off her weariness; a quick glance at her alarm clock confirmed that it was nearly midnight. Dressing quickly in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, she grabbed her black bag of medical supplies and quietly stepped into the back yard of her family's modest home in Freedom City's West End, careful not to wake her mother. Outside, propped up against their fence, she found the battered form of her brother. Erik had removed his mask and wig, leaving them in a pile atop his greatcoat. His black body suit didn't show any undue wear, but blood stained his face and Ellie could tell by the way that he was breathing that his ribs were causing him considerable pain. The younger Espadas moved swiftly to his side, and began gently examining his head. "What'd you do, headbutt a brick wall?" she asked exasperatedly. The injured superhero gave a hacking chuckle, regretting it immediately as his mouth filled with blood. Spitting it out onto the grass, he turned back to his sister. "Just about, only replace 'brick wall' with 'Captain Knievel's fist.'" Ellie raised an eyebrow as she checked for signs of a concussion under the short, dusty brown hair that matched the shade of her shoulder length locks, left out of their customary ponytail in her haste. "Oh, wonderful," she said dryly. "Isn't he that nutso 'roid-rage freak who escaped from his own trial? I thought he'd disappeared." "Apparently he's back," Erik replied with a grimace, "and 'roid-ragier than ever. Robbing a 7-11 with some thugs. Took out the help and got the cashier away safe, but..." He gestured at his injuries with frustration, coughing again with a wince. "I mean, laser whip? Who has a laser whip?" he asked indignantly. "Captain Knievel, I gather," Ellie deadpanned as she snapped her bag open and rummaged through her medical supplies. A pair of small bandages dealt with the most severe scrapes on her brother's face, and a cold pack wrapped in a dishcloth saw to any swelling. "Shirt," she demanded tersely. When Erik gave her a reluctant look, the seventeen-year-old rolled her eyes. "Suck it up, tough guy." Leaning forward, the swordsman undid the snaps along his back to his waist, stiffly pulling the top of his body suit over his arms to lie in his lap. The revealed torso was marked with numerous scars of varying length, some faint enough to be all but invisible in the dim light, others a puckered white. Ellie quickly examined Erik's ribs, ignoring his strangled protests. "Well, it doesn't look like anything's broken, just bashed up a bit. Take something for the pain and use that heating muscle cream I gave you. More importantly, take a couple of bloody nights off, you maniac." She gave her sibling a stern glare as he helped him to his feet. "No can do, sis," Erik grunted as he stood."Gotta get back out there, gotta keep training." He recited the words like a mantra, and Ellie wondered if he was addressing her or himself. "Right, because the city can't possibly do without your amazing services," the young woman snapped angrily, immediately regretting it. She had long since come to terms with Erik's almost compulsive need to use his abilities to battle crime, but as his sister and as a prospective medical student she knew he was pushing himself too hard, and risked burning out. For his part, Erik only shook his head determinedly. "I didn't stop the bad guy, but if I hadn't been there, that cashier might have taken this beating instead." He forced his battered frame to shrug. "Just 'cause you can't get everything right doesn't mean you shouldn't do what you can, you know?" After a few steps, he stumbled, almost tumbling to the ground before Ellie caught his arm and righted him. His sister gave Eric a flat look as she helped him gradually make his way inside. "Alright, so maybe one night off."

Alright, everybody sound off if you're still interested. I'm thinking this could take place on September 22nd or so, unless anyone has other threads they need to 'schedule' around. Once we know everybody's on board, I'll put the threads up, and link to them here.

Alright, how about this: the Captian is working on recruiting a small army of thugs, right? What if the heroes run into each other while cleaning out a few punks, like a chop-shop or something, just in time for the boss (Knievel) to show up and make a big enough commotion to attract Zealot's attention?

So, Jack, Leon Mighty and Mongrel Angel against the Captain and Zealot? Sounds fun! Does that work for everybody? Do either of the villains have something they could be up to in the West End, or shall we just go with wacky-coincidence-plot?

Jack let out a low whistle. The tavern patrons' reaction to his powers had given the swashbuckler suspicions, but seeing the recognizable heroes, albeit in setting-appropriate garb, cinched it: this clearly wasn't a matter of time travel. It could be an parallel world, but he'd have expected the journey to be less shifty and more portaly. Then again, perhaps Captain Knievel had simply hit him in the head harder than he'd realized. Scratching his chin, Jack admitted to himself that he was unlikely to make much headway figuring things out on his own. It didn't take a genius to recognize the tournament as an analogue for Freedom League auditions, however. Centurion, alive and raising a group of heroes to fight an invading army was uncomfortably familiar as well. "Terminus..." he breathed softly. Jack knew he was jumping to conclusions, but it was a worrying possibility nevertheless. Making his way into the throng of people waiting to be admitted into the castle, Jack took stock of his fellows. Many of them seemed to be acting as though this were all quite natural, just as the villagers had. How could he tell if any of them had retained their memories as he had? After a moment he shrugged, resolving to meet the problem head-on. "Oy!" he shouted, getting as much attention as he could. "Right, show of hands, if I were to make an American Idol crack about this whole audition thing, who'd get the reference?"

Groovy! There's a couple ways we could go with this; the two obvious options are teaming up to stop a crime or having an obligatory misunderstanding-fueled fight. Any ideas or preferences? Jack'll want a rematch with the Captain at some point, quote, maybe even soon, but give the guy a chance to heal from the last beating, eh? Having a group of low/non-powered heroes go up against the meta-hating Knievel seems like it could be pretty interesting, though!

"...buh?" Jack noted as he got a better look at his surroundings. He stood up straight and let the flaming sword in his hand evaporate as the words of the tavern patrons registered. "I am pretty terrific," he agreed amicably, tossing the startled serving girl a roguish grin. "Such a vision alone has made my journey well worthwhile," he said, bowing deeply in her direction, flourishing his greatcoat for effect. Straightening, he turned back to the barkeep who had spoken earlier. "But a tournament, as well? Truly fate smiles! I implore you, good sir, speak more of this!" The swashbuckler moved to sit at the bar next to the man who had been impressed by his sword. If this had something to do with the so-called 'Tournament of Suits' the other Jacks had mentioned, he might be in far more danger than he'd first thought. Such a widespread effect seemed beyond Jakken Staff's abilities, but magic, the hero had learned, could be funny like that.

As Knievel faded into the distance, Jack wavered back and forth on his feet, raising a shaky finger in the villain's direction. "Yeah, y' bett' run," he slurred, then promptly collapsed on the ground. An uncertain amount of time later, the swashbuckler sat up with a groan, head pounding. That could have gone better, he reflected, wiping his bloody mouth with the back of his hand. Rising stiffly to his feet, Jack of all Blades began to stagger back towards the West End. He'd become lazy, he realized, made overconfident by his easy victories over petty crooks and thugs. Knievel might be a musclebound lummox with atrocious bantering technique, but he'd trained himself to the peak of human conditioning, and learned to use his weapon to devastating effect. If Jack wanted to be more than a neighbourhood watch member in a silly outfit, he'd have to follow suit. "I'ma go all Inigo Montoya on him next time," the swordsman muttered aloud. After a long pause, he added, "Really shoulda picked up some aspirin while I was at the gas station..."

Yeah, that works for me. Jack needed a reason to step up his game and start making some allies in the hero community. Plus it gives me a chance to do some posts in his news tread with his sister, the medic. It's been an honour being pummeled by-- I mean, working with you.

Jack was barely aware of the punch, only noticing numbly that unconsciousness was threatening to close in around him. He dimly recognized the coppery taste of blood as it trickled out the corner of his mouth, then the sudden jolt of colliding with the store window followed quickly by the pavement outside. He struggled to his feet, lampposts creating bright blurs in eyes that refused to focus.

Yeah, it comes down to a character concept thing, really. He's supposed to avoid getting hit all together. A hefty supply of Villain Points took that strategy out, no doubt. Toughness save against DC 29. (1d20=16) Fails by a whopping 13. Staggered and stunned for another turn.

Well, I suspect that will just about do it, but for accuracy's sake, does being stunned cost Jack his Defensive Roll bonus to Toughness even with Uncanny Dodge? I know he's already taking -1 from being bruised.

Consider Jack sufficiently 'ouched'!

"Y'say... 'ass'... t'm'ch," Jack croaked as the whip tightened painfully. "W'ss tha'... 'bout...?" Further comments were cut short as the air was forced painfully from his lungs. Jack's mind and vision crackled with white noise.

"Oh, you won't be outmatched," he says. "It'll be interesting!" he says. Yeah, shockingly that doesn't go well: Grapple check vs. 40. (1d20+7=23) Followed swiftly by: Toughness save against DC 28. (1d20+5=21) That fails by 7, so Jack's stunned as well as bruised, correct?

Like the man said: "Well, nertz."

"You're going to shove my ass... up my ass?" Jack asked, deadpan. "I don't think that's antomi-hkk!" The hero had thought he'd avoided the glowing tendril, but at the last second it snapped out and encircled him. Struggling did nothing against the crippling strength of the energy whip, and it took everything Jack had to keep it from strangling him on the spot. Energy whip... he thought dimly. Usually when he formed his blades he just skimmed an imperceptible amount from an available source, using his own abilities to coax it into enough power to suit his needs. If he could reach out to Knievel's bizarre gauntlet and pull as much energy as he could from the device, however, he just might have a chance against the weakened whip. It was a long shot, but the only plan he had. As the villain jeered, Jack raised his empty hand, waving to get Knievel's attention. Slowly and deliberately he produced a gesture which made his opinion of the Captain's trash talk crystal clear. With the blond man so distracted, Jack let the electrical sword in his other hand crackle out of existence and used every drop of power he could muster to connect to the energy in the cannon and pull. He felt the connection for a brief moment and mentally cheered. Then, almost without a thought, Knievel flicked his arm away, and the link was abruptly severed. Jack's expression fell. "Well... nertz..." he sputtered.

Yeah, Power Attack is definitely going on the shopping list, but with Jack's lousy ranged attack, I guess I'll pass for the time being. Well, it's not much of a plan, but it's the only one I've got, unfortunately. Time to go down swingin'! So, using extra effort to create the Drain 5 effect, then I'll make a Bluff check to Feint as a move action. (1d20+14=24), then spend my sole Hero Point to reroll: Feint reroll. (1d20.minroll(11)+14=34). Finally I'll make a Ranged attack against the Adrenaline Cannon. (1d20+7=25), with a Reflex DC of 15. Give me a sec and I'll have all of that up in the IC.

Alright. Woo, tight spot. Sorry to further hold things up, but I've got one more question. Considering that it has the Projection extra, is there any way to attack or target the laser whip itself? UP makes it sound like it's pretty much invulnerable.

Ah, but he's being grappled by the laser whip! That's the energy he's draining. Since it's an Elongation AP I assume the whip extends all the way from the cannon itself, right? Jack is effectively in contact with what he'd be targeting with Drain.

Alright, so, Intimidation countered. Now the grapple check: Grapple check vs. 46. (1d20+8=9). ...well, nuts. Toughness check, then. Oh my goodness: Toughness save against DC 23. (1d20+5=25)! Jack steps up! Alright, then, let's try this. Jack uses extra effort to add an Alternate Power. Since he creates his energy swords by pulling energy from his surroundings, he'll focus that as a Drain effect targeting Knievel's Adrenaline Cannon. Now, I'm looking at UP, and it says Drain can effect a Device, but I'm not sure if it needs the Affects Objects extra or not, given the descriptors. I don't want to drain the cannon's Toughness, but the Strike ranks and, by extension, its APs. I'm also not sure what save gets used, since the Captain isn't being targeted personally. Thoughts?

Woof. Alright, first thing's first: does Intimidate count as a 'fear effect' for the purposes of the Fearless feat? Seems like it should but the rules are a little vague.

Hey folks! A big part of Jack of all Blade's character is his commitment to his community. I was wondering if there were any other characters based in the West End or who might be passing through; Jack's looking to make some friends and/or enemies! I'd like to get a thread going with a few low or non-powered, street-level characters; sort of a Marvel Knights kind of thing. Of course, if you're playing an immortal wielder of terrible, primordial forces who hangs out in Jack's neck of the woods, that could work too!

Alright, with Uncanny Dodge Jack should keep his dodge bonus even when he's flat-footed, which puts his Defense at 25, just enough to get out of the way. This round he moves closer to the Captain and Taunts (1d20+19=29) him, adopting a defensive stance for a +2 dodge bonus. Bonus points for the Blood, Sweat & Tears reference!

Jack set the cashier down just in time to shift out of the path of a blistering column of fire. He gritted his teeth as the hot air assaulted his senses. "Dirty pool, Lucretia!" he called out as the terrified civilian fled out the door. The swashbuckler stepped further into the store, following Knievel down the aisle and closing to just short of melee range. "I'd heard you were afraid of metas, but come on!" Jack taunted with a scornful grin. He beckoned the big man forward but shifted his weight to leap out of the way of any attack.