Raveled

Blue Jay was almost at the bottom of the Curator's throne when the lights when down. She drew another computronium-tipped arrow and looked around the room, checking for any intruders. "I thought it was already dead!" she shouted. The archer ran for a nearby outcropping of metal, crouching behind the cover and keeping her eyes on the walls and ceiling. Mr. Archer loved to throw attacks at students from unexpected angles, when training in the Doom Room: blasts from turrets concealed behind false walls, floors turning into deadfalls, cover revealing itself as another enemy. She didn't believe the Curator could do anything that Archer hadn't prepared her for, but that didn't mean she didn't feel a little thrill of adrenaline.

MIND CHANGED by GIZMO Starlight :arrow: Changed Power Description to contain new power. :arrow: Added a Complication, Shapeshifter Baggage. :arrow: 1 PP into Feats. Buying Startle. :arrow: 2 PP into Powers. Putting the bigger Morph into an array, the Gruen Array; adding Mind Reading + Drain (Will) as APs. Buying Snare as an AP on her Mystic Light array. MIND CHANGED by GIZMO

GM Dr Smythe sneered at the archer. "You will know the name soon, trust me little girl. Soon all the world will realize the genius of Doctor Sydney Smythe!" She reached into her lab coat and pulled out a compact pistol with a canister attached at the back. She fired at Blue Jay, and the heroine ducked the attack, rolling for cover behind a wooden support beam. Smythe backed up and into the boat; with one hand she kept a steady suppressing fire up and with the other she cast off and cranked up the engine, maneuvering the boat out to more open waters.

Smythe She's making her escape! :O

:wth: :derp: Although it's kind of amazing that four of the ten names are folks who aren't even around anymore. C'mon Ecal, you only need ~150 posts to knock durf off the list!

Blue Jay appeared in a crouch, arrow nocked and half drawn, already turning to find a target. But because the teleport had disoriented her (and why die they always do that?) she nearly tripped over her own feet. As it was she managed to stay upright by grabbing Shepard's arm. Feeling more than a little embarrassed, Jay regarded Stratos with more than a little suspicion. The man had been a help before, but he had also been completely off his rocker and got distracted attacking a statue. Instead the young archer cut a wide path around him, approaching the Curator's throne. She climbed the stairs, not taking her eyes off the slumped, humanoid form in the chair. "So is he... already dead?" She bent her head to look the machine in its three eyes. Then, quick as a flash, she had one of her computronium-tipped arrows in hand and rammed it into the robot's left-most eye socket. "Good." She backed down off the stairs, never taking her eyes off the seated figure. "Now. Now you can do whatever else it is you want."

Fortune favored the Bee-Keeper, and his sticky honey struck the rotors' hub. Almost immediately they seized, and the forward momentum of the auto-gyro began to become downward momentum. In fact, one might almost say it was falling.. Thankfully Ironclad noticed the wrinkle in the plan and routed power to her suit's servo muscles, hauling back on the steel line in her hand. The aircraft swung on the line like a pendulum, swinging below Cunningham's nullification unit and smashing nose-first into a tree! Ironclad parted the cable with another wrench and, holding them apart, lowered both pieces to the ground. Inside the cockpit, the Sky Lord struggled against his restraints, one arm bent back on itself in a sickening manner. "Foolish, interfering children," he grumbled as he beat back flames with his good hand. "I should never have tried to... tried toooooooawwwwwNNNNNN!" Ironclad had started towards the cockpit but stopped herself as the flames rose and the old man's face literally melted, revealing a skull of burnished steel. The Sky Lord had been nothing more than a robot? He must have made the switch back at the base -- maybe it had never even been him in the auto-gyro at all! Cunningham moaned in his cell and Ironclad turned to him, forcing speculation about duplicate supervillains out of her head. "I'm getting... a headache," Cunningham said, clutching his bloody temple. Ironclad met Bee-Keeper's eyes (or as best she could when her own face was a blank metal mask) and the pair took ahold of the tube once more, hauling it into the sky and making a beeline to Blackstone. Ironclad phoned ahead and federal agents were waiting at the dock to accept their burden. The armored heroine exchanged a few words with the head guard and turned away from the imposing black edifice, suppressing a shudder. There but for the grace of God, after all... She led Bee-Keeper back into the city and set down on the top of the WNRQ building. Her helmet folded away and Jessica let the cold air blow past her face for a long minute. Finally she turned and extended a hand to the Bee-Keeper. "Thank you," she said. "This entire thing took entirely too long, but without your help, it could have gone a lot worse." She remembered the portal in the forest, pulsing with energy waiting to destroy the world, and shook her head. "A whole lot worse." She took a deep breath and smiled, forcing such gloomy thoughts from her mind. "But! All's well that ends well, right?"

:facepalm: You're right. Smythe is up next, which means nothing will happen until tomorrow.

Berserker's Toughness save, vs DC 25. (1d20+11=18) Daze (Again!) + Bruisex2. Kit's up.

"I've had experience," Ironcald retorted, dancing out of melee range. "Which is something you can't program into a robot. Trust me, I tried." She fired her thrusters and rose into the air. "Besides, stealing the VES units is still taste. Of course, if someone just told you to, I guess that just makes you a high-powered thug." She fired a blast from her wrist blaster, but Kobalos managed to dodge out the way of it. "An annoyingly agile thug. Stand still and get hit, dammit. You know how this is going to end!"

Ironclad Ironclad's going to fly up to the ceiling and blast Kobalos. Ironclad's ranged attack roll w/ +3 All-Out Attack, vs Kobalos's Def. DC 27 Tou (1d20+15=20) Doubt that'll hit. Ironclad's Def is down to 14 total.

Tona cleared her throat. "Actually, I'd like to hear stories about growing up in New Freedom." She looked at the others around the firelight and shrugged. "There were any superpowers around where I grew up. I want to hear what's it's like growing up where everyone has them." That wasn't technically true. There had been plenty of superpowers in the Terminus, but most of them had been on the side of the Annhilists and Omega. Tona's own mother had been more than human, but Tona had only had a few years to appreciate that before she died.

As the Sky Lord flew off in a rush of rotors, the gun attached to the belly of his flying machine swiveled back and tried to lay down some kind of suppressing fire on the two heroes. However the range and the fact that both were pretty much bullet-proof meant that it was almost completely ineffectual, and moments later Ironclad sprang into the air, jetting after the auto-gyro. "No way you're escaping with Cunningham," Ironclad said. "BK didn't talk him down just for you to lock him up in another one of your lairs!" She grabbed the steel cord tethering the containment unit to the machine and gave it a hard yank. The auto-gyro fell several inches and cable spool was pulled out of the guts of the machine another inch or so, but neither were coming down after only one attack.

Sky Lord He has access to everything a military helicopter has. He'll walk the Autofire Blast between Ironclad and Bee-Keeper: I'll assume they're three square apart, so -3 on his attack in total. Sky Lord's attack check, vs Ironclad & Bee-Keeper's Def. DC 21 Tou + Autofire (1d20+5=15) He misses. Ironclad She'll fly up and try to snap the cable connecting the auto-gyro and Cunningham's tube. Ironclad's melee attack, vs cable. DC 27 Tou. (1d20+12=20) Does not hit. Spending HP to reroll, but no need to do the actual roll because any result would be a hit. Cable's Toughness save, vs DC 27. (1d20+10=22) So it is Dazed + Injured. Sky Lord's Ini (1d20=9) Initiative 24 Bee-Keeper -- Uninjured -- HPx3 9 Sky-Lord -- Uninjured -- GM 8 Ironclad -- Bruisex2 -- HPx2 ?? Cable -- Dazed (8) + Injuryx1 -- Inanimate Object Bee-Keeper's up.

Starlight's expression didn't change on the journey down. It helped that she had settled back into her default stance of only having eyes. She tried not to stare at every agent they passed, but it was hard -- not because she was planning to infiltrate AEGIS HQ, but to take her mind off all the technology that was doubtless in those walls. She could just imagine what kind of scanners a super-spy agency packed its buildings with, and how they would react to having a Grue in their midst. In a way, reaching Director Powers's office was a relief. If they were going to attack her, they probably wouldn't have let her get this close to the man in charge. Starlight formed lips and a mouth to join the conversation. "Any information AEGIS can provide about these terrorists is appreciated, obviously," she said, "but it should be understood that we are not working for you."

Jay followed Samran across the floor, stepping back in shock when the cabinet rose straight up from the floor. She frowned at the black spheres inside, like super-sized dust balls, before taking one and holding it in her hand. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, then let the breath out slowly. For a moment she swayed on her feet; in that moment the young woman felt all the stress and questions and tension of the last few days on her shoulders, and all she wanted to do was collapse. But she knew she couldn't, so after allowing herself that indulgence she steeled herself and opened her eyes again. "Okay then." She stuffed the black ball in a convenient pocket. "How is this going to work? Who do I have to kill."

Tagged.

Thanks to her three hundred and sixty degree vision, Ironclad actually got to see the human-looking figure de-cloak behind her, before the fist slammed into her back. The layers of metal held beautifully, though, and she turned with ease to catch the follow-up blow on her arm. "Ironclad, mark 6. Top of the line armor." The combat bot's other arm whipped around and Ironclad caught it, as well. "Designed by me. Produced by Dawes Tech." The servos worked and began forcing Kobalos's arms down to his side. "Still, I should thank you for the vote of confidence. You stole from the very best." And her head whipped forward, the bare metal of the helmet meeting the built-in glasses with a crack. "You're just not good enough to get away with it."

Ironclad Standard Action: PAWNCH! Ironclad's melee attack, vs Kobalos's Def. DC 27 Tou (1d20+12=13) ... And another reroll! Ironclad's melee attack, vs Kobalos's Def. DC 27 Tou. Reroll (1d20+12=29) Now that's more like it.

Ironclad's Toughness save, vs DC 30. (1d20+17=22) That's not acceptable, Ironclad. Ironclad's Toughness save, vs DC 30. Reroll (1d20+17=20) Ironclad, it it weren't for the reroll bonus, you would be sitting in the corner.

Blod's up.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP) Trade-Offs: +3 Att/-3 DC, +3 Def/-3 Tou Abilities: 14 + 10 + 14 + 2 + 4 + 4 = 48PP Strength: 24 (+7) Dexterity: 20 (+5) Constitution: 24 (+7) Intelligence: 12 (+1) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat: 14 + 16 = 30PP Initiative: +9 Attack: +7 melee, +7 ranged, +13 Unarmed Grapple: +32/+24/+20 Defense: +13 (+8 Base, +5 Dodge Focus), +4 Flat-Footed Knockback: -3 Saving Throws: 2 + 5 + 5 = 12PP Toughness: +7 (+7 Con) Fortitude: +7 (+7 Con, +2) Reflex: +10 (+5 Dex, +5) Will: +7 (+2 Wis, +5) Skills: 52R = 13PP Bluff 15 (+17)Skill Mastery Intimidate 15 (+17)Skill Mastery Notice 10 (+12)Skill Mastery Sense Motive 10 (+12)Skill Mastery Stealth 12 (+17) Feats: 30PP Accurate Attack All-Out Attack Attack Specialization (Unarmed) 3 Challenge (Fast Feint, Fast Taunt, Fast Startle) Defensive Attack Dodge Focus 5 Elusive Target Evasion Improved Grab Improved Grapple Improved Initiative Improved Pin Luck Move-By Action Power Attack Prone Fighting Redirect Skill Mastery (Bluff, Intimidate, Notice, Sense Motive) Startle Takedown Attack Taunt Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Powers: 9 + 2 + 2 + 4 = 17pp God Hand Array (7PP, Feat: Alternate Power 2) [9PP] BE: Autofire to Unarmed Attack 7 (Thousand Hand Punch) AP: Penetrating to Unarmed Attack 7 (Punch to the Soul) AP: Super-Strength 3 (Str 49 Feat: Attack Specialization [Grapple]) (Iron Grip) Leaping 2 (x5, move action) [2PP] Speed 2 (25 MPH) [2PP] Super-Strength 2 (Str 34) [4PP] Abilities (48) + Combat (30) + Saving Throws (12) + Skills (13) + Feats (30) + Powers (17) - Disadvantages (0) = 150/150 PP Comic books are lousy with martial artists, and why not? Martial arts is cool-looking, the moves have awesome names, and it lends an air of mystique to a character's backstory to say they trained in India or Patagonia or Tibet for thirty years. Lastly, it provides a good reason for how the Bat can take down many, many bad guys with guns. However most martial arts are rooted in Eastern traditions, so when you take a white character and make him the shining example of a non-white culture you run into unfortunate tropes. So here we have a thoroughly Western martial artist using a thoroughly Western martial art: Boxing! This is a man who fights with his fists, who may not be able to do backflips like an acrobat but who can punch you through a wall or punch right through your defenses. He can even reach deep into himself to perform great feats of strength -- like lifting a rail car or supporting an entire building. He can run faster than a car and in a few leaps could clear the tallest buildings in the city. He can take hits like a tank and dish them back out, and people trying to fight him in his mind or poison his body directly will be disheartened to learn that years of training have left them rock-hard. How would a person like this get their superpowers? Well Western martial arts don't stress the mystical/religious underpinnings that some Eastern martial arts do, but the concept is the same for any Eastern-empowered martial artist. This is an individual who has pushed past the limits of merely human endurance and merely human limitations, to become something truly extraordinary.

The crack was indeed audible and the huge man stumbled back, pinwheeling his arms. He fell and landed on his rump, but in seconds he was back on his feet, eyes fixed on Crimson Tiger. Whatever was keeping him in the fight was letting him bounce back from these blows far too quickly. One room deeper, Blue Jay dropped through the hole and into the under-side dock. The blonde whirled, still carrying one of the styrofoam cases. Jay drew and loosed in one smooth motion, knocking the case to the ground and spilling open; many tiny vials, some capped red while others were blue and still more were purple, fell into the mud. "I suggest you hold really still," she said to the other woman. "Unless you have something that can reverse what you gave the caveman that's fighting my friends right now." For her part, the blonde looked more angry than scared. "You idiot little girl! Do you know vhat you have done? Who I am!?" Jay nocked another arrow and cocked her head to the side. "Would I care if I did know?" The blonde pulled herself up haughtily. "I! Am ze the genius Doctor Sydney Smythe!" Jay paused, shrugged, and drew the bow to extension. "So no then."

Berserker's Recovery check, vs DC 10. (1d20+8=16) That's Staggered (the worst condition) down. Blue Jay Move Action: Drop down the hole. Standard Action: Disarm action. Blue Jay's ranged attack check, vs Smythe's flat-footed Def. DC 20 + Autofire (1d20+15=31) That will hit, and full Autofire means it's a check of 25. Smythe only has a Str of 10 so she can't make the check. The box goes bouncing, wee! Kit's up.

Berserker's Toughness save vs DC 24. (1d20+11=13) Daze refreshes + Staggered.