Raveled

Starlight filed the bit of information about the voice away. Penitent seemed very at home with his unusual form, and it didn't seem plausible that he would try to disguise his voice without trying to disguise the rest of himself. "I am sorry to hear about your partner," she offered. "The Peni -- the demon guy ran away after your back-up arrived? Did he ever mention why he wanted this Chico Aguerra? What did Chico do, exactly, to get arrested?"

Once the portal was sealed, Ironclad had replaced the suit's power plant on her back, but had yet to reattach the lines and reinitialize it; at the moment she was still running on minimal power. She frowned at Captain Mirta's announcement. For someone that doesn't have much time for Earth's heroes, she thought, he's sure free with the medals once it's all over. She looked at the alien who had been at the heart of the matter. "Don't treat him too harshly," she advised. "He was merely following the spirit of scientific inquiry. But on the same hand," she added, shifting her gaze to the captain, "be careful down there. Terminus radiation isn't something you want to take lightly." She rolled her shoulders and started walking towards the cargo bay's exit. If she had to deal with Admiral Kalf again, she wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Starlight touched down, walking through the rubble until she stood over Finnegan. After a moment she bent over, sitting on her haunches so that her face was level with his. "Because you had power," she said, "and you abused it. Perhaps you could have brought freedom, but instead you brought a different brand of tyranny, a different face under the same crown. Now, you will tell us where the rest of your weapons are stockpiled so that we may destroy those as well."

Nothing new. Existing companies with this sort of capability? The Lab, ASTRO Labs, ArcheTech, WHO... The only connection seems to be that they all take public transportation to work. WHO keeps samples of most of the bugs currently wrecking havoc, so someone could hypothetically steal a sample of those. Recently though, there is a researcher up at Tufts Medical College that has hypothesized a metavirus that could hypothetically disguise itself as any given virus or bacteria. There's something on the Internet called "the cult of the dripping pox." The main tenant of the cult seems to be that since virii have outproduced humanity, they are the true masters of the planet, and humans should simply be happy to be host to as many diseases as possible.

Ironclad + Vignette Seal of Sedna Science Shenanigans A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Office Public Anomie Killer Frequency Glowstar Street Sharks Starlight Yanks in Tanks The Sins We All Share Starlight's were meant to fly Right by My Side Leave Only Wreckage, Take Only... Right by My Side Blue Jay + Reputation + Vignette An Arrow into the Air Bee-nevolence GM Shark Week: Ghost Shark Leave Only Wreckage, Take Only...

My question is, what narrative purpose would this school serve? OK, there's more than one school-for-powers out there, fine. But we already have Claremont and Nicholson. Why do we need a third with even less focus? What stories would you tell with the place that you can't tell with the existing schools?

Young Britannia was taking a water break in a secluded corner of the hospital when a pair of nurses burst in on her. "Excuse me," the younger one began. "Are you the --" "Well of course she is," the older one snapped. "Listen," she added, turning to address the heroine, "Dr. Philo wants to see you in his office on the third floor. If I were you, I'd get there as soon as possible." With that the pair were off, and Young Britannia was left to wonder at the order. King of Suits was sitting down and talking with a family from the Fens whose mother had been admitted coughing blood. He turned as a doctor in surgical scrubs jogged up to him. "Excuse me," the surgeon said, "but Dr. Philo said he wanted to see the superhero. His office is on the third floor. I'd be quick, if I were you, Kerry's a good guy and he usually has a pretty good handle on things." The communication console on the Ages Lost flickered to life and a voice came through the comms. "Um. Is... is this the pirate-lady-hero's ship? Listen, this is Freedom Medical. Dr. Philo said he wanted to see the superhero in his office, on the third floor. If you could get down here ASAP, I think it's pretty important." Jubatus reported to the front desk and a harried nurse led him through the triage, up to the third floor. Things were noticeably less crowded here, but the air of exhaustion and barely-contained chaos was the same. In time he came to a door with Doctor Kerry Philo on a plaque on it; underneath were the words Metahuman Liason embossed directly on the wood. through the door was a small, tastefully appointed, thoroughly modern office with a thoroughly old-style desk in it. Behind the desk was a tall man with a bit of a gut wearing a long white lab coat and a suit underneath. He was working at a computer when the cheetah-man came in and glanced up, flashing a tight smile. "Good to see you were so quick, a-heh heh." He moved to extend a hand, quickly checking that Jubatus in fact had hands to shake. Before he open his mouth again, though, King of Suits, Young Britannia, and Stormbreaker were standing in his doorway. Blinking at the sudden influx of heroes, Dr. Philo shrugged and gestured them all in. "Well," he said, "I guess the more the merrier." He closed the door behind them and sat behind his desk, indicating that the heroes could take any chairs or perches they wished. "A quick run down of the situation. About thirty hours ago we received the first patients, individuals mostly from the Fens but also from other city districts, all complaining of a variety of symptoms. We drew cultures and identified the culprits: tuberculosis, smallpox, bubonic plague, and even polio. Diseases though eradicated in the modern world, but somehow they've shown up all over Freedom City. "We've identified at least two hundred cases, and more are coming in every hour. Most are routed here, but we've had to send some to McNider, and even across the river." He jerked his thumb towards Hanover; evidently he meant the Lab. "At first it looked like we were facing a modern-day pandemic of every viral nightmare man's ever faced, but here's the thing -- none of the diseases are spreading. People are coughing and sneezing, but there's no contagions, no infectious agents leaving the host body. I don't have to tell you that nature usually isn't that tidy with its plagues. This can only be man-made." He fixed each hero in turn with a long stare. "The good news is, the city won't have to be quarantined. The bad news is, the diseases are still deadly. Most of this stuff... hell, we never had a good treatment, beyond immunization, and a fair number of the patients were never immunized. What cures we do have are in vaults at the CDC, that'll take time to get them up here. But maybe, just maybe if you can find whoever is responsible for this, and their research, maybe we can devise a cure for this... this meta-plague."

Starlight's going to try a Diplomacy check on the captain. Starlight's Diplomacy check. (1d20+10=14) Whelp, not with that roll.

Starlight considered the options available to her. She could attack the mercenaries and maybe escape, but that would simply lead them to attack the city in order to find her again. Besides, Synth was on board and Starlight couldn't simply abandon her. The shapeshifter leaned forward and nodded to the captain. "If we're going to be getting underway," she said, "do you mind if I look around the ship a little?" Besides, the trip was bound to be a long one, and there would be more chances to slip off before they reached Soo-Tine.

Starlight floated through the battlefield, untouched and untouchable. She raised a hand at Finnegan, watching his unsteady stance. Power gathered in her hand, more and more of it, until it flared, uncontrollable. She fired the blast of energy off, but the glare got in even her eyes and it ended up ricocheting off the largest piece of debris that used to be Finnegan's desk, ending up spinning into the sky.

He's flat-footed, so Power Attack! Starlight's ranged attack check w/ +2 Power Attack, vs Finn's Def. DC 27 Tou (1d20+8=11)

I am going to be leaving for Colorado this Saturday, June 23rd, and I won't get back home until the Sunday after next, July 1st. I don't intend to post much during this period, so this is a head's up for my GMs and players.

Ironclad felt her heart sink at the words coming out of the ambulance. Normal, well-adjusted people usually didn't start ranting about the incredible power they had, certainly not when they were lying on a gurney. She considered dropping the van on the street, but there were still at least three innocents in there, and besides if a fight spilled out here the kid in the wheelchair could get hurt. So she flew the ambulance down to the foot of the hill and set it down carefully on the grass. She hesitated, before opening the back door to the vehicle and looking inside.

Vincent looked up at his dad and nodded. Changling lead them to the other side the barrier, where Glowstar and the general were still having a stare-down. When the young child appeared, though, the entire plastic army snapped to attention, the tanks dropping and elevating their turrets and the soldiers holding their weapons out for inspection. Even the general saluted, driving his vehicle over to the boy. "Sir," he snapped. "The army awaits your orders!" Vincent was clearly overawed by the sight of so many toy soldiers drawn up in serried ranks, all waiting on him, and Changling had to nudge him before he remembered to speak. "Um. You all. Go back to the store. Go back to being toys." He paused and added, "And don't get out and walk around when someone buys you. In fact, don't walk around at all anymore!" The general took in the orders without changing his plastic expression one nonce, and when Vincent fell silent he just nodded curtly and turned back to the troops. "You heard the Sea-Eye-Sea," he called out. "Back to base, soldiers!" The tanks rolled out and the plastic troops fell in line behind them, some jumping up and catching rides on the vehicles. The general saluted the boy again. "We'll be waiting, sir, for when you need to deploy us again!" Glowstar watched as the army rolled away, shaking his head in amazement. "That's it?" he muttered under his breath. "All we had to do was find the right person to give the order?"

She can get the Interpose feat this round, and that does miss. Crow's up next!

Power Level: 10 (150 PP) Trade-Offs: +5 DC/-5 Att, +5 Tou/-5 Def Abilities: 22 + 4 + 16 + 0 + 6 = 50PP Strength: 40/32 (+15/+11) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 30/26 (+10/+8) Intelligence: 14 (+2) Wisdom: 10 (+0) Charisma: 16 (+3) Combat: 10 + 8 = 18PP Initiative: +2 Attack: +5 melee, +5 ranged Grapple: +30 Defense: +5 (+4 Base, +2 Dodge Focus, -1 Size), +2 Flat-Footed Knockback: -12 Saving Throws: 0 + 2 + 6 = 8PP Toughness: +15 (+10 Con, +5 Protection, 10 Impervious) Fortitude: +10 (+10 Con, +0) Reflex: +4 (+2 Dex, +2) Will: +6 (+0 Wis, +6) Skills: 84R = 21PP Bluff 13 (+16)Skill Mastery Diplomacy 7 (+10) Gather Information 12 (+15)Skill Mastery Investigate 9 (+10)Skill Mastery Knowledge (Civics) 8 (+10) Knowledge (Streetwise) 13 (+15)Skill Mastery Notice 11 (+11) Sense Motive 11 (+11) Feats: 14PP Accurate Attack All-Out Attack Contacts Dodge Focus 2 Improved Grab Improved Grapple Improved Pin Improved Throw Interpose Power Attack Skill Mastery (Bluff, Gather Information, Investigate, Knowledge [streetwise]) Taunt Well-Informed Powers: 12 + 15 + 12 = 39pp Growth 4 (Extra: Duration/Permanent) [12PP] Str +8, Con +4, Large Size, +4 Grapple, -4 Stealth, +5 Carrying Capacity Protection 5 (Extra: Impervious 10) [15PP] Super-Strength 6 (Carrying Capacity [str 75]) [12PP] Abilities (50) + Combat (18) + Saving Throws (8) + Skills (21) + Feats (14) + Powers (39) - Disadvantages (0) = 150/150 PP Here's a build for the biggest, best connected man on the block, a man who can really fill out either a suit or a doorway. Here's a guy who can juggle city buses, but always seems to be blindsided by the latest treacherous dame to waltz into his life. Yup, here's the Sam Spade as the Hulk. Like all good Powerhouses, this is a guy who hits like a battleship and just will not go down. He doesn't have Ultimate Save (Toughness), but he is fully Toughness-shifted and his Impervious Toughness is as high as possible on the boards. In a combat situation, while he can lay about him with those ham-hock sized fists, he can also rip up lightposts or parking meters, throw cars, and just generally use the urban environment as a weapon. Of course, before it gets to the fighting you have to track the bad guys down, and this guy can do a pretty good job of that, too. Most Powerhouses in the Hulk vein (which this most certainly is) tend to run to the dim side, but this guy is no fool -- he knows what's shaking among the criminal fraternity, and he knows just who to talk to when he needs to find things out. If caught in a compromising situation, he can smooth talk his way out of it, or he can jump through the nearest window and fall five stories without being hurt. How did this man get how he is? Scores like this are a little beyond human potential in the Freedom 'verse. The simple answer is that he was caught in some kind of scientific experiment; maybe he was a janitor at a research lab when some punks broke in, and he ended up getting a vial of experimental growth hormone spilled all over him. Or maybe he's a demigod, a long-removed descendent of Mars, Thor, Ogun, or Susano-o. If you want to tie his origin into the game universe a little more firmly, maybe he got his powers from the DNAscendent program. Perhaps he got into the private detective life to redeem a previous life of crime, or maybe he lived on the streets for a good long while and now wants to protect the people who live there. If he's going to be a superhero, don't forget to give him a costume -- though there is something timeless about a good suit.

And El Heraldo is Paralyzed. Initiative 23 Glow -- Uninjured -- HPx3 22/+8 Crow -- Uninjured -- HPx2 22/+7 Lady Mamba -- Staggered -- GM 22/+2 El Heraldo -- Paralyzed -- HPx3 10 Dhalia -- Entangled -- GM 5 Cottonmouth -- Bruisex3 -- GM Glow is up next.

GM Vincent glanced at his dad before answering Changling. "I saw them in the store window. I told Dad they'd be perfect for my set!" Julio's face went pale at his son's words. "Oh, my god. It... it's happening again?" He rubbed at his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "Vincent, what did I tell you about doing that to toys that weren't yours?" Vincent hung his head. "I'm sorry, Dad." His voice started trembling. "I... I told them I'd be back! I didn't think they'd follow me..."

Cottonmouth is also up, and he'll go for El Heraldo since that was the last hero to attack Mamba. Straight-up Paralyze with this one. Cottonmouth's melee attack check, vs El Heraldo's Def. DC 18 Fort (1d20+12=25) That'll certainly hit. He is also Interposing for Mamba once again.

Dahlia can't hit Crow with Emotion Control (the downsides of a Perception range attack!) but she can try to seduce him more conventionally. Dahlia's Bluff check, vs Crow's Sense Motive. (1d20+12=14) And fail miserably.

Dahlia flailed wildly as she went down, pushing herself to her feet and raising her hands in a spellcasting stance. After a moment, though, she dropped her hands and instead cocked her hips. "Why don't you come down here so we can talk," she called out in her best sultry tone. "I think we could find a much more pleasant way to kill time between the two of us." Outside the warehouse, Lady Mamba wasn't going down without a fight. She called up an orb of blue fire and tossed it from hand to hand before flinging it at El Heraldo; but the patriotic paragon ducked the blast and it barely even singed the feather in his cap.

The OOC for this thread. King of Suits, Stormdragon, Young Britannia and Jubatus get to play doctor!

Okay, the Thread is (finally) up! Feel free to jump in, guys.

May 14th, 2012 Freedom Medical Center 2:42 PM The Freedom Medical Center was easily the largest and most modern hospital in a large and modern city, and as such its emergency room was never empty. At the moment, though, the area was filled to overflowing with patients on gurneys, lying across the plastic chairs intended to families of those awaiting diagnosis, or even propped up on the floor with only a pillow. Nurses and doctors dashed to and fro, surgical masks in place and rubber gloves on tight. Most carried an extra carton of them in their pockets, and trash bins were stuffed full of them as doctors poked, prodded, and collected samples of blood and phlegm. The air was filled with the hacking coughs, fits of sneezing, and low groans of the sickly. Most were leaking some pus or other fluid; one man on a gurney was holding a metal pan and regularly coughing up and spitting blood into it. It was a madhouse, and it was only growing.

Glowstar frowned and tapped his chin. "I went up against this one guy," he offered. "Goanna. He was a big, scaly lizard dude, but apparently he worked for ASTRO Labs at once point so he must've quite the brain on him. And he managed to transform the one particular woman with just a single injection," he added. "Sounds more or less like what we're seeing here." He paused and added, "Of course I don't have any idea where he might be right now..."