Raveled

I do want to see how this plays out.

While X-Ray does not counter Obscure, it does let you see through the walls of the warehouse. You can see Dahlia running for what looks like a Zodiac boat. Teleporting inside the warehouse will let you get to her. Dahlia's Reflex save, vs DC 15. (1d20+6=9) Yikes. Okay, she is Entangled. Lady Mamba will go for a straight-up Blast vs El Heraldo. Lady Mamba's ranged attack check, vs El Heraldo's Def. DC 25 (1d20+10=26) I think that'll hit.

Starlight stood comfortably, refusing to sit until Edelstein did. "We are fine," she said. "We do not need anything to drink." She paused, waiting for Lucy to comment, but when the other woman stayed silent she launched right into it. "Officer Edelstein, can you describe your encounter with the Penitent? Did he give a reason for attacking you, any cases you are working on or have worked on in the past?"

Ironclad felt the ping rip through her systems, felt the static energy crawling up and down her arms. Her suit never dealt with electricity well; for some reason it overloaded all the safeties she had in place, cut right through all of her carefully layered defenses and got to the heart of her without slowing. Her vision dimmed for a moment as she felt her heart stop for an agonizing second. Then it slammed back into motion and the rush of blood to her brain made her dizzy for a moment. The ambulance wavered as she recovered, reaching out with her abhuman mind to the ambulance's radio. "Hey there. Apologies for the turbulence. Are we still all in one piece inside?"

Starlight shook her head. "So you are bringing me to a Lor tribunal so they can hear my side of the story? The side where Nes is a murdering cephalpod who deserves to be locked in a quantum-state prison for a few decades? Well, I cannot say that this is how I would choose to travel to an Imperial tribunal, but nevertheless." She relaxed slightly and considered Synth's position on-board; hopefully the other shapeshifter wouldn't do anything too drastic before Starlight could explain the new circumstances. "Just a question. Why did the Tine send you for me? I do not see how my testimony will help any of them."

Ironclad's Toughness check, vs DC 30. (1d20+16=17) I'm... gonna reroll that. Ironclad's Toughness check, vs DC 30. Reroll (1d20+16=29) And this is why we Toughness-shift.

Ironclad landed in front of the FMU as the ambulance was preparing to pull out. She stopped it with one hand and walked up the driver's window. "Are you headed to the park in Greenvale?" The passenger's jaw hung open for a moment before he exclaimed, "How in the world do yo--" He was cut off by his older partner, though. "Kid, better not the question good luck." The older paramedic, with a tag reading Silverfield on his chest, nodded to Ironclad. "That's the route, yeah." Ironclad nodded. "Hold on tight," she said and lifted the ambulance above her head, and into the air. A few minutes later she stood aside as the EMTs went to work on the young man. She nodded at Silverfield's question. "Voltage," she said, eying the electronics-laden wheelchair, "See if you can't find this kid's parents." With that she lifted the ambulance into the air once again and took off, arcing across the sky towards the premier medical facility in Freedom City.

What exactly are you trying to model? Some sort of large-area telekinesis would totally still be Reflex, since it's essentially still a big object trying to flatten you. Something like an area Mental Blast, where you're trying to overload all the minds in an area, might be better handled with a Targetted AoE rather than a General one. Lastly, some kind of grenade that scrambles living minds when it 'explodes' would still be Reflex, because you're trying to jump out of the way of a grenade.

February 7th, 2012 Freedom Medical Center, Freedom City The machine in the focus of the room didn’t look like much. Outwardly, it wasn’t much more than a plastic gurney with a large hoop and a pillow at one end. To one of the women in the room, the machine was more or less just that, but to Jessica Parker it was a fuming cauldron of data; blood flow, neural growth, bone density, human anatomy. Through it she could see the Freedom Medical Center’s towering data stacks, piled high with information on every human disease on the planet, and quite a bit of experimental observations on metahuman abilities. Past even that she could distantly sense the raging torrent of the Internet, like the scent of the ocean wafting over the next rise. For a moment the young woman lost herself in the synesthesia of the moment, and had to be shaken back to the moment by Sonya Sokolova. The Russian medic looked Jessica in the eye and said, “Are you with me, Ms. Parker? You are not having second thoughts, are you?†Jessica flashed the other woman a smile and brushed the question off. “I’m fine, just letting my mind wander.†She waved a hand towards the glass separating the open MRI machine from the control room. “Why don’t you get set up in there, Dr. Sokolova?†“I am not actually a doctor,†Sonya said. “I am more of a combat medic. But I have connections, and I should be able to run the machine. Now, interpreting the images may take a little more time.†The medic glanced from monitor from monitor. “Let me see. Ms. Parker, why don’t you lie down?†Jessica obligingly crawled onto the bed, settling her head on the pillow underneath the plastic ring. After a moment’s thought she unclipped the bracelet she habitually wore around one wrist and placed it on a tray next to the bed. “Ready when you are, Sonya.†“Alright then,†Sonya said. “Just be aware that I will only be able to scan your brain. The fMRI doesn’t use contrast fluid, so we can only look at blood flow in the brain. Of course, without any need for contrast or markers, it’s easier to get time on the machine. Nuclear materials are very closely tracked, even when they’re just medicine.†She triggered the machine. The plastic ring lit up and began spinning around Jessica’s head. “Hm. There is increased neural growth, very dense. I think I see more myelin material.†She leaned in and squinted at a blacked-out portion of the neural map. “Is… what is that?†She manipulated the image and zoomed in on one particular part of Jessica’s brain. “Ms. Parker, do you happen to have a metal plate in your head?†“Not exactly,†Jessica replied. “Let me just take a second and…†She blinked and on the screen the blood in her brain surged in new, unique patterns. Her abhuman brain went to work and soon the picture being displayed on Sonya’s screen was in front of Jessica’s eyes, floating in mid-air. “Yeah, that looks like what I was expecting to see. Ms. Sokolova, do me a favor and scan lower down, like around, mm, my right ulna.†“We won’t see much of anything, Ms. Parker. There’s no contrast materials, remember?†Nevertheless the med student tapped in the commands and the plastic ring began moving down the bed, magnetic radiation bombarding Jessica’s body. On the screen the picture was a morass of greys and blacks, completely indistinct – until the scan reached Jessica’s arms and distinct readings began to bounce back, patches of clearly defined white in the fog. “What in the… Jessica, do you have metal pins in your arm or something?†“It’s not a pin,†Jessica replied, watching the image herself. “At least, not exactly. Okay, close down the scan.†The ring returned to its place around her head and she sat up as Sonya came out and stood in front of the bed. “It’s mostly manganese, cobalt, and zinc.†She glanced up at the other women, taking in her look of confusion for a moment and allowing herself a grin. “A couple years ago, around New Year’s, me and Ma—uh, another heroine tracked a villain to an old, disused portion of the city’s subway. He was mixing up some big heavy-metal-rich poison to blanket the city with. I ended up taking a face full and, well… Now I can hear radio waves.†She shrugged off the Sonya gave her look and stood up. Her voice started growing bitter. “I got scanned by Doktor Archeville after the fact, but I’m wondering if he told me the whole story, now. So I wanted this scan and it pretty much told me what I expected.†“What exactly did it tell you,†Sonya asked. Jessica shrugged and retrieved her bracelet. “The heavy metals in my bones and neurons are dissolving. There’s not as much there as before, and what was there is more spread out, more diffused. As I understand it, the medical treatments I received before bonded the free-floating metals to my body, but it looks like they’re wearing off.†She fastened the bracelet around her wrist again and stood up. “So I have to flush them out of my body and my brain, or get heavy metal poisoning. Again.†She shrugged diffidently. “No big deal.†“I’m sorry? No, Jessica, this is a very big deal.†Sonya shook her head. “You cannot do anything in the brain without it being a very big deal indeed. You are aware of the saying, ‘not as complicated as brain surgery’? Well, this is very literally brain surgery.†Jessica shrugged diffidently. “It’s not like I’m going to saw open my forehead and start poking around with a magnet. I’ve been looking at the problem and developed a treatment of nanites that should flush them out without an issue.†Sonya folded her arms and shook her head. “No. This is a very big issue. Any sort of head injury is deadly serious just for the remote chance that it injures your brain, but you want to go injecting little robots in there to grab bits of metal and rip them off your neurons? That’s suicidal.†Jessica folded her own arms and glared at the older woman. “Not hardly. Electrolysis can removed the metals without damaging the neurons, and afterwards the nanites and be programmed to gather at one specific place. They can even pierce the blood-brain barrier, so I don’t have to drain off cerebral-spinal fluid or anything like that. I’ve thought this through.†She shook her head. “It’s something I’m prepared for. And if I thought I needed help from anyone else, I would’ve gone to them!†She stepped past the two women and marched towards the door, anger evident in her gait. Sonya had turned to watch Jessica walk past and now had a thoughtful frown on her face. It didn’t make any sense for a remark like that to have sparked such an emotional reaction from the young woman, and an irregularity like that was worth investigating. The medic made her own exit and glanced up and down the corridor, spotting Jessica waiting at a bank of elevators. She jogged over and barely slipped into the same elevator car as Jessica. The younger woman glanced at her, opened her mouth as if to say something, but then shut it and simply punched the button for the ground floor. After a long moment of silence, Sonya spoke again. “So. Why do you not wish to do things with your friends?†Jessica gave her a quick glare. “Excuse me?†“Your friends,†Sonya repeated. “You work at that wondrous Lab, you must have fMRIs there you could work with. I am sure someone like Miss Americana could have done the scan and helped you interpret the results – so why not? Are you in the habit of cutting your friends out of your life?†Jessica ground her teeth together before answering. “Do you really want to know? Fine. The reason I’ve got heavy metals swimming around in my brain is because I made a stupid mistake. The villain? He had an EMP bomb. It disabled my suit, my power armor. I can’t see without the suit’s sensors, so I took off my helmet. That’s why I got a faceful of toxic chemicals, and that’s why I had to go to the hospital after a big fight.†She shook her head. “Idiotic. Who ever heard of a superhero having to go to the emergency room after a fight?†Sonya nodded. “It was a silly mistake. Almost as silly as poking around your brain all alone.†Jessica opened her mouth but Sonya kept on speaking, not giving her a chance to interrupt. “You’re a very bright young woman, Jessica. I do not think it is an exaggeration to call you a genius. So what happens if the procedure you are planning goes wrong and you are lobotomized? Or you end up blind? Or with half or a quarter your IQ, or permanent anetograde amnesia, or locked inside your own body without any way to move it? All those are possible outcomes with even the most mild brain procedure, and what you are proposing sounds very invasive.†The elevator door opened up and Sonya stepped out. “I cannot stop you from doing this. Literally, you probably have enough resources to build your own hospital and staff it with robots or something. But… think this through, alright? When you do something to your brain, you often can’t undo it.†Sonya turned and walked away, leaving Jessica alone to consider her words.

Ironclad watched the fight surge across the battlefield. The heroes looked to be putting the overcharged demons on the back foot and pushing them away from their new energy source. The cat-demon seemed out of the fight for the moment so the armored heroine dropped to the ground, engaging power to her servo muscles and swinging away -- at the shark-man! Her blows were short jabs, intended to limit the creature's mobility and keep Ironclad close to its bulk. "Tell me if you've heard this one before," she said. "You ever get the feeling like you're a fish out of water, sometimes?"

Starlight narrowed her eyes at the sight of Nes, or at least Nes' spawn apparently. She shifted in the chair, barely holding back the temptation to hiss at the hologram. "I fought against it and its minions, yes. I even attacked the... spawnling. It had infiltrated Earth, breaking numerous Lor laws regarding proper interaction with a protected species. It was attempting to subvert aboriginal organizations and turn the world to its own ends." She sniffed sharply. "I cannot imagine Nes-46 sent mercenaries across space for something like this, though."

Hm, should Ironclad go for Bai Gu Jing? He's Toughness Drained, which could make for a spectacular finish, but it would be nice if the Monkey King could finish off his nemesis. The cat doesn't seem to be putting up much of a fight, so I think Ironclad will switch targets to the mako. And robo-PAWNCH! Ironclad's melee attack check, vs Mako's Def. DC 25 Tou (1d20+10=25) Nice.

Starlight's Diplomacy check. (1d20+10=18)

Starlight glanced at Lucy. "Not exactly," she said to the young man. "We're independent investigators, hired to look in to the circumstances surrounding the attack on you by the vigilante Penitent. We would appreciate it if you could answer a few questions about your investigations around the time of the attack." She cleared her throat and added, "Off the record, of course. Could we come in, please?"

Starlight took a chair around the conference table; the back was too tall and the arm rests were too long, but at least there were only two of them. "I remember the Trine," she said absently. "Genetic engineering by pre-historic interlopers, probably the Preservers, split the race into separate but distinct subspecies. Earliest recorded governments utilized a caste-based system divided along those genetic predispositions towards war, interpersonal relations, tool use, abstract thinking..." She shifted in the chair and studied the leader of the vessel. "The current political framework promises full social mobility, though, irrespective of one's genetic caste. The man I fought with wanted to overthrow the current government and return to the castes. With, of course, the warriors on top." She glanced around the room, her next words clearly encompassing the entire ship's crew. "I assume your entire crew is warrior-forms? With a few engineers, or warrior-engineer crossbreeds?"

Unfortunately Cottonmouth has a +10 to Sense Motive, so he cannot roll low enough to be beat by that.

The general frowned. "What do you expect us to do without orders, boy? We have to find our commanding officer, get new orders from him. Trust me, if we were really rampaging, this building wouldn't still be standing!" Glowstar sniffed sharply, casting his eye over the assembled, green plastic force. "And you couldn't have, I dunno, asked someone where he is instead of trying to kill people?" "We were," the general insisted. "It's just more efficient to gather everyone together before we ask them! Get everyone's answer at once." In the department store the civilians were huddled in knots, whispering fearfully as they watched the opaque barrier. Changeling walked among them, calling out the name, and soon an unremarkable man in a tee-shirt and jeans stepped forward. He looked to be in his late-twenties and he was the holding the hand of a young boy, maybe five or six years old. The familial resemblance was impossible to ignore, especially once he spoke. "I'm Julio Marinos. Vinny's my son. What is this all about?"

Ironclad glanced at the remnants of the goop on the sidewalk. "Actually, I think this is something I might have brought back." She shook her head. "In any case, it's going to require a through cleaning, of each and every particle." She stuck out a gauntleted hand to the woman in the biohazard suit. "Thank you for the help in containing the monster, but I think I can handle things from here."

Huge went back to the controls and yet another costume appeared. This one was almost solid silver, from finger- and toe-tip to neck. The only break in the color was a red 'racing stripe' leading from the outside of either leg, up under the arm pit, and spreading out on the palm. "Well? How's that strike you?" Brian stood stock-still in the middle of the room; it evidently struck him quite powerfully. "Um, it's... it's quite a... Huhn. Um, Hugo? Do you think you could... add a cape?" Hugo peered at Brian for a long moment. The young man's demeanor had change completely, from a rather distracted mien to something more like a deer caught in car's headlights. "Sure," he said finally, and in moments the projection was sporting a red cape with silver edging that reached to its elbows. Brian stepped forward and stared at where the faceless mannequin's eyes should have been. Finally he said, "Give it a higher collar. And then... I think I'll take it."

The holographic form shimmered and reformed as a dark red bodysuit, with eye slits, silvery gloves and a squared-off swath of silver reaching from the chest, under, and to the middle of its back. Inside the silver was a spiky ball of brighter red. "How's that look? The red looks like what you can do, the inside has a star, and the silver is a good contrast." Brian stepped up and reached out to touch the fabric, only to have his fingers pass through the figure. He walked around it, noting the blank expanse on the back, and summoned up a touch of his power to compare the color. "The color matches nicely," he admitted, "but I can't speak if my mouth is all covered up. Can't you have my face bare?" Hugo raised an eyebrow. "If you don't cover your face, how can you keep a secret identity?" Brian laughed. "Unless I keep sunglasses on all the time, I never could keep a secret identity!" "Point," Hugo allowed and he adjusted the hologram, cutting the mask back to a high-necked version. Brian gave it a good look and shook his head. "Too busy," he decided. "But I like the colors, I think the color scheme is good." "Alright, then. How about this?"

Glowstar frowned. "Is that even possible? I mean, this place is locked up pretty tight, seems to me." He eyed the security cameras on the ceiling. "Could someone really have just walked out of here with a bundle of papers? Heck, would they even know what they have? This place is staffed by psychiatrists, not biochemists or marine biologists. How would they know your genetic code, doc, from some other chemical formula you were working on? And how would they make it into something injectable?"

"You should call me... Anette." Starlight pulled the name out of the air, trying not to pick something too close to her own civilian handle. She took the cash and flattened it out, checking it carefully. The alien was supposed to take cabs and public transport around town, but she found herself teleporting most places she want. Besides, all of Earth's conflicting currencies confused her. She longed for the universal credits of the Lor Empire. Starlight dug some of her own money out, adding it to Revenant's bills. "That should get us out there," she said. "Hopefully interviewing the Edelstein family will give us some leads, tell us where to go next." Starlight stepped to the curb and flagged down a cab, making sure both herself and Revenant were seated before handing the cabbie the page from the phone book, pointing at the correct address. "Take us there, please," she said. The Edelsteins lived in a little slice of suburban splendor, a sprawling ranch house with a spreading oak tree in the front lawn and a white picket fence around the back. Starlight paid the cabbie and stepped out, giving the property a quick once-over. The big bay window in the front was covered by a curtain but there were two sedans in the driveway. She glanced at Lucy and walked up to the front door, knocking on the screen door and waiting for a reply.

Starlight's skin prickled at the mention of the Stellar Khanate. She had visited that part of space only briefly, and had found almost every planet there in need of liberation. These four-armed humanoids didn't seem very familiar to her, but then there were many species in the galaxy and she had seen most of them. She followed the apparent leader of the group, keeping her hands in view at all time. "I don't suppose you will tell me what I am accused to doing, exactly," she said as they walked.

Ironclad eyed the power system without much trust in her (hidden) expression. "I think we can improve on that to work with," she said. "Quintessence, if you could just prepare to..." She turned her back to the paragon and disengaged the back-fitted reactor; immediately low-power warnings flickered into life in her view and she switched over to battery power. She wouldn't be able to fly or use her weapons like this, but she would still be protected from the outside world and be able to probe with her sensors. She led Quintessence to set the reactor down near the power conduit. She rotated one wrist and a pair of metal rods pocked out, which she grabbed with her other hand and fully extracted. "Now then," she said, settling in a half Lotus position and poking at the device. "I think we can do more than a few thousand joules, yes? If I expand the black hole to, say, 150 nanometers and start bringing in a half-gram of antimatter every few seconds we should get a good reaction going! Supercape, if you could shield against radiation, I could divert powering away from the reactor's shielding..."

Starlight nodded to the other heroes and turned to leave. "Come, Revenant," she said. "We should prepare as we walk." She led the way out of the apartment and towards the elevator. As they rode down in the car, the heroine's skin rippled and flowed like water until she was a middle-aged black woman in a sharp gray suit. She glanced at her companion and gained a few inches, until they were polar opposites, at least visually. Outside, Starlight walked up to a nearby public phone booth and opened the phone book. Edlestein was easy enough to find, and there weren't very many in the Yellow Pages. The heroine ripped the page out and returned to Revenant. "It seems," she said, "we have to get out to Grenville." She paused. "I don't suppose you have cab fare?"