Raveled

Tona shuffled around the greens on her plate, slowly stacking the radishes on one side, putting them well clear of the rest of her salad. "Anyway, you'll really like Emerald City," she said. She speared several leaves of lettuce and went hunting for something to top it off. "All the shops are south of the river, but DI's offices are on the north side. So I'm looking for something up there, something that backs out onto the forest. But no one wants to rent to a woman who should be in college." She sighed and speared some tomato, sighing. While she talked, her other hand was busy. She touched the knife, unused, laying a very precise distance away from her plate. It was sitting at a natural place to be exactly where her free hand would fall, if she should just so happen to have a reason to pick it up quickly and throw it, say, across the restaurant at one of the pair sitting at the bartop. That would take out one, and then the plate would go over her shoulder and take out two, and then it would be a melee and no one could say what would happen. But until then she was talking with her girlfriend.

Madden's is in-universe. So they're at Denny's.

So can we start in here, or should we hold off?

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, everyone.

Initiative 21 -- Outlaw -- Uninjured -- HPx3 12 -- Meat Man -- Uninjured -- GM 11 -- Queenie -- Uninjured -- HPx1 7 -- Creme Meanies -- Uninjured -- GM Outlaw's up first!

The Creme Meanies Results 1d20+2: 7 [1d20=5] The Meat Man Results 1d20+6: 18 [1d20=12]

Kaige, do any of the bikes still have keys in the ignition? If not, what skill check would it be to hotwire one?

Luthor considered the spread of motorcycles and the tall factory face, flexing one hand contemplatively and scratching his chin with his free hand. "You know, we can get them to come out, too." He flexed his arm and wisps of red energy began to grow out of it, curling slowly and lazily around his biceps. "If I put a couple of bikes through that tall window up there," he said, pointing at a window at the peak of the building, "they'll run out here to see what's happening. Then we hit them."

I'm up for this.

The crowd rushed around the stage, trying to flee the park. The animate food seemed to be concentrated at one end, which at least meant that the civilians could stream out the southern and eastern sides, but Queenie's work was just beginning. Even as she watched slabs of ribs, strings of sausages, filet o' fish, and a whole stuffed pig's head jumped, slithered, and rolled up the stage and across the table. They quickly assembled in the middle of the table, forming a vaguely humanoid shape dripping barbecue sauce and malice. The meat-man pointed one arm at Maybelle, an arm that terminated in the pig head, and it squealed defiance at the chef. Jake was on the grass, in the middle of the crushing crowds. The Brownian motion of so many people pushed him to the side, where he saw a rolling crowd of fluffy pastries was keeping pace with the mob. As the teen hero stood there and watched, the dumplings rolled together and formed a trio of short, squat, pale-white creatures that came up to his waist. The doughy pygmies made disturbing, belching sounds as they began to circle him.

I'm going to need Initiative scores.

Luthor made a face at the bikes parked willy-nilly in front of the candy factory, and the vans parked so near the loading bay doors. If all the vehicles were filled to capacity, there could be anywhere between thirty and fifty gun-wielding bikers using the factory as their hide-out. Which probably meant they'd have plenty of weapons and traps and other surprises for any heroes who tried to break up their fun. He jumped out of the bed of the truck and hit the ground with his big boots, the sound reverberating off distant, brick-walled structures. "Looks like two or three dozen guys in there," he said, mostly for his sister's benefit. "If we're lucky, they got all coked up for the hit and are sleeping all that off." He reached into the cab of the truck and pulled out his mask, wrapping it around his head and tying it carefully. "And with our luck they're probably getting foot massages from Captain Sharkey right now."

And now Frostbyte is up.

This is sort of digging into also-ran and Civil War territory, but if the League was mind-controlled or otherwise duped into attacking a 'friendly' target, there might be calls for more overwatch of them. I don't think there needs to be a real reason behind the creation of the new US-based team, besides the fact that a certain amount of superhumans joined up as service-people rather than put on capes.

So I think EP still has to make a couple of Trip checks? EP, why don't you just make all of them at once and olopi can just make the saves as needed.

The crowd gathered and watched with macabre interest as Maybelle's silvery aura snaked down Yvette's throat. The designer kept her mouth as far open as she could as the superhero's energy arm invaded her body, seeking out the obstruction. Everyone held their breath, and suddenly a half-chewed morsel of fish flopped out of Yvette's mouth and onto the table. Yvette fairly collapsed, coughing heavily, trying to catch her breath as the crowd cheered for the impromptu heroics. "I didn't... didn't realize that I..." Yvette broke off suddenly and stared at the bit of fish that had almost killed her. Even as it laid on the table, it wasn't laying still; the meat was flopping slowly, rolling towards the edge of the table. A scream from one side tore Jake's attention away from the stage and towards one of the vendors. As he watched a griller slammed down the cover of his grill, only to have the metal lid dented from the inside again and again. More yells and bangs sounded from all around the park as the food began to rise against the eaters.

There was the Lab for awhile, but I don't know what the current status of that is.

Luthor split his attention between watching the footage and watching everyone else, making sure no one was sneaking up on them or -- potentially worse in this city -- paying them too much attention. So it took him a couple of viewings before he realized why the lettering on the van was bothering him. "Stop it here for a second, Lena." He reached out and tapped a blunt fingertip on the computer screen. "S-N-A-C, and you remember that smell that was inside the jewelry store? It smelled of chocolate. Does anyone else remember that candy company that used to be out on Industrial Drive? Snacking Candies, or something like that. These folks might be camped out in the old factory."

Corona blasted out of the gubernatorial mansion through the hole she had made in the roof, rising on a plume of red and gold energy as she looked out over the scene. The Praetorians seemed scattered, but the criminals were going down one by one, restrained or beat into unconsciousness. Still, the Lor officer could look around and see the many bright flashes of Rux's portals popping up here and there, sending the felonious swordmaster across the battlefield to harass every Praetorian in turn. She turned gently in place, watching the read-outs from her armor and directing power to her hands. "Rux!" Her amplified voice easily carried over the entire scene. "Cease this attack at once and surrender, and no more harm will come to you. If you keep attacking, you're going to be brought down hard instead!"

Asli backed off and began shifting her weight from side to side, loosening up her muscles for the long run up highway 6. "I'll take the streets tonight," she said. "You can sit on rooftops and brood over the city. I hear that's awesome for the glutes." In no time at all the pair were north of the river, speeding through the high tech district of town. There was a surprising amount of nightlife for a place that seemed dominated by big tech firms, but there were plenty of people out and about on this Saturday night. For all the crowds, though, there didn't seem to be any crime at all. Miras and Cannonade stopped an impending car accident with a spot of super-speed and jumping about, but if there were secret criminal masterminds in the press then they were doing a damn good job keeping quiet. The pair reconvened on a rooftop across from the HIT, where Miras could watch strange lights flickering in one or another lab. "Hard to imagine, but the criminal element might not be out tonight," she said. "If this group is trying to horn in on established gigs, though, they might be operating farther up the food chain than the street. Maybe we should check out Greely Street, or even Machine. See if the local dealers are sending their money to new addresses."

Thev, if Corona goes straight up can she see the entire battlefield? Can I hold her action until Rux reappears and blast 'em?

No, the room's pretty well lit up.

Miras would show up for this, sure. Is this an in costume or out sort of deal?

I'm getting my wisdom teeth out this weekend, which means I'm going to be on the go~od drugs. Don't expect me to do anything coherent until Monday.

Tona looked down at the remnants of the sandwich in her hand and put it down without a word. "I've seen you in action, Sam. If anyone could talk crazy dinosaur cult-terrorists into sitting down for coffee and bagels, it would be you." She checked her gauntlets again and stepped up close to Sam, gripping her girlfriend's hand tightly. "Probably still a few people left to punch, though." She closed her eyes as the darkness folded around them and soon they were several cars up the train, in another passenger car. The lights were off on this one, leaving the dim, red glow of emergency lights near the ground as the only illumination. Someone had opened the doors, too, and several of the infected/transformed/changed passengers were in the corridor. Tona froze, but once she realized they weren't attacking she studied them closer. They all seemed... quiet. Quiescent, even. Almost turned off. A couple were staring out the window and one had wedged himself into a corner, staring at his feet; Tona felt goosebumps at the sight of so many people standing around brainlessly. She glanced at Sam and shrugged, slow and exaggerated. "Maybe it's the light," she breathed, next to Sam's ear. Whatever it was Tona wasn't about to question her good fortune and crept forward, easily circling around and avoiding the few passengers still stumbling up and down the corridor. At the door to the next car she paused and looked through the window. The next car up wasn't nearly as well-appointed as the ones Sam and Tona had walked through even when they boarded the train; there was more exposed metal, and racks, and labeled switches. In the middle of this utilitarian space was a big man in a white suit, holding a phone up to his head. His back was to the door and he was gesturing grandly, but none of the sound was getting through to the passenger car. More pressing was the two huge, scaly monsters curled up at his feet like loyal hunting dogs.