Raveled

GM It had been some time since 1-800-JUSTICE pounded the pavement and trawled the streets of Freedom City for clues, and Wail's name didn't carry as much weight as it once had, but the super-dense street hero quickly corrected that with a few violent altercations. The bleeding and broken street criminals pointed him towards a particular warehouse in Greenbank; it seems that the local gangs there had been pushed out by helmeted brutes who operated with military precision. With a location in hand, the loud lecturer made his way towards the Mona-Glenn bridge, pausing on the south bank to look over to the former train district. Somewhere out there was his student, an innocent young genius, and it was up to him to make sure that the young man was saved tonight.

Ironclad is Datalink'ing. Skill Mastery FTW. Computers is 25 without rolling, and don't forget x10 000 Mental Quickness.

Jessica frowned slightly as Geckoman-slash-Kristoff pulled Director Wilkins off to talk about a random painting -- and then her eyes slid over to the computer and she realized that the superhero was giving her the opening she needed to do her cyberpath voodoo. The young genius found a comfortable spot of wall and leaned back against it; this wasn't strictly necessary, when she went out of her head she didn't collapse or anything, but she always felt foolish just standing there, swaying gently while her brain interacted with silicon. She closed her eyes and... ... Slid down highways of neon green and electric blue, navigating the crude interface being used by the secretary like a NASCAR driver would navigate a roundabout. And why not? The other woman would be happy with a couple hundred characters per minute -- Jessica could program virtual worlds in that time! Ahead of her, just in front of the stacks and towers that represented the Institute's network, towered an imposing slab of fire-orange that stretched towards infinity. The firewall would be her first real obstacle, but Jessica wasn't about to let herself get stopped by a security system that probably came out of a box! She rolled up her digital sleeves and flew towards the barrier, moving as fast as electric conduction.

Ironclad blushed under her helmet. "Well, what are you supposed to do when a mostly-naked man drops into your living room and asks what address he's at?" She moved past Whiplash and scanned the safe with her full sensor suite. There were no fingerprints or hairs, which frankly she didn't expect to find -- Larceny Inc. were professionals, whatever else one could say about them -- but wasn't forensic science built on the notion that nothing could interact with something else without leaving traces behind? Maybe a full radiological scan... As the young genius pondered her options, Amir took the chance to slip into something less revealing, he heard a feminine sigh behind him and glanced around to see his female companion sit up in bed. Meagan Blackstone was a rising action star, and exercise combined with the sort of beauty treatments that were Hollywood de rigueur she was quite the sight to behold, even in a disheveled, just-woken-up state. "Amir," she purred, stretching languidly. "Why are you getting out of bed? Don't you want to... Wait." She rubbed at her eyes and looked at the bedroom door, squinting at the light seeping around the cracks. "Did you turn the lights on in the sitting room?"

Jessica Parker was in the habit of doing almost all of her banking online, but when the amounts you moved regularly involved six figures, and occasionally involved seven, the banks did insist on seeing you in person a couple times during the year. Jessica usually put it off as long as possible, which was why she was parking outside of the bank just a couple days after Christmas. The young inventor fed a few coins into the meter and wrapped her coat tighter around herself as she hurried towards the bank's front door. She put her hand on the door handle and a massive force slapped her away from the building, dumping her on the street and making her ears ring. She glanced up to see an expanding cloud of dust and looked around at the few people on the street hurrying away. She stood up, shaking her head sharply to try and stop the ringing, and touched the bracelet-cum-watch around one wrist. There was a flash of light, a sudden flare of heat that melted the snow on the street, and Ironclad stood there. Still wearing Jessica's fur-trimmed coat, but as powerful and impervious as ever. The heroine stalked towards the bank, ripped the front door off, and proceeded inside.

Jessica stood in the doorway for a moment, holding a brightly wrapped package wider than she was. "Merry Christmas, Mara! Oh goodness, yes, heat please. I don't care if there's no snow on the ground, it's far too cold outside." After glancing around a moment she set her package on a handy side table and undid the clasps on her knee-length, fur-trimmed coat. Underneath she was wearing tan slacks that went well with the coat; a thick green sweater; and the edges of a rich red blouse that peeked out around the edges of the sweater. She glanced around the entryway and opened her mouth to compliment it -- then blinked and gave Mara a hard look. "Wait a second. You just used a first-person noun. Who are you and what did you do with Mara?" The last line was delivered half-jokingly -- but only half, given the city.

Ping.

Synth is neither British, nor rich, nor male. Breaking such new ground, Cape! Although all the shapechangers on the boards are (nominally) ladies, so maybe not?

"Oh, no," Starlight breathed, stepping forward. "You are not going to get away that easily." She reached out with one hand, and at the same time light seemed to compress around the creature, squeezing it and attempting to trap it. "You are going to answer for your crimes, whatever you are." Synth's arrival and appearance startled the heroine, but she took her interest to mean that she was also working for the side of good. "I don't know if it's an answer," she replied, "but I'm pretty sure this is our killer."

The bad guy's glooping away, so Starlight will... grab it with her CO! Starlight's ranged attack check, vs Gloop's Def. Grapple (1d20+10=24) With luck, that'll hit. Starlight's Grapple check, vs Gloop's Grapple check. (1d20+17=20) And with luck, that'll immobilize the Gloop!

The scantily-clad Heat Wave turned to Agnes and smiled, warming up the idea instantly. "Really? A PR deal? Is this like that al-Darsa woman, who modeled for the line of bikinis before Interpol caught up with her?" "Don't be a sop," Cold Front snapped. "Do you think any sort of executive would be caught dead in a stupid Starbase of all places, talking with some dumpy... Hey, where'd she go!?" Liz had deftly used the distraction provided by Agnes to weave a shield of light around herself, hiding her momentarily. Literally out of sight, she slipped away towards the back of the shop -- but she very much wasn't out of mind! Heat Wave sprang forward and threw a punch that went wide but smashed a hole in the wall of the shop. "Hey! We told you all to stay in your seats!" Cold Front raised one hand to summon forth more icy barriers, but after a moment redirected them to the back of the shop, effectively sealing off that avenue of escape.

Starlight's going to stunt the following off her White Light array. Concealment 4 (All Visual, Feat: Close) [5PP] And sneak away. Sneaky sneak! Starlight's Stealth check. (1d20+3=5) Oh, you have got to be... Neither baddy can technically fail this one, so let's go to the combat, hm? Heat Wave has Tremorsense, so she can find Starlight/Liz just fine. Heat Wave's melee attack, vs Starlight's Def. DC 23 Tou (1d20+8=12) But she wiffs. Phew. Cold Front can't detect Starlight/Liz, but she could coat the area with ice/frost... if she wasn't supposed to be the smart one. Icy Genius, folks. She'll make a barrier across the back of the shop, I suppose. Initiative 22 Cold Front -- Uninjured -- GM 21 Heat Wave -- Uninjured -- GM 13 Young Britannia -- Uninjured -- HPx3 10 Starlight -- Fatigue'd -- HPx4 YB's up. Both gels are getting a HP for their Secret Identity Complication.

Could I get a Notice check from Wail, please?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDm4IphrlYg&feature=youtu.be Just a little infusion of creepy into your festive celebrations.

The OOC for this thread. Holiday heroics from our two battlesuited beauties!

December 20, 2011 2:45 PM Jessica Parker's sedan moved smoothly through the streets of Parkside. The wrapped package glittered brightly from the passenger seat, and she sung along with the Christmas carols on the radio waves -- well, spoke the lyrics with a rhythm, anyway. She knew better to try and sing. "Oh the weather outside, is frightful. But the fire, is so, delightful. So since we've no place, to go. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" In point of fact, the only snow outside was in polystyrene piles in Christmas displays in the store windows. Freedom City had seen some scattered snowfall, but nothing that had stuck around for more than twenty four hours. The weathermen kept promising a big snow in time for the big day, but it had yet to materialize. Of course, meteorology was about the farthest thing from Jessica's mind as she pulled up to the curb. She double-checked the address and climbed out the car, shivering as she transitioned from the climate-controlled car to the blow-freezing wind of the street. She hurried around to the passenger side to collect the present, while at the same time her mind quested up and out. She found a particular cellular phone and sent a text message to it -- Mara, it's Jessica, down on the street. Buzz me in, okay?

GotC's Toughness save, vs DC 30. (1d20+8=22) Bruise + Daze. Victory is up once Sage goes IC.

Well Mastermind is all about control, so my first thought is some kind of mind control device but that seems a bit formuliac for someone who conquered the world. Maybe he's close to building a quantum supercomputer that can predict all that will happen, like psychohistory in Asimov's Foundation series?

Well Ironclad is Toughness-shifted and can Power Attack with the best of them, so she could probably pull her weight in a fight. For a set-up, what about something like what happened in Erde? A hero from the other world (Mastermind!Hope?) comes to this one looking for help in saving their world. And it just so happened that the last great freedom dighters in the other-world were -- dun dun DUN! -- alternate versions of whichever PCs go on the adventure! Could lead to some interesting encounters when the PCs encounter folks who knew the alternate, more badass (or simply more hardass?) versions.

Actually, I've been playing with the idea of a series of threads involving dimensional travel. Basically exploring other worlds and having adventures. This could be the start of it, if we get a good group together. As for PCs, Starlight's perfect for moving around subtly, but she's only PL 10 and is likely to sit there for awhile. Glowstar's PL 12, but he's anything but subtle. ;)

Starlight uses Intimidate. A skill she doesn't actually have SM for! Starlight's Intimidate check. (1d20+4=21)

Liz followed the duplicate Mrs. Thorn through the crowds, not blinking as the woman's form filled out and her conservative office wear became a rumpled security uniform. She quickened her pace as the shapeshifter slipped through a door, catching it at the last moment. As she stepped through she rearranged her own body, gaining a full foot and bleaching her skin to alabaster white. Golden armor appeared and grew over her and her facial features became a mere sketch on her head. Starlight reached out and grabbed the extra security guard, shoving him roughly to get his attention. "You," she hissed, "have quite a lot of explaining to do."

15 does not hit, no.

Catalyst moved through her smoke cloud, observing the blobby mass and pondering just which load-out to use on the creature. Oddly enough the beastie didn't seem too put out by fighting in a fog bank. In fact, the way its several pseudopods were tracking her she'd almost swear that... The superheroine realized what was coming in time to jump to the side, but one of the scything goo-tentacles still caught her a solid blow on her leg. She could only imagine the bruise she'd have later. Back up in the lab, Ironclad was doing a bit better. The oozing monster crept around the edges of the room and started throwing chairs and equipment at the metal-clad heroine, but she simply let it clang harmlessly off her armor. She waited patiently -- and when it appeared between two lab tables, let it have a shot from both her wrist blasters! The energy caught the thing in its center mass and picked it up bodily, bouncing it off the far wall.

Blob takes a swipe at Ironclad. Hulking Blob's melee attack check, vs Ironclad's Def. DC 25 Tou (1d20+10=23) Yup, that hits. Ironclad's Toughness save, vs Dc 25. (1d20+15=34) THAT'S the reason you Toughness-shift, people! The Octo-Blob is actually using AA's Octopus Hero (I told you it was in reserve!) so it's not bothered by the smoke. It decides to smack Catalyst instead. Octo-Blob's melee attack check, vs Catalyst's Def. DC 25 Tou (1d20+10=23) That'll hit. Ironclad lays down THE LAW on the blob. Ironclad's ranged attack check w/ +5/-5 Power Attack and +5/-5 All-Out Attack, vs Blob's Def. DC 30 Tou (1d20+10=23) God, I miss doing that. Hulking Blob's Toughness save, vs DC 30. (1d20+12=20) That's Daze + Staggered. Catalyst is up, now. Initiative 25 Octo-Blob -- Uninjured -- GM 25 Ironclad -- -5 Def -- HPx3 17 Catalyst -- Uninjured -- HPx2 6 Blob -- Daze (Ironclad) + Staggered + Bruisex2 -- GM