Raveled

Glowstar's best option here... is Power Attack. Glowstar's ranged attack roll w/ +4/-4 Power Attack, vs Cosmicstar's Def. DC 23 (1d20+8=13) That's... That's just... Glowstar's ranged attack reroll w/ +4 Power Attack, vs Cosmicstar's Def. DC 23 (1d20+8=11) +10 makes it 21 which, with the Staggered, actually hits! Cosmicstar's Toughness save, vs DC 23. (1d20+13=32) Sweet Christmas! At this rate the Irregulars won't live to see Christmas. Cosmicstar is going to HP the Dazed away and then Stunt an attack. Which attack? This one. That's Strike 15 (Extra: Area/Burst [General] So a DC 25 Reflex save and then a DC 30/22 Toughness save. Glowstar's Reflex save vs. DC 25. (1d20+6=13) Very much not. Glowstar's Toughness save, vs DC 30. (1d20+12=18) Staggered + Dazed Glowstar's Concentration check to keep Flight active, vs DC 13. (1d20+8=23) Well that's so good news, at least. Initiative 32 Cosmicstar -- Bruisex5, Fatigue -- GM 19 Myrmidon -- Bruisedx1, Staggered -- HPx4 17 Changeling -- Uninjured -- HPx2 15 Crow -- Uninjured -- HPx4 14 Wisp -- Uninjured -- HPx3 10 Glowstar -- Staggered + Dazed -- HPx6 Myr is up, and everyone has some rolls to make.

Liz considered her answer carefully, packing away her belongings and slinging the bag over her shoulder. "I feel into a bad crowd myself, in my youth," she admitted. "In fact you could say that most of my family is on the... other side of our conflicts." She stood up, settling her bag more comfortably. "I was exposed to an amazing display of heroism when I was young -- a man gave his life to protect others. It showed me that there could be another path." She looked around and pointed off, into the city. "There is a Starbucks Coffee, a few blocks from here. Do you want to get some while we talk?"

Cosmicstar's Sense Motive, vs DC 35. Second Chance included. (1d20+20=23, 1d20+20=38) He sees through your little ruse! He still gets hit, mind you. Autofire boosts it by... +2, so DC 31 Toughness. Cosmicstar's Toughness save, vs DC 31. (1d20+14=20) Staggered + Dazed refreshes. So! Close!

GM Jacob tilted his head a bit, looking at Wail askance. "Another hero? Lamont's manager said it was you. Or, was he one of those, appear-in-smoke, disappear-when-the-fight's-done types?" The hero could see over Jacob's shoulder and noticed Des getting more and more agitated under his mother's constant, well, mothering. He abruptly stood upright, moving in the stiff-limbed way of the angry or indignant, and stalked down the hallway. He passed by the first door and went into the second, only failing to slam it with a sudden effort. Cathy rose to her feet and walked over to Wail, bouncing the baby in her grip. It had accepted the bottle and was sucking away greedily, wide eyes taking in everything. "I apologize for my son's actions," she said. "It's late, and I'm sure this whole thing was a huge shock to his system. Um, can I offer you some coffee or something? We had roast beef and carrots for dinner and I'm sure there's some left over if you'd wait while I heat it up. I don't know how often you get home-cooked meals, what with living alone and all that." Jacob opened his mouth, apparently to protest his wife putting so much effort in, but she stopped him with an upraised hand. "The man very well might've saved our son's life tonight, I think the least we can do is offer him some food!"

Jessica turned and busied herself with the coffee machine; on closer inspection Corbin noticed that it was a single-serving machine and quite a bit more complicated-looking than most. The young genius went through the ritual of hot water, filter, and grounds smoothly, grabbing a mug and rinsing it out in the sink before sticking it under the spout. In a few minutes she handed a steamy cup of joe to the bigger teen, before retreating to her own mug. "I'm sorry I only have the macadamia roast on hand," she said in a tone that didn't sound anything like an apology. If Corbin dared it, he would find that the brew was a step above most store-bought grounds. The two enjoyed their coffee in silence for a long moment before Jessica spoke again, her tone growing colder by degrees. "I have no problem with getting rid of Blake's things as soon as possible," she said. "Not that there's a lot. A couple cardboard boxes of clothes and all. I don't know if he ever even unpacked his art supplies." She cut herself off suddenly and looked to the side, inhaling sharply. "I do take some offense to the idea that I would try to keep or destroy any of it. I'm trying to be an adult about this whole... everything." She paused, and added in a rushed tone, "It's good to hear that he's going back to school, anyway."

Jessica Parker had gotten back to bed around one in the morning and slept through until her alarm woke her. Even then she debated skipping work or at least going in late, but that wasn't very professional; besides, they were testing the boundary conditions of eka-lead. Jessica had written some ideas on how to stabilize the element, and her time on the particle smasher was scheduled early. So she was up in her kitchen, dressed in a sensible slacks-vest combo, when the big man with the ring knocked on her outer door. She did a quick scan with the security system and confirmed who it was, then let him in. She retreated to the kitchen and poured herself some coffee, then turned to face Corbin. She took a look drink of it, eying him over the rim of the mug, before speaking. "I'd offer you some," she said, "but doesn't class start pretty soon?"

"I... wouldn't know much about specific tests," Brain admitted. "Science class isn't really was my best subject. But if there's something you can do real quick, like a blood test, that would be great." He paused and spoke his next few words. "What I really want to be sure of, is my using my powers going to be a big problem? I mean, if this is Terminus radiation... you saw what it did to your chair. Am I a danger just to be around? Am I going to be flying around or even saving someone's life, and just rip a hole into the Terminus by existing?" He was sitting forward on the chair and his eyes were now locked on his face; apparently he'd blown through the preliminaries and gotten to the big question.

Tank 1's Toughness save, vs DC 21. (1d20+8=19) Injuredx1.

Agnes' approach went unheard by the student and when she spoke it startled the other woman. Liz's head snapped up and she inhaled sharply, calling up her power, but after a moment she realized just who this was talking to her. She discreetly let the power dissipate and stood, offering the taller woman (But not by much. She was much taller during the fight, I'm sure of it.) a shy smile. "Yes. Sorry. I am Elizabeth, Elizabeth Moya. But most folks just call me Liz." Her voice was carefully neutral, with just a touch of a Spanish accent leaking through; the alien had spent a long time getting it just right. "If you would wait a moment while I get my things together." The student began to gather her books and notebooks, making sure everything fit inside her messenger bag and that everything was in just the right spot. She didn't stop talking as she worked, however. "I will admit, I am surprised that you agreed to meet like this -- as 'civilians.' I do not think that most folks... in our line of work would agree to do that."

"Not sleeping can be nice," Brian agreed. "It really helps me catch up on my schoolwork. "My powers basically all revolving around blowing stuff up," he said. "I can shoot out a bunch of energy beams that all hit a target and explode it, or I can shoot out a more focused blast that can punch through armor and force fields. Um, I can make a huge explosion but I don't like to do that because it's a lot of collateral damage. In the last few months I've figured out how to make this energy field that I can use to lift stuff. Oh, can I can do this!" He summoned a glow of red energy around one hand and touched the arm of his chair with just one finger. After a few seconds the leather turned dry and brittle, splitting apart and revealing the foam padding. He plucked a bit of that out and it dried into a particulate dust almost immediately. Brian dismissed the energies with a thought and dusted his hands off. "So, yeah. Super-aging touch. My skin's tougher than it used to be, too, and I can fly. Pretty standard stuff, that. "The reason I'm here is... well, you heard what happened at Claremont? When the 'herald' of the Gorgon attacked? I was kind of in the middle of all that." Summers generally frowned on students revealing the school's secret, but Miss Americana was apparently a superhero herself so it was probably okay for her to know that there were heroes at the school. "He -- It called me out for being 'tainted by the Terminus.' A week or so after the Gorgon got kicked out of here, I fought a couple of prototype robots that called be a 'Terminus energy source.'" He sat forward, hunching his shoulders; the young man's eyes roamed over the office, unable to settle for long. "I guess I'm just looking for some confirmation. Am I a T-baby? If I am, is there... is there anything I should do?"

The OOC for this thread. A little talk between light-controlling heroes, nothing at all can go wrong! ... Right?

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 11:46 AM Riverside Park, Riverside The Sentry Statue was not what most people saw when they first entered Freedom City, but it was the city's most famous landmark. Almost any citizen, and certainly any hero, could have found it, which was why Liz Moya chose it for a meeting place with Young Britannia. There was a bench there, between the Statue's legs; Liz was sitting there in tan slacks and a bulky green sweater. She had told the other heroine to look for the sweater and the messenger bag she used to haul her schoolbooks around in, but with the lowering skies and colder temperatures (a side-effect, they said, of the Gorgon's approach) the outfit was eminently practical as well. The student-hero had intended to sit there and keep an eye out for the fellow light manipulator, but she wasn't always the most patient person. The young woman decided to spend her extra time studying, and at the moment was nose-deep in a history book, trying to memorize the procession of US presidents. It was a subject she personally found mind-numbing, but it was required for her coursework so she bent all of her concentration to the task.

The vines struck hard against the robot, so hard in fact that they left smears of plant material against its visor. "Error. Error," it bleated bassily. "Visual systems occluded. Initiate cleaning mechanism." Glowstar himself rose in the air, gathering energy deeply into himself. The second Alphadroid levered itself upright. "Warning. Warning. Build-up of Terminus energies detected. Prepare emergency counter-measures! Prepare for ar--" Glowstar let loose a mighty blast of energy all of a sudden and knocked the robot's head clean off. "Counter those measures," he spat.

Alpha 1 is Dazed, so Glowstar is going to blast Alpha 2. Glowstar's ranged attack roll, vs Alpha 2's Def. DC 27+Autofire (1d20+12=28) 8 pts about Def means +4 to Damage. Yikes! Alpha 2's Toughness save, vs DC 31. (1d20+14=15) O-U-T, out! Initiative 28 Alpha 2 -- Destroyed -- GM 18 Flora -- Uninjured -- HPx4 13 Alpha 1 -- Injuredx1 + Daze (Flora) -- GM 7 Glowstar -- Uninjured -- HPx5 Flora's up. Remember, Bree, she can still Power Attack for +2/-2.

Changeling's hidden blade slashed a hole straight through the tank's injection-molded skin. She caught a glimpse of an empty interior pulsing with a vague greenish light, before concentrated fire from the army men drove her off. The other tank switched targets to Glowstar, popping shots off at the teen hero as he dove and spun through the air. He took cover behind a stone-faced support column. He took a deep breath, slowly gathering energy in his palm. It was less than his normal attack, but he was planning something. Popping out of cover, the hero tossed his energy ball in a high arc. The tank's tracks spun and got it out of the way of the projected impact area -- but at the last moment, Glowstar twitched his finger and the energy projectile jerked over, hitting not the firing tank but the one that Changeling had slashed open! His blast managed to knock it on its side for a moment before it fell back on its treads.

Tank 1's Toughness save, vs DC 19. (1d20+8=28) Nope. Tank 2 can't attack this round; Tank 1 is going for Glowstar. Tank 1's ranged attack roll, vs Glowstar's Def. DC 23 (1d20+12=16, 1d20+12=27) Miss. Squads focus on Changeling. Squad 2 and 3's ranged attack roll, vs Changeling's Def. DC 23 (1d20+5=9, 1d20+5=17) Well, she's safe from that. Glowstar blasts at Tank 2; time to take one of these guys out! Glowstar's ranged attack roll w/ full Accurate Attack, vs Tank 2's Def. DC 22 (1d20+17=27) Tank 2's Toughness save, vs DC 22. (1d20+7=21) Injured x2 Initiative 20 Glowstar -- Bruised -- HPx4 17 Changeling -- Uninjured -- HPx1 17 Tank 1 -- Uninjured -- GM 11 Tank 2 -- Injuredx2 + Staggered + Dazed (Changeling) -- GM 9 Squad 1 -- Destroyed -- Minion 8 Squad 2 -- Uninjured -- Minion 6 Squad 3 -- Uninjured -- Minion Changeling's up.

Cosmicstar's Toughness save, vs DC 33. (1d20+15=27) Daze + Bruise x4.

Protectron, Cobalt Templar, and Glowstar all began searching through the metal shipping containers; before long Squirt and the Professor came over to help. The golden robot's sensors did indeed speed the process up and within a handful of minutes they had found one crate, hidden down amongst the stacks, that was mostly empty. In fact the only thing in it was an apparently angry reptilian hybrid and a broken tank of some liquid heavier than water. The heroes stood back and let the Professor open it. Once the door was unlocked and opened, the gorilla was bowled over by a smaller form covered in bright green scales. There was a few moments of confusion, but before long the lizard-man -- introduced as 'Tails' -- had calmed down and was talking quietly with Squirt. Down on the docks, police had cordoned off the area and were taking away the criminals that Freedom Angel hadn't personally airlifted to a station house. Before long the sound of a helicoptor's chopping blades drifted over the pier and a helicoptor bearing the AEGIS emblem landed down on the docks and a middle-aged woman in BDUs jumped out. He was quickly stopped by one of the police officers and it wasn't long until the pair were in a heated debate. Glowstar walked over to the railing of the container ship and watched it for a minute before speaking. "Well, looks like the government's here. Anyone else want to handle talking to them? I don't think I'm their favorite hero just yet."

GM "Mr. Olivas doesn't always call the shots," Marie explained. "I think this one came straight from Abigail -- that's the woman who made my sister like she is. She... she gives lots of orders that involve killing or scaring people off. Sometimes they don't make a lot of sense, but she's the only one that can fix my sister after she gets hurt. It... We still owe a lot to Mr. Olivas. If not for him, my sister would be dead by now." Marie put an arm around Stephanie's shoulder and shifted her body until she was between her sister and the heroines. It would've been an almost comical sight, the slim woman in the tactical vest shielding the huge golem, if not for the fierce emotion in her face. "I'll take you to Abigail's house. I'll even show you how to get past her guards. But you leave Mr. Olivas out of this."

Tank 1 continues to focus fire on the lady that just will not be hit! Tank 1's ranged attack roll, vs. Changeling's Def. DC 23 (1d20+12=26) And the trend continues. Squads attack Glowstar. Squad 1 and 2's ranged attack rolls, vs Glowstar's Def. DC 23 (1d20+5=12, 1d20+5=25) That could be worse; these could be regular enemies which can actually crit against PCs. Glowstar's Toughness save, vs DC 23. (1d20+12=16) Bruised + Dazed. Initiative 20 Glowstar -- Bruised + Dazed (Squad 2) -- HPx4 17 Changeling -- Uninjured -- HPx1 17 Tank 1 -- Uninjured -- GM 11 Tank 2 -- Injured + Staggered + Dazed (Changeling) -- GM 9 Squad 1 -- Destroyed -- Minion 8 Squad 2 -- Uninjured -- Minion 6 Squad 3 -- Uninjured -- Minion Changeling's up.

Tank 2's Toughness save, vs DC 26. (1d20+7=16) Dazed + Staggered.

Changeling's umbrella-sword struck through the mass of toy soldiers, scattering their plastic ranks and cutting several straight in half. The survivors fled back down the corridor, deeper into the mall. The tanks fired their cannons and the remaining squads lent their rifle-fire to the assault, but Changeling and Glowstar were too nimble and evasive for it to do much good. Glowstar, for his part, drew energy out of his ever-present force shielding and focused it into a crackling sphere of energies. He thrust it away from his body and numerous distinct rays leapt out, pummeling the tanks and sending them flying high into the air. Unfortunately their light weight meant that when they landed, they weren't so much as shook up from their impromptu flight.

Squad 1's Sense Motive, vs DC 14. (1d20+4=5) Yowch, they are certainly flat-footed! That in fact hits them. Since they are Minions (sorry, should've mentioned that earlier) they Take 10 on their Toughness save for a result of 12; totally destroyed. Tanks are up; first one fires at Glowstar, then Changeling. Tank 1 & 2 respective range attack rolls, vs target's Def. DC 23 (1d20+12=20, 1d20+12=16) Neither hit. That's more like it. Squaddies pitch in, one number 2 on Glowstar, number 3 on Changeling. Squads 2 and 3 ranged attack roll, vs target's Def. DC 23 (1d20+5=6, 1d20+5=19) Neither hit. Yay! Glowstar takes a moment to line up a shot on the injured Tank. Glowstar's range attack roll, vs Tank's Def. DC 27 + Autofire (1d20+12=19) Initiative 20 Glowstar -- Uninjured -- HPx4 17 Changeling -- Uninjured -- HPx1 17 Tank 1 -- Uninjured -- GM 11 Tank 2 -- Injured -- GM 9 Squad 1 -- Destroyed -- Minion 8 Squad 2 -- Uninjured -- Minion 6 Squad 3 -- Uninjured -- Minion Changeling's up.

Alpha 1's Toughness save, vs DC 25. (1d20+16=20) Hey! Bruise + Daze!

Brian eyed the unskinned robot anxiously. There was a human skeleton in Claremont's science lab that similarly unnerved him; he always made sure to sit somewhere so he could see the teacher and keep the skeleton in view. The fact that this was an almost perfect human replica, just missing the outer layer, made it all the worse. He kept it in view for as long as he could without it being too obvious, then purposefully put it out of his mind. Brian followed the science hero into the office, settling himself in the chair -- then half-standing and settling himself again. He wasn't used to something that tried to conform to his body. It was a new experience. "No, thank you," he said in reply to her offer. "I don't really drink anymore. Like, any kind of liquid. I don't eat or sleep, either, and a couple of times I've found myself forgetting to breathe. That's part of the reason I'm here."