Raveled

Liposuctioned by the finest ArcheTech doktors. Starlight :arrow: Starlight's listed weight should be 170 lbs, not 340. That's a hold-over from a previous version. Liposuctioned by the finest ArcheTech doktors.

Freedom Angel and Protectron (and anyone else who chooses to remain on the docks) are now facing a mixed force of four Soldiers (armed with heavy pistols) and four SWAT Officers (armed with submachine guns). Initiative for the 4 Soldiers. (1d20+1=7, 1d20+1=12, 1d20+1=20, 1d20+1=4) Initiative for 4 SWAT Officers. (1d20+2=22, 1d20+2=21, 1d20+2=11, 1d20+2=5)

As the golden robot and the angel of Freedom swooped down on them, the dockworkers responded with commendable speed. Several of them threw themselves behind crates, forklifts, or other handy pieces of cover; the remaining drew weapons and opened fire on the flying heroes. Aboard the freighter, several heads popped over the railing to see what the fuss was. A few moments later they disappeared again, and before long the heroes could see the anchor chains being wound up into the hull. Before they were even fully retracted, the ship let loose with a blast from its horn and began pulling away from the docks. Glowstar fled the warehouse when the ship's horn shook the air. He glanced between the suspiciously well-coordinated dockworkers and the ship, and made his decision in an instant. A red glow surrounded him again as he took two steps and vaulted through the air, coming to rest on the deck of the ship.

Arcturus notices a clear line in the dust covering the threshold, like something had been dragged through the door.

Glowstar swept through the cavern, trying to track the moments of so many things at once. One of the turrets was sparking and almost done for, but the other had barely been scratched; that was obviously the more dangerous target. The young hero hung in the air and gathered power in, letting it pool in either hand. He took up a proper pitching position in the air just as the turret that he'd dismissed fired. It hit him and though his force field held, the power of the blast was enough to throw his aim off. Glowstar's blast followed a curving trajectory, carving a shallow trench in the floor and coming nowhere close to his target.

Glowstar goes after Turret 3. So that misses... yeah.

The lightning streaked across the sand and grounded itself into the alien princess, transmuting bits of the beach into glass as it passed through her body. She groaned and turned over on the sand, unable to stand as yet. "Your Majesty!" Consul leapt forward and struck out at Ironclad, but the armored heroine deflected the blow. She could still feel the power behind it, though; apparently the ambassador wasn't a lightweight, either. "Her Majesty's having a little nap time," Ironclad said, aiming a punch of her own which the orange-skinned alien avoided with a deft motion. "If you really care about her, why not pick her up and cart her off?"

Khania's Reflex save, vs DC 19. (1d20+8=18) Nope! Khania's Toughness save, vs DC 24. (1d20+10=19) Bruise + Daze refreshes. Khania's on her ass and not moving ATM. Consul rushes forward and attempts to smack Ironclad. Consul's melee attack check w/ full Power Attack, vs Ironclad's Def. DC 28 (1d20+7=9) Nope! Ironclad retaliates. Ironclad's melee attack check, vs Consul's Def. DC 25 (1d20+10=13) Oh, geez. Initiative 22 Ironclad -- Uninjured -- HPx4 22 Warlock -- Uninjured -- HPx3 20 Consul -- Uninjured -- GM 7 Khania -- Bruise x1 + Daze (Warlock) -- GM

GM Wail's remark was handled with the sort of easy acceptance that only an experienced Freedom City cop had. The young thugs were loaded into the police cruisers; with a quick adjustment to the weapon, Desmaris unfroze the monochrome robber and the entire group was carted away. The whole post-crime scene process unfolded with the speed of long practice, as the teen gave his statement and the young man's manager put in an appearance. Once it was all wrapped up it was already past the end of Desmaris' shift. "Um. Mr. L?" He walked up to Wail, shouldering a much-mended backpack, the time-gun nowhere in sight. "Mr. Mackly, my boss? He said he's going to be calling my parents, so I think everything's going to kind of come out into the open. So could you please come to my house and put in a good word for me? I really think I could do some good, but if my parents knew I building, well, the kind of stuff you saw, they'd probably ground me and never let me leave the house."

Starlight can go in and not mess up the dynamic too much. Her Healing and such will keep folks in the fight but hopefully not dominate things.

I think that's enough talking and being nice. Unleash the dogs of Plot!

Can I get a Notice check from Arcturus, please?

'Larry' stared into the distance for a long minute, long enough for Marcus to wonder if the transient had fallen asleep on his feet. Suddenly he shook himself all over and nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Guy lives over in the old theater. You know, the one that keeps being abandoned? He keeps the whole place to himself, but sometimes he throws really wild parties, you know?" It didn't take long for Marcus to find the theater in question. The place had undergone a number of name changes as various owners picked it up and then dropped the property without even putting on a show. It was well-located, right on the riverfront and with plenty of nearby parking. Nonetheless the old building seemed cursed; the latest owners had gone bankrupt before they'd even managed to take down the last marquee or remove the boards over the windows. Among the acting crowd the place was simply called MacBeth's Theater. As the hero put his hand on the front door, a bright light shone shone behind him. He turned to see a woman descending, quite literally, out of a sphere of light that burned as bright as the sun. She was taller even than Marcus, clad in golden armor from her head to her toe -- even her eyes were pits of pure, molten gold. Where her skin was visible, it was white -- not Caucasian, but white like chalk or marble. She didn't seem to have nose, ears, or a mouth, until one simply appeared in the proper place. "This building is not to be traveled lightly," she informed Marcus. "Death lies on it; return home, young man, and let the Light banish this darkness."

Ironclad's using Datalink to try to wrest control of internal security away from whoever took control. SM allows 25 Computer checks and Mental Quickness pretty much assures that it's all free actions, too boot. Let me know if you still need me to roll anything. EDIT: So ordered by durf. Ironclad's Computer check. (1d20+15=29)

Ironclad stared at Protectron blankly for a long moment, then shook her head sharply. "Internal security! Why didn't I think of that! Augh, sometimes I get way too focused on handing the bad guys their collective butt on a platter." The young genius moved to one of the ubiquitous, rubber-sheathed lines running into and out of the plant. She hovered her gauntleted hand over several of them until she found one that she needed. She closed her eyes, floating in midair, and after a moment faint, electric-blue lights seeped out from the chinks in her armor. Ironclad herself was unaware of any of this; all her attention was focused inwardly as her mind dived into the power station's computer systems. She threw herself against anti-intrusion virii and slid around firewalls, searching for the internal camera feed.

Glowstar's Toughness, vs DC 27. (1d20+10=12) I think I'm going to reroll that one. Glowstar's Toughness save with HP reroll, vs DC 27. (1d20+10=30) MUCH better result!

Durf, any chance Ironclad could get within 100 ft of a data connection? Anything that goes into the power plant?

I'd throw any of my PCs into this. Starlight or Glowstar though, for preference.

Quinn, you realize the point of Quick Change is that changing into a specific outfit is a Free action? Right?

I'd be fine with throwing Starlight into this. She needs some threads.

Jessica walked over and picked up one of the metal-and-glass constructions, slipping it onto her armored hand and testing the fit and feel of it. Sensibly, there were adjustable clasps a good distance from any of the working bits, and even one-handed it was a snap to fit the device to her own hand. "Very nice, Dragonfly," she complimented the other inventor. "This makes it even more important that we touch the Gorgon as little as possible." She opened her mouth to say something else, but at that moment the Lab's communication system intruded on her personal noosphere. She opened up the link and used her armor's holoprojector to let everyone view the call. "I don't see the conflict of interests," she said to Victory. "I suppose we can fit one more on our strike team."

If Khania heard Blake, she didn't pay him any mind. "I warn you, Earthling," she said, pointing an imperious finger at Jessica, "that you are facing a warrior-princess unlike anything you've faced before. Bow down now and I may be lenient and only take your trinket away from you." "No dice," Jessica replied. "Besides, how do you know what I've faced?" There was a flare of light and a surge of energy, and suddenly Ironclad was standing on the beach. "I've got the weirdest job in the world, lady, and you're nothing more than an irritation right now." Before the alien princess could react, Ironclad surged across the intervening space and threw a hard left hook. It caught Khania completely off-guard and threw her several feet down the beach, where she landed in a puff of sand.

Brian felt a genuine smile over his face. Breakfast with Gwen promised to be far more interesting than John's business-like demeanor, or enduring Morgan and Vic's morning infatuation-fest. "I really would like that," he said, "but I've got to grab a shower before that." The young man let himself out of the greenhouse and headed back to the dorms with a spring in his step. Another appealing thought occurred to him; if he was fast, he could get into the showers before anyone else. There might actually still be hot water left!

Time for Initiatives, I think. Khania is, well, Khania, while Consul is using AA's John Henry build. Ironclad's Initiative. (1d20+5=22) Wow. Khania's Initiative. (1d20+5=7) Hee hee. Consul's Initiative. (1d20+9=20) Pretty good! But the lady in the suit still strikes first. Free Action Switches Weapon Array to Servos, smacking the uppity alien princess. Ironclad's melee attack check, vs Khania's flat-footed Def. DC 25 (1d20+10=15) Yeesh. Good thing I didn't try to Power Attack with that! It hits, barely. Khania's Toughness save, vs DC 25. (1d20+10=12) Ouch! Dazed + Staggered. Not a good way to start the fight, princess!

Brian curled in on himself even tighter as Gwen touched him, but after a second he relaxed and folded his arms around her, holding her tightly. He didn't even seem to mind the vines as they crawled around him, pulling the two teens even closer. He didn't say anything but she could feel his body shuddering with quiet sobs. Whatever the story had meant to him, it was obvious that telling it what was long overdue. After a few minutes Brian pushed Gwen away, sniffling and wiping at his eyes. "Wow. I'm... I'm sorry, Gwen. I've just... never told anyone that story. At least, not like that." He inhaled deeply and got to his feet. "You should probably get back to your dorms. It's almost dawn. If people find out we spent all night in the greenhouse together, well, they'd probably talk, you know?"