Raveled

Ironclad's grapple, vs Gargoyle's opposed grapple. (1d20+24=42) Bwahahaha. Revenge of the array! Again, no way in damnation Gargoyle can make that save. She's gonna... Hm, can't switch an array twice in a round. Well, I guess she's gonna punch the Gargoyle! Ironclad's melee attack w/ full All-Out Attack, full Power Attack, vs Gargoyle's Def. DC 30. (1d20+10=19) Oh ffff-- Gonna spend a point to reroll that. Ironclad's melee attack w/ full All-Out Attack, full Power Attack, vs Gargoyle's Def. DC 30. (1d20+10=24) That'll do IC, that'll do. Gargoyle's Toughness save, vs DC 30. (1d20+8=24) Stun + Bruise. Is he still flying? Gargoyle's Concentration check, vs DC 13. (1d20+2=5) Nope! Ghost Fox Killer's ranged attack, vs Ironclad's Def. DC 22 + Autofire (1d20+13=18) Ironclad's Def is currently 10, so that's enough for +4 Toughness. Total DC of 26. Ironclad's Toughness save, vs DC 26. (1d20+15=18) Stun + Bruise. What're the odds! Now, is she still flying? Ironclad's Concentration check, vs DC 14. (1d20+10=14) This is why you put points into Concentration, folks.

Gargoyle needs to make a DC 21 Will save. Gargoyle's Will save, vs DC 21. (1d20+8=21) Just barely made it.

GM Targeter pulled another capsule from the box and prepared to throw hit; Catalyst's markers hit her at just the right moment, causing her to bobble the throw and drop it at her own feet. The woman in the green vest dived to one side and avoided most of the blast, but she ended up prone on the ground, covered in dust, coughing her lungs up. Steelshanks straightened up, triangulating on the sound. She stamped through the fog, moving closer to Catalyst's van by accident as much as anything else.

Steelshanks is the only baddie that can move right now. Move Action: Move 30 ft towards the van. 100 ft. 24 Flora --- Uninjured -- HP x4 20 Catalyst -- Injured x1+ Staggered (2) -- HP x1 10 Steelshanks -- Bruise x4 + Staggered (4) -- GM 9 Targeter -- Bruise x2 + Stun (Catalyst) -- GM Flora's up.

Glowstar jumped up, brushing grass and leaves off himself before bending around to try and see his own back. "Did I get grass stains on my ass? Man, how do you even clean morphic molecules?" Suddenly, a hundred feet away, several gray, rubbery-looking tentacles burst from the water and wrapped around the legs of the Sentry Statue. The teens had a perfect look at something huge and roaring pulled itself onto the land. It looked like a bigger version of the bipedal sharks they had just put down, but this one had a number of tentacles sprouting from it's midsection. Glowstar shook his head. "I can't believe my date's been interrupted by a SfyFy channel original movie," he muttered, taking to the air. He spun gracefully before bearing down on the oversized beast. He thrust his fist out ahead of himself and smacked the thing right on its nose; it fell over sideways, moaning disconsolately as it did so.

Initiative Order 26 -- Shark 5 -- Unconscious -- GM 25 -- Sharktopus -- Bruise + Stun (Glowstar) -- GM 23 -- Shark 1 -- Unconscious -- GM 23 -- Shark 2 -- Unconscious -- GM 22 -- Wisp -- Uninjured -- HPx2 19 -- Shark 3 -- Unconscious -- GM 15 -- Shark 4 -- Unconscious -- GM 15 -- Flora -- Uninjured -- HPx5 14 -- Crow -- Uninjured -- HPx1 12 -- Glowstar -- Uninjured -- HPx4 Wisp is up next

Brian followed a step or two behind Gwen, watching her bring dead plants back to life with just a touch. It was amazing, but he was more worried about her. He had noticed that she tended to go all-out for others. It was an admirable quality in anyone, doubly so in a superhero, and it was probably why she had agreed to go out with him in the first place, but sometimes it seemed like she didn't know her limits. He didn't want to see her slam up hard against them again. Brian took two steps forward and slipped his arms around her waist, pulling Gwen towards him. "I knew you were something special," he said, kissing the top of her head. "But why don't you slow down for a moment?"

Brian finally saw what was happening with the tree when Gwen pointed it out, and carefully lifted the entire thing out of the planter pot. He maneuvered it into the hole and stood there for a moment, supporting the trunk and holding it upright, while he watched roots grow and split in the new plot of dirt. When they connected to the larger pile of dirt all around them, they thickened visibly and soon the teen didn't have to hold the tree upright. He stepped away suddenly, goosebumps crawling over his flesh at the sight of so many wriggling little things. No more monster movie marathons with Morgan, he resolved, using his powers to fill in the dirt. With the tree in place, he walked over to Gwen, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her from running off again. "Are you sure you're okay," he asked. "You already kind of fainted on me once."

Brian's heart leapt into his throat as Gwen threw herself over the railing and down to the ground floor, but she landed well and didn't seem in pain as she moved to the shed. He shrugged at her sudden excitement, waving a hand at the tree; a red glow enveloped the entire pot and Brian both. The pair of them floated up and over the railing, then down to the floor of the greenhouse. The young hero concentrated and the glow around himself snapped off almost at once, but stayed around the base of the pot. He nodded once to himself; that was more like it! Brian walked over to where Gwen was digging in the dirt, the tree following along in its pot. He kneeled in the dirt and took the spade from her. "Here, let me do that." As he worked in the dirt, blades of red energy appeared all around the hole, making it wider and deeper much faster than any one person could have. "So what's the excitement?"

"Hey, it's alright." Brian took a step closer and slipped an arm around Gwen, gripping her shoulder tightly. "This is the sort of thing that happens at Claremont. Heck, if you knew everything about your powers, this would just be a preppy school that looked good on a resume." He tried to keep his tone light, but his mind kept flashing back to the last time he and Gwen had been at the greenhouse, when she had passed out from stress. Granted, it wasn't nearly as hot now as it was then, but a shock to the system like that could take a person any number of ways. He didn't want to think what Nurse Joy -- or Summers! -- would say he if showed up with an unconscious woman in his arms before dawn.

Brian dropped Gwen's hand but stayed close to her, one hand on her back, feeling her muscles move through the thin material of her shirt. The thought of plants sleeping and waking up was faintly ridiculous to him, but he wasn't about to contradict her, for any number of reasons. He watched her handle the tree's branches, caressing them gently. Her care and love for them was evident in every movement, but she seemed to be missing what was right in front of her eyes. "No," he insisted, taking her hand. "Definitely a glow." He spread her fingers wide, moving her hand away from the plant to where it was outlined by the dark sky beyond the glass walls. "See?"

Ironclad's Initiative. (1d20+5=22) Hopefully I've got a Surprise round on this guy. If so, Ready an action to blast him if he starts talking.

Jessica met Joe at the stairs, quickly unfastening the velvet rope that blocked it off. "Hat up," she said to him, "and keep security off me. There's one guy up in the manager's office. Body armor and camo pants, very partisan-chic. I'll handle him myself." At the last moment she slipped the steel rings off her fingers and handed them to the man. "Watch these. Don't want to break them when I armor up." The young woman jogged up the stairs, touching the bracelet on her wrist. The blinding energy field that unfolded was shielded from the rest of the club by a partition that blocked off direct sight of the office door; said door opened at a touch from Ironclad's gauntleted hand. She spun in, raising one wrist blaster and aiming it directly at the armored man's head. "Put the lady down gently," she said, "and come quietly. Contrary to popular expectation, I don't like hurting people but I will if forced. Oh yeah," she added. "Don't say anything, or I'll push you through a wall head-first."

"Maybe it wasn't you glowing," Brian allowed, stepping closer and taking one of her hands in his. "Maybe you're growing radioactive potatoes in here on the sly." He grinned and tilted her face up until he could look her in the eye. "Or maybe Shakespeare inspired me and I'm being all metaphorical." He moved slowly, giving Gwen plenty of time to pull away. He held his breath as he kissed her gently, slowly. When he pulled back his heart was thudding in his chest and his head was full of Gwen's scent. He hand moved from her face to her hair, stroking the long locks. "You really came out here just to be with plants?"

Glowstar Edit here rolled into the general September edits, so I don't have two edits pending on the same character.

"I think this is the part where I say, 'I could ask the same of your, Ms. Barr,'" Brian replied, hovering in the air for a moment before touching down on the catwalk, "but I guess the greenhouse is kind of your domain, isn't it?" The crimson glow subsided slowly rather than cutting out all at once, and Brian stopped talking to watch it, frowning. That's new, he thought to himself, then shook his head and pushed it from his head. "I couldn't sleep," he said, "so I went out for a walk. And saw someone -- you, I guess -- glowing in here." He cocked his head and eyed Gwen. "I didn't know you could glow. I'm going to have to start a Nightlight Club on campus, or something."

Brian Harris prowled the grounds of Claremont Academy, restless. He'd awoken before his roommate today, a virtually unprecedented occasion, though if he was being fair he had never properly fallen asleep through the entire night. He'd tossed and turned in bed for a few hours, then given it up as a bad job maybe thirty minutes ago. The young man had taken a shower and thrown on an undershirt and a pair of loose shorts with the logo of the Freedom Blades (gold skating blade on a royal-blue background) printed on them. Now he was walking across the grass, barefoot, seemingly uncaring about the wet grass or the lumpy ground or the cold pre-dawn air. As he walked, Brian noticed a strange light coming from the greenhouse. It was so faint that the teen was almost convinced that he'd imagined it, but on the other hand he didn't have anything better to do so he turned his feet in that direction. When he opened the front door, he winced at the sudden blast of loud music that leaked out. Suddenly worried about being caught outside of dorms after lights-out, he slipped inside and secured the front door, completely missing the sandals hung by the door. The young man prowled around the glass building carefully, unwittingly circling in the exact opposite direction Gwen had taken earlier. When he noticed the glow again, he realized it had come from the second level. The teen wrapped his power around himself and a soft, ruddy glow began to leak from his skin; in another moment he was airborne, floating up over the lip of the level. He was surprised to find Gwen there and hung in the air, blinking stupidly. "Gwen? What are you doing up so, er, early?"

Glowstar ambled back over and leaned on the table, studying the screen carefully. "First priority," he said without preamble, "is the hostages. I should be able to cover them with an energy shield, which should keep them safe until we can get them out. Someone should see if they can't slip through the portal and grab the money, though, or at least tell the cops where it comes out." He stood up and dusted his hands off, shrugging lightly. "After that, looks to be pretty standard beating-on-the-bad-guys day."

GM The winged man leapt off the Eiffel Tower, falling precipitously and gaining speed as he dove, until he angled his wings and swung up into a steep climb. The gargoyle's -- because that's the only thing he could be -- flight path mirrored Ironclad's almost exactly, and before long he had clamped strong arms around the armored heroine's midsection, pinning her arms to her sides. She struggled weakly but he had caught her off guard, and soon he was flapping his wings, laboring to pull her away from the crowd.

Ini order is: 26 Gargoyle -- Uninjured -- GM 23 Warlock -- Uninjured -- HP x3 20 Ghost Fox -- Uninjured -- GM 15 Ironclad -- Uninjured -- HP x4 Gargoyle's melee attack, vs Ironclad's flat-footed Def. (1d20+12=32) Yikes, that's a heck of a hit. Gargoyle's grapple check, vs Ironclad's opposed. (1d20+22=29) It's literally not possible for her to get anything but the worst result, so there it is. Ironclad and Gargoyle are grappled, Garg is pulling her away from the fight. Warlock's up.

Targeter's Toughness save, vs DC 22. (1d20+6=14) Stun + Bruise x2.

Mako 5's Toughness save, vs DC 28. (1d20+9=14) Fail by 14. Not quite! Mako 5's Fortitude save, vs DC 18. (1d20+10=12) Okay, it's out. Ding ding ding! We have a new contender! Sharktopus' Initiative. (1d20+12=25) Of course, that doesn't come up until next round, so Glowstar still has a chance to get a smack in. Glowstar's melee attack w/ full All-Out Attack, vs Sharktopus' flat-footed defense. DC 26 Tou, DC 21 Fort. (1d20+15=18) That actually does hit. Sharktopus' Toughness save, vs DC 26. (1d20+16=18) Oh wow, that's... Yeah. Stun + Bruise. Sharktopus' Fortitude save, vs DC 21. (1d20+18=32) Nope! Gonna wait for Crow to get an IC post in before I post.

So should we roll initiative now, or... ?

The bad guys here will be Gargoyle and the Ghost Fox Killer. Ironclad's Initiative. (1d20+5=15) Gargoyle's Initiative. (1d20+12=26) Ghost Fox Killer's Initiative. (1d20+9=20)

"Indeed." The rumbling voice from below made Jessica jump, and she was startled to see a large, muscular man with skin the same color and texture as the tower itself climb up from below the platform. "It is Henri de Luc, Secretary of the Defense, making his first -- how do you call it in America? A 'stump speech,' I believe." The color-shifting man climbed until he was perched on the railing. Jessica and Blake noticed huge, bat-like wings, folded about his body like a cape. "Oh, look. My coworker is down there." He pointed one taloned finger down to the crowd, were a woman in a green anorak was making swift work of what could only be some kind of security detail. "I guarantee you, M. de Luc will not be seeing another term." Jessica exchanged glances with Blake and sighed, brushing her hair back. "So much for a quiet day in Paris," she said, leaning against the railing. In a moment she overbalanced and fell, but even as she flipped the energy was erupting from her bracelet and covering her in armor. Still many meters from the pavement, the thrusters ignited and Ironclad peeled off to deal with the interloper. The steel-colored man, for his part, narrowed his eyes as he watched her transformation. "Where does she thing she's going," he rumbled, more to himself than anyone else." His wings snapped open and he prepared to leap off the railing.