Raveled

Initiative order is 24 Flora --- Uninjured -- HP x4 20 Catalyst -- Uninjured -- HP x2 16 Targeter -- Uninjured -- GM 10 Steelshanks -- Uninjured -- GM

Steelshank's Initiative (1d20+2=10) Targeter's Initiative (1d20+9=16)

GM "That's amazing," Marie Soto enthused. Turning back to the camera, she smiled for the folks watching at home. "Everyone at WXAD wishes these volunteers the best of luck in bringing a little bit of green into the heart of the city. This is Marie Soto, reporting li-- AUGH!" As the reporter signed off, she was interrupted by a car smashing down into the middle of the planned garden. Volunteers scattered and the camera swung around to find the source of the flying automobile. It wasn't hard: a large female figure crafted from shining steel and dressed in ribbons of black material was stomping down the street, the pavement cracking under her tread. Walking next to her was a smaller woman dressed in a more contemporary costume of urban camo-pants and a green vest. The second woman cradled a high-tech looking rifle, which she sighted down on the camera. A quick burst of gunfire smashed the camera, and the fight was off the air.

GM The camera panned off of the student and back onto the reporter. "That's great to hear, Gwendolyn, and we wish you the best of luck with this project. Of course, it's not just Freedom's citizens that are helping with this project. The city's industries are also contributing. The planters and tools you see here have been donated by the Home Depot, the soil and seeds are from Lincoln's own Southside Botanica, and Franklin & Wessler are providing the pesticides and fertilizers to help these plants grow strong." As she talked Marie walked across the lot, until the camera was fixed on a van with the F&W logo printed on it. "Jasmine Benoit, from Franklin & Wessler, is here on site. Ms. Benoit, do you have any words to say on this project?" The camera panned over to fix on a young woman with wire-frame glasses, a dark complexion, and a button nose.

The OOC for this thread. Flora and Catalyst take the time to beat up some bad guys. These two bad guys, to be specific.

August 10th, 2011 Near the intersection of 24th and K Street 5:35 PM On televisions across Freedom City, commercials for Fun Time Toys wrapped up and the familiar jingle for WXAD news sounded. The station logo faded to a shot of a bright-faced woman with dark hair and sharp features. "Hello viewers. This is Marie Soto, coming to you from Lincoln, near the edge of the city. Behind me you can see an empty lot, just one of many disused spaces that fill Freedom's less fortunate areas. But today a little bit of this urban blight is being cleaned up, courtesy of students and volunteer helpers." As the reporter spoke, the camera panned from the headshot to an empty lot, making sure to linger on the cracked pavement and rusty chainlink fence. Before long, though, additional figures walked into frame. Most were teenagers or elderly citizens, but there were a few adults in their prime. Everyone was dressed for hard work: jeans, work boots, hats or headscarfs, and green and black tee-shirts with the logo "Green Freedom" on the back. Several were assembling wooden or plastic planters, while others were wielding heavy hammers to finish breaking up the pavement. The camera soon came to focus on a young woman with reddish-brown hair, pale green eyes, and tanned skin. "Like this young woman here," the reporter continued, placing a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Gwendolyn Barr, from the Claremont Academy. Gwendolyn, could you tell us a little more about what you're doing here today?"

The bed was empty, though the rumpled sheets showed that it had been used. For the first time Blake realized that he could hear the water running in the bathroom. The door opened as Blake turned and he saw Jessica step out wrapped in a towel, wet hair hanging down to her shoulders. She saw him and gave a small gasp, stepping back behind the bathroom door. She blushed hotly, the color spreading from behind her ears until her entire face was red. "Um. Hey, honey. I... I thought you'd still be at the museum. Um, obviously." She took a deep breath, trying for some kind of composure. For some reason the idea of being semi-nude in front of the man she'd slept with before was causing her mind to get derailed. "Did... did you have a good time?"

GM The Fisher King gave Ludwig a dirty look as the criminal was towed out of the museum by the impromptu prison, the tiles resettling and smoothing out in his wake. "That thug is Ludwig. He feels the world would be better served by destroying the laws of our society and letting the strong prey upon the weak. His cronies aren't usually much more than a headache for the police, but Ludwig has enough power to be a true threat to the order. If he simply focused that in a positive direction, he could be a true force for good." The King shook his head sadly, then slapped Warlock on the back. "Once again, the land extends its thanks to you, wizard, in helping to apprehend that villain." With that the Fisher King melted back into the floor, and suddenly Blake was alone again.

GM With her newly-aligned sensors, Dragonfly could see the tentacle ball start climbing the walls, moving on the curved surface as easily as it had on the ground. It lashed out suddenly, obviously hoping that this new angle of attack would grant it some advantage over the heroine but it was sorely mistaken. Its tentacles whipped out and Dragonfly slid between them nimbly, leaving the fleshy tendrils to slap against the stone wetly. It emitted an annoyed-sounding whine, shuffling its mass as it prepared a new attack.

Cthuloid's melee attack, vs Dragonfly's Def. DC 25 (1d20+10=16) Whelp, that misses.

GM The lightning crawled over Ludwig, traveling through his body, in the ground, and back again several times. The thug's body arched and convulsed with the energy blast, then hung limp. The Fisher King gestured and the tiles flowed up Ludwig's body, encasing him except for his head. The strange man turned to Warlock and inclined its head respectfully. "The land thanks you, strange warrior from beyond our shores. This one is a perennial thorn in our side, and your aid in his capture shall not be forgotten."

Ludwig's Reflex save, vs DC 19. (1d20+3=17) It hits. Ludwig's Toughness save, vs DC 24. (1d20+10=14) ... Staggered + Stunned. SEE! Make Toughness saves! Fisher King drops another Snare, healing the original one and making Ludwig Bound.

Flight 5 is really freaking fast. He'd be breaking the sound barrier with those things.

The tentacle beast constricted back into itself as Dragonfly disappeared, the heroine's blast flashing overhead and blasting the wall behind it. The creature dashed across the room, moving too fast for the armor's sensors to properly follow. It shoved itself into Dragonfly's personal space and squirted a thick stream of -- ink? Of something dark and vision-obscuring all over the armor's helmet. Ironclad stepped back from Granny, shifting power away from her servos and into her wrist blasters. "You are a sick, sick woman," she said. "Your universe may be ending, but that's no reason to invite the end of all creation in for a snack! You always fight, until the very bitter end!" The armored heroine raised her gauntlets and fired a supercharged burst that lit up the entire control room. "Never, ever give up." The energy blast slammed into the elderly researcher and punched her through the wall -- through several of them, in fact. Ironclad followed her trajectory until she stopped moving and lay there, still. The heroine made to move forward and check on her, but she never got the chance. Weird motes of energy appeared from nowhere and swirled around her, until they obscured the entire room in a whirlwind of white.

Cthuloid's Toughness save, vs DC 25. (1d20+9=28) Makes it again! Cthuloid's Visual Dazzle w/ All-Out Attack, vs Dragonfly's Def. (1d20+15=28) Cthuloid Surges to get across the room and ink Dragonfly. Rank 10 Visual Dazzle, so DC 20 Reflex save and DC 20 Fort. Waive the Fatigue, so Fly picks up a HP. Granny's Stunned, so Ironclad's gonna take the opportunity to blast her while she's down. Ironclad's wrist blasters w/ full All-Out Attack & full Power Attack, vs. Granny's Def. DC 30 (1d20+10=15) That hits. Granny's Toughness, vs DC 30. (1d20+6=14) And she is out of there!

GM Ludwig snorted and stepped up to swat Warlock again -- or at least he tried to, but when his feet wouldn't move he looked down at them. The tiles that made up the museum's floor had twisted up and over his boots, securing him to the ground! Amazingly enough, this happened without causing any cracks or other obvious damage to the floor. Behind Warlock, the floor bulged and a tall, imposing male figure with slate-gray skin and a billowing red cloak floated up out of the floor. "I am the Fisher King," he announced. "I am of this land and for it, and shall not stand for desecration of its relics!" "Sod off, Angler Dude," Ludwig snorted, pulling at his feet. The warped tiles cracked and strained, but the thug's legs remained encased. "Augh! I'm going to break out of here and beat both of you into fish food!"

Cue new ally, and a new attack! Ludwig's Reflex save, vs DC 20 Snare. (1d20+5=16) He's entangled. Def -2, Att -2. Ludwig's melee attack, vs Snare. DC 25 (1d20+10=27) Well, I'm pretty sure that hits. Snare's Toughness save, vs DC 25. (1d20+10=21) Snare is now Rank 9. Warlock's up.

Brian felt his spirits raise when Gwen smiled at him, and the glow around the parts intensified before he got it under control. As Corbin and Morgan attached the various pieces together, Brian 'let go' of them, and before long the structure was standing on its own. With that part done he hung around the edges of the group and watched everyone: Jeena growing to giant size and handling the pieces of glass like a jeweler assembling a ring; Morgan's suggestion of reinforced glass; and Gwen showing people different jobs that needed doing. He helped Vicky gather some of the trash into a nearby dumpster, then walked behind Gwen and slipped an arm around her shoulder. "So, this is gonna be like a student greenhouse? Anyone can come and plant stuff here?"

The cthuloid evaded the attack nimbly, tentacles whipping as it spun. The amorphous thing launched itself through the air and hit Dragonfly square on. The heroine tried to push it away with a buzzing shield of dimensional energies, but the creature's tentacles lashed around her and before long she was entirely engulfed, unable to move or see for the squishy mass surrounding her. Granny's fighting style was untrained and ferocious. She swung at Ironclad wildly, almost randomly, her nails striking sparks from the heroine's armor but failing to do much else. "It was perfect! It was beautiful! It was the end of all and I was going to be its bride!" Ironclad fended off the madwoman until she saw an opening, then retaliated with a straight jab that broke the woman's nose and slammed her against a bulkhead. "You were going to be eaten up," she shot back. "Like so many after-dinner mints. The Terminus can't be reasoned with, it's pure destruction! If you want to go kill yourself, at least don't take others down with you!"

Brian was floored by Gwen's words. "I... I've never heard anyone say anything like that to me," he said. "But I think you're beautiful, and brilliant, and I think you've done more in your life already than I maybe ever will, and I want to hear all about it." He leaned forward and brushed his lips against Gwen's, lightly, tentatively. He pulled back, his heart pounding in his chest. "I'm sorry," he said, a touch breathlessly. "I think I had to try that, or I was going to go crazy." He stood up, even if he couldn't seem to let go of her hands. "I think we should get back to the library."

Brian dug his wallet out and extracted a pair of bills with all the care of an archeological dig. "I'll just take a peperoni. But if someone wants to order some cheesy bread, I'll totally help you eat it." He handed to the money to Morgan -- who was apparently the bag man for this run -- and addressed the group. "You know, I've got some first-aid training, from Scouts. I can't regrow limbs, but if Crimson Katana slices you up a bit, I can put more than a band-aid and a kiss on it."

Cthuloid's Toughness save, vs DC 27. (1d20+10=28) Makes it. Cthuloid's melee attack w/ All-Out Attack, vs. Dragonfly's Def. (1d20+15=31) That hits, but does it stick? Cutholid's grapple attempt, vs. Dragonfly's grapple attempt. (1d20+32=43) Sticky icky! Onto the SF fight. Granny's unarmed strike, vs Ironclad's Def. DC 25 (1d20+10=13) Whiff. Ironclad's melee attack w/ full All-Out Attack, vs Granny's Def. DC 25. (1d20+15=34) That's actually a hit and a crit. I'm actually going to use that to stunt Nullify 10 and get rid of those pesky Terminus powers! Granny's power check, vs DC 20 Nullify check. (1d20+10=25) Beats it. Had to be fancy, didn't I? Granny's Toughness save, vs DC 25. (1d20+7=18) Oh yeah, she has one of these coming, doesn't she? Stun + Bruise x4.

The silence stretched between the two teens, filled with the whisper of tree leaves blowing and the sound of lapping water from the zen garden next door. After a minute or so Brian scooted closer on the bench so that his knee was touching Gwen's. "Listen, Gwen. You're a great girl, and frankly I think you're beautiful. I know we just met each other and I know that you're new here, and I know that you're supposed to be tutoring me but... Would you like to go catch a movie or something?" He looked in her eyes, searching for some reaction. "Maybe get some coffee?"

Ironclad stopped her evasive flight as she saw Solarum get knocked off her feet. She pondered a risky maneuver -- if it went off properly, she could win the fight right here. If it didn't though, and Solarum recovered, the momentum of the fight could quickly swing back in the golden woman's direction. As she hung in the air, super-fast mind going through the possibilities, out of the corner of her eye she could see Crow, Wisp, Cannonade, and Myrmidon in the stands. Someone -- probably Crow -- had rigged up a banner and painted the words "Go Freedom City" on it in yellow and blue. That gave her a surge of confidence. She couldn't let them down! The armored heroine hovered in mid-air and brought both her blasters to bear on the stunned woman far below. A quick overcharge on the firing coils and she let loose with an overcharged blast that streaked through the sky, momentarily gilding the sign as it passed nearby.

With Solarum on her ass it's time to finish this. Ironclad's wrist blasters w/ full All-Out Attack and full Power Attack, vs Solarum's Def. DC 30. (1d20+10=20) Boom, baby. Boom.