Raveled

Once again, with citizens in danger, Glowstar didn't hesitate. He barely even had time to think about his options; the teen hero extended a hand out to the flaming wreckage and a bubble of crimson energy wrapped up the entire flaming mess, tanker remains and all, in an air-tight sphere. The hero wasn't entirely sure of what he was doing, but he held the debris aloft and watched the fire inside the bubble. He hadn't been asleep through all of his chemistry classes, and he knew that without oxygen to sustain itself, the fire would soon burn out.

Oh-kay! 100 ft across? Glows can totally do that! Burning a HP to Stunt the following off his Terminus Energy Control array. Create Object 14 (Entropy; Feat: Progression [25 ft cubes]; Extra: Movable) [43 PP] So that's 14, 25-ft cubes. Total area covered: 350 ft. Total lifting Str: 70, or around 64 tons for a light load. Should be more than enough to wrap the whole thing up and let it starve itself of oxygen.

GM Dragonfly's blast lanced straight down and smashed one of the armored zombies, ripping it apart and scattering the bits from wall to wall. The remaining deadites crowded together, reaching up to the heroine and moaning loudly. As she watched, the rusted armor that the creatures were encased it began to flak apart as the undead monsters rubbed together. Then, disgustingly, their flesh melted together, one zombie joining with another until it was impossible to tell where one ended and another began. Even as this was happening more and more of the dead, armored soldiers shuffled down the corridor and threw themselves into the fleshy amalgam, being absorbed and adding their mass to the monster. Bones cracked and flesh sloughed and reformed, as a huge hand slowly reached out of the goo-monster and flexed fingers as big as Dragonfly, swiping at her ineffectually.

Zombie's Toughness, vs DC 25 (1d20+2=14) Minion go boom! And then minions become not-so-minion-y.

I'm up for that. Let me know when folks are on, and I'll throw my dozen or so (alts are a hell of a drug) heroes into the group.

I already did!

Sounds good. Go do it to it.

Dragonfly's facing zombie minions! Five of them, to be precise. Ini, please. Initiative for zombies. (1d20-1=17, 1d20-1=13, 1d20-1=4, 1d20-1=10, 1d20-1=2)

GM Dragonfly quickly sped through the deserted wing of the manse, noting more signs of decay and corruption the farther she traveled. Wooden sideboards and chairs were dessicated sticks, or just a pile of ash. Plush drapes fell apart into mold and dust. Walls were stained by fungal growths and odd discolorations. All in all, it seemed that the vampire's powers didn't extend to preserving or repairing his domicile. The heroine followed the gentle curve of the wide, open hallway as she neared the central building. She could see a pair of tall doors ahead of her, and through them what she presumed was the antechamber of the entire complex. As she neared the portal however, it slammed shut in front of her, raising a cloud of dust. She drew up short as the hall was filled with the sound of metal squealing on metal. The rusty suits of armor lining the hallway shuddered into life, shambling out to block the path between Dragonfly and the door. Her IR sensors still registered them as cold and by all rational thought they should be inanimate, but nevertheless they raised rusting, metal-shod fists to stand in her way.

Jessica wasn't expecting the ardent embrace, but except for a moment's surprised reaction she didn't resist. The affection she felt for Blake rose up within her and for a time she simply enjoyed the closeness and the novelty of her new space, but eventually Blake pulled away and she was forced to focus her attention on what was happening in the here-and-now. She licked her lips and smiled at Blake, brushing her hand through his hair. "Honey, you don't have to worry about paying for this place. I'm going to take care of that. Money may end up tight for a month or two, but I'll do it -- on my own." Jessica wasn't a forceful woman by nature and it was easy to see her as a push over, but Blake has learned a little bit about what made her tick in the months they'd been together, and right now his intuition was warning him not to push the issue. At Blake's offer, she smiled slyly and put a hand on his chest. "Blake, I told you. There's no furniture here yet. So unless your plan is something that can be done on the floor--" She cut herself off and buried her face against Blake's chest, blushing fiercely. "Oh, god. I can't believe you let me say that."

Jessica hugged Blake suddenly, her heart beating faster. Part of it was showing off her new digs to her boyfriend, part of it was the height and the dizzying view, but part of it was Blake's offer. She kissed him gently, leaning against him and watching his face from a very close distance as she talked. "I, um. I was actually going to suggest that you move some of your clothes in. I mean, we've been dating for awhile now and since I have my own place, I... I'd like you over more often, you know?" She blushed, and fought the urge to glance away. She didn't want to miss Blake's response.

Jessica blushed as she continued. "Well, I was thinking that I'm graduating college, and I'm even turning eighteen in a couple of months. I could do with my own place, you know? So I looked around for awhile and, well, I put some money down on an apartment." As if on cue the elevator slowed and the door opened almost silently. "This apartment, actually," she clarified, pulling Blake out of the car. Blake could see that the apartment took up an entire floor of the building; the floor stretched wall-to-wall, giving a panoramic view of downtown Freedom City through four glass walls. A steel and wood staircase spiraled counter-clockwise up the elevator shaft, disappearing into the ceiling; instead of going up there though, Jessica moved to one of the glass walls and unlocked a pair of French doors. Those opened out to a concrete balcony that ringed the entire building. Jessica leaned against the edge and looked back at Blake. She threw her arms wide and called back in, "Isn't it great? I don't have I my stuff moved in yet, but I love it already!" She was smiled and tilted her head back, laughing happily stories above the city.

Untrained Acrobatics check, vs DC 10 (1d20+2=16) Yeah, that works. And if the tanker is hit, does it blow up?

Jessica pulled out of the parking lot, making sure that Blake's motorcycle could keep up with her in the evening traffic. Interestingly, she didn't turn towards Lantern Hill or towards either of the state highways that could've taken them towards the Lab. She didn't even head towards Southside and Blake's own home. Instead she led him into the city center, to the corner of Liberty and 40th Street. There she pulled into an underground parking structure and stuck her arm out the window to motion Blake to follow her. She parked her car in a reserved spot and hopped out, hurrying towards the elevator. She fished out a special key and inserted it in a keyhole at the bottom of the elevator's control panel, waiting until Blake was on-board the car before she turned it. Once she did, the elevator doors whispered shut and the car started traveling up, moving perceptibly faster than Blake was used to. Faster than Jessica was used to, evidently, because she stumbled and braced herself against the wall. "So," she said, smiling wryly, "you know the place I live in now? The garden apartment my parents own in Lantern Hill?"

Round One: Fly up, open the tanker. Round Two: Get the guy on the ground, hit the tanker with Focused Blast. Focused Blast w/ full All-Out Attack, vs falling tanker. DC 25 w/ full Penetrating and Knockback. (1d20+15=34)

Glowstar didn't waste any time, almost didn't stop to think. He sped through the air as quick as he could and sliced the truck's door open with a single swipe of his glowing hand. Once that impediment was out of the way, he pulled the driver free and flew him off, landing a good distance away on ground level. He couldn't stop the truck itself impacting, he could only hope that it wouldn't do too much damage. Once the civilian was safe, the hero turned back to the plummeting tanker truck. He didn't have much time to waste; he focused his power on a single blast and sent it arcing up into the truck. With luck, he'd be able to explode the tanker before it even hit the ground. It wasn't an ideal situation, but so very little about this day was turning out to be ideal.

The pair of teenagers ate and talked, and if the food wasn't the best they didn't notice. Two young people in love and sitting knee-to-knee could miss an awful lot, after all. For all of their fooling around, they still finished their meals before the actors took to the stage again, so they were able to pay and slip out of the restaurant without much hassle. Outside of the place, Jessica slipped a hand around Blake's arm and strode slowly through the parking lot, heading towards her car. "That was a really nice meal. And... I'm glad we got a chance to talk. About everything." She glanced at her car and the driver door unlocked and popped open for her. "Hey, follow me on your bike, okay? I've got something I want to show you."

Vampire's Toughness save vs DC 25 (1d20+7=25) Whups, not quite on the second save. But the vampire flees and Dragonfly is triumphant!

GM Dragonfly's bright blue lances of energy lit up the hallway, giving her a split-second glimpse of mouldering drapes and carpets that were more fungus than fabric. The disgusting sight didn't distract her from her attack, however, and it hit dead-solid on the vampire, drawing an inhuman scream of agony from the creature. Its form faded into mist again, but the heroine's strange energy didn't dissipate; it clung to the tendrils of fog, and she heard another spine-chilling scream as the the insubstantial creature rose to the ceiling and streamed through cracks there, disappearing from sight.

Vampire's Toughness save vs DC 25 (1d20+8=23) Tha-aaat's a Bruise.

Oh noes! Mind Control! Thankfully, it's a Mental effect, so it's only Will DC 15. Might wanna roll initiative, too, since I'd call that a hostile act. Vampire's Initiative (1d20+4=6)

GM "Ah, the reluctant king's little daughter." There was a rush of wind and the figure... fell apart, dissolving into an insubstantial fog that rolled past Dragonfly's feet, reforming past her and several feet down the hall. "I was hoping you would be more sporting than the heroes who flocked to my manse when they heard of my resurrection." It gestured idly and for the first time the heroine noticed the suits of plate armor lining the wall, standing at eternal attention. No doubt they were rusted through, but after a moment's examination she noticed that faces could been seen behind several faceplates. They all registered cold and dull; a chilling reminder of just what sort of creature she was dealing with. The dim figure -- certainly the vampire she'd been sent to deal with -- turned on her suddenly and held out its arm, beckoning her onward. "Why must you fight me? If your armor matches your form, then you should join me. After all, I must gather my brides before I go out into the world again. Sleep, brave knight, sleep."

Ironclad watched the massive alien recoil from her blast and took the chance. She braced herself against the decking in a classic sprinter's pose and charged, transferring power away from her wrist blasters and to her suit's servos. Just before she hit she let out a war cry that reverberated off the close, metal corridor and almost drowned out the sound of her gauntleted fist cracking the alien's exoskeleton -- almost. Yellow-green goop fountained out of the hole, leaving her drenched in the stuff. Thankfully not all of the suit's sensors where on her mask and she retained enough spatial awareness to step back as the insect-like alien spasmed and finally lay still. The heroine took several steps back and tried to clean herself by rubbing her hands, arms, and even legs against the bulkhead, but it did very little. Then, as she watched, the alien seemed to shrink back into itself, growing paler and more brittle. In a manner of seconds the creature mummified before her eyes, reducing it to the same papery husk that she'd stumbled across elsewhere on the station. Come to think of it, the robotic remains she'd found had been nearly rusted through! Something very odd was happening on this space station.

Ironclad charges in and smacks the alien a good one! Ironclad's melee strike w/ full All-Out Attack, and full Power Attack. Vs. Alien's def. DC 35 (1d20+10=28) And with the latest changes, she actually crits with that. Mm, I think I'll go with straight-up extra damage. It's the simplest action, and pushes the DC to 40. Alien's Toughness, vs. DC 40 effect. (1d20+14=16) Alien goes squish now.

Glowstar watched the alien bounce over the horizon and took a deep breath, trying his best to keep his temper under control. After counting to ten (forwards and backwards) he turned to the alien who seemed to be the most sane of the lot. "Why in the world did you think there'd be anything exciting here? We're just another city on another planet! You're coming here and you're causing all the 'excitement' -- by putting people in danger and threatening to destroy the city! If it was up to me, I'd toss your spacecraft off this planet and blast anymore of you folks that wanted to visit." With his piece said, the hero leapt into the sky and headed back into the city. He didn't expect that it would be very hard to pick up the bouncing alien's trail again.