Raveled

Glowstar kept his seat on the gun crates until an officer threatened to arrest him, and then went to sit next to a handy tree. He barely opened his eyes when a different officer came to get his statement. The blow from Natasha and the subsequent dash back to a fight that had already ended had left him feeling mortally drained and weary. When everything started to break up, he wandered back towards the group of heroes. He heard Sam's offer, but replied with a weary smile. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm good for any threat short of a main battle tank." He yawned and floated into the air. "In the mean time, I need a nap."

The Deep One spun his spear, deflecting the lightning bolt into the stone ceiling. Some of the shock was evidently still transferred into the mutant's webbed hands, because it dropped the weapon and shook them. A moment later Ironclad dropped down behind it and smashed the creature behind its ear-hole, but though it staggered wildly it didn't fall. "You called these things Deep Ones? Any idea what they'd want with a DNA-typer?"

Crow scanned the horizon, moving to different parts of the roof to see different parts of the city. For a long minute he couldn't see anything that would indicate the presence of an angry fae in the city; then his eye was drawn towards a gathering of red and blue flashers on the south side of the river, in Lincoln. He jumped a few more rooftops to get a clearer view and realized the police were surrounding a scrap metal yard. There was what looked like a pile of rough-cut stone sitting next to the river -- at least until it charged a pile of stripped car bodies, flung one into the middle of the river, and retreated back to the shore.

Glowstar gaped as Supercape led the aliens away. He'd suggested Lonely Point as a joke. He didn't want to think what would happen if these creatures, who were so blade about collateral damage, got close to the naval base. He barely remembered to grab the police radio before flying off after the group. Glowstar caught up easily and tried to direct the aliens' landings onto parking lots and grassy medians, rather than busy streets or the tops of apartment blocks. He stopped them all well short of the actual Lonely Point, almost at the mouth of the South River. "This is Bayview, where we are right now. It's a pretty good place to live, more upper- than lower-middle class, ya know?" The hero chewed his lip and wracked his brain for something else to say about the sleepy little community. "Up in the Heights is Claremont Academy, but I think where we should go next is Lake MacKenzie."

Reflex save vs DC 19 (1d20+8=28) 8o Whatta ya know? Toughness save vs DC 20 (1d20+7=27) And a Bruise. Might as well get these out of the way now. Full Power-Attack, full All-Out Attack (1d20+10=23) Juuust hits. Toughness save vs DC 30 (1d20+6=21) Stunned + Bruise x2. Warlock! Shuffle him out!

Not an "away" so much as a "won't be posting much." The graphics card in my main 'puter died, so I'm reduced to using my backup machine, a laptop. I hate laptop keyboards, and as such won't be doing any long writing - i.e. posting - until my main machine in fixed.

Jessica quirked a smile as she remembered his chili from Christmas. Come to think of it, where was her little cleaning droid? Oh well, that wasn't important right now. She took the coffee gladly and snuggled down into the couch. Cool or not, Tom's man-cave wasn't exactly a warm hide-out. "Sure," she replied, "bring the chili. Can't promise how many folks will want to eat five-alarm chili while walking around in bathing suits, but you can always bring it. "So," she added, watching Tom bustle around, "it looks like L.A.I.R. is doing well. How's the security system?"

The fire fae clicked his heels together and bowed low. "I swear on my honor," he said, "that my sons and myself will do no harm to your castle -- save what we are required to do in case your home turns out to be not so secure." He winked at Crow and stroked the hilt of his sword. Promises made and a course of action set, Ignatio stepped away from the container and flapped his arms several times, causing great swaths of fabric to unfurl from his sleeves. Soon enough he was trailing several feet f loose cloth, when he held his arms up to the sky. All of a sudden the ember-children burst forth from the cargo container; moving almost as one they poured into Ignatio's loose cuffs, puffing them out and raising the small man into the air. He hoverer there, using precise motions of his arms and back muscles to stabilize himself, and looked down at Crow expectantly.

The swordsman drew himself up again. "I shall not leave my sons unattended," he said. "I do not want to think what Brannagh would do to them, and I cannot place them in another's care." He paused and shifted on his feet, clearly uneasy. "But my wife came through with our daughters, and they too are at risk. Sir Warrior, if you could get my sons and myself to a place where we could hide, would you be willing to search for my dear Ossulus?"

Several of the mutants ran straight into the dust cloud and promptly fell to the ground, snoring heavily. One managed to stumble to a stop though, and the one that Ironclad had blasted was starting to come to his senses. The armored heroine zeroed in on him and let loose with another strike that felled him. The last Deep One soldier leapt forward and unleashed a spinning strike at Warlock; it fell short of the hero, but forced him to take several quick steps back. "Long story," Ironclad snapped, spinning around in mid-air and waiting for her target systems to acquire the new target. C'mon, hurry hurry! "Knock this guy down a peg and we can talk."

Full Power Attack, full All-Out Attack vs. Stunned Zorro (1d20+10=28) Yeah, that hits. DC 30 Toughness save. Toughness save vs DC 30 (1d20+7=21) Eesh. Okay, so he's down. Full Power Attack on Warlock (1d20+8=16) And that misses. Squish 'em, Blake!

Ignatio waved his hands wildly. "No, no, no! You do not understand, my beloved is the bedrock of my life. She is the firm foundation that allows my passions to spring forth unbridled." He shook his head. "I am certain that she came through in much better shape than myself and my sons. But I cannot know where she is! I came through the Lady's boat, so I ended up on a boat, but my beloved Ossulus came through the Lady's midden heap."

Will save vs DC 19 (1d20+5=16, 1d20+5=11, 1d20+5=9, 1d20+5=16, 1d20+5=19) One of them. ONE of them is still awake. I'm disappointed in you, Warlock. :P

Ignatio drew himself as far up as he could. "I could not control where I made my landing in this world. I made a jump and took my family with me, and some of my children and myself landed here. I knew it would be close to the water because that is my Lady's domain, but I could not know where." He glanced around and back at the burning embers, then returned to scanning the horizon. "It pleases me that you will not be attacking anymore, but please. I wish to be away from the water, and to find my wife."

A low crackling rose behind the swordsman at the mention of Crow's mother, but he held up one hand it abruptly cut off. The duelist lowered the point of his blade and stepped out of his stance, though he kept it in hand. "Your mother's name is known," he said, "as is the fact that she had a son in this plane. We were not aware that you were here, however." He paused, then sheathed his blade and stepped forward far enough to slap palms with the hero. "I am called Ignatio. I have come to this place of freedom with my children and wife. We seek asylum here, from the Lady who we served in the lands beyond the mirror." He eyed Crow, then turned to watch the horizon. "I expected the Lady to send her lap-dog, an Autumn Child who goes by Brannagh. He is a cruel and callous warrior who takes great pride in humiliating his opponents before dispatching them."

Jessica looked down at her fingers suddenly. "We, um, already did the shopping thing. And the dressed up thing. And, um, the almost getting caught thing." She was blushing more furiously now, from her hairline all the way down her neck. "But Blake had more common sense and so--" She coughed suddenly, stopping herself before she went too far. "Anyway! Speaking of changing the subject drastically! Blake and I were talking about a beach party some weekend, when it warms up a bit. Would you want to stop by? We'll probably be grilling something."

Jessica blushed at the idea of just her and Blake somewhere, maybe for a weekend... or even longer. She took a long swallow of her coffee to hide it, but her face was still red, from her ears and down her jawline. "I don't think we could just jet off spontaneously," she stammered. "I mean, I've got the Lab and he's got work and we're both heroes." She went to drink from her cup again and was surprised to discover that it was empty. She put the mug down on the table and twiddled her fingers instead. "Yeah, he's got his magic detective thing going. I kinda wish he'd stayed in school and gotten his diploma, but I'm proud that he's making his own way and he seems to have a lot of customers. I'm kind of worried, though, because he has his house in Southside. It's all magic'ed up, but I still worry about him." She smiled uneasily and put a hand over her belly. "Is this what a relationship is like? Worried and proud and you can't get him out of your head?"

The shrimpish swordsman turned suddenly, elegant weapon poised to strike at Crow -- and hesitated. He peered at the hooded and masked hero, summoning a fire in his free hand to illuminate the teen's face better. "You... You are not Brannagh." The tip of the weapon dipped down for a moment, then it snapped back up, pointing at Crow's exposed neck. The duelist seemed reluctant to strike, but neither did he move from the opening he'd cut in the cargo container. "Who are you? Would the Lady stoop to sending mercenaries after us? Pah! I would hope she would at least send her top lap dog for this trial."

The fae duelist reacted with inhuman speed, slicing his burning sword through the falling water so it splashed harmlessly onto either side of him. It fell square on the burning cargo container, though, with a chorus of inhuman squeals. The swordsman screamed in rage and slashed another cargo container in half; peering around the side of his hidey-hole, Crow could see him herding what looked like mobile coals, miniature hopping motes of sullen fire, into the cover of the metal container. "You fiend," the swordsman shouted at the air. "You would attack children when their father demands satisfaction!? I shall boil your heart out of your chest! I shall bind your soul to a stone and bury you at the bottom of the oceans! I shall cut out your liver and feed it to the dogs, and make you watch!"

The mutants closed in on the heroes; Ironclad fired off a blast that temporarily lit the cavern bright as noon and managed to make the leading Deep One stumble in its charge, but the rest quickly surrounded Warlock, bronze spears flashing in and out in dazzling displays of skill. Two tried hard, overhand blows aimed at popping the hero's mystic bubble, but they only succeeded in making shards of flying rock when their spears hit the ground. The rest of the pack jabbed defensively at Warlock, ensuring that he couldn't take advantage of the opening in the first pair's defenses.

Ugh. Okay, let's get those Ini orders up. Ironclad -- Uninjured -- HP x 4 Zorro 1 -- +2 Def vs. Warlock -- GM Zorro 2 -- +2 Def vs. Warlock -- GM Zorro 3 -- Uninjured -- GM Zorro 4 -- Uninjured -- GM Zorro 5 -- Uninjured -- GM Warlock -- Uninjured -- HP x 4 Zorro 6 -- Staggered + Stunned [ironclad] -- GM Full All-Out Attack, full Power-Attack vs. last Zorro (1d20+10=27) Hits, so DC 30 Toughness save. Toughness vs DC 30 (1d20+7=20) Staggered + Stunned Vs Warlock! ... 2 will P-A, 2 more will boost their Defense, and the last will hold off for a moment. Full Power Attack vs. Warlock (1d20+8=10, 1d20+8=18) Miss! Aid to boost Def (1d20+13=23, 1d20+13=15) So both raise their Def for a round.

The fire fae didn't have much chance to react to the attack, suddenly finding himself between Crow's rune-enhanced foot and the knurled steel deck. The hero stuck around long enough to hear the creature's skull pop, then he was back atop the bridge. To his surprise, the swordsman bounced to his feet again and started circling the central fire once more, cutting the air with his blade and calling out, "Fiend! Fool! Coward! Face me if you would, Brannagh, but do not strike me in the back and retreat! Or I shall stain your soul yellow with my last, dying breath!"

Glowstar winced as he watched the manhole cover arc through the air and impact with a crash of breaking glass. "Somewhere uninhabited," he muttered. "Lonely Point, maybe? The naval base?" The young hero shook his head. "I don't know, the state park? Maybe the Sentry Statue?" He turned to the aliens and motioned to their ship. "Okay, back in the air! Follow me and we can get this tour started!" He walked back to the uniformed police officers and caught one by the arm. "Can I get a radio or something? If this turns south, I don't know if I'll have time to call 911, you know?"

Jessica bit her lip to stop herself from reacting immediately to Tom's offer. Mara had suggested hacking into government servers and Jessica wasn't willing to go that far just to satisfy her curiosity, but if Tom has a legitimate source, she might get some solid leads. After a moment she leaned forward and grabbed a pencil and what looked like a receipt or invoice off the table. Holding the paper against her palm, she wrote four names at the bottom, then handed it to Tom. "I think these guys served with my grandfather. They all seemed to move around to the same places at the same times, you know?" She sat back and took a sip from her coffee. This was exciting; she'd assumed that her grandfather's past would always be a black void. The prospect of shedding light on it -- well, it was why she loved science. Jessica curled up on the couch again and eyed Tom over the rim of her mug. "So what exactly do you mean that Blake and I need a vacation?"

Toughness vs DC 22 (1d20+6=11) >.< No first round KOs. Crow gets a HP and I fiat that as a Bruise.