Raveled

Ironclad hugged Kid Cthulhu back, careful to keep her grip light. "I'm fine, KC. Don't worry about the Silencer getting away, I'm just glad you're fine." Stepping away, she activated her flight system and hopped over the building, dropping sharply and then slowing just inches above the pavement. She glanced up and down the street, but Ms. Tarot was nowhere to be seen. She cursed under her breath, debating trying to chase after the woman, but police sirens were rising in the distance and she felt obliged to stick around for the authorities. "The worst of it all," she announced to no one in particular, "is that I missed dinner."

Kid Cthulhu heard Ironclad inhale sharply on the other end of the line. "Trapped under a... Wait right there!" It was an order that was easy to obey, as pretty much all KC could do was lay there and watch the Silencer disappear around the corner. Moments later, his power-armored girlfriend touched down next to him and, with a great heave, hauled the mass of twisted iron-mongry off him, laying it to one side. "Kid! Are you alright?"

The Braniac Brunch is a semi-formal grouping of Freedom City's brightest minds. Doktor Archeville preceded over several conventions of the city's most intelligent citizens, but in 2010 a variety of corporate and private investors created the Lab. Sited in Hanover, the building swiftly became a high-tech research and development station independent of any of the usual interests. With such freedom to work, it's not surprising that membership to the Braniac Bunch, and consequently access to the Lab, is coveted amongst the city's engineers and academics. The Lab is a glass and steel egg, thirty stories tall. The main entrance to the building faces north, and behind it is a carefully landscaped park stretching the forty feet to the North River; rumors of a secret, underwater dock remain unconfirmed. The first three stories of the Lab are open to the public, and feature lecture halls and displays of the Lab's various technical achievements. The next five levels contain private offices and labs for the members of the Braniac Bunch, as well as amenities like dormitories and cafes. The remainder of the building is dedicated to the laboratories and workshops that make the Lab so feted -- all but the top three levels, which are a complex hanger/landing pad for VTOL capable craft (and individuals). The Lab is built down as much as up. The three uppermost sub-levels contain material storage, the building's dedicated power supply, and largely-automated manufactories. There's at least five more sub-levels, but they are all high-security and therefore shrouded in rumor and supposition. Hearsay would have them contain powerful nullification devices, teleporters to other planets and dimensions, rockets powerful enough to put the Lab in orbit, clones of mighty heroes and villains on ice, and more besides.

Outside the cafe, Ironclad stiffened and turned slightly. She'd arrived on the scene to find the woman from before, the one Blake had identified as Madame Tarot, hanging around. The heroine had decided that it would be a good idea for her to stick around and talk to the police, and now the other woman was smirking. "Sweetie? Hooking up with the tentacles, now?" Ironclad leveled a finger at the villainess. "Quiet, you. Or I'll indulge my fantasy of wrapping a telephone pole around someone. Or maybe just wrapping someone around a telephone pole, instead." Out back, Kid Cthulhu easily cleared the hole, coming out in a cramped alleyway and looking around quickly. For a moment it seemed that the Silencer had made good his escape, but then there was a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. The hero spun in the air, seeing the vigilante leaning around the corner and aiming high. He fired a blast of sonic energy that passed high over the hero's head, and for a moment Kid Cthulhu thought that his aim was just off. A second later, though, there was a grinding and screaming sound of tortured metal, and her glanced up to see a fire escape tearing itself free of the building behind the cafe, falling directly on top of him!

Silencer's Stealth 1d20+12=32 A-hahahaha! Silencer finally lives up to his name. DC 20 Reflex save to avoid being hit by a Snare. -2 to Reflex, since KC's flat-footed.

Well, the other possibility I was looking at was the Gherkin. It's actually a very interesting design, even if it looks stupid.

Actually, I was more inspired by the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur.

I'm writing up some fluff for the Bunch and the Lab as we speak. Physically, I was thinking two towers, linked by some bridges/walkways. One tower would contain the personnel facilities (Living Space, Communications, et cetera) and the other tower would hold the heavier equipment and the bigger labs.

Robin's always up fo0r some magical hijinks. At the same time, I've some ideas for alternate-world stuff I might run alongside this.

Jessica listened to Vivian's speech, then began sketching in the air. "A shield is a possibility," she allowed, "but something full-sized would be impossible. Unless you're suggesting we equip every police officer with a riot shield." Floating in the middle of the air was a complicated, bulky piece of tech, looking like something from a Super Sentai television show. It was strapped to a human arm for scale; it looked to be the size of a large wristwatch. The student quickly drew in different views of the device, showing it extending four metal vanes, and finally some sort of energy connecting the vanes. "This unit could, hypothetically, be wrist-mounted. Activate it and you get an energy shield. The shield itself could even be moved around a bit." Subsequent sketched showed the vanes in different position; high and arching back, over to one side, and oriented towards one 'quadrant' of the shield. "Of course, the problem would be to find a small enough power source."

Wwwwwhy do we need a Dimensional portal? I mean yes, and all, but it just doesn't seem necessary.

I'd question the need for a Combat Simulator and Living Space. We could switch those out for a Dock (to complement the Garage) and some Powers. I'd recommend something like Concealment 3 (Hearing, Ultra-Hearing, X-Ray) and Obscure 1 (ESP). Just some stuff to keep the secret stuff, well, secret.

Yes, but you can't contribute EP, now can you? :P

I would assume Victory/Dr. Volk/AEGIS is contributing, too.

Well in that case it could be attached to Dawes Tech's campus!

The primordial fear radiating out from Kid Cthulhu settled into the Silencer's rattled brain, easily worming into his mind and kicking his fight-or-flight response into high gear. He flipped a control on his rifle and pointed it at the back wall, triggering an overpowered sonic blast. The energy slammed into the brick and disintegrated it, kicking up enough dust to leave Kid Cthulhu hacking on it feebly. When the dust settled a bit, the hero could see a tide of rubble making a gentle, if shifting slope, up to the alleyway behind the cafe. From the other direction came a voice Kid Cthulhu easily recognized. "Kid! Hey, KC! Are you all right down there?"

Archy, could we assume this would be housed at some ArcheTech subsidiary? I doubt any of the rest of the folks involved have the capital to fund it. Though Dawes Tech might, come to think of it; maybe a joint venture? Again, I'd suggest we focus on getting the bare bones structure up before it becomes too complicated.

Silencer's Will save. 1d20+6=9 And he fails horribly. Really, Silencer? Really?

Hm, well let's not worry about how much we have to work with ATM. Let's just try and build a good base, since EP is fairly cheap. So! Basic list of amenities for a super-lab. Computer Laboratory Library Workshop Now let's see what we would need for an ideal super-lab. Communications Defense System Fire Prevention System Holding Cells Infirmary Living Space Personnel Power Power System Security System The basic one is only 4 EP, and the expanded list is another 10 EP (more, if we want more Powers or a better Security System). The real question is: What sort of powers/defenses? Whose PL will it be built to? Building it to Dok A's level would give us a whole bunch of points to use, after all.

The Silencer leapt away from Kid Cthulhu's attack, firing back but missing, and instead the shot overturned the very same couch Blake and Jessica had been occupying not long ago. The vigilante landed on his side and scrambled behind an edge of the counter, automatically checking his weapon once her was in cover. "We're doing the same thing," he shouted over the barricade at the hero. "I'm just working things out to their logical conclusion. Do you think 'Big Al' would really let his chief adviser fall into the hands of the cops? He's make sure she never told anyone anything. Ever again." Even the Silencer didn't expect his banter to stop Kid Cthulhu. Behind his mask his eyes darted back and forth, desperately trying to find an exit. This encounter not turning out like he had planned, and he needed an out, fast.

Robin let out a short, harsh laugh. "Didn't want me to hurt me? Didn't want to make me worry? Wesley, I thought you were dead! I thought you'd gone and --" She bit off the end of that sentence, putting her free hand over her face and closing her eyes, while a hundred grisly scenes played out in her head. Sometimes, having a vivid imagination was a real bear. After a minute or so, she spoke up again, hand still over her eyes. "Why? Why did you feel you had to come out to the middle of nowhere to -- to mourn or rage, or whatever you've been doing? Why couldn't you do it in the city?"

Design journal 9.8. I've been reconsidering my close-in options. Since I perfected the heavy lifting servos, I don't need the striking servos I designed. I still think the suit needs a melee weapon, thought. Based on my work with charged particles developing my latest wrist blasters (c.f. DJ 6.4 - 6.12) I managed to develop a field to tear apart objects at the molecular level. Originally I used a blade as a conductor (c.f. DJ 9.6) but I think I've just about perfected it, so I don't need the conductor. I should be able to project the field around the gauntlets themselves. Strike X (Magnetic/Nuclear Force; Feats: Improved Critical 2) [X + 2 PP] + Drain Toughness Y (Magnetic/Nuclear Force) [Y PP]

Design journal 15.4b. My suit's biggest flaw is the fact that is is a suit -- it's not an intrinsic part of my body, I have to take it on and off. The off part usually isn't a problem, but the on part delays me, and that's frustrating. In order to circumvent that, I've been working closely with Dragonfly; she has a special expertise in spacial permutations, and she helped me design a system to bypass physically assembling the suit. I don't quite understand the physics, but my suit will sit in a specially crafted pocket dimension, where time passes very slowly. When I call on it (using my specially designed wristwatch -- Rolex, eat your heart out!) the suit will orient on the contact suit -- will still have to wear that under everything -- and 'port itself onto me. The trial runs were all good, once the kinks in the system were all worked out (good thing Dragonfly has so many mannequins lying around) but I have yet to test it in the field. Until I do, I'm still gonna worry that it'll take my arm off or

Oh. :(

Jessica watched the Doktor's presentation, tapping at her chin thoughtfully. "I don't think we need to focus on superpowered threats," she offered. "Freedom City has one of the highest densities of superheroes of any city in the world. Not to say anything against the police," she added hastily, "but when we're talking about projected and focused energy beams, or punches that can rock a tank, that's sort of beyond their purview." The student sat back slightly as her point percolated through the room, quietly examining the schematics of the MAX and Super-MAX armor, and especially Daedalus's power armor. She'd have to see if she could get a copy those later.