Raveled

Jessica was just watching the rest of the crowd when a woman in an AEGIS labcoat approached her, a rather large man with some kind of metal vanes protruding from his back in tow. She straightened up and gave the woman a smile, exchanging pleasentries with her, but her eyes were all on the man. When he was introduced -- "Victory? What an interesting name!" -- the young inventor took the opportunity to walk all the way around the man, noting odd bulged underneath his clothing that probably weren't biological in origin. "That's a... very interesting system, here."

Robin can always use stuff. Put her in here.

Robin have a brief, thin smile, showing just a sliver of white teeth. "I wasn't exactly planning on dropping it in the water supply," she replied dryly. "But we could give it to a rat and observe the effects. Scientists and doctors do that all the time, give something to an animal to see what'll happen." She lifted her head to stare at the tiny pile of powder on the counter. "If that doesn't appeal to you there are some... processes that I can put it through that might produce results. Not chemical, exactly -- alchemical, actually. But it should be interesting either way."

Yeah, I put Jess and Blake together. Sorry for that bit of railroading, LS, but it seemed most sensible.

Though that would be hilarious.

Jessica Parker was with the rest of the hostages in the second floor food court, sitting at a plastic bench. The backpack containing her powered suit sat in a pile near the middle with the rest of the hostages' purses and wallets; her boyfriend Blake Salazar was sitting across from her, and their hands reached across the tabletop to intertwine. She smiled at him, squeezing his hands and leaning in until their heads were almost touching. Their whispered conversation melded into the dozens that other small groups were having, and so their actual words were almost inaudible. "I need to get to my suit," she said, "if I'm gonna be able to do anything."

Jessica Parker's invitation had come by way of her grandfather, but she was more than happy to attend a conference that would include someone like Doktor Archville. She had come straight from home, mapping out the route beforehand and making sure she was plenty early.She parked in a paid lot across the street from the library and crossed the street, watching several lab-coated figures walk into the building ahead of her. She was just wearing a white dress shirt and dark khakis, the same outfit she wore to almost every day -- there was even a scientific calculator in the breast pocket! The girl was feeling distinctly under-dressed as she walked through the front door. Jessica followed the signs and found the assigned room without any trouble. She slipped in and looked around, noting the folks in formal wear and super-uniforms. She glanced down at herself and again wondered if she should've worn a dress, or maybe worn her hair loose? It was just pinned back and out of the way of her face right now: practical, but not very pretty. She did notice Mara standing off to one side, visor and armor in place, but resisted the urge to call out to her. Would Dragonfly-the-superhero want to be associated with Jessica-the-civilian? She sighed and leaned against a handy wall, already feeling out of place.

As far as I know it hasn't started yet.

Robin Cross Retcon time for Robin. :arrow: Boost Con by 2 pts, bringing it up to 12. Adjust her Toughness and Fort saves accordingly. [b]Abilities:[/b] 0 + 2 + 2 + 10 + 6 + 6 = 26 PP Strength: 10 (+0) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 12 (+1) Intelligence: 20 (+5) Wisdom: 16 (+3) Charisma: 16 (+3) [b]Saving Throws:[/b] 6 + 5 + 5 = 16 PP Toughness: +1/+11 (+1 Con, +10 Protection) Fortitude: +7 (+1 Con, +6) Reflex: +6 (+1 Dex, +5) Will: +8 (+3 Wis, +5) :arrow: Buy 12 ranks of Languages. [b]Skills:[/b] 100 R = 25 PP Concentration 12 (+15) Craft (Artistic) 8 (+13) Diplomacy 8 (+11) Gather Information 8 (+11) Intimidate 8 (+11) Investigate 6 (+11) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 10 (+15) Knowledge (History) 2 (+7) Languages 12 (Native: Sumerian; English, ancient Egyptian, ancient Atlantean, Latin, Gaelic, Hebrew, Infernal, Celestial, Arabic, Mandarin, French, Greek) Notice 8 (+11) Profession (Cook) 2 (+5) Search 8 (+13) Sense Motive 8 (+11) :arrow: Buy 5 ranks of Dodge Focus. Her Defense should only go up to 11; apparently the 4 ranks listed on her sheet weren't paid for. Also, lose the Att line regarding her Magic array; don't know why it's there. Though there should be one for her electric Strike and her Nullify, though. [b]Combat:[/b] 10 + 12 = 22 PP Initiative: +1 Attack: +5 Base, +8 Melee, +10 Electric Strike, +10 Nullify Magic Grapple: +5 Defense: +11 (+6 Base, +5 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed Knockback: -5 [b]Feats:[/b] 15 PP Artficer Attack Focus (Melee) 3 Attack Specialization (Electric Strike) Dodge Focus x5 Equipment 3 (15EP) Luck Ritualist :arrow: Here's the big retcon: Lose Comprehend. Put Subtle on the Staff Foci. Rearranging her Magic array thusly. [b]Magic 12[/b] (24PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 5, Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [when unable to speak or gesture]) [27PP] [u]BE:[/u] [b]Illusion 5[/b] (Magic; All Senses; [i]Feats:[/i] Progression 2 [25ft radius], Slow Fade 2 [5 minutes]; [i]Extra:[/i] Duration [Sustained], Independent; [i]Flaws:[/i] Phantasm, Action/Full Round) [24PP] [u]AP:[/u] [b]Emotion Control 8[/b] (Magic; [i]Extras:[/i] Area [General, Burst, Stationary], Independent) [24PP] [u]AP:[/u] [b]Nullify Magic 10[/b] (Magic; [i]Feats:[/i] Accurate 2, Selective; All magic effects) [22PP] [u]AP:[/u] [b]Mental Blast 8[/b] (Magic, mental; [i]Flaw:[/i] Action/Full Round) [24 PP] [u]AP:[/u] [b]Telepathy 7[/b] (Magic, Mental; Communication [Mental] + Mind Reading; 200 miles; Feats: Selective; Extras: Area [Communication]) [22PP] [u]AP:[/u] [b]ESP 5[/b] (Magic; 5 miles; [i]Feats:[/i] Dimensional [Mystical dimensions], Subtle]) [22 PP] Doktor'd

Either Ironclad (PL 8) or Robin (PL 10) would be up for this. If KC's involved, too, Clad and him might be there on a date when the craziness breaks out.

Robin suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at something being 'impossible.' The proof was right in front of this woman, but she refused to believe it. "It's not chemical," she explained. "Or at least, not entirely. It's magical. Like I said, there's a kind of construct within the powder, drawing the energy off and storing it somewhere." She shrugged, tucking her chin into her chest and staring at the floor as she thought. "I doubt it's for something good, but the spell's been modified and contaminated to such a point that it's almost impossible to see what it's actually supposed to do."

Robin nodded slowly. She didn't know what a polarized conductor was, exactly, but the final conclusion seemed solid. "It wouldn't be surprising to me. Street drugs usually aren't helpful things," she added dryly. "Still, I'm no chemist. I'm not sure what else I can figure out about this stuff without more direct experimentation."

Robin chewed her lower lip. "Officially, no. The police report listed the cause of the accident as due to pilot error. But the pilot disagrees. He claims that something attacked him and dragged him underwater." She straitened, slipping back into the driver's seat of her car as she spoke. "I'm hoping that you can go there and take a look at the wreckage. Find out what happened to the boat. And find the pilot's body." She stood and tossed a small charm to Fusion, a ying-yang symbol cast in silver. Half of the symbol was filled in, and the other half was just an empty frame. "Keep that with you and I should be able to see your immediate vicinity."

Oh yes, Clad's in on this. Now the question is, in costume or out?

I'm gonna leave this open another few days and see if there's anymore interest. It's looking like a PL 10 adventure.

Ironclad :arrow: Lowered trade-offs to +1/-1 across the board. :arrow: Added a line for Ethnicity, to bring it in line with the new sheet format. :arrow: Bought 2 more ranks of Dodge Focus. :arrow: Changed Battlesuit from: to: Her Att line should change accordingly. :arrow: Bought Quickness 6 (Mutant; x100; Flaw: Limited [Mental actions only]) [3 PP] The Doktor had done to her

Jessica leaned against Blake, her head resting against his. "What do you mean," she asked, her voice quiet. "We ran into a supervillain, then we almost got arrested, and now we foiled a plot by an evil hacker/maybe demon. What part of that is odd in this town?" She smiled at her own remark, her expression more tired than anything else. "It's the world we choose to live in. Folks hear explosions and screams and they run away. Us, we run towards it and try to put things to right." She put her arm around Blake, holding him close as they looked off into ocean, the sunset to their backs. "It's just how we are, I suppose."

Robin raised her eyebrows when Fusion revealed herself, but didn't actually move. Long experience with various inhuman entities and powers had ingrained in her the need to keep a stoic face no matter what happened. This instinct served her well in a world of flying, floating, transforming superhumans, and so she accepted the slick black figure with equanimity. Indeed, she nodded politely at the muscular woman, standing and pulling a map out of the car. "I am Robin Cross, yes. I have a task I believe you'll be well-suited to." She spread the map on the hood of the car; it was a detailed nautical reference for most of the New Jersey shoreline. One area in particular had been circled. "I believe a small, one-masted sailing vessel went down there. I'd like you to see if you can find it."

Robin accepted the water gratefully and took a long pull from it, feeling her body temperature decrease as the energy she'd absorbed from the powder leak out of her and be absorbed by the shop's wards. She looked the other woman up and down, trying to decide how much she would understand. After a minute she spoke, her voice rapid and almost monotone. "The powder has some sort of necromantic matrix in it, taking energy from living things and storing them, like a sort of battery. There seems to be some kind of trigger for when all the energies are absorbed, but I can't see what it would do. There's all sorts of cut connections in there, and the powder itself is contaminated somehow."

Robin looked up at the other woman through her eyelashes, consciously deciding not to examine her story too closely. Instead she touched the powder and closed her eyes; she could feel the cold energy pulsing up from the powder, stilling the vibrations in the air, and deadening and twisting the energies of life. She frowned and forced her way in, pouring her awareness past gates of bone. She shivered as a cold wind passed over her soul, flushed as fierce energy invaded her frame. When she pulled her hand away, Robin was trembling with the stored energy. She straightened and breathed out slowly, letting the heat drain out of her and dissipate into the room. She backed up and leaned against the wall, running at her temple. "This isn't just a drug," she said. "This is something much worse."

Ironclad managed to slip back into the park and find an unobserved rest room. There she was able to strip off the pieces of her armor and pack it away again. She slung the heavy pack on her back again and wandered out to the Boardwalk. She leaned on the railing and looked out to the water; the breeze came off the sea and dried her sweat-drenched hair, and she closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation.

Ironclad pushed away her squiddly boyfriend away, giggling a bit. "Right now, all I want to do at my place is go to sleep. I think I'll nap for a year or two after all this, honey." She straightened up and stepped away from him as police band radios started whispering in her ears. "Cops are here. Time to be all official-like, again."

Ironclad leaned against Kid Cthulhu very lightly; she didn't want to put the entire eight of the suit on his slim shoulders. She felt tired, drained by the sudden spikes of adrenaline and the odd sense of victory snatched away at the last second. Sure, they'd saved everyone at the park and saved themselves, too, but the hacker was still out there. It felt like the job wasn't complete, and it weighed on Ironclad, made her weary. Still, no hero worth the name would pass up a straight line like the one her boyfriend had just delivered. "So what you're saying," she replied, her voice quiet and tired, "is that you're gonna take me out to McDonald's and let me have both apple pies?"

Ironclad set herself at the entrance to the park, attracting a few tourists who snapped pictures of the heroic pair. Behind her helmet, though, her eyes were closed and she was lost in thought. If the hacker who took things over had been hacking in remotely, then he should've left traces. Heck, he might still be connected and trying to restart the park! The armored heroine walked into the ticket booth, calmly opening the top of the cash register there and removing a few wires, before plugging herself into the system. The cash register wasn't supposed to have the access she needed for this, but the security really was laughable and within moments Ironclad was leafing through access logs, trying to determine just who had subverted the park's systems.

Computers check to back-trace the hack. 1d20+9=15 Sucks, HP to reroll 1d20+9=20 The exact minimum for her reroll. HP x1 ATM.