Raveled

Initiative 34 - Fast Drone - Bruisex1 - GM 15 - Thoughtspeed - Uninjured - HPx1 14 - Stronghold - Uninjured - HPx1 10 - Mind-Set - Conceal'd - HPx1 9 - Maelstrom - Uninjured - HPx1 8 - Flying Drone - Uninjured - GM 1 - Strong Drone - Trapped! - GM The Fast Drone's Daze clears up on its turn, but it can't take any actions. Thoughtspeed's up!

The drone turned smoothly in the air, tracking the white-clad hero as he stepped between them all. "Earthling-human-Lor have shown that they prefer a path of conflict-challenge-death. This unit shall follow their preference." It raised one arm and metal plates slid back along its forearm, revealing a nasty-looking, chrome cannon. A green energy lanced out and struck Mind-Set full in the chest -- causing him to flicker and fade slightly, letting everyone see that the blast had passed through him and impacted the barrier of energy that Stronghold had set up around the massive, hulking drone. Maelstrom gestured and a volley of rocks and dead branches lifted off the ground, propelled towards the fling drone faster than the eye could follow. The machine could follow them, though, and it twisted in the air, nimbly avoiding the projectiles. Maelstrom cursed and thought at her brother, Go find the space-man! If he got away from these things, maybe he can help us take them down. Even as their pair of them tried to coordinate, the huge drone tried to rear up and bash at the forcefield restraining it, but its actions were too constrained to get any sort of leverage. Stronghold's prison held.

Everyone should speak in faux-Shakespeare. Also, bug clans! Five hundred children mean a LOT of chances for revenge.

Bayview Investment & Trust Freedom City, New Jersey June 5th, 2014 Lunch hour Madeline Croyer was not having a good day. She had woken up almost an hour late, which meant she woke up to her dog looking contrite next to a brown, stinking patch on the carpet. She had skipped her shower to make up time and skipped breakfast to clean up after her dog. Madeline has planned to get breakfast at a fast food place, but she also had to get gas in her car and the line at the station was long, and she was not going to eat gas station food, so she arrived at work late, taking up her position behind the bank’s front desk on a ten-hour fast. Then when the clock was eleven minutes to eleven, men burst in the front door armed with stubby, grey guns that looked like the guns used by every gangbanger Madeline had ever seen (that is, the ones on TV). They were robbing the bank, and they went about it as professionally as Madeline had ever seen someone do it. In minutes all the bank employees and patrons were sitting on the floor in the front room, hands zip-tied in front of them. Everyone seemed scared, and there were several men and women sobbing quietly. Even Madeline wasn’t immune Except that woman seated next to her was. The woman was a slim thing, and her long braid of hair curled around her waist to coil in her lap. Of all the hostages, she looked around with an alert, questioning, fearless look in her eye. She caught Madeline’s gaze and smiled, somehow radiating confidence and security without a word. She reached across and took Madeline’s hands, squeezing the other woman’s finger.s “It’s going to be alright,†she whispered. “Vault will protect us.†Madeleine had never heard of a superhero named Vault, and was about to say so when the girl started looking somewhere else. Madeline followed her eyes and saw one of the robbers leaning on a writing desk. The desks had lamps in an antique style, with brass covers; without warning one of the covers flew up and smacked the man in the jaw. He reeled back, more surprised than hurt, and looked around for the attacker. What he didn’t notice was the power cord for the lamp unplug itself, sneak away from the base, wrap itself around the man’s ankle, and pull. He went down, cracked his head on the marble floor, and was still. The rest of the thieves didn’t take that well. They dragged their compatriot off and one began jabbing his own gun at the hostages, demanding to know what happened. The woman with the long hair glared at him for a long moment, then the gun and the long sling it was on yanked backwards and wrapped him up, pinning his arms to his side. He shouted and fell, struggling uselessly as the weapon entwined around him and pulled itself tight. The other robbers began to panic. The huddled into a corner, pointing their guns in every direction; that proved to be a mistake, when a sudden storm blew up in the middle of the bank! The wind rose and blew scraps of paper and loose pens and even blew hats off heads. All of the hostages closed their eyes tightly and curled up tighter, trying to remain unseen; all except the woman with the long hair, who was steady as a rock, staring out into the storm, and Madeline, who was watching her. So Madeline was the only other one who saw the tornado of papers rise up from the writing desk, becoming a solid wall of paper. It hit the mass of robbers; the men pulled at the papers and ripped them to shreds, but there were always more, streaming from other desks all around the lobby. It didn’t take long for the entire team to be virtually mummified, held immobile and in place by layers of paper. By the time the police arrived, the robbers has stopped trying to free themselves and were lying there meekly. As soon as the police touched the paper cocoon, it lost its rigidity and fell apart. The same thing happened with the gun and the power cord, and the police quickly had everyone in handcuffs. Not too long after Madeleine was sitting on the street curb, watching the usual commotion following a happily resolved bank robbery. A few feet away the woman with the long hair was giving her statement. “I’m not sure who did it,†she said, her tone guileless, “but I heard there’s this superhero called Vault. He’s kind of like Doc Manhattan, but with bank vaults.†The police gave the long-haired girl a sideways look, but it wasn’t an impossible situation in a place like Freedom City. He looked over the woman’s shoulder at Madeline. “Is this right, ma’am? Vault?†“Oh yeah,†she agreed. “All Vault.â€

Rumors are that several high-profile deaths in Europe and Africa that seem to have been the result of spontaneous riots, are actually the work of a person or persons unknown, whom Interpol and UNISON have named Crowd Control. He, she, or they have the ability to cause mass panics and anger. Afterwards, the participants have no memory of their participation. It is assumed that Crowd Control is a mercenary, because of the breadth of organizations that have claimed responsibility for these deaths.

Melodramatic alien bugs? Do they use Shakespearean English?

I'm going to be out of town from July 2nd, through July 6th. Don't expect any posting over that period.

Tona was feeling acutely uncomfortable. She had come here expecting a villain of some sort, but Accolon's situation had a weird resonance with her own; they had both been shoved out of their worlds to come to this one, but Tona had come here to train, and she knew she would be back to save everyone. Accolon had been ripped from his world and didn't know if he would ever go back. Tona didn't even know it was possible. She didn't want to confront him, even with the Marksman and the Brave in there. Instead, she turned to talk to Cleary. "Does Accolon have any family on record? Any... any next of kin or something like that?"

Happy birthday, Roo. May you and your shadow have a hell of a day.

Flying Drone's check vs. DC24 Trick. (1d20+8=9) No chance of seeing through that, nope! Flying Drone's attack, vs Big Drone's Def. DC 23 Tou (1d20+8=12) The big guy only has Def +5! C'mon! That'll still miss, though. Maelstrom's attack check w/ +5 Accurate Attack, vs Flying Drone's Def. DC 25 Tou (1d20+10=16) Oh, come on! Flying Drone's attack, vs Maelstrom's Def. DC 23 Tou (1d20+8=9) This is officially redonkulous. Okay, the Big Drone is going to hit Stronghold's barrier. I'm pretty sure it's impossible to miss it, so it just needs to beat a DC 25 Tou save.

Some Know/Streetwise, Know/Current events, and maybe some GI if she has Well-Informed.

The man gave Cho a fatherly pat on the shoulder. "No, it's okay. Anyone coming up to Blackstone should feel a little uncomfortable. That's why they don't paint it in bright colors and call it the Happy Palace, you know? I'm afraid I can guess why you're visiting," he added. "Listen, I'm sure your mom or dad still care for you, a lot, or else you wouldn't be come out to see them. But they made some pretty bad mistakes to be out there. They've got to pay their price to society." He sighed. "Just make sure to take something away from their experiences, you know? I don't want to see anyone inheriting a cell."

Cannonade's mighty clap sent a ripple through the crowd, pushing them back and giving him some breathing room. It also seemed to disrupt the hive mind Crowd Control was inducing, as several of the civilians were holding their heads and groaning like they had a bad headache, even as the villain tried to get them back in line. "Stand up," she screamed at them in a petulant tone, eyes flaring with power. "Get back on that big lug! Pull him down and -- ack!" Of course, focusing on the people slipping through her grasp meant that she wasn't focusing on the ones who were supposed to be keeping the archer busy. Blue Jay tagged Crowd Control on the shoulder and back before more of her bodyguards moved to cover here. Once they were out of sight of the mind-controlled masses, Walsh stepped away from Silhouette, adjusting his glasses with a nervous touch. "Thank you, miss," he said, glancing at the doors. "I don't suppose you have an idea of who that is doing that to those people in there?"

Initiative 31 Blue Jay -- Uninjured -- HPx2 17 Silhouette -- Uninjured -- HPx3 11 Cannonade -- Uninjured -- HPx3 5 Crowd Control -- Bruise x2 -- GM Blue Jay is going to get another volley off. Blue Jay's ranged attack, vs Crowd Control's Def. DC 20 + Autofire Tou. (1d20+15=29) That'll hit, with +4 Autofire for DC 24 Tou. Crowd Control's Tou save, vs DC 24. (1d20+9=22) Bruisex2. Sil's up.

Mind-Set's up.

For making a wall with CO? Nothing, it just happens.

Stronghold has, what, Rank 7 CO? Probably could box it off, but there's no guarantee that the box will hold.

Stronghold's up.

The bot has Def +12, so it takes +4 from the Autofire. Fast Drone's toughness save, vs DC 29. (1d20+4=22) And that's a Daze + Bruise.

That'll squeak out of taking any damage! Thoughtspeed's up next.

GM Before any of the heroes could make a move, the scissor-armed drone darted forward. Its movements were jerky, sharp, insect-like, and far too fast for any of the assembled heroes to track. It bobbed, it weaved, and it sprang up in front of Stronghold. The scissor-blades moved forward with a snicker-snack, slashing at Haukea again and again, sparking against her forcefields and forcing past the young hero's defenses.

Initiative 34 - Fast Drone - Uninjured - GM 15 - Thoughtspeed - Uninjured - HPx1 14 - Stronghold - Uninjured - HPx2 10 - Mind-Set - Uninjured - HPx1 9 - Maelstrom - Uninjured - HPx1 8 - Flying Drone - Uninjured - GM 1 - Strong Drone - Uninjured - GM Drone is up first, and it's going after... Stronghold, is why my dice are telling me! It zips up and goes stabby-stabby. Fast Drone's melee attack, vs Stronghold's flat-footed Def. DC 19 + Autofire (1d20+12=20) Vs. Haukea's flat-footed Def of 12, that means the full Auotfire applies. DC 24 Toughness save, please.

The air exploded again, sending Blue Jay bouncing through the forest, and all she could do was curl into a ball and hope she didn’t break something vital. There was a furious noise and light, and then a short flight and a long roll, and then it went quiet. After a long minute she raised her head, and unfolded her limbs, and slowly got to her feet. She felt bruises and pangs all over, but most of it radiated from her ribs and back. She checked herself out, and noticed that her coat had been ripped open in the fight -- In the bombardment she thought to herself -- but there wasn’t any spreading wet spot to indicate that she was bleeding underneath it, and she could breath without any pain. No real injuries then, just scrapes and soreness. She couldn’t tell about her back in any detail, but since she could stand she figured it couldn’t be that hurt. The self-assessment took the trained fighter less than a second, and then she was moving through the forest, approaching Gold at an oblique angle that kept as many trees as possible between him and her. It turned out to be unnecessary, since he was face-down in the snow; she stood over him, glaring for a moment, before she sighed and picked him up in another fireman’s carry. Her back screamed at her, but she started back towards the same pine tree that she has stashed Cord under.

Well, no. If the individual in question doesn't object to being imprisoned, then it wouldn't be nearly the problem that I am presenting. But I assume the PC I am formulating would, in fact, object to being locked up and poked by scientists with long science-needles.

The drone seemed to consider the heroes for a moment, before the voice thundered again. "EARTH-LOR-HUMANS HAVE CHOSEN A PATH OF CONFRONTATION-WAR-DEATH. SO BE IT." The cylinder floated back until it was clear of the crashed ship, then it broke open and revealed three smaller drone-bodies. Well, small was a relative term; the first body that dropped out looked like a gorilla on steroids, fully ten feet tall with arms that were almost as long. The next figure was downright spindly even by human standards, with four arms that ended in snapping, scissoring blade-fingers. The last one didn't drop, so much as float; a humanoid body with vented jets on the back, feet, and hands that flared with a neon green light. Malestrom let her power flow, and several of the larger rocks in the vicinity floated into the air, spinning slowly. "Well if it's a war you want..."