KnightDisciple

It had been more than "five minutes, tops" since she'd talked to Gabriel, but suddenly a call came through on her commlink. No longer did she hear the sounds of fighting, simply a man taking long, deep breaths like he'd just finished running a marathon, with a dash of wind flowing around. "Please be Miss Americana, whoever I'm talking to. Please please please don't be a dead robot that I shoved in a supply closet in the basement of Blackstone. Which I have shoved into a body bag and somehow bluffed my way out of a high-security super-prison on lockdown. Please don't be dead. Hello? Is someone there who is both alive and Miss Americana and not a robot and not a hallucination because of a half-dozen blows to my head?" There was definitely a noticeable Irish accent, a lot of exhaustion, a bit of panic, and perhaps a bit of "loopiness". "Because I'm hovering out over the bay holding a fried lady robot body, and I'm honestly a little freaked out right now."

"Nice to meet you, Power Fist." The blue-clad hero even sounded sincere about it! "It's an insane day." Templar shouldn't have been surprised at the turnaround. He really shouldn't. But part of him had hoped he'd managed to completely avoid a fight. Apparently not. As the rocks fell, he called out to the man. "When we tangle again I'm kicking your butt up between your ears you two-faced snake!" And then there was an eerie roar of rock turning to dust, and the flame-flinging giant of a man was buried there. For almost half a minute, the dust settled. Was he dead? Trapped? Unconscious? No one could tell, but none dared approach the ruined pile of rocks that was the subway station. Then, suddenly, blue light started to leak up, almost like wisps of smoke. The rocks shifted...before suddenly a blue hand the size of a man's torso ripped its way up from the ground, flailing around a moment before finding purchase. Within moments, Cobalt Templar was dragging himself out of the rubble, still in his now-more-battered "robo-suit" construct. He took a few moments to look around, noting that no civilians seemed seriously hurt. The extra-large size faded away, and he stood there in his normal costume. "All you folks had better get home ASAP. It's gonna be a rough day in the neighborhood." And with that he streaked into the sky, quickly hitting his maximum speed; the air seared in his wake, and a small sonic boom rattled windows as he skimmed just over skyscraper rooftops, maintaining a zig-zag pattern until he finally found the rest of the team (mostly thanks to spotting the Night Cycle and the trail it had left in its wake). He slammed to the ground a few feet over from them, cratering the dirt slightly, and turning the patch directly beneath his feet into dark glass. He stood, clearly looking around for a fight, before his eyes locked on the robot clasped on the front of the Cycle. "What the....What in tarnation? What? But? A robot? A real, honest-to-goodness robot? Oh fer-" He ran a hand over his helmet with a sigh. "So we're going to go find the good-for-nothing varmints who did this and beat them sillier than snot, right? Because I reckon right now I could punch a tornado in the face and make it my new Sunday ride."

The communicator rang for a good 30 seconds before finally dialing in. For several long moments, Gina heard nothing but the sound of stun rifles, fistfights, yells and screams, and the occasional burst of sonic energy that was the calling card of the rather shiny hero known as Gabriel. After another minute or so, his voice came on the line, incredibly terse, rather distracted, and perhaps a bit tired-sounding. "I would love to chat but-" He grunted in pain as what sounded like an energy rifle went off right next to him. "-kinda busy. Give me five minutes tops, I'll call back. Have a prison to pacify." His voice carried a faint Irish brogue, but before Gina could analyze further, the line cut off. He'd hung up on her, though perhaps for understandable reasons.

Note: At least a few employees will be meatbags regular humans. Have to hire a few locally to avoid suspicion!

Thunder Rolls, Hammers Strike January 15th, 2013 (Day of Wrath) It had started as an ordinary Tuesday. Paperwork, bit of software development, tinker with a couple diagrams. Typical for Magnus; despite running the company, he liked to keep involved with his own projects. His American home wasn’t far from the office, and he liked being up early (not that he needed quite as much sleep these days, what with the nanites and all), so he’d been there for a couple hours already. So when Candice, his office assistant, burst into his office and wordlessly switched the nearest wall panel to a half-dozen news feeds. “Candice! What the devil are you-?†His question cut off as he saw the news feeds, took in her frightened features. “Sir, we’ve already started a lockdown, but....people are worried about families. Kids. Spouses. What do we do with them?†The Baron took a moment to consider, his eyes flickering over the screens even as the nanites attached to his brain stem talked to the computers surrounding him. “Initiate a Level 2 lockdown, with preparation to go to Level 1 if one of these...Wrathful...approaches the building. Security is authorized to be armed and armored. We...†He sighs as he considers his next words. “We cannot force people to stay in this building, but we will strongly recommend it. Try to have people move in groups. If their family is close, they can shelter here. Have Security touch base with the police, UNISON, AEGIS, FBI, all those folks, so that there’s not a blue-on-blue incident when they see our men in body armor waving stun pistols around. I’m going down to Laboratory 15.†His secretary gave a nod as she regained a bit of color; she was clearly still worried, but “sheer panic†was gone thanks to Magnus giving clear, precise orders. That and the fact he seemed no more bothered than if someone told him it was raining outside when he’d forgotten his umbrella at home. Not that he wasn’t bloody terrified at the thought of heroes going mad. **************************************************************************************** It didn’t take much time in Lab 15 to start triangulating some extremely strange signals scattered around the city. A bit of finagling some local security cameras, along with some other observation methods, they’d figure out what it was. A series of boxes, with a large number of radio signals flying in and out...guarded by Foundry drones. Magnus almost growled. He’d just dealt them a blow here in the city, and now they were rearing their head again? So soon? “Send word to the authorities about this.†“Sir, where are you going?†“My office. I need to make sure the other branches are locked down. This may not stay local.†Technically, this was true. However, the fact was, that wasn’t the only thing he was about to do... ******************************************************************************************* A message sent across the globe had Katastroff & Sorenson Technologies locked down within 90 seconds, as managers and employees alike fearfully watched the news to follow the terrible developments. Meanwhile, moving in an essentially invisible blur, flashing into existence for mere seconds at a time as he moved across streets and roofs, Fenris was drawing close to the nearest “Control Boxâ€, powering his weapon systems up so he could leap into the fray as soon as he arrived. That miniscule power draw saved him some broken bones, though. Right as he stopped for a moment to re-orient himself and re-engage his VFC, a streak of blue light flashed across his vision, and a hammer embedded itself in the rooftop, ice forming a sheen for about a foot around the impact point. He just stopped and stared for several moments, processing the image. “I knew it! You show your true colors!†The voice echoed off the surrounding buildings; a shout driven by powerful lungs and tinged with something else. Before Fenris could locate the source, he felt a flash of heat at his stomach, and was suddenly stuck in the street down below, civilians running away in fright. He looked up, and saw a young man who could have passed for a Norse god, if he wasn’t wearing jeans, a tshirt, and- “Chains? Really? That seems a little too “biker gang†for a hero or one of your Aesir folk.†“SILENCE! Servant of Chaos! Devotee of the Fenriswulf! Worshiper of Ragnarok!†“Whoa now, let’s calm down man. I punched that thing in the face last time I saw it. I don’t worship anything or anyone. But especially not that wolf, or any of you Norse meatheads.†“You mock us! With your words and your visage! I am Magni Thorson, and I shall silence your impudent mouth!†“It’s a catchy name and I do sorta like flipping you the-ACK!†Twin hammers to the chest signaled the end of talking and the beginning of fighting. The goateed young Aesir was faster than his somewhat bulky form would suggest, and his blows with the hammers (one frighteningly cold, the other terribly hot) were fast. But then, Fenris was pretty fast, too. He kept moving, disappearing from his spot before a blow could land, ending up 30 feet behind Magni and snapping off a couple of shots with his PPCs. While he boasted of his relationship with the so-called “God of Thunderâ€, he didn’t seem to have any real resistance to artificial lightning. Of course, the fight was by far not one-sided. Magni kept landing glancing blows that left dents. As the fight dragged on, some of the dents started to tear the outer layer of the armor. The extremes of temperatures started to warp other parts of the armor. At one point, Magni managed to land a solid blow on the lower jaw of the armor; the plating cracked and the teeth sparked. Another hit in the opposite direction saw it torn off completely in a shower of sparks and metal, while the man inside howled in pain from the sympathetic feedback his nanite interface sent roaring into his brain. Magni got two point-blank PPC shots to the gut in return. They “danced†back and forth for a few minutes more, before a blow from the flame-shrouded hammer sheared one of the PPCs off. Almost in the blink of an eye, the fight shifted. Fenris was trying, and failing, to fend off a veritable storm of blows. His armor was blackened and curling in multiple places, heavily fractured in others. The claws on both feet were snapped off or crushed. His other PPC was shorted out and useless, and his VFC was flickering dangerously. “Ha! Your pitiful technology stings, but before the son of Thor it is not enough! I will cleanse your taint from this city, before removing the other stains upon this shining beacon of civilization!†“Not-*kzzzk* on your life, pretty boy.†And then he was gripping Magni’s head between his clawed hands, and shoving as much power as possible into the electrical conduits there. After a moment the “intact†PPC exploded, followed shortly by most of the circuits in the arms. By that point, it was enough, though. Magni screamed in pain...and quickly devolved into an electronic warble of verbal 1’s and 0’s. Magnus’s eyes widened in his helmet as, just as he released the face of the young “heroâ€, it started to melt while the rest of him caught in eerie green flame! Seconds later, an otherworldly metal skeleton stared back at him, mouth hanging open and eyes filled with rapidly-fading light. And then it exploded in Fenris’s face. He was flung a good 10 feet back, the top half of his “jaw†shattering and melting, most of the front of his armor suddenly soft and runny like hot wax. Only the strong insulation of the inner layers kept him from a world of hurt; as it was he still gave a yell of pain. Thankfully, the street was abandoned, so when he stood and red-hot metal droplets fell to the ground, no one hurt themselves running to help. He swayed in place for a moment, then diverted all power to his VFC, vanishing in a flash of light, leaving only scraps and puddles of metal on the ground behind him. Of course, teleporting when your teleport system is half-fried is not always the best idea. So when Fenris slammed into the far wall of his secure lab, moving at a relative speed of about 200 miles an hour, he was lucky to “only†fracture 2 ribs, both legs, and an arm. He grit his teeth around a scream of pain, forcing himself to drag over to the armor rig, which quickly stripped the wrecked suit off of him. His nanites were in overdrive, and his legs healed enough for him to stumble over to his office chair and put one hand on the work table. Within 30 seconds, the internet was flaring with information about the Control Boxes. Locations, estimated guard forces, appearance, all of it. The official KST Twitter feed “anonymously†fed the information out, and other tech sites soon took up the news. It spread further and further, so that even those who didn’t have the resources and skills he possessed could find out where they were. He held off the information about Magni being a robot; he was out of it so much he didn’t trust it to be a universal rule, or even an accurate memory. With the information spreading on its own, Baron Katastroff smiled....and fell unconscious in his chair for the next several hours as his body fought to repair the damage it had taken in the rather brutal fight.

IC&BK: Feel free to encounter a couple of regular employees, then some robot security dudes! Lots of Robots! DF: She gets some robot guys and...hehehe. :twisted:

Fenris tapped his chin for a few moments as the others spoke, before nodding. "That's sound, though they'd need at least a few minutes to get from the buildings to the hangars. Though...hrm. We should watch for some sort of underground tunnel that goes from one or both buildings to one or both hangars." He looks around, his "muzzle" grinning as much as it can (which is not entirely comforting to look upon). "It's what I would do." He squared his shoulders with a nod. "Right then. Sounds like Ironclad and Bee-Keeper can hit the bigger building, and Dragonfly and I hit the smaller building. Keep in contact. I'm sure we'll clean their clocks." He moved for the door, expecting them all to move out. "Too bad it took something like this for a group like us to get together, really." *********************************************************************************** Fenris's journey was, if not as straight-line as the others, still comparatively smooth. As he approached the target site, his world went from a rush of light and color and vague shapes, and a vague sense of "up" and "down", to a series of still-shots of the approaching building. Finally, he reached the entrance of the building. He paused to consider how to approach things...before shrugging and just opening the door. He called out as he stomped into the lobby. "Pardon me, ladies and gentlemen. Just investigating some corporate espionage and a possible threat to the city! Nothing to see here!" And that's when the screaming and yelling started.

"Ha! Yeah, I bet I could arm-wrestle Arnie, even without the ring." Considering how big the fella was, he just might be able to. "But as for these chumps...I don't know, man. I've been in this city for a few years now, doing the hero thing. I think this is the second time I've faced ninjas at all. Those guys were in with the Crimson Katana, and they did do the more classical "strike from the shadows". I ran into some sorta turf war or something, busted heads on every side. They had some tattoos and stuff to mark their "allegiance", but...nothing so thematic. Kinda spooky. Especially since they didn't try to rob anything. Just...causing trouble. Hard to say if it was just to cause a panic, an attempt to draw out whatever heroes were nearby, or a more...targeted approach. Maybe the cops will be able to find out." Templar glanced around one more time. "Might be best if we, ah, just slip out. All things considered. Oh! Uh, let's see. Yeah, here we go." He dug out a card that had nothing but a phone number on it. "If some big gnarly ninja thing goes down again or whatnot, just drop me a line there or something, you know. Catch you later, Bee-Kay." An affectionate (and perhaps slightly overpowered) slap to the shoulder, and CT disappeared, burning quickly to the spot he'd hidden his paid-for merchandise. It was time to get out of there. Luckily, there was still a hole in the skylight, which he quickly flew off through, disappearing in the normal hustle and bustle of Freedom City skies.

Hero Point Count: 4 Punch, DC 25: 19. Hero Point Reroll: 33 Collapse, DC 25: 20 So, no-sell on the punch, but Dazed+Bruised on the rocks. Hero Point Count: 3

Per Chat, Gabe's Vig will be dealing with the riot/breakout at Blackstone. With that in mind, any fun/exciting canon NPCs I could have him run into? Any that I should have him see escape but not stop?

For a moment it seemed like Fenris had been struck totally silent. Until they heard the synthesized growl that was just barely audible, but almost lifelike. It stopped after only a few moments, and Fenris typed for a few seconds, highlighting lines that led from KST to the suspected Foundry hideout. "Foundry. Makes sense. Makes it all the more terrifying. Worst case we have maybe an hour until everything is machined, double-checked, and fitted together, then 30 minutes until they're in flight. Should take us 5 minutes to reach the site." He glanced around at everyone for a moment, then each line gained color. One was a dark grey that matched his armor, one a light blue that matched the highlights of Dragonfly's, one a green not unlike Ironclad's, and the last a yellow like Bee-Keeper's. The line for Fenris seemed to follow the ground or rooftops; Ironclad's was a high arch, while Bee-Keeper and Dragonfly seemed to be set to go in between buildings. "I lack actual flight capacity, though between my suit servos and the Vacuum Flux Capacitor let me move quickly and at roof-level. This is my suggested approach pattern. If you can't tell, it's color-coded for each of us. This lets us hit at 4 different points on the first building." The slightly larger building is highlighted, with 4 entry points spread around the first floor. "It's tempting to split up, but we don't know how many drones they'll have. We should enter at ground level and go from there; this sort of sensitive operation is probably run below-ground. My guess is that the larger building is more of a "front", which is backed up by bits and bobs of news that seem to mostly be about minor press announcements from that building only. The second building is likely the "nerve center", but this one likely has backup forces. We hit that, it warns them sooner, but we don't have to face a pincer movement. That's a lot of "likelies", but obviously we won't know for sure. Either way, all of us should be able to hit hard, hit fast, and shrug off a lot of what they'll throw at us. Any last-minute ideas, suggestions, or objections?"

He skidded to a halt just before reaching the opening to return to...well, the higher levels. "She...no. No one can know. She kept it secret. Either she's dead, and deserves better than what they'll do to her. Or she's somewhere, and so she's still got a secret to keep. I can't let it get out. Not like this." He went back to the now-defunct Miss A robot and carefully straightened its limbs, smoothed its garments, and finally closed its eyes. Picking it up in his arms, he was surprised it wasn't heavier. "Huh. You're no more than a lass your size would be. Certainly not a hernia-maker like that blighter over there. And despite you being deader than a doornail I'm talking to you. Maybe I'm going crazy today myself..." He'd found a small alcove well over to one side of the room, out of the way. He'd have to come back for her-it later. For now, there were other matters to attend to. He paused only briefly next to the...thing...that had impersonated Harrier. Just long enough to spit on its wrecked corpse. In a blur he was gone, up the shaft and back into the same hallway he'd left an eternity of a couple minutes ago. His gaze was grim in the dim lighting as he looked at the guards. "It's done. The thing that-no, wait, no time. Just...have someone from the infirmary get down there ASAP. The attacker was stopped. Oh, and, uh, maybe a couple repair technicians. The reactor took a hit. Now..." His gaze drifted upwards. "I would imagine my services will be appreciated for a bit around here?"

As the electricity surged around both Harrier and Miss Americana- 'Is she some sort of cyborg?' -Gabriel took a couple of steps back, dismissing his lightning-rod-waiting-to-happen spear and covering his eyes. When the "excitement" had died down, he looked around the darkened room, his mastery of sound helping him pick up details the light missed. He moved first to Harrier. "For what it's worth, Steve, I'm sorry, but..." He frowned. This...Steve had described what Omegadrones were like before. This wasn't quite right. He couldn't quite suss out what was going on, but he was suddenly less sure he'd faced the true Harrier in combat just now. Which was...not really very encouraging. Before he could contemplate it, his eyes shot open in worry, and he scrambled over to Miss A. "Oh bloody hell I almost forgot about you ma'am I'm so sorry and-" He stopped. She was warm. Too warm. Too still. Not just dead, but almost...He pulled her shirt up enough to look at the odd burn. A burn like many others over her...its?...body. She wasn't just "not human" or "a cyborg", she seemed to be even more artificial. "What?" Steeling his resolve, he pried away the, yes, panel. Showing melted wires and the like...that looked somewhat maybe possibly like the equipment in her own lab! "She's a bloody robot? What?" He turned and scrabbled back over to "Harrier", poking and prodding more. There weren't easy-access panels, but it was more and more clear it wasn't right (as much as an Omegadrone could ever be "right"). This was also a robot, though a different design. "He's a bloody Terminator. What." And suddenly he was on his feet and dashing for the elevator shaft.

Spicywaffle: Fox: Raveled:

Uh, right, let's see. Can only make Notice checks. Notice 1: 26 Notice 2: 23

Gabriel will go to Harrier first, flip him with his own spear, basically search for signs of life. Then he'll check Miss A, who he's honestly more worried about. I'll edit in Checks if necessary.

Gabriel gave nothing but a terse nod as Miss Americana came into the room. He'd hoped they'd be able to slow Steve down, but not yet. His eyes widened fractionally at Harrier's insult toward his beliefs, the friendship he'd always thought they shared, before declaring that "all was as dust". He was too slow to prevent him from striking the reactor, but it didn't instantly go up. He needed to buy time for Miss A to either shut it all down, or fix the system. "I accepted you. From the first time we met. I broke bread with you. Gave you advice. Cared for you as a friend. In the name of that friendship, I won't let you finish this, Steve. I won't let you kill these people." With those eerily calm words, he drove his spear in even further into the not-so-reformed Omegadrone. With his weapon still in there, he raised on hand and pummeled Harrier's back with sonic energy, before finally extracting his weapon. Without turning to Miss A, he spoke two words. "Do it."

Standard Action: Another Melee Attack! 16. Hero Point Reroll: 31. DC 27 Toughness Save. Free Action: Switch Array to Blast Extra Effort: Surge for another Standard. Standard Action: Ranged Attack: 28. DC 27+Autofire.

"Great Work, genius." Cobalt Templar's words were sarcastic, but his tone was distracted. Probably because he was trying to single-handedly hold up the ceiling of the subway station. He swatted aside a chunk that would have struck a young boy and his frightened mother, the piece of stone shattering harmlessly against a far wall. --Eve, get out of here. Tell the others I'll be fine and catch up to them. I can handle this. Go.-- His tone wasn't commanding, but it was clear he was more concerned for the petite heroine and the civilians around them than for himself. Then again, Corbin was a tough guy. He could handle a building falling on him...right? "Look, Mr. Masterpiece of Science. Any other day, I'd slug it out with you. But not right now. Too busy." Keeping his bracing position, Cobalt Templar shuffled to the middle of the platform, even as the ceiling threatened to fall on them all. Once he'd hit what seemed to be the general middle, he heaved a bit against the ceiling...right as a shimmering plane of blue energy reached across the ceiling, bracing itself against the walls (and running columns down to the floor as well). CT's "giant construct" shifted, going from a vauge "ancient armored warrior" look to what seemed to be an industrial suit of powered armor, hydraulics straining to help him support the load. His real head was visible between the massive "metal" shoulders, his voice having lost some of its fearsome edge, but none of its determination. He planted himself there, holding the roof up, and he looked to not be moving. He raised his voice so the whole platform could hear him. "I need everyone to stay calm! Keep moving out the door; you don't have my chunky butt sitting in your way, so you should be able to get 3-4 people through at a time! NO SHOVING! NO TRAMPLING! Keep moving. I'm holding this thing just fine; I've lifted weights heavier than this in the gym!" His jovial tone would hopefully keep everyone from totally panicking. He then turned to the security guy who seemed itching for a fight. Only the genetically-engineered metahuman had the angle to see that Cobalt Templar was worried. And sweating. His voice was tense, almost hushed. "Look, uh, whatever your name is, didn't catch it in this mess. You wanna throw down, give me the time to get these people out of here. Please. I'm begging you here. There are kids down here. They aren't in our fight. But if you try to fight, they'll get hurt, maybe worse. Then I'll get mad. So if you don't want to help, then please, please, just get out of here. Let me concentrate on saving their lives."

Right then. Free Action: Talk the whole time, as well as think at Sage for a moment. Free Action: Extra Effort Extra Effort: Stunt Super Strength 2 off of Fires of Creation. That gives me an Effective Strength of 104. Fluff will be him using CO to make stuff to help hold up the roof. This Stunt will be maintained until everyone's evacuated. Move Action: Get to center of platform. Standard Action: Make like Big Bad John and hold the whole thing up long enough for everyone to get out. Current Hero Point Count: 4 Count Next Round: 3, to prevent Fatigue.

Give me Knowledge: Technology, Computers, Knowledge: Local, and/or Knowledge: Streetwise checks.

"Dragonfly is correct. We're looking at someone building something that could destroy a city in a single blast." He was already clomping along the roof to the door Ironclad had exited from, stopping only at the door itself. "Less "private security", more...independent contractor. The Baron appreciates the work I do, and doesn't mind donating a few materials to help me in my endeavors. But we don't want to give the impression I'm step one in raising a private army or anything. That would...make certain parties nervous." Who exactly, he didn't seem willing to say! "And if you're unsure about me, Dragonfly can vouch for me. We've worked together before." A quick burst of data went across Dragonfly's HUD. --Discretion would be greatly appreciated, ma'am. Obviously more important work to be about, anyways.-- When the others followed, they were led down 1 level of stairs to a small (comparatively) room with a holo-table in the middle. Fenris walked to the far side and typed on a keyboard for a few moments before a map of the city sprang up. An area just south of the Airport, a fairly short distance from their current location. "The Baron and his team didn't manage to trace the hackers any further than this area. But for the sort of work they're doing, only a couple buildings have much possibility, having been bought in the last couple of months. Regrettably the trace isn't any more solid. But if any of you have any ideas on how we can narrow things down, feel free."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow as the older prisoner seemed almost...thankful. But he didn't have time to contemplate things as the revelation from the guards told him there were many, many lives in danger. Far too many. Almost as soon as Miss Americana had dropped through the floor, the hero in white and silver was racing through the air after her, the elevator shaft all but ringing with the tightly-leashed sonic energy he was using to propel himself down and after Steve. He didn't need to bull through any doors, and was airborne until he was almost on top of the "reformed" Omegadrone. He'd seen the bodies outside, caught the briefest whiff of the scent of death. Harrier could not be allowed to continue. "Looks like you've reverted to being the pawn of the likes of Steelgrave again, Steve. I won't let you kill this prison. There are good people here just doing there job, guarding these prisoners. Some of whom can be made better, who will server their sentence without dying. I'm going to do what you'd want me to do." But even as he said the words and brought his shining spear in for a blow that just barely worked itself into a chink in the nightmare armor, he couldn't drive it too deep. He couldn't bring himself to actually try and kill a man he counted as a friend. A man he had encouraged, defended, advised, and prayed for. Perhaps that distraction is why his second blow skittered off the blood-red armor.

Yeehaw. Free Action: Switch array to Flight 9 (Rank 10, 10,000mph / 100,000ft per Move Action, Feats: Moving Feint, Subtle) Move Action: Get to Steve (should be doable). Standard Action: Melee Attack with Spear. 14. Yeahno. Hero Point Reroll: 14, which becomes 24. DC 27 Toughness Save. Blessed/Holy, Piercing, Silver Descriptors. Free Action: Extra Effort! Another SA Standard Action: Melee Attack Again. 21. Ugh, probably not, but if it does, DC 27. I will spend the Hero Point next round to avoid the Fatigue, so I'll be down to 3 or 4, depending on if you approve that Complication invocation.

Magnus raised an eyebrow as, not long after Jessica sent a text message (it was a rather obvious action, after all), the building's sensors detected...well, it was the size of a human, moving fast, but definitely not reading like a missile or projectile, so probably not totally hostile. Maybe. He made sure the system tracked it, and turned his attention to Jessica (and thus Ms. Hallomen by proxy). He typed for a moment, a 2-dimensional diagram coming to life right beside Ms. Dawes. It was the building they were in, and it highlight the Helicopter Pad, a secure doorway there, and a path to a smaller (comparatively) room just one level down from the rooftop. A second path lit up, from the conference room to the same meeting room (just a couple floors up). He spoke up, hoping both ladies on the phone could hear him. "Jessica, your badge will allow you access to the top floor, and that room indicated on the map. It's not as fancy as this one, but it should still give everyone the tools necessary to hash out a quick plan. I'll be working from one of our labs to feed some intelligence to you, but the...I suppose four of you? Will be on your own. It's up to you all how you go about this, but...Ms. Hallomen is right. This has to be stopped now. Here. No further. There's no telling the damage that could be caused if just the plans leaked out. We'll do our best from this end to make sure there are no more leaks or attacks anywhere else. And my friend Fenris should be here any time now. I would say it's been a pleasure, ladies, but under the circumstances, we might have to reschedule to have a friendly rival's lunch." With a tight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, Magnus nodded to Jessica and left the room, calmly walking out the door and down the hall out of sight. That he quietly entered one of the storage rooms, walked to the back wall, and then through a disguised sliding door, would go unseen by anyone; even the security footage showed him entering the elevator with nary a flicker. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the Bee-Keeper drew closer to the building, Magnus entered one of his small secondary "armories" that he had scattered across the world. This one was buried in the middle of the upper levels of the office building, not on any publicly available blueprints. Or any of the private ones. The security was tighter than tight. He calmly and efficiently stripped out of his work clothes, the morphic molecules of his interface suit already in place. Only the harness remained, with his phone and tablet securely locked in place. With a now-practiced gesture his hands pressed a button on each "holster", and he spoke a quick word to confirm the vocal unlock. "Tjut, Fenris." And suddenly in a flash of light, the Fenris Armor Mark 2.1.1 was there, and it was opening, and as Magnus stretched his arms out, the suit wrapped itself around his body, and in less than 2 seconds, it was not Baron Magnus Katastroff, but the lupine armored hero Fenris who stood there. He flexed his fingers for a moment before walking to another shaft that held no elevator, but still opened to the roof. "Time to meet the neighbors." He crouched, and before his leap was complete, he was a flash of light. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When Bee-Keeper landed on the roof, Fenris was standing next to the helipad, armored hands crossed over his chest. He actually smiled, the armored wolf head moving somewhat realistically as he emoted and spoke. "Nice to meet you. I go by Fenris. I'm guessing, and this is a big leap here, that you're the Bee-something. Sorry if you're kinda big around here; I'm not from around here, don't know all the names and faces yet. I think we've got one or two more incoming before we go to the meeting..." His voice was humanish, but clearly run through a filter, mostly to strip away any accent, and add a slight techno-growl to it. It wasn't that powerful now, but in a fight, it might well be a bit intimidating for opponents.