KnightDisciple

"Miss Americana is good people, and yeah, she's a whiz with the techno-stuff. As for the cure...maybe we could get some mouth swabs and a small bit of blood drawn, and let some bio-tech-person figure out a wide-area cure? But..." He looked around, his gaze lingering on the stone-encased capsules. "Do we....need to stay here? Until it's cured? To not risk, well, killing everything? And...what do we do with the Grue? The, ah, organic ones, that is."

:hurr: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Happy Birthday! Here's hoping your coming years are successful, and that you quickly conquer your recent injuries! Tally ho! :hist101:

"This isn't how we do things, Erin! You trained too long to do something like this!" He turned to the newcomer, some of his frustration boiling to the surface, even as Erin started to run. He pointed to the man in red and black and spoke with an ever-deepening snarl. "You keep your deus derelicta head out of this, you two bit thug. The adults are busy." Midway through his sentence, Corbin was hunched over to prevent his head from embedding itself in the ceiling. He'd been too slow to prevent Erin's escape, an escape that had almost killed people. He took a few giant-sized steps over, his fire-amplified voice giving a crackling growl as he gave a long look at the pile of debris. "I think I'm gonna give that الÙأس امرأة مجنونة a knock upside the head...She's lucky this didn't kill anyone." And then he shoved one arm almost all the way through the rubble, scooping out several hundred pounds of stone. It surprisingly took him only a few moments to clear the way. A wave of his hand saw ethereal blue supports spring into being around the edge of the new hole created, while he positioned himself as a sort of middle column, enough room on either side for one person at a time to pass through. "שמי×, ×¨×—× ×–×” בלגן." He cleared his throat (which sounded like a rifle going off) and spoke in a loud, clear voice. "Right everyone, let's get moving! Two single-file lines please, no messing with the doorman on your way out, and NO SHOVING."

Right then! As this round (at least, if not 2-3) will be spent helping evacuate civilians, I'm requesting that With Great Power... counts as being invoked, since as much as he wants to chase Erin he's going to concentrate on this first. So, if that's okay, that'll be 1 extra HP. Free Action: Notice Check on the rubble: 15. Hero Point Reroll: 24 Free Action: Knowledge: Structural (to know where to not cause things to collapse): 12 Free Action: Shift Fires of Judgement to "Giant's Strength", which makes him Big and Beefy (full stats on his sheet of course). Full Round Action: Move over to rubble and use my size and strength to clear it off. Also use Fires of Creation to make some basic supports. I believe he started the thread with 3HP, got one for CRAZY!, and I'm requesting another one from Complication. That's 5. Minus the 1 here. That's 4, or 3 if the Complication can't count. Hopefully someone will help make this a slightly safer passage by this time next round!

Everything seemed to happen at once. Gabriel's eyes narrowed as he witnessed the confrontation between Harrier and Miss Americana. His hearing was sharp enough to catch most of what the Omegadrone said, if not all of it. Between that flash of light and his words, Miss A was practically out of the fight, the guards were confused and scared, and that poor girl was terrified. Part of him knew Steve was up to something larger, something that needed to be stopped. But that part of him was drowned out by the part that couldn't ignore the screams of a frightened child. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and then gazed for a moment at the guards. "All of you, please stay calm. Miss Americana and I will deal with...with him. Right now we need you to calm down, coordinate with your fellow guards about what is going on, and help keep the prisoners safe and contained. I'll make sure Mr. Whistler doesn't give you quite as much trouble for a minute or two there." He walked down the short distance of the hall, crouching down a bit to look in the room at Singularity. He gave a wave and a smile at the scared teenager. "Hey there little lady. I know it's really scary out here, but I need you to help me out and be calm. These nice ladies and gentlemen are going to take care of you. I need all of you to sit tight. You don't need to worry. My name is Gabriel, and I'm here to help. You don't have to be scared." He stood in a swirl of white and silver, striding down the hall, his spear flashing into existence as he stepped. He paused outside the cell of the Whistler for a moment, giving the man a significant look while resting the spear on his shoulder, as if to remind him of his words a few moments ago. Then he took a couple more steps and stopped, looking in the elevator at Miss Americana. He spoke again, his volume decreased but his conviction soaring even higher. "I know this is a terrible moment for you, Miss Americana. I can't truly imagine what it's like for you right here and now. But I do know that there are a lot of lives counting on us to be the heroes the newsies think we are. So you need to stand up on your own two feet like I know you can, and help me face him down. We can mourn and wonder later. For now, we are the only ones who can stand in the gap. So please, help me. Stand in the gap, Miss Americana." He then took a couple steps back and looked right at the Whistler, pointing two fingers at the likely-crazy man. "You are going to stay put." There was force behind those words. Enough force to lock up a man's brain for a bit, in fact!

That's it, Gabriel has moved from "slightly confused" to "definitely perturbed". This is a very chaotic situation, so. Part of me thinks "just follow Harrier!". But I need to clean up the mess (as it were) in the hall. And there is a girl screaming in sheer raw terror right down that hall. And also a bad guy. So. I'm going to not follow Harrier for a round. As he is making this decision despite fears of Harrier's actions explicitly to help the guards, the poor girl down there, and Miss A, I would humbly request this invoke his Shepherd of The Flock Complication. AA, if you feel it's not fitting, that's fine. Anyways. Free Action: Spear is out and in his hand. Hero Point: For Ultimate Diplomacy. Full Round Action: Diplomacy on the guards and Singularity to get them calmed down and helpful, and a bit on Miss A to help her be encouraged to stand up. I'll take a penalty if necessary, but as he's in Super Charisma Mode, the check is 60. I'm going to fluff it with him walking around a bit, but he's going to end up in the same spot, so. Surge: Extra Standard Action Free Action: Switch Sonic Control to Alternate Power: Paralyze 12 (Extras: Range [Ranged]) [34PP] Standard Action: Ranged Paralyze against Whistler. Gabriel doesn't trust him to behave. Attack: 24. I imagine that probably hits. So that's a DC22 Will Save vs Paralyze. So he started the round with 7 (1 innate starter, 5 from Luck, 1 from Fiat), has burned 1, bringing him to 6. Next round he'll burn 1 to shake the Fatigue, but theoretically he'll be getting one for his complication, so, he'll have 5 or 6 by the time he starts his next round proper. EDIT: Changed, because E said there was no point in burning Leadership. Might as well keep the Whistler in place!

"If they're anything like the Robo-Bees, that's not a huge surprise. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more wasp-themed folks, as well as rumbles on the street when I can manage. The bad part is the "theme" is the only consistent thing so far; there's no independent pattern beyond "keep pestering Bee-Keeper". And if you run into any demons or faeries, be careful. I've ticked a few off in my day." His tone suggested he was entirely serious. "Something, indeed. And you're welcome. It's what we heroes do, after all! I'll let you get back to your patrol." He made a quick sign of the Cross toward Bee-Keeper, a smile on his face. "Go with God, Bee-Keeper, and take care." With a quick salute and smile, Gabriel was racing off through the night, apparently heading back to his "typical haunt" in Southside. 'That kid's going to go places and do great things, I just know it. I've got a good feeling about his future.'

Untested though it was, Bee-Keeper's energetic strike managed to hit home; just moments before, Cobalt Templar had given a powerful swing of his own sword that commanded both blades of the swordswoman to deflect away from herself. So while it may have been deflected at any other time, this very moment, the blow struck true. Despite its apparently sharp edge, the blade didn't dig in like a physical blade. It seemed to strike a bit more like a blunt object, with some of the fire flaring briefly along her shoulder where it struck. At that same moment, Cobalt Templar grinned savagely, and actually willed his sword to disappear. He took two quick steps back, his fanciful suit flowing into his more normal armor with nary a thought. He crouched down for a moment... Then surged forward, hitting the still-reeling lady ninja in the stomach with a quick but powerful jab. She doubled over, making her an easier target for the strike that hit her even harder, lifting her almost a foot into the air. Which was when Corbin straightened up and delivered a full-force blow to her head in a fantastic rising uppercut that saw him fly a couple feet up, and saw the lady ninja rise just as high before flying backward to land, unconscious, on the softer belly of her sumo companion. CT held himself in a ready position for a few moments, eying the half-wrecked mall around them with a wary eye. When no one jumped out at him, he grinned and set down again, dramatically dusting his hands off while he turned to talk to BK. "Bruises aside, that was pretty awesome! Man, it's too bad we haven't gotten a chance to work together before; you seem like a pretty awesome guy." The sword Bee-Keeper held dissolved into fiery mist and then nothing as Cobalt Templar held out his hand to shake BK3's.

AA/Refs: Either going with the existing checks, or giving new checks, could I state (at the beginning and/or end of the viginette) that Magnus sends out some anonymous signals (Tweets, broadcasts on various frequencies, that sort of thing) that might help some heroes who wish to home in on the Control Boxes, but aren't tech-types themselves, do so via a Notice check or the like? Just trying to help people figure out hooks for writing! :)

"Few days ago I took on some Wasp Ninjas with the new Bee-Keeper. He's a pretty cool guy." CT didn't really know Cannonade, but he seemed decent enough. The tension was mostly them having to wait for something to hap- "Wait Wander what are you-" And then she was over the side of the building. Templar was still standing up straight from where he'd been leaning against an AC unit when he "heard" Blue Fox tell them Wander had killed a man. His eyes widened in momentary shock. "Oh, الجمل النÙايات على الÙطير." With that rather unique statement he took off at a run that almost instantly morphed into blurred flight. But he was too late; Wander was already moving, and even though his speed was greater he needed precious seconds to build it up and he was reacting not acting! "צריך ללכת מהר יותר צריך ללכת מהר יותר." he muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing in the whipping wind. He'd almost caught her when she- A hostage? He almost slammed into the pavement, only averting that at the last second. She was still moving, quicker than he'd ever seen her do. He gained ground, but then she went underground, and it was only by scraping the ceiling, staying in her slightly-cleared wake, and a fair bit of luck that he managed to not hurt anyone as he tore through the air. He yelled, only half-expecting her to hear or care. "Quid agis, desine quaeso quid hoc est furor!" Of course, she spoke no Latin, so he switched to English after gaining a touch of control. "Stop this madness, Wander! You're going to hurt a civilian!" He managed to reach her and, with a near-titanic effort, pry the security guard from her grip into his own arms, even keeping the poor man mostly intact.

This is turning into "Nightmare Scenario" for Corbin, I think. I'm going to say his Speed of Flame was already on Flight, as opposed to Space Flight. Because, you know, not in Space. Move Action: Catch up to Wander (100,000 is more than 10,000!). Acrobatics Check: 25 Standard Action: Melee Attack to Initiate Grapple: 32. Whee, Natural 20! +5 to Grapple! Grapple Check: 41 The goal here is to get the Guard safely out of Erin's arms. As in alive and with all major parts attached.

Gabriel frowned at the "together" comment. But before he could give a sarcastic reply, everything seemed to happen at once, and suddenly Steelgrave's clone was dead and Steve was...victorious? "Wait, no, Steve, that's no how you-" And then he was armored, and entropy was flying, alarms were singing, doors were opening, and it had all gone to hell. One of the first layers, anyways. Things were now very bad. He took a crucial moment to assess the situation, then spoke with confidence, calm, and authority in his voice. "Miss Americana, why don't you go nicely ask our friend what he's doing and if he'd like to sit down and talk about things. Guards, perhaps go help the young lady over there calm down a bit, she seems distressed. We have everything under control." His gaze locked on "the Whistler", a single accusing finger raised. "And you. Stay right where you are and keep your lips shut. There's no need to whistle Dixie just yet. So behave. Or else."

Woof. Staying on Super-Charisma mode. Move Action: Polite requests with no rolls to guards and Miss A. Standard Action: Intimidate on Whistler. Skill Mastery, Auto-50. Stay put!

Gabriel took a couple solid steps back as the walls came alive with rather...hostile...plants. He was thankful Fleur wasn't mad at him, at least! Once the proverbial dust had settled, he walked over to the still-bound Android Captain. He calmly reached down, grasped his spear, and (with one leg braced on the pile of plant matter, plastic, and metal) used both hands to pry it from the ineffectual robot's grip, before it flashed down out of sight (to its ring form). He stepped back and looked around. "I didn't really understand his instructions. I guess...stick him in another dimension until we can get someone with more expertise in? Maybe we should have the Lab recommend a couple disease specialists. Though..." He glanced back at the Captain. "He said Penny somehow held the cure and the ability to neutralize the other two..." At this point he was bone tired and really just wanted to take a long soak and a nap, but there wasn't really time, not when the whole planet was at stake.

So, for a Viginette for Fenris (as he's my only PC not already in a thread, and I'm not sure how much viginette opportunity my other PCs will get), I'm thinking of having him face Magni Thorson (who would be at least PL10, and probably bumped up due to...being a Wrathful I guess?). This is of course subject to GM/Ref approval! Anyways, Checks for Fenris: The first set don't feel appropriate, as he'll be in his office/lab when this all breaks out. So. Computers: 32 Knowledge: Technology: 34 So he could definitely zero in on one or more of the Foundry boxes, and likely tell it's the Foundry in particular doing these things! But of course, on the way, he would be intercepted by a Wrathful Son of Thor! :o

Magnus had to actually process that statement for a few precious seconds, before swearing under his breath. His hands flew as he manipulated the holograms in front of him, kludging together a design from guesses and the pieces of the puzzle they had. He typed into the air for a moment, and suddenly the table was a diorama of Freedom City, with a small "kill sat" hovering above it. There were sliders in the air next to the Baron, which he pushed to the top of their limit, before pressing a large red button. His face paled a bit as the simulation confirmed the numbers; by his estimates (and the computers), such a device could burn the heart of the city, any city, to ash without undue trouble. He clapped his hands once, and the room went dark as all the displays turned off. Another clap had regular interior lighting coming back on. "No time to organize the STAR squad, AEGIS, the League, or anyone like that. Miss Dawes, I realize this is a lot to ask, but I know you're a hero yourself. We need to hit them now. I think my systems can track them, with the help of Miss Hallomen if she'd be willing to. But then we need to stop them. I have an...associate...who goes by the name "Fenris". His armor utilizes a couple of systems developed by my company, as well as some of his own. He's rather handy with technology himself, and he can address this without it becoming a panic or the like. But he's only one person; you yourself utilize some advanced hardware. Could we perchance petition the assistance of Ironclad in this endeavor? And if you know of a couple of other heroes of a similar nature who could contribute, that would be excellent. I'd like to keep this "in-house" with more...technological...solutions, if you see what I'm saying."

I know I'm hoping and praying you have a swift and thorough recovery! (Also if you were actually wrestling a Drop Bear when this happened, that's cool. We know what Australia's like.)

Raveled: Jessica could surmise that, with the component diagrams described by Mara, the thieves (as it's not a hard jump to say it's the same folks) could, if one of them had the know-how, construct a Directed Energy Weapon capable of both great accuracy, and great scale. It would be able to focus down to the point of eliminating a single squad of infantry on a crowded street, or vaporizing a couple square miles of urban terrain. Or anything in between. Worse, with the information they possess, they could make a lot of them. And the device wouldn't be much larger than a large SUV when all is said and done (thanks to the very compact VES's providing power). Such a device could easily be placed in orbit with comparatively little effort, and then directed from there. Fox: Consider your HP awarded for your complication.

As soon as the sword was away from his throat, Cobalt Templar beat a hasty tactical withdrawal to the side of Bee-Keeper. He put a hand on the other hero's shoulder, steadying him a bit, even as the swordswoman silently studied the two of them. For a few moments, the only sound was the crackle of the electro-swords in her hands. Finally, Cobalt Templar spoke. "We have to take her together. Besides, it's dangerous to go alone. Take this." With a grin, he formed a sphere of dense fire in his hands and tossed it in a gentle arc; by the time it stopped in front of Bee-Keeper and floated in the air, it was a shining blue short sword, a blade fit for the Armored Apian! Cobalt Templar himself closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, his body shrouding itself in opaque blue fire. When the flames cleared away, he was wearing a deep blue armored suit, complete with a large sword grasped in both hands. He stood for a long moment, seemingly waiting for something.... Before surging forward, the tip of his sword trailing flame. In a flash, two met one, and Corbin's sword was held at bay, and even pushed back. Surprise showed on his face. "You're pretty strong, little lady. Ah! Hey! Watch it!" Apparently she didn't appreciate the John Wayne reference (so few did these days), and had tried to rob Corbin of his head. Sparks flew as flame met lightning and metal met hard light; neither seemed to have an advantage over the other, gaining no real ground one way or another. But her attention was fully on Cobalt Templar, at least for the moment...

Gabriel isn't totally freaking out, but. Initiative: 16

So, uh, yeah. This is a thing. Initiative: 24 At least he'll maybe be able to tackle Wander and prevent a mass slaughter? :? :o

Magnus had kept a respectful distance while Jessica started the phone conversation. He took to tinkering with the displays of the various stolen items, trying to figure out possible configurations. He discounted explosives centered on the VES's for obvious reasons. Instead he focused on possibilities for Directed Energy Weapons. The idea was...not encouraging. 20 VES could pump out a lot of power. Depending on what the specs from DTS were for... And then Jessica asked him about the windows. He blinked for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "Not windows, no, not this high up. There's a helicopter pad on the roof." He didn't mention the secure hatch he used when he was in his Fenris armor. Jessica didn't need to know that tidbit just yet.

For Fox's eyes only:

"I've dealt with plenty of...exotic...drug dealers before, Shady my boy. Still, interesting tidbits for sure." He looked over and watched Miss A typing away for a second, before turning back. "But are drugs and schemes the only angle? Guy like you, seems like you'd love a bunch of shiny, high-tech goodies. Blasters, bikes, jets, armor, stuff like that. Sneak it in, hand it out. Or is that not subtle enough for your double's dastardly deeds? Though there's a question." He gave an exaggerated thoughtful tap on his chin. "Would he be cowardly enough to hide back in the Terminus while this is going on, or prideful enough that he felt the need to be "on the front lines"?"

"The VES are patented, but..." He sighed and tapped a few virtual keys on the tabletop. After a moment, the table in front of Jessica displayed various specifications, statistics, and results from tests, while the air had a holographic "wire frame" of one of the VES. "The Vacuum Energy System utilizes the principles of vacuum energy, various parts of quantum field theory, and ultimately zero-point energy. It carries secondary systems that allow it to convert at least some measure of ambient energy into stored power, as it includes some of our cutting-edge battery tech as well to prevent waste of immediate excess. They require little maintenance or refueling, and the most catastrophic possible failure results in the very center of the device crumpling inward while some of the circuit boards short out, rendering it a lump of useless metal, silicon, plastic, and such." The hologram allowed Jessica to interact with it, and was surprisingly detailed; she could likely at least attempt recreating one of these smaller reactors from this, if she could remember it. "They're still expensive to reproduce, and require somewhat rare materials that are themselves difficult to produce at times. They're part of our company's long-term efforts to make 100% clean, green, renewable energy available worldwide. Unfortunately it looks like we'll have to reach the stage of exploiting asteroid resources to fully realize that vision with VES systems alone. I've taken to understand Archetech is looking into fusion systems that will provide excellent "stop-gap" measures....but that's a side issue. Anyways." He shrugged. "We only knew because of our trace on the attempts on our systems. I honestly thought you knew, and told you out of courtesy and context. As for Hallomen Advanced Expters, not yet. I contacted you first because your company has been hit for sure, but it's unclear if Hallomen's been struck yet. We lost our trace before we could narrow the infiltrators down further than "somewhere in Freedom city". They're some of the best I've ever seen with computers, and I've worked with Miss Americana directly. If you know someone at Hallomen, I think we should meet with them ASAP. They're likely either an immediate target, or may have already been hit in some fashion or another. As they're a smaller, more focused operation, I hoped someone who was more...local...might help assure them we're not lying through our teeth in an opening bid of a hostile takeover." He gave a smirk at the idea, though considering how open and direct he'd been, such a move didn't seem quite his style. "We've filed with the authorities of course, but this is the sort of problem that needs addressed on local fronts, and warning other companies might work better from...peers. Besides, worst case, I would imagine you have some more...pro-active contacts in other circles, yes?"