KnightDisciple

For what it's worth, we can assume a move action here to tell him how to turn that off.

Right, so, as I understand it, the Toughness DC of the Attack I make needs to be at least 27. This works out well for my mental picture... Free Action: Combined Attack with Edge Free Action: Switch Fires of Judgment to Rain of Fire (Blast 12, DC is 27, so it can help out) Move Action: Get near, or if possible next to, Edge, while still remaining within 120 feet of the beast (probably not hard). Standard Action: Ranged Attack! 17. Which does hit! Honestly, I'm sort of picturing CT making a big cannon construct, he starts to fire, and Edge fires a beam through the cannon as well. Or something. I dunno.

NPC Spotlight Sonya Sokolova Corpsman Up! Freedom League HQ, Freedom City June 8, 2012 09:40 Eastern Standard Time Sonya Sokolova, Lieutenant of UNISON, medic, and one of a few liaisons to the Freedom League for the international aid agency, was rather bored. She'd filled out all her paperwork for the day, had no meetings scheduled, was on a “liaison-only†rotation (to allow her a bit more rest and free time), and wasn't expecting contact from her boyfriend Carson until around noon. She was currently alternating between a crossword puzzle and the latest David Weber novel; every once in a while she checked the phone for messages, the group email, and glanced around to make sure no one was waiting patiently for her to talk to them. Of course, right as she was hitting her stride in the book, going through one of the most interesting parts, the phone rang. She instantly marked her place and put the book aside, because the phone hadn't used the normal tone; instead, it had the more urgent sound of an emergency call. “This is Lieutenant Sokolova. What's going on?†“Lieutenant! We need you to contact Agent Lucas! We're under attack from mercenaries, and they've got a couple of meta-humans with them! We're at the Delta Relief Site over in Africa; we were doing one of our normal deliveries of food and medical supplies. No idea why they hit us, but we need help now!†“Understood. We'll be there shortly.†Sonya quickly dialed the powerful young UNISON agent, who was almost immediately there at the HQ. Sonya took only a moment to secure her workstation until the backup agent could get in the office, before grabbing the emergency medical pack she always had with her and nodding at Mark Lucas. Then the world dissolved in a riot of color and not-color... Delta Relief Site It was chaos when they arrived; Mark's good fortune set them down inside the temporary building used to help distribute needed supplies, which was currently set up to house wounded agents. There was one over-worked field medic, but he was clearly not keeping up. He gave a sigh of relief when he notice Sonya and Mark. “Thank the Lord. They're outside; hurry, please go help them!†Mark was off to the fit with barely a word, and while the people inside couldn't hear the fight, the sounds certainly became...interesting. Sonya herself rushed to help the exhausted man tending the wounded; she handed him her supply bag for the moment, while she slipped on some sterile gloves and got to work using her unique gift. As soon as the person with the worst injuries was pointed out, she got to work, a green glow surrounding the man with a couple of major bullet wounds, the reflected light giving the whole interior an odd glow. She finished his treatment, and had treated two more of the half-dozen wounded, when she heard the unmistakeable sound of a gun reloading. Slowly, she raised her hands into the air and turned to face the sound. As she feared, it was two rough-looking mercenaries (definitely foreigners, though, which was odd) armed with assault rifles. One of them sneered and spoke. “You two, against the wall. You're just going to sit back, so all of you can be nice hostages. We'll use you to get out of here, now that your superhero's out there wrecking our crew.†Sonya calmly spoke, staying where she was for a moment. She nodded her head to the leader. “I'm a healer, you probably saw me doing so just now. I can fix those wounds you've got. I don't need any tools, so I can keep my hands empty.†He seemed ready to refuse, but there was enough blood running on his face he reconsidered. He gestured for the other man to watch the door while he stepped further inside, gesturing for Sonya to go ahead and treat him. “Make it quick, nurse.†Sonya simply nodded, carefully walking forward and laying one hand on the man's forehead. He actually sighed in a bit of relief as his wounds started to close...before suddenly going stiff, his eyes the only part that could move as they saw the smirk on Sonya's face. She quickly moved to the man at the door, who was clearly distracted by the fighting outside. Before he knew what was happening, she'd gripped his shoulders, and he found himself clutching his stomach as he fell to the floor. She turned back to the other man, seeing that he was starting to gain some life back in his limbs. She all but flew the distance between them, her right hand lashing out palm-first. It hit the man at the spot his shoulder and neck met, and he dropped like a sack of potatoes, his eyes fluttering closed. She turned to the still-sickened man, walking over to him and delivering a similar strike with identical results. She turned to the medic she'd been helping, who was all but frozen in place. Her voice was laced with a touch of humor as she spoke. “Come on, help me move these morons to the corner, then get the rest of our people patched up. We'll let the others deal with the thugs later. I was moaning about how boring today was earlier, so let's keep it moving.†'I wonder how Carson's day is going...' she mused to herself as she got back to work healing the wounded, a task she always found calming and rewarding.

"Alright. Maybe the bad men left for someplace else. We can always hope. Let's hop on and go see the Captain; I bet Fleur will get him and his daughter taken care of no problem." With that, Gabriel floated up onto Gaian Knight's platform, settling down onto it before extending a hand to help the young boy up. Once he was on board, Gabriel turned to face the front. He closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them. Out of the blue, Fleur and GK heard his voice whispering in their ear, while Scraps remained "outside the loop"; Gabriel's mouth didn't move, but if they glanced at him he nodded to acknowledge it was him. "Right, let's keep our eyes peeled, just in case. Scraps says he hasn't seen these "bad men" for a while, but who knows if they've just gotten better at hiding or what. Hopefully we can leave him with this Captain fellow and get over to those bunkers. We need to get this Prion thing nipped in the bud."

Cobalt Templar CT nodded faintly as Rift started to move downstairs; the large hero in blue stepped over a bit, covering the graduate's back more effectively. His arm never wavered, and his face remained stony. "No one's helping anyone until I get some monte percussæ answers. Who are you people? Who do you work for? Why do you look like us? What are you doing here?" He kept shifting his gaze from the Lieutenant to the Inquisitor; he figured Sharl could handle his double, and the same with Koshiro. But the other two would be on him. If something bad went down, he'd need to act fast. Inquisitor Hughes "Stop spouting gibberish! Speak English!" Hughes shifted on his feet, a sneer starting to grow on his face. Was his opposite number just dim? Why was he pressing the issue? Soldat had given them all a quick way out of this problem so no one had to bother anyone! "Help us, or get out of our way, fool. You don't know what you're dealing with." "Are you seriously trying to intimidate me? That's cute, buddy. You're not even a blip on my radar, pal." "You dare mock me? You clearly don't know who you're dealing with!" The Inquisitor's temper was clearly on edge, and he probably needed another reminder from his CO before he openly revealed too much to his rather temperamental duplicate.

Gabriel nodded as the boy described encountering what sounded like mutations, vaguely like what the poor child himself had undergone. 'We need to try and get this boy, this Captain fellow, and the daughter over to the monastery. The brothers can check them out, make sure they're all healthy...' He smiled at the mention of the bees, disguising his discomfort with giant stinging insects, before Scraps said something that made him take notice. "Scraps, you mentioned some men dressed in black, ones you thought were bad. Tell us more about them? Where was the last place you saw them, and how many did you see?"

Gabriel actually felt his gut twist a bit at the preternatural calm the young man was displaying. He'd almost forgotten his earlier efforts to stop the fight without physical violence. But now it just didn't seem right; as rational as Crow was right now, it simply wasn't natural, and that had to be stopped. He snapped his fingers on both hands, the sound echoing oddly in the alley. After a moment, Crow felt completely normal again. Not necessarily completely calm, but free of outside influences. "I'm sorry. I should have done that immediately. I, ah, forgot I'd done that, at least for a moment. Anyways. You don't really need to apologize. I've seen firsthand the terrible deception the fae can wreak upon people." He lapsed into silence for a moment while Crow tied up the Formor. Once the up-and-coming vigilante was done, Gabriel spoke up. "Well, I do have one advantage. I know where he went. I've been there before."

Gabriel knelt nearby, looking at the boy and giving him a friendly smile. He spoke clearly and with obvious warmth in his voice. "Nice to meet you, Scraps. And yes, we come from where the green plants grow. Fleur's very good with plants, the very best with plants. But the greens are sick. We're trying to find out what made them sick, and if we can fix it. Have you seen anything funny going on out here lately?" He paused, considering his next question, before continuing. "Who's the Captain? He sounds like a nice guy. Do you think we could meet him later?"

I think I see him.

"Sounds like a plan. If something goes really wrong, I can cover you two while you escape, no problem. Might be good if we flew around a bit once we're there, maybe avoid a bunch of contact with the ground." Gabriel made an "after you" gesture toward Fleur, even offering a hand to help her up if she desired. "Ladies first, at least for boarding. Doesn't look like we'll have to worry about keeping our tray tables in the locked and upright position, at least." He gave Gaian Knight a wink, but it seemed a bit forced; this whole affair was likely giving him a bit of stress, especially now that he'd gotten a lot of grisly details about biological and chemical weapons from the experts.

The satisfaction of having downed Hellstorm was short-lived as he nearly lost his left arm to a portal gone wild. He glanced to the ground, noticing the rather dire state of the mage, before looking up as the portals converged. "What's going on up-" And then the portal spat out a 100-foot-tall monstrous thing that should not be. The beast was huge, dwarfing them all, and from Nightmare Doom's reaction, she had no leash on it. Which normally was good, but in this case, was likely not good. He took in its enormous bulk, its undulating flesh, the twisting tentacles, and he heard its twice-over unearthly roar. "Aw, nuts." He saw Sage run up the creature's body and work to give them an opening, especially Wander. He saw Wander charge in and stab the thing in an eye (one of several) with her bat. That was about the time his body-numbing fear was washed away in the fires of determination, and his body was quickly wrapped in the same layers of hyper-dense fiery energy. He flew through the air, a giant cape-less version of himself, his skin replaced by sculpted flames, and he was quickly on the opposite side of the creature's head from Wander. He drew back a fist, aiming at a cluster of smaller eyes, a couple tentacles, and what he thought might be an ear-like structure. "Yeah, like right here. Maybe this'll give it something to think about." At the word "think", Corbin's fist, drawn back in a classic haymaker position, slammed forward in a blue blur. The blow struck with enough force to crack Impervium, and gave off a sound like a small artillery shell exploding.

Well, this seems like the perfect time to use that Giant Form again. Free Action: Switch Fires of Judgement Array to "Giant's Strength". Defense is +7, Toughness +17, Attack +12 (with +5 Inspire), Damage DC 32, Large Size, etc etc. Move Action: Get up in the critter's business. Give it something to think about. Free Action: All Out Attack 5: That makes the Attack +17 total (+5 Inspire, +5 All-Out Attack), Defense +2 Power Attack 5: Attack +12, Damage Save DC 37 Standard Action: Melee attack Cthuluzilla. 24 hits (it's not a nat 1, it should hit!). Toughness Save DC 37. But, CT's Defense is +2, for whatever that's worth.

After several minutes speaking with a rather large array of people who knew people he knew, Gabriel hung up his last call and tucked away his "work" cell phone (a rather cheap model, it seemed). He turned to the others with a sigh. "I've got...well, not sure if it's good or bad, but it's information. Confirmed the story from the professor; there's definitely an old chemical weapons plant out at Lonely Point, at least in our world. Place is probably built really tough; airlocks, incinerators, backups, that sort of thing; should have kept this stuff locked away, but it's hard to tell. Apparently the best short-term treatment is an auto-immune drug to dampen the immune system, because they think this Prion acts like an antibody. Of course, they'd need to develop a version of that to use on plants and not people. A cure is possible, but we'd need to send samples, and they'd need time. Not sure how much of that we've got. Some sort of "scrubber" would be possible, but we'd have to import and set up the heavy machinery. Just like with the theoretical cure, really. Beyond that, I found out a few fun and spine-chilling facts about the inner workings of biological and chemical weapons and how they work. For however much that will help us I guess."

Questions: -Gabriel is able to fully and independently verify the story given by Mr. Stoner Hippy Professor, correct? Every detail given is verified? -Beyond the application of auto-immune drugs (which, again, he's asking more about the affect on plants, as they're the target), is there a definite cure for "Prions"? -Can he find out of there's a way to "scrub" the air of already-released Prions? -Can he get any information on procedures to approach and deal with Prions being released from a weapon of some sort? -Does he get any information regarding potential other hazards that might exist at the Lantern Hill facility?

While Gaian Knight focused on calls to those in an academic role, Gabriel tried a different tactic. He started with people he knew at least in passing from his hero work; people in law enforcement, emergency rescue, the military, and of course the clergy. He tried to keep the details sparse, beyond making it clear this was a very serious matter, and that lives were quite likely on the line. As the minutes went by, he made some progress convincing a few people to help him contact more senior and knowledgeable individuals. Gabriel hoped he could get some information from some of the more senior military officials in the city, as well as perhaps people with some access to historical records of older bases. He reasoned that if they could find out the source of the problem, perhaps that same source would hold a solution as well. If it didn't, he could always make some more calls to find someone with an idea for a cure, or at least a stopgap.

Right, so, in case this gets us any extra leads besides a hippy professor guy (whose age I'm a bit unclear on; it almost sounds like he's talking about World War 1 what with the mustard gas reference). Gabriel is in "super-negotiation mode", which means he's got a +40 bonus to Gather Information. He'll use Skill Mastery for an auto-50 on that. Of his 6 HP he always starts with, he'll spend one to Stunt the Feat Contacts, to reduce how long he needs to be on the phone. I'll go ahead and toss up an IC post; if we need to tweak anything, SC, let me know.

Cobalt Templar The man-mountain in blue armor narrowed his eyes slightly at the words of his leaner double in yellow and black leather. Before he could even open his mouth to respond, he caught Koshiro's crane and his departure. He didn't dare nod his head, but when he noticed both Koshiro's were gone... 'Looks like some things hold true across the worlds. Good thinking, Papercut.' His slightly unfocused gaze shifted back to the Inquisitor. When he spoke, his voice was a low rumble...in Hebrew. "מה ×–×ת ×ומרת, בת ×יכרי×? ×תה מדבר על התקווה?" His double just stared blankly back at him, his face actually looking a little...disgusted. Cobalt Templar's brows furrowed. "What do you mean, peasant girl? Are you talking about Hope?" He took in the prominent yellow glow, and the ring pointed at him. "You've got it...the Yellow Ring. Where did you get that Ring? How did you find it?" Inquisitor Hughes The Inquisitor kept his eyes squarely on his opposite. When the lummox tried using some garbled mess of a language, one he vaguely remembered was related to some portion of "undesirables" who had been taken care of long ago, he simply stayed silent. But then he switched to English. At first, he wasn't going to respond, until the moveable hill mentioned his Ring. "What does it matter? We're clearly from different places; wouldn't help you a bit. Why do you care, anyways?" He pointedly avoided saying anything one way or another about Hope. He lowered his volume and spoke to his commanding officer. "Orders, Lieutenant Wilder?"

Inquisitor Hughes doesn't see them. Cobalt Templar just misses them.

"I can probably make some calls. I can be rather convincing in general, and the very real danger going on here should help cement the issue. I can probably get the numbers for some military contacts, given some time. Sonya might know some people to speak with, though she wouldn't have that information herself. I'm just glad she's on Prime. Ah. Not that I'm glad any of us are stuck here while there's a dangerous bioweapon on the loose, mind, but...ahem. Yes. Tarrant, I don't know if you have a way to get int touch with Prime. If you don't, I think we can rig something up at the monastery to let you talk to your contacts. Between the two of us we should be able to get something. Hopefully soon; this seems like the sort of thing we need to resolve very quickly." The man in white and silver seemed a bit uncomfortable talking about Sonya while in "work mode", but he tried not to "freak out" about it. Technically there was no need for his mask, as by now Tarrant knew his identity; but for Gabriel, it was a matter of mentality, and right now the costume helped keep him in the right mindset.

Right, so, basically, I'm tired of us being bogged down with these poozers. Giz, TT, don't worry about OOC rolls. Just write an IC post of them being awesome and taking out the 2 remaining thugs. We'll exchange a post or two, then, main event! Where hopefully teamwork will help things go more smoothly.

Gabriel mulled over what Fleur had said. This wasn't quite the standard sort of emergency he dealt with as a hero, but it was a grave thing nonetheless. He took a sip of tea, then set the cup and saucer down on the table as he stood up. "Please excuse me for a moment." He stood and walked away from the table, his lips twitching soundlessly. He nodded a couple of times ans he stood, until he turned back to his companions, taking his seat once more. "I've informed the brothers that all portal traffic is to be ceased immediately until this crisis is solved. They sent a brief transmission back to Earth Prime to let them know about the lockdown, but the portal is now closed until we're sure this is cleared up. As for what to do..." He hummed in thought for a moment. "If we're going with the rather logical assumption this is some sort of bioweapon, and that it's not floating here from halfway across the world, then we have to try to determine what place or places in Freedom City might contain samples of such things. Offhand, I would think military bases, hospitals, and universities. I would say some sort of private research firm, but I don't know enough about this world's history to know how widespread such research might have been before the disaster here."

Gabriel pushed back his hood as he stepped in, but the helmet and mask stayed in place. He gave Fleur a friendly smile and nod as he saw her. As they walked inside, he spoke up. "Some tea would be lovely. No food for the moment, though. Thank you for the offer nonetheless." His expression shifted to one of concern as he noticed just how out-of-sorts his hostess seemed. The absence of her child meant this was definitely going to be serious business. When Gaian Knight arrived, he walked over with a small smile and a friendly handshake to offer his fellow hero. "Nice to see you again. Thanks again for your help a couple months ago, with the monastery. It's turned out wonderfully; the brothers wish to pass their thanks on as well." The sonic-slinging hero turned back to their hostess as the tea finished, and his mask went to one of careful neutrality as she said they couldn't leave. "I'm a hero and a friend first, Stesha. My relaxation is second to something dire enough you believe we have to stay here." He lapsed into silence as Tarrant spoke up, voicing the worry that had passed through his own mind.

Cobalt Templar Corbin was still trying to figure out how to deal with both his two errant teammates, and a former member of Young Freedom from before his time, when suddenly the very air tore apart in a storm of wrongness. Then suddenly there were people there; people, and a thing that he'd wager was some sort of demon or similar creature. But before he could do anything, the beast was all but gone, following the same path Sharl and Koshiro had intended to take. A slight smirk crossed his face as he spoke, his eyes never leaving the group who appeared to be strange doubles of those present. "Good thing I slowed you two down, seems like. We'll go dog-hunting later. Freaky opposite day gets resolved first." A flash of blue flame, and he was clad in his armored costume, the ring on his right hand brandished at the other group. He started to speak up, but the words stilled as he took in some of the details about the others. Especially his own double. Something wasn't right... Inquisitor Hughes The Inquisitor had been moving to try and get at least some of the group out of the radius of the strange briefcase-bound device when the world was consumed with light, and his gut tried to leave through his armpit (or so it felt). He took a couple of ragged breaths when it seemed things had stilled, then almost regretted it. He was assaulted with the fresh scent of death, the stagnant smell of decay, and the otherworldy odor of the thing that had appeared as they did. Their contact was dead, whether by virtue of where he'd stood during the transition, or the terrible attention of the creature that even now fled to the basement. 'Suppose it is a bit outnumbered...' A flash of blue light caught his eye; he'd drowned out the words of the large teenager opposite him, despite the strangely familiar voice and accent. But now he really looked, and his already-pale face went almost white as a sheet. It was some version of him, except built like a Panzer and weilding- "That ring! You...you've got the same blasted Blue Ring! The same as that little peasant girl who's been giving me headaches for months now!" Clearly Hope and the Inquisitor had met, and it hadn't been friendly.

Carson Keefe had actually been somewhat secluded, taking time to pray in one of the small rooms designed for such meditations. He wasn't wrestling with any big questions, merely taking the time to remind himself of why he did what he did. So one of the monks (who had, inevitably, been let in on his secret identity, though they were giving the hero the strictest confidence) had to come inform him of the radio transmission. Carson listened as Fleur spoke, then nodded as he replied. "I'll be there in less than 3 minutes." He thanked the monk and took a second to gather himself. Then, he began briskly walking out of the prayer room, into the hall, and then on to the courtyard itself. As soon as he stepped foot in open air, the sunlight beating down on him, he was clad in his armor and coat, the silver and white catching the sunlight magnificently. He gave a quick, respectful bow to the head monk as the other man passed by, then was gone in a blur. His flight was at his top speed, and he reached Fleur's domicile very quickly. He landed, wary of potential trouble. Fleur had simply said it was a "situation", but she seemed the sort who might classify a giant monster fighting the whole giant bee colony as a "situation", so it was best to steel oneself for the worst. He waited, patient but alert, for the others to arrive.

Tagging, Gabriel lacks the requisite skill.