KnightDisciple

Gabriel's face didn't snarl as he was assaulted on all sides by heretics and demons. He did frown deeply, though. His glare was sharp as he gazed for a moment at the so-called Inquisition in the room with him. "I will deal with you filthy, cowardly, blasphemous, traitorous heretics later. For now, I shall do what you lacked the fortitude to accomplish." As he fought, the demons threw fire and claw at him. Some of it was dodged, some narrowly avoided, some bounced off his armor. One blow got through and rattled him, though he grit his teeth and powered through. Another scraped his helmet just above his eyes, making them water a bit from the unholy heat from its skin. One of the creatures tried to wrestle with him, but he managed to slip from his grasp. He turned and struck at it with his weapon. "Foul creature! Corrupter! I strike at thee now, in the name of the LORD!"

Holy crud monkies lots of rolls. Ho boy. I'm gonna do these 1 by 1 DC 17 Toughness: 32 DC 17 Toughness: 31 DC 20 Toughness: 15 ; Hero Point to remove the Dazed, Gabriel gets a Bruise and an Injury DC 20 Toughness: 20 (minus 1 for previous roll) DC 20 Toughness: 27 (minus 1 for previous roll) DC 30 Toughness: 17; (minus 1 for previous roll); Hero Point to Re-roll: 20, which squeaks into 30 with the +10 from the re-roll DC 23 Toughness: 24 DC 18 Grapple: 30 So, Gabriel uses 2 Hero Points, 1 to shake the Daze and 1 to Re-Roll the Toughness Save. He gains 1 Bruise and 1 Injury. He is not Grappled. Whew. Okay. Beginning of his turn, I burn a Hero Point to prevent Fatigue due to his Extra Effort last round. All told, he's down from 5 to 2 HP. He turns and pokes the Lesser Demon who tried to Grapple him. Standard Action: Melee Attack 22, it's a DC 28 Toughness if it hits. Done. :?

"That is the generally-accepted place demons make habitation, yes." Gabriel exuded an air of calm confidence. He simply strode forward, coat billowing behind him, spear firmly grasped in one hand. The flickering lights in the unholy room shone off his armor, the reflections somehow turned to something more wholesome and soothing simply by the metal he wore. One of the smaller demons took a swipe at Gabriel. Without even looking at the creature, he smoothly leaned to one side, letting it overreach and stumble behind him as he started to dash forward. He pointed at one of the larger beasts, his face calm, as he spoke a single word, his body's special nodes amplifying the sound, shaping it into a terrible weapon that struck at the beast's natural defenses, trying to undermine them, leave it open for him to send back to the Abyss it came from. "Begone." Then suddenly he was right in front of the thing, both hands gripping the weapon forged in the foundries of Heaven, the shining tip lashing forward to strike a blow against a being that had once known those very forges, but was now the antithesis of everything they stood for.

First, that Toughness Save. I'd say a 30 takes care of that. Let's see.... Free Action: Swap Sonic Control Array to Drain Toughness. Standard Action: Ranged Attack for Drain Toughness on Greater Demon Uno. Really? A 1? Hero Point to Reroll. Hahaha, a 20. So that hits for sure, and it's a DC 28 Fortitude Save, Rank 13 Drain. Move Action: Move up to Greater Demon Uno and get all up in his business. And because I want to start this off with a "bang", I'm going to go ahead and... Free Action: Extra Effort! Getting another Standard Action. Standard Action: Attack with Holy Spear. I imagine 31 hits. DC 28 Toughness Save.

Gabriel goes on an 8.

9; Looks like CT's going last...

CT raised an eyebrow at Koshiro's angry skepticism. "There's a reason he goes by the name "Kid Cthulu". And he wasn't spinning tall tales. KC never jokes about the Outer Things. And it is one of his areas of specialty. And it's very clear something was kept here. And the stories we found are more fitting for a school being fed mutagenic compounds derived from something not of this world, this universe, better than "mind-control juice"." His face grew worried at Kimber's point about the door. "You're right. Them proofing the door like that means they had time, resources, and knowledge to prepare against a large variety of intruders. I wouldn't be surprised if this whole place was warded..." Then Sharl went and put his foot in his insubstantial mouth. CT frowned. "I'm going to let the "primitive" remark slide, but remind you that we have a guy who uses magic origami, a guy who uses a centuries-old holy magic ring, and a genuine ghost on our team. Try not to be too dismissive of all the options out there, Sharl. I've seen enough things in the last year or two that I won't speak for sure on what's what when it comes to magic and gods." He winced as he saw how angry Indira probably was. "Maybe we should try contacting Sage over our mental bond. She can pass stuff on immediately, and the Headmaster can give us an evac plan. I'm not sure I'd like the odds of us versus the whole school..." He glanced around, still nervous. 'We have the cage and the milk. Where's the prisoner?'

Gabriel kept his composure, even in the face of the man's sycophantic behavior, and the rather dire news. He made sure part of his concentration stayed on keeping the man happy and aligned with them, and part of it on keeping him useful to them. When Carrie stopped and spoke to him, he frowned a bit, then shrugged, shifting in his armor and moving his spear to the other hand. "I'll warn the Englishmen. Not sure how much they can do, though." He closed his eyes, and his lips fluttered a bit as he sent a quick warning humming through the air to the ears of the staff at the British compound. He stopped after a moment, having given them the information he knew they'd need. He then gave Carrie a reassuring smile. "Guess we'll have to stop some of the sacrifices, and banish what demons do appear. Don't worry. I've handled demons before. Gets easier every time."

Hm. What do I need to do to get him on that team? What chances are there of getting some adventures drummed up for this group?

Okay, so as people who've been in chat the last couple of weeks know, I've been occasionally musing about getting Gabriel onto the Freedom League. But, I've been considering things. A couple months back, it seemed like we might have a very solid Freedom League group. But at this point, I'm not as sure. So I'd like to ask those in existing teams (obviously excluding any Claremont-based teams) if they think Gabriel might be a good fit? I've enjoyed having a consistent team dynamic with Cobalt Templar, and I'd like to explore the same with Gabriel. I think he'd do well on a team, given the chance. I would note that I'm reluctant to "de-power" him very much, though I could conceive making him PL12 in terms of combat caps and such (but probably PL15 for stats and skills and such). So, any thoughts?

Cobalt Templar frowned as they entered the room. This place unsettled him, but it was more than that. He was glad his ring filtered out the worst of the smells in the room; curdled milk of...something...didn't seem like a good aroma. He propelled himself just a bit into the air, trying to touch nothing as he went about the room. He kept one eye on Citizen's hacking, but figured the holographic teen had a handle on the situation. Then something the Tronik native said caught Corbin's ears. "Wait, did you say something about a 'Dark Mother'?" In a blur he was floating in front of the screens, his eyes racing over the text. He didn't recognize everything, but one term cropped up a couple of times. The document clearly referred to the "Dark Mother". He next words were an exclamation in Hebrew. "×–×” רע מ×וד. זהו מצב רע." He turned to the others, actually visibly paled a bit. "Guys, the 'Dark Mother' is a...nickname...for a creature known as Shub-Niggurath. It's from the same, well, place, as Kid Cthulu's powers. Which would explain all the warping of the flesh and such. But..." He turns back to the empty cage. "That's an excellent question, Wraith. Where did it go? Just as important, how did it get her in the first place?"

Hm. Okay, fair enough. 17+2=19. Hope that gets me something...

Is it maybe possible I just don't find the premise of the show interesting?

Curses! Online personality quizzes! One of my greatest weaknesses! Pretty sure this isn't a shock. ....Doesn't mean I'm gonna go watch the show, though. :P

Corbin was concerned about the odd door. A janitor's closet kept Kimber out? That wasn't normal. But right this moment, he was more concerned about a friend and teammate. His armored body glowed for a moment, and he was clad in his cloth costume from when they arrived, a faint glow about his body still present. Then, suddenly, he stepped over, reached down a bit, and gave Kimber a big, fierce, brotherly hug. A hug she could actually feel, as his arms didn't pass through her body. Despite the harsh flames his powers often manifested, there was no scorching heat in this hug. Just an ever-so-slight warmth, like a nice blanket on a winter day. He held the embrace for a few seconds before letting go, taking a step back. He gave the spectral member of his team a soft smile. "Nothing to be ashamed of, Kimber. It's alright, and besides, your friends are here to back you up now." He turned to the door as she knocked on it, frowning. Somewhere in the motion he was in his more menacing armor plating again. "Hm. Should we try opening it like normal? I mean, sure, we could bust it down, but that seems like a bad idea right now..."

Just so it's clear and stuff, TT said it was kosher to handwave an Affects Insubstantial Big Brother Hug from Corbin to Kimber. :)

Yeah, that Blaster Pistol and the Chain are prime candidates for Devices. Maybe also merge the Vest and Camo suit into a single device? As for other powers, it is noted that you can justify Speed 1 and Leaping 1 with the "training" descriptor. Maybe think about a few other things you want to try that with? That said, even making just the blaster a Device is a big step; it's a pretty stunt-able thing once it's down in powers. Blast is a 2pp power, so you'll have room to play to get a "stun blast" or whatnot from it (maybe something to have upgraded into it at a later date? that's how some Alternate Powers come about, after all). Some of this may end up just being shuffling a few things around. Don't be afraid to do that. :)

Gabriel walked forward, his shining spear slowly, methodically tapping on the stone before stopping as he stood in front of the man. For long moments, he stared down at him, his face shadowed by his hood and helmet, his eyes barely visible, his intent inscrutable. Then, suddenly, he leaned down, pushed his hood back...and smiled. "I'm not sure we're going to need an interrogation here. After all, this gentleman's a humble believer. Maybe he can just give us a few tips so we can be on our way? It's not like we really want to hurt anyone, friend. We're all trying to do the Lord's work. I think you just started listening to the wrong crowd, you know? Trust me, stuff like that's confusing. But don't worry. We'll make sure they aren't leading folks like you astray, causing you to hurt innocent, godly men. Now. Any thoughts on what might be some useful information for us?" At a glance, it would be baffling what Gabriel hoped to accomplish. Except, it wasn't so much the words themselves he was working on using against the man. Instead, the invisible waves of sonic force that were being sent toward the man, piggy-backed on Gabriel's voice, were the true "weapon". They worked their "magic" on his brain, tweaking chemical balances and such with the goal of making him friendly and helpful to Gabriel (and by extension, Carrie).

That'll be a DC 23 Will Save from this guy for Emotion Control: Love. Failure, and he's friendly. Fail by 5-9, he's helpful. 10 or more, he's fanatical.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Corbin nodded grimly at Koshiro's answer. "One only has to look at history to know it was not a good situation at all. I personally would estimate a century or more of bloody revolutions and counter-revolutions until some internal reformation occurred, or an outside catalyst forced them to rapidly change their societal structure. Perhaps during Bonda's lifespan things would have been better, had he won his fight with the king. We probably could have kept all those civilians alive, and quite probably they would have lived what was a natural lifespan for such a society. But I personally have little hope the nation as a whole would bloodlessly accept the situation. It's understandable why there was initial contact, and why it was broken off. Perhaps, in a century or more, that place would be genuinely better, and people's lives would have improved. But it's going to be a long, bloody road." The news that this world actually existed only made the scenario weigh heavier on his mind. Corbin didn't like the taste of what some might call a no-win scenario. Not with lives on the line.

October 31, 2011 Pyramid Plaza, Freedom City In a slight twist of things, Sonya had initiated an invite to Carson (before now, she had been content to let him have some initiative) to come with her to the UNISON staff Halloween party. At first he was unsure, but he'd gotten no word from any source that there was a major event upcoming. Even if there had been, he could always slip out and change as needed. So he accepted the offer; it offered a nice change from just going out to eat and talk (not that either of them hated the idea), and a chance to meet some of Sonya's work friends. She'd already met the harebrained folks he worked with, so it seemed a fair trade. Even better, it was a chance to engage in some ironic costuming on his part, and perhaps see Sonya in a flattering costume as well. He hadn't been disappointed on either count. When the new couple (after their third date, they'd agreed it was an "official relationship", as corny as it may have sounded to some) walked into the room, heads turned. Some were looking at Sonya, wearing the classic Lady Liberty costume that had been seen in the days of World War 2. She wore it well, and while there was a bit of a blush on her face, she didn't feel like it was too immodest. She'd had to wear a big coat, though; it had been a bit breezy the last few days. Nevertheless, she walked with the sheer confidence befitting the Spirit of Liberty, smiling and waving at some of her friends and the companions they'd brought. But perhaps more heads turned, and a few people actually stepped back, as Carson strode confidently into the room. Considering his costume, "stalked" may have been a better word. He'd managed to acquire a very authentic-looking Midnight I costume, looking as it if was straight from the photos from the War. The hat was perched just so, the cape swirled just a bit about him, and his posture was that of a watchful vigilante. The eyes of the mask even had specially treated lenses that looked red, but didn't really dim his vision any. The full-face mask hid the grin that was stretching across his face even as he spoke in a fair approximation of the rough voice many had testified to Midnight having. "Evening, folks." He cleared his throat and spoke normally, offering his arm to Sonya. "Shall we, madam?" With that, they started mingling in the crowd. Sonya of course wanted to introduce Carson to friends and coworkers, and he obliged, making sure to take a bit for friendly small talk as they "made the rounds". Eventually they got to the food and drink table, and loaded up plates and cups, before hunting down a table. Carson's mask was actually in two pieces, and he simply slid the lower portion down and tucked it in a bit before starting. "You seem to be enjoying yourself; thank you again for coming. At least now they'll stop bugging me about what you look like and such." "It's a pleasure, Sonya. You work with good people, too. And this party doesn't seem like it's going to get quite as...insane...as some around town will. Which I like." Of course, it wasn't long before someone broke out the karaoke machine. Goaded on by his girlfriend's words and elbows, he took the stage right after someone crooned out a love ballad (to a mix of cheers and boos). The tape cued up, and the acting teacher started belting out a rather convincing rendition of "Monster Mash", complete with fake Transylvanian accent. Quite a few people cracked up seeing what should be the stoic Midnight singing a comedy song. When he left the stage, he took a mock bow to a small round of applause before joining Sonya. "You actually sing quite well." "Some of it's from hymns in church, some's from performing a few musicals. I like to think I've got pretty good voice control in general." He gave her a cheeky grin before starting to move his mask back up. The Russian medic stopped him, a smile on her face at his confusion. She leaned in for a moment to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. A smile was on her face (and the face of a couple of her friends who had seen the gesture) as she spoke. "Now you can put it back, Mr. Not-A-Yankee." Carson fumbled as he fastened the lower mask back on, trying (and failing) to disguise the blush on his cheeks. He recovered in time to make a formal offering of his hand as slower music began to play. "Well, Miss UNISON Medic, may I have the pleasure of this dance?" A nod and a smile, and they were on the floor, keeping time with the music, at least partly thanks to Carson's excellent sense of timing and footwork. 'Usually this helps me avoid getting shot. It's nice to have a more relaxed use for my reflexes...Definitely more pleasant in every way.' Even the mask couldn't fully hide the huge grin on his face, and his dance partner noticed. "Is it a joke you are smiling at?" "No, not a joke. Just...enjoying the moment. Enjoying the blessings in my life." "You do know how to speak to a woman, Carson." "I like to think I'm decent with communication. I hope you don't think I'm a joke?" "Far from it, Mr. Keefe, far from it." He tensed a bit as she moved a bit closer in the dance, but relaxed after a moment. The two of them had found a good rhythm for the dance, and they wanted to enjoy it. In lives like theirs, peace came all too rarely.

Before the power flickered, Cobalt Templar was starting to tense a bit. One of his teammates was panicking, alone in unfamiliar, possibly hostile, territory. There was no telling what danger she might potentially face. Then Ctizen started the ball rolling. He nodded first to the digital teen, then to Wraith, acknowledging their spoken or unspoken plans. When the lights started to flicker, there was a space of about 3 seconds where they were off. When the lights were back, he was no longer clad in his "casual" costume, and was instead once more in his not-quite-ethereal blue armor. He was standing, and after the next flicker was about to move to the door. "Stay close. Eyes and ears sharp. We protect our own." His face and voice were deadly serious, and he was making long, powerful strides to the door, expecting the others to follow. He didn't need to shed light, his eyes faintly glowing a soft blue color, and the shadows were as bright as day to him. His goal was to get to Ghost Girl and get her safe. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

October 21, 2011 Restaurant, Bayview, Freedom City Carson had taken the slightly bold step of asking Sonya out on a genuine date, one at a decent restaurant at the edges of the Bayview area. They'd dressed up a bit, Carson wearing a nice shirt, sport jacket, and pants, and Sonya wearing colorful blouse and dress pants. It was a nice, fairly low-key Italian place. One-of-a-kind, at least here in the city. The lighting was just right, the food was delicious, and the musicians were spot-on. Plus, he was having a great evening of conversation with a beautiful, intelligent woman. 'Blessed indeed...' Truth be told, this whole thing still had him nervous. He'd been serious with a woman once before. Serious enough to buy a ring, a ring he still had locked in a safe deposit box back in Ireland. So to be here now, taking this small, tentative step, he still felt very unsure in many ways. Yet for all that, he knew he couldn't let himself be timid... "Carson? Hello?" "Sorry, was just thinking over what go me here." "You're rather cute when you flatter unintentionally. Are you alright, though? You seemed a bit..." "Nervous? Distracted? I'm really sorry. It's just...well, I'll be honest, it's been a while since I dated. Just kind of the path God set me on." "Do you regret it?" "Not really. I mean...I'm here now, aren't I? Seems like regret would be silly now. I'm just trying to make sure I don't bungle things." "I'll take that as a compliment as well." They both spent a few moments in silence, working at their food. Finally, Sonya spoke up again. "I don't think I ever asked you about this. What do you think of superheros?" 'Irony, thy name is Sokolova.' Mr. Keefe finished chewing his current bite and sat back, his gaze unfocused a bit as he slipped into "philosophy mode" (as Sonya had called it last week). "Hm. In short, they're good for us. More eloquently, putting aside the fact that they often prevent untold amounts of death and destruction, they give use examples of the best of our nature. They're not perfect, as at some level they're still human...but they show us we can make a positive difference. I wouldn't say they're necessarily saints, but they do stand out as examples of how to use power responsibly. Conversely, their counterparts serve to show what power unchecked and irresponsible can do, at least on a large scale. In either case, my hope would be people could apply such wisdom to the smaller scale. Heroes are as important for inspiration as they are literal crime-fighting." "Interesting. That's not really different from my perspective, but I felt I had to ask. We are in Freedom City, after all." "Indeed. The "city of heroes" and all that..."

October 14, 2011 Cafe, Southside, Freedom City Sonya was shaking her head and fighting a laugh as she sipped at her drink, the plate in front of her mostly empty. "I can hardly believe you convinced me to help grade those students! Some were good, but others...how do you deal with it?" "Well, yeah, some of them weren't trying, sure. But some of the "bad" ones actually are; they're doing better than just a couple weeks ago. They just have a long way to go still." "Still. To deal with such things as this, you must have the patience of a saint!" "It can be trying, yes. But it's worth it whenever I see a student's joy after a performance where they gave it their best. Or when I talk with a student about his classes, problems, life, whatever. Really, to me, it's all helping them. Just sometimes in different ways. Theater helps a lot of people find a constructive outlet for frustrations. My job is to help them keep the outlet constructive, and perhaps gently guide how they express things. No, the biggest hassle is the university. The dean has to run interference for me a lot, because I give so few grades out, and there's no 'science' to it. Which should be pretty obvious; acting's about style and method, not fact memorization. But boy, colleges love them some standardized testing." "Truly a formidable battle." "Are you making fun of me?" "Why would I ever do that, oh pale Irish actor?" "Yeah yeah, just because I can't tan worth a darn..." They both laughed, and their conversations continued for a fair bit still. Neither consciously noticed when their hands ended up holding each other, but they blushed and apologized when it finally sank in. Not that either of them actually disliked the experience....