KnightDisciple

Before I do any actions, updated sitrep. Hallway/Lab Fight, Round 6: 22: Dragonfly: 4xBruised, Staggered, Stunned, 1 HP 21: Sneak Thief: Staggered, Stunned 20: Fenris: 1xInjured, Stunned, Fatigued , 0 HP (Bruise gone due to Regen) 17: Citizen: Uninjured, 0 HP 8: Katkvinna: Unhurt 8: Valvportmann: Unconscious It's Katkvinna's turn. She's right next to a Stunned Fenris. However, he seems hard to put down, and Dragonfly seems to be taking the hits worse. Plus, if she can take out the one Sneak Thief is focusing on, maybe they can both evac out of there. Move Action: Move over to Dragonfly. Power Attack for 5; Attack now +10, Toughness Save DC 25. Standard Action: Attack Dragonfly; looks like her Defense is 14 without the shield. 15, just barely. Fox, that will be a DC 25 Toughness Save. Valvportmann's out for the count, so it's theoretically to Dragonfly, but...Well, let's just see how this one ends up.

"Honey everywhere? Seems kind of unsanitary, and a waste. Me, I prefer my honey on my food. Not as home decor." Gabriel glanced around, trying to stay away from the walls or rails as he could manage; it was one thing to clean honey off his boot soles. It would be quite another trying to clean his impressive coat of the stuff. Unless it cleaned itself off again. He glanced back at Fleur, then moved himself to be behind Heyzel and Gaian Knight, but directly in front of Fleur. If she fell (Heaven forbid!), he'd have a better chance of catching her alongside Jill, while still keeping himself between the pregnant heroine and potential harm. He quirked a smile at Gaian Knight's words. "A bit terrifying, but mostly impressive. The guy must be something of a logistical genius. He'll probably want to detail how it was done anyway, but I'm genuinely curious, myself."

Gabriel was unusually pensive as they descended into the prison. Indeed, his whole "presence" seemed to lessen somehow as they were overtaken by the power blocking field. He was still undeniably confident, still had a certain something about his person; but by the same token, it was like there wasn't nearly as much as their had been. For his part, the hero in white glanced at his hands a couple of times, unconsciously flexing them. "Hn. Quieter all of the sudden." None of the others likely knew what he meant; the volume of background noise hadn't really changed. But for the sonic-controlling hero, there had always been an unconscious sense of sound, music, movement in his life ever since he first received his powers. Not enough to distract or, Heaven forbid, madden him, but just enough to let him know, at least in the back of his mind, that the power was there and ready to be used. It had given him a bit of a confidence boost. Stripped of that power, he found himself worrying more. 'Okay, I need to set goals. First goal, talk down Bowles. Second goal, make sure my Big Sister stays alright. Third goal, get out of here alive.' He shook his head and continued on, unconsciously moving a bit closer to Fleur, his gaze sharp as he tried to keep watch for sudden attacks.

Cobalt Templar gets 11; his Dexterity is 14, to help determine "tiebreaker".

Cobalt Templar gave a chuckled as he floated up out of his impromptu chair and over to where Jessica was working. He just floated there for a minute, a slight smirk on his face. "Anything in particular you wanted help with? Oh, the setup? Yeah, I can help out." Of course, that was the moment Gossamer intervened. He raised an eyebrow at the dexterity displayed. "Pretty impressive work, ma'am. Certainly more finesse than I can do right now."

Cobalt Templar had stayed silent back in the cave, helping where he could, but otherwise trying to stay out of the way. Something had told him there were solemn moments going on, and he ought not to interfere. A little while before they left, he'd spent a few minutes a bit deeper in the cave, going through some short meditations that refreshed his powers a bit (not that they really ever "ran low" these days), and helped him clear his head. Mostly. He couldn't help but spend precious seconds conjuring a 12-inch tall figure of Quo-Dis, one that had only a pale imitation of the life he loved so much. A single tear, this time of regular salty water, rolled down his cheek; he angrily wiped it away and dismissed the figure. 'We'll save everything, Quo-Dis. I promise. No matter what it takes. I'll make sure you live.' **************************************************************** Not wanting to risk too much detection, CT had elected not to use very much of his power to stay stuck to the side of the vehicle. Nonetheless, his added bulk meant he conjured a few strategic straps to help keep himself in place. He listened as Edge talked. It was probably one of the few things helping him not get sick. He'd never really been exposed to this sort of thing, even though he'd studied plenty of history (which had plenty of darker moments). "Let's just hope what we do here today makes things just a little better for these people. I hate leaving them like this...Hate not doing more."

DC 27? 15. So, Stunned+Staggered. EDIT: 2 Staggered means Unconscious. Hooray! EDIT AGAIN: Hallway/Lab Fight, Round 6: 22: Dragonfly: 4xBruised, 2 HP 21: Sneak Thief: Unhurt 20: Fenris: 1xInjured, 1xBruised, Stunned, Fatigued , 0 HP 17: Citizen: Uninjured, 0 HP 8: Katkvinna: Unhurt 8: Valvportmann: Unconscious

Well, with his 3 Bruises, he gets a whopping +3 Toughness... 14. That's 9 under, so another Bruise, and he's still Stunned. I think the Staggered stays for a bit yet. Hallway/Lab Fight, Round 6: 22: Dragonfly: 4xBruised, 2 HP 21: Sneak Thief: Unhurt 20: Fenris: 1xInjured, 1xBruised, Stunned, Fatigued , 0 HP 8: Katkvinna: Unhurt 8: Valvportmann: 4xBruised, Stunned, Staggered Sneak Thief is up.

GM Katkvinna frowned, deciding that enough was enough. She dashed down the hall, and at the last moment delivered a powerful rising uppercut. In his more open stance, Fenris was rather easily vulnerable to it, and the strike hit him right under his "chin". Size difference or no, the pilot's head was still within that wolf head, and that blow knocked his brain for a loop. The over-sized armored wolfman staggered back, clearly a bit woozy and disoriented. <Bad dog. No biscuit. Sit!> Inarticulate growls were the only response. Meanwhile, Valvportmann screamed as Dragonfly stabbed him with her spatial blade, before all but falling unconscious on the table in front of him. He could manage nothing more than groans of pain and confusion as his knuckles went white gripping the table in front of him.

Fenris literally snarled at the morphic thief. It was like listening to a 6-foot-tall timber wolf run through an auto-tuner, except worse. Subconsciously, the wearer of the suit filed away the fact that his new-found ability meant the suit's computers were actually interpreting his subconscious feelings into sound. But that was of secondary importance for now. He stood there, maintaining the slightly more vulnerable "Weaver Stance" with his arm cannon. Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough, and he missed the mouthy lady merc. Another electronic snarl followed. <Damn you all!> It was clear anger left him less articulate than before.

Ugh. The slogfest continues. I'll roll this all into one, I think First, Fenris. Shooting at Sneak Thief. All-Out Attack for 2, so Defense becomes +3, and Attack becomes +9 (because of the -1 from Fatigued) Standard Action: Firing PPC/Blast power. 20 would be great, except not here. On the plus side, his Regen means no more bruise. On to Katkvinna. She's having fun plinking away at Dragonfly, but Fenris is such a huge target, well... Move Action: Move up to Fenris. Power Attack for 5; Attack is +10, Toughness DC is 25. Standard Action: Unarmed Attack on Fenris, non-lethal. Sadly, this hits him. DC 25 Toughness Save for him. 18 is more than 5 under, but less than 10. That's 1 Bruise, and Stunned. Ugh. Valvportmann's in a bad way, he just stands there groaning. So, top of the next round. Hallway/Lab Fight, Round 6: 22: Dragonfly: 4xBruised, 2 HP 21: Sneak Thief: Unhurt 20: Fenris: 1xInjured, 1xBruised, Stunned, Fatigued , 0 HP 8: Katkvinna: Unhurt 8: Valvportmann: 3xBruised, Stunned, Staggered Dragonfly's up.

On the plus side, my Toughness doesn't get dinged right now. 22, just under. I'll take the Bruise and save my hero points for now.

"Labour Day, hm? I'd say I carry it well. I've never been a slave to fashion trends." Gabriel shook his head at the offer of the body armor. "This coat's pretty thick, and I've gotten pretty good at rolling away from the worst of the blows I've taken. If nothing else, I've dealt with pain before." With the offer of the taser, he hesitated for several moments, before sighing and accepting it. 'Not my typical fare, but I ought to be able to handle it alright.' He looked thoughtful at the talk of what they could offer the Beekeeper. "So, we offer to confirm his innocence, get him out of this prison, and maybe throw in an offer for news coverage of said innocence? Not a television interview. Just confirmation in the news that, yes, he's innocent of this particular crime." He fiddled with his sleeves a bit as he contemplated things. "So. Should we get moving? Whatever brand of crazy he is, he seems impatient. Anything else we should know before we head in?"

The boy in blue armor blinked in surprise at the Grue armor. It was a bit of a shock that the original Midnight had gotten his hands on the stuff in this sort of timeline, but such was the way of the "cowls" (as some tended to call them). 'Trevor's probably got secret armored bunkers all over the city, or something. He's the sort whose prepared to not be prepared. Wait, does that even make any sense?' When they emerged into the main cavern, he noticed the explosives around the door fairly quickly. He made sure he'd be ready in a moment's notice to put up a protective field around the others. When the elder Midnight shouted, he flinched a bit. 'Note to self: Never make Trevor yell, it'll probably be worse.' He shifted awkwardly in his place, not sure quite what to do in this situation, but deciding that "shutting up" probably wouldn't hurt.

18 fails against the Taunt. 26 on the Toughness Save; looks like Fenris can outsmart bullets! Hallway/Lab Fight, Round 5: 22: Dragonfly: 4xBruised, 2 HP 21: Sneak Thief: Unhurt 20: Fenris: 1xInjured, 1xBruised, 0 HP (Fatigued on Round 4) 8: Katkvinna: Unhurt 8: Valvportmann: 3xBruised, Stunned, Staggered That's to Fenris; I'll post for him in a bit.

Toughness Save: 15, but I forgot his 3 bruises, which makes that 12. He fails by 11, so... No more Bruises, but his Stun is refreshed, and he's Staggered. Hallway/Lab Fight, Round 5: 22: Dragonfly: 4xBruised, 2 HP 21: Sneak Thief: Unhurt 20: Fenris: 1xInjured, 1xBruised, 0 HP (Fatigued on Round 4) 8: Katkvinna: Unhurt 8: Valvportmann: 3xBruised, Stunned, Staggered Sneak Thief is up.

GM Katkvinna moved a bit to the side after the near-miss. <Watch it there, Alpha Wolf. I just got my hair done two days ago; I'd hate to have to go in again so soon. Mm, let's take you down first, Little Missy. I think the big puppy over there will have trouble biting for a bit.> With that, she dashed towards Dragonfly, running just a bit past her before delivering a spin kick to the side as she kept moving down the hall for several feet. She turned to face her opponent again. <I promise you'll just wake up with a headache, deary. Just like those big, strong guards back there.> Meanwhile Valvportmann was leaning heavily on the nearest lab table, barely able to see straight, and not able to do much of anything for a bit yet.

Fenris shook his head , bringing one clawed hand up to it for a moment. He felt suddenly tired; probably feedback from pushing himself and the armor so hard. That, and fighting to keep from going crazy at the influx of signals from even 10 feet away. He'd have to wait a while to increase the range. In the meantime, he steadied himself, took a modified version of the classic Weaver Stance, and fired one of his PPCs again. Unfortunately, it went just a bit wide, probably raising a couple of the hairs on Katkvinna's head before it burned a small crater in the wall. <Silence, lose frau! You come here and threaten a hospital, and think you can get away with casual insults!> 'Damn it! If Eira's hurt because of this, I'll tear them apart!'

Ugh. Fagitued means -1 to Attacks. Can't charge. I think I'll just do All Out Attack on Katkvinna. All-Out Attack for 2, so Defense becomes +3, and Attack becomes +9 (because of the -1 from Fatigued) Standard Action: Firing PPC/Blast power. 23 would be great...but it's not hitting anything today. Which seems to be the theme of the thread. Hallway/Lab Fight, Round 4: 22: Dragonfly: 3xBruised, 2 HP 21: Sneak Thief: Unhurt 20: Fenris: 1xInjured, 1xBruised, 0 HP (Fatigued on Round 4) 8: Katkvinna: Unhurt 8: Valvportmann: 3xBruised, Stunned Time for NPC Action. First Katkvinna. Move Action: Run past Dragonfly. Standard Action: Melee/Unarmed Attack 25 hits Dragonfly. DC 20 Toughness Save Valvportmann....stands there. He's stunned. :?

Gabriel had kept his eyes sharp on the flight over. Thankfully, nothing attacked them during that stage of the journey. When they landed, he tried to take note of the mood in the yard. Thankfully, it seemed "tense by not panicked". He raised an eyebrow at Abigail Wallace's discussion of the Bee-Keeper. "You mentioned he always got agitated, shouting a lot. Was it because no one believed his statement of innocence?" He was mostly curious, but the whole situation seemed like it could have been avoided. Still, not the time for it. He smiled slightly as he saw another hero join their little group. Jill, nice to see you. Glad you made it out safe. And they seem like they're sticklers for procedure around here. I'm sure you would have given Bowles a fight for it." He glanced at the rest of the group, especially Fleur. He still didn't like her being here, necessary or no. 'I'm not losing the closest thing I've got to a Big Sister just because some crazy bee-obsessed man is upset.' "Do you mind lending us a hand, Jill? I'm sure we could use your help. Fleur's right; the sooner we get this taken care of, the better." At Gaian Knight's words on his assigned task, Gabriel was dutifully looking elsewhere, working hard to appear innocent. He turned to Wallace again. "Just so I'm clear; you got all the staff out, you locked the heavy weapons up...are any other prisoners free, or just Barry Bowles himself?"

So. I've been sitting and thinking that Gabriel could use something of an overhaul. It's a nagging feeling, but it seems like he's got some "fat" that could use trimmed. But I can't easily see how to do it without totally rearranging his powers. I'll hit each area on the sheet and my general thoughts. Abilities: Charisma's not going down at all, since that's kind of his "defining stat". I suppose I could move 2 points from Con to Str, to represent a more balanced workout schedule and such. Some defensive roll could compensate. Not a whole lot can be done here, though. Combat: Maybe trim his Base Attack down to 8? That's the only big thing that comes to mind; in my head, he's got to be decent if it falls to fisticuffs. Same general idea applies to Defense, though I guess I could be a bit freer there. Saving Throws: I pretty well like these where they are, though Will being a point or so higher wouldn't hurt; his mind is his strongest defense here, but he's not slow or sickly by any means. Skills: I kind of want to try to keep the "Big 4" social skills where they are, at 10 ranks; I'm intentionally putting a lot of weight on his Charisma, but even without his powers, that's a +15 bonus, which is nothing to sneeze at. The Arcane Lore and Theology & Philosophy need to stay where they are. I'm not as sure about the other 2, especially since his Well-Informed can sub his Gather Info for Streetwise when it comes to reps (which seems like the big thing here). On the flip side, I dunno, it feels like it makes sense for him to have some sense of "the street". Pop culture is him having been involved in the creative arts, and thus exposed to pop culture new and old. Notice seems like an important skill I'd rather not ditch The Performs...okay, these generally don't matter, but they're background fluff. I'd really hate to trim them too much. And they've been handy once or twice (take that, Doctor Otaku!). Sense Motive...hm. I know you can counter Bluff with Bluff an all, but it still seems right that he have this one. If anything, I'd like to pump it up a bit. Sleight of Hand...this one might go bye bye. I bought it thinking it'd represent him using it in plays, but it's never really been handy, or even used, so I'm really torn on it. Feats: Attractive is the only one I'm unsure on. The others help support how I think his skills should aid him, help save points, or just help him do things more smoothly. Luck's critical for Stunting off his nice big array. Powers: This is where I feel like I could be doing things better. His Blast, Drain Toughness, and Flight are good as is (though, I dunno, I might have Flight go down a point or two, considering how high it is right now). He hasn't used Emotion Control a lot, but he's used it, and it's proven handy a couple of times. Communication...as much as I love the concept of "he can talk to everyone in the world", it's really inefficient in a lot of ways. I mean, he can't properly communicate with everyone in the world right now. As explored in this thread, I'd love to find a way to allow him to selectively communicate with anyone and everyone in his Communication radius, being able to speak to and listen to them, as well as understanding him. I don't want him pulling a Superman and listening in to every disaster in the world; my goal is speech of some sort (sorry deaf people and mute people!), so I'd like it to be where he doesn't pick up anything but voices. And no need for him to be able to listen to secret conversations. Connected to that, I'm thinking it might be good to crank his radius down to "the whole country", or maybe just "the whole state" or so; I like the idea of it being more than just "the whole city", but "the whole world" might be a bit much for now. Then of course there's his Dazzle, Paralyze, Ranged Paralyze, and Nauseate. He's used the Dazzle a couple of times, but the others have been used maybe twice or less. They're just sitting there. On the one hand, fluff-wise, it makes sense for him to have a "stun" setting or some such. But realistically, it's wasted space in the array. I want to find some other way of incorporating non-Toughness Saves into his Array (technically Drain Toughness is a non-Toughness save, but it's not exactly what I'm after here). But I don't know a.)what powers fit thematically, or b.)what powers fit effectiveness-wise. I'd like to be both thematic and effective, you know? By the by, this is why I have Luck 4 (which we can call a combination of "luck of the Irish" and "divine favor" ); so he can stunt powers often. Thoughts and suggestions welcome!

When the barrier went down, Cobalt Templar hovered into the air again and flew to meet the others, his gaze still largely pointing outwards, watching for trouble. Then the owner of the home had ordered them inside. He waited as the others filed in, before bringing up the rear. "So, we're operating out of here, I guess? Seems like a very good choice for that. Should make it easier to plan how we get that bomb, yeah?" He was looking around the outside and interior of the manor as he followed the others in. He'd never been in his universe's Midnight Manor, so it was a novel experience for him. On the flip side, part of him felt discomfort at all the obviously lethal weaponry laying around; intellectually, he understood this was basically a warzone still, and against Nazis no less. But in his heart, he was somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of so much killing. It was why, despite the fire-based nature of his powers, he was always careful not to injure people. His discomfiture likely radiated off him in waves to Sage's mental senses, despite his comparatively tight mental control.

"Roger that. Moving at best speed; be thankful for the mask." Cobalt Templar reeled Midnight in until he was just a couple feet to his left, and oriented in roughly the same position. Meanwhile, the energy around the boy faded somewhat from view, making it almost look like Trevor was flying, at least from further off. Of course, that's when they took off towards the manor. At over 200 miles per hour, they were there in mere seconds, Templar having shown no signs of any strain at all from the journey. He set them down at the very edge of Sage's force field, before glancing around. "I've got more range; I'll cover us from stragglers until we're inside." The ring-slinging boy was all business, his grief and loneliness locked up tight within his own heart. Instead, his will and his courage blazed forth from his ring, daring any and all to attempt opposing them.

Right then! DC 28, hm? 22, fairly good for a +6 bonus. ...Wait, he's got 2 bruises. That's a 20. Still, he doesn't fail it by more than 10, so he picks up a Stun and a Bruise. Hallway/Lab Fight, Round 4: 22: Dragonfly: 3xBruised, 2 HP 21: Sneak Thief: Unhurt 20: Fenris: 1xInjured, 1xBruised, 0 HP (Fatigued on Round 4) 8: Katkvinna: Unhurt 8: Valvportmann: 3xBruised, Stunned Sneak Thief is up.

Gabriel nodded as Freedom Angel outlined the plan. "Sounds good. Keeps us flexible, and considering how chaotic things likely are, that's a good thing. Hm. Are any of the other prisoners loose, or just Bee-Keeper?" He glanced towards Fleur, worry evident on his features. "Hm. While you probably have to come along to help placate him, perhaps Heyzel and I could do much of the initial talking? I've heard some about what happened, but if you guys say this guy didn't kill that woman, I believe you. So if we go in there, telling him we know he's innocent...maybe this won't get too ugly." He frowned at that thought, his gaze on the ground. However, he was not standing idle. Gaian Knight would suddenly hear a voice whispering in his ear. "Hey, try not to react too much. You're the only one who can hear me. Listen. You've got that sword of yours, however good you are with it. And you've got hefty body armor. If things do go south, and I'm praying they don't, do you mind making sure Fleur gets out of there alright? I'm sure Freedom Angel and myself could manage to get out. Just nod once if you agree, or shake your head once if you decline." With that, he returned to speaking normally, even as GK summoned Fleur de Joie's noble ride. "Better than any ride I can offer, Fleur. Guess we're heading out?" With that, Gabriel lifts into the air, waiting for the others to get moving. When they do, he matches pace with them, making sure not to race ahead, despite his urge to do just that.