KnightDisciple

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at the sheer spectacle that was going on. Once more, he used that odd long-range whisper of his. "Very nice. Let's see how your end performance is, though..." Meanwhile, the bidding was heading upwards at a very rapid pace. Already they were above 700 dollars. As with Gabriel, there was a subset of the crowd that seemed to be the clear "front-runners" in the bidding. First, there was a trio of determined-looking middle aged women. Upper-middle-class soccer moms, perhaps? Next was another woman, one that offhand seemed more scholarly. Her bidding seemed precise, almost mechanical. Clearly, her interest was less personal. There was what looked like a very fashionable married couple (man and woman) who were laughing and bidding with wild abandon. Of course, there was the inevitable young man. In this case, he was perhaps in his mid-20s, dressed in expensive fashionable clothes, and with ridiculously gelled hair, bidding without a care in the world. Oddly enough, the nondescript middle-aged man who had lasted so long in the bidding for Gabriel was again working to secure his own personal hero for a day. Finally, a young woman who looked very well off was calmly bidding on the heroine whose costume outshone even Gabriel's brilliant white outfit. Bids were now at 800, and no signs of stopping.

Gabriel just stood and clapped as he debated his feelings on the matter. 'If I had more time in the day, maybe I'd do shows for kids or something. Too bad, though. And hey, it's just one day or event. It can't be that bad.' Gabriel took a bow towards the group of young ladies, then signaled for attention. "Thank you, everyone who bid. Ladies, we'll talk more in a bit. Just remember, your money's going to a great cause. Speaking of bids, we have one final auction entry. I'd like to present the wonderful lady who helped with the earlier display. The one, the only, the incredible Miss Americana! Give it up for her, ladies and gentleman!" He gestured for the crowd to cheer as the MC and various people running the details of the auction shuffled papers and prepared for the final round of bids. The audience shifted a bit as well, the people who had waited for this entry moving to be as visible as possible. Meanwhile, Gabriel sent a whisper over to the star-spangled heroine. "Four thousand, four hundred. Think you can beat that?" He smiled as he passed her on his way offstage, pausing only to catch her reply.

"Hold on, we shouldn't split...up. Blast it all." Gabriel turned to face the robot, a look of disgust on his face. "So much genius, put to disgraceful use. Time to recycle." He lifted his arm and flung an over-charged blast of sound at his mechanical foe. It struck center mass, mainly due to its immobile nature. "We need to catch up with him and fast."

Gonna blast me that robot. Power attack, so -2 Attack, +2 Damage. Attack Roll: 14 Helpless though, so that hits. DC 28 Toughness Save.

Gabriel waited patiently for the boy in black to do what he'd promised. He wasn't disappointed. A gentle smile crossed his face at the shrewd bargaining of the girl. "I will not ask you to fight our battle. That you would stand aside is good enough for me. And I promise, we will get you safely off the airship when we are finished. All I would ask is that you direct me to where the one in armor is located, or at least most likely located." As he speaks, he moves over to attempt rousing Powerhouse, via gently shaking the man.

Hm. 22. Let's see how this goes. Just. Barely.

Gabriel pretty much ignored the fumbling demonic warriors. He had to stop the ceremony. Thus, he used his left arm to support his right arm, taking careful aim before finally letting off a small, concentrated burst of sound. "You will not do this to an innocent child!"

Right, I'm Blasting at the one that's doing sewing and such. Attack Roll: 5+10=15 Argh. Sigh. HP to re-roll. This should hit. DC 26 Toughness Save.

Apparently I still have a standard action! I am blasting the one that grabbed me. Attack Roll: 2+10=12 ...Le sigh.

Gabriel was...surprised...at the comparatively genial attitude the Revenant had, as well as the noticeable accent. Then, the undead man's name jogged his memory. "Wait! Dead Head! Sorry, I didn't recognize you in the bad light, and I was on edge from the whole "zombies in Southside" thing. Last-whoah!" Rather than "tanking" the hit, Gabriel moved upwards until they were well clear of the traffic, then came back down to the same level as DH. "Anyways. Heyzel told me about you one time. And I've heard other stuff here and there. You're a solid guy. It's just that the last time I ran into undead in Southside, they nearly killed a lot of people, and nearly turned my insides into outsides. Something I'd prefer to avoid. As for these organleggers, I'd be happy to help you stop them. I've just not heard the term before. I'm "not stopping them" because I haven't heard about them. Haven't encountered them. I'm typically busy keeping 16-year-olds from making lifelong mistakes like first-degree murder, or maybe just good old-fashioned drug addiction. You know, minor stuff." There's just a touch of sarcasm in his voice. He didn't like the implication he wasn't doing enough around here. "As for "yankee drivers", you did kind of dash into the road with no warning. Poor guy probably didn't have enough braking room."

Got a face and a name now. Using Well-Informed to make a Gather Information check. Gather Information: 20+20=40 Um...wow. Yeah. Gabriel knows everything on the Gather Info block here. :shock: Let's go with "bad lighting" and "no name" for why he didn't obviously know Dead Head.

Gabriel grit his teeth as one of the infernal beasts dragged him to the ground. For several moments, he was practically helpless in its grip. Then, he managed to gain some leverage, and at least get enough room he wasn't totally helpless on the ground, even if the creature still had a grip on him. "Muse! Get the child out of here! Don't worry about me!" Gabriel turned and tried to blast the demon that had had such a hold on him. However, in his rush, and in such close quarters, his shot went wild, striking the wall.

Okay, trying to at least break the pin. Not surging yet. So all I can do is break the pin... 23.

Hm. So 2 Grapple checks in response. First Counter-Check: 29 Second Counter-Check: 17 Blargh. That was less than good.

Hm. 30. That's...gonna be nasty. Toughness: 19+4=23 Bruised and stunned. Burning the HP I just got to shake the stunned.

Gabriel quirked an eyebrow as Muse tweaked her abilities to locate their enemies. He followed silently until they stopped in front of a door. "One door, coming down." He raised a hand, and with determination set upon his face, blew it off the hinges with a solid blast of sound. The creatures inside, wearing human form, turned in surprise. "In the name of God, I bid thee begone!" He tossed his hand, and a horribly loud sound went off right in the middle of the group, though it was strangely much quieter by the time it got to Gabriel and Muse. The "people" in the room clutched their ears in pain, shaking their heads as they tried to gather their wits. "In the name of Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, the Virgin Mary, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, BEGONE!" Gabriel's impassioned rebuke was interspersed with further blasts of sound, similar to the one he broke the door down with. One by one, the figures in the room were blasted back into the walls, slumping down into unconsciousness, until the final figure took a point-blank blast into the chest, and flew what must have been 10 feet or more through the air before the wall stopped him. Gabriel turned to face Muse with a light smirk. "That's 8."

Initiative Roll: 10+2=12

'I suppose there are worse fates for a man than being bid on by, among other things, a group of beautiful young women. Not like there aren't declared limits to the whole thing...' An internal sigh, and Gabriel continued to work the crowd. "Is that it? You know this is for a good cause, folks! You're not bidding on a cardboard cutout, a signed photograph, or even some fancy hologram thing. You're bidding on the real deal! Grade-A Genuine Superhero! Dig a little deeper! And remember: Not only is it going to help people who need it, it's a tax-deductible gift! So reach down, and dig up just a bit more to make this fundraiser one for the books!" His voice again rolled over the crowd, as he raised his hands, encouraging the crowd to continue and get worked up over the bidding. And for the bidders to raise their prices still further.

Firing the crowd up again... Same as last time; 34, or 38 with Attractive.

Gabriel steadied himself, then stood, and walked over to the field. When he spoke, it was gentle, as if it was a mentor speaking. "You're not allowed to voice your own opinions? That seems a bit unfair. Really unfair, in fact. Did she refuse orders in the field, or just say something? You don't deserve that sort of treatment." He seemed to take the boy's attitude towards Powerhouse in stride. "You're mad that your sister was hurt because of him. I understand that; I'd be mad if my sister got hurt, too. But stop and think about it. We weren't coming in and fighting because we dislike you; we were trying to keep people safe. People who don't have powers like you and I; people with brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and children. Helpless in the face of beings like us. Like that child was helpless when you were heading for him, until I stepped in. Look, if we wanted to get mad at people for hurting us, shouldn't I be mad at both of you?" He patted his stomach gently, near the wound he'd received. "But I'm not. I forgive you. I think you two can change, and for the better. You've clearly got notable power. What if you turned it to other pursuits? I know there's lots of ways for metahumans to make a very good living that don't require breaking any laws. And it doesn't mean you have to be a superhero. You're young. You have a chance to change your life still. Please. Take that chance. Help us out of here, please."

Looks like the duality siblings aren't happy. Time to convince them life is better for heroes! Diplomacy: 16+20=36 According to the book, if his previous attitude was "hostile", he's now "friendly". If he was "unfriendly" or "indifferent", he's now "helpful".

Gabriel blinks. "Wait, what?" It takes him a moment to process that, not only did the creature not know him, not only did it speak...but it was trying to stop "organleggers"? With a sigh, he quickly flew over to Dead Head, easily pacing the creature. "Who are you? What are you? What are "organleggers"? Why are you stopping them? How do I know this isn't a precursor to more madness like October, and why shouldn't I put you down to keep the people of Southside safe?" He just barely resisted the urge to scratch at his scars; they were itching like mad. At least he hadn't had his chest sliced open. Yet.

Gabriel groaned softly as he sat up. Super-villains rarely gave proper medical attention to wounded heroes they held. Go figure. He managed to get fully upright, then looked across the hall. A frown touched his face. "Is she a prisoner as well? Is she hurt or anything?" His voice was laced with gentle concern, instead of condemnation. He had a general idea who these two might be, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions.

Meanwhile, outside in the parking lot, a dark blue car pulled in and circled around. The driver seemed to have a bit of urgency in his navigation, but still displayed at least some patience. "I'm so sorry, Quo. I didn't anticipate that accident on the freeway. There's not even ice on the roads! Some people just can't drive-Ah! Parking spot." Quick as lightning, Corbin swung the dark gray car he was driving into a suddenly-free spot. It was a late 90's Mercedes-Benz, albeit one of the comparatively cheaper E-Class models. Still, it was in top condition. Corbin himself quickly stepped out almost as soon as the engine was off. He was wearing a black pair of slacks and a black blazer, with a dark blue dress shirt underneath. He'd forgone any sort of tie, and his black shoes were obviously a compromise of "comfort" and "dress". He shut the driver's door and half-jogged over to the passenger side, the biting winds not even making his cheeks red. He got the passenger door open, and offered a hand to Quo-Dis. "Right then. Shall we, milady?" His eyes sparkled with a bit of mischief at the "milady".

"Yeah, yeah, hurrying." Gabriel wasn't a huge fan of how bossy this Midnight fellow was. Even if he was a veteran of crime-fighting, it's not like they weren't trying to take down this madman's machinery. ...Though Fusion could stand to display some self control. "Why hello there Miss Robot, why don't you fall down today?" Gabriel pointed his hand to the robo-Fusion to the left, and let loose a blast of sonic energy at it, striking it quite nicely. Hopefully it would bust it up at least a little bit.