Ari

GM Coughing and spluttering in fear, the young man's mask fell off to reveal a scrawny and shaky guy obviously unused to this kind of experience. He nervously met Nevermore's eyes in a way he evidently hoped was imploring. Most crooks in Freedom soon knew better than to try that. "H-hey, we-look, we're, it's just us five, man." He said pleadingly "Me, Benny, Teddy, Sturge and Pierce. We weren't gonna hurt anybody, just scare this guy, we wanted to be like those Dragons! They said...er...they said if we got somethin' from that dude they'd let us...I-I found some of their stuff in a dumpster after they had a fight with the C's and...um..." he slowly withered under the green stare stabbing through his head, looking as far away as he could(not far enough) while his voice dropped to a mumble "I'm...sorry I said you were a kid..." "Jesus. Had no idea anyone'd actually help." said the ragged man with the backpack, tentatively getting up and alternating a savage glare at his tormentors and admiring glances at his rescuers "I'm Jacob, call me Jake" he added to the three teens "Just got into town after getting kicked out of the Army base up north, was on my way to my folks down in North Carol' when these guys showed up. Thanks for the assist, pretty sure they didn't know enough not to kill me with those crazy things. And my pistol misfired at just the right moment." Jake glowered at the lump of metal lying a few feet away. Half the muzzle was broken cleanly off. The ex-soldier jerked his head at the conscious and un wanna-be Dragons "What are you gonna do with these dumbasses?" Startled out of his terror, Nevermore's captive squirmed futilely to try and get in a better position, babbling "W-wait! Don't let it out we wanted into the Drags, they'll..." his eyes flickered at the surrounding rooftops "They won't like it." he finished lamely.

Sorry, I'm bad at words regarding those kinds of relationships. Oh well, room to improve! Yeah, that works fine. Your plan outline that I didn't see until just now sounds awesome Supercape. An actual plan with space to improvise.

Will save: 14. The spillage is vast.

DC21 Toughness save for the firebreather: 15. One-failure Minions, so he's down. The Shock-Sticker: 18. Everyone's down for the count! Except for that one guy Polarity Paralyzed. Ruling he breaks free of his Paralyze...and then sees that he's grossly outmatched and surrenders. Feel free to ask some probing questions!

Go Entertainment Room! Everyone give a big hand for the newest and hottest location in the thread!

DC23 TOU save: 11. He's down too! For clarification, the only Dragon-masks still active are the two near Polarity, the one she Paralyzed will have his chance to recover next round.

GM It was about that time when the Dragon-masked men, looking in horror at the super with the crackling hands, and their comrade twitching spasmodically on the ground realized that something had gone very wrong. Unfortunately for them, this just pushed them straight from 'confident' to 'desperate'. "You shocked Teddy!" shouted one of them, his eyes wide and mouth agape "You bastard!" "Let's get 'em!" hollered another, twisting the valve of his fuel tank and starting to run straight at Polarity with blood in his eyes. The battle was joined, and the electric teen was the primary target, Gunnar and Alek apparently considered less of an immediate concern. Sliding to a halt mere feet away from her, the Dragon-mask with the fuel tank drew a lighter out of his pocket and flicked it open, a vicious grin all over his face as he held it before him, pulled the mask's jaw wide open...and a massive gout of flame roared towards Juno! The blistering wave was pierced by a blue light, and just as it began to die out the one who felt so badly about 'Teddy's being hurt launched himself at Polarity, swinging his electric rod in a wild arc aimed at her head, but instead whiffing harmlessly several inches over it as she ducked. The man staggered, cursing wildly as he struggled to regain his footing on the snow. Meanwhile, the other one who'd taken the 'dragon' theme to suicidal extremes raced for Solvrytter, letting loose a blast of fire with a furious roar just before he was close enough to dodge, and maddeningly far enough away that the young knight would have to make good use of his armor's lightness and flexibility to evade the heat vaporising the snow as it cannoned at his face! The last man conscious, also armed with a souped-up stun gun, looked briefly at Nevermore...and promptly took a step backwards, looking around the field of battle with a a pitiable air of indecision as he searched hastily for a way to make himself useful. Then he lighted on the young knight under siege from the flamethrower, and started hustling across the snow to help out, a determined look stamped on his face.

Darnit, I was totally sure Nevermore was on the ground for some reason. Okay, scratch that. then. Sorry KnightDisciple. That hits plenty. Minions, feel free to take 10. Shock-Stick #3's DC23 Toughness save: 8. He's out.

GM "Oh...That old...tale? Yes...yes there was one in this valley like...that." Turning the sightless eyes to take in the stars, the ghost gestured vaguely northwards "Flying. Passed over me. Stopped. Young...man, tall, bony, not slept in a long...time. There...was a-" the ghost flickered upright, its head lolling backwards on the cracked neck and one arm outstretched, "-a ring on his finger. Beautiful thing. He spoke to it. "Is this it? Do they know?" Seemed...angry at its answer. "Fine, then I'll just use their eyes, they want to find it, and I'm barred thanks to..." A...a...gem?" Suddenly the old man looked utterly baffled, repeating the words slowly "A gem? Yes...in his heart, saw blackness in it..." The silver eyes widened "Might be...waiting in the new red castle. Darkness could hide behind the walls. Please, do not go...inside" as he spoke, the ghost slowly knelt down, shoulders twisted to let the head look imploringly up at Ghost Girl "Those three...they never saw me, though they came here for years...just want to know...did the gold reach my daughters? I cannot leave, I must await my angel. Bring me that word, "yes", or that "no"...and I can sleep..." "We're sight-seeing and treasure-hunting, Corbin, not on a reconaissance mission" grumbled the spectacled girl, though she followed his advice and carefully adjusted the planned route. Finishing with a flourish of pencil and a triumphant "There!" Christiana jumped to her feet and set off, the party making for the eerie moonlit hill and its moat of crevasses. By the time they arrived, it quickly became clear that they'd be hard-pressed to find just about anything in the maze of ravines, small pits worn by now-gone waterfalls, streams rushing through miniature canyons and an especially yawning crevasse before them that lay just in the shadow of the hill, rivulets feeding into it with a faint music. The Moon in the cleared sky bathed everything in a silvery sheen, and just for a moment, the three Spanish pond-hunters faces' fell. "Well, we won't find it standing here!" said Alfonso, all awkwardness leaving him as he stepped forward and slid and hopped down the nearby slope, the other two Spaniards following him with surprising skill into the shallow chasm.

Okay, sorry for the delay there. The Dragon-Masks make their move!! Two(a flame-mask and a shock-sticker) attack Polarity, the other two attack Nevermore and Solvrytter! The two attacking Polarity: flame-mask makes an Area(Cone) attack on her, DC14 Reflex save to halve the DC19 TOU damage/evade it entirely. Then the electro-guy runs forward and waves his shock-stick at her general direction like a badass: 7. Miss! Flame-Mask #2 enacts the same fiery assault on Solvrytter, DC14 Reflex save, DC19 TOU save/halved if first roll succeeds. Shock-Stick #3 charges Nevermore with a mighty flailing! 15. That hits, DC14 Fortitude Save to stave off a DC19 Toughness save. EDIT: Nevermore isn't even on the blasted ground. Disregard! After that, Solvrytter is up!

GM Both Heathbridge and Ophain gave an involuntary shiver, but the older woman managed a gracious smile bright and brittle as a wineglass and turned to the relevant section, dislodging roughly a third of the paper pile to get there. "Yes, I believe there was some debate over this article particularly..." Later... Ophain took a swig of coffee, rubbing a sleep eye with the heel of her palm "I and my colleague," she nudged Heathbridge gently to get her to wake up a bit "cannot guarantee the full implementation of your offered terms, Mr. Fielders. Our clients will pare it down as much as they can. But you and Mr...Joe, have made your case, and despite some misgivings we tentatively agree to some of your broader points. We'll make this," an attempt to tap the pile of slightly rumpled paper turned into a stretch and nearly sent the whole thing crashing down "into a slimmer program that still addresses the key requests, and do our best to talk to Mr. Raymond about that settlement. beyond that, we can't promise anything." "Oh, that's fair," agreed Joe Fielders, the scarred man still alert and smiling after hours at the table "the biggest thing was just getting this out in the open, I'll trust you to do your job, and to let them know we'll do ours. Thanks for your time, Mz. Heathbridge, Mz. Ophain" rising he shook their hands with considerable delicacy "Good night to both of you." The room soon cleared, Fielders' company filing out the door after a few minutes waiting for the lawyers to take their leave, their job as silent muscle now over as they chatted and laughed downstairs and out of the building. Soon it was just the two Joes. With a deep sigh Fielders ran a hand through his short, wiry hair, looking out the window at Southside slowly turning from black to gray. Suddenly he turned back to the other man "Thanks Joe. For all your help." he said quietly "Half that stuff went straight over my head, wouldn't have gotten, well, any of what I want for my crew without you." He smiled awkwardly "I owe you one. Not something I really like, but eh," he shrugged "not like our paths are that likely to cross again, right? Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta get back home and give a good man some good news. Best of luck to ya!" With that, a fervent handshake and a wave over his shoulder, Fielders vanished into his car and the urban labyrinth of Freedom City, his and many others' futures just a little bit brighter.

That'll teach me not to check my sources, seriously thought that it took place later than that. And that's the point Thevshi, they're radically different enough that it would almost be more odd if they weren't at loggerheads at least some of the time. And not so much social status or upbringing as personal philosophy and worldview. Osprey's far less pragmatic that he should be, for example.

Some comments on the three suggestions first. 1) Introducing Eileen as some kind of intermediary between the Ministry and the new Taskforce could be neat. And a good way for the Ministry to get a hold of the flightiest member and make him stay put. Anyway, I'm all for laying that Blackpool plot groundwork early on, and it seems like you've gotten it going anyhow, so I'm good for it. On the source of conflict potential I'd say that's either best kept at the beginning(when the characters really don't know each other) or later on(when they can be shocked at new information), rather than a recurring thing. Seeing as he was at least initially considered still in good enough graces to be invited to the ol' MoP HQ, my vote is to have him serve as the personification of the new team's worries about just what they'll be required to do as an official super-team backed by interests often very different from their own. 2) Y Dderwen is a quieter, more mystical kind of fellow, so I'd prefer we save him for later unless TiffanyKorta wants to do something with him and his bond with Britannia. Definitely in favor of him opposing the creation of 'artificial' powers, though for more reason than his nature. 3) Lucy Diamond is my favorite of the original Vanguard lineup, so I'd press strongly in favor of her being the first former member the team tracks down. Of course she showed up in Gallia Renaître, but that's more than work-aroundable. Aoiroo, I'm totally down with Osprey being Catalyst's first patient. Do you want to start that or shall I? And Thevshi, after I take a thorough look at your Relationship Map I'll start throwing ideas about for things to do. Osprey and Synapse having a low-key rivalry strikes me as a good plan, despite and partially because of how vastly disparate the power balance is between them. EDIT: That's just splendid, strongly in favor OF.

Seeing as he's already Bound and such, he's hoisted aboard no problem. Give him a quick dunk in some cold water and he'll be a splendid informant! (Just make sure that, you know, the Sydney PD know what's up. He's a suspected(and basically proven) perp at a crime scene, after all!)

Something twinkled in Nochehuatl's eyes "Poseidon's begotten? Another one? How many must that old earth-shaker have by now?" he wondered aloud, apparently to the sea at large. His attention was quickly grabbed by Temperance's report though, and he managed an almost kindly smile. "Since your eyes can pierce illusions, Your Majesty, it might be best to walk beside Lady Temperance. That way we may be undeceived should the creatures try and trick us. Pirates know not even a knight's frail honor." Taking the conch off from around his shoulders, the triton squinted into its mouth, picking out a sizable collection of fish bones and shaking out a small puddle of offal into the waves below "I shall walk in the middle. That way my bulk can be quickly brought to bear from either direction, though ghosts and the other such weightless things are...troublesome to me" he admitted with a sigh like rolling pebbles. Suddenly remembering Tsunami, he bowed his head to her. "What of you?"

Red Moon jerked out of her train of thought, curiosity about what Gamma referred to replaced by an all-too familiar sense of self-recrimination. 'I waited too long!' she thought bitterly, swooping down at the enraged radioactive man's back, 'and that might ruin everything!' Even then however her mind was racing, and the second as he was in range of her long and spindly arms, the light warping around Red Moon twisted back into place, revealing the suited Farsider and a shimmer of psychic force coiled around each hand! Swiping down with the ethereal claws, Atraxia felt a burst of triumph as it struck Gamma squarely at his soul's core...only to start back in shock, her chill blue eyes widening as he repelled the mental assault, the Atom-Smasher's fuming brain more than strong enough to withstand her deadliest blow! An electronic hiss, and a thin, raspy voice spoke. "Stand down, Gamma! We don't...I mean, put the machine back! Stop fighting!" Red Moon demanded, the lunar vampire's harsh voice echoing even in the noisy hall, loud enough that she couldn't help but flinch at how weak and awkward it sounded. Still, nothing else for it now. She dropped into an aerial stance, ready to dodge aside or charge in at the first chance. It was important that he know there was another opponent, and where she was. She could vanish again if need be, but the time wasn't ripe. Still, there was that friendly Grue...a Grue? Well, who was she to judge? An ally was an ally, and she might as well give a name. "I am Red Moon, the omen of your defeat, Gamma!"

GM As far as reactions went, the one from the Redcaps was priceless. A few who happened to be stable and looking in the right direction stopped dead, their eyes under the titular caps widening, pupils shrinking. Their brothers nearby then stopped their fights, carousing and climbing to see what they were looking at. And then their neighbours noticed the silence, and took their own glances. For a long moment, all was still, and all eyes but the Black Knight(calmly drinking from the tankard)'s were on Crow. Then, in a clatter of dropped plates and cups, a thunder of pounding feet, and a havoc of hoarse yells the entire elfin band took to their heels and stampeded out of the room! They jumped into suddenly-appearing tunnels, dodged under rocks, and wormed between roots to escape the eyes like daggers, and the dreaded mask and coat that heralded the nemesis of Faerie! Only the Knight remained, and they, quite calmly, took a glance around to see why everyone had ran. Then pale gray eyes behind the visor locked on Crow's, and the Knight stiffened like he'd been struck by lightning. "...You." He breathed, almost whispering with shock.

The Redcaps cannot make that, even with natural 20s, so they flee. The Knight's roll: 25. Shaken.

Why-Bee and Catalyst decided to head over to Freedom City and ask the Lab to help restore them. And nothing's come up to invalidate that plan, so I guess it goes forward.

GM An unexpected answer, if Fielders' brief stare meant anything "Really? You...you mean it?" he asked, a relieved grin spreading over his face "Thanks, Joe. Not a lotta guys who'd do this." Coming back to room's center Joe gave the two lawyers a flash of his teeth before settling down, waiting until Macayle had followed suit before making a quick nod in his direction and sliding a copy of the papers over to him. Parting two seemingly random leaves for a second he tapped the sections headed 'Liability' and 'Forewarning' with a certain emphasis. "Now that that little matter has been concluded," the middle-aged woman began carefully, watching the pair with hawklike eyes for any sign of what had just happened, "let us proceed. First item on the agenda Mr. Fielders wishes to bring up is a guaranteed rate of pay..." "As in we won't put up with spurts and stops depending on the weather." "I see. Anyway, according to this breakdown here..." Three and four quarter hours later "...That's all well and good, Mr. Fielders, and I commend your dedication to your staff," said the older-looking one, whose name turned out to be Heathbridge, with a kindly smile "but I assure you, these are supervillains. Dangerous, unpredictable, careless. We are in peril as much as you(no need for that look) and can hardly be expected to bring this ungodly mass of demands before Messers. Lettam and Bradley even on a good day. To say nothing of how they get in prison." The 'ungodly mass of demands' was about as thick as Joe's fist(either of them, really, though Fielders' had less meat yet slightly bigger bones and thus cheated) and covered just about every aspect of henchman care and outfitting you cared to name. Some of them, like injections against villainous super-venoms, were downright mundane, while the article detailing the question of what happened when an employee was erased from history, and where his pay went(Fielders stood fast to it NOT going back to the employer) had thirty-one pages of footnotes and clarifying notes so crammed with jargon and shorthand that even sharp-as-a-whip Ophain(the younger and more energetic lawyer with a perpetual scowl) finally gave up and let them move on. It was a good thing everyone at the table was comfortable and coherent talking at machine-gun speed, and that the typewriter someone found stashed under a desk still had ink in it. The typos alone would have been devastating otherwise. "And I'll say again," retorted Joe, his scars pink and jaw tight with frustration "that everything here won't change that essential fact: that we'll still work for them if they can meet these requests, besides, nobody else would take this sort of chance. They want loyalty? They got it, and that's this right here!" he slammed his fist with a bang on the pages clustered around the table center "Not sycophancy, not cowardice, not greed. Loyalty. They're fair to us and we're fair to them, simple as that." Heathbridge and Ophain glanced at each other, neither looking overly encouraged. Pursing her lips a little tighter than usual, Ophain turned her soulless grey eyes to Macayle "Your thoughts, mediator?"

Opposed Diplomacy rolls time, to decide the ultimate question. The Lawyers: 26. If you would, trollthumper!

So that makes it Red Moon: Unharmed, 1HP Miss Grue: Unharmed, 1HP Gamma: Unharmed-GM Red Moon drifts over(Move Action, using Flight) and tries to lay down the psycho-law(switching to the Ghostly Claw as a Free Action, Attacking for a Standard Action): 20 which hits for a DC25 Will save on Gamma: 26. Well then! Miss Grue is up.

No, because that action takes her clean out of hiding. If she gets back into hiding then it'd be reinstated. Flat-Footed(and they're PL4 Minions, so you can Take 10 to hit them), so that hits. DC20 Fortitude save: 5. He is Paralyzed to Hell and back. Round time! Round 1 Polarity: Unharmed, 2HP Dragon-Masks(x5): 5 Unharmed, 1 Paralyzed-GM Solvrytter: Unharmed, 3HP Nevermore: Unharmed, 1HP Go ahead GooseInduced.

The guy holding the passers-by against the wall is closest to the back.

GooseInduced, I'm thinking it would be best if Polarity action first here. Even besides having highest Initiative.