Ari

I shall use a Move Action to get over to the second Art Deco Automaton, and Power Attack(-3 Attack, +3 Damage): 21! if that hits, then Oscar must make a DC29 Toughness save. Setting a Reaction to Interpose the next attack against Lord Steam.

GM "Both of you aren't from around here? This is rather...unexpected" Aidah commented blandly, putting her arms behind her head. Eying the passing streets she added grumpily "If not having adventures is considered lucky around here, then I will study what Americans think gives you bad luck as hard as I can." As they passed a few beggars near a stoplight at the intersection of McCulloh and O'Donnel, rolling to a halt for a fresh wave of heat to stream through the windows, she raised an eyebrow in surprise "Are there many people in the city with so little?" she asked, fumbling on the floor for her purse, only to drop it with a mutter of disappointment as the minivan rumbled on past them. "Mr. Jao, we should have stopped!" the Dakanan girl called up angrily "They needed help, did they not?" "We're on a schedule Ms. Sesay, sorry. Maybe we'll come back" Tony replied quickly, looking into the rear view mirror "Don't worry, Freedom City has a lot of services set up forOH MY GOD!" Swerving just in time to dodge a tanker truck, Tony swung the minivan onto the shoulder, eyes wide and panting, leaning on the wheel. To their credit, the Dakanans hadn't said a word, and even Aidah had bit back a shriek as they raced for the truck. Looking up Tony glanced at the truck, which was marked with the symbol of a young woman dressed up in Musketeer garb and wielding a sword made of chocolate, simply parked in the middle of the road, and began in confusion "What in even the Hell?" He was answered as the freight struck suddenly burst open, revealing a massive chocolate bar on cartoony legs! With eerie silence it jumped out of its old container, then spun around, swung down and smashed the truck! Without pausing for a moment it then proceeded calmly towards the other cars behind them, the drivers and passengers already fleeing in terror! "Yes! Aha! We shall have bad luck today my friends!" Aidah laughed triumphantly, wrestling with the buckle of her seat "Let us go and stop this force of evil!"

Still shaken, Roi had no time for ogling, though he did catch a glimpse of her out the corner of one eye as she went to the showers and he busied himself in the kitchenette. "Well Roi," the tailor muttered as he got the water going "you're meeting lovely ladies are you not? What more could you want, besides peace and a sunny sky?" When Agnes got back he had two steaming mugs ready for her, silently handing the singer one as he settled into a chair opposite her, crossing one long leg over the other as he listlessly drank. After taking a few deep sips he looked up at her, eyes wracked with pain "I...do not know. Ask policemen who Hatchet met with? Perhaps discover who told them to look out for the car of Agnes the Blues singer?" He shook his head and looked down into the swirling coffee, the liquid mirroring his heart "Whatever we do must be done soon. I do not think they will wait for us to catch our breath." Glancing up, he surveyed her glumly "Dieu, you are very beautiful."

I don't actually know what they could do. That would be plot-relevant, that is. Maybe puzzle out how the police got on their case so fast?

GM "My friend, you need nobody but yourself to be strong!" Protonik exclaimed with a kind smile at the trembling man, even while his eyes took on a bluish-green gleam "But since you attach yourself so closely to this criminal band that you accept its garbage as holy gospel, have some of this!" With a flash two rays of cold light leapt from his eyes and struck a woman beside Shiver whose skin glistened like iron, slamming her into the wall in a smoking heap. "Friends, let us not waste this advantage!" the Russian called as he jumped into the air, angled to shield the white-clad sonic controller at the first sign of danger "Battle is joined!"

It's possible! DC27 Toughness save: 21! That would be a Daze and Another Bruise. Round 2: Riff: Unharmed, 4HP Pitch: Unharmed, 1HP Mary: Bruise(x2), Dazed-GM Well, this is going pretty smoothly, eh comrades?

*WHUNG!* The young man rebounded off the undamaged plate, growling furiously "Gah, pared estupida!" he was so intent on the thing standing between him and his friends that he almost missed the tell-tale clatter of the robot behind him getting up, and the buildup of another sonic shriek. With desperate speed he slammed his arms over his head, crying out as another wail seemed to burrow through his skull. Turning on his robotic tormentor he shot forward across the room, his hand blazing blue and gold and reflecting in his burning eyes. "Hraaaaugh!" he shouted, jumping at the last moment and hurling a punch downwards that was lethally fast for all his anger, but still missed his target and instead smashed into the floor, spraying wood and linoleum through the air.

DC20 Reflex save: 26! Move Action over to it on foot, then an Accurate Attack(+2 Attack -2 Damage): 13! I presume that misses and instead smashes into the floorboards.

"Gragh!" Subito stumbled backwards in surprise at the abrupt shift from 'everday supervillainy' to 'crazy magic stuff', halfway to a fighting stance before Eldrich introduced himself. With a rustle of the smooth cloth of his jacket, he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and stood back beside Young Britannia, holstering the Bandera. He felt the other patriotic spirit-bearer's glance and blushed furiously at the oblique mention of what had happened, snapping back at her "Yeah Why-Bee, she affected us both really deeply. You're right though, won't be so easy this time..." it was obvious that he was still uncomfortable about what had happened in the mire. Turning with a slight hunch of his broad blue shoulders to the Master Mage Mouthpiece Man, he said a little more politely "How can we deal with her Mr. Eldrich if you can't? And what Britannia said, do you know where this Swamp Queen crazy person is?" "We call her Madame Malaise" he added after a moment's thought, jerking a thumb at his comrade "Her idea.".

After discreetly making sure that the Grav Bike was all but nailed to the ground, Marceau had relaxed considerably. Positively beaming with happiness at the close, comfy pub, he waved and smiled at some of the locals who were giving the odd group the once-over. Calmly pushing back his cowl, he leaned back against the chair, savoring the bitter beer..and then Aaliyah brought them back to the reason they were all there. Setting the glass mug down carefully so he wouldn't slosh any of the glittering amber liquid onto the table, the King of Suits nodded shortly at Rene's description, chiming in darkly "She possessed the body of a young woman named Sophie Beatrice, an art historian who discovered a..piece of art that imprisoned the spirit, then fled to France after a hard battle with us. This," he took out his phone and quickly found the picture his agent in Calais had taken, putting the small device near Detective Cooper and jabbing a gloved hand at the second woman seen in the alley "appears to be her new host judging by my sources in France. I have no knowledge who she may be." Slumping back and taking a slightly larger gulp of beer than was strictly wise, he looked gravely at her. "Can you work with that little, Detective?"

Shiver's DC37 Toughness save: 19. Out like a light!

17 days?! Seriously? Okay, I am so, so sorry. Now for the order of round one. This should go very quickly. The group is roughly circular, thirty feet away from the group of heroes. The Overthrow soldiers without powers aren't counted for obvious reasons. Feel free to defeat them narratively if you knock out one of those juiced up on Proteus. Order: Protonik: Unharmed-GM Gabriel: Unharmed, 6HP Motley's Crew(x10): Unharmed(x10)-GM Starlight: Unharmed, 4HP Young Britannia: Unharmed, 2HP Asad: Unharmed, 3HP So Protonik tries to take down one of the Crew(Iron Hand) with a good old nuclear vision blast: 28! Hits, DC30 Toughness save for them: 19! One-lose Minions, so he's down. Protonik sets an Interpose for Gabriel. Gabriel is up!

Oh no! Vengeance is upon him! DC25 Toughness save: 27. No damage. Poor Oscar.

Atraxia blinked her dried eyelids as she peered out of the smoke-filled helmet 'Wait...they know about Farside Ci-? Of course! The Lor have detailed maps of the entire system' Baring her teeth she began, the Farsiders voice thrumming with electronic anger "I am a sapient creature with full protection under the law, not a specimen for you to study!" Almost at first hearing the field's dull whine as it powered up, Red Moon had leaped into action! Kicking off from the floor she spun out from under the shimmering blue cage as it slammed into place, long arms and spindly legs hitting the ground with almost spider-like grace. Panting with surprise, lungs pushing uselessly, the walking corpse turned on the willowy robot. Rising to her full height, Red Moon's blue eyes shone through the face shield and the swirling blackness. Her mind raced with what to do. She doubted she could really win in a fight like this, but if she could just get them to leave...it was worth a shot, and that woman in silver and black named after the Earth bird did it pretty well. 'Time to take a new tack' Pointing at the Singular with an arm that shimmered coldly, her crackling voice echoed from the suit "Call off your drones and leave at once, or you shall answer to the fury of..the RED MOON!"

DC20 Reflex save: 24! Success. Intimidate roll to try and get them to stop: 16. Move Action over to the willowy robot as she speaks.

Welcome to year 22, Aoiroo! May it treat you well! We wish you many happy returns to this day, each time better than the last! :D

GONE ROUGE BY SUPERCAPE Red Moon 4PP Spent * +2PP for Abilities (+2 to Charisma) * +1PP for Skills (+1 rank to Computers, Knowledge(Physical Sciences), Knowledge(Technology), Stealth) * +1PP for Feats (Eidetic Memory)

WATERED DOWN BY SUPERCAPE! Wave-Eye * Changed and expanded the Description to make it suit the purpose better. 17PP Spent: * +2PP for Combat (+1 Base Attack Bonus) * +1PP for Saving Throws(+1 Fortitude) * +2PP for Feats (Dodge Focus, Power Attack) * +2PP for Skills (8 ranks of Knowledge(Arcane Lore) * +10PP for Powers (2 ranks of Protection, 2 ranks of Super Strength, 2 ranks of the Tail Array)

GM "Cerys and Elias, huh? Glad to know ya!" Aidah deftly removed her sunglasses, perching them on top of her shady hat as she scrutinized them after the handshakes. Biting back a grin of amusement at their wardrobes, and glancing at her own finery, she began "You know, Cerys and & Elias, maybe we should start the grand tour of Freedom City with a visit to the Banana Repub-" "We shall start it" said the older woman coming up behind her and drawing Aidah curtly but respectfully to her side, a strong hand on the girl's shoulder "by proceeding directly to the Claremont Academy to move you into your new dormitory. Mr. Jao, if you will be so kind as to lead the way to the transport? And it is Mrs. Okoro" her lips tightened. "Sure thing Mrs. Okoro" Tony caught her glance that said in all eyes 'teenagers', smiled warmly and set off for the parking lot "Follow me, everybody! It's a minivan, so it might be a little tight a fit," he added with an apologetic look at the stoic gaggle behind him. "...So no, I'm pretty sure I can't get much more out of this model" he explained to Aso, one of the older Dakanans beside him, she looking supremely disappointed to hear it. They were just driving up the west side of Bayview hill, Southside surrounding them and Freedom City spread out on their left with the sun beaming down on the South River, the fragrant summer air rushing through the windows opened in a vain attempt to stop the temperature in the van from reaching hazardous levels. The six attendants and Mrs. Okoro had crammed themselves gamely into the first two rows and were busy discussing the view, recent political events and whatever snippets of technology Tony could manage to keep up with. All of them had showed a profound curiosity about seemingly everything in America, and once or twice Tony had managed to truly surprise them with something about Asian influences on American architecture. Meanwhile, in the back, Aidah was eagerly quizzing her two new friends(as she insisted they were) on what Claremont was like, who was who, who could do what, if the Star of Africa had really been there once. In contrast to the impeccably neat older men and women, the young light controller somehow found ways to take up at least twice as much space as looked possible. Her arms spread comfortably across the back of the seat when she wasn't gesturing grandly while describing the most delicious thing she and her friends had overheard, legs propped up on the seat ahead, crossed or gleefully nudging theirs to punctuate an especially biting insight into the heart of some rival of Aidah's at court. The heat and rushing air made sure they experienced every whiff of her apparently shockingly rare and exotic perfume, the tale of which consumed at least ten minutes. At length, there was a pause enough to get a word in edgewise, while she lolled against her seat and pouted at the mostly clear and quiet streets. "Ugh!" she made a face "Whenever shall we see one of those supervillains your city is so famed for? I have not seen a single one! Must my whole day be clear of dashing, exotic strangers and derring-do?"

GM The ship's corridors, gaunt and dead, slipped past Kairos's Scholar in a murky haze of decay. All around the rustling creatures sent thin whispers and buzzings through the air, voices backed by the neverending thrum of the Grievance Heart's machinery pulsing just behind the mouldering panels. Following the trail of discharge station breadcrumbs archaic ships often relied upon, Jeni Frey at last passed through a ruined door and arrived at the ultimate goal: the ship's energy source, a staggeringly huge square reactor, transforming the raw power of several hundred nuclear explosions into streams of raw energy, coursing by mighty tubes that reached by threads and tendrils from bow to stern of the colossal superweapon! Connected to the main transfer conduit, the power stream visible as a blazing blue light through the translucent walls, the controls hung suspended in the air directly above the reactor. The only methods of direct access were the small teleportation pad just beside the door(which had been smashed by a falling support strut for a catwalk far above her), and the small track of the maintenance tram(the tram itself taken out by the same strut). Complicating matters were the four flying robots that looked like they had been hewed from rock, lights gleaming fitfully across their dull brown-gray bodies as they floated in an endless parade around the control room, weapons held in indelicate vices.

El Heraldo stared at the Atlantean man. On the one hand, his country was busy attacking the Caribbean islands on account of some crazy "We owned you once so we own you forever" mindset, he had just seen them torching a barn, driving soldiers before them like rabbits, there were armored monsters rising from the deep and tearing through the streets of San Juan. On the other hand, he told himself as his arms dropped limply to his sides, his hazel eyes assuming their usual dullness "Yes...why should we fight?" he said aloud. Face slackening, he asked flatly "Why are you doing this? You don't own the world anymore."

No more I have not. Doing so.

The landlocked African country of Dakana, home to wonders of science thanks to the mysterious and powerful Daka crystals, lately emerging from centuries of isolationism onto the world stage. They are few, yet still hold the keys to a fantastical future. The submerged continent of Atlantis, a living myth from a vanished age whose people once held sway over half the world with their fusion of magic and technology and the mighty Orichalcum metal, now all but ignored and forgotten by the surface. They are many, but still a shadow of what was. For eons these two have had nothing ill to do with one another, courteous cousins in the great household of nations. Now, though, tensions rise between them, and accusations fly thick and fast of deception and attempted evil! Who could gain from bringing these two into conflict? Who would seek to make these two rivals or even bitter foes? Who plots a war that could spell a cataclysm across the Earth if it came to pass? And who will step forward to stop...the Showdown of the Super-Nations?! (All credit goes to Russoboo, and to Johnathan Hickman for being the guy who's writing the New Avengers series with an Atlantis vs. Wakanda plot) Players: 3-5 Suggested PL: 10-13 Preferences: Characters with some kind of diplomatic standing, establishment with the Freedom League, UNISON or international status(aliens, etc). Focus: Even split between Skills/interaction, with combat a distant third. Tone: Serious, streak of bombast(because the stakes are high!). I seriously doubt I'd be able to pull something like this off, but in the event of nobody else wanting to give it a go I'll get it a-rolling.

El Heraldo's Initiative: 7.

"Aaaaaargh!" As the ear-splitting shriek roared through El Heraldo's brain and seemed to shake the world around him to pieces, it was all the young man could do to manage to slam his hands over his super-sensitive ears in time. He crouched beside the robot for what seemed an hour, glaring down at the thing as it finally stopped the hellish scream. Stepping back he regarded the prone metal creature for a moment, then suddenly dropped his hands and whirled around in anticipation of an ambush, drawing the Bandera as he took up a fighting stance! He found himself menacing a metal plate across the doorway he had just come in from. Subito's breathing quickened as realization set in "Oh no" he said, so quietly he could barely hear it "I have to get to the others! I gotta tell 'em this is a trick to catch us!" His eyes narrowed 'And if they put a metal bar between me and the outside, I don't want to think what the other walls must be made of Herald! Think a momen- My friends are in danger! There's no time!' Squaring his shoulders and ignoring the robot behind him, he hurled himself against the plate with all his might!