Ari

Granspear, your roll please.

'Aw, how ni-WHAT?! What did..what did he just do? I believe he touched his lips to your cheek, Herald But...I... Just don't be so obvious when you stare next time, Subito. I do not want my charge to turn into a little heartbreaker, Blodeu would be crushed... Quit it! You know I'm not into boys! Yes, just ask ~'Mr. Smiiiith'~GRRRRR...' Starting at the out-of-nowhere kiss, Subito stammered "Uh..th-thanks" after his schoolmate as the other boy went inside for his things. Taking a second to carefully slow down the suddenly very quick tempo of his heart, the heraldic boy glanced awkwardly at Grace, awkwardly telling her "We're not...I mean, he's not my boyfriend or anything like that" blushing to the roots of his hair and going inside himself to get his backpack and school supplies, including the notebook crammed for five pages with very enthusiastic notes. He paused for a few moments to flick through them, nodding in quiet satisfaction that everything he had wanted to put down was there. Coming back outside and swinging the red backpack over his shoulders, he nodded at Darren's plea for a different mode of transport. Turning to Grace and shaking her hand vigorously, the stocky, smiling teen said "Thank you so much for your time, Mrs. Sobczak! We won't forget today!" Looking over at Darren, Subito said blandly "We could just fly back, but if the two fliers from that big fight with the giant shadow snake are seen going to Claremont Academy, that might raise some questions Headmaster Summers could easily find time to ask us." Standing at ease on the porch, the muscular Puerto Rican said mildly "On the other hand, if two teenagers take the bus back up to the prestigious private school, they'll be pretty inconspicuous!" With a cheerful wave to their gracious hostess, he dissipated the mantle of El Heraldo, and lead the way back to the bus stop. END

Well she sucks less than some characters I could mention. DC27 TOU save: 21. Failed, they are down. One left!

DC27 TOU save: 16. She's down. Three left.

Round 2: Warp: Unharmed, 2HP El Heraldo: Bruise(x1), 4HP Mages(X4): Unharmed-GM Warp is up again.

GM The shield collapsed along with the chanting man, falling like a tent when the central pole is suddenly removed and draping itself around the other mages, lending them a crimson sheen and a rippling appearance. Glancing at each other they instantly raised their arms and began to cry out words of power and destruction, one of them suddenly cut short as Heraldo soared up off the ground and into her gut, the pair slamming into the nearby wall with a jarring impact. The other four at least managed a desultory barrage, most of their shots in the confusion going wild and slashing long gouges in the snow around the heroes, though one blast narrow struck Warp on the shoulder with a howl of eldritch power!

GM Heraldo smacked straight into the glowing red wall, which caused a thundering wave of mystical power to lash out at the brightly-colored boy, smacking him into the snowy pavement with punishing force and leaving a dark bruise and shallow cut where it had struck into his warded skin. The mages within looked up in shock, all of them yelling furiously at the man in the middle to do something only vaguely understandable with the spell. Whatever it was it involved him doing was he already was to invoke the might of dread Bal'Hemoth, but more and harder. His sweating face and quickly-moving mouth singled him out as an obliging sort, at the very least, arms spread at the sky as he babbled the arcane words.

And we're in rounds. Round 1. Catalyst: Unharmed, 2HP King of Suits: Unharmed, 2HP Hunter: Unharmed-GM

DC27 TOU save for Shield-bearer: 16. He's down. The shield collapses, but grants each mage +5 to their TOU saves for the rest of the combat. Heraldo attacks one of the mages, Power Attack(+-3): 24. DC29 TOU save: 22. She's out. The four left split their attacks between Warp and EH: 5, 21, 9, 14. 1 hit on Warp, DC19 TOU save please.

Alright, Heraldo hits the shield, DC25 TOU save: 22. Bruised. Warp is up. Round 1: Warp: Unharmed, 3HP El Heraldo: Bruise(x1), 4HP Mages(x6): Unharmed-GM

GM Arnold glanced sharply around, having just seated himself on one of the porch's rotting steps. Looking dubiously at Changeling he said "Well miss, it all began just a little while, not even a week, from today. I got visited by Lantern Jack, who told me about some kind of surge in demonic energy around the Hill, which he claimed he couldn't deal with on his own. He didn't mention many specific, I gotta admit, and got a bit testy when I pressed for details, but I passed that off as just ol' Jack being himself. He's, uh, not the most sociable of spirits, if you get my meaning. Even for a ghost he's a chilly guy. Anyway, he told me to look into this while he took his own path, and I set off on mine. Looked high and low for any signs that infernal powers were about and found squat. Got a bit lucky with m'dowsing and drew near this house, got some fearsome signs but decided I ought to get some backup for a fight I wasn't ready for. I was told by the young lady you passed a sword through about your Circle at Parkhurst, and so here we are." He raised a bushy eyebrow "It is suspicious though, I admit. Why would Jack ask for me, a Hermetic in Thoth's path, when there are so many skilled spiritualists just a block from me? Admittedly, not a lot of 'em can exorcise demons, and I've had a bit of experience with that, but you need more than an exorcism for stuff like this. Why not the priest?" he was talking mostly to himself now "She could turn a demon like Dis inside-out, if she got it trapped first..."

KoS initiative: 27. Hunter initiative roll: 19. Catalyst has a surprise round. Go right ahead.

Yes. 5 is when EH goes, the mages: 6.

I think that might work, but from what Raveled's told me he wants to have the characters suffer a bit more from this, and telling Freedonians "It wasn't me! It was that rat-sunuvagun the Meta-Grue!" would get them pretty easily believed. How about we have solo threads detailing some attempt to be heroic, then Meta-Grue trashes that and leaves the character in a pretty bad light? Then the join-up, bashing and team-forming!

'Superlative work, Herald' "Yeah, 'kay, I'll catch up." Heraldo muttered, shifting the two over his shoulders in a more comfortable fashion. Setting off over the nearby roofs to get a better vantage point, both teens easily saw the group of mages in a circle hastily sketched out into the snow, a shimmering wall of light red energy around them. One of the young men stood in the center of it, hands raised and mouth moving with words even El Heraldo couldn't understand. Glaring down at the band, Subito decided that the best way to deal with magical force fields one knew nothing about was to crash into them at top speed. Hurtling out of the sky to land next to Warp he told her quickly "I'll get their attention again, you pick 'em off!" as he dumped their quarry on the snow, turned and hurled himself like a blazing and very colorful arrow straight at the shield! Hat whipping in the wind, he thundered "You've cast your last spell, occultists!" just before he struck the glowing wall of mystical force.

GM Rapidsfire was by now seriously questioning the chain of events that had led to this. Her armor was practically falling apart, the world reeled around her, and the two girls had turned from easy pickings into the kinds of heroes all villains hated to run up against: the competent ones. Spitting out a small mouthful of blood onto the carpet from a slight cut in her cheek, the blue-clad water speedster looked up in sudden horror as Warp revealed that she had had a crash course of terrifying killing moves, eyes widening and mouth agape as realization sunk in of how badly she and Marduk had underestimated the pair. She was almost frozen in fear of just what the two would manage to do next! There was just one chance... 'Zeke!' she called out mentally, eyes fixed on the fearsome foe she faced 'We're in bad trouble here! They dropped 'Duk, and they're gonna get me too!' for a long moment there was no answer. She relaxed and looked up in even greater fear and the beginnings of desperation. Then she heard it. The answering voice was warm, kindly, gentle and deep, with a whisper of ages behind it. It said in her mind 'Hang on Maria, I'll be there in just a second. They'll pay for this, by the Power I am given I promise'

GM The path was clear, at least as far as could be told from the fact that the shouts, hurrying feet and noises of battle weren't coming from anywhere near that back entrance. Evidently, Dr. Green wasn't expecting any kind of other attack when the pair who had destroyed his work in South America were charging in full-bore. Still, that was no reason not to move quietly and quickly, as any warning might bring the panicked might of a small army of new supers crashing down on their heads. At the very least they could hope the doctor wouldn't leave any real heavy hitters to guard the computer room, instead sending his powered soldiers to face Stormbreaker and Voltage. The place was stark and grays featured heavily, the floor was mirror-like in its polish and the lights glared constantly.

GM Flinching a little under John's cold stare, Kazra nonetheless stood her ground, crossing her arms and assuming a position of defiance. "You still wouldn't know where they are! And I bet flying over a swamp glowing as bright as he does would get attention you wouldn't desire." She added, gesturing derisively at Subito. Blowing a short and irritated breath she looked up at the others, holding the strap of her spear in one hand to keep it from banging against her. "I've been sneaking through this jungle since I was a child, and know every trail from here to the borders of the Walled Cities. I've been hunting those dinosaurs almost before I could talk!" she declared proudly "And I know how to keep close and quiet, don't worry Mr. Smith. If we get caught in an ambush, won't be my fault." the young jungle girl added, grinning. Glancing around at the forest she beckoned to the Claremonters, and set off more or less along the path they had been already following "Those maps the Romans gave you aren't inaccurate, but they don't know how tough the going can be going straight for the road. We'll go through the hot lakes just a bit north of here" he pointed out a distant mass of steam in the sky "then we can just sweep around and get right onto the road." Keeping pace with the fasts of them, the quintet trudged on...

Rubbing the back of his head as he glanced around, Heraldo at last shrugged and looked back at Warp "I'd say the best place would be the police station down the street, maybe? Considering what they can do though, it might be a good idea just to keep them with us, at least until we can get some STAR guys over to keep 'em from running off with their crazy hoodoo magic." the muscular boy shrugged his shoulders again, tapping the Bandera on his shoulder. Floating a little into the air he added, slinging the woman and dealer over his shoulders "I'll keep an eye on these two. Well," he grinned "an ear out for 'em, but considering how crazy noticeable their stuff is, shouldn't be hard to know they're up to somethin'!" Taking a deep breath he turned to the alleyway 'Alright, time to do this! ...Wait, I should...damnit, let's at least try'. Then he looked back at Warp "How are you doing? I'm..sorry I haven't been much help for ya, Warp." he suddenly growled and smacked himself in the face "Nevermind. Bad time to bring it up, which come t'think of it would be every time. Let's go pants those goons."

Thank you Cubist for explaining the details of that case, it did not occur to me that it might be of interest to anyone, for which I apologize. As for monstrous people numbers, I would say three people is fine for a small team. Manageable for threads. To be honest, that bit about minor quibbles between the scientific and magical sides of SHADOW is a total invention of mine, and partially as a minor plot point for Ants among the Flowers. Otherwise, very much agreed Semi-Autogryo! SHADOW using Overthrow as a cloak to get things into place for their grander schemes could totally work as a longer-term storyline, or even a one-off.

Looking askance at Elias with a raised eyebrow, Subito replied carefully "...Okay then, I know some places that need help. Nothin' with good hours though. I mean, for a schedule like you've got El. Francesco's down on O'Donnel St., they always need new hires, and of course there's always Go-Mart" he smiled wryly "I work at one of their places m'self. They must go through like a zillion people a year city-wide. I'd be pretty amazed if nobody at school's worked at a Go-Mart at least once. You know...uh...that girl..." the young Puerto Rican frowned and regarded the sky for a few moments, deep in the struggles of trying to remember something, his face clearing as he snapped his fingers and turned excitedly back to the reserved New Freedonian "Milla! You know that girl who has that Super-Ethics class with you? Black, long hair, wears Hawaiian shirts, always looks a little grumpy? Yeah, she told me once that she's got, like, voodoo powers or somethin', and anyway, she works at one of the places I do, that Go-Mart down in Bayview near the Mall. I think Paula from chem does too, but she changes what she looks like so often, I got no idea what to look for." The powerfully-built teenager smiled in triumph before his expression shifted to nervous embarrassment "Uh...sorry El, got sidetracked. So those places are pretty safe bets, if you're okay with takin' kinda crappy hours. There's also a couple Harvest markets you could apply to, the in Southside has had some problems with gang violence near the store though." he hunched up his shoulders and trudged on for a few more feet, suddenly darting his head up to look eagerly back over at the other boy "Hey! You know, that could be a good place to learn how to use your powers more subtly, right? Those guys in the gangs, they ain't like metal man, they'll listen to reason and stuff."

In Caer Dathyl, the agents were warmly welcomed, and praised for the success of the mission. Even the Taid was openly happy at such a total victory, and listened with relish to Blodeuwedd's report of her part in it. Her instructors were relieved that her training had stood her in such good stead, and that a relatively simple case such as this had been her first assignment. Her business done, equipment gathered and ready to go, Blodeuwedd was met by Medraut on the way out of the ancient fortress. "Agent" he said crisply "the Taid and other masters of the Order had conferred, and have decided they could use a power like Mr. Sondo for future missions. If at all possible, please do your best to invite him to assist you on future tasks you might be on for Claremont, especially if they involve magical threats. Telling him snippets about our more glorious battles against evil would also not go amiss. It's quite possible he might develop feelings for you, in which case gentle encouragement might be in order, as such a development could net us a valuable asset with minimal cost. As always, use your discretion. Good luck, agent" he added with a quick smile "the gateway will open shortly after you two meet." Blodeuwedd met her schoolmate a stand of trees a little ways from the restaurant, the leaves already turning yellow in the slowly dipping sun. He was leaning against one of the tree trunks, whistling a song he had learned a short while ago, and hearing Cerys' step he leaped into action, bounding up to her and telling her excitedly "Hey Blodeu! I've been all over this place, it's awesome! Met a bunch of new folks, helped fix a wall this guy was havin' problems with, picked up some sweet new words, it was a blast. Thanks for taking me along Cerys." the muscular boy added with a beaming smile, giving her a warm hug. Separating with a laugh, he asked eagerly "So, we goin' back to Claremont? Ooh!" his hazel eyes lit up "Are we doing that teleport thingy?!"

Subito looked utterly thrilled at the idea. "Really? Awesome! I've never been t'Wales before, this'll be great! I bet I could meet loads of people-wait." a sudden look of unease crept over his face as he turned to supervisor Medraut "Uh, sir? Just makin' sure, but folks around here can speak English, right? I can understand pretty much every language ever, 'cause of my powers" he added with a grin "but if I can't speak Welsh, then-" "Then you will be no worse off, Mr. Sondo" the dapper man replied with an unchanged smile, though Blodeuwedd saw a quick flicker of irritationa s he briefly explained "Thanks to several hundred years of English rule and their educational system, us in this remote territory have picked up a passable understanding of the mother tongue. You will be at no loss if you speak English, or even Latin, which I understand you have a command of. Commendable, if I may say, it is a rare study for one of your years." Medraut said more warmly, seeming at least a little pleased at the chance to put a minor bit of trivia from the young agent's reports to use. Whistling in quiet awe, Subito regarded the older man with admiration "Heh, thanks sir. It was my dad's idea and the priest was happy to teach it. Made sure to pretty much brand it into my mind! I gotta make sure I ask Blodeu to teach me Welsh when we get back t'America. Be good to know what all these names I keep hearing really mean!" he added, glancing at his schoolmate with a bright smile. One thing that his translation powers didn't cover, as he'd told the lithe swordswoman before, was names. Obliterating a benign smirk, Medraut turned to the young agent "You are quite free to drop by HQ to pick your gear, Blodeuwedd. Everything is in order. Seeing as time is no longer a factor" he clapped his hands together as he turned his eyes to the clear skies around them "I will drive us back! It's just up and over the hill," he added for Subito's benefit "As you are not truly one of us, Mr. Sondo, I am afraid I cannot furnish the precise address. Now then, servants of the Order, let us give thanks for our victory and to the ones who ensured it, and return to fair Caer Dathyl!" The other agents gave a polite and subdued cheer, and soon the guardians of humanity were on their way back to the stronghold of the Amddyffnwr. The drive through Welsh countryside in the early fall was, as might be imagined, quite pleasant. After arranging to meet him at one of the eateries the town sported, Medraut dropped off Subito at the village, where he quickly did his level best to befriend at least half its population in one hour, the young paragon cheerfully losing himself in the pleasures of touring the place.

DC25 Sense-Motive roll: 14! She is fooled. Now, this has gone on for a while, so Scuffles if you want you can just narrate knocking Rapids out, though if you'd prefer to beat her by rolls go right ahead. Both of you are going to be getting HPs soon, so don't be shy about re-rolling.

That does indeed miss. Acrobatics roll: 32. She is confused as anything. Flat-Footed. Dazed, so no actions for Rapidsfire. Warp is up!