Ari

Let's see how this goes. DC28 Toughness save: 20, he's out! Trasher knows nought of your legitimate business malarkey, and will try and Grapple Gabriel, Accurate-Attacking (+-2) 31, a Critical hit, opposed Grapple check DC is increased by 5, Grapple roll: 27. +5 is 32. Combine waxes wordy and punches at Wave-Eye: 23. That hits, DC25 Toughness save for him: 11. Rerolling(0HP): 23. Another Bruise. Round 6. Rubber Burner: Unharmed-GM Wave-Eye: Bruise(x2), 0HP Gabriel: Unharmed, 2HP Trasher: Bruise(x1), Injured(x1)-GM Combine: Bruise(x1)-GM Rubber Burner will attack Gabriel after the Grapple check is finished. Attack roll: 24, hits. DC23+Autofire 1, 10 greater than his Grapple-lowered Defence, makes that a DC28 Toughness save. Wave-Eye will make an Attack attempt on Combine with the Conch. Attack roll 27. Hits, DC27 Toughness for him: 18, Staggered and Dazed. Wave-Eye sets a Reaction to Interpose the next attack aimed at Gabriel.

Sorry, didn't note that she was Dazed for some reason.

Anything by Sienkiewicz. He writes long, and he writes well. Especially his major works like his Trilogy, detailing a rather..tumultuous period in Polish history. If you don't have most or all of the Astro City collections already, those are of course tremendously good reads. Dry, but engrossing, the Titus books by Mervyn Peake are astounding. The man was a master of the English language. They're definitely not fast-paced though.

Will save roll: 18.

GM The Queen smiled "Of course!" came the instant reply, and turning to her left she said crisply "Chains, sleep." at which the links slid out of the narrow collars, falling to the ground with soft clinks. "He may be free for half of an hour, then the chains will awaken and seek him out, wherever he is, and bring him back. Do not take too far" the Queen added brightly, nodding graciously at the other two humans before turning on her well-shod heel and exiting the room through a small portal made from amber, a silent train of attendants following her as they left their hiding places, one stepping out with a laugh from behind Cigfa, apparently having been hidden by nothing but thin air. Nisien glanced around the now nearly vacant throne room, obviously itching to use magic and try to figure out if any had stayed behind to watch them. Parsley tapped him on the shoulder, smiled at the trio and quietly beckoned them to follow as he ran on tip-toe out the main brass door.

Marceau nearly smacked himself when he saw Crusader hauling their charge to safety. He had not even considered just carrying the man into a secluded and easily-defended hiding place. With a brisk sigh he glanced around the other corner of his sheltering boxcar, noting his enemy's vast arsenal of firearms with displeasure. Whipping another King of Hearts from his deck, he extended his opposite arm and sighted down it for a single moment before letting fly, the card slicing through the night, unraveling into coils of steel...that were deflected at the last moment by the barely lucid gunwoman, still holding her side in pain. "This is going to take a moment" he muttered to himself, readying another card with a flick of his wrist.

GM The shield struck home, the previously aloof and mysterious figure staggering backwards from the force of it, stumbling to the gro- The shield struck home, the previously aloof figure just barely managing to cushion themselves from its full force, stumbling backwards and clearly disoriented. They briefly wandered through a small pool of light, revealing a vaguely feminine person wrapped from head to foot in grey and dark blue spandex, with small black lenses over their eyes and a cutout for their lower nose and mouth. They were...plentifully supplied with guns, none of which looked even remotely like the kind of weapons used by normal people.

DC24 Toughness save: 11. Fiating a reroll(1HP for Crusader, leaving him with 2Hero Points): 17. Alright. Bruised and Dazed. Round 2. King of Suits: Unharmed, 2HP Crusader: Unharmed, 2HP Gunroll: Bruise(x1), Dazed-GM King of Suits will make with the coil cards again: ...32, Critical hit, making the Reflex save 24 rather than 19. DC24 Reflex save: 24! Crusader is up again.

Can El Heraldo transform, grab Lord Steam and Blodeuwedd, then carry them both to the Cressida?

Marceau would have been swayed to help the man by a story significantly less horrible. If this 'Dr. Green' had decided to start up such a complex scheme to get back at the duo, then clearly he was a man of considerable resources. Not everyone could make such a beast on demand like that. "We'll keep you safe" he assured the man gently as he fell unconscious, checking his gear to make sure it was in working order;if this was the agent charged with making sure that the mighty brute didn't spill Green's secret's he wanted to be prepared. The King of Suits gave a quick salute to Crusader with his gloved forefinger, dashing off across the graveled yard to take cover as the steps got closer. When he caught a glimpse of the silhouette of what looked like a walking castle in miniature, he threw a flash-gas card at it, muttering angrily as it was expertly batted aside by their adversary, exploding in a flare of light and a small cloud of noxious gas several metres behind them.

Alright, so round 1: King of Suits: Unharmed, 2HP Crusader: Unharmed, 1HP Gunroll: Unharmed-GM Move action to get to cover, throwing a Dazzle card Gunroll: 14, miss. EDIT: Wait, actually Gunroll is flat-footed due to not having taken action. That's a hit. DC19 Reflex save: 22. Well then. Crusader is up.

Alright, their Initiative: 13. Kingy's roll: 26.

GM Arcturus The prince's uncle made no objection to their departure, giving his nephew a nearly excessively emotional farewell and giving directions for which of the paths outside his tower would lead to the (long abandoned) landing site his father would soon arrive at. He took a moment to murmur in Marcus' ear as they stepped out the door over the still-sleeping lizard "Apologies for his rudeness, he's been taught all his life that he might as well be the king already, adopting the imperial plural even at his young age" he shook his head, waving a cheery good-bye until they walked out of sight. Rounding the bend, the world around Arcturus froze, and as he stepped through the same door he had entered, which vanished behind him, Archer's voice rang out over the intercom "Good work, Marcus! Only Serge and Subito left, and they're just about done! Make use of our generous appliances if you need to get cleaned or patched up, there's a viewing screen in the lobby if you want to watch 'em conclude their sessions." El Heraldo Strongarm paused visibly, his grip relaxing on the patriotic paragon's leg. Glancing from the boy to the drop below and back again, he reluctantly stepped back from the edge, dropping Heraldo in a colorful heap on the roof, folding his arms over his chest and staring coldly down at his would-be opponent. "I get what you mean. You make a good point, I would have a lot less to worry about if I became a public guardian and such. But that doesn't mean I'd actually get anything out of it. Super-strong guys who can fly? We're a dime a dozen, the scientists can pretty much mass-produce us by now in the form of robots, if I was going to be much help, it'd have to be in some middle-of-nowhere town that doesn't have anyone else. In the super-crime business? We're a lot more valued, everyone needs some flying muscle to back them up." he looked challengingly at Heraldo "Go ahead, convince me I'm wrong." Net Fly With a smooth whoosh of metal on wheels, the doors of the hanger bay opened, and Net Fly beheld hundreds upon hundreds of quiet, marching machines bearing down on him, arms raised and chests opened to reveal tremendous blasters inside, their glowing eyes fixed on his final refuge!

"I meant alien as in 'not yours', which I guess is a pretty weird way to use the word" Subito admitted, feeling more than a little awkward. Apparently his own experience with the melding of minds wasn't nearly as close to Elias' as he'd hoped it to be. Casting about for how to proceed, he decided 'Elias, can I ask you what it's like to remember totally random thoughts from other people, and not be able to get rid of 'em?' Aloud he said "Glad to hear you say that it's not quite so bad as it was, partner! Keep it up, and you'll only sort of make folks wonder if you were born to space aliens" he said with a broad grin. He began to set off at a slow saunter, glancing casually around at the very familiar and much-loved storefronts, most of them bringing slightly dulled memories of hard work for little pay, though there wasn't so much as a trace of resentment about that. In fact he was almost fond of the places with their often dimming or flickering neon signs, clusters of jittery and unnerving Freedonians huddled in their shadow, the faint smell of decay and soft air of disrepute almost made him favor them the more. "My family lives just a couple of miles west of here," he commented idly "there wasn't much work to be had in Lincoln, so me and Galanta, once we were big enough to pass for it, started doing jobs around Southside that we could find. Most of 'em weren't anything I'd like to do for any length of time, but it was always better'n nothing...hey El," he asked abruptly, sliding with all care around a small family talking loudly and laughingly amongst each other "what d'you mean, you've got context? Could you not parse thoughts as well when you showed up on that roof?"

GM The effect was immediate, the Grue apparently having been lulled into letting its guard down entirely, blinking in momentary terror before a mouth opened up on its face and it spoke desperately, its voice breathy and wheezing, the voice of an invalid. "Grah! I-It was the Hunter! Our renegade sibling! H-hraaach" he coughed and hacked, nearly toppling off of the chair it was sitting on as it was wracked with the spasms of its poisoning. At length it recovered slowly, going on to say "I and the other two..he caught us in Russia, said he would destroy an enemy he has in this city through our labor. He cures us, bit by bit as we bring him materials to make his weapon!" its blank malachite eyes peering up at the King of Suits imploringly "We did not want to help him, but he would surely kill us if he learns that we betrayed him..." it gripped its head in both hands helplessly "...and he will know we have not returned this time." The staff outside the interrogation booth glanced at each other, many an eyebrow raised at this unusually emotional confession from one of the famously impassive Grue. The security chief tapped a button on his radio, muttering just loud enough that Catalyst heard it "Hey, Stacy? I want twenty more folks on the lower floors. We have a potential intruder problem."

Sitting at ease in his own superbly-constructed plastic chair, the King of Suits smiled winningly at the alien for a few minutes, then dropped his eyes to his feet, apparently more interested in the dull shine of his beaten and battered boots than in the Grue he had been so eager to question. Waiting for the green-eyed alien to drop their guard ever so slightly, he suddenly leaped forward, placed a hand on either of the captive's red shoulders, shuddering slightly at the sensation of touching its clammy and leatheren hide, and said very loudly and firmly "Who did this to you, and why? Tell me instantly! If not, they'll poison others, steal more, and terrorize the innocent unchecked!" he released his pincer-like grip, glaring down at the protean creature.

Alright, questioning time. KoS Intimidate roll: 14! Just as planned. Grue, using the Metamorph sheet from the setting book, 5. NOT as planned. He reveals what is asked of him.

Around 1200ft., give or take.

GM The device three was surprisingly difficult to determine from the outside, its function well hidden behind the facade of polished steel that glinted in the cloudy day. What could be easily discovered, however, was how to make it stop working. A small series of screws on the side alluding to a possible avenue for detachment, and the soft tremor of electricity felt through them suggested following it would lead to dismantlement, at least for the power source that generated that field of sickening blue. The horse-turned-humans perked up at the sound of a voice they understood, many of them whickering hopefully as they trotted up to Rabbit. <"What's going on?!"> asked one of them, a bulky palomino, as he all but galloped up to her, eyes wide and rolling and ears flat against his head in terror <"What's happened?"> <"Maybe we've been returned to our true forms!"> suggested a roan, who was all but bouncing around on her hooves <"I always thought I was more of horse than a-wait, Liberty Park?"> she asked suddenly, turning to Rabbit <"I don't know, shouldn't we help find that Transformer guy?"> The sight that met Jubatus' eyes was outlandish, but well within the limits of reason and purpose for the city. It wasn't the first time a large number of people had been turned into animals by a gaudy, thick-headed whackjob(as the Transmogrifier was being called by many a Freedonian disgruntled by the block on their daily commute), and odds were it would not be the last. A lumbering cheetah paced slowly past him, clearly trying to figure out how this quadruped thing worked, the look on her face one of great anxiety. Seeing a fellow big cat she growled tentatively at him.

Starting as the darts of flame soared past him, Wave-Eye fought back the sudden burst of panic that had welled up in him, hurriedly returning his focus to the battle at hand. He didn't see that the Wreckers had much chance, the Christian in white armor was dealing with them quite easily, to the point where he wondered briefly if it would have changed much if he hadn't been there...tossing that aside as well, he hurled himself with a guttural shout of "Harken, man of flesh and iron!" as he slammed into the suited and soaked form of Combine, punching him squarely in the jaw with a spined fist! His enemy reacted well to the punch, going along with it and just managing to ease the damage to his face by turning it to hardened iron.

Ruling that in this case it is exempt from the usual -5 penalty.

"Oh yeah! I thought you meant like God or other gods doin' that, not lesser spirits like demons or angels." Subito explained, nodding vigorously at the mention of Legion. "I'm not too sure about other religions, but I bet there's something similar in at least a few of 'em." The chastising look John leveled at him was exactly the kind of glance he had been getting for years from his sister and cousin, and as a result he was rather inured to the 'steely eyes of disapproval' technique. He shrugged casually at the clone hero's warnings "I'm going to do a lot of that, John! It'd be kind of dumb to go all the way back home, fly up that mountain and find out trying to connect fully with her makes my head explode or somethin'. You've really put all this in a new light! There's stuff to work out, and a lot of it I'll probably never really understand, but if I can find out who that Knight was, and why she won't tell me about it, I'll be happy!" he beamed enthusiasm at his schoolmate, patting him heartily and reassuringly on the back with a powerful arm as he turned his attention back to the hefty book, frowning suddenly "Hm. You know any..well, what I'd call wizards or something that live around here? I'd probably need a few tips on connecting to the higher spirit or whatever I'll need to do."

GM With stunning alacrity the smoking man in the motorcycle leathers jumped to his feet, and still in a blur from the movement, with a flare of dark red light, a hail of fireballs spat from his arms and legs, heading straight for Gabriel! Much to his dismay, they were each dodged with ease by his target, slamming into the walls and dispersing by some miracle into large stains of soot on the wall. With a flurry of curses he dashed straight for the white-clad champion, muscles tensing as he dashed to leap to the side that needed evading into as he raced forward!

Round 5! Rubber Burner: Unharmed-GM Wave-Eye: Bruise(x1), 1HP Gabriel: Unharmed, 2HP Trasher: Bruise(x1), Injured(x1)-GM Combine: Bruise(x1)-GM Blackout: Bruise(x3), Dazed, Staggered-GM Rubber Burner will shoot fireballs at Gabriel: 19, miss. Moving next to Gabriel. Wave-Eye will punch at Combine: 26. Hits. DC23 Toughness save: 22. Bruised again. Gabriel's up.

Using the Luck Controller with a Gun for our new challenger.