Ari

Edited to remove that idiotic error.

Marceau stared down at the mutated extraterrestrials "I am not prepared for something like this" Tapping the button on the Bluetooth headset he called Catalyst "We have something new on our hands. It seems the three people you shot up here were in fact Grue. They injected themselves with..something, at various places on their torsos and arms. These phials of liquid they have in their backpacks might be what they injected" Taking one of the spirals up to examine it he added "They were lightly equipped, only a single sidearm each, though they were carrying an unbelievable number of bullets." Standing up he took out a few cards, testing their flex as he spoke "I will wrap them up, handcuff them and deposit them with the other thieves we caught. I'll take some samples from them and see if they're unlike the other Grue we have encountered. For however much that helps us." Taking a few small scrapings and taking a few drops of blood from each of them he neatly 'cuffed each of the mysterious aliens, wrapping them in flexible strips of metal before lowering them down one by one with the grapple gun and turning his attention to the silenced jackhammer. A few minutes of examination proved it was there. Slinging it over his shoulder he returned to the skyscraper's roof. Tossing it onto the concrete platform he shrugged to Catalyst "Your thoughts, madame?"

GM A furious scowl crossed the hulking man's face, and with a broken snarl he turned to the other Crusaders, barking "C'mon! After her! Let's show her what happens when you try and screw with the Crusaders!" before charging after Tenebrous with thundering footsteps that shook the floor, followed by the massive rush of other racists that filled the otherwise quietly decaying building in a riot of shouts and hollered abuse slung after Tenebrous as they spilled out the door into the alleyway, drawing knives and guns as they launched into the alleyway. The first ones who hurtled into the rune realized their peril too late as the fog exploded into being around them, rolling in from seemingly nowhere, and they were carried by the tide of the other racists straight into the traps. They almost instantly stumbled into the tripwires, falling down in roaring, flailing heaps before the gas mines and small explosives went off, sending them flying and crashing into the alley walls and against each others' heads, the plaster falling off in slabs off the walls and raining down on those who didn't manage to roll out of the way, staggering into the erupting clouds of gas that left them to stumble for a few feet before collapsing. Only two of them escaped, and that was by being last in line. The gigantic men had managed to withstand the assault, mainly by standing perfectly still once the chaos began. One, sounding like the man who had spoken to Tenebrous shouted out furiously "Come on out and fight, you muddy-skinned cowards! We'll send you crawlin' back to your holes in Lincoln or West End or wherever the Hell you're from!"

Going by Crow and King of Suit's sheets, we have Snare tripwires, triggered Dazzle and area Blasts along with the Obscure. So that blinds all of the Super-MAX guys along with the regular Crusaders. So 28(minus the Super-MAXers, 1 Hero Point each) DC19 Reflex rolls, DC15 Fortitude and DC15 Toughness. Reflex All but 6 fail that. Their Fortitude rolls: All but 9 of them fail that. Toughness rolls: All but 2 of the ones who made that failed this one. So we have 2 remaining regular Crusaders and eight Super-MAX Crusaders. Roll Initiative! The other two regular Crusaders' roll: 12. the Super-MAX Crusaders' roll: 13. King of Suits' roll: 19.

Super-Bulk's Will save: 11. Failed. He makes chase, along with the others.

The edge of my seat is now a charred pile. Round 2: Asad: Unharmed, 3HP Gabriel: Unharmed, 6HP Guards(x4): Unharmed-GM Starlight: Unharmed, 4HP Silver Spider: Unharmed, 2HP Young Britannia: Unharmed, 2HP Go for it Asad. EDIT: Nothing was changed. I made no mistakes. Ignore the ones there that aren't there.

Sliding to a halt in the air above El Sierpe's lair, El Heraldo floated in the midst of a glowing golden flag-shaped fog, certain that he was all but invisible to those below. Examining the vehicles, Subito quickly arrived at his decision. "That's a perfect idea. You make sure he can't go anywhere with that that helicopter, I'll go mess up trying to keep him from using those cars. I can withstand most bullets, and I am sure you can too. Unless they make guns in this age that can penetrate your forcefields I'm sure you have nothing to fear, and as you're here nothing for either of us to worry about!" clapping her on the shoulder he soared down towards the parking lot, a blazing streak of yellow that slammed into the parking lot, energetically flipping cars upside down and removing their tires with abandon, shouting "El Sierpe! Your time has come!"

Strength roll against Snare saboteur then: 18.

GM They turned out to not be wearing not much else but those two articles of clothing and a pair of pants, the removal of their hats alone quickly revealed almost featureless red mouthless heads with pricked ears and glazed-over green eyes, unmistakable as members of the hated alien Grue Unity who had attempted to pry the Earth from the grasp of humans time and again throughout the 20th Century. Their invasions in 2003 and most fearsomely in 2010 still bitterly remembered by the city's inhabitants. In contrast to the smooth uniformity of all drones seen before, however, these ones were warped and twisted around the arms and back. They had their muscles and what looked like their skeleton bent and curved in ways even the protean aliens couldn't normally do. On their unconscious bodies were small packs that were mostly empty save for narrow phials filled with bluish liquid. Patient searching of their clothes turned up three small oddities: metal spirals studded with buttons hidden deep in a twisting maze of false pockets, along with several hundred rounds of 10mm ammunition hidden throughout their clothes.

Taking 10 on Search and Investigate for results of 26. Which nets the following: they're Grue, though badly mutated on the arms and backs with injection marks near spots of most dire warping of the flesh. They have several containers of a dull bluish liquid in backpacks that are mostly empty, and small spiral-shaped metal devices covered with buttons concealed in their pants pockets. Each of them has a small automatic handgun with several hundred bullets in their coats.

A polite quiet greeted her explanation, the King of Suits blinking a few times before saying "Shot your pellets...understood, Catalyst. I'll go take a look at them. Again, thank you for this." he bowed to her slightly before throwing himself cheerfully off the roof and firing his grapple gun at the roof of the Suzerain laboratory, which latched onto the edge of the other structure with a harsh clack, zipping up and onto the platform with a swirl of his cape. Taking out a small magnifying glass and a few plastic bags, he went looking for the three bodies, upon finding each one he knelt and carefully examined them, removing their coats and hats.

GM It took a bit of a struggle, the Afanc rolling around in the water and flailing with all its stubby legs and thrashing with its tail, but at last it weakened and grew more pliable, its movements at last stopping while its labored breathing pushed gusts of water through its gills. It resisted only feebly as it was dragged towards the shore, the brief fight seeming to have knocked most of the spirit out of it. The tremendous splashes in the lake stopped, turning into the slow v-shape of something traveling with great speed under the water, the young paragon heading for shore. He was halfway back when the ship rose out of the water below him, a sleek white barge holding several Fey holding spears in their hands and wearing decorative armor standing before a richly ornamented throne on which was seated a narrow-faced woman with deep blue robes, who glanced imperiously at Heraldo and the Afanc lying in great confusion on the deck, streaming lake water over the cool white wood. At a nod from her, one of the armored Fey stepped forward and, holding her spear over the soaked duo spoke something in a voice that rang out through the still air. With a flash of light, the two disappeared from view. There was silence among the Order before Nisien spoke <"I could bring that ship over. Let me-"> <"That will not be necessary, I think"> Medraut interrupted quietly <"They are coming here"> indeed, the barge was sailing over towards the shore the Order agents were standing on among the trees. The long oars glinted with gold and gems, sweeping deeply into the lake and propelling the ship serenely along. The laughter had stopped as well.

'Which war am I referring to-? Oh! Right, they weren't allowed in the Korean or Vietnam wars either. Guh, why do I have to be all ignorant and dumb in front of him like this...' "The second World War" he clarified hastily "Something went wrong on their first mission, I think, and they were kept at home partially because of what might happen if they were captured and partially because they kept the peace at home?" He glanced at the book, then looked back up abruptly "By the way..something I've wondered. What do you mean by 'proactive' and 'reactive'? Going out and looking for people plotting to do evil and stopping crimes as they happen?"

Feel free to make a Notice check while wearing the Chessboard! STR check to drag the Afanc back to shore: 29! Opposed roll: 20! He proceeds back towards the shore when Bad Things occur(3HP).

The blow to his side nearly overpowered Heraldo, and for a horrible moment his vision dimmed...but with a flare of gold and a rallying shout that rang through the water, he repelled the attack, kicking aside the weighty tail before launching at the thing's pale underbelly. "Gragh! Hold still, buddy, just need to get my arms around you..." he muttered, nearly missing the surprisingly elusive beast entirely before changing course at the last moment and wrapping his powerful arms and legs around the Afanc's sides, clasping his hands together and crossing his legs behind its back, gritting his teeth and letting a slow stream of bubbles from his mouth as he flexed his strong young muscles to keep the hideous monster from escaping him. This close to the Afanc he could hear it's pounding heart and the catch of its breathing, the creak of its skin and the rush of its blood. Sensing the attempt to escape just before it began El Heraldo nimbly shifted his grip, sliding closer and closer against it and nearer and nearer its wide-eyed head and growling mouth, hugging it tighter and tighter, his red-gloved hands catching at the gaps in its iron scales and his boots holding him snugly to its belly. "You..will not...escape me" he forced out from his mouth, preparing for the long haul back to shore with his mythical prisoner...

GM The noise-carrying properties of water are well-known, this and the young paragon's powerful hearing soon detected the oncoming rush of the Afanc, which revealed itself with a deep-throated growl before rushing around him in a current of steely muscles and hard scales surmounted with a glimpse of a monstrous beaver's head. Taking a moment to observe its challenger, it eyed him for a few seconds and then swung its tail with terrific force against the boy's mantled skin, seeking to break the bones that lay underneath it! Blodeuwedd was the first to notice it, but soon the other agents of the Order could hear it too: a silvery laugh that echoed up from the lake when a sudden explosion seemed to go off in the deep water, caught and echoed by other voices around the group. Medraut looked up from the small page he was reading with a look of dread. He quickly smoothed it away into a placid cheeriness, saying <"Well! It looks like the Twylyth Teg have less faith in your friend than we do. I look forward to their surprise"> he added with a shaky smile, but he glanced back to the roiling patch of water ever few seconds all the same.

"You are on the brink of defeat, O Fin of the Leviathan" Wave-Eye called out "yet you need not suffer this ignominy! I will carry you beyond these waters, out to sea where we shall sink you into the element and return this part to your greater self. Only let me do this" so saying he put his harsh lips once more to the fluting mouth of the conch, he blew a great note upon it that caused once again the thin red bands to gush from the wider mouth and swirl around the impromptu iceberg, trying to catch hold of it with the water that surrounded that fraction of the Terror of the Deeps and its frozen prison.

Hunting time! The Afanc's Stealth roll to get the drop on Heraldo: 7. Suitable. Heraldo's Notice roll: 18! So Heraldo is not Flat-Footed when combat begins! Now for initiative: Heraldo: 9. Afanc: 17. First action of the creature will be, as makes sense, attacking Heraldo with its tail: 18. Hits. DC23 TOU save: 13. Fantastic. Rerolling(3HP): With the reroll, 27. Grapple attempt: 16. Misses. Rerolling(This makes for great television, I'm sure, 2HP): 25 with +10 bonus. Hits. Grapple roll: 39. The Afanc's attempt to escape: 26. Failed by 13. Bound and Helpless!

According to discussion in Chat, Aoiroo's running this now.

The reminder that their peril came also from the nearby army of Avians gave the powerfully-built young man pause. "...Oh yeah. I hadn't thought of those guys. This is pretty bad" Subito commented, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously as he moved to follow Lord Steam, halting at the hatchway to add "At least we'll be safe for a little bit, right? I mean, we can't make her mad enough to drop the hammer on us while havin' a drink?" he ducked out of the Cressida, wondering why he had the vague urge to offer his hand to Cerys when she came with them out the hatch. He distracted himself by looking with gleeful interest at their new surroundings, drinking in the awe-inspiring view around the young Puerto Rican.

That hits! DC22 TOU save: 15! They're down.

Using the Move Object power of the Conch to try for a grapple. Attack roll: 21. Grapple roll: 29. Huh.

Subito shrugged at Victoria's words "Still, that's pretty fine control. As for people attackin' me, there are plenty of other people there who could pretty easily outfight me or just attack my mind or somethin'. I'm pretty low on the super-danger scale" He laughed heartily at that, looking with an unhidden smile at Serge and his wordiness. "I'm with Vick there, a good advertising gig for the school couldn't hurt!" Rodrigo pursed his lips, tightly chewing his food. The meal soon drew to a close after only a few minutes, the Sondos clearing away the food and drink and cleaning the dishes with surprising dexterity and speed, and soon the kitchen sparkled. Leading Victoria and Serge into a small living room dominated by a truly imposing bookshelf with a several dozen inch television taking up a subdued position below a groaning rack of Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. Seating the two other Claremonters on a well-cushioned couch, the others of the family got settled among the various chairs stuck at seeming random throughout the room. "So, what d'you guys want to do?" Galanta asked the pair "We've got about a closetfull of board games, a whole bunch of movies and one of the better parks in Lincoln nearby."

Releasing the man when he realized how little threat he was to the pair Subito nonetheless kept a hand on the ragged man's shoulder, taking up position to keep a lookout. He couldn't speak the language and find out what was wrong with this guy, but he could at least make sure nobody snuck up on them. He closed his eyes, focusing on the sounds around them, the decibels of the voices striking his eardrums almost painfully.

Subito's eyes lit up at Medraut's words, he turned to where he could sense the distant sounds were coming from, gripping his shirt with one hand as he took a deep breath 'It's time! Oh Dame, I call on you-' Then Cerys kissed him. There was a brief stillness as the strongly-built teen processed what had happened, standing half-tensed and barefoot in the lake, leaning slightly forward '-you..on your. Okay, now I can't fail for real. O Blue Dame? Yes Subito?' raising his right hand he said aloud "I ask for your power, O Dama Azul de la Puerto Rico" 'It is granted! Go forth, my Herald!' with a flash of light the Banner of Victory appeared in his outstretched right hand. under his left his clothes rippled, flew to pieces and reassembled as the dashing and colourful costume of El Heraldo! Turning back to Cerys he smiled at her from the cloth mask, saying "My thanks, Blodeu. I will come back with the lake monster, and to return your kind favor" he said with a wink, saluting her before turning back to and darting under the water with his luminous golden fog. He soared through the dark lake, eyes and ears alert for his quarry, and empowered muscles ready to wrestle with the beast to its defeat!