Ari

Inspecting the picture of the Llyn Brenig afanc with great curiosity, Subito's eyes widened as he realized what he was looking at. 'Holy...that thing must be big!' 'Be not disheartened. Many things larger than you are weaker than you.' He nodded for no obvious reason, glanced around nervously in case anyone had seen, and turned hurriedly back to the generous and healthy meal before him while the talk resumed. Sipping experimentally at a glass of fruit juice(which was accurately named, no single fruit was represented in it), Subito listened with quick ears to the conversation brewing around him, growing more and more interested as he heard what Branwen said, pausing with a slice of apple pie halfway to his mouth when she said Without hesitation he turned to the woman, saying eagerly "Hey, uh..with my powers, I can go underwater without drowning! I-I'm pretty strong too, I could go in there and get you the afanc, and then you guys could calm it down or cage it until these fairy guys are dealt with!" He looked excitedly at Blodeuwedd "What d'you think Blodeu? Could I?"

GM Sliding away from the grateful Freedonians, Blue Jay saw a hole torn in a nearby hedge. and the trail of light shoe-sole prints led on a twisting way under the trees that ringed the Riverside Park. It led on for several minutes of tracking, ending abruptly on a small clearing with a faint smell of smoke trailing from the exact center. All around the clearing were scorched patches of soil, leading from and then towards the sluggish South River. There were no other signs. Meanwhile, the crowd turned their attention fully to Riff, calling up to him, asking him to descend for autographs, handshakes and other thanks.

She finds a small hole in a low hedge where someone stepped through it, and following the slight indents in the soil leads to a circle of small trees, where she finds a smoking patch on the ground and burned footsteps all around it, charred streaks in the grass leading towards the river.

'Oh.' With great speed the King of Suits assessed where the Redcaps were coming from, gauged how close they would get in the next few seconds(which was definitely not easy for him), and reached a decision. Grabbing a smoke grenade from his utility belt he pulled the pin, tossed it on the ground and adopted a dramatic pose as it curled around him, arms crossed across his narrow chest, which was puffed out to an imposing extent. "Come at me! With all your strength!" he shouted as the smoke swallowed him from view. As he vanished, he quickly turned and dashed deeper into the smoke, sliding a gas mask over his mouth and preparing to fight, drawing out razor cards as he ran.

GM "Don't trip any of my assistants, Mr. Wave-Eye" the owner of the Double Decker called after the retreating bulk lightly. An edge of unease crept into Mrs. Scallop's voice as she answered "Oh, you told Morris to do that? A shame, that will take a while to clear up" she now looked fully at the wall to her right, taking one of the orders from the sheet and beginning to write on it rapidly with a pen as she spoke "Best thing to do would be to just come clean about it. I'll tell them about how it happened, and if they can do it they're welcome to try and catch the Wreckers, though I dare say by now they're getting close to the state border" she held up the sheet, on which was written Four of them on the other side. She looked pleadingly at Gabriel as she went on blandly "Will that do?"

GM Pawn didn't have time to utter a sound before he exploded as the otherwise invisible wave struck him, falling apart into an inchoate puddle of water, with his clothes floating atop it. There was a stunned silence, then riotous applause as the crowd surged forward to congratulate the two crime fighters on their victory, several dozen arms and hands reaching out to thank them, calling up to ask Riff to come down... With a snap of light and noise, a burly man wearing a towering stovepipe top hat and evening dress that hadn't been fashionable in years appeared between them. He glanced over his mustache at Blue Jay, muttered something displeased about "Young'uns these days", took off his hat and tossed it into the puddle of water flowing towards the storm drain. Before all of their eyes the water stopped moving, then flung itself by the gallon into the hat, the clothes along with it! When the last drop was gone the man turned, took the hat from where it had been lying, bowed to the heroes and snapped his fingers, vanishing from sight with another crack.

That hits. DC27 TOU save: 25. Unconscious! Fiating that he escapes capture, Blue Jay and Riff both get a HP! Out of rounds!

GM The arrows tore into Pawn, splashing out of him in gouts of water and leaving a significant portion of his body flailing on the ground, slowly flowing back into the now-battered form of the watery duplicator as he slowly knit himself back together. He collapsed partly to the ground, obviously in no condition to fight for much longer...

GM The crowd cheered lustily as Riff soared off to deal with the brawl going on just past the gates, settling down only a few decibels to enjoy the rest of the band's instrumental. At his arrival there was momentary uncertainty among the small circle of Freedonians watching the fight from a respectful distance which side he was on, but when the hammer of sound coming from Riff slammed into Pawn they applauded eagerly, stepping back further to give more space. Shaking like jelly at the attack, the blond man looked reproachfully up at Warren "Do you mind? I'm busy fighting her." he pointed to where he had seen Blue Jay retreat "Wait your turn, boy!" he added, his elongated arms whipping around like they had minds of their own, soaring at the Guitar Genius with outstretched and grotesquely-warped hands curling to grab him out of the air...and colliding solidly with a roiling wave of sound bursting from Riff that tore the watery limbs apart, sending them splashing to the ground! "Well...hm." Pawn said mildly, staring at his arms as they slowly began reattaching to him with fluid motion "This is unexpected too." rang out the voice, sounding deeply relieved.

Sense Motive roll vs. DC23: 5! Falt-Footed. That hits, DC20+Autofire in this case making DC23 TOU save: 13! Staggered and Dazed! Round 4: Riff: Unharmed, 1HP Pawn: Bruise(x2), Staggered, Dazed-GM Blue Jay: Unharmed, 2HP

Elongation rank 2 cannot beat that. His arms fall briefly to pieces, and he spends the rest of the round putting them back together. Blue Jay is up!

DC27 TOU save: 24. A bruise! Using Elongation to try and grapple Riff. Attack roll: 26. Grapple roll: 37. Hm.

'Ah, of course that would be the case. Even a deal so simple as this is fraught with as much treachery as the interplay of the marine nations was' Wave-Eye thought sourly, saying aloud "I tire of this, I will wait outside. Let me know when you have done, Gabriel" he added to the sonic champion, giving him a light eyeroll in response to his implied smirk. 'Few times when such entrances are the choicest one can make.' He carried his vast bulk backwards out the doorway, stooping under the low wooden arch and, feeling the approach of footsteps, weaving easily around a passing harried officer worker, who gave him a startled look and dashed on by. With a snort he leaned against the wall, careful not to rest his full weight on it, in case it gave way. He waited for Gabriel's signal, closing his eyes and focusing on the pulses of sound vibrating through the floor and walls...

Gabriel hears three people breathing on the other side of the wall, leaning against it. The Celestial Voice her over handily.

GM Agent Branwen gave Blodeuwedd's question evident thought before replying <"I don't think it's too late Blodeuwedd. We would need someone who can search for it underwater though. That and we don't really have very much in the way of scuba gear."> she shrugged, tilting her bowler hat further back on her head <"If you could find some way of approaching the beast in its own domain, I'm sure you could find a way to calm it. Unless you want to emulate the girl who let it sleep in her lap and was crushed, that is!"> she added with a merry laugh. <"Don't be so flippant, Branwen"> chided one of the other agents, a younger version of the Supervisor with fine blond hair and bleak brown eyes <"Anyway, agent, I agree with most of what agent Branwen says, though I think it best to simply set a trap for the Otherworlders, get them to stop this foolishness by whatever bargains or threats need be made, and get back to our regular business."> He took a long sip of coffee, glancing with a dark look at the lake glittering far below the picnickers <"Many urgent matter shave been put aside for this rot."> Branwen rolled her eyes <"Nisien, Afancs waking up don't mean we'll all be here trying to get them back to sleep. This is just a brainstorming session, most of us will be here just a day or two, and you can get back to undoing your mazes or wood wheels or whatever it is you do"> she followed Nisien's gaze to the water <"Maybe it's being affected like this because it feels the change of the waters in its home? They're very sensitive things, I've read.">

Okay, ten Redcaps nearby see the transmogrification and attack. Their Initiative roll: 10. King of Suit's: 13. Standard action, blanket the area for 90ft. around himself in sound-muffling smoke. Move action to 40ft. from his original position. The Redcaps move into the fog, none of them close enough to reach him(all of them starting 40ft. from him.

GM Several of the Redcaps were in the middle of dashing to and fro getting the more flammable weapons and supplies to safety. The transformation took mere moments, and the King of Suit's breastplate did its job of drawing attention to him perfectly. Ten Redcaps scurrying past with arms laden with their long pikes stopped dead in their tracks, their faces opening in low howls of anger as they realized the betrayal, and tossing most of their bundles aside charged towards him!

Marceau was dashing away from a new blaze when he felt the change begin. Before his horrified eyes the squat Redcap that he had been disguised as warped and lengthened into his far more familiar costume and body, a red and black beacon in the roaring fires that was unmistakable as anything but what he was. He glanced over at the cage, trying to see what was going on, even as he fumbled with the weapons at his sides. He could hear the shouts of Fey all around him, and knew he would soon be discovered. 'Rene, my friend' he thought as he donned the gauntlets 'Let's hope this works, and that this Prince is true to his word!'

It seems like she's lying about the danger being over, and more than one part of her story. She doesn't appear very comfortable with the two in her office, and glances at the wall to her right frequently.

GM Mrs. Scallop's blase and unconcerned face underwent a significant change as Gabriel spoke, and she slowly put down the papers and looked more and more closely at the purely-dressed hero. When he concluded, there was a pregnant silence before she answered hesitantly. looking him over with great care. "Sir, I appreciate your offer to help, but I think you've gotten into this situation a little too quickly" tapping the button on her monitor that caused it to go dark, she folded her hands, put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on the knuckles, going on to say "You see, my late husband, Jason Scallop, got much of the money that started Double Decker from this gang of super-powered criminals back West, a gang called the 'Wreckers'. Not the most bright or pleasant bunch, but they managed to build up a concrete enough criminal empire stretching from Colorado to Mississippi. As you might expect, much of the money that this company makes has gone into paying off the rather horrific debts we-that Jason accrued. Only this month, ten years after the business started, have I finally managed to pay the final installment to the Wreckers. Jason killed himself five years ago, thinking that it would be impossible to ever make up the difference which reached to the tens of millions." She looked over at her window with a thoughtful expression "I would guess Morris heard the last few meetings and assumed the worst" she smiled pleasantly at the pair, leaning back from the desk and tapping the power button again "I assure you Gabriel, everything is now finished with. The Wreckers will likely not stick around to pick fights with a city like this and return to the Midwest, where I am sure there are plenty of other supers to deal with them." She nodded to the door "I appreciate your concern, but this time your gallantry and..Wave-Eye, was it? Your and Wave-Eye's is not required"

Wave-Eye had followed close behind Gabriel, creating a powerful and rather humorous contrast between the handsome, trim and white-clad sound controller and the hulking red-scaled monster wearing bright bronze armor. He was quite cramped in the human-sized hallways and doorways, needing to crouch just to get up the stairs at first. The smell alone was strange to him; the acrid scent of drywall, the chemicals suffusing the carpets, the low presence of dry rot and mildew in the upper recesses where few bothered to tread. After the first blush of novelty with the new developments of human architecture Wave-Eye decided quite casually, waiting behind the terrifyingly thin door and walls, with the vibrations of the trucks, music and all else coursing through the building, that he hated this place. 'No stone, no brick, no smell of earth and too far from the sea. I could never stand this place' he thought dourly, glancing around at the cramped and low-ceilinged office as they entered. He stood impassively by and let Gabriel deal with his kind without interruption, knowing that he wouldn't do much good in delicate things like. 'Perfect place for an ambush' he thought suddenly, looking at the close walls.

That wins everything! Previously Unfriendly, now Helpful. Feel free to roll Sense Motive, Notice or whatever else you will in response to her next words.

Galanta's face fell at the two's answers "Oh, that's too bad. Bito's been really taciturn about what kind of fighting they teach there, you know? And from what I've heard it was the most interesting part" she dug into the mighty plate of omelet and and wraps that stood five inches thick. Eating with table manners this side of acceptable, and taking considerable pains to keep food from getting on her dress, she added thoughtfully "Alsho, f'om what 'e shaid that'sh the mosht intereshtin' part of the plashe." Swallowing loudly and ignoring the stern look her mother cast her way she went on "It's mostly about laws on superpowers and about learning ways to use your powers besides beating up evildoers, which seems pretty pointless to me. They teach you about super-science there too?" she asked Serge with real interest "Like, how to make robots that can fly on hydrogen and stuff?" Rodrigo pursed his lips tightly for a few seconds, glaring at Galanta for a brief moment of utter hatred before turning calmly back to his meal. Pavor and Broma looked quite impressed at Serge's words, the matron saying with a touch of warmth "It is good to see you have such friends as this, Bito. You could learn a lot from him. Tell me Serge," she added turning to the mutant "Have you had your powers for a long time? Subito only got his gift last year, as I'm sure he's told you." "For serious, quit callin' me Bito, I'm 17 by now" Subito muttered, looking ever more flustered at the recurrence of his childhood nickname. To Victoria he said "Speakin' of refrigerator boxes, how are you and Morgan doing? Morgan's Vick's boyfriend, another Claremont guy" he added to his family for their benefit.

GM The sight of their mutual father's young face stopped the guards' undercurrent of jocularity. With all speed, they both got rapidly into rigid military posture, saluting Myrmidon and shouldering their weapons much more neatly and saying in eerie unison `"Sir no sir. Please accept out apologies, Officer. We will return to our posts"` the first one said with an all too familiar lack of inflection, movements that had once been flowing and alive now the mechanical articulations of the human machines SHADOW made. Turning about with uncanny smoothness, they walked back down the hall they had come from with heavy and methodical treads.

Catalyst: Unharmed, 4HP KoS: Unharmed, 4HP Assaulters(x9): Unharmed-GM Odds are, there won't be a second round.