Ari

Well, she seemed like a pretty tough lady, I guess both of us are pretty limited! the King of Suits thought idly with a shrug. Marceau blinked in surprise. "I.." he frowned visibly behind his cowl, but nodded sharply "I do not like that plan, Silhouette, seeing as I just met you and have precious little first-hand evidence of your competence. That said," he concluded with a cheery grin "you so far seem to abound with fighting ability, and made short work of those lesser children. Here you go" he said, removing the slender tubes with rings set in the caps and handing them to her. "If you can, find a way to shield your ears before they blow. I take it you already know how to use them, so I won't belabor that point" "Good luck Silhouette! I will shepherd these.." he looked at Andrews, the cultist he was just then pushing up "...fellows as best I can. See you on the other side!" he added with a grin, "Do you want me to get the prisoners too? Or will you take care of them?"

Flung clear off his feet by the sudden attack, Wave-Eye sprawled to the ground with a furious hissing snarl, getting back up with rasp and screech of his nails against the hull of the ship. Prying a few small shards of glass out from under his scaled hide, he grumbled and licked at the ichor leaking from his torn skin. "I need to toughen my hid" he said aloud to the air "cuts like these would never have hurt me a century ago." Turning to the possessee he said with a rasp "Your god is certainly quick to avenge! But do not fear, I do not take them lightly, I only despise their aims and wish to stop them" he resumed his stalking, tearing out the scattered barbs that had dug into his flesh, sharp hisses punctuating each removal, adding to Kit as he turned the corner "Good luck on your search! Don't get possessed by a vengeful god or whatever horrible thing could happen"

I really don't have much to add that Cubist didn't cover quite well. I would have gone: Calliope: Emotion Control Clio: Postcognition/Precognition along with a broad Super-Senses suite Erato: Snare/Regeneration Euterpe: Healing Melpomene: Drain/Blast Polyhymnia: Create Object/Flight Terpsichore: Speed/Quickness/Leaping Thalia: Protection/Force Field/Impervious/Snare Urania: Create object/Blast/Flight/Super-Senses/Immunity.

Not too relevant, but that's actually been used as a villain name in The Boys(knowing that is just one of the many things I regret). You can imagine what kind of villain they were.

GM Dropping to the ground with an only slightly cushioned 'THUD', the guard slowly got to their feet, already in the process of unbuckling their armor and removing his three knives, carbine, two pistols, belt of five grenades and short modern-looking sword. Tossing them to the ground in a heap he hurriedly pulled off his thick armor, revealing a strongly-built South American man in his late 20's with a five o'clock shadow and narrow facial features, wearing clothes of an unfamiliar cut of some unusual grey synthetic material. Kneeling and placing his hands behind his head he began at once "The place has an electricity trap in every hallway on the first three floors, along with sixteen security cameras, gas-emitters and a few teleportation...things, I don't know" he rattled off, looking fearfully at Stormbreaker the entire time. "What it's being used for...I don't know that either, me and the others just guard this American doctor man, calls himself Green, says he's going to find out where powers come from or something. He and some American assistants of his stays in the basement, out of sight from grunts like me or Estaban" he nodded over at the unconscious fellow guard "but some of the others, they say he's making a chemical that can give you any kind of ability you want. All I know is that he uses up a lot of...uh" he scowled as he tried to think of something "...yeah, I can't remember, it's in that Max stuff tourist sometimes get caught carrying in their luggage" he offered "it's a chemical that's part of it" he glanced between the two superhumans "Uh...I don't know anything else useful. I just started two weeks back. Esteban would know a little more, I think" he added eagerly.

A pagan Aztec fish monster, no less! And yeah, the Herald was in fact the very outlet I and Shofet had in mind for the smear campaign to originate from, though preferably with some slight basis in perceivable reality to make it more believable for the average citizen to think ill of our gang of assorted monstrosities. Jay being the catalyst for the band does make sense, though I dare say he'd first want to pretty harshly grill prospective members to see if they possibly meet his standards. Tying into them all being monsters, we could just go the easiest route and have them blamed for something a villain they defeated did, with no real means of countering that claim besides their(discounted) word. Of course, the 'Clear our name' thing isn't very optimal either.

In all honesty, EL Heraldo was frozen in terror when he saw the monstrous woman. In the first place, while he knew on an intellectual level what animals looked like on the inside, seeing them torn open was still a shocking sight to his young eyes. Eyes wide, he barely noticed when Glow arrived, still looking in horror at the first of the new enemies. "What...why did you...?" he stammered in horror. In the second place, he was pretty sure she was a Deep One. He had never seen one himself, but he had heard that they were human-like with features common to fish, and he assumed the scale dress was part of her body. In the third place, she was very likely a vampire. Subito had never gotten even remotely used to the idea of vampires, as the concept of a monster that looked human until it started tearing open your neck with its fangs sparked an irrational terror deep in his heart. As a result, he simply couldn't look away, or say anything else. He wanted to tell Glow something, but his mouth was dry with fear; he would gladly have looked anywhere else but at the prowling corpse, but What if she attacks when I'm not looking?! Subito, you must- Nononono! I won't! If I do I'm dead! A nauseous feeling of terror spread through him, and he almost thought of fleeing when the scaled man with the head-dress barged in, his loud and hissing voice breaking the spell and reminding El Heraldo of he and Glow's true aim. Gripping the Banner so tightly he would have bent a lesser staff, he said tersely to the vampire woman before turning to the one who called her Tethys "We are not your food, dripping sludge. We have come to stop your plot to manipulate the Deep Ones to your service with their young and punish you for ensnaring a human to your aid, and for risking the lives of our people with your ghost-possessed shark!"

His heart softening at the cook's words, Heraldo bent down and laid a comforting hand on the sobbing man's shoulder, saying gently "We will both make sure to keep anything from happening to your family, I promise. Now, I'll go with you to make sure you give out the antidote after Glow and I take care of those guys" he gestured to the knocked-out men around the downed helicopter "and call the cops about 'em, okay?" he looked up at Glow, adding to her "Can you help me wrap some bits of that chopper around those guys? Shouldn't be too hard for me to pry some of it off" so saying, he got to his feet after a parting gentle squeeze of the man's shoulder, and began walking briskly on his short legs towards the fallen minions of El Sierpe.

Understood SC, and thanks. Cubist, I'd say the first one looks better for 'logo' stuff. Though there's an 'e where I think you wanted an 'a' to be, just a heads-up. Now, how do we get these folks together? Shofet, you mentioned in Chat you had an idea for a Shady Backer of some description?

GM Stunned by the attack, it took a moment for the prisoner to realize what was even asked of him. "Gah! I...y-you..okay, okay, I'll do it I'll do it!" yelled the now utterly terrified guard in a Portuguese accent, staring at the two super-humans from his gradually increasing vantage point. "You-you want me to show you where stuff is...a-and that's it?" he asked, clearly relieved "Oh thank you! I thought you might be those.." he gulped and seemed to calm down a little, though he was still fearful "Okay, just let me down, and I'll show you around this place, deal?" he asked hopefully, wobbling in the whirling prison that sent the loose straps of his black and green body armor flailing around his body. "A-as for where we are...it's in Venezuela. A little north of Colombia, this place used to be a hospital until the road washed away in a flood, now it..it's something else"

The attack was on them before he could even blink, and Subito deeply regretted his annunciation, fumbling into an attempted block of the monster's swipes, only to see the attacks bounce ineffectually off of Glow's shield. As his schoolmate defeated the Ernest, he gave a(n inner) sigh of relief and nodded, saying mildly "Sneaking isn't really my thing, Glow, you ought to know that by now!" he added with a grin, jumping up into the air before hurtling off down the wavering halls of the Freedom City Aquarium after the fleeing servant of the Serpent People, his aura a billowing cloud of gold that swirled around him as he flew. Reaching the racing Ernest he spread out his arms while the distance closed, aimed for the critical second, and slammed his arms about the creature's midsection, seizing him in a powerful grip...until he wriggled clean out of it, leaving El Heraldo empty-handed and looking very silly as he stared furiously at his arms.

The Abnormals gets my vote, but I'm a sucker for obvious names like that. Irregulars is taken by a PC Claremont team, Shofet. EDIT: Ninja'd by Raveled. As another option, Monster Squad.

Free Action to activate Flight. Move Action to follow the Ernest and close the distance to them, Standard to make an Attack attempt with the Strike. EDIT: Changing that to a Grapple attempt. Attack roll: 22, a shame. Grapple roll: 28!

Marceau stared at the horrible sight, quickly blinking back tears as images rose unbidden to his mind about what Vic's last few painful minutes must have been like. Whatever he did was evil, yes, but he can't have deserved this Quickly wiping his eyes clear he said crisply to the Penitent "It wouldn't hurt, no. I will scour this place, see what I can find that the police weren't able to discover" he blue-eyed gaze swept the apartment as he wandered in a few steps before turning to the Penitent with a weaker smile "I promise i will do my best." He then set to scouring the crime scene, teasing out what had happened... At last, he returned to the Penitent with a small bundle of evidence in a small zip-lock plastic bag. He was frowning deeply, disconcerted by what he had found. "Whoever did this was incredibly strong. Victor seems to have been a very large and strongly-built man, and whoever did this tossed him around the room. Some burn marks on the carpet tell me our murderer can breathe fire with a considerable radius of flame, and those..marks on the counter" he gestured to the tabletop, quelling visions of tearing flesh, pleas for mercy, and blood-soaked chuckles "have traces of what must be fingernails. This looks like a demon to me. There was only one shot fired, which is surprising enough, but I can't find any marks on the walls or floor where it hit. It must have been absorbed by the creature, is my guess" he hemmed and glanced up at Bram "Your professional opinion, sir?"

Search roll (EDIT:to find any clues about the killer from the signs of the attack) : 33! Investigate, taking 10 with Skill Mastery for a result of 26.

Will do! My apologies.

Success. No such countermeasures are found. A simple sliding latch secures the door to the elevator.

A...dirgible? We're going on an airship?! Subito's eyes widened, and in a twinkling the nervousness had vanished, replaced by a jittery glee. "You do? That's awesome! Are we gonna fly over the sea while the sun sets? That is always a great time" he turned to Cerys and said eagerly(and quietly) "I can't wait to infiltrate the Avian's secret flying sky-base! When can we go?" he face fell suddenly and he glanced nervously at the two "Uh..wait. You guys sure this won't turn into an international incident or anything?" he began unknowingly twisting one of the sleeves of the jacket "I don't want to have to explain to my parents why I'm being accused of an act of aggression against their people"

That is ridiculous and interesting enough for me! SC, not likely at all, but how about Synth's backdoor?

Initiative roll: 12! I'd like to see some old Ernest beat THAT!

GM "That is a terrible name, brother! From now on, you are Hatchetteeth!" declared the spokesRedcap, saluting Marceau and flourishing the pike at his post. When Marceau arrived at the vast tree, the noises of the forest and the camp slowly began to fade. As he watched the treeline for flickers of movement, he suddenly got the very distinct impression that someone was getting closer... Suddenly, from behind the same tree he was crouching by, Parsinkle walked into view. Winking at Marceau he asked softly "So, what have you found? What are their numbers, and when would be best to start the attack?" he grinned widely. Meanwhile, in the cage... Janice looked at Rene anxiously "What'd you see? Are we gonna be turned into those things outside? Sacrificed to their gods? What?" she asked, almost desperately. Clearly being out of the loop for three days had begun to take their toll.

Turning around sharply as the reverberations of Silver Spider's landing spread through the ground, Wave-Eye regarded the other new arrival with a slightly puzzled look before answering with a harsh gurgle "This...person" he explained with a click of his narrow teeth at the word 'person', gesturing with a spined claw at General Hagnes Lapidern "believes we are invading their world, and wants us to remove our soldiers!" realizing suddenly that he had missed something important again he added "I am Wave-Eye, I live in the bay, this woman here is a general in an army from some otherworld's Rome. She thinks you people are attacking her. I will inform her of her misconception" before turning back to the General, peering at her suspiciously. The 'servant of Poseidon' comment rankled almost as much as the 'child of Dagon' thing from a short while ago. "I have never served under the banner of the Olympian" he snarled, fish eyes gleaming angrily "As a son of Chalchiuhtlicue, his claims of mastery over the oceans is something I categorically deny and challenge! Besides," he added more evenly, though with his watery voice it still sounded deeply unpleasant "the Men of this world do not have the means, or the resources, to invade other worlds. There has been travel, yes, but none of the nations would dare risk their precious hides enough for a real war" he said, with utter certainty. After a moment he asked "But, for the sake of argument, let us say they are assaulting your world. What flag or marker do they march under?" For good measure, he repeated more loudly the accusation of Gen. Hagnes Lapidern and his counter-argument.

Subito listened with a deep frown to Lorenzo's words. The man was obviously parched, which provoked a pang of remorse and pity over the his treatment. He won't have any reason to treat us better if we treat him like this... He gritted his teeth "Yeah, it's a riot, ain't it? Now how about you never bring that up again, huh?" he glowered at the older man, a dull feeling of frustration that didn't seem to have anything to do with his actual words welling inside him. His eyes widened at the revelation that the Cult was an entire group of half-Serpent people, and apparently strong enough to change the fortunes of the American Civil War in the Confederacy's favor, at least until that government's usefulness had passed. "So..you've got basically an army down here" he muttered, no little horror in his voice "and all it needs is the Chains..." His eyes wandered over to the wall on Lorenzo's right, pondering what he had just learned. Oh Dame, what should we do? Try and defeat this Cult? Leave them be and just ward off their attacks? Your quest is not to change the past, Subito, but to return home with this trait-beware his words of venom! his head jerked up just as Lorenzo began to try and ensnare his body and mind to make the boy free him. Just in time, his thick hands clamped over his ears, saving him from the mystically-charged words of the sorcerer. "You'll drink, Lorenzo!" he shouted, not actually knowing how loud he was yelling "But as I live, you will not escape us in this time!" re-gagging the man, he stormed off out of the stockade, furious with himself at how he had almost ruined his and Agnes' plans. "Now," he muttered darkly "to find a relatively clean pail to put some cleanish water in..."

...Father of Hell... DC20 Reflex save: 24! Yee!

With a crashing thud that ruined the otherwise smooth and graceful flight, the two young heroes borne aloft by a swirling golden fog from which the soft sound of hearty marching songs emitted, El Heraldo landed with a stagger and nearly fell to the ground before stopping himself with the Banner. Looking around at the Aquarium he said to Glow uncertainly as he regained his composure"Hey, where is everyone? Sure, there was a killer flying shark replica and stuff, but come on! You'd think-" he stopped abruptly, whipping the Banner into a battle stance as the two Ernest's strolled into view. "Hold, villains!" he shouted "Glow and El Heraldo will make you answer for your crimes! Surrender, and we will not send you back into the abyss you came from!" As he spoke the gilded mist that hung about him swirled into the form of a waving flag. He whispered to Glow "So, you take the guy on the right, me on the left, or what?"