Ari

GM Admiral Kalf had stared at Supercape's cheerful visiage rather a while after he had stopped speaking. With a slight effort he removed a large swathe of the frown from his face, enough to push up one of the corners of his mouth at least. It relaxed almost instantly, and once again the mouth opened and the emotionless voice spoke "I appreciate your taste, Supercape. Though I would rather you and your people saw the barbaric splendors of the Star Kahn's first flagship, the vast spherical control rooms of Grue vessels or the continent-sized docking bay of a Preserver derelict we discovered recently in the last few hundred years before judging our own decorations. I also am glad at your..kind words regarding our business. We have few enough friends as it is, and I welcome you and your companions among them" his eyes glinted darkly orange "Though your acceptance comes rather late" bowing to the magnificently-caped academician, the Admiral turned to Quintessence when the enhanced human had addressed him. "Ah, The first sapient being in our recorded history to have met the Preservers in person! Well well well, a pleasure to meet you..I assume you prefer Quintessence to your given name in the situation? I would as well. Rest assured I am glad to have you all aboard, and I don't begrudge the Freedom League's wish to focus on their home and the constant strife that wracks it" he smiled fully at James, with almost disquieting sincerity and friendliness"The trouble at Z78-I mean, Sedna, is rather beyond our current technology. I'm sure you will be of immeasurable help. Personally I'm betting that the complex's sensors will detect the efect of Preserver technology on you, and might even let you pass deeper in than any of our soldiers have gotten"

Subito paused, looking surprised "Oh! Nah, I wasn't thinking I could just up and join out of nowhere like that" he laughed with a touch of chagrin at the faux pas "If you guys have stuff to work out I won't push it" easing back into the exercise, he smiled at Vicky's question "My whole family is basically a gigantic house of nerds, even my cousin Rodrigo gets into it sometimes. What kind of FPS's are you thinking of? Raven's shooters? id's? Bungie's? Maybe bring in some stuff by Epic? A video gaming group would need a bit of maneuvering though, wouldn't it? We couldn't play at school I'm assuming"

Granspear, you're up!

Alrighty, so each of the Soldiers has only a bullet-shooting gun, not much of a threat to the likes of Fulcrum. However, the boat is the following Vehicle: Anyway, Kidnappers 3, 10, 5, 1, 2, 6, 8, and 9 shoot at Fulcrum: Attack rolls: 13, 10, 9, 12, 15, 20, 19, 15. If any of those hit by some insane chance there is a DC30 TOU check. Sorry to spend so long over something so simple.

GM Martin had been as genially helpful as he could be under the circumstances, even Jay only saw the briefest instances of gloom come over him at any time. He had helped with the more complicated measurements and calculations needed to maximize the output and stability of the rain collecting structure they made, not to mention being instrumental in the finer details of the generator's inner workings. It had been much to his chagrin that every single wire he and Jay could recover seemed to vanish into its fine-tuned mechanisms. He had wanted to try and make a water heater that didn't use up wood. However, the older and more focused cheetah had prevailed upon him to keep a tight rein on what they needed versus what they wanted, and slightly hotter water wouldn't matter much if they never got home. At the conclusion of Jay's run, the small crowd stared in slack-jawed astonishment then let loose a mighty cheer and roar of joy, surging forward to see more closely this wondrous creature that had suddenly been brought to their village. Chief among them it seemed was a strongly-built man in his late twenties with a long thin black beard and weathered face. "We are deeply honored by this visit stranger" he declared solemnly in a deep gloomy voice to Martin who looked as wise and grave as he knew how to(which wasn't very), "I am Titus, and I am the elected leader of this village, will you accept a small gift of food to fortify your journey into the city?" Martin had discussed this earlier with Jay, if they should accept gifts of food and drink in lieu of money, and upon learning that the ancient rural Greeks didn't have much money, the matter was soon settled. "Gladly, Titus" boomed Martin in the voice he had been practicing since his beard had seriously started to grow so it wouldn't sound so out of place "I and my comrade will be happy to share whatever you can give us" Titus opened his mouth to finalize the transaction, only for Martin to add hurriedly, cutting him off "Ah, also shelter and a place to stay for the night would be good, we have traveled long and far, from the northern coast" the leader of the village looked a bit miffed at being so rudely interrupted, but agreed to the additional gift without argument. For the next few hours or so Jay and Martin were the apple of the village's eye, Jay enjoying the attentions especially of the children, though their idea of 'fun with cats' was a great deal crueler than that of moderns, and several times they had to be chased away or otherwise discouraged to get them out of the games likelier to cause slight blood-loss. While Jay was largely at the mercy of the villagers(despite Martin's best efforts to dissuade them, the Greeks clearly rather little respect for animal rights), the young physicist was practically feted, with a thousand questions asked about where he had found Jay, if he had been shipwrecked, if Jay was a god, if HE was a god, and many more in that vein. All told, once the villagers had become slightly tired of the two and their novelty had rubbed off enough, it was a relief to go to the room on the top floor of the farmhouse and get ready for the night. Laying on the pile of straw that apparently sufficed for a bed, Martin asked Jay bluntly "Well Mr. Xavier, what do you think, should we keep doing this? Because based on what happened here I think we can accurately judge what will happen at every town, village and city to come. Only thing that will chance I bet is the size of the response"

The stocky youth waved a hand dismissively "The point of the exercises isn't to prove you're powerful or to stay out of danger, it's to teach us how to act and react as a team to make ourselves better protectors" he slumped against a tree, leaping forward and glaring at it reproachfully before leaning more slowly on a less knobby section of the trunk. Turning back to Kristin he continued "Besides, I may be tough but your shield and telekinesis means you can keep from being hit at all, just like how my strength doesn't make me a better fighter than Serge, who can hit me from much farther away than I him" he glanced around the windy desolation surrounding them "Wonder who the senior is going to be? My letter didn't say, what about you guys, Serge, Kristin?"

During the chaos of their disorderly retreat, the King of Suits had ceased his flight briefly to grab the body of the dead woman, which for lack of a better way he had wrapped in his cape and slung over his right shoulder . After their harrowing escape he leaned against one of the walls, panting heavily, eyes staring into the cool darkness of the sewer. Once he had settled the rattled blur of his mind he turned slowly to the two mages "<Are you two alright?>" he asked anxiously "<Do you think that was Gallu? I'm pretty sure rats don't attack in swarms like that naturally>". He wondered vaguely if he ought to get a helmet or something, or at least improve his armor. The case for that was strengthened by the fact that one of the rats had gotten lodged between his breastplate and ballistic cloth, and had briefly turned into a chain of the things after several maddened compatriots had grabbed onto it. Only with great difficulty(though for all that it had happened quickly enough) had the miserable creature escaped.

The gnawing rats dug their teeth into the crevices and exposed areas of skin that presented themselves, and soon Marceau's body was on fire with pain! Howling in surprise and the agony of their piercing teeth, he swatted and clawed for several seconds before his confused mind hit upon a dangerous, unlikely plan of escape. Flinging several of the rodents from his arms, he whipped out one of his new razor cards and a flash-bang grenade from his belt. With tremendous force he cut into the cylindrical package of light and sound, tearing away the portion that detonated it by accident, and tossed it into the air. With great effort(due in no small part to the rat biting his neck) he whipped up his left arm to shield himself from the burning shot of light that reflected itself on every dank wall, off the ceiling and the floor to create a panorama of white fire. When it subsided, he gingerly lowered his arms, and began the laborious process of helping off whatever rats had clung to him in surprise, blindness and pain.

Reflex save roll: 26 rolled, 28 with the bonus. King..dodges the bright flash?

Okay..after discussing it in Chat I've decided to use Extra Effort to grant the Armaments Device an Alternate Power of Dazzle 2(Visual Senses, Extras: Burst(10 ft)[6PP]. I shall use that to Daze the heck out of the rats nearby in the cramped quarters.

Reflex roll: 29 TOU roll: 13.

Got it, rollin' Notice: 17.

The New Initiative Order: Fulcrum: Unharmed Kidnapper#3 ''#10 ''#5 ''#1 ''#2 ''#6 ''#8 ''#9 Heraldo: Unharmed ''#4

Taking 20 on both, thus making for a boring but successful discovery of the clues available.

Marceau had almost enjoyed the trip. True the smell was awful, but he had to admit that even the French sewer system was cleaner than most he had slogged through on cold nights in Albania. He had liked listening to the gurgle of the smoothly-flowing sewage through the caverns, the graffiti that had been scraped away was an interesting test for his ability to translate French after so many months, and being in on a mystery that he could help solve was something he had always loved. He had thrilled with excitement when Marcel had opened the door, reminding him of the old castles in Romania he had once been charged with searching. Bowing slightly to the ancient mage he had said "<I think I know a perfect place to go to after this Rene, near the->" he trailed away as he saw the corpse. A piercing ringing sounded in his ears and in a moment he was standing next to a stream in Cambodia, looking down at the rotting body of one of the warlord's soldiers that had washed up on the shore. A tiger must have got them he thought to himself, looking warily around at the strangely close trees for any sign of a tiger's burning eyes I'll see if they have anything worth having he decided, slinging his rifle over his shoulders he bent down over the body, gently turning it over to get at the pockets.. ..and was in a sewer in Paris, looking down at a dead body that had badly decomposed. Starting, he glanced around and saw his two companions. He began to speak but cut himself off abruptly, laid the body back down and began his interrogation of the corpse, first examining the injuries sustained.

The Subito in question had, after the energetic handshake offered by Kristin, been busy re-stuffing an astonishing number of scarves back into the various crevices of his coats that had come loose. He glanced up from the highly delicate work and smiled at that though "The names aren't, no. I'm the only foreigner of us two, born in Adjuntas municipality of Peurto Rico. Serge's a native Freedonian and just has a weird" he accented the word with exaggerated scorn "name that neither of us has any idea what it means" he stopped short, gingerly pulling a length of cloth from behind his back "As for what we can do..well I can call upon the spirit of Peurto Rico to grant me vast strength and endurance as well as the power to fly, the ability to live through crushing pressures, waters of the sea, the most freezing cold and poisons" he frowned at the last. Truth be told, he had no idea what the connection was "Also I can understand pretty much every language spoken, and this banner I have can let me withstand bullet and fill people with hope" he gave a sigh of relief as he wound the last piece of wool around his hand "Good things to be able to do, but hardly unstoppable"

Marceau turned a positive lighthouse of good cheer towards the blue-clad man. "What Asad is trying to build is a cooperation of heroes, with himself as the financial and corporate backer. The idea is to provide a network of heroes who can assist each other with the multitude of threats facing this city. We'll be expected to play to our strengths, so you or I won't be called on to fight giant robot monsters from the 527th dimension or whatever. Likewise," he added, looking to Young Britannia "you won't be asked to sneak into somebody's headquarters through the sewers. Everyone will fill their niche, and the group will be strengthened by it" taking a sip of water from a small canteen hidden somewhere in his armor, he continued "As for goals, the plan is to provide a platform for heroes to realize theirs, whether they need allies to help defeat some evil that only they had known about, want to be a force for good in greater strength than they could be alone, want to keep an eye on a large group of po-supers" he corrected himself with a jolt "with no known previous affiliation or interest in each other suddenly flocking to Amir ibn Jafar ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Misri, and if it has anything to do with his recent press conferences where he revealed his powers and name of Asad. As for scope, it will be as vast as intended by its members, who can use it as a pool of resources for fighting anything from the Mafia families here in Freedom to supervillains on the other side of the world" Stretching one of his arms a little, and correcting a crease in the ballistic cloth beneath the plates of his costume, smiling at the two with no decrease of geniality "Does that answer your questions?"

GM The two figures, after a brief conference with one of the previously invisible guards next to the black door, began a rapid walk down the central bridge, from which soft chimes were heard with every stride they made. Passing the statue(which they payed no attention to in the slightest) by passing on the left, they stood back to back, and performed an identical salute to that given by the crew. A chill metallic voice coming from the darker-clothed of the duo declared "I am Admiral Louoy Kalf, come to see the ship of captain Verlee Mirta for an inspection of its crew and computer, contents and cargo, weapons and shields, architecture and infrastructure. I request a full disclosure of the movements and actions taken in the least 472 weeks since the departure from Sigio Telthis, as well as an aide to provide a full recounting of any unplanned or unrequested movements or actions taken with this ship during that period" an officer(their back was to the heroes, obscuring their face and preventing recognition) went quickly up to the Admiral to whisper in his ear. The Admiral seemed taken aback by whatever news he had been given, and with a large number of sibilants clearly evident from the working of his jaw the messenger hurried off, gray-furred and long-limbed, with hands like climbing claws. The Admiral was now close enough to easily see in detail. He was short(around 5'2"), and similar in build to the stocky Lor who had escorted them to the Parade Hall. In stark contrast to the ornate dress of the officers packing the hall he wore a simple gray tunic ensigned with a golden representation of a ringed moon orbiting a gas giant. Around the cuffs and high collar of the tunic were thin green stripes, his boots looked to be armored with ribs of some kind, striped from sole to rim with purple. His fingers were tipped with broad claws, he had dull purple skin and teeth, and his hair was a dull gray. Tapping his right bracer, the section of the bridge he was standing on lifted up into the air with a low hum, though what was lifting it and how was not immediately obvious to untrained or unaugmented eyes. Landing in front of the small group of heroes he frowned at them thoughtfully, an expression that judging by the lines on his face was as familiar to him as breathing. After a second he opened his mouth, from which the same cold tones emanated out to say "Are you the Earth witnesses? Usually for these sorts of investigations Daedalus or Pseudo are sent to keep an eye on us" he didn't seem at all dismissive when speaking of the immortal inventor, and only a slight twitch of his left eye showed he thought anything of the rogue Grue.

Marceau got smoothly to his feet, eyes gleaming as he considered the twists and turns he would have to make sure of to keep himself on the right track with the investigation. "<Marcel, please bring me to where you have placed the third body, I'll need to expel a nagging suspicion about how these killings are being committed>" he began carefully secreting the documents into the dozens of pockets that covered his coveralls, but stopped, asking nervously "<Er, may I take these along Marcel?>" while awaiting the response he began loosening the various straps and small metal tabs he used to keep his armor and gear ready-to-don. He had the idea that Paris's sewer system might turn out to be dangerous.

GM 1.45 P.M., Mid-November, 2011 It was shortly after lunch, and the two had been informed a week ago that this day was to be the day of their first permitted session in the Doom Room. Successful completion of the assigned exercises would guarantee them all-but unrestricted access to it so long as they made sure to tell the Doom Room's supervisor about their intended visit. The days had grown shorter, colder and windier. The ground was still frosted over in some places, the trees' branches were dusted with frozen particles and the wind whipping in from over the sea did little to help. Serge and Subito were waiting next to a patch of trees near the Athletic Field. They had both been told to wait for the other two who would be their partners for their first Doom Room training. The place was poorly-shielded from the wind, and in general a miserable place to wait...

The herald of Puerto Rico shook the vibration-controlling mutant's hand "The feeling's mutual, I rarely meet people like you. I'll be happy to tag along Serge, it'll be great! Hope we don't run into any trouble! I love billiards" he added happily, beginning to walk back to his dorm, waving to Serge as he went. Well, that went well. Hope our training goes as smoothly as this!

GM The reason for the roundabout way of getting to the Parade Hall was soon revealed when the two officers escorted the Earth heroes through an apparently infrequently-used side door in the side of what looked for all the world like an enormous metal box dumped into the middle of the ship, crewmembers streaming through vast double doors set at regular intervals about fifteen meters apart that still were almost stuffed with crowding Lor. After passing through the narrow passage(the walls had too be moved to permit Phalanx entry), they exited next to an obviously floating pad evidently leading upwards to a deep brown curved balcony that had the unmistakable texture of polished wood. This sole representative of the natural world was rather overshadowed by the complete dominance of cool metals and ornately-colored plastics that made up the entire room. It looked to be at least a half mile from each wall to another, roughly rectangular to allow the existence of a fountain formed in the fashion of a large reptile-like bird similar to that on the captain's insignia, but as high as an emu. The bird had suffered myriad wounds from which lifelike blood poured, and was rising to its full height in a last gathering of muscle for an attack. Around it was a truly beautiful hologram of presumably swamp plant life from whatever world the bird originated. The fountain served as the starting point for an artificial red stream that cut the room in two, and had a long bridge layed overtop that connected at seemingly random points with the two halves, with a round black door at the extreme left of the new arrivals and a square blue one at their right. The room was colored in shades of red ranging from a soft pink at the floor level to a deep red that was almost black covering the ceiling. The assembled Lor(who it appeared had excellent skill for getting into formation)saluted towards the black door by holding their right arm out with the palm upwards, while their left hand was pressed to their sternums. With a deep note like a stone gong the black door opened, and two well-dressed Lor figures entered through it. By this point, the escorts had quickly arranged the heroes in a rough half-moon, with Quintessence and Phalanx on the ends, with Ironclad on the inner-left and Supercape on the inner-right. With whispers of "Good luck!" they hurried off to assume their own places that to a casual eye were totally indistinguishable from the close-packed ranks of officers.

Marceau stared at the illustration. Then back at the pictures from the crime scenes. Then back again. A bull would be heavy, it could send roof tiles from their seats and break drainage pipes with ease. But one thing was wrong: even a super-powerful demon bull would make noise. It would roar and its hooves would awaken the heaviest sleeper beneath them. That and a bull could hardly cu out somebody's heart surgically. Marceau realized it then: this 'Gallu' must be a shapeshifter going through various forms to kill people for their souls(he admittedly had no idea if demons could actually do this). Aloud he said "<So far, it appears that this 'Gallu' is the murderer responsible. Are there any records of a stench around the crime scene, reports by inhabitants of the sound of hooves? If not, it may well be that the demon can alter its form at will, explaining the variations in the victims' corpses>" he settled back into his chair, frowning at the ceiling as if he distrusted it. "<Also, what can you tell me about the body found in the sewer that you haven't already. May I see it as well?>"

Serge's speech took Subito entirely by surprise. He had gotten the idea that his own accidental discovery of his powers was almost frowned upon due to such accidents frequently leading to the injury or death of someone. More than once he had had to clarify that the other worker hadn't died or been hurt in any way. Outright praise was completely out of his expectations. Nonetheless, Serge hit onto an identical nerve with his complaint about wanting a chance to test and improve himself beyond theory. "I know what you mean, I've been trying to figure out a way to properly train as well. I found out recently about this training center called the 'Doom Room' by the other students, it has holographic prjectors, obstacle courses, everything we need to really test us..." he scowled gumly "...but we need to pass a bunch of tests throughout the next month or so to prove we will be able to use it right, and we'll need at least one other student to go into it on our first times. I don't think we'll be able to get into it until late November. We'll need a senior student to go along as well to keep us safe" he looked up suddenly, fire in his eyes "How about it Serge?"

"That's a shame" the hefty teen muttered in the awkward silence after Serge's explanation of his ignorance regarding his name's meaning. At the question, Subito's face briefly switched from pensive to worried to uncomfortable and back again in an almost ludicrously short space of time. On the one hand, my case isn't really harmful to anyone, but I get the idea being told "I didn't choose this" doesn't sound much like the sort of thing a hero in the making ought to say. But if I lie it won't help anyone will it? Upon arriving at his decision Subito explained bluntly "I didn't choose to come here Serge, when the powers granted to me manifested Mr. Summers came to tell my parents to enroll me. I was working at a factory and a fellow worker fell against a rail that was weak or something. Anyway, it broke and as he fell I caught him but was pulled along off the railing. If not for my powers I wouldn't be alive, there were vats of boiling paint strengthener uncovered below us for some reason, which I saw in great detail when I opened my eyes to see why I had stopped falling" the boy shuddered despite himself, paling a little "Mr. Summers mentioned that the Raven told him about what had happened, that it was a booby trap laid by the villain called Toy Boy, and that if I wanted to use my powers right I'd best get some training. Then he stopped talking to me to hammer out the details with my parents and explained at great length to my sister why she couldn't come along to keep and eye on me" Subito took a deep breath, concluding "So, I don't mind being here, and if it had been my choice I would have gone anyway, but it wasn't mine to make" he shrugged "Some of the other guys' stories are way better than mine, ask Golbatso(little guy, just a few inches tall) his sometime. You won't believe your ears"