Ari

GM February 6th, Monday, 11.57AM, 2017 Kokinos' Greek Restaurant, West End, Freedom City The bell on the door chimed pleasantly as Moira walked in, the music cutting through the cacophany of conversation bubbling throughout the bright and crowded room, alerting the burly, bald and mustached Michel Kokinos behind the tall counter. Pausing briefly to smile in welcome, Michel marched out onto the floor to a corner table where two men in suits were chatting. One was bursting with confidence and intelligence, a handsome and bearded devil with mocking green eyes. The other had leonine hair, they were lean with hungry grey eyes that darted longingly between the enormous meal spread before him and those at the other occupied tables. Settling the plates of steaming fish and piled greens before what looked like a military couple off-duty, Michel stomped up to Moira, nodding in recognition as he said briskly "G'noon, Moira. What'll it be today, enh? Old Sean doing well?"

Okay so order is Echo: Unarmed, 2HP Warp: Unarmed, 4HP Robosaurs: Unarmed(x10)-GM Bluefish, your go. For reference, the Robosaurs are currently in a rough circle 10-20 feet from you two.

Sure, works as a nice division of labor for the differing PLs.

GM Having vanished by the very efficient means of going where ordinary humans could not survive, both men had a moment's breather to take in the situation without the Platform's walls getting in the way. The escape pods droned surfacewards, propelled by something invisible on their blocky, bulbous bodies. In the gloom the massive sharklike submarine should have been invisible, but instead its silhouette carried through the mineral-rich depths as strongly as its lights. If it wasn't a giant submarine shaped like a shark, that would have been by far the most interesting thing about it. It sat idle, while around it faintly-visible figures darted to and fro about a glowing yellow globe bigger than Delacroix's mutate form. The self-proclaimed Rayzer was lit up by one of the sharksub's 'headlights', regarding the Platform with an air of what could only be described as impatience and unease.

"Biological imperatives last as long as an environment supports them. You have changed as much as we have and will change more. But it is not enough for us to just collect data. Data can be misleading and we believe in free will independent of such "imperatives". Hunger, thirst, sexual drives, curiosity, all impulses can be resisted. Even pain." Dol-Druth was staring at nothing, his face having long ceased to hold any unified expression. Elias' gaze was disconcerting and Dol-Druth had excused himself to help his comrade on Magna-Lor deal with paperwork for a small mission to a recently-discovered 'Korus', which had miraculously avoided all contact with the Republic and the Communion before now. There were reports that a biosig similar to Terrestrials hadbeen found, which opened entirely too many questions to remain on Earth. "We admit, part of this meeting-of-minds is to gather more perspectives on the...other thing you mention. You refuse to speak of them, again with the claim we misunderstand ourselves. We then ask: you know you know this? You have proof? Rhetorical, physical, philosophical, anecdotal? We will extend the courtesy of assuming you know your own mind." "As well, if you will not speak of that, will you also refuse to tell us what hope this planet has against New Freedom? Why you have chosen to leave what is statistically likely to be the winner of this geopolitical epoch?"

If Avenger doesn't mind, how about Citizen is part of the attendees for Prof. Zed's interdimensional enchantment extravaganza. Asad andBlue Jay are teaming up for a car chase through the lovely rainforests of Oregon.

GM One of the armored monsters pointed at the guy who'd helped James. "Traitor!" The voice was warped and bestial, in fact it was almost incomprehensible, but the action backing it up helped clarify the towering monster's meaning. Charging through the ring of agents the former man raised another hand towards James. Both palms reshaped into blaster cannons that unleashed first a throbbing hum then a roaring hail of super-heated plasma! As he got closer the creature skidded to a halt several yards from James, stumbling backwards as their body, a melding of chtinous exoskeleton and human flesh, twisted and flowed around glossy cybernetic implants emblazoned with the American flag. Collapsing to one knee, the monster let out a shuddering, wordless scream of anguish.

Well that took too long. Sentry Agent #2: attacks Q-Shift with bio-plasma cannons, Attack roll is 29, hits, DC26 Toughness save. After that, your turn.

Dol-Druth remained on the sidelines, in polite deference to how most of the people there could bowl right through him if they failed to brake in time. Instead he sent out sharp psychic warnings to the players, keeping a com opened in his hand so he could double-check the "helpful" advice from the Manymind. But at least that was better than dealing with the painfully slow speeds of Earth's unwired worldnet. Mostly better. ~'Dancer, continue and you will be in violation of the American National Football Asso-oh, you stopped, thank you'~ For most of the game, the Speaker appeared to just stand or stroll beside the field, occasionally raising a hand to catch the ball when it started to hurtle out of bounds to get it back into play. Things went fine until one of those millions of unforgiveable grey areas appeared in play. "You reached nine and two-thirds feet Hammer!" He glared furiously, pallid skin bulging with veins thick as fingers "Being grappled by the Grappler pushed you over the line! Do you question our objectivity or impartiality as referee?!"

I'll take the Warp and Blue Jay threads, if there's no problem with that.

Go ahead.

Somebody was trying to search Hakim's mind, but he caught on and mustered his mental defences in time. He catches sight of a red something vanishing into the sky in a corona of fire, tasting a jet of surprise and frustrated anger before the attempted link is severed.

GM Outside There were shouts and commotion inside the warehouse, but so far at least nothing sounded bad enough to warrant a look. Besides, Emerald City's waterfront was always lovely, and early winter was no exception with the soft pines and bare deciduous, the craggy hills arching up at the Columbia's meeting of the Red and South rivers. There were always boats out on the river. Hydrofoils darting, yachts lazing, little sail boats bumbling earnestly, big freighters churning up and down every hour, military vessels surging importantly along. There was something comfortingly eternal about their myriads of motion. As much a part of city life as the concrete and glass and steel and wires and people. It was so nice, and so beautifully crisp a day, that Sha'ir almost didn,t notice the faint vuzzing in his before it began to grow to a painful, searing ache-!

"I'll do you one better, Spider!" Salmon hollered as he dropped into a crouch, struggling with mutated musculature and nerves as they ungainly rearranged into a sort of internal battering ram, bone and skin hardening, muscles shifting before the teenager launched himself across the room, blurring into invisibility and smashing his leg into the staticy man's chest with all his might. His reward was a whoof of escaping air, a dull thud and the would-be assassin smashing backwards into the floor, lying still and slumped as he could with one leg caught half-way in the air. Pumping a fist and letting out a whoop of exhilaration, Ishmael aimed a light kick at the fallen enemy and jogged closer to Spider's post. "So what now? Check out that computer stuff?"

Joshua, Mary and Joseph. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima maxima culpa. Salmon attacks, again! Power-Attacking +5 DMG -5 ATK, All-Out Attacking +5 ATK -5 DEF. which leaves him at +2 to Defence this round. Attack roll: 16, miss. Using a HP to reroll: 11, +10 from reroll makes it a 21, hits. DC27 Toughness save. Jade Spider's save: 4. Knocked out, combat over. Emerald Spider gets a Hero Point for securing the safety of their enemy. Olopi, please make a DC25 Notice check and a DC20 Will save. Also, just so you know, that barrier will come in handy in a moment, so don,t dispell it just yet.

GM The whirlwind attack, having left all of his comrades out of commission, very quickly gave the terrified-looking man something to say. "It was Hammer! He wanted to scare you off! Threatened the Boss! Please don't kill me, my band Slüshy's playing at Jack's wedding tomorrow!" The wobbling helicopter was getting really, worryingly unstable in the air, the pilot's voice faintly garbling curses over the deafening rotor blades and drowning out the desperate sobs of the man lying on the chewed-up road. This much was obviously unlike what her father had described crimefighting as like in Freedom City, what little he'd mentioned that is. There if you got a Driogano soldier on the floor, they'd stall as hard as they could and say as little as they thought their boss wouldn't dump them in the sewer for. Which left very real questions about just what kind of fear the Hammer of Justice had been nailing into the brains of Bedlam's organized criminals. Also unlike fighting crime in Freedom City was the helicopter beginning to go into an increasingly tight spiral sending it closer and closer towards the ground, the pilot bailing and by shocking luck managing to avoid the scything tail rotor. That was the extent of his luck, however, as he was flung bodily into a roof and from the anguished howls was not likely to leave it any time soon. Taking advantage of the break in combat, Osla saw several shadowy figures race out of the nearby buildings and into the streets, clutching boxes, bags and other luggage, a few even jumping into sputtering cars that were significantly less effective for escape. Then a single pair of sirens rang in the distance. They soon faded away. Meanwhile the helicopter's spin tightened and accelerated, destined to hit something with terrible force. Osla could have sworn she heard a faint, familiar snickering.

They cannot make that, ruling they are all felled. Also, as Ecal asked in Chat, yes one is defeated but conscious.

GM Wrapping her hands did help a little, but it was like touching red-hot iron with pot-holders, the barrier between dimensions searing her hands as the small object slipped out of one reality and into another. It looked like an arrowhead, or a shark's tooth. It was glossy and hard and emitted a faint, piercing whine. A single red light lit up. As it did, the interference cleared on the dimensional window, and Raul's entire face changed. A stunned, incomprehending glassy stare. "Humans." A sudden realization, a flicker of anger "Humans." Raul's face twisted into bestial, humiliated rage as he screamed "HUMANS?!" He slammed his bleeding claw onto the control panel, moving like lightning across buttons, turning switches, flicking touch-pads as he raved "I begged for help, I spilt my blood, all for humans?! Your slave-race will know the might of your masters, wretched apes!" A flash burst from the object, and suddenly the long-dead weapons and machines of wars past came to life, twisting and rearranging and changing into a rapidly growing horde of robotic raptors!

As well, both of you gain a Hero Point for trying to help, with Echo getting a Bruised condition from touching the Cosmic Coil's Paradox Stream.

No excuse for me. Initiative time, INVASION OF THE ROBOSAURS Ten Deinonychi (robo-raptors) are fast-scrapped from the surrounding wartme relics, they attack the two heroines. Their roll: 10.

"No! No interruptionsss!" Skirris assured Barrier quickly, squirming on her perch and thanking her ancestors for the head-concealing helmet on her suit. Twisting and rising to get a better view, Hyperslice kept still as she could during the missions summary. The plight of the Indomitable's crew was something she had seen often during the Incursion War, and the memory of her frantic work to get the crews of shuttles, star-jumpers and other small craft stranded by the breakdown od galactic infrastructure made the mention of espionage a lot less appealing than it would have been. Sri Barrier's question got her back to reality. "Grand Nauarchusss Frankan hasss been ssswapping out the old Ssstar Navy ssshipsss with her own desssignsss, Mother-Queen sssaysss Frankan wantsss to be like the old Praetorsss of the Empire." To Sri Traveler she added "Sssurely we can jussst asssk the crew? They have nothing to fear from usss."

How about this then: the individual threads are played through but the GM and players do all the rolls in advance. That way they don,t get potentially bogged-down and it flows better, along with letting there be more collaboration and less reactive/"I dunno what to do" stumblings.

What about using the individual crimes as sort of like intro scenes? So each of the PCs has that as their reason for being in the larger thread, but we start with those larger threads instead of playing out the individual crimes?

Also will be happy to help run some of these. Stop laughing I'm serious.

Rav, Salmon also is a PC of EC. He can get mixed up in a Katanarchist attempt to assasinate a FOE potentiate and renegade ninja during THEIR attempted assassination, then go with Spider's gang. Nothing more classic than ninjas.