Ari

It can't pierce his armor, no, but it might have disrupted his flight. Anyway it didn't! And now for the next pair: 22.

GM "I hope it is soon." Brainclay's lofty white hair curled and wafted over the psychic's smiling bloodless face, their red eyes bright "Our kind is still very rare, I have only met Eyespy AEGIS agents thus far and Horu-Miles says they are not really representative of your race." Meanwhile, the extremely credible and plausible sotto voce conversation between Magmatic and Cho was reaching new heights of believability. "I know I know, sorry!" Brushing the glasslike hair away, the oddball Magmim weighed Cho's question carefully before speaking again. "I...guess so? We almost never develop that way. Most of us can't even speak like me. So I suppose this is a 'mutation'. Not like that would mean much if I went back. And yes, it just fell away in pieces like loose gravel, like my old body was some kind of cocoon. I wonder sometimes if all my kind aren't like me, waiting to come out of their rocky shells." Looking seriously at the entropy-fueled bruiser, Magmatic went on "That's what we need help with. We could be like...like the Newcomers, helping those in need others have forgotten or never knew existed, or what the Freedom League was in your seventieth decade of the nineteenth century, going far and wide saving entire nations. Saboteur thinks that with you, we could find the kind of sense and courage the Black Avenger brought to the old League!" Gripping the taller girl's shoulders, Magmatic whispered, eyes burning like a candle behind glass "Cho, we could be heroes with your help, not just a search-and-rescue team. We'll need your help to do it."

13. So one win for Cavalier. Using his Blaster to try and knock the Star Knight off-course: 26. A hit! DC20 Toughness save to avoid losing the next series outright.

That that, robo-The-Rock!

What about my Bluff save?

GM "I do not wish to intrude, zelles," shouted Silex over the thunderous havoc of the whirling, crackling channel of death racing for the shrinking island of what had once been Earth "but I think the time for such niceties is after the daring escape!" Glancing over his shoulder, the uniformed young man saw the sky tilting and eddying crazily as the vanishing planetoid was spun out of its orbit. Examining the body of the Steam General draped over his platform's railing, Silex nodded in satisfaction and made a few more delicate incisions before maneuvering his craft over the portal. "You know, I'll just tell you anyway. It's not important, but might be handy, who knows? Anyway, you see this? This portal? This artificial bridge between your world and Omega's? Please don't try to use something like this again. Ever. You won't like the result, which may or may not be to open a gateway into that." Silex gestured to the Doom-Coil "Just a friendly warning. Oh!" Snapping his fingers, he quickly bent over the stiffening body for a moment, his body silhouetted against the Coil as he pocketed something after a flash of his knife. "And before I forget, there is one more matter." By now the wind had risen to hurricane levels, the Coil a Sun-like pillar of dark fire, all light bending towards it and leaving the world in shadow. Tossing the body that had once been that world's oppressor into the Tunnel, the Annhilist tapped a few buttons on a nearby control panel, his eyes and gloves reflecting its stark white glare. The Omegadrones floating nearby started, and as one soared for the iron-skinned monstrosity of Nhilor gaping above like diseased skull. By now, the world was reduced to a mass of darkness, the flames of Dyrnwyn, the lights in the platform, the onrushing torrent of the Doom-Coil and the howling Terminus Tunnel with Sanctuary dimly visible. The very ground felt light and fragile, and the treetops lashed against the wind heralding the inexorable tide. "Do come by again. Oblivion for Omega."

Well darn. Those are some pretty ard points to argue with, and it'd do no good to try. Though the trend has always been for medium to light blues and yellow, rather than dark blues. Point stands, though. I'd vote for the right-most one. Still think huge swathes of color over the eyes would be perfect, even if it'd make him look kinda like Geckoman. Hmmm...what about huge patches of black over the eyes, continuing from the trend on the trunk? Or a black cowl with yellow eyemarks?

Hm...if he's supposed to be based on a Yellow-Spotted Newt, then there's a great way to present his jokey Spider-Manishness, his stretchiness, and call out to his namesake. First off, a dark, midnight blue for the base color. Like Spidey, the blue makes no sense, but is very superheroy and a versatile color. And it's in keeping with real yellow-spotteds, who are themselves often dark blue. Then, rows of yellow dots along the trunk, with very large dots over the Newt's eyes, which can be comically large pseudo-eyes or ominous blank orbs staring down at the bad guy who just pushed our lovable prankster a step too far. Like how Jack in the Box can be silly or terrifying depending on context. For the arms and legs, doing what you did with the sides on the right picture, streaks of yellow bordered with blue to suggest stretchiness. How's that sound, Shaen? Anything workable in it?

GM For an instant, the head watching Nick spiraled apart, revealing a panoply of life from every kingdom, every domain of biological existence, circling motionless human figure. One by one, the creatures and plants(and a few in between) gravitated towards the middle, until once again an amalgam of creation stared down at the necromancer. A thin, silvery voice like tinkling bells spoke. "To control the lifeweb, even as little as this, took years. Years of forcing my mind to understand other ways of being so alien they can only be experienced. I don't reccomend trying it out unless you're already a spirit." Watching Equinox and Pitch roar off for the spring mouth, two of the heads slid off to follow them, the third remaining behind. The one watching Nick dropped slowly until it rested a little above head-height, adding dispassionately "My name is Springsvale. Why are you here?" The road leading up to the water source was in passable repair, broad and light of other vehicles. The only obvious obstacle was a roadblock, a thin arm of yellow and black barring the road leading the way to distant Springwater Hill. As they drew closer, it suddenly became very clear that the roadblock didn't have any support, or even an obvious start or end, just cutting off as it hit a nearby wall of red sandstone and the edge of the road. To the senses of the two mages, while outwardly unassuming, the thing thrummed with power. Passing the motorcycle, a dusty car drove straight through the barricade without so much as hesitating on its way down to the sleepy suburb. The barrier shimmered briefly, but otherwise was wholly unmoved by the encounter.

The Lost and Future Time "City", by Denoro The temporal nexus that envelops the United Kingdom and Ireland has deep roots, as befits a warp in the dimensional fabric that twists the definition of 'future' 'present' and 'past' into millions of possibilities. One of those possibilities, reaching far into the future, is the true origin of the mysterious cyclical utopia of Camelot. Or, at least one of the more probable origins. From what can be pieced together, both from references by the Guardians of Time, the Associates and their Futurekin, a general idea of what caused the breakup and scattering of the Lost Time is found. In the European Dark Ages, shortly after the last vestiges of Roman control were gone, and Blackthorn was first laid to rest, Merlin was arch-Druid of the North and Master Mage of Earth and its dimensions. Seeing the strife, evil and pain caused by the quarrels of kings, the wars of gods, and the incursions of foul Bes and his shapeless Fomorians past the silver watchtowers of Avalon, the mighty elementalist decided to find a final safeguard for all humanity, knowing thanks to his prophetic second sight the even greater trials ahead. Casting his sight and a portion of his consciousness through the great rift, the Master Mage discovered a future long after the Confederacy of Planets had flowered and faded. Technology had advanced to the point where individuals could travel almost anywhere at will in brilliant starships, the spires of cities grown on planet surfaces reached to the suns, and weapons could devastate worlds purely by accident. Merlin, awed by the power to come, was initially disheartened by the discovery that this glittering vision was fractured into small system-states and cluster kingdoms owing only feeble allegiance to their rulers. The discovery of a young general with integrity and a strength of will far beyond his peers in the Orion Khanate soon showed the visiting Master Mage a solution. Befriending and guiding the general, Merlin attempted to bring the feuding stars under one banner, hoping to create an army that could strike at any point in the timestream to defeat mankind's enemies, confident that his second sight would let him influence the future without needing to actively journey back and forth once his stellar utopia was achieved. The sudden, unexpected death of the general threw Merlin's plan into disarray, and only great effort and mystic insight on his part rescued the sole child of the warlord from his father's enemies and placed him in the care of a loyal pilot-knight. From there the story proceeded much as could be expected. Merlin discovered the son to be even more virtuously-inclined and shrewd than his father, a gene-locked weapon from the general's armory at an interplanetary contest to determine who the next Khan-Dragon would be revealed the son and bolstered his claim of legitimacy, and dissenting knights and system lords rebelled against their upstart stripling of a Khan. Defeating them with mercy and wisdom, the guile of Merlin and a host of pilot-knights, the would-be-saint king wed the mightiest daughter of his former enemies(rumored to be of the bloodline of Centuria herself), ushering in age of peace and unity. Perfecting his starry realms with the aid of a legion of valiants and wise councilors, the saintly Khan ruled from a paradise forged with cosmic energies, the fairness and kindness of his and the Khana's reign was known throughout the universe, and all seemed ready for Merlin's great triumph. Then tragedy struck, as always, from the last place expected. The system lady who bore the saint had three daughters, all of whom had uncovered the secrets of magic new and old from long study with the smitten young Merlin, and who at first used their powers to aid the Khan. But at length the glory of the Orion Khanate aroused their greed, the saint's gentility seemed a weakness, and they plotted to overthrow him. Through a near-copy of the Khan they instilled with malice for their half-brother and sister-in-law, they eroded faith in the Khan and his ideals. Through their cunning Merlin's soul was cast back into the past and barred from saving what he had struggled to create, and the rebellious artificial son fought the saint in a final battle that destroyed the entire timeline. To assist with the Khan's early battles, a multi-reality sword named Excalibur had been made under Merlin's direction, with a temporally-isolating belt to hold it. They overcame any attack or defense, and together made the bearer invincible. The belt was stolen for the artificial son, however, and the paradox caused by their clash shattered the time-stream to pieces, the backlash spilling through the nexus over Britain and infecting every era of Earth's history. From the depths of time to the far future, the events that had brought about the catastrophe were repeated whenever somebody tried to create a utopia backed by otherwordly power. Such attempts were few but worldwide, although the majority occurred in the British Isle thanks to its connection to the Seelie Fey. Just such a connection has proven to cause a corruption in the cycle, as the last iteration's Saint King and Eternal Traitor are yet alive outside the bonds of Earth-time. Merlin's history was seamlessly massaged into the narrative as the councilor who first broaches the utopian dream, that future time now just a bitter memory. Travel to to the Lost Time is dangerous and difficult, but rewarding. A very real utopia of almost unfathomable power and integrity is almost the least of its wonders, as cosmic monsters, galactic conquerors and extraordinary technology all still exist among the fragmented remains of that now-lost future. The Time-Keepers are understandably leery of letting people wander around in a broken age, but until they finish untangling the web of history Merlin's foolishness created they begrudgingly allow it, though bringing things or people back from it is harshly banned and pillagers instantly removed from their booty. The knowledge there is easier to take, however, and the Associates and Futurekin both eagerly search for the secrets to that era's might, and especially for the secrets of its awe-inspiring weapons like starrions and excisers. So far few have gone in, and less has come out.

'Hold on, Thoughtspeed! Lemme see if I can get this thing to drop you with a little reverse psychology!' Dashing by the gun-toting alien, the invisible psychic stumbled to a halt next to the towering bulk of metal plating, joints and ominousness, panting at the strain the burst of action and stress of using his powers as having. 'Pater del Coelis, ignosce mi caput osse...' he thought, looking up at the steel terror he was within backhand range of. But there was nothing else for it, and squaring his broad shoulders the brawny orderly shouted at the thing "HEY! Klaatu! You're doing great! Just keep holding that guy, ignore our attempts to free our dear friend and ally and just keep holding on, as tight as you can! Nothing bad will happen and you will win with no problems! I bet the Curator will give you a prize, even, for holding on!" Watching the retrieval drone with great care, Nathaniel tensed, ready to spring. He was sure his powers hid him from the robot's searching eye, but it didn't make being so close feel any better. And if it got him too...best to make sure that didn't happen at all. For now though, the objective was to get Thoughtspeed out of the Curator drone's clutches, self-preservation could wait.

Okay, this is an easy one. Mind-Set can't really attack higher than DC20, which against a +14 bonus is not good odds. His Mind-Control is based on organic brainwaves and robots are famed for their impassive and relaxed frames of mind. Which leaves Illusions...or Tricks. Renewing the Oncealment with a Free Action. Moving over to the Strong Robot, Mind-Set SURGEs for another Move Action(leaving him Fatigued) to get a Full-Round action to use Bluff with no penalty. Bluff roll to try and Trick to the Strong Robot into letting go of Thoughtspeed: 24.

GM Magmatic blinked at Cho in surprise. "Really? But...wow, I'm sorry, I just...assumed." Wincing, the magmin waved her glittering hands vigorously "I shouldn't have done that, that was gross. See, when I was newly hatched, I looked like other grmmmghkkklrtrrrrk-" pausing the middle of a deep-throated rumbling like an avalanche in a cave, Magmatic pressed on earnestly "-I mean, other magmin. I had rocky skin, bathed in lava, all that stuff. Then, one day, everything changed. My skin sloughed off and *this* she gestured at the gem-like facets and glassy sheen making up her body was underneath. Nothing else...well, besides being able to make rocks move, nothing else was different, but I wasn't like them any more. The rest started thinking I was cursed, and I had to run away before they went from being afraid and angry to wanting to kill me. And I'd never done anything but be different. That's how I assumed it might kinda be like for you, other humans being scared 'cause you're not quite like them." The stocky, crystalline girl's head swirled with blue inner fire "That's...I need to not assume like that, just guessing there but it's probably a bad plan, right? Not like you're sequestered away from the world or being chased by crazy anti-Terminate robots."

Partly mysteeeerious, mostly just the WYRM having a lot of Supercrime! DVDs and Saboteur putting together the clues while the team researched how other teen heroes did their thing so they'd be a little less weirdo.

GM The same feeling of half-heard static, the sensation of tuning into a barely-there broadcast, accompanied Brainclay's telepathic response. -~I comprehend. Speed and accuracy at the expense of range and power. I lack your agility and supplemental abilities, so that is closed to me.~- the white-haired psychic punctuated that with a slightly more emphasized step of a small foot. Tilting their head a little, Brainclay's eyes swiveled off in another direction as the 'voice' went on -~For me, it is less like choosing a target than picking a thread. I feel the minds of everyone around me, and the unconscious flow of thought and feeling. sometimes I reach out without meaning to.~- A harsh buzzing cut across the mental communique, followed shortly by a terse, savage growl of ~Clay? If you don't disconnect me right now Racer will have to grow you a new- ~ The dark red eyes slid back to meet Thoughtspeed's -~Oh look. There goes one now. It usually only happens when other psychics are within one metre or I touch someone by accident. Mostly. Every psychic has some 'tell' in their telepathy or telekinesis. That indicates the psi-frequency their Gift operates at. I estimate yours to be...~- the eyes narrowed, like Brainclay was trying to pierce through Will's head through sheer concentration, before relaxing with a faint smile -~...phi-upsilon. Necessary, I suppose, for the impulses to work properly at such speeds. Would you introduce me to your teacher?~- The mere prospect seemed enough to brighten the psychic's narrow, soft-featured face. "None of us did when we joined." Magmatic gently reminded the human girl, her inner color fluctuations taking on a more somber hue "even Saboteur screwed up at first, and he'd been trained for years by his secret paragents. We're all new at this. And Thoughtspeed's in a family business, growing up to become an American superhero. We want somebody who knows what it's like to be an outsider. The crystalline magmin's serious look suddenly cleared "If it doesn't work out, that's fine. None of us are the chosen one, Choie. But it'd be great if you could give us a chance. Besides Bestia, we're not all dumb meatheads.

Aw yeah, 23! So young, and already so science. You're a wonderful and brilliant fellow, Ecal, and I'm sure you already noticed that, but it can still stand to be said. Here's to a happy birthday, and may your coolness increase with every added year of wisdom.

GM Martin Bracknell, one of the older settlers, tilted his hat a little lower and scanned the emerging tribes. His dark eyes flitted up to Stesha's as he his dry voice answered "I think there are, boss. Don't suppose our colorful guests could help there." Among the welcoming committee for the Terminus escapees were the four Atom Family siblings, their morphic molecule uniforms transformed into more relaxed and contemporary outfits, though they still had that Atom's color-code. Chase alone had donned a dapper deep purple suit despite the constant jibes from Victoria in her green overalls and black shirt, the reserved young psychic near the rear of the party while the shapeshifter, Tesla and Maximus were at the front. Starting at Stesha's question, Tesla(red cargo pants, pocket-laden vest) turned from a brief discussion with Maximus(blue jeans, denim jacket) about the portal, squinting at the crowd and shading her eyes as her lips moved noiselessly. Suddenly they stopped dead and her hand fell away, the brilliant young energy-controller looking deeply uneasy. "Max." she said to the older Atom, whose face was also starting to turn from joy to uncertainty at the growing crowd of people filling the edge of the forest "Can you get up there for a sec? I'm getting 10,000, but..that can't be right." "On it." was the brawny man's baritone reply as Maximus Atom dispersed his body's density, soon floating up to a better vantage point. Unlike his sister's flight, Max was nearly invisible and totally silent in the air, although much slower. Neither wanted to risk scaring the new arrivals with sudden displays of power, so growing giant-size or soaring on jets of green energy was put of the question. Landing only a few seconds after take-off, the young man's beaming grin suggested good news. Hopefully, Tesla began "Well? How man-?" "You were wrong, sis!" her brother said, which visibly relaxed the young genius until the next sentence "It's only 9,451!" Victoria's cheerful waves and shouts of welcome stopped, Tesla grew pale along with Chase. The village's representatives suddenly looked very grave, shifting uncomfortably and clearing their throats as everyone mentally tallied up what that meant for the small community.

Congratulations on the thumping of your twenty-eighth troll, trollthumper! Hope the day is good times for you. May you return many times more to this part of the year, and never give up. :toot: :toot:

This older sister does not freeze worlds, but by quantum influence freezes entire timelines of probable action out of existence, and only ones that threaten the work of the Preservers. But something went wrong...

That is the case. Unless you have something buying away the effects of the Drawback they're always active. AvengerAssembled's Gadgeteer Vampire provided an excellent example, but that sheet appears to have vanished, so here's an example from Red Moon of the most basic way to go about it.

And it merely built atop the ruins of an ourpost of the Preservers.

GM "Do you have a set psi-frequency?" Brainclay was asking Thoughtspeed as the gang was being shown around, the colorless teen watching Will with an unwaveringly steady gaze "In future crises, it could be useful to know. Mine is categorized at phi-kappa. Although variances of up to phi-xi have been recorded. Distance is a known factor, is it the same with your Gift?" "That is quite true, Stronghold." Saboteur admitted, the straight-backed young man looking downright resentful to the Hawaiian ring-bearer "We do not actually get many calls to action. Our work 'in the field' has been kept to small cases with superhumans relatively low on the power scale, in places without much political volatility. This series of dotted lines" Miles gestured to the holographic globe slowly revolving above the main room(the Coordination Centre) "shows where we do and do not have permission to act. It's...difficult, when we see a signal and it is outside our bounds. I've been pushing for freer reign ever since we started. Since that Gorgon asteroid hit Mali in 2011, and then the robot chaos last year, they've been getting a little more receptive to the idea." Magmatic looked anxiously at the others nearby "Well..." she began tentatively "You said yourself that Claremont doesn't have you as much other than a student, right? And...well...we don't have any normal people-" catching the look on Cho's face the jeweled Magmin hastened to add "I mean, normal compared to us, we're not really used to having lives here, and this whole culture is still kind of alien. But you're used to it. You know how this works, why people think red means 'stop', why Miles shouldn't just shoot people working for our enemies, why Clay shouldn't just read people's minds if...uh...if Clay feels like it, you're grounded. I still have a lot to learn, we all do, but we know we'll need a grounded place for new recruits, something stable. You don't even have a mask, and you're a...an entropic." Glancing over to make sure nobody had overheard her subtly rising voice, satisfied at the sight of Bestia turning into an antelope and starting to chase Racer, the crystalline caryatid added in a whisper "We've been watching how you and the other student vigilantes act, and Saboteur thinks you might even be team leader material."

GM The Annnihilist's passing provoked the movement of at first only two drones, who swept down to grab the body, one falling to Blue Jay's arrows and swiftly replaced by another as they bore it up to the platform above. His laughter dying away, Silex started busying himself with the wretch's uniformed remains as the sickly red glare of the Doom-Coil neared, audible now as a low, almost soothing roar of constant thunder. The last shreds of the Earth were bending into its maw, as if eager to surrender after such a long twilight of torture in the sphere of endings. By some miracle, their patch of forest in the upper Appalachians had been spared just enough time. Now emboldened, the tribes surged through the portal, some of the rearguard with lighter burdens calling frantically back to their saviors in French to follow, though none of them stuck around for long when freedom and life beckoned, and death and cyborg slavery stared them in the face. On the other side, somewhere close to ten thousand people stampeded through the new forest, yelling, crying and laughing with abandon as they looked up at white clouds, blue skies, and a golden Sun, which after their exile in the Terminus was nothing less than Paradise. Some of the quieter ones noticed how different the birds sounded, how much cleaner and full of life the air smelled. And all of them grew a lot quieter when they both saw the distant settlement of Sanctuary. A few murmured anxiously at the sight of the castle and distant hive, but the rich pastures and fields, and the bucolic village quickly eased most of their fears. The last, though, drew nearly twenty-thousand eyes to the still-open portal. "I don't suppose," Silex called over the howl of oblivion as the Doom-Coil gouged nearer, sweeping up the disintegrated remains of trees, hills and lakes "I don't suppose you'll mind if I let you in on a little secret, Outworlder? Just a little one, nothing you'll need to worry about!" He smiled down at the four teens from over the platform's railing, a small bronze-colored knife cutting easily through the General's chilling corpse.

26, so not super-great. Zanvir manages to stay on Kyle's tail and tries to shoot him off-course with his blaster(Power Attacking +5 by aiming at weak spots or however you justify Power Attack without saying "They unleash MORE POWER"): 12. Curse your shiny metal ass's maneuverings, Star Knight! A miss. Being shot off-course, in this case, essentially means the losing party automatically losing the next Reflex roll. Three more...

GM Amelyth Once again, Amelyth's attack bounced off. Above her, a dull snigger resounded through the air. "See? Your efforts are useless. Wasted, as much as y-" It was interrupted by a primal yeolwp as Ted drove his fist through the gothic masonry, sending massive blocks crashing down and toppling the ramparts clutched by the demon's feet. Rendered roostless,, the shifting monster retreated to another, higher tower, this one founded on Ted's fear that he was lying to his family. "You may break some, Theodore Tently, but you can never break them all-" It was interrupted a second time by Ted's furious assault, crashing down another side of the unholy edifices that housed the man's deepest fears. Shaking, he shouted at the demon "Maybe not! But SHE thinks she should help me with somethin' that ain't even her problem, and if she's willing to bet we can take you down, I'm not gonna make her wrong! Let's do this, Amelyth! For Justice!" Side by side, the draconic psionic and the young man smashed the Strength of Secrets to pieces, the formless air crackling with unleashed power, wild yells, frantic screeches and the thunder of falling stones. Soon, the black castle lay in a heap of ruins, with their enemy flying away into the void of nightmares howling with impotent rage. Ted silently offered Amanda his hand.