GranspearZX

Something's not right. Normally, Arcturus would've been perfectly fine tearing into Gauntlet. He was tough, but slow, and Arc had a great deal more mobility. Gauntlet, however, was plotting something. He couldn't tell what, but there was definitely something off. It seemed like the more aggressive he was, the less Gauntlet was actively fighting back. Arc couldn't be sure, but instinct told him that meant something. "...you're not even worth my time." Arcturus moved backward toward the door, trying to lure Gauntlet outside. He wasn't about to give Gauntlet the satisfaction of luring him into some sort of trap, even as he was trying to concoct one of his own. Despite the Beast Rune's nature, Marcus was still very much in control--a good hunter was just as adept at trapping his prey as anything else.

"Oh. Right. Ah... Arcturus." He wasn't sure if he should give his REAL name or not. His huge paw dwarfed Jasmine's hand, but he was surprisingly gentle as he shook in return. "Sorry abo-.. wait. Why am I apologizing? You SHOT ME. IN THE FACE." To emphasize his point, he pointed a stubby claw at his eyes--of course, they were red anyway, making his point somewhat muted. When he was certain no one was looking, he took a step away from Jasmine and changed back, a brief flash of light and magic reverting him to his human form. His mask was still on, of course, obscuring the upper part of his face. He was also still wearing just shorts. That wasn't the most pressing thing on his mind, however. "...I'm gonna have to clean this up. I guess it's safe to say that the picnic's officially over, huh?"

Going for an all-out move back towards the door, and outside if it's far enough!

"Definitely better than him. Geez..." Gauntlet all but fell apart, the light in his eye sockets dimming as he crashed to the ground. The impact shook the ground; he easily weighed somewhere upward of 2000 pounds, and left a sizable indentation in the dirt and grass as it keeled over, smoke from the acid still rising from where Jasmine had struck it. Arc wasn't sure he wanted to admit just how impressed he was. His first encounter with Gauntlet hadn't gone quite that well, and he raised a fuzzy eyebrow as Jasmine walked toward him. He looked around and there still wasn't anyone around besides them; most of the people had scattered between his fall and Gauntlet's appearance. Now that she knew he was human, though, he probably didn't seem quite as frightening. "So... ah... thanks. I guess. Who are you?"

In the interest of moving things forward (and the fact that I keep getting horribly confused by combat rules), I think we can go ahead and consider Gauntlet pretty much (well) done. If that's okay with you, of course.

GM Alex paused again, regarding Supercape carefully before speaking. "You'll forgive me if I'm a little bit... skeptical." He looked around the room and his frown deepened. "My briefcase isn't here, but..." "About six months ago, my... employer was looking to buy an apartment building in Hanover. He wanted me to check out some of the other bids on it, so I used some of my legal connections to do a little research. Totally legal, by the way. THEY want the building for something else... but I don't know what. I should've known better than to try and find out. Everything about the building was in that briefcase, but most of it is public record."

Arcturus finished the rune and made a brief hand gesture before placing his hand on the ground where he'd drawn it. Runic magic coalesced around his hand and expanded into a violet circle that gave off no light whatsoever. If anything, the rune seemed to be absorbing light, making the young shapeshifting spellcaster within its boundaries flicker a bit, as if caught between dimensions. Transduco umbra. As the words left Arc's mouth, they made no sound, and the magic of the Shadow rune shifted upward, settling into a pair of ankle wraps with the rune faintly glowing at the top of each foot. He crouched and then moved forward, eerily silent as a feline-shaped shadow seemed to overtake his entire form, and he faded from sight, only to appear in the next second right behind the necromancer, attempting to wrest the guitar from his grasp.

I'd be up for some Halloween shenanigans.

GM Gauntlet roared, clearly made uncomfortable by the fire ignited inside his otherwise hollow body. As he staggered backward, Arcturus leapt forward, his claws still ablaze as he tore even deeper into the armor. The golem let out a sound that could only be discomfort, acrid black smoke billowing through the eye holes i his helm, and throughout its joints--anywhere it could escape. His lifeless eyes stared squarely at Catalyst as it spoke, its voice sounding like a weak echo and the rustling of dry leaves. "You... I will... destroy..."

1d20+13=26 And he fails. And he's on fire. +1 HP to Catalyst for general badassery! So, I'm going to rule that each combat round, the fire causes him to lose an additional -1 Toughness. Which puts us here: Catalyst: 1HP Arcturus: 1HP Gauntlet: --- :: Bruised x2 Arcturus sees an opening and attacks: 1d20+12=32 Crit Confirmation (1d20+12=13) Well, so much for a crit. BUT! DC24 TOU save for Gauntlet: TOU Save: (1d20+11-3=19) And he takes another bruise, AND he's stunned again, missing his next turn. Catalyst: 1HP Arcturus: 1HP Gauntlet: --- :: Bruised x3, Burning, Stunned

Arc is going to attempt to juryrig a spell with his Artificer power, enchanting his shoes with the Shadow rune for a temporary effect: Teleport 1 (PF: Change Direction, Change Velocity) [4PP] Using an HP to jury-rig it, it takes 4 rounds to actually make, and no design check is required. Craft DC increased by 5, though, and I can't take 10/20. That said: Craft (Artistic) check: (1d20+14=32) vs. DC19. Yay!

This is gonna be ugly no matter what I do, but... he doesn't know I have backup. Yet. Arcturus considered simply rushing out into the open and taking a shot at the necromancer. It wasn't exactly the silent approach he was looking for. If he could close the distance quickly enough, then maybe... He reached into a small pocket in his costume, producing a small piece of chalk. It was something he carried everywhere--something he only used when he was out of 'normal' options. Crouched in the shadows, he began sketching what looked like a small, four-pointed shuriken with a single circle in its center--the Shadow rune. It was the same rune he'd used in Pennsylvania, and he was going to use it in a similar manner.

Arcturus swayed backward, avoiding the grab. Flames still swirling about his hand, he took another hefty swing at Gauntlet, before taking several steps backward, moving towards the splintered front door. Unfazed by Gauntlet's threat, he laughed and motioned him forward. "You're gonna hafta catch me first, tin grin. Bigger and badder have tried. If you think I'm scared of some scrapyard reject..." That, of course, was only half true; there wasn't anything he could think of bigger than Gauntlet, and Arcturus knew he'd have a serious problem on his hands if Gauntlet got his mitts on him. He wasn't sure how well taunting something so huge would work out, but hey, Push seemed to make it work the last few times they'd met... It was definitely worth a shot.

Yep, that misses. And since Arc's Fearless feat renders him immune to Fear effects, he can't be intimidated. That said: Arc Attacks: 1d20+12=17 ...and burns an HP to reroll: HP Reroll: (1d20+12=14) 24. Whuff. :<

There's definitely some still inside the armor, so yeah, I'd allow it.

GM Arcturus wisely moved out of the way, and the shot slammed home right into Gauntlet's chest and creeping steadily into his breastplate. Despite being hollow, this caused the golem clear distress, and it let out a hollow roar as it scraped at the foam rapidly filling its chest. The bear stared at Jasmine for a few seconds before attacking again, aiming a low swipe at one of the golem's knees. Sparks flew from the impact but showed little sign of wearing the heavy armor down; as Gauntlet struggled, he ripped out a sizeable chunk of the foam covering his chest and threw it aside, his eyes flaring red as he looked past Arcturus to Jasmine. She definitely had his attention now.

And Gauntlet fails his REF save, by 12--leaving him Entangled. Arcturus attacks!: ...versus a TOU save of 24: And Gauntlet lucks out again. (I swear, the dice are just... @.@) Gauntlet tries to use his Strength to break out of the Snare: And +14 makes it a DC32 TOU save... so Gauntlet is unentangled, leaving Catalyst up next!

I was gonna volunteer, but 6 might be pushing it, so... yeah.

GM Umbridge tensed up visibly at the sight of Supercape. He relaxed--only slightly--as he realized he was safe, for the most part. Still, his expression was a dour one, and he merely shook his head. "I thought I had more time," he muttered, shaking his head. "I have to get out of here." He grimaced as he tried to sit up, looking at Supercape intently for a few moments. "I'm already in a mess. I never... ..." He paused for several moments. "You don't know who you're dealing with. These... these people... if they want something, they get it. There's no compromise, no nothing. And all I did was find them out by accident. One of my employers wanted to look into the finances of a competitor, and it turned into some freak trying to blow up my car."

"What do you want? A medal?" Arcturus glowered right back at the metal beast. The rune on the back of his hands faded and flared red with a different one, engulfing both in a rather intense-looking flame. He launched himself again at Gauntlet, his entire stance changing as he swiped at Gauntlet's breastplate. "Here, let me pin it on ya!" He wasn't sure HOW he was going to get Gauntlet out of the hotel. He was too heavy to lift, and he didn't have the time to craft a rune that would do it. He could feel the Beast Rune tugging at him, as if an answer was right at the edge of his mind, but there was no time to stop and think. If nothing else, he had to lure the golem outside, in an attempt to lessen the collateral damage.

Arcturus takes another swipe at Gauntlet--with FIRE! So... DC 27 TOU save.

I'm all for sneaking around backstage. If nothing else, he still wants to figure out where Leroy is before knocking around the necromancer. He isn't sure how secure the building is or isn't, but he'd still try finding some alternate route. Alternatively, there's the idea of playing decoy, but Arc is avoiding that for now. Requested Stealth roll: +10 (20). Yay!

GM Arcturus was just a little bit embarrassed. Here he was with a bloody lip and Jasmine's shot made Gauntlet stagger. The metal golem let out a groan of irritation as its chestplate melted under the potency of the acid; he seemed well aware of the damage he was taking, reflexively moving an arm up to protect himself. Arcturus blinked a few times at Jasmine, more than a little impressed. "Who are you? ...wait, never mind. Later." Arcturus crossed his arms and the same thin field of light surrounded him again. From Jasmine's position, she could see the birthmark on his back turn the same color. His entire body took on the same hue, and in an instant he was back to his former ursine self. His claws burst with magical power, once again wreathed in fire. He catapulted himself forward with a snarl, taking a vicious swipe at the spot where Jasmine had shot Gauntlet. The golem managed to stagger backward enough to make Arcturus's blow little more than a glancing one.

So, Gauntlet fails his TOU check by which leaves him Bruised and Dazed. Huzzah! Arc's regeneration negates his Bruised status, leaving him free to go after Gauntlet: Gauntlet rolls TOU vs DC 24: Lucky such and such. Catalyst: 1HP Arcturus: 1HP Gauntlet: Bruised x1, Dazed (no longer dazed at the beginning of Catalyst's turn)

"That's... a lot of zombies." Arcturus certainly wasn't one to admit fear. Ever. This situation, however, had incredible potential to go badly. His powers had recently grown, and he was having difficulty maintaining control of the Beast Rune. The last thing he wanted was to put anyone else at risk--he still didn't know where Leroy was--and he didn't like the idea of needing a rescuer. He didn't know the layout of the theater, either, but he'd been in one before. Short of leaving the building and looking for a backdoor, he looked around for some other option. "Marching straight in there might not be a good idea. There IS one thing, but... last time I tried it didn't end all that well." Arc's frown deepened as he remembered the first--and last--time he'd tried to use his runic magic to write a spell. It worked, of course, turning the young mage completely invisible and undetectable by sight or sound. He hadn't, however, made him undetectable mentally, and walked right into a trap. Remembering it only seemed to irritate him, and he shook his head, clearing it from his mind. "I'm all for looking for a quieter way, but if push comes to shove... I'm just fine with shoving."