Vahnyu

"Weeeell... I can't really talk about the other grades, but from what we've seen so far, the staff run the occasional exhibition on alien tech and the like; helps us being prepared in case we encounter some. The curriculums are still more geared towards more mundane sciences, but then again, considering that they ARE the base for the higher science stuff, I REALLY can't blame them. I mean..." Serge struggled a bit to find a good example to make his point clearer. "Think of Integrals. A very important concept in mathematics, it's applications are widespread, especially in telecommunications. Yet, helping someone understand the concept is nigh-impossible, without explainning Derivatives. A Derivative is the variable rate at which a function changes, depending on it's input. In essence, you get function A, put it through a certain PROCESS, and get function B. An Integral is, essentially, the inverse of that, you get function B, put it through another PROCESS, and get function A back." Pausing a bit to let that sink, and to see if Galanta understood what he tried to say, he expounded "That sounded very complicated, right? And yet, it's a very basic thing that one must properly understand, in order to properly move on to more complicated stuff. And compared to super-science, this is downright mundane." "Eeeh... for quite some time, ma'am, yes. I suppose I was born with my powers, but they only manifested a few years back... not that I..." leaving a sigh, Serge's face darkened a bit. "...not that I did anything particullarly note-worthy with them." At that, he returned to his plate, which was almost empty by now. "Arrogant, would be the word I'd choose, even if it were true. Still, his mother IS his mother, so, unless given explicit reason to doubt her paternal adequacy, her word is the law, as far as the upbringing of her children goes." Serge commented, shrugging. "Isn't that RIGHT, 'BITO?" he... his friend, making a huge grin that reached all the way to his ears.

Serge nodded in agreement with Victoria. "Really, the majority of the classes are theory, rather than application. And even the few actual combat courses we get, are 9 parts helping us properly holding back, minimizing colateral damage, and protecting civilians, and only 1 part takedown maneouvers." as he took a small break to take a few more bites from the delicious meal, he continued "Befids, ids nod lig, *glump*, sorry, it's not like theory doesn't help a lot. Most heroes can certainly get by with working intuitively, but sometimes, knowing why you should, or shouldn't do something can be the difference between saving the day and not... then again, they did also stress the importance of trusting your gut feeling, when your brains couldn't help you any more, so..." he trailed off with a light shrug At the change of conversation, Serge stared blankly, for a few seconds. "Ressonance suppressor? What are you ta-oh?! You meant THAT?!" he suddenly burst out, as light dawned him. "Hahaha, oh, no, no, that wasn't something important, Subito; it was just a minor adjustment for my suit. You know, a failsafe, so that my powers won't go haywire. In fact..." Turning in order to make sure he faced everyone on the table, the young man emphasized. "See? This actually ties with the whole <employ your powers and skills with proper caution> lesson that the instructors are intent on drilling on us; my natural ability to vibrate my molecules is greatly enhanced by my suit, but sometimes, I need to exert tremendous amounts of effort, in order to keep it under control. Our maths teacher, mr Skyler, advised me that I should install a failsafe for such an occasion were keeping my powers in check was impossible."

"You WILL, of course, show us some photos on that time from the album, later, right?" Serge asked Subito's parents, with the grin of a great white shark when he finds his prey plastered across his face, a grin that had <prime blackmail material> written all over. "Hello, Rodrigo! Nice to meet you!" Serge said politely at Subito's cousin. "I'm Serge, and me and Victoria are Subito's schoolmates. Don't worry, we're making sure that your cousin doesn't get into too much trouble." He then decided to help himself at some food. Blinking a couple of times, Serge felt a bit worried about the temperature in the room, so he decided to try and cool things off a bit in the best way he could think of. "Wait, what? A humanitarian?" turning at Subito with a mock expression, he asked "What's that I hear, bro? Didn't you say that you're into healthy food? And hey! Don't get any ideas; There's hardly any meat in these bones of mine." For added effect, he was holding his lanky hand with his left one.

"Ah, thank you for having us." Serge replied politely. "Likewise, we've been hearing a lot of words about his family as well. From what I gathered, it's pretty apparent that, Subito, is really fond of all of you." the young man said, stiffling a small laughter as he whispered at Subito "... or... should I say, 'Bito?" giving him a knowing look that said <Fair warning: I'm gonna milk this to make fun of you about that for the rest of your life>. Serge similarly greeted Subito's mother and father, as they were ushered in. After a while, he asked them meekly "So... Subito told me about the Sondo naming tradition. I guess Galanta's name has the same roots as the word Gallant, but I'm curious, what do your names mean?"

"Sequential art, eh? Hehe, live the dream, Vicky. Live the dream!" Serge remarks light-heartedly. Getting slightly more serious, he says "But yeah, reaching the top can certainly seem downright intimidating, but don't lose heart; preservance is the first step towards success!" Flashing a smile, Serge frowned a bit, as he thought about what he said "... or... is it the second step, actually?" To his male friend, Subito, Serge replied "Hmm, we usually see each-other once a week, during the weekend, depending on our schedules. I'm sure he wouldn't mind a get-together, if it's just us." The sudden noise startled Serge a bit, but seeing Subito's reaction, he couldn't help himself but attempt a friendly jibe "Are you saying that because you're honestly certain of it, or because you hope so?"

"Wow. Must be a tough schedule, huh?" Serge mused about Vicky's plans. "So, is there any course that you'd be particularly interested to, Vicky? A close friend of mine is somewhat good at drawing. Objects are beyond him, and he can't replicate anything he draws to save his life, but he can make a mean character model. Nothing close to professional level, mind you, but it's nowhere near crude." Laughing a bit, as he remembered a few things about his friend, Serge added. "Maaaan, you should really see his working pace; he goes through A-4 paper sheets faster than a movie-goer goes through a pop-corn. Hahahaa." At Subito's response, Serge continued giving puzzled looks at Subito and Vicky, before giving up. "Okay, sure." He said, shrugging, as he scratched the back of his hair. While the three of them were waiting, he proceeded to stretch out a bit.

Letting a light laugh out, Serge said whispered to Subito "I take it your mom would go slightly ballistic at the sound of crashing porcelain, huh?" Waving his hand, he responded "I think I talk for both me and Vicky that we don't mind the fuss, really. A more simpler get-together would be more enjoyable, but if your folks feel they have to go out of their way to make it a special occasion, well, I'm not about to spoil it for them..." Serge commented, before adding, mostly to himself "...at least, I hope I won't." "You know... the beginning of the year had been very frantic, for me, but hey, by the time winter had rolled around, things seemed to fall in a neat pace. If nothing else, the courses, at least, are a million times more interesting than my older school's!" Serge nodded sagely. However, when Subito seemed to lose his trail of thougths at the end, Serge became a bit curious. "Eh? What do you mean? Did something happen? You had a fight with that student or something?" he asked honestly.

Serge's face was slightly red and sweaty, but he was breathing normally by now, and his blonde hair was more or less straightened. He wore kahki baggy jeans, a blue open shirt, and inside that, a white tanktop. "Well... Kinda... yeah..." Serge responded more awkwardly than Vicky. "I decided against bringing my costume with me, so any form of fast travelling short of public transport was out of the picture. That meant that I had to take 3 buses and the subway to get here, and for a long while there I felt kinda lost..." Scratching his head, the young man let out a weak laughter. "But at any rate, I managed to find my way, so all's well." Turning at Vicky, he asked "By the way, did you make many short-range jumps, or a few long-range ones? I'd imagine the later must be very difficult and require great amounts of concentration and visualisation, correct?"

Net Fly continued typing commands in order to reuse the minning crane, but it was to no avail; the apparatus appeared to be malfunctioning, and security protocols made sure to deter him from further attempts at opening a hole to the ship from the outside. Hmmm... Well, I'm running out of options, here... I don't think I can keep convincing the robots to stand in front of the guns as target practice, and operating the crane was my one chance at damaging the ship... Hey... wait a minute... Frantically typing in the interface, a grin appeared behind his mask, as the young hero found his solution. If I can't open a hole from the outside, might as well blow it open from the inside! Net Fly thought, as he directed the inner guns towards the ship's floors and commanded them to open fire.

Computers Check vs DC18 1d20+10 → [14,10] = (24) Change of plans, attempting to fire the ship with it's weapons from the inside 1d20+10 → [13,10] = (23) , vs DC22 Pass Knowledge[Tech] Take 10(20) vs DC20 Pass

Net Fly Two's Company, Four's Party Venture into the Forest GM Swiss Format

Serge thought about it. Subito's proposal certainly sounded attractive, but there was still a nagging feeling in the back of his head. "Mmmmmmmno, no, the wind may pick up, or an animal may reach the bag and cause it to fall on the ground, even if it's securely stappled up there... but you're certainly ON to something there... hmmm... Ok! How about this, then? We split up- You will go back to the lodge and call in mr Summers, and I'll wait for the both of you here. You know, put my mask on, and keep close to the air, where you can spot me easily. I mean, it's not like we both need to make the phone call, right?" Thinking about it a bit more, however, Serge decided against the idea. "Nah... on second thought, principal Summers may have too heavy a workload to spare us a visit here in the middle of nowhere... okay, how about instead, I use some spare parts from my suit to create a makeshift transmitter? We won't need to see it, just so long as it is safely hidden. After that, we both go straight back to the academy, and inform mr Summers of our findings. How's it sound?"

Serge had come to an abrupt end as soon as Subito mentioned the battery failure. A loud noise was heard, not unlike a smack. "... Oh... Riiiight... that...." There appeared a weird, reddish mark on Serge's forehead, one whose shape, upon closer inspection, looked suspisiously similar to an open palm, held at 30 to 45 degrees. "I totally forgot! Man, what is wrong with me? I'm off my game, Subito, I'm telling you!" He half joked at his friend. Giving it a few seconds of thought, he said. "Ok, let's head back to the cave, for a bit, and into the facility. I could find something lying down and make use to it, if you give me some time. Or we could just head back to the lodge, I suppose. I mean, there MUST be a telephone for us to use there, right? But I'm worried we won't be able to find our way back here as easily."

Taking 10 on Knowledge(Technology) for a total of 20 vs DC20, in order to use the Materials Scoop to damage the ship. Rolling Computers vs DC25... 1d20+10 → [14,10] = (24) SO close...Oh, well. Taking 10 on Computers vs DC18 to use the communications system in order to lure the robots away from that aspect of the ship(Total 20). Substituting Bluff with Knowledge(Technology) vs DC18 and taking 10 to convince them(Total 20).

Alright, I've waited for more than a week. :arrow: Magic, I understand that real life can get in the way, and if this were a thread between just the two of us, or one more, I would have no problem stopping it, for a month, even, until you were able to recommit. As it stands, however, I'm affraid I cannot do so. If you are able to return to posting, at a frequent pace at that(about once per day), I will allow you to participate in this thread. Until then, however, I'm continuing updating the story as it is. :arrow: Quinn, I'm sorry for the delay. If you wish, feel free to continue posting. Same goes for Blue Rose as well :arrow: Arichamus and Scuffles, I'm sorry I haven't allowed you to enter the scene so far. By my estimation, it will be merely a matter of time until our characters arrive, and by the time they do, trust me, we will all have our own share cut out for us.

Net Fly continued working frevently, using his Vibro-Suit's ability to connect and interact with almost any computational device, by writting command line after command line. He managed to redirect the robots' attention towards areas inside the ship that were equipped with various weapons. While the robots were gathering into Net Fly's trap, he started downloading the ship's memory banks, or as much of it as his suit's memory capacity could handle. After I'm done with this ship, there may not be any salvageable indications as to whether the Robots have allies, or anything similarly interesting. I mean, yes, this is not happening for real, but I still have to treat it as such. Now... let's see here... As the robots had finally gathered within range of the ship's inner weapons, Net Fly issued to them the order to open fire at the robots, and it didn't take long for the weapons to reduce Net Fly's captors by 1/10th, as the ship's indicators, well, indicated. Hmmm... I was hoping the blasters would have taken at least half of them by now... Guess there were more robots than I estimated. This calls for some additional damage. Scanning through his options, Net Fly smiled as he located what he was looking for. Well, why not? It doesn't hurt me to try. he thought, and he immediately started issuing commands at the ship's excavating tools, trying to guide them towards damaging the ship itself.

In the meantime... Elena had climbed 15 feet down the elevator shaft. There are about 15 feet more until the sewer level. She will attempt to jump... TOU check vs DC15+1 1d20+2 → [9,2] = (11) ...And fail, not surprisingly. She's sprained her ankle from the fall and is rendered incapacitated.

GM POST Her pupils widening at the sight of the hero, Elena unconsciously decided to jump now, while she still had time, without stopping to think how the hero managed to scale the building in such short notice, until it was very late. A mere instant before she hit the ground, realisation dawned on her, as she uttered "Crap!" A moment's hesitation led to her misstep. On top of spraining her ankle, she was unable to properly absorb the shock of the fall, and the pain hit her so hard and fast that she rolled a few feet ahead of there, while losing consiousness. Outside the building, the crowd was starring, mouths wide open, at the huge starship that had arrived. Detective Holdden had taken a megaphone, and addressed the thugs inside the building. "Attention, criminals! You have no more hostages to hide behind. You are completely surrounded. Throw your weapons now, and come out, your hands behind your head. Do NOT make any sudden movements! Failure to comply will be met with extreme force. This is your ONLY WARNING!" Back inside the building, at the ground floor, one of the three remaining thugs was readying his weapons, while the other asked him "And what the hell do you think you're doing." "Don't worry, I'll cover your backs. You go ahead and leave like we've planned, and I'll be right behind y-eouch! Why'dyoudothatfor?" the thug protested as one of his teammates slapped him in the back of his head. "And go where exactly, genius? In case you haven't realized what's going on, a superhero just made us look like total chumps, run past us twice, he's probably beaten the rest of the gang, too, and by now, he's probably taking a lunchbreak in Venice or something, before returning to finish us off. And the cops are out there, their snipers having their guns primed and ready with our names written in their bullets, and you wanna go guns ablazin? Resist arrest now, and you'll rot in prison, if you're lucky." The third thug had slid his gun across the floor, and was moving towards the exit, hands in his back. "I'm surrendering! Please, don't shoot!" Getting up, the other thug also followed his lead, saying to the first one. "Don't be an idiot, Eric. Quit while you still have a head." The last remainning thug sighed, and he followed suite. ==================================================================================================================== Somewhere, in Freedom City "...And our agent is on his way?" "Yes sir. He's been deployed, already. Estimated ETA less than a minute. We also have a in the area, ready to attack on your orders." "Good. So this is our target? This... Overclock?" "Yes... We've been following his exploits for quite some time, and he meets our criteria. He has great power, but he's still very inexperienced, making him a great target." "Well then. It will certainly be a good field test for Agent DuskWyrm."

Well, then. Serge will take 10 on his computer check(total 20) in order to download as much of the memory banks as he can, recent to oldest. While the download is going on, he will take 10 on his computer check again, in order to fire the interior weapons on the Collective. If 20 is not enough, I will, of course, roll the appropriate checks.

Serge could only nod in agreement, as he found himself to engorged wolfing down the last toast. He cleaned himself of the crumbs, and collected the nylons back into a shopping plastic bag, that he tucked away inside his backpack. Opening the still cool Coca Cola can, he took a few sips, as he got up. "Aaaahhhh... that's the stuff!" he exclaimed, as he savored the carbonated feeling in his mouth. "Well, I think it's time to call mr Summers."

Yes, Magic. Stormbreaker's ship is quite a few feet above the general area there.

Net Fly Two's Company, Four's Party Venture into the Forest GM Swiss Format

"I have... No idea whatsoever. We may find nothing, we may find more breadcrumbs to follow, or we may find an evil sorcerous cult hell-bent on bringing about the apocalypse by harneshing the power of computers in order to summon demons!" Serge responded, making exaggerated motions to emphasize his words. Returning to his toast, he continued to take bites with ceremonial timing and precision. "To tell the truth, I'm more interested in what our principal will have to say about our little escapade."

Very well, then. Butterfly can make her appearance now. Overclock has taken care of the 4 robbers in the 1st floor, the 5th robber is on her way to the Van in the sewers, and Stormbreaker is poised to strike at the Van as soon as it surfaces. The last 3 Robbers are in the ground floor.

1d20+5 → [4,5] = (9) The Gang leader fails. Miserably. Oh, well. Stormbreaker can make an entrance now.