Vahnyu

Serge started stretching as soon as they were out, in the fresh air. He really felt the change in scenery, in contrast with the closed, abandoned enviroment behind them. "Alright, then. Let's dig in!" Dropping his backpack on the ground, he opened it and scavenged it for his food; Two pre-heated toasts, made up of three slices of bread each, with slices of Gouda cheese and boiled turkey, wrapped in nylon. "I think that, in the end, not grilling the toasts was for the better. I don't know, but the cool air has opened my apetite for something fresh, if not cold, rather than heated." Serge also took out a can of Coca Cola, that he left unopened for the time being. Unwrapping the first of his toasts, he took it with one hand, and he extended it towards Subito. He was just about to say Cheers, when he suddenly stopped, realising exactly what he was doing. "... So... I'm about to perform a toast... with a toast... I don't know about you Subito, but even I think this borders on lame... Oh well. Cheers, my friend!"

For refference, the robbers follow the PL2 Thug archetype, while the leader is a PL4 Gang Leader, both found in the Core Manual, under pages 229 and 227 respectively.

Ah, comics. Anyways. Quinn may post now, again. After that, Blue Rose's Stormbreaker can make an entrance.

GM POST The crowd... was certainly stunned. A few police officers who had the presence of mind went for their weapons, initially unsure of what to make of this situation. The fact that the hostages started screaming as their high-speed rescue began to catch up to them, probably didn't help matters either. The paramedics leapt to action immediately, in order to check the hostages' health. "They're in shock, but their vitals appear to be normal." One of them remarked to the police officers. "They should recover with no problem." Nodding, detective Holdenn motioned to the paramedics to get working on the hostages, and provide them the necessary first aid treatment, and then ordered her officers to stand down. "Lower your weapons, people. It's alright." The officers followed suit, and, as if on cue, the crowd burst out in cheers over the hero before them. "That was quite a feat you pulled there, partner. Me and my squad are in your debt, not to mention the two people you just saved. Thanks to you, we can now enter the building and arrest the criminals." On Holdenn's words, the rest of the squad started mobilizing. "You heard the detective! Everyone buckle up. Jennings, radio the snipers. Tell them to be ready to provide cover. The rest of you. Team G-1 will enter from the left and Team G-2 from the right. Secure the first floor, and then go for the second. Move out, people!" ==================================================================================================================== Somewhere, in Freedom City A man in a full-body armor suit entered a room. A complex of flat screens on the wall displayed the bank heist in 46th Avenue and Foster, from several different angles. The focus on the screens was given to one man with a black and yellow bodysuit. The man who entered the room carried a file with him, and delivered it to one of the five people there. As the others watched the screen intently, the man who was now reading the file said "... Fascinating." ==================================================================================================================== Inside the Eastern Seaboard Bank Building, 1st floor. "We forced the old elevator open!" One of the robbers exclaimed. "About time. Doug, go and get the others from the floor bellow. The rest of you, help me get the bags and throw them down here. We climb down the empty shaft, and make our way to the sewers. The getaway trucks are already in place. You know the plan. When the last one boards the truck, they detonate the bomb behind them to cover our tracks." "What about the hostages?" "Meh, leave them. The cops can rescue them after we've been long gone. We don't have much time to dilly-dally. Let's g-..." The leader of the group stopped as the sounds from outside grew louder and louder. One of the robbers who was near the window, came running to the group, and shouted "A Super! There's a superhero outside! The hostages! He..." "...Christ." It didn't take a college decree for the leader to put two and two together. "Change of plans. Elena, go ahead and get the truck ready. Throw all bags in the water, but one. If we do not follow in two minutes, blow the tunnel and leave. GO!" The robber named Elena nodded without a word, and went on to do as instructed. The rest of the gang primed their guns. "Now remember everyone. Shoot to injure, not to kill. The last thing we need is the Superhero community coming down on us like the wrath of god. With a little luck, some of us may even make it out of here and spring the rest of us from jail. Or you, Bob." "Funny." Bob responded monotonously, as the robbers took position.

Taking 10 on Computers vs DC18 to use the communications system in order to lure the robots within firing distance of the weapons(Total 20). Substituting Bluff with Knowledge(Technology) vs DC18 and taking 10 to convince them(Total 20).

Serge kicked back and relaxed while Subito got to working on making the weapons manufacturing machine, well, unworkable. For a moment there, a, admitedly very small, part of Serge wondered what could be accomplished by making modifications to the facility at large, including the conveyer belt. It was immediately silenced by the sound of a gun opening fire. Meh. Good riddance, I say. "Wow, you really did a number on that machine, eh?" "Pfff! How should I know? They're YOUR powers, you know." He jested with exaggerated motions. "Way I figure it, they're not strictly bound under the laws of physics and such." Savoring the moment, Serge replied "You know what, Subito? I don't think I've ever heard you speak more beautiful words, my friend! Now let's get out of here. This place is starting to get on my nerves."

OOC for this thread

GM POST May 21th, 2012. 15:35. *"This is Nathan Thompson, and we are live at the Eastern Seaboard Bank in 46th Avenue and Foster, Midtown, reporting for WNTW Channel 3 news. It's been almost 5 hours since a group of eight masked unidentified individuals, probably male, entered the bank and staged a robbery. The robbers are still holed up inside the building, after taking 12 hostages. "The negotiations for the hostages had been progressing successfully, for the most part. It seemed like the situation would resolve without further episodes, but the robbers are turning uncooperative in releashing the last couple of hostages. Detective Andrea Holdden, who is heading the operation, has commented that the police are trying their best to put an end to the situation as peacefully as possible..."* As the reporter continued to relay the news on the camera, the onlookers were shuffling around, trying to get a better look at the building. The police had their hands full with trying to keep the civilians at bay. The Paramedics were at the scene, providing assistance and first aid to the released hostages. The scene had been playing over and over for the most part of the incident. One of the police officers, a man named Adam Jennings, approached the detective, who was examining the building schematics with a few other cops, with his report. "All the snipers have taken position on buildings over one and a half yard, as per your instructions, ma'am. If they spot the robbers making a run for it, they will put a stop to their getaway." "Hopefully, it won't have to come to this, Jennings." Detective Holdden replied. "Have we ascertained the location of the remainning hostages?" "Affirmative, we picked the heat signature of two unarmed people in the vault. Most of the robbers seem to have barricaded themselves up on the 1st floor. Only three armed people are on the basement, and they are nowhere near the back, were the vault is." "Presumably, they have locked up the hostages there. They are most probably planning an alternate escape route, while the three on the basement floor are on watchout duty." Another police officer who was near, supplied. "So all the demands were diversionary technics and stalling on their part, just as much as on our side? I would say that I have to hand it to them, but I'm realy not in the mood of letting the robbers go. What about explosives?" "We weren't able to pick up anything." The cop said, scratching his head. "I think that if we were to move fast, we would be able to take down the three robbers on the basement, secure the hostages, and proceed to arrest the rest of the gang on the first floor without a hitch." "...Hmmm" Holdden didn't say a word, as she kept assessing the situation, while another cop responded "No way, Dave! We can't possibly cross the lobby in time to keep the robbers from going for the hostages!" "We can't risk throwing gas at them, either. It may not hinder them long enough." "An aerial assault is out of the question... Tch! Seems that we are at an impass, here. If we don't find a way to secure the hostages, our hands are tied."

Serge had let the rest of the robot to the ground slowly. When Subito asked him about how he should better go about wrecking the conveyers, Serge turned his head facing his friend, all the while curiously perching one of his eyebrows as he tried to process what his friend was asking him. "... Eeeh... I don't know? Does it matter? Just blast the blasted thing! If it stops working, and requires at least extensive repairs to become operational again, I think that would count as a win." Serge said as he went to grab the robot's legs again, while the elevator arrived at the bottom floor.

"Ehh, don't worry about it." Serge responded. "I'm still wearing my suit, after all, and I'm pretty sure it functions adequately. Here, let's do this; I'll grab it's... legs, while you can grab it from the shoulders, or, whatever. Just so long as we get to get out of this claustrophoby-inducing atmosphere." Serge seemed eager to leave that facility and return to the surface. "Not to mention, if we take one of the Robots, the other Robots may not take that too kindly. Just in case, be ready to make a run for it." He warned his friend, as he went to take the robot by it's feet.

Alright, enough posing around. It's time to get back to work. Net Fly thought, as he had finally gotten his bearings. I can't get out from the ship, unless I make a way out... so... what other options do I have?... glancing at the control panel of the ship, Net Fly grinned inwardly, as he appreciated the irony. "Well, well, well... things certainly seem to come a bit full-circle, now, ain't they?..." Net Fly examined the technological construct before him. When last we met, old friend, you were an alien piece of technology I had no hope deciphering, what with the time constraints and all. Now, however?... After having the chance to interact with you and the various other computers in the mother-ship?... I think I'll be able to get the hang of you. Let's see... connecting to the grid should be easy, especially after all that chaos I caused earlier. Now, what can I do... Examining his options, Net Fly weighted them all against each other and his objective. The medical bay computer... Useless. Memory banks... eh... I doubt it can help me now, but maybe I can download some information when I'm done. Huh? It seems I can bounce a signal to the Freedom League?... A bit subtle, there, Doom Room Simulator. Let's call this 'Plan: Graceful Defeat'. The materials scoop controls may or may not be utterly useless, but the interior weapons and the communications grids... now we're getting somewhere. I can use the later to lure the robots in range for the weapons to blast them... however, let's not be hasty. The ship is equipped with force shields, and they may protect the robots from the ship's own weapons. Plus, taking down the shields may be my ticket to taking off. Yeah, let's start with that, and work our way out of this mess. Having settled on a course of action, the young hero employs his affinity for computational interfaces, in order to lower the mother-ship's shields. While he has some familiarity with the system, Net Fly still encounters a few bumps along the road, however, he perserves in his efforts, until he finally starts getting back some positive feedback. Yes! I think that should do it.

"Indeed." Serge responds. "If there's one thing I know, it's that no amount of intelligence can substitute for actual experience, and that goes double for our line of work." While taking off his costume was a simple matter for Subito, Serge had to manually take out his clothes from his backpack, and put them over his costume. "What? I'm freezing!" he said defensively, while he took of his mask, and put it in his backpack. "But yeah, a robot. Sure. Let's take one with us..." Serge responded as he started making his way towards the corridor with the malfunctioning robots. After taking a few steps, however, he stops and turns to Subito, saying "... But NO making the robot our mascot! It would need constant maintenance, and I already spent too much of my time calibrating my suit as is."

Take 10 on Knowledge(Technology) vs DC 20. Computers check vs DC 22, 1d20+10 → [8,10] = (18) Retry: 1d20+10 → [11,10] = (21) .... Spending 1 hero point. Improve Reroll. 1d20+10 → [5,10] = (15). +10=25, Success.

Ok, people, this is good! I don't think I'll be able to GM more players than that. Overclock, Butterfly, Glow, and one of Bluerose's characters will join El Heraldo and Net Fly on this adventure. I am still a bit undecided about whether to choose Stormbreaker or Kit, Bluerose, though I'm slightly leaning towards Stormbreaker.

Net Fly had already operated the controls of the ship, through the use of his Datalink, so he's gonna do the same thing now, and see what his options are.

Vahnyu, here, and I am thinking of GM-ing a thread. Fair warning, as this will be the first time I will be acting as a GM. But, anyways. This thread will be named "Swiss Format", in refference to the Swiss-system Tournament. The story will have the heroes engaging in an armed robbery, and trying to stop it. However, a third party also has it's eyes on the action. What is it's ulterior motive? The heroes may find themselves having to work together in order to find out just what's going on. 4-5 players, including Net Fly and El Heraldo(so, 3 spots left). PLs 7 through 10 prefferably.

"You know, what? Calling mr Summers sounds like an excellent idea, Subito!" Serge said, complimenting his friend. "Especially considering that what I had in mind was just the police. Headmaster Summers seems like the kind of person who would definitely know how to best handle this situation. And even if he himself doesn't have experience with illegal firearms, someone from the rest of the faculty ought to have, either way. Nice one, bro!" "Ok, let's do this. We'll destroy the assembly line, and then, we'll go to the surface, contact Summers, take a small break, then go after the source of the signal." Checking his equipment to make sure that they still operated in normal parameters, Net Fly thought to himself. Well, what do you know? Calling Summers honestly didn't even cross my mind. Heh! At times, Subito seems unsure about himself, but he really is a sharp one, when it counts. No wonder the Blue Dame chose him as his champion!

Net Fly followed Subito's lead closely. "Hahaha! Well, it's good to know that you won't have to worry that much about it, at least." Serge said, as he patted his friend's shoulder. "I'm just glad I could help. You know, for a moment there? I was half-convinced I was making that up, to be honest." he joked, trying to further lighten the mood, not only for his friend, but for himself as well. Going back to the matter of the weapons, he interjected a thought "Hey, you're thinking that we should desroy them? Hmmm... I... I don't know if we should be hasty on doing that. I mean don't get me wrong, the last thing our world needs is more weapons, but don't forget that they are also evidence. I'm not familiar with the full foresnic capabilities of the FCPD, nor the legal structure, but I'm pretty sure that intact weapons would provide for more concrete evidence of foul play. On the other hand, however..." pausing a bit, as he ran some other possibilities, Serge added "...not getting rid of the weapons doesn't ensure that they won't find their way to the streets... And even if there was only one left, it could be relatively easily reverse-engineered... thought it would most likely end up in the hands of the government, not that's it's a guarantee or anything... I don't know... what do you think?"

"Who knows? Perhaps the robots were created first but proved more cumbersome than the simpler automated devices that were intergrated later. Maybe they were created afterwards in order to handle more complex assignments. Or they were meant to be soldiers... Your guess is as good as mine, really." Serge replied whithout quite taking his face from the screen. "Woah, hehe! That's a very loaded question there, partner." Net Fly replied, while he was still typing some commands. "Hold that thought for a bit... aaand... done! The programm I was writting is ready. It will use a number of accurate aglorythms to determine the location of the signal. Ok." Turning around, in order to face his friend Subito, Serge tried to address his doubts. "Now, about your concern..." thinking on the matter a bit, he said in a slightly deliberate manner "The question is: What is a nation? More importantly, what is a nation to you? Is it a collection of people? Ideas? Beliefs? Customs? Is it a mirror of yourself?..." Pausing a bit, as he gave it some more thought, Serge continued "I'm not sure if I can answer your dilemma for you, Subito, but I can certainly tell you this. Being a hero... means doing what needs to be done, when no one else can, or will, arise to the occasion. Loving your country is a fine sentiment, and you should be damn proud of it! As you should be aware that no country is without it's faults, and sometimes, it falls to our shoulders to help the country understand that. If you trully feel that something's wrong, do not mindlessly let yourself be lead, but neither should you distance yourself from the problem. Especially since you carry the blessings of your country, it is your duty above everyone else to make sure that the good people of Puerto Rico follow the spirit of it's ideals, not just the letter." "As for the moral validity of using your powers, well... What does it matter? What difference does your powers' origin make? I've heard and read about a lot of people whose powers come from demons, or other such sources. Many of them do not feel any oblidged to do anything that goes against their own ideals. Helping is helping, and that's all there is to it." "But then again, that's just my opinion." After a moment of silence, he asked "Hey, have you spoken with the Blue Dame about this? Maybe she can help you about your dillema... I don't know if she heard what I said, or if she agrees, but I sure hope she does, to a degree at least." Looking back at the screen, Serge noticed that the results had came in. "Oh, it's already done? Guess I really got carried away with the inspirational speach there, huh? Sorry." Serge sheepishly apologized. "Ok, let's see... huh... According to these findings, the source of the signal is not too far from the entrance, about 10 miles to the north. Well, at any rate, we should leave this place. We can at least call this place in. Afterwards, we can go and follow the trail on foot, or flight. Your call, though I wouldn't mind a break."

Taking 10 on Knowledge(Technology) and Computers, in order to operate te mainframe and attempt to trace the signal.

"Heh, this would make for a funny read, any other time, Heraldo. Apparently, the previous owners have spent the better part of this book documenting the spectacularly many problems that they encountered while using the mainframe." Leaving a sigh, Net Fly put the manual down, and headed towards the mainframe's interface console. "Oh, well, we have work to do here, right? I'll be operating the mainframe from the panel, since the controls seem simple enough. Watch my back, bro." He said to his friend, while smilling behind his mask. He powered the machine, and as the manual said, the lights went out. "... Yeah, when the lights are on, it's an indication that the machine is off. Weird and backwards, I know." He said, as he started operating the computer. Now let's see if we can trace where the signal outbounds from this network...

Net Fly was mostly out of it, due to the severe punishment he had recieved, but he was conscious enough to be somewhat aware of what the robots said, as they dumped him back to the ship where his test had started. Groaning from the pain, as he was coming to it, he shuffled around, trying to stand up. Well, isn't that nice of them? They even went the extra mile to not send me to unconscious-land... he sarcastically thought. Clenching his fists, he berated himself. What was I thinking? No, seriously, what was I thinking? I went right in the middle of the enemy group, without backup, and took my sweet time blasting them around, while having painted a big nice bullseye on myself. What was the first thing they told us about Crowd Control? Bringing on his mind the many lectures Serge had heard from his teachers on the matter, he pondered. Hmm... That's what you get for focusing on the goal and losing sight of your surroundings, I guess. Perhaps it is time for me to call it quits? I think I've been humbled enough for one day. This is the part where I let an actually qualified hero to do the job, right? Getting up, Net Fly was ready to give up there and then, ready to call for the simulation to end. He raised his hand. He opened his mouth from behind the mask. He talked. "I... I..." No sound would come out. His stare was distorted. He tried again. "I... I-... It's not over yet." It was a... surprisignly calm thing to say. There didn't seem to be a false bravado behind his words. In fact, even Serge himself was surprised of what had come out of his mouth. "It's not over yet?" he uncertainly asked himself, slowly lowering his hand, when suddenly, realisation dawned him. "But of course!" It's not over yet! The simulation is still running! It may not mean that there is a solution to the problem, but the simulation is still running! And if I can't find a solution, if there really isn't any solution programmed in... then I'll have to make one up out of nowhere myself.

1d20+5 → [6,5] = (11) 1d20+5 → [17,5] = (22) 1d20+5 → [12,5] = (17) yup. 2 hits!... Actually, it shouldn't even be 5 Toughness, it should be 4 or 3(due to the bruising, and... yeah)

Net Fly's opposition was dropping at a steady point, but somehow, they didn't seem to let up. In fact, the more that fell down, the harder they started hitting. This became evident when 2 more blasts grazed him in the shoulders, leaving one of the blasts hit him squarely in the sternum, completely knocking the wind out of him. "GRRRAAAAGHH!" His suit, for once, didn't help matters either, as the blow greated enough backlash with his Megaphone to leave him momentarilly paralysed from the pain and completely helpless to the Robots' unwavering resolve, struggling to even stay afloat.

Once again, Net Fly engaged in evasive maneouvers, while returning fire, managing to just barely hit 2 robots, but he was already wearing himself from overextertion. And while he managed to fight back the mounting fatigue, a couple more shots found their target and one even managed to hurt him in the stomach. "Gackhh" he gasped, as he flinched from the sudden pain. Perhaps they are not the pushovers I thought them to be. he thought to himself, Still, this is no time to let up. In fact, if this means anything, it's that I will have to redouble my efforts in taking them down. "What you say makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! The galaxy doesn't have waste! Even the most seemingly useless speck of dust has it's own use, it's own purpose. Don't waste my time trying to justify your battle-hungry actions through cheap excuses!"