Dodgeson
Another day in the city of New Harbour, though perhaps stranger than most, sitting on the coast it was no stranger to fog however the extent to which it reached in land, blanketing the city was more than a little unusual. Many places like Tomorrow, Jubilee or Ruby City might have simply brushed this off, trusting that their own valiant heroes were enough to deal with any situation that might arise but the citizens of New Harbour had more reason than most to distrust extra-normal events. Still it would take more than a little mist to stop people from going about their day and this went double for its heroes, currently making the headlines were a trio of smash and grab artists that had taken to calling themselves the Speed Demons, as the name suggested all three of them were speedsters and while they had mastered their abilities enough to be able to vibrate through solid matter, they hadn't quite gotten to the point where said matter would not then violently explode.

It was this distinctive calling card that had drawn the attention of two of the city's patrolling heroes, Platformer and Wildcard, to an upscale electronics store in the cutting edge tech district that had emerged following the city's rebirth (Astonishing Industries had managed to pick up a lot of real estate during the rebuilding of the city, which is a conspiracy theory for another time), a messy hole breaching whatever was left of the front wall of the building and the storefront conspicuously absent of any and all speakers and with no (obvious) sign of the delinquent metahumans.

Speaking of the tech district, the sheer amount of companies and businesses pushing the edges of what was possible in such a small space made the place a veritable candy store for a techhead like Jill Glass, but she wouldn't have much time to appreciate the innovative devices on display not only due to the explosion that sounded a few blocks away but also the discharge of an energy weapon that narrowly missed her, leaving scorch mark on the concrete! Following the weapon back to its point of origin the temporally displaced girl would see a large albino lion creature standing upright dressed in a primitive looking garb with what appeared to be a bow in their hands and loops of silver cord hanging from their belt that seemed to twist and writhe as if it was a living thing.

Elsewhere in the city the fog was thickest down by the docks but one could safely assume that Captain Blackcoat had more important thing to worry about, in many ways being a benevolent benefactor was much more difficult than being a feared buccaneer in the golden age of piracy, there was certainly more paperwork involved. This wouldn't be a problem for long though as a member of his crew burst in to the captain's quarters.

"Captain, you're going to want to see this!" He said breathlessly before turning back the way he came, hurrying back up to the deck of the Eternal. The crewman hadn't been joking either, there hanging in the sky was a pair what could only be described as steel longboats, moving through the air as easily as Blackcoat's own ship would sail a calm sea. Lest the pirate captain have any doubts about the intention of the strange vessels, slots quickly slid open on the side of one of the ships to reveal a row of cannons that quickly opened fire with a deafening BOOM!

Of course Captain Blackcoat wasn't the only hero that called the docks home, as one of the gateways to the city many of the gangs that had moved in following the reconstruction considered the area to be valuable and were willing to wage war with each other to make it theirs. Standing between them and the innocent people who had to live and work in the area was Scylla! Her daily scouting giving her a perfect vantage point to see the suddenly appearing sky ships and their sudden aggression.
Quellian-dyrae
While many people might have thought that trying to patrol in the fog would be rather  unproductive , for Kevin it was a minor inconvenience at worst!  Oh, true, his camera angle shenanigans didn't let him ignore it.  And no, he didn't have other super-senses that would let him navigate just as well without need for clarity of vision.  His quest markers didn't do any good in patrolling.  No, this wasn't about powers, this was about methodology!  No!  It was more than that!  This was about  habit !

And Kevin was going to explore the entire level anyway in case there were hidden power ups, so the fog didn't really change that.

When he encountered the rather-too-literally-hole-in-the-wall electronics store, it didn't take him long to connect the damage with the recent headlines.  These guys were speedsters and there had presumably been an amount of time measured in units greater than microseconds since this hole had been created, so in principle they could be anywhere in the city by now.  Kevin approached anyway; they might still be inside somewhere, even if they weren't they might have left clues that could help track them down, and even if they hadn't look there was a gaping hole in the side of the building and Kevin knew the entrance to a mission instance when he saw one.

As he entered the building he swapped to his Third-Person Viewpoint and hit Pause (simply good sense when there might be hostile speedsters about), zooming his camera angle around the interior of the electronics store, scanning for any hidden foes, or anything that might have stood out as significant or unusual.  He did go ahead and step aside from the entry as he did, not because he didn't think he could present some obstruction to the speedsters if they tried to get past him, but because they could just blow up another wall to get out if they wanted to so whatever.  While he searched he also pulled up whatever information he had in his Menus on the Speed Demons.

 
 Spoiler 
Given the fog and so as not to make assumptions about his entrance I'm operating on the assumption that Kevin just hasn't seen Wildcard yet.  My understanding is we're in a different part of the city than the others so he wouldn't have noticed like the explosion, energy blast, or flying ships.

Well Informed on the Speed Demons (+5 for Eidetic Memory):  (1d20+20)[ 40 ] .  Kevin will also Routine an Expertise (Superheroes/villains) check on them for 30.

Perception to scan around the electronics building with Third Person Viewpoint: [roll]1d20+10z[/roll].
 
LoonyLadle
Jill was taking a day off. She was self-employed now, so she could do that! If anyone asked, though, she would have said she was doing research.

There has been a lot to learn about this strange world. It was technologically and socially backward in a lot of ways. They hadn't colonized the stars, solved energy, or eradicated scarcity. Discrimination and corruption runs rampant. The superhuman population was also very high, and so many of them decided to use their abilities illegally. When she had first arrived in this timeline she had thought it all dumb and dangerous and regressive.

But electricity!

Jill knew about electricity, of course, but the people of this timeline do so much more with it. It isn't just a power source; it is a means of communication and applied on a massive scale. Such a massive innovation ought to have accelerated the humanity of this time to a new golden age within a matter of decades! But, ironically, that same mass communication had instead and counter-intuitively turned all attempts at verbal debate into a metaphorical basketball game where the teams are on different courts and stand around the basket racking up meaningless points and throwing dung over the dividing wall.

Was this the darkest timeline? Who knew for sure.

Jill is suddenly interrupted from her bitter reverie by a nearby explosion. What the heck?! That isn't normal! She starts jogging towards the source of the sound to see if there is any assistance that her modest abilities could render. When you break it down enough, human bodies are just organic machines and Jill does not discriminate when it comes to repairs!

Before she can get far however, Jill's self-defense implants warn her to jump out of the path of an incoming energy blast!  "Whoa, careful friend!"  she chastises the reckless demihumanoid.  "That could have hurt someone!" 

Jill sizes up the creature. She isn't sure if this qualifies as  strange  in this weirdness magnet of a city. There was that man who was just a brain in a glass jar, and that girl who was an octopus from the waist down (she was a good time but an expensive date), and then that gendervague floating alien crystal person who looked a little like four snowflakes stuck in each other. Lion man with energy bow barely even raised an eyebrow even if he was an unusual color, but on the other hand all those  other  strangenesses were from her own world. It was a coin toss!

 "Heeeey, did that bow just shoot a  plasma  arrow?!"  Jill asks, curiosity getting the better of her.  "What are those silver things? They're squirming! I have never seen tech like that before!" 
Dr.Gunsforhands
An unassuming Iara stares up from an alley just off of the narrow seaside street, her mouth agape. Despite their enormous size, the two airships are hard to make out in today's dense fog. Iara's eyes see them only as vague silhouettes. Luckily, the sound of cannon fire tells her everything she needs to know. While the local dockworkers and the owner of the nearby fudge shop point and shout, the noise and fog covers for Iara as she dashes off the pier and into the water.

Barely a second later, a column of water erupts from the shoreline, carrying   Scylla   up to one of the cannon ports. She shouldn't have any trouble squeezing in, but for the moment she only gets a peek inside.

 
 Spoiler: Rolls? 
She runs to the water and swims under a ship with Speed. Let's call it the one on the left, so the Northmost one. She then turns on her Scylla persona and Flight powers and flies up cannonward.

Mobility to grab onto the side of the cannon port:  (1d20+10)[ 28 ] . If this fails or is just too hard, she can just hover next to it in her watery flight bubble instead. This roll can also be her initiative if needed, because my brain has somehow decided her ability to get the drop on this crew hinges on her ability coolly latch onto a moving vehicle.

Perception to peek behind the cannon (and hear, with her accurate hearing shtick):  (1d20+10)[ 26 ] 

That's probably all of the actions she can do this round.
 
Llyarden
Jake landed outside the store with a loud thump and a crackling of fire that was apparently moonlighting as lightning bolts that scattered across the tarmac.    Stupid fog making the ground come out of nowhere.  Still not my worst landing.  

He paused, looking at the destroyed storefront.    "Speakers?"   he asked aloud.    "That's something strangely specific to steal.  A place like this has gotta have more expensive stuff than this lying around, right?  I mean, I know a good audio setup is worth its weight in gold and all, but I've never heard of people taking that  literally  before."  

Rachel didn't reply, because of course she didn't, she wasn't actually listening in over his comms.  That didn't stop him talking to her when he thought he was alone - and often when he didn't think he was alone, come to think of it.  By the standards of superheroes, commentating over his own actions barely ranked on the weirdness scale.

He brushed himself off, sending a handful of snowflakes into the fog, and made his way towards the giant hole in the wall to look around.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I'm assuming since Kevin moved out of the way of the giant hole in the wall, Jake won't be able to see him until he actually gets into the store himself.

Expertise (Superheroes/Supervillains) on the Speed Demons:  (1d20+20)[ 40 ] 
Expertise (Superpowers) to figure out if their particular form of superspeed might leave a trail of, like, bits of exploded road as they ran away or something:  (1d20+20)[ 24 ] 
And to round things off, Expertise (Science) to figure out if there might be a reason these guys might want a ridiculous number of high-end speakers other than to make an absolutely banging audio setup:  (1d20+10)[ 13 ] 
 
Starsign
Today had been a day planned for little happening; paperwork always piled up on Blackcoat's old wooden desk. He even intended to catch up on the ones which had been there for several days now. A little rolling fog and heavy waves hitting  The Eternal  wasn't going to disturb some much-needed work to be done with all the contracts, contacts, and payments he's made throughout New Harbour. He even could've gotten it done before the sun set. Things just happen to distract him from time to time.

And the sudden appearance of these two longboats is  certainly  a distraction he must turn his attention to.

The immortal captain feels the rumbling of the Eternal through his boots as the longboats open fire. He tilts his old captain hat down, unfazed compared to the rest of his crew who ran across the deck; unlike him, they did not face the terrors of the sea for over five hundred years.   "To your positions, men!"   His voice shouts out through the booming cannons.   "I want ye ships down to sea an' locker now!"   His orders mix with directions and instructions to target the vulnerable areas of the longboats, something he's picked up over his years of naval battle.

 The Eternal  was a rather archaic-looking ship, designed in hardened and reinforced wood with tough linen rope and sails like it was right out of the golden age of piracy. Yet the best smiths, mechanics and some  magical  reinforcement can let it survive, thrive even, in the modern world.

What  The Eternal  didn't have was its own flight capabilities, instead relegated to the sea as Blackcoat thinks of a way to board them. One of his eyes looked over at the water column suddenly shooting out from the sea. He recognizes that... He just needs to find a way up to join her.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Alrighty, let's make a Proficiency check to determine either, A) the best place for the Eternal to fire at the longboats, or B) the best way for Blackcoat to get aboard the ships. I'll use Nautical if it applies, otherwise I'll take Boatsmanship or something similar if that works better:  (1d20+10)[ 26 ] 
 
Dodgeson
The story of the Speed Demons was one that apparently Platformer and Wildcard were both very familiar with, perhaps they had caught the segment that HCNN (Start your morning with Harry Beale! An all-star journalist who, fun fact, had been in the same year at St Ambrose as Kevin) had run on them in the wake of their last crime spree? Damian, Matt and 'Rush' (not his real name but woe betide anyone that called him Elton) were three metahumans who struck on the 'ingenious' idea of parleying their superhuman speed in to a career as couriers but a series of unfortunate business decisions lead them to having to take some jobs carrying less than legal packages to keep their head above water, when this came to light the business was basically over and they threw themselves in to crime full time using the contacts they'd managed to accrue.

Unfortunately for Wildcard thought, despite their talent for blowing holes in things, the Speed Demons didn't really have anything that made them particularly easy to track but on the hand they didn't exactly have anything going for them in terms of avoiding detection and hey how difficult could it be to track them down? How many people are going to have a sound system that sweet?

Elsewhere in the tech district the leonine creature took a moment to internally berate itself for ruining the element of surprise and missing the shot and then it vanished from its perch, appearing again instantly before Jill, the bow now stashed on its back. "Here, let me show you." It growled threateningly, unhooking the silver thread from its belt and hurling it bola style towards her neck!

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Leoni Hunter 
Move Action: Teleport closer to Jill with Time Walk
Standard Action: Attack Jill with The Wyrm  (1d20+10)[ 27 ]  DC20 PL Check vs Cumulative Dazed/Compelled/Controlled if that hits  Hits 
 

Down by the docks Scylla rose up towards one of the floating ships and grabbed on to the side of the cannon with ease, peering in to the ship itself she would see six large albino lionmen who were all far too busy rushing around and loading the cannons with glittering crystal orbs to notice her presence. Towards the far end of the ship there was a set of stairs leading back up on deck where she could hear a voice bellow "Faster you mogs or you'll have the Chainmaker to answer to!"

"OUR ALL FOR THE CHAINMAKER!" A chorus of other voice called back in reply before being drowned out by another loud volley from the cannons.

"Aye aye Captain!" The crew of the Eternal knew what they were doing and were quickly to their stations even as the whole ship was rocked by yet another broadside from the strange invaders. Of course then the Captain turned is attention to how even the odds against the flying vessels, what was called for was some good old fashion boarding! The Eternal wasn't exactly short of the tools for such a thing or of course the owner of that waterspout might be able to help if Blackcoat could get their attention...
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin turned to look at the voice as Wildcard spoke.  (He actually physically turned to regard him rather than just shifting his camera angle; he had been trying to get better about that stuff.)   "Oh, hey,"  he said; he hadn't met Wildcard before, but he had done his research on New Harbour so he at least recognized him as one of the city's new heroes.

 "Yeah it's pretty weird,"  Kevin agreed.  He did not appear aware that the other hero hadn't actually been talking to him.   "They must have needed the speakers specifically for something.  I suppose the most likely possibility is that they have a black market connection that happens to specialize in high-end audio equipment or some such.  It's not like you can just walk into any store and trade whatever random items you've picked up for half their market price with no questions asked, even if I've never been entirely sure  why ..."   Granted, it hadn't been something he bothered worrying about much ever since he had finally abandoned all hope of actually having an inventory somewhere back in Junior year.

With no clues or threats obvious to a visual scan, he started going through the store more methodically, searching around for any possible clues the culprits might have left behind.
  "Although let's be clear, I am  not  ruling out some kind of sound-manipulating villain who calls themself Audiophiend, or a super-inventor shenaniganing up some sort of mass mind-control device from common household electronics, or something equally ludicrous,"  he added as he searched.

 
 Spoiler 
Investigation to conduct a Search at [roll]1d20+10z[/roll].

Also sure, Expertise (Criminal) to see if Kevin might know about some sort of local black market source for high-end audio supplies or whatever.  Using half rank thanks to Eidetic Memory since he's not trained in it, +5 for Eidetic Memory's bonus: [roll]1d20+12z[/roll].

I'll also just check his Quest Markers just to be safe.  I assume there wouldn't be one since finding these guys is presumably "part of the challenge", but I'd feel silly if I conducted a whole investigation and then it turned out Dodge was just expecting me to turn on my Quest Markers the whole time.  😏
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
 Chainmaker.  Scylla's never heard of them before, but that name is evocative in all the wrong ways. Granted, she herself is named after a monster that eats people, but still.

Acting on the first idea that comes to mind, Scylla decides to let the sea aboard. About 25 tons of water pour into the room through the cannon port, washing over the weapons to hopefully render them inoperable. Thanks to something like telekinesis, the salty pool takes shape around the line of cannons without flowing away as it usually would. Given that this ship was already defying gravity, perhaps that isn't so surprising.

Scylla dives into the water wall and disappears. In her element, she's practically a ghost. She slips down the row, a few cannons away, to keep them guessing as she thinks up her next move.

 
 Spoiler 
Create Water to fill up this whole side of the room, then turn on Concealment and swim in as an invisible, inaudible, un-smellable liquifish.
 
LoonyLadle
Jill gasps a little as the creature seems to  teleport  in front of her. Wow, that voice certainly sounded scary! Did he always sound like that? That must make it hard to make friends!

Her implants warn her again but she is too slow to move away from the silvery object as it is hurled lightning-fast at her. It wraps around her neck and a certain feeling settles over Jill's mind. Her mouth contorts into a few silent words as she works out what is happening to her.

 "Oh,"  Jill says, crestfallen, as understanding flops onto her like a lead blanket.  "I understand now."  He's a Bad Guy. And there's nothing Jill can do about it.

 
 Spoiler 
Guess Jill is Controlled then! Gosh, already? I didn't even get to do anything. =(
 
Llyarden
Jake blinked as he realised there was someone else there, looking over the other...hero?..for a moment, taking in the outfit.

...oh.  He knew who this guy was.  Rach had mentioned him a couple times, and if even half what she'd told him was right, he was  good .

Which...made it a little jarring when the guy started wondering why you couldn't sell anything to anyone in the real world, but it wasn't like Jake could exactly say his own powers were perfectly controlled, and as far as he understood it Platformer's powers were literally living in a video game, so fair enough.

  "I mean, with these guys they might literally just be playing tunes for themselves,"   he commented.    "They're not exactly the height of criminal genius."  

Nonetheless, he brought up the holographic display integrated into his costume (which probably made him look a bit like a video game character himself) and searched for any upcoming concerts - or more likely raves - in the near future, figuring that if someone needed a bunch of speakers it was probably going to be for some kind of performance, and high-end performances would probably have their own stuff anyway.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Expertise (Popular Culture) or (Current Events) to do some research into places/people who might need a massive load of speakers in the near future:  (1d20+20)[ 23 ] 

...I apparently forgot to give myself Expertise (Criminal) even though Jake's been doing this whole hero thing for years.  Good job, me.
 
Starsign
Blackcoat didn't need a moment to realize that  The Eternal , for all its benefits, was not equipped to face powerful alien ships in the skies. He had adjusted the ship's cannons to aim high upward, but blackened iron cannon fire only did so much against advanced technology; and his crew, for all their bravado and confidence, lacked enough experience and skill to keep up with supervillains. So a lot of things had to be done by the captain himself.

When you're over five hundred years old, you get a knack for fighting things normally beyond your capabilities.

  "Grappling hooks! Mount 'em to the cannon!   he ordered with a mighty shout, piercing the sound of waves and cannon fire. The newer pirates under his command gives a confused look, while the more experienced pirates quickly moved below deck. Working together, they opened the back hatch of a dark cannon and tied one end of a rope to it; on the other end, a decisively sharp hook, split four ways. Blackcoat's trusted men close the cannon and aim it upward at the ship not-currently being flooded by a rising tower of water. With a loud  *BOOM*  of gunpowder, the cannon fires out the hook, slamming into the longboat's underbelly with nothing but a heavy rope connecting it with the pirate ship.

The cautious-but-confident pirate lord gives a nod as he draws a blade from his left hip: a cutlass of the finest metal, light grey in color, shockingly rustproof, and sharper than the finest katana on Earth.   "Excellent, men!   he shouts again, leaping onto the thin wooden rail of  The Eternal    "Ye hold the ship and let NONE board, lest they walk t' plank!"  

In an action rarely does in the golden age of piracy, Blackcoat presses his boots on the heavy rope and begins running across it in an impressive feat of mobility. To board alone was considered suicide for most pirates; to board using only rope for a platform, even more so. However, Blackcoat was not one to do this if he hadn't done it a dozen times in the past. He lacked the superhuman agility of other heroes, but  The Eternal  always had a stash of items to make up for it.

That is the enemy's mistake of going after him on  his  ship, as he boarded their own using the nearest entrance from the rope.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Alright, let's power stunt some movement. I will stunt  The Captain's Handy Grappling Hook  (Flight, limited to staying or landing on some physical object like a rope) off of his main array. Will use this to climb up to and into the ship.

If there is time, let's do a Perception check to see if Blackcoat might find anything of value on the ship:  (1d20+8)[ 16 ]  But it probably won't help as much if he climbs into a trap. 😛
 
Quellian-dyrae
 "I'd figure in that case just one set of speakers would do?"  Kevin replied, although after thinking about it for a moment, he shrugged.   "Although I guess they are speedsters, so they might want to set up a sound system in multiple different locations that they travel between regularly.  I'd still lean somewhat against it though.  If it's just a personal thing, they'll be no easier to track down than they were yesterday, so what would even be the point of us -  both  of us, no less - stumbling across this particular robbery if it wasn't the setup to an actual mission?  I mean, two superheroes just happening to arrive at the same petty robbery simultaneously?"

"There's got to be a quest hook there; we just have to  find  it,"  he said with a firm nod.  It almost sounded like he was trying to be encouraging, if one discounts the not-quite-monotone delivery.

Look, he gave real-world logic a fair try.  You all saw him.  Considered likely motivations in context with their established background and everything.
Dodgeson
Both turning to their own methods of information gathering Platformer and Wildcard considered their options, as far as the Ambrose alumni was aware there were several 'legitimate business people' in New Harbour who rumour had it, dealt in goods that had been acquired through less than legal methods. Though it would be a challenge in and of itself to get them to admit it, doubly so if the person doing the asking was a known hero. As for upcoming events that would be requiring an extensive sound system there was only one thing that immediately jumped to mind, the upcoming New Harbour Food Festival &amp; Carnival, once a yearly celebration of food and fun this would mark the first time since the city's destruction that it was being held. Of course though this was an event officially sanctioned by the city, so it was debatable whether they'd need to purchase illicit equipment in the first place.

Still our heroes wouldn't have too much time to ponder all this information as they suddenly had company! A veritable hunting party of savage humanoid lions appearing by the hole in the store. At the head of the group one of the interlopers, dressed in a green cloak and holding a silver scepter in one paw, regarded the pair for a moment before growling out "Seize them!" to its cohorts, the octette of lion men behind them reaching to their belt for devices that extended in to metal staves with crackling tips and advancing menacingly.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Initiative 
Platformer:  (1d20+12)[ 26 ] 
Wildcard:  (1d20)[ 11 ] 

Leoni Hunting Party  (1d20+10)[ 18 ] 
 


Not too far away the silver chord wrapped around Jill's neck and in an instant her world became infinitely smaller. The Wyrm began its terrible work and all her futures and possibilities began to collapse one by one until the only thing left before her was timeline where she served the slavers. Satisfied that the thing around her neck had done its work, the hunter growled a single order "You will serve us now" before placing a single heavy paw on her shoulder and vanishing.

When they reappeared they were elsewhere in the city and they weren't alone, it was immediately clear that Jill hadn't been the only target of the invaders as there in the fog in front of them was an enormous crowd of people, all with the telltale silver chord squirming against their neck, standing the shadow of enormous corkscrew shaped structure that seemed to be embedded in to the ground.

"Wait here until you are given further instruction." Her captor snarled before stalking off through the crowd.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Since you're Compelled and not Controlled now's the time to make another DC20 PL Save to throw off the effect and while you're at it...
 
 Spoiler: Perception (DC20) 
One of the figures in the crowd stands out to you, a redheaded woman who appears to be coved in a sheathe of glowing white light.
 

 


Unfortunately for Scylla the ship's weapons were more than capable of functioning when wet, on the plus side they weren't capable of functioning without the crew and as lower berth flooded with salt water the lion men scurried for the stairs that lead to the deck, leaving the weapons perfectly harmless.

"What the blazes happened down there?!" The voice Scylla heard before bellowed.

"The weapons have flooded!"

"Flooded?! We're in the sky!"

"It was witchcraft!"

"Witchcraft!? Well get down there and subdue that ship or never mind the Chainmaker, you'll have me to answer to!"

Suitably chastised the lionmen promptly vanished, appearing on the deck of the Eternal with their weapons drawn. Something that Blackcoat would miss entirely as he launched himself through the air to land on the deck of the next sky ship. With most of the crew down below working the weapons he would find himself face to face with 5 of the leonine invaders, one markedly larger than the others with a patch covering one eye standing towards the back of the ship.

"Time hasn't touched you has it?" The creature said with a nasty grin "I wonder if the same can be said for my blade? Surrender now if you know what's good for you."
Llyarden
  "Oh, what the - hey, no,  don't  seize us!"  

Jake whirled around, vines flowing from his body and wrapping around him in a protective sheathe, as he spread both hands and focused.

  Please be useful, please be useful, please be... 
 "...heck yeah!"   he muttered under his breath, as the twining vines around his hand took on a shimmering purple light, before clearing his throat and looking at the...cat people?  Living in New Harbour was certainly an experience.

  "Seriously, we're busy investigating bad guys already.  Wait your turn!"  

He spread his arms, and the swirling vines of darkness erupted in all directions, crawling across the walls, floor and ceiling of the shop before springing as though propelled from a hose to wrap around the cat people and cloud their senses, turning them against each other even as the darkness assaulted their bodies.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Amplify Elements.
Free: Set Control Elements (60) to Elemental Blast [11, not sure why I wrote 12], Increased Range ehhh let's say 4 and hope 120ft is enough [4], Greater Energy Control [20], and 25 points in the random elemental effects, which turns into *drumroll* Nightmare, Regenerate Armour and half Winding Vines.  The random descriptor turns into...Mental?  I feel like I need to adjust my descriptor generator, a Toughness-resisted blast with the Mental descriptor is kinda weird.
Putting that all together and we have...Damage 10 [Uncontrolled Descriptor], Increased Range 4, Affliction 10 [Entranced/Compelled/Controlled, Will], Regeneration 10, and a bunch of flat modifiers.
Free: Use Control Elements to Link Damage and Affliction and apply Burst Area to both.
Standard: Attack however many Leoni I can fit in a 30ft radius with Control Elements.  DC20 Defence for half, DC25/20 Toughness vs [Mental] Damage and DC20/15 Will vs [Darkness] [Mental] Entranced/Compelled/Controlled.  This has Indirect 4 and Ricochet 1.

Status: Fine.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Success! Except Rutherford's ship is still in danger, since these guys can apparently just bwoop over. Hopefully Blackcoat can handle them better in person. What Scylla really needs to do is bring the whole ship down somehow, but it seems too big to just push around with water jets...

She moves the wall of seawater from the cannons to the stairway, and her invisible self along with it. From there, water flows out onto the deck as though the lower berth had already filled up and was spilling out.

 
 Spoiler 
Move action: reposition my vague water ball to the top of the stairs
Standard action: turn on the Environment power, flooding the deck so it's hard to walk around up here

Once that happens, look for a control room entrance:  (1d20+10)[ 26 ] , +10 to sense anything that's now in the 250-foot radius pool.
 
LoonyLadle
Whoa! Teleportedededed! Neat! Jill was expecting something a little more impressive when she was the thing being teleported, but nope, it was pretty boring. Literally blink and you miss it. Boo! But the fact that lion man could do that without any sort of obvious technological aid was impressive in its own way. Was it some kind of natural ability, had they miniaturized the technology to such a degree, or was it being done from some kind of external power source? Questions! If she could get access to the tech maybe she could study and improve it  for her new masters .

No! Nope! None of that! Jill reaches up to rip the silver squirmy from her neck and deposit it into her fanny pack for later study and analysis. Something about the confused and frightened enslaved people around her suggests that she might need a systematic solution, like a big aerosolized anti-brainworm spray. Before she does so however she realizes that she seems to have circumnavigated its functions subconsciously, and so decides to keep it on so as to appear as enthralled as the others. Her last girlfriend had been into hypnotic domination, so she gives a word of thanks to her adventuresome school days. The stupid cat bad guy hadn't even tried to take her wrench. Dumb dumb dumb! She was gonna punish their bottoms extra hard when this is over.

Jill had been hoping she would be taken to their headquarters or ship or whatever, but it looks like they were marshaling their prisoners first. She heads towards the huge corkscrew structure, attempting to glean some understanding of its function -- and perhaps how to mess with it.
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin didn't so much as blink at the sudden appearance of arbitrarily hostile forces that had nothing whatsoever to do with the scope of the current mission.  Random encounters were something he was  entirely  used to.  Honestly, he kinda appreciated the enemies just up and appearing out of nowhere and beginning immediate hostilities.  More bad guys should be like them.

He'd grant, teleporting lion-dudes with electro-staves weren't exactly the sort of random encounter he'd  expect  in a New Harbour electronics store.  Definitely a violation of Rockman's Razor, but whatever.

Wildcard seemed to have the crowd control well in hand, which was good.  Without a Power Up, Kevin's techs weren't really ideal for large groups.  He favored a more targeted fighting style.

Speaking of which, that scepter sure looked fancy!

 "Bigger, stronger, and better-equipped aliens than you have tried!"  Kevin shot back, and as soon as Wildcard's blast had cleared, he leaped into the fray.  Literally, at that, springing over whichever alions (not a typo, I am a terrible person) stood between him and their leader and coming down with his trademark stomping attack, aiming to bounce several times off the guy's head before back-flipping back to his original position.

Ideally, with his scepter now in hand.

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Run/Jump, 30 points to Damage, Strength, and Weaken Toughness, all with the Stomp Limit and Multiattack, and let's leave the other 10 on Third-Person Viewpoint and Quest Markers.

Move: Jump into Close range of the guy with the scepter.

Standard: Attack with Tactical Stomping Power Flurry at  (1d20+10)[ 12 ] .  On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack/20+Multiattack vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness, Strength DC 20+Multiattack vs. Disarm.   And of course the low rolls start as soon as combat begins.  Well played, dice.  Well played. 

Move-by Action: Double-jump back to original position.

Current Status: Normal.
 
Starsign
Focused on the longboat, and currently unaware of the situation on  The Eternal , Blackcoat stood tall against the five leonine warriors, or perhaps pirates, who had presumably been expecting boarders. The loud, technological babble of the ship's lights and buttons made for a sensory-inflicting irritation on the human pirate's ears and eyes. Had he not been familiar with seeing alien tech, the place might have actually bothered Blackcoat.

Instead, the ancient pirate looked gave a deathly glare towards the invaders, quite unimpressed at their attempt to attack his own ship. The normally approachable pirate suddenly gives off a stone-hardened look; his black pirate hat and clothing almost giving the visage of the reaper's cloak, and his cutlass like the blade of the scythe. He looked as much as a human as he did a nightmare of a pirate. And the look, scary to pirates by itself, was only backed up by his thunderous voice.

  "No worldly element nor created blade can take me to the locker. I be conqueror o' t' the seas fer five hundred years. And I be livin' fer another thousand still. I've felled TENFOLD t' numbers I see 'fore me; an' anything t' captain can do, I'll do far WORSE. If ye value ye life, drop ye weapon and RUN."  

It has been awhile since he's given such a speech; they never were great for negotiations, but it  is  a great way to defuse a potentially hostile situation.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Looks like the perfect time to try out  The Pirate's Terrifying Presence  (Affliction 10; Impaired/Disabled/Controlled; Burst Area; Selective; Limited [Impaired/Disabled/Hindered only apply to active checks, Compelled/Controlled can only force targets to back down, flee, surrender, etc]; DC 20 Will)

Since it's an Area attack, the DC should apply, though there might be a reflect save for half?
 
Dodgeson
Wildcard's darkness surged forward and engulfed the invaders, clouding their minds and battering their bodies, leaving their leader standing vacant and still amongst the chaos with another of their number and sending another pair sprawling to the floor unconscious, at least until Platformer leaped forward and though his attack didn't seem to harm the figure in green it definitely snapped him out of his fugue. The raiders had their orders and those that were left charged forward, two working in concert to try and bring their crackling staves down on Platformer while the other three mobbed Wildcard, hoping to bring him down before he could wreak move havoc with his strange powers.

Watching the others rush forward the shaman simply narrowed his gaze in Platformer's direction, apparently snapping him out of a daze wasn't enough to earn the hero any goodwill, waving his staff towards him.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Leoni Raider #1 
Move: Move in to Close with Platformer
Standard: Aid Raider #2  (1d20+13)[ 18 ]  vs DC10  +2 
 Leoni Raider #2 
Move: Move in to Close with Platformer
Standard: Attack Platformer with Stun Staff  (1d20+8)[ 10 ]  DC23 Toughness &amp; DC18 Fortitude vs Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated if that hits.  Miss 
 Leoni Raider #3 
Move: Move in to Close with Wildcard
Standard: Aid Raider #5  (1d20+13)[ 31 ]  vs DC10  +5 
 Leoni Raider #4 
Move: Move in to Close with Wildcard
Standard: Team Attack with Raider #5 with Stun Staff  (1d20+13)[ 18 ]   +2 
 Leoni Raider #5 
Move: Move in to Close with Wildcard
Standard: Attack Wildcard with Stun Staff  (1d20+8)[ 13 ]  DC23 Toughness &amp; DC18 Fortitude vs Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated if that hits.  Hits DC25/18 
 Leoni Shaman 
Move: Nah
Standard: Attack Platformer with Slow make a DC20 Will Save vs Dazed&amp;Vulnerable/Stunned&amp;Defenceless/Paralysed
 


The Wyrm was effective at what it did but it took longer to gorge on some timelines than others, giving Jill just the opportunity she needed to break free and reassert herself from the sinister device. Of course now she was deep behind enemy lines and surrounded, not just by the leonine invaders but by the almost mannequin-like figures of the other people that they had been able to capture. Which of course should have given her ample cover to creep toward the strange structure in front of her if not for two things, one she wasn't exactly the most stealth person in the world and two, her captors possessed heightened senses far beyond those of a mere Earther.

"You there, don't move!" She had only managed to take a few steps when the sound of one of the lionmen assigned to watch over their newly acquired cattle called out to her, bow already drawn and pointed in her direction. "Take another step and I fire! Don't think we can't afford to lose a few slaves."

"Looks like we got another one giving the Wyrm indigestion" Another of the creatures spoke, moving through the crowd towards her.

Moving (flowing?) up on to the deck Scylla's search for a control room would leave her disappointingly empty handed, the deck appeared to be bizzarely low tech, in fact if it wasn't currently floating in the sky it would be easy to simply write the ship off as something far far less advanced. Standing towards the back of the vessel was another of the creatures standing behind an enormous ships wheel and whilst they occasionally stole a glance towards the encroaching water they didn't seem to be letting it bother them much.

"Show yourself witch!" They growled towards the water, determined not to let theirs be the ship that fell first.

Speaking of the other ship, three of the Leoni on deck took one look at the fearsome figure of Captain Blackcoat and simply disappeared, rather risking the wrath of the Chainmaker than face the man in front of them.

"COWARDS! If I ever find you I'll have your hides!" The larger Leoni yelled impotently in to the air before turning his attention to the remaining member of his crew "Have you ever tasted immortal?" He asked, the other Leoni shaking his head "Then today is going to be a good day."

The other crewman simply nodded his head, grinning a predator's smile to signal his understanding before rushing forward, slashing his claws at Blackcoat as the other vanished only to appear again above Blackcoat's head with their blade drawn!

"DIE!"

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Leoni Raider 
Move: Move in to Close with Blackcoat
Standard: Aid Leoni Raider Leader  (1d20+13)[ 23 ]  vs DC10  +5 
 Leoni Raid Leader 
Move: Teleport in to Close with Blackcoat
Standard: Power Attack +2 Blackcoat with Shieldbreaker  (1d20+8)[ 23 ]  DC27/22 Toughness vs Damage, Weaken Toughness &amp; Cumulative Vulnerable/Defenceless if that hits.  Hits 
 
Llyarden
Jake raised one arm to block the staff, wincing as his powers chose the wrong moment to change to water control and the electricity arced through him.    "Ow...great."    Runes flowed about his free hand and he swept it through the air, sending a hail of unstoppable bolts of mystic energy flying at the raiders.

  "I...already told...you,"   he growled, through gritted teeth.    "Wait...your...turn!"    A pulse of air whipped around him, hurtling towards the shaman and threatening to hurl him - and anyone that got in the way - out of the store...which might not have been the greatest idea given the whole 'peasoup fog' thing, but it wasn't like his powers had that kind of foresight.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Dazed, and, uh, Dazed.
Free: Set Control Elements to Elemental Blast {11}, Range 4 {4; 120ft}, and 25 points random: Guiding Winds, Disintegrate, and one-half Whirling Winds (Gust).  Not the most useful combo in the world, but I'll take it.  Random descriptor becomes [Magic].
Free: Configure Control Elements: Damage 10 (Alternate Resistance: Defence) Linked Move Object 10 (Limited to Away, Contagious, Selective)
Standard: Attack the Raiders with Damage and Takedown 2, and the Shaman with Move Object, Power Attacking for 2, and now that I know the Raiders are Minions, routine attacks against them for 18 for DC27 Defence vs Damage.
Against the Shaman,  (1d20+8)[ 16 ]  for DC22 Strength or Dodge vs Move Object away, Contagious just in case someone interposes for him.
End of Turn: Fort to recover from Dazed (DC20):  (1d20+8)[ 24 ]   Honestly I'm perfectly happy with the rolls going that way. 

Status: Bruised, possibly Dazed (Fort 20)
 
Quellian-dyrae
Now look, I'm not going to say that learning that his own mother had been secretly implanting mental barriers to prevent him from understanding the full scope of his powers had caused Kevin to  overreact  or anything.  I'm just saying that these days?  It was going to take a lot more than a Slow spell to beat his willpower.  The goons he deftly dodged.

In fairness, he  did  start moving a bit slower, but that was only because he didn't really need to be altering reality to augment his mobility to paragon-level speeds to effectively maneuver around an electronics store.  With the goons now more separated from their leader, Kevin disengaged from the two that had attacked him and closed back into melee with the shaman, coming at him with a one-two strike to the chest followed by a powerful uppercut, before settling back into a blocking stance.  It wouldn't send him smashing through the roof Mortal Kombat style (and more's the pity) but it might knock a little blinking alarm clock out of him with the hands moving backwards - a Power Up that would reverse an injury through time, providing healing.  If it appeared he'd send it flying over to Wildcard.

His menus were flitting through his vision as he fought (back in the day that had been distracting, but he'd long since gotten used to it).  He opened up a Chat to his fellow hero, a little chat box just suddenly floating there in the lower-right corner of his vision.  If he concentrated on it time would slow down and the chat would expand so he could read it and reply at his convenience.


   Platformer:   Looks like the fog is these guys' doing.
  Platformer:   Evidently they've popped up a few times throughout history.  Basically grabbing a bunch of people up.  Some suggestion that they're slavers.
  Platformer:   They tend to grab up a lot of people when they come, and given that the fog has been covering the entire city, I expect there are more attacks happening. 

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  Visual Communication 1 (Rapid 2) [6] from Chat, Stomp [5], Strike [5], Striking Flurry [10], Block [10], Healing Items [10], and four ranks of Shoot [4].

Move: Into Close range of the Leoni Shaman.

Standard: Attack the Leoni Shaman with Striking Flurry at  (1d20+10)[ 23 ] .  On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage.  If he fails by two degrees or more, Wildcard receives Healing at  (1d20+10)[ 17 ] .  Either way, Kevin is Deflected for two rounds.   That should clear Wildcard's Bruise if the shaman fails by two degrees 

Current Status: Normal, Deflect 1d10+18 (SE).
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Scylla sees the wheel and flows towards it. She doesn't think about how such a mechanism would handle three-dimensional flight.

 "Bold of you to be calling me a witch, after everything you've been doing." 

Her voice echoes up from the pool as it splashes up against the helm's modest steering platform. She hums a few ascending arpeggios before rising up across with him with her thin lips pursed in a single tuning note, which she crescendos until it's reverberating across the deck.

Just as she gets his attention, she shoots upwards, letting a sudden water jet carry her above and behind the maned helmsman, only to drop her in a floating ball of water just out of his reach. Her voice follows her acrobatics in a wordless tune, impossibly capturing every movement of herself and the ship in sound alone.

With two more gentle notes, she gently waves her hand for him to stand aside so she can take the controls.

If he doesn't feel like doing that, any one of his comrades can come over to pull him aside instead.

 
 Spoiler 
Free?: Dropping out of stealth and back into Scylla's form.

Movement: Switching to platform flight and zipping over the wheel, ready to drop into the helmsman's spot. She can be pulled out of her little water bubble, if only they can reach...

Attack! Affliction! Everyone who can hear her sing - so, probably everyone on the deck of this ship - gets to Defend with a DC of 20 to plug their ears if they want to. Otherwise, it's Will DC20 to resist Entranced, DC15 to resist Compelled.
 
Starsign
The first slash came so easily to Blackcoat's eyes. It was a telegraphed swing of the invader's claws, charging straight at him. Someone as old as the pirate knows that you should never charge straight forward at a capable and dangerous pirate lord. So the human swiftly, calmly, and easily backstepped from the leonine's claws, ready to counterattack.

And then Blackcoat realized it was  too  easy.

Too little, too late. Blackcoat turned and looked up just to see the leader and his blade coming down. The material of the blade collides into the pirate lord's cloak and flesh, leaving a sharp laceration vertically downward. For a brief moment, that looked like all there'd be to the fight: a courageous pirate lord boarding and falling before advanced alien invaders.

Instead, the leonine leader would look up and discover Blackcoat not just alive, but also unshaken by an otherwise nasty blow.   "Not bad,"   he says quite plainly. Blackcoat has been shot, stabbed, slashed, punched, and all other manners of harm over his centuries; alien tech wasn't going to stop him.   "But ye made a poor choice."  

Quickly and fluidly, the human pirate tumbled around the leonine leader. With the mighty metal cutlass in hand, Blackcoat spun his flashy blade around him and quickly lashed out thrice to the remaining leonine minion. Blackcoat's fighting style is profound and honed, able to stop and counter any blow coming at him. He's performed his many maneuvers hundreds of times, though he's rarely fought aliens with it.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
This calls for a potentially more defensive play. Using  Cutlass of the Sharpest Metal  on the remaining leonine minion, and using Takedown 2 to attack the leader if the minion goes down. Using Accurate Attack +2/-2 to help land the hit.

DC 23 Toughness vs Minion on hit:  (1d20+12)[ 19 ] 
DC 23 Toughness vs Leader on hit:  (1d20+12)[ 21 ] 
 
LoonyLadle
Jill stops when ordered to, like a good little slave might have.  "Sorry, I was just fascinated by your thingus over here!"  she says happily, pretending not to be acutely aware of the weapon pointed in her direction.  "I'm kind of an engineer and I'm so curious to know about my glorious overlords' technology you know!" 

(( Rolled a 16 on deception. ))
Dodgeson
Wildcard's mystic bolts hit home against the raider's sending a trio of them dropping to the floor, though the rest appeared to be made of hardier stuff and unfortunately for the hero those were the ones currently menacing him with the crackling staves, and of course the one patiently waiting their turn, but they probably didn't need to worry too much about them.

Wind whipped around the store with enough force to send some not-exactly reasonably priced flat screen televisions toppling on to the floor but as the wind rushed towards the shaman it petered out before it could touch them, they brought the fog with them and traversed temporal winds, the regular kind was just as easy for them to control. What he couldn't control though was being uppercutted, Kevin's blow sending him stumbling back a few paces but he was no weaker physically than the rest of his people and wasn't out yet. Freezing the hero hadn't worked so this time they decided to try the reverse, bringing the weight of ages down on him with a wave of their staff.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Leoni Raider #4 
Move: N/A
Standard: Team Attack with Raider #5 with Stun Staff  (1d20+13)[ 15 ]   Miss 

Leoni Raider #5
Move: N/A
Standard: Attack Wildcard with Stun Staff  (1d20+8)[ 20 ]  DC23 Toughness &amp; DC18 Fortitude vs Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated if that hits.  Hit 

Leoni Shaman
Move: N/A
Standard: Attack Platformer with Accelerate, make a DC25 Fortitude Save vs Damage
 


The guards didn't lower their weapons for even a second, Jill might have been cooperating for now but they weren't buying her excuse for a second, her perky attitude and the very fact that she was able to do things without their explicit instruction betrayed her among the rest of their captives who seemed incapable of moving a muscle without the explicit orders of their new masters.

"Get moving." The creature approaching her ordered, putting one heavy paw on her shoulder and trying to force her forward towards the large structure before them "The Chainmaker will decide your fate now."

Elsewhere in the city (and in the sky!) Scylla's beautiful song finds no purchase in the otherworldly mind of the Raid Leader and the beast fixed her with a murderous glare "How dare you!" He roared, clearly not taking being compared to a witch very at all, the next second he was gone reappearing above Scylla and trying to grab the hero in their enormous razor claws "Lets see how well you sing when I tear out your throat!"

On the other ship Captain Blackcoat cut down the crewman in front of him, leaving him face to face with the ship's Leader and his own gleaming blade "You talk plenty confident for dead man." He retorted, vanishing only to appear behind the pirate, slashing low to try and disable him.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Leoni Raid Leader  
Move: Teleport to Scylla
Standard: Grab Scylla  (1d20+10)[ 24 ]  DC20 Defence/Strength vs Grab if that hits  Miss 

-----

 Leoni Raid Leader 
Move: Teleport behind Blackcoat
Standard Attack Blackcoat with Hobbling Slash  (1d20+10)[ 23 ]  DC25/20+Multiattack Toughness vs Damage &amp; Impaired/Disabled if that hits.  Hits 
 
Llyarden
Okay, yeah, a sudden in-game chat appeared in Jake's vision...kinda wrong-footed him a bit.  One of the raiders rammed their stun staff into his chest.  It was debatable whether he actually noticed.


   Wildcard:   Got it. 

A remarkably short time afterwards, he sent another Chat.


   Wildcard:   Can you do this messenger thing to the dark-shrouded one over there? 

  "Hey, you."    The darkness wrapped around one of the raiders writhed in response to its master's voice.    "Respond to any instructions put to you through a message window overlaid on your vision as though they were my commands."  

And once the Chat was up, Jake immediately tested his theory.


   Wildcard:   Now tell us everything you know about where else you're attacking, what summons the fog, why you're attacking, any weaknesses you, your shaman or any of your other raiders possess, and the identity of your leader.
  Wildcard:   Actually, first tell us any information you've been ordered not to tell us even if captured.  Then tell us the answers to everything I asked above, and then answer any other questions Platformer or I give you. 

He kinda frowned as the fog around him began to wrap around him.    Air really isn't a useful power right now, thanks, powers.  And this was going so well.    All the same, he raised his hands, arcane ruins shimmering and twisting into a different shape.   "So you're pretty good at the air manipulation, huh?  Can you do  this ?"  

The fog formed into the shimmering shape of a falcon and whipped around the room, space warbling and warping in its wake to hopefully throw the shaman off a bit.  He was more trying to distract them - especially the shaman - and stop them taking out their own goon than anything else, but if it happened to knock down a raider or two he wasn't going to complain.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Order the Controlled raider to infodump via Kevin's Chat.  Or just aloud, if Kevin's swapping off it.
Non-action: Rerandomise 25 points Control Elements: Distort Space, Wind Wall, Aerorepulsion, Solid Fog, and half a Disintegrate, which doesn't do anything.  Random descriptor becomes...Magic again, but this time with Shamanistic, because apparently this is the round I use the Leonis' own stuff on them or something.
Free: Configure Control Elements: Damage 10 Linked Weaken Attack Bonus 10 Linked Close Deflect 10.
Standard: Attack the remaining Raiders with Damage, the Shaman with Weaken Attack bonus even if he doesn't seem to use attacks all that much, and Deflect...myself, I guess?  All-out attacking for 2, power attacking for 4, routining vs the Raiders for DC29 Toughness vs Damage.
Vs the Shaman:  (1d20+8)[ 24 ]  for DC24...I forgot to define the resistance?  Should be Will...vs Weaken Attack Bonus.

Status: 1 Bruise, -2 defence, deflected at 1d10+14.
 
Quellian-dyrae
While Kevin had temporal powers of his own, he could really only use them to stop time, so he wasn't quite prepared for the accelerated aging attack.  His body began flickering, seeming noticeably older with every reappearance.  Worse, his life bar started dropping precipitously.

That was annoying, happening this early in a battle.  Fortunately, Kevin was still young enough that accelerated aging could only go so far, and as a tank-role character, he had access to a pretty powerful self-heal, albeit one with a long enough cooldown that he could only really use it once a battle.  Still, it was more efficient than hoping for a Power Up, so he pulled the trigger on it, reverting back to his normal age and refilling most of his lifebar.


   Platformer:   Uh, sure. 

Kevin dutifully opened the Chat to the compelled goon.  He kinda blinked at Wildcard's message.  Was...was he trying to get information out of a random encounter mook?  That was some pretty out-of-the-box thinking there.  If that actually worked, Kevin'd be impressed.

(He tried to remind himself that while from his perspective these guys appeared like a random encounter, they were actually sapient beings and there was no real reason they wouldn't have some useful knowledge about their forces and mission and so on.  But he was having trouble getting that reasoning past the part of his brain that doubted these guys had lines or were even mechanically capable of initiating dialog boxes.)

Meanwhile!  This time-manipulator was proving a capable mini-boss.  Kevin could respect that.  As he stopped flickering, he attacked anew with hasted speed in a rapid combo attack, several body-blows with a quick disarming strike slipped in between them, and all finished off with a crushing blow straight to the face to pour on the damage.

 
 Spoiler 
Move: Staggered.

Standard: Recover from Staggered.

Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  Chat 2 (Rapid 2) [10], Stomp [5], Strike [5], Striking Flurry [10], Power Strike [10], Activate [10].

Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Attack the Leoni Shaman at  (1d20+10)[ 17 ] .  On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack/20 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness, and Strength DC 20 vs. Disarm.

End of turn: Secondary Effect triggers.  Kevin is Deflected at 1d10+18.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued as of next turn, +2 Defense this turn, Deflect (1d10+18).  Recover used.
 
Starsign
Fighting a teleporting enemy was a new experience for Blackcoat, or at least one who could willingly teleport wherever they like every few seconds. There was no footwork involved, no way to trip up or predict where the opponent will move. In a swordfight, this put Blackcoat at a rather problematic disadvantage. Struggling to adapt, the pirate lord did his best by quickly doing a single, evasive spin to catch where the leonine leader would be; Blackcoat found him  just  before the invader's blade slid on and over his knee; even the slight laceration was painful, though barely a problem for Blackcoat, and certainly far worse than getting the knee sliced open.

  "Only I be sayin' when I stop speaking,"   the human retorts, certainly sounding confident.   "And I be sliced 'n diced by a thousand blades. One more lick ain't going to bother me."   What the pirate left out was his rather familiar dislike for the dishonest attacks, ones designed to cripple, weaken, or otherwise make an example of an opponent. It was something Blackcoat saw far, far too much during the golden age of piracy.

Which was why he picked up a few tricks from it, and in a leap of quick thinking, swing a simple, easily-predictable slash at the leonine warrior... as Blackcoat took out his old, shockingly durable flintlock pistol and fired a painful lead ball at the invader's own knee.

Sometimes you simply have to play dirty.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Alright! let's use  Painful Dirty Trick . Damage 10 + Weaken Toughness 10 (DC 25 Toughness + DC 20 Fortitude) on hit:  (1d20+10)[ 24 ] 
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
In the half-second the lion man spends in the air with Scylla, she can feel his claws swipe into her even as she twists aside, and he gets to experience the sensation of running a fork through soup. Scylla slips out of his grip like an eel and jets down to the ground ahead of him with an uncanny splashing effect.

By the time the Raid Leader lands on his feet and looks up, the finned witch already has one hand on the steering wheel he left behind. Unable to resist the urge, she touches her eye and sticks out her tongue for one last childish taunt.

 "Nyeh!" 

Then she spins the wheel with all her might, hoping to send this thing careening into its sister ship, or at least render it spinning out of control for a minute. Or maybe just crash it into the sea? Either way, really. It's not like she has any idea what she's doing.

 
 Spoiler 
There are some contingencies here that might normally be talked through in an in-person game. If the wheel is way too heavy for her (odd, but believable if it's designed for use by PL8+ beastbois) she can try summoning a jet of water to spin it as a Move Object effect.

At any rate, actually attaining her goal of ramming the other ship probably entails a check of some kind, even if she's willing to call a success what most pilots would call a critical failure in this case. 😛

Probably Untrained Expertise:  (1d20)[ 17 ] 
 
LoonyLadle
Yeaaaah, they're not convinced at all. Apparently they've never encountered someone who wanted to be enslaved, or else these weird wormy things work in a way that completely robs their victims of not just independence but also initiative. That seems like a rather poor way to enslave, actually; a happy and willing servant can be more creative and productive than an unhappy (or totally numb) one. If Jill were to be an Evil Overlord she'd want her minions to love and worship her. But then, that would make her a rather poor  Evil  Overlord, wouldn't it? Ah well.

 " Oooo , so that's where your boss is?"  Jill asks as she is led, walking happily along. Internally, she assesses the possibilities. Chain maker  implies a scientist or engineer sort. Evil science overlord, maybe?! But xe could just be a regular ol' slaver jerkoff who doesn't understand the tech xe uses. How many guards would xe probably have? Would xe be tasty in a fight? Maybe! Probably? Yeah, probably. Jill isn't sure she wants to be surrounded by a kajillion guards in a room with an evil slave emperor. Sounds like a whole lot of  above her pay grade . Nope, nope nope nope nope, Jill's backing out of this. She's gonna bonk these guys, go get her suit, and spray them with a bunch of evil mind-controlling worm insecticide. Yes! Uuuugh, this was supposed to be her day off!

Without warning, Jill ducks away from the paw on her shoulder. With a spin she pulls the giant oversized red wrench from her back and slams it into the side of the lion-guy's knees!

 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
 Improved Power Attack Hero Point wrench bonk! Attack roll 25 on the lion guy behind Jill, damage rank 8. 
 
Dodgeson
Wildcard's new power to summon space warping mist falcons proved to be exactly what was needed, hurtling around the room and dispatching the most of the would-be slavers just as a new message appeared in the chat.


  Z'bæ:  We are the Leoni, we walked the timelines and preyed on you limited species, now we are all that is left. Human slaves sparked a rebellion at the heart of our empire, only our lord, the great Chainmaker escaped unharmed to reunite with us. His great science has sealed off this city from the rest of your world and he has promised that when we have brought it to heel and fed your people's futures to the Wyrm the rebellion will be undone and our people will be restored. 

So that was handy, meanwhile Platformer would find his flurry of blows losing almost all momentum as he bore down on the Shaman as if he was trying to punch through molasses allowing them to casually bat them aside. He didn't however like his odds against both him and Wildcard without the rest of his raiding party and with less to fear from their leader than most simply vanished in to thin  air  mist.

Speaking of Leoni not having a good time, elsewhere Jill's wrench connected with the knee of the bulky lion-man, sending him stumbling backwards and yowling a series of very inappropriate curse words in their native tongue. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't the only slaver watching over them and a pair of them loosed their bows and sent a pair of crackling energy bolts coursing towards her while the third rushed forward to try and tackle her to the ground.
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Leoni Guard #1 
Move: N/A
Standard: Attack Jill with Energy Bow  (1d20+8)[ 24 ]  DC23 Toughness &amp; DC18 Fortitude vs Impaired/Disabled if that hits.  Hit 
 Leoni Guard #2 
Move: N/A
Standard: Attack Jill with Energy Bow  (1d20+8)[ 23 ]  DC23 Toughness &amp; DC18 Fortitude vs Impaired/Disabled if that hits.  Hit 

Leoni Hunter
Move: Staggered
Standard: All-Out Charge +2 at Jill  (1d20+8)[ 22 ]  DC18 Strength/Defence vs Grab if that hits.  Hit 
 


Back down at the docks two ships collided with each other in the air, shaking each vessel, though the combatants aboard then were all skilled enough to avoid eating the deck. The sudden crash was enough though to leave Blackcoat's opponent wide up his surprise flintlock, nearly dropping to one knee before gritting their teeth and powering through the pain.

"MOG!" He roared, turning his anger towards his compatriot on the other ship "What's the matter with you?! You can't handle one little girl?!" If it wasn't for the pirate in front of him he was about three seconds from going over there and gutting them himself, Blackcoat would have to do and he brought his blade up once again trying to leave as little an opening for retaliation until he had worked passed the worst of his last injury.

On the other ship the lion creature didn't waste another second, if they didn't get this situation under control soon they were dead whether they succeeded or not, reaching to their side and unfurling a cruel multi-limbed whip from their belt. "Get your hands of that wheel witch!" They bellowed, lashing out at heroine who had commandeered their ship.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

Leoni Raid Leader
Move: N/A
Standard: Attack Scylla with Barbed Lash  (1d20+10)[ 21 ]  DC25/20+Multiattack Toughness vs Damage &amp; Impaired&amp;Vulnerable/Disabled&amp;Defenceless if that hits.  Miss 
-----

 Leoni Raid Leader 
Move: N/A
Standard: Attack Blackcoat with Whirling Blade  (1d20+10)[ 28 ]  DC25+Multiattack Damage if that hits. The Raid Leader is Deflected at 1d20+10.  Hit 
End of Turn: Regain a point of Toughness
 
LoonyLadle
Jill, predictably, gets obliterated.
Quellian-dyrae
 "Hey- no...!   C'mon! "  Kevin shouted as the shaman vanished.   "That's  our  EXP you're running away with!"   He could use it too.  He felt like he may have gotten a bit rusty in that fight.

He sighed and looked at Wildcard.   "I hate enemies with flee mechanics,"  he complained.

And then the charmed Leoni revealed the truth.  When Kevin read the new message in the chatbox...he was shocked.  Floored.  Taken utterly aback.  For all his knowledge, his hard-won experience, he could never have seen this coming!


   Platformer:   YOU HAVE A  NAME !?!?!?!? 

...I said he's getting  better  at recognizing that he's living in a real world where people are in fact people.   Better .  It's a relative term.  Also a work in progress, clearly.

But boggled though he was, Kevin was still a hero!  There were more important matters to worry about.  Now, to be fair, a lot of heroes would have felt at least some measure of sympathy that this raiding party was apparently all that was left of the Leoni.  Even if they were slavers, that was something you could empathize with.  Kevin...it didn't really hit him in that way.  He was more proud of the rebel slaves for throwing down  that hard .  Good on them.

Kevin suspected that Professor Quantum would have had some  words  for these guys about trying to change the past by...whatever, doing something  untoward  with peoples' futures.  Kevin didn't have a great model of these guys' time-manipulation capabilities, but that seemed kinda out there to him.  Probably more likely this Chainmaker guy wanted to basically start things over, and was coming on a new slaving run to get his new personal empire kicked off right.

Which, for a guy with  time powers , really seemed to Kevin to betray an  appalling  lack of pattern-recognition.

But he could critique the villain's plan later.  For their purposes, the information suggested an obvious course of action: take down the Chainmaker.


   Platformer:   Where can we find this Chainmaker?  And roughly how many of you guys are here? 
Starsign
Used to the rocking of waves and crashing of boats into each other, Blackcoat keeps his boots and legs firmly in place as the other ship crashed into the one he's on. The crashing and screeching of metal and steel upon each other leaves his ears in pain, albeit fairly minor compared to the lacerations and cuts from the leonine leader's blade. Still, knowing who was on the other ship, Blackcoat can't help but mutter,   "Good job,"   under his breath. It's not an understatement to say that Scylla is likely handling things better, and quicker, than he currently is.

Another sharp attack from the leonine leader leaves another wide slash across Blackcoat's chest, giving his body a bloody X, as if marking a treasure spot in the sand.

  "That's 'bout enough o' ye,   he sharply warns the leader as the immortal captain assumes a defensive position, recognizing his opponent's skill, as he attempts to strike back with his cutlass at the smallest opening available to him. Knowing that this opening isn't enough, Blackcoat follows up on his first slash with another series of quick, forward-moving cuts and flourishes.

  "I've be fightin' with a blade fer hundreds of years,"   he tells the invader.   "An' I be knowin' every style an' trick 'ere and beyond Earth. Ye think a blade's an' some teleportin' will surprise me?   The motions are two-fold: to push the leonine leader back, and to find a way to capitalize on the invader's prior injury.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Alright, switching back to Cutlass of the Sharpest Metal for the Deflect. DC 25 Toughness; Blackcoat is deflecting at  20 :  (1d20+10)[ 26 ] 
 
Llyarden
Jake...kinda gave Platformer a very confused look at the 'YOU HAVE A NAME?!' part, but didn't question it.  (Although speaking of pattern recognition, between that and the references to EXP and flee mechanics, you might have thought that he'd have started to get it by now, but apparently not.)

He was also slightly put out that after he'd managed - for once - to ensnare someone with his powers without accidentally exploding them or something, the Leoni seemed to know basically nothing of any use and was trying to make up for it by what sounded like reciting someone's speech.


   Wildcard:   *sigh*
  Wildcard:   From now on, answer the questions we put to you without the overly flowery language. 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Scylla jumps, dodges, and swings on the wheel, refusing to give up the driver's position. The raid leader is a master of their bladed whip, but the witch just seems to melt and flow around the cruel weapon.

 "Yeah, Mog, what happened?"  she teases.  "I barely even had to trick you! Maybe the Chainmaker needs to chain you to the wheel next time?" 

She spots a small breach in the hull of the other ship and wrestles with the controls trying to hit that same spot again.

 
 Spoiler 
I'm trying to decide whether it would be better to just try and land this as a move action while defending, but the flying bumper car attacks just feel too fun.

 (1d20)[ 5 ]  for more untrained expertise.
 
Dodgeson
  Z'bæ:  The palace ship is anchored in the garden in the center of your city. We are 3 legions. 

Wildcard had told him to be direct and he dutifully replied in a terse monotone without any verbal flourish. Still they'd both know exactly the place that the alien was referring to, in the middle of the city was Hero Park. Formally the location of the Protectorate's headquarters, the heroes were laid to rest there and the building turned in to a memorial for people to pay their respects, with the surrounding area converted in to a public park.

Speaking of the park, Jill was being carried in to the belly of the beast at this very moment, firmly in the grip of the Leoni guard, metal doors slid open and closed behind them as she was taken not to the lower decks where the cowed humans were being held in pens but higher up to prison cells where those who rejected the Wyrm waited for the Chainmaker's judgement.

"Another one?" The jailer eyed Jill and the Leoni that brought her in "I thought the Wyrm...?"

"Question the Chainmaker again and cell duty will be the least of your worries." The other one cut him off almost immediately, the jailer just rolled their eyes, opening the cell door for him to drop Jill in.

The inside of the cell was fairly sparse, the Leoni might have mastered space/time travel but for holding prisoners they seemed to think that good old fashioned metal bars was good enough. At the back of the cell was a small wooden bench currently being occupied by a statuesque brown haired woman in a shirt and tie.

 "Finally some company."  She said, regarding Jill over the rim of her sunglasses  "The furries aren't too chatty." 

Back at the docks Blackcoat and his adversary were still locked in their vicious dance of blades while Scylla continued to nimbly avoid her own enemy and his vicious rain of whips, the Brazilian girl bringing her ship round again to collide with the other, punching hole clean in to the lower decks of the other vessel and shaking both ships to their core! Blackcoat's opponent would have the time to feel outraged about the damage to his vessel though as the immortal pirate's skill with a blade proved more than a match for his own and sent him crumpling to the floor.

On the other ship the raid leader pulled himself up from the floor where he'd just faceplanted and roared with anger, he was just so done with Scylla's nonsense.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Okay this one gets a little tricky, unfortunately unlike certain Lion-men I can't see the future, so nested spoilers lets do this!
 
 Spoiler: Scylla is Tripped 
 Leoni Raid Leader 
Move: Stand up
Standard: All-Out Attack +2 at Scylla with Barbed Lash  (1d20+17)[ 36 ]  DC25/20+Multiattack Toughness vs Damage &amp; Impaired&amp;Vulnerable/Disabled&amp;Defenceless if that hits
 Hits 
 

 
 Spoiler: Scylla isn't Tripped 
 Leoni Raid Leader 
Move: Stand up
Standard: Attack Scylla with Rain of Whips, DC20 Defence &amp; DC25/20 Toughness vs Damage
 

 
Dr.Gunsforhands
The raid leader's finally finds enough purchase in whatever passes for Scylla's flesh to pull her off of the wheel and throw her to the ground. In his rage, he continues whipping at her on the ground until she disintegrates into a motionless puddle on the platform.
Quellian-dyrae
 "Works for me,"  Kevin said aloud, looking to Wildcard.   "What do you think, should we try something tricky?  We might be able to have this guy just teleport us in past some of their defenses.  Or should we just head there and smash through?  Myself I tend to be something of a completionist so going in from the start of the level has a certain appeal, but I can appreciate a good speedrun so I'm down for either." 

If he felt at all concerned about the prospect of just the two of them attacking a palace ship presumably packed full of three legions of time-bending alien soldiers, it was not apparent.  'Course, the fact that they were two  reality-warpers  may have had some impact on that.
LoonyLadle
Jill had thought it possible that she could drop one of her guards and seize his cool plasma bow weapon to use against the other. Once it had become clear how tough the teleporting beastmen were however she had figured it reasonable to surrender and save herself some unnecessary bruises. She lets herself be lead to wherever her captors think she deserves to be, alert all the while for a way out but not feeling very optimistic about her prospects.

It looked like she being taken to some kind of ship. Were they aliens? She had never heard of any aliens like this in her native timeline and her humanity had done quite a bit of galaxy exploration, although admittedly space colonization wasn't something she closely followed. It was vaguely reassuring, however, that prisons always look pretty much the same no matter how far up or down one travels across time and the technology tree.

Jill would have to explore the cell for weaknesses later, because that tall woman's presence is so much more commanding. She was as tall sitting as Jill was standing! Jill sweeps one leg behind the other and bends at the knees for an informal curtsy greeting, then folds her arms under her modest bust.

 "I cannot say I am happy to see another woman in a cage, but well met regardless,"  Jill says with a hint of weariness in her tone.  "I'm Jill. would you happen to have any idea who these catfaces are and what they want?" 
Starsign
Experience pays off as Blackcoat pressed his advantage and thrice sliced into the leader's own body, putting the leonine leader down on the ground. While the cuts were sharp, the leonine warrior looked as if he'd fought a hundred battles already; Blackcoat learned how to use his blade to inflict pain, rather than to kill, and enough precise strikes can overwhelm anyone's sense of pain. It wasn't like the wounds dealt to Blackcoat, ugly and bloody in their redness. But, again, Blackcoat had hundreds of years to get used to grievous wounds. Not like a couple would kill him now.

He had but a moment to grab the leader's sword, just in case, before thrown off his feet by another ramming from the other ship. Thrown on his back, the human captain quickly got back on his boots, looking into the open hole with air tearing out from it. On the other side, he saw Scylla, unfortunately beaten down by a raging leonine warrior. While Blackcoat's plan  was  to try to take over the ship and capture the crew, he has no intent to leave a heroic person to some cruel fate.

As if boarding boats without rope, the immortal captain rushed forward and leaped out of the ship's hole, landing through the rupture on the other side and in front of the remaining enemy.   "Ye stand back an' away from 'er!"   The human captain highlights his threat with his cutlass, slashing away in a fast, dangerous flurry at the leonine warrior.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Alright, since I Tripped, Blackcoat will stand up, and then Charge at the remaining raid leader with  Cutlass of the Sharpest Metal . All-Out Attack +2/-2. DC 25+Multiattack on hit:  (1d20+10)[ 14 ] 
 
Llyarden
Jake...kinda narrowed his eyes slightly as the Leoni revealed where their ship was parked.  Perhaps fortunately, Platformer distracted him with more tactical planning - and more video game references he had to think about a bit to actually keep up with.

He looked back to the captive Leoni.    " Can  you teleport to and from your vessel using this fog, or was only your shaman able to do that?"   he asked.
Dodgeson
"Yes but only myself." The Leoni replied simply, unfortunately for our heroes and their hopes of a handy speedrun, only the shamans had the mastery of their species' natural ability to manipulate time to do more than simple movement.

High up in the prison wing of the Leoni palace ship, Jill was making friends! Good for her. Taking a second to stretch their arms above their head and crack their knuckles, Jill's cellmate finally stood up where she positively towered over the smaller woman.  "Most people just call me Boss."  She introduced herself, extending a hand out toward her  "I got no idea who these jerks are, all I know is they appeared out of nowhere and started wrecking up my bar and throwing those weirdy snake things around. " For a second she turned her attention away from the current conversation to glare at their jailer, bellowing like a drill sergeant  "AND TAKING MY STUFF! DON'T THINK I DIDN'T SEE YOU!" 

Not for the first time today their guard just rolled their eyes and took a swig from a flagon they were holding in one hand.

 "Honestly the whole thing seems super low rent for time travellers." 

Elsewhere in the city Blackcoat was also making friends, kind of, dancing around the pirate's blade the last raid leader standing let out a cruel laugh, menacingly cracking their whip. "I guess I should be thanking you for finally shutting that mog up, saved me the trouble of having to do it myself. Now lets see if you're any tougher than the witch!"

With that they lashed out with their weapon, bringing the spined whip down on Blackcoat and trying to fell a second hero.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Leoni Raid Leader 
Move: Nah
Standard: Attack Blackcoat with Barbed Lash  (1d20+10)[ 29 ]  DC25/20+Multiattack Toughness vs Damage &amp; Impaired&amp;Vulnerable/Disabled&amp;Defenceless if that hits  Hits +5 Multiattack 
 
Quellian-dyrae
That was fair enough.  More EXP and power ups for them.  Really, as far as Kevin was concerned, this was only bad news for the Leoni defenders that would get in their way.   "Works for me.  I'll let the police know we have some unconscious bad guys for pickup."   Fortunately, Kevin's training and experience at St. Ambrose had internalized such matters as turning over defeated enemies to the police, rather than say assuming once a bad guy ran out of hit points they ceased to exist for all practical purposes or something.


 
 Originally Posted by To Wildcard Only 
   Platformer:   How long does your mind whammy last?  Can we have this guy keep an eye on the unconscious ones and then go peacefully with the police when they get here, or are we going to have to keep an eye on them? 
 


 
 Originally Posted by To Some Arbitrary Police Officer 
   Platformer:   We've got some unconscious time-manipulating slavers ready for pickup.
{Insert image of New Harbour map with a little map pin in the location of the electronics store}
  Platformer:   Also one mind-whammied one who may or may not be unconscious by the time you get here, checking on that.
  Platformer:   Oh, also, the electronics store we fought them in had been robbed, presumably by the Speed Demons.
  Platformer:   They're, uh, on our list, but at the moment the three legions of time-travelling slavers kidnapping people throughout the city have priority.
  Platformer:   ...You should probably put out some sort of alert or something about that too.
  Platformer:   Sorry if the fight contaminated the scene.  Just, uh, ignore any cat hair you find.  That's from the slavers.  They're lion-guys.
  Platformer:   The hole in the wall is from the original robbery, not the fight.
  Platformer:   Oh!  And maybe keep people away from Hero Park for a bit.  That's where the bad guys planted their ship.  We're heading over to deal with it. 
 

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Give-or-take some waiting for the police to take these guys in, unless Llyarden has anything else to do here I'm good to head to Hero Park.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
The floating ship continues to slowly bob and pitch as its driver continues to not extricate it from its twin. The water Scylla summoned to chase off the rest of the crew quickly pours off the starboard gunwale and onto the beach below.

As the steering platform tilts, the amorphous heap Blackcoat recognizes as his friend flows down the gradient, around his feet, and off the edge into a multicolored pool on the deck. From what he remembers, this is pretty much what happens when she's knocked out in a fight; one would need to get a bucket or something to keep her liquid form from sliding around.

She'll probably end up sliding off the side of the ship soon, but as long as she lands in water that's probably fine?
LoonyLadle
Jill has to crane her neck as the woman stands up, and up, and up... she flushes and swallows in giddy nervousness. She's a big ol' bucket of water isn't she?! "O-okay... Boss," Jill whispers reverently and extends a hand to be taken up in the larger woman's. She flinches a little at the Boss' bellowing, sinful thoughts of having her wan little body broken in the bedroom. Then she says something odd.

 "Wait,  time travelers?! "  Jill blurts out, the topic of her interest abruptly changing.  "I had  thought  their teleporting all about the place looked a little off! So that's it... confound it all, I can't be in here, this could my chance to get home!"  She starts banging on the cell door.  "Hey! Wanna trade tech?!" 
Starsign
Finding a foe less clever and more agonizingly furious, Captain Blackcoat raised his cutlass to defend himself, only to find the bladed whip wrapping around it before cutting his head and chest. The blade, fortunately, did not cut deep; but it was still enough to leave a series of sharp, painful cuts down his body.

But for how much it hurts, it doesn't compare to the captain's anger over Scylla's condition.   "Ye'll NOT call 'er a witch!"   Blackcoat is normally calm and stoic, perhaps to a fault; but he knows when to show fury, and when to invoke terror into the hearts of others. And though there is little hope to instill fear in an enraged foe, Blackcoat is happy to express his...  displeasure  anyway.

And rather than fight honorably, the black-dressed pirate instead steps forward and thrusts his normally-slashing blade at the leonine's leg to try and cripple him.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Alright, let's go for a Painful Dirty Trick (Damage 10 + Weaken Toughness 10 (DC 25 Toughness + DC 20 Fortitude). No modifiers this time:  (1d20+10)[ 30 ] 
 
Dodgeson
For a moment we must consider the life of Metahuman Liaison Clement (formally Deputy Clement) of the New Harbour police department, a wet behind the ears recruit who just so happened to be the first officer Platformer encountered on his first week on the traffic beat, earning himself the coveted title of 'Named NPC'. While he appreciated the sudden promotion, he still hadn't gotten used to the reality warper's abrupt method of communication, or the paper work. Not that any of that mattered right now though as no response appeared to be forth coming from the beleaguered officer...

The city was eerily deserted as our heroes made their way towards the park and as they got closer it would soon become apparent why, though the crowd was smaller than when Jill had been brought in there was still a sizeable chunk of the city's population standing stock still before the strange corkscrew shaped ship that had embedded itself in the ground, being patrolled by a skeleton crew of Leoni guards, such was their faith in the silver circlet's that squirmed against the necks of each of their captives.

 
 Spoiler: Perception (DC20) 
One member of the crowd in particular stands out, a redheaded woman covered in a dim sheathe of light. This was Morningstar, another hero who had taken to calling the city home in the wake of the Alchemaster's attack.
 


"Keep it down!" Inside the ship Jill's jailer was really beginning to ponder the series of decisions that had lead them to getting saddled with this job, you make one comment to the Chainmaker about the feasibility of bending established events to your will...grumbling to himself he made his way down to where Jill was causing a ruckus.

"What are you babbling about?" He asked, glaring at Jill and her cellmate who had decided this was far more interesting than sitting on the bench and had taken to simply looming up behind the shorter girl.

Back on the Leoni's sky barge, Captain Blackcoat's opponent wasn't really in a position to call anybody much of anything, the pirate's underhanded (but effective!) tactics having scored a vicious blow. Blackcoat wasn't the only one who could fight dirty though, clutching his wound with their free hand they swung out hard with enough force to knock him off the ship entirely and down in to the briny deep below!

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Leoni Raid Leader
Move: Nah
Standard: Attack Blackcoat with Scourge  (1d20+10)[ 28 ]  DC25+Multiattack Toughness &amp; DC20+Multiattack Defence/Mobility or be knocked off the ship if that hits.  Hit +2 Multiattack 
End of turn: Recover a point of Toughness
 
Quellian-dyrae
 
 Spoiler 
Routining the Perception check.
 


Kevin was better than he used to be about, like, respecting the personal agenthood of people he didn't know, and such.  But to be fair, this was more a  conscious  effort.  He was aware of his shortcomings in the area and tried to remind himself to overcome them.  In an  intuitive  sense, his brain still tended to naturally categorize people as Major Character/Minor Character/Bad Guy, to make predictions based on the idea that they were, come down to it, highly-realistic sprites in a video game.

As he went through the city, he wasn't much thinking about it, focused more on the goal.  So seeing how deserted the city was didn't really strike him as odd.  You don't generally have just random non-hostile sprites hanging around in a mission instance, even if it happened to be taking place in a city.  Heck, sometimes they would outright disappear the moment the plot went from it being a "town" to a "dungeon".  Kinda like in Earthbound where the alien guy kidnapped Paula in the Fourside mall and all the friendly NPCs just vanished as the lights went out, forcing Ness and Jeff to make there way back through the now monster-filled mall to rescue her.

...And then they reached the ship and the crowd and he spotted Morningstar among the captives.  Seriously, there's a reason he hasn't broken his habit of using video games as a decision-making guide.  They have proven  shockingly  relevant to his life.  (Although Wildcard was no better a fit for Jeff than Megan had been.)

For the first time since this whole thing began, Kevin actually looked  angry .  Kevin Matthews has always wanted to be a superhero.  He had dedicated his life to it.  This wasn't a "with great powers comes great responsibility" thing, it wasn't about being in the wrong place at the right time way more often than chance.  He had gone to school for it.  He worked at it pretty much full time.  He had knowingly and  eagerly  chosen the path of using his power to help and protect others.

But the truth was, it wasn't out of any particular sense of compassion.  He wanted to  be a hero , as a terminal goal.  Protecting others was more the means to that end than anything.  How could it be otherwise, when he had to consciously remind himself that most people were  people ?

But Morningstar wasn't some Random Civilian NPC.  She was a former classmate at St. Ambrose.  He had fought alongside her in the past.  Okay, sure, in his Menus he still had "Bad Blood with Miss Jenson" as the first entry in his "Creepy Foreshadowing by Professor Quantum" section and he  still  had no idea what that was about.  He had heard in the news that she had come to the city, but he hadn't sought her out.  That warning from Professor Quantum years ago always prompted him to act with care when it came to Morningstar, to minimize his interactions with her where plausible.

But he still considered her a friend.  He still  knew  her.  The altered view of reality that came with his powers only went so far.  Kidnapping and trying to enslave a bunch of civilians?  That was just Bad Guys being Bad Guys, and Kevin would stop them.  It was how the game was played.  But doing it to one of Kevin's  friends ?

That made it personal.  That made him  mad .

The people were standing unnaturally still.  They didn't appear bound, but Kevin did notice the weird collar things.  Magical or technological collars ensuring compliance from slaves was a pretty common trope; Kevin didn't know exactly how they worked, but figured it was a safe bet that they would prevent any meaningful action from the captives that the Leoni didn't wish to allow.


 
 Originally Posted by To Wildcard 
   Platformer:   That woman {Insert Image} is Morningstar, former classmate of mine.  I'm getting her free.
  Platformer:   Freeing everyone else would also be good.
  Platformer:   Any thoughts on tactics, or should we just smack these guards down and be about matters? 
 
Starsign
One underhanded tactic met another, and Blackcoat felt the barbed lash of the leonine invader's blade hit around the side of his body. The force of the blow sends the human reeling, nearly tumbling off the open hole of the ship before grabbing on a stray metal support to keep his footing. Even with the ships floating above the sea, the air of the ship was being sucked right out, along with anything loose in it. It always seems so unusual to Blackcoat, who lived much of his life on wooden and steel naval ships.

Regardless, he wasn't going to let the wind get the better of him as he reorients himself on the ship. Seeing the raid leader injured, quite painfully so, even, Blackcoat let his mouth stay still, and instead sweeps in for another rush of slashes and swipes in an attempt to overwhelm and down the leader while the chance stays open!

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I apologize for my short posts lately. I've been busy with final assignments so I'm not the most active. I'll try to go back to my detailed posts after this weekend 🙂

Anyway, let's try for a takedown with All-Out+Power Attack +5/-5: Flurry of the High Seas (Damage 10 + Multiattack; DC 30 Toughness):  (1d20+10)[ 14 ]   Rerolled on the OOC with a 30. 
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Under the fog, the gentle waves have calmed back down after the sudden waterfall, and a cloudy patch in the water slowly coalesces back into a humanoid form. The sharp pain throughout Scylla's body has already faded, replaced with dizziness and a lingering, fleshy ache. It feels like someone took all her muscles individually and stretched them out on hooks. She remembers exactly why that is. It's just a matter of figuring out what happened between then and now.

She swims to the surface, nearly bonks her head on a floating piece of metal debris, and looks up. The shapes of the two ships are still visible through the fog and still clearly jammed together. However long she's been out, it hasn't been long enough for anyone to repair or move them, which is probably a good sign.

With a quick look around, she can also see the silhouette of The Eternal nearby, and the first course of action that comes to mind is to head there. She dives back underwater and splashes up onto the deck, not really thinking to sneak aboard or listen from a distance first.
LoonyLadle
 
 Originally Posted by Dodgeson 
 "Keep it down!" Inside the ship Jill's jailer was really beginning to ponder the series of decisions that had lead them to getting saddled with this job, you make one comment to the Chainmaker about the feasibility of bending established events to your will...grumbling to himself he made his way down to where Jill was causing a ruckus.

"What are you babbling about?" He asked, glaring at Jill and her cellmate who had decided this was far more interesting than sitting on the bench and had taken to simply looming up behind the shorter girl. 
 

Jill tries to stand as tall and proud as she can for the lionman jailer, which admittedly isn't very.  "I said I want to trade technologies. Your time manipulation technology for... I dunno, how do you feel about cold fusion? "  Everyone loves cold fusion!  "And my freedom of course." 
Llyarden
Jake paused to consider.  He didn't like the Leoni being here any more than Platformer did - he might not have immediately been able to pick out a friend trapped by them, but he was pretty sure that even if his friends in his real identity had managed to escape, some of his contacts in his life as Wildcard would be among the captives - but charging in wildly wasn't exactly his  most  favoured tactic.


   Wildcard  : Most of these Leoni are on par with the grunts we fought earlier.
  Wildcard  : We should be careful.  Getting us captured too won't help anyone.  If those collars can compel people to use their powers, it might even make things worse. 
Quellian-dyrae
That wasn't unfair.  There were also the civilians to consider.  Kevin kinda doubted they'd start attacking them arbitrarily or anything, but still.

The goons earlier had mainly just engaged with those staves of theirs.  Kevin zoomed his camera angle over to examine them more closely; if they didn't have anything that looked like a projectile weapon, that might be meaningful.  Although given their obvious technological advancement that didn't seem super-likely.  But maybe they figured teleportation made up for it.  Of course, teleportation  could  make up for it to a non-trivial degree, but still.

 
 Spoiler 
Extended Vision, Routine Perception for 20.  I'll also Routine Expertise as Technology via Tech Savvy for 20, in case like the staves might have a zapping function he can identify or something.
 


Meanwhile, he kept chatting with Wildcard, working through some possible options.


   Platformer:   Fair enough.  Hmm...
  Platformer:   I'm checking to see if I can spot any projectiles.  If they don't have any, that gives us some more tactical flexibility we might be able to work with.  I'm fast and I've got some limited teleportation capability, so we might be able to hit them from multiple sides, and switch around as we draw some one way.
  Platformer:   In a game I'd handle a situation like this by pulling.  Draw aggro from just a few of the enemies, lure them away from the main group, take them down, rinse and repeat.  That's...not quite that easy for real.  But the basic logic kinda holds up.
  Platformer:   I mean, they're guarding a big group of people.  Obviously they can't just leave them unattended.  If we took some pot shots at them and then dipped off around a corner, they couldn't dedicate their entire force to going after us, I expect.  They might send some people from the ship, I suppose, but eh we'd have to take them down at some point anyway, so whatever.
  Platformer:   And while teleports are gold for avoiding a chase, they kinda suck for  giving  chase.  So even if they send more dudes than we want to fight we might be able to slip away, come back at them from another angle, make them split up to search for us, stuff like that.
  Platformer:   ...
  Platformer:   ...Or, like, couldn't you just do the mass mind control thing you did before and we can make half of them fight the other half?  That seems like it'd be the easier option. 
Llyarden
In the Chat window there was one of those 'Wildcard is typing' messages for...quite some time.  (I mean, probably like half a second objectively, but from the sped-up perspective of the Chat, it was a long time.)

Eventually he sent a reply back to Kevin, though.


   Wildcard  : My codename's Wildcard for a reason.  Emphasis on 'Wild.'
  Wildcard  : I can try, but getting the power I want is pretty hit-or-miss.
  Wildcard  : Hit-and-run attacks to try to lure some of them away might work, though, and I can make myself real obvious and distracting.  The only issue would be if they just decide we're too much hassle and nope out with all their victims.
  Wildcard  : I don't know what those mercury collars do. 

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Routine Expertise (Tactics) 30 to identify a likely point for us to set up an ambush or the like.
 
Quellian-dyrae
Having gone pretty much all the way through school relying on completely randomized power ups (and still not having mastered the invincibility one, or just straight-up giving himself the boosts he wanted when he wanted without having to damage an enemy), Kevin  totally  got it.


   Platformer:   Gotcha.  Hit and run seems like the best play then.  I'd say maybe surprise area attacks but I kinda suck at area stuff until I get a power up. 

He missed Pending Objective.  For many reasons, but primary at this very moment being that Megan and Meta would have gone through these guys like an invincible Mario through a line of koopa troopas.


   Platformer:   I wouldn't worry too much about them just noping out.  For one, they've probably still got people out trying to gather more slaves; I'm not saying they wouldn't be willing to cut their losses and dip, but it'd probably require things going worse than "a couple heroes are attacking our guards".
  Platformer:   ...Well, from their perspective anyway.  Since they don't actually know just how bad it is for them to have the two of us attacking their guards.  😏
  Platformer:   But even beyond that, having everyone all gathered outside their ship like this, it looks to me like they're doing...I dunno, some sort of processing, maybe?  They're aliens, they probably don't have much immunity to Earth diseases and such.  So they'd need to scan everyone, make sure they're not introducing any pathogens and whatnot.
  Platformer:   Especially considering what we learned about them being the survivors of a revolt.  If they're like the last remnants of their civilization or whatever, they have to be super careful about stuff like that.  One bad plague could wipe them out.
  Platformer:   Yeah I'm not sure myself.  I'm working on the assumption they're functionally equivalent to your typical techno-magical "slave collar" thing.  Requires following orders, probably some punishment zapping.  If they could make Morningstar or anyone else in the crowd who might have powers fight us, yeah, that'd be a pretty worst-case scenario, so we should assume they can.
  Platformer:   But I think the plan holds up; if they send powered people after us, then once we disable them we can get the collars off, and then they're on our side for the next round. 
Dodgeson
 
 Spoiler: Wildcard 
The obvious choice would be to simply lure the guards away and behind a nearby outcrop of trees or bushes for an ambush but there is another option. Unbeknownst to most people, but knownst to you, the Protectorate's base of operation had a series of sub-levels and tunnels that ran underneath it that came up in various places. One of which isn't too far away.
 

In the prison cells Jill's warden let out a barking laugh (could lion people bark?) "Technology? We need no such crutch to travel the time ways, we are its apex predators!" Behind Jill her cellmate tried to keep a straight face at such a bold pronouncement but something the girl said had caught his attention, he didn't have a clue what cold fusion was but if she thought that it was impressive enough to be able to trade for her freedom then she might be more useful than he had assumed. "You can work wonders? Explain yourself!" An idea had gotten him saddled with this thankless job but he was starting to get the kernel of another...

In the air above the docks Blackcoat's opponent managed to force a cocky grin through the pain he was feeling right now, he hadn't forced the pirate off the ship but it had been close and there was nothing stopping him from doing it again until he plummeted in to the freezing cold water below. This confidence didn't last long though as Blackcoat closed the gap between them once again, and in a flurry of viscous blows, brought the already badly injured raid leader low, sending him crumpling to the floor and clutching his injuries spitting out alien curses before finally slipping in to unconsciousness, leaving Blackcoat standing alone and victorious upon the deck of the floating ship.

Down below Scylla jumped back on to the deck of the Eternal and was met by a cheer from the crew, some of them looked a little beat up but that was nothing compared to the state of the would-be boarding party that lay strewn across the floor.
Llyarden
Jake...yeah, to be honest he was a little sceptical of the whole 'War of the Worlds' plotline being a thing, but hey, you never knew.  It was about as likely as anything else.  He did crack a smile at Platformer's comment - the guy sure had optimism - but there was another long silence (so to speak) as Jake evidently considered something.


   Wildcard  : If we  can  lure a few Leoni away, I know somewhere nearby we could ambush them from.
  Wildcard  : But I'd appreciate it if you kept it a secret, even from your friend Morningstar. 

He sent a very simple map through the Chat a moment later.


   Wildcard  : It should still be usable, but I don't know off-hand.
  Wildcard  : If it is, though, one of us could hide there and wait while the other lures them away.  You any good at acting like you've stumbled into something bigger than you thought? 
Quellian-dyrae
   Platformer:   Sure thing. 

Zelda knows he's been keeping this whole bad blood thing a secret from her for this long, what's one more on the pile?


   Platformer:   I'm...not any good at acting at all, to be honest.
  Platformer:   I am, however, quite good at corner-sniping.  So it's like, if they don't want to chase me I can very easily make that their problem. 
Llyarden
   Wildcard  : Well, that makes two of us who are bad at pretending, so it's much of a muchness who does what.
  Wildcard  : I guess I'll head over and check that my ambush site is still intact, and let you know once I'm in position.  Keep this...uh, whatever it is...up so we can keep in touch. 

And unless Platformer had any further modifications to the plan to suggest, Jake would take off in the direction of his potential ambush site.  He wasn't exactly the most subtle of people, but once upon a time he knew these entrances had been well-hidden by people much smarter than he was.  Hopefully enough of the concealment would be left to make up the difference.
Quellian-dyrae
   Platformer:   I call it the Chat, and will do. 

While he waited for Wildcard to give the word, Kevin considered if there was anything worth doing in the meantime.  He could Chat Morningstar and try to get some information.  It wasn't particularly much risk, since the Chat wouldn't offer any indication of his position.  If the collars restricted action, they could at least maybe put a plan together for once he broke her free.  If they compelled obedience, then even if she alerted the Leoni that there was a hero somewhere in the vicinity, they'd still have to spread out and look for him.  Kevin wasn't stealthy in the general sense, but when you could just stand around a corner and watch people with a third-person camera angle, you didn't really need to be.  Anyone who came his way would find him easily, of course, but he wasn't concerned about throwing down with a few Leoni.  He was only  marginally  concerned with throwing down with the entire group of guards present.  And this would allow him to see how the Leoni responded to a potential threat in the vicinity, and maybe spread them out before he made his initial attack, improving his chance to successfully pull.

Reward outweighed risk, by his mind, so he went ahead and opened up another Chat.


 
 Originally Posted by To Morningstar 
   Platformer:   I've got eyes on you and the other hostages.  Working out a plan of attack.  Anything you can tell me? 
 

...


 
 Originally Posted by To Morningstar 
   Platformer:   Also, uh, nice to see you again?  Uh, how's adulthood treating you? 
 

...Yeah, Kevin was...Kevin was not the best at the talky stuff.  But in fairness like seriously what do you say to a former classmate who may or may not be some level of mind controlled when you see them taken hostage by alien slavers?
Starsign
Another day saved, as the heroes would say. Blackcoat wondered how Earth could be so intriguing that aliens would often come to it, usually in arms rather than in diplomacy. While he's seen centuries of Earth's history, he had no clue what the world beyond the sky was like. Did he want to know? Perhaps he would, one day. After all, he is immortal.

Taking the other leader's weapon away, Blackcoat walked over the open hole of the ship and looked down where Scylla fell. He couldn't see anything but the blue-and-white ocean water beneath him, barely hearing its waves in contrast to the roaring wind. It doesn't show on his composed face, but he did care for Scylla's condition. Finding her in an ocean, however, was like searching for fool's gold, and she was safer recovering in the sea than on land. Besides, taking out the captains of the ship doesn't bring down the ship itself. He can't leave something like this active and floating.

Walking over to the bridge of the ship he's on, Blackcoat looks over the controls of the ship, making enough sense of it to find the intercom mic captains use to shout orders across the ship. He switches it on so every leonine invader still on the ship can hear him.   "This be Captain Blackcoat of Earth. All ye crew still on this ship, STAND DOWN. Ye cap'ns are down an' I be ready t' sink these if ye don't take this down  t' land an' turn ye'selves in. If any o' ye refuse, come to me and me blade, an' meet the fate ye cap'ns met!"   Blackcoat's thunderous voice is no less impactful through an intercom than in-person. Maybe the remaining resisting invaders will get the point metaphorically, rather than physically.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Not sure if it's needed but I was hoping to make another opportunity with Blackcoat's  The Pirate's Terrifying Presence . If allowed I'd like to do use the intercom to, well, affect as many on the two alien ships as I can. If rolls are needed, DC 20 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled to stand down.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Scylla waves and smiles.  "Ha! Hi guys! Looks like you got 'em! Just keep them knocked out until we can bring them in - they like to teleport around."  She again looks up at the two entangled airships above.  "So, what else did I miss?" 

Rutherford's booming voice answers as if on cue. Last Scylla saw, the lions' crew had pretty much evacuated, but it's possible that they came back while she was unconscious. They do like to teleport around, after all.

 "Okay, got it! Come on, let's board those wrecks and bring them down for anchor!"  Does that phrase even make sense? Probably not. Scylla never went out of her way to learn any actual nautical terminology. She doesn't stop to let anyone else question it.  "Who wants to come up with me?" 

A jet of water erupts from the water off the Eternal's stern and rises to the silhouettes in the sky, forming an aquatic elevator. Anyone can volunteer to join her boarding party as long as they don't mind getting soaked.

At any rate, it's not long before it becomes apparent that the crews have yet to return. Scylla's next step is to rejoin Blackcoat on the bridge of the floating vessel to help land these things and investigate their contents. She gently lands about ten feet away before approaching him.  "Hey. Sorry if I got carried away there. These guys were really strong."  She water-slides the second unconscious raid leader on top of the first and confiscates their weapons before she forgets.  "So, where do we take these guys? I guess the station, right? They have the multi-dimensionated cell or whatever it's called?" 
LoonyLadle
 
 Originally Posted by Dodgeson 
 In the prison cells Jill's warden let out a barking laugh (could lion people bark?) "Technology? We need no such crutch to travel the time ways, we are its apex predators!" Behind Jill her cellmate tried to keep a straight face at such a bold pronouncement but something the girl said had caught his attention, he didn't have a clue what cold fusion was but if she thought that it was impressive enough to be able to trade for her freedom then she might be more useful than he had assumed. "You can work wonders? Explain yourself!" An idea had gotten him saddled with this thankless job but he was starting to get the kernel of another... 
 

Jill bit her lip. If she was understanding the unstated implications correctly, these  people  had some kind of natural time-warping ability that was not technologically-based. A lot of technological innovations came from imitating life but it was a lot of R&amp;D time and not Jill's forte. An old adage comes to mind; a good scientist is a person with original ideas, a good engineer solves problems with as few original ideas as possible. And, to be frank, experimenting on sentient beings was not an idea she particularly relished -- especially beings as...  self-assured  as these.

But Jill recognized that expression. At least, she recognizes what that expression means on a human. It was the face of a man with a chip on his shoulder hatching a plan for vengeance. If Jill backed out now, it would end badly for her... but, she might also be able to turn the situation to her advantage. Just getting out of this situation alive would be a big win.

Jill lets herself relax subtly, making her look softer, more malleable, more...  feminine . She begins channeling her best used-car-salesman energy.  "Really?"  she murmurs to the jailer.  "You know what? Forget the cold fusion. How do mechanized slaves that never get tired, never need to eat or sleep, and who never resist orders sound to you? I'm talking about  automation . No more need to take slaves, no more use for the wyrm, no more losing men and ships to self-proclaimed heroes. Interested?" 
 
 Spoiler: Mechanics Stuff! 
(1d20+10)[18] Persuasion check!

Maaan, have I rolled a single die above average this whole game?
 
Dodgeson
Scurrying off to his hiding place Wildcard was right to put his faith in the Protectorate's ability to hide the entrances to their base of operation, after all despite how long it had been since their brave sacrifice none of them had been discovered yet, and he managed to clear the distance without being spotted by the Leoni guards. Once he was there it was simply a matter of rearranging an innocuous cluster of rocks in the correct sequence and the entrance slid open, leading down in to the dark and the tunnels that ran beneath park.

The wyrm wasn't mere mind control, it ate possibility, consuming the victims futures until the only possible tomorrow left was the one that the Chainmaker had designed but Jill had already proven that this wasn't unbreakable and Morningstar had a magic trinket on side. Platformer's Chat was just the nudge the girl needed and with a pulse of light from her choker the silver creature around her neck began to wither.


 
 Originally Posted by Morningstar 
   Morningstar:   Where the hell I am...?
  Morningstar:   Last thing I remember I got jumped by some furries... 
 

 "You should listen to her."  'Boss' finally decided to chip in, grinning confidently behind her sun glasses  "She sounds pretty smart, and I mean are you gonna get a better offer? I don't know how much you know about this city but let me put it this way, those things you're throwing around didn't work on us and we didn't even put up a fight. Who else do you think might be out there?" 

One thing was it was important to realise about the Leoni is that while slaves did form an underclass upon which their entire society sat, that wasn't the only reason they marauded across time, they revelled in having slaves and lauding their power over them. That didn't do much good for the Leoni on the bottom of the totem pole though who were often only a hair away from them and their jailer certainly liked the idea of having something even lower down then they were, even if it was just a machine.

"My cup is too empty to be listening to this prattle." They said already turning away from their cell "I hope I don't drop anything." Unfortunately for them they had only taken a few steps away before something slipped from their pocket, a key hitting the ground with a 'thunk' landing tantalisingly close to Jill and her cellmate...

 "So we're going to knock him out right?"  

Fresh from defeating the ship's captain Blackcoat bellowed his demands through the ship's intercom and while the vessel he was standing on was empty a small handful of Leoni crewmen emerged from the bowls of the other ship, dropping their weapons and holding their hands in the air in surrender.

Back down on the Eternal, Scylla's advice was met with a hearty "Aye aye ma'am!" she wasn't technically part of the crew but she was friends with the Captain and she'd earned her bonifides, it was close enough and what few Leoni were still conscious were met with a swift coldcocking. With that done the aquatic heroine quickly assembled a small boarding party and it was a quick waterspout ride back up to the alien ship, Scylla's assumption was pretty much on the money, whilst New Harbour's police department weren't as well funded and equipped as say Tomorrow's Science Authority (although Astonishing Industries' investment in the city might be about to change that), they had at least the capability to hold super criminals for a while until they could be transported to a more secure facility.
Quellian-dyrae
On the one hand seeing that weird collar start degrading as Morningstar responded to his chat brought a little grin to Kevin's face.  On the other hand even if the Leoni hadn't noticed the flash one of them might spot the collar wearing away, so this added a bit of time pressure to making a move.  And it meant keeping Morningstar with them, which was solidly worth it as far as Kevin was concerned but might throw a wrench into Wildcard's plan given his desire to keep whatever ambush spot he had a secret.


 
 Originally Posted by To Wildcard 
   Platformer:   Hey it looks like whatever those collar thingies do Morningstar's breaking out of it.
  Platformer:   So if you don't want her to know about your ambush site or whatever I guess we'll need a different one.
  Platformer:   Current plan is some sort of distraction to give Morningstar a chance to move, get around cover, maybe do some corner-sniping, then head whatever way you want us to head so you can ambush whoever's following us.
  Platformer:   Going to need to move soon though before they notice she's free.
  Platformer:   Thoughts? 
 


 
 Originally Posted by To Morningstar 
   Platformer:   Yeah they're the Leoni.  They're here to restock their slave supply because a slave rebellion kinda wrecked their civilization or something.
  Platformer:   You'd think they'd maybe take that as a good reason to stop with the whole enslaving people bit, but here we are.
  Platformer:   Competent in a fight, got some sort of time-shenanigan tech or powers or some such.
  Platformer:   Me and another hero came to stop them.  You're cordially invited to join us.  😏
  Platformer:   Hashing out a plan, but it's probably going to involve blasting the Leoni with something.  When I do, you head my way and then we'll head his way.  Blasting more Leoni on the way encouraged but not required. 
 
Llyarden
It wasn't until he started messing with the rock password that Jake realised he'd actually used this entrance once before, with Rachel, when one of their few hero-free dates had been interrupted by an intelligent giant ant armed with a flamethrower.  Living in New Harbour had always been an interesting experience.  Long story short, this had been the closest entrance to the Protectorate base - and therefore the safest place for Jake to take shelter while Rachel went paragon-ing off.

He...yeah, he did kinda pause for a moment as he realised that, looking down into the slightly-more-dilapidated-than-last-time tunnel.

And then Platformer's Chat message popped up.


   Wildcard  : It's fine, it's just...something I don't want to make public unless I have to.
  Wildcard  : Send Morningstar the map I sent you once she's free. 

I mean yeah objectively the more people that knew Wildcard's connection to the Protectorate the more likely it would be that his - and Rachel's - secret identities started unravelling, but he wasn't about to mess up the whole plan just to try to protect that.  Besides, Morningstar was a hero too, she'd probably understand the whole secret identity thing.
LoonyLadle
Jill smiles to the Boss for her show of support, a smile that turns itself around when she hears the jailer-cat-time-person's response.  Cup is too empty?  Must be a cultural idiom, one Jill can't quite parse the meaning of. If he's saying he has nothing to lose, then surely that means he would want to-

Jill's thoughts on the situation get short-circuited as the jailer  blatantly  drops the means of her freedom within easy reach. She feels a little dizzy as a thousand trains derail themselves in her head, but quickly snatches up the key before the opportunity has a chance to fade. She can work out the logic of the situation later.

 So we're going to knock him out right?   "Ummmm..."  Jill intoned, uncertainty gripping her. She isn't really sure how the jailer-cat expects her breaking out of here to benefit him, unless he is really desperate to wreak whatever small petty revenges he can on his superiors. Maybe he just doesn't want to listen to her  beautiful Gaelic voice  anymore. Whatever. Not her problem! Maybe her problem? She'll need live subjects to experiment with. But she also needs to be literally anywhere other than here as a foremost concern.

She shakes her head vigorously.  "I guess that's how it's usually done?"  she says, still sounding unsure. Important for their conspirator's position they not be seen as having  let  them get away.  "Can't really sneak in these heels. Can you fight?"  No point getting out of the cell just to get captured again. Her captors might not be so forgiving the second time.

She readies herself for action, eying her wrench on the far side of the room. They'd at least remembered to disarm her this time.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Using more slides and jets of seawater, Scylla gathers the incapacitated lions onto the deck of one airship, thinking that it's the most efficient way to get them all to jail. It's only when she reaches for the wheel again that she realizes the flaw in this plan.

 "...so, we probably shouldn't actually fly this thing over the city like this, huh?"  She tests the controls again, and another chunk of wood and metal falls some fifty meters to splash into the drink.  "It'll just fall apart. That, and I can't even find a lever to make it go up or down. I guess they mostly move it with their own teleport powers?" 

Scylla taps her foot as she looks from the wheel to the pile of evil kitties and back. She's already tired of thinking about this.

 "So, whatever! Let's just load them on a lifeboat and I'll take them myself."  A geyser lifts a lifeboat from the deck of the Eternal up to the flying deck for the purpose.  "I'll have to make... Two trips, I think?" 
Starsign
Blackcoat shook his head disappointingly at the few leonine invaders who came up and surrendered. He had expected more remaining on the ship from what he thought were the main invading ships. Were they scouting ships? Or had they instead been ships whose crews already disembarked and boarded elsewhere? He'd bring those surrounded to their knees and demand their plans. However, Scylla's convenient timing, and the boarding party assembled from Blackcoat's own crew, told him that all was taken care of.

  "Ye be reckless indeed,"   Blackcoat responded with a surprisingly relaxed look towards the younger hero.   "But ye done well, crashin' both those ships like that. Sure sent 'em all in a panic."   He looked over Scylla quickly, seeing herself all revitalized after being brutally beaten down. It's fortunate that some heroes can recover so fast, while the human has to heal as slowly as anyone else... Although his capacity to withstand pain is well beyond that of mortals.

Looking over his own crew, Blackcoat directs them to help Scylla move the leonine captives all to one ship, letting the younger hero take command of the situation, up until the problem becomes apparent for both of them. Not that Blackcoat ever had a good way of moving unconscious villains, himself. In fact, he was quite certain Scylla had a better idea than him, and she certainly did. It was just missing one crucial step.

  "There ain't a need fer 'nother trip,"   he says with the mild mindset of a chuckle.   "Now I tried usin' these an' they be 'bout as confusin' as all else outside this gem o' a planet. But this ain't to say we can't get someone else t' teach us."   He motions his crew to bring one of the unconscious leonine leaders to their knees, and preferably woken up with a brutal splash of ice cold water.   "We be makin' 'em talk t' tell us how to pilot this to the station."  

There is a pause before he clarifies, with a healthier look,   "Make 'em talk, *morally*, o' course."   While Blackcoat changed greatly over the years, he's always abided by one important creed: no torture. Bad for business, bad for his reputation, bad for making friends, and just all around bad.
Dodgeson
Morningstar was still as she read (thought?) Platformer's message but it wouldn't exactly help her to stay hidden as then light from the girl's choker began to glow ever brighter, after a moment Kevin received another message.


 
 Originally Posted by Morningstar 
   Morningstar:   Close your eyes 
 

That was all the warning Platformer got before she launched herself high in to the air above the crowd, sheathed in a brilliant white light that drew all the eyes that weren't currently ensnared by sinister silver circlets straight to her. this was of course exactly what she was hoping. Platformer would have pretty good idea of what was about to happen next, back at St Ambrose Morningstar's opening gambit was an omnidirectional burst of light so often that it became something of a signature of hers and time didn't seem to have changed that.

 "Try and jump me now!"  Morning star yelled, shining like the sun.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Platformer make a DC20 Defence Save and if you fail that a DC20 Fortitude Save vs Impaired&amp;Vulnerable/Disabled&amp;Defenceless. Though it is sense-based so averting your gaze grants you a +10 to the Defence save so that's probably moot.
 
 Spoiler: Why Do I Do This To Myself? 
Leoni Guard #1  (1d20+8)[ 20 ] , (1d20+8)[ 20 ]   Resist 
Leoni Guard #2  (1d20+8)[ 22 ] , (1d20+8)[ 17 ]   Resist 

Leoni Raider #1  (1d20+8)[ 22 ] , (1d20+8)[ 14 ]   Resist 
Leoni Raider #2  (1d20+8)[ 14 ] , (1d20+8)[ 15 ]   Disabled &amp; Defenceless 
Leoni Raider #3  (1d20+8)[ 12 ] , (1d20+8)[ 16 ]   Disabled &amp; Defenceless 
Leoni Raider #4  (1d20+8)[ 14 ] , (1d20+8)[ 10 ]   Disabled &amp; Defenceless 
Leoni Raider #5  (1d20+8)[ 25 ] , (1d20+8)[ 23 ]   Resist 
Leoni Raider #6  (1d20+8)[ 17 ] , (1d20+8)[ 28 ]   Resist 
Leoni Raider #7  (1d20+8)[ 11 ] , (1d20+8)[ 26 ]   Resist 
Leoni Raider #8  (1d20+8)[ 10 ] , (1d20+8)[ 9 ]   Disabled &amp; Defenceless 
Leoni Raider #9  (1d20+8)[ 10 ] , (1d20+8)[ 20 ]   Resist 
Leoni Raider #10  (1d20+8)[ 25 ] , (1d20+8)[ 13 ]   Resist 
Leoni Raider #11  (1d20+8)[ 23 ] , (1d20+8)[ 10 ]   Resist 
Leoni Raider #12  (1d20+8)[ 20 ] , (1d20+8)[ 25 ]   Resist 
Leoni Raider #13  (1d20+8)[ 9 ] , (1d20+8)[ 10 ]   Disabled &amp; Defenceless 
Leoni Raider #14  (1d20+8)[ 17 ] , (1d20+8)[ 21 ]   Resist 
Leoni Raider #15  (1d20+8)[ 21 ] , (1d20+8)[ 11 ]   Resist 
Leoni Raider #16  (1d20+8)[ 9 ] , (1d20+8)[ 14 ]   Disabled &amp; Defenceless 
Leoni Raider #17  (1d20+8)[ 17 ] , (1d20+8)[ 14 ]   Disabled &amp; Defenceless 
Leoni Raider #18  (1d20+8)[ 21 ] , (1d20+8)[ 20 ]   Resist 
 

 


Back above the docks Captain Blackheart's crew ably assist Scylla in moving the unconscious Leoni on to one ship, not that she needed much help really, there wasn't much several hearty pirates could accomplish that she couldn't with her waterspouts. Once they were all gathered in one fuzzy pile, one of the leaders was pulled out and dragged before the heroes, an icy splash of water later and they forced back in to the waking world with much coughing and spluttering.

"What in blazes?!" The Leoni raid leader snarled, his eyes promising a swift and painful death to anyone that met his gaze, however how effective this was was up for debate though, the lingering effects of his earlier defeat leaving him without the power to simply vanish from the deck and the sheer weight of numbers before him telling him that fighting his way out was not an option right now.

"You'll get nothing out of me!"
Quellian-dyrae
...Well, that appeared effective.

Well-prepared for the blast given his experience with Morningstar's fighting style in St. Ambrose, Kevin averted his camera angle from it easily.  Several of the Leoni appeared affected.  Also from past experience, he knew that would make them easy targets.  It would still leave enough Leoni to be something of a handful, but there was definitely something to be said for alpha strikes...


 
 Originally Posted by To Wildcard 
   Platformer:   Morningstar just dazzled like a third of their force.  I'mma take them out and throw some defense up.
  Platformer:   If you can get back here fast, more crowd control could be a winning move here.
  Platformer:   We can always switch back to tactics if there are enough left to make it worth it.
  Platformer:   Chat going down for a few. 
 

And with that sent, Kevin sprang over whatever building he was standing behind, yelling out  "IT'SAMEEEEEE!"  while hurling a flurry of hammers at the Leoni who appeared most affected by Morningstar's attack (and taking some pot-shots for a few others), before conjuring up a Hylian shield to fend any return attacks.

Kevin wasn't great at crowd control without a power-up...but that was assuming an enemy fully capable of defending itself.

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  6 points to Platforming, 4 points to Third-Person Viewpoint, 10 points to Stomp-&gt;Strike, 10 points to Shoot, 10 points to Striking Flurry, 10 points to Block.

Move: Jump into the park proper.  I'll more-or-less try to land so more enemies are further away, prioritizing proximity to enemies Morningstar affected.

Standard: Attack the seven Leoni raiders Morningstar affected and three others, Accurate Attacking for 2, Defensive Attacking for 2, Multiattacking for 10.  I'll Routine against the Defenseless ones and just fish for luck on the other three:  (1d20)[ 9 ] ,  (1d20)[ 10 ] ,  (1d20)[ 4 ] .  On a hit, Toughness DC 23 vs. Damage.  Kevin is Deflected at 1d10+18 for the next two turns.   Eh, they were long-shots 

Current Status: Fatigued, +2 Defense this turn, Deflected (1d10+18, SE).
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Scylla only needs to look at the raider for a second. She doesn't really do interrogations, much less the kind these pirates are capable of, but she  does  do mind games. She even managed to bluff Blackcoat into thinking she's back in fighting shape. In truth, she's on the verge of falling apart again and really no better off than the suspect we just woke up, but no one else needs to know that.

 "I believe you. The Chainmaker must have treated you all very well, to earn that kind of loyalty."  She turns to Blackcoat, but speaks clearly enough that the raider knows she doesn't mind him hearing.  "I'll start moving the next lifeboat full to the prison." 

The seed's been planted. Of course the raiders won't to admit to  her  that their master treats them like dirt. She's the enemy! But when she just gives them idea, makes them ask the question themselves... well, why would a villain called Chainmaker treat their minions like anything  but  dirt? Would selling out that villain really be so bad, if it meant freedom for yourself and your crew?

She lets Rutherford take the interrogation from here. She needs to start getting these kitties to the jail before more of them start waking up.
Starsign
With the enemy leader restrained, bound, and overall helpless, there was little need to hurry anything. And on that note, Blackcoat let Scylla speak, interrogate, and trick the leonine leader as she likes. To the pirate, Scylla was someone who always did what she felt she should do, and does so without hesitation. There's something both admirable and impressive about that headstrong attitude, even to someone as old as Blackcoat.

And, evidently, she's learned more than he has about these invaders. The Chainmaker? A curious, if frightening name. Perhaps someone who commands over these raid leaders. Blackcoat thinks briefly, then decides against bringing it up. It's better to let others think that the two know more than they actually do.

Interrogations require a lot of knowing about your captive, and more importantly about them knowing as little as possible about you. Blackcoat knows better than to say more than what is necessary, but also focus on the captive's emotional and mental state.   "So ye 'eard 'er. We takin' ye an' these ships o' ye to our own locker 'ere on Earth. An' if y' don't wish to speak, then we sure bet that this, ye only escape off this planet, could be nothin' but rubble without someone to tell us how to fly it."  

Whether the leonine leader cooperates, or not, is of little concern to Blackcoat. Instead, he eyes the captive with a fierce, focused look and making measure of the alien's thoughts through the reaction, expressions and attitude. When you work and understand people as long as Blackcoat has, you can recognize what one is thinking with the most subtle of visual and audible cues. It is  those  thoughts which lead to the results Blackcoat wants.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
So this seems like a good time to use  Seen 'em All, Know 'em All : Mind Reading 10, Subtle 2, Limited to Surface Thoughts. Let's get an idea of what the raid leader is presently thinking. Should be DC 20 Will to resist.
 
Llyarden
  "What the - oh, geez."    Before he'd been able to formulate a reply to Platformer, the weird heads-up display thing vanished abruptly.    "And back we go again,"   he sighed.

A few moments later, he came spiralling out of the air on a rather unstable-looking tornado wrapped around his legs and just kinda went pinballing through the Leoni, one fist wreathed in stone and almost as big as his whole body, opting for the time-honoured classic of brute force and ignorance.  In his other hand he held a few specks of plant energy wrapped in a whirlwind, which he'd try to tag one of the other Leoni with if the opportunity presented itself, potentially trussing them up in vines and hurling them at their compatriot.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Free: Set Control Elements; Platform Flight 4, Elemental Blast and 25 random points: Whirling Winds, Vine Snare and one-half Leech Life.
Move: Arrive.
Free: Reconfigure Control Elements to Damage 10 [Physical] Linked Close Move Object 10 Linked Affliction 10
Standard: Takedown 2 my way through the minions with Elemental Blast, and if at some point I happen to be adjacent to one of the non-minions I'll throw the Move Object Linked Affliction on one of them to throw them at another one.  Power Attacking for 2.
Minions: Routine 18 for DC27 Toughness vs Damage.
Non-Minion:  (1d20+8)[ 11 ]  for DC22 Dodge vs Hindered+Vulnerable/Defenceless+Immobilised and DC22 Strength/Dodge vs Move Object to be thrown at the other non-minion at  (1d20+8)[ 22 ] 

Status: Fine.
 
Dodgeson
With the Leoni already reeling from Morningstar's opening salvo, Platformer and Wildcard leapt in to action, and while they may have given up the element of surprise they quickly dropped a third of the guards before the spots could even begin to clear from their eyes, so that was something.

"Don't let them get away!" One of the guards roared before promptly vanishing in to the timeways to warn the Chainmaker of the heroes' arrival. The guard quickly drew their bow and sent a shimmering bolt of energy skywards towards Morningstar while their subordinates vanished quickly reappearing with their staves drawn surrounding the other two heroes, even if one of them didn't really look like they knew where they were right now.

Predictably none of the crowd reacted to this in the slightest.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Leoni Guard #1 
Standard: Prepare to be yelled at
Move: Teleport away

 Leoni Guard #2 
Move: Nah
Standard: Attack Morningstar with Energy Bow  (1d20+8)[ 10 ]  DC23 Toughness &amp; DC18 Fortitude vs Impaired/Disabled if that hits  Miss 
 Morningstar Toughness vs DC23  (1d20+10)[ 14 ]  
 Morningstar Fortitude vs Impaired/Disabled (DC18)  (1d20+10)[ 18 ]  
 Leoni Raider #1 
Move: Teleport in to Close with Platformer
Standard: Aid Leoni Raider #3  (1d20+13)[ 18 ]  vs DC10  +2 
 Leoni Raider #2 
Move: Teleport in to Close with Platformer
Standard: Team Attack with Leoni Raider #3  (1d20+13)[ 33 ]  vs DC18  +5 
 Leoni Raider #3 
Move: Teleport in to Close with Platformer
Standard: +2 Power Attack Platformer with Stun Staff  (1d20+6)[ 16 ]  vs DC25 Toughness &amp; DC20 Fortitude vs Cumulative Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated if that hits.  Miss 
 Leoni Raider #4 
Move: Teleport in to Close with Platformer
Standard: Aid Leoni Raider #5  (1d20+13)[ 24 ]  vs DC10  +5 
 Leoni Raider #5 
Move: Teleport in to Close with Platformer
Standard: +2 Power Attack Platformer with Stun Staff  (1d20+6)[ 10 ]  vs DC25 Toughness &amp; DC20 Fortitude vs Cumulative Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated if that hits.  Miss 
 Leoni Raider #6 
Move: Teleport in to Close with Wildcard
Standard: Aid Leoni Raider #8  (1d20+13)[ 18 ]  vs DC10  +2 
 Leoni Raider #7 
Move: Teleport in to Close with Wildcard
Standard: Team Attack with Leoni Raider #8  (1d20+13)[ 30 ]  vs DC16  +5 
 Leoni Raider #8 
Move: Teleport in to Close with Wildcard
Standard: +2 Power Attack Wildcard with Stun Staff  (1d20+6)[ 13 ]  vs DC25 Toughness &amp; DC20 Fortitude vs Cumulative Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated if that hits.  Miss 
 Leoni Raider #10 
Move: Teleport in to Close with Wildcard
Standard: Aid Leoni Raider #9  (1d20+8)[ 16 ]  vs DC10  +2 
End of Turn: Roll to remove Disabled&amp;Defenceless (DC20)  (1d20+3)[ 6 ]   Nope 
 Leoni Raider #9 
Move: Teleport in to Close with Wildcard
Standard: Attack Wildcard with Stun Staff  (1d20+8)[ 11 ]  vs DC23 Toughness &amp; DC18 Fortitude vs Cumulative Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated if that hits.  Miss 
 


"He earns our loyalty through right of blood, he will see our glory restored on the back of you apes!" The alien shot back at Scylla defiantly and as far as Blackcoat could tell the would be alien invader genuinely believed what he was saying, but beneath that was an undercurrent of fear and desperation, whatever was happening in the city now was the last throw of the dice for them and if his raiding party had encountered opposition like this then what did that mean for all the rest?

While the captain was busy taking the measure of the captive alien, his crew was busy loading the others on to the lifeboat while they were still unconcious, giving a judicious blow to the head of any that showed signs of coming around, or just to any they thought they saw twitch. Either way it didn't take long to get the first pile moved around ready for transport.

"Ready when you are ma'am!" One of the crew helpfully informed her, dumping the last of the first batch unceremoniously in to the lifeboat.
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin met the assault from five Leoni raiders with quick dodges and blocks.  Five modestly superhuman opponents at once was something of a tough order, but he came out of it only taking one significant hit, taking a chunk off of his lifebar and leaving him momentarily hitstunned.  Nothing he couldn't take.

Kevin kinda smirked at the guard's order.  Them  getting away  was going to be the least of the Leonis' worries.  Skippy blinked off rather than joining the fight though, which presumably meant reinforcements would be arriving shortly.

While Kevin may have been most used to the luxury of being proactive when dealing with large enemy forces (i.e. thoroughly exploring the entire level while they waited patiently at their spawn points), any experienced gamer would know the proper strategy for  wave battles .  The downside was no opportunity to heal and recover MP and such between fights, necessitating more aggressive use of restorative items and powers.  The upside, though, was that an early buff could pay dividends for much longer.  (Granted, this was somewhat less true when your buffs went away when you took damage, but whatever.)

So rather than start wading through the mooks, Kevin took aim on the guard that had attacked Morningstar and hurled a flurry of fireballs at him.   "Let's see if you've got anything for me..." 
 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Stomp-&gt;Strike, 10 points to Shoot, 10 points to Striking Flurry, 20 points to Boost Items.

Move: Dazed.

Standard: Attack Leoni Guard 2 at  (1d20+10)[ 20 ] .  On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage.  If he fails by two degrees or more, Kevin gains a Power Up adding Burst Area and Selective to his Damage.

End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers.  Kevin is Deflected at 1d10+18.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued, Deflected (1d10+18).
 
Llyarden
Five of the Leoni came at him with their electric staves.  Jake blocked and dodged some of them, but a neat triple attack from another three of them left him taking a solid blow from the stun weapon.

He didn't even flinch.

  "I mean, points for hitting me, I guess, but you might want to try harder next time.  Not that you're going to get a next time."  

Now, it was worth noting that while Jake could (somewhat) control his wild powers with nothing but strength of will if he didn't use them to their full extent, if he wanted to ramp up to maximum power, he had to rely on his 'magic' mental constructs to keep everything under control.  And so it might have kinda surprised Platformer, as Wildcard raised his hands and brought swirling shadows around him, that he shouted out something that sounded like nothing more than a made-up magic spell.

  " Tenebris Ostium! "  

Shadows rushed from him, whirling at the Leoni who'd attacked him before flying out towards the other raiders if its power hadn't been dissipated by then, while a plume of black-purple flames erupted from beneath the one who was attacking Morningstar, seeking to take control of the apparent field leader of the group.

And when the shadows were gone, Wildcard himself was nowhere to be seen.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Power up Amplify Elements.
Free: Set Control Elements to Elemental Blast, 4 points of Range, and 45 random points: Vine Snare, Nightmare, Disintegrate, Ignite, one-half Midnight.
Free: Configure Control Elements: Range 4, Damage 10 [Darkness, Spiritual] (Alternate Resistance: Defence) Linked Concealment Attack [All Visual] (Blending) Linked Affliction 10 [Entranced/Compelled/Controlled] (Secondary Effect)
Standard: Attack the Leoni Minions with Damage and Takedown 2, the remaining non-Minion with Affliction, and myself with Concealment.  Power Attacking for 2, Routining against the Minions for DC27 Defence vs damage (starting with the ones that were attacking me and working outwards, I guess).
Guard 2:  (1d20+8)[ 16 ]  for DC22 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled

Status: Visually Concealed.
 
Starsign
The predictable thing about interrogating people is that they will always be defensive, always give an expression of strength, and always try and prove that they will be neither intimidated nor swayed. Whether they can keep that up in the face of torment is a different story; Blackcoat has seen and heard many stories of soldiers and corsairs succumbing to the brutality of cold torture or isolation For him, however, he could find more from a close look rather than through physical force.

The signs were prevalent on the raid leader's face: wild eyes devoid of anger and fury; a mouth stretching far too wide for what he's saying; a forward head jerk indicating a  need  to respond forcefully rather than a  choice  to. Something had gone wrong for the leonine invaders, and it wasn't something that they could recover from. This didn't tell Blackcoat how to pilot the  ship , but it did indicate that crashing it was probably the least of the leonine's worries.

Thus, a different outcome is needed, one to reveal how many other invaders came with them.

  "Glory? The Chainmaker ain't sailin' fer much o' a crew now,"   The human pirate looks over at the damaged, static, and overall helpless state of the ship.   "Don't need t' prick ye eye to tell ye ain't got nothin' left. No backup, no 'Plan B.' 'fraid t' say ye bet all on raidin' a planet far better than ye thought."   Blackcoat can only wonder how many alien races underestimate Earth; so many invade, and every time they are repelled.   "Ye be lucky ye found me; plenty other people o' this planet would do far worse t' ye than I."   He wasn't bluffing; there are plenty of opportunists and villains who'd do far worse to aliens with superior technology than heroes rehabilitating them to prison.

  "So ye tell me this,"   Blackcoat continues, giving the leonine invader a focused, yet genuine look in the eyes,   "Did ye really come alone? If ye care 'bout ye kind, ye goals, and whatever's left that ye brought to this planet, ye best speak. Else, ye best pray I don't come tellin' ye be the last o' ye kind."  

Was it a harsh warning? Perhaps; the invaders are probably well equipped to fend for themselves for a time. But these two ships were bested by a pair of heroes, with plenty of superpowered people in and around New Harbour. It overall  is  better for heroes to stop invaders than letting them run into potentially  worse  things on Earth. Whether this is effective, however, is beyond Blackcoat's understanding of aliens; confronting them is a relatively newer experience for the immortal pirate.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
So while I originally wrote this as Persuasion, I'm not sure if Bluff fits better. Both ate +18, though, so I'll let Dodgeson decide which is more accurate:  (1d20+18)[ 37 ] 
 
Dodgeson
Wildcard's shadows and flames tore through the the alien invaders while Platformer hurled fireballs towards the bow-armed guard and Morningstar rained down a hail of light from above, when all was said on done only one of them was left standing, though it was too their credit that they hadn't seemed to have taken more than a minor scratch from the concentrated fire, in fact he seemed more perturbed than anything by the large red and yellow flower that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Bobbing up and down and defusing in to chunky pixels around it's edges it was certainly unusual to say the least, which for a slave stealing lion man from outside of time was saying something, but they didn't have time to waste puzzling it out, they were clearly outmatched and outgunned in the current situation but they still had one card left to play.

"STAND DOWN NOW!" They roared "Or it ends for the cattle!"

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Leoni Guard #2 
Move: Dazed
Standard: Ready an Action
 


Watching their raiding party be loaded unconscious on to a life boat had done a lot impress the situation on him but, exactly unaware of how Blackcoat was reading him like book, they decide to keep up their bravado even as the continued to comply with the Captain.

"You think this is all of us? You can stop two ships but the rest of the fleet will have already taken this city. You're sealed off, no help is coming and once the rest of you cattle have been sent to the palace ship you will never see them again!" He growled, but with how things have played, most of the threat had been deflated for the moment but if Scylla or Blackcoat turned their eyes towards the city they would notice something in the skyline that certainly hadn't been there this morning. The strange and alien silhouette of the Leoni Palaceship!
Dr.Gunsforhands
While this is going on, Scylla and her captives ride a tidal wave through the city's streets, her psychic command keeping it and the lifeboat safely in one lane. She notices that she apparently needn't have bothered being so careful. In all her time here, town has never felt quite so... abandoned.

Still, she doesn't really have time to question what gives. She pulls in front of the police station, throws open the front door and whistles to get everyone's attention.  "So! Attention everyone with a badge and cuffs! Suspects are subdued and ready for... booking..." 

One assumes at this point that the station is mysteriously abandoned, or at least more sparsely populated than usual.
Starsign
Hearing the desperate bravado and bluster, Blackcoat took the threat without a lick of response on his face. The human captain stood up and looked out the gaping hole made in the ship, looking out towards the city, and indeed, he sees the unusually-shaped ship which had not been there previously. The palaceship's size clearly towered over the ones which Blackcoat and Scylla took over. He had to admit, it's size was impressive, and he'd not seen something quite as large before. At the same time, it backed up what the pirate got out of the raid leader: this really was all they had left. One normally does not send in their greatest ship to raid. If they did, it's because it is all they had left and absolutely  must  succeed.

  "So that be it?"   Blackcoat asks the raid leader without looking back at him. While it  is  a very dangerous ship, based on size alone, it wasn't the fleet which Blackcoat had been warned about.   Ye last ship sent out when there's nothin' else.   He folds his arms, while his crew look on in wonder and horror.   "Then I jus' board an' take it over like t' others."  

A ship is still a ship, regardless of size. It just might  take  a bit longer.

  "Everyone assemble!   he shouts to his crew.   "Find an' take ye positions as ye can. T' rest, keep an eye on th' captives. Thar be a ship to board!"  

Without any actual knowledge on piloting an alien ship, Blackcoat moves to the bridge to check over the piloting controls. Rather than try and lower the ship, he'd instead simply try flying it across the city and to the station Scylla went to. While his crew may not be ready to board an alien palaceship, Blackcoat and Scylla work together better than alone; and if any other heroes are around, all the better to join forces for the assault.
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin rolled his eyes.  This was not the first time his opponents, knowing better than to think they could take him in a straight fight, had tried to threaten others to coerce him to stand down.  It never really worked well for them.  Kevin was a big believer in disincentivizing such cowardice with extreme prejudice.

Some heroes found it hard to deal with such threats the way they had to be dealt with, felt obligated to go along with them out of the mistaken belief that it was the most effective way to protect the innocents.  Kevin had never really felt any qualms about it.

There were some advantages, to not quite recognizing people as  people  on an intuitive level.

 "Okay, buddy, you're new here, so let me make extremely clear to you how this goes."

"First, I'm not an idiot.  Anyone who is evil enough to kill a bunch of innocent people for tactical advantage is evil enough to do it out of sheer spite.  By declaring your intent to kill them unless we stand down, I  have  to fight you as hard as I possibly can.  Because either you don't intend to follow through, so the threat is irrelevant, or you do intend to follow through, which means you have proven that I cannot trust you to spare them regardless of what I do so my only option is to actively  prevent  you from harming them.  So it's a counter-productive threat just baseline."

"But more importantly, like, really?  You're threatening to kill the very people you came to enslave so your civilization doesn't basically go extinct?  When you probably have reinforcements coming anyway?  I kinda doubt your superiors would approve a move like that.  I mean, if you're just trying to stall until they get here it's like...sure, that's cool I guess.  I got a Blaster now, so whatever reinforcements are coming vs. whatever reinforcements are coming plus you isn't exactly a huge deal to me, tactically speaking.  But as far as us standing down, you do not have the leverage you think you have." 
 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  Keeping 20 points on Boost Items, and then 30 points into Stomp-&gt;Strike, Shoot, Stunning Strike.

Standard: Ready an action.  If skippy takes or triggers any action that might threaten the captives, blast him, which I believe will pre-empt his own Readied action since mine was declared second, All Out Attacking for 5, Power Attacking for 5, at  (1d20+10)[ 13 ] .  On a hit, Toughness DC 30 vs. Damage, Will DC 25 vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless Affliction.  If he fails Toughness by two degrees or more, I'll give Wildcard a Boost Item; Llyarden if you have any requests let me know, otherwise I'll figure it out if it actually happens.

Free: Kevin's speech occurs after he readies his action.

Move: Uh, if I can and need to use this to make an Intimidation check I will, otherwise meh.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued.
 
Llyarden
Jake...just kinda sighed.  Platformer's analysis was entirely correct, of course, but people who were irrational enough to try taking hostages tended to be too irrational to consider anything rationally.

  "You know, there is a second option other than us just beating you down,"   he said - it would have been conversationally, but his voice was just kinda emanating eerily from the swirling shadows, Jake himself nowhere to be seen.    "Your boss sounds like the kind of person who doesn't allow for anyone to have ideas other than them, so it's understandable you might not have thought about it, but whatever it is you're dealing with, this...Wyrm...you could always just work  with  humanity, instead of trying to enslave us.  You never know, you might find you like it here.  There are a surprising number of aliens and beings from other dimensions and so on that have made homes for themselves here.  Nothing to say you can't too."

"And, I mean, I assume your Chainmaker's response would be something like 'we are superior to puny humans and they are nothing but cattle,' but, counterpoint: it was humans responsible for bringing you into this state of disarray to begin with, and - no offence intended to Platformer or Morningstar - you're having enough difficulty dealing with just three of us that you're having to resort to threatening your captives, risking the only reason you're even here, to try to get us to stand down."

"Normally I'd suggest you think about it, but I assume your boss will be here shortly, so instead..."  

There was a shimmer and the darkness swirled back into Jake, who stretched out his hand towards the Leoni as though offering the slaver a handshake.

  "Maybe you just need to trust someone for once."  
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Standard: Attempt to Coerce the Leoni into standing down, using Passionate to do so with Persuasion and the [Guilt] and [Hope] descriptors instead of [Fear]:  (1d20+20)[ 31 ] 
Extra Effort: If that doesn't work, Heroic Feat Fascinate and just Fascinate the Leoni:  (1d20+20)[ 24 ] .

Status: Fatigued next round.
 
Dodgeson
Flying through the streets of New Harbour, whether on commandeered alien raidships or a tidal wave, Scylla and Captain Blackcoat made their way towards the police station and Scylla's observation couldn't have been more accurate, there was no sign of any other living thing in the normally bustling city, whether they were simply hiding in fear of the invaders or had suffered some other much worse fate...

Scylla's call out was initially met with silence but after a few minutes (and the muffled sound of a barrier being moved) the front door opened just a crack to reveal the weary looking face of one of the city's finest, and now they had been through a lot today and seen a lot of weird stuff, but the appearance of the two heroes and their pile of unconscious invaders still took them by surprise. Not that it wasn't a welcome sight and the door quickly opened wider to reveal both the ruined state of the police station and another single surviving officer.

"Aren't you guys a sight for sore eyes? Hey Lucy, it's Scylla and that pirate guy!" The officer called back to their colleague "These big cat looking things just appeared out of nowhere and started snatching people, dinged the place up pretty bad but we can hold these guys."

"What the heck's happening out there?" The other officer asked as the pair began to drag the unconscious Leoni in to the station.

Elsewhere in the city Morningstar hung back in the sky whilst Platformer and Wildcard tried a more diplomatic approach with the alien guard, currently they were outnumbered and who knows what the Chainmaker would do to them if they actually ordered the cattle to harm themselves, but on the other hand what would they do if they found them allying themselves with the humans? Despite their (somewhat) advanced technology the Leoni where in many ways a simple culture and the lower castes weren't exactly accustom to having to do much thinking for themselves.

Still Wildcard's argument was starting to sound persuasive and if nothing else they could defer the beating they were about to get from the superhumans right now for whatever punishment the Chainmaker was going to mete out later and there was a tiny part of them that wondered if maybe the humans would be able to defeat their leader. When Wildcard reappeared they didn't reciprocate the handshake but instead simply stood aside.

"The Chainmaker will not be turned away from this." They warned "A million years of history rides upon his back."
Quellian-dyrae
 
 Spoiler 
Keeping Boost Items active so I retain my Power Up, but shifting the other thirty points to Third-Person Viewpoint, Quest Marker just in case it has anything useful for me, and Chat.
 


 
 Originally Posted by To Wildcard 
   Platformer:   Nicely done. 🙂 
 

 "He might not turn away, but you can rest assured he will  be  turned away,"  Kevin responded with quiet confidence.  This wasn't the first alien overlord he had thwarted, after all, and he wasn't even a kid anymore.

He started for the entrance to the ship, but halted as he neared the entry.  Times past, he would have just left the collared civilians be to go fight the bad guys, partly operating under the assumption that they would have to beat the villain to free them, and partly...well, partly considering them more as part of the background that actual agents.  Just a bunch of enthralled NPCs that needed rescuing.  Morningstar breaking out of it would have been written off as just "because she's a hero".

But the Kevin of today forced himself to stop and consider.  This goon had been able to threaten the civilians when he thought he was outmatched.  The Chainmaker would undoubtedly be able to do the same, and they wouldn't have the "you really want to piss off your boss?" card to play against him.  He had broken Morningstar free just by Chatting her; her being a hero probably  did  help with that, but there was no reason to assume the other people here might not be freeable.  Morningstar's case suggested that the hold those collars placed was at least somewhat fragile.

Kevin had always been more about the "beat up the bad guys" part of super-heroics.  But he was still a St. Ambrose alumnus, and this was right out of first-year Introduction to Heroism.  "A true hero is more than just a defender; they are an inspiration to the people around them."

Kevin turned to face the enthralled civilians.

 "Hey!"  he called to them, forcefully as he could.   "Listen up!  I don't know what those weird collar-things are doing, but I do know that they're not invincible!  They can be broken!  Now, my friends and I are going to roll up into this spaceship, throw down with the Chainmaker and whatever goons he wants to send at us, and put this whole 'enslave the entire city' plot to bed.  And I'm here to tell you, there is  no possible future  where that doesn't happen.  We  will  free you.  But here's the thing:  you don't have to wait for us!   Morningstar broke out, right before your eyes.  And I know what you're thinking: she broke out because she's a superhero.  Because she's got some awesome light powers and stuff, right?"

" Wrong. "

"My name is Kevin Matthews, Platformer.  I'm a graduate of St. Ambrose.  While I was there, I was part of my class's official superhero team.  And one of my teammates - one of the best darn heroes in the entire school! - was called Mockingbird.  You want to know what Mockingbird's superpower was?   Nothing!   She was a teenaged gymnast with an electrified yo-yo, and she was one of the top heroes in the entire school!"

"It is not and nor has it ever been the  powers  that make a  hero .  Everybody has it in them.  And you all are already basically  there !  You're the people of New Harbour!  After the Alchemaster's attack on your city, the loss of the Protectorate, you didn't flee!  You didn't run off to Jubilee, or Tomorrow City, or some other, safer city that still had a full complement of superheroes to protect it.  You stayed!  You rebuilt!  You faced the difficulties and the dangers, regardless of whether there was anyone around with superpowers to protect you.   That's what heroes do! "

"So do it again!  Here!  Now!  It's not the powers that make the hero, it's the  will !  And I believe that the people of New Harbour have more than enough will to tear these collars to  shreds !" 
 
 Spoiler 
Let me know what I need to roll.  I'm also totally willing to spend a Hero Point here if that would do anything.  I'm only half banking on Kevin actually being able to inspire the people to break free, with the other half being that explicitly bringing up us being about to roll up and stomp on Chainmaker's face creating enough possible futures where they get freed that the Wyrms vanish in a puff of logic.  😏
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Snatching?"  Scylla echoes back as the minions are carted away. Somehow this seems to bother her more than being knocked out earlier.  "We caught these guys in a pair of airships by the docks, but we didn't see them bring back any hostages. Where did they take everyone?" 
Starsign
  "Up above ye,"   Blackcoat suggests as a response, having followed Scylla in, then taking a step outside and pointing above to the large palaceship. It was hard to believe, at first; how can a city suddenly go silent? While New Harbour was not the most bustling city, especially since it had been rebuilt, it was incredibly active and lively. To suggest the people had been  kidnapped  required a heist plan beyond what Blackcoat has seen in his centuries of living. And yet, the flying technological machine was the most conspicuous thing related to what's going on.   "I sure don't get how y' haul a loot as big as a city's populace off in a dawn, but if they be anywhere, it be up there."  

It takes a moment for him to determine its size between the length, width, and height off of the ground. It truly is massive. At the same time, it surely has to be all that these invaders have left. All that needs to be done is to take the ship and down its captain, this so-called Chainmaker. There should be a way to get in using the smaller ship that Blackcoat and Scylla captured.

  "Scylla, we be haulin' the rest o' the beaten invaders 'ere, then we set sail for boardin', if ye be up for it."   The human captain checked over his own crew, making sure they could move the captured invaders to the station, before giving the police officer a small glare.   "An' it's Captain Blackcoat, ye landlubber!"  

Every notable pirate has a reputation to uphold, and Blackcoat certainly will not die on a day he is known as, "the pirate guy."
Dodgeson
"Sorry, no idea." The officer explained apologetically as Blackcoat's crew helped drag the Leoni inside, he should probably be at the very least supervising but his fellow officer could be doing that and he felt that filling in the heroes (with what little information he had anyway) was more important. "They were throwing these weird silver looking things and then they just vanished in to thin air."

"Yeah that'd do it." The other officer, Lucy, agreed with the pirate's assessment of the situation, returning from the cells and holding one hand above her eye line to observe the looming silhouette of the palaceship in the distance.

"Right, Captain Blackcoat! Sorry!" The first officer wilted under Captain Blackcoat's glare before scurrying back inside. Their partner did their best not to chuckle, really they did.

In contrast, the last of the Leoni guards standing didn't even try to conceal their laughter as Platformer's speech, true though it may have been, failed to draw any kind of reaction from the crowd of mindless mannequins that the citizens of New Harbour had become, it would take more than pretty words to reckon with the time devouring Wyrm.

"I'm gonna hang back here, keep an eye laughing boy." Morningstar called from up above as Platformer and Wildcard headed in to the palaceship "Also $20 says this whole thing is rigged to explode, I can shield the civilians." Oh yes Morningstar knew a thing or two about how villainous lairs were constructed, almost like she had some kind of prior experience....

The door to the palace ship slip open as the heroes approached and before them was a curious mix of the old and the new, the whole place was clearly made of metal but it was lit by burning torches handing from the wall. Corridors either side laid off in to small living areas stocked with wooden furniture and tapestries whilst ahead was another metal door that revealed a small room with a panel marked in strange looking alien symbols.
Quellian-dyrae
A part of Kevin kinda wanted to be surprised, or disappointed, or something, but he just couldn't manage it.  As the Leoni guard started laughing, he gave him a flat, deadpan stare, and then a little tip of his hat.  To be fair, it was kinda funny.  What was he thinking, expecting a bunch of nameless NPCs to do something  other  than just stand around at their spawn points?  Clearly, that wasn't going to change unless and until they triggered some sort of event.

(I'm just saying, Kevin's use of video game logic to guide his expectations hadn't survived this long  solely  to weird psychological side effects from his powers.  The logical path he took may have been completely invalid, but it nonetheless got him to the correct conclusion way more often than one might naively expect.)

Well, nothing to be done for it.  Morningstar's strategy was, of course, exactly correct and needed no polishing.  He nodded to her, and headed into the ship.

A quick swirl of his camera angle to take in the surroundings, and he headed over to examine the panel thing.  That probably  wasn't  the master control panel for the entire ship, just on the basis of being too easy to access.  But it might still have some useful functions.  Maybe a map.

 
 Spoiler 
Gonna Routine an Expertise check to see what I can glean about the panel and its functions.  I imagine both his Aliens proficiency and his Tech Savvy benefit would apply here.  Total is 30 for factual recall (such as identifying the meaning of specific symbols), 25 for general knowledge-related purposes (such as figuring out likely functions based on the design and construction of the device), or 20 for practical applications (such as understanding how to actually use the thing to do something helpful).
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
The phrase, 'silver looking things,' certainly isn't much to go on. Scylla taps her foot, quietly and slowly. It helps her think.  "Okay, so, up it is. I'll see what I can find." 

Her plan is faster to execute than it is to explain. She walks back out the front door and rides a water jet upwards until she's above the fog. When she finds nothing up there but dizzying altitude sickness, she dives back down through the fog to try another approach.

A sound like pouring rain follows behind her as she swims through the air at roughly the same height as the airships, combing the haze for anything big or alien enough to be associated with this insane Leonin plot. At her flying speed, if the raiders brought anything big enough to gather the whole town plus themselves, she's bound to find it soon enough. Unless it's hidden in an underground sewer complex or something. She takes that idea and suppresses it, along with such ideas as, 'they went to another planet,' and, 'they went to the dinosaur past.' Those are giving up thoughts and they are not what we need right now.
Dodgeson
Platformer's first deduction would be a simple one, they were in an elevator and he was looking at the control panel. As for what the symbols actually meant he would actually recognise enough of them to get a rough idea of what lead where (Professor Quantum had once absent-mindedly graded his homework in similar symbols, it was a confusing if educational experience). The lower buttons would take them below to storage dedicated to the Leoni's ill-gotten plunder and their 'cattle', while the middle floors were the living quarters of the Leoni and at the top was the domain of the Chainmaker themselves.

Swimming through the air at phenomenal speed Scylla would soon encounter other ships that clearly hadn't received as much resistance  as the ones that had appeared on the docks, their deck filled with captive citizens, all standing stock still like statues. With the speed and manoeuvrability she had on the vessels Scylla wouldn't have to worry about engaging them for the moment and what was more important was that they were all heading in the same direction, towards Hero Park in the centre of the city and the strange new silhouette that dominated the city's skyline.
Quellian-dyrae
 "It looks like an elevator,"  Kevin reported (after walking back outside?  I'm not 100% clear on Wildcard's position at the moment.)   "Lower levels are storage and holding cells, middle levels living quarters, upper levels Chainmaker's domain.  Obviously we won't be able to free the prisoners without defeating the boss,"  his speech had "proved" that, for a certain value of "proved" that qualified by Kevin's standards anyway.   "So we should probably start at the bottom and work our way up."   Haha what?  That suggestion didn't logically follow from the previous premises.   "Storage areas can be statistically expected to have at least a couple treasure chests, sometimes even decent ones, plus there's probably a prisoner down there who can give us a key item or piece of information or something.  Most of the mooks will probably be in the living quarters, so it should be pretty good EXP.  Then once we've cleared the whole level we'll hit the boss and save the day."   Correction.  It didn't follow from its previous premises unless you (thought you) were living in a video game.

 "You don't have any MP limits do you?  My stock of Ethers is not, shall we say, what it should be."   Kevin had long since ceased to bemoan his lack of an inventory, but it did occasionally come with practical concerns.  For, again, a given value of practical.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Scylla clenches her fists inside her hovering water bubble. A part of her suddenly wants to put all of her spite into a song and see these ships all crash and drown right now, but she already knows at least three reasons reasons it's a bad idea. Maybe if she stays focused on stealth, or sets up a proper trap to lure them into...

Of course, by now it's has already taken her longer to think about this than it would to go back and update Captains Lucy and Rutherford. She returns to the station and barges in quickly enough that she leaves a big slippery puddle on the floor behind her.

 "I found them,"  she says hurriedly, her voice somehow unaffected by the water dropping from her mouth,  "a bunch more ships like the ones we found, where they're keeping everyone frozen somehow. They're all heading to some kind of giant base in Hero Park. I didn't get close enough to make it out yet."  She looks to Blackcoat specifically.  "If I can lure one of them into turning around, do you think we can take them down one by one? Or do you think we should go straight for the base?" 

The likes of Morningstar, Wildcard and Platformer haven't even crossed her mind yet, and probably never will unless someone else brings them up. They really could be in the dinosaur past for all she knows.
Starsign
Blackcoat waited patiently for Scylla's return, making sure his crew got neither rampant, fearful or impatient with what's going on. The sudden disappearance of the city's inhabitants left them disturbed; it's not without reason, as many of them had families living here. Blackcoat has a responsibility to see that these families are brought home safely, not just out of his duties as a hero.

When Scylla returned, Blackcoat considered the present options. For him, while riskier, the heroes had absolutely no time to spare.   "Good to judge ye options, but we cannot spare huntin' one ship a time when so many people are taken. We be needin' t' board an' hit their main base as soon as possible."  

Blackcoat looks out in the distance toward Hero Park, wondering how the invaders had managed to set this up without anyone knowing.   "We best be takin' our captured ship, case we can use it t' get in quietly. Once in we'd expect th' worst they got, and all they got left."  

The plan, unless Scylla has any objections, is set, and all that's left is to set it into motion.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I'm gonna apologize again for being slow. I've hit a lack of motivation for most things besides schoolwork. I should be better, though, come February. Thanks for your patience everyone. 🙂
 
Dodgeson
The plan was set and whilst Platformer and Wildcard debated their next move, Scylla and Blackcoat once again boarded their commandeered (and ever so slightly damaged) ship, taking to the sky and heading towards where the Leoni Palaceship had embedded itself in Hero Park. Sailing through the air above the fog the ship did begin to creak slightly as the damage that it had sustained in the previous battle started to settle in, still it would hold for now.

Finally reaching the park, even from their altitude one thing was certain, the place was packed,  a veritable forest of civilians lingering around the base of the strange corkscrew shaped structure that had embedded itself in the ground in front of the Protectorate's old headquarters, all of them standing as still as statues just like the ones that Scylla had seen on the other ships. As they got closer it would also become apparent that their didn't seem to be anything in the way of docking on the larger structure but that could wait for a moment as a brightly glowing light came from beneath them before stopping right in front of them.

"Anyone holding a weapon by the end of this sentence is throw ru...!" The light began to demandbefore damping down as it surveyed the deck and saw not a Leoni in sight, revealing a redheaded woman in a ruffled shirt and jeans, surrounded in a sheathe of light "Oh hey, hell of a day huh?" she finished, with a much more casual tone. This was Morningstar, one of a handful of heroes that had moved to New Harbour during the reconstruction, the choker around her neck providing her with the powers of flight and light manipulation.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Scylla doesn't know where that  throw ru  sentence was going and already doesn't care.  "Morningstar? You're here! Great!"  She looks again over the railing at the assembled populace below.  "So! Where have they done to everyone and how do we stop them?" 
Starsign
Flying the alien craft was a relatively unusual experience for the human pirate. It sure wasn't the  wildest  one he'd had, given how old he is, but this was one of those tales which would be hard for the rest of his crew to believe. Most of the controls were not conventional, accommodating for hands notably bigger than his. Besides a few wobbles, however, he managed to get himself and Scylla over to the park, where upon they found civilians, likely captured and in some sort of stasis. Blackcoat had almost docked on the structure until Morningstar appeared, much to the relief at seeing another hero around here.

  "Ye be on good time, Morningstar,"   Blackcoat says to her, speaking in respect and giving her a courteous nod.   "We be sailin' dry on what's been goin' on all day; lion-headed pirates attacked th' port this mornin' an' we're lookin' fer their captain-"   he glances down at the many captured civilians below,   "An' everyone they've taken 'ere. This all they got, so we jus' gotta take 'em out now."  

He takes another look out at the larger structure.   "This be where we dock, but we be preferrin' if ye know anything 'bout what's happenin'."  
Dodgeson
"They're rounding everyone up and taking them in there." Morningstar offered as an explanation to Scylla's question, tilting her head backwards to where the enormous Palaceship stood embedded in the ground "No clue why though, they kinda came out of nowhere and blindsided me, they've got this silver rope stuff. Do not let it touch you!"

She let that hang in the air for a moment before realising that she had kind of abruptly stopped there and tried to be a little more helpful "Anyway, silver things. Not even totally sure how I snapped out of it, I know magic doesn't play with tech sometimes buuuut I'm pretty sure it was more to do with my friend. There's a couple of guys down there about to head in and beat up whoever's in charge."

Now to some people that might only sound like part of a plan but, like Platformer, not only was Morningstar an alumnus of St Ambrose but she'd been in the cape game long enough to know that you could solve a lot of problems by just hitting them really hard.
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Silver rope stuff,"  Scylla echoes back as she remembers the groups she saw more up-close earlier.  "So, that's what has everyone in a trance? If someone managed to snap you out of it, maybe I can..." 

She lets that thread trail off in favor of the idea that gets us into the action and brings the party together. She nods to Morningstar.  "Alright, I'll go join them! Do you need a ride down, Captain?" 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin frowned as one of the alien ships (he presumed, on the basis that he didn't recall seeing any flying ships previously in New Harbour and was pretty sure if they had been there he'd have noticed, if for no better reason than so he could set up a whole menu for random sidequests and unexplored dungeons to return to once he had acquired an airship) came flying over.  Morningstar went up to meet them; he was about to happily write them off as doomed when her light dimmed.  That was odd.

 "Hold that thought,"  he told Wildcard, leaping up to the deck of the ship in a single bound.

 "Problems Mor- ah,"  he stopped himself when he saw who she was talking to.  He didn't know either Blackcoat or Scylla personally, but as local heroes (ish?  He wasn't actually sure whether Blackcoat was a hero, anti-hero, redeemed villain, or lovable rogue type) he'd heard  of  them at least.   "Um.  Hi,"  he said, kinda awkwardly.  There were...probably some manner of other social niceties that were supposed to come next but Kevin had more important things on his mind right now so he just went with,  "Uh, so Wildcard and I are about to invade the big alien lair and free the captives by defeating the boss.  You guys want in?"   (He wasn't aware that Morningstar had already explained most of that, his camera angle didn't include surround sound.)
Dr.Gunsforhands
Oh, hey, it's him!

 "We were about to come whether you asked us or not,  Platformer, "  she says, automatically stressing his name derisively, the way the Charybdis character did in the console release of  Platformer 2.   "I mean, platformer,"  she tries to correct, but nope, it still sounds weird somehow. She's had to read it as a voice line too many times.

Now that Iara thinks of it, it's kind of weird how Platformer and Scylla have never really met before now, despite living in the same city and Scylla officially acting in his too-many-layers-deep videogame. Such is the price of having secret identities, one guesses.

 "So, anyway, do you want anything flooded before we bust in?" 
Starsign
Blackcoat was quite prepared to infiltrate the place with only Scylla for support, if it was necessary. It felt uncanny that the two by the port had missed a gigantic kidnapping behind their back, and in some sense they could not have been the only ones they missed. So there was something fortunate that Morningstar was around, and of a greater benefit that there was another who's inviting the two along.

  "Good t' meet another hero,"   Blackcoat responds to Platformer; the pirate lord, who was a hero, anti-hero, redeemed villain and loveable rogue all at once, gently tilts his pirate hat forward,   "Captain Blackcoat, pirate lord o' the seas, here to help.  . While he's never met Platformer, there was something about the latter that seems  familiar  to Blackcoat. Didn't he see Platformer from somewhere before? Bah, Blackcoat can ask later, though he'll likely feel like a fool when he eventually does.   "We 'bout t' go in ourselves, Platformer."   The name rolls off the tongue unusually, like he's heard the name spoken in that way before. No, he  knows  this hero, but from where?   "Ye got a plan? We be few in number,; a quieter approach be better an' surprise them. But if ye know th' lay o' things better then we'd be better followin' yer lead."  
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin didn't react to Scylla's pronunciation of his name.  It was just barely possible he didn't actually notice anything weird about it.  He nodded as the two indicated their intent to invade the lair as well.

(He had gotten a lot taller since his first year at St. Ambrose; this did not appear to have changed how easy it was for the nuances of social interactions to go over his head.)

 "Probably not on flooding.  I like a good dungeon bypass as much as the next guy, but there's an elevator system through the door.  Flooding it might make it harder to get around, rather than easier.  From what I can tell, the lower levels have the prisons and storage, middle levels the living space, and upper levels belong to the boss, who the other Leoni are calling Chainmaker.  My suggestion is we hit them from the bottom up, so we don't miss any loot or EXP." 

He kinda stared blankly at Blackcoat for a moment as he suggested a quieter approach, before reminding himself that the suggestion of turning something into a stealth mission meant something different in the real world than it did in games, and was actually generally strategically sound where practical.  He replied with a shrug.   "I'm not sure how stealthy the elevator will let us be, and to be honest it's not my strong suit in general, but I'm certainly not opposed if we can make it work.  We don't really have much in the way of a plan from any sort of strategic standpoint at the moment.  Granted, I'm not entirely sure we need one, especially if we're actually going in with a full four-person party." 
Starsign
...Dungeon bypass? EXP? Blackcoat can't recall where he had heard those terms before. A lot of the modern world still confused him. He did, however, understand the meaning of, 'loot.' How  couldn't  he?

Alas, the captain has the suspicion that there won't be much of value within the structure. Everything looked either too technologically advanced for him, or simply would not have monetary value. If this is all that the leonine invaders have left, then it's likely they did not have a trove of wealth to steal.

  "Four ain't be a big boardin' party,"   Blackcoat warned, though keeping in mind that a  non-powered  boarding group tends to be most of a crew.   "But we be different than th' usual corsairs that go boardin'. Ye think we can jus' go in? Then we make it so."  

Blackcoat heads over to the controls of the ship and motions it to dock on the larger structure.   "Let's meet ye friend, Platformer, an' head on in."  
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "You... do know experience doesn't work like that in real life, right?"  Scylla chimes in.  "Or... maybe it does for you? But if that were the case, you'd probably be max level by now..." 

She shakes it off. It's really no use trying to make sense of Platformer's moon logic. She'll just have to make something up and hope it's enough to convince him.

 "Anyway, as long as we're all together, I want to do whatever fixes this as quickly as possible! Alright? So, think speedrun strats."  She looks over the bow at the docking platform impatiently.  "Busting in from up here should skip the guards on the ground, so let's get Wildcard to come up with us. Then if we can get to an elevator car, I should be able hydraulic-lift it to the top, even if the buttons are locked out or whatever." 

Noticing Blackcoat taking inventory, she also has to note:  "I don't think I'll be able to bring more than four or five people that way, though. The crew might be better off holding this airship... maybe as an emergency exit?" 
Quellian-dyrae
 "Let's assume for the sake of argument that I do,"  Kevin replied.  It wasn't really a debate he wanted to have.  There were some plausible arguments he could have made.  "Something something practice makes perfect" wasn't quite precise, but contained more than a kernel of wisdom.  There were both risks and potential tactical advantages to exploring an enemy lair thoroughly and neutralizing the forces you encountered, and his intuitions were that it was usually worth doing where time wasn't an explicit factor, but those intuitions were somewhat difficult to productively communicate in a way that "EXP and power ups" wasn't.  And his powers did change the equation in key ways, even if he himself wasn't  quite  clear on exactly how in this particular case (just like his inventory, he'd never been able to pull up a reference on anyone's stats, his own included, so it wasn't like he could scientifically experiment on how much EXP he earned by various means).  And you know, sure, all of that was true enough.  But really, what Kevin  honestly  thought when someone told him that experience doesn't work like that in the real world?

If St. Ambrose hadn't designed the Crucible for level-grinding, then what the heck was it supposed to be there for?

Still, let nobody ever say that Kevin Matthews didn't enjoy a good speedrun.

 "Cool, I'll Chat him,"  Kevin said, before doing just that.


 
 Originally Posted by To Wildcard 
   Platformer:   Two of the city's heroes are on the airship.  They're going to help too.
  Platformer:   Sounds like the plan is to punch our way in through the top, if you want to come up here. 
 
Dodgeson
With Wildcard (presumably) brought up on to the damaged vessel and brought up to speed on the plan it seemed that our heroes, finally brought together, had chosen to go with the venerable tradition of the dungeon bypass. Floating up to the peak of the alien structure before them, they would easily have the combined firepower to punch an entry in to the structure and at the very least they could attempt to simply ram their way in with the Leoni vessel.

Which ever manner of entry they chose it would seem that they were expected, the room was lit by torches hung from the walls and a long wooden table dominated the room. At the far end was a throne and on it sat an enormous Leoni that made those that they had seen before seem practically look like kittens in comparison, upon his brow sat an iron crown and beside him rested a vicious looking axe, this was the Chainmaker. To one side of the the floated a writhing ball of silver threads and to on the other a figure in a green hood holding a silver scepter, lying on the floor face down was another Leoni that didn't appear to be moving.

"Finally. The circle of time is closing." The Chainmaker announced deeply, standing up from his throne and positively towered above his subordinate "Just as I saw."

Hanging behind the throne was a crude tapestry that, if you were being charitable, seemed to show them standing before the Leoni ruler.

"Be careful my king, they are not to be underestimated." The hooded figure cautioned him solemnly, only to be silenced almost instantly by a glare from their king.
Quellian-dyrae
Not for the first time, Kevin took a moment to enjoy the fact that he lived in a world with destructible zone borders.  EXP and power ups or not it really was just  awfully  convenient.

The villain was waiting for them, surrounded by what must be presumed to be his most elite minions.  And possibly one living footstool.  Too soon to tell.  This was no particular surprise to Kevin.  Of course the villain was waiting for them in the boss room with his elite minions.  What else would he be doing?  This was the natural and normal course of events, how the game was played.  They all knew the score here.

But the flipping Chainmaker had to go and  comment  on it as if it were some special gift of foresight bestowed by his oh-so-impressive time powers.

That was his third mistake.

(The first had been trying to enslave the people of Earth in the first place.  The second had been doing it in a city under Kevin's protection.)

 "So, does he always do that?"  Kevin asked the Leoni lying on the ground, conversationally.   "I mean, proclaim he had foreseen the thing that just happened?  Like, does he pre-register his predictions anywhere, is what I'm curious about.  Or does he just say he foresaw the event after it happens?  Because like, that's pretty bottom-of-the-barrel stuff as predictions go.  Cold reading would actually be  upping  his game, at that point.  Oh man, I hope he doesn't follow up by explaining how it confirms all of his political beliefs no matter what actually happened.  That's just the  worst ." 
 
 Spoiler 
You can consider me ready to roll initiative, but I'm not jumping right into it in case someone wants to try some talky stuff.

And let's try Well Informed (with +5 for Eidetic Memory) at [roll]1d20+20z[/roll].
 
Starsign
Lacking his own explosives, ones which he had less control over compared to the others' superpowers, Blackcoat was content to let someone else punch, literally speaking, right into the base from the top of the structure. A lot of tasks and challenges really are made much easier with the presence of powers, something which immortality doesn't often offer. He remained quiet on the way down, with assistance from the other heroes if needed, until they had arrived at the Chainmaker. And for what it was worth, the leonine raid leaders had reason to fear their leader. Even across the room, Blackcoat felt significantly smaller than the leader, with the axe's blade looking at long as Blackcoat's own height. Undeniably, it's a dangerous weapon for anyone if it was swung around.

  "All too easy predictin' retaliation when ye heist somethin',"   Blackcoat adds in, sounding quite unimpressed at the leonine leader.   Speak as impressive as ye like, it makes no difference to us. Ye be far from t' worst this city's seen, an' ye sure ain't be t' last."   Like any good pirate expecting a duel, the immortal human draws his classic cutlass and aims it to the leader; the captain's voice darkens to a scary tone.   "Ye be warned by ye first mate; none o' us be standin' less if we knew we ain't winnin'. Know ye fight Captain Blackcoat, who's faced and beaten death for centuries!"  

He holds his breath, ready to speak more when the Chainmaker responds. If there's anything Blackcoat can prove, it's that his word  will  bite as hard as his steel.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Let's ready an action, if possible. Blackcoat's started a speech here for the purpose of  The Pirate's Terrifying Presence  and will finish it/activate when the Chainmaker, or another ally of his, takes to the fight/takes an action of some kind. DC 20 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled; Burst Area; Selective; Limited [Impaired and Disabled only apply to active checks, Controlled can only force targets to back down, flee, surrender, etc], on activation against the Chainmaker and his allies/subordinates.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
"I'm not playing this game."

Scylla takes a deep breath. Her conversational tone is gone. Her voice becomes cool and unnaturally clear.

 "This is not about being rational."
"This is not about who fears who." 

She dramatically points at the chainmaker and his advisor. Greencloak is probably the brains of the operation and immune to singing or something, but whatever.

 "You know what you've done."
"It's time for it to stop."
"And you know it." 

It doesn't rhyme, but any version that did would sound wrong by comparison. Her rhythm and notes are what make it penetrate, and if they listen, her words will start worming their way into their prophecy interpretation.

 
 Spoiler: Action! 
Initiative  (1d20+10)[ 12 ] 

Will save DC vs. Entrance/Compel: 20

The bad guys, if they're weak enough to fail that, will be compelled to drop their weapons and step away from the evil silver ball.

I think allies have to make the save too, but she wants them to attack and bring down the bad guys, so in her head the song will just get them pumped to do what they should be doing anyway? She didn't really think about that part.
 
Dodgeson
Platformer's conversational partner sadly failed to respond, though he might recognise them as the Leoni who vanished from their brief skirmish out in front of the Palaceship, they had had the misfortune of having to deliver the news of the heroes' arrival to the Chainmaker, to say that this hadn't been a smart career move was a little bit of an understatement. The Chainmaker himself was equally non-responsive to his jibes or Blackcoat's bold pronouncement, reaching out with one hand and picking up his axe. It would take Scylla's song to draw a reaction from the Leoni but probably not the one that she was hoping for.

"WITCH!" The Chainmaker roared, his own voice clashing with Scylla's "Answer me this. How will you grandchildren's grandchildren's grandchildren overthrow us when your future is enslaved?! COME NOW MAKE WAR ON ME HEROES OF EARTH!"

Through this, the figure in green stayed silent, their grip tightening on their scepter, this would either be their king's greatest triumph or the end of them all.

 
 Spoiler: Initiative 
 Leoni   (1d20+13)[ 16 ] 
 Platformer   (1d20+12)[ 13 ] 
 Wildcard   (1d20+20)[ 36 ] 
 Blackcoat   (1d20+8)[ 13 ] 
 Scylla  12
 

 Wildcard is on turn! 
Llyarden
As they arrived, and the Chainmaker made his grand pronouncement, Wildcard...kinda giggled a bit.

  "Sorry, sorry,"   he apologised.    "It's just, you're a giant cat man, and at first glance it looks like you're..."    He trailed off into stifled laughter again.    "It just looks like you're standing next to a big ball of yarn."  

And then he raised a hand and launched a blast of eldritch energy right at the aforementioned 'ball of yarn' - or whatever it really was - that would potentially core it like an apple, summoning up swirling winds around himself as he did.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Amplify Elements.
Free: Set Control Elements to Elemental Blast, Dangerous Blasts, Energy Armour, I guess 4 points of Range from Project Whips, and 40 random points: Wind Wall, Aerorepulsion, Solid Fog, Disintegrate, Tornado, Gravity.
Free: Configure Control Elements: Contagious Damage 10 (Alternate Resistance: Defence) Linked Close Deflect 10, Improved Critical 3, Increased Range 4, Immunity (Crits).
Standard: Attack the 'yarn ball', power attacking for 5, and Deflect for himself, critting on a 17+:  [roll]1d20+5z[/roll]   12 ; DC30 Defence (or 35 if it counts as an object and has no defence) vs Damage on a hit.

Status: Fine.
 
Dodgeson
The Chainmaker didn't seem particularly concerned as the strange energies of Wildcard's attack shot towards his creation, more than confident that Wyrm could survive whatever meagre power the humans could throw at it, and this confidence seemed to be well placed as the blast dissipated harmless against the writhing silver mass to no effect.

What he didn't appreciate though was, the snickering deflating the gravitas of, what was to him, the single most important moment of his entire existence (or the existence of anything else considering his opinions on other species and their relative position in the universe).

"Kill that one first." He ordered the shaman beside him, who had always been wearing a purple robe, narrowing his eyes at Wildcard.

"As you wish my king." The other Leoni intoned, gesturing towards Wildcard with the trident that he'd certainly always been holding, and summoning up winds of his own. The withering winds of time to age the hero to dust!

"Now all of you DIE!" The Chainmaker roared, bounding towards the heroes before vanishing out of sight and suddenly reappearing amongst and in front of each of them all at once, every one of him swinging hard with his savage axe.

((Llyarden take a hero point for burning that first attack on the Wyrm, there is a way to effect it but it's a little more out of the box than that))

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Leoni Shaman 
Move: N/A
Standard: Attack Wildcard with Accelerate, make a DC25 Fortitude Save vs Damage

 Chainmaker 
Move: Teleport in to the group
Standard: Attack with Vicious Swing, everyone make a DC23 Defence Save and a DC28/21 Toughness Save vs Damage with Secondary Effect
 

 Heroes are on turn! 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin felt the initial trace of the mind-muddling power of Scylla's song and quickly covered his ears to block it out.  He gave her a kinda wan look.   "Careful with the splash effects,"  he said.

As Chainmaker rushed them, Kevin brought his hands down from his ears and gave his staff a flashy whirl before bringing it up to meet the edge of the villain's axe.  Now, a wooden staff would normally prove a less-than-optimal defense against an enormous axe being swung with superhuman strength.

But niggling details like that didn't matter.  As far as Kevin's powers were concerned, that was a  timed block .  His staff took the axe edge-on as if it had been forged of enchanted titanium, and neither he nor his life bar so much as flickered.

This is not, however, to say the attack had  no  effect whatsoever on him.

 "Wait.  You're fighting with an axe?  Aren't...don't they call you the Chainmaker?  Shouldn't you be using chains?  I mean, at  least  a cool dual-axes-connected-by-a-chain sort of setup!"   Honestly considering how often he invoked RPG tropes while calling himself Platformer he didn't have much of a leg to stand on here, but it's like at least he used platform game tropes  too !

The good news is, withstanding that attack meant Kevin still had his previous Power Up.  The bad news is, area blasts weren't super-great against two enemies, one of whom was a boss.  Still, he supposed if nothing else it gave him two shots to get more power ups for his allies...

Nodding, he hurled a potent blast of fiery energy for the shaman.  It'd do pretty heavy damage on its own, but thanks to his Power Up, it also exploded into an area blast that would catch Chainmaker as well.  Now, given that Chainmaker was, at the moment, standing like smack-dab in the middle of their group, this might seem  kinda  hypocritical on Kevin's part.  But it was fine.  He had the friendly fire option turned off.

Then he went zipping across the room, because no sense clustering when you're fighting enemies with area moves.

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Strike, 5 points to Shoot, 5 points to Run, 10 points to Power Strike, 20 points to Boost Items.  Kevin's previous Power Up is still active, so his Damage also gains Burst Area and Selective.

Standard: Attack the Leoni Shaman at  (1d20+10)[ 29 ] .  On a hit, Toughness DC 20 vs. Weaken Toughness.  In addition, Leoni Shaman and Chainmaker both get Defense DC 20 for half, Toughness DC 25/20 vs. Damage.  If either or both fail fail their resistance checks against the Damage by two degrees or more, Wildcard gets a Power Up that buys off the Limited (Move Action) from his Amplify Elements, and adds an extra 10 points to his Amplify Elements.

Move: To, like, the other side of the room so we can't all be area attacked quite that easily.

Current Status: Normal, SE (Toughness DC 28), Power Up (Damage gains Burst Area and Selective).
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Ah, sorry,"  says Scylla as Platformer passes her. Seeing Wildcard's attack on the silver yarn, she gets ready to follow suit, but she doesn't have time to try and place a bubble around it before the Chainmaker is on top of her.

The lion swings his mighty axe in broad arcs, paying special attention to the annoying sea witch trying to sway his mind. As if to demonstrate the stakes at hand, his weapon strikes true and hard, splattering Scylla's body and letting her translucent remains rain down all over the room.

Rutherford saw before that this doesn't necessarily mean the end of her, but it's not as though there's time to mourn right now either way. For purposes of this fight, she's probably not coming back.
Starsign
Being courageous, terrifying, and willing to make good on your threats didn't mean a thing when your opponent refused to be intimidated. Blackcoat looked on quietly as Wildcard successfully drove a nail into the Chainmaker's nerves. Just as quickly, Blackcoat took a stance upon seeing the swung axe, only for his cutlass' blunt side to catch the edge, slam into the captain, and swing him to the wall with a dramatic   *THUD*  .

Blackcoat lurches off the wall with a painful bruise across his chest, but otherwise none the worse for wear. Wish he could have said the same for the others after noticing rain and water falling and splattering across the room.

  "I be givin' ye a LOT worse back fer what ye did,"   he shouts to the Chainmaker. While Blackcoat knows Scylla well enough that she'll be fine, he doesn't take well to seeing crew, allies, or friends suffering under his wing.   "Startin' with ye!"   Like some  underhanded   strategic  rogue, Blackcoat darts around the Chainmaker and brings his foot down upon the robed shaman, catching the hanging material slumping on the ground to root the shaman in place. A moment later, and Blackcoat pulls out his flintlock with his free hand and fires it point-blank at where he assumes is the torso.

A blind shot lacks the necessary precision that a sword has to cut a grueling wound, but instead it leaves any mix of shock, vulnerability and weakness within the opponent.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Alrighty, let's go use  Painful Dirty Trick  on the Shaman, no modifiers here. DC 25 Toughness vs damage + DC 20 Fort vs Vulnerable/Defenseless/Asleep on hit:  (1d20+10)[ 18 ] 
 
Llyarden
Wildcard's whirling winds whipped around him, very alliteratively, turning aside the shaman's attempts to age him, and he blocked Chainmaker's - or the particular temporal clone of Chainmaker's, anyway - axe swing with one arm, slipping aside rather than try to stand up to the massive Leoni head-to-head.  He was still chuckling.

And then Scylla got...kinda splattered.  And, I mean, he knew who she was, she was made of water, she would reconstitute herself in time.

All the same, his chuckling stopped (so I guess in that regard the shaman achieved more than his boss) and he turned back to look at the shaman.

 "...no." 

Whips of blazing energy burst from his back, and for a moment they looked like wings unfurling around him - and then they lashed around and flew straight at the shaman, not only potentially setting fire to his robe that definitely wasn't changing colours every few seconds but draining his energy to restore Scylla.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Extra Effort: Power stunt from Control Elements to combine Leech Life, Elemental Blast, one Project Energy, one Ignite, 3 points of Range, and one point of Wobbling Flight for Flight 2.
Move: Yeah let's shuffle a little out of Area range as well.
Standard: Attack the Shaman, all-out attacking for 5, power attacking for 5:  (1d20+10)[ 22 ] .  DC30+Multiattack Toughness vs Secondary Effect Damage on a hit.  Scylla receives healing at  (1d20+10)[ 23 ] , with degrees of success capped by the degrees of failure on the Toughness save.

Status: Fatigued next round, SE (T28 Damage), -5 defence.
 
Dodgeson
Platformer's jibes were ignored just as assuredly his fire blast, the Chainmaker roaring in triumph as he swung his savage axe and Scylla was scattered in an instant, this was all the proof that he needed that his plan was going to work and soon he would bestride a glorious cross-time empire built on the enslavement of his new cattle and the bones of the heroes that dared to oppose him. The fact that his shaman had just survived a pointblank shot from a flintlock was just icing on the cake, but such was life when they could simply age the projectile to dust before it hit home.

"SEE HOW YOU FALL BEFORE ME HEROES!" He bellowed "I am not without mercy, kneel before your better and will see your end is quick!"

And then Wildcard brought his own powers to bare  dropping the purple robed shaman in an instant  knocking the blue cloaked shaman off his balance more importantly Scylla was back on her feet, although still looking worse for wear. The Chainmaker was many things, a king, an adept, but most of all they were a warrior, which they had been drilled in combat since they could hold a weapon and were schooled in all the wisdom of the Leoni elders and one of the greatest truisms was, you gank the healer first.

"Cease your witchcraft!" He demanded, giving the hero his undivided attention, not just trying to cut in to his flesh but sever his connection to time itself!

Meanwhile the Shaman regarded Blackcoat from beneath their hood, instinctively they wanted to do something, to snuff him out, to their innate senses an immortal was a borderline blasphemy but at the same time they presented something of a challenge for someone who's main form of offense was chronomancy. Instead they waved their bident in Scylla's direction, hoping to finish her off before she could properly rejoin the battle.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Chainmaker 
Move: Teleport in to Close with Wildcard
Standard: Attack Wildcard with Temporal Rend  (1d20+13)[ 23 ]  DC28 Toughness vs Damage &amp; DC23 PL Save vs Weaken All Resistances if that hits  Hit 

Shaman
Move: N/A
Standard: Attack Scylla with Accelerate, DC25 Fortitude vs Damage.
 

 Heroes are on turn! 
Quellian-dyrae
 "Dude, she's already up again.  Instead of counting your eggs before they've hatched, maybe you should count how many Phoenix Downs your opponents have."   That...might have been a slightly tortured metaphor but it was  still good advice! 

Chainmaker's Temporal Clone reappeared to slash at Kevin again, but he had erred.  Kevin had already landed a timed block against that particular attack animation; getting it for the repeat wasn't hard for a gamer of his level.  Once again, Kevin's staff met the axe's blade, and once again, tanked it like nothing.

Meanwhile, Kevin's Blaster power-up wasn't really amounting to much here.  It was worth keeping up pressure on Chainmaker, but the shaman would be easier to take down.  Better to drop the enemy's DPS a bit and then focus on the boss.  The last hit point is the only one that matters remains in effect.

So Kevin held down the Y button for a moment, charging up a shot, and did a quick double-tap to A as he released.  Or, put in a way that people outside of his headspace might be aware of, he spent a moment gathering his power, and then fired a potent bolt of raw kinetic energy straight at the shaman, angled a bit to the side so that if it hit, it would hopefully send him flying directly at Chainmaker!

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics. 10 points to Strike, 5 points to Shoot (Increased Range 5), 5 points to Run (just so I can Interpose if necessary/possible), 10 points to Power Strike, 10 points to Charged Smash, 10 points to Activate.

Move: Charge.

Standard: Attack Leoni Shaman with Game Mechanics at  (1d20+10)[ 19 ] .  On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Defense DC 20 vs. Weaken Defense and Toughness and getting Launched at Chainmaker.  If he's launched, attack Chainmaker at  (1d20+10)[ 26 ]  for Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage.  EDIT: Gonna EE that first attack for +2.

Current Status: Normal, Fatigued as of next turn.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
A lot of stuff happens to the Scylla-puddle in a rather short time.

Wildcard's potent energy attack ignites the scattered droplets with a teal glow and swiftly reassembles them where Scylla stood. A hand suddenly reaches up from the glob to grab the long desk and pull herself up, the shaman quickly reacts with his temporal acceleration field, swiftly and painfully aging Scylla's arm into a dripping tentacle... only for it to suddenly be cut down by an unseen force, sparing her any further harm from the spell. It's a miracle, sort of!

Scylla falls back to the ground and lets the severed appendage spill back into her liquid form, rippling uncomfortably. It's not the same as having a solid arm cut off, but it still deeply stings, and she'll still feel it for the next few days. Besides, Wildcard has already helped her too much for her to just go down again playing full-contact whack-a-mole. She'll have to try something a little more sneaky.

From the broken door at the front of the room, the sound of a rushing wave precedes a sudden flood. The room fills with seawater and seems to wash the sea witch away, quickly rising to roughly the height of the table. Nearby chairs float around like so much flotsam, but someone could probably climb on the desk to fight more comfortably if they wanted.

 
 Spoiler 
Staggered and double-dazed with 2 bruises!

Standard Action: Using her environment effect to flood the room

Free Action: Swapping from Morph to Concealment 10 to hide under cover of seawater
 
Llyarden
Jake breathed a small sigh of relief as Scylla reformed and...er, flooded the throne room.  He kinda looked down at the waist-high water around his legs with a small sigh, but fortunately Chainmaker saved him the trouble of getting through the sudden ocean by coming to him.

The leader of the Leoni attacked in tandem with his temporal clone with vicious axe swings that would threaten to erase Wildcard from time itself.  He blocked the attacks with nothing more than a dent in his elemental armour, although Chainmaker's attack did knock him off-balance a bit.

He paused, as if to consider Chainmaker's demands.    "How about you cease attacking my home?"   he retorted, lashing out with the whipping trails of flame - and then almost before they struck the Leoni leader they became a whirling maelstrom of darkness that would usurp the minds of anyone it touched.

Now, I mean, Jake had used his mind-control powers before, he had no compunctions against it (and also not much control over his powers to begin with), but he was...definitely being a lot more aggressive now than he had against the Leoni in the electrics store.

It was almost as if watching a hero of New Harbour come close to death fighting in its defence might have brought back some bad memories.

Meanwhile, the shaman might have evaded getting one-shot by shunting most of Wildcard's attack off to a parallel version of himself, but he had definitely  not  succeeded in putting out his robe, which continued to burn merrily.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack Chainmaker with the Power Stunt from last round, all-out attacking for 5:  (1d20+15)[ 29 ] ; DC25+Multiattack Toughness vs Secondary Effect Damage on a hit.  Wildcard heals himself at  (1d20+10)[ 26 ] , capped by the degrees of failure.
Free: Just in case it gives me something useful to surge with, set Control Elements to full randomness: Bewildering Darkness + Nightmare, Layered Power, Tornado and Gust + Whirling Winds.  Yep, that'll do.
Free: Reconfigure Control Elements: Contagious Cumulative Affliction 10 Linked Move Object 10.
Extra Effort: Attack Chainmaker with Control Elements, defensive attacking for 5:   (1d20+10)[ 18 ]    22 ; DC20 Will vs Contagious Cumulative Entranced/Compelled/Controlled, DC20 Strength/Defence vs being Launched at the Shaman at  (1d20+10)[ 11 ]  for DC20 Will vs Contagious Cumulative Entranced/Compelled/Controlled and DC25 Toughness vs Damage.
End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers.  Shaman gets a DC30 Toughness save vs Damage.

Status: 1 bruise (maybe), Fatigued, Exhausted next round.
 
Starsign
Ah, fighting inside the hull of a sinking ship, just like the old days!

...Or the closest Blackcoat would ever get to that, finding the solid, highly-technological room flooded by a reforming Scylla. The rushing water quickly reaches his waist, with little discomfort; five hundred years of being a pirate will make any amount of water unthreatening to him. His aged eyes glance over at the desk; a useful platform  if  needed.

   "Good job, lass,"    Blackcoat mutters under the sound of rushing and crashing water throughout the room. His legs keep a heavy, firm grasp on the ground, helped by his heavy boots, as he stormed his way across the room as easily as if it had never been flooded to begin with. With the shaman occupied and, quite frankly, handled, the dark-dressed captain moved up from behind, watching the Chainmaker's wild, furious swings, before Blackcoat unleashes a blistering series of steel swipes from his cutlass.   "Ye be wide open!"   he warns, deliberately all too late, as he intends to strike where his foe's back is turned.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Time to hit the  Shaman  Chainmaker with the  Flurry of the High Seas . Given the situation, Blackcoat will All-Out-Attack +3/-3 here. Damage 10 + Multiattack; DC 25 Toughness:  (1d20+13)[ 28 ] 
 
Dodgeson
The Chainmaker's triumph was short lived as the room began to flood with saltwater, and while there was a big hole in the wall from where our heroes had forced their entry for it to flow right back out of, the sheer amount that Scylla was able to create to conceal herself meant that this wasn't an enormous problem and at the very least this was going to ruin the decor.

More pressingly to the warrior-king of the Leoni was the fate of his shaman, having a wise elder of his race pinballed in to him was somewhat galling but survivable. Them then succumbing to the aftereffects of Wildcard's blazing hot energy was less so. Now facing down the heroes alone the Chainmaker steeled himself to make his last stand, however briefly it had been he had already felled one of them, they weren't invincible. This confidence lasted exactly as long as it took to for Blackcoat to close the distance between them and bring his cutlass to bare.

Already sent reeling by Wildcard's attack the Chainmaker whirled round to defend himself but even a lifetime's worth of combat training paled in comparison to hundreds of years of hard won experience the pirate possessed and with final anguished howl the would-be conqueror fell to his knees.

"NO!" The Chainmaker snarled in disbelief, sure he could still flee, vanishing back in to the timestream but without the palaceship or his people he would have no hope of mounting another attack and what was more, his pride would not allow it. "IF MY PEOPLE ARE TO FALL HERE THEN SO SHALL YOURS!" With the last ounce of his strength he throw his arm back and sent his axe hurtling towards the writhing silver mass by his throne, fracturing his creation would damage ripple out in to the very fabric of time around and burn the city of New Harbour from the universe.

Or at least that was the plan, instead Blackcoat threw himself in front of the blade before it could hit its target, thwarting the Chainmaker's final attempt at vengeance leaving him floating unconscious in the briny water flooding his throne room. The Wyrm continuing to twist and writhe in place as if nothing had happened at all and enslaved citizens of New Harbour still standing outside like a forest of mannequins.
Dr.Gunsforhands
From under the water, a practically invisible creature watches an awful axe sail over her head toward evil mind-controlling yarn ball. It reacts almost as though it's alive?

Before she realizes that Rutherford blocked it, a fountain of water burbles up from the pool and coalesces around the writhing silver mass, trying to contain it in a fluid sphere. If you were to ask Scylla why she thought this was a good idea, she wouldn't be able to tell you. It's practically an instinctive response at this point.
Quellian-dyrae
Down went the shaman, and down went the Chainmaker.  A little victory fanfare sounded from nowhere.  Kevin...kinda blinked as Blackcoat blocked the axe with his own body.  Not, like, because he was worried about him.  Immortal pirate, he'd be fine.  But like that was clearly supposed to set up some sort of Zebes situation.  Blocking a Zebes situation was quite the feat.  Kevin gave him an approving nod.

A quick check out the hole in the wall with his camera angle confirmed that the people down below weren't back to normal.  So that was irksome.  Still, the Evil Yarnball of Doom seemed to be made of the same sort of things as those collars were, so...presumably it had something to do with them?  The EYoD (I know, the Wyrm, don't care) had seemed impervious to Wildcard's best, but Chainmaker had used the last of his strength in an effort to destroy it with his axe.  So plausibly there might be some manner of connection between the two.

Kevin walked over.  Waded over.  Whatever.  If the axe was on the ground, he'd pick it up.  If Blackcoat was holding it, he'd ask,  "Hey, can I borrow that?  Got an idea." 

...If the axe were currently buried in Blackcoat's chest, treat as "if Blackcoat was holding it".  Kevin might...he might have been a little blase about physical damage.  Again, immortal pirate.  Being fine was pretty much their  thing .

Regardless, if Kevin did get his hands on the axe, he'd kinda hold it towards the EYoD and say,  "Uh, release all the people you're controlling." 

If that didn't work or Blackcoat didn't give him the axe, well he'd try examining the EyOD and the axe for any indication of like...control mechanisms or whatever.

 
 Spoiler 
If it doesn't fly for whatever reason, let's try Technology (or Expertise (Magic), honestly not sure which applies better but they're both the same) to see if he can work out how to make the thing do something.  Since this would be a practical application his Menus don't apply, so  [roll]1d20+10z[/roll]   14 , for whatever that's worth.
 
Starsign
Blackcoat saw the tactic immediately: a self-destructive action designed to take everyone with you down. He couldn't count how many times he saw a pirate captain rig their ship to explode just so no one else could get a hold on their trove of wealth. There was something overly selfish about it, but at the same time, he's been so used to seeing the pettiness and greed of mankind that seeing it among alien leaders was no surprise to him.

So he did the one thing he could do while thinking on his feet: leap through the flooding water and put himself in way of the thrown axe. While his cutlass was out in front of him, the large axe's sheer weight and momentum knocks away the blade before slamming hard into Blackcoat's chest. The blow topples the pirate, sending him under the water, only to yank the piece of metal in his chest after the Chainmaker loses consciousness. Blackcoat shook his head, looking at the rather...  painful , put nicely, wound across his body, as he passed the axe to Kevin almost without missing a beat.

  "Aye, he swung hard,"   the captain mutters. He looks over at Scylla, looking over any wounds before asking,   "Ye did well. Sea legs still holdin' up?"  

Afterward, Blackcoat walks over with Kevin to the strange... yarn?   "Never ain't seen a thing like this,"   he comments, gently walking up and touching it with his hand.   "Th' Chainmaker tried hittin' it, an' ain't did so fer th' good of anyone. Somethin's gotta make it tick, an' maybe not hurtin' it either."   With five hundred years of experience, Blackcoat thought back to his many, many years encountering the magical or supernatural. Did he ever see something like this before?

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
It's a long shot but let's see if Expertise (History) comes up with anything:  (1d20+10)[ 11 ] 
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
After allowing the environment to drain back out, Scylla reforms and pulls herself up to her feet, successfully this time.  "Yeah, I'm fine,"  she says as casually as she can, even as she cradles her right shoulder. Her right arm winces, swollen and covered in translucent veins like it really doesn't want to solidify all the way.  "How about-"  even as she asks the question, the captain's chest wound seals itself back up.  "Right, so, you're fine. Cool. I was worried their evil time thing would mess up your healing somehow." 

She looks up at the yarn ball, now sheathed in a semi-protective water ball. Rutherford's intervention didn't quite stop her from doing that.  "We... don't think it needs to breathe, do we? We might be able to push it somewhere." 
Quellian-dyrae
 "I don't imagine so.  It doesn't look...biological, anyway,"  Kevin said, although to be fair, he didn't really have much of an idea  how  it worked.  If he was honest his first bet would have been to just destroy it, but given that the bad guy tried to do that he relegated that one down to Plan, like, Q or something.

But with the axe having failed and his understanding of modern technology availing him little for an alien ball of presumably-time-manipulating yarn, Kevin considered a new tack.  Really, the EYOD wasn't all that important; freeing the townsfolk was what mattered.  His inspiring speech hadn't amounted to much before, but now that Chainmaker was defeated, they had an opportunity to try some other options.

 "Hm.  Got an idea,"  he said, hopping down from the top of the palaceship back down to the ground.  As one does.  He headed over to one of the enthralled people, reached towards them, and then stopped and looked to the Leoni guard who had surrendered previously.   "If I try to take this thing off of them, is it going to hurt them or anything?  Uh...also we beat your boss up.  Not sure if that's relevant to your interests or not, but yeah." 
Dodgeson
Grabbing the axe out of Blackcoat's back, while probably helpful to the pirate, didn't seem immediately useful in freeing the civilians in the park below, instead of any kind of reply the hero merely received a sense of a vague confusion like a fish out of water as he gripped the weapon and likewise Blackcoat's vast experience would do him no good here, this was science of the weirdest kind and not such much the thing of high seas adventure. Still it was lucky that Platformer had already begun to formulate a plan B.

Platformer had been almost casual in his explanation to the guard that stood watch over the enslaved humans but to the Leoni in front of him, he had basically torn down his entire world. With fall of the Chainmaker the hope of the Leoni ever sitting astride their time-spanning empire had been irreparably shattered, but what was worse than that, with their actions our heroes had stumbled in to a grave danger, one that as a time sensitive the alien was all too aware of.

Of course there was no way for Platformer to know exactly what was running through the lion-man's head but he could rest assured that as Morningstar descended for her watch in the sky she very much enjoyed watching their feline features drop.

"The Chainmaker?!" The Leoni blurted out in an obvious panic, reaching out to grab the hero and roughly shake the magnitude of what he had done in to them "Do you understand what you have done!? The Wyrm has devoured all futures bar our rule, a future you have now denied!"

 
 Spoiler: Expertise:Science (DC20) 
So that's some fancy, vaguely arcane, words for some temporal science. The Wyrm, or Yarn Ball of Doom if you prefer, was forcing those that it ensnared to obey the Leoni by removing any possible future that didn't result from their successful conquest. A future that our heroes have quite conclusively proven doesn't happen.

There's a 50/50 shot that they're either going to start dropping off and freeing the civilians or cause some kind of terminal paradox, unless something is done about the Wyrm itself.
 
Quellian-dyrae
 
 Spoiler 
Routining the Expertise check.
 


Kevin seemed unperturbed in the face of the Leoni's panic, just kinda eyeing him a moment until he let go of his shoulders.   "Got it, thanks,"  he said, hopping back up to the top of the Palaceship and through the hole in the wall.

 "Okay so apparently this Wyrm thing operates by timeline constriction and we broke the timeline it was constricting things towards.  Which long story short means it will either fail in a puff of logic or we need to disable it before it creates a time paradox.  So...Scylla do you want to like splash some water on the Chainmaker guy to wake him up and we can convince him to tell us how to disable this thing?" 

(It had of course occurred to Kevin that he could probably just get the information with a quick Chat to Professor Quantum, and he'd totally hit Pause and do that if things started looking like they were going to be problematic, but that was kinda a last-ditch option.  Because  asking NPCs for help was admitting defeat   you don't consult the strategy guide until you've tried to solve the puzzle yourself  sometimes you have to solve the little problems the hard way so you've learned how to do it when you get to the big problems that can  only  be solved the hard way.)

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
And by "we" can convince him I mostly mean "Blackcoat" since he has the big beefy social skills.  😉
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Talk to him?"  Scylla looks down at the unconscious lion. Her arm automatically winces at the thought of waking him up again.  "Ugh, no, I don't really  want  to. He'll probably try to trick us, right?" 

She looks up at the ball of silver goo, still writhing quietly in its little liquid prison.  "You called it a worm, though? So, does that mean it is alive? Maybe we can talk to it ourselves!"  Eager to try anything that doesn't get Chainmaker involved, Scylla gestures to the water ball with her good hand, stretching it into an oblong shape that can contain both her and the wyrm with a proper social distance between them.

 "You should all cover your ears for this part." 

Assuming no one stops her, she gives the group a second to protect their hearing and leaps up into the ball to give the wyrm a private serenade. It's a calm children's song, delivered in Iara's native patois, about letting go of a long list of grudges and material obsessions. Her unsaid command is to release everyone and drop everything, which at least to Scylla's mind should include dropping any timelines it has bound up in that yarn.

The first several verses go on for about a minute, or ten measures of psychic assault on the wyrm's willpower.

 
 Spoiler 
Assuming nothing happens by then, Scylla gives up, figuring it probably can't hear her. It's not like it has ears.

 "Alright, I'm done,"  she sighs, defeated.  "So, just tell me when you're ready." 

Once the interrogators are in position, Scylla snaps her fingers and lets the suspended water drop onto the Chainmaker all at once. That should wake him up.
 
Starsign
Already beginning to feel better following the painful axe wound, Blackcoat gave a nod to Scylla over her concern.   "Ye be worryin' too much 'bout me. Time alone won't consume me, however someone uses it."   Remaining confident and brave, in Blackcoat's experience, went a long way to bolstering the morale of his crew and allies. Being centuries old meant he had seen the worst humanity has offered; it wouldn't be hard to tell stories of it and bring almost anyone to despair. But where there was horror, there was also heroism, which is what was most important in times like these.

Blackcoat followed Platformer and Scylla's lead, letting the younger heroes take the lead and a plan form. While knowledgable, Blackcoat has no historical understanding of what this egg, yarn, or wyrm is; judging by everyone else, the only one who did, and who could disable it, is the Chainmaker.

Blackcoat waited briefly, then walked up towards the Chainmaker's body, cutlass drawn in case the enemy tries something, and first waits to see how the Chainmaker reacts.
Dodgeson
Scylla's instincts were right, going to the Chainmaker would most likely earn our heroes nothing more than scorn and mocking laughter. He had lost his empire and doomed his people to dwindling insignificance but if he could do the same to the city that stood in his way then he would happily do so to try and salvage what little pride he had left.
 It's not quite telling them a story buuuuuut 
So instead, she sang and though her enchanting song failed to sink its hooks in to the strange writhing thing, something else happened. The Wyrm sang back.

While Scylla's song was calm and gentle, the strange ethereal response she received was the song of a trapped beast. The Wyrm was equal parts angry and terrified of the strange linear world it found itself in and the bizzare finite things of flesh and blood that surrounded it, angry at the one who dared to make its chains and angry at the symbol of its authority that kept it caged and bound.

By the time Scylla had finished the Wyrm's rage had begun to recede, all it wanted was to be free.
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "So, you can't control it..." 

At the conclusion of the musical exchange, Scylla drops back to the floor and tries to put her impressions into words for the rest of the team.

 "The Wyrm isn't controlling it! Someone trapped them here and made them like this. The yarn ball isn't the Wyrm itself, it's more like a cage to keep them stuck in our world." 

While the rest of the group tries to reach a logical conclusion from this, Scylla looks at some of the junk strewn on the floor and picks out something vaguely fork-shaped - probably the Chainmaker's axe, if nothing better presents itself. She then jumps back into the floating water tank and gently pokes the tool into the silver strands, hoping to pull it off bit by bit like spaghetti.  "Alright, I'm going to try and get you out of there,"  she says to the Wyrm, hoping it can kind of understand her intent if not her words.  "So, just say something if this hurts, okay?" 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin blinked.  It was intelligent?

...Well, that opened up some possibilities.

He opened up a Chat to the Wyrm and the rest of the party.


   Platformer:   Uh, hi.
  Platformer:   Um...respond if you both receive and can understand this, I guess?
  Platformer:   Err...that's for the Wyrm.  Not the rest of you guys. 

Meanwhile, he said to Scylla,  "Just be careful.  Remember, Chainmaker tried to destroy it before he fell, so presumably physically destroying or damaging it is something we don't want to do.  Did it tell you anything else, other than that it was trapped?" 
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Actually judging from the "angry at the one who dared to make its chains and angry at the symbol of its authority that kept it caged and bound" I'm about 75% sure that the move here is destroying the axe.  But since Kevin's ears were plugged during the singing thing (and let's be honest I doubt he'd be able to translate Weird Alien Song into meaningful information even if they weren't) he doesn't really have the information to come to that conclusion himself.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Well, they didn't really  say  anything."  Scylla tries to clarify.  "It was more of an angry psychic scream-song, about how terrified they are to be in a strange linear world, and about how angry they are at their captors, and how the chain binding them is being used a symbol of... authority..." 

Scylla looks at the axe in her hands. She holds it up and pokes it, examining its construction more closely.

 "So, I didn't think much about that at first, since the symbol of Chainmaker's authority could just mean the concept of chains in general, but maybe they meant something more specific?"  She stops her shenanigans, drops down and hands the weapon to Kevin and/or Wildcard and/or Blackcoat.  "What do you think? Maybe it's the key to some release mechanism?" 
Quellian-dyrae
 "That's what I had thought, but I couldn't figure out how to work it, even if it is.  We could try just breaking it.
 If it's serving as some sort of anchor or focus or something, that could disrupt whatever it's doing." 

Although like, he'd also take a quick look around to make sure Chainmaker didn't have some sort of crown or scepter or other obvious symbol of authority on hand.  When in doubt weapon as symbol of authority was a solid bet, but it wasn't like there weren't any equally obvious options out there.

 
 Spoiler 
If there aren't any obvious alternative symbols of authority on hand, and nobody has any objections, Kevin'll try and destroy the axe.
 
Starsign
With little surprise to the Chainmaker's general scorn, Blackcoat knocked out the leonine leader once more, making sure the Chainmaker is tied and restrained just in case.

Blackcoat was quick to try and interject as Scylla grabbed the axe, only to let Kevin be a surprising voice of wisdom. He was on the same mindset as Blackcoat, though perhaps not on the same... dimension, seeing a strange, flat holograph in front of him representing a textual chat list, which was the best that he could describe what Platformer put in front of him.

  "Ye wyrm 'ere wishes t' jump ship,"   Blackcoat notes, looking over at the strange container that which the wyrm is trapped in.   "Now t' first thing's a scared animal do is flee and fight anythin' in its way."   He gives Scylla's words some thought, noting that most animals also don't get scared of a linear world. If the Chainmaker wanted it freed as a last ditch effort, then its likely it would have caused some general havoc on the heroes, if not the world. And, as Blackcoat once learned the hard way long ago, keeping a sealed being as part of your treasure horde is a  BAD  idea.

  "Break it if ye can. If not that, we try..."   He pauses at the text chat in front of him, attempting to type upon the letters as if it were a typewriter, resulting in a slow, initially-sloppy attempt of typing before finally managing a-


  Blackcoat:  This.
 Blackcoat:  Excellent, it works. 

The captain's pirate accent is lacking in the voiceless text writing, instead showing words in fluent English as he attempts to communicate to the wyrm.


  Blackcoat:  Can you speak here? 
Dodgeson
Platformer opened up his chat and there was silence, the Wyrm either could not or would not reply to him or Captain Blackcoat, simply hovering ominously silent in the air as a slowly writhing ball of silver threads. Reaching out to prod the thing with the Chainmaker's axe would produce a slightly stronger reaction, the individual thread tensing up as it was touched and letting out a high-pitched vibrating hum whilst examining the axe itself would reveal it, much like the interior of the Palaceship, to be surprisingly primitive, the body nothing more than solid wood, and the heads some otherworldly metal that shed a weak blue light.

Still the specifics of extra-temporal metallurgy and the (now lost) traditions of Leoni shamanism weren't of prime importance at the moment, as our heroes had the right idea and as the weapon broke there was a brilliant flash of white light the Wyrm, now free of its prison, abandoning this nightmarish limited world of flesh. With the Chainmaker's trump card leaving this plane of reality entirely, outside the Palaceship the citizens of New Harbour slowly began to move again as the silver threads around their necks began to wither and fall off, flailing around on the ground and evaporating in to nothing, all their stolen futures and possibilities coming flooding back.

The Leoni still watching wisely decided to vanish.

"ALL EYES UP HERE!" Morningstar saw the potential for people to panic coming to in an unfamiliar location and since it didn't look like the structure in front was in any immediate danger of exploding she decided to play crowd control, glowing brightly above them to draw their attention "Yes, you're in Hero Park and yes there were lion men, please stay calm, everything's under control  probably . How's it going up there guys?!"
Quellian-dyrae
 "Looks like we're clear!"  Kevin called back.   "Boss down, weird tech thing, uh...no longer a matter of concern.  Pretty sure there's nothing left to do here but tally up the loot and EXP!" 

...

 "Uh, and make sure the people are alright and get them safely home.  That...that too, of course." 
Dodgeson
And so it was that another alien race who had seen fit to attempt to conquer the planet (or even just a small part of it) had fallen to the very small planet with the very big guns. Certainly this may not be remembered up there by the masses with the time GalactiCorp attempted to seize control of the entire planet or even the Alchemaster's scouring of New Harbour, but to those in the know our heroes had brought an end to a time-spanning empire built on slavery, breaking the last of their royal line and imprisoning those who had not been able to scatter back in to the time-stream.

Also they'd scored some sweet new digs and that was cool too. Oh and Morningstar totally owes Platformer $20!


 


After the invasion of the Leoni things went back to normal in New Harbour, or at least as normal as they ever did, with buzz about new heroes doing the rounds in the media along with the rest of the local colour. Which is, more or less, why our heroes found themselves receiving an invitation from the mayor himself. Blackcoat (and by association Scylla) were easy enough to locate down by the docks and Platformer had his liaison with the police department after that it wouldn't be too hard to make sure Wildcard received his.

Assuming they decided to attend they would find themselves at city hall in the office in front of Mayor Middleburg, a surprisingly young man who had rode to power following the destruction of New Harbour on a platform of rebuilding and reinvestment in the city. As they entered the room he stood up from behind his desk to greet them with a friendly smile, nervously rubbing one hand through his hair.

"Wow, you actually came, first of all I'm a big fan and I want to thank you all on behalf of the city for what you've done for us all. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Soda? A danish?"
Quellian-dyrae
Well of course Kevin had accepted the mayor's invitation!  I mean, come on, it was the  mayor !  Of the  city !

 Prime  quest-giver material.  Kevin may not have actually seen an exclamation mark hovering above the guy's head when he walked in but that was okay because  he knew it was there !

 "Oh, um, of course.  All part of the job,"  he answered, definitely not pressing any buttons multiple times in rapid succession in an attempt to quickly skip through a bunch of dialog windows.  He definitely wouldn't do that, because the mayor was a real person who it was polite to pay attention to and interact with presently, and because just because you weren't any  good  at interpersonal interaction didn't mean you were entitled to sit it out, and most importantly because he had most of a decade of experience with his powers now and he knew he couldn't actually do that.

(Besides, random dialog often contained important clues to future events.)

Kevin considered the offer of food for a moment.  Multiple-choice questions from a quest giver shouldn't be answered in haste.  They could impact the nature of the quest you received, or perhaps affect a hidden karma meter.  But after a moment's thought Kevin didn't deem it likely in this particular case.  This sounded like the sort of question that would lead to the same follow-up dialog regardless of which you chose.  He opened his mouth to request the danish - he couldn't have quite explained a coherent thought process behind it, but his intuitions were that if they had been food items in a game the danish would restore more hit points than coffee or soda, so even though he was currently undamaged it still felt like the superior choice - but just before he could speak, he realized the clue he had almost missed.   "I'm fine, thanks,"  he said instead.

The mayor had thanked them for  what they had done , that is, their previous quest to protect the city from the Leoni.  He had almost missed the significance because his mind was on the new quest the mayor was undoubtedly going to give them.  But when someone thanks you for your quest and offers you mundane items as a reward, every gamer alive knows you refuse them.  Because if you do that enough then sometimes you get a magic item instead.  That had been close, but fortunately, it was a blunder avoided.

Good thing he had actually been paying attention and not just trying to skip through the dialog by button-mashing,  now wasn't it ?
Llyarden
Wildcard had spent most of the intervening time since the defeat of the Leoni...well, doing pretty much exactly what he always did, going around doing more minor heroics, helping smooth the wheels of the rebuilding process, and retrieving Protectorate tech that had gotten lost.  Somehow the last of those - despite normally being the most difficult - suddenly became the easiest, simply because it was the only one that didn't mean he was getting more public attention.

And now he was getting an invite to the Mayor's office.  Now I mean Jake liked Mayor Middleburg, he'd even voted for him (he hadn't  quite  gone to the lengths of campaigning for him as Wildcard, but that was mostly because he was basically a nobody at the time as much as anything else), but he couldn't help but consider that in terms of actual  effort  the whole Leoni thing hadn't been any more difficult than some of his other feats of heroism.  Which admittedly was partly because Scylla and Platformer had been the ones between them to actually do the 'freeing the people' thing, because that whole thing had been a little outside his wheelhouse, but still.  He couldn't help but wonder how much of this was just a popularity stunt intended to get them on the Mayor's side.

He did, however, make sure the police department's liaison officer got a little card with the number of one of the old, secured Protectorate phones he'd collected, so they didn't have to go through Platformer to contact him in future.

  "No, thanks."    Admittedly when Wildcard answered the Mayor's question most of his head was wreathed in fire, which would probably have made drinking a soda rather difficult.  Was that actually something he'd intended to do as a convenient excuse?  Who can say!
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "I'm good,"  says Scylla.  "So, before I forget, I should probably give you all my cell number. Right now Blackcoat's the only one who has it, but you shouldn't  always  have to go through him to get to me." 
Starsign
Blackcoat watched as the captive people awakened from their state, finding that things are resolved, for the moment. He nodded, a job well done, though not as cleanly as he'd like. As he learned, hero work is rarely ever clean. In actuality, it's not all different from piracy, in which anything that can go wrong, usually does go wrong.

But as things tend to go wrong, things also tend to right themselves with enough grit and effort. Thus, all's well that ends well!

As things calmed down for a bit, Captain Blackcoat returned to his duties of funding the repairs of New Harbour and organizing its reconstruction, as best as he can, anyway. He tried investigating the palaceship, potentially make it an...  upgrade  for his ship. What he found, however, was a lot of technologically unusual devices, interfaces, and layouts which he had no hope of understanding. He didn't have a choice but to leave the palaceship to someone else to figure out. Instead, from his own ship, he took the opportunity to recruit some potential crewmates, particularly several of the leonine who want to move forward with their lives, now that their golden old days are truly well and gone. While the crew might be a little *concerned* about former alien invaders joining them, Blackcoat made sure things are kept in line.

 ---

The offer to meet the mayor came with only slight hesitation from Captain Blackcoat. He prefers keeping his focus on his duties, rather than meetings with authorities and other notable people in New Harbour. Not that he had any issues with Mayor Middleburg. On the contrary, the two got along very well in their past meetings. Blackcoat always accepts the offer, however, for it would be rude to refuse and "I am a busy pirate" was a terrible excuse for  anything .

The captain isn't a terribly formal person; his modern-style suit, quite infamously among the crew, has never been properly worn once. However, he made sure to put on a clean white dress shirt under his black coat and arrive wearing modestly fancier dress pants. That said, anyone who doesn't look closely will not notice the difference.

  "No need 'ere,"   he responds to the Mayor, offering his hand out to shake with the mayor's.   "Glad t' see ye well through all's been happenin' in New Harbour."  
Dodgeson
The assembled heroes didn't need anything, a more paranoid politician might have assumed this was some kind of power play but not the Mayor, heroes wouldn't have some kind of ulterior motive right? As far as he was concerned this just meant he wasn't going to have to bother is secretary to bring in any refreshment and he could move on to the main thrust of why he'd brought them here.

"Thanks." He replied to Blackcoat whilst Scylla handed out her number to the others, what with his push to rebuild and reinvest in New Harbour he was already familiar with the pirate "I got to say it was kind of weird to come to in Hero Park but all's well that ends well right? Anyway moving on, the reason I invited you all here today, I think you can all agree with the recent events what the city really needs now is heroes, heroes that people can believe in again. Which is why I am proposing that the city endorses you guys as New Harbour's new protectors."

He paused for a second, hoping that their reaction was going to be a positive one.

"If you agree, I think it would be perfect if we could debut the whole thing during next weekend's celebrations."

Anyone who had been in New Harbour long enough would know what celebrations he was talking about, as an old port town New Harbour had a long and proud history of welcoming in people from all around the world and, more pertinent for this particular event, their food. Over the years this had evolved in to a city wide party where once a year this heritage would be celebrity with stalls and rides and most importantly a contest drawing in cooks from all over to prove their mettle!
Quellian-dyrae
Getting recognized as the city's official protectors.  That was...a pretty big step, for sure.  It was like yeah sure they were all coming in to help the city as heroes in its time of need...but if they did this it would be more like they were officially stepping up to  replace  the Protectorate.  It was a significant move, and was worth considering carefully and weighing all-

 "Sure, I'm in." 

...Or...or Kevin could just decide that he was a legit superhero now and there was no reason he couldn't handle something like that.  That...that totally worked too.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Scylla scratches her head.  "So, I guess I'm honored, but... is that really a thing? What does being an official protector entail that we weren't doing already?" 
Dodgeson
"That's the best part." The Mayor explained, he had expected some questions and in fact he had prepared some notes for just this eventuality but luckily this was an easy one and he didn't even have to look over his desk. "You'll hardly even notice the difference, you just need to keep doing what you're doing and I think it'd be great for the city's morale if you guys could show up and say a few words every once in a while, really let them know that someone's watching out for them you know?"

He waited for a second to gauge the heroes' reaction, keeping his hands either side of himself on the desk "Oh and don't worry, you're not going to be expected to make any kind of endorsements or anything like that, this isn't about me or about politics, it's about the city and it's about the people."
Llyarden
Wildcard...froze.

Quite literally, in fact - with a faint  fwoomph  of dissipating energy, the flames around his head were replaced by ice.  The air around him seemed... darker .

The Mayor wanted them to be the city's new heroes.

To replace the Protectorate.

He barely even noticed Platformer and Scylla's words.

They wanted him to replace Rachel.

He took a breath.  The shadows...didn't exactly fade, per se, but at least retreated a little, coiling around him like snakes ready to strike.

  "No offence, Mr Mayor, but this is quite the suggestion to spring on us with just a few days' notice.  I...can't speak for the others -"   especially since one of them had already given an emphatic answer   "- but this isn't something I can decide on at the drop of a hat."  
Quellian-dyrae
Just keep doing what they're doing, and maybe make some public appearances every so often.  No endorsements of politics required, of course.  Naturally, it was just a convenient coincidence of timing that New Harbour's new official hero team would assemble under Mayor Middleburg's watch.  It wasn't like anyone would possibly read anything into that, least of all any prospective  voters ...

...Was all something Kevin Matthews definitely  didn't  think.  Kevin had many gifts and was skilled in many fields.  Politics was not one of them.  Honestly he'd have more likely found it mildly weird that the Mayor  didn't  ask them to campaign on his behalf or something, but he wasn't even politically savvy enough to notice  that .  Truth was he was still pretty much looking at this entire conversation as small talk before they got a-

Oh, wait, duh.  He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it earlier.  The celebrations where they were supposed to announce the whole thing.  The  mayor  was asking them to be at a specific location at a particular time to announce themselves as heroes.  Obviously, the event was going to get attacked, or somebody's experimental teleporter was going to malfunction and send a party member hurtling through time, or...honestly there'd probably be a kidnapping attempt on the mayor himself.  But would stopping the kidnapping attempt be the quest, or would the kidnapping be a cut-scene and the rescue be the quest?  Hrm...

That was an important question to answer, actually.  In the former case, it was worth advising the mayor to step up his personal security; Kevin had no illusions that some mundane security guards would be able to meaningfully contribute to a battle on their scale, but they might be able to deter the bad guys from going after the mayor directly while they had the heroes to deal with.  But in the latter case that just put them at risk of being Cutscene Casualties.  Terrible way to go.

He might have considered asking if they would be on stage with the mayor, or if they would be backstage waiting for his introduction.  In principle it would be harder to justify a kidnapping attempt going off without a hitch in they were right up on stage with him.  But he hadn't had faith in cutscenes making sense ever since Yuna's wedding.  ( "You guys just plowed through like a score of these fools like nothing!  They have to shoot you like eight times just to drop one of you and we have plenty of Phoenix Downs!  WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING I CAN'T EVEN ARGH!?" )

Unfortunately that meant Kevin had no useful questions to ask, so he just kinda listened, nodding along.
Starsign
Blackcoat gauged the responses and reactions from the other heroes as he considered the mayor's offer. Being endorsed as new heroes is certainly good for one's reputation and popularity; and there's no doubt that a pirate lord always likes expanding their reputation across the world. As someone who's held a long history of being a pirate, however, Blackcoat has to consider what impact this will have on New Harbour. He had enough encounters and entanglements with the Protectorate from long ago to know that they were, figuratively, larger than life. For anyone to take their place is a big deal. For a  pirate lord  to be one such hero will have repercussions on the city.

He has his reservations, but he knows the way the wind's blowing with Platformer and Scylla's responses.

  "It be an honor t' be part o' the New Protectorate. But ye askin' a lot askin' me."   Blackcoat's voice is courteous, but wary, from a professional standpoint.   "I be doin' a lot fer New Harbour, but haulin' a pirate to the city's new big heroes ain't somethin' that'll go down well fer everyone. If ye be fine with it, then I be happy to accept."  

It looks like a mutually-beneficial agreement, and the group can use an experienced person to help guide the others, as necessary.
Dodgeson
To his credit the mayor took Wildcard's reaction, not quite in his stride but well enough, only jumping slightly in his chair as the shadows writhed and darkened. "Oh I completely understand if this is something you want to take some time to think about and I absolutely don't want you to feel pressured one way or the other." He reassured him before turning to the other heroes.

"On behalf the city I cannot thank the rest of you enough, I know that everyone is going to be sleeping a lot sounder knowing that you're all watching out for them. Anyway unless you've got anything else you want to hash out while you're here I wont take up any more of your time. My secretary has all the information that you'll need and I can't wait to see you all this weekend."

((Okay gang, do you have any other questions/anything you'd want to do before the festival or am I good to move us all along?))
Dodgeson
With no further questions our heroes were free to go, the mayor's slightly starstruck secretary (who totally hadn't been listening in by the door, no sir) waiting outside his office to supply them with everything they needed to know for the big day. They might have the rest of the week to themselves but soon the city was going to meet them, well most of them anyway.

((You know what? Everyone can take another downtime action for funsies))


 


Whatever our heroes chose to do in the intervening time, the big day would soon arrive and New Harbour came alive with a carnival atmosphere and the tantalizing sights, smells and sounds of hundreds of hopeful chefs plying their trade. Many streets had been closed off and cleared of cars to allow more stalls to be set up and festival goers to safely wander between them, and main street was no exception, what separated this from the surrounding area was the large stage that dominated the far end.

Although set up for various different acts and entertainment throughout the day it was currently playing host to New Harbour's very own The Buzz (The only station you need for all the hits!).

"Lets keep the hits coming, message in with your favourites and you'll get to hear it right today!" The first of the two hosts, a man in his twenties in a pair of reflective sunglasses enthused in to the mic in front of him "And don't forget to send in your favourite festival moments and the best ones will go on the big screen!" He jumped out of his seat and gestured to the large screen behind him, nobody could see it on the radio of course but it was the thought that counted.

"Uh oh, looks like someone's got a problem with the playlist." His co-host, a very minor metahuman with orange skin and a horrendous mullet (though that couldn't be blamed on the metagene) interjected, as much as the mayor had tried to keep the announcement of New Harbour's new heroes under wraps there had inevitably been leaks and that was probably why there was currently a mob marching towards the stage brandishing banners with the phrase NO MORE HEROES emblazoned on them

 
 Spoiler: Perception (DC25) 
In the middle of the mob is a pale skinned woman who has very clearly put a lot of effort in to making it look like she does not in fact have eight arms. 
 Spoiler: Expertise:Superhuman (DC20) 
The woman in question goes by the name Delilah, less a supervillain and more of a super-hanger on, with the ability to produce mind-bending pheromones she hops from place to place as arm candy while the good times last before moving on, it was from one such arrangement that she obtained the cloak she wears that gives her access to some kind of extradimensional storage space.
 

 
Starsign
Blackcoat's time spent for the festivities was an incredibly busy one. First was assisting in paying for the festivities; New Harbour didn't have the funds without pivoting some from other parts of the city, and Blackcoat had plenty to spare. Secondly was letting the crew, including the new members, know about the "officialness" of Blackcoat as a superhero in New Harbour. For the most part, it  shouldn't  get in the way of his day-to-day duties. That said, it did apply more pressure on him to act as a superhero, rather than treat it as an activity stemming from his support for New Harbour.

The actual gravity of the situation, however, didn't become apparent until the day of the festivities. The flashing lights and parades are almost like the celebrations of old, of famed heroes being honored as people danced down the street. The raving and heavy beats of The Buzz, however, was something else entirely. In all Blackcoat's life, he had avoided underground dance and DJ places simply due to a lack of interest. He hardly had the time, and the right sleep schedule, to see what the experience is like. Just from this alone, he could only imagine the DJ places being a tonal overload of sights and sound, distracting and overwhelming to any degree that the sights of skies on fire and cannonball blasts are meagre in comparison.

Were it not for the co-host and his helpful pointer, Blackcoat would have missed the group of people marching in opposition to... heroes? The festivities? Hard to say at this point.

Blackcoat had been up on the stage, high up in the festivities, waving and greeting to those who had come to see and celebrate the New Protectorate. He rappels down, however, to the other heroes after seeing the mob.   "Ye got some dissidents 'ere,"   Blackcoat points out, eyeing the mob analytically.   "'fraid we'd have to tread water carefully in a crowded street."   He pauses, letting the other heroes a chance to interject their thoughts while he focuses on the mob in the distance to garner their thoughts, and how dangerous and serious their protests are.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
This looks like a good opportunity for Blackcoat to  Seen 'em All, Know 'em All . Using his Mind Reading 10 to gather surface thoughts on the mob, and with Subtle 2, no one should notice or be aware. DC 20 Will on one (assuming he only has a round for this) to determine the mob's hostility and interests/actions/thoughts.
 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin had arrived at the fair early to take part in the festivities!

He was kinda disappointed, to be honest.

I mean, what kind of proper fair  doesn't  have a combat robot to beat up?  Or a race to bet on?  He couldn't find even a  single  way to earn Silver Points!

So Kevin kinda wandered around, playing the various games (none of them appeared to have any life-sized stuffed toy versions of him as prizes, but for something that important you had to be sure; especially considering Big E was orders of  magnitude  scarier than Lavos) and trying various fair foods and attempting to calculate which one offered the best hit points to  gold piece  dollar ratio.  Which was about as incorrect as it was  physically possible  to be, but here we are.

And of course, keeping an eye out for any lost cats.

As the time drew nearer, Kevin headed in the general direction of the stage.  He kinda boggled at the protestors when he saw them.  Were they...were they from out of town, or something?  Or did they  want  to be enslaved by the Leoni?  He knew he was supposed to be trying to consciously consider and remember that people had full developed personalities and life experiences that drove their actions and made consistent internal sense to them.  They weren't just mindless sprites doing things arbitrarily because that was what they were programmed to do.

But man, some people made it harder than others.

When Blackcoat dropped down beside him, Kevin greeted him with a nod.  Tread water carefully, yeah.  Made sense.  Protesters gonna protest, it wasn't like he was going to  stop  protecting people because some folks waved some signs at him.

Except...

Kevin was not a particularly  sociable  hero.  He'd always been an introvert, even without his powers drastically altering his perception of the world.  He largely tried to stay out of the spotlight, and avoid the talky bits.

But...he was also trying to counterbalance some of the more negative impulses his powers gave him.  Protesters gonna protest was too easy.  It wasn't necessarily  wrong , but it wasn't a view that he  personally  could afford to indulge.  Every time he thought like that, he took one step closer to viewing the world as a game.  As a kid, he had been able to afford that.  But he was a superhero now.  The stakes were real, and he had to treat them that way.

 "I think...I need to talk to them,"  he said.  He said it in a tone of voice that clearly indicated that it was a terrible idea and he knew it was a terrible idea.

Nonetheless.  With a heavy sigh, Kevin leaped over to the protesters, a single bound carrying him to land in front of them.  Between that and his costume they probably wouldn't have any trouble recognizing who he was.

 "Hi,"  he said.  Off to a good start!

 "Um.  So, I'm a hero, so I guess you're protesting me?  Uh, why?" 

This was actually pretty good by Kevin's standards.  He didn't stand silently in front of them waiting for a dialog box to open at all!
Dr.Gunsforhands
Despite knowing that Scylla's position as a hero was supposed to be an official thing now, Iara came to the festival with her Persona turned off. Paying cash for junk food and saying hi to friends from church is a lot easier in an identity that is otherwise basically invisible. People invite all kinds of visitors from out of town, so it's not like people are asking for papers.

Her plan was to go change and meet up with the rest of the team before their stage appearance, but the protesters showed up a fair bit early for that. Iara can wrap her head around the idea that modern society's reliance on superheroes isn't healthy, but she's not sure what the group intends to actually do about it.

She stands to the side as innocuously as she can - pretty innocuous, as it would turn out - and listens in on Kevin's conversation.
Dodgeson
Platformer was off to a great start as he approached the angry mob and attempted to open a constructive dialogue in the most nonthreatening manner possible, unfortunately for him, the most immediate protester was having none of that and simply unloaded on the poor boy.

(Yes I know Kevin wasn't strictly speaking wasn't a boy any more but he'll always be 1/3 of Pending Objective to me.)

"YOU HAVE SOME NERVE COMING HERE, WE DON'T NEED YOUR KIND IN THIS CITY THINKING YOUR ALL THAT TEACHING KIDS THAT VIOLENCE IS THE ANSWER TO ALL THEIR PROBLEMS! DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE DAMAGE! PEOPLE TRYING TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES AND THEIR BUSINESSES AND YOU COME RAMPAGING THROUGH AND RUINING LIVES! YOU'RE ALL IN ON IT TOGETHER I DONT CARE WHAT STUPID CRAP YOU WEAR! IF YOU REALLY CARED YOU'D GET A BADGE OR JOIN THE ARMY THOSE ARE THE REAL HEROES!"

And on and on the enraged and slightly pudgy man went, getting far too close up in Platformer's personal space it might have almost been enough to distract him from an almost imperceptible shift in the air...

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Platformer give me a DC20 Fort Save vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled, the effect is Subtle and requires a DC20 Perception check to notice.
 
Llyarden
Wildcard hadn't ever gotten back to the Mayor with whether he was going to be at the festival.

But Jake was there, lurking unobtrusively - which was pretty easy for him seeing as, y'know, people only really ever saw the wild clash of elemental energy when he was around and not the person beneath the mask.  And he...well, I mean, to say he was enjoying the festival wasn't exactly accurate, even if it had been five years he still couldn't help but remember what it was like to be at the festival with Rachel, but...I mean, he'd just finished a hot dog and had somehow found himself with one of those swirly sticks with candy floss on the end, and had a little packet of handmade sweets tucked into his pocket, and he was enjoying the atmosphere...

Right up until the moment that he saw the anti-hero bunch.  He was a little surprised to not see the ostensible figurehead of the local anti-hero groups not here, but all that meant was that she was probably tucked away somewhere ready to release a pre-recorded 'live' podcast either on how New Harbour didn't need heroes if nothing happened or on how the heroes of New Harbour had left the police complacent etc if something did.

Now Jake was, in all honesty, not too opposed to the anti-hero people in some cases.  Sometimes they actually did make arguments that were almost sensible if you squinted at them real hard, and he could certainly understand, even if he didn't agree with them, why people would be worried when there were superpowered folks flying around without any real oversight or central authority.

Then at other times they claimed that the Protectorate and Alchemaster had been working together to ruin the city for their own benefit.  Because that made sense.

And it was that latter accusation that meant Jake regularly used the computer in his basement, which was still connected to the Protectorate's systems and via them some of the old police data files, to keep tabs on the local anti-hero conspiracy theorists.  Just in case any of them ever did something stupid that he could get them sent to prison for.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Just gonna throw out a Well-Informed on Shouty McShoutFace:  (1d20+20)[ 38 ]   First a 20 now an 18.  I feel like Jake has one of those conspiracy-style corkboards with red string everywhere tracking the local anti-hero bunch... 
 
Quellian-dyrae
This was actually not the worst possible way this could have gone.

The worst possible way this could have gone was if the protester had just chanted a slogan at him over and over.  Probably would have set his "people are not just pre-programmed sprites with only one line of dialogue" training back two entire years.

But this, this was actually helpful.  There was such  variety  in the protester's ranting!  Nobody would have programmed this many different anti-hero grievances into some nameless background sprite on the off chance the player would interact with them.  And while the conclusions were suspect at best, some of them even mutually contradictory, there was a...not so much consistency as a sort of coherence to them.  What we had here was a mind that was actively  optimizing  for worldviews that supported the conclusion that superheroes were bad.  But that wouldn't happen naturally, because superheroes were  awesome , so it had to be the result of some specific event, or series of events, that had influenced this mind's internal goal system, which could only come as the result of  backstory !

It wasn't that Kevin didn't  know  that all the regular people around him had actual lives and histories and such, intellectually.  But it was kinda amazing to him to see it hinted at in a person's present actions in a way he could actually recognize, rather than say being brought up explicitly as setting fodder for a quest or something.  It really was helpful to Kevin's efforts to interact with this individual as if he was a real, living person with hopes and-

 "Do you have a  name , by any chance?"  Kevin asked during a brief lull in the sustained ranting.

...So I suppose what I'm saying here is that Kevin needs  a lot  of help.  Well, okay then.  Solid try.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Iara cringes at the feedback from the bullhorn.

 "Ugh, you hypocrite!"  She stomps up to the leader, unable to take their crappy rant anymore.  "You call yourself a protester? You can't stoke hope for an egalitarian future if you just go running back to  gun  culture! Give me that, I'll show you how it's done." 

If she can bamboozle them into handing it over for a moment, she turns the bullhorn on the protest itself - preaching to the choir, but at a more reasonable distance from anyone's poor faces. If not, she'll just get in their face and shout them down the old-fashioned way. Either way, she  goes off. 

She shouts about how our obsession with heroes, super or otherwise, is an unhealthy abdication of human responsibility.
She shouts about their roots in an ancient and dangerous belief in the moral superiority of the powerful.
She shouts that the modern hero, like the army and the police before them, have been given a license to do harm with no accountability.
She shouts that we, their people, must revoke that license now, before that corrupting power drives us all to ruin.
...and she believes every word.

In short, she tries to take over the protest and let them make their actual point already.

 
 Spoiler 
Deception(shenanigans):  (1d20+16)[ 28 ] 
 
Starsign
More relaxed than the other heroes, Blackcoat kept his distance at the angry mob until, quite unfortunately, Platformer got an earful of the sheer anger they had at him. This sort of vitriol was unfortunate, given it's a day of celebration. In the past, those who lost their cool, especially toward figures of authority, would be made an example out of. Alas, that's not how a hero should act, particularly in front of a crowd as big as this. In fact, it'd be best to not draw their ire, given the lack of focus they had. Blackcoat's guess was that if they were let be long enough, they would eventually leave due to lacking a particular drive and target.

The moment Scylla walked up to them, however, there'd be no more ignoring the protestors. In hindsight, however, that may have been the better option.

Finding his voice would be drowned if he spoke, Blackcoat walks up over to Wildcard.   "They jus' be shoutin' out like a net in th' sea,"   the captain comments quietly about the mob.   "Might've jus' been lookin' fer attention. Would've said t' just leave 'e be 'til they jump ship outta boredom,"   he eyes Scylla and Platformer,   "Would we've stayed quiet. Be ready for everything, lad."   Blackcoat waited just behind Platformer and Scylla, letting the two control the conversation, up until the situation demanded a more active role.
Dodgeson
A lot of stuff happened in very quick succession, first Kevin asked another eminently reasonable question and was met with another torrent of barely coherent abuse "I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU ANYTHING! WHAT ARE YOU A COP!? NO OF COURSE YOU'RE NOT YOU DON'T WANT TO PUT THE WORK IN DO YOU!? YOU JUST WANT ALL THE FAME AND GLORY WHILE US REGULAR JOES HAVE TO SIT BY AND LET YOU DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! WHERE DO YOU FREAKS AND WEIRDOS GET OFF CRAWLING OUT OF THE WOODWORK!? NEVER HAD ANY OF THIS BACK OUT IN THE OLD DAYS AND WE GOT ON JUST FINE WITHOUT YOU!"

But luckily Wildcard did in fact already know who he was, because apparently this is how he spent his free time. Paul Larsen, a former construction worker born and raised in New Harbour, he went through a divorce and no longer gets to see his kids, this is somehow the fault of superhumans. He's largely harmless (although he does have a very loud fondness for guns) but if you're part of the anti-superhuman weirdosphere he's definitely a face that's going to pop up in call ins and comment sections.

And then Scylla made to forceably take over the protest?! More than happy to swell their numbers and slightly surprised she had no problem in grabbing the bullhorn and starting to make their arguments right back at them, bringing the mob to a halt for the moment as they cheered along with the newcomer, adding their own gripes and grievances to hers.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Platformer &amp; Scylla give me a DC20 Fort Save vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled, the effect is Subtle and requires a DC20 Perception check to notice.
 

As could be expected, and especially with the current turn of events, the mob had started to draw quite a crowd of its own, people turning their attention away from the stalls and fancies that surrounded them to watch what was happening with their phones out. All in all, if you were taken to be a paranoid person you might say the whole thing was a wonderful distraction...

 
 Spoiler: Perception (DC20) 
Working their way around the back of the stalls was a bizzare looking humanoid in a pinstripe suit that seems like they'd step right out of an old fashioned cartoon, casually laying out bundles of dynamite as they went.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Scylla, still in her sweater-clad human guise as Iara, continues being annoyed at the competing protester for bullying Kevin.  "Hey! Leave him alone! Are you seriously worried about  glory? "  She raises the bullhorn, no longer caring about having it in this particular person's face.  "GLORY ITSELF IS MEANINGLESS! WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT YOU DO!" 

It's roughly now that she gets a look in the crowd's eyes. Like, a good look, long and focused enough to see that something inside them is already straining to rationalize their behavior.  "...but you already know that, don't you? You all..."  ...no, she feels it too. A nebulous anger, rising up inside her. Unconscious, alien, not really hers. Another spirit, trying to get inside her? Or maybe a siren like herself, using lame rhetoric instead of music?

She raises the bullhorn again.  "WHY ARE WE ALL HERE? WE'RE ALL MARCHING AND ANGRY, AND WE CAN'T ADEQUATELY EXPLAIN WHY! THE ONLY THING THAT FEELS RIGHT IS TO SHOUT UNTIL SOMEONE ACKNOWLEDGES IT! THIS ISN'T A PROTEST, IT'S A CRY FOR HELP!"  She nods to Kevin, who also seems to be realizing that something's wrong, then scans the gathered throng to find its epicenter, who has hopefully been thrown off-balance. Who's  really  calling the shots here?

...it's probably the bully who's still standing right next to her, isn't it. She stole his bullhorn, but it's probably not a magic device or anything.
Starsign
Taking care not to further incite an angry group of people while Scylla uses their own tactics against them, Blackcoat gives a wide distance from the protestors. As he imagined well before the festival, a pirate lord is an easy target for misplaced or emotional anger towards superheroes; he wouldn't do well to give them something that legitimizes their actions.

However, he can't help but shake something is missing here. It takes a lot,  genuinely  a lot of anger to go out and cause such a scene. They don't have anyone or anything to really focus on, when they usually need some sort of emotional drive to spend time with this protest.  Something  must have convinced them to act on this particular day, at this particular position.

Blackcoat gives a quick scan of the crowd around the area. People, civilians, party-goers... there's  almost  something unusual here, but he can't make it out. While Blackcoat had long claimed that having an eyepatch  doesn't  do much for his eyesight, he has to admit it can get in the way.

Rather than wait, however, Blackcoat detoured into and through the crowd watching the protestors, Kevin and Scylla argue and yell amongst each other. So far, it looks like the day may end with nothing worse than some verbal screaming, but one can't be too sure of anyone taking advantage of the situation.
Quellian-dyrae
Since Kevin didn't know Iara was Scylla, he didn't really see anything odd about her joining the protest.  His brain flagged her as just one more Protest Sprite.  Look, he's  trying , okay?

But it was kinda irrelevant regardless, because Protester Guy had just said something that Kevin's honor couldn't allow to pass by.

 "Okay now that's just silly.  The average police officer receives about twenty-one weeks of training before they're qualified to go on patrol.  Army basic training is half that, but I'm pretty sure a soldier in basic training actually lives on the base and spends more hours per day in training, so it probably balances out?"   Thus sayeth Google, anyway.   "I was a student of St. Ambrose for four  years  before I was officially qualified as a superhero.  And we did live at the school while in session,"  and also, you know, fought off alien invasions and stopped super-criminals and survived a doomed future in the process.   "So I'm pretty sure in terms of intensity it's closer to the soldier scale than the police scale.  We can agree to disagree about a lot of things, but don't go trying to tell a St. Ambrose alumnus that they didn't put in the work to qualify for the job.  That's just mistaken as a matter of simple  math ." 

Kevin remained calm as he spoke, but it was kinda a near thing.  Really, how dare this guy talk down superheroes like that?  He probably never had to fight a single supervillain, never had to decide whether it was better to push his powers to their limits in an untested attempt to prevent a city-block-destroying explosion, or to just race the robot-girl-turned-bomb in question off to a hopefully-mostly-unoccupied area, throw up the biggest barrier he could, and hope the little 5 hovering by a picture of his face at the top of his field of vision meant he'd come out the other side.  What had  he  done when the Leoni had attacked his city!?

Kevin blinked.  Those thoughts...were not how he would normally think.  Not even close.  Fact was, this guy wasn't a hero, wasn't a protagonist, wasn't a Player Character.  Kevin had precisely zero expectation that people like him could or should try to do the sorts of things Kevin himself did on a daily basis.  So why should he care what this guy thought?

As Kevin realized the hostility was being externally induced, he reached out with his inner senses, seeking the source.  And say what you will about what his Mom had done to keep the true nature of his powers secret, it  did  mean he had some experience with subtle mental influence.

His eyes suddenly snapped straight to the woman trying to hide her multiple arms.

Okay.  There was more to this protest than meets the eye.  A quick shift into third-person view and a paused sweep of the area...and the multi-armed woman with the mind control power or whatever it was quickly became a secondary concern.  The protest itself managed tertiary at best.


 
 Originally Posted by To Wildcard*, Blackcoat, and Scylla* 
   Platformer:   Multi-armed woman in the crowd is doing something to push aggression.  It's hard to notice, but she tried to tag me with it.  [Picture]
  Platformer:   Cartoon-looking guy in a pinstriped suit [Picture] setting bundles of dynamite behind the stalls [16-bit map, with dynamite locations marked with little bomb icons].
  Platformer:   I got the bombs. 
 

*I know Kevin isn't aware of Scylla's identity and I don't think Wildcard's in his heroic persona either, but he's messaging them in case they're nearby, activating two ranks of his Chat so it'll reach them if they're within a mile.

Chat message sent, Kevin took off in a sudden blur of movement, racing around the area to grab up each of the dynamite bundles before leaping into the air and hurling them high into the sky, followed up shortly thereafter with a fireball to detonate them, the better part of a mile up, which should be well out of range of causing any harm to anyone on the ground.

He landed back in his original position, and glanced at Protester Guy.   "Sorry, gonna have to cut this discussion short." 

He turned to face the cartoony guy in the pinstriped suit, fire blazing to life around the rune-carved staff in his left hand, lightning crackling around his right fist, as he slid into a ready stance and narrowed his eyes.   "I've got a job to do." 
 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Run/Jump, 8 points to Activate, 4 points to Third-Person Viewpoint, 10 points to In-Game Chat (2 ranks, Rapid 1, Feature), 9 points to Strike, 9 points to Shoot.

Free: Chat.

Move+Free: Run through the area grabbing all the unattended dynamite with Free Lift feature.  Leap somewhere in the Distance rank 7-8 range into the air.

Standard: Activate Linked Strike/Shoot, throw the dynamite another Distance rank 4-5ish and blast it with a fireball.  If mechanics matter literally at all call it Power Attack for 5, Routine attack for 14, Toughness DC 29 vs. Damage.

Move-by Action: Double-jump and land back in prior position.

Free: Quip.

Initiative:  (1d20+12)[ 13 ] .   ...I suppose that's fair considering I did all of that in terms of combat actions. 

Current Status: Normal.
 
Dodgeson
Wildcard and Captain Blackcoat continued to watch the scene unfold as Kevin and Scylla continued to argue with the mob in front of them, but being so close to the action it wouldn't take either of them long to realise that they were being played and that the strange looking woman looking woman in the middle of the them was the culprit, not only that but she wasn't alone either!

In the blink of an eye Kevin left the to screech impotently and gathered the dynamite from behind the stalls and launched it in to the air where they promptly vanished before his fireball could impact them before landing back in front of the cartoony bomber himself! Stopping as they placed a fresh bundle of the bright red explosives at Kevin's feet, they slowly craned their neck up until their strange eyes met the hero's own.

"Hey there, great festival weather huh?" He greeted him with a cheshire grin that showed off a mouth full of pointed teeth "WE'VE BEEN MADE!!!"

"Of course we have..." The woman at the centre of the mob sighed, she knew that Kevin and Scylla had gotten wise to her pheromones but she was hoping she could have played it off just a little bit longer to give her cohorts a little while longer to set up, unfortunately the little freak couldn't even lie low "No need to keep hiding now darling."

"FINALLY! I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA SUFFOCATE IN THERE..." A gruff voice came from a one of the food stands before it exploded outwards to reveal a hulking ogre of a man wearing a hideous patchwork suit of his own. Kevin, you know exactly who this is.

This wasn't the only familiar face though as a young girl with long white hair wearing a much nicer pinstripe suit (lot of suits going around right now, I swear this wasn't intentional) floated down from one of the surrounding buildings to hover by the bomber. Scylla, you've seen this girl before, she was a homeless girl that Father Joe took in for a while. He didn't manage to get much out of her than that she had lost her parents in the Alchemaster's attack, until one morning she simply wasn't there any more. The suit and the flying are definitely new though...

"Does this mean we don't get to the pickles...?" She asked in a distant spacey voice.

"After we get paid Lucy honey." The bomber reassured her.

Back in the mob, the many armed woman shrugged off her disguise and with a swirl of the cloak around her shoulders each of her hands was now holding a menacing looking tommy gun "Your move heroes."

 
 Spoiler: Expertise:Superhuman (DC20)x3 
 
 Spoiler: Six-Arms 
She goes by the name Delilah, less a supervillain and more of a super-hanger on, with the ability to produce mind-bending pheromones she hops from place to place as arm candy while the good times last before moving on, it was from one such arrangement that she obtained the cloak she wears that gives her access to some kind of extradimensional storage space.
 

 
 Spoiler: Big Guy 
Big Al, a walking talking gangster stereotype who lucked in to a reasonably high end brick powerset. Unfortunately for him this hasn't done him much good because he's a born mook. Easily taken advantage of by smarter or more charismatic individuals he's acted as muscle for almost every would be mastermind or villain you could mention, punctuated only by failed attempts to strike out on his own.
 

 
 Spoiler: Bomber 
Goes by many names, Madcap, Mr Funny, Tex, nobody's quite sure what he actually is, crazy reality bender? Dimensional traveller from a higher order reality? Escapee from Faerie? It doesn't help that he gives conflicting answers whenever he's asked. Whatever the case may be they like to cause anarchy via the medium of big explosions. About the only nice thing you can say about him is that he goes out of his way not to harm kids.
 

 

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Okay gang, we have a  map  and you know what I learned today? Roads are much narrower than I thought they were! Anyway not quite sure where Wildcard and Blackcoat want to be, so go ahead and place them wherever.

The green squares currently have the mob in them, they're riled and mad and anyone who is in those squares at the end of the villain turn will end up getting hit by a randomised PL6 attack! Try not to think about what happens if they get caught in an AoE.

  Initiative  
 Platformer  13
 Wildcard   (1d20+20)[ 28 ] 
 Scylla   (1d20+10)[ 14 ] 
 Blackcoat   (1d20+8)[ 15 ] 
 Villains   (1d20+8)[ 15 ] 
 

 Wildcard is on turn! 
Llyarden
   Wildcard  : Multi-arm is Delilah.  She can create mind-altering pheremones, and her cloak is an extradimensional space.
  Wildcard  : The guy in the atrocious suit is Big Al.  He's big, strong, and has a very tough physiology.  He's the strongest of the four.
  Wildcard  : No-one really knows much about the cartoon man, except that he makes up a different name and backstory for himself every time anyone asks.  And I have no idea who the floaty lady is.
  Wildcard  : None of these four exactly scream 'supervillain.'  Or even 'capable of organising other henchmen.'  There might be someone else pulling the strings.
  Wildcard  : I'll get the civilians out of harm's way. 

With a whole second or so dedicated to the Chat, Jake moved.

From somewhere within the crowd of people, swirling energies erupted like a tornado, pulses of violet light sweeping the civilians clear surprisingly gently considering how many people were being hurtled around at high speed - and yes he did move the mob out of the way as well, although he kinda split them up and left them all over the place rather than let them stay in a big angry clump.

At the centre of the maelstrom, the shimmering light of energy resolved itself into Wildcard, who was thrumming with shadows and ice, just as he had been when the Mayor had made the suggestion of them becoming the official protectors of the city - except this time he came jumping at the mad bomber, unleashing a blaze of dark energies rimed with frost at the cartoon figure.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Free: Set Control Elements to Wobbling Flight, Energy Sheathe, 3 ranks of Strength from Kinetic Control, and 25 random points: Hindering Cloud + Gravity Pull, Freeze, Wind Wall + Aerorepulsion.
Free: Configure Control Elements to Broad Non-Cumulative Weaken All Movement (which is supposed to be Will-based, apparently I never specified in the sheet!) Linked Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed Affliction Linked Close Deflect.
Move: Speedster with 4 miles of movement and 400lbs carrying capacity to move everyone somewhere safe, end up in AD7.
Standard: Attack Madcap with Control Elements, power attacking for 2:  (1d20+8)[ 26 ] .  DC22 Will vs Weaken All Movement and DC22 Fort vs Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed on a hit.  Wildcard is Deflected.

Status: Deflected.
 
Dodgeson
Almost as quickly as Wildcard passed on his tactical insight to the rest of the team, the angry mob was gone, shuffled away a safe distance along with the rest of the civilians in the blink of an eye before the hero returned, battering the bizarre bomber with frost and cold!

"Well you realise of course that this means war...?" The sharply dressed snowman in front of him declared, before bursting forwards and swinging out at him with an enormous mallet!

Next to him 'Lucy' watched the snowflakes flutter down around her with an awed "Ooo..." Sticking out her tongue to catch it before shuddering at the cold and turning her attention towards Wildcard. "I don't think I like you..." She decided, which wouldn't in and of itself be too threatening until her eyes started to glow...

Slightly further up the street Big Al took in his surroundings for a moment and almost immediately zeroed in on Kevin, it was widely known by this point (some might even call it a running gag) that he wasn't the brightest penny in the fountain, but he trusted his gut and right now it was telling that he didn't like this specific hero beyond even his normal hatred for costumed do-gooders. Clearing the distance between them with a single pavement cracking leap he brought both his enormous fists down on Kevin as hard as he could!

Even if he couldn't quite place him.

Now bereft of the protection and leverage her mob of duped meatshields gave her Delilah decided that standing right out in the open was no longer the best idea and began to dash away up the street, hoping that her more colourful cohorts would be able to draw most of the attention as she made a beeline for Blackcoat, after all he might be in her way right now, but he also had a lot of money.

"So what's a pirate lord doing throwing in with these guys? It's so beneath you." She asked, even as she retracted her arms in to her cloak to withdraw a sextet of silver rapiers, slashing out at him a well coordinated display designed to leave her with no obvious weak point for a counter attack.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Madcap 
Move: Feint using Expertise (Slapstick) at  (1d20+15)[ 24 ]   Doesn't matter because Wildcard has Uncanny Dodge 
Standard: Attack Wildcard with Ol' Reliable  (1d20+10)[ 23 ]  DC25 Toughness &amp; DC20 Fortitude vs Dazed&amp;Impaired/Stunned&amp;Disabled if that hits.  Hits 
End of Turn: DC22 Fortitude to remove Vulnerable  (1d20+10)[ 24 ]   Recovers 
 Lucy 
Move: Nah
Standard: Attack Wildcard with  (1d7)[ 5 ]  Bamboozle Beam  (1d20+10)[ 14 ]  DC20 Will vs Progressive Impaired/Compelled/Controlled (Limited:Actions chosen randomly, Impaired can be ignored any turn a random action is followed) &amp; Weaken Will  Miss 
 Big Al 
Move: Move to K11
Standard: Attack Platformer with Pound  (1d20+8)[ 21 ]  DC31 Toughness &amp; DC26 Fortitude vs Cumulative Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated if that hits.  Hit 
 Delilah 
Move: Move to E9
Standard: Attack Blackcoat with Saber Dance  (1d20+10)[ 13 ]  DC25+Multiattack Toughness if that hits. Delilah is Deflected at 1d10+22.  Miss 
 

 Heroes are on turn! 
Dr.Gunsforhands
 
 Originally Posted by Pesterlog 
  Scylla: So, I might be a minute...  
 

Iara instinctively jumps out of the way of the oncoming hulk, only to realize that she was apparently beneath Al's notice. She understands everyone running away from miss manyswords, but somehow this guy's disregard bothers her more. She slips around the side of the big guy and uses her borrowed bullhorn as close to his head as she can reach.

  "HEY! WHAT AM I, CHOPPED LIVER?"  

Obvious distraction is obvious, but she's pretty hard to ignore.

 
 Spoiler 
Using Aid to give Kevin an opening, since she's still Iara right now. She doesn't want to give away her secret identity that easily. Complications are important!

 (1d20)[ 5 ]  + ???

I guess this is just a default accuracy check at +10? Or can she use her +16 in Deception as she would with a feint?
 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin just smirked as Big Al came at him.  He had faced the powerhouse twice before (well okay, he had faced the powerhouse once before, but he'd also faced a highly realistic simulation of him once before that).  But that was when he had still been in school, still been unaware of the true extent of his power.  Kevin had grown much stronger since then.  As Big Al let loose with one of his typical heavy swings, Kevin just casually raised a hand to block it.

Turned out?  Big Al had gotten stronger too.  His blow smashed straight through Kevin's block and smashed him full in the face.  Health dropping precipitously, Kevin hit pause, entered a cheat code, unpaused,  repaused , entered a  second  cheat code, and  still  came out of it flickering with a notch taking out of his life bar.

...Well.  Okay then.   That  happened.  Accept it and move on.

Fortunately, to all  outside  appearances, Kevin tanked the blow with little visible sign of problem, give-or-take some flickering.  So as far as Big Al was concerned, he was  entirely  justified in Chatting to him:


 
 Originally Posted by @Big Al 
   Platformer:   Wow, really?
  Platformer:   Is that all you've got?
  Platformer:   That dinky little punch is what you bring to the table against me?
  Platformer:   The Platformer?
  Platformer:   The guy who once called your mother  so ugly  they thought she had superpowers?
  Platformer:   ...By the way, is she still listed in the database as a fear and nausea manipulator?
  Platformer:   Oh snap! 
 

Was it kinda immature?  Yes.  But it had to be done.  The unmistakable force of destiny couldn't be denied.

A contented smile on his face, Kevin dropped the Chat and began holding down the L and R keys.

But Kevin  was  stronger now, his powers more flexible.  He wasn't restricted to just playing defense anymore.  Even as azure barriers of protective force began glowing around his arms and hands, Kevin struck out with a more deadly weapon by far - his feet!  Bounding into the air, Kevin came stomping down at Big Al's head.  Now, Kevin was a compactly-built guy, weighing in at around a hundred and fifty pounds or so.  You wouldn't think that dropping a hundred and fifty pounds on a powerhouse's head would really do much.  Even discounting Big Al's own resilience, Kevin was capable of exerting superhuman strength.  Adding the force of gravity to it was kinda a drop in the bucket.

But physics had precisely nothing to do with the power of Kevin's iconic stomp attack.  Not any more.  Not now that he fully understood how his powers worked.  In the past, sure, Kevin's powers had subtly altered reality so his stomps just kinda hit with greater force, because he expected them to.  And his own expectations - not desires, not intentions, not stated beliefs, but is actual, unconscious expectations - did still influence how his powers worked.  It was just...now he knew he could expect more of them.

And at the end of the day, what Kevin expected,  given  his powers were unconscious reality warping exercised through the medium of video games, and in particular giving him the powers of a classic platform hero, was that if he jumped on an enemy's head, that enemy would be  defeated .

And thus it would be -  if  he could jump squarely on their head.  Not always the easiest thing in live combat against superhuman opponents.

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Chat.

Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  5 points to Run/Jump, 5 points to Block (foregoing the Secondary Effect), 10 points to Shielding Block, 10 points to Strike, 10 points to Stomp, 10 points to Stunning Strike.

Move: Jump at Big Al.

Standard: Attack Big Al with Stunning Stomp, +2 from Aid, Defensive Attack for 2, at  (1d20+10)[ 16 ] .   Regardless  of the attack result (Perception), Defense DC 25 vs. Damage.  If the attack does hit, also Will DC 20 vs. Immobilized+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless.  Kevin is Deflected at +8 with Reflect.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, DA +2, Reflect +8 (I work on the assumption that Defensive Attack doesn't apply to Deflect).
 
Llyarden
Madcap pulling a big ol' hammer out of nowhere kinda caught Jake by surprise.  He'd been expecting more dynamite.

Nonetheless, his energy barrier blocked the worst of the effect, and he came away from being thwacked on the head with nothing more than a faint dent in his barrier...a dent which momentarily became a pulsating, cartoon-esque bump as Madcap's powers did their thing.

Jake...kinda narrowed his eyes at him.    "This is not the right place or time for you to joke about a war between superheroes and supervillains,"   he said, coolly - and then he swung another icy fist at the cartoon man.

Except this time space warped and distended around his arm and vines that looked more like the tendrils of some eldritch beast than anything else lashed from his wrist, seeking to drain his energy to restore Wildcard's own.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Power up Control Elements.
Free: Set Control Elements to Elemental Blast and 50 random points: Disintegrate, Spores, Freeze, Leech Life, Layered Power.
Free: Wish I'd given him an ability to let him reroll if he would end up with more than four effects.
Free: Reconfigure Control Elements: Defence-Resisted Damage 10 Linked Cumulative Affliction Linked Limited 2 Restorative Healing.
Standard: Attack Madcap, power attacking for 2:  (1d20+8)[ 10 ] .  DC27 Defence vs Damage and DC22 Fort vs Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed on a hit.  If he fails by any amount, Wildcard heals his Bruise.  Too angry to punch straight, apparently. 

Status: 1 Bruise (maybe)
 
Starsign
Blackcoat had a lot to thank to Platformer and the other heroes for revealing the ploy behind the distraction, as the festival and protestors left him, in hindsight, quite shortsighted and disoriented. Had it not been for everyone else, he would've let a disaster slip well before he'd have discovered it.

Perhaps he had been getting too old for this?

...

Nah, just an unfortunate day in a life full of many, many days.

Slow on his draw, the pirate lord had his cutlass and pistol drawn just in time to see Delilah choosing him as her opponent for the day. Wildcard's prior information, on that bizarre technological chat program Blackcoat has yet to figure out, provided meagre but relevant information. Not unlike a swordfight, resisting anything to the mind requires a strong will and an even greater focus. To do so  while  fighting, however, is an especially troublesome task requiring the pirate to keep himself at his best.

More concerning are her choice of weapons. Rapiers have always been a wonderful-looking sword, to Blackcoat, but unfortunately not his style of swordplay. The flair and wit of a fencer never quite fit a swashbuckler with a sense for pragmatism when needed. That said even dual-wielding rapiers is a bizarre style of fighting he's rarely seen, and he's sure never seen someone wield  six  at once. How one manages it without accidently slipping or skewering themselves, by Blackcoat's mind, requires a length of training and practice rivaling his own.

  "I jus' be changin' as t' winds blow,"   he emphasizes, keeping his training in mind as he deflects the blades with flicks of his wrist, easily deflecting Delilah's unsynchronized blade thrusts.   Villanous piracy ain't had th' reward for t' risks like before."   His casual, matter-of-fact speech pairs with his sword play as he stepped forward and flicked his wrist again, letting his sharp cutlass slice and cut at Delilah's arms, the weak link of her fighting style.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Alrighty. Let's do that sword duel! 😁 Let's go with  Flurry of the High Seas , DC 25+Multiattack Toughness on hit:  (1d20+10)[ 23 ] 
 
Dodgeson
Platformer wholeheartedly believed that landing on an enemy's head would be enough to vanquish even the staunchest of foes and as a reality warper the universe was mostly good enough to oblige. Unfortunately Big Al didn't give a single damn what either he or the universe thought should happen and powered through it out of sheer stubbornness, the smaller boy bouncing of his hulking and misshapen frame.

Then he saw his message and on the one hand this did mean that Big Al could in fact read but on the other, he suddenly knew exactly why he felt such animosity to the hero in front of him.

"NOBODY TALKS ABOUT MY MOMMA LIKE THAT YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!" He bellowed, rearing up and swinging wildly at the source of his ire with his enormous meaty fist.

Elsewhere on the street Madcap's body bent in to an inhuman bow shape to twist around Wildcard's own bizzare limb before settling back in to his regular shape "Aww come on, don't be such a sourpuss! Dontcha know you're not fully dressed with a smile?" The sound of an engine revving up quickly filled the as he tossed the hammer over his shoulder and replaced it with a comically over-sized chainsaw!

Behind the cartoon criminal 'Lucy' seemed to be losing interest in what was going on in front of her and started to drift off in to the street but not before casting her gaze over Wildcard once more, bathing him in the shifting coloured light from her wide eyes.

By the stage Delilah and Blackcoat clashed in a flurry of steel, neither of them managing to find a gap in the other's defences "And playing hero does?" She asked, withdrawing her arms back in to her cloak "Making good with all these law and order types can't be any fun at all." Where once she was holding swords, Delilah was back to brandishing her myriad tommy guns, brandishing two at the pirate, she didn't even bother looking behind her as she swiveled her arms around and opened fire on the other heroes.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Big Al 
Move: Nah
Standard: All-Out Attack +5 at Platformer with Slam  (1d20+13)[ 32 ]  DC31 Toughness &amp; DC26 Defence/Strength or be launched if that hits.  Hit 
 Mapcap
 Move: Nah
Standard: Attack Wildcard with Big Honkin' Chainsaw  (1d20+10)[ 18 ]  DC25+Multiattack Defence vs Damage if that hits  Hit 
 'Lucy' 
Standard: Attack Wildcard with  (1d7)[ 3 ]  Boring Eye Beams  (1d20+10)[ 22 ]  DC25 Defence vs Damage
Move: Float to AD12

 Delilah 
Move: Dazed
Standard: +2 Accurate Attack Blackcoat, Platformer &amp; Wildcard with All the Guns, DC23 Toughness vs Damage if that hits
Blackcoat  (1d20+9)[ 13 ]   Miss 
Platformer  (1d20+9)[ 11 ]   Miss 
Wildcard  (1d20+9)[ 29 ]   Crit 
End of turn: Deflect's Secondary Effect triggers
 

 Heroes are on turn 
Llyarden
Now, it was worth restating that Jake's control over his powers was...imperfect.  So this might have been why, when faced with a chainsaw out of nowhere he raised his arms to protect himself, the swirling shield over his body sprouted a hard carapace of ancient oak.

Against a chainsaw.

It went about as well as you would expect.  To give Jake credit, he was used enough to his powers messing up that he managed to dodge the worst of the chainsaw...and then he got nailed in the side by eye lasers.  Since when had she had eye lasers?

When Delilah fired her machine guns without even looking in the direction of her targets, and the hail of bullets didn't even come close to the others but went right for his head, he couldn't help but feel a little ganged up on.  I mean the bullets bounced off his oaken carapace, but  still .

Oh, and his left arm was apparently stuck on 'ice' mode.

  "This really isn't my day,"   he grumbled, taking a moment to repair the big honkin' hole in his barrier that the big honkin' chainsaw had carved.

He didn't back down, though.  Instead he looked back at Madcap.    "If you're feeling talkative, how about you go ahead and tell me who paid you to disrupt this festival!"    He came at the cartoon villain with a quick jab from his icy fist - and then ducked and spun in a leg sweep that trailed thrumming darkness to wrap around Madcap's legs and start to take control of him.

He couldn't help but feel a little disconcerted that his powers tended to default to darkness and ice whenever he got stressed, but now was probably not the time to worry about it.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Staggered.  And also Dazed.
Standard: Recover.
Free: Set Control Elements to Elemental Blast, Energy Armour (better late than never!), Dangerous Blasts, and 25 random points: Freeze (again, seriously?!), Bewildering Darkness + Nightmare, and half a Guiding Winds.
Free: Reconfigure Control Elements.  Damage 10 Linked Affliction 10 (Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed, Fort) Linked Affliction 10 (Entranced/Compelled/Controlled, Will)
Extra Effort: Attack Madcap, power attacking for 2, all-out attacking for 2:  (1d20+10)[ 30 ] .  DC27 Toughness vs Damage, DC22 Fort vs Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed, DC22 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled.  And that's a crit in return.  DCs become 32/27/27. 

Status: 3 Bruises, Recover Used, apparently feeling very frosty today.
 
Starsign
Being fond of the "suddenly pull gun out and fire" strategy in a swordfight, Blackcoat quickly catches on to Delilah's plan and ducks down low to the ground, letting her wild gunfire sail over him in a consequence of her blind firing. He'd have been more worried if the spectators didn't already flee and watch from a safe distance.

  "Nothin's ever all fun an' games,"   Blackcoat retorts, taking mind of her blind fire to take a more aggressive stance in his swordplay,   "Even t' life on th' high seas got a matter of accountin' and management. But I be happier workin' with t' law for me own benefit. An' days like today keep it from bein' dull."  

Keen to take an opening where he can, Blackcoat gets up from his prone position and approaches Delilah, sweeping his cutlass down at her ankles to knock her off her feet and keep her from returning to her fearsome six-rapier stance.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
So let's try using  Crippling Cheap Shot  this time and break through that Deflect. Accurate Attack +2/-2. DC 23 Toughness + DC 18 Fortitude vs Vulnerable/Defenseless/Asleep on hit:  (1d20+12)[ 25 ] 
 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin couldn't help but notice that his jump attack had proven less effective against Big Al than he expected, which when you're a reality warper was saying something.  This could only mean one thing.

 "Wait, you're a  boss  now!?"  he demanded incredulously.

Big Al.  A boss fight.  Of all the things.  What a wild world to live in.

He brought one hand around to ward off the gunfire, his shield reflecting the shots aimed for him back upon Delilah.  Then Big Al came in with another heavy blow.  This time, though, Kevin was prepared, crossing both arms before him to catch the punch on his shield.

And it  still  sent him flying, took a notch out of his life bar, and left him both flickering and momentarily hitstunned.

  Yep, he's a boss now.  

Button-mashing the hitstun clear, Kevin gathered up his power.  The attack had left Big Al open, of course - many bosses become momentarily vulnerable immediately after making a heavy attack.  Projecting a hemispherical shield of energy from his left hand, Kevin leaped back into the fray, charging his staff up with electrical energy and bringing it down in a smash for Big Al's head.

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Strike, 10 points to  Shoot  Run/Jump, 10 points to Stunning Strike, 10 points to Block,  10 points to Shielding Block .

Move: Dazed.

Standard: Charge Big Al and attack with Game Mechanics, Power Attacking for 5, at  (1d20+5)[ 21 ]  (EDIT: Should be -2 for charge).  On a hit, Toughness DC 30 vs. Damage, Will DC 25 vs. Immobilized+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless.  Kevin is Deflected for the next two turns.

Current Status: 2 Bruises, Deflect +8 (SE).
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Of course Big Al and Platformer continue to ignore Iara's protests. After all, as far as they're concerned, she's still a background NPC.  "See, this is exactly what I'm talking about! People like you show up, and it's like the rest of us don't matter anymore! Is that really the kind of world you want to- yah!" 

Delilah's sudden reckless bullet spray forces Iara to duck and shield her face with the bullhorn, snapping her out of it. No more standing around overthinking things like her secret identity; if Scylla wants to call herself a hero, she needs to do something  now. 

She steps away from Big Al.  "Fine! Maybe this will get your attention! PERSONA!" 

Sharp fins burst through her hair and sweater as her skin turns gelatinous and reforms into her Scylla persona. She turns the ocean's spray on the gun-girl that's fighting the captain, since she's causing problems for everyone at once. If the water gets in her ears, she can hear the siren's quiet humming, which is probably a bit off-putting if nothing else.

 
 Spoiler 
I probably should have moved to another adjacent square last turn, but I really only need to step to K13 to do what I need to do now, so I guess it works out?

Force of the Sea water gun, linked with Siren's Attack: Damage 10. If it hits against the Defense check Delilah needs to save against Will 20 for entrance/compel as well - all Scylla's humming will ask is for her to stand still and drop her weapons.

Yes, breaking her secret ID will come back to bite her. Oh well!
 
Dodgeson
Unfortunately for Wildcard, Madcap wasn’t in much of a position to banter back right now as his combo-attack hit home and left the bizarre villain unable to do much of anything but stand there as the darkness swirled around them. On the other hand though this meant that he’d bought himself a little reprieve from mallets, chainsaws and whatever other implements the villain had up their sleeve. Although with everything going on around them who knew how long that would last?

“HA! THAT’S WHAT YOU GET! LETS SEE HOW TOUGH YOU ARE IN THE NEXT COUNTY!” Big Al crowed triumphantly, hooting and punching the air while he watched Platformer sail away through the air. What can I say? The guy didn’t get a lot of wins and he was going to enjoy this.

Of course Kevin had to return almost immediately (lol movement speeds) and completely ruin his moment, poor guy couldn't get a break. Howling with a mixture of anger and pain as electrical energy surged through him, Al suddenly found himself unable to move from the spot, if he was a smarter man he might have pondered how surprisingly effective it was against him and what that might have implied about his opponents power set, but come on this Al we’re talking about. Anyway nothing else really mattered right now not, not while the smart mouthed brat was still in arms reach!

Iara shouldn't feel too bad, sure maybe Platformer wasn't paying her much mind due to his own particular…idiosyncrasies about people, but Big Al was just not the sharpest bulb in the fountain at the best of times. Of course whether sliding under the radar was a good thing or not, it was out the window now, trading her civilian guise for that of Scylla had certainly drawn somebody's prismatic gaze.

“Look a fishie.” Lucy’ called out to Madcap, pointing towards the aquatic heroine "You said I could have a fishie.”

Madcap of course had a little bit too much on his plate right now to respond.

“Hello fishie.” Lucy decided to introduce herself, her eyes glowing once more.

Blackcoat's strategy was sound in principle, Delilah had spent her career as a super-hanger-on learning to avoid hits rather than endure them, she had her appearance to worry about after all, however this meant that she was very good at it by now and his cutlass was met yet again with the clash of steel on steel as two arms quickly retracted in to her cloak and reappeared with a pair of rapiers.

"Oh I'm sure I could make things much more interesting if we didn't have to take chunks out of each other like this, but a girl's got to look after her interests I suppose." She kept up her banter with the pirate lord even as she twisted out of the way of Scylla's water blast and brought her blades to bare again. She was under no illusions that she could match an immortal on sheer skill but she knew she didn't have to, she had a trump card, it was strictly mind control but her pheromones drifting through the air would be enough to dull the senses and slow the reflexes of lesser men.

((Scylla gets a hero point for breaking her secret identity!))

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Madcap 
Move: Entranced
Standard: Entranced
End of Turn: Regeneration removes a Bruise, Fortitude vs DC27 to recover from Vulnerable  (1d20+10)[ 18 ]  &amp; auto-recovers from Entranced  Nope 
 Big Al 
Move: Immobilized
Standard: All-Out Attack +5 at Platformer with Smash  (1d20+13)[ 24 ]  DC31/26 Toughness vs Damage/Weaken Toughness &amp; DC26 Strength/Defence vs Grab if that hits.  Potential Hit 
End of turn: Will vs DC18 to recover from Immobilized/Vulnerable  (1d20+8)[ 26 ]   Recovers 
 ‘Lucy’ 
Move: Float to V12
Standard: Attack Scylla with  (1d7)[ 3 ]  Boring Eye Beams [/roll]1d20+10[/roll]  I messed up the roll but that doesn't matter because this one is Perception! DC25 Defence vs Damage 
 Delilah
 Start of Turn: Blackcoat make a DC20 Fortitude save vs Impaired/Disabled, this is a Subtle effect and requires a DC20 Perception check to notice
Move: Build more NPCs with stuff to do here...
Standard: Attack Blackcoat with Saber Dance  (1d20+10)[ 20 ]  DC25+Multiattack Toughness if that hits. Delilah is Deflected at 1d20+12 with Secondary Effect.  Hit 
 

 Heroes are on turn!
 
Quellian-dyrae
Honestly Kevin should have been more concerned about the civilian who had run up and shouted in Big Al's ear.  Totally would have lost points in Introduction to Heroics for that one.  Fortunately by the time he got back Scylla had gotten the civilian clear (look he was  kinda  focused on Big Al right now) so it was all good!

And this time he timed his block perfectly, bringing his barrier around to catch Big Al's fist the moment before it would have hit, and deflecting it aside.  Ha!

Shield still up, Kevin went at Big Al hard, lashing out with a flurry of blows with his full superhuman strength and speed behind them, aiming to burn through the powerhouse's resilience before he could land another strike.  It was a bit of a risk, but a calculated one.  With the final strike, he kicked off of Big Al's chest, springing backwards to try to establish a bit of range.

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Strike, 10 points to Biokinetic Strike (foregoing Cumulative), 10 points to Striking Flurry, 10 points to Stunning Flurry, 10 points to Healing Items.

Standard: Attack Big Al with Game Mechanics, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 5, at  (1d20+10)[ 30 ] .  On a hit, Toughness DC 30+Multiattack vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 25+Multiattack vs. Impaired/Disabled/Transformed.  In addition, if he fails his Toughness save by two degrees or more, Kevin receives Healing at  (1d20+10)[ 19 ] .   CRIT! if he isn't immune, you never know with powerhouses. 

Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Do it again!   (1d20+10)[ 18 ]  to hit,  (1d20+10)[ 14 ]  for Healing.  EDIT: Won't do this if the first attack drops him, since with a crit I suppose it might.

Move: 30' back.

End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers.  Kevin is Deflected.

Current Status: Fatigued as of next turn, AoA -5, Deflect +3.
 
Starsign
There was only a minor tinge in his skin to indicate Delilah was doing something other than swordplay to get at Blackcoat's skill and reflexes. He payed it no mind, at first, focusing on the sword battle at hand and finding her pheromones barely an issue. What he did find, however, an issue was her six blades, perhaps more of an equalizer than her other powers.

While he is fast and extensive in his skills, swing enough swords at him and one will eventually reach through; indeed, a clever pierce past his sword arm sends steel in and out of his stomach. It is only a minor one which missed his vitals, but it is a wound nonetheless.

  "I ain't in this without me own interests,"   he retorts, only minorly annoyed that she drew first blood,   "Maybe I tell ye one day, if it ever change ye mind 'bout life."   Evidently willing to drop the fair, honorable sword duel, Blackcoat took his moment to knock aside her rapiers with a single flourish, then bring his heavy boot down upon her own footwear, before thrusting his elbow into her chest as to take the wind out of her.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Time for the  Painful Dirty Trick : DC 25 Toughness vs Damage + DC 20 Fortitude vs Weaken Toughness on hit:  (1d20+10)[ 29 ] 
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
 
 Spoiler 
Defense!  (1d20+15)[ 16 ] 

I'll spend the surprise HP to fix it if it sucks too badly.
 

 "All hands on deck!"  Scylla shouts, a cryptic warning to give Rutherford a second to back up onto the stage. Then, in a flash of turquoise, a pillar of water carries her some 20 feet into the air before exploding and flooding the street.

 "So, what, you had assignments? One of you for each of us?"  she shouts back at Lucy as a second pillar pours down to drench Delilah below. Even deflected, it'll leave her and Al both hip-deep in seawater while everyone else is jumping, flying, or stairs-ing away.

 
 Spoiler 
All that stuff I just said! Using the new version of She's Here to flood the area with water from an attack.

Water/Bludgeoning damage vs. Delilah's defense:  (1d20+10)[ 11 ] , DC 25 on a hit I think?

The environment effect is probably big enough to flood the street, but the existence of storm drains means it won't spill over much past the sidewalk.
 
Llyarden
Jake...kinda blinked as Scylla up and appeared in the battlefield.  Transformed from her civilian identity, without the cover of an entire crowd to do so the way he had.

If Rach had been here, she'd have given Scylla a severe lecture on taking risks like that.  Despite the tension and the adrenaline, he couldn't help but give a little smile as he remembered seeing a five-hundred-pound man made of metal sit quietly and get told off.

Then he turned back to the frosty Madcap.

  "Y'know, you might be right,"   he observed, as spiralling blue runes shimmered around his wrists before rushing out to envelope the cartoon villain.    "I do feel better for smiling."  

And he clicked his fingers and the runs erupted in a blast of arctic wind that would not only threaten to freeze Madcap solid but send him hurtling over to bean Big Al in the head, because even if the villains were willing to neatly divide up into solo battles, Jake had no intention of doing the same.  Put your pride and honour above tactical considerations and you were letting the villain win.  That was another of Rach's pet peeves.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Power up Amplify Elements.
Free: Set Control Elements to Elemental Blast, Mystic Blast, Energy Armour, Dangerous Blasts, and 35 points random: Disintegrate, Layered Power, Whirling Winds, and half a Freeze  again  what is with the random power set this fight?!
Free: Configure Control Elements: Will-resisted Damage 10 Linked Defence-resisted Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed Linked Move Object.  I don't even know what to do with half a Cumulative.
Standard: Attack Madcap, power attacking for 5, critting on 17+:  (1d20+5)[ 13 ] ; DC30 Will vs Damage, DC25 vs Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed, DC25 Defence/Strength vs being hurled at Big Al at  (1d20+5)[ 13 ]  for DC30 Toughness vs Damage to Al on a hit.  Consistently meh.  And Vulnerable isn't -5 defence in this, is it? 

Status: 3 Bruises, Recover used, Crit immune, still feeling real frosty.
 
Dodgeson
Platformer struck out at Big Al's bulky frame over and over again, the monstrous mobster didn't see much point in attempting to actively defend himself, as far as he was concerned a mouthy pipsqueak like Kevin couldn't do much to harm him and even if he could it was about to get turned in to a greasy smear on the road anyway. Of course this wouldn't be the first (or the last) time that Big Al was wrong about something...

With a power that belied his smaller frame, the cumulative effect of Platformer's lightning fast blows sent the other man reeling, even as his biokinetic manipulation began to tamper with the toxic mutation that gave him his prodigious strength and resilience and to top it all off the hero had the nerve to leap out of his reach!

"I AINT DONE WITH YOU YET BRAT!" He bellowed furiously.

Behind him Delilah was faring somewhat better, still matching the Pirate Lord's blade her own myriad of weapons, until she found his boot clamping down on her delicate feet and an elbow jammed in to her, momentarily forcing the air out of her lungs. "Playing dirty? I can respect that." She said with a smirk, that deflated the moment Big Al's inarticulate yelling reached her ears "One second, I have to deal with that...are you okay over there 'darling'?"

"I CAN HANDLE ONE KID!"

"I'm not saying you can't but we're not getting paid to leave this place standing are we?" She said, rolling her eyes and retracting her limbs once again before hurling handfuls of explosives behind her with reckless abandon, reserving a single arm to pull her cloak over herself to protect from another aquatic assault from Scylla.

Speaking of Scylla, 'Lucy' fixed her with a stare for a moment as she tried to ponder out the answer to her question "Uh...?" It was no good, she was going to have ask her friend to remind her, which meant she was looking in just the right direction to the ice cube that had been Madcap seconds ago hurtle passed her. Inside the icecube he was now wearing an adorable bobble hat and mittens but that didn't make things any better and she let out a shriek, her eyes burning in Wildcard's direction.

The Madcap-cicle slammed in to Big Al (and I had some banter here for the two of them but paralysed, c'est la vie) and he was just done with all this, rushing towards Platformer and swinging out at him with a wild roar.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Delilah 
Start of Turn: Blackcoat make a DC20 Fortitude save vs Impaired/Disabled, this is a Subtle effect and requires a DC20 Perception check to notice
Move: Dazed
Standard: Attack Platformer and Scylla with Cluster Explosives, DC20 Defense &amp; DC25/20 Toughness vs Damage
End of Turn: Secondary Effect on Deflect triggers

 'Lucy' 
Move: Float to W7
Standard: All-Out/Power Attack +2 Wildcard with  (1d7)[ 1 ]   Decolouriser   (1d20+10)[ 24 ]  DC22 Fortitude vs Weaken All Defences
EE Standard: All-Out/Power Attack +2 Wildcard with  (1d7)[ 5 ]   Bamboozle Beam   (1d20+10)[ 22 ]  DC22 Will vs Progressive Impaired/Compelled/Controlled (Limited:Actions chosen randomly, Impaired can be ignored any turn a random action is followed) &amp; Weaken Will

 Big Al
 Move: Dazed
Standard: All-Out Charge +5 at Platformer with Pound  (1d20+6)[ 22 ]  DC36 Toughness, DC31 Fortitude vs Cumulative Dazed/Stunned &amp; DC31 Strength/Defence vs Grab if that hits.  Might hit 
End of Turn: DC27 Fortitude to remove Disabled  (1d20+11)[ 25 ]   Nope 
 

 Heroes are on turn! 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin honestly should have been paying more attention to the fight in general, rather than focusing so exclusively on Big Al.  But to be fair, when you have a powerhouse gunning for you it makes sense to keep your focus on them.  He didn't even notice Delilah throw the explosives at he and Scylla.

And to be even more fair, when you had powers like Kevin's,  not noticing  that you were under attack wasn't necessarily as big a problem as it was for most people.  The explosion came across as a background special effect, not really getting entered into the "game mechanics" as an attack.  His life bar didn't notice it any more than it would notice any other piece of animation.

On the other hand...getting dinged by an explosive may have been preferable, if it would have meant he'd have been flickering when Big Al's fist came crashing in.  Instead he took the blow solidly, and his recently-refilled lifebar again dropped straight into the red.

Flipping  flip  this guy did a lot of damage!

Fortunately, it did leave Kevin flickering insubstantially, allowing him to easily slip free of Big Al's follow-up hold.

All in all?

 "Al, please.  You couldn't handle me when I was in high school." 

His previous aggressive attack had been a risk, definitely.  It had cost him, but it had also paid off.  The biokinetic special attack had landed a heavy debuff on Big Al.  That was good, but the best part was that with just a bit more power behind it, that attack could  stack .

So as soon as he was done flickering, Kevin struck again, this time with a rapid series of pressure point strikes designed to channel his biokinetic attack through Big Al's entire nervous system, before stepping back and rapping his staff on the ground bringing up a shimmering barrier of interlocking white hexagons.

 "DIAMOND SHIELD!" 
 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  20 points to Biokinetic Strike, 10 points to Stunning Flurry, 10 points to Block, 10 points to Shielding Block, and look I even managed to remember to treat Reflect as using up a Linked slot!

Move: Staggered.

Standard: Attack Big Al with Biokinetic Flurry, Power Attacking for 2, at  (1d20+8)[ 26 ] .  On a hit, Fortitude DC 22+Multiattack vs. Cumulative Impaired/Disabled/Transformed.  Transformed will reduce all traits to 0.  Kevin is Reflected at +8 for two turns.

Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: If Al's still up, do it again at  (1d20+8)[ 24 ] .  Uh...if any allies are in Close range they can take the Reflect for this one.  If he's down (Transformed, whatever), Recover off Staggered.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued, Exhausted as of next turn, +2 Defense this turn, Reflect +8 (SE).  Recover used.
 
Starsign
Even as her attention turned away from him, Blackcoat felt something...  off  as he stepped forward to pursue her. His movement slowed, legs heavier than usual, and his reflexes dulled. He hadn't noticed it until well after the effects kicked in on his body, and he had only a moment to ponder what exactly had got him like this. Was it Delilah's pheromones? He hadn't even sensed it, much less realize it already seeped into him. Maybe he's just fatigued? No, certainly not; he's never worn out  this  quickly after all his years of experience. Something certainly has disrupted him when he wasn't aware of it.

He was fortunate enough that Delilah didn't target him with her sudden batch of explosives she tossed towards the other heroes. So the villains, and who hired them, don't care about collateral damage. In a sense, this is good to know; whoever planned this attack lacked any sort of concern for others. Blackcoat has seen one too many people like that over his centuries of life, and without all the focus and will he's built up, he'd be more worried that he keeps learning and finding more remorseless evil-doers.

  "Can't keep ye eye on ye opponent?"   he warns to Delilah, taking some quick swipes at her with his cutlass.   "Most people don't live long like that."   He does his best to bring her attention, and her blades, back towards him despite his impaired condition.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Well being Impaired does make this difficult, but let's use  Cutlass of the Sharpest Metal . DC 25 Toughness on hit:  (1d20+18)[ 25 ]  Blackcoat is deflected at 1d20+10 (I think)  EDIT:  That is a 15 on the roll, not 25. 😩
 
Llyarden
Jake barely managed to bring up his barrier in time to block the debilitating effects of Lucy's gaze, and gave a quiet sigh.  He couldn't help but feel like she was only here because of Madcap.  But whatever the case, she'd been part of their plot to attack the Festival and all the innocent people there.  She certainly wasn't a noncombatant.

  "...sorry."  

He raised his arm and blue vines leapt from it, encircling her before lashing down from all directions.  And by the time they steamed away into snowflakes, Wildcard was gone.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Power up Amplify Elements.
Free: Set Control Elements to Elemental Blast, Energy Armour, Ranged 3 from Project Whips and 45 random points: Shadow+Midnight, Freeze (the randomiser  can  generate things that aren't Freeze I promise!), Wind Wall+Aerorepulsion+Solid Fog, Layered Power, and half of Winding Vines.
Free: Reconfigure Control Elements.  Crit Immunity plus Damage 10 Linked Cumulative Affliction 10 Linked Concealment Attack, with Range 3, Indirect 4, Ricochet 1.
Standard: Attack Lucy with the Damage and Affliction, -2 for Exhausted:  (1d20+8)[ 15 ] , DC25 Toughness vs Damage and DC20 Fort vs Cumulative Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed.  Wildcard uses the Concealment on himself.

Status: Visually Concealed, Exhausted, 3 Bruises.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
 
 Spoiler 
Defense:  (1d20+15)[ 28 ] 
Toughness:  (1d20+5)[ 15 ] 
 

 "Seriously?"  Scylla shouts over her shoulder at Lucy before Wildcard takes her and Madcap both down. When she looks again, there are a bunch of airborne bombs coming her way. She retreats into a thin water bubble to dampen the force of the explosions, but it barely helps - she's thrown upwards and has to quickly summon another to splash into before hitting the ground.

 "Ngh... alright, that's enough explosions, so,"  she snaps her fingers and beckons the water in the street to rise, forming a wall behind Delilah that quickly threatens to surround her.

 
 Spoiler 
Swapping the attack to Create, making a water ball that doesn't actually get on Delilah, but does loom around her such that she can't really throw more bombs through nor shoot at anyone but Blackcoat.

I need to leave an opening for Blackcoat to keep attacking her, after all. 😛
 
Dodgeson
As time had gone by it was true that Al had only gotten stronger (and bigger and dumber and uglier) but unfortunately for him none of that really mattered in the face of the fact that he was at the end of the day still Big Al. Wracked with biokinetic energy the enormous thug toppled over, unable to support his own ungainly bulk in his current weakened state. Hitting the ground with a solid thud it was all he could do to grumble out a final "You better watch your back when I get out..."

The solid thud from behind her momentarily drew Delilah's attention away from the pirate lord in front of her and she didn't like what she was seeing, her muscle was currently either slumped over on the ground or doing a very convincing impression of something she only liked to see in a gin and tonic. Sure the brat was still  standing  floating, but she had no idea what the heck was going on with her. Sighing reluctantly she rubbed her temple with one hand while another vanished back in to her cloak.

"As fun as this little dance has been, it looks like it's time to go. You can keep the freaks." Trucking one hand backwards towards her fallen allies, her other hand finally reappearing with a grappling device, which she pointed skyward sending her hurtling towards the roof of the nearest building!

Which just left 'Lucy', quickly moving to hover above her frozen friend "GO AWAY!" She demanded with all the authority of a little girl who inexplicably possessed high-grade energy projection powers.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Delilah 
Free: Set Emergency Gadgets to 'Grapnel' Movement 4 (Safe Fall, Swinging, Wall-Crawling 2) &amp; Enhanced Nimble 7
Move x2: Flee!

 'Lucy' 
Move: Move above K12
Standard: Ready an Action
 

 Heroes are on turn! 
Starsign
While Blackcoat wanted to keep fighting, as someone who valued bravery in the face of danger, there is something to be said for discretion. And thus, he was not surprised when Delilah read the situation and began her escape with her grappling hook. He didn't have the tools or powers to chase and keep up with her, at this time, so the swordswoman would have to be left to someone else, if any at all.

What he could do, however, was defuse what's left of this highly volatile situation. This 'Lucy' was better off not being antagonized any further; anyone young enough, left to their own powers without guidance and with her allies or friends unconscious, could take any number of potentially dangerous actions. So while he hasn't always had success at this, given how rationality often is lost in battle, he can always make an attempt at diplomacy.

  "None o' ye ain't gonna hurt 'e,"   Blackcoat says to Lucy, putting away his weapons and slowly walking up to her.   "No one 'ere wants t' keep fightin'; don't got me blade out, see?"   He points a finger down to the cutlass now tucked away at his side.  "So ye calm down an' come down from up 'ere, alright lil' one?"  
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
This took longer than I thought, sorry. Let's make a Diplomacy check to try and defuse the situation:  (1d20+18)[ 35 ]  I believe there's a penalty, though, for doing this during battle, so we'll see how it turns out.
 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin gave a bit of a relieved sigh as Al went down.  That had been closer than he'd like.  Still, the fight was ongoing.  Kevin tapped into his old standby personal self-heal, getting his lifebar up to a decent state, although the cooldown on that move was long.

Regardless, Al was out of the game and he was still in play.  One other enemy was down, and one fleeing.  Hah, no way.  Not on his watch.  Enemies with Flee abilities were often worth a lot of gold and XP (or they were thief types who Kevin hated on principle even if he didn't  actually  have an inventory for them to take items from).

 "I got the runner!"  he called to the others, before bounding into the air.  The building she had landed on was five stories tall; an easy hop for Kevin.  He went sailing up above her and came stomping down on her head - pausing for a moment just as he made the attack.   "You're not going anywhere!" 
 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  5 points to Run/Jump, 10 points to Strike, 5 points to Stomp (foregoing the Alternate Resistance), 10 points to Temporal Strike, 20 points to Boost Items.

Move: Jump into Close range of Delilah.

Standard: Attack Delilah with Game Mechanics.  Perception attack auto-hits.  Toughness DC 25 vs. Secondary Effect Damage.  If she fails her Toughness check by two degrees or more, Kevin generates a Power Up.

End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers.  Kevin is Reflected at +8.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Exhausted, Reflect +8.  Recover used.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Scylla takes Kevin's word for it as he bounds off after what's-her-name. She condenses a path of water through the air and slides through it to meet the little kid hovering above the street. It looks like Blackcoat's already in the process of talking her down, so she tries to help with that.

 "Hey there! Lucy, right? I believe someone promised you a fishy? And... pickles, I think?" 
Dodgeson
Swinging her way up in to the city's skyline was not the foolproof escape plan Delilah had hoped that it would be as Platformer launched himself in to the air, easily scaling the five story building in the blink of an eye, and came down on her with all the force of a vengeful plumber. Whilst the assault left her still standing she was just absolutely done with today, she had no idea what sort of dumb beef Al had with him but she was starting to understood why her current 'beau' hated him.

What the heck even were is powers anyway?!

Meanwhile back down on the ground it seemed that childcare was one of the skills that the good captain had picked up over the long years of his life, who knew? 'Lucy' looked between Scylla and Blackcoat for a few seconds before slowly beginning to float back down to the ground, the swirling kaleidoscope light in her eyes fading in to dormancy for the moment, though she still made sure to keep herself between the heroes and the frozen Madcap.

"Uh huh." She replied to Scylla with a nod and a small sniffle.

With most of the villains in no state to fight and Delilah more or less cornered up on the top of a building it was pretty safe to say that the heroes had won the day, no civilians had been injured and beyond some stray grenade damage most of the festival was still standing.

And then a shadow was cast down on to the street below as a blimp appeared in the sky above, seemingly from thin air. "Worth every penny, truly you were." An aristocratic voice, dripping with disdain, made itself known through a set of external speakers "And as for you 'heroes' bravo, once again the city is safe for people to gorge themselves on chocolate coated pickles and deep-fried ice cream or whatever ordure it is they have at this ghastly affair. Bravo."

 
 Spoiler: Expertise:Superhuman/Well-Informed (DC20) 
The voice belongs to none other than the Catfish! An incredibly wealthy (and some would say mad) man waging a one man war against what he sees as grave crimes against palates everywhere. While possessing no powers of his own behind an incredibly developed sense of taste he's never seen far from his artificial house staff and in recent years has been joined on his crusade by his daughter.
 

((Combat is over and everybody gets a hero point!))
Dr.Gunsforhands
The fishie instinctively positions her flight bubble to interpose herself between the blimp and the little kid. The narration may say that combat is over, but Scylla doesn't know that.

 "Nope! None of this!" 

Without stopping to think, she swims up in a spiraling bubble and sprays a powerful water jet from her palm, trying to push the blimp somewhere where it's not directly above the crowded festival.

 
 Spoiler 
Flying up there, swapping her main power to the Move Object 10 version and using it to shove the blimp around. It may or may not be far too massive for that to work, but hey, that would technically be usable information in itself.
 
Starsign
Blackcoat finally eased up his muscles as "Lucy" was talked down; he didn't particularly like the idea of fighting someone who was in no real condition to be on a battlefield. So seeing her relax and stop was nothing short of a gigantic relief. He leaned down next to her and quietly said,   "Good, good lass. Now don't ye worry, we be gettin' this sorted out an' help ye stay safe."   In truth, Blackcoat was not great with kids, and never considered himself a good parent to begin with. No child should need the aid or protection of a pirate lord. But for now, and with the help of other heroes, maybe he can find Lucy's actual parents.

Not that there was time for that, right now, as a blimp suddenly appeared above the city, with Scylla immediately moving to intercept.

  "Well now 'e know th' captain of this ploy,"   Blackcoat comments to Wildcard, the other hero down with him. At this point, Blackcoat will have to consider having a grappling hook on him at all times. Elevation is far greater of an issue in the city than it is out in the seas.   "Ye know who this is? 'fraid tis a new voice fer me."   Whoever is speaking from above has the voice of wealth and authority, one who had stayed in their own little world for far too long, which makes them notably more dangerous when they act out in the open like this.
Quellian-dyrae
Unfortunately, Kevin is currently high enough up from street level that he can't really hear Blackcoat's question.

Fortunately, he is also high enough up in experience level that he knows his job, as the guy with menus on a wide array of villains plus Chat capabilities.

...Also as the guy who, you know, has encountered Catfish before.


 
 Originally Posted by To the heroes 
   Platformer:   Villain's name is Catfish.  No powers, but he invests in robotic minions, plus thugs and tech.
  Platformer:   His normal MO is forcing a restaurant at highly-advanced-robot-point to serve him a meal and basically wrecking the place if they don't meet his standards.  I'm not sure why he'd attack a fair unless maybe it's purely on principle regarding food stands.
  Platformer:   Word is his daughter's working with him too now.  Fought him back when I was in school and he wasn't too much trouble. 
 

Then again, neither was Big Al, back then, and he had sure proven otherwise this time around.  But what were the odds that both of Kevin's former foes had increased in-

...

Kevin wanted to kick himself.  Her should have thought of it sooner.  And by sooner I mean literally the exact picosecond he set eyes on Big Al.


 
 Originally Posted by Still to heroes 
   Platformer:   But just like Big Al, he'll undoubtedly be much more powerful now.
  Platformer:    Recurring  villains always are. 
 

That was...actually a kinda unsettling thought there.  In the past Kevin would have taken it at face value, but these days he had an actual understanding of how his powers worked.  And two details of it were somewhat disconcerting.

First, while Kevin would never be entirely convinced that his powers altered the world on such a broad and subtle scope that had it not been for them his video game logic would have failed even more often than it actually did - that is, he did believe that even absent his powers, his video game logic would still make him relatively genre-savvy, though perhaps  more  prone to bouts of being Wrong Genre Savvy - he was aware that when things were getting  especially  video-gamey, his powers were more likely to be involved.

Second, while Kevin's powers had a distinctive flavor in terms of video game mechanics, there was a deeper underlying theme to their manifestation.  For a long time, before he had learned the truth, he had believed himself to basically be a paragon, with some magical aptitude inherited from his father and some psionic aptitude inherited from his mother.  His powers still largely operated in those ways - when he developed new special attacks and such, he tended to develop them as magical or psionic powers.  To what extent he appeared to be a paragon, was his powers enhancing him physically and mentally.  To what extent he appeared to be a mage or psychic, was his powers enhancing whatever magical or psionic aptitude he had inherited from his parents.  And indeed, the most iconic video game power he possessed was probably his Power Ups, allowing him to augment himself and his allies directly.

That was to say, the two strongest themes of Kevin's powers, the two paths of least resistance through which his will could influence reality, were the thematics of video games, and direct augmentation.

And it was a very strong video game trope that recurring villains - villains who fought the hero on multiple occasions - were in each successive encounter stronger.

It could be entirely a matter of coincidence.  Or it could be something else, something that Kevin was going to have to be very careful about.

So Kevin... didn't  immediately leap up to the blimp to start fighting his way through whatever robot goons Catfish had arrayed around himself.  He would (assuming she didn't resist) grab Delilah and jump her back down to regroup with the others.  He wouldn't hesitate to fight Catfish if it came to that, but this new concern about a possible wrinkle of his powers did at least prompt him not to initiate combat blindly.


 
 Originally Posted by To heroes and Catfish 
   Platformer:   Yeah your taste in minions clearly doesn't measure up to your taste in food.
  Platformer:   Gonna be honest, I'm kinda surprised to find out you're behind this, Catfish.  I'd have expected the mere smell of all these deep fryers to ward you off for at least a two-mile radius.  Corn dogs a guilty pleasure, I take it?
  Platformer:   But so, you obviously revealed yourself for a reason.  You going to mention it explicitly, or should I just keep on assuming it's sheer idiocy? 
 

Kevin wasn't...he wasn't the best at the, you know,  talky -bits.  But, uh, well I guess the others could communicate with Catfish conveniently now, so progress?
Dodgeson
Lucy tilted her head up and her eyes followed Scylla skyward with an "Ooo..." as she  met the airship head on and blasted it with a powerful jet of water that began to force it back until the ship's engines kicked in to gear, straining against the aquatic onslaught, when all was said and done she had managed to force it back around 60 feet before it was able to stablise.

"You know I had been meaning to get this thing washed, I supose I should at least thank you for that." The Catfish remarked through his speakers like the waiter had finally done something right.

Descending back to the ground with (most) of the rest of the team, possibly with Delilah in tow, Platformer taunted the villain through his chat menus, of course being a refined gentleman he didn't rise to it, but being a villain he of course took the opportunity to monologue.

"I see whatever they taught you at the school it wasn't manners, typical American. While this..." He paused for a second, trying to find the exact words to properly convey his utter disdain "...carnival of gluttony is by far the most egregious insult to good taste this city has ever produced, it is not the only one. Consider this the amuse-bouche, while you were dealing with the help my darling daughter has been preparing the main course."
Starsign
While Blackcoat was a bit skeptical of this new foe's current threat, the pirate lord grew concerned after hearing that this was just the distraction. This was quite the expensive distraction, hiring several notable, of a kind, villains to cause chaos and destruction on the streets. This Catfish, evidently, also had the resources to pay for it... and the blimp, and apparently also for all the robots for his past crimes. Come to think of it, this was an envy-inducing amount of wealth he was just throwing away. It reminds Blackcoat of his old days as a pirate...

...In hindsight, he wasn't the best decision-maker as far as all his ill and not-so-ill-gotten wealth was concerned.

Blackcoat keeps an eye on the... chat box (he's still not used to it) and then makes his own attempt at typing, this time toward Catfish.


 
 Originally Posted by To All 
  Blackcoat: Allow me to issue a warning to you Catfish.
 Blackcoat:  You are fighting above what you are capable of.
 Blackcoat:  Whatever you have prepared next will be nothing more than a waste of time and money.
 Blackcoat:  I suggest you stand down. 
 

Like before, Blackcoat's text is normal compared to his pirate-y accent, typing comfortably like how anyone would write in English. He doesn't pay mind to how his response will be received, simply because it is very hard to talk down someone like Catfish.

Instead, the pirate lord takes a look around the area for this daughter, trying to look for anything off while staying close to Lucy. Where and  how  did he miss something else happening?

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Perception check!  (1d20+8)[ 10 ] 
 
Llyarden
Now, Wildcard's elemental armour did a pretty darn good job of hiding his identity - thus why he'd felt relatively confident transforming in the middle of the crowd without the risk that anyone might recognise him as the guy who'd walked past a few minutes earlier or whatever.  It also did a pretty good job of hiding his facial expressions and even smaller movements of his limbs.

This was rather fortunate, because right at that particular moment, confident as Blackcoat's Chat message might have been, Jake was, uh...not exactly at fighting fitness.  There was still a little bit of a dent in his armour from Madcap's chainsaw, and he'd burned through a  lot  of energy during the fight, to put it mildly.  If Rachel had been there she'd have scolded him to no end about overexerting himself.

Of course, in large part it was because Rachel  wasn't  there and the Mayor had been planning on getting them to replace her and the others that Jake wasn't being quite as cautious as he might normally have been.


 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes Only 
   Wildcard:   He said this place wasn't the only target.  Where else would offend a man like Catfish? 
 

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
And Jake may as well attempt to answer his own question since he has Expertise (New Harbour/Current Events) (-2 for Exhausted):  (1d20+18)[ 36 ] 
 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin just kinda...eyed Delilah as she dodged his grab.   "I...okay look maybe you're new at this, but how it goes is when you lose to the good guys you get turned in to the police.  You're welcome to not be unconscious for this if you have the good sense to stop fighting before-hand, but that doesn't actually change the fact.  So...you can let me take you back down to where the rest of your buddies are waiting, or you can keep resisting arrest and see how well that goes for you, but you don't get to get just left unattended so you can slink off just because a Bigger Bad had flown in to monologue."   He would this time politely offer a hand and if she accepted jump her down.  If she didn't well he'd see where things went from there.


 
 Originally Posted by Heroes 
   Platformer:   Not sure.  Let me check my menus. 
 

Granted, it sounded to him like Catfish was building up to a monologue, but Kevin'd run the search anyway.  If he could narrow down a likely possibility before Catfish actually monologued about it that was, perhaps not an Achievement, but still a win for him.  He wouldn't Pause for the search though.  It's no fun if it's not a challenge.

 
 Spoiler 
Routine Expertise (Culinary) and (Local) for 28 (after Exhausted and Eidetic Memory) to see if Kevin knows any restaurants that might fit Catfish's MO.

Current Status So I Don't Forget: 1 Bruise, Exhausted.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Ha, ha. I'm not done yet,"  Scylla shouts at the talking blimp, not entirely counting on it to hear her.  "Let's give this thing a proper bath, in the ocean. What kind of enemy of gluttony names themself after a literal bottom-feeder anyway?" 

She hums a haunting melody, spreads her arms and makes sweeping gestures as she directs her water jet into a circular current, trying to push the blimp along like a treadmill.

 
 Spoiler 
More move object! Planning is for suckers! 😛
 (1d20+10)[ 11 ] 
 
Dodgeson
Keeping close to the strange floating girl while he scanned the area for further threats Blackcoat would find no other obvious dangers lurking around in the immediate vicinity waiting to leap out at them, only the blimp that hung in the air above that Scylla was still attempting to shunt away with a powerful blast of her ocean current but having already weathered the assault once and with the engines firing, the airship stubbornly refused to move.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand." Came the villain's contemptful reply, he'd long since given up trying to explain the specifics of his chosen nom de crime to the masses and his tone conveyed that perfectly. If they didn't immediately understand it, well then that was just another thing that elevated him above them.

Speaking of being above things, back up atop the building Delilah ignored Kevin's perfectly sound advice and when he very courteously (Catfish would probably approve) offered her his hand, she used one of her own to make a very not courteously at all gesture right back at him while another pointed her grapple towards the airship, sending her through the air once more and scurrying through a hatch into the vessel to make her escape!

Without the need for gadgets and gizmos Platformer was hot on the villain's heels and bounded through the hatch, finding himself in a cargo hold stacked high with unmarked crates.
Starsign
Nothing Blackcoat could find indicated that a problem was happening at this particular scene; evidently, this was a distraction for something happening  elsewhere  in the city. It was a rather extreme, nevermind costly, tactic to interrupt a festival just to attack, as Wildcard and Platformer warn, a rather high-class restaurant.

It came to Blackcoat's mind that he had  been  to the Gilded Vessel before. In fact, it was one of the places he helped finance rebuilding when the pirate lord made his stake to New Harbour. He did wish that they had lower their prices when it reopened, but alas, some places are still stuck in their old ways.

  "I'll be takin' care o' t' Gilded Vessel. Ye check th' other,"   Blackcoat tells the rest of the team as he searches the area and, fortunately, finds a spare if slightly broken grappling hook nearby. Perhaps it is one that Delilah dropped during the fight? It's condition sure indicate that it was of no use to her; the rope on it broke off as if a blade had cut through it.

With a little fixing, by using some of the rope from the festival to attach to the hook, Blackcoat uses the new grappling hook to swing toss and fire at the top of buildings and swing his way over to the Gilded Vessel.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Going to power stunt a Flight power, limited by having something to grapple onto and needing to land, to get over to the Gilded Vessel.
 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin Chatted the two restaurants (The Gilded Vessel and I) that fit Catfish's MO to the others.  When Blackcoat sent his plan, he replied:


 
 Originally Posted by Heroes only 
   Platformer:   Sounds fair.  I'm going to make sure Delilah doesn't escape and...I guess probably disable this blimp or whatever?
  Platformer:   I'd say take down Catfish but I would be honestly shocked if he's actually here.
  Platformer:   If he is I'll totally do that too though.
  Platformer:   Since we don't know which restaurant, Wildcard, Scylla, maybe one of you check I, and the other can help me with the blimp, and then once we know the target we can all converge? 
 

Meanwhile, he found himself in a storage hold with Delilah.  He spotted her trying to hide among the crates, but at the speed he moved she just hadn't had enough time to get into a decent hiding spot before he entered.  Kevin's powers offered him a wide array of potential methods with which to engage his foes.  But in the particular situation, the optimal method of attack seemed obvious.

And thus did Kevin attempt to bean the supervillain in the head with a wooden box.

Sometimes it's the simple things in life.

 
 Spoiler 
Move: Arrive, and move to a position with line of sight to Delilah but outside of Close range and adjacent to at least one crate.

Free: Chat.

Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Activate, 10 points to Block, 20 points to Boost Items, 10 points to Chat (2 ranks, Rapid 2).

Standard: Use Strength 10 to chuck a crate at Delilah, Accurate Attacking for 2, at  (1d20+10)[ 18 ] .  On a hit, both she and the crate receive Toughness DC 23 vs. Damage.  Kevin is Deflected for 2 rounds.  If Delilah is at least Dazed by the attack, Kevin gets a Power Up.  If the crate counts as a power up container, he could alternately potentially gain a power up from Breaching it at GM discretion.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Exhausted, Deflect (SE).
 
Dodgeson
Bizarrely for someone who's lifestyle revolved around more than a touch of dishonesty and subterfuge, Delilah didn't seem to be too adept and staying out of sight, but she still proved just as competent at staying out of harm's way as she had when tangling with Blackcoat, ducking low and let it sail over her head. Still reeling a little from the last blow wasn't willing to give up without a fight, retracting a pair of arms in to her cloak to retrieve another armament.

"You think you can take on both of us all on your own?" She said, totally confident that the Catfish would soon be joining her to help take out the trash, so confident in fact that she totally ignored the sound of the crate breaking open, disgorging not only one of Platformer's power ups but revealing its actual contents, explosives!

 
 Spoiler: I Guess We're Still in Combat 
 Delilah 
Move:Staggered
Standard: Recover
 


Swinging his way through the city, our friendly neighbourhood pirate lord would quickly arrive at his location. Luckily with the festival drawing people to other parts of the city combined with the fact that the Gilded Vessel was really more of a dinner venue, the area around the stately three story white-brick building was more or less deserted. From the outside everything looked as it should do, a cordoned off flight of stairs leading off of the pavement and up to the front entrance where the restaurant's name was emblazoned in an elegant golden font.

Down either side ran a pair of small alleys separated by wrought iron gates, and while the owners were reluctant to show people the less tended to parts of the building, as an investor Blackcoat would know that they lead to the rear of the building where they accepted deliveries and provided another entrance for people that they didn't want mixing with their exclusive clientele.
Quellian-dyrae
...Both?   "Wait, so Catfish is actually here?  Huh." 

 
 Originally Posted by To Wildcard and Scylla 
   Platformer:   Huh based on Delilah it sounds like Catfish is in fact here.  If one of you want to hop up here and start beating him up I should be along to provide either support or an audience shortly.
  Platformer:   Also, fair warning, blimp is full of explosives.
  Platformer:   Or, well, it's full of crates and at least one crate is full of explosives. 
 

Kevin gestured to the Power Up, a little targeting scope.  In his viewpoint, a little +ACC modifier appeared next to his lifebar.  He'd take it.

Then he rapped his staff on the ground, whelmed his power, and prepared to dispense a beatdown!

 
 Spoiler 
Power Up adds Perception (Limited to Close) to Damage and Affliction effects.

Move: Meh.

Standard: Recover off Exhausted.

End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers.  Kevin is Deflected.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued, +2 Defense this turn, Deflect.  Recover used.
Power Up: Perception (Limited to Close) on Damage and Affliction effects.
 
Starsign
Arriving with all the flair expected of a pirate lord, swinging with his not-actually-his grappling hook, Blackcoat lands with an esteemed grace in front of the Gilded Vessel. While he haf an appreciation for size, like that of his own pirate ship, he always disagreed with the building's three-story design when there had rarely been enough customers to fill up the building. Sometimes he wondered if he should have taken a stronger hand when it came to investing the building's reconstruction.

But seeing it in one piece and, apparently, undisturbed was a relief.

That said, it was impossible to imagine what, exactly, Catfish had planned for his targets; it could have been something incredibly subtle. This meant he had to check all the entrances, including that which few others knew about.

So Blackcoat walked down one of the alleys to the other side of the building, climbing over the iron gate as necessary, so he can see if everything in the back is also untouched. Hopefully no one is working there, though is there are, a silver tongue should smooth any concerns over.
Llyarden
Wildcard paused for a few moments to catch his breath as the others all leapt away, seeing as unlike Platformer he didn't have the luxury of a second wind mechanic literally built in to his powers.


 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes Only 
   Wildcard:   I'll head to I.
  Wildcard:    The restaurant, I mean, not myself.
  Wildcard:    I wonder how often that causes confusion? 
 

So saying (or at least typing), Jake summoned his powers and tiredly blasted himself off in the direction of the Catfish's potential - and confusingly-named - target.
Dodgeson
"Of course he is, he wouldn't leave his darling Delilah out to dry now would he?" The multi-armed moll stated confidently, as far as she concerned this fight was a done deal and then it was going to be easy street. "And think how happy he'll be when I serve you up on a silver platter just for him."

So saying she drew her weapons once again and sent a hail of lead in the heroes direction, so caught up in the fantasy of finally grabbing that brass ring that she hadn't consider the fact that the Catfish hadn't shown up yet and of course the big question. Why would he fill his rescue zeppelin with explosives...?

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Delilah 
Move:Nah
Standard: Attack Platformer with All the Guns  (1d20+10)[ 11 ]  DC25+Multiattack Toughness if that hits  When Big Al is the most threatening member of your group... 
 


At the Gilded Vessel the iron gates proved no challenge at all for Captain Blackcoat and he would quickly find himself at the rear of the restaurant where a trio of white clad kitchen staff leaned against the sealed unloading entrance, each enjoying a hand-rolled cigarette. At the appearance of the pirate lord they quickly straighten up regarding him, if not with hostility, than at least like his appearance was certainly unwelcome.

"Can't you read the sign pal?" One of them asked, tapping a sign on the wall "Employees only."

 
 Spoiler: Perception (DC20) 
All three of them are definitely concealing weapons on their person
 


Elsewhere in New Harbour, Wildcard was going to have an even more confusing time, as the restaurant was not named with an uppercase I but a lowercase l! Regardless as he arrived, he would see through the large windows that lined the front of the popular eatery that place was almost deserted bar a single table where a trio of young (early 20s maybe?) dinners sat, a girl with a neat umbrella hanging off the back of her chair, another with light teal skin and a boy who seemed almost out of place with his stubble and general scruffiness.

Unlike the Gilded Vessel, l's prominent location (and vaunted brunch!), meant that the street outside was still bustling with the city's great and good, the sort of person who disdained things like the food festival specifically so they could say that they wouldn't be caught dead there on the internet, a few of them giving our hero odd looks as he arrived on the scene.
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin just kinda raised an eyebrow and went ahead and Neo'd her whole "hail of bullets" thing.  To be fair as defense thematics went it was based on a movie about a computer system, so not exactly his typical speed.  But to be equally fair A) there have totally been Matrix video games, B) his mother and his granduncle were both telekinetics so he understood the theory and C) that's what she gets for rolling a natural 1.

 "So, now I'm curious, was that pun intentional?  I feel like most actual gun users in our businesses tend to be more stone-cold badass types, but if you're a jokester then...well, I guess it doesn't really change anything, but it  would  at least explain why the rest of your spiel seemed to indicate you thought you had the advantage here."   He really should have been paying more attention to the rest of the battle earlier.  Hadn't one of the other ones been a clown or something?

That said, Kevin used his new Power Up to lock on to his opponent, and with a quick A+Z took a swing with his staff that his augmented powers would basically just guide straight to her chin.  He kept the Chat open to coordinate with the others.  He didn't really think he needed to devote all his power to combat here.

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to In-Game Chat (2 ranks, Rapid, Feature), 10 points to Strike, 10 points to Stunning Strike, 20 points to Boost Items (currently set to add Perception (Limited to Close) to Damage and Affliction).  I assume these are tight enough confines that even Fatigued I can make it into Close range but if not I'll take the Feature and Rapid out of the Chat for some additional speed.

Move: Into Close range of Delilah.

Standard: Attack Delilah with Stunning Strike.  Perception auto-hit.  Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Will DC 20 vs. Immobilized+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless.  If she takes a Daze from the Damage Kevin has the option to change his Power Up.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued.  Recover used.
Power Up: Perception (Limited to Close) on Damage and Affliction.
 
Starsign
Blackcoat actually  wasn't  supposed to be here. He knew this much, and he was especially aware that anyone intruding while holding weapons was a quick way to cause a panic. It really didn't matter how much Blackcoat invested into the building's reconstruction: intruders were intruders, and his presence at an employee-only place  should  concern people.

Though preferably in the "did you get lost?" sort of way and not the "IT'S THE PIRATE LORD!" way; he saves that for more unsavory business places.

Blissfully assuming the kitchen staff on break are nothing more than kitchen staff on break, Blackcoat tilted his expensive and stylish-looking cap at the trio.   "Sorry for t' interruption. Someone's up an' gone an' made a threat to his place, so I just came t' look."   He glances over at the surprisingly gloomy area, unlike the more glittery interiors of the Gilded Vessel.   "I jus' needed a look 'round. Ain't nothin' bad 'bout it, an' ain't gonna bother anyone else.   He speaks with authority, but also kindly, as if to make his every word convincing and present himself as an unassuming threat to them.   "Ye give me a few minutes an' you ain't ever seein' me again."  

Perhaps he was a bit strong in that last part, being a renowned hero at New Harbour. Something just felt...  right  about what he said, and he isn't sure why.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Since Blackcoat doesn't recognize these people as a threat, let's attempt a Persuasion check to let him move by without the threat of conflict or battle:  (1d20+18)[ 22 ] 
 
Llyarden
 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes Only 
   Wildcard:   Oh.
  Wildcard:    The restaurant's called l, not I.
  Wildcard:    As in a lower case L.
  Wildcard:    They need to pick a new font for their marketing or something.  How many people do you think try to search for 'I' and don't find it? 
 

In other situations, Jake might have tried to detransform and keep watch subtly.  But there weren't enough people around, and he'd already attracted plenty of attention.  It probably wouldn't be long before the trio inside started to grow suspicious that he was there for them.

And he was not exactly the most subtle of people, even without the radiant wreath of energy.  But he did his best, moving away from the restaurant a little bit as though searching a little bit away - figuring that if they were as arrogant as Catfish and half the first group, they'd be too amused by the 'City Hero' looking in the wrong place to worry.  He did keep an eye on them in a reflection of a shop window, though.


 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes Only 
   Wildcard:   Catfish's daughter is here.
  Wildcard:   Parapluie.  She's been working with him a while.  She's a stick-fighter - think, like, Sherlock Holmes - and recently developed superspeed.
  Wildcard:   There are two others with her.
  Wildcard:   Outlaw, a mystic highwayman who disappeared a few years ago, and Gale, a metahuman supremacist type.  Not a very passionate one given that he's working with Catfish.
  Wildcard:   They're just sitting at a table inside l.  Waiting for a signal to start whatever plan they have cooking up, I assume.
  Wildcard:   Um.  Food pun not intended.
  Wildcard:   If any of you can get here quietly, they probably know I'm here, you might be able to sweep the place while they're busy wondering what I'm doing. 
 
Dodgeson
Before Delilah could come up with a withering comeback she was unerring clocked upside the head by Platformer's staff. The blow sent her reeling but didn't quite knock the fight out of her just yet, it was at this point that the Catfish decided to make his presence known once again.

"Well as riveting as this little back and forth is." He began, causing Delilah to look towards the door leading up to the cabin only to be immediately disappointed as the voice was in fact coming from the speakers once again "But my meal is almost here so I'm going to have to cut this short, just let me ask you one thing first. Did you honestly think that I would sully myself by getting anywhere near this culinary travesty?"

For a second the speakers went silent, quickly replaced by a chorus of ticking coming from the crates that surrounded them!

"Oh and goodbye you classless little gold digger."

Meanwhile at the Gilded Vessel, the three 'employees' listened to Blackcoat's proposal and if they had simply been who they had appeared to be they probably would have acquiesced but as I'm sure you've guessed by now, they weren't and they simply couldn't risk the pirate lord getting inside. Reaching for the weapons concealed underneath their shirts, the thugs each drew their pistols.

"Or how about you turn around and walk away buddy?"

 
 Spoiler: Who Saw This Coming?! 
Initiative
Goons (Yes they are minions)  (1d20+4)[ 14 ] 

Captain Blackcoat  (1d20+8)[ 14 ] 
 Blackcoat wins the tie! 
 


Unfortunately for Wildcard, while he might have been hoping to play off his sudden appearance in a way that would make them not notice him or at the very least pay him no mind, they had very much spotted him. Rising from her seat Parapluie moved to the window and gave the hero a cheery wave along with her most insincere smile while there was small flash of light behind her as her scruffy companion called his sidearm to his hand and made a move to grab one of the already terrified waiting staff.
Quellian-dyrae
 
 Originally Posted by To heroes 
   Platformer:   Nope, nevermind, Catfish isn't actually here. 
 


 
 Originally Posted by To Delilah 
   Platformer:   Chatting for communication speed.  I notice your hail of bullets has stopped.  I admit there is a part of me that would like to think it's because you observed the ease with which I neutralized them and came to the accurate conclusion that your adorable little guns presented precisely zero threat to  me . 
 

Evidently he needed the communication speed for taunting the villain when they were down.  Let's be honest it was a totally fair priority.


 
 Originally Posted by To Delilah 
   Platformer:   But I assume it had more to do with your dare-I-say-former boss stranding you aboard an exploding airship, considering the close timing between the two events.
  Platformer:   I'm going to prevent this airship from killing a festival full of people when it explodes now.  Once I have done that, I will get us both to safety.
  Platformer:   I strongly advise against interfering with my efforts or using the opportunity to continue shooting at me, unless you have extra lives too, in which case I suppose I could only appeal to your basic sense of politeness?
  Platformer:   I  also  advise not resisting when I try to whisk you safely to the ground.   Again.   Since your boss has placed other people in danger, I can't actually afford to spend the time it would take to respawn, so I can't currently make a desperate heroic effort to save you at risk to myself if you elect to make things more difficult for me, no matter what you presumably heard on the subject in whatever Getting One Over On Heroes 101 or equivalent task Malus teaches, assuming you went to Malus.
  Platformer:   Sorry. 
 

That said, Kevin collected his new Power Up (which looked like a mobile phone with an "airplane mode" icon on the screen).  It was a Flyer.  Of course it was.  In video games, the necessary power ups to progress through a level were always available if you just hit the right container, or defeated the right enemy, or looked in the right place.  If you knew what you were doing, you didn't even  need  cheat codes.


 
 Originally Posted by To everyone within a 100' radius (see mechanics) 
   Platformer:   Airship about to explode.  Everyone aboard who wishes to survive should spend the next several seconds opening any doors between them and a super-fast rescuer, and should not attempt to dodge when a bluish blurring streak comes flying at them or to resist when it tries to yoink them into the air.
  Platformer:   Thank you for your cooperation. 
 

Once augmented with the Flyer, Kevin would lift into the air and up to the ceiling of the hull, pushing the airship up higher and higher, until it was (hopefully) far enough away from the fairgrounds that even a hull full of explosives wouldn't cause any particular harm to those on the ground, give-or-take some falling debris.

Once he deemed them high enough, he'd shoot over to touch Delilah, and as long as she didn't dodge or resist, she'd just kinda start floating along behind him, trailing him like a party member on the world map in an old-school RPG.  He'd go zipping through the airship to whatever degree he could do so without meaningfully slowing down; anybody aboard that allowed him to he would "add to his party" until he had been through as much of the airship as he could, at which point he would fly them all off the ship and to a safe distance, though remaining suspended DC 31 falling damage in the air, because just because he was rescuing them from being blown to bits didn't mean he wasn't going to secure an unconditional surrender before depositing them back on the ground.  They were still bad guys, after all.

 
 Spoiler 
So, as a matter of convenience I've been filling in Kevin's power ups when he triggers them on my next turn, since I'm not really going to be doing anything with them before then anyway and I don't even know if he triggers one until after my turn is turn.  This is actually a power up I was more-or-less planning to use if it came down to bombs (I hadn't thought of including chat expansion or Easy Hold function until I sat down to write this post), but it is a weird timing issue.  If you think that declaring the actual effects of the power up at the start of my next turn is reasonable as a 0-point tweak, consider it how the power works (either way, if he gets damaged again before his turn he still loses the Power Up).  If you think that should be worth points, I'll start declaring power ups conditionally, and in this case it will be a power stunt instead.

(My own analysis of it is that normally you'd be able to benefit from a Variable power in the round you use it, so it's not really gaining any flexibility over a normal Variable power.   But  making it Linked to his attacks rather than Free Action Concentration is giving him a four-point discount on it.   But but  it's also using up one of his three Linked slots and basically sacrificing a round's worth of value when he does use it, which is a proportionately bigger sacrifice because he might then lose it to Damage before he even gets to use it.  So overall I...think it more or less balances out?  But I'm also probably biased.  Anyway.)

Power Up (or stunt, whatever): Enhanced Strength 5 [5], Flight loses Platform and Quirk [11], Enhanced Feature 1 on Flight (Easy Hold) [1], 1 rank Area on Chat [1], and...sure let's say Enhanced Flight 1 to cancel out his Fatigue [2].

Free: Be, just,  super-casual  about the whole thing.

Free: Taunt a villain while she's down.

Free: But be a hero about it.

Free: But be a pragmatist about it.

Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  20 points still in Boost Items, 10 points still in Chat, 10 points into Activate, and...sure let's put the last 10 into Third-Person Viewpoint to help with navigation and Quest Marker for the Distance Sense and Time Sense, that seems plausibly useful here.  And maybe he'll get quest markers for all the people on the airship he has to rescue, who knows, that power is like super GM discretiony.

Move+Standard+at least one and presumably a buncha frees: Do what I described above.  Let me know if I have to roll anything I don't even know.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued, maybe Exhausted as of next turn?  Recover used.
Power Up: Enhanced Strength 5, Flight loses Platform and Quirk, Enhanced Feature 1 on Flight (Easy Hold), 1 rank Area on Chat, Enhanced Flight 1.
 
Starsign
As someone as old as him, Blackcoat barely flinched at the employees drawing weapons on him. He was curious whether there was something  off  about them, but also had no assurance that he was right. Now? He didn't have to worry about being wrong.

  "Aye, I could,"   Blackcoat responds, comfortable with having weapons pointed at him.   "But did ye read the sign?"  

He points over to the "Employees" only sign, which below it had another message saying:

" No weapons allowed "

  "I guess ye didn't,"   Blackcoat notes, taking a step forward without drawing his own cutlass and pistol.   "Now ye ain't an employee, but I still be a cruel pirate t' strike first. Self-defense an' all."   He adjusts the flashy-designed pirate hat, looking with a keen, terrifying eye at the armed enemies.   "So ye can fire an' pay t' price. Or ye can leave, an' let me take a look in peace. Jus' don't forget, I can afford to let ye shoot first."  

He takes another step forward.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I do this a lot, but let's use The Pirate's Terrifying Presence since they haven't actually attacked him yet 😁

DC 20 Will vs Affliction 10; Impaired/Disabled/Controlled; Burst Area; Selective; Limited [Impaired and Disabled only apply to active checks, Controlled can only force targets to back down, flee, surrender, etc]
 
Llyarden
 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes Only 
   Wildcard:   Okay, so they definitely know I'm here. 
 

Shadows wrapped around Wildcard - and then erupted into swirling, shadowy smoke that went bursting in under the door, through open windows, and anywhere else it could fit, wrapping around the waiting staff and anyone else who didn't seem hostile and whisking them outside to safety as Jake himself stepped into the doorway, putting himself squarely between the three villains and their would-be victims.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Free: Set Control Elements to Energy Sheathe {1}, Energy Titan {3}, Flexible Titan Form {4}, Resilient Titan Form {3}, Strength 2 from Kinetic Control {2}, Platform Flight 3 from Wobbling Flight {3}, Energy Armour {2}, Energy Precision {1}, Energy Whips {10}, and 10 points random in the hopes I get something useful: Bewildering Darkness + Midnight.  That is not useful.
Standard: Recover from Exhausted.
Move: Into the l and picking all the waiters and so forth up as a free action with my extra limbs and Insubstantial Size 1 body, and depositing them somewhere safer.

Status: Fatigued, 3 Bruises, Recover Used, +2 active defences.
 
Dodgeson
 Platformer 

You could say many things about Delilah (and Kevin just had) but she was certainly pragmatic, and now that her would be meal ticket had not only evaporated but threatened to kill her, she was in no mood to die in a fiery explosion.


 
 Originally Posted by To Platformer 
   Platformer:   Chatting for communication speed. I notice your hail of bullets has stopped. I admit there is a part of me that would like to think it's because you observed the ease with which I neutralized them and came to the accurate conclusion that your adorable little guns presented precisely zero threat to me.
  Platformer:   But I assume it had more to do with your dare-I-say-former boss stranding you aboard an exploding airship, considering the close timing between the two events.
  Platformer:   I'm going to prevent this airship from killing a festival full of people when it explodes now. Once I have done that, I will get us both to safety.
  Platformer:   I strongly advise against interfering with my efforts or using the opportunity to continue shooting at me, unless you have extra lives too, in which case I suppose I could only appeal to your basic sense of politeness?
  Platformer:   I also advise not resisting when I try to whisk you safely to the ground. Again. Since your boss has placed other people in danger, I can't actually afford to spend the time it would take to respawn, so I can't currently make a desperate heroic effort to save you at risk to myself if you elect to make things more difficult for me, no matter what you presumably heard on the subject in whatever Getting One Over On Heroes 101 or equivalent task Malus teaches, assuming you went to Malus.
  Platformer:   Sorry.
  Delilah: Please stop talking and just do it.  
 

Also for the record she had no idea what Malus was, but that wasn't really important right now as Platformer engaged his power up and pushed the zeppelin free of the city below it before rushing through ship and quickly finding that the whole thing was being controlled by remote, they were alone but for Delilah and a whole bunch of explosives.

When all was said and done they were safe and clear before the ship detonated in a ball of brilliant light, scattering debris in all directions but this was far far from as bad as it could of been. Floating next to Delilah folded several sets of arms and sighed petulantly "So I suppose this is the bit where you take me to jail?" She asked "Or maybe you could put me down and I can help? Neither of us are particular fond of the Catfish hmm?"

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Platformer give me a DC20 Fort Save vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled, the effect is Subtle and requires a DC20 Perception check to notice.
 

 Captain Blackcoat 

As the Pirate Lord made his declaration, the whole tone of the exchange shifted, the three goons had been through enough as hired muscle to know exactly what was coming and for one of them the thought of facing him was simply too much and broke in to a run, tossing his weapon to the ground as he did. To say that the others respected his decision would be wrong, yelling some choice words that wont be repeated here they turned their attention to the matter at hand.

"We'll deal with him later! Light him up!"

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
  Goon #1  
 Standard  Aid Goon #2  (1d20+6)[ 20 ]  vs DC10  +5 
  Goon #2  
 Standard  All-Out/Power Attack +2 at Captain Blackcoat with Sidearm  (1d20+6)[ 12 ]  DC23+Multiattack Toughness if that hits.  Great job guys 
 

 Wildcard 

In an instant the front house of l was flooded by a miasma of shadows that quickly whisked the wait staff (at least those that were out front) outside, which was as good a cue as any for the people around them to start running.

Inside the scruffy boy hooted with delight, pointing his weapon at the suddenly appearing hero with a wide grin "Finally! Killer timing man, when Pluie asked if I wanted to grab a bite on her daddy's dime I was all in but this place sucks! I shoulda shot that waiter clean between the eyes for the way he looked at me when I asked if this joint did burgers."

Before he could do anything else, Parpluie silenced him with a gloved finger on his lips before fixing Wildcard with a stern look. "That was very...impoli, I was looking forward to my desert."
Quellian-dyrae
Okay, exploding airship neutralized as a large-scale threat, villainous goon in custody, mission accomplished.  On to the next.  Delilah suggested she could help beat Catfish, and you know yeah that sounded like a good idea.  No way she would do any stupid like betray them in the middle of a fight for someone who tried to blow her up, and-

Kevin became suddenly aware that he had lost his telekinetic hold on both himself and Delilah and they were now plummeting towards the ground.

That was confusing for about a quarter second, and then he realized precisely what had happened.

It was actually kinda ironic.  Delilah had seemed to think he had been spending too much time explaining what he was going to do and how bad an idea it would be for her to interfere.  But clearly he hadn't spent  anywhere near long enough! 

He would not make the same mistake twice.   This  time, he put full Pause power behind his Chat, so he would have a  hundred times  normal communication speed rather than a mere ten.  This had been proven clearly necessary.


   Platformer:   Oh.
  Platformer:   My.
  Platformer:   God.
  Platformer:   You.
  Platformer:   Are.
  Platformer:   So.
  Platformer:   Stupid.
  Platformer:   WHY ARE YOU SO DUMB!?
  Platformer:   Do you Feather Fall?  Please tell me you can Feather Fall and you didn't really just try to put the  mind whammy  on a freaking  reality warper  while he was  concentrating  on telling gravity to  leave you alone  while you were a  freaking mile up in the sky  without  any backup plan whatsoever !
  Platformer:   I mean, haven't you read the fable of the Scorpion and the Frog?  Do they not  teach  that at Malus? 

(Kevin had no idea she was unaware of Malus.  He kinda had a weird bias where any time he felt a villain had done something stupid, he blamed it on Malus's shoddy educational standards, regardless of whether they had actually been to Malus or not.  This was probably unfair of him, but in his defense they are a school for supervillains, so they deserve it.)


 
 Originally Posted by To Delilah 
   Platformer:   I mean it's  basic  Aesop!
  Platformer:   And yes, I am aware that the official moral of the story is that some beings can't change their natures.
  Platformer:   But people flipping  can , and if you have that capability, it is a  really obvious  secondary lesson that you should not  attack people who are holding you up out of danger! 
  Platformer:   Like, this does not require an advanced college-level literary analysis course.  It's  right there .  The text could not make it any more obvious.
  Platformer:   You know, this is the problem with people.
  Platformer:   Almost nobody puts enough effort into applying popular media to their lives.
  Platformer:   People think I'm weird for acting like real life works like a video game.  And yet, when I had a random encounter in the school library, it was with a book golem.  And the necessary power ups for defeating it were near at hand.
  Platformer:   There are  valuable lessons  in fictional media, and they can actually pay dividends in making real-world decisions.
  Platformer:   And sure, I get it, maybe it's hard to really see it in video games.  It probably helps when you have my powers.  Sure.  I'll cop to that.
  Platformer:   But  this is literally what Aesop is all about!   The guy's name is basically  synonymous  with "the lesson you should learn from this otherwise fictional story!"   This should not be this hard for you! 
  Platformer:   I mean I  told you !  I told you  specifically  I did not have time for these kinds of shenanigans!
  Platformer:   And just for the  record , I kind of have a  thing  about mind-whammies.
  Platformer:   Family drama.  Not your business.  But just so you are aware: Not.  Cool.
  Platformer:   So now we have a problem.
  Platformer:   Because I hit you  before  Catfish made his announcement.
  Platformer:   I had to enter a cheat code to retroactively change my Power Up to what I needed in that moment.
  Platformer:   Those cost  energy .  I already had to use a couple against Al.  I am too tired to just cheat my way through this right now.
  Platformer:   So here is what is going to happen next.
  Platformer:   First, I am going to shoot you with a forceball.
  Platformer:   Mostly, this is because you  totally  deserve it.
  Platformer:   Not  quite  as much as you deserve to hit the ground at terminal velocity, to be fair, but pretty close.
  Platformer:   Hopefully, this will let me regain my previous Power Up.  That would make my life much simpler.
  Platformer:   Since I can't trust you not to dodge, I've got another option for arresting my own fall.
  Platformer:   Ideally, you will be knocked immediately unconscious by the forceball.
  Platformer:   This would in fact be very good for you.
  Platformer:   Because I can't trust you not to freaking try to mind-whammy me even when my mind is otherwise occupied on keeping you from falling from a mile in the sky.
  Platformer:   And there are other people in danger right now.
  Platformer:   So if you are conscious, I can't really afford the risk that you'll hurt them while I'm fighting your former boss, or escape to hurt other people in the confusion.
  Platformer:   So, if you go down, I'll grab you on my way out.
  Platformer:   Otherwise...well, it takes about half a minute to fall a mile at terminal velocity.
 You can probably extend that some by spreading your arms out and such.  Maybe I'll be able to get back in time to catch you.
  Platformer:   You took a blow to the head from my staff and didn't drop instantly.  I'd give you okay odds of surviving a terminal velocity fall.
  Platformer:   Or maybe you can in fact Feather Fall.
  Platformer:   You'll probably be fine. 
 

Having delivered the sort of epic rant that he would normally reserve for cultists trying to summon Big E, Kevin went about the next step of his plans.  First...he swapped to his third-person viewpoint, because oh man if this worked he totally had to Chat the video to Megan, this was such a  her  thing to do.  Granted, for all his power and all the mobility it afforded him, Kevin had never actually managed to perform complex acrobatics at the level of Megan Dawson, so yeah, he was going to try for a Power Up as an alternative option.  But it would be so cool if this worked!

With one hand, Kevin hurled the promised forceball at Delilah.

With the other, he conjured maybe a hundred or so feet below him one of his shielding barriers.  But in this case, rather than its usual spherical form, the barrier was a flat square plane...with a long cylindrical pole sprouting from the center.  It just kinda hovered in the air there.

As Kevin fell, he'd roll to get close with it, reach out, and try to snag the pole as he fell past it, spinning around and around as he slid down, letting it take the energy of his fall, and if everything went the way it did in his head, land feet first and unharmed on the force plane itself.

(If Delilah tried to either grab the pole or land on the platform, she'd pass right through it.  Kevin wasn't actually going to let her fall to her death, but this was very much a "she does not need to know that" situation.  Maybe it would be a teachable moment.)

If he missed the pole...well, it'd be a shorter fall landing on the platform, anyway.

If Delilah were unconscious from his forceball, he'd be able to snatch her out of the air on his next jump.  If she were still conscious, he hadn't been lying when he said he couldn't afford to risk carting her along.  But...


 
 Originally Posted by To Morningstar (if Delilah is still conscious) 
   Platformer:   Hey, can I ask you a favor?
  Platformer:   There's a villain falling from about a mile up over the fair, but there are other villains I'm going after and she's not good at surrendering.
  Platformer:   Like, even when it is clearly in her best interests I could tell you  stories .
  Platformer:   So bringing her along is a bit logistically challenging.  If you could come flying in and snatch her out of the air and get her to the proper authorities, I'd really appreciate it.
  Platformer:   She has six arms, lots of guns, and some sort of mind control voice thing.  So if you can help you might want to blast her once or twice before you grab her, just to be safe. 
 

And because a hundred times communication speed is a heck of a drug when talking is already a free action:


 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes 
   Platformer:   Sorry, slightly delayed by mile-high fall.
  Platformer:   Should be along shortly.
  Platformer:   Also Parapluie is Catfish's daughter?  Huh.  I had not known that.
  Platformer:   Good on her for picking up super-speed.  She kinda needed it, gonna be honest.
  Platformer:   I wonder if she's learned any English.  I still don't know French and a language barrier really makes combat banter feel kinda pointless. 
 

...Is what Kevin Chatted, anyway.  But in the back of his head, he couldn't help but think,   Recurring villain...  
 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  4 points to Third-Person Viewpoint, 10 points to In-Game Chat (2 ranks, Rapid 2), 10 points to Strike, 6 points to Shoot, 10 points to Shield, 20 points to Boost Items.

Standard: Attack Delilah with Shoot, -2 for Exhausted, All Out Attack for 5, at  (1d20+13)[ 28 ] .  On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage.  If she fails her save by two degrees, Kevin gets a Power Up with the same traits as the prior stunt.  Kevin also Creates a platform with fireman pole below him, Selective to himself.   That should hit I think? 

Move: Attempt to grab the fireman pole and slide safely to the platform.  Mobility (-2 for Exhausted):  (1d20+8)[ 15 ] .   I mean...maybe?  I don't know the DC.
 All that I can say for sure is that Kevin continues to not be Megan. 

Free: If that fails, but he got his Power Up, he'll use the rank of Enhanced Flight to start hovering.

Free: If that fails and he didn't get his Power Up, Mobility to reduce falling damage (DC 5, -2 for Exhausted):  (1d20+8)[ 25 ] , and then Toughness vs. a Distance rank I guess 5 by this point fall (DC 25 - 1 per degree of success on above, -2 for Exhausted, -1 for Bruise):  (1d20+9)[ 25 ] .   But can tank it regardless. 

Free: If Delilah is still conscious, Chat Morningstar.  Can I spend a Relationship Building success to get her to take Delilah out of my hair?

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Exhausted.  Recover used.
 
Starsign
As if expecting them this exact outcome, Captain Blackcoat didn't move an inch while the remaining two thugs opened fire on him. All their shots went wide, likely from a mix of panic and fear, as the pirate opens the text chat provided by Platformer. No, it wasn't the best time, but he'd been behind on responding to Wildcard and it'd be awfully rude of him to keep doing so.


  Blackcoat:  Busy. Under fire. 

He probably should explain further, but he doesn't have time to type up a longer response on the chat box. They'll understand... right?

The captain looks back up at the thugs, now out of ammo in their magazines and desperately trying to reload.   "I warned ye."  

Without even drawing his weapons, Blackcoat charges forward and brings his fists and feet against the two thugs. He knows how to fight unarmed from his centuries of experience; his style, however, is all very pragmatic. He slams his boots down on the thugs' feet, strikes his fists into their stomachs, and brings his knees right to their vulnerable areas. He could fight all fancy, but he prefers the quick and effective strategy.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I admit I was very tempted to just do the same thing from last round but may as well try mixing things up: Blackcoat will do  Flurry of the High Seas  and take 10 on these minion: DC 25+Multiattack Toughness.
 
Llyarden
 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes Only 
   Wildcard:   Her English is...well, it's not awful. 
 

Since Platformer was going to be along soon enough, Jake figured he might as well stall the three villains.

  "It's 'dessert.'"  

He paused for a moment to look at them before elaborating.

  "What you said, I mean.  Or...what you meant.  You said 'desert.'  It's 'dessert.'  Desert is...uh, hold on."    Holding up one hand imperiously as if he were a lollipop man telling them to stop, Jake pulled his phone out with his other hand.    "Oh.  Okay.  So 'desert' is 'le désert.'  Wait, then what's 'dessert'?"    He flicked through another couple of screens on his phone.    "...right.  'Dessert' is literally just...'le dessert.'"  

He paused for a moment, looking back at Parapluie.

  "You know, I'm beginning to see why you got them muddled up."  
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Look at a French dictionary.
Standard: Defend.
Free: Wish he had Fascinate.
 
Dodgeson
 Platformer 

All Delilah had really wanted was to make Platformer more amenable to the idea of bringing her a long with him, she didn't have any particular interest in him specifically, but there was that wealthy pirate lord and she definitely had a score to settle with the Catfish. Unfortunately she had overdone it a little on the pheromones which is how she found herself plummeting towards the ground while Kevin gave her piece of his mind.

Before she had the chance to try and explain to him how this all a big misunderstanding and he needn't not let it getting in the way of their burgeoning alliance she was smacked upside the head by a forceball, sending her reeling, and helpfully regurgitating a power up for our hero, and that was before she collided face first with the ground! Luckily for Delilah it was a well documented fact that even metahumans who didn't have superhuman toughness as part of their powerset were hardier than most. Unluckily for her (because lol M&amp;M movement speeds) Morningstar was on the scene before she really had time to get her bearings.


 
 Originally Posted by To Platformer 
   Morningstar:   I got her, but you owe me...lunch. You free next week? 
 

Hovering in the air above her, the glowing heroine paused for only a split second to wonder "Didn't she try and hit on my dad once?" before encasing her in an orb of light projected from the mystical gem around her neck. With her safely secured she'd wait for a moment to see if Platformer had anything to add to the mental chat before jetting off with Delilah in tow.

 Blackcoat 

Perhaps the thug who had cut and run was the smartest of the bunch as Blackcoat quickly dispatched the two that had chosen to stand and fight, the fact that they had drawn guns and he had not utterly meaningless in the face of the pirate's hundreds of years of combat experience. In short order the pair were unconscious on the floor but the sound of the brief tussle had not gone unnoticed and the Vessel's back door swung open to reveal an immaculately dressed butler who surveyed the scene with stoic disinterest.

"The Master will see you now Sir. Please do try and keep the ruckus to a minimum, this venue is attempting to cultivate a certain air."

 Wildcard 

"The little green owl is not as helpful as he claims." Parapluie commiserated with a small nod, when you had superspeed you could afford to take the time to engage in small talk.

Her companions didn't have this luxury however and they both watched the exchange incredulously before Gale spoke up "Are we really doing this?"

"Yeah, can I shoot him now?" The boy asked, batting Parapluie's finger away from his lips with his free hand.

"If you must, it's not going to bring me my..." She paused for a second, looking to Wildcard to make sure she got it right "...dessert?" She might have been smirking a little.

And then Outlaw opened fire, the smell of brimstone and the screams of the damned following hot on the heels of the crack of his weapon.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Outlaw 
Move: Nah
Standard: Attack Wildcard with 666 Shooter  (1d20+10)[ 13 ]  DC25+Multiattack Toughness vs Incurable Affects Insubstantial Damage if that hits.  Miss 
 
Quellian-dyrae
 
 Originally Posted by To Morningstar 
   Platformer:   Fair enough.  Yeah I figure I should be.
  Platformer:   I mean, I can't imagine the Forces of Evil would attack precisely at lunchtime seven days in a row.
  Platformer:   ...Well, maybe if we fail to catch Catfish, I guess.
  Platformer:   Thanks! 
 

Kevin didn't waste time watching the rest of Delilah's fall, he just took off flying towards the ever-so-pretentiously-named l.  Although about halfway there he bent his knees and sprang forward, because double-jumping worked fine if you were flying too.

The civilians, recently whisked out of the restaurant by Wildcard, would shortly hear from off in the distance,   "IIIIIIIIIT'SSSSSSS..."  

And if one listened carefully and maybe had a good Perception skill, even from within the restaurant one might be able to make out,   "...AAAAAAAAAAA..."  

And then, a conveniently-located skylight directly above Parapluie's head would shatter into about a million shards, and as Kevin came crashing down on her head like the fist of God it nobody would have any trouble whatsoever hearing him shouting,  "...MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" 
 WHAM! 
 
 Spoiler 
Free: Chat.

Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  20 points to Boost Items (maintaining current Power Up: Enhanced Strength 5 [5], Flight loses Platform and Quirk [11], Enhanced Feature 1 on Flight (Easy Hold) [1], 1 rank Area on Chat [1], Enhanced Flight 1 [2]), 10 points to Run/Jump, 10 points to Strike, 5 points to Stomp (foregoing Alternate Resistance), 5 points to Activate.

Move: Fly/Jump to the l.

Non-Action: I know I'm Bruised, and Exhausted, and I only have 2 HP left, and it's still 3:2 at the moment, and Catfish may still be waiting in the wings somewhere, and even if I could finagle a Surprise Action out of it she's a speedster she probably has Uncanny Dodge and I'm using a Perception attack anyway and this is an absolutely terrible idea by all tactical metrics but  I don't care!   Hero Point to Edit Scene: There's a skylight conveniently right above Parapluie's head.

Part of Move: CRASH THROUGH THE SKYLIGHT!

Standard: Attack Parapluie with Game Mechanics, Defensive Attacking for 2, at  (1d20+6)[ 19 ] .  On a hit, uh, Mobility I think (maybe Strength alternately?) DC  (1d20+10)[ 14 ]  (after +2 from Platforming and -2 from Impaired) vs. Strength as a Trip.  Regardless of whether it hits or misses, Toughness DC 25 vs. Perception Damage.

If she is Dazed or Staggered, change Power Up to add Perception (Limited to Close) to Affliction and Weaken.

If she is Incapacitated, change Power Up to basically just cover the points for Strike and Shield.

Move-by Action: Side-by-side with Wildcard.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, +2 Defense this turn, Exhausted.

Chat is  OFF 
 
Starsign
While it was someone most...  unexpected , Blackcoat took the butler's sudden appearance with calming grace. The pirate lord brushed himself off after crumpling the remaining thugs and spoke back to the butler like he was an invited guest.   "Thank ye for t' warning. I shan't keep 'im waitin'."   He tilts his pirate hat once more, walking toward and inside the Gilded Vessel.

What is he to expect? Quite a bit, actually. He'd been inside this place before, though never on official hero business. And he certainly isn't expecting the standard attitude such a place had. If he lucks out, he is exactly where he wanted to be. Although if he is, it also means he's likely wandering into a trap.

...Again.

Come to think of it, he had a habit of walking right into traps.

Two steps in, he opens Platformer's text chat.


 
 Originally Posted by To Platformer and Wildcard 
  Blackcoat:  I think he's here. Will investigate.
 Blackcoat: Will inform when I am done.
 Blackcoat: I won't be long. 
 

Actually, he could be awhile. Meeting with supervillains was never a quick nor easy occasion when it's on the villain's circumstances.
Dodgeson
 Blackcoat 

"This way please."

Turning crisply on the spot the butler lead Blackcoat through the kitchen, which could almost have been the scene of a normal shift if not for the presence of yet more armed goons scattered about the place to supervise the panicked staff who were busily trying to make the best meal of their career like their lives depended on it (because it did), and out into the restaurant proper, empty except for one table at the far end of the room where a man in an immaculate dinner suit sat with his back to the wall.

"Ah Captain Blackcoat, I was wondering if I would get to meet you." The Catfish greeted him, a woman dressed in a maids uniform filling his glass with a clear blue liquid "Can I offer you a drink? I recently made contact with an off world vineyard, it really is quite remarkable."

 Platformer &amp; Wildcard  

It many ways Platformer's timing couldn't have been better, not only had he started to balanced the odds for his outnumbered (though not necessary outmatched) teammate but the sudden sound shattering of glass distracted everyone from the fact that Outlaw's gun, an ancient relic from the Pit that he had sold his very soul for, had done absolutely nothing.

Sent sprawling to the ground by Platformer's blow, Parapluie took a few milliseconds to fume, even with her new speed somehow the hero had still managed to lay a  hand  boot on her. Still this time it was going to be different and with some quiet clicking and whirring she was back on her feet and bearing down Kevin with a flurry of hyperspeed blows.

"Hey Blue why don't you trailer park this place so we can book it?" Outlaw asked, emptying the rest of his cylinder in Platformer's direction.

"Don't call it that!" Gale snapped back at him, violent winds already beginning to whip up around, shaking the windows and lifting up debris all around the room "I'm still going to do it, but not because you told me to!"

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Outlaw 
Move:N/A
Standard: Aid Parapluie  (1d20+10)[ 25 ]  vs DC10  +5 
 Parapluie 
Move:Dazed
Standard:+3 Power Attack Charge at Platformer with Disorientating Flurry  (1d20+10)[ 11 ]  DC23+Multiattack Toughness vs Damage &amp; DC18+Multiattack Will vs Impaired/Disabled. Parapluie is Deflected at 1d20+15.  Not even with aid... 
 Gale 
Move:N/A
Standard:Attack with Twister. Platformer, Wildcard &amp; l make a DC20 Defence Save &amp; and DC25/20 Toughness Save vs Damage
 

 Heroes are on turn! 
Quellian-dyrae
 "Hey!  Look at you!  You did it!"  Kevin told Parapluie cheerily as he collected the new Power Up.  He was actually smiling surprisingly widely given his normally distant demeanor.   "You actually  took a hit !  I've never seen you do that before!  I'm actually really proud here." 

Parapluie rushed him and attacked in a blur of hasted blows.  Fortunately, while Kevin wasn't a speedster himself he had more than a little enhanced speed and more than a little ability to stop time, so he kept up with her fine.  Bullets were slower than speedsters so Outlaw's volley proved insufficient to meaningfully detract from Kevin's defense.

Unfortunately before he actually got to  use  the Power Up Gale unleashed her whirlwind, and and dinged Kevin's lifebar, which of course caused him to lose it.  C'est la vie.

Kevin executed another jump attack on Parapluie, before hopping back next to Wildcard and shifting to a defensive stance.  This time, though, if he tagged her again, it would produce a healing item that he'd send over to Wildcard.

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Strike, 5 points to Stomp (foregoing Alternate Resistance), 5 points to Healing Items (foregoing Restorative), 10 points to Block, 10 points to Blocking Flurry, 1 point to Run/Jump, 9 points to Temporal Strike.

Move: Jump at Parapluie.

Standard: Attack Parapluie with Temporal Stomp.  Perception attack.  Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, with a DC 24 Secondary Effect.  If she fails her save by two degrees, Wildcard receives Healing at  (1d20+10)[ 21 ] .  Kevin is Deflected at +8, Wildcard at +6, with Secondary Effect.   I believe that heals one Bruise if it happens, since he failed to resist Damage last turn. 

Current Status: 2 Bruises, Fatigued, Deflect (SE).  Recover used.
 
Llyarden
Jake brought up a shield of his own, deflecting the worst of the whirling gale, and then kinda blinked as Platformer...er, praised?  Taunted?...Parapluie, and then she completely and utterly failed to hit him.  And then a shimmering green orb popped out of Parapluie and went flying into him, healing some of the damage he'd taken from the battle with Madcap as Platformer stomped her.

  "I...I gotta be honest, I almost feel bad helping you, Platformer.  These poor villains.  Even three-on-one doesn't feel like it's a fair fight."  

But because Jake was still a pragmatist at heart, he raised his hands, and...it was like the area around the trio was a mirror - and it broke.  Crackling spatial energies lashed at the two standing villains and gravity shifted and changed, space itself crushing down on all three of them like a vortex of Wildcard's own.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Power up Amplify Elements.
Free: Set Control Elements to Greater Energy Control {20}, Elemental Blast {10}, Range 3 {3}, Improved Critical 2 {2} and 25 points random: Vine Snare, No Escape, and half a Guiding Winds which is really not useful.
Free: Configure Control Elements.  Cloud Area Damage 10 Linked Cylinder Area Affliction 10.
Standard: Attack with Control Elements.  DC20 for half, DC25/20 Toughness vs Damage Linked DC20/15 Defence vs Hindered+Vulnerable/Defenceless+Immobilised.

Status: Fatigued, 3 Bruises.
 
Quellian-dyrae
 "See it's like  you  get that but for some reason they just never seem to.  I blame Malus's shoddy educational standards." 
Starsign
The Gilded Vessel was, as ever, a spectacularly impressive place. The place had the feeling of being inside a secure, old cruise ship. Walls were crafted with a wooden texture; velvet rugs traced the path to each section of this multi-story building; the tables and seats were made of either a  very  refined yellow, or of outright gold.

Everything spoke of the Vessel's luxuriousness. It was no surprise that Catfish targeted the place.

Blackcoat didn't spend time walking around and admiring the place. He'd seen enough wealth that it was hard to impress him; and he didn't really want to keep the chefs on pins and needles in their dire time of need.

Unlike the villain, Blackcoat was not keen on playing nice. "Off-world? So ye don't even have what ye order here?" He gave Catfish a stern look. "I got better places t' eat, if I were even hungry."

Rather than make a move on Catfish, a decision the villain undoubtedly planned for, Blackcoat turned around and looked to the armed guards 'supervising' the staff.   "Now I best warn ye all that if ANY o' ye puts ye hands on t' staff, then ye be seein' a rage from me that NOTHING can compare, an' a fury that NO ONE has withstood. If ye value yer life an' limb, ye take yer leave o' this vessel!"   Blackcoat did not like having innocents held hostage, much less leaving them as they were, while he was in...  negotiation  with another. He'd rather not worry by keeping them safe so they don't remain a bargaining chip or contingency, even if the villain didn't intend them to be.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Let's try and be a hero by saving the staff first. In other words, using   The Pirate's Terrifying Presence   on the guards watching over/threatening the Gilded Vessel's staff, to convince them to stand down or leave. DC 20 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled [Impaired and Disabled only apply to active checks, Controlled can only force targets to back down, flee, surrender, etc]
 
Dodgeson
 Platformer &amp; Wildcard 

It was a good thing that  l  had insurance as space itself inside the restaurant began to collapse and splinter, not to mention the actually hurricane that was still raging and hurling tables around within it. Or maybe they didn't need the insurance at all because the place seemed relatively unbothered by the destructive forces vying for supremacy inside of it. Which is probably for the best, it would probably just be rebuilt from the ashes in some new, even more pretentious form.

Parapluie it turns out however is not as sturdy as a tasteless restaurant and with another of Platformer's unerring jump attacks she was sent collapsing to the floor in a heap, this time she wasn't getting up.

Watching her  friend   acquaintance  former roommate collapse Gale cursed, somehow still audible above the howling wind "She's not moving, let's get out of here!"

"Hold on there darlin', if we pull this one out she's gonna owe us for a long time." Outlaw pointed out and the pair quickly shared a grin, they both knew Parapluie had deep pockets, the wind intensified again. Outlaw's gun discorporated into flame with whiff of brimstone, reforming around his hand into a black knuckleduster studded with grimacing skulls that burned with a baleful fire.

"Nothing personal pal, but a man's gotta protect his meal ticket." He said, rushing at Platformer.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Gale 
Move:N/A
Standard:Attack with Twister. Platformer, Wildcard &amp; l make a DC20 Defence Save &amp; and DC25/20 Toughness Save vs Damage

 Outlaw 
Move: Move in to Close with Platformer
Standard: Attack Platformer with Hellfire Knuckles [roll]1d20+!0[/roll] DC25 Toughness vs Damage with Secondary Effect &amp; DC20 Will vs Weaken Toughness if that hits. 🫤
 

 Captain Blackcoat 

At Blackcoat's terrifying pronouncement a pair of hired guns who had been standing by the door decided to bolt and Catfish sighed, muttering something about finding staff under his breath.

"And here I was hoping we could have a civilised conversation over lunch." He bemoaned "But I suppose, lord or not, a pirate will always be a pirate. Galatea do go see what's keeping them in the kitchen."

"Oui Monsieur" The maid replied obediently, hurrying off towards the kitchen door.

"Your cane Sir?" The butler offered, causing the Catfish to turn his attention to Blackcoat, meeting the Pirate Lord eye to eye.

"Well that depends. Tell me, are you about to do something pointless and heroic?"
Llyarden
Gale's...er, gale...kept whipping up around Wildcard, but his powers had adapted to it by now, and the more the whirling winds lashed at him, the less effect they seemed to have.

...in fact they kinda seemed to be coalescing around his hands.

Wildcard looked at Outlaw as he resoundingly failed to strike Platformer.    "You know, there have got to be easier ways of making money for you.  No offence, but you don't really seem cut out for villainy."  

He returned his attention to Gale, since the aerokinetic did at least seem to be  vaguely  approximating a thread, and stretched out his hands, fire erupting from him and getting drawn into the stolen tornado.

  "Have you tried...I dunno, stand-up comedy?"  

He flicked the whirling fireball at Gale, potentially yanking him out of the restaurant and onto the street, even as the hurricane-force winds wrapped around Wildcard, shielding him and restoring his armour.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I am a fool who put my saves in the IC thread by mistake, so here they are:
Defence (DC20, +5 for Evasion 2):  (1d20+11)[ 20 ]   Half Effect 
Toughness (DC25/20, -3 for Bruises):  (1d20+11)[ 22 ]   Resist. 

As for my actual  turn ...
Move: Power Up Amplify Elements.
Free: Set Control Elements to one dose of Project Energy {10} Elemental Blast {10}, Range 3 {3}, Improved Critical 2 {2} and 45 points random: Regenerate Armour, Ignite, Gust + Whirling Winds, Distort Space, and Wind Wall + Aerorepulsion.
Free: Configure Control Elements.  Multiattack Secondary Effect Damage 10 Linked Close Move Object 10 Linked Deflect 10, plus Regeneration 10 and half a Distort Space I guess.
Standard: Attack Gale, all-out attacking for 5:  28  for DC25+Multiattack/20 Toughness/Strength or Defence vs Secondary Effect Damage Linked getting yeeted out of the restaurant.
End of Turn: Regenerate a Bruise.

Status: Fatigued, 2 Bruises, -5 defence, deflected.
 
Starsign
Perhaps as expected of a pirate lord, Blackcoat was not at all fazed by what he thought was a threat to him. A simple rich noble, by his experience, had never fazed the pirate lord. Now, he also knew better than to underestimate someone who didn't appear intimidating; but by his experience, a richer person who hadn't seen the world tend to underestimate those who stand against them.

  "Some call a pirate's acts 'pointless,'"   he retorts, quick on his tongue, and would be quicker on his blade if he wasn't, at least, going to ask Catfish to stand down.   "If ye wish to walk out on ye feet an' not on ye knees, then I suggest ye give up. Whether 'e be an alien or a human, a pirate lord offers no mercy."  

Blackcoat puts his hand on the hilt of his cutlass, not drawing it, but ready at a moment's notice.   "And at my age, I be knowin' not t' pick an impossible fight... Do ye?"  
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Just a short post this time. Lemme know if I should try rolling anything. Blackcoat can roll Diplomacy here, if it's appropriate.
 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin was ready for Gale's windstorm this time, summoning up a barrier to block it.  He stopped Outlaw's punch with an open palm block, kinda raising an eyebrow at him.  Wasn't he supposed to be a ranged specialist?  Then again his guns hadn't really done much either.

 "Ohhh.  I get it,"  he said with a sidelong look to Wildcard.   "Catfish hired the first group, in an effort to present a credible distraction against heroic interference in his plot.  Parapluie hired these jokers, in an effort to make herself look competent by comparison." 

He turned back to look Outlaw in the eye.   "But what's really sad is, that as bad as you guys  suck ?" 

Kevin sprang into the air again.  He didn't bother doing the whole "jumping on the enemy's head means they are defeated" thing this time.  Indeed, the jumping attack that followed was distinctively less Mario, more Link, as he put his full weight behind his staff as he drove it in for a downward thrust straight at Outlaw.

 "It still didn't work!" 
 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Strike, 5 points to Stomp (foregoing the Alternate Resistance), 5 points to Run/Jump, 10 points to Stunning Strike, 10 points to Stunning Flurry, 10 points to Healing Items.

Move: Jump at Outlaw.

Standard: Attack Outlaw with Stunning Stomp at  (1d20+10)[ 22 ] .  On a hit, Will DC 20+Multiattack vs...wait, Immobilized wasn't reduced to tier 1 in these house rules 😳, so I guess that should be Dazed+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless.  Regardless of whether it hits or misses, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage.  If he fails to resist the Damage by two degrees, Kevin receives Healing at  (1d20+10)[ 18 ] .   Heals a Bruise if it happens 

End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers.  Kevin and Wildcard are Deflected.  Kevin does not spend the free action required to trigger the SE Damage on Parapluie.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued, Deflect.  Recover used.
 
Dodgeson
 Wildcard &amp; Platformer 

Whatever threat the would be villains had presented when Wildcard was facing them down 3v1 had now well and truly evaporated along with the mini-hurricane that filled the building as his fireball hit the blue skinned girl square on.

"OW!" She cursed loudly as the blast sent her reeling, her eyes darting between Platformer, Wildcard and the downed Parapluie before she made her call "Okay &amp;@#£ this! Screw the rich girl, I am not going to jail for a couple of gene trash!" With that she jetted out the door and headed straight upwards hoping to vanish safely away in to the blue sky.

And then there was one.

"Well fellas, I'm a firm believer that you gotta know when to fold 'em" Outlaw said with a chuckle "Gale's looking pretty dinged up, I bet you could catch up with her if you get going. Me? I've got a little something in my back pocket." Putting his fingers to his lips he let out a piercing whistle that was answered almost immediately by a hideous noise as a black horse with a mane of fire barrelled in to the room from the backroom.

Hauling the unconscious girl on to his shoulder he leapt on to the creature's back "Dropping you guys would've been swell but maybe picking her ass up off the floor is gonna be worth something. Gotta run!" His mount reared up on to its hind legs and promptly vanished in to the air, leaving nothing but scorch marks and brimstone behind.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Gale 
 Move  Get the hell out of Dodge at Flight 9!
 Standard  Staggered

 Outlaw 
 Standard  Staggered
 Free  Activate Ol' Scratch
 Free  Pick up Parapluie with Free Grab
 Move Vanish with Dimension Travel
 


((I almost feel that these guys weren't worth giving you a HP but you guys can have one anyway 😛))

 Captain Blackcoat 

The Catfish listened to Blackcoat's ultimatum, eyes narrowing as he saw the pirate's hand move towards his weapon. "Enfield? I believe the Captain has made his choice." He said rising from his seat, hand outstretched towards his manservant who obediently handed him his cane.

"Very good Sir."

Twisting the handle he drew the blade that was concealed within and handed the sheath back to his mechanical manservant "It would appear you don't know as much about picking your battles as you claim Captain."

 
 Spoiler: Initiative 
 Blackcoat   (1d20+8)[ 12 ] 
 The Catfish   (1d20+12)[ 22 ] 
 

 The Catfish is on turn! 
Dodgeson
 Captain Blackcoat 

"En garde!"

He might not have had Blackcoat's countless years of experience but by the practiced way he moved to clear the space between himself and the Pirate Lord, the Catfish was no slouch either, striking out with a light blow to test his opponent's guard and help to get his measure before he commited more heavily to the attack.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 The Catfish 
 Move  Move in to Close with Captain Blackcoat
 Standard  Attack the Catfish Defensive Strike  (1d20+10)[ 14 ]  DC25+Multiattack Toughness vs Damage if that hits. The Catfish is Deflected at 1d20+12.
 
Quellian-dyrae
Okay Kevin'd be honest he didn't really have anything for chasing a Nightmare through dimensions.  Should have expected it really.  Rogue-types usually came with pretty strong Flee mechanic.

...Although, given the thematics of his powers, it kinda begged the question...did Outlaw just teleport himself to a Hell dimension while badly injured and carrying an unconscious companion?  Because that...that just seemed unwise even  if  you were on generally good terms with the locals.

Well whatever.  Gale's attempt to flee was made using the comparatively much more mundane method of high-speed Flight.  Kevin still had a minor Slow debuff from all the energy he had been expending, but Gale was hampered by her injuries, so it evened out.  He sprang after her to deliver another stomp, which would also conjure a cubical barrier under his feet to both give him a platform to stand on and possibly trap Gale (and catch her safely if the stomp knocked her out, which let's be honest seemed statistically likely at this point).

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Run/Jump, 5 points to Shield (foregoing Selective), 10 points to Strike, 5 points to Stomp (foregoing Alternate Resistance), 10 points to Temporal Strike, 10 points to Fix just to deal with any minor distance issues (I'll dynamically Link it to the attacks).

Move: Jump at Gale, also moving Speed 9 after Fatigue.

Standard: Attack Gale with Temporal Stomp at  (1d20+10)[ 19 ] .  On a hit, Defense DC 20 or be trapped in a Created box.  Regardless of whether it hits or misses, Toughness DC 25 vs. Secondary Effect Damage.  If she's KO'd that prevents her from moving so I believe she won't be able to escape the box regardless in that case.  Kevin lands on top of the box, which is Stationary.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued.  Recover used.
 
Starsign
The blow came at Blackcoat quite... predictably. Not of course, it was no meagre slash. This was someone who clearly had experience and skill in dueling. And in some sense, dueling against a cutlass isn't far off from dueling against a foil.

However, Blackcoat had  hundreds  of years on Catfish. The pirate lord knew every common step, every strike, every trained swipe which was taught to nobles and commoners alike.

So he swiftly and calmly sidesteps the attack, drawing his cutlass and assuming a dueling position.   "'Tis a duel, then!"   To gauge his opponent's own capabilities, Blackcoat steps forward with a deft blow, then steps back to avoid the followup. It was a simple, awfully-boring tactic which nonetheless identifies Catfish's reflexes and aggression.

 
 Spoiler 
In response, let's have Blackcoat do a standard attack with Cutlass of the Sharpest Metal. DC 25 Toughness on hit. Blackcoat is Deflected at 20:  (1d20+10)[ 14 ] 
 
Dodgeson
 Wildcard &amp; Plaformer 

Gale hadn't really expected either Platformer or Wildcard to be able to pursue her, she didn't exactly have firm handle on their power sets but neither of them looked like they could match her in the air, that was like her whole thing. This turned out to be a costly mistake as she found herself face to face with Platformer, who was more than living up to his name, which left her only one really option.

She was going to try and get a do over, she hadn't exactly damaged that pretentious restaurant that badly right? His friend had even gotten its employees clear before the fighting started and...and they were both metas! Probably. That had to be worth something right?

Of course none of that actually mattered when the lingering effects Wildcard's last attack knocked her out cold, dropping her the short distance she was hovering and on to Kevin's platform.

Let's be honest, it was never going to work anyway.

 Captain Blackcoat 

"A duel indeed." Catfish replied almost courteously to his opponent as they met in a clash of steel, both men taking the other's measure "You've been rather disappointing so far Captain, I do hope your reputation with a blade isn't all bluster."

The Catfish prided himself on his discerning senses, he could evaluate fine wine at a glance just as easily as he could an opponent's skill and he'd seen enough to do just that and thrust forward, aiming for a chink in Captain Blackcoat's defense with a forceful "Ha!"

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 The Catfish 
 Move  N/A
 Standard  +5 Accurate Attack at Captain Blackcoat with Thrust  (1d20+15)[ 31 ]  DC20/15 Toughness vs Secondary Effect Damage &amp; Weaken Toughness if that hits.  Hits 
 

 Captain Blackcoat is on turn! 
Starsign
Utterly unfazed at mere words, as a duelist should, Blackcoat kept a steely-eyed gaze to his opponent as The Catfish lashed out forward with a sharp thrust. In a quick, just-in-time motion, the pirate lord flickered his cutlass out, turning the opponent's blade  just  enough that its flat edge struck instead of the tip.

A   millisecond   later and Blackcoat would've had steel in his flesh.

  "Well I give ye this, ye be swift when it counts."   His voice was like that of his cutlass: sharp steel, unsighted by dullness.   "But if ye think I be ol' driftwood with me cutlass, I have 'e know:"  

In a dramatic twist, he  swaps  the cutlass to his right hand!

  "I not be left-handed."  

What follows was a dashing display of sword swipes and strikes, moving on his feet and atop and around the tables. It was a rather reckless display of aggression, for any swordmaster who saw it; but it demanded an immediate response from someone who took their time to aim their blows.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Let's try something different and use  Flurry of the High Seas  with a +5/-5 All Out Attack. DC 25+Multiattack Toughness on hit:  (1d20+15)[ 26 ] 
 
Quellian-dyrae
Entirely unaware of Gale's plan (let's be honest after the shenanigans he had gone through earlier with Delilah it would have been a long-shot), Kevin just hefted the unconscious aerokinetic and sprang off of his platform just as it started flickering.  By the time it vanished he was back on the ground outside the l.


 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes 
   Platformer:   All clear over here.
  Platformer:   Blackcoat any trouble on your end?  Eyes on Catfish? 
 
Dodgeson
 Captain Blackcoat 

The two swordsmen traded blows, each scoring hits on the other in a dizzying display of skill and steel but when all was said and done, the pirate's aggressive assault saw him come out on top. Looking down at his injury the Catfish seemed far more concerned about the damage to his otherwise immaculate dinner suit, not that he hadn't suffered himself but decorum insisted that he didn't embarrass himself.

"Very impressive." He complimented his opponent as he caught his breath "I'm afraid I've not been entirely honest with you either Captain, I've let my swordsmanship slip somewhat in recent years."

He threw his sword to one side, embedding it in the floor and cracking his knuckles "Some might think it's rather vulgar but I find this far more exhilarating." he finished, striking out with an open hand.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Move  Staggered
 Standard  Recover
 EE  Attack Captain Blackcoat with Force Palm  (1d20+10)[ 11 ]  DC25 Toughness vs Damage, DC20 Fortitude vs Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated &amp; DC20 Defence/Strength vs Knockback if that hits.
 End of Turn  Secondary Effect triggers, Captain Blackcoat make a DC20 Toughness Save vs Damage
 

 Captain Blackcoat is on turn! 
Starsign
Blackcoat was fighting at his own pace, moving and striking in an aggressive flurry which the Catfish seemed unable to keep up. The knowledge of a centuries-old pirate clearly proved better than one who languished upon their own wealth. And though the captain took his own slashing wounds, drawing red ribbons around his flesh and cutting up his prodigious black coat, it was nothing compared to many other painful scenarios he survived.

With his cutlass out, the pirate lord stepped forward, slowly inching the Catfish back to one of the walls of the Gilded Vessel.   "Then that be a failin' o' yer own makin',   Blackcoat critiqued with a tone sharper than his blade. He twirled his cutlass into a reverse grip, as the villain threw his own sword on the ground. And-

Now let's be clear here. In some times, a fist could conceivably fight a blade.

 This wasn't one of those times. 

The black-wearing pirate lord brought the bottom of his cutlass outward and intercepted the Catfish's open hand palm strike. The brief pause even gave Blackcoat the time to type a response to Platformer:


 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes 
  Blackcoat:  Yes. 
 

He didn't exactly have time to type more.

  "Martial arts, aye? I know ye technique well."   Blackcoat spoke as if he was  almost  impressed.   "But to throw ye blade off t' plank be askin' t' sleep with th' fishes."   As if to prove a point, he inched back, out of range of the Catfish's arms, then swiped downward at the knees!

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Let's go for the  Painful Dirty Trick.  No modifiers this time, so DC 25 Toughness + DC 20 Fortitude vs Weaken Toughness:  (1d20+10)[ 24 ] 
 
Quellian-dyrae
...So does he mean yes there's trouble or yes eyes on Catfish?  Kevin wondered.  Or both?

It wasn't really a relevant question; correct answer either way was to just hop over and assist.  Except, Kevin realized, this was Catfish.  And last time they had beaten Catfish...

!!

Kevin suddenly  whipped out his cell phone  and started SCANNING FOR ALIEN SIGNALS!

 
 Spoiler 
Technology (DC This Probably Isn't Possible But Kevin Doesn't Know That):  (1d20+10)[ 11 ] !   I mean lol it's a cell phone what does he expect? 
 
Dodgeson
 Captain Blackcoat 

Despite the Catfish's confidence in his martial prowess, it seemed like Blackcoat had been right on the money about his odds in a fist v blade match up (and I mean, come on), slashing at the villain's knees Captain Blackcoat sent him stumbling backwards with far less dignity and grace than he would have liked.

"Yes, well let it not be said that I am not a big enough man to learn from mistakes." The Catfish remarked, smoothing out what remained of his tattered dinner suit "Enfield, Galatea, show this riff raff to the door."

"Very good Sir" The butler replied, one hand sliding away to reveal the menacing barrel of shotgun as he turned his attention to Captain Blackcoat "I do believe it's time for you to leave." He regarded the pirate with stoic detachment for a moment before opening fire!

A few seconds later a feminine "Oui monsieur" came from the doors to the kitchen, hands tipped with vicious claws rushing towards him from across the room. With numbers firmly on his side the Catfish saw no reason not to pile on despite his current condition, striking out with a single measured blow of his own.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Enfield 
 Move  Nah
 Standard  Attack Captain Blackcoat with Shotgun Arm  (1d20+10)[ 14 ]  DC25/20 Toughness vs Damage/Weaken Toughness if that hits  Miss 
 Galatea 
 Free  Set Form Shifting to Elongation 5 &amp; Regeneration 10 (Limited to Bruises)
 Move  Nah
 Standard  Attack Captain Blackcoat with Elegant Evisceration  (1d20+10)[ 25 ]  DC25/20 Toughness vs Damage &amp; Impaired&amp;Vulnerable/Disabled&amp;Defenceless if that hits.  Hit 
 The Catfish 
 Move  Staggered
 Standard  Attack Captain Blackcoat with Perfect Strike, DC25/20 Toughness vs Damage &amp; Vulnerable/--/--
 

 Captain Blackcoat is on turn! 
 Platformer 

Good news! Alien is in a double feature with Species down at the New Harbour Retroplex!
Starsign
For all the rogue's tricks that Blackcoat knew, he rarely went as low as calling for reinforcements when the going got tough. He always was more impressive to his crew, and to the common people, when he'd be willing to face any challenge. And for someone as old as him, he could actually afford the inevitable risks that came with it.

Now when a  villain  springs forth their allies, then Blackcoat does not have that same nobility.

Upon seeing the ambush, Blackcoat steps back, letting the shotgun go off with a fearsome   *BANG*   and do little more than decorate the Vessel's golden walls. The maid spring out from behind, more cleanly cutting through his coat and leaving red marks on his back. And for all the sloppiness Catfish had, he had a particularly  impressive  single strike, thrusting the blow into the pirate's chest and weakening the immortal man.

  "Bah, classic tactics ye got,"   the pirate lord retorted, turning away and hopping onto the nearby railing.   "Guess I can't blame ye wantin' t' bring ye own crew."   To deter pursuit, Blackcoat stepped further back, keenly stepping on the railing with his boots, drawing his flintlock and firing several bursts at Catfish... In fact, Blackcoat was firing more than the single shot his weapon  should  hold.

And all the while, he was tapping at Platformer's screen with a simple message:


 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes 
  Blackcoat:  Need help. Now. 
 

He even had time to add the periods!


 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Alrighty, let's try something a bit different. Blackcoat will make some space (though not much given his lack of movement powers) and will attack Catfish with Flintlock of Endless Ammo. Defensive Attack +5/-5. DC 25 Toughness on hit:  (1d20+5)[ 14 ] 
 
Quellian-dyrae
In retrospect, typing "Aliens Watching?" into Google probably...it probably wasn't actually how one scanned for alien signals.

Unfortunately Kevin didn't really have the time to come up with a better approach, because a message popped into the chat from Blackcoat requesting assistance.

He considered dropping Gale and Chatting a message to his Official Police Contact for pickup, but decided it'd be more convenient for the villains to all be in one place (well, two places I suppose, since the original attack at the fair, but whatever).  So he'd just zip on over with her.  He'd grab Wildcard and whisk him along too if he wanted.

Moments later, he'd come zipping and/or crashing onto the battlefield.  A quick sweep of the room gave him a decent enough sense of what had happened.  He blinked at Catfish.   "Hasn't anyone ever told you to check the makeup of your opponent's team before you turn on multiplayer mode?" 

He glanced at the butler and the clawed lady.   "And you must be the new goons." 

For old time's sake, Kevin pointed his staff and cast Blizzara, sending icy winds swirling around the two of them.   " Freezed  to meetcha!"  he punned awfully, because Kevin was still a terrible person.

 
 Spoiler 
Move: To the Gilded Vessel.  I'll whisk Wildcard along if he wants.

Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Strike, 10 points to Shoot, 10 points to Stunning Strike, 10 points to Striking Flurry, 10 points to Stunning Flurry.  Variable Descriptor [Energy] [Cold].

Standard: Attack Enfield and Galatea with Blizzara, Multiattacking for 2, Accurate Attacking for 1.  On a hit, Toughness DC 24 vs. Damage, Will DC 19 vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless.
 Enfield:  (1d20+9)[ 28 ] .
Galatea:  (1d20+9)[ 28 ] . 
Current Status: Uhh I have 1 Bruise, Fatigued, and Recover Used, but the status tracker has just two Bruises, so one of those two for sure!
 
Llyarden
Once he saw Blackcoat's Chat, Wildcard was already building up a charge of energy by the time Platformer came flitting back around to pick him up and deposit the two of them at the Gilded Vessel.

Unlike Platformer, he didn't bother with any puns - Blackcoat and Catfish were locked in an honourable (ish) duel, and the two robots probably wouldn't exactly appreciate fine human humour.

So instead he raised one hand and sent a hail of miniature spheres of energy at Galatea, which would glue themselves onto her and then erupt in fire, hopefully launching her into Enfield just in time for a rock-crusted vine from his other hand to whip out and bind the robo-butler in place.

He  also  sent a blast of energy at Catfish with a casual wave of hand, because as far as he was concerned they could fight honourably when they'd won.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Jake will let Kevin bring him over to the Gilded Vessel, saves me an action.

Move: Power up Amplify Elements.
Free: Set Control Elements to Elemental Blast, Dangerous Blasts, 2 points to Range 2, and 45 points random: Gust + Whirling Winds, Vine Snare, Hardened Crust, Ignite, and half a Layered Power.
Free: Reconfigure Control Elements.  Damage 10 Linked Secondary Effect Move Object 10 Linked Impervious Affliction 10, and it was very convenient that I got the one thing that I can actually apply Layered Crust to other than its original Create.
Standard: Attack Catfish, Galatea and Enfield with Damage, Move Object and Affliction respectively, critting on a 17+.
Catfish:  (1d20+10)[ 29 ]  for DC25 Toughness vs Damage.  Crit! 
Enfield:  (1d20+10)[ 23 ]  for DC20 Defence vs Hindered+Vulnerable/Defenceless+Immobilised (Overcome by Stealth, Defence or Damage).
Galatea:  (1d20+10)[ 26 ]  for DC20 Defence or Strength vs Move Object into Enfield at  (1d20+10)[ 24 ] 

Status: Hmm...similarly I think my status should be Fatigued, 2 Bruises, Recover Used.
 
Dodgeson
Finally things were starting to look for the crafty criminal connoisseur, striking a solid blow against his immortal enemy while his maid struck a second, and all it took was an overwhelming numerical advantage! Clearly while he couldn't choose his offspring (and apparently the teachers at Malus were really slacking), his artificial servants were worth every penny.

This advantage didn't last long though as Wildcard and Platformer arrived on the scene to back up their teammate in a burst of vines and energy, with a just awful pun thrown in for good measure. When all was said and done while he wasn't exactly thrilled with this turn of events the Catfish and his entourage were all still standing, even he had gotten through unscathed, having your henchmen programmed with a suicidal devotion to keeping you alive was pricey (you wouldn't believe how many he went through in a year) but it had its advantages.

"So much for the Gilded Vessel's exclusivity, they're just letting anyone in now." The Catfish mocked with a roll of his eyes, hitting out at Captain Blackcoat with a series of targeted blows towards his pressure points "Quite frankly I don't even think I need to sample their swill before I make my judgement. I'll be doing them a favour."

"Do you have a preference for which of these guttersnipes I should dispose of first Sir?" Enfield asked, a subtle hum and whiff of ozone building up around him.

"I despise puns Enfield."

"Very good Sir."

The mechanical butler had his orders and quickly closed the gap between himself and Platformer, rockets concealed within his immaculate shoes propelling him forward for an electrically charged punch!

Not suffering the limitations of solid form like her counterpart, Galatea didn't have to pick a single target and instead simply did what any good maid does, sprouting another set of claws and lashing out at Platformer &amp; Wildcard. She was going to take out the trash.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 The Catfish 
 Move  Staggered
 Standard  Charge in to Close with Captain Blackcoat and +2 All-Out Attack with Touch of Death  (1d20+10)[ 29 ]  DC20 Fortitude Save vs Progressive Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated if that hits.   Crit!    Well played Captain, well played 
 Enfield 
 Move  Move in to Close with Platformer
 Standard  Attack Platformer with Taser Fist  (1d20+10)[ 19 ]  DC25 Toughness vs Damage &amp; DC20 Fortitude vs Cumulative Impaired&amp;Vulnerable/Stunned&amp;Defensless if that hits.  Hits 
 Galatea 
 Move  Nah
 Standard  +1 Accurate Multiattack Platformer &amp; Wildcard with Beautiful Barrage, DC24 Toughness if that hits.
Platformer  (1d20+9)[ 10 ]   Miss 
Wildcard  (1d20+9)[ 13 ]   Miss 
 End of Turn  Regeneration removes a Bruise
 

 Heroes are on turn! 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin dodged Galatea's flashing claws.  He caught Enfield's punch with a blocking arm, avoiding the shock but the block wasn't perfectly timed, so it still dinged his life bar a bit and caused him to briefly flicker.

 "Aw, you don't like my pun?"  Kevin asked.   "I had figured you'd eat it up!" 

Catfish just...it's just barely possible he had erred in stating that bit out loud.

Kevin was already a bit battered and tired from all the previous fighting he had been doing, so he figured playing a more defensive game would serve for now.  He jumped at Enfield and stomped on his head, before bouncing off and landing to summon up shields over his team.  If the stomp worked, it would also generate a hamburger item to restore his lifebar some.

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Strike, 5 points to Stomp (foregoing Alternate Resistance), 5 points to Run/Jump, 10 points to Block, 10 points to Blocking Flurry, 10 points to Healing Items.

Move: Jump at Enfield.

Standard: Attack Enfield with Stomp.  Perception-Close attack.  Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage.  If he fails his resistance check by two or more degrees, Kevin receives Healing at  (1d20+10)[ 14 ] .  Either way, all allies are Deflected for two rounds.   Heals a Bruise if it happens 

Current Status: 3 Bruises, Fatigued, Deflect (SE).  Recover used.  (Pending)
 
Llyarden
  "I know what you mean,"   Wildcard commiserated with Catfish.    "I mean, if you're going to let a shapeshifting maid combat robot into the place, you should at least let in one that's actually vaguely competent.  You know, as a minimum."  

Darkness swirled around him for a few moments and he faded from sight - and then a searing bolt of purple flames leapt from him and towards Enfield as the butler struggled to break free of the vines that bound him.  Kinda casually (and invisibly), Jake waved a hand and the shadows around Catfish twisted before bolts of electricity leapt from the floor at the man.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Maintain Amplify Elements.
Free: I'm actually fine with my arrays as they are, so just the 45 points of randomness: Zap, No Escape, Ignite, Winding Vines, and Shadow.  Wow, not a useful set.
Free: Reconfigure Control Elements.  Secondary Effect Damage 10 Linked Homing Indirect Affliction 10, plus Blending Visual Concealment.
Standard: Attack Enfield with Damage and Catfish with Affliction just kinda on the off-chance, power attacking for 5, critting on a 17+.
Catfish:  (1d20+5)[ 23 ]  for DC25 Fort vs Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated  I don't know if that even hits Catfish, but it's a crit if it does.  Which the bots will Interpose but eh. 
Enfield:  (1d20+5)[ 7 ]  for DC30 Toughness vs Secondary Effect Damage.

Status: Total Visual Concealment, 2 Bruises, Fatigued, Recover Used, Deflected.
 
Starsign
Finding Catfish's aggression better than expected, Blackcoat found himself open and vulnerable to a dash of deathly pokes, hardened fist strikes and open-palmed blows designed to debilitate the body in rather lethal ways. This made it a wonder that each blow, each strike, merely flinched and knocked Blackcoat around, taking it like he'd been struck by a drunken sailor's poor form. Not out of respect to someone who studied martial arts, but the pirate lord was made out of sturdier stuff.

Backing up out of reach again, Blackcoat flashed his cutlass towards Catfish. Sure, they both have their reinforcements, but Blackcoat still prefers the honor of a respectable  duel.    "I suggest ye care more for ye skill,"   Blackcoat warned, his back against a nicely gold-and-brown table,   "for ye care 'bout puns."   As if to make his point, he flicked his blade at his foe.   "Watch me blade closely!"  

And despite his fearsome blade, Blackcoat reached his leg back and caught the upper leg of a table chair. in a swift motion he kicks upward, flailing the chair at Catfish before charging with a flurry of swipes!

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Alright, time to try and bring Catfish down. Will first Feint as a Move Action and distract with a thrown chair, Jackie Chan-style:  (1d20+13)[ 20 ] 

And now to attack! Will use Power Attack and All-Out Attack +5/-5 with  Flurry of the High Seas . DC 25+Multiattack Toughness on hit:  (1d20+10)[ 18 ] 
 
Dodgeson
The Catfish wasn't going to give Platformer the pleasure of reacting to his latest pun, no his satisfaction would come when the battle was over and he was grinding the insolent little hero in to the dirt while he enjoyed his dessert. He wasn't quite quick enough to avoid Wildcard's blast of electricity, letting out a grunt of displeasure as it hit him, but he still fancied his chances. Both of his henchman were still standing and he would arrogantly wager his skill against any of theirs even in his current state, the fact that Wildcard had seemingly disappeared was a little worrisome but all that encouraged him to do was make a mental note to invest in an advanced sensor array for his next butler.

"Skill I can appreciate Captain." He replied, shattering the flung chair with a thrust of his hand and ducking under his blade strikes before hitting back with another singular strike "Puns are the lowest form of wit."

Taking Platformer's stomp with the same stoic indifference he did everything else Enfield's eyes began to burn a bright red, because as they said in Tomorrow, why wouldn't you give your robot butler laser eyes?

Wildcard might have vanished but that didn't mean that Galatea was out of options and simply redirected the claws that were meant for the reality warper straight to Captain Blackcoat instead.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 The Catfish 
 Move  Staggered
 Standard  Attack Captain Blackcoat with Perfect Strike, DC25/20 Toughness vs Damage &amp; Vulnerable/--/--
 End of Turn  Fortitude (DC20) vs Impaired  (1d20+8)[ 20 ]   Recover 
 Enfield 
 Move  Charge Laser Eye
 Standard  Attack Platformer with Laser Eye, DC25 Defence vs Damage.
 End of Turn  Damage (DC20) vs Hindered&amp;Vulnerable  (1d20+10)[ 15 ]   Fail 
 Galatea 
 Move  Nah
 Standard  +1 Accurate Multiattack Platformer &amp; Wildcard with Beautiful Barrage, DC24 Toughness if that hits.
Platformer  (1d20+9)[ 28 ]   Might Hit 
Captain Blackcoat  (1d20+9)[ 17 ]   Miss 
 

 Heros are on turn! 
Starsign
Normally confident on his footing, Blackcoat made a wrong read, took a wrong step, and left himself open  just  long enough to find a powerful palm strike slamming into his chest. The pirate lord froze, and this time not out of resilience, but of clear pain. The blow struck as a sledgehammer, whilst numbing his body and making it difficult for him to move.

But for all intended purposes, Blackcoat was not one to lie down or show weakness after that debilitating blow.

  "Then ye got plenty o' skill,"   Blackcoat responded, speaking slowly through the pain,   "But skill 'lone don't best a pirate! I hope ye got plenty more luck an' grit to stay afloat."   From his vulnerable position, Blackcoat tossed any notion of defense and instead aimed for a fast and fierce strike. His own safety could be damned; he was hundreds of years old; he'll be  fine. 
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I am sorta... doing the same thing again but I feel like all-out aggression now is best when I am Vulnerable. 😁

Blackcoat will use  Flurry of the High Seas  again, this time just All-Out Attack +5/-5:  (1d20+15)[ 24 ]  DC 25+Multiattack Toughness.
 
Llyarden
The darkness roiled menacingly as Jake watched the fight go on.  The two trios seemed pretty evenly matched.

Which meant that something had to be done to tip the scales in their favour.

  "This is interesting,"   he observed, his voice echoing eerily from the darkness with a tone of genuine curiosity, as Galatea dived in front of Captain Blackcoat's blade at the last minute.    "I've heard legends of a style of martial art based entirely around being overly polite to your opponents, but I didn't realise it was real."

"Maybe I should try it too.  Miss Galatea - would you mind awfully not being able to tell who was your master and who was your enemy any more?"  

The shadows bulged - and broke, shattering like they were glass as space itself began to... fray ...around the robot butler, potentially just erasing entire chunks of the robot's frame from existence, as darkness lashed out towards Galataea and Catfish, seeking to blind and confuse them.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Third verse, same as the first, or something.
Move: Maintain Amplify Elements.
Free: Re-randomise 45 points of Control Elements: Distort Space, Bewildering Darkness + Nightmare, two Disintegrates, and Shadow + Midnight.
Free: Reconfigure Control Elements.  Defence-resisted Damage 10 Linked Limited Entranced/Compelled/Controlled 10 Linked Defence-Resisted Weaken Attack Bonus, plus Visual Concealment, forgoing the limit buy-off of Nightmare
Standard: Attack Enfield with Damage, Galataea with Affliction, and Catfish with Weaken, still power attacking for 5 but now all-out attacking for 5 as well, critting on a 17+.
Catfish:  (1d20+10)[ 29 ]  for DC25 Defence vs Weaken Attack Bonus  I...I critted him again. 
Enfield:  (1d20+10)[ 22 ]  for DC30 Defence vs Damage.
Galataea:  (1d20+10)[ 12 ]  for DC25 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled, Limited to randomising the targets of actions.  (This is not a [Mental] effect without Nightmare active.)  Politeness-fu, why have you failed me? ☹️ 

Status: Total Visual Concealment, -5 defence, 2 Bruises, Fatigued, Recover Used, Deflected.
 
Quellian-dyrae
Enfield's laser eyes zapped a healthy chunk out of Kevin's lifebar, but the good news was it meant he was flickering in time for Galatea's claws to pass right through him.

Even so, his life total was getting dangerously low.  He doubted he'd be able to heal up enough fast enough to outpace the enemy damage.  That was annoying, but not too worrying.  After all, the last hit point was the only one that mattered.

Kevin summoned up another shield, forging this one into a solid barrier around himself as his allies.  To them, it would appear as a faint soap-bubble-like barrier of translucent blue light, which their attacks could pass through harmlessly.  To the enemies, it would appear as a solid, opaque barrier that would not only block attacks and passage, but obscure the exact positions of those beyond it.  In the close quarters fight that probably wouldn't matter too much...but it would definitely inhibit pinpoint attacks, even if they were too fast to dodge.

His staff would plunge straight through the barrier, for a series of powerful whacks against Enfield.

 
 Spoiler 
Move: Staggered.

Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Strike, 10 points to Power Strike, 10 points to Striking Flurry, 10 points to Power Flurry, 10 points to Shield.

Standard: Attack Enfield with Power Flurry, Power Attacking for 2, at  (1d20+8)[ 12 ] .  On a hit, Toughness DC 27+Multiattack/22+Multiattack vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness.  In addition, Kevin surrounds his team with a Created barrier.  It is Selective to allow us to see and pass through it, but is solid and fully opaque to the enemy.   Rerolled for 23. 

End of turn: Secondary Effect triggers.  Heroes are Deflected.

Current Status: 4 Bruises, Staggered, Fatigued, Deflect, Total Cover+Total Concealment (Barrier Toughness +10).  Recover used.
 
Dodgeson
If things had been going poorly for the Catfish and his entourage before, it was an absolute disaster now. Sure things had started well, Galatea had taken Captain Blackcoat's blow with all the effectiveness of jamming a knife in to a bowl custard but after that everything had gone kind of pear-shaped. Reality around the criminal connoisseur's loyal butler was suddenly out to lunch and when it got back to anything even approximating normality chunks of his outer frame were simply gone, revealing the metallic skeleton and high-tech inner workings of the android, which left him woefully unprepared to deal with Platformer's flurry of blows, hitting him in his exposed and vulnerable mechanisms before a final strike sent his head sailing clean off of his body!

"I'm terribly sorry Sir but I do believe you are going to have to consult my warranty" The head informed its master from where it now lay in a nearby plant pot.

Rolling his eyes the Catfish let out a sigh, between lawyers fees, bribes and a new butler this was all going to be very expensive "Well as 'fun' as this has been." He spoke, striking and dodging against shadows that weren't really there "A gentleman knows when it's time to leave an engagement. Galatea we are leaving."

"Oui monsieur" The maid replied as they both disengaged and made a dash for the kitchen, they might have been losing in the front of the house but in the kitchen the Catfish still had armed goons and more importantly the captive kitchen staff.

"Follow us and the staff of this execrable get put out of their misery!" He announced, frankly he thought he'd be doing them a favour but as long as the heroes cared about this sort of stuff he'd be able to make his getaway. I mean it wasn't like they were going to pull some crazy last ditch play and foil his escape.

Right?
Llyarden
As Catfish made his threat, Jake fell quiet.  The swirling shadows receded somewhat.  One could almost have been forgiven for thinking that he was adhering to the supposed 'gentleman criminal's request.

He wasn't.  Instead he just slipped into Catfish's shadow as the man turned to flee, slingshotting his shadowy form ahead of the villain to see what the state of affairs was in the kitchen.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move: Into the kitchen.
Free: Assessment whoever might be in there armed with guns and suchlike.  Routine Expertise (Tactics) for 30.

Status: Total Visual Concealment, still have half a turn to do.
 
Dodgeson
Fleet and nimble as his adventures in the East had made him, the Catfish was still flagging from the beating he had taken at the hands of our heroes and Wildcard managed to slip by him unseen in to the kitchen where the last trio of his goons were still menacing the kitchen staff, each holding a threatening looking rifle. Not that the staff were actually doing to much right now, the sound of the fight outside had pretty much drawn all other activity to a close and they were pretty much just staring at the door and hoping that somehow none of them ended up with bullets in them by the time this was all over.

 
 Spoiler: Assessment 
PL6, No trade-offs. All stats at PL.
 
Llyarden
As the shadows reached the kitchen, they split into three tendrils that reared up from the floor lashed out at the three thugs, twining around them.  A moment later a great wall of shadow erupted from the ground, dividing Catfish's goons from their would-be hostages.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Extra Effort: Power Stunt Control Elements to Create 10 (Stationary, Reduced Range) Linked Multiattack Affliction 10 (Entranced/Compelled/Controlled), Range 2 and Total Visual Concealment.
Standard: Attack the three goons, Multiattacking for 3, all-out attacking for 4, power attacking for 5, routining the attacks for 16; DC25 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled.  Using the Create to put a barrier between them and their captives in case any of them crit the Resistance saves.

Status: Fatigued, Exhausted next round, Total Visual Concealment, -4 to defence.
 
Quellian-dyrae
There were few things Kevin hated more than  cheaters .

You might think this was kinda hypocritical, given than one of his superpowers was literally cheat codes.  But that was just the thing, it was one of his  powers .  Totally legit.  But Catfish, now, he had gone and done it.  He had tried to threaten innocent people to achieve his ends.  And one might say, that was a classic villain move.  One might point out that Kevin had been facing villains who tried that sort of thing for literally most of a decade now.  One might argue it was simply how the game was played.

Nope.  Sorry.  Use whatever powers and tech and skills you want.  Come up with diabolical plans and monologue about them to your heart's content.  Gather cosmically-powerful MacGuffins and wield them in your interests.  Jack up your hit points and your damage rolls, exploit infinite MP bugs, bring whatever power you wanted to the table.  Kevin was a superhero.  He'd deal.

You don't go threatening people who can't protect themselves to try to get the heroes to back down.  That was  cheating .  If you do that, you get made an  example of .

Kevin Matthews did not go rushing off to protect the kitchen staff.  Had he noticed Wildcard had gone to do so?  Not as such, Wildcard was kinda invisible at the moment.  But he'd been doing the superhero thing for a while now, he had two teammates at hand and one of them was invisible.  He figured it would work itself out.  It usually did.

He concentrated on punishing the villain.  One wonders if the Catfish  knew , if he had  any idea at all , just  how many video games  involved various manners of  foodstuff .

As Catfish went staggering tiredly for the kitchen, Kevin began casting a spell.

Kevin's capability with magic was kinda weird.  He dressed as a wizard and his father had taught him some measure of the Art.  His power was to warp reality, which was kinda like magic in the same way that telepathy was kinda like speech.  His reality warping powers were circumscribed to the thematics of video games, but magic was, itself, a classic feature in such games.  At the end of the day, a spell was little more different than a cheat code, a sequence of gestures and words, rather than button presses, that causes reality to do something it shouldn't.

This didn't change the limits on Kevin's powers.  It didn't need to.  What Kevin wanted to happen here was well within the remit of video games.  Indeed, setting your copies of an item or power up to some unnecessarily high number was pretty much the most basic cheat code in the book.  Doing it as a spell only changed the method of initiation, from a series of button presses to a series of gestures.  And words.  An invocation.  A verbal component.

 "Yo quiero **** you up!"  Kevin incanted (uh-huh, yeah, this battle was no longer rated E for Everyone, that was how important Kevin took punishing cheaters), and conjured a massive pile of moldy tacos to drop on the Catfish.

And not the good kind of tacos, either.  No fancy fish-and-shrimp tacos with avocado and, like, chives or something here, oh no.  Catfish had  cheated .  He got Taco Bell.

 
 Spoiler 
Extra Effort: Power Stunt off of Game Mechanics.

 Yo Quiero **** You Up:  Damage 10 (Increased Range [Ranged], Increased Range [Perception]) Linked Affliction 10 (Impaired+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless; Fortitude; Increased Range [Perception], Extra Condition, Limited Degree).  My sense is that Catfish is still in the dining room or at least in regular line of sight but if not take off Extra Condition, reduce the Affliction to just Vulnerable/Stunned, and add in Kevin's Third-Person Viewpoint and maybe some extra Senses to make up the difference.

Move: Staggered.

Standard: Attack Catfish with Yo Quiero **** You Up.  Perception attack, auto-hit and can't normally be Interposed.  Toughness DC 25 vs. [Physical] [Bludgeoning] Damage and Fortitude DC 20 vs. [Physiological] [Subversion] [Nausea] Impaired+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless Affliction (or just Vulnerable/Stunned if I need some more senses.

Created barrier drops since Kevin swaps slots and doesn't concentrate.

Current Status: 4 Bruises, Staggered, Fatigued, Exhausted as of next turn.  Recover used.
 
Dodgeson
The Catfish was not having a great day, bursting into the kitchen not only was he covered in rancid tacos but the last of his hired goons were standing gormlessly waiting for orders from some unseen adversary and a wall of shifting shadow was protecting the kitchen staff. Sure he could have ordered Galatea to fight to the last but he didn't fancy their chances, he wasn't in the best shape right now and Enfield was always the more combat capable of his two minions.

With an audible sigh he turned to face his opponents and placed his hands on the back of his head "Congratulations heroes this fetid establishment lives to serve another day. Galtea  fuir ."

At her master's order the maid dropped to the floor, her amorphous form shifting in to a shapeless pink puddle and rushing towards the nearest drain pipe! It wasn't so much that the Catfish expected her to stage a daring breakout or anything, he wasn't particularly worried about jail time, he was spectacularly wealthy after all, but proto-form servants were very expensive.
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin was, of course, not a big fan of enemies with Flee mechanics.  They took away valuable EXP, GP, and item rewards.  Granted, the absolute  worst  ones were the ones who robbed your inventory and  then  fled.  But the regular varieties were still annoying enough.

(Did it matter that Kevin did not, in fact, have an inventory or GP total and practically none of his enemies had ever left behind permanent items for him to take as his own and even the ones that did mostly got turned over to the police as evidence or something?  No.  No it did not.  It was the  principle  of the thing, by thunder!)

So as Galatea went all fluid and made a break for the nearest drain pipe, Kevin just sighed and hit Pause.

Once before, in a situation of extreme stress and duress, Kevin had managed to act physically while stopping time with his Pause power.  He knew it was  possible , but even eight years of further experience and actually knowing how his powers worked on their fundamental level hadn't yet allowed him to match that feat.  However, this didn't mean his powers had been anything like stagnant either, and while he couldn't quite act  physically  while time was on pause, that didn't strictly mean he couldn't  act .

Kevin hit Select, manipulated both control sticks to shift his camera to the correct position, and when he had it right, unpaused.

And instead of being in the dining room, Kevin was now in the kitchen.  He just kinda...flickered in there, like some sort of physical glitch in reality.  Or like how a sprite who got stuck in a piece of terrain might be arbitrarily warped to a new position.

Kevin'd be honest, he still wasn't entirely sure if that was a cheat code or not.  It was a lot less draining than most cheat codes, anyway.

And Kevin wasn't the only thing to appear in the kitchen.  Along with him appeared another shielding barrier...blocking up the drain pipe Galatea was running for.

(And also a bolt of lightning shooting at her, because come on, it's not like he's going to just  not  do that part.)

 "Catfish, seriously now.  Prison food is what it is, but if you do not stop with the minion shenanigans  right now  I swear to Zelda I will find a way to make whatever they serve you  even worse .   Even worse than normal prison food , Catfish!  Think about that!" 
 
 Spoiler 
Move: Staggered.

Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Shield, 10 points to Strike, 10 points to Shoot, 10 points to Fix (Linked to Strike and Shield), 10 points to let's say Striking Flurry.

Standard: Teleport into the kitchen, dropping a Shield to block the drain pipe (not trapping Galatea directly, just walling off that particular point of access) and attacking Galatea with Shoot, All Out Attacking for 5, -2 for Exhausted at  (1d20+13)[ 25 ] .  On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. [Energy] [Electricity] Damage.

Current Status: 4 Bruises, Staggered, Exhausted, AoA -5. Recover used.
 
Dodgeson
((Like you guys can play whack-a-mook with Galatea but we've got new players to introduce and she is simply not important enough for me to bother trying to defend, the Catfish can always buy a shiny new one.))

The pink glob that had been the Catfish's maid bumped in to the shield that was blocking its exit and barely had enough time to try and find another crack for its amorphous form to slip through when a lightning bolt struck it and left it as twitching mass of brightly coloured goop lying in a sink, after that what hired goons remained would be child's play for our heroes to dispatch.

While they hadn't managed to formally introduce themselves as the city's new heroes they had managed to send almost (if you count artificial lifeforms) seven villains off to the slammer and word was going to start to spread about who had stopped the Food Festival from being blown to smithereens, although in the aftermath it seemed that 'Lucy', the odd girl that accompanied Madcap had simply managed to drift away....

((Everyone gets 2pp and a pair of Downtimes!))


 
 The city of New Harbour was no stranger to super-powered threats, whether it came from the Alchemaster, his armies of homunculi and his floating island 'Lemuria' or the last gasps of a feline empire from beyond eternity but today it came from a very different source, a red-haired woman in a truly enormous pointed hat.

Floating above the city perched upon a witch's broom she might have not seemed all that threatening to the city at large right now but she was certainly imperiling one of its citizens, take a moment to think of Rowen Taggard who she had spotted performing some very important Reality Maintenance tm  and thus assumed he would know exactly what she needed before catching him in her semi-clutches.

"I WAS PROMISED RICHES BEYOND MY WILDEST IMAGININGS MAGUS!" She announced grandly to her captive audience "YOU WILL DIRECT ME TO THE DUNGEON OR FACE THE WRATH OF THE DEMON WITCH!"

 
 Spoiler: Who the heck is this?! (Expertise:Superhuman/Well-Informed DC20) 
The woman who calls herself the DEMON WITCH is a newcomer to the superhuman miscreant scene who makes up for what she lacks in subtlety with an overwhelming arcane offense that has let her go toe to toe with whole superteams before and come out on top with seemingly little concern for the collateral damage she inflicts in the process as she pursues her quest for wealth with a seeming preference for subterranean targets.

 
 Spoiler: DC25 
If her talk of dungeons didn't tip you off, she isn't exactly from round her, something that has been confirmed by other mages who have clashed with her who talk about her magic being 'slippery' or 'off'.
 

 

 
 Spoiler: What the heck is she talking about?! (Expertise:Local DC20) 
Following the near levelling of the New Harbour by the Alchemaster most of the city was cleared to make way for new infrastructure but in some wards (mostly the poorer or less influential parts) what remained was simply built over leading to rumours of a so called 'undercity', home of what remains of the Alchemaster's failed invasion and of unfortunates with nowhere else to go.
 

This hadn't gone unnoticed of course, word had quickly reached the New Harbour police of a strange looking woman floating over the city, and of course from there Kevin's contact did the only sensible got in touch, whether the newcomer meant any harm or not this was clearly a matter for superheroes! But of course Platformer &amp; Wildcard weren't the only protectors the city had these days now and who knew who else might be drawn to this odd incident?

((Ridai you start with an extra HP for this unfortunate turn of events))
Zelphas
  "A new, singular threat to the inhabitants of the city appears. She mentions the rumored undercity. Perhaps it is time for Ishani to..."   People are staring, again.  She  is talking out loud, isn't  she ? Separating thought from speech was much simpler, before.

Between one moment and the next, the plainly dressed but strangely vibrant woman standing on the street beneath the possible witch(?) simply... isn't there, anymore.

---

A short period of time later (  "Changing clothes can be a bit of a trick when you're watching from a third person view"  ), and a tall woman dressed all in white with a white mask covering everything but her dark brown eyes simply  is  between the "demon witch" and her chosen target.   " I am  here,"   Indelible announces unnecessarily, her hands falling limply to her sides from their upraised position. Her long black hair, somehow held up into the air moments before, similarly falls and swirls around her.   "Do not harass citizens; it is rude."  
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Routine'd the Expertise (Local) check for 20 to learn about the 'undercity'.

I'll throw in an Intimidation check to get the Demon Witch's attention on me, just for kicks:  (1d20+20)[ 23 ] 
 
Ridai
The dastardly Runtime Terror, secretly and more ordinarily known as one Rowen Taggard, is squatting in a corner on the outside of a belltower, no doubt doing quite dastardly work. In this case, he is looking at a terminal folded out of the facade of the tower. And the "screen" is also just stone, but moving. And the input device is also stone. But also moving. But not  built  to be moving. He also has his laptop plugged into this terminal, via Cat6. It just kind of worked somehow. Actually Universal Interface or something.

Rowen has been at this for a while, just kind of elbows on legs, chin on hands. By now he has been able to figure out what the problem is, namely that this belltower as a physical object is rotating at a very slow speed, while the appearance of it (which apparently are two different things!) stays the same. Not only that, but the rotation of the belltower  somehow  makes the attached church  expand horizontally , potentially eating the surrounding greenery before continuing with the plaza. No one has noticed yet. He thinks. But that is currently far from his mind because:

 "Okay so the second bell should no longer pass on its wobble factor to the tower's rotation variable, if that's actually what that many eye angel ring is. Aaaand because it no longer rotates, I think it shouldn't trigger the auto-expand to fit worker cherub, just need to-"  A chime from his laptop. A moment of confusion. Some taps on the keyboard. Even more question marks over his head.  "Is that- what- no, tha-  what does the number of pigeons in this square kilometer have to do with anythiiiiiiiii?!"  

And Rowen is suddenly pulled into the air, clutching his laptop and the dangling network cable from it. The belltower terminal flips back up into the wall, leaving no seem, because it normally doesn't exist. The secret of the effect of pigeon on the church's dimensions will remain unsolved for now. Instead, he is shouted at by a very angry woman with a very pointy hat. The stylized comic book hero mask eyes just kind of blink, once, twice, three times, while the comic book hero mask mouth just kind of hangs slackjawed.

 "The what?"  Click. This undercity thing. Guess we are also roleplaying.  "Ah, uh, yes! The, uh,  dungeon!  You really caught me off-guard in my secret magus ways, you did!"  The  Runtime Terror   Magus Preservatoris  raises his free hand as he awkwardly hangs in the "Demon Witch's" grasp, even shaking it a little to make it look more important as his mask now also shows a beard. A tech beard.  "However, you see, I am but a lowly Magus Preservatoris initiate and the secret dungeon of Portus Novus has its entrance frequently moved to a secret location, and initiates are only told by the Archmagi on a need-to-know basis, but I'm sure we can figure something ou-" 

And a white figure berating the witch suddenly appears, his face kind of smushed against the back of the new arrival, so the surprised yelp comes out quite muffled as Rowen scrambles to put his laptop back into his pack, still very much in the clutches of the witch. On the upside, Indelible's powers work quite well at the moment, even if Rowen can't really recognize who this person is right now.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Congratulations, Indelible gets +20pp to play with in her dynamic array!

 Also, Rowen rolled a 31 on Deception 
 
Quellian-dyrae
 
 Spoiler: Spoilered for length since this isn't directly relevant to the current scene 
Kevin had trouble sleeping, the night after Catfish's plot had been foiled.

This was pretty strange.  They had won, after all.  Stopped the attack on the fair, arrested most of the villains including Catfish himself, and had saved a lot of people who might have been hurt or worse.  And yet, as Kevin laid in bed that night, tossing and turning, the events of the day kept playing themselves out in his head.

Barely paying any attention whatsoever to the rest of the battle while he fought Big Al.

Leaving Delilah to fall with nothing but a Chat to Morningstar.

Crashing through a skylight at the l just to make his entrance more dramatic.

Deciding it was more important to try (badly, at that) to scan for alien signals than to move immediately to support Blackcoat.

But the one he kept coming back to, the one he just couldn't shake, was when Catfish had been fleeing and had threatened the cooking staff, his first move had been to drop a pile of moldy tacos on him.

And okay, yes, sure, you could make reasonable arguments for all of those decisions.  Big Al had in fact become quite a bit stronger over the years and had merited his full attention.  Wildcard had needed backup and Delilah had brought her situation on herself.  Gale's whirlwinds had caused way more damage to the l than he did and there was some tactical merit to opening with his best attack, which crashing through the skylight had also allowed.  Blackcoat had Catfish well in hand before he went and called his minions.  And Wildcard had the kitchen staff covered and  besides  you can't just let villains get their way by threatening people all that does is encourage them to do it more in the future, you have to deter those kinds of shenanigans with extreme prejudice.  And all of that was  true  but...

But Kevin hadn't cared about the level of threat Big Al represented, he had just wanted to "solo the boss fight".  He had let Delilah fall because saving her would have been an obstacle to moving on to the next battle and also he wanted to try to one-shot Parapluie again.  Which was also why he came in stomping.  He knew Catfish's style well enough to know he'd have help and should have moved to support Blackcoat as soon as opportunity allowed.  And the truth was, he hadn't  known  at the moment he made the decision that Wildcard has stealthed out to mind control Catfish's goons.  Catfish had tried to  cheat  and Kevin wanted to  win .

And it had all worked out.  As it often did, because Kevin and the other heroes he was working with were powerful and skilled and able to roll with the punches and handle things.  But even so...Kevin had always gotten good grades back in St. Ambrose's Introduction to Heroism class.  And he knew that if the events of the past day had been described to him on a test there, the answers he would have written down for what the hero should have done would have had some pretty key differences from the actions he had actually taken.

It had all worked out.  This time.  But no matter how much his powers may make it act like one, real life wasn't a game.  If he allowed people to get hurt, it wouldn't matter if he won or lost.  He knew that, but he still wasn't internalizing it, still wasn't  acting  like he knew it.  Four years at St. Ambrose, four years as an independent hero, and now with a city counting on him, he still wasn't taking his job seriously enough.  He was still acting like...well, like a kid who spends too much time playing video games.

The mayor hadn't been able to introduce the heroes on the city stage today.  Lying awake in bed at four AM, Kevin could only conclude that was a blessing in disguise.  New Harbour deserved a better hero than Platformer had proven to be.

When the sun finally started creeping through his window, Kevin sighed, got up, and went to do what he had to do.  Four years at St. Ambrose, four more as an independent hero.  He had learned much, gained a lot of experience.  He had learned how his powers really worked, and was getting better at controlling them every day.  He had been studying magic and practicing psionic disciplines, the skills of his parents, to better learn about how the will could have a supernatural impact upon the world.  He had gotten better, had leveled up, one might say.  But sometimes levels alone aren't enough.  Sometimes you needed more than just higher stats and stronger spells.  Sometimes you needed more than to just accumulate knowledge and factor it into your existing models, use it to explain and improve upon what you were already doing.  Sometimes you needed to shake things up.

Normal people did this in a variety of ways.  They'd go on retreats, or go back to school, or quit their jobs and start their own business, or propose to the person they were dating.  There were a lot of ways to take all the experience you had been accumulating over the past several years and use it to fuel the next big step on the path of your life.  But Kevin Matthews, for better or worse, was the Platformer.  His powers and his intuitions would always paint the world as a video game.  No matter how realistic the graphics got, they would still only ever be graphics.  So when Kevin decided he needed to change, to become a better hero, he did it in the way the video games had taught him to do it when levelling up was simply not enough.

He went on a quest, climbed to the top of a mountain, and got a class change.

I mean seriously, it's  Kevin , what did you expect here?
 


If you didn't know him personally, you might not have recognized the young man who leaped into the scene as Platformer on looking at him.  (Then again, now matter how much his appearance might have changed physically, it might also be fair to say that you would never mistake him for anyone else.)

The staff was gone.  The blue robes were gone.  The hat was gone.  The cape was gone.  Kevin was now wearing a full white cloak, though the hood was down and it was open in the front, revealing a simple white long-sleeved shirt and a set of blue denim overalls.  There was a...single, incredibly out-of-place metal plate on his shoulder from which hung a short mesh of chain mail, a piece of "armor" that would protect precisely nothing but his left upper arm, so either that was his weak point or it was purely decorative and since he's immune to crits now no points for guessing which.  His previously short black hair had grown out to a shoulder-length mane, and his previously boyishly-youthful features were now more sharply defined and marked by a short, closely-trimmed, but still entirely visible mustache.

The weird little MMORPG style floating nametag that had hovered over his head when he first appeared in costume had gone away sometime in junior year.  But just for today, it was back, and it read:

  Platformer
Aspiring Paladin  

He considered the Demon Witch as he landed.  A powerful mage, by reputation.  Strong enough to tangle with entire superhero teams.  She had one, well, costumed character in her clutches, there was a second present, and Wildcard would likely be along presently.  Four on one should be a tough fight but entirely winnable.  Kevin's instincts were that this was a boss fight that needed winning.

But the Demon Witch also had a reputation for collateral damage.  Kevin hadn't gotten a new costume to make a fashion statement (I mean, it's Kevin, can you even imagine?) and his nametag read Aspiring Paladin for a reason.

Solving conflicts with words was far from Kevin's strong suit.  But this was the right time to try.

 "What are you actually looking for, exactly?  Perhaps if you will set the...Magus Preservatoris down, we can assist you."   He kinda doubted it, granted, but who knew?  Indeed did many things come to pass, and since she hadn't actually  harmed  anyone yet Kevin was willing to at least give the peaceful resolution a shot.
Dodgeson
While the witch had fallen for Rowen's ploy hook line and sinker, truly believing that he was an apprentice mage eager to lead her to treasure and glory, the sudden appearance Ishani threw a spanner in the works and she responded in the only way a true murder hobo would.

"A WRAITH! THE DUNGEON'S ENTRANCE MUST NEAR TO SPAWN SUCH A GUARDIAN! STAND BACK MAGUS THIS CREATURE SHALL FACE THE WRATH OF THE DEMON WITCH!"

And the Platformer arrived too and she was more certain than ever that she was one the right track, first a fellow mage and now a paladin, a party was forming before her eyes. They might not have been a patch on her old comrades but they were close enough, soon the fabled dungeon and its treasure would belong to her! Still before they could progress she had to make good on her threat, shimmering scarlet runes appearing in the air around her.

"BE BLASTED INTO OBLIVION FOUL SHADE!" She announced, thrusting one hand forward and sending a thin beam of arcane energy surging in Ishani's direction.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Attacking Ishani with Disintegrate  (1d20+10)[ 26 ]  DC33 Toughness vs Damage &amp; DC28 Fortitude vs Weaken All Defences if that hits.
 
Ridai
Wow, this DEMON WITCH is actually for real, damn. And Rowen has played enough D&amp;D to know what a thin green ray means. Superheroes are actually arriving, which is fortunate (also a lot less awkward than trying to meet them and go "hey, do you folks mind if I tag along?", but that is neither here nor there). But  Rowen   Initiate Magos Preservatoris Rowanicus  is still very much in the DEMON WITCH's grasp, and he would actually prefer not to get disintegrated, as selfish as that may sound in the given situation, but he doesn't want to just do nothing either. That and he needs to get out of this mess somehow. Preferably un-murder-hobo'd. So he devises a cunning, positively fiendish stratagem.

 "I do not know of wraiths in the, uh, dungeon! Surely a recent ghastly creation of a former Magus Decompis initiate, as the Archmagi deemed the study of necromancy unsavory and disowned all practicioners and initiates of the black arts, even refusing to return already paid tithes meant for their education!"  he comments with the tone of someone way in over his head, which is quite apt at the moment. He also flails appropriately as he is suspended in the air and drawn into a fight.

 "Oh great and powerful Lady DEMON WITCH, I shall render my meager assistance!"  Rowen starts mumbling unintelligibly in metal lyric fragments, while doing  faux ninja hand signs  amateurish somatic spell components, ending in pointing the devil horns at Ishani.  "The power of Life compels you, ghost!"  and the eye facing away from the DEMON WITCH winks very obviously at Ishani and Kevin; there even are little lines on the mask to further highlight the fact. With a power word (which sounds suspiciously like  "Pew!" ), a glob of radiant light-green energy is hurled at Ishani, harmlessly splashing against and across her before quickly dissipating. She looks less harmed now.

 "My unholy Lady, the necromancer must have deployed foul trickery, protecting the wraith against the essence of life itself!"  he informs the DEMON WITCH, with more customary flailing.

 
 Spoiler: Actions 
 Free  Deploy nonsense as:
12 points in  Debug Health Restore  for Healing 10 (Ranged 2, Others Only)
4 points in  Debug Logistics  for Flight 3 (Winged), Strength 1

 Standard  Heal Ishani with  Debug Health Restore :  (1d20+10)[ 30 ] 
 Move  "Feint" the DEMON WITCH, using Set-Up to provide the benefit to Kevin and Ishani (and Jacob if applicable), but  not  to Rowen himself, for further roleplaying.
Deception (no penalty for move action due to Benefit 2 (Air Goes In BS Comes Out)):  (1d20+20)[ 30 ] 
 
Llyarden
Jake...was kinda reflecting that he should probably find a more convenient way of allowing the police to warn him of any superhuman threats.

See, the way it had been done in the days of the Protectorate was that reports had come in to a central computer that was always manned, and then communications sent out through an ever-changing network, to protect the secret identities of the Protectorate's members.  Jake had redirected that central computer to the machine that was installed in his kitchen (it had been their bedroom when they'd first moved in but some redecoration had happened, which had once or twice resulted in some awkward moments where he'd had to explain away why his girlfriend was talking to the freezer), and had set up one of the old Protectorate pagers so he'd get a discreet ping wherever he was in his house when something needed his attention.

Unfortunately, he  hadn't  been in his house when the Demon Witch had made her appearance.  He'd been out getting a cup of coffee from a local takeout.

This might explain both why Wildcard was slightly late to the scene, and why he was carrying a cup of coffee as he drifted up into the sky to join Platformer...the paladin?

He looked between the Demon Witch and the Aspiring Paladin.

He felt his powers... quiver .

  ...great.  

Now he had arrived a little too late to notice the wink from Rowen, so he arrived merely to witness the Demon Witch's 'hostage' trying to help her take down the...uh...weirdly  real  woman who was floating in the air with them.  Now that said given that he had no idea who the other woman was he didn't immediately leap to her defence either.

Instead he held up one hand - although rather than the usual scintillating mixture of energies gathering at his fingers, they coalesced into a shimmering glow of runes.  He gave them an irritated look before glancing over to Platformer.

  "Do you, uh...do you have any idea what's going on here?"  
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Free: Set Personal Energy Control to Wobbling Flight and 30 random points: Regenerate Armour, Spores and (rather aptly) Disintegrate.
Move: Arrive.
Standard: Ready an action.  If the Demon Witch attacks Ishani, attack her with Weaken Stamina 10 (resisted by Defence).

Status: Confused.
 
Quellian-dyrae
 "Or she's...you know, not a Wraith?"  Kevin suggested, blinking.   "This should be fairly obvious.  She's not see-through at all, and she's healed by healing magic; this is strong evidence that she is neither incorporeal nor undead.  On its face jumping to the conclusion that she had been warded by a necromancer, rather than that she is simply not undead, is probably a poor guess just baseline, but we also have specific evidence against it - your healing spell did, in fact, heal her.  If she was an undead creature with protection from healing, it would have caused no damage, but it wouldn't have actually turned back to healing."   Seriously some people had such wild ideas about how the world worked and what constituted reasonable standards of evidence.

(Look, self-awareness is something he's working on, alright?)

Kevin did think he understood the "magus's" ploy.  Trying to distract the witch to expose her to attack from them.  It wasn't necessarily a bad idea, but Kevin still would have preferred having this fight in a location less exposed to potential collateral damage.  Some abandoned tunnel deep underground seemed like it might be ideal for that.  If they could get the advantage of surprise, even better; but since the witch had already attacked one of them, that opportunity was effectively lost here.

(What?  Video game paladins used surprise rounds just like everybody else.)

Fortunately, they didn't need to try to guess what each other were thinking and communicate in winks.  Kevin opened a Chat.


 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes 
   Platformer:   Hey.
  Platformer:   Okay, so, the Demon Witch is very powerful and has a tendency to cause collateral damage.  We can straight up attack her here, but it might be risky.  If we can lure her into the Undercity and take her down in some abandoned tunnel or something, that would probably be preferable.
  Platformer:   Doubly so if we can surprise her.
  Platformer:   ...I suppose it probably also wouldn't hurt to figure out what her aim is before we knock her out.
  Platformer:   If we're not doing that, we should probably get a plan worked out to deal with her while minimizing collateral damage.  Thoughts? 
 

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  12 points to Chat (2 ranks, all flat extras), 10 points to Strike, 4 points to Shoot (Range 4), 2 points to Run, 2 points to Jump, 10 points to Shield, 10 points to Block.

Free: Chat.

Move: Nah.

Standard: Ready an action.  If the Demon Witch attacks anyone, he'll fire back with a force ball (his normal [Physical] [Bludgeoning] Damage, since he didn't activate Variable Descriptor) at  (1d20+10)[ 19 ]  for Toughness DC 25 Damage while shielding the target with a Secondary Effect Deflect and a rank 10 Created barrier.

Current Status: Normal.
 
Ridai
Suddenly, a chat window appears in Rowen's view:

 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes 
   Reality Technician #NH0000:   kjshrf8whrijwhfh9shfsfh098h
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   oh crap does the DEMON WITCH have a debug terminal too
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   wait no, says platformer nvm :D
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   also wtf i have a job title
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   /nick Runtime Terror
 Realibot:  Unknown command.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   /help
 Realibot:  Unknown command.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   argh gdi
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   Okay so, hi! Think I got the hang of this now. I hope this is secure, because I am kind of unable to check things right now!
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   I usually go by... *sigh* "Runtime Terror" when people refer to me, so I guess that is a name as any.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   I guess I'm officially RT as my universe-given username suggests, but I only started recently, and not sure how.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   Got snatched by the DEMON WITCH while I was trying to keep a church from eating the surrounding plaza in a week. And any more birds.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   Haven't been in a superhero fight before, new to all this, so uh, tried to keep the DEMON WITCH from turning me to powder, since I have no idea if I can save against that.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   Trying my best to support.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   Oh and Undercity sounds good. No idea how to get there tho.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   Please help, not sure how much BS I can string together before she gets the feeling I'm not actually a magus. 
 
Zelphas
The green ray strikes into Indelible, burning at her form, attempting to remove her.   "But it fails, because  I am ."  

Still present, hanging in midair simply beacuse she believes it to be where she needs to be, Indelible's masked face turns in the general direction of the Demon Witch.   "Wraith. Oh, no. Quite the opposite, in fact. I am sorry to say that, from where  I am  standing, it is you who are... insubstantial."   There really isn't enough weight behind the words for them to be a boast, or even a threat; the most that is there is a faint tinge of sadness, more like melancholy than anything else.

Indelible's entire body remains stock still--except for one finger, which flicks a pebble using every single muscle of her body condensed to that single point. In that pebble, aimed at a section of the Demon Witch's neck which normally carries a cluster of nerves that would be painful and paralyzing to hit in a regular human, Indelible places also her unshakable belief that compared to her, the Demon Witch is nothing more than a phantom.


 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes 
   Indelible:   Indelible's entire body remains stock still--except for one finger, which flicks a pebble using every single muscle of her body condensed to that single point. In that pebble, aimed at a section of the Demon Witch's neck which normally carries a cluster of nerves that would be painful and paralyzing to hit in a regular human, Indelible places also her unshakable belief that compared to her, the Demon Witch is nothing more than a phantom.
  Indelible:   A strange connection appears in her awareness; a... chat box? It is reminiscent of something Indelible remembers being talked about when she was much younger, something her friends often pushed for her to take part in. She never had, so this 'chat' is new and somewhat strange to her.
  Indelible:   Other... chats? Texts? Other words are appearing in this odd box, brought into being presumably by those nearby who are also engaging with the so-called 'Demon Witch'. They are probably able to read this. Which means that  I am  projecting thoughts aloud once again. How irritating.
  Indelible:   I apologize.  I am  Indelible.  I  may have just minimized her... collateral damage, though if she has a strong enough belief in her own existence it may not be as effective as  I  would wish. 
 

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move Action: Dazed.

Free Action: Reconfigure  Universal Truth Array ; 9 PP in Third-Person Person, 11 PP in Drag and Drop (Flight 9, Subtle 2), 10 PP in What is Weight?, 20 PP in Reality Rejected, 4 PP each in All-Muscle Strike, Two-Pronged, Nerve Strike, Weighty Blow, and Pebble Snipe (Increased Range 3, Homing 1). That makes a total of 70 PP. Wow.

Standard Action: Use  All-Muscle Strike  with everything involved in it on the Demon Witch, Power Attacking for 5.  (1d20+11)[ 29 ]  On a hit, Toughness DC 24 + Multiattack vs Secondary Effect Damage, Fortitude DC 19 vs. Vulnerable &amp; Impaired/Defenseless &amp; Disabled, and Will DC 19 vs. becoming Insubstantial 4. On a miss, Homing 1.

 Status:  Fine.
 
Dodgeson
Indelible's projectile hit home but unfortunately for her the otherworldly witch's wardings held strong while the will that had delved in to many tomes of forbidden and eldritch lore stood like an iron bulwark against the reality warper's more esoteric power. Truly the defender of New Harbour's fabled dungeon was a powerful one, but that simply made her even more determined to seek it out, after all the strength of a dungeon's defenders was directly in proportion to the value of its treasure, even a neophyte adventurer new that!

The DEMON WITCH however was no inexperienced guildling and knew that while her own knowledge of the destructive arts arcane was unparalleled it would be wise to take heed of the word of a paladin when it came to the nature of the undead. However Kevin had unfortunately failed to mention anything about Indelible not actually being a monster sent to keep her from the riches that were rightfully hers, but if she had simply misjudged the nature of the creature in front of her then she had just the solution...

"VERY WELL SIR KNIGHT! LIVING OR DEAD NO CREATURE MAY DEFY THE DEMON WITCH AND SEE ANOTHER DAY! FEEL THE GRASP OF HADES BEAST AND BEGONE!"

The sigils in the air became black and a the smell of grave dirt hung heavy in the air as she invoked foul powers, sending a wave of screaming and ethereal skulls in Indelible's direction to feast upon her very life essence!

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Move  Dazed
 Standard  Attack Indelible with Touch of Death  (1d20+10)[ 23 ]  DC33 Toughness vs Damage &amp; DC28 Fortitude vs Progressive Impaired/Disabled/Dying if that hits
 
Ridai
 "Eek, skulls! Double eek, I'm allergic to Hades!"  Rowen launches into a dramatic coughing fit. Bits and pieces between the surprisingly varied series of coughs and hacks sound like he is lamenting not having received the magusly series of innoculus spells, and there might be a mention of an itchy nose from smelling grave dirt.

 
 Spoiler: Actions 
 Standard  Feint the DEMON WITCH with Set-Up to grant the other party members the benefits: Deception  (1d20+20)[ 23 ] 
 Move  "Taunt" the DEMON WITCH by way of further distraction to maybe Impair her: Deception  (1d20+20)[ 31 ] 
 Free   Immaculate Dying Swan Technique 
 
Quellian-dyrae
Yeah Kevin more-or-less expected that one.  Expected it enough, anyway, that when the DEMON WITCH cast her spell, he cast first, raising a shield over Indelible even as he fired back with a forceball.  Cognizant of the DEMON WITCH's power, he didn't skimp on the shield, conjuring up a potent layered barrier.  It was the right call; as his father had said before, when fighting necromancers, you just don't want to be hit by any spell that involves a skull, and the shield did its job admirably, deflecting the attack harmlessly.  In response to her dramatic proclamation, all he responded with was a stentorian,  "No."   I'm pretty sure the stentorian no is a paladin class feature.

So okay, they were doing this here and they were doing this now.  Fair enough.

Kevin was a pretty decent judge of the arcane.  He didn't have any actual ability to sense or analyze magic, but growing up with a wizard for a father gave him a pretty keen eye for it, and at this point he was fairly proficient himself in at least a convincing emulation of the Art.  His assessment of the witch's spells matched what he had heard of her; loads and loads of power, but not nearly as much skill in controlling it.  That was a weakness that could be exploited.

Speaking of convincing emulations of magic, Kevin opened up his shiny new White Magic menu, took a moment to savor his delicious lack of MP limits, and went straight for the most powerful defensive spell he had.   "Mirrored shield of ancient starlight, turn back all attacks!   WALL! "   Shimmers of blue-white light briefly shot up all around him as he waved his hand, and a green glowing crescent would briefly appear in front of himself and each of his allies.  A little icon of a shield with an arrow pointing away from it would start hovering over all of their heads to indicate their new Reflect status.

That done, Kevin did what Kevin does best and leaped into the air, taking a shot at stomping the DEMON WITCH on the head.

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Block, 10 points to Protect, 10 points to Reflect, 10 points to Strike, 5 points to activate five ranks of both Run and Jump, 5 points to Stomp (foregoing Limited Perception).

Move: Jump at the DEMON WITCH.

Standard: Attack the DEMON WITCH with Stomp at  (1d20+10)[ 15 ] .  On a hit, Defense DC 20 vs. Damage.  All allies are Reflected for two turns.

Move-by Action: Scatter.  If I can get more than 120' away from all other allies without being somewhere with bystanders or a greater density of structures than my previous location nearby that would be ideal.  Not quite clear on how open the terrain is here.

Current Status: Normal, Reflect (SE).

Chat if  OFF .
 
Zelphas
Indelible is... gratified by the experience of working with a team.   "This is somewhat ironic due to where it is coming from, But has anyone ever told you that you have an over-inflated sense of self?"   Indelible asks conversationally.   "Perhaps a reminder is in order."   Once again, Indelible flicks a small pebble towards the Demon Witch; however, while this one still strikes with some force, it carries for the most part an overwhelming sense that existence is large, and the Demon Witch is... not.

  "One day,  Indelible  will understand how  her  powers work,"   Indelible says out loud, accidentally.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Free Action: Reconfigure  Universal Truth Array:  9 PP in Third-Person Person, 9 PP in Drag and Drop (Flight 7, Subtle 2), 10 PP in All-Muscle Strike, 10 PP in Two Pronged, 2 PP in Pebble Snipe (Increased Range 1, Homing 1), 10 PP in Weighty Blow, 10 PP in Futility of Effort, 10 PP in So, So Small.

Move Action: Nah.

Standard Action: Use  All-Muscle Strike  on the Demon Witch, Power Attacking for 5.  (1d20+5)[ 23 ]  On a hit, Toughness DC 30 + Multiattack vs. Secondary Effect  Damage, Will DC 25/25 vs. Weaken Accuracy / Weaken Will. On a miss, Homing 1.

End of Turn: heal -1 to all Defenses.

 Status:  Fine.
 
Llyarden
   Wildcard:   Honestly, fighting someone with a reputation for collateral damage underground would - 

And then the Chat was gone.  Jake sighed and turned his attention back to the Demon Witch.

  "Fine, fine,"   he grumbled.    "Guess we're all doing the magic thing.   And just when I'd started to consistently use my powers without it... "  

He raised his hands again, runes that glowed with a white light spiralling around them, frowned at the faint frost coating his forearms, and pointed at the Demon Witch.

  "White Wind of...uh...the Warlock!"  

And a gale leapt from his hands towards the Demon Witch, threatening to strike at her mystical essence directly.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Free: Set Control Elements to 1 rank of Wobbling Flight, 1 rank of Energy Jets, Elemental Blast, Mystic Blast, Energy Armour, Dangerous Blasts, and I guess 2 ranks of Range why not.  Plus 10 random points: Layered Power.  Well, that ain't helpful but I wasn't expecting much.
Standard: Attack the Demon Witch, Power Attacking for 5 with Rowen's feint:  (1d20+5)[ 13 ] .  DC30 Will vs [Air] Damage on a hit.
Move: Sure let's get 60ft away from Indelible and Rowen.

Status: Crit Immune.
 
Dodgeson
"BETRAYAL!" The witch howled as Kevin bounded off her head, though she may have been deceived before, now she saw things as they truly were! "YOU ARE NO PALADIN! YOUR FOUL ACTS CEASE TODAY BLACKGUARD!"

The sigils around her began to hum and crackle with a brilliant purple light when a small pebble ricochet off of her wards, she barely noticed it, already moving her hands through the arcane patterns necessary to marshal the vast wellspring power at her beck and call when suddenly she faltered, terrible vistas of knowledge and of her place therein opening up to her in a single instant.

Which left her wide open for Wildcard's attack, buffeted backwards and forwards by his icy gale several of her sigils simply burst, shattering into twinkling starlight but the sound was just enough to snap her out of her fugue.

"ONLY A WARLOCK WOULD SEEK CONGRESS WITH THESE FOUL CREATURES! FEAR NOT GOOD MAGUS, THE DEMON WITCH WILL PROTECT YOU!"

Gathering what power she had left she soared up above her enemies and vented it downwards, it was time for THE DEMON WITCH to earn her reputation for collateral damage.

"WITNESS MY FURY! TEMPEST ARMAGEDDON!" She cried as wave after wave of dark purple energy rained down on the street below.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
 Move  Staggered
 Standard  Reposition above the PCs
 EE Standard  Attack Platformer, Wildcard &amp; Indelible with Arcane Artillery, DC29 Toughness vs Damage
 End of Turn  Recover 1 Accuracy/Will
 
Ridai
 "Oh, that is very nice of you, Lady DEMON WITCH-"  and Rowen is yanked up into the air by the DEMON WITCH. He is getting a really bad feeling, especially as a lot of, uh, very dangerous looking magics are happening. And there is that reputation, as he was told.

 "Uh, my dear Lady, there is a lot of populated city around these, uhm, villains, and it might have trouble dealing with your noble art of Demon Witchcraft would you perhaps ohyouarereallyfiringdown- " 

Rowen is not entirely sure what his plan is, if any. Next thing he knows, he pulls himself free of the DEMON WITCH's grasp, but not for a sudden betrayal. With a  "Please think of the childreeeeen!"  he just so happens to block the path of destruction that would rain down on a good chunk of city with no doubt quite confused and/or concerned citizens.

By body-blocking the spell not only including the word "Tempest", but also "Armageddon".

An idea was had. Jury's out if it was a good one.

 
 Spoiler: Mr. Presideeeent! 
Spending a 😎  Hero Point  to interpose for, uh, the city. Or at least a good chunk of it, hopefully. According to our Discord chat, this is done by stunting a benefit to interpose against area attacks?

Toughness DC 29 vs Damage  (1d20+7)[ 14 ]   Ouch, me bones. Bruised, Staggered. 
 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin landed on the ground, and from where he had stomped the DEMON WITCH, a rainbow-colored glowing sphere with a question mark on it popped out and floated over to him.

Unfortunately area attacks ignored shields below a certain energy concentration, for reasons that had yet to be adequately explained to Kevin.  It was kinda annoying, so he just petulantly ignored all damage from the attack.  No timed blocks, no fleeting barriers, no cheat codes.  Just a total no-sell, because he was mildly annoyed.  Reality warping is great.

If Kevin were somebody else, he probably would have argued with the whole "betrayal, you're no paladin" thing.  Point out that she was the one attacking random people and ask what she actually expected a paladin to do in that instance.  But Kevin Matthews, Palutena help him...he actually got it, actually understood where she was coming from.

Because the truth was, he could have  been  her.  All that power, its use motivated by...fighting monsters, collecting treasure.  Deigning everyone who acted against him an enemy to be destroyed.  Confident he was always in the right, because  he was the main character .  He understood exactly how the DEMON WITCH thought.  Because if he didn't actively avoid it, it was the exact same direction his own thoughts would naturally trend.

And casting a massive energy blast upon his enemies in the middle of a populated city...it was absolutely something some other Kevin, one who hadn't been raised and taught to be a hero, might have done.  Because who cared about the collateral damage?  Who cared what happened to a bunch of random NPC sprites?

In this case, fortunately, the  objectively correct  answer to that question was Runtime Terror, who at great personal risk stepped in to protect the city from the blast.  Kevin hadn't done that, might even have put the city at greater risk by shielding his team and then moving further afield, both underestimating the DEMON WITCH's power and tactically incentivizing her to make an area attack.  A class change didn't change the fact that when it came down to it, protecting the innocent was still the part of being a hero Kevin struggled with.  He had always been better at the "defeat the villain" part.

So when he spoke it wasn't to argue, wasn't to contradict the assessment.   "Yeah, well." 

He gazed up at the DEMON WITCH.  At the villain he could have become.   "Like the little floaty nametag thing says." 

He rapped the floating rainbow sphere with his knuckles, and it burst into a little firework, leaving behind a piece of caramel.

 "It's a work in progress." 

And then he popped the  caramel  into his mouth, narrowed his eyes in concentration, and the DEMON WITCH would start to... feel strange .

 
 Spoiler 
Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics.  10 points to Strike, 10 points to Shoot, 10 points to let's say Shrink Hitbox, 20 points to Boost Items.

Free: Use Boost Items.  Enhanced Trait 10 (Damage gains Alternate Resistance [Will], Increased Range +1 [Perception], [Mental] [Telepathy] descriptor; Limited [Earned]).

Move: Brood.

Standard: Attack the DEMON WITCH with PK Brainshock α.  Will DC 25 vs. Damage.

End of turn: Secondary Effect triggers.  PCs are Reflected again.

Current Status: Normal, Reflect, Shrink Hitbox.
 
Llyarden
  "I didn't say  I  was a warlock you -!"  

And then the DEMON WITCH unleashed purple fury down on the town...or would have done, if Reality Terror hadn't thrown off her aim - at the cost of taking the brunt of the attack.  Jake himself had pushed his powers a little too far on the last attack - effective as it might have been - and one of the blasts nailed him dead on, but he shook its effects off for the most part.

  "...you know, there was something my girlfriend used to say.  When villains think it's a good idea to cause collateral damage for no reason..."  

The winds swirling around him as he floated in the air shimmered and became entirely ethereal, coalescing at his forehead, leaving both hands free to become coated with frost that intermingled with the scintillating ray he launched at the Demon Witch.

  "... make sure they learn their lesson. 

Rime Mind Thrust!"  
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Free: I'm actually pretty good with my current array setup, so just re-randomising the 10 random points: Freeze.  Jake is feeling real icy today apparently.
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack the Demon Witch, all-out and power attacking for 5:  (1d20+10)[ 11 ]  for DC30 Will vs [Mental] [Telepathy] Damage and DC25 Fort vs Vulnerable/Defenceless/Incapacitated.  Just 
Extra Effort: Do it again!   (1d20+10)[ 19 ]   Terrible. 

Status: Fatigued, Bruised, -5 defence, reflected.
 
Zelphas
Indelible allows the purple energy to was hover her, confident in her intractable nature to--

Okay, no, that hurt a fair bit, actually.   "Perhaps she should take this as a good reminder that her powers, like all powers, have limits,"   she mutters to herself even as her sense of self begins to reject the lingering damage from the DEMON WITCH's spell.

  "You begin to see,"   Indelible states to the DEMON WITCH directly, holding up one hand. On her palm is another simple, ordinary pebble.   "And in your fear, you seek to destroy. It would be better for you and those around you if you were unable to act in such a way, at least for a time."   Somehow, through a twich of one of hte muscles in her palm, the pebble flies towards the DEMON WITCH again, laden with terrible power.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Reconfigure  Universal Truth Array:  9 PP in Third-Person Person, 11 PP in Drag and Drop (Flight 9, Subtle 2), 10 PP in What is Weight?, 20 PP in Reality Rejected, 4 PP each in All-Muscle Strike, Two-Pronged, Weighty Blow, Weight of Existence, and Pebble Snipe (Increased Range 3, Homing 1).

Move Action: What is this "movement" you speak of?

Standard Action: Use  All-Muscle Strike  on the DEMON WITCH, Power Attacking for 5.  (1d20+11)[ 20 ]  On a hit, Toughness DC 24 + Multiattack vs Secondary Effect Damage and Will DC 19/19 vs. Weaken Defense / becoming Insubstantial 4. On a miss, Homing 1.

End of turn: Regenerates 1 Bruise.

 Status:  Reflected.
 
Dodgeson
THE DEMON WITCH might have had a well deserved reputation for overwhelming arcane violence pointed at anything that stood between her and her goal but when the rain of sizzling purple energy finally ceased New Harbour's newest heroes were still standing. Thanks to Rowen's  reckless action  QUICK THINKING! even the surrounding streets had gotten by with only a few shattered windows and small craters, safe to say things could have gotten much worse.

Surveying her foes in front of her, THE DEMON WITCH was more than willing to make things worse.

"CONGRATULATIONS VILLAINS, FEW FACE MY POWER AND LIVE TO TELL THE TALE! WATCH NOW MAGUS, THESE MONSTERS WILL TASTE MY FUL-"

Of course she wasn't going to get that opportunity, the disciplined will of an occultist might have been able to shrug off Platformer's strange psi attack, but the same thing couldn't be said for Wildcard's mix of ice and telepathy, going limp as she slipped into unconscious and plummeted towards the ground with just enough of her wards remaining to cushion the impact. Her broom remained hovering ominous in the air.

After that it wouldn't take long for the city's law enforcement to arrive, luckily for them regardless of how powerful they were most magic users were pretty easy to take into custody, a gag and some cuffs to limit their hand movements and you were usually good to go (them being unconscious helps too). As the villain was being secured one of the officers approached the heroes, at least Platformer and Wildcard (those he recognised) with a look of relief on his face.

"Thanks for handling her before things got out of hand, bet the construction companies won't thank you but you guys did us a solid. Sorry we couldn't get here any sooner, there's been a robbery at the Protectorate Memorial Museum."
Ridai
  "Oach, that stings,"   Rowen says, partially roasted, with purple smoke coming off him, followed by a cough. There is even a holographic little black cloud coming out of his mask that fizzles out. When did he put that into the mask? He did add the bandaids that appeared on the mask though.

Okay, everything hurts, but it seems the city is mostly fine, so that's good. Up above, the DEMON WITCH announces a potentially even more destructive attack (oh no). And she still thinks he's her ally that needs to be protected. Honestly, despite that he probably shouldn't, he's starting to feel a little bad about lying.

But the next moment, she is plummeting from her broom, and villain or not, that is major cause for alarm given how long the way down is. So drawing on his weird debug flight, even trying to go faster with freestyle swimming motions, he tries to get somewhere on her trajectory, just barely catching her before she hits the ground. His weird debug strength means she doesn't just plummet through his arms, but he does get pushed down and lands feet first on the ground, trying to absorb the shock as best he can. And the bottom of his feet sure still do hurt from the spell. As do his knees. And arms. Ouch. But the DEMON WITCH is still alive, so that's what counts.

Runtime Terror raises a shaky hand, equally shakily calling out  "Got her, guys..."  And he groans up more purple smoke.

Once the authorities arrive, the magic-singed impromptu villain carrier, brings the DEMON WITCH over to be taken into custody, then briefly floats to grab the broom as well (if it lets him - Rowen doesn't know how magic works!) and bring it down.

As the officer speaks with Platformer and Wildcard, Runtime Terror is sitting on the curb, head resting on an arm resting on his knees, throwing in  "These three did great work taking the DEMON WITCH out."  He raises a shaky thumbs-up for further emphasis without looking up. The tip of his thumb is still lightly smoking.  "Sorry, didn't manage to catch all of the blast. I'm still new at this."  Another cough and clouds of purple smoke emerge from him.  "You need help with that robbery?  After I sat down for a bit... "  It's not like he knows how to superhero, but sometimes you just gotta roll with it and see what happens. He kind of stumbled into it already.
Zelphas
  "It may have been for the best that Indelible's last attack proved unnecessary,"   Indelible muses aloud... without realizing it... again.   "She had not yet experimented with this side of her power to her full... satisfaction, for safety. At this point, Indelible realizes that she is once more narrating aloud, and vows once more to keep a closer watch on this tendency in the future while stopping herself now."   Well, points for trying, I guess.

Indelible looks at the officer with muted surprise. Stealing from the Protectorate Memorial Museum, even with the distance between now and the famed heroes giving up their lives for New Harbour, seems rather brazen, or at least highly disrespectful.   "That seems serious, in its disregard for the sacrifice of our heroes if nothing else. Is there anything  I  can do to help?"  
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I don't know if this would work, but could I do an Expertise (Local) or (Art) to see what someone might go after in the Protectorate Memorial Museum?:  (1d20+10)[ 28 ] 
 
Ridai
In response to the curious case of Indelible narrating about herself, which Rowen admits is a first for him, a hand is raised up from Runtime Terror's smoky form on the curb and just kind of moves his hand in a hopefully conciliating manner, which looks kind of like a wave.  "'s fine, you do you."  If you don't look too closely and squint a little, the purple smoke rising off the waving hand might probably not actually also agree, because it can't. Because it's just smoke.
Quellian-dyrae
And down went the DEMON WITCH.  One might reasonably call that a fairly impressive achievement, based on what Kevin had heard of her.  On Kevin's view of the world...solid performance for a mini-boss scale threat, but all in a day's work.  He nodded to the police when they arrived and thanked them for taking her down.

When RT apologized for not being able to catch the entire blast...well, the appropriate paladin response would have been something along the lines of noting that he had taken a risk bravely and kept anyone from being hurt, which was by far the most important thing.  But while going on a quest and getting a class change might provide impressive upgrades to spite appearance, stats, and special abilities, it didn't  actually  change one's personality, no matter how clear an archetype your new class might have.

So when Kevin queried his brain on how he, as a newly-minted aspiring paladin, should respond to that, sure, it theoretically  could  have looked like Main Menu &gt; Characters &gt; Kevin &gt; Class Details &gt; Paladin &gt; Cliches.  That was definitely a search tree that existed for him.

It should come as no surprise to anybody that the tree he actually went down was Main Menu &gt; Spells &gt; Kevin &gt; Curaga.  He'd grow into his new class eventually, no doubt.  Meanwhile, he just walked over to RT and intoned,  "Shining ray of gathered sunlight, wipe away all wounds!   CURAGA! " 

He then looked attentively to the police, since RT and Indelible had already asked if they required assistance with the robbery and he didn't really have much to add to that.

Although, while Kevin was visibly focused on the police, his  actual  attention in the form of his third-person viewpoint was in fact focused on Indelible.  Not because her narrating of her own inner thoughts struck him as particularly weird, mind you.  I mean, sure, it wasn't especially usual that a person's thoughts would pop up in a dialog box if he wasn't actively Chatting them, but whatever.  By his standards that was a minor detail.  No, now that he could spare the attention, there was something much more fundamental about Indelible's presence.  He couldn't quite put his finger on-

Wait.  No.  Actually, that was just the thing.  A sense that he could put his finger on it.

It wasn't quite true that Kevin experienced himself as sitting in a room playing a video game - he couldn't "look away" from the screen or "stand up" and "walk around" the room or "shut off" the game.  But his perceptions of the world were nonetheless dissociated.  When his lifebar dropped, he felt no pain.  When he took action, his proprioceptive sense was of pressing buttons on a controller more than natively moving his body.  What he saw he had the sense of seeing from a screen, what he heard as from speakers, rather than being fully immersed in his reality.  It was kinda odd.

For some reason, his sense of Indelible was different, more like she was in the room  with  him, rather than separated from him by the screen, even though she appeared on screen.  Almost as if...she was a player as well as a character.

...Did that mean her powers were like his?   Or did it mean his intuitions were correct and he was the only person who was really real and all the other people he encountered were just sprites  nope not thinking that, definitely not that one,  bad paladin! 
Llyarden
Jake...was kinda quiet for a few moments as he landed next to the others.  Not because he was having his own reflection on letting a villain fall out of the sky or anything like that, the Demon Witch had had her magic wards up and that was the matter settled as far as he was concerned.  Nor was it because he was trying to come up with something to say to Rowan or Indelible; sure, they were both weird but then weirdness was kinda a default state of being for superheroes.

No, what had made Jake fall quiet was the mention of the Protectorate Memorial Museum.

Jake had never been.  He'd had plenty of opportunities, of course.  But it wasn't like he needed to go there to remember Rachel; the Centuria uniform in the museum, while genuine, was an old spare that Jake had quietly delivered shortly after Alchemaster's defeat.  He actually still had Rachel's mask locked away in the secret room in the kitchen.  Moreover, though, if he  did  go...it would make what happened too  real .  Even years later.
Ridai
 "Woah, Curag  woooooooaaaaaah! "   comes out of RT (you know what, that is just way simpler than Runtime Terror. And distracts from "Runtime Terror" being a little cringe) as he is suddenly drenched, positively orbitally bombarded by healing energies, making a comically large amount of purple smoke rush out of the masked person on the sidewalk. RT is on his feet, the stylized face on the mask still blinking from the very, very bright lights, while occasionally making noises like he just got literally shocked 110% awake.
Dodgeson
To the officer's credit they took Platformer's odd behaviour and the resulting outpouring of purple smoke in their stride, sure the collection of superhumans in front of him might not have been the most conventional but given that they'd just take out the DEMON WITCH he could deal with it, and anyway there was obviously more important things to be dealing with right now.

"Well if you guys could go take a look, we'd appreciate it. We've already got people down there but if that big space thing you guys keep out front has any security footage it might have seen something we missed." He replied to Indelible, she was a superhero, and they owned the big corkscrew thing that appeared in front of the Museum right? Who knew what that could do.

The police would wait around a little longer to answer any questions the heroes might have but once the unconscious villain was secured they'd be on their way, sure she might not have been much of a threat now even when she woke up (they hoped), she had some very pointy heels on and she looked like a kicker.

------

Assuming they headed back to Hero Park, where the former Protectorate headquarters turned museum stood in the shadow of the Palaceship, our heroes would find the building already had already been cordoned off by the police with several cars parked around it, but they weren't the only ones. Standing out front talking to the police were a powerfully built young man in a cape with a shield strapped to one arm and another figure covered entirely by a body suit split diagonally in red and green.

 
 Spoiler: Platformer 
So first off you don't need to roll for that other spoiler, second you've actually met the guy in the cape before! He was a student at St Ambrose in the year below you and his story is unfortunately not too uncommon, before they come to school a lot of young superhumans have never met anybody else with powers before and naturally assume they're going to be the next Paragon. Most of them grow out of it after a few semesters but Barney here never really did and the fact that he wasn't tapped as one of the people to replace Pending Objective is kind of a sore spot for him. Speaking of sore spots, while he calls himself a paragon it would be far more accurate to call him a powerhouse that can fly, bring this up at your peril.
 

 
 Spoiler: Shield Guy (Expertise:Superhuman/Well-Informed DC20) 
The guy with the shield has gone through a number of names in the recent past, Wrecking Ball, Stalwart, Captain Power, despite being a fairly powerful paragon he's something of a journeyman. He's tried to set himself up as the defacto hero of several towns before but it never works out and always ends up moving on after a few months.
 
Ridai
 "YeahsureokayI'llseewhatIcando,"  an overcharged RT says, followed by shaking out all the excess energy. He remembers something, lifts a finger, and turns to the present superheroes.  "Can one of you give me a lift? I can do weird flying, but not fast. Hanging off a cape'd be fine." 

-------------------

Arriving, RT looks up at the big ol' spaceship reflexively, but also seems to  "Hm. Hmm. Huh.  Hmmm. "  at something around the three superheroes with him. And tapping at the air experimentally, but not really met with success, apparently.

Jogging over to the other superhero-y looking people and the police, he goes  "Hello sirs, I would like to help. Does anyone know about any, uh, super surveillance tech around here. An officer had the idea to maybe check that. Could have a crack at it, if that's alright."  A beat.  "Do I need to sign an NDA for that?"  He turns to his companions.  "Do you know if the museum requires NDAs for volunteer work?" 
Quellian-dyrae
 "Sure thing, hop on,"  Kevin said.  He had played Yoshi often enough for Megan.

(Granted, Megan was a teenaged acrobat who was so good at that that she could match up against people with superpowers, so RT might find the ride just... slightly  rough.  It was barely possible that Kevin wasn't actually used to giving rides to people who couldn't balance on his shoulders doing poses at supersonic speeds.  But he had a weird flight thing so it should be fine.)

--

Kevin stopped by the museum to drop off RT.  He gave Barney (with Expertise 20, Well Informed, and Eidetic Memory, it should technically have been possible for Kevin to be up to date on his current codename, but he had given up on bothering several months ago) an upnod when he recognized him but...didn't actually say anything, not quite ignoring him (and his...sidekick, maybe?) but not really paying him much attention in the current context.

You might think that Kevin would suggest a teamup with other superheroes, especially when one of them was a fellow St. Ambrose alum but...okay, look, I want to be perfectly clear here, Kevin doesn't have anything  against  Barney.  He's a decent guy, capable fighter, pretty powerful.  If you need someone to fill out the numbers on the Good Guy side of a Giant Background Battle, absolutely, Barney's a solid choice.  It was just...

Well, Barney may or may not have been aware that during discussions about who would replace Pending Objective when they graduated, Kevin's own answer when his name had come up was rejection on the grounds of having "big NPC energy".  He was perfectly capable in an objective sense, but Kevin just had trouble believing he'd ever end up, well,  mattering  in any meaningful way.

If Kevin had taken a moment to think about that, now with his new aspirations of paladinhood and more generally treating-people-like-actual-peoplehood, he might have realized that that was an unfair reason to be dismissive of a fellow hero and taken steps to interact with him and show him professional respect.

But since this was a cached impression from back when Kevin was much less attentive about managing the dissociative aspects of his powers and there was a museum robbery to investigate, he just went with his intuitive inclinations here and barely acknowledged the guy before zipping over to the Palaceship to check its camera feeds.

Where by "check its camera feeds" I primarily mean "try and figure out if it actually has any security cameras and how they work and how to access their data" because yeah he didn't, technically, actually know literally any of that.

 
 Spoiler 
Investigation to try to get data on the museum robbery from the Palaceship, which probably mostly involves investigating the Palaceship systems but with any luck will eventually lead to data on the robbery possibly!  Routine for 30.
 
Llyarden
Under normal circumstances, Jake would have offered RT a lift.  He could usually control his powers enough that he wouldn't accidentally set his passengers on fire.   Usually .  But these very much not being normal circumstances and all, he was more than happy to leave it to Platformer.

When he landed and saw 'The Captain' (at least he was pretty sure that was his current name, people on the internet kept calling him Shield Guy but Jake was pretty sure the paragon hadn't called himself that...yet), he kinda...sighed.  It took him a few moments to think about what implication red and green had on anything as he looked at the odd bodysuit, and...well, look, Jake didn't know the full story behind 'The Captain' (a name that was inevitably going to get confused with Captain Blackcoat) moving towns every few months, but he did know that it wasn't  exactly  his own volition.  And given the rumours behind what had happened in the last place 'The Captain' had been...yeah, the red-and-green bodysuit was not the  most  welcome thing for him to see.

Nonetheless, Jake was both a professional and a strong proponent of not judging someone based solely on rumours (he hadn't exactly had the best reputation as a hero himself until recently), so when he greeted the other two superheroes it was with a polite nod...which turned into a confused look when RT piped up.    "Uh, I think he meant the Palaceship."    He pointed up to where Platformer was...well, platforming up towards the alien vessel.

But a little confusion wasn't going to interrupt his polite introduction, so he cleared his throat and turned back to the Captain.    "Pleasure to meet you.  I'm Wildcard."    He  didn't  use the Captain's name, partly because for all he knew the guy might have changed it again and mostly because he suspected it would come off as him knowing all the bad rumours about the paragon.    "Sorry we're late, we got caught up at something else.  Could you give us a rundown?"  
Ridai
RT looks to the Palaceship, his brow rising.  "Ohhh!"  Look to the museum, then back to the Palaceship.  "Yeah that makes sense."  Looking back to the police and other superheroes.  "My bad." 

...

RT looks back up at the Palaceship, mask-face squinting quite a lot. Stage-whisper to Jake:  "Do you think that thing has NDAs?" 
Zelphas
  "Very well, then,"   Indelible replies to the police officer, nodding once.   "I will see what I can--"   Indelible is simply no longer in the vicinity near the DEMON WITCH, vanishing without so much as a pop in an instant.

---

  "--do."   Indelible is at Hero Park, appearing their at the same instant she vanishes from where she was before.   "Perhaps that was too early; she must remember to allow the sound of her sentences to finish before moving to the next needed location, next time,"   the white-clad hero mentions casually to herself, observing the scene. She simply remains standing unnaturally in the air, looking distinctly at nothing with fathomless dark brown eyes.

... Well, from the outside, that is. Truthfully, Indelible's vision is swooping around the area, trying to pick up any clues, and the rest of her is at something of a loss. She was a law school student without any interactions or even interest in superheroes before her Realization, and she has been repeatedly reminded of her ignorance as she's tried to become more proactive. She knows the Protectorate, of course, but all other heroes (And, frankly, villains) are pretty much an unknown to her, she doesn't really have sleuthing talents, and talking to people while being full-force Indelible is mostly an exercise in looming ominously over them until they spill their secrets, which doesn't help much right now. So, she concentrates on not saying all of this aloud, and tries to see if she can catch a clue by simple observation.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I'll throw in a generalized Perception check, mostly to see if she snags something she can use:  (1d20+20)[ 38 ] 
 
Dodgeson
When they arrived The Captain returned Kevin's minor nod of recognition but luckily for him the other St Ambrose alumnus jetted off to the Palaceship before he was in any real danger of losing his cool. He'd only been in the city for a few weeks and not only had he managed to pull together a team of his own but a robbery at the Protectorate Museum was sure to put him on the map and Platformer acknowledged him! That totally meant that he saw them is peers and equals right? Not for long though, oh yes he was going to blow straight passed him and finally get the recognition he deserved!

Anyway back to Platformer.

Unfortunately for the reality-warper (a phrase that is way less specific now given the makeup of the party), without putting more time in to exploring the intricacies of the Palaceship and learning the nuances of its strange extra-temporal alien technology there simply wasn't a way to tell what was a security device and what was some bizzare version of lion-man pong, although he did manage to make something dispense a thick glittering fluid that smelled of almost but not quite exactly like pickles.

Back outside the Museum with our heroes the Captain's green and red associate stayed silent but the shield wielding hero was more than happy to answer Jake's question "So glad you finally decided to show up." He replied to the other hero, his hands on his hips in a classic heroic pose that he totally hadn't been practicing in the mirror since he was 12 "Something tripped the museum's motion sensors, nothing seems to have appeared on camera, but don't worry the brainiacs are inside giving the place a once over and when they find something Team Justice is going to be on the case!"

Hanging back from the rest of the group Indelible cast her vision around the scene but as far as she could tell there was nothing unusual going on outside, unusual for a crime scene anyway, even if a few of the officers where giving her soon strange looks.
Ridai
 "Ah, I see, cool cool,"  RT responds, even though Cap is more talking to Jake.  "Since you guys have things in hand here, I'll look around in there,"  he lets them know, gesturing towards the Palaceship. Not that that's much of a specific area, given the size of the thing.

 "Nice working with ya,"  he adds, adding a thumbs up, before he just kind of starts to move off the ground and to the side, a bit like someone dragging an (animated) image around in an image editor. So as he just kind of debug flies at the Palaceship, RT rubs his masked chin (wooden pipe and detective hat also appearing on said mask) as he looks for a way in. There's gotta be some sort of... sensor control room, or surveillance center, or bridge, or some other nonsense. Maybe  auspex!  Maybe he'll even run into a terminal (physical or the RT kind)! Or a map? Signage? Post-its?

He sees Indelible just kind of hanging back, so he calls over  "Do you want to help me look for a security room or something like that inside that thing?"  Some people don't like socializing much, but that's no reason to not occasionally ping them to check if they are ready to go.
Zelphas
The strange looks are not tremendously new to Indelible;  she  is certainly strange, especially since  she  hasn't fully regained control of her behaviors yet or understood how they work. Honestly, the fact that  she  still has something resembling a secret identity is an ongoing surprise.

 She  appears next to RT almost before he finished speaking, without truly realizing how  she  had moved there. It is just where  she  is supposed to be.   "Yes,  I  think that  I  can help with that,"   she replies, looking somewhat to the right of RT and vaguely thankful that her still-new state of consciousness means that her awkward relief is not presented on her physical form.
Ridai
Ah, avoids eye contact. RT makes a mental note to not just throw Indelible into social situations without backup, as that wouldn't be very nice, now would it?

 "Great!"  RT answers, along with a thumbs up.  "There's gotta be a door here somewhere." 
Quellian-dyrae
As if on cue (or possibly, as if in response to a key event triggering), the door opened up and Kevin came out of it.   "If the Palaceship has security, it's going to take at least several days of tinkering - and possibly getting drenched in increasingly strangely-scented substances - to figure out how to access it.
 I think we're on our own on this one,"  he reported, before heading back over to the museum.

He went over to one of the police officers, and it only took a  single  second of standing silently in front of him pressing the A button in his head before he caught himself and asked,  "So, do we have any reports on what was stolen, exactly?"   Probably best to see what the current state of available information was before going rooting around for Clues, he figured.
Ridai
 "Oh, we'll figure something out,"  RT says, entering the convenient door to continue the search.
Dodgeson
"The Protectorate." A synthesized voice replied, cutting off the police officer as the doors to the museum swung open and a slim blue powersuit floated out in to the open "Their bodies are no longer within the museum."

While they didn't cut an immediately recognisable figure (though there was like a 90% chance whoever was in that suit worked for Astonishing Industries) the girl following out behind her in a domino mask with a black bird emblazoned on her chest was someone that Kevin would once again recognise. Like Barney she was another St Ambrose alumni who went the codename of Songbird and if the name hadn't tipped him off, she was an enormous fan of Megan back in the day.

"Grave robbery?!" The Captain declared loudly "Well don't worry officers Team Justice will make sure these ghastly ghouls are brought to justice!"

Meanwhile Indelible and RT wandered into the Palaceship and found themselves in its expansive techno-medieval interior, a place where at any moment gleaming silver threatened to give way to rough hewn stone and lit torches and where tapestries showing the brutal victories of the ships former lion-headed owners often hid flickering screens that were covered with strange alien symbols. Below them was the cargo hold, now freed of its human cattle but still containing crates and caches of who knew what and above them the living quarters of the alien slavers, all the way up to the throne room where our heroes had defeated the mad Chainmaker.

None of that probably helped right now though, like Platformer had said it was going to take more than a cursory glance of all this to work out if there even was a usable security system on board and how to activate it if there was one.
Ridai
 "Aw heck. Well, teaches me to try and go with assumptions based on human design, I guess. Sorry 'bout that,"  RT says to Indelible as he is leaving the space castle, holographic cartoon sigh cloud briefly emerging from his mask.  "Long-term project after all, that one. Least I got some sightseeing in." 

Heading back over to the museum, everyone is looking rather serious.  "Big revelation?" 
Zelphas
The interior of the Palaceship is well beyond Indelible's knowledge, though maybe a careful study would reveal to her some metaphysical properties she could play with... she sets aside the idea for now as she and RT return to the group gathered outside.

  "Perhaps this is a simple question, and perhaps too blunt, but worth asking: are there any villainous scientists with a penchant for biology in the area at the moment?"   Indelible asks once the situation has been clarified.   "Or perhaps someone utilizing a form of necromancy? The DEMON WITCH seemed ready to believe that  I  was an undead spirit of some sort without much prompting; maybe she had reason to believe necromancy should be expected in the area."  
Dodgeson
Indelible's question was a pertinent one, that was met with a small amount of conferring between the officers present but unfortunately they came up empty. They could be counted on to cart away a villain or two once their plans had been foiled but for the most part they were more comfortable with the more mundane side of crime.

"We can put a call in to special operations if you want?" One of them offered a little apologetically "See if they've heard anything."

Of course they weren't the only ones here and again the floating form of the powersuit spoke up "I believe I might know somewhere we could find answers..."

"Well don't tell them!" They were almost immediately interrupted by their leader, flying up in front of them and clamping one enormous hand over their mouth (which probably didn't actually do anything because powersuit, but the point was clear) "You can tell us on the way! Don't worry officers Team Justice is on the case!" Before any of them could complain he had already grabbed one arm of the red and green figure and was on the move!

The powersuit and the girl in the domino mask just kind of shared a look and flew off along behind him, one dangling from the arms of the other.

"So...should I make that call?" The officer asked again, they were a little bit confused about what the heck just happened.

 
 Spoiler: Expertise:New Harbour/Local (DC30) 
It's not too difficult to work out what they might have been talking about. Rumour has it that in the aftermath of the Alchemaster's attack a bar sprung up in one of the less well to do neighbourhoods calling itself The First Circle (of course some people say that it's always been there) that has become a favoured spot for would be villains and the like, largely due to its owner who enforces a strict 'Don't Start Nothing' policy on her patrons, turning the place in to something of a neutral ground.
 
Ridai
 "Huh,"  RT goes as Team Justice flies away/flaps in the wind, looking up after them.  "Hero business is competitive?"  Well. As long as heroes and villains don't get some weird sort of power ranking system smushed on them, things should be alright? Hopefully? ...Are there sponsors for heroes that demand advertisement in return? That would be unfortunate.

Looking at the officer who seems as confused as RT, the latter goes  "Couldn't hurt? Whole supers scene's still new to me."  An appropriate shrug follows.
Llyarden
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Routining the Expertise check, and as mentioned in Discord spending a hero point to Edit Scene and say that the body buried as 'Centuria' wasn't Rachel's body.
 


Jake...kinda frowned as the powersuited figure related that the bodies of the Protectorate had been stolen.  Now, had anyone actually  known  that one of the Protectorate had been his girlfriend, they might have been surprised at his lack of reaction.  But the simple fact was that Rachel's body had not, in fact, been stolen - it was buried in a small graveyard under her real name, as far as anyone else knew just one of many non-hero casualties of Alchemaster's attack.  What had been buried in the Museum had been a 3D-printed version of Centuria, made using some supergenius's invention that could pass as a flesh substitute (Jake was pretty sure that it had originally been intended as something for medical treatments) and with enough inaccuracies that it could pass for Centuria without raising anyone's suspicions about how similar Rachel looked.

While it might not have been his girlfriend's body that had just been stolen, though, Jake had still known the rest of the Protectorate personally, so the idea of their bodies being absconded with was...still a little uncomfortable.

  "Not...normally,"   he answered RT, watching as the chain of 'heroes' departed, keeping his tone carefully neutral more for the benefit of the police officers than anyone else.

  "And it might not even be some twisted reason they got taken,"   he added, to Indelible.    "The Protectorate used secret identities when they were alive for a reason.  There were a lot of villains out there who would've loved to hurt their loved ones to get at the heroes who beat them time and again, and I bet a lot of them returned after Alchemaster's attack.  All it would take is hacking the right computers and you could do a DNA match to find the Protectorates' real identities."  

He sighed.    "That said, the Captain probably had the right idea: the First Circle.  It's a bar that gets a lot of clientele from villains, kind of a neutral zone - and a place for villains to brag about their latest plans and successes."    He scoffed.    "Of course, whether it will stay a neutral zone when heroes show up - and not just show up but start asking questions - is another matter, and if a fight breaks out there than any chance of getting information is probably wrecked."    He paused for a moment.    "But I think I might have an idea.  I can't go in there without drawing even more attention than the Captain and his crew will."  

He grinned, and looked at RT and Indelible.    "But you two can."  
Ridai
RT looks to Wildcard for a moment, given the prospect of going into a villain bar to get information about villainous things out of them, to use them for heroic purposes.

He thumbs up. There's even a brief little holographic star coming out of his thumb.

 "Sounds good to me!" 

After all, breathing air in and exhaling BS comes quite naturally at this point. His mask-face even takes on the look of a chiseled face with eyes in hard shadow, the deepest frown, a mouth shape with the corners so damn low it is actually impressive, and at least three scars.

 "Can you guys fly me there?" 
Zelphas
Indelible considers Wildcard's statement, tilting her head slightly.   "It is possible  I  can do that... once."   In moments, RT is somehow standing perched on Indelible's left palm, the very  real  woman holding him up with no indication of even the slightest strain.   "My methods of interrogation are rather direct; almost all  I  can do is... present myself, and let them draw their own conclusions. Hopefully that will be enough.  

Indelible, with RT "in hand", so to speak, rises slowly into the air--before stopping abruptly and turning back to Wildcard.   " I  do not actually know where to go,"   she explains, a hint of chagrin in her voice.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
With full points in  What is Weight?  and  Drag and Drop , Indelible can carry RT easily while in platform flight.
 
Ridai
Suddenly on Indelible's hand, RT begins to fall to the side. He instinctively T-poses, causing him to debug wobble back upright. Handy mnemonic tool to use his "flight", that.

 "Oh, being good at direct interrogation is great! I'll do the villain roleplaying, you'll make them appropriately quake in their boots."  RT says above.  "We'll make a great team." 
Dodgeson
After getting directions from Wildcard, RT and Indelible were off across the city, the modern buildings that had been constructed after the Alchemaster's reign of terror giving way to the older and far less well maintained structures as they reached the less affluent part of the city where the relief money hadn't been thrown around with quite as much enthusiasm. It was there that they would find a small squat building with a flat roof topped with a red neon sign that identified it as The First Circle, and while it wasn't in any better condition than the buildings that surrounded it, unlike the others the pavement that surrounded it was utterly immaculate.

Inside was dimly illuminated by the light coming from fixtures hanging from the ceiling and the walls were decorated with framed newspaper clippings of nefarious deeds and an assortment of sports memorabilia, except for one wall which was currently sporting a person shaped indent. The clientele was pretty much what you’d expect, a quartet of goons were crowded around a pool table, while a figure with a blazing skull for a head through darts at a board with a picture of Paragon pinned to it and a woman in welding goggles had a heated discussion with a mechanical man that quickly quietened down as more customers entered the room.

Behind the bar stood a statuesque woman with a high brown ponytail cleaning a glass, regarding the newcomer from behind a pair of sunglasses.

All this left Wildcard and Platformer back at the museum with police, who had mostly began to dissipate after cordoning off the building, they’d done all they could for now and with not one but two teams of heroes looking into the situation surely things were all under control?

“So hey if you guys come down to the station with us Special Operations said they got some time if you want to talk.” One of the officers offered helpfully.
Ridai
On the way:  "So, I should tell you, I don't have a plan beyond a vague idea. Basically being a villain who pretended to be a hero in what just happened. In pretend. If you are unsure about talking, go for silent and intense. Otherwise, well, just go with the flow and take no crap, I guess, it'll be fine." 

Upon arrival, RT is T-pose-drag-and-dropped off Indelible's hand onto the sidewalk (he also retrieves a handkerchief to clean some dirt from his shoes off her palm). Once that is done, RT's mask takes on the simple pattern of a basic big smiley face. Just the absolute minimum to convey the shape. But having a weird pseudo Mona Lisa quality where said face seems to be looking at you no matter where you are, and piercingly so. With  that  done, he bends backwards, so far that it seems semi-improbably to remain standing, letting his head hang back and his arms hang down. Like this, he hovers perhaps an inch above the ground and slides through the air. The lovely sound of a quiet drawn-out groan follows him.

The uncanny display brings him (and Indelible?) to the bar, where he does a sudden quarter-circle around one of the bar stools without changing direction, then another drag-and-drop-esque hop onto the piece of furniture. The next moment, he snaps forward, elbows on the bar, groan ended.

 "Hi. Day barely started, already lost a bet. Do you do cocktails? Beer's also fine."  He half-face-palm-rests his masked head on one of this hands, the smiley face just dead-staring onto the bar (is there some shading above the eyes?). He mutters  "One tiny delay with a witch and boom, toooo late, all gone, rasserfrassin-"  He looks to Indelible, then as if she said something to him, he goes for the full facepalm.  "Don't remind me. Taking my loser photo with some magic necro goth edgelords or whatever, uuuugh."  The smiley face keeps on beaming beneath the facepalm.

He checks his phone, more exasperated noises, putting it away again.

 
 Spoiler: Actions 
RT has no clear plan to lead him to answers. Right now, he is mainly establishing a character. A character thoroughly annoyed and exasperated over people having broken into the tombs of New Harbour's former finest before he could break into the place, apparently. And maybe to get people talking about it, whether just chatting or spilling stuff by trying to make fun of him.

Deception to see how much he beansed it  (1d20+20)[ 39 ] 
 
Zelphas
  "Indelible tilts her head in mild confusion, realizing after a long moment that  she  also does not have a plan going forward. Since it seemed that RT had more of an idea,  she  decides to follow his lead... as far as she can understand it.  She  takes in a deep breath, and says--"   Indelible takes in a deep breath, and says:   "Very well.  I  will most likely stay silent, then.  

Entering the establishment, Indelible remains floating, slightly, off of the floor, staying behind RT and following him to the bar in complete silence. Her masked face, blank white except for two dark, expressionless eyes, roll over the rest of the room, watching, cataloguing. Without any conscious effort on her part, her  existence  plays out a subtle pressure in the air, a simple impression that whatever is in the room with her is simply less  real  than she is.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Intimidation for a good first impression, just to make people think twice about ignoring or attacking us:  (1d20+20)[ 22 ] 

Perception, to see if anyone responds to RT's commentary or seems shifty...er than the rest of the clientele:  (1d20+20)[ 21 ] 
 
Dodgeson
"Let me think about that for a second." The bartender sarcastically replied to RT, tilting her head back towards a chalkboard with a list of cocktails "Hmm..." A pointed tail snuck around from behind her and gestured at an array of pumps at the bar. "...yeah I think I think I can swing that. What can I get you and the uh..." they regarded Indelible for a moment, not really sure what to make of the floating figure "...familiar? Cash up front, I don't run a charity here."

Whatever drinks they settled on, the bartender would whip them up before commiserating with her new customer, lending an ear was a good way to keep people keep around and keep them spending plus who knows what juicy details they might let slip after a few drinks? "Magic users, don't get me started. Buncha *******s right?"

Keeping watch around the bar Indelible would see more than one set of eyes on the pair of them as they entered the building. This might have been neutral territory, heck some of the crooks and nerdowells even enjoyed coming here to blow off steam, but that didn't mean that they felt any need to be particularly nice to newcomers and they were regarding her and RT like sharks watching minnows. One patron in particular, a man with a skeletal staff floating behind him, seemed to take issue with the bartender's statement and begin to rise from their seat.

"Yeah I'm talking about you! You're lucky I still let your bony ass in here, sit down!" The bartender bellowed, quickly making the man reconsider his actions. "So what was the score?" She asked with a satisfied grin, turning their attention back to RT.
Ridai
RT asks for a Swimming Pool, and makes sure to tip a lot. That's how bad things are for RT, getting himself a cocktail without even any booze in it. It does a lot to make that smiley face on his mask seem that much more depressed as its dead empty stare wants to bore holes into the bar. He also pays for Indelible's drinks.

Asked about the score (RT also wondering if skeleton staff dude might know lonely necromancers in the neighborhood into stealing hero corpses), there is a long, muffled groan.   "So."   He is still talking through his hand, but given there is also his mask in the way, it mostly slightly muffles in a funny way.  "Bet on something big. Got it aaall sorted out. Black market deal for some real hot, real risky, but real lucrative memorabilia. No one knows this guy right here. Doing some final prep. Feelin' good. Then hold ups. Okay. Dealing with that. Buddies bailing, getting cold feet, the wusses, 'cept my best woman here.  Well then.  Murphy's Law in full swing, then wham. Snatched by an actual witch, pointy hit and CAPITAL LETTER NAME and all.  Frickin' heroes  on scene immediately, gotta think quick, roleplay some BS, pretend being a goody-two-shoes. Get blasted with some armageddon beam or whatsit for my trouble. But the suckers buy it.  Sure, alright.  Sweatin' bullets. Get to Protectorate HQ to finally do my thing, running hella late. And some shmucks were already there, stole the damn bodies too! Can you believe it! Was there so long ago the cops were already there! The  cops! "  RT's head sinks down onto the bar, but not without still drawing on the very long, twirly straw leading up into the blue cocktail. His mask even briefly burns with holographic purple fire when he mentions getting blasted.

 " Necromancers,  rasserfrassin-"  Frustrated and rapid cocktail-through-straw-drinking, until it is audibly empty, ordering another (tipping well again), then draining that one as well just as fast.

 "So yeah. Now I'll be crawling through graveyards, morgues, and Hot Topics to get my ass filmed having a bunch of pasty nerds point 'n' laugh at me. She's here"  RT thumb-points to Indelible.  "to make sure I don't bail out, bet winners' gonna have a big damn laugh, and I'm back in a damn box doing tech support for the next 34 years. **** me." 

Long groan.

 "So how's your day. Feel like pointing and laughing? Could use the practice. Got any necro friends I can get green-flamed-blasted in the face by?"  RT asks the bartender. If RT is lucky, someone here might actually know someone. If he is  really  lucky, they might even tell him because they think it'll be funny to hear about some green loser having his ass set of green fire.
Zelphas
Indelible is amused at being thought of as a familiar. Or is she irritated? It is honestly difficult to tell, at times. Still, it may be worthwhile to simply continue to go along with the ruse, and let RT do... whatever he is doing.

It is trivial for Indelible to set herself on a slow, single spin, her body rigid and unmoving as her eyes seem to pass over everyone in the bar. Her sight doesn't work that way anymore, but direct eye contact is a powerful thing, when she can manage it. The simple menace she is attempting to exude might be enough to get those who just want to stir up trouble to back down; it might also force those who actually know something to consider them a real threat worth confronting, though that's more of a long shot.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I'm going to try an Intimidation again, but ignore it if I can't reroll:  (1d20+20)[ 33 ] 
 
Dodgeson
The bartender listened to RT's tale of woe with only the slightest hint of a smirk behind her glasses, not that she didn't love a good story but openly laughing at customers tended to make them leave and this guy was already on his second drink and he was tipping so who was she to judge? "That's rough buddy, hate to break it to you though but I think those hand wavers were selling you a line, last I heard everything in that place is a dud but if that kind of thing is your bag I might know a guy who knows a guy."

Without stopping her patter she moved to make RT another of the blue drinks, after news like she figured he was going to need one "My day? That's a new one. Had some capes barge in here who didn't understand the concept of 'don't start nothing' so that's coming out of the insurance." She nodded towards the man-shaped dent in one of the walls. "You wouldn't catch me near a necromancer if you paid me."

That drew some more grousing from the man with the skeletal staff but nobody particularly seemed to care.

"Unless they need a drink, we're not picky here." She added, sliding another beverage towards RT.

Meanwhile everyone else in the bar appeared to be given the pair a wide berth, beyond even the bar's rules about conflict, none of them could really make heads or tails of what exactly Indelible was but they were fairly sure that they didn't want to find out right now.
Ridai
 "Whaaad? Naaaaah, they'd nevar,"  the most definitely already thoroughly sloshed RT says to being sold a line, the smiley face's components swimming around on the mask. He chuckle-giggles at the story of the wall imprint, adding  "Goo' thang tha Indu- Indele-  In-del-ib-le  here di'n' have add it. Tha' woulda been righ' prop'r mess aaall over de plehs,  hooowee! " 

As for the bartender not liking necromancers, RT does a big messy "oh that's alright" motion, along with  "Aw, tha'sh 'lrigh'. Ya know wha',  you're 'lrigh'. "  RT takes his funny blue drink that most definitely does have alcohol in it, unlike what he thought he once has been told by someone at some point (that's what you get for approximate and also wrong knowledge, not that RT minds all that much right now). He pushes up and starts walking away from the bar, but he gets some of that wrong, as he starts to walk, but also rotating around his own axis as he goes, slowly making him walk forward while suspended horizontally in the air (and still walking in squiggly lines). To Indelible he says  "C'mon, sho- shoul anyhilladr, maaah buddy! Mebbe thesh fine fol'sh wan'  chat! "  The villain roleplaying idea part of RT is getting slightly out of hand, though people might make out the heavily mangled "soul annihilator" part aimed at Indelible.

So he sidewinds his way over to the bone staff dude, maintaining his sloshed cheery mood (red cheeks have joined the smiley face in swimming around on the mask), reaching the table when RT's head is pointed at a 45 degrees downward angle at the ground, feet going the opposite way, and still very slowly rotating as he comes to a halt. His drink doesn't seem wont to spill out of the glass, still being slurped every now and then.

 "Heeey, you wan' a drink? I finksh we need ya, need ya  eshb'rteesh . Ya kno', if ya feeeel lige it, 'courshe. Shome... shome  Frang'nshteen  dogtorsh, or  funny bone boysh  tha' migh' nab shome heroesh gubbinsh. Won' tell 'em 'bout you or shomethin'. Eben ib...  eeeven  if shey shtart shootin' a' ush wib  laysher beamsh  or   greeeen flamesh!   Hope they don' tho. Lasht time, maaah buddy grabbed 'em like thish an' woun' up for shome-"  And the following words are mostly bleeped out for some reason, at first looking absurd, but the various pinch and pull and twisting motions start to look more like RT is trying to sloshedly convey rather unfortunate fates, further underlined by some gestures and postures that definitely start to look like he is getting sick or horrified during the bleepage (and random ominous word fragments between) over what Indelible allegedly did to the last people attacking her in the past. Once the beeping storm ends, RT goes  "Aw  heck,  geddin'... geddin'  shenshored again! "  To Indelible:  "Are ya  beepin'  me?! Wait, nev'rmin'..."  Apparently, Indelible can also beep other people. The most ominous of abilities. Clearly.

Mask's damn beep function got out of hand while extoling Indelible's fine diplomatic ability while starting to feel sick from the booze.

 
 Spoiler: Actions 
More Deception?  (1d20+20)[ 33 ] 
 
Dodgeson
The rest of the bar continued to watch RT's antics with something best described as morbid disinterest, the woman behind the bar certainly didn't care as long as his money was good and he stayed on the 'harmless' side of the drunken idiot spectrum, running a bar frequented by the dregs of society definitely gave you a different view on what was acceptable behaviour.

Luckily for the them, or unluckily for the man with the staff, most of RT's antics were focused on the man with the floating staff who blinked a few times before muttering a few short ear-singeing words in an unholy abyssal tongue to better understand the other man. "Wine. Red." He replied while rubbing his temple, still a free drink was a free drink and it wasn't like he exactly had anywhere better to be right now, waiting for his beverage before divulging any information.

"You're either drunker or stupider than you look." He began after a fortifying drag from his glass "The dead are restless. Every thaumaturge, spiritualist and warlock I know is staying away from this place, something is coming and whatever it is it's thrown the aether out of balance in its wake. Hell the only reason I'm still here is because of Him" He tilted his head back to gesture at the staff floating ominously behind him wreathed in a green flame. "If you were smart you'd get out of here until this all blows over, the whole city is sitting on top of a necropolis."

"Hey! No scaring paying customers!" The bartender bellowed, causing the necromancer to flinch in his seat, but that wasn't anything that another drag of wine couldn't solve.
Zelphas
Leaning fully into the bit, Indelible has been rotating slowly in place for the last few minutes as RT continues his rant and the bar-goers watch with vague disinterest. The necromancer's words snap her out of this action almost literally. She freezes in place, then rotates fully to face him in the space of a millisecond. The look is slightly off; instead of facing the necromancer, she seems angled more towards his staff--not that Indelible is really able to notice with her perception being what it is.

  "You are the only worker with the dead who remains in this city, then?"   she asks; a simple question, but the weight of her words, of her  self , causes them to sit uneasily in the air between them, waiting for the necromancer to confirm or deny this statement.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
When all you have is a hammer...

Intimidation to get him to spill if any other necromancers or the like are weirdly remaining in the city at this time:  (1d20+20)[ 40 ] 
 
Ridai
For the benefit of everyone involved, all the noises made by RT will from now on be translated into intelligible speech.

 "Ohhhhh! You know fancy necromancer hangouts down in the dungeon?"  RT asks cheerily, seemingly completely oblivious of Indelible towering over the necromancer and the staff.
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin upnodded to Songbird when she came out, but stayed pretty much silent during the brief discussion, per his general lack of social acumen.  He had some sense that a paladin (aspiring or otherwise) should maybe be more outgoing, but he didn't actually know how a paladin was supposed to act in this sort of situation, which only made him even more hesitant to speak up.  Hrm.  Clearly, changing classes was more complicated than it looked.

He didn't show much reaction when the Captain actively interfered with his teammate's attempt to share information, mainly because he kinda had to make an active effort to have his emotions actually show up on his face.  He was frowning internally though.  Okay, if that was how they were going to play it, fair enough.

As Indelible and RT headed to the bar and the officer said SO could talk with them at the station, Kevin nodded.   "Sounds good.  I can stop by in a bit, but I'd like to give the scene a once-over myself first.  Never know when there might be a clue that requires a particular set of super-senses to detect, and all." 

Granted, Kevin's actual super-senses were mainly limited to looking around corners really well.  That said, it was not entirely metaphorical to say that he had a "unique way of looking at the world".  Sometimes the video-game-esque "skinning" that his powers put over his perceptions made things stand out to him that wouldn't to others.  Besides, it would be silly to not take a look at the crime scene itself.  That was just begging to miss critical clues and/or useful power ups.

So unless the officer objected, Kevin would head into the museum himself (taking care to follow standard police procedures for investigating an active crime scene, so as not to contaminate any evidence), conducting a thorough but quick search with the aid of Pauses and his Third-Person Viewpoint, allowing him to look around for subjective hours in mere moments as long as he wasn't needing to physically interact with anything.  He was looking for any clues or trace evidence that the criminals might have left, of course, but also paying attention to the security features that they would have had to get around to steal the bodies.  After all, knowing what sort of obstacles stood in their way would potentially offer information on what sort of skills and/or powers would have been needed to pull off the heist.

While he was at it, he would also check the museum's other displays against whatever plaques or writings or whatever explained them to the viewer, in case perhaps the high-profile grave robbery might have been intended to distract from a more subtle crime.

 
 Spoiler 
I doubt they will but if the officer objects to Kevin investigating the scene himself he'll politely go along to the station.

Otherwise though, running a full search on the museum.  Routine Investigation for 30 for the search, Routine Expertise (Law Enforcement) for 30 to  scrupulously  follow police procedure.  😏

He'll make use of his Pause (Mental Quickness 20) and Camera (Remote Viewing 3, Extended Vision 1) to speed up the search.
 
Dodgeson
Indelible's question was a perfectly reasonable one and it wasn't as if she had asked it with much menace or threat but there was just something about the rotating  woman   familiar  Indelible looming over him that sent him absolutely rigid in his chair, his hand clutching the stem of his wine glass ever tighter. Luckily there was someone else on hand to answer and the green flames around the staff floating behind the necromancer flared up as it began to speak.

"He stays because  I  command it." The staff intoned with a booming voice, nobody else in the bar to so much as looked up (maybe it did this a lot?) "Let the cowards retreat to their towers and chantries, they lack the resolve to hold fast and the rewards shall be ours."

While the staff was being dramatic the necromancer had just about shaken off the effect of Indelible's polite enquiry and decided to take his mind of them by focusing on the far more harmless looking of the pair, not that he knew what in blazes RT was talking about "What dungeon?"

-----

Back at the museum, the police had no hesitation in letting Platformer examine the crime scene he was a hero after all, it was kind of their job and anyway he clearly understood the proper procedure for these things. Unfortunately though there didn't seem to be much else to find, none of the other exhibits seem to have been touched and bar the tripped alarms and the obviously missing bodies of the Protectorate there was precious little evidence that anyone else had actually been there. Still the fact that the security had actually been tripped ruled out whoever did it being literally trackless but they must have gotten in and out  fast .
Ridai
 "Ya knooow! The undercity! The DEMON WITCH was looking for it too,"  RT happily continues as Indelible looms.
Quellian-dyrae
There wasn't much to find, but seeing the scene itself was still worth it; never knew when some minor little background detail might actually be a clue to, like, which levers you have to press to open a secret treasure room in a late-game dungeon, or something.  He went over what he had seen in his head, mulling possibilities, as he made his way to the police to speak with the Special Operations team.
Zelphas
Indelible does not noticeably respond to the staff speaking, except for a small eyebrow raise when it addresses itself.   " I  see. However,  I  did not ask why he stayed,  I  asked if he was the only one who did. What is there that is coming, that is so fearsome those who deal in death will not remain to reap the rewards you mentioned?"  
Dodgeson
Having drawn his conclusions from the crime scene Platformer was off to liaise with the Special Operations team which meant another meeting with his very own Named NPC tm  Metahuman Liason Clement*, the young officer jumping up from his desk as he arrived.

"Platformer, they said you'd be coming! This is about the museum case right?" (Were they on actual name basis? Who could say and even if they were he wasn't going to use it on the job.) "Don't worry, we're not going to rest until we've gotten to the bottom of this one, it's the least we could do after everything that the Protectorate have done for the city!" Heading through the station he'd lead Kevin down to the holding area where a woman with scraggly hair dressed in several layers of ragged clothes paced agitatedly around their cell.

Seeing Platformer and the officer the woman practically flung herself at the bars, staring at them wild-eyed "Bones! Bones aren't supposed to move like that! They took my dog! They took my Buster! I could feel the noise in my brain!"

"We found found her wandering the streets near a storm drain. We're just holding her here until someone can come from the hospital to collect her." Clement explained "Nobody's been able to make sense of what she's saying..."

 *Last seen in Adventure 1 continuity fans!
 
----

"Oh that." The necromancer took another drag of his wine and continued his valiant effort to ignore whatever the heck Indelible was, if his master wanted to deal with the looming figure then that was their prerogative but he certainly didn't have to "The whole place is crawling with wannabe archmages and convokers, it stinks of that alchemists handiwork, it's so gauche..."

Meanwhile the staff continued to parlay with Indelible, it turns out that was much easier to do when you were an ancient entity bound to a magical item and not a fleshy mortal "An artifact comes, we know not the wielder but all those who sense beyond the veil can feel its pull. Death has a new master now."

By now it would be obvious that the staff had no concept of an inside voice and the conversation had not gone unnoticed by the woman behind the bar "HEY! If you're gonna exposit in my bar it's a two drink minimum!"
Ridai
 "Ooh!" 

RT scoots to the side and (still in seated position) moves backwards over to the bar, ordering drinks (and snacks, snacks very important), returning to the table with the goods.  "I'm down for some good exposition!"  he says, having peanuts at the ready. There's a drink for him, one for Indelible, one for the necromancer, and apparently one for the staff.
Zelphas
  Death has a new master...   Indelible muses (she's fairly certain it isn't said aloud). Setting aside for the moment the greater ramifications of there being a concrete, singular 'master' of the metaphysical state/concept known as 'death', the relatively minor implications of a 'new' master are serious enough, especially since their current objective is to rediscover missing bodies of powerful people...

Ignoring the voice of someone currently deemed irrelevant behind the bar, Indelible keeps her attention on the staff, seeming almost to loom larger without moving a muscle.    "This artifact. It comes to this city. Is it coming from mortal distance, or magical? Where in this city is it coming to?"   If they can pin down a more concrete location, that might lead them to the bodies--though what state they may be in, Indelible cannot say.
Quellian-dyrae
Now that he was (trying to be) a paladin, it might have occurred to Kevin that, you know, maybe sending random Chat alerts at all hours of the day to someone solely on the basis of him having been the first cop he had met on arriving at the city had not been appropriate.  It was too late to correct the mistake, of course; Clement now had an official title and was an established part of the system and all that, but it was at least possible to apologize for whatever chaos Kevin had undoubtedly added to the officer's life with his poorly-conceived actions.

...Yep, that sure definitely  might  have occurred to him.  Didn't, in this particular timeline, but definitely might have!

 "Hey Clement, yeah,"  Kevin greeted and answered him, because not calling a named NPC  by  their name was rude, and Kevin wasn't actually sure if failure to do so might diminish any plot armor having a name afforded them.  He didn't actually comment on the odds of the  police  being the ones who would eventually get to the bottom of this now that not only the main hero party, but also a group of  rival heroes  were on the case.  Thereby proving he was not in fact  completely  devoid of diplomatic instincts!

Kevin of course immediately stopped walking when the lady started ranting and turned to face her.  It wasn't just that an NPC was speaking unprompted as he walked by; that  did  in fact happen in the real world (and was seeming to become more of a thing in recent games for that matter; the first FF7 remake had done it well enough that even Kevin had noticed).  But in KevinVision  TM   when she spoke his camera actually zoomed around to focus on her, clearly distinguishing it as something worth paying attention to.

 "What bones, now?"  Kevin asked her.  After all he had experience with people not being able to make sense of what he was saying so maybe he'd have better luck.
Dodgeson
The Necromancer really wished that he'd stayed home today, or at least waited for whatever artifact his master was waiting for had showed its face, but no he'd just had to go out and stretch his legs. Still at least the drinks were still flowing and he took another glass the second RT returned to the table, best just let the staff do the talking.

"If its location was known do you think I would lower myself to skulking in a tavern with lowlifes and vagabonds? The world would tremble before me with with it in our grasp!"

----

Back with Platformer, now that he'd engaged with the woman (it was pretty good engagement for him anyway), words just couldn't stop rushing from her mouth in a torrent of wild babbling "A MONSTER! It tore my home apart and it TOOK MY BUSTER! It was the government they're working with the bones to try and get rid of us all! I saw it in a newspaper! And those aliens dressed like an angel they want to take our brains and all our CALCIUM!"

And on and on she went, seemingly not needing to stop for breath or blink at any point as she clung tight to the bars of her cell and ranted on, Clement just rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Does any of that mean anything to you?" He asked apologetically.
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin listened attentively, tanking the full force of the rant without so much of a flicker of annoyance or confusion on his face.  When she finally started winding down and/or had to pause out of physiological need to breathe, he replied,   "Last I heard Trinity was in Tomorrow City, and they're not aliens dressed as angels they're humans who look like angels due to being possessed by an angel.  Although I've heard speculation that maybe Trinity isn't an angel at all and is some sort of alien, in which case I guess he'd be an alien dressed as an angel at least by applying the transitive property to 'alien dressed as humans dressed as angels'.  Assuming we're rounding 'possessed by' and 'transformed into' down to 'dressed as'.  Which seems fair enough, it's all just palette swaps in the end.  Anyway they don't want our brains, one of them was a substitute teacher at St. Ambrose so if anything they have a net positive disposition for our brains.  I can't think of anything they'd want our calcium for either, although I have heard rumors of untoward things being done to crabs so maybe it could have something to do with that."

"Or was it the moving bones that want our brains and calcium?  Traditionally it's zombies who eat brains, not skeletons.  Skeletons are pretty big on the whole 'no fleshy bits, only bony bits' schtick.  Although skeletons and zombies are both common low-level undead monsters, so it wouldn't be too much of a surprise to see them together.  I haven't seen any explicit references to animated skeletons wanting to eat calcium but lots of undead have some sort of hunger for some physical or metaphysical part of living people, calcium for skeletons probably makes as much sense as anything.  Probably from bone marrow, that seems on-theme for undead hungers."

"You shouldn't believe anything you read in a newspaper that you wouldn't believe if you had read it on the internet."

"Could I get your address?  And permission to enter and search your home?  If the moving bone dudes tore it up they might have left some clues."

"I'll do my best to rescue Buster." 

Then he looked to Clement.   "It means we have a lead." 
Ridai
  "But, the exposition..."   RT is a bit sad, but at least he has a direction.  "Ah well, you guys continue with important staff business!"  And it looks like he is slowly hovering towards the exit, as the staff evidently doesn't know anything.
Dodgeson
When Platformer essentially no-sold the brunt of her mad rantings the woman (and Clement) just stopped for a moment and blinked a few times at the hero in front of her, there was a lot of things she had been expecting to happen, up to and including alien abduction, but his reasoned reply certainly wasn't one of them. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before eventually replying in a much smaller and quieter voice.

Despite the array of menus at his disposal the woman simply wasn't noteable enough for him to know anything else about her from any other random stranger on the streets of New Harbour, which was unfortunate because even her directions to her home was kind of unfocused and rambling, but with some probing and nudging he would be able to work out that she was talking about a spot towards the dingier end of town off the beaten track by a storm drain.

"You need anything on are end?" The Liaison asked, it wasn't that he didn't think Kevin couldn't handle it but darn it he'd gotten that pay rise when he became a 'Metahuman Liaison' and he was going to earn it!
Quellian-dyrae
 "Thanks,"  Kevin told the woman.

 "Not at the moment, I think,"  he answered Clement.   "Unless there was anything else SO had?" 

If there was Kevin would keep following Clement.  Otherwise, it was off to the dingy house by the storm drain!
Zelphas
Indelible occasionally finds it useful that her instinctive responses have been somewhat divorced from her physical form. She's pretty sure that she doesn't roll her eyes in annoyed disappointment at the staff's mixture of uselessness and superiority. For a moment, she considers saying something to end the conversation, but decides that the 'cover' she's using right now fits better if she doesn't say a word. Turning just as abruptly as before, Indelible floats out of the bar.

  " I  believe the Protectorate may have 'stolen' themselves,"   Indelible states bluntly to RT after they are a fair distance away.   "Or perhaps it is better to say that they were stolen by an animating force--this artifact that is coming--rather than a person or persons. That may make things complicated, in the future."  
Llyarden
Jake hadn't followed Platformer into the prison.

He...actually hadn't told any of the others where he was going, or why he was going there.  The truth was that he'd gone back home - or more specifically, gone to the Protectorate computer he had in his kitchen.  The Protectorate, like other super-teams sometimes did, had had distress beacons inserted into their uniforms.  If activated, those beacons would have broadcast their current location to the Protectorate network - which of course Jake now had control of.

Unfortunately, having control of the  network  didn't mean he had control of the  beacons , which had been secured by far more technologically-minded heroes than him to prevent people doing...well, doing basically exactly what Jake had tried to do and remotely activate the beacon to track down one of the Protectorate.

He was...more than a little bewildered by the Chat he received from Platformer while he was on his way back.  Still, it had a location, which was good enough for him.

  "So, uh...how much of all that textwall do I need to read?"   he asked, when he caught up with Platformer.
Quellian-dyrae
 "Eh, it's probably fine.  I admit I kinda started mashing A after she got to the angels who were after our calcium." 
Ridai
Once outside, RT releases a muffled belch into the inside of his elbow, shaking his head, and appearing startlingly sober compared to a moment ago. He nods to what Indelible says.

 "True, true. That sounds suitably crafty. Also, you did a great job in there." 

RT engages the mysterious Chat, typing up a message to Platformer and Wildcard.

 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes 
   Reality Technician #NH0000:   Hey guys, nothing concrete.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   Some evil artifact allegedly is coming to town.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   And the necromancers are probably somewhere in the Undercity.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   Most necros apparently have fled the city because of the big bad evil thing coming.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   At least that is what the necrostaff said.
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   How are things on your end?
  Reality Technician #NH0000:   ...Do you think the DEMON WITCH wanted to get to the Dungeon because of this artifact? 
 
Quellian-dyrae
Kevin Chatted back:


 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes 
   Platformer:   Huh.  Maybe.
  Platformer:   Got a possible lead here, woman who said some 'moving bones' ransacked her place and took her dog.
  Platformer:   If necromancers are involved, that's more evidence it might be connected.
  Platformer:   Going to check it out.  Location is {image map of the city with location pin}. 
 
Ridai
 
 Originally Posted by To Heroes 
   Reality Technician #NH0000:   Ooh, alright. Meet you there? 
 

RT looks to Indelible, asking  "Want to go there?"  A beat.  "And can you take me there as well, please?" 
Zelphas
  "Hmm?"   Indelible tilts  her  head quizzically, her eyes going even more unfocused than usual.   "Oh. There is a... text. Hm."   After a few seconds of reading, Indelible nods.   "It is better than anything else we have.  

A moment later, Indelible picks up RT in one hand, balancing him easily as she shoots off to the posted location.
Dodgeson
Scattered across the city our heroes reconvened at the spot helpfully provided by Platformer's map and it quickly turned out that when he'd called the location a home he might have been speaking a little grandly as they were now standing in front of a large storm drain on the bad side of town at an intersection that overlooked a large swath of waste ground that had yet to be redeveloped.

Still Kevin's map wasn't wrong and it wasn't exactly uncommon for the homeless to seek shelter underground, especially in New Harbour, and it wouldn't be difficult to jimmy the grate free and descend in to the dark...

Below the heroes wouldn't find anything too out of the ordinary, the walls of the tunnel were covered in graffiti that ranged from the names of local gangs (crossed out and resprayed several times), childish doodles and messages telling you exactly who to call for a good time along with nonsense like 'UNKO', 'What're you looking at ⊙＿⊙' and 'ESCHATON LIVES'.

Slightly further down the tunnel was an enormous hole in the tunnel that stretched out even deeper underground, the remains of the woman's 'home' haphazardly thrown about, a few blankets, a large amount of cardboard, a few empty bottles and no sign of any Buster...

 
 Spoiler: Perception (DC20) 
Somewhere deeper in to the hole was coming the thump of an upbeat tune.
 
Zelphas
Indelible blinks at the hole, vaguely nonplussed.   "The Undercity awaits,  I  suppose. For some reason,  I  thought it would be more difficult to find an entrance--though time will tell if that is what this is..."  

She spins slightly in midair, tilting her entire body until her left ear is pointed towards the hole.   " I  think someone down there may be having a party of some sort, though  I  can't quite place the tune from here,"   she comments neutrally, rotating back to an upright position.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Indelible can't fail the Perception check.
 
Ridai
 "Huh,"  RT comments Indelible's findings.  "Secret undercity necromancer raves?"  It sounds glib, but judging by the inquisitive look on RT's mask and him stroking his chin, it might be an actual thing they'll find down there, at least in his mind. He doesn't know what necromancers are like! Maybe really like to party!

He looks to his brave companions.  "Want me to go check? Sneaky-like, I mean,"  he asks, his mask looking like a ninja's cowl (with metal bandana).
Quellian-dyrae
You know, as the woman had seemed to struggle to give Kevin a location rather than just, like, giving him her address, he  had  started wondering if maybe she had been being generous when describing her home as having been wrecked.  When they came to the storm drain he was a bit disappointed, but not especially surprised.

No, the surprise came when they actually went down there, and the light from Kevin's smartphone flashlight fell upon the graffiti on the walls.  One part in particular.

And Kevin...froze.  Just standing stock still for several seconds as he stared at those two particular words written on that wall.

It wasn't...it wasn't that he thought they were necessarily indicative of anything meaningful, quite.  A warning that somehow Big E had been able to project its will or its presence into their world or this city.  It was, in all likelihood, just some random graffiti and he knew that but...

But it was random graffiti that was written by somebody who knew about Big E.  That could mean...what?  A Big E cultist was at large in the city?  Or...might there be certain people who were just in some way sensitive to Big E's existence, or even its will?  The mentally ill, or the despairing, or maybe users of particular drugs, all of whom might be disproportionately represented among a city's homeless population?  He didn't think the graffiti looked like any particular gang-sign, though he could be wrong about that.  A gang that was somehow tied to Big E would be a threat he had to stop as soon as possible...

He could Chat the lady and ask if she knew who had written the graffiti.  But...no.  No, that would putting Big E's name  into her mind .  He could take a picture on his smartphone, text it to Clement, and have him ask the lady about it and maybe run it by whoever dealt with gangs and such and...no,  no , stupid, don't be an idiot, that would not only be exposing the police to it but it would mean that Clement would be carrying the  name  around in his pocket.  How much did that matter?  Kevin didn't know and  didn't want to find out .  All he knew for sure was that Big E could potentially be aware of its name, that speaking it aloud had been a concern even in a location shielded by the Hand of Glory.  This graffiti was putting the entire city in danger just by existing and-

Okay, yes.  Yes, it definitely was.

Destructible zone borders were literally Kevin's favorite part of living in the real world.  Of course, to the rest of his team, it miiiiight come as a slight surprise when, after several seconds staring silent and immobile at the graffiti-covered wall, Kevin suddenly burst into action, hammering it with both fists one after another with his full superhuman strength and speed, crushing the part of the wall that name was written on, not to rubble, but to  powder .  And then  blasting  the powder with a concussive windburst that would scatter it basically as far as he possibly could on short notice.

Kevin Matthews might have had a slight tendency to overreact at the mention of  Eschaton .

After a few more seconds of controlled breathing, he moved on after the others.  He took a look around the place the lady presumably lived, and then answered RT,  "Uh, yeah sure, that makes sense.  Will give me a chance to search this place and see if there's any clues or anything."   He hadn't actually noticed the sounds, just like he hadn't noticed that, you know, the noise he just made smashing a three-foot-square section of wall to powder miiiiight have been somewhat of a hindrance to RT's intention to do sneaky stuff or for that matter their overall ability to go unnoticed literally at all.

And then he started searching around the scene, his movements kinda mechanical, his mind far away from an investigation which no longer struck him as a particularly high priority.

 
 Spoiler 
Investigation to search for clues about how the lady's house was wrecked, such as like indications of damage to various things, maybe things like blood or residue from some types of powers, etc.  -5 for Attention Disabled, not Routining because he very much counts as distracted and Investigation is not one of his Skill Masteries:  (1d20+15)[ 32 ] .   Huh that's actually a shockingly impressive result given the circumstances.  Well done Kev. 
 
Ridai
RT watches Platformer watching the wall for a moment, with increasing confusion.  "You, ah, you goo-"  Aaand the wall is getting pulverized (a piece of debris "pocks" off RT's mask). Blinking once, then twice more, RT brushes dust off his mask and general front. He wanted to ask whether Platformer is not a fan of vandalism, but, well. Y'know.

Standing at the edge of the hole (with a bandaid where the debris hit his mask), RT says to Kevin  "Aaalright then, you do that." 

If no one else has any objections (or perhaps even better plans! Better plans are always welcome!), RT starts floating down the hole. Sneaky-like. Staying in the shadows. Somehow. Kind of.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I'll just roll Stealth now, to be used when RT actually floats down that hole.  (1d20+18)[ 23 ] 

edit: I should note RT has Hide in Plain Sight, should it become relevant.
 
Llyarden
Jake...yeah, he kinda did a double-take at Platformer just, like,  really  hating one specific piece of wall for...some reason?  But on the other hand Platformer was a guy with video game powers, maybe he was looking for a hidden collectible.

So, like RT, he elected to just gloss over what had just happened and instead looked over at Indelible.    "A...party?"    If the people down the storm drain actually  did  have any connection to the robbery of the bodies and had just, like, no professionalism whatsoever, maybe they were celebrating the theft before getting on with whatever their plan was.

Or maybe the entirety of the plan  was  stealing the bodies just to upset the people of New Harbour.

In either case, being surrounded by warbling, thrumming energy of like half a dozen different elements at once, Jake was  not  a particularly subtle person, so if RT was going to go investigate Jake was more than happy to let him.  And he was apparently a ninja now?  And ninjas were always sneaky.

...come to think of it, RT being a ninja kind of explained a lot.
Zelphas
The sound of breaking stone causes Indelible to tighten her perception, and she does a quick recount of the people in their party. Right, Platformer. She had known he was here... hadn't she? He was the one who made the text box, after all...

  Now isn't the time to figure this out; there are more pressing matters,   she thinks to herself, dismissing the strangeness for the moment.   " I  am decidedly not sneaky, so if you would,"   Indelible answers RT, content to wait for his return before moving forwards.