<strong>Hero Points:</strong>4 (Lionheart), 2 (Scarab), 2 (Hornet), 1 (H2GO!), 2 (Chlorophyll).<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"C'mon girls! It's our own private telepathic chatroom! What's not to like?" She turned to Amrita, "The mental messenger does go both ways, right?"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>"Yeah, although I think...I can send things farther than I can receive them. We should test it out more."<br/><br/>The girls took up corners around the warehouse (save Amy). It turned out that while they could hear Amrita's messages regardless of distance, she could not hear them unless they got within 60 feet. And Amrita had to 'broadcast' one at a time unless they clustered closer together.<br/><br/>"Ooh, that'll be awkward," Kaitlin said. "Maybe it can improve with practice, hopefully."<br/><br/><em>Scarab's Mental Communication can reach for 1 mile when broadcasting, while Mind Reading can read the minds of everyone in a 30 foot radius provided they're within 60 feet of her.</em><br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">At the hospital, Lyn was initially at a loss for words to Rex's outburst... no, tantrum.<br/><br/>"H-hey, Emerald City General has some of the best doctors in the country! You're in good hands, and besides, it's the twenty-first century... you aren't the first person to get your looks changed and you won't be the last, it's all about who you are inside, so chin up, okay?"<br/><br/>She sat on the edge of Rex's hospital bed, and looked around to make sure no other visitors were looking their way. "I got a little somethin'-somethin' to cheer you up," she whispered with a wink, and unzipped her jacket to reveal her cheerleading uniform underneath, clinging tightly to her curves!</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>“Oooh, I haven’t realized how long I’ve missed seeing that!” Rex exclaimed as he eyed Lyn’s cleavage.<br/><br/>His large hand wandered along Lyn’s thigh, reaching under her skirt. “And it’s been so long since I saw this, too.”<br/><br/>A section of Rex's hospital gown raised from excitement. But only a small section.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Intelligence DC 13</div><div class="spoiler_body">Lyn recalls hearing somewhere that gorillas have very small penises in proportion to their bodies. An average of 2.5 inches erect. Seems like his metahuman change didn't just scale upwards...</div></div><br/><hr/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 24pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: impact;"><strong>Meanwhile, over at Yellow Brick Row!</strong></span></span></div><br/>Scene Music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlB3w-gmXLw)<br/><br/>Once a busy pedestrian street of commerce, the open air mall was a veritable ghost town. Police tape cordoned off a major thoroughfare where a truck had crashed. Black, lightning-scorched stains ran along the roof and sides of the cargo container, uneven holes of melted steel interspersed with the destructive scene. A man in a dark black suit took photos of the scarred RedShift Energies logo on the truck’s side.<br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/Ao7nwbe.jpg)</div>“Experimental chemicals, a storm granting people superpowers..." mused a woman in a matching suit as she handled device that looked like a cross between a remote controller and handheld computer screen. "This sounds like the work of Doctor Stratos to me."<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/mwwZAt7.png?1)</div><br/>“Nah, Nguyen, it ain’t his M.O.,” the man called back. “The Crime League only cares about the profitable kind of law-breaking. Been four days and nobody’s come forth claiming responsibility or making demands.”<br/><br/>A drone flew out of one of the truck’s holes. “And I’m getting a clean recording today!” Nguyen exclaimed. “No static. Bonus.”<br/><br/>Pressing a few more buttons, the screen displayed the recording of a half-dozen storage tanks inside the truck. They were burst open as though from an explosion. The screen went purple with another button tap, revealing innumerable dust-like particles on the interior.<br/><br/>“UV view’s showing some kind of residue, Eight-Ball," Nguyen explained. "Looks like the leftover residue of nanomachines. Think RedShift’s been dipping into the ‘super-soldier’ business?”<br/><br/>“No, Grant Conglomerates has other subsidiaries better-suited for that.” The man grunted as he put away his camera.<br/><br/>"And don’t call me Eightball. Rookies call me Agent McKenzie.”<br/><br/>Nguyen rolled her eyes as she maneuvered the drone into a plastic container. The box closed on its own, an audible hiss as its vacuum-sealed compartment cleansed the machine of contaminants.<br/><br/>“There’s three metahumans in custody, and two in the hospital,” Nguyen said as she picked up the container by its handles. “Figure we’ll do better asking the latter what they know.”<br/><br/>“Never liked high school, or hospitals,” McKenzie replied. “I’ll take the penitentiary while you head for the-”<br/><br/>McKenzie trailed off as a man in a gray HAZMAT suit rounded the corner of a side street.<br/><br/>“This is a crime scene,” McKenzie said coldly. “You’re trespassing.”<br/><br/>The agent stared at the man, hand slack and on his hip. Just above the holster, but not reaching for it.<br/><br/>Nguyen said nothing. But behind her shades her eyes were following the second-story windows and roofs all around them. You didn’t get to spend 3 years in AEGIS without thinking in three dimensions.<br/><br/>“We want what’s on the drone’s tape, Fed,” the man in the gray suit demanded.<br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/OZT62Ze.png?1)</div><br/>“Don’t be stupid, kid,” McKenzei replied. “Even if you take it, you’re not gonna get far with it.”<br/><br/>Nguyen’s free hand was already on her holster. “Eightba-McKenzie, he’s with the Ghostworks! They know what they’re doing!”<br/><br/>“I know."<br/><br/>Movement in the second and third-story windows betrayed flickers of three shadows. Shadows holding guns, with red dots dancing on the federal agents’ torsos.<br/><br/>“I get what you’re trying to do, I really do,” the gray-suited man said as he took several slow steps forward. “That big green emerald’s cracked, and now it’s all chaos. But...no offense, when it comes to ‘metahuman affairs,’ you don’t do things fast, or right. You hold back.”<br/><br/>He was 15 feet away. Close enough that if he charged an agent he could conceivably get one of them before they drew their guns. “We have no such hesitation. We’ll fix up this city faster than you can audit a tax cheat's bank accounts.”<br/><br/>"You won't even get the chance."<br/><br/>McKenzie’s hand twitched. Shots fired. The container fell to the floor, as did McKenzie.<br/><br/>Nguyen screamed as she leaped away. The gray suit man dashed forward as bullets sparked off the Oz-themed street tiles, grabbing the container with his hands.<br/><br/>A shaft of light greeted him from a hole in one side opposite another. The drone inside sputtered from damaged wiring.<br/><br/>“You’re gonna pay for that, G-man!”<br/><br/><em>Emerald City never sleeps while evil's afoot! Various other factions have taken an interest in the Silver Storm, both fair and foul! Relevant skill checks may point said figures in the direction of our heroines, depending on the degrees of success.<br/>Forgive me if the "offscreen" scene is longer than the above, but figured it can help move the overall plot forward while Lyn's getting down and dirty. Up to you whether or not you wish to control Agent Nguyen. Her stat block's in the spoiler.</em><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://i.imgur.com/aoawjdI.png)<br/><br/><br/>Agent McKenzie Investigation 16 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=147457)<br/><br/>Agent Nguyen Expertise: Metahumans 18 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=147458)<br/><br/>If stats are relevant, Agent McKenzie has two injuries (-2 Toughness saves) and is Staggered. The Ghostwork Agents have Dodge/Parry 5 (15 or better to hit) and are Minions (so you can take 10 on attack rolls), although the ones in the upper floors have light cover (-2 to relevant attack checks).</div></div>