Heroes and Dreamers

[Quellian-dyrae]

It's been on the news for the past three days. A Hero's family had been murdered, targetted by the Hero's enemies. Is was a very rare event, although members of Hero Corps had more than their share of enemies. Fighting Hero Corps was rarely the wisest course, but Dreamers and sleeper criminals alike still tried it. What few dared try was to target their loved ones to get at them. Hero Corps made their stance on any such tactics perfectly clear: it would provoke a full scale siege by the entire Corps. Basically, you'd have to be a fool to try it. Apparently, someone in the Ragnarok Arms Ring was very foolish indeed.

Barret Anderson, Code Name: Interceptor, Regional Commander of Hero Corps, stepped up to the podium. Behind him, over a hundred Dreamers were bustling about, discussing strategy, gathering equipment, fueling vehicles, and otherwise preparing for the mission. "I have about fifteen minutes," the burly man said to the assembled reporters, "There's been some questions about who fulfills the duties usually covered by Hero Corps during these missions. First, let me assure everyone that there is little risk. As always, Hero Corps works primarily to provide a first-response team with high-level Dreamer powers in the event of serious threats. We don't expect this mission to take more than a week, and there is little chance of any major danger during that time. SIDE and independently registered Dreamers are still on call in the event of high-level threats.

"That being said, to be safe, Hero Corps has reached out to other Dreamers who we feel are combat-capable or possess disaster-management powers. Each region will have a small force of capable Dreamers on call and with access to Hero Corps teleportation technology in the event of a threat that needs an immediate response."

"We have sources saying The Gentleman will be part of this team?" One of the reporters asked.

"That's our hope. I haven't been briefed on who has responded yet, but yes, we've worked with The Gentleman several times before, and he was one of our first choices. He's also representative of the caliber of people we're reaching out to."

"Word is that the infamous Jackknife is also going to be involved. Is Hero Corps really contacting a known Dreamer-killer?"

"The Assembly registrar contains no mention of any Dreamer who uses the code name Jackknife, so I can't speak competently even on the matter of his existence, let alone confirm or deny that an alleged psychic assassin with a reputation for killing powerful and often dangerous Dreamers will have temporary access to Hero Corps teleportation technology for purposes of protecting this region against anyone who tries to take advantage of Hero Corps being busy with this operation. But it sounds like an unsubstantiated rumor to me. Next question."

"We've also heard that the Dreamer responsible for the Day At the Zoo several years back have been contacted?"

"No. The Assembly does not put Dreamers with difficulties controlling their powers in stressful situations. This is no exception. We do have another reality-warper in mind, though. One with substantially more experience and control."

"Is there any truth to the rumor that the Corps is dredging up SIDE rejects for this task?"

"Absolutely not. There is one Dreamer on our list who is formally associated with SIDE, but I would hardly call him a reject. As I understand it, he's on probation pending full investigation of events that occurred under the influence of mental control. Per Article 7 of the Writ of Dreamers, no person shall be held legally accountable for any actions they were forced to take against their will by mind-influencing Dreamer powers or Dreamtech. Though SIDE is conducting their investigation with their usual attention to detail, my understanding is that Assembly investigators have confirmed to their satisfaction that he is innocent of wrongdoing, and if he wants to help us while SIDE finishes their investigation, we're happy to have his assistance."

"There have been reports of an older Dreamer finally joining Hero Corps. Did this attack prompt his decision?"

"You're talking about Vanguard? He hasn't officially joined Hero Corps, no. He has recently lifted anonymity from his registration, but he still operates independently. We are, however, hoping he will be assisting this team."

"Do you have any other Dreamers on the team?"

"Per the terms of her agreement with SIDE, we've also called in Quantum, another Dreamer with proven combat experience who will be able to provide the team with assistance in the case of any mechanical or Dreamtech oriented hazards that may crop up. There may be others on the list; again, I haven't been fully briefed on where all the contacts stand currently. That's all I have for you for now. Thank you."

-----

We begin at the Tower of Dreams, a forty-story skyscraper that serves as a regional headquarters of the Assembly of Dreams for this part of the country (Hero Corps basically gets floors six to eight). Each of you has been contacted through whatever channels are most appropriate by a representative of Hero Corps, basically asking you to assist Hero Corps by acting as Heroes On Call for the region while the Corps itself is busy basically disassembling the Ragnarok Arms Ring. It's standard protocol, albeit a rarely needed one, and there usually isn't any trouble, because frankly, when Hero Corps mobilizes in full, most villains and criminal or dangerous Dreamers? Basically keep their heads down. You've been requested, if you wish to participate (or at least hear more about it), to visit the Tower of Dreams at noon and proceed to room 642.

The entrance leads into a large foyer with various plaques, statues, and pictures of various well-known Dreamers and Heroes. A large desk at the back is staffed by two secretaries who, as each person enters, look up at you, at a computer screen, and then back to you, one giving directions to the elevators and from the sixth floor to room 642, which is basically a meeting room with a big glass table surrounded by several simple chairs. Barret Anderson is waiting in the room, sitting opposite the door, and as each character enters greets you and offers for you to take a seat anywhere. A staff member over to the right also comes over to ask if you would like any refreshments.

Perception DC 20:

You notice several small, high-tech looking devices built into the doorway as you pass through.

Technology or Expertise (Science) DC 20:

You recognize them as Dreamtech Scanners, one of the first inventions created by IDEA. Not dissimilar from facial recognition technology, they can scan a Dreamer to detect broadly what powers it has. Many are also connected to extensive databases; the Assembly's are usually linked to its own registry.

[HopeHubris]

Perception check
[roll0]

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis walks into the room, taking a good look around before taking a seat at the end of the table opposite Barret Anderson, careful to not sit on my tail as always. I wave to him before turning my head to look at the waitress, "I'd like... some Root Beer since you're asking." I watch her go about her business for a little bit before turning to Barret, waiting for him to start talking.


Perception: [roll0]

[Jallorn]

Kowalsky stopped momentarily at the doorway, shaking his head. He needed to learn more about the technology he now lived with daily. Finally stepping into the room, he withdrew his hood at last. His eyes, no longer human, scanned the room, their glassy gleam betraying their construction. More shocking were the bands of metal that formed a crescent shape in front of his ears and over the arch of his nose. As he waved aside the staff member, the hint of a black sheen could be seen between his sleeve and glove, but he was quick to cover it up.

His eyes rested longest on the odd form of the fox-boy, but moved on in a moment to Interceptor. Standing at attention and saluting, he said, Agent- er, Andrew Kowalsky, reporting, sir.

[HopeHubris]

The Gentleman enters the room, wondering what the strange devices in the doorway were for, they didn't have things like that back in his day, can't be all that important then. "A Spot of tea would not be amiss, thank you" , he takes the cup before seating himself as far from the odd animal man and robot as possible, looking at them with mild disgust, but having the courtesy not to say anything.

[Grim ranger]

Walking in not long after Gentleman, Jackknife stops at the doorway to regard the assembled Dreamers through the white lenses of his expressionless and blank metal mask. The assassin is decked out from head to toe in dark gray and red combat suit, which in turn is covered by black longcoat with red collar and hood... That, along with his mask, make recognition rather impossible. Judging by the sword on his back, as well as multitude of belts criss-crossing over his chest and waist, it is safe to say that he carries a considerable arsenal with himself.

"Mineral water, if you would be so kind" Jackknife replies, taking the offered cup before taking his seat and regarding Barret with his expressionless white "eyes". "Under normal circumstances, I would not arrive here... But you sent word that you would have a job for me" he said conversationally.

[BananaPhone]

Danica arrived last and with little regard for time. She passed through the front scanners as if something else occupied her mind and when she emerged into the meeting room Baret had organised she took a chair as far from the centre of attention as manners would permit. (she couldn't very well sit facing the corner like a dunce)

Out of all those present, except maybe The Gentleman, she seemed the most mundane. Her rich, dark brown hair framed her face in waves, and she wore a stylish, collared shirt of crimson that met the black material of her pants.

"No thank you," she uttered to the beverage-offering attendant, her voice disarmingly soft but firm.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

It had been a little over a year since he had been at this superhero gig and still flying was his most favorite part of it all. However, he was in a rush and made his best time to the Tower of Dreams.

He entered room 642 towering over most. "I hope I'm not late," he says taking a seat. Oh, coffee please," he answers when asked about refreshments.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Barret greeted Curtis with a casual upnod. "Glad you could make it, kid. Couldn't believe it when I saw your name on this list. I thought for sure you'd have been gearing up with the rest of us by now!"

When Kowalsy came in, he returned his salute. Barret had strong respect for SIDE, which he still considered Kowalsky as part of. He figured, the agency was just stuck in its usual bureaucracy. "Glad to have you, Agent. Have a seat anywhere."

When The Gentleman entered, Barret went over and shook his hand. "Happy to be working with you again, sir," he told the older Dreamer. Take it seriously; Interceptor does not call many people "sir".

But when Jackknife entered, there was no warmth at all, in fact a flash of (not at all pleasant) surprise. "Dreamless night...calling you wasn't just a publicity stunt?" he grumbled. "Wonderful..."

Danica was also greeted with a handshake, but none of the warmth that he had shown the Gentleman. Purely professional neutrality. "Thank you for coming."

"Not at all, we were just getting ready to begin," Barret said as Vanguard joined them, sizing the man up some. Vanguard was one of the oldest active entries in their registrar - like the Gentleman, he pre-dated the Assembly - but this was the first time Barret had met the previously-secretive independent.

Once everyone was settled and had their drinks, Barret began. "I'm sure you're all aware of the situation. Hero Corps is going to be busy for...I'm guessing the next week. This job is basically about just staying here, keeping in eye on things. I don't imagine anything is going to happen, but there are people out there who are willing to tangle with local law enforcement and even SIDE, but know better than to provoke Hero Corps, so it's good to have people on call, more as a preventative measure than anything.

"You'll only actually get an alert for threat levels of seven or greater. Those are rare, even on a regional scale. Basically, all goes well, you're each getting 5,000 credits for what amounts to a week of babysitting."

Anyone with an Expertise skill in Popular Culture, government, law-enforcement, heroing, or similar areas can roll DC 15:
Threat level 7 and above specifically details threats where there is both significant risk of loss of life or massive property damage, and not already emergency personnel capable of handling the situation.

He rolled out some floor plans. "Bunks and living facilities are on the eighth floor. Operations are on the seventh. Command center's here, at least one of you will need to be in there at all times. The computer's connected to the television networks and has games, feel free to use it, if it has a warning to give you it'll override them. Teleport bridge is here. You can use-" he halted, his eyes darted, just for a moment, to Jack, before continuing, "it to get to threat locations if the need arises, but it's going to be locked for other purposes. Security protocol."

Insight DC 12:
It's not a security protocol. It will be locked, though.

"Probably best if you stick mainly to command center and the eighth floor. If you do have any questions or need anything, there will be plenty of Assembly staff around. Best person to talk to is Erin Linnard, she's basically the lead of Hero Corps dedicated legal team, so she knows most of our protocols and such. You can reach her on extension 38.

"Fair warning, though nothing should come up, if it does, it will be serious, and it will be dangerous. So if any of you don't feel comfortable with that, now's the time to bow out." Again, his eyes twitched just slightly in Jack's direction.

"Any questions?"

[Grim ranger]

"And how could have it been a publicity stunt, seeing as I apparently do not exist according to your people?" Jackknife comments dryly, the constant gaze of his white lenses piercing the man like collector's needle would a struggling insect. "Still, the credits are good. Not my usual kind of contract, but credits are credits. So you can count me in... As long as I profit from it at the very least."

Listening until Barret is done with his explanation and sipping mineral water (the water going through almost imperceptible filters in his mask and thus apparently just vanishing upon making contact with the metal), Jack looks around at the gathered dreamers. "So before we set to the task, let me make some things very clear to all of you. I am Jackknife, also generally known as Jack, and I kill people. Sometimes Sleepers, sometimes Dreamers, most on contract... And I am basically here to cut down anything that happens to pose a threat to the city when my current employers are otherwise occupied. I dislike SIDE, hate any wisecracking about "good and evil", and am going to do my job no matter what it takes. I hope that clarified some facts to everyone."

Turning his attention back to Barret, Jack folded his arms. "Also, you can lie to me if you really do feel like it, but I would like to make it clear I cannot be held accountable if I am unable to fulfill the job I have been contracted to do because you keep things from me. If I would want to use your teleporters to perform discreet murders, I would have already found a way."

He is indeed a very direct invidual.

[HopeHubris]

The Gentleman returns the greeting, "Greetings old friend, it's been a while since I've worked with you, now what was it... That psychic fellow I believe?"

He then glances at the people assembled in the room, making snap assessments of their possible usefulness, the fox-boy seems as poor a fighter as initially thought, with an appearance like that, he could only assumed dreamer abilities to match, but there was no apparent sign of any physical enhancement, hopefully he's just a caster with an odd fetish for fox-forms.
His glance then falls on the woman Heh, if I was 140 years younger...Anyway, she seems more competent than the fox, though she couldn't take me hand-to-hand, not many can, probably a blaster, telekinetic judging by the assorted objects on her person
He wasn't very impressed with the cyborg, for all his fancy tech gizmos, he appeared to be a worse fighter, and he didn't seem like he could take a hit any more than the Gentleman himself, his respect for this new-fangled science stuff has not increased.
Now, the masked man, he is a different story, a skilled fighter, maybe even as skilled as me, but with a far more versatile arsenal, not that I couldn't use fight with anything I have at hand, but still... This kid was good, very good
The Gentleman couldn't get a good read on the large one, He calls himself Vanguard... I worked with Vanguard once, a secretive fellow to be sure, but this is definitely not him, Dreamless night... if this kid is calling himself Vanguard, something must have happened to the old boy, I'll have to question him about it after the briefing


After the briefing the Gentleman nods assent, he's perfectly happy to remain on base, and has no problems with avoiding use of the teleporter.
He also adjusts is assessment of the masked man, noting that he should be watched, I have no problem killing when it is necessary, but this man seems to lack any trace of morality, he would likely turn on the rest of use for enough credits, mission or no

[Quellian-dyrae]

Barret actually relaxed some at Jack's response. Good. No playing games. No putting on airs. They didn't have to like each other, didn't even have to trust each other. They just had to work. Barret was comfortable with that. "You'll know what you need to know," he assured the assassin. The unspoken, and nothing else was clear enough that it was probably picked up by auditory super-senses.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

The large frowned as the assassin spoke. "We are here to save lives not take them. If you can't do your job without killing, then you must not be very good at your job."

He turns to Barret, and ignores any rebut from the Jack. "THis is a 40 story building and you are limiting us to 2 floors? That seems a bit odd... someone has some trust issues?"

[Jallorn]

I will make one thing clear, Jackknife, the disgust in Kowalsky's voice is not disguised, I will be watching you. Operate within our boundaries, or I will bring you in. Kowalsky was no stranger to killing either, but it was always a last resort. Redirecting his attention to Barret, he asks, I am uncertain what our organization level is here, do we have a chain of command?

[HopeHubris]

"Vanguard, he has no reason to trust you, and less reason to trust this mercenary., The Gentleman clearly doesn't trust either of the two

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Not really," Barret responded. "The only floors that are really off-limits are sixth, to all non-Corps personnel, and thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth, to all but cleared Assembly personnel. The thing is, on our floors, if there is a threat, whoever's in the command center can send out warnings, and you're closer to the teleportation room. Throughout the rest of the building, you'd need to be alerted personally, and it's a big building.

I have to stress, even though we don't expect any problems, if one does come up, lives will be hanging in the balance. Response time is absolutely critical."

He gave a slight grin and added, "Besides, most of the building is just offices, storage, server rooms, stuff like that. We get all the best rooms and coolest toys anyway."

He looked Kowalsky. "Only in the loosest sense. Hero Corps ranks are basically, Hero, Area Commander, Regional Commander, and then the General Commander. Rank is mostly a matter of clearance and management responsibility, though, rather than direct command. One of our big advantages compared to SIDE is that we have a much more independent structure. It keeps us light, fast, and effective.

How you organize and respond to threats is up to you. Most Heroes favor solo or small group operations, but they're usually dealing with a much wider range of threat levels, most of which are substantially lower that what you'll actually be alerted to. I have a background in SIDE myself, and if you want my advice? Numbers and overwhelming force can make a big difference."

[Grim ranger]

"I will operate within the boundaries I am given by my employer: no more, no less. So it is really up to mr. Barret here whenever or not I will employ lethal force" Jackknife replied to Kowalsky in somewhat clipped manner. "I do not need the trust of any of you: this is just work for me. I just want to see it done, get my pay and vanish once again. If you are entertaining thoughts about turning me back to straight and narrow, get a pardon from the goverment for me: otherwise you are wasting your time."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"You will be expected to operate within the confines of the law while you are here. Above all, that means no killing unless it is necessary to protect your life or the lives of others," Barret said, voice stern and cold. "Frankly, I'd rather you weren't here at all. Since you are, understand that we don't need a killer. But I've been with the Assembly long enough to know that in a situation like this, it doesn't hurt to let people think we have a killer."

[Grim ranger]

"Understood...sir" Jack replied with equally cold tone, the white lenses flaring red for a moment as blood red psychic energy danced slightly along the assassin's arms and mask before settling down again. "If there is nothing else, I would like to be shown to whatever training area you might have around here: since I doulbt socializing will go too well on my part, I believe I will just use my time preparing for what is to come."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Fine. Martha?"

The woman who had gotten their drinks walked over to Jack. "This way, please," she said, and would lead him to the training room. Classic high-tech danger room, it initially appeared as a basically-empty, fifty-by-fifty foot chamber. She gave him brief instruction on using the control panel by the door. The room had elaborate Dreamtech, including spacial-folding to modify its volume (could extend to as much as fifty miles on a side to simulate outdoors encounters), quasi-real illusions to simulate terrain and obstacles, and of course, training robots that could be set to emulate a variety of common offensive, defensive, and tactical powers. The training robots were made of regenerating nano-tech, so one could go all out. There were also settings for emulating various environments, including nullification of all or various selected powers.

It was, of course, all set to nonlethal with several emergency panic button and keyword contingencies and the AI was absolutely tamper-proof, guaranteed!

Expertise (Genre Conventions) DC 2:
:smallbiggrin:

Barret, meanwhile, looked to the others. "Any other questions?"

[HopeHubris]

The Gentleman follows the masked man at a safe distance, wishing to observe his skills, if he is going to get dangerous, I should probably see what he can do



Stealth roll [roll0]

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis finishes his root beer and shakes his head. "I'll make my way to the command center then, should be able to see what's going on in the training room from there. About the 'I should be gearing up with you guys now' thing, I... just haven't filled out all the paperwork for it yet. Do I really a "Hero Name" to put on it? I also kind of don't have much of anything to put in the references section, though I probably will once this is over."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Barret chuckled. "Nah, code names and costumes and such are entirely optional. Er...well, officially entirely optional, at any rate." There was a friendly but very serious rivalry in the Corps regarding such things. A lot of Heroes saw them as making them more inspiring or recognizable, others felt they were gimmicky and outdated (back in the Gentleman's day, that side of the argument called them gimmicky and childish, looking at Heroes who used them like they were kids trying to act out television shows and comic books), while still more were much more pragmatic about them and used them as a calculated business move to for branding purposes. At the end of the day, the media tended to love them, so registering a code name could often be a better idea than letting the media choose one for you. Danica, of course, had some experience with that.

[BananaPhone]

Danica watched in abject amusement as the masked, trenchcoat-wearing psychopath openly said that he was a masked, trenchcoat-wearing psychopath and that killing was the name of his game.

To her right was an aged looking gentleman who she was sure had checked her out, while across from her sat a fox-man that had probably just escaped from the island of Dr Mareau. Entering after Danica had been a towering boy-scout of a man, while another...man, if he could be called that, was rippling with metal and electronics.

Great, Danica thought to herself, I'm surrounded by a dirty old man, a tinman, a fox-man, a boyscout man and a psycho man...wonderful.

She watched silently as the masked-one, Jacknife she believed he was called, slipped away beneath the pretense of training. Strangely, the dirty old man left soon after that - but where, Danica didn't know.

To Barret's comment about allowing the media to choose names for her, the woman just offered a curt, polite smile and rose her eyebrows once in unison.

"But they have heard of me." she uttered softly, the hint of a smug smirk curling the ends of her lips.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

"Actually Mr Knife has the right idea. We should probably do a practice session. We need to know what each other can do if we are going to work as a team."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Might be worth it. Anyway, if that's it, I have to get back. I'll be by to debrief you all once everything's taken care of. Thank you all for the help, we really appreciate it." He'd exchange a few more words and answer any other questions that there might have been, and then head out.

[Jallorn]

Seems sensible. I have nothing better to do at this point. Shall we?

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis shrugs. "Looks like we're all going to the training room right now. Maybe you could watch over a session and offer us advice afterwards before you go?" He starts making his way to the training room.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Wish I could, but I barely had the time for this briefing. Thousand things to do in a mission like this."

[HopeHubris]

Realising that the other are also following, The Gentleman stops skulking, rejoining the group.
So... Vanguard, you're not the first to go by that name, not many people would notice, but when you are as old as I am, you tend to meet a lot of people, and when the other has also lived that long... Well it tends to be noticeable when they suddenly become a child..."

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

A little surprised at the Gentleman's friendliness the large man answers, "When I was growing up the Vanguard was sort of an urban legend. A hero that would only make a public appearance when the world was in dire need. The only other times people claimed to have seen him there were no corroborating sources. I just wanted to make him real." His answer is respectful and frank.

For the Gentleman:

Since your character has met him, this costume is similar but not the same as what you remember. White body suit blue detailing black gloves and boots. The previous Vanguard had a very strong moral character a kin to the heros of the Golden age.
He was tall but not the 7 foot hulking mass of muscle you see now.

[Jallorn]

You didn't think this might upset him? Never mind the identity fraud, Kowalsky doesn't seem terribly upset himself, but there is a definite hint of disapproval. Also, I'd like to make known my respect for you, Gentleman, big fan.

[HopeHubris]

"So, you take his name and pretend to be him? Well, your hearts in the right place, how is the old boy anyway? I assumed you know he's out of the picture if you're masquerading as him, he retire? He was getting quite old, didn't seem to stop ageing when I did. initially stern, he seems to be warming up to the kid.

Well, this is not at all awkward... he thinks as he turns to respond to the cyborg, never been fond of the techie types, or very good with flattery
"You seem rather capable yourself, Kowalsky was it? I suppose we shall we how your technology fares compared to a good old fashioned dreamer" he chuckles

[BananaPhone]

And just like that, Baret was gone and they were dismissed.

Flicking her lips in a weary click, Danica shook her head and uttered softly to herself, "Well I rocked up and got my parole stamp...I've got better things to do than being a glorified house-sitter."

Emerging into the hallway she came across the rest of the group, all of whom seemed congregated around a discussion about identity theft.

Using their discussion as a distraction, Danica slid past most of them with the intent on leaving...

[Quellian-dyrae]

Don't feel obligated to halt current conversations. I am very new to PbP in general and GMing it in particular, and pacing it is...tricky. But I'd rather post ahead and let you guys finish up in your own time than not post, not realize you've finished up, and leave everyone waiting on me.

Once the characters had arrived at the training room, Martha gave them the same instructions on the control panel. Since they were looking for a basic training session, she input a fairly standard-issue testing template. The spatial and illusory technology made it feel like they were warping to another location as the room changed to basically a city section. They and the robots stood on the roof of a fifteen-story building in the center, with eight residential and commercial blocks surrounding it. The roof itself occupied the room's original dimensions, fifty feet on a side, and was basically a flat, open space for those who favored a direct approach to combat; the characters and robots have roughly thirty feet of space between them. For the more tactically minded, the city below had all manner of obstacles and potential hazards, ranging from homes and buildings, to cars, to illusory people. The robots themselves were cloaked in the guise of soldiers of some undefined type or another, with several technological weapons.

Technology, Expertise (Science), or any military/law enforcement Expertise, DC 15:
You recognize laser blades, close-range weapons that can generate beams of condensed energy with immense penetrating power, as well as laser pistols, a ranged weapon that lacks the sheer penetration, but can still do fairly substantial damage. Each "soldier" also has a pair of grenades on its belt. And you recognize the sleek packs they are carrying as jetpacks.

If check exceeds DC 20 AND is a Technology or Science check:
You have some familiarity with both the nano-tech of these robots and the "quasi-real" illusions this training room provides. Between the two, and backed by good programming, they can to a limited degree emulate a wide range of substances and systems. Given their current appearance as human soldiers, it is entirely likely that these robots will react to attacks as a being of flesh and blood would, rather than simply ignoring anything that affects physiology and respiration. Likewise, while their equipment looks like normal gear, it's pretty much built into them and replicable with nanoids, so taking it from them will not likely be useful.

Once the training program began, the robots would move to spread out in a shallow arc, opening up with a salvo from their laser pistols, each taking a shot at one of the heroes.

As noted before in OOC, if you want to interrupt or preempt an action, you may roll initiative to attempt to do so. Otherwise, all actions will be resolved simultaneously, the NPCs are merely posting first.

Curtis: [roll0] vs. 14, 18 if he Hastes.
Gentleman: [roll1] vs. 23.
Jackknife: [roll2] vs. 20.
Kowalsky: [roll3] vs. 17.
Vanguard: [roll4] vs. 16.

If attack exceeds Dodge and you do not use a power or action or something to counter, please roll a DC 23 Toughness check as part of your post.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard


[roll0] toughness


The laser hits Vanguard's chest. It stings but does nothing to stop him from flying straight at the robot. His fist swings at the mechanical manikin.


[roll1] attack DC 29

[Jallorn]

Kowalsky
Toughness:[roll0]

Even as he's being fired upon, Kowalsky returns fire, strafing three of the robots with his blaster.

Attack 1:[roll1]
Attack 2:[roll2]
Attack 3:[roll3]

All DC 24

[HopeHubris]

The Gentleman deftly dodges the blast, it was an accurate shot, but these robotic simulacrum did not take his enhanced agility into account. He proceeded to dash between two of the robotic soldiers, slashing at them as he passes


[roll0]
[roll1]
Toughness Check: 24

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis cast Barrier on himself as the simulation loads up, causing a light yellow hexagonal lattice to be visible for a few moments as it forms tightly over his body before it fades, and manifests his 'one vs many' weapon of choice as the soldiers and rooftop form in front of him. A slightly sci-fi assault rifle, bearing green angular lines down its sides with an equally sci-fi under-barrel grenade launcher, forms instantly in his hands (or to be precise, it formed at the speed of thought). He easily side steps the pistol's laser before yelling, "Fire in the hole!" and firing a grenade at the soldiers which explodes after it hits the ground.


Prep Action: Barrier
Prep Action: Manifest Device: +3 Assualt Rifle w/ Grenade Launcher; Easily Removable (25/5*2 = 5, -10 points)
• Ranged Multiattack Damage 8 [Ballistic]
• Alt: Frag Grenade: Ranged Area Burst Damage 8 [Explosive]
(25 points - 10 points = 15 points)

Initiative Check to go first out of his Allies to avoid grenading them: 1d20+2
Dodge DC: 18 Toughness DC: 23

OOC: Yay first combat post! Hope I did this right...

[Grim ranger]

Calmly drawing dagger from his belt and blocking the lazer shot aimed at him in one swift movement, Jack cannot help but shake his head at the others. So grandiose, so much wasted economy of movement. These people are not professionals. Keeping the dagger ready in case another shot is aimed his way, Jackknife reaches into his coat and pulls out a throwing blade with his free hand, throwing it towards his robotic adversary.

The attack does nothing thanks to Blade Shield.

Jackknife's attack misses in turn, thanks to me fudging up my roll that was made in now-deleted post.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Curtis's grenade exploded among the robots. With little cover, all they could do was try to get further from the center and shield themselves as best they could.


Dodge for Half Effect, DC 18:

Robot 1: [roll0].
Robot 2: [roll1].
Robot 3: [roll2].
Robot 4: [roll3].
Robot 5: [roll4].

Toughness Resistance, DC 23/19:

Robot 1: [roll5].
Robot 2: [roll6].
Robot 3: [roll7].
Robot 4: [roll8].
Robot 5: [roll9].

The Gentleman might himself be surprised to find that these nanotech robots were the clunky constructs of a century before. They moved with fluid grace and their reflexes were aided by powerful tactical computers, allowing them to dodge aside from his attacks.

The laser blast splattered off on Vanguard like a snowball, the robotic soldier's tactical computers analyzing his approach and evading in a quick move. Even so, the mighty Dreamer's strike came within centimeters of catching it.

Kowalski's gambit cost him, the well-placed laser shot burning and sparking as it caught some of his cybernetic implants ((Kowalski is Staggered and takes -1 on future Toughness saves)). It wasn't all a loss, though, the SIDE agent hitting all three of the robots squarely in a beautifully aimed rapid-fire assault.

Toughness Resistance, DC 24:

Robot 2: [roll10]
Robot 3: [roll11]
Robot 4: [roll12]

And yeah, Jack's defenses were faultless, but his attack went wide.

((Below action to occur on robots' turn in initiative; Gentleman and Curtis, and maybe Vanguard depending on his roll, will act first, and as such might be able to avoid or invalidate some of these actions. Post actions in any order.))

The robot who Vanguard had attacked (let's call it Robot 3) responds to his punch with one of its own, a devastating blow backed by the strength of high-end servos that should shatter stone.

Both robots the Gentleman had attacked (let's say 1 and 2) would turn their attention to him, lashing out with their own superhumanly strong blows.

With their allies in melee, robots four and five would return Curtis's favor, each hurling one of their blast grenades upon the three who had attacked from range. Their tactical computers had received damage in the attacks, precluding mobility where spreading out to avoid further area assaults would have been optimal.

Robot 3 vs. Vanguard, DC 16: [roll13].
Robot 1 vs. Gentleman, DC 23: [roll14].
Robot 2 vs. Gentleman, DC 23: [roll15].
All Toughness DC 23 if they hit.

Curtis, Kowalsky, and Jack, give me two Dodge checks DC 15. On successes, Toughness DC 17. On failures, Toughness DC 20.

Current Status

Curtis: Normal.
The Gentleman: Normal.
Jackknife: Normal.
Kowalsky: -1 Resistance, Staggered.
Vanguard: Normal

Robot 1: -1 Resistance.
Robot 2: -2 Resistance, Dazed 1 Round.
Robot 3: -1 Resistance, Dazed 1 Round.
Robot 4: -2 Resistance, Staggered.
Robot 5: -1 Resistance, Dazed 1 Round.

[HopeHubris]

The Gentleman neatly parried the mighty blows before activating his suit's mystic properties, becoming a living blur as he strikes again
Foolish... The first thing I tell young heroes is not to show off, it can get you killed, yet here I am, trying to impress these people... Nothing fancy now
and with that, he strikes again, his divided attention causing him to miss one, though he did score a hit on the second, much to his relief
Now, hopefully I will not seem such a doddering old fool


Blur-ing gives anyone trying to hit me -2 on attack checks

[roll0]
[roll1]
DC: 24
I'm assuming less than 10 parry on the bots, if I'm wrong, I'll modify my post

[BananaPhone]

Arriving on the doorstep of her tudor-style manse, Danica straightened her hair out from her flight and dusted her body off of any insects or other little passengers she might have picked up in her travel. Satisfied, she enters her ancestral home and heads immediately to her living room where she proceeds to pour herself an irish cream whiskey into a whiskey glass.

"Shouldn't let the media choose a name for you," she muttered mockingly to herself, parroting Barets words from earlier in a higher pitch.

"Danica would know all about that."

Narrowing her eyes as she picked up her glass she turned from her drinks cabinet, Danica made her way to her expansive couch-suite that formed the centre of her living room. Before it towered a large system of thin-framed televisions for which she picked up the remote on her way.

"Boring, ignorant...stupid wind-bag..." she uttered under her breath as she sunk into the plush couch. "Make me fly half way across the city just to sit down for five damn minutes...it's called a telephone, grandpa, or a video conference call!"

Turning her system of TV's on Danica was greeted with the digital schematics for designs she had been working on. Several images were displayed across the screen...a type of helmet, a belt, a type of small helicopter...she exited this screen quickly enough however and the face of a news channel anchor appeared mid-sentence. The screen was split by the full-body image of a middle-aged woman standing in front of what appeared to be a crater. "Dreamer Emergance Causes Large-Scale Damage - No One Hurt" was the captaion at the bottom of the screen. Beneath the woman was another footnote: Reclaimer Spokeswoman.

"....are you saying that Dreamers should be punished for when something occurs to them beyond their control? What if I were to tumble down stairs at no fault of mine and hit someone on the way down, is that my fault?" the TV anchor questioned.

"I and others in the community seek accountability for these fearful powers given out at random! We can only do this by starting to change."

"I'd start with those shoes..." Danica uttered before changing the channel to random.

A childrens show sprung to life on her screens, complete with a dancing, antropomorphic octopus, colorful sets and a childish-but-catchy beat.

"...Norman the Octopus...lives in the sea..."

"Heh heh heh." Danica smirked, moving her head and shoulders back in a little dance.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

He was a little surprised that the robot was still standing. He saw it damaged and decided to push his advantage with another swing.


Accurate Attack -1DC effect +1 attack
All Out Attack -5 Dodge/Parry +5 attack
[roll0] attack DC 28
Dodge and Parry are 1

[Grim ranger]

Although he manages to dodge the first grenade blast and shield himself from it perfectly well, the second one catches Jackknife somewhat by surprise, and even his dodge does not prevent the blast hitting him like a physical blow. Still, with the healing properties of his body, the bruises will fade very quickly. Now, his mind is more focused on doing what he does best: getting up close and personal.

Darting towards the enemy that fired at him earlier, Jack swings his dagger in short, clinical arc, the blade leaving behind a red line as his strike is enhanced by his exordinary talent.

The grenade gives Jack one level of toughness damage, but regeneration will fix that very quickly. Going to melee range and using Clean Cut.

[roll0] (Clean Cut)

Edit: Well, that worked out. Oh, and Jack has multiattack on Clean Cut as well... And of course critical hit, thanks to Improved Critical 2.

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis manages to dodge the brunt of the blasts, his Barrier comes to life as shines for a moment as it blocks the remainder of the blasts. He moves back a bit, looking for cover, as he fires upon the other soldier. (The one Jackknife's not attacking)

Move: Moving back a bit, got plenty of range on the Assault Rifle so there should be no Attack Penalties for range. (200 ft)
Standard: Attack [roll0] Critical Hit! +5 DC Multiattack Toughness DC 28 + Multiattack bonuses! (+2 for two Degrees of Success on Attack Roll, +5 for three Degrees of Success on Attack Roll)

[Jallorn]

Wounded by the robot's blast, Kowalsky was unprepared for the grenades that followed. Realizing the precariousness of his position, he looked for the nearest cover and made for it with all his incredible speed.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The Gentleman deftly evaded the robots' heavy strikes, responding with his own skillful attacks. One foe managed to block the blade, the other took the hit solidly to its chest - exactly where it was most heavily armored.

Curtis unloaded a devastating barrage of shots, every bullet striking home with uncanny accuracy. His target only just managed to get its arms up to shield itself, and still was left with several bullet holes and in need of another computational reboot after more of its sensitive inner workings were damaged.

Jack's blurring flurry of attacks, aimed so precisely at the robot's weak spots that one might think he didn't see the illusion of a soldier at all, left his target on the ground in an inert heap.

There was scant cover on the roof itself, but Kowalski was quick enough that he could make his way to the fire escape and duck behind the building's side.

Vanguard's foe managed again to avoid his devastating blow, coming in to use the powerful swing against the Dreamer, using his own momentum against him as he delved a solid hit full to his face. A normal person's head would exploded like a water balloon at the impact; Vanguard was merely bruised and momentarily rattled.

The robot that Curtis damaged would return fire, while the other three continued attacking their current targets in melee.

Robot 1 vs. The Gentleman: [roll0].
Robot 2 vs. the Gentleman: [roll1].
Robot 3 vs. Vanguard: [roll2].
Robot 5 vs. Curtis: [roll3].

DC 23 if they hit. EDIT: Curtis, that's a crit on you, so DC 28.

Current Status:

Curtis: Normal.
The Gentleman: Normal.
Jackknife: -1 Resistance. (Will Regenerate at end of robots' next turn)
Kowalsky: -2 Resistance, Staggered.
Vanguard: -1 Resistance, Dazed 1 Round.

Robot 1: -1 Resistance.
Robot 2: -2 Resistance.
Robot 3: -1 Resistance.
Robot 4: Incapacitated.
Robot 5: -2 Resistance, Dazed 1 Round.

---

While Danica was doing her channel-flipping, she might catch a news announcement about a recent breakthrough at the Brightcove Biotechnological Institute. If she continued watching, she'd soon learn that they were announcing a new process that they had developed that was showing great promise regarding duplicating the healing properties of the blood of regenerating Dreamers. As it was, the process was possible, but as was usually the case with Dreamer powers, incredibly difficult to duplicate on a significant scale.

The announcement would be her only warning. Not ten minutes after it hit the air, the first call would come in, and she'd receive three more within five minutes of it. Every means of contacting her that made any noise to alert her would be going off at an almost constant rate, and the silent ones were no less inundated for their lack of an auditory display.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

The blow rattled his head and at the same time knocked some sense in him. He knew the strength of these things and decided it was time for something different. He focuses his power internally forcing his will outward. Then strikes a focused blow at the robot.


Activating Body of Invulnerability:
Toughness 20, Impervious 19, Dodge and Parry 0
Accurate Attack -5 effect +5 to hit
[roll0] knockback punch DC 24 plus a STR 9 Move object straight back (hoping to catch another robot or two)

[HopeHubris]

Well, that smarts, I really need to be more careful with these things, and they are a lot tougher than I expected, my attacks seemed to just bounce of them, too dazed to do anything fancy, I suppose I'll just have to slug it out and with that, he continues his assault against the two simulated soldiers



[roll0]
[roll1]
DC: 24

[Jallorn]

From behind his cover, Kowalsky unleashes a blast at one of the less damaged robots.

Attack: [roll0]
DC: 24

[Grim ranger]

Not even pausing as his rapid strikes literally slash his adversary to pieces, Jackknife rushes on to help Gentleman out: after all, they are supposed to be working as a team. Spinning his dagger into reverse grip, his hand moves in a blur, striking at the weak points of his robotic adversary.

Clean Cut at Bot 2 to give Gentleman some breathing room.

[roll0] (Clean Cut) (And as always, multiattack and improved critical range of 18-20 are in play)

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis grunts as the bullet deflects off of his chest, the Barrier taking the brunt of the attack as it lights up again.

He takes a deep breath and aims carefully before firing another volley.


Attack Roll: [roll0] DC 27 Multiattack
(All-Out Attack: -4 Parry/Dodge, +4 Attack; Power Attack: -4 Attack +4 DC)

[Quellian-dyrae]

The Gentleman's polished moves kept the first robot off of him, but against two superhumanly capable opponents, he was hard-pressed. He struck the second one hard, seeming to get a better read on his foes' defenses with every exchange, but the move left him open to a counter, that foe slamming him full in the chest with a heavy blow, knocking the air right out of him.

Vanguard continued to have simply horrible luck, the robot dodging his every swing, so he basically told luck to sit down and shut up when he activated his very aptly named Body of Invulnerability. It came just before another heavy blow slammed him in the chest, a powerful hit that would have bruised even his resilient flesh. But with that power active, it bounced off as if the servo-powered robot was nothing more than a small child.

Curtis continued trading brutal shots with his target, pitting reality-enhanced bullets and a mystical shield against nanite reinforcement and laser weaponry. Hits were traded, but while Curtis suffered a minor shot, most of its energy absorbed by his ward, his own bullets wreaked havoc on the already damaged robot's inner workings, leaving it operating on reserve power only.

Kowalsky, clearly impeded by his injuries and perhaps by the chaotic melee - far different from the disciplined, tactically organized assaults he would have been used to in SIDE - fired wide.

Jack's reputation for brutal efficiency, though, was well-proven as he took immediate advantage of the Gentleman's decisive hit. The second robot went down under a flurry of precise dagger strikes, every energy source and hard drive in the robot reduced to useless scrap. In the time that took, Jack's previous minor injury had fully regenerated.

The three remaining bots would maintain their attack - that's what they were programmed for. The one Vanguard was been fighting, however, would leap away from him to strike at Jack with a heavy blow, going for the target that it, ya know, might be able to actually damage.

Robot 1 vs. the Gentleman: [roll0], DC 23.
Robot 3 vs. Jack: [roll1], DC 20.
Robot 5 vs. Curtis: [roll2], DC 14.

DC 23 if they hit, again except for Curtis who takes another DC 28 crit.

Current Status:
Curtis: -1 Resistance.
The Gentleman: -1 Resistance, Staggered.
Jackknife: Normal.
Kowalsky: -2 Resistance, Staggered.
Vanguard: -1 Resistance.

Robot 1: -1 Resistance.
Robot 2: Incapacitated.
Robot 3: -1 Resistance.
Robot 4: Incapacitated.
Robot 5: -3 Resistance, Staggered.

[HopeHubris]

"Thank you kindly, I was in a spot of bother, these constructs are unlike those I fought in my earlier days"

The assassin was good, very good, if he really is as mercenary as he seems, I sure hope no one that wants us out of the way has a larger bankroll
No longer having to split his attention, The Gentleman focuses on the remaining robot, parrying its blow before striking it with one of his own


[roll0]
DC:24

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

I'm a little surprised that the robot 'knows' it can't harm Vanguard when it has been all this time. It's like it can read my character sheet

The hulking man follows the robot, charging it with his out stretched fist.


Same thing like last round.
[roll0] DC 24 with a STR Move Object Push

[Grim ranger]

"You are welcome", Jack replies with a grunt as one of the robots strikes him, the reinforced weave of his suit dampening the blow but not cancelling it out altogether. Somewhat dazed thanks to the strike, he nevertheless deftly throws his dagger from one had to another and dances past the mech, his dagger moving in a blur as it strikes.

Just using Clean Cut to attack Robot 3, and activating Blade Shield right afterwards. It will of course be up only next round, but it does give me more options if any robots are still active by then.

[roll0] (Clean Cut) + same bonuses as before.

Edit: Well, reasonably good roll. That should do.

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis grunts as the shot gets past his Barrier a bit and hits him. He wobbles a bit, but returns fire again.


Attack Roll: [roll0] DC 27 Multiattack
(All-Out Attack: -4 Parry/Dodge, +4 Attack; Power Attack: -4 Attack +4 DC)

[Jallorn]

Gritting his teeth, Kowalsky shoots again, aiming for the same enemy.

attack: [roll0]
DC 24

[Quellian-dyrae]

Now facing a single foe, the Gentleman had no difficulty turning his agile defense into a precise strike, further damaging his robotic enemy.

Curtis's target moved aside just as he fired, escaping his bullets and reciprocating with what would have been a perfect headshot had it not been for Curtis's shield. Even with the potent defense, the impact was like a right hook to the jaw.

Vanguard's foe still proved quick enough to avoid his strike*, dodging to hammer Jack with a powerful strike that left him momentarily dazed. Even so, the assassin's riposte left the robot in basically equivalent straits.

Kowalsky aimed well and indeed hit, but was unable to pierce his target's nanite armor.

Undaunted, the robots maintained their attack.

Robot 1 vs. The Gentleman: [roll0], DC 23.
Robot 3 vs. Jack: [roll1], DC 20.
Robot 5 vs. Curtis: [roll2], DC 10 after All Out Attack.

*((Unless this game has flanking rules somewhere and I'm just missing them, or someone can think of some reason Vanguard would have a bonus that I'm not coming up with, 'cause he's only off by two.))

Current Status:

Curtis: -2 Resistance, Staggered.
The Gentleman: -1 Resistance, Staggered.
Jackknife: -1 Resistance, Dazed 1 round.
Kowalsky: -2 Resistance, Staggered.
Vanguard: -1 Resistance.

Robot 1: -2 Resistance.
Robot 2: Incapacitated.
Robot 3: -2 Resistance, Dazed 1 round.
Robot 4: Incapacitated.
Robot 5: -3 Resistance, Staggered.

[HopeHubris]

Parrying yet another blow, the Gentleman continues his assault on the single robot left standing, striking it 3 times in quick succession


[roll0]
DC: 33

[Jallorn]

Switching tactics, Kowalsky lays down suppression fire on the strongest target.

If it doesn't find cover, his extra attack will simply be a normal attack.
Attack: [roll0]
DC 24

[Grim ranger]

His swimming vision snapping back into perfect clarity remarkably fast thanks to his body healing the damage it has taken, Jack draws a throwing knife with his free hand. "I will handle this one, go to help the fox boy" he says to Vanguard, sommarsaulting backwards to avoid the next strike of the robot and disengage from the melee... And sends a throwing blade spinning at his robotic adversary the second his boots hit the ground again.

Keeping Blade Shield active, moving away from Robot 3 and using Serrated Throwing Blade against it.

[roll]1d20+12[/color] (Serrated Throwing Blade)

No bonuses apply that I know of.

Edit: rolling in OOC thread instead due to this small error.

[BananaPhone]

Danica furrowed her brow at the television set and its...interesting news.

Though biology was not her specialty she was curious as to the procedures taken to replicate regenerative cells, such as her own, while not having them rejected by potential recipients.

Almost immediately her phone started to ring. Or rather, phones. Staring at the television sets for a few more moments, she proceeded to peer over the numbers of the incoming calls and upon choosing her most important one she reached out and answered via speaker phone.

"Y'hello?"

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

With lighting speed he flies in to defend the fox face man with his near invulnerable body. Then swings his massive arm at the machine.


Interpose (Reaction)
Same knockback punch
[roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Well, wanted to wait for Curtis, but since the robots are all down anyway...

And that was that.

The simple respite was all it took for the Gentleman to completely dominate his foe, parrying its final blow with utter ease and simply dismantling it with a flurry of brutal attacks.

Jack's armored suit took the robot's punch well, his withdrawal opening it up for Kowalsky's suppressive fire. With little cover to be had, the rapid barrage of shots caught the robot in an awkward defensive position which crumbled entirely as Jack put a dagger into its main processor, leaving it helpless to defend against Kowalsky's rapid-fire assault. The SIDE agent tore it apart.

The final robot sensed an opening, loosing another well-aimed shot at Curtis, but Vanguard intervened, blocking the shot as if he were a steel wall and, an instant later, smashing the robot's head in with a single devastating punch.

---

Danica was greeted by Arthur Mills, President of Keraine Biotech Incorporated (yeah, she rated). "Hello Miss Rhinehart, it's Arthur Mills. I hope you're well. I was hoping we could set up one of our usual appointments. Are you available?" In the time it took him to say that, her phone beeped with two more incoming calls.

[Grim ranger]

Walking over to the robots to retrieve his throwing blades, Jackknife spins his dagger between his fingers before returning the short weapon to his belt as well. "Well, that was educational, I would say" the assassin notes, looking at the other members of the makeshift team before nodding to them somewhat. "Nice moves."

Returning the throwing blades to their holsters, he folds his arms. "Now, do we have anything else to discuss about? If not, I believe I will go and strech my legs somewhat in the outside. Who knows, a random supervillain might appear to brighten my day."

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

"It took us longer than it should have. I think we should take a moment to evaluate. What could we have done better. For example if I knew who could fly I might have been able to shock-wave the ground and disrupted all the robots."

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis wobbled and fell onto his butt (the impact being taken by his Barrier as it flashed up), rubbing his jaw. "Those lasers pack a punch, aaah." His hand starts glowing a pale green as he massages his jaw with his Cure spell for a minute. He then jumps up, all healed, and stretches out. "Maybe you could buy lunch for us all while you're out?"

He adjusts his hat and kicks some scrap off the edge of the building, "Flying? Haven't figured it out and the one time I tried, I broke nearly ever bone in my body and that was before I figured out how to heal myself."

[HopeHubris]

"Yes, I underestimated these constructs, the technology has improved quite considerably since I last fought mechanical men, though I suppose fifty or so years will do that, but all in all, we did not do too poorly. The masked fellow and I appear to have already healed from our wounds, while you were barely scratched. We will have to work on better protecting the ranged support in future though." The Gentleman replies as he cleans off his blade, re-sheathing it inside his cane.

[Jallorn]

Considering that was effectively an ambush, I don't think we did too bad at all. In the future, we should be able to choose the location of our fights to our advantage, or at the very least have severely less uniform terrain.

[BananaPhone]

"Naturally!" Danica answered, "I hope that a same time on a Friday works for you, as I'm a tad engaged at the moment. If that's not what you're after then send me a better time to arrive - I have to go now, take care!"

Quickly hanging up, her slender, dark brown eyebrows furrowed together, Danica reached over to her phone again and answered the following calls...

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

"Well I guess we should start monitor duty. I'll take the first shift," the large man says as he leaves for the monitor room.

[HopeHubris]

"Very well, I believe I shall join you and you can tell me what happened to your predecessor." says the Gentleman and follows the rather large young fellow

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis shrugs and follows them, "Mind if I come along? There's not much else to do around here." He pulls out his phone as he enters the command room and starts playing a game on it.

[Grim ranger]

"I will believe I will join your company in the monitor room for now... I should at the very least give it a look before I will go out to get some fresh air", Jackknife says as he follows the rest.

[Jallorn]

I'll... Kowalsky sighs. He was going to go read up on Dreamtech, but this seemed like useful and important information. I'll join you as well if that's okay.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The command center was well-equipped, a large circular room, its walls, floor, and ceiling all constructed of a material called "active crystal". Don't let it fool you; it's basically high-tech glass. Its ability to function as a touch-screen computer, bullet-resistant nature, and ability to serve as basically a giant video camera and use words and gestures as an input device weren't Dreamtech. The material wasn't particularly uncommon, especially in large businesses, although an entire room full of it was fairly extravagant.

Technology or Expertise (Science) DC 15:
What was Dreamtech, and much less common, was the version with the ability to project hologram-like images off of its surface, or allow for a neutral linkup so thoughts could be used for input and a user's own senses for output. An entire room full of that was bordering on ludicrous.

At the moment, the screens were mostly displaying various analytical maps of the region with details on crimes and hazards as they became known. Nothing rated above a threat level of three.

[Grim ranger]

Nodding to himself after casual inspection of the command center, Jackknife gives his phone number to the team. "Just so you can keep in touch with me", he explains dryly as he heads towards the door. "I will go out there to keep the peace, since that is what we are getting paid for. Give me a call if something interesting comes up."

Unless someone stops him, Jackknife turns invisible once turning the corner, his psychic ability hiding him from sight as he heads to the roof. It is from there that he is able to leap away and traverse the cityscape quickest, after all.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The city was well-run, but it had its seedier neighborhoods as most do. Jack's explorations would encounter nothing in terms of super-powered threats. After all, with such an impressive roster of Dreamers on call, and Hero Corps itself tending to take a particularly dim view of those who would take advantage of these sorts of missions, few were foolish enough to make a play, especially in a city housing a regional Hero Corps base.

That being said, as far as more mundane crime was concerned, getting caught by Hero Corps was always just bad luck more than anything. Sure, many Heroes and Independents would neutralize any random mugging or robbery they came across, but such things were hardly priorities and generally handled by local law enforcement. So with a thorough and rapid search, it didn't take much serendipity for Jack to come across an unsavory trio on the fringes of the city just as they were fleeing the convenience store they had just held up, one of them waving a pistol around with a disturbing disregard for trigger discipline.

Not even worth rolling out; if you choose to intervene, all I ask is you make it look good. :smallwink:

[Quellian-dyrae]

That little encounter aside, the next several days would pass without incident. The news kept up nearly constant coverage of Hero Corps' mission (short version: they're winning), interspersed with some other stories. The new breakthrough in synthesizing regenerative serums from Dreamer blood (Danica's phones show little signs of stopping). A border skirmish between an Ilessian mech and some Limbrans (tanks, power-armored soldiers, and a few Dreamers; the mech won but was heavily damaged, Limbra denied any involvement, blaming a Reclaimer terrorist cell). A Paradisian shipwreck (yep, they use ships still, basically cruises, gives newcomers the chance to meet other Dreamers, experience living among them, etc. Everyone survived). The death of Wilbur Bralman (a well-known IDEA scientist, largely credited as the primary contributor to the development of power-scanning technology. It was ruled natural causes).

Which brings us to Friday afternoon. Martha entered the command center, looking to whichever of you are present, "There are some reporters here, wanting an interview with the Heroes On Call. Shall I send them away, or up?"

[BananaPhone]

Danica was rather bored with her "shift" at the command centre. Even uttering the name of the place made her smirk softly and think of kids playing in little pillow-fortresses, peering suspiciously through crumpled slits at any who drew close.

As such, Danica was in the command centre, leaning back in one of the chairs with her booted feet up on one of the control panels with her ankles crossed. In one hand she had a ball-on-a-paddle and was spending her time absentmindedly hitting the little rubber sphere back and forth while watching monitors out of the corner of her eye.

Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack...

"Yeah, sure, whatever." she uttered.

It was bad enough she had to be cooped up in this zoo and away from her clients, but assistants that couldn't show initiative only added another layer of annoyance.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

During the week he did pretty much what he would normally do, except he did it in a much more plush location. Intervening on small crimes was much easier here. News of break ins and other crimes got to him much quicker. He helped where he could, simple wreckage clean up to catching some armed criminals. He made his presence felt in the city.

He was a bit surprised to to see Danica here. She had left with an obvious attitude that she didn't want to be here, that she was above all of this. Again she surprised him by agreeing to an interview. "Fine," he says to her, "I'll take over monitor duty you can handle the press."

[BananaPhone]

"They give us all the important jobs, huh?" Danica smirked as she ceased her little ball and paddle exercise and placed it atop the bench. Spinning the chair around she got to her feet and stretched her arms and shoulders.

"So, where do I go to address the adoring masses?"

[Grim ranger]

Resisting the urge to rub his masked face to somehow reduce stupidity-induced headache that would surely be making appearance soon, Jack draws his sword from it's sheath, dropping from from the roof from which he has followed the situation from thus far. His psychic powers allowing him to land safely, the masked killer cuts off the escape of the robbers. It is time to get to work.

The loose trigger displine of the thugs is not a problem to the assassin, his sword moving in a blur to intercept the bullets before any of them could touch him. The robbers stop, their mouths hanging agape... And that is when Jackknife moves. Turning into a blur as he moves in super-speed, the masked assassin dances between his adversaries, his sword repeatedly slashing through the guns of the thugs, turning them to small metal cubes.

Apparently having seen quite enough, the trio of criminal try to run, only to be hounded by their relentless pursuer through the alleyways and yanked away one by one. When the police gets at the scene, all three are found hanging from a lamppost by their ankles, and their pursuer is nowhere to be seen... having vanished as suddenly as he arrived.

--------------------------------

Sitting on one of the command center's chairs and idly flipping one of his throwing blades between his fingers, Jack chuckles dryly. "Don't go taking all the fun for yourself, lady... I will be coming too. I will be looking forward to the questions they will likely ask from me" the assassin says with amusement, getting up. "Besides, it is about time that the general public got assured that I indeed exist, don't you think?"

[HopeHubris]

"Why are you even here, Little Miss Magnet? I believe I understand everyone else's motives for doing this, but not yours, you look down on the people that work to protect this world, and it is not like you need the money, so why?", never one for taking attention away from those who apparently crave it, the Gentleman remains with the new Vanguard, watching for anything actually important.

[Jallorn]

Apparently unlike the others, Kowalsky has been quite enjoying himself. Sure, it'd be nice to have some action, but the research resources at his fingertips are incredible. Plus the games are great, and if he needs some excitement, he can train. It's not quite the same, but all in all, he's pretty happy. I'll join you, the more the merrier, am I right? In truth, his concern was more to do the best he could to avoid any gaffs. He couldn't exactly tell them to remain here, he didn't have any real reason to believe Danica couldn't handle the press, and Jack wouldn't listen to him anyway, so the next best thing would be to go with them.

[BananaPhone]

Danica's humor remained as Jacknife explained his desire to accompany her and answer questions to the public.

"I'm sure nothing would please them more," she answered dryly, her smirk remaining playful and in good humor. She looked the armored, trench-coat wearing murderer up and down before stating, "Your calming, reassuring demeanor lends itself well to public relations - perhaps you missed your true calling?" she smiled as she started to move away, side by side with the man towards the door.

The gentlemans question stays her pace, however, as she turns to face the man before composing an answer. As ever, her self-assured smirk remained. to curl the edges of her lips.

"I say my good chap, we all have our obligations."

It was then that the cyborg spoke up about a desire to join both her and Jacknife. Danica raised a slender, dark brown eyebrow in amusement. The idea of herself giving a reassuring press release while flanked by a trenchcoat-bedecked contract killer and a human-machine hybrid abomination tickled her pink.

"And then there were three." she answered the cyborg.

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis yawns and stretches out as he stands up, "I don't think some press will be bad for us. Besides, I'm bored of being bored already. There's not much to do around here but sit."

He walks over to the elevator and pushes the button, "Think it'll be alright if I just go by Curtis? I don't have any good 'Supername' ideas."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Everyone:
First to open the following spoiler, roll a Perception check. The base DC is 30.
Lower the DC by 10 if you have the Danger Sense super-sense.
Lower the DC by 5 (if you are going to meet the reporters) or 2 (if you are in the command center) for each of the following Super Senses you possess: Radio Sense, Precognition, Detect (Dreamer Powers), Analytical Detect (Technology), or Visual (Penetrates Concealment).
Lower the DC by 2 (reporters) or 1 (command center) for each application of Extended on an auditory sense.
About the time that the group that is heading down to meet the reporters exits the elevator, you notice something off. A threat is imminent, and converging on the building. At the start of your next post, you may post actions that occur prior to the events outlined below (figure you have about three rounds of preparation).

If you succeed by at least three degrees (beat the DC by 10 or more):
You're able to detect the hostiles as they approach, four teams of soldiers, one coming from the front of the building, one from each side, with a single larger one landing on the roof because, guess what, flying cars in this setting! With the group at the front is a Dreamer of no small power.

Martha leads the four down to the main lobby, where an Assembly representative is speaking to about half a dozen reporters. "Ah, here they are now," the representative says as you all enter the room. Two Dreamer staff members sitting at a table look over to your group. The reporters flock over, the first one to speak asking, "Are you four the only-"

But before he can even finish one simple sentence, the walls on either side of the lobby explode with a rending of steel and a shower of rubble, though the size of the lobby and strength of the walls ensure that the only damage is structural. Alarms start blaring throughout the building. Up in the control center, the computerized room starts going nuts with alerts, warnings, automated processes, and - actually helpfully - live video feeds of what's happening in the lobby.

From each new opening, a group of people come running in. All of them are armed with high-tech rifles, equipped with sturdy dark body armor and visored helmets. There are six in each group, but of greater concern is the seventh person at the lead, clad in a full suit of powered armor. Through the glass doors, you can see one more such team approaching rapidly from the front, still a short distance from the building.

The view through the doors, however, is quickly obstructed by a fearsome visage. A man of average height and build, completely bald and dressed only in thick rubber pants. Every inch of his exposed flesh is covered in horrific burn scars, his face a terrifying twisted visage with a permanent rictus grin. As he steps into the building, the temperature rises a good twenty degrees. He glows with an ominous red light, and the air around him wavers with searing heat.

The Assembly representative, Martha, and the Assembly workers at the desk all panic and start fleeing or ducking for cover, as do two of the reporters. The other four show less sense and are aiming their cameras. The two Dreamer staff members begin backing away slowly, readying their power in defense, although the fear on their faces makes it abundantly clear that they are not combat-trained; one's hands glow with golden light, while the other's eyes shine a brilliant blue.

Map:
http://www.unrealquests.com/had/lobby.jpg

Unfortunately I did this before realizing that I can't just upload the file straight to Google Docs with no hassle, so for this fight you won't be able to edit your own positions on the map directly.

Perception DC 15 or Auditory (Radio) Super-Sense, DC 20 for the Gentleman and Vanguard:
You hear several of the soldiers reporting a visual on "four of the primary targets", and well as orders to sweep for "the other two" and "any other Dreamer scum".

Jack, Quantum - Insight, DC 15:
Several of the soldiers are focusing on you, personally, with incensed fury. You get the sense of a deep vendetta here. Be aware: you do not have the protection of serendipity during this encounter. All attacks against you will deal fully lethal damage.

Curtis, Kowalsky - Insight, DC 15:
Some of the soldiers are focusing on you, specifically, with decisive intent. You get the sense that you are priority targets here.

DC 20:
You also get the feeling that they want to take you captive, for some unknown reason.

Gentleman, Vanguard:
In addition to the view of the lobby, security feeds reveal another team of ten soldiers with a power-armored leader landing on the roof in flying cars. Not going to be much help to their friends in the lobby, but there are plenty of Dreamers and Assembly technology and data that will be vulnerable if they go unchallenged.

Perception, DC 12:
You also notice, amidst all the alerts and warnings, a window popping open as the Dreamer enters the building. There is no registration entry, but the power scanners in the door reveal Uncontrolled Pyrokinesis as his Dreamer Power.

Map:
http://www.unrealquests.com/had/roof.jpg


Kowalsky
As a SIDE agent, you receive a minimum total result of 20 on the checks to open the spoilers below.

Technology or Expertise (Science), DC 15:
The rifles are ballistic weapons, capable of shooting both smaller rounds at full auto and larger penetrating ammunition, and the helmets have tactical HUDs that provide target analysis, improve visibility, and can detect and analyze Dreamer powers at a glance.

DC 20:
The powered armor has built-in guns of similar, but stronger, design, plus grenade launchers and power nullifiers, along with advanced tactical computers and enough reinforced steel to be impervious to most small-arms fire.

Additionally, you recognize the general make of the equipment these soldiers are using. Although normal identifying labels and logos have been removed, and these people clearly have neither the discipline nor the concern with avoiding collateral damage that actual SIDE agents would display, the equipment itself is unmistakably SIDE issue.

Well Informed, DC 10:
You've heard of the fire-scarred Dreamer, a man named Jarus Merk.

DC 15:
One of the most dangerous kinds of Dreamers, a man with destructive and largely uncontrolled powers. He's constantly surrounded by an aura of searing heat, and can unleash his power in bolts or blasts of fiery energy. Though not officially registered, the media has often taken to referring to him by codename "Burnscar".

DC 20:
He's a former surgeon, was a brilliant and good-hearted man before his Dream. Now, his mind is every bit as twisted and scarred as his body. He lives in a constant pain that has severely regressed his intelligence, and is consumed with unfocused rage and a deep-seated hatred of people. Dreamers who can control their powers in particular. He is a known radical member of the Reclaimers, and SIDE has quite the file on him.

DC 25:
While not strictly speaking immune to his powers, he is capable of surviving them despite the agony. This has left him basically invulnerable to other fire-based attacks, and incredibly resilient to other forms of damage. It has been documented that he is quite proficient in wrestling, and being grabbed by a man who radiates such blistering heat is almost certain death, while even coming within about thirty feet of him is enough to quickly kill most normal humans and slowly cook most Dreamers, this before considering his active-use blasts of flame.

Other Notes:
Like we were talking about OOC, roll init normally, anyone who beats the enemies gets a free turn, then we just alternate all enemies followed by all PCs. Bystanders automatically lose init; they don't act on first turn at all, will act before enemies on enemies' second and successive turns. Opponents use average initiative, averaged between types of unique opponents.

Likewise, let's try this attackers roll all dice; when attacking, just make an Attack and Damage check, which will check against Defense and Resistance DCs. I'm relaxing the rule that Hero Points may normally only be spent to reroll your own dice; you may spend a Hero Point to force a reroll of any die rolled against you or that you roll.

Init: [roll0]

And Finally:
Complication - Innocent Bystanders: The reporters and Assembly personnel need to be protected! +1 Hero Point!
Complication - Secondary Victims: Other Dreamers in the building are being hunted; if they had enough power to protect themselves, they'd be in Hero Corps! +1 Hero Point!
Complication - Access Point: Assembly computers can access the Dreamer Registry. Letting that information fall into these guys' hands would...probably be bad. +1 Hero Point!

Additionally, Jack, Quantum, Curtis, and Kowalsky are all facing additional potential risk in this encounter for reasons related to their backstories, and receive 1 Hero Point for the complication.

And let's not forget to add +1 Hero Point to everyone who succeeded in the training combat.

Succeeding this encounter only rewards a Hero Point if the characters are able to protect at least one of the above Complication subjects. It awards two Hero Points if all three are protected (that is, no civilian casualties, no Dreamer casualties, no data lost).

Have fun and good luck!

[HopeHubris]

The Gentleman activates the PA system to the room his allies are in "The glowing fellow is a Pyro, be warned, they can be dangerous, the bleeping box on the monitor says his powers are not well controlled" and with that, he leaps up running from the room before glancing over his shoulder and calling out to Vanguard
"You coming you rather large whipper-snapper? Those four can deal with the main room, we need to stop the fellows on the roof, I don't pay much attention to this tech stuff, but I know it's dangerous, I assume you are aware of where they store the important data? " sprinting towards the stairwell and up a flight of stairs, before launching himself off the rails and up a full three stories Not fast enough, they could get anywhere at this rate, he jumps again, only to be picked up halfway by Vanguard, and flown the rest of the way "Ah, very good old chap, completely forgot you could fly"

[Jallorn]

Prior to the explosion, Kowalsky's Dreamer sense allows him to ready his gun, specifically the cryo-grenades, always a good way to at least slow the bad guys without killing anyone.

That is none other than Jerus Merk, aka Burnscar. He's a Reclaimer with significant wrestling skill, don't get too close, are the first words out of Kowalsky's mouth, overlapping with The Gentleman's warning. Even as he says this, his gun is already turning, having unleashed a Cryo Greanade at Burnscar, and he is about to fire another towards the troops on his right. As an afterthought while firing the second grenade, he adds, Quantum, can you give us an EMP burst? It might knock out their HUDs at least.

First of three rounds, activate cryo grenades with move action. After that, continue to ready action to shoot one at the most dangerous target(s).

Init: [roll0]

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

He was surprised by the attack. These aggressors either were able to circumvent the proximity alarms or the building didn't have any. Either way he was going to have to speak to someone about that. This should not be happening.

Vanguard follows the Gentleman. When they hit the stairs, he quickly lifts his comrade and flies quickly up the stairs.

[BananaPhone]

Danica proceeded down to the foyer in a slow, smug pace. She wasn't particularly interested in fame, but the little troll within her was highly amused at the idea of a little self-aggrandisation and pandering to expectations.

Standing there amongst the quad of their team, Danica is almost shaken from her feet as the walls abruptly implode inwards in shattering blossom of debris, dust and tortured metal.

A sphere of crackling energy flickered to life around Danica's figure as she was seized by a lightning quick reaction. Quantum threw her fists forward into open hands, fingers splayed, as she draws up expansive nets of magnetic fields. The air around the two teams invaders seemed to vibrate with a baritone whine as shards of debris, torn steel cabling and loose metal wreckage stirred and skittered before being propelled into the air along invisible channels. The swarm of metal shrapnel impacted against the various figures within the cloud. While seemingly harmless at first, the assortment of debris encircled and encased the invaders within beneath Quantums mental direction, inhibiting their movements and trapping their limbs beneath the compression of her command.

The sudden heat-wave from the front seized Quantums attention as she spied the balding, middle-aged man in the embrace of fire. Wreathed in flame, his entrance marked escalated the lethality of the situation as Quantum turned to speak over her shoulder to the other three.

"I'll take out this trash - keep him away from the civilians and put him down!" she uttered quickly as her body lifted effortlessly off the ground.

Speeding forward, above the head of the pyro, Quantum soars outside and rockets upwards across the face of the skyscraper. Within the foyer, barely a second after she exits, the invaders are torn from their positions and sail out the windows of the front floor of the building: glass shattering everywhere as more than a dozen armor-clad bodies are towed out swiftly as Quantum reaches triple figure heights.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Kowalsky's and Quantum's reactions were as quick as they were decisive. Kowalsky's cryo grenades froze four of the soldiers solid, and perhaps as importantly, encased the mighty Jarus Merk in a sheet of ice - of course, against his burning aura, that would unlikely last long.

Quantum, meanwhile, bound up the entirety of the two squads with her magnetic powers. One lowly soldier did manage to wrest himself free as she took off; the rest were dragged helplessly through the building's windows and high up into the air.

Bound above a fatal fall solely by Quantum's magnetic powers, those soldiers could take no action against her, or even try to break free; they were caught and knew it.

The sole soldier who had escaped her magnetic hold? Broke and fled. No way he was taking on four powerful dreamers single-handedly.

The other team advanced, but with Jarus and his burning aura locked in the doorway, couldn't come through cleanly. It kept them back, was the good news. The bad news was, it also limited their options, and the only option they had left was a bloody one; the power-armored soldier set his gun to its grenade launcher, lobbing one straight at the heroes - and the cluster of helpless civilians around them.

Jarus, though immobilized, was not completely helpless. No movement was required to unleash his fiery powers. Flames burst from his eyes, twin beams of fire arcing across at Kowalsky.

Up on the roof, the soldiers split into two teams, each heading for one of the entry structures, the power armored soldier by whatever happenstance heading with the north team. The soldiers and advanced and blasted open the locked doors with small shaped charges easily enough, the group to the south starting for the stairs - while the northern group came face to chest with the mighty Vanguard and the skilled Gentleman!

Friendly reminder, countering an action as a reaction can be done for a Hero Point!

Jarus vs. Kowalsky - Attack (DC 19): [roll0]

Damage (DC 15): [roll1]

Grenade:
Order: Curtis, Jack, Kowalsky, Martha, Assembly Staff 1-3, Reporters 1-6.
DCs (Dodge): 16, 24, 19, 12, 12, 13.
DCs (Toughness): 8, 17, 15, 8, 8, 9.
Area Rolls (+8): [roll2].
Damage Rolls (+8): [roll3].

Map - Lobby:
http://www.unrealquests.com/had/lobby.jpg

Map - Roof:
http://www.unrealquests.com/had/roof.jpg

Results:
Barring uses of Hero Points or other reactions, Curtis takes -1 to Resistance, Jack comes through unscathed, Kowalsky weathers the grenade fine but is incapacitated by Jarus, and the civilians would all be killed because yeah, against a grenade? They count as minions.

[Jallorn]

Acting even before the grenade has reached it's peak, Kowalsky intercepts the grenade, largely thanks to his superhuman speed, and tosses it back, past Jarus, and towards the soldier who threw it. Moments later, Jarus's attack tosses him back, slamming him to the ground.

Spending a hero point to intercept and redirect the grenade.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Kowalsky's play did, however, spare the civilians, and also blew away the soldiers outside, though the powered armor's tactical computers got it turned away enough that its armor easily withstood the blast.

Curtis no longer takes the -1, civilians are alive and well, and PCs all are on-turn. Jarus remains Defenseless and Immobilized.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

"You take care of these guys I'll get the others at the far side," he says.

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis cringes at the explosion and prepares the only ranged spell he knows in between his hands. The air between his hands starts to distort turning black with a white as roman numerals form around the edges of it. Yep, classic video game magic, well almost.

He then throws the ball of magic much like a video game character would throw a hadoken at Jarus. The Time Magick wraps around Jarus as Curtis focuses on the spell.

The air slightly distorts around Jarus, as an white neon clock forms in the palm of Curtis's hand. If the Stop had had full effect, the clock would be completely stopped right now, but instead it's only moving at half it's normal rate.

Attack Roll: [roll0]
Effect Roll: [roll1] (Auto Crit)
1st Degree: Hindered + Vulnerable, 2nd Degree: Immobile + Defenseless, 3rd Degree: Paralyzed + Incapacitated

[Grim ranger]

Seeing that the rest of the team have already taken out most of the attackers (in Quantum's case quite literally so), Jack smiles ever so slightly beneath his mask. Perhaps they are slowly getting hang of team-level tactics. Seeing that the biggest threat is still on ice but far from being taken out, he draws his dagger as well as a throwing blade, focusing his psychic talents to becoming unnaturally fast. Such quality will no doulbt come in useful if more enemies arrive.

Drawing his arm back, Jackknife throws the throwing blade at Jarus, the serrated edge gleaming with red power as it spins through the air. The throw is not aimed to be lethal, but it should prevent the pyro from causing them any more problems... Mostly by the virtue of hitting with power of a freight train.

Switching over to Speed Boost, drawing dagger and serrated throwing blade, and using Flying Blades on Jarus. With him immobilized, the combination of almost surefire critical hit and possible multiattack bonus should let us forget about him for a while.

[roll0] (Flying Blades)

Remember sure critical hit upon hit, as well as Multiattack bonus and Penetrating (5) in case Jarus has Impervious Toughness. With damage 8 base and 5 more from critical as well as possible 5 more from multiattack, it should be enough to knock him out of the fight.

Edit: And that should be it for Jarus. Neat as you please :smalltongue:

[HopeHubris]

"Very well, you are the faster one, though I would not mind a hand with the power suit on your way past" the Gentleman responds as he moves into the doorway, his form beginning to blur as he does so, he then looks for a way to get past the men in front of him, not seeing one, he lashes out with his blade, drawing and striking with a single motion, striking him rapidly in quick succession


[roll0]
Crit on 18-20, DC 24 + Multiattack if applicable

[BananaPhone]

For a brief moment when Dancia propelled herself out of the lobby she was given the tranquility of her favorite activity - flying. The lethality of the situation seemed to melt away into obscurity as the cool rush of air currents enveloped her figure and the world sailed downwards around her.

As she pressed beyond the skyline of the city, the reality of her actions returned to her attention. The cargo of Reclaimer scum that she carried were once again the centre of her ire and as Danica came to hover on the spot and observe the apprehended dozen she caught sight of the Gentleman and Vanguard on the roof of the Assembly building. There was another team of invaders, apparently, who had landed on the roof during the commotion in the abbey. It didn't take Einstein to deduce that the position would allow them to access data nodes of the facility that could provide a conduit into the organisations soft, digital underbelly.

Raising her left hand in the direction of the Assembly rooftop, Danica gestured with open fingers. The captured Reclaimers around her were abruptly catapulted downwards, sailing through the air at dizzying speeds as they were hurled at their comrades as living missiles.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

A little surprised that the Gentleman thought so little of the armed men, Vanguard took to the air and headed to the other side. Along the way he clapped his hands, making a thunderous sound.


Move-by-action
Thunder clap at U-9
--30 fot burst
--rank10 affliction vs fort
--Dazed, Stunned
end move at U3-4

[Quellian-dyrae]

Curtis's spell dropped another layer of lockdown on Jarus. Although he was already quite well stopped, he would now have to fend off the slowing magic even if he burned through Kowalsky's Cryo Grenade.

He would not, however, get the chance; a perfectly aimed dagger throw from Jack caught the defenseless Dreamer square, dropping him cold.

The Gentleman's deft assault completely outclassed the poor, hapless soldier who had opened the door. Before she could even ask what, she was down and bleeding.

Just in time for Quantum to unleash her payload, resulting in a simple mass of broken bodies as she hurled her captives down upon their allies. By some defiance of the laws of physics, one was still conscious and relatively unhurt. The two power armored soldiers, however, took the fall without problem.

Of course, they would now have Vanguard to deal with as the mighty Dreamer crossed the rooftop in a blink. The three soldiers who had been behind him withstood the shockwave well enough; the one in front, and the power armored soldier, caught it full in the face, leaving the soldier stunned and the armored warrior dazed.

Down below, the civilians continued fleeing, but for the four reporters, who did at least show the sense to scatter away from the heroes that had a tendency to attract grenades. They were still pointing their cameras at whatever part of the scene they could catch.

One of the dreamers ran at speed towards the group, however. Towards Kowalsky, in fact, her hands still aglow with golden light.

The other one? More wise than brave; he raised a barrier of azure force between himself and the danger.

The power armored soldier considered the odds. Quantum had flown off, Kowalsky was down, but its entire team was out (well, technically, there was one soldier left; he was running as fast as he could away from the building). Even the mighty Jarus Merk had gone down.

Retreat was in order, but the soldier didn't rout. It fired as it withdrew, laying down a hail of bullets on Curtis. If it could take him out, maybe it would consider going one on one against Jackknife.

Attack vs. Curtis (DC 14): [roll0]. DC 25 Toughness on a hit, DC 27 on a 19+, DC 30 on 24+.

Map:
http://www.unrealquests.com/had/lobby.jpg

Up on the roof, the three soldiers that had resisted Vanguard's shockwave backed up and opened fire on the Gentleman. The power armored soldier took aim at Quantum and loosed a grenade; the range was significant, but explosions were easy to aim. The three that had survived Quantum's throw picked themselves up; they hadn't exactly landed in an ideal position for facing the powerful Dreamer, but they made do, one lashing out with servo-enhanced strength, the other firing the suit's built-in guns, awkwardly aiming over the unarmored soldier's shoulder. The less-equipped soldier fired one of his rifle's piercing rounds as his HUD informed him that Vanguard was an Impervious.

Attacks vs. Gentleman (DC 25 with Concealment; 20 required to hit, and a 20 wouldn't crit even if they weren't minions): [roll1]. DC 21 Toughness if they happen to get lucky.

Quantum, give me a DC 18 Dodge followed by DC 25 Toughness on a fail, or DC 20 Toughness on success.

Fortitude to throw off Daze, DC 20: [roll2].

Punch vs. Vanguard (DC 16): [roll3]. DC 25 Toughness if it hits.
Power Armor Guns vs. Vanguard (DC 18 due to cover): [roll4]. DC 25 Toughness on hit, DC 27 on 23+, DC 30 on 28+.
Soldier vs. Vanguard (DC 16): [roll5]. DC 21 Toughness on hit, this attack is Penetrating.

Map:
http://www.unrealquests.com/had/roof.jpg

Status:
Quantum: Normal.
Curtis: Normal.
Gentleman: Normal pending defense.
Jack: Normal.
Kowalsky: Incapacitated.
Vanguard: Normal.

Power Armored Soldier 1 (Lobby): Normal.
Power Armored Soldier 2 (Roof, shooting Quantum): Normal.
Power Armored Soldier 3 (Roof, punching Vanguard): Normal.
Power Armored Soldier 4 (Roof, shooting Vanguard): Normal.
All others are either minions or out. The stunned minion has been removed from the map because, again, minion.

[HopeHubris]

"Jolly good show, brilliant flying there," says the Gentleman, holding his hat firmly on his head so that it doesn't fly off in the shockwave, "and you too, little miss, well I never really caught your name, and I may not be your biggest fan, but that was quite impressive" The Gentleman calls to his allies as he moves forwards, dodging all attempts at attacking him, then begins striking rapidly at the three men in front of him


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[BananaPhone]

Quantum did not look amused as her electricity field flickered and writhed beneath the automatic fire of the invaders weapon. His bullets compressed flat against the protective barrier, leaving the hovering woman safe within her electro-bubble.

"Annoying insects," Quantum hissed, though at the distance she was from the roof-top she doubted any could hear her.

"You presume to harm me, puny little man?"

Reaching out, Quantum created a swirling rift of electromagnetic energy above the heads of the two power-armored soldiers before detonating it in a bright blue flash that enveloped them entirely - but fizzled out upon reaching the rooftop.

Following this up was a blue-and-white beam that lanced out from one of Quantums outstretched hand to impale the remaining soldier before the Dreamer flew behind another building and out of retaliatory sight.

[Grim ranger]

Shaking his head at the retreating, power-armoured soldier, Jack draws his deadliest weapon. The long, impossibly keen blade seems to cut through air with every movement he makes with it, demonstrating it's incredibly sharp edge to even more dim-witted observers. His psychic power now making him much more mobile, Jackknife moves in a blur and is suddenly directly behind his power-armoured adversary... Right before moving again, his monomolecular blade slicing at the man with impossible speed and precision. The blow is not meant to be a killing one, but he doulbts that the soldier will run far after it.

Moving behind the last power-armoured guy and using Monomolecular blade. I have my doulbts on that armor's capability to withstand this particular weapon.

[roll0] (Monomolecular Blade strike)

Critical on 16-20, damage 8... And of course Penetrating 10 :smallbiggrin:

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

Using his hyper-speed the large man moves incredibly fast putting him in position to strike at all three of the opponents.


move V36
accurate attack: -3 ranks/+3 to hit
[roll0] goon 26 DC
[roll1] PA 3 26 DC
[roll2] PA 4 26 DC

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis flinches as the retreating Mook's shots all go wide, he watches Jack take the pitiful mook down before going over to Kowalsky and giving him a shot of Cure.
"That... was faster than expected, Quantum just grabbed a bunch of them and flew out." he comments as he brings Kowalsky to.

ActionsMove: Move over to Kowalsky
Standard: Healing Kowalsky [roll0]
I knew I should've just taken 10 for a result of 15 >.<

[Quellian-dyrae]

One of the gun-toting soldiers manages to stumble back away from the Gentleman's assault, just keeping out of reach of his darting blade; the other two went down hard.

Quantum's EMP burst knocked out both suits of armor - temporarily. Most serious equipment was resistant to such instantaneous bursts; it would be knocked offline, but could then be rebooted. Still, it'd buy them some breathing room, since the soldiers in the heavy armor could barely move, let alone fight, without the armor's technology at work.

The poor, pitiable soldier at the south side of the building caught Quantum's blast and Vanguard's fist full in the chest. The less said on his current state the better.

Fortunately for the soldiers in the disabled mail, EMP or no, a full-body casing of bulletproof steel was still, well, a full-body casing of bulletproof steel. One of the suits took Vanguard's hit well enough; the other was dented and rattled.

Jack's attack came quick, but the tactical computers of the powered armor analyzed his approach and automated a response, a lightning-fast dodge getting the soldier out of the way of that deadly blade, although Jack's advance did cut off his escape.

Curtis's magic made a start at healing the terrible burns that now covered Kowalsky's chest and face, but the damage was severe. The other Dreamer invoked her own healing powers, trying to help Curtis get Kowalsky back on his feet, while the reporters continued pointing their cameras and narrating the scene for viewers at home. Between both of the Dreamers, Kowalsky's injuries would fade away as if they had never been.

Jack's opponent whirled to face him, striking hard with servo-enhanced strength.

The power armored soldier on the roof that wasn't currently rebooting, since Quantum was out of line of fire, turned his suit's built-in guns on the Gentleman.

The other soldier up there gave a wordless scream and kept shooting at the older Dreamer, trying to cut down his angles of defense.

Perception DC 25:
You hear sirens approaching.

Actions:
Dreamer uses Healing on Kowalsky: [roll0].
Mook takes Aid action: [roll1].
Armored 1 vs. Jack (DC 20): [roll2]. On hit, Toughness DC 25.
Armored 2 vs. Gentleman (DC 23): [roll3]. Add +2 if mook rolls 10+, +5 if mook rolls 20+. On hit, Toughness DC 25 + Multiattack.
Armored 3: Action for this round was Nullified.
Armored 4: Action for this round was Nullified.

Map (Lobby):
http://www.unrealquests.com/had/lobby.jpg

Map (Roof):
http://www.unrealquests.com/had/roof.jpg

Status:
Quantum: Normal.
Curtis: Normal.
Gentleman: Normal.
Jack: Normal.
Kowalsky: Normal.
Vanguard: Normal.

Power Armored Soldier 1 (Lobby): Normal.
Power Armored Soldier 2 (Roof, shooting Gentleman): Normal.
Power Armored Soldier 3 (Roof, facing Vanguard): Normal.
Power Armored Soldier 4 (Roof, facing Vanguard): -1 Resistance, Dazed 1 round.

[HopeHubris]

The Gentleman deftly dodges the incoming gunfire, dashing past the soldier, slashing at him as he does so, before stopping in front of the power suit, making an attack against it as well



Perception: [roll0]
[roll1] vs Mook DC 24+ multi
[roll2] vs Power Armour DC 24+ multi

[Grim ranger]

Increbidly, Jack does not even dodge the powerful strike, simply catching the fist of the power-armored enemy with his own, his longcoat flaring somewhat as the impact sends a small blast of air outwards. Cocking his head to the side as if to ask "really?", the assassin quite simply vanishes on the spot, his form disappearing in an instant... Right before his blade strikes again, this time with considerably less chance of being intercepted. After all, this time his enemy literally does not see the strike coming.

Activating Mental Camouflage to turn invisible as well as silent, and using Monomolecular Blade once again.

[roll0]

Crit on 16-20, penetration 8. I am not sure whenever or not being invisible will actually help, but it cannot hurt either.

Edit: And it is a crit indeed.

[Jallorn]

Returning to consciousness, Kowalsky's first reaction is to grab for his gun. His second, is to take stock. Spotting the sole remaining enemy, he lightly pushes the Dreamer and Curtis aside, pulling the trigger. A single pulse of energy flies from the gun, towards the Power Armor.

Attack: [roll0]
DC 24, Penetrating 9

[BananaPhone]

Spearing around the corner, Quantum raised her hand and wove the magnetic fields of the surrounding area back into the fore of her will.

The scattered weapons about the defeated soldiers stirred from their resting positions and shot up to slap against the power suits that sat vulnerable and offline. The air vibrated with a baritone whine as Quantum once again exerted herself to hoist the invaders and carry them off.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

Seeing the suits lack of power the mighty man channels his strength to strike both of the armor suits.


[roll0] PA 3 DC 27
[roll1] PA 4 DC 27

[Quellian-dyrae]

The Gentleman finished off the last soldier so cleanly, it almost seemed an afterthought, before delving the powered armor a perfect strike to its primary generator, leaving it running on reserve power.

Jack's blade, so keen, pierced straight through his target's armor, spearing clean into his back. There was a short cry from inside and the armor stopped moving.

Vanguard's battering left one of his targets dented and broken in several places, sharply curtailing mobility and power output, and then Quantum just carried them off.

Alone on the roof with the Gentleman and Vanguard, going on reserve power, the remaining power armored fighter just raised his hands in surrender. Even if he could get to one of the flying cars, he was pretty sure Vanguard could just fly after him and disable it.

Everyone gets two Hero Points for protecting all three complications.

[Grim ranger]

Shimmering back into view, Jackknife swings his blade sharply to clean the blood splatters on it before sheathing the impossibly keen weapon once again. The strike he has just executed to perfection is not lethal one, but he still doulbts that his enemy finds it pleasant. Well, the goon ought to breath a sigh of relief: today, he would not be killing anyone, not even Reclaimer scum.

Shifting his power back into strenght aspect, he casually grabs the power-armored mook and begins to drag the man around like he weights absolutely nothing, going about collecting the fallen attackers into a pile that he calmly carries back inside with one hand, not even trembling in slightest amount from the effort. He might as well be holding pile of feathers. Dropping the unconsicous goons (with Jarus being the topmost of the pile), he turns to Curtis. "Perhaps you could make sure that these crooks will be contained until the hero corps and SIDE get here? After you are finished with healing, of course."

Dusting his coat nonchlantly, the masked super turns to look at the members of the press that have been foolhardy enough to stay around. "Now, I believe you came here to interview or ask questions, and since rest of the team seems to be currently occupied, I suppose I have a moment to spare."

[Jallorn]

I think, Jack, that we should all clean up the mess first, then interview, Kowalsky works hard to keep his tone even as possible, but can't help but keep a little derision enter it. We are a team, after all, and I'm sure these polite men and women can wait a few more minutes. Kowlasky's gun is pointed down, but his hands still rest very close to his standard battle grip.

[Grim ranger]

"In few minutes the Hero corps and SIDE can be here, and for some reason I believe that could lead to... interruption on my part" Jackknife says dryly. "Therefore, it makes sense for me to start out early: the rest of you should be able to conduct your interviews in relative peace."

[HopeHubris]

Pulling out a monogrammed handkerchief, the Gentleman wipes down his blade before re-sheathing it in his cane, ""Vanguard, would you mind taking this man to the temporary containment area, I believe I hear sirens approaching" and with that he walked to the edge of the building and jumped, slowing his decent using the walls on the way down, landing deftly on his feet
"You are part of the team now, boy, you saved lives, you have naught to fear from SIDE"

[Grim ranger]

"It is not myself I am concerned about", Jack replies with utterly deadpan tone. "Rather, I am concerned about the possibility of them trying to take me in or something else equally foolish for whatever past transgressions of mine they wish to quote for the occassion. I know that murder is touchy subject during my current assignment, but I am perfectly willing to defend myself by crippling them for life if they attempt to interfere with my business. So if I am to stay here now as they arrive, you should give a good effort towards dissuading them from doing anything stupid. Otherwise seriously unpleasant things will be taking place, I believe."

[HopeHubris]

"Such a pessimist, they would not dare to do anything in front of the media, especially after you just saved them, it would not portray SIDE in a positive light at all, and if I know anything about government agencies, it is that that is what they really care about, you can not do your job if the common man is against you, it is even worse when you are opposed by dreamers" the Gentleman replies, in his usual dignified tone, "As long as you are on this team and helping people, I will stand at your side, even against SIDE"
Well, that sounded a little daft

[shugyosha]

Vanguard


Pulling out a monogrammed handkerchief, the Gentleman wipes down his blade before re-sheathing it in his cane, ""Vanguard, would you mind taking this man to the temporary containment area, I believe I hear sirens approaching"

The large man grabbed the the soldier but the collar and flew down to the staging area the police set up. "Here you go."

[Quellian-dyrae]

The reporters did indeed swarm the group when the threat was neutralized, and as he stepped up to it, full attention went to Jack - and the Gentleman as he spoke with him. A bevvy of questions came at them. A few that they could make out amidst the babble:

"Do you know what prompted this attack?"
"Were the attackers after the Assembly, or the Heroes On Call?"
"Are you really going to fight SIDE?"
"How many people did you kill in the fight?"
"How did these people manage to attack the Assembly headquarters?"
"What are you going to do to prevent more attacks like these in the future?"
"Should the people of Ilessia be concerned about these attacks?"
"Are the Heroes On Call of other regions also at risk?"

SIDE, meanwhile, was responding fast and in force. The sirens that the keen-eared might have heard before quickly became obvious to everyone as over thirty squad cars - five of them huge, flying vehicles with full units inside and enough armor and firepower to take on a tank or a paragon Dreamer - converged on the scene and established a perimeter, backed by half a dozen suits of top-of-the-line powered armor. And no doubt, there were at least a couple Dreamers among such a load-out as well. For such a force, they had a strong response time - give or take two minutes from the initial explosions.

When Vanguard "dropped in" with his captive, the half-dozen agents nearest him immediately trained their weapons - powered rifles not dissimilar from what the attackers themselves had been using - on the suit. Any suit of powered armor was wisely considered as big a threat as someone pointing a loaded gun. "Deactivate and remove the armor now!" one of them commanded.

One agent, wearing the badge of a captain, quickly approached. "You're one of the HOC's, right? What's the status in there?" he asked Vanguard. Off a bit, the armored agents had grouped up around a single unarmored agent and were advancing on the building. It was another twenty seconds between arrival and having the perimeter secured and beginning approach.

[HopeHubris]

"No, though I am sure SIDE will be able to obtain the information from these prisoners, which is not to say I would not mind interrogating one myself" the Gentleman replies to the first question he heard called out, with a slight chuckle towards the end of the statement, continuing on to the rest of the questions, It would seem that the intended target was the Assembly itself that was targeted, as colleague, Vanguard here, has just shown, they did not send all of their forces through the front, there was a strike team situated on the roof as well, not just one attacking the press conference, and no, there will be no fighting of SIDE, not if I can help it.
As to the killings, there were no more than necessary and we kept as many alive as we could, there are some unconscious fellows on the roof that SIDE can see to later, but in the thick of things, when people are shooting at you, and at civilians, sometimes a non-lethal approach just is not possible.
Well, anyone can attack the headquarters, but as we have shown, even when the Hero Corps is not here, they can not do so succesfully.
I am not a technical specialist, I am rather old fashioned myself, there is not really anything I can do preventatively, but I will be stationed here for the foreseeable future and will respond with all due haste to any future attacks, which seem rather unlikely considering how easily we stopped this one
Oh, no need to worry, there are some very capable Heroes on Call with me here and as you can see, we are more than capable of dealing with petty criminals like these, there is no reason for the citizens of the city to be concerned by whichever organisation is behind these attacks.
As of yet, this attack seems to be a singular occurrence, but I would not rule it out entirely, after failing to attack here, they may target a less well defended sector headquarters, but I have no doubt the others heroes can handle themselves"

[shugyosha]

Vanguard



When Vanguard "dropped in" with his captive, the half-dozen agents nearest him immediately trained their weapons - powered rifles not dissimilar from what the attackers themselves had been using - on the suit. Any suit of powered armor was wisely considered as big a threat as someone pointing a loaded gun. "Deactivate and remove the armor now!" one of them commanded.

One agent, wearing the badge of a captain, quickly approached. "You're one of the HOC's, right? What's the status in there?" he asked Vanguard. Off a bit, the armored agents had grouped up around a single unarmored agent and were advancing on the building. It was another twenty seconds between arrival and having the perimeter secured and beginning approach.

"There were two infiltration teams up on the roof. We handled them. I'm not sure where Quantum ran off to but she had atleast two powered armored units in tow."



Is there anyone left on the roof? If so Vanguard will retrieve them as well.

[BananaPhone]

(ooc - I'm not back to regular posting - I'm just taking up a quick opportunity)

As if on cue, the two abducted power armored goons crashed into useless heaps across the asphalt road behind Vanguard. Though the pathway was undamaged the two suits were now good for little more than scuttling, and from within the pair of silvery, wrecked husks escaped the tired, defeated groans of the living but humiliated pilots.

In the wake of their crashlanding, Quantum gently floated down and touched upon the pavement, the air shimmering with magnetic polarities as she did so.

Unlike the other team members, Quantum did not look happy to see SIDE. Instead her face was an unimpressed, dismissive glance.

"Arrived after all aggressive parties have been neutralised," Quantum stated drly towards the SIDE captain, several sparks blossoming from one of the out-of-commission suits at her feet.

"I see your speed matches your relevence, as always."

As she moved past the captain, Quantum gestured with her forehead to the weapons that the invaders had employed which were now littered about the scene. She was too in the technological-know to fall for the idea that some random group of idiots could get their hands on this type of weaponry and armor - they had benefactors.

"And loyalty." she hissed softly through the corner of her mouth.

Having given SIDE all the attention she believes they're worth, Quantum brushes past the captain and strides into the foyer were this whole calamity started. As she did so the metal ball-bearings that had been scattered throughout the antechamber skittered from their resting positions and swirled back into the open palms of their owner while she walked. Having recovered her property, Quantum tucked the handfuls of steel back into their proper containers on her belt.

"Now, I believe a throng of people were rather anxious to ask me questions!"

[Grim ranger]

"I concur with the statements of my colleque", Jack replies calmly to the reporters while nodding at Gentleman. "I fail to see how there is a risk: a force attacked our base of operations, and we managed to take them all down in minium of time, no casualities that we know of thus far, and with extreme ease. As for when it comes to fighting SIDE, I believe our mission parameters do not include such... unless they decide to antagonize me. Then we shall have to see. Now, if you would excuse me."

Walking beside Vanguard, Jackknife rolls his shoulders somewhat, entering the conversation without much in way of formalities. "As far as we are able to tell, no attacker who entered the fight has managed to flee, and there seem to be no casualities thus far, only property damage. I would have gift-wrapped them for you had I had the wrap on hand: hopefully you can take care of the proceedings when it comes to the piles of unconsicous terrorists" he said calmly, a small spike for SIDE not too subtly woven into his words.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The SIDE captain's rifle came quickly up when Quantum dropped the two armored soldiers before him, but he relaxed on seeing it wasn't a threat. He nodded to Vanguard at his information, ignoring Quantum's barbs professionally and saying softly, apparently through a commlink, "Stand down, secure the prisoners."

It did appear that Jack was in the mood to stir up some trouble. Well, either that, or he was substantially underestimating just how favorably Hero On Call status compared to the very extensive file SIDE had on him. As soon as he walked out of the building, the unit of power armored agents that was approaching the main entry trained their weapons on him, the tactical computers in the suits locking on. The unarmored agent with them narrowed his eyes slightly, and Jack would feel the air around him seemingly solidify as the Dreamer's telekinetic powers were brought to bear.

Jack roll Will or Strength, DC 20, or you can roll initiative if you wish to take action first. Other players may also roll initiative if anyone wishes to force this situation into combat time.

The reporters would, of course, continue with their questions - at the moment, the escalating tension outside had escaped their notice. With much of the major details having been provided, they shifted their questioning to the heroes' personal viewpoints - what they thought of the attack, how they felt they worked together, if any of them had worked together in the past, how the attackers had compared to previous foes they had faced, if they had any statements they would like to make to audiences at home, and so on.

[Grim ranger]

Stiffling a curse that rings through his mind the second telekinetic powers lock his arms in place, Jack strains against the invisible bonds as hard as he can, but to no avail. It seems that SIDE agents here are somewhat more accomplished than those he has faced in the past. Well, perhaps now was the time for talking then.

Glancing at Vanguard who is some distance ahead of him, Jackknife sighs in somewhat long-suffering tone and raises his voice. "It seems that our friends in law enforcement desperately want to start a battle since they missed out on the first one" he calls out dryly, right before turning his attention to the SIDE captain that Vanguard is speaking with. "Perhaps you could tell your men to stand down so we can avoid any unpleasantness. I just helped to hand you entire strike team of terrorists, and if that is not enough to give me benefit of the doulbt, I am quite surprised. It is not my mission to fight you, but if you force me to, things WILL spiral out of control. Count on it."

[Jallorn]

Kowalsky makes his way over to the SIDE commander as soon as Jack starts talking towards him. Flashing his ID badge, he leans in and whispers so the reporters can't pick it up, Sir, if you're bent on taking him down, I will help, but perhaps this isn't the time? He's got the media on his side right now, this won't be anything but a PR disaster, and he's proven to have some value. I won't say he could be a good SIDE agent, but HeroCorps has enough oversight that they might...

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

Once all the soldiers were in the hands of the authorities, the large man flies back to the command center. Asking the techs there, "Alright, did we get all of them. Is our systems alright?"

[BananaPhone]

Quantum smiled and waved to the flashing cameras.

"...yes, you're right I am quite magnificent..."

"...just an attempt by the Reclaimers to remain relevent in the world, nothing to see really..."

She was distracted from speaking to the masses, however, by the unfolding commotion in front of the building. Turning back to the cameras and politely holding up a gloved hand, "Pardon me."

Flying up and out to hover several metres above Grim Ranger, Quantum looked upon SIDE's assembly with an air of disgust. Her dark brown hair carried behind her gracefully in the wind and her voluminous, purple and black cape billowed impressively.

"Do perform beyond SIDE standards and act like a gentleman," she spoke down to the captain, her voice easily heard.

"Neither of us desires to see SIDE's agents arresting a hero of the day and an honored guest of HeroCorps in front of the camera's do we?"

Graceless idiot, Quantum scorned to herself.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The SIDE captain considered the situation, casting his gaze over the scene, briefly studying each of the heroes. He finally focused on Kowalsky, and in the same low voice said, "You know how dangerous he is. I trust you'll be keeping a close watch on him."

Then into his commlink, "Let him go."

"Captain?" the telekinetic asked, loud enough to be heard.

"Release him," he said again, voice patient but firm. "If I understand our friends here, Hero Corps is filing an H-23 on codename Jackknife. I trust the paperwork is in progress."

Expertise (Law, or any law-enforcement/heroics related), DC 15:
One of the many helpful little laws the Assembly got passed, Hero Corps can request a previously harmful Dreamer be released into their custody for up to a month, to try and get them to agree to use their powers to the benefit of society. When it works, it's way better than keeping the Dreamer imprisoned, which depending on the powers involved can require a massive resource expenditure.

Of course, normally, it requires quite a bit of paperwork, court proceedings if the government chooses to oppose it, etc...but it does also give SIDE a way to back down and save face if, say, a group of high-level Dreamers in the employ of Hero Corps are calling one of their targets a hero on national television and they really don't want to start anything with them. As, ya know, a completely random example.

Clearly not happy with that, the telekinetic just gave Jack a hard glare, releasing him with a sharp push of his will. Then he went about using his power to secure the prisoners for transport, though one might overhear, in his work, a fair amount of grumbling about releasing a murderer on the word of a couple other murderers.

--

Upstairs, the techs were checking that very thing, combing the systems for any sign of lost or altered data, malicious code or software, unauthorized hardware, or other security breaches. "Everything looks fine so far," one of them reported to Vanguard. "Full diagnostics will take an hour, but it doesn't look like you gave them a chance to do anything. You guys work fast!" she congratulated.

[Jallorn]

Still keeping his voice low enough so only the captain can hear him, Kowalsky expresses his thanks, You made the right choice, and yes, I will be completely vigilant, as I think, will the Gentleman. Of course, I wouldn't object to having a little backup stationed nearby, just in case.

Guessing I probably need Persuasion here: [roll0]

[Grim ranger]

Giving the telekinetic a hard stare (one that goes sadly unnoticed due to his mask concealing both his face and eyes), Jack hovers his hand over the veritable arsenal he carries on his belt before turning to Kowalsky to give him the same look. The implication is obvious: make a move against me, I will do my formidable best to end your lives.

"I think that we are done here. Next time your attack dog grabs me, I will put him to catatonic state... If I am feeling merciful. Self-defence in face of attack on my person, you understand" Jack says in disturbingly calm tone before deciding to drop the subject, walking close enough to the SIDE captain to keep the press from hearing him. "At any rate, I am quite sure these are Reclaimers... I think I might be able to find out some things from them. But you have to give me ten minutes with one of them, alone. I promise he will be returned mostly unharmed."

[shugyosha]

Vanguard



Upstairs, the techs were checking that very thing, combing the systems for any sign of lost or altered data, malicious code or software, unauthorized hardware, or other security breaches. "Everything looks fine so far," one of them reported to Vanguard. "Full diagnostics will take an hour, but it doesn't look like you gave them a chance to do anything. You guys work fast!" she congratulated.

"Okay, so how did they get so close to the building without warning us? Surely the security systems here should have detected them before the tore down the walls."

[HopeHubris]

With one last answer, "I have fought just about all the big villains in my time, these fellows did not even put up a fight, have no fear, I have the utmost faith in the Heroes on Call I have worked with, Vanguard is a good kid, a tad untested, but I can not deny his ability, he may even be more powerful than the original Vanguard, and Quantum, while I may not be her biggest fan, she is a very skilled Dreamer, even in my long life I have not met many with as fine a control of their powers as she.", before leaving for the press conference and joining Vanguard in the control centre, "The boy is right, with all of this technology present here, should you not have been able to detect them? You caught the disturbance at about the same time as I did, I would have thought we would have a better early warning system at headquarters."

[Quellian-dyrae]

The captain nodded to Kowalsky ((no Persuasion needed for a reasonable suggestion)), before turning to Jack. As he had with Quantum previously, he ignored the barb, responding to the "offer" with, "Yeah, that's not gonna happen."

Up in the command center, the two techs exchanged questioning glances, before the one who had spoken before waved a hand at one of the glass walls. Video feeds around the building popped up. The cameras looked like they covered about fifty feet around the building, and didn't show much of anything, until a rocket from each side blasted a hole in the walls, followed by the rapid advance of the first two groups.

"It's a public building in a heavily populated area," the other one said with a shrug. "We're not a military compound that no one is supposed to get near, there are people coming in and out all the time. Most of our security...it's internal. Let's us know who is here, where they are, what they're doing, and keeps people from getting access to restricted data or locations. And blocks unauthorized projections, of course."

Just to clarify, projections is basically a catch-all for remote, long-distance powers. Teleporting, scrying, divinations, things like that.

The first added, "Really, the best security feature we've got? You guys. I mean, Hero Corps in general. Who's crazy enough to attack a Hero Corps base?"

[HopeHubris]

"Apparently these people are, did your internal detection systems analyse them once they made their way inside? Are any of them tied to any known organisations? Criminal or otherwise."

[BananaPhone]

Landing after happily seeing off those SIDE goons, Quantum turns on her heels and heads back inside.

Within the antechamber, she employs her magnetic powers to scoop up one of the invaders weapons before it could be secured, along with one of the terrorists themselves. She wasn't particularly interested in the man, persay, but rather his equipment. She already knew he worked for the Reclaimers...or at least, she was convinced of that through her own belief.

Taking off the mans helmet and holding his gun in the other hand, she lets him sink to the ground then strides past the collection of reporters towards the elevator.

Once safely from view, she takes what's she's collected to the forensic labs.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The techs flicked through a few windows on the glass, pulling up what they could. Naturally, since all of the soldiers had been wearing face-concealing HUD helmets, the robust facial-recognition database that the Assembly had access to would not be immediately helpful. The file on Jarus was available for perusal if they wanted any further information regarding him.

Reposting previous information on Jarus here for those who didn't make the skill check previously:

One of the most dangerous kinds of Dreamers, a man with destructive and largely uncontrolled powers. He's constantly surrounded by an aura of searing heat, and can unleash his power in bolts or blasts of fiery energy. Though not officially registered, the media has often taken to referring to him by codename "Burnscar".

He's a former surgeon, was a brilliant and good-hearted man before his Dream. Now, his mind is every bit as twisted and scarred as his body. He lives in a constant pain that has severely regressed his intelligence, and is consumed with unfocused rage and a deep-seated hatred of people. Dreamers who can control their powers in particular. He is a known radical member of the Reclaimers, and SIDE has quite the file on him.

While not strictly speaking immune to his powers, he is capable of surviving them despite the agony. This has left him basically invulnerable to other fire-based attacks, and incredibly resilient to other forms of damage. It has been documented that he is quite proficient in wrestling, and being grabbed by a man who radiates such blistering heat is almost certain death, while even coming within about thirty feet of him is enough to quickly kill most normal humans and slowly cook most Dreamers, this before considering his active-use blasts of flame.

--

In addition, the file notes that Jarus is wanted on a dozen counts of conspiracy to commit murder and almost twenty counts of arson. The file does also include a list of known criminal associates, most of which are known or suspected Reclaimer radicals, four of which possess Dreamer powers themselves:

Kayla Morgans, Codename: Ballistic. Speedster.
Lawrence Stone, Codename: Smash'n'Grab. Paragon.
Claire Duncan, Codename: Headcase. Telepath.
Michael Gardener, Codename: Deathwatch. Life Force Manipulator.

Gentleman:
You recognize the name and powers of Michael Gardener, have even worked with him once or twice in the past. He's from your generation, although back then he went by the code name Lifeweaver and was a dedicated independent hero who worked mainly as a healer.

Kowalsky:
All four of them are high-priority SIDE targets. Like Burnscar, they've used their powers to commit a fair share of mundane crimes, but in particular, they are responsible for the murders of nearly two-score Dreamers and SIDE agents between them.

As is often the case with the radical elements of the Reclaimers, though, they stay off the grid, move around a lot, and when they do act, they move fast and cause a lot of harm in minimum time. Their attacks, resultantly, are ugly, barely planned, and result in a lot of collateral damage, but very hard to anticipate and prepare for. SIDE has managed to get close to one or more several times, but usually only in small units that they've been able to overpower before backup could arrive.

Quantum:
You are fairly certain that this "Deathwatch" character was someone you encountered in your previous assault on various Reclaimer safehouses. You are equally certain you left him quite dead on that occasion.

Jackknife:
You've had the displeasure of working with Lawrence Stone in the past, on a rather unsavory job with a myriad indignities and a very fat paycheck at the end. The man was loud, crude, openly hostile, completely unprofessional, and only slightly less subtle than an elephant stampede. There was no indication that he was a Reclaimer though; most Dreamers who join the Reclaimers hate their powers, but he certainly seemed to revel in his and lorded them over those weaker than he at every chance he got.

Vanguard:
You've encountered Kayla Morgans in your previous heroics, fighting her to a standstill until she fled. In addition to her sheer speed, she's very proficient with both melee weapons and firearms - but of course, nothing in her arsenal had enough punch to cause you any noticeable distress, even when she switched to sniping tactics. Against a less resilient Dreamer, however, she could be very dangerous.

Curtis:
You remember Claire Duncan from school. Seemed like a good enough kid. Very popular, though neither particularly nice nor attractive. Excellent grades, though thinking back, she never did really seem to work at it and in fact had more than her share of absences. Did visit the nurse an awful lot too, with migraines and nosebleeds...

In addition, the computer does pull up the specs of the equipment and powered armor that the soldiers were using, identifying them as SIDE issue.

The scanners indicate that none of the attackers other than Jarus had Dreamer powers, even minor ones, and the only technology they had that qualifies as Dreamtech would be the powered armor.

--

When Quantum enters the lab, one of the three technicians inside looks up from his computer. "Miss Rhinehart, how can we help...you...?" his voice initially enthusiastic and welcoming...trailing to uncertainty as he noticed the unconscious man floating along behind her.

[HopeHubris]

"Interesting... Now, how would, what I can only assume is a radical faction of Reclaimers, have been able to get their hands on SIDE power armour? I assume they keep these things secure, do you have any reports of SIDE Armour agents going missing? Or failing that, any successful break-ins at SIDE armouries? I realise they would not want such information public, but I assume they at least tell the Assembly, especially as Dreamers would be the likely victims of any such thefts."

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

"The public head quarters for the world's premier super hero group which contains hyper technological secrets, highly secure information on terrorist and criminals, not to mention we are supposed to be monitoring dangers world wide, is dependent on the presence of Dreamers that are suppose to be on call for emergency. Somehow this seems very flawed. I think you need to upgrade the security systems here. At the very least we need an early warning system, even if it is as simple as exterior cameras."

[Grim ranger]

Waiting until the SIDE agents and his colleques are occupied with their respective avenues of inquiry, Jack strides casually next to the pile of unconsicous enemy combatants... Right before the enviroment seems to slow to crawl in his eyes. The assassin calmly grabs one of the enemies and throwing her over his shoulder, Jack runs in superhuman speed, turning into a blur as he runs to the stairs, hopefully managing to get out of sight before anyone even as much as notices him leaving.

Once he will reach the roof, the assassin has every intention of jumping away to find somewhat more private location for the little talk he has in mind with the Reclaimer scum.

Rolling Initiative, as discussed with GM.

[roll0] (Initiative)

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Good question," the female tech said, running a search for just that. Only a couple articles came up, both about SIDE power armored agents stopping an unrelated theft. Nothing about SIDE losing any powered armor or power armored agents, and no archived communications on the subject at all. She tried a couple similar searches, still without result. "Nothing that I can-" she began, until a search on 'Reclaimers' cross-referenced with 'SIDE' and 'Powered Armor' came up with a report on two previous attacks linked to the Reclaimers, carried out using powered armor that experts identified as having a similar if not identical make to SIDE-issue.

The male tech replied to Vanguard, "Well, we do have those cameras," he said, nodding at the video feed they had brought up previously. "But yeah, maybe more coverage wouldn't hurt. Or something. I don't really know...only security I'm good at is computer security," he said with a nervous laugh. "I mean, how do you get an early warning about people rushing the building with rocket launchers...?"

--

Meanwhile, Jack's blurring speed got him out easily. One moment the telekinetic's back was turned as he floated some bodies into a van, by the time he turned back around, the pile was down by another soldier.

[BananaPhone]

Quantum smiles pleasantly to the staff in attendance, before hovering the "confiscated" weapon and equipment over to them.

"Make and model, if you would be so kind."

[Grim ranger]

Running his way through the staircases until he reaches the roof of the building, Jack stops for a small moment to catch his breath before redirecting his psionic efforts. The power flowing to his legs, the assassin croches slightly before making massive leap with no running start whatsoever, practically flying from one rooftop to another as he opens distance between himself and their now somewhat damaged headquarters.

Finally stopping on the top of tallest skyscraper he can find at moment's notice, Jack goes to work methodically, relieving the woman from her body armor and helmet (along with other useful gear) before grabbing cord from nearby flagpole and tying her hands and feet. Laying her down at the very edge of the building, he begins to go through her equipment for anything useful as he waits for the wretch to wake up to be interrogated.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The tech examines the equipment for a few moments. "Hmm...no serial number, but..." he takes out his smart phone, takes a few pictures of the items, taps the screen a couple times and, "S-28 Battle Rifle, M-15S Body Armor, 'Dreamsight' Model G tactical helmet. Looks like SIDE-issue gear. Low-end though; almost a decade out of date."

--

After a few minutes, Jack's captive comes to with a groan. Bleary at first, the sight of the long drop before her brings her to alertness, and she quickly rolls away from the edge of the roof, trying to break the bonds on her hands and feet.

Strength DC 18: [roll0]

EDIT: And...managing to pull it off. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing, apparently.

[Grim ranger]

Calmly turning his attention to his captive, Jackknife's hands move fast as pair of striking vipers as he first seeks to simply punch her to the gut, after which he will attempt chokehold. Striking her head would be futile, since he wants her to still retain her wits to provide answers with.

[roll0] (Unarmed attack roll)

[Quellian-dyrae]

One thing could be said for these soldiers. They had spirit. If she could manage to avoid the grab, she'd stand up and strike back unarmed.

Dodge Resistance, DC 16: [roll0].

If Dodge succeeds, attack DC 20: [roll1], Toughness DC 17 on a hit.

Which was a nice plan. The reality? Jack had her pinned without difficulty.

[Grim ranger]

Holding his captive in vice-like grip, the assassin walks her back right on the edge of the building and forces her to take good, long look to the long fall, kicking the broken bindings down the side to show what would likely soon away her as well. Forcing her to constantly correct her balance on the edge not to fall off, he speaks coldly and clearly. "I believe that you understand the situation now. If I feel like it, I will merely allow you to fall, and five seconds later your head will explode when making contact with the pavement. I doulbt there will be enough of you left to pull convincing ID from for several days, and nothing would please me more than watching just that."

Pausing for a moment to make sure she can mull his words over, Jack continues in same cold note. "Talk. Who are you people, and why did you attack?"

[roll0] (Intimidate)

[Quellian-dyrae]

The soldier swallowed hard, several times, eyes darting about for any hope of escape. Finding none, she stiffened, looked Jack dead in the eye, and responded with forced composure through gritted teeth. "You're Jackknife. I'm dead either way."

[Grim ranger]

Shrugging his shoulders in distubingly casual manner, Jack makes sure that his feet are suitably reinforced with his psionic energy before fixing the dead, while glare of his mask's lenses at her. "If that is what you want, I shall oblige. Retrieving another of your ilk from SIDE should not be much of a feat. And then, I will find out where every friend or family member you have live, and I will torture them to death. I do not have much mercy forwards your kind, Reclaimer."

With that, he quite simply makes slight push and looses his grip, sending her plummeting towards her doom... But also stepping over the edge himself, falling right next to her. Hopefully this will make her crack before they reach the pavement: Jack's dagger is already out and held behind his back, ready to give him a handhold at nanosecond's notice.

And intimidating again.

[roll0] (Intimidate)

Edit: Not quite enough. I will use hero point to try again. Rolling in OOC thread

[Quellian-dyrae]

I'm not a fan of just continual retrying on opposed checks, previous Will result stands as the DC for this Intimidation attempt, but penalty increases to -5 for this dire situation, reducing DC to 19. Even so, that doesn't quite pull it.

Jack's second threat only provoked a glare, and then they were falling. As the soldier felt the roof fly out from under her, and saw Jack falling after her, she only spat out in a heartbroken voice, "What family?"

[Grim ranger]

Jack would snarl in frustration if it would help any at this point. Clearly, this minion is not in full control of her mental faculties: any normal fighter would have spilled their guts many seconds ago. Deciding against his feverent desire to merely see her die in quick and gory manner, the dreamer grabs her arm and rams his dagger into the skyscraper's side, the flicker of psionic power along it's edge making sure that the dagger slides into the wall without problems before being used as imputy handhold.

"Well, there you go. Was it so hard?" Jackknife afted calmly, even if he does want to stab her at the moment. It is some new information, after all, although nothing he can do anything meaningful with quite yet. "Be thankful that I am under contract for the time being."

Bracing his feet against the side of the building with some difficulty, he leaps once again and drags her with himself, effortlessly reaching the roof of the next building. It seems that this interrogation has been utter waste of time.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The soldier just stared at him in actual shock when he caught her and dragged her back up to another roof. She...had not expected that one.

[Grim ranger]

Dropping her unharmed on a rooftop with roof access, Jack looks at his captive levelly. "Just so you know, you are not only one whose family has been taken from them... Seems like we do what we do for somewhat similiar reasons" Jack says, folding his arms. He has made a choice not to kill her, and he has no love for SIDE, so... An unorthodox solution is required. Letting her go is about as unorthodox as one can get: he is more or less sure that it will come back to bite him, but let it never be said that Jackknife never gives the inherent goodwill of humanity a chance.

Pulling the hood of his longcoat down, the assassin presses lock on the back of his mask slightly, opening it and allowing him to pull it away. The face underneath the mask is positively radiant, golden hair blowing somewhat in the wind and eyes of purest blue observing the reclaimer calmly.

"As you may have already gathered, I am letting you go. Why? I have absolutely no idea, but it feels like right thing to do. I wouldn't suggest going back to Reclaimers, though: they will likely kill you for failing in your mission, and since you have obviously made contact with me, I doulbt that they will want to take the risk of retaining a possible double agent in their ranks."

Removing the helmet and using Persuation check (just for fun) to convince her that going back to Reclaimers is a poor idea. Who knows, we just might run into her again at some point.

[roll0] (Persuation)

[Quellian-dyrae]

Not wanting to push her rather unbelievable - and quite literally, because who would believe her if she told them that the infamous Jackknife had spared her life - luck, she didn't respond, running for the access door at speed, and truly expecting a dagger in the back with every step.

I do believe I will roll this opposed check in secret. :belkar:

[Grim ranger]

Wondering to himself whenever or not he has made the right choice, Jackknife places his mask back on, pulls his hood up once again, and leaves the scene with a massive leap. Jumping from one skyscraper rooftop to the next as he makes his way back towards the HQ, he makes a mental note to do some investigation regarding the equipment he has taken from his captive. If Reclaimers are after his head and attack in broad daylight to get it, it is best for him to get a clue about their whereabouts sooner rather than later.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard



The male tech replied to Vanguard, "Well, we do have those cameras," he said, nodding at the video feed they had brought up previously. "But yeah, maybe more coverage wouldn't hurt. Or something. I don't really know...only security I'm good at is computer security," he said with a nervous laugh. "I mean, how do you get an early warning about people rushing the building with rocket launchers...?"


"Well, if they are flying in and intend to land on the roof I would image radar would work. Although satellite surveillance might work as well." The large man shakes his head, "The point is they should never have gotten that close to the building with that much ordinance."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Maybe," he replied. "Getting that kind of dedicated satellite coverage isn't something we can do in the short term, but we can try setting up a radar system."

--

The SIDE agents finished gathering up the attackers, and began driving off to process them. The captain stayed, though, continuing to speak with Kowalsky. "Anything else you can tell me about these guys?"

--

The technician that Danica was speaking to continued as he read through the information on his phone, "Yeah, this is saying that all these pieces have been decommissioned. They should be collecting dust at a SIDE warehouse right now."

[Jallorn]

Only that some or all of us were the primary targets. Guess they figured they'd nab us while we were still organizing as a team, and grab some Hero Corp. stuff while they were out as well.

[BananaPhone]

"Should." Danica emphasised the key-word of the technicians report.

"What about the ammunition in the rifle? Who was it sold to them by?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Alright then. I'll have two units here to secure the building and...keep an eye on things in fifteen." Unless there was anything else, the captain would head to his car and drive off to begin his investigation.

--

"Couldn't tell you," the technician said. "SIDE's been using standardized ammunition for decades. They could have gotten ammunition for these rifles from a dozen places in the city legitimately, who knows how many outside or illegally."

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis hmms as he paces around the command center, *Headcase huh? Seems like one to get mental backlash when she uses her powers now that I think about it... The others... hmm... Paragon won't go down easy... Speedster, Life Force Manipulator... hmm... I wonder...* Curtis walks to another workstation looks up his own file in the database, mostly out of curiosity, as he comes up with a plan to take all of them out at once should he run into them.

He also starts thinking about something he's been wanting to do for a while, then starts to merge the plans. *Hmm, I wonder if Erthmantiel would be able to handle the Paragon, I'll take Claire, and maybe Homura could take the Speedster? Yeah, she seems up to it. Though the Life Force Manipulator is probably the biggest threat. But... unless I can actually bring them here they won't be of any help, though I'm not sure how to extract their 'black boxes' from my mind since they're not quite separate parts of myself.* Homura and Erthmantiel are characters of his, the former a spunky 3-tailed Ninja Kistune modeled after an RPG character and Erthmantiel being a level-headed and wise Emerald Dragon.

OOC
And I just came up with an almost different way to build Curtis as to work in the concept of Summoning characters of his. Basically he can either use their powers at a higher power level or separate them from himself, leaving him unable to use their powers.

Also, thought I might as well show some of his mental discourse with himself.

[Grim ranger]

Landing lightly to the roof of their HQ, Jackknife dusts off his longcoat ever so slightly before walking calmly down the stairs without particular rush, making his way to the command center where he sees Curtis. Spinning a dagger between his fingers (like he most often does when he is thinking), Jack sits down and glances at the fox-like hero. "Any progress yet? My own preliminary investigation was a dead end, sadly enough. I believe I will go to hunt an old accomplice of mine next... He is one of Burnscar's associates. I never really liked the man, and would like to see if he really is tough enough to withstand the bite of my blade" Jack muses coldly, dancing the dagger in impossible manner across his knuckles without injuring himself. "All in all, after this day will be done, I think I will need a drink."

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

"So who was the Dreamer down stairs. Can you bring up all your information on him? We're looking for known associates and last known address. Also can you get us an ID on the vehicles that brought these people. If you have tap traffic camera's and other CCTV's"

[Quellian-dyrae]

The list of criminal associates that was up was quite thorough; the four Dreamers were the only particularly impressive ones. Last known address was 14208 Rosebud Lane.

The tech nodded at the request for camera feeds. "Yeah, but it'll take about fifteen minutes. We have to go through SIDE and get approved for that sort of stuff. Ten block radius sound sufficient? I'll put in a request for them to send the GPS data from the cars too, once they've downloaded it."

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

"Good," he says folding his arms. "Have we figured out why they attacked?"

After they answer Vanguard thought it probably was a dead end lead but it was better than staying around here and doing nothing "Does anyone want to check out the address with me?"

[HopeHubris]

"I shall accompany you, if you so wish it, I have little else to do, save waiting for another alert"

[ChrisClark13]

Landing lightly to the roof of their HQ, Jackknife dusts off his longcoat ever so slightly before walking calmly down the stairs without particular rush, making his way to the command center where he sees Curtis. Spinning a dagger between his fingers (like he most often does when he is thinking), Jack sits down and glances at the fox-like hero. "Any progress yet? My own preliminary investigation was a dead end, sadly enough. I believe I will go to hunt an old accomplice of mine next... He is one of Burnscar's associates. I never really liked the man, and would like to see if he really is tough enough to withstand the bite of my blade" Jack muses coldly, dancing the dagger in impossible manner across his knuckles without injuring himself. "All in all, after this day will be done, I think I will need a drink."

Curtis taps the screen pointing out the address, "There's a lead. They've probably left already or something, but it's worth a shot."

[Grim ranger]

"Perhaps you will not be too offended if I will take care of investigating that one?" Jack asks before considering further. "I could use some backup just in case there will be trouble, though. Think you would be up for off-the-books investigation?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

First and Foremost:

The three vehicles that had traveled the surface streets, the search picks up enough to know they were coming from the north. They had GPS disabled and did a pretty good job at driving complicated routes and avoiding traffic cameras by taking smaller streets, but of course, as they got closer to the Tower of Dreams and the major commercial zone it was part of, it became pretty much impossible. Of course, a thorough examination by a proficient investigator could potentially piece together a clearer picture of their route.

The two flying vehicles didn't and couldn't disable GPS; the GPS network was what allowed air traffic to have things like lanes and stop lights and such, so commercially available flying cars were designed to require automation. Those two began the day at different locations, met up at a motel on Walter Street, and from there traveled to the Tower of Dreams.

If you are investigating Burnscar's last known address:

Rosebud Lane is in a quiet suburban neighborhood, all picturesque two-story homes with nice lawns, big cars...there's even a white picket fence or two. Not at all the sort of place one might expect a constantly burning half-insane Dreamer terrorist might live...but definitely the sort of place a well-respected doctor would.

However, there is a car in the driveway at 14208.

If you are looking into Smash'n'Grab:

Lawrence Stone's last known address is 657 Woodey Ave, Apt 4. A large apartment complex of average quality, the buildings look solid enough, the place is clean, and they have a pool and a playground for the kids on site. Located about a block from a shopping center. If parking is reserved, there's no indication of which spots correspond to which apartment.

If you're keeping an eye on things at base:

SIDE left, the reporters left, and all seems quiet for the moment. There's a solid bustle of activity going on as the Assembly staff talk to the media, coordinate with SIDE, smooth over ruffled feathers, and try and find someone with Earth Control or Object Healing or Conjuration powers to repair the damage caused by the explosives.

If you're doing something else:

Let me know what!

[Jallorn]

Kowalsky goes around, looking for the team, telling them, We should coordinate our efforts, let's meet up.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

"Good," he says to the Gentleman. Lifting him again he flies out to the address. Once there, still in the air over the house he asks, "You do have paranormal senses; what do you see?"

[HopeHubris]

"My danger sense is reactionary, but I suppose I can try"
looking more closely at the building, the Gentleman responds
"I don't feel anything at the moment, but I can see some movement"

[roll0]
Perception

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gentleman:
It's somewhat hard to see from the high vantage, but you just pick out some movement in one of the windows.

[Grim ranger]

Deciding to do things the unofficial way, Jackknife nods to Curtis as the fox-like dreamer agrees to come with him. It is past time for them to actually achieve something: Reclaimers and their associates are all too good at dropping off the radar, and he is not about to let Smash'n'Grab away that easily. The man is a scumbag without morals, and Jack fully intends to handle him the way he has long hoped to: the hard way.

Making his way to the Assembly teleporters with Curtis, Jack sets the co-ordinates and uses the devices with Cutris. They are bound to 657 Woodey Ave now, and he well and truly hopes that the arrogant Dreamer can still be found from there.

[HopeHubris]

"Well, Vanguard, shall we drop down and pay them a visit?" asks the Gentleman, somehow still looking refined while bundled in the arms of the large man

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

He descends down to the ground gently then asks, "Front door?"

[HopeHubris]

"It would only be polite" and with that the Gentleman walks to the door and rings the bell, calling back over his shoulder, "Be ready, in case whoever is inside is not fond of visitors and one of Burnscar's associates is a known speedster"

[Quellian-dyrae]

When you ring the doorbell, you hear voices from inside, at least two of them.

Perception DC 15:
"Who the void is that?"
"Dunno."
"You expecting company?"
"Nah, man."
"Well get rid of them!"

A few moments later, the door opens about halfway, a businessman in a simple gray suit on the other side. "Can I help...y-...hey, you're those Heroes from the news, right?"

[HopeHubris]

"Why yes, I am indeed the Gentleman and this is my colleague, Vanguard, and this is the last known residence of the criminal Dreamer, Burnscar. I do not suppose you to be his associate, Mister?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Oh. Uh...ah...no. I don't know any 'Burnscar'."

[Grim ranger]

Turning invisible as they are teleported onto Smash'N'Grab's adress, Jackknife draws his sword silently and speaks to Curtis very quietly. "Go and knock on the door, ask a few questions. I will see if I can slip inside, or at least provide sudden backup if something goes wrong."

[HopeHubris]

"As convincing as you are, I do not believe you and I am going to be searching the premise for any signs of 'Burnscar' or who hired him. Now, you are free to try and stop me, but I would not advise it."

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis nods and throws up his Barrier before knocking on the door and waiting for a response.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The businessman kinda stammered over a response for a moment before replying angrily, "Th-this is my home! You can't just come in here! Do you have a warrant?"

--

A couple moments after Curtis knocked, a man came to the door. A hulking brute nearly seven feet tall, scars all up and down his arms, with a vivid, jagged one across his right jawbone. "Wotcha wa-" he began as he opened the door, before tilting his head to the side as he regarded Curtis. Slowly, a big, kinda dopey grin spread across his face.

"Hey! It's you! You're him, right? The kid! With the thing! And the girl!" His head bobbed up and down with complacent certainty in his evaluation.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

"You must be thinking of the police," he says moving past the man. "Feel free to call them, that would give them probable cause to search this place anyway."

[Quellian-dyrae]

You can see another man, much more casually dressed, standing in the living room, watching you enter with a scowl on his face.

Insight DC 15:
His position in front of a closet door, leaning back against it doing a poor job of looking casual, is rather conspicuous.

[HopeHubris]

Tipping his hat towards the man at the door, the Gentleman follows his large friend and observes the conspicuous looking man before walking over to him.
"And I suppose you also have no knowledge of 'Burnscar'?"



Insight [roll0]
Mind Reading[roll1]
I suck at mind reading

[Quellian-dyrae]

The other guy just hunched up a bit and shrugged. "Seen him on the news once or twice is all."

--

Also, Jack and Curtis, you can recognize the man in the doorway as Smash'n'Grab from the computer display back at base.

[Grim ranger]

Deciding to cut the introductions short, Jack easily slips past Smash'N'Grab without anyone being the wiser and promptly rests the flat of his monomolecular blade against the big man's neck. "Afternoon, big guy. Don't move or I will slice open your jugular before you have a chance to blink. In fact nothing would please me more" Jack says, his psychic powers now boosting his speed to make sure he can make good of his threat if necessary. "We have couple of questions about the company you have been keeping."

Switching to Speed Boost after slipping past Smash'N'Grab, and being ready to use Monomolecular blade on him for massive damage if he gives a reason for it.

[HopeHubris]

"And yet, you are currently standing, quite conspicuously I might add, inside his last given residence. Would you care to explain why this is?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Lawrence started some as Jack made his presence known, but the threat of his blade didn't seem to provoke much concern. "Jackie..." he murmured, his voice sounding annoyed. "What are you doin' he-" he halted, eyeing Curtis for a moment, then said more darkly, "You better not be here tryin' ta mooch on my reward. I saw 'im first!"

--

The man responded to the Gentleman's question with a scowl. "Well he...he doesn't live here any more!" he argued rather defensively.

[Grim ranger]

"Actually, I am here on entirely different job... One concerning you and your friends, to be specific" Jack said, allowing red aura to dance along his blade for a moment in way of warning. "So no, I did not come here for him, I came here with him. And you know how I am when on a job, Laurie. So will you give up now and tell us what we want to know, or do I have to beat the tar out of you before that and trash your house in the process? Please tell me that it is the latter and give me an excuse."

[ChrisClark13]

As soon as Curtis realized that Smash'n'Grab was likely talking about his sister his expression changed. He pulled out his phone and quickly called Cassandra's cellphone. "Jack, try to keep from killing him we might need to see if the Reclaimers or whoever actually value him as a bargaining chip."

The phone rang and rang as Curtis charged a nimbus of pale-blue energy around his right hand.

Curtis is Readying to cast Stop on Smash'n'Grab if he tries to attack.

[Quellian-dyrae]

After several rings, Cassandra picked up. "Hello."

...And Smash'n'Grab gave a slender smile, and pulled back for a punch.

Since you guys are both Readied, you basically automatically win initiative.

Also, Jack, since you were able to sneak up on him and get in an advantageous position, he's Vulnerable against your first attack. He is not, however, helpless.

[Grim ranger]

Jack needed no further excuse, his blade moving in fluid thrust and savage twist, aimed to stab through Lawrence in a way that would leave the vital organs intact and merely disable him for a while. He would rather not take risks, and the sooner the arrogant Dreamer would be contained the sooner they might have some real leads.

Using Monomolecular blade and Clean Cut to strike at Smash'N'Grab, now that such opportune chance for that has arisen.

[roll0] (Attack roll)(Attack has multiattack, penetrating 8 and incurable, crits on 16-20)

[ChrisClark13]

After several rings, Cassandra picked up. "Hello."

...And Smash'n'Grab gave a slender smile, and pulled back for a punch.

Since you guys are both Readied, you basically automatically win initiative.

Also, Jack, since you were able to sneak up on him and get in an advantageous position, he's Vulnerable against your first attack. He is not, however, helpless.

Curtis brought up his hand and get the pseudo-magical energies fly from his hand and wrap themselves around the Powerhouse as Curtis locked eyes with him.

"Hey sis, looks like someone's finally decided to come after us for our reality bending powers. Could you go and hang out at the local Assembly branch until this all dies down? Sorry if you had anything planned for today, but you can't really protect yourself against the baddies we're facing over here."

Stop Attack Roll: [roll0]
DC 19, Resisted by Will, 1st Degree: Hindered + Vulnerable, 2nd Degree: Immobile + Defenseless, 3rd Degree: Paralyzed + Incapacitated; Ranged (90/225/450 ft), Extra Condition, Concentration; Distracting, Instant Recovery; Diminished Range, Incurable

[Quellian-dyrae]

Most blades would have bounced off Lawrence's nigh-invulnerable skin like a steel wall. To Jack's keen blade, its consistency was less steel and more wood; he could cut through, but it wasn't easy, and with his blade starting so close, his blow just lacked the power to do any real damage.

Curtis's spell rolled over Lawrence. For a moment, his movement lagged, but with a fierce exertion of will he broke through, swinging his fist hard at Curtis's face while he was distracted from the spellcasting.

Attack: [roll0]. DC 13 since Curtis is Distracted by his Stop power. On hit, Toughness DC 31, as well as Strength or Dodge vs. [roll1] to resist his Improved Grab.

[HopeHubris]

"No, he does not, primarily because he now resides in a small cell, and if you do not wish to do the same, you will explain why you are here when this address is still registered in his name?"


Deception if it isn't actually registered to Burnscar, [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Uh...it...didn't we change th-I mean, it shouldn't...um," he stammered.

The other man cut in - though not quite quickly enough - "This is my home! Not this...Burnscar's!"

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

While the Gentleman was busy with those two, Vanguard begins to walk through the house looking for anything interesting room by room.


can I take 10 or 20 as he isn't in a rush?
if not:
[roll0] perception

[Quellian-dyrae]

The man's stance and and expressions made it really clear to the Gentleman's keen perceptions that he didn't want them looking in the closet he was leaning against.

The other one followed Vanguard as he searched, scowling at him unrelentingly. The search yielded some interesting results, one bedroom closet containing more of the SIDE-style body armor and tactical helmets that the attackers had worn. Definitely not standard business attire.

[HopeHubris]

"Well, you seem like you have absolutely nothing to hide, so you would not mind stepping away from the closet, would you?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

He opened his mount to argue, frowned, closed it, and grudgingly moved away from the door.

[HopeHubris]

The Gentleman, still wary of the apparently useless fellow, opens the closet door

[Quellian-dyrae]

Hey! Guns! Someone put guns in this closet! There aren't supposed to be guns in the closet!

Also those two guys are running.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

"Really? Running?" he says as he takes of after them. When he catches up to them he grabs them.


grab
[roll0] to hit with accurate attack DC 19 or 24 I don't remember if it is +10 or +15 for a grab.

[HopeHubris]

"They always run..." chasing after the less than subtle man, "Unless you happen to be a particularly incompetent speedster you are not going to escape"

[Quellian-dyrae]

You have no difficulty catching or grabbing the poor, useless, non-powered minion humans. Their attempts to struggle would be almost amusing if they weren't so very, very sad.

[HopeHubris]

"Vanguard, you seem like the type to have some sort of long-distance communication device, would you mind reporting what we have found? I have a few questions for this one"

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

The large man just shakes his head. "I can fly back to HQ quickly enough. You sure you can handle this?" The question is rhetorical as he flies away.

[Grim ranger]

Sighing to himself as Curtis got himself knocked out with one punch, Jack spun in front of Smash'N'Grab and grabbed the phone from the air with his left hand, his right still wielding a sword... Sword that was now building up glowing red aura of some magnitude around itself. "I am sorry, but the fox boy is unavailable for the moment. I will tell him to call back once he wakes up" Jack said casually before ending the call and slicing Lawrence with his sword... Only, the slice was not a physical one. It was aimed to cut into the very essence of the man, the psychic aura lending the blade some truly paranormal qualities.

Using Monomolecular blade and Psychic Strike. Lawrence will have to resist this one with Will. Also, changing Super Speed to Fast Healing: something tells me that Jack could use regeneration soonish.

[roll0] (To hit)(Still penetrating 8 and incurable)

Edit: Aaaand it is a crit too. :smallbiggrin:

[Quellian-dyrae]

Lawrence smashed Curtis in the face, dropping him and in the same quick move grabbing him. And then Jack's blade pierced into his mind, eliciting a surprised "Gah-h!" as he actually felt a rare instance of pain.

"Gotta reward ta collect, Jackie. Back off!" he growled, hefting Curtis over his shoulder and taking a hard swing for the assassin...dealing heavy physical trauma to the empty air.

Lawrence takes -1 on Resistance checks and is Dazed 1 round.
Attack: [roll0] (DC 20) for DC 31 Damage.

--

Back at the command center, two events occur within about ten seconds of each other. First, Vanguard arrives. Second, Kowalsky's comparatively peaceful afternoon is ruined as the alarms start sounding. As before, the active crystal walls immediately pull up several windows with critical data, but this time it isn't an attack on the building.

Warnings of Uncontrolled Dreamer Powers and Reality Destabilization pop up. A map comes up displaying a small suburb about fifteen miles outside the city proper. A window for a satellite feed appears, indicating 33 seconds for the satellite to get into position. No emergency personnel are listed on scene, but within seconds, two full SIDE combat units pop up. Status: Gearing Up. ETA: 8 minutes. The Threat Level is listed as 8.

[Grim ranger]

Easily leaning aside to dodge the clumsy blow almost in mocking manner, Jackknife shook his masked and hooded head. "Not going to happen, Laurie. As foolish and pathetic as the fox boy can be, he is with me. Besides, I have to object on different grounds as well."

Swinging his crackling blade in smooth arc that distorted the reality around itself as he struck at Smash'N'Grab again, Jackknife continued talking. "You see, I despised being partnered up with trash like you, and this is a good place to deal with that little funtime you had back when I was still on the job where attacking you was prohibited. You are not a super-anything, you are just a thug with fists, and brain, like cinderblocks. You have no principles! Just like all the rest! And that is why you will always be even less than those you pretend to stand above."

Dancing slightly in his wary combat stance like a serpent after striking, Jackknife's voice takes on considerably more mocking tone. "So, give me your best shot, Laurie. I doulbt it will be any good, but I might give you props for the effort."

Using Monomolecular blade and Psychic Strike again. Lawrence will have to resist this one with Will as well. :smallbiggrin:

[roll0] (To hit)(Damage 8, penetrating 8, incurable, crit on 16-20)

[Quellian-dyrae]

The paragon took another mind-searing hit from Jack's psychic blade, sapping his will and scattering his thoughts.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm not tryin' hard enough for ya?" he growled, coming at Jack with a flurry of heavy blows, an aggressive assault that dropped all defense. It was a good show, actually came within inches of doing something useful.

Another -1 Resistance and Dazed for the round.
All Out Attack for 5: [roll0] (DC 20) for DC 31 Damage.

[Grim ranger]

Dancing in midst of the blows to dodge punch after punch, Jack did not even seem concerned, not even when fist passed by right in front of his mask. "No, you really aren't. I have to thank you, Laurie: I thought that I would not get any chance for workout during this job" the assassin snarked dryly, his blade crackling with blood-red energy as he swung it at his hulking opponent once again. It seemed that Smash'N'Grab was not prepared to defend against strikes targeting his mind, something that Jackknife had decided to take full advantage of. "Do you need some time to collect your thoughts, big guy?" he asked with mock cheer in his tone, never ceasing the effort to piss the man off.

And again with the same combo!

[roll0] (To hit)(Damage 8, penetrating 8, incurable, crit on 16-20)

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gonna roll in here just so I'm not completely spamming the OOC thread.

Will: [roll0] (DC 23).

-1 Resistance and Staggered.

Lawrence took another mental jab, further scattering his thoughts and nearly causing him to black out. "Bu- you- the-" he guttered nonsensically, shaking his head vigorously. It slowly dawned on him that he was not going to be winning this fight...so he did the next best thing, turning and leaping straight out the...well, not the door, because he was making a superhuman leap. But right through the wall, a tremendous jump that could carry him - and Curtis - miles away.

Lawrence is fleeing with Leaping 10. He's staggered though, so if Jack wants to give chase, he might be able to catch up, not sure. Worth noting, Hero Corps teleporters are "portal" style, so you can return to base from the portal you came through if you don't want to chase or believe you can better catch him from there.

[Grim ranger]

Letting out a small, annoyed 'tch' when being robbed of his fun, Jack sheathed his monomolecular blade in one smooth motion. Jumping away after Smash'N'Grab as the optics in his mask zoomed in on the man, Jackknife had no trouble tracking him even across distance. Although the thuggish Dreamer could leap further than him, the assassin was rather certain that he would be able to keep up in the current, staggered state of his adversary. Losing sight of team member so easily would be almost insulting to him, even if he did not care for them all that much.

Following Smash'N'Grab with Hyperparkour. Thanks to Extended sight, he is not getting away from me. :smalltongue:

[Quellian-dyrae]

Even with his superior jumping ability, it would be a hard thing for Lawrence to escape Jack entirely. His path seemed to be leading back towards the business district where the Tower of Dreams was located. Eventually, though, he did go to ground.

Jack give me a Perception check. Since you have Extended Sight 2, the distance penalty is only -2. Opposing Lawrence's Stealth roll of [roll0]

In addition, while he was leaping along, Jack's HUD zoomed in on another oddity. It was off several miles to the south, but a large section of the sky, looking several-hundred feet in diameter, appeared to have been shifted from day to night. The suburbs below were cast in twilight, and Jack could make out stars shining in that section of the sky...as well, oddly, as two distinct moons.

[Grim ranger]

Making a note to check out the anomaly when he would have the time, Jack continued to leap after Smash'N'Grab, trying his very best to keep the other dreamer in his sights. It was a battle of a sort still, after all, and he never lost a battle.

[roll0] (Perception)

[Quellian-dyrae]

Jack traced Smash'n'Grab well, and kept - on a superheroic scale - fairly close. Even so, by the time the paragon went to ground, he was almost half a mile ahead of Jack. Even with his HUD, spotting the exact street he went down to was tricky, and when the assassin arrived, the paragon wasn't in sight.

Still, it was close; Jack could peg his location as somewhere within a radius of only about a block, and the lack of any apparent disturbance that might be caused by, say, a huge man suddenly landing in the middle of a crowd carrying an unconscious anthropomorphic fox over his shoulder, indicated he had likely come down in an alley or behind a building somewhere.

[Grim ranger]

Grumbling to himself, Jack had to begrudgingly end the chase when Smash'N'Grab was suddenly nowhere to be seen. Although he loathed to give the victory over to the brute so easily, there was little he could do for the time being... The fox boy would have to survive on his own for now.

However, he still had other leads to follow up on.

Leaping away towards the Tower of Dreams, Jack decided to pursue investigation on Curtis' kidnapping slightly later. For now, he had another emergency to apparently handle, and it seemed that one could not wait.

Jack leaps his way back to the HQ, and goes to get a teleporting to the area of the anomaly.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Jack would arrive shortly after Vanguard, walking into the command center mere seconds after the alarms began sounding.

[HopeHubris]

The Gentleman returns to the building, dragging the incompetent man behind him, setting him down on a kitchen chair, "Now, who do you work for, and why did they want the HQ attacked?"

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

"How far is the suburb? And is there a communication device that the team can use?"


First purchase with experience points will be a com device!

[Quellian-dyrae]

The technician looked to Vanguard. "Looks like it's some twenty miles from here. And yeah, I think we have some spare commlinks in the armory, let me check." He ran off to seek out the devices as the warnings continued to blare.

Gentleman:
Intimidation check please.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

He grabs the com unit and then says, "I'll be there in 10, get the others there ASAP."

With that he left, leaving only a hard breeze in his wake.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The man that the Gentleman interrogated folded like a card house in an earthquake. "W-we work for the Reclaimers. Our local commander got a couple c-calls the day you were all announced as Heroes On Call. Some people offering a big reward if we could capture the cyborg and deliver him to them, make it look like a terrorist attack. And then a-another group called her with basically the same offer for that fox guy! And I mean...we...we knew that Holocaust and Jackknife would be there too, and most of the Corps wouldn't. So...you know, our commander ordered the attack. But I wasn't there I swear! I just guard this place!"

Nat 20 for the win! :smallcool:

[Grim ranger]

Striding to teleporter room without even pausing to check the situation with his colleques, Jack set the techs to work. "I need a teleport to that anomaly area like it was yeasterday, people!" he growled, appparently in quite a rush.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The technicians were already on it, and the portal opened up to reveal the inappropriately nocturnal suburb the moment Jack finished his sentence.

[HopeHubris]

"Yes, I'm sure Jackknife will take that into account... Or you can explain to me who it was that ordered the abductions of my fellow heroes, while I carry you back to headquarters" the Gentleman said as he slung the man over his shoulder and started leaping across the rooftops towards the Tower of Dreams
I should really consider obtaining some sort of communication device, a quick portal would be rather convenient right now

[Grim ranger]

Stepping on through, Jack held his hand at the handle of his dagger, the lenses of his mask flaring with crimson power as he enhanced his sight, trying to check whenever or not anything dangerous lurked nearby.

Activating Third Eye and making Perception check.

[roll0] (Perception)(Illusions or concelment effects will not work against this)

[Quellian-dyrae]

"I-I don't know I swea-gah!" Useless cried out as the Gentleman tossed him over his shoulder and started back towards base. "B-b-but the commander would know! She talked to them!"

[HopeHubris]

"Who is this 'commander' and where may I find her?" stopping momentarily while waiting for an answer

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Ah-uh...I dunno her...her real name. Everyone calls her Headcase. She's uh...probably still at base. Walter street...there's a motel. Room uh...206. Please let me go."

--

Curtis

You awaken in a very nice bed in a large, well-furnished suite. The room is a study in white; sheets, upholstery, walls, all pristine. A large window affords a fine view of the skyline, the sun shining brightly...except for a large section of sky, several miles away, that is inexplicably dark and filled with stars.

A fairly young woman is sitting in an armchair by the window, reading a book. There is a door on the wall past her, and a larger, sturdier one across from the window. A bowl of fruit and tray of pastries sits on an end table by the chair. The room has no other occupants or exits that you can see.

For those keeping score at home, this is somewhat ahead of the rest of the party chronologically, but not by much.

Jack, you get a Hero Point for beating Smash'n'Grab, kudos on soloing a paragon two PL higher than you. :smallbiggrin:

Curtis, you get a Hero Point for the Complication of being captured.

[Grim ranger]

His head turning sharply as he noticed ripple rising over one of the houses, Jackknife focused his efforts to increasing his speed and began to run towards the building that seemed to be in the center of the weird reality warp. Hopefully he would not be too late.

Changing to Speed Boost and running towards the house in question.

[HopeHubris]

"Very well" the Gentleman says before making a leap onto the tallest building in reach, setting the man down, destroyed any communication devices he had, and made his way towards the address at full speed


So, he's heading towards the HQ and teleporter if it's closer, or straight for the motel if it is closer

[Jallorn]

Instead of heading to teleport in immediately, Kowalsky gets on the computers. Jacking directly into the system to get data faster, Kowalsky immediately starts pulling data from the satellite feed, telling the SIDE agents, Commlink channel 165.43.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"HC1 this is SIDE 4. Acknowledged. Are there heroes on scene?"

The satellite was still getting into position overhead. Twenty-one seconds.

--

Vanguard would touch down at about the same time as Jack stepped out of the portal. Jack arrived at the house without incident, though as he got close, the door swung open, revealing what appeared to be a semi-humanoid cougar wearing a full suit of leather armor, a long cape hanging from his shoulders, and a broadsword held ready in hand.

[shugyosha]

Vanguard

Flying onto the scene the large man heads straight the house and the open door. Seeing the cougar man, he puts his hand on his hip in a manner of authority. "Who are you and what is the meaning of this?"

[ChrisClark13]

Curtis

You awaken in a very nice bed in a large, well-furnished suite. The room is a study in white; sheets, upholstery, walls, all pristine. A large window affords a fine view of the skyline, the sun shining brightly...except for a large section of sky, several miles away, that is inexplicably dark and filled with stars.

A fairly young woman is sitting in an armchair by the window, reading a book. There is a door on the wall past her, and a larger, sturdier one across from the window. A bowl of fruit and tray of pastries sits on an end table by the chair. The room has no other occupants or exits that you can see.

For those keeping score at home, this is somewhat ahead of the rest of the party chronologically, but not by much.

Jack, you get a Hero Point for beating Smash'n'Grab, kudos on soloing a paragon two PL higher than you. :smallbiggrin:

Curtis, you get a Hero Point for the Complication of being captured.

Curtis blinks and groans as he sits up, he snaps his fingers a few times as he pieces together what just happened. "Where am I? And who are you?" First thing he thought was, I've been captured haven't I? Flashbang? No, no it'll get me too, Stungun? Seems legit, I'd better heal up while I'm at it... He attempts to create a Stungun in the hand on the far side of the woman (though if he's facing straight at her he hides his left hand behind his back), attempting to hide it as he does so. With his other hand he attempts to start healing himself.

Manifest Device to create a Stungun with Ranged Affliction 12 (Fort DC 22; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated)

Taking 10 on Cure for a result of 15 until Curtis is fully healed.

[Jallorn]

Depends on your definition. Jackknife is there, as is Vanguard, so we've got at least one hero on scene. I've got a satelleite moving into position, twenty one seconds, advise waiting for embarkation until then.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The cougar-man glares at Vanguard. "The Mistress's brother is in peril. I have no quarrel with you, but I will slay you if you stand in the way of my mission."

Perception DC 15:
You hear what sounds like a female voice groaning inside the house. You hear another female voice responding softly, but unless you have Extended Hearing, you can't make out the words.

If you have a Counters Concealment (Invisibility) Super-Sense active, and your Perception check exceeded DC 22:
You spot another anthro slipping around the house with impressive stealth and speed, moving towards you by a route that will allow him to maneuver into a flanking position.

[Grim ranger]

Looking at the cougar-man warily, Jack raised his hands slightly to show he was not going to grab any of his weapons, turning his head to stare right at the second arrival who apparently thought themselves to be so sneaky. "Can't hide from this, my friend" Jack said dryly, tapping his mask's forehead. "So I would ask you to kindly stop trying to get a jump on us. I know your mistress' brother, and I am looking for him as well. That is why I would wish to meet her."

[Quellian-dyrae]

The cougar's eyes narrowed. "What business do you have with the Mistress and her brother?"

The other anthro halted in some surprise, and after a moment became visible. He had the appearance of a black-furred cat, wearing a suit of studded leather and with almost as many knives as Jack carried strategically placed about his person.

--

The agent Kowalsky was speaking to responded with, "Acknowledged."

[Grim ranger]

"Your mistress' brother is part of the same team as we are, so we have as much reason to find him and get him back as she does" Jack answered simply, folding his arms. "Thus, wouldn't it be helpful for us all to work together in order to find him? If you doulbt me, I have the fox boy's cellphone: he dropped it on the scene of the fight."

Reaching into the pocket of his coat, Jack held out said cellphone to the cougar.