Young Avengers

[Shinken]

It was the worst day in Avengers history. Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, suffered a total nervous breakdown after losing control of her reality-altering powers. In the chaos created around the breakdown, beloved Avengers Hawkeye, Ant-Man and the Vision lost their lives. Many of the other Avengers were hurt, both physically and emotionally.

Thor was presumed dead. Iron Man disbanded the Avengers. Scarlet Witch was arrested. Captain America went missing.

And then there came a day. A day unlike any other.

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

I need a brief description of what you guys are doing. It's later afternoon. Don't worry, we'll get to the actions soon.

Doom Pool: 2d6

[herodofcows]

Alejandro sits in the lounge at the Westchester school, drumming frenetically on his notebook as he tries and fails to focus on The Age of Innocence when what he REALLY wants to do is tell Rockslide to get the f*** off the f***ing Gamecube so he could watch the f***ing news.

Snarling, he writes the F-word repeatedly in the margins of his notebook. The furious scribbling is a little too efficient an outlet, and his pencil point snaps after the first six repetitions.

Why is nobody freaking out?

He begins writing in a self-righteous fury, half-baked teenage political angst interrupting a half-finished note on Newland Archer's many character flaws.

Why is nobody in the mutant community treating the dissolution destruction of the Avengers as the absolute CATACLYSM that it is? One of the most publicly beloved and accepted mutants in America, the POSTER CHILD for mutant integration hand-picked by Captain freaking America himself, has just murdered and embarrassed the aristocracy of metahumanity a collection of Earth's Mightiest (and most beloved) Heroes. The mutant community is called upon every day to answer for the sins of its worst members ('How do we prove to the flatscans humans that we're not all Magnetos waiting to happen?' 'How can we show the public that we're not plotting their demise?' etc.) And NOW we have to answer for the sins of Wanda Maximoff on top of THAT???

Four jacked-up Islamic fundamentalists caused 9/11, and EVERY MUSLIM IN AMERICA was forced to answer for their actions by a terrified and enraged public. What do you think they're gonna do to US???

He looks down at his sophomoric manifesto with gloomy satisfaction. Sighing, he goes back to The Age of Innocence, pausing only to contemplate taking a crowbar to the Gamecube, if only to stop Rockslide's yelling at the zombies that were apparently in the process of eating Leon Kennedy's face.

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

PRESENT
A black haired girl is sprawled out on the ground. A house is in flames in the background. There's a man with hair orange enough that it almost blends in with the fire behind them.

The man turns the dark hair, a half grin on his face. "Well, Nicky this one went better than the Rodriguez case. Atleast the house is only on fire."
He coughs, and a cloud of soot comes out.

The girl, Nicky, just glowers at him before biting out a response "Daimon, Go back to hell"

7 HOURS AGO
The same dark haired girl is sitting behind the information desk of a library. She's happily jotting something a notebook. A closer inspection reveals that the writings are split into two separate columns; one appears to be intricate arcane formula, and the other seems to a list of various legal books through the library.
She only looks up from the notes when a cough came from a middle aged man standing in front of the desk.
"Excuse me Miss, Are you Nichole Kemp?" there is hesitation in his voice. He clearly wasn't comfortable being here.

"Yes I am, though I prefer Nicky. What do you need?"

"I was told that you could help me." The man pauses for a moment, as though he was almost embarrassed of his next words "You see... I think my house is haunted."

Nicky looks up at the man, a new-found twinkle in her eye. "A haunted house you say?"

[Aevylmar]

Twenty Minutes Ago

"You know, I really shouldn't be doing this," said Aristos, landing with a slam in front of the four fleeing crooks.

"I'm supposed to be protecting you mortals, not punching you," he said, as they turned directions and ran again. Carefully, he took off his cloak. Another leap and he was in front of them again, and as they started down an alleyway he leaped onto a roof, put his folded cloak on a clean spot, and landed in front of them again.

"So if you'll turn yourself in, I won't need to get my knuckles dirty."

One of them pulled a gun.

Zero Minutes Ago

"Good god, that took forever," Aristos thought, carefully picking up his folded cape and looking it over to make sure no unsightly smudge marred it. "Eight shops I had to return goods to! I would've have thought inferior specimens like them could have gotten away with the loot from three at most!"

He donned the cape again, admired how it fell around him.

"Ah well, back to work. If I'm lucky I'll run into something real this time."

[Shinken]

Aristos, Nick and Alejandro notice their phones ringing. Before they even pick it out of their pockets, a sound reverberates out of them - like the speakers were amplified.

Greetings. Your expertise is necessary, booms the metallic voice. I apologize in advance for any damage in your speakers. There is no time to lose. The Grey Gargoyle is loose on New Jersey. I've added the coordinates to your GPS. You are our only hope!
The phones go silent. There is no trace of any received call.

[Aevylmar]

"This is almost certainly a trap," said Aristos as he ran. "In fact, it is astonishingly foolish" - a pause for breath as he leaped across a busy street - "it would be extraordinarily foolish not to scout it out -" his top speed is considerable; he may not be a blur, but it's faster than getting a taxi - "Before I arrive."

Except that if I do that, someone will die.

The phone's in his hand, but he's only glancing at it occasionally. Mostly he simply runs and leaps over the rooftops, heading for New Jersey as the crow flies, as fast as he can run.

[industrious]

Adam Xia

The Empire State Library is one of the finest on the East Coast. The building itself seems unremarkable - a structure merely two stories tall, squat and wide and designed in the 70s by an architect with a fetish for bare concrete. Yet the genius of the building is not above but below- a full three levels of basements and sub-basements honeycombed underground; a labyrinth spanning under the university campus. Twisting corridors define themselves by the floor to ceiling bookshelves; rumors abound among freshmen of the dead bodies nestled in nooks and crannies, how Jack Sullivan had gotten lost studying for a chemistry exam and died of starvation trying to find his way out. The basements are lousy with out of the way holes and spots and study rooms that had almost certainly been used for other purposes.

Adam loved the underground. Holed up in on of the little rooms, he stood at a small chalkboard, with his friends seated at a small folding table.

"No, no, no!" he says forcefully. "We need to use the cross product, not the dot product! The forces are colliding, not combining!"

"Oh come off it, Adam," Rachel snapped. "Don't be such a drama queen. It's just a problem set, and it's not even due until next Thursday. Why are you flipping out on us?"

Many thoughts and snappish comebacks and misguided explanations fill Adam's head.

Because I nearly broke a bone trying something like this in real life, Rachel. Because I'm...different, and I can understand this instinctively - it's like seeing a grown man struggle to speak. Because I'm scared of what it means that you can't get it this easily and I know you're smart. Because we're friends, and another mutant turned on their friends, and I'm scared that I'll do the same.

His other buddy rescued him from his reverie.

"oh, Adam is just in loove," he teases. "Player here's got his eyes on Candy, dontcha pal?"

Candice "Candy" Williams was probably the least attractive girl in the dorms. Four hundred pounds, five feet. She was also a genius, but intelligence had only made her personality worse - superior to everyone in the only way that mattered, or so she said with every action.

"Oh **** you, James," Adam says good-naturedly. "Quit projecting your fatphilia onto the rest of us. I mean, think about Susan..."

"One time!" James claps his hands to his chest. "That was one time, you little bitch!"

[herodofcows]

"Uuhhhh . . . what?"

Alejandro stares at his phone, which he'd had lying on the desk in front of him. Anole and Loa, who'd been sitting nearby, had overheard and looked at him in shocked bemusement. Thanks to Rockslide's continued cursing out of Los Illuminados, nobody else had apparently heard.

"Is that a new ringtone or something?" Loa blurts out.

"Are you going to go?" asks Anole, slightly more practically.

Luckily, one of the benefits of being a speedster was having all the time in the world to think things through. Before either of his classmates could finish their sentences, Alejandro zooms up to his room, puts his notebook and bag away, and speeds back to the lounge.

"No, not a new ringtone, and YES, yes I will go," he replies, pointing at them both as he responds to their questions, "And if you don't hear from me in, like, half an hour, tell professor McCoy. Okay? Okay. Peace!"

He starts to zoom away, but then comes back.

"And if this turns out to be Network pranking me or something, one of you has to help me get even with her. I'm thinking papering her room with pictures of Nicholas Cage. ANGRY Nicholas Cage. Sound good? Good! Peace!"

This time he gets all the way down the school drive before zooming back.

"Oh, and Victor, if I don't make it to rehearsal, tell Professor Frost that I'm really sorry and please not to kill me and that I'll do anything to make up for it. On second thought, don't say that last part. Just say I'm sorry and please no killing me. Cool? Cool! Peace!"

After one more trip to get a map, Alejandro finally speeds off. By the time he hits the I-95, he finally admits to himself that he's doing this less because he thinks there's actually any danger and more because he doesn't want to read another word of Edith Wharton's prissy-a** prose. Prank or not, this was an ironclad excuse to forget about his homework . . .

[HopeHubris]

How much longer are they going to report on the Avengers, they should report on things that happening now, like giant creatures from beyond time and space that may or may not actually exist, that definitely makes more sense... Bah
Escher turns off the TV and looks in the fridge, checking for leftovers. Finding the pizza from last night, he ported into the kitchen and grabbed a slice, not sure where to start looking for an expert on the outer planes, probably some sort of wizard.
Dr Strange is probably off the table for now, too big a name to bother with a nobody.
Are there any smaller names in the magic game?

"No idea." he mutters, noticing that his distortion had expanded past himself.

Bringing it back into himself, he went over to his computer and got to googling magical supers in the area.

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

Aristos, Nick and Alejandro notice their phones ringing. Before they even pick it out of their pockets, a sound reverberates out of them - like the speakers were amplified.

Greetings. Your expertise is necessary, booms the metallic voice. I apologize in advance for any damage in your speakers. There is no time to lose. The Grey Gargoyle is loose on New Jersey. I've added the coordinates to your GPS. You are our only hope!
The phones go silent. There is no trace of any received call.


Nicky and Hellstrom just look at each other with shock on their faces for a few seconds.

He's the first to break the silence, turning to his young female companion and offering up his own sage deadpan advice. "That sounds like a super hero situation"

Daimon's deadpan seems to strike a twinge of nervousness in the young girl, as she suddenly finds herself being called upon to perform some costumed heroics. "Does that mean I have to wear the costume? Because I really don't want to wear the costume. It looks ridiculous. I mean, who decided that purple, blue, and green were good colors? And the cape. I mean, seriously who has a cape now a days? And the corset too, oh god"


"If I remember right, you were the one designed the costume" That small retort seems to stop Nichole's still going rant mid-stream,. "And besides, it's not the costume you're worrying about"

"You're right, I'm not worried about the costume." She truly does hate it when he's right. It's not often, but every so often the son of satan actually makes good points.

"Honestly, there's no need to worry. You're strong enough to deal with the Grey Gargoyle. Just don't let him touch you and you're fine"

"But why did the voice say that it needed my 'Expertise' if the Gragoyle is so easy to deal with?"

Hellstrom just puts in his hands in the air and offers up a completely un-reassuring shrug

"So... Jersey. I've never been there before. How bad is it really? Enough to make me want to move back to Latveria?"

All the red-headed man offers up is a wide grin and a wave that seems like a father waving goodbye as his kid goes off to summer camp. After that small display, he disappears in a puff of smoke; leaving Nicky to make her decision.


"You're an ass Daimon, you know that right?"
She knows he can't hear her, but it doesn't feel like a complete day if she doesn't say it atleast once.

With a sigh, she weaves a few hand signs in the air. Her normal clothes are replaced by the afore mentioned costume. Another few nervous hand signs and muttered spells, and a glowing gateway materializes in front of her. There’s a moment’s pause, but sure enough she still steps through the gate leading her towards the coordinates on her phone.
I do believe that's 1xp to me, for comparing New Jersy to the country ruled over by an egotisical madman. The marvel Bull-pen would be proud
1 pp || 1 xp

[Shinken]

Adam and Escher both notice the news on TV:

"The Grey Gargoyle is loose on New Jersey!", the young reporter says. "Paul Pierre Duval, also known as the Grey Gargoyle, is well-known superpowered terrorist. A being of living stone, he was stopped by Iron Man, Thor and the Avengers in the past. Oh - wait. A SHIELD jet is approaching...!"

The came quickly swings towards the jet as it approaches the Grey Gargoyle. He is standing in the street, several Petrified Citizens around him. The area is Cluttered by Debris. Effortlessly, he grabs a car parked nearby and throws it at the SHIELD jet - which explodes immediately, falling to the ground and causing Mass Panic as people run away.

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140128001519/avengersalliance/images/1/1a/Grey_Gargoyle-iOS.png

"I didn't come here for you, SHIELD. I came here for the Avengers!"

"T-the SHIELD a-agents...!" the reporter stutters. He drops his microphone and runs away. The cameraman keeps filming, stepping away slowly.

MHRPG uses fluid initiative, which works great for pbp. Aristos, Hex and Alejandro can act in their first panel already - they are already on their way. Everyone else needs to spend their first panel arriving. After everyone has had their panel, we'll start the first page.

Oh, the bolded phrases are scene distinctions.

[Aevylmar]

"I'm afraid they aren't available."

Aristos leaps from the rooftop; for an instant he appears silhouetted against the destruction, his cape billowing. The roof is cracked where he kicked off it with the force of his momentum, and then the crash when his boots strike the Grey Gargoyle echoes, his full momentum transferred in an instant, hurling the supervillain into the debris. Kicking off his downed opponent, Aristos lands, smirking smugly, arms folded.

"But Aristos will be more than enough to deal with a mere mortal criminal like you."

He's fighting Solo (d10), since his new comrades haven't arrived yet. He's hampered by trying both to dodge the Petrified Citizens (d4) and to not knock his opponent into them, giving him a pp. He's adding his Super Strength (d10) and doubling it, since the situation hasn't gotten critical yet (there's only two dice in the Doom Pool). And he's adding his Combat Expert specialty. (d8)

This gives him 3d10+d8+d4. If he's allowed to add a second positive distinction, he's going with Blood of Gods and Kings, because this is a chance to smugly show off his superiority to a mere supervillain.

3d10: [roll0]
d8: [roll1]
d4: [roll2]
If he gets a second d8, [roll3]

Also, +1 XP.

Out of character, I know perfectly well that the Grey Gargoyle is the sort of person who can shrug off physical attacks without really caring, but Aristos doesn't.
Sheet (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-jwcFw70RMvhAGAd1Thszh161fvtlLWEgvWHM34qgRc/edit)
PP: 2
XP: 1

Edit - Using the d10s for attack pool and the d4 for stress inflicted.

[Shinken]

Doom Pool: 2d6 + 1d10 due to Aristos' opportunies (Aristos gets +1 pp)

Solo d8 + Superhuman Durability d10 + Petrified Citizens d8 - choosing d10 as the effect die, it steps back the d4 to no effect, but since the total was 5 points higher, it still deals d4 physical stress on Gargoyle

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

Gargoyle stands up, staring at Aristos. "You are going to have to do better than that."

Meanwhile, in New York, Adam's phone vibrated, receiving a text message. It read:
"I know you are afraid, but your expertise is needed. Help them defeat the Gargoyle and I will explain more later.
-V"

[industrious]

Adam

He stares at his phone's tiny screen, silent and shocked.

Someone knows.

Someone had found out. He had been too careless, or there was some sort of...mutant...detector, or the government just knew or...or...or...

Someone knows.

Someone had pointed a gun to Adam's head, a kindly smile on their face and a finger on the trigger. Metaphorically speaking. Unfortunately, nobody had bothered to tell Adam's body that it was only a metaphor; his heart races, he breathes, in and out and in and out, leaning back into the couch in his dorm's lounge.

"Hey! Dude!"

His head snaps to the figure-John or Jeff or something like that; he can't think straight, can't recognize the guy from down the hall.

"You feeling okay, man?"

Wordlessly, he nods.

"I'm...just going to my room. Lie down for a little while."

Someone knows.

And they want him...to help. To be a hero. To fight a villain - a really, honest-to-God supervillain - in New Jersey (which was a whole 'nother can of worms).

He can't help the laugh, astonished and bitter and broken, echoing from his diaphragm without conscious control.

"Me," he says to an empty dorm room. "They want...me."

He cackles again, wiping tears from his eyes.

"But I don't have anything to wear!"

The teenager digs through his wardrobe, his drawers for something - anything - to hide his secret identity. They may have him by the balls, but he's not going to go public, dammit.

He looks ridiculous, but that's okay. Jeans, a zippered hoodie, a bandana from...somewhere (he dimly recalls a Western-themed frat party), ski goggles, gloves, boots. He digs into his desk, finds the collapsing baton his parents gave him for self-defense. Better than nothing.

"Well...here goes nothing."

To New Jersey (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O46rOdLvUTk&index=10&list=PL957169DFCD629472)

Getting out the window is easy. Fifth floor, nobody's going to look up. He slips one foot out, then the other, dangling from the sill. A breath. Another.

Adam pushes off then, touching the brick wall, and forcing himself forward and skyward, arcing as gravity seeks to claim its latest victim. The ground and the sky rush before him, and he screams into the air, pedaling his arms futilely against the wind. A flagpole rises to arrest his fall; a touch, and he springs off it, launching himself again and again. He zigs and zags his way across the walls and rooftops of the city without landing on his feet, slowly but surely trusting in his power to time his advances perfectly.

He lands at last in another state, knowing he looks like a fool, shaking from adrenaline and lifts a trembling finger towards the Gargoyle.

"Buddy," he gasps for air. "You do not want to push me. Let's just...come down...to the station...and nobody needs to get hurt."

[Shinken]

Grey Gargoyle is amazed by the arrival of another opponent. He looks from Aristos to Adam and suddenly bursts towards the young mutant, moving a lot faster than expected from a living statue.

"It's a good thing you didn't put much work in your costume - everything looks the same when it becomes stone!"

Adam has little room to move, surrounded by petrified citizens. The supervillain reaches for him, his clawed hand brimming with some kind of weird power.

Solo d8 [roll0]
Transmutation d10 [roll1]
SFX: Stoning [roll2]
Petrified Citizens [roll3]
That's a 14 total, with a d10 for effect die - Stoning SFX steps it up to a d12! Success inflicts a Petrified complication on Adam


Doom Pool: 2d6 + 1d10
Grey Gargoyle: 1d4 physical stress

[industrious]

Adam

He's grateful for the goggles; as his eyes widen, a jumble of thoughts. Civilians press on him on either side, with barely enough time to step backwards and.

WhatwasIthinkingwhydidIdothisIneverpreparedforthis

Wait.

He knows this.

A flick of the wrist, and the baton snaps into place; his left leg is sent backwards as he reverse lunges.

Parry 3.

He knows this dance. The weapon's changed, and the timing's different. But he knows the moves. He's practiced this before.

As his torso retreats with his leg, the baton swings across his chest. It connects far more solidly than it ought to; he pushes the weapon the moment it makes contact, sending the Grey Gargoyle's outstretched arm wildly off the mark.


Affiliation: Solo - [roll0]
Scene Distinction: Petrified Citizens - [roll1]
Character Distinction: Prep Academy Honors - [roll2]

Weapon: [roll3]

Perfect Timing: Enhanced Reflexes: [roll4]
SFX: A Perfect Moment. Double Enhanced Reflexes, remove my highest rolling die, and add three as my total.

Kinetic Control: [roll5]

Activating Time Sense, and handing over my pp to step up Enhanced Reflexes and reroll in the OOC thread.

EDIT: 19 with d8 effect die. Off the Walls does not activate.

[industrious]

Adam

He's overextended.

The Grey Gargoyle's claw goes flying, and Adam grins. The inside of the arm was almost a specialty of his.

He pinches the baton between thumb and forefinger, rolls it around gently, so that the baton dips below the villain's arm. He snaps his other three fingers against the metal handle, sending the weighted tip into the man's elbow. And the instant he makes contact, he thinks skyward.


Affiliation Die - Solo: [roll0]
Character Distinction: [roll1]

Weapon: [roll2]

Perfect Timing: Enhanced Reflexes: [roll3]
SFX: A Perfect Moment. Double Enhanced Reflexes, remove my highest rolling die, and add three as my total.

Kinetic Control: [roll4]
SFX: Friction. Step back Kinetic Control (highest die) to add a d6 and extra effect die as complication. I'm going to go with Flying Backwards

...I forgot the d4 stress he already had, but no matter. 27 die, and let's go with him having a d6 complication Flying Backwards, and bump him up to d8 physical stress.

[Shinken]

Adam dodges completely the gargoyle's attack. The villain smooths over his stone mustache. (1 opportunity stepped up, +1 PP to Adam, +1d8 to the Doom Pool)

Doom Pool: 2d6 + 1d8 + 1d10

[Shinken]

You should be using your Buddy affiliation (since Astorius is on the scene) and you should explain which distinction you're using. I'm counting 17 on your total instead of 27, btw. Your opportunity adds a d6 to the doom pool, gain 1 pp

Overreaching distinction d4 [roll0] - +1d6 to the doom pool
Solo d8 [roll1]
Superhuman Durability d10[roll2]

The Gargoyle rolls through the floor and can't quite stop his momentum, sliding backwards. "What the- who do you think you are?!"

Doom Pool: 4d6+1d8+1d10
Grey Gargoyle: d8 physical stress, Flying Backwards d6 complication

[herodofcows]

Ohhhh crap, it wasn't a prank . . .

Alejandro takes in the scene for a moment as he speeds in, Darkforce sparking up and along his body. Two other superhumans had engaged. He doesn't recognize either of them, but they seemed to be doing all right . . . He thinks back to his classes with Professor Summers, pointedly ignoring a rising knot of panic within his gut.

Okay, first things first: HOLY S***!!!!!!! Holy s*** holy s*** holy s*** HOLY MOTHERF***ING S***!!!!!!

Ahem.

Second things first: limit the size of the battlefield.

Running in amidst the debris (Oh crap oh crap are these stones people? Am I stepping in people???), Alejandro calls up a series of Darkforce Spikes into his hand. Zooming around the Grey Gargoyle, he begins planting them into his foe's cape and boots, hopefully pinning him to the sidewalk!

"Yeah, who do you think you are? Running round, leaving scars! COLLECTING YOUR JAAAR OF HEEEEAARRRRTS! TEAAARING LOVE APAAAAART!!!" he crescendos off-key in response to his foe's words. Alejandro was no singer, but it felt good to have something to yell to get the knot out of his stomach.

Okay, let's see if I get this right . . .

Team Dice: [roll0]
Live Fast, Die Young, Leave the Experts Baffled: [roll1]
Darkforce Influence for creating a Complication (Darkforce Spikes): [roll2] [roll3]
Combat Expert: [roll4]

Edit: Okay, so that'll be 8 with a d10 effect die. Naaaaaht so great.Buuut thanks to his complication and stress dice, that becomes 14 with a d10 effect die. MUCH better.

[HopeHubris]

Turning the TV back on, Escher notices the Gargoyle calling out for the Avengers
Well, that explains the retrospective, but they're gone, what could he possibly hope to gain

... except apparently some new heroes, haven't seen any of them before

He settles back onto his couch and watches the fight, super-powered fights are always fun

Looks like two bricks and a speedster and is that Darkforce?
Escher thinks, as the speedster places Darkforce spikes in the ground, bursting out laughing as he starts singing.
The distortion shrinking further inside of him, he almost looked normal.

Darkforce is extadimensional, I should look into this
He stands up and begins walking, travelling miles with each step until he is standing atop a building looking at the battle

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

Nicky,or rather Hex, since she is in her superhero mode, steps out of the portal and is brought face to face with an already in progress super-brawl. Petrified civilians liter the streets. A singing speedster is trying to pin The Gargoyle to the ground with some sort of dark energy. Someone dressed like a mix between a petty thief and a cowboy seems to have knocked the villain off his feet. And some Bruiser looks shocked that he wasn't able to knock the mousatche off of Gargoyle. The one common factor among the three is that their all focusing on the bad guy; no one seems to be really paying attention to the stone statues that were once people.

Well, there's something I can do. She muses to herself once she feels comfortable with the battefield (or as comfortable as one can be when the threat of petrification is on the table). The only problem is, I haven't done anything this big before. I've lifted things before, and I've probably lifted heavier things, but never so many objects at once. There is a brief moment of panic and hesistation before a simple thought gets her back on track. I can do this. I know the theories, I know the forces necessary. I may need a little more juice than normal, but I can do this

"lapidem sublatum" she mutters as her hands raise up the air, blue bands attaching to the imbollizzed citizens and slowly lifting them up the air. All I need to do is get them out of here, maybe situate on top of a rooftop. I just need a clear playing field so I don't have to worry som much about control




Intent: To remove the Petrified Civilians scene distinction

Solo d10 [roll0]
Practise Made Perfect d8 [roll1]
Mass Panic d4 [roll2] (+1 pp)
State Sponsored Sorcery d10 [roll3] (Doubled thanks to unleashed) [roll4]
Mystical Expert d8 [roll5]
-------
2 pp || 1xp


EDIt: SInce the forum seemed to have eaten my dice rolls, I reposted in the occ thread (Here the rolls are (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18139573&postcount=38))
It resulted in a 19 with a d10 effect die

[Shinken]

The Gargoyle tries to remove the Darkforce spikes with his super strength, while he looks around confused, trying to locate the speedster. (+1d6 to the doom pool from the opportunity, +1 plot point for Alejandro)

Solo d8[roll0]
Superhuman Strength d10[roll1]
Petrified Citizens d8[roll2]
Overreaching d4 - +d6 to the doom pool [roll3]
with a total of 10, the complication gets stepped up


Doom Pool: 6d6+1d10+1d8

Meanwhile, Hex is teleporting petrified citizens off the area.
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
Petrified Citizens scene distinction removed

She is successful.

Grey Gargoyle: d8 physical stress, d12 complication (Darkforce Spikes)

[Shinken]

2nd page begins

Enraged, the Grey Gargoyle slams the ground around him, sending shockwaves towards Alejandro.

"This cannot end like this! I shall not allow it! He promised me a shot at revenge... a shot at immortality!!"

Solo d8 [roll0]
Quest for Immortality distinction [roll1]
Superhuman Strength d10 [roll2]
Doom Pool 3d6 [roll3]
Doom Pool d10[roll4]

Spending a d8 from the Dool Pool to add an additional die to the toal and a d6 from the Dool Pool to create an asset: d6 Fighting for his life. Total: 19, effect dice d8 for physical stress


Doom Pool: 2d6

[herodofcows]

Alejandro's reflexes take the wheel as he leaps and spins to avoid the worst of the shockwaves, silently thanking Henry McCoy for the evasive training and physics for the fact that the Darkforce Spikes didn't allow Grey Gargoyle to fully wind up his attack. Nevertheless, it's hard for a speedster to be separated from the ground, and he misjudges his jump and nearly lands right in the midst of the passing ripples of force . . .

. . . before feeling powerful hands wrench him upwards and send him flying out of harms way.

AY PUTA MADRE NO- oh! Ohhhhhh. Hey, nice!

Affiliation: Buddy [roll0]

Godlike Reflexes [roll1]

Darkforce Spikes [roll2]

Acrobatic Expert [roll3]

I'll spend my 1 pp (which I believe we start out with, unless I'm much mistaken?) to add Acrobatics Expert d8, thereby avoiding his attack wholesale. Never mind!

He's hit! d8 Physical stress for Alejandro

Never mind THAT! Thanks, Aevylmar!

"Thanks for the save, tall-blonde-and-handsome!" he calls out, half-tumbling shakily nearby, "If you can engage him, I can clear out the civ-"

At this point, Alejandro rises fully and notices the levitating people-statues and the purple-clad form of Hex.

"-woah, never mind! Nice going, Amethyst Enchantress! (Heh, I just thought that up! Go me!)" he calls, giving her a jaunty thumbs-up before returning to the matter at hand, "Anyhoo, new idea! Let me try something . . ."

Zooming back towards his restrained foe, Alejandro looks down on him with sneering mockery as he pulls out a sharpie from his pocket and starts drawing all over the Granite Gallois.

"Can't you see you've been set up? I doubt 'he' (whoever HE is) had either the power or the inclination to give you what you want! I'll bet this is some C-lister's idea of a master plan, to use an idiot like YOU to try and mildly inconvenience the REAL superheroes. Who was it? Mastermind? Paste-Pot Pete? Ohhh, please say it's Doctor Bong!!!"

Using his super-speed, he punctuates his scorn by going to town on Grey Gargoyle's prone and restrained form with his sharpie. He adds sharpie muttonchops to his foe's already-borderline facial hair, writes "JE SUIS UN LOSER" repeatedly over his torso, and tops it all off by writing "ZIS IS MY BAGUETTE" on his . . . well . . . below the belt.


Affiliation: Solo [roll4] Make that a 1. See OOC.

Live Fast, Die Young, Leave the Experts Baffled [roll5]

Godlike Reflexes [roll6]

Darkforce Spikes [roll7]

Psychology Expert [roll8]

Edit: So, 12 with a d12 effect die? I guess I'm trying to get him to give up who set him up to this, but if not I'll try to inflict general Emotional Stress.

Anyway, that's 3pp for Alejandro, with no XP.

[Shinken]

The first roll adds 2d6 to the doom pool and 2 pp to Alejandro, the second roll adds a d6 to the doom pool and another pp to Alejandro

Gargoyle thrashes around, trying to prevent contact between Smoke's sharpie and his skin. "I'm a hardened criminal, boy", says the Gargoyle. "Anyone focused on eternal life would need thicker skin than that."

Quest for Immortality distinction [roll0]
Superhuman Strength [roll1]
Crime Expert [roll2]
Doom Poll [roll3]
Fighting for his Life d6 rolled a 4, see OOC thread

I'm gonna spend another d6 from the Doom Pool to increase his total to 16, so he stands unfazed.


The Gargoyle's thrashing misses Smoke, but the villain doesn't feel affected by his taunts. The bystanders, however, are a lot more relaxed after seeing the Gargoyle getting ridicule. There is no Mass Panic going on anymore.

Doom Pool: 3d6

[Aevylmar]

He's surrounded by amateurs. With the exception of the sorceress, none of them know what they're doing; the rag-store kid is terrified, the singing kid in the disintegrating clothes - oh no. Aristos can see the wave of force heading towards Smoke. See it and...

And spot that while he may be fast, he isn't tough. He's hardly more than human.

Aristos leaps, landing in the middle of the shockwave. It stings, but he's had worse - and it lets him pick up Smoke and toss him away, out of the blasts of force.

"Engage him? I'll do more than that."

He glances up at Hex. "Thank you for clearing the field for me!"

He glares at the Gargoyle, and then Hex and Escher can see fading something they'd hardly realized was there...

Immortality? You who tried to murder dozens just to make a scene? There is no-one" - and then he charges. "Who deserves immortality less than you!"

Traversing the rubble-strewn ground slows him down a little, but he's attacking a restrained target. Yet... Ordinarily he seems fuzzy to magical senses, but he comes into sharper and sharper clarity as his fist moves faster and faster towards the Grey Gargoyle's jaw, his full energy channeled into this one punch.

Using "Take the Hit" to take the hit for Smoke (+3 XP!). This is what I do. Then knocking the Grey Gargoyle's block off. "I Will Not Falter" lets me disable Magic Resistance d10 in order to step up my Superhuman strength to Godlike levels. My doubled Superhuman Strength, since I'm now back In Perfect Control Of The Situation.

Team d8
Noblesse Oblige d8
Combat Expert d8
Cluttered By Debris d4
Godlike Strength 2d12
Darkforce Spikes d12
[roll0][roll1][roll2]

Edit - Using the 10 and 7 to form my attack pool, giving me a 17. Then using a d12 for stress.

Sheet (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-jwcFw70RMvhAGAd1Thszh161fvtlLWEgvWHM34qgRc/edit)
Stress: d8 Physical
PP: 3
XP: 4

[Shinken]

1 opportunity, +d6 to the Doom Pool, +1 pp for Aristos

Solo [roll0]
Superhuman Durability [roll1]
Fighting for His Life [roll2]
Aristos' physical stress [roll3]
Overreaching - +d6 to the doom pool [roll4]

Aristos' blow is devastating. His fist hits the Gargoyle with the sound of thunder. The ensuing shockwave clears the debris from the area. That blow could have disintegrated a mountain. Yet, the Grey Gargoyle stands.

His face cracked by the blow, the Gargoyle turns his face back to Aristos and stares him dead in the eye, silent.

Spending d6 from the Doom Pool to activate Gargoyle's Invulnerable SFX to ignore physical stress inflicted.

Doom Pool: 3d6

[industrious]

Adam

He's still up.

That...had been a terrifically loud-sounding blow. And he had just taken it.

On the other hand, he was still pinned by those black spikes. Mostly pinned, anyway. And he - he, Adam, first time out - had gotten a blow in anyways. He could still be moved, and he was still a person.

Walking over to close with the Gargoyle once more, he nudges at the prone figure with a foot, and thinks of basketball. The stone form of the supervillain crashes into the ground,slamming into the asphalt, and bounces back towards Adam's foot...and upon renewed contact, crashes down again. Dribbling.

"Give up," he says, after the third or so time. "I can do this all day."


I'm going to create the new complication - "nauseated," which should stack with the d12 complication and take him out.

Affiliation Die (Team): [roll0]
Distinction (Okay, this is Pretty Fun): [roll1]
Complication (Darkforce Spikes): [roll2]
Spending one of my 3 PP for a stunt: [roll3]

Powers:
Kinetic Control: [roll4]
Conservation of Momentum - double dice after inflicting physical stress

Enhanced Reflexes: [roll5]
Perfect Moment - double dice, remove highest rolling die, and take three for total

Total: 20 (7,7,6) with a d10 effect die.

Total XP gain through scene: 4

[Shinken]

The Grey Gargoyle slumps down, unconscious.

The petrified people begin reverting back to flesh. They stand confused, trying to absorb what happened.

"Live from New Jersey, where a team of young heroes has stopped he Grey Gargoyle's rampage with no civilian casualties..."

A small girl asks Aristos for his autograph.

Some random guy takes several photos of Smoke with his cell phone.

A teenage goth girl winks at Alejandro.

A little boy grabs Hex's leg. "You saved my mommy!"

The crowd explodes into cheers.

[herodofcows]

Alejandro watches approvingly as the begoggled fellow starts bashing in Grey Gargoyle's head with the power of his mind.

Nice, he thinks to himself, I wonder if I could get Hellion to try that in team exercises . . .

He's jerked out of his reverie as people start cheering. Nonplussed, he looks around as the petrified folk regain their mobility and the full power of 21st century social media begins spinning up to capture them.

"Oh! Oh . . ." he says to himself, finding himself a bit dry-mouthed all of the sudden.

This is NOT how things usually go for him. Sure, he'd had Danger Room training out the whazoo, and there'd been supervised field work with his teachers, and of course everybody at the Xavier school had been pressed into service on any number of occasions to defend the school against all manner of crazies . . .

But, people cheering in the aftermath? That's a new one on him.

"Is everyone okay?" he calls out, casting about for something suitably heroic and professional-sounding, "Does anybody need a trip to the hospital?"

He's rather distracted by the girl winking at him (at least, I THINK she is? Could be at the blonde guy or the goggles dude. Play it cooooooool . . . gulp.) and finds himself flushing slightly. This flush turns into a full-blown case of burning-red face as he becomes aware of a new breeze amidst his legs that hadn't been there before. Glancing down, he suddenly remembers why most speedsters have some kind of unstable-molecule jumpsuit on at ALL times. His jeans were a wreck down the inside, having been worn down by the extreme friction of his super-speed jaunting. And they were one of his most comfortable pairs, too . . . damn. His briefs had luckily come out intact, but Alejandro doesn't want to think about what might happen on the run back.

In a flash, he pulls out his phone and starts texting Anole frantically.

Totally gonna miss rehearsal. Need a favor: find prof. Wagner and ask him if he can bamf me down some pants. PROFOUND wardrobe malfunction in progress.

He tries to look heroic while clamping his legs together in an effort to avoid flashing the crowd.

[Aevylmar]

Aristos bends down. "Of course." Naturally, he keeps a fountain pen on the inside lining of his cape.

Once he's taken care of that, he pulls out his cell phone, flips it open and dials 911. "Police... This is Aristos. The situation with the Grey Gargoyle is under control, but we'll want a squad car to pick him up. Thanks."

Back into his pocket it goes, his cape swirling around him appropriately. Then he looks at Smoke.

"I recommend classical quotations instead of pop songs," he says. "But your work with the spikes was good. Keeping him pinned down stopped him from going after any more civilians. Next time try to stay further away, though; I won't always be there to pull you to safety."

[herodofcows]

Smoke acknowledges the critiques with a wry grin and rolled eyes.

"Yeah, Mr. Logan's been on my a** for trying to frontline too much. We run into anything else, I'll leave it to you, man. Hey, goggles!" he calls over to Adam, "You got some nice moves, man. Where'd you learn that?"

[industrious]

Adam

They had done it.

He had done it.

The Gargoyle lies unconscious and twitching at his feet, and for a long moment he simply stares at the supervillain. Defeated at his hands...feet...

The cheering of the crowd startles him, and he tries to see what they were cheering at before realizing, once more, that it was them. The guy in the blue and silver. The corset-wearing woman (wow she is gorgeous, whispers the reptilian portion of his brain), the distorted one and...the half-naked guy.

Well, that kind of sucked for him, didn't it?

...he was talking to him, right?

don'tsayactionmoviesdon'tsayactionmoviesdon'tsayac tionmovies

"A-A little here, a little there," he manages to get out, aiming for nonchalant and ending up somewhere between "startled rabbit" and "too cool for school."

"Here."

He unzips his hoodie, and holds it out to Alejandro. Underneath, Adam is wearing a plain gray longsleeve tee.

[herodofcows]

Alejandro accepts the proffered hoodie and stares for a moment. It takes a second for him to put it together.

"Oh! Oh, gotcha. Thanks man!" he smiles, wrapping it around his waist. His smile fades when he feels his phone vibrate and sees Anole's text. Apparently Nightcrawler and several other X-Men were off on a mission. Not Mrs. Frost, though! Oh no, she was still in school and RATHER displeased that her Feste had decided to skip out on rehearsal. Alejandro felt himself clench up as he considered the potential ramifications of her displeasure on his personal and social safety.

Well, in for a penny, in for a f***in' pound . . .

"Before he went out, Gargoyle was talking about someone who'd set him up to this," he interjects, stowing his phone away as though it might bite him, "Anybody here got a way to figure out who? I know he runs with the Masters of Evil, but this doesn't seem like their deal . . ."

[Aevylmar]

Aristos looks around.

"If any of the heroes who helped is a telepath, they might be able to take it from his mind. Or we could interrogate him in a police cell when he wakes up, if we're willing to wait."

He smirks.

"Or the mystery man who contacted us might let us know."

[Shinken]

As if in response to Aristos' words, an Avengers Quinjet crosses the sky and lands in the cleared out area. The door opens.

All of the young heroes' cell phones ring at the same time. They got the same text message.

"Please board the Quinjet. I will explain more when you arrive here.
- V"

[HopeHubris]

Not having received a text of his own, but seeing it on all of the heroes', he phases further out of reality and steps from his vantage point atop a nearby building into an inconspicuous spot within the jet.


Activate invisibility and teleport, possibly roll for stealthing?

Just in case
Invisibility: [roll0]
Solo since I'm hiding from the team: [roll1]

And that is probably it, I'm not good at hiding

[herodofcows]

"V, huh?" Smoke shrugs, "Well, all right. Law enforcement should be here any second! We have to go!" he calls out to the crowd, semi-awkwardly. He's never addressed a crowd before, and there were no parts of his training with the X-Men that taught you how to deal with a NON-angry group of people.

Stepping into the Quinjet, he flops down in an available seat and surveys the hardware enviously. He's only ridden in the Blackbird once, but the X-Men's hardware had nothing on the Quinjet for style and comfort, apparently.

And it was Avengers tech! Even after the public disassembly of the organization, somebody wanted to make sure a visual of a Quinjet (aka, Avengers calling card) picking up a group of heroes made it onto the news cycle . . . Hmmmm, possibilities abound.

[Aevylmar]

Aristos moves to the quinjet in a single leap, landing on the ramp and then strolling up it onto a seat.

He looks around curiously. Who's piloting the ship?

[Shinken]

When the heroes enter the ship, they notice it is empty.

OOC: Gonna wait a while for the others to reply before we proceed

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

"Well that's what Heroes do. We save people" she speaks with far more cinfence in her tone than she actually possess. A stray thought floats through her mind as she wonders why she feels so confident. It's the costume. There's a reason every hero wears them. A smile comes to her face as she realizes that the costume, just like the quips that so many hereos seem to love, acts like a security blanket for those putting their lives on the lines. It may not actually do anything, but it's suprely satsiying to have it.

As she process that revelation, and begins to hear the roaring of a second one, that she might have actually enjoyed herself, the sound of jet engines cuts through her thought. The chirp of her phone, and the corresponding message, confirm her suspiciouns that she hadn't heard the last of the mysterious caller

"It looks like I have to go now." She pauses for a moment, knowing that something else still needs to be said. While Nicky didn't really know her parents, she knew what she'd want to hear if she was in this boy's position. "That means you'll have to go be strong for your mommy. She just went through alot, and I'm sure she'll need someone to help her"

And with that she walks towards the jet, showing no outward signs on fear as she walks up the boarding ramp. After being tutored by Dr Doom, few things are truly terrifying to her. And even if they are terrifying, hiding fear was a skill that Latveria taught its citizens from birth

[Aevylmar]

Aristos nods to Hex as she arrives.

"Good work with the civilians," he says. "We needed them out of our way to work safely."

[herodofcows]

"Yeah, totally," Smoke agrees, leaning in from his seat, "that was good thinking."

After a slight moment, he can't help but ask:

"Are you, like, a wizard or something? Like, a Dr. Strange sorta thing?"

Alejandro has a whole thing about magic. Harry Potter had been his ultimate coping mechanism in the months after Genosha, and his fantasy library had only grown since. It might seem odd that someone living at a school for people with supernatural abilities would look for escape in fantasy novels, but there was something reassuring about a magical world where the good guys always saved the day and the bad guys were purely villainous caricatures without a shred of relatability or humanity. His thoughts flit back to the new copy of A Game of Thrones that lies unopened in his room, waiting for a clear weekend to be cracked open and perused. Mercury had recommended it forcefully upon hearing his literary preferences, and he had taken her barely-repressed glee as a sign of the book's quality.

Yep, nice clean uplifting escapism! He can't wait to read it.

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

As she walks on the plane, Nicky hears someone speaking to her and turns to face the perpetrator, only to have to fight her jaw from hitting the ground. Oh crap, Cute boy complimenting you. Be cool, be cool.
Just as she's about to open her mouth and say something likely monumentally stupid, She hears another voice chiming in. A quick glance reveals Alejandro with ripped clothing and a sweatshirt wrapped around his waist.
Oh crap, cuter boy. And he's asking me about magic. And I think he's half naked underneath the hoodie. Oh crap oh Crap

Unfortunately for her potential love life, and for any potential of future cohesion with these possible allies, all that Nicky can think of when her mind commands her to 'be cool' is the general attitude of Dr. Doom regarding anything at all. "Well, I'm glad that you're able to recognize quality when you see it"

"And Yes, I am a wizard. I've been training at an excellent school for close to half a decade now." Which, is true to an extent. The Latverian Academy of Sorcery and Science is in fact an excellent school, but something told her that her new 'teammates' wouldn't be too pleased if they knew she was formerly tutored by one of the world's greatest super-villains. "Doctor Strange wishes he was half as knowledgeable about magic" As soon as the words leave her lips, Nicky instantly regrets it. Had she honestly just said that she's better than the current Sorcerer Supreme? Aka, the one mage that the cosmos decided was the best mage? Something told her that she would be eating those words at some point in the future.

[herodofcows]

Oh god, one of THOSE. Alejandro thinks to himself, blinking for an extended period of time so as to roll his eyes without anybody seeing. It's coming to be a pattern in his life: put him in a room with other teenage metahumans and SOMEBODY'S gonna try and talk up how awesome they are, how they could kick Wolverine's a**, or give Xavier a nosebleed if he even sniffed at their mind . . .

Granted, this was the first time he'd ever heard of somebody calling out Dr. Strange of all people, but hey. Everyone's got their Everest, and her area of expertise presented some possibilities . . .

"Cool," he replies nonchalantly, snapping his fingers to call up some Darkforce out of his hand, weaving it into slithering geometric patterns in the air, "You ever work with this stuff before? Figure we could do something crazy if you could boost me up. And what about you, bro?" he continues, turning to Aristos, "What's your mojo?"

[Aevylmar]

Aristos gives him a formal, we-are-not-amused look.

"My name," he said, emphasizing slightly, "is Aristos, and the blood of gods and kings runs through my veins. As such, I possess power far beyond what mortal men may dream of possessing, and the duties that come with it."

He turns the look on Hex, now more ironic and less unamused. Let's start with a fairly easy one.

"So, master sorceress. Given a seal focused on a twelve-pointed sundisc inside a hexagram inscribed by the Gallilean method, how would you break it?"

[The_Snark]

Several hundred feet above Interstate 295, a cell phone rings (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7AhtcPnCQQ). The wind is loud enough that it goes unheard, at first.

~ I got this whole thing figured out; I guess I better write it down, now… ~

Swearing. Fumbling in pockets. Beep.

"Hey mom. Listen, I’m sort of in the middle of a thing right now - uh, no…? Yeah, okay. Yeah, I’m up in Jersey right now, there was this thing on the news… It’s fine, mom, I’m perfectly all right, stop worrying so much. Jeeze. Sure, I - what? Mom, this is important, I am not gonna turn around and fly back across state lines to pick up stuff from the corner store… Oh. Um, right, sorry. I’ll stop by on my way back, no problem. All right. Love you too mom, bye."

Chloe flips the phone closed, slips it back into its pocket and zips it shut. (At this altitude, stuff falling out is Bad.) Back to business. This is her first lead in ages, like, almost a week. If she can just get to the scene of the crime in in time to track the Gargoyle down...

... is that a Quinjet? It is a Quinjet. Chloe stares, braking reflexively as she watches. (Flying at high speeds while distracted: bad idea.) A half-dozen reactions flit through her mind, all clamoring for attention - looks like it's descending - omigod they're right over there, this is so cool - wait, didn't they disband or something...? Then she shakes her head. The plane is descending, and if something here calls for the Avengers (!), she'd better get over there too.

She descends a couple minutes later, flaring the jets every couple of seconds to cut her speed. At a meter and a half she cuts the power, drops the remaining five feet onto the asphalt and stands smartly. There's people around, gotta look good in front of the bystanders... holy crap this place is a disaster zone. Everybody looks calm-ish now, though. She raps on the fuselage of the Quinjet, wondering why the door's been left open. Seems a little unprofessional.

"Um, hello? Avengers? Anyone in there?"

[industrious]

Adam

"Hey, hey," Adam moves towards the rest of the group, buckling himself between "Aristos" and Harriet Potter.

"The Avengers just broke up because of crazy egos and poorly adjusted heroes. Let's not start that particular trend up again?"

He starts at the noise from outside.

"Umm...hi? Who's there?"

[herodofcows]

Smoke looks at Adam askance, but then begins considering. The end of the Avengers had left a power vacuum, after all, and someone was certainly going to the trouble to put on a hell of a show to the public. Still . . .

"Yeah, come on in!" he calls out to whoever's out there, "We've got Louis XIV in blonde and blue, Namor and Dr. Strange's lovechild, a pants-optional speedster" (here he points to himself) "and Steampunk McTelekinesis in here. Avengers Assemble, b*tches!"

[The_Snark]

Oookay that was not what she was expecting to hear. Chloe steps in, giving a little wave.

"Um, hi." Her self-consciousness goes down about 60% as she sees all four of the people within are about her age, two of them not even dressed in proper costume. (Hers is a silver-and-chrome bodysuit, with a pair of tinted lab goggles and of course the jetpack rig on her back.) On the other hand, there is the Quinjet, that is about as professional-looking as you can get. "You guys the new Avengers or something? I'm looking for the Grey oh hey there he is." She presses herself to the window, peering out at the Gargoyle's prostrate body in the street outside.

"Sweet, I've been looking for this guy for like a week. You guys take him down?"

[Aevylmar]

"We are not the Avengers, but yes, we did take him down," said Aristos, giving her a once-over. "At least, I assume we are not the Avengers. If we are, the hiring standards have declined considerably."

[herodofcows]

"Why were you looking for this guy?" Smoke asks, pointedly steering the conversation away from Avengers hiring practices past and present. THAT wasn't something that he wanted to bring up in mixed company.

As an afterthought, he quickly snaps a photo of Grey Gargoyle's unconscious form, framing it so that the controls of the Quinjet were clearly visible. He sends the picture to Anole with the following caption:

Quinjet + Supervillain beatdown > rehearsal!

[industrious]

Adam

Steampunk McTelekinesis?

Confused, Adam examines his outfit. Jeans, boots, gloves, a dark grey shirt...oh. The welding goggles and the bandana.

"Somehow," his voice is flat, deadpan as the newcomer arrives on the deck of the jet. "I think my Steampunk throne's been ursurped." He smiles to show it was a joke, then realizes his error.

"Nice jetpack."

Oh, come on. Two pretty girls in a private jet? A little bit of bragging, a putdown. Habit.

"And yeah, we took him down," he says casually. "I delivered the knockout shot myself. Wasn't that hard."

He remembers being terrified the entire time. He remembers thinking how crazy he must be to do this. Right now, in this environment, with these people...he isn't going to care.

[Shinken]

The doors to the Quinjet close. It begins to take off by itself. A screen next to the pilot's seat blinks on, showing static.

"Greetings", the same electronic voice from earlier in the day sounds from the speakers. "I believe the time for introductions is in order - I am the Vision. Recently, my ex-wife caused the Avengers to disbanded and my body to be torn in two. I managed to transfer my conscience to the Avengers mansion computers. I detected an energy anomaly in Broxton, Oaklahoma a few days ago. I knew someone needed to investigate the issue, but I couldn't contact Reed Richards and Emma Frost did not believe me. Therefore, I used the Avengers Emergency Protocol to locate potential Avengers. When I became aware of the Grey Gargoyle's rampage, I thought it would be a good test of your prowess. You all did very well. The Quinjet is currently heading to Oaklahoma. When it approaches the anomaly, we will lose communication. However, for now, I would be glad to answer any inquiries you might have."

[The_Snark]

Blue guy: weirdly self-deprecating, talks like an old guy. Nicknames guy: sense of humor, also common sense. Not-Steampunk guy: sense of humor, confidence. Chloe files these first impressions away for future reference.

"Hey, this thing doesn't run on steam," she retorts, amused. "Also I’m not dressed up in Victorian period costume, that’s a clue, I think you lose your steampunk license or something if you’re caught without a frock and petticoat. I never really got the whole steampunk thing, honestly. It’s not even a very good power source."

As the jet takes off and their mysterious benefactor makes himself known, she blinks. Then again. Then raises a hand, like she's asking a question in school. "Uhhhh. Two questions. First, can I tag along, or should I step out now? Second, what about the Gargoyle's crew? Him and some buddies tried to hit the Wakandan embassy last week - I'm guessing they didn't show up back there, but I was hoping he might be able to point me towards them..."

[herodofcows]

"New plan! We're the Steampunk Avengers!" Smoke proclaims, forming a mustache, muttonchops, a top hat, and a monocle out of Darkforce, "Pip pip cheerio and all that rot!"

And then the Vision manifests, and his Darkforce accoutrements vanish as soon as they appear as Alejandro goes RIGHT back to business.

Wow . . . The Vision had always been one of Alejandro's favorite Avengers. Brought into a world that hates and fears his kind (in this case, A.I.), not only does he quite literally override his programming and come to the defense of humanity, but he freakin' marries into another hated subset! Cool powers, honey-badger-don't-give-a-f*** attitude, and living embodiment of making your own way . . . no question about it: weird costume aside, the Vision was a baller in Alejandro's book.

"Does, ahem, does Gargoyle's crew have anything to do with what's going on in Broxton? Based on the energy signature, I mean." he asks, taking a second to pitch his voice into something more confident and less like a blindsided teenager.

[industrious]

Adam

He goes pale. His costume doesn't cover all of his head, and it is noticeable.

An Avenger.

Him.

It was like...being drafted. Only it wasn't Vietnam (he hated reading about Vietnam in US History) but much closer to WWII. The team with the guy who was the most important guy in WWII. And...this is the Vision. One of the teammates of the guy...

But he was still being drafted. And unlike WWII, it took a very specific sort of individual to join the Avengers.

"How," he says, his voice cracks as he stumbles over the word. "Why? How did you know...why did you choose me?"


And that's +1 XP for me. But it's still a very good question.

[Aevylmar]

"A better question: Why did you choose any of us? Why are any of us potential Avengers?"

Aristos looks at Adam. "You don't have anything to worry about. You deserve the spot, even if you are panicking over nothing. You did perfectly well in the fight. But I am half-trained and politically unreliable, and everyone else here is even worse." He gives Smoke a disapproving look. "He destroyed his clothes with his powers and couldn't dodge the Gargoyle's shockwaves." He gestures at Hex. "The last magical teammate the Avengers had destroyed the team."

Then Jetgirl. He looks her up and down disapprovingly; it isn't a man sizing up a woman he might be attracted to, but more like a construction worker sizing up equipment and concluding it faulty. "And unless you have powers you're concealing, I presume you aren't a member of this group. We're trying to save normals, not bring them into danger."

[The_Snark]

Jetgirl is midway through adjusting some device that looks like a cross between a Geiger counter and a TV antenna when Aristos's comment sinks in. She throws him a Look. "Norm-whats? You wanna run that one by me again?"

[Aevylmar]

"Sure." Aristos folded his arms over his chest.

"Do you have any powers? Or are you just a liability for the team? There's enough non-powered people - enough civilians - on the ground. We don't need to bring more with us."

[The_Snark]

Chloe blinks.

"Are you like a space alien or something? Have you been living under a rock for the last fifteen years? Or are you just that dumb? 'Cause, y'know, Iron Man was one of the first Avengers, and he doesn't have any powers except for his stuff. Captain America and Hawkeye don't have powers at all, they're just on the kickass end of the human bell curve. Would you tell those guys to go home if they were here?"

Her device beeps at her.

[Aevylmar]

"Iron Man? Powered armor. Captain America? Super-serum enhancements. Hawkeye?"

Aristos shrugs.

"Never speak ill of the dead."

[Shinken]

The screen freezes in its static, then fades in and out and proceeds to show constant static.

"You were chosen because you represent elements I think are important for the next generation of Avengers. You are all powerful, you are all young and you are all idealistic, in one way or another. Jetgirl was not in my initial draft list, but fate was an important element for the original Avengers as well. The original team was not fully complete until they found Captain America. In a way, Jetgirl is your Captain America."

The voice pauses. The signal looks weak for a while. It then resumes.

"Jetgirl, my data leads me to believe that the happenings in Broxton and the Wakandan embassy are unrelated. However, I believe I can help you with your search as soon as this crisis is averted."

Remember those recovery rolls, guys.

[Aevylmar]

Aristos tries very hard not to laugh, and even succeeds. This is a member of the Avengers. He deserves respect, even when he starts talking obvious nonsense. To disguise the laughter, he makes his preparations. The Quinjet may be flying quickly, but it will still take them some time to make it to flyover country, and that gives him time.

It is moderately surprising when he takes out a colored ink pen - blue, of course - and a mirror and, quite carefully, begins drawing on his face. The ink sinks beneath the skin and disappears, but the mystic patterns he traces remain visible to any with mystical senses; patterns of strength and rejuvenation.

Oh, right, recovery rolls!

Aristos has d8 physical stress he'd like to recover. His pool is The Blood Of Gods And Kings, Solo - he doesn't have any medical help, so even if there are people around him, they aren't involved with his physical recovery - and Superhuman Stamina. He's using his Mystical Expert to aid in this, since he's using a simple ritual to enhance his natural physical traits; tied in with the recovery roll is that I'm using this as an excuse to add a Mystic Resource, Pattern of Strength (d6). Since his stress is automatically stepped down (to d6) at the start of the scene, he just needs a d6 effect die...

So! 2d10+2d8

2d10+2d8

[The_Snark]

Whatever retort Chloe has for Aristos is cut off by the Vision's synthesized voice.

"Awesome. I mean, uh, help with that would be great. If you have the time. And I am totally on board with being your Captain America, if you want... okay that came out really weird. You know what I mean. I am on board with helping, if you guys want my help, is what I'm trying to say."

She glances back at Aristos the doubter, who is... busy painting his face. Okay then. She puts on a smile (only a little bit forced) and says, "Let's try this again. Hi! I'm Jetgirl. I do jetpacks," she pats the control rig under her right hand, "ray guns," she waves her raygun, "and force fields." She presses a button at her belt, and a crackle of static briefly outlines a bubble around her. "Among other things. What's your name, and what do you do?"

The device in her hand beeps again; she glances down at it and frowns.

[Aevylmar]

"I am Aristos L'auban, and the blood of gods and kings runs through my veins, giving me strength and vitality - among other things - beyond that possessed by mortal men." says Aristos haughtily, finishing up and then returning the mirror and pen to their case in his cape. "And you are one electromagnetic pulse away from plummeting from the sky and needing to be rescued."

+1 XP

[herodofcows]

Okay, this is getting a bit much . . .

"Oh wow, gods and kings. Crazy." Smoke deadpans, moving his attention away from the screen that held the Vision, "So, with all that power beyond mortal man, with all that strength and vitality, why was it that your only visible contribution to the fight was sparing my dumb mutant a** a few bruises? Yo, we don't know Jetgirl here from Adam, I get that. But SHE'S been tailing Pepe LePew here under her own steam while we were doing who-knows-what. If nothing else, she's got the brains we clearly lack. And besides all that, the motherf***ing Vision says she's in, so she's in. So how about we trust the only bona-fide superhero currently in the jet, and YOU" here he looks pointedly at Aristos "shelve the 'blood of gods and kings' crap until you show us you can live up to it."

[Aevylmar]

"All I'm doing is speaking the truth," said Aristos.

He gives Smoke a disdainful look. "You may doubt me, if you wish. It will not be long before I prove you wrong."

And then, blessedly, he shuts up.

[The_Snark]

For the second time in as many minutes, Chloe is cut off just as she's about to deliver a blistering reply. (Given the look on her face, this is probably just as well.) She calms down as No Pants Guy steps in to defend her, though she still gives the self-proclaimed princeling/hemigod a glower at the end of it.

"Just FYI," she adds, "I know what an EMP is - in fact I'm pretty sure I know a lot more about how they work than you do. And I'm not stupid enough to build a personalized flying machine without putting in failsafes. Jesus."

"Speaking of me and what I bring to the team - is this jet bigger on the inside than on the outside, or anything like that? Because I'm picking up some really weird readings" - she taps the device in her hand to indicate the source - "and I don't think we're in Oklahoma yet."

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

"Well that anomalous reading is probably due to the fact that we have something of a stowaway on board." Hex says almost nonchalantly. She's been aware of some strange sense of cosmic unease for a few mintues now, but she hadn't been quite sure of it's origin until just a few seconds ago. It was part of the reason she seemed quiet; she was trying to pinpoint its exact location (That, and she'd been too embarrassed from making a complete ass of herself). The only reason she had kept it to herself was that whatever this thing was, it didn't seem malicious. If anything it seemed like it wanted to help. realizing that she hadn't been properly introduced to the newest member of the team, Hex turns to Jetgirl and offers a somewhat friendly handshake "Oh, and I'm Hex by the way. I'm a mage."

"You can come out now. I know you're here, and I know that you're not hostile" she projects her voice, letting It know that it couldn't hide anymore so it might as well make itself known.

[HopeHubris]

Escher waits, listening to the conversations taking place aboard the jet, forcing himself to hold in a laugh.
Odd people, but I like them, and ooooh a mage, I've been looking for one of those, though a scientist might work as well

He steps out of his hiding place, appearing behind Hex and lowering his invisibility
"I suppose I am that distortion, hello," his voice seems to echo, coming from multiple points around the room
"I really should get around to working on that invisibility thing"

[herodofcows]

"WHAT the crap . . ." Smoke jolts, looking around in vague alarm, "Are we the Schizophrenic Steampunk Avengers? Is that our thing now?"

[The_Snark]

"Jetgirl. Or you can call me Chloe, I'm not really doing the whole secret ID thing. Don't mind if you guys are though." Jetgirl shakes the proffered hand.

She gives Escher an evaluating look as he steps forward... or tries to. It's hard to keep her eyes focused on him. "And who are you, Mr. Distortion?"

[HopeHubris]

Oh ****, I haven't thought of a name
"You can call me Escher"
That's a good name, I'm good at naming things"
"As for what I can do, mostly this"
Escher says, as he takes a step forward, ending up on the opposite side of the jet
"Spacial manipulation is probably the easiest way to explain it, not that that is in any way accurate"





I may or may not continue to include every random thought that pops into his head

[herodofcows]

"Dude . . ." Smoke's jaw hits the floor, "SO cool. What's your range? Can you pull other tricks with your distortion? Can you, ah, go to my room and snag my uniform??"

This last one escapes his mouth before he fully realizes that it was bubbling out of him. He was beginning to feel very conscious of how little the goggled guy's sweater was protecting his modesty, and there were ladies present! His mother would die of sha-

Oh. he thinks, slightly detached, as he feels the grief coming on.

Darkforce begins to swirl and sizzle along his arms involuntarily as his breathing sharpens. He closes his eyes and starts taking deep breaths, mentally repeating the mantras that Ms. Frost had taught him. The Darkforce subsides, but his ebullition from the circumstances is long gone.

[The_Snark]

"Escher. Okay." Jetgirl folds her arms, not nearly as enthusiastic as Smoke about this display of (inexplicable and slightly eye-twisting) power. "Not to sound like a suspicious jackass, but that doesn't actually tell me anything, unless you're trying to say you're a dead Dutch surrealist. Lemme rephrase: why are you stowing away on a Quinjet?"

She doesn't sound hostile, exactly, because nobody else is behaving as though this guy is a threat, but she doesn't sound not-hostile either. She had the decency to knock and ask before inviting herself along, thanks very much.

[HopeHubris]

You definitely sound like a jackass... Oh god, I hope no one here can read minds, she probably can't though, being a techie and all, but still
"It's something to do, and I didn't think any of you would notice, to be honest, I really do need to master invisibility, as it is I can only make it a bit difficult to focus on me"
He finishes, before turning to the Darkforce speedster
"I guess the really minor invisibility is a trick, and my general range is a couple of miles, how far away is your uniform?"


+1 exp for discussing powers

EXP: 1

[The_Snark]

Chloe blinks. (This is her usual way of expressing surprise; it has yet to occur to her that when she has her goggles on, nobody else can tell.) "So you're... tagging along because you're bored? Seriously? I mean - it's not my jet, so if Vision doesn't mind I guess it's all right, but if I found someone snooping invisibly around my workshop without asking, I'd be pissed."

[herodofcows]

"Uhh, Westchester. So, nevermind. Thanks though," Alejandro replies tersely, focused as he is on his breathing exercises. He can feel that there's still tension going around, but, to paraphrase Ms. Frost, there's no sense in trying to help others if you haven't already helped yourself.

Come to think of it, Ms. Frost probably would have some advice on being half-naked in a superhero situation. Flaunt it? Maybe I'll try that if things resort to fisticuffs . . .

[Aevylmar]

Aristos considers.

"We're going into a dangerous situation," he says calmly. "Can you protect yourself with your powers? Can you keep your head in a dangerous situation? If not, you may want to go somewhere safer."

[HopeHubris]

"In a word, yes"
Escher responds, answering both Aristos and Jetgirl
"If I shift more into the realities I can see, I become less... Tangible I guess, not enough to go through things, but enough that they don't matter as much, and I can effectively teleport, if I'm being hit in the first place there is a problem"
I probably shouldn't mention the 'I can see everything' thing, people tend to react weirdly when the issue of privacy comes up


Escher can probably see the blinking

EXP: 1

[Shinken]

The Quinjet lands. They have arrived.

A few hundred meters ahead, there are several big white tents. It looks like they were assembled in a hurry. There are people in white lab coats running from one tent to the other and soldier in dark blue uniforms with automatic weaponry watching them. There are four huge Electrical Generators and several cameras everywhere. All in all, it has a decidedly Creepy Atmosphere.

[herodofcows]

Mournful thoughts banished by the new circumstances, Smoke represses the urge to scout the area out at super-speed. On the one hand, this would be an expedient way of getting the information they needed, but Mr. Summers was always talking about the need to build relationships with human authorities . . .

Ehh, screw it.

"Well, Escher, here's your chance to shine. We're about to walk into this with little intel and no credentials, so we probably want some idea of what the big deal is. Wanna take a quick look in and see what's what?"

So saying, it suddenly occurs to him that he could project some Darkforce along his tattered pants and preserve a modicum of his own dignity. The inky black mists flow along his body, creating something that might approximate a uniform.

[HopeHubris]

"What exactly am I looking for?"
Escher asks, looking for anything not visible to the others, and listening in on any chatter in the field, 'teleporting' to inconspicuous places to get a better vantage point, never staying still long enough to get noticed, before returning to the jet.






EXP: 1

[Shinken]

Escher teleports around. The soldiers and scientists ignore him due to his powers. Whatever sensors they have also don't seem to detect him.
Now that he is closer, Escher can identify the symbol in the soldiers' uniforms.
http://www.canalnerd.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/O-que-aconteceu-at%C3%A9-agora-em-Agentes-da-SHIELD-Logo.jpg
While snooping around, he notices an ongoing argument in one of the tents.

"...therefore, we cannot even come to an agreement on this. As far as I know, you are legally dead", a confident female voice says.
Escher takes some effort to see her. It's just harder, he doesn't know exactly why.
http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o717/Thiago_Rosa/rozsolomon_zps4dae9f30.jpg

"Agent Solomon", a booming male voice sounds. "You would be wise to reconsider."
Escher simply can't get a read on his image. He concentrates harder. He sees some robots around him, steel humanoids. They seem to wearing green tunics. It looks familiar, but he can't put his finger on why.
"My sensors detect an intruder, agent. Step aside!"

An energy beam misses Escher by very little. The tent is now ripped open and inside it Escher can see the SHIELD agent, several robots and a being that looks like the robots but is a lot more majestic. His presence gives Escher chills. His voice gives Escher pause.

http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080206022134/marvelvscapcom/images/d/d6/Mvc2-doctor-doom.jpg

"Who is the fool that dares defy the power of Doom?"

Doom Pool: 2d6

[HopeHubris]

Not wanting to stick around after almost being blasted into little pieces, Escher decides that his reconnaissance is over, and 'teleports' back.

"Hooooollly ****... Doom, it's ****ing Doom, looked like he was with some SHIELD ag- "
Escher is babbling as he returns to the jet
****ing Doom, Doom Doom Doom Doom Doom
"Back to the big bad psychopath, almost fried me... Doom"
He continues, his voice decreasing in volume as he talks, a whisper by the time he stops
"Oh, and sorry, the whole Doom thing kinda distracted me, didn't really notice much else"


Anyone know how the font-size thing works? Doesn't seem to be doing anything

EXP: 1

[Aevylmar]

"Doom? The Victor Von Doom?"

Aristos grins. Grins widely.

"Finally, a real challenge! Let us test our mettle, shall we?"

And, assuming no-one moves to stop him, he opens the door and turns to look back at the rest of the group, ready to leap out of the Quinjet.

[herodofcows]

Sweet mamajama!

Thanks to his ridiculously accelerated EVERYTHING, Smoke has an eternity within a second to freak the f*** out. Anyone capable of hearing and processing words at the rate of about fifty per second would hear something like that:

"OH GOD OH NO I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE PLEASE I'VE NEVER SEEN ANY TARANTINO MOVIES I'VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE I HAVE SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR HELP."

And so forth.

Luckily, he manages to get ahold of himself within the first billion picoseconds. At this point, he wheels around to everyone else.

"Okay, so much though I hate to say it, Aristos has the right idea. Doom alive and on U.S. soil is a clear and present danger, and that's what we're all about. Goggles and I can go back Blondie up in just a second. Escher, you're the stealth option. Mess with his perception, keep him off-balance, cloak Aristos, ANYthing. But we're not gonna win this with punches."

He points at Hex and Jet Girl.

"You two are magic and tech, respectively. That's Doom's whole thing, so you guys are our best chance of shutting him down. Do you think you can take him? Honest assessment."

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

As soon as the words Doom leave Escher's "lips", Nichole can feel her stomach attempting to leap out of her throat.

Before Aristos can leap out of the door, Hex brings up a wall of violet energy inbetween him and his intended path of escape. "If you seriously think that you have a chance of standing up against Dr. Doom without a plan, then you are an even larger fool than I prevously thought." she snaps at the blonde haired hemi-god, clearly agitated.

She pauses for a moment before realizing that her snapping at a teammate, especially one so much stronger than her, might not go over well. Her tone softens slightly and she tries to let the frustration leave her voice. "Look, that's one of the BIG GUYS. He's someone that the old avengers, at the height of their powers, was still struggling against. And we're not at their level. Not in terms of raw power, and not in terms of experience. And, more to the point, if we are supposed to be a Team, a replacement for the old guard, then we need to take a second to plan things out. We can't be cowboys, or cowgirls, who charge into action without thinking. Because, if we mess up at this level, people will die."


"Victor Von Doom knows every spell that I learned up until roughly a year ago, partially because he taught me a large portion of them." Hoping to just gloss over the reveal that she was trained by Doom, SHe contineus speaking at abrisk pace, as though nothing out of the ordinary was just said
"He's got more magical power, he's got more stamina when it comes to throwing around magic, and he's got more experience than almost anyone else who hasn't held the mantle of Sorcerer supreme. " IN her voice is a combination of fear, envy, and respect. Much as she hates the man and what he'd done to the liberties of the people of her homeland, he was an undeniable genius.

But, every genius has a blind spot. "But, I think we have a chance. All we need to do is to somehow get rid of his armor. Without that, his offensive and defensive abilities are severely crippled. He'd still be a very serious threat, but a possibly surmountable one."


"However, I think there's a bigger question here than 'can we beat him'. Doom is on US soil, and shield is aware of this. But, for some reason, The two forces aren't attacking each other. Why? And why in such a place that seems largely inconsequential?"[/COLOR]

[The_Snark]

"Uh..."

Chloe points at Hex. "What she said. About planning and stuff, I mean, not magic, I don't know the first thing about how that works. This place isn't a battlefield yet, so we probably don't wanna rush in guns blazing without knowing what's going on. Maybe they're negotiating, maybe they're both here to investigate the anomaly that got our attention, maybe I don't know. Let's make figuring that out our step 1, 'kay?"

Smoke gets pointed at next. "Item number two: can I take Dr. Doom? I'm assuming you mean in a tech sense, not a fight, in which case - I have no idea. I've never seen any blueprints for his stuff, I don't know how easy it'll be to wrap my head around it. Going by reputation, he's not gonna be easy to shut down." She shrugs. "Sorry. You want my honest assessment, it's 'not enough data.' I'm guessing I can do something but don't count on me to be a trump card."

"Oh, speaking of planning and recon - this thing," she waves her raygun, "has an invisibility setting. Anybody want? Way I see it, we've got three obvious choices: go in punching, go in talking, and go in spying."

[Aevylmar]

Aristos smiles, leaning against the force-field.

"The latter two, I think. I will approach him as an arrogant superhero investigating the appearance of DOOM, with perhaps one other with me - I would request, ah" - he looks at Adam "you, I'm sorry, I don't know your name - but one, so I do not seem too suicidally overconfident. Meanwhile the rest of you should approach invisibly and try to investigate, so Jetgirl can try to 'study his tech' and Hex can work out countermagic."

He looks around. "Is that a reasonable plan?"

[herodofcows]

Smoke opens and closes his mouth a few times, before admitting to himself that everybody else had an excellent point. Dammit, how did Cyclops make it look so easy?

"Okay, absolutely fair enough. A talking team and a scouting team would probably be the best way of approaching this, but . . . I think Hex should probably go with Aristos instead."

He turns to Hex, raising his hands in a preemptively conciliatory gesture.

"I'm just assuming Doom has a way of knowing when other magic users are around. Especially ones that he's trained (which, we should probably talk about later or something). Plus, if he actually sees you, that'll probably provoke some kind of reaction, yeah? He's here for his own reasons, and the more we can wrong-foot him, the better. Just a suggestion. Otherwise, well . . ."

Smoke snaps his fingers and an inky black Avengers insignia shimmers in the air for a moment.

". . . Avengers Assemble!"

+1xp

[industrious]

Adam

Breathebreathebreathefocusonbreathing

Doom. Doctor Doom. Victor von Doom from Doomland-Latera or something-Doctor Doom. Him.

That guy.

He is panicking but he isn't going to show it. Every twitch he channels into the entire Quinjet to hold his body still, to keep the physical signs of panic at bay. They'd feed on each other, his panic and his temors if he didn't, until he was little more than a ball.

They aren't just going to rush in there, are they?

...Was the blue guy talking to him?

"Rush?!" he says, his mind fixated on the word - the death sentence - of them rushing in and facing Doctor von Doom the guy that fought the Fantastic Four and the Avengers and...

His mind snaps back as he blurts out the answer to Aristos's question.

Rush

Oh. there was a new plan. They weren't rushing in. They were investigating.

And apparently, SHIELD was there and nobody was fighting. Okay. Things weren't nearly so bad.

Or maybe he had snapped far enough that he thought so. He wasn't entirely sure.

"Yeah," he says slowly, agreeing with Smoke, a corpse-like-grin invisible under the bandana. "Avengers assemble."

[The_Snark]

Jetgirl half-smiles at the line. It's starting to sink in that she's sort of technically a probationary member of the Avengers now, or at least a group of junior Avenger-substitutes. Understudies? Sidekicks? Avengerettes? Whatever. Point is, this is really cool. Beats the tar out of that summer internship her mom wanted her to take.

"Sounds like a plan to me," she agrees, pleasantly surprised that Aristos's idea has merit. Simple, but workable. Complicated plans tend to fall apart anyway. She glances at Hex for confirmation, though - the mage seems to be the Doom expert here, for some reason. Formerly evil apprentice who turned against her master? Whatever, this isn't the time to ask. Maybe seeing Doom's reaction to her will explain anyway.

[HopeHubris]

Huh, so not only is she a wizard, Harry, but she was trained my Doom himself, assuming she doesn't go all evil psychopath on everyone. Someone with that pedigree might know a little something about weird abominations from beyond time and space, hopefully
"Doom saw me, or sensed me, or something, stealth may not be a real option"
Or I could just be reeeaaaallly bad at stealth




EXP: 1

[Shinken]

Gunfire sounds from the tents ahead. One of the tents explode, sending SHIELD agents flying around. Doom's robots burst from the tents, attacking the agents. Chaos ensues.

"I'm getting too old for this crap", a big redheaded agent with a moustache says as he fills a robot with holes using his handgun and kicks another one away. "Protect the hammer, everyone...!"

A magic blast sends the SHIELD agent tumbling over the Quinjet. Standing amongst the burning tents, stands Victor Von Doom, holding agent Roz Solomon by the neck, barely conscious.

"Doom will not be denied. Give me Mjolnir now and I will spare your meaningless lives."

[herodofcows]

Alejandro has mentally prepared himself for facing Doom, but hadn't realized just how mesmerizing a badass the former ruler of Latveria was.

"I'll-take-the-bots-Jetgirl-take-a-look-at-some-of-them-as-I-wreck-'em-go-go-GO!" he buzzes before zooming off.

Targeting the robots, he goes zooming into them in an attempt to batter the automata into submission by super-speed focused punches. He'd practiced this sort of thing in his Danger Room sessions, but these are Doctor motherf***ing Doom's robots. He's a bit too freaked to consider the possibility that Doom might have prepared for speedsters . . .

Live Fast, Die Young, Leave the Experts Baffled (taken as a d4 because Smoke is potentially being harmfully reckless. +1 PP? If not, I'll change it to a d8) [roll0]
Team: [roll1]
Superhuman Speed: [roll2] Plus Area Sfx: Target multiple opponents. For every additional target, add D6 to your pool and keep +1 effect die. Shinken'll have to tell me how many Doombots Alejandro can get.
Combat Expert: [roll3]

So, gonna use 1 PP to add a third die, making it 20 (9 + 6 + 5 from my OOC rolls) with a d10 effect die.

And then, mid-charge, he suddenly realizes:

"Wait . . . Myollah-WHAT???"

1 pp currently (plus activated opportunity, minus usage of pp above)

[Shinken]

Let's go with 6 robots for now...
btw, activating that opportunity

Doom Pool: 3d6

[Shinken]

Horde [roll0]
Superhuman Durability [roll1]
Total: 15 (8+7 from d8) Effect: d10 One opportunity if anyone wants to activate it
The d10 takes out one robot. Extraordinary success steps up the other effect dice to d8s, but the robots' d10 effect die steps it back down to d8. Horde is currently at 5d6.


Smoke turns one of the robots into a big pile of rubbish, sending scrap metal flying everywhere. He manages to damage all the other robots as well.

[Aevylmar]

Aristos hops out of the Quinjet, returning a somber look to his face. Through the chaos and the explosions he slowly strolls towards Doom, removing his cape, carefully unfastening it, first from one shoulder, then from the other.

"I'm very pleased to meet you, your majesty," he says casually, folding the cape. "I enormously approve of the advanced policies you've instituted in Latveria. I assure you I mean you no disrepect when I say -"

He folds throws the folded cape back into the Quinjet. It shouldn't get damaged.

"PUT - THE - GIRL - DOWN!"

Aristos moves in a blur. He isn't quite as fast as Smoke, but for ordinary purposes, he's quite fast enough - he delivers a barrage of fist strikes into Doom's arm hard enough to smash steel... and, with luck, smash the strength-enhancing machinery that lets the good Doctor hold someone up with a single arm.

Since 'disarm a NPC of another NPC' isn't an action, this is an attempt to disable Doom's Superhuman Strength. Aristos had 4 pp at the start of the scene; he's going to spend one of them to add his Enhanced Speed (or Enhanced Reflexes - both d8, so doesn't matter) to his pool as well as his Superhuman Strength. He's fighting alone, and adding "Noblesse Oblige" to his pool in a positive sense, and since he's thrown off even if he doesn't want to admit it, "Chaos" in a negative sense.

This gives him Solo (d10) + Noblesse Oblige (d8) + Chaos (d4) + Superhuman Strength (2d10) + Enhanced Speed (2d8) + Combat Expert (d8) + Ritual of Vitality [resource] (d6) = 3d10 + 4d8 + d6 + d4.

3d10: [roll0]
4d8: [roll1]
d6: [roll2]
d4 [roll3]

Edit - Keeping the two high-rolling d10s for the total, with d10 effect die. Paying a pp to add the 8 rolled on the d8 to the total, for a total of 26. Paying a pp to keep a d8 as an extra effect die to inflict physical stress on Doctor Doom from having a kid try to break his arm.

Sheet (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-jwcFw70RMvhAGAd1Thszh161fvtlLWEgvWHM34qgRc/edit)
PP: 4+1-3=2
XP: 8

[HopeHubris]

"Oooor, we could punch some robots, that works too and oh god, now you're punching Doom"
Escher sighs before looking around for something useful to do, deciding that getting the agents out of the line of fire is a good enough first priority


Not entirely sure how this works, but plan is to teleport people out of the way if they look like they're running, should either lessen the Chaos or lower doom pool, not entirely certain

Working as part of the team this time: [roll0]
Teleport: [roll1]
Warped View: [roll2]

edit: Not so great, I suppose I need an effect die, so I'll just take the 9 as the other one?

EXP: 1

[Shinken]

You can default to a d4 effect dice even if you don't have any remaining dice. If you succeed, it removes Chaos to a d6
Activating an opportunity on Aristos' attack, +d6 to the doom pool; activating an opportunity on Escher's action, +d6 to the doom pool. Doom Pool at 5d6.


[roll0]

Doom flashes his hand in a quick ward, enhancing his defense as Aristos' rushes towards him. Both Aristos and Hex recognize the spell as an ancient babyololian ritual to ward off demons, which Doom has adjusted to Aristos' personal magical ressonance.
Solo [roll1]
Doom's Genius Has no Equal! [roll2]
Superhuman Durability [roll3]
Master Sorcery [roll4]
Mystic Master [roll5]

Man, I got the dice codes wrong 6 times or so...

[Shinken]

Forgot to add Doom's Superhuman Strength in the pool, but it's not going to make a difference [roll0]
Also, I don't think we need to backtrack it, but I think Aristos doubled his Superhuman Strength with the Doom Pool at 3d6


Even under the protection of his spell, Aristos' blow damages Doom's armor and disables his super strength and he drops agent Solomon. However, a technomystical force field prevents any harm from befalling the emperor of Latveria.

"Who dares?!" (activating Doom's force field to ignore physical stress; Doom Pool is at 3d6+1d8)

"You are below my notice - begone!"
With one hand, Doom summons power from other dimensions. This power concentrates in his other hand and he shoots Aristos' with a mixed blast of repulsor technology and mystical energy.

Solo [roll1]
Doom's Genius Has no Equals [roll2]
Energy Blast [roll3]
Master Sorcery [roll4]
Tech Master [roll5]

Doom Pool: 3d6+1d8

[Shinken]

Chaos is at d6 after Escher's action.
Doom is attacking with a 13 total and a d10 effect die to inflict physical stress

Doom Pool is at 3d6+1d8

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

Nichole is just about to agree with the plan, despite her own fears about confronting Doom, when the sound of all out break begins in earnest. It's such a calamitous cacophony of chaos that she's stunned for a moment, not fully processing everything that is happening around her. She sees Smoke run off and begin to destroy Doom bots en mass. She hears Aristos declare Doom a worth adversary, and can feel the blow of Doom's strange techno-magical blast as it strikes against the Earth.

But when she finally does snap herself out of the reverie, she had a plan to show for it.

She quickly scans the battlefield before seeing a small squad of SHIELD agents getting up after the self-destructive blast of a DoomBot knocked them on their ass. A wave of her hand, and all of their guns which had been strewn throughout the battlefield were now floating in front of her. Another gesture and a few syllables in latin, and the guns now sport glowing runes along their body and a few other enhancements. A third set of magical stimuli, and the guns fly back into the hands of the agents.

"I've just turned your normal guns into something that actually has a chance of piercing Doom's magical sheild. So long as you all hold those guns, you have a small amount of magical armor as well. I want the same things as you, namely to ensure that Victor Von Doom Never gets his hands on the Hammer of Thor"


As she speaks, it isn't so much her own words that are coming out as it is the words she first heard so many years ago come out of Victor Von Doom's mouth as he addressed her incoming class. "But know this. All of you now are under my command. The only reason that you still breathe is because I allow it. You will do as I say, when I say it, or else you will suffer the wrath of one more powerful than you by a magnitude you cannot fully comprehend. " It was a a hell of a welcoming speech, but it left an impression and made sure that no student ever wanted to cross him. Hopefully it will do the same for her here and win her the temporary loyalty of a few men with (now magically enchanted) guns.


Okay, so I'm going to try and create an asset; 'Magically Enhanced SHIELD squad'
Team d8 - [roll0]
Former pupil of the Great Doom d8 - [roll1]
Sorccery d10 - [roll2]
sfx (construct) d6 - [roll3]
Menace expert d8 - [roll4]

edit: that means I've got an 8 total and d10 effect die, with two opportunities.
oh boy, this is gonna be interesting

and, since I'm using the menace specialty, and techniques taught by Doom, I get 3xp. So I'm at 4xp total.

[Shinken]

"You heard the girl! Get to it!", shouts agent Solomon. The SHIELD agents engage the robots, bullets flying everywhere as the robots fire back with their repulsors, creating a net of crossfire.

"Nichole von Kampen." Doom says slowly. "I took you in after you parents died. I protected you. I trained you. Of course, I did so using the tools of a ruler, but you are as much my daughter as any lass in Latveria. And this is how you repay me? Using Latverian hexes to empower those that stand between Doom and what is rightfully his?!"

Mystical power burns in a purple aura around Doom, showing he can barely restrain himself.

"No matter. After I prove I'm worthy, I might spare a few seconds to end you." He turns to his robots. "Get her."

A bunch of robots throw themselves at Hex.
Team [roll0]
Horde [roll1]
Superhuman Strength [roll2]
Total 16 with d6 effect die for physical stress

[Aevylmar]

Aristos raises his hands together, left palm back of the right hand, and blocks Doom's blast. "No, Doctor, I am not," he says through the smoke.

Either Superhuman Durability or Magical Resistance at d10, he's fighting Solo, and he's a Combat Expert. Unfortunately, in the Chaos that's resulting, he's having trouble concentrating.

d10+d10+d8+d4

2d10: [roll0]
d8: [roll1]
d4: [roll2]

Edit - 18 total, d10 effect. Attack blocked.

Sheet (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-jwcFw70RMvhAGAd1Thszh161fvtlLWEgvWHM34qgRc/edit)
PP: 4
XP: 8

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

Hearing the whirring of Doom Bots swarming towards her, Nichole immediately begins to dive out of their way while calling out for her newly acquired lackeys servants assistants to fire their weapons at the wave of mechanical dictators. She might resent Von Doom for a many things, but his near fanatical desire to have the students of his academy practice combat maneuvers constantly was responsible for her ability to react instinctual in situations like this one. As she comes out of the roll, her hands already raising in mystical signs to produce a shimmering green shield, the words that Dr Doom is saying truly begin to register.

"You treated me as a daughter?" There's a sense of shock and disbelief in her words as she tries to make sure that she heard him correctly.

"Treated me as a daughter?" The shock is replaced an anger that grows greater with every word.

"You treated the people of Latveria like cattle! The only reason I was treated better was because I was lucky enough to be born with real power." As she speaks and her anger grows, Nichole stands up from her crouched position on the ground to truly let Doom know that she did not frighten her. "If you count being used as a tool to procur more power for The Great Doom a better fate. The only reason you let me come to America in the first place was because you wanted me to steal the secrets of other mages!"


But, in that moment of defiance, she feels the full weight of a few Doom Bots against her shield. It's not enough to cause any real damage, but the kinetic transfer is more than enough to knock her back a few feet and rattle her cage.

Okay, first thing I'm doing is spending a pp to make 'Magically Enhanced SHIELD squad' d10 (aka MESS d10)last until the start of the next action scene.

As for my reaction roll...
Team d8 [roll0]
Former pupil of the Great Doom d4 [roll1] (since her anger at Doom is clouding her mind)
Shield of the Ancients d8 [roll2]
combat d8 [roll3]
MESS d10 [roll4]

Alright, that's a 14 total and a d8 effect die. So their attack succeed since I had a lower reaction, but the stress is stepped done since my effect die is larger than their's. which means I take a d4 of physical stress.

so, I had 2pp, then I spent one on making the asset long-lasting, then I got from using a d4 distinction, then I got another an opportunity on d10

+1 xp for badmouthing how Doom runs Latveria to Doom's face. Nichole apparently has some brass ones (and by 'ones', I mean ovaries)

3 pp total
d4 physical stress
5xp

[industrious]

Adam Rush

Doom is attacking...don't panic. Please don't panic.

Adam swiftly creeps down the exit ramp, and prays that he'll be mostly lost in the offending chaos...

Oh. That's...that's Doom. Right there. And he knows the corset woman. And is trying to kill her.

And them. The other heroes. They're fighting, too. Against him. The dictator of Latveria.

Can he do anything less?

His hand reaches blindly outwards, and finds a collection of loose screws and nails. An idea begins to form in his head.


I'm going to create an asset (Loose Screws and Nails). I'm going to use Chaos at d8, Assimilated Mutant at d4, and Solo d8.

Kinetic Control doesn't really apply here, but Speed might.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

...Well that roll was crap. 13, with a d4 effect die due to not having anything else as an effect die. I tried, folks!
+1 PP

[Shinken]

Doom Pool: 3d6+3d8

Just waiting for Jet Girl

[The_Snark]

... aaaand cue plan falling apart. And it wasn't even that complex, too. Oh well. Jetgirl flits into the air with the press of a button, a pair of nozzles on her back emitting a steady blue flame. It looks too small to provide that much lift, more like a pilot light than a rocket thruster, but evidently it works. She briefly considers turning herself invisible to try and hit Doom unawares, but decides against it - paranoia is practically Doom's middle name. Better to let Captain Blueblood and the sorceress keep him occupied while she helps Smoke clean up Doom's minions; then they can all go for him.

Former apprentice, yeah. Totally called that one. Jetgirl wastes only a moment on self-congratulation before swooping towards the ground in Smoke's wake, crouching to look at the 'bot he wrecked. It's a good idea; if she can get an inkling for how Doom builds his combat robots, she'll have a better shot at disabling his armor and countering whatever stuff he's got built into it. She aims her raygun at the wreck, lasering the metal body up and down and adjusting the beam frequency to see what settings get the best result...

Jetgirl is going to do Science! Specifically, she's trying to create an asset for herself, something based on her understanding of Doom's technology. Employing Buddy (since she's working alongside Smoke), Insufferable Know-it-all, Tech Master, Cybernetic Senses (analyzing technology) and Energy Blast (unorthodox, but I think it sort of applies).

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

So that's a 17, with a d10 effect die. Shiny.

[Shinken]

Horde [roll0]
Superhuman Durability [roll1]

Jetgirl Knows Their Weak Spots d10

[Shinken]

Page 2

The robots fire their repulsors at Smoke, trying to hurt him.

Horde [roll0]
Blast [roll1]
12 with d6 effect

Now is a good time to try finding that hammer

[HopeHubris]

"Not if I prove I'm worthy first!"
Escher shouts out at as he begins 'teleporting' looking for the hammer
Oh god, did I just antagonise Doom? I'm sure this can not possibly end poorly

As Escher makes his way across the battlefield, he attempts to shift some of the doombots into some of the magically enhanced bullets flying around


Team: [roll0]
Teleport: [roll1]
Crossfire: [roll2]
Area Attack: [roll3][roll4][roll5][roll6] or however many are left

12, and a d10, d8 and the rest d6 effect dice

EXP:1

[Shinken]

Robot Reaction Roll


[roll]d10

[Shinken]

Missed that [roll0]

So 14 with a d6 effect die.

Escher can't quite manage to get the robots in trouble, as they move out the way of the bullets almost as fast as he teleports. However, after much porting around, he ends up inside a big white tent - inside this tent, at the center of a crater, rests a big uru hammer with the inscription "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

[herodofcows]

"Dammit!" Smoke yells, twisting and dodging as he tries to lead the robots away from Jet-Girl and Hex, "Of COURSE the robots shoot the mutant! Racist robots! RACIST ROBOTS!"

So, Superhuman Reflexes [roll0]
Acrobatics Expert [roll1]
Team [roll2] (trying to help
Live Fast, Die Young, Leave the Experts Baffled [roll3] since he's putting himself as their sole target to the best of his ability and (as has earlier been established) that doesn't tend to end well for him.

So, 13 with a d12 effect die. No worries.

1 pp to create a d12 Complication of Friendly Fire for the 'bots.

1 pp left.

Weaving through the robots, he remembers a trick that Northstar had taught him, and goes weaving through the Doombots like a madman. As they turn to try and hit him, the Doombots come under Friendly Fire (d12) from each other.

[herodofcows]

Pivoting neatly as he gets to the edge, Smoke allows himself a grin. He dashes right back up the line he's created for the Doombots, twisting speedily and pausing at set nanosecond intervals to cause them to shoot each other!

Affiliation (Team): [roll0]
Live Fast, Die Young, Leave the Experts Baffled: [roll1]
Superhuman Speed: [roll2]
Acrobatics Expert: [roll3]
Friendly Fire (vs. each Doombot): [roll4] [roll5] [roll6] [roll7] [roll8]
Area Bonus (vs. each Doombot): [roll9] [roll10] [roll11] [roll12] [roll13]

SO! 20 effect dice, d10 effect dice on two Doombots, d8 on one, and d6 on two others.

1 pp

Having gone through, he rounds on over to Hex.

"Okay, serious question: Can you work with Darkforce?? 'cause I can give you a big ol' source if you can!"

[Aevylmar]

While his teammates stand toe-to-toe with Doom's robots, Aristos faces Doom by himself. "I am Aristos L'aubon, and the blood of gods and kings runs through my veins. These SHIELD agents are beneath your notice. I am not." And, doing his best to ignore the chaos, Aristos grabs hold of Doom, twisting one arm behind his back.

Attempting to put a "Grappled" complication on Doom.

Solo d10
Blood of Gods and Kings d8
Chaos d4
Superhuman Strength d10
Combat Expert d8

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

14 total, d8 effect.

Sheet (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-jwcFw70RMvhAGAd1Thszh161fvtlLWEgvWHM34qgRc/edit)
PP: 5
XP: 8

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

"Dark Force?" There's a pause as Hex runs through her extensive knowledge of magical and extra-planar forces. Darkforce wasn't something she's ever worked with before, but she at least knows what it is and has a vague idea of its properties. "Of Course I can work with that" Atleast, that's what she says on the outside. Internally, she's kicking herself for saying something so foolhardy.


Nevermind that I've never worked with it before, and one wrong move could lead to our untimely deaths. Can't afford to say no in front of the cute boy. Or in front of Doom.

[HopeHubris]

Escher picks up the hammer, gaining all of the power of a god, adding it to his not inconsiderable power.
He creates portals all over the battlefield, stretching space, and fire lightning through all of them, destroying the doombots.

"Ahahhahahaha, fear me!"


:smalltongue: