The Nightmare of SIDE

[Quellian-dyrae]

The SIDE headquarters in Verdania had formidable physical defenses. The materials used in its construction could have withstood most non-nuclear bombs. It didn't bother with surrounding walls or gates, going instead for a full-building forcefield that could keep out (or in) anyone not given authorization as well as most forms of physical, energy, and even psychic attacks. Skilled agents could defend the outside of the building from any of numerous windows that were, themselves, more resilient than most steel walls. Few were the forces, be they Dreamer or criminal or military, that could so much as put a dent in this structure's defenses. It should have been impregnable.

But you're currently looking at a gaping, fifty-foot diameter, jagged-edged hole that proves otherwise. A hole that made by a force that not only blew through the forcefield and the outer walls, but blasted four rooms deep into the building obliterating every desk, wall, door, and person that had been in its way.

The attack occurred last night, a little after two AM. It is now nine in the morning, though the storm that had been going on the night before has dwindled to just a thick blanket of dark gray clouds with the occasional drizzle of rain. The area is almost unnervingly empty and quiet, a four-block radius around the building having been evacuated. The building itself is surrounded by some thin metal posts that create a sort of fence of plainly visible red and yellow laser lights. They're harmless, basically the equivalent of crime scene tape. Well, if crossing crime scene tape alerted the police with an immediate alarm, video feed of the area, 3D photograph and DNA scan of the trespasser, and opened a live communication feed.

Standing outside the laser-fence is SIDE Chief Vanessa Kerring. You've all been requested/ordered/hired/etc to meet here and assist SIDE in the aftermath of this attack. Specifically, your team is going to be leading the investigation into the attack itself, as much of SIDE's resources are currently going to apprehending as many of the escapees as possible before they can wreak havoc throughout the city.

"Let's get straight to it. The building is empty. Only people who have been in there since the attack were agents looking for survivors. We did as much as possible to minimize disturbances to the scene. Agent Hayseed, your security clearance has been increased to top-level for the duration of this assignment, so you have access to everything in there. Consultant Wey and Hero Avery, you've both been assigned mid-level clearance. Mister Bellerose, the best we could qualify you for was low-level clearance. Agent Hayseed, you can share information above their classification levels with the other members of your team at your discretion, but if it's above their level and you don't deem it relevant to the investigation, it is to remain classified."

"Three of our people survived the attack. Well, four, really, but the last is unresponsive and unlikely to recover. The other three were in and out of consciousness when they were brought in, but that was a few hours ago. They're at Sterling Hospital when you want to speak with them."

"Your main goal isn't really to apprehend the escapees. That said, I have two files that you might want to consider looking into yourselves. The first is a group of low-end Dreamers. The call themselves the Storm Runners, codenames Thunderstrike, Blitz, and Rainstorm. They all have weather-themed powers. They're dangerous enough to civilians, but not really huge threats. They're mostly just young and stupid, and their powers aren't that strong all told. They should be easy enough to track down and take down, and they'd probably break under interrogation."

"Second one is codename Snatcher. He - or she, we aren't quite sure, but it was he when we caught him - is a bit stronger. Has the power to possess others, permanently if the subject is already dead. Not as dangerous as he could be, mostly uses his powers for mid-scale crimes, and being a body-jumper, he's hard to track down, so not the top priority here. However, it's theorized, based on some of his activities, that he gets some access to the memories or knowledge of those he possesses. I saw his body, the one he had been using, when we were looking for survivors. Which probably means he's currently wearing the body of one of my agents. If you can get him, he might be able to provide more information on the attack, both from what he witnessed when released and what the agent saw."

"The files have details on addresses, associates, and such. Anything else you can think to do to figure out who is responsible, do it. The other bases are stepping up security, but considering what we've seen here...we can't be sure it will be enough. We cannot allow this to happen again. Do any of you have any questions?"

[herodofcows]

Hayseed stands at "ease" in front of the director ("ease" being a technical term, because SIDE's "ease" wasn't everybody's ease, after all!) as she glances around. This was . . . jeepers, this wasn't a day she thought she'd be seeing in a month of Mondays! SIDE cracked wide open, rogue Dreamers running willy-nilly around the city, and here she was missing Marsha's dance recital!

This wouldn't do at all. No sir, it would not.

She flashed a smile at her new companions. She'd read Avery's file, and wouldn't it be nice to have themselves a funny man on the team? And such a snappy dresser, too! And of course that nice Mr. Way, who'd been so helpful to SIDE when it had really counted! She wasn't particularly religious herself, mind, but never mind that. The young man with the chains . . . well, if she squinted, he looked like some of the band posters that Marsha seemed to like so much, so that was all right.

And now, to business!

"First of all, Director," she begins in cheery enunciated tones, "thank you very much for the chance to pitch in. I am one thousand percent positive that we will do you proud. Now, if I can ask, are there any escapees that have just vanished? No attention-grabbing outbursts, no trail, no sightings, just . . . gone?"

So saying, her eyes begin to go roving over the scene, picking it apart mentally. Looking at the debris, the blast pattern, the lines of transition between the destruction and the building . . . was this an explosion? A unidirectional blast? Was it a product of heat, or sheer kinetic force, or hyper-accelerated wear and tear? Possibilities zoom through her mind as she turns to face the crime scene.

No matter what, she nods to herself internally, this can't go happening again. Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice? Well, you won't, because I'll have sent a high-velocity round through your eyeball and good luck trying to fool someone when you're missing half your FACE, Mister Man!

Perception check around the nature of the blast:

[roll0]

[Dodgeson]

Avery leans against a wall that isn't there, surveying the people he's gonna be working with as he listens to Director Kerring and if it wasn't a turn up for the books that he wasn't the weirdest looking person in the room for once.

"Seems to me that the boys and girls at Sterling aint going nowhere. Even if these Storm Runner goons don't know anything bringing them in's gonna send a message that we're not taking this lying down, I'll see if I got any dirt on 'em."

Taking off his bowler he shoves his arm in to it up to his elbow and starts rummaging around, eventually pulling out a bakelite phone receiver. "Everything you got on the Storm Runners and make it snappy!"

[roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

"That's hard to say at the moment. As of last time I was briefed, we've only had leads on around a third of the escapees. Get in touch with me tomorrow and I should be able to give you a much more concrete number."

You can discern some scorching and even a bit of melting on the edges of the hole, indicating the blast indeed produced tremendous heat. There's surprisingly little debris considering the damage, meaning that most of it had to have been basically vaporized. What debris there is is all further inside the building, which combined with the blast putting holes in the interior walls pretty much guarantees that it was a directional blast of some sort.

"Gawrsh! The Stourm Ronners?"

"Well the Storm Runners, I say the Storm Runners, they're these Dreamer kids what met up a couple years back. Got a buncha storm-type abilities. Ya got Thunderstrike I say Thunderstrike is the strong one, ya gotta watch out for some kinda shockwave when he hits ya and word is he can go blinkin' around and teleport from place ta place, why he can't just walk anywhere I couldn't tell ya, ya don't get your exercise if ya just blink around everywhere but try telling him that. Now, Blitz is the quick one, and her powers I say her powers focus on lightning and she'll go around zapping folks all willy-nilly. And then there's Windstorm who's the sneaky one, got more tricks up her sleeves than the others, can make a whole mess o' things with her conjured wind and doesn't clean up after herself I say, girl should know to clean up after herself. Not a one of them can be hurt by any sort of electricity you see it'll just bounce right off of them. But they aren't that strong I say they aren't that strong for Dreamers, just a bother to normal folk but nothing like Corps level."

"Th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-that's all, Ave."

[HopeHubris]

"Weather themed, you may have noticed that I am covered in metal, weak or not, that doesn't sound like fun, do any of them create lightning? It sounds like they might, and I'll need to know which to take out first. Apart from that, the identity of any missing agents may help narrow down the search for Snatcher, though it is entirely possible it has jumped into one of the other escapees, which would make it more dangerous. Is it capable of possessing other Dreamers?"
Kyton asks, forming his chains into a seat and sitting down

I have absolutely no idea who any of these people are

[herodofcows]

"Thank you VERY much, Director," Hayseed replies, smiling broadly as she steps into the crime scene, "and, as your subordinate, may I just say that it has been an absolute JOY to have such a helpful superior. We'll have results for you in two licks of a split!"

So saying, she begins taking pictures of the immediate area of the blast, keeping the lens focused on the areas of destruction to avoid sending out any photos that leaked details about SIDE's inner workings. While she works, she hums to herself. Hayseed often hums popular songs and then replaces the lyrics with words related to the problem she's working on. Some might find it a tad annoying.

"Diii-REC-ted blast . . . dadadada knocked us on our a**! Like a claymore of a hiiiigher class! (Ohh, that was quite good! Yay me!) Oh, daaa-da-da, knocked on our a**!"

So doing, she begins selectively sending these pictures out to a number of contacts in TOP-SIDE, IN-SIDE, FIRE-SIDE, IDEA, even a few mercs and Reclaimers. Her query is simple:

Hiya! You wouldn't know of anything that could do something like this, would you? Like, a claymore that ate its veggies as a kid or something?

Hayseed is uncomfortably aware that it was a bit politically incorrect to assume it was a Dreamer that did this, so she tries to see if there's an explanation in the world of conventional explosives. It didn't HAVE to be a Dreamer, after all, and weapons manufacturers were much easier to track down.

Using Hayseed's Contacts advantage to see if anyone knows of an explosive that could do this, or some kind of conventional/semi-conventional weapon.

Investigation: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Blitz, I believe, is the one with electrical powers. I don't recall seeing anything to indicate that Snatcher's powers are restricted to Unpowered individuals. I'll have someone send you the list of agents that are unaccounted for as soon as we're finished identifying the deceased; you should have it by noon. Anything else?"

Hayseed's thanks was returned with just a curt nod. Inside the building, in addition to getting pictures of the blast area, Hayseed could see that much of the computers and furniture in the rooms the blast had torn through were thoroughly wrecked (beyond the ones that had been in the area of the blast itself and thus destroyed outright). Several dead bodies were also strewn liberally about the rooms. A cursory look indicated that most if not all of them were SIDE agents.

You get some responses shortly. A kill sat would probably be able to generate a powerful enough laser to do it, but of course, that would have blasted the building from the roof down, not from the front in. A big enough nuke (or just enough conventional explosives) would have the power output, but wouldn't be nearly that focused. A powerful enough laser cannon, the sort you'd find on a mecha or battleship, would fit best; acquiring one of that size and getting enough energy to power it would be prohibitively difficult, but certainly possible, and the damage would resemble what you're seeing here.

[Dodgeson]

"You guys are the best." Letting go of the receiver the whole thing springs back in to his hat as if it was being held by some enormous tension. "I should send them something nice, good smokes or a steak or something."

Placing his hat firmly back on his head Avery sets about telling his new comrades what he learned "The big boss is right only one of them makes with the zappy. They got a brick with some kinda shockwave power AND he's shoehorning in on my act." As a demonstration he makes a couple of short jumps, vanishing and appearing on top of Kyton's chair, peering over Hayseed's shoulder and then back to his original spot. "The zappy one's also a speedster and the last one conjures wind, aint nothing we can't handle."

[herodofcows]

A part of Hayseed breathes a sigh of relief. A laser cannon! So, not the work of a Dreamer. Probably. Maybe. Score one for being politically correct!

But, a mech's laser cannon . . . well, that would fit. But who would have access to a mech like that? Well . . .

"Ah! Director, new friends and coworkers, I think I have a clue towards our little Whodunit! Some very nice and helpful fellas have been kind enough to take time out of their busy schedules to tell me that the blast damage is consistent with the kind of laser cannon you'd mount on a mecha or a battleship. Now, I know we're near the sea, but a coastal strike would have been a lot more obvious than what we've got here. So, it was Blank with the High-Powered Mech at the Verdania SIDE Headquarters! I'd guess Colonel Mustard, since a military man might have access to toys like that! Well, that or the mecha was stolen from SIDE. One of the two!"

Hayseed was used to having her jokes not land. Instead, she busied herself with going through her mental lists of major Dreamer-centric or anti-Dreamer organizations. Who would have access to hardware like this, and the motivation to leave a gaping hole in SIDE's headquarters?

"Maybe we get to tracking down those Storm Runner fellas soon, huh? I wouldn't mind giving 'em a case of the ol' Stormy Mondays, no sir!" she drawled, just to keep the ideas flowing.

Expertise (Dreamer Organizations) to figure out who would have access to the tech and inclination to use it in this way.

[roll0]

[Dodgeson]

Avery chuckles as he fishes a cigar out of his pocket, sure it was a bad joke but they were his kind of joke and anyway if she was going to get this show on the road she could crack all the bad jokes she wanted.

"You got my vote. We got a ride or we hoofing it? If we've got a ride, SHOTGUN!"

[HopeHubris]

Well, Hayseed is certainly... chipper

Kyton's chain chair rattles as Avery appears on top of it

"Assuming the body-jumper is in any way not a complete idiot, the potential pool of people we are looking at includes: any missing SIDE agents, any escaped prisoners, or anyone able to be killed by either. So, in short, the majority of the people in the city, or if it grabbed a speedster, anyone in the state, country, or if it was fast enough, the world, lovely, that won't be difficult at all."

Kyton 'stands up', by which I mean he extends his chains, using them to walk [OOC: Think Doc Ock], while still seated moving over to the hole in the wall

"You'd think a giant robot would have been somewhat noticeable, though I suppose with Dreamer's, anything is possible. Hmm... To get a mech large enough to blast that hole, close enough to the building without any guards noticing, (I assume you don't rely solely on the building to do the protecting, right? or is that above my clearance?), you'd need a pretty powerful cloak, and one that can get past any advanced-warning Dreamer-detecting sensors I can only assume a prison like this is equipped with. Do we know any Dreamers that work with cloaking and really big weapons? Or any that work with either that are likely to work together? Assuming Hayseed is correct in assuming it's a mech anyway"

[Dorni]

"Do not worry, Keyton. If the Dream wills it, the Snatcher will be found in time."

The reverend looked up from where he'd been quietly studying the wreckage of the building's interior walls.

"Still, I must echo his concerns. Aren't military mechas a hundred feet tall? I am reluctant to believe that such a machine could approach such a heavily secured facility without being seen. Please, allow me to ask the Dream for guidance before we decide our course."

Spending a HP to ask the Dream what happened to the prison / how we find those responsible.

[HopeHubris]

"Kyton, no e. And when we fight the weather trio, one of you can take Blitz"

[herodofcows]

"Seen? Heck, sure!" Hayseed grinned, still running through Dreamer organizations in her head, "I'm plenty sure that people would have seen the mecha, but if it was one of ours, well, people might've assumed that it was supposed to be there? You know what they say, "assume makes a mASSive hole in U and Me!". But still, Mr . . . Kye-tonne (I'm sorry sweetie, just keep correcting me until I get it right!) makes an excellent point! Maybe we had a hypothetical Dreamer that hid the mecha or the laser! Maybe this Dreamer could actually PRODUCE lasers like the ones that we're describing! Good thing we have Mr. Way here to get us pointed right!"

Hayseed's smile, already nigh-Stepfordian, expands to almost frightening proportions.

"Don'tcha just love this job?" she asks beamingly to nobody and everybody in particular, "You may be in crisis, you may be under stress or under a gun, but you'll never be bored!"

Walking about with a spring in her step and still sorting through Dreamer organizations that might be suspect, she walks in through the gaping hole, looking at all of the areas that it pierced through before coming to a stop.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The only major Dreamer-related organizations that might have access to mechs, or other weaponry of this scale, is SIDE (specifically, OUT-SIDE) and mayyyyybe IDEA, although in the latter case, even if they did have a fully-functioning one, they wouldn't have the authorization codes for using it. But yeah, this stuff is high-end military-grade weaponry, and restricted accordingly. No one with feasible access to them has any obvious motive for using them to attack a SIDE headquarters.

With all of your concentration, you try to focus your powers. For a moment, there's nothing. Then a bright, blue-white flash fills your vision, a rumble like thunder echoes in your ears. For a moment, your vision is elsewhere. The sun is low on the horizon, and you see a two story white building with a sort of curving driveway/parking lot in front of it, forming a sort of concrete island of sidewalk around some grass and trees. A man in a SIDE uniform is entering the building. You don't recognize him, but your mind kind of flags him as bad, sort of like how when you're dreaming you might just identify people in your dream as someone you know even though the actual appearance doesn't quite match what they actually look like. The door closes and with another flash and rumble, the vision ends.

Chief Kerring gave Hayseed a flat stare at her continued good cheer.

"I didn't hear any word of mechs or military-scale laser weaponry being moved through the city or lost, but it should be easy enough to check out. Given the state that our electronics were in, it might be holding out too much hope that anything our security cameras caught survived the attack, but if the data's there, you should be able to access it from the computers in the building, if you can get them running again. Contact me the moment you learn anything actionable," she said, and headed off towards the parking lot.

[Dorni]

The Reverend inclined his head in acknowledgement of the correction, causing his necklace bearing the Eternal Dream symbol to jingle. "I apologize, Kyton. Please forgive my mistake."

The Reverend clasped that symbol and bowed his head in concentration. He'd never been able to describe it adequately, but he... 'reached' for that glimmer of power that granted him his visions. At various times he supposed it might be the Dream, one of the Deionist gods, the tapestry of Fate itself, or perhaps the Arch had a sense of humor. Whatever granted those visions had never bothered to explain itself or make its Will known, to his frustration. Or perhaps he was a blind man reaching out to something that wasn't Divine at all. Then the Vision hit him, and his frustration was swallowed by the familiar blinding light and thunder in his ears. He threw his head back, white light blazing from his open eyes as the vision took him.

The light died seconds later. The Reverend took a deep breath and faced the others. Just like that, the vision was over.

Typical. Never a straight answer. Perhaps it will mean something to the others.

"I saw a white building with a curving driveway, or perhaps a parking lot wrapped around some trees. There was man entering the building. His features were unclear except for the SIDE uniform that he was wearing." A pause. "I don't recognize the location. As for the man, I got a Bad feeling about him," he continued, making it clear he meant the capital letter. "but The Dream didn't make clear whether he is responsible for the breakout or if he knows something that would be of use. It might be that the Snatcher is wearing the body of a SIDE agent... or there might have been inside help."

[herodofcows]

Hayseed cracks her knuckles cheerily as she strides into the SIDE building. Damaged tech, bodies and blast residue preserved, a crime scene waiting to be peeled apart . . . yes, she could work with this. It's just like those crime scene investigation shows that Frank watches!

Heck, I even have the sunglasses for it! Neat-o!

The sight of her coworker's bodies doesn't bother her so much. Hayseed is well-accustomed to bodies. She makes a mental note to organize an office fundraiser for the victim's families. Maybe they could buy a fruit basket or something, or maybe a nice wine! Wouldn't that be nice?

Of course, when I die, I suppose I'll only want them to send the wine if Marsha and Julia are legal to drink. Wouldn't want wine to become the Mom's-dead-I'm-sad drink. Maybe just a fruit basket, then. I wonder how Marsha's dance recital is going?

After a moment's hesitation, she heads over to the computers. Selecting the least-damaged specimen, she tries to pull up security footage of the attack. Simultaneously, she texts her husband:

How's Marshmallow's dance recital going? Wish I could be there! Tell her to break a leg!

Gonna try to bring up security footage from the attack.

[roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Even the computers that weren't destroyed were still down, and whatever it was they were apparently in a worse state than just "off". Hayseed couldn't figure out how to get them up and running again.

[herodofcows]

Well, crap! I guess we're doing this the old-fashioned way!

Hayseed begins looking around at the bodies and wreckage, trying to find patterns. Behavior during combat was one of the many things IN-SIDE had drilled into her, and it stood to reason that the presence of a giant mech would prompt different actions during a firefight than, say, a determined team of Dreamers, or no obstruction at all (open the barn door and trust all the animals to run where they're needed?). But then again, these agents should have been trained for most of these eventualities, so what was so out of routine that they couldn't adapt?

And so on, and so forth, brain running in circles and mouth tunelessly humming . . . thus did Hayseed work.

Trying to see what the crime scene has to say, with special emphasis on whether or not there was anything large or exceedingly powerful shooting at the agents aside from the suddenly-freed inmates.

Investigation: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

It's going to take a while to investigate thoroughly, but as Hayseed begins the process, what becomes most quickly clear is that after the initial blast, the agents responded to an invading force. Definitely multiple attackers, and clearly powerful ones; the bodies trailed through the building along a few paths in several small clusters, indicating that the enemy had the initiative and kept it. They were never pinned down in one location, they just tore through the defenders and moved on before they could whelm a large enough response.

Most agents have injuries consistent with a directed energy discharge. A few have injuries that appear to be from some sort of high-velocity blunt impact.

Another vision manifests without warning. One moment you're seeing the SIDE building in front of you, the next everything is a dizzying, confusing whirl of colors and shadows in rapid motion. The image itself is unclear, but feelings come along with it. Anger and spite and a sort of fierce excitement. There's a flash of sudden pain, a blur of red.

You're left with an impression, words hovering in your consciousness, not heard, just there. "Three are coming."

The next moment, everything is normal again.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed feels a growing pit in her stomach as her investigation continues. A protracted firefight might have been one thing, but this . . . whoever had done this could not be stopped by the conventional measures that had been in place. And sure, these agents might not have been the best-trained SIDE agents in combat, but SIDE agents were still a sight better than most forces on the planet.

So, laser blasts and blunt impact. Blunt impact with no projectile traces usually meant super strength. Laser blasts . . . fine control from the device/Dreamer that initially blew open the building? Conventional weapons with a side of laser?

Dreamers, then, or conventional forces with technology so advanced as to make the distinction immaterial. And they'd freed the Dreamers that SIDE had kept imprisoned . . . not good at all.

Well, proactive steps! Hayseed thinks back to the poster that adorns her office. Hang in there, kitty!

Oh, humorous cat poster! Where would I be without you?

Reemerging from the office building, Hayseed keeps a grin firmly planted, despite her growing worry.

"Alrighty gang, we're looking for a minimum of two assailants, probably more. One likely has super-strength, or access to tech that bestows something similar. Another shoots lasers (again, tech or Dreamer). So, what say we lay into these Storm Runner kiddies and get some answers, hmm? Anybody got any leads?"

[Dodgeson]

Avery grins, flicking the stub of his cigar away and cracking his knuckles, hopping to his feet from the invisible hammock that he was reclining in.

"Finally you're talking my language, sorry I aint much help with the C.S.I stuff, not my department you know? Anyway these guys aren't subtle if we can get a police radio or something they're gonna tip their hand sooner rather than later."

[Dorni]

Caleb opened his mouth to respond to Hayseed but whatever the priest had been about to say died on his lips. He stood motionless, eyes glowing white as another Vision overtook him.

"Three are coming?" he wondered aloud as the light dimmed.

Three what? Anger, excitement, pain and so much red... Three battles?

He stopped his hand from shaking. The others couldn't see him nervous. "Mrs Hayseed, how secure is the facility?"

[herodofcows]

Hayseed eyes the young man with interest. Three are coming? Oh dear.

"It . . . has been known to be more secure," she says, eyes scanning the area with sudden interest. Her ExSpecs were sure nifty, but if they had incoming hostiles she'd have to actually be able to see the Dreamers to counteract them. And if they were homing in on their position . . .

Hmm. Well, this might seem confusing . . .

"Back in a jiff!"

The Mobility Suit has its limits, but she could always rely on it to give her a nice jumping boost whenever she needed it. Hayseed sends herself flying up to the nearest building, drawing her sniper rifle as she flies through the air. Immediately upon landing, she does a quick roll and conceals herself as best as she can. Setting up her rifle with practiced ease, she begins looking around for hostiles.

If the nice young man said there was something wrong . . . well, better safe than splattered.

Mobility (for the Leaping effect of the mobility suit. Have to beat an 11 to use, or a 15 for full effect.): [roll0]
Stealth (Using Hide in Plain Sight for sneakiness' sake): [roll1]
Perception, looking for enemies: [roll2]

[HopeHubris]

"Three what are coming?"
Kyton says, standing firmly on the ground with his own two feet, spreading all of his chains out in preparation for combat

[Dorni]

Well, Agent Hayseed was certainly excitable. He hadn't expected her to just rush off so quickly.

He smiled at Kyton's question. Wanting more information was a common reaction after one of his Visions, one he was used to dealing with. "I'm sorry, Mr Kyton, but The Dream is reveals only what we need to know. We must trust in its plan that we are given the guidance we need."

[HopeHubris]

"I'd trust 'The Dream' a whole lot more if it told us something actually useful, that cryptic bull**** isn't particularly high on my list of 'needs'."
Kyton says relaxing slightly, as he isn't even sure anything is coming

[Quellian-dyrae]

Hayseed would spot them first, but at the speed they were approaching, it was only by a matter of degrees. They were coming from the south, two of them flying in through the airspace above normal air traffic lanes, which were generally reserved for flight-capable Dreamers owing to their general lack of GPS-based lane correction, the third running across rooftops and leaping several buildings in a bound.

Dreamers. They all looked to be somewhere in their twenties. A dark-skinned, dark-haired woman who flew with both hands pointed behind her, jets of flame roaring from them. A fair-skinned, red-haired man flying beside her, though in an "upright" position rather than with his body pointed horizontally in the direction he was moving. And a pale-skinned, black-haired woman running along the rooftops, carrying what looked like a huge, medieval-style longbow - except composed of some sort of gleaming metal rather than bone, and with a quiver of thick arrows of dark metal on her back.

Hayseed could tell they were heading in the group's direction, but by the time that fact registered, they were pretty much there, moving at superhuman speed. Small sonic booms heralded their arrival, the fire-projecting woman yelling, "WOO!" she she hurled a concussive blast of flame at the already-battered SIDE building. None of the three appeared to notice Hayseed (even though the runner passed within fifteen feet of where she's hiding). The other flyer at least glances in the direction of the rest of the group, but doesn't seem interest in them, appearing to be concentrating on the building.

You notice their movements, the flyers in particular, are a bit wobbly. They appear to be intoxicated.

You recognize the three as Dreamer criminals who had all been previously incarcerated.

Jordan Mills, AKA Greatbow, is a paragon who uses her augmented strength, speed, and agility to wield that oversized bow. She's a capable archer, relying on sheer superhuman speed and power rather than trick shots and special arrows. A former member of Hero Corps, she was eventually jailed on multiple homicide counts when she took her "heroics" way, way too far.

Carla Derrin, AKA Rocket, a pyrokinetic. Her fire powers have a particularly strong concussive element, and she's known to heal quickly. One of those Dreamers that SIDE calls their "bread and butter", people who get their power, let it go to their head, and don't seem to realize that just because they're a hundred times more powerful than they used to be doesn't mean they're a hundred times more powerful than everyone else. Imprisoned for arson, destruction of property, and assault with a Dreamer power. No homicide counts though. Had a promising career as an actual rocket scientist before going off the deep end on acquiring powers.

Hank Thyme, no alias, a telekinetic. Pretty strong, pretty skilled, but fairly generic as telekinetics go, had little interest in his powers beyond mundane utility, until he went missing for a couple weeks and then came back ranting and raving and basically declaring war on SIDE. It ended predictably. His mental stability is still considered uncertain.

As far as you know, none of the three had any prior affiliation with each other.

They're not attacking any of you directly at the moment, but if any of you want to attack them initiative is:

Hayseed: [roll0]
Avery: [roll1]
Kyton: [roll2]
Prophet: [roll3]
Enemies: [roll4].

Anyone who rolls higher than the enemies may act immediately, otherwise wait until after the enemies' first round. Hayseed, you have a surprise round; if you lose initiative, you may still act in the first round, and if you win initiative you may act twice. Either way, the enemies are considered Vulnerable for your first round of attacks unless they have Uncanny Dodge.

Even if you lose initiative, you can do things like talk and whatnot in the first round if you wish.

EDIT: Hayseed, you're on turn with a double round if you wish to attack. Everyone else can take non-combat actions if desired.

[herodofcows]

Upon getting an eyeful of the coming opposition, Hayseed allows herself an irritated exhalation. She remembers hearing about most of those schlubs. She'd even felt a certain sympathy for Greatbow when hearing about her case around the water cooler. Sure, Hero Corps weren't supposed to do that sort of thing, but when you got down to it, how different was that from what Hayseed did on a fairly regular basis? A little jail time, a little training, and little miss Mills might have found herself on the right end of an IN-SIDE work release program! She knows about Thyme and Derrin more peripherally, but when you get right down to it, who wouldn't let Dreamer powers go to their head a little?

It's a damn shame, is what it is. Hayseed clicked her tongue sympathetically. They're just babies. A little helping hand, and who knows what they could accomplish?

Really, a shame . . .

BLAM

. . . that her training told her to aim carefully and then take her shot at Rocket. If Hayseed had her 'druthers, she'd send one round at Greatbow as a friendly how-d'you-do and then close the distance with her Mobility suit and begin a bit of quarterstaff beatdown. Bow against stave, just like in Robin Hood! Hayseed had always liked Robin Hood.

But still, Rocket is the only one to have aggressed so far, and training is training, Hayseed reflects to herself as she jumps away from her sniper rifle and hides nearby (hoping to lure someone into melee range as they investigate the shots).

And if you don't listen to your training, well, where does that leave you? Hang in there, kitty!

Ack, stupid wobbly drunks! she adds to herself, seeing that she'd utterly missed her target, No more drinks for you!

Okay, so, surprise round will see Hayseed taking the Aim action against Rocket. For her actual turn, she fires, then moves away from her rifle and hides (quarterstaff at the ready) to take on anyone that comes to investigate the shots.

Attack (Aiming, Precise Attack, Power Attack): [roll0], DC 25 Damage on a hit.

Stealth (Hide in Plain Sight): [roll1]

[Dorni]

Prophet glanced outside as the building shook, confirming what he knew he'd find.

Kyton received an arch look. "Three wayward dreamers outside. Shall we assist agent Hayseed?"

[herodofcows]

You know . . . Hayseed thinks to herself, there are days where it can be hard to look on the bright side.

She takes a rueful glance from her perch on the rooftop. Sure enough, she could tell that she'd been made.

By Thyme and . . . Greatbow?

Ohh, I WILL be able to fight bow-on-staff! Hayseed grins to herself slightly, Well, isn't that nice? Sometimes all it takes is a positive attitude and the Universe comes through! Thanks, Universe!

She tips a wink at the Universe even as she readies herself to be fired upon. Luckily, her ExSpexs give her . . .

Wait. Drat. She'd forgotten to activate her ExSpexs.

Hoooboy.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The shot went wide, but it drew the Dreamers' attention. Rocket, being the one who had been shot at, flew rapidly around the area to try and find who had fired, but even though a couple times she passed within feet of Hayseed's hiding place, she couldn't spot her.

Not so with the other two. Hank's eyes weren't even pointed in her direction, but it was apparent that he was able to perceive her by some means nonetheless, as the very air around Hayseed seemed to solidify around her. Greatbow was a roof away, but nonetheless took aim and fired almost instantly when the shot rang out, putting half a dozen thick metal arrows in the air in the space of a breath, and not with subtle twanging noises either; the shots sounded with cracks like gunfire, though it didn't serve as much of a warning, seeing as how they would reach their target before the sound itself.

Rocket:
Move and Standard: Fly around the area trying to find whoever shot at her.
Current Position: 50' in the air in front of the SIDE building.

Hank:
Standard: Attempt to Grab Hayseed with Telekinetic Grasp. This Perception-range attack hits automatically. Strength or Dodge DC 20 vs. Grab.
Current Position: 80' in the air in front of the SIDE building, 30' north of Rocket.

Greatbow:
Standard: Rapid Shot at Hayseed at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage. Hit. DC 27, or DC 30 if Hayseed is successfully Grabbed.
Current Position: On the roof of a seventeen-story building, across the street from the front of the SIDE building.

Current Status:
Hayseed: Normal (Pending).
Avery: Normal.
Kyton: Normal.
Prophet: Normal.

Rocket: Normal.
Greatbow: Normal.
Hank: Normal.

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

"Ooooh FIDDLESTICKS!" Hayseed yowls as she feels the air solidify about her. Leaping and twisting as best as she can, she manages only to slightly loosen Thyme's grip on her. Which means . . .

"Fiddlesticks times TWO!"

Rooted to the spot, Hayseed does her best to deflect the swarm of arrows that descends upon her. She manages well enough with the quarterstaff, but still feels a shooting pain as an arrow grazes her side. It stings like a . . .

"TRIPLE FIDDLESTICKS! And I do NOT say that lightly, young lady!" she growls, hefting her quarterstaff. She winces, suddenly, as she realizes that she's adopting the same tone with Greatbow that she uses with Marsha whenever her daughter comes home past her curfew. Now, THAT wasn't okay!

What was that thing that Agent Pasco had suggested? Oh, right!

"Greatbow!" she calls out, in her most conciliatory tone, "I'm sorry to have yelled, but I FEEL like smashing your skull in when you shoot me with a bunch of arrows."

"I feel" statements. THAT'S the ticket!

Regardless of the actual situation, Hayseed is pleased with herself. There's ALWAYS time to work on being a more open and positive person!

Hayseed has no Hero Points and is Bruised 1, Immobile, and Vulnerable.

[HopeHubris]

"She might not have needed as much assisting if you actually understood your own visions"

Kyton throws his chains out at Rocket, the only enemy in reach


Okay, so:
Attack Roll: [roll0] DC25 with multiattack
If that hits, there is also the electric shock
1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, 3rd degree: Paralyzed, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 20

[Dorni]

"Her destiny doesn't end here."

Standard: Deflect centered on Hayseed. New Defense: 1d10+20
Deflected attacks are reflected at the telekinetic at +10 attack.

[Dodgeson]

Criminy! Hayseed wasn't having a great time up there and she was the brains of this outfit, gotta protect the brains or this whole thing could fall apart. Her attackers were too far away for him to reach which only really left him with one option, luckily getting attention wasn't something Avery had ever struggled with.

"Hey William Tell! Howd'ya like these apples!?" Whirling both his arms around like pinwheels, Avery hurls a seemingly endless barrage of the shiny red fruit towards Greatbow.

Free Action: Toon Physics Array to 'I Never Studied Gravity'
Move Action: Hammer Space to "Barrage O'Fruit" Ranged Bludgeoning Damage 10 (Multiattack) [30]
Standard Action: All-Out Attack for +2 at Greatbow [roll0] DC25+Multiattack Toughness save if that hits.

HP 1
Status -2 Active Defense

[herodofcows]

Hayseed bursts out laughing. William Tell! Oh, that's funny!

"Hey, thanks guys! I knew that we'd have a good working relationship!" she beams, wiggling her way out of Thyme's force field. Sprinting to the edge of the roof, she leaps off the edge and her Mobility suit sends her flying towards Greatbow. She lands as close to Greatbow as possible and quickly tries to conceal herself in the fog and the mist, but not before calling out to her new target:

"There's still time to surrender, dear!"

Mobility to get out of the grab: [roll0]
DC 15 Mobility for jump in Mobility Suit: [roll1]
Additional Mobility to land/balance on any uneven surface that Hayseed might be hitting with her jump: [roll2]

Stealth (Hide in Plain Sight): [roll3]

Hayseed is Bruised 1, no HP.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Well, well, ladies, looks like we caught an age-" Hank began saying, before Hayseed broke free of his grasp, and the rest of the team attacked them.

Kyton's chain caught Rocket solidly, and she winced back from the blow and twitched some from the shock, but it didn't seem to affect her much other than drawing her attention. She pointed both hands and fired a concussive blast of flame down upon the three heroes on the ground that blew the crime scene poles nearby in all directions as melted slag.

Greatbow dodged Avery's bombardment of apples in a blur of superhuman speed. Several of them came close to hitting, but she managed to escape unscathed, quickly casing around to try to spot Hayseed and then firing a barrage of arrows her way. But the Prophet's protective field caught the bolts and sent them flying right back at her, Greatbow leaping away and avoiding the reflected volley by inches.

Hank focused on the team below, waves of telekinetic power rushing off of him to slam into them like a tremendous pillow being wielded by a fifty-story giant that could knock foes off-balance and leave them reeling.

Rocket:
Standard: Rocket Blast on Kyton, Avery, and Prophet. Everyone make a DC 20 Dodge check for half. Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Strength or Mobility DC 13 vs. Trip.

Greatbow:
Move: Attempt to detect Hayseed at [roll0]. Success
Standard: Attack Hayseed if detection succeeds, Avery if not, at [roll1]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage. On a miss against Hayseed, attack is Reflected at [roll2] (Toughness: [roll3]). Miss. Reflected. Reflection misses.

Hank:
Standard: Telekinetic Slam on Kyton, Avery, and Prophet. Everyone make a DC 20 Dodge check for half. Fortitude DC 20 vs. Dazed+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless/Incapacitated+Paralyzed Affliction.

Current Status:
Hayseed: 1 Bruise.
Avery: Normal (Pending).
Kyton: Normal (Pending).
Prophet: Normal (Pending).

Rocket: Normal.
Greatbow: Normal.
Hank: Normal.

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed nods appreciatively at Prophet for the save before turning her full attention to Greatbow. That young lady and her arrows . . . trouble! Which means . . .

Thwack!

Hayseed quickly closes the distance between them and tries to disarm her opponent of her signature weapon. She follows this up immediately with a trip attack, panting at having to move so fast.

Whew! Being old is no fun at all! she thinks ruefully to herself, gasping for breath.

Okay, using my Move action to get into appropriate range of Greatbow (roll for Mobility if I have to use the Leaping action to do so: [roll0])

Using Extra Effort (Hayseed is now fatigued). And for these two attacks, do tell me if I've misunderstood the rules . . .

Attack 1: Disarm: [roll1] vs. Parry. On a hit, [roll2] vs. Greatbow's Strength (opposed)
Attack 2: Trip (using Accurate Attack +5, meaning -5 to our opposed Mobility checks unless I'm much mistaken): [roll3] vs. Parry. On a hit, [roll4] vs. Greatbow's Mobility (opposed)

Hayseed is Bruised 1 and Fatigued

[Dodgeson]

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" Avery howls as he's slammed face first in to the ground by Rocket's blast. In a panicked flailing of limbs he leaps in to the air, leaving behind a scorched outline of his body, desperately trying to beat out a stubborn flame on his precious hat.

"That's how you wanna play it huh?"

Glaring up at Rocket he squeezes the top of his bowler like a particularly stubborn tube of toothpaste, launching a veritable mortar-shot at her composed of pineapples. Natures deadliest fruit!

Regeneration removes a bruise
Free Action: Stand up from prone
Move Action: Fly 30 feet towards Rocket
Standard Action: +2 All-Out Attack at Rocket [roll0] DC25+Multiattack Toughness Save if that hits

HP 1
Status -2 Active Defense

[Dorni]

Prophet lifted his head groggily after being blasted off his feet by the force of Rocket's blast. He tried getting up but his legs didn't seem to want to listen just yet. Instead he rolled onto his hands and knees, trying to get himself back on his feet and willing the Dream's blessing on those nearby.

Standard: Deflect on Avery, Kyton, and himself. New Defense: [roll0]. Attacks are Reflected at +10 attack.

[HopeHubris]

"****, that hurts"
Kyton swears, trying to zap Rocket out of the sky again


Hero Point re-roll on the telekinetic attack: [roll0]

Attack on Rocket: [roll1], DC25 (+multi, if applicable)
DC20 affliction

[Quellian-dyrae]

Greatbow kept hold of her bow, but should have been paying more attention to her footing. Down she went, but what with being a sniper, she was well-trained at fighting from the ground, taking aim with her bow, steadying her breathing, and loosing another rapid volley of arrows at Hayseed.

Avery's pineapple belted Rocket solidly, giving her a black eye, although small fires under her skin seemed to be slowly burning the damage away. With their opposition softened, Rocket flew down to engage, dodging past Kyton's chain on the move. She wasn't able to realize the importance of the aura that Prophet had placed upon his companions. Rocket launched herself like her namesake straight for Avery, aiming to pay him back for the pineapple with a powerful, flaming punch that launched for his face like a well you know... But Prophet's shield absorbed the force of the blow, reflecting it back on her in full which, combined with her own forward momentum, sent her staggering back, reeling. "Whu...?"

Hank, meanwhile, focused his attention on Kyton, and his attention struck the chain-controller like a blow to the chest.

Greatbow:
Standard Action: Steady Rapid Shot on Hayseed at [roll0], no attack penalty thanks to Prone Fighting. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage. Hit

Rocket:
Move Action: Fly into Close range of Avery.
Standard Action: Rocket Punch at [roll1]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 22 vs. Vulnerable/Stunned/Incapacitated Affliction, and Strength or Flight Rank DC 22 vs. getting sent flying one Distance Rank per point failed by, to a max of 10.
If attack misses, it gets Reflected at [roll2]. In which case, Toughness: [roll3], Fortitude: [roll4], Flight: [roll5]. Miss. Reflected. Reflection hits. Bruised and Staggered.

Hank:
Standard Action: Telekinetic Grasp on Kyton. Perception Range attack; Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage.

Current Status:
Hayseed: 1 Bruise (Pending).
Avery: Normal.
Kyton: 1 Bruise (Pending).
Prophet: Normal.

Rocket: 2 Bruises, Staggered (Regenerates next turn).
Greatbow: Normal.
Hank: Normal.

All PCs are on turn.

[HopeHubris]

"Can someone take out that telekinetic bastard"
Kyton says through gritted teeth, continuing to throw electrified chains at the only target in reach
"And **** you too, Rocket"
He says as he connects with a few chains


Attack: [roll0], Multiattack, DC25+x
DC20 fort save

[herodofcows]

Hayseed tumbles out of the way of the volley of arrows. Most she dodges easily, but one comes within a hair's breadth of her left eye and only an errant twirl of her quarterstaff bats it aside.

Within that one millisecond between threat and safety, she has a flash-forward:

Frank and her daughters at home, wondering where she is.

A knock on the door. Frank answers.

A SIDE agent, looking mournful.

Confusion. Rage. Hurt.

A funeral, her girls crying, Frank confused and trying to be there for his daughters, distant relatives not knowing what to say.

She'll never get to see Marsha dance again.

She'll never watch Julia finally come into her own as her genius little girl.

She'll never . . . Frank . . .

And all because she hadn't taken some punk Dreamer seriously.

She's had this flash-forward before. Every time a bullet gets too close, or a Dreamer punches too hard, or a psychic gets under the ExSpexs.

Her face goes blank, slack. Activating the ExSpexs, she fixes Greatbow with a look. She collapses her quarterstaff down to baton-length and gets in close. Her eyes quickly dart over her opponent's body. Nose, sphenoid, zygomatic process, temporal bone . . .

Giving Hayseed a flash-forward is hazardous to your health. In fact, it has a fatality rate on par with some particularly nasty viral strains.

Move: Activate the ExSpexs (Fortitude).
Standard: All-Out Power Attack (-5 to Defenses next turn): [roll0] vs. Parry, Damage DC 30+Multiattack.

[Dodgeson]

"Telekinetic? I got just the thing. Say hello to my little friend you two-bit spoon bender!"

Taking aim at Hank, Avery whips a Thompson out of nowhere and opens fire, casings raining down bellow him. Not bullet casings, oh no, as strange as he is Avery's a hero and wouldn't dare use a real gun. These are pie tins.

Move Action: Hammer Space to "Custard Pie Typewriter" Ranged Affliction 10 (Impaired/Disabled/Unaware, Dodge)(Improved Crit, Multiattack)(Instant Recovery, Limited to Vision) Linked to Ranged Damage 6 (Improved Crit, Multiattack) [11+19]
Standard Action: +2 All-Out Attack at Hank [roll0] DC20 Dodge Check and DC21 Toughness Check if that hits

HP 1
Status -2 Active Defense

[Dorni]

No longer woozy, Caleb pushed himself back to his feet.

He had to admire Hayseed. There weren't many Sleepers who had the guts to fight a physically blessed Dreamer head on. A little Blessing wouldn't hurt either.

Move: Stand up
Standard: Deflect on Hayseed. New Defense: [roll0]. Attacks reflected at +10 attack

[Quellian-dyrae]

Before Rocket could begin to recover, Kyton's chain slammed her full in the face, dropping her unconscious to the ground. The flames that had been repairing her injuries went out.

Greatbow rolled and spun, but even experienced at fighting prone and taking advantage of her hasted speed, she couldn't keep ahead of Hayseed's staff, the SIDE agent well-trained in compensating for superhumanly-fast opponents. Greatbow took several hits to spots that were vulnerable even after considering augmented toughness, forced momentarily on the defensive. But even caught in close-quarters, she was still a paragon, and lashed out in return with bone-crushing kicks.

Hank kept acting like an annoyingly apathetic psychic who didn't need to do things like move or emotion or so much as scrunch up his eyes a little bit to use his powers. Avery's pies just flew harmlessly around him, every one missing. Three to one odds weren't ideal, though, and Hank responded to them with another blast of telekinetic force vying to slam the three to paste.

Greatbow:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Rapid Brawling on Hayseed at [roll0], critting on 16+. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage. On a miss, attack is Reflected at [roll1] (Toughness [roll2]). Crit. Toughness DC 32 thanks to Multiattack.

Hank:
Standard: Telekinetic Slam on Avery, Kyton, and Prophet. Dodge DC 20 for half, Fortitude DC 20 vs. Dazed+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless/Incapacitated+Paralyzed Affliction.

Current Status:
Hayseed: 1 Bruise (Pending).
Avery: Normal (Pending).
Kyton: 2 Bruises (Pending).
Prophet: Normal (Pending).

Rocket: INCAPACITATED.
Greatbow: Bruised.
Hank: Normal.

All PCs are on turn.

[HopeHubris]

"You're next, you psychic bastard"
Kyton shouts as he starts swinging along his chains as they propel him up the side of the building, launching off at the psychic when he's high enough up

Chains fly out, attempting to strike and entangle the flying man



Move action: Swing up building and out to the guy
Standard: Chain Grab, Damage 10 (DC25) DC20 dodge for half effect, also triggers fast grab
Grab Check: In OOC

[Dodgeson]

Avery squeezes down hard on the trigger as the blast slams in to him, firing wildly towards Hank as he tries to pull himself back together.

Standard Action:+2 All-Out Attack at Hank [roll0] DC20+Multiattack Dodge Check and DC21+Multiattack Toughness Check if that hits

DC15 Fortitude Save against Dazed/Vulnerable [roll1] If that fails Regeneration removes Dazed

HP 1
Status -2 Active Defense

((Well at least he has an excuse this time))

[herodofcows]

"WOOOF" Hayseed wheezes, allowing the kick to catapult her backwards. Even with some lucky reflexes, she can't fully escape the power of Greatbow's blows. The young woman hits like a freight train. Why does she even bother with the bow?

Rolling back, Hayseed feels herself clearly slowed and punch-drunk. She's in no condition to go head-to-head with someone who was so clearly in better physical condition than she was.

That's fine, though! she says to herself internally, cheery smile quickly returning, The best defense is to be offensive!

Returning her quarterstaff to its full length, Hayseed begins twirling it in a repetitive whirlwind. It looks very impressive, but it's primarily a defensive technique. Any hits she would manage to land on Greatbow would be more luck than intent.

"You know," she grins, still slightly short on breath from a superpowered kick to the stomach but otherwise having resumed her dandy ol' mood, "You were wasted in the Hero Corps, sweetie. You would make an absolute PEACH of an IN-SIDE agent. No matter what happens here, I'm more than happy to be a reference on your CV if you decide to apply! I know young people these days are having a hard time with employment and all that . . ."

No Move action.

Standard: Defensive Attack (+5 to active defenses): [roll0], DC 25+Multiattack

EDIT: . . . Okay, but seriously though. Am I God? Or, like, am I about to have a series of TERRIBLE rolls?
EDIT 2: NOT A CRIT, though. Damn. Still awesome!

Hayseed is Bruised 2 and fatigued

[Dorni]

Prophet walked to the edge of the building, ducking behind the destroyed edge of the wall and leaning out to observe the fight. He wasn't afraid of the combat. His faith would protect him. Taking cover helps.

He drew a sharp breath as Hayseed barely rolled away from the Paragon's flurry of attacks. He raised his hand in prayer. "Dream, Bind Her."

Move: Move edge of opening in the building, using the wall as cover
Standard: Curse Greatbow with Affliction (Ranged, Limited Degree, Cumulative, Extra Condition (Impaired + Vulnerable, Stunned + Defenseless)) DC 20 Will.
Attack [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Hank took a solid walloping from the lashing chains, but any that tried to entangle him were forced off as fast as they could wrap around him by his own telekinetic powers. The pies he still had enough time to react to as they flew at him, once more knocking the barrage away.

Greatbow was a fairly disciplined, focused individual. There were not too many things that one could say, in the heat of battle, that would have distracted her from the fray. But Hayseed managed to find one of them. Her earnest offer brought a momentary, surprised pause to the Dreamer's fighting, and Hayseed capitalized wonderfully with a well placed blow with her full weight behind it, cracking a couple of the Dreamer's ribs and drawing a pained cry.

Prophet's attack came close, but it was a hard shot, with Greatbow lying on her back on the roof of a building seventeen stories up. The energy splashed harmlessly against the corner of the building.

Badly hurt and with her opponent on guard, Greatbow scrambled to try and reestablish range. Hank, seeing that the battle was turning against them, went for a more indirect strategy. Hayseed would feel a sudden, hard tug as the telekinetic tried to yank her clear off the building and hold her suspended in the air, seventeen stories up!

Prophet unfortunately just misses due to the -5 to attack Prone characters with a ranged attack (although actually, seventeen stories up, there may be a range penalty as well, and there probably ought to be a cover modifier at that stage too, really).

Greatbow:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attempt to stand as a free action at [roll0] and leap to a nearby building. If check fails, will simply stand.
New Position: Roof of a twenty story building, about 80' south of Hayseed, diagonally across the street from the SIDE building.

Hank:
Standard: Use Telekinetic Grasp to grab Hayseed. Perception-range attack, so Strength or Dodge DC 20 to avoid the grab.
Move: If Grab succeeds, attempt to pull Hayseed off the building and hold her in open air, which would be Strength DC 20 to resist.

Current Status:
Hayseed: 1 Bruise (Pending).
Avery: Normal.
Kyton: 2 Bruises.
Prophet: Normal.

Rocket: INCAPACITATED.
Greatbow: 2 Bruises, Staggered.
Hank: 1 Bruise.

All PCs are on turn.

[HopeHubris]

"Eyes over here, ********"
Kyton says, just as annoyed that the psychic is ignoring him as he was while being attacked by him

In his irritation, he gets sloppy, throwing leaving himself open for an easy counter, and at the same time causing his attacks to go wide


Move: follow if necessary
Standard: Attack, rolls in OOC

[herodofcows]

Hayseed feels the air begin to harden, but she's ready this time. A quick roll to the side, bolstered by her defensive footwork, and Thyme's telekinetic trickiness is only so much wind.

"Ohhh, you're rustling my jimmies, Mister Man!" she calls up to Thyme, wagging her finger playfully, "I'll be back to YOU in just a second!"

So saying, she takes a running jump off the building, activating her Mobility suit at the last minute for a quick boost. She lands near Greatbow and collapses into a quick combat roll, bringing herself low behind the other woman's guard for a quick and easy shot at her lower back.

"Of course, you'd have to go through some psych screening," she continues, rising back into a defensive stance and circling her foe, "And we'd have to give you a new field identity . . . how attached are you to the bow-and-arrow thing, dear?"

She has a brief flashback to one of those young adult novels that Julie is reading. She'd made a point of downloading the audiobooks for her daughter's literary choices for stakeouts or routine tailing missions. It broke the monotony, and it was always nice to be able to bond with her daughter over literature!

"How about a nice sword? I hear those are popular these days!"

Move: Mobility Suit jump over to Greatbow's new perch. Mobility: [roll0]

Standard: Accurate Attack [roll1], DC 22+Multiattack damage.

Hayseed is Bruised 2 and Fatigued

[Dodgeson]

Avery continues as he means to go on unloading more of his seemingly unending supply of weaponized pastries in Hanks direction and hoping that something connects as he tries to close the gap between himself and the telekinetic, rushing up a hill with no actual substance to it.

Move Action: Move 30 feet towards Hank
Standard Action: +2 All-Out Attack at Hank [roll0] DC20+Multiattack Dodge Check and DC21+Multiattack Toughness Check if that hits

HP 1
Status -2 Active Defense

[Dorni]

"Be Bound!" Prophet barked, his words carrying his power to the floating telekinetic.

Move: Move edge of opening in the building, using the wall as cover
Standard: Curse Greatbow with Affliction(Impaired + Vulnerable, Stunned + Disabled) DC 20 Will (Perception, Cumulative, Extra Condition, Sense-Dependent (Auditory), Limited Degree).

[Quellian-dyrae]

Well, it wasn't a banner round for our heroes, but really the bad guys didn't do any better so whatever. Training or no training, there wasn't much substitute for footwork; back on her feet, Greatbow was once again able to bring her super-speed to bear; Hayseed managed to sneak one strike past her guard, but she turned and took it to the shoulder without flinching. Hank, coming under attack by all three of the others, continued just standing impassively, floating in the air not moving at all with a slightly bored, slightly amused expression on his face as Kyton's chain flew past wildly, casually deflecting Avery's pies aside and idly shrugging off Prophet's curse with a psychic's formidable willpower.

Greatbow's lips twisted into a grimace of distaste as Hayseed suggested a sword over her bow. Not one to waste words, she elected to communicate the reasoning behind her chosen weapon with a demonstration.

Hank, meanwhile...just seemed to float there.

Greatbow:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Steady Rapid Shot on Hayseed at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage.

Hank:
Standard: ??? at [roll1].

Current Status:
Hayseed: 1 Bruise (Pending).
Avery: Normal.
Kyton: 2 Bruises.
Prophet: Normal.

Rocket: INCAPACITATED.
Greatbow: 2 Bruises, Staggered.
Hank: 1 Bruise.

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed rolls a moment too late, and the arrow lodges into her thigh. The Mobility suit keeps the projectile from passing through with full force, but the servos in the leg are offline and she can feel the arrow digging into her leg.

"All right, all right, keep the bow!" Hayseed trills stridently, to cover how much that had HURT.

Time for a different approach. Hayseed backs up abruptly, vanishing into the mist.

Dazed

Move action: Hide in Plain Sight. Gonna Batman this until Dazed wears off.

Stealth [roll0]

Hayseed is Bruised 3, Dazed for 1 round, and Fatigued

[HopeHubris]

"Oh, come on, it's no fun if you don't fight back"
Kyton says, continuing to over-extend himself with his attacks to try and provoke a reaction, or take out the annoying psychic, both work

He also continues to miss


Attack: [roll0]
Chain Shock
(Grab? [roll1], I'm gonna roll these, more fun, who doesn't like rolling lots of dice? :smalltongue:)

[Dorni]

Prophet watched in dismay as he felt the energy of his curse parted by the psychic's strong will. But where one door was closed, there was always another. He raised a hand in in prayer again and reached for the power that granted him his Visions. Calling a vision was hard, but calling a fragment of insight was easy.

"Dream, please guide Kyton's hand," he intoned.

Standard: Aid Kyton using a Ranged 'Curse' + Teamwork. [roll0] Kyton gets +5 to attack
Move: None

[Dodgeson]

Avery keeps moving shoulder first towards his target, grumbling all the while. "Rassa frassa no good stupid cheap pie gizmo!" In a fit of anger he hurls his Thompson in Hank's direction before throwing his hands behind himself and putting all his weight behind a sweeping blow with an enormous mallet.

Move Action: Move 20 feet towards Hank
Move Action: Hammer Space to "Acme Mallet" Damage 10 Linked to Affliction 10 (Dazed&Impaired/Disabled&Stunned, Fort)(Cumulative, Extra Condition)(Limited Degree) [10+20]
Extra Effort for a Standard Action: +2 All-Out Attack at Hank [roll0] DC25 Toughness Save and DC20 Fortitude Save if that hits

HP: 1
Condition: -2 Active Defenses & Fatigued

[Quellian-dyrae]

Kyton's chain was deflected by Hank's telekinetic shield...but this time with far greater force, launched right back him by the psychic's augmented barrier. Of course, since Kyton can, ya know, control chains, it basically stops before it even gets halfway to him.

Avery's tommy gun received the same treatment, but the hammer was another story. The Acme Mallet smashed clean through the barrier despite the additional concentration that Hank had invested into it, giving him a solid wallop upside the head. The psychic reeled, knocked momentarily senseless by the attack, and lost concentration on his powers, falling eighty feet to the street below.

Greatbow, unable to locate Hayseed and seeing Hank getting trashed, turned and fired a volley of shots at the hammer-wielding Hero. But her injuries throw off her aim, and they all go wide.

Kyton's chain is Reflected by Hank's Deflect power at [roll0]. Miss.

Hank falls 80' for rank 8 falling damage, Toughness DC 23. In addition to his bruise, he takes -5 for being Disabled, so [roll1]. Bruised and Staggered
Fortitude to throw off Affliction (which best I can tell also includes the -5 for Disabled): [roll2]. Fail

Greatbow:
Move Action: Staggered.
Standard Action: Steady Rapid Shot at Avery at [roll3]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage. Miss

EDIT: What a...sorry bunch of rolls...

Current Status:
Hayseed: 2 Bruises.
Avery: Fatigued.
Kyton: 2 Bruises.
Prophet: Normal.

Rocket: INCAPACITATED.
Greatbow: 2 Bruises, Staggered.
Hank: 3 Bruises, Staggered, Stunned+Disabled (Fort DC 20 Ends).

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed smiles slightly to herself as Greatbow sends out her next volley. Lurking unseen, about to lay into a weakened and vulnerable foe . . . This was where the fun came in.

Picking her moment when Greatbow has her back turned, she retracts her quarterstaff and lunges for a solid blow across her foe's head.

"Another benefit of IN-SIDE . . ."

SMACK.

". . . they teach you not to take your eye off the ball!" she finishes, smirking at her collapsed foe as she vanishes back into the mist.

Okay, gonna do a move-by action wherein Hayseed emerges from the fog, smacks Greatbow, and then vanishes back into the fog.

Move: As described. Stealth: [roll0]

Attack: All-Out Power Attack: [roll1], DC 30+Multiattack Damage, -5 to active defenses.

[Dodgeson]

Avery bends down and shields his eyes with one hand to watch Hank plummet, wincing when he hits the ground. Straightening up he tightly hugs the mallet, planting a kiss here it made contact with the telekinetic with a loud 'MWAH'. Pressing a button that doesn't exist he leans against the elevator that isn't there and swigs from a silver flask as he slowly descends.

Move Action X2: Move 30 feet towards the ground

HP 1
Condition Fatigued

[HopeHubris]

With the psychic appearing to be vulnerable, pretty damn vulnerable actually, Kyton tries one last wild flurry to put him down, feeling the effects of Prophet's aid
"Okay, maybe you aren't useless"
He says as his electrified chains slam into the falling Hank


Move Action: Jump off building after him (safe fall 2, should be fine)

Standard:
More wild attacks
[roll0] (+5 aid, I guess?)
Grab: [roll1]

[Quellian-dyrae]

While Greatbow was distracted, Hayseed caught her full in the back of the head with her staff, right where the back of her skull met her spine. The Dreamer dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Hank, battered and bruised, head spinning, unable to so much as solve first-grade math problems let alone telekinetic fight off three skilled Dreamers, couldn't offer any more resistance than weakly shaking his head as Kyton dropped down and with one more solid smack left him completely senseless.

Everyone earns a :smallcool: Hero Point!

[herodofcows]

Hayseed quickly slips a mini-tracer into the tongue of Greatbow's boot. After all, it wouldn't do to have her foe wake up and skedaddle while they were mopping up!

"Alllll RIGHT!" Hayseed yells delightedly, leaping with the full force of her Mobility suit and twirling her quarterstaff impressively, "Now let's see about YOU, Mister . . . ahhh, man!"

She surveys the two utterly wrecked Dreamers that her colleagues had taken care of. True, she was slightly put out that she didn't get the chance to spar with the telekinetic, but . . . oh, well!

"Nicely done, y'all!" she grins, and then pulls out her communicator, "Hayseed to Command, three Dreamers for pickup, designates Greatbow, Rocket, and Hank Thyme. I'm sure y'all are busy as all heck over there, but I'd be super appreciative if you could come get 'em! Thanks a buncharooni!"

So saying, she collects her sniper rifle off the roof and lands down next to her compatriots. Smiling broadly at them all, she asks:

"So, which one do ya wanna wake up and interrogate?"

[roll0] Stealth vs. Greatbow's Perception (if/when she wakes up).

[Dodgeson]

A bored looking Avery slowly descends to reach the rest of the group, perking up the instant his feet touch solid ground, stashing his mallet it his hat he nudges the downed telekinetic with his foot. "I say we use this schmoe. He's got moves but he should be easier to deal with than Little Miss Firecracker here." Reaching in to his sleeve he pull out a large burlap sack. "We put this over his head, make it harder to use his powers, and..." he points to Kyton and Hayseed "...you two do good cop/bad cop"

[herodofcows]

"Alrighty!" grins Hayseed, fitting the burlap sack over Thyme's head, "I'll be taking the good cop role, if it's all the same to Mr. Key-ton! It's harder to scowl and grumble at my age, don'tcha know, and I haven't done an interrogation in donkey's years."

Having placed the sack over Thyme's head (OOC: Check needed?), a thought suddenly strikes her.

"Could somebody maybe go and keep an eye on the young lady with the bow? I'd wanted to offer her a job with IN-SIDE, and we can't do that if she's run off, can we?"

So saying, she turns around and starts slapping Thyme's head lightly.

"Now, wake up! Rise and shine, Mister Thyme! We're just going to want to ask you a few teensy questions, if you please!" she trills in a voice well-suited from rousing glowering teenagers from slumber.

[Quellian-dyrae]

It took a few tries - Kyton had given him quite the smack-down with that last shot - but eventually Hank became cognizant enough to stir and groan, "Wha...?"

[HopeHubris]

"Kyton, and it's hard to look intimidating with lots of spike-y electrified chains when he has a bag over his head and can't see them, though I guess he has felt them enough to know some fear"
Kyton says before he wakes up

[Dodgeson]

Hammer Space to "Burlap Beatdown" Affliction 10 (Hindered&Vulnerable&Visually Impaired/Defenseless&Immobile&Visually Disabled/Paralyzed&Visually Unaware)(Affects Other, Extra Condition x2)(Grab-Based) [20]

"I got it." Picking a discarded apple up off the ground, Avery shines it on his shirt as he begins his walk up the building where Hayseed floored Greatbow.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed nods at Kyton, and quickly hisses "You'll do fine, dear!"

Turning back to Thyme, she begins pacing around him, twirling her baton.

"Mister Thyme! Good morning and how d'you do! Now, I know you're probably an eensy bit miffed right now, but my associates and I need your help! If you could give us some idea of what happened when you were broken out, maybe give us a description of the people who freed you . . . well, I can't imagine it's been fun being imprisoned by SIDE, Mister Thyme, and helping us out could go a LONG way towards getting you into a more comfortable situation. Whaddayasay, buddy-boy?"

Hayseed then gestures at Kyton and Prophet, mouthing "How was that?".

Persuasion: [roll0]

[HopeHubris]

Kyton tries to hold in his laughter, Hayseed is ridiculous, and continues to be so.
The psychic did seem way too apathetic during the fight to respond well to the "good cop", but hey, might as well give it a shot

[Quellian-dyrae]

Hank's head kinda darted about, he was clearly disoriented, but after a moment he went still. "No! NO! NOT AGAIN! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME AGAIN!" he screamed in...honestly, in apparent terror, thrashing about wildly and trying to reach for the sack on his head. "I WON'T LET YOU! I WON'T LET YOU!"

[HopeHubris]

"Okay, got to admit, was not expecting that"
Kyton says, as he sends his chains out to coil around Hank's limbs
"Now, you can stop thrashing around, and do what the nice lady says, or I can knock you out again, worse if they'll let me"

The spikes Kyton uses to gain a grip on walls and the like start to slowly press into Hank.
Kyton activates the electric charging, at the lowest setting, causing a very weak current to surge through the chains, enough to cause a tingling in Hank's skin, but no more


Intimidate: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Hank's struggle intensified, although it was hard to tell, since Kyton's chain was binding him tightly. "NOOOOOOO!!!!!" He shrieked. "GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY FROM ME!!!"

[Dorni]

"You're safe now. They're gone. Relax. They can't hurt you anymore," Prophet repeated, making his voice as soothing as possible. There was no magic in it, just compassion. But compassion was still a mighty power on its own.

Assisting Hayseed. Persuasion [roll0] +2 Bonus

[Quellian-dyrae]

Hank's struggles did subside at least a bit, but he was still tense, and there was fear in his voice when he asked, "What are you going to do to me?"

[Dorni]

Good. He's calming down. Good sign. Now he just had to keep the psychic from panicking until SIDE arrived. It would be best to get him talking about a safe subject until he was in better control, but when SIDE arrived there was a good chance he'd panic again. Or try to escape.

He'd have to see what he could get the Dreamer to tell him before SIDE arrived, but he couldn't push too hard. He didn't want to drive the psychic back into a panic. He didn't seem in full control of himself - that must have been what the confusing whirl of his vision - thank the Dream - was warning him about.

"Nothing. We won't hurt you. We just need you to tell us what happened here. We can help if you tell us," he continued through his best gentle smile.

What is the approximate response time for the SIDE team? Streetwise 17 (taking 10)

Persuasion [roll0] in case you want a new one rather than folding into the previous check.

In case you want it, Deception [roll1]. Prophet doesn't feel as compassionate as he is pretending, and his offer to help Hank isn't a lie, but he doesn't mean it in the way that Hank is likely to interpret it.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed opens her mouth and then closes it again. Prophet is clearly better at calming talk than she is. This wasn't to say that he was being 100% truthful, buuuuut . . . well, best to keep everyone relaxed.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Hank calmed down, but he also tensed up. "No. I'm not talking to an organization like SIDE," he spat out venomously. "Period! I know how you people operate."

The sound of sirens can be heard, not too far off.

[HopeHubris]

"Ugh, SIDE, am I right? Much better to associate with criminals, wanton murder and destruction are far better ways to operate"
Kyton says, only mostly sarcastic, since he had in the past associated with criminals, though usually only when they paid him

[herodofcows]

"Aaaaa-bap-bap-bap-BAP!" Hayseed interjects, striding quickly forward, "None of that, now! No negative Nancys or Nanfords, please! Mister Thyme, I know you've seen SIDE's dark and warty bits, but we ARE trying to help people. If you tell us what you saw, then YOU'LL be helping people. Don't you want to help people, Mister Thyme? Because if you don't, then a lot of innocent people are going to get hurt."

She avoids saying that the people doing that hurting would probably be some of his fellow prisoners. Who knows where that can of worms could lead . . .

"You don't strike me as the type to let innocent people suffer if you can do something about it, Mister Thyme," she continues, leaning down next to him, "So, how about we stop trying to blow up buildings and actually work to make a difference here?"

Persuade: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Hank just sat in stoic silence. He stubbornly refused to respond further, whether to accede or to argue.

A couple minutes later, two SIDE prisoner transport vehicles and one squad car would roll up. Normally, the escort for two transports would be at least four squad cars and two hoverbikes, but not today. The agents would begin gathering up the prisoners for transport, while the two in the squad car walked over to the team. "Guess we're lucky you guys were here. Anything in particular we should know about these three?"

[herodofcows]

"Frickin' KNEW we should've interrogated Greatbow We've got a firestarter, a telekinetic, and your basic super-soldier package. Those'd be Rocket, Hank Thyme, and Greatbow, respectively. And could you be a dear and pass it on that Greatbow might benefit from a SIDE work-release program? I think she'd make a heck of an agent. Thank you SO much dear, I'm sure you're very busy . . ."

Hayseed trails off, punching in new numbers into her communicator and sending out a new battery of texts and calls. They all have the same basic message.

Wanted: Three kids going by the Storm Runners. Interested parties have questions. Location? Thanks for your time!

Contacts (Investigation): [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

The agents exchanged somewhat uncertain, somewhat bemused looks, but replied, "Yes, ma'am."

It only took about a minute for Hayseed to get a response. None of her contacts had a confirmed sighting, but one of them there had been reports of some "wild Dreamer kids" at a shopping center on Tenth and Larson about an hour ago, and another one said there had been some weird electrical surges going on for the past fifteen minutes on Thirteenth Street, west of the library.

[Dodgeson]

"She's all yours boys." No longer needing to keep an eye on the downed Greatbow, Avery offers a jaunty salute to prisoner transport and steps off the side of the building and descends to meet the rest of the group with the aid of a dainty parasol. "I miss anything fun?"

[Dorni]

Hank got one last disappointed look from Prophet. "There isn't much to tell, officers. They attacked us while we were investigating the scene. We'd like to speak to them later if it can be arranged. See what they can tell us about what happened here."

Avery got a pained smile as she returned to the group. "Not much, I'm afraid. Our psychic refused to tell us anything. He might change his mind later once SIDE takes him in, but otherwise..." He shrugged. "Perhaps one of the others will be more forthcoming." He wasn't really sure what to make of Avery. When one ignored his constant antics, he seemed like a reasonably nice guy. But why had the Dream given him such an unusual blessing? Unique blessings weren't unusual, but rarely was it without purpose. Perhaps there was a lesson to be learned in working with him.

"Mrs. Hayseed, what do you suggest we do next? Perhaps we visit the survivors at Sterling?"

[herodofcows]

Hayseed stows her communicator with a great deal of satisfaction. That was all just dandy-riffic! It's true what the old song says, after all: yes, you get by with a little help from your friends!

"We could abso-LUTE-ly do that, Mister Way! Abso-LUTE-ly! That would be a nice idea, wouldn't it? On the OTHER hand, I do believe that I might have a clue as to where our Storm Runners are lurking! There've been some strange electrical outages on Thirteenth street near the library, and somebody may have spotted them an hour ago near the shopping center near tenth and Larson. Sounds promising, no? Does anyone mind another encounter with our wayward youths?"

Wayward youths. Hayseed catches herself thinking that and frowns slightly. Time was, she'd only thought of particularly juvenile targets as wayward youths. Nowadays, half of her kill list seems to be made up of targets who thought that Grunge constituted "classic rock" and hadn't even been ALIVE for some of the finest movies of all time. It bothers her sometimes, killing people who haven't had a chance to experience the finer things in life. But then again, it's not like they know what they're missing, with their electronica music and psycasts and vampire movies. Perhaps its a mercy after all!

Or maybe I'm getting old I am NOT getting OLD. Everybody else is just young!

[Dodgeson]

"Ah, don't worry about it, SIDE'll crack that guy like a walnut." When Prophet mentions heading to Sterling Avery has to suppress a shudder, for him Hayseed's news can't come fast enough, with a grin he jams his hand in his hat, hauling out his mallet and giving it a few experimental swings.

"I've got another round in me if you guys do."

Setting Hammer Space preemptively to "Acme Mallet" if that's cool

[Quellian-dyrae]

The agents nod and thank you, taking away the prisoners as you head off to pursue Hayseed's lead. As you reach Tenth Street, you do notice some signs of destructions - the occasional destroyed car, or hole in a building, or blasted-down tree or pole. The damage is never extreme or focused, but it does create something of a trail to follow. Most of you have seen this sort of thing a few times before, the old story of Dreamers who let their new powers get to their heads. Although it takes a certain level of willful stupidity to act out on such inclinations after one has already been taken in by SIDE.

Hayseed catches sight of the three of them first, through the window of an otherwise-empty buffet. If it weren't for the fact that the building had clearly been vacated, they'd look perfectly normal, just three friends sitting around a table talking and laughing and having lunch.

In the back of your head, you hear a sort of whisper. "Those who chase storms may yet find tornados." It has the quality of a prophecy, not a telepathic contact.

The damage you saw on the way here wasn't particularly focused, but it wasn't exactly trivial either. Holes blasted in walls, entire trees torn down, cars blown apart. It seems like rather more destruction than the files indicated these three should have been easily capable of.

[Dorni]

Prophet comes to a halt as the words came to him. Barely more than a whisper in the back of his head, but it carried the weight of a voice that wasn't his own. "Those who chase storms may yet find tornados."

"Mrs Hayseed," he called, voice low but no less urgent. "The Dream graces me with a warning. We may be underestimating this trio. Or perhaps they aren't alone."

[herodofcows]

Hayseed pauses a moment, briefly surveying the area. The drive over had been one of those small moments of calm that she'd learned to snatch during missions. She'd gotten her Mobility Suit back into working order and rested up from the strain of the previous fight.

More importantly, she'd had a chance to fully process her little flash-forward. She'd texted back and forth with Frank for a bit (Marsha's recital had apparently gone really well and they were going out for lunch later) and she's feeling a lot less jittery. She certainly doesn't want to have a SECOND close shave today.

No siree BOB, she does not.

All of this is a long way to say, when the resident precog speaks up, she listens.

"Thanks so much, sweetie!" she replies, shooting him a smile.

After a brief moment of silence, she suddenly realizes that she's the ranking SIDE agent and should probably be giving some kind of . . . orders, maybe? She's not sure. She's never really had a team to call on before. It's mostly just been her and the voices in her earpiece.

Well, confidence! That's the key!

"Okay, game plan: I'll take overwatch, try to get a good line of sight from one of the buildings, see if we're missing something. Avery, let's put some of those wonderful cartoon physics to work. Can you take the back entrance, in case they do a runner? Key-tonne . . . dear, your powers are absolutely lovely and you use them wonderfully, but you're covered in metal and they've got a little lightning lady in there. Take the roof just above them, and be ready to make a surprise attack. Now, Mister Way, you had more luck calming down Mister Thyme back there than any of us. Would you feel comfortable . . . uh, that is, could you go in and just talk to them? Maybe figure out what your visions are warning you about them?"

She pauses and tries to read her team's expressions.

"Uhh . . . does that work for everyone?" she asks, smile faltering slightly. Orders . . . she's more used to receiving than giving.

[HopeHubris]

Kyton has decided that Hayseed is intentionally mispronouncing his name, and rolls his eyes every time she does so.

"I did ask if you could try to take out the lightning one first, I'll try to grab the wind one, the other two seem like they'd be highly resistant to my powerset. At least, uh... Windstorm doesn't seem to have any physical enhancements, should make it easier to grab"

Chains, coiled up for the drive, begin to unravel and grip into the side of the buildings

"Just so you know, not great at stealth, chains are pretty jingly"

[Dodgeson]

"Say no more. Avery away!"

Avery grabs the brim of his dapper bowler and pulls, vanishing in to its depths. Out behind the back of buffet a hole opens in the ground, spitting out our cartoon hero, he reaches in to his front pocket and removes a small black circle that he unfolds in to a copy of his hat as he assesses his surroundings.

Free Action: Toon Physics Array to "Now You See Me..."
Move Action:Teleport behind Buffet
Perception Check:[roll0]

[herodofcows]

"We don't need you sneaky, dear," Hayseed replies, patting him on the arm, "Just get on up there and don't make too much noise! Or, if you're more comfortable, stay down here and be ready to back up Mister Way. I have every confidence in you!"

So saying, she does the same thing as she'd done previously: Springs up to the nearest available building to give her a clean line of sight, sets up her sniper rifle, takes a look around to make sure that there are no nasty surprises, and then aims carefully at . . .

Eeney meany miney mo, catch a tiger by the toe . . .

The decision could take a bit. Hayseed was an old-school eeney-meany-miney-mo-er. She didn't stop until they got to the part of kissing-a-girl-behind-the-movie-screen. TRADITION!

Move: Mobility suit to leap up to an available roof. Mobility: [roll0]
Stealth to hide: [roll1]
Perception for potential nasty surprises: [roll2]

Standard: Aim action. +2 to my next attack.

[Dorni]

"Thank you. I'll see what they have to say."

Caleb slid out of the car and walked unhurried down the street toward the deserted buffet. His step was steady but his shoulders tensed with trepidation. He was glad that he'd have the chance to talk to the trio. He could see them through the window as he passed by, just 3 friends enjoying a meal together. They didn't resemble hardened criminals abusing the gifts of the Dream in that moment. Still, the warning of the Dream had made it clear that he couldn't forget just how powerful they were, but it also gave him hope. He would talk with them, not chase the storm of violence.

Caleb made no effort to hide himself as he opened the buffet doors. He put on a slight smile as he scanned his hand at the entry register, nonplussed at the deserted building. He took a plate at the head of the buffet line and loaded it with fried rice and a sampling of the chicken and beef dishes. Finally, he took notice of the trio and approached their table with a disarming smile. "Excuse me, but would you mind if I joined you for lunch? This place looks deserted."

Persuasion 25 (taking 10) to influence attitudes. [roll0] if not allowed given the circumstances.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Neither Avery nor Hayseed spot any potential hazards or concealed individuals. The team gets into position without problem.

The three Dreamers stopped talking and looked warily at Caleb as he entered. Carl looked like he was about to say something, but apparently the Seeker's audacity at just heading over to the buffet and helping himself foiled that plan. The three exchanged kinda amused, uncertain looks, and Tamra gave a light chuckle and a shrug.

When he walked over and asked if he could join them, the three of them just stared at him for a few moments before exchanging another round of looks. Carl finally answered with a bemused shake of his head, "Sure, man, have a seat. Who are we to stop you?"

"What's your name, buddy?" Natasha asked.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed settles in and gets comfortable. This could clearly be a while, since she would only be firing as soon as Prophet left and/or was attacked.

Continuing to aim and prepare for the inevitable outburst of violence, she punches up an audiobook she'd saved onto her communicator. It's one of Julia's favorite series, surrounding the adventures of a diverse passel of young adults in a land of fantasy and magic. Hayseed attempts to listen intently as the stakeout wears on. Always nice to have something to talk with her youngest about, after all . . .

[Dorni]

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Seeker Wey, but please, call me Caleb." He replied as he took a seat. The broken noses and missing teeth of the three Dreamers didn't seem to bother him.

"And you must be the Storm Runners. No, No, don't be alarmed. The Dream tells me things sometimes, you see. Besides, I can't really call you that. What are your names? " he continued, taking his first bite. His brow wrinkled as he froze, looking at his meal in a new light. "This food is pretty good. Is this place a favorite of yours?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Natasha's eyes widened just a bit when Caleb told them he was a Seeker. She looked at him with a bit more respect...as well as sitting a bit straighter and setting a napkin on her lap. Tamra appraised him a bit more warily, however.

Carl perked up some. "So you've heard of us, then?" he asked, some pride in his voice. "I'm called Thunderstrike! This is Blitz, and Windstorm!" he introduced the three of them in a deeper tone of voice that presumably he felt sounded more dramatic.

"It's our first time here," Natasha answered. "It smelled good," she added with a sage nod.

"Are you here for any particular reason, Seeker?" Tamra asked flatly, drawing a quick, warning glance from Natasha.

[Dorni]

They reminded him of himself, in some ways. Carl was full of pride at being recognized. Pride was difficult to deal with. It could be channeled to inspire confidence and drive a person to new heights, pushing them to be better. That same pride could make a man forget himself, abuse his gifts. Natasha was just cute. No, he amended, she was young. She'd just escaped from prison and broken into a buffet for lunch, but she was suddenly on her best behavior in front of the Seeker. There was good in her that the prison hadn't extinguished.

"That depends on you three, really," he replied lightly between bites. "If you want a sermon, I know a number of particularly good ones. I could work in fire, brimstone, and being cut off from reincarnation for those that abuse their gifts if that's what you want. If were up to me, I like listening to people's stories. I'd like to hear your story - how'd the Storm Runners come to be? What do you plan to do?" He put down his fork and met the kid's eyes. "Maybe I can offer you some help on your way."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"We don't want a sermon," Tamra said in that same flat voice.

"We met each other in one of those, you know, Dreamer Studies classes back in college," Natasha interjected hastily. "We just started, you know, hanging out. I came up with the name. It's cool right? 'Cause we all have storm powers and stuff."

"Far as what we're gonna do next..." Carl said, still in a deep, dramatic voice, even perhaps a bit menacing...

...

"I was thinking we could go see a movie. Hey, you said the Dream tells you stuff, right? Can it tell you if there are any good movies out? That'd be helpful."

"Oh yeah that would be fun."

"Sure. Sounds good to me. We'll need some cash though."

"We didn't need cash for lunch," Carl retorted with a slight smirk.

"You guys know how to run those big movie theater screens? 'Cause I sure don't."

"Hmm..." there was a rumbling sound like a distant roll of thunder as Carl vanished from his seat, blinking over to the register and delving it a solid whack with his fist. He...apparently didn't judge his own strength well, the thing darn near exploded under the force, but he only came up with a couple of bills as he rooted through the shattered device. "Ehh...twenty-five credits. Man. Why doesn't anyone use cash anymore?"

[Dorni]

Prophet's smile turned brittle. "So, right after escaping from prison, your plan is to rob a store and see a movie. Then what? I don't need the Dream to tell me that sooner or later SIDE will catch up with you. Then what? You'll squander this chance you've been given and go right back to jail." He shook his head. "There are other ways. It isn't too late."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Carl blinked back over to his seat to give a dismissive wave. "SIDE's stupid. We didn't even hurt anybody last time! And besides, they got lucky! Caught us off-guard and stuff. It won't matter now anyway, now that we've been boos-"

Tamra kicked him beneath the table.

"Hey! Could the Dream warn you if SIDE were nearby? Then they definitely couldn't get the drop on us!"

"What do you say, Seeker? Want to run with the Storm Runners?" Natasha asked in a tone of voice that made clear that she thought the line was, just, super clever.

[Dorni]

"Boosted?" He asked, ignoring Natasha's offer. "What do you mean?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"The...whoever they were that got us-"

"Carl, stop. We don't know him!"

"He's a priest, Tam. He's not going to hurt us."

"Seriously. I mean, what would he even be able to do? The guys that got us out, after we left, someone with them came over and did something to us. Made our powers stronger. So even if SIDE were to try anything, they wouldn't be able to stop us now. We're way more powerful than those fools!"

"You want to see?" Natasha asked excitedly. "Carl, show him what you can do now!"

Carl nodded, teleporting over to the other side of the room with another roll of thunder. "THUNDER SMASH!" he yelled up as he raised both arms above his head, before bringing them down hard on the floor. The tremendous booming of a thunderstrike was clearly audible even outside the building as a shockwave detonated like a bomb, sending chairs and tables and food flying everywhere and even outright blowing out the back wall. The damaging force of the blast had spent itself by the time it reached you, but you could still feel the trailing effects of the force roll over you, and one of the front windows shattered from that energy alone.

Avery! Give me a DC 20 Dodge check for half effect. Toughness DC 25/20 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 20/15 vs. Dazed/Stunned Affliction, and Strength DC 16/13 vs. being sent flying; if you fail by two degrees, Acrobatics DC 20 or you land prone. If you want to get out of line of sight before they notice you through the now-gaping hole in the back wall, it's DC 15 Stealth, though you can't attempt it if you wind up stunned.

[Dodgeson]

Avery weathers the shockwaves like a champ, framed by the enormous hole in the wall he glares at the Storm Runners, clutching his hat to his head with one hand and holding the neck of a banjolele with the other.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to tune this thing. The nerve of some people."

Move Action: Hammer Space to "Banjolele Solo" Sonic Damage 10 (Area:Cone, Selective) [30]
Standard Action:Ready an action to attack if any of them try to attack him

[herodofcows]

Hayseed's reflects on a particular joke she'd heard before as she leans precariously off the side of the building.

What's the difference between a sniper and a paparazzo?

Natasha's blonde head comes squarely into her crosshairs.

One takes shots that ruin lives, and the other is a sniper!

BLAM

Okay, so with the bonus from Aiming, I'm going to do an All-Out Power Attack on our little speedster friend.

Attack: [roll0], DC 25 Damage

-5 to active defenses.

Stealth roll to remain hidden: [roll1]

[HopeHubris]

"And the race is on"
Kyton mutters as he swings down from the roof and strikes out at all three villains

This is probably a terrible idea, should have stuck to the plan, but I can't remember which one had lightning powers


Chain Grab: Burst Damage 10, plus grab
Not going to roll for each grab check this time :smalltongue:
So, damage and grab DC would be the same (25, or half if they dodge)

[Dorni]

Prophet watched from his seat as Carl smashed a new crater in the building and the wall came tumbling down. But instead of amazement, he looked at the three of them with disappointment. "You have it wrong, children. It isn't the power of your gifts, but what you do with them that matters. Your power cannot protect you from the consequences of what you do. Sooner or later, those consequences will catch up to you!"

Hayseed's shot rang out and Kyton burst through the hole in the wall, punctuating his declaration.

"Or right now. Don't ruin your lives. This is your last chance to surrender."

Standard: Call up Deflect on Keyton and myself. New Defense: [roll0]
Attacks reflected at +10.
Persuade [roll1] if necessary.

[Quellian-dyrae]

It was sheer luck that saved Blitz when Hayseed fired. A piece of a chair went whizzing by her head, and she pulled away yelling, "Careful, Carl!" as Hayseed fired. The bullet grazed her ear, but didn't cause any serious damage. She did suddenly grab at her ear though, and her hand came away bloody. "What the...?"

Thunderstrike, meanwhile, was staring kinda dumbfoundedly at Avery as he stood there unfazed from having a wall basically dropped on him.

"Oh, man, I didn't know you were out there. Are you al-" he began to say sheepishly, when Kyton burst into the room, chains lashing out all around him. Thunderstrike was caught solidly, roaring as he struggled vainly against the chains that now bound him tightly. Blitz managed to get up from her chair and out of the grasping chains in a blur of speed, but not before receiving a solid whack to the head that she rolled with, but that nonetheless sent her reeling. Windstorm screamed as the chains whipped around her limbs, locking her arms to her sides and beginning to crush her.

Caleb's words didn't get through. In a panic, the Storm Runners gathered up their powers to defend themselves.

Initiative:
Hayseed: [roll0].
Avery: [roll1].
Kyton: [roll2].
Prophet: [roll3].

Storm Runners: [roll4].

Right-o then, second post incoming for NPC turn.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Hey! You let them go!" Blitz yelled as she gathered her wits, hurling a crackling bolt of searing lightning straight at the chain-controlling Dreamer.

Thunderstrike vanished with a rumble of thunder, teleporting free of Kyton's chains and reappearing behind him. "Oh you'll pay for that. THUNDER STRIKE!" he roared as he pulled back and let fly with a superhumanly powerful punch.

Windstorm took a deep breath, trying to push through the pain of her injuries so she could do something. She was glaring at Caleb though. "You're with him, aren't you? You tricked us!"

Blitz:
Move Action: Dazed.
Standard Action: Attack Kyton with Lightning Flash. Dodge DC 18 for half, Toughness DC 23/19 vs. Damage.

Thunderstrike:
Move Action: Teleport out of the Grab and behind Kyton.
Standard Action: Attack Kyton with Thunder Strike at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 22 vs. Dazed+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless/Incapacitated+Helpless Affliction, and Strength or Dodge DC 22 vs. Fast Grab. On a miss, attack is Reflected at [roll1] 19 (Toughness: [roll2], Fortitude: [roll3]). Miss. Reflection hits. Bruised. Resists Affliction.

Windstorm:
Move Action: Staggered.
Standard Action: Recover, removing the Staggered condition and getting +2 to active defenses this round.

Kyton, you gain a :smallcool: Hero Point as combat begins against an entire enemy group with immunity to a sizable portion of your offensive power.

Current Status:
Hayseed: Stealthed Out (DC 23).
Avery: 1 Bruise (regenerates at start of turn).
Kyton: Defended (DC 22 Reflective) (Pending).
Prophet: Defended (DC 22 Reflective).

Thunderstrike: 1 Bruise.
Blitz: 1 Bruise, (Dazed Ends).
Windstorm: 1 Bruise, Vulnerable, Immobile, +2 Defense.

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

Shooting lightning at my teammate? Shooting lightning at my teammate? Shooting lightning at my teammate?

No! None of that!

BLAM.

SHAME on you!

Move: Gonna stay riiight where she is.

Standard: Same deal as last attack, minus the Aim! Still targeting Blitz.

[roll0], DC 25 Damage, -5 to Hayseed's Active defenses.

[HopeHubris]

"Ah, ****, that stings"
Kyton grimaces as he is hit by the lightning
"But at least I know which of you does what now"

Not that it really changes anything, too tingly to coordinate movement and defend himself, he


Move: Dazed
Standard Chain Grab on all 3 again, should be easier to hit against the already grabbed one.
And damn that Teleporter, ignoring my grab :smalltongue:

[Dodgeson]

Stepping out of the him shaped hole in the wall he's standing in, Avery ducks behind a piece rubble and clambers out from under a table cloth in the buffet proper. "You guys really shoulda let me tune this." Taking a second to make sure he's in the right position Avery flails wildly on his banjolele, unleashing an almost deafening cacophony over the Storm Runners

Move Action: Teleport in to buffet
Standard Action: Catch as many of the Storm Runners in the cone as possible DC20 Dodge and DC20/25 Toughness save

[Dorni]

"No trick. Just the offer of a better life. You don't need to spend your life on the run."

Standard: Deflect on himself and Kyton. Include Avery if he is within range. New Defense: [roll0] Attacks reflected at +10.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Blitz dodged Hayseed's shot outright that time, on her guard and moving faster than the bullet itself could. "Who is shooting at us!?" she cried out as she ducked under Kyton's chain, followed by "GAHH!" as Avery's "music" rolled through the buffet, sending her staggering back grabbing her head. Panicking, she hurled another bolt of lightning, chaining between all three of the heroes.

"WHO THE [There is a priest in the room!] EVEN ARE YOU!?" Thunderstrike yelled at Avery, teeth gritted against the sonic attack. He charged him madly, swinging punch after flailing punch at him, but the divine blessing that Prophet had placed ensured Avery avoided every blow and turned their force back upon the paragon, leaving him reeling and incoherent from his own thunderous shockwaves.

Windstorm, meanwhile, was being slowly crushed by Kyton's chains, and Avery's attack wasn't helping her either. She desperately struggled free, vanishing into the air around her as she managed to slip out of the chains.

Since the Deflect is ranged, you can center it so Avery's also in the area, yeah.

Blitz:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Lightning Flash. Prophet, Kyton, and Avery give me Dodge DC 18 for half, Toughness DC 23/19 vs. Damage.

Thunderstrike:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Charge Avery with Thunder Flurry, All Out Attack for 5, at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27+Multiattack vs. Damage and Fortitude DC 22 vs. Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated Affliction. On a miss, attack is Reflected at [roll1] (Toughness: [roll2], Fortitude: [roll3]). Miss. Reflect hits. Bruised and Dazed. Stunned.

Windstorm:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attempt to Escape (DC 25) at [roll4]. This includes -2 for Impaired and -5 for Improved Hold. On a success, moves at half speed and vanishes from visual and olfactory senses; Perception DC [roll5] to pinpoint. Escape Succeeds.

Hayseed: Stealthed Out (DC 23).
Avery: Defended (DC 28 Reflective) (Pending).
Kyton: 1 Bruise, Defended (DC 28 Reflective) (Pending).
Prophet: Defended (DC 28 Reflective) (Pending).

Thunderstrike: 3 Bruises, Stunned (Fort DC 22 Negates).
Blitz: 2 Bruises.
Windstorm: 3 Bruises, Concealed, Stealthed Out (DC 22), (Dazed Ends).

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

Well! Hayseed reflects, slowly panning her scope around, That's MY jimmies rustled, and no mistake!

Now, sure, the fight's going splendidly. In spite of Mister Way's warning, it's looking like the element of surprise is going well for them. And her three new teammates look like they're absolute dy-no-MITE in close-quarters! By rights, she should be pleased . . .

But why can't I seem to HIT that razzin' frazzin' speedster???

BLAM

Okay, similar to last time, still attacking Blitz, except my attack will now be only +3 to damage.

So: [roll0], DC 23 Damage, Hayseed is at -5 active defenses.

Also, perception roll to find Windstorm, just cuz [roll1]

EDIT: So, not the most useful crit, but hey, I'll take it!

Hayseed has been on the job for lo these many years. Her home life is pretty good, all things considered. She is well-adjusted out the wazoo, minus a nonexistent relationship with her parents and a cheery disregard for the life and well-being of anyone who gets in her way on the job. By all rights, she should be immune to this sort of thing . . .

. . . and yet, born from her inability to shoot one lousy speedster Dreamer, the looming specter of a midlife crisis begins to form in the back of her head.

You know what would make everything better? it whispers, a nice new rocket launcher!

[HopeHubris]

"You know what lightning guy, you are really starting to annoy me with that stuff"
Kyton says, focusing on one target after losing track of the one person he was actually faring well against

Still a bit tingly, he isn't able to coordinate himself as well as he would like, but nonetheless, Kyton strikes out with multiple electrically charged chains


Charged Chain (even if he is immune to the electric-y part) Multiattack
Attack: [roll0]
If it hits: (rolling for single target ones, 'cause why not)
Grab: [roll1]

[Dorni]

Prophet was glad he was sitting down when the lightning struck. It kept him from collapsing from the spasm. It wasn't a bad one. Thank the Dream, the metal chair had diverted most of the bolt away from him.

"That is ENOUGH!" he thundered. He had a responsibility to try and help these young Dreamers. Help them cope with their powers, guide them to using them as the Dream intended. He also had a responsibility to subdue those that refused.


Standard: Affliction (Area[Perception(Auditory)], Extra Effect, Selective, Limited Degree), Impaired & Vulnerable / Disabled & Stunned.
DC 20 Dodge, Will
Party members exempted.

[Dodgeson]

Avery yelps in surprise for a split second, his skeleton visible as Blitz's lightning courses through his body. Shaking it off with the rapid shaking off his head he turns his attention to Thunderstrike. He was hoping he'd get a chance to throw down with guy, there's only room for one teleporter round here!

"Name's Avery, short, sweet, rolls of the tongue. If you're having trouble with it, it's the guy kicking your ass." With that pronouncement Avery goes all Pete Townsend and swings his banjolele at Thunderstrike.

Move Action Hammer Space to "Banjolele Smash!" Damage 10 (Improved Crit 4) [14]
Standard Action All Out Attack at Thunderstrike [roll0] DC25 Toughness Save if that hits.

HP 1
Condition -2 Active Defense

[Quellian-dyrae]

Blitz took a bullet to the shoulder as she tried to dodge Hayseed's continuous firing. She reeled back in the other direction - right into Kyton's chain as it came arcing for her head. She dropped to the ground senseless.

Thunderstrike just stood before Avery trying to make all the swirly pictures turn back into something resembling a cohesive image of the battlefield. Avery smashed him full in the head with his instrument...and it just shattered over the guy's head without seeming to cause any harm.

A sudden buffeting blast of wind rushed at Prophet, with enough force to hurl him straight into Kyton.

No mechanical effect of Avery's banjelele breaking, since his items aren't actually Removable; he can draw a new one as a free action if he wishes. Or just play it up for comedic value, whatever :smalltongue:.

Thunderstrike: Stunned. Fortitude to throw off Stun (DC 22): [roll0]. Will to throw off Impaired+Vulnerable (DC 20):[roll1]. Stun Removed.

Windstorm:
Move: Fly somewhere.
Standard: Wind Blast on Prophet at [roll2]. Since Prophet couldn't spot Windstorm, he's Vulnerable against this attack. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage and Strength DC 20 vs. being hurled at Kyton. If Prophet fails the Strength check, the Move Object attack is at [roll3], and Kyton is likewise Vulnerable. Toughness DC 25 for Kyton as well if that all goes through. Prophet is hit. Kyton is hit if Prophet fails his Strength check.
Windstorm is now within ten feet of the building and only a couple feet off the ground, in line with Prophet and Kyton).

Hayseed: Stealthed Out (DC 23).
Avery: Normal.
Kyton: 1 Bruise (Pending).
Prophet: 1 Bruise (Pending).

Thunderstrike: 3 Bruises, Impaired+Vulnerable (Will DC 20 Negates).
Blitz: 3 Bruises, INCAPACITATED!
Windstorm: 3 Bruises, Concealed, Stealthed Out (DC 22).

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

Tracking Windstorm, Hayseed drops her rifle and pulls out her quarterstaff. She sighs for a moment.

Well, I couldn't get the speedster . . . but hey, there's always another speedster somewhere!

Rocket launcher!

Later!

For now, she leaps down to street level behind Windstorm, twirling her quarterstaff as a windup into a massive smack where her back should hopefully be!

Move: Draw weapon and jump on down (Mobility suit, necessary mobility check: [roll0] )

Attack: [roll1], DC 25 Damage plus Multiattack

[Dodgeson]

Hoo boy, Avery looks at the splintered remains of his banjolele, then at Thunderstrike, then to back his former instrument and finallly back to Thunderstrike again. "My banjo!" He cries out in anguish "What am I gonna tell my band!? This is just great, now they're going to make me be the drummer!" Dropping the now useless banjo to the ground he shrugs "Oh well, better start practicing, you can be the drum!" With that he swings at the paragon hoping his trusty mallet is of more use than his last implement.

Move Action: Hammer Space to "Acme Mallet" Damage 10 Linked to Affliction 10 (Dazed&Impaired/Disabled&Stunned, Fort)(Cumulative, Extra Condition)(Limited Degree) [10+20]
Standard Action All-Out Attack at Thunderstrike [roll0] DC25 Toughness Save & DC 20 Fortitude Save if it hits

HP 1
Condition -2 Active Defense

[HopeHubris]

"Hayseed, you better not be swinging at air"
Kyton says, positioning himself to hit both of the (presumably) still-standing Runners with the full brunt of his chains



Move: Position
Standard: Chain Grab
I assume the invisible one will have a dodge bonus, but still

[Dorni]

Prophet was hurled across the room by a miniature tornado, slamming into Kyton and his chains. The chain wielder stood firm though, and Prophet gave him a thankful nod as he got back on his feet, searching for the source of the wind blast.

Deflect on Avery, Kyton, Prophet. New Defense: [roll0]
Move: Perception [roll1]to locate Windstorm

[Quellian-dyrae]

"The whu-" Thunderstrike slurred out dazedly as Avery ranted about his band. Then he was knocked loopy by a giant cartoon mallet, shortly followed by being knocked unconscious but a giant not-cartoony-at-all chain.

Windstorm took her licks as well, smacked around by Hayseed and Kyton despite her blending. Hayseed could see the drops of blood starting to move higher...

Windstorm is using her move action to flee. Hayseed, since you've pinpointed her and are in melee with her, if you want you can spend your next turn's move action to try to keep her from escaping with a Mobility check, DC [roll0]. If you do, you guys are up. If you don't, or you fail the attempt, battle's over unless you guys have or can stunt a way to chase after an invisible flyer moving at Speed Rank 9 (albeit, with only one move action per round).

Hayseed: Normal.
Avery: Normal.
Kyton: 1 Bruise.
Prophet: 2 Bruises.

Thunderstrike: 4 Bruises, INCAPACITATED!
Blitz: 3 Bruises, INCAPACITATED!
Windstorm: 5 Bruises, Staggered, Concealed, Stealthed Out (DC 22).

[herodofcows]

Hayseed sees the blood drops rising and catches on a second too late.

"Ohhh, NO you don't, missy!"

Using a combination of the Mobility Suit and her own natural acrobatic skill, she tries to clamber up the side of the building and catch up to her opponent. She throws a cloud of shurikens as she rises, and grimaces as none of them hit a mark. In desperation she even tries to fling a tracer, and her grimace nearly becomes a scowl as she sees such a nice piece of hardware go plummeting down the side of the building. She slides back down to the ground and retrieves her hardware, mildly put out.

"Well, fiddlesticks! Ain't that just a kick in the pants!" she very nearly fumes. Still, a smile forces itself back onto her face soon enough, "But then again, we've still got two of her buddies! So, silver linings! Chin up, everybody, that was some fine work! I'm SO sorry about your banjo though, Mister Avery! Kyton, you were absolutely sublime! And Mister Way, that was so NICE of you to be worrying about their state of morality! Fine, very fine!"

Humming, she traipses over to the knocked-out Dreamers. Absentmindedly, she pulls out a shuriken and begins twirling it through her fingers.

"Now, we can do this the nice way or the not-so-nice way. Mister Way (mercy, pardon the accidental pun!), do you think you could reach one of these poor youngsters without me jabbing this here pointy thing into squishy places?"

Hayseed isn't one of those agents that enjoys enhanced interrogation. Sure, it was a good skill to have in your repertoire sometimes, but half the time you didn't even get the information you were after! And besides, there were two kinds of SIDE agents that really specialized in enhanced interrogation: the ones that maybe drank a teensy bit more than they should, and . . . well, the weirdos. Now, Hayseed liked a glass of red wine from time to time, but she was no drinker, and as for that OTHER stuff, well, she and Frank had tried a few things in their more adventurous days (this was before Marsha was born, mind you) and hadn't liked it that much, so, there you are!

[Dorni]

Prophet frowned. "I think I can reach them. They weren't malicious, just young and excited. Before Carl destroyed the wall, they told me that after one of the people with the group that broke them out 'did something to them' and made their powers stronger. So we're looking for a group."

He grew quiet for a moment before continuing "I'd like to speak with them before SIDE interrogates them. I think I can get them to cooperate. But they've taken actions that they need to face the consequences for and I don't know if we can hold them if they wake up - the young man can teleport and their friend is still around. Mrs Hayseed, if we call a SIDE crew to pick them up can they wait on interrogating them?"

[herodofcows]

Hayseed weighs her options for a moment, and then nods at Prophet.

"How about this: I'll wait outside on overwatch to make sure we don't get any take-backsies. You all conduct the interrogation here. I can give you five minutes before I call SIDE so you can give 'em a good talking-to! Just buzz me on my comm when you're donezo!"

With that, she heads outside and leaps back onto her original perch, concealing herself again. The sniper rifle stays nearby, but now she's keeping her quarterstaff in hand, scanning the horizon for any sign of hostiles.

Mobility: [roll0]
Perception: [roll1]
Stealth: [roll2]

[Dodgeson]

Avery waves off Hayseed's comments about his banjo, throwing his head back and swallowing his mallet. "Don't worry about it, and it's just Avery, Mr Avery is my father."

As she ascends to her perch he grabs a nearby chair and takes a seat, waiting for Prophet to do his thing.

[Dorni]

Hayseed got an appreciative nod. She was taking a bit of a risk, he knew.

Best not to waste the time he'd been given. He walked between Carl and Natasha, checking their injuries and trying to wake up Natasha.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Everything looked quiet as Hayseed returned to her post and scanned the area.

It took a few tries, but eventually Natasha stirred groggily, holding her head. "...Ow...wha...?"

[Dorni]

"Careful," offered Prophet, still kneeling next to her. "You took a nasty hit there. Don't try to move too quickly and you should be fine in a minute or two."

"I just have a couple questions for you." He regretted trying to push for information while she was still woozy, but even with Mrs. Hayseed's reprieve, SIDE would arrive fairly soon.

Persuade 25 (taking 10)

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Um...uh...yeah, okay...?"

[Dorni]

"What do you remember about the people who boosted your powers?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"The...oh. Um. I mean, they wore masks and stuff. Uh. The one who actually did it was a woman. She touched us and there was this light and...um...wait, why...what's going on?"

[Dorni]

Prophet held out a hand toward Kyton and Avery. "These heros are investigating the break out. Sharing what you remember of it would help tremendously, perhaps even save lives."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Wait...n-no. No. Those people helped us. And...and those two attacked us! Why should I help them?"

You'll need to beat [roll0] to persuade her again, although you can still Routine it if her roll doesn't beat your Routine check.

[Dorni]

Prophet's smile is still kind, but delivered in a way that reminds everyone that the kneeling priest is still looking down on the girl on the ground. "Your group escape from prison, wreck cars, roads, and buildings on your way to robbing a restaurant and smashing out a wall - with no regard for anyone who might be behind it - just to show off your powers, and these Heros are at fault for seeking to stop you? Tell me, how many families are without cars and workers are out of jobs while their buildings are being repaired? Or were you more concerned with what movie the Storm Runners were going to see!?"

He let the words hang in the air before continuing quietly, the acid drained away. "Helping them is the right thing to do, to start making up for your adventure and helping them stop the villains who will do far worse than the damage you caused. And if that isn't enough reason, SIDE is on their way. If you cooperate and volunteer information, they'll go easier on you."

Persuade 25 (going to routine this one)

[Quellian-dyrae]

Natasha's face paled at Prophet's castigation. "I...we didn't...we weren't trying to hurt anyone! It...we just..." she let out a shuddering breath, then looked to Avery and Kyton. "What...what do you want to know?" she asked glumly.

Meanwhile, Hayseed's cell phone vibrated with an encrypted text message:


Agents Unaccounted For:
Rick Miller - FIRE-SIDE.
Austin Harolds - FIRE-SIDE.
Katherine Jones - DES-SIDE.
Paul Meyers - TOP-SIDE.
Tamara Soon - DES-SIDE.
Jacoba Alten - DES-SIDE.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed's face slackens a little as she reads this. Well, shoot! In a crisis like this, missing agents meant you either had defectors or dead agents. Neither prospect is appealing. In her mind, she starts clicking through scenarios for what a group with that kind of skillset could accomplish.

Unfortunately, the short answer was "quite a lot". In fact, it would maybe be easier to list what they COULDN'T accomplish.

In the meantime, though, everything looks clear on overwatch, so she starts sending out some messages and looking into agent files. Usually she's reticent about giving out the names of other agents to her network (many members of which aren't SIDE, or even 100% sympathetic with SIDE), but again, desperate times.


Hey! Lost some birds. Any chance you've seen them flying around?

Rick Miller
Austin Harolds
Katherine Jones
Paul Meyers
Tamara Soon
Jacoba Alten

Thanks a buncharooni!

Investigation roll: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

It doesn't take long for a text to come back:


I don't know about the others, but Paul took over for me manning the front desk at HQ after my shift last night.

The rest either didn't respond at all, or only to say they hadn't seen or heard anything about them.

[herodofcows]

Well, spit. That's no good . . . maybe it's unfair to assume that this guy had something to do with this whole mess, but life isn't fair, and Meyers just became a potential security risk. Hayseed's gonna have to move on this one . . .

Another phone call, and she winces a bit as she hears the phone pick up. THIS was a favor she hadn't wanted to call in. Lilah could be . . . intense.

"Heya Lilah! How's, you know, technopath-ing?" she trills into the speaker, her smile taking on a certain fixed quality, "Remember that time I screwed up your ex's wedding? Well, I gotta call in that favor right now, sweetie. I was wondering if you could poke around a little into someone's personal life. Paul Meyers. Works in Verdania. I'm looking for anything unusual, maybe in his bank statements, travel plans, social media profile . . . anything that might stick out as, well, weird . . ."

I hope it's okay that I just made up a character for my Connected advantage. If not, I'll change it to whatever's necessary!

Persuade: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Now, this was odd. Lilah picked up the phone, said hello, was clearly, you know, there and didn't sound rushed or under duress or anything. But as soon as you got to the word "technopath" she hung up. Didn't even say so much as goodbye.

Yep, feel free to come up with contacts. Gives me recurring NPC fodder :smallsmile:.

...Or an NPC to immediate appropriate and turn to my own undoubtedly malicious ends :smallamused:.

You earn a :smallcool: Hero Point for the Complication.

[herodofcows]

". . . hello? Hello?" Hayseed scrunches up her face, partially irritated and partially relieved. Plus side, limited interaction with Lilah was always easier on the ol' blood pressure. Minus side, one of her contacts just went and shut her down mid-favor. That's . . . troubling.

Huh. See if I ever rig a flashbang wedding cake for YOU again, missy!

[Dorni]

"We'd like to know what happened at the break out last night. What happened? What do you remember about the group that caused it? How many, what did they look like, and did they say anything to you or each other?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

The speedster thought back, taking a moment to compose her thoughts. "There were a lot of them, I know that. Most of them were wearing white masks and...some sort of funky armor, I think. Oh, except the first one I saw. She didn't have any armor and her mask was black and red. She was big though, like a foot taller than the others, and built. They didn't talk at all, that I heard anyway, just marched through the cell blocks opening the cells and moving on. I...didn't really understand what was going on at first, but I saw some of the other prisoners leaving and then Tamra decloaked in front of me and said we had to get out of there and we went. We found Carl upstairs."

"I wasn't...really paying much attention when we left, but there were a lot of bodies, and I don't think I saw any of them in white masks and the armor. We got outside, it was all dark and rainy, but that's not a problem for us. There was another guy in one of the white masks at the door, but he wasn't in the weird armor. Some of the people who got out a bit ahead of just just walked past, but he stopped us, pointed over at some woman who was standing off a bit, told us to go talk with her. That she had something for us. We did it, 'cause like, these guys had helped us, you know? And she touched us and there was a light and it was...a rush. I can't really describe it. And she told us she had augmented our powers and we should go and have fun with them. Tamra was worried that SIDE would catch us again, but she said not to worry, that SIDE would be way too busy to look for people like us as long as we didn't kill anyone, and even if they did that with our new powers we'd be too strong for them anyway."

"I asked what her name was, but she didn't tell me. Um...I think that's all the major details I remember, except the giant gaping hole in the front wall, but I assume you already know ab- huh. That was just like she had said, wasn't it? Maybe she wasn't crazy."

[HopeHubris]

"How much have your powers been augmented, and in what ways? I wouldn't mind grabbing a boost if we find the bitch"
Kyton asks

[Dorni]

Prophet listens patiently for the girl to finish her tale.

"Can you describe the masks and armor?" He turns a quizzical eye on Avery. The man certainly had a strange gift, but he recalled a handful of cartoons. Perhaps... "Mr. Avery, I apologize, but are you able to paint? We could use a sketch artist right about now."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Um, quite a lot, I guess. I mean, I'm not really sure how to answer. They're just...a lot stronger, kinda overall, I guess."

"Mmm...white masks, covering their full faces...they didn't really have any distinguishing features on them. They were kinda just...blank and smooth. The armor was like...metal and shiny, not like the armor SIDE wears and stuff. But not like the armor knights wear in fairy tales either, it wasn't as bulky as that. More...streamlined, kind of, I guess." She shrugged.

[Dodgeson]

"Just Avery, my father yadayada" the Hero replies as he slams an easel and canvas in to the ground, his regular attire replaced by a paint stained smock and beret. "I don't know, lets find out." With that he sets about the canvas with gusto splattering paint everywhere as he does.

Power Stunt off Hammer Space: "I'm a Regular Picasso" Enhanced Advantage 1 (Equipment)(Permanent) Linked to Enhanced Skill 20 (Expertise:Artist) [1+10]
Spend a Hero Point to cancel fatigue and Roll to paint Natasha's description [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Avery's painting is quite good. Natasha watches him work, occasionally making some suggestions or adding a detail as the painting progresses; seeing it in front of her makes it a lot easier to specify details. He's still working within the limits of her memory and description, but by the end Natasha confirms that it's as close as she can recall.

By the time the picture is finished, sirens are clearly audible not too far in the distance, closing quickly.

With Avery's image, you guys will be able to identify the masked-and-armored attackers if you encounter them.

[Dorni]

"Do you recall which cell block they started opening first?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Mmm...I think they just opened them as they reached them, but I don't really know for sure. They opened my cell and I went straight for the exit, didn't really pay attention to where they were going."

SIDE arrived then, although it was only a single squad in an APC, responding to the reports of Dreamer attacks in this area. They were kinda lucky; it would have been typical SIDE-level overkill for taking down down the Storm Runners based on what their files said, but they'd have had a tough fight on their hands against the Dreamers you had faced.

When they approached the scene, they saw Avery, Kyton, and Prophet in the building with two of the Dreamers already subdued. The power-armored officer dropped from the vehicle, although the ACV itself remained hovering in the air with the squad.

(Hayseed might realize...that was usual protocol for this sort of situation. Typically they'd park the ACV and the squad would come out to process and retrieve the suspects.)

But the reasoning was explained when the ACV turned and, weapon systems manned by the three agents within, unloaded its power-suppressor, a barrage of concussion rounds, and its laser cannon all at a point about ten feet up, five feet right, and twenty feet back from the broken window. Then the power armored officer flew into the air and came down on that spot with a crushing, dropping blow from both fists. The already badly injured Windstorm faded back into visibility as she dropped from the air like a rock, hitting the ground unconscious.

Blitz turned to the disturbance with a cry, but before she could, you know, do anything the officer was already pointing its guns at her and the well-armed ACV was hovering menacingly at her and/or in her general direction. To say nothing for any of the heroes' reactions.

Windstorm did actually manage to pass Stealth against Hayseed's Perception earlier. What she didn't pass was the untrained DC 10 Expertise (Law Enforcement) check to know that SIDE standard-issue HUDs come with broad-spectrum sensor suites that Counter All Concealment, and so didn't get the heck out of there when she heard the sirens.

Because seriously, guys, the Storm Runners are kinda stupid...

[Dodgeson]

In a flash Avery tore off his smock as the power armours opened fire, leaving him standing in his usual attire and holding his mallet. Back in his usual attire, the short man fixes Blitz with the best look his bizarre eyes are able to give.

"Don't do anything you're gonna regret."

Move Action:Hammer Space to "Acme Mallet" Damage 10 Linked to Affliction 10 (Dazed&Impaired/Disabled&Stunned, Fort)(Cumulative, Extra Condition)(Limited Degree) [10+20]
Standard Action: Ready an action to attack Blitz if she does anything other than cooperate with the nice men in power armour.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed laughs out loud as the APC blasts Windstorm into unconsciousness. She leaps down towards the agent in the power armor and holds her hands up.

"High five!" she enthuses, "I'd worried that she'd rabbited. Thank you all SO much for your help."

She turns back to her squad.

"So, I've just got wind of some SIDE agents playing hookey and my usual technopath is cold-shouldering me! And we STILL have those agents in the hospital! Whaddayasay we check in on some of them?"

[HopeHubris]

"How likely are the hospitalised agents to know much more than the Runners? And how often does your 'usual technopath' brush you off? I'm not the agent here, I don't know how you people work. If you think any of these are valid leads, I will trust your judgement"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Blitz just sighed and held up her hands. "Darn it, Tamra. Why didn't you run?" she murmured.

Now the ACV parked and the agents came out, one of them radioing for a transport vehicle while the others went about securing the Dreamers and the officer approached the group.

The tilt of his helmet was sufficient that, even unable to see his face, it was obvious that he was wearing a bemused expression at Hayseed's antics. But he did give her a high five.

"Before you go, is there anything else we need to know about these three?" the officer asked.

"Hey, um..." Natasha said as one of the agents cuffed her with power-dampeners. "You...you should talk to Serana. She...knew, I think. About the attack. Maybe."

[herodofcows]

"Well, I guess it's possible that the agents got a different view of our attackers, maybe enough to give us an idea of who or why. As for my technopath . . . well, Lilah's a bit of a so-and-so sometimes, but it's not something I'd ex-PECT, so . . . I'm sorry, what was that sweetie?" Hayseed interrupts herself, turning to Natasha, "Who's Serana?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Serana, uhh...something. I don't know. She was in my cell block. I think she was a telepath, or something? Only a little, uh," she kinda fumbled at twirling a finger beside her head with the cuffs on. "But about a week ago she was talking a bunch of crazy stuff about a blast of light out of the night, and death and ruin would come to SIDE, and their prizes would be freed...weird stuff. I think some agents came to take her to an institution, or something. I don't remember seeing her again after that, anyway. But looking back...it kinda sounds a lot like what happened. She mentioned the masks. I definitely remember her mentioning the masks."

[herodofcows]

Hayseed stares at Blitz blankly for a moment, and then turns brightly to her companions.

"New plan! We find Missy Crazypants the Psychic Lady and see what she has for us. And thank YOU dear, you've been very helpful. Sorry for shooting at you!"

She now turns to the agent who'd high-fived her.

"One's a teleporter who packs a serious punch. This young lady is an electrokinetic speedster. And the one you blitzed (pardon the pun, dear) is an aerokinetic with invisibility powers. Apparently they've been amped up by someone or something, according to Mister Way here, so be careful!"

[Dodgeson]

"Sounds like a plan boss. Let me see if I've got anything on this Serana chick."

Avery jams his mallet back in to his hat, when he pulls his hand back out it's holding a large 8-ball that he starts violently shaking.

"Come on show me what you got!"

[roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

The eight ball came up with "Outlook not very good."

I will note, you did not fail the Well Informed check.

[Dodgeson]

Avery raises and eyebrow, peering at the result and shaking the 8-ball a few more times just to be sure.

"Well that aint good."

[herodofcows]

Hayseed has no small experience with magic 8 balls. Back during her wizard-robe-wearing phase, Julia would always insist that every action she take be approved by a battered red magic 8 ball. She peers owlishly at Avery's, accepting that he probably can get much more information out of it.

"Um . . . does that mean that the outlook isn't so good for her or for us?" she asks hesitatingly.

[Dodgeson]

When turning the black orb over in his hands fails to make it disgorge any more information Avery shrugs and takes a large bite out of it, munching it like an apple.

"No clue, I'm no Prophet, really should of checked the Rolodex but I just had to go for that retro look didn't I? If I had to guess I'm gonna say we should be on our toes but that's just good advice."

[herodofcows]

Hayseed nods. Yep, being on your toes keeps you going! Much like in ballet and oh fiddlesticks she's gone and reminded herself that she missed Marsha's dance recital! Her mood darkens somewhat, but she continues to smile.

"Righto then! Let's see if we can get an address here," she beams, and starts making some phone calls.

"Heya, would you happen to know where we've got a precog or telepath named Serana? Got moved out of the headquarters clink about a week ago. Was acting nutty?"

Investigation: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

The agent Hayseed calls take a minute or so to check some files. "Mmm...I don't have any transfer records here. From what I'm seeing she should have still been inside. Unless the record just didn't get uploaded to the off-site servers yet. It might still be on the computers back at HQ, if someone can get any of them running."

Hayseed knows that if it was a week ago, it really should have been uploaded off-site by now (that usually happens nightly) although mistakes are possible. It may not have been queued properly.

[herodofcows]

"Uuuuuhhh-HUH!" Hayseed contemplates this fresh intel. Of course, administrative errors happen, but . . .

"Well, thanks for your help dear!" she trills brightly, and then hangs up. Her face, upon turning to her allies, was somehow simultaneously cheery and grim.

"Well, according to SIDE, Serana was never transferred. Now, I'd LIKE to be a company woman and stick up for SIDE, but I have an inkling that we have some moles to deal with. Possibly our missing agents."

Hayseed is smiling, but her jaw is set and her fingers twitch with unkind deeds to inflict upon the recalcitrant agents. No sir, this will not do at ALL.

"Here's the list of missing agents," she continues, holding out the list on her phone for others to see, "As of RIGHT NOW, these fellas are our priority. We find them, we figure out what they're up to, and we take . . . appropriate action. Whaddayasay?"

[Dodgeson]

"Lets play some whack-a-mole. So how do we find them? You SIDE guys got some kinda sneaky black-ops bar you all hang out in?"

Avery thinks for a second and pulls his own phone out of his trouser pocket, it's a disappointingly modern looking affair but hey you can't beat a smart phone. "While you got that thing out we should probably swap digits you know?"

[herodofcows]

Hayseed snags his phone and inputs her number into it.

"We find 'em the old fashioned way, of course! Let's dig some stuff up!"

And off she goes to do just that.

Investigation: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

The group spends several hours speaking to friends and families, canvassing neighborhoods, questioning contacts, going through the damaged SIDE computers for logs and security footage and such (once a technician has them in at least a vaguely working order again), and so on. Their investigation bears quite a bit of fruit.

They manage to pin down five of the six missing agents...unfortunately. Paul Meyers was indeed on shift at the front desk that night - in other words, sitting right in line of whatever massive energy blast had torn through the building. Austin Harolds, Katherine Jones, Tamara Soon, and Jacoba Alten were likewise on duty in locations that put them well within the area of the blast. They haven't been seen or heard from since the attack. They were evidently vaporized.

Even more unfortunately, it isn't enough to put Hayseed's growing concern to rest. Once the computers are running, Hayseed is able to pull up some security feeds from that night, but during the attack itself, many of the feeds - everything from cameras that would have provided useful information - are blank, evidence that the cameras had been disabled beforehand. After finding that, Hayseed is able to find evidence of other tampering in several of the prison's security measures.

There's more to it, though. Several of the feeds, mostly in the hours leading up to the attack have been outright deleted, with no user identification for who had done so. There's no evidence that the system was accessed at all. Similarly for several of the bypassed security measures. The only possibilities for going in and removing such files outright from both the local and off-site servers are a truly world-class hacker with a hard line into both systems (good luck), or a powerful technopath.

With all that to chew on, the group continues their investigation into the sole remaining unaccounted-for agent, Rick Miller. Recalling his previous vision of a SIDE agent entering a building around sundown (and with sundown on the approach), Prophet reaches out to his contacts to try to identify the location. An old Porello informant recognizes the description as the city morgue.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed is very nearly peeved as the evening rolls on. This has been a disaster. She's nearly missed a whole DAY of family activities! And yes, there has been the attack on SIDE and whatnot, but still! A whole DAY!

As she strides into the morgue, she goes over the hypotheses she has floating around in her head.

1) Missing agents were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and were unfortunately vaporized. Surveillance wipes and tampering were the work of an external technopath.

2) Missing agents were in on it, disabled the cameras, got vaporized to cover the tracks of whatever organization did this. Surveillance wipes were the work of a technopath OR a hacker that had come in with the assault team and set up a hard line while everyone else was liberating the prisoners.

3) Missing agents were in on it, disabled the cameras, are STILL ALIVE. Surveillance wipes were the work of a technopath OR a hacker that had come in with the assault team and set up a hard line while everyone else was liberating the prisoners.

Not a one of these sits well with Hayseed. Hence her less-than-cheerful attitude as they approach the morgue.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gonna have to rewind you juuuust a bit there :smallsmile:. I wasn't certain if you'd want to head straight to the morgue, so waited for some indication before I set the stage there.

The sun is low on the horizon as the group (presumably, unless any of the others don't want to follow Hayseed to the morgue for some reason) arrives. The morgue is a two story white building with a sort of curving driveway/parking lot in front of it, forming a sort of concrete island of sidewalk around some grass and trees. A man in a SIDE uniform is entering the building.

Assuming he's there to see it, the scene is precisely as Caleb remembers from his vision.

That said, do you want to continue directly inside as stated?

[herodofcows]

Hayseed pulls up a picture of Miller and tries to see if the gentleman entering the building matches up.

Perception: [roll0]

. . . so, as far as she's concerned, they may as well have just seen Macklemore. What what, what, what?

[Quellian-dyrae]

Well, the picture is of the guy's front and they're facing his back, so Hayseed can't be sure, but she can still make out enough details to tell that his general height, weight, and build match up.

No auto-fail or critical failures on skill checks, and a 15 total is still enough to make a decent comparison, although it's not certain by any means.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed sighs.

"Dang eyes ain't what they used to be, but I think we've got our man here," she sighs, turning to the others, "How do y'all want to do this?"

[Dodgeson]

Avery has spent the ride over deep in thought over that most pressing of issues, what ringtone to assign Hayseed's number. Once they arrive at the morgue however he stashes the phone and gets back to business. "He's one of your guys right? Maybe you go try and talk to him and if he tries anything funny we've got your back."

[Dorni]

"I agree with Avery. We should try to talk with him, but the Dream showed me this this before. His face wasn't clear in that Vision, but he gave off a Bad feeling. When you approach him, be careful. I..." He trails off at a sudden memory from their earlier briefing. They were at a morgue. Full of dead bodies. Chasing an agent who went missing after the prison break. And the Dream had left the agent's identity vague during the Vision. His attention snapped to Hayseed. "What if Snatcher took Miller?"

[herodofcows]

Hayseed had just gotten out of the car when Prophet's suggestion came. That . . . well, THAT certainly gave her pause!

". . . that could be a problem," she says thoughtfully, resting her hands on the car door, "See, usually I avoid potential situations where I could be possessed by not letting them know I'm there . . ."

She thinks for a little bit, and then comes to an abrupt decision.

"Alrighty, I'd say we should proceed like Prophet's got it right. We're dealing with a potential reader/controller here, so that means we go in dark. You don't tell me what you're going to do, I won't tell you what I'm going to do. Usually we'd do this maneuver with a team of trained agents, but . . ."

She looks around at her new companions. Her new companions? Maybe, but they'd held up amazingly well today. Companions, then. Teammates. Partners.

"I'm pretty sure we'll be all right," she finishes with a grin.

She activates her ExSpecs and then strides towards the door of the morgue, with the intent of shadowing this Snatcher Miller. The Miller Snatcher. Rick Snatch. Snatcher Rick. Miller-Snatcher-the-Rick. One of those.

Stealth roll to shadow Miller/Snatcher.

[roll0]

Wooooo!

[Quellian-dyrae]

Hayseed tails the agent into the building with ease. The man doesn't so much as glance around warily at her presence.

The lobby is being manned by a security guard in his mid-thirties. He doesn't seem to notice Hayseed either as she takes to cover while his eyes are focused on the agent. "Evening, sir," the guard says.

The agent flashes his badge and ID card. "Rick Miller, FIRE-SIDE. M.E. called me in to take a look at one of the bodies, something turned up during the autopsy, I think," he says.

The guard just nods, pressing a button that slides the door behind and to the right of his desk open.

[Dodgeson]

Avery waits whilst Hayseed does her thing, there's no point in him following right behind her and giving the game away. Still he does have to be reasonably close if he's going to have her back. "Just act real casual." He advises Kyton and Prophet as he heads towards the lobby.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed makes note of the nearest fire alarm. With a body snatcher loose, the best choice is probably to limit access to the available bodies! Of course, this Snatcher fella can possess the dead . . . and he's headed to the morgue . . .

Ohhh jeepers . . .

Hayseed palms a few shurikens, just in case, and springs into action. As the door opens, she tries to dive, slide, and roll into the door before Miller/Snatcher, hopefully before he clears the desk. Whether or not she gets spotted, her next step remains the same: book it in towards the morgue like her life depends on it.

Because, really? It juuuuust might!

Feets, don't fail me!

Okay, so I've got some rolls for Stealth and Mobility. The former is to remain undetected as she gets through the door. The second is to run like crazy towards the morgue.

[roll0] Stealth
[roll1] Mobility

[Quellian-dyrae]

In a blur of stealthy speed, Hayseed slips past Agent Miller and rushes down the hall and into the morgue before the door has even slid all the way open. The door actually manages to block Miller's line of sight enough and Hayseed moves fast enough to get into the morgue without him spotting her, despite the lack of any other cover in the hallway.

There's a body laid out on one of the tables, apparently in preparation for autopsy, a dark-haired woman with a slit throat. If there are any other bodies there, they're presumably being stored in those cabinet tray table things.

With a sweeping glance over the room, you spot the name "Serana Videl" on the tag tied to the corpse.

You can tell easily enough that the woman's throat was slit by a big, sharp combat knife.

It's a rough estimate, but based on the visual state of the body, you believe she died somewhere in the vicinity of a week ago.

Avery walks into the building just as the agent is starting down the hall towards the morgue. He doesn't turn to regard you, just heading down the hall. The guard gives you a nod as you enter. "Evening, sir."

But you do notice the agent's steps speed up just a bit when he hears you come in.

You receive a vision of the inside of the morgue, from some kind of a first-person perspective. The body on the table sits up, head lolling awkwardly, but turns to your perspective with a wide, slasher's smile. Then eight of the cabinets open up and your perspective kinda sweeps across the room to see eight more dead bodies crawling and clambering out into the morgue with odd, disjointed movements. A horrible smell fills your nose as the vision ends.

Roll a DC 18 Fortitude save against an Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated Affliction.

[herodofcows]

Ohhh . . . quadruple fiddlesticks . . .

There are too many implications here. Rogue SIDE agents? A mole? Some OTHER unknown? Too much to deal with right now, and the Snatcher is coming . . .

Right. Precautions first!

Hayseed takes out her tracer and hides it on Serana's body. She has an inkling that mister Snatcher-the-Rick was here for one particular body, and if this went catwhompus then an once of prevention would be worth a pound of cure!

Having hidden the tracer, she pulls out her quarterstaff and stands ready to fetch Mister Snatcher Man a whack across the noggin the second he enters the room.

Of course, "a whack across the noggin" actually means "an intricate series of blows practiced with a nigh-sociopathic intensity over the course of decades", but Hayseed likes the sound of "a whack across the noggin". And sure, Snatcher maybe has access to all of agent Miller's memories and skills, but . . .

But he's FIRE-SIDE, for crying out loud! Hayseed scoffs to herself slightly.

Hookay, so a few things going on here:

Stealth to hide the tracer on Serana, just in case this doesn't work so well: [roll0]

NEXT: Readying an action with extra effort (if such a thing is permitted): one All-Out Power Attack, one Defensive Attack on Snatcher the second he walks in.

All-Out Power Attack: [roll1], DC 30 Damage (plus Multiattack)
Defensive Attack: [roll2] 20 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18843635&postcount=348), DC 25 Damage (plus Multiattack)

Hayseed is Fatigued (assuming this goes down)

EDIT: Geez, REALLY hoping surprise makes him/it vulnerable . . .

[Dorni]

Prophet follows Avery into the building, studying the toon hero again. "If you don't mind, I've been meaning to-"

He didn't get to finished, freezing mid-word as another Vision took him. Light poured from his eyes, his sight replaced with a grizzly scene. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his body shook. Moments later the light dimmed as the Vision ended and Prophet took a gasping breath, eyes still wide. A horde of walking corpses? Its... did Snatcher get a power up as well!?

His still wide eyes snapped down the hall, empty but for the agent. "STOP THAT MAN! Don't let him into that room!"

Impaired from the Vision. Since its from the Vision, when/how often do you want me to roll to shake it off?

[Dodgeson]

"I'm on it!" Avery yells as he tries to vanish with a 'bamf' and appear in front of agent holding a large burlap sack.

Move Action: Teleport in front of the the agent (60ft/Accurate)
Move Action:Hammer Space to "Burlap Beatdown" Affliction 10 (Hindered&Vulnerable/Defenseless&Immobilized, Dodge)(Extra Condition, Resisted by Dodge)(Limited Degree) Linked to Affliction 10 (Impaired/Disabled/Unaware, Resisted by Dodge)(Limited to Vision)[10+5]
Extra Effort for a Standard Action: +2 All-Out Attack at the Agent [roll0] DC20 Dodge Check against Hindered&Vulnerable/Defenseless&Immobilized and Visually Impaired/Disabled/Unaware if that hits

[Quellian-dyrae]

The agent started running down the hallway as soon as Prophet shouted. The security guard blanched in surprise, stammering something out, clearly confused and uncertain. Avery teleported into the hall, but the SIDE agent had reacted just a bit faster, and by the time he had initiated his blink, the man had reached the end of the hall and rushed through the door-

-Right into Hayseed's staff. There was a sickening crunching and cracking sound as the man's head was twisted around almost enough to look back at Avery, and he dropped unmoving to the ground.

And then...

And then...

...

...And then there was a SIDE agent lying dead on the floor of the autopsy room.

So, mission accomplished, right?

You can keep the Hero Point. No rolls were actually, strictly, required for that. :smallsmile:

[herodofcows]

Hayseed gapes for a moment, and then . . .

"Oh, FIDDLESTICKS," she groans, closing her eyes briefly. This isn't her first rodeo with a reader/controller.

"He's right behind me, isn't he?"

[HopeHubris]

Kyton had started making his way inside after hearing the shouting, but had barely made it through the door when he heard the crunch of FIRE-SIDE head meeting staff.
"Was that meant to happen?"
He says catching up to the group

[Dodgeson]

Avery's far too busy rushing after the FIRE-SIDE agent to answer Kyton's question, trampling his useless sack underfoot. Of course when he gets there Hayseed appears to have dealt with it just fine, he's really got to pick up his game, this is starting to reflect badly on him.

[Dorni]

Prophet stared down the hall at the scene as he forced his breathing to slow. Had he just ordered a man's death? The knowledge that it might have gotten worse had Snatcher made it to the autopsy room did nothing to stop his growing horror. Sweet Dream, what have I done?

...

Wait. It might not be over yet. Miller might have already died during the prison break. As for Snatcher, he might still be able to jump bodies.

Prophet rushed down the hall and knelt next to the dead agent, examining the body for injuries while keeping an eye on the corpse on the autopsy table.

Treatment 10 (taking 10)

[Quellian-dyrae]

The good news was, there was no one right behind Hayseed. Yay!

A quick check by Prophet confirmed that the agent was dead. The security guard came running into the hall, a shocked and terrified expression on his face. To the credit of his courage if perhaps not his cunning, he raised his sidearm and pointed it at the group. "What's going on in-"

His demand was interrupted by a flash of white light from the body, along with a sort of pressure radiating outward from it, like a low-strength shockwave.

Anyone facing the autopsy room, would immediately see the body on the table sit up, head lolling awkwardly. It turns towards the group with a wide, slasher's smile. Then eight of the cabinets open up and as your eyes sweep across the room in response to the movement, you see eight more dead bodies crawling and clambering out into the morgue with odd, disjointed movements. The air begins to smell foul.

The dead agent's body rises, standing up with the same wicked smile on its face, even though its head is still half caved in by Hayseed's blow and twisted at an unnatural angle.

The white light and shockwave flow back, like an explosion in reverse, centering in the middle of the room with a sound almost like a distant wail. A man appears in the center of the room. He's utterly physically average - average height, average weight, lightly browned skin, dark hair and eyes, plain features. None of you can recall ever having seen him before (he's definitely not the SIDE agent). Yep, utterly and completely physically average...except for the part where's he's glowing with some sort of pale white luminescence, hovering about two feet off the floor, and you can see through him. "Well...that's never happened before..."

The security guard, with much more credit to his cunning, runs screaming.

You feel a strange sensation in your head, kinda like how it feels when you're manipulating chains, but subtly difference. Concentrating on it, you notice ephemeral, ghostly chains extending from the spirit to the reanimated corpses. As the Dreamer of Chains, you might be able to influence them with your powers.

If you wish, you may spend a Hero Point to take advantage of the spirit's Chains of Command Complication. If you do so, then for the rest of the scene, you may manipulate the ghostly chains with your powers, granting them two ranks of Affects Insubstantial, and granting those that target Fortitude the Alternate Resistance (Will) Extra when used against the spirit. Doing so also grants you an additional Alternate Power of Charged Chain for the duration of the scene:

Chains of Command [Necromancy]: Affliction 10 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled; Perception Range, Cumulative, Limited [Only to chain-bound undead]).

(The spirit isn't chain-bound, the animated corpses are).

That can be considered the enemy turn. All PCs are up.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed stares for a moment. Just . . . takes it all in. In a job like this, you had to give yourself a moment every now and then to take in the utter weirdness of the day-to-day sights of working with and fighting Dreamers.

Aaaaaand . . . moment done!

"Avery, Prophet, try to take out the intangible!" she cries out, spin-kicking over to Serana's corpse. They may be walking dead, but could they walk without kneecaps???

As she tries to smash in the corpse, she can't resist putting on her best folksy accent (which isn't really that great to begin with):

"Sumtahms, DEAD IS BETTAH!"

For now, sticking to a basic attack, with the caveat that Hayseed has Takedown 2 if they're minions. Starting with Serana's body.

[roll0], DC 25 Damage + Multiattack.

[HopeHubris]

Feeling that he is somehow missing something, Kyton looks around and focuses on his power, which he believes is the source of his strange feeling.
After a moment of concentration ethereal chains start to appear before his eyes, connecting the glowing Snatcher and his undead minions.

Are those figurative chains I'm sense/seeing? That's just odd, and useful
Kyton thinks, striking out with a combination of regular and ghostly chains


Move Action: Re-perception in OOC
Spend Hero point, 0 left, aww :smallfrown:
Chain Grab on anything within range, I should be at about the door, I think
If everything is in range, then ghosty and closer targets get preference (since I think there are more than 8 targets)

[Dodgeson]

"I got him!"

Avery vanishes, only to reappear next to the glowing figure and menacingly brandishing what appears to be a hand held vacuum cleaner

"You're not going anywhere Casper."

Move Action Teleport 30ft towards the see-through man
Move Action Hammer Space to "DustGhostbuster Affliction 10 (Impaired&Vulnerable/Disabled&Defenseless/Unaware&Paralyzed, Resisted by Dodge/Overcome by Strength/Damage)(Affects Insubstantial 2, Extra Condition [22]

HP: 1
Condition: Fatigued

[Dorni]

Prophet jumped to his feet and eyed the Ghost, ready to call upon the Dream to stop him from possessing his teammates.

Move: Stand up
Standard: Ready Action to Counter any attempt at Possession. I'm not sure if this would be best done via invoking the Dream via his cursing power or if his Blessing of Protection would fit better. I'll roll as both and leave it to you.
[roll0] if done as a Counter, [roll1] if done via Deflection

[Quellian-dyrae]

The undead woman moved haltingly, but with surprising speed, managing to keep ahead of Hayseed's whirling staff - for the moment, anyway.

The spectral Snatcher, meanwhile, regarded Avery's threat with a sort of bland indifference, seeing absolutely no way a vacuum cleaner could be in even the slightest way relevant to the proceedings. Kyton's attack drew more of a reaction, the ghost getting a surprised look on his face as he dodged fitfully, despite the fact that none of Kyton's chains (as far as the rest of the group could perceive) came anywhere near the ghost, nor should they have been a threat to it in any event.

They were a plenty significant threat to the other walking corpses. Four of them went down under Kyton's assault, and the bodies of Serana and Miller were both grabbed and crushed by the chains.

Then the ghost let out a horrific wail, a howl that brought pain to the body and ears alike. Flesh would rot and wither under the force of that horrific noise...but the Prophet unleashed his own power into the teeth of the attack, the divine light of the Dream rising to shield his allies from the unholy energies that streamed from the ghost - and stopping them cold. Snatcher visibly recoiled from the light that Prophet radiated out against it, rising up through the ceiling to get away from it.

The more powerful of the undead, though held by Kyton's chains, were not completely bound, and lashed out in a frenzy of claws and teeth, Miller raking at Kyton while Serana slashed at Hayseed. If either were so much as scratched, they might be pleasantly surprised to find the wounds causing no pain - for the half-second or so it would take to realize that the reason for that was a creeping numbness spreading from any injury inflicted by the deadly claws of the ghasts. Of course, since neither are so much as scratched, that's just, you know, completely irrelevant.

Meanwhile, the horrific odor rising from the dead bodies intensified, the ghoulish stench washing over the heroes, a hundred times more wretched than the absolute worst of dirty diapers Hayseed had been called upon to change in her daughters' infancies.

Dorni, go ahead and give me two more DC 18 Fortitude saves. If you succeed either, you've thrown off the previous Affliction. If you fail both it remains.

Avery, you receive a +2 circumstance bonus on attack rolls against Snatcher until you hit or change weapons, due to underestimation.

Snatcher:
Standard Action: Wail, [roll0] to beat Prophet's counter (DC 29, 27 if Prophet's still Impaired). If it beats the Counter, Dodge DC 22 for half, Toughness DC 27/21 vs. Damage. Wail does not affect undead. Countered
Move Action: Fly up through the ceiling.

Serana:
Move Action: Dazed.
Standard Action: Ghastly Frenzy on Hayseed at [roll1]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27+Multiattack vs. Damage and Fortitude DC 22+Multiattack vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Immobilized+Disabled+Defenseless/Paralyzed Affliction. Miss

Miller:
Move Action: Dazed.
Standard Action: Ghastly Frenzy on Kyton at [roll2]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27+Multiattack vs. Damage and Fortitude DC 22+Multiattack vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Immobilized+Disabled+Defenseless/Paralyzed Affliction. Miss

EDIT: Good lord these ghasts cannot roll for squat!

Ghouls 4, 6, 7, 8:
Move Action: Eh, let's have one close with each hero. Why not?
Standard Action: Ghoulish Stench, resolved as a Team Attack. Since this is an Area attack, each helper provides one degree of Team Attack success, so three helpers gives the primary attack the +5 bonus. Dodge DC 23 to hold your breath and avoid the stench. If that fails, Fortitude DC 23 vs. Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated Affliction. This effect is Cumulative, so if Prophet is still Impaired at this stage, that degree of failure will stack.

Current Status:
Hayseed: Normal (Pending).
Kyton: Normal (Pending).
Avery: Fatigued (Pending).
Prophet: Either Normal or Impaired (Pending).

Ghouls: 4/8.
Serana: Bruised, (Dazed Ends), Grabbed.
Miller: Bruised, (Dazed Ends), Grabbed.
Snatcher: Total Cover.

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed lurches away in response to the-corpse-formerly-known-as-Serana, dodging her clumsy blow. In one confused moment, her ExSpex warn her of a coming attack in the form of . . .

"Wheeee-OOO! Nasty!" Hayseed howls, fanning the air in front of her nose. The ExSpex swung into gear, sending in a series of pulses of light through her eyes that signaled her brain to shut down key elements of her olfactory system. Immediately, the smell became largely bearable, but Hayseed threw on her gas mask just in case.

"Well, hopefully killing them will deal with the stench! MAN, I don't want to have to explain this one to the director, no sir-ee!" she calls out. She extends her quarterstaff and grasps one end like a sword, trying to spin and hit both Jack and Serana before doing her best to vanish into the chaos.

Free: Use her gas mask to avoid any more of these shenanigans.

Standard: Attack Serana and Jack using Multiattack (Multiple Targets)
vs. Serana: [roll0], DC 25 Toughness Crit
vs. Jack: [roll1], DC 25 Toughness Miiiiight hit?

Move: Stealth to vanish into the chaos, potentially under a gurney or something.
Stealth: [roll2]

[Dodgeson]

"I said you're not going anywhere!"

Avery shakes his fist as Snatcher floats through the ceiling before attempting to give chase.

Move Action30ft Accurate Teleport to Snatcher


HP: 1
Condition: Fatigued

[Dodgeson]

"Gotcha!"

Appearing in front of his target Avery swipes at him with the hand-vac.

Standard ActionAttack with +2 at Snatcher [roll0] DC20 Dodge Save vs Impaired&Vulnerable/Disabled&Defenseless/Unaware&Paralyzed if that hits

HP 1
Condition Fatigued

[HopeHubris]

"Doesn't look like he has much control over these things, very clum- Oh god, that is foul"
Kyton gags as he dodges Miller's attack
"Not ignoring them any more"
He mutters under his breath, trying to hold it as much as possible as he strikes out at all of the zombies in the room still standing


Can I fight defensively with an area attack? If so, would it just lower the dodge DC for half effect?
I figure that's the easiest way to represent him preparing to hold his breathe for more odour
Move: Nothin' useful I can think of
Standard: Chain Grab (defensively if possible)

[Dorni]

Thats right, ghost. Flee from the Dream. Not content with merely driving back the spectre's unholy power, Prophet raised his hand and the holy light blazed forth once again. Though the Dream would be soothing to his allies, the light hissed as it clashed with the dark will animating the corpses.

Affliction [Area[Burst], Selective][Impaired / Stunned / Incapacitated] Will DC 20, Dodge DC 20 (half)

[Quellian-dyrae]

The three heroes downstairs battered the undead creatures savagely. Hayseed's whirling staff, Kyton's dancing chains, and Prophet's holy power crashed into ghasts and ghouls alike, splitting flesh, breaking bones, and wreaking all manner of havoc on the reanimated corpses. The four remaining ghouls collapsed, their bodies savaged too terribly by the assault to remain animate.

But the two more powerful ghasts weathered the attacks without so much as flinching. Physical trauma had been visibly inflicted, but neither seemed particularly impaired by that fact. Struggling to throw off Kyton's chains, they continued to attack he and Hayseed with near-mindless savagery.

Upstairs, Snatcher's face betrayed surprise as the hand-vac actually started pulling his incorporeal form towards it. He managed to slip away before it could suck him in, but he eyed the Hero with new respect. Which...may or may not have been a good thing, as the ghost floated forward, slipping around his hand-vac and reaching out with a quick grasp of its hand...before coming forward in an effort to float into Avery's body.

Serana:
Move: Attempt to Escape (DC 20, includes -5 penalty from Improved Hold) at [roll0]. Escapes
Standard: Ghastly Frenzy on Hayseed at [roll1]. If Escape fails, this is an All Out Attack, increasing the attack roll by 5. On a hit, Toughness DC 27+Multiattack vs. Damage and Fortitude DC 22+Multiattack vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Immobilized+Defenseless+Disabled/Paralyzed Affliction. Miss

Miller:
Move: Attempt to Escape (DC 20, includes -5 penalty from Improved Hold) at [roll2]. Fails
Standard: Ghastly Frenzy on Kyton at [roll3]. If Escape fails, this is an All Out Attack and Power Attack, increasing the DC by 5. On a hit, Toughness DC 27+Multiattack vs. Damage and Fortitude DC 22+Multiattack vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Immobilized+Defenseless+Disabled/Paralyzed Affliction. Miss

Snatcher:
Move: Feint with a -5 penalty at [roll4]. Avery must beat that roll with Deception or Insight (whichever is better) or be Vulnerable against the next attack.
Standard: Possession on Avery at [roll5]. On a hit, Will DC 22 vs. Vulnerable/Compelled/Controlled Affliction. Be warned! This attack is both Cumulative and Progressive! Miss unless Feint succeeds

Current Status:
Hayseed: Normal.
Kyton: Impaired (Fortitude DC 23 negates).
Avery: Fatigued, 2nd Floor (Pending).
Prophet: Impaired (Fortitude DC 18 negates).

Serana: Bruised.
Miller: Bruised, Grabbed, -5 Defense this turn.
Snatcher: 2nd Floor.

All PCs are on turn.

[HopeHubris]

"Oh, good, I can almost breathe again"
Kyton mutters, still gagging as the last of the lesser zombies falls

I wonder...

With the stronger undead seemingly able to ignore his physical chains, he decides to try something else. Trying to co-opt ghostly chains that bind them to Snatcher's will, and instead bind one to his own.

"Uh, so I think that worked, I have control of one of the zombies"



Fort: [roll0] to throw off the thing, -2 if the Impaired applies to all checks
Chain of Command on Serena

[herodofcows]

Hayseed grunts and twists under the gurney as Serana slams down at her. Righting herself back up, tries another twisting spinning blow to hit both of the ghouls. Overambitious? Maybe, but being around all of these young folks has her feeling a bit like pushing herself a bit.

Old mama Cassie's gotta keep up! Ha-HEY!

Only as she begins spinning in towards Serana does she hear a bit of what Kyton had just said.

"Wait, you have what?"

Same as last time, minus the stealth roll and throwing some Power Attack in there.

vs. Serana: [roll0], DC 27 Damage
vs. Miller: [roll1], DC 27 Damage

[HopeHubris]

"Well, uh, it kinda seems like Snatcher is controlling these things with invisible metaphysical chains, and I control chains, it's kinda my thing"

[Dodgeson]

Avery yelps as Snatcher floats towards, vanishing and reappearing downstairs with his teammates. "I've got Snatcher occupied on the second floor but he's trying to put the bad-touch on my brainmeats, so if I start acting weird you know why!" he hollers before vanishing again and taking another swipe at his incorporeal enemy.

Move Action Teleport back downstairs with Turnabout
Standard Action Attack Snatcher [roll0] DC20 DC25 Dodge Save vs Impaired&Vulnerable/Disabled&Defenseless/Unaware&Paralyzed if that hits

HP 1
Condition Fatigued

[Dorni]

Prophet didn't know whether Avery was couragous or crazy to chase after Snatcher alone. No, he won't be alone.

Though no less bright, the light in his hand became soothing. The light gathered around Avery before fading away. "Dream keep you safe," he intoned as the toon vanished again.

Standard: Deflect on Hayseed / Keyton / Prophet. New Defense: [roll0]. Attacks Reflected.
Using Luck Control to Bestow a blessing (Hero Point) on Avery. Avery: +1 :smallcool:. Prophet: -1 :smallcool:
As an aside, does this allow Avery to use the HP in any of the ways Prophet can, or does he not get access to my Luck Control options by proxy?

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 4

Jerked about like a puppet on a string (chain, whatever), Serana stopped making standard-issue claw/claw/bite attack routines against Hayseed and stepped casually around the agent to walk over to the other ghast, waving cheerily as she did, but halting mid-wave and turning back towards Kyton with fury on her face as Snatcher's will wrested control of her chain back from him. Miller, for his part, took a savage beating from Hayseed's staff, and the pus and ichor that seeped from its wounds made the stench of the ghouls seem like three-day body odor by comparison.

Upstairs, the hand-vac caught hold of the spirit's essence, forcing Snatcher to fight against its pull. It was a struggle, but he managed to slip away. "What manner of creature are you?" the ghost asked without a trace of irony. Its form shifted, becoming some hideous skeletal visage, chains extending like tentacles all around it, its eyes burning pits of fire and death that seemed to lead into some endless chasm, filling any who looked upon it with a sense of doom.

I don't think Prophet rolled his Recovery check this round, so rolling it here: [roll0] (DC 18). Fail

Serana:
Move Action: Compelled.
Standard Action: Move adjacent to Miller.
Recovery Check (DC 20): [roll1]. Recovers

Miller:
Move Action: Dazed.
Standard Action: Ghastly Stench. Hayseed, Kyton, and Prophet, Dodge DC 20 to block the smell. If that fails, Fortitude DC 20 vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless/Incapacitated+Unaware. This is not Cumulative so it'll overlap any remaining Ghoul Stench, but it is Progressive, so it'll worsen if you fail to recover from it.

Snatcher:
Move Action: None.
Standard Action: Nightmare Visage. Avery, roll Dodge DC 22 to avert your gaze. If that fails, Will DC 22 vs. Impaired/Disabled/Compelled (to flee) Affliction.
Recovery Check (DC 25): [roll2]. Recovers (forgot the -2 from Impaired, but it didn't matter)

Current Status:
Hayseed: Normal.
Kyton: Impaired (Fortitude DC 23).
Avery: Fatigued, 2nd Floor (Pending).
Prophet: Impaired (Fortitude DC 18) (Pending).

Serana: 2 Bruises, Compelled (Will DC 20).
Miller: 2 Bruises, (Dazed Ends), Grabbed.
Snatcher: 2nd Floor.

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed breathes freely behind her gas mask, and so Kyton likely misses her flabbergasted look.

"So . . . you can control ANY chain, sweetie?" she asks slowly, continuing to bounce back and forth between Miller and Serana in a flurry of hyperviolence, "How, ah, how far does that stretch?"

Her mind was aflutter with possibilities at this. If metaphysical chains were under Kyton's purview, then could he control anything defined as a "chain"? The chain of command? The ol' ball and chain? Chain smoking? Could Kyton stop people from smoking???

Yep, easier to just pound the monsters and not think too hard about it!

Same stuff.

vs. Miller [roll0], DC 25 Damage
vs. Serana [roll1], DC 25 Damage

[HopeHubris]

"Honestly? This is the first time I've even seen non-physical chains, let alone tried to control one... And look at that, I think I've lost control of the zombie already, one sec"
Kyton stops and tries to re-exert control over his new zombie minion


Standard: Chains of Command
Still impaired :smalleek:

[Dodgeson]

Snatcher's new grim and terrible visage gives Avery pause for only the briefest of moments before he bursts out laughing "Hahahaha! Oh man, is that supposed to be scary? Oh that's rich" With a sigh he wipes away a tear from his eye "Now where were we? Oh yeah. Less yappin' more vaccin'" Avery jabs his weapon again at the specter, starting to doubt whether this is a fight he'll be able to rely on his powers to simply carry him through as he puts some space between them.

Standard Action +2 Defensive Attack at Snatcher [roll0] DC20 Dodge Save vs Impaired&Vulnerable/Disabled&Defenseless/Unaware&Paralyzed if that hits
Move Action Teleport 10ft away

HP 2
Condition Fatigued +2 Active Defense

[Dorni]

"Perhaps your blessing is greater than you realize." Prophet raised his hand again and rays of light shot forth, barraging the unholy energy animating Miller.

Standard: Affliction [Vulnerable/Defenseless/Incapacitated] [Ranged, Alternate Resistance(Dodge), Multi-attack, Distracting] Dodge DC 20 + multi-attack. To Hit: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 5

With Avery trying to keep his distance, it was fairly trivial for Snatcher to likewise keep out of the hand-vac's limited range of efficacy. The ghost reverted to his normal appearance, giving a flat, annoyed stare as Avery laughed him off.

In a fury, the ghost rushed forward, reaching out with its hand for Avery's eyes. If the world were fair, it would have done it in the classic three-stooges style pointer-and-middle-finger-extended eye jab (Avery could have raised his hand up to his nose to block, the ghost's hand would pass right through his, comedy gold I'm telling you!) But no, like everyone else in this tragically non-cartoony world, the ghost just made a simple kinda grabbing thrust as his eyes. Boring but practical. Such a waste.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Hayseed's staff dislocated one of Serana's shoulders and split open Miller's lip. One of those two injuries actually matters to ghouls. Prophet's divine light left Miller falling back, off-balance and open to attack, and even as he started lashing out against Kyton in a fury, Serana leaped upon him like a feral beast, rending and biting, tearing both his arms off and his head from his shoulders before he could so much as get close to the chain-controller. But he did manage to get out of the chains before (re)dying, so there's that. And once more, Snatcher yanked the chains out from Kyton's metaphysical grasp, the remaining ghast once more turning upon the heroes, apparently not even noticing that she had just slaughtered her defenseless teammate and/or had something in her teeth.

Serana:
Move Action: Compelled.
Standard Action: Attack Miller with Ghastly Frenzy, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 5, Finishing Attack at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 37+Multiattack vs. Damage. Miller's Immune to the Affliction. Miller Toughness: [roll1] KILLED!
Recovery Check (DC 20): [roll2] Recovers

Miller:
Move Action: Attempt to Escape (much good will it do him) at [roll3]. Escapes
Standard Action: Attack Kyton with Ghastly Frenzy, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 5, at [roll4]. On a hit, Toughness DC 32+Multiattack vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 27+Multiattack vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Immobilized+Defenseless+Disabled/Paralyzed Affliction. Apparently Dies Before He Gets Anywhere Close!
Recovery Check (DC 25): [roll5]. Aww-ww

Snatcher:
Move Action: Close with Avery.
Standard Action: Fell Touch, All Out Attack for 2, Power Attack for 2, at [roll6]. On a hit, Fortitude DC 24 or lose one point of Awareness per two points the check fails by, to a maximum of 7. Miss (and would have hit without the Defensive Attack, good call there).

Current Status:
Hayseed: Normal.
Kyton: Impaired (Fortitude DC 23).
Avery: Fatigued, 2nd Floor, +2 Defense this turn.
Prophet: Normal.

Serana: 2 Bruises, -5 Defense this turn.
Miller: KILED!
Snatcher: 2nd Floor, -2 Defense this turn.

All PCs are on turn.

[HopeHubris]

"So, managed to control her again for a second, as you may have noticed, but controlling undead is a lot harder than it looks, already slipped again."
Kyton begins to retch as he flings his chains at the relatively defenceless Serena
"And can anyone do something about that stench, I can taste it..."

[herodofcows]

Hayseed looks on as Serana rips agent Miller's head off, lips curled in distaste. Say what you will about using a quarterstaff, but it never resulted in that kind of unnecessary MESS! And jeez, all those fluids . . . unsanitary! She finds herself itching for some hand sanitizer.

"Right! Let's . . . WAIT! Don't destroy her body completely! Maybe we can get Snatcher to tell us what she saw!" she exclaims, interrupting herself mid-sentence as the idea occurs to her. Leaping gracefully over the table, she goes in for a quarterstaff-assisted kick into Serana's midriff. The dead precog's head might be necessary for her plan, but not the body!

Mid-kick, she feels her comm buzz with a message. Pulling it out as she recovers, she's delighted to see a text from Frank. Oh, they'd gotten gyros! That's nice! And he'd sent a picture. Aww, Marsha looks so happy! Hayseed allows herself a little gleeful twirl through the zombie goop on the floor. Somehow, knowing that the day hadn't been ruined by her absence makes her feel better about having to sacrifice family for work, even just this once. It's a minor weight lifted off her shoulders.

All-Out Power Attack! -5 to Hayseed's defenses.

[roll0] vs. Parry, DC 30 Damage plus Multiattack.

[Dodgeson]

Avery's neck jerks back rather further than should be possible to avoid Snatcher's grasp. "Too slow Ghost Dad. What got you anyway? Choke on a peanut?" Avery takes another swing at the spirit, trying his darnedest not to leave any openings in his defence and hey if he's lucky maybe he'll even get some info out of Snatcher.

Standard Action +2 Defensive Attack at Snatcher [roll0] DC20 Dodge Save vs Impaired&Vulnerable/Disabled&Defenseless/Unaware&Paralyzed if that hits

HP 2
Condition Fatigued/+2 Active Defense

[Dorni]

Prophet doesn't react at Hayseed's order. The light is all he can see as it continues hammering the unholy energy powering the creature.

Standard: Affliction [Impaired/Stunned/Incapacitated] [Ranged, Alternate Resistance(Dodge), Multi-attack, Distracting] Dodge DC 20 + multi-attack + Finishing Attack. To Hit: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 6

Beset on all sides, Serana took heavy damage. Bones cracked and flesh smoked, but she did somehow manage to stay up and moving. More of the horrible stench rose from her new injuries.

Snatcher scoffed at Avery's taunt. "Hmph, hardly. No, I am in fact quite alive. For this whole scenario you can thank my rescuer. I must say, the augmentation she bestowed exceeded my expectations. A more than fair trade for walking a single dead woman out of the morgue. The unleashed powers of the spirit are impressively formidable."

"Still, there is something to be said for the classics..." he marked idly, flying forward quick in another attempt to merge his form with Avery's.

Serana:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Ghastly Stench. Kyton and Prophet, Dodge DC 20 to avoid, Fortitude DC 20 vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless/Incapacitated+Unaware Progressive Affliction.
Recovery Check: [roll0]. Recovers

Snatcher:
Move: Close with Avery.
Standard: Possession, All Out Attack for 2, Power Attack for 2, at [roll1]. On a hit, Will DC 24 vs. Vulnerable/Compelled/Controlled Affliction. Hit

Current Status:
Hayseed: Normal.
Kyton: Impaired (Fortitude DC 23) (Pending).
Avery: Fatigued, 2nd Floor, +2 Defense this turn (Pending).
Prophet: Normal (Pending).

Serana: 4 Bruises, Staggered, -5 Defense this turn.
Snatcher: 2nd Floor, -2 Defense this turn.

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

"Is she smelly? She's smelly, isn't she?" Hayseed calls over her blissfully odor-proof gas mask, "Let's see if we can fix that nice and quick . . ."

She collapses her quarterstaff goes in close to batter at the zombie, goo flying as he blows land. Hayseed's had to fight some messy opponents in her time, and she deals with the situation as she always has.

One million showers, she promises herself, As soon as this is done, one MILLION showers.

Same All-Out Power Attack as last time, -5 to Hayseed's active defenses.:

[roll0] vs. Parry, DC 30 Damage plus Multiattack.

[HopeHubris]

"Yeah, you could say that..."
Kyton says through his hands, having managed to cover his mouth and nose before the latest wave of the stench hit.

Fortunately, he doesn't need his hands to throw chains at people, so he does


Attack: Chain Lightning [roll0]

And woo, not impaired

[Dodgeson]

Avery barely manages to repel Snatcher attempt at possession, truth be told hes not sure whether he can do it again but he sure as hell didn't join the Hero Corp to run away from guys like this. "Trust me, you don't want in there. It's just old movies and pie gags." He vanishes with a pop, reappearing at the other end of the hall way as he racks his brains for a plan.

Move Action Teleport 30ft from Snatcher
Standard Action Recover to remove Fatigue

HP 0
Condition +2 Active Defense

[Dorni]

Prophet recoils from the stench but keeps up the Light barrage.

Standard: Affliction [Impaired/Stunned/Incapacitated] [Ranged, Alternate Resistance(Dodge), Cumulative, Distracting] Dodge DC 20. To Hit: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 7:

The Serana ghast was alone, battered, the energies animating her barely keeping her undead body up and moving. Hayseed assailed her with a devastating series of staff blows, Kyton hammered her with chains from all directions, Prophet rained holy power down upon her. Amidst the bevvy of assaults, Kyton did manage to wrap her once more in his chains, binding her tightly.

But she was still fighting, jerking against the chains as she raked at Hayseed with her claws and lunged for Kyton's throat with her teeth, although his chains kept her from reaching him.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Snatcher glared at Avery and made a quick jerking pull of his hands. A shelf full of various medical supplies hurled itself at Avery with superhuman force.

Serana:
Move Action: Nope.
Standard Action: Ghastly Frenzy on Hayseed, All Out Attack for 5 at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27+Multiattack vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 22+Multiattack vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Immobilized+Defenseless+Disabled/Paralyzed Affliction. Hit. Multiattack for 2 thanks to Hayseed's All Out Attack.
Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Ghastly Frenzy on Kyton, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 2 at [roll1]. On a hit, Toughness DC 29+Multiattack vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 24+Multiattack vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Immobilized+Defenseless+Disabled/Paralyzed Affliction. Kyton receives a :smallcool: Hero Point after this attack resolves. Miss. The best Hero Points are free Hero Points :smallamused:

Snatcher:
Move Action: Doin' Fine.
Standard Action: Telekinesis on Avery. Perception-range attack automatically hits. Toughness DC 27 vs. Damage. In addition, due several vials of drugs that are almost certainly not meant to be mixed shattering all over you, you must also make a DC 22 Fortitude save against an Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated Affliction. Avery receives a :smallcool: Hero Point after this attack resolves.

Current Status:
Hayseed: Normal (Pending).
Kyton: Normal.
Avery: 2nd Floor, +2 Defense this turn (Pending).
Prophet: Normal.

Serana: 4 Bruises, Staggered, [Immobilized, Defenseless, and Impaired], -5 Defense this turn.
Snatcher: 2nd Floor.

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed nearly twists out of the way in time, but still gets a nasty slash across the neck.

"Ahh!" she cries, clutching at it as she moves back. A brief inspection shows that the wound was superficial, but . . .

"Fiddlesticks! How am I gonna explain THIS one?" she cries out, laying into the zombie.

Hayseed has had to explain some pretty weird injuries over the years as part of staying undercover. She's "fallen down the stairs" or "gotten sideswiped by a passing car" or "accidentally stuck a fork in an outlet" multiple times now, even ignoring the multiple "company team building exercises" that so often go wrong for her. As she starts beating at Serana, her mind is racing. Maybe someone in the office had a dog? And the dog didn't like her? Or would a cat be more believable? Could she cover it with a scarf? Synthskin could maybe help her get away with this one . . .

Move: Nah.

Standard: Regular attack: [roll0], DC 25+Multiattack

[Dodgeson]

Avery's strange and alcohol-soaked physiology allows him to weather Snatcher's latest assault with nothing more than a stained shirt and a pair of swirls where his eyes should be, that doesn't mean that it didn't hurt though. Vanishing, he reappears downstairs with his teammates to see them still fighting with Serana.

"If any of you guys have been holding out on me and you can punch ghosts now would be the time to share! And will someone please break her legs?" He says, waving his vac at the zombie "Snatcher wants to walk out with her we don't gots to make it easy."

Move Action Teleport back downstairs
Standard Action Defend Action [roll0] +10 on 18 or less
Fortitude save to Shake off Impaired [roll1]

HP 1
Condition Active Defenses (23)

[HopeHubris]

"I can kind-of punch ghosts, there are ghost-chains all around this area, I can whack him with those if you get him down here again."
Kyton says, taking a few steps out of zombie range
"Might want to get rid of this thing first though"

More chains fly out at the remaining zombie, while Kyton prepares to wrangle some ghost chains


Move action: Get out of zombie's reach
Standard: Chain Lightning [roll0], Multi

HP: 1

[Dorni]

With Serena down, Prophet lowers his hand and the Light fades. He blinks repeatedly, trying to get the afterimage out of his eyes. "I can Bind him, the Dream willing, but I cannot shield us from him at the same time. I'll focus on keeping his power at bay - I won't allow him to take any of you."

He scans the room, trying to be alert.

Move: n/a
Standard: Reading action to Counter Snatcher.
If he attacks, use Deflect. New Defense [roll0]. Attack reflected at +10.
If he uses his Wail (or similar), Counter at [roll1]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 8

Even the powerful necromantic energies animating the ghast couldn't last forever, and Hayseed and Kyton finally managed to cause enough brute physical trauma to Serana's already-dead body that it became impossible for it to remain up and moving. The ghast dropped, just in time for Avery to reappear with an angry ghost hot on his trail.

But when Snatcher came through the ceiling and saw that all of the bodies were smashed beyond reanimation, fear and rage flashed across his features. "No! No...no...NOOOOOO!" he screamed, more of that horrific power filling his voice, though once again Prophet was prepared, casting his divine power out to shield the party. "A...a body! I need a body!" he gasped, flying at speed at and through the group. They could hear the security guard in the lobby scream in fear.

Snatcher:
Move Action: Fly back to the first floor.
Free Action: Realize this has gone really bad.
Standard Action: Wail. [roll0] to beat DC 24 Counter. If check succeeds, everyone make a DC 22 Dodge check for half effect followed by a DC 27/21 Toughness save vs. Damage.
Move-by Action: Fly into the lobby.

Current Status:
Hayseed: 1 Bruise.
Kyton: Normal.
Avery: Normal.
Prophet: Normal.

Snatcher: Normal.

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

"Oh, son of a . . ."

Hayseed keys in the code for a quick burst of super-speed and goes zooming into the lobby.

". . . biscuit . . ."

She tries to grab the security guard away from his desk . . .

". . . eating . . ."

. . . and run him outside.

". . . BULLDOG!"

Okay, so

Move 1: Activate the Mobility Suit's super-speed function (now moving at 250 ft/round, if I recall correctly)
Move 2: Run into the lobby.
Hero Point Move-by-Action: Grab the guard (do I need a check for this?) and run outside with him.

[Dodgeson]

Avery's hot on Snatcher's tail, vanishing and reappearing behind him brandishing his vacuum, at this point he's not sure if it's working properly but anything that gives the phantom pause is worth it. "You aint getting anyone Casper."

Move Action: Teleport to Snatcher
Standard Action: +2 Defensive Attack at Snatcher [roll0] DC20 Dodge Save vs Impaired&Vulnerable/Disabled&Defenseless/Unaware&Paralyzed if that hits

HP 1
Condition +2 Active Defense

[HopeHubris]

"Does that vacuum actually do anything?"
Kyton asks as he propels himself towards the lobby.

He looks around as he arrives, making sure that the ethereal chains were still there before provoking the ghost further.

"No more running, these nice people probably have some questions for you"

To the rest of the group it might appear as if Kyton was doing nothing, but invisible chains were flying towards the spirit, attempting to entangle it and prevent more running.


Move: Chain swinging to the lobby (assuming there's enough space for that, will re-do post if there isn't)
Standard: Chain Lightning + Fast Grab
Attack [roll0]
Grab [roll1] (maybe less, if there aren't as many ghost chains to grab with)

[Dorni]

What does he mean, he needs a body? Prophet thought as he chased the ghost into the hall. He started reciting a prayer in his head, but discarded it. He could shield his allies and the guard, but he just protecting them wouldn't keep Snatcher from seeking out a different victim.

"Why do you need her body? Answer me!" He raised his hand and light once again shone forth. The Light gathered around the ghost in the beginning of a binding.

Move: Chase into hallway.
Standard: Affliction [Hindered+Entranced / Compelled + Immobile] [Ranged, Cumulative, Extra Condition, Limited Degree]. To Hit: [roll0]. Will DC 20.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 9:

Hayseed pulled the guard outside, to another scream from Snatcher. The ghost whirled on the heroes as they came into the lobby, fury blazing in his eyes as he hurled his hands towards them, waves of telekinetic force rolling off of him, holding Avery back from getting close enough to catch him with his handvac, deflecting aside the lashing chains and divine power. He ignored Prophet's demand, flying doggedly through the wall to chase after the SIDE agent and the security guard, waving one hand at Hayseed to try to launch her away from the guard and into a building.

You notice that Snatcher seems slightly more translucent than he was earlier.

Snatcher:
Move: Fly after Hayseed.
Standard: Telekinesis on Hayseed. Perception range. Roll a DC 22 Strength check. If you fail, you're sent flying and slam a wall for DC 27 Damage. If you are sent flying, you can keep your hold on the guard if you can pass a secondary DC 22 Strength check. However, if you do, he'll also receive half damage (DC 21).

Hayseed: Looks like your Speed is 6 with the mobility suit (1,800 feet per round). Snatcher is actually flying at Speed 5, so you can probably escape him if you go top speed. If you choose to do so, make an Athletics or Acrobatics check, DC 20; if you fail, his advantages of flight and intangibility and the obstructions provided by the city are sufficient that he can keep up with you for at least one round per degree you fail by (after which you could try again). Worth noting, though, is he pretty obviously was going after the guard because he was the easiest possible target and if you lead him on a chase through the city he might find a different target, unless the others can keep up and stop him of course.

Current Status:
Hayseed: 1 Bruise (Pending).
Kyton: Normal.
Avery: Normal.
Prophet: Normal.

Snatcher: Normal.

All PCs are on turn.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed allows herself one moment of pride at her strategem . . . which is of course the moment things go off the rails.

WHAM

BAM

"Thank you . . . ma'am . . ." she grins to herself, and then winces woozily, "Ow . . ."

Hayseed slowly picks herself up from the crumpled heap that she finds herself in after having been thrown into a nearby concrete wall. Thinking as though through quicksand, she considers her options.

1. Snatcher is intangible, and she has no way to harm him (something to look to later. Kit upgrade?)

2. Her allies CAN hit Snatcher.

3. Intangible or no, having bullets go through you HAD to be a distraction.

Hayseed draws out and sets up her sniper rifle with thoughtless practiced ease. She mutters through the steps, just to keep her head in the game. And then, once she's finished, she starts taking shots through Snatcher's incorporeal form. She specifically targets his . . . well, his gentleman parts. Intangible or no, there are some basic instincts you just don't let go of. Hopefully THAT would let Avery use his hand vacuum!

Never thought I'd be relying on a cleaning implement, but there we go!

Free action: Draw sniper rifle.

Standard Action: Aid Avery in his next attack. [roll0] Avery gets a +2 to his next attack.

Hayseed is Bruised 2. Dazed ends.

[Dodgeson]

"Of course it does! This guys just packing some serious mojo." In an attempt to prove his worth Avery vanishes and reappears in front of Snatcher, flailing wildly at him with his vac.

Move Action: Teleport to Snatcher
Standard Action: +2 All-Out Attack at Snatcher [roll0] DC20 Dodge Save vs Impaired&Vulnerable/Disabled&Defenseless/Unaware&Paralyzed if that hits

HP 1
Condition -2 Active Defense

[HopeHubris]

"I guess it isn't completely useless after all"

With the spirit apparently actually being affected by the cartoon 'weapon', Kyton once again tries to hit with the ghost chains, which had as yet proved harder to manage than regular ones.


Move: Keep up with the ghost, if possible
Standard: Chain Lightning [roll0]
Grab [roll1]

[Dorni]

Prophet tried to throw up another binding around Snatcher as the ghost closed in on the security guard.

Move: Chase Snatcher.
Standard: Affliction [Hindered+Impaired / Compelled + Immobile] [Ranged, Cumulative, Extra Condition, Limited Degree]. To Hit: [roll0]. Will DC 20.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Snatcher did flinch back instinctively from the gunfire; he wasn't intuitively used to his spectral form (and, let's be honest, if a SIDE agent chooses to shoot at you, it's just good sense to assume they are capable of hurting you, whatever your powers are). He flinched away from Kyton's ethereal chains, but right into the pull of Avery's handvac, which caught him just long enough for Prophet to lay down his binding.

Once the divine power got a foothold, it proved particularly effective. It became obvious to everyone that Snatcher was now significantly more transparent than he had been at the start, and though he struggled against the binding, he was growing too weak to break free.

Snatcher actually does have a degree of vulnerability to Prophet's powers, which coupled with the fact that he's running out of juice means he's solidly bound. Battle over! Everybody gets a :smallcool: Hero Point! I'm also giving Avery a second one for basically soloing the boss for half the battle :smallamused:.

If you guys question him, you can compel truthful answers from him, but I'll be giving him a Recovery check with each round of questions (you can each ask him one question per recovery check he makes, he makes the check after giving you the answers). Once he succeeds one, he's still bound against continuing to attack and stuff, but no longer compelled to answer.

He clearly reacted badly to Prophet's divine power. While it might be possible to work a stronger binding to more thoroughly compel his will, it would be somewhat risky; if he struggles against it hard enough, it might expend what little energy he has left and cause him to simply fade away. Still, the option's there if he manages to shake off the current one before you get your answers. That said, even if he can't break free, his struggles against the binding are also going to be draining on him...

From a mechanical standpoint, Snatcher's going poof if he makes six more checks of any sort, including his recovery checks against the binding. Resistance checks against Prophet's powers count as two for this purpose.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed all but skips over to where her comrades have captured Snatcher, laughing all the while.

"Ha! What a RUSH!" she gushes, doing a quick two-step as she closes the distance, "Well done, everyone! THIS is the sort of thing that puts a flush on your cheeks, huh? Ahhh, it's a grand old life! And undeath! How about those zombies? Ha-HA!"

She turns to the pale struggling form of Snatcher with a grin that could eat the moon.

"Now then, Mister Snatcher, simple question: why were you after Serana's body?"

[Dorni]

Prophet let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. The binding had worked and Snatcher wasn't escaping.

As Prophet approached the ghost it became clear just how much the spirit had faded during of the fight. If it kept up, the spirit would deplete its energy and disappear, never to be reborn. Prophet couldn't allow that; whatever crimes the man had committed, the soul didn't deserve to cease. Snatcher needed to be allowed to take a body.

Prophet wouldn't have hesitated to offer his own for a time, but Snatcher wasn't simply a guest. Snatcher would gain control of him and his Gifts. He couldn't put his companions in danger, but he also had a duty to save Snatcher's soul.

Prophet stayed quiet at Hayseed's question, hoping the Dream would reveal another option.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"The woman who released me from the prison offered me this augmentation of my powers in exchange for retrieving the body from the morgue and taking it to a location where it would not be found. I did ask why, and she only said that the body might provide SIDE with evidence into the identity of one of her associates."

[roll0] Success

Okay, so Snatcher's still bound but not compelled to answer anymore (although that doesn't mean you can't still potentially convince or coerce him to answer by other means if you wish).

Hope since I did jump ahead without waiting for your response, if you do want to ask a compelled question in the first round you can still do so retroactively.

[herodofcows]

Hayseed thinks back to the state that they'd left Serana's body in and literally shudders to herself in irritation.

". . . and they didn't mention what that might have been, did they?" she asks, still keeping a smile on her face through sheer force of habit.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"They did not. Please, I need a body! I am fading! Please!"

[herodofcows]

"A body?" Hayseed repeats, in the mock-incredulous tone that she used to adopt when a youthful Julie would proudly announce that she'd caught a fairy, or that she'd turned into a bear, or any number of the millions of fantasies that 5-year-old Julie would frequently indulge in, "You don't need a body, mister Snatcher! Dead people don't need bodies!"

She shakes her head and chuckles, as though at the whimsy of the world. Only the flint-cold eyes behind the smile show how deadly serious she is.

"Didn't you just have a body, mister Snatcher? I'm pretty sure I just saw you with a body. Agent Rick Miller, FIRE-SIDE, unless I'm mistaken. So WHY would we give you another one when you took such poor care of that one?"