[M&M 3E] The Famiglia - Issue 1: Upper Management Welcomes You

[Avalon®]

The Famiglia OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?410470-M-amp-M-3E-The-Famiglia-OOC)

There is a tree, THE tree. It is known by many names: Yggdrassil, Eridu, Axis Mundi, Világfa and more. It contains 196,833 branches which harbor 196,833 universes each and every one different from another.

At one point or another, every universe will experience a crisis. An event that will threaten its very existence. Unfortunately, some experience more than others and succumb to increased universal wear and tear causing them to fall amongst the roots to wither and die. Some though, wither on the branch and, like a bad apple in a bushel, causes neighboring ones to wither as well. This ripple effect can be disastrous for if it is left unchecked, it can spread across the whole tree to other universes as well as affect the tree itself. There are also creatures that reside on the tree and below it that feast on its fruit, these universes, both withered and healthy.


You find yourself in a blank, white room, featureless save for a long white table and a dozen chairs. Seated at the head of the table is a woman immaculately clad in a three-piece suit with her hair tied in a bun. She shows a very brief look of relief before switching to a sterner, more business-like demeanor.

In a dismissive tone, she addresses the assembled powers in a dismissive tone. “Finally. Guess you beings will do. Come on now. Take a seat.” She gestures towards the empty chairs and you can tell that this is not a request.

[Inspector Valin]

The young girl glanced around the room, looking a little groggy as she held a hand to her forehead, using the other to prop herself up against a chair. She wasn't making any effort to hide her surprise at what'd happened, or at the other figures around the room. This kid didn't have any real frame of reference for waking up in a blank white room with a bunch of strangers like this, though her immediate assumptions were negative. Back home, no one had been stupid enough to pull this on her for a long long time. Amidst a group of people with fairly colourful modes of dress, she seemed surprisingly unremarkable. She wears a light tan sleeveless jumper with a red and yellow shield-crest to the top right, over a plain white shirt and black skirt, punctuated by a green armband with the outline of a white shield. Those with the right frame of reference would recognize it, correctly, as a school uniform.

Eventually, Kuroko stepped forward, taking a seat on the right hand side of the woman in the suit, three down from her, and meeting the gaze of their apparent 'host' with a somewhat cautious glare. Whatever this was, it didn't seem like an experiment. If it was, they'd probably have woken up in restraints. Still, this wasn't enough to make Railgun comfortable. The young esper straightened her hair slightly, tightening the hair bobbles that held her ponytails in place. The Electromaster tapped a little on the arm of the chair, a few sparks flying from her fingertips, calming herself a little. Eventually she spoke, and despite herself, her voice was calm. Yelling at someone like this wasn't likely to make her answer your questions. "Who are you? What're we doing here?"

[AmberVael]

Wandering Star was used to weird things. She hadn't started off being comfortable with oddity, but after a few decades of serving her emperor and interacting a wide number of his subjects she really had no choice but to become accustomed to the bizarre. So while she hadn't expected to randomly show up in a featureless white room she could at least reflect that it was better than being assaulted by hair devouring dream-walking hounds. After all, at least a chair was being offered to her in a relatively normal manner, and her hair was intact.

She took a seat.

While Star mostly appeared human, there were a few oddities about her that would clue just about anyone in to the fact that something wasn't quite normal about her. For one, her skin gleamed the light yellow of brass, and the soft clink of her arms as they came to rest on the table indicated that she didn't just look metallic. For another, wisps of pale flame sometimes flickered around her chest, right over where her heart should be. Plus there were just small things that seemed a bit off: her ears look a little more pointed than rounded, there are odd markings about her neck that almost look like gills, and her smile shows that her teeth are perhaps a shade too sharp.

For now, Star said nothing. The woman who had brought them here looked impatient enough as it was and surely she'd explain herself soon enough, especially as the others asked questions (as one of them was already doing). Her eyes drifted over to Kuroko and settled on the girl for a moment, then returned to the apparent hostess of the impromptu gathering.

[Re'ozul]

Another white room, another unknown person presuming initiative to be theirs.
So much like Cauldron, yet not. He had not come here by his own accord. The woman, an avatar of a different entity? Perhaps of the one designated Abaddon?
Too many uncertainties, and irrelevancies.

He stands tall as he speaks. "Door me."

As no portal appears he is forced to accept his fear. He had been exiled, pushed beyond the locked set of realities, beyond the reach of Doormaker and Clairvoyant.
Once more he is glad for the glow within his cowl that obstructs others from seeing his face. Tears fall of his chin as realization staggers him.
He has lost all.

Too stricken to pay attention to others, he latches onto the now, and sits. He will listen, for now.

[Hammer Head]

Eleven figures stood at the back of the room. There was a figure with the head of of a bulldog who wore a tight suit and carried a lead pipe towering over eveyone present, and looking down with bewildered eyes. What appeared to be a hat rack in a trench coat and a fedora slinked across the room with it's magnifying glass pouring over everything. There was an ancient, bearded man in a pitch black robe that obscured his face, gazing down into a crystal ball in his hands. A gorgeous woman in a startlingly orange dress that hugged her form perfectly looking about with surprise, a bipedal Doberman Pinscher in an immaculate suit at her side glaring a terrifying glare at anyone who would dare make eye contact. There was also a human-looking figure in all black who seemed to fade away after the first seconds he was in this place. A woman who looked infinitely sterner and more irritated than even their host stood behind full moon glasses that obscured her expression completely, a thick book clutched in her hand titled "The White Room and the Fall of the Tree." There was a pair of floating hands-or arms-that appeared in different locations and doing different things to each person present. There was a doe faced man sitting on the floor and wearing a pair of pants, no shirt, and some form of medieval helmet who appeared to be pantomiming taking a bite out of a sandwich. However, when his teeth sank into nothing, he looked around bewildered, only then noticing the white room all around him. There was also a tiny schnauzer puppy with very large eyes that was looking around frantically.

Lastly, floating above them all were the hands of a giant, six feet from wrist to fingertip, floating in midair, frozen in mid-gesture, a giant paintbrush in one hand. After a few seconds, they turned, as though the invisible man who they belonged to was rotating himself to examine the room, while not really moving his hands. After a moment, most of the figures turned a questioning eye up towards this pair of hands, who responded with a slight tilt, as though the man they might belong to was looking down at the figures at his feet, and then they moved into action, counting the available chairs. Once it was satisfied with the arrangements, it shooed the figures onward, before suddenly painting a pair of false arms onto thin air, and crossing said arms expectantly.

Meanwhile the Doberman Pinscher took the beautiful woman on his arm and guided her to a seat, pulling out the chair beside the girl in the school uniform for her, giving Kuroko a slightly intimidating grin before assuming a seat on the other side of his apparent date. Said date, flattered by the attention her escort was affording her, turned to Kuroko and gave a radiant smile, speaking the first words anyone present from this group had yet uttered, her voice like the light of the sun, warming all who heard it, "Excuse our manners, my name is Starlet. I'm not sure what we're doing here, but, do you happen to know where we actually are?" On the other side of Kuroko, the coat rack with the coat and the hat suddenly took one of her hands in it's sleeve, and brought the magnifying glass up to it, instantly zooming in on individual cells to see if it could figure out where that lightning was coming from. The woman with the book didn't move, just staring into space. The man in black appeared once again, standing aloof behind their guest, gauging who would catch the fact that he had traveled across the room. The old man with the crystal ball, on the other hand, stepped up to the opposite end of the long table, and rose his gaze to their stern woman, fixing her with a glare of such venom that half the heroes in the room would likely have to suppress the urge to tackle him. The fifteen foot tall bulldog stumped over to a chair and squeezed into it, looking very uncomfortable. The idiot in the helmet seemed perfectly content with just remaining where he was, so the giant pair of hands gripped him by the head, lifted him up, and dropped him in a seat beside the bulldog. The other, smaller pair of hands just continued to be inexplicably different every time you glanced at it, even at one point appearing as an exact replica of demiurge, but made entire of hands. The schnauzer zipped up onto the table with amazing speed, before halting in front of Wandering Star and fixing her with a furiously tail-wagging stare. Then, as soon as he had gotten there, he popped up onto two legs, his front paws curled up as though he were challenging the brass lady to a boxing match. He'd probably win too.

The giant pair of hands above just remained suspended there, arms crossed and patiently waiting what was to be said.

If any rolls need to be made here, I'm taking 10 on them.

[Arcran]

When The Child suddenly finds himself in an unfamiliar room the most base instincts of the warrior kick in. After millennia of conflict, the actions are almost automatic, all happening faster than an eye can blink. Blood is forced out through the pores of the scarred warriors skin, hardening and twisting to create thick plates that retain just a hair of their liquid nature, given by the way they slide across the body of the warrior seemingly without issue. In the blink of an eye after that twin tendrils of blood shoot out of his hand, twisting and writhing to create a massive, brutal axe. Compared to a modern axe it appears basic and crude, yet exudes an aura of menace that few objects can match.

"Who are you?" The Child growls, the voice that of something primal. There was no hint of fear, no hint of pleading. It wasn't a question, it was a command. "And where in the name of the Whore am I?" The Child demands once more, glaring around the room as he absent-mindedly cleaves a chair in two.

Ah, yes. Chairs. The bane of every Toraq's existance, a fiery voice deadpans in The Child's mind, clearly amused by The Child's little outburst. Whatever would happen should The Greatest Warrior Now or Ever stop cleaving chairs in twain?

And The Child laughed, a brutal laugh equal parts terrifying and mirthful.

Intimidate to, well, be scary! [roll0]

[tbergman92]

Abhorsen reacted to the sudden change of surroundings as he usually did when unexpected things occurred--he calmly took in his new situation, and did not visibly react to the change at all. After so many years of seeing all of the chaos and relics that the Old Kingdom and Ancelstierre could provide, a suddenly appearing white room was a pleasant surprise at worst.

He calmly adjusted his scaled armor and took an empty seat--avoiding, of course, the recently cleaved one and those nearest it. If the blood covered warrior wished to continue chopping chairs in half, he had no problem with it per se--as long as he wasn't in the chair at the time. Without saying a word, he awaited what the apparent cause of his sudden journey had to say to the motley group that had been gathered.

As he awaited her response, he examined the other occupants of the room--the woman in the suit was nothing he hadn't seen in the political halls of Corvere, though the style was certainly different. The disembodied hands and their entourage were...more unique, though their actions brought a smile to his face. The contained tension of the young girl reminded him of the young Princess in Belisaere--or perhaps, he was thinking of the Queen as a youth. The green glowing man and the metallic girl inspired curiosity in him, a feeling that was unusual for him lately.

And finally, his eyes passed briefly over the tall warrior, apparently armed and armored in his own blood--another curiosity, perhaps, but one far less interesting to Abhorsen. He had seen far too many warriors and seekers after blood in his years to be very interested in this one--other than to keep an eye on him.

[herodofcows]

Corbin takes a moment to shake himself off like a dog before going for his seat, bare feet slapping against the floor as his jeans and faded t-shirt drip water everywhere. He'd been in the middle of something the second before this: they'd been escorting an oil tanker across the Gulf of Mexico when Ops had warned them of a massive sonar shadow headed their way. Corbin had been lounging on the deck of the ship as the call had gone out to assume ready stations. He'd shot into the sky, gleefully fiddling with the local atmosphere to create a storm worthy of himself as four gargantuan tentacles began surging upwards from the depths . . .

And now he's here.

Well . . . that's odd.

Still slightly dripping, he gamely sits down and faces the woman with utterly guileless interest. His fellows each get a blank-faced stare of naked curiosity, but he does not echo their questions. He was there. Now he is here. That is all there is to it.

Questions of home and the safety of his comrades now facing down an enormous kaiju minus one of their big guns . . . these whisper listlessly in his mind for a picosecond before falling entirely silent.

[Avalon®]

The woman watches expressionlessly as Demiurge tries and fails to open a portal away from this place.
"As wonderfully demonstrated here by Demiurge, this location has been sealed against any and all transportation effects not under our control."

“It seems janitorial were not supplied with the proper information regarding the number of guests we were having.” With an annoyed sigh she snaps her fingers and several more chairs appear to comfortably seat everyone including a replacement for the Laughing Child. She did not seem perturbed by the Child’s attempt at social dominance. “Let it be known, Laughing Child, that management does not condone the vandalism of any of their assets no matter how replaceable they might be.”

“Perhaps a change in scenery will make things more clear to you.” As if on cue, the white room and chairs change to an executive boardroom with comfortable leather chairs, a long glass table and glass walls overlooking a stunning vista of skyscrapers and other buildings down below.


"Excuse our manners, my name is Starlet. I'm not sure what we're doing here, but, do you happen to know where we actually are?"


"Who are you?" The Child growls, the voice that of something primal. There was no hint of fear, no hint of pleading. It wasn't a question, it was a command. "And where in the name of the Whore am I?" The Child demands once more, glaring around the room as he absent-mindedly cleaves a chair in two.

She gives them a stern, businessman-like look before continuing. "To answer your question, I am here representing several families who own controlling interests in a significant majority of realities occupying Világfa. My name is not important at this juncture but you may have an opportunity to learn it if you perform well." Directing her eyes at Kuroko, she says: "In short, Miss Kazuo, we are the secret owners of the tree and we will use it however we want. Thankfully, we are content to have minor problems handled by local temporal authorities."

"However, there are always those who attempt to rise above their station and who disrupt the flow of business. The families do not take kindly to having business disrupted and thus interfering with profits. That is where you people come in."

"You will be taken on as independent contractors to handle problems that our rank and file troops cannot handle to the satisfaction of upper management but minor enough as to beneath the notice of ranking officers. If you perform well, upper management has allocated sufficient budget to make things well worth your while."

She directs her attention to each of them in turn as she presents management's offer to everyone.
"Miss Kuroko, our PR teams can make you one of the greatest heroes Axis Mundi has ever known. The same offer also applies to you Mr. Hollow.

"We have also identified the source of the macro-scale entities that plague your world and we have the means to eliminate them."

"Miss Star, management has been in talks with Ligier, your liege, and there has been an agreement to supply materiel, personnel and other resources to expand your dimension and give you more to extend your dimension's rule. We also have the answers that you seek."

"Artist, you and your first souls will be replaced by some of the family's troops in that minor problem of yours."

"Abhorsen, your kingdom will finally know true peace. The same also applies to your world, Demiurge."

"For you Laughing Child, we know the current location of the Red Gem and we have the means to obtain it. We also know of several worlds were you may spend your days fighting to your heart's content."

As she gives these offers, a video of each offer is projected on the glass walls but they are soon replaced by real-time video feeds of their respective universes alongside hundreds if not thousands of armored, masked troops standing on what appears to be gigantic tree branches.

"If you choose to decline our offer or if you do not perform to management's satisfaction, we have troops stationed at the point where each universe is connected to Yggdrassil. They have orders to pluck your fruit and send it falling down to the roots where it will slowly and inexorably rot."

With a predatory grin, she finishes her speech. "Do I make myself clear?"

[AmberVael]

The thought that Creation needed help expanding was completely absurd... and because of that, Star saw too well how the idea might appeal to her lord. In many ways he might be wise and clever, but no one could really call the demon emperor restrained.

That threat at the end though, that made her pause (and, incidentally, rather distracted her from the dog prancing about near her feet). The green fire in her soul screamed for release, anger welled up inside of her, but Star clenched down on her instinct to do something rash. Nonetheless, the flickering flame at her chest seemed to glow all the brighter, growing more steady as she looked at the monitor. At last she leaned forward and turned her vivid green eyes on the woman in front of her. "High stakes," she observed, a hint of a hiss to her words. "For everyone here."

In truth, Star doubted whether Creation could be cut off so easily. Its creators and champions had long practice defending it from outsiders and otherworldly creatures, and even an odd amount of practice against seemingly impossible foes. But she saw no reason to kick a beehive, particularly when her goal was to find allies rather than make enemies, and since Ligier had already negotiated this. There was some kind of deal going on here and honestly she'd heard more hostile negotiations. Maybe these people were really just that insecure. Or maybe they had learned their hiring practices from blood apes.

"I see no reason I can't take care of your problems for you." Star allowed in a gracious tone. "Who is disrupting your business, and how?"

[Inspector Valin]

Kuroko blinked as the others moved forward, the strangers' various reactions diverting her attention from the woman in the suit. There really didn't seem to be any unity to her new companions beyond looking really strange: there was an ordinary looking man over there in what looked like biker clothing, and a pale looking man in a weird looking outfit she didn't know. But then there was the woman on her side, who seemed to have skin that didn't quite look like regular skin, or that giant man in slightly red tinted armour. And then there was that giant pair of hands, and the people who seemed to be following its directions. The young Esper placed a hand to her head, channelling a slight electric shock to try and make sure she was awake. Kuroko twitched a little at that, gritting her teeth as she fell back into her chair, before clawing her way upwards, holding onto the table for a few seconds to steady herself and smiling a little winsomely at the strange people surrounding her. Not her finest hour.

So... this was real. That was enough to set the esper girl on edge, as the dogsuited man grinned at her. Faintly, Kuroko tried to grin back. He didn't look hostile but something about him left her on edge. The electrokenetic ace of Astara tensed at the Sleuth's touch, on the verge of shocking the strange creature into unconsciousness before she realized the nature of its curiosity. Smiling, the young student loosened her grip before flaring her power slightly in that hand, blue sparks rising and falling, enough to demonstrate her ability more clearly to the inquisitive oddity. She was about to turn to the Starlet, ready to answer her question with a very genuine expression of total confusion, when the hostess started talking. Bowing her head politely to the other woman, Kuroko settled back, focusing on the representative. She could use some answers right about now.

Kuroko was quiet for most of the presentation, though her eyes widened as the room they were in transformed into what seemed to be a luxurious boardroom. She briefly glanced outwards, trying to recognize the world below by the skyscrapers, but the woman's calling of her name brought the young 'Miss Kazuo' back to reality with a sharp bump. Still, the pitch sounded reasonable enough to Kuroko at first. Bizarre, but.. mostly just the inter-dimensional equivalent of a job offer. Help people out, stop stupid punks who wanted to wreck stuff because they were angry and stupid... she could do that. And getting paid for it? Even better. The young esper bobs her head at the woman's offer to her, smiling politely before withdrawing a silver coin from her sweater's pocket and flipping it up and down idly as she followed the flow of the offers. Old habits die hard.

Ahh, that sweet sweet Naive complication. :smallwink: But yeah, there's not enough there for Kuroko to distrust. Until...

At the final part of the speech however, Kuroko's silver yen clatters to the table. The young Electromaster glances between the screen displaying something that looked far too much like Astara being menaced by a bunch of goons in matching power armour, and their hostess, who is looking far too pleased with herself. No sorrow, no bitterness, just that kind of vicious smile someone wore when they had all the control of a situation and knew it. Sparks starting to intensify around the electrokine's hands, alongside a mild scent of burning leather, bespoke her mood plainly enough. She very badly wanted to shock the woman in the suit. More than anything in the world.

But... Astara. Everyone. Natsumi, Yoko, Shiori...

The thought of all those people, everyone she'd ever known and loved, dead... Soon enough, the lightning faded from around Kuroko's hands, and the young esper closed her eyes. She didn't look up as Wandering Star spoke, the young Esper trying to bring herself past that mental image. She'd fought for a long time now, and her friends thought she was utterly unstoppable, but when faced with something like that? The annihilation of your world and everyone you cared about? Even Kazuo Kuroko had nothing to say.

FTR, the Sleuth can tell that whatever's generating the electricity in Kuroko isn't acting on the cellular level. From a strict physics perspective, it's just appearing there. You'd need some kind of mental or energy based senses to pick up on how her powers work.

[Arcran]

The Child's face twists into a menacing growl as the woman threatens him, an action coupled by the edge of his axe becoming a few microns thinner. Even in the change of scenery The Child remains standing, taking a short step away from the table and chairs.

"Do not think you can command The Greatest Warrior Who Ever Was or Will Be," The Child states, every word a threat. If he wanted to cut chairs to ribbons he would cut chairs to ribbons if he damn well pleased.

As the woman continues to speak, The Child finds himself losing interest. Why was it his concern if some "controlling interests" needed help with some business? There was only one reason he had fought his way out of his world and across that damn tree, traveling from world to world, and helping some merchants get a little richer was far from that goal. He should just kill the woman for taking time away from his quest. The Child was already striding towards her, a tempo building in his mind as he reached within to the Warlord's Wrath, muscles bulging, threatening to tear themselves from The Child's six foot frame.

Then the video appears. A simple picture of that beautiful, wondrous gem. The reason he had bothered to leave the fields of battle within his own world. The Child's eyes instantly turn from the pure hatred to interest with perhaps a hint of suspicion. How did they, without their connection to the Gem, know where it was? Were they the thieves, or did that title belong to somebody else?

And after the carrot was dangled, so came the stick.

Burn her! the voice of his Beast says, the volume of the command nearly overwhelming The Child. Sometimes, every so often, he forgot how near in power Vitri was to himself. What gives her the right to threaten our world?

We have no choice, The Child states, mental volume hardly rising above a whisper. None threaten the Blood of His Blood and live to speak of it though. Go to the Tribes. Start with Fox; Kalux has a habit of pushing the Toraq towards war. Mobilize all the tribes ,even the Forsaken. This threat must not be allowed to stand. As soon as the Red Gem is back in its rightful place, The Child says, subconsciously touching his chest, We show the others that Artoran's children are not to be trifled with.

Understood, the voice replies, The Child almost able to see her scaled grin.

The whole conversation took place in hardly any time at all, of course. The connection between Beast and Toraq was deeper than some simple telepathy; they were one being in two forms. Throughout it all The Child remains stoic, his expression hardly changing.

Finally, after long seconds, The Child spits, watching as the liquid splatters against the wall.

"And why should you withhold the Gem from me now?" The Child asks, glaring around the room at each individual in turn. "Surely you understand the damage that artifact can do in the hands of its rightful owner. Why not make use of your greatest weapon?" The Child growls, his displeasure with being separated from The Gem clearly apparent.

Because the second you have it you will kill them all, his companion replies within his own mind with the confidence of one that has seen The Child fight for centuries.

And The Child laughed.

[Re'ozul]

A possible way to kill the entities. A rather convenient supposition. Further, the being acknowledges that only this place is shielded from dimensional travel.
His own ability would not help at home at this point. A chance is better than none.

His 'companions' however unnerve him. Most would likely be categorized A-class. The multi-being most likely S-class. The unknown it represents draws unwanted parallels to the Sleeper.

For now it would be best to agree ... if not for the threat.

"I do not see the necessity in our involvement. If what you show us is correct, then you have means that far exceed ours. At best we could be considered less efficient curators. Further, your threat irrevocably presents us with the possibility that even a slight deviation or sign of free agency would cause our respective realities to fall. Considering your proposal that is likely not your intent for you seem to wish for agents, not puppets."

Taking 10 on trying to weigh her motives: Insight 26
Rolling to see if my thinker power (well-informed) feeds me any more information about her and her organization: [roll0]

[herodofcows]

An end to the kaiju . . .

Corbin rolls the idea around in his head, sparks idly jumping along his arms and through his hair. It has . . . SOME savor to it.

"Ha," he softly barks, as though merely to himself. His voice has some reverberation to it, like a cheap guitar amplifier getting kicked, "Sure. Find the problem. Fix the problem. Point and shoot. Seems good. I'm in."

He leans back as he listens to the glowing green angel snarl inquiries while the scarred warrior postures. Blank-faced, he stares at the pair of hands, the goddess, and . . .

Hmmm. Another electrokinetic?

Hmmm.

"Ha. Ha. Ha."

The armies on the screen don't scare Corbin. Cutting off a universe? THERE'S an idea. He idly wonders if he can convince the lady to cut his off once this is all done. Cure or kill. Either way, not his problem.

[Hammer Head]

Minor problem? What problem was that, The Artist found itself wondering. But more importantly, why would being replaced entice it? What reason did The Artist have for existing except to protect and guide it's creations? No, to have something else take care of an issue would just lead to bad things. Besides, it wasn't certain it wanted to work for these suits, who sounded like they were wanting to suppress entire universes to increase their what? Profits? Straight up tyranny, and they wanted to use The Artist as hired muscle? No, this was going to be a decline.

But then came the threat, and The Artist started slightly, uncrossing those false arms, a memory swelling up. A memory older than most fruits on the Tree. Shifting deep within The Artist's mind and shaking loose old fears and pain, like dust falling from an old book. There had been a sudden pain as a rotten stem snapped, and the world plummeted away, followed by madness. Now these suits, these fools, they threatened to repeat the act not once but several times. There was homicide. There was genocide. Then there was physicide. Cold anger mixed with fear crossed The Artist's mind. There wasn't really an option, here. It could not allow it's home to die a second time, to fall away like that. It would not come to pass. However, it also would treat these dark forces with even a note of kindness, and did not give sign to whether it agreed or not.

The Don, the Doberman Pinscher in the suit, scratched at his chin while considering the landscape out the window. So these small timers wanted to ask him for a little aid? Yet they only gave The Maker incentive. It was laughable, "Well, what of the rest of us? I am friends with the Artist, but I don't necessarily agree with him at every turn. What do you offer to us?"

The Fool, across the table attempted to raise his hand, but hit it on the bottom of the table, yelping and gripping his hand, before, a moment later falling out of the seat. Popping up, his helmet was on backwards, and his voice was muffled, "I'll follow The Artist anywhere! I don't need incentimatives!"

The Wizard, the ancient man, turned to glare at the Fool, but realized that the doe faced man could not see him, due to having his helmet on backwards. So, instead he opted to speak, his voice a low, carrying tone, "Hold your tongue, Fool," this world was full of evil. He could feel it, and they had a tight grip on The Artist already, it was not necessarily a good idea to follow him into this. Returning his gaze to the woman in the suit, he resumed his glare, "Indeed, the Don has a point. Why should we follow you?"

The Murderous Librarian just remained stationary, staring into space, while the Pet, the little Schnauzer, found itself on top of Wandering Star's head, knawing ineffectually on her brass skin. The Other Artist kept on doing it's insanity, at one point even covering Corbin Hollow's eyes in an impromptu game of peek-a-boo.

The Sleuth, the coat rack, poured over Kuroko's hand for a few moments before pulling back, turning to her and saying, "You have interesting power. It must be very useful. Though, if you'll excuse me, I need to go examine our host." and that is what he did, walking straight up to her and pointing that magnifying glass straight in her face.

The Ninja, who had snuck up behind the woman, remained silent in the shadows. This was far too early to make a decision. He'd be watching for a time.

The Thug, the giant bulldog, ground his immense teeth together, before agreeing with the Don, "The Thug's gotta get paid, that's one thing you are guaranteed of."

Lastly, the Starlet didn't seem particularly interested in whatever it was that the suited woman was saying, and kept her attention on Kuroko, "What's the matter? You seem a little distressed."

The Artist is using Well-Informed as well, and taking 10 on the Investigation roll with Skill Mastery. For a total of 14

[Inspector Valin]

Kuroko looked up at the Starlet, blinking, a little surprised at her reaction. She wasn't focused on the woman in the suit? Still, it was nice to have someone to talk to. Sniffing a little, the esper wiped her hand across her eyes, more on reflex than anything. "Just... needed a moment. Sorry." Glancing around at her fellows, Kuroko chuckled a little, leaning back in the leather and trying as hard as she could to look calm. "I guess I didn't get brought here for my poker face, huh?"

[Avalon®]

"I see no reason I can't take care of your problems for you." Star allowed in a gracious tone. "Who is disrupting your business, and how?"

"The duties assigned to you will be numerous and varied. You will learn of them when the time comes."


"Do not think you can command The Greatest Warrior Who Ever Was or Will Be," The Child states, every word a threat. If he wanted to cut chairs to ribbons he would cut chairs to ribbons if he damn well pleased.

***

"And why should you withhold the Gem from me now?" The Child asks, glaring around the room at each individual in turn. "Surely you understand the damage that artifact can do in the hands of its rightful owner. Why not make use of your greatest weapon?" The Child growls, his displeasure with being separated from The Gem clearly apparent.

Because the second you have it you will kill them all, his companion replies within his own mind with the confidence of one that has seen The Child fight for centuries.

And The Child laughed.


http://i.imgur.com/33HlqSA.jpg?1

Drawing a ruler from nowhere, the lady calmly slaps it hard on the table. With the slightest hint of disdain in her voice she responds to the Child's uproar. "We will command whoever we like. You are kept separate from the gem since upper management considers you an untested asset and through their long ages in business, they consider the dog who chases after the bone to be the one who performs the best."


"I do not see the necessity in our involvement. If what you show us is correct, then you have means that far exceed ours. At best we could be considered less efficient curators. Further, your threat irrevocably presents us with the possibility that even a slight deviation or sign of free agency would cause our respective realities to fall. Considering your proposal that is likely not your intent for you seem to wish for agents, not puppets."

Taking 10 on trying to weigh her motives: Insight 26
Rolling to see if my thinker power (well-informed) feeds me any more information about her and her organization: [roll0]

"We do not wish to enact this threat unless completely necessary. After all, dead worlds do not provide profit."

She seems to be speaking the truth but there is still something that doesn't sit right with you.

Back in your dimension, you've heard rumors of people colluding with various powerful organizations up to and including the highest levels of government. Conspiracy theorists called them the Illuminati but somehow that doesn't seem that appropriate for something like this."


The Don, the Doberman Pinscher in the suit, scratched at his chin while considering the landscape out the window. So these small timers wanted to ask him for a little aid? Yet they only gave The Maker incentive. It was laughable, "Well, what of the rest of us? I am friends with the Artist, but I don't necessarily agree with him at every turn. What do you offer to us?"

The Fool, across the table attempted to raise his hand, but hit it on the bottom of the table, yelping and gripping his hand, before, a moment later falling out of the seat. Popping up, his helmet was on backwards, and his voice was muffled, "I'll follow The Artist anywhere! I don't need incentimatives!"

The Wizard, the ancient man, turned to glare at the Fool, but realized that the doe faced man could not see him, due to having his helmet on backwards. So, instead he opted to speak, his voice a low, carrying tone, "Hold your tongue, Fool," this world was full of evil. He could feel it, and they had a tight grip on The Artist already, it was not necessarily a good idea to follow him into this. Returning his gaze to the woman in the suit, he resumed his glare, "Indeed, the Don has a point. Why should we follow you?"

The Murderous Librarian just remained stationary, staring into space, while the Pet, the little Schnauzer, found itself on top of Wandering Star's head, knawing ineffectually on her brass skin. The Other Artist kept on doing it's insanity, at one point even covering Corbin Hollow's eyes in an impromptu game of peek-a-boo.

The Sleuth, the coat rack, poured over Kuroko's hand for a few moments before pulling back, turning to her and saying, "You have interesting power. It must be very useful. Though, if you'll excuse me, I need to go examine our host." and that is what he did, walking straight up to her and pointing that magnifying glass straight in her face.

The Ninja, who had snuck up behind the woman, remained silent in the shadows. This was far too early to make a decision. He'd be watching for a time.

The Thug, the giant bulldog, ground his immense teeth together, before agreeing with the Don, "The Thug's gotta get paid, that's one thing you are guaranteed of."

The Artist is using Well-Informed as well, and taking 10 on the Investigation roll with Skill Mastery. For a total of 14

Staring coldly at the Don, the mysterious lady answers. "You are offered nothing because upper management knows where you all truly come from."

The Artist picks up nothing regarding the mysterious lady.

The Sleuth, OTOH, sees a very vivid hologram over a colorless white model that is in the perfect likeness of the lady. From what he can tell, it seems to be made of some kind of plastic. Everything else in the room seems to be also made of the same material. He also has the niggling feeling that something is not right with the room.

[Arcran]

"Funny thing about dogs," The Child says, striding around the room slowly. "Tease them with a bone too long and you'll lose a few fingers," The Child says, eyes flitting about the room as he taps into his other senses. There were a great deal of unknown entities in the room but, should he move fast enough, that would be inconsequential. He needed to put the suited woman in her place and, if possible, make her tell him everything she knows about The Gem. It wasn't a bone to be dangled, a deal to be made. It should be given to him freely and then, and only then, The Child will willingly aid another.

As The Child paces the room, senses working overdrive as he scans the area, he does the only natural thing.

The Child laughs.

Alright, time for rolls!

Making a Perception check on the room: [roll0]
The Child has Accurate Olfactory and Auditory, so add those on top of Visual. He also has Darkvision and Ultra-Hearing if those help here. Danger Sense if that helps as well.

Expertise (War) to see if there's any sort of tactical thing he could use to his advantage: [roll1]

[Avalon®]

Various smells permeate the place. Unnervingly, they all come from the Child and the others who came with him here. There is no scent from the room, the furnishings nor from the mysterious lady. He can smell the metallic tang of brass coming from Wandering Star, ozone from both Kazuo Kuroko and Corbin Hollow as well as various scents including those of several dogs from the party that came with the Artist.

The chairs and table don't seem to be attached to the floor and the walls "look" breakable but aside from that, there are no other points of exit like doors and such.

His danger sense is just on the verge of screaming and he can barely hear the sound of large amounts of metal tearing as if coming from a very far place or across a very thick stretch of material.

[Inspector Valin]

Kuroko sat there for a while as the woman spoke and the others reacted to it, eyes quietly closed trying to think this through. In her mind, she was back home again, sitting on the Tree Diagram Complex roof, looking up towards the sky. The goons on the tree were an army that, if they attacked the branch, that'd hurt her world. Ok. But Astara had its own army, namely... everyone. The city government had its own power suits, trained espers who were used to working together in a fight, everything ready to go and defend the people. They might not be as strong as an army who blew up universes all the time, but they could still fight and might even win. But... Astara didn't know about this dimension hopping stuff. That sounded more like magic. They didn't have a way to get their forces onto the tree, and probably wouldn't be able to come up with one, before...

Darkness. All Kuroko could see in that moment was darkness, and all she could hear was the sound of shattered glass. Perhaps the Child was passing by, because she could swear she smelt blood on the air.

She didn't have a choice here. Not really. It looked like none of them did. Kazuo Kuroko lived to defend the weak and keep her friends safe. Here, and now, that meant agreeing to this woman's offer. No matter what else she thought about it.

Slowly, the young girl rose from her seat, straightening her hair a little and picking up her silver coin before walking towards the woman in the suit. She kept her gaze as calm as possible, nodding once after their host had made eye contact with her. "I'll do it." Simple enough to say the words, no matter how little she liked it. But the representative wanted this to be formal. Businesslike. She had to be... what were businessmen like? Formal? A little awkwardly, Kuroko held out her hand, blushing a little as she tried her hardest not to sound awkward. "This is how you're supposed to close a business agreement, right? I... haven't had to do this much before."

[roll0] Insight on the Representative's reaction to Kuroko, trying to gauge how she acts towards someone being awkward. The uncertainty around the handshake's genuine, Kuroko has little idea what she's doing here, but getting a read on the lady's personality would be useful, so I'll try the roll.

[Arcran]

This is wrong, The Child silently sends to his companion, a strange look on his face. No smells wasn't normal at all. The metal scraping wouldn't worry him too much either, but coupled with his battle sense threatening to tear his head apart? That was something for concern. Still, he had no real clues for the Red Gem...

Get out. Now.

That made things much easier.

The Child stops pacing and slowly walks towards one of the chairs pulling it back slightly as if he was considering sitting down. His giant axe flows back into his body, vanishing in the blink of an eye, although the great plates of blood still remain.

"I need some air," The Child states with a chuckle, flinging the chair he was leaning on towards the wall with, well, the strength of a god.

And The Child laughed.

Switching my combat array to Perfect Warrior and flinging a chair at the wall. Strength of 16 for the throw.

AC: [roll0] to hit, auto-crit if the wall is actually an object which it totally isn't

[tbergman92]

Abhorsen was intrigued by her offer of peace, though unsure how she would be able to undertake such a grand task.

"Peace? That would be a wondrous sight to behold. Your threat against my Kingdom, however, is both in poor taste and unnecessary. I will help you with your problems--you needed only ask." As always, he spoke in a calm, nearly emotionless, voice.

As he noted the responses of the others in the room, he decided to test if he still had access to Death in this room that he had been brought to--with no visible outward sign, Abhorsen felt for the familiar chilling sensation of the veil between life and death.

Just using Death Sense to see if a) Purgatorio is connected to this room, and b) if he could traverse the veil or if something would be stopping him.

[herodofcows]

Corbin looks on bemusedly. This scarred warrior raves on, but the other electrokinetic fascinates him. He almost feels that he can taste the subtle differences between them. Not around powers, of course. Corbin has no sense for the powers of others. But the school uniform, the awkward mannerisms, the painfully-worn courtesy . . . yes, Corbin can smell it on her. This one is a current through wires that may one day shatter into a beautiful storm.

"We done?" he asks, speaking up still haltingly and full of reverb, "Things to do. People to kill. Storms to call. Let's go. Problems to solve, right? What problems?"

Idly, he reaches out with his ferrokinesis to look for anything magnetic in the room. Corbin is proud of his ferrokinesis. It had taken him a while to learn the trick of it, but it's so satisfying in everyday life. Lightning was wonderful, no question, but crucifying an anthropoid kaiju with sharpened I-beams was one of those little pleasures he allowed himself from time to time.

Gonna use perception in tandem with Corbin's Electromagnetism power to get a sense for anything metallic/magnetic in the room. He won't be moving anything (yet), just making it vibrate slightly so that he knows it's there.

Perception: [roll0]

[Avalon®]

Seeing the growing number of beings agreeing to the arrangement, the lady let's out a victorious smile before setting her eyes on The Artist and the Laughing Child. "It seems everyone else has agreed to work for us, what about the both of yo-"

She gets interrupted by The Laughing Child suddenly throwing a chair towards the nearest wall. The chair breaks as it impacts the wall and leaves a large crack on the surface. After a tense moment, you see the crack slowly growing wider and spreading in an ever-increasing speed. You begin to hear the roar of heavy machinery and screech of tearing metal from deep below before silence remains.

A hole begins to form from underneath the long glass table that begins to drag large amounts of the surrounding material and whatever else isn't properly secured (which is practically everything) towards its gaping maw.

Okay everyone one, time to roll those Dodge saves and strength checks. Anyone with Flight or a Move Object effect may use those instead as if they were strength checks.

Good luck.The lady appears satisfied with most of the current events as if she expected them to do it. You do get the feeling like she is not all there.
You can sense the realm of Purgatorio but it seems to be akin to something like a barren desert in the mortal realm. There seems to be a barrier like a large, locked door barring you from accessing the realm of the dead and if Demiurge's failed attempt is anything to go by, it seems to apply to most if not all means of dimensional travel.
Aside from whatever bits of metal your fellow invites have on them, nothing else seems to be made of metal in your immediate surroundings. Not even the table, chairs and whatever accessories the lady has on her are made of metal. There is some metal far below you but it seems to already be under great strain.I'm not sure if this wouldn't be better served by a Detect Metal ability or somesuch but I'll allow it this time.

[AmberVael]

I suppose we were about due for things to get interesting. Star thought to herself as she did her best to leap out of the way. If anyone had time to notice or appreciate it, they'd notice a sudden change in her metallic skin; the sleek brass thickened and formed plates, growing around her like armor while hieroglyphs etched into the metal and glowed with a soft white light. Furthermore, this white glow was echoed in an aura about her as her anima began to shine. Vague patterns took shape and faded as she tapped into the celestial paths that flowed through everything, anchoring herself to the air rather than to the ground. She wasn't quite sure it was going to be enough.

Dodge: [roll0]
This sounds like something Evasion would apply to, so I added in its +5 bonus here.

Flight check: [roll1]

Star is activating Ascend the Celestial path for flight, and also putting up her Scar-Writ Saga Shield immunities (fire and acid) juuuust in case.

[Inspector Valin]

Kuroko gazed in shock at the crack in the wall, straining a little to hear the sound coming through it. She could make out something vaguely mechanical, but the specifics were harder to determine. Crash, screech, roar... whatever it was seemed oddly distant from them. But how could the big man throwing a chair at the wall have caused that? Was it just the crack allowing them to hear it more clearly? The young espers attention was focused on the window, to the point that she almost didn't notice the growing hole in the centre of the floor

Almost. Her senses were too sharp to miss something as obvious as that, no matter what way she was looking.

Gritting her teeth, Kuroko wheeled around, glancing around the room hurriedly and planting her feet down as far back from the centre of the room as she could manage. No obvious metal, the glass table might have had some but it was sinking too fast to be reliable. The walls were glass, the floors were carpeted... honestly, they might as well have hung a sign on the door 'deathtrap for Kazuo Kuroko'. Without metallic objects at large in the room, her options for securing herself were limited. But thankfully, she came in with a couple. No true electromaster would leave home without a convenient selection of magnetizable objects.

Offering one hand swiftly to the Representative, taking her arm to provide the strange woman stability should she need it, Kuroko knelt down as fast as she could, carefully placing two strangely large silver coins in place, one against the side of each foot. When she stood, she begun to grin, if a little absently. The young mistress of magnetism was starting to feel a lot more stable, her mind focusing for the moment on maintaining the stability of her impromptu platform. Even if she was balancing on the metaphorical head of a pin. It was taking a good deal of effort to hold the two coins in place, but as long as she could, Kuroko had an anchor. She wasn't going anywhere.

Long shot, but Kuroko's Move Object is by far her best option, and this is the only metal she really has on hand. Her signiture attack is supercharged electromagnetism allowing her to hyper-accelerate the movement of metallic objects, so I figure this is the flip side to that. And we have metallic things around to anchor them to as well! :smallbiggrin: If at all possible, she'll try and grab the lady too. Not sure what the roll would be for that. As it stands, I'm keeping her Hero Point ready: after Vael's two excellent rolls, I've a sneaking suspicion I'm going to screw one of these up

[roll0] Dodge. Assuming this is an area effect, add +5 to the result due to Evasion 2.
[roll1] Move Object to hold the coins in place. Note: Kuroko's Move Object is continuous so long as she doesn't have to manipulate it, which means she can in theory take other actions whilst doing this, as all she has to do with the coins is hold them in place.

[roll2] Perception on the various metallic noises, trying to get any more detail on them. [roll3] Technology to identify the devices, +15 if they're electrically based.

[Re'ozul]

'There is always one.' David mentally sighs, as he regards the seeming singularity beneath the table.
The sounds themselves were ominous. Perhaps a three-dimensional representation of this higher-dimensional bubble being strained to its breaking point?
Perhaps that would mean that there was something on the other side of the hole?

Dodging: [roll0]
Utilizing Flight: [roll1]

Trying to percieve things 'within' the hole: [roll2] (Dark/low-light/Infra/Ultra Vision; I don't think microscopic vision is useful in this situation)

[Arcran]

As soon as the crack appears, pulling at The Child, the Greatest Warrior That Ever Was or Will Be was already moving. With a cackle The Child slams a fist into the ground, ignoring any pain as he tries to punch into the ground, giving him a makeshift handhold that his iron-like fingers cling to to the ground with the strength of Artoran himself. Even as his fingers are torn apart by the force of the black hole they regrow, The Child not even flinching under what should be intense agony.

As The Child pulls against whatever was trying to suck him out of the room a chair flies past, The Child barely managing to snag it with one hand. With titanic effort The Child flings the chair towards the woman even as the group is attempting to resist being pulled from the room, a malicious grin on his face as he seeks to end the one who would dare command him and threaten his world.

And The Child laughed.

Here we go!

We're still in Perfect Warrior, so that's a small benefit.

Black Hole Roll: [roll0]

Attack of the Chair!
Going full +/-5 on All-Out Attack on this.
AC: [roll1]
If Thrown damage is just Strength, DC 31 Toughness for getting hit by the chair.

[herodofcows]

Quicker than . . . well, than lightning, Corbin rises up into the air, resisting the downward pull with apparent lazy ease. Electricity crackles along his skin as he orients his body downwards, ostensibly looking at the source of the vacuum. In reality, he's unconcerned. He'd discovered long ago that he didn't need to breathe. That suction, though, of air fleeing downwards . . . it felt like a raging gale. Corbin LOVES the feeling of a raging gale.

"Bracing, huh?" he calls out, a fierce grin growing on his face, "LIKE STANDING IN A HURRICANE! HAHAHAAAA!"

He laughs exultantly, spreading his arms to the pit below.

The bossy lady, though . . . Corbin tilts his head slightly to look at her as this happens, trying to gauge her mettle when in a catastrophe surrounded by beings at least as strong as himself.

Rolling Dodge plus Evasion: [roll0]
Insight: [roll1]

[tbergman92]

Too distracted by an attempt to puzzle out a way to break through into Death, Abhorsen reacted to the sudden maelstrom a bit slowly. I should have expected him to break something important...

He jumped out of his chair and away from the ravenous maw before running as far away from the pull as he could in an attempt to lessen its pull--he was an old man, despite his agility, and unsure of his ability to withstand the drag.


Dodge: [roll0]
Using Third Precinct's Speed to quickly zip across the room (really more fluff than anything mechanically beneficial.
Strength: [roll1]

[Hammer Head]

The Don actually laughed at the woman as she asserted that the First Souls did not have a choice, "You know where we come from, huh? You mean the Brush? Yeah, you should also know that we have free will, and we are immortal. Thus death is no incentive to us. Even if we are dragged by The Artist into dangerous situations, we can still choose to not fight and just come back later. So, I'll ask again, what's in it for us?" as he closed his little speech, he lowered his snout, and barred his teeth in a terrifying grin. Meanwhile, up above, The Artist remained stationary, doing nothing to agree or disagree with anyone present.

But before anyone could respond, the Sleuth popped up and announced, "Save your breath, Don. She's a robot. Everybody! This is a robot mannequin with a hologram skin!"

Then the Laughing Child threw the chair.

While everybody else scrambled to avoid the gaping hole in the ground, the cartoons seemed to just hang there, not yet realizing that they were supposed to be falling. Except for the Pet, who was still clinging to the Wandering Star's head, and the Ninja, who caught himself on the wall, and climbed up to the ceiling, before seemingly vanishing again.

After a split second, the First Souls all looked down in tandem, and let loose various utterances of "uh oh", except the Murderous Librarian, who just patiently waited. Up above, The Artist had torn his false arms off, letting them fall to the depths below, before whirling around, a maelstrom of ink and color spinning out, away from him, brilliant and confusing, before it suddenly stilled, and a giant boat hung in the air, with full sails and overflowing with brilliant, green vine. Meanwhile, the Other Artist seemed to be everywhere at once, gripping individuals by the scruff of the neck, and tossing them onto the ship as they come, tossing all the First Souls at the same time, the Murderous Librarian being the only one to land on her feet, and not even bending her knees either, and the Ninja suddenly appearing on the deck a moment later, before flashing away again.

The Other Artist continued to aid those who needed secure footing into the ship, while The Artist just focused on keeping the ship hanging in the air.

First Souls: Use feature to delay fall by 6 seconds.

Standard action: Switch summon from Sleuth to Other Artist

Extra Effort

Standard Action: Create to make an ornate, flying boat.

Other Artist: Grab everyone with his many limbs to try and help them onto said boat

When he has a chance, the Thug will be clapping Laughing Child on the shoulder and informing him that he likes his style

[Avalon®]

The Sleuth's warning comes far too late as the chair was already in mid-flight and then attentions were drawn to more pressing matters.

Everybody manages to avoid the gaping maw at their feet but the incessant force of gravity still held its unending pull. Despite his experience and prowess, Abhorsen was still an old man and nothing he did could free him from gravity's clutches. It would have been the end for the old man if not for The Other Artist catching him at the last moment.

The Laughing Child on the other hand, still incensed by the mysterious woman's insult of thinking she could command him, hurls a passing chair straight at her and clips her on the shoulder. The force isn't enough to kill her outright but the Child hears an audible crack and the force sends her spinning deeper into the depths of the black abyss just out of reach of Kuroko's hand. Anyone able to see her before she goes down into the abyss sees her face grow into a devious smile before she disappears out of sight.

The Artist quickly conjures up a majestic ship where Abhorsen is soon deposited by the Other Artist. For now, this is the only stable place within the room but it might be one for much longer as the hole rapidly grows larger and gravity's pull grows stronger.

Like in the previous round, roll either STRENGTH or Any movement power to keep from going down. If you are on the boat, it provides a +5 modifier to your roll.

From what you can hear, the sounds seem to be those used for maintaining gravity, lighting, power and a breathable atmosphere within the room. There also seems to be more machinery that you suspect might have to do with the furniture and something else that might have to do with this sucking effect you and the others are experiencing now.
You can see several layers of plastics and machinery along with the mysterious lady still with that devious smile on her face. Past all that, you can only see darkness as if everything, including everything in the electromagnetic spectrum, was drawn towards a single point a fathomless distance away.
From what you can tell of the mysterious lady before she went under, she finds the current situation was surprising but not entirely unexpected.

[Inspector Valin]

"You..."

Kuroko gaped at Child as the berserker man threw the chair at their hostess. She probably should've expected it, but the savage roar of glee, the look in his eyes... it'd caught the electropath off-guard, and she couldn't even begin to hide it. The lady slipping past her grasp didn't make the matter better; the Sleuth's revelation barely registering with Kuroko. The esper tried to reach out towards her, straining to extend her arm further whilst held back by the coins, but in an instant the representative was falling into the abyss, that strange smile plastered on her face. Like... none of this really mattered to her. It was almost as chilling as the big man's crazy laughter.

The girl stood there for a while, lost to the shock before the continued straining sounds around the room brought her back into reality. Clenching her fists slightly, Kuroko closed her eyes before taking a few swift steps forward and vaulting upwards onto the Artist's boat. Falling on her knees, she lingered upon the deck for a moment, adjusting something. A careful observer would note that when the young girl rose to her feat, the two coins were now beneath her heels. A different sort of platform, and hopefully a more stable one. Looking over to Abhorsen, Kuroko bowed her head, gesturing to the blade on his back with an apologetic frown. "Sorry, Mr... Abhorsen? Sir. I should've helped you too."

No use recriminating herself. Kuroko sighed, focusing only part of her mind on the task of holding herself and the old man aloft, expanding her ferrokenesis to his sword with a thought. . That wasn't going to fix the problem. She had to work this out. She cupped her head downwards, listening to the sound of the machines. From what she could remember... yes, that would fit. Straightening out again, the young Esper coughed, addressing the room with as much volume as she could over the unending rush of air being pulled past them. "Ok. This room's artificial. It's in a void, like space or something. Those machines are what make it work, give us air to breath and everything. And they're... trying to get rid of the thing that was interfering with the room?" Which meant pesky organic life, smashing through the walls. Perhaps they were just after the Child, but they really didn't seem that discriminating.

Tossing the thought aside for the moment, Kuroko glanced around her ally-contractors with a frown. None of them looked exactly like black hole maintenance technicians, unfortunately. She gestured across the room, trying to take things in herself whilst continuing to explain. "If there's a way to control them from up here, I might be able to shut it down. But I don't know what it'd be. Can anyone see anything odd? Something that didn't change much when the room did, possibly?"

[roll0] Dodge, with Evasion (If we're still doing that)
[roll1] Move Object, plus boat bonus.

[roll2] Teamwork check, to help Abhorsen stay aloft through his sword. Autosuccess, but if it hits 25 or higher, the bonus is +5 instead of +2.
[roll3] Perception check, on grounds that we probably can't justify Investigation ATM, to look for any sort of controls for the machinery.

[tbergman92]

Abhorsen, despite his near brush with the black hole, seemed fairly composed still. A sucking hole in the floor was strange, but less terrifying than many Free Magic creatures. At least this was mindless.

Attempting to stabilize himself somewhat aboard the ship, he turned to the girl who spoke to him. "Just Abhorsen is fine, child. Do not fret over your attempt to save our hostess, I am fine for now." As he felt his blade being held aloft, he continued, "Thank you for your assistance--I have not had the strength of youth for long years now." He liked this child-she was intelligent, and kind. Kindness was a rarity in his experience, particularly when coupled with intellect.

Although he did not fully understand her comments about the room and how or why it worked--it seemed fairly advanced, even by Ancelstierran standards, he did attempt to help her in her search for something unusual.


Assuming any movement power includes normal speed, then
[roll0] (5 from Kuroko, 5 from boat, 3 from speed). If any of those don't apply, just subtract that.

Perception: [roll1]

[Arcran]

The Child looks at the boat, a smirk on his face. Why the hell would he try to use a boat? He was The Greatest Warrior To Ever Be, not a sailor.

With a cackle The Child plunges his other hand into the ground, flesh knitting itself back together as the force begins to cut at his forearms. The pain meant nothing to one such as The Child, and the simple satisfaction of nailing the woman with a chair did more than enough to compensate for any danger that he may have caused. After all, The Child cannot die.

And, through the great storm, The Child laughs.

Strength: [roll0]

[AmberVael]

Star found a particularly stubborn trace of the celestial ways and anchored herself to it to avoid the constant pull that was threatening to pull her outside. It wasn't really a solution given how everything seemed to be coming apart, but it'd buy her time to figure out what she needed to do. With a frown she looked around and ascertained everyone else was safe, then turned her attention to the hole that was threatening them. She really couldn't comprehend most of what she was seeing there- it looked like high magitech to her, and that was never something she'd had much dealing with- or, well, much understanding of, more accurately. She'd come across it more frequently as time went on.

Nonetheless, trying to take everything in seemed like the best idea at the moment. If she could see what was causing the danger, or something that seemed safe, or something, maybe she could get them all out of this mess. Light shines from her eyes as she quickly scans the room.

Star isn't going to take an action just yet, but will be activating Inescapable Solar Eye in order to see magic and see through darkness and illusory effects while making a perception check.
[roll0]

[herodofcows]

Corbin listens to the lightning girl with some interest. A machine . . . Corbin had SOME skill with machinery, but mostly towards putting things together with his ferrokinesis ad-hoc. If this girl could do MORE . . . well, that could be interesting to see.

"LIGHTNING GIRL!" he screams against the gale, still laughing, "What if I got you closer to the machine?!? You got any metal on you, or can you mess with magnetics?!?"

[Hammer Head]

The Artist held a steady hand, even as the ship groaned and shuddered from the force of the singularity far below. It almost seemed as though the disembodied hands were unaffected by the drama all around it, as it just gestured and the ship lifted higher. Most of the First Souls seemed calm on the deck as well, though they had quieted down quite a bit, as the Ninja had silently suggested to each of them that they hold back for the time being, and see about obtaining more information.

The Pet and the Other Artist were the only ones having any difficulty with their footing, though the Pet believed itself to have things under control, when the mass of hands tumbled past it and cartwheeled overboard, with an almost imperceptible "whee!" being heard. Panicking, the Pet rushed to the edge of the ship, throwing a rope overboard to the Other Artist, which had apparently shifted to a single hand during the fall.

The schnauzer suddenly appeared to have a beaten up cap on, and tears in it's eyes, as it mugged dramatically and a sign appeared behind it reading "Don't let go! Damn you!"

And the Other Artist suddenly spawned two pairs of hands to applaud this performance, floating in the air to either side of the hand clutching the rope, begging the question: Did the Other Artist need saving at all?

The Pet's attempt to grapple the Other Artist with Move Object and keep the First Soul from tumbling down: [roll0]

[Avalon®]

Even with the airship hovering above the ever-growing hole, the tug of gravity still beckoned everyone down below. This spot of hope cannot last, however, as the gravitic energies begin to warp and pull at the ship, causing it to buckle.

The Abhorsen stumbles as the ship violently shudders and warps. Even with the aid of young Kuroko and his own magical training, he again slips over the side of the ship.

The Laughing Child, proud as he is, thinks nothing of a ship made for weak sailors and instead deigns to dig his fingers unto the surface of the room. His first attempt leaves him with nothing but rubble, but his quick reflexes manage to secure him a deeper and tighter grip.

I'll be needing a Dodge check from Abhorsen. I'm still also waiting on Strength/Movement/Move Object rolls from Wandering Star, Demiurge and Corbin Hollow.
Kuroko doesn't sense anything that could control these machines save for something that looks vaguely like a transmitter of some sort but not anything that might transmit via the electromagnetic spectrum.

OOC: You can roll Technology if you like.
You see nothing at all different from when you first appeared in this room barring the gaping hole that is dragging everyone down.
You see nothing magical some minor traces on the walls. Down the hole, you can see vast expanses of machinery creaking and groaning, but the darkness goes deeper still as if light itself was being pulled down below.

[Inspector Valin]

Kuroko groaned quietly as her scan of the room turned up little of value. A transmitter built into one of the walls, but of a design she wasn't familiar with, and barely operating on the EM spectrum. She was trying to puzzle through what that could mean when the grinning man yelled at her. His incessant glee set the young psychic a little on edge, though it was good to face something like this with a positive attitude. Kuroko turned towards him, shaking her head with an effort in the face of the still increasing wind. "That thing probably hasn't got a control panel. It's not intended to be manipulated by hand. And I'd rather not get sucked out into the void going to have a look!"

Grimacing, the young Esper turned downwards, towards the hole and the void beneath it. She'd been reluctant to try and use her powers against the machines: after all, nothingness is not exactly a good conductor of electricity. However, this... whatever it was had been pulling air out of the room. The darkness hopefully wasn't a total void any more. If she was lucky, there might be just enough gas molecules in the darkness for what she needed. Enough iron for her to make a conductive path between her and the strange engines that defined this room and whatever else was out there.

Closing her eyes, Kuroko brought lightning up around her hands. Frowning, the electrokine muttered to herself "Don't look down, don't look down..." in a brief attempt to rally herself before letting fly with an arc of electricity, the azure energy spiralling down into the darkness, forging a path between Kuroko and the machine. She needed to hold the iron in the air in place long enough to make the path work, but hopefully this wouldn't take too long.

[roll0] Technology check on the Transmitter, in case this doesn't work out.

[roll1] Technology, using Universal Remote feature, on the machine bank below us. Range of 1000 feet should cover this. Looking to shut off the gravitic engine, or at least to get some kind of display up to show us an alternative evac route.

[herodofcows]

Corbin remains floating, twisting and twirling in the gale for the sheer joy of it. He hoped the air wouldn't run out anytime soon. It wasn't like he HAD to breathe, but there wouldn't be any wind currents without the air, which would be lame.

And then the little girl started shooting lightning down at the device, and Corbin begins to get curious.

"Be right back!"

He lets himself sink down towards the device proper, hoping to get a better view of the dang thing.

Okay, so Corbin is going to approach the device. He doesn't breathe and is immune to environmental conditions, so I can't imagine too much will bother him in a vacuum. Technology and Perception to figure out what's what:
Perception: [roll0]
Technology: [roll1]

[Avalon®]

With air still rushing down the hole around him, Corbin descends and tries to take a look at whatever exposed machinery catches his eye. This hunch pays off as some of the equipment that he sees reminds him of stuff from back home.

Meanwhile, Kuroko tries her hardest to stop everyone from going under to the great void below. Interfacing with the machines, she must have said something right as you all can hear the sound of massive slabs of metal squealing as they begin to slide shut and seal off the breach at the other end. Elsewhere around the room, you see all visible damage being repaired.

As the turbulence subsides, a familiar voice speaks out from nowhere. "Took you people long enough. Now that your frolicking has been dealt with, we will proceed with the briefing."

Images flash on the rapidly repairing walls of men and women in various activities. http://th02.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2011/082/d/d/viltrumites_by_pawcioky-d3caeno.pnghttp://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/0/6539/386314-188232-viltrumites.jpghttp://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/0/6539/386315-162054-viltrumites.jpg
"Viltrumites", says the mysterious lady as she walks in on one of the images being projected. "A local client of ours. Their current ruler, Grand Regent Thragg, has started to become rebellious as of late. You are to knock him down a peg and remind him who his true masters are."

"Now, in order to properly monitor your progress and to aid in communication, you will be outfitted with monitoring bracelets." As if on cue, discreet white bracelets appear on the right arms of Kuroko Kazuo, Corbin Hollow, The Laughing Child, The Artist, Demiurge, Wandering Star and Abhorsen. "I would suggest that you don't remove those objects nor cause any undue harm or discoloration on them. Any violation of the stated conditions will be unforgiving to the wearer."

"Now then. Any questions."

Back on Earth, you were privvy to some news regarding bleeding edge technology. The machines that you can see are eerily similar to theoretical pieces intended for use as life support within the center of massive singularities.

[AmberVael]

Star's hands clenched, but she did nothing, said nothing. She tried to reason out the situation but honestly found herself at a loss for any reasonable explanation for the woman's behavior. Really, the best fit seemed to be the unreasonable explanations, which pretty much started and ended with 'this woman is an idiot who is mishandling everything.'

"Just send us on our way." She said finally, after taking a few calming breaths. "I think we can all agree we'd rather not waste more time here."

[herodofcows]

Corbin grins quietly to himself as he rises back up into the rapidly repairing room. As the winds stop blowing, he reverts to his earlier stutter-step speech.

"No problem. Make noise. Wreck s***. Fight the super-men. Remind who's on top. Sounds good. Go go go go." he buzzes in a monotone, inspecting his new bracelet idly.

"Sitting in a black hole. That's us. Ha. Nice."

[Arcran]

The Child was a fraction of a second away from chopping off his own hand when the threat comes, causing him to use his considerable strength to stop his own attack, the blade hovering just above his skin.

"And I receive The Gem after?" The Child snarls, looking about for the source of the sound as he does so. The actual mission would be trivial; beating down some creatures that looked like humans? That wouldn't even require effort, much less his focus. It'd be a vacation, nothing more.

[Inspector Valin]

Kuroko simply sighed, falling to the floor now that the room had been restored to something at least approaching its normal state. She rolled her eyes at the woman's comment, she should've known someone like that wouldn't die so easily. This woman was a business executive, not a scientist, but the principle was the same as the ones Kuroko had become familiar with on her world. Set up the situation and watch the puppets dance to your tune. All that changed was the end-goal.

The Electromaster is silent for the rest of the briefing, merely glancing up to see the images as they flicker, sighing quietly as their intended purpose is outlined ('You can be one of the greatest heroes ever' she said. By working with us to blackmail world leaders.) and wincing as the bracelet materialized on her wrist. Track the vermin as they run, follow their course, see how they think... The young esper grimaced, looking up at the woman with something of a snarl. Her opinion of their host had obviously not risen at this development, She nodded as the woman gave the standard speech about the shackles, waving her onward until the spiel reached a slightly strange line "Discolouration?" Kuroko blinked, her irritation forgotten at this strange moment, looking to the woman for confirmation that she'd heard correctly. "Why don't you want us painting them? Why's that a problem?" It wasn't entirely an idle question; if they had to try and disguise themselves for any reason, pure white armbands were kind of a giveaway.

Drawing herself back to her feet, the schoolgirl frowned, thinking back over the briefing. The images hadn't been enough to provide much.She hummed gently to herself for a second before nodding in resolution. "Also, can you give us more information on the Viltrumites?" She gestured to the images behind them both as she continued. "I don't have any specific questions, just wondered if you had like, a briefing folder or something. Talking about Thragg, your dealings with him, the basics on their culture. It might be useful to have that information if none of us have met them before, just in case things get... complicated." She didn't look at any one particular person as she said that, but the slight droop of her eyelids told anyone looking what they needed to know. Kuroko wasn't exactly jumping with joy over this assignment.

[Re'ozul]

"I concur with the eletromagnetically inclined one."

Demiurge recalls the images.

"Further, information on this person's habits or general goals, his prized endeavors might be useful. I do not favor our chances if he were to consistently stay behind the mass of his forces inside a secured facility."

[Avalon®]

"And I receive The Gem after?"

"Pending your performance and relationship matrices, consideration will be granted in deliberations after successful completion of the mission."


"Discolouration?" Kuroko blinked, her irritation forgotten at this strange moment, looking to the woman for confirmation that she'd heard correctly. "Why don't you want us painting them? Why's that a problem?" It wasn't entirely an idle question; if they had to try and disguise themselves for any reason, pure white armbands were kind of a giveaway.

"The bracelets are set to blend in with your current gear as well as any disguises that you may acquire on your mission. Discoloration, in this context, means staining via external chemicals, blood or any other bodily fluids."


Drawing herself back to her feet, the schoolgirl frowned, thinking back over the briefing. The images hadn't been enough to provide much.She hummed gently to herself for a second before nodding in resolution. "Also, can you give us more information on the Viltrumites?" She gestured to the images behind them both as she continued. "I don't have any specific questions, just wondered if you had like, a briefing folder or something. Talking about Thragg, your dealings with him, the basics on their culture. It might be useful to have that information if none of us have met them before, just in case things get... complicated." She didn't look at any one particular person as she said that, but the slight droop of her eyelids told anyone looking what they needed to know. Kuroko wasn't exactly jumping with joy over this assignment.


"I concur with the eletromagnetically inclined one."

Demiurge recalls the images.

"Further, information on this person's habits or general goals, his prized endeavors might be useful. I do not favor our chances if he were to consistently stay behind the mass of his forces inside a secured facility."

"Thragg and his kind were a dying race. There were less than a hundred of them before our agents came in contact with them. For the small price of a few considerations, we revitalized whatever breeding stock they hand left and enabled them to ascend as the foremost rulers of their little universe."

"Viltrumites come with the standard FISS package. Flight, Invulnerability, Strength and Speed. Nothing this little group won't be able to handle. Grand Regent Thragg, on the other hand, is a leader who subscribes to the imbecilic notion of leading from the front."

"That is all you need to know about them. Anything else will be answered by them loudly and with much bravado."

"On that note, you are all late. Best be off with you then."

With a snap of her fingers, you all find yourself in a plaza of sorts with towering crystal spires and a large fountain in the middle. There are dozens of what the lady called Viltrumites going on their own ways. Some are hurrying from one place to another while others are resting by the fountain or lying about on open patches of grass.

Your arrival must have been quite the disturbance as soon enough, someone who looks like some kind of authority figure lands in front of you. His bald head shines in the morning sun as he speaks from underneath a large handlebar mustache that covers his mouth. "Right. Who are you people then?"

[herodofcows]

Corbin glances about the square, taking in the passing assembly of . . . Viltrumites? Silly name. Whatever. Spires look smashable. Crystal, huh? Break them like snowflakes. Ha. Fun times.

"What's the play, folks? Razzle-dazzle? Talk to big cheese?" he buzzes out, pointedly ignoring the Viltrumite. He sweeps the square with his eyes, looking for apparent sources of metal or bits of tech to sabotage. He was gonna OPEN with lightning. No question there. But it would be nice to be COMPREHENSIVE about whatever destruction they were to visit upon these schmucks.

Tear 'em to bits. Shoot 'em out of the sky. Bring their towers tumbling down. Ha. Ha. Ha. MY turn to be the monster.

It would be very fair to say that the prospect of BRINGING destruction rather than staving it off was more than a little exciting to Corbin.

"Come on Laughing Boy. Tear off the 'staches, yeah? Ha. Ha. Ha." he barks out a reverb-filled chuckle.

Perception [roll0] and Technology [roll1] to look for some technology about that seems like it could be affected by electromagnetism of some variety (i.e. metal devices)

[Arcran]

The Child grins maliciously as Corbin says exactly what he wanted to hear.

"We're here to kill you of course," The Child states, a coat of red coursing out through his pores to cover his body in a thick red shell even as the handle of an axe appears in his hand, the blade forming an instant later. "Try not to take it personally."

In the blink of an eye The Child is on him, razor-edge of his Blood Weapon whistling towards the cranium of the unfortunate Viltrumite.

And The Child laughed.

Well, I guess we're starting this off the fun way!

Just making an attack with The Axe!
AC: [roll0] Critical 16+
DC 27 Toughness for damage, +2 if Accuracy succeeds by two degrees, +5 if three or more
DC 27 Fortitude for Impaired and Stunned, +2 if Accuracy succeeds by two degrees, +5 if three or more

I guess this will also be our maiden voyage for Swift Terror as well! Doing that as a Free Action, so a -10 penalty!
Intimidate: [roll1]

[AmberVael]

Knock him down a peg.

Maybe she should have pressed for more specific instructions, but as Star appeared in the plaza, she mostly was just glad to be doing something instead of being trapped in a room where she apparently had no authority. While she paused to glance over their surroundings, looking for vantage points, potential entrances and threats, the rather violent brute she'd been lumped in with decided that strategy was for wimps and started slinging his axe around.

...subscribes to leading from the front.

Maybe she could still pull a strategy out of this. Not exactly a complicated one, definitely not a subtle one, but it could work.

Star cast caution and instinct aside as she called upon her essence. The glowing aura around her gleamed at first, then caught fire- a brilliant glow that reflected wildly from the crystal spires and scattered blinding rays everywhere. Smoke and flame crowned her as she spoke in a voice that resounded across the plaza.
"We come for Grand Regent Thragg- if he hears our challenge, let him meet us on the field of battle! But if he is a coward, if he crawls upon his belly like a worm and hides behind his subjects then we will lay waste to his home and people, tear down his empire and bring down its rubble upon him."

She nocked an arrow to her bow, letting her light and essence infuse it, causing it to shine with a bloody, hungry light as intense as her anima before she loosed it. The rutilant shaft struck the middle of the plaza in an instant, the blazing trail it left behind it the only sign of its passage. It erupted where it struck, a luminous sphere silently engulfing everything and relentlessly searing all caught within it.

Star first activates Terrible Radiance, shedding bright light that negates all concealment in a 120ft radius. Also probably makes her really, really obvious which is the main point of it.

She then switches on her Searing Emperor's Glory power to help her challenge out.
I'm assuming her challenge probably falls under intimidation more than persuasion, if the roll even matters at all: [roll0]

Lastly, she uses her Full Moon attack. It provokes DC 30 toughness save in a 30ft radius burst and offers no dodge check since it is perception based.

Star's anima is currently at Level 5.

[Re'ozul]

'Well, there certainly goes the smart route. The insane child is going to be a problem.'

The surroundings do nothing to inspire Demiurge to combat. In fact it seems rather peaceful. Yet his companion seems to want to create the impression of being a ruthless bunch.
Though to him the impression spells more Murderhobo as some Parahumans had coined the Term on Bet.

Well, perhaps he could underline that aspect slightly, perhaps even allow himself to be underestimated at first.
For a race of brutes, steel should hold significance but be considered soft.

Moments after radiant destruction wave centered on the fountain, blades of steel start emerging from the ground starting at the edge of the wave.
Five blades for every Viltrumite, angled towards them, surrounding them, threatening to stab them if they were to take flight.
The threat of course empty, for Demiurge's power does not allow workings such as that, but the act is merely for show after all.

All that is left is to ready himself and wait silently.

Uses his create power to make the swords (toughness 10 material - steel)

Relevant defensive things:
Immune to damage effects of rank 8 or lower

[Avalon®]

"What are yo-" Whatever the Viltrumite would have said was cut short as the Laughing Child's fell blade slices through his skull like a hot knife through butter.

Everything is silent for a moment as the Viltrumite's limp body falls but then a great roar of anger is heard from all the assembled Viltrumites and they move as one body to come at you all even as even these great warriors shiver at the twin terrors of the Laughing Child and the Wandering Star.

Toughness for Bald Viltrumite: [roll0]
Roll for initiative.

You can see several park benches that appear to be made of metal as well as sense several pipes down below that feed into the fountain.

[Inspector Valin]

The young girl bringing up the rear of the invading party was blinking as the battle begun, unable to quite believe what'd happened. The Executive had told them to negotiate with that Grand Regent Thragg, to get him on their side, either through negotiation or intimidation. They were not here to start killing people, were they? Kuroko blanched as the Child's axe descended upon the poor lawman, turning away from the spectacle, hands raised. The Electromaster kept her eyes closed as Star and Demiurge join the Child in attempting to instil fear in the populous, barely able to credit what side of the situation she found herself on now. This... was worse than she'd expected. In pretty much every way, these few brief seconds confirmed the young Esper's every fear she'd had about the Family's style of 'work'.

He's a killer. They all are. And I'm stuck working with them doing all of this or else...

The cries of the Viltrumites snap Kuroko out of her stupor. The locals weren't going to give her the time to mull this over, and weren't going to regard her as any different from the berserker. She had to defend herself at least. The school-esper thought back to the Executive's description of the FISS package Flight, Invulnerability, Strength and Speed They'd probably go in close, try and subdue the 'contractors' physically rather than rely on guns or distance based abilities. Grimacing at the Laughing Child, Kuroko simply concentrated slightly, shifting the air molecules around her into a different alignment. The effect was a slight blue glow to the young traveller, but as she moved, a skilled observer could see sparks arcing in the air around her. Getting close to Kazuo at this point was an unwise proposition.

Railgun didn't react as the locals charged, simply holding her position, arms raised outward in a simple defensive stance. She wouldn't attack these people, but she wouldn't let herself be taken down either. Instead Kuroko scanned the plaza, looking for any Viltrumites that seemed less eager to engage the group. If there were civilians here, she had to help them. It was what she did, and it was probably what the Executive wanted anyway. They wanted to use these people as part of some money making scheme, not to exterminate them or conquer them. Deaths meant sore feelings, which meant less control for their employers... right? Raising an eyebrow, Kuroko muttered into her bracelet. "Orders?"

Switching to Charge Defence as a free action if possible. It's an aura effect so anyone touching Kuroko gets hit with Damage 15: I don't need to attack for that, it goes straight to a toughness roll. (And needless to say, I'm opting for non-lethal) Not sure how that works with Mass Combat, but I'm not sure where the mass combat rules are.

Rolls [roll0] Initiative
[roll1] Perception on the Plaza. Looking for civilians or anyone that needs defending.

[herodofcows]

"Heyyyyy." Corbin buzzes as the Laughing Child slices into the Viltrumite, "Direct. No frills. You're all right, kid."

He glances up bemusedly as the citizens roar and fly towards him. Something whispering inside him becomes an indistinguishable yet arcing roar pounding in the back of his skull. His fists clench and he smiles beatifically as sparks dance across his teeth.

"All riiiiiiight, it's a party now!" he hums gleefully, voice resolving into a steady hum as something inside him clicks into place. He smiles at the swooping Viltrumites, in those last peaceful seconds before battle is joined.

And then he shoots high into the air, traveling about a thousand feet up in less time than it takes to say. Lightning crackles through his arms as he glances down at the assembling hordes of superhumans, and he reaches out for all the metal under the fountain. Generating a crackling magnetic field within himself, he wills the piping within to go up, up, UP . . .

"Let's have ourselves a good damn time, whaddayasay?!? SHOW ME SOMETHING!!!" he roars, trying to explode the fountain outwards and upwards using the metal buried beneath it, twisting a symbol of peace and order into something ugly and nightmarish.

Corbin has spent his life defending buildings and walls and architecture and monuments from the kaiju. Before now, it had struck him as a pointless exercise. Now, though, he's starting to imagine the psychological blow that a scar on their city might deal to these uppity superfolk . . .

Okay, so:

Move: Fly up a thousand feet or so.

Standard: I'm gonna try to have Corbin use the pipes below to explode the fountain outwards. Shock and awe and all that.

Electromagnetism: [roll0] vs. the fountain, DC 35 (Effect Rank + 5 Throwing mastery + 5 attack vs. inanimate object) on a hit. Multiattack bonuses further apply on a hit, I believe?

[Re'ozul]

'I wish people would limit the amount of collateral damage.'

Demiurge sighed internally. He was never good when front and center in such a situation. His job tended to happen afterwards.
The angled blades surrounding the bystanders should be capable of deflecting some debris before breaking, hopefully that wouldn't make it obvious that this had been their intended purpose to a degree.

Other than that, there was mot much for him to attempt. He did not fancy dropping huge pennies on the enemy or similar shenanigans.

Of course one could always be ready to make an 'interesting' impression.

But until then, the surroundings likely held enough potential interest.

Ready an action to turn energy form if any viltrumite attempts to punch him.
Utilize his vision
(Analytical (Vision) (2p), Dark/low-light/Infra/Ultra Vision (5p), Microscopic Vision (4p)
On the crystal spires, or if too far away, pick up a piece of crystal from the ground and do so.

[Arcran]

Corbin's remark is only met with more laughter as The Child's axe begins to morph and twist, becoming a massive, jagged bow. With another cackle The Child pulls the great bow backwards, an arrow appearing on the great bow of blood only to be fired, almost vanishing due to the force it was launched with.

And then another arrow flew. And another. The Child stood firm, rotating and firing arrows the size of spears at the incoming crowd, cackling all the while.

Use Bow this time.
AC: [roll0] Critical 16+
DC 27 Toughness for damage, +2 if Accuracy succeeds by two degrees, +5 if three or more

Swift Terror as well! Doing that as a Free Action, so a -10 penalty!
Intimidate: [roll1]

[AmberVael]

Wandering Star drifted upwards into the sky for a better vantage point and to make herself just that much more obvious to everyone on the ground- nothing quite like a flying, shining object to draw attention. As she rose she fitted another arrow to her bow and drew it back with slow deliberation before firing it. It simply seemed to vanish after she fired it, tiny, nearly imperceptible flickers the only sign of the countless arrows streaming out from the crazed shadow she cast across the plaza to strike her targets.

Waning Crescent attack: [roll0]
Its a ranged multiattack with incurable, insidious, and subtle 2 among others- so its nearly impossible to notice even after it hits you. It also has homing 3, so if it misses it gets a few more chances to strike someone.
Damage DC 30, plus any modifier from Multiattack.

[Avalon®]

The searing energy coming from Wandering Star's arrow is a sight to behold but the Viltrumites come through it unscathed. Instead, these 400 strong super-powered beings turn their attention to the laughing lunatic clad in crimson armor.

They surge forward even as the Laughing Child fires arrow after arrow through their ranks, but the ones who do get hit do not even flinch as the arrows strike them in the shoulders or arms. Even the remains of their fountain hurled at them by Corbin doesn't seem to hurt them in the slightest but just served to anger them more.

Wandering Star's next salvo of arrows does seem to find its mark as it manages to take down enough of the superhumans (including those hit by the Laughing Child's earlier attack) to cause some disruption within the group.

Now, it seems, the Laughing Child is surrounded by a very angry mob who are all focused at him.

Wandering Star (surprise round)

Initiative Roll: [roll0]
Viltrumite Mob Toughness Roll: [roll1] No damage

*note: I'm assuming that Perception area counts as only one rank of the Area extra and thus only gives a +2 bonus in Mass Combat

Laughing Child

Viltrumite Mob Toughness Roll: [roll2] No damage

Corbin Hollow

Fountain Toughness Roll: [roll3] Incorrectly rolled for the wrong target.

Wandering Star

Viltrumite Mob Toughness Roll: [roll4] Disrupted (-1 to all rolls)
The spires are composed of a special blend of silicon-oxide and a few trace elements that was fashioned with a crystalline structure similar to that of steel. Due to this structure, it has many of the properties including the hardness and durability of steel.

[herodofcows]

Corbin giggles wildly as electricity begins to sizzle down his arms like glowing sleeves.

"HEY, MUSTACHES! HERE I AM!!!" he shrieks, before throwing a bolt of lightning deep into the midst of the horde of supermen. He maintains the bolt for as long as he can, exhausting his inner charge to the point that he might not be as fast in dodging if anyone happens to notice him. Despite what the media back home tried to show, Corbin definitely has limits. He just delights in pushing them past the point of reason.

"ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE!!!"

All-Out Power Attack: Corbin's active defenses suffer a -5 penalty. [roll0] vs. Dodge, DC 35 + Multiattack Bonus (37 on two degrees of success, 40 on three degrees of success) Damage.

[AmberVael]

Again Star drew from the shadows that her light cast across the battlefield, stretching them to her bow and fitting them as an arrow before letting them loose once more. Countless flickering shafts darted through the angered mob, striking as lightly as falling leaves while striking precisely at nerves and muscles, leaving her adversaries strangely weary, weak, or simply unconscious after the shadow arrows pass through them. Again it seems like she does nothing, but perhaps the randomly disabled and collapsing Viltrumites would tell a different tale.

Star narrowed her eyes and scanned the horizon for any sign of something beyond the mob. It might take time for a response to come, but she didn't want to be caught unawares if it showed up immediately.

Same power as last time- Waning Crescent. Incurable, Insidious, Subtle, all that jazz.

I think Star agrees with Corbin's strategy here. All-Out Attack and Power Attack, both for maximum values.

Attak: [roll0]
Toughness DC 35 multiattack.

[Arcran]

As the horde comes on towards The Child, seemingly unperturbed by his arrows, the Greatest Warrior to Ever Live can't help but continue to laugh, the bow morphing into a brutal axe faster than the eye can see. With a gleeful cry The Child begins to spin about, shifting his blood armor across his body to catch the blows of his foe even as his axe arcs out towards their heads, seeking to tear each and every one of his foes limb from limb.

"You know, I don't think your employers would appreciate the amount of enjoyment you're taking away from this."

And The Child laughed.

Well, I guess we're starting this off the fun way!

Just making an attack with The Axe!
AC: [roll0] Critical 16+
DC 27 Toughness for damage, +2 if Accuracy succeeds by two degrees, +5 if three or more
DC 27 Fortitude for Impaired/Stunned, +2 if Accuracy succeeds by two degrees, +5 if three or more

I guess this will also be our maiden voyage for Swift Terror as well! Doing that as a Free Action, so a -10 penalty!
Intimidate: [roll1]