FATE of Liberty City (IC)

[EclecticGuru]

Dreadrock is perched on the ledge of a building over a dark alley. A couple and their son are taking a shortcut through the alley. A truly perceptive reader would notice that they seem to be dressed for opera or theater, and the father has a public parking ticket in his front jacket pocket. A truly perceptive reader would notice the mysterious shadow of a man with what appears to be an oversized net-gun silhouetted half-out-of-frame on a ledge opposite Dreadrock.

FATE of Liberty City #1
The Hunt

It's just another night in Liberty City. It's starting to get late, and the city's pulse is shifting from the relatively calm Prime Time and toward the more decadent Late Night pleasures. It is at this point where average families rub shoulders with deviant thrill seekers and predators.

In other words, this hour is nothing but trouble for the city as a whole.

Tomorrow Man used to be a frequent sight around the city at this time of the evening -- often perched atop the Spire to use his super-senses to scan the city for trouble -- now the Spire peak is off-limits to even the most well-intending do-gooder due to trouble with the Spire's charged particle collection field.

And the absence of Tomorrow Man has not gone unnoticed by the city's lowlifes and monsters.

But with all that said, it was still just another night, like any other night. There was no way to tell that the Historic District was about to erupt into violence that it hadn't seen since the Panic of Endless Earths.

A Night like any other night; Families and Freaks

This is the part where you establish what your characters normally do during this part of the evening. It might be that they're patrolling the city, or following up on leads, or they might be doing something in their civilian identity. You'll have a post or two to establish that, before the action begins in the Historic District.

I've foreshadowed what's to come a bit with the cover, but remember that often the scene on comic book covers are misleading or even barely applicable to the events that take place within. However, feel free to metagame a tad if it pleases you and helps tell a better story.

[glaiveguy]

The Teen of Tomorrow has survived alien invasions, fractured time, and demonic possession, but today he faces his most terrifying challenge yet! Theater!

Joshua fidgeted uncomfortable trying to maneuver his hand to a persistent itch along his back. His skin was invulnerable to swords, bullets, even grenades, so why the hell was a wool suit sending him into fits of itching and scratching!?

He turns to the lovely redhead hanging on his arm, his girlfriend Sandy, and smiles. He’d been running himself ragged keeping a handle on trouble in the city since Big T had gone missing and she had convinced him to take a night off to go see her friend Teagan perform in Roma & Julian, some sort of gender flipped Shakespeare production. He was no theater buff but he enjoyed watching attractive actresses sword fighting. It reminded him of the time Nina found him at that Ren Faire…

“…whole different perspective on the story!” Sandy finished her thoughtful analysis of the play right as Josh’s mental radio tuned back in to the present. Hiding a guilty look he smiled at her.

“I liked the costumes…do you think I’d look dashing in a jerkin over the T?” He poses dramatically with a grin and they both laugh.

The pair lapse into a comfortable silence as they walk hand-in-hand toward the restaurant where they have reservations. Joshua’s radio tunes back out again. His enhanced senses pick out individual sounds and sights in Fountainhead square, focusing in and out as different stimuli catch his attention. Imagine a camera panning across the square, zooming in and out of conversations, flashing signs, and ranging further and further out until they notice...

[gremlin-pult]

"Yes, I'm on me way home from patrol now." Connor says with a grimace, leaning back against the scaffolding of the fire escape. Taking a long draw on his cigarette, he looks down at the alley, noting the hobo sitting half-asleep against a dumpster.
"No kenna, I did nae forget that tonights the busiest of the week. But its yer night behind the bar nonetheless. You lost the bet, 'member?"

Putting the cigarette down, he reaches out for the opened whiskey bottle standing next to him, and drinks deeply.
"...Mmh, No I'm not drinking while out here, Kenna." He says with an exasperated sigh. "Jaysus christ woman, cant ye leave me be for once? Besides, I know yer dont care squat about me drinking. You know I cant work proper when sober. Yer jus being pissy 'cus ye had to work tonight instead 'a roping around yer boytoy. But that's what ye get fer challenging me for the chores. Not my fault ye can't drink fer ****."

Rolling his eyes at the answer Connor looks around, his face a mask of annoyance, while he contemplates throwing the cell phone away. He then sighs heavily, his features softening into a small smile. "I know ye do, I'm sorry Kenna. Its jus' this city. It's been goin' down the crapper since Tomorrow Twit disappeared. Crime's everywhere, and I dont get much sleep. I know yer just worried. Yer my sister, and I love ye. I'll be home soon and I promise I'll help out. Oh, and kick Liam in the arse fer me when ye see him. He got me the cheap whiskey again."

Standing up and dusting himself of, Connor adjusts his mask and picks up the whiskey bottle, before climbing down the fire escape towards the alley.
"No, that doesn't count as drinking on the job!" He exclaims. "It's medicinal, and ye know it. My nerves are bein played like a damn fiddle by all these burglars and what not. Think about what I'd do to the poor basterds iffen I did nae have my soothing, cold-filtered friend here? Anywho, I'll be home in an hour, tops. Just one more block to check out afore I call it a night."

Ending the call and putting the phone in his pocket, Connor walks out of the alley, stopping by the old hobo and looking down. "Here ye go, old son." He says, leaving the half-empty bottle and a five-dollar bill. "It wont do ye much good in the long run, but it'll keep ye warm for tonight."

As Tesla leaves the alley, he once more contemplates how quickly the town had started going to the dogs, and how little it took. He sighs to himself, lights a cigarette and starts walking, hoping against hope that this night would be one of the rare ones where he could just go home and sleep, with no more trouble...

[LordHavelock]

Hanging out in front of the Fountainhead on an evening like this may not have exactly set Calvin apart from the hoodlums and miscreants here to prey on tourists and honest citizens, especially not in a slightly faded but definitively vintage member's-only jacket. Though tall, Calvin's dark hair and unremarkable features didn't strike the most eye-catching picture, and so to stand out, he coupled the jacket with a rather ridiculous scarf in order to look the part. Street performers weren't uncommon in the historic district, especially where there was plenty of foot traffic, and there were a smattering of other individuals playing instruments or hawking trinkets. Calvin was the only one with a deck of cards though, making a show of fanning them through the air, behind his back, and every so often, making the deck vanish in favor of another sleight-of-hand trick. There was a collection of change in front of him, not much, but as the area began to throng with passersby in that special time of night when everyone seemed to be on their way somewhere, content to mingle for the moment, he could feel the real magic in the air. 'Deep breath, Calvin, and stay wary.' He told himself, 'You're not just here to make a buck tonight, but keep people safe.'

Stepping up and back on to the ledge of the fountain, Calvin began to call out to the larger crowds around him. "Step right up folks, and witness amazing feats to dazzle the eyes and confound the senses!" He said, gesturing wide with his hands, before making a pair of card decks appear in each hand, and them scattering them in a bridge outward in to the crowd around him. Just as they began to fall and catch the attention of everyone around, he gestured again and caused the cards to drawn, as if by invisible force along the ground and in to a neat pile in front of him, which promptly went up in a puff of smoke and a small red flash. The display caught the attention of more than a few folks, though no one applauded just yet, more surprised by the magical ambush than anything else. It was enough to get the eyes of the crowd on him, and the guitarist across the way stopped playing for the moment as well.

"Thank you, ladies and gentleman, if you will observe, in my hands . . ." Holding both hands to one side, Calvin produced a small, white oblong object, in a fairly standard feat of up-the-sleeve chicanery, "An egg? No, wait, this trick requires a melon . . ." He scratched his head with one hand, and then opened his palm under the egg. Raising his opposite hand in the air, he brought it back down with a clap, and pulling his hands apart, produced what appeared to be an ordinary cantaloupe. He was greeted with scattered applause, as a few more folks threw coins, while others passed on, but still more took their place.

The side-show routine was just that to Calvin, routine. The more eyes he had on him though, the more he could look out, in to those eyes and faces, and see what might be behind them, what ill intent, or even more so, who might be trying to take advantage of his little performance to nefarious ends.

[EclecticGuru]

Tomorrow Teen

The Terrific Teen of Tomorrow was no match to the distraction that could be had by a slightly peeved romantic partner -- Sandy nudged him right out of his sensory sweep.

"You're doing that thing again. Whatever it is. Where you're here, but not here. You know this time with you is really special to me. Special enough for me to stay in the present, to be here. I don't know why you feel like you've got to be somewhere else all the time. It's really hard to compete with something like that, you know?"

Uh oh! Terrible Trouble for Tomorrow Teen. Looks like the make-out date on Vantage Point might be canceled if he doesn't find a way out of this one.


Tesla

As Connor meandered his way along his chosen path, he realized that the city really has gone to the dogs. Two stray dogs, in the shadow of an overfull dumpster (it should have been emptied a week ago, at least), were having a tug of war over some sinewy scrap. One of the dogs surrendered before blood was drawn, however, and it looked up to the rooftops, in an alert stance. The other dog gnawed blissfully on its gory trophy.

The dog went from alert to fearful aggressive. Haunches down, ears back, tail straight, head lowered, deeply growling.

I can't help but wonder what the dog saw up there -- did it have something to do with Dreadrock, or maybe it was that other silhouetted figure on the cover? Or maybe this was just setting up for a token jump scare to throw us off before the real trouble arrives? We'll have to keep reading to find out!


Fawx

Calvin knew the routine. With a show like his, it was a practical magnet for the pickpockets. All the Olivers, stealing wallets and snatching money out of purses. They weren't nearly as interesting as the Fagans though -- the handlers. The masterminds, that trained the kids, ran the ring, and masterminded the whole hustle -- and they were good at keeping themselves concealed. And there were unspoken rumors, legends, that they all worked for one mastermind, and he ran the business right under everyone's nose in the Historic District.

Calvin had been onto this ring since day one. But he'd never discovered who, if anyone, was the boss of bosses among the pickpockets and cutpurses.

A young boy, maybe 9 or 10 years old, slipped careful fingers into a woman's designer purse, and then back out. Everyone's eyes were on Calvin as he performed his trick. But Calvin's eyes were on the boy.

The boy startled, broke his confidence, and ran.

[glaiveguy]

Leisurely his enhanced senses swept over the plaza, his attention homing in from one group of people to the other and then upward to begin sweeping over the rooftops…but just as he turns his focus up over the first building, like a needle scratching over a record, he is jarred back to himself and his now irritated girlfriend. Damn, he’d done it again.

“Crap…Sandy I’m sorry.” He rubs the back of his head awkwardly, feeling like he was just snapped out of a dream. “I didn’t mean to drift off, tonight’s supposed to be just you and me. It’s hard to switch off, everything feels so much more…tense since Big T vanished.”

He smiles and pick her up, spinning her around once. Her weight barely registers in his arms but he sets her down gently. “You’re right, enough worrying. I didn’t see anything anyway so it’s not like some sort of monster is going to crash out of the sky…” He gestures vaguely upward with his hand.

Will roll to regain the good graces of his best girl in a Flashy style

[roll0] Messed that up somehow, will try again in the OOC thread

[gremlin-pult]

"Hmm, animals are often good at recognizing danger, an gettin' the hell away from it..." Connor mutters, squinting first at the dog, then at the rooftop.

"Too bad I'm not a dog, since this will probably get me into sumthin stupid again..." He continues. He stares at the rooftop, before sighing and starting to look for a way up on the roof.
"Damn me idiotic curiosity..."

"Why is it every bleedin' con man, burglar and weirdo 'as to choose my night on the street to muck about? Is it too much too ask fer one damn nights rest?" Connor grumbles to himself as he searches for a way up, puffing angrily on his cigarette."And I'm startin' to loose my buzz, too. I'm gonna go full Palpatine on whoever's pissin about up there..."

I'm guessing there's probably some kind of emergency staircase here, like on most buildings. I'lll then go up on the roof, sneaky-like, so as to not alert whatever might be waiting up there to eat me.

So, getting up on the roof, sneaky style:
[roll0]

[LordHavelock]

Calvin takes note of the young sneak-thief seizing the opportunity in the midst of his performance, and while the kid (poor little guy), feels acutely the weight of the street performer's gaze. The show must go on however, and Calvin continues with act as he puts his plan in to action. The performance was his bait, and now that he had his own mark on the hook, it was time to reel him in. "Ah, yes right." He remarks, passing the melon from hand to hand in a deft fashion, not quite juggling it. "Now then, with this in hand, I . . . No wait, I need the egg too. Now where did it go . . . " Rolling the cantaloupe up one shoulder and across the other, he used his hand to shade it as if the head-sized fruit had eyes of it's own to scan the crowd with.

Assuming those of the crowd played along, Calvin was quick to let them follow his own gaze towards the pickpocket now trying to make a rather brash escape . . .


Cleverly Overcome the pickpocket's escape attempt by getting the crowd to look in his direction.

[EclecticGuru]

Tomorrow Teen

"Well ... tense .. yeah I guess it is a little tense out there lately. But Tomorrow Man will come back. He always comes back." Sandy cracked just a bit of a smile at Josh's antics. She rested her hands on his hips as he set her back down on the ground and motioned to the sky. Her eyes followed his motion. It's not like monsters fell out of the sky every day -- not even with Tomorrow Man gone.

But before two heartbeats could pass, there was a scream and shout. Dreadrock. The huge rocky monster came hurtling down from a nearby rooftop, captured in what appeared to be some kind of electrified net. As he seemed to fall in slow motion, he struggled against the net, and it pulsed with electrical power not once but twice, as if to resist his attempts to break free. Dreadrock roared, however, and managed to tear the net open, even as he rolled on the ground.

A terrible furrow, like a scar across an already rough face, was dug into the asphalt and turf where he landed and came to a stop. Dreadrock returned to his feet and roared, flexing his nasty, obsidian-sharp claws, beaming his red-eyed gaze up toward the rooftop from which he plummeted.


Tesla

Connor was almost to the roof when he felt something. It was a tingling feeling, the electrical charge in the air crackling, like a hot spotlight to his senses. Not on this roof top, but an adjacent one. When he rushed to the top, he saw a dark clad figure, in subtle gray urban camouflage, holding what appeared to be some sort of fancy giant crossbow. The electrical arc, a preternatural ionic entanglement between the crossbow and whatever ammunition it had just unloaded, could be sensed as clear as day. The dark clad man had just shot at something big, out of sight down on the other side of the building below, and whatever kind of beast it was sounded very angry.

The dark clad man turned his head slightly toward Connor, crouching low in the same motion.


Fawx

The escaping pickpocket stopped, just as Calvin expected, following the design of the trick as closely as a well trained rabbit or dove might -- only with different consequences. When the kid boggled at the egg, he didn't notice that he had taken the crowd's attention, it was only when he looked up to plan the next stage of his escape that he realized all eyes were upon him.

But those eyes didn't stay put for long.

Across the square, just over a stone's throw distance, something huge came tumbling down from above. There was the crackle of lightning, the tearing of cables, and the roar of a huge beast -- along with subtle ragged crumbling sound of rocks sliding against rocks.

Dreadrock roared and posed dramatically.

And whatever that lightning was, it wasn't natural. It wasn't a taser. It was some kind of enchantment.


Josh has created the "Josh is in my good graces for now" Situational Advantage on Sandy. He has one free invoke on it.

Fawx has thwarted the pickpocket's escape ... at least for the first round of the conflict.

And speaking of the conflict ... We're in a conflict right now. The zones are:


Rooftop 1 -- Rooftop 2 --- Edge of the Square -- Center of the Square -- Far Side of the Square
| |
Deep Dark Alley -- Dark Alley

Tesla is on Rooftop 1. The Dark Hunter is on Rooftop 2. Dreadrock is on the Edge of the Square. Tomorrow Teen, the Pickpocket, and Sandy are in the Center of the Square. Fawx and his crowd are on the Far Side of the Square.

For each Exchange (aka Round) you may each take one action and move up to one zone. If you wish to move a second zone, you'll have to Overcome an Obstacle with a target number of at least 2 (more if there are obstacles in the zones), which will be your action for the exchange.

And remember, if you do anything that a normal person with no special skills could do, you need to justify it through an aspect (or power facts for an aspect) or extra.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the OOC thread.

The NPCs will act after all the PCs have performed their actions for the exchange.

[glaiveguy]

Panel 1
Josh and Sandy both gape in shock, horror, and an emotion best described as “are you freaking kidding me!?”

Panel 2
Josh is in the exact same position and expression.
Sandy has a rueful and resigned smile “You really asked for that you know, Josh”

Panel 3
Josh is in the exact same position and expression.
Sandy picks up her bag and dusts herself off. “It’s okay, you’re off the hook for now. But I expect you to make up the dinner within a week.”

Pane 4
Josh is in the exact same position and expression.
Sandy leans in and gives him a kiss on the cheek. “Be careful ace, he looks mad.”

Panel 5
Josh is in the exact same position and expression.
Sandy walks off panel.

Panel 6
Josh is in the exact same position and expression.

Panel 7 (stretched out across the bottom third of the page)
A vaguely Josh shaped cloud of dust stands at the left edge of the panel, it’s foggy head still gaping in surprise. To the right is a blue and gold blur of motion.


OOC: Action will be to change into costume at super speed such that the panicking bystanders won't even notice. He'll then move one zone over to the edge of the square where Dreadrock is. He'll arrive at the beginning of the next exchange.

[gremlin-pult]

"Every time. Every damned time..." Connor mutters to himself, as he looks from the crossbow wielding stranger to the beast below. "Why's it have to happen just as I was on me way home?"

Walking over to the edge of the buidling, he glances down, gauging the distance to the street. "This is gonna take a helluva lot o' me internal power, but I can nae afford to waste time on the stairs..." He says, before glancing once more at the stranger.

"Yer lucky that thing's the most immediate threat, boyo. But we'll have a talking about your obviously illegal weapon later, Don't ye worry." He exclaims loudly, before jumping of the roof.

About ten feet above the ground Connor lets out a concentrated electromagnetic burst towards the ground, the force of it slowing his fall considerably. He hits the ground lightly, then immediately dashes towards Dreadrock. As he runs he glances left and right, looking for any obvious sources of electricity. "Never hurts to know where ta refill, when runnin' headfirst into ****e."

Connors action is to take the fastest route to Dreadrock, which is straight ahead. So he arrives at the beginning of the next action, just like Tomorrow Teen.
As it says, he uses electromagnetism to avoid damage from the fall, which eats quite a lot of his electricity. So he's running on low fuel from the get go. But that just makes it more interesting. :smallbiggrin:

[EclecticGuru]

Dreadrock roared again, and then shoved his massive stony claws into the concrete and asphalt beneath him, tearing upwards with it. A huge chunk of concrete was rended from the earth, held in the bestial villains titanic grip. As if he wasn't dangerous enough to begin with, Dreadrock was now Armed with a Giant Chunk of Concrete (1 free invoke).

The Dark Huntsman crouched gently on the edge of the building, observing the events. Tesla's arrival was a complication, but what worried him perhaps a bit more was that Tomorrow Teen shaped blur moving across the square toward the battle. Defeating one "bonus hero" was doable. But two? He thought he might need to go with a Plan B.

Chaos rippled out from the super-powered action, both the freaks and the families were outmatched by the unfolding events -- they wanted nothing more than get far away from what was happening.

Panicked Crowd

The PCs may act again. We're assuming Fawx was working his magic on the pickpocket in the last exchange.
Yumiko may join the scene in this exchange, entering any zone but not taking an action, should the player feel up to the challenge of writing an entry-post whilst still recovering from a virus-imposed incapacitation.

[glaiveguy]

"Dreadrock!"

A blue-gold blur streaks from out of the sky and lands before the stony titan, leaving an impact crater behind. Tomorrow Teen stands tall in the face of the monster, despite being nearly half Dreadrock's size. The teen wears his usual costume, blue gold form fitting material on his chest and arms and baggy brown pants and boots on his legs. The T stands proudly against his chest, the only remaining bearer left in the city.

"Never took you for a theater buff Rocky." He gives a cocksure grin "Or are you here for an audition?" The Teen reaches into his pants and pulls out...The Omnipod. He holds it in his arm, thrust out straight to his side and flicks the wheel on the device. It locks in a track with the finality of a shotgun being cocked and...the Nutcracker Suite plays. "Dang hang on..." He flicks it again...a J-Pop teen idol hits a high note. "No no, that's not it..." One more flick and Get In the Ring from Guns and Roses starts playing. The Teen grins again.

"How about you put down that bit of side walk (a relative of yours?) and be on your way?"

Rolling to create a Flashy advantage "Pumped Up" (Flashy +2)

[roll0]

[LordHavelock]

More than a little surprised himself, Calvin found himself jostled by the crowd, unable to hold their attention with such suitable distraction as a freak lightning storm and a freak of nature dropping in to wreak havoc on the square. Losing sight of the sneak thief in the chaos, he was only just able to collect his change and tips in the wash of bodies which broke around him. Tall enough to see overhead, but without the stature to keep anyone from pushing aside, he might have been shouldered and shoved and trampled, but knowing something about navigating a crowd himself without detection, he faded in to the press of bodies, shifting and sidling through them with alacrity without ever really catching the eye. Unlike the pair of capes making their presence known on the scene in the flashiest way imaginable. 'Tomorrow Man the Sequel, or whatever the hell he calls himself these days.' Calvin thought to himself, 'And some other fancy fellow with the electric powers, but apparently not the magic electricity being used by whoever Mr. Shadows is over there.'

Stupid git was stealing his show, and his theme, and worse, he was probably in with the Cabal, or at least, Calvin's natural paranoia regarding that particular conspiracy wouldn't let him discount the possibility. For the moment, that meant he was more interested in getting off the street than exposing himself (especially with two perfectly capable capes act as proxy) to the stone behemoth performing impromptu road work on one of the few good streets in Historic District. Fortunately, that meant that all eyes, and one pair of eyes in particular should still be on what was going down across the square, and Calvin just might be able to kill to birds with one stone as he made for the alley, keeping a sharp eye out for the pickpocket who he was sure would be following this same escape route.


Moving towards the Dark Alley zone, via the Far Side of the Square.

Cleverly Heading Off the Escaping Pick Pocket and cornering him before he vanishes: [roll0]

[gremlin-pult]

"So the tomorrow toddler has its attention, eh?" Connor mutters to himself as he watches the costumed boy do his entrance. "Tha's just perfect. Then I can figure out how to take it down in one shot, afore it hurts someone. Christ, that beastie is a lot bigger up close..."
Standing in a widelegged stance, connor raises one hand towards the stone monstrosity, and starts sending all the electricity in his body towards his palm. As the energy surges through him, arcs of blue-White electricity starts leapind across his body, focusing around his hand in a brillant corona. "I just hope the energy I have left is enough..." He muses, before glancing at the electricity coursing along his body.
"Ugh, I look like one of those rage fueled pretty boys in Kennas old japanese comics. I really hope I'm nae doing this for nothing..."


Connor tries to flashily an advantage for his attack in The next round, "focused charge".

[roll0]

and for those who might be wondering. Yes, connor IS griping about looking like a dragon ball character :smalltongue:

[EclecticGuru]

As Tomorrow Teen landed gracefully and messed around with his Omnipod, Dreadrock was already winding up with the massive chunk of concrete. This was not the first time that the two had faced off, and Dreadrock was not about to relive his past humiliating defeat at the super-powered hands of Liberty City's cockiest teen hero.

Just as the Omnipod tuned in, and Tomorrow Teen's battle music began to play, the street lights were eclipsed by the huge chunk of concrete as it came down squarely onto Tomorrow Teen ....

But perhaps Dreadrock was underestimating the electrical dynamo, Tesla and his fully charged and operational lightning blasting hands.

As there was no opposition, Tomorrow Teen has successfully created an Advantage: Pumped up, with one free invoke.

Similarly, Tesla has generated an Advantage: Focused Charge with one free invoke.

Dreadrock got a total of 6 on the Forcefully Attacking roll. I'm taking the free invoke from the Giant Chunk of Concrete (he keeps the advantage for now, but he has no more free invokes on it after this); I'm also spending one of my three fate points to invoke Dreadrock's Near Invulnerable Predator high concept to utilize his super-strength and violence to strike a particularly vicious blow.

The total on the Attack action is 10. A mighty blow to say the least. Could Tomorrow Teen be done in with one mighty blow?

Tomorrow Teen can defend -- Forcefully or Quickly probably. Any of the other approaches would probably be a stretch but if you can justify with an aspect, feel free. Don't forget that you can invoke aspects to grant yourself bonuses.

Meanwhile, Fawx cleverly cut off the pickpocket, even as he made his own way to the escape. The kid dropped the pilfered billfold down onto the ground and kicked it away like it was the 1990s and the folded up cash was a hacky-sack. The kid was hoping that Fawx would go for the money and then he could make good his escape.

The Pickpocket is offering to Concede the Scene, to make good his getaway, but without the stolen goods. If you accept this outcome, you will have quickly thwarted the theft, but the kid will have escaped and I will gain an extra Fate Point in the next scene.

The Dark Huntsman continues to hold for now.

The PCs may take their actions for the next exchange.

[LordHavelock]

'Nice try kid.' Calvin thought to himself as he ignored the billfold, and rushed to close the gap between them, 'But you're still thinking like money is the only thing in this world, and I'm not your average do-gooder.' His hand darted out, seizing the thief's collar as Calvin pulled him up short like a scruffed pup.

"Listen here, punk." Calvin barked, dragging the poor kid in to the alley, and out of the fray as he did so, before pinning him to the wall, "You let you're boss know if he wants to skim off my performances he's got to deal with me. If you and your friends are fleecing my marks, that's less money in my hand and a bad rep on top of it, got me? Either you cut me in on the take, or I'll make sure you and your buddies can't get within three feat of any tourist or patsy with their eyes on me."

Glancing back just out in to the square, he was just in time to watch the goliath monstrosity hurl it's cement missile at Liberty City's favored son. He did not watch to see the aftermath however, as he shoved the kid deeper in to the alley and gave him a quick kick in the rear, "Now get the hell out of here before you get squashed, bug!"

'Time to balance the odds . . .' He thought, wondering how exactly he was going to do that, but not about to let these super-human monsters destroy the nicest place for attracting a crowd in old town. 'Hope Tomorrow Whatsit can handle sharing the limelight, or else he might not survive to enjoy it.' Rather than get in to costume himself though, he figured the best course of action would be to skew the fight in favor of the less destructive force, and that meant tripping up Dreadrock in favor of Tomorrow Teen.


Roll to Stealthily Create an Advantage to overbalance Dreadrock in the course of his throw, and trip up the stone monstrosity: [roll0]

[glaiveguy]

Only a small handful of heroes can stand up to the might of Dreadrock, fortunately, the Teen is one of them. He raises his hands to meet the attack and attempts to catch the massive piece of concrete. A thunderous boom sounds through the plaza as the two forces meet, shattering nearby windows and scattering dust.

"It'll take more than jagged ugly old rock to beat me!" The Teen grunts "And that hunk of concrete won't do you any good either!"

Tomorrow Teen defends Forcefully against Dreadrock's attack; the Son of Tomorrow Man aspect lets me stand up to the most brutal damage. I'll use my free invoke of Pumped Up for +2 and spend a Fate Point on Hotshot Son of Tomorrow Man for +2 (facing down Dreadrock in what he thinks is 1 on 1 should count). My understanding is aspects can be invoked after the roll so I'm reserving another Fate point to invoke a Setting aspect after I see the roll.

[roll0] +4

[glaiveguy]

The ground beneath the two titans begins to crack under the force of the exchange. The old stone pavement of the Historic District was built before the city became a super-powered battleground and simply cannot stand up to the punishment being inflicted. With a final mighty CRACK the ground gives way beneath them and a huge cloud of dust and debris is thrown up as a massive hold opens up into one of the many tunnels that riddle the district. A figure is seen through the smoke, but who is it...

Spending another Fate Point to reroll my fate dice. Invoking the Riddled with Tunnels aspect of the Historic District
[roll0] +4
Edit: Damn, should have just taken the +2

[gremlin-pult]

As the dust settles, Connor is shocked to see a hole in the ground where Tomorrow teen previously stood. Luckily Dreadrock doesn't seem to have noticed Connor... Yet.

"Right then, It's now or never I suppose..." He mutters, glaring at the villain's exposed back. Summoning every ounce of willpower, Connor prepares for the attack that will decide whether he sleeps at home tonight, or in a hospital bed.
With a mental click, Connor feels the last bit of his electricity gather in his hand, which has now become a crackling and hissing hotbed of bright electrical arcs.
"Oi, Stone fer brains!" Connor yells, mentally steeling himself when the red eyed gaze of the monster falls on him.
A strained smile crosses his lips, and he spits out the cigarette butt from his mouth. "Chew on this, ye overgrown lawn gnome!"
With a deep humming roar, the electricity bursts forth from Connors hand, Forming into a thick spear of lightning as it surges toward Dreadrock faster than the eye can follow. It collides with the villain with an earsplitting thunderclap and a blinding burst of light, sending rubble flying everywhere, and the sheer force of the blast knocks Connor to the ground.

As he rises, coughing and rubbing his eyes, he looks nervously towards the point of impact, trying to see the result.
"I really hope yer down, old son..."

[EclecticGuru]

KABOOM

The impact from the concrete-strike was immense, and dust shot out around the combatants like a smoke ring, shattering windows, and knocking people who were too close to the ground.

KRUMBLEKRUMBLEKRUMBLE-KA-KRASH!

The strike was perhaps a bit too strong, as Tomorrow Teen was knocked down into one of the old unused tunnels beneath the square, the old brick and mortar construction was not sufficient to handle the might of the super-powered combatants.

Tomorrow Teen's ears began to rang from the kinetic force of the impact and the fall, and left him for just a moment gripping his head. But he kept control of his powers for now.

Dreadrock was posed on the edge of the crumbling hole, and a bit of debris, unseen by any mortal eyes -- but to those with mystical insight would note perhaps that it shifted through a magical adjustment -- worked its way under Dreadrock's footing. Dreadrock stumbled a bit, waving his huge rocky arms to either side.

Fawx succeeded with style in creating the Overbalanced advantage, and has TWO free invokes upon it.

Dreadrock got blasted from behind by Tesla, who took advantage of his off-balance stance. The force of the electrical discharge crashed into his back and shoulder, creating a massive crack, with a big chunk of the stony carapace missing right over his right shoulder. That gory chunk went flying away to land among the debris next to Tomorrow Teen's chasm.

He took 2 stress, and the moderate consequence: Bloody Chink in the Armor. Tesla has gained 1 free invoke on that consequence.

However, as Tesla got back to his feet, with ionized ozone-infused smoke rising up along his hands and up his forearms, he realized that he had just expended his whole charge ...

I'm going to compel the Focused Charge advantage: Tesla just expended all his power into one lance like cutting blast into a nearly invulnerable foe, cutting through his flesh like a furious electron scalpel. This has left him completely depowered. The good news is, the damage to the ground has unearthed some power lines -- perhaps Tesla can get to one of the loose power lines to recharge (Quickly, Carefully, or Cleverly Overcoming the Obstacle to move through the rubble and around the giant monster/gaping-chasm at a Target of 2 or better).

Tesla will gain a Fate Point if he accepts this compel. If you wish to deny it instead, perhaps there's enough loose electrons in the air to recharge immediately -- or maybe one of the lines is within reach to immediately recharge. You won't get the fate point in that case - instead you'll have to spend one.

The Dark Huntsman made a move. He jumped, with a forward flip for a flourish, down from the rooftop and landed among the debris in a crouch. He had reloaded his weird oversized crossbow with another unlikely projectile, but he did not shoot it at anyone yet.

Whose side was he on anyway?

While all this was going on, Dreadrock had hopped back from the edge of the precipice and dug in his reverse-knee'd legs into the ground, redoubling his balance and preparing to pounce -- on Tesla?!

Dreadrock has successfully Overcome the Obstacle of his Overbalanced situational aspect, ending it, and banishing the free invoke summoned forth by Fawx -- at the cost of Dreadrock's action this round.

The PCs may take their actions for the next exchange.

[glaiveguy]

Josh's head slowly clears after having his bell thoroughly rung by Dreadrock's concrete slab. He picks himself up and grunts in frustration.

Those up top would hear his voice coming in muffled by the intervening ground.
"Hey! Ugly! Your opponent is..."

With a terrific crash Joshua explodes up through the ground right in front of Dreadrock in a shower of cobblestones, metal, and debris. His clenched fist leads as he flies right into the rock behemoth, impacting in the vulnerable crack by his shoulder.

"...ME!"

The pair fly a full six feet into the air from the force of the blow. Rebounding quickly The Teen lands besides Tesla breathing hard, his head still smarting terribly.

"Thanks *pant* for the opening *pant*"

[gremlin-pult]

"Yer welcome, boyo." Connor answers the teen, hunched over and panting in exertion, smoke still rising from his arms.
Looking down, Connor notices that his shirt is badly singed below the elbow. "Ugh, another ruined shirt..." He mutters, before glancing over at Tomorrow teen. "Now, iffen ye'll excuse me, I need a refill if I'm to be any good when frankenstone over there gets back up."

With that Connor breaks into a dash, running towards the nearest exposed power line. Glancing at Dreadrock out of the corner of his eye, He can only hope that his reflexes are good enough to avoid anything the beast can do.

Connor will try to Quickly reach the power line unscathed.
[roll0]

[EclecticGuru]

Dreadrock erupted up into the air with the force of the blow; and what do you know? He did a tumble, like some kind of circus acrobat with rocky skin and claws and glowing red eyes -- alright, not all that much like a circus acrobat. More like a monster. A really fast, strong, nearly invulnerable monster.

Dreadrock landed in a three-point stance, head down. And he slowly lifted his head, glowing read eyes flashing brighter as he looked straight at Tesla and Tomorrow Teen.

RRRRRRRRRRRarr!

He gnashed his teeth.

Did he have those oversized lower tusks before? Man, this guy keeps getting freakier and freakier.

Dreadrock has filled in his 3rd stress box: O X X. He's taken a Moderate Consequence: Bloody Chink in His Armor.

Thankfully, Tesla was fast enough to reach the exposed power lines before Dreadrock even stopped roaring and gnashing.

[glaiveguy]

"Don't worry, there's no way he's getting up after tha...OH COME ON!"

He steps back into a defensive stance, his ears still ringing. He'd almost forgotten how damned frustrating it was to fight Dreadrock. The pile of rubble was always sprouting some new trick. And all he does it growl...its only now that he notices the crossbow wielding...ninja? Is it a ninja? Oh please let it be a ninja!

"You there! Are you with the rock-pile!?"

[LordHavelock]

'Jeese, that thing a real monster, and these guys are going to tear up the rest of the square bringing him down.' Calvin thought, as he watched Tomorrow Teen and Dreadrock's opening melee, and in the mean time the shadowy huntsman was still biding his time and Calvin didn't like the looks of him at all. 'Too quiet, too concerned, as if he knows the gargoyle will hold everyone's attention and set him up with a perfect shot for that crossbow.' With Tesla recharging and Tomorrow Teen only just now seeming to take notice of the bowman, Calvin decided someone better at least get a better read on the situation, and began climbing the fire escape up to the rooftop formally occupied by the villainous duo. From a better vantage point, he'd be in a better position to feel out whatever the huntsman was up to, and get the drop on him.


Moving Zones to Rooftop.
Sneakily Create an Advantage against the Dark Huntsman: 'Got My Third Eye On You'; [roll0]

[EclecticGuru]

Fawx had the Dark Huntsman right in the grip of his Third Eye, and it appeared that the Dark Huntsman didn't even realize it.

And it was exactly because Fawx was watching him so closely that he noticed that the Dark Huntsman carefully picked up a bit of rubble -- not any rubble, but the gory chunk of mutant-rock that was knocked off Dreadrock by Tesla's mighty blast.

Dreadrock didn't appear to notice anything except the burning rage and hunger that made him want to eat Tesla and/or Tomorrow Teen.

Tesla appeared to be scrambling submissively for something that didn't concern Dreadrock. No, it was the cocky Teen of Tomorrow that needed to be knocked down, put in his place, and then DEVOURED.

Casting aside his concrete bludgeon, and now down on all fours, Dreadrock rushed forward over the ruined, rubble-strewn site to smash full force into the young hero as Tomorrow Teen was looking at the Dark Huntsman, hoping to take advantage of the momentary distraction, and the fact that Tomorrow Teen's ears were ringing so loud that he couldn't hear Dreadrock coming at him like a mutant freight train . . . .

RRRRRRRAWR!

Dreadrock is Forcefully Attacking Tomorrow Teen.
[roll0]

He'll use the free invoke on Tomorrow Teen's ringing ears to add 2 more, for a total of 4.

The Dark Huntsman commented quietly. "Looks like you've got this handled without my help." Whether he was being ironic, it was hard to tell.

Tesla reached the exposed power line, and as he gripped it (breaking who knows how many safety rules), he felt the power surge into him. Delicious.

Tomorrow Teen can Defend against Dreadrock's slam.

And he and the other PCs can take their actions for the next exchange.

[LordHavelock]

'So, it appears you have something of an agenda beyond raw destruction.' Calvin mused as he gazed down, watching the Huntsman pick up the raw piece of Dreadrock's flesh. 'I'd say this calls for a little more direct intervention.'

With that, Calvin quickly inverted his coat, reached in to both pockets and casually stepped over the ledge of the roof with a casual grace. Halfway down the several story fall, there was a shifting in the shadow which concealed the street performer, and at the very cusp of the descent emerged a totally different figure. Out of the low street lamp light became the masked and shrouded figure of Fawx, dark defender of Liberty City's downtrodden and distressed. Wearing his siganture half-mask, black cloak, and tricorn hat, he arrived at the base of the building as if it had been only the final step to the bottom of a modest flight of stairs, raising his gaze to the Dark Huntsman with a brief flash of silver light behind the ivory of the Venetian mask which concealed his features. 'You're not getting away with any prize this night, I don't care who or what your after.' Came the words behind Fawx's coverty approach, up and behind the Huntsman. 'Or who you might be invested for.'

Sidling in behind the Dark Huntsman, Fawx slipped the chunk of rock from Dreadrock's grip with the practiced ease of a master rogue.


Stealthy attempt to replace the piece of Dreadrock's hide with some mundane object, using free Invoke from Third Eye: [roll0]

[glaiveguy]

Joshua braces and meets Dreadrock’s wild charge, pushing back with all his strength. Still off balance, and distracted by the Ninja, he can’t get any leverage and blunts the charge (leaving furrows in the ground) only to get raked by the mutant’s brand new tusks. A brief pause lets him take in the scene around him. Panicking crowds, destruction to the surrounding property, ninjas falling out of the sky.

“Damnit…got to get him away from here…”

(Checking off his 2-Stress box)

Finally getting his balance back, he dashes forward and exchanges blows with Dreadrock. He’s able to block, dodge, and weave, trying to keep the crazed mutant’s attention on him and away from the surrounding crowds and area. Even so their clashing blows thunder outward cracking windows and causing panic. Gritting his teeth Josh lands a doublehanded haymaker right to Dreadrock’s jaw and then shoots upward into the air, hovering and calling down trying to get the monster to follow him into the air where there’s less to destroy and he has the maneuverability advantage.

“Hey stoneface! Am I imagining things or are you getting uglier by the moment?”


Forceful Attack
[roll0]

And moving directly up one zone.

[gremlin-pult]

As he touches the power line, Connor instantly feels the electricity start surging into his hands and throughout his body.
He lets out a gasps of pleasure at the euphoric adrenaline rush it causes, but all too soon he is nearing his normal level of electricity.
Glancing over at Tomorrow Teen and Dreadrock, locked in a fierce struggle, Connor licks his lips and smiles widely.
"Just a wee bit more power... I'll need it to take the beastie out, so it's alright to indulge a bit..." He mutters to himself, then turns his attention back to the power flowing into him. As the power passes his natural threshold the feeling of pleasure intensifies, as even more adrenaline is released into his brain. With a sharp intake of breath Connor lets go of his self-control, letting the electricity flow freely through him
"AHAHAHAH, Tha's the stuff!" He yells, laughing hysterically in his semi-delirious state. "So much power. So much Delicious energy!"
All thought of the battle is forgotten, leaving room only for the rush. A small corner of Connors mind screams for him to stop, to regain control, but it is drowned by the roar of power.
Also completely forgotten is the physical effects the siphoning has on him. As his internal power grows, more and more electricity manifests, arcing across his whole body, singing holes in his clothes and turning him, quite literally into a human lightning rod. The electro-magnetic energy slowly forms a small field around him, crackling against the ground and making nearby metal objects float slightly above the ground. All this goes unnoticed by Connor, but others would be hardpressed not to notice the spectacle and noise it generates.

As Connor absorbs a big load of electricity, I'll try to flashily create the advantage "Over-charged". Also, since he is loosing quite a bit of control right now, I'd say it would take either a successful overcome action on his next round, or an outside influence, to get him to stop siphoning power. Dunno what the DC for the Overcome action should be, I'll leave that to the DM. I mostly just wanted some fun with this and up the ante a bit. :smallbiggrin:

Anyway, Create advantage "over-charged":
[roll0]

[EclecticGuru]

Dreadrock was knocked aside by the swooping bash of Tomorrow Teen, and frustrated by his own lack of ability to FLY! He growled helplessly and pounded at his chest in frustration.

Flashily Creating an Advantage (Rage Boost) [roll0]

The Dark Huntsman frowned a bit as the bloody chunk was suddenly not in his hands, but instead in Fawx's. Was it sleight of hand or something more?

He turned his gaze upon the masked avenger and narrowed his eyes.

"The reward for killing you is even greater than what I'll get for that rock. I suggest you give it back to me."

Flashily Creating an Advantage on Fawx: Intimidated.

[roll1]

[LordHavelock]

As the Dark Huntsman rounded on Fawx, the masked vigilante tipped his hat in acknowledgement. "You sure about that?" He said, taking a moment to observe the chunk of Dreadrock's hide in his hand, "A stone you can actually squeeze blood out of might be worth the poetic irony alone. But then, if you've already got money in your hand, I don't suppose they'll need to be much reason to kill me now." Fawx's banter and attention to the piece of Dreadrock's hide was just a distraction however, as he quickly applied a fake blood packet to another hunk of concrete roughly the same size.

"Here, no harm, no foul." Proclaimed the master of misdirection as he tossed the bloodied bit of rubble over to the Huntsman, slipping the genuine article in to a pocket on his overcoat. "And so long as you refrain from smashing up my city like your friend, we can leave it with that little transaction. I'm sure a professional like you can get behind that. Besides, I know that the most interested parties, especially the type to put a bounty on me are some awfully bad company, the kind a man of your stature doesn't need to try and compete with. So, you ever feel the need to collect the price on my head, you leave everyone else out of it, understand?" His tone was fairly casual, as though it were just a simple negotiation, rather than stakes of potential life and death, and in that Fawx sought to defer the Huntsman's intimidating demeanor.


Cleverly Defend by giving the Huntsman what he thinks he wants: [roll0]

[gremlin-pult]

As the electricity continues to build inside him, Connor dimly notes something happening around him. He tries to focus on the two conflicting superbeings, but everything comes to him through an adrenaline induced haze.
"This's... bad..." He mutters, smiling widely despite himself at the immense feeling of power rushing through him. "Gots ta... focus... Get... control..."
Furrowing his brows in concentration, Connor tries to will his hands to loosen their grip on the power line, while he still has a minimum of wits about him.
With a roar and a titanic effort, he rips his hands loose, then grits his teeth and forces the energy inside him back under control. Taking a few deep breaths, he stops the electricity manifesting outside his body from lashing out so violently, pulling it back until it only arcs across his skin wildly, instead of everywhere inside a 5-foot radius.
With a snarl Connor turns his gaze to the bellowing Dreadrock, his eyes narrowing and his body shaking slightly from the effort of controlling the electricity.
"Round two, ye arse! I hope ye still have some fight left in ye, because I'm just beginning ta get warmed up, rocky!"
He roars, a mad smile plastered spreading his face.

[glaiveguy]

Joshua looks at Connor, glowing like a capacitor "Glad to see your heads back in the fight!"

He hovers over the field of battle looking now at the Ninja and the...masked hobo? He didn't recognize Fawks, their genres didn't intersect frequently, but he could tell he was antagonizing the ninja so he was probably on the right side.

"Alright, time to end this!"

He blurs from sight and streaks back toward ground level, appearing beside the hole that opened up earlier. He reaches down and tears a length of re-bar from a section of concrete as easily as if he were picking up a rope. With a hard tug he forms the large section of rebar into a U and dashes toward Dreadrock. Avoiding several blows from those pylon sized fists and finds an opening and brings the rebar down onto the mutant, digging deep into the asphalt and pinning the beast. It won't hold him long but he doesn't need long.

"There! Take the shot Sparky!"

OOC

I rolled a 7 to create an advantage for Tesla to attack Dreadrock. Not sure what such a high roll gets me (and assuming Dreadrock doesn't defend against it somehow) but I'll call the Aspect "Pinned by Metal Rebar")

[LordHavelock]

"And now, I must bid you adieu and goodbye . . . !" Fawx said, sweeping of his Tricorn hat and bowing low before the Huntsman. Halfway through the motion however, the long jacket he wore twisted up and billowed over him, masking the vigilante from view till it settled to the ground in front of the Huntsman; no longer a victorian overcoat but a black cape that left not trace of Fawx in it's wake.


I was thinking about something more elaborate, but really it just makes the most sense to Sneakily Create an Advantage: [roll0]; Then he just . . . Disappeared.

[EclecticGuru]

Dreadrock was caught in that rebar like it was a cocoon and he was some kind of metamorphic mutant transforming into a higher order of being -- some sort of evolved super predator or something. Well, clumsy metaphors aside, Dreadrock was STUCK. He had no choice but to try to ESCAPE!

Dreadrock attempts to Forcefully Overcome the Rebar advantage. His target number is 3.
[roll0]
Dreadrock reduces your number of free invokes from 2 to 1, but he's still caught in the rebar!

The Dark Huntsman took advantage of the vanishing going on, to fade into the shadows as well, leaving Dreadrock's fate to be decided by the heroes.

Offering to concede with the Dark Huntsman. He gets away, but without the bloody chunk of Dreadrock, or Dreadrock himself.

The crowd's panic levels subsided just slightly as it appeared that Dreadrock was subdued -- even if it was just momentary.

[gremlin-pult]

Seeing the big monstrosity caught in the rebar, Connor walks over towards him, seeming oddly calm compared to his earlier outburst. Smiling broadly as he walks, He lifts his arms up to chest height, his palms facing each other with about a foot of space in between. slowly at first, electricity starts coursing back and forth between his hands, gaining speed and power as he draws closer to the prone Dreadrock. When he is a few feet away the lightning in his hands has increased greatly in intensity and speed, starting to move more in circles between his palms than straight back and forth, until with a crackle it forms into a crude orb of seething energy.
Leaning in over Dreadrock, Connors smile grows wider, and he holds his hands out so the villain can see his creation.
"Ye probably don't ken what this is, so I'll tell ye." He says with a light, companionable tone. "This is called ball lightning, a rare ocurrence in nature that scientists have never really figured out what is. Now I could tell ye some of the sciency babble I've read on the interwebs about it, but ye wouldn't understand it, and frankly neither do I."
His smile going from kind to predatory, Connor holds the ball a bit closer to Dreadrocks face, allowing him to feel the heat and sparks generated by the roiling mass of energy.
"But I'll tell ye this. I don' use it often, because it takes a crap load of juice, and is hard to hit with unless ye're up close...
Oh, and it has about three times the sheer power of the singer I hit ye with before. So time ta say goodnight, friend."

With that said, Connor thrusts the Ball lightning straight into Dreadrocks face, the energy exploding in an inferno of crackling electricity with a tremendous boom, kicking up dust and rubble in a fifteen foot radius around the two.

Connor tries to Forcefully knock Dreadrock out with some concentrated electric mojo.
[roll]3d4-6/roll]


As the sound dies of and the dust starts to settle, Connor rises up and stretches, cracking his neck loudly with a satisfied sigh.
"Haah, tha' hit the spot. Me powers back to normal now, too..."
His gaze then drops down to the tattered remains of his sweatshirt, hanging in burnt pieces on his torso, and his jeans, now ripped and torn. Luckily his mask and most of his hood is still intact enough to not reveal anything.
"Ech, another good outfit ruined..." He says with a frown, before fishing a battered cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it on a spark from his fingers. He then turns from the wreckage before him, puffing relaxedly on his cig.

[LordHavelock]

Not keen to chase after the Dark Huntsman at the moment, and more concerned with whatever more trouble these two might get up to in 'subduing' Dreadrock, Fawx waited to be sure he had left before he emerged from the darkened alley where Calvin had first disappeared. Sprinting across the square, and the fountain, he leapt up in front of the growing crowd, in to the spray of the water, and with a flourish of his cane, transformed the instrument in to an umbrella, which he just as quickly inverted and used to direct the cascade away from the crowds to shower down across Dreadrock and his rebar constraints, adding an extra conductive element to the mix whilst, though he did so without much regard for any but the civilians in the square.


Cleverly Create an Advantage by dousing Dreadrock with water while he is simultaneously hit with an electrical attack: [roll0]

[EclecticGuru]

The Dark Huntsman hoisted himself atop the nearest roof and skipped from rooftop to rooftop, occasionally using his magic crossbow to shoot a line. As he was making good his escape, he occasionally tapped the pouch containing what he thought was the chunk of Dreadrock in it. It wasn't what he was supposed to get, but it was better than nothing.

Hopefully it would be enough to convince his employer to not report his failure to the Cabal.

Dreadrock struggled against the Ball Lightning as it was brandished in front of him. As the Lightning exploded and the dust lifted up, it was impossible to tell what happened.

Except EVERYONE could see the slick umbrella move by the theatric Fawx. Water streamed in a powerful arc over the square, and into the electrical blast, dousing the area with water.

The charge crackled around everything in the zone as the dust quickly began to clear -- and as the dust clear, so did the crackling charge -- or at least most of it.

Dreadrock stood there, facing off Tesla and Tomorow Teen. The mighty rock-covered predator of doom had bloody cracks all over his scorched carapace, but the most horrifying thing were the two empty sockets that were once his eyes. Sparks of lightning rippled from one socket to the other, and it was quite, quite clear that the beast was blinded.

RAAARRR!

Oh, and he also held the bent, dislodged Rebar that once kept him in place, now free, in his clawed hand. As Tomorrow Teen groaned slightly that Dreadrock was STILL STANDING, he gave away his position to Dreadrock, and the mighty villain disdainfully tossed the rebar right at Tomorrow Teen's face. And much like Superman from the 50's TV show, Tomorrow Teen can stand up to bullets without a problem, but throw a piece of metal at him and he flinches.

*CLANG* The rebar, of course, bounced harmlessly off the World's Most Powerful Teen-Ager. But it threw him just slightly off balance.

Fawx, well Fawx just earned some serious points from his old mentor, who may or may not have been in the square, observing the melee, mixed in with the bystanders. The old "Umbrella Redirect". Classic move. Not the best execution, but style over substance, when exploits of high heroism and villainy were involved. Mr. Phelps, if he was even there, certainly wouldn't recognize Fawx as the young man Calvin. But he'd recognize the Umbrella move, certainly.

The Dark Huntsman has escaped, and Dreadrock broke free from the Rebar. There are several Compel offers on the table in the OOC thread.

Next exchange: The Heroes turn.

[glaiveguy]

Panel 1
Tomorrow Teen dusts his hands off, leaving Dreadrock to be finished off by Tesla

Panel 2
TT has his arms folded over his chest smiling broadly at a job well done. Behind him, Dreadrock gets zapped by Tesla

Panel 3
SPLASH! A somewhat surprised Tomorrow Teen is now soaked head to toe.

Panel 4
TT still looking stunned, in the background Tesla erupts in an EMP

Panel 5
Tomorrow Teen gritting his teeth in annoyance, in the background the city has gone dark

Panel 6
Tomorrow Teen frowning deeply, in the background Dreadrock breaks free of his bonds

Panel 7
Tomorrow Teen with a look of pure frusration as he gets beaned in the back of the head by the rebar.
"That is IT!"

Panel 8
Tomorrow Teen flies full force into the crumbling Dreadrock, the pair fly off into the sky. Joshua loops in the air and flies straight down back to earth at incredible speed. They impact back to earth at the fountain, Joshua slamming Dreadrock with all his might. The mutant (who is definitely turning into a gargoyle) groans as it floats in the fountain, a stream of water arcing out of it's mouth. Josh catches his breath, wiping dust off his pants. "AND STAY DOWN!"

I'm writing this under the assumption that the EMP thing happens, the blackout panel can be removed if it doesn't.

Josh Attacks Dreadrock forcefully

[roll0] I'll take the free invoke off of Dreadrock's blindness if nobody minds, total of +7

[gremlin-pult]

As Connor hears Dreadrock behind him, he looks over his shoulder to see whats happening. At that moment, he feels a jolt, as he steps in something wet. Looking down, he sees his foot, and the sorry remains of his shoe, in the middle of a newly formed puddle of water.
"Son of a b..." he manages to say, before his sentence is mangled into a strangled moan as he falls to his knees, his eyes ablaze with lightning and arcs of electricity shooting out from all over his body.
Clutching his chest, he lets out scream of frustration and pain, as all the energy in his body is expelled at once, in an enormous, semi-visible burst, rushing out from him. The burst grows with almost impossible speed, spreading out across the plaza and the nearest city blocks. Nearby, lightbulbs burst and windows crack, and across the entirety of the burst's radius. electronic devices fizzle and die, all internal machinery fried.
As the last energy leaves his body, Connor falls down to lie on his side, clutching his torso and shaking from exertion.
"Damn it, fekking water, I hate water, Dammit Dammit..." He mutters to himself, trying to calm down.

[EclecticGuru]

Dreadrock slowly rose from the fountain, spitting out the last of the fountain water from his mouth -- the sparks still crackling over the smoky empty sockets where his malevolent eyes once gazed; and let us not forget, his body was still charred, covered with dangerous cracks, especially a raw area where a gory chunk of his carbonized rocky exterior had been blown away.

Dreadrock's teeth (and those new lower tusks of his) were bared. His growl was a low, deep, infernal rumble.

The lights throughout the neighborhood continued to blink off in a series that rippled like a wave through the city as the power grid struggled against the EMP. The only light visible in the square now was the sputtering, unsteady flicker of the Spire in the distance.

The crowd screamed even louder, and now were endangering each other in their frantic nearly blind attempt to escape the battle.

I think Fawx is the only one who hasn't gone yet; then its Dreadrock's turn.

[LordHavelock]

"Get to the power lines! Try and restore the balance!" Fawx called out to Tesla, making his voice known for the first time in the conflict. It was truly his fault, all things considered, given the unintended side effects of dousing the area with the fountain's spray. It had just seemed the perfect thing in the moment, but then, in retrospect, he was pretty sure the precedent for the situation which had inspired him had involved a fire-themed super. 'Too late for regrets now. The only thing to do is take responsibility and move forward.' He thought to himself as he proceeded to point out Tomorrow Teen in succession.

"Tomorrow Scion! Use that overjuiced boombox of yours to calm these people down. Or are you only good for destroying public property?" Fawx left the jibe hanging as he leaped from his perch at the top of the fountain, twisting in mid air before using Dreadrock's head like a springboard to perform a double somersault and landing just in front of the monstrosity.

"I'll handle ugly here."


Moving in to the same zone as Dreadrock, and Cleverly Creating an Advantage: "All According to Plan."; [roll0]

[gremlin-pult]

"Ah Cannae do that!" Connor yelled back, not even bothering to raise his head and find out who it was that adressed him.
"My power was turned intae an EMP. Everything runnin' on electricity nearby was fried beyond repair."
Rolling onto his back and sitting up, he glances around him, pointedly ignoring Dreadrock.
"Now where's that arse who sprayed water on me? It stings like bein' a doxie in a confessional. I'll kick ye intae next week, yer bastard!"

Getting to his feet ponderously, Connor tries to identify the perpetrator of the water stunt.

[LordHavelock]

"Ah Cannae do that!" Connor yelled back, not even bothering to raise his head and find out who it was that adressed him.
"My power was turned intae an EMP. Everything runnin' on electricity nearby was fried beyond repair."
Rolling onto his back and sitting up, he glances around him, pointedly ignoring Dreadrock.
"Now where's that arse who sprayed water on me? It stings like bein' a doxie in a confessional. I'll kick ye intae next week, yer bastard!"

Getting to his feet ponderously, Connor tries to identify the perpetrator of the water stunt.

More than a little self-conscious of any stray droplets of water which might still be clinging to his cloak and tried to change the subject quickly. "The city's electrical grid is shielded (or so I hope)! But all those household electronics that got fried could cause the sub-stations to blow out and leave the whole Historic District in the dark. Show us all your good for something more than chewing up the scenery and make yourself a breaker! Or can't you handle that much power?"

[glaiveguy]

"...what the heck is a boombox!?"

But it wasn't a bad idea, and he called me Scion instead of Kid. Joshua fumbles with the OmniPod looking for something soothing...all his playlists were thrash metal, dubstep, and Singularica (an industrial/techno/trance hybrid from the 24th century). He was sorely lacking in lullabies.

"Who the heck are you anyway? Tesla I recognize but I don't think I've seen you around before."

He'd tried to make a point of keeping tabs on the heroes in Liberty City, especially since Tomorrow Man vanished. But his own rogue gallery started at "city-wide" threat level and went up from there so he didn't dig into the street-level too often.

[LordHavelock]

"Me? Why . . ." Fawx turned to Liberty City's favorite son and pressed his fingers to his lips in the universal 'quiet please sign', before clearing his throat, and speaking clearly and boldly in to the face of Dreadrock's blinded eyes, "I'm Tomorrow Lad! Protector of the Innocent and shining example to boys and girls everywhere of what you can do if you just believe in yourself!" He proclaimed in a surprisingly passable imitation of Joshua's voice, though clearly with more theatric flair, and just a hint more youthful naivete, "Now stand back citizens! I'm going to show this overgrown lawn gnome just what it means to break the law in Liberty City."

Fawx of course had no such intentions, and ventriloquism was hardly his forte, but he hoped if he confused the blinded (and none too cunning) Dreadrock, it would be enough to make him focus on settling the score with his hated foe than to listen too closely.

[EclecticGuru]

Dreadrock rushed Fawx, thinking him at once both incredibly infuriating and also sounding like Tomorrow Teen against whom he really wanted to smash something heavy into.

Claws were extended to his sides, as he lunged forward and brought the claws together right at the mysterious hero in a mighty double-clawed attack of doom ....



Dreadrock forcefully attacks Fawx

[roll0]

[LordHavelock]

As Dreadrock lunges forward, his claws close around nothing but empty air as Fawx nimbly and almost casually steps sideways and underneath the behemoth's stony grasp. With trifling ease, the masked vigilante clears the path of the rocky juggernaught his overlong coat swirling in the wake, and bringing his cane up in, Fawx seizes the opportunity to deliver a firm *Thwack!* across the monster's backside. Though he doubted such a blow could even be felt through Dreadrock's thickened granite hide, the sound would get his attention, and meanwhile the agile magician was already dancing away in the opposite direction. "What a graceless oaf. No wonder you spend so much time smashing buildings; they're the only targets big enough for you not to embarrass yourself." Still using Tomorrow Teen's voice, he was trying to draw Dreadrock further away from the crowd and any intervening buildings (The Historic District had suffered enough damage for one night).

Thankfully, Tomorrow Teen and Tesla had already done the brunt work of softening the brute up, and all Fawx had to do was wait as Dreadrock lunged from one ill-planned and unbalanced attack to another, following the trail of his hated foe's voice left by Fawx, always one step behind, with Fawx following up each attack with a cunning blow from his cane that caused the colossus of stone to trip and fall, often end over himself, till even Dreadrock's superhuman endurance was beginning to fail. For the final touch, Fawx planted his cane in the ground and slid underneath Dreadrock as the inhuman predator made a final lunge, the magician producing an extra long scarf from both his sleeves which he used to foul up Dreadrock's initial leap, causing the monster to fall flat on his belly. Dreadrock's chin collided soundly with Fawx's cane, and despite the disproportionate spindly appearance, the cane held firm and fast (even where the rebar had not), knocking the brute's distended lower jaw up in to his head for a concussive effect which could be felt throughout the square.


Cleverly Attacking Dreadrock using his own size and weight against him: [roll0] + 6 = 9
Using my Boost (Can't hit what you can't see), Free Invoke on All According to Plan, and a Fate Point to invoke my High Concept, for a total of +6 on the attempt.

[glaiveguy]

"Dang future tech, I don't know what half these genres are! Polyfunk? Glosorock Chanting? Grrr..."

He gives it a shake before realizing something. "Oh! Voice Command, activate"

A gender neutral voice speaks form the OmniPod "Input Command"

"Umm...play the most relaxing song you have!"

There is a brief period of whirring and then a Ding

"Now playing: Ritual Throat Singing of the Three Necked AstroWhale...Victorian Lullaby Remix"

He raises the OmniPod over his head and maxes out the volume. The sound that comes out can best be described as rock-a-bye baby being sung by a trio of subwoofers strapped to a harpsichord. But damn if it wasn't soothing...pleasant really...sort of...just...ZZZZZZZ

His ultra enhanced senses work against him, hearing the full spectrum range of the AstroWhale's call sends Tomorrow Teen into an impromptu slumber

Succeeding with a penalty: Joshua is asleep and will need a round to wake himself up. The effect on the crowd is...

[EclecticGuru]

Dreadrock Defends Quickly
[roll0]

Dreadrock did not rise from the ground after Fawx's series of clever maneuvers. It really made Fawx look like quite the amazing warrior -- of course, the fact that Dreadrock had been repeatedly pummeled, smashed into the ground, tossed up into the air and smashed down into the ground, and blasted several times with enough electrical force to literally light up the city (or black it out) might probably factor in there somehow.

Or maybe it was the lullaby that convinced Dreadrock to stay down this time. But stay down he did.

It looked like Fawx has taken out Dreadrock. His fate, now, is in Fawx's hand.

As the lullaby played through the scene, people seemed to quiet down. The flickering light of the omnipod was the only light in the immediate vicinity, held lower and lower as Tomorrow Teen sank to his knees, and then sat back, lulled into a peaceful state.

At the end of the track, whispered voices could be heard in the background of the omnipod recording.

"Do you think that's long enough?" The first voice sounded like a teen girl.

"I hope so, it looks like you're losing control of the AstroWhale." The second voice was a cocky teen boy's voice.

"It has three minds, each as old as the stars." The girl explained quietly. "Hopefully this song will snap him out of it, if he ever melts down again. Are you still recording?"

"Oh, sorry."

The crowd seemed somewhat calmed by the song as well, but the effect on the Tomorrow Scion was far greater -- as apparently was the intention.

[gremlin-pult]

After silently watching the very theatrical, but admittedly impressive show Fawx put on in trouncing Dreadrock, and the following Music had stopped, Connor got to his feet with a grunt. Walking past the sleeping monster, and making certain it really was done for, he trots over to Tomorrow teen. "Someone should prob'ly call our Best and brightest in badges ta put rubbleface 'ere away." He said loudly to the crowd in general. He then stooped down, grabbing The sleeping teen by the arm, and hoisted him up on his shoulders. "Hup... Yer comin' with me, boyo."
He then walks with his burden. To the edge of the square, past the crowd, and carries the Tomorrow teen into the alleyways.

when he has made some good distance between himself and the square, he sets the boy down against an alley wall. Pulling out a soggy and crunched cigarette, he then shakes the boy, before leaning back and waiting for him to wake up.
He sucks on the useless cigarette, trying to will himself to believe its proper and lit.

[glaiveguy]

Tomorrow Teen surfs through the horsehead nebula on the back of the Astral Whale. Sandy is at his side holding onto him and laughing. They fly on whale back through the rings of a gas giant. Joshua reaches through a comet and hands Sandy a space-snowcone. They kiss by the light of a red giant star. Dreadrock float by unconscious and being pelted with meteors. Tomorrow Man, the father he knew from his own lost dimension, gives him a thumbs up from the asteroid he is currently riding. Throughout the calming whalesong plays in the background.

The Spire rises up behind the couple, eclipsing the light of the red giant. His vision fills with static, a high pitched whine, and then a noise light a klaxon alarm.

Joshua wakes up with a start.

"Did I get him!?"

[gremlin-pult]

"Well, a can nae say fer sure iffen it was yer music or the dapperdan's cane slapping tha' brought Dreadrock down fer good, but aye, he is down." Connor answers, contemplating the cigarette with a frown for a moment, before throwing it away with an annoyed sigh.
"Although I 'ave ta say, perchance ye should be a mite careful with that song. It calmed the crowd, aye, but ye went out like me brother after one too many guinness. In seconds, and nae very gracefully."

Connor sits for a little while simply staring at Tomorrow Teen, thinking about what to do next. He isn't really sure why he brought the boy with him away from the crowd, except that he couldn't just leave him to any curious people wanting to take a peek behind the mask.
Looking down once more at the sorry state of his own outfit, Connor lets out another tired sigh, and gets to his feet.
"Well, I will nae say it was a pleasure, because I've had plenty better nights. So, I s'pose I'll see ye around town, kid. Have a good one. I, fer one, intend to get prdigously drunk and then sleep fer a day or two."

He then turns and starts walking down the alley, painfully slowly as his whole body aches from the unplanned energy release.

[LordHavelock]

Confident that Dreadrock is out cold, Fawx makes a brief survey of the crowd and the scene to make sure there isn't any lingering damage and that the city's metahuman containment division will be along shortly. Eyeing Tesla bringing the sleeping Tomorrow Teen off to a nearby alley, he smirks a moment, before withdrawing his cane from the ground. A sudden flash catches his eye and he realizes at least some of the crowd haven't been sufficiently cowed or lulled as to not have cameras and phones out and an instant later, he drops a small smoke bomb and disappears from the square.

Emerging from the shadows of the alley, he stops Tesla by the shoulder. "Hold up there a minute Mac." He says, though with his other hand he produces a fresh carton of cigarettes from beneath his coat. Waving the pack almost teasingly in front of Tesla, he escorts him a few paces back up the alley to where Tomorrow Teen lies.

"I think it's more than past time we had some introductions here."


I'd like to offer a compel on "He's a Braggart and a Menace!" that Tesla and Tomorrow Teen receive full credit for stopping Dreadrock while Fawx get's blamed for the destruction by both the news media and authorities.

[glaiveguy]

Joshua’s head still felt foggy, he gets to his feet unsteadily and yawns. Part of his brain is still surfing on the back of the whale. He tucks the OmniPod away and looks at the two men.

“Hey…neither of you are going anywhere until we fix this blackout. The Spire is under enough strain without random power surges overloading the crystal grid.” He had only the barest understanding of how The Spire worked. Tomorrow Man always took care of it when a problem arose, using the tech he kept locked away in HQ. But he’d fought beside his not-quite-father there enough times to know it was remarkably sensitive.

“Anyway…thanks for the help dealing with Dreadrock. Seems like he evolves faster every time I see him. I guess you probably know who I am, but Tomorrow Teen has a lot of syllables so you can call me Teen, or TT, or just Josh if nobody else is around.”

“Say…what happened to that ninja with the crossbow?”

[LordHavelock]

Joshua’s head still felt foggy, he gets to his feet unsteadily and yawns. Part of his brain is still surfing on the back of the whale. He tucks the OmniPod away and looks at the two men.

“Hey…neither of you are going anywhere until we fix this blackout. The Spire is under enough strain without random power surges overloading the crystal grid.” He had only the barest understanding of how The Spire worked. Tomorrow Man always took care of it when a problem arose, using the tech he kept locked away in HQ. But he’d fought beside his not-quite-father there enough times to know it was remarkably sensitive.

“Anyway…thanks for the help dealing with Dreadrock. Seems like he evolves faster every time I see him. I guess you probably know who I am, but Tomorrow Teen has a lot of syllables so you can call me Teen, or TT, or just Josh if nobody else is around.”

“Say…what happened to that ninja with the crossbow?”

Fawx looked on at Tomorrow Teen, as he proceeded to be what he could only guess was a real name. Well that's a rather trusting start to these proceedings. He mused, before flipping the pack of smokes to Tesla and extending a hand to TT.

"Call me Fawx, though unless your busy reading the scandal sheets, I doubt you've heard of me. Incidentally, I saved those people from that metro rail wreck after stopping robbery gone wrong, and did not in fact cause it in order to cover my own escape."

Guess it's easier to share a secret identity when the secret isn't protecting you from the police. Calvin thought with only a touch of bitterness.

"And you're right. This blackout is an excuse for more looting and lawlessness that the city can ill afford in the midst of this crime spree. If the Spire is where that problem can be fixed, I suggest every effort can be made there."

[gremlin-pult]

"Well, iffen ye insist on having a talking..." Connor says, grabbing the cigarette pack, fishing one out and trying to light it on his finger, before remembering his current lack of power. "Got a light?"

He eyes Fawx and TT as they make their introductions, sucking thoughtfully on the cigarette for a moment before answering.
"Well, I'd luv ta help with the power problem, seeing as its me that caused it. Although I hadn't planned on getting wet..."
He says with a tired, and quite annoyed expression. "Whoever did that is a grade A arse, tha's fer sure..." He grumbles.

"Anyway, I'd luv ta help, but there's nae really much I can do. I can siphon power, and release it in some ways, but they're more 'r less all destructive. I dunno how I'd go about restoring power. Sorry, mates." He says with a shrug.

He looks down for a moment, contemplating whether to trust these two yanks, but decides to go with his gut feeling.
They're a weird pair o' lads, but they seem honest enough... He thinks and he gives them a nod each.
"Well, the blokes at the paper called me Tesla, and I ran with it, so tha's what ye can call me. As I said, I dunno iffen I can help ye with the power problem, but iffen ye need help some other time, go to the Hayden Hill pub on the old factory lane.
I got friends there, who'll make sure I get ta know ye're looking fer me. But seriously, I can nae help ye more tonight. I'm on me fourth night without sleep, and this fight really took it out of me."

[LordHavelock]

"Well, iffen ye insist on having a talking..." Connor says, grabbing the cigarette pack, fishing one out and trying to light it on his finger, before remembering his current lack of power. "Got a light?"


"Check your pocket." Replies Fawx, to Tesla's request for a lighter, where the fellow hero will find a dry matchbook.

[glaiveguy]

As Tesla turns away from Fawks and Tomorrow Teen he feels a gust of wind and Tomorrow Teen is now right in front of him.

"No way! You're not going anywhere until we fix this. You're the only electric user I know of in the city, that makes you best equipped to work on The Spire until Big T gets back." He points a finger at the darkened district "Besides, even if you're not the one who sprayed water around, I did see you overcharge on that conduit like it was an electric milkshake. I thought I'd have to pry you off. "

He steps back

"So...you in?"

[gremlin-pult]

Connor stares at Tomorrow Teen for a moment, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the matches that suddenly appeared there. Lighting his cigarette, he sends a grateful nod Fawx's way.
"Haaah, Fine then..." He says with a sigh, exhaling the smoke and visibly relaxing, his shoulder sagging in surrender.
"I s'pose one more night without sleep won't kill me. I'll do what I can, but jus' be warned boyo. I try ta stay away from the Spire fer a reason. Ye saw how I reacted when I overfed on the powerline. The more energy I siphon, the less lucid I become.
An' the Spire is generatin' so much power I can feel it pulsing, no matter where in the city I am. Its tempting, lad. I have no idea what'd happen if I started took in just a fraction of its energy, exceptin' that I'd probably have very little self-control, and juice enough to flatten a block or two, at the least. It scares me to think on it. But I'll help, iffen ye think I can."

Leaning back and pulsing on the cigarette some more, Connor looks to the sky, seemingly deep in thought for a moment.
He then faces both of the others with a tired smile. "But iffen this'll be a habit when I work in concert with the two of ye, I think I'll be staying in me own district, with the minor leagues. I'll take burglars an' armed robbers over Supervillains an' the Spire any day. They're jus' too high maintenance."

[glaiveguy]

"Great! And anyway if that bolt you hit Rocky with it any judge, you're wasting yourself on street crime. But anyway...times wasting, lets get going..."

He speeds off into the air in a blue streak. The night is silent for a moment and then he lands back in the alley.

"Umm...do either of you fly?"

[LordHavelock]

Fawx regards Tesla's lack of enthusiasm for heading to the spire with a cautious skepticism. It's not that he doubts the fellow super's willingness to accept responsibility (especially when he himself bears a portion of it for dousing the whole area with water in the middle of a fight), more that Tesla doesn't seem terribly interested in taking on any more responsibility. He was no one to judge, not when he'd been spending his nights tracking down purse-snatching rings and hustlers in the Historic District, given where and how he'd gotten started in all this business. Back in my Hellion days. He thought ruefully, grateful his mask was in place to hide the cringe which always accompanied a look back in to his own past mixed up with dark magic and the occult. It's much easier not to abuse power when you only need to use a little of it. A light touch seldom requires one to overreach, even if it's easier to overdo it.

Nodding in assent he pats Tesla on the shoulder, "Cards on the table, Mac, I'm responsible for the bit with the fountain. I thought to hose down Dreadrock and make him vulnerable to your attack, not douse the hole square and send you in to shock." He offered by way of accepting his own responsibility, "Let me make it up to you by being there to make sure you don't lose control this time around. I may not be able to shoot lightning from my fingertips, but I know a thing or two about resisting the temptation of greater power . . . " Then, thinking a moment longer, "Afterwards, drinks are on me: First Round, Top Shelf, anywhere that's serving after 2am."

Glancing at a non-existent watch, he casually awaits Tomorrow Teen's return to visual range before replying. "No. Most magicians can't in fact, unless there's an audience. You can carry two though, right?"

[gremlin-pult]

"Well, I sure 's hell dont fly right now." Connor says with a smirk. "When I'm at me normal power level, I can do electromagnetic jumps with a good bit o' range and speed. And hell, when I'm really hopped up I can probably fly as fast as lightning. But I've ne'er tried."

At Fawx admission of his involvement in the water incident, Connors first reaction is to get pissed. He then lets out another tired sigh. "Ah well, not like ye could 'ave known what'd happen. Honest mistake, old son." He then promptly smacks him lightly on the back of the head.
"But dont be doing it again, or we'll be needing to have words." he finishes with a wry smile.

"As fer drinks, we can do it at the Hayden Hill, like I mentioned earlier. At least I know the drinks are both good and reasonably priced there. plus no one will bother us." He says, then glances at Tomorrow Teen, obviously underage. "And we can get a soda fer ye, maybe even an irish coffee, iffen ye're a good boyo." He remarks casually, a teasing glint in his eyes.

[glaiveguy]

"Alcohol doesn't really affect me anyway...that's what TM says at least..."

He looks at the two men, at the Spire, and then back at them...ugh, Sandy would love this...

"Alright well fine, hold on tight..."

He grabs each one by an arm and pushes off into the air and away toward the Spire.

SPLASH PANEL

Liberty City in early twilight arrayed in a panorama. Tomorrow Teen grips Tesla and Fawkes one in each arm. His grip is solid iron, their weight barely registering to the super powered teen. But they trail behind him whipping alarmingly in the wind like streamers on the handlebars of a bike, likely looking nonplussed at the very least. Joshua is rolling his eyes. The Spire looms in the distance.

[EclecticGuru]

The Spire. One of the biggest issues since the "disappearance" of Tomorrow Man has been the steady decline of the Spire. He was the only one who really knew how the alien power supply* worked, and had the skills to maintain it. In the time since, the Spire's output and reliability has been on a stead slope of decline. Much to Deke Grilley's dismay.

See Tomorrow Man 73-74 and the Lawgivers: Invasion Earth miniseries for more about the Spire's origins
Surrounded by a visible nimbus of charged solar particles, the Spire glows visibly at both night and day, though the aurora effect is far more noticeable in the darkest parts of the night.

The actually structure of the Spire also glows, as it channels those particles through some alien process into clean pure electrical energy. Unfortunately, tonight, the Spire's internal light was flickering and unsteady.

Deke Grilley, the only man with any chance at all of keeping the Spire working under adverse conditions, was on the scene atop the spire, wearing his climbing gear, and accompanied by a handful of his engineers. The Spire got especially unstable at night, with the inner plasma-energies often threatening to go dark -- and it required Deke's presence until a few hours after sunset to maintain.

As he looked to the sky at the sound of someone flying in, for a moment his face was covered in pure awe and relief, verging on tears.

Until he noticed that it was not Tomorrow Man, but the younger, discount version. He visibly deflated, and while its sure that he didn't mean any harm, it had to hurt the extra-dimensional Scion.

"A little busy right now!" He shouted up to the heroes as they came in quickly closer. "There's a major outage in the Historical District that has caused a feedback pulse! Unless we find a place to shunt the energy backflow, the candle is going to blow itself out!"

New Scene, all stress boxes are empty. You haven't had a chance to rest, so all your Consequences remain as they are.

Currently the Scene Aspects are:


Alien technology
Thrumming with power
Dizzying height
Star-Crossed Beacon
Overload Crisis

[gremlin-pult]

"Feedback pulse? Energy backflow?" Connor asks with a blank expression, not quite understanding the technical terms.
"What's tha' mean? See we don't all speak techno-rave 'ere friend, so...." He stops mid-sentence, his brow furrowing.
A look of intense unease crosses his face, and he looks closely at the Spire, sensing the fluctuations inside, so tantalising...
"Now, I do nae understand half 'o this, but ye're not saying that it's creating too much energy, are ye?" He asks nervously. "So much tha's sent out, then sent back by the, uh, the feedback pulse an' overloading the Spire itself?"

Connor was telling the truth. He did not understand how the Spire worked. He did not know what the feedback pulse meant, despite knowing exactly where it came from. But sometimes he got gut feelings. feelings that told him when someone could be trusted, or when he was about to be involved in something exceedingly unpleasant.
The engineer had said something about a "place to shunt the energy backflow."
And that comment gave Connor a very, very bad gut feeling.

I'll not be getting any good sleepin' tonight, methinks He thought to himself.

[LordHavelock]

Fawx zipped through the air carried by Tomorrow Teen with apparent ease, but beneath his mask, Calvin was sweating. He was seriously beginning to think he'd let his superheroic persona get the better of him this time around. After all, he wasn't some super powered dynamo or high-flying demigod; he was just a guy with a few more tricks up his sleeves than the next poor schmuck. Sure, some of those tricks would make a physicists eyes bug out, but on the whole it was simple stuff, and a lot of home-grown tinkering of the mundane variety thrown on top. It was all supposed to compliment the act, the show, the dramatis personae which was Fawx; just a screen to protect him and anyone he came in to contact with from another nightmare like 8 years ago.

It wouldn't do to be thinking about that though when there was the potential for another catastrophe here in the present, and one which would affect a lot more lives than just those closest to Calvin's heart. Swallowing hard as they came in for a landing, he deftly rolled and came up with an acrobatic kip-up before dusting off the shoulders and sleeves of his great coat nonchalantly.

After listening to Deke however, he was once again grateful to the Venetian mask which concealed his reaction, and all the more so when Tesla responded with equal parts apprehension and confusion. "Hold up there, Mac. Light up another cigarette before you even try and think about tackling the next problem. If you can't keep your hand from shaking with the matches for that we'll have to find another solution to this plus sized candle from the future." His words were meant to steady Tesla, as much as the cigarette was. In the back part of his mind, he wondered if it was such a good idea to be feeding Tesla's chemical addictions in place of his more unconventional ones.

No time for that now though as he approached Engineer Grilley and started talking rapidly, "That's why we're here. You just tell us what you need out of a shunt and we'll get it for you, but between our friends here . . ." He indicated first Teslan and then Tomorrow Teen, "You've got a living capacitor large enough to have caused this short in the first place, and a tonka tough hunk of semiconductive slab wearing tights. Think we can macgyver up a solution between the two of us that'll put their skills to use?"


Cleverly Create an Advantage by translating between Deke Grilley's tech-know-how and Tesla/Tomorrow Teen's conventional jargon through a series of simple metaphors: [roll0]

[glaiveguy]

He lets out a puff of air in an irritated sigh as he see's Deke's expression. it wasn't the first or even the fifth time he'd seen slow transition from hope to disappointment since Tomorrow Man vanished. He knew it wasn't personal, but damn he was trying his best to hold things together wasn't he? He'd show Deke, like he'd show the rest of the city, that he could do the job just as good as his mentor!

There were a lot of alarming words Fawkes used just now, in order of least to most troubleing they were: tough, wearing, tonka, tights, hunk, slab, and most of all semiconductive. But he also had a good point.

"Fox is right Deke, we can fix this. We've seen Tomorrow Man do it enough times." He looks over the part of the Spire Deke is working on. He has some idea of what all those words meant...too much energy? Or not enough? There hadn't been a Spire in his dimension so all he knew about it was from this world's Tomorrow Man's distracted instructions...

"I'll take a look around the perimeter, you all stay here and see if you can figure it out from the inside" He lifts off and flies around the spire looking for anything out of the (extra)ordinary.

[gremlin-pult]

Lighting up another cigarette, Connor just gives Tomorrow Teen a tired nod.
"Right, right, 'Cuz nuthin can possibly go wrong with that..." He mumbles to himself, looking at the imposing structure.
Swallowing nervously, He thinks back to when he first came to the city. While Connor couldn't normally sense electricity unless he already had quite a lot inside of him, he could always sense the Spire.

That thing had kept him awake night and day, sending out its immense power in slow pulses, like a heartbeat. To him it had felt like a siren song, calling out to him. He had fantasized about draining it more than once. Just the thought had made him giddy. With all that power, he could do anything, be anything. There would be no need for Tomorrow man, or anyone else. He would keep the whole city safe, a true sanctuary under one benevolent being, with the power of a god....

Shaking himself violently, Connor ends the daydream. Those were dangerous thoughts. And the main reason he'd stayed as far from the Spire as possible. Pulsing almost desperately on the cigarette, he tries to think on something else.
"Jay-sus, I hope they figure out sumthin' soon. And that too much power is nae the problem. I donn't want my suspicion to become reality... Ye hear that, Murphy? Stay the hell outta this one!" ​He mutters, casting a suspicious glance towards the heavens.

[EclecticGuru]

Joshua found what he was looking for, an access port that caused the reversal of the Planck field polarity, which could flush the system and force an automated re-calibration. He had seen Tomorrow Man do it once before*.

Tomorrow Man 74, after repairing the damage done by Ragnarok.

The lever was designed for a 10 foot tall alien to switch, but the World's Most Powerful Teen had no difficulty in accessing it and flipping off, and then back on at the appropriate time.

"Wait! No!" Deke shouted, as the Spire went dark. It seemed like it had been blown out for good -- perhaps it would never come back on. But then, it started to come back to life, twice as stable, if not more so, than before!

It worked!

"Huh. What do you know?" Deke said, as he examined the situation and checked his readings. He shouted some technically whosawatzitz back and forth with his engineers. Everything seemed to be fine.

It most assuredly was not fine.

[glaiveguy]

With a self satisfied grin he flies back up to the landing to rejoin the older men. He shoots them a thumbs up.

"No sweat, looks like you just flipped a circuit breaker or something...I took care of it."

He is radiating smug self congratulation but it just barely polite enough not to say anything.

[LordHavelock]

Fawx was immediately skeptical, but not one to rain on Tomorrow Teen's parade, instead made his way quietly and calmly to Deke's side, speaking softly but firmly: "Not as much as you."

He knew the question had been rhetorical but he also knew that things were rarely as easy as they appeared. Still, if there was an opportunity to get Tesla away from temptation maybe they should take it. "Can you walk me through it, foreman? What Tomorrow Scion did and how that fixed things?" Though it felt like looking a gift horse in the mouth, if Deke had a handle on the problem and the fix, then they could rest more assuredly, and know better for the next time.

[gremlin-pult]

"So its fixed, then?" Connor asks, relaxing visibly. "Well, then I'll be sayin' happy trails gentlemen. I have an appointment with me bed."
Turning to leave, Connor is stopped by Fawx' questioning of Deke. Narrowing his eyes, he steps over and puts a hand on Fawx' shoulder. "Now, I'm sure there be no need to fret, friend." He says in a deceptively mild ton, a friendly smile on his face. it doesn't reach his eyes "I'm sure the good Engineer can handle it from here, ye ken?"

[EclecticGuru]

"It seems to have fixed it." Deke was very surprised, and obviously impressed, as he moved around the catwalks, dancing up and down rappelling lines and double checking all his instrumentation. "It appears that the system was reset and automatically re-calibrated."

His brow furrowed though, when someone reported a 732 at the Delaware River Nuclear Plant. After a brief exchange of words, he looked up.

"The power surge that we were buffering was shunted up line while we were off-line. To the Delaware River Nuclear Plant! The control rod motors are burned out. It's not good."

Well, at least a nuclear power plant wasn't ALIEN technology.

[LordHavelock]

Fawx stared from Deke, to Tomorrow Teen, to Tesla, and back again. "You're telling me, that we just averted a city wide power outage, by initiating a potential nuclear meltdown at another power plant?"

Taking off his tricornered hat a moment, Fawx ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath.

"How fast can you get us to the Delaware plant, Tomorrow Teen?"

[EclecticGuru]

Deke's eyes widened a bit and then he narrowed them just slightly at Fawx. Wasn't Fawx a terrorist anyway? Was this their plan all along? I mean, he had heard from people who knew people that Fawx's reputation wasn't well-deserved but ....

"Now wait a second. The power grid needs updating, that's not my .... " Then he realized the question wasn't pointed at himself, and that it was probably just rhetorical. "Uh. So yeah. That's what happened."

[gremlin-pult]

"Jay-sus christ..." Connor moans at the grim news. Thinking furiously for a a moment, he swiftly comes to terms with what he can do in this situation. Nothing.
"So what the hell do we do when we get there, Fancy lad? Except prob'ly get killed by radioactivity. I can nae do anything' whatsoever about this mess. Nuclear is a far cry from electric, so I'm thinking it'd be better to go in the opposite direction." He says bitterly, taking out his frustration on Fawx. pacing back and forth in increasing fear and frustrated anger.
"This is what happens when people like us get involved with big things, like rampaging monsters. Everythin' just gets worse and worse. Fer hells sake, this isn't something we can handle! Well, maybe he can." Connor continues, pointing towards Tomorrow Teen.
"But I'm nae an ofshoot of some Alien demi-god thingy or whatever, so the only thing I'll be getting from going there is killed. So yeah, I'm thinkin' I'll be going homewards, to get my dear ones out instead."

[glaiveguy]

Joshua winced as he hears the news...his heart sinking... "No...it wasn't...damn!" He shakes his head in equal parts frustration and guilt; he slams his hand against one of the rails and it goes sailing off into the bay.

"I can fix it...I can! We can!" He looks from Fawkes to Tesla. He puts a hand on the older man's shoulder

"A wise man once said 'we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men.' We can't just sit by, Tomorrow Man won't drop out of the sky and fix this for us. Come with me, I can take the radiation...for a little while at least. But I'll need backup. We must be good men."

It wasn't a bad speech, one might almost see shades of his father's inspiring presence; though a fan of modern cinema would realize he had just quoted Boondock Saints.


Creating a flashy advantage "Inspiring Speech" (or would there be some other mechanic to get Tesla to come with us?
[roll0]

[LordHavelock]

Fawx made a point of ignoring Tesla's rant, trying not to let the harrowing news rattle him. Tomorrow Teen's speech was all well and good too, but it didn't change the fact that Calvin himself was way out of his depth here. TT had more or less just lived up to his namesake by acting first and thinking second, and Tesla hadn't want to come along in the first place. They were, the three of them, ill-equipped to deal with a nuclear disaster, but then, who else was there?

'Maybe the kid's youthful enthusiasm is catching.' Calvin reflected, as he put on a grim smile, hoping the mask he wore hid the apprehension behind his eyes.

"Good men, huh? It's been a while since anyone called me that, especially if you read the papers. I'm in, but we're going to need some more help than that."

Fawx turned to Deke and let the somewhat unnerving gaze of his mask fix the man in place. "What do you say Deke? No one can blame you for the power grid not being qualified to handle alien technology, and you've already averted one crisis tonight so if you want to rest on your laurels that's fine. Truth is though, though no one would blame you, you've got a chance to be a hero and more know how to avert this disaster than anyone else standing here. Besides, what have you got to lose? If anyone's going to have to sacrifice themselves heroically, you know it'll be the tragic son of Tomorrow man?" He turned back to Josh and winked, only just visibly from behind his mask, "No offense."

[gremlin-pult]

"Ugh, Thats just... I can't believe.... Aaargh!" Connor rambled, before lapsing into silence, panting heavily from sheer frustration. He took a few deep breaths, calming himself, before pinning an angry glare on Fawx and Tomorrow Teen in turn.
"I... I s'pose iffen that plant explodes, there'd be nothin' to gain from running anyways..." He muttered, every word forced out through clenched teeth.
Finally, letting out a huge sigh, he simply looked at Tomorrow Teen with a tired, defeated expression.
"Fine, I'll go with ye on this madcap ride too." He said, pointing a finger at Tomorrow Teen almost accusingly. "And damn yer scheming little 'ead fer quoting one of me favorite movies like that! Let's get this over with."

After a moment he spoke again, this time more relaxedly. "But just so ye know, We'll need ta stop somewhere I can recharge on the way. Right now, I'm about as useful as a one-legged man in an arse-kickin' contest."

[EclecticGuru]

"Well, technically," Deke said. "It would probably result in a meltdown or a radiation leak, not a nuclear explosion. Evacuating could be effective ...." He didn't really want to justify Tesla's instinct, but he did want to make sure everyone had the facts, after all, if they were going to try to help with the problem, they should realize what it entailed.

"The Spire seems to be amazingly stable. Whatever you did actually worked. I could probably be spared to come help you at the nuclear plant. If you have a way to get me there quickly."

[glaiveguy]

Josh looked at the three men, then at his two hands, then back at the three men. Then sighs…
“I guess one of you gets to ride piggyback…”

In the next panel Josh tears through the sky. One man each dangles from either hand while the third brave soul (I leave the rest of you to decide who) grabs onto him from the back. He is going MUCH faster than he did on the trip to the Spire and the ride is terrifying to those not used to traveling at these speeds. He’s mindful of his passengers but only in as much as he doesn’t go so fast that they’d black out…lives are at stake after all!

“So what do we do once we get there!?” He shouts to be heard over the rushing of air as they fly.

Rolling Quick to get there with all possible speed

[roll0]

[LordHavelock]

At the mention of anyone having to ride piggyback, Fawx quickly busies himself drawing a length of chained hankerchiefs from up his sleeve, and continues to do so until he has several yards with which to construct what very much resembles a triangular swing with a section for each of them. "It won't be terribly aerodynamic, but we'll make better time than overland." He says, tossing the rig over TT's shoulders so that he can distribute the weight.

Once at the plant, Fawx quickly busies himself at the nearest entrance, looking to get them inside without worrying about authorization or an invitation.