End of an Era - Jailbreak (IC)

[Cazero]

5:23AM
The first of many daily trucks delivering junk from all around the state of Florida reaches its destination : Hogsfeed. The early shift started later than usual, allowing many workers to take one more coffee before putting their hands in trash.

8:42AM
An alligator is spotted in the streets of the northern suburbs. It is quickly put down and the sewer access from where it came is located and secured.

11:00AM
The morning was quiet until now. But Florida's favorite reporter Virginia Hartley has something explosive to annouce in her morning news :the International Detention Facility for Exceptionaly Gifted Criminals, a new criminal detention facility in space designed specificaly for supervillains and managed by Interpol in an extraordinary effort of world cooperation, wich should be operational in a few month and already has legislative support.

11:17AM
Once again, Virginia started a polemic targeting the Hogsfeed Heroes specificaly. Despite her disapproval of "an outrageous overruling of the legitimate authority of the United States of America", she applauded the opportunity "to get rid of the criminal scum that plagues the state of Florida under the pretense of heroism". The Nightrider was named seven times for his past crimes while ignoring the important point that those new laws won't apply for crimes preceding the anouncement, and Amy King aka Makeshift was also mentioned for an unspecified reason. Everyone in town is figuratively at each other's throats.

15:12PM
The throat metaphor was made litteral. While the agitation in the streets remains under control, prisonners are violently rioting.

19:31PM
Now it's the explosive metaphor that was made litteral. The outer wall of the high security detention center was breached and several prisonners were witnessed escaping. This is an emergency situation, and the Hogsfeed Heroes are immediately contacted by the authorities.

[Rhyvurg]

6:00AM
John gets out of bed and starts his morning warmup, fifty laps around the property line and light calisthenics.

8:30AM
Breakfast, and waking Marigold for her morning training. He's starting her on basic physical fitness and flexibility, but nothing like what was done to him, no purposeful ligament tearing then growing them back longer and with more contractive strength. He eventually plans on teaching her Monkey Style kung fu, to take advantage of her size and mobility compared to humans. As they exercise, he thinks again how he could talk Amy into letting him teach her to use a knife...

9:30AM
Mari is dismissed and John begins his harder training in his dojo behind the house, two hundred one finger pushups, twenty per finger, then the striking post, an I-beam Diamond had kindly driven into the ground for him, wrapped in rope and buttressed by another beam welded to it. He had tried wood and stone, but wood just wasn't up to more than a few days, and stone had only lasted a month before breaking beyond the point of being useful. So far, steel was serving quite well.

11:00AM
Quick shower, then lunch, socializing with the team, watching some TV, shooting Nerf darts at Virginia Hartley when she's on screen, lamenting the situation the town is in.

15:00PM
At this point, John is gearing up, as much as he does. Black gi pants, dark orange sleeveless Shaolin tunic with a dragon embroidered on it in black and green, foot and hand wraps, and his staff, an inch shorter than he is. He knew it was only a matter of time before things escalate beyond the ability of local authorities to handle. As he watches the news and waits for the phone to ring, he leans against the wall, addressing everyone else. "What do you guys think about lending our support to Monroe's campaign? If someone gets into office that doesn't like us so much, it'll make things very complicated."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Earlier

Gabriel gave a noncommittal shrug to John's suggestion. Politics was not his wheelhouse. He also wasn't particularly thrilled with how Mayor Monroe treated the team. It wasn't even so much that she denounced them officially - although that didn't help - but the whole "help out off the books, denounce on the record" thing was just...offensive. Political bush-beating, trying to be able to take credit for their successes without alienating voters who saw superheroes as something to blame for their problems.

Now

Gabriel had caught Hartley's report earlier on, and had ignored it as was his wont. Hartley's anti-hero stance was well-established at this point, and Gabriel assigned her precisely zero credibility on the subject. Just one of many fear-mongering reporters trying to make people think everything was awful in exchange for ratings.

Gabriel was at the base when the call came in, since that was where he lived full time. He had just been getting started making dinner. He wasn't like a gourmand or anything, but he was a decent cook, and he enjoyed it. It gave him something useful to do and relaxed him some.

But the call put a hold on that plan. It was calls like this that made him take things like the mayor's official denouncements and people like Virginia Harley with an utter lack of seriousness. The whole "dangerous vigilantes" thing would hold a lot more water if they weren't acting at the behest of the authorities at least as often as not (and when they weren't, chances were it was just because they were responding faster than the authorities could call them in). Or if the normal authorities actually, you know, had the capability to handle superpowered threats themselves. Seemed to Gabriel it would make a lot more sense for the authorities to recognize them officially as a heroes they were, nip the whole debate right in the bud. But he wasn't holding his breath for it. Politics.

His immediate instinct was to mount up and ride out immediately. He quelled the urge though. Not everyone in that prison was necessarily normal, and while Gabriel would bet his powers against as many mundane criminals as Hogsfeed could field and more-or-less any individual super, he wasn't invulnerable. If even a few of the villains the team had put away over the years were part of the breakout - and it was a good bet that they were - going without backup would have simply been unwise.

Instead, he summoned up his Shadow Steed. Now, normally, his mount took the form of a huge, demonic-looking warhorse. If he wanted to attract less attention, he usually went with an oversized, jet-black motorcycle instead. Neither form was optimal for indoor maneuverability, so in this case he went with a more compact black skateboard. Well, with a jet engine. Aside from being eerily silent, his Shadow Steed didn't really do subtle.

He shot through the halls at speed, coming to the garage. "I'm guessing you guys got the call too? Assemble at the garage?" his deep bass came to his teammates over their commlinks. As he spoke, the skateboard transformed into the more-iconic, full-sized nightmare steed, while a suit of shadowy medieval plate mail appeared to gird his body, two pits of hellish red light blazing beneath the helmet. He pulled out his lance, extending it to its full length, leveling it forward as he faced the teleporter.

Look, he wasn't going to just not make an entrance here. He's the Nightrider, after all!

[esorscher]

Dalton is up before dawn, his internal clock tied to his time in Jasper, Missouri, when he rented a room in a barn. He begins this day as he always does, by getting out of his bed and immediately making it up, fixing the sheets and pillows so it is ready for him when he returns, expected that night. Then, he assumes a position with his legs folded and his palms up, meditating before the floor-to-ceiling bulletproof(?) glass window that makes up the outside-facing wall of his bedroom. As the light of the sun brightens the sky, he centers himself mentally for the day ahead.

Then, his exercises. Warming up is brief, a simple back-and-forth to Pensacola that takes nearly no time at all. He speeds through his exercise, varying his routine depending on the day. As he finishes, Grace arrives for their weekly sparring. It's a good fight, without powers, and both learn from each other. Even without her powers Grace hits harder than Dalton would prefer, but even without his powers he's fast enough to avoid or redirect most of it. The two give as good as they get, and aren't keeping score--but if they were, Dalton would have lost. Perhaps why he approaches it with such a non-competitive attitude, but either way, at the end of their time together, he smiles, bows, and thanks his opponent.

Then, a shower, thoroughly scrubbing away the sweat of his efforts. The rest of the morning passes quickly. Dalton reads the local paper over breakfast, preferring it as a journalistic source with slightly, slightly, more integrity than televised news. All of it is bought and paid for by a handful of folks, with interests a lot less different than they'd likely prefer to let on, but the bias is usually less overt in text, and the column inches spent covering the basics, rather than minutes bloviating to inflate the personality-of-the-moment's ego. When he finishes the paper, its on to his latest library book--or, more accurately, dozen library books.

Around noon he eats a small lunch, then heads to the garage to work on his car. Amy's shown him a great deal, improving his knowledge of auto maintenance to the point where he's beginning to recognize his own past shortcomings as a mechanic, rather than needing her to point them out. Together they've done a job on the 1964 Carrera, but she's not quite perfect, yet. He's working on the engine when others start to arrive, and, looking up, he cleans up in a few seconds and then joins them for their discussion.

[El'the Ellie]

6:45 AM
Olivia rolls over in bed. Even from here she could here the slight patter of Dalton and John in their morning exercise through the open window.
Noooo... people can't be up yet. The sun is barely coming up.
She folds her wings over her face, and nods back off.

7:45 AM
The sun eventually does rise, and nudges Olivia awake. This time she's more ready and, after a big cat-like stretch, sits up and watches the men outside working out with a slight smile. "Well, there are worse things to wake up to. Let's see, am I working today..? No. Lovely."
Olivia flips on the TV to the Hogsfeed News and hops into the shower, singing over the sound of the news (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIgZ7gMze7A). What was it about bathrooms that had such great acoustics? She vaguely recalls something about the tiles. Olivia comes out wrapped in a towel with a toothbrush in her mouth listening to a feel-good story about the local boyscouts doing a fixer-upper on one of the local basketball courts. She spends a good couple minutes brushing out the snarls in her hair until it falls just the way she likes it, while at the same time communicating emphatically with D'thrilomit. There were no words, just the deep unfiltered exchange of emotions that went beyond the description of any known language.
Olivia stares at her closet for a bit, contemplating an outfit for the day. Something artfully simple. Today was going to be a simple day. White blouse. Black pants. Hair down. Perfect.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/f5/0b/24/f50b2415dbfd05b052674f799bf8f6a1.jpg

9:05 AM
Olivia finally emerges downstairs, her normal chipper self. She half-dances her way through cooking breakfast, still whistling a few bars of her earlier song. Three eggs sunny side up with cheese, a few slices of toast, a handful of sausages, and yogurt with blueberries and raspberries. That was something Songbird didn't publicly advertise: with D'thrilomit needing a high caloric intake, she could eat as much as Dalton, Grace, or any of the muscly power-house members of the team. She takes an Adalphenide with breakfast, and happily makes food for whoever might also be in the kitchen at the same time, but forgets about her dishes as soon as she's done with them leaving them in the sink. Again.
"Morning Dalton!" She says in her usual singsong greeting. "Oh sweet, crossword."
She snags one of the sections of paper that has the games on it and spends a couple minutes puzzling through it, eventually leaving it half done.

10:15 AM
Olivia soars high above the Harper estate, wheeling through the pale blue sky. Unlike the others, it's not a workout: long slow glides with a little bit of flapping in between. That is, until she hears John in his endless push-up routine. She lands softly next to him, sitting lightly between his shoulders. "One thousand one! One thousand two!"
She stands next to him and says with the same good-natured sarcasm, "Wouldn't you be better at pushing the Earth around if you used both hands?"

11:17 AM
Songbird sits with the rest of the team, munching on a grilled cheese. "'Under the pretense of heroism'? Oh please. Virginia is so full of it. We risk our necks for this place, and she calls us scum? She would take one look at these supervillain nutters and be screaming for us to come help." She expected that Gabriel would get called out, but Amy's mention takes her by surprise. She gives the woman a quizzical look. "What did you do?"

3:00 PM
She gives John a look. "You did just hear Virginia run us through the ringer a couple hours ago, right? Our support won't mean a whole lot if the people want us up in space." She turns her head to the side, listening to something. "Hey, the radio chatter is going crazy. Something big is going on today..."

7:30 PM
Songbird meets up with the others in the garage. Not the most heroic looking meeting place, but it worked.
"The police radios in town have been going crazy for hours. Prisoners busted loose. Some of the bad ones too, it sounds like. So... showtime?"

[Propagandist]

6-something AM. Too early.

“Amy… Amy? Amy! Are you awake?”

“Muh? I… am now.”

Woken by Marigold’s enthusiasm, Amy zombie-shambles to the shower. She returns to find the little rat-girl has curled up and fallen back asleep. Amy sits in a windowsill with a mug of coffee strong enough to double as paint stripper and pokes at her laptop while glowering balefully at the sun as it dares show itself.

8:00 AM Finally awake, Amy heads to the kitchen. The other heroes can claim the other meals of the day, but Amy was practically raised in a diner. Breakfast is her domain, and she is a mighty queen. Today it's bacon, eggs, grits, juice, fresh peaches, more coffee, and biscuits and sausage gravy. She promises Mari they’ll do pancakes this weekend, and watches her training with John.

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Working at Royal Repairs. Amy spends most of the morning beating on the rusted axle of a pickup truck.

11:17 AM: A wrench is thrown at the TV in the corner. Amy hurriedly returns to HQ. Olivia's question gets a helpless shrug. "Maybe she pulled my name out of a hat? I'm innocent, I swear. Even by her standards."

After lunch, she heads down to the garage, mostly hanging out in the background and offering tips to Chris when he needs them, which, to her gratification, is rarely.

3:12 PM: John’s suggestion meets with a lukewarm response. “If someone runs who’s worse than Monroe, sure. But if someone’s runnin’ who’s worse than Monroe, we’ve probably got bigger fish to fry.” When news of the riot breaks, Amy swears under her breath, then gets up and heads to the workshop to prep her armor. She walks into a wall when Songbird winks at her, and tries to act like she meant to do that.

7:31 PM: The workshop is spotless, that fire in the corner has been put out before it damaged anything, and it totally wasn’t her fault, everything has been prepped, double and triple checked when the call for superhero help finally comes in. "I'm all for playing nice most of the time, but honestly, it's a riot, we should have been there hours ago. Let's do this."

[tonberrian]

Grace starts her morning with a light warmup, some dynamic stretching, a quick jog, some squats. Then it's time for sparring with Dalton, though privately Grace believe's he's holding back on her. Then it's time for breakfast and a call to Marcus, unanswered. Shower, but then rest of the day is a blur of training and sports, both in diamond form and not, trying to move past personal records. She only stops when the team gets together to go superheroing. Not that she doesn't want to talk to anyone, but she does her own thing. When Nightrider passes by the basketball court to warn everyone about the news, she packs up, using her exercise outfit as a superhero costume. She towels off while joining the team. "What exactly has happened? Who's escaped?"

[Rhyvurg]

John looks over at Grace. "They didn't say, but if supervillains are breaking out, you can bet everyone who can is following them. They might have even taken the trouble to free all the normal prisoners to cover their own escape. Might make things interesting trying to keep them bottled up. Anyone have any plans for that?" He did, but it wan't his place to tell the team what to do. And even then without knowing what was happening any plans would nee to be flexible.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"I'll be honest, if there are any mundane criminals escaping, I was planning to more-or-less just glare at them and point back towards the prison," Gabriel said, deadpan. His smirk couldn't be seen beneath his helmet, but it didn't need to be. The whole shadowy demon knight motif may have had its drawbacks, but it wasn't entirely without its perks.

[El'the Ellie]

Songbird is already halfway out the door when John asks about plans for the mundane escape. "Right, and when Tony Hawk is done with that," she says referencing Gabriel's earlier skateboard. "I can pull their attention to me. Give them something to listen to long enough for the boys in blue to cuff 'em again."

[Cazero]

With the little planning you could do finished, you step on your teleporter's platform and set it on. After a few moments humming and buzzing, there is a bright flash and you are at your destination.
The main building is on fire.
http://d15h3ts9pue03r.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/firery-riot-at-guyana-prison.jpg?x23406
There are police officers securing the area all around the block, and some of them point you toward an operational center raised in front of the jail entrance. Apparently the SWAT was preparing an assault before the fire started; they are now cordoning the entrance and neutralising prisoners flushed out by the smoke.
The lieutenant Joshua Brahams appears to be in charge and very annoyed by a recent phone call. That's probably why he sent a nervous agent to brief you instead of unhelpfuly pestering you himself.
The young man hurries to you, salutes and shouts a report : "Situation report, sir ! There was a sequence of five explosions, the situation inside is unclear, a squad is currently securing the breach on the other side of the building, there are at least twelve escapees and two patrol cars are in pursuit of their getaway !"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gabriel considered the situation briefly. The uncertain situation inside meant he couldn't be sure their assistance wasn't required here, but this place seemed better covered by the police than the escapees themselves were. He knew where he'd be able to do the most good, anyway. "Which way?" he asked the agent.

Assuming either the agent gives him a general direction or he can figure it out himself (only one road, sound of sirens, etc), and no one else objects, he'll go chasing after the escapees. Gabriel has enough Strength to carry a few people, but I figure no more than one can probably fit reasonably with him on the horse. Still, if anyone wants a ride, feel free. Gabriel will give chase at Speed Rank 9, taking -1 to the speed to also use Stealth at [roll0], trying to approach from above and behind to avoid detection by the escapees. His shadow steed itself is utterly silent.

[tonberrian]

Grace shifts into diamond form. "The fire won't do much to me. Anybody willing to come with?"

[Rhyvurg]

"Songbird maybe you should go with Nightrider? The faster that group is taken care of the faster we can focus our efforts here." He can't tell them what to do, but he can offer advice.

[esorscher]

Dalton's speed makes him well suited for retrieving the escapees. "I'll go after the escapees," he says. "Where are your patrol cars, now?"

[El'the Ellie]

With a powerful flap of her wings, Songbird jumps onto the horse, sitting nestled behind Nightrider: she agreed with John, and this thing could run way faster than she could fly.

"Yee haw, let's go rustle 'em up!" She says in a phony cowgirl accent, with one arm around Gabriel's waist for support and the other giving the horse a pat on the flank. "Once we get closer I can get their attention while you guys find any stragglers."

[Cazero]

Gabriel considered the situation briefly. The uncertain situation inside meant he couldn't be sure their assistance wasn't required here, but this place seemed better covered by the police than the escapees themselves were. He knew where he'd be able to do the most good, anyway. "Which way?" he asked the agent.
Dalton's speed makes him well suited for retrieving the escapees. "I'll go after the escapees," he says. "Where are your patrol cars, now?"
"South ! Toward main street ! Sir !"
That isn't very helpful, but with the usual traffic you should be able to catch up.

[Propagandist]

"I'm with you, Grace. I've got tools to help put that out." Amy's voice comes out strange and warbly when she's in the armor. "I can fly and carry people if you guys need backup with the runners, so keep in touch, yeah?"

[esorscher]

Dalton nods affirmatively in response to Makeshift. Then, for a moment, he is torn between his pride, and his duty. But, as always, duty wins out--and swiftly. Space permitting, he hops on the back of Nightrider's bike, pleased to be working with the faster superhuman than against him. Otherwise, he sprints alongside, moving as fast as he can (Speed Rank 3), and optimistic that the formerly-possessed will see the virtue in slowing to allow Dalton to keep up, so they can all arrive together.

[Rhyvurg]

"I'll stay here, in case inmates start trying to flood out once the fire is taken care of. Just be careful guys. Remember time is essential, if they're normal and you can just subdue them and let the cops take them in, do it." He claps Nightrider on the shoulder and heads around to where the fire is. The size of the breach might give him some idea of how powerful the individual doing all this is. And they might show up when Amy and Diamond might draw their attention with the fires out.

[Cazero]

Chris Dalton, Nightrider & Songbird

You quickly locate the two police cars, sirens screaming, chasing a green van. The van driver profusely uses the horn, wich is unusual for a getaway, but it is obvious that whoever is driving is too street smart to let any opportunity of passing the van to the police. You can easily catch up from above.
Make me all a (visual) Perception check.Aced by Quellian crit !
Villainous perception check : [roll0]While circling to locate the chase, your vantage point in the air allows you to notice three suspicious groups of civilians splitting in different directions, all at a fast walk pace away from the jail.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Black Diamond & Makeshift

The SWAT knows better than to try to stop you. You enter the main hall where a few lifeless bodies lie, meeting no resistance other than the smoke. The fire is mostly burning at the roof but you can see a fire foyer through a corridor to the east wing with doors wide open.
Several coughing prisonners clumsily try to get away from you toward the west wing to no avail as those doors are locked. Two guards take your appearance as their cue to get out of the barricaded surveillance room and drag an unconscious colleague outside.
Both of you make me a DC18 PRE check for that heroic entrance.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dragon's Fist

Moving around the building, you see the SWAT squad previously mentioned. They neutralised a few runaway prisonners in a similar fashion than those in the front, and are apparently planning to assault before the fire propagates enough to also block that part of the building.
There is no smoke coming out of that part of the building yet. If there are prisonners nearby inside, they're hiding from the SWAT.
Make me a Perception check.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gabriel took to the air, running a search pattern to get a better fix on the chase. As he did, he noticed the people moving swiftly but sneakily away from the prison. "Three groups of people moving away from the jail. They're trying too hard to avoid notice to not be noticeable, might be escapees. On streets {insert here}," he reported over comms, before looking over his shoulder. "Either of you want to go for them?" he asked.

He'd give Songbird time to dismount if she wanted, and/or ride Chris down to a target of his choice if he wanted, before continuing after the vehicle chase.

On his shadow steed, it was easy enough to get out ahead of the van. He gave himself some room, and then dove down upon it, lance outstretched. He came from the front, giving those within the opportunity to fully experience the terror of facing a full jousting charge from a dark knight seemingly straight out of Arthurian legend as he bore down on their vehicle, glaring at whoever was in the driver's seat with eyes blazing hellish red.

Move: Fly at the van, activating Shadow Lance.

Standard: Attack the van with Terror Lance, Power Attacking for 5, at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 30 vs. object damage. In addition, whether he hits or misses, everyone in the van who can see him (probably everyone unless the cab is sectioned off from the back or something) gets a DC 20 Dodge check to negate (note they may be Vulnerable from surprise here, since it looks like they failed to beat my Stealth), and if they fail, a DC 20 Will save vs. Impaired/Compelled/Controlled Affliction. Impaired can be ignored in any round they move away from Nightrider. If Compelled or Controlled, they are forced to cower in terror, taking no action.

Move-by Action: Continue past the van and back into the air, 20' up.

Current Status: Normal.

[Propagandist]

If she were in street clothes, the panicking prisoners could have seen Amy rolling her eyes from the other end of the hallway. As it is, they see a seven and a half foot tall walking tank shake its head. "Come on, guys. Play this smart. You stay in here, you burn up, or I have to knock your ass out before I drag you outside. I don't want to have to do that. We're here for the fire, not for you. You head out nice and polite with your hand on your heads, and nobody gets hurt."

Presence, DC 18: [roll0]

[Rhyvurg]

John walks past the SWAT team near the breach, close but not too close, it wasn't a great idea to crowd close to cops in tense situations. Before speaking he looks at the breach itself. Size, signs of what it might have been caused by, acid, explosion, really big fists, etc. Once the ladies got the flames down he'd go in, see what he could find. But once the fire was out there was every chance inmates would come flooding out, and he'd rather stop them with something besides a hail of gunfire, no offence to the cops.

[esorscher]

"They're on foot. Leave them to me."

Dalton goes after one of the groups on foot, dismounting from Nightrider's vehicle with a backflip onto the nearest rooftop, and racing down the building's fire escape to the street below. As a blur, he runs alongside the farthest group of escapees on foot, getting ahead of them and cutting them off, blocking their path forward about 30' ahead of them.

"Surrender, please," he says, though neither his tone nor his body language indicate that he is actually pleading with them. He smiles coyly as he stares them down.

Not sure how many escapees there are, so here are a handful of rolls. Or, we can just use one roll for the whole group--preferably the best roll :smallwink:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[El'the Ellie]

"And I've got the others. Stay safe!"

Songbird rolls off the back of the horse (bike?) letting her wings catch her. Grim as it might be, the warm thermals from the fire made flying as easy as floating. She soars over to the nearest group that Dalton isn't preoccupied with. Unlike him, she doesn't mince words with the escapees: she begins singing, and lets her song express everything she wants them to think.

The music is immediately powerful, intoxicating. And laced with mental compulsion, is leaves the listeners wanting nothing more than to stop what they were doing. Stop everything and just listen, without a care in the world, to her haunting song.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMg8KaMdDYo

Once she has some or all of the group enraptured, she beings moving slowly towards the second group, trying to merge both of the remaining groups of escapees into one.

Using the Fascinate advantage on the group, so Will or Insight DC [roll0] or be entranced.

[tonberrian]

"Hey, Makeshift, let's see if there's anything on surveillance we can use." Grace helps get the officers outside before returning to the vacated surveillance room.

[Cazero]

Chris Dalton

"How about no?"
There is no mistake possible with that broken screeching voice, the unnatural red light in his eyes and the jolt of electricity that flashed between his fingers. The leading man is the Thunderbird.
Your initiative : 21.
Using your rolls in order : the four of them look like they're below you in both active defenses and attack bonus.
The Thunderbird has an attack bonus of +10. Initiative : [roll0]
The three thugs have a parry score of 6 (DC16). Initiative : [roll1]
Villain Block initiative : 22
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Nightrider

The driver, a diminutive monkey-man, looks at you with awe and horror as you descend onto his vehicle. Your lance pierce through the hood as you pass by, piercint through the engine straight to the right front wheel and sending the van on a backflip spin as the horn is pushed one long last time.
And as the van crash, you see the Chipmunk reach out the window and use the vehicle's momentum to propel himself in the air. In one fluid movement, he reaches an emergency fire exit on the third floor of the building on his left, spin around one of the metal column supporting it and sends himself crashing into a window of the building.
The police cars stop behind the crash and eight officers get outs, guns at the ready, preparing to open the backdoor and subdue whoever is inside.
It's a rental van with a windowless rear cloisoned from the cab. The driver was alone in the cab.
Will you chase him or check on the van's back passengers?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Songbird

You recognize the lead woman as Otilde Ortega aka Blowtorch. Fortunately, she seems enthralled by your song, like all four thugs alongside her. They all follow you gently, but too slowly for you to catch up with the other group of escapees who immediately start running.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Black Diamond & Makeshift

The prisonners listen to reason (and the intimidating power of two heavy hitters) and cooperate, exiting the building peacefuly through the main entrance. They are quickly subdued by the SWAT.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dragon's Fist

A quick examination allows you to notice burning marks indicating that both the wall and the outer fence were breached by explosions from the inside.
Suddenly, one of the police officers shouts "Sniper !" as one of the SWAT members drops down, a blowgun dart sticking out of his neck. Invectived by their leader, the SWAT immediately force their way inside the building to get cover.
Your initiative : 11. You gain a Hero point.
Hidden attacker Initiative : [roll2]

[El'the Ellie]

Songbird keeps facing her captives, singing, but abandons trying to merge them with the other group. She instead leads them the other way, towards the SWAT team. As she goes, she also signals to the team, hoping they will realize there's a bunch of escapees ready to be bundled up.

[Quellian-dyrae]

On the one hand, if it were just a bunch of mooks in the back of the van, after a crash like that, they would be in no situation to put up any sort of resistance against the armed and prepared police officers. On the other hand, he couldn't be sure there wasn't some supervillain in there who would go through the police like a monster truck at a Hot Wheels convention.

He didn't want to let Chipmunk get away, but worst case scenario the guy wasn't exactly the biggest threat in the prison anyway, and he didn't think a few seconds would do much to meaningfully impact the situation, all things considered. Even so, it was possible he might be able to get the best of both worlds here.

He flew up to the window Chipmunk had gone through. Gabriel was no longer a villain. He wanted nothing more to do with that part of his life. Still...it didn't actually hurt if the bad guys weren't entirely sure of that. "Chipmunk," he called into the building, his deep voice booming but underlaid with a menacing rasp and a hint of dark amusement. "Your mutant power gives you a scrawny build, a monkey's tail, and unusually dexterous feet. I can fly through the air at Mach 3, track your body heat, and follow you to the ends of the Earth! There is nowhere to run! There is nowhere to hide! Come out and surrender, and I will not have to make your recapture unpleasant!"

He kept an eye on the police and the van, though, ready to jump in if necessary.

I'm assuming the details in the OOC are things we know about the villains. If not let me know and I shall edit!

Gonna try to Coerce Chipmunk into, if not surrendering outright, then at least believing he has no hope of escaping and trying a different tack. Intimidation: [roll0]. Well, he wasn't exactly exaggerating.

Keeping an eye on the police in the meantime. If any of them are subject to an attack, I'll Interpose.

[Cazero]

Chris Dalton

The three thugs rush at you and try to restrain you.
The Thunderbird makes an Accurate unarmed attack : [roll0] against Parry DC 22
Hit : DC 19 Toughness save against Damage
High Voltage Reaction (close contact)
The Thunderbird automaticaly hits you with a weak electric jolt.
DC16 Fortitude save against Damage

The three thugs try to Grab you with a Team attack against Parry DC 22.
Attack 1 : [roll1]
Attack 2 : [roll2]
Attack 3 : [roll3]
Hit : best of STR/Dodge save against DC 15(13+2)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dragon's Fist

Another blowgun dart pierces the air, this time aimed at you.
Attack roll : [roll4] vs Dodge DC 20
Hit : DC16 Toughness save against Damage and DC 18 Fortitude save against Affliction (Impaired,Disabled,Paralyzed)

[Cazero]

Nightrider

"Well I can get your name right and I don't kill people, but I guess that's not worth **** in this country."
The Chimp casualy backtracks to the window, but you know he's only doing it because of your threat. He hops on your lance and pulls on a collar stuffed with electronic parts and a blipping LED.
"Now if you could get me to miss King like, right now, I'd appreciate that. I don't wanna die you know. Oh, and the van's empty. I'm a decoy."
At the same time, the officers open the van and find it empty.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Mmm...," Nightrider grunted in response, glaring at the burglar for a moment. He eyed the collar, but his technological skills were basically limited to checking his email and surfing the web. And playing games on his phone. "Is that explosive?" he asked lifting up further into the air carrying Chipmunk steadily on his lance, away from buildings and people. If it went off for whatever reason, he felt confident his armor could take the blast. Civilians could not.

Over comms, he said, "I've apprehended Chipmunk," frankly, the man's complaints about his branding failure did not earn Gabriel's sympathy. Oh, the public refers to you by a slightly (honestly, very slightly) less badass appellation than you'd prefer? Cry me a river. "He was being used as a decoy. He's wearing some sort of electronic collar. I'm not sure if it is explosive, or a tracker, or what. I'm in the air over {street}. Makeshift, are you free to examine and disarm it, and if so, can you come here or should I come to you? Or should I attempt an...alternative strategy for removal?" The helmet hid the hint of a smile on his face, but Chipmunk has demonstrated a +23 Insight modifier. He knew it was there.

[Propagandist]

"Good call." With the prisoners outside and taken care of, Makeshift squeezes herself into the surveillance room and starts looking over the screens. Her sigh when Gabriel calls in can be heard even through the armor.

"I'm not adopting him, I have enough rodents already, but yeah, I can take a look. We're not too far inside yet, Nightrider. I can come to you, but you're faster than I am. Your call."

Perception: [roll0]
Insight: [roll1]

[Cazero]

Makeshift

You can make up the overall organisation of the various screens and estimate in wich of the three main sections (east, west, south) each camera is, but you'd have difficulty guiding someone from here.
Most of the east wing is on fire, and several cameras are out of order. Most prisonners seem to have evacuated it on their own. It's hard to tell for sure, but it seems someone off-camera has been working on some fire control.
All remaining guards are barricaded in the west wing. They managed to keep west wing prisonners under control in their cells.
One of the walls of what appears to be the storage room for prisonner's personal effects was breached, but it is also heavily defended by guards who barricaded it. They are engaged in a shooting with prisonners barricaded behind a vis-a-vis breached wall.
The south section is overcrowded with prisonners. Only a few are armed. The SWAT just forced their way through a wall breach to the outside and are securing their position near that exit.

[El'the Ellie]

Not sure if your OOC post wanted me to continue things along or not

Songbird leads the enraptured Blowtorch and her goons across the lot to the waiting SWAT team. By now Songbird had done this trick enough that they knew the plan: wait until they were all in place, then a silent hand signal and the cuffs went on in a quick, efficient round-up.

Olivia mused that the SWAT team probably loved this style of capture: when it went right it was the easiest by-the-book thing for the police to do. With that group locked away, Songbird lands and gives an elaborate stage-bow, draping her winds like a cape, then leaps off in search of the final remaining escapees.

[Rhyvurg]

John barely notices the prick of the dart, but he can feel whatever it's tipped in begin to slow him down. Shaking his head, he runs after the SWAT team, taking cover. Blowgun sniper. Not what you see with typical mercenary special forces. He takes a look at the art that hit him.

[Cazero]

Dragon's Fist

You recognize the type of dart, as you have already seen similar ones in your travels. It is from an amazonian tribe among whom you honed your survival skills. They are usualy coated in paralyzing poison, wich means the downed SWAT is probably not dead.

[Rhyvurg]

John quickly calls the others. "Be careful, there's a hunter nearby with poisoned darts, but they're probably here for me." Mentally he reviews the tribes people he met, trying to figure out who would come this far, and why. But the idea one of them could even get here from their tiny jungle village was ludicrous. He turns to the cops. "Stay in here, the darts aren't lethal so your friend should be fine." He peeks outside, but with little idea where they might be the risk is too great.

[esorscher]

"I was hoping you'd say that," Dalton says, his smile widening as he deflects or dodges their oncoming attacks. He responds by focusing everything on the Thunderbird, delivering an open-handed strike with the palms of his hands, his fingers curled in to maximize damage while still allowing the flexibility to move swiftly into a subduing grip.

Multiattack 2, Power Attack 2 4 (Please correct my errors Thanks Quellian!)

Attack 1: [roll0], Damage 8, Fast Grab DC 18 Attempt: [roll1]
Attack 2: [roll2], Damage 6, Fast Grab Attempt: [roll3]

[Cazero]

Chris Dalton

You feel another weak jolt of electricity as you strike, but nothing you can't withstand. The Thunderbird felt the hit but slips out of your grasp.
He growls at his henchmen and point at a music equipment store behind you. "Get me a guitar." They hesitate for a short moment, then one of them start running toward the shop while the other two try to block your passage.
Meanwhile, the Thunderbird once again attacks you.
Two thugs Ready another Team attack Grab. The third one runs toward a music equipment store.
I'm rolling your saves.
The Thunderbird makes another Accurate attack at you : [roll0] vs Parry DC 22
On hit - DC 19 Toughness save against Damage : [roll1]
High Voltage
DC 16 Fortitude save against Damage : [roll2]
Result : attack missed, save against High Voltage succesful
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dragon's Fist

The tension is palpable. You still can't tell where the hunter is or what they're doing right now, but they certainly can pick the perfect moment to strike. The situation could hardly be more stacked against you. On the plus side, the heavy SWAT presence will make it hard for them to finish you off if their poison takes you down.
The policemen on the outer side of the fence are panicked. They franticaly look around, guns drawn, trying to find the shooter and to take cover without knowing from where the shot came. It's pretty clear they won't be of any help unless the sniper is revealed.
Inside the jail, the SWAT has control of the situation. However, the sudden attack disrupted their plans and they are hesitant to progress further in the building.
You take a long look at the buildings beyond the fence. Most windows above the second floor are wide open to keep the place habitable in the summer heat. The hunter could be behind any of those, or on a roof.

[Rhyvurg]

John calls out to the SWAT team, and his own on comms. "Sniper is south east of the breach, I can't see them. Officers, whoever it is they're after me, not you." Even as he says it he wonders why a cop had been targeted first. Whatever the reason, it was simply too far to cross the street before he could be hit again, and if he wasn't as fortunate he could be left helpless in the street. Not a great prospect.

[esorscher]

Dalton, recognizing the threat posed by Thunderbird with a guitar, disengages from his fight with the superhuman and chases after the third thug running for the music store. With his speed, he is able to take a path that takes him around the thugs, without giving them a chance to strike him as he passes.

I am intending to use up to 250' movement speed to avoid provoking AoOs for passing through threatened areas (if that's a thing).

Same deal as before, but targeting the thug.

Power Attack 4

Attack: [roll0], Damage 8, Fast Grab DC 18

[tonberrian]

Meanwhile, while Makeshift scans the monitors, Grace moves to take care of the most obvious threat: the fire. She grabs a nearby fire extinguisher and tries to put out what she can.

[Cazero]

Black Diamond

Thanks to your diamond skin, you can safely approach the fire and use the extinguisher at optimal range. You will be able to keep the fire from expanding, but it will take time before you can stop it.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Chris Dalton

The thug never saw it coming and is taken out cold immediately, while the other two look dumbfounded by your speed.
The Thunderbird rushes to the store with a scream, shoving them aside.
Thunderbird Athletics check to run faster : [roll0]
High Voltage Fortitude save DC 16 against Damage
Thug 1 : [roll1]
Thug 2 : [roll2]They both take an electric shock as he passes by. One of them falls on the ground and the other decides to bail out and starts running the other way.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dragon's Fist

After a few more seconds, the hunter seem to decide that you need a stronger incentive and shoots a policeman in the street to the west. The officer falls down immediately, sending a new wave of panic among his colleagues.
Make me a DC30 Perception check.

[esorscher]

Dalton uses his supernatural quickness to get between Thunderbird and the instruments, again trying to subdue him.

Power Attack 4

[roll0], Damage 8, Fast Grab DC 18

[Rhyvurg]

John curses under his breath, he needed to find this guy fast, but running out there would only get him killed.

[roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gabriel was...about to say he'd heard to her, but John's communications made him adjust the plan a bit. "I'll head your way, but going to set up a few hundred yards north of the prison. No sense getting sniped at while disarming a bomb in mid-air," he said dryly.

For a fleeting moment, he considered the logistics of getting Chipmunk there, since he didn't exactly trust the burglar at his back, but it hardly required much deliberation. The man had prehensile feet. "Hang on tight, Chipmunk. We're going for a ride..." he told him, before taking off back towards the prison, going as quickly as Chipmunk's balance would allow.

[Cazero]

Chris Dalton

In his precipitation to reach the store, the Thunderbird lowered his guard, and you seize the opportunity to knock him out. Your exceptional speed allows you to catch the remaining thug with no difficulty and he surrenders.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Nightrider

The Chimpmunk holds nervously to your lance with all his five limbs and manage to withstand your full speed with no difficulty. You already are in sight of the jail complex and can see Makeshift lifting off.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Makeshift

Makeshift checks the monitors one last time. "There doesn't seem to be super activity in the complex. I'm joining up with you to defuse that bomb."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Songbird

Coming back from their chase, a patrol car catches up with you and stops by. One of the officers inside knows the drill and instructs the small police squad for a simultaneous cuffing.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dragon's Fist

You can hear Makeshift's rocket boots starting up and you see Nightrider above one of the streets.
Again, DC30 perception check.
You're out of combat now.

[esorscher]

Dalton uses some of the zip-tie restraints he has to hogtie all the escapees, in the center of the nearest intersection. Standing next to his capture, he takes out his cell phone and dials the local PD. "I've got four escaped convicts, one of which is the superhuman Thunderbird, at the intersection of 3rd and F," he says into the phone. "Citizen's arrest." He keeps a close eye on his captives, especially the conscious one, as he listens to the response from the PD.

[Cazero]

"I've got four escaped convicts, one of which is the superhuman Thunderbird, at the intersection of 3rd and F," he says into the phone. "Citizen's arrest.""Understood. We're directing a patrol car to your position, please stand by."

[esorscher]

Dalton does so, ending the call, leaving the line open in case one of the others needs him.

[El'the Ellie]

Songbird gives the officers a theatrical bow, then flies off to find the third group of escapees. On her way she listens in to the radio chatter, and flies by Dalton and Thunderbird.

"Ah, Thunderbird is here? No way!" Songbird sounds excited, and not particularly worried that he's a dangerous supercriminal. She becomes significantly more disappointed when she sees he's guitar-less and already zip tied.
"Aw sheesh, well that's a buzzkill... Alright, I'm off to find the others!"
And true to her word, she flies off to find the last group.

[esorscher]

As she flies off, Dalton calls after Songbird, "Where to? I'll meet up once the police take over here."

[Rhyvurg]

"Come on, where are you..."

[roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Alright, I'll be waiting above the prison," Gabriel responded. He took up a position some four-hundred feet up, figuring that was a reasonable safe distance while still being a survivable fall if something went wrong (superheroes measured these things differently).

[Cazero]

Songbird

You take back to the sky and move in the direction of the last group of runaways, but you can't see them anywhere. They must have taken off the streets.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Chris Dalton

The police reach the scene. They recognise you and take the arrested prisonners in their car.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Nightrider & Makeshift

You join above the prison. The Chipmunk hadn't complained in a while, but he can't hold back that long. "You really need to fly that high? It's probably not that big a bomb since it only needs to blow up my head."
Amy takes a look at the collar, then swiftly cuts it out. "Actualy it's not a bomb at all. There is nothing explosive on it. Just a blipping LED and decorations."
"WHAT?!? I did all that for nothing? Blowtorch, you, you..." The Chipmunk collapses on the lance, overwhelmed by emotions but still holding it and balanced.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Black Diamond

Thanks to your efforts, the SWAT can enter the building and make a junction with the barricaded prison guards in the western wing.
Your slow progression brings you through the forced corridor into what appears to be a mess hall. There, sitting on a chair in a dead spot in the camera security, is the professor Frost in his power armor, keeping the fire at bay with his cryo-lasers. He greets you.
"Finally, someone with a sense of civic duty. Miss Miller, would you mind assisting me in my endeavor? Oh, I see you are working toward it as well."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dragon's Fist

Half a minute passed without any new sign of the hunter. The police started to organise a response, but they are unlikely to find the hunter. They must have left already.

[tonberrian]

"As long as you're willing to go back to your cell at the end of this. Even if not, we can... talk... about that later." BD continues to extinguish fires, helping Frost. For now.

[esorscher]

With the situation in hand, Chris speeds back to the prison, hoping to help out there.

[Rhyvurg]

John calls the others. "No sign of my would-be sniper, but he could still be around. I'm joining back up with you guys." Leaving the cops to it, he heads deeper into the prison. His friends should be somewhere in the vicinity of the fire.

[Cazero]

"As long as you're willing to go back to your cell at the end of this. Even if not, we can... talk... about that later." BD continues to extinguish fires, helping Frost. For now.
"My own escape plan has been used in the most unsavory manner. I have no intention to fight at this juncture and will gladly surrender once my mistake has been corrected."


John calls the others. "No sign of my would-be sniper, but he could still be around. I'm joining back up with you guys." Leaving the cops to it, he heads deeper into the prison. His friends should be somewhere in the vicinity of the fire.
The little resistance you face is easily punched into submission, and soon enough you join Black Diamond and the professor Frost in the prisonner's mess hall.

[Rhyvurg]

"Diamond...Professor. It looked like the walls at the breach were blown out from the inside."

[Cazero]

The professor nonchalantly comments : "In retrospect, it isn't much of a surprise. Miss Ortega must have used the explosive devices she sold me to serve at a distraction for using her own. It also explain why her alleged smoke bomb was incendiary in nature. I would have thought that she could be trusted as long as I wasn't requiring her to take any personal risk, but it appears her reputation isn't doing justice to her infamy."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Right. I'll bring him to the police," Gabriel said, a certain dry humor in his voice. He headed down to the nearest police unit, but not at top speed. "So Blowtorch is the one who put that thing on you and made you drive the decoy vehicle? Anything else you can tell me about this breakout? Bearing in mind that if you give me useful information, that will mean less that I have to help my team figure out on our own, which reduces the probability that I'll have to rush off before informing the police that you were coerced into participating by a threat to your life." He said it in a deadpan voice with just a hint of pointed emphasis.

Routine Intimidation for 30 to try to coerce him into giving up what he knows about the breakout, if anything.

[El'the Ellie]

"Umm... I don't know." She says to Dalton. "They went off in this direction. If I find them, it'll be obvious and you guys can come find me."

"Where aaaaare you?" Songbird sings out to herself, flying high and looking and listening for the other group.

Songbird will search using listening perception, which is extended (100 ft/-1), analytical, acute, and accurate.

[roll0]

[Cazero]

"So Blowtorch is the one who put that thing on you and made you drive the decoy vehicle? Anything else you can tell me about this breakout? Bearing in mind that if you give me useful information, that will mean less that I have to help my team figure out on our own, which reduces the probability that I'll have to rush off before informing the police that you were coerced into participating by a threat to your life." He said it in a deadpan voice with just a hint of pointed emphasis.
"Well, you should also watch out for Whitey and the bunch of death row inmates he pulled along. Did anyone ever told you that you're really not cool?"


"Where aaaaare you?" Songbird sings out to herself, flying high and looking and listening for the other group.
Despite all the noise of the city, you faintly hear whispering in a warehouse that ought to be abandonned. Something sounding like "solitary confinement" certainly deserve further investigation. The building may not have window, but the poorly maintained roof has holes in it.
If you want to investigate right now, make me a stealth check.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"All the time, kid," Gabriel responded as they landed by the police, lowering his lance for Chipmunk to hop off (although if he didn't, Gabriel would just shrink the lance down to its carry size to deprive him of a hold). "Here, take him. And keep an eye on this one, he'll probably be able to slip out of whatever restraints you put him in." Was that...was that a vague hint of respect? Maybe? If you squinted and looked at it sideways in the dark? "That being said, it appears he only participated under coercion, and he's been cooperative so far."

Nightrider's glowing red eyes met Chipmunk's in a firm stare. "I trust that that will continue," he said pointedly.

[tonberrian]

"Alright, let's see if we can get the fire contained here in this wing, then double back to the other and see what's going on there." Grace grabs another extinguisher from the kitchen, then turns to John. "I think I saw another extinguisher down that hallway. Grab it and follow us - we can take the heat better."

[Rhyvurg]

John nods and quickly fetches the extinguisher. There were more important things now that one seemingly cooperative villain.

[El'the Ellie]

Songbird flies curiously over to the abandoned building, peering in and trying to remain hidden.

Stealth: [roll0]

[Cazero]

"All the time, kid,""I'm 24, thank you very much."
"Here, take him. And keep an eye on this one, he'll probably be able to slip out of whatever restraints you put him in."He hops down, still complaining. "Come on, don't spoil all my tricks. This one is awesome at parties !"
"That being said, it appears he only participated under coercion, and he's been cooperative so far."
Nightrider's glowing red eyes met Chipmunk's in a firm stare. "I trust that that will continue," he said pointedly.As two officers reach for him, the Chimp stares back with a wide smile. "But of course. Model prisoner right here, paying his debt to society without causing trouble, no siree. Is that your boss behind you?"
You recognize your brother's angry voice shouting. "I'm only allowing you here because the mayor ordered me to and you waste time doing taxi service for a monkey?"


"Alright, let's see if we can get the fire contained here in this wing, then double back to the other and see what's going on there." Grace grabs another extinguisher from the kitchen, then turns to John. "I think I saw another extinguisher down that hallway. Grab it and follow us - we can take the heat better."
John nods and quickly fetches the extinguisher. There were more important things now that one seemingly cooperative villain.
The three of you will soon have the fire put out.


Songbird flies curiously over to the abandoned building, peering in and trying to remain hidden.
Jackpot. That's the place where the group was hiding, and they picked it for a good reason : since you can clearly recognize "Withey" Hamilton without the hoodie he was wearing in the street and they are now all carrying firearms, it must have been one of Hamilton's storage places for his criminal empire.
Hamilton is trying to keep his voice as low as possible while giving instructions to the small group about an underground route through the sewers. Apparently he scheduled an appointment with some kind of doctor for the five of them.
Some perception checks :
Hamilton : [roll0]
Thugs : [roll1][roll2][roll3][roll4][roll5]

And just in case, some initiative :
Songbird : [roll6]
Hamilton : [roll7]
Thugs : [roll8]Unfortunately, they noticed you and several of them are already rising their weapons.

[El'the Ellie]

Oh shoot... That's a lot of guns. Hmm... Guns and warehouses. I need something that fits.

Songbird flies a few more feet into the warehouse and faces the armed men.

"Hamilton! Off Broadway already?" Before he has a chance to respond, Songbird's attitude becomes fierce and determined, not her normal lighthearted and carefree mood. The song she sings is erratic and intense: a tempo and beat that simply cannot be ignored. The song is like an attack, hammering away at Hamilton mentally muffling all other senses and carrying with it a powerful compulsion to give in and obey.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxAgB3EI2vk

Expertise Singer Check: [roll0] To determine how many ranks I can use. (The DC is 17 to use 1 rank and I have a +20)

Edit: awesome! DC 19 Will save for Hamilton to resist progressive mind control.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gabriel couldn't help but roll his eyes.

This is so not the time...

He turned to face Joshua, his helmet concealing his expression. "Lieutenant Brahams, so nice to see you," he said in a deadpan voice. "If you have any suggestions for how I can most expeditiously assist the HPD now that I am finished bringing that escapee into custody, I am happy to hear them. But if you could please give me a moment, I need to check in with the rest of my team."

Underscoring the fact that that was much less of a request than he made it sound like, he promptly said into his commlink, "Chipmunk in custody, mentioned a Whitey among the escapees, with a bunch of death row inmates with him. What's everyone's status?"

[Rhyvurg]

John answers back. "Fire is being contained, we're getting some...unexpected help. The breach was from the inside, so someone either got a bomb in of someone here could generate explosions. And someone wa firing poisoned darts at the cops earlier."

[Cazero]

Makeshift replies your call : "I've located two breaches leading from cells to the storage room for the prisonners belongings and made contact with the guard team. We didn't make a full inventory but the Reaper's and Frost's suits are missing. Heading inside the jail from the breach now."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Songbird

Hamilton shakes off of your compulsion and kicks one of the last two heavy containers remaining in the warehouse. It falls sideways, revealing an access to an underground tunnel. "There is a map down there. Take it and don't forget the plan !" He tosses a small bag to one of the other escapees who immediately rushes in the tunnel. The others hesitate only a short moment before following suit while shooting at you.
Separate attacks on Songbird, Dodge DC 25 (23+2)
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
On hit : Damage DC 19 resisted by Toughness

[Rhyvurg]

"Makeshift, Frost is here with me and Diamond. He's helping with the fires, actually. And when this is done he's going to go back to his cell, peacefully, because he's not a fool and is fully aware Diamond and myself are within arm's reach of him." John raises his voice for the last part.

[El'the Ellie]

Sheesh, these guys couldn't hit a brick wall Songbird thinks as she dodges around the spray of bullets.

"Hamilton and a couple of goons are in a warehouse here. I should have him down in a bit." She replies over the comms.

As an overtone over her words, the song continues its assault on Hamilton's mind. However this time the hypnotic effect is less precise, attempting to smother his thoughts and awareness like a blanket.

Weaken Awareness DC 20, let's drive down that beefy +12 save.

[Quellian-dyrae]

So, it appeared his options were A) Help fight a fire, B) Help beat up some death row inmates because meh whatever it was faster, or C) Try to deal with his family issues.

...Well, lances were not optimized fire-fighting tools, so B it was!

(Don't give me that look).

"I'm afraid this conversation is going to have to wait, Lieutenant. I've got some high-risk escapees to bring in," he said, before taking off and flying a search for Songbird's warehouse. He figured it shouldn't be too hard to find. Just go for the warehouse the song (or, alternately, the gunfire) was coming from.

[Cazero]

Nightrider

You can hear Joshua trying to assert some authority over you as you move away, and you quickly locate the warehouse where the commotion is coming from.
You don't get to act this round.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Songbird

Hamilton once again resists your song and decides to close off the tunnel by dragging the container back on the opening. Taking personnal risks for the safety of his goons? That's not like him. But now that this is dealt with, you have the attention of a decent shooter armed with an assault rifle.

[tonberrian]

With the fire under control, Grace pulls Professor Frost aside. "Now's the time to show the cops you're willing to cooperate. Get out of your suit, and we'll go to surrender you to the cops. You might be able to spin your cooperation into no further time added to your sentence, and surrendering now would certainly help with that."

Grace will wait for him to comply, then she'll bring the suit while leaving John to bring Frost back to the entrance they came in from to surrender Frost to the authorities.

[El'the Ellie]

Songbird masks a bit of relief as Nightrider arrives.

"Yo! I can't do anything to Hamilton, but a couple of his goons ran down that way to meet up with someone. You take care of Hamilton and I'll take care of the others, yeah?"

Assuming Nightrider agrees, Songbird will fly over and open up the tunnel entrance.

[Cazero]

Songbird & Nightrider

"I won't just let you do it." As soon as Songbird iput foot on the container to lift it, Hamilton opens fire to force her away.
Attack roll on Songbird : [roll0] vs DC 25 (23+2) Dodge
Hit : Toughness save vs Damage DC 19
Your turn !
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Chris Dalton

You finaly arrive in sight of the breached southern wall of the prison.
Police activity is frantic. They try to conduct a search for the sniper previously mentioned but can't spare enough people to do it properly as they also have to secure the breach.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dragon's Fist & Black Diamond

"I am a man of my word." The professor Frost ceremoniously removes his power suit, leaving himself unarmed and harmless. "Am I safe to assume that the local authorities have regained control of the entry hall? I may see myself here for my proper return in my cell." Not even looking back to his suit, he start walking towards the jail entrance.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Makeshift

You all hear Amy's voice on your radios : "I found the Reaper ! He's" The communication is cut short by a metallic shock followed with static noise.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. Songbird wasn't exactly fragile by anyone's standard, but she wasn't armored either. Gabriel rode into the path of the bullets, letting them bounce harmlessly off his shadow armor.

He struck back with a hard stab of his lance, shadowy energy crawling along it - but also gathered around the tip to blunt it, avoiding any lethal harm even as the demonic power would spread the impact of the blow throughout the target's body. As he struck, he laid his left hand on the shipping container and focusing his power to try to shove it away from the escape tunnel.

"DF, BD, can you get to where Makeshift was?" Gabriel asked, since he was pretty sure they were the closest. There was mild urgency but not panic in his voice. The compromised communication wasn't a good sign, but this was Amy, after all. She wasn't exactly someone he worried about unless there were an unquestionably good reason.

Then he took to the air, circling around Hamilton at a distance, gathering momentum for a charge...

Reaction: Interpose.

Standard: Attack with Shadow Joust, targeting Hamilton with the Damage and the shipping container with the Move Object; Routines the attack roll against the shipping container since it's an inanimate object, but the attack at Hamilton is made at [roll0]. The container is moved out of Songbird's way if it weighs 25 tons or less. On a hit, Hamilton has to roll Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage.

Move: Take to the air, about fifty feet up, circling at a distance of give-or-take sixty feet.

Current Status: Normal.

[Rhyvurg]

"On our way." Not sparing any time to worry if Frost will keep his word, John quickly runs for Makeshift's last position.

[tonberrian]

"Damn. On our way." Grace lugs the power armor with her following after John.

[esorscher]

Dalton arrives on the scene, identifies the commanding officer, and approaches swiftly. "How can I help?" he asks, unsure if his talents are needed more to locate the sniper or seal the breach, or a third option yet to be revealed. And, having just arrived on the scene, he's not sure where the bullets are coming from.

[El'the Ellie]

Songbird gives Nightrider a nod of thanks, then flies into the tunnel after the other gunmen, leaving Hamilton for Gabriel to deal with.

Once she locates the others, she fills the echoing underground with her song to hypnotize the men there.

Assuming I see the dudes, using Sympathetic Aria (split affliction) on them. Expertise Singing Check: [roll0]

DC's will be 16, 12, 12.

[Cazero]

Nightrider

Hamilton look at the container 'jumping' above his head just a moment too long, as Songbird already went in. "My bad. I wasn't ready for that. I really hope those idiots are resourceful enough to stop the birdie." Trusting more his strength than bullets to go through your armor, he grips his machine gun by the cannon like an improvised club and move the strap away from around his neck in a swift wrist motion. He then stands next to the tunnel and faces you with a grin. "Now I'm ready."
Hamilton readies an action. Entering the tunnel will put you within his reach.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Songbird

The tunnel immeadiately reaches some kind of small outpost in the city sewers. The place smells and is poorly lit, there is humidity and dirt everywhere, and even worse : the tunnel is barely large enough for you to fly around freely. You quickly notice and move past one of the thugs as he is completely entranced by your earlier song and unable to do anything else than humming it, and you direct your music at the flashlight carrying group who just went past a small makeshift barricade (no doubt intended to prevent crocodiles from getting too close to the ladder).
One of them enters a weaker hypnotic trance. He stops running and starts panicking as he cannot see anymore. You made his world to be nothing but music. The three others abandon him to you and don't trust their aim in that dark place as they desperately keep running. That's when the slower one, carrying the bag Hamilton gave them, throws something small at you. The peculiar beeping is eerily familiar...
Denied your favored environment bonus in the sewers (and -1 to your Flight speed rank, but that one will barely make a difference).
More importantly, you get a -2 on your Dodge check for half effect against a Cryo-Grenade :
Rank 10 Area Affliction (resisted by Fortitude; Hindered, Immobile, Paralyzed)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Chris Dalton

You met a resentful one. "We have one tenth of the manpower required to handle dozens of uncooperative suspects without any search warrant for a sniper we know nothing about, and I don't want your illegitimate ass getting a cop shooter free off charges from an illegal search. So if you really want to help, get in there" he points to the jail "and keep some criminals behind jail walls." You can feel the unspoken starting with you in his tone.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dragon's Fist, Black Diamond & Makeshift

You rush in the maze of corridors of the jail, forcing your way through the last resisting pockets of rioters to be taken care of by the SWAT, and reach the scene of an outlandish duel. Or rather, the scene reaches you as Makeshift, glowing green and transluscent from the mark of the Ghostclaw, flies through a wall before taking back her footing right in front of you. She seem to nod at you (it's hard to tell with the suit) before pointing her flamethrower toward the wall from wich she came.
Surely enough, the Reaper followed from a different spot. And that's when Makeshift's flamethrower exploded.
It was unlike any explosion you've ever seen or heard. The noise was distorted and quite unnatural and you didn't feel any blast despite being so close. Purple flames were sprayed everywhere but didn't seem to affect anything, except for those marked by the Ghostclaw : Makeshift, who was sent flying right through the two of you and is sinking in the ground while her amor burns, and the Reaper, whose arms are on fire. The Reaper painfuly screams and tries to shake off the purple flame from his insubstantial body while Amy reaches for an impossible grip above ground.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"I'm sure you think so," Nightrider quipped darkly, before charging down upon Hamilton full-tilt, his lance held out before him, all the weight of his charge behind it as shadow magic crawled along its length. In a blur of hasted speed, he struck - and was gone!

Not a fraction of a second later, still moving at full speed, his lance came in from the side, and he was gone again in an instant.

Then again, from the front.

The other side. Twice.

At one point, he even struck from the tunnel, teleporting to make attack after attack, each from a new angle, each with the full force of his charge behind it.

The barrage of attacks was complete in just a couple seconds, after which he rode around to reestablish range for his next charge.

They would see how ready Hamilton really was.

Move: Charge Hamilton, activating Shadow Lance.

Free: Activate Shadow Barrage.

Reaction: Immediately before the attack, Hamilton must roll a DC 20 Will save. If it fails, he is Vulnerable against Nightrider for this round only. If it fails by two degrees or more, he is Defenseless instead.

Standard: Attack Hamilton with Shadow Barrage at [roll0]. Using the reach from Shadow Lance, he attacks from 15' away. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage.

If Hamilton fails his Will save, this will be a Power Attack for 5. Lower the attack roll by 5 and raise the DC to 30+Multiattack. If he fails by two degrees, a hit against DC 10 will auto-crit, raising the DC to 35+Multiattack unless Hamilton's crit immune. Still going nonlethal.

If Hamilton fails his Will save by two degrees, and is still up, he'll use Extra Effort to attack again at [roll1] (-5 for Power Attack already included in this instance).

Move-by Action: Back up some fifty feet, some sixty feet distant.

Current Status: Normal.

[Rhyvurg]

"Diamond, get Makeshift!" John doesn't hesitate, he acts. The Reaper might simply ignore him, John knew he wan't likely to land a blow of any consequence, but there were other ways to draw attention. He runs straight at the supervillain, aiming a flying kick at his face.

1d20+12

[Cazero]

Nightrider

Hamilton blinks only once as you teleport for the first time, then expertly dodges your series of attack. He tries to use the strap of his rifle as an improvised whip to pull your lance away from you as you pass by, but the strap breaks so he nonchalantly throws the weapon away.
"Care for another go?"
Hamilton readies an action again.

[tonberrian]

Grace drops the power suit and rushes over to Makeshift, trying to grab her insubstantial form and help her escape the earthen tomb.

Gonna try and use extra effort for a Power Stunt making my strength Affects Insubstantial (x1) rather than Multiattack, because she's somewhat denser than normal human. Okay if that's vetoed though. After this Grace will be Fatigued (-1 speed ranks).

HP: 1

[esorscher]

Dalton shrugs and puts himself to use, rushing into the prison in search of convicts to round up.

[Cazero]

Chris Dalton

The police priorities allowed them to take control of the situation. There isn't much else to do than guard duty, but hopefuly your presence can free some officers to help for the search.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dragon's Fist

Your foot flies straight through his face without any physical effect, but the Reaper's is now even more panicked than before and makes a run for it through the first wall he finds. You can hear his scream turn into a sinister laugh.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Black Diamond & Makeshift

Your first efforts to catch Makeshift are for naught, but by focusing all your powers into your fist for maximum density you manage to get a grip. You can now feel the unnatural fire scorching your hand.Power stunt approved due to the specific way the Ghostclaw works.
Toughness save vs Damage DC 23 from the fire.Amy's arm is limp under her suit. She probably passed out, wich is understandable given her hydrophobia and the disturbingly similar situation of drowning in concrete. But now that you have a grip you pull her out without difficulty.
The fire from Makeshift's submerged armor has been put out, and the remaining flame dies out quickly.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Well, they could call that one a mulligan, he supposed. "Impressive. But let's be serious, what is a defensive game going to get you? Even if you can hold me off indefinitely, that just gives Songbird all the time she needs to wrap up your goons. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have some target practice, but you might want to consider surrender."

He charged down again, this time channeling his shadow magic for defense rather than offense. A shield of dark energy appeared hovering beside him like a squire as he charged, extending his lance in a single quick strike before riding on past and back into the air.

Move: Second verse, same as the first.

Standard: Attack with Shadow Shield at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage. Nightrider is Deflected at 1d10+20 for the next two rounds. Deflect against any Readied attack: [roll1].

Move-by Action: Continue making him regret his apparent lack of third-dimensional mobility.

Current Status: Deflected (1d10+20, SE).

[Rhyvurg]

John turns back to Makeshift and Diamond. Reaper could wait, John would rather fight him later than let something happen to his team.

[tonberrian]

I think she's okay for now. Where's Reaper?"

[Rhyvurg]

"Gone, and not our problem for now."

[Cazero]

Nightrider

Hamilton tries once again to take your lance as you pass by, this time with his bare hands, but without more success than earlier. Your attack connects but barely scratch him.
"I'm stalling for the small chance that the birdie fails because if I do anything about her, you will do the mop-up instead. I'll be the first to admit that my current plan is a hurried mess unlikely to succeed but surrendering early would still defeat the point. And besides..."
Hamilton reaches in the latch for the bolted ladder, rips it from the wall and pull it out.
"I've not had a good sparring partner for a while. The jailers wouldn't allow it. Something about 'last time it happened' and 'the eastern wall'."
Hamilton used his action to pick up the ladder. He now has reach comparable to yours.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dragon's Fist & Black Diamond & Makeshift

The Reaper doesn't seem to come back. The Ghostclaw's effect is slowly wearing off Makeshift as the SWAT reaches you. The complex should soon be in total control.

[Rhyvurg]

"Okay, we should make a final sweep of the perimeter then see about helping Nightrider and Songbird."

[tonberrian]

"Right. We should stick together though, just in case Reaper comes back. You want to take point?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gabriel had to admit, dude was pretty tough. "Well, suit yourself," he said with dry bemusement, the crimson glow of his eyes intensifying slightly. His nightmare steed reared and came down at a gallup, Gabriel's lance radiating an intense black energy all along its length, its tip no longer blunted. Let's see how tough he is with a lance jammed through his shoulder.

Move: Into reach.

Standard: Attack Hamilton with Shadow Joust at [roll0] 22 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22455771&postcount=93). On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Strength or Dodge DC 20 vs. Move Object as a Grab. If the Grab succeeds, he also has to roll Fortitude DC 20 or lose Toughness and Fortitude equal to the points failed by. The Weaken is Progressive for as long as the Grab is maintained.

Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: DO IT AGAIN! [roll1].

Move-by Action: If he's not Grabbed, Gabriel will circle out to reestablish charge range. If he's Grabbed then Gabriel will remain in close.

End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Deflected at [roll2].

Current Status: Deflected (1d10+18), Fatigued as of next turn.

[Cazero]

Nightrider

You landed a solid hit. It should all be over soon.
In the meantime, Hamilton is using the ladder as a bat and swing it at your head.
Power Attack : [roll0] vs Parry DC 18
On hit : Toughness save vs Damage DC 30And misses.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gabriel scoffed as the awkward swing got nowhere close to him. It was over, but the thug was still showing defiance.

There had been a time when such a display would have only earned him a quick death. Azkeragoth would never have allowed such an insult to go unpunished. Had never. Gabriel had too many memories of standing over heroes who had showed just the same refusal to quit, even at the end. Too many memories of what came after.

Fortunately for Hamilton, it was not Azkeragoth behind that shadowy helm.

"Enough," Gabriel said, sending a pulse of shadow magic through his lance. It would shock through Hamilton's system, and hopefully cause him to black out. It wasn't permanently harmful, but Gabriel could only go so far with the power he wielded - painless would be another matter entirely.

So, by my calculation, the first attack left him Bound (Defenseless+Immobilized+Impaired) and at -4 Toughness and Fortitude. The second attack would have been an auto-crit since it was a rolled attack against a Defenseless opponent, so counting that, the -2 for Impaired, and the -4 Toughness, the second attack should have rendered him Bruised and Staggered, right?

He didn't escape the Grab on his turn, so I believe at the end of his turn he has to roll against the Progressive Weaken again as well.

Move: Nah.

Standard: Shadow Joust, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 5, at [roll0]. If that hits DC 10 for a Defenseless opponent, it auto-crits, so Toughness DC 35 vs. Damage. Linked Move Object, but I'mma just go ahead and assume that whatever I do with that is probably gonna be irrelevant.

Current Status: Fatigued.

[Cazero]

Nightrider

Hamilton managed to sustain your attack but is no longer willing to fight back and surrenders.
Soon afterwards, Songbird's voice can be heard from the tunnel. "Hello? I have prisoners here and they'll need the ladder back !"

Once everybody got out, Songbird share her discoveries with you. She's dangling a prison laundry sack obviously containing something other than uniforms and shows you a crude map of the sewers.
"Chipmunk got them some of Frost's cryo-grenades right before breaking out, and they had a meet-up planned there." She points to a specific spot on the map, wich unfortunately fails to display ground level street names.
"Maybe we can still catch whoever was waiting for them outside !"

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dragon's Fist & Black Diamond

While the sniper is nowhere to be found, the fire was put out, the complex was pacified and the prisoners who can't be returned to their cells yet were regrouped in the prison's courtyard under heavy guard. It looks like your work here is done.
A sergeant reaches out to you. Upon seeing Makeshift unconscious, he offers to bring her to an ambulance and almost forgot to mention than Joshua Brahams wanted to debrief you.

[Rhyvurg]

"Debreif means we're one, and we're not. We have to find Nightrider and Songbird." He keys his communicator. " 'Rider, where'd you get to?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gabriel retracted his lance down to storage length and holstered it. "Don't move," he told Hamilton brusquely; they both knew he could catch him easily if he tried. He took the ladder and lowered it down.

He nodded when Songbird told him what she found. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed. John's question came right in time. "Songbird and I have Hamilton and his goons, and a probable location on whoever was planning to help them on the outside. We're heading back towards you guys with the prisoners."

That said, he'd let Songbird take the lead back to the prison if she were so inclined, bringing up the rear to make sure none of the prisoners tried anything or took off.

[Cazero]

The police officer try to insist, but he doesn't really have any authority over you and lets you go after arranging for a prison van to pick up the last batch of escapees.
With difficulty, Amy was taken away in an ambulance. The doctor in charge is optimistic but doesn't want to pronounce any diagnostic yet.

Your stroll across town doesn't go unnoticed. Many bystanders take pictures and some try to get close. Songbird take a few opportunities to make poses. However, it is not time to cheer yet. Chris has bad news.
"I overheard some of the cops talking. John, they couldn't find your shooter. They also said Blowtorch slipped away.
-What? She was handcuffed in a patrol car and like, two streets from the jail ! How did she do that?"
Hamilton finishes to break the mood. "And you realise that I will sue you for this" he says, pointing his wounded shoulder with his chin.
Chris sends him a dark look, to wich Hamilton answers with a scoff. "I'm going to personally escort you back to your cell, Whitey. You guys keep moving."

As the announced van arrives and while you ponder your next move, Grace's phone rings. It's Marcus.

[Rhyvurg]

"A first year law student would crush your case in court, Hamilton. We should talk to the cops about Blowtorch, but they don't have to actually tell us anything."

[tonberrian]

"Hold up a sec, got a call." Grace moves over to the side, and answers her phone. "Hey Marcus.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gabriel ignored Hamilton's prattling. For a superpowered fugitive, he had gotten off light. "We should probably move on the location Songbird f-" he began, and then Grace's phone rang. With the...distractions that had popped up while they moved to regroup, Gabriel didn't want to give anyone who might have been waiting more time to realize things had gone poorly and escape.

"I'll scout the location. Let you know if there's anything there," he said, figuring that the most sensible play. And off he went, riding in via a circuitous route and approaching from cover, his nightmare steed as always utterly silent.

Gonna scout the location Olivia found with Routine Stealth for 26 and Routine Perception for 20. Shadow Sight is active by default so he has both darkvision and infravision.

[Cazero]

"A first year law student would crush your case in court, Hamilton."
"You'd think so. But I have very good lawyers !" The prison van door is closed right after his final taunt.

"Hold up a sec, got a call." Grace moves over to the side, and answers her phone. "Hey Marcus.
"I was watching the news, and they said one of you got injured. You're allright? Did any crazies escape, I mean, really escape? "

"I'll scout the location. Let you know if there's anything there,"
Being an ex-possessed have some definite perks. The aligators avoid you rather than attacking on sight and the darkness is of no concern to you. You have no difficulty following the indications on the map in the unlit sewers. Your main concern is the loss of reception on your comm-link that will severely delay any report you may want to make.
You eventualy reach an outpost similar to the one under the warehouse you came from, but with a better lighting. You can see two men in black suits standing guard next to the ladder. One of them is checking his wristwatch.

[tonberrian]

"Yeah, honey, I'm fine. Makeshift caught the worst of it, but she'll be okay. Some bad guys got out, yeah, but not all of them. Still have a few loose ends. Probably gonna be a long day."

[Cazero]

"Yeah, honey, I'm fine. Makeshift caught the worst of it, but she'll be okay. Some bad guys got out, yeah, but not all of them. Still have a few loose ends. Probably gonna be a long day."
"So it's not a good time to call. Gotcha. I guess I'll let you call back later." You can hear some exasperation in his voice.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The loss of reception was annoying, but not too worrisome; he could always teleport up to the surface if he needed to make a report quickly. He backtracked to the surface when he first lost reception, to report to the others, "Going through the sewers, no reception down there, so if you don't hear from me shortly just follow when you have the chance." He also snapped a picture of the map on his phone and texted it to them, so they'd be able to follow if needed.

Once he got to the outpost, what mattered most was keeping tabs on the place without alerting the guards. Gabriel held his position, keeping an eye on the two goons, ready to move if they showed signs of leaving or some other activity.

[Rhyvurg]

"Sure thing Nightrider." John looks at the others. "We should get a tally of who's here and who got out."

[Cazero]

Gabriel held his position, keeping an eye on the two goons, ready to move if they showed signs of leaving or some other activity.
The man who checked his watch seem to grow impatient.
"How much longer are we supposed to wait here?"
The other man looks at his own watch then answers :
"One hour, seventeen minutes.
-One hour in the dark, with that smell? We need an union.
-Stay professional, Mike. No questioning the clients on duty."
Looks and sounds like private security. The question is wether they work for Hamilton or someone else.

"We should get a tally of who's here and who got out."
Chris answers on his comm that he can probably ask around the jail once they get there.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Sorry guys, somehow forgot I hadn't posted :smallredface:.

Well, Gabriel thought to himself, if I've got an hour...

He made a quick backtrack to the nearest manhole (or maybe the second nearest, if the nearest was close enough that his exit might be noticed), heading up to the surface to get some signal. Once he was back on comms, he reported, "Map leads to some sort of underground outpost. There were two people there that I could see, private security by the looks of them. Closest entrance looks like a manhole on {insert streets here}. I overheard them saying they'll probably be sticking around for a bit over an hour."

"That all being said, I'm not seeing anything so far that suggests any particular threat. I can keep an eye on them until you get here if you guys want, but I'm happy to handle the light work," he said with dry amusement. Not that he intended to like, just start beating them up or anything. Technically his evidence of their wrongdoing wasn't super-solid. He might not have been able to avoid his brother's lectures, but there was no need to give him actual ammo. Also, you know, civil rights and stuff. But he was thinking a "nice" "polite" "conversation" might be a solid next step.

And you know, if their reaction to the arrival of a hero of the city was to try to, I dunno, shoot him or something, well then events would go where they went.

[tonberrian]

<C>"Don't approach until John and I can back you up. We're already a few people down, we can't afford to lose another."

Grace turns to John. "It isn't over yet. Coming?" Grace starts jogging towards Nightrider's location, at a pace John can keep up with.

[Rhyvurg]

"You know it." He falls in step beside her. "You know, it'll be interesting to see how the news makes this look like all our fault when we weren't here when it started."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at Grace's reasoning, but while it did vaguely amuse him, he was sobered enough by Amy being down that he didn't comment on it. "Right. I'll keep an eye on them until you guys get here. Nightrider out," he said, then heading back into the sewers to resume his silent watch.

Still Routining Stealth to observe undetected.

[Cazero]

The stroll across town is pretty uneventful. Chris have a short report to make before you reach your destination.
"Quick recap : the tally is far from over but they had a headcount on the death row inmates. Apparently 6 are missing besides Blowtorch and Reaper. Tell Nightrider that the drinks are on him, he knows why. Chris out."
Assuming the group with Blowtorch escaped with her, that's still two dangerous inmates unnacounted for.

Songbird has a quick chat with the member of the unnoficial Hogsfeed Emergency Alligator Response Team that showed up to tell him that as far as you know no reptilian are involved in that crisis while you open the sewer access. Soon enough your team is reunited in the damp, dark sewers of Hogsfeed.
If you only watch, stealth checks. Otherwise make your move.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gabriel nodded as the others arrived, and then...well, to say he "stepped" out of the gloom would be disingenuous. The first thing that the mercs would see would be his eyes, glowing hellish red and seeming to gaze into their very souls. Then the larger eyes of his steed would become visible, all the more horrible for their inhuman cast. He moved forward, the horse not walking, just floating a few inches over the ground...or whatever was passing for it in the sewers. "Hello, boys," came the deep voice of the Nightrider, echoing hollowly through his visored helm.

And then he was standing between them, either behind them and facing the same direction, his horse's head even with their own, if the terrain permitted, or ahead of them, facing them from barely a foot away, if their backs were to a wall. "We'd like to have a little talk," he told them, a convivial lilt over tones of subtle menace. Whether the others revealed themselves or the mercs took the "we" to mean he and his demonic steed worked for him either way.

Using Nightride (insta-reversing the Damage portion) to teleport to them.

Intimidation: [roll0]

[Cazero]

Your sudden appearance leave the sentires speechless for a couple seconds, wich isn't to say it didn't have an impact. They both stepped backwards, and not-Mike stumble and almost fall over. Mike tries to shield himself behind the law :"Th-this is a private property, and you can't just get in like..." His voice dies when his brain catches up; while the building upstairs might be private, the sewers definitely aren't.
The other try to back him up. "We done nothing illegal anyway !"

[tonberrian]

"So what were you doing?"

Grace cracks her fingers, staring down at the guards intimidatingly.

Intimidate! [roll0]

[Cazero]

"We're just standing guard, waiting for Hammm... pleading the fifth ! I'm pleading the fifth ! That's what I said !"

[Rhyvurg]

"Thing about that is, we're not in court, and we're not cops. And pleading the 5th is pretty much the same as admitting guilt. But you don't have to say anything, we know whatever you're guarding is behind you. Now the question is, are you going to surrender peacefully?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Hamilton's already in custody," Nightrider added. "The escapees had a map on them leading to this location. That makes this place a rendezvous point for a prison break and you two suspected accomplices. Which means we have to check it out and bring anyone here in for questioning. Now, I don't expect Hamilton or his death-row goon squad to show any particular loyalty to a bunch of mercenaries. But hey, if you don't want a chance to get your side of the story out, that's on you."

"So, you can surrender your weapons, tell us what we're going to find in here, and then come along quietly for questioning during which you will helpfully and politely answer all of the nice police officers' questions, or you can get in the way of three superheroes who are trying to stop a prison break, and see how well that works out for you. Your. Call."

[Cazero]

"Death row?" The two guards exchange a look, then Mike gives in.
"We just arrived today, so there's only more of us and some techies setting up a lab. We aren't paid to ask questions, but I heard some doctor was looking for volunteers for a while now." He moves his hand to reach for his gun, but the other guard stop him. "Hold on. If you give'em that, we're really finished."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Sorry guys, was a busy week.

Gabriel nodded at the answer, and then the glowing red eyes behind his visor shifted to fixate on the more recalcitrant guard. "Really?" he asked in a tone of voice that might have been described as deadpan if it weren't so menacing. "Ask yourself this. Which is most likely to help you the most here? The general sense of goodwill engendered by cooperating...or those toys?"

He'd give the guards a chance to hand over their weapons, but if they didn't, he wouldn't force the issue. Because frankly, not caring whether they had their weapons or not was a statement all its own. Either way, he would then head inside the base. Whether or not the door survived his entry would be entirely dependent on how quickly it got with the program and out of his way.

[Cazero]

"He... doesn't kill anymore, right?"
The guards aren't doing anything to stop you, but they don't seem to be willing to part with their holstered guns either.

[tonberrian]

Grace follows Nightrider into the Secret Basetm.

[Rhyvurg]

"Look at it this way. Those guns aren't going to keep you from getting hurt. So, do you want to walk out of here, or leave on a stretcher?"

[Cazero]

Aware that they don't stand a chance in melee, the goons cave in to your last threat and their reluctance to hand over their guns become more understandable. Those hi-tech gizmos aren't regular pistols. You don't know if they shoot laser beams, plasma or something else, but they're definitely some kind of energy guns. They must be worth several years of their salaries. It didn't look like it at first, but they're high class private security goons.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The 'Secret Base' isn't much of one. It is another abandonned warehouse swarming with workers making renovations and reinforcements everywhere. The roof is currently being sound-proofed while that process seem to have already been done on the walls. The halfway rearranged central area where you emerged (they were probably waiting to seal the underground access to finish the job) already accomodates two row of... 'experiment' tables shaped for an adult to be strapped on them.

You can count about a dozen agents in suits dispatched here all around the place, obviously acting as security as with the two goons downstairs. And with pretty much nothing but scaffolding to conceal you, you are quickly spotted.
The wave of panic is quickly interrupted by an authoritative voice shouting in a loudspeaker. "Everyone back to work ! We'll stay all night if need be !". The workers reluctantly go back to their posts. All suits adjust their positions to keep an eye on you. The source of the voice, the shorter man from a group of three, orders the one of his left. "Dan. Control room. Make a call." He then walks straight toward you. "What do we have here. You're trespassing. Get out of there now and we may leave it at that."
You notice the very unusual bracer on his left wrist, and the fact he dropped his loudspeaker to hold it tightly with his right hand as fast as possible.

[Rhyvurg]

John stares around, surprised but not that surprised. "Sure thing, sorry about that, must have taken a wrong turn and ended up in your probably illegal human testing lab where you were waiting for escaped super-inmates. We'll be going now." As he speaks, John pans his phone around, recording what's in the warehouse, as well as as many faces as he can get. "Have to love the new HD cameras on these things, you know?"

[Cazero]

"You're one to talk. Mr Vigilantism." While his colleagues adopted the stern and professional 'I'm not worried' look from their security staff manual, your interlocutor simply seem to not care about your recordings.
"Now are you getting out. Or do we have to. Legally. Shoot you out."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Gabriel rolled his eyes. He honestly didn't understand why people still called them vigilantes when the mayor had officially declared them the city's superheroes. Granted, there wasn't exactly room in the budget for publicizing the fact (there was barely room in the budget for lunch), but you'd think the media would have gotten it out there by now all on their own.

...Then again, it wasn't like Gabriel ever made it a point to talk to the cameras, so maybe he was being optimistic. Variety is the spice of life, after all.

"Okay, let's go over it again," he said, the menace in his voice somewhat undercut by the air of impatient frustration and vague annoyance. "Prisoners in the middle of a prison break had a map leading to this location. We were called upon by the city to thwart the prison break. Not all of the escapees have been accounted for. That makes this operation a manhunt, and this location a probable intended safehouse or gathering point for the escaping prisoners. Which, oops, your security guards outside already confirmed. Since the prison break is happening right now, that makes it a crime in progress, which makes our barging in here exigent circumstances. So, if you are really the law-abiding citizens you profess to be, you can put down your toys and stay out of the way while we conduct a thorough search of the premises for any fugitives, and then politely, truthfully, and thoroughly answer all the questions the police will be asking you when you arrive. Or you can illegally but that's still less relevant than stupidly try your hand at shooting three of the city's superheroes while they're acting in their official capacity and then you can use all of your degrees to write a peer-reviewable article on how empirically bad an idea that is."

Intimidation: [roll0].

[Cazero]

Still clinging on his bracer, the man close his eyes for a moment and take a heavy breath.
"I will allow your search. We have nothing to hide. Yet."
His smug smile poorly conceal his blood injected eyes, trembling left hand and weirdly paced speech, all apparent symptoms of taking something, and it looks like he just took a dose.
"And the two idiots downstairs. Are fired."