The Nightmare of SIDE

[Quellian-dyrae]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[herodofcows]

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

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

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

And now, to business!

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

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

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

Spoiler: Crunch

Show

Perception check around the nature of the blast:

(1d20+14)[21]

[Dodgeson]

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

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

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

Spoiler: Roll for Well-Informed

Show

(1d20+10)[21]

[Quellian-dyrae]

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

Spoiler: Hayseed

Show

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

Spoiler: Avery

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"Gawrsh! The Stourm Ronners?"

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

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

[HopeHubris]

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

I have absolutely no idea who any of these people are

[herodofcows]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spoiler: Contacts

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

Investigation: (1d20+10)[22]

[Quellian-dyrae]

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

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

Spoiler: Hayseed

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

[Dodgeson]

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

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

[herodofcows]

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

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

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

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

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

Spoiler: Crunch

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

(1d20+12)[18]

[Dodgeson]

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

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

[HopeHubris]

Well, Hayseed is certainly... chipper

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

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

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

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

[Dorni]

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

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

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

Spoiler: Actions

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

[HopeHubris]

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

[herodofcows]

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

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

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

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

[Quellian-dyrae]

Spoiler: Hayseed

Show

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

Spoiler: Caleb

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

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

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

[Dorni]

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

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

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

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

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

[herodofcows]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spoiler: Technology Check

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Gonna try to bring up security footage from the attack.

(1d20+10)[13]

[Quellian-dyrae]

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

[herodofcows]

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

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

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

Spoiler: Investigation

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

Investigation: (1d20+10)[22]

[Quellian-dyrae]

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

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

Spoiler: Caleb

Show

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

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

The next moment, everything is normal again.

[herodofcows]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Dodgeson]

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

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

[Dorni]

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

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

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

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

[herodofcows]

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

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

Hmm. Well, this might seem confusing . . .

"Back in a jiff!"

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

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

Spoiler: Crunch

Show

Mobility (for the Leaping effect of the mobility suit. Have to beat an 11 to use, or a 15 for full effect.): (1d20+17)[21]
Stealth (Using Hide in Plain Sight for sneakiness' sake): (1d20+16)[29]
Perception, looking for enemies: (1d20+14)[32]

[HopeHubris]

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

[Dorni]

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

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

[HopeHubris]

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

[Quellian-dyrae]

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

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

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

Spoiler: Perception DC 20; Hayseed your previous roll applies

Show

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

Spoiler: Well Informed DC 20, or Expertise (Dreamers or Criminal) DC 25; Hayseed has a +5 circumstance bonus on these checks, Caleb has +2, due to SIDE affiliation

Show

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

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

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

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

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

Spoiler: OOC

Show

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

Hayseed: (1d20+26)[40]
Avery: (1d20+12)[19]
Kyton: (1d20)[5]
Prophet: (1d20)[9]
Enemies: (1d20+13)[28].

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

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

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

[herodofcows]

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

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

Really, a shame . . .

BLAM

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

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

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

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

Spoiler: Crunch

Show

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

Attack (Aiming, Precise Attack, Power Attack): (1d10+7)[11], DC 25 Damage on a hit.

Stealth (Hide in Plain Sight): (1d20+16)[21]

[Dorni]

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

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