New Harbour Needs Heroes! (IC)

[Dodgeson]

"That's the best part." The Mayor explained, he had expected some questions and in fact he had prepared some notes for just this eventuality but luckily this was an easy one and he didn't even have to look over his desk. "You'll hardly even notice the difference, you just need to keep doing what you're doing and I think it'd be great for the city's morale if you guys could show up and say a few words every once in a while, really let them know that someone's watching out for them you know?"

He waited for a second to gauge the heroes' reaction, keeping his hands either side of himself on the desk "Oh and don't worry, you're not going to be expected to make any kind of endorsements or anything like that, this isn't about me or about politics, it's about the city and it's about the people."

[Llyarden]

Wildcard...froze.

Quite literally, in fact - with a faint fwoomph of dissipating energy, the flames around his head were replaced by ice. The air around him seemed...darker.

The Mayor wanted them to be the city's new heroes.

To replace the Protectorate.

He barely even noticed Platformer and Scylla's words.

They wanted him to replace Rachel.

He took a breath. The shadows...didn't exactly fade, per se, but at least retreated a little, coiling around him like snakes ready to strike.

"No offence, Mr Mayor, but this is quite the suggestion to spring on us with just a few days' notice. I...can't speak for the others -" especially since one of them had already given an emphatic answer "- but this isn't something I can decide on at the drop of a hat."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Just keep doing what they're doing, and maybe make some public appearances every so often. No endorsements of politics required, of course. Naturally, it was just a convenient coincidence of timing that New Harbour's new official hero team would assemble under Mayor Middleburg's watch. It wasn't like anyone would possibly read anything into that, least of all any prospective voters...

...Was all something Kevin Matthews definitely didn't think. Kevin had many gifts and was skilled in many fields. Politics was not one of them. Honestly he'd have more likely found it mildly weird that the Mayor didn't ask them to campaign on his behalf or something, but he wasn't even politically savvy enough to notice that. Truth was he was still pretty much looking at this entire conversation as small talk before they got a-

Oh, wait, duh. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it earlier. The celebrations where they were supposed to announce the whole thing. The mayor was asking them to be at a specific location at a particular time to announce themselves as heroes. Obviously, the event was going to get attacked, or somebody's experimental teleporter was going to malfunction and send a party member hurtling through time, or...honestly there'd probably be a kidnapping attempt on the mayor himself. But would stopping the kidnapping attempt be the quest, or would the kidnapping be a cut-scene and the rescue be the quest? Hrm...

That was an important question to answer, actually. In the former case, it was worth advising the mayor to step up his personal security; Kevin had no illusions that some mundane security guards would be able to meaningfully contribute to a battle on their scale, but they might be able to deter the bad guys from going after the mayor directly while they had the heroes to deal with. But in the latter case that just put them at risk of being Cutscene Casualties. Terrible way to go.

He might have considered asking if they would be on stage with the mayor, or if they would be backstage waiting for his introduction. In principle it would be harder to justify a kidnapping attempt going off without a hitch in they were right up on stage with him. But he hadn't had faith in cutscenes making sense ever since Yuna's wedding. ("You guys just plowed through like a score of these fools like nothing! They have to shoot you like eight times just to drop one of you and we have plenty of Phoenix Downs! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING I CAN'T EVEN ARGH!?")

Unfortunately that meant Kevin had no useful questions to ask, so he just kinda listened, nodding along.

[Starsign]

Blackcoat gauged the responses and reactions from the other heroes as he considered the mayor's offer. Being endorsed as new heroes is certainly good for one's reputation and popularity; and there's no doubt that a pirate lord always likes expanding their reputation across the world. As someone who's held a long history of being a pirate, however, Blackcoat has to consider what impact this will have on New Harbour. He had enough encounters and entanglements with the Protectorate from long ago to know that they were, figuratively, larger than life. For anyone to take their place is a big deal. For a pirate lord to be one such hero will have repercussions on the city.

He has his reservations, but he knows the way the wind's blowing with Platformer and Scylla's responses.

"It be an honor t' be part o' the New Protectorate. But ye askin' a lot askin' me." Blackcoat's voice is courteous, but wary, from a professional standpoint. "I be doin' a lot fer New Harbour, but haulin' a pirate to the city's new big heroes ain't somethin' that'll go down well fer everyone. If ye be fine with it, then I be happy to accept."

It looks like a mutually-beneficial agreement, and the group can use an experienced person to help guide the others, as necessary.

[Dodgeson]

To his credit the mayor took Wildcard's reaction, not quite in his stride but well enough, only jumping slightly in his chair as the shadows writhed and darkened. "Oh I completely understand if this is something you want to take some time to think about and I absolutely don't want you to feel pressured one way or the other." He reassured him before turning to the other heroes.

"On behalf the city I cannot thank the rest of you enough, I know that everyone is going to be sleeping a lot sounder knowing that you're all watching out for them. Anyway unless you've got anything else you want to hash out while you're here I wont take up any more of your time. My secretary has all the information that you'll need and I can't wait to see you all this weekend."

((Okay gang, do you have any other questions/anything you'd want to do before the festival or am I good to move us all along?))

[Dodgeson]

With no further questions our heroes were free to go, the mayor's slightly starstruck secretary (who totally hadn't been listening in by the door, no sir) waiting outside his office to supply them with everything they needed to know for the big day. They might have the rest of the week to themselves but soon the city was going to meet them, well most of them anyway.

((You know what? Everyone can take another downtime action for funsies))

---

Whatever our heroes chose to do in the intervening time, the big day would soon arrive and New Harbour came alive with a carnival atmosphere and the tantalizing sights, smells and sounds of hundreds of hopeful chefs plying their trade. Many streets had been closed off and cleared of cars to allow more stalls to be set up and festival goers to safely wander between them, and main street was no exception, what separated this from the surrounding area was the large stage that dominated the far end.

Although set up for various different acts and entertainment throughout the day it was currently playing host to New Harbour's very own The Buzz (The only station you need for all the hits!).

"Lets keep the hits coming, message in with your favourites and you'll get to hear it right today!" The first of the two hosts, a man in his twenties in a pair of reflective sunglasses enthused in to the mic in front of him "And don't forget to send in your favourite festival moments and the best ones will go on the big screen!" He jumped out of his seat and gestured to the large screen behind him, nobody could see it on the radio of course but it was the thought that counted.

"Uh oh, looks like someone's got a problem with the playlist." His co-host, a very minor metahuman with orange skin and a horrendous mullet (though that couldn't be blamed on the metagene) interjected, as much as the mayor had tried to keep the announcement of New Harbour's new heroes under wraps there had inevitably been leaks and that was probably why there was currently a mob marching towards the stage brandishing banners with the phrase NO MORE HEROES emblazoned on them

Spoiler: Perception (DC25)

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In the middle of the mob is a pale skinned woman who has very clearly put a lot of effort in to making it look like she does not in fact have eight arms.

Spoiler: Expertise:Superhuman (DC20)

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The woman in question goes by the name Delilah, less a supervillain and more of a super-hanger on, with the ability to produce mind-bending pheromones she hops from place to place as arm candy while the good times last before moving on, it was from one such arrangement that she obtained the cloak she wears that gives her access to some kind of extradimensional storage space.

[Starsign]

Blackcoat's time spent for the festivities was an incredibly busy one. First was assisting in paying for the festivities; New Harbour didn't have the funds without pivoting some from other parts of the city, and Blackcoat had plenty to spare. Secondly was letting the crew, including the new members, know about the "officialness" of Blackcoat as a superhero in New Harbour. For the most part, it shouldn't get in the way of his day-to-day duties. That said, it did apply more pressure on him to act as a superhero, rather than treat it as an activity stemming from his support for New Harbour.

The actual gravity of the situation, however, didn't become apparent until the day of the festivities. The flashing lights and parades are almost like the celebrations of old, of famed heroes being honored as people danced down the street. The raving and heavy beats of The Buzz, however, was something else entirely. In all Blackcoat's life, he had avoided underground dance and DJ places simply due to a lack of interest. He hardly had the time, and the right sleep schedule, to see what the experience is like. Just from this alone, he could only imagine the DJ places being a tonal overload of sights and sound, distracting and overwhelming to any degree that the sights of skies on fire and cannonball blasts are meagre in comparison.

Were it not for the co-host and his helpful pointer, Blackcoat would have missed the group of people marching in opposition to... heroes? The festivities? Hard to say at this point.

Blackcoat had been up on the stage, high up in the festivities, waving and greeting to those who had come to see and celebrate the New Protectorate. He rappels down, however, to the other heroes after seeing the mob. "Ye got some dissidents 'ere," Blackcoat points out, eyeing the mob analytically. "'fraid we'd have to tread water carefully in a crowded street." He pauses, letting the other heroes a chance to interject their thoughts while he focuses on the mob in the distance to garner their thoughts, and how dangerous and serious their protests are.

Spoiler: OOC

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This looks like a good opportunity for Blackcoat to Seen 'em All, Know 'em All. Using his Mind Reading 10 to gather surface thoughts on the mob, and with Subtle 2, no one should notice or be aware. DC 20 Will on one (assuming he only has a round for this) to determine the mob's hostility and interests/actions/thoughts.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Kevin had arrived at the fair early to take part in the festivities!

He was kinda disappointed, to be honest.

I mean, what kind of proper fair doesn't have a combat robot to beat up? Or a race to bet on? He couldn't find even a single way to earn Silver Points!

So Kevin kinda wandered around, playing the various games (none of them appeared to have any life-sized stuffed toy versions of him as prizes, but for something that important you had to be sure; especially considering Big E was orders of magnitude scarier than Lavos) and trying various fair foods and attempting to calculate which one offered the best hit points to gold piece dollar ratio. Which was about as incorrect as it was physically possible to be, but here we are.

And of course, keeping an eye out for any lost cats.

As the time drew nearer, Kevin headed in the general direction of the stage. He kinda boggled at the protestors when he saw them. Were they...were they from out of town, or something? Or did they want to be enslaved by the Leoni? He knew he was supposed to be trying to consciously consider and remember that people had full developed personalities and life experiences that drove their actions and made consistent internal sense to them. They weren't just mindless sprites doing things arbitrarily because that was what they were programmed to do.

But man, some people made it harder than others.

When Blackcoat dropped down beside him, Kevin greeted him with a nod. Tread water carefully, yeah. Made sense. Protesters gonna protest, it wasn't like he was going to stop protecting people because some folks waved some signs at him.

Except...

Kevin was not a particularly sociable hero. He'd always been an introvert, even without his powers drastically altering his perception of the world. He largely tried to stay out of the spotlight, and avoid the talky bits.

But...he was also trying to counterbalance some of the more negative impulses his powers gave him. Protesters gonna protest was too easy. It wasn't necessarily wrong, but it wasn't a view that he personally could afford to indulge. Every time he thought like that, he took one step closer to viewing the world as a game. As a kid, he had been able to afford that. But he was a superhero now. The stakes were real, and he had to treat them that way.

"I think...I need to talk to them," he said. He said it in a tone of voice that clearly indicated that it was a terrible idea and he knew it was a terrible idea.

Nonetheless. With a heavy sigh, Kevin leaped over to the protesters, a single bound carrying him to land in front of them. Between that and his costume they probably wouldn't have any trouble recognizing who he was.

"Hi," he said. Off to a good start!

"Um. So, I'm a hero, so I guess you're protesting me? Uh, why?"

This was actually pretty good by Kevin's standards. He didn't stand silently in front of them waiting for a dialog box to open at all!

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Despite knowing that Scylla's position as a hero was supposed to be an official thing now, Iara came to the festival with her Persona turned off. Paying cash for junk food and saying hi to friends from church is a lot easier in an identity that is otherwise basically invisible. People invite all kinds of visitors from out of town, so it's not like people are asking for papers.

Her plan was to go change and meet up with the rest of the team before their stage appearance, but the protesters showed up a fair bit early for that. Iara can wrap her head around the idea that modern society's reliance on superheroes isn't healthy, but she's not sure what the group intends to actually do about it.

She stands to the side as innocuously as she can - pretty innocuous, as it would turn out - and listens in on Kevin's conversation.

[Dodgeson]

Platformer was off to a great start as he approached the angry mob and attempted to open a constructive dialogue in the most nonthreatening manner possible, unfortunately for him, the most immediate protester was having none of that and simply unloaded on the poor boy.

(Yes I know Kevin wasn't strictly speaking wasn't a boy any more but he'll always be 1/3 of Pending Objective to me.)

"YOU HAVE SOME NERVE COMING HERE, WE DON'T NEED YOUR KIND IN THIS CITY THINKING YOUR ALL THAT TEACHING KIDS THAT VIOLENCE IS THE ANSWER TO ALL THEIR PROBLEMS! DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE DAMAGE! PEOPLE TRYING TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES AND THEIR BUSINESSES AND YOU COME RAMPAGING THROUGH AND RUINING LIVES! YOU'RE ALL IN ON IT TOGETHER I DONT CARE WHAT STUPID CRAP YOU WEAR! IF YOU REALLY CARED YOU'D GET A BADGE OR JOIN THE ARMY THOSE ARE THE REAL HEROES!"

And on and on the enraged and slightly pudgy man went, getting far too close up in Platformer's personal space it might have almost been enough to distract him from an almost imperceptible shift in the air...

Spoiler: OOC

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Platformer give me a DC20 Fort Save vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled, the effect is Subtle and requires a DC20 Perception check to notice.

[Llyarden]

Wildcard hadn't ever gotten back to the Mayor with whether he was going to be at the festival.

But Jake was there, lurking unobtrusively - which was pretty easy for him seeing as, y'know, people only really ever saw the wild clash of elemental energy when he was around and not the person beneath the mask. And he...well, I mean, to say he was enjoying the festival wasn't exactly accurate, even if it had been five years he still couldn't help but remember what it was like to be at the festival with Rachel, but...I mean, he'd just finished a hot dog and had somehow found himself with one of those swirly sticks with candy floss on the end, and had a little packet of handmade sweets tucked into his pocket, and he was enjoying the atmosphere...

Right up until the moment that he saw the anti-hero bunch. He was a little surprised to not see the ostensible figurehead of the local anti-hero groups not here, but all that meant was that she was probably tucked away somewhere ready to release a pre-recorded 'live' podcast either on how New Harbour didn't need heroes if nothing happened or on how the heroes of New Harbour had left the police complacent etc if something did.

Now Jake was, in all honesty, not too opposed to the anti-hero people in some cases. Sometimes they actually did make arguments that were almost sensible if you squinted at them real hard, and he could certainly understand, even if he didn't agree with them, why people would be worried when there were superpowered folks flying around without any real oversight or central authority.

Then at other times they claimed that the Protectorate and Alchemaster had been working together to ruin the city for their own benefit. Because that made sense.

And it was that latter accusation that meant Jake regularly used the computer in his basement, which was still connected to the Protectorate's systems and via them some of the old police data files, to keep tabs on the local anti-hero conspiracy theorists. Just in case any of them ever did something stupid that he could get them sent to prison for.

Spoiler: OOC

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Just gonna throw out a Well-Informed on Shouty McShoutFace: (1d20+20)[38] First a 20 now an 18. I feel like Jake has one of those conspiracy-style corkboards with red string everywhere tracking the local anti-hero bunch...

[Quellian-dyrae]

This was actually not the worst possible way this could have gone.

The worst possible way this could have gone was if the protester had just chanted a slogan at him over and over. Probably would have set his "people are not just pre-programmed sprites with only one line of dialogue" training back two entire years.

But this, this was actually helpful. There was such variety in the protester's ranting! Nobody would have programmed this many different anti-hero grievances into some nameless background sprite on the off chance the player would interact with them. And while the conclusions were suspect at best, some of them even mutually contradictory, there was a...not so much consistency as a sort of coherence to them. What we had here was a mind that was actively optimizing for worldviews that supported the conclusion that superheroes were bad. But that wouldn't happen naturally, because superheroes were awesome, so it had to be the result of some specific event, or series of events, that had influenced this mind's internal goal system, which could only come as the result of backstory!

It wasn't that Kevin didn't know that all the regular people around him had actual lives and histories and such, intellectually. But it was kinda amazing to him to see it hinted at in a person's present actions in a way he could actually recognize, rather than say being brought up explicitly as setting fodder for a quest or something. It really was helpful to Kevin's efforts to interact with this individual as if he was a real, living person with hopes and-

"Do you have a name, by any chance?" Kevin asked during a brief lull in the sustained ranting.

...So I suppose what I'm saying here is that Kevin needs a lot of help. Well, okay then. Solid try.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Iara cringes at the feedback from the bullhorn.

"Ugh, you hypocrite!" She stomps up to the leader, unable to take their crappy rant anymore. "You call yourself a protester? You can't stoke hope for an egalitarian future if you just go running back to gun culture! Give me that, I'll show you how it's done."

If she can bamboozle them into handing it over for a moment, she turns the bullhorn on the protest itself - preaching to the choir, but at a more reasonable distance from anyone's poor faces. If not, she'll just get in their face and shout them down the old-fashioned way. Either way, she goes off.

She shouts about how our obsession with heroes, super or otherwise, is an unhealthy abdication of human responsibility.
She shouts about their roots in an ancient and dangerous belief in the moral superiority of the powerful.
She shouts that the modern hero, like the army and the police before them, have been given a license to do harm with no accountability.
She shouts that we, their people, must revoke that license now, before that corrupting power drives us all to ruin.
...and she believes every word.

In short, she tries to take over the protest and let them make their actual point already.

Spoiler

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Deception(shenanigans): (1d20+16)[28]

[Starsign]

More relaxed than the other heroes, Blackcoat kept his distance at the angry mob until, quite unfortunately, Platformer got an earful of the sheer anger they had at him. This sort of vitriol was unfortunate, given it's a day of celebration. In the past, those who lost their cool, especially toward figures of authority, would be made an example out of. Alas, that's not how a hero should act, particularly in front of a crowd as big as this. In fact, it'd be best to not draw their ire, given the lack of focus they had. Blackcoat's guess was that if they were let be long enough, they would eventually leave due to lacking a particular drive and target.

The moment Scylla walked up to them, however, there'd be no more ignoring the protestors. In hindsight, however, that may have been the better option.

Finding his voice would be drowned if he spoke, Blackcoat walks up over to Wildcard. "They jus' be shoutin' out like a net in th' sea," the captain comments quietly about the mob. "Might've jus' been lookin' fer attention. Would've said t' just leave 'e be 'til they jump ship outta boredom," he eyes Scylla and Platformer, "Would we've stayed quiet. Be ready for everything, lad." Blackcoat waited just behind Platformer and Scylla, letting the two control the conversation, up until the situation demanded a more active role.

[Dodgeson]

A lot of stuff happened in very quick succession, first Kevin asked another eminently reasonable question and was met with another torrent of barely coherent abuse "I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU ANYTHING! WHAT ARE YOU A COP!? NO OF COURSE YOU'RE NOT YOU DON'T WANT TO PUT THE WORK IN DO YOU!? YOU JUST WANT ALL THE FAME AND GLORY WHILE US REGULAR JOES HAVE TO SIT BY AND LET YOU DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! WHERE DO YOU FREAKS AND WEIRDOS GET OFF CRAWLING OUT OF THE WOODWORK!? NEVER HAD ANY OF THIS BACK OUT IN THE OLD DAYS AND WE GOT ON JUST FINE WITHOUT YOU!"

But luckily Wildcard did in fact already know who he was, because apparently this is how he spent his free time. Paul Larsen, a former construction worker born and raised in New Harbour, he went through a divorce and no longer gets to see his kids, this is somehow the fault of superhumans. He's largely harmless (although he does have a very loud fondness for guns) but if you're part of the anti-superhuman weirdosphere he's definitely a face that's going to pop up in call ins and comment sections.

And then Scylla made to forceably take over the protest?! More than happy to swell their numbers and slightly surprised she had no problem in grabbing the bullhorn and starting to make their arguments right back at them, bringing the mob to a halt for the moment as they cheered along with the newcomer, adding their own gripes and grievances to hers.

Spoiler: OOC

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Platformer & Scylla give me a DC20 Fort Save vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled, the effect is Subtle and requires a DC20 Perception check to notice.

As could be expected, and especially with the current turn of events, the mob had started to draw quite a crowd of its own, people turning their attention away from the stalls and fancies that surrounded them to watch what was happening with their phones out. All in all, if you were taken to be a paranoid person you might say the whole thing was a wonderful distraction...

Spoiler: Perception (DC20)

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Working their way around the back of the stalls was a bizzare looking humanoid in a pinstripe suit that seems like they'd step right out of an old fashioned cartoon, casually laying out bundles of dynamite as they went.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Scylla, still in her sweater-clad human guise as Iara, continues being annoyed at the competing protester for bullying Kevin. "Hey! Leave him alone! Are you seriously worried about glory?" She raises the bullhorn, no longer caring about having it in this particular person's face. "GLORY ITSELF IS MEANINGLESS! WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT YOU DO!"

It's roughly now that she gets a look in the crowd's eyes. Like, a good look, long and focused enough to see that something inside them is already straining to rationalize their behavior. "...but you already know that, don't you? You all..." ...no, she feels it too. A nebulous anger, rising up inside her. Unconscious, alien, not really hers. Another spirit, trying to get inside her? Or maybe a siren like herself, using lame rhetoric instead of music?

She raises the bullhorn again. "WHY ARE WE ALL HERE? WE'RE ALL MARCHING AND ANGRY, AND WE CAN'T ADEQUATELY EXPLAIN WHY! THE ONLY THING THAT FEELS RIGHT IS TO SHOUT UNTIL SOMEONE ACKNOWLEDGES IT! THIS ISN'T A PROTEST, IT'S A CRY FOR HELP!" She nods to Kevin, who also seems to be realizing that something's wrong, then scans the gathered throng to find its epicenter, who has hopefully been thrown off-balance. Who's really calling the shots here?

...it's probably the bully who's still standing right next to her, isn't it. She stole his bullhorn, but it's probably not a magic device or anything.

[Starsign]

Taking care not to further incite an angry group of people while Scylla uses their own tactics against them, Blackcoat gives a wide distance from the protestors. As he imagined well before the festival, a pirate lord is an easy target for misplaced or emotional anger towards superheroes; he wouldn't do well to give them something that legitimizes their actions.

However, he can't help but shake something is missing here. It takes a lot, genuinely a lot of anger to go out and cause such a scene. They don't have anyone or anything to really focus on, when they usually need some sort of emotional drive to spend time with this protest. Something must have convinced them to act on this particular day, at this particular position.

Blackcoat gives a quick scan of the crowd around the area. People, civilians, party-goers... there's almost something unusual here, but he can't make it out. While Blackcoat had long claimed that having an eyepatch doesn't do much for his eyesight, he has to admit it can get in the way.

Rather than wait, however, Blackcoat detoured into and through the crowd watching the protestors, Kevin and Scylla argue and yell amongst each other. So far, it looks like the day may end with nothing worse than some verbal screaming, but one can't be too sure of anyone taking advantage of the situation.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Since Kevin didn't know Iara was Scylla, he didn't really see anything odd about her joining the protest. His brain flagged her as just one more Protest Sprite. Look, he's trying, okay?

But it was kinda irrelevant regardless, because Protester Guy had just said something that Kevin's honor couldn't allow to pass by.

"Okay now that's just silly. The average police officer receives about twenty-one weeks of training before they're qualified to go on patrol. Army basic training is half that, but I'm pretty sure a soldier in basic training actually lives on the base and spends more hours per day in training, so it probably balances out?" Thus sayeth Google, anyway. "I was a student of St. Ambrose for four years before I was officially qualified as a superhero. And we did live at the school while in session," and also, you know, fought off alien invasions and stopped super-criminals and survived a doomed future in the process. "So I'm pretty sure in terms of intensity it's closer to the soldier scale than the police scale. We can agree to disagree about a lot of things, but don't go trying to tell a St. Ambrose alumnus that they didn't put in the work to qualify for the job. That's just mistaken as a matter of simple math."

Kevin remained calm as he spoke, but it was kinda a near thing. Really, how dare this guy talk down superheroes like that? He probably never had to fight a single supervillain, never had to decide whether it was better to push his powers to their limits in an untested attempt to prevent a city-block-destroying explosion, or to just race the robot-girl-turned-bomb in question off to a hopefully-mostly-unoccupied area, throw up the biggest barrier he could, and hope the little 5 hovering by a picture of his face at the top of his field of vision meant he'd come out the other side. What had he done when the Leoni had attacked his city!?

Kevin blinked. Those thoughts...were not how he would normally think. Not even close. Fact was, this guy wasn't a hero, wasn't a protagonist, wasn't a Player Character. Kevin had precisely zero expectation that people like him could or should try to do the sorts of things Kevin himself did on a daily basis. So why should he care what this guy thought?

As Kevin realized the hostility was being externally induced, he reached out with his inner senses, seeking the source. And say what you will about what his Mom had done to keep the true nature of his powers secret, it did mean he had some experience with subtle mental influence.

His eyes suddenly snapped straight to the woman trying to hide her multiple arms.

Okay. There was more to this protest than meets the eye. A quick shift into third-person view and a paused sweep of the area...and the multi-armed woman with the mind control power or whatever it was quickly became a secondary concern. The protest itself managed tertiary at best.

Platformer: Multi-armed woman in the crowd is doing something to push aggression. It's hard to notice, but she tried to tag me with it. [Picture]
Platformer: Cartoon-looking guy in a pinstriped suit [Picture] setting bundles of dynamite behind the stalls [16-bit map, with dynamite locations marked with little bomb icons].
Platformer: I got the bombs.

*I know Kevin isn't aware of Scylla's identity and I don't think Wildcard's in his heroic persona either, but he's messaging them in case they're nearby, activating two ranks of his Chat so it'll reach them if they're within a mile.

Chat message sent, Kevin took off in a sudden blur of movement, racing around the area to grab up each of the dynamite bundles before leaping into the air and hurling them high into the sky, followed up shortly thereafter with a fireball to detonate them, the better part of a mile up, which should be well out of range of causing any harm to anyone on the ground.

He landed back in his original position, and glanced at Protester Guy. "Sorry, gonna have to cut this discussion short."

He turned to face the cartoony guy in the pinstriped suit, fire blazing to life around the rune-carved staff in his left hand, lightning crackling around his right fist, as he slid into a ready stance and narrowed his eyes. "I've got a job to do."

Spoiler

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Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics. 10 points to Run/Jump, 8 points to Activate, 4 points to Third-Person Viewpoint, 10 points to In-Game Chat (2 ranks, Rapid 1, Feature), 9 points to Strike, 9 points to Shoot.

Free: Chat.

Move+Free: Run through the area grabbing all the unattended dynamite with Free Lift feature. Leap somewhere in the Distance rank 7-8 range into the air.

Standard: Activate Linked Strike/Shoot, throw the dynamite another Distance rank 4-5ish and blast it with a fireball. If mechanics matter literally at all call it Power Attack for 5, Routine attack for 14, Toughness DC 29 vs. Damage.

Move-by Action: Double-jump and land back in prior position.

Free: Quip.

Initiative: (1d20+12)[13]. ...I suppose that's fair considering I did all of that in terms of combat actions.

Current Status: Normal.

[Dodgeson]

Wildcard and Captain Blackcoat continued to watch the scene unfold as Kevin and Scylla continued to argue with the mob in front of them, but being so close to the action it wouldn't take either of them long to realise that they were being played and that the strange looking woman looking woman in the middle of the them was the culprit, not only that but she wasn't alone either!

In the blink of an eye Kevin left the to screech impotently and gathered the dynamite from behind the stalls and launched it in to the air where they promptly vanished before his fireball could impact them before landing back in front of the cartoony bomber himself! Stopping as they placed a fresh bundle of the bright red explosives at Kevin's feet, they slowly craned their neck up until their strange eyes met the hero's own.

"Hey there, great festival weather huh?" He greeted him with a cheshire grin that showed off a mouth full of pointed teeth "WE'VE BEEN MADE!!!"

"Of course we have..." The woman at the centre of the mob sighed, she knew that Kevin and Scylla had gotten wise to her pheromones but she was hoping she could have played it off just a little bit longer to give her cohorts a little while longer to set up, unfortunately the little freak couldn't even lie low "No need to keep hiding now darling."

"FINALLY! I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA SUFFOCATE IN THERE..." A gruff voice came from a one of the food stands before it exploded outwards to reveal a hulking ogre of a man wearing a hideous patchwork suit of his own. Kevin, you know exactly who this is.

This wasn't the only familiar face though as a young girl with long white hair wearing a much nicer pinstripe suit (lot of suits going around right now, I swear this wasn't intentional) floated down from one of the surrounding buildings to hover by the bomber. Scylla, you've seen this girl before, she was a homeless girl that Father Joe took in for a while. He didn't manage to get much out of her than that she had lost her parents in the Alchemaster's attack, until one morning she simply wasn't there any more. The suit and the flying are definitely new though...

"Does this mean we don't get to the pickles...?" She asked in a distant spacey voice.

"After we get paid Lucy honey." The bomber reassured her.

Back in the mob, the many armed woman shrugged off her disguise and with a swirl of the cloak around her shoulders each of her hands was now holding a menacing looking tommy gun "Your move heroes."

Spoiler: Expertise:Superhuman (DC20)x3

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Spoiler: Six-Arms

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She goes by the name Delilah, less a supervillain and more of a super-hanger on, with the ability to produce mind-bending pheromones she hops from place to place as arm candy while the good times last before moving on, it was from one such arrangement that she obtained the cloak she wears that gives her access to some kind of extradimensional storage space.

Spoiler: Big Guy

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Big Al, a walking talking gangster stereotype who lucked in to a reasonably high end brick powerset. Unfortunately for him this hasn't done him much good because he's a born mook. Easily taken advantage of by smarter or more charismatic individuals he's acted as muscle for almost every would be mastermind or villain you could mention, punctuated only by failed attempts to strike out on his own.

Spoiler: Bomber

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Goes by many names, Madcap, Mr Funny, Tex, nobody's quite sure what he actually is, crazy reality bender? Dimensional traveller from a higher order reality? Escapee from Faerie? It doesn't help that he gives conflicting answers whenever he's asked. Whatever the case may be they like to cause anarchy via the medium of big explosions. About the only nice thing you can say about him is that he goes out of his way not to harm kids.

Spoiler: OOC

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Okay gang, we have a map and you know what I learned today? Roads are much narrower than I thought they were! Anyway not quite sure where Wildcard and Blackcoat want to be, so go ahead and place them wherever.

The green squares currently have the mob in them, they're riled and mad and anyone who is in those squares at the end of the villain turn will end up getting hit by a randomised PL6 attack! Try not to think about what happens if they get caught in an AoE.

Initiative
Platformer 13
Wildcard (1d20+20)[28]
Scylla (1d20+10)[14]
Blackcoat (1d20+8)[15]

Villains (1d20+8)[15]

Wildcard is on turn!

[Llyarden]

Wildcard: Multi-arm is Delilah. She can create mind-altering pheremones, and her cloak is an extradimensional space.
Wildcard: The guy in the atrocious suit is Big Al. He's big, strong, and has a very tough physiology. He's the strongest of the four.
Wildcard: No-one really knows much about the cartoon man, except that he makes up a different name and backstory for himself every time anyone asks. And I have no idea who the floaty lady is.
Wildcard: None of these four exactly scream 'supervillain.' Or even 'capable of organising other henchmen.' There might be someone else pulling the strings.
Wildcard: I'll get the civilians out of harm's way.

With a whole second or so dedicated to the Chat, Jake moved.

From somewhere within the crowd of people, swirling energies erupted like a tornado, pulses of violet light sweeping the civilians clear surprisingly gently considering how many people were being hurtled around at high speed - and yes he did move the mob out of the way as well, although he kinda split them up and left them all over the place rather than let them stay in a big angry clump.

At the centre of the maelstrom, the shimmering light of energy resolved itself into Wildcard, who was thrumming with shadows and ice, just as he had been when the Mayor had made the suggestion of them becoming the official protectors of the city - except this time he came jumping at the mad bomber, unleashing a blaze of dark energies rimed with frost at the cartoon figure.

Spoiler: OOC

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Free: Set Control Elements to Wobbling Flight, Energy Sheathe, 3 ranks of Strength from Kinetic Control, and 25 random points: Hindering Cloud + Gravity Pull, Freeze, Wind Wall + Aerorepulsion.
Free: Configure Control Elements to Broad Non-Cumulative Weaken All Movement (which is supposed to be Will-based, apparently I never specified in the sheet!) Linked Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed Affliction Linked Close Deflect.
Move: Speedster with 4 miles of movement and 400lbs carrying capacity to move everyone somewhere safe, end up in AD7.
Standard: Attack Madcap with Control Elements, power attacking for 2: (1d20+8)[26]. DC22 Will vs Weaken All Movement and DC22 Fort vs Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed on a hit. Wildcard is Deflected.

Status: Deflected.

[Dodgeson]

Almost as quickly as Wildcard passed on his tactical insight to the rest of the team, the angry mob was gone, shuffled away a safe distance along with the rest of the civilians in the blink of an eye before the hero returned, battering the bizarre bomber with frost and cold!

"Well you realise of course that this means war...?" The sharply dressed snowman in front of him declared, before bursting forwards and swinging out at him with an enormous mallet!

Next to him 'Lucy' watched the snowflakes flutter down around her with an awed "Ooo..." Sticking out her tongue to catch it before shuddering at the cold and turning her attention towards Wildcard. "I don't think I like you..." She decided, which wouldn't in and of itself be too threatening until her eyes started to glow...

Slightly further up the street Big Al took in his surroundings for a moment and almost immediately zeroed in on Kevin, it was widely known by this point (some might even call it a running gag) that he wasn't the brightest penny in the fountain, but he trusted his gut and right now it was telling that he didn't like this specific hero beyond even his normal hatred for costumed do-gooders. Clearing the distance between them with a single pavement cracking leap he brought both his enormous fists down on Kevin as hard as he could!

Even if he couldn't quite place him.

Now bereft of the protection and leverage her mob of duped meatshields gave her Delilah decided that standing right out in the open was no longer the best idea and began to dash away up the street, hoping that her more colourful cohorts would be able to draw most of the attention as she made a beeline for Blackcoat, after all he might be in her way right now, but he also had a lot of money.

"So what's a pirate lord doing throwing in with these guys? It's so beneath you." She asked, even as she retracted her arms in to her cloak to withdraw a sextet of silver rapiers, slashing out at him a well coordinated display designed to leave her with no obvious weak point for a counter attack.

Spoiler: OOC

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Madcap
Move: Feint using Expertise (Slapstick) at (1d20+15)[24] Doesn't matter because Wildcard has Uncanny Dodge
Standard: Attack Wildcard with Ol' Reliable (1d20+10)[23] DC25 Toughness & DC20 Fortitude vs Dazed&Impaired/Stunned&Disabled if that hits. Hits
End of Turn: DC22 Fortitude to remove Vulnerable (1d20+10)[24] Recovers

Lucy
Move: Nah
Standard: Attack Wildcard with (1d7)[5] Bamboozle Beam (1d20+10)[14] DC20 Will vs Progressive Impaired/Compelled/Controlled (Limited:Actions chosen randomly, Impaired can be ignored any turn a random action is followed) & Weaken Will Miss

Big Al
Move: Move to K11
Standard: Attack Platformer with Pound (1d20+8)[21] DC31 Toughness & DC26 Fortitude vs Cumulative Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated if that hits. Hit

Delilah
Move: Move to E9
Standard: Attack Blackcoat with Saber Dance (1d20+10)[13] DC25+Multiattack Toughness if that hits. Delilah is Deflected at 1d10+22. Miss

Heroes are on turn!

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Scylla: So, I might be a minute...

Iara instinctively jumps out of the way of the oncoming hulk, only to realize that she was apparently beneath Al's notice. She understands everyone running away from miss manyswords, but somehow this guy's disregard bothers her more. She slips around the side of the big guy and uses her borrowed bullhorn as close to his head as she can reach.

"HEY! WHAT AM I, CHOPPED LIVER?"

Obvious distraction is obvious, but she's pretty hard to ignore.

Spoiler

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Using Aid to give Kevin an opening, since she's still Iara right now. She doesn't want to give away her secret identity that easily. Complications are important!

(1d20)[5] + ???

I guess this is just a default accuracy check at +10? Or can she use her +16 in Deception as she would with a feint?

[Quellian-dyrae]

Kevin just smirked as Big Al came at him. He had faced the powerhouse twice before (well okay, he had faced the powerhouse once before, but he'd also faced a highly realistic simulation of him once before that). But that was when he had still been in school, still been unaware of the true extent of his power. Kevin had grown much stronger since then. As Big Al let loose with one of his typical heavy swings, Kevin just casually raised a hand to block it.

Turned out? Big Al had gotten stronger too. His blow smashed straight through Kevin's block and smashed him full in the face. Health dropping precipitously, Kevin hit pause, entered a cheat code, unpaused, repaused, entered a second cheat code, and still came out of it flickering with a notch taking out of his life bar.

...Well. Okay then. That happened. Accept it and move on.

Fortunately, to all outside appearances, Kevin tanked the blow with little visible sign of problem, give-or-take some flickering. So as far as Big Al was concerned, he was entirely justified in Chatting to him:

Platformer: Wow, really?
Platformer: Is that all you've got?
Platformer: That dinky little punch is what you bring to the table against me?
Platformer: The Platformer?
Platformer: The guy who once called your mother so ugly they thought she had superpowers?
Platformer: ...By the way, is she still listed in the database as a fear and nausea manipulator?
Platformer: Oh snap!

Was it kinda immature? Yes. But it had to be done. The unmistakable force of destiny couldn't be denied.

A contented smile on his face, Kevin dropped the Chat and began holding down the L and R keys.

But Kevin was stronger now, his powers more flexible. He wasn't restricted to just playing defense anymore. Even as azure barriers of protective force began glowing around his arms and hands, Kevin struck out with a more deadly weapon by far - his feet! Bounding into the air, Kevin came stomping down at Big Al's head. Now, Kevin was a compactly-built guy, weighing in at around a hundred and fifty pounds or so. You wouldn't think that dropping a hundred and fifty pounds on a powerhouse's head would really do much. Even discounting Big Al's own resilience, Kevin was capable of exerting superhuman strength. Adding the force of gravity to it was kinda a drop in the bucket.

But physics had precisely nothing to do with the power of Kevin's iconic stomp attack. Not any more. Not now that he fully understood how his powers worked. In the past, sure, Kevin's powers had subtly altered reality so his stomps just kinda hit with greater force, because he expected them to. And his own expectations - not desires, not intentions, not stated beliefs, but is actual, unconscious expectations - did still influence how his powers worked. It was just...now he knew he could expect more of them.

And at the end of the day, what Kevin expected, given his powers were unconscious reality warping exercised through the medium of video games, and in particular giving him the powers of a classic platform hero, was that if he jumped on an enemy's head, that enemy would be defeated.

And thus it would be - if he could jump squarely on their head. Not always the easiest thing in live combat against superhuman opponents.

Spoiler

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Free: Chat.

Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics. 5 points to Run/Jump, 5 points to Block (foregoing the Secondary Effect), 10 points to Shielding Block, 10 points to Strike, 10 points to Stomp, 10 points to Stunning Strike.

Move: Jump at Big Al.

Standard: Attack Big Al with Stunning Stomp, +2 from Aid, Defensive Attack for 2, at (1d20+10)[16]. Regardless of the attack result (Perception), Defense DC 25 vs. Damage. If the attack does hit, also Will DC 20 vs. Immobilized+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless. Kevin is Deflected at +8 with Reflect.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, DA +2, Reflect +8 (I work on the assumption that Defensive Attack doesn't apply to Deflect).

[Llyarden]

Madcap pulling a big ol' hammer out of nowhere kinda caught Jake by surprise. He'd been expecting more dynamite.

Nonetheless, his energy barrier blocked the worst of the effect, and he came away from being thwacked on the head with nothing more than a faint dent in his barrier...a dent which momentarily became a pulsating, cartoon-esque bump as Madcap's powers did their thing.

Jake...kinda narrowed his eyes at him. "This is not the right place or time for you to joke about a war between superheroes and supervillains," he said, coolly - and then he swung another icy fist at the cartoon man.

Except this time space warped and distended around his arm and vines that looked more like the tendrils of some eldritch beast than anything else lashed from his wrist, seeking to drain his energy to restore Wildcard's own.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move: Power up Control Elements.
Free: Set Control Elements to Elemental Blast and 50 random points: Disintegrate, Spores, Freeze, Leech Life, Layered Power.
Free: Wish I'd given him an ability to let him reroll if he would end up with more than four effects.
Free: Reconfigure Control Elements: Defence-Resisted Damage 10 Linked Cumulative Affliction Linked Limited 2 Restorative Healing.
Standard: Attack Madcap, power attacking for 2: (1d20+8)[10]. DC27 Defence vs Damage and DC22 Fort vs Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed on a hit. If he fails by any amount, Wildcard heals his Bruise. Too angry to punch straight, apparently.

Status: 1 Bruise (maybe)

[Starsign]

Blackcoat had a lot to thank to Platformer and the other heroes for revealing the ploy behind the distraction, as the festival and protestors left him, in hindsight, quite shortsighted and disoriented. Had it not been for everyone else, he would've let a disaster slip well before he'd have discovered it.

Perhaps he had been getting too old for this?

...

Nah, just an unfortunate day in a life full of many, many days.

Slow on his draw, the pirate lord had his cutlass and pistol drawn just in time to see Delilah choosing him as her opponent for the day. Wildcard's prior information, on that bizarre technological chat program Blackcoat has yet to figure out, provided meagre but relevant information. Not unlike a swordfight, resisting anything to the mind requires a strong will and an even greater focus. To do so while fighting, however, is an especially troublesome task requiring the pirate to keep himself at his best.

More concerning are her choice of weapons. Rapiers have always been a wonderful-looking sword, to Blackcoat, but unfortunately not his style of swordplay. The flair and wit of a fencer never quite fit a swashbuckler with a sense for pragmatism when needed. That said even dual-wielding rapiers is a bizarre style of fighting he's rarely seen, and he's sure never seen someone wield six at once. How one manages it without accidently slipping or skewering themselves, by Blackcoat's mind, requires a length of training and practice rivaling his own.

"I jus' be changin' as t' winds blow," he emphasizes, keeping his training in mind as he deflects the blades with flicks of his wrist, easily deflecting Delilah's unsynchronized blade thrusts. Villanous piracy ain't had th' reward for t' risks like before." His casual, matter-of-fact speech pairs with his sword play as he stepped forward and flicked his wrist again, letting his sharp cutlass slice and cut at Delilah's arms, the weak link of her fighting style.

Spoiler: OOC

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Alrighty. Let's do that sword duel! Let's go with Flurry of the High Seas, DC 25+Multiattack Toughness on hit: (1d20+10)[23]

[Dodgeson]

Platformer wholeheartedly believed that landing on an enemy's head would be enough to vanquish even the staunchest of foes and as a reality warper the universe was mostly good enough to oblige. Unfortunately Big Al didn't give a single damn what either he or the universe thought should happen and powered through it out of sheer stubbornness, the smaller boy bouncing of his hulking and misshapen frame.

Then he saw his message and on the one hand this did mean that Big Al could in fact read but on the other, he suddenly knew exactly why he felt such animosity to the hero in front of him.

"NOBODY TALKS ABOUT MY MOMMA LIKE THAT YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!" He bellowed, rearing up and swinging wildly at the source of his ire with his enormous meaty fist.

Elsewhere on the street Madcap's body bent in to an inhuman bow shape to twist around Wildcard's own bizzare limb before settling back in to his regular shape "Aww come on, don't be such a sourpuss! Dontcha know you're not fully dressed with a smile?" The sound of an engine revving up quickly filled the as he tossed the hammer over his shoulder and replaced it with a comically over-sized chainsaw!

Behind the cartoon criminal 'Lucy' seemed to be losing interest in what was going on in front of her and started to drift off in to the street but not before casting her gaze over Wildcard once more, bathing him in the shifting coloured light from her wide eyes.

By the stage Delilah and Blackcoat clashed in a flurry of steel, neither of them managing to find a gap in the other's defences "And playing hero does?" She asked, withdrawing her arms back in to her cloak "Making good with all these law and order types can't be any fun at all." Where once she was holding swords, Delilah was back to brandishing her myriad tommy guns, brandishing two at the pirate, she didn't even bother looking behind her as she swiveled her arms around and opened fire on the other heroes.

Spoiler: OOC

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Big Al
Move: Nah
Standard: All-Out Attack +5 at Platformer with Slam (1d20+13)[32] DC31 Toughness & DC26 Defence/Strength or be launched if that hits. Hit

Mapcap
Move: Nah
Standard: Attack Wildcard with Big Honkin' Chainsaw (1d20+10)[18] DC25+Multiattack Defence vs Damage if that hits Hit

'Lucy'
Standard: Attack Wildcard with (1d7)[3] Boring Eye Beams (1d20+10)[22] DC25 Defence vs Damage
Move: Float to AD12

Delilah
Move: Dazed
Standard: +2 Accurate Attack Blackcoat, Platformer & Wildcard with All the Guns, DC23 Toughness vs Damage if that hits
Blackcoat (1d20+9)[13] Miss
Platformer (1d20+9)[11] Miss
Wildcard (1d20+9)[29] Crit
End of turn: Deflect's Secondary Effect triggers

Heroes are on turn

[Llyarden]

Now, it was worth restating that Jake's control over his powers was...imperfect. So this might have been why, when faced with a chainsaw out of nowhere he raised his arms to protect himself, the swirling shield over his body sprouted a hard carapace of ancient oak.

Against a chainsaw.

It went about as well as you would expect. To give Jake credit, he was used enough to his powers messing up that he managed to dodge the worst of the chainsaw...and then he got nailed in the side by eye lasers. Since when had she had eye lasers?

When Delilah fired her machine guns without even looking in the direction of her targets, and the hail of bullets didn't even come close to the others but went right for his head, he couldn't help but feel a little ganged up on. I mean the bullets bounced off his oaken carapace, but still.

Oh, and his left arm was apparently stuck on 'ice' mode.

"This really isn't my day," he grumbled, taking a moment to repair the big honkin' hole in his barrier that the big honkin' chainsaw had carved.

He didn't back down, though. Instead he looked back at Madcap. "If you're feeling talkative, how about you go ahead and tell me who paid you to disrupt this festival!" He came at the cartoon villain with a quick jab from his icy fist - and then ducked and spun in a leg sweep that trailed thrumming darkness to wrap around Madcap's legs and start to take control of him.

He couldn't help but feel a little disconcerted that his powers tended to default to darkness and ice whenever he got stressed, but now was probably not the time to worry about it.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move: Staggered. And also Dazed.
Standard: Recover.
Free: Set Control Elements to Elemental Blast, Energy Armour (better late than never!), Dangerous Blasts, and 25 random points: Freeze (again, seriously?!), Bewildering Darkness + Nightmare, and half a Guiding Winds.
Free: Reconfigure Control Elements. Damage 10 Linked Affliction 10 (Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed, Fort) Linked Affliction 10 (Entranced/Compelled/Controlled, Will)
Extra Effort: Attack Madcap, power attacking for 2, all-out attacking for 2: (1d20+10)[30]. DC27 Toughness vs Damage, DC22 Fort vs Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed, DC22 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled. And that's a crit in return. DCs become 32/27/27.

Status: 3 Bruises, Recover Used, apparently feeling very frosty today.

[Starsign]

Being fond of the "suddenly pull gun out and fire" strategy in a swordfight, Blackcoat quickly catches on to Delilah's plan and ducks down low to the ground, letting her wild gunfire sail over him in a consequence of her blind firing. He'd have been more worried if the spectators didn't already flee and watch from a safe distance.

"Nothin's ever all fun an' games," Blackcoat retorts, taking mind of her blind fire to take a more aggressive stance in his swordplay, "Even t' life on th' high seas got a matter of accountin' and management. But I be happier workin' with t' law for me own benefit. An' days like today keep it from bein' dull."

Keen to take an opening where he can, Blackcoat gets up from his prone position and approaches Delilah, sweeping his cutlass down at her ankles to knock her off her feet and keep her from returning to her fearsome six-rapier stance.

Spoiler: OOC

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So let's try using Crippling Cheap Shot this time and break through that Deflect. Accurate Attack +2/-2. DC 23 Toughness + DC 18 Fortitude vs Vulnerable/Defenseless/Asleep on hit: (1d20+12)[25]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Kevin couldn't help but notice that his jump attack had proven less effective against Big Al than he expected, which when you're a reality warper was saying something. This could only mean one thing.

"Wait, you're a boss now!?" he demanded incredulously.

Big Al. A boss fight. Of all the things. What a wild world to live in.

He brought one hand around to ward off the gunfire, his shield reflecting the shots aimed for him back upon Delilah. Then Big Al came in with another heavy blow. This time, though, Kevin was prepared, crossing both arms before him to catch the punch on his shield.

And it still sent him flying, took a notch out of his life bar, and left him both flickering and momentarily hitstunned.

Yep, he's a boss now.

Button-mashing the hitstun clear, Kevin gathered up his power. The attack had left Big Al open, of course - many bosses become momentarily vulnerable immediately after making a heavy attack. Projecting a hemispherical shield of energy from his left hand, Kevin leaped back into the fray, charging his staff up with electrical energy and bringing it down in a smash for Big Al's head.

Spoiler

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Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics. 10 points to Strike, 10 points to Shoot Run/Jump, 10 points to Stunning Strike, 10 points to Block, 10 points to Shielding Block.

Move: Dazed.

Standard: Charge Big Al and attack with Game Mechanics, Power Attacking for 5, at (1d20+5)[21] (EDIT: Should be -2 for charge). On a hit, Toughness DC 30 vs. Damage, Will DC 25 vs. Immobilized+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless. Kevin is Deflected for the next two turns.

Current Status: 2 Bruises, Deflect +8 (SE).

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Of course Big Al and Platformer continue to ignore Iara's protests. After all, as far as they're concerned, she's still a background NPC. "See, this is exactly what I'm talking about! People like you show up, and it's like the rest of us don't matter anymore! Is that really the kind of world you want to- yah!"

Delilah's sudden reckless bullet spray forces Iara to duck and shield her face with the bullhorn, snapping her out of it. No more standing around overthinking things like her secret identity; if Scylla wants to call herself a hero, she needs to do something now.

She steps away from Big Al. "Fine! Maybe this will get your attention! PERSONA!"

Sharp fins burst through her hair and sweater as her skin turns gelatinous and reforms into her Scylla persona. She turns the ocean's spray on the gun-girl that's fighting the captain, since she's causing problems for everyone at once. If the water gets in her ears, she can hear the siren's quiet humming, which is probably a bit off-putting if nothing else.

Spoiler

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I probably should have moved to another adjacent square last turn, but I really only need to step to K13 to do what I need to do now, so I guess it works out?

Force of the Sea water gun, linked with Siren's Attack: Damage 10. If it hits against the Defense check Delilah needs to save against Will 20 for entrance/compel as well - all Scylla's humming will ask is for her to stand still and drop her weapons.

Yes, breaking her secret ID will come back to bite her. Oh well!