New Harbour Needs Heroes! (IC)

[Dodgeson]

Unfortunately for Wildcard, Madcap wasn’t in much of a position to banter back right now as his combo-attack hit home and left the bizarre villain unable to do much of anything but stand there as the darkness swirled around them. On the other hand though this meant that he’d bought himself a little reprieve from mallets, chainsaws and whatever other implements the villain had up their sleeve. Although with everything going on around them who knew how long that would last?

“HA! THAT’S WHAT YOU GET! LETS SEE HOW TOUGH YOU ARE IN THE NEXT COUNTY!” Big Al crowed triumphantly, hooting and punching the air while he watched Platformer sail away through the air. What can I say? The guy didn’t get a lot of wins and he was going to enjoy this.

Of course Kevin had to return almost immediately (lol movement speeds) and completely ruin his moment, poor guy couldn't get a break. Howling with a mixture of anger and pain as electrical energy surged through him, Al suddenly found himself unable to move from the spot, if he was a smarter man he might have pondered how surprisingly effective it was against him and what that might have implied about his opponents power set, but come on this Al we’re talking about. Anyway nothing else really mattered right now not, not while the smart mouthed brat was still in arms reach!

Iara shouldn't feel too bad, sure maybe Platformer wasn't paying her much mind due to his own particular…idiosyncrasies about people, but Big Al was just not the sharpest bulb in the fountain at the best of times. Of course whether sliding under the radar was a good thing or not, it was out the window now, trading her civilian guise for that of Scylla had certainly drawn somebody's prismatic gaze.

“Look a fishie.” Lucy’ called out to Madcap, pointing towards the aquatic heroine "You said I could have a fishie.”

Madcap of course had a little bit too much on his plate right now to respond.

“Hello fishie.” Lucy decided to introduce herself, her eyes glowing once more.

Blackcoat's strategy was sound in principle, Delilah had spent her career as a super-hanger-on learning to avoid hits rather than endure them, she had her appearance to worry about after all, however this meant that she was very good at it by now and his cutlass was met yet again with the clash of steel on steel as two arms quickly retracted in to her cloak and reappeared with a pair of rapiers.

"Oh I'm sure I could make things much more interesting if we didn't have to take chunks out of each other like this, but a girl's got to look after her interests I suppose." She kept up her banter with the pirate lord even as she twisted out of the way of Scylla's water blast and brought her blades to bare again. She was under no illusions that she could match an immortal on sheer skill but she knew she didn't have to, she had a trump card, it was strictly mind control but her pheromones drifting through the air would be enough to dull the senses and slow the reflexes of lesser men.

((Scylla gets a hero point for breaking her secret identity!))

Spoiler: OOC

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Madcap
Move: Entranced
Standard: Entranced
End of Turn: Regeneration removes a Bruise, Fortitude vs DC27 to recover from Vulnerable (1d20+10)[18] & auto-recovers from Entranced Nope

Big Al
Move: Immobilized
Standard: All-Out Attack +5 at Platformer with Smash (1d20+13)[24] DC31/26 Toughness vs Damage/Weaken Toughness & DC26 Strength/Defence vs Grab if that hits. Potential Hit
End of turn: Will vs DC18 to recover from Immobilized/Vulnerable (1d20+8)[26] Recovers

‘Lucy’
Move: Float to V12
Standard: Attack Scylla with (1d7)[3] Boring Eye Beams [/roll]1d20+10[/roll] I messed up the roll but that doesn't matter because this one is Perception! DC25 Defence vs Damage

Delilah
Start of Turn: Blackcoat make a DC20 Fortitude save vs Impaired/Disabled, this is a Subtle effect and requires a DC20 Perception check to notice
Move: Build more NPCs with stuff to do here...
Standard: Attack Blackcoat with Saber Dance (1d20+10)[20] DC25+Multiattack Toughness if that hits. Delilah is Deflected at 1d20+12 with Secondary Effect. Hit

Heroes are on turn!

[Quellian-dyrae]

Honestly Kevin should have been more concerned about the civilian who had run up and shouted in Big Al's ear. Totally would have lost points in Introduction to Heroics for that one. Fortunately by the time he got back Scylla had gotten the civilian clear (look he was kinda focused on Big Al right now) so it was all good!

And this time he timed his block perfectly, bringing his barrier around to catch Big Al's fist the moment before it would have hit, and deflecting it aside. Ha!

Shield still up, Kevin went at Big Al hard, lashing out with a flurry of blows with his full superhuman strength and speed behind them, aiming to burn through the powerhouse's resilience before he could land another strike. It was a bit of a risk, but a calculated one. With the final strike, he kicked off of Big Al's chest, springing backwards to try to establish a bit of range.

Spoiler

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Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics. 10 points to Strike, 10 points to Biokinetic Strike (foregoing Cumulative), 10 points to Striking Flurry, 10 points to Stunning Flurry, 10 points to Healing Items.

Standard: Attack Big Al with Game Mechanics, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 5, at (1d20+10)[30]. On a hit, Toughness DC 30+Multiattack vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 25+Multiattack vs. Impaired/Disabled/Transformed. In addition, if he fails his Toughness save by two degrees or more, Kevin receives Healing at (1d20+10)[19]. CRIT! if he isn't immune, you never know with powerhouses.

Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Do it again! (1d20+10)[18] to hit, (1d20+10)[14] for Healing. EDIT: Won't do this if the first attack drops him, since with a crit I suppose it might.

Move: 30' back.

End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Kevin is Deflected.

Current Status: Fatigued as of next turn, AoA -5, Deflect +3.

[Starsign]

There was only a minor tinge in his skin to indicate Delilah was doing something other than swordplay to get at Blackcoat's skill and reflexes. He payed it no mind, at first, focusing on the sword battle at hand and finding her pheromones barely an issue. What he did find, however, an issue was her six blades, perhaps more of an equalizer than her other powers.

While he is fast and extensive in his skills, swing enough swords at him and one will eventually reach through; indeed, a clever pierce past his sword arm sends steel in and out of his stomach. It is only a minor one which missed his vitals, but it is a wound nonetheless.

"I ain't in this without me own interests," he retorts, only minorly annoyed that she drew first blood, "Maybe I tell ye one day, if it ever change ye mind 'bout life." Evidently willing to drop the fair, honorable sword duel, Blackcoat took his moment to knock aside her rapiers with a single flourish, then bring his heavy boot down upon her own footwear, before thrusting his elbow into her chest as to take the wind out of her.

Spoiler: OOC

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Time for the Painful Dirty Trick: DC 25 Toughness vs Damage + DC 20 Fortitude vs Weaken Toughness on hit: (1d20+10)[29]

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Spoiler

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Defense! (1d20+15)[16]

I'll spend the surprise HP to fix it if it sucks too badly.

"All hands on deck!" Scylla shouts, a cryptic warning to give Rutherford a second to back up onto the stage. Then, in a flash of turquoise, a pillar of water carries her some 20 feet into the air before exploding and flooding the street.

"So, what, you had assignments? One of you for each of us?" she shouts back at Lucy as a second pillar pours down to drench Delilah below. Even deflected, it'll leave her and Al both hip-deep in seawater while everyone else is jumping, flying, or stairs-ing away.

Spoiler

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All that stuff I just said! Using the new version of She's Here to flood the area with water from an attack.

Water/Bludgeoning damage vs. Delilah's defense: (1d20+10)[11], DC 25 on a hit I think?

The environment effect is probably big enough to flood the street, but the existence of storm drains means it won't spill over much past the sidewalk.

[Llyarden]

Jake...kinda blinked as Scylla up and appeared in the battlefield. Transformed from her civilian identity, without the cover of an entire crowd to do so the way he had.

If Rach had been here, she'd have given Scylla a severe lecture on taking risks like that. Despite the tension and the adrenaline, he couldn't help but give a little smile as he remembered seeing a five-hundred-pound man made of metal sit quietly and get told off.

Then he turned back to the frosty Madcap.

"Y'know, you might be right," he observed, as spiralling blue runes shimmered around his wrists before rushing out to envelope the cartoon villain. "I do feel better for smiling."

And he clicked his fingers and the runs erupted in a blast of arctic wind that would not only threaten to freeze Madcap solid but send him hurtling over to bean Big Al in the head, because even if the villains were willing to neatly divide up into solo battles, Jake had no intention of doing the same. Put your pride and honour above tactical considerations and you were letting the villain win. That was another of Rach's pet peeves.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move: Power up Amplify Elements.
Free: Set Control Elements to Elemental Blast, Mystic Blast, Energy Armour, Dangerous Blasts, and 35 points random: Disintegrate, Layered Power, Whirling Winds, and half a Freeze again what is with the random power set this fight?!
Free: Configure Control Elements: Will-resisted Damage 10 Linked Defence-resisted Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed Linked Move Object. I don't even know what to do with half a Cumulative.
Standard: Attack Madcap, power attacking for 5, critting on 17+: (1d20+5)[13]; DC30 Will vs Damage, DC25 vs Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed, DC25 Defence/Strength vs being hurled at Big Al at (1d20+5)[13] for DC30 Toughness vs Damage to Al on a hit. Consistently meh. And Vulnerable isn't -5 defence in this, is it?

Status: 3 Bruises, Recover used, Crit immune, still feeling real frosty.

[Dodgeson]

Platformer struck out at Big Al's bulky frame over and over again, the monstrous mobster didn't see much point in attempting to actively defend himself, as far as he was concerned a mouthy pipsqueak like Kevin couldn't do much to harm him and even if he could it was about to get turned in to a greasy smear on the road anyway. Of course this wouldn't be the first (or the last) time that Big Al was wrong about something...

With a power that belied his smaller frame, the cumulative effect of Platformer's lightning fast blows sent the other man reeling, even as his biokinetic manipulation began to tamper with the toxic mutation that gave him his prodigious strength and resilience and to top it all off the hero had the nerve to leap out of his reach!

"I AINT DONE WITH YOU YET BRAT!" He bellowed furiously.

Behind him Delilah was faring somewhat better, still matching the Pirate Lord's blade her own myriad of weapons, until she found his boot clamping down on her delicate feet and an elbow jammed in to her, momentarily forcing the air out of her lungs. "Playing dirty? I can respect that." She said with a smirk, that deflated the moment Big Al's inarticulate yelling reached her ears "One second, I have to deal with that...are you okay over there 'darling'?"

"I CAN HANDLE ONE KID!"

"I'm not saying you can't but we're not getting paid to leave this place standing are we?" She said, rolling her eyes and retracting her limbs once again before hurling handfuls of explosives behind her with reckless abandon, reserving a single arm to pull her cloak over herself to protect from another aquatic assault from Scylla.

Speaking of Scylla, 'Lucy' fixed her with a stare for a moment as she tried to ponder out the answer to her question "Uh...?" It was no good, she was going to have ask her friend to remind her, which meant she was looking in just the right direction to the ice cube that had been Madcap seconds ago hurtle passed her. Inside the icecube he was now wearing an adorable bobble hat and mittens but that didn't make things any better and she let out a shriek, her eyes burning in Wildcard's direction.

The Madcap-cicle slammed in to Big Al (and I had some banter here for the two of them but paralysed, c'est la vie) and he was just done with all this, rushing towards Platformer and swinging out at him with a wild roar.

Spoiler: OOC

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Delilah
Start of Turn: Blackcoat make a DC20 Fortitude save vs Impaired/Disabled, this is a Subtle effect and requires a DC20 Perception check to notice
Move: Dazed
Standard: Attack Platformer and Scylla with Cluster Explosives, DC20 Defense & DC25/20 Toughness vs Damage
End of Turn: Secondary Effect on Deflect triggers

'Lucy'
Move: Float to W7
Standard: All-Out/Power Attack +2 Wildcard with (1d7)[1] Decolouriser (1d20+10)[24] DC22 Fortitude vs Weaken All Defences
EE Standard: All-Out/Power Attack +2 Wildcard with (1d7)[5] Bamboozle Beam (1d20+10)[22] DC22 Will vs Progressive Impaired/Compelled/Controlled (Limited:Actions chosen randomly, Impaired can be ignored any turn a random action is followed) & Weaken Will

Big Al
Move: Dazed
Standard: All-Out Charge +5 at Platformer with Pound (1d20+6)[22] DC36 Toughness, DC31 Fortitude vs Cumulative Dazed/Stunned & DC31 Strength/Defence vs Grab if that hits. Might hit
End of Turn: DC27 Fortitude to remove Disabled (1d20+11)[25] Nope

Heroes are on turn!

[Quellian-dyrae]

Kevin honestly should have been paying more attention to the fight in general, rather than focusing so exclusively on Big Al. But to be fair, when you have a powerhouse gunning for you it makes sense to keep your focus on them. He didn't even notice Delilah throw the explosives at he and Scylla.

And to be even more fair, when you had powers like Kevin's, not noticing that you were under attack wasn't necessarily as big a problem as it was for most people. The explosion came across as a background special effect, not really getting entered into the "game mechanics" as an attack. His life bar didn't notice it any more than it would notice any other piece of animation.

On the other hand...getting dinged by an explosive may have been preferable, if it would have meant he'd have been flickering when Big Al's fist came crashing in. Instead he took the blow solidly, and his recently-refilled lifebar again dropped straight into the red.

Flipping flip this guy did a lot of damage!

Fortunately, it did leave Kevin flickering insubstantially, allowing him to easily slip free of Big Al's follow-up hold.

All in all?

"Al, please. You couldn't handle me when I was in high school."

His previous aggressive attack had been a risk, definitely. It had cost him, but it had also paid off. The biokinetic special attack had landed a heavy debuff on Big Al. That was good, but the best part was that with just a bit more power behind it, that attack could stack.

So as soon as he was done flickering, Kevin struck again, this time with a rapid series of pressure point strikes designed to channel his biokinetic attack through Big Al's entire nervous system, before stepping back and rapping his staff on the ground bringing up a shimmering barrier of interlocking white hexagons.

"DIAMOND SHIELD!"

Spoiler

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Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics. 20 points to Biokinetic Strike, 10 points to Stunning Flurry, 10 points to Block, 10 points to Shielding Block, and look I even managed to remember to treat Reflect as using up a Linked slot!

Move: Staggered.

Standard: Attack Big Al with Biokinetic Flurry, Power Attacking for 2, at (1d20+8)[26]. On a hit, Fortitude DC 22+Multiattack vs. Cumulative Impaired/Disabled/Transformed. Transformed will reduce all traits to 0. Kevin is Reflected at +8 for two turns.

Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: If Al's still up, do it again at (1d20+8)[24]. Uh...if any allies are in Close range they can take the Reflect for this one. If he's down (Transformed, whatever), Recover off Staggered.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued, Exhausted as of next turn, +2 Defense this turn, Reflect +8 (SE). Recover used.

[Starsign]

Even as her attention turned away from him, Blackcoat felt something... off as he stepped forward to pursue her. His movement slowed, legs heavier than usual, and his reflexes dulled. He hadn't noticed it until well after the effects kicked in on his body, and he had only a moment to ponder what exactly had got him like this. Was it Delilah's pheromones? He hadn't even sensed it, much less realize it already seeped into him. Maybe he's just fatigued? No, certainly not; he's never worn out this quickly after all his years of experience. Something certainly has disrupted him when he wasn't aware of it.

He was fortunate enough that Delilah didn't target him with her sudden batch of explosives she tossed towards the other heroes. So the villains, and who hired them, don't care about collateral damage. In a sense, this is good to know; whoever planned this attack lacked any sort of concern for others. Blackcoat has seen one too many people like that over his centuries of life, and without all the focus and will he's built up, he'd be more worried that he keeps learning and finding more remorseless evil-doers.

"Can't keep ye eye on ye opponent?" he warns to Delilah, taking some quick swipes at her with his cutlass. "Most people don't live long like that." He does his best to bring her attention, and her blades, back towards him despite his impaired condition.

Spoiler: OOC

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Well being Impaired does make this difficult, but let's use Cutlass of the Sharpest Metal. DC 25 Toughness on hit: (1d20+18)[25] Blackcoat is deflected at 1d20+10 (I think) EDIT: That is a 15 on the roll, not 25.

[Llyarden]

Jake barely managed to bring up his barrier in time to block the debilitating effects of Lucy's gaze, and gave a quiet sigh. He couldn't help but feel like she was only here because of Madcap. But whatever the case, she'd been part of their plot to attack the Festival and all the innocent people there. She certainly wasn't a noncombatant.

"...sorry."

He raised his arm and blue vines leapt from it, encircling her before lashing down from all directions. And by the time they steamed away into snowflakes, Wildcard was gone.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move: Power up Amplify Elements.
Free: Set Control Elements to Elemental Blast, Energy Armour, Ranged 3 from Project Whips and 45 random points: Shadow+Midnight, Freeze (the randomiser can generate things that aren't Freeze I promise!), Wind Wall+Aerorepulsion+Solid Fog, Layered Power, and half of Winding Vines.
Free: Reconfigure Control Elements. Crit Immunity plus Damage 10 Linked Cumulative Affliction 10 Linked Concealment Attack, with Range 3, Indirect 4, Ricochet 1.
Standard: Attack Lucy with the Damage and Affliction, -2 for Exhausted: (1d20+8)[15], DC25 Toughness vs Damage and DC20 Fort vs Cumulative Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed. Wildcard uses the Concealment on himself.

Status: Visually Concealed, Exhausted, 3 Bruises.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Spoiler

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Defense: (1d20+15)[28]
Toughness: (1d20+5)[15]

"Seriously?" Scylla shouts over her shoulder at Lucy before Wildcard takes her and Madcap both down. When she looks again, there are a bunch of airborne bombs coming her way. She retreats into a thin water bubble to dampen the force of the explosions, but it barely helps - she's thrown upwards and has to quickly summon another to splash into before hitting the ground.

"Ngh... alright, that's enough explosions, so," she snaps her fingers and beckons the water in the street to rise, forming a wall behind Delilah that quickly threatens to surround her.

Spoiler

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Swapping the attack to Create, making a water ball that doesn't actually get on Delilah, but does loom around her such that she can't really throw more bombs through nor shoot at anyone but Blackcoat.

I need to leave an opening for Blackcoat to keep attacking her, after all.

[Dodgeson]

As time had gone by it was true that Al had only gotten stronger (and bigger and dumber and uglier) but unfortunately for him none of that really mattered in the face of the fact that he was at the end of the day still Big Al. Wracked with biokinetic energy the enormous thug toppled over, unable to support his own ungainly bulk in his current weakened state. Hitting the ground with a solid thud it was all he could do to grumble out a final "You better watch your back when I get out..."

The solid thud from behind her momentarily drew Delilah's attention away from the pirate lord in front of her and she didn't like what she was seeing, her muscle was currently either slumped over on the ground or doing a very convincing impression of something she only liked to see in a gin and tonic. Sure the brat was still standing floating, but she had no idea what the heck was going on with her. Sighing reluctantly she rubbed her temple with one hand while another vanished back in to her cloak.

"As fun as this little dance has been, it looks like it's time to go. You can keep the freaks." Trucking one hand backwards towards her fallen allies, her other hand finally reappearing with a grappling device, which she pointed skyward sending her hurtling towards the roof of the nearest building!

Which just left 'Lucy', quickly moving to hover above her frozen friend "GO AWAY!" She demanded with all the authority of a little girl who inexplicably possessed high-grade energy projection powers.

Spoiler: OOC

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Delilah
Free: Set Emergency Gadgets to 'Grapnel' Movement 4 (Safe Fall, Swinging, Wall-Crawling 2) & Enhanced Nimble 7
Move x2: Flee!

'Lucy'
Move: Move above K12
Standard: Ready an Action

Heroes are on turn!

[Starsign]

While Blackcoat wanted to keep fighting, as someone who valued bravery in the face of danger, there is something to be said for discretion. And thus, he was not surprised when Delilah read the situation and began her escape with her grappling hook. He didn't have the tools or powers to chase and keep up with her, at this time, so the swordswoman would have to be left to someone else, if any at all.

What he could do, however, was defuse what's left of this highly volatile situation. This 'Lucy' was better off not being antagonized any further; anyone young enough, left to their own powers without guidance and with her allies or friends unconscious, could take any number of potentially dangerous actions. So while he hasn't always had success at this, given how rationality often is lost in battle, he can always make an attempt at diplomacy.

"None o' ye ain't gonna hurt 'e," Blackcoat says to Lucy, putting away his weapons and slowly walking up to her. "No one 'ere wants t' keep fightin'; don't got me blade out, see?" He points a finger down to the cutlass now tucked away at his side."So ye calm down an' come down from up 'ere, alright lil' one?"

Spoiler: OOC

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This took longer than I thought, sorry. Let's make a Diplomacy check to try and defuse the situation: (1d20+18)[35] I believe there's a penalty, though, for doing this during battle, so we'll see how it turns out.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Kevin gave a bit of a relieved sigh as Al went down. That had been closer than he'd like. Still, the fight was ongoing. Kevin tapped into his old standby personal self-heal, getting his lifebar up to a decent state, although the cooldown on that move was long.

Regardless, Al was out of the game and he was still in play. One other enemy was down, and one fleeing. Hah, no way. Not on his watch. Enemies with Flee abilities were often worth a lot of gold and XP (or they were thief types who Kevin hated on principle even if he didn't actually have an inventory for them to take items from).

"I got the runner!" he called to the others, before bounding into the air. The building she had landed on was five stories tall; an easy hop for Kevin. He went sailing up above her and came stomping down on her head - pausing for a moment just as he made the attack. "You're not going anywhere!"

Spoiler

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Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics. 5 points to Run/Jump, 10 points to Strike, 5 points to Stomp (foregoing the Alternate Resistance), 10 points to Temporal Strike, 20 points to Boost Items.

Move: Jump into Close range of Delilah.

Standard: Attack Delilah with Game Mechanics. Perception attack auto-hits. Toughness DC 25 vs. Secondary Effect Damage. If she fails her Toughness check by two degrees or more, Kevin generates a Power Up.

End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Kevin is Reflected at +8.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Exhausted, Reflect +8. Recover used.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Scylla takes Kevin's word for it as he bounds off after what's-her-name. She condenses a path of water through the air and slides through it to meet the little kid hovering above the street. It looks like Blackcoat's already in the process of talking her down, so she tries to help with that.

"Hey there! Lucy, right? I believe someone promised you a fishy? And... pickles, I think?"

[Dodgeson]

Swinging her way up in to the city's skyline was not the foolproof escape plan Delilah had hoped that it would be as Platformer launched himself in to the air, easily scaling the five story building in the blink of an eye, and came down on her with all the force of a vengeful plumber. Whilst the assault left her still standing she was just absolutely done with today, she had no idea what sort of dumb beef Al had with him but she was starting to understood why her current 'beau' hated him.

What the heck even were is powers anyway?!

Meanwhile back down on the ground it seemed that childcare was one of the skills that the good captain had picked up over the long years of his life, who knew? 'Lucy' looked between Scylla and Blackcoat for a few seconds before slowly beginning to float back down to the ground, the swirling kaleidoscope light in her eyes fading in to dormancy for the moment, though she still made sure to keep herself between the heroes and the frozen Madcap.

"Uh huh." She replied to Scylla with a nod and a small sniffle.

With most of the villains in no state to fight and Delilah more or less cornered up on the top of a building it was pretty safe to say that the heroes had won the day, no civilians had been injured and beyond some stray grenade damage most of the festival was still standing.

And then a shadow was cast down on to the street below as a blimp appeared in the sky above, seemingly from thin air. "Worth every penny, truly you were." An aristocratic voice, dripping with disdain, made itself known through a set of external speakers "And as for you 'heroes' bravo, once again the city is safe for people to gorge themselves on chocolate coated pickles and deep-fried ice cream or whatever ordure it is they have at this ghastly affair. Bravo."

Spoiler: Expertise:Superhuman/Well-Informed (DC20)

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The voice belongs to none other than the Catfish! An incredibly wealthy (and some would say mad) man waging a one man war against what he sees as grave crimes against palates everywhere. While possessing no powers of his own behind an incredibly developed sense of taste he's never seen far from his artificial house staff and in recent years has been joined on his crusade by his daughter.

((Combat is over and everybody gets a hero point!))

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

The fishie instinctively positions her flight bubble to interpose herself between the blimp and the little kid. The narration may say that combat is over, but Scylla doesn't know that.

"Nope! None of this!"

Without stopping to think, she swims up in a spiraling bubble and sprays a powerful water jet from her palm, trying to push the blimp somewhere where it's not directly above the crowded festival.

Spoiler

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Flying up there, swapping her main power to the Move Object 10 version and using it to shove the blimp around. It may or may not be far too massive for that to work, but hey, that would technically be usable information in itself.

[Starsign]

Blackcoat finally eased up his muscles as "Lucy" was talked down; he didn't particularly like the idea of fighting someone who was in no real condition to be on a battlefield. So seeing her relax and stop was nothing short of a gigantic relief. He leaned down next to her and quietly said, "Good, good lass. Now don't ye worry, we be gettin' this sorted out an' help ye stay safe." In truth, Blackcoat was not great with kids, and never considered himself a good parent to begin with. No child should need the aid or protection of a pirate lord. But for now, and with the help of other heroes, maybe he can find Lucy's actual parents.

Not that there was time for that, right now, as a blimp suddenly appeared above the city, with Scylla immediately moving to intercept.

"Well now 'e know th' captain of this ploy," Blackcoat comments to Wildcard, the other hero down with him. At this point, Blackcoat will have to consider having a grappling hook on him at all times. Elevation is far greater of an issue in the city than it is out in the seas. "Ye know who this is? 'fraid tis a new voice fer me." Whoever is speaking from above has the voice of wealth and authority, one who had stayed in their own little world for far too long, which makes them notably more dangerous when they act out in the open like this.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Unfortunately, Kevin is currently high enough up from street level that he can't really hear Blackcoat's question.

Fortunately, he is also high enough up in experience level that he knows his job, as the guy with menus on a wide array of villains plus Chat capabilities.

...Also as the guy who, you know, has encountered Catfish before.

Platformer: Villain's name is Catfish. No powers, but he invests in robotic minions, plus thugs and tech.
Platformer: His normal MO is forcing a restaurant at highly-advanced-robot-point to serve him a meal and basically wrecking the place if they don't meet his standards. I'm not sure why he'd attack a fair unless maybe it's purely on principle regarding food stands.
Platformer: Word is his daughter's working with him too now. Fought him back when I was in school and he wasn't too much trouble.

Then again, neither was Big Al, back then, and he had sure proven otherwise this time around. But what were the odds that both of Kevin's former foes had increased in-

...

Kevin wanted to kick himself. Her should have thought of it sooner. And by sooner I mean literally the exact picosecond he set eyes on Big Al.

Platformer: But just like Big Al, he'll undoubtedly be much more powerful now.
Platformer: Recurring villains always are.

That was...actually a kinda unsettling thought there. In the past Kevin would have taken it at face value, but these days he had an actual understanding of how his powers worked. And two details of it were somewhat disconcerting.

First, while Kevin would never be entirely convinced that his powers altered the world on such a broad and subtle scope that had it not been for them his video game logic would have failed even more often than it actually did - that is, he did believe that even absent his powers, his video game logic would still make him relatively genre-savvy, though perhaps more prone to bouts of being Wrong Genre Savvy - he was aware that when things were getting especially video-gamey, his powers were more likely to be involved.

Second, while Kevin's powers had a distinctive flavor in terms of video game mechanics, there was a deeper underlying theme to their manifestation. For a long time, before he had learned the truth, he had believed himself to basically be a paragon, with some magical aptitude inherited from his father and some psionic aptitude inherited from his mother. His powers still largely operated in those ways - when he developed new special attacks and such, he tended to develop them as magical or psionic powers. To what extent he appeared to be a paragon, was his powers enhancing him physically and mentally. To what extent he appeared to be a mage or psychic, was his powers enhancing whatever magical or psionic aptitude he had inherited from his parents. And indeed, the most iconic video game power he possessed was probably his Power Ups, allowing him to augment himself and his allies directly.

That was to say, the two strongest themes of Kevin's powers, the two paths of least resistance through which his will could influence reality, were the thematics of video games, and direct augmentation.

And it was a very strong video game trope that recurring villains - villains who fought the hero on multiple occasions - were in each successive encounter stronger.

It could be entirely a matter of coincidence. Or it could be something else, something that Kevin was going to have to be very careful about.

So Kevin...didn't immediately leap up to the blimp to start fighting his way through whatever robot goons Catfish had arrayed around himself. He would (assuming she didn't resist) grab Delilah and jump her back down to regroup with the others. He wouldn't hesitate to fight Catfish if it came to that, but this new concern about a possible wrinkle of his powers did at least prompt him not to initiate combat blindly.

Platformer: Yeah your taste in minions clearly doesn't measure up to your taste in food.
Platformer: Gonna be honest, I'm kinda surprised to find out you're behind this, Catfish. I'd have expected the mere smell of all these deep fryers to ward you off for at least a two-mile radius. Corn dogs a guilty pleasure, I take it?
Platformer: But so, you obviously revealed yourself for a reason. You going to mention it explicitly, or should I just keep on assuming it's sheer idiocy?

Kevin wasn't...he wasn't the best at the, you know, talky-bits. But, uh, well I guess the others could communicate with Catfish conveniently now, so progress?

[Dodgeson]

Lucy tilted her head up and her eyes followed Scylla skyward with an "Ooo..." as she met the airship head on and blasted it with a powerful jet of water that began to force it back until the ship's engines kicked in to gear, straining against the aquatic onslaught, when all was said and done she had managed to force it back around 60 feet before it was able to stablise.

"You know I had been meaning to get this thing washed, I supose I should at least thank you for that." The Catfish remarked through his speakers like the waiter had finally done something right.

Descending back to the ground with (most) of the rest of the team, possibly with Delilah in tow, Platformer taunted the villain through his chat menus, of course being a refined gentleman he didn't rise to it, but being a villain he of course took the opportunity to monologue.

"I see whatever they taught you at the school it wasn't manners, typical American. While this..." He paused for a second, trying to find the exact words to properly convey his utter disdain "...carnival of gluttony is by far the most egregious insult to good taste this city has ever produced, it is not the only one. Consider this the amuse-bouche, while you were dealing with the help my darling daughter has been preparing the main course."

[Starsign]

While Blackcoat was a bit skeptical of this new foe's current threat, the pirate lord grew concerned after hearing that this was just the distraction. This was quite the expensive distraction, hiring several notable, of a kind, villains to cause chaos and destruction on the streets. This Catfish, evidently, also had the resources to pay for it... and the blimp, and apparently also for all the robots for his past crimes. Come to think of it, this was an envy-inducing amount of wealth he was just throwing away. It reminds Blackcoat of his old days as a pirate...

...In hindsight, he wasn't the best decision-maker as far as all his ill and not-so-ill-gotten wealth was concerned.

Blackcoat keeps an eye on the... chat box (he's still not used to it) and then makes his own attempt at typing, this time toward Catfish.

Blackcoat:Allow me to issue a warning to you Catfish.
Blackcoat: You are fighting above what you are capable of.
Blackcoat: Whatever you have prepared next will be nothing more than a waste of time and money.
Blackcoat: I suggest you stand down.

Like before, Blackcoat's text is normal compared to his pirate-y accent, typing comfortably like how anyone would write in English. He doesn't pay mind to how his response will be received, simply because it is very hard to talk down someone like Catfish.

Instead, the pirate lord takes a look around the area for this daughter, trying to look for anything off while staying close to Lucy. Where and how did he miss something else happening?

Spoiler: OOC

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Perception check! (1d20+8)[10]

[Llyarden]

Now, Wildcard's elemental armour did a pretty darn good job of hiding his identity - thus why he'd felt relatively confident transforming in the middle of the crowd without the risk that anyone might recognise him as the guy who'd walked past a few minutes earlier or whatever. It also did a pretty good job of hiding his facial expressions and even smaller movements of his limbs.

This was rather fortunate, because right at that particular moment, confident as Blackcoat's Chat message might have been, Jake was, uh...not exactly at fighting fitness. There was still a little bit of a dent in his armour from Madcap's chainsaw, and he'd burned through a lot of energy during the fight, to put it mildly. If Rachel had been there she'd have scolded him to no end about overexerting himself.

Of course, in large part it was because Rachel wasn't there and the Mayor had been planning on getting them to replace her and the others that Jake wasn't being quite as cautious as he might normally have been.

Wildcard: He said this place wasn't the only target. Where else would offend a man like Catfish?

Spoiler: OOC

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And Jake may as well attempt to answer his own question since he has Expertise (New Harbour/Current Events) (-2 for Exhausted): (1d20+18)[36]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Kevin just kinda...eyed Delilah as she dodged his grab. "I...okay look maybe you're new at this, but how it goes is when you lose to the good guys you get turned in to the police. You're welcome to not be unconscious for this if you have the good sense to stop fighting before-hand, but that doesn't actually change the fact. So...you can let me take you back down to where the rest of your buddies are waiting, or you can keep resisting arrest and see how well that goes for you, but you don't get to get just left unattended so you can slink off just because a Bigger Bad had flown in to monologue." He would this time politely offer a hand and if she accepted jump her down. If she didn't well he'd see where things went from there.

Platformer: Not sure. Let me check my menus.

Granted, it sounded to him like Catfish was building up to a monologue, but Kevin'd run the search anyway. If he could narrow down a likely possibility before Catfish actually monologued about it that was, perhaps not an Achievement, but still a win for him. He wouldn't Pause for the search though. It's no fun if it's not a challenge.

Spoiler

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Routine Expertise (Culinary) and (Local) for 28 (after Exhausted and Eidetic Memory) to see if Kevin knows any restaurants that might fit Catfish's MO.

Current Status So I Don't Forget: 1 Bruise, Exhausted.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Ha, ha. I'm not done yet," Scylla shouts at the talking blimp, not entirely counting on it to hear her. "Let's give this thing a proper bath, in the ocean. What kind of enemy of gluttony names themself after a literal bottom-feeder anyway?"

She hums a haunting melody, spreads her arms and makes sweeping gestures as she directs her water jet into a circular current, trying to push the blimp along like a treadmill.

Spoiler

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More move object! Planning is for suckers!

(1d20+10)[11]

[Dodgeson]

Keeping close to the strange floating girl while he scanned the area for further threats Blackcoat would find no other obvious dangers lurking around in the immediate vicinity waiting to leap out at them, only the blimp that hung in the air above that Scylla was still attempting to shunt away with a powerful blast of her ocean current but having already weathered the assault once and with the engines firing, the airship stubbornly refused to move.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand." Came the villain's contemptful reply, he'd long since given up trying to explain the specifics of his chosen nom de crime to the masses and his tone conveyed that perfectly. If they didn't immediately understand it, well then that was just another thing that elevated him above them.

Speaking of being above things, back up atop the building Delilah ignored Kevin's perfectly sound advice and when he very courteously (Catfish would probably approve) offered her his hand, she used one of her own to make a very not courteously at all gesture right back at him while another pointed her grapple towards the airship, sending her through the air once more and scurrying through a hatch into the vessel to make her escape!

Without the need for gadgets and gizmos Platformer was hot on the villain's heels and bounded through the hatch, finding himself in a cargo hold stacked high with unmarked crates.

[Starsign]

Nothing Blackcoat could find indicated that a problem was happening at this particular scene; evidently, this was a distraction for something happening elsewhere in the city. It was a rather extreme, nevermind costly, tactic to interrupt a festival just to attack, as Wildcard and Platformer warn, a rather high-class restaurant.

It came to Blackcoat's mind that he had been to the Gilded Vessel before. In fact, it was one of the places he helped finance rebuilding when the pirate lord made his stake to New Harbour. He did wish that they had lower their prices when it reopened, but alas, some places are still stuck in their old ways.

"I'll be takin' care o' t' Gilded Vessel. Ye check th' other," Blackcoat tells the rest of the team as he searches the area and, fortunately, finds a spare if slightly broken grappling hook nearby. Perhaps it is one that Delilah dropped during the fight? It's condition sure indicate that it was of no use to her; the rope on it broke off as if a blade had cut through it.

With a little fixing, by using some of the rope from the festival to attach to the hook, Blackcoat uses the new grappling hook to swing toss and fire at the top of buildings and swing his way over to the Gilded Vessel.

Spoiler: OOC

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Going to power stunt a Flight power, limited by having something to grapple onto and needing to land, to get over to the Gilded Vessel.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Kevin Chatted the two restaurants (The Gilded Vessel and I) that fit Catfish's MO to the others. When Blackcoat sent his plan, he replied:

Platformer: Sounds fair. I'm going to make sure Delilah doesn't escape and...I guess probably disable this blimp or whatever?
Platformer: I'd say take down Catfish but I would be honestly shocked if he's actually here.
Platformer: If he is I'll totally do that too though.
Platformer: Since we don't know which restaurant, Wildcard, Scylla, maybe one of you check I, and the other can help me with the blimp, and then once we know the target we can all converge?

Meanwhile, he found himself in a storage hold with Delilah. He spotted her trying to hide among the crates, but at the speed he moved she just hadn't had enough time to get into a decent hiding spot before he entered. Kevin's powers offered him a wide array of potential methods with which to engage his foes. But in the particular situation, the optimal method of attack seemed obvious.

And thus did Kevin attempt to bean the supervillain in the head with a wooden box.

Sometimes it's the simple things in life.

Spoiler

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Move: Arrive, and move to a position with line of sight to Delilah but outside of Close range and adjacent to at least one crate.

Free: Chat.

Free: Reconfigure Game Mechanics. 10 points to Activate, 10 points to Block, 20 points to Boost Items, 10 points to Chat (2 ranks, Rapid 2).

Standard: Use Strength 10 to chuck a crate at Delilah, Accurate Attacking for 2, at (1d20+10)[18]. On a hit, both she and the crate receive Toughness DC 23 vs. Damage. Kevin is Deflected for 2 rounds. If Delilah is at least Dazed by the attack, Kevin gets a Power Up. If the crate counts as a power up container, he could alternately potentially gain a power up from Breaching it at GM discretion.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Exhausted, Deflect (SE).

[Dodgeson]

Bizarrely for someone who's lifestyle revolved around more than a touch of dishonesty and subterfuge, Delilah didn't seem to be too adept and staying out of sight, but she still proved just as competent at staying out of harm's way as she had when tangling with Blackcoat, ducking low and let it sail over her head. Still reeling a little from the last blow wasn't willing to give up without a fight, retracting a pair of arms in to her cloak to retrieve another armament.

"You think you can take on both of us all on your own?" She said, totally confident that the Catfish would soon be joining her to help take out the trash, so confident in fact that she totally ignored the sound of the crate breaking open, disgorging not only one of Platformer's power ups but revealing its actual contents, explosives!

Spoiler: I Guess We're Still in Combat

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Delilah
Move:Staggered
Standard: Recover

Swinging his way through the city, our friendly neighbourhood pirate lord would quickly arrive at his location. Luckily with the festival drawing people to other parts of the city combined with the fact that the Gilded Vessel was really more of a dinner venue, the area around the stately three story white-brick building was more or less deserted. From the outside everything looked as it should do, a cordoned off flight of stairs leading off of the pavement and up to the front entrance where the restaurant's name was emblazoned in an elegant golden font.

Down either side ran a pair of small alleys separated by wrought iron gates, and while the owners were reluctant to show people the less tended to parts of the building, as an investor Blackcoat would know that they lead to the rear of the building where they accepted deliveries and provided another entrance for people that they didn't want mixing with their exclusive clientele.

[Quellian-dyrae]

...Both? "Wait, so Catfish is actually here? Huh."

Platformer: Huh based on Delilah it sounds like Catfish is in fact here. If one of you want to hop up here and start beating him up I should be along to provide either support or an audience shortly.
Platformer: Also, fair warning, blimp is full of explosives.
Platformer: Or, well, it's full of crates and at least one crate is full of explosives.

Kevin gestured to the Power Up, a little targeting scope. In his viewpoint, a little +ACC modifier appeared next to his lifebar. He'd take it.

Then he rapped his staff on the ground, whelmed his power, and prepared to dispense a beatdown!

Spoiler

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Power Up adds Perception (Limited to Close) to Damage and Affliction effects.

Move: Meh.

Standard: Recover off Exhausted.

End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Kevin is Deflected.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued, +2 Defense this turn, Deflect. Recover used.
Power Up: Perception (Limited to Close) on Damage and Affliction effects.

[Starsign]

Arriving with all the flair expected of a pirate lord, swinging with his not-actually-his grappling hook, Blackcoat lands with an esteemed grace in front of the Gilded Vessel. While he haf an appreciation for size, like that of his own pirate ship, he always disagreed with the building's three-story design when there had rarely been enough customers to fill up the building. Sometimes he wondered if he should have taken a stronger hand when it came to investing the building's reconstruction.

But seeing it in one piece and, apparently, undisturbed was a relief.

That said, it was impossible to imagine what, exactly, Catfish had planned for his targets; it could have been something incredibly subtle. This meant he had to check all the entrances, including that which few others knew about.

So Blackcoat walked down one of the alleys to the other side of the building, climbing over the iron gate as necessary, so he can see if everything in the back is also untouched. Hopefully no one is working there, though is there are, a silver tongue should smooth any concerns over.

[Llyarden]

Wildcard paused for a few moments to catch his breath as the others all leapt away, seeing as unlike Platformer he didn't have the luxury of a second wind mechanic literally built in to his powers.

Wildcard: I'll head to I.
Wildcard: The restaurant, I mean, not myself.
Wildcard: I wonder how often that causes confusion?

So saying (or at least typing), Jake summoned his powers and tiredly blasted himself off in the direction of the Catfish's potential - and confusingly-named - target.