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LevelTwoBard

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  1. Gordon was going to have to start thinking up better excuses. Even when the precinct was lit up like Christmas, and it was, Computer Crimes didn't tend to budge. Everyone but him was certified for tasers, firearms, the whole nine yards, but they were almost never called on to use them; they sat in their quiet corner and pursued their cases unless Omega was invading again or the building was on fire. So Gordon took another coffee break, and as his motorcycle raced toward the Hanover Zoo he was pretty sure that it was going to be another suspiciously long one. Police chatter was not optimistic about this one; it was weird, even for Freedom. If the zoo really was going wild, there was no telling what kind of carnage was going on inside; Uplink had tried to tap into the zoo's security cameras, but the power was out. Priority one, then, was to get it back on; security systems would help put an end to the chaos. Pulling up the zoo's blueprints from the city archives, Gordon spotted the main generators: beneath the reptile house. He winced; not a tremendous fan of snakes. But the place was pretty close to the south entrance; it shouldn't be too much trouble to reach. He cut the data stream just in time to avoid rear-ending a station wagon. He really needed to either learn how to focus on two kinds of sight at once or to stop using his powers while driving. The original plan was to zip right through the south entrance and tear up the grass straight to the reptile house, but that plan went by the wayside when Uplink found the way blocked. A jumbled pile of wallets, phones, jewelry, and small merchandise was spilling out of the south gift shop, and a steady stream of chattering monkeys and exotic birds were dropping more and more stuff into it. Gordon pulled his motorcycle over, trying to figure out what the hell he was looking at. Animals escaping and going crazy was one thing; animal thieves on this scale, that was something else. Something deliberate. He was glad he'd stopped a little ways back when the lions came around the corner. A pair of them, a male and a female, roared a challenge, their muscular bodies longer and taller than his bike. Breathing a stream of distinctly unheroic words as he reached for his techstaff, Gordon backed his motorcycle up slowly, the big cats padding after him. There was a stretch of parking lot between them, ravenous jaws and wicked claws against the crackling electricity of Uplink's stun-staff. He revved the engine, and they answered with another bone-rattling roar. "Apparently," Gordon murmured, settling himself low in the seat, "today is the day I joust against a lion."
  2. Sorry, delay on my end; I went out of town over the weekend. I'll be staying here for the foreseeable future, so no more delays. I don't think any rolls need to be made for those particular actions. Just posted, so you're up! Uplink spent his starting hero point to make his Snare into an Energy Absorption (Fire) effect.
  3. It was about the time that gunfire broke out that Uplink realized things were really bad. The traffic cameras on the bridge were disconnected from the server by whatever jammer was in play, but they hadn't been hit with an EMP or anything; they were still working, just incapable of transmitting. But Gordon's digital brainwaves, he had found, didn't rely on existing networks; they could connect on their own, a mental wireless unaffected by traditional jammers. He slid easily into the cameras' systems, their feeds superimposed over his normal vision, and surveyed the scene from above. The pileup was even more tangled and hopeless than it looked from the ground, but that wasn't what held his attention. No, the helicopter, the mercenaries, and the pair of heroes rather drew the eye. Gordon took a deep breath; this wasn't what he'd been expecting, signal disruption or no. But it looked like the pair of heroes, as odd a pair as the fearsome Nevermore and his pink-haired, sailor-suited ally were, had things under control. Uplink, then, had other tasks. He'd never been particularly strong, certainly not strong enough to rip a mangled car door out of the way, but the good thing about cars these days was that they were full of computers.The trunks and doors of all the cars on the bridge, the armored car excepted, unlocked as one and did their best to swing open. It was trivial, done in less than a heartbeat; he was moving before it was even finished, pulling his techstaff from his back and letting it snap out from the collapsed travel mode to its full length. Fire was spreading rapidly along the puddles and spatters of gasoline, racing back toward the leaking tanker truck at the center of the bridge. Gordon swallowed hard; if the semi exploded, a big hole in the bridge was the best case scenario. Fortunately, he wasn't alone. A young man in a T-shirt and blindfold-mask was ripping open stuck doors with his bare hands, saving those Uplink couldn't have helped. Gordon called out to him. "I need your help! We have to stop the fire!" Pointing his techstaff, Uplink switched it to tripwire mode and pointed it at the nearest patch of flames, trickling down from the twisted hood of a pickup truck. He held the button down, over the device's insistent beeping to alert him that he was using it wrong, and let the liquid cable spray out over the fire, smothering it. As the heat died away, he allowed himself a grin, but only a momentary one. Fires were raging on several more cars and on the roadway, and he couldn't stop them all on his own...
  4. I'm traveling this weekend, starting today, so posting may get spotty. I'll be back Sunday night.
  5. Sorry I didn't wait for you, EP; I should have. I will definitely work Samaritan in. For now, please roll initiative, just so we can get a clear posting order. KD, the first attack hits and scores a knockout. The second one leaves another mercenary stunned. Osprey, there are four mercenaries in front of the armored car; one of them is now unconscious. The helicopter does have open doors on the sides; the mercenaries rappelled down from it. Currently it is occupied by two pilots. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
  6. Sorry for the delay, my first day of work was exhausting. I've divided this into two threads to keep them from getting bogged down. >Ridic-zoo-lous: Miracle Girl, Miss Grue, Uplink >The Great Zoo Robbery: Queenie, Corona, Wail
  7. OOC for >this thread. Alright, this is the thread for the higher-power folks: Queenie, Corona, and Wail. Their goal: to capture The Packmate and rescue those trapped in the western side of the zoo without hurting the animals. To make things OOC-ly clear, I've provided a map and a brief description of current events. Special thanks to the Saint Louis Zoo, standing in for the Hanover Zoo. Western Half of the Zoo: West Side Story: Heroes can respond to these crises in any order; they may inform how you want your hero to arrive. The bears have taken over the visitors' center at the north entrance, injuring several staff and forcing a large group of visitors to hide in the restaurant's kitchen. Swans and penguins are robbing the gift shop and offices. The hippos have derailed the zoo train, causing an electrical fire that spread to the animal nutrition center. A school group is trapped inside the building, and the hippos are charging anyone who tries to approach or leave. The goats and elephants have escaped through the north entrance and are attacking the police perimeter, the smaller animals viciously butting officers (who are reluctant to shoot them) while the elephants trample police cars. The rhinoceroses are guarding the narrow paths to the new leopard conservation exhibit, charging anyone who tries to approach. Inside, The Packmate and her henchmen are preparing her getaway with the amur leopards.
  8. GM Friday, January 23rd. 2:30 PM. Some days, elbow-deep in elephant droppings, Tara had questioned her decision to intern at the Hanover Zoo. She she swore she would take back all her complaints if she came out of today in one piece. She'd been with Joan in the security station when it happened, thank God. The two of them watched through the cameras as the zoo erupted into utter chaos. Bobo the grizzly charged through the sliding doors of the visitors' center before they were fully open, shattering glass and scattering screaming crowds. Tic and Tac, two of the adult hippopotamuses, smashed headfirst into the zoo train, throwing the school kids riding it roughly onto the ground and scattering sparks that quickly caught in the dry grasses. And then the power went out, leaving them in total darkness. Joan laid a reassuring hand on Tara's shoulder. "Call 911 and stay put," the security guard told her, her voice calm but firm. "I'm going to go break out the tranqs." Fumbling for the door of the security hut, she wrenched it open. Sunlight streamed in, catching on the older woman's silver hair and fierce eyes... and on the horn of the rhinoceros thundering past. Towser didn't even slow as he impaled the door, ripping it from its hinges; Joan leapt back inside, the wind of his passage tugging at her uniform. "On second thought," she told Tara, "I think I'll stay here, too." They ducked under the computer console and stayed very, very quiet. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "It's a damn goat, Simmons! You put a 6'4" guy on his face a week ago, why is this so hard?" Officer Ted Simmons wrestled with the ram, arms straining as he held it back by the horns. It snapped its flat teeth at him whenever it got close, and had already come perilously close to the end of his nose. "I don't wanna hurt the friggin' thing, Sergeant," he shouted back. "I might break its neck if I try to throw it down by the head!" Sergeant 'Pepper' Pettars grunted; he had problems of his own, trying to dissuade a pair of ewes from kicking his shins in. They'd be the laughingstock of the precinct for this. And then Simmons heard the Sergeant's voice again. "Run! Drop everything and run!" He looked up, and the color drained from his face. He let go of the goat, a thunderous trumpeting sounding in his ears, and scrambled back, back toward the police perimeter. He stumbled as the ram butted him in the back of the knee, and it saved his life; a station wagon soared over his head, flipping end over end, and crashed down in front of him, spraying windshield glass in all directions. Some days, he reflected as the elephants bore down on the police perimeter, it really didn't pay to get out of bed.
  9. OOC for >this thread. Alright, this is the thread for the younger folks: Miracle Girl, Miss Grue, and Uplink. Their goal: to end the chaos in the eastern side of the zoo and rescue those caught in the crossfire without hurting the animals. To make things OOC-ly clear, I've provided a map and a brief description of current events. Special thanks to the Saint Louis Zoo, standing in for the Hanover Zoo. Eastern Half of the Zoo: East Side Story: Heroes can respond to these crises in any order; they may inform how you want your hero to arrive. The hyenas have taken over the Lakeside Cafe, where a school group had stopped for a snack. They have badly injured a teacher, who is unconscious in the dining area, and trapped the rest of the group in the bathrooms. The monkeys and birds are working in teams to steal wallets, cell phones, jewelry, and other valuables from visitors and staff. They are piling their loot in the south entrance's gift shop, which is being guarded by the lions. The snakes have taken over the reptile house. Constrictors are holding several zoo personnel hostage in order to keep the police away. Venomous snakes are lurking in the basement, defending the disabled power generators. Antelope and buffalo are working together to attack those who approach the Red Rocks area, where the gorillas are bringing computers, zoo equipment, and other valuables too big for the monkeys. A school group is trapped in the sculpture garden.
  10. GM Friday, January 23rd. 2:30 PM. Jamal first realized something was wrong when a colobus monkey stole his wallet. The zookeeper chased after the little fellow with an exasperated sigh. Escapes were unusual, but he'd been around long enough to've seen a few; he'd just corral the monkey and have one of the others grab a catch-all pole. But the screaming that started a moment later, coming from the direction of the lakeside cafe, made him pause. There was a school group in there, he knew, and they'd probably get pretty excited by escaped monkeys. But this sounded like real panic, and that worried him. The wallet could wait. He dashed back up the path in time to catch sight of Missy the hyena jumping on a thirty-something guy in a polo shirt, the fifth graders behind him screaming their lungs out. The zookeeper's blood ran cold - two simultaneous escapes was too much of a coincidence, especially in Freedom City. Charging forward, he kicked Missy in the side, then punched her in the snout when she turned to bite him. Whining, she backed off, and Jamal looped his arms under the teacher's and dragged him out into the dining area. "Get into the bathrooms and lock the doors!" he yelled, and the kids scrambled to obey. He looked behind him in time to see his coworker Shawn, his long black in utter disarray and tears of panic streaming down his face, being dragged up the steps and through the doors of the reptile house by a boa constrictor. "What the flying..." And then a spider monkey stole his watch, bounding away as Missy returned with friends. "Come on, man," he told the teacher, tapping the side of his face. "C'mon, you gotta wake up. Now would be good. Now would be real good!" Snarling, teeth bared, the hyenas began to close in... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The third graders were starting to cry, and the antelope wouldn't let them leave. Tammy had tried everything to get it to move. She'd run at it, yelling "shoo!", and it'd just stared at her. She'd thrown food behind it, bits of carrots and animal crackers they'd taken for a snack, and it hadn't budged. She'd even shoved it, but that had just caused a water buffalo to walk up beside it and ram her in the shoulder. The two animals completely filled the entrance to the sculpture garden, where the kids hadn't really wanted to go when there were real animals to see anyway, big and blank and way too close. She took a calming breath. "Okay," she told her class, putting on her best smile. "Sit in a circle. We're going to play duck, duck, goose!" The water buffalo snorted, the force of its breath sending her hair haloing around her face. Go to the zoo, the principal had said. Kids love the zoo. He was going to get an earful when she got out of this. But she was keeping it together; the kids were relatively calm, and seemed to be getting into the game. Tammy was determined to ensure that, when someone came to help, they'd find the class in good order. But she couldn't blame them for descending back into screaming, crying panic when gorillas started dropping off computers all around them...
  11. Yep, first attack was the surprise round, so Nevermore's initiative puts him next after the Mercs. They are not minions. The one he hit is staggered, stunned, and bruised.
  12. Sounds fair! Just waiting on Nevermore to go again, then.
  13. Great! I'll get on this tomorrow, after work. I might divide it into two threads to keep things moving, since we have pretty substantial interest.
  14. I'm really sorry, Osprey. To be honest, I wasn't expecting either of you to jump right to the mercenaries when there was a whole bridge full of stranded people in the middle; I was planning to unveil the description a little more gradually. If there's anything you'd like to redo, up to and including making a surprise attack, I will gladly rewrite the GM post I made to reflect it, since this was my bad.
  15. GM Two men and two women stood at the rear doors of the armored car, clad in heavy kevlar vests and leering devil masks. One was hunched over a high-powered drill, guiding it with both hands as it bored through the heavy lock; a silenced pistol, still hot from use, lay across the bumper, within easy reach. The other three steadied assault rifles against their shoulders, covering all directions. One of the men, catching sight of the passengers of a nearby wreck trying to get out, lifted a finger to the mask's ghoulish lips and shook his head. The moment Endeavor appeared, hovering over the impromptu clearing where the mercenaries were standing, the three rifles snapped up in her direction. No one replied to her request; it was greeted only by silence and the tightening of leather-gloved trigger fingers. However she looked, the trio was clearly taking her perfectly seriously; however young she was, they were clearly willing to kill her. Her appearance did, however, have one notable effect: it distracted everyone from Nevermore's sudden and dramatic arrival. The cloaked vigilante soared through the air, ploughing into the back of the mercenary holding the drill. The snap of her nose breaking was audible even over roaring flames, shrieking car alarms, and wailing sirens. Slammed face-first into the reinforced doors, she slumped against the car, struggling to stay conscious. The other mercenaries reacted instantly. One lifted a finger and made a circling motion in the air; then all three turned on Nevermore. They were too close to open fire, but heavy prongs under their gun barrels crackled with electricity. Meanwhile the helicopter changed position, angling itself to face down toward Endeavor. A chain gun just below its nose spun into eardrum-shattering action, spraying a stream of hot lead down at the young heroine. People in the cars surrounding the combat zone screamed and ducked low in their seats as stray rounds shredded doors, trunks, and hoods. Much more of this kind of barrage would rupture fuel tanks, killing anyone still trapped in the exploding vehicles, but the pilot didn't seem to care. At the same time, heavy hooks descended from the helicopter; if the mercenaries couldn't drill in and get the boxes, they'd steal the truck! Back toward the Hanover side of the bridge, people were struggling out of their cars. The fires were spreading, leaping from car to car, and no small number of drivers and passengers were stuck behind twisted, crumpled doors. It wouldn't be long before the gasoline leaking from the cracked tanker at the center of the bridge became lit, and from there it would be but a matter of seconds before the flames rushed back to the source...
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