R. Bluefish

Echo's heart jumped at the sudden appearance of the obstacle. Her instinct was to slow down - she was going at downright suicidal speed as it was, considering the winding tunnels - but if she slowed down, Deadbolt might get away. 'Course, Deadbolt would also get away if she got smeared across a block of masonry like a bug on a windshield. She didn't feel like ending her already brief and inauspicious career as a bloody smudge on a crap-covered rock. Her eyes flicked upwards as she ran, at the ceiling of the tunnel - and she swerved sidways, up the wall and onto the ceiling, neatly avoiding the masonry as it tumbled past. She kept running, circling fully around to the floor once more, making a mental note to apologize to her two unfortunate passengers. She had a feeling that this was probably even less fun for them than it was for her. Echo at least was used to her own physics-defying stunts.

Starlight leaned in as close to the door as she dared, unsure as to whether or not it might spontaneously turn her into a frog or whatever. You never knew with magic. Especially when you were apparently stuck in an extradimensional hotel that may or may not also contain a faerie's zombie great-grandfather. Almost unconsciously, she curled one hand into a preparatory fist, which began to glow softly. It never hurt to be on your toes. She peered at the star cautiously. Is that just an ordinary star, or is it some kind of a sigil? "I hope nobody's looking at me for answers, I don't know magic. I can just about pull a coin out of your ear, and that's it."

Fair enough! So a DC 15 Dex check, with a +2 bonus? Echo's Dex check: 1d20+10+2 29. No problem. Also, she feels the need. The need for speed.

Hmm. This is an odd question to ask, given the character I'm running, but can that Acrobatics check be made untrained? Echo's Acrobatics ranks are an Enhanced Trait folded into her Array, and that Array is currently occupied with Speed. If you rule that she can vault the obstacle without skill ranks, then it shouldn't be a problem, because she has a raw +10 Dex and Skill Mastery. If not, I'll figure something else out.

Justicar might work well for All that Glitters, due to having something of an investigative streak. And her brother Stronghold could theoretically come along for the ride, assuming that a) Raveled is interested - and of course, b) you're interested!

Sam looked up as Shrike approached. She was crouched on the very edge of the rooftop. Her mask was off, and the glow of the traffic below cast strange reddish shadows across her face. "Hey. Appreciate it. Don't like dealing with cops." Feeling's mutual, too. Getting to her feet, she massaged her back with a faint groan as she surveyed the city skyline. "Good night's work. Got some drinks, listened to some crap music, wiped out some vampires. A lot more productive than most girls' nights out." Not that she knew, this was her first one. But she assumed they didn't all go like this. "Should make sure to let Lynn know you're not fanger chow. She was kinda worried about you there." There was a moment's hesitation from Sam as she chewed on her lip, as though struggling with what she was about to say. Then, brushing her blonde hair back from her eyes, she said, "Were you ever...tempted?" She rushed to qualify. "Not by the drinking innocent blood thing. Just by the...idea of it. Being perfect. Being immortal. Everybody loving you all the time." With a sigh, she shook her head and looked away, as though regretting her question already. "I don't know. I just...I think it was a good thing you went in there, not me."

Echo recoiled. "Whoah!" Her hair blew back in her face as he blasted away, quickly drifting down to settle around her shoulders. Okay then. Deadbolt. Guess I should have seen that one coming. Her mind raced - she knew she didn't have much time to make a decision. Deadbolt - who they needed - was getting away. Plus Neutron was going to be here at any moment, and there was no telling what kind of tricks they might bring to the table. They might not be as easy to take out as the snatch squad had been. Her senses were buzzing, and it took a moment for her to realize that they weren't her usual senses - they were her physics senses. Which she really needed to come up with a better name for. Whatever Deadbolt's deal was, his powers seemed to run off the same vague source as hers. That settled it. "Hold on tight," she said. "We're getting out of here." She already had Tin Hat pinned firmly in her arms, and he was still struggling like a slippery wolverine. Letting go of him, even just with one hand, would probably let him wriggle free and run straight into Neutron. Which meant it was time to get creative. "This might be a little weird," she said, and without further warning, concentrated, altering her personal gravity in the same way she did when she needed to climb a wall. Only instead of using it to stick to something, she used it to make something else stick to her. That something being Jack. Jack found himself suddenly sucked towards Echo as the laws of gravity literally bent to her will, and he landed across her back in an uncomfortable - if secure - position. Before either of them could protest, she was running, accelerating far beyond any human limits. Time warped around them, casting the world in strange grayish shades of light, as she sprinted after Deadbolt with on man held firmly in her arms and the other stuck firmly to her back. Echo was in luck, sort of - the...contents of the sewer made it comparatively easy to track him, because that stuff really splattered. She did her best not to think about what she would need to do to her costume after this was over. Dissolve it in acid, probably.

Ew. Well, Echo might need to take a trip down to the dry cleaners when all's said and done, but what else is new. She's going to try to grab Jack and Tin Hat, and chase after Deadbolt. Let me know if there's any issues with that action, or if there are some skill checks required.

Hmm. Okay, couple of quick questions: roughly how fast does Deadbolt appear to be going? Not asking for an exact figure, of course - but would Echo estimate that she could catch up to him, or is he pretty much gone like a shot? Also, just on the offchance - do his powers trigger any of Echo's Dimensional/Temporal Awareness senses?

Echo Deadbolt Justicar All That Glitters Starlight The Box of Delights Nothing Fancy, Just Hanging Out A Performance to Die For GM Dark Dealings A Performance to Die For All GM posts to Echo, please.

Echo easily dodged the man's clumsy swing, his cudgel whistling past over her head. Thankfully he was slow - at least, he was compared to her. She hated fighting fast people. "Easy!" The bad news was that he seriously did not seem to be properly in control of himself. Socking him one in the jaw would ordinarily be her go-to solution, but her day had already been bad enough. She didn't need to top it off by beating up some poor mentally ill guy. Instead, she ducked under his arm, stepping around behind him in a move that could almost have been choreographed. In an instant, she had him in a hold, gripping him under the armpits and pinning his arms behind him. He was a strong man, no question about that - but Echo bench-pressed minivans as part of her regimen. Her muscles were like iron against his struggles. "Listen!" she said. "You hear that?" She couldn't actually hear anything, because she didn't have Jack's ears, but she felt it would emphasize her point anyway. "That's the sound of Neutron coming for all of us. If we stick around, there's going to be a lot more C-beams where that came from!" She managed to jab a finger at Deadbolt while still keeping Tin Hat firmly in her grip. "He's not your enemy! He's going to help us! Help us stop the C-beams and everything! Do you want to bash his skull in and kill an ally, or do you want us all to get out of here together and save the whole damn city?" Or I could just carry you out, but I'd rather not do that.

Let's try a different tack. Echo will attempt to initiate a Grapple. She'll also be configuring her Array to Super-Strength for the sake of the Grapple bonus. Echo's attack roll: 1d20+14 28 Echo's Grapple check: 1d20+24 27 Hmm, I don't have the book with me - can she try again with the Diplomacy check, or will she have to try a different tack? (Such as knocking him out, potentially.)

Neutron? Oy vey. She was sure she had had worse days than this before, but damn if she could think of any. The scary thought was that she might still have worse days than this in future. And the day wasn't even over yet. Erik's gonna be pissed if I let the city get destroyed by a zombie virus. Or interdimensional annihilation. "Whoah, whoah, whoah!" she exclaimed, jumping in between Deadbolt and Tin Hat's upraised cudgel. "Not the time, man! Neutron's on its way, this is not time for fighting each other - we need to make like a tree and get out of here!" She flinched back from his club, instinctively shifting her stance to place her center of gravity on her rear foot. "He's not screwing with your brain, okay?" Probably. "We're all in this together right now. We get ourselves someplace safe, then we can work this out, yeah?"

Echo will attempt to interpose herself in between Tin Hat and Deadbolt, and try to use Diplomacy to talk him down. Echo's Diplomacy check: 1d20+10 23 Whoops. I feel like getting into a scrap with this guy right now would be a pretty bad idea, so I'll go ahead and use a HP for a reroll. Echo's rerolled Diplomacy check: 1d20+10 22. I hate you, Orokos.

Boy, this is sure going well, isn't it? If Echo wants to physically stop Tin Hat, does she need to roll something?

"Weeell then." Echo deemed it safe to breathe again and wheezed slightly. "That's a bit of good news, I suppose. Makes for a welcome change." So I'm probably not going to need to start stocking up on anti-zombie weaponry. Phew, I'm crap with a shotgun. "So the virus shouldn't be a problem for right now. Fine by me, we've already got our share of problems. "Also...yeah." She shot a glance over her shoulder at Tin Hat. "He wears that to keep out the radiowaves, I think. He's, uh, going through a rough patch right now." Although it wasn't as rough a patch as what Deadbolt was going through, from the look of him. She felt very privileged all of a sudden - all she had to worry about was a murderous alternate-universe clone and the occasional dumpster-themed supervillain.

Echo scratched her chin, digesting the new information. "Huh. So those weren't Neutron's goons I ran into." She jerked a thumb back over her shoulder. "You bet I saw them, though. They won't be a problem for a while, some violent person went and hit them all really hard." Who would do such a thing. "Neutron's a company. Presumably an evil company, I assume all companies are evil until proven not evil. Word is that they're mighty interested in...well, you, I guess." Making him any more paranoid than he already was wasn't on her list of things to do, but at the same time, it seemed like something he should know. "Frankly, I was kinda hoping you would know something about them. We're operating on precious little information here." She took a deep breath, then immediately regretted it when she remembered the virus. Note to self: never breathe again. "But, er - back to my other question. Is this virus now present in our world? Am...am I infected now? Is anybody else? 'Cause offing myself and torching my own body to stop the spread is not how I envisioned the end of my superhero career."

Justicar Power Level: 7 (106/108PP) Trade-Offs: -1 Attack/+1 Damage, -1 Defense/+1 Toughness Unspent Power Points: 2 In Brief: A disillusioned law student with low-level psionic powers, seeking justice on the streets instead of in the courts. Catchphrase: "Liar." Residence: Wolverton Alternate Identity: Lena Alexandra Lexington Identity: Secret Birthplace: Bedlam City, Wisconsin Occupation: Law student Affiliations: Good News Thunderous Hammer Church of God in Christ Family: Alice Lexington (mother), Luthor Lexington (brother) Description: Age: 27 (May, 1989) Gender: Female Ethnicity: African-American Height: 5' 9" Weight: 145 lb Eyes: Brown Hair: Black Lena Lexington is a tall, striking woman in her mid-twenties, with dark eyes and long black hair that she wears in thinly corded dreadlocks. Visibly fit and athletic, she moves with unspoken, almost unconscious confidence. She dresses neatly (if informally) in sweatshirts, T-shirts, and jeans, with a few piercings in her right ear and a small tattoo of a set of scales on the side of her neck. Her face is typically focused and carefully implacable - until she dons the mask, at which point she can be prone to sudden outbursts of strong emotion. Whenever she's "on the job" with her brother Luthor, she wears a white hooded sweatshirt with another set of black scales emblazoned prominently on the back. She tops this off with jeans, gloves, and heavy-duty combat boots. Her identity is concealed by a black mask wrapped tightly around her face. Power Descriptions: Lena possesses the psionic ability to enhance herself with a sort of personal telekinetic field. It protects her body from harm, allows her to hurl herself prodigious distances, and makes it possible for her to lift objects many times heavier than herself, in what appears to observers to be displays of superhuman strength or durability. When she uses these abilities, faint wisps of red energy flicker off her body, and the pupils of her eyes glow red from within. History: Lena Lexington always had good instincts. Born into poverty in Wolverton, to a negligent mother and an uncaring city, there was never a time where young Lena wasn't relying on her older brother Luthor for protection. Bedlam City was a rough place for two children to grow up - it seemed as if there was forever someone out to hurt you. Whether they were a robber, a scammer, a crooked cop, or just a cruel-minded gang of hoodlums come down from Stark Hill for a bit of "sport," Lena learned quickly that if she didn't stay forever on her guard, bad things would happen. Luthor meant well, but he frequently let his temper overcome his judgement, and whatever the case, he couldn't always be there. Fortunately for young Lena, nearly everyone's unsavory designs involved lying to her at some point. And if there was one thing she had a gift for, it was seeing straight through someone, even as they lied through their teeth. No matter how skilled the deceiver or how tempting the promise, whether the lie be big or small, it seemed as if Lena simply could not be fooled - which made both her and her brother far more difficult targets for anyone who meant them harm. Unfortunately, her uncanny instincts were not entirely without drawbacks. Everyone lies, and the fact that Lena was never fooled by a single one could cause friction between her and her peers - especially since she had a tendency to call out said lies with little in the way of discretion. This earned her a reputation for being self-righteous, which led to her being largely ostracized by those who would prefer their everyday white lies remain undetected. Beyond this, Bedlam is a city that runs on lies. Politicians, police officers, public officials...everyone makes promises, no one means them. A crusading attorney might claim devotion to justice, while at the same time lining their pockets with illicit bribes. A panhandler might beg for money to feed their children - but all they really wanted was another fix. Cops swear that a certain suspect "resisted arrest," but Lena always knew better - all the suspect really did was look at a cop the wrong way, or sometimes just be the wrong color. Everyone knew about the lies, but most chose to ignore them, preferring willful ignorance. Lena had no such option. She perceived each and every lie for exactly what it was, and the picture it painted of the city disgusted her. This fostered in her a yearning desire to fix things. There was good in the city, she believed. It just needed someone to bring it out. Always a good student, as Lena entered high school, she turned her interests towards the potential study of law. If someone could enter the legal system and fix it from the inside, then that would be the first step towards making Bedlam a better place. Her studies progressed well, and quickly. She made it into law school, and it seemed as if her life was finally on the right track. Unfortunately, one aspect of her life that had suffered from her increased devotion was her relationship with her brother, Luthor. He felt that she thought she was too good for him now - she felt that he was content to do nothing but jack cars with his gang, with no ambition towards creating a life for himself or bettering the city. A rift of mutual resentment began to grow between them. A rift that only grew wider when he got picked up for grand theft auto. At first, Lena was disgusted. He had brought it on himself, after all, hadn't he? But as she went through the obligatory motions of asking questions and arranging the legal matters, she discovered a troubling thing: they were lying. The cops were lying about what he did, the legal system was lying about their intentions to see him given a fair trial. They wouldn't even let her see him, and everyone was lying about why. That was when she began to truly worry. The cops pinning a load of extra offenses to someone's sheet was nothing new in Bedlam. But she didn't even know where her brother was, or what was happening to him. Refusing to give up on her brother, Lena pushed harder. Answers were few and hard to come by, and she had the feeling that the more she pushed, the more jeopardy she placed herself in. Relentless investigation yielded two rewards: one, that whoever had him, Luthor was going to be tranported via convoy on a certain date. And two, she was run off the road by an unknown hitman. As her assailant sped away, Lena was shocked to see that her head had done more damage to the steering wheel than the steering wheel had done to her head. Even more so when she found she could tear the car door from its hinges with little effort. No one expects to find out they have powers, but Lena wasted no time in putting her newfound "gifts" to good use. Lena now knew that she would find no help in the legal system, so she turned to the other option: the gangs. A mask, a few hastily forged connections, and a display of her powers was all it took to get an audience with one of the city's more reckless - and gullible - gang lieutenants. She told them that she had the schedule of a convoy that would be moving a massive sum of money, and that it was sure to be easy pickings, carefully sewing the story with just enough facts to disguise the lie. Eager for an opportunity to rise in the ranks, her story was bought hook, line, and sinker, and the gang attacked Luthor's prisoner transport. The gang, while heavily-armed, had been made to expect cowardly rent-a-cops, not trained and equipped agents. A fierce firefight ensued - which Lena took full advantage of, freeing Luthor amid the chaos. The two escaped together. Luthor, as it turned out, had been subjected to horrific experiments, endowing him with his own set of abilities. Disgusted by what they had seen of the city's misdeeds, they resolved to rely on the only people they could ever trust - each other - and use their newfound powers to bring harsh justice to at least a few of Bedlam's resident scum. Personality & Motivations: Lena is a woman who has become completely disillusioned with the justice system. She has abandoned any hope of ever being able to truly fix it. The best anyone can do is harness it and turn it forcefully towards their own purposes. And most of the time they'd be better off simply...circumventing it, which is the route her and her brother have chosen to take with their nightly excursions. Why wear your fingers to the bone entering the legal system, only to be shackled by corruption and forced to sit through farcical trials? Why bother calling a lazy, malicious police force when you can punch through walls? Why implement ineffective crime-reducing policies when you can just put on a mask and go reduce it yourself? Lena's relationship with her brother could be best classified as "complicated." He's her closest family member and she loves him - but a certain subconscious part of her mind can't help but bitterly resent him for derailing her life just when it seemed she was about to rise above her circumstances. She was always the hardworking one, the diligent one, and yet still she ended up getting dragged back down by his mistakes. How was that fair? At the same time, however, she knows that there's no going back from the path they've started on. She's aware that Luthor wants for her to be able to one day escape the city and realize her old ambitions, and she doesn't have the heart to dispel him of that notion, but secretly she doesn't see how she could ever fully go back to being nothing but a cog in the machine. She still pursues her legal career - albeit with far less passion than before - but purely for the sake of having another weapon in her arsenal. Deep down, she believes that she's going to die wearing the mask. Whenever that may be. Despite all this, Lena manages to maintain a slightly offbeat sense of humor about her situation. She's given to wry observations, somewhat bitter wisecracks, and occasional moments of almost childish bickering with her brother. Powers & Tactics: Lena is typically an uncomplicated fighter. The strength and durability granted by her psionic powers mean that she typically has little cause for concern when engaging ordinary street toughs, allowing her to utilize simple, brutally effective methods of combat. She refrains from using lethal force - she's not ready to cross that line yet - but she has few compunctions about breaking a few bones. Or more than a few. The power that she values the most is also her least visible one: she invariably knows when she's being lied to. She makes a point of keeping that power a secret, because you can tell a lot about a person by what they lie about. When confronted with a situation where she is outmatched, she has no false pride to prevent her from fleeing - or preferably cheating. "Pride gets you killed" is her modus operandi. While she is never one to truly give up or admit defeat, she is perfectly comfortable with letting her opponent believe they've won just long enough for her to win back the advantage. Complications: Down with the System: Lena harbors a deep and not-unjustified resentment for both the legal and law enforcement systems. She has a hard time turning down any opportunity to stick it to The Man. Dual Life: Lena makes at least a token effort to maintain her studies, but counterbalancing that life with her midnight escapades can cause complications in both. Enemy: When Lena tricked the gang into helping her free Luthor, she made a lifelong enemy out of them. They have a personal (and not entirely unjustified) grudge against her, and will surely jump at any opportunity to settle the score. Family First: For all their disagreements, Luthor is still Lena's brother. There are a great many things she would sacrifice to keep him safe. Him being a wanted man doesn't help. Secret: Bad things happen to capes who let their identities be discovered. Lena keeps hers a closely guarded secret. Struggling: Lena and her brother are usually only just scraping by when it comes to finances. Technically, I Told The Truth: It is impossible to directly lie to Lena. It is, however, still possible to trick her, if you're careful about your phrasing. Her power means she has never had to develop the ability to naturally tell when someone's not being entirely honest with her, so she tends to take what people say at face value. Abilities: 2 + 6 + 6 + 4 + 2 + 4 = 24PP Strength: 26/12 (+8/+1) Dexterity: 16 (+3) Constitution: 16 (+3) Intelligence: 14 (+2) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat: 8 + 8 = 16PP Initiative: +7 (+4 Improved Initiative, +3 Dex) Attack: +6 Melee, +4 Ranged Grapple: +17/+14/+7 (+6 Melee, +8/+1 Str, +3/+0 Super-Strength) Defense: +6 (+4 Base, +2 Dodge Focus), +2 flat-footed Knockback: -6 Saving Throws: 3 + 3 + 5 = 11PP Toughness: +8 (+3 Con, +5 Impervious Protection) Fortitude: +6 (+3 Base, +3 Con) Reflex: +6 (+3 Base, +3 Dex) Will: +6 (+5 Base, +1 Wis) Skills: 48R = 12PP Bluff 6 (+8) Diplomacy 3 (+5) Gather Information 8 (+10) Intimidate 8 (+10) Knowledge (civics) 3 (+5) Knowledge (current events) 3 (+5) Knowledge (streetwise) 8 (+10) Notice 4 (+5) Stealth 5 (+8) Feats: 8PP Attack Focus 2 (melee) Contacts Dodge Focus 2 Improved Initiative Takedown Attack 2 Powers: 14 + 5 + 7 + 9 = 35PP All powers have the Psychic and Telekinesis descriptors Enhanced Strength 14 (Psionic Strengthening) [14PP] Immunity 5 (interaction skills) (Living Lie Detector) [5PP] Personal Telekinetic Field 3 (6PP Array; Power Feat: Alternate Power 1) [7PP] Base Power: Super-Strength 3 (lifting STR 41; heavy load: 3 tons) (Tactile Telekinesis) {6/6PP} Alternate Power: Leaping 3 (x10; running long jump: 180 ft; standing long jump; 90 ft; high jump: 45 ft) + Speed 3 (50MPH/500 feet per move action) (Propel Self) {3+3=6/6PP} Protection 5 (Impervious 4) (Personal Forcefield) [9PP] DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 23/16 Toughness (staged) Damage (physical) Totals: Abilities (24) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (11) + Skills (12) + Feats (6) + Powers (35) – Drawbacks (0) = 106/108

GM Post The officer blinked. "Vampires? Glad you showed up before we did." Wooden stakes weren't exactly standard issue gear for FCPD officers. "I don't think the sketch artist should be necessary - we've got plenty of witnesses outside for that. Once we've managed to calm them down, at least." With another glance at the piles of grey ash, she remarked, "Well, at least I'm glad I'm not the one cleaning all this up. Didn't bring a dustpan. Sherman, what's the code for vampires again?" "Eighteen-ninety-seven," responded one of the officers behind her without missing a beat. "Thanks." She raised her radio to her mouth. "Dispatch, we've got an inactive eighteen-ninety-seven down here at the Black Box. Capes took care of it." As the radio hissed in response, she looked back up at Gretchen. "You can probably go about your business. We wouldn't want to hold up a cape." It was hard to say if her words were meant to have a slightly biting edge to them or not. "We can take care of all this. Not our first rodeo."

Echo looked at the scarf in her hand, stretching it slightly to test its strength. She nodded, impressed. Useful! "Well, that'll work." She blurred, zipping around Harkness and the unconscious thugs, and when her form stilled again they had all been securely bound with colorful scarves. "You totally took those out of your sleeves, by the way. I saw you," she added, dusting off her hands. "Okay, so found the guys, check. Hit the guys, check," she said, ticking items off on her fingers. "Talked to the the guys, check, tied the guys up, check. Hit the guys the guys were working for - whoops, no check. Everybody ready to hit the sky?" --------- The three heroes arrived at the abandoned factory, descending from the sky. They landed on the rooftop, and the moment her feet touched the ground, Echo staggered away to brace herself against one of the towering smokestacks. "I...hate flying..." she managed, pressing a hand to her forehead. You'd think running up walls and somersaulting over buildings would mean I don't get airsick, but nooo. Nearby, a massive set of dusty and time-stained windows revealed a glimpse of the factory's interior. Inside, it was mostly dark, but flickering lights could be seen in the middle of the factory floor. Either there was a night watchman who didn't get the memo, or somebody was indeed up to no good.

There could indeed be heard the sound of quickly-approaching sirens, wailing in the night. Starlight glanced out through the hole she'd left in the wall with visible nervousness. Some instincts never fully faded away, and taking out a room full of vampires had a way of setting you on edge. She had to remind herself that even if she had done anything wrong, a pair of handcuffs weren't likely to be able to hold her. Even so...she didn't like cops, and cops didn't like her. "Yeah," she said, turning and walking back towards the hole in the wall. "Thanks." She tapped Gretchen on the shoulder with her fist as she passed, which was about as outward an expression of affection as she ever expressed. "Meet you on the roof after, yeah?" With that, there was a flash of light and she was gone. Barely a minute passed before the sound of footsteps thundered down the hall, and the door burst aside to reveal a half-dozen police officers. Their guns automatically centered on Shrike's chest, before vague recognition crossed the lead officer's face, and she motioned to the others to stand down. Most of the cops in this city had learned to recognize a hero when they saw one. The officer swept her gaze across the wreckage of the room, from the gaping hole in the wall to the piles of ash to the ruined furniture and scorch marks. "Must have been some party, huh?"

Samantha looked at Gretchen with a half-smile on her face. "Yeah, you bet she loves games." Sorry, Gretch, better you than me. "And the ferrets don't bite. Less than she does, in fact." They certainly swear less she does. Less than either of us do, actually. She made a mental note to try to moderate her language for the evening. Megan probably wouldn't take too kindly to it if Samantha started cracking off F-bombs in front of Junior. "So, Megan and Robert? And Lawrence?" Huh, there's someone named Sam and someone named Lawrence. "How do you know Lynn?"

The crimson bolt of energy speared Card straight through the center of the chest, burning a hole in the shadow bonds Starlight had conjured as it passed. For a moment, nothing happened. He stared down at his own chest with a mildly bemused expression frozen on his face. Starlight half-turned, looking at him over her shoulder, tense. Is he... Card spasmed. Instinctively, Starlight released him from the shadows - which melted away in a heartbeat - and stepped back. He dropped to his knees, clawing at his chest. A fist-sized scorch mark could now be seen in the middle of his torso. "My...heart," he said blankly, with an almost comical lack of surprise. Then: "My...heart!" He rose suddenly to his feet and lurched forward, but before either of them could react, he dropped to his knees again. "To a mortal," he hissed. Was it a trick of the light, or did he look older? More gaunt? "After all this time...to a mere mortal?" His hair was greying, thinning. The skin on his face was growing drier and more papery by the second. He no longer looked remotely handsome. He tried to rise again, planting one hand on the ground for support. The hand dissolved away into grey ashes. He stared at it for a moment, then slowly brought his gaze up to stare straight at Gretchen with naked hatred in his eyes. "You..." he growled. With the same terrifying speed he displayed before, he lunged, arms outstretched and seeking. Even as he moved, he was crumbling apart. He made it halfway across the room before his legs broke away and he fell, snarling incoherently. The moment he hit the ground, whatever resilience he once had was gone, and he burst apart into a cloud of ash. Starlight looked at the remains of Alec Card for a moment, then coughed, waving a hand in front of her face to waft off the clouds of dust. Great, I got vampire in my nose. "Well, I guess it wasn't a bogus tip after all."

Alec Card's Toughness save: 1d20+10-2 20 He's got himself another Bruise!

Samantha's unsettled look perfectly mirrored Gretchen's. "Kid?" she echoed, getting it in accidental unison with Gretchen. Generally speaking, she didn't like kids - with one notable exception - and kids didn't like her. Suddenly she envied Lynn her effortless charm, because she was fully aware that she herself was usually about as charming as a rock to the face. "Remind me again," she said, addressing Gretchen, "who's Megan?" Remembering names and faces had never been her strong suit - hell, keeping track of her own phone number had never been her strong suit - and she had a tendency to tune out of conversations about other people's acquaintances. Besides, her glowing personality had never really necessitated the ability to keep track of a large circle of friends.