Blarghy

Initiative: 1d20+0 12

Adept: 6 A Heavy Metal Christmas 2 Lights, Camera, Action! 2 Viva Val Verde 2 Leviathan: 8 Beloved Monster 6 Freedom of Information 2 GM: 4 X 2 = 8 The Doctor Is OUT 1 Psichology 3 All GM posts to Leviathan.

If the Master Mage slot is opening up, alderwich has already expressed interest. As I've said elsewhere, I'm a big fan of PCs taking up NPC mantles or roles when possible. I think it makes the site feel more alive and gives people something to aspire to.

Being used as a roost came as a surprise to Leviathan, but this wasn't the first, or even the second, time that a female hero sat on his shoulders for transport, although he suspected it might be awkward if they had to fight in such a position. No big deal; I've got this. If anything, I just have to be careful not to really hurt them, especially if Naia is Sea Devil's daughter. Not that she seems too concerned about beating down her child, but hey, it's for a good cause. "I will try not to injure either of you too badly...so that you can still swim without help to your new homes when we win!" he boasted. Despite this confidence, he turned his head and whispered to Aquaria from the corner of his mouth, "...Are there any other rules I should know about?" It would be a shame to lose because of ignorance.

"Well, we didn't come here just to dance, did we?" Leviathan attempted a grin to mask his jittery nerves. If this was their mAZ contact, just one member of the gang, then luck might not be on their side; he'd hoped to catch them all in the club so that he and Bonfire could go ahead and capture the other random criminals as well, like they discussed. Maybe the others were just keeping their distance for now, but if not, he couldn't very well jeopardize the whole mission to shut down Club Mayhem. Patience. We know how the club operates now; we can find it again if we have to, and whoever manages it won't even have reason to be suspicious if we follow mAZ back to their own headquarters and deal with them there. One problem at a time. "After you, then."

Hmmm. I'm using the Thug archetype from the M&M book with slightly lower Strength and Constitution for everybody except Anthony, to reflect their young ages, so it's juuuuust possible for the gunman to match Sea Devil's roll. Disarm: 1d20+1 9 But luck is not on his side! Feel free to post and give me Singularity's Intimidate check. Does a +2 circumstance modifier seem fair? I'm tempted to go higher, but Singularity's skill bonus is already so good by itself that I highly doubt these kids will resist. In fact, if she uses her Skill Mastery, I don't know if it's even mathematically possible to fail.

Indeed you can! Cool idea.

Unfortunately I don't think you can interpose for an Area-Aura, but the good news is that the ice man doesn't seem to actually be threatening anyone with (purposeful) harm. To both of our heroines, he just looks like a confused old man, whose presence is unfortunately deadly to everyone around him. Miracle Girl can probably persuade him to act as she wishes on his upcoming turn, if she wants something reasonable that he can remember and understand, which is perhaps easier said than done. His cold Aura will take effect on his turn at the end of the round, depending on where he is by that point; Heritage, if you want to post again to make use of your Diplomacy roll since it seems like your action for this round, then that's fine with me. The guard on the ground floor of the house has fled down to the top floor of the bunker, where his friends are taking hostages (which I guess they'd already done before, but now they're especially committed to it). Sea Devil and Singularity are up!

GM The doctor failed to respond to either of his rescuers, not appearing to even notice their arrival, and initially, neither did Caleb Cole. He blinked owlishly at Terrifica, then--about two seconds after she blasted through the ceiling--leaned away from Miracle Girl with an expression of open fear. Mixed with his alarm, he also seemed deeply confused by her pleas for mercy. " . . . W h a t ? " Back upstairs, Sea Devil and Singularity were left alone with the terrified teenager, who wanted nothing more than to get as far away from them as possible. He continued to scream for his friends as he bolted down the hallway to the top of the bunker's tunnel; in his haste to climb down, he fell, barely landed on the floor below instead of falling all the way to the bottom, and half-ran, half-crawled toward the lab, where the rest of the guards were similarly panicked. The only boy with a gun rushed to the nearest scientist, hoisted Dr. West by his collar, and jammed the pistol barrel into his ear. "Get out!" he screamed. "Y-y-y-you, you leave! Or I'll kill them! I swear I will!"

GM Sam's plan turned out to be effective, if not exactly comfortable; he managed to stay just a few inches ahead of the boneless limbs that shot after him. Darkness and the sensation of falling swallowed him up, and his ears rang with the Id's shrieks, until suddenly, his ladder ran out and he truly plummeted. Thankfully, he landed on carpet, which helped a little. On his back, he was able to look up at where he'd been; now, there was only a closed ceiling and no sign of pursuit. Wherever he was, the dim room was still brighter than the end of the last memory. Presto could look around as he sat up and see rows of bookshelves. It appeared he had come to a library. The wizard might recall what Becker told him, and if he didn't, then well, he still knew by now that this probably wouldn't be pleasant. A flashlight beam cut through the dark. Soft footsteps and a muffled whisper followed it. He had enough time to scramble behind one of the shelves--this could very well be more patrolling mind-guards--where he waited for the group to pass. Fortunately, it was only Warne again. He clearly led his besuited troops now, both in marching order and demeanor. Four other agents followed him; all had their pistols out, subtly tucked against their sides. All Warne held was his flashlight, although by now, Sam knew better than that. With tense, determined expressions, the five of them quickly stalked through the library. This won't end well.

Damn! Warne's initial fear was that Pangolin's nuclear core had gone off despite all their efforts, but he quickly recognized the precision attack for what it was. The cyborg hadn't displayed such a weapon during their fight, so at least he probably hadn't taken out Stone and returned for his other targets; on the other hand, this meant that a new enemy had joined in. Warne was still tired from his last duel. Could he manage another? If I can't, then I'll at least buy time... He pulled back sharply from shadowing the car; Meryl would just have to navigate through the wind and snow on her own. Adept shot higher in the air and struggled to see through the falling flakes, searching for his attacker. He only had to establish a line of sight to be effective. That, and hope.

Notice: 1d20+10 27 Woo!

"/Only myself,//" Warne returned the hostess' smile. "/But the solitude will only help me take in the details of your wonderful restaurant. This is my first visit, so if you can recommend anything special, I will be very grateful.//" He didn't hide his interest in the Rose, now that he'd established a reason for gazing around so openly; the agent affected a touristy air on his way to a table and only bothered to downplay his focus when it fell on other customers. If any caught his attention, then Warne could study them more closely under the cover of his meal. I wish Becker could've supplied a dossier on Perez associates and possible operatives. As it is, I only have my instincts to spot a lead here, unless someone acts suspiciously. Let's hope for both.

Leviathan wasn't surprised; he thought there might be some resistance. If the tribe couldn't be persuaded, could he drive them out himself without causing too much harm? Should he? "Listen to her," he gestured to Sea Devil. "Even if you fend off the first search parties that find you, that will only convince more to come. I wish it was not true, but it is. And yes, you are brave, but that does not mean you should be foolish. You do not only risk your lives here; with so few of your people left in this age, you risk your culture as well. Will you throw that away to make your stand? Who will sing of Dagon and Hydra if all Deep Ones behave as you do? Let us help you, and choose to live!"

"I take it that you won't be needing your firearm, then?" Warne responded dryly, still privately thinking that reequipping either man was a bad idea. As would be telling them that in advance. "Come on; the only way to find something is to search for it, and we need to locate Ridley and the last of the Browns as well, to say nothing of the Fanatic himself. Miracle Girl should catch up with us before we know it." He looked to Sea Devil; Rhekgar might be right, in that without their blond speedster, the Deep One was probably their best scout. "Do you mind taking the lead? We could use your nose, and whatever sensors your armor has."

So, this looks like someone in the sky is shooting at Warne/the car, right? Not an explosion? Can I make a Notice check to see where the attack is coming from?

Hmmmm. Well, this seems like the kind of thing that AEGIS would notice, so a certain jackass psychic could be dispatched to take a look. Adept wouldn't find this at all amusing (which could in itself be funny, if Grimalkin and other heroes are there enjoying themselves to contrast his mood), however, so if you prefer someone less grim, then perhaps I can volunteer Leviathan. He (or rather, his civilian identity) actually lives in Midtown, so maybe Tristan gets caught in the crowd without even meaning to. Magic has made him a little nervous in the past, he's had bad luck with powerful interdimensional beings, and he's unlikely to transform in such a crowded place even if he was already Morphed to disguise himself, so it could be fun to watch him panic for a bit. Thoughts?

GM Looking down, he did indeed see something, so cruelly ironic that it was very likely a quirk of Warne's mind rather than part of the memory: his FBI badge, apparently thrown free by the blast. A red smear partially obscured Warne's face in his picture. Even as he drew back his arm, Presto had another reason to hurry: with his host's unconsciousness, the recollection began to collapse. The walls of the basement were turning dark and fuzzy, then vanished as the sheets of black closed in on him, just as they presumably did for Warne. His evil-looking Id thankfully fell for Sam's trick, at least; as the badge clattered somewhere in the dark, the monster twirled at this unfamiliar sound, recognizing its wrongness, and vanished too into the spreading obscurity. Wherever Berns had escaped to, or the fate of the other agents and officers, or even the caged prisoners, Presto couldn't say. In the short time it took him to race to the ladder, it became a dim island surrounded by gloom so thick that it was nearly a physical barrier. Beside the hole in the floor, Warne continued to twitch for a little longer until he went entirely still, lying there in a larger and larger pool of blood. Some of it dripped onto the upper rungs and made Sam's grip slick as he climbed. He made it several steps down into the tunnel before a shadow among shadows appeared above him. So impossibly dark that he could see it move against its lightless background, the Id looked right at Presto and sent down a murderous scream--and an inhuman, grasping hand.

I don't get to use Leviathan's bonus to bribe-based Diplomacy from his Wealth ranks (a whole +6!) very often, so if you don't mind, I wanna roll here. Diplomacy: 1d20+19 23 >.< Well, surely Bonfire can at least get it up to 25 with Aid Another. That's what I get for bragging!

"And perhaps cause a little Mayhem," Leviathan added with a sly smile. "Just a joke, big man. Let's not have any trouble; I'm sure you can spare plenty for any fool who wants some. It's a hard job, yours, and we're grateful for it. Knowing that you're out here to keep an eye on things, it settles my mind." Because you're just a regular guy who hits the gym and might have a gun, nothing more, and once we make our move, I'll have no problem crushing you. "In fact..." he made a show of rubbing his chin thoughtfully, then dropping his hand--the one without the briefcase--into his jacket pocket. "I suspect not many people properly appreciate all your hard work 'round here. Man like you deserves a little gratitude, wouldn't you say?" His hand came back out with what looked like a roll of hundred dollar bills, before his fingers closed to conceal it. Leviathan raised his eyebrows, hoping this would get the point across.

Wait, what? Star Knight? Whaaaaat? Leviathan looked back to Sea Devil as she told her story and took on a whole new image in his mind. He tried to keep track of her tale as best he could, and in the process was distracted from some of what he saw around him--but certainly not all. This intimate look at the Deep One tribe tilted his opinion of them yet again until he wasn't sure what to think. Their feeding habits were a little uncomfortable (he had seen his share of aquatic killing before, even in these same waters, but it didn't feel quite the same coming from talking, thinking people, whatever animalistic characteristics they might have), but aside from Leviathan's squeamish stomach, he had a harder and harder time distrusting his hosts, let alone hating them. ...Especially once he saw Naia, and Sea Devil's reaction to her. Leviathan was pretty sure he could make the right connection here. In sympathy rather than attraction, he did in fact reach out for Aquaria, although his hand dropped again when she moved away. When did she have to give her daughter up? he wondered. She must have been very young, to not recognize her mother... He frowned, took a moment to hear and process the translation of his ally's other children, and frowned even deeper. After having lost so much already, Leviathan could see why she was so desperate to save this one. And we'll do it. If the Atlanteans come, then I'll stop them! ...But I'm sure they'll all just be people too, not bloodthirsty savages. I don't think I'll find any easy answers here. Just a lot of old suffering that keeps rippling into each new generation. He turned his big, pale eyes up from the sand and rocks to Naia. "We come because it is not safe. You have a home here, but the Surfacers are close and will find you. Atlanteans as well. We know a better place, where you can be free of both."

And so, we're back to Miracle Girl. Who can, obviously, get to Tristan if she wants to take Terrifica's advice...although since I don't see the Move-By Action feat on MG's sheet (very weird; I could've sworn she had it), I'm not entirely sure that she can grab him and then fly away in the same turn. Or, she's also got the movement speed to jet across the West End and intercept Julia, or get to any part of the house/bunker and reach the other hostages, or enemies, or whatever. Options abound!

Works for me! Although if Soph wants to have them answer Warne's last question about whether or not they recognized the Fanatic from one of their movies, before MG flies off, then that'd be cool. Or he can be cruel and whisk these ladies away to build more tension. Either way, I'm good to continue.

That works for me! Terrifica can make it all the way to Tristan if she wants to go that far; she already knows the way, thanks to Miracle Girl's eyes and Miss Grue's link from earlier. Gimme an IC post, and then it's Heritage's turn.

Charming, Leviathan thought dryly--although he had to admit that the meeting could be off to a worse start. On edge though everyone might be, for the moment Sea Devil managed an uneasy truce, and that counted for a lot. Leviathan raised one hand in an uncertain greeting and hoped that he could skip the offered food. Somehow he doubted that the menu would include any of his usual favorites. "We do not start trouble," he reassured--and warned--Sees-in-Darkness. "We are only here to...sing."