Zeitgeist Blue

Intimidate: 1d20+12+5 = 21

Diplomacy Roll: 1d20+6 = 23. Okay, well this is an interesting result.

Fortitude Saving Throw: 1d20+10 = 25

Nice, @angrydurf. Can you build the spell you used to create those items? Get a +10PP to your VP as you invariably use the magic from the ritual used to make Nicole's armor vulnerable to the creation of magical things. Also, sounds like a Diplomacy skill Ouroboros is doing. Can you roll that? I'll oppose both by their Magic Sense and Sense Motive/the skill used to oppose Diplomacy.

"Argh!" Salvo launched herself forward to try to grab Mike but she was left grasping air as he teleported away at the last second. Her fingers flexed, still held where his throat would have been, and she stood glowering there, her visor pulsing angrily in a dark purple glow. Stupid! Stupid stupid stupid to believe someone as shifty as Mike. As if his way was any better than Gauss' or her sense of direcrion. She didn't want to admit it but she'd been duped by a fifth-rate, no promise, noob of a practitioner . Stupid! "Wait," she said in reply to her companions' questions. She dropped her hand and turned to stare at the wall. Gauss' way would take another half hour to get back to where they started and who knew how long until they could figure out the map and traverse their way to Baal. No, there had to be another way. She racked her brain for something, immediately dismissing twenty rituals for taking too long, another thirty for their immediate cost. She needed to mix and match. Take a component of one and add it to another, the principles of tradition and transplant it to work on the surface level of an ad hoc set of symbols. She took different traditions and philosophies from over the world and distilled them into something unified. Hebrew gnosticism as the base. Islamic alchemy turned into writing. Japanese ofuda using the glass of her visor as paper. A Chinese pentagram to take advantage of the Earth around them. Norse runes etched to evoke other realms. It gave her a headache to even think about how it all worked yet it did. In her mind. Yet she still needed to carry it into reality. She pointed at her visor and a thin laser-like beam began to trace an unseen array of ideograms and symbols, a metapjorical path connecting each one into a proper goal. She chanted as she worked on her visor. Then after half a minute she said, louder, "Ba'al, Ruled of the East, First and Principal king of Hell, Duke of Sixty-Six Legions. Reveal yourself." Her visor shifted in color, from a dark purple light into black, flickering and blood red at the edges. She paused, then after a second turned her laser to the wall, carving a what looked to be a doorway. Then she began to carve inside the door's frame and when she was done she stepped back and sent out a puff of fire into the center. It radiated outwards, filling where her laser had created grooves into the stone until the doorway was lined in fire and her ritual was lined in fire. She looked at Gauss and Pan, her expression hidden behind armour and helmet but she was panting, surprised it had worked as it did. "Come on," she said with barely contained emotion, fingers twitching. "The fire won't burn you." Then she pushed at the door and it swung outwards, where there was once stone now was fire, all fire burning on darkness. There was a price to pay for all of this but she had delayed it. They had more pressing issues on hand.

What do you guys think? Should I use my 2 HP and feats now or maybe save it in case we need it for when we're at Ba'al? I think I can use it now.

Spending an HP to Jury-Rig a Ritual. Teleport 3 (300-1,000 feet, Extras: Portal [+2]; Flaws: Long-Range [-1], Medium [Stone] [-1]; Feats: Progression [10x10 feet Portal] [+1]) {7} + Super-Senses (Accurate, Acute, Ranged, [Ba'al] Awareness [+1], Counters Concealment [+2], Counters Illusion [+2], Counters Obscure [Visual] [+2], Extended 2 [1,000 feet] [+2], Penetrates Concealment [+4], Radius [+1]) {14} = {19PP} Jury-Rigged Knowledge (Arcane Lore) DC: 10 + 5 + 19 = 34. Spending about 2 minutes on this. Spending an HP for Ultimate Skill (Arcane Lore). Salvo has no HP left.

I'd say so. At least until the wyrm had appeared Veronica was being held loosely enough to use her hands.

And there's a thing up, Thev. A minor note, but I'll assume Veronica's got Immunity (Suffocation) up from her VP array.

Veronica All alone with something that could only be described as your reflection. It wears the same things as you and even seems to be using them, though only for strength to enhance its body you note. It does nothing else but swim, you in its grip. It does not assault you anew or batter you with some power. It does not even bother to look at you or acknowledge you and perhaps it does not even have sapience enough for it to bother. A few seconds pass and before you could wonder whether all it will do is to swim forever, you catch sight of a large shadow from the direction you had been pulled from. It swims closer, large enough to be rival a blue whale you reckon and perhaps it could have been Masque and her illusions coming to the rescue but that is easily dismissed as you feel the the liquid shift in response, pushing you back with the force. Your reflection stops swimming and faces the thing coming at you. It is a great wyrm-like creature but instead of blood, scales, and flesh it is a creature of steel, glass, and ice. Serpentine, it surges forward, head rearing and teeth flashing, only for its maw to stop a few feet from you. An aftershock current comes a moment later but your reflection paddles its legs against the current, keeping the both of you in place. Then the wyrm's body curls through the liquid around you, almost swaddling you and your reflection in its crystalline body. Bellios Bearer. You hear it pounding in your mind, just enough not to be painful. But the voice is booming and uncomfortable just the same, and the source can only come from the creature before you. Its eyes are like glacial ice and it turns its head to center you against one. It is not in any language you know but its meaning is clear. I request you listen for I have been found wanting in my role as guardian of this realm and those adjacent. The Sphere has seen two actors perform unchallenged for too long, carrying their malice wherever they tread. But you and your companions seek to merge the Selves into one once more. Accept my aid and perhaps you may rectify my failures.

Give me a Notice Check. DC 25.

Combat Simulator, Sub-Level Four, The Subbasement Jamin Summers Administration Building, Claremont Academy Bayview, Freedom City, New Jersey Thursday, January 31, 2019 12:12:30 PM Reina found herself in Freedom City. What struck her first was that it wasn't snowing. The sun shone pleasantly in the bright blue sky, not a cloud in sight, and most of the pedestrians she could see wore light clothes fit for summer. Bright dresses and shirts, shorts and caps to ward off the sun. She alone had winter attire, what she wore this morning, but she did not feel overly warm even under the sunlight. She could see some cars had their roofs down, bathing the passengers with sunlight. Nearby yellow taxis waited in line for passengers. She was beside what looked to be a main road, four lanes in total, but traffic was light and cars coasted by. The traffic light signaled red and the cars stopped, allowing pedestrians to cross the road. People glanced at Reina, standing still by the pedestrian lane, but paid her no mind after that, walking around her on their way to whatever business they had. She could see a boy on a skateboard deftly wave through the crowd pass by her. A man wearing a gray suit and carrying a suitcase bumped into her and did not look back, too occupied with his phone call to apologize. The buildings rose above and around her, a mixture of residential high-rises and brick establishments, ranging from a few stories tall to dozens. An Italian place was open behind her and she could hear the ringing of cutlery as diners ate their lunch, smell the pizza and the pasta wafting from the open windows and the outside area. Tangy on her nose, with generous heapings of baked cheese and herbs in their dishes. 'Mama Lou's Kitchen' the sign said in green letters over the brownstone that made up the rest of the building, a half dozen or so story affair that sat contentedly amid the highrises. "You're in Midtown, Freedom City during the Summer of 2017." Nicole's voice came through a speaker, hidden beneath the lifelike simulation. "Beyond fighting criminals and beyond working against hostile forces, those with powers have a responsibility to their fellow people. It isn't unlike people having a responsibility to their fellows. We respect each other, we value their rights as human beings, we respond to their needs when they call for help. This is a common factor between those with powers and without, something that makes us all human. To ignore it is to cheapen yourself." She pauses for a few seconds and the simulation goes on as if nothing has happened. "And sometimes, that call to humanity happens in the most unexpected of times."

Salvo She did not growl at Pan but her armor did as much for her, its engine thrumming low and menacing. She did not miss Pan's pointed accusation at her. "No, you can't," she said, her head turning a fraction to bring Pan into the corner of her vision. She scoffed. "But tutting like a prude won't do anything will it? This will." She gave the book only for it to be snatched away from Mike's grip. Unlike Pan, Gauss had a valid point and Salvo nodded her agreement. Idiots shouldn't be trusted to even look at their instruments of messing up. Like Mike and the tome. It was safer in Gauss' hands. "Fine," Salvo said, gesturing at Mike to move on. "Lead the way. My radar would go haywire if that's happening."

Salvo Two hours and nothing. She stood up, straightening to her full height, and ground the pair of sunglasses under her armored boot. She heard a hiss, as if in annoyance, and the air filled with smoke as the spirit roused from its feast back to find more suitable food. A warren of rats or maybe a warehouse of smuggled goods, wherever hiding could be found. Then she trudged back through the path she had taken to get into position, following the walkway slick with sewer water. She needed to get back before her presence in Claremont would be missed. Almost walking on autopilot, she focused her attention elsewhere, pulling up a screen where she browsed the net. She saw Terrifica had answered. "She had always made Boston difficult to penetrate." Her father had appeared behind her, reading the online text. "In the end the cost was too great and I gave up on that project." Nicole turned so that the screen wasn't visible to her father. "And why not give up on Freedom City?" She asked with a frown, though she was genuinely curious. "There're so many more heroes than just her here." "Which creates opportunity and exponentially provides more factors which prove just as much a hindrance to the heroes as it does the underworld." "And opportunities." "Very much so my dear daughter, very much so. Boston did not give either with its dearth." "Huh," was all she could say to that. Instead of thinking she began to type. She paused typing. She was just about to talk about Gabriel Marquez, Claremont's head counselor, but realized how easily it would be to divulge personal information then. Then she resumed, more careful. She knew a few current Claremont students who had participated in the invasion but they did not feel as she did about it. Perhaps it was her memory that was the cause for the difference, how easily anything could stick with her for the rest of her life. A convenient lie.

Sense Motive Roll: 1d20+7 = 19

GM Veronica You feel a hand grasp you by the throat and another clamping down on your mouth, preventing you from shouting in surprise. Your reflection pulls you back into the mirrored walls, once solid but now permeable as water, and in the blink of an eye your whole body is submerged beneath the liquid. Yet it keeps on pulling, even as bubbles escape your lips. Deeper and deeper as Masque disappears into a hazy silhouette and even that soon escapes your vision. The liquid is clear but beyond that you only see a metallic silver sheen, as if you were inside a bowl whose insides were lined with lead. What shall the young adventurer do? Masque Perhaps you try to go after your fellow student but the wall proves to be a wall, solid and unyielding, and you watch as she disappears deeper into the mirrored walls, pulled from behind by a thing that looks exactly like her. Yet there is little life in its dull eyes and you cannot fathom what she intends to do with Veronica. Abigail too is gone the same way and you realize with a start that you are alone save the nearest drones merely a dozen feet behind you. They droop listlessly, uncaring about the sudden commotion. Again, the voices coming from your destination speak up, unaware of what had transpired. What shall the young illusionist do?

Salvo "Great!" Her smile widened, more genuine now. Then she swiveled her wheelchair from the table and navigated the way back to the main path, stopping only briefly to check if Reina was following her. They had the same goal at least, and the Sophomore was willing to learn. That was something Nicole couldn't find fault in. As they moved to the pathway leading to the admin building, Nicole spoke from her seat. "I heard from Pan about your fight at the Super Museum. It's a good that you know your way around a scuffle but I want to go further than that. For many new powered heroes, they go in not understanding their powers, relying solely on 'hard-won' experience," and her fingers made quotation marks at this, "as if thinking failure isn't a part of that experience." Up the ramp, past students and faculty. "Now you're a sophomore but you haven't missed much. Freshmen year is mostly non-powered related courses. That's three years to learn how to use what you have, how to control it and maybe even get stronger with it before you can use it in the "real world' like Summers wants." Again the quote marks. "But even if you coop yourself up here twenty four-seven, three hundred sixty five days a year sometimes the real world comes to you. Like the Krampus attack back in December or your run-in with those two hench bros... which is where I come in." (OOC: I'll get the GM post up in a couple of days at most. Feel free to reply.)

Salvo "Mike Carpenter," Salvo repeated, the face familiar but she had never bothered learning his name until now. "I know you." His coming here was good news in more than one sense. He was another student not in danger and the fact that he shook his possession off meant that their plan of action was working. If they wanted the avatar of Ba'al to be even weaker when they finally confronted it then they should banish as many lesser demons as they could in a short time. An armoured finger tapped her breastplate. "Nicole Whitfield. And yes, you are stupid but maybe you could salvage some of this and we could all forget how you summoned Ba'al because you wanted to get lucky tonight." She reached out the book to Mike. She didn't know what he could show her that she didn't already know but maybe being at ground zero and being possessed by one of Ba'al's minions gave him insight he wouldn't otherwise have. "Make it right then. What is it you want to show us?"

Well, I guess I'll roll Sense Motive to see if Mike is just all he looks on the surface. Sense Motive: 1d20+2 = 15

Salvo "That'll be an interesting exercise," Nicole replied to Leroy. "Even if that's been a long old goal of any artificer worth her salt. I mean, imagine instead of one enchanted object painstakingly handmade in the span of weeks you could have an assembly line of the things. The idea began around the time of Europe's industrialization and the Rendower Club, composed occultists and capitalists, created some interesting theories and practices that characterized that early period and influenced succeeding generations that well..." She stopped herself from turning this into an impromptu lesson, instead inhaling deeply before she gave Leroy a beam of a smile. "I'd love to." Her eyes followed him as he walked over to the group of students to beside Judy where he sat and cupped her hand in his. She could see the fondness when he looked at Judy, the way he would lean over to whisper soothing words into her ear. Her smile faltered, shoulders up like a nervous excited puppy, instead falling and crunching inwards in moments. Of course, who was she kidding? She must look so stupid and so shallow to do as she had, to believe in something else for just that short moment. Leroy and Judy were a couple, forged all the way back to the Fall Dance and before even that. She shivered as she remembered what she saw, all the details playing out in her mind in an instant. When she thought no one was looking, she set Leroy's thermos on an empty table. She left the common room, fingers rubbing hard against her temples. Damn it. She had a headache and her mind was a mess of memories playing out of control. Yet she couldn't help but think of the assembly line theories and their merits and weaknesses, links and processes flowing into more things she should experiment on, more variables to keep track of. It was a useless exercise, and yet... Valentine's was in two weeks. Maybe she could have a working theory before that.

Salvo Salvo crouched, knee deep in sewer water. It lapped at her armor but she paid it no mind, comfortable behind multiple layers of dimensions. Her radar played across her mind, allowing her to see the labyrinthine maze of tunnels and ducts for several hundred feet around her. Nothing so far, just the usual rats scurrying in their warrens. She had a tip-off that Thule sorcerers were gathering somewhere nearby and with the recent alignment of stars and the location's central location between a trio of magical hotspots and well... she had a few ideas what Thule would bear the sewers for. A pair of shades sat before her, on a platform where a spirit of Hiding feasted on the magic emanating from her rune. It was enough to conceal her from a cursory scan and she hoped the sorcerers weren't expecting her. She was here for who knows how long, the window for the ritual stretching to a few hours from now. So she did what any teenage girl would do and browsed the net. Terrifica's thread was posted a few minutes into her stakeout. She remembered it, well enough as if it was happening right before her eyes. She wouldn't be surprised if Terrifica, with her sulerhuman brain, would just as well. To have a chance to think was a relief, especially back then, as if ASTRO Labs was an oasis in a desert full of poisonous snakes.

Initiative Order Veronica (Refllection) - Fine Veronica Danger - Helpless, 3HP Masque - Fine, 1HP Move Action: Drag Veronica back into the mirror. Standard Action: Grapple Oppossed Strength Roll: 1d20+14 = 26 @Thevshi, you're up. Roll an Opposed Strength check to resist being dragged.

Salvo She couldn't help but snort at Pan's musings. He was right, in a way, getting warmer instead of colder but reviewing the tome she had flipped through gave her the most plausible answer. "No," she said, shaking her head. "None of those. We actually have Sam and company to thank for this. They botched their ritual to summon a succubus but they didn't botch it enough to bring in all of Baal. Not enough power to move through the Pact. Not the right components or the ideal variables. Baal's avatar is weak and that extends to his minions. Sam screwed up right here." "Speaking of screws," and Salvo glanced at Gauss and the Senior could almost see the smirk on her face. "What type of cat were you going for? Any of the new cats caught your eye yet?"

Veronica is being grappled. @Thevshi, roll an opposed Grapple Roll (and a Notice check to see if you're Surprised). You and @Fox, roll initiative. Veronica - Reflection Initiative: 1d20+8 = 24 Grapple Roll: 1d20+20 = 30 Melee Attack Roll: 1d20+8 = 22

GM Masque, Veronica It doesn't take long for the three students to get going. The same scene greets them as it did Ouroboros. Halls filled with drones, standing on all sides of the hallway as if this dimension could not decide which way was down and which way up. They choke the hallways but with Veronica's spell, you can just walk over them, which definitely eases the strain of the trip. Stepping past the heads of drones varied in appearance, you have little doubt they vary too in abilities. Small, large, they let you pass unbothered as they believe you one of their own thanks to Masque's disguise. Though one thing you do notice is the flickering of the mess of pixels surrounding each drone's head. Some of the pixels die, freeing the drones, and they immediately move back from where you came from as if possessed of a singular purpose. The drones with pixels still dancing around them stay inert. Another thing of note moves through the walls with you. The walls become more like mirrors with each passing minute but the reflections don't seem to reflect what is actually there. Sure, the drones are there and so are the two of you, still reflected as if Masque had not drawn an illusion about all of you, but the reflections' placements don't reflect what you do. You walk forward and they walk down, look up and they look behind them. Thankfully, this is the extent of Masque's reflection but Veronica and Arcana notices smaller movements from their own. They see from the corners of their eyes their reflections peeking at them, only to quickly cast their eyes somewhere else. As if you were the curiosities and not them. Then they gets more brazen. At one sharp turn of the hallway, you come face-to-face with Veronica's reflection, smiling slightly as she puts her finger to her lips as if to hush you. She keeps on watching as you move on. Then a little bit aways Arcana's reflection walks with you, but it is smaller as if she were at a distance instead of the mirror just a few feet to your right, close enough to leap to the side and tap it. Then again, just before a place where drones do not seem to venture into, Veronica's reflection shakes her head as if to dissuade you forward, her hand reaching up as if to grasp Veronica by the arm. You feel the ambient heat of the generator, this mirror dimension's center. And before you can act, a greater heat washes over you and the three of you throw yourselves to the sides, away from Veronica's reflection, not a moment too soon as a trail of what looks to be black smoke blazes past you. You do your best to keep up your magic and succeed against the heat and the surprise. It passes after a few seconds and when you look again, you see your reflections have vanished. Then when you glance to your side you see Arcana sink into the mirror, disappear in it, what looks to be her hand wrapped around her mouth to keep her from shouting in alarm. Not a moment later and coming from the mirror-wall, Veronica's hand does the same and pulls her inside. Masque You hear two voices talking just a bit away, audible, but you are too busy dealing with what is in front of you to listen intently to what they are saying. Veronica Before your hand grabs you, you have a second to search for Arcana but she has disappeared even from your mage sight. (OOC: As per PMs, Nick's choosing to leave this thread.)