RocketLord

GM But Carmen can't hear Bernie's comments, how annoyed she is or her warning anymore, as she has entered into the cave. In fact, she can't hear any of the others. "Carmen?" Alexandra calls out, though she doesn't seem like she's expecting a response. She sighs and shakes her head. "Right. I was afraid this was going to happen once the storm picked up, but there's nothing to do about but follow the script. The Mesa's not gonna let us go until we do what it wants." Reaching into her backpack, she pulls out her flashlight and a gun belt with a somewhat oversized six shooter revolver and spare bullets, pulling it around her waist. "Alright, listen up! Follow along and listen closely. Things are about to get a whole lot more interesting. We are going to go into that cave, follow it to the end and find Carmen, then we'll do whatever we need to do on the other end, and come right back here. You listen to me, you don't wander off without my say. If it comes to it, you will use your powers. We good? Then come on. We're in the Magic Mesa, and things are about to get weird." --- Carmen is sure that there is something ahead, through the twisting network of the path she follows. Something drives her forward. Towards the voice. Like she doesn't feel like turning back. On and on and on she goes, and finally, she sees light up ahead. The end of the cave. Out of the darkness and into the light. And stepping outside, she finds herself standing in the middle of green park. It looks almost like Liberty Park in Freedom City, but something is off. Something is wrong. It smells too clean. Too sterile. As she looks up, she sees the skyline around her dominated by high tech sky scrapers that truly stretch into the sky and clouds.

GM Rex offers little explanation during the elevator ride to those that followed him, and even less so once they reach the residential area in the tower, further up than laboratory 55 where they had previously met. They reach a room, where a group of men and women in Atom Academy uniforms are standing with all manner of highly advanced equipment, trying to scan the room from the outside, but no one wants to go in. One of them, a bald man, looks up, frowning once he sees Rex and the group approaching. He whispers to another "I guess the real members of the family's all out." Once they reach the open door, they can see the room that the other Academics refuse to enter. It is a standard room, though it appears to be larger than it logically should be. There is a bed, a bookshelf, a table and two chairs. A desktop with another chair and a computer. A nightstand. It all seems quite normal. As they watch, the room occasionally changes. Posters appear and disappear on the walls. The books in the bookcase, and the bookcase itself, changes position. Sometimes it is an entirely different bookcase. The bed, the chairs, the computer and tables. All change at random, replaced with another set of furniture, bits and pieces switching back and forth between two different sets of furniture. "It started ten minutes ago," an African-American woman that looks to be in her fourties explains. She is holding up a scanner of some sort, which seems to register an abnormal amount of Z-Space radiation from the room. "A sudden spike in Z-Space radiation, and then, this. It doesn't seem to be dangerous, but we have no idea what will happen if we go in there."

Rex Atom There's a noise outside, coming from the hallway. Feet rapidly hitting the ground, someone running towards them. The door is thrown open, and a man in the mid-twenties with short black hair, clad in a custom blue and black Atom Academy uniform is standing there, looking around at the group assembled in the laboratory. Nadia will at least recognize him as Rex Atom, the "lost" Atom, as the press has been calling him, as one of the more flattering nicknames. Others include things like the fake or the liar. Not everyone trusts his origin story, even if the rest of the Atom Family has confirmed it several times. "You're all here..." he manages to get out, between ragged breaths. He has obviously hurried to get here. "Good. That's good." He takes a deep breath, steadies himself. "I'm Rex. I called you here, and... we got a situation, so I guess it'll be trial by fire. Come along if you're in, as fast as you can." Rex turns, and starts running towards the nearest elevator. "C'mon! We have a potential Z-Space breach in the residential area!"

...

...

Stormcrow Small Town Snoop --- Wiping the sweat from his brow, Charlie looks up at the sun above. Not a single cloud in the sky, and here he is, walking around Rumblefall, Kansas, in the middle of nowhere, looking for a rumour. The heat, he can deal with. The small town charm is certainly there. He doesn’t mind it all. But the reason he’s here? It is quite frankly boring. Going around and talking to people, trying to find a specific person, while everyone is obviously lying to him. He has just left the grocery store on main street. The bell on the door jingles behind him as it closes, while he turns to glance over his shoulder and look through the window. The grocer is already talking to everyone about Charlie and the questions he asked. Charlie can read lips. He knows that the man is warning everyone to keep silent, to make sure that no one tells the stranger anything. Great. That will make things easier. He can admire their integrity, at least. Now, Charlie enjoys any good mystery, but this? This is anything but. It is just tedious, being turned away at every turn, unable to make any progress with the locals, and all he wants to do is to help. He is only here because Ms. Summers had asked him to go and look into some loose rumours about a local hero. Some kid that had taken down one of the Devil’s Advocates when they came rushing through the town. He can’t say no to a Raven, and yet… Charlie is seriously starting to question whether he should start reconsidering that policy. But he can’t stop now. He’s spent this much time, and it has to be something good if everyone is keeping quiet. Even if it is incredibly boring. So, on to the next place. The bank is next door. It’s a small building, not nearly as secure as anything that they are used to in Freedom City, or most other places that Charlie has been. Opening the door and stepping inside, Charlie notices a single old security guard sitting on a chair, casually reading the newspaper. He’s at least 60, should probably be retired, and he barely looks up to glance at Charlie as he walks in. The teller is a woman around the same age, her hair in a bun, a pair of glasses resting on her nose. She smiles sweetly to Charlie, as he approaches her. “Hey there, what can I do for ya, hun?” she asks. “Hello, I’m looking into some weird things that’s happened around here,” Charlie says, doing his best charming young man impression. “I heard that this biker came into town and caused trouble. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about a local super hero or anything like that stopping him?” The teller stares at Charlie for a moment. A flash of recognition in her eyes, a quick moment where it is obvious that she knows something, and then, the same wall that he has been met with everywhere else. “I’m sorry hun, but I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.” She is still all smiles, but it is fake now. She obviously doesn’t want him there. The politest version of the same reaction that he has gotten everywhere else in town. “Now, if you have no business with the bank, I must ask you to step aside to let paying customers have their turn.” Charlie looks over his shoulder. Only him, the teller and the guard are in the bank. The guard has lowered his newspaper. The same wall once again. “Alright, alright,” Charlie says, holding up his arms to make sure that he means no harm. “I’m only here to help, but I’m not gonna push it.” The last few days have been like this, and as the afternoon passes into evening, Charlie continues to make no progress. The same wall, over and over. He doesn’t want to resort to breaking and entering or looking through their security tapes, if they even have that, but it seems more and more likely that he will need to. Evening passes into night. There is some sort of celebration in town, a local thing with a band playing and some booths. Maybe someone will get drunk enough to forget to keep silent? Just some progress would be nice. Charlie makes his way around the booths, chatting, staying friendly, making sure to buy some stuff, but it doesn’t matter. He is almost run over by a group of kids that rushes by, laughing and cheering all the way. Instead, he is simply pushed to the side, falling on his butt. He should have seen them coming, but maybe he’s just too frustrated. Charlie almost wants to shout something after them, but he stops himself. It’s kids having fun. It wasn’t on purpose, and it’s not like he’s much older than them, anyway. Or maybe they’ve heard about him snooping around and wanted to be a bit more direct than the adults. Charlie is about to get to his feet when a young woman’s voice breaks his train of thought. “Are you alright, mister? That looked like a nasty fall.” Looking up to the right, he sees a teenager with short black hair and deep black eyes. She can’t be older than 15 or 16, dressed in a pair of denim overalls over a white t-shirt and an open plaid dress shirt worn over it. She is holding out her hand to him, and Charlie takes it, accepting her support in getting to his feet. “Thanks, but I’m alright,” he says. “I’m Charlie.” The teenager smiles widely, nodding as she lets go. “Hi Charlie, I’m Mattie.” She looks at him for a moment, still all smiles. “What brings ya ‘round?” “I’m looking for someone,” Charlie responds, more than happy that someone is finally willing to talk to him. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about a local super hero?” Mattie looks at him for a moment, like she is thinking things through, then smiles widely, while she folds her arms in front of her chest. “Sure do! That’d be me!” So much for everyone not wanting to talk to the stranger, then.

ARCHER II Cannonballs flying everywhere, the guy with the sword and everything else going on... this is not how Connor expected the evening to go. The man with the golden aura is still struggling, then the woman and the kid with the sword. Magic sword, probably. And the cannonballs. He has to get through to them, but he has to take down that guy first, before he actually shows what he can do. This time, he flips out from his position around the corner, jumping towards the nearby wall and pushing off it. Mid-air, he sends another barrage of arrows flying towards the man, before he lands in the hallway, now fully out in the open.

Y'know what? Let's keep Peter down. A fast acrobatic bluff to catch him flat-footed, if he can't beat 27 on sense motive or bluff, and then another Autofire Standard Arrow attack: 34 A straight 20 crit, so that should hit for a DC26+3 from Autofire = DC29 TOU save.

The STORMCROW Not a lot of people noticing him or caring that he showed up with their tiny alien friend, but alright, that's fine. It's not like Charlie looks especially striking out of costume, like he hopes. "Hey, Michael?" he asks, before moving away. "Remember to keep an eye on your crew." The students need to do their thing, anyway, and instead, he moves towards Callie, while he keeps his eyes on Bernie on stage. There's so many people around them that it is, luckily, easy to talk. "Didn't expect you to pop up here, Cal," he says, as he joins her, following her moves as well as he can. He has his own training, but he is not quite as fluid. "What brings you back to Freedom?"

Spaceman "We need to keep it some place safe, so people like Ashley doesn't get to it again, right?" Parker asks about the gem, adressing the Starblights. "We'll try to get the Star to A.E.G.I.S., the Freedom League or someone like that, alright? Hopefully Timeout can talk to them and we can figure something out so you can still access it... I hope." What else can he do? There is a lot to handle now. Another world, the Shadow Academy, the entire fight... and, tacos, apparently.

Well, with no Perform, Parker will try to lift something heavy near them, if there's something he can lift with everything put into Strength, at less than 51.2 tons. Anything usable nearby @Avenger Assembled? And a Notice roll, since you asked: 23

Edited, to clear up a bit of confusion stemming from me being indecisive and coming up with ideas after posting: I'll drop Spaceman to be after Golden Star in initiative order, so GS can get them both somewhere and Spaceman can start hitting people.

Spaceman Go or stay? There's people in trouble, but would he be better use in trying to make a plan? It's not really any choice when people are in danger, is it? "Timeout, you know what I can do. Once you figure something out, get to me if you need me." "Star?" Parker asks, looking towards Michael. "I'm gonna lose what I got going if I move too fast. Can you get me into the middle of a group of the invaders?"

GHOST "Hey!" Ghost moves back, out of the way just in time to avoid the alien swinging knives at him. The way it moves and everything, it's ghosting, like him. Or maybe not quite like him. And it goes solid. "Patriot, watch out!" Too late. It goes for her before he has a chance to dive in, but, as he lets go of the machine and dives towards it, Casper realizes something else. The alien is solid again. It has to go solid to be able to attack Patriot. That means it can't fight both of them at once, and... "Man, don't go fighting someone else just because you missed me! That's rude!" He sticks his hand through the alien's face, sending a shock through its entire system. It should hurt. A lot.

Switching Friendly Neighborhood Ghost array to Insubstantial. Switching Ghost With the Most Array to Damage. Then I'm gonna move in and try to attack the bad guy: 13 and I rolled a 1... so I'll spend a HP and reroll that, cus I can only get better! Reroll: 26 That's a DC27 TOU save on this and next round, since the Damage effect got Secondary effect.

Forever Boy All are here for a reason, all are here to be seen. All are here for a prize, one that they will pay a price to win. But what is the prize and the price for a boy that walks between the pages, who frolics through stories, with little care for the role that he is meant to play? Well, that could be a story all by itself, could it not? "Make that four players from Uearth," the young man with the red hair says, as he steps into the story, alongside the man of light, the woman of stars and the one with many faces. He can't be more than sixteen, clad in a form fitting green and yellow uniform, with a green domino mask over his eyes, and a heavy red pirate coat with golden accents over his body. He is supernaturally beautiful, but something about his smile is just a little bit too wide. He introduces himself with a bow. "I am the Forever Boy. And what role would you to see me fill in your story, Miss Tun?"

The STORMCROW Everything is going crazy around them. There's too many, they're not prepared and things are, quite frankly, a mess. These guys are good. Not the kind of people that they're used to dealing with. They want to keep Bernie down. It's a good, tactical solution for them, and... it really pisses him off. "Everyone, stick together! Watch each others' backs!" The duplicator around him and Bernie keep hitting and taunting, he only just manages to try to keep her safe, until she can get up and then... a blue man drops out of the sky and protects them, while announcing himself as the Star Khan, and the ruler of something that sounds space-like. Not really Charlie's area of expertise, and he's pretty sure that some of the Raven's files said something about the Star Khan being bad news, but they can use the backup. "I'm Stormcrow," he replies to the blue man, in between blocking strikes. "Nominally in charge, I guess. If you're here to help, it'd be great if you could knock out the woman in orange with the flames." While he's talking, he is reaching into his utility belt and pulls out a small round disk, rolling it between his fingers, before twisting it into his hand and throwing it towards the bad guy with the rings. The moment it impacts with his chest, it expands into a metallic wire that quickly starts wrapping around his body, pulling in tight around him. "C'mon, Multi-Girl," he says. She's alright. She'll get up soon. She has to. "Show this cheap knock off how you do your thing."

Gonna throw a Snare at Sureshot, since it seems like he needs to move to do his ring thing: 34 And that's a crit, so DC25 Ref save vs. Snare if it hits. Let's make the Snare a rapidly expanding and constricting nano-mesh line that wraps around his entire body.

Spending a Hero Point to Dodge, doubling Ghost's Dodge Bonus for one round, which adds +14, putting him at total Defense +31.

Notice: 22

Spaceman Right. Keep a tight grip on the gem. Parker looks at it briefly. Maybe staying close to the theater will keep the gem safe, still? It's not like they've moved far. "If the theater keeps the gem secret, then maybe it would be better if we moved in there while we talk?" he asks, looking between the others, before fixing his eyes on Lawrence. "Could you reach out to Velocity and figure out who we need to come deal with Ashley here and the others, so we can make sure they're secure? Then I'm sure the rest of us can talk things through, right?" he ends hopefully, looking towards the Starblights at the last sentence.

Spaceman Parker's mind is racing. If someone brought them all here, then it would make sense that they would bring in new enemies, get their attention whenever they were getting into a next situation, and, right on cue, as they're discussing things, trying to figure things out, and then, the next threat. The Star Khan looks horrible, to say it bluntly. Half machine, his body mangled. If Michael knows him, or his son, then this probably isn't what he is supposed to look like, either. "It seems like we're right, TL," he says, crossing his arms as the hologram speaks. It was right on cue and everything. "Someone's manipulating things. Whenever we talk and try to figure out what is going on, the next threat appears, and when I reached out, it felt like everything outside the bubble just... stopped." He frowns. "Doesn't mean this is fake. We get hurt, and so do people here." Spaceships begin to fly in. They can't just stay there. They have to save people. But that's exactly what whoever has brought them here expects of them, isn't it? And endless battle, with no means to end it. To not think things through, to put them up against the next challenge and the next and so on. "If someone could use the power of a singularity to do... this? Then they could probably do it somewhere else and just use the power to set it all up. And make changes on the fly." He is not the big thinker here, not some kind of genius, he can just change distances. He looks up at the spaceships as they come flying in. "Could we try to breach the barrier?"

Knowledge: Physical Sciences roll to see what Parker knows about singularities: 29

Bounce Power Level: 10 Effective Power Level: 8 Power Points: 150/150PP Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: No Offensive, Defensive switch between TOU+4/Def-4, TOU+0/Def+0 and TOU-4/Def+4 In Brief: Happy-go-lucky shapeshifter hero! Catchphrase: "Let's Bounce!" Theme: Welcome to the Show - Britt Nicole Alternate Identity: Matilda 'Mattie' Hopper aka Bouncin' Mattie Birthplace: Rumblefall, Kansas Residence: Claremont Academy, Freedom City Base of Operations: Claremont Academy, Freedom City Occupation: Student Affiliations: Claremont Academy Family: X DESCRIPTION Age: Born May 23rd, 2008 Gender: Female Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5’6’’, but variable Weight: 120 lbs., but variable Eyes: Brown, shapeshifted purple when in heroic identity Hair: Black, shapeshifted purple when in heroic identity Physical description HISTORY X Grew up in small town where everyone knows everyone, regular happy and well liked girl Small meteors fall on the town, empowers people, Mattie gets her powers and becomes Bouncin' Mattie, keeping the peace Mostly deals with small time things, feuds where someone suddenly finds a meteor and gets powers, then decides to solve a family feud or do something illegal but slightly silly. Everyone knows everyone, so Mattie finds them and stops them. Most serious stuff is out of towners coming in and trying to find the meteors or do other things, only for Mattie to stop them A recurring bad guy tries to steal from the local store, only to be stopped every time, being all chummy with Mattie when he does Callie Summers sends Stormcrow to figure it out, he finds her, offers her a place at Claremont, entire town sees her off She comes to Freedom and Claremont, where it's suggested she doesn't use her name as her super hero name, so she becomes Bounce instead of Bouncin' Mattie. Having a secret identity is very novel and exciting! Got a bit of a big city shock and is bit naive about super heroing, but really wants to do her best PERSONALITY & MOTIVATION X POWERS & TACTICS X POWER DESCRIPTIONS X COMPLICATIONS Complication: X. ABILITIES 4 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 0 + 6 = 20PP Strength: 14 (+2) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 12 (+1) Wisdom: 10 (+0) Charisma: 16 (+3) COMBAT 6 + 8 = 14PP Initiative: +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +3 Base, +8 Melee (+3 Base, +5 Attack Focus [Melee] Defense: +4 (+4 Base), +2 Flat-Footed, Bouncy Shape +8 (+4 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), Fluid Shape +12 (+4 Base, +8 Dodge Focus) Grapple: +16 (+3 Base Attack, +5 Attack Focus [Melee], +2 Strength, +6 Elongation) Knockback: Fluid Shape -2 (4/2), Bouncy Shape -4 (8/2), Sturdy Shape -6 (12/2) SAVING THROWS 4 + 4 + 6 = 14PP Toughness: Fluid Shape +4 (+2 Con, +2 Protection), Bouncy Shape +8 (+2 Con, +6 Protection), Sturdy Shape +12 (+2 Con, +10 Protection) Fortitude: +6 (+2 Con, +4) Reflex: +6 (+2 Dex, +4) Will: +6 (+0 Wis, +6) SKILLS 44R = 11PP Acrobatics 8 (+10) Diplomacy 7 (+10) Escape Artist 3 (+5) Gather Information 7 (+10) Medicine 5 (+5) Notice 10 (+10) Search 4 (+5) FEATS 11PP Acrobatic Bluff Attack Focus [Melee] 5 Improved Initiative 1 Luck 2 Takedown Attack 2 POWERS 13 + 8 + 6 + 10 + 12 + 2 + 27 = 80 Attack Forms Array 5.5 (11PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 2) [13PP] (Descriptors: ) BP: Damage 6 (Feats: Improved Critical 2, Mighty, Variable Descriptor 2 [Any shapeshifting]) {11/11} (Descriptors: Shift Strike, X) AP: Snare 8 (Extras: Engulf (+0); Flaws: Range [Touch]; Feats: Obscure Senses 2 [Sight, Hearing], Reversible) {11/11} (Descriptors: Wrap-Around, X) AP: Stun 8 (Flaws: Action [Full]; Feats: Improved Critical 2) {10/11} (Descriptors: Massive Strike, X) Defense Forms Array 4 (8DP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 2) [8PP] BP: {4 + 4 = 8/8PP} (Descriptors: Bouncy Shape) Enhanced Feat 4 (Dodge Focus 4; Total Defense +8) [3PP] Protection 4 (Total Toughness +8) [3PP] AP: Protection 8 (Total Toughness +12) {8/8} (Descriptors: Sturdy Shape) AP: Enhanced Feat 8 (Dodge Focus 8; Total Defense +12) {8/8} (Descriptors: Fluid Shape) Elongation 6 (250 ft.) [6PP] (Descriptors: Name, X) Immunity 20 (All Non-Lethal Physical Damage; Flaws: Limited [Half Effect]) [10PP] (Descriptors: Name, X) Morph 4 (Any form with same mass; Diguise +20) [12PP] (Descriptors: Name, X) 3PP/rank Protection 2 [2PP] (Descriptors: Name, X) Shapeshift 3 (15PP Variable Power, Any Power, Multiple Powers At Once; Extras: Action 2 [Free]) [27PP] (Descriptors: Shapeshifting, Mutation, Physical) Sample powers DRAWBACKS DC BLOCK Name Range Save Effect Attack bonus Unarmed Touch, 250 ft. DC17 Tou (staged) Damage +8 Shift Strike Touch, 250 ft. DC23 Tou (staged) Damage +8, Crit 18-20 Wrap-Around Touch, 250 ft. DC23 Ref (staged) Fail: Entangled >5: Bound and Helpless +8 Massive Strike Touch, 250 ft. DC23 Fort (staged) Fail: Dazed >5: Stunned >10: Unconscious +8, Crit 18-20 Totals: Abilities (20) + Combat (14) + Saving Throws (14) + Skills (11) + Feats (11) + Powers (80) - Drawbacks (0) = 150/150 Power Points

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