Lone Star

Blake gave her knee a gentle squeeze, and took a deep breath. The smell of delicious steak made his mouth curl into a smile. "Thanks for lunch, by the way. And you're right...a vacation means a vacation away from what we do here. I really haven't taken any vacation time from paranormal investigations." He smoothed back his hair, then cut his burger neatly in half and took a bite. He smiled as he chewed the savory meat, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Damn, this is yummy."

The necromancer took the hit right on his cheek, and stumbled back. Blood rushed from the wound, and he spat out a few teeth. "It will take more than that to beat me, mere mortal. You're no match for a sorcerer of my power!" Warlock pointed his lightning wand forward, igniting the tip with eldritch lightning. "Oh, give it a rest already. I know you won't be the last hammy opponent we've fought." The lightning shot forward, and aimed true, hitting the evil wizard right on his chest. He fell back and was out cold without a last word. The ghost shrieked and faded out of existence, and the skeletons fell back into piles of bone. Warlock kicked a skull, and it flew across the lawn. "Nice work, guys." he said, smiling at the other two. "Is everyone alright? I've got a healing potion if anyone needs it."

Zap gasped as the young man turned to a pile of ash. She sat, unbelieving for a minute while her friends tried to work out a solution. She was hugging her legs to the seat, and a tear fell from her eye. God this is scary. I can't believe he just...God! Looking around for a moment, she held back a sob. Get yourself together, Janis. You're a superhero. You've got to stick with it or you'll never get out of here. Her head turned slowly to the window, and she saw endless plains of inky blackness. She started breathing faster, and she squeezed her eyes together, and regulated her breathing enough to calm down. Zap stood up, her hands igniting with bio-electricity. She smiled a little bit, wiping a tear from the side of her cheek. "I'll gladly help, if I can."

Sorry about the delay. Our necromancer takes the hit hard, losing the save by 13. So our necro-buddy is now Bruised, Stunned, and Staggered. Time for Warlock and the Ghost to try to take a shot. Warlock will aim for the Necromancer with his Lightning Rod. Necro-buddy takes full damage. Let's see how he does on his Toughness save...He misses by 13! Our necromancer is now out for the count! All other enemies fade away, good show guys.

Blake choked on his drink at the mention of the infamous German highway, having to steady himself on the table. After taking a moment to compose himself, he grinned at her. "I don't know about the Autobahn, but I do trust you with my life, Jessica." he said with a sly wink. "A sports car would be pretty rockin', though. If you're interesting...maybe I could even soup up the engine a bit. I've been looking into technomancy!" He squeezed her hand. "Maybe we should leave our whole superhero identities in Freedom City. I mean, you should bring your armor, and I'll bring my gadgets, but let's try not to make any guest appearances in Europe, eh? I just think if we're going to have a vacation, it should really be away from our heroic lives as well."

Warlock Fun in the Sun Conversations: Intimate Something Old, Something New Nightmare on West End Mad Dog The Jade Arenas of Heaven: Poison Desires Zap Wayward Transit

The necromancer made the save, so here's what we have so far... Nick: 26. 4 HP, Bruised, Stunned Skeleton 1: 25. Bound Necromancer: 21. Bruised Skeleton 2: 20. Bound Skeleton 3: 17. Bound Cobalt Templar: 11. 3 HP, Unharmed Warlock: 4. 4 HP, Unharmed Ghost: 4. Unharmed Our Necromancer is up once again. He'll attack Warlock with his Will Save Blast. Holy carp. He rolled a 20! That hits, of course. A DC 25 Will save for my unfortunate hero. Luckily, he just makes it. CT is now up.

Necromancer makes the save. The skeletons are minions, and I'll say that they're bound. Uh, does his Poltergeist's Rage affect Insubstantial creatures?

Blake put his arms around her, and held her close. "Babe, it's okay. We're human. And that guy doesn't deserve his degree. He should know that science is for the betterment of mankind. You can't just horde discoveries to yourself, and if it was his project, he would have gotten the recognition he deserved. He was just an arrogant twit who should rot in a jail cell for a while." He looked into her eyes. "You know what sounds good? Ice cream. I think we kicked enough ass to deserve some chill-time."

Blake kissed her hard on her cheek. "Why on earth would you be sorry, baby? It'll be a lot of fun! I guess we'll have to rent a car when we get down there. Or, I could possibly set up a summoning circle to bring your Explorer with us!" He squeezed her fingers and giggled a little. "That is, if you can't science it over there. Some sort of...complex portal system. That'd be pretty cool, too." Blake suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her face to his. "I love you, by the way." He slowly moved his hand through her hair and enveloped her in a passionate smooch.

On Sunday, I will be having fun with friends, and Monday is my 19th birfday, so my availability will be limited.

Mad Dog smiled and lifted his bottle of beer, taking a long swig after the glasses clinked. "I hope I'm ready for tomorrow. Red Rook was more than I expected. I don't actually know what I would do against an opponent who would use ranged attacks." He nodded to Fulcrum. "And thanks, the whole 'disappearing' thing is pretty simple. It's really about distracting your opponent for a moment, then taking that moment to hide. I learned a lot of that from the Marines, but it takes practice to move that fast. Not to toot my own horn, that is." he said with a slight smirk.

Dos.

Zap was doing her best not to leap at him. Her jaw was clenched in rage, but a voice in the back of her mind told her that maybe he was actually being sincere. After all, he wasn't exactly from around here, and maybe he thought differently than us. She cancelled her power effects, the electricity cutting off like the power from an office building, and the bus was darker again. She slowly sat down, feeling a little safer, and her hands went to her lap. Maybe this wouldn't turn out as bad as she thought it would.

Mad Dog was also in a festive mood, and shared many a laugh with his stony opponent. The golem certainly had some interesting stories to tell, and he was a lot older than he could have imagined. He was grinning beneath his tactical mask, and he lifted it up it to eat, showing his strong chin and stubble. As he daintily took a bite of the fois gras, he saw familiar faces from across the table. He adjusted his mask and strode over, giving Changeling a pat on her back. "I just caught the very end of your match, but congratulations. We all kicked ass today. Hey, Fulcrum!" He showed as best he could that he was glad to see her from behind his mask.

The necromancer threw up a mystic shield, which stank of foul sorcery. The majority of the assault was blocked, but his arm weakened and he took a minor hit. "Bah! Your attacks are nothing against a master of death itself. Your attempts to defeat me are foolish indeed." He looked at Cobalt Templar, and his sunken eyes seemed to bore into his soul. "You're a naive fool, and your friends will be mine soon enough. Attack him, my Mistress of the Underworld!" The phantom, her arms extended, flew at a frightening pace. Her white dress billowed behind her as she took off, and she raked a spectral claw across his face. She shrieked again, a hideous noise which pierced the night. Warlock kept his force field up, and the blows of the skeletons were neatly deflected by it. "Seriously guys, cut it out. It tickles!" He whipped out his metallic lightning wand, and shot a bolt of eldritch electrical force at the minions. They crumbled, their bones disintegrating under the sheer force.

The Necromancer saves... And does not too bad. 24 Toughness save. So our Necromancer takes a bruise. Warlock is now up. I'll assume there are three skeletons attacking him, and he'll try to wipe them out with his Lightning Wand. None of the Skeletons make the saving throw, they roll a 10, 3, and 17. So they'll have to make a save against a DC 24 Toughness. Since they have +1 Toughness, I'll assume they're knocked out, since Minions are usually down when they fail a save. And now it's the Ghost's turn. She's going to fly up and +5/-5 Power Attack CT. And she does quite well, rolling a 24. That's a Toughness DC 30 for CT to roll against. And we're on Round 2 with Nick. Nick: 26. 4 HP, Bruised, Stunned Skeleton 1: 25. Unharmed Necromancer: 21. Bruised Skeleton 2: 20. Unharmed Skeleton 3: 17. Unharmed Cobalt Templar: 11. 3 HP, Unharmed Warlock: 4. 4 HP, Unharmed Ghost: 4. Unharmed

Mad Dog cracked his knuckles, and looked down at the golem. "I faced an opponent who fought like a champion. Well done, Red Rook." He chuckled from beneath his black tactical mask. "It was pretty damn close for a while there, wasn't it? But I was highly impressed with your skill and sheer...stony attitude." He walked from the arena, his smile evident, although his mask covered it. Looking around, he decided to sit in the stands and wait for the final match to end. While he climbed the stairs, he saw a familiar face- the Amazonian woman from earlier that morning. He smiled at her and waved a hand. "Is this seat taken?"

I have to head to work shortly, but I'll make an IC post when I get back.

Alright! Maybe the skeletons will get a Bruise on someone, or something. Actually, they only do 1 damage, so it won't hit at all. CT is up.

Mad Dog saw the mighty clay fist coming, and he swung his head low. He felt the air displaced by the fist rustle his hair beneath his mask. "Whew, you've got quite an arm on you, Red Rook. Maybe you're getting a little sloppy yourself, though. You've probably been around a lot longer than I have. How's it feel to be hit by a young dude like me?" He closed his hand into a fist, and his leather gloves crinkled in that satisfying way he was used to. He screamed a battle cry, and slammed his muscular fist into the clay man once more.

Mad Dog neatly makes the save. So he'll retaliate with another +5/-5 Power Attack/All-Out Attack. 1d20+16=22 I hope that makes it. It's a DC 30 Toughness for Red Rook.

Zap tried to listen to the strange king, but she could not understand a word he was saying. "...What?" She paused for a moment, listening to what the cheetah said. "Yeah, what he said. You can't just burst in here and expect people to help you, ass. That's not how we do things around here. Now seriously, put everything back the way it was or else we'll start beating you up." She held out her hands, and arcs of electricity lit up the bus. "So what's your decision?

Gladly!

The blow of the clay fist hits him on the side of the head, landing on his jaw. He reeled back in pain, clutching his face. His hockey mask concealed the vigilante's expression, but beneath the mask he gritted his teeth to keep from screaming out in pain. Dude hits like a freight train! He fell backwards a few steps, his head still spinning from the blow. Crap, I'd better be ready for whatever he throws at me next. I don't know if I can take another hit like that. A thin stream of blood flowed from his mouth out onto his neck, and he could feel his cheek swelling. The fight wasn't quite over yet.