N/A

My bad. For some reason, I assumed Slamdance was already inside. Reading back over the thread, I can see I was mistaken.

I don't have any strong preference for Scarab's current location. Anywhere that reconciles the events and dialogue thus far is fine by me.

Avenger's Sense Motive check was more than sufficient to pierce through The Scarab's clumsy feint, and deduce that her attention is focused on Slamdance, not the box or the scene around her.

"Petty insults. Not the old Scarab."

"Back in the old days, we called it 'banter.' You modern heroes are too serious for your own good." Though she was speaking to Avenger, her gaze (or what they could see of it and extrapolate, from behind her mask) never wavered from Slamdance. "Besides, I had to do something to draw you out. You're too good at hiding."

I need find out what happened here. And that is going to leave me vulnerable. I need to get this scene contained. Which means I either need these others on my side, or out of the way.

Sandro steps out of the shadows as Scarab looks his direction, trying to look intimidating and sound mature.

"I thought you died?"

Scarab turned toward the boy in the ski mask and uncrossed her arms. "I did. But I got better. And I don't recommend it. Now who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"And, I don't know who you were talking to, but if you or your friend had something to do with this, I will bring you to justice."

"Hmph. I'm afraid it was a one-sided conversation. Tall-Dark-&-Disturbed up there isn't much of a first date." She raised her voice slightly. "But whoever he is, he was tearing those bedrooms apart. Whatever he's looking for, he didn't find it before I interrupted him. And..." She pointed toward one of the few spots on the carpet that wasn't soaked in blood. The footlocker floated down the same path and came to rest on the floor with an audible *clang*."...he missed a spot."

Hopefully, that will keep the boy distracted for a few seconds while I find out what I need to know.

In regards to "if A + B then C, but if A but not B then D, but if B but not A then E, but if neither A nor B then F" type things... my advice would be to just keep such plans to yourself until you actually know what the results of your initial actions are (i.e, I have time to respond). Otherwise you'll be making long posts of things that either can't or won't happen, which tends just to clutter things and confuse folks as to what you're truly doing.

As I've already learned, the same way superheroes learn everything: The Hard Way.

Drop TK. Switch to Telepathy.

Unskilled Bluff roll to divert Slamdance's attention elsewhere: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1913695/

Initiating a Mind Probe of Slamdance: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1913698/

Question: Do you know who killed the Dicksons?

The Scarab is currently speaking loud enough for you both to hear, standing (well, hovering) in full view, wearing gleaming gold-and-red armor. Unless the GM really wants to force the issue, neither PC needs to make Notice or Sense Motive checks to see her, hear her, or understand her intentions. She's being pretty straightforward about calling out both of you, and heavily implying that at some point, she's seen both of you and knows you're here.

In other words, I voluntarily decided to be the one to make the first move and sacrifice "looking cool" in an attempt to get the party interacting with each other so we can actually start getting stuff done. The whole "dealing with skittish cats" plan/analogy is a rationalization to that end. The fact that such a maneuver is in-character for her, I consider a bonus. If we just keep posturing and hiding from each other and trying to one-up each other, this story is never gonna move forward.

I'm trying to strike a balance between "good roleplaying" and narrative pragmatism here.

I thought Scarab was making it pretty bloody obvious that she's looking for Slamdance by turning her head back and forth as she calls him out. I'll voluntarily "fail" the Bluff check. She isn't scrying with ESP again.

Hmm. I was going to quibble about Scarab being able to know how Avenger was dressed, given how dark the house is, but then again Avenger wasn't actually trying to be sneaky in there until he realized he was being watched. So she probably saw him in the streetlight coming through the window or something.

That, and my 25 Notice and Search results while I was scrying with ESP beat everybody's initial Stealth rolls. And since Doc Ark told me that my Search check revealed everything that yours did, I can assume I had enough ambient light to see by.

I'm not trying to godmode you, I swear. There's a method to my madness.

The man in black is skittish, like a cat. If I chase him, he'll run and hide again. So I'll draw him in, let him come to me. I still don't know his intentions, but I'll probably find out soon, when he either attacks me, tries to flee, or joins the investigation. He was tearing this place apart. I interrupted him before he found whatever he was looking for.

Floating box in tow, The Scarab flies back out of the master bedroom, braces herself, and floats and downstairs. In the meantime, there is another to attend to. I've been neglecting our downstairs guest....

Once downstairs, she calls out to him. I can't see him yet, but he doesn't need to know that. She doesn't yell, but nor does she whisper. "You in the ski mask. You must be new at the whole 'crime' business. That yellow tape on the door means that, not only have the police already been here, but they'll be coming back. Many, many times." She turned her head, looking around for the intruder, trying to focus past all the blood. "You know, your friend upstairs, the Jason Vorhees fan, is much better at playing hide-&-seek. Come out, come out, wherever you are..."

Scarab maintains the TK effect on the plotlocker, flies downstairs, and "greets" the other intruder.

While Avenger might have been able to guess Scarab's gender from the voice, I'm just going to run with the idea that he made a false assumption given that Scarab's not in the stereotypical girl superhero costume.

That's basically the effect I was going for. Thanks for playing along.

OK, leaving plenty of room for interruption here, and trying not to plan too far ahead this time. Sorry, I'm still new to this whole play-by-post thing. I tried to lay things out a little in advance so as to keep things moving if my posting was delayed. Live and learn.

Since the whole Mind Probe scenario didn't happen, Scarab will keep Telekinesis as her active Array slot. Move Action to enter the master bedroom, and Standard Action to TK the mysterious plotlocker up within melee range of herself. Basically acting as though Avenger isn't there, treating him like a cat. He's shown that, if I chase him, he'll run and hide. So instead, I'm luring him to me.

By the time The Scarab finished her sentence and took stock of the room, the dark-clad figure she had observed from outside was nowhere to be seen. Curious....

Standing up straight, perpendicular to the floor she was hovering a few inches above, she begins floating toward the master bedroom. As soon as it came into view, she gestured toward the footlocker protruding from the closet, then back toward herself. The footlocker lifted up off the ground and began floating through the air toward her...

I don't think I need to retcon my last in-character post, however. We can reasonably assume that Scarab made her introduction as soon as she entered the room. Avenger had ample time to do his disappearing act, and now the ball is in his court.

He can of course attack her at any time, possibly KOing her and breaking her mind-sifting that way.

Of course. Hence, the above text, laden as it was with qualifiers.

Although it's moot at this point anyway, since he got a natural 20 on his Hide In Plain Sight roll. I'd need an 18 to see him. I'm not even gonna try.

Round 3: Stop maintaining ESP. Free action to switch Array slot, from ESP to Telekinesis. Standard Action to use Indirect TK to open the window from the inside, from the outside (does that make sense?). Move Action to fly in. Free Action to speak to the Not-Vampire. Free Actions to maintain Flight and Force Field.

Technically, since the TK is Subtle, onlookers would need a DC20 Notice check to have any idea why the window was moving. But Scarab isn't trying to hide the source. She's gesturing pretty obviously. And her Stealth is negative. So Avenger, Razorback, and anyone else who's looking at her can tell pretty easily that she's the source of the effect. But the window isn't coated in a glowing aura or anything like that.

Barring GM intervention, you two each have one round to get your licks in.

Round 4: (Barring any unforeseen developments) Free Action to switch Array slot, from TK to Telepathy. Free Actions to maintain Flight and Force Field. Full Action to initiate a Mind Probe of Avenger.

Avenger gets a DC20 Notice check to feel Scarab rooting through his brain like a file cabinet.

This calls for a contested roll, Scarab's Mind Reading vs. Avenger's Will Save. Scarab gets 28.

If Avenger detects the mental break-in, and he really wants to keep his secrets, he can use Extra Effort to get a new save at any time. He can also choose to fail the save, unless he doesn't consciously know that he knows the answer to my question.

If Avenger wins, I get nothing, because I'm not using Extra Effort to attempt another mental break-in during this scene.

If Scarab wins, thanks to the wonky pseudo-Concentration (Lasting) Duration on Mind Reading, she gets 10 rounds / 1 minute before Avenger gets his next save to kick her out. She'll spend all 10 rounds, if possible, taking Full Actions to continue probing. Here are the questions I want to ask, in this order:

01) Did you kill the Dicksons?

02) Why are you here?

03) Are you affiliated with the other intruder downstairs?

04) Did you come here on your own initiative, or were you sent here?

05) What do you know about the Dickson deaths?

06) What crimes are you wanted for (if any)?

07) How long have you been in Freedom City?

08) Are you a superpowered being (by human standards)?

09) Are you a human (as opposed to, say, a Grue)?

10) What is your real name?

Depending on the answers each question gets, I may change later inquiries in the list.

If the answer to Question #1 is "Yes," or if the answer to Question #2 involves harming Scarab, harming innocents, or disrupting the investigation (destroying evidence, etc.), then all bets are off and next round I ditch the probe and start attacking.

Otherwise, assuming no serious interruptions, Scarab will take only Free Actions and Reactions until her 10 rounds are up.

Downstairs... well, she wishes she hadn't peeked downstairs.

There's a few streaks of blood in the kitchen, mostly on the floor, as if someone had run and slipped through it. Otherwise, it's a very nice (if perhaps quaint) kitchen.

The dining room is a shambles, looking as if there'd been a big fight in it. The dining room table seems to have been chopped in half, and the hutch cabinet (and all the dishes on it) were smashed. Lots of blood here, too.

The living room almost makes her gag. The couch is thoroughly soaked in blood, as if the mutilated bodies had been piled onto it. The walls are also coated in blood. Most of the blood on the walls is in the form of bizarre symbols; about half are fairly crude and just slathered on, but the other half are fairly neat and precise, or as neat and precise as one can make with blood on a wall.

I can see why I was drawn here. My gods...haven't seen atrocities like this since the '30s. Since Germany...

The Scarab lets her senses snap back to their proper resting place, then floats up to the second floor, toward the bedroom containing the man in black searching so intently. In that outfit, my first thought would be "burglar." But for the fact that he's wearing a cape. Thieves don't wear capes. Heroes do. Heroes...and villains. I'll deal with the prowler on the ground momentarily. First, let's find out if our second-story man is a detective, or a suspect.

She hovered in front of the window and gestured toward the latch. It unlocked, seemingly of its own accord, and with another wave of her hand, the window burst open. She flew inside and "stood" a few inches off the ground, her arms crossed as she addressed the intruder in Joan Dickson's bedroom.

"I am The Scarab. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Razorback, if I'm not mistaken, you get a DC20 Notice check too, to see if you notice my scrying, since you're in it's area of effect.

You guys keep some late hours.

No freaking kidding. I posted right before I left to work a graveyard shift. I don't know what their excuses are. Especially since Doc Ark is 3 hours ahead of me. :shock:

The article you read didn't say when the bodies were found/reported. And since it seems you didn't read any other articles after reading that one, you don't know when they were found.

Gimme a Notice check if you're looking for cops or neighbors

If she's checking the entire house & lot, that's "1 mile," not 100 feet: the house alone is about 35 x 35 feet, and two stories, so well over 1,000 feet. It'd take 1 hour, but Rapid 2 reduces it to 36 seconds (6 rounds).

After you give me the Notice checks, and let me know if she is indeed ESPing the whole place, I'll let you know what she finds.

I'm looking for cops, neighbors, and people in the house (murderer returning to the scene of the crime, other investigators, etc.). I'll take 10 on the Notice Checks. Notice 15 + 10 = DC25.

She is indeed ESPing the whole house and yard, inside and out. I'll take 10 on the Search check to look for "clues" (i.e., anything interesting or out of the ordinary). I'll go ahead and take the 6 rounds to do so.

I'm pretty sure from the description of the Search Skill that the distance listed on the Extended Range table is the diameter of the area being searched in that context, but in the interests of expediency and good sportsmanship I'll submit to your ruling for the time being. I'd like that issue examined in the future, though. When they list Johnny Rocket searching an entire city as an example, I'm pretty sure he wasn't just walking in one straight line from one end of the city to the next.

Ouch! Poor Scarab!

Whatever, Darkwing Duck. : P

Avenger established that we're starting this late at night, and I'm following along.

How long has it been since the bodies were found/reported?

Are there police or other officials still on the scene? Any activity from the neighbors?

Flight and Force Field are activated. All effects are using the Subtle feat unless I say otherwise.

Round 1: Remain hovering in a nearby tree. Free Action to switch Array slots – drop Concealment and switch to ESP. Full Action to activate ESP.

Round 2: Remain hovering in a nearby tree. Scan the house and the lot with Visual/Audio ESP. A house like that probably fits on the “100 ft†entry on the Extended Range Table, meaning it would normally take 5 minutes to cover in an extended search. With Rapid 2, I can do it in 3 seconds. So, Standard Action? Take 10 on the Search check (Search 15 + 10 = DC25). I'm looking for people first, clues second.

The Scarab stopped short of the Dickson house, flying instead into the tree in their front yard. Hopefully, the leaves and branches will conceal me for at least a few moments. She diverted her focus away from screening herself, instead concentrating on pushing her eyes and her ears past herself, into the house. I'd better look before I leap (for once). It wouldn't do for a psychic to get ambushed. Or for a superhero to get arrested. Now let's see what there is to see...

Sorry I was late to the party. It's Double XP Weekend in City of Heroes, and I really wanted to finally get to Level 50. 8-)

She wandered through a thick fog. As the mists ebbed and flowed, she could see she was in some sort of marsh or swamp. The gnarled, twisted black corpses of trees spired up from the still greenish-black waters. She had no idea how long she had been walking. It could have been less than a minute. It could have been a lifetime.

She heard the sound of water splashing beneath her. Slowly, she turned her head downward, and saw that she had been walking on the surface of the water. She was struck, not by the idea that this was unusual, but by the idea that this didn't seem unusual at all.

More splashing. She looked up, and the grey haze retreated slightly to reveal a skiff or raft of some sort. The boatman wore an ocean of long black robes containing infinite folds and crevasses. He wielded an enormous scythe, which he repeatedly plunged into the water to pull the boat forward. His three passengers each stood in a line, their heads hanging down. An old man, a middle-aged woman, and an adolescent boy. Each held a bloody human heart in their hands.

In unison, all three passengers looked up and locked gazes with her. Their flesh was pale, tinted with blue and green. Their mouths hung open, slack. Their eyes were bloodshot, unfocused, seeming not to look at her, but through her.

The boatman turned toward her, revealing not a face beneath his cowl, but a skull. A canine skull, like a wolf, or a...a jackal....

Elena woke suddenly in her penthouse, sitting up so violently it made her abs ache. She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and turned to the clock. Well past midnight. Damn. So much for a good night's sleep.... She rubbed her eyes and the bridge of her nose as she reached for the aspirin and water bottle she kept on the nightstand. I wonder why these vision always come with such a blasted headache. This one was so laden with random mythological references it finally collapsed under its own weight. I guess that's what happens when you spend a few thousand years reincarnating. All that religious imagery starts blurring together....

She grabbed a quick shower, hastily pulled on some very casual clothes (including a particularly distinctive red tank-top that didn't look like any fabric she had ever seen), and rode the elevator down to the lobby of 1 Pyramid Plaza. She stopped by the Starbase on the way to the basement. The barista saw her exit the elevator and had her double vanilla latte and toasted bagel ready before the cashier was done making her change. I'm so glad I managed to convince the board to keep this one open 24/7. Rank does have it's privileges.

Down in The Lair, or “The Bugcave†as Sofia liked to call it, Elena sat at the center terminal of the command center, sipping her coffee and scouring the internet and the late edition of the Freedom Ledger, searching for mention of recent murders or accidental deaths in Freedom City. There was no way an entire family perished by “natural causes.†It didn't take long to find an article about the Dicksons, and Elena's throat tightened a bit when she saw their pictures.

This bears looking into. She hesitated for a moment, took a final sip of her coffee, then took off running from the terminal. Running flowed into flying as the morphic molecules of her tank top re-arranged, leaking out from under her clothes and enveloping her in the scarlet-&-gold heraldry her predecessor had made famous. It didn't take much concentration to screen herself from the minds of others; she emerged from the secret underground exit silently and invisibly.