Ecalsneerg
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Freedom City Guidebook
Freedom City PBP: A How-To Guide
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Posts posted by Ecalsneerg
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Geckoman staggered out of a nearby supply closet and towards Jill, looking discomfited at the weird animal attacks. "Well, aren't we having just the most brilliant day?" He sighed and shook his head, tutting. "Oh well. Let's find the culprit. Y'know, kick his ass up between his ears, yadda yadda yadda." He tapped his fingers to the side of his mask, where his earpiece was just underneath it. And also his ear. "I'll go look for clues, Velma."
Sticking out his tongue and making a mock saluting gesture at Jill, he quickly darted off further into the hospital, looking to and fro sharply, sniffing and looking for some sort of trail or sign as to the culprit behind all this. There was always something.
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Arrowhawk shook his head, and let out an exasperated sigh. Really? Playing the tough guy act on him? He didn't break stride, but simply turned sharply. A professional would have just shot him, not called the two obvious capes 'assholes'. He nodded to Errant to follow him, and nocked an arrow, holding it loosely, pointed just towards the ground, so he could pull and fire in a split second.
"Yes," he hissed in a low tone. "Yes, we mind, boy." He slowly tilted his head up, letting the red light of his lenses come into view. "Drop any weapons and merchandise. That'll be the easy way." Arrowhawk cocked his head to one side, waiting for them inevitably not to take it, and for them to come out shooting.
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Galvanic smiled sunnily at Corona. It was good to be working with these people again, even if it was under somewhat suspicious circumstances. Making herself comfortable, she floated up off the floor a couple of feet, crossing her legs underneath her, the tail of her coat dangling beneath. "Soooo... the ambassador. Bringing own retinue?" The Tempestian looked questioningly at Paradigm. "'Imperiatrix?'" Chlo'zel grinned even broader, finding the rank amusingly elaborate.
In truth, she wasn't overly concerned about how many the Khanate Ambassadaor was sending. Bar Star Khan himself showing up, surely they could handle any problem sent their way. Although... "And will Praetorians watchguard the shuttle? No wish to be blindsided." Galvanic's smile faded a little bit at the thought of this.
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Chris thumped his chest under his big sweater. His knuckles made a solid rapping noise against the muscle. "Always do. When I stop, talc shares will plummet. Seriously, it gets pretty warm in here." Surreptitiously, he walked back over to where Ellie was hunkered down, glancing at what she was doing. He met her gaze as she stood up, shaking her head.
"Welp, that would have been easy. Could have just filled you with Red Bull and run around fixing it." Chris threw his arms up in exasperation. "Fine, meet you back here in a couple. Going to go strip down in a cupboard." He stomped away grumpily, moving into a side room and moving to pull his sweater off over his head.
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Chris broke out into a grin and pointed up at the nearest speaker. "Well, you're right! Someone is actively breaking the rules!" He jumped a little and punched the air. Then suddenly the smile faded off his face and he frowned. "Wait, we're locked down in a hospital with infected people rapidly turning violent. I think I've seen this movie. This is not a good one." He abruptly spun one way, then the other, knocking out both of the rabid men with solid blows to the temple.
"We're going to need to get everyone into some sort of safe area. And we need to find out who that is." He inclined his head towards the PA system. "And get this thing stopped, and do it fast." Chris stopped, putting a hand to his head wearily. "And there's only two of us in a locked down quarantine. Great."
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Galvanic folded her arms and nodded, five times in rapid succession. "Course, course." The Tempestian looked thoughtful for a second. "Don't liketrust this. Would like to be there." She acknowledged Mater Vyrdna with a nod, noticing her discomfort. She understood that she was nervous of the possibility of her shorting out her cybernetics, so tried not to take it too personally.
"Will meetjoin you soon." Galvanic cut the feed. And soon was an understatement, as a scant handful of seconds, everyone in the room felt a brief tingling sensation and a quick burst of ozone. For a moment, a sparking neon blue figure stood in the middle of the room, before coalescing into Galvanic's slim form, kneeling on the floor. She stood up, greeting everyone with a perfunctory handwave. "Have strategyplan?" she asked.
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CHARGED BY HGM
Okie dokie, Galvanic's got 19pp, let's make her PL12! And make her a proper one, none of this using Strikes and Force Fields nonsense.
Fluff:
- Change her age by one year.
Feats: 2PP
2PP: Dodge Focus 2
Powers: 17PP
9PP: +9 Enhanced Strength, to a total of 31, or 14/45 Strength
2PP: Protection 2
2PP: Super-Movement 1 (space travel 1)
4PP: Increase Blast to rank 12
The arrays have also been changed commensurately, and all formatted as Array structures.
- The Blast array removes the Strike from the aura slot, and drops Space Travel to 1 in the Flight/Insubstantial slot. All powers are increased in rank due to increased array size.
- The Force Field array loses the Force Field power, becoming Sustained Immunities AP Sustained Impervious Toughness
- The Paragon array is unchanged bar formatting.
Sheet is also generally cleaned up a little bit.
Player Name: Ecalsneerg
Character Name: Galvanic
Power Level: 12/13 (200/200 PP)
Trade-Offs: -5 Attack / +5 Damage (melee); -4 Defense / +4 Toughness
Unspent Power Points: 0In Brief: Empowered paragon from a race of electrical aliens
Residence: No fixed abode
Base of Operations: None (wandering hero)
Alternate Identity: Chlo'zel Elzak
Identity: Public, although irrelevant outwith Tempest
Birthplace: The planet Tempest.
Occupation: Climate scientist/full-time superhero
Affiliations: None formal
Family: Mother, father and sister on Tempest
Description:
Age: 23 Earth years (born 1993)
Apparent Age: Human equivalent of 20-25
Species: Tempestian
Height: 5'1''
Weight: 95 lbs
Eyes: Deep red
Hair: WhiteChlo'zel is a Tempestian, and thus has the characteristic blue skin of her people. Hers is a darker, Cerulean hue. She is also of a Tempestian ethnicity which doesn't have the visible antennae on the forehead that most of the species do, although small circles under the skin can be seen glowing slightly when using her innate abilities.
Her most prominent physical attribute is her height. She is very short, and slender but for some level of whipcord-thin muscle, belying the massive strength and durability her powers lend her. Her face is heart-shaped, with a somewhat sharp and pronounced chin and nose. Naturally excitable and inquisitive, her expression is usually set in a smile, frantic discussion, or a mix of both, red eyes literally sparking with intelligence. She wears her shoulder-length white hair loose and free, apparently Tempestian electric immunity extending to not frazzling her tresses.
Off-duty, she usually wears a simple tunic and boots, customary to the oft-simple lifestyle enjoyed on Tempest. As Galvanic, she dresses a little more dramatically. She wears a gold-yellow coat with long floor-length tails, with blood-red trim on the cuffs, tail and front clasps. Beneath, she wears a leotard and leggings of a pale icy blue, and leather knee-high boots; made from the pale orange hide of the Tempestian wrackbeast.Power Descriptions:
Chlo'zel is a Tempestian, and thus has innate powers to absorb and direct electrical energy in a variety of forms. While most of her people simply use this ability to redirect the lightning strikes from the storms which assail their planet, Chlo'zel is one of those who have applied effort and ingenuity into a variety of uses. Not only can she accurately direct bolts of lighting at her foes, she can wreath her body in it to harm enemies, produce blinding surges of arc lightning, and most impressively of all, convert her body into a seething mass of electromagnetic energy to propel herself through the hard vacuum of space. She can project her energy in an electromagnetic field that resists attack and dissipates some forms of energy entirely. If she focuses the field, she can disperse the effects of environmental conditions, and power the chemical reactions keeping her alive through stored electricity like a biological battery. Doing so, however, leaves her more vulnerable to assault. Her lightning takes on varying shades of blue and white, her projected blasts being the bluest, her energy fields much whiter, and her electromagnetic form somewhere in between.
However, vulnerable is relative. The effects of the terraformer backlash extensively mutated her Tempestian physiology to impossible levels. She can lift and hurl phenomenal weights, resist massively heightened levels of physical stress and damage with little effect, and soar through the air at high speeds. She uses her powerful intellect to complement these powers, with such feats as turning into electricity so as to move unimpeded at even higher speeds through the air, or send shockwaves of displaced air rushing at foes.
One weakness, however, is due to the properties of water. Pure water does not conduct electricity, whereas mineral deposits in impure water conduct it quite well. This means that, if soaked in it, she is unable to project the electricity past the water and is thus hampered from using her electrical powers.History:
The world of Tempest is not one to produce galactic adventurers. It is riven by storms, its people surviving due to an ability to absorb and redirect the lightning. But the same storms also shred technology and make travel on and off planet fraught at best. As such, it's generally backwater and peaceful, not huge on technology, but developed in civilisation. There are few wars, as the sy itself rages against the planet. They are allies to the Lor Republic, and like them likely evolved from humans dispersed by Precursors. But beyond a few travellers and members of the Lor military and various mercenary bands, Tempestians are not big news on the galactic stage.
Growing up on a small farmstead there, Chlo'zel Elzak was always a very bright girl. She delighted in the rocks, the soil, even in the perpetual storm in the sky. Despite the comparative poorness of the farm, her father and mother still arranged to send her off to the best schools, what money they lacked made up for in scholarships and grants for this intelligent, friendly young woman.
She accrued great expertise in geology and climatology, and through her studies saw pictures and maps of other worlds brought during some of the limited contact the planet had with the Lor. And it amazed her. All this diversity and wonder, all these different species and worlds. It was just... remarkable, to a girl from a planet with a handful of biomes and one weather pattern: atrocious.
So, upon graduation, she became attached to a project to do a limited terraforming, hoping to change the weather patterns which beget the perpetual storms. In doing so, the project hoped to manage to facilitate more contact with other worlds, to perhaps be more able to travel and share knowledge, and enrich the lives of the Tempestian peoples.They built a great terraforming tower, insulated and shielded, hoping to fire a directed pulse and disrupt the storm clouds. The loss of equilibrium would hopefully lead to periods of time where the storms were much weakened.
It might have worked, were it not for one of the worst storms on record. As Chlo'zel and her colleagues laboured, one of the greatest storms in recorded history converged on the tower. Lightning struck again and again, melting the insulation, weakening the structural integrity of the entire project. Many scientists fled, but a hardbitten few tried to salvage some of the equipment, fighting to keep as much of it undamaged as possible. At the height of the assault, parts of the reactor began to melt down, driving the very last of the scientists away.
Not Chlo'zel. She'd always wanted to see new worlds. To explore the universe. And so she stayed, and tried to activate the directed pulsar early. The reactor exploded, and the whole structure seemed to shake with the pulse, crumbling in on itself even as the storm abated. The scientists stood shocked as the dust cloud settled... to reveal Chlo'zel flying through the wreckage unharmed at great speed, give great powers by the irradiated chemicals and energy being driven into her system as the lightning has pummeled her.
She found she could lift great weights, and didn't tire. At first, she used her abilities to help clear the wreckage and salvage the wounded or dead, and any equipment to perhaps, one day, try the project again. But she grew restless, increasingly pacing the clouds, experimenting with her limits by wrestling native beasts. This climaxed with her one day shooting up, and up, faster and faster, igniting her mass into electrical energy as she went, and bursting through the storm-hewn atmosphere...
... and she saw the stars. It was only a matter of time before, having sufficiently mastered fine control enough to attempt personal space travel, she left. To look for new worlds, new species. To study and to help them. To see the universe, and to, if one day it needed it, defend it.
Personality & Motivation:
Chlo'zel is a genuinely vivacious, friendly person. Hailing from a backwater world, she is still full of wonder at the wider universe and the people and places in it. Still young, yet also possessed of a keen scientific mind, she has both the unbridled enthusiasm of the young, and the excitement at small natural processes innate to climatologist and geologists. This does, however, often leave her rambling on and occasionally putting her foot in her mouth, or getting distracted by something when a larger issue looms.
There is still a little of the farmgirl in her, and at times she can be painfully naive to things such as galactic politics and xenophobia. This can be a boon, as even the weirdest most tentacled gribbly alien doesn't disturb her, and she will merrily talk to it. It also means she's somewhat ignorant to the scale of the threat presented by the Khanate or Grue. Nonetheless, when she does recognise a threat, she can harden, unrelentingly defending those around her by charging into battle. What she lacks in experience or formal combat training, she makes up for in determination and raw power.
What ultimately drives her is her past. Tempest is a storm-beset planet, which limits technology use. While they're aware of other worlds and people, space travel is unreliable given the difficulty in getting craft on and off the planet. Thus, when she soared above the raging storms and gazed upon the stars, she saw something wonderful and beautiful and terrifying. And she still finds it so, and will stand firm if it needs defending.
Complications:
Battery's Nearly Dead: Tempestians in general, while mainly absorbing and redirecting energy, aren't that limited off-world. Ambient static, the electric potentials their body produces, varying levels of innate aptitude for lightning bolts, there are various factors meaning they don't really need to 'charge up'. Galvanic has quite developed electrical powers, but isn't an unlimited font. Prolonged fighting won't really drain her, nor will long period uses of her powers. However, consistently using Extra Effort and Extraordinary Effort, especially when already wounded or tired, can lead to her powers reducing in rank or shutting off until she can regain her strength or find a power outlet or a friendly teammate with a lightning gun...
Fun with Magnets: Tempestian electric powers can have some unforeseen magnetic effects, although Chlo'zel rarely consciously harnesses that due to her massive strength. However, use of her powers can sometimes disrupt or move magnetized objects, and on the flipside, concentrated and powerful magnetic fields can disrupt her attacks and if strong enough, shut down her ability to project electricity.
Fzzzzt! Equipment on Tempest is made to last, as its air, animals and inhabitants are shooting, absorbing and redirecting lightning storms here there and everywhere. While Chlo'zel does have control over her powers, accidents do happen and it's possible she could flash-fry your food replicator.
Let Me Strike This Awesome Pose: At heart, Chlo'zel is a bit of a showboat. She enjoys dramatically bursting onto a battlefield and hovering arms folded as laser shots bounce harmlessly from her force fields. However, this could prove a disadvantage when more superpowers come into play, as the posing and showboating makes her more vulnerable to attacks which can injure her.
Oh My God, Fjords! A gifted geologist and climatologist from a planet with a quite singular biosphere, Chlo'zel finds alien environments simply fascinating. It's easier to divert her attention by showing her a beautifully clear starry night, a lush and not-at-all-wrecked-by-storms forest, a light rain shower not accompanied by explosive thunder... In Earth terms, she's the Australian who hasn't seen snow in person yet.
Pollyanna: Chlo'zel is still new to the wider galactic realm, and is thus ignorant to many local customs, politics, enemies and dangers. As such, the issues she faces include a wide variety of problems, from accidentally offending your host or local political group, not realising she's talking to and possibly being manipulated by villains, or trying to pet the carnivorous death kitty of Zoltran VIIII.
Rollin' On Into Town: Since leaving Tempest, Chlo'zel has had no fixed abode. She rolls into a planet/town/space station, helps with any troubles they may have, and then moves on. This has a number of effects. Firstly, her Wealth level is Impoverished. Secondly, due to the scarcity of Tempestians in the galaxy, and the fact she is very very often new to an area, the locals may not immediately trust her, even with her sunny disposition.Abilities: 4 + 0 + 6 + 8 + 2 + 2 = 22PP
Strength 14/45 (+2/+17)
Dexterity 10 (+0)
Constitution 16/38 (+3/+14)
Intelligence 18 (+4)
Wisdom 12 (+1)
Charisma 12 (+1)Combat: 12 + 8 = 20PP
Initiative: +4
Attack: +6, +7 melee, +12 Electrical Control
Grapple: +9, +25 with powers, up to +32 with full Super-Strength
Defense: +8 (+4 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed
Knockback: -1/-8, [-14 vs energy attacks]Saving Throws: 1 + 5 + 6 = 12PP
Toughness: +3/+16 (+3/+14 Con, +2 Protection), [Impervious 12 vs energy attacks]
Fortitude: +4/+15 (+3/+14 Con, +1)
Reflex: +5 (+0 Dex, +5)
Will: +7 (+1 Wis, +6)Skills: 40R = 10PP
Computers 6 (+10)
Concentration 7 (+8)
Knowledge ("Earth" sciences) 11 (+15)
Knowledge (Physical sciences) 6 (+10)
Language 2 (Galstandard, Lor, default: Tempestan)
Notice 4 (+5)
Sense Motive 4 (+5)Feats: 11PP
All-out Attack
Attack Focus (melee) 1
Dodge Focus 4Environmental Adaptation (Zero-G)
Improved Grapple
Improved Initiative
Luck 1
Power AttackPowers: 31 + 8 + 22 + 31 + 2 + 17 + 10 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 128PP
Electrical Control Array 13.5 (27pp array, Power Feats: Alternate Power 4) [31pp] (alien, electric)Base Power: Blast 12 (Electrical Control, Power Feats: Accurate 3) [27pp] (alien, electric)Alternate Power: Insubstantial 3 (electrical form) [15PP]; Flight 5 (up to Flight 13 [100,000 MPH]) [10PP] and Super-Movement 1 (Space Travel 1>2 [interstellar]) [2PP] [total 27PP] (alien, electric, electromagnetic form)
Alternate Power: Damage 6 (Extras: Reaction (to melee attacks against her) [+3]) [total 24PP] (alien, electric)
Alternate Power: Blast 12 (ball lightning, Extras: Area - Burst [+1], Flaws: Action - Full -1] [24PP] (alien, electric)
Alternate Power: Dazzle 12 (arc lightning, visual Dazzle, Extras: Area - Cone [+1], Flaws: Range - Touch [-1]) [24PP] (alien, electric)Electromagnetic Aura Array 3.5 (7pp array, Power Feats: Alternate Power 1) [8pp] (alien, electric, force field)
Base Power: Immunity 7 (all environmental effects, and suffocation; Extras: Duration - Continuous [+1), Flaws: Duration - Sustained [-1]) [7PP] (alien, electric, force field)Alternate Power: Impervious Toughness 12 (Extras: Duration - Continuous [+1], Flaws: Duration - Sustained [-1], Limited to Energy attacks [-1]) [6PP] (alien, electric, force field)Enhanced Constitution 22 (superhuman endurance) [22PP] (genetic, mutant)
Enhanced Strength 31 [31PP] (genetic, mutant)
Flight 1 (10MPH / 100' per round) [2pp] (genetic, mutant)Paragon Powers Array 7 (14pp array, Power Feats: Dynamic, Dynamic Alternate Power 1) [17pp] (genetic, mutant)
Base Power: Flight 7 (total of 8, 2500 MPH / 25,000' per round, Feats: Dynamic, 1 Dynamic Alternate Power) [17PP] (genetic, mutant)Alternate Power: Super-Strength 7 (total of 8, heavy load: 1,600 tons) [14PP] (genetic, mutant)Immunity 10 (electrical effects) [10PP] (alien)
Protection 2 [2PP] (genetic, mutant)
Super-Movement 1 (space travel [interplanetary]) [2PP] (genetic, mutant)
Super-Strength 1 (Heavy load: 12 tons, Power Feats: Shockwave) [3PP] (genetic, mutant)
Drawbacks: 3PP
Power Loss (Electrical Control array and Force Field, when wet, Common, Moderate, -3PP)DC Block:
ATTACK RANGE DC EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC32 Toughness (staged) Damage (Physical) Arc Lightning Touch Cone DC22 Reflex/Fortitude Visual Dazzle, Reflex is for Area, Fort for recovery Electric aura Reaction Touch DC21 Toughness (staged) Damage (Electricity) Shockwave Touch Cone DC23 Reflex/DC 28 Tough Damage, Reflex is for Area Blast Ranged DC27 Toughness (staged) Damage (Electricity) Ball Lightning Ranged Burst DC27 Toughness (staged) Damage (Electricity)
Abilities (22) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (12) + Skills (10) + Feats (11) + Powers (128) - Drawbacks (3) = 200/200 Power Points
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Galvanic's hologram flickered to life finally. "Apologysorry," she burst out, waving one hand in apology, the other smoothing down her rumpled coat. "Some uproarpanic commercial district." Sure enough, her holographic image had some black smudges on its cheeks, her hair sticking out in random directions. She was hovering about a foot off the ground, whizzing a few inches to and fro as she adjusted certain items just off the periphery of her image.
Chlo'zel suddenly stopped, and looked straight at Paradigm. She looked somewhat older, despite the two having met only a year ago. Especially around the eyes. "People frightened. What can I do to helpaid?"
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"I could do better," muttered Chris, in regards to the idea he could be Ellie's boyfriend. "Anyway. Long story short." Chris held up the small paper bag, proffering it at Ellie. "Ms Big Time Adult, your mother sent me down with lunch." He pointed at the bag with his other hand and grunted. "Then I go home and sleep. The team are doing stuff." He waved his hands vaguely. "Not sure what, things are weird." Chris shook his head woozily, and pointed at his own head. "God, I need sleep. I miss sleep. I-"
His insomniac babbling was cut off by the crash from the two patients brawling. Chris interposed fairly quickly, shoving his palm hard against the chest of the man not on the ground, and pushing him back one-handed, even with his flailing and aggression. Casually, he slid his foot up onto the other man's thigh so he couldn't get up. "Right! This is a hospital! For sick people. Fight elsewhere. Only don't, we're not children here."
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Chris yawned and rubbed at his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he slept. Crime-fighting and babies was awful, just awful. Was this why Erik was so moody? Possibly, he reflected, as he wandered the corridors of the hospital. Ellie had been down here for some time, helping out, and Gina had insisted he take her a bagged lunch. Which fell to him because, well, he could probably walk off a super-plague. But he also was now half-awake and trying to find one person in a crowded hospital.
He was also incognito, as he wasn't so keen on wearing the uniform in hospitals after The Incident. So he had it on underneath his jeans and a baggy green sweater. God, was he exhausted. He leaned against a convenient wall for a second, trying to get his bearings. Eventually, he just resorted to waving a nurse. "Uh, hi, do you know where Ellie Espadas is?" Chris waved the brown paper bag in an explanatory manner.
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Update: may not have laptop back until Monday. Hate everything.
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Update: the damned company screwed up. Not going to have a laptop until Monday, and that is working under the assumption that they don't screw up again.
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Approved
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Roll Notice using Super-Senses 8 (Magic Awareness 3 [Mental], Extras: Accurate, Acute, Extended [100ft Notice Increments], Ranged) [8PP]. Skill Mastery on K: Arcane gets her 25 if that's relevant
Doing the Troi routine: 1d20+15 23
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Equinox strolled into the house after the others at a more languid pace. She didn't move much further than slightly beyond the threshold. If they had to do a more in-depth search, that'd be fine, but it'd be a lot easier if she could sense anything amiss. Besides, if something was lurking inside, she'd much rather know about it in advance.
Closing her eyes, the action dimming the glow coming from them, she spread her left hand out in front of her, fingers spread out, trying to feel the very air for anything particularly... amiss.
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"Cassandra"
Geckoman
January 29th, 2016“Chris, I'm in labour.”
“I'm... I'm sorry, what?” Geckoman nearly dropped the phone. He could have misheard. Sometimes the mask muffled phones. “Did you just...?”
"I'm in labour, Kenzie,” Liz sighed down the phone, as if it was the most perfunctory thing in the world. “You know, the whole baby thing.”
Geckoman pursed his lips and nodded. “I'm familiar, yes.” He glanced around himself, at the several men lying face down with their hands handcuffed behind their backs. “I'm kind of tied up right now?"
"Who are you talking t- mmf!” He gently pushed the struggling man's face back into the concrete.
"Is that someone you've just hit?”
“Yes, dear,” said Geckoman distractedly.
A long, put-upon sigh came down the phone. “OK. I'm heading to the hospital now. Get Dick to come collect them, and get your ass over here.”
Geckoman looked around blinking. Well, crap.
-----------By the time the FCPD showed up, he was pacing back and forth, and wringing his hands. Dammit, dammit, dammit, why didn't bank robbers have better timing? A weary, stubbled detective in a rumpled suit wandered over, rubbing at his chin. “Kid,” he acknowledged.
“Detective Giordano.” Geckoman watched anxiously, as the cops slowly began to read the robbers their Miranda rights, loading them into the cars. “Could we hurry this along? Uh, she's in labour.” They tried not to use names. That way, Dick Giordano wouldn't feel obliged to arrest her. That was the unspoken agreement.
“Really?” Giordano shifted to stand beside Geckoman, watching his men work. “I'm sure it'll be fine.”
“I just don't know if... if I'll be a good dad.” Chris looked down at his feet, shifting nervously from side to side.
Giordano just smiled. “Kid... how long have we known each other? You'll do good. It's tough with the job, but you'll look at that kid, and, well...” He put a hand on the other man's shoulder. “You won't have a damn stupid thing to say, I'll tell you that.”
Chris burst out laughing. “I would really not advise you to put any money on that.”
The detective patted his shoulder, and walked over to join his men. “We'll see. Get going. Go see your kid.”
“Cheers, Dick!” Geckoman immediately turned and began to sprint, calling down the Pitchoo en route.
-----------Chris skidded into the hospital ward, hair ruffled, wearing sweats and an old t-shirt he'd found under his pilot's chair. His face was red and sweat trickling down his face. “Lawlett?” he breathlessly gasped to the nurse on the station. She smiled wryly, having seen this exact situation over and over again.
“Right this way,” she said, leading him to the delivery room.
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Liz lay, a little sleepily on the bed, holding their baby in a pale yellow blanket. After the requisite screaming and wailing and cutting, she'd eventually fallen asleep, eyes closed, tiny fists clenched. Chris curled up on the bed beside her, one arm around her shoulders.
“So, did we agree on Cassandra?” she said, glancing at Chris.
“Yeah,” said Chris slowly. “I mean, this family is all going to have long names which nobody ever calls them. It's traditional.”
“Yeah.” Liz sighed. “Isn't she the cutest thing?” She turned, holding up the blanket. “Do you want to hold her?”
He awkwardly took the bundle from her. Support the head, right? He nervously sat, tensely, scared of dropping her. Chris looked down at the little bundle in his arms. His lips opened and shut, but he didn't really have anything to say. She was so tiny. The most beautiful thing he ever saw. She stirred a little in the blanket, and a huge smile formed on his lips.
“Hello, Cassie,” he said. “I'm your dad."
Cassandra Jean Lawlett-Kenzie
Born 29th February 2016 -
I'll be very scarce until Sunday, away in Edinburgh
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Chris and Liz stayed resolutely on the couch. They had no intention of going in there. None whatsoever. So they just settled down to watch the kids eating chocolate and listening to the Frozen soundtrack. "See, it'll be easy. You can corral a kid with music and chocolate."
Liz smiled wryly. "I'm not sure that's a solid long-term solution. We presumably have to feed it properly."
"What does healthy food look like?"
"You know all the aisles you don't go into? Like that." She punched Chris lightly on the shoulder. "I'm not listening to Frozen over and over, though."
"Eeeeeh. I read some thing where kids learn faster and better if they rewatch and relisten to the same stuff over and over. Think of it as karma. You're stupidly smart. You were probably much, much worse." His eyes went wide. "Oh god, and we were hoping the kids would be like you."
Liz's facial expression echoed Chris's. "Wait, so we get endless Frozen, or have to keep whitewashing the ceiling tiles? Oh, come the hell on. That's just... oh, that's not fair." She leaned back into the cushions more and smiled faintly as the kids played. "Worth it, though?"
They sat and talked quietly together for a while, trying to ignore the next room, before the quiet and distinct lack of shouting and hurling things and suffering of Erik because he said something really dumb. Chris sidled across the room, trying to keep out of the eyeline of the doorway. No way in hell was he going in there. He just wandered over, shuffling over next to Steve in a sidelong hustle. "Well. This is awkward, Steve." He glanced over his shoulder. "I'm waiting for the gunshots. Do you hear gunshots?"
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Equinox looked pensive. "It's a good question. Could be a number of reasons. Common one is, well..." She shrugged, dislodging the raccoon, which chittered and clawed at her coat to hold on. "Sorry. Well, it could be he didn't quite know what he was dealing with. I mean, we're professionals." She gestured at Nick and Kimber. "And we still spend half our time now knowing what's going on. Alternately, he could have just not known something spooky was up with the house, or the package. Or it's not actually him, it's someone masquerading as him, or enthralling him so they don't need to make themselves traceable."
Siobhan grinned at the younger man. "Man, we need less terrifying jobs."
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The front door suddenly shoved open, and a couple of footsteps could be heard. "Hi, sorry we're late!" came Chris's voice from the hallway. "I was on the phone to my mom." He didn't rush through as he usually did, appearing in the living room, helping a heavily pregnant Liz, in a black maternity dress into the room and onto a couch. As soon as she was safely settled, he casually hurled himself into the other corner of the sofa. He was wearing a dark green suit, which looked rumpled and slept in. "Man, I glanced in the kitchen. Looks crammed as hell. So many women, so little space."
Liz rolled her eyes. "Thank you for having us," she intoned monotonously. "See, not hard?" She shook her head, and looked over at Erik and Steve. She didn't know Steve well, but they'd spoken a few times at HAX. "Espadas. Hi, Steve, how's it going? Didn't think they'd manage to rope you into one of these things."
-
Cool Robot Arms For All! - April 2016 Post Counts
in Archives
Posted
alderwitch
Bombshell = 1 PP
Nightwatch = 1PP
Phantom = 1PP
Psyche = 1PP
Volcanic = 1PP
angrydurf
Ace Danger = 1PP
Ouroboros = 1PP
Phalanx = 1PP
Ari
Red Moon = 2PP
The Speaker = 1PP
Azuth65
Silver Spider = 1PP
Blarghy
Adept = 1PP
Leviathan = 3PP
Darksider42
Ruby Voxx = 1PP
Ecalsneerg
Arrowhawk = 1PP
Equinox = 1PP
Galvanic = 2PP
Exaccus
Doctor Deoxy = 5PP
Moon-Moth = 1PP
Fox
Eclipse = 1PP
Gaian Knight = 1PP
Grim = 1PP
Wraith = 1PP
geniusostrich
Eternal Dragon = 2PP
Gizmo
Reagent / Alkahest = 5PP
Heritage
Miracle Girl = 3PP
HG Morrison
Roulette = 1PP
KnightDisciple
Thoughtspeed = 1PP
MisterShoebox
Phantasmo The Unliving = 1PP
Nick
Ardent = 2PP
Blue Fox = 1PP
olopi
Barrier = 2PP
Bonfire = 5PP
R. Bluefish
Echo = 2PP
Starlight = 1PP
TheRedGuy
El Huracan = 1PP
Sailor
Endeavor = 1PP
Torpedo Lass = 4PP
Sophistemon
Presto = 1PP
Upgrade = 1PP
Raveled
Blue Jay = 1PP
Corona = 1PP
Supercape
Doctor Warp = 7PP
Flintlock = 4PP
Lord Steam = 1PP
Red Rat = 2PP
Starshot = 4PP
TheAbsurdist
Asad = 3PP
Bliss = 1PP
Errant = 1PP
Thevshi
Tsunami = 6PP
Synapse = 4PP
Paradigm = 5PP
Tiffany Korta
Blodeuwedd = 1PP
Frostbyte = 3PP
Miss Grue = 1PP
Ms Britannia = 1PP
The Traveller = 2PP
Triakosia = 1PP
Voin Zhenschina = 1PP
Vahnyu
Hronos= 1PP
Mater Vyrdna = 5PP
Meatheral = 3PP
Net Fly = 3PP