quotemyname

Well, looks like Zach had a good guess then. Accursed Day Star!!! :argh:

The Witch gets another DC 22 save this round. She gets a +1 bonus for it being her second attempt. DC 22 Fort Vs Lasting Paralyze (1d20+6=17) She continues to be paralyzed! But she's still hidden. I'm okay with this. There will be no IC update from this result. We're still waiting on a post from Marceau, but Jubatus is up next. Please try and have a post by tomorrow.

With her teammates there to back her up, Blueshift went to work, attempting to disable whatever spells had been cast through the circle. She poured over article after article about religious uses, summoning circles, enchantment circles, and the list went on. Finally, she thought she had the nature of the circle and the spells that had been cast through it, narrowed down. She went about busying herself with scattering the proper lines on the sand. If she broke the wrong ones, she could perhaps unleash some sort of catastrophe. She needed to be careful. "Need more time! Like disarming a bomb! Keep them away!" She radioed to her teammates.

Knockback is Rank 9. He's clocked and 500ft out to sea. I'll need a reflexive swim check when you get the chance. Basic DC for normal water conditions. There's no storms.

Jubatus; 40; HPx1; Unconscious (10 rounds remaining) Tracer; 39; Bruised x1 Powerhouse; 38; Unharmed, Prone Wisp; 24; HPx2; Unharmed Push; 23; HPx3; Bruised Blueshift; 19; HPx2; Uharmed Marceau; 4; HPx0; Bruised, Stunned@38, Knocked out to sea Witch; 3; Unharmed, Paralyzed @Push That'll put Blueshift up. She'll be taking a full round action to sabotage the ritual circle. I'm just going to ad hoc hand wave that she spends an HP to do so as the GM PC, and get this thread moving. That's more important than being rules accurate at this point, I'd say. That'll bring up Marceau but he STILL hasn't rolled his save from the FACEPUNCH so he needs to do that before we move on. I'm really going to try the 24 hour thing again. Please at least post your save by tomorrow. If you don't, I'm going to start skipping people. This thread needs to get wrapped up :/ EDIT: He finally rolled the save. After a re-roll, he's Brused and Stunned.

Yea, all that checks out. TOU DC 29 (34 if the Power Attack actually counts) (1d20+12=14) That's going to get a re-roll for sure. No first round KOs. TOU DC 29 (34 if the Power Attack actually counts) (1d20+12=21) +10 from the reroll being below 11. That comes in at a 31. He passes and is no worse for wear. Though he is prone. Push get's an HP back. And correct me if I'm wrong but he only spent one in the above, so his total should not change, correct?

Zachary froze. He had. He had done something to her. That was the terrible truth of it. It hadn't been intentional, but it had happened. He had no idea his powers might have had this kind of effect. Perhaps human minds were more fragile than that of the Tektani; Her mind couldn't take the transmission... No. Zach thought, The transmission is harmless. The doctors told us that. It doesn't cross language barriers, but then I sent that message in English. She received it. This wasn't my fault. Zach's eyes narrowed. "I didn't do this." His eyes shot upward. He winced and shaded his vision against the sky even as he looked up at the blazing sun. "Damn Sun! Must be the heat!" Without warning, Zach shot off like a cannon into the air. He flew to the refreshment table, retrieved two bottles of water and flew back to where Gwen had fallen. Jeena, Gwen just passed out! Zach hit the ground hard, kneeling next to the fallen girl. He tore the top off the first bottle spilling a great deal of water, but opening a wide mouth. He laid one of the wilting vines in the cool liquid. Everything he'd read about earth plants told him they couldn't survive without water. If Gwen's vines were at all similar, perhaps this could help. He unscrewed the cap on the other bottle, "Gwen, I've got water. Can you drink?"

Yes. Though, she downplays that. She's been learning to not be so stalkerish. The fact is, if it's anything that can be dug up with the highest level of research she can find it. If she's really looking, she can auto hit DC 30's in her untrained knowledge skils, and DC 35 in her trained knowledge skills. She's gotten better about leaving some 'secret files' unread, though. Her boyfriend has seen to that. And even if she does learn info she's not supposed to know about someone, she's gotten a lot better about keeping the fact that she DOES know it a secret. This will never reveal things like secret identities, or anything a player explicitly says they do not want revealed about their character. I preserve those boundaries, but if the info is something that "could theoretically be discovered" She'll likely find it.

Zach nodded his affirmative. They both needed to save some face on this one. Brian for coming up with a bad lie, and him for going along with it. He found he had no choice but to try corroborating his rival's story. He was all but set to follow Brian, wanting to say something to Gwen, but unable as he was being ushered off. Then the vines grabbed him. Zach's turned his head to stare at his right arm, bound and trailing behind him. The vines were beginning to creep up his sleeve. The look on his face was one of consternation and confusion. Vines. On my arm. He sent what might be considered a cry for help to his sister. He hadn't meant to, but she'd always been the first thing his mind reached out to when it wasn't sure what to do. Jeena? They're crawling up my sleeve. In spite of himself, Zach shuddered slightly. Then it hit him, he'd invaded the consciousness of Gwen and the vines. They weren't doing any worse to him. No. I'm okay. I'm okay. He told his sister. "Gwen I..." He was finally able to open his mouth, though his speech was halting. In for a penny, in for a pound. he thought to himself. He leveled his eyes with hers and said, "I don't know what you're talking about." But she and the vines heard his real message in their head again, Come on, Gwen! It's a secret! No one knows! She saw his eyes flicker in Brian's direction before returning to her, But I'll tell you. In private. Meet me by the old tree after we're done building the greenhouse. It was rather apparent that Zach couldn't hear the responses. He made no register of Gwen's thoughts, or that of the vines. He only said, "Brian's right, the faster we lay those stones, the faster this thing gets done. Can you uh..." He looked at the vines still creeping around his wrist, "Can you let me go?"

What Jube said. She has the tendency to know everything, including who needs help and where to be when they need it. It's my go to character hook for her on most days of the week :P

Just observe for now. See what they're up to. Zach shifted his molecules even as he spoke. Send back what information you can. I'll keep up with you, and phase along through the walls to stay out of sight. Once we determine they aren't potentially hostile, we can ask about directions. Inwardly, Zachary chuckled about the lengths they go to just to ask for something as simple as directions in their new home. I wonder why they're down here? It's not exactly their natural habitat. And then there's the smell. Zach held his nose as he passed through the nearby tunnel wall faster than a Bore Slug could burrow.

Fine by me. I expect they'll be forced to include some sort of blue and yellow into their mainstream or "on duty" costumes to represent their Claremont membership (or maybe not) but I really do like the idea of the Ninja/Delta Force theme. They are essentially a 'two-alien-crack-team' after all.

I can do some combat. Blueshift and MAC are strictly support role characters. That may not be best if your running strictly combat. Or it could be just what you need, that depends. But I'd like to believe that their set up and assist abilities are some of the best around. Ferros on the other hand acts like a cannon, and becomes even more effective when there's a lot of metal around. In a city, that's not really hard to come by. He also has much less combat experience in general. So I would be perfectly willing to run either of them. But I'll default to Blueshift as she's my main character and has less threads right now. I highly suggest tweaking some of the builds in either Instant Superheroes, Geez3r's or AA's thread. That's usually the best way to run combats here. You don't have to seek approval for the custom characters you want to run, etc etc. Your other good option is seeing if there are any villains approved in the character bank that you might want to run. They could be closer to the PL you want etc. Other suggestions I have, is to either pick one combatant with each participating character in mind, or to have one powerful bad guy supported by less powerful ones (which mirrors the PL 13/11/10 set we've got going, especially since Blueshift's Offensive capabilities are rather limited). That way, it'll all but force us to have to fall in behind Gabriel and using him as a spear head to win the victory, if he's really the only one that can effectively cause damage, etc. (Just try and make sure it doesn't make the other character's seem too useless. They should still be DOING things ) So my first choice is Blueshift, Second is Ferros (at your discretion).

Zach smiled and gave a defensive wave of his hands. He'd seen others do it when they want to apologize indirectly. He only hoped he was doing it properly. "Well, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sure we could go full scale Normandy on each other if we wanted. I'm... Not interested in that kind of competition. It would get too heated too quickly, I think." Zachary had an entirely different thought running through his own head, It would be too much like a real war. "Tell you what, how about we play it nice and friendly. I think they call it a gentleman's competition. We just see who she likes better?" Zachary shrugged confidently, indicating it wouldn't be a very big challenge for him. "Yea, I thought you knew that." Zach looked a little lost, "I thought you were playing the 'obvious misdirection' angle back there. You know, make sure I got the message because I'm from out of town? Vicky and Jeena are right over there." Zach pointed to the gate, about one hundred feet distant, "Don't tell me you missed that." If he's this oblivious, this will be easier than I thought.

If you guys want to do a three person thread, I could volunteer either Blueshift or Ferros. :)

Seeing the opening to save some face, and also to get a free pass at pursuing the object of his desire, Zach all but jumped on Brian's offer. This time, he was much more willing to shake. When Zach grabbed Brian's hand, the resulting smack was like trying to break the surface tension of the water in a pool with a full on swing - It smarted. It wasn't a malicious attack, Zach was just excited. That much was clear. "Even I know that saying," Zach replied, "And I think you've got yourself a deal there, Brian. And I have to say, I'm very glad that you didn't try to throw me in the river. I'm a lot heavier than I look. I'd sink, and I hate getting wet!" Zach was in high spirits. "But I have to ask: As far as famous sayings go, what is your opinion of, 'All's fair in love and war'?" Zach asked his new rival. Hey, sis? Remember how we were going to research the 'practical joke'? Do you think we can move that to the top of the list?

"Shhh!" The hoarse whisper shot out of one of the dank, connecting sewer tunnels, "I think I heard voices," Zach told his sister. The two twins had been wandering through the sewers for some time now. Despite their natural ability to always know in what direction north lay, the strange concrete tunnel system of Earth had proven quite confusing compared to the more artistic construction of Tektani tunnel systems. In short, they were lost. "Want to go up there and see if you can spot anything?" Zach sent the message silently to his sister.

Going to throw Zach and Jeena in here. Hope we're not too late! :D

Brian, unfortunately, must have been wise to admittedly rather mean jab Zach had taken, his response wasn't really very well disguised. At least not to Zach, "Uh, sure," He responded, "I supposed Vicky and Jeena may need help carrying them." Zach turned to follow Brian, rather than be simply pulled along behind him. but sent a message to his sister as he did so, I think I'm headed your direction. I've just met this Brian you told me of. He's being more territorial about Gwen than a Muka Mole! Zach looked worried, "Shoot." He looked like a Dolerite Dog with it's tail between it's legs. "Yea. I guess you caught me. I guess I owe you an apology, but you kind of swept her out from under me. I met her the other day, and she gave no indication that she was seeing anyone. Zach shrugged, "Suddenly, today, I'm finished with my training exercises and Jeena tells me Gwen has someone who is being an obvious suitor." Zach explained. "We haven't officially met, so you might not know this: My sister and I are from the Netherlands. So I'm really not sure how these things work around here?" Zach shrugged again, unsure of how to proceed, and not wanting to make any enemies. He liked Gwen, but he wasn't sure she felt the same way yet. How could he risk his new crafted reputation and possible the cover identities of both himself and his sister if he didn't know what Gwen felt about him in return? Or about Brian for that matter. He tried to appease Brian, "I'm not trying to be sneaky. I just like her."

I'm good to lock it down :)

Zach knew who the newcomer was instantly, thanks to his earlier mental conversation with Jeena. Instantly, Zach's threw up his armor again. His smiling expression hardened and fell. He wasn't frowning, but he wasn't smiling either. Before his eyes left Gwen's, she saw the glimmer of who Zach really was quickly dig itself in, preparing for a heated battle, retreating deep inside him. It took Zach a moment, his eyes lingering a fraction of a second longer on Gwen, before they flashed to his left, focusing on Brian. So he's the competition. He remembered suddenly the customary earthling greeting of the handshake. Stumbling over the greeting, he finally met Brian's palm with his own. "Brian! Zachary Vandermol," Though it was obvious that Zach was letting Brian do all the gripping in this handshake, Brian was met with solid resistance by Zach's flesh which was harder than the reinforced structure of greenhouse he'd just helped erect. "Jeena, my sister, has told me so much about you." Zachary smiled. But there were red flags everywhere. They pair knew that Jeena had just met Brian today, and that the twins hadn't spoken a word to each other since Zach arrived. "Jeena didn't mention that you had more than just those vines attached to you, Gwen." Zach's tone was strange. His lack of expression, and unfamiliarity with Earth humor didn't help. Just as the situation began to grow tense, Zach suddenly cracked a smile and laughed. "Get it? Because of his arm?" His new tone and expression held no malcontent or ill will, even if it did sound a bit forced.

Minor point of order: If Gwen's Vines are "Part of her," Not a device, not a sidekick or minion, they are able to "hear" Zach's thoughts as well.

Italics/Underlined/No quotes is for Zach's "non-direct-line-to-Jeena-mental-communication".

Zach turned back to Gwen with a big smile on his face. Whether it was strictly his powers controlling the density of his molecules or something else, but his normally steely, guarded expression softened. Remember when I denied liking Gwen? he sent to his sister, I take that back. She's willing to watch your back if I'm not around. She definitely passes the test. Hang in there, and let me know what Vicky says about that stunt you pulled. I might be able to use the info as well. "Who are the Irish Twins?" Zach asked, unfamiliar with the expression, or possibly the proper name, he wasn't sure. Then he decided to go out on a limb. He reached out to Gwen's mind with his own. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to. He wasn't sure if the act was proper or if it was taboo. He just locked eyes with her, and place his thoughts directly in her head, I really doubt we're anything like any twins you actually DO know. There's so much about us that we don't - can't - tell people.

Gwen turned her head to look at Zach just as he was busying himself by turning his gaze elsewhere. Whether or not he purposefully turned away, or was just finished looking her direction was unclear. One thing was for sure, however, he'd been looking at her. It was also clear that as he turned away, he'd missed meeting her gaze, didn't hear her comment, and wasn't aware that she was interested. If only he'd held his gaze a little longer... Zach's felt a small weight in his chest. He leaned against the shovel for a moment watching the construction. Just as he was about to walk off and see if he could help anyone else, he heard something behind him. Zach jumped, startled, but he turned to smile at her. The weight in his chest lifted a little. "Yea, that's the idea," he told her, "Do you like it?" Vicky wasn't the only one that had been watching Jeena. Her brother had seen the act as well. The two had been trained in espionage. To him, the Old Tektani 'Rub and Rock' was obvious. He said nothing, and watched. If Gwen had responded to his question, he'd barely heard her due to the distraction. He liked Gwen, but his sister's well being and peace of mind always came first. Zach turned to ask Gwen another question, completely forgetting his first, "Can you do me a favor, Gwen?" He didn't look at her, his eyes were fixed on Vicky and Jeena, "Watch out for my little sister? We've..." Now he turned to Gwen, "Neither of us has ever really had any chance to get close to anyone. Back home or in the few months we've been here." Something told Gwen he wasn't talking about just Claremont, or Freedom City. A touch of sadness entered his expression as he looked toward his sister again, "In fact, most of our lives have been a literal battle for survival." Something told Gwen he really meant that. "How can you have the chance to practice relationship etiquette when you're busy fighting for you life?" When he turned back to look at her and see her reaction, he finally met her eyes for the first time. Behind his bright blue eyes Gwen saw that he was hurting for friends, just like his sister was. She could tell that he was trying very hard to make the other students like him, but that it was something that he strictly wasn't cut out for. He didn't know what he was doing, and even if he did, he likely wouldn't be very good at it. Gwen could tell that much of the time, Zach's words were guarded. It was difficult sometimes to peer through the smoke and mirrors to find the parts of what he said that held real meaning. But in the quick glimpse into his eyes, she could see that there was at least some part of him that was good and honest at it's core. Perhaps he just wasn't sure how to use it, or express it. "Just..." His speech was halting and he turned back to look at his sister, "Just watch her back, you know? In case I'm not around."