Gizmo

Wolf Ragin Toughness Save vs DC 25: 1d20+11 22 > 13 - Chitin - Bruised x1, 3HP 7 - Wolf Ragin - Bruised x1 0 - Chelone - 3HP

The shaggy elephant wolf beast turned its toothy head from the huge tortoise shell in its way to the newly appeared armoured figure, tusks swinging back and forth. One of them caught the top of the bus stop sign and bent it over as though it were thin cardboard. Its bulk coiled, a low rumble like a distortion pedal being used of an electric bass coming from its throat. In a flash it massive arms swung forward, gorilla-like muscles ending in impossible jagged claws. It's two front paws, just as sharp and deadly, added to the barrage that scraped against Chelone's shell with battering force and knocked Chitin back. The insectile inventor impacted with what was left of the bus stop shelter with a crack and a yelp before quickly regaining his balance and readying himself.

"Aw man, another one of these guy!" Ryder yelped as he reflexively ducked his head down against the volume of its growl. He spared a look around them; the guitarist had vanished in the brief moment he'd taken his eyes off of her. Traffic was screeching to a halt in either direction and pedestrians across the street were stopping to point or running for cover. "Don't mind me, nothing to see..." He muttered to himself as he unzipped his windbreaker and brought a hand down to his chunky, printer ink cartridge-shaped belt buckle. Scrambling in a half crouch he dropped his bag onto the bench and tried to put Danica's enlarged shell between him and as many onlookers as possible. Once he'd managed the textbook definition of good-enough cover he pressed the chambers of the cartridge in sequence, prompting a cheerful computerized voice to announce, "CYMK! Dream in colour!" Throwing his arms out to either side Ryder commanded, "Chitin! Online!" A burst of displaced air sent broken plexiglass on the ground scattering away and light could be seen flaring up from over the top of the shell. With the sound of ratcheting machinery and electronics powering up the base suit and armour emerged from its dimensional pocket and formed around him. As he stepped out around the other side of Danica he stood tall, the multifaceted eye pieces of his helmet lighting up with a soft white glow as he pointed to the translucent blue monster. "I call these things Ragin 'cause they're like big electric rage demons! Last time we had to take it down before the guy woke up!"

Danica gets an HP for her Cold Outside complication. > 13 - Chitin - Uninjured, 3HP 7 - Wolf Ragin - Uninjured 0 - Chelone - 4HP Chitin Move Action: Try to duck more-or-less out of sight behind Chelone's shell! Standard Action: Activate the CMYK Driver! Move-By Action: Step out from behind her shell! Perfect illusion! Wolf Ragin Full Round Action: Maul Chitin and Chelone. This is an Area Damage effect, with a DC 20 Reflex Save to halve a DC 25 Toughness Save to DC 20! Chitin Reflex Save vs DC 20: 1d20+6 16 That's a failure but Evasion 2 means he still halves the Damage rank. Toughness Save vs DC 20: 1d20+5 18 An early bruise! Chelone is up after making those saves!

"Aw, that is legitimately so nice of you to say, Eira!" Ryder beamed, looking like his entire evening had been made. He gave her a sheepish shrug while still grinning when her questions took a more reprimanding tone. "I guess it just didn't come up! You're usually sort of all business in the lab. But yeah, Utsuwa and I were out getting food and this guy in a suit got into an argument over a parking ticket then there was guitar sounds coming from, like, everywhere? Definitely like places where there wasn't actually a sound system, the acoustics were definitely sus. But then the guy passed out and summoned a big energy construct monster so the music being weird took a backseat. Cyan got some footage of it if you want to see later!" With Elena tripping over her words a bit while back-peddling he added, "It's totally hard to know what's appropriate or whatever for quote-unquote 'events', right? Especially if you don't have a locked and loaded aesthetic like these two!" He pointed finger guns at Astrid and Eira. His sunny disposition made it more endearing than it probably should have been. "Although hey, you should talk to my friend Natalia. She makes a bunch of her own clothes because stuff off the rack isn't up to her standards. If you know the look you're going for she could totally help."

Initiative time! Chitin Initiative: 1d20+10 13 Wolf Ragin Initiative: 1d20+5 7 Wow, slow off the mark, okay!

The advancing commuter stumbled back in surprise at the appearance of the enlarged shell, slipping and falling heavily onto the concrete. The music increased in volume until Ryder had to throw his hands over his ears. The leather jacket wearing teenager got gracefully to her feet without missing a note, chunky combat boots leaving deep imprints in the piled snow. She noticed the young inventor watching her and gave him a wicked, toothy grin while picking up the pace. Although unnoticed in the growing chaos a Freedom City bus drove right past them all without stopping, flashing a NOT IN SERVICE message across its digital display. Sitting on the ground with his hand in a frigid puddle the bald man screamed in fury, the sound of it lost in the shredding guitar solo. He tried to stand but doubled over in pain as icy blue energy began to radiate from him like steam rising from boiling water. One wall of the bus stop shelter shattered from the force of the music, bits of plexiglass bouncing off of Danica's shell. Ryder turned back around just in time to see the blue light take shape and the man collapse as the with a final wailing note the music stopped. The weirdly translucent monster looming over them was built like an elephant but it's limbs ended in massive canine claws. The front shoulders continued into a unnaturally broad humanoid torso with oversized simian arms with knuckles that dragged along the ground. Its head looked like skin stretched too tightly across a lupine skull with machete sized teeth curving outward from its mouth and a pair of mammoth tusks protruding from either side of its lower jaw. It's low, angry grow was a crunchy bass progression and its wild mane vibrated in time like a sound wave projection, powerful enough that everyone present could feel it rattling their bones.

"The who's a what?" Ryder asked in a similarly hushed tone, furrowing his brow. "Can't you shut that thing up?!" the bald man snapped, stopping his work boots in the slush hard enough to spray slush in a small radius around him. The mother, bundled up in a long black coat and bright red mittens did her best to ignore him, pulling her shoulders together as though trying to make herself smaller as she continues to rock the stroller back and forth, making soft shushing noises. The stocky contractor made a face when she didn't respond and took a step closer. Ryder closed the distance faster, sliding across the wet sidewalk to come up next to the larger man, his hands raised placatingly in front of him. "Hey, c'mon," he interrupted in his best 'dealing with difficult customers' voice, "wasting your time yelling at a baby, amirite?" "Yeah, #$%&," the guitarist chimed in, tossing her head so that the purple streak in her otherwise black hair fell back from her face, still playing. Her tone was sharp and mocking. "Why don't you just calm down?" Predictably that had the exact opposite effect as the entirety of his exposed head grew redder and his hands balled up into fists. Ryder opened his mouth to quickly try again but was distracted as he realized that the tinny, unplugged sound from the guitar had subtly changed, sounding fuller and louder by the moment. The aggressive power chords building momentum were familiar somehow and he looked back over his shoulder, confused. The angry man shoved him out of the way as he took another step forward.

If Danica wants to use her Emotion Control power, give me a Power Check for it here!

"Haha, she kinda insisted," Ryder laughed. He adjusted his scarf to sit a little higher up around his face then shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. "Uh, are you doing okay in this weather? 'Cause of... stuff?" He didn't have a good idea of the ins and outs of Danica's abilities but he wouldn't have wanted to be any amount part reptile in cold wind and piled up slush. The bald man standing a few feet away from them didn't seem to need any additional reasons to be frustrated with the wait. The baby in the covered stroller decided to give him one anyway, choosing that time to begin wailing at an impressive volume, ignoring their mother's weary attempts to lull it back to sleep by rolling it back and forth. The irritated man glanced in their direction and muttered under his breath, looking straight up in the air with a scowl. The guitarist began picking out a few discordant notes, sharp and tinny without an amp attached, which only prompted further screams from the displeased infant.

"Aye! Drive you shall!" Redbird agreed heartily, clenching her fist close to her chest an appearing greatly inspired by Danica's bravery. The door on the far side of the garage opened and a dark haired man stepped inside from the main building. He would have been impressively tall next to nearly anyone other than Redbird and had a leaner but still noticeably athletic frame under a set of deep navy coveralls, unzipped far enough to show a plain white shirt beneath. Sharp cheekbones and tinted glasses with oval lenses lent him something of an intimidating aura, which only increased when he greeted the visiting student in a soft, nearly inflectionless voice. "Ah. Must be Danica."

"Well, we, ah..." Jill cleared her throat and raised the back of a closed fist to her mouth. "Sorry, I was going to say that... we figured out that Quickstep had been replaced with some sort of doppelgänger because Blue Jay had run into her after she remembered being on Earth last so we had some idea. And based on who had been taken..." She cleared her throat more forcefully and looked away from the camera. Her expression had gone carefully neutral. "Can we stop for a minute? Just need to... get my words in order, yeah? Sorry, I know I'm being a pain in the ass." She reached for the bottle of water she'd so far left untouched and twisted it open just to have something to do with her hands.

Ryder winced at the suggestion, his expression features foiling his attempt to hide it. "He'd better not, that's my thing," Jenny responded breezily before her brother's hesitation could become an awkward silence. She tossed the cellophane wrapped treat to Natalia in an underhand throw with practiced ease and impressive accuracy considering she was using the tongs. The danish was deposited onto a plate and slid down the length of the countertop. "Don't have to ask, you always pick whatever's the most colourful." "I like fruit! The colourfulness is a side benefit," Ryder explained with a note of faint protestation but still accepting the pastry. He set his bag down next to it on the counter and unzipped it, letting the Robugs out to stretch their multitude of legs. Cyan was first out of the gate, bounding across the room to hop excited over by the pastry case until Jenny gave in and patted him on the head. Magenta followed, circling the danish before deciding she had no interest in claiming it for herself while Yellow buzzed up to a high shelf where she could perch and view the whole of the diner. Black toddled out leisurely behind them and set up on top of the bag itself, having nowhere he was in any particular rush to go.

"Oh ho! Clever!" the towering woman congratulated as Danica's shell appeared, taking a few steps around the girl to get a cleared look. "I like you already! You may call me Redbird, Ms. Danica Holmes!" As she gave her a once over something about her movements sparked curiosity in Redbird, her expression becoming intensely focused "Hm. Fast-twitch muscle fiber rating at... Oh! Oh." Redbird's free hand went to cover her mouth and she nearly dropped her tablet in shock. "That cannot be right.The mender perilous explained the cause for your visit but... Hrn." Somehow straightening her back to an even greater hight she nodded solemnly. "You labour under a great and unjust yoke, young adamant. On my oath we shall ease that burden as befits the rights of all free beings!" The volume of her voice unconsciously increased steadily as she went into her proclamation, echoing throughout the garage.

Saturday, February 27, 2021 10:21 AM "Well, the schedule says it was supposed to be here at quarter after," Ryder confirmed, scrolling down the page on his phone and confirming he was looking at the right day. He and Danica had left the Claremont Academy dorms with plenty of extra time to get to efficiently titled Lab for their 10:30 rendezvous with Eira and whomever was working that morning but after disembarking to switch crosstown buses they'd been waiting a good ten minutes. "Maybe it was a little early and we missed that one?" It seemed unlikely since the other commuters standing at the bus stop had already been there when they had arrived. A stout man with a bald head turning pinkish in the cold winter air was tapping his foot impatiently while a young mother with a stroller covered by a weather shield did her best not to make eye contact with the leather jacket and studded choker-wearing teenager sitting beside her on the only bench, idly tuning a black cherry electric guitar. Even with his bright red scarf sticking out of layers of canary yellow hoodie and jewel tone windbreaker Ryder could feel the cold seeping in and he got the impression Danica was feeling it more acutely. He tossed his phone back into his satchel, catching muted annoyed clicking from within. Craning his neck to look for signs of the bus coming down the street he did some quick math in his head. They weren't far from the Lab now but even hurrying he wouldn't make it there on foot for 10:30 and it would be a pretty miserable walk for his classmate. "Well, guess we get there when we get there, huh?"

“The showiness is part of what makes it effective!" Chitin insisted with a laugh that carried clearly through his helmet's sound system. A few prodigious leaps carried him after Kensei, just in time to see the business man respond to the swordsman's assessment with a sharp intake of breath. He salt bolt upright and looked around wide-eyed, patting his food splattered chest to make sure all of his parts were present and accounted for. The armoured teen leaned over with his hands on his knees. “Heeey, how you doing?" The blond man took a few moments to blink, seriously considering the question. "I'm... alright? I think? Did I get so upset I passed out in the street? Good lord." He accepted Chitin's offered hand to help him back to his feet, still looking a little stunned. "Uh, thank you. I hope I didn't cause anyone too much worr-woah." Spotting the wreckage around him he took an unsteady step backward. "Sorry, I uh, I need to make a call to reschedule a meeting. Really wasn't that urgent in the first place now that I think about it..." His demeanour was confused but remarkably calm, considering.

The door burst open the moment she pressed the buzzer, as though someone had thrown it back from within but the statuesque woman who greeted Danica stood several paces back from the doorway. "Well met!" she boomed enthusiastically. Well over six feet tall with a powerfully muscular build, handsome features and fiery red hair done up in a messy bun, she wore a stately black chauffeur's uniform and cap which would have had to have been custom tailored and held a tablet and stylus that looked comically small in her grip. "You must be the unshakable Ms. Danica Holmes! Come! Enter and be welcome, young adamant!" She beckoned with her empty hand, tilting her head slightly. "Your mighty terrapin mail is more cunningly subtle than I had expected."

"Competitive's only a bad thing if you don't have a winning record, though, right?" Ryder reasoned with the particular grin that seemed to mean he knew perfectly well he was teasing and complimenting at the same time. Like adding salt something sweet to counteract the bitterness it was, annoyingly, all the more endearing. Jenny shook her head in amusement and resumed closing up shop. "He could stand to have a little less charm. Might get into less trouble that way." "Don't listen to her, sweetie," one of the two older ladies on their way out chimed in, giving Natalia a warm smile as she passed. Her hair had been dyed a vivid purple and permed, her blouse patterned like a Hawaiian shirt with hibiscus flowers. "The boy helps with the dishes without needing to be asked. That's a keeper." "Don't you meddle, Lydia," her companion retorted, forcibly guiding the shorter woman toward the door with a hand on her back. Flaxen blonde braid streaked with silver reached down to the small of her back while a long hand-knitted cardigan reached down to her ankles. "He's cute but he talks about bugs, Joanie. He can use the help!" Lydia protested in a lowered voice that wasn't quiet enough to prevent anyone in the room from hearing. Joan pushed her the rest of the way out with a noncommittal grunt and waved to the teenagers before flipping the hanging sign to CLOSED on her way out. "Get home safe, ladies!" Ryder called after them before clearing his throat and shifting his weight a little uncomfortably. "Ah, full disclosure, technically I get paid to help with the dishes so..." Jenny rolled her eyes hard enough to rotate her whole head toward the ceiling. "Anyway. I'm assuming you came by now for baked good draft? We've got... two brownies, a strawberry-kiwi danish, four flax seed cookies and a plant-protein-enriched pumpkin loaf with not-enriched-by-anything cream cheese frosting." She clacked her tongs expectantly, looking to their guest first.

"She likes to pick words that put people on the back foot when she meets them so--" Ryder began by way of explanation while simultaneously Jenny replied to Natalia, "Invited's an improvement, normally people just sort of get swept up in his--" They both stopped mid sentence as they realized they were talking over each other and turned from their guest. "Don't make it sound sinister, I just like to know if people can handle themselves before--" "Yes, 'invited'! Are you doing a hazing right now? Are you hazing me right--" "Oh my god Ry, I am trying to be cool in front of your cool sunglasses indoors friend so I don't embarrass--" "You're already cool, we're cool people! Natalia gets competitive about social interactions, it's going be weird if you--" "You know you didn't actually introduce us yet, right?" "Crap!" "Language!" "Shit, then." "Better." Simultaneously they turned back to the teen in the doorway. "Sorry! This is my sister, Jenny. Jenny, this is Natalia."

Just a step behind Kensei, Chitin launched himself forward, a trail of sky blue light leaving afterimages in his wake. Bounding into the air with a flip, he landed a thunderous bicycle kick directly onto the hilt of the katana alight with crimson flame, driving the weapon clear through the Giraffe Ragin's head, through its wounded neck and out its opposite side. The armoured hero landed on the far side on both feet while the swordsman dismounted with acrobatic grace next to him, their backs to their defeated foe. For a brief moment the beast's entire form vibrated with discordant notes, increasing in tempo and volume to a fevered pitch until abruptly it detonated in an explosion of light and electricity that backlit the pair into dramatic silhouettes. All that was left was a scorch mark on the street and a trail of destruction behind it. “Argh, I wasn't looking at the explosion!" Chitin lamented, spinning around a moment too late and tossing his head back dejectedly. “I bet that looked so cool!"

It is! Giraffe Ragin Toughness Save vs DC 28: 1d20+10-3 9 Hit it so hard it e x p l o d e s!

Kensei's blade sliced cleanly through the the translucent monster's form, leaving not a torn wound but a sort of instability. The yellow of its neck seemed dimmer, flickering in an out of view. It reacted as though physically struck, toppling forward onto its front knees and nearly tumbling onto its side and screeching electric amp feedback. “No time like the present!" Chitin called back to his friend as he somersaulted back onto his feet. He toggled the chambers on his belt in sequence, rerouting power to his leading foot and he dropped into a ready stance. “I think it's time for this guy to wake up. Big finish?" Light began to surge around the edges of the armour on his leg, growing in intensity around his boot and humming with intensity, waiting for Kensei's signal to strike.

Chitin Move Action: Acrobatic Bluff vs Giraffe Ragin: 1d20+5 15 Delaying until Kensei's action. Unarmed Attack vs Giraffe Ragin; All-Out Attack 5, Power Attack 5: 1d20+11 18 Giraffe Ragin Sense Motive vs DC 15: 1d20+2 9 Flat-Footed against Chitin's attack, so the 18 hits. That's a DC 25 Toughness Save, ready for Kensei to Combine Attack! The Ragin passes its turn with the daze, so Kensei is up again after I get an IC post up!

Giraffe Ragin Automatically fails that Feint. Toughness Save vs DC 23: 1d20+10-2 9 Eek! Have an HP for a Fiat, Kensei. Toughness Save vs DC 23, Fiat Reroll: 1d20+10-2 15 EDIT: You know what, ignore that, let's let the stagger ride! 22 - Kensei - Uninjured, 2HP > 18 - Chitin - Bruised x1, 2HP 16 - Giraffe Ragin - Bruised x3, Dazed, Staggered

"It's quite light and refreshing! I'm a bit surprised, I associate you less with a citrus flavour than, I don't know, bitters and cinnamon. Grapefruit at a stretch." She paused to take another sip and examine that statement. "I may be attending too many marketing brainstorming meetings. Though as I recall, Matthew felt that horse riding was for vacations and people who don't know how to spend their money and he hasn't exactly been proven incorrect. And I only had someone explain that 'bougie' was a diminutive of bourgeoisie about a month ago. Also in a marketing meeting. I'm obliged to attend so many marketing meetings." She pulled a face and rolled her eyes. "I want to hear more about these 'assess chaps', please."