Gizmo

Okay, spending a HP to reroll; rolling a 11 and up is a hit so there you go. Toughness save vs. DC 22. (1d20+3=17) Fails by 5 so he's stunned and bruised. Jack will finish him off with an Unarmed Power Attack 5. (1d20+6=22) Toughness save vs. DC 22. (1d20+2=3) Ha, yeah, he's unconscious.

Eric grimaced at Billy's joke. "That's why you should leave the funny stuff to me, man." The last jock of the group that had been attacking his attempted to grasp the swordsman is a crushing grapple. Nimbly leaping backward and out of the way, Eric launched forward off of a chair to arc over the football player, where a sharp kick to the top of the head was enough to send the heavy college student sprawling to the ground. Landing lightly, Eric indicated the broken table. "Too much collateral damage." The final Firebird charged forward with a roar, intent on knocking Billy off of his feet. The cowboy stepped around him easily, and the football player struggled to regain his balance.

One of the remaining Firebirds tries to grapple Jack - Initiate grapple. (1d20+3=15) - but fails. The other one charges Colt - Charge. (1d20+5=10) - and is similarly disappointed. Jack makes an Unarmed Power Attack. (1d20+6=16) Toughness save vs. DC 22. (1d20+3=12) His target is Stunned and Staggered.

Toughness save vs. DC 18. (1d20+3=8) Fails by 10, Staggered and Stunned. And all of the sudden it's 2 on 2! I'll have Jack act once you make your IC post.

He could pin her, but I'm not sure if that would have any effect on her mental powers. I think what he wants to do is knock her to the ground and continue to grapple. If we're waiting much longer, is there some kind of policy of skipping a player's turn? Can the GM control the character for a round or something?

Feint save vs. DC 30. (1d20=5) Fails. Grapple check. (1d20+6=21) Fails. Toughness save vs. DC 17. (1d20+3=7) Fails by 10, stunned and staggered. I'm going to say to hit another guy you need to make a ranged attack roll; if it hits, I guess the DC is 18, since these guys have +3 Toughness.

Swinging off of the car's roof, Jack landed lightly beside Ace. The acrobat tiled his head questioningly. "You're saying there's something strange? In my neighbourhood? Good thing you knew who to call," he deadpanned. Jack regarded the young man for a moment as the immortal adventurer introduced him. Looks less like an 'Edge' than a 'Blunt', he observed wryly. The teen hero seemed fairly normal to the swashbuckler's energy awareness as well, though the ambient energies around him seemed oddly less random. When Edge spoke, Jack thought he caught an echo of rolling dice, and there was faint aftertaste to his presence the older hero couldn't place. Magic, perhaps? There were so many specific types it was often hard to tell. Considering, he turned back to Ace. "Well, Colt and Grim are probably out, but we could swing by the Underground. I'll lead you to the garage entrance; between the car and the Caped Crusader, we might draw some unwanted attention pulling up in front."

"Bill, you're so naive," Eric sighed as cowboy's target took a hardwood chair to the face. "These are football players at a community college. They don't take classes." As their teammates fell to the floor like flies, the remaining Firebirds became increasingly desperate, swinging wildly at the amused pair. One of them recovered from him attack just in time to see Eric's fist coming straight at his mouth, but there was nothing he could do but stagger back to collapse across a table as the blow connect solidly. The fencer shook his hand out. "Sheesh, hard head."

Toughness check vs. DC 24. (1d20+3=4) Ooh, and he goes down hard! Alright, there's only five of them left now. They get desperate and all attack normally, two against Eric and three against Billy. 8, 13, 18, 15 and 10 No hits. This is not terribly surprising. Jack Feints, then swings. Feint save vs. DC 26 (1d20=20) The jock actually makes it, but Unarmed Power Attack 5. (1d20+6=16) Jack hits anyway. Toughness save vs. DC 22. (1d20+3=8) Fails by 14, that's another one Stunned and Staggered. 4 to go!

Sorry, quote, but Nyrath still hasn't gone as Mongrel Angel for this turn. Jack will go after her. For the sake of argument, though, he'll use Acrobatics with Skill Mastery to add to his jump distance, then extra effort to double that, reaching Force. Grapple Check. (1d20+16=35) I'd guess that's successful, but I'm not sure what my options are with them both up in the air now. Can Force support Jack's extra weight or what?

You're attack the guy who's already staggered? Harsh! I'm just going to have the staggered guys give up; these aren't supper villains, after all. You want to attack one of the healthy guys instead? DC 24 sounds good to me. Let's just go with that.

"You guys have to remember, you're not just embarrassing yourselves here," Eric admonished the jocks as the remaining Firebirds joined the ruckus. "You're representing your school, even the city!" The Firebird Billy had easily sidestepped around went down with a groan, trying in vain to steady himself with a barstool. His teammates swarmed the swashbuckler and cowboy, coming at them from every side. Even so, their combined efforts meant nothing to the two Interceptors, who avoided their blows almost casually. Their numbers and close grouping offered Eric some interesting options, however. His arms shot forward, catching two of the football players upside the head, and he forced their skulls together with a mighty crack. The teammates' head rebounded off of each other, and they collapsed in a heap atop their quarterback, unconscious. "So much for school spirit, huh?"

With Power Attack, that should be +9, but 21 is still more than enough to hit. Firebird Toughness save. (1d20+3=12) Fails by 10, Staggered and Stunned like his pal. Okay, the remaining six guys make it to our heroes, so they're not outnumbered 4 to 1! Oh noes! The football players wise up and use Aid to grant some attack bonus: The guys attacking Eric all make their Aid checks, so the forth guy gets +6 to attack! It's not enough to hit ol' Eric, though: Unarmed attack. (1d20+10=16) Same deal with the guys attacking Billy: They make their Aid checks, then one Unarmed attack. (1d20+10=13) Colt mocks their attempts. Right, Jack's gonna dish out another Feint at DC 26, Firebird fails: Feint Save DC 26 (1d20=14). Unarmed Power Attack 5. (1d20+6=21) Hits, natch, so Toughness save vs. DC 22. (1d20+3=5) Fails by 17, unconcious. That means Jack get's a free Takedown Attack against the next Firebird! Unarmed Power Attack. (1d20+6=26) Crit! That's DC 27! Toughness Save vs. DC 27. (1d20+3=12) Fails by 15, also unconscious. Sweet. After all of that, Billy's up. 3 unconscious Firebirds, 2 staggered and 6 still up and swinging.

"Not just fire, kid, but you're on the right track." Jack managed to successfully suppress a grimace. Knew that charity boxing thing was a bad idea, he groused to himself. After years of purposefully keeping a low profile, he'd gotten cocky and started making his presence known in the city at large. 'Famous' he says. You just know that's going to bite me in the butt sooner or later. Looking past the enthusiastic youth, Jack addressed Ace. "So, Skippy the Boy Wonder here aside, what's up?" Glancing down the street, he added, "Eyes on the road, though, huh?"

Ace's Aston Martin had only just started into the West End when something landed on its roof with a loud thump. The mystery was quickly resolved as the masked face of Jack of all Blades swung down into the passenger window, the tails of his bandanna dangling below his as they flapped in the wind. "Sup, Ace? Looking for someone?" The acrobat quirked an eyebrow as he noticed Edge. "Nice costume, kid. Is this one of those 'World War II team gets sent to future, has a brawl with the current heroes' sorta things?"

The quarterback hit the floor hard, out cold. Tricia let out a small squeak as the rest of the Firebirds paused for a moment in shock. The player who had been sitting next to Paul snarled. "Get 'em!" The four jocks who had been sitting on the side of the tables closer to the door rushed forward while the rest of the bar's patrons began to flee to the exit. The bartender bucked behind the bar and the remaining six players quickly maneuvered out from behind their tables. The Firebirds tried to use their superior numbers to their advantage, with two jumping at Eric and another pair attacking Billy. Reflexes sharpened through actual, deadly combat put football field tactics to shame, however, and the Interceptors easily stepped around the clumsy swings. "I know I should feel bad about this," Jack smirked as he drove the palm of his hand into the nose of one of his opponents. The jock staggered back clutching his face, blood running between his fingers. "But it's a little bit hilarious," the swashbuckler concluded.

Okay, I screwed up the formatting on the rolls a bit, but the gist is two of them attack Eric with combined attack, and two attack Bill, same deal. They all miss. Eric pulls a move action Feint at DC 26 on the first attacker, who fail his save badly. Eric takes a swing at him: Unarmed attack. (1d20+11=21) That hits, DC 17, Toughness save. (1d20+3=4). Fails by 13, Staggered and Stunned.

Toughness save. (1d20+3=8) No, he is not. That fails by 19. He's unconscious.

Jack of all Blades gave Ace a sidelong glance. "Evil mirror universe? Tell me he's got a goatee." When the gentleman adventurer suggested using Phantom as bait, the swashbuckler blinked and prepared to object. Before he could, the mystic agreed to the plan without hesitation. "Woah, seriously?" the fencer asked. "I mean, not to belabour the point, but you're kinda... that's is, uh..." Jack sighed. "You're totes preggers, lady. Isn't there a list somewhere that's like, 'drinking, smoking, acting as bait for cosmic horrors'? 'Things Not To Do'?" Despite the gravity of the situation, he took a moment to privately congratulate himself. Heh, 'belabour'. Though I guess making puns at a time like this is a bit 'childish'. Woo, on a roll.

Unarmed attack. (1d20+11=31) That's DC 17+5=22! Toughness save. (1d20+3=23) What.

Paul frowned at Bill. "Hey, buddy, that's assault!" Still sitting, Eric shook his head. "Unintentional irony aside, that's just Bill being nice. He's southern, believes in giving folks fair warning." Suddenly the acrobat was in motion, spinning out of his chair to stand and delivering a snap kick in one fluid motion. The foot caught the quarterback squarely in the chest, and forced him to release his hold on Tricia, who immediately retreated to put the Interceptors between Paul and herself. "That's how we handle creeps in the West End." Eric was shocked to realize, however, that the bow had barely fazed the football player, who rubbed his chest with one hand and made a fist with the other. "You just made a big mistake, freak!" The rest of the Firebirds began to get up from their chairs.

Between the dark and his mask it was hard to tell, but Jack's expression softened slightly. "Look, I'm sorry about that. I wanted to explain things to you myself; Star's good people, but he's not overflowing in the tact department." Supporting himself on his hands, the swordsman swung his legs out the sit on the edge of the brick outcropping. "Bottom line, you're dangerous to be around. Sucks, and I'm guessing it's not even your fault, but there it is. You're helping with my tan right now. Just walking around town, it's probably not a serious problem, but when you went all out..." He shook his head. "If Star hadn't had a force field up, somebody could have died. Make matters worse, it's Terminus radiation, which, trust the guy with the wacky sixth sense, is the freakiest of freaky energies." Jack crossed his arms with finality. "You mentioned coming to the West End to work out. Well, not any more, you don't. This isn't just my protectorate, it's my home, and I'm not having my people get bloody cancer because you decided to put a little too much on the free weights." He assumed that Fulcrum wouldn't be out doing what she did if she didn't care about people; he hoped he could make her understand that his convictions were no less powerful.

With a flip, Jack launched himself out of the shadows to crouch gargoyle-like atop the doorway down to the theater, putting him at eye level with the statuesque heroine. "So. You showed." The swordsman's voice was flat, betraying no emotion. Tilting his head to the side he concentrated on her aura. "And you're probably only giving me long term radiation poisoning right now, not immediate, debilitating mutations, so there's that." Jack paused, regarding Fulcrum neutrally. "Dark Star told you, then."

"Hello!" Jack of all Blades waved as Ace introduced him. He blinked when Phantom revealed her own identity. "Oh! Grim's friend! Thanks for the consult on the, uh, y'know, 'fwoosh' thing." The swashbuckler vaguely mimed the ignition of a hellfire sword. He listened intently as the others outlined the situation in more detail. "Right, so. No pressure. Listen, I get that Star's like, a pal of yours or whatever," the fencer continued awkwardly, "but is there any real reason not to think that we're just dealing with Dar Star Classic, and he's taken a few too many comets to the cranium? I mean, cosmic stuff does my head in and his head is made of cosmic stuff."

Jack and Fulcrum hash it out after the Fisticuffs Fundraiser!