Raveled

Yes. It would be Reading. And technically Robin's arguing with Wesley before she does it.

Robin hugged back with one hand, holding her staff away from Wesley; she was never sure how her magic would interact with his aura, and this didn't seem the time to deal with it. Still, his request wasn't something to do lightly, and she craned her head around to look the taller man. "Why," she asked, simply. "Invading another person's mind isn't something I do lightly, Wesley. You're going to have to give me a better reason than 'it'll be faster.'"

Using EE to Stunt off the Magic array. Mind Control 10 (Magic, mental; Extra: Action [Move]; Flaw: Limited [Mind Probe only]) [20 PP] And now the person teleporting folks is Fatigued.

Spending a HP to stunt off the Staff's array. Teleportation 5 (Magic; Extras: Portal, Accurate; Flaw: Long Range) [20 PP) Should be more than enough to get to Wesley's apartment, then to the park.

Robin continued staring down at the papers on the table, but she wasn't really seeing them. After a moment she closed her eyes and made a small noise in her throat. "Alright," she said softly. "I'll be there in a few." The sorceress retrieved her longcoat from the hall closet and slipped the phone inside, then grabbed her ash wood staff from beside her bed. She took another minute to walk through her apartment a few times, checking the door and window locks, and apparently touching random places on the wall. Satisfied that her physical and mystical defenses were in place, she stood in the center of her sitting area and gripped her staff, lips moving silently as she worked out the intricacies of the spell. After a moment the slender shaft of wood started to glow blue, then the color moved to the tip in a soundless rush. Robin swiped the blue-white light at the air at roughly head-height for her, and with a whisper of "TARDIS," expended her will. The moving tip of the staff left a horizontal line of blue-white light hanging in the air; she touched it with her right hand and it fell to the ground, temporarily showing a view of Wesley's kitchen. The woman stepped through, running shoes silent on the tiled floor, and with a snap of her fingers closed the hole behind her. She paused there for a moment, looking around for Wesley before calling out. "Wesley? I'm in the kitchen!"

Sense Motive on Robin's part. She thinks that Wesley is just drunk or trying for a booty call. Possibly both. 1d20+11=19

Robin Cross was deeply engrossed in a loosely-bound sheaf yellowing papers; the account of an Arabic poet-turned-diplomat in the first millennium C.E. It was mostly the man's personal diary, but it talking at length about his encounters with the 'North-men,' obviously a group of Vikings, in other words. The leader had apparently wielded a short Roman-style blade with numerous runic inscriptions. Robin didn't think they were Icelandic or Latin, which would have been the most likely languages to use in such an enchantment. She expected many happy hours tracking down the exact language used and working out the arcane power equations. If her guess was right and the Viking's gladius was, in fact, made of meteoric iron... The sorceress was jerked out of a happy haze of numbers by an insistent electronic bleeping. She glanced around her apartment once and then stood, following the sound into the front entryway and to her long leather coat. She fished in its voluminous interior pockets for a moment before coming up with a clamshell cell phone. She checked the caller ID, gave a tight smile as she saw Wesley's name and number flash up, flipped the phone open and pressed it to her ear. "Wesley," she said, "I'm in the middle of an important paper. If you got drunk at a bar, call a taxi." As Robin talked, she wound her way back into her apartment until she was standing over her kitchenette table again, leafing through the papers.

Some changes to be made to Robin, please. :arrow: Change Age to c. 7000 (Subjective: 35; DoB 7/4/1975. [u][b]Age[/b][/u] C. 7000 years (Subjective: 35; DoB: 7/4/1975) :arrow: Change the first paragraph of her history to: A thousand years before recorded history, when the world was a more savage place, a young shepherdess named Robin was born in the rocky mountains of the Near Est. She grew up in a sleepy village built around ancient Atlantean ruins, mostly untouched by the outside world, until the day her quiet home was invaded by bloodthirsty raiders. The girl was lucky enough to hide among the ruins and avoid death, but it left a mark on her. She studied the notes left behind by the village’s shaman, growing in arcane power and her need for revenge. Eventually she left the ashes of her home and went searching for the marauders. :arrow: Complete rewrite of her Powers & Tactics. [b][u]Powers & Tactics:[/u][/b] Robin's magic is oriented towards mental effects, not physical ones. When she needs to interact with the physical world, she uses foci; most often her staff. To use her magic, the sorceress must gather the energy and shape it using words and gestures. Anything that leaves her unable to move and/or speak would leave her unable to access her spells. However, she could still use her foci. In a fight, Robin tries to use her Illusion and Emotion Control to break up groups of enemies. If possible, she'll set them to fighting each other, or at least fighting imaginary constructs. If there are innocents around, her first priority will be to get them out. :arrow: Add Soft-hearted: Robin finds it difficult to turn down a plea for help, even when it would be in her best interests to. [u]Complications:[/u] [u]Acrophobia:[/u] Robin believes she will die from a long fall, and as such has a crippling fear of heights. [u]Day Job:[/u] Robin has a store in the same neighborhood as FCU, and must work her schedule around keeping it open and profitable. [i]Soft-hearted:[/u] Robin finds it difficult to turn down a plea for help, even when it would be in her best interests to. :arrow: Changing around Robin's HQ and its wards. DONE BY SHAENTHEBRAIN

Mm. Feature, perhaps, then?

The two groups began to break up, the mafiosi heading to the street and the grungy group heading deeper into the maze of alleys. Ironclad debated trying to follow both groups, but dirty money was something that happened everyday. Something about the dirty pair with the briefcase was twinging the superheroine's senses. It was absurdly easy to follow the pair from the skies. They took plenty of twists and clambered over fences and dividing walls, but never one glanced up. Rather naive, considering the city. They came out on a side street. There was a dirty white panel van parked there; they pair ducked inside and Ironclad herd the engine struggling to turn over. The time for a decision was here.

Well, three months in town and I've finally got my wards in place, around my shop and lab and home. Go Super-Efficient Witch Robin, hey? They're all fairly basic as wards go; just walls of force along the perimeter. The lab itself had a fairly basic no-seeum spell on it that should keep folks out. The net had holes. The wall around the apartment aren't nearly as strong as they could be. The wall around the store are stronger, but the wards are all turned to supernatural creatures; mortals -- and for that matter killed robots and Moltov cocktails -- won't even know it's there. The shroud on my lab is powered by my magics, which means it only affects creatures with a mind. See previous note re: killer robots and Moltov cocktails. To get it to work on a broader range of subjects will require a more constant energy source than what I can muster at present

She could drown, certainly -- it wouldn't stop the water from surrounding her and cutting off her oxygen supply -- but if she survived and got back on land, she'd be dry in seconds.

The OOC thread for this story.

Being a superhero was a world of brand-new challenges. How to use one's powers responsible, how to protect the most people at once, and just occasionally how to make the most dramatic entrance. That last was on Ironclad's mind as she floated above an alley in the city center, silent on lines of magnetic forces. Below her, half a dozen figures in long coats were haggling over a briefcase. There was two obvious sides. One group of four seemed like standard mafioso-types: in other words, good suits and guns. The other pair were dirty and unwashed, the coats covering layers of grime. The power suited heroine wondered idly what these apparently different factions had in common, but once she saw large stacks of bills being exchanged -- from the dirty pair to the mafiosi -- her questions were answered. Now, how to catch their attention?

Gah. Have Knockback on so many Damage effects... The Immunity is pretty straight forward. If she gets wet it runs off her like, well, water. It doesn't sink into her clothes or stay on her skin. She could go for a swim or run through a rainstorm, step inside, and be dry within seconds. There would be puddles of water all around her, but she herself would be dry.

Characters Name Carla Mackenzie Power Level 4 (86) Trade-Offs None Unspent PP 0 Alternate Identity None Age 42 Gender Female Height 5' Weight 100 lbs Eyes Dark blue Hair Black Description Carla Mackenzie is a diminutive woman, with a pale skin tone and straight, dark hair that she lets fall to her shoulders. Her eyes are dark blue and seem almost too large for her face, making her look almost child-like at times. Her lips are thin but her face is mobile, and usually drawn into a smile of some description. When she’s working Carla favors white or pale-colored Oxford shirts and khakis, with her hair done up in a bun; in colder weather, she’ll cover it all with a turtleneck rather than touch the thermostat. Off the clock, she wears whatever is comfortable. An amazing thing about Carla is that she is never wet; no matter how hard it's pouring rain outside or if she just took a dip in the ocean, the water will run off of her in seconds, leaving her bone-dry. This doesn't appear to interfere with normal cleansing, however. History Carla Mackenzie was born in southern Maine. Her parents were never married and her father left while she was still in diapers; but her mother’s brother was a constant presence in her life, providing a strong paternal influence in her life. It was her uncle, a lifelong crabber, that started Carla’s love affair with the ocean. He took her out on his fishing boat almost as soon as she could stand. Some kids might’ve hated the high swells, and the old boat with its stinking diesel engine, but Carla loved it all: the water spreading to the horizon on all sides, the rolling deck, the smell of the salt water, and even the sense of isolation from every other human being on the planet. Carla was hooked on the sea from a young age, and she was a very bright young woman. Unfortunately her family would never be able to afford to send her to college. Desperate for a higher education, she chose what seemed like the least evil option and joined the Navy. They seized on her bright mind and put her to work at a dry-dock, inspecting and repairing the thousand and one technical systems that keep a modern warship afloat. In her spare time she studied at a nearby college: six years later she was a second lieutenant with degrees in marine biology and biochemistry. It was also during this time in life that her ability to manipulate water first manifested itself. With her degree in hand, she retired from the armed forces and started looking for a way to put her schooling to use. After sixteen years, Carla’s risen to the post of Director of Major Projects at the Freedom Aquarium. Essentially, her job is to come up with big exhibits that will draw patrons to the aquarium, every few months. She came into contact with Robin Cross when the sorceress was still new in town, in a case that involved predator spirits and a possessed plaster Megalodon. The two became fast friends, and so far they’ve stayed close. Personality & Motivation Carla Mackenzie is a bright, gregarious woman in her intellectual prime. She honestly likes people: likes getting to know them, likes learning what their hopes and aspirations are, likes learning what makes them tick. It means she makes friends easily, and her penchant for getting emotionally involved very quickly means that few stay casual friends, even if she doesn’t see them that often. While she gets along very well with people, when it comes to problems Carla practically flips to the other extreme, approaching with a logical, dispassionate method. It’s a highly effective process, and it makes her very good at her job. Carla tends to downplay her powers, for several reasons. First, she doesn’t like being a circus attraction; she doesn’t like have to demonstrate her powers for a crowd. Second, she doesn’t like being defined by her powers; she’d rather be known as 'that brilliant marine biologist' than 'that hydromancer lady.' Last, she hangs around with Robin Cross a fair bit, who is herself a world-class magical talent. Carla is very aware that, in the long run, her powers aren’t much. She feels that using them for no good reason is kind of a pathetic cry for attention. Carla is pretty much focused on professional achievements; her goal is to be named Director of the Freedom Aquarium. She'd like to meet a nice man and start a family, but she realizes that she's married to her work right now. Powers & Tactics Carla has a mutant ability to control fresh and salt water, most usually to travel on her own personal waterspout or create a blast of water. In combat, her usual priority is fleeing: she knows that she isn't a match for most of the various nasties that target Freedom City. Complications Public Figure Carla Mackenzie is a public figure associated with Freedom Aquarium. Anyone villain targeting the aquarium might attack her. Coward Carla is not brave. In combat, when she doesn't freeze she tends to flee. In Brief Marine biologist with a connection to the water. Stats: 2+6+2+10+8+6 = 34pp Str: 12 (+1) Dex: 16 (+3) Con: 12 (+1) Int: 20 (+5) Wis: 18 (+4) Cha: 16 (+3) Combat: 4+4 = 8pp Attack: +2 Grapple: +5 Defense: +2 (+1 flat-footed) Knockback: -0 Initiative: +3 Saves: 2+2+2 = 6pp Toughness: +1 (+1 Con, +0 other) Fortitude: +3 (+1 Con, +2) Reflex: +5 (+3 Dex, +2) Will: +5 (+3 Wis, +2) Skills: 84r = 21pp Bluff 2 (+5) Computers 2 (+7) Diplomacy 5 (+8) Gather Information 5 (+8) Handle Animal 7 (+10) Investigate 5 (+10) Knowledge (Current Events) 5 (+10) Knowledge (Earth Sciences) 5 (+10) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 9 (+14) Knowledge (Life Sciences) 9 (+14) Language (English Native; French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Greek) 5 Medicine 5 (+9) Notice 3 (+7) Search 3 (+7) Sense Motive 5 (+9) Swim 9 (+10) Feats 7pp Animal Empathy Attack Specialization (Water Blast) Contacts Improved Defense 2 Move-By Action Well-Informed Powers: 10 = 10pp BE: Blast 4 (Mutant, water; Feat: Ranged Pin, Alternate Power 1) (10 PP) AP: Personal Waterspout [5 PP] DC Block: Blast 4 --- DC 19/Toughness Costs: Abilities (34) + Combat (8) + Saves (6) + Skills (21) + Feats (7) + Powers (10) = 86

Hey, don't put all the blame on my shoulders!

Don't know how you want to do this. Gather Info checks strikes me as uncessary. If you want to interview Lewis some more that's fine, but I can't say how much more you'll get out of him. Otherwise, if you just want to say "they get back together xety mins later" that's fine with me.

Robin finally managed to haul herself over the wall on her third try and thudded down the other side. "Right," she said, a touch breatheless. "I'll keep an eye out for hands crawling down the sidewalk, shall I?" With that she turned away from the graveyard and began walking back to where her car was parked. Lewis' shade drifted back and forth with random gusts of wind as he considered Dead Head's question. "Gina's my girl," he said. "I want to be taken care of."

Dropping the Visual Detect, keeping the Tactile active. Be aware that she has both Mental and Olfactory Magic Awareness. Spending an HP to call her staff to her, spending another to AP Air Control off her Trip. Air Control 6 (Feats: Progression 2 [25 ft cube]; Extra: Area/Burst [General, Stationary]) [20 PP] Should affect 150-ft radius circle, centered on Robin.

Robin bent over double, her eyes streaming with tears as the hostile energy burned her mind. After a moment she straightened slowly, her eyes red and an ugly expression on her face. "If you're gonna fight rough," she muttered, "better not be afraid to get pushed back." The sorceress held out her right hand and with a crack of displaced air and a flash of expended energy, a slim ashwood staff appeared in her grip. She pulled it close to her core for a moment before placing it on the boardwalk in front of her, muttering under her breath. It took a moment, but the staff began to shine with a blue-gray light as soft-edge sigils appeared, floating just over the grain of the wood. The wind began to turn around Robin in a slow clockwise motion, churning the edges of the fog closest to her, and spreading rapidly to engulf most of the fair.

Ah. So not an attack at all. Well in that case I'd point out that you lack a ranged attack; maybe a Blast flavored to be a stream of acid?

I'd like to put my chars in a big free-for-all thread, but it wouldn't really work with either of them. Jessica isn't the type to go out to eat without friends or something, and Robin's on a budget. She can't go out to a fancy restaurant premiere. Though, if it was fancy enough it could pull the entire Dawes-Parker clan in. Just how high class is this place?

I don't know what the cost of Corrosion is, but you could boost that another couple ranks. Give you more PP for the Array, too.

On the GM's orders, Notice check. 1d20+11=29 Woot.