ImpliedSpider

Starchaser took a half-step back when a puff of gas began churning within the final Gasman’s helmet. Fortunately, the suit itself seemed to have retained its integrity, and none of the gas (whatever it was) was escaping into the street. The sound of applause reached him, and he turned to give the bystanders a smile and a wave. Reassurance was important, but he needed to make sure that there were no extra little ‘surprises’ waiting for them. It wasn’t a great leap to assume that someone other than the Gasman had been behind the attack. While it was possible that the Gasman’s respirator problems had been somehow automatically triggered, Starchaser was not one to take chances. He continued to smile to the crowd, turning a slow circle as he did. His eyes were blazing white as he scanned the entire area, trying to spot something out of the ordinary, hoping he could see someone who would be linked to the attack. Hopefully, he could preempt any further attack - whether by more Gasmen or by something else - before it threatened the civilians. A parked van, or to be more accurate, its occupant, caught his attention. Coincidence could explain a lot, but it wasn’t nearly a good enough reason to dismiss a man decked out in laboratory gear, sitting in a shabby van this close to an attempted chemical heist. Add to that the fact that the scientist seemed furious about something, and it seemed to be a lead worth investigating. In the blink of an eye, Starchaser had taken off from the scene of the crime and landed directly in front of the van. He smiled through the windshield at the questionable driver. “Good afternoon, sir. Care to answer a few questions about your presence here?â€

While it's still quiet, Starchaser will give the area a quick scan to see if there's anything else to worry about. He'll make a Notice check using his super senses, so that includes penetrates concealment and extended vision out to 1000' increments. Does a 13 turn anything up?

The grenade bounced harmlessly off Starchaser's chest, even as a fresh cloud of knockout gas filled the street. He looked about himself, and proceeded to simply hold his breath as he walked through it, following the Gasman. When he caught up with the pair, they were already stepping back out of the damaged lorry, each with a full drum of chemicals. Definitely not ordinary humans then, if they can lift one of those. Starchaser stepped forward before the Gasman closest to him had time to react. His fist lashed out in a wild, but powerful swing. Despite the apparent clumsiness of the strike, it connected hard with the Gasman's chin. The blow lifted him clear off his feet. When he hit the pavement, there was no further movement. Starchaser narrowed his eyes, then turned to face the remaining attacker, setting his feet apart in anticipation of an attack. "So, only one left. Mind telling me why you're here?"

Starchaser gave Heraldo an impressed look at the revelation that he had spoken personally with the spirit of Puerto Rico. Alexander had not yet had much contact with the supernatural... He chuckled at Subito's question, "Sorry, I'm no Lor. Not even from space, I'm afraid. I've lived in Freedom City all my life. I'm just your average superhuman, I guess. My powers simply... manifested." He glanced down at his costume, realising where the presumption that he was an extraterrestrial might have come from, "Basically, somehow, I have the energy of a star inside me. I'll confess, it took some getting used to. Maybe I could've benefited from a place like Claremont. What was it like?"

Starchaser stood to one side of Stratos, staring placidly down at the villain. He didn't seem even a little fazed by Stratos' bluster, though one eyebrow did go up when he heard the villain's theories about Blackstar's motivations. Alexander glanced across at Cobalt Templar. Well, at least he's on the road to making sense now... He cleared his throat and stepped so that he was more in Stratos' field of vision. Starchaser felt that it was probably about time that they moved past Stratos' garbled tales and conspiracies, although he wasn't sure how easy that would be. "So, Doctor." He began, figuring that a villain as focused on respect as this one might respond better to having his ego coddled a little. "Who do you think might be able to hold the Crime League together in your absence?"

In that case, since there's only one Gasman left, Starchaser will take a swing at him. He gets a 13 on his attack roll. If that hits, it'll be a DC28 toughness save.

Alexander smiled cheerfully at the floral heroine and shook her hand. "Thanks, Fleur, and merry Christmas to you too. I go by Starchaser." He recognised a few of the heroes there from the evening news, but most of them were total strangers to him. "I'm relatively new to this, so I figured this party would be a good opportunity to get to know a few people in the community. Without the added pressure of a giant robot or an asteroid, of course." Starchaser looked over the room again, "Sure seems like the League pulled out all the stops for this one, it's all very impressive!"

Socialising with other superheroes was something Starchaser had known would happen sooner or later, but that didn't mean he'd been able to plan accordingly for something like this. A Christmas party with the Freedom League just two short months after he'd stepped onto the scene was certainly not what he had anticipated, but he was hardly going to turn down such a major opportunity. Of course, he had no idea what the expected attire was for such an occasion. Was a dinner suit or costume more appropriate? Or were they supposed to keep the Christmas spirit in mind? Unfortunately, the invitation that had mysteriously arrived at his apartment one evening had left things relatively vague. Alexander had decided that a little Yuletide cheer added to his standard costume was probably a safe bet, so he'd topped it off with a Santa hat. Alexander put in a brief appearance at his office's Christmas party first, then parked a few blocks from Freedom Hall and flew the rest of the way. He landed just outside the massive structure, striding into the lobby and leaving his invitation on the desk, not entirely sure what else he was supposed to do with it. Then he walked into the main hall, taking a moment to admire the room, both its extensive decorations and its masterful construction.

Starchaser >Swan Fever (4) ?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>>Torrential Troubles (2) ?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>>Bad Medicine (2)

I am, I've been significantly busier than I'd expected to be the last couple of weeks, but things should be back to normal now. But I thought we were up to Graft in the initiative order?

The lifeboat was finally fully raised just as the waves around the ship began to intensify, a small wash of water across the deck reminding everyone of the ever-worsening circumstances. Starchaser was floating slightly above the deck now, unwilling to leave himself open to being knocked off his feet again. As the lifeboat was lowered to just above deck level, the paragon gave a shout, loud enough to be heard even over the howling winds, "Everyone who wants off, into the lifeboat now!" The deck cleared relatively quickly as those who had been working on raising the lifeboat clambered into it. Despite the chaos surrounding them, the crew followed the evacuation procedure with a speed and efficiency that spoke to extensive training for emergency situations. Starchaser assessed the number of crewmen clambering into the lifeboat, and was certain that there were some who were still about the ship, remaining in peril, but there were other lifeboats, and he couldn't bring himself to put more lives in danger by waiting too long. He glanced up at Tempest as the other hero flew down towards them, and called out to him. "See if you can get everyone else on deck while you fight this storm. I'll get these folks out and then come back for the rest!" With that, he stooped beneath the raised lifeboat and set his shoulders against it. His fingers dug into solid steel, his grip denting it. One of the crew deactivated the locks, and the weight of the lifeboat settled down onto his shoulders. It was heavy, but far from too heavy for him to handle. "Alright everyone," he said, "Hope you're strapped in!" He kicked off from the deck, shooting straight up from the ship before changing directions, setting off towards the docks with all the speed he could muster. The storm couldn't keep up with him, not even reacting as he blew through it. The sailors were no doubt terrified, shoved right back into their seats in a vessel that, while hardy, had not been built with mach speeds in mind. Fortunately, their seat belts would prevent them being flung about like ragdolls within the boat. Starchaser touched down on the dock within seconds, setting the boat down by a row of ambulances that had been called to the scene. Then, having given a quick nod to the paramedics, he leapt back out over the water, flying back to the beleaguered ships at breakneck pace, only hoping that the storm had not lashed out again in the time he'd been away. He was back beside Tempest shortly, searching the ship for further crew as they spoke. "So, what's your read on this? Any idea what's causing it?"

Sorry about the delay guys, it's unexpectedly turned into a pretty full-on week for me. For Starchaser's turn: Free Actions: Switch Array to Flight 7/Super-Strength 3, which should be enough to lift a standard tanker's lifeboat as a light load. Yell at the civilians. Standard Action: Lift a lifeboat full of civilians. Move Action: Fly towards the docks at full speed. At Flight 7, they should be able to reach the docks in a single move action, right? Possibly even get back to the ship as well? He'll be moving at 1,000 MPH, or 1 mile in a round. Should be able to do an IC post tomorrow.

With a quick blink, Starchaser snapped his vision back to the normal visual spectrum. He wasn’t picking up anything at a lll that would suggest something special about this branch that could have made it a target. Nor could he see any sign of Medea’s passage. Glow’s theory seemed to be panning out. Starchaser left the speculation regarding who was now in control of the League to more experienced hands. But when Thunder offered them a place in the interrogation, he was glad to join. He might not have been a personal foe of Stratos, and he might not have the understanding of the League that the others did. But he’d been he felt he had a certain level of responsibility to see things through here. He nodded, looking back to Captain Thunder, “I’d like to sit in on the interrogation as well. I’m not picking up anything else here, so I doubt there’s much I could add to the investigation that the police can’t handle themselves.â€

Starchaser took a moment to scan the skies as the crew began hauling one of the lifeboats onto the deck, and quickly caught sight of Tempest, a figure of calm amidst the chaos of the storm. For a moment, Starchaser thought he could see the storm abating around the other hero, bending to his will. And then it seemed to fight back, as though alive. Storm clouds gathered like a fist before Tempest, and flung a bolt of lightning into the weather controller. The sound of rock grating against rock drew his attention then, and Starchaser dashed to the side of the ship, seeing the ocean’s teeth rising up into their path. He looked up at Tempest for a moment, taking a half-second to plan a course of action. The half second cost him, with the whirlpool beneath them suddenly raging against them suddenly intensifying. A wave forced the ship teetering to one side for a moment, shaking the vessel beneath them all. Starchaser’s feet slid out from under him, and he slammed into the deck, nearly sliding under the guard rail before the freighter righted itself again. Reaching up, he grabbed the guardrail and pulled himself to his feet, immediately noticing the still rising rocks, the ship right on track to collide with a fresh set, having narrowly missed one already. I might not be able to do something about this storm just yet… But I can deal with those! His eyes blazed with white light, and he projected the full power of a star into the new reef. The high-intensity light sheared straight through the rocks, cutting them apart. The water churned and boiled around them as Starchaser sheared a safe passage open for the ship, seeking to buy some more time for the crew readying the lifeboat.

Starchaser gets a 15 on his strength check to avoid being tripped as well. For his turn: Move Action: Stand back up. Standard Action: Blast the rocks that the gas ship is heading towards. He gets a 20 on his Attack roll. If that hits, the rocks need to make a DC22 Toughness save.

Starchaser gets a 9 for initiative.

A series of sonic booms ripped through the air as Starchaser arrived on the scene, a blur of white light against the deep grey of the storm clouds. A storm of this magnitude was dangerous enough so close to the docks. That it seemed so contained only flagged it as more of a threat - clearly, this was the work of one of Freedom's all-too-numerous supervillains. Streams of cloud spun around him when he suddenly came to a halt, surveying the chaos before him. Two colossal ships, caught in a vicious whirlpool, being dragged inexorably towards a terrible collision. Starchaser focused his vision, analysing the contents of each ships. One filled with automobiles, the other stacked with canisters filled with some kind of compressed gas. Well, that's not something that you want rolling about on the decks. Starchaser dived towards the gas carrier, touching down lightly and calling out to the crew. "All right folks, let's get you all into the lifeboats. You might not want to put them into that," He said, pointing down into the vortex, "But I can get you to safety!" It would be tough flying a carrier's lifeboat through a storm, but it would be significantly easier than trying to push the freighter out of the current. At least this way there was a decent chance of saving everyone on board.

Knowledge (Physical Sciences) Check for Starchaser - 15. Starchaser will fly down to the freighter with the gas canisters on it and start gathering the crew into lifeboats, to be flown to a safer spot.

Starchaser glanced up from Stratos as Glow approached him. “Thanks Glow. Glad to be of assistance.†He stepped back from the criminal as the STAR Squad surrounded them, giving them room to restrain Stratos and escort him outside. As Cobalt Templar and Glow reviewed the situation to Captain Thunder, Starchaser tried to remember anything else that could possibly be relevant to the situation. The other heroes seemed to have covered everything that happened, but Starchaser still felt as though something was missing from the whole equation. “There’s no way of tracing “Hera’s†teleport, is there?†He asked, glancing up at Thunder, “She might not have wanted to be here, but she still was. And she made it sound as though the Crime League might be gearing up for something.†He scanned the bank, cycling his vision through the electromagnetic spectrum every few seconds, trying to find something – whether some residual signature from Hera’s teleportation, or some clue as to why the former leader of the Crime League had singled out this bank. But the more he searched, the more he suspected that this was nothing more than the desperate attempt of a madman trying to recapture his glory days. Perhaps he’d simply hoped that Captain Thunder would be the one to respond to the bank’s silent alarm.

The driver who had crashed into the truck would awake some time later, finding himself on a bench on the sidewalk, safely away from the chemicals slowly eating through his car. Starchaser, meanwhile, returned to the pileup to help more of the civilians. As he reached one of the cars, the group he had seen firing gas grenades around the street earlier strode out of the fog, now armed with different weapons. With machine-like precision, the five of them turned to face Starchaser, raised their weapons, and fired streams of a bright pink chemical. The hero turned away, raising one arm to protect himself from the unidentifiable substance. The noxious scent of toxins mingling with molten metal and bitumen filled his nose. While most of the chemical had sprayed harmlessly past him, two streams had hit. One splattered harmlessly over him, dripping off with little discernable effect. But the other splashed around his upraised arm and hit him full in the face! Starchaser yelled at the sting of the chemicals, quickly wiping them off his face, but able to feel that they'd burnt through a little of the energy protecting him. When he looked back up, two of the thugs were gone, likely having run off into the mist to deal with whatever task they had come here to do. Starchaser leapt at the remaining three, targeting the one who had hosed his face. As he pulled back his arm, though, he remembered that he was dealing with humans here. He let some of the strength go out of his blow, wanting to make sure the man lived through it, and then struck. His fist connected with the man's stomach, sending him back a step from the sheer force of the blow. But that was where the effect ended, and the thug stepped forward again. Starchaser had felt the protection of a bodysuit underneath the Gasman's overalls, but that didn't account for all of it. It was apparent that they were simply much stronger than ordinary human beings. The why of that was another matter - Starchaser wouldn't hold back against them any longer.

Well, after initial rolls of 25 and 29 for those saves, I'll spend a HP to reroll the first one and get a... 30. So, presuming that's lethal damage, Starchaser's now bruised and injured. Presuming that that applies to the second roll, the -1 makes it a 28, so he still saves against it. As for whether Starchaser and Graft should clash, I'd be ok with that if TK is. First though, Starchaser's going to take a shot at the Gasman who sprayed him. Since the roll was a paltry 9, I'll use the second HP to reroll it for a 23. Since the Gasmen appear to be squishy humans, Starchaser's Pulling Punches complication is in effect. So if that hits, the toughness DC for the Gasman is 21. I'm not entirely certain how to handle the complication from there though, my thought is it can go one of two ways. If the Gasman fails his save, then Starchaser has to keep pulling his punches. If he makes it, Starchaser can either up his damage bonus by one point per round until he takes one out. Or he can conclude that their suits are evidently providing plenty of toughness, and go all out against them. Thoughts?

Starchaser gets a 5 for initiative!

Afternoon traffic was always terrible, and Fridays seemed to be worst of all. Everyone tried to leave work early to beat the rush hour traffic, which just made rush hour start earlier. Alexander slammed on his brakes and hit the horn when the van in front of him suddenly stopped. Seconds later, a group of armed men poured out of it, one stopping to glare at him through his gas mask. Apparently he hadn’t taken kindly to being honked at, because after a moment he raised his weapon and aimed it directly at him. The gas canister smashed through his windshield as Alexander ducked reflexively. He kicked the car door open and rolled out before it filled the car. The hollow thuds of the guns were still audible as the thugs continued firing, and a thick cloud of the toxin started to spread out over the street. He saw multiple drivers falling unconscious as gas filled the street, and cars almost immediately began crashing into each other. He dashed through the smog, his super speed allowing him to avoid the numerous minor collisions. Once he was across the street, he was able to disappear from the view of the attackers (if they were even still looking at him), ducking into an alley to change into costume. Moments later, Starchaser dropped out of the sky, touching down in the smoke-filled street. A cursory glance of the scene confirmed that one car had crashed into a chemical carrying truck, and the danger associated with those chemicals was immediately obvious. He might not have been able to identify the specific chemical by sight, but he knew he needed to get the driver of the car that had hit it out of there, before the chemicals pouring onto his car splashed onto him. Then he’d deal with the people responsible for this. He raced forward, reaching the car in seconds and pulling the door open to rescue the driver.

As things stood, Starchaser felt that Stratos had gone down almost too easily. But he seemed drastically unstable. It was entirely possible that this was not part of some grand strategy, but was simply the sloppy handiwork of a villain who was well and truly past his time. Providence was probably the best place for a supervillain as unhinged as Stratos appeared to be. Then again, why would someone as obsessed with the “good old days†of supervillainy strike at a small bank in the Fens? Was there some connection here he was missing? He kept Stratos immobile as the bank began to fill with a cheering crowd. Focusing on the crowd made it easy to drown out Stratos’ aimless tirade on the proper etiquette of a super powered battle, though he didn’t ignore the villain completely. It would hardly do to ease up on his strength and let the weather controller try to bring the bank down all over again. For the crowd, Starchaser was all smiles. He couldn’t move from his position until the police arrived to take Dr. Stratos into custody, but he indulged the women who had accosted him, smiling for the camera. “I’m Starchaser, ma’am. And yes, I’m somewhat new to all this.â€

Rolling checks for both the sleeping gas and the Knowledge check. Fortitude Save: 29. Knowledge Check: 13. The gas has no effect, but he doesn't recognise the specifics of the chemical.