[fitd]: FREEDOM CITY! [Issue #1: Let's get Kraken!]

[fireinthedust]

The doors of Freedom Hall open for you, and inside you see an entrance hall with a high ceiling and marble pedastles holding up green plants.
Spotlights from about the room light up statues of heroes past, from the golden age to the present, who died in battle or retired with honor from the league. One in particular is a scale model of the statue of the Centurion, Freedom's greatest champion who died in the Terminus Invasion fighting Omega.

You are greeted by a human woman named Nancy Gardener, well-known as the wife of the Freedom League's leader, Captain Thunder.
They can seem intimidating, all that history. Let's go downstairs, where the others are waiting.
She smiles at you, and leads you through an elevator; the lift has a pleasant hum, and you feel it move fairly quickly, before the doors hiss open.

You exit into a large room. It's several stories high, grey walls with a maze of glowing blue lines covering the walls. There are other invitee's there, other costumed heroes trying out for the Freedom League.

A voice crackles over the intercom, and you can see a figure in a booth high above you, speaking into an intercom. The voice is frank, brusk and business like. Okay, we're going to start the first trials with a Roll Call. Please state your name and powers.

Okay, introduce yourselves. You're in a "Wreck Room", or holodec/Danger Room. It's really high-quality stuff, giving you a sense that you're in the big leagues for sure with these guys. At any rate, once you lot introduce yourselves the trial will start.

[Green Bean]

As he entered, Tempo decelerated to a more normal walking speed and gaped at the room before him. Forgetting himself with all of the grandeur, he spends literally tenths of a second taking high-speed closer looks at each statue, before remembering his original purpose and heading for the elevator at a much more normal speed.

In the Wreck Room, Tempo is standing with the other heroes when the voice speaks. "I'm Tempo, and I run really fast. Do y'all want a demonstration?" Normally, he only had a bit of a Texas accent because of his years spent away from home, but it always seemed to creep back when he was nervous.

[fireinthedust]

The original voice starts, but is interupted. That's why we have trials, so--
A different voice from the intercom sounds, a younger man's voice, more friendly with an excited energy. Sure kid, show us what you got!

[Green Bean]

"Of course. Uh, right. Here goes." Tempo pauses for a moment to plan his performance, then takes off like a shot. He does a few slow laps around the room (at a mere 100 miles per hour), then abruptly kicks into high gear, visible only as a blue streak travelling over the walls, floors, and ceiling.

After a few seconds of this, Tempo slows down, stopping completely next to the door he had originally entered through. He turns to the invisible voices. "I, uh, I've only done this a couple of times before..." His whole body blurs, as if shaking faster than the eye can fully process. The shaking accelerates even more, and Tempo almost looks purple-tinted. Finally, when the right speed was apparently reached, Tempo slowly steps through the closed door. There is a few seconds of silence, then the speedster comes racing back out, literally passing through several of his fellow applicants before coming to a halt where he had stood originally.

((Or mechanically, Tempo moves All Out for a land speed of 2 000 000 miles per hour and shows off his Wall Running skillz, after which he demonstrates his Insubstantiality))

[Nerd-o-rama]

On the way in, Fireblade walks through and appreciates the...Whatchacallit. Ambience (he thinks) of the Freedom Hall's entry. He looks a bit self-conscious in costume (or the half of his face you can see does). Normally I only wear this thing when I'm actually fighting crime. Seems kinda silly to go to a job interview in it. But then again... he adds, looking at the get-ups on some of the statues. He smiles comfortably at Mrs. Gardener's invitation, though, and follows her into the elevator.

He's a bit too invested in his internal monologue at the moment to chat with the other applicants. Holy crap, I'm trying out for the Freedom League. Holy crap, I've met one of them and that didn't weird me out before. Why didn't it weird me out before? Okay, focus. You're cool.

Once in the apparent testing room, Fireblade looks up at the booth. Wow. Imposing. He stands back and lets the speedster go first, trying utterly in vain to watch him run around over the walls, and grunting briefly in alarm as Tempo runs through him at the end of his demonstration.

"Jeez, warn a guy next time," he mutters quickly before stepping forward himself, confident grin prominently displayed.

"I'm Fireblade," he begins, lifting the impressive-looking bronze-inlaid scabbard from the hook where it rested on his belt. "I've got a sword that can cut steel and shoot fire, and yet it can still dice a tomato. I'm pretty good with it, but I'll save the demonstration for later. I also can't be harmed by fire and can come back from the dead, but I'd really rather save the demonstration on that one."

[sun_tzu]

Soul looked around her. In this form, she had long dark hair, a tight but tasteful white uniform that covered everything below the neck save for her hands, and an otherworldy, glowing aura emanating from her.
I am SO over my head. Which I should be used to by now, given that I've been over my head since before this entire mess started. But this is the FREEDOM LEAGUE. For Einstein's sake, I'm not even old enough to legally be part of this...
...but this isn't the time to freak out. This is too important to screw up. Breath slowly, keep your cool, don't let them see how much of a fish out of water you are.
"Greetin..." she began to say, when Tempo went ahead and presented himself. Truth be told, she had spoken too softly - she doubted anyone had heard her. Then he began showing his abilities.
A speedster. Nice. I've been trying to figure out a ritual to give me speed, but no such luck. A power like this should be a HUGE advantage...You could attack before your foes realized the fight had started, get all the civilians out of the way...I should probably say something.
"Impressive." she said, in what she hoped sounded like a dignified and mysterious tone. "I suppose it is my turn.
I am known as Soul. I possess magical talents...Multi-purpose, I guess." As she spoke, she began flying. Small objects began flying around her. "I can fly, move objects from a distance - I've gone as far as 50 tons, though I don't think it is my limit - observe distant locations, create objects out of thin air, disrupt magic, and open portals through space. I've been experimenting with spells to heal wounds or paralyze foes, but I'm afraid they're untested..." As she finished her list, the objects all flew back to their original positions, approximately. Soul kept hovering about a foot above the ground.

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex followed the group into the foyer of Freedom Hall, his visor HUD displaying readouts and information on the various things he was seeing. Amazing he thought, tributes to those who came before, such history in this place! Snapped back to reality by a woman who introduced herself as Nancy Gardener, he followed her and the rest of the group into an elevator.

Stepping out, he glances at the other costumed figures standing in this large room, and falls into place among the group. After hearing the voice coming from the figure(s) in the booth, Apex stepped back and watched the young man called Tempo do his thing. So it's a test, is it?

Two others then displayed their skills. Fireblade and Soul hm? So far everyone has shown that they definitely have skills and then some. I guess it's my turn now.

"I am known as Apex, " he declares, stepping forward "As a wearer of the "Buster Core" power suit, I am granted a variety of different abilities. The suit gives me the ability of flight..." at which he steps off of the ground and rises into the air. "...at top speeds of 500mph. It also provides the wearer with increased strength and dexterity, allowing me to lift weights approaching 24 tons." Apex then raises his fist and points it at a target away from the other heroes, but in clear view of the booth. "The suit comes equipped with two wrist mounted blasters, with variable settings." He fires a few blasts at the target, blowing it away, then flying back and landing in front of the booth. "It's force field enables the wearer to withstand many types of attacks and escape unscathed." Apex activates his force field, which appears as a slight, wavy blue glow around his person, and then dissappears."Finally, it is equipped with a range of support functions, such as medical interface, life support, and a capable sensor suite, which are all operating at maximum efficiency."

Grinning confidently, he looks up at the booth and then back at the others standing and suddenly feels nervous. Still with a stupid grin on his face, Apex then chuckles awkwardly and scratches the back of his head before stepping back in line to let the next person go. Way to get carried away self...what a first impression... Apex shakes his head to himself and turns to look at the next hero to go.


(OOC: Just for clarification, the suit isn't an armor like an Iron Man suit, it's more of a Booster Gold or Supernova suit, where it looks more like a hero costume)

[fireinthedust]

The gruff voice over the intercom comes in again. Well, that's good to know. Is that everyone?

[Ditto]

Coming to a skidding halt, a wiry gent with tousled brown hair jogs into the room. He's snuggled into an aquamarine one-piece that's a cross between your garden variety superspandexsupersuit and a surfers wetsuit. "'Allo team. Thom Thames, water guy, 'ere 'n present 'n all. Wot'd oi miss, hm?"

(S'a Cockney accent, to answer your question FITD. :smallwink:
I'm not sure Thom'd feel the need to elaborate muchly on himself & his powers without prompting, since he's already established himself as a super. It's possible he's not considering that his name-recognition might not be as high in America. If he's supposed to share more (beyond actually doing some trials), certainly have Mr. Voicebox Guy give him an eyebrow waggle.)

[Nerd-o-rama]

Fireblade fidgets a bit with the hilt of his sword as he waits for the Imposing Voice (Johnny Rocket and...hm, can't place it)to continue.

So, fast guy, magician, overachiever in flying armor, and...an English guy.

Hey, he continues, mentally addressing his sword. These guys can all fly or go superspeed. How come I can't do that?

*

Oh, the teleportation totally doesn't count. How often is there actually a fire handy where I want to go?

*

Well yeah, Summers's office fireplace came in handy, but most people who aren't batty old men use thermostats nowadays. That was a fluke.

*

Relax, man. No need to get all defensive. If I get picked, though, I'm asking for a jetpack.

[Green Bean]

While the others are demonstrating their powers, Tempo finds himself standing to the sword-wielding fellow. By the way the speedster keeps glancing at him, it's obvious that he has a burning question (no pun intended), but hasn't gathered the courage to ask it.

Eventually (while there's a lull), he taps Fireblade on the shoulder. "Erm, I don't mean to pry, but you can really come back from the dead?"

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Yep," Fireblade responds. "It's something or other about my 'Inner Fire', or something. If I get killed, I wake up a day later with no memory of the last twenty-four hours and a nasty hangover. So basically, dying is like a weekend in Montreal to me."

[sun_tzu]

"Yep," Fireblade responds. "It's something or other about my 'Inner Fire', or something. If I get killed, I wake up a day later with no memory of the last twenty-four hours and a nasty hangover. So basically, dying is like a weekend in Montreal to me."

Soul shuddered. "That's...good. I've had the opportunity to study the passage from this life to whatever lay beyond, but I'll admit I'm not eager to repeat the experience." After a moment of hesitation, she added: "But at least now we know who to send on suicide missions."

[Ditto]

Thom Thames

"Recommend against those sorts o' tasks, actually. En't good for morale. Weekend in Montreal, though - 'at's a good time fer all involved. Once knew a chap as went on a pubcrawl in Worcerster, got 'iself 'free sheets t'tha wind afore brefkist on Sunday. Woke up in Mornington Crescent wif-ou' a clue uf wot's 'e's been at since Tuesday an' wearink a wedding band. 'E never found th'lucky lass agin. S'fer the best, oi say."

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Hey, girl, I'm not volunteering for anything yet. It's still not something I want to make a habit of," Fireblade says.

"And as for you, Thom, um...I have no idea what you just said, so you just keep doin' what you're doin'.

[Green Bean]

Luckily for Tempo, he'd spent some time out of the country, and wasn't half bad at decoding accents. "You're Tom, right? Nice to meet you. Are you from London? I go up there for takeout sometimes, and it's always seemed like a nice enough place."

[sun_tzu]

"Hey, girl, I'm not volunteering for anything yet. It's still not something I want to make a habit of," Fireblade says.

"And as for you, Thom, um...I have no idea what you just said, so you just keep doin' what you're doin'.

"I think he is talking about a fellow who got engaged while drunk. I'll admit that I'm mostly speculating."
Wow. That accent was so thick you could cut it with a chainsaw.

[SuperMuldoon]

Montreal? London? Apex thought to himself, I have never heard of these places before...but they all seem to be bonding over this common thread...showing they have something that can make them a team! I gotta say something!

"I also enjoy these places of which you speak! I am quite fond of Montreal, the...uh...great recreation center for all the fun? Haha, right?" Apex awkwardly interjects with a smile on his face.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Fireblade looks at Apex carefully. "Yeah...actually, yeah, that's pretty much what it is. At least during college season."

Alien. Possibly a robot.

[fireinthedust]

ooc: huh, I guess that last post I did didn't go through. bah!
Also: are we going to be joined by our kindly Dr. Doom? If not now, he'll have to wait until after the session in the Wreck Room (as the audition would be closed for now).

IC:

you hear the gruff voice on the intercom again. Zeus' groin, did you hear that limey? If he makes it through, fine, but I hear him say "shine yuh shoes gobnah" and I'm going back into space!
Uh, Daed, the intercom is still running.
Huh? Oh, er, <cough> alright heroes! Let's start by seeing how you handle yourselves in a combat situation, starting... now!

A cadre of robots emerge from sliding panels in the walls and floor, and charge to attack!

ooc: everyone roll a Notice check to see if you're surprised. DC15, if you make it you can act in this round.

[sun_tzu]

[roll0]
Combat situ...WaitwowwhatI...
Focus.
Flying back a couple of feet in reflex, Soul raises her right hand in the direction of the nearest robot, makes a gesture with her left hand, and unleashes a blast of arcane energy.
((That is, if she can act.))
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
((Second attack roll provided if needed - her blasts have the "Homing" feat. Damage bonus is +13.))

[Nerd-o-rama]

[roll0]

With practiced quickness, the Heart of Fire is unsheathed and in Fireblade's hand, its blade flashing a strange golden color.

"Freedom League: subtlety is not their specialty."

((How far away are the robots? Particularly, are they 60' or less away? Also, how many?))

[Green Bean]

Notice Check (1d20 5=21) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1468274/)

Wait, wha-?

By some twist of fortune, Tempo had happened to be looking in the right direction when the robots popped out. The world slowed down to a crawl as he sprinted toward the lead robot, stopping long enough to deliver dozens of rapid-fire blows, then zipping back next to the other applicants.

"Anyone got a plan?"

((a.k.a., Autofire Strike with Move-by Action

Attack Roll: Attack Roll (1d20 12=28) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1468278/)))

[fireinthedust]

ooc: there is one robot per Hero; they're armed with big, beefy arms (which may or may not shoot blasts of energy); and they look like humanoid torsos with orbs for legs that let them hover just above the ground.

[Nerd-o-rama]

((Well, just ignore the attack part if they're more than 30' away, and call it a move action.))

"How about: I charge out and draw their fire while you all sit back and either hit-and-run or artillery. Don't worry, I'm dodgy."

Fireblade dashes out, sword held high. Reaching the nearest robot, he brings it down in a powerful forehand slash aimed at the robot's "shoulder." before withdrawing the blade back to a ready position.

[roll0]
[roll1]

((Power Attack 2: Damage is +12. Defense is at +8 for the next round.))
((Quick note: I can Block ranged attacks at +5 (free action I'll be taking pretty much every round). Every attack after the first adds a cumulative -2 to this roll, though.))

[SuperMuldoon]

[roll0]

Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say...hey wait where is everyone going?

Apex fails to notice the robots and is surprised.



(OOC: This is my first roll/combat post! Let me know if everything is ok, I had his actions down for if he saw the robots, but since he failed I edited the post and deleted it. Now I wait until next round to post my actions right?)

[fireinthedust]

ooc: yeah, you're doing fine. Just post your actions in description format, then put the crunch/rules bit in ooc below that... basically just like you did.

and yeah, they're zooming towards each of you to attack on their initiative during this, the surprise round. Sorry, missed the question (terribly ill and all)

Anyway: for those of you who hit them, which of you has a damage bonus higher than +10?

[Green Bean]

((A mere +8 here.))

[sun_tzu]

((I have a damage bonus of +13, but I suspect I didn't hit, even with Homing...))

[Nerd-o-rama]

((Total damage bonus of 12 on that attack, with 7 ranks of Penetrating.))

[Ditto]

Thom Thames

Thom splashes into a watery form with a puff of spray surrounding him. He drops to a puddle and slides along the floor, circling around Soul's target in a wide arc. As he goes, he lobs a corkscrewing funnel of H2O at it.

Roll, (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1470947) rolls (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1470944)
Notice+16= 25
Init+2= 21
Atk+10= 22
(Water) Blast+12= 19 dmg

[fireinthedust]

The robots all seem to move with similar action, similar moves and speed. They each close quickly with their targets, one per hero. The lights for their robot eyes wink back and forth as their metal fist are raised to slam you.

Most of the party are fast enough to dodge out of the way, retaliating quickly. All except Apex, who is qucikly slammed by one of them. ((roll save, please.))

Soul unleashes a blast of eldritch might, but the combat droid shifts itself and bucks out of the way, its movement like a fish or cricket, though made of hard metal. Her blast sears the floor, before the robot zooms to close with her, its fist sailing at her head.

Tempo zips around his target, pounding it several times, with dents appearing in its armor plating where his fists strike. While hurt, the automaton is still standing after the barrage.

Thames sprays the robot attacking him, likeswise denting and damaging it, but also failing to destroy his foe.


Okay, the robots are using the same rolls:
initiative: 9.
attack: 24
Toughness save for them this round: 16
defense 15 (to hit for you guys)
slam (dc25 toughness save for you)
blast (dc 25)

Tell me if the attack roll hits your hero this round, ditto checking against the DCs and the toughness save



Next round: each of the robots continues to attack.

[Green Bean]

((I rolled a 28 to hit, and because of Autofire I get a +4 bonus on that, so I guess my 'bot fails his save by 12 and is disabled and staggered. I'm not entirely sure how that interacts with constructs, though, so I'll post two options; one if the damage is sufficient to take the robot out of the fight, and another if it isn't))

Tempo grins as his rapid punches severely damaged the robot. The 'bot was no where near fast enough to defend itself from an attack at that speed, and Tempo landed hundreds of blows travelling at an incredible speed. As he zipped back, he turned around to survey the damage and...

((Option 1))

...gasped as the robot drove his fist into his gut/blasted him with an energy beam. The wind was knocked out of him, and he dropped to his knees, slowing back down to a normal time frame.

((Toughness Save (1d20 8=16) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1473033/)

Stunned and Bruised, assuming it's non-lethal because it's a training exercise.))

((Option 2))

...grinned as he saw what his blows had inflicted. The robot's chassis was severely dented, and a few loose wires hung from it. While it was still technically operating, it looked like it was barely capable of keeping upright at this point. Tempo looked around at how the others were doing with their robots, ready to lend a hand where necessary.

[fireinthedust]

ooc: If it's staggered, it's still in; the body may be hurt, but the fight is still there. They're not minions, they're robots for a fight that I'm treating as foes in their own right.
if you're hit, does that mean you're unconscious and unable to move? if you can't move, it'll attack again next round.

Apex: did you save against the robot's slam attack?

[Green Bean]

ooc: If it's staggered, it's still in; the body may be hurt, but the fight is still there. They're not minions, they're robots for a fight that I'm treating as foes in their own right.

((Well, it isn't just staggered; it's also disabled, which is worse. And if it's anything like the disabled condition for non-constructs, then taking actions could be a problem.


if you're hit, does that mean you're unconscious and unable to move? if you can't move, it'll attack again next round.

I'm not unconscious, but I can't take any actions, and I lose all dodge bonus to my defence, reducing it to 12.))

[Nerd-o-rama]

==Surprise Round Resolution==

Fireblade's swing cuts through the robot's armored torso like so much muenster (it's a kind of cheese), drawing sparks from a damaged motivator system. "Not properly armored. What a shock."

(Fireblade's target is Injured (1) and Disabled.)

Despite the damage to the robot's systems, Fireblade has still left himself in range of his opponent's swinging fist, and does his best to roll with the attack, taking a slight bruise to the arm through his costume.

Toughness Save (1d20 10=23) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1473061/)

==Round 1 Actions==

(Pending clarification on how disabled constructs work)

[SuperMuldoon]

Surprise Round

Apex turns as everyone runs past him to address a comotion coming from behind him and finds a robot fist flying at his face.

[roll0]

Apex takes a hit to his face, though his force-field absorbs some of it, he still feels it.

(OOC: I believe since I failed by 2 I take a bruise? Is this correct?)
Round 1

[roll1]

Reeling from the robots surprise attack and feeling his suit's medical systems already acting to repair the damage from the robots punch, Apex brings back his fist and lets fly with a haymaker.


(Apex's regeneration from his suit will attempt to heal the bruise before he attacks. His rank is high enough so that healing a bruise may be done once per round with no action necessary. Then Apex will engage the robot in melee.)

[SuperMuldoon]

Round 1 (cont'd)

[roll0]

[roll1]

[master ranger]

do you need a player?

[Nerd-o-rama]

Wrong thread.

OOC/Recruiting (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3839906#post3839906)

[sun_tzu]

As the robot dodges her blast and moves in for the kill, Soul opens a small portal in front of her at the last moment. The robot's punch goes through it instead of her; at some random point in the vastness of outer space, the robot's fist would be sticking out of the portal's other end.
Damn. They're faster than they look. All right, take the high ground...They can't punch me if I'm flying.
Taking to the ceiling, Soul sends a second blast at the robot, while surveying the situation around her. The others seem to be doing fine. Good.

Soul has a defense score of 25, so, no hit this time. Thank you, Shield power.
As for her attack: 1d20+7. The Homing part only takes place in the next round, right?

[sun_tzu]

Looks like my attack roll was garbled...New try:
[roll0]

[fireinthedust]

ooc: I guess it's my turn!

IC: after the first round of punches being thrown, a number of the robots are unharmed while the rest are still up with a fight left in them. Stubborn as only robots can be, they continue to press the assault. Each robot attacks its target, whichever hero is attacked the previous round.

ooc: if you're farther than melee range, it's going to fire an energy blast at you. Otherwise, fists it is!

Everyone roll initiative and state your actions. Roll whatever rolls you're going to make for the round.

[sun_tzu]

Whoa Nelly! Soul twitches as the robot attempts to blast her. So much for the advantage of high grounds.
She then lets out a third blast of energy at the machine. C'mon, gotta end this quick...

Initiative roll? What for? I thik you only need to roll for initiative at the first combat round...
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[fireinthedust]

Oh, and just in case everyone was wondering:

Round Two!

[fireinthedust]

Oh, and just in case everyone was wondering:

Round Two!

[Green Bean]

<Snip>

With his foe disabled, Tempo is free to help out his other potential teammates. In a blur, he runs around, dealing powerful blows to all of the robots within reach.

((translation; use my Targeted Burst Strike to attack every robot within 40 feet. I make one attack roll and compare it to the robots' defence. No Autofire, though. Attack Roll: 1d20 12=22 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1478210/)

Since I have a damage bonus of 8, I beat their Toughness Saves by exactly 5. Every 'bot within 40 feet should be injured, though it's up to you to decide how many that actually is))

[Nerd-o-rama]

fireinthedust: please read my post in the OOC thread.

[fireinthedust]

ooc:

attack: 20
Toughness: 18

[Nerd-o-rama]

((For the record, Fireblade's target has been Disabled. Since he acted before it, I assume he doesn't take an attack and is uninjured. Correct me if I'm wrong, or one of the other ones shot at him.))

Fireblade
Initiative: 17 or New Initiative (if necessary) (1d20 8=21) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1478892/)
Defense: 18 (13 Flatfooted)
Condition: Uninjured
Toughness: +10 (+5 Flatfooted)
Hero Points: 1

Initial target unable to focus its weaponry, Fireblade makes a quick scan of the room. Seeing Soul under fire and having trouble striking back, he heads for her opponent, sweeping his blade upward in an attempt to sever its weaponry from its body.

Attack: Attack Roll (1d20 10=26) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1478879/)
Damage: +10. Damage Roll (1d20 10=13) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1478880/)

Fireblade strikes the robot and...!

((Default damage)) Leaves a large rent in its armor, but his strike does not do any major internal damage. (Target gains an Injury).

((Rolled damage)) Finds the enemy's appendages much more thickly armored than he expected, orihalcon sword failing to do more than scratch the finish. (Target is unharmed).

Next Toughness Save (if necessary) (1d20 10=13) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1478884/)

[sun_tzu]

((OK, I'm...honestly not sure what I'm supposed to do at this point. Should I be describing how the battle goes on my end? That's usually the GM's prerogative...
Anyway, if the robot's attack roll is 20, then it's blocked by Soul's "shield" (the portal she opens between herself and its attack). If its defense is 15 and its toughness roll 18, then Soul's last attack hit it, and it failed its damage save by 10...))

[SuperMuldoon]

"Alright robot...lets get serious now!"

Beginning to get frustrated at himself and feeling like he is incapable of making a good impression, Apex lets loose with another swing at the robot he is fighting in melee.

[roll0]

+12 for the damage DC if it hits.

(OOC: alright...apparently it doesn't like me rolling. I put the toughness one in here and it didn't even make a roll for it and just displayed the roll command. Next post will have my toughness as a 20 hits my character. Just want to assure you I'm not doctoring my rolls or anything.)

[SuperMuldoon]

If the robot's attack is 20, then this is my toughness save for that attack.

[roll0]

[fireinthedust]

ooc: Woooo, new computer!!! I'm typing away using a "wireless" internet connection! woot!

I've gone over the numbers and reviewed stats, etc. You guys are right: You don't roll damage, I just roll the saves. For you guys, the robots' blast and strike would be 25 (10+15 base dc); I believe that is accurate.
That said, you who hit beat their toughness saves for this round, as I rolled them.

IC:

The next round of combat goes much better than the first. Soul flies up to the ceiling, away from the attacking robots, while Thames covers her foe in a mound of water. The wave fails to destroy it, though only just.
Apex and Fireblade likewise take their swings, damaging their droids. limbs are severed and faceplates mashed in.
Finally Tempo whirs through the room, smashing the droids with his powerful fists as post-sonic speed.

The gruff voice over the intercom grunts at how quickly you go through the combat droids. Well, so much for those droids. Now for the oral test. Fall in, thank you. A line appears on the floor of the Wreck Room, as if asking you to gather for stage two of the audition.

At that a door opens and you see Captain Thunder himself! The caped hero strides confidently into the room, summing each of you up. This part of the test is important, to see if you're really Freedom League material. More than the ability to smash robots or destroy things, you'll need to have the right character. As a hero, you'll face dilemmas. There are rarely easy answers, but it's part of your responsibility as a hero to make them.

He walks up and down the line, firing off questions to each of you.

Thames
A supervillain has placed a device of tremendous power high atop a building in downtown Freedom City. During your struggle with the villain, a nearby building is badly damaged, and begins to topple, threatening the lives of hundreds of people. If you go to help them, you give the villain time to activate his device, which may potentially threaten the whole world. What do you do?

Fireblade
One of your teammates is acting strangely: distracted, irritable, and less on-the-ball than usual. You walk in on your teammate unexpectedly and get a strong impression of guilt and an attempt to cover something up. What do you do?


Apex
The authorities arrive at your HQ with a warrant for your arrest and evidence of crimes you know you did not commit. You're ordered to surrender and come along peacefully to await arraignment and trial. What do you do?!

Tempo
After weeks of work, you have tracked down and defeated a psychotic responsible for the brutal murders of dozens of people. You know it is a virtual certainty the killer will be declared incompetent to stand trial and placed in Lovecraft Asylum for treatment. He says he will escape and kill again. The killer is at your mercy and no one else is around. What do you do?![/color]

Soul
After thwarting one of their schemes you discover a major multinational corporation is actually a front for a powerful criminal organization. However you have no real evidence, and the corporation's lawyers get the case thrown out of court, putting the criminals beyond the reach of the law. What do you do?...!?[/color]


ooc: please answer in your hero's own words!!! (I love punctuation)

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Man, and I was just getting warmed up..." Fireblade says as he sheathes his sword and walks over to the line.

Hoooly carp it's Bolt's Dad. I mean Captain Thunder. He adopts a rigid pose that might be sort of like a salute.

"Sir! I would ask him to hang a sock on the door in the future sir!" Fireblade barks in response.

...Goddammit, you moron, that's not what he means! Think!

"Errrrrr I mean, I would confront him openly and immediately about whatever difficulties he is having, ready to offer support if he has been hiding personal problems, but also ready to draw on him if he is a Grue or something. Sir."

[sun_tzu]

Holy Roman Empire...The Freedom League. Or at least Captain Thunder.
All right, gotta pull myself together...


After thwarting one of their schemes you discover a major multinational corporation is actually a front for a powerful criminal organization. However you have no real evidence, and the corporation's lawyers get the case thrown out of court, putting the criminals beyond the reach of the law. What do you do?...!?
As Soul listens to each and every question, she also tries to think of answers to each one of them. Is it just me, or did I get the least interesting question?
"Well...I suppose the wisest course of actions would be to meet with members of the police, FBI, and Aegis, to explain the situation to them. If the corporation is under their scrutiny, there are decent odds that they will eventually get caught. I'd also warn other superheroes, and keep a watch for the corporation's activity on my own time. Probably read a book concerning law so as to have a better idea of what they can and cannot be charged with in the future."

Good answer, I think.
So why haven't I done just that with Masterson?
Stupid. Because I was so worried about Aurora's coming storm and my own secret identity to really think about it.

[Green Bean]

Tempo brushes some robot bits off his arm and gets into line. What a bunch of digital dummies.

Tempo spends a few moments thinking of his answer. "I wouldn't hurt him; then I'd be no better than he is. Besides, if the courts are going to find him insane that reliably, maybe he really does need treatment. The most I can do is give as detailed a report as possible on the guy's capabilities. I'm sure that Lovecraft doesn't like their violent residents escaping any more than prison does."

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex looks down and the busted up droid and claps his hands together in a 'thats that' sort of manner. "Looks like you're fit for the scrap heap!"

Upon seeing Captain Thunder walk in, Apex's military training takes over and he snaps to attention.


The authorities arrive at your HQ with a warrant for your arrest and evidence of crimes you know you did not commit. You're ordered to surrender and come along peacefully to await arraignment and trial. What do you do?!

Apex quickly snaps off an answer.
"I would surrender myself and go with them peacefully. If I am innocent I would trust in the system and my friends and compatriots to find me as such. As a superhero, I have to have faith in the system I am defending, and am a part of it, not above it."

[Ditto]

Thom Thames

"I'd probably 'fro the 'otshot under the building, s'wot I'd do. Well, 'at's th' funny fink about baddits - they's always lookin' ou' fer'emselfs, see? It's quite likely 'e's got a ray gun or a floaty-like widget as wot's good for catchin' big rocks. If'n 'e vaporizes buildin' bits on 'is way down 'at's a win for all.

"Failin' a good grapple t'get us there, tho', oi'd 'ave to scoop the buildin' aside. I mean, 'e's talkin' abou' 'Tremendous Power!' an' oi'd fink 'e's tryin' t'make up fer summat rather'n frettenin' th'world roight then."

[fireinthedust]

Captain thunder quirks an eyebrow at an answer or two, and grunts at Fireblade's "joke".

Not the time for it, Hero. Do you realize where you ar--

The question is bitten off before it can be finished, by a loud buzzing noise over the intercom.

Sorry Cap, but we got ourselves an emergency. Something big is coming through orbit over Panama, something with a massive energy reading. Freedom League has been called out by the UN! We gotta book it now!

Thunder frowns, then clicks a remote. The room un-digitizes to the original state of it (IE: st:tng holodeck. oh yeeeah!), and the elevator door opens up.

Looks like we'll have to postpone the rest of this audition until the emergency is over. You five... stay in Freedom, and make sure she's safe. Then we'll pick up most he stares pointedly at Fireblade [color=blue]If not all of the auditions when we get back.


The elevator doors begin to close; if no one does anything, he'll zip away to the Freedom-copter with the rest of the league.

ooc: okay, so what do you do now?

[sun_tzu]

Huh. Looks like we're on our own for a while. I should probably try to get to know the others a bit better while I'm here...Never been much of a social butterfly, though.
Soul looked around her. The guy with the fiery sword was kinda cute. The guy with the armor...His earlier statement seemed to indicate a certain "alienness" about him. The river guy had an accent so thick she had trouble understanding a word. The speedy guy seemed nice enough...and he'd been helping in the fight, with the way he punched every robot.
"Tempo, right? Thank you for your assistance earlier. I was curious...You answered the question they asked you, but what did you think of the other questions?"

[Nerd-o-rama]

"I...it was...I could...*sigh*," Fireblade deflates a bit after the Captain and the rest of the League bustle off.

Smooth, self. Way to let your mind into the gutter around Captain Mom, Baseball, and Apple Pie there.

*

No one asked you.

After a couple seconds, he stands straight again. "Well hey, if there's some kind of big hero crisis going on, we should keep an eye on it. I wonder if the League's got some kind of mission control deal we could visit. Or failing that, a staff lounge with a TV and cable news."

[fireinthedust]

ooc: Fireblade, you have heard stories of the Freedom Hall computer. It's nifty, and has a heck of a surveillance capability. You and the other Claremont grads would have been there on a field trip, actually. So yeah, you could find it, or ask Captain Thunder's wife. Or, as you guys have been heroes for however long, use whatever normal methods you use to find crime/crises.
The meteor thing over Panama, however, you'd have to get either online or at, say, the Freedom Hall computer area, if that's what you're monitoring.

[Nerd-o-rama]

ooc: yeah, I meant the meteor thing. Was vague, sorry.

"Actually, come to think of it, yeah, they do have something like that! Excuse me, Mrs. Gardener? I'd like to keep an eye on how the League's doing out there. Can you, uh, point me to the Freedom Hall computer center?"

*

What? Thanks for the compliment on secret identity-keeping, but I actually just don't know how to get there from here.

*

[Green Bean]

Tempo smiled at the sorcerous hero. "Yep. And you're...Soul, right? Nice to meet you." Tempo scratches his head. "The questions weren't that unexpected, really. Claremont was pretty big on the ethics of superpowers, and we covered the basic moral dilemmas a hero's likely to run into. What'd you think of them?"

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex watches as Captain Thunder departs, and stands at ease.
Well...that could have gone better... Lost in thought for a moment, Apex barely realizes that everyone else has started to converse. Standing around awkwardly, he prepares to introduce himself to the heroes chatting when he hears Fireblade inquire about keeping tabs on the crisis at hand.

"Uh...excuse me...Fireblade was it? If you want to know whats going on in the city, my suit's sensors are patched into the communications in the area. I'll tune in and see if I can find anything out."

With this, Apex activates his sensor array and sees if he can learn anything about the crisis, or barring that, any pressing matters going on in the city.

(OOC: Apex has a sensor array that is able to pick up all different types of radio communication, so he'll listen in on that. Also, just as an aside, he's not in an Iron Man style armor, he's more in a sleek power suit, think Booster Gold :smallsmile: )

[sun_tzu]

Tempo smiled at the sorcerous hero. "Yep. And you're...Soul, right? Nice to meet you." Tempo scratches his head. "The questions weren't that unexpected, really. Claremont was pretty big on the ethics of superpowers, and we covered the basic moral dilemmas a hero's likely to run into. What'd you think of them?"

"Oh, you're from the Claremont Academy?"
Soul had been trying to seem otherworldly and dignified earlier in the presence of the Freedom League - she needed to look the part, with as little questions asked as she could afford - but now that she was alone with the other potential new recruits, she was loosening up a little.
"Well...The question about the villain and the toppling building is something I hope never to have to deal with, but if I did...Well, the whole world is more important than the people in one building, I guess. If I couldn't save both...I'd go for the doomsday device first. I might have a nervous breakdown later, though.
Then there's the question where the police shows up to arrest you. If I knew I hadn't done it, I'd be somewhat suspicious - it could just be a misunderstanding, but it could also be that I was being framed, or even that those weren't real cops. I guess that, instead of following them, I'd teleport directly to the police station to turn myself in...and use my one phone call to ask my teammates to investigate."
She seemed rather satisfied with her answer, then she got pensive and added: "Of course, that's theoretical. What I'd actually do under stress conditions...Well, who knows?"

[fireinthedust]

ooc: Fireblade makes it up to the control center and starts monitoring the news (naturally, like Super Friends, it tells you exactly what's important for the story: that the jet is flying towards the disaster; of course, there shouldn't be a camera on the jet, just flying, but there is. hm.)
Apex, you also have an idea of what's going on, your ear peice is working fine.

Do the rest of you go up with Fireblade to the control center? yeah? Maybe?

[Green Bean]

"That's true. You never know how you'll react to something like that." Tempo notices Fireblade heading for the control room. "Anyway, we should probably head for the control room. I like to keep my eye on anything with 'massive energy readings'"

((Assuming nothing else comes up, I follow Fireblade to the control room))

[sun_tzu]

"That's true. You never know how you'll react to something like that." Tempo notices Fireblade heading for the control room. "Anyway, we should probably head for the control room. I like to keep my eye on anything with 'massive energy readings'"

((Assuming nothing else comes up, I follow Fireblade to the control room))

"Probably wise, yeah."
As Soul begins following them, she considers hovering there...but finally decides to walk.

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex sees everyone heading up to the control room, and not wanting to be left behind, follows them to the control room while keeping tabs on whats happening through his earpiece.

[fireinthedust]

You see the control room: it's really cool. The place uses technology even Apex would find impressive.

There is a massive screen showing all sort of events from around the world... then the signal cuts out! At the same time the sky turns red, and a blood-red light shines through the window. All the screens are dead for a moment, then start flashing: EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!

Mrs. Thunder's mouth drops open. What the heck is going on?

[Green Bean]

Tempo marvels at the control room. "Wow! They can keep an eye on the whole world from here!"

As the sky turns red, Tempo panics for a moment, afraid that they'd accidentally messed with the glass tinting controls or something. But as the controls start flashing again, it's replaced by a more general sense of dread. What's going on here?

To get a better look, Tempo rushes out of the headquarters, seeing if he can get a better view from the street.

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Uh...uh oh," Fireblade observes sagely.

*

Yeah, you're right, he thinks. Then aloud, he says, "I guess we should concentrate on local stuff, then. Mrs. Gardener, can you get a view of what's going on in the city up on the monitors?"

As he feels the rush of air as Tempo moves past, he continues, "Or those of us with super-speed could just go stick our head out the window. Um. What can we get in here...news, emergency reports, police and fire channels, whatever the League usually uses when stuff like this happens."

[sun_tzu]

Crap...Two crisises at the same time? Or are they related...?
It suddenly occured to Soul that, with the Freedom League otherwise occupied, it would befall someone else to deal with any crisis that came up, if it required superheroic involvement. Maybe the Next-Gen...Then she glanced nervously at the group around her.

[SuperMuldoon]

Look at this place...they are defintely ahead of their time with this equipment...I wonder... Apex is quickly pulled out of his thoughts when everything went suddenly red. Not good!

Suddenly Tempo was gone and Fireblade was questioning Mrs. Gardener. Well, lets see what I can see. Apex focuses his visual sensors up at the sky to try to see what's causing this, while listening in on the conversation around him.

[fireinthedust]

Out on the street:

You reach the street, one after the other, and see up in the sky... a ship? A great huge ship, not unlike the hull of a three-masted schooner, but made of metal and far larger. It's space-aged, and impressive... and flies a jolly roger off the back!
The ship itself if moored by a long chain to the top of a sky-scraper.

The street, you realize, is becoming deserted: all the citizens of Freedom are scurrying indoors. A wind has picked up, tossing newspapers about, and it's eerie... but what makes it worse is that the sky itself is completely red. Like, scary-movie red. Yeah. That kind of read. No clouds, no sun, but the sky is giving off its own weird-red light.

OOC: Brennus and CFG, I believe: are you ready to join us? You've been minding your own business when suddenly the sky went red and there's a pirate ship moored to a sky scraper. You both would be (perhaps patrolling) near the Freedom Hall, and so see several costumed Heroes (who are not the Freedom League) coming out of the building.
What do you do?

[Nerd-o-rama]

Fireblade stares at the monitors (or at the sky, whatever). "A flying pirate ship? When did we get to Disney Land?"

[sun_tzu]

"Oh man."
Soul looks at the others. "I don't suppose this is something perfectly harmless, is it?" It is clear from her tone that she isn't expecting such luck.

((Hm. Should we have an idea what's going on?))

[Da Beast]

Aesir is hurrying up the steps of Freedom Hall when a large red dome begins to blot out the sky.

Well this is just great, first I oversleep for my interview with the freedom league and now someone broke the sky

He turns to see Tempo standing outside the building

Are you with the Freedom League? What's going on here?

[Green Bean]

Tempo, almost mesmerized by the giant ship floating on top of the skyscraper, nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears someone talking to him. Fortunately, his double-take and swift reevaluation of the speaker took a matter of microseconds, and by the time the newcomer finishes speaking, Tempo has an answer ready.

Not exactly. The real Freedom League left a few minutes ago, so now there's just me and a few other heroes who were applying for membership. You wouldn't happen to know what's going on, would you, 'cause I think we were sort of left in charge..."

[Da Beast]

Aesir turns to look up at the flying pirate ship

So... you got any ideas?

[Green Bean]

"You should probably head for shelter. Go inside and head for the control room; I'm going to take a closer look."

With that, Tempo darts off, travelling at fantastic speeds down the increasingly empty street. Okay, until I know what this is, I shouldn't get too close.

He travels up the side of an adjacent skyscraper, looking over at the ship and the building it was moored to, searching for anything strange. Well, anything stranger than a flying pirate ship turning the sky red. He takes the scene in for a few subjective seconds, then runs off again, hoping he was moving fast enough to remain unmolested.

((Assuming I don't get shot, or smack into a force field or something))

Moments later, Tempo's back at the entrance to Freedom League Headquarters. He pauses next to Aesir for a moment...

"C'mon, you have to hurry!"

...then continues back to the control room and relays what he saw to the others.

((Incidentally, what does Aesir look like?))

[Da Beast]

(Assuming Tempo doesn't get shot, maimed, force fielded, whatever)

Aesir begins to call out I don't know where that is...

I thought I was quick. Well, you've gotten places with out directions before. Come on, don't screw this up...

Aesir focuses his power and with his destination in mind forces him self across space, appearing in the middle of the Freedom Hall control room.

(Aesir is well muscled and stands just under 6 feet tall. He has ear length blond hair. He wears a simple shirt and pants (I was originally thinking blue but now I'm not sure on the color scheme) with leather boots and gauntlets. His gauntlets, boots, and belt are adorned with metal plates (I was originally thinking silver but once again I'm rethinking this) engraved with viking art and symbols. If you have the book Deities and demigods, Thor's belt is where the idea for the belt, boots, and gauntlets game from.)

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex looks into the sky as his visual sensors zoom in and focus on the ship coming out of the sky.

"Why is there an ancient marine vessel coming out of the sky? And I thought I'd seen it all when I was on Erznon IV during their 'Inside Out' celebration..." Apex briefly shudders at the memory.

Apex begins to relay what he sees to the others when someone just appears in the control room. Apex, being no stranger to teleportation, addresses the newcomer.

"Well, considering you just ported into the control room of the Freedom League, the strongest superhero team at this time on this planet, I'll say you are either on our side, or you are some sort of scout coming from that ship up there. Which is it?"

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Oh yeah...we might want to switch on the security. Um...someone else might want to switch on the security. I get lost trying to find the any key."

Fireblade backs away from the observation computer thingummy and looks at the newcomer. "We're Freedom League candidates-under-review. Who are you, and...hm...you look a sort of death metal pirate or something. What do you know about that spaceship?"

[fireinthedust]

Brennus: can't have a simple shirt and jeans on, it has to be spandex. Very important rule, no Jeans! I'm not even sure I want to allow sneakers or sandals!!! ;)

Tempo: When you scout out the ship you see that it's a very aerodynamic design. Up close it's shaped like a pirate ship crossed with the ship from "Flight of the Navigator", all silver-metal and cool-looking. The chain is some kind of space-metal, but looks solid enough.
On the deck of the ship you see a dozen or more pirates coming up from below, working, and going back down. They're all armed with blasters and cutlasses. However, not one of them is human! They're a vast assortment of strange alien creatures, from spider-like things with human arms, to four-armed frog-men, to wads of slime wearing red-white striped sailor shirts. One of them is wearing a long coat, beneath which is a suit with thick armor plates. His head is inhuman, like that of a giant squid, and unlike the others... he notices you! He fires a blast from some kind of rod, and it singes the ground near your feet as you zip back to the rest of the group.
That he noticed you at all is incredible, considering your speed. Something about him...


Everyone: The Freedom Hall control room is now only just picking up news feeds, which tell you only that every Hero group in the city is noted to be out of town, or in another dimension; that no one knows what the ship is but that panicking would be a very good idea right about now; and that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are going to have another baby, and whether or not this pirate ship's appearance will change anything.

Mrs. Gardener reports that she hasn't been able to reach anyone, that communications around the city are basically dead... except the news, and Entertainment Now.

[Green Bean]

Tempo explains all of what he saw; the ship, the pirates, the tentacle guy who shot at him. "They all seem to be on the ship, but it's probably just a matter of time before they start looting the city, pirates being what they are and all. We should come up with a plan. Street guy, can you teleport more than one person?"

[sun_tzu]

Only us. Talk about trial-by-fire.
OK, Jill, think rationally. If these guys are cutting off our communication with the outside world, there's pretty good odds that they're hostile. No certainty, but pretty good odds. And given the scale of this, they obviously have a lot of power at their disposal. We can't count on the Freedom League, the Atom Family, or even the Next-Gen bailing us out (though it'd be great if they found a way to do it). But...For better or worse, you're a superheroine, and there's several other superheroes with you.
When you put it like that, the course of action is pretty clear, no?

Soul lifts her head, and hovers two feet above the ground. "I can open a portal to that ship that we can just walk through. But we need a plan, in the likely case these guys are hostile. You," she points at Aesir, what's your name and abilities?"

[Da Beast]

(I forgot that Apex was using green. All the good colors are taken :smallsigh:)

Aesir raises his hands in a non threatening gesture.

I go by Aesir and I'm definitely with you guys. I'm not entirely sure what my powers are myself, but as I understand it I've inherited the abilities of Thor. In the past I've managed to teleport three other people with me, four if they're all very light.


Brennus: can't have a simple shirt and jeans on, it has to be spandex. Very important rule, no Jeans! I'm not even sure I want to allow sneakers or sandals!!! ;)

By simple I meant devoid of markings. I now realize that I could have been more clear about that. Stylistically think like the tunic Thor is wearing in this picture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Thor.jpg). Is that good or are you really adamant about the spandex rule?

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Okay, lets look at what we've got," Fireblade says. "Five superheroes - hi, by the way, name's Fireblade - with accompanying powers including beating people up and the ability to teleport to the bad guys."

"They've got a bunch of freaky space aliens and Davy Jones, a spaceship, and the ability to isolate Freedom City's communications," he finishes summarizing. "So, I guess the last question is what do they want. If the answer's 'trouble', and it probably is, I say we portal over there and start going Will Smith on 'em."

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex nods at Aesir when he's finished explaining himself, and then listens to everyone's suggestions.

"Well I can fly up there if you cannot teleport us all. Maybe it would be a good idea for me to fly up and distract them while you guys teleport or portal in, that way you can really get the jump on them? Whatever we do, I suggest we hurry, as we don't want to give space pirate scum any time to initiate their plans...I've dealt with their types before..."

[Green Bean]

"I don't think that's a good idea, Apex. They'd see you coming, and if these guys are anything like real pirates, the ship'll have space cannons or something, and you'd be using downtown Freedom as a backstop. This way, at least, we'll only have to worry about the crew."

[fireinthedust]

By simple I meant devoid of markings. I now realize that I could have been more clear about that. Stylistically think like the tunic Thor is wearing in this picture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Thor.jpg). Is that good or are you really adamant about the spandex rule?

Woot! I like the Tunic! I've been solid with the "no plain clothes" thing for everyone else, so I have to stick with that. (Fireblade wanted platforms with goldfish in the heels, and I had to veto that, so I don't want him thinking I'm playing favorites :smalltongue: )
let's go with the tunic and the belt, and say black spandex pants? They're essentially really tight jeans. Add some footwear (or not) and you're good to go!

[sun_tzu]

The powers of Thor? Hm...

"Like I said, I can get us all there." Soul looks thoughtful. "I have area attacks, and between Tom's water control, Firblade's, um, fire blade, Tempo's speed, Apex's abilities, and Aesir's...big hammer, I'm guessing? We can probably take these guys. Or maybe Tempo could run around the ship and tear it apart nail by nail, or...well, any number of possibilities, but we kinda need to know what level of force to use against these guys. I don't want to blow up their ship and find out later they were just misunderstood, or something like that."

((Since Tempo hasn't told us one of the pirates tried to shoot him, Soul doesn't know they're hostile. Other than that...Is it permissible for her to use her Master Plan feat?))

[Da Beast]

Um... is it really a good to just walk up to these guys and hope for the best? I've gotten used to be one big me shaped piece and I'd kind of like to stay that way. We could try and sneak on to scout out some information or I don't know, maybe split into two groups so we have something to fall back on. Does anyone have a way of communicating across long distances?

Very heroic Erik, why don't you whine more?

[Green Bean]

"Well, some tentacle-faced guy on the ship took a shot at me, so I'm pretty sure this isn't some kind of Three's Company thing. And Aesir's right that we need more information about these guys before we start breaking stuff. Hmm. Hey, Soul, didn't you say that you could spy on faraway places? That'd come in handy."

[sun_tzu]

"Well, some tentacle-faced guy on the ship took a shot at me, so I'm pretty sure this isn't some kind of Three's Company thing. And Aesir's right that we need more information about these guys before we start breaking stuff. Hmm. Hey, Soul, didn't you say that you could spy on faraway places? That'd come in handy."

So they shot at him? Yeah, definitely hostile.
"Excellent point. Give me a few seconds."
Soul sits down on the sidewalk, makes fists with her hands, closes her eyes, and concentrates, trying to see and hear what's going on the ship.

((Using ESP.))

[SuperMuldoon]

Some reconnaissance eh? Well, I'll see what I can see as well.

Apex focuses his visual sensors up at the ship, looking for who the crew is and what kind of gear they are packing.

((Using Super Senses: Visual extended))

[fireinthedust]

You both see essentially the same thing: the deck of the ship, but now the pirates are building something on it. The "something" is a large gadget, like wedding cake, but with glowing lights on it. It's probably projecting the field of energy around the city that's cutting off communications. Pirates are sticking cylinders into it, possibly power-batteries.


Soul:
below decks you can see more. The ship is larger inside than outside, it seems. This makes scrying/sensors harder to handle, but you can tell there are more pirates below decks. They've got lots of crates and things like it below decks.

The pirates are wearing armor and have various energy weapons. One has a sort of space-accordian, and is playing it while dancing a jig; it seems to make the other pirates feel better.

Oddly enough, neither of you can see the tentacle-faced guy.

[sun_tzu]

((Can Soul's knowledge of Technology help her figure out what the pirates are doing?
Also, my earlier questions still stand. About whether we've heard of these guys, or if I can use Master Plan...))

"The pirates seem to be building something on the deck. Below the deck, the ship seems to be like a TARDIS - larger on the inside than the outside." Oh yeah, smooth move there, using a pop-culture reference. Dumbass. "More guys down below, anyway, though I couldn't find any tentacle creature.
These pirates appear to be equipped with energy weapons, and armored. I'm open to suggestions."

[Nerd-o-rama]

What's a TARDIS? thinks Fireblade, who should watch more television.

"Well, whatever they're building up on deck can't be good, if they're hostile alien invaders," Fireblade says. "I suggest we port up there and destroy it before they can finish."

[Da Beast]

"Whatever that device is, I'm willing to bet it will do something bad for us. I can't believe I'm suggesting this, but what if I took one or two people as back up and 'ported directly into the crews living quarters as a distraction?" Aesir motions towards Soul "Then you could take the remaining group members to either destroy or steal the device."

[SuperMuldoon]

"The inside of the ship is a Titan Advanced Repeating Dominator Integrated Superstructure?!?" Apex's jaw drops in shock. I can't believe these pirates have access to some of the most devestating technology that shouldn't even be around yet!

Apex doesn't get the reference.

"Splitting up could be risky...especially when they have a TARDIS, but great risk finds great reward...or so I've heard. If we do choose to split up we should break the squads up so they are most balanced. If we are going to stay together then it would be best to assign roles for each of us, like who will hold off the pirates and who will destroy the device. I'm sorry if I speak the obvious, but it is best to be all on the same page."

[Green Bean]

Tempo looks around nervously at Apex's reaction. "If they've already got a weapon like the Titan thingee, then whatever they're building could be even more dangerous. We'll have to plan this carefully."

Looking at Soul, Tempo says, "I should probably be in the distraction group. Anything more complicated than internal combustion and I get dizzy. And since Apex already knows about the pirates' technology, he should probably be one of the guys to take apart whatever they're building."

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Right, so let's go with me, Apex, Thames, and Soul up top, and Aesir and Tempo on Team Decoy. Soul and I will keep the pirates busy while Apex dismantles the thingummie. Sound good?"

[sun_tzu]

Hoo-kay...Wrong crowd for a Dr Who reference, apparently.
"I'm afraid you misunderstand. I didn't say they had a TARDIS, just that it was a bit like a TARDIS in certain respects - and, from your decomposition of the acronym, I don't think we're talking about the same thing." That last part had been aimed at Apex. "And honestly, I'm not too keen on dismantling that device until we know what it is. I mean, for all we know, it's an anti-matter container or some junk like that." They don't know Dr Who, and you're assuming they all know what anti-matter is? "I mean...for all we know, it might be something that's even more dangerous destroyed than operational.
Other than that...Sure, sounds like a plan. Aesir teleports himself and Temo below decks; Tempo starts sowing chaos, while Aesir wrecks what he can. Meanwhile, Fireblade, Thames, Apex and myself will go above deck with a portal; I'll open it in such a position that once we step in, our back will be to the device, so that they might hesitate about shooting at us. Once we're there, I'll send a big blast to the right, Thames will sweep everything to the left, and Apex and Fireblade will rush forward or hit anyone who happens to be in melee range. How does that sound?" Oh, I did NOT just try to improvise something like this. RIP, Freedom City.

((So, if we go for that, does Master Plan apply...?))

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Well, Apex can use his tricorder to scan the thing, or something." Fireblade has no idea how the guy's suit works, of course, but is making what he regards as reasonable assumptions. "But yeah, you, me and Thom will hold the pirates off. And if Aesir and Temp' get into two much trouble downstairs, they can just run or port up to meet us."

[Green Bean]

"Sounds good. Aesir, try to bring us as close to as many pirates you can. We don't want to give them room to, you know, shoot us."

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex looks at Soul, "So your saying that they have a different kind of TARDIS? Well...if that's the case then it is all the better, I don't know how we would have survived otherwise!" Apex lets out a sigh of relief I have to try to remember that things are different here...I wonder what kind of TARDIS she means?

Apex listens to all the plans, nodding his head. "I am pretty good with technology, so assuming everything goes to plan, if I can get a few minutes I might be able to deduce just what they have up there, and what the next course of action is, because if it indeed contains anti-matter like Soul says, or one of the various other kinds of unstable matter, we need to be careful. If it requires dismantling or disarming, well I can attempt that as well. As for my 'tricorder'," Apex smirks at Fireblade, "It might help, but I don't think it works the way you think it does. So as for my part, we clear the top deck and then I'll get to work on the device while you cover me?"

[fireinthedust]

ooc: I'm here, just let me know when Thunderbirds are *go!* and I'll go with your plan.

btw: as a player, this sort of "come up with a hairbrained scheme to get the baddies good" is one of the best parts of rpgs. I think.

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Right," Fireblade says, drawing his sword. "Let's play Space Invaders."

(Ready to go when the 'porters are.)

[sun_tzu]

All right...Guess we're really doing this.
Buckle up, girl. Screwing up is not an option.
"All right then. I'll open the portal as soon as you port in."

((Soul will open the portal like she said, then go and use her AoE blast power, like she said. Also, using Master Plan to help the group:
[roll0]))

[Green Bean]

"Err, shouldn't you wait a few seconds after we go? I mean, if we're supposed to draw the pirates away, then we should give them time to do that."

As the two heroes pop into the ship, Tempo reacts instantly, running around and stealing as many guns as he could from the surprised pirates. "You guys won't be needing those where you're headed."

((Either way, Tempo will use Rapid Attack to make a Disarm attempt against all pirates within 50 feet. I'm assuming that the pirates are minions, so I'll take 10 on the attack roll for 22.))

[Da Beast]

"You should probably wait at least 20 seconds before opening your portal so the pirates have time to respond to us" Aesir grabs Tempo's wrist and pushes the two of them across space to appear in the middle of the relaxing pirates.

Long range teleport is a full round action so I can't do anything else this round. Knock 'em dead, Tempo.

[sun_tzu]

"Point taken. We'll give you...15 seconds."

((Other than that, actions remain the same.))

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex stretches out and gets loose.
"Ah...this brings back memories of Klakson Delta..."

[fireinthedust]

The teleport takes effect, though for some reason the 'port is rougher than usual; bit of a ripple. Tempo and Aesir find themselves below decks, in a large hold filled the the strange alien pirates. One of them, a short fellow with a frog-like face, is in the middle of pumping out the part of the sailing song that goes "oh I never, ever, ever do a thing about the weather..." when he stops playing and looks at them.

Tempo races around and grabs a whole bunch of guns from the shocked pirates. To a man, they react by pulling cutlasses from their belts and yelling Yaaaar! before attacking!


Soul et al: the second party waits 15 seconds before teleporting onto the deck of the ship. The pirates there are racing downstairs, yelling something about how "we be unner attack!" and "Yar, let's keel-haul somthin'!"
However, several of them stop (as 15 seconds isn't a lot of time to react to something on another floor of a house let alone a space-pirate ship) and look at ye... before drawing cutlasses and attacking!

ooc: before ye ask, there are 4 pirates on deck.

initiative please :)

[Green Bean]

((Initiative (1d20 45=60) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1495237/)))

"Suprise!" Tempo dumps his big pile of guns on the ground, and whirls around the hold again, dealing dozens of blows to the encircling pirates. He pauses for a subjective moment at the singing frog, then hits him anyway.

((Attacking everyone within 40 feet.

Attack Roll (taking 10): 10+12=22))

((Also, literary allusions are fun!))

[sun_tzu]

(([roll0]))
Seeing the relatively small number of foes on deck, Soul will try to get as many as possible with her cone blast. If there are any to the right, she'll aim there, so as to leave the rest of the group room to work on those to the left and front.

((Area blast, rank 10. Also, keep in mind that all of us have a +2 to attack rolls and skill rolls for the next 3 rounds, and +1 the round after it.))

[SuperMuldoon]

[roll0]

Apex looks around, seeing that their plan was off to a good start. Only 4 up here to deal with...not bad Apex thinks, lifting his hand and taking aim at a thug before firing a line of crackling energy from his wrist blasters at one of the pirates in front of him (presumably different ones then Soul was going for).

[roll1] (blast rank 12)

[Nerd-o-rama]

Initiative (1d20 6=21) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1495454/)

Fireblade
Initiative: 21
Defense: 20 (13 Flatfooted)
Toughness: +10 (+5 Flatfooted)
Hero Points: 1

"Welcome to Earth," Fireblade quips as he moves toward the nearest pirate, drawing his sword and cleaving upward through his torso in one fluid motion.

Attack Roll (1d20 10=24) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1495476/)
Damage +10 (Penetrating 7)

((Note Fireblade's Takedown Attack 2. This means I can attack an additional enemy after the first one drops, and I can take a five-foot-step to reach that additional enemy (like Supreme Cleave in D&D). If these guys are Minions, I can do this an unlimited number of times per round, until I run out of movement speed (30' total) or run out of enemies within reach.

If these guys are minions, I'll take 10 on all my follow-up attacks for a result of 20. If not, go ahead and roll my one follow-up attack for me. I think that covers everything.))

[Da Beast]

[roll0]

If I can put at least forty feet between myself and Tempo I'm going to fly off a little ways and use thunder clap (40 ft radius, DC 18 reflex save or suffer auditory dazzle). If not, I guess I'll just punch one of them (take ten, attack roll of 18, damage save DC 27 (or are they all down all ready?)).

[fireinthedust]

brennus 2
apex 6
fireblade 21
soul 9
tempo... 60?! ((ooc: okay, gm veto: you can't have +45 to initiative. I don't care how you justify it within the rules! ;) ))

Pirates: 15


Below:
Tempo bursts into action, zipping about the room and slamming his fists into every single pirate. One mighty blow goes through the accordian and into the frogman's face.
Brennus manages to set up his mighty thunderclap... but the pirates are, for the most part, down already.

Now the undership is silent enough that you can hear other rooms, and more pirates in them going about their work. There seems not to be any alarm for you, that you can hear. There are two doors, one through which you can hear strange noises.



Above:
Fireblade wades into the nearest pirate, cleaving through him with ease. The blade opens the pirate up, spewing blood all over every other Freedom League hopeful on deck; intestines and gore follow, not only out of the wound but also up through his throat and out his mouth, making it impossible to tell the difference between organs ad his distended tongue. The smell of charred flesh is overwhelmed only by the stench of entrails and their half-digested contents.

((You monster! Opening up on pirates with lethal damage... shameful. What is this world coming to, I ask you? Anyway, I'm going to promote them to more-than-minions-minions for this one shot, to give them a chance... which, seeing my rolls, isn't working. Oh well!))

The other pirates are next, though they all fail to strike the most obvious threat (fireblade) with their ray guns. Perhaps it was the long years of drinking space-ahol, or perhaps it was the horror of seeing their comrade in arms opened like a sack of tangerines on Christmas morning that made them soil themselves (sorry, space-soil themselves) thus throwing off their aim. Really, we'll never know, as Apex and Soul's follow-up attacks knock them out.

The deck of the ship is quiet (excepting the space-gulls now pecking away at that dead pirate), leaving the heroes above alone with the device... until:

Why, a crew of stow aways aboard the Stellar Buccaneer! Avast, lubbers, for here there be monsters! It is that tentacled pirate, obviously the captain. He seems more horrible in person, holding a beam-cutlass and a ray gun.

[sun_tzu]

Oh dear...OK, switching to less violent methods.
"All right, you...whatever you are." Soul tries to sound confident. "You're in a bad situation. Even if you have dozens more crew members, odds are we can take them all. I'd suggest you avoid doing anything stupid."

Readying a Paralyze in case tentacle-face attacks us.

[Green Bean]

"Yeah! Too slow, you space-swabbies! Who fast? I'm fast! Who's fast? I'm fast! Who's..." As Tempo remembered he had an audience, he trailed off and his face turned bright red. "Err...can we pretend that never happened?"

Without waiting for a reply, Tempo headed toward the door emitting strange noises. After a moment's hesitation, he knocked.

[fireinthedust]

"All right, you...whatever you are."

Space pirate!



Soul tries to sound confident. "You're in a bad situation. Even if you have dozens more crew members, odds are we can take them all. I'd suggest you avoid doing anything stupid."


har. Stupid... like attack Captain Kraken on his own ship? Aye, lass, ye'll have to forgive me, but I don't think so. You've beaten me crew, that be true. But the captain's a different school of fish, yar, and Kraken be the worst of the lot! Throw yerselves in the brig now, and I'll spare ye the horror of a grisly death!

[sun_tzu]

Space pirate!



har. Stupid... like attack Captain Kraken on his own ship? Aye, lass, ye'll have to forgive me, but I don't think so. You've beaten me crew, that be true. But the captain's a different school of fish, yar, and Kraken be the worst of the lot! Throw yerselves in the brig now, and I'll spare ye the horror of a grisly death!

For a moment there, Soul just makes a weird face. Then she speaks up:
"All right, you have got to be kidding me.
First of all...Captain Kraken? Seriously? Like dressing up a space ship to make it look like it belongs to a different century wasn't corny enough...And don't get me started with the accent.
And you're telling us to throw ourselves in the brig? Is that wishful thinking, a desperate bluff, or are you really that stupid? You're outnumbered, outpowered, and soon enough you'll be running out of time once the rest of the Earth's heroes figure out a way to get past the shield around the city.
This way or another, you're going down. Spare yourself the injuries now and surrender while you still can."

And let's really, really hope he's not actually powerful enough to take us.

((Since you hasn't answered whether we're supposed to have heard of this guy, I'm taking the safe route and assuming that we haven't. Which makes absolutely no sense, since his identity is listed as "Public" in the Freedom City sourcebook, but...))

[fireinthedust]

For a moment there, Soul just makes a weird face. Then she speaks up:
[COLOR="DimGray"]"All right, you have got to be kidding me.
First of all...Captain Kraken? Seriously? Like dressing up a space ship to make it look like it belongs to a different century wasn't corny enough...And don't get me started with the accent.
And you're telling us to throw ourselves in the brig? Is that wishful thinking, a desperate bluff, or are you really that stupid? You're outnumbered, outpowered, and soon enough you'll be running out of time once the rest of the Earth's heroes figure out a way to get past the shield around the city.
This way or another, you're going down. Spare yourself the injuries now and surrender while you still can."

The Captain presses a button on the edge of his cutlass.

Then, lass, it be lucky fer me that we're not *on* Earth where yer heroes can get me!

The force field surrounding the city goes clear. Beyond it you see the starry night sky, the bright orb of the moon... and the Earth floating away from the city!
The entire city has been taken up into space inside a giant force field!!!

One wrong word from the rest o' ye, and ye'll all be sucking space! The cutlass be in the other flipper now, Earth lass. What say ye now?



((Since you hasn't answered whether we're supposed to have heard of this guy, I'm taking the safe route and assuming that we haven't. Which makes absolutely no sense, since his identity is listed as "Public" in the Freedom City sourcebook, but...))

meh. I'm taking liberties. For example, as you may have guessed, this isn't a holodeck simulation like in the Core book. This be the real MacKraken!
I'll throw in some of them as background, but I want the focus to be on you guys. Think origin stories. There are still "villains" out there, and a bunch of them would be in the book. Omega, the foundry, etc. Some I'll hold back.

[sun_tzu]

((Ah, I see. Hm...))

Soul's eyes widen and her jaw drops as the truth of the situation dawns upon her.
Oh my God. This is crazy. This is completely crazy. The whole city is NOT being held hostage in space by a tentacle-faced alien with a Holywoodian pirate schtick.
OK, pull yourself together...For now, gotta stall for time. We'll have better odds of pulling through once Tempo and Aesir get here.

"Very impressive, but, I don't think your situation is as good as you think. I mean, sure, you can destroy the city. But if you do that, we will destroy you. It's a standoff, at best." I hope.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Fireblade, for his part, has spent most of the conversation staring at his sword and the remains of the pirate.

You...you told me you weren't going to do that!

*

What do you mean I have to ask you to go nonlethal? Living things don't get sliced. I mean...God damn, look at the guy.

*

Okay, you and me are having a long, long talk later. Ugh, that's disgusting.

Eventually, Fireblade shakes off his internal monologue (dialog?) when he realizes the enemy captain has shown up, shakes the blood off his sword, and addresses him, looking the horrible-looking dude staright in his cephalopod-esque eye. "You're the captain? Look, I could make all manner of snappy comments on your ugliness and unoriginal shtick...but I'm not in the mood any more. You've kidnapped our city? Fine. I challenge to a duel for possession of it. You and me, one on one, swords, right now. I win, you put the city down and turn yourself in to whatever law enforcement wants you; AEGIS or Star Knight I guess. You win, you can do what you like with me." Through all this, Fireblade maintains a deadly serious and level voice, contrary to his previous attitude.

((If you judge it necessary, here is a Bluff (Trick) check to convince Kraken to accept the duel.
Bluff (Trick) (1d20 12=13) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1498791/)
**** it, Hero Point re-roll:
Hero Point reroll (minimum die result: 11) (1d20 12=32) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1498829/)

Okay, now I think InvisibleCastle is screwing with me.))

[SuperMuldoon]

Well...I guess now we know what that device was for... Apex thinks to himself as he stares out into the void of space, a sight he has seen so many times before.

"You're not goi..." Apex begins to say before Fireblade speaks up and challenges Captain Kraken to a duel. Kids got guts, I'll give him that. This just may give me the opening I am looking for...

((Apex will wait and see if the duel begins. If it does he will then sneak over to the device and see if he can reverse the whole situation and bring Freedom City back to Earth! If the duel doesn't happen, I'll get ready to fight.


1d20+12))

((well apparently it doesn't like my rolling again...))

[SuperMuldoon]

((trying it again...))

1d20+12

*((Why isn't this working?))

[Green Bean]

((Incidentally, fitd, do I hear pirate noises coming from the strange noise door? It'd be kind of silly to knock when no one's home. :smallbiggrin: ))

[Da Beast]

I don't really want to just barge through that door, but knocking will just give any enemies time to prepare.

Aesir walks up to the door with the strange noises emanating from within.

"Stand behind me. I'll have a better chance of standing up to whatever's behind here."

Aesir opens the door, attempting to rip it off in the process to use as a shield (cover bonus?).

[roll0]

[SuperMuldoon]

1d20+12

(here goes nothing...)

*(guhh what the eff?!)

[SuperMuldoon]

[roll0]

(trying without parenthesis...if this doesn't work I'm off to find a new roller...)

[fireinthedust]

ooc: so soul and fireblade are reasoning with Kraken (well, hero-type reasoning); apex is going to sneak over to the machine and do stuff to it; Tempo and Aesir are going to check out the strange noises below deck.

Temp and Aesir: Listening, Tempo can hear strange noises from the other side of the doorway. Animal noises! growels and clicks and squawks. At the same time, Aesir tears himself a new shield and walks into the room.

There are a dozen pirates, but they're wrestling with the chains of a giant alien insect! The room is a sort of stable for weird alien bugs, giant long-legged thigs with chitinous shells that look like this! (http://www.starshipmodeler.com/NEWS_0104_TIME_timeslipbug.jpg)

As the heroes enter the room, the pirates look up in shock... long enough for the one bug they were wrangling (who is out of his stable) to yank free of his chains and charging towards the doorway!


Soul, Fireblade, Apex:
A duel, ye say? Aye, I could risk it... or I could just turn off the machine and kill every human in the city! Stand down, ye'll never risk the lives of an entire city! I call yer bluff, lad, ya-harr!

Apex: looking at the machine, you see it would be easy to disable. Like any electronic device there's an on switch and an off-switch. ...and a third switch you're just not sure what it does. Other than that, it's a really high-tech way of having a force field, but it only has on, off, and whatever the third button does.

[sun_tzu]

All right...So much for that. We need to get his cutlass away from him. Giving it some thought, an idea flashes in Soul's mind. That could work...but if it fails, he'll destroy the city. Millions...Millions of people will die because I did something stupid. She then gave the city below them a look. But...If I do NOTHING...That's no less of a risk. I don't think the rest of the team is just going to stand by, either - so either I take a chance and try to beat him, or something even worse might happen. Oh, I hope I know what I'm doing...
Discreetly, Soul walked behind Fireblade. [COLOR="DimGray"]Can't let him see what I'm doing. Then, focusing all her efforts on a silent telekinesis spell, she tried to create a distraction behind the alien...then blast the cutlass away from him.

Soul is using Extra Effort to give her Telekinesis power the Subtle feat, and hiding behind Fireblade for extra measure. She's using her power to loudly wreck a part of the ship situated behind Captain Kraken - break the mast if it's there, rip up some part of the deck otherwise. The objective is to get him to turn around, so she can then catch him flat-footed. As soon as he's distracted, she moves aside so Fireblade isn't between them any longer, and tries to blast the cutlass. Hero Point for the attack roll.
[roll0], add 10 if I roll below 11.
And, apologies if I just destroyed Freedom City...:smalleek: ...Seemed like our best bet. I think.

[Green Bean]

Tempo was expecting trouble on the other side of the door, and therefore acted almost instantly as the giant space-bug broke free of its space-chains.

"I'll distract it!" The speedster blurs in place, then zips through Aesir, stopping at the other side of the room.

Tempo jumps up and down, waving his arms and generally trying to attract as much attention as possible. "Hey! Space-bug! Over here! I'm filled with delicious meat! Come and get it!"

((I'll try to attract the bug's attention while (hopefully) remaining safe from giant space-bug reprisal))

[Da Beast]

Aesir almost trips backwards as the speedster erupts through his chest.

"WHAT THE... Please, never do that again!"

Aesir takes to the air and charges forward, smashing the bug with all his might.

Charge attack [roll0] Damage save DC: 27

((My only big minion buster move fatigues me so I'll just take the bug for now.

Is that one of the bugs from Star Ship Troopers?))

[fireinthedust]

Below:

Tempo distracts the insect (and Aesir) by bursting through his comrade and taunting the alien beast. A moment later Aesir follows up with a devastating slam, knocking the creature out as well as across the room into a pile of the pirates.


Above:

Kraken seems to reconsider Fireblade's offer. I'll tell ye what I'll do, lad. Ye want a fight, the wager bein' the lives o'the city. Ye accept me challenge t'fight my champion t'the death, no cheating, no holding back, and I'll return yer city t' the Earth. What say ye?

Soul: are you going to try the telekinesis while he says all this?

[Green Bean]

((Did Aesir take out all of the pirates, or are we still fighting?))

[fireinthedust]

Whether unconscious or not, they've been knocked over by the spider. A few groans from underneath it.

[Nerd-o-rama]

((Going to wait for the results of Soul's actions before I respond. Assuming she does it while the Cap'n's talking, of course.))

[sun_tzu]

Soul: are you going to try the telekinesis while he says all this?

((Guess so. Please note - she's going to try the blast after he's distracted by the telekinesis, in the hope of catching him off-guard.))

[Da Beast]

I look around the room for some sort of release switch to open the pens.

"What do you say we let these poor little critters out for some fresh air."

((If there's some sort of release, my plan is to have Tempo hit it right before I teleport topside and let the bugs rip up the ship))

((Edit: I plan on taking Tempo with me when I port. Probably should have mentioned that in the first place))

[SuperMuldoon]

"...or I could just turn off the machine and kill every human in the city!"

Well...guess I better not hit the "off" button. I wonder what this third button does? Better not press it until we figure out whats going on here...or we have no other options...

Apex turns to watch the events taking place between his teammates and the mighty Captain Kraken, keeping an eye out to make sure no more cronies come out to back their Captain up.

[Green Bean]

"Hang on a sec. I just want to check that other room."

Still intangible, Tempo speeds out of the room (carefully stepping around Aesir this time) and through the second door. If there are any pirates, he'll double back to let Aesir know, then triple back to hit one of the pirates ((So I'd be switching off my Insubstantial to do so)). Otherwise, he'll just let Aesir do his thing.

[fireinthedust]

EDIT:
Kraken chuckles to himself as he awaits Fireblade's counter-response (to his response). A moment later the deck is ripped open by Soul's telekinesis (however subtly this is done; really subtle, in fact).
Kraken spins at the sound What? What trickery be this?
A moment later, his arm is struck by the sorceresses blast. The cutlass flies from his grasp as his slimey green hand fails to retain hold of it. Avast! Me cutlass!

below:
Tempo speeds through the wall, and find on the other side steps going up tot he deck above.
Brennus easily finds the release button: it's large and red and on the wall.

You two port up to the deck easily enough, and behind you come the screechings of the giant space-insects.
Once on the deck, you see Kraken lunging to grab his cutlass.


EVERYONE: please roll initiative... this time for sure!

[Green Bean]

((Initiative (1d20 45=63) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1508436/)))

Tempo takes in the scene in front of him in an instant. With incredible speed, he tries to rain dozens of blows down on the tentacle-faced pirate.

((Attack Roll (1d20 12=19) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1508437/)))

[Nerd-o-rama]

Initiative (1d20 6=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1508588/)

Fireblade is startled somewhat by the Captain's change in attitude, and struggles to get his blade up quickly.

[SuperMuldoon]

[roll0]

Apex moves into position, raises his fists, and fires off a blast of yellow crackling energy at the squid faced space pirate.


[roll1]

[sun_tzu]

Oh no you don't!
Without moving from her spot, Soul uses her telekinesis to raise the cutlass dozens of feet in the air, preferably holding it in a spot not above the deck.

[roll0]

[Da Beast]

[roll0]

Aesir stops for a moment to take in the situation before letting loose with a blast of lightning.

[roll1]

[fireinthedust]

Tempo: 63
Aesir: 21
Apex: 20
Kraken: 12
Soul: 10
Thames (DM rolling for you to move this along, after doing the saves for Tempo and Brennus and Apex; basically you're not missing much!): 9
Fireblade: 8
Bugs: 7


Tempo zips around the captain, making noises using the pirate's head that sound like bullets in a steel box. Kraken reels from the hits, stumbling out of the speedster's range in time for Aesir to strike with a lightning bolt. The air is ionized as the lightning bolt hits the captain; only with great effort does he shrug off the effects of the bolt, but in another moment Apex fires his yellow beam.
*hack* *wheeze!*
the mighty pirate waves his hand in the general direction of his cutlass, then falls to the deck.

All seems over... until the chittering screech from below pushes its way through the deck. Four of the giant bugs crawl up through the hole they carved, hungry for the blood of heroes!

((round two, please!))

[sun_tzu]

Soul begins sighing in relief when Kraken is knocked out. Thank goodn...
...then the giant bugs come in, and the sigh turns into an odd-sounding cough.
Whaaaaa?! Oh come on!
All right...They're all grouped together, I should be able to get them with one wide shot...
...Wait. What if they're sentient, and it kills them?
...I used an area shot on the pirates, and they were definitely sentient.
But still...
Finally, she raises her hand in the direction of the nearest bug, and says "Freeze."

Using the Paralyze power. Also, still using Telekinesis to hold the cutlass waaaay away from anyone's reach.
[roll0]

[Green Bean]

Oh, great. Well, let's hope this works as well as Big 'N Norse's little trick.

Almost instantly, Tempo is next to one of the bugs, raining dozens of mach speed punches on it before appearing next to Soul, Fireblade, and Apex. "Er, hi. This might be kind of our fault."

((Attack Roll (1d20 12=20) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1512591/)))

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex steps back in shock as four alien bug things crash through the deck.


"Er, hi. This might be kind of our fault."

"Don't worry about it...one thing I've learned from being in space is that if it's not space pirates, it's going to be space bugs." Apex says as he steps into the fray and lets fly with a haymaker at the closest bug.

[roll0]

[Da Beast]

Guess I could have thought that one through a bit more

Aesir takes aims and lets loose with another blast of lightening

[roll0]

[Nerd-o-rama]

Fireblade looks around at the rapid changes to the battlefield and opponents, shrugs, and goes to swing at a space bug.

Look, I know they're bugs. Do nonlethal damage anyway.

*

Attack (1d20 10=11) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1514448/)

Hey! No pouting in the middle of combat! he thinks, as the sword misses handily.

[fireinthedust]

ooc: Thames still with us? I want to give him one more chance.

[fireinthedust]

Ooc: Well, that's enough time (and I have the day off!! woo!), and now with the posting!

bug toughness save, btw: 1d20+4=13 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1518548/)

IC:


Tempo zips over to the first bug, raining down numerous punches on it. He succeeds in slaming it over and over, a high-pitched whine filling the air as it screeches. Its massive head whips around a moment before it falls to the ground.
Aesir strikes a second bug with a bolt of lightning, enough to fry it and send fiery globs of green puss flying in all directions. It lands in a wet pool next Fireblade's pirate, its acid blood melting the corpse.

Apex takes the hint, throwing out some witty reparte... and a horribly mis-aimed haymaker at one of the space-bugs! Fireblade follows, likewise missing terribly, and communing with his sword. The bug skips up and dodges both your attacks, making an insectoid chuckling noise as two heroes fail to squish it.
Fireblade: you get a dignified *! in response from the sword. Were it a woman, you may need to buy it flowers and a corsage.
The bug lunges at Apex, its sharp talons attempting to pick up the time traveller and snap him in twain... His failed punch swung him around, however, and out of the way; the insectoid mantible-teeth scrap across his back, leaving green puss in a line across it.


Soul handily dangles the sword in the air. While Kraken is fallen, the bugs are snapping at anything that's glowing and shiney (ie: the sword). Two of them are trying and failing to get it, enthralled like bugs can get when looking at a fly-zapper.

Next round?

[Green Bean]

Tempo notices Apex's near miss with mitosis, and quickly moves in to assist. Unfortunately, he slips on a pile of pirate intestines, and ends up in a hypersonic slide into the ship's sides. Thankfully, his inhuman resilience prevented any serious injury, and all the accident cost him was time-and pride.

((Attack Roll (1d20 12=13) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1518569/)))

[sun_tzu]

Huh. Maybe I could...kill several birds with one stone.
Hovering closer, Soul tries to place the cutlass right above the two bugs...then open a portal to Castle Nexus beneath their feet, letting both the bugs and the sword fall down into her pocket dimension.

((Using the Pocket Dimension power, and using the sword as bait to position the bugs where I want to open it - as opposed to, you know, trying to open it where they are.
Also, keep in mind Castle Nexus, as Soul's HQ, has its own defense system.:smallbiggrin: ))

[Da Beast]

Aesir hovers into the air and charges forward, smashing into one of the bugs

[roll0]

"After I tried to help you this is how you repay me? Do you have no concept of gratitude?!"

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex feels the scraping of the space bug mandibles on his back, and looks over his shoulder to see the goo marring his otherwise spotless power suit.

"What...whats this? Aw man, not this gunk again...it takes forever to remove, and it starts to smell...great just great, I don't think this time has any official FFP equipment cleaning stations! I'm holding you responsible Kraken, you squid faced pirate!"

Apex maneuvers into position near the bug that left the green goop on him and prepares to deliver an uppercut of retribution!

[roll0]

[Nerd-o-rama]

Fireblade simply sighs, and picks out a bug that hasn't been finished yet to take another half-hearted swing at it.

Attack Roll (1d20+10=13) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1519724/)
(DC 25 Toughness if it's like, I dunno, Stunned already and that actually hits.)

[fireinthedust]

All the bugs who are directly struck fail their Toughness saves; those snapping at the "pretty glowing thing" fall for Soul's trickery and are sucked through a dimensional portal to... well, you know.

ahem.

The heroes stand victorious over the bodies of their foes, on the deck of a ship that flies their home city through space. The formerly huge Orb-that-is-Earth is shrinking fast behind them.

ooc: speeding things up here and taking a few liberties... although if you lot have a different way you'd handle it, feel free to tell me.

IC: The heroes search the ship for the control center, the bridge, and find this room http://bravofleet.com/pegasus/images/bridge-9.gif. Taking up positions in the various important-looking seats, the team works the controls and brings the ship around. Soon Earth comes into view, and with deft piloting (um, well, actually Aesir whacks the controls with his hammer) the city is planted *almost* exactly the way it was before it was taken. There are a few sliced trees, and sewer lines going to nowhere... and the shoreline will never be the same, but other than that: FREEDOM CITY IS BACK AND SAFE!!!

Oddly enough, Kraken is nowhere to be found. The ship is turned over to the authorities, though, who clean the deck and put it on display in the Freedom City Museum.

Thames has gone missing.

**** later that day *****

Returning back to Freedom Hall, you are greeted by Ms. Gardener. She is glad to see you, but there is some worry in her expression she can't seem to hide.

Congratulations, Freedom Leaguers. I think it's safe to say that Freedom is in good hands. Welcome aboard!

[Green Bean]

Tempo barely restrains himself from jumping for joy.

"This is great! I can't wait to tell my family. Hmm. Wait a sec." Tempo suddenly speeds off.


*eight seconds later*

Tempo reappears as quickly as he vanished. "So, now that we're on the team, what happens next?"

[sun_tzu]

We did it. We saved the day. But...
We won. We beat a supervillain - an alien pirate, to boot - and saved the entire freaking city. But...
We're shoe-ins for the League now. It's a big victory we won back there. But...


Returning back to Freedom Hall, you are greeted by Ms. Gardener. She is glad to see you, but there is some worry in her expression she can't seem to hide.

Congratulations, Freedom Leaguers. I think it's safe to say that Freedom is in good hands. Welcome aboard!

"...Then why is it I can't shake this feeling of failure?" Soul looks somewhat gloomy. "Never mind that Kraken escaped. But back there...He gave us an ultimatum. He had this device that could destroy the city, and he threatened to do it unless we surrendered.
I blasted it out of his hand. It worked, but...It could easily have failed. I endangered four million people because I was in a hurry to get out of a bad situation."

[fireinthedust]

Ms Gardener nods solemnly at Soul's story. A hero's life is dangerous. You have to take risks, though I'm glad you're considering the consequences of your actions. It worked, and we're all grateful. Otherwise, who knows what could have happened to Freedom!
I just got a call from the Leaguers down south. They'll be a while longer, but are glad to hear we're alright. Captain Thunder sends his congratulations to you all, and promises a proper welcome when they return. Meanwhile, I suppose I'll take you on the grand tour. For the next little while, we'll need you on call. At least until the regular League return home!


Those of you who wish it, she takes you on a tour of Freedom Hall, does retinal scans and what have you, granting security access, etc. You all get rooms to stay in, and keep personal items while you're on duty. Even Aesir, who wasn't in the Wreck Room (coming late as he was). You also get communicator ear pieces, allowing you to contact one another while off duty or on missions.
The main hall with the Freedom League Table in it, the force-field cells for captured villains, the teleporter up to the Freedom League's orbiting satellite... it's all real!

[SuperMuldoon]

"...Then why is it I can't shake this feeling of failure?" Soul looks somewhat gloomy. "Never mind that Kraken escaped. But back there...He gave us an ultimatum. He had this device that could destroy the city, and he threatened to do it unless we surrendered.
I blasted it out of his hand. It worked, but...It could easily have failed. I endangered four million people because I was in a hurry to get out of a bad situation."

"Hey, cheer up, you did what any hero would have done, saved the day. You thought quickly on your feet and enacted a daring plan that was a success, I would think you would be doing backflips! Let me tell you about this one time, on the planet Ralkon..."

Apex begins to ramble on and on to Soul about some exploit or another that could draw comparison to what they just accomplished, whether it be fighting space pirates or doing some daring mission with no chance of success. This continues during the tour, even if Soul stops listening. Apex is getting way into his past (future?) and on a roll. After the tour, Apex checks out his room and begins to get settled in, though that doesn't take long as he really doesn't have any personal belongings in this time.

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Huh. Well, that's that then," Fireblade says on their return and Mrs. Gardener's welcome.

Fireblade grins and nods acceptance to being accepted into the League, and tags along on the grand tour/matriculation, surprisingly quiet and pensive compared to when he was here earlier. He looks like he's about to chime in in response to Soul's worries, but instead decides to let Apex ramble on, half-paying attention as he absorbs the old-school superhuman grandeur of Freedom Hall.

So, I'm a real superhero now. That was...easy, he thinks as they pass through the supervillain holding area. It's pretty clear something about this whole situation is bothering him.

[Green Bean]

Tempo sits back and enjoys the tour (and the ramblings of Apex in the background). Once he gets his room assignment, he begins mentally planning his moving list.

Lets see. Books will take at least two trips. Clothes probably another two. Alarm clock and lamps. Computer? Hmm, there'll probably be a terminal in my room already, but it doesn't have my files. Probably easier just to put 'em on a disk. Of course, then all my fanfics'll be on the network...

[sun_tzu]

"Hey, cheer up, you did what any hero would have done, saved the day. You thought quickly on your feet and enacted a daring plan that was a success, I would think you would be doing backflips! Let me tell you about this one time, on the planet Ralkon..."

Apex begins to ramble on and on to Soul about some exploit or another that could draw comparison to what they just accomplished, whether it be fighting space pirates or doing some daring mission with no chance of success. This continues during the tour, even if Soul stops listening. Apex is getting way into his past (future?) and on a roll. After the tour, Apex checks out his room and begins to get settled in, though that doesn't take long as he really doesn't have any personal belongings in this time.

Soul listens closely to Apex's tales. After the tour, she tries to meet him privately.
"Say...Apex? I have a question. When I mentioned a TARDIS, earlier, you thought I was talking about a Titan Advanced something something Structure...the full acronym escapes me. Anyway...what is it? A T.A.R.D.I.S., I mean?"

[Da Beast]

Wow, I'm really in the big leagues now. This might be a bad time to mention that I almost got the entire team eaten by bugs.

((And Aesir doesn't have a hammer, he just punches things :smallsigh:))

[SuperMuldoon]

"Say...Apex? I have a question. When I mentioned a TARDIS, earlier, you thought I was talking about a Titan Advanced something something Structure...the full acronym escapes me. Anyway...what is it? A T.A.R.D.I.S., I mean?"

"Ah, the 'Titan Advanced Repeating Dominator Integrated Superstructure...' Well, its a system that the enemy had built into their warships after we had a few successes with capturing some of their ships with boarding parties. We first encountered it during an assault onto a Ransack-class command ship. We thought we had brought down its sheilds and prepared a teleport assault as to neutralize the command crew and hopefully capture the craft to bolster our own dwindling fleet.

Joke was on us though, they deliberately lowered the sheilds, luring us in to test out the system. I was part of that squad that teleported in. We were prepared to meet the expected stiff resistance from the crew, but to our surprise we saw nobody. First thing that ran through my head was that we had teleported in right where they were weakest, but boy was I wrong. We were suddenly bathed in a warm bluish light, and before we knew what was happening the trap was sprung.

See, the T.A.R.D.I.S. that I was referring to is set up to recognize only members of the crew or other special personnel. Since we were the enemy, it recognized us instantly and activated. First, it immobilizes with the "bluish light", which is actually a movement inhibitor field. Next, it proceeds to mentally dominate all that are caught. Those that are enthralled begin to systematically eliminate their comrades, starting with the ones that resist the mental control, and then themselves. We teleported in with a squad of 5,000 soldiers. Only 36 of us escaped, and that was by pure luck as the system had a slight malfunction, giving us just enough time to port away. The worst part of it all was the enemy crew had emerged from hiding and was watching, much to their delight, our own soldiers kill each other..."

Apex gets a faraway look in his eyes for a second, but then shakes it off. "Ah jeez...sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away like that...especially after we just saved the whole city! By the way...what TARDIS did you mean? I'm not too familiar with the things in this time..." Apex says, scratching the back of his head, feeling awkward.

[fireinthedust]

ooc: So do you six want to role play for a bit, or shall I move us into the next adventure?

[Green Bean]

((Well, I was considering a short mini-arc of introspection as Tempo deals with the pressure of- ah, who am I kidding? Let's go beat up some robots/aliens/villains! :smallbiggrin: ))

[fireinthedust]

((Well twist my rubber arm!!!

also, is that Metroid? You rock! Who does your avatars?))

[Green Bean]

((Yep. It's for Smash Bros Week (though I started a bit early)

And thanks for the compliment. I made this one myself.))

[Nerd-o-rama]

((I could do with some talking if anyone's interested, but I can live with skipping to the next smackdown session if everyone else is in favor.))

[fireinthedust]

I'll keep this thread open for sure, if you'd like. However, we can start the next Thread (Chapter 2) with some chat time, no problem.

The thread has been posted!!!

here, please! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4061055#post4061055)

[sun_tzu]

ooc: So do you six want to role play for a bit, or shall I move us into the next adventure?
((Eh, we can role-play a bit here, and move on at the same time.))



Apex gets a faraway look in his eyes for a second, but then shakes it off. "Ah jeez...sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away like that...especially after we just saved the whole city! By the way...what TARDIS did you mean? I'm not too familiar with the things in this time..." Apex says, scratching the back of his head, feeling awkward.
Soul grins. "I'll show you. Just wait, I'll be back in a few minutes."
The sorceress then opens a portal and flies through it. A little while later, a similar portal opens, and she returns through it, handing Apex a DVD box. "Dr Who. I've been following some of this world's works of fiction; this is one of them. I hope you can use DVDs? If not, I can help you there...
And quite frankly, I find your stories...interesting. I don't think you ever said where exactly you come from - neither have I, and I'd rather keep it that way for now - but...from various bits of what you said, it sounds like you're from the future. Surely you understand why I'm curious."
I mean, the things you might know...Heck, maybe you actually know how the things with Mother Aurora panned out!

[Nerd-o-rama]

((Sticking around for now. sun_tzu mentioned wanting to do some backstory expositing in this thread anyway.))

After the tour, Fireblade moves in. Just a suitcase with some clothes, really.

Well, that was also quick. Hm. I guess I'm reading too much into things.

Deciding not to worry about his minor sense of foreboding too much, Fireblade wanders through Freedom Hall, familiarizing himself more thoroughly with the layout and looking for something to eat.

"They can make teleporters that go all over the world, but not put in vending machines?" he wonders aloud. Eventually, he runs across Soul and Apex.

"Hey," he says. "Oh. Doctor Who. Funny, I figured both of you for the non-TV watching types."

[Green Bean]

Once Tempo finishes moving in, he planned on exploring the rest of the hall, but stopped to listen in on Apex's TARDIS story. He tried in vain to catch a glimpse of the DVD box as Soul handed it to the futuristic hero.

"Wait, Doctor who?"

[sun_tzu]

Hey," he says. "Oh. Doctor Who. Funny, I figured both of you for the non-TV watching types."
"Then you were mostly correct" replies Soul. "I'll make exceptions for quality science-fiction, though."


Once Tempo finishes moving in, he planned on exploring the rest of the hall, but stopped to listen in on Apex's TARDIS story. He tried in vain to catch a glimpse of the DVD box as Soul handed it to the futuristic hero.

"Wait, Doctor who?"
Soul gave him an unreadable look, then replied: "The Doctor. The sunderer of cybermen, the destroyer of daleks, the nemesis of the Master." Seeing the blank look, she adds: "British TV show. Huge success a generation ago. Currently having a revival."

((Amusingly enough? I've never actually watched a single episode.:smallbiggrin: ))

[Green Bean]

"Ah, it's a TV show. That makes sense. I'm not really that into science fiction."

((I've seen the first two seasons of the new series while I was in England. I pretty much had to. They have a special name for Doctor Who fans in England; British :smallbiggrin: ))

[sun_tzu]

"Ah, it's a TV show. That makes sense. I'm not really that into science fiction."

((I've seen the first two seasons of the new series while I was in England. I pretty much had to. They have a special name for Doctor Who fans in England; British :smallbiggrin: ))

"Well, arguably, our lives are closer to science-fiction than to anything else." Soul points out. "We did just fight an alien space-pirate."

[Green Bean]

Tempo nods. "Exactly. If I'm fighting space pirates all day, it's no fun to come home and watch it on TV."

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Then you were mostly correct" replies Soul. "I'll make exceptions for quality science-fiction, though."
"Hm. I guess that makes sense. I'm more of a general stuff-blowing-up fan myself."

He continues, curiously. "I was sorta wondering, though...where're you from? You've got sort of an otherwordly vibe to your powers, and I was just curious what your story was. Just a magician, some kind of parallel dimension traveler deal...? 'Course you don't have to tell me if you think it'll be a secret identity issue."

[sun_tzu]

"Hm. I guess that makes sense. I'm more of a general stuff-blowing-up fan myself."

He continues, curiously. "I was sorta wondering, though...where're you from? You've got sort of an otherwordly vibe to your powers, and I was just curious what your story was. Just a magician, some kind of parallel dimension traveler deal...? 'Course you don't have to tell me if you think it'll be a secret identity issue."

Huh boy. Well, I knew this was coming.
"I truly wish I could be more forthcoming about this." Soul looked genuinely sorry. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid I can't really say much about my origins. It's complicated.
Buuut...There are certain things that I can, and certainly should tell you. In particular, the reason I wanted so much to enter the Freedom League. I believe all of you need to hear this..."

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Oh. Well this sounds serious. To the Hall of Exposition!" Fireblade states faux-melodramatically, pointing in the direction he thinks the main meeting room is. He's wrong, but you get the idea.

"Or we could just call the others and you can tell them here," he shrugs. "Just seems to be lacking in superheroic flair."

[Green Bean]

"I'll go get Aesir." Tempo takes off to find the Norse god and bring him to the Conference Room (or wherever we are now).

[Nerd-o-rama]

"...they gave us communicators, you know," Fireblade replies after Tempo is (relatively) long-gone.

[sun_tzu]

((Should I go ahead and assume everyone's here?))

[SuperMuldoon]

Soul grins. "I'll show you. Just wait, I'll be back in a few minutes."
The sorceress then opens a portal and flies through it. A little while later, a similar portal opens, and she returns through it, handing Apex a DVD box. "Dr Who. I've been following some of this world's works of fiction; this is one of them. I hope you can use DVDs? If not, I can help you there...
And quite frankly, I find your stories...interesting. I don't think you ever said where exactly you come from - neither have I, and I'd rather keep it that way for now - but...from various bits of what you said, it sounds like you're from the future. Surely you understand why I'm curious."


Apex takes the DVD. "Ah, is this the local viewing storage medium? You might have to show me how to use this...I have only heard stories of discs this big before! But I am interested in seeing some works of fiction from this time, I never got much chance to experience them back home." Apex flips the case over and reads the description on the back of the box, nodding his head. "Also, yes, I am from the future, or a future at least. Things kind of went screwy when we initiated the jump..."

Apex continues reading the DVD box as the other members come in.

((OOC: Sorry guys, had the flu and was out of commission this weekend. Trying to catch up!))

[sun_tzu]

Apex takes the DVD. "Ah, is this the local viewing storage medium? You might have to show me how to use this...I have only heard stories of discs this big before! But I am interested in seeing some works of fiction from this time, I never got much chance to experience them back home." Apex flips the case over and reads the description on the back of the box, nodding his head. "Also, yes, I am from the future, or a future at least. Things kind of went screwy when we initiated the jump..."

Apex continues reading the DVD box as the other members come in.

((OOC: Sorry guys, had the flu and was out of commission this weekend. Trying to catch up!))

"I'd definitely like to know more about your era - and what led to it - but given how little I'm revealing about my own origins, I suppose I'm in no position to make requests..."

((Assuming we all get together in the meeting room or something.))

"All right, everyone." Soul looks a bit nervous. "I'll tell everything I can.
A few months ago, I was contacted by an extremely powerful entity. She calls herself Mother Aurora. I call her The Pink Bitch in the Sky, but that's neither here nor there. Fact is, Aurora was some kind of cosmic entity that offered me guidance of some sort; one of the first things she did was send me out to stop a, well, supervillain I guess. Some demonic monster called Downfall, but he's not important to the story. Anyway, she's been giving me some errands, and I've ended up fighting a few mystical baddies. Speaking of which, I dunno if you've heard of the businessman Eric Masterson, but for the record? Evil mastermind. Just saying.
Anyway...Recently, Aurora gave me a pretty unnerving vision. There were planet chunks floating around, and the Freedom League - all the regular members, and others I couldn't see well - were fighting something. They all got killed. After they did, countless worlds got annihilated.
There's something truly major coming, and it's going to be pretty bad. According to Mother Aurora, if I didn't join the League, the vision would come true...and then, it's curtains.
I don't know what's going to happen. I don't even know how much I trust Aurora. But I figured you guys ought to know, just in case."

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex listens to Soul's story. When she's done he speaks up.

"Well I'm glad you've shared this with us, Soul. Better to be prepared if this "Pink Bitch in the Sky" or someone else comes looking for you. As for the vision, I don't know how I really feel about them to be honest, but the freedom league did go fight something and haven't returned, and they could be dead for all I know. So part of that vision may have already come to pass, although I am hoping for the opposite. As for any of the characters like Downfall or this Eric Masterson fellow, if they come poking around here, well, we are a team now, so I'm pretty sure we all know what to do to the likes of them!" Apex emphasizes that last part by smacking his fist into his other open hand and grinning.

[sun_tzu]

Soul smiled at Apex. "I'm counting on it."


**********


Later that evening, Soul - or rather, Jill - was recounting the day's events to Lisa back in the safety of Castle Nexus.
"...and he said that we'd face them as a team and, you know."
"Awesome. So, you're part of the Freedom League now? For real?"
"E-yup. Of course, that probably won't last...I'm not old enough to be a member. If it wasn't for Mother Aurora and her stupid vision..."
"No big. Sure, you're not eighteen, but you've got all the kickass powers, and the brains to use it. The plan to beat Kraken was your idea, right?"
"...It's not that simple, Lis. And even if it was...there are reasons the League doesn't take minors."
"But you saved the city!"
"Doesn't detract from my point. The rules are there for a reason. If everyone starts ignoring them the moment they get inconvenient, the whole structure crumbles."
"Then why are you doing this in the first place?"
"Consequences. The consequences of breaking the rules this one time are just not going to be remotely as bad as the consequences of not joining the League...If the vision is true, at least.
Of course, just joining the League might not be enough. I'm gonna need to get a lot better at this superhero stuff, and fast."
Lisa was intrigued. "So, what? You're going to spend several hours a day practicing in their training simulator?"
"There's that. But I also need to work on better spells. You know how I've gotten really good at deflecting attacks wth my portals?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, it's not much good if by the time I can tell I need to deflect the attack, it's already too late. I can go down in one shot if I get taken by surprise.
So, I've been messing with the portals. They go through space, but it ought to be possible to go through time - with some limits, mind you. I'm going to try to set this magical structure around my senses that will let me see and hear a fraction of a second into the future - at least, enough that I'll know when to dodge-n-deflect." ((Uncanny Dodge, if you will.))
"Cool! ...but couldn't you use it to get tomorrow's lottery numbers instead?"
"That's reeeealy not the way it works."
"Too bad. Because, I mean...I understand that the whole Saving The World thing is important, but when you first got those powers, it was more about having fun with them, no?" Lisa gestured at the castle surrounding them.
"There was some of that" Jill admitted, looking a bit embarrassed. "But that actually brings me to another point:
Tell me...does it ever bother you how little a difference superpowers ever actually make in the world?"
Lisa gave her a quizzical look. "What do you mean? Superheroes save the world, like, all the time!"
"Exactly. They save the world. They maintain the status quo. They keep it from becoming worse, instead of changing it for the better.
Remember that talk in literature class? Most guys admitted they liked fictional villains more than fictional heroes."
"Well, yeah. The bad guys get to do what we want to do, down deep. You know what I mean."
"There's some of that. But it's also that the villains are proactive. They seek to cause change. All the good guys do in those stories is react.
Daedalus, the Atom Family, and a whole bunch of others...They could revolutionize the planet. I mean, supertech alone...some of this stuff is dangerous, sure, but there's a lot that should be used in everyday civilian applications, instead of gathering dust between attacks by the Crime League. Well, I think I can change that."
"What do you mean?"
Jill handed Lisa a blueprint. "This is what I mean. I've been working on it for a while. It's two big disks - when activated, they'll open a permanent portal between them. It only goes some thirty feet, though."
"...And that'll be good, for, what?"
"I'm glad you asked.
Imagine that you had a large water conduit. A vertical one. With a hydroelectric turbine in the middle. You put water on the upper end. It goes down, generates electricity at the turbine, reaches the lower end.
At the lower end? There's a teleportation disk. The other teleportation disk? At the upper end."
Lisa didn't say anything at first. For a while, the gears turned in her mind. "So...You'd get free electricity?"
"YES! A first kind perpetual motion machine! A limitless energy source! A slap in the face of thermodynamics, a victory over entropy, and a step up for the economy!
I call it Project Perpetua.
I'm trying to make a prototype. If it works, I'm going to try to build a bigger model, and donate it to Freedom City. This could change the world!"
"All right...I won't even pretend I understood most of what you just said, but I'll be generous and assume it was some something clever."
"You're too kind."
"Gotta treat Freedom Leaguers with respect."
Jill giggled. "Well, fun as this is, we should probably head home from our "walk in the park". It's gonna be dinnertime soon, and after the way mom and dad panicked when I didn't answer my phone during Kraken's attack, I don't want to give them any more reasons to be upset."
"Did they believe your excuse? That the cell phone's batteries ran out?"
"Well, I did drain them before I got home..."