The Dark

[Quellian-dyrae]

With his opponent wisely revealing herself, no doubt to avoid a full-force flour assault (seriously it's a pain to get out of your hair...), Eldain focused on the battle. The familiar calm of a psionic focus came upon him. His nervousness about the upcoming meeting, worries for his sister, even the fear for his own life, all simply faded as he dedicated his conscious mind purely to his advanced psionic powers.

His visor expanded to form a helmet, sealing in his costume. As that blast of energy lashed out at him, he vanished, his civilian suit remaining in the air to take the hit in his stead. It gave its life in glorious battle. Always remember.

The man who reappeared behind the woman was not Eldain Owlheart, the brilliant, cautious, responsible logistician. It was Phase Knight.

"Seriously, though, this is how you react if someone doesn't answer the door fast enough for you? I'd hate to see how you treat the pizza guy if he takes more than thirty minutes," Phase Knight quipped as he blinked rapidly in and out, hammering his opponent with a blade conjured of pure psionic energy.

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Free Action: Change Psionic Focus Array to Phase Strike.
Move Action: Teleport adjacent to the woman.
Standard Action: Attack with Phase Strike at (1d20+10)[15](25). If attack hits, target must roll Toughness (DC 25) vs. Damage and Will (DC 20) vs. an Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated Affliction. The Damage is Penetrating and both effects receive a Multiattack bonus for a high attack roll. This attack crits on a natural 17-20.

[shugyosha]

Astrid:

The Asian woman took a step back from Astrid (they were roughly 20' apart),

"I'm just looking for my cat, um ..... have you seen one around here? Man it's cold, right?"

The woman continued to look around and walked towards the stairs to the shelter .....

"What's your cat's name and what does it look like?" she asks stepping towards her.

[buddy]

Astrid:

The woman continues to look around, while standing on the sidewalk, then she responds,

"That's okay. I'll find her," and she walks away, to Astrid's left, headed for the next corner.


Phase Knight:

Phase Knight misjudges the woman's speed and positioning, just missing her as she spins away at the last split-second!

The woman spins quickly again and catches Phase Knight with a powerful Roundhouse Kick that actually connects with his head!

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Her Kick
It was a Crit (Natural 20), but she needs a Crit to even hit you. So no added consequences.
PK needs to make a DC20 Toughness check.

[shugyosha]

Astrid

The women's actions seemed strange, that was for sure, thought Astrid; but did that warrant mind reading? It was a power she was taught to restrain but survival in the world my call for more lax views on it...

As the woman walked away Astrid opened her mind to do a surface scan of the woman. The young mutant followed the woman as to not break the psychic contact.

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Telepathy: 9 ranks.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Eldain just smirked. The toughened polymers of his helmet absorbed the kick like a champ; he didn't even feel it. And the next instant, he was gone again, and back once more, striking from behind, from the side, from above, from behind again, in an instant.

"So what do they call you exactly?", he asked, continuing his inane banter as he fought. "The Fightin' Carousel? Miss Spinsalot? Ooh! I know! Twirl Girl!"

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Move Action: Teleport adjacent to Twirl Girl (yes, that's now what I'm calling her. No, she can't stop it by any means short of my death).
Standard Action: Phase Strike at (1d20+10)[17](27). Penetrating, Multiattack, Crit 17-20, DC 25 Toughness vs. Damage, DC 20 Will vs. Affliction.

[buddy]

Astrid:

Following the woman down the street, Astrid extends her mind to investigate as only a telepath can ....... and gets nothing! It's as if the woman wasn't even there, except for a physical appearance ...

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Astrid's Stealth check: 1d20+7 = 11
Asian woman's Perception check: 1d20+8 (-2, for distance) = 20

...... at the intersection, a car passes at high speed and the woman looks around, sees Astrid, then turns to face her while placing her hands in her coat pockets,

"..... is there a problem, miss .....?"



Phase Knight:

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Note: Teleportation has a Subtle effect that we didn't get into, so here I'm granting a +2 Circumstance Bonus due to the power & the Multiattack tactic. A hit, but no added effect.
DC32 (DC15+10+5+2) Toughness check: 1d20+8 = 23
She's now Dazed & -1 Toughness checks

The poor woman is overwhelmed by Phase Knight's onslaught, her now-bloodied clothing ripped to near shreds! She drops to a knee, her hands on the floor, her back still to the hero,

"Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me!"

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Way better!

[Quellian-dyrae]

Phase Knight blinked in front of her, mind blade pointed her way. "Do you surrender?" he demanded.

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Move Action: Teleport adjacent.
Standard Action: Ready action to Phase Strike if she does anything other than surrender.

At GM discretion, this revised action could still use original roll result of (let's see if this works) [roll1]. Nope. Previous result was natural 8, total 18.

---

* post roll count doesn't match database

[buddy]

Phase Knight:

The kneeling woman raises and turns to Phase Knight,

"Your victim requires medical assistance, yet you demand surrender. You will make a fine servant of The Dark, Dr. Owlheart."

Her eyes glow red and bolts of brilliant force erupt towards Phase Knight! The blasts miss wildly as Owlheart, readied for the attack, easily side-steps the assault!

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Beam attack: 1d20+8=9 (crit fail)

[shugyosha]

Astrid

"Aaa... no problem... it just that you don't act like someone looking for a cat. What do you want here?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Yeah, that'll happen," Phase Knight replied with a smirk, filing the name away for future consideration.

As he returned the attack, he added, "And seriously, arrogant much? You get medical attention when you're a prisoner of war. Ya know, after you surrender? Until then you're an enemy combatant, and that means you Keep." Slash. "Getting." Thrust. "Shot at!" Chop!

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Readied Action: Phase Strike at (1d20+10)[14]. Also, am I aware that she appears to be immune to the Affliction portion of the attack?

[buddy]

Astrid:

Calm and still friendly, the woman responds as the intersection lights alternate "red" to "yellow" to "green",

"To find what what I'm looking for and I'll check further down this side street. But, thank you for offering assistance."

She smiles and turns to walk across the street ....

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Chilly outside. Astrid can pursue the woman or return to the shelter or whatever comes to mind .....

Phase Knight:

"Twirl-Girl", while sporting several bleeding-wounds, is as agile as ever, avoiding Phase Knight's renewed saber-barrage by dropping prone to the floor!

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What's obvious to Phase Knight;

• Her body coordination is nearly triple-jointed
• She seem resistant to the Psychic-effect of PK's attack
• She seems resistant to pain
• She displays an unsettling level of calm
• Phase Knight can detect a unique odor around her, but he can't place it right now (Requires Expertise)
  PK's DC15 Perception check: 1d20+5=17

She's in the Prone position (facing up) & Phase Knight has the next action .....

[Quellian-dyrae]

Phase Knight had an odd idea about this one. Being prone to running his mouth in combat, he saw no problem with asking, "Hey, you wouldn't happen to be a robot would you?"

As he asked, he blinked around for a few quick thrusts and slashes, just getting a measure of her agility while prone, before teleporting above her and dropping with a full-fledged Link-style downward thrust attack!

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Move Action: Teleport adjacent.
Standard Action: Phase Strike (adding +5 for a prone target, and Power Attacking for 5) at (1d20+10)[17]. (DC 30 Toughness with Power Attack, Will goes up to DC 25 if this happens to be Impervious rather than Immunity).

[shugyosha]

Astrid

An uneasy feeling tingled in the back of Astrid's mind. That woman was strange. Astrid had heard of psychic voids before, but thought that someone psychically invisible was myth. Astrid didn't believe that woman but she wasn't really in any position to do anything.

Heading back to the shelter she opens the front door...

[buddy]

Phase Knight:

The psionic-sword nearly impales the woman, as she was caught unprepared for Phase Knight's overhead counter-attack! A splatter of crimson fluid erupted from the "woman's" torso - but Phase Knight could easily tell it wasn't blood! The gruesome wound reveals a small flashing of lights, escaping around the edges of the hero's blade.

This woman was definitely not human. Laying limp under Phase Knight, the automaton smiled faintly as "her" eyes flared bright-red, powerful bolts of scarlet energy fire at - and miss - Phase Knight, who's getting used to this tactic!

The woman's eyes seemed to glaze somewhat as she sputtered, her voice cracking with inhuman-coarseness,

"...... fight as you like, Dr. Owlheart ..... we have already claimed you ..... all of you ...."

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Twirl-Girl's DC30 Toughness check (-1): 1d20+7=15
She's now Staggered (Dazed & Hindered & -2 Toughness checks)
Twirl-Bot's Optic-Blasts: 1d20+6 (-5, Prone)=16
Almost pinned, "she's" still defiant! Phase Knight's next ......

Astrid:

Before her hand gets a firm grasp on the door handle, Astrid senses intense fear bordering on panic coming from inside the shelter! Several of the women housed in the large area just inside the entrance that used to be for pews (but now contained rows of small beds and metal lockers) are terrified of something .....!

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You can attempt a mind-scan of the area before entering, go in, or whatever comes to mind ....

Alana, Upper East Side, Manhattan:

On the other end of the city, standing proud at the corner of 69th & 2nd in one of the world's most-expensive neighborhood's, was an "alternate" estate of the greater Shepard family holdings. At sixty feet tall, designed with over thirty luxurious bedrooms, more than ten private restrooms, several great rooms, libraries, a palatial dining room, and a state-of-the-art kitchen that stretched wider than most homes - the Shepard building was a bastion of elegance.

And this was just what the public knew about. There was much, much more. Most of the "hidden amenities" were constructed to match the Daedalian vision of Jonathan Shepard Smith, himself. A small company of servants; butlers, maids, servers, ect. scurried about the warm, pristine rooms and hallways and kitchen maintaining the Shepard standard of perfection. Warm lighting washed over rooms and hallways giving the spaces the feeling of Life. Falling from 20' ceilings to richly-carpeted flooring, the home's palatial atmosphere danced with the fragrance of fine food and rare spices.

In one of her favorite "hidden amenities", the patron's "grand-daughter", Alana Shepard Smith passed the near-glacial Manhattan night enjoy immersed with a private passion .....

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About as far as I wanted to go. You can write in servants or William or whoever you like .....

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Okay quiet time now, grownups are thinking," Phase Knight said, briefly ceasing his Psionic Focus. He grimaced as all the stray thoughts and concerns came back to mind, not the least being an insistent voice telling him that he should finish this.

And he planned to, but he needed to make sure he did so the right way. He stood ready to evade further attack as he analyzed the robot.

"So look, we both know you can neither win nor escape. If you surrender and tell me everything you know about this Dark, the recent disappearances of superhumans in the city, where my sister is, and/or Gyrich's true evil plan," Hey, if you're going to be randomly speculating, may as well cast a wide net, "then I won't have to chop you into scrap and download it from your CPU. Your call though."

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Free Action: Switch Psionic Focus Array to Mind at Rest.

Free Action (?): Analyze what I can see of the robot, and using what I know of similar constructs, attempt to determine where main hard drive or other "memory" is located, so I can avoid those places when I attack. Use whichever rolls are needed:
Expertise (Science): (1d20+15)[21].
Expertise (Robotics via Jack of All Trades): (1d20+10)[18].
Technology: (1d20+15)[25].

Standard Action: Ready an action to teleport behind it if it attacks. I figure this would function like a Counter rather than just being an auto-dodge; if so Power Rank Check is: (1d20+6)[14]. Defensive Teleport is of course still on if that fails.

[shugyosha]

Astrid

Hearing the ruckus inside she quickly scans the room with her telepathy.

[buddy]

Phase Knight:

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PM sent w/ info.

Astrid:

The space is 150' wide, 150' long, with 50' ceilings and white recently-painted walls. The stained-glass windows, broken out by kids, had been replaced with dark-tinted, one-way plexiglass years ago. The space was lit by a strung-together series of overhead lighting. Easy fire-hazard, but it had to do. The shelter had minimal funding, despite the rising number of occupants. Creaky, hard-wood floors were covered near sleeping areas with large, multicolored area-rugs.

Looking inside the minds of the fifteen horrified women in the room, to include Hansford's, Astrid learns of a "ghost-like" creature is standing in the corner of the room, just inside the door! They women are huddled against the far wall and hiding behind beds, riveted with fear!

Apparently, the "ghost" hadn't harmed anyone, yet ......

[shugyosha]

Astrid

She opens the door quickly and scans the apparition. She had never seen a ghost before and wondered what kind of psychic impression it would have.

[buddy]

Astrid:

It was a boy, in his early teens, at best.

Standing just over 5' and looking startled himself at the women, then whirling to see Astrid, his form was translucent-white. Astrid could see through him, but occasionally he would "flicker" and you could see his faded blue jeans, worn blue sneakers, black T-shirt with a large "HIM" logo on the chest.

But, even in what appeared to be his "tangible" form, the boy had chalk-white skin and matching curly hair. Albino. His unnatural, red eyes scanned the room like a cornered animal.

Every few heartbeats, Astrid could pick-up his thought patterns: he was afraid. Nearly as panicked as the women gasping across from him! He was trying to decide what to do and he was tired of running ........

[Quellian-dyrae]

With his offer not accepted, Phase Knight simply shrugged and went back at it, an aggressive assault aimed at cutting off the android's power source.

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Free Action: Change Psionic Focus Array to Phase Strike.
Move Action: Teleport adjacent.
Standard Action: Phase Strike, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 5, (I believe target is still prone, so adding +5 to attack from that): (1d20+15)[32]. Damage DC 30. My Dodge and Parry go down to +10 (DC 20 to hit). Crit on total result of 32+.

EDIT: Yes! Make that Damage DC 35, plus whatever from Multiattack.

[buddy]

Phase Knight:

The android shrieks a short meta-electronic "yelp" and falls still, it's eyes going dim.

Sure seemed "dead".

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Eldain should have plenty to work with, but whatever you need, just PM. Phase Knight gets 1 Power Point for the victory!

[Assurau]

Posters of different mecha and tv shows littered the walls of the room. Several comic books, reference guides, and novels in different languages were strewed about. Several shelves contained multiple action figures, toys and props. On the side several game consoles lay inactive, next to several recently-released games.

On the desk, Alana was scouring the net. Today the first episode of the series she had been looking forward to, was being released. With an almost predatory drive, she ploughed through link after link until finally she found the site, where the raw version of the episode could be found. After setting it to load, Alana went back to reading novel about a time traveling blue police box and its alien pilot. She was already getting so many ideas.

[shugyosha]

Astrid

"Hi," she says as she slowly approaches him. "I'm Astrid. Do you understand me? What is your name?"

[buddy]

Astrid:

The boy backed away from her, nearly falling halfway through the wall ----

"Connor." His red eyes watered and flashes around the room again.

Astrid would need to be cautious with this one.

He was prone to vanishing. She sensed that much. His parents had recently divorced and he was lost in his own hurtful emotions. Astrid drew as much as she could from an intermittent Telepathic connection that severed each time the boy faded across what seemed like dimensions .....


Alana:

A maidservant knocked and walked into the room with a silver palate holding Alana's favorite drink ....

"Ma'am?" she said well-under her breath .....

[buddy]

Astrid:

From across the room, Dr. Hansford's voice echoes,

"Astrid! Be careful! It isn't normal! I've heard rumors of ghosts here - that has to be ........"

[Assurau]

"Huh?! oh, thanks!", said Alana as she stood up from the desk to pick up the chocolate shake.

Noting the expresion on the maid, Alana asked "Is something wrong, Nicole?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Phase Knight eyed the robot a moment, and then his helmet contracted back into the visor. He allowed his mind to once more relax.

Well, maybe "relax" wasn't the right word.

With much to do, there was one stone that could potentially hit several birds. His proficiency with robotics was cursory at best, he didn't have the tech on hand to get past the encryption this thing would come standard with. But his father likely would.

He summoned his laptop to hand, grabbed a sheet to wrap around the android so it wouldn't leak fluid all over the carpet, wrapped the thing, and teleported with it back to his father's study.

[shugyosha]

Astrid

Taking the advice she stops using her telepathy and raises her defenses. "So... Connor... what do you want?"

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Going from Telepathy to Tower of Iron Will

[buddy]

Inspired:

The housemaid hesitated a moment, then,

".... it's just seeing you here, crouched over that computer ..... I'd think ..... well, a woman like you .... why not be out 'doing the town' with Daniel Craig or Anne Hathaway! You can do anything."

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Alana senses the envy pouring from this woman ....

Astrid:

Becoming what appears to be his "normal" or tangible form, Connor looks at Ariel, peers at the door, then gazes at her again,

".... I'm sorry, I ....... I was being followed. That woman she ......... I just needed somewhere to go ....... I'm no ghost!"

He shifts his gaze to Hansford almost angrily, then looks away. The women in the room seem less frightened, but remain where they are. The room seems charged with static electricity, as everyone is on-edge .......

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The Telepathy check was bad, so Astrid received more "emotional" sensation than a complete assessment of Connor's psyche.
1d20+4=5

Eldain:

Arriving at the study, he catches his father in mid-conversation via cell, his back to Eldain,

"-completely. AEGIS is in-play and we all wanted this. We've wanted it for decades. But, you should have kept better provision for those close to the program. I'm tired of being the voice of caution and dismissible calculation ..." (pause) "... again, I understand, Nicholas, but this is my daughter. I remain committed to our shared vision. Unequivocally. But ..."

He turns from his desk and sees Eldain,

" .... I'll wait for your call."

He closes his cell,

" What .... is that ....?"

His face shifts from frustration to grief .....

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Nanomechanical android. It attacked me, so I can only assume there was a glitch in its AI," he said lightly. "Mentioned something called the Dark. You have the tech to download its memory? I'm figuring it might know something about...something. Maybe Sophie, but maybe stuff that might be important to AEGIS. If you can download that, I'll see about tracing her cell before it went out."

As he opened up his laptop, he added, "And while we're at it, you can bring me up to speed on whatever...I'm guessing Fury? told you on the phone."

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While we talk, Eldain's going to try and trace where Sophia's cell has been over the past few days. I figure that'd be a Technology check? If so, gonna Routine check it for total result of 25.