Hero Academy #2: Whodunit

[Axelgear]

((I just thought having Sekhmet go in the wall was a bit more in character; she's rash and she's always read comic books/seen movies where the villain has so many escape plans it's a wonder if they even considered succeeding, just like most of us have. However, I will change it...))

[Green Bean]

"Let's do this!"

Leshii braces herself for FX's blast, ready to go straight for Doctor Knack as soon as the door "opened".

((Readied action to grapple Dr. Knack. I take a -2 penalty on the initial attack roll for every 60 feet away he is.))

[Zarthrax]

FX cracks his knuckles. "Anybody got something snappy to say when we go in? Or should I cover it?"

[Green Bean]

Leshii shrugs. "Hey, you're the brainy one. Give 'em something to remember."

[sun_tzu]

((Should I assume FX thought up something clever to say and knocked down the door, or wait for you to come up with something? ))

[Zarthrax]

FX winds up and unleashes a mighty blow! As the doors crash open, he smirks and yells, "Exterminators! We're here about your vermin problem!"

[sun_tzu]

As Sekhmet and Powerhouse crash in through the roof, the front door is blasted appart under FX's assault. Inside the large warehouse, Dr Knack turns to face you.
Leshii's arms extend at great speed toward the mad scientist...and hit an invisible force-field 15 feet away from him. Knack gives you a wry smile, and says: "Ah, visitors. How nice of you all to drop by."

[Green Bean]

Dang! Well, it was worth a shot.

Leshii retracts her arms and moves into the building proper. "Hi there, Doctor. We're here to bring you in; got a warrant and everything. I don't suppose you'll come quietly?"

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet, seeing the forcefield, just frowns at the good doctor. Brash as ever, she immediately hinges herself back before charging at him with terrifying speed and smashing into him with incredible power, her claws pressing against the shield and trying to slash it into ribbons. Using all the brute force she can muster, she tries to combine her fireblast as well to push past the shield. "Your little tech tricks won't protect you! Say your prayers to whatever god you believe in because the one in front of you is after your blood!" Sekhmet yells before letting out a loud, deep roar as her eyes turn a supernatural red once more as they did when she intimidated the mystics. She had seen the strategy work once before, Improv had approved it, and she was just following the protocol, in her mind at least.

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Sekhmet's trying to brute-force the shield to pieces. She's trying to push with all her might against it AND use her fireblast at the same time to add extra pressure. Would this be possible? If not, she's just using her strength.

[sun_tzu]

Dang! Well, it was worth a shot.

Leshii retracts her arms and moves into the building proper. "Hi there, Doctor. We're here to bring you in; got a warrant and everything. I don't suppose you'll come quietly?"

"I don't suppose you will let me dissect you willingly, either."

Sekhmet, seeing the forcefield, just frowns at the good doctor. Brash as ever, she immediately hinges herself back before charging at him with terrifying speed and smashing into him with incredible power, her claws pressing against the shield and trying to slash it into ribbons. Using all the brute force she can muster, she tries to combine her fireblast as well to push past the shield. "Your little tech tricks won't protect you! Say your prayers to whatever god you believe in because the one in front of you is after your blood!" Sekhmet yells before letting out a loud, deep roar as her eyes turn a supernatural red once more as they did when she intimidated the mystics. She had seen the strategy work once before, Improv had approved it, and she was just following the protocol, in her mind at least.

"Oh, I am positively shaking. Must be the cold, I can't feel the heat of your flames from behind this force-field."
If Knack is even a little afraid, he's not showing it. His force-field shakes a bit under Sekhmet's assault, but remains operational.
"Little question, doc" says Improv, using the sonic weapon from earlier to cause the roof above Knack to collapse. "Did you think of putting a force-field above you?"
"Why yes I did" replies Knack as the debris from the roof rebound against the invisible shield.
"Damn. They usually forget that part."

[Green Bean]

Leshii watches as Sekhmet bounces off the force field. Brute force doesn't seem to be working. Maybe if I try...

Suddenly, there are two Dr. Knacks standing in the building, one of which is giving the one inside the field a jaunty wave. Looking towards what appears to be the main computer, Leshii says, "Abort! Cancel! Shut down! Terminate! Cease function! Err...add one to X until X equals zero?"

[Mick_the_Rogue]

Powerhouse

In spite of his rather show-y entrance Powerhouse stands back while Skehmet reaches out with her full furry, and tilts his head to the side when watching the others make an attempt

"Huh...over, and around...I suppose we could try an alternate route" he said walking forward calmly towards the bubble

"We could always just tear down the place brick by brick" he said, placing special emphasis on the word 'Brick' "But let's go with the floor first" he said, raising his fists up and then down to the ground quickly making the floor shake. More than anything he wanted to see if the force would affect Knack inside the forcefield, which would imply that underneath was not protected...

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet, after a long while of frustrated pressing against the shield, suddenly has an epiphany. "Wait," she says as her anger wanes and she steps back from the field, grinning no less deviously even as she rests an elbow in her left palm and her cheek in the right, "Good cop bad cop." She says in a rather confusingly random tone.

"I could be wrong but... He has to shut that thing down eventually when he has to eat or go to the bathroom or something. Just like they do in the movies and on TV. They just give the person a lot or nothing to drink or eat and then wait. Eventually, he has to lower the field if he ever wants to, y'know, do the stuff normal people do." It is, at this point, Sekhmet realizes that she's not eaten in over a week and hasn't even heard her stomach growl. She also realizes that, even when she has eaten, she hasn't had to deal with the end result of such actions in months. As this happens, Sekhmet becomes lost in her own thoughts and just stares off into infinity, coincidentally located in a random floor tile for the moment.

[sun_tzu]

Powerhouse

In spite of his rather show-y entrance Powerhouse stands back while Skehmet reaches out with her full furry, and tilts his head to the side when watching the others make an attempt

"Huh...over, and around...I suppose we could try an alternate route" he said walking forward calmly towards the bubble

"We could always just tear down the place brick by brick" he said, placing special emphasis on the word 'Brick' "But let's go with the floor first" he said, raising his fists up and then down to the ground quickly making the floor shake. More than anything he wanted to see if the force would affect Knack inside the forcefield, which would imply that underneath was not protected...

The entire lab quakes, and cracks are appearing in the wall. Everything inside the force-field, though, remains largely unaffected.
Knack observe as you try numerous different tactics to defeat him. "My, my. You are certainly an ingenious and creative bunch. You - " he points at Powerhouse - "are actually causing serious harm to my lab, which is actually a problem for me, though it won't get me to leave the safety of this force-field. You - " he points at Leshii - "actually came up with a brilliant idea that would have beaten me completely a few years ago, before I had a datalink installed in my head to control my machines mentally. You - " he points at Sekhmet - "just suggested a strategy that could work were it not for a...minor detail. You - " he points at Improv - "...seem busy trying to come up with a plan. Any luck?"
"Not yet."
"Ah. And you - " he points at FX, then looks at his hands. "Heeeey. Are these kinetic control gauntlets?"

((In all seriousness, several good ideas. In case you're wondering, yes, I am going somewhere with this. ))

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet, who is at this point still in a devious and easily frustrated mindset, once more pounces on the shield, clawing at it in a frenzy. "Come out of there," she cries, "Or I'll...! I'll-! AAAAGH!" And with that, she steps back and, in an odd change from her usual technique, she begins to glow bright blue and the ground trembles. A strange ripple moves through the air and, with waves of her hands, pieces of the lab suddenly begin to shift, bend, and distort. The roof seems to melt directly around Knack while a ring around him on the ceiling suddenly extends long darts of concrete and metal that then wrap around the shield like a giant cage. The floor itself outside the shield then begins to break away and meld up, forming a hanging prison around Knack made of solidified concrete and steel. When this is done, the blue glow fades and the red disappears from Sekhmet's eyes.

"Woah... I don't feel so good..." She mutters before losing her balance and staggers back against the wall, having to use it to support herself as she rubs her head. "Today just isn't my day..." The heroine mutters as she doesn't even contemplate what she just did.

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I used Extra Effort instead of a Hero Point, so she's fatigued now. I figure tapping into divine power reserves would do that . I assume this is an acceptable use? She didn't move anything inside the shield, just the stuff around it, resolidified it, and created a cage for Knack.

[sun_tzu]

Sekhmet, who is at this point still in a devious and easily frustrated mindset, once more pounces on the shield, clawing at it in a frenzy. "Come out of there," she cries, "Or I'll...! I'll-! AAAAGH!" And with that, she steps back and, in an odd change from her usual technique, she begins to glow bright blue and the ground trembles. A strange ripple moves through the air and, with waves of her hands, pieces of the lab suddenly begin to shift, bend, and distort. The roof seems to melt directly around Knack while a ring around him on the ceiling suddenly extends long darts of concrete and metal that then wrap around the shield like a giant cage. The floor itself outside the shield then begins to break away and meld up, forming a hanging prison around Knack made of solidified concrete and steel. When this is done, the blue glow fades and the red disappears from Sekhmet's eyes.

"Woah... I don't feel so good..." She mutters before losing her balance and staggers back against the wall, having to use it to support herself as she rubs her head. "Today just isn't my day..." The heroine mutters as she doesn't even contemplate what she just did.

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I used Extra Effort instead of a Hero Point, so she's fatigued now. I figure tapping into divine power reserves would do that . I assume this is an acceptable use? She didn't move anything inside the shield, just the stuff around it, resolidified it, and created a cage for Knack.

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((The use of Extra Effort is acceptable. That looked more like Transmute than Telekinesis, but I'll let that slide for now.))

Knack looks around. "Veeery interesting. The data from your dissection should more than make up for the damage you did to my lab. Thankfully...I still have the essentials right here."
The mad scientist then pulls out something that looks a bit like a raygun with a conical barrel, and aims it in FX's direction. "Allow me to introduce you to my graviton gun." The next instant, FX feels a strong pull that propels him several feet forward and inside the lab, just a few feet away from the force-field. You suspect it is only the recent training at the Academy that allowed you to maintain your balance.
"Perhaps not the most impressive gadget in my arsenal, but it will do" Dr Knack drones on. "Now tell me...Have any of you ever heard of spatial redirection? ((FX has.)) It was this idea studied in the field of teleportation. The latter, after all, works by creating a link between one's particles and certain points of the spatial continuum, causing one to be 'sucked' at relativistic speed toward that area while in a quantum state that ignores most physical obstacles, save for certain types of force-fields. Spatial redirection consists in, well, redirecting the process - as such, any teleportation occurring within a certain area will automatically lead to the redirected area, no matter where the teleporter actually meant to go.
As it happens...This entire building is one such area. And this," he points to a machine next to him, "is a teleporter."
Grinning from ear to ear, Dr Knack flips a switch.

The next instant, there is a blur, then you all find yourself - along with Knack and all the stuff that was in his lab - inside what looks like some kind of armored building. All around you, you see individuals that you recognize all too well. You've seen them enough times on the news."
"Crap." Improv's one-word sentence feels like an understatement.
Tsunami.
Graviton.
Stretch.
Combustion Man.
Drain.
Ammunition.
You are surrounded by the New Predators.
"Like I said, here they are" says Knack. "The heroes who were investigating Brick's death."

[Green Bean]

Hey, that guy looks famili-oh****. Okay, Danny, don't panic. Just think on your feet.

Leshii quickly takes a superelongated step towards Ammunition, and then attempts to grabs her with three of her newly sprouted arms. If they connect, they begin to surround and constrict the mercenary.

((Move and grapple

Incidentally, this post should be helpful if, like me, you're not entirely sure who's who))

[Mick_the_Rogue]

Powerhouse looks around from each person to person, and his shoulders slouch

"Never easy is it?" he says, muttering something under his breath "Someone long range deal with Drain...energy blaster deal with Stretcho...the rest...idea's are lovely" he says, looking towards FX or the others if they understood, then turned his attention forward again

"So...I take it the good doctor is a coward...how nice for him" he said turning around towards Knack "Really couldn't beat us alone? Had to ask for help? Wow...Truly a scary little man with a technology fetish you are" he says calmly

"If you had any balls..." he said leaving the sentence off at that

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet recovers swiftly from her wooziness and pushes herself back onto her feet. "Never easy, is it?" She then looks to Powerhouse and adds "Oh, sorry..." Her embarrassed look only lasts a moment, though, and was merely a feint while she drew herself up to full power again.With one mighty swing, she casts a ball of fire towards Stretch and elevates herself quickly into the air, going as high as she can.

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Guess I have to use that Hero Point then to remove the Fatigue. Sekhmet uses a fireball on Stretch (She's not actually using a Feint since that can only be done in melee) and flies up and clings to the roof so she's out of reach of Drain. Also;

Would it be alright for me to spend a Hero Point to have Sekhmet gain temporary use of the Transmutation power?

Yes.

[Zarthrax]

"Ah. And you - " he points at FX, then looks at his hands. "Heeeey. Are these kinetic control gauntlets?"

"Yeah, they are. Not quite as devastating as I'd hoped, but give me time."

The mad scientist then pulls out something that looks a bit like a raygun with a conical barrel, and aims it in FX's direction. "Allow me to introduce you to my graviton gun." The next instant, FX feels a strong pull that propels him several feet forward and inside the lab, just a few feet away from the force-field. You suspect it is only the recent training at the Academy that allowed you to maintain your balance.
"Perhaps not the most impressive gadget in my arsenal, but it will do" Dr Knack drones on. "Now tell me...Have any of you ever heard of spatial redirection? ((FX has.)) It was this idea studied in the field of teleportation. The latter, after all, works by creating a link between one's particles and certain points of the spatial continuum, causing one to be 'sucked' at relativistic speed toward that area while in a quantum state that ignores most physical obstacles, save for certain types of force-fields. Spatial redirection consists in, well, redirecting the process - as such, any teleportation occurring within a certain area will automatically lead to the redirected area, no matter where the teleporter actually meant to go.
As it happens...This entire building is one such area. And this," he points to a machine next to him, "is a teleporter."
Grinning from ear to ear, Dr Knack flips a switch.

The next instant, there is a blur, then you all find yourself - along with Knack and all the stuff that was in his lab - inside what looks like some kind of armored building. All around you, you see individuals that you recognize all too well. You've seen them enough times on the news."
"Crap." Improv's one-word sentence feels like an understatement.
Tsunami.
Graviton.
Stretch.
Combustion Man.
Drain.
Ammunition.
You are surrounded by the New Predators.
"Like I said, here they are" says Knack. "The heroes who were investigating Brick's death."

FX pinwheels his arms looking for something to hold onto, when suddenly he stops. Then Knack does his thing.

FX's interior monologue for this entire scene?

OhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOh crapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcr apOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrap OhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrap!

[sun_tzu]

"Yeah, they are. Not quite as devastating as I'd hoped, but give me time."



FX pinwheels his arms looking for something to hold onto, when suddenly he stops. Then Knack does his thing.

FX's interior monologue for this entire scene?

OhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOh crapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcr apOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrap OhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrap!

((While I commend you for this highly realistic reaction, shouldn't you also be posting an action? ))

[Zarthrax]

FX's brain whirls madly, trying to figure out what to do... OK, in over our heads, check. Super-genius who knew we were coming and has gadgets that make mine look like Tinker Toys, check. Out-numbered and outgunned, check. I've got two options here. I'll try The Grim Biker's idea... FX lines up a shot at Stretch Armstrong...

Attack Roll (1d20+6=23)

[sun_tzu]

"So...I take it the good doctor is a coward...how nice for him" he said turning around towards Knack "Really couldn't beat us alone? Had to ask for help? Wow...Truly a scary little man with a technology fetish you are" he says calmly

"If you had any balls..." he said leaving the sentence off at that

Knack, amused, rolls his eyes. "Oh, come on, Mr...Powerhouse, right? I've watched the Back to the Future movies too. If I was really stupid enough to fall for this kind of taunt, I wouldn't still be standing here after all these years, now would I?"


((Initiative:
Drain
Leshii
Tsunami
Improv
Stretch
Ammunition
FX
Graviton
Powerhouse
Sekhmet
Combustion Man))

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty!" With surprising speed, Drain rushes toward Sekhmet. Fast as he is, though, she's already in the air by the time he reaches her. He then proceeds to jump at a wall, then jump from it toward her. It is only at the last fraction of a second that the feline heroine manages to get out of his way - his energy-draining finger nearly brushing against her fur. Mid-air, he encounters some kind of grenade thrown at him by Improv...which he manages to kick toward the other end of the room before it explodes, throwing some kind of net around.
In the meanwhile, Leshii's elongated arms move quick as lightning, and grab Ammunition's wrists. In response, the amazon rolls backwards, simultaneously freeing herself and kicking Leshii in the chin. The kick isn't a big deal for her, but the next instant, Ammunition aims her weird gun at her and shoots. Whatever it was, it packs quite a punch - and it hurts. ((Bruised and Injured))
"I guess it falls to me to clean up." Tsunami raises a hand, and in the next instant, several cubic meters of water appears out of thin air and rush at Powerhouse like an incoming train. You had no idea water could hit so hard. You find yourself at the other end of the room, floating inside a large blob of water. Your feet are not touching anything solid, making it somewhat hard to move. Also, you can't breath. ((But I'll let you post an action at the end of the round, since you didn't put any in your post.))
"Nighty-night, leaguer!" says Stretch, as he expands his right fist and elongates his arm, hurling it at Improv. His punch is, however, blocked by the mechanical sphere flying around the hero. In frustration, Stretch grabs the device and throws it to the other end of the room...Which is when a kinetic blast from FX nails him on the chest and slams him against the wall. "You just made it into my list, kiddo." he snarls.
Wordlessly, Graviton, hovering a couple of feet above the air in his futuristic suit, sends a gravitic distorsion at Sekhmet. It hurts even more than the fight with Celerity - you feel as if very part of your body was being torn appart from all the others ((Stunned, Bruised, Injured)). For a few seconds, your vision blurs as you plummet to th ground...where Combustion Man, like a walking pillar of fire, jumps upon you and grapples you. He is ridiculously strong...but at least, he doesn't seem aware of your fire immunity. ((You can still act this round if you spend a Hero Point to shake off your stunned condition, but otherwise, post your action for the next round.))

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet, who quickly sees that her team is at a losing vantage and that she is at the mercy of the melee fighters, decides to try another technique. "Powerhouse! Leshii! Um... Smart guy! Pull your socks up!" She yells and tries to draw up as much power as she can. Ignoring the pain in her ribs from the punch she draws her arms out and her entire body ignites in flame. "The fires of justice need their fuel!" She yells in an attempt at coming up with a battlecry. Then, from her, a wide blast of flames spreads outwards, knocking back all in its path. However, she was not aiming for the villains, not directly. The blast was aimed at the roof and the floor, and, considering she burned a hole through it before, she's hoping she can do it again and bring down a good portion of this building, making the battle significantly easier.

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My goodness, I'm burning through Hero Points... Applying the Area Extra to a Fireball to try and blast apart the roof, floor, and walls. Essentially to demolish as much of the building as possible and smack a few of the villains too. She tries to use it so that it doesn't affect her team-mates too. If possible, she also tries to get as much of Knack's equipment in the blast radius as possible too, but her primary targets are the roof and floor.

A Hero Point spent to cover the stunned condition, the Extra Effort for that fireball. That brings it up to 3 I've used in this section, right? 2 remaining...

[sun_tzu]

((Keep in mind, you're not in Knack's lab anymore...You've all been teleported into what looks like the armored lair of the New Predators. So, whether or not you can blast the walls and roof remains to be seen.
As for Hero Points, keep in mind that this is 2nd edition...You got one HP at the start of this chapter, then were given another one for beating the mystics. I don't remember...when did you actually spend Hero Points in this chapter?))

[Axelgear]

((Awww, dang... As for using them, I thought I used it for a chained fireball earlier, but I guess that was last chapter. I guess this makes it my second use then.

Edit: Also, how high are the ceilings here?))

[Green Bean]

Ow, that...that hurt. Not a normal gun, then.

One of Leshii's hands formed into a fist, quickly expanding until her entire body was standing next to Ammunition. "That hurt, you techophiliac! I'm gonna kill you for that!" Leshii launches a wild punch at the mercenary, clearly blind with rage, and hopefully stops as one of her alternate arms calmly disarms her foe.

((Free action to retract, Feint as a move action, then Disarm attempt))

[sun_tzu]

((Awww, dang... As for using them, I thought I used it for a chained fireball earlier, but I guess that was last chapter. I guess this makes it my second use then.

Edit: Also, how high are the ceilings here?))

((What was your first use?
As for the ceiling, it's twelve to fifteen feet high.))

[Mick_the_Rogue]

Powerhouse laughs and looks towards Knack "I'm not really that much of a Hero...I'm really just a long string of movie references-crap..." he says being hurtled towards the other end of the room. He is phased for a moment feeling water begin to enter his helmet

Crap...stuck in a water bubble...nothing to get me out...nothing to make myself bounce off of....think....Newtons laws...buoyancy...if I could increase my weight, I'd sink to the bottom...no way to do that...wait...that weird science stuff...the hypermass balls he thought grabbing two of the metallic balls, increasing his weight to sink down to the bottom. At which point he'd use all of the might in his legs to jump out of the water bubble, and towards Tsunami if he could to bash her in the face

[Axelgear]

((What was your first use?
As for the ceiling, it's twelve to fifteen feet high.))

((To eliminate the Fatigue from the Extra Effort to bind Knack. Also, it seems people are getting innovative))