Hero Academy #2: Whodunit

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet watches Powerhouse with what might be called respect. However, she's frequently distracted by looking about the room. After a moment, Sekhmet begins to rub her head and groan softly, as if in some sort of pain. She then rubs her forehead and quickly realizes what's going on and doesn't move her palms away from her face. Regardless, she still seems to be looking about...

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X-Ray Vision

[Zarthrax]

FX says nothing and just stands there, looking impassively ahead. His mind, on the other hand, is going a mile-a-minute making plans and rejecting them just as fast. Set the place on fire? No, too many civilians. Hypermagnetic resonance field? No, people like having the Statue of Liberty. Take it when she isn't looking? No, not sneaky enough. Portal it away? ....Maybe....

[sun_tzu]

FX says nothing and just stands there, looking impassively ahead. His mind, on the other hand, is going a mile-a-minute making plans and rejecting them just as fast. Set the place on fire? No, too many civilians. Hypermagnetic resonance field? No, people like having the Statue of Liberty. Take it when she isn't looking? No, not sneaky enough. Portal it away? ....Maybe....

((Um, Zarthrax, why exactly is your superhero character contemplating theft? ))

Sekhmet watches Powerhouse with what might be called respect. However, she's frequently distracted by looking about the room. After a moment, Sekhmet begins to rub her head and groan softly, as if in some sort of pain. She then rubs her forehead and quickly realizes what's going on and doesn't move her palms away from her face. Regardless, she still seems to be looking about...

Spoiler

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Your X-ray vision allows you to see past the walls easily. People actively working in the kitchen. A couple in the supply closet...engaging in activities not fit to describe here. Gamblers playing cards in a back room. Three guys apparently using drugs in another back room. A very large room downstairs with an over-sized boxing ring and spectator benches.

Powerhouse shrugged and looked towards the eager man

"Respect is only given if it is received...For instance...I currently respect, the one Mr. Lam there more than you. He's willing to see a business opportunity that would be beneficial to him and doesn't speak out of turn...nor does your better with the sword either...so please, be silent" he said turning towards Lam

"You'll forgive me, I'm far more used to dealing with your Sicilian counterparts, and with them, I wouldn't hesitate to throw down this hypermass ball" he said tossing it up into the air again "Which would then probably destroy the building...nor would I waste my breath trying to speak with them, they're less...refined that you are" he said looking around the room briefly, tossing the ball in the air again Not in fashion sense perhaps though...


"Besides...If I came in kissing your ass, you'd not trust me at all, I'm being honest with you, a rarity. I'd much rather someone be honest to me, than to kiss my ass in a false display of respect and honor, merely waiting for a moment to strike" he said with a glance towards the prior man, taking a deep breath before continuing, his voice reverberating slightly from his own helmet

"You talk of a smart move...you're an intelligent man...I highly doubt you'd want another Brick to come in and ruin your facilities...let alone the creature that spawned him" he said looking back towards the eager man

"We could, of course, fight, and even if you should win, you'll have a lot of losses and collateral damage, and publicity, never a good thing for a crime boss...Or we could arrange a deal. One that gives us information about Brick, and gives you a little more...breathing room shall we say?" he said, throwing the hypermass ball up in the air again "A win for you on two fronts...assuming you're willing to forgo a moment of disrespect...and more trouble than either of us want right now" the ball falling back down into his hand Though I am curious to see what the sword would do...

Lam seems to hesitate. "You seem awfully concerned about Brick. Last time I checked, the dead don't come back. Except for the Avatar of course" he quickly adds.
"Boss, you can't seriously let them walk away!" says one of the thugs. "If we let capes walk into here and go out easily, nothing's sacred anymore!"
"I dunno, Mr Lam" says another guy, "Brick did give us trouble. It might be wise to try to find out more, and fighting with these guys isn't going to help us at all..."
"Bah!" the eager thug clearly disagrees. "Brick is dead. Are you saying the Mountain Master should be afraid of dead men, or these capes?"
"No-no, but..."
Lam has apparently decided he's heard enough. "Silence. We are Sanhehui, Triad Society. Here, we are the law. Neither the New Predators nor some jumped-up capes have their place here. Lady Sting, deal with them."
"No." Lady Sting's answer is enough to shut up all the other thugs.
"Excuse me?" Lam's expression is...memorable.
"I will not follow your order, Abe Lam." she says matter-of-factly.
"You..."
"Like you said, we are Sanhehui; no-one has any business ordering us around. But when Brick came here and threatened your pathetic life, you folded like tissue paper."
"I..."
"Silence!" the suddenness of the shout makes it all the more effective. "You accepted for us to become little more than the lackeys of a common thug! You have failed your duties as Mountain Master! The Triads have dealt with supervillains for generations; what exactly gave you the right to betray our honor like that?!"
"Brick's power..."
"Excuses! You put your pitiful life before the triad's honor, and now you expect me to keep fighting for you?"
The remaining thugs mostly seem as surprised as Lam. A few seem amused - some might even be trying not to snicker. Sting goes on:
"Fight your own fights, Mountain Master, and wash your honor in blood. We have an arena downstairs, and we have five capes. Pick four men to fight by your side. If you win, I will concede that you have cleaned your honor, and my fate will be in your hands. If you lose, then you're out, as you deserve to be."
"But...being Mountain Master has nothing to do with..." one of the thugs begins to protest.
Whish. You barely see a flash as Lady Stings draws out her sword and puts it against the man's neck. "Oh, by all means, go ahead and voice any disagreement that you have", she says with a wide smile.
He does nothing but look down at the blade.
Lady Sting puts her sword back, and turns to you. "You want to know more about Brick? Fine. Beat this dog, and you will know everything we know about Brick."
Lam seems to hesitate, but then realizes that Sting really isn't giving him much of a choice if he wants to keep his current position.

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet only half-listens to all of this, hands moving away from her reddening face as she stares continuously and vacantly at a part of the wall. On occasion, she giggles or gasps quietly. It is the drawing of the blade that snaps Sekhmet back, her eyes glowing blue. Quickly, she blinks twice and they return to normal, sparks of ethereal energy flitting away from her like floating tears.

"Huh? What's going on?" Sekhmet asks Powerhouse quickly, looking up at him and then the iaijutsu-mastering femme fatale. "I was distracted examining the place. They've got drugs, gambling, a kitchen, and a boxing ring downstairs, and.... Some other stuff not worth mentioning. Y'know, storage rooms and stuff. Nothing special."

[Mick_the_Rogue]

Powerhouse leans to the side to speak with Skehmet

"Politics is what's going on. We're providing an easy out for them given their current amount of internal strife, us fighting their leader to prove his worth is an effective means of preventing a Triad civil war...though thy do that often enough" he said looking back up "I think we don't have to fight Lady Sting on the bright side...which is sad because I wanted to see that sword in action...and that..." he shook his head, regaining his composure

"So whattaya guys think? Sounds simple enough...might be a good thing to do, in the grand scheme of things" he said in a hushed whisper

[sun_tzu]

Powerhouse leans to the side to speak with Skehmet

"Politics is what's going on. We're providing an easy out for them given their current amount of internal strife, us fighting their leader to prove his worth is an effective means of preventing a Triad civil war...though thy do that often enough" he said looking back up "I think we don't have to fight Lady Sting on the bright side...which is sad because I wanted to see that sword in action...and that..." he shook his head, regaining his composure

"So whattaya guys think? Sounds simple enough...might be a good thing to do, in the grand scheme of things" he said in a hushed whisper

"I think we can take them" whispers Improv. "Even if Lam really is meta, and gets four more metas, odds are none of them have had their powers for all that long...and even if we lose, I don't think they'll dare kill us. Not worth the trouble.
Gotta say that I wasn't expecting Sting's move there. Guess she's the double-or-nothing type."

[Green Bean]

Five guys? Dang, this lady is good.

Leshii drops her hologram act (but not her disguised shape), and joins in with Skehmet and Powerhouse's discussion.

"Normally, I'd be in favour of a Triad civil war, but information on Brick is the priority. I say we kick their butts."

[Zarthrax]

((Um, Zarthrax, why exactly is your superhero character contemplating theft? ))

FX's calculations pull into a dead stop, just about the same time as Lam's proverbial Leadership train. For once, the supergenius is just kinda dumbfounded by the situation... Note to self. She has REALLY good reaction times....


((Never know when it might come in handy... Plus, I actually wasn't gonna steal it. ))

[Mick_the_Rogue]

Powerhouse makes a nod and then turns back towards Lady Sting "We accept your offer..whenever the little hill boy is ready" he said looking towards Lam, catching the hypermass ball and placing it on his belt effortlessly. He looked back towards the others with a nod and then back towards Lady Sting.

"Any specific rules for this? Apart from trying not to destroy your hideout?" he said folding his arms in a defensive position

[sun_tzu]

Powerhouse makes a nod and then turns back towards Lady Sting "We accept your offer..whenever the little hill boy is ready" he said looking towards Lam, catching the hypermass ball and placing it on his belt effortlessly. He looked back towards the others with a nod and then back towards Lady Sting.

"Any specific rules for this? Apart from trying not to destroy your hideout?" he said folding his arms in a defensive position

"The five of you. Lam and four of us of his choosing. An arena downstairs" she leads the way.

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet is clearly curious about this, but smiles "Neat. I could use a good fight." Trying to look as menacing as possible, she smacks her fist into her palm a few times and cracks her knuckles before wincing hard "Ow, ow, oooow!" She whines, shaking her hand and blowing on it to try and calm the pain.

Eventually, she looks to Lady Sting "Hey... Uh... If... Say... A fireball goes off in this battle and damages the place, what would you do?"

[sun_tzu]

Sekhmet is clearly curious about this, but smiles "Neat. I could use a good fight." Trying to look as menacing as possible, she smacks her fist into her palm a few times and cracks her knuckles before wincing hard "Ow, ow, oooow!" She whines, shaking her hand and blowing on it to try and calm the pain.

Eventually, she looks to Lady Sting "Hey... Uh... If... Say... A fireball goes off in this battle and damages the place, what would you do?"

"You're not the first superhumans to use the arena" she replies tersely.
The arena downstairs is relatively large - about 35 feet wide. Benches all around to watch, and even some cameras. Most of you have heard rumors about fight competitions of dubious legal status going on in places like this.
Lam seems to have chosen his four men: The over-eager thug, the "nothing's sacred anymore" thug, a guy who looks like a weightlifter, and a younger-looking guy - he can't be a year over twenty - who looks a bit like a Chinese Dicaprio. They step up on the ring.

[Green Bean]

Leshii dropped into a combat stance. She wasn't an expert by any means, but she had taken several police-sponsored self defence courses. Besides, she was good at moving unexpectedly.

[Mick_the_Rogue]

Powerhouse nodded once seeing the opponents, and then turned towards the others before entering the arena

"Ok...we've got one guy's likely likely superstrength...and four unknowns...though with a name like mountain master I can guess." he said with a pause beginning to whisper

"Gaget boys, once we begin, do what you do best, trying to keep them occupied and in place...Skehmet...you're on long range, take out who you can...Leeann?...Lucy? whatever the hell your name is...support, help out where you can...I'll make a nice little vibration to start...I call Lam" he said with a nod to see if everyone understood

[Green Bean]

Leshii nods."Support, got it. And it's Leshii."

[sun_tzu]

though with a name like mountain master I can guess.

((Actually, "Mountain Master" is Triad-speak for "gang boss" ))

[Mick_the_Rogue]

((Meh, he's assuming...))

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet just grins and forms a ball of flame in her palms and her smile swifly becomes menacing as she shapes it in her hands secretively.

"Right. You've got Lam, I'll strafe 'em all. Mind if I start? I have a surprise for them..." She smirks and then readies into a throwing stance, eyes prowling their way across the group before starting to turn blood red once more.

Spoiler

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If Powerhouse says yes, Sekhmet uses a Hero Point to create an Area Fireball that will wrap around every one of the enemies, followed by a normal shot at the young triad

[sun_tzu]

Sekhmet just grins and forms a ball of flame in her palms and her smile swifly becomes menacing as she shapes it in her hands secretively.

"Right. You've got Lam, I'll strafe 'em all. Mind if I start? I have a surprise for them..." She smirks and then readies into a throwing stance, eyes prowling their way across the group before starting to turn blood red once more.

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If Powerhouse says yes, Sekhmet uses a Hero Point to create an Area Fireball that will wrap around every one of the enemies, followed by a normal shot at the young triad

((Using a Hero Point for an area shot is acceptable (although, keep in mind, this is 2nd edition now, so the rules for Hero Points are a bit different). You can't follow up with a second attack in the same round, though.))

[Green Bean]

((Wait, so we've switched to 2nd Edition Hero Point rules early?))

[sun_tzu]

((Wait, so we've switched to 2nd Edition Hero Point rules early?))

((There's a reason I provided those 2nd ed character sheets on the OOC thread! ))

[Green Bean]

((Sweet! Mind if I switch around a few things before combat starts?))

[sun_tzu]

((Sweet! Mind if I switch around a few things before combat starts?))

((Just say what changes you want to make in the OOC thread. I imagine the fight will start when Zarthrax posts his action.))

[Mick_the_Rogue]

Powerhouse nodded "Fine by me...We all set?...Let's do it" he said turning around back towards the bad guys looking towards Lady Sting "We're ready..." he said with a nod. At her go ahead, he'd wait for Skehmet to do her fireball, before slamming the ground at the opposing team, hopefully sending them to the ground...

[Green Bean]

Leshii prepares to support the rest of her allies by keeping the one of the thugs occupied. As soon as Sekhmet and Powerhouse have their fun, she'll move in close and start twisting around the DiCaprio.

((Move action to get next to the DiCaprio, then grapple))

[Zarthrax]

FX thumbs a switch on his belt, then nods at Powerhouse. "No prob." He then smiles at the weight lifter. "To quote a very good movie, 'Can you fly, Bobby?'"

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An attempt to open a portal under him, and drop him onto 'Nothing's Sacred' guy.

[Axelgear]

When Sekhmet gets the indication that everyone is ready, she takes a step or two back and drops into a ready stance. On the cue to go, she leaps forward the distance of these steps and spins in the air before casting a ball of burning energy right into the heart of the bad guys. It immediately expands with a roaring noise, spinning and grinding against them before collapsing. "Suffer, mortals!" She yells with a wicked grin, watching to see the result.

[sun_tzu]

((Initiative:
Improv
Leshii
nothing's sacred thug
Sekhmet
FX
Lam
Dicaprio thug
Powerhouse
eager thug
big thug))

As the fight begins, Improv throws a dart-like device in the triads' direction. A few feet into the air, the dart suddenly sends a very bright flash of light in their direction; they all close their eyes for a moment and emit yelps of pain.
"Nothing's Sacred", who apparently managed to blink at the right moment, jumps in the air, fist extended forward - then, suddenly, accelerates to fantastic speeds toward Sekhmet. It is only her amazing reflexes that allow the feline heroine to get out of the attack's way as it hits the ground, causing it to shake. Sekhmet, as she completes her dodging move, sends a fireball that explodes among the rest of the triads; most of them saw the fireball right before Improv's flash, and had the good reflex to jump out of the way, but still get somewhat burned; Eager Thug was caught right in the middle, but none of his burns seem incapacitating, while the big guy doesn't look like he was really hurt.
While the big guy barely avoids falling through FX's wormhole, Lam raises his hand, and screams, "DIE, CAPE!" as a blast of energy flies from him toward Improv. Despite being currently blinded, he manages (either by luck or by skill) to aim in the right direction. The blast, however, never reaches its target, as Improv's little flying ball puts itself in the way, blocking the attack.
The Dicaprio thug sees Leshii moving at him, but doesn't dodge. Once she has grappled him, he grins, then suddenly begins vibrating like a weapon-grade diapason. The vibrations shake Leshii badly - you feel like there are jackhammers working over your entire body, and your nose is bleeding - but the heroine's elastic nature allows her to take the brunt of the attack without letting go.
By striking the ground at the right angle ((normally this just affects the area around you, but I'll let it pass this time)), Powerhouse causes a powerful ripple that moves toward Lam and the big guy. Lam falls over, but the big guy makes a superhuman leap toward Powerhouse, sending a super-strong haymaker...that isses its target, due to a combination of his temporary semi-blindness and Powerhouse taking a step to the right.

[Green Bean]

Dang it! Why did I have to pick the human paint mixer!

Leshii shakes her head to clear the vibrations, then focuses back in on her opponent. Four more arms sprout from her shoulders and join the first pair in encircling her foe. When he's held in place, her back grows another limb, the tip of which was incredibly dense. The appendage curves up and around her head, aiming right for DiCaprio's face.

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet, determined to not let anyone get away with attacking her, quickly moves up just off the ground, hovering out of arms reach of her attacker, before quickly formulating another fireball. She holds it for a moment, and watches, and waits, and a sly grin crosses her features. She then draws up her other hand and raises it as well, creating a second ball of flame in dramatic display, then thrusting her hands down. When she sees her opponent flinch, she smiles, and then, and only then does a shot of flame rush forth from the tip of her tail like a seering whip.

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Sekhmet flies up 10 feet, feints, and then uses another fireball, targeting the guy who attacked her