Hero Academy #2: Whodunit

[sun_tzu]

As your group heads toward the Golden Dawn building, Improv muses on what has happened.
"I have to admit I wasn't expecting the trick Lady Sting pulled back there. Risky gambit, but it worked - I just can't see her not becoming the new mountain Master now. Guess that makes her the mobster to watch out for now.
I can't say I'm looking forward to facing Golden Dawn, if it's really them. I usually count on Dr Hex for mystical stuff."
You reach the building. From the looks of it, you're guessing the place used to be a motel a long time ago. Right now, the building doesn't look too good.

[Green Bean]

Leshii shifted back to her earlier form after she was sure none of the mobsters can see. "Good point. Is there any way we can make it tougher for her to consolidate her power? Spread some rumours, make it look like the deal we made went beyond some one-time information?"

((At the Hideout))

"I have to admit, if someone asked me to picture a wizard's hideout, this would be pretty much the exact opposite."

[sun_tzu]

Leshii shifted back to her earlier form after she was sure none of the mobsters can see. "Good point. Is there any way we can make it tougher for her to consolidate her power? Spread some rumours, make it look like the deal we made went beyond some one-time information?"

"Judging from what we just saw, I suspect she might be better at this game than us. But, I'll definitely tell both the police and my contacts to watch her closely."

((At the Hideout))

"I have to admit, if someone asked me to picture a wizard's hideout, this would be pretty much the exact opposite."

"Heh. Well, Golden Dawn has seen better days..."

((I haven't gotten into the details of this yet, but, not all that long ago (a year? Something like that), Golden Dawn committed the tragic mistake of picking a fight with Global Might. It was a massacre - for all their mystical power, Global Might decimated them all across the globe. It's estimated that half their members were killed before Global Might stopped - and the experts have theorized that Global Might only stopped because Professor Cryo told them to. Golden Dawn are his main magic-oriented allies.))

[Axelgear]

"Well, Father Time really took a bat to this place..." Sekhmet says with a frown, eyes scanning the building, glowing blue for a moment, tracing their way along the walls slowly as if looking for some trace of anything suspicious.

Spoiler

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Hurray for X-Ray Vision!

[sun_tzu]

"Well, Father Time really took a bat to this place..." Sekhmet says with a frown, eyes scanning the building, glowing blue for a moment, tracing their way along the walls slowly as if looking for some trace of anything suspicious.

Spoiler

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Hurray for X-Ray Vision!

Spoiler

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The place looks almost as bad on the inside as the outside. Mostly empty...Except for one room on the second floor. Plenty of what looks like mystical paraphernalia, including some kind of big symbol drawn on the floor with some powder, and three guys in cloaks sitting around it.

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet frowns at something and then quickly hovers into the air, looking at the group and uttering a quick "I'll be right back!" before dashing up through the air towards the building. This hurried flight has a stutter or two, where she dips in the air but she finds her footing quickly.

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If the building has windows/no visible security, Sekhmet goes the most direct and visible path towards this room. If it has a security system, she goes to the front door. If they're not willing to let her in, she flies up and goes through the wall.

[Zarthrax]

"I have to admit, if someone asked me to picture a wizard's hideout, this would be pretty much the exact opposite."

FX quirks his head. "Why would you say that? Granted, magic types can make you give them your money, but you can't patent really useful spells. That's your main money maker right there. Other people needing your stuff to make their stuff. Logically, all magic types live in Motel 6s."

[Green Bean]

FX quirks his head. "Why would you say that? Granted, magic types can make you give them your money, but you can't patent really useful spells. That's your main money maker right there. Other people needing your stuff to make their stuff. Logically, all magic types live in Motel 6s."

"Yeah, but they're magical. Can't they just wave their hands and conjure up a giant evil tower or something?"

[Zarthrax]

"Not unless they're VERY high powered. I don't care how much they may subscribe to non-Euclidean geometry. The laws of physics require a lot of energy to break, no matter where you get the energy from."

[sun_tzu]

"Not unless they're VERY high powered. I don't care how much they may subscribe to non-Euclidean geometry. The laws of physics require a lot of energy to break, no matter where you get the energy from."

((Fascinating how much FX knows about how magic works in the setting. Despite, you know, my not going into details about it at any point. ))

Sekhmet frowns at something and then quickly hovers into the air, looking at the group and uttering a quick "I'll be right back!" before dashing up through the air towards the building. This hurried flight has a stutter or two, where she dips in the air but she finds her footing quickly.

((Er...From the given text, you first try the door? I think?))
The front door appears to be locked.

[Green Bean]

Leshii grins. "'It's tough to break the laws of physics,' the man with the teleporter gun said to the woman who can grow legs out her nose. Ah well, I guess magic doesn't always live up to its hype." Leshii watches as Sekhmet flies up to the second floor. "Uh, is it a good idea to let her go in alone? I've seen enough movies to know that it's usually a bad idea."

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet frowns and then hovers up towards the second floor. Placing her hand against it, she judges its strength, leers back, and...

Spoiler

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Depending on whether there's a window or not:

If there's a window:
She checks to see if the window is open. If it isn't, she breaks it open and goes straight towards the ritual room.

If there isn't a window:
She blasts a hole in the wall. I believe she has a very high strength and would do more damage with a punch, but if that's not true, she uses a fireball

[sun_tzu]

Sekhmet frowns and then hovers up towards the second floor. Placing her hand against it, she judges its strength, leers back, and...

Spoiler

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Depending on whether there's a window or not:

If there's a window:
She checks to see if the window is open. If it isn't, she breaks it open and goes straight towards the ritual room.

If there isn't a window:
She blasts a hole in the wall. I believe she has a very high strength and would do more damage with a punch, but if that's not true, she uses a fireball

As it turns out...the walls of this building aren't that thick. A punch from Sekhmet creates a large breach in the second floor's wall.

Sekhmet:

Spoiler

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You see the three cloaked guys jump out of their positions around the symbol in surprise. One of them, however, recovers quickly, begins pronouncing some weird words in no language you recognize, and...and...
Suddenly, nothing makes sense anymore. Black is white, white is green, dead is alive and tango doomsday banana messy. ((stunned))

The rest of you see Sekhmet punch a large hole through the wall. Then, you hear somebody speaking up there - followed by Sekhmet falling to the ground, spasming and gibbering, her eyes out of focus.

[Green Bean]

"Called it." Half-expecting something bad to happen when Sekhmet broke open the wall, Leshii leaped into action. Recognizing the need to both figure out the threat and defeat it, she stretches her neck out into the breach.

If she sees the threat, she won't stop there, continuing to elongate until her head is able to attack the most dangerous looking mystic. Then, just as swiftly, she concentrates, and her head snaps back into normal proportions. She then relays what she saw.

((or, to simplify, Elongation to stretch to the threat, attack, snap back, and report))

[sun_tzu]

"Called it." Half-expecting something bad to happen when Sekhmet broke open the wall, Leshii leaped into action. Recognizing the need to both figure out the threat and defeat it, she stretches her neck out into the breach.

If she sees the threat, she won't stop there, continuing to elongate until her head is able to attack the most dangerous looking mystic. Then, just as swiftly, she concentrates, and her head snaps back into normal proportions. She then relays what she saw.

((or, to simplify, Elongation to stretch to the threat, attack, snap back, and report))

((All right, as soon as everyone else posts their actions. Fair warning, though: Extensive use of head-butts can cause brain damage over the years, or, more commonly, Stun Hits. ))

[Green Bean]

((All right, as soon as everyone else posts their actions. Fair warning, though: Extensive use of head-butts can cause brain damage over the years, or, more commonly, Stun Hits. ))

((I'm not afraid of braining my damage! (besides, I'm a shapeshifter; who says my brain's in my head? ))

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet just shudders a bit and twitches. When she can finally move again, she tries to sit up and speak, but all that comes out is garbled verbiage that doesn't make sense. She just rests on the ground, clutching her head and staring at her hands. "Hey! Knock ground! Home there guys sky hit fall there! Flee there wall door! Stop... Unh..." Sekhmet then just groans softly in pain and dizziness and flops backwards onto the ground, face still in her hands.

[Zarthrax]

((Fascinating how much FX knows about how magic works in the setting. Despite, you know, my not going into details about it at any point. ))

((It's amazing what you can find on the internet, innit? Nah, he just reads a lot of fantasy and sci-fi. For ideas, mainly. That and Lovecraft.))

Leshii grins. "'It's tough to break the laws of physics,' the man with the teleporter gun said to the woman who can grow legs out her nose. Ah well, I guess magic doesn't always live up to its hype." Leshii watches as Sekhmet flies up to the second floor. "Uh, is it a good idea to let her go in alone? I've seen enough movies to know that it's usually a bad idea."

"Don't worry about it. She is relatively invulnerable and can throw fireballs."


THUMP.

"Then again, maybe a better plan is in order..."

BAMF!

((Teleport up to the hole, and take a potshot at the gaudiest lookin' fella in the room.))

[sun_tzu]

((Still waiting for Powerhouse's action.))

[sun_tzu]

((Well, Christmas break is over, so hopefully we can get back to the action.
Still waiting for Powerhouse's action. If Mick doesn't post soon, I'll choose his action for him.))

[sun_tzu]

((Not sure what's with Mick, but, we've waited more than long enough.))

((Initiative:
Mystic
Sekhmet
Leshii
FX
Mystic
Improv
Mystic
Powerhouse))

As Leshii's head reaches the room, she sees it is full of mystical paraphernalia. Some strange symbol is drawn on the floor with an unidentified powder. Most importantly, there are three cloaked guys in there, one of whom points a finger at you...and lets out an electric blast, which misses you by discomfortingly little, ending up in a nearby lamppost. A powerful headbutt sends him flying back; the room's door breaks as he goes through it, landing in the corridor.
FX teleports in, and shoots a blast of kinetic energy at the second mystic. The shot misses, smashing down a wall instead; the mystic's response is to hurl at you what looks like a blast of pure darkness - some form of negative energy, you think. At least, that's what you think for the split second between the shot and impact, because the darkness breaches your shields and overwhelms you, making you feel as if every vital function in your body was shutting down simultaneously ((one lethal hit, unconscious)).
Improv catches the sphere that has been flying around him all along and lets it drag him upward and into the room. Once there, he pulls out yet another gadget and sends a sonic blast at the second mystic. The latter appears hurt, but remains standing.
Powerhouse jumps inside the room. The third mystic, upon seeing this, grabs a dressing drawer, lifts it effortlessly, and brings it crashing down on the hero's head. While the display of raw strength is surprising, Powerhouse is unhurt, and uppercuts the mystic, sending him headfirst through the ceiling.

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet, whose mind is slowly starting to recover enough to let her fight, quickly levitates up to the room as soon as she is able and, through the daze of a headache, manages to try and throw a fireball at the nearest mystic.

[Green Bean]

Leshii, at the edge of the fray, decides to get a little more up close and personal. Her arms extend up to the wall breach. Grabbing the edge to use as an anchor, she abruptly returns to normal proportions, propelling herself violently through the breach, and into the second mystic, attempting to drive a weighted knee into his face.

((just to specify, this is a normal attack with some fancy description; I'm not actually going for a Slam))

[sun_tzu]

((Has anyone heard from Mick_the_rogue? At this rate, we're just going to have to go through the whole fight scene without him...))

[Axelgear]

(Hide nor hair, I'm afraid...)

[sun_tzu]

((Sigh...))

Leshii successfully hits the second mystic. He is, however, surprisingly resilient - perhaps even superhumanly so. Somewhat disoriented, he attempts to hit the shape-shifting heroine with a wild swing; she dodges, and his fist leaves a small crack in the wall instead. He is then hit again by Improv's sonic blast, leaving him defenseless as Powerhouse unceremoniously bonks him on the head. As the mystic drops to the ground, a still-dazed Sekhmet flies up, just in time to see the first mystic, right outside the room, get up to his feet and cast a spell that causes metallic filaments to erupt across the room, trying to snare the heroes in it. His filaments are too slow, however; the heroes manage to evade their grasp, while Sekhmet blasts him with a fireball. He falls down, his clothes in ashes - oddly enough, he still seems alive.

"Whew. Is it just me, or did these guys have a small degree of super-strength?" asks Improv, as he revives FX and gives him first aid. "You know, I just noticed...something's seriously off here. There's a lot of mystical stuff, but not a single symbol of the Golden Dawn. Every Golden Dawn cabal I've ever seen had to put its mark on just about everything. I wonder..."

((Take a Hero Point each for winning the fight. May the investigation go onward!))

[Green Bean]

With all of the foes unconscious, Leshii grows several extra arms, wrapping them around the sorcerors' wrists and mouths in case any of them wake up.

"Well, they were definitely magical. So either these guys are Golden Dawn guys trying to hide their allegiance, or we're dealing with a completely different evil magical cult. Or a good one, I suppose. We didn't exactly knock."

Leshii gives the room a brief look. Assuming there's no book labelled "Evil Plans," she says, "I guess the easiest way would be to ask one of them," and checks to see if any of the mystics are conscious, or look like they can be made so.

[sun_tzu]

"If we're going to be interrogating them, then it's probably best to handle each one separately. I say we take two to another room and wake the third up." Improv then turns to Sekhmet: "Can you see if there's anyone else in the building?" ((there isn't, as far as you can tell.))

[Green Bean]

Leshii nods. "Good idea. Hang on..." She walks over to one of the mystics, and begins slowly dragging him into the next room.

"Little help here?"

[Axelgear]

Sekhmet just staggers a bit, clutching her head as she sways slowly, pained by the mental blow still. "Ooooo, I don't feel so good..." She murmured, her thoughts starting to reassemble themselves slowly but still finding her mind jumbled as she landed and leaned against the wall before slumping down and sitting on the ground with a sigh.