Heroes of Millaine IC 2 - Coming Soon to a Theater Near You!

[manwithaplan]

For a moment Tom didn't react. Then he performed a long, weighty, obvious blink.

"Okay, I'm very sorry. But here's the thing. I've currently got..."

He cocked his head to the side.

"Six?"

He nodded.

"Six guys. There are Heroes at your destination, and they're under attack by six Dreamers, I think, who are apparently...all about to level the building. So your best case scenario, which I'm willing to back, is that this is just an innocent business thing on your end and there's a third party in play."

Tom's tentacles slipped off of Ryana and retracted into his form with a snap, disappearing.

"So, as I said, I do have to let you go now. I'd recommend you don't proceed over there while we clear everything up, but it's your choice. I'm about to go and help my team, but for the sake of saying it, I'm willing to stay with you and watch you until the conflict is resolved if you believe you are personally in danger."

[Llyarden]

Wilson didn't skip a beat as the tracksuit-wearing man flew towards him, simply drifting around the man in a wide arc and landing besides Maestro. "How about you stop them from listening into everything we're saying over your telepathy?" he suggested, with more than a slight hint of irritation, hurling a disc of nanites at the redhead.

A moment later the air twisted and disgorged Sean, who spent a moment looking around at the fracas. "So what the heck are we all doing here in the first place?" he asked. He didn't bother trying to spook any of them, remembering how ineffective that had been the last time, and instead sprang at the telepath, cutting off her angle of escape and, hopefully, forcing her back towards Maestro and Waterworks (or at least, the patch on the ground that smelt like Waterworks.)

Spoiler: OOC

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Wilson:
Move: Fly into the fight proper.
Standard: Nanite Hunters on the speedster, accurate attacking for 2: (1d20+14)[20]. DC21 Toughness vs damage on a hit, with a secondary effect next round if it hits or Homing 1 if it misses. If nothing else it'll eat up the powerhouse's Interpose.

Sean:
Free: Teleport in.
Free: Switch to Alacrity.
Free?: Analytical Detect Physical/Emotional states just to double-check that these guys actually do smell like the last batch.
Move: Close with the telepath.
Standard: Harry The Prey on the telepath: (1d20+8)[27]. DC27 Defence vs Impaired & Vulnerable / Disabled & Defenceless and Weaken Toughness, none of which applies against Sean.


Status:
Wilson: Angry.
Sean: Fine.

[Capt. Infinity]

It was actually kind of hard to tell what even happened to Maestro in the wake of the fervent assault on his person. But he nonetheless made it out in one piece.

The powerhouse's strike caught Maestro straight in the face, which caused his telekinetic shield to ripple violently in its attempt to mitigate the unbelievable force behind the punch, which it does so to an actually quite respectable degree, all things considered.

The teleporter's assault got an equal treatment. The strikes, whilst not nearly as powerful individually as the powerhouse's were nonetheless plentiful enough that the combined effect caused moderate damage to the young genius's mental energy shield. Fending off the disorienting effect of it was far more of a success though, with Maestro's mind racing to keep track of the teleporter's rapidly shifting position with such absolute clarity that refocusing his kinetic field to fend off the telekinetic's grasp was well within his span of capability, albeit at the cost of some moderate mental strain.

He had just finished fending off the last of the teleporter's strikes when Wilson entered the scene, and derided him on his lack of security.

"Gah, sorry! These guys kinda got the drop on us. Besides, I wasn't even completely sure these guys had access to higher cognitive function, let alone planning skills." Maestro apologizes (not in the best way, but certainly better than he would have several months ago), and then proceeds to focus heavily, drawing on his mental modulation to not only seal up their own mental link, but also to open his telepathic earpiece outward, attempting to catch wind of these drug-enraged (and apparently fully cognizant???) Dreamers' mental coordination as well. Doing so requires him to divert power from the mental link, but he manages to send a message off to Copycat before he does so. ~You're going off the grid. Get to the motel as soon as you're done with Ryana!~

He then gets a determined look in his eye. "Well, I haven't really handled crowd control since the park incident." He murmurs to himself. "But now's a great opportunity to get in some practice!" The psychokinetic follows up on his declaration by slamming his foot down, and all around the other heroes could make out a distinctive line of cracked floor tiles, snaking its way across the room, and under the feet of every enemy therein. Maestro focuses, attempting to crush the attacking Dreamers under a blast of force whilst avoiding hitting his comrades in the process.

Spoiler: OOC

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Free Action: Modulation! 1 PP to grant Subtle 2 to the mental link, 6 PP from the Mental Link to bring Ranged, Acute, Accurate, Radius, and Detect [Minds] online for his Mindsense, and 1 PP to add Detect [Mental Communication] and Analytical on top of that (Hopefully that works. Let me know if it doesn't).

In addition, Maestro is going to add Shapeable Area to his Psychokinetic Strike, and is going to attack every enemy in the room (considering the Old Guy as a friend under these circumstances) for a DC 25 Toughness save against Damage.

[Zelphas]

Waterworks sees Sean's tactic and attempts to capitalize immediately, huge jets of water flying out to smash into the telepath. She swirls back into her "normal" form, nodding to Sean as her face appears. "You know the drugged Dreamers who attacked me a while back? I was trying to hunt down a lead on the source of that, and... stumbled into this, for the most part. Now that they can see me, they'll probably aim for me; I'm pretty sure whoever's behind this wants the Maelstrom for some reason." She shrugs, looking over the attacking people. "That's the short version. I'll fill in more details when we're done with these guys."

Spoiler: OOC

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Move Action: Nah.

Standard Action: Jet Spray on the Telepath, Defensive Attacking for 3: (1d20+9)[13] Damage DC 25+Multiattack, Fast Grab DC 22 on a hit.

Will vs. Secondary Effect Damage: (1d20+12)[27] Resists

Status: +3 to Active Defenses this turn.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 4

Copycat

Ryana got a kinda semi-shocked-semi-disbelieving look on her face. "Uh...yeah, no, go ahead. I'll be fine. I'll just, um, stay here until it's clear, I guess," she said. Her phone chimed.

Everyone Else

The hunters got within inches of the speedster. But then she elected to move and they went right past her. The telepath seemed to stumble some as she tried to react to Sean's attack - clearly, her tactical telepathy alerted her to his intent to force her back, but well, there wasn't actually anywhere else to really go when the alternative was Sean's rending claws. She moved right where he wanted, putting her right in line for a point-blank hit from Maestro's psychokinetic shockwave. She collapsed without a sound. The teleporter vanished as Maestro stomped the ground, reappearing once the shockwave had passed. The speedster reacted a touch slower, but still managed to escape the brunt of it. The telekinetic extended a hand, palm out, in Maestro's direction, aiming to block his blast power-to-power. It went as well for her as it did for literally everyone else who tried to have a psychic duel with Maestro Mentallo, the shockwave slamming into her and sending her staggering back, only somewhat ablated by her countering force.

Then the paragon came zooming in, straight for Wilson's back with both fists extended at ramming speed.

The powerhouse leaped at Sean, coming down with both hands laced together for a devastating meteor strike.

The telekinetic apparently didn't get the memo, because she went at Maestro with a focused pulse of telekinetic force that would also send him flying into Waterworks if he failed to counter, while ripples in the air around her allies indicated the readying of telekinetic interference.

The speedster and the teleporter, meanwhile, went at Waterworks directly, the former trying to zip past her tentacled guard to strike with a a rapid flurry, the blows individually weak but well there were something like a hundred of them at once so that helped. The teleporter blinked into position beside Waterworks, coming in with a sudden fast kick with the full force of her mass suddenly appearing behind it, before teleporting off a bit in hopes of avoiding any reprisals.

The old man, with great strategy and cunning, hid under the desk.

Spoiler

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Paragon:
Move: Into Close range of Wilson.
Standard: Attack Wilson with Ramming Speed at (1d20+10)[18]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage. Additionally, since he spent his move action moving into Close range before this attack, on a hit also roll Fortitude DC 20 vs. Cumulative Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated Affliction and Secondary Effect Weaken Toughness. Miss

Powerhouse:
Move: Into Close range of Sean.
Standard: Attack Sean with Smash at (1d20+6)[8]. On a hit, Toughness DC 29 vs. Damage, and if it fails to beat DC 24, also lose Toughness equal to the points below. Miss

Telekinetic:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack Maestro with Telekinetic Combat at (1d20+10)[11]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Strength DC 20 vs. being launched at Waterworks at (1d20+10)[30]. Waterworks gets Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage if that hits. In addition, all allies in 30' are Defended at 1d20+10 this round, but treating results of 10 or less as 10 rather than getting +10. Seriously, don't psychic duel Maestro, it's just silly.

Speedster:
Move: Not really.
Standard: Attack Waterworks with Death of a Thousand Cuts at (1d20+14)[16]. On a hit, Toughness DC 21+Multiattack vs. Damage, and if it fails to beat DC 16, also lose Toughness equal to the difference. Miss

Teleporter:
Move: None.
Standard: Teleport to and attack Waterworks with Blink Strike at (1d20+10)[16]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 20 vs. Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated Affliction. In addition, the teleporter receives a normal Deflect this round at 1d10+20, overriding the telekinetic's since it's the stronger of the two. Miss

Current Status

All PCs are on turn.

[manwithaplan]

"...Alright. Uh, just remember...Heroes of Millaine, and such. If you're a criminal and you take this opportunity to run off, we have a drinking game for tracking you down. Nice meeting you, though! You seem pretty fair."

His body began to dilute, becoming transparent and watery as it flowed back over into the manhole it had just come out of.

--

A fire hydrant, outside of the motel, suddenly sprouts a rather weird watery growth. It splashes out onto the parking lot and continues to extend from its source until all of Copycat's mass had revealed itself in water form, at which point it solidified. Running. He was bolting towards the office door, reaching out a hand as he did so.

Alright, I'm about to flood it with illusions. Listen to my calls, ignore what I tell you to. You all remember the calls, right?

On his mark, the room would descend into chaos. People swapping places, false scenery appearing out of nowhere (or real scenery disappearing), and...was that Copycat, in the fray, shooting fireballs?!

Spoiler: Actions

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Move Action: Follow the Current to outside of the motel.
Free Action: Switching to Valerie's Powers. Dream Shaping gets +1 rank and all modifiers, and then another +2 everything except Selective.
Standard Action: Dream Shaping, centred on the door. Everything in the radius makes a DC 12 Dodge save to negate and, failing that, a DC 12 Will Save against Cumulative Vulnerable/Stunned/Controlled. Both DCs are 21 for the five enemy Dreamers.
Free Action: Extra Effort - Action!
Standard Action: I do it again! Everybody rolls! Four times! No mercy!

Status: Fatigued next turn.

[Capt. Infinity]

Maestro didn't even display any effort this time around. He simply lazily raised a palm in defence. The surrounding area around Maestro, however, told a very different story, with he floor tiles cracking and shattering in a wide radius around the telekinetic, with a great deal of blowback behind it.

The area immediately around maestro's feet, however? 100% unharmed.

"Haha. No." Maestro declared, before turning his outstretched hand and crushing it, sympathetically attempting to grasp at the the throats of every foe on the scene in a synchronized, merciless, 100% not-copyrighted telekinetic chokehold. The illusions not even making him skip a beat as he attempted to perform yet another synonymous strike.

Spoiler: OOC

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Free Action: Revise all Modulation. Once again remove one rank of the Mental Link, adding on Rapid 1 for 1 PP, and then spending the following 20 PP on adding Area and Alternate Resistance [Fortitude] to Psychokinetic Strike. ...Or adding Increased Range [Perception] and the aforementioned Alternate Resistance to his Psychokinetic Slam. Either or.

Standard Action: Use the newly modulated Psychokinetic Synchro-choke to attack all enemies in the lobby. DC 25 Fortitude save against Damage.

[Zelphas]

Waterworks blinks as the drugged Dreamers pick out several targets among the group. "...Nevermind then. New orders, I guess."

As the Speedster begins her strike, Waterworks spreads herself thin, opening up small gaps in her form through which the Dreamer's punches sail without harming her. She condenses with a slurping noise, handily avoiding the kick from the Teleporter as she shrinks around the Speedster before her, crushing the Dreamer's limbs and tossing her into the pesky Telekinetic.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move Action: Nah.

Free Action: Swap to Maelstrom Fling!

Standard Action: Maelstrom Fling! On the Speedster, All-Out Attacking for 3, Power Attacking for 1. (1d20+14)[32] Improved Critical makes that a Crit!Damage DC 26 31, Strength or Flight DC 21 26 vs. Move Object on a hit. If she fails that roll, aiming to hit the Telekinetic at (1d20+14)[25], and he'll make a DC 26 Damage check as well.

Status: -3 to Active Defenses.

[Llyarden]

Wilson stepped casually aside from the paragon as he swooped down, taking a moment to communicate his knowledge across to the rest of the group as the disc of nanites swooped back at the speedster for a second try. ~All six of these people are publically registered with the Assembly. The guy under the desk is a technopath working for the Assembly in Verdania, so that bit of Ryana's story stands up at least, and the data she's got was from anonymous registrations, not public ones.~ He paused for a moment. ~Also, they're all reported missing, last seen three weeks ago. Should be obvious, but maybe let's not hurt them too much.~ Suiting action to words, he flicked a whip of nanites out towards the man who'd just tried to hit him.

Sean, meanwhile, twisted aside from the big man's punch and sprang at the telekinetic, slashing at her arms with his claws. It wouldn't do much more than leave scratches, but hopefully she'd instinctively defend herself - and lose a little control over her telekinetic protection of her allies in the process.

Spoiler: OOC

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Sean:
Move: Close with the telekinetic.
Standard: Harry the Prey on the telekinetic, all-out attacking for 5: (1d20+13)[17] 33. DC22 (actually the right DC this time!) Defence vs Impaired & Vulnerable / Disabled & Defenceless and Weaken Toughness.

Wilson:
Free: Homing attack on the speedster, still accurate attacking for 2: (1d20+14)[33], DC21 Toughness vs damage with a Secondary Effect if it hits this time.
Move: Nah.
Standard: Dissolution on the paragon, power attacking for 2: (1d20+12)[18], DC23 Defence (or Impervious) + Multiattack vs damage on a hit.

Status:
Wilson: Fine.
Sean: -5 to active defences.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 5

Copycat's cacophony of illusions proved little impediment to the powerhouse's augmented senses, and the telekinetic and teleporter managed to ignore them, but the speedster was at the least distracted by them. And the powerhouse? Well, he started vigorously punching the fire-throwing Copycat image.

The teleporter blinked away from Maestro's choke as soon as she felt it. The speedster likewise slipped away, despite the fact that that made significantly less sense when physical movement was involved. But speedsters defy logic like that all the time. The paragon and powerhouse quickly learned that invulnerable skin was of scant use against a telekinetic hold right on your windpipe, although they were hearty Dreamers and wouldn't be quickly choked out. The telekinetic managed to ablate the grip to some degree with her own power, but she couldn't force Maestro's grasp from her throat completely.

The paragon flew in the way of Waterworks' attack, sent reeling despite even his augmented resilience. However, his super-strength was a match for Waterworks' own, and he anchored himself against the throw without budging.

The telekinetic knocked Sean aside telekinetically, not seeming to spare much additional concentration on it. The speedster screamed as Wilson's hunters came back for their second pass and punched straight through her from behind, badly injuring her. Wilson's nanite whip spread an invisible film of nanites over the paragon, which immediately began eating away at him.

The paragon charged at Maestro and attacked with a hasted barrage of superpowered punches followed by a hard kick aimed to send him straight at Wilson. The speedster dealt with the confusion presented by the illusions in the simplest manner - rushing all around the room striking every Hero she saw. The telekinetic, seeing that she was not going to overpower Maestro, turned her attention to Waterworks, attempting to batter her to the ground beneath a telekinetic barrage while maintaining her defense. The teleporter waved a hand in a sweeping gesture over the room, and Wilson, Sean, and Maestro would all suddenly feel like something had grabbed their guts and was yanking them elsewhere.

Spoiler

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Paragon:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Charge Maestro and attack with Augmented Fighting at (1d20+8)[19]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage, Strength DC 20 vs. being launched at Wilson at (1d20+8)[20]. Wilson takes DC 25 Damage if that hits. Hits Maestro, misses Wilson

Powerhouse:
Stunned.
Will to recover (DC 21): (1d20+6)[20]. Fails

Speedster:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Barrage on the Heroes, Power Attacking for 4. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage. This is a Targeted Cloud Area attack, so if it hits and you are still in the room at the end of the speedster's next turn, you'll take the damage again.
Waterworks: (1d20+10)[14]. Miss
Maestro: (1d20+10)[11]. Miss
Wilson: (1d20+10)[20]. Miss
Sean: (1d20+10)[26]. Hit
Will to recover from Vulnerable (DC 21): (1d20+10)[20]. Fails

Telekinetic:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack Waterworks with Telekinetic Combat at (1d20+10)[26]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage, and Strength+Power Lifting or Mobility DC (1d20+10)[22] vs. Trip. Allies are Defended again. Hit. Damage gets +2 DC for Multiattack.

Teleporter:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Targeted Teleportation on Maestro, Wilson, and Sean. Dodge DC 20 for half, Prowess (highest of Dodge, Parry, Strength, or any active movement rank) DC 20 or be teleported away one Distance Rank per point your save fails by.

Current Status

All PCs are on turn

[Capt. Infinity]

Maestro was evidently on a roll in the "not being injured" department, as the telekinetic reflects ever punch thrown at him, concentrating his telekinetic shield at each point of impact to stave off the inertial force behind it. Such concentration left him rather unprepared in his footing, however, and resulted in him getting shot all the way across the room after the final kick landed straight into his torso.

The wall caved slightly in the wake of the young genius's impact, a distinct Maestro-shaped dent being made upon it as the intrepid Dreamer gets put there and sticks within it. Ever the nonchalant in the face of overwhelming assault (no matter how much of a lie it may have been), Maestro merely pries both hands free from the wall, and slams them both backwards, unhinging him the telekinetic from his own impression and landing him on his feet.

"Nice to have you join us, Copycat." Maestro calls out to his friend, seeing past the illusions, at least for now. "Now then, where were we? Oh right! Chokeholds!" Maestro states in semi-faux enthusiasm, before making yet another chocking motion with his hand, attempting for yet another once-over on all the Zen Ragers' windpipes.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: Nah.

Standard Action: Second verse, same as the first. DC 25 Fortitude save from all enemies against Damage.

Status: 2 Bruises.

[Llyarden]

Wilson blinked for a moment. One second he'd been stepping aside from Maestro's involuntary flight across the room, the next he was outside the motel. "Not really sure what the point of that was..." he muttered as he flew back in again, ducking under his own disc of nanites as it weaved and swooped after the blurred form of the speedster and lashing out a second time with his whip, this time at the dark-haired woman.

Sean, meanwhile, was caught slightly off-guard by how easily the telekinetic had shoved him aside and got a super-speed punch to the shoulder for his troubles. He more or less ignored both that and the attempt to teleport him away and sprang back towards the telekinetic - once again attempting to break her concentration.

Spoiler: OOC

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By the way I kinda forgot to ask; is the data Ryana gathered from publically registered Dreamers or anonymously registered ones? (Or isn't that something we could easily find out?)

Sean:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Harry the Prey on the telekinetic a second time, all-out attacking for 5: (1d20+13)[33]. Crit! DC22 27 Defence vs Impaired & Vulnerable / Disabled & Defenceless and Weaken Toughness.

Preemptive SE save (DC25, -1 for Bruise): (1d20+11)[30] Tanked.

Wilson:
Move: Back into the motel and close with the telekinetic.
Standard: Dissolution on the telekinetic: (1d20+12)[17]. DC23 Defence + Multiattack vs damage.
End of Turn: Speedster gets a DC21 Toughness save vs damage.

Status:
Sean: 1 Bruise (regenerates next round), Dazed this round, -5 to active defences.
Wilson: Still fine.

[manwithaplan]

On cue, Copycat turned and grinned at Maestro.

"No problem, buddy!"

He gave a goofy thumbs up, standing stock still for a moment, as the Powerhouse got in front of him and struck him in the jaw. The mimic flew across the room and slammed into a hard wall, immediately going limp and hitting the floor with a bang.

The door to the office immediately swung open, and a second Copycat burst in, watching the carnage.

"Wow! Who hired that idiot?!" He demanded, looking vaguely between both his unconscious form and the standing Powerhouse. Then he moved into his usual fighting stance.

"Alright, wrap 'em up!"

Outside, the real(?!) Copycat continued to run for the door before his breath left him and he slowed, beginning to stagger. Stopping altogether for a moment, he raised both hands and programmed several extra seconds of content before he groaned and switched powers, needing to rest. He didn't normally do this on a scale to fool combat-ready Dreamers at their speed. He quickly forged his own group mental link.

Nice move, Maestro. Let's keep tac-chat on this line, people. More intel incoming.

And then to Ryana.

Hey, Copycat here, confirming you're okay. Nothing to report?

Spoiler: Actions

Show

Move Action: Toward the door. Mobility (1d20+8)[16]. Either 70 or 40 feet away now, depending.
Standard Action: Dream Shaping, centred on the door. Everything in the radius makes a DC 12 Dodge save to negate and, failing that, a DC 12 Will Save against Cumulative Vulnerable/Stunned/Controlled. Both DCs are 21 for the five enemy Dreamers.
Free Action: Extra Effort - Action
Standard Action: Dream Shaping, centred on the door. Everything in the radius makes a DC 12 Dodge save to negate and, failing that, a DC 12 Will Save against Cumulative Vulnerable/Stunned/Controlled. Both DCs are 21 for the five enemy Dreamers.
Free Action: Magnus' powers. Let's go, um...2 extra ranks of Setup, and Communication to 3.

Status: Fatigued, Exhausted next turn.

[manwithaplan]

Good news. Callahan's coming to get us, she doesn't think we're really Heroes. Do not intercept! I don't know how exactly how we acquired this data in the first place, and my grounds for interrupting her during her drive were pretty shaky. But imagine this; an Assembly deal goes awry due to a criminal attack, the Heroes of Millaine step in, and the Assembly workers attack us while we're dealing with the problem! If we ignore them, say some nice words and keep focusing on the druggies, we're going to look amazing. We can level the legal field a little.

[Zelphas]

Waterworks slips through the telekinetic's crush with a pop, leaving a fair amount of water behind. She flashed illusion Copycat a lazy smile as he burst through the door. "Oh, he just showed up one day, ranting about his plans to become the 'ultimate Dreamer.' He seemed harmless; we just humored him for a bit," she teased jokingly before focusing on the Paragon. She frowns at him, shaking her head. "I thought I told you to go over there!" she exclaims, attempting to envelop him and hurl him at the Teleporter.

Mentally, she responds to Copycat. Isn't the Assembly the people who are in charge of us now? If so, isn't making them look incompetent... a bad thing?

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: Dazed.

Standard Action: Maelstrom Fling! on the Paragon, All-Out attacking for 3, Power Attacking for 1. (1d20+14)[21] On a hit, Damage DC 26, Strength or Flight DC 21 or be thrown into the Teleporter at (1d20+14)[16]. If that hits, DC 26 Damage roll for the Teleporter.

Status: 1 Bruise (heals), Dazed (ends), Fatigued, -3 Active Defenses this turn.

[manwithaplan]

Not incompetent, just rude and jumpy. They're coming to get us either way, and I still think being polite and passive about it is the best response as Heroes. I'm just saying, we might as well spin it a bit.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 6

Maestro continued choking out the enemy force. Spots began dancing in several of their eyes as their brains began to feel the effects of oxygen deprivation.

The telekinetic couldn't turn Sean aside so easily this time, and had to put a lot of focus into keeping the savage Dreamer off of her. She barely managed to turn Wilson's nanite whip aside. The speedster wasn't so lucky, as once again the Hunters slammed her, this time dropping her in a heap.

With all her attention focused on Sean, she was caught off-guard when he suddenly changed positions with the teleporter. While her rational mind was kinda on vacation, her instincts seized on the obvious answer - the teleporter had rearranged the battlefield to their advantage.

That was all it took, a moment of justification, for an illusion to become as real.

The paragon stood strong in the face of Waterworks' attack, once more refusing to budge, even though in doing so it meant all the force was taken upon his body. He could withstand such forces, but for how long?

The paragon glared at Waterworks, his eyes blazing with crimson light, unleashing a blast of heat vision at her, while the teleporter blinked beside her with a sudden punch. The telekinetic...swatted more effectually at illusions, hammering the paragon with a flurry of strikes while raising shields over the Heroes, mistaking each side of the fight for the other.

Copycat received a reply from Ryana, but not a mental one, as the energy controller landed between him and the door. "Nice try. You almost got me," she said, firing a series of concussive blasts from her eyes. "Seward! These aren't the Heroes, they're shapeshifters! They're after the file! Stop them!"

"Stop them? HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO STOP THEM!? I'm a technopath!"

"Just DO SOMETHING!"

"They look like the Heroes to me!"

"Why would the Heroes of Millaine be here? Think about it!"

"It might have something to do with the Dreamers who attacked them?"

"Those are Rhett's guys! They're here for security! Now stop arguing and fight!"

Spoiler

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Paragon:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Heat Vision on Waterworks. Perception Range attack. Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage.

Teleporter:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Use Blink Strike to Teleport into Close range of Waterworks and attack at (1d20+10)[17]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 20 vs. Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated Affliction. Teleporter is Defended at 1d10+20. Misses even after the AoA for 3

Powerhouse:
Stunned.
Recovery (DC 21): (1d20+6)[24]. He's back, baby!

Telekinetic:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack the Paragon with Telekinetic Combat at (1d20+8)[10]. On a hit, Toughness ((1d20+9)[24]) DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage, and Strength ((1d20+10)[16]) DC 25 vs. Grab with Extra Limbs 5. The telekinetic and all Heroes (except Copycat who's not in range) are Defended at 1d20+8 (capped by PL before -2 for Impaired), minimum 10. Miss, what a disappointment
Fortitude to remove Impaired (DC 27): (1d20+6)[7]. Needed a 20, got a 1

Ryana:
Move: Fly to land outside the office door.
Standard: Attack Copycat with Energy Bolts at (1d20+10)[22]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage. Hit

Seward:
Wastes his turn arguing, he's not exactly keen on jumping into this whole fracas.

Current Status

All PCs are on turn.

[Capt. Infinity]

Maestro... Did not take the accusations levied at him all that well.

~Ah yes. Because that makes sense. Obviously we're not actually the Heroes of Millaine. We're just a bunch of shapeshifters. Shapeshifters who can not only mimic the appearance and mannerisms of the heroes but also their highly intensive and combat-capable powersets, down to the last hair. It's not at all feasible to say that, oh I don't know, the bunch of obviously-not-thinking-clearly Dreamers could have been part of a set-up that you fell for. No no, that idea of yours totally works alongside the fact that the literal first thing out of my mouth, which your technopath friend can attest to, was "call off your fighters. We just wan't to talk about this". Did I mention that every one of these Dreamers has been filed missing by the police for 3 Archdamn weeks?~

~Go **** yourself you gaping ***hole to the punch dimension.~ He spits over the mental link. Because if there's ONE thing Maestro still 100% refuses to stand for, its being mislabelled as anything other than what he is.

Oh. And he also continues to choke those Zen Rage Dreamers, one would assume.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Free Action: I think it's already there, but just in case, stick that last Power Point into the mental link to add Rapid on top of everything else.

Free Action: Tell Ryana that she is bad and should feel bad. Routine 30 Deception to convince her she actively sucks in multiple ways.

Standard Action: Keep the choke train a-goin'. DC 25 Fortitude save against Damage from all Zen Ragers present.

[Llyarden]

"Oh, for goodness sake," Wilson muttered in irritation. "You're a technopath, Bergfalk. Look at us." He flicked his hand and a wall of nanites sprang up, separating Ryana from the battlefield (as much for her own benefit as for theirs.) "And who the hell is Rhett anyway?"

"You know, the swearing probably isn't helping matters. And to be fair I'm still not really sure why we're here..." Sean observed off-handedly. Noting the change in the powerhouse's scent, he pounced at the bald man, claws out. He was still obviously not attacking directly (which probably didn't help refute Ryana's theory) but he was pretty sure the man was tougher than his previous targets.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Wilson:
Free: Switch to Nanoshield.
Free: Point out that we have teleport beacons and all kinds of other tech on us that should identify us.
Move: Nah.
Standard: Nanoshield to cut Ryana off from the fight. She'll be Selectively allowed to see through it though.

Sean:
Move: Close with the powerhouse.
Standard: Harry the Prey on the powerhouse, all-out and power attacking for 2: (1d20+8)[23]. DC24 Defence vs Impaired & Vulnerable / Disabled & Defenceless and Weaken Toughness.
End of Turn: Regenerates a Bruise.

Status:
Wilson: Defended at 1d20+8.
Sean: Defended at 1d20+6 (?), -2 to active defences.

[Zelphas]

Waterworks eddies out of the way of the Teleporter's strike, sizzling with discomfort as the Paragon boils away the top layer of her water. "Miss Callahan, I don't believe we were supposed to meet earlier today. Why did you say we were?" she asks, hoping to throw the woman off-guard and either make her reveal her guilt or cast doubt on her belief in their falsehood.

"Obviously, there's been a misunderstanding somewhere. This has already happened to me once; kidnapped, drugged Dreamers, coming after me out of nowhere, seemingly... furious..." a train of thought begins to form, but she shakes her head and dismisses it as too disturbing to follow right now. "You said these people were 'Rhett's' guys? Who is Rhett?

"And you," she says, turning to the Paragon with a gleam in her eye. "Setting up!" she calls out, blasting out jets of water.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: Agile Feint on the Powerhouse (-2 as a Move Action): (1d20+19)[20]

Free Action: Swap to Dehydrate.

Standard Action: Dehydrate on the Paragon, All-Out Power Attacking for 5. (1d20+12)[31] Fortitude DC 25 vs. Fatigued & Vulnerable / Exhausted & Defenseless. This is both Incurable and Insidious. If it hits and has one effect trigger, Waterworks heals her Bruise a round early.

Status: 1 Bruise (heals), Fatigued, -5 to Active Defenses.

[manwithaplan]

Tom moved back into his sprint for just a second before stopping on a dime before Ryana. He focused internally and switched powers on the spot with enough precision to dazzle an onlooker, if there was anyone in the world who actually understood the amount of focus it took to change on the fly. Regardless, Ryana's shots bounced off his hardened skin, exploding harmlessly against him. He smiled, with no pride about him.

"Ryana, you're stepping into-" He was cut off by Maestro. His face fell a little. He looked around. They were the only ones out here.

"Um, wow. My apologies, that was harsh."

He gave her the most sympathetic look he could before he flashed away, reappearing inside the office and right behind the Paragon.

"Taking the set!" He took advantage of Waterworks' move to get the drop on him with a series of quick, hard blows.

"And, 'Works, that's not me." He pointed to the other him, across the room, dodging the Telekinetic's attacks.

"That's the...I...I don't know actually. This has gotten confusing."

Spoiler: Actions

Show

Free Action: Switching to Interceptor, +2 Protection, Accurate 2 on Teleport Strike.
Move Action: Teleport behind Paragon.
Standard Action: Teleport Strike! Attack (1d20+11)[12] for DC 24+Multiattack Damage and DC 19+Multiattack Fortitude against Dazed and Vulnerable/Stunned and Defenseless.

Status: Exhausted.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 7

Maestro's anger appeared to be channeled directly into his telekinesis. The paragon and the teleporter both started gasping desperately for air under the force of his telekinetic choke-out.

But let's be clear, the paragon was still a paragon. He yanked Waterworks' tendrils off of him before she could extract more than a few drops of moisture from him, before spinning on a dime to catch Copycat's punch with one hand. The powerhouse, too, responded to Sean's distracting tactics by basically ignoring the threat he represented, because ya know, powerhouse.

Ryana kinda...blinked at Maestro's rant. I mean, on the one hand, something like that was exactly what you'd expect a shapeshifter to say. On the other hand...you wouldn't expect a shapeshifter to be able to make you feel like a tiny, worthless shell of yourself while simultaneously providing a strong counter-argument to your beliefs and choking out half of an attack force. But Maestro Mentallo? Yeah, you might expect Maestro Mentallo to pull something like that.

Copycat teleported right past her, so Ryana, not quite sure what she was trying to accomplish here any more, just kinda started into the room and bonked her head on Wilson's invisible nanoshield. One assumes she began vigorously rethinking the choices that had brought her to this stage in her life, at that point.

Seward felt that Maestro's version of events was eminently logical (or, at least, far more logical than trying to jump into a superpowered battle on this scale with his mighty technopathy and mild osteoporosis), and continued hiding under the desk, thus proving himself to be one of the most sane people in the room, if not all of Millaine.

With the tide having decisively turned against them, the Zen Ragers turned all their efforts on their primary target, the paragon and powerhouse hammering on Waterworks relentlessly, while the teleporter attempted to teleport them all away from her backup. The telekinetic did her best to help, which in this case meant continuing to beat on the paragon while shielding the Heroes.

Spoiler

Show

Paragon:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Waterworks with Augmented Fighting, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 2, at (1d20+13)[24], Deflected at (1d20+8)[11] (min 18). On a hit, Toughness DC 27+Multiattack vs. Damage, Mobility DC (1d20+12)[24] vs. Trip. Hit, +2 Multiattack on the Damage

Powerhouse:
Move: Into Close range of Waterworks.
Standard: Attack Waterworks with Slam, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[26], Deflected at (1d20+8)[15] (min 18). On a hit, Toughness DC 29 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 24 vs. Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled Affliction. Hit

Teleporter:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Targeted Teleportation. Waterworks, Dodge DC 20 for half, Prowess DC 20/15 or be Teleported one Distance Rank per point of failure. The Teleporter, Paragon, and Powerhouse will also be teleported if you fail to resist.

Telekinetic:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack the Paragon with Telekinetic Fighting at (1d20+10)[17]. On a hit, Toughness ((1d20+8)[21]) DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage, Strength ((1d20+10)[28]) DC 25 vs. Grab. Heroes Deflected again. Miss
Recovery check vs. Impaired (DC 27): (1d20+6)[13]. Fail
Also recovers 1 Toughness, which I had forgotten she'd lost earlier, but there you go.

Ryana:
Move: Bonk.
Standard: Reconsider her life choices.

Seward:
Doin' Fine! Feels no need to be listed in the actions lineup further. In fact, would appreciate it if everyone could totally forget he's here.

Current Status

All PCs are on turn

[manwithaplan]

Tom frowned as the Paragon brushed him off, and scowled as he turned back around to gang up on Waterworks.

"Leave her alone!" His teleportation brought him between her and the Powerhouse who had knocked out his first illusion, yelling with a ferocity that surprised himself. Switching again, he lashed out with a series of unpowered strikes combined with super-powered mental attacks, hitting the bigger man where he was weakest.

Spoiler: Actions

Show

Move Action: Teleport to the Powerhouse.
Free Action: Into Combat Mind Reading. +2 to the rank of both powers.
Standard Action: Analytical Strike on Powerhouse, All-Out Power Attack 2. Attack (1d20+7)[22] for DC 30/25 Will against Damage and...that really convoluted thing that it does.

Status: Exhausted.

[Zelphas]

"Oh, I know that," Waterworks replies airily to Copycat. "I was just engaging in some friendly ban--"

Wham.

Waterworks smiles at Sean. "Thanks! And it looks like we're almost done here, so I'll fill everyone in with why we ended up here as best I can once these guys are stopped." She turns to the paragon with a critical eye. "You're just going to be difficult to drop, aren't you? Well, nothing for it; brute force it is!"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: Nope.

Free Action: Switch to Jet Spray.

Standard Action: Jet Spray on the Paragon, All-Out Power Attacking for 5. rolled a 28 in the OOC for DC 30+Multiattack damage, DC 25 Strength or Mobility vs. Fast Grab.

Free Action: STUN-- um, Fortitude to recover from Disabled & Stunned (need a nat 20 from Disabled): (1d20+3)[20] ... You're mocking me, aren't you. Never mind this...

Status: 2 Bruises (1 Heals), Fatigued, -5 to active defenses.

[Capt. Infinity]

"I... I just... I don't know, "smarmy quip", I guess? Man, it's no fun bantering enemies that don't banter back." Maestro grumbles, evidently still reeling from Ryana's accusations. For what it was worth, he was maintaining a firm focus on his telekinetic chokeholds, as he wasn't about to let a good thing die, quite yet.

"So... Seward, right? Since you aren't busy, mind telling us what exactly you were supposed to be doing here, before your 'security' tried to murder my friend?" He asked nonchalantly. Whether or not he wasn't aware of how hard he just snapped, or was simply ignoring it in favour of actually being productive, nobody, not even he, could say.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Free Action: Ask inappropriately timed questions. Routine 30 Persuasion to be the most dissonantly smooth dude possible.

Standard Action: All aboard the telekinetic asphyxiation train! Choo choo! DC 25 Fortitude save against damage.

[Llyarden]

Sean sprang forwards, taking the powerhouse's punch to the shoulder in Waterworks' stead as the drugged Dreamers mobbed her. The blow itself didn't hurt, but it was enough to disorient him a little. "No problem," he replied after a moment of shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, stepping up to the teleporter and slashing at her with his claws. ~You think you could ask our befuddled friend to drop whatever barriers she has?~ he broadcast to Copycat across the mental link.

Wilson, meanwhile, seemed content to simply move across to the barrier he'd created, facing off with Ryana. "Waterworks asked you a question. I for one am very interested in the answer."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Wilson:
Free: Realise that actually I can't attack without losing the Created barrier. Yay, poorly laid-out arrays!
Move: Meh.
Standard: Also meh. I could Augment someone but at this point it almost seems a bit pointless.

Sean:
Extra Effort: Bonus save (DC24, -2 for Impaired): (1d20+10)[20] Nope.
Move: Dazed or close with the teleporter.
Standard: Sharp Claws on the teleporter, charging if necessary, all-out attacking for 5, probably at -2 for Charge and another -2 for Impaired: (1d20+9)[21]. DC27 Toughness vs damage on a hit.
End of Turn: Fort vs Affliction (DC24, -2 for Impaired): (1d20+10)[15] Nope.

As an aside, could the Precise extra on Sharp Claws be used to act as a kinda 'no accidentally killing people with high-rank attacks' thing like that Feature I gave one of Wilson's attacks at some point?

Status:
Sean: Maybe Dazed & Impaired, -5 to active defences, Fatigued next round.
Wilson: Having a nice chat.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I'mma call it. The drugs mean she won't flee despite being a teleporter, but let's be real here, this battle is over. Everybody take a Hero Point.

While Maestro continued choking out the enemies, Copycat and Waterworks brought down the two physical threats, the powerhouse's mind an easy target for Copycat's telepathic assault, while the paragon was unable to withstand the full force of Waterworks' assault. The teleporter managed to blink away from Sean's attack, but now alone and woefully outnumbered, it was only a matter of time (and not much of it, we're talking in the "maybe a few seconds" range) for her to be neutralized as well.

Ryana had been a bit hesitant on answering Waterworks, but apparently decided that either it was best to cooperate, or it wasn't information they couldn't get elsewhere. "Rhett Anderson. Head of IT security in Verdania. Look, this is obviously all just a big misunderstanding. What are you all even doing here? And why in the world do you think these people are missing?"

[manwithaplan]

Tom stopped to take a deep breath as the fight came to a close, looking over his shoulder to Waterworks.

"Hey, are you...oh, definitely fine. My bad."

Clenching his fists, he internally consolidated and absorbed the power of the Powerhouse he'd just taken down. Might as well get something today. Just as that thought crossed his mind, he looked down at the bodies before him.

With a neural command, a small syringe pointed out of his watch. Medical omni-tools were actually a lot easier to craft than supremely versatile 'fix anything' nanites; this part of the invention had come natural. Crouching over the Powerhouse, he paused.

I'm going to take a blood sample for analysis. Is that gonna be a problem for anyone?

Spoiler

Show

I'll Copy the Powerhouse, thanks.

[Zelphas]

Waterworks gives Copycat a friendly smile, before turning to Ryana. "That's one of the questions I asked you, Miss Callahan. You came to meet me at a diner, but I hadn't told you to meet me there. Why were you looking for me?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Ryana blinked twice. "I...right, we had a meeting scheduled. To discuss the...wait, what do you mean you never asked me to speak with you? There was a, the meeting to discuss..." she furrowed her brows, her head tilting to the side, as if trying to remember. "You know! The meeting!" she said, a bit angrily.