Freedom City Issue #2: Time of Vengeance

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Yeah. And maybe we should check out the--"

Fireblade is cut off by the call over the communicator. "Damn. I think this qualifies as an emergency. Well, sorry to split, ma'am, but we'll have to continue our investigations later. We'll make a note of this case, though, and will certainly get back to it if (okay, when) the cops continue to ignore you. Soul and/or Aesir? Rapid transit's probably in order."

[sun_tzu]

"Just a moment...Let me try to see what's going on before we charge in."
Closing her eyes, Soul quickly casts a spell to allow her to watch the events at the downtown core. ((ESP))

[fireinthedust]

Soul:

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peering to the downtown core you see chaos all over town. In the fens a slimy creature is loose, while something dark is slipping into the river, about to foul up the city's water supply. Meanwhile, a dark cloud surrounds the Atom Family's skyscraper; whatever is causing it has done something to the building, and something dangerous wants the adventurous family inside.

[sun_tzu]

Soul's jaw drops.
For a moment, she says nothing.
Then she speaks.
"WHAT THE BLEEP?! WHAT THE BLEEPING BLEEPITY BLEEP?!"
She then faces the rest of the group. "People, we...have a situation.
Monster in the fens.
Something in the river.
Dark cloud at the Atom Family's building.
I have no hint of a clue what's going on.
But we can't let it keep going. Apex, Fireblade, each of you has more combat experience than the entire rest of the team combined; I suggest you deal with the monster. Just to be on the safe side, check if it can be communicated with. Tempo, Aesir...I'd like to think the Atom Family can handle their side of the problem, but I don't think we should gamble on it. If you go there, help them if they need it, and are done quickly enough, you have your own movement powers, and could help the rest of us as soon as you're done. As for the thing in the river...I don't want it messing with the city's water supply. I have the most versatile powers, I'll try to handle it.
How does that sound?"

Wait, why the hell am I talking like I'm in any position to give orders?

[Nerd-o-rama]

Fireblade shrugs, and puts his hand on his sword. "Swamp monster. Alright, sounds good to me. Pop us up a portal and we'll get going, right Apex?"

*

It's a monster in the swamp. Do you really think there are any fires to teleport into?

Fireblade will move out as soon as Soul opens up a portal to where the monster is. If she doesn't, I guess he'll catch a cab or something.

[Green Bean]

"Evil cloud? We're on it."

Tempo speeds off, arriving at the bottom of the Atom Family's skyscraper in mere tenths of a second. He runs up the side of the building, and sticks his hand into the cloud before heading back down to the ground. Assuming the cloud hasn't eaten his arm off or turned it into cheese, Tempo once again sprints up the side of the building and enters the cloud itself.

[Da Beast]

"Right, I'm on it." Aesir teleports after Tempo, relieved to finally be leaving the hospital. He stops for a second to take stock of his surroundings.

Alright, I've got Tempo and an entire super family for back up. This might be the safest thing I've done since joining the league. Wait a minute, did I really just leave that girl to fight some monster by herself?

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex listens to Soul's orders and nods. Sounds like a solid plan, looks like she has a mind for strategy...

"Swamp monster. Alright, sounds good to me. Pop us up a portal and we'll get going, right Apex?"

"Great, swamp monster...and I just got that bug sludge off my suit. No need for a portal, if you're ok with it I can fly us both there. You'll just have to hang on!

If theres going to be a portal, Apex will take that, if not (and Fireblade is ok with it) he will fly with Fireblade (carrying him or something).

[sun_tzu]

Soul opens a portal for Apex and Fireblade (I mean, every second can make a difference), then one for herself. She tries to see exactly what is going on with the river.

[fireinthedust]

Goodman Building:

Aesir and Tempo arrive at the front of the building the Atom family calls home. The building serves as their base, the family of super-inventors managing to live in a headquarters that serves to defend and act as a landmark for Freedom.
Above you can see a black cloud covering the top of the skyscraper, and darkening the street below. The entire top fo the tower is covered.
The building's doors are standing ajar. The doors quiver open and shut at random. the street around the bottom of the tower is empty, and you can tell folks have abandoned the area; you've heard the Goodman Building si not the best place to be around when supers attack.


The Fens:

Apex and Fireblade arrive to Freedom City's answer to New York's Hell's Kitchen. The buildings here are tightly crammed together, red brick and black iron fire escapes. Most are storefronts with low rent apartments above them, lines of laundry strung between buildings in the back alleys.
On the main street you see fires have been set in garbage cans, and an overturned ice cream truck. There are several wandering people, and smashed in store front windows. It looks like a riot just happened, and the smell of smoke and destruction is strong.
And then you notice the frongs: hundreds of frogs of all sizes are hopping about the streets, sitting on benches and cars. Bright greens and orange in color, big and small, they are hopping about their business. One of them stops in front of you and croaks.
At that point you hear a massive croak in the distance, deeper and booming.


The river front:

Soul arrives to the scee of Police cars and sirens... and gunfire. The water front here is normally scenic, but a dozen police cars have filed it with a barracae. On the other side of the cars from you are policemen advancing on a young woman, dressed in goth attire... and they are shootin at here. The bullets seem to be having no effect, ut the police are still firing.
there are several officers on the ground in front of her. Behind her is the river.

[Green Bean]

"Okay, it looks like the top of the tower is the cloud's target. You should head directly there and I'll check the rest of the floors just in case I'm wrong. I'll meet you at the top floor."

With that, Tempo zips off. At an incredible speed, he searches the entire skyscraper for anything that could be causing the dark cloud. If he finds something, he gets in contact with Aesir. Otherwise, he meets the Asgardian at the top.

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Oh that kind of fens."

*

Shut up.

Fireblade looks around at all the...frogs, feet rooteed to the ground in an effort to avoid stepping on any. "Well, if I remember my Sunday School correctly, this is a bad thing. It sounds like there's a big one somewhere...we should take care of that before we handle these guys and any leftover rioters. Care to fly us up so we can get a look?"

[sun_tzu]

Just what I needed - Elvira gone bad. Well, might as well try to get the advantage of surprise...

Soul tries to position herself a safe distance behind the mystery woman's back before casting a paralysis spell on her.

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Using a full action to aim, hoping she doesn't know I'm there yet and gets no dodge bonus: attack roll - (1d20+7)[20]

[SuperMuldoon]

Apex surveys the scene, taking in all the damage and noting the rather abnormal amount of frogs.
"Wow, this place is swarming with these jumping creatures!" Apex says, when the huge croak sounds. "Looks like this just got more complicated then just pest control..."

Care to fly us up so we can get a look?

"Good idea, here hold on." Apex says to Fireblade as they rise into the air to get a birds eye view on the situation.

[Da Beast]

Aesir turns to respond only to find that Tempo is, as usual, already gone. He then kicks off the ground and soars up to the top of the Goodman Building, careful to stay just outside the area of the cloud. He does his best to study it from his position, unsure of how to proceed.

[fireinthedust]

Tempo:

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Going into the Goodman building at high speed, you find hallways filled with doors for the first few floors, most of them obviously for the Atom family's business ventures and employees, patent offices, etc. Then, going up more steps, you reach their top (though not the top of the building) and go through the door there. You reach a big room, about three stories tall, and made of iron. As fast as you are, the door behind you closes faster. You can see more doors, all of them metal with big yellow numbers sprayed on them. Think star trek.

Aesir:

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You fly up to the cloud, see it roiling very close to you... and then think about throwing up: the cloud is a mass of *fleas*!!! Even trying to stay away from the cloud, you feel one or two of them crawling on your skin, getting under your shirt.
From beyond the edge of the cloud you can hear a voice rant. This day Mother Earth and her children strike back at their oppressors!

Apex and Fireblade:

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looking at the people down on the street you notice they're walking-funny. One of them is giggling, picks up a brick and lobs it at a storefront window. Others around the Fens are either acting loopy or running from those who are.
There's a booming voice along with another croak. Harries Mile Ack! Crrooooak! You have an idea of where it's coming from and can follow it to a collection of low rent town houses.

Soul:

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The paralysis seems to take effect when you cast it, but only a moment after the goth waves her hand at the Police. The officers stiffen: their veins bulge, and a moment later they fall over.
The Goth turns around, slowly, her eyes turning into liquid red. Well lookie what we got here. Just one of the Freedom League? heh, well I guess I'll have to up my ratings! And with that...

roll initiative please.

[sun_tzu]

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Soul looks, horrified at the policemen.
Good God, what did she do...?
She then attempts to blast the villainess with arcane energy.

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initiative - (1d20)[6]
attack roll - (1d20+7)[14]

[Green Bean]

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Weird. Was the top floor always this big? Tempo turns intangible and tries to walk through the door. If that doesn't work, he'll call Aesir. And if that doesn't work, he'll try a door at random.

[Nerd-o-rama]

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Fireblade draws his sword and points the way dramatically, as if a general on horseback instead of a guy being carried around by a confused superhero from the future.

"Follow that gibberish!"

[SuperMuldoon]

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Apex hovers in the air with Fireblade as he looks down on the strange behavior being exhibited by the locals. These guys are running around like they are jacked up on stimms... When suddenly the booming voice (croak?) sounds out.

"Follow that gibberish!"

Apex begins to fly toward the sound, using his visual sensors to zoom in to try to see what is waiting for them before they get there.

"And away we go!"

[Da Beast]

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Aesir looks about, trying to identify the speaker

Initiative (if necessary) (1d20+1)[12]

((How big is the could? If I set off my burst attack (60 ft radius) from where I am, would that pretty much wipe it out?))

[fireinthedust]

Aesir and Fireblade:

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you see in a back alley a giant frog leaping at an older man

frog: Harries mile ack!
man: Get away from me!

Soul:

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The woman moves faster than you do ((by a lot! what did you roll, negative five?!)), and with a wave of her arm an eldritch power washes against you. You feel *something* affecting your body, every inch of your flesh...

((She's making a grapple check with her power against you, so you get to counter-grapple (somehow) against her check of 30! DC30 to avoid the grapple))

Aesir:

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You look at the swarm: it's about an 800ft. radius of roiling cloud-of-bugs. So, uh, maybe but you'd be covered in a lot of bugs.

[sun_tzu]

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((by a lot! what did you roll, negative five?!))

((Well, no, I rolled a six.))

Is she...tele-wrestling me? Come on, magic, don't fail me now...
Soul had learned a good while ago how to use her magic to move objects from a distance. She could apply immense strength to move massive objects, or use finesse for precise movements, as she had on Captain Kraken's cutlass. Now, she needed to combine both as she attempted to use her magic on her own body to wrestle it free.
((Not sure if I can use Telekinesis in lieu of my Strength bonus, but I'll assume I can unless you say otherwise - thus giving Soul a total grapple bonus of 16.))
grapple check - (1d20+16)[18]

[Green Bean]

((Er, I think you forgot me))

[Da Beast]

Aesir breathes in deaply before exhaling a mighty gust of air, clearing the bugs immediately in front of him. He then scans the area for the source of the voice.

((OK, so technically my super breath is just a trip attempt, but it seems to me that wind strong enough to trip a grown man would send common fleas flying))

[fireinthedust]

Tempo:

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((sorry for the wait; I decided to scrap what I was going to do for you when I realized it was... time-consuming and not enough fun to warrant taking up several posts. :) ))

Tempo races through the Goodman building, through hallways with doors marked with numbers. Through the tour Tempo takes, he sees that this part of the skyscraper is devoted to science experiments and storage of robotic parts.

Midway through, Tempo discovers the Goodman's security system! Forcefields begin to appear at Super Speed, arms pop out of hallway walls holding disintegration beams, poison gas shoots out of a nozzle! Obviously the Atom family's run ins with super-speed criminals and aliens inspired them to some pretty hefty measures. Granted, they're a bit hokey, but yeah. Lasers!

((Roll one each for your various saving throws, to avoid various traps on your way to the top floor (where the Atoms are, btw). This will determine what shape you arrive at the top for whatever's up there!))

Aesir:

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You use your super-breath, effectively tripping millions of mans-best-friends-worst-enemy! The fleas flee to either side, leaving a big gap *wherein* you see a GIANT MAN-SIZED FLEA crouched at the top of the Goodman building!
You! I know you, Freedom Leaguer! Now it is Nature's turn for Freedom! Hah! Fight me and Die!
He then leaps at you, crossing the distance quickly, his insect mandibles glistening with saliva as he attempts to bite your arm off.


((Initiative 15, Attack 24, (if he hits) Damage DC 22

Soul:

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((She's not using telekinesis. She's using Blood Control, which works like telekinesis. Basically she's forcing your blood to twist your body around, and then dump you in the river. You can use your telekinesis on your body, or your fly ranks... or whatever. The DC from her grapple check this round was 30, so...))

Soul plummets into the river, the cold water swallowing her up.

You really came to fight me on your own? Wow. No, really, I respect that. But did you really think I'd do my thing alone if I couldn't handle myself?

The water starts to go dark.

((roll a drowning check, eh? ))

[Green Bean]

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Fort Save (1d20 4=23)

Reflex Save (1d20 11=21) (By the way, I have 2 ranks of Evasion)

Will Save (1d20 5=11)

Hey, not too bad.

[Da Beast]

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Initiative= (1d20+1)[10]

If his initiative is higher than mine I'll use the aim action to make a melee attack

attack - (1d20+13)[26]

If not I'll charge him

attack - (1d20+10)[25]

and unless he has at least 5 penetrating on that attack I can just ignore it. If not

toughness - (1d20+12)[29]

[sun_tzu]

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Oh, like HELL!
The arcane energies make Soul's figure glow for a moment, as she uses her magic to mentally grab the tens of tons of water surrounding her...and throw it all at full force against the witch.

((Telekinesis. She can lift 800 tons. Do I really need to make a drowning check, given that she's only underwater for a few seconds before she's throwing the water back at her?))

[Nerd-o-rama]

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"Stand back, sir! This might be a little...messy!" Fireblade shouts down at the man as he takes aim from the air with the Soul of Fire and attempts to stop the frog with a fire blast.

(Fire Blast, DC 25 Tough, Precise Shot)
Fire Blast attack (1d20+5=19)