Archive Mutants & Masterminds: The Unlikely Prophets - Issue #1: A Gathering Storm

[Radiance]

Hikari took off in a full run around the building, moving as fast as she could to get to the front and either disctract whatever was up there, or simply make sure it someone was there.

Click to reveal..

Taking Accellerated movement action to move double my normal movement.

[Charlotte]

Radiance made it around to the front of the building, where Cyco was engaged with a trio of attackers.

Upstairs, the remaining thug turned to the third for some guidance. He didn't offer any, since he was still trying to clear the stars from his eyes, so the thug attacked Sharatur, firing a stun gun at her.

Sharatur spun her staff. The darts from the taser landed in the wood, discharging harmlessly. The room was filled with the clicking noise as the taser spent itself uselessly.

Click to reveal..

Thug Taser Attack: 11

Next Up: Gloom

[z-Gloom]

Gloom stepped to the open doorway and pointed her pistol at the men. "Freeze," she said, and then she dropped darkness on them, pulling the shadows from the corners of the room. As they were enfolded in a black so deep it felt like it had mass, she said, "If you surrender, you will not be harmed."

[Charlotte]

The room with the ghost of Sam in it was swathed with darkness. There was shouting and cursing, but no gunfire. Yet.

Next Up: Bodhie

[Bodhie Armstrong]

Bodhie placed her large hands on the windows frame and yanked it off far easier than she suspected. She put it down carefully and climbed through the opening which was just large enough for her bulky frame.

"Damnit!", she cursed when she heard Gloom's voice heading towards the door opening where she hoped she'd find her. The towering hulk of female power stood behind Gloom and peeked into the room... seeing darkness, all engulfing darkness.

"Fuck..."

[Charlotte]

When Bodhie walked, the floor shook, the walls vibrating.

Inside the mass of darkness, there was more shouting, and then someone stumbled out of the inky cloud, blinking. He looked to Gloom, his eyes wide. Then he looked to Bodhie, and his eyes really, really went wide.

"They're out here! They're out - here." The man fired his taser at Bodhie. One dart bounced off her super-tough skin, and hit the floor.

He stared at her for a long moment, lowering his stun gun. He had the expression of a man who was just now realizing how deep in shit he was.

Inside, Gloom could see the remaining thug stumble around, firearm in hand, pointing it at every little noise. At the sound of his comrade's voice, he started hesitantly walking towards it. The hostages were terrified. The ghost Necronaut had summoned was pissed.

Click to reveal..

Thug Taser attack: 17

Next Up: Scarlet Samurai

[The Scarlet Samurai]

Kenshin pulled his hat down as he withdrew Muramasa from his pocket. In a moment he was clad in scarlet armor the color of fresh blood, his katana in hand, the scabbard at his waist. He was already running, the blade cutting the air behind his as he held it low and away from his body, ready for a vertical slash. He moved quickly the wind at his back, the power of his father and all his other ancestors flowing in his veins, empowering his body. In an instant he had rounded the building he saw the vans, the thugs already on the ground, and the one remaining standing. With a flick of his wrist he spun the blade in his grasp, and then with a sweep of his arm he struck, the blunted side of his blade slicing toward the man, horizontally, across the midsection.

Click to reveal..

Charge Attack with the sword. Blunt side to do non-lethal damage. +2 attack bonus for the charge def suffers -2 (Def 4)

1d20+10=22

Attack does +12 damage (DC27)

[Charlotte]

The man didn't even have time to aim his stun gun - he was batted off to the side with a super-strong sword blow, bouncing off the hearse entryway and slumping to the ground, out cold.

Click to reveal..

Thug 3 cannot possibly save; he is taken out.

Next Up: Larissa/Morgaine

[SalmonMax]

Larissa runs up to the door Necronaut had mentioned and without thinking opens it! Only then does she think...maybe it would have been better to open it just a little and peek through first.

She'd get used to this hero thing eventually. Or die trying.

[Charlotte]

Larissa had seen Bodhie and Gloom enter the building and she had a rough idea where they'd gone - so she caught up with the pair as they stared down a room full of darkness, and a man with a stunned look on his face who'd just fired a stun gun.

* * *

Outside, the thugs slowly staggered to their feet. One of them took out his baton and moved towards Cyco, not closing the distance in time before she acted again. Another armed his stungun and fired. It was a perfect shot. It would have hit her dead center, except that between the darts being fired and the darts arriving, she just wasn't there.

The leader of the group looked at the Scarlet Samurai, goggle-eyed. He raised his gun, sighted, and fired.

PTANG

TING

PSHING

The leader blinked, lowering the gun away from his eyes to see more clearly. He knew he'd hit. They were tracer bullets, and he had seen the tracer fire just bounce off, thudding sharply into the ground.

He looked at the glowing woman, and the super-fast one in the dress, and then he spoke.

"Oh, hell."

Click to reveal..

Thug Stungun Roll: 22

Thug Leader: His damage bonus does not exceed Scarlet Samurai's Impervious bonus.

Next Up: Cyco

[CyCo]

OooOoh the calvary is here! Cyan thought, glancing at Shiny Gal and Armor Man.

She stopped for a moment, shaking her head at the three remaining thugs, "Tsk, tsk, Cyco didn't say Stand Up, you lose."

She started off in a cartwheel, but then she was gone. Rolling through the three, she attempted to knock them down again.

Click to reveal..

Fast Overrun

Overrun isn't really clear as to which roll of the Trip check gets her SS rank bonus, so I left it off for you to rule on.

Attack

1d20+8=26

Dex check

1d20+4=19

[Charlotte]

Cyco bounced around the parking lot like a pinball, bowling over each of them in turn and knocking them end over end.

Click to reveal..

Outside Thugs Checks: 16, 3, 18

Next Up: Sharatur

[IndyPendant]

Sharatur was a little taken aback. She had expected them all to fall, like those other thugs back at the museum. But then again, it couldn't always be that easy. Even if she wanted it to be.

She yelled down to the two civilians, "Get out of here!" and cringed inwardly as the stun gun was fired at her. Her trained reflexes kicked in even as she flinched, and the darts were deflected away from her.

Trained reflexes? From where, the School of Rock? I've never even tried to do something like that before!

She heard the yells and crashes and other sounds of violence from downstairs. It seemed those other strangers were helping Norman after all, but it was three against one up here! Sharatur was all these two victims had though, and only one of her newfound enemies was still in the fight right now.

"Uh, on second thought maybe you should stay up here until things settle down, downstairs."

Having confirmed the nature of these thugs, she planted her bo staff firmly on the floor. Using it as a lever, she jumped into the air and used her whole body, arms and legs alike, to pivot around the staff and deliver a devastating double-kick to the chest of the one guy still fighting, still taking care not to kill him.

[Charlotte]

The thug was knocked back by Sharatur's improvised drop kick, and driven back out the door and down the stairs, where he tumbled into view of Lari, Bodhie, and Gloom.

He wasn't dead - but he was going to be feeling it in the morning.

Only the team leader was left - reeling from a stick to the head, but still armed with a submachinegun.

Click to reveal..

Taking ten on attack: hit. It's an impossible save, so away he goes.

Next Up: Necronaut

[Necronaut]

The Necronaut didn't have time to wait for his summoned help to fully manifest. He hoped, sincerely and direly hoped, that the remaining thugs would be put down before they had a chance to get a shot off. But, lacking any other means of protecting the living around him he gritted his teeth and moved to stand directly in front of the gun wielded by the thug still trapped in Gloom's darkness. Then he twisted himself back into full solid reality. He wasn't sure exactly how Sam's cigarette case worked, or indeed if it did. This wasn't how he had hoped to find out.

He had hoped to terrify the gunman into fleeing, or at least dropping his weapon in surprise. Then he realized that the gunman couldn't see him anyway. He didn't have time to wonder why his own eyes were able to penetrate the darkness. He held his ground, in case the thug decided to start firing blind.

The vengeful and remorseful spirit of Sam advanced on the thug who had avoided Gloom's shadowy morass. His aim was to slug him in the face. He was disappointed when his hand passed harmlessly though his target's head. Or, maybe not so harmlessly. His spectral attack did nothing to the man's flesh, but after a weirdly delayed reaction this thug too was hurled with great force into the wall behind him. Almost as if the laws of physics weren't quite sure how to handle a ghost trying to move something solid.

In the meantime Alexander's Ghost tried to get his bearings and figure out where he could help. The newly summoned Spirit, unfortunately young for someone so dead, looked around in confusion, willing to help but not exactly sure what to do.

Click to reveal..

Necronaut is trying to take the shot from the armed thug. Sam is telekinetically tossing the other thug into the wall. Alexander and the new summon are delaying their actions.

[Charlotte]

The man, blinded by the darkness, doesn't notice Necronaut appearing in front of him.

The remaining thug outside of the patch of dark, however, does. He flies straight up, hitting the ceiling, which doesn't hurt nearly as much as flying straight back down. He hits the floor, and doesn't get up.

Click to reveal..

Sam's TK attack. (1d20+9=19)

Thug's Toughness save (DC24.) (1d20+2=5)

Next Up: Radiance

[Radiance]

Hikari dashes forward, drawing one of her blades across the back of one of the thugs trying to rise, not knowing what it would do, but hoping to just Knock him out.

Click to reveal..

1d20+8

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2187401/

17

[Charlotte]

"Oh, that is it, I am gonna shove this nightstick right up your FWUH - "

Radiance slammed down on the thug with her solid light swords, knocking him out instantly with a blow to the head.

Click to reveal..

Damage DC is insurmountable; thug auto-fails.

Upstairs, the team leader shook his head to clear it, then pointed his weapon - at one of the hostages. "I'll shoot! Drop the stick and put your hands up or I'll shoot!"

Click to reveal..

Readied action; trigger is hostile action from Sharatur; action will be to shoot the hostage.

Next UP: Gloom

[z-Gloom]

Gloom stepped into her own darkness, its shroud no impediment to her eyes. The closest thug to her found four hands grabbing him, all attempting to use the limitations of his form against him. It was amazing; she'd never had four arms before, yet she was completely at home with them, easily using them in concert to come up with incredibly firm holds on her hapless opponent.

Click to reveal..

Using her Attack Spec: Grapple, Improved Grab and Grappling Finesse (I think I don't have the book here and can't remember if they are appropriate, yet they sound appropriate) to grapple the first thug - attack check is a 23 total.

1d20=13

[Charlotte]

Gloom stepped into the darkness, grappling with the leader of the band. He screamed as she twisted his hand into a finger lock, making it impossible for him to fire.

With one of her free arms, she chopped him in the neck - however, the raised collar of his body armor prevented him from being hurt.

Click to reveal..

Gloom's Grapple check. (1d20+13=17)

Main Floor Leader's Grapple Check. (1d20+2=9)

Toughness Save (DC18) (1d20+6=25) (DC = 15 + Gloom's Strength mod)

Next UP: Bodhie

[Bodhie Armstrong]

"Are you outta your fucking mind?", she yelled at the guard who just shot her. The dart bounced off her skin harmlessly but the man still shot her.

Bodhie cursed again and got into a litany of curses as she tried to move through the palpable darkness. This was more than darkness - it felt sticky and like moving through cotton. It didn't slow her down one bit but she still had to move carefully unless she bumped into a wall or something and given how easily she bent the metal rack at Rachel's she didn't know how strong she had become. She could walk through walls - it sure felt like she could.

After a few steps she stopped and decided she went far enough - getting into a crouching position and prepared herself to grab the next guard who got into range - that is, she hoped it was a guard and not one of her new friends...

(ooc: readying a grapple for my second action)

[Charlotte]

Bodhie can hear the faint cries of the hostages, the grunts of Gloom and the team leader locked in combat, and the shuffling of the last of the team's underlings...

The thug got close enough to touch. She reached out and grabbed him by the neck. She hoisted him up, his legs kicking at nothing. With her free arm, she love-tapped him in the stomach, which was still enough to send him swinging upwards at nearly a ninety degree angle. When he swung back down, he was out cold.

The man with the gun tried to shoot Gloom with it, but it was awkward to wield in the dark, and the bullet shot past her and out into the hall. It missed Larissa by a mile. What it did not miss was a jar of embalming fluid that had been left out, and that, upon impact, burst into flames...

Click to reveal..

Bodhie's Notice Check (1d20+8=18)

Miss chance (low equals miss) (1d100=83)

Bodhie takes ten on the to-hit and grabs him.

Bodhie's Grapple (+12 Str, +8 Attack, +9 Super-Strength, +4 Size) (1d20+33=37)

Assuming that she chooses to damage the dude, he's unconscious.

Main Floor Gun Attack Miss Chance (Low equals Miss) (1d100=55)

Main Floor Gun Attack (1d20+6=9)

Next UP: Scarlet Samurai

[The Scarlet Samurai]

Kenshin skidded to a stop, the Murasmasa blade screamed for blood in his mind, begged to be sheathed in flesh. With a grimace Kenshin stepped toward the senior thug as he struggled to get up from the ground. The katana flashed out and down stopping with its point at the man's throat. "Yield!" Kenshin roared from behind his mask.

Click to reveal..

Using Fearsome Prescence (rank 5), all targets within 25ft need to make a will save vs DC 15.

[Charlotte]

To his credit - although, perhaps, to his regret - neither of them turned and ran in terror. But Kenshin could tell that fear had taken the edge off one thug's skill. Not so much the leader, for all the good it did him...

Click to reveal..

Outside Leader Will Save (1d20+3=22)

Outside Thug Will Save (1d20=11)

Leader is unaffected; the thug is Shaken.

Next UP: Larissa

[SalmonMax]

Larissa, or "Morgaine" as she was steadily starting to regret asking people to call her, flinched with a terrified squeak as a bullet whined past her and smashed into a jar of preservative fluid on a shelf. She whirled to look, and put a hand to her mouth in horror as it started to flame up, quickly igniting the other fuels that had been stacked nearby.

Quickly she traced a circle in the air, then traced within it the hermetic symbol for Fire. On the floor around the blaze white light flared up, inscribing protective runes in a complex diagrams. The runes faded away a moment later, but the ward they created stayed. Smoke abruptly filled a small capsule that enclosed the fire and kept it from spreading. A moment later the oxygen within the warded bubble was exhausted.

(Using the circle ward to enclose the fire in a dome that neither heat nor air can penetrate, thus stopping it from spreading and suffocating it.)

[Charlotte]

The smoke curled around in a dome shape, giving definition to what was apparently invisible. After a moment, the oxygen was gone, and the fire snuffed itself out as quickly as it began.

* * *

Outside, the thugs slowly got to their feet. The man with the club took a shaky swing at Cyco, missing by a mile. The man with the submachinegun turned his attention to the apparently unarmored Radiance, firing a quick three shot burst at her.

The bullets didn't bounce off an obvious suit of armor. They bounced off light itself. Again, he lowered the weapon, stunned.

"Oh God. Are you from the Order?"

Click to reveal..

Outside Thug Club Attack (1d20=13)

Outside Thug Gun Attack (1d20+6=21)

Radiance's Force Field is Impervious beyond the damage bonus of the gun.

Next UP: Cyco

[CyCo]

Cyco came to a sudden stop, wind whistling in a dervish around them from her constant spinning, "The first part is right. Won't you learn? Cyco says, stay down!"

Figuring the third time to really be some kind of charm, Cyco blurred through them. The only sign of her was the overwhelming blast of air that signaled her passage.

Click to reveal..

Fast Overrun

Attack

1d20+8=27

Dex Check

1d20+4=19

[Charlotte]

Once again, Cyco springs into action, bouncing between the remaining thugs, laying them flat out.

Click to reveal..

Outside Thug Trip Resist Check (Thug, Leader) (1d20+2=17, 1d20+2=16)

Next UP: Sharatur

[IndyPendant]

"Oh god." She didn't even realize she said it out loud, as she instantly froze. Immediately, her insecurities flared up. I went after the wrong guy. He has a damned assault rifle! How the hell am I supposed to take that? And what about the other guy? I kicked him down the stairs! I may have killed him! I may be a murderer! ...Shut up! Shut up! I can't deal with that right now! What do I do? What do I do? All that flashed through her mind in an adrenaline-fueled moment. As did her plan. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was all she had.

She dropped her bo staff, letting it clatter to the floor.

Holding her hands carefully and meekly to either side of her, she shifted her focus purely to the defensive again and said fearfully "Okay. Okay! Just...don't hurt anyone, okay?" She sidled slowly towards the woman and the old man, careful not to act in any way aggressive, or to approach closer to the gunman as she did so. "I'm just going to check on the old man, he looks really hurt. I know first aid. I won't do anything to you."

She didn't have to fake the fear in her voice. She screwed up, and because of it, all three of them may very well die in the next few seconds. And it was even true; she was trained in Level 2 First Aid. She smoothly kneeled down beside the man, and took the woman's hand. "Trust me" she said, looking into her eyes, "it'll be okay." I hope.

She took the man's wrist as if to read his pulse--but as soon as she had contact with both of them, all three of them instantly vanished.

The good news was, she got away. She was reasonably certain that part of her plan would work; so long as she wasn't going after him, even if he objected to her approaching the hostages, he wouldn't shoot them for that in the second or two it took for her to reach them, right? And she was all-but certain she could take the two of them with her. No, her problem was much more basic than that.

She didn't know how high she was off the ground.

She couldn't just take them downstairs. By the sounds of it, the fight was still very much on down there--she had even heard a gunshot! She couldn't just take them outside the window, because she was pretty sure her ability to walk on air couldn't be tranferred to others. She had a reasonable idea how far away the ground was, and she knew it was clear below the window--but 'reasonable idea' might not be good enough in this case.

And what if she guesstimated too far? She didn't really know for sure what would happen if she tried to teleport into the ground--but she knew she didn't want to find out this way, right now! So she had to estimate a little high, to be safe. A foot or two should do it--but that meant a fall. The woman would likely be fine, maybe a sprain to deal with, but the man was unconscious, with unknown injuries.

No help for it. She caused all three of them to reappear anywhere between zero and two feet above the ground by her best estimate. She left the woman alone, figuring her crouched position might be best if she had fast enough reflexes. She oriented herself lying on back with the man on top of her, and let herself fall to the ground, trying to cushion his landing as much as possible.

[Charlotte]

As Sharatur vanishes, she hears the bark of a semi-0automatic cough up a pair of bullets, and two wet punching noises as the bullets tear through the walls.

But neither of the people seemed harmed. Neither did she. From upstairs, she heard cursing. "Where did she go? Where did they ALL go!?"

Next UP: Necronaut

[Necronaut]

The Necronaut cringed as he heard gunshots ring out overhead. "Mr. D, maybe you could..." He didn't have to finish. The ghost of Alexander DeVasch was already floating up through the ceiling. He was intent on giving any ne'er-do-wells he might encounter what-for, though probably not framing the intent so quaintly. What what-for might entail was not exactly clear to him. A solid upper cut was an option, but judging from Sam's efforts, the results could be unpredictable.

The Necronaut regarded the grappled, gun wielding man for a brief, tense moment. It struck him that he only knew for sure about his ability to see and feel the Netherworld. Maybe this had granted him other abilities he hadn't yet noticed, such as super human strength or martial prowess. This flimsy speculation helped motivate him. He reared back, emulating the few action movies he could recall, and attempted with all his inconsiderable might to punch the gunman squarely in the nose. Anyone able to see through Gloom's dark miasma would have noticed that the Necronaut possessed neither super human strength nor martial prowess of even average-human levels.

In the meantime the frightened ghost the Necronaut had hurriedly summoned fled through the wall, terrified of the gunplay and melee and not yet entirely clear on how little danger it actually posed. She ran directly into another melee, this one between a sword wielding masked man and more of the pyromaniacal thugs. She didn't want to run again, not when help was clearly needed, but she didn't know what to do. At her wits end, she balled her ethereal fists ground the memories of her teeth together and cried out angrily. "Stop it! Stop! Just GO AWAY!" To her own insubstantial ears the words sounded weak and hollow. Everyone else nearby, however, was bombarded by a terrifying ultimatum of dread from beyond the grave.

Sam opted to follow the other ghost out through the wall. As his methods were substantially more direct he merely advanced to melee range with the nearest thug still standing... preparing to discover how far his ghostly matter-manipulation could hurl someone when their path wasn't deflected by a ceiling or a wall.

[Charlotte]

Alexander De Vasch rose though the floor, directly behind the leader of the upstairs group. He coughed.

The leader whipped around. He stared at Alexander's transparent visage, and he blanched.

"You tried to shoot her."

The gun fell from his fingers. He ran down the stairs, screaming in fear... running right out in view of Larissa, Gloom, Bodhie, Necronaut and Larissa.

* * *

Outside, two new players arrived on the scene. The young girl's plaintive cry did little but shake everyone present. The arrival of Sam, however, had a far more visceral effect.

"Believe me, Tom. We deserve this."

He slammed his foot down on the thug's chest. The thug struggled - it was like trying to move a cinderblock.

* * *

Necronaut's punch was wide, sloppy, and had no technique. By sheer luck, it connected with the man's face, knocking him for a loop.

Click to reveal..

Upstairs Leader Will Save (DC19) (1d20+3=9)

Sam's Attack Roll (1d20+9=29)

Sam's Grapple Check (1d20+9=16)

Thug's Grapple Check (1d20+2=7)

Sam chooses to pin, for this round.

Main Leader Toughness save (DC14) (1d20+6=8)

Next UP: Radiance

[Radiance]

Hikari moved up on the next thug who was still armed and conscious and lashed out with her energy sword into him, trying to do the same as she had done to the previous one.

Click to reveal..

attack roll 1d20+8= 17

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2194064/

[Charlotte]

The sword cut through the thug's armored vest like it wasn't there. The team's leader recoiled in pain.

The last of the men upstairs was currently running pell-mell out of the building.

Click to reveal..

Leader's Toughness Save (DC25) (1d20+6=19)

Next UP: Gloom

[z-Gloom]

Brodie had found something to play with, so Gloom focused on her luckless victim. "They say guns kill people," she hissed in his ear, "but in my experience, only carelessly used guns kill people. And you don't seem careful." As she spoke, she grabbed the gun with a free hand and twisted it, attempting to take it away from him.

Click to reveal.. (Rolls)

Improved Disarm check: 10

[Charlotte]

Gloom isn't quite as fully coordinated as she'd like to be, and she's unable to get a hold of the gun as she struggles with the commando.

Next UP: Bodhie

[Bodhie Armstrong]

Bodhie let the unconscious thug drop to the ground like a rag doll and turned around to help Gloom. The huge female amazon reached easily out to help Gloom disarm/grapple the last thug who obviously had picked the wrong women to mess around. Smiling at Gloom Bodhie said - "Finish him". She made sure the thug wouldn't escape in case Gloom had more trouble dealing with him than expected.

(ooc: Aid Another helping Gloom disarm/grapple the thug and if possible I ready an action to grapple the thug myself should she botch her attempt or he tries to get away. Bodhie's not dealing lethal damage - it's all just love taps)

[Charlotte]

The man with the gun tried to escape Gloom's ever-present arms, to little use.

Click to reveal..

Main Floor Thug Grapple Check (1d20+2=9)

Gloom's Grapple Check (w/Bodhie's Assist) (1d20+12=25)

Next UP: Scarlet Samurai

[The Scarlet Samurai]

Kenshin scowls, the Blood Armor mimics the movement causing the demonic visage to frown angrily at the prone man before him. With a flick flick of his wrist and the swing of his arm he raps the flat of the blade against the neer-do-well's head.

Click to reveal..

Strike the prone goon leader

Result = 12

Damage is +12

[Charlotte]

The man manages to roll with the hit and avoid the worst of the impact, though he's still hurt by it.

Click to reveal..

Outside Leader Toughness Save (DC27) (1d20+5=25)

Next UP: Larissa