Mutants & Masterminds Mutants & Masterminds: The Unlikely Prophets - Issue #2: The Man Who Built Yesterday

[The Scarlet Samurai]

Kenshin swung his blade once again and failed to connect once again. His confidence failing, he slipped toward the realization that he truly was more of a danger to his friends than an ally.

Click to reveal..

Using A Flurry Of Blows: Strike 12 (Extra: Autofire)(Feats: Accurate x3, Split Attack x2) - splitting to attack 3 of the "Tweeters" - +8 total on attack

(21:28:16) ChatBot: (Kenshin) rolls 1d20 and gets 5.

Total = 13

[Charlotte]

The Scarlet Samurai missed, swinging wide. The robots then retaliated.

Gloom's pet robot finally twisted itself free from her grasp - still disoriented, but free. One of the others tried blasting Radiance out the side of the building again, but this time Radiance was ready, deflecting the sonic beam with one of her energy blades.

The last remaining one attempted to ensnare Hex in a cage of solid sound again, but Hex managed to push out of the way just enough that it did nothing but entangle a snarl of network cables on the floor.

The larger robot, for its part, was still too stunned to act. The same with the one that Radiance had struck.

Click to reveal..

Tweeter Grapple Check (1d20+7=17) vs. Gloom's grapple check (1d20+10=16) - the Tweeter escapes!

Tweeter Attack Roll (Sonic Cannon - Knockback) (1d20+11=18) - a miss vs. Radiance.

Tweeter Attack (Sonic Cage) (1d20+11=23) - a hit.

Hex's Reflex Save (2 for being at -4 Dex) (DC17) (1d20+7-2=21) - a success, though Hex is still Entangled.

Next UP: Jade. You have until Friday.

On Deck: Gloom.

[IndyPendant]

Sharatur had to pick one, and decided to go for the smaller robot that had just escaped from Gloom's grasp. She moved into a flying kick, trying to take the thing out once and for all! However, the thing flits upward, and Gloom sees a startled Sharatur flash past her view, held frozen in perfect flying-kick form...

Click to reveal..

Sharatur's attack: 1d20+10 → [3,10] = (13)

[Charlotte]

Jade did, indeed, miss by a mile.

Next UP: Gloom. You have until Tuesday.

On Deck: Necronaut

[z-Gloom]

Gloom scowled as the robot slipped her grasp. Her eyes flashing with anger, she repeated her maneuver, trying to stall it for another few rounds. She had little else she could do to hurt it.

Click to reveal..

Attempting to re-grapple: 1d20+10=29

Whoot!!

[Charlotte]

Gloom grabbed the robot easily, restricting its movement.

Click to reveal..

It can't beat that grapple, so that's an autosuccess.

Next UP: Necronaut. You have until Tuesday.

On Deck: Cyco. Start of a new round.

[Necronaut]

"Right, new plan! You two, grab something and smash that little flier. You, help Ms. Armstrong finish off the big one."

Necronaut turned his attention to one of the other small flying robots and tried to push the unfortunate automaton into the nether-world, never to return.

Click to reveal..

I'll have to roll the dice later, but the two quick-geists are going to toss a chair and a waste-basket respectively at the trapped tweeter. The strong-geist will attempt to assist Armstrong with her attack on the remaining thumper. Necronaut is trying his level-4 disintegrate on one of the other tweeters.

[Charlotte]

(sorry, folks, bit of confusion over character sheets)

The ghosts managed to grab ahold of one of the tweeters, holding it steady.

"Loud loud loud full of crackle crackle hurts - "

Next UP: Cyco. Start of Round 4; you have until Friday.

On Deck: Hex

[CyCo]

Frustrated at her seemingly lack of ability to do much beyond making the robots 'chime', she started grabbing any and all debris she could find on the floor, (which consisted mostly of broken window glass and robot bits) and chucking it at the tuna can she had been dealing with.

Click to reveal.. (Flashback)

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU" Cyan screamed, throwing every hand-sized object within reach at her bedroom door which her father had just walked out through.

Click to reveal.. (Mechanics)

Move by attack, Rapid Fire(Autofire)

Damage=8+(1 for every 2 sux over defense)

Attack Roll:1d20+8=19

[Charlotte]

Cyco's barrage of glass shards and bits of broken metal flew forward. Some went wide in a spray; a frightening number of them went through the robo in the same one-inch impact zone, each one pounding through the robot's casing like a nail driven by a hundred hammer blows. The effect was instantaneous; the robot's internal guidance system was upset, wobbling back and forth, held in place by Necronaut's spectral assistants.

Click to reveal..

Tweeter Toughness Save (DC24) (1d20+7=10)

Failed by 14; Stunned + Disabled + Bruised

Next UP: Hex. You have until Friday.

On Deck: Strongarm

[SalmonMax]

Hex threw her hand out and incanted again. Strange blue light crackled and lanced between her fingers, and another mystic burst of energy shot out. As it streaked towards a tweeter, her previous blast curved around before striking the wall and hurtled back at another one of the robots!

The self-styled witch then started trying to work her way out of the strange bands of vibrating air that limited her movement.

(Magic Missile 1 (fired last turn) Homes in on target, attacking with 10. Magic Missile 2 (fired just now) attacks a tweeter with 21. Damage bonus +10, with 6 levels Penetrating. As a Move, she attempts to Escape the entanglement with a Dex roll at 10.)

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2412897/

[Charlotte]

The bolt of eldritch force struck home, blowing a significant chunk of the robot's armor off, leaving wiring exposed to the world.

Click to reveal..

The original Magic Missile did hit; the robot made its Toughness save. My reading of the rules seems to indicate that it doesn't need to make another.

Toughness Save (DC25) (1d20+7=11)

Failed by 14; Disable, Stunned, Bruised -1

DC to break out with Escape attempt is 27; 10 is unsuccessful. (FYI, using Escape Artist is a full-round action according to the power; you can, however, 'attack' the snare as it is a physical field.)

Next UP: Strongarm. You have until Tuesday.

On Deck: Radiance.

[Bodhie Armstrong]

Strongarm triumphantly smiled as she felt how the machine gave away under her superstrong and relentless grip. She felt a rush unlike before and increased the pressure on the robot to finish it off with a girlish glee. The power she exterted was... intoxicating. Her muscles tensed with inhuman strength and a surge of adrenaline made her biceps swell even larger.

Click to reveal..

Grapple check vs. Thumper and hopefully finish it off now. (1d20+33=47) - that's a 47. DC 27 Damage. Interpose Feat readied on Hex.

[Charlotte]

Strongarm dug in, cracks spiderwebbing across the surface of the robot as it grew ever more debilitated.

Click to reveal..

Toughness Save (DC27) (1d20+13-3=21)

Failed by 6; Stunned + Bruised

Next UP: Radiance. You have until Tuesday.

On Deck: Scarlet Samurai

[Radiance]

Hikari brought her sword around again on the tweeter she'd hit before, hoping to finish it this time.

Click to reveal..

atk +8

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2414744/ (18)

[Charlotte]

The robot was too disoriented to dodge, and Radiance attacked twice with glowing blades, bisecting it twice. Residual centrifugal force sent four separate pieces spinning off to the far corners of the room.

Click to reveal..

Hit against a stunned foe.

Toughness Save (DC25) (1d20+7-1=10)

Failed by 15; tweeter is destroyed.

Next UP: Scarlet Samurai. You have until Tuesday.

On Deck: Robots, then Jade.

[The Scarlet Samurai]

Humiliation and anger swept through Kenshin in equal measure. The sword cackled but offered nothing, these targets were not living and so it cared not. Kenshin swallowed his pride and swung the sword round in a high arc toward the little bot that had Gloom entangled. The sword howled through the air and impacted the droid is a flash of sparks as steel met steel.

Click to reveal..

Attacking Tweater #4 Using The Thirsty Blade: Strike 12 (Extra: Penetrating)(Feats: Accurate x3, Incurable, Split Attack)

(08:57:47) (Kenshin): Attack (+8) vs Tweeter #4

(08:57:55) ChatBot: (Kenshin) rolls 1d20 and gets 11.

Total = 19 (finally!)

Damage = 27

[Charlotte]

There was a flash. The sound of steel on steel. Then Gloom looked down as she held a perfectly bisected robot in her hands, two hands on each half.

Click to reveal..

Toughness Save (DC27) (1d20+7-1=10)

Failed by 17; Tweeter #4 is destroyed.

All robots are stunned; none can act.

Next UP: Jade. You have until Tuesday.

On Deck: Gloom

[IndyPendant]

Jade turns on the remaining biggest robot, seeing if she can put it down for good. She leaps high in the air and kicks out at its chest before landing lightly. The battle now well in hand, she quickly glances around for any further threats, or potential threats.

Click to reveal..

Sharatur's attack: 1d20+10 = 17

[Charlotte]

Jade's kick connected soundly, thanks to Strongarm keeping the robot in place. She put a foot-shaped dent in an exterior armor plate.

Click to reveal..

Toughness Save (DC25) (1d20+13-4=14)

Failed by 11; Stunned, Bruised -1

Next UP: Gloom. You have until Friday.

On Deck: Necronaut

[z-Gloom]

Gloom grinned widely as the robot was sliced by the red Japanese guy's blade. "Awesome!" she chirped with a grim cheer before grabbing the next nearest robot for a grapple.

Click to reveal..

Gloom's Grapple on nearest robot: 18

1d20+10=18

[Charlotte]

The robot was grabbed, and held fast, by Gloom's handiwork.

Click to reveal..

Tweeter's Grapple Check (1d20+7=15)

Failed by 3; grappled.

Next UP: Necronaut. You have until Friday.

On Deck: Cyco. Start of Round 5.

[Necronaut]

The Necronaut frowned as he realized the ghosts he summoned weren't up to robot demolition. "Okay guys, you just run interference. I think we've got them on the ropes now..." He directed his three haunts to assist his allies with taking down the remaining robots and, for his part, attempted to shove one of the tweeters into the depths of the nether... hopefully never to return!

Click to reveal..

Ghost 1 and 2 vs tweeter 1 and 2 (1d20+1=15, 1d20+1=15) (+5 to hit for the next person to attack these robots if these rolls are above 10)

Ghost 3 vs Thumper (1d20+5=19) (+5 to hit for the next person to attack this robot if the roll is above 10)

Necronaut disintegrate 5 attack vs tweeter 3 (1d20+9=10) (Natural 1!)

[Charlotte]

Necronaut's "ethereal shove" went wide, sending a ceiling fixture into the world of the dead.

Originally Posted By: OOC

All the ghosts grant their bonuses; the next person to attack the robots, please keep them in mind.

Next UP: Cyco. You have until Tuesday.

On Deck: Hex

[CyCo]

Shocked at her success, Cyco didn't miss a beat and continued to huck the bits of flotsam at her metallic adversaries.

Click to reveal.. (Mechanics)

Move by attack, Rapid Fire(Autofire)

Damage=8+(1 for every 2 sux over defense)

+5 Bonus from ghosts if above 10

1d20+8=22+5=27

[Charlotte]

(Lost original post, so: Cyco hits, dings it with 1 bruised level)

Next UP: Hex

On Deck: Strongarm

[Charlotte]

After a furious half-minute of battle, the robots finally shorted out - the spinning robots with sonic cannons spun down, one of them bouncing off a wall and the other skidding towards the open windows. The last large robot finally fizzled and stopped responding, a nearly inaudible whine whirring down.

Click to reveal..

Rather than go through three more rounds of wailing on already-disabled robotic pinatas, I'm going to declare this battle won for the good guys.

For a moment, everything was quiet. Then Blackjack tapped his way in from the elevator. His shirt's shoulder was cut from a stray bit of glass, but he was otherwise unhurt.

"Am I going deaf too, or did someone say 'killer robots?'"

[SalmonMax]

Panting as much from reaction as exertion, Hex looked over at Blackjack, momentarily speechless.

"Some kind of security system that got set off by accident," she said, her jangled nerves showing clearly in her voice. "They came right through the ceiling. I guess we can get up there through the hole now."

She carefully walked over to the hole, kicking robots and parts out of the way with little clanking noises, so she could peer up into the next floor.

"We need to get a move on though because our cover is well and truly blown now."

[Bodhie Armstrong]

Bodhie looked at the destroyed robots with some regret. It was over too soon and she was starting to enjoy this fight. Sweat was glistening off her large hulking frame and she smiled satisfied nonetheless. They've won this fight and it surely wasn't their last.

The large female hulk walked towards the hole in the ceiling carefully poking through it as far as allowed her to while she waited for the others to come over. They surely would need her help climbing through the hole and she could easily pick them all up and reach them through the hole to the next level. She also checked if she could fit through it given her huge size right now.

ooc: Bodhie has reached her full height of 8'7" and tries to peek a boo to the next level or whatever she can see through the hole

[CyCo]

A mad look in her eye from the emotional breakdown, Cyco finally stopped shooting debris and took a look around and realized it was over.

"Hardly killer, more like scary in an annoying way." she said, joining 'Hex' near the hole with a small rush of air. "Move it...gotcha."

With another small gust, Cyco ran full tilt at the wall and ran up it, before scrambling onto the ceiling and up through the precisely cut opening in the ceiling.

I am so cool.

[z-Gloom]

Gloom stepped backwards, her hands finding and opening the closet door. With a last, Cheshire smile to the others, she stepped inside-

-And appeared suddenly in the tunnel above Cyco. Her four arms shot out and braced her as the speedster gracefully slid past her. God damned, but she's fast, Gloom thought, twisting her head up in a vain attempt to track the supposed-half-angel or whatever she was. Grunting, she began to climb the tunnel, teleporting in the gloomy interior as needed.

[Necronaut]

The Necronaut glanced at the mechanical post-pandemonium and nodded, satisfied. Directing his ghosts to keep an eye on the tech and guards, he followed the others into the breach...

[Radiance]

Hikari looked at all the dead bots and nodded. She then followed the others, wanting to see what was so important.

[The Scarlet Samurai]

Kenshin sheathed his sword, the howls of the demon blade subsiding to muffled protests as he did so, and took a moment to breathe easy. He's been lucky, this time, as the enemies were little more than wind up toys. He hadn't had to fight the blade, it was indifferent toward the robots, unlike with a human target. Kenshin was about to speak when the others began to disappear up into the hole overhead. With a sigh he moved over and jumped upwards, wedging himself into the hole and climbing up as best he could, the skill to do so came to his mind from the foggy depths of the armor, some ancestor of his had once breached a castle using a similar technique to scale its walls.

[Charlotte]

The security guard that Cyco had spirited away was soon regrouped with the tech that Necronaut's ghosts had isolated. They weren't going anywhere.

A little bit of effort later, and the nine of them had reached the topmost floor. Gloom saw it first - then the lights came up, and so did everyone else.

Behind them were two larged, sealed chambers with clear doors cut like diamonds. Inside, a small army of skittering bejweled robots were already racing to reassemble another pair of giant robots from raw materials. An indicator at the top of each tank was full. Another at the bottom sat at one bar out of ten. It wasn't a stretch to conclude that the topmost bar represented raw materials and the bottom, progress on the finished automaton.

In front of them was a solid wall of ruby that gave each of them pause, because it had the same hue as AEGIS-1, the ruby-colored orb that served as the invincible armor of the Order's VIPs. Lights flickered on, and behind the ruby wall was another wall, this one lined with computer screens and port-holes.

One of these holes opened. It poked its head through the ruby wall, and a series of clicks issued from it. Then the room was lit up even further by a hologram, displaying words.

Scanning...

Not in Database

Not in Database

Not in Database

Artifact Flagged

Not in Database

Not in Database

Not in Database

Artifact Flagged

Not in Database

Another probe emerged, clicking as it pointed itself first at Hex, and then at the Scarlet Samurai.

Scanning...

Profile Found: "Book of Keys"

Owner: Elizabeth Eldritch

DNA Match: Not Found

Access Denied

Scanning...

Profile Found: "The Muramasa"

Owner: The Scarlet Samurai

DNA Match: 99.98% Probability of Family Tie

Special Flag: Blade Only Usable by Family Line

Conditional Access Assessment - Booting Goldsmith Archive Synthetic Intelligence

The words stayed for a few moments, then they were replaced by another hologram. For a moment, the group felt their collective heart skip a beat, because the shape before them was not a million miles removed from Archon himself.

But a closer look put the lie to that. The man's armor was plated with gold and silver, with jewels accenting it at the joints and at the head. This wasn't Archon.

It spoke. "This is the Goldsmith. Internal clock indicates it has been thirty years, 5 months, and 16 days since the last successful access attempt. It has been one minute and forty-seven seconds since the last unsuccessful access attempt. Probability of the Goldsmith being deceased: high. Artifacts belonging to known associates detected. Legitimate ownership not yet established. This was anticipated as a possibility when programming began."

"All of you - tell me why you're here." The hologram turned to the Scarlet Samurai. "And you - tell me about your father. Stress sensors are active, so be truthful."

[The Scarlet Samurai]

"I am Sanada Kensin, son of Sanada Yoshitsune. This is the demon blade Sanada Muramasa and I wear the Face of Terror. I am the Scarlet Samurai!" Kenshin drew authority and power from deep within the armor and for the first time in days the voice of the blade was quelled, cowed by the power he pulled from his family line and that hidden within the man who had been a professor of history. "If you know of my sword, my armor, or my father you know than no-one but his eldest son could wield these artifacts."

Kenshin strode forward, possessed of a determination unlike any that he had possessed before, "Now you will explain who you are, and how you know of my father and the Sanada legacy."

[Bodhie Armstrong]

Bodhie wasn't sure if the danger was still imminent or not. She decided to be better save than sorry and remained in her 'hulked' form which scratched just below the 9 Feet mark. Her massively muscled body resumed a position defiantly next to Kenshin, arms crossed over her mighty chest, legs large like trees flexing impatiently as she listened to what was said with a mixture of curiousity and surprise. She had absolutely no idea what was going on but she was ready to fight if things should spiral out of control.

Hearing Kenshin speak up with a determined voice was inspiring and bolstered her defiance. Yet a part of her was more than surprised about this revelation - Kenshin seemed to know more about why all this was happening than he had admitted at first. Maybe she had missed something, she wasn't sure about that. Too much had happened, not only around her but also to her. The oversized female bodybuilder was still engrossed by her own transformation, the power pumping through her veins and empowering her muscles was beyond description. Her body awareness has increased manifold but she was still guessing what her limits were.

Shaking her head briefly to refocus on the situation she carefully watched Kenshin and the Hologramm ready to jump into action if needed.

[IndyPendant]

When CyCo sprinted up the wall, she found Sharatur already there, having teleported up. She just blew past however as Sharatur paused to process what had just happened. "Killer robots. Unbelievable."

She stared at the words and the hologram for a long moment, tensing for another fight. Her slightly-dazed mind operating on instinct, she blurted the first thing that occurred to her. "Who tried to access, uh, that is, who made the access attempt one minute forty-seven seconds ago?"

[SalmonMax]

"Guys, it asked us why we're here," Hex said. "I don't think it's going to answer anything until we tell it."

She looked at the others, but saw no one was exactly champing at the bit to be first, so she faced the hologram...or whatever it was.

"Not long ago, everything changed for us. We were ordinary people, living in the world the Order made for us, but then we heard this...song. And we saw the Mathemagician talking to us. And everything changed. I found this book in my father's attic. Others of us found they had abilities they hadn't had before. We also found out that the Order has done something, erased history, changed it...and changed the world to be something they can control."

"So we're here because we're trying to figure out what happened, and what they did, and what we can do about it. We didn't know what was up here. We just knew that the Order was afraid of it, and was going to destroy it. And by 'it' I mean you."

[Charlotte]

"Stress levels indicate truthful response."

The hologram turned to the Scarlet Samurai. "I am a program left behind by the Goldsmith in the event of catastrophe, to determine - based on pre-selected criteria - who may access the Vault. I know of the Scarlet Samurai because he was an associate of the Goldsmith. The Goldsmith was one of the few who knew the Scarlet Samurai's secret identity, which you have correctly confirmed."

The hologram turned to Sharatur next. "Originator of hack attempt unknown. There have been four failed access attempts since the last successful access. This latest appears to be an attempt to circumvent the adaptive algorithm that protects access to the Vault. Previous attempt was twenty-two years, one month and four days ago. Both prior attempts were within four months of that date."

Finally, it settled its gaze on Hex. "No known super-criminal organization is known by the alias 'the Order.' No known super-heroic organization bears that name either. According to the bearer of the Book of Keys, this Order now in control, or believed to be in control, of planet Earth. This program requests information on the Order and information on the identity of those attempting to circumvent the security system of the Vault."