Mutants & Masterminds: The Indigo Children - [Prologue] Shove

[Evo]

A hero is a man who does what he can. - Romain Rolland

It was time now, Ross reflected. There would be no going back from this decision. As he stood on the roof of the apartment building he lived in, he acknowledged the difficulties inherent in the course of action he had chosen to take on.

But really, he needed a sort of catharsis. He had never honestly felt unsoiled, free from the taint and shame associated with his family and their manifold criminal endeavors.

The best way, he felt, was to not just repudiate them, but stop them, repair this city that needed help. All this passed through his mind as he swiftly changed into his costume and mask, leaving them over his clothes. A matching white shirt and long pants with a pair of black stripes running down the sides. A pair of specialty boots that did look like baseball socks, true. And a fancy custom belt that he'd managed to get on the cheap by using Ebay carefully.

Then, he took a good look over the city, and numbed the butterflies in his stomach. He would be a hero, not a villain.

Focusing his mind upon himself, he rose into the air and then soared quickly to a high height, overlooking most of the city except some skyscrapers. As he moved, he turned his eyes down, searching for any abnormality in the fabric of the city.

Click to reveal..

To give an idea of Ross' costume and mask:

[jameson (ST)]

Against the backdrop of the night sky Shove couldn't have stood out more unless he was actually glowing. Luckily people in New York aren't in the habit of looking into the night sky. That's simply not a habit that tends to be formed when the light pollution from the city washes away anything that isn't an aircraft or the moon. Or even a guy dressed in tights.

For Ross there was freedom in the flight, this was the most overt use of his powers he'd ever taken and the feeling of exposure was frightening and exhilarating all at once. After twenty minutes the feeling had subsided in favor of boredom. Ross wondered what Apex did to find those crimes all the time. It occurred to him that maybe he needed to range out into the Bronx and Harlen, the older run down neighborhoods where gangs ruled and the police showed up in force or not at all.

[Evo]

With a determined look on his face, Ross shoved away his feelings of enjoyment and prepared himself, as his mind turned him around on a course for the Bronx. In his driven mindset, he knew that this was an area easily prey to the depredations of his family and others like them. This was a good place to start, provided he didn't get in over his head in the wrong starting fight.

He dropped down a dozen feet, giving him slightly clearer views, but not much closer yet. He entered the Southwest Bronx, cruised lower, and landed on the middle of the roof of an apartment building overlooking some alleyways and backstreets. The view was good for picking up any malefactors.

[jameson (ST)]

Malefactors or not what Ross found was a guy prying at the door on a utility junction box. His partner was keeping an eye out in both directions up and down the street, but failing to bother looking up. Granted Apex wasn't likely to come down from above just to stop somebody vandalizing a utility box. The two cast long shadows in the light of the street lamp across the road from them and Shove wasn't able to see either particularly well. Age, build race, even sex, was up for negotiation given the baggy clothes and darkness. Ross found himself considering if they were worth bothering with...

[Evo]

Ross quickly decided that this was not a good focus of time. As if to prove this point, the prying person swore- it was a man from the sound of the voice- and seeming to shrug, gave up this activity. The two, talking quietly, quickly retreated, probably lest someone see them, and moved on away from the street.

Ross turned, wondering if tonight was even the right night to- A sound of a *twack*, sounding like a solid punch brought his attention to an alley.

Two men were beating on a struggling woman below, and something told Ross that this looked more like a roughing up than a mugging. Set now, on an active crime he could deal with, he focused his mind and telekinetic force grabbed onto the man on the right, preparing to lift and hurl him at his partner in crime.

The man shot up all of a sudden, but in his haste Ross 'tossed' the first man over the second man's head, and his human projectile fell to the pavement.

Click to reveal..

TK grapple

Hits automatically, 1d20+6

(13:36:48) ChatBot: (Shove) rolls 1d20 and gets 18.

Grapple roll 24

Successful according to Jim:

Attack roll DC 14:

(14:58:13) (Shove): Attack roll for throwing: 1d20+2

(14:58:17) ChatBot: (Shove) rolls 1d20 and gets 5.

(14:58:21) (Shove): 5+2 = 7

Miss.

Don't know if the landing might do damage?

[jameson (ST)]

"Give us yer - urk!" The goon struggled but with nothing physical to gain leverage over he simply couldn't struggle effectively against the psychic force. The tough suddenly took off and flew by his partner before slamming into the building. He took the blow and rolled up pulling a gun from inside his coat.

His partner looked around quickly and then spying the bright white clad hero he leveled his own pistol and took a careful shot. The pistol, a big .50 cal Desert Eagle, barked once, a sound like a small building exploding. His aim was true and the bullet hit Ross squarely.

Click to reveal..

Grapple (+2)

(14:52:46) ChatBot: (jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 2.

fail

Toughness (+2) vs DC 21

(15:05:00) ChatBot: (jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 20.

pass

Heavy Pistol +4

(15:08:39) ChatBot: (jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 12.

Hits

Damage DC 19

[Evo]

Or so it seemed for a moment, but Ross was unaffected, twisting aside so that the shot went past. Then, knowing he had to go fast with this, levitated himself at a sudden 0 to 50 MPH, and back to 0, now on the roof of the building across the alleyway.

This time, nothing fancy. A pure telekinetic force punch slammed into the shooter's gut.

Click to reveal..

Deflecting: 1d20+3

1d20+3= 15

Miss.

Toughness +1 for Def Roll

1d20+1=19

Saved.

Going to TK punch the guy who shot at me.

Auto hit: DC 21

[jameson (ST)]

A loud sound, like a branch being broken. The gunman clutched his chest, and he coughed up a gout of blood even as he was shoved and fell backward. The gun clattered out of his hand as he hit the ground unconscious. There was another deafening rapport as the big semiautomatic discharged.

Not wasting any time the other fellow, his weapon clear, took aim and unleashed a barrage of bullets. The rapports sounded off like a string of firecrackers at Chinese New Year. The burst found Ross easily sending a fusillade of bullets at him.

Click to reveal..

Toughnes (+2) vs DC 21 (non-lethal)

(17:09:39) ChatBot: (jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 4.

Result = 6 = fail by 15 = KO

Uzi submachinegun +4 to hit

(17:35:54) ChatBot: (jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 18.

result = 22

+4 damage + 3 (autofire bonus (22-15)/2 = 3)

Toughness DC 15+4+3 = 22

[Evo]

Ross' hand raised up and the force of his mind shoved the bullets to the ground, they fell and clattered down unceremoniously. Then, his mind forced another blow into the Uzi gunner.

Click to reveal..

Deflect roll:

1d20+3=22

Saved

Telekinetic punch

Auto hit

DC 21

[jameson (ST)]

"Oof." The brunt of the force was resisted but the gunman still wavered a bit and needed to take a new stance to compensate. Again he unleashed a volley of lead.

Click to reveal..

Toughness (+2) vs DC 21

(18:35:18) ChatBot: (jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 18.

Result = 20 = bruised

Uzi submachinegun +4 to hit

(18:36:31) ChatBot: (jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 15.

result = 19

+4 damage + 2 (autofire bonus (19-15)/2 = 2)

Toughness DC 15+4+2 = 21

Note: as these are firearms the damage is lethal

[Evo]

Ross mentally brushed aside the bullets effectively, but this what getting a mite too much. He had to end this now, and fast. Straining his mind and the effect traveling into his nerves, he 'punched' for the stomach, then unleashed another at the head.

Click to reveal..

Deflect roll:

1d20+3=21

Succeeded Again

Extra Effort for 2 TK Punches.

Both Auto hit.

DC 21

[jameson (ST)]

The first blast of power took the thug directly in the gut and he stumbled backwards partial doubling over as his breath gushed out in a "whuu". The second too him on the crown of his head and dropped him to the pavement in a boneless heap.

Click to reveal..

2x Toughness (+2) vs DC 21

(13:17:23) ChatBot: (Jameson) rolls 2d20 and gets 12,4.

Result = 14, 6 = fail by 7, 15 = bruised, stunned, unconscious

[Evo]

Ross breathed a sigh of relief, and then, slightly drained from forcing those two TK punches, looked to the woman who had been the target of those criminals. He leaped off the building, using the well established telekinetic control of self to land smoothly and safely on his feet.

"You all right m'am?" He asked, with a concerned undertone to his voice.

[jameson (ST)]

The old woman lay on the ground unmoving. Ross moved closer and asked again getting much the same response. He knelt beside her and rolled her onto her back. That's when he saw the blood. Her eyes fluttered open, "Help me ..." The crimson stain blotted the pattern of her dress and soaked the coat she wore with a dark wet stain. The wound looked to be in her shoulder somewhere but it was hard to tell and Ross didn't know anything of first aid beyond putting a band aid on.

Even as his heart raced his mind seemed to slow like it was running in molasses. The gun. The pistol. The first assailant to go down. His gun discharging as he hit the ground. Oh god.

OOC: Unless you spend a HP to recover you will be fatigued from extra effort.

[Evo]

That, as a horrified Ross realized, was a twisted irony. In attempting to help her, had he threatened her life in the process? He toyed with the prospect of flying her to the nearest hospital, but it might take too long. He then noticed the bullet lying beyond on the cold pavement.

He knew about the concept of 'exit wounds', although practically, he could do, mind-numbingly, nothing to help.

Fine. Using his telekinesis, he lifted her body up. "I'll get you to a hospital, m'am." Then, the two rose to the air, heading for the closest hospital he could think of.

[jameson (ST)]

As one might expect the old woman weighed barely anything. Ross lifted the woman with the barest slip of his telekinetic power and the flew into the night sky with his dying ward in tow. He rocketed up into the night sky and quickly located the nearest hospital, the illuminated Medi-evac helicopter pad on the roof being an immediate giveaway. Like a bullet Shove sped toward the building and located the emergency room entrance dropping down out of the sky with the wounded woman by his side.

As he descended he saw a black SUV pull up to the entrance. A man got out and laid another on the sidewalk before embarking once more as the vehicle sped off leaving the man on the sidewalk. ER doctors and nurses were already outside as Ross descended holding the old woman steady.

One of the doctors looked up and saw the bloody woman, and then Ross "Christ what the fuck are you? No, nevermind, what happened here?" He and a nurse immediately broke away from the supine man to attend to the old woman as orderlies raced outside with stretchers. The doctor snapped his fingers in front of Ross's masked face, "Hey! What happened to this woman?"

*****

Back in the alley the two men slowly regained consciousness. They found a third man, dressed in black fatigues with a mask and goggles over his face, obscuring his identity completely. "Gentlemen, and, yes, I do use that term in it loosest form, what did you see?"

"Hey man, fuck you! We ain't gonna tell you no-" the remainder of his reply was cut short by a pop. He clutched his throat where a hole was pouring blood in a crimson fall. His death took seconds.

The man in black turned to the other tough, "Same question. You can cooperate and maybe get a chance -"

If the other youth felt any loss for his dead companion he banished it without haste. "It was this guy see. He was dressed up all in white, like some kind of," he rolled a shoulder in a shrug, "I dunno, like a ghost or a fuckin' wad o' cum or sumtin' He was up on the roof and it was like he he could move shit with his mind man, like some kind of fuckin' Jedi or something." The man in black nodded silently in reply. "Hey man, what the heck was that all about?"

"What that was, was a dangerous mutant using unnatural powers."

"Yeah, so shit man ... wait, you mean like Apex? Some kind of super freak?" The man in black nodded again. "Fuckin' freaks. If I had my way I'd fuckin' fuck 'em up. They thinks they's better than us."

"That is a problem." The man slid the silenced automatic into a holster on some kind of tactical vest. "How would you like the chance to fight back?"

"Against those freaks? Hells yeah!"

[Evo]

Ross was during the flight, angry as much at himself, as at the muggers for what happened. If he continued doing this, and that was suddenly a big question, could he avoid others getting caught in the crossfire of a future fight? The thought that this might happen yet again as a result of his actions was hard to bear.

Yet, as he wound up at the hospital, he had temporarily managed to banish the self-hatred, and his face was now stone hard. "Muggers." He told the doctor in an ice-cold voice.

[jameson (ST)]

The doctor nodded curtly, the answer wasn't the one he wanted but this kid was clearly out of his element. "Fine. You'll need to stick around to speak to the police." He didn't wait for a reply instead getting back to work and trying to save the old woman's life.

[Evo]

Ross wasn't sure how to proceed with this. Quickly, as the doctor went back to work, he flew up to just shy of the hospital roof and sat down on a protruding ledge, trying to figure out his next course of action. He had no interest in revealing his identity, nor to be honest, admit that the old woman had been caught in the crossfire.

He toyed with fudging the truth slightly, but the old woman would probably contradict his claims when she was capable of answering questions.

It was clear now, that the task was completely more complex and difficult than he had ever anticipated.

A hero, he realized, would probably admit what had happened, and face the fallout. Ross faced the question with growing unease in his gut. He knew that the urge to fly away, back to home, and abandon this mess was strong.

Was he really fit to be a hero? He needed a sign, should he give up, or continue at all costs?

Continues in [Prologue] Ross & Melissa