Adventures Assemble S3E3: The Great Brain Robbery!

[Ysariel]

Moonlight
Undersea

"Okay, it's my turn now." With a vicious glare, she willed the ice holding Calamity to form spikes on the inside and rapidly extend into her foe's body.

You can see, under Calamity's scaled skin, the veins of her muscles thicken and bulge as she tries to squeeze the air out of you. "Let me go, fairy-face," she snarls. "Letmego letmego letmego LETMEGOLETMEGOLET-- AAARRRRRGH!!"

Her eyes widen, then with a hideous shriek, she releases you as the ice folding her grows into spikes that stab her through her armored skin. Then they roll back in her head and she gently starts floating towards the sea surface, unconscious. You are left surrounded by saltwater and the shrapnel fragments from the anti-ship torpedo, and a few faint trails of dark blue blood seeping from Calamity's body. In the distance floats the Anarchy Command submarine, silently motionless with its ruined engines.

OOC

AA Calamity toughness DC 31: 1D20+11-1 = [7]+11-1 = 17

Failed by 20. I believe this may be the first ever 1-hit KO we have witnessed in this thread. You defeat Calamity and the combat is over.

You can investigate the Anarchy Command sub if you like.

Alternately, you can also rejoin Jason on shore. You can also do whatever else you consider reasonable.

[Ysariel]

Nightbird
Over the Pacific Ocean

Looks like Catastrophe must have been injured from their previous encounter as he seemed a bit woobly in his flight although still moving fast, pulling the bike up next to him Imogen lashed out with a kick.

As you speed off towards the horizon it doesn't take much for you to spot the comet-like form of Catastrophe speeding off to safety. The super-terrorist's eyes widen as you, literally, drive right up beside him and attempt to kick him in his face. But with a sudden burst of will, the energetic aura about him intensifies, absorbing most of the force of your attack. The trail of light that he draws over the surface of the ocean becomes a squiggle for a few seconds as he wobbles in the air, then straightens out again as he redoubles his efforts to reach safety.

"Catastrophe to the Ragnarok," he frantically squawks into his earpiece. "The heroes have arrived in force. We are overwhelmed. Request immediate reinforcements!"

An updraft of warm air washes over you from the ocean below. If you time your acceleration well, you can use it to boost your speed momentarily. As Catastrophe zooms off for dear life at an annoyingly fast speed you realize this could be your last chance to bring in this crook.


OOC

I don't think penalties for attacking from a vehicle are mentioned anywhere, though it might make sense that only people with the Vehicles skill can accurately shoot from moving vehicles?

AA Catastrophe Toughness DC 26: 1D20+8-2 = [18]+8-2 = 24
Failed by 1 degree, another -1 penalty

Catastrophe decides not to engage you this round and continues to flee. His effective speed rank is 1 more than you. However, you have the Vehicles skill, so you can make a DC 19 (10 + his speed rank) Vehicles skill check to gain +1 speed rank for a round. If you succeed, you can continue to engage him for the next round.

Round 5, in pursuit
22 Catastrophe (-3, Staggered) -- Flight 10(9)
19 Nightbird -- Flight 8 *

And you are up again.

[Gilliam]

Nightbird
HP: 6 LP: 1
Condition: Normal


"Nearly" Imogen curses under her breath as Catastrophe somehow shrugs off another of her attacks, this guy was really getting on her nerves.

"Heads up guys I suspect Catastrophe is heading for his home base maybe a ship or sub as he is still going straight out to sea, he has just called for reinforcements from something called Ragnarok so watch out. I am still chasing and I will get this guy no matter what." Imogen quickly updates Jason and Aranel on the comm and she meant it, Catastrophe will not get away.

Noticing the warm updraft Imogen didn't even hesitate timing her approach just right so that the updraft pushed her up at a speed faster than the bike had ever gone before, at the peak of the updraft Imogen gunned the bike and angling downwards rapidly closed the gap between herself and Catastrophe.

Grinning like a madwoman Imogen leapt into the air to drive her boots into the back of Catastrophe then using his back as a springboard she flipped head over heels giving him another kick in the midriff before using her other leg to push herself away and timing it just right to land back on her bike as it flew by.

Pulling the bike up Imogen turned to see if her attack had had any effect.

DC19 Vehicles Check
Nightbird Vehicles DC19: 1d20+8 25

Nightbird PA +4
Nightbird PA +4: 1d20+15-4 31
Critical and DC33 Toughness Save

[kenseido]

Jason Maxwell
HP: 5, Condition: Fine

Jason watches as Genie flies off after the villain with a frown. "There goes my ride," he says half-jokingly. Riding on the back of they bike-thing out here had been kind of fun, and not because he had to hold on to Genie the whole way.

Okay, not just because of that.

Jason briefly contemplates gating after them, but quickly dismisses the idea. He can't clearly make out the terrain he would be teleporting into. Not making that mistake again. That magical trap cost him hours and possibly cost more people's lives.

He looks toward the ocean. Not much of a swimmer, he considers the many magical creatures who swim unimpeded. Could he take on their qualities. Maybe. But would being underwater mess with his Sorcery? Almost certainly. The hermetic style practices by the Order was such a tedious method, it was very much all or nothing. He doubted the words could be properly spoken underwater. And without that, he would be fairly useless underwater. Probably needing Moonlight to save him. Better to let her deal with it on her own then add an additional liability.

He looks around assessing his current situation.

"Well, I guess I should get ready for the ambush."

He sits on a tree stump and activates his magical vision.

Activate Specto: Senses 9 (Radius Vision, Vision Counters Illusion & All Concealment)
Perception check: 1d20+7 11
That should work out well if there is an ambush.

[stavaros_the_arcane]

Gelert & Amethyst
General Arms Systems -- Underground STARS assembly plant

"Also I imagine such a weapon has limitations beyond effect duration. It would probably be less reliable against non-humans with abilities naturally beyond the average human range, or individuals with technology based enhancements.

"Oh, but that's the beauty of this technology," Richards says with a broad grin. "It doesn't."

"We've tested it on aliens, mutants, super-science devices, the works. Any abnormal crap that gets in the way of the average, honest American citizen gets shut down --" he snaps his fingers -- "just like that."

Ms Grace adjusts her glasses. "The technology works against subjects resistant or immune to AEGIS power-nullifier restraints, which are based off nerve impulse disruption and are far more limited in application. As far as anyone can tell, it has no blind spots."

"That is surprising and impressive." Gelert remarks. Must be because the weapons are Dakka crystal based.

"If you don't mind, I'm just going to take a closer look at something real quick. Won't take long." Gelert says before he zips over to inspect the S.T.A.R.S unit he saw looking at him.

The STARS drone in question stands approximately 7.5 feet tall and is covered in angular grey metal armor. There is a prominent chest projector and wrist-mounted emitter for the nullifier beams. The other hand is equipped with a laser blaster, and the shoulders carry missile pods. The "face" sports a V-shaped sensor array, within which you can see the optical sensor nestle, like a cyclopean eye. It is connected to a supporting harness by cables and restraining arms. Computer monitors on the harness display all manner of readouts and statistical data. However, the unit does not show any further movement of its own.

You hear Richards' voice from behind you. "Hey. Hey!"

He hurries up to you with Regina in tow. "What, exactly, are you doing?" he demands.


OOC

You don't have the Technology skill. Instead, you can make a DC 25 Persuasion check to ask Rex to instruct his engineers to examine the STARS unit in question for anything untoward, or to allow Amethyst to do so. If you inform Rex that the unit looked at you, the DC decreases by 2, to DC 23.

You can poke and prod the unit physically (no check required) to try and get a response.

Alternately, you can decide not to pursue the issue further and continue with the tour, where you will be shown the fabricator unit.

You can also do anything else you consider reasonable.

Gelert floats up until he is nose to metaphorical nose with the robot.

"Well these units are in standby or diagnostic mode or whatever you call it, right?" Gelert asks a loud as he gently sniffs at the 'face' of the particular unit trying to provoke a response. "So they shouldn't respond to external stimuli unless manually activated or given an order? Because this one's 'eye' moved to look at me for a moment. I'm trying to see if that was a momentary glitch, mechanical oddity, etc or if the machine is doing something... interesting. Maybe it's curious because its never seen a dog before?"

Gelert turns to Richards and gives him the puppy eyes. "I don't suppose you can have some of the tech savvy people double check? It might be nothing, but you kind of invested a lot of time, resources and hard work into these, so double or triple checking that everything works as intended isn't a bad thing."

OOC: Persuasion 1d20+17: 27

[Ysariel]

Nightbird
Over the Pacific Ocean

Grinning like a madwoman Imogen leapt into the air to drive her boots into the back of Catastrophe then using his back as a springboard she flipped head over heels giving him another kick in the midriff before using her other leg to push herself away and timing it just right to land back on her bike as it flew by.

"Look here," Catastrophe very quickly says, "Isn't there any chance you might--" he looks, stares at the empty seat of your bike for a second, then lets out a strangled "URGH!" as you land on his back. Your final boot to his midriff pops his force field like a bubble and sends him flying in a long arc towards the ocean surface.

You land on your bike a second before Catastrophe lands among the fishes below with a loud SPLOOSH that showers you with drops of seawater. It's a pity this isn't an Olympian gymnastics competition, since you're sure that would rate all 9's and 10's from the judges.


OOC

AA Catastrophe Toughness DC 33: 1D20+8-3 = [9]+8-3 = 14
Failed by 19, staggered again and incapacitated. Combat is over.

You can retrieve and restrain Catastrophe (no checks required).

If you want, and assuming he was headed in the direction of his mother ship, you can continue flying in the heading he was moving towards to see if there is anything there.

You can also do whatever else you consider reasonable.

[Ysariel]

Gelert & Amethyst
General Arms Systems -- Underground STARS assembly plant

"Well these units are in standby or diagnostic mode or whatever you call it, right?" Gelert asks a loud as he gently sniffs at the 'face' of the particular unit trying to provoke a response. "So they shouldn't respond to external stimuli unless manually activated or given an order? Because this one's 'eye' moved to look at me for a moment. I'm trying to see if that was a momentary glitch, mechanical oddity, etc or if the machine is doing something... interesting. Maybe it's curious because its never seen a dog before?"

"Yes," Regina Grace answers you. "And... yes. The drones do not take independent action unless ordered, though once ordered, they have some leeway in the actions taken to achieve them. I assure you that no orders have been issued for the drones to give you side-eye." She looks like she wants to add some snarky comment to the end of that, then thinks better of it. "Are you certain you aren't just mistaken? A trick of the light perhaps?"

Richards thinks over your request, then shrugs. "I guess it can't hurt. After all, the whole purpose of this is to ensure that you leave without the impression that we are hiding something. And I would normally say this is a transparent attempt to engineer some kind of incident so that your friend here can steal our technology, but I see no issue with having our own people perform some checks. Ms. Grace, if you'll do the honors..."

Her expression is visibly annoyed, but she says nothing and turns to the monitors, waving the rest of the engineering team to the consoles; they begin checking the readouts on the various monitors, one physically inspects the unit's chassis for irregularities, while another waves some kind of sensors device over the thing.

Suddenly Ms Grace frowns, and freezes as the screen she is looking at fills with error messages. "Wait a moment," says another engineer. "We're seeing some abnormal readings in the A.I. core, but we never programmed it to do anything like--"

The STARS unit activates!

Screens shatter, metal restraints snap like cheap plastic, wires break and shower sparks all over you. With the hum of powerful servos, the STARS drone steps out of the restraining harness, pushing aside the wreckage of the computers and monitoring equipment. The assorted engineers scream and scatter in all directions. Ms Grace narrows her eyes; Rex just looks dumbfounded. The drone's attention is not on them, however. Its power-nullifying weapons light up and the shutters on its missile pods snap open as it turns to face you!

"They're coming alive!" you hear a strangled scream from behind you. More of the STARS drones are activating, breaking free of their restraints and deploying weapons. There are half a dozen active machines now.


OOC

Because you spotted the unit looking at you and are wary as a result, the STARS drone does not get any surprise round. The STARS Equalizer is the machine that looked at you earlier, and it is not a minion. It is in close range of you. The other five Neutralizers are minions and they are at range but within 30'.

Note that you are surrounded by G.A.S. engineers, and any use of area powers will hit them.

Round 1
23 Gelert *
11 STARS Equalizer
11 STARS Neutralizer x5 (Squadron, Minion)
10 Amethyst

You are up!

[Gilliam]

Nightbird
HP: 6 LP: 1
Condition: Normal



Catastrophe had barely hit the ocean before Imogen swooped down on her bike to rescue him from the water, then making sure he was restrained Imogen hovered in midair looking in the direction that Catastrophe was heading.

It was so tempting to continue in that direction to find if there was some sort of base say a ship or whatever Ragnarok was, in her gut Imogen knew that Catastrophe was fleeing somewhere where he thought he would be safe and the yell for reinforcements was another dead give-away but the question was just how far away this Ragnarok was and the longer she stayed out here the longer they would all be separated and at risk, to be honest without Jason's aid Imogen knew the missiles would have taken her out back at the cove and she might have been Catastrophes prisoner instead (well it was a small possibility and stranger things have happen).

Making a decision Imogen turned her bike round to fly back towards the cove once again using her comm

"I have captured Catastrophe and heading back to the cove, let me know if you are okay or in need of aid, Aranel are you okay?"

Imogen was starting to worry about the moon elf as she hadn't heard anything and for all she knew the sub would have torpedoes as well as the cruise missiles.

Putting the bike into high gear Imogen flew back as fast as her bike could go, hmmm maybe she should call her bike Osprey

Nightbird will rescue Catastrophe from the ocean then fly back to the cove.

[Ysariel]

Meanwhile...

Deep Six
Main Control Room

The wail of distant klaxons can be heard faintly over the patter of hurried footsteps, the worried chatter of human operators, and the beeps and hums of computer systems. The concave wall of the command center is covered with monitors showing scenes of carnage: blasted-open doors, wounded guards, corridors littered with shell casings and bloodstains.

"Situation stabilized at the main checkpoint," reports one watch-stander, hunched over her station, her face lit an eerie green by the computer display. "All prisoners secured in their cells. VaMPIRE system fully operational. I've dispatched medical teams to assist the wounded."

"Where is he?" demands the chief warden. "He's heading deeper into the facility instead of up and out. Who or what is he after?”

"He's cut a swathe through levels 10 and 11 and is headed for super-supermax containment," another officer reports. She frowns, then taps a control. "Hold on! Marshal Lawless sighted again... he's heading down corridor 12-C!"

"Of course," the prison warden grits his teeth. "Chaos Commander. He probably planned all along to spring his leader from prison. Station powered-armor units at exits 121-A and 125-D. All we need to do is keep him bottled up until reinforcements arrive to deal with him."

"Sir!" the sonar operator pulls off his headset and yells. "Multiple bogeys incoming at close range on sonar. Signature analysis suggests stealth submarines!"

On the screen, six bright green pings appear at the periphery of Deep Six's sonar network. The next sonar pulse reveals ten. The next, fifteen...

"Alert the authorities at once," the chief warden says. "We need hero and military support now!"

The radio operator looks up from his station, pale-faced. "Communications are being jammed, sir!"

"Use the undersea fiber-optic line!"

"Frogmen have cut the cables," the network specialist whispers.

The chief warden takes a deep breath. "By God in heaven..."

On the sonar display, the bright green dots keep coming, more and more of them. The closest are less than a mile away.

[Ysariel]

Jason
Small cove

He looks around assessing his current situation.

"Well, I guess I should get ready for the ambush."

You hear a highly suspicious rustling in a nearby, half-vaporized bush that has just barely survived the cruise missile bombardment. A few seconds later, a squirrel emerges cautiously, takes one look at you and scurries off.

Suddenly, your commlink crackles to life. "Good afternoon," Beatrice says. "A potential emergency has just come up. I called Deep Six to check on the status of Marshal Lawless and the other Anarchy Command troops who were sent there, but received no reply. The facility is completely unresponsive to any communication, and I believe we should assume the worst."

"I've alerted AEGIS and the relevant state and federal liaisons, but I'd like you and the others to personally investigate if possible."

[Ysariel]

Nightbird
Over the Pacific Ocean --> Small cove

Catastrophe had barely hit the ocean before Imogen swooped down on her bike to rescue him from the water, then making sure he was restrained Imogen hovered in midair looking in the direction that Catastrophe was heading.

You expertly truss up Catastrophe with both AEGIS-issued power-nullifying restraints and good, old-fashioned rope. If Catastrophe's calls for reinforcements were received, there is no sign of it yet and no pursuers anywhere in sight. You are able to return to the cove where the Anarchy Command attempted to ambush you without further incident.

As you approach the shore Catastrophe begins to stir.

OOC

If you wish, you can interrogate Catastrophe, though his attitude towards you as a superhero is hostile.

Otherwise, you can discuss with the other PC's your next course of action: whether to search for the Ragnarok, which you may assume to be the Anarchy Command's seaborne base of operations, or to response to the emergency at Deep Six that Beatrice notified Jason of.

Note that Gelert and Amethyst are incommunicado. The STARS assembly plant is shielded from the outside world against all electromagnetic transmissions so direct radio communication does not work.

[kenseido]

Jason Maxwell
HP: 5, Condition: Fine

Jason glares at the squirrel for several moments before it runs away. "That's not suspicious at all. I know what you're up to."

He begins contemplating tracking the squirrel back to its lair. They caused him enough trouble back home; Jason doubts the ones here are any different.

His thoughts are interrupted by a loud voice in his head. Spinning around looking for the source, he eventually remembers that ear bud they gave him.

He begins tapping it. "Hello, this is Jason. I should probably get a codename and all. I am immediately vetoing Arcanis, Arcanis Jr, or any variant of that. Anyway, does this thing have a map or something? I could probably be at this Deep Six place in about 10 seconds if I knew where it was. And where I was."

[Psistrike]

Moonlight
HP: 4 LP: 0
Condition: -3 Toughness [heal one every 30 seconds]

Aranel takes a moment to focus after unleashing such fury on her opponent before moving to the surface to check that Calamity is still alive. "I'm okay, met some resistance down here and an enemy submarine. I was able to disable its engines, so until they blow their ballast they are stuck down there. My foe, Calamity, is unconscious and stuck in some ice, you should see her floating up there right now. She mentioned about taking me to someplace called Ragnarok, which sounds like their base and something she wasn't supposed to let slip out. We need to regroup with the rest of the team, and hand over Calamity and whoever else you guys have dealt with up there over to the authorities. I have a feeling we just, how is the saying, kicked a hornet's nest." Aranel after checking on Calamity goes to drag her back to shore to regroup with Nightbird and Jason.

[stavaros_the_arcane]

Gelert & Amethyst
General Arms Systems -- Underground STARS assembly plant

Suddenly Ms Grace frowns, and freezes as the screen she is looking at fills with error messages. "Wait a moment," says another engineer. "We're seeing some abnormal readings in the A.I. core, but we never programmed it to do anything like--"

"That's not encouraging to hear."

The STARS unit activates!

Screens shatter, metal restraints snap like cheap plastic, wires break and shower sparks all over you. With the hum of powerful servos, the STARS drone steps out of the restraining harness, pushing aside the wreckage of the computers and monitoring equipment. The assorted engineers scream and scatter in all directions. Ms Grace narrows her eyes; Rex just looks dumbfounded. The drone's attention is not on them, however. Its power-nullifying weapons light up and the shutters on its missile pods snap open as it turns to face you!

"They're coming alive!" you hear a strangled scream from behind you. More of the STARS drones are activating, breaking free of their restraints and deploying weapons. There are half a dozen active machines now.

"Get everybody clear!" Gelert barks as he squares up with the STARS Equalizer in front of him. "And I''m sorry in advanced Mr. Richards, I'm probably going to have to break a bunch of expensive machinery."

OOC: Blast: Damage 13 (DC 28; Increased Range: ranged, Precise, Variable Descriptor: close group - laser or concussion) at non-minion STARS.
1d20+11: 25

[Ysariel]

Jason, Moonlight & Nightbird
Small cove

"Hello, this is Jason. I should probably get a codename and all. I am immediately vetoing Arcanis, Arcanis Jr, or any variant of that. Anyway, does this thing have a map or something? I could probably be at this Deep Six place in about 10 seconds if I knew where it was. And where I was."

"A good codename goes a long way in PR. I'm glad you have given some thought to the matter. Is Nightbird with you? I'm uploading coordinates to the GPS unit I gave her."

"These are for the main sea-level landing zone at the top of the prison. Be aware that the interior of the facility is equipped with teleportation jammers, assuming its systems are still functional."


OOC

Unless Nightbird and Moonlight want to do something else, on my next update tomorrow I will advance the group at the seaside to Deep Six.