Re: The Ultrahumans! Issue #2 Starring Miss Victory and Lionheart! "World under siege!"

DavidMcMahon Thu Mar 25 2021, 14:29

Admin wrote: MISS VICTORY

The shower washed off muck, grime and blood. It felt scalding hot but she didn't mind. Even without the Vita Pill she was practically immune to small arms fire and normal environmental issues.

The good part about being a millionaire was that it bought privacy. The top floor of the brownstone faced a park and Veronika knew there was little chance of her being seen when coming or going. Wrapped in a towel and with one on her hair she moved through the apartment to the closet and accessed a hidden panel which retina scanned and activated a slide back wall with her costumes and pill stash.

Dressed and with pills (she needed to get round to making more but had half a dozen) in a pouch, she pressed play on the answerphone.

"Vicky? Honey it's me. I gotta situation. I'm at Johansons' place. There's... there's a situation. He activated a gate and... and I need some EXTRA help." he'd said, aware that anyone listening on a tapped line or accessing the answerphone would have no clue he was speaking to his wife the superheroine.

"There's something happening. A green gas. It's expanding on contact with the air and SKRRRRZZZZZZZ!!!!"

Miss Victory gaped at the phone, played the message again! Clark! Her husband was in danger!

Looking over at the clock on the wall, she estimated how much time she had left before she had to join the others. She had a few hours, at best, she thought. Could she get there in time, figure out what was going on and rescue everyone and then get back to saving the President? She waffled over this. Her husband, the man who saved her and kept her from becoming a tool of the government, needed her. The President needed her. Could she save both? Gripping her hair in frustration, she whirled in place and then dropped to her knees to pray.

After a few minutes of prayer, she took a deep breath, got up, exited out her secret passage and leaped into the air.

Time to see if she could save her husband AND the President.

Husband first!

ooc: I would just use the Doc Savage write up from writeups.org for Doc Wylde since that is who I based him off of. And the gadgets he has are pretty reasonable and most of them easily bought in the modern world.

Steeple_jackuk Thu Mar 25 2021, 19:30

Admin wrote:LIONHEART

"Point is, there's places we gotta be. Places YOU have to be too." said the Sergeant with a wave of his hand and a glance at the dozens of smoke palls rising from the shattered landscape of the nations capital confirmed it. "Longer this goes on, more chance of bad stuff happening elsewhere. I need them, people, OUT, NOW. The bad ones in lockup, the innocents in one piece. Can you do that?"

Lionheart smiled appreciatively of the fact that he felt very much a part of a team whether he was a big part of the operation right now or a much smaller fish among the Ultrahumans. He was at heart a team player and working with some of the big guns was and had been amazing. But duty called not time to get start eyed.

"I'll do my best Sarg! Just a couple of quick questions, do you know which way they went in and how long they've been in there?"

Moving as only he could he wanted to scout the place first, and look to use his postcog mind skills to see if he could wind anything back to when they arrived, where they arrived and if there was anything he could determine by way of clues. Then he'd look from up top and see if he could find a way in. With everything shut down the alarms should be off, he hoped, which meant getting in the front door, a bit easier. He wanted to find out who and what he was up against before he charged in and innocent civilians ended up a bloody mess between him and them.

OOC: I don't get to use Postcog much so it will be fun to see if I can get a read on them. I will also seek to use my superior senses hearing and so on to see if there are any clues I can pick up as well as any of the mental abilities that might be useful to help me determine what I need to know before they know, I know. If you know what I mean ;-)

Sj

Admin Sun Mar 28 2021, 18:41

MISS VICTORY
OOC Just had a look at Doc Savage... Crikey he could give Batman a run for his money! In terms of points he probably costs more than Miss Victory! It's safe to say I will NOT use the write up! Assume he has a few stats of 3 or 4 and higher for Scholar/Gadgetry/Scientist... Confidant (character who helps out like Alfred but doesn't go on adventures) is 25HP and Sidekick (someone who does help out on adventures) maybe warrant a better write up but cost...

To run 195 miles at 700mph took about 17-18 minutes so it's not that bad. Half an hour to shower, change, grab a bite to eat. Should have plenty of time to save the husband, save madam President and get back to have dinner on the table and chat about your respective days. In theory...

Dropping down a (now) secret laundry chute and into the basement of the building and from there through a hatch, into a disused (and much cleaner) sewer tunnel before emerging behind rocks along a stream bank some distance away , settling the half ton rock back in place (without having to use a pill), Miss Victory races off to Prof Johansons' place!

Without activating a pill her speed was around 400mph and that was enough to cover the 100 miles or so in under 20 minutes. Standing in woodland overlooking the estate she looked at the large manor house with the wall surrounding it...

Even from this distance she could see green goop dripping from the walls, roof, windows of the place! There was a green mist haze around the large main building (OOC it's a place with half a dozen bedrooms) and it was deathly quiet but she was several hundred yards away.

The mist was coming from the house.

Admin Sun Mar 28 2021, 19:13

LIONHEART

OOC Quite a few things LH doesn't get to use, let's see how useful they can be...

The Cop shrugged "They just barged straight in the front doors. Other than the windows there is a back way in but that is sealed and alarmed."

OOC This is a formality. Steeplejack is one of the world's best thieves. Lionheart is better.

AV26 (superspeed) + 5D thief (Stealth) + Roll(7d12)+0: 11,12,3,5,5,6,9,+0 Total:10 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0:
3,5,+0 Total:18 (better off not taking double. Oh well). (44)

Even if any of the villains are super smart (they aren't) I can't see any scenario where they roll spectacularly high on 2D12 to get 37+. I'll try anyway.

Roll(2d12)+0: 4,2,+0 Total:6
Roll(2d12)+0: 7,8,+0 Total:15
Roll(2d12)+0: 9,2,+0 Total:11
Roll(2d12)+0: 9,6,+0 Total:15
Roll(2d12)+0: 4,2,+0 Total:6

As I thought.

Moving at speed and with the world about him effectively stopping THEN applying his skill as the world's foremost thief (though Mr Miracle might contest that) Lionheart appears by the door of the bank and touches a finger to the door...

OOC Postcognition 11 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,3,+0 Total:9 (20) vs
OV8 + Roll(2d12)+0: 3,8,+0 Total:11 (19) Success +1 (to 12) vs RV8=4 RAPs

Lionheart sees four... no, five orange clad figures. They are blurry, indistinct for the most part save for the tall, muscled bald guy who touches the door. Well... 'touches' more like 'shoves and the door explodes inwards'. Super strong then.

Lionheart didn't recognise the villains but then the prison had been chock full of bad guys, powerful and otherwise. It was fair to assume (OOC Int 10 Lionheart is a genius)

The big guy was an angry, shouting type, probably not the leader. Unfortunately what the door 'saw' was pretty limited from that one touch but he saw the Octopus guy, the two women (one bald the other short haired and tatooed), the big brute and another fellow with thinning blonde hair.

They were laughing, whooping, enjoying themselves... and why not? Normally the Ultrahumans or another locak super group might...

Lionheart blinked. The image from the door was fading (OOC it only happened about 15 minutes ago) and at the 'end' of the vision a costumed teenager in purple and gold...

The Ultrahumans! Issue #2 Starring Miss Victory and Lionheart! "World under siege!" - Page 7 Spartan

The Ultrahumans! Issue #2 Starring Miss Victory and Lionheart! "World under siege!" - Page 7 Spartan

The youngster was only a minute or so behind the orange clad bad guys. He moved well, agile, pretty quick, confident...

The costume suggested he was a good guy and...

Lionheart turned.

There were three other purple clad supers speaking to the cops now having just arrived on the scene. Two were female, one male. All wore a variant of the same colours and the Police guy in charge was arguing with them - they clearly wanted to get in the bank!

Steeple_jackuk Sun Mar 28 2021, 21:10

Admin wrote:Lionheart turned.

There were three other purple clad supers speaking to the cops now having just arrived on the scene. Two were female, one male. All wore a variant of the same colours and the Police guy in charge was arguing with them - they clearly wanted to get in the bank!

Moving quickly back to the Police officer in question, Lionheart said. "Officer, can you tell me who is the purple-clad people three of whom you were talking to whilst the fourth stood at that door not more than 15 minutes ago. And whilst you are thinking of what you are going to tell me, I'd appreciate it for both our sakes if you're honest. I have telepathic powers. I know when you're lying." He said with a hint of a smile. The cop might not have any reason to lie, but he might not want to tell the whole truth, especially if it made him look bad, or if something went down here that they felt bad about.

Lionheart was aware that besides the bank staff, he might be looking at a possible situation with the supers having got in way over their heads.

"Oh and whilst you're thinking what demands have they made?"

OOC: I might be barking up the wrong tree here, so I'm just wanting to ascertain facts. Once I've got an idea if there is anyone else besides bank staff about etc, I think I'll deactivate that back door and get myself in, and have a look-see what is going on. Possible patrols, where the hostages are all that scoping stuff. I'm also wanting to know what they're waiting for. Now would be a great time to go, the limited police presence and all means them staying here seems a bit off unless they are just not bothered and will go when they are good and ready - unless they are looking for something specific. Hmm, need more data as Sherlock would say.

Sj

DavidMcMahon Sun Mar 28 2021, 21:48

Admin wrote:MISS VICTORY
OOC Just had a look at Doc Savage... Crikey he could give Batman a run for his money! In terms of points he probably costs more than Miss Victory! It's safe to say I will NOT use the write up! Assume he has a few stats of 3 or 4 and higher for Scholar/Gadgetry/Scientist... Confidant (character who helps out like Alfred but doesn't go on adventures) is 25HP and Sidekick (someone who does help out on adventures) maybe warrant a better write up but cost...

To run 195 miles at 700mph took about 17-18 minutes so it's not that bad. Half an hour to shower, change, grab a bite to eat. Should have plenty of time to save the husband, save madam President and get back to have dinner on the table and chat about your respective days. In theory...

Dropping down a (now) secret laundry chute and into the basement of the building and from there through a hatch, into a disused (and much cleaner) sewer tunnel before emerging behind rocks along a stream bank some distance away , settling the half ton rock back in place (without having to use a pill), Miss Victory races off to Prof Johansons' place!

Without activating a pill her speed was around 400mph and that was enough to cover the 100 miles or so in under 20 minutes. Standing in woodland overlooking the estate she looked at the large manor house with the wall surrounding it...

Even from this distance she could see green goop dripping from the walls, roof, windows of the place! There was a green mist haze around the large main building (OOC it's a place with half a dozen bedrooms) and it was deathly quiet but she was several hundred yards away.

The mist was coming from the house.

ooc:
It's the other way around, Batman runs after him since Doc was created 6 years before Batman. flower

But I figure ignore the aides and have them be independent heroes who work with Doc instead of him paying for them with his own points. Maybe drop some of his connections and he becomes a bit more affordable.

Relying on her sealed systems to protect her from the mist, Miss Victoria took her VITA Pill and took a big breath and then moved towards the house, stopping before some of the goop she touched it to see if it was acidic or something else that she might have problems with.

Admin Tue Mar 30 2021, 20:46

LIONHEART

Lionheart wrote:Moving quickly back to the Police officer in question, Lionheart said. "Officer, can you tell me who is the purple-clad people three of whom you were talking to whilst the fourth stood at that door not more than 15 minutes ago. And whilst you are thinking of what you are going to tell me, I'd appreciate it for both our sakes if you're honest. I have telepathic powers. I know when you're lying." He said with a hint of a smile. The cop might not have any reason to lie, but he might not want to tell the whole truth, especially if it made him look bad, or if something went down here that they felt bad about.

The cop frowned, about to launch into an outburst, then sighed, running hand through thinning hair. "They were a group of super kids. The 'Washington Warriors' apparently. One of their guys went in there before we turned up in force and hasn't come out, far as we can tell. I don't know much about them. One is fast, another is kind of stretchy, another is a mind reader - like you - and the other absorbs light and blasts dark energy whatever that is. I think they are still about somewhere maybe trying to scope the place out. Ask me they are in over their head and one of them just got turned into a hostage - if he's still alive. The people in there are WAYYYYY above their pay grade."

Plucky teenage heroes trying their best but outgunned, outfought, outthought and in over their heads. A situation like this could make or break them.

Nodding his thanks Lionheart whizzes around to the back of the bank to a dingy alleyway. He could easily punch through the heavy steel reinforced door or smash through the walls without much effort. It would be alarmed and would alert the occupants of the bank, but what was life without a little challenge? Beside that, he was pretty good as a thief. Well. 'Pretty good' was quite a modest way of saying 'best in the world'. He set to it.

OOC Normally takes a minute to override a Security System... not for someone with Super Speed though!

AV26 + 5D Thief + Roll(7d12)+0: 9,9,11,10,5,10,3,+0 Total:20 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0:
5,7,+0 Total:32 (58) vs
OV15 + Roll(2d12)+0: 9,12,+0 Total:21 (36) +7 (to 33) vs RV15=21 RAPs. Success. And them some.

Moving faster than the security system can react Lionheart skillfully and efficiently deactivates the security system on the back door. After that...

OOC AV26 + 5D Thief + Roll(7d12)+0: 12,6,11,2,8,11,9,+0 Total:22 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0:
9,9,+0 Total:18 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 11,10,+0 Total:61 (87) Zoinks! vs
OV10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 11,5,+0 Total:16 (26) +11 (to 37) vs RV10=27 RAPs. Uhhh success!

Lionheart picks the lock of the back door at speed and his danger sense doesn't alert him to any danger on the other side. It's dark and he's at the bottom of steps that go up and around and up again then onto the main floor of the bank. Alternately there is a corridor with another solid looking door and that probably leads to the vault in the bowel of the bank.

Using his super senses Lionheart knows the hostages and at least some of the bad guys are up the steps in the bank itself. Someone is rooting about in the vault he suspects but even his super senses can't quite penetrate that deep into solid metal!

OOC No alarm, you're in. Somewhere outside are the 'Washington Warriors'. They may still have a part to play in this mess...

Steeple_jackuk Tue Mar 30 2021, 21:40

Admin wrote:Using his super senses Lionheart knows the hostages and at least some of the bad guys are up the steps in the bank itself. Someone is rooting about in the vault he suspects but even his super senses can't quite penetrate that deep into solid metal!

OOC No alarm, you're in. Somewhere outside are the 'Washington Warriors'. They may still have a part to play in this mess...

OOC: Wow how about that, talk about mega success.

Lionheart didn't fancy the idea of running up to the hostage-taker above with one down below. He thought about it for a moment and wondered if he could effectively shut the perp in and throwing the vault door locked. If he could pick his way through the security system to get in, he should be able to do the reverse and lock one in. It saved him having to fight him, at least for now.

With a shrug, he moved over the vault door, giving it the once over. Policing in his century meant having to know a great deal about a wide range of tec, security and how it all worked. By his standards, Earth 21st Century was still in the bronze age. But it didn't mean he couldn't be fooled once in a while. But it did mean he often could go at it, with super speed, which is what he hoped to do now, trapping one of these would-be escapees back behind bars at least for now.

OOC: OK see if we can't lock in our super thug, for now. Trusting that the vault from within is secure enough to hold them. Should be enough air until we can get them out...then after this follow the stairs and see if we can get to supervillain no 2. Also on high alert for them, Washington Warriors, don't want them equally stumbling in and giving my careful entry away.

Sj

Admin Sun Apr 04 2021, 00:00

MISS VICTORY

The heroine, empowered by a vita pill (OOC five remaining) cautiously moved into the grounds and towards the large house. Closer to the green mist and the puddles of green goop she touched a finger to it. It... tingled but wasn't powerful enough to harm her, she figured. With a glance about she saw it WAS powerful enough to strip paint and affect organic materials like wood and window frames, doors, trees...

That meant her husband and his friend, as well as any staff, were in serious, deadly danger!

She stood, making the decision on where next to investigate and heard a POPPING sound... and something else.

"uuuuuUUUURRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!"

Miss Victory looked about and saw... a hole in the double garage roof with a distinctly lizard like head jutting out! CRASH! the roof flew in all directions as huge muscled arms stretched out, sweeping brick and wood aside in every direction!

More popping... more roaring as another then another giant lizard humanoid stood up in the grounds of the Mansion, seemingly growing from the piles of goop... like the one at her feet!

The Ultrahumans! Issue #2 Starring Miss Victory and Lionheart! "World under siege!" - Page 7 Lizard-man

The Ultrahumans! Issue #2 Starring Miss Victory and Lionheart! "World under siege!" - Page 7 Lizard-man

OOC Nearest giant lizard guy is stood in the remains of the garage about 150' (4Aps) away. Next is about 100 yards, another a bit further away. They seem to be looking around, adjusting to their surroundings...

DavidMcMahon Sun Apr 04 2021, 00:41

Ignoring the lizardmen for the moment, Miss Victory took a deep breath and plunged into the mist and goop, looking for her husband and the others. She figured she might find them in one of the labs [the one in the attic or the one in the basement] or the safe room, so she wanted to look there first. Since her mental blast was a physical force and not mental, she decided to use it on a lower setting to try and blast the goop and mist away from her as she entered the house.

ooc: I'm guessing doing the equivalent of a 2 AP blast, then upping it to 3 APs but not higher than that as that may be too strong for the integrity of the frame of the house.

Admin wrote:MISS VICTORY

The heroine, empowered by a vita pill (OOC five remaining) cautiously moved into the grounds and towards the large house. Closer to the green mist and the puddles of green goop she touched a finger to it. It... tingled but wasn't powerful enough to harm her, she figured. With a glance about she saw it WAS powerful enough to strip paint and affect organic materials like wood and window frames, doors, trees...

That meant her husband and his friend, as well as any staff, were in serious, deadly danger!

She stood, making the decision on where next to investigate and heard a POPPING sound... and something else.

"uuuuuUUUURRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!"

Miss Victory looked about and saw... a hole in the double garage roof with a distinctly lizard like head jutting out! CRASH! the roof flew in all directions as huge muscled arms stretched out, sweeping brick and wood aside in every direction!

More popping... more roaring as another then another giant lizard humanoid stood up in the grounds of the Mansion, seemingly growing from the piles of goop... like the one at her feet!

OOC Nearest giant lizard guy is stood in the remains of the garage about 150' (4Aps) away. Next is about 100 yards, another a bit further away. They seem to be looking around, adjusting to their surroundings...

Admin Sun Apr 04 2021, 09:30

LIONHEART

Lionheart sped through the lower level of the bank to get to where the vault was, moving through various twisted, smashed, crushed or otherwise removed obstacles such as outer gates and barred doors.

Closer to the vault he slowed and listened.

"...to be in here somewhere."

"...keep checking. We have time. Word is the Ultras are getting their butts handed to em."

"Yeah? Well we should have no problem then. The local super chump didn't last long upstairs."

"Did that idiot kill him? That won't go kindly on him if this all goes south."

"If he's not dead yet, he will be. Think I got a couple of good shots in but I prefer a straight fight, not ground n pound."

"you? A fair fighter? Hah! I saw you in a prison scrap. You didn't hold back."

"That was different. In there you fight for rep, for food, for what you own... your life even. That kid came in here to shut us down, ran his mouth off and got his ass handed back to him. If he dies it's on him. Super powers don't come wid no guarantees or happen to people who went to college. Sometimes dummies like us get a break."

Lionheart looked at the vault door. It was hanging off one hinge and the solid metal had been grabbed, powerful fingers sunk into the metal, then twisted, wrenched and yanked out of its reinforced steel and concrete frame. Chances were that shutting that would only slow the two people in there down, and not for long.

He also had another problem. The young hero who had, somewhat brash, charged into the bank to save the day was in danger of losing his own life!

Steeple_jackuk Sun Apr 04 2021, 17:18

Admin wrote:He also had another problem. The young hero who had, somewhat brash, charged into the bank to save the day was in danger of losing his own life!

Although he could trap the crooks - clearly what couldn't hold them out, wouldn't hold them in for long. Moreover, if he tried to battle them the chances were they'd only draw attention and scupper the slim chance he already had of pulling off a rescue. Worse still there was a casualty - one they made an example of close to death. That worried him, although he had amazing skills in medicine, it would be for nothing if he couldn't get to him and worse still got piled on and made an even bigger example.

No the one consolation in this bleak scenario was that they were clearly searching for something. He had guessed that such powerful metahuman criminals couldn't be just interested in petty cash. What that was, would have to wait, although he would love to know what it was. Clearly though since they'd split the team they were on a mission and therefore within the vault less likely to bother him if they continued searching. His mind made up, but not entirely satisfactorily, nonetheless Lionheart centred himself allowing his amazing senses to focus on the world around him and then shot off, allowing his speed to be directed by those heightened abilities to warm him as he went.

OOC: Onwards and upwards as Aslan once said - very fitting for Easter. Which I hope you both get to enjoy in some measure around all the other necessities of the day.

Sj

Admin Wed Apr 07 2021, 21:00

MISS VICTORY

Miss Victory tries to disperse the mist but its like trying to sweep fog away - replacing itself in moments as it swirls back into place.

If only she had some kind of ... self manipulation power. Oh well.

Whilst she was unharmed by the mist she did notice something else... it was eating away at her clothes! In fact wherever the mist had touched something organic - that is living or had once been living - the mist ate away at it like a kind of acid! Books, drapes, carpets, leather, wood... nothing was spared and she suddenly started fearing for her husband!

Racing through the house and clinging to what remained of her modesty as her costume was in tatters Miss Victory made her way up the stairs - which were partially eaten through by the mist onto the landing and turned to the next set of stairs that would lead to the loft laboratory and observatory... Then she saw a skeleton!

OOC Int 8 + Medicine 2D + Roll(4d12)+0: 11,6,12,11,+0 Total:22 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 2,8,+0 Total:32 (40) vs
OV5 + Roll(2d12)+0: 11,7,+0 Total:18 (23)
+6 (to 16 Will) vs RV5=11 RAPs

1) The mist killed the person
2-3) The skeleton is of a woman. The clothing, flesh, muscle is all gone and only partly corroded - and still corroding - bone remains
4-6) The woman was aged, and is probably Agnes the housekeeper if she recalled. Agnes was in reasonable health for someone in their 60s and an enthusiastic member of the household staff here. Unfortunately the mist appeared to be very fast acting and the process of her death would not have been pleasant, though it would have been over in seconds thankfully.
7-10) The mist leaves very little in the way of residue. It is almost as if the droplets that made it up ate their fill and simply vanished. Outside the mist has collected into pools on top of non organic materials such as stone and metal. It would still be harmful to touch but would not continue eating as this mist seems to do.
11+) The mist appears to have 'travelled' up the stairs, 'eating' at the furnishings as it went until it encountered the unfortuante housekeeper where it pretty much devoured her. That suggests the mist to be some kind of sentience, able to choose what it targets and settling for (where available) living creatures instead of once living.

With Miss Victory's background in bio chemisty she may be able to get more information by scooping up some of the pooled green sludge and getting it under a microscope.

Suddenly she hears a cry for help - a male voice - but too far away to make out if it is her husband or his friend or someone else.

With nothing in the way of super senses she tries her best guess to determine where in this huge house the distant scream came from...

OOC Int 8 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,5,+0 Total:11 (19) vs
OV7 + Modifier Strenuous 6 + Roll(2d12)+0: 1,11,+0 Total:12 (25) failed

The voice is silenced as quickly as it cries out and she hears now the crashing as the giant lizards start smashing the place up!

Admin Wed Apr 07 2021, 21:28

LIONHEART

With his plethora of superhuman senses, so easily forgotten since his time in America so far seemed limited to punching things, Lionheart tried to figure out who was where...

OOC You have...

Analytical Smell 15 - This puts anything a bloodhound has in the shade. You aren't far behind the hero 'Bloodhound' of the UKChampions and that's his 'big thing'. You can identify scents and track them once you have them. It's not infallible but 15APs is a huge, huge amount of power in anything and very capable.

Directional Hearing 10 - Within a mile (10APs range) you can detect the direction that a sound is coming from. If someone is trying to disguise that sound (by creeping about) it's harder (and requires a roll) but if they don't know you are there (because of the world class thief thing) they aren't trying to hide it.

Super Hearing 10 - Within a mile (10AP range) you can hear very high and low frequency sounds including whistles only a dog can normally hear, radio and tv transmissions (though the game was written before the widespread use of cable tv I suspect) and radar waves.

Telescopic Vision 10 - see objects that are far away as if they were close. If something were a mile away (10APs) you could see it as if it were in your hand (0APs). If it were 1000 miles away (20APs), you could shrink that visual distance down to a mile (10Aps). Lionheart can see the stuff in orbit but not clearly. It's still better than most telescopes with a '1000x' magnification.

Empathy 13 - Allows you to detect a target's emotional state simply with a glance. Requires a roll but 13 is pretty good.

Postcognition 11 - you can touch an object and see what it 'saw' albeit within a specific time frame only. You choose how far 'back' you want to look and roll the dice. Success means the picture is fuzzy to crystal clear depending on the results. Using this and Lionhearts World Class Detective Skill of 10 would make pretty much all crimes solvable with a few rolls.

As far as Lionhearts medical skill of 10, the writeup of Dr Strange (a world class surgeon) has him at Medicine 8. That should give you some idea of his abilities.

Lionheart concentrates, closing his eyes. He counts 17 different heartbeats upstairs including the fluttering weak one presumably of the brash young hero who'd charged in and two that are erractic. His medicinal skill suggests these are elderly and need treatment as soon as possible. He also hears conversation but it's masked out by sounds he can hear outside of the bank and he can't accurately 'tune into' what is being said. He can also 'hear' walkies talkies and the Police issuing directions on where to set up with snipers. It seems that more have arrived. This could get messy.

He didn't need to be an empath to detect the emotional state of those upstairs. Terrified for the most part but he didn't touch on those who were not - three that he could tell. They might be able to detect his presence in some way if his probe failed but if he wanted to try it was a possibility.

As far as those in the vault were concerned they seemed to be quickly opening safe deposit box after deposit box. Without using any keys. The rending of metal is very loud and the resultant clatter suggests the contents are being tipped onto the floor. Lionheart has to be careful using his hearing especially as very loud sounds could 'overload' his hearing and with his inner ear out of balance, the rest of him would suffer too!

OOC Wasn't quite clear on what you wanted LH to do - go upstairs (sneakily) or into the vault and see what the bad guys are doing?

Steeple_jackuk Thu Apr 08 2021, 19:23

Admin wrote:OOC Wasn't quite clear on what you wanted LH to do - go upstairs (sneakily) or into the vault and see what the bad guys are doing?

OOC: Too clever for my own good, sorry it wasn't clear. Yes upstairs using my senses as an early warning to find and seek the best way to tackle those involved. But before I do that, I will use my post cognition on the vault door where it was wrenched open to see 5-10 minutes before they came and did what they'd been doing, see if I can get some read on their plan and what they are looking for plus use my detective skills to boost anything I might get in addition. Then, I'll head upstairs trying to keep the surprise with me I would rather not burst in on them till I know who I am facing, and what the real threat is, from those involved.

Sj

DavidMcMahon Fri Apr 09 2021, 15:11

Miss Victory heads upwards, hoping that the shout came from above, moving as quickly as she could [new default of 23 Dex and the rest in Body] trying to find anyone and everyone still alive to rescue. She had to find them, get them out and then could deal with the lizardmen and the mist.

She also vowed, when she had time, she and her husband would work on developing some kind of material made of unstable molecules that would protect itself from falling apart. She was getting tired of barely surviving the old comics code restrictions.

ooc: And now we know why superman developed supersenses! clown

Admin wrote:MISS VICTORY

Miss Victory tries to disperse the mist but its like trying to sweep fog away - replacing itself in moments as it swirls back into place.

If only she had some kind of ... self manipulation power. Oh well.

Whilst she was unharmed by the mist she did notice something else... it was eating away at her clothes! In fact wherever the mist had touched something organic - that is living or had once been living - the mist ate away at it like a kind of acid! Books, drapes, carpets, leather, wood... nothing was spared and she suddenly started fearing for her husband!

Racing through the house and clinging to what remained of her modesty as her costume was in tatters Miss Victory made her way up the stairs - which were partially eaten through by the mist onto the landing and turned to the next set of stairs that would lead to the loft laboratory and observatory... Then she saw a skeleton!

OOC Int 8 + Medicine 2D + Roll(4d12)+0: 11,6,12,11,+0 Total:22 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 2,8,+0 Total:32 (40) vs
OV5 + Roll(2d12)+0: 11,7,+0 Total:18 (23)
+6 (to 16 Will) vs RV5=11 RAPs

1) The mist killed the person
2-3) The skeleton is of a woman. The clothing, flesh, muscle is all gone and only partly corroded - and still corroding - bone remains
4-6) The woman was aged, and is probably Agnes the housekeeper if she recalled. Agnes was in reasonable health for someone in their 60s and an enthusiastic member of the household staff here. Unfortunately the mist appeared to be very fast acting and the process of her death would not have been pleasant, though it would have been over in seconds thankfully.
7-10) The mist leaves very little in the way of residue. It is almost as if the droplets that made it up ate their fill and simply vanished. Outside the mist has collected into pools on top of non organic materials such as stone and metal. It would still be harmful to touch but would not continue eating as this mist seems to do.
11+) The mist appears to have 'travelled' up the stairs, 'eating' at the furnishings as it went until it encountered the unfortuante housekeeper where it pretty much devoured her. That suggests the mist to be some kind of sentience, able to choose what it targets and settling for (where available) living creatures instead of once living.

With Miss Victory's background in bio chemisty she may be able to get more information by scooping up some of the pooled green sludge and getting it under a microscope.

Suddenly she hears a cry for help - a male voice - but too far away to make out if it is her husband or his friend or someone else.

With nothing in the way of super senses she tries her best guess to determine where in this huge house the distant scream came from...

OOC Int 8 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,5,+0 Total:11 (19) vs
OV7 + Modifier Strenuous 6 + Roll(2d12)+0: 1,11,+0 Total:12 (25) failed

The voice is silenced as quickly as it cries out and she hears now the crashing as the giant lizards start smashing the place up!

Admin Mon Apr 12 2021, 19:26

LIONHEART

Moving quickly, quietly to the cast aside vault door Linheart places a hand on it... And sees...

OOC Postcognition 11 + Roll(2d12)+0: 3,1,+0 Total:4 (15) vs
OV8 + Roll(2d12)+0: 12,8,+0 Total:20 (28) Failed

Not much. Perhaps there isn't anything to see. Maybe he needs to look in a different time frame. Whatever the choice he hears the pair in the vault finish their rumaging. They've found something.

That can wait. He looks again...

OOC postcog 11 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,9,+0 Total:15 (26) vs
Ov9 + Roll(2d12)+0: 5,6,+0 Total:11 (20)
+3 (to 14EV) vs Rv9=5RAPs

Lionheart takes another look... and NOW he sees... A man, muscled, broad, dense. The concrete floor and tiles crack with every step. He seems to see for the first time the mess on the floor as footsteps coming from above. He turns back to the door. The companion. A woman. Shaved head, tattoos, scowl. Her orange sleeves rolled up, she plunges her hands inside the steel of the vault door and it seems to shimmer, shake... The big man grabs it and wrenches it free. What had she done? He looks at the vault door.

OOC int 10 + power reserve 8 + Roll(2d12)+0: 5,12,+0 Total:17 (34) vs
OV10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 12,10,+0 Total:22 (32) +3 (to 10 Will plus power reserve 7 for an EV17) vs Rv10=7 RAPs

1) Both superhumans are clearly NOT street level.
2-3) The youngster who foolishly/bravely ran in stood no chance. If he's alive it will be a miracle.
4-6) The woman is vaguely familiar. Lionheart does not have a photographic memory but he recalls seeing her on one of the mid levels in the prison. She was just another face in the crowd but the tattoos jogged his memory. In there she did not (at the time) display her powers but did not suffer from unwanted attention by other prisoners.
7-10) The power she used on this vault door was to change its subatomic structure. In effect she changed it from steel to something else. Something radioactive but it's hard to tell as Lionheart is practically immune to any kind of radiation (with an RV26-37 dependent on power use Chernobyl wouldn't give him a sun tan, never mind radiation sickness). However it is 'active', whatever it is. The brute used herculean strength to drag it from its hinges. This is a door that weighs around 300-350 tons. For reference that's around Lionhearts normal strength limit. Enhanced? He can lift around 12.5 MILLION tons. For reference the heaviest man made object would be the great pyramid of Khufu in Egypt at around 6.5 million tons. A vault door isn't a problem for the big guy who ripped it off, or for Lionheart. However, the change in its atomic structure means in a short time this vault door may become dangerously radioactive...

With his brain working faster and smarter than any computer Lionheart glanced at the vault door. That needed sorting out! Within an hour or probably less its atomic structure would re-compile itself into something far more dangerous than mere steel! Who WERE these people, and what did they want?

With that thought still in his head he moved quietly upstairs and listened. His danger sense did not register the radiation - clearly even if it was radioactive it could not hurt him and was not therefore a threat. However he DID register danger on the level above...

OOC Danger Sense 9 + Roll(2d12)+0: 4,4,+0 Total:8 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 8,4,+0 Total:20 (29) vs
Ov4 + Roll(2d12)+0: 12,9,+0 Total:21 (25) +3 9to 13) vs RV4=8 RAPs

The exact source of the danger upstairs is as follows:

Enemy #1 Speed, poison touch, incredible reactions and fighting ability
Enemy #2 Magic blast, spirit draining, ghostlike and intangible
Enemy #3 Mental powers and some measure of superhuman strength through telekinesis (like Lionheart does, sort of)

Downstairs:

Enemy #4 Able to manipulate matter and change its subatomic structure to 'transmute' it
Enemy #5 able to increase his physical density to grant vast superhuman strength and durability

On their own Lionheart would feel confident but working against him as a trio? They could in theory defeat him. Add the pair below and this could go south quickly! He needed to make sure he limited his exposure as fighting all five at once might be beyond even his incredible abilities!

Admin Mon Apr 12 2021, 19:49

MISS VICTORY Dex 23 Body 17

Taking her best guess the maid of might bounded over pools of acidic goop in the hope of preserving her strands of costume and moved through the ruined mansion.

All the antique furnishings and historical artifacts were so much junk now and she saw into a library where the wall lined with books was now so much rotting grey sludge! No!

Her jaw set she continued to search and moved into the atrium. The glass was smashed now but she saw the tree that had grown here, nurtured by Johanson to grow four kinds of fruit and be durable enough to survive with so little water it might even thrive in a desert! It was a ruin now, the green sludge eating away at it even as she watched, and it had collapsed into slush for the most part.

Then she looked up. A slither of black cloth fluttered on a piece of broken glass, darkened by blood. Then she heard a cry again. Closer this time, on the roof!

"HELP!"

Suddenly she heard something else outside the house but sounding like it was big... and close!

"ROOOOAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!"

Steeple_jackuk Mon Apr 12 2021, 20:10

Admin wrote:Downstairs:

Enemy #4 Able to manipulate matter and change its subatomic structure to 'transmute' it
Enemy #5 able to increase his physical density to grant vast superhuman strength and durability

On their own Lionheart would feel confident but working against him as a trio? They could in theory defeat him. Add the pair below and this could go south quickly! He needed to make sure he limited his exposure as fighting all five at once might be beyond even his incredible abilities![/i][/color]

Now he had a better idea of what he was facing, Lionheart made a decision. If these two had been sent to get something, something so important they holed up here to get it. It must be pretty important. Taking these two out and having whatever it was they wanted might give him some leverage. Besides the vault would be sufficiently small, that he could dodge about and it may be these two in an effort to get him, end up doing more harm to one another. Besides taking on two seriously difficult bruisers, before he thought about the ones above would make it somewhat less a risk to go up, his back wouldn't be exposed. He decided that going for the giant with his enhanced Psionic mind blast might well be the way to take it to Him since brute strength alone would have to work hard to get past his physical defences.

OOC: Going to put power reserve into speed and Psi powers, and go for a Psi attack against the brute first, using surprise to my advantage. If I need a line of sight, I'll use my senses to work out where they are and either slip past the door or move it sufficient to get a line of sight and go for it. Then after a surprise round, if the brute is still up, I'll take a second shot at him. Go for a Devastating attack, to try and bring him down asap.

Sj

DavidMcMahon Tue Apr 13 2021, 16:18

Without pausing, Miss Victory strode to the collapsing window frame and leaped to the roof to see who was yelling and what was roaring.

Admin wrote:MISS VICTORY Dex 23 Body 17

Taking her best guess the maid of might bounded over pools of acidic goop in the hope of preserving her strands of costume and moved through the ruined mansion.

All the antique furnishings and historical artifacts were so much junk now and she saw into a library where the wall lined with books was now so much rotting grey sludge! No!

Her jaw set she continued to search and moved into the atrium. The glass was smashed now but she saw the tree that had grown here, nurtured by Johanson to grow four kinds of fruit and be durable enough to survive with so little water it might even thrive in a desert! It was a ruin now, the green sludge eating away at it even as she watched, and it had collapsed into slush for the most part.

Then she looked up. A slither of black cloth fluttered on a piece of broken glass, darkened by blood. Then she heard a cry again. Closer this time, on the roof!

"HELP!"

Suddenly she heard something else outside the house but sounding like it was big... and close!

"ROOOOAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!"

Admin Thu Apr 15 2021, 14:38

LIONHEART

Powering his superspeed and using stealth to creep into the vault (OOC formality roll - Roll(7d12)+0: 4,4,8,4,3,5,4,+0 Total:8 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 5,8,+0 Total:21 (47) vs Highest OV 9 + Roll(2d12)+0: 7,6,+0 Total:13 (22) Not spotted) he saw signs of huge strength and deep imprints in the shattered/cracked reinforced tile and concrete floor. Increased density and judging by the depth of the holes (OOC int 10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,1,+0 Total:7 (17) vs OV5 + Roll(2d12)+0: 10,8,+0 Total:18 (23) failed) they were quite a weight that impacted on the sloor but Lionheart can't quite guess how much weight would be required to compact solid concrete to smash it like this with a mere footstep.

Lionheart prepared to target the big guy with a Mind Blast, figuring it would be the fastest and easiest way to take down the fellow without a drag out fight potentially bringing the bank and half of the street down!

He peered around a corner, ignoring the mess on the floor of jewellry, bundles of notes, personal effects and everything else that was kept in a safe deposit box.

As his full time job Lionheart viewed his role as his life. He'd not taken time out to establish any kind of home life and as much as anyone could be viewed as family, it was the Vanguard. Frostbite, Wandafar, Catherine and the others back in England though now he had the Ultrahumans - or what remained of them - to count as team mates and potentially friends. They'd need to get through this mess first.

The brute was standing about six and a half feet tall. He was bulky, wide in the olympic weightlifter mold and having no trouble simply yanking out the safe deposit boxes.

"...would have been easier had they told us which box it was in."

"Huh. Just think yourself lucky they told us which bank. We got four more of these branches ta hit though. Keep lookin."

"All this for a piece o paper?"

"Yeah."

The woman in orange didn't have the brute strength of the bruiser but simply waved a hand at the walls of safe deposit box doors. They vanished into smoke revealing the contents inside.

"Wish ya wouldn't do dat! What if you transmute da paper?" grunted the brute as he tossed aside some expensive looking jewellery. "Still feels weird not stuffin this stuff inta bags."

"You know the reward for this. Money, material wealth? What do you need it for?" she asked. She picked up an antique hairbrush and with a thought changed it into solid gold! Grunting with the weight she tossed it to the brute. "Here's the thing. You only need money if you plan to spend it. We TAKE what we want now. When Nexus takes control..."

"Yo! keep dat down. They say even mentionin his name lets him know who said it an when." growled the bruiser.

She laughed. "Right... just keep looking. The Ultrahumans are scattered, in a mess. We were told there'd be no one to stop the takedown of the President. That bitch. She approved the prison we were in! Hope she gets what's comin to her!"

OOC Your call. Power Reserve is still in Superspeed but you are thirty feet away from these two as they search for a piece of paper apparently. Their idle chatter may reveal more but you have a power called Mind Probe which can drag information from someone's brain if you need to get answers. Or you can use the opportunity to blast with surprise from behind and crit blow or dev attack...

Steeple_jackuk Thu Apr 15 2021, 20:50

Admin wrote:She laughed. "Right... just keep looking. The Ultrahumans are scattered, in a mess. We were told there'd be no one to stop the takedown of the President. That bitch. She approved the prison we were in! Hope she gets what's comin to her!"

OOC Your call. Power Reserve is still in Superspeed but you are thirty feet away from these two as they search for a piece of paper apparently. Their idle chatter may reveal more but you have a power called Mind Probe which can drag information from someone's brain if you need to get answers. Or you can use the opportunity to blast with a surprise from behind and crit blow or dev attack...

It seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. Here was the chance to find out something about Nexus and their plans which had so far destabilised the entire North American continent. And here was information being spilt and a paper being searched for. So long as they didn't notice him being there, it seemed a ripe opportunity to gain some measure of information that hitherto had been sorely lacking.

He'd wait, hoping that he could still get the drop on them if they noticed his presence, seeking to Mind Blase the brute before ever he had the chance to turn and attack. Although the female was clearly one not to overlook.

OOC: Haven't got to use hitherto for ages...anyway I'll listen in for all I'm worth and if I get discovered or I find out what I want, at that point, I will attack. This is war, so I do not feel the need to announce myself and give up the element of surprise. When that moment comes I will use Dev A with Mind blast and switch power reserve away from speed to that to make it more effective.

Sj

Admin Fri Apr 16 2021, 09:56

MISS VICTORY
Dex 23 Body 17

Miss Victory in tattered costume leaps through the hole in the roof and lands lightly but immediately adjusts her footing as the roof is in poor shape... she looks about...

Several people are on the roof clung to the chimney stack and whilst they are clinging on for dear life one of the lizard giants is reaching for them! Miss Victory guesses the three people - one man in his forties and two (a man and a woman) in their late fifties/sixties - are all staff and made it to the roof to escape the green acid gas only to contend with the gigantic lizard humanoids!

OOC you win initiative. You are around twenty feet away from the three people who need rescuing and another twenty feet behind that is the giant lizard creature which is climbing onto the roof - and causing the roof to collapse inwards when weight is placed on it! If the creature doesn't get them... the collapsing roof surely will!

DavidMcMahon Fri Apr 16 2021, 13:42

"I'm Miss Victory! Do what I say and I can get us all out of here," she says flashing a smile. "You! Climb onto my back and hold on. You two, I will carry and then will jump us to safety."

ooc: I assume the younger guy is in better shape so he's the one she wants on her back. Drop one point of Body and put it into Strength for a Str of 7, should be enough to handle 3 people. Drop another point of Body and put it into Jumping so she can jump a 1/2 mile away.

"Do you know where Doc Wylde and the others are," she asks as she grabs the two older folks. "And watch the hands, buddy," she tells the man climbing [hopefully] onto her back.

Admin wrote:MISS VICTORY
Dex 23 Body 17

Miss Victory in tattered costume leaps through the hole in the roof and lands lightly but immediately adjusts her footing as the roof is in poor shape... she looks about...

Several people are on the roof clung to the chimney stack and whilst they are clinging on for dear life one of the lizard giants is reaching for them! Miss Victory guesses the three people - one man in his forties and two (a man and a woman) in their late fifties/sixties - are all staff and made it to the roof to escape the green acid gas only to contend with the gigantic lizard humanoids!

OOC you win initiative. You are around twenty feet away from the three people who need rescuing and another twenty feet behind that is the giant lizard creature which is climbing onto the roof - and causing the roof to collapse inwards when weight is placed on it! If the creature doesn't get them... the collapsing roof surely will!

Admin Wed Apr 21 2021, 09:57

LIONHEART

OOC At the moment you can't add Power Reserve to Mind Blast (that would be way OTT. Basically most bad guys aren't that smart or mentally tough so 15 APs is more than enough. Boosting that to 30 would have meant the battle against Omega Man was over in a round, maybe two...) No rules actually stopping you from doing that, just a 'GM game balance' ruling...

With his superhuman hearing Lionheart could settle back and listen. Also having godlike reflexes and dexterity combined with his matchless thieving skills meant there was little chance of being discovered.

"So what does dis piece o paper do?"

"It's coordinates. For something. Nex... that guy... when he had this all powerful thing going on, was smart enough to set up a network of operatives in the event that he was captured. That is in the form of certain events and personnel doing stuff that eventually gets him his power back."

"Seems a lot o messin about."

"Yes, but if you were the most powerful man on Earth would you want it easy to throw you in jail and toss the key away? His weakness is that glove. It, like him, is indestructible."

"Yeah? I heard he was some kinda accountant wimp! Easy to squish!"

"And if you do so, he's replaced by another version of himself and for a split second has access to some of his power, which is enough to squish you. If someone hurts him, there is an automatic response which strikes back. Didn't you listen to ANY of the briefing?"

"All I was interested in was how much we get paid. Can't believe we're leaving all this stuff on the floor. There must be... thousands... millions worth here."

There was a sigh as the obviously smarter female prisoner gave up explaining to the goon.

So, they had been given the name of a bank where - in a safe deposit box they had not been given the number of - a piece of paper with a set of numbers, or a name, or some information was written that would lead to where Nexus could regain his gauntlet. The one Lionheart had recovered only for it to be hijacked and stolen again. Almost as if Nexus himself had foreseen his capture and prepared for it from years ago...

He didn't know much about Nexus, only that he was someone who could call upon the power of alternate versions of himself from infinite realities and become nigh on all powerful. He'd been stopped by the combined might of the Ultrahumans with Silver Sentinel at the helm AND an army of other super groups, and even then only when the majority were well beaten and Sentinel himself on his knees... before he'd wrested the gauntlet from the villain's hand. Removing that connection to his other selves had drained his popwer and allowed his capture.

The death sentence hadn't worked on Nexus. Despite being seemingly powerless there was a psychic backlash when he died that killed dozens of people - anyone in range including some lower powered supers - and he was instantly replaced by an alternate version plucked from somewhere else. The next attempt, electrocution, had caused an explosion in the desert that hadn't killed anyone but left a mile deep crater that eventually became the basis of the super prison. It seemed every death increased the 'death effect'. Eventually the theory was that it would destroy the planet.

So they threw him in prison and depowered the people around him and eventually, without any issues arising, they allowed him to mix in general population.

Now he was out and trying to get his gauntlet back. The attack on the white house had been a red herring, though the villain army holding the President hostage couldn't hurt.

He peered around the corner. The villains were taking more care now, down to a third of the hundreds of safe deposit boxes in this room...

OOC Wait for them to finish or strike? Anything you want to do about that information?

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