Emerald City is located in the Pacific Northwest of the United States near the Atlas Mountain range, a quiet, humble neighbor of Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland. Founded on Malory Bay, it’s been best-known to fishermen (by trade and by hobby) and lumberjacks through most of its history.
The anglers and all others who venture there find a cosmopolitan place, befitting a gateway to the Far East, including a large, old, and influential Asian population who sought refuge from other, increasingly exclusionary, areas of the Pacific Northwest during the late 1800s. A century later, Emerald City is still graced by a large Eastern District and a “Jadetown” area sizable enough to rival San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Today, first-time visitors are greeted by twin giants: one a monument of God’s creation, and the other of man’s. The dormant volcanic peak of Mount Stanley has framed the city skyline from the start, and in 1968 was joined by the Emerald Tower, looming impressively towards the heavens.
In the last two decades, Emerald City has grown almost exponentially, becoming a true boomtown. The city proper is quite large, surrounded by a number of expanding suburbs and bedroom communities. Driving this growth was the establishment of MarsTech, Inc. (MSTI on the New York Stock Exchange) by the flamboyant plutocrat and techno-wizard Maximilian Mars. As MarsTech and other high-tech companies flourished, so did Emerald City, transforming the once-sleepy burgh into a leading center for the computer industry and other high-technology businesses.
Nothing marks Emerald City newcomers more than making a Munchkin joke in public. They think it’s clever, but to longtime residents (and in truth) they’re just being punch-ably obvious and annoying. It’s all an understandable offshoot of the city’s 70-year-long love/hate relationship with The Wizard of Oz. There are many businesses and
organizations that work overtime to avoid any association with the classic stories and legendary film, while others embrace the eponymous association wholeheartedly.Those who revel in the city’s L. Frank Baum connection with the enthusiasm of flying monkeys successfully lobbied to have the open-air walking mall in the downtown shopping district dubbed the Yellow Brick Row. There, the street is indeed bricked just as advertised, duly painted yellow every year on the official birthday of the city, August 27th.
For years, things in Emerald City were stable, dependable. Sure, times were tough when the lumber and paper industries took a hit, and again when fishing and farming suffered, but they got better when the tech boom arrived, and companies like MarsTech, USNet, and Brande Management brought new jobs and new opportunities. Rapid development brought its own growing pains but, still, Emerald City didn’t have alien armadas filling the sky, or mad gods trying to turn it into a Hell on Earth.
Unlike Freedom City, Emerald has never had more than a few scattered costumed champions over the years, and none that stuck around long enough to make much of an impact. To most local residents, it’s just one of those things–-like how the city’s never been able to attract an NBA franchise.
Emerald’s skies were free of flying figures, but also of aerial battles. There were a few costumed types now and again, but not so you would really notice. Things were stable...
Today is another peaceful day in Emerald City. The sun shines brightly in the sky and the Yellow Brick Road is lined with people out enjoying the day. People out rollerblading down the street as others visit the local stores to do some shopping and still more sit at some of the local eateries or food stands enjoying a meal. All together a truly pleasant day where nothing could go wrong...
Randolf woke early that morning, just like most other mornings. He quickly showered and microwaved himself a breakfast burrito, and scanned the headlines of the paper as he headed to "The Magic Shop." It was a chore, but much better than wasting his life at a job he didn't enjoy. On pretty days like today, he could count of a decent amount of foot traffic, which would lead to extra customers, and the possibilities of a few tarot card or crystal ball readings.
He biked downtown and let himself into the Shop around 10 am. No reason to open up earlier than that. Those interested in his wares, weren't exactly early risers. He turned on all the lights and set the sign to 'OPEN,' grabbing a chair, and waiting for the shoppers to come strolling in.
Tee is jogging down the Yellow Road, waving as he passes the proprieter of that tourist-trap magic shop. He stops at the Green Dragon Dojo, and opens it up for the Sensi who has taken the day off. He gets busy setting-up right away, as he will need to close early to attend the Professor's birthday party at the restaurant down the street. He trains the early day students that come by and sells related stuff to mostly regulars and the usual tourist types. He sees the the wholesaler messed up an order of Gis sending black gi with maroon trim rather than the white with green trim favored here; he packages it for return, to mail back when he leaves for the day. He busies himself with the day's events until it's time to close shop, lock the door and meet with a strange destiny...
David will have a normal day of waking up at his place in the outer burbs. He'll munch on on cereal (mostly out of familiarity, he doesn't seem to need to eat as much anymore), then go outside to do his morning workout. Press a couple of I-beams, squats with house sized boulders, the normal stuff to keep limber. Then he'll work on the old fitness routine from his wresting team days. Nothing is quite the same with the ability to stretch like silly putty, and wrap someone up like duct tape, but he sticks to doing things the old way to keep a sense of familiarity. Donald acts as his coach, driving him through the routine, and making sure he doesn't slack off with shortcuts from his powers.
Eventually, he will head into town to look for something to do. Yellow Brick Row seems like a decent diversion. Maybe he'll see the few friends he kept from High School who didn't think his choo choo went round the bend. He could really use some company that isn't transparent. Thus he hops into his pickup truck and drives into town, and takes a stroll on the Row.
Martin Prim was having a typical day, and so far things were going well. He had, as usual, completed all his University projects for the day before breakfast, with a few extra projects thrown in for interest sake. Not bad for a kid working on three doctorates at the same time. He had to log some time at the hospital this everning, but until then, he hadn't much to do.
He decided to check out the local scene again, as connecting with people and making friends outside of work was an area he was still struggling with. He had accepted that to be normal he had to learn to interact with people, make friends, and essentially be normal, but understanding human behaviour was still as much of a challenge as it ever was most days. Which is why he would spend a lot of free time at places like this; the Yellow Brick Row, or the mall, or the library, or coffee shops, or what have you. They gave him the chance to meet people, practice his conversational skills, and otherwise build connections. Sometimes even just sitting back and watching people was enough to teach him and help him learn.
Today, it was the Row. He hadn't decided exactly what he would do yet, and so he meandered down the Yellow Bricks, wandering in and out of this shop and that, merely passing time.
Police Detective Sam Dumas didn't get many days off, and rarely took those he was given. Today was a special case, though. His niece's birthday was tomorrow and he had yet to find a gift for her. Sure, his sister always worried, what with him being a cop and all, but he wasn't going to let her concerns turn him into a bad uncle.
Carlotta was a precocious girl, just turning twelve, and with her teen years just that close, she was turning into something of a rebel. Her mother, Jasmine, was the girlie-girl type from practically birth, so this meant Carlotta was turning into a tomboy daredevil faster than you could say who's-your-daddy.
Sam looked at the magic shop, thinking As long as she doesn't go goth, right? He looked further down the strip Maybe should could channel some of that teenage energy and learn some self defense at the same time. Sam hesitated in front of the dojo.
The small apartment was slowly being lit up by the morning light that seemed to take on a soft blue glow painting the white walks in blue creating soft contracts with the black of the shadows, on the nightstand a digital clock seemed to hesitate for a moment too long on 4:29am before it had to shift to 4:30 as if it didn't truly desired to disturb the slight figure of the girl sleeping peacefully in the bed.
The girl’s blond hair could almost be said to be golden, while her pale skin was unmarred by any imperfections, from her back a pair of large swan like wings protruded and would have made an almost picture perfect angel picture, did one wing not droop down from the bed and spilling across the floor while the other wing was partly caught up in a blanket that seemed no longer to have any other function then to loosely wrap around the wing like gift wrapping.
The small soft blue clock finally decided it couldn't postpone the enviable any longer and the numbers changed and the music burst forth from it, the music and words of Here's To Never Growing Up by Avril Lavigne filled the room and the girl Nanael yawns and stretches and sits up and nearly falls of the bed with a squeak when the blanket around the wing stops her in mid movement. Nanael looks blearily at the predicament then lets out a giggle the room filling with a golden glow as she does, even the alarm clock turn from blue to golden. Freeing herself Nanael gets up and stretches carefully doing a quick morning stretching exercise that includes the unusual element of stretching the wings and the flight muscles, after finishing this she takes a shower and puts on her work clothes, a pair of white shorts, long white socks, green sneakers and a green t-shirt. The T-shirt is changed however and in the back two long cuts from the hem nearly to the shoulders with extra fabric to strengthen the fabric, towards the base Velcro is attached, she pulls the t-shirt over her head and the cuts out fits perfectly with the wings, reaching behind she attached the Velcro locking the t-shirt in place making sure the fabric will not flicker in the wind.
The alarm clock on the nightstand stops playing music as it displays the time now as 5:10 am and the sound of the outer door closing and the lock being turned can be heard as the alarm clock settles down from golden to a plain white.
The street below seemed golden as Nanael walked out on the sidewalk and the few people walking pasted seemed somehow less grey even if they were the same. Nanael put down the pair of Rollerblades and put them on her feet and started down the street as fast as she can, her wings held tight to her to avoid creating a drag that would slow her down or send her literally flying, setting course for the flower shop that she worked in, Forever Flowers, located on the Yellow Brick Road.
The sun had crossed the sky in a ponderous pace and now stood high up and gleamed in the yellow bricks of the road so named, which however seemed more golden than yellow as it gleamed in the sun. Nanael dashed through the crowd of people heading back to work after delivering a dozen red roses to the 46th floor of the Emerald Tower, they had been to a young clerk by the name of Clarissa Brown with a letter Nanael was sure contained the sweet words of her lover, the flowers themselves had to be delivered to the window nearest her cubicle and all the other women as well as a couple of the guys at the office had gathered together and gossiped, until the floor manager had arrived to usher them back to work. Smiling at the memory Nanael skated in and out through the crowd, heading back to Forever Flower where business had been striving all day.
The peaceful day in Emerald City is soon interrupted. The loud, heart-stopping sounds of an explosion and shattering glass along with the accompanying shock strike you all without warning. Within moments, a strange cloud of silvery mist blankets the surrounding area. Just as panic and flight are about to take hold, the cloud begins to swirl without any evident prompting from the wind.
It whips itself into a cyclonic mass, discharging what appear to be bolts of bluish lightning both within itself and outward around its immediate vicinity.
Both blast and bolts subside and begin to dissipate before anyone (yourselves included) can arrive on the scene, leaving the dead and injured as the most immediate concern. The fleeing, panicked crowds and hopelessly jammed roads make you all the only first-responders available for the critically injured now.
Martin reacts immediately to the crisis, rushing to the area as fast as he can without drawing undue attention.
Diverting power; Research Protocols now coming online at 50%. Defense Protocols standing by at 50%
By the time he arrives on the seen, his medical knowledge is taking over. He looks for the most severely injured first, and tried to help those who might be at risk of immediate death from injuries causing major bleeding such as penetrating wounds or amputation.
He calls out to the nearest shopkeeper he can see, the proprietor of a magic shop who came out of the store to see what had caused the commotion, "Quickly, get your first aid kit and bring it here! Then call 911!"
He starts getting victims to apply pressure to any wounds and whips off his belt to tie off any limb torn off by the explosion.
David will head out of the DVD store he was loitering in, to check out what the hell just happened. If he sees any debris trapping people or such, he will move it to get them free.
Tee closes the Dojo for the day, locking the door. He sees the man dithering on the street, saying that "I'm sorry we are closing for the day - WHAT?" Tee breaks off as a terrible explosion rips the area followed by a strange storm that over in a second. Seeing the devestation, Tee feels his adrenaline kick in and centers himself to search for his chi. A calm energy, greater thatn he's ever known, kicks in and he rushes to the scene at far greater than human speeds. No one notices in all the commotion. Tee, knowing that he has called up too much strength, (though not how much or why), calms himself and lets the chi go. He then attempts to assist, with his significant Medical skills, handicapped by the lack of medical supplies and equipment. He takes a quick look toward the restaurant that the Prof. party is in, to see if it's OK.
Treatment
Randolf was stepped outside when he saw the strange storm and heard the explosion. He nodded at the stranger who requested the first aid kit. it wasn't much, no more than some gauze, iodine, and an ace bandage, but it might help some. "Here you go," he panted handing over the kit. "Did you see what happened to cause all this? All I heard was that strange explosion, and then I saw this weird mist for a few seconds."
After asking his questions, the man pulls his cellphone and calls 911, hoping he could get a signal to request help for the injured, even though he saw there were some that appeared beyond help.
The sound of an explosion rocked him out of an uncharacteristically peaceful sleep. Before his brain was fully turned on his instincts had already thrown him to the floor, rolled him under the bed and chambered a round in the gun he kept in the headboard.
He continued rolling as he began to process what was going on, into the darkness beneath the bed and out of the shadows in his closet. He stood quietly, pulling on pants and shoes without noise, and beginning to realize that the explosion was not anyone coming for him.
Which meant people were in trouble.
A sleeveless shirt with very oversized armholes came on in a flurry as a flash of serpentine metal snagged his shoulder rig and yanked it to him from across the room. His loose leather jacket went on as he stepped out of a shadow on the roof. He winced and put his sunglasses on, then scanned the horizons for smoke.
Sam, knocked down by the blast and feeling like one of those lightning bolts might have struck him, has his thoughts immediately turned towards helping anyone in need and organizing crowd control. He attempts to stand, but feels like his knees have been turned into jelly.
He rolls over, trying to push himself up, then he notices his hands; the skin on them seems loose and too smooth. Was I hit? Flash-fried maybe? I don't feel any pain, but maybe that's shock. He eases himself up, afraid to pass out if he is in shock.
As he stands, he feels as if his skin is sliding on his frame. The sight of himself in the window's reflection catches his eye. His skin is all loose and smooth, and his features a blended mess, like barely formed flesh colored clay. He gasps is suprise. Don't panic Sam, there are people here who need you. Whatever this is, you've got to pull it together.
He takes a deep breath and moves over to where the wounded are; seeing someone with apparent medical training working on them, he moves in to aid the young man. "I have some first aid training, son. Tell me where I can help." even his voice was deeper, more garbled.
Martin is almost lost in his task, there are so many wounded. Dr. Prim moves from victim to victim, looking to see which ones can be saved, and moving past those already dead. He rips apart the first aid kit given to him by the shopkeep, digging to the bottom for those bits that no one ever figures they'll ever use, the soaker pad and triangular bandage. Only one of each... Ok, most injured first.. He scans the crowd, looking at the faces, memorizing them in case one might later turn out to be the bomber. The tv says that bombers often stick around after their bombs go off in order to observe the aftermath. After the sole moment spared for that task, he turns back to the injured, glad to hear that the shopkeeper is calling EMS.
A man approaches and offers help, and Dr. Prim spares him a glance. His skin! What happened to him? Did the explosion do that? "Sir! What happened? Were you hit by the explosion? Or by that cloud? ". I hope that wasn't a chemical attack of some sort... was this terrorists?
The modestly handsome young man, dressed in black shirt, pants, jacket, and shoes, without a tie though, replies without looking, "I need supplies most of all, there's little I can do without anything. Is there anyplace nearby that might have lots of bandages and stuff, a drugstore was over -, well it was over there, there should be another nearby, anything, Oh, this one needs help now." Tee sees an arterial spurt, shakes his head and calls, "Is their a doctor here? Arterial laceration. I won't be able to stop it." He continues as he vainly tries anyway. "If not just treat the lesser bleeders, that will help."
I'm not sure. Maybe. I was close enough to see the truck that exploded. Don't worry about me, I'm here to help however I can." In fact, I feel surprisingly good. Strange.
Overhearing Breakneck's request, he says "That's something I can do." He starts to run to the nearest pharmacy... surprising himself as he bolts at 60 mph. Holy crap! He collects supplies, leaving enough money to pay for what he takes and runs back as fast as his new-found speed will carry him.
Martin goes about the task of helping out the wounded, being assisted by Randolf, Tee and Sam. They work to gather supplies as they go about the business attending to the many wounded individuals around the area. Fortunately they far outnumber the dead at this point, though without the treatment being given, this would quickly reverse. Randolf's call is met with hurried dispatchers responding to numerous calls.
David, coming out of the DVD store, witnesses a section of the street that has collapsed. A van teeters on the edge of the sinkhole, an apparent mother collapsed over the steering wheel with several kids in the back of it.
Sam, tearing through the debris to a nearby pharmacy, almost looses his footing moving at incredible speeds as a section of building starts to collapse. Looking up you see a screaming woman dangling over the edge, barely hanging on.
As everyone works, Tee finds himself a good distance from the other attempting to search for more wounded. Suddenly a tank on a nearby hot dog cart erupts and sends flames and shrapnel in his direction. He feels the shards embed themselves into him. As he lowers his arms, he watches as the shrapnel is ejected from his body, the wounds healing over. Then he realizes he's nearly 30' back from where he was, a vague remembrance of leaping back. Looking around, it appears that no one saw him jump.
Nightstrike, seeing the smoke from the storm and from several fires in the area, heads in that direction. As he moves in, traveling by the shadows, he spies a building in flames. People on the ground pointing up, you see several human forms amid the smoke, on the roof calling out for help.
Nanael, on her way back to Forever Flowers, hears the explosions and heads in that direction. It doesn't take her long to see rescue vehicles trying to get to the scene, but their path blocked by debris from a falling vehicle. Emergency personnel attempt to get through on foot, but it's slow going.
Nanael spots the debris and the vehicles being held back and removes her rollerblades then she takes flight across the people and vehicles to the debris landing in front of the debris and the emergency personal. Nanael looks to the nearest emergency worker with a smile, "let me help with the debris." and then she gets to work lifting and clearing away the largest pieces of rubble to make a path for the emergency personnel and hopefully eventually the vehicles to get through the obstacle as fast as possible.
"I'm a doctor, barely, but so far its better than nothing. Tyler, isn't it? I think we're in the same Nephrology class." As he talks, Martin Prim's hand move with incredible speed, fast, sure and exact; almost faster than human hands should be able to move, but not quite. His hands never slow, even as he speaks. "Tyler, give me your shoelaces, and I'll see if I can tie off that bleeder. I already used mine on one of the other injured.". He glances down at Tee's bare feet, "Damn. We'll have to hold it till that other guy gets back."
Dan cursed under his breath.
I'm supposed to be staying out of the spotlight. Dammit.
He hesitated only for a second then moved.
Maybe I can do this without being seen...
He ducked into a shadow and reached. Coming out of the shadows and smoke he grabbed one of the frightened people and pulled. Suddenly they were on the neighboring roof. Dan was not.
@Prime Tyler is wearing shoes since he is dressed for a B-day party for his Prof.
"Yes, Doctor Prim, not that Prof. Agar gives us enough time to even look at anyone else in class." Tyler gives his shoelaces to The Doctor, (insert obvious joke here) and then goes off to aid another victim. After taking care of that he moving away when a hot dog cart explodes and badly injures him with sharpnel. He feels the pain and shock start and he can visualize in all too gory detail what is happening to his body, when the pain ceases and he see the sharpel come out and the wound heal. Tyler goes eerily calm as he classifies the effect on his body, as Fast Healing Level 5 type IIb unstable. I got here quick, I thought my mind was playing tricks, I'm not so sure, I'll reach for my chi. Tee centers himself and reaches for his chi, his whole body starts vibrating as he feels his body burst with power! He sees Nanael fly in and start helping with more strength than he thought she had. I've seen her deliver flowers and saw her light effects, and I'd heard she could fly, I did not know how strong she is. Wish I could see her in the lab, oh that doesn't sound good - crazy scientist talk. But what am I to do I don't want the attention being known as a SPB would bring - Is that the Professor? Tee sees Professor Van Buren stumbling out of the smokey mist. He goes into his standard run and dashs to him picks him up and speeds off to the dojo, for safety. On the way there he thinks, I'm an idiot, there is a good medkit at the dojo for accidents. He brings the Prof into the dojo unlocking and bring him in the back way. Checking the Prof. vitals he determins that he is ok except for minor cuts and brusies, that he treats with the medkit. "Prof. It's Tyler, I think you are OK, I seems to have just gotten some of what we study, I move and heal very fast and I feel really good right now. I like to keep this under wraps at least for now."
Tyler grabs the box with the misshipped black and maroon Gis and buys it. He switches his clothes to black tee, the affor-mentioned gi, those odd moccasin like Marital arts shoes/socks, and black loose sweet pants, He also puts his lab googles on that he has in his bag. Leaving the Professor, he goes to his scooter, that he leaves chained near the police station for safety, and take the black hemut. Having just improvised a costume, Breakneck returns to the scene six seconds after he left it. Breakneck is now on the job!
The mechanics. Make Free action Athletics check for +1 ground speed, bumps from speed six to seven for one rounds. Uses his speed and strength to get the Prof to dojo and quickness six to do lot of routine type task at 60 to 1 ratio. All that he did should likely take two or three rounds but I'd like not to be out of the action that long.
Breakneck comes back to the scene of the (hopefully) accident and with a sense of shock notea that only seconds have passed. I think I have Super-Speed, maybe level 5 or 6, type I e or f. Need to get to the lab, what I am I thinking? Go help people. Breakneck start helping out with the medikit and rescues at very fast speeds.
To other it appears someone new has arrived on the scene, a guy in a black, red trimed gi, all in black, with a motorcycle helmet and odd goggles. He has a medikt in hand, but vibrates oddly as though he can't quite contain all his power.
The situation was still dire, so Randolf continued helping as he could. After his medical kit was gone, and his phone call was answered, he wasn't able to do much other than try to move small bits of wreckage off the injured citizens. He continued giving his best effort, but it wasn't much, unfortunately.
Donald noticing the van in peril, while David is simply agape at the carnage gets him moving "Son, close that mouth and go save those kids" pointing to the van teetering on the edge of the precipice.
David bounds over to the van in one might leap, tumbling in the air to land past it.
Acrobatics=
Donald follows on after him running along, passing right through obstacles. "Nice jump there kid, even the Chinese judge would give you a nine something".
He reaches out and grabs the van under the bumper on the frame, pulling it back onto stable pavement.
Grab =
Then after the people are safe he runs up to tear the door off the hinges to extract the passengers.
"Now wait a minute there son, Lady already has had a bad enough day, no reason to do any more damage to the car!"
Sheepishly Dave turns to his dad "Uh, yeah sorry, wasn't thinking." and then calmly tries to open the door. When it turns out to be locked, he looks askance at his dad.
"The kids inside can open it, tell them."
"Oh yeah."
David yells to the kids inside to open the locks "Yo, we gotta get you out of there. Looks like your Mom might be hurt." Most of the kids inside are pretty shook up, and are rather disturbed by some obviously more than human guy moving their van around like it was made of paper, and then talking to someone who isn't there. However the oldest of the kids, gets herself together and triggers the unlock switch.
"Thanks" David replies as he stretched into the van to remove the driver's seatbelt and then gently lift he free of the vehicle. Spying an aid station forming around someone who seems to be tending wounds quite efficiently, he starts taking her over. "Kids, you guys better tag along so you can keep track of your mother. You should probably give your dad a call if you can. "
Donald follows him along to the aid station. "Nice work son, we'll make a hero out of you yet. "
He steps up to the makeshift aid station that Prime is running and speaks up "Got another one for ya."
"Wouldn't it be a good idea to tell him some details?" Don chides him.
Looking over his shoulder at someone who isn't there (well to anyone else) "Oh, yeah. That's important isn't it?"
Turning back to Prime
"Umm, this lady was in a car wreck, she hit her head, and it knocked her out. Not sure how bad it is. Her kids have some minor scrapes but seem OK. Can you take a look at her?"
Fandolf sees the interaction between the massively strong man and the children. Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen that same fellow pick up a van and rip the doors off the hinges. He wasn't sure what to make of that, but he saw the children were obviously troubled by what they had witnessed.
Entertaining children...now there's something I can do to be helpful...
"Hey kids, your mom is going to be okay. Let the doctors work on her," he says with a nod to Prime (although he doesn't know the doctor's name). "Do any of you enjoy magic? Here, pick a card..." he starts breaking out his array of known tricks, hoping to take their mind off the horrific incidents.
"Hopefully its just a concussion; as long as there's no bleed or obvious skull fracture she should be OK for the time being. I'll check her over and stabilize her neck in case of any fractures. She'll need a CT scan before she's cleared.
No immediate threats detected. Divert run time to prioritize Research Protocols. Research Protocols now at 75%; Defense Protocols running at 25%.
He secures the woman's neck and head with some debris to make sure any neck trauma is not further aggravated. Dr. Prim checks the woman's eyes and pupil dilation for response, as well as determining a Glasgow Coma Scale score to determine if there is any CNS damage.
"As soon as Emergency Medical Services get here, please direct them over here. Some of these people need immediate Rapid Transit to hospital."
Athletics for +1 speed.
At Dr. Prim's words, Breakneck dashes up at great speed. In a voice that is speeding up then slowing down with pitch variations as he seems to try to speak slower while really being very fast, he says, "If any can be transported without a gurney, in a fireman's carry, really fast, I could do that and get them to ECH, pretty quick. Well, I'm pretty sure I can, I'm not sure how the wind would affect them." Breakneck stands there vibrating with barely controlled power. If Dr. Prim points any out, he'll take them one at a time to ECH.
Sam instinctively rushes to aid the woman on the collapsed building, trying to get to her as fast as he can, and finds himself leaping though the air and landing right next to her. He shivers, clay-flesh rippling. What the hell? Did I just jump here? "Don't be afraid, ma'm. I'm going to get you to safety." He sweeps he up into his arms and jumps over to the nearest safe-looking spot, whether that be a rooftop or somewhere down on the street. Looks like that explosion definitely did something to me. Not something normal.
Sam gathers up his supplies and runs back to the doctor with them. "Here you are, Doc." He then begins running around to see where else he can help.
Once the first responders arrive, he does a quick run-check to make sure there aren't any other suspicious-looking vehicles, backpacks, or cases, laying around that may have secondary explosives in them. If this is a terrorist attack, there may be others.
"As soon as Emergency Medical Services get here, please direct them over here. Some of these people need immediate Rapid Transit to hospital."
"Get up there and look, you can go up at least 100 feet or so, should get you above most of the trouble" Don suggests.
"Uh, yeah. Ok, I'll see where they are". and with that David expands in size and stretches to an amazing height giving himself a bird eye's view. Noticing in the distance that someone was clearing a path for the vehicles through the debris he comments "Looks like they are on the way, but the roads are a bit sketchy, gonna go help with that"
Then he bounds off in the direction of the various emergency vehicles to lend a hand in getting them there.
Nanael pushes the last of the major obstacles out of the way and turns to the emergency personal with a bright smile, though most have rushed past her a few are still left tending the vehicles.
"there you can get through now, I will go on ahead and see if there is anything I can do to help out with."
With that she turns and takes off towards the epicenter of the explosion, the shattered glass reflecting golden light as she passes by. Spotting what appear to be a very active emergency station and lands gently nearby the silver, grey dust even the blood spilled from the many patients takes on a warm golden glow, waiting for him to look up from his patient and asks the doctor (prim) politely with a smile, while folding her hands behind her back.
"Is there anything I can help with Doctor?"
Prim looks up from the patient with the arterial bleed he has just managed to stem. He is covered in blood from various victims, but otherwise appears quite calm. He eyes the obvious metahuman and brings up what he can recall of her from the various tabloids, little of which, if any, is reliable.
"Thank you Nanael. Now that you've cleared the way for the ambulances, this should go more smoothly. I'm not sure what caused the explosion, but in case there is further risk to people, I'd appreciate if you could direct all the uninjured bystanders away from here; maybe set up a rally point for them to congregate at until the police arrive to question witnesses? When you do that, keep an eye out for anyone that tries to slip away."
To the 'new' unknown metahuman that just arrived (Breakneck) he says, "Are you a super hero of some sort? I don't recognize the outfit. Can you aid Nanael, and keep an eye out for any possible dangers, or anyone suspicious?"
As the first of the Ambulances pulls up, he identifies himself and then immediately starts directing the technician's attention to the most urgently in need of care. He'll grab a bottle of water from the cab to rinse his hands and then puts on a fresh pair of gloves so he can continue to help.
"We have numerous victims here, some in critical condition; if they aren't aware already, please make sure dispatch knows we need all available vehicles and crews, and make sure that the ER at ECH is aware that there has been a Mass Casualty Event. I will continue to coordinate on site until all the casualties requiring transit are out of here, or until a senior physician arrives to take over."
Nanael gives the doctor a bright smile completely at odds with the situation and turns her dazzling smile to the black and maroon fellow.
"Hi I am Nanael, glad to be working with you!"
She looks around for a good spot for setting up a safe area for people to gather while her bare feet steps carefully in the rubble and stretching her wings and then folding them close.
"Do you see any good places for us to direct the people to?"
Breakneck is slightly put off by Dr. Prim's totally ignoring his offer says, "But what about- oh never mind I see the ambulances arriving, it's a moot point." In reply to Dr. Prim's question Breakneck says, "Oh, Uh yea, I'm ... new, just put the outfit together, call me uh, uh... Breakneck, I seem to move at breakneck speeds so that'll do. Might as well put this away the paramedics will have better with them." Breakneck stuffs the medkit into his gi as best he can. He turns to Nanael as she greets him, "Oh Hi, Nanael, I've seen you around, um, I mean on TV a bit. I'm glad to help." His last sentence is spoken strong and clear, but the rest seems more than a little unsure of himself. "Well down the Yellow Brick Row, after a block or so, things are much better. Since you have at least moderate super-strength if you can clear the large stuff, I'll sweep the small, on the road so people can get down it. There's a police station not much farther down than that for the business area, that's maybe the best place for them." Breakneck finds or buys a broom from the nearby shops and starts sweeping the street at modest super-speeds, many times faster than normal, leaving large objects for others to deal with.
Hearing the heroes looking for a place to direct the people, Randolf spoke up. "I've got a small shop that I can hold quite a few people in. They can hang out in there, until the more injured ones are dealt with. Send them over here and then we can worry about getting them to the police station when things are more in control."
The man strides forward and announces his plan to the crowd. "If you are relatively okay, come with me. I've a shop nearby that you can wait in while the situation calms down. There's a sandwich shop next door, so we can grab some drinks and let you all relax a bit." When a few of the survivors present themselves, he leads them to The Magic Shop.
Nanael's smile falter ever so slightly at the mentioning of the mass media coverage of her and the entire average turns from being bathed in a soft golden glow, into being filled with a velvet blue color and simply nods
"Nice to meet you Breakneck."
when breakneck finishes she looks to the shopkeeper offering his store and nods in thanks.
"Thank you for your kind offer sir."
then she turns to Breakneck
"We can get them there eventually but I think we should take this kind man up on his offer for now."
She smiles though much less convincingly and the quality of the light continues to be tinted in velvet blue as she hurries over to some nearby people to guide them.
Everything seems to be going well following the explosion. Nightstrike manages to remove several individuals from a burning building without attracting notice. Gumshoe saves a woman before falling to her death. Straightjacket saves a van load of kids and brings their mother to medical attention. Nanael and Breakneck clear a path for emergency vehicles while Randolf provides a place for the people to rest. Prim helps many of the most injured as paramedics arrive on scene, thankful for his assistance.
Sadly this is not meant to last, it would seem.
Randolf, directing people to his magic shop, is the first. Beckoning people in, he calls out to a goth dressed character, long trench coat, multiple piercings, white makeup to make him appear pale with black lipstick and fingernail polish. He approaches the magic shop and begins to laugh. "How fitting that the first of those who will learn to me stand inside a shop of a false magician. Behold mere mortals for I, your master Lord Etheric, has come to rule over you all!" With that he utters a few words and suddenly an ebon field surrounds a couple of the civilians, shaped like a teardrop.
While this happens, Nanael and Breakneck gather more people together when a small crowd of people come running from down an alleyway. Emerging after them comes a horrific sight, a 7' tall man, his lower half human but his upper taking on the appearance of an octopus including 6 cephalopod-like tentacles in place of his arms. Three of these currently hold civilians, flailing about wildly. As he sees the heroes, he turns towards them and let's out a monstrous roar, seemingly a creature gone wild,
Gumshoe, searching for other explosives, suddenly gets a strong feeling of being watched. A sound of crushing metal behind him causes him to turn to see a sedan parked on the side of the road, one he just passed that was mostly unharmed, now has the top dented in and is rocking slightly. Whatever caused it is unseen. Nightstrike, coming upon the scene in the shadows, caught a glimpse of something from the corner of his eye, something that leapt from the alley onto the car and into a window in the nearby building out of his sight.
Straightjacket, still in sight of Prime, moves to the emergency vehicles to assist as best able. As he nears to remove some more debris for a firetruck to gain admittance, suddenly the entire vehicle raises into the air. Behind it you see a woman, seemingly the source. Bits of metal swirl around her as she raises her hand, the red engine going with it. The firemen jump out of the vehicle quickly, but she seems to be looking past to where Prime is treating people with the paramedics. "I must say, this feels good, right." She reaches back as though to pitch the engine forward. "Time for Death Magnetic to make her debut!"
And as all of this occurs, above a news helicopter arriving on the scene is met by the strangest sight yet, one to which you all bear witness. A dragon, long, scaley and breathing flames, charges forward and causes the copter to swerve to the side and losing control. If something is not done, it will crash.
Breakneck
Gumshoe
Nanael
Nightstrike
Prime 691
Straightjacket
The Evil Eye
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Looking around, Martin Prim sees all eyes not on him or his allies, but on the villains. Taking this as a chance to act, he does so. The injured on the ground being the responsibility he has taken on, he concentrates on Death Magnetic.
He raises a hand, and hits her with a blast of concussive force, hoping to disable her and prevent her from throwing the massive truck held by her will.
Affliction 10 vs. Fortitude (Vulnerable, Disabled, Incapacitated) (4/Rank+1)41
Increased Range: Ranged (+1/Rank)
Multi-Attack (+1/Rank)
Secondary Effect (+1/Rank)
Variable: (Sonic, Concussive Force, Electrical, Nerve Darts)(1 Pt)
Prime 691 sends out a blast of concussive force towards Death Magnetic, who suddenly pulls to the side as the floating metal objects move about her.
Nanael looks from the octopus to the news helicopter torn not being able to do both, she looks to Breakneck,
"Take care of things here!"
She then takes off with a few quick flap of her swan-like wings racing up to the helicopter approaching it from below attempts to grab a hold of it's landing gear and trying to steady it.
"Oh &^*^%! Where the hell did she come from?!?"
"It doesn't matter, wrap he up before she kills all these people!
"Like I didn't know that" Dave blurts as he rushes to wrap up and suffocate the evidently psychotic super. He moves forward expanding in size and stretching out to reach for the lady before she squashes everyone with the firetruck.
Grab
Suffocation DC 12 Fort
Dan's head whipped to the window of the apartment the- whatever it is had entered. He hated blind jumps but sometimes they were necessary. He stepped into the shadow next to him and came out in the alley to get a better look at the window. He concentrated on the direction and destination and moved[/]. He could [I]feel that there was a shadow in the apartment big enough for him to work with. He just didn't know exactly where it was. Under a bed or in a closet. Something. Only one way to find out...
Straightjacket grows in size and sends out his limbs, attempting to grab the supervillainess before she can send the fire truck flying. As the limbs reach out she suddenly takes to the air, using bits and pieces of metal to graft to her body, barely dodging in time. She focuses her gaze on the super before her. "You'll pay for that!"
Meanwhile Nanael takes to the skies, attempting to stabilize the out of control helicopter. Attempting to grasp the landing gear, she only manages to pull a runner off as it veers the opposite way.
Nightstrike teleports into the building he saw something move into. Appearing beneath a table, cloth surrounding it.
On his turn:
The words of his master come to his mind: With his body focus and mind centered on righteous conduct Breakneck advances quickly toward the monsterous creature that holds lives in it's dishonorable tentacles. He advances zig-zag always maintaining a forty-five degree angle relative to Octo-man or whatever it is. Judging that he is not trained in grab as much Breakneck decides on a rapid set of punches, then runs out of the things reach to see if he did any damage.
Actions: Move by Action, Move action part one, advance in angled zig-zag to punch range, then use rapid strike Attack roll +10, Effect 5, if attack roll is success two add +2 to effect, if attack roll is success three or more add +5 to effect. Effect is strength based blunt. Move to 100' away.
Attack roll: for 5 strength effect, multiattack.
Breakneck darts in, attempting to land a series of punches against the tentacled man-creature. Unfortunately his strikes fail to find a vulnerable spot, nearly being sent flying by an errant tentacle.
When the Hell did this become Freedom City? Not sure what that was in the window, but that dragon I can deal with.
Gumshoe leaps into action, jumping to the top of a nearby roof and snap-throwing something from his pocket at the dragon. "Down here, ugly!"
Throwing Mastery DC 25 Toughness Save on Hit (Move-by-Action)
Gumshoe leaps atop a building and throws a handful of change at the dragon. The coins sail through the air, striking their target. As the dragon is hit, suddenly it disappears, seemingly winking out of existence.
Death Magnetic flies higher up into the air, bringing her arms up to lift the firetruck into the air as she does. As the firetruck lifts up, small bits of metal fly up and attach to the engine, cars below shaking from the effort. A look of rage crosses what may have been a pretty face under normal circumstances. "Let's see how you like this!" Bringing her arms down, she sends the firetruck careening towards Straightjacket at incredible velocity. The truck smashes directly into the center of the elongated superhero.
Lord Etheric, seeing people running away, creates a wall to block their path. "No running away now, for I, the greatest wizard Lord Etheric, demands that you all bow before me. Now bow before I decide to do much worse! Hahaha!" Having blocked the civilians ability to flee, he stands there, laughing uncontrollably.
GS I
DMvSJ
Suddenly, Randolf's thoughts go back tot he strange visitor that appeared in the store earlier in the afternoon. Here's my chance to help...
With his senses all attuned to trying to protect the rest of the people in the store, Randolf only thought of trying to get the other magician out of his store. Saying words he did not know he knew, he outstretched his hand and some strange bolt of mystical energy flew from him toward the one known as Lord Etheric. "Get out of my store!"
Attack
Attack Type/Mechanics
Lord Etheric feels the magical effects start to wash over him. A look of terror passes over his face only for a moment before he turns back to the hero before him. "You think to save these people from the mighty Lord Etheric?!"
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