Paper
Paper was actually caught off-guard at the sudden attack. He was sure they’d have a little more banter before throwing gloves. He didn’t even get to insult any of them yet. How rude.
The skeletal man lunged at him and he tried to parry the attack but mistimed it.
He felt the man’s touch for the fraction of a second and felt the overwhelming power it held. Fear and adrenaline kicked into overdrive.
The paper felt his fear and reacted on its own to protect him. Paper swarmed from his pouches like angry hornets. In the next fraction of an instant a paper thin barrier slid between the two. The skeletal man’s finger finding only steel hard paper.
On his side, Paper pushed off the paper and skidded back a few feet in a three point stance. His free hand held out as a paper staff formed.
”Okay, no more mister nice guy. I’m the one that’s usually launches the sneak attack.”
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Voltage, you can do several things with a critical hit:
A critical hit can have one of the following three effects, chosen by the player when the critical hit is determined:
Increased Effect: The critical hit increases the difficulty to resist the attack’s effect by +5. Against a minion, this bypasses the resistance check entirely; the minion automatically receives the highest degree of the attack’s effect.
Added Effect: The critical hit adds another effect onto the attack, but its effective rank is 0, so the resistance DC is just the base value (10, or 15 for damage). The added effect can be anything the player can reasonably describe and justify as an adjunct to the original effect: an Affliction (useful for all sorts of “gut checks,” blows to the head or vitals, etc.), Dazzle (blood in the eyes, boxing the ears, etc.), or Weaken, to name a few. The GM decides if the effect suits the circumstances of the attack. The target makes resistance checks against the attack’s initial and added effects separately.
Alternate Effect: The critical hit results in an alternate effect for the attack, like use of extra effort for a power stunt, except the character suffers no fatigue as a result. This option can represent a “lucky” attack that does something completely different, like blinding a target, or imposing a condition such as those found under the Affliction effect.
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Tabula, you are bruised (-1 to further Toughness checks) and dazed (limited to free actions and a single standard action per turn, although you may use that action to perform a move, as usual).
Shee-Ariel is struck by the bolt, but it seems to have little effect on her beyond breaking her concentration. As a result, Rigel, you are no longer a statue and can move and act normally!
The lightning bolt slams into the armored villain, leaving him bruised.
The woman who was hit by Enigma shimmers and disappears.
Shee-Ariel:
Knightengale:
Scuzz:
Tabula: Dazed, Bruised 1
MINOTAR:
Enigma:
Magnetron: Bruised 1
Mongo:
Adonis:
Liberteen:
Paper:
Rigel:
Voltage:
Miragi: Bruised 2
Straightjacket:
Straightjacket rouses from under the pile of dirt, sees his old sparring partner Mongo, and tries to wrap him up.
but clearly some dirt remained in his eyes.
If I vote for saving the day AND stick with it, does that help?
I'm not seeing this fight go great for us. There are a lot more of them than I thought so...I'm voting for pushing on. However, I won't mind finishing the fight if it comes to it either.
I’m okay with hand waving the fight.
We did have Argus support to back us up, so even if we were out number it wouldn’t have been so bad.
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Okay, after a rough fight, you find yourselves victorious. The captured villains reveal that Dr. DNA was the man in the helicopter that was blown up. Oddly, there is no trace of him remaining in the wreckage. ARGUS and Microgirl round up the villains back in the lair with minimal resistance (given that the toughest guys were facing your group).
Mongo, Adonis, and Shee-Ariel prove to be the toughest of the villains, but Shee-Ariel abandons them when it becomes apparent that the fight is lost. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't get far and is rounded up with the remainder of them. All are fitted with nullifying bands which cancel their powers.
Back at the base, you are given a debriefing by the Martian Manhunter. He praises your victory but admonishes that casualties, even of the villainous kind, are to be avoided by heroes. He does reveal that the JLA is impressed that you were able to triumph over superior odds.
The next few days are relatively quiet, offering you some much-needed downtime. You are free to spend your days in whatever fashion you desire. So how are you spending your down-time?
Straightjacket will catch up on his classes since he's been a bit distracted from his course work.
MINOTAR spends his time reviewing the combat over and over, and wondering if there were better tactics he could have gone with. Obsessing over it, he remains reclusive while the other carry on in their lives.
Voltage does his day job working at the city library shelving books and some community college classes during the day. He patrols at night mainly just to enjoy flying.
Leon does his best to convince his love interest to join him on a date. The rest of his time he spends his days half job hunting and half bumming his way through bookstores and coffee shops. Occasionally hitting the HQ’s gym to keep in shape.
"Ring, I know you don't exactly understand this ... but that SUCKED. Can you try to do something for us both? Can you please send a message to Kyle Rayner? To his ring? Like through the green battery on OA or something? I get that it may not work exactly like a switchboard, but I could really use some guidance. Just tell his ring that we are looking for him."
Rigel was pretty bummed out about getting faced by the bad guys. He didn't want to blame his ring, so that meant somehow it must have been his own fault.
"But lunch in LA could fix this ... shopping in Beverly Hills could fix it too. Drinks on the West Coast; almost always the right answer!"
“I’m just saying, that if they had sent anyone other then you I wouldn’t have came along so quietly.”
Leon smiled across the small wooden table at Agent Sarah Rothman. Sarah looked back over the rim of her latte. She smiles back and teases him as she sets her cup down.
“Oh please, you were anything but ‘quiet’ when I brought you in. You had the right to remain silent, I just wish you’d utilized it.”
Sarah smirked and Leon chuckled.
“See, you’ve always been the only one willing to fire back… you know, without a gun.”
“You know I also carry, right.”
“Oh,I know.”
Leon smiled again.
“But you never needed it with me. Just those pretty hazel gems.”
Sarah gives him an incredulous look, but it doesn’t touch her eyes, which hint at something else. She sips at her latte again to try to hide a smile. Leon took a bite of his fries, enjoying the warm, seasoned goodness. Sarah sighs and sets her drink down and leans forward, elbows on the table.
“I hear you’ve been behaving yourself.”
Leon sighed in return.
“Really, do we need to all shop?”
“It’s the reason I gave them to justify coming out here again so soon.”
Leon leaned forward himself, giving her a smaller, more intimate smile.
“Admit it, you didn’t come that far.”
“What do you mean?”
Sarah asked in a quieter tone.
“You didn’t take very long to get here after I called.”
“I just happened to be in route to somewhere else.”
She offers, but Leon shakes his head slightly.
“Na, you weren’t on an airship. I didn’t hear the right background noise.”
Sarah swallowed as Leon leaned a little closer, his tone dropped to a more intimate tone as he leaned in closer. Sarah held her ground.
Suddenly screams breached the widow of brewery they sat in front of. Their chairs fell over in unison. The two were on their feet in a heartbeat.
“We just can’t finish a date, can we?”
Leon sighed wistfully, and he shot Sarah smile which she returned.
“Maybe someday you’ll manage to finish.”
She teased even as she pulled out both a gun and a phone. She was following Leon as he pulled every napkin and receipt from every table he could reach on his way out of the Rockslide Brewery. A paper staff was in his hand as he yanked the door open and ran out into the sidewalk.
Agent Rothman was by his side, already contacting Argus on a secure line. Paper settled his earpiece as he contacted HQ.
“MINO! You there? I got a situation downtown near the Rockslide Brewery. Moving closer to get a better look, I’ll keep the line open.”
Having shut down almost all his external sensors so he could focus on the tactical analysis of the last fight, he was jolted suddenly into movement as the call from Leon hit his always active communication array.
“MINO! You there? I got a situation downtown near the Rockslide Brewery. Moving closer to get a better look, I’ll keep the line open.”
"Acknowledgment and Statement: Understood Leon. I am moving to gather the others now...please keep us up to date on the situation there as we prep to launch. I will have an ETA for you as soon as we are in the air."
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Outside of the Brewery, the crowd is in a state of absolute panic as the chrome buffalo that stands at the corner has seemingly come to life and is assuming a threatening stance.
Rigel reverses his flight west and heads to 4th & Main ...
Rather tired of catching up on his studying, Straightjacket is almost relieved to hear the alert on his communicator.
He gets on the coms, obtains the location of the disturbance, and heads directly there from his apartment after getting garbed and grown.
Voltage sneaks off to where he cannot be seen and changes into his heroic form before flying off to go see what is happening.
MINOTAR will wait for anyone at the base who wants to join and will launch the Javelin as soon as it is ready.
Rigel flipped a 180 like no one's business and streaked across the sky back to Colorado ... he remembered a little later to say something
"Ring, open JLC channel prime, go"
"Leon, it's Rigel, headed your way. I'm a few minutes out. You okay?"
”Roger that MINO.”
Replied as she ran down the sidewalk against the flow of people.
”Gotcha, Rigel.”
Paper cleared the panicking crowd to find it source of the disturbance.
”Well now, that not something you see every day.”
He said off-handed over the comms before reporting.
”Looks like a rouge… statue is causing the panic. Fourth and Main. It’s that metal buffalo, the one that looks like it could be MINO’s long lost cousin.”
Paper chuckled as he brought the paper staff up defensively.
”Don’t think I have enough paper to stop it, but I’ll try to slow it down.”
”Hey, chrome-dome!”
Paper tried to catch its attention as he pulled a handful of paper from the staff to form a baseball sized orb. He threw it at the statue, but really it was his power that carried the paper ball at it with strength and accuracy.
Voltage flies as quickly as he can towards the conflict and says, "This is Voltage. I am on the way as well."
"Ring, superimpose location please? I really have no idea where things are ...
MINOTAR launches the aircraft as soon as anyone else is on board who intends to go, and races to the location of the disturbance.
"Statement: ETA..."
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The chrome buffalo is indeed distracted by paper's attack and turns towards the hero, setting up for a charge. That's when Voltage arrives on the scene. MINOTAUR, Liberteen and Microgirl join you and you are on the way, arriving next turn.
Voltage, you have e enough time to react before the buffalo does.
MINOTAR, you and Rigel are on the way to the scene when the call comes in over the police channel; "Adam 24, there is an incident on Main Street. Witnesses claim that the statue of Walter Walker has come to life and is wandering about the street. Please investigate and report."
No sooner than this report has finished, another one comes in. "This is Shelby, I've got one too! Alpine Bank on 5th! The statue of William Moyer is walking around!"
The chrome buffalo is indeed distracted by paper's attack and turns towards the hero, setting up for a charge. That's when Voltage arrives on the scene. MINOTAUR, Liberteen and Microgirl join you and you are on the way, arriving next turn.
Voltage, you have e enough time to react before the buffalo does.
MINOTAR, you and Rigel are on the way to the scene when the call comes in over the police channel; "Adam 24, there is an incident on Main Street. Witnesses claim that the statue of Walter Walker has come to life and is wandering about the street. Please investigate and report."
No sooner than this report has finished, another one comes in. "This is Shelby, I've got one too! Alpine Bank on 5th! The statue of William Moyer is walking around!"
Voltage flies over the scene and sends a bolt of lighting at the buffaloto see if he can drop the animated statue. He calls out to those around, "Get to safety!"
Arriving above Voltage, Rigel also blasts the bussalo
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Voltage blasts the statue, but there is absolutely no effect on the thing. Electricty crackles across its surface, dissipating quickly. Rigel's attack is also resisted, the buffalo taking the blast head on and ignoring it. Suddenly, it charges at Paper! Paper, it is not possible to parry this attack, but you can try to Dodge (DC 19). If the attack hits, you need to make a DC 23 Toughness check.
Paper watched as his teammate’s attacks fell harmlessly against the moving statue. Suddenly the bison turned on him and charged. He attempted to leap aside, but a flip of its metallic head smacked its horn against his ribs. The blow knocked the wind from him as he tumbled across the sidewalk.
”That’s gonna leave a mark.”
He groaned even as he shook his head and started to prop himself up.
Seeing the damage the 'buffalo' has wrought, MINOTAR realizes the better tactic. He sets the Javelin to hover at a short distance and assumes command of the immediate situation.
"Statement: That thing is almost solid metal. Very little can hurt it directly! Get it off it feet..I mean hooves! Once it cannot move on it's own, it will be nearly helpless and cannot charge anywhere! Electro, provide cover for Leon, or help him get out of there! Rigel, get that thing in the air and I can blast it with the Javelin's cannons. They ARE meant for destroying asteroids so theoretically..."
Seeing the damage the 'buffalo' has wrought, MINOTAR realizes the better tactic. He sets the Javelin to hover at a short distance and assumes command of the immediate situation.
"Statement: That thing is almost solid metal. Very little can hurt it directly! Get it off it feet..I mean hooves! Once it cannot move on it's own, it will be nearly helpless and cannot charge anywhere! Electro, provide cover for Leon, or help him get out of there! Rigel, get that thing in the air and I can blast it with the Javelin's cannons. They ARE meant for destroying asteroids so theoretically..."
"MINOTAUR is correct, give me a second ... M, where do we want it? Does the Javelin have containment for a thing like this?"
Rigel maneuvers to a direct LOS so he can TK the thing"Ring: estimate mass of animated bovine statue. I need to lift it."
Seeing a statue?? on a rampage as he drops in from his jump, Straightjacket tries to wrap it up.