2 rounds later
Dottie drags Rosalie into the restroom, dripping water into her mouth. The woman gasps as a the water hits her. Seeing positive response, Dottie runs back to the hall, pulling the safety latch on an emergency medkit. An auto defibrillator falls to the floor and other supplies scatter about. Rosalie begins to breathe in deep, ragged breaths. He skin looks like ancient paper.
Frank drags his meal ticket into the hallway. Lou falls to his knees, coughing violently into the carpet. Blood droplets mar the expensive carpet. Lou doesn't look quite as bad as everyone else, but he isn't doing well.
Joe is collapsed face down further down the hall in the direction that Dottie took Rosalie.
Another Inner Demon slams the door open into Dottie's restroom, he wields a two handed machine pistol (something like a Steyr TMP). He sweeps the room with his masked gaze, taking in the scene of Dottie tending to Rosalie.
Yet another Inner Demon races toward Frank and Lou, this one somewhat foolishly wielding dark force enhanced nun-chucks instead of a pistol.
When Dottie is in the hall grabbing the hydration kit, she notices Joe face down. She calls out, "'Strictor! Hit the sprinklers!"
Later in the bathroom: as the door clatters open, Dottie begins to turn. Seeing company arrive, she leaves the straw from the hydration kit in Rosalie's mouth, hoping she's alert enough to keep drinking. She backwards cartwheels toward the Inner Demon, hoping to kick the firearm out of his hands.
Frank hear's Dottie's instruction but becomes more concerned with the Inner Demon advancing.
Jaw set in growing anger he steps out to face Nunchuks, and unleashes a lashing coil at the mook;
:
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The demon kicks the door wide open. Dottie reacts with preternatural speed, cartwheeling toward the masked man. She kicks the gun up into the air, catching it as she returns to being upright.
Around the straw, Rosalie says, "Shoot...him."
Frank lashes out with his coils, smashing into the demon's head and torso. His mask breaks away, revealing the face of an angry young man. His eyes roll back in his head as his ribs break under Frank's assault.
Dottie's demon, now in close with an armed opponent, moves to a close combat form, something like Stone Monkey to Dottie's trained eye. He draws his limp hands up in a move meant to distract, bringing a kick toward Dottie's torso. She ignores the feint, easily deflecting or dodging the kick.
Round 5
Round 5
With the demon down, Frank turns his attention dutifully toward the sprinkler systems above.
Recalling an old school tale he'd heard, the enforcer lashes his coils toward the ceiling;
:
Full of chaotic sass on the surface, Dottie has always been at heart a soldier who follows orders. And given her orders, Dottie opens fire on the Demon, letting out a burst of bullets.
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Frank lashes upward, knocking the sprinkler nozzle from its seat in the pipe. Water sprays from the pipe, creating an irregular rain in the plush hallway. Triggered by the release in pressure, the other sprinklers in the hall blow their wax pins and water rains down.
Dottie releases a torrent of bullets into the Inner Demon.
As the water pelts the carpet, a strange figure steps from the perpendicular hall, the one with the elevators that you entered through. The water may be helping Joe somewhat. He has risen to his knees from his fully prostate position on the floor.
The figure, flashing like a photo negative, walks up to Joe. It places its fine leather shoe (oh, the water damage) on his back and shoves him back to the ground. As the water cascades over his white suit, the droplets turn black, everything backwards.
He turns toward Frank slowly. "You vex me, enforcer. You continue to be in the most inconvenient places, getting in the way of my plans."
Dottie can hear all of this. She is quite nearby.
Since Rosalie is well enough to mutter vindictive orders, Dottie sneaks into the hallway to see what is happening.
Sprinkers pattering off his costume, Frank turns to face Negative with a hard smile;
"Vex? I'll do more than vex you boy..."
He purposely advances down the corridor, as his coils flick and writhe , then lashes out attempting to ensnare their Darkforce imbued foe;
:
:
Frank lashes out at Negative, who deftly sidesteps the coil, which slams into the carpet beside him.
"Ah, a brawler. How delightful." Negative steps within the writhing coils, ducking a swipe and bringing his right fist up in a classic uppercut. He connects with Frank's chin, but the cowl absorbs the blow. Frank feel just a flicker of the icy shock of the energy flashes around Negative's hand.
[ooc]Damage for his unarmed attack isn't enough to penetrate Frank's Impervious.[ooc]
Round 6
Dottie Underwood had spent roughly the years of 1954-1991 as a SHIELD agent. The things SHIELD agents saw back then were nothing compared to some of the bizarre things happening these days--but still nonetheless she had witnessed weird energy sources, shrinking and expanding scientists, failed attempts to recreate a supersoldier serum and their disastrous results, and the occasional alien autopsy. Once even all in one day.
She had seen enough to know that when the idiot mook shoots ordinary bullets at the weird-energy-source-powered monster, the monster will shake the bullets off.
And she was keenly, painfully aware that she was now in the shoes of the idiot mook, who has brought a gun to a cosmic-transdimensional-living-dark-energy fight.
At the same time, she clocked Frank struggling to hit the man. Joe on the floor struggling to get back up. The only possible allies they had scattered about, choking and helpless.
The exit to the building was a tantalizing few feet away. She could run. If she did, she could not return. The mission would fail. Not an option, under the circumstances.
All these thoughts flash like the electricity crackling up and down Constrictor's coils, quick staccato bursts, and then form a pattern, return with a plan: get Negative away from the rest of them.
Become the primary target. (Just don't let him touch you...)
Dottie steps out into the hallway, and bursts fire at Negative, knowing full well it is likely just going to get his attention and that's about it. Although that doesn't stop her from actually aiming with purpose.
The bullets pelt into the flickering dark form--what good they do we are about to find out.
"Hey there mister, if you're looking for a fight: try me."
Seizing on Dottie's distraction, Frank attempts once again to entrap Negative in his coils;
:
"Mess with the snake you get squeezed Mr Neg."
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The spray of bullets scatters sparks across Negative's white suit. He whips his head toward Dottie, "Oh, do not worry, I'll be with you in a minute."
Frank wraps his coils around the man, but finds that he isn't there, or at least isn't quite where Frank thought that he was. Strangely, since he is already a photo negative, there is an afterimage of a normal man in Frank's vision.
Dottie sees the coils just not engage him, somehow. He slips right around them.
Negative grabs Frank's armored shoulder, and Franks feels a tingling that reaches deep into his head. Energy crackles across his head and torso, fogging his mind.
Round 7
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Dottie watches the bullets do absolutely nothing. At least some things around here meet expectations.
She forces bravado even as she sees Frank reel. "I see. You're afraid to fight the only person in this room who's been touched by that Darkness and survived."
Dottie takes a few steps backwards, hoping to lure Negative toward her, hoping either the insult or the hint at her past distracts him.
As Negative turns to face Dottie, a weary Frank sees his opportunity and lashes out with a coil;
"Hey Neg. We ain't finished our dance yet..."
:
Frank lashes out again, but his coils can't seem to find the space occupied by Negative.
Negative returns his attention to Frank, clenching his fist. A moment of focus. "Let's finish it then." He strikes Franks chest, and Frank feels a reverberation through his armor.
Round 8
Dottie feels her courage bolstered by the fact that Frank is still standing. No one disappearing into nothingness. She certainly knew better than to underestimate the monster, but she uses the rare surge of hope to press her efforts to play mindgames.
The problem was Joe hadn't moved, and she still feared the Darkforce too much to get closer to Negative to shield him. And Frank kept luring Negative close--too close to the other Maggia members. All she could do was keep trying.
She lets off a few more bursts of the gun for drama while continuing to taunt the villain:
"You can't hurt anyone at all, can you? You're just a shadow, a flimsy fragment of film!"
"Patience, miss, I'll be with you as soon as I am finished with your friend, here."
Frank staggers, almost dropping to one knee, before flashing a defiant smile;
"T-That supposed to hurt Neggie? I've tussled with some much h-heavier hitters in my time... Lemme show you how it's done son!"
As his smile becomes a grimace he desperately lashes out with a coil once again;
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Dottie grits her teeth in frustration as Frank refuses to move and let Negative be drawn toward her. And she can't (read: won't) get close to help Joe with Negative so close. And of course, Frank can't read her mind let alone be able to understand her tactics. He's a criminal enforcer. What he knows is grandstanding and refusing to give up for fear of looking weak.
So, still intent on trying not to lose all their allies and knowing time is of the essence, she gives up and tries something else.
She moves through the doors to the auditorium to her left, and then goes through that room to come out the other side to stand at the doorway of the conference room they left. Is that door still shut?
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Negative stays close to Frank, moving around him with almost supernatural speed. His rabbit punches drive into Frank's gut and kidneys. Negative is in front of you, behind you, seemingly everywhere. Frank is holding his own for now, but Negative is wearing him down.
Round 9
Frank rocks on his heels, winching in pain as one hand strays to his ribs;
"F-float l-ike a butterfly eh Neggie? Smart man woulda put me down by now... rather than b-being a dumba$$ t-that gets caught by the surprise left..."
He times his foe, and lashes out once again;
:
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 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 a use of extra effort for a power stunt (see Extra Effort in The Basics), 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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Frank hits Negative right where it hurts. The only problem is that Negative somehow isn't where Frank thought he would be. There must be more to his photo negative appearance than just Darkforce messing with light. Somehow it must also be messing with space.
Pulling her facemask from her utility belt and donning it for at least a little filtration, she opens the south doors to the conference room to survey the scene.
Wrapped in Frank's coils, Negative continues to rabbit punch Frank's torso. The armor will stop bullets, but the vicious, life draining blows come through it like a cold wind. The impacts of his fists are loud enough to ring in your ears like gunshots.
The conference room doors swing open, red fog billowing out around War Widow. The floor is riddled with the shriveled corpses of Maggia soldiers. A couple of chairs are overturned. One beefy fellow lies across the table as though he were trying to clamber over it before he collapsed. The fog begins to dissipate.
Frank reels, the cold alien impact of Negative's blows causing his gritted teeth to chatter involuntarily.
G-Got to g-get him in the c-coils. Spark him u-up.
Desperately he tries to ensnare his elusive foe...
:
Dottie figures the sprinklers came on too late in time to save the occupants--if there is no twitch of movement or revitalization then rules of triage say move onto Lou and the other fellow Frank grabbed.
While she hopes the opening of both doors and the sprinklers has lowered the effectiveness of the gas, she still holds her breath as she runs through the conference room out the other side, and checks on the two men behind Frank.
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Gordo is clearly not breathing, and his blue lips and cheeks point to cyanoisis.
Lou is fairing better, but only barely. He is gasping for breath and his breath rattles in his chest. Red speckled foam at the corners of his mouth are not a good sign.
Negative finally grows frustrated with the tete-a-tete. As Frank's coils attempt to encircle him, he grabs one coil in each hand. While they have been fighting on somewhat even footing so far, Frank notices that he is suddenly much stronger. The Dark electricity arcing over his body increases in intensity, arcing also into Frank's coils, which absorb some of their energy. Coils stretched to the sides, Negative thrusts his forehead at Frank's, headbutting him like an 80's action star.
Frank's thoughts end there.
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Of COURSE that's when Frank goes down. Wouldn't let me lure him away out the door when YOU could have helped these mooks, would you? Now we're all going to die. Dottie began to shake uncontrollably. She was not going to get near that Darkness. She was not.
Dottie pulls a flash-bang from the stash of weapons they found the other day and chucks it at Negative, hoping desperately to buy time.
Dottie, now completely alone against a nightmare she's had for 70 years, and unshakably certain she has no weapons that will hurt Mr. Negative, will leap over Negative () and run for the nearest exit, abandoning everyone.
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Negative raises the back of his hand to his eyes and lowers his gaze as the flash-bang explodes, but as the chaos subsides, he lowers his hand, his gaze rising to catch Dottie's eyes. It is clear there he is unaffected.
Dottie's survival impulse kicks in, and she charges toward Negative. For a moment, an observer might think she is making a desperate attack, but she dives over Negative as he leans over Frank's unconscious body. Ignoring Joe lying on the carpet and Rosalie in the restroom, Dottie hits the exit doors to the south finding herself in a parking lot.
Negative pays no more heed to the unconscious Frank. He moves to a nearby downed minion, picking up a short blade. He moves to Joe where he lies gasping on the floor. With only a sense of practicality and no animus, he drives the blade into Joe's back and into the carpet beneath.
Negative stands, shoots his cuffs, checks for any blood on his suit, finds that it is immaculate as usual, and walks the opposite direction of Dottie toward the lobby.
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Dottie runs full force, somersaulting over the valet driveway and into the parking lot. About three quarters of the way through, when she comes close to a street full of passing cars, her usual front-brain hyperalertness begins to reassert its dominance and points out the following things to her panicking lizard brain:
- she is mostly out in the open
- She is soaking wet
- with a face covered in running, cheap drug store mascara that probably makes her look like the walking dead
- she is carrying a large and obvious automatic weapon
- the face mask is not helping her look any less sinister or noticeable. (I mean what a weird world it would be if everyone was walking around wearing masks covering their nose and mouths.)
- She was driven here and while she did her best to pay attention to the route, knowing where to go from here to anywhere on foot will take some fine mental calculation skills rather than blind panic.
She dives into the bushes lining the parking lot and takes a few breaths. She watches the hotel from where she crouches, wondering who enters and leaves. She went out a back way. Better to stay here or creep around to watch the lobby? As she ponders, she listens for sirens or any other signs of arriving emergency services. They set off a fire alarm AND doubtless someone heard the gunfire. Even if the Maggia or the Dragon paid off the cops to be elsewhere, someone--or at least some hotel automated system--would still have noticed... wouldn't they?
Dottie listens...and waits. But there is little evidence here on the street of the activities in the hotel. No sirens, no red trucks, no blue and whites. Not even an ambulance. A valet in a black vest, white shirt, black tie, comes to the door where Dottie recently exited. He stands at the door. A woman approaches, and he stops her. There is an exchange that Dottie can't hear over the traffic, but she can read enough of the lips and body language to tell that he is apologizing for the inconvenience, "but there has been an accident and the lobby level is closed for repairs."