Pete's already up top, with Badger's body...other body?
Pete and Badger share a long hug maybe with a few tears. Pete is covered in blood and he shrugs out of his hoodie in an attempt to clean himself up a bit.
Kami groans and sits up. @#^%! Why do I feel like I got hit by a truck?
Pete, seemingly needing to just keep busy in the moment but not wanting to let go of Badger, kind of walks Badger over to Kami and starts checking her for any further injuries.
You trot quickly over to Badger's body and do indeed find her phone. It's the same as the one she is currently holding but this one's screen is badly cracked and damaged. It seems to be working but only barely.
Dave just nods to you, anticipation in his eyes. He jumps into the pit quickly.
Dave's Acrobatics:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
He quickly falls into a spin nearly hitting the side wall. He recovers but takes it a bit slower brushing off any help you pro-offer.
Moving to the bottom of the pit you examine the machine. It's appears to be a rough cylinder with the downward part equipped with powerful boring tools almost entirely embedded in the stone below. The outside is the same orange and black motif that you saw above. The letters "I" and "V" show plainly alongside a hatch. As luck would have it the hatch is completely clear of the debris and you are able to pop it open. Once you do, the entire inside lights up with a myriad of switches, screens and a 2 person seat surrounded by a gyroscopic roll cage. There seems to be an empty section for cargo of some sort in the back. You could fit 6 people in here or 2 people and some medium cargo.
You can clearly hear squeaks coming from above you echoing weirdly in the pit. It sounds like a lot of tiny vermin of some sort.
Badger: Something specific that could only be from the past? So like something meaningful that I lost? She snaps her fingers.
I've got it. It was a long time ago but I lost a ring during a rough patch I was going through. A mischievous glint reflects in her eyes.
Year was 2122, January I think. Wait I think I have a picture. She fumbles through her pockets until she produces a torn photo showing her with a pleasant city skyline and a park. Someone's arm is on her shoulder but the rest of the person is missing along with the left half of the photo. On her hand you can just make out a ring.
It was a gold band with an emerald in a diamond shape...is that enough of a description? It's been years since I've seen it. Oh wait don't take it from the time in the picture! I didn't lose it until years later in 2122.
If you continue your action to jump back to get the item as and when she described it:
You jump through time effortlessly thanks to your returning power. The timeline's vibrancy skitters past rapidly like a quick flipping book...and you know precisely where to turn to.
January 2122, golden band with emerald ring belonging to Badger. You appear in a hospital room. The nearby watermarked stationary indicates this is the current incarnation of the Tim Rayne Memorial Hospital in Maximum City. Before you, in the bed lies an emaciated woman barely breathing, the ring on her finger her last vestige of life she is clinging to. The clipboard at the base of the bed indicates...natural causes. This woman lived a long full life. name: Belinda Waters. Survived by 3 children but not her husband.
Badger: Timeline huh? Xtinct win?! Not if I can help it.
Look I can't claim to be able to wrap my head around the finer points of temporal travel but I need you to show me what you've got. I've set up a small sparring room a couple of bins over. I'm not asking you to fight me I just some bona fide proof so I can get behind what you are laying down. She opens a door that's mostly just scrap metal and beyond there are a series of thick industrial waste bins cleaned out. They look like they are made of lead. There are 8 rooms in all, 4 on the left and 4 on the right. She leads you to a small room complete with sparring dummy, benchpress, and some makeshift weights.
I saw you could teleport and you've got some decent tech skills but we've been hearing that Xtinct is sending out Synths with powers these days to root out would be vigilantes. But I know for a fact that Xtinct hasn't mastered time travel or I'd have never been born.
Show me yours and maybe I'll show you mine. She gives a wry grin.
Badger steps away from the ledge and sits at the base of the wall slowly rocking herself back and forth.
Dave:The blorp or whatever...that was her! One second I'm trying to see you over the edge because you jumped and the next there is this blue neon light and she's standing right there. I didn't get a really good look but...maybe...it's a superpower? A small scowl appears on his face.
Badger: I..I remember the noise and the railing gave away. I was thinking Pete would catch me..and then...and then..nothing. No pain just a deathly chill and I was back up here.
You inspect Badger and she seems ok if a bit cold to the touch. She is wearing exactly what she had on before she fell and interestingly enough she still has her phone on her.
That's when Pete flies up, carrying Badger's corpse.
Pete's Will save vs. DC 8 Shock:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Pete nearly drops Badger(corpse) when he sees Badger(not corpse) but is able to compose himself enough to land on the opposite side of the platform then hurriedly run over to badger and give her a hug.
You soar upwards carefully watching for falling bodies or otherwise. You are aware of a series of tunnels extending at different levels of this shaft in different directions. There also appear to be large metal vertical tracks alongside the side of the shaft indicating that this is or was actually some kind of elevator or lift.
You reach the top and...Badger is standing there shaking. Dave is clutching Kami near the wall away from the pit staring wide-eyed at Badger. She just..just appeared...out of nowhere.
Badger: Why are you looking at me like that? Why am I so cold? I was falling...falling...and Pete...
She starts, as if remembering something important and makes for the railing...but you stop her from getting near the edge. She calls out, PETE!! PETE!!
Power stunting a Variable ability like the totems feels a bit like saying that you can have a Wish spell as long as you spend a hero point. In that any ability or combination of abilities that you would ever need could be attributed to some kind of spirit you make up. But to allow you to at least maybe get to where you are trying to go with this I'll allow you to spend the hero point to attempt to commune with one of the spirits you already have totems for and plead your case for a resurrection. Or I would if the following didn't happen just as you begin focusing on your communion....
Your mind desperately calls out to the great spirits, pleading for their intervention on Badger's behalf. But all you receive is a comforting silence, as if to say all right, it's all right.
Badger: Guys! WTF! What happened! Where am I! AHHH!
Dave: AHHHH!
Their screams echo weirdly but seem to be more of relief than anything else. You distinctively hear Badger's voice coming from the top of the chasm.
Pete: It's like I can still hear her screams... He thinks he's just hearing her voice because of trauma.
And to be clear, Badger's dead body is STILL here at the bottom of the shaft being clutched by Pete.
What follows is a high speed chase through the futuristic industrial landscape. Goodyear's pilot knows the street level layout better than any of the Xtinct pilots however and is able to lose the pursuit. Both vehicles end up at the bottom of a deep, deep quarry on the outskirts of town. There, you enter an old industrial waste channel and wind your way into the literal underbelly of the city.
Goodyear pulls to a stop inside a carefully concealed garage amidst what appears to be miles of abandoned tunnels. It's a tight fit but you are able to park Flux inside.
One side of the sphere irises open revealing a yellow and black clad figure wearing a similarly colored...suit of some sort. It seems to be mostly protective but the gloves end in some sort of spiked knuckles or short claws.
???: WOOOHOOOO! Good job keeping up with me back there newbie. I'd say you got some potential. The voice is modulated weirdly by the helmet. As if suddenly realizing it, the pilot removes their helmet...revealing a female of about average height with an uneven buzzcut.
???: I'm taking a risk bringing you here but you'd be crazy to be dressed like that and work for Xtinct. Name's Belinda but everyone I know just calls me Badger.
You jump over the railing not even waiting for the wings to form between your shoulder blades. In what could loosely be described as a controlled dive you fly to the bottom of the chasm. Tumbling on the uneven ground you see Pete clutching the lifeless body of Badger.
Her body is broken, arms crumpled under her in a vain attempt to halt her descent. As you crawl closer your hand slips on the blood that has formed pools on the uneven ground.
You focus sending your lizard totem blessing to her...but nothing takes hold. It's as if the husk is empty...gone.
Pete: Belinda...Belinda...Belinda...
Your stomach crawls as you take in the impact of what has just happens. You barely register the fact that there seems to be a large machine at the bottom of this hole partially covered by stone debris. An assortment of twisted bent equipment lies around the bottom.
Through your shock you can clearly hear an odd noise echoing down from the top of the chasm. *BLOOORP*
Your heroic decision to close the rift has directly led to this moment, but you know you wouldn't do it differently. You rev your engine, readying a last desperate break for freedom...and your PipBoy blips.
The roar of a heavy duty engine echoes between the buildings as a yellow and black metal sphere pinballs into the dockyard, ramps off one of the tipped containers and arcs through the air crashing into one of the two light cruisers midair. The explosion sprays shrapnel across the dockyard.
The vehicle, rimmed by one enormous tire, lands, spins at a nearly impossibly sharp angle before barreling it's way back through the dockyard...and all of the Omegas in it's way. They jump aside dropping their weapons in their haste. At least one of them gets thrown bodily from the front of the vehicle although appears relatively unharmed. The only identifying mark is the word "GOODYEAR" sprayed across the side.
???: You've got a ride? Nevermind the magnets then, follow me! The sphere is already past most of the Omegas and is angling it's way away from the docks at high speed.
There is still one cruiser with an active power dampening field on and the three new cruisers are most likely equipped with them as well.
With your intelligence score you know ferrous metals are metals that contain iron, you believe she is asking you if your armor is capable of being magnetized. The answer is definitively yes.
In a barrage of laser fire, Flux weaves past the Omegas with the power and grace of a panther. You pull yourself into a tight donut, hand outstretched and you reach the portal with barely any time to spare.
The portal flickers...and then winks out. There is a weird sense of...nothingness as this one does not return any of it's energy to you.
In this moment of confusion one of the Omegas connects solidly with Flux.
DC 28 Toughness vs. Damage for Flux
With the rift closed, the rifthounds howl as each disperses into nothingness.
Your relief at successfully completing your mission is short lived. Three heavy cruisers fly onto the scene, dispersing more Xtinct troops onto the battlefield. Those already on the ground and still uninjured surround you.
Omega All-Out, Power Attack energy rifles DC 6 to hit:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 241d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
Summoning your car, Flux to replace the tank with a hero point works for me.
Two of the Omegas turn their rifles on you and open with a barrage of energy blasts.
Please roll a Vehicle check in place of the normal car defense.
???:How did you...ugh, never mind. Look, Xtinct reinforcements are inbound and they are packing Omega rays, y'know the kind that permanently erase your powers. I'm creating a gap in their defenses in about 6 seconds, your funeral if you don't take it. Your suit is made of ferrous metal, right?
You can hear more than see additional Omega cruisers in-bound.
You trace the signal back to it's source and than invert the communication array allowing you to speak directly to the sender.
You also pull the GPS location and the source is moving...fast. Some kind of vehicle or possibly a speedster headed directly towards your location. Callsign..."BAD"
Please make a Persuasion roll to convince the newcomer that the rift needs to be dealt with.
For clarification, you are inside your tank about 100 feet away from the rift. The smaller rifts will close themselves once the larger rift is dealt with. However, both rifthounds and the Xtinct officers are fighting around it. Xtinct forces are not even paying attention to the rift.
Rattled by the crash, you narrowly dodge the energy saber as it scores a narrow hole through the tank's side.
Timeline shunts the tank once more into the air, aims, and fires.
CHHAAAAGGGGGGHH- The creature's death wail echoes viciously in your mind.
You attempt to complete your turnabout attack...only to find yourself unable to do so. You and the tank crash to the ground on top of the creature crushing what remains of it's exoskeleton ad spurting dark ichor over the area. You and tank Toughness Saves vs. Damage, DC 11 for falling 60 feet.
The sound of laser fire and howling continues at the dockyard. The energy weapons do not seem to be doing a lot of damage as the hounds absorb most of the impact.
From above, you see the two other cruisers flying over the battlefield emitting a strange red energy cone covering the dockyard completely. You have this creeping itchy feeling along your skin that seems both dread and familiar. The energy cones are some kind of teleport dampening field!
Hero Point awarded for complication.
Your PipBoy reports a hacking attempt on it's communication system. The attempt did not get through the security system. A second later, a aether-mail alert pops up on your screen.
A-mail:
Well, this would have been so much cooler if I could have just hacked your device to make it display on your screen. Oh well.
I've been watching you tonight and I think you've got some talent. If you want to survive this, ditch the lunker and follow the Goodyear!
As we discussed out of game, you forgot to Accurate Attack to boost to hit by 2. Also I am ruling that your velocity quirk for your teleport ability can be used in reverse up to terminal velocity. But your power rank is higher than the speed rank so you really only gain a +1 to the damage effect.
25 to hit, 15+10+1-2 = DC 24 Damage for "Summon Meteor Tank" ability.
You hear the crashing roar of steel being rent from steel as the entire rear section of the tank is ripped apart by the hounds pulling from different quarters.
Shifting gears, you re-summon the tank from an earlier period, restoring it to wholeness, before teleporting it and you above the creature...at terminal velocity!
The tank (and you) slam into the creature before it can fully dodge the blow. You hear a crunch. It's probably the creature...maybe. Roll Toughness checks for you and the tank both DC 19 because of the impact.
Your ears ringing, you can hear energy weapons being discharged and the howl of rifthounds as the two forces seem to have engaged each other.
You...will be consumed...*cthflargl*...
You hear the unmistakable hum of an energy weapon of some kind being fired up as the creature stabs at the tank. You attempt to duck as you see a dark purple energy blade cut through the side of the tank. It seems to be originating at the tip of one of it's limbs.
He crit so he is changing his attack from a straight close attack to an AoE attack on both you and the tank. You and the tank roll Dodge vs. DC 15. If you fail you roll Toughness DC 20 vs. the energy blade as he attempts to slice. Tank has a -4 Dodge roll.
Based on your Poison Ivy ability, it will be insufficient to catch Badger as the cavern you are in is 200 ft across and Badger is more than 30 ft from the edge, which is the size of your effect.
Based on gravity and time in a round Badger has fallen about 500 ft already. The lights in the chamber above do not reach this far into the pit.
Pete:I'm coming, Belinda!
Pete runs to and leaps over the railing plunging into the darkness after Badger.
Dave stumbles over to Kami and drags her away from the ledge, holding her head.
Frantically searching about you are unaware of any computers in this room.
Pete: Where are you!? I can't see!
Skinny Pete Perception DC 20 (For catching moving object in utter darkness):1d20 ⇒ 18
Badger: Ahh! Over here, over he- A distant and dreaded impact can be heard echoing up into the chamber.
You deftly hit one of the levers to cause the tank to spin, defeating the hound's attempt at damaging the vehicle.
In a practiced move, you handcrank the next artillery shell into the chamber before shunting you and the tank a safe distance away, fire at your target, and then release the energy pulling you back to your location.
The smoke clears and The creepy creature and all three of the larger hounds seem to have taken damage. The hound on your right and the creature itself seem to have take quite the beating. Bruises all around, Boss and Rifthound3 are staggered.
All of the hounds rush the tank hoping to deprive you of it's advantage. Tearing can be heard as one of the larger hounds finds purchase along one of the armor seams.
Tank Toughness roll vs. DC 38 (Got two crits and one wiff). Because of object rules, They are trying to puncture/destroy it. Which means as long as you don't fail by more than one degree nothing happens.
THIS IS XTINCT! WE HAVE YOUR...tank?...SURROUNDED! CEASE FIRING AND EXIT THE VEHICLE SLOWLY! YOU WILL BE PROCESSED UNDER CODE 616 OF THE SUPERPOWERED RESTRICTION ACT! WE WILL NOT ASK AGAIN, WE HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED TO USE LETHAL FORCE! REPEAT, WE HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED TO USE LETHAL FORCE!
Four red-and-black soldiers, energy rifles drawn appear from cover two on your right and two on your left each about 60 feet away from the tank near cover. One of them sees your predicament and starts talking to his wrist comms. Sir hostile appears engaged with unknown additional hostiles. Do we engage?
The large creature hisses mentally and then attempts to run away from you into the maze of the containers. It's move speed is great enough that though limping at half speed it is able to make it to the nearest container (60 ft away from where it was) and round the corner. Judging by it's condition it probably didn't get much further.
Omega-non: We have a runner sir, permission to engage?
This is a ruse to mask that this scene is scripted towards a specific power reveal for one of the characters. I do not intend to permanently harm any of the npcs in this scene directly from what's happening here.
You turn to see Pete literally about to step on the tripwire but he catches himself. Right...I forget sometimes. Dust scatters as he propels himself into the air over the tripwire.
Well I may know a little about wiring.
Pete's Technology Check:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
As he messes with the cable, you examine the scorch marks and bone fragments. The bone fragments are just too small to tell what they are from. They could be teeth, bones chips, or just really small animal bones. You check the scorch marks and it reminds you of a grenade blast possibly triggered by the falling debris. You find a small leather strap of some sort like a tiny belt strap.
That's when you catch sight of a symbol partially covered by the debris. It looks like a "V" or maybe an "A"? The rest is covered by the debris.
Got it! Pete yells out excitedly as he reconnects some of the wiring. Large embedded ceiling lights turn on illuminating the entire area and lights inside of the cells turn on and the 5 empty cell doors slide upwards revealing the dusty restraining beds.
...and then the lights all turn red, klaxons begin to blare and the doorway you entered through seals itself with a thick metal door with the same symbol as the table. The symbol is definitely an "I" and a "V" in orange against a black background. The rumble of old machinery shakes the chamber as a massive crane unfolds from the large arched ceiling.
Pete swears under his breath.
Dave drops his penlight over the side. It tumbles like a tiny out of control lighthouse illuminating the long drop.
Kami stumbles backwards from the cell doors and hits her head on the railing. She stops moving.
Badger goes to brace herself against the railing...only for it to give way beneath the weight and she falls plummeting into the darkness below... AHHHHHHhhhhhhh...
The remaining hounds turn on the source of their master's fury.
Two of the hounds snap futilely at the small vents, trying to get at the pilot. The remaining two disappear from your line of sight momentarily and then you hear the sound of one of the tank tread rollers bending...
Tank Toughness roll vs. DC 20
Four Omega-non cruisers fly into the dockyard airspace flying over your position and then past it. Two cruisers break formation to land just out of sight past the next wall of containers. You can hear the remaining cruisers circling the block...
Your interference is noted, mortal.
Making no move to hide or avoid you, this creature summons a reserve of energy and three of the larger hounds from earlier appear taking a sliver of the larger rift with them as they form.
Hero Point awarded for the complication. Your turn again.
You shunt yourself and the tank nearby for a clear line of sight and fire on the creature. You're quick but the creature is quicker. You see it bend it's body in unnatural ways avoiding the direct blast and shielding itself...mostly from the proceeding blast.
The detonation of the tank shell rocket slides the crate into the pack of hounds and past it into the mess of I-beams behind. There are several howls of confusion...cut off abruptly.
You snap back into your previous position, the crate now behind you, dark hound ichor staining the docks underneath your tank treads. The creature limps slightly a dark gash evident on it's front left leg. Four hounds remain surrounding you.
As you walk down the stairs to the platform your keen observation catches a carefully hidden laser tripwire. It produces no visible light but you catch the glint off of the reflecting surface on the metal railing. You are able to step over it without issue.
You follow the cable bundle to the platform where there are 3 large metal boxes each with various levers, knobs, switches, and gauges.
The cable bundle has been torn away from the metal box it was connected to by a chunk of debris that apparently fell from the ceiling. there appear to only be wires running though the bundle, no signs of anything resembling life support.
The table in the center of this platform is large and seems to be a crafting workstation of some sort. stone debris and metal chunks dot the bench which is at least 15" x 15". You see small bone chunks on the table caught by the largest piece of debris. around the impact site there are also heavy scorch marks.
Cthu-Nerubian Hazard Dodge DC 10:1d20 + 14 ⇒ (4) + 14 = 18 Omega-non squad(grunts-3 pts): Tough-Soldier-Nullifier
If it makes sense for them to have a skill if it comes up and is not listed below, QuickStat creatures have a bonus to said skill equal to their ranking. As Grunts they have a +2. Commanders have a +5. Minions have a +1.
STA 6
Tough 6
Ranged Combat 6 (changed from Close Combat because guns)
Accurate Atk
Power Atk
All-Out Atk
Defensive Atk
Precise Atk
Omega Blasters: Nullify 5 (DC 15) Omega-non Initiative:1d20 ⇒ 3 H4,H5,H6 Team Attack vs. Tank DC 6 to hit:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 51d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 191d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
So there is this tense moment as you cannot see the creature and then the hairs on the back of your neck raise just as you snap your fingers.
A World War II Pershing tank apparates out of nowhere around you shoving nearby objects out of the way. The metal containers fall and roll haphazardly spilling a green contaminant onto the ground. The I-Beam stack groans and one topples onto the tank itself hitting with a reverberating clang.
*HIIISSSSSSSS* The entities thoughts are both frustrated and confused.
Three blinkhounds round the corner and make attacks against your tank. Two of them hit, the third kind of just leaping at the side and bouncing off. Make a Tank Toughness check vs. DC 17 damage. Tank gets a +12 and uses the Inanimate Object rules
Three more hounds round the corner ready to engage with their prey next round.
You hear the entity from behind the large crate of tech exports summoning more hounds. You know where he's at His action dropped his stealth/invisiblity but it's behind a 10' x 10' metal crate. There are 9 hounds total now.
Sirens from Omega-nons can be heard in the distance getting closer quickly. Hero point awarded for the complication.
Hounds and M.O.S.M.T.I.M.H.G. have gone, your turn again.
You check the pods and there is a single cable bundle running through the entire set in series. There are 6 pods in total. The cable bundle is protected along it's length by a thick segmented metal sheath. You do not know what it supplies at the moment from just looking. The pods do not appear to be powered right now in any way but there are indications that they were supposed to have power running to them at some point. Badger was able to see the mummy by using her phone light.
The cable bundle stretches down and towards the lower platform into one of the large boxes of machinery.
You throw a pink one at the stairs, it's glow illuminating industrial metal grating.
Green one at the lower platform, it plinks against the nearest box illuminating lots of dust and a smooth surface. Big metal levers can be see in the down position on this box.
Purple one you toss below you and it just keeps falling until you cannot see it any more.
Yellow, red, blue, and another pink 20 ft separate along the right path towards the exit. Just more metal grating. The door at the far end is closed.
Let me know if/when you move closer to anything in the room so I can give a more detailed up close description. Even with darkvision it's hard to make details out at range.
You walk to Badger, steeling yourself for the scene. Along the inside of the wall are a series of pods each with small windows at the top so you can see within. Inside of the third from the left is the mummified corpse of someone. They are wearing a blue cloth mask/hood with a red Chinese dragon symbol on the forehead. The rest of their clothing shares a similar coloring style and motif although made of spandex not cloth. Restraints that would have held this person captive can be seen on the neck (can't see below the chest through the tiny window). The other holding cells appear empty.
While the hallway appeared clean, everything inside this room is caked in a thick layer of dust.
The catwalk to the left ends in a set of stairs that go down to some kind of ground floor. From here you can see some kind of platform the stairs lead to with a large flat raised slab and some strange machinery. The catwalk to the right continues along the side of the cavern area to an exit in the far wall. You would guess this cavern is a good 200 ft across. You cannot see the bottom of this area.
You use your innate ability to teleport to precisely where you need to be...right into the middle of a stack of haphazardly placed I-beams, several metal barrels, and a gigantic Xtinct crate of tech exports. In the gloom it's taken cover behind...something you are not sure which.
Stalkers find you, stalkers sap your energy. Such pretty colorful energy.
You used your move action only so far, this creature pulled a Batman and you just can't see it. Spooky the way it can disappear...either invisible or it maxed out Stealth ranks.
Using new QuickStats idea I made up elsewhere. Final boss for this section is Commander level and gets 9 modifiers. This is intended to be out of Timeline's difficulty because there are more players from other factions going to be present. He should get significant extra help even indirectly from these sources.
I chose: Smart, Creepy, Quiet, Lithe, and Tricky for Stats I chose: Buddy, Expert, Cultist for Advantages I chose: Summoner for Powers
Results:
AGI 14, PRE 6, INT 6
Dodge 14, Tough 6, Parry 6
Stealth*, Acrobatics, Close Combat, Expertise, Deception* +14
Summon Rifthounds (Minions: Rifthounds(teleporters))
Languages x2
Skill mastery x2
Eidetic memory
Artificer
Equipment x3
Improvised Tools
Set-Up
Teamwork
Leadership
Minion(He has already dealt with and defeated all of these. summonable hounds are much weaker than those)
You spy down upon the dockyard and are able to quickly spot a darkness growing in a cluster of overturned containers. Three rifthounds, much smaller than the ones you fought before and an incredibly tall gaunt humanoid creature with no mouth, ears, or nose. The creature's skin is blue and scabby and has two sets of arms and legs each ending in razor tipped chitinous spear points.
Behind this creature is a rift large enough to drive a semi truck through. It makes a strange sparking sound before turning to LOOK DIRECTLY AT YOU.
Voice in your mind: Welcome, vibrant traveler. I thank you for opening such a portal to your worlds. Come, join your energy to ours!
This creature holds a limb towards the rift and three more hounds leap forward, still of the smaller size. The three hounds already present each teleport to the ground below you and then again on top of the crane, snarling as they close in. Two move action teleports for those three, boss summoned adds.
Pete waits up for you but can't convince Dave to stop. You and the gang (minus Dave) reach the dropoff and realize it slants down and then forward maybe 50 feet ending at an angular archway. The door is nowhere to be seen and past it is a catwalk and a what appears to be a large empty space past the catwalk.
From the deepest recesses of the echoing chamber you swear you can hear squeaking...?
The silence is broken by Dave exclaiming, *&^#!
The noise echoes dramatically throughout the room ahead. Your fellows move closer to the doorway instinctively but before they can cross it Dave has doubled back, running into Kami.
Kami: Hey!
Dave: There's a corpse! In a mechanical coffin!
Pete Dude, what?
Badger: Don't even start Dave. That's not funny. Badger marches into the room and turns left.
You hear her intake sharply. Mags, oh it's...terrible.
You chain teleport across the city towards the final rift. As you near the location you note the non-functional garish electro-neon signage above the dockyard depicting a many tentacled creature carrying a freighter in each tentacle. "Queen Martian Shipping Company" is written in multiple languages below the sign.
Hundreds of shipping containers litter the docks turning this place into a veritable maze. Your PipBoy doesn't track the rift as well because this entire area seems to be out of energy. This is a much larger area than either of the previous ones.
The Dockmaster's office is nearby, dark and without power.
She calms down a bit. Superhero...but...where's Steven? Where did they take him! Judging from context clues around the apartment Steven is Double Tap's given name.
You close the rifts without any additional issues.
Restored another 2 points of your power so you are back to Rank 5 without need for making a check. Also awarding you 1 PP and a Hero Point.
With the rifts gone, she seems to regain a bit of her bravado. OK, Mr. Black Knight or...whatever. I appreciate the help but you should know... She reveals a blinking comms device held in her other hand. I-I called the 'nons after those hounds ran out here. Y-you should hurry.
Inside the nearest room to the rift (no place to stand as the elevator is one of those side of building mounted doodads) you scan the rift with your PipBoy. It seems the hound gorging itself on energy caused the rift to expand further and more of the energy from the quantum explosion is leaking through. As you've been watching it the rift is peeling further open and brilliant radiation is spilling forth like a flare.
You teleport to the rift and close it but it requires significant effort on your part.
Teleporting to the other rifts, you find a women in mismatching lingerie poking one of the rifts with some kind of commemorative aluminum sports bat. The moniker "Double Tap" is plastered across the side. As the bat touches the rift, it gets sucked through.
AHHHH!!!!! The woman starts screaming and swinging her now missing bat at you.
The bullet connects, surprisingly enough, but ricochets off your armor and into the building itself. You teleport to the ground pantomiming a three point landing as everyone backs up.
Shocked, Double Tap just responds, T-Thank you? before you teleport away.
RH Tough:1d20 + 3 - 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 - 1 = 3 Is there an elevator car above them? Yes > 50:1d100 ⇒ 27
Your environs disappear and you reappear...outside of the building right below the southern external elevator!
The hound has it's jaws sunk deep into the electric rail the elevator runs on, it's feet seemingly able to stick to vertical surfaces without trouble. Luckily the elevator car is docked securely at the ground floor.
Despite the sudden vertigo, your aim is true as you blast the beast. This one explodes into a shower of electric sparks not so much dissipating as being blown out of existence. A small golden rift hovers in the air.
You then proceed to fall...like a rock...in your complete plate armor and shield.
Double Tap:That's him! That's the crazy hombre in the knight tights! The rapper calls out to the bewildered doorman, bouncer, and curious spectators.
I got this. Double Tap pulls a gold and chrome handgun out of his waistband, aims, and then fires. DT's Shot, penalty for distance and holding it sideways:1d20 + 3 - 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 - 3 = 13
I...I think he just hit you as it's versus your Dodge? DC 18 vs. Light handgun damage.
RH Hide, +2 circ bonus:1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 3 + 2 = 16 Bonus for several floors worth of hiding spots. Perception will not spot hound without aid due to distance through intervening floor material. Tracking with PipBoy is great idea, but nature of hound's power surge makes exact location tricky to pinpoint. Check +5 gets exact location.
You train your senses to the environment around you but there is just too much noise. You can hear the sounds of night traffic outside, the pulsing beat of someone's music device in the apartment below, the quiet shuddering sobs from someone in the back of the apartment, and the weird chiming sound coming from the two open rifts in this room.
After a few seconds you turn to your pipboy to track the creature. learning from your previous encounters you can tell roughly where the creature is by the power drain to energized systems nearby. You know it's on the south side of floor 123, approximately 7 floors below you. You gather it can teleport at least 100 feet in one jump.
You do see an all metal keypad to the right of the door on the inside. It has some kind of sensor at the top of the keypad that appears non-functional. Probably because the mechanical door lock it is attached to has been twisted almost 180 degrees with the broken door.
Pete: I mean I can hotwire a car but this...this looks beyond repair.
The door and the hydraulic piston have been smashed up pretty good. While you might be able to prop the door up with something, it would be blatantly obvious that the door had been compromised. Also a lot of noise was made during the process of opening the door, easily echoing down the length of this corridor.
Dave: Hell no, I'm not passing this up. He fumbles in his pocket and pulls out a penlight.
Pete:Hey wait up! A rush of air can be felt as Pete uses his ability to catch up to Dave. They are about 100 feet in now.
Badger rolls her eyes before having Kami help her with the door. They manage to prop it up cutting out most of the ambient light from outside. Kami let me hold onto our shoulder and you can guide us forward. We should probably at least try to keep the boys out of trouble.
Kami looks to you, Mags, and shrugs. You tried. Boys will be boys I guess.
The void energy clips your shoulder as you roll away from the blast. Your resolution does not waver however as you fire your laser, getting a glancing blow. Bruise Only
The last hound alternates between a deep growl and nervous whining. It sees it's downed packmates and...disappears in a burst of electronic static. The nano-screen tv imprinted onto the wall screams in static before fizzling out entirely.
Do your spirits require a move action (singing) to maintain? I don't think it did in your original character sheet but you had wanted a limited version for the pre-campaign?
Staring into the silent darkness, you instinctively reach out with your mind and feel the spirit of the owl watching you. Your eyes now process even the slimmest gleam of light to illuminate what is before you.
The corridor stretches for a good 300 feet before ending. You cannot tell at this distance (or without a perception check) if the corridor ends or simply turns but the red light appeaers to be some kind of ceiling light at the point of convergence.
Kami:It looks like the corridor goes downhill after that light up ahead...I think
Dave:Well? What are we waiting for? and with that he jogs down the first stretch of hallway then slows to a fast walk as his limited vision fails him.
Badger: Are we at all concerned that there was a military grade handle-less door preventing access to this creepy corridor? I mean I'm all for a little recreational B & E but I don't want to walk into a nest of...alien parasites or something!
Your laser beam creates a perfect hole through the skull of the rifthound, scoring a chunk of the marble floor beneath. The rifthound falls without sound dissipating even before it hits the floor.
Angered and desperate, the remaining hound spits a cone of void energy at you.
Dodge Roll DC 18; DC 20 Toughness vs. Damage if you fail the Dodge roll.
Stunned by the sudden disappearance of it's prey and the appearance of another predator, the rifthound recoils too late. It take a direct hit from your blaster and evaporates to a mournful howl. A minor rift appears in mid-air.
Hearing their packmate's deaththroes, the two remaining hounds bound into the room and attack you from both sides. The hound to your right misses it's attack in the narrow confines but it's ally's teeth bite your leg behind the knee armor plate between the seam.
Focused as it was on it's prey, the rifthound is slow to react to your presence. It stares confused at the space where Double Tap was just a second ago. It got lower initiative. Your turn.
With a surge of power from the recently closed rifts, you re-appear across town on an open air section of roof that serves as the penthouse balcony. The main room of the apartment is clearly visble through the glass panel walls but is across a large outdoor pool.
You immediately notice a struggle in front of you as a averagely built man in a bathrobe is wrestling with one of the rifthounds inside the main room of the apartment. Broken glass from the shattered end table is all over the floor.
Screaming can be heard from further inside the apartment as well.
Perception DC 10:
From the sounds you can tell there are three rifthounds in the apartment. Two of them sound like they are in the hallway to the left.
History DC 30, Eidetic Memory counts:
This is a famous rapper of the time known as Double Tap. While his musical talent is excellent, he is most known as a direct ancestor to a main rebel leader in the war against Xtinct in your time. Without this man's descendant, Xtinct would have gained control over a key infrastructure three decades early resulting in an immediate eradication of the rebel superheroes.
The heavyset form of Mr. Little rushes out of the hovercar to see the kids. He eyes you in your full plate armor as you explain yourself.
Timeline? Never heard of you before. He glances up the stairs at the children (who have all crowded onto the balcony at the sound of conversation downstairs).
Right, well. Thank you for your help this evening. He nervously takes the bear.
I...I suppose I heard a commotion tonight and came to check on the kids only to find the vandals had gone. He gives you a knowing look.
There was nothing super or heroic about this nor related to mutants in any way. Just bad men on a bad night. Scum of the city.
He begins escorting the kids outside. Come along kids, we are going for a ride. I'm pretty sure we can seat the lot of you if we all squish.
Mr. Little and the kids watch as you snap your fingers and your form dissolves into motes of sand. The little girl you saved waves from the back of the group. Her other clutches the stuffed bear.
The line rings only once before being picked up. A sleepy male voice responds to you bringing them up to speed with the situation.
mmm...yes, Gertie? what's *yawn* the matter? Wait...who IS this? uh huh...uh huh Wait...what kind of monster?! Who is this?! Who are you?! WHAT!? Gertie is... yes, of course! I will be right over.
Unless you had more to say, Mr. Little will arrive in about 10 minutes to take custody of the children. His hovercar is easy to spot, an antique roadster conversion.
He will have a ton of questions for you of course as superheroes are falling out of favor in this time. Your choice if you wish to stay to talk to him or continue on.
A quick perusal of Mr. Little's social media indicates he is a low tier paralegal known for taking on far too much pro bono work. One of his prominent photos depicts him at the ribbon cutting ceremony in front of this very orphanage. He is the sole heir to the Little fortune but chooses to spend his time defending those that cannot defend themselves...in court at least. His donations are the sole reason the orphanage stays open.
The phone number listed on the folded up note is listed as obsolete. According to the communications network you are accessing, the number doesn't exist.
You teleport the bodies to someplace out of the way. Where exactly? I need to know where the bodies are hidden, lol.
You unlock the kids door and see that they are all below the age of ten. Including the unconscious girl there appear to be 8 children here now. The rest of the upper floor is empty. The kids are scared but unharmed. You keep the kids upstairs to avoid them seeing the pool of blood near the front desk.
The front desk computer is still logged in to the woman, a Ms. Price. There is a clearly indicated emergency contact number for someone named Calvin Little.
You cannot find the little girl on the records, only the other 7 children are listed. On a hunch you check the ancient Rolodex on the desk (presumably an antique) and there is a folded note wedged in the back.
You teleported through a narrow barred window to find yourself inside a child's bedroom. After hearing prowling noises outside in the hall you attract it's attention by whistling and making noise. It begins to break through the door after which you teleport into the hall and do battle with it. It leaves behind another small rift which you seal before checking on another noise down the hall.
Small child voices can be heard behind an electronically locked door although they appear to be safe for the time being. You do hear two more hounds downstairs. Before engaging, you lead the Omega-nons outside away with a fake high priority backup request. You summarily teleport to and defeat both of the remaining rifthounds which leads you downstairs.
Once the hounds are defeated, the generator in the basement starts up again. Both of the orphanage's caretakers, a middle-aged man near the generator and the elderly woman at the front desk have been killed by the rifthounds. Before expiring, the woman at the desk apparently hit the emergency lock on the kid's doors which succeeded at keeping them out of harm's way.
You come back upstairs to close one of the rifts only to see a strangely colored girl touch it. Energy arcs between them and she is thrown backwards hitting the front desk and knocking herself unconscious.
You check her vitals and she seems ok however a genome scan reveals her as a mutant. It appears the caretakers here had been keeping her separate from the other children and hiding her nature from the Omega-nons.
In a stroke of...luck? the energy she absorbed from the rift begins changing her on the genetic level. Her genome scan returns as negative for mutant genome. You might have left it at that but her genome appears to be a splice of her own and yours. You suspect she remains a mutant but has somehow adapted your unstable molecular nature to mask her genetics. A kind of genetic camouflage.
***
You are now left with the bodies of two caretakers and an unknown quantity of children inside an orphanage.
Badger introduces 3 more of your neighbors. There was a gaunt, weathered man in a makeshift toga called Rollo, a practicing Buddhist. A grungy man in a denim jacket who pretty much ignored everyone but the food. And last, a man in a neon green poorly made suit known as Rizzazz.
Rizzazz, a local pimp, attempts to disband your gathering but in a combination of showing your abilities and calming persuasion you manage to gain the upper hand. You send him on his way with a parting gift of some top tier alcohol and he backs off.
You spend the rest of the afternoon entertaining your few guests until being interrupted by a short warning before the sluiceways become active. Your guests grab as much food as they can carry before scattering for dryer ground. You save Cassie, who fell asleep in the bounce house, from the flash flood although she seems to have a terror attack during and blocked the memory when she woke up.
You makeshift some water from your summon party supply ability beore searching for some work and building supplies. You find another retaining island to stow the van on and speak to Box about further work. He agrees to pay you for alcohol and appetizers that you create at a daily rate IF you prove yourself to him and his partner tomorrow night. Your musical debut is scheduled for the night after this test run.
You return home to find Cassie gone, and Badger and Kami waiting worriedly outside the new house. Apparently Dave and Pete are busily trying to break through the service door with some machining tools they found lying around. You arrive just as they burn out their third grinder tool head and want to switch to the makeshift blowtorch they "found".
You grant Dave superhuman strength and bull horns which he clobbers himself silly but does succeed at bending the handle-less thick metal door. With a little more pressure the heavy hydraulic pistons holding the door shut give way in a spray of fluid.
***
Now you and your little group find themselves staring into a carefully constructed metal corridor. The floors and ceiling appear to be made of whole-formed metal plates with only a seam where they meet halfway up the wall.
There is a 90 degree bend right in front of you after which the corridor goes pitch black after only 30 feet or so even to low light vision. In the distance, only a single point of red light can be seen. Impossible to tell how far away or how large the light.
Dave:Wooooah.
Pete:Is it a zombie shelter? Those pistons are huge.
Weathered and chipped but built to last, this archaic building is relatively non-descript except for the narrow, barred windows. The gold-engraved lettering above the main entrance simply states, "St. Cristoff's Home for the Lost".
The building is dark inside but not necessarily abandoned. Although it looks like all of the power has been cut, even the stylized lightposts out front are non-functional. You hear nothing coming from the building itself however a pair of Omega-nons are out front setting up narrow metal pylons outside the shattered front doorway. Chunks of wood and glass cover the ground.
The smaller of the two stops and looks at the other and they have a conversation.
Perception DC 10:
Lt: Finish placing that tape and we can get out of here.
Officer: We aren't going inside to investigate? If there are kids inside-
Lt: Stow it! Something inside this building is interfering with the genome scan. Could be a power surge...or it could be a face-melting, bedeviled, full-on mutie freak that would love nothing more than to eat your liver. He points to his standard issue wrist computer We cordon off the area, and we wait for backup. This is my last week before retirement and I don't want what should be a routine investigation to turn into a mutie slaught-show. Xtinct doesn't pay funeral expenses. We shoot anything that comes outside.
The larger one keeps his hand near a device on his belt while the smaller one finishes setting up the pylons. With a final click, the pylon tips glow and connect to each other creating a perimeter of laser light. Both Omega-nons walk back to their hovercar and wait, weapons ready.
