Aika's Asylum Assault: Pretty Deadly in Providence

[FuzzyBoots]

^_^ So, someone suggested using the new Freedom City Atlas supplement which maps out Providence Asylum and put in someone like Raven or Foreshadow and play it out like Batman: Arkham Asylum. Honestly, I haven't played the game, but I've been wanting to take Pretty Deadly out for a romp to test her effectiveness, so I jumped on the idea. Fair warning, amateur writing ahead:

Pretty Deadly in Providence
"You're right! It's just so cute." Aika giggled as her girlfriend pointed out a frilly top with a super-deformed Lady Liberty whacking the White Knight on the front. Back and forth they giggled, each playing off of the other, until it was interrupted by a phone ringing. They both reached for their pink cell phones, phone charms slashing the air as they whipped up their phones in synchronicity and chimed, "Hello?" A few seconds passed ass they stood there and the ringing continued. It was coming from... Aika suddenly realized that the ringing was coming from the bottom of her handbag. She fished about until she came up with a different cell phone, this one a plain black buy-as-you-go model.
"Did you steal someone else's cell phone, Aika?" Aika's friend said as she giggled again.
"No, I..." Aika cast about frantically for an excuse. It's the work line... Oh God, I'd forgotten I bought that phone. "It's... it's a family phone. For emergencies. One second." She scurried off to a nearby alley and flipped it open.
"Hello, Magical Girl Hunter Aika here. How can I help you with your problem?" she said. Not that I expect much of anything... America doesn't quite have the same level of infestation.
"Oh..." the voice on the phone said in a disappointed tone, "Do you only deal with magical girls? I'm desparate! I've called everyone else..." Oh great... the desparate ones. They never pay the full amount they say they will. The voice continued on, "I'll pay you 500,000 dollars. I can wire it directly to your account. Just please help me!" Huh... pay in advance. That's a new one.
"Maybe I can help you with your problem. Give me some details." Aika glanced around the corner to where her friend was looking at her watch with a frown. "And make it snappy! I'm... with a client right now."
"It's Providence Asylum. Some nut called the Beholder took it over. The officials are refusing to deal with it, claiming that there's nothing wrong, but my daughter -- she's a nurse there -- called me on her cell phone before he dragged her out. The Freedom League are in another dimension, Next Gen is overseas, and I don't know how to contact Foreshadow. Please, can you save her?" [Knowledge (Current Events): 9+3=12, Knowledge (Popular Culture): 18+5=23] Aika racked her brain. Beholder, Beholder... ah! he's that crazy art guy. Huh, probably a wimp, no problem to deal with. She nodded to herself. Doable, doable...
"I think I can help you with your problem. It's just him, right?"
"Well, uh... no. He's set some of the other patients free. I heard my daughter saying something about a... Choker? Cho Chang? I couldn't make her out very well... and there's probably others in there. But all you have to do is save my daughter! And they'll probably offer you a reward for quelling the riot..." his voice trailed off. "Are you still there? Ma'am?"
Aika weighed it all out in her head. Well, if I can sneak my way in and out... I can probably avoid most of them. Still, these guys probably aren't like my usual quarry. They fight a bit smarter if nothing else." "Still here. 500,000 down buys you the rescue. There'a an additional 10,000 for every supervillain I have to take down in the process. And if you don't pay me... let's just say I know some guys."
Aika's friend called out, "Ai - ee - ka! We have to hurry if we want to make it to the mall before the sale ends!" Aika waved frantically around the corner and turned back to the phone.
"That's the deal. Call me tonight at 7 PM if the terms are good enough for you. Just think... what's your daughter worth to you?" With that, she flipped the phone shut and turned it off. If he's serious, he'll call back. This should be an easy job, right? And, with that, she walked out to her friend. "Ready!" she chirped. "Let's go shopping!"

-----

At 7, Aika's cell phone chirped its ringtone. "Magical Girl Hunters. Are we agreed?"
"Yes," said the voice, its tone flat, "But there's an upper limit of 600,000. I just can't raise any more than that. As it is, you're going to make me a pauper."
"It's a bargain price, believe me. I'm the one putting my life on the line. Now, you can get me general plans, right?"
"I can get you blueprints, but that's it." The voice paused. "Are you sure I can't get you to give me a discount?"
"Crystal."
"Fine. I'll send the plans in an email. Just give me an address." Aika quickly whipped up a Mailinator address and spelled it out over the phone. Within a minute, the blueprints were hers.
"Good. And... looks like your money is good. Just got the first deposit in my account. I'll move tonight."
"TOnight? But that's too-- that's fine." And then, they hung up. Aika frowned. Why would they object? Eh, maybe they're just worried that I'll spook them into doing something rash. But they'll see that I can do subtle... With that thought in mind, Aika conjured her paired Desert Eagles and pointed them at opposite corners of the room.
"I can do subtle real good..." she whispered with a wide smile.

[Horsenhero]

Ah yes...nothing says subtle like twin Desert Eagles...except maybe an rpg.

Nice intro. How does the rest play out?

[FuzzyBoots]

Ah yes...nothing says subtle like twin Desert Eagles...except maybe an rpg.

Nice intro. How does the rest play out?

^_^ Still working through it, but right now, she's having to battle the Maestro and actually turning out a bit of a poor performance. She keeps rulling low and he keeps rolling high.

[FuzzyBoots]

They're bound to have the road watched... I'm better off trying to sneak through the forest. Aika traced the line of the map. If I head in from the west... I can navigate to the grotto and then follow the creek in. [She takes 10 on a Survival check. 15 is sufficient to navigate, even without tools. Going at half speed, she attempts to avoid notice. Her Stealth check is 15+11=26. The guards are all using the Thug template. Without a Notice skill bonus, they have no chance to see her.] She wended her way through the trees at an easy lope that matched the speed of a cruising car, gracefully leaping to the treetops when necessary to avoid the various guards prowling the environs in the garb of the prison guards. Soon, she had reached the edge of the forest where it came out on the theater. Faint strains of music wafted through the air. Beethoven? Sounds like they've got a full orchestra in there. Aika summoned the Desert Eagles to hand and quietly walked up to the edge of theater and peeked in. There, on stage, a black-haired man in full dress including tails seemed to be conducting an invisible symphony. Looks vaguely familiar... [Current Events, Pop. Culture: 12+3 = 15, 11+5 = 16] Ah! The Maestro... fights with some kind of sonic weaponry. Best to avoid him. She turns to sneak out [Stealth: 1+11 = 12. Basil's Notice is 20+7 = 27. It's a good 50 feet away which subtracts 5 and he's distracted which subtracts another 5, but she still hears her] but steps on a discarded pop bottle which skitters across the walkway with a loud scraping noise. Aika froze to see if the madman on-stage heard anything. She was starting to think she was safe and had turned to go when the music stopped and the man on-stage turned. The baton in his right hand swished angrily through the air.
"Don't you know, young lady, that it's very gauche to enter a concert while it's in-progress? We'll have to correct this deficiency in your manners."

[Initiative: Maestro - 12+1 = 13 and Aika 20+13 = 33 *blink* Yeah, she's first.]
Aika dropped the Desert Eagles, which dissapated as they fell, and scooped an assault rifle out of the air.
"I was gonna be all civilized and avoid conflict, but if you're going to force it..." [3+15 = 18 versus his flat-footed defense of 15. Exceeded by 3 for a Damage bonus of 21. His toughness save of 13+11 is sufficient to avoid all damage] She pulled the trigger and sprayed his location, but her spread was too wild and the few shots that landed bounced off of an invisible field surrounding him. He laughed at her.
"Typical of you Philistines... always trying to introduce the percussion too early." He waved the baton and a visible wave of sonic energy flew out toward her. [19+9 = 28 is quite sufficient to hit her with his Blast. Her Toughness save of 19+10 = 29 is enough to have no damage against the DC 26 attack.] She gritted her teeth and interposed the assault rifle between her and the madman and let it take the brunt of the blow. WHen it ended, she'd only been pushed back an inch or so back. He's tougher than he looks... better to play this one smart. She dodged around the column beside her and dropped the assault rifle for one of her proximity mines. [I]One of these things and he'll be bound to go down. His next blast slammed into the ground beside the column, causing a blast of shrapnel to erupt from the area. [Ranged Area attack. Reflex save of DC 17. Aika's reflex save is 3+9=12. Her Evasion 2 means half damage for a DC of 18. 2+12 = 14 is sufficient to bruise and stun her. Her knockback resistance is sufficient to avoid being knocked down by the blast] Aika spent a moment too long looking at the site of the blast, and the shrapnel drilled into her, knocking her breath away. Shit... I should know better than to be this unprepared... As she struggled to regain her breath, she could hear the shuffle of the Maestro approaching. Can't let myself get pinned down... She forced herelf to start breathing again [Hero Point] and slapped the mine on the column and limped away to hide behind another column halfway across the field. [Stealth check of 10+11 = 21. Half speed still gets her 200 feet to the next column] Of course, limping is a relative word when you can move this fast... The Maestro turns the corner and she can hear the beep from her hiding place behind the column as it triggered. [His reflex save of 17+5 = 22 is more than sufficient for half damage. His toughness save of 7+11 = 18 is sufficient to soak the DC of 18.] His highly-trained ears pick out the sound and he twists out of the way of the cone of concussion just enough that the blast glances off of his acoustical force field. [Notice of 8+7 = 15 wouldn't find her even without the distance modifiers] Still dazzled by the blast, The Maestro fails to notice her at all. He begins broadcasting his mind control music. {retty Deadly is out of range, but knows something must be up. She drops the mine for the sniper rifle and starts to draw a bead [Improved Aim + Aim action] on him. Just stay still and keep confusting your silly tunes... [Stealth check for next round is 11+11 = 22. Notice check by The Maestro is 12+7 = 19, still shy. Continuing the Mind Control efforts] Sure enough, he continues to conduct his invisible symphony. Pull, don't jerk... [Power Attack at full -5/+5, 20! Not that the sniper rifle needs that for a proper critical...] Her sights center on his huge mop of air and her arms are study as the gun bucks in her hands. [Toughness save of 5+11 = 16. Against a DC of 30, that's staggered and stunned. Concentration check of 15+11 = 26 is completely sufficient for maintaining the force field. Shame, that. Since the power is subtle, that will only be a -10 for the Stealth check after firing (no rules on that, really, but it makes sense enough to me). Stealth of 5+11-10 = 6... His Notice check of 15 + 7 - 10 = -8 means he still doesn't see her.] The force field knocks the shot high, but still leaves him reeling. He scans the field wildly for the source of the muffled explosion he heard right before getting hit, but fails. He staggers off behind one of the razed pillars and huddles behind it. Damn... I can't see amything but the occasional glimpse of him. And I haven't practiced with this thing enough to gave that kind of precision... the Desert Eagles maybe, but at this range? Huh... wll, if the guns don't do it, there's always high yield explosives. With a wide grin, she swapped the sniper rifle for a grenade launcher. [Technically speaking, ranged attacks only have a single range increment, but Steve Kenson has indicated that a nice optional rule would be applying the range penalty to the reflex save. He's two range increments away. Combined with the cover, that's a DC 11 Reflex save. 6+5 = 11 just makes it. Toughness save of DC 17. 8+11 = 19 and he's unscathed albeit a bit rattled]. The frag grenade soared over the intervening territory, but fell slightly short of the column and it blocked the brunt of the blast. Shit shit shit shit... no way I'll be able to hide after that one. Sure enough, The Maetro popped back up from his cover [Fiat to remove Stun] and fired a solid wave of sound at Aika. [14+9-4-2 = 17, which misses due to cover.] Aika ducked back behind the column as it came in and the blast merely chipped away at the stone. [The column is Toughess +9. 17+9 means no damage] That was close... got to get in close, finish him off. Aika squeezed off a second shot, and then swapped her grenade launcher for a flamethrower. Time to break out the heavy artillerly... [Second grenade. Reflex save of 10+5 = 15 means half damage. Toughness save DC 17. 20+11 and no damage at all.] This time, the renade fell even further short and The Maestro rose from his cover, slowly and majestically. Bits of debris rained off of him as he leveled his baton at her hiding place. [10+9-4-2 still misses] The shot missed the column and Aika both, but Aika knew that her luck wasn't going to hold forever. She launched herself at The Maestro, dodging the blasts of sound he threw at her. As she drew within range, she pulled the trigger on the flamethrower and held the stream of fire on him even as she ran past him to another column. [Reflex save of 15 with no bonuses for cover since she has ample chance to paint him with it while running past. 13+5 = 18 and it's only a DC 17 damage save. 7+11 = 18 and there's no damage this round, but the sustained effect of the flames will continue in following rounds.] His force field warped and roiled under the flames, deflecting most of the jellied gasoline away, but some still clung to its surface where it simmered much like the expression of hatred on The Maestro's eyes. He fired off another of his blasts [14+9-4-2 = 17 still misses. Columns toughness save of 1+9 means it's shattered]. The nlast struck the column, leaving Aika staring dumbfounded at her utter lack of cover. The Maestro immediately levels a second blast at her [Surge. Pretty Deadly gets an HP. 2+9-2 misses badly though. He fiats to reroll. 13+9 - 2 just hits her defense. Toughness save of 13+10-1=22 means she only gets another bruise]. At first, the blast seems to go wild, but it blasts into the stone courtyard, raising a storm of shards that cut into Aika's raised arms. I'm wearing him down... but I'm taking some licks too. Aika dropped the flamethrower and pulled the stun gun out. Got to get him out cold... Again, she sprinted toward the Maestro, but this time, she closed to melee range [Melee attack of 12+14 = 26 hits him readily enough. Fortitude save of 16... 2+4 = 6 and Basil is out cold. Knockback kicks in and he's also knocked prone (6 - 5 is a foot of knockback)] and slams the stun-gun into his torso. Thousands of volts surged through his form and his eyes rolled up into his head as he tumbled to the ground. Aika pulled out her cell phone and took a picture of him lying there. $10,000 dollars! And all it cost me was a little bit of elbow grease. Aika winced as her bruises twinged. And... a fair amount of bruising. Probably the element of surprise too... people are bound to have heard that. Still, time's a-wasting... And, with that, Pretty Deadly set off at an easy lope toward the main building of the asylum, Desert Eagles in each hand. Dimly, she heard shoting up ahead. Are they... are they shouting about anarchy? This can't be good...

As she broke from the cover of the trees, she found herself nearby a small ornamental gazebo next to a set of tennis courts. Perched on top of the gazebo was a masked woman whose hair shot out in huge purple spikes. She whirled a chain above her head as she incited a crowd of mental patients.
"And we have had enough of their restrictive laws and their shock treatment! It is time, friends, for you to cast off their chains and to take them up to take down the oppressors!" [Knowledge (Current Events/Popular Culture): 8+3 = 11 and 18+5 = 23 means Aika recognizes the figure if not what she's been up to lately] Not "Cho Chang" but "Choke Chain", avowed Anarchist and general nutcase. Great. Maybe I can sneak away? Aika started edging her way around the side when the figure atop tilted her head back and sniffed dramatically.
"Do you smell that? That's the smell of cordite, the smell of the guns they use to keep you down. Look, my friends, and gaze upon the enemy!" the figure shouted and pointed at Aika. The crowd turned as one and Aika heard the low growl as they stared at her.
"Um... I love Anarchy in the UK?" Aika said feebly. The growling grew louder. [No HP to Aika because she's already at 7 and she blundered into this of her own volition.]

[Horsenhero]

Loving the play-by-play. Visually written and mechanically well explained (even the use of optional rules when it doesn't benefit the pc). You know, I'm not reall fond of computer games...probably because I have enither the time or money to keep up and don't want to give myself another addiction, but, all that aside...I'm liking this. A Lot.

[FuzzyBoots]

[The setup will be with 40 of the mental patients on the tennis court using the Thug template with 16 CON instead of the Leather Jacket to provide a +3 Toughness and with clubs instead of guns, and with Choke Chain on top of the Gazebo] [Initiatives: Pretty Deadly: 6+13 = 19, Choke Chain: 10+4 = 14, Thugs: 6+1 = 7]
Arrangement (P = Pretty Deadly, T for Thug, C for Choke Chain)):

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Before things could get ugly -- Uglier, that is -- Pretty Deadly whipped up her Desert Eagle and opened fire on the crowd. She had the presence of mind to substitute rubber bullets for the metal ones, but her aim was just as deadly. [She can hit 22 of them with her Shapeable Area. Taking 10 on them, she hits all of them even the ones past the first range increment. I'll omit the individual toughness save rolls, but 4 of them make their toughness save]

Code: Select all

..T.......
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She manages to land a shot on every one of them, although a few of them took the shots in non-essential areas -- That will teach me to take head-shots at a mental hospital... -- but almost half of their number drop in their tracks. Aika does a New-York reload, dropping the Desert Eagles and pulling her trusty grenade launcher out from behind her back. A quickly squeezed-off shot dropped a smoke grenade far enough forward of her to cover her with enveloping smoke. [She uses a move-action to switch to the grenade launcher and surges to drop a smoke grenade about 45 feet in front of her. The entirety of the tennis courts are covered in the smoke. Uses a Hero Point to erase her fatigue] Hopefully, that will cover my escape...
"Hah, you won't escape that easy, jack-booted tool of the oppressors!" Choke Chain yells as she jumps off of the gazebo and runs into the midst of the smoke cloud and takes a swing at where she last saw Pretty Deadly, attempting to ensnare her [All-Out 120 feet as a run, Surging to attack with her Snare. 6+12 = 18 is insufficient to hit Aika and Aika got her HP back] but caught nothing but air. The thugs wade in to attack, clustering around where they last saw activity. [Only two reach close enough to attack. 2+2 = 4 and 5+2 = 7 mean both miss by a mile. End of the turn and the smoke fades down to a 45 foot radius after losing a pp]. Aika is uncertain as to what exactly has happened, being as sensorarily deprived as the rest in the cloud of smoke, but she bumps into enough people to know that the melee has come to her. She jumps up and back, aiming for the fence [Acrobatics check of 20 to jump to the right location on the fence and stick the landing - 7+11 = 18. She's close enough that I'll give her a Reflex save of DC 15 to catch hold of the fence (albeit deprived of her dodge bonus) - 19+9 = 28] As she soars free of the smoke cloud, she flips backwards to land on her toes on the top of the fence... and slips. She frantically reached out with one hand and caught hold of the top of the fence.

From that position, she points the grenade launcher straight down.
"Hasta la Vista and good night," she quipped as she thumbed the selector to a sleep gas grenade and dropped it in the center of the massed miscreants. [That would be 8 people within the cloud, let's say. Choke Chain's reflex save is 4 (6 due to Probability Control)+8 = 14. Of the 7 minions caught in the area of effect, three make their reflex save. Now, Fortitude saves... Choke Chain aces it with a 20. Only two thugs make their saves at all, and one fails by 5. That makes four Fatigued thugs and one exhausted. Choke Chain is up again. Deprived of her senses, she was uncertain as to what had just happened, but the bodies that slumped against hers suggested something was affecting them, so she attempts to push her way out. [The darkness and the crowd conspire to put her speed at 3/4 * 1/2 = 3/8 speed, meaning she just barely makes it to the edge of the smoke even with a double movement]. As she reaches the edge of the smoke, she blinks her eyes at the sudden light. [Notice check of 15 to notice Aika above: 6+0 = 6 and she doesn't think to look up] She scanned the field frantically, but sees no sign of the sailor-suited soldier of fortune. Meanwhile, the patients within the smoke start flailing about in the darkness and fail to get much of anywhere. [The smoke loses another pp, and shrinks to a 40 ft radius] Aika discards the grenade launcher and pulls out her combat knife. She then drops silently toward Choke Chain. [Move action to change weapons, and the surging so as to get the full action to charge with her full power attack. We'll treat this as a surprise attack since Choke Chain didn't see her before, so Choke Chain is down to a +6 defense bonus. Aika rolls a 1, but does a heroic re-roll, taking her down to 5 HP. She rolls 18+10-5 = 23 which more than hits. DC 30 damage save. 8+10=18 would leave her staggered. Fiat to reroll and this time, the roll is 14+10 = 24 results in just a stun and an injury, and brings Aika up to 6 HP. Choke Chain spends the round recovering from stun] Her first strike misses entirely, but the second one strikes home into Choke Chain's side, and she staggers back a few feet and falls prone. Within the smoke, the thugs continue milling about, but a few manage to make their way out of the edge. They immediately charge in and take hits at Pretty Deadly. [1+2, 5+2, and 11+2 all miss cleanly] I don't think they could hurt me even if they connected, but this could get annoying... [Smoke shrinks to 35 feet] Aika ignores their attempts to hit her and jumps onto Choke Chain, knife held high. Choke Chain has managed to shake off her daze, but is still unable to react in time to prevent a hit. The knife strikes true to the breastbone, but a last-minute twitch by Choke Chain causes it to skid off a rib and just cut up Choke Chain's torso more. [20! The damage is a DC 30. Choke Chain rolls a 2, fiats for reroll, bringing Aika back up to 7 HP. 5+10+10-1 = 24, which means Choke Chain picks up another injury and a stun condition. Aika will surge to strike again, using Power Attack. 14+10+4-5 = 23, which will hit Choke Chain's Flat-footed AC. Her toughness save of 17+10-2 = 25 means she picks up a third injury and remains stunned and knocked prone]. A second icepick stab just glances off of the ribs on the other side. Can't seem to get through defenses... she keeps getting lucky and I keep missing. Choke Chain lies on the ground, breathing heavily as she tries to ignore the pain coursing through her. The three thugs are joined by two more and they all take wild swings. [Rolls of 2, 7, 17, 1, and 20. Fortunately for Aika, minions can't crit] Much to everyone's surprise, one of them successfully tags Aika, but the bat merely lands with a thud against her sailor-suit, leaving her entirely unharmed. [Impervious 4 means the +3 damage bonus can't get through] Thank God for magic impact armor... still, I probably should deal with them... naw, gotta take the head loon down. [Smoke shrinks to 30 feet] The smoke dissipated further, leaving a few more mental patients blinking at the sudden sunlight. Aika growls away her looming fatigue [HP to throw off surge, back down to 6 HP] and redoubles her attempts to ventilate Choke Chain. [17+10+4-5 = 26 will hit again, DC of 30. Choke Chain rolls 16+10-3 = 23 and is again injured and stunned] Aika stares in incredulity as again, Choke Chain manages to shift to avoid major damage, and Aika's arms become a windmill of motion as she strikes repeatedly, trying to get one to do the trick. [20 again! Add that to the Power Attack and we're looking at DC 35 save (and likely the end of the fight). Choke Chain pulls off 18+10-4, and is stunned, staggered, and disabled] Choke Chain fended off the first several strikes with her forearms, although doing so made her look like she'd been juggling kittens, but she missed the last block and the knife sank deep into her side. A pool of red starts to flow out at an alarming pace. Shit... I didn't mean to kill her... that much at least.

Aika froze as she realized just how badly she'd hurt her opponent. It was at this moment that the five thugs all took simultaneous swings at her. [The thugs are attempting to boost their damage through combined fire. Only one hits, and therefore the damage remains under the threshold.] The bats clattered over her head and only one continued on, only to be stopped by the sailor-suit again. Aika heaved a mental sigh and directed a look of scorn at the one who'd hit her. He shrugged apologetically and danced around her for a second possibility at a strike. Well, I am fighting people in a mental hospital... [Smoke grenade is down to 25 feet] Aika attempts to snatch the chain from Choke Chain's grip. [Disarm attempt of 8+4 = 12 is pretty doomed]. Having missed her snatch entirely, Pretty Deadly settles for jumping up back onto the fence. [Only DC 15 Acrobatics this time since she can see where she's going. 4+11 = 15 and she barely makes it] She only barely manages to balance on the top pole. Choke Chain, lying on the ground, stares up at Aika. A slight smile curves her lips and she growls out, "From Hell's Heart, I strike out at thee," and swings her chain toward the fence.

Suddenly, Aika finds her nerves singing in pain as some strange shock runs down the chain and up the fence. [Choke Chain's Psychic Shock. It targets the Will Save. 4+8 = 12 would be insufficient, so Aika blows another Hero Point to re-roll. Bare minimum of 11+8 = 19 means she just picks up a Bruised condition. She immediately makes an Acrobatics check (8+11 = 19) to stay on the fence. Choke Chain slips to dying, but makes her Fort save of 18+10=28 and stabilizes, but remains unconscious] Aika just barely manages to shake off the white-hot flash behind her eyelids before she toppled off. Looking down, Choke Chain looks to be in the grips of blessed unconsciousness. Aika dropped to the ground, took a picture, and then leapt back over the fence, leaving baffled mental patients behind to poke at their fallen savior. Let's go lick my wounds...

[Aika is up to 3 Bruised and is Fatigued. ^_^ But due to be $20,000 richer due to bounties!]

[Horsenhero]

Ah, poor Choke Chain. No match for our stylish Merc, Anti-Heroine. That's what she gets for that hair and costume really.

[FuzzyBoots]

{nods} I'm not entirely happy with the narrative... it came out a lot more choppy and stark than usual. I had a fun time with the action, though. Got to pull out a few more bits of her arsenal. Although I'm starting to realize just how ineffective the low DCs of the grenades might be...

[FuzzyBoots]

Aika eased her way up to the outside wall of the asylum. Two ways I can do this. He's probably either in the basement or on the roof. I can burst in on the bottom floor and fight my way up, or I can try to get to the roof and then fight my way down. She eyed the height of the asylum. Five stories... It would be awfully close, but I might be able to jump it. Or... Aika dropped the knife, wincing again at the bloodstains on it before it dissolved as she plucked a grapnel gun from the air. Damn thing's noisier than I'd like, but it's still a bit better than trying to fight my way in from the ground floor. She took aim at part of the fence at the top and fired. [With her attack bonus, it's a given that she manages to land the grapnel on the roof. That gets her the equivalent of Wall-Climbing two while she makes it up there. We'll assume that there are people that might hear her. Three Notice checks by observers at DC 15. That gives Aika about a 50/50 chance at making it up undetected. 6, 7, and 19. So close...] As Aika pulled herself onto the roof and collected her self, she heard a slight scraping sound off to her right. She whirled to find a small smirking female figure with cropped brown hair and a hospital gown leaning against the wall of one of the towers. "So, what took you so long? I was getting bored up here."
"Let me guess," Aika quipped, "Narcissistic personality disorder?" The figure opposite her pushed off of the tower and her face twisted into an ugly grimace.
"No. Multiple Personality disorder." She blurred and suddenly, there were three of her on the rooftop, facing Aika. "The name is Buzz. And I don't think I like you very much." Buzz pulled an ASP from her belt and extended it, whipping it about her almost too fast to see. "I think I'm going to beat on your face until it isn't pretty anymore..." She then lunged forward to attack.

[All three Buzzes enjoy a +16 to their initiative, but Aika's +13 isn't shabby. Still, she rolls poorly, and the three Buzzes will lead off with initiative counts of 36, 29, and 21. Aika will follow up with a measly 15. Aika's visual uncanny dodge means she isn't flat-footed at least] The Buzz in the center streaked forward faster than Aika's eyes could follow, and struck for Aika's temple with the baton. [15+12 = 27 hits handily. Damage is just over the threshold for Aika's Impervious at a +4 bonus. Aika's save of 16+10-2=24 is sufficient to avoid damage.] The baton struck Aika squarely on the ribs, but her magic armor held against the blow. The second Buzz glanced over at the remaining duplicate and nodded before they rushed in, one striking high and one low. [Combined attack. The attack rolls are 18 and 20. Only one makes it past Aika's defenses. She rolls a 2 and would be Stunned and bruised, but chooses to use a hero-point re-roll (down to 8 (!) HP). She again rolls a 2, but 10 gets added to result in a total of 12+10-2 = 22 which is sufficient to avoid injury.] Aika ducked the high blow by a small margin, but had no choice but to accept the second one. At the last moment, she was able to smack the incoming baton aside with her forearm, avoiding damage entirely. No room to run, and the grapnel gun isn't going to be much use... She tossed the grapnel gun down and snatched her Desert Eagles out of the air, attempting to headshot each of the duplicates. [Power Attack for -5/+5 and using the targeted area to plug them all (hopefully). 12, 17, and 26 means she missed all but the last one.] They agilely dodged around the flying bullets, taunting her with each missed shot, but Aika patiently kept firing until she was able to herd one into a corner and land a successful shot. [Damage DC of 25 due to Power Attack. Buzz #3 rolls a 17 and is just Bruised/Injured. Yes, they're Heroic duplicates] At the last moment, the baton spun up and improbably deflected the bullet, but it still creased the side of her head. She clutched at the side of her head and stared at the blood. "What kind of a hero are you?" she screeched.
"One who lives to get paid, I hope," Aika said. The main Buzz howled her anger and lunged forward, launching into a spinning back kick [7+8 = 15 on a Climbing Kick attack] which Aika easily ducked under. While she was hunched down, the other two stepped in, swinging well shy of Aika. There's got to be something... [Combined Snare attack. Aika rolls twice on Notice to see them, but misses the DC of 20 both times. Only one succeeds in connecting. DC 17 Reflex save for Aika. She readily makes it with a 13+9=22]. Aika assumed that an attack was forthcoming and was again forced to choose which one to dodge. She felt something briefly snag her wrist before she shook it loose.
"Cute tricks, kids, but You're in the big leagues now," Aika said with a sneer, "One of us is bleeding already and it's not me." [Mass Intimidate as a Move action. 2+7-5 = 4... is going to fall flat.] The three looked entirely unimpressed until Aika fired again, this time aiming for their center of mass. This time, only the primary Buzz escaped being hit as the other two took a bullet meant for her. [Attack rolls at +12 of 15, 19, and 22. Since it's equals or exceeds, that's a hit on the latter two for DC 23 (15+5+3 for Power Attack). 14 and 20 mean we have stunned/bruised/injured and just bruised/injured. Knockback is treated as 6 due to Aika's Knockback feat on the pistols. Buzz only has a -3 modifier, so she's knocked back five feet and prone.] One takes a solid hit across her chest, but uses her accelerated speed to improbably spin along with the impact, leaving her a crumpled heap on the pavement, but still breathing. The second repeats her baton maneuver, earning her a stripe of blood on the other side of her head. I'm managing to keep them on their toes at least... She braced herself for their inevitable counter-attack and tried to figure out what she could do to even the oods. She's not very skilled but, well three of her! THe original Buzz, as expected, ran up to try and hit her again, but this time dodged aside at the last moment [Aid Another, this time rolling enough to actuall hit...], revealing that the third Buzz was right behind her. She shouted something and swung at Aika's stomach. Did she just shout something in Japanese about chestnuts roasting on an open fire? Out of instinct, she swung away from the strike, feeling a massive wave of displaced air pass by her and getting a brief glimpse of multiple after-images of striking fists. [Aika made her Notice check and the attack failed, even with the Aid Another.] Meanwhile, the fallen Buzz started stirring again. Got to negate their movement advantage... Aika dropped the desert eagles and snatched up a smoke bomb which she promptly dropped in front of her. Under the cover of the smoke she quickly slipped on a set of IR goggles. [I had forgotten that my Variable allowed multiple powers of a type because I so rarely use it like that. Infravision for 1 rank, and a very basic smoke grenade effect of Obscure [Visual, Scent] 6] The heat signatures of the three girls quickly came into play. They milled about for a moment, but then zeroed in on where she was standing. Idiot... you didn't move after dropping the smoke grenade. [They'll strike one after the other using the basic baton strike. First, rolling miss chances: The latter two beat the miss chance. Attack rolls of 18 and 22 means that the third one connects. Damage DC of 19. 13+10-2=21 means no damage. Aika will move back 20 feet and fire again.] Batons swirled through the mist as two strikes cleanly missed her and the third struck her only a glancing blow. "Got the bitch," that one cried. That's what you think...

Aika calmly re-summoned her Desert Eagles and drew a bead on the three girls [Removing a point of Precise to account for keeping the IR goggles on]. The concussive force of her shots stirred up eldritch eddies in the mist as she fired. [Treating them as Blinded since she can see and they can't. She's taking her full power attack bonus on the attack. Her attack rolls of 22, 25, and 27 (no crits, sadly) would be sufficient either way. Since they depend on Defensive roll for much of their toughness and they're essentially flatfooted... this won't be pretty. Toughness saves of 7, 10, and 19. That's Dead, Dying, and Stunned/Injured.] Her first shot caught the target on the back of her head, sending them flying forward to crumple lifelessly on the ground Probably tagged one of the duplicates anyhow... it will dissipate any moment now... while the second caught its target between the shoulder blades, leaving them wheezing for breath with the fluid sound of blood bubbling up from the lungs. The third was only winged in the side, but also crumpled to the ground.

"Better just go ahead and dismiss your duplicates and lick your wounds," Aika called out to the fallen figures. They continued to lie there, Aika took a few steps back, keeping her guns high. Why aren't they getting back up? I mean, I couldn't have killed the primary or the other two would have disappeared, right? They're... just playing possum, right? Aika kept back up until she was out of the smoke whereupon she yanked the IR goggles off and tossed them off the side of the roof whereupon they vanished. She quickly turned to the tower access door, only to be confronted by a keypad. Shit... well, there's always the Gordian solution. Aika dismissed the guns and pulled out a lump of thermite which she slapped on the door and ignited. It flared briefly [objects automatically fail fortitude saves, so it loses six points of toughness. We'll rule them as Steel doors at Toughness 10. It's down to 4 and it taking 10 gives it a 14, which leaves it disabled] and a large section drops out of the door, leaving Aika ample room to slip through. She glanced back at the cloud of smoke with its ominous silence before shaking her head and stepping through the opening. Not even going to bother adding her to my tally. I... need to keep moving. Unbeknownst to her, a security camera above the door immediately tracked to her position and zoomed in on her... [I'll give her an HP for the complication of letting whoever's working the security cameras auto-detect her. She's back to 9 HP and two Bruised conditions. Another brutal battle for our sailor-suited soldier of fortune...]

Notes:
The guest-villain was a super-hero from my 1E games. The idea behind her was that she was mystically endowed with speed powers, including the ability to generate copies of herself. The catch was that she couldn't dismiss these copies, leading to multiple complications including a "mirror universe" version of her, aka Buzzkill, who was a clone who'd decided to live her own life. ^_^ I'd been playing with statting her up in Herolab, so I decided to use her when I decided to insert a random antagonist, she was convenient. Poor girl. I almost did some rerolls at the end to give her a chance to blow away the smoke, but I would have just been giving Aika more Hero Points to work with, and she's accrued quite a few as it is.

Buzz

Power Level: 8; Power Points Spent: 120/120

STR: +2 (14), DEX: +4 (18), CON: +1 (12), INT: +1 (12), WIS: +1 (12), CHA: +0 (10)

Tough: +5/+7, Fort: +3, Ref: +9, Will: +3

Skills: Acrobatics 3 (+7), Computers 2 (+3), Disable Device 1 (+2), Knowledge (current events) 1 (+2), Knowledge (popular culture) 3 (+4), Notice 6 (+7)

Feats: Attack Focus (melee) 3, Attack Specialization (Club) 2, Attractive, Defensive Roll 2, Dodge Focus 4, Elusive Target, Equipment 1, Evasion 2, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative 3, Luck, Takedown Attack 2

Powers:
Duplication 8 (Survival, Heroic, Duration (continuous); Limited (Can't dismiss duplicates); Mental Link, Progression, # Duplicates 2 (5 duplicates))
. . Super-Speed (Container, Passive 7)
. . . . Enhanced Trait 3 (Feats: Improved Initiative 3)
. . . . Quickness 6 (Perform routine tasks at 100x speed)
. . . . Speed 6 (Speed: 500 mph, 4400 ft./rnd)
. . . . Super-Movement 2 (wall-crawling 2 (full speed); Limited (While moving))
. . . . Super-Speed Attack Array (Array 7) (default power: climbing kick; Subtle (subtle))
. . . . . . Climbing Kick 6 (Default; DC 23; Mighty)
. . . . . . Snare 7 (Array; DC 17; Transparent; Range (touch))
. . . . . . Strike 6 (Array; DC 23; Autofire (interval 2, max +5); Mighty, Precise)
. . . . . . Stun 7 (Array; DC 17)
Protection 4 (+4 Toughness)
Dynamic Speed Array 3
. . Quickness 6 [Dyn: 1/r, +3max 0PP] (Perform routine tasks at 100x speed)
. . Speed 6 [Dyn: 1/r, max 6PP] (Alternate; Speed: 500 mph, 4400 ft./rnd)

Equipment: Cell Phone, Club

Attack Bonus: +5 (Ranged: +5, Melee: +8, Grapple: +10)

Attacks: Climbing Kick 6, +8 (DC Stability/Tou {ref multisave}{macro star}{ref}), Club, +12 (DC 19), Snare 7, +8 (DC Ref/Staged 17), Strike 6, +8 (DC 23), Stun 7, +8 (DC Fort/Staged 17), Unarmed Attack, +8 (DC 17)

Defense: +9 (Flat-footed: +3), Knockback: -3

Initiative: +16

Languages: Native Language

Totals: Abilities 18 + Skills 4 (16 ranks) + Feats 20 + Powers 49 + Combat 20 + Saves 9 + Drawbacks 0 = 120


Created With Hero Lab® - try it for free at http://www.wolflair.com!

Next Episode: Aikia's Asylum Assault: Fearmaster - of Foes and Phobias

[FuzzyBoots]

Aika carefully stepped over the still-hot edges of the door. [Just for the sake of starting to roll some dice, a DC 15 Escape Artist check to get through without touching those edges. She's untrained, so it's just her +5 Dexterity. Natural 20 and no worries.] A few minor contortions and she slid her way through without so much as a singed edge to her fuku. She found herself at a T-intersection on one end of the building. Well, so far so good. Now we face the question of where this Beholder guy is. Aika stood still and listened intently for a few seconds [DC 20 to detect the whirring of the cameras which are focusing in on her. Unfortunately, she's not trying too hard, so she's taking 10 for 16. No dice on the cameras, but she does successfully hear the silence of the largely deserted floor.] The dead silence was broken only by the sound of her heartbeat. Quiet... almost too quiet. Aika moved to the edge of the hall and started edging her way down. [Stealth check of 14+11=25, but Melvin is watching her and she lacks Hide in Plain Sight, so it's no good against him.] She's about a quarter of her way down the hallway, making short dashes between areas of cover when she stops abruptly, the hair on her neck prickling as she feels... something in the air.

"You're right. It is too quiet," a voice whispered from right behind her. She immediately wheeled into a spinning kick, Desert Eagles snapping up to... nothing. [Intimidate by Melvin of 17+12=29. Aika's roll of 11+8=19 is nowhere near. ^_^ Luckily, she's Fearless. This is not going to go well for Melvin, I suspect...] Her heart pounded in her throat as she scanned the shadows. [Notice of 2+6=8 still doesn't detect the cameras]
"Show yourself," Aika squeaked, hating herself for squeaking as she spoke. As always, her transformed form kept her from truly panicking, but the more mortal core within was scratching the inside of her skull, trying to escape. "I'll have you know that you're not the first person I've taken down today." Her words echoed through the hallway and then deafening silence rolled in and swallowed the echoes. Aika swallowed loudly and stumbled, the sound of the sudden footfall echoing through the hallway. [Little does she know that there's an invisible gas being pumped through the air vents. It's a DC 20 Fortitude save to throw off its effects. 10+8 is close but... no cigar] Aika found herself subconsciously listening as the echo faded, *DOOM* *DOOM* *DOOM* *DOOM* *DOOM* She strained to hear its end and was therefore caught entirely by surprise at the quiet "chuuu" behind her. She spun about to see a tiny mouse-like creature standing behind her. Its cheeks shot off streaks of lightning before rocketing into her. [Initiative: 7+13 = 20 for Aika. 13+7 for Pikachu Aika has the higher bonus, so she'll go first. 18+15=33 and she easily pegs the leaping squirrel-rat. Toughness save of 20. Pikachu rolls 2+1=3 and is splattered] Aika automatically targets the center of mass of the creature and shoots it even as it leaps. Despite the large size of the gun and the small size of the creature, the laws of physics remain adamant and the parts continue on to impact Aika's torso, sliding down and leaving a long blood trail before plopping to the ground.

"What the hell is..." Aika's comment is interrupted by a loud buzzing sound behind her as a horde of vaguely anthropomorphic bees advanced upon her. [Beedril build from the same topic as above. A swarm of 20 of them attacking in 4 groups of 5. Initiative counts of Aika: 9+13=22, Beedrils 1: 2+3=5, Beedrils 2: 7+3=10, Beedrils 3 and 4: 5+3=8. Knowledge (Popular Culture) targets of 10 and 20 (5 and 15 for Knowledge (Video Games) FWIW for identification and in-game statistics respectively. Aika's roll of 11+5=16 means she knows what she's facing but doesn't remember any in-game statistics. However, she does have guns and they're still tightly enough clustered that she should be able to land a shot on each with her shapeable area attack. Taking 10, she'll hit them easily. Save DC of 20... Flatfooted as they are, the Beedrills would have to roll 20s. Amazingly, one of them does.] Her guns bucked in her hands, moving independently of one another as she weaved her shots around, blasting cute after cute. I hate cute... these are all Pokemon. What the hell? Why am I being attacked by Pikachus and Beedrills? When the firing was over, she peered through the cloud of cordite [The Beedrill is activating its rage and entering an Aggressive Stance as it charges with its Poison Sting. 16+5-2+2+2 and it hits! The Damage DC is 22 and the Drain is DC 15. Aika aces both with 14+10=24 and 16+8=24] only to desparately try to dodge as a stinger the size of her forearm flashed out and struck her shoulder. She rolled with the blow, coming away with little more than a scratch. She landed in a perfect kneeling firing stance, and unloaded on the single remaining target [Using a move action to shift her Weapons Summoning Array to Blast 5 (Improved Critical 9, Knockback 1) as she concentrates her fire on the single target. Attack roll of 19 and the Beedrill can't make the save DC of 25. 6+3 leaves it as a mess of bug parts.] Each bullet struck true, blasting the Beedrill to bits. Aika rose and blew the smoke off of the tips of the guns.

"Is that the best you can do, children's series?" she yelled at the empty hallway. The only answer was the silence. And a single bullet to the back of her head.

Notes: Ain't I a stinker? Just dashing off a quick part while waiting for some code to compile at work. I originally had something much more elaborate for this part, but it kind of fizzled before I got it all on paper. Pokemon builds provided courtesy of JohntheDM7000 and his thread. Next episode, Aika sees some familiar faces!

[kipling]

Now, I'm hardly one to speak because I have let threads languish for more than a year but--

It's been five weeks. Where's the next installment?

[FuzzyBoots]

Now, I'm hardly one to speak because I have let threads languish for more than a year but--

It's been five weeks. Where's the next installment?

Honestly, I wasn't sure if people were reading anymore. I'll see if I can't put it together tonight.

[FuzzyBoots]

A combination of bad rolls on their parts, and good ones on hers, not to mention me not wanting to grant her that many more Hero Points for fiats... realized partway through the new narration that I'd made a mistake with H's Impervious. I redid some saves and wound up with a slightly different ending. Text is still being added...

----
Aika stumbled forward as the bullet slammed into her, but remained standing and unhurt. [Toughness save versus DC 22. Aika rolls 14+10-2=22 and just makes it] Thank God for magic defensive shielding... She wheeled around to view her attackers and found herself frozen as she sees a trio of familiar forms.
"Yoi..." she said softly, seeing him flanked by the familiar forms of Itami and Sailor H. She starts to lower her gun when she realizes just what had happened. "You... you tried to shoot me!" she cried.
"It's our job," Yoi said, and Itami grunted in agreement. "Besides which, you signed a contract with us."
"That was years ago... and doesn't the time we spent together mean anything?" Aika pleaded.
"Heh... maybe it means that he finally found a real woman," Sailor H said as she leaned into Yoi and started rubbing up against him.
"But... you... Itami..." Aika sputtered before ice-cold realization hit her. This isn't real... this is just my fears coming to life. They're not real. And if they're not real... With a manic grin, Aika, dropped the guns and pulled out a flamethrower.
"What better for an old flame?" she asked as she sweeped the cone of fire over the lot of them. Yoi and Sailor H dive away from the cone, only a bit of the napalm clinging to them while Itami stands stoic and takes the full blast and stands there smoking. A quiet grunted "Ite (ouch)..." came from his direction. [Initiative puts us at Yoi (Initiative seized), Aika, Sailor H, and Itami] [Aika changes to the flamethrower and fires. DC 15 Reflex save. Yoi and Sailor H make it. Itami does not. DC 20 and DC 17. Yoi fails by 4 (5+8=13) and picks up a Bruised/Injured. Sailor H has Impervious above the amount of damage. Itami rolls 6+6=12 and is Bruised/Injured and Stunned. Bad rolling...] Sailor H ignored the bits of her uniform which were still on fire and ran close enough to swing out her whip, which extended impossibly far, but with the distance, Aika was able to easily duck under it. [Sailor H dashes forward and swings her whip. 3+8=11 will miss (I really don't want to fiat more...Aika's already at, what, 10 HP?)] Itami stands there and smokes slightly, although Aika can see the twitches that generally indicate that he'd be up and moving shortly enough. [Itami is stunned]
From his position by the wall, Yoi brings up his rifle and draws a bead on Aika again. The bullet lands solidly on her midsection and knocks her back an inch before the force was dispersed, leaving her unharmed, physically at least. [Yoi lands another hit with the Sniper Rifle. DC 22 again. Aika makes it with 15+10-2=23] Aika looks up at Yoi with a hurt expression in her eyes and mutely pulls out her own firepower in the form of her Desert Eagles. Every shot rang true, although Yoi managed to twist enough to take only a glancing blow. Itami... Itami took several shots to his chest and, despite his heroic efforts to stay standing, he toppled over, flames licking over his still body. Sailor H was hit several times, but remained upright, albeit swaying. [Fire damage. Still at the same DC 17 and 20 this round. Yoi's 9+8=17 barely passes. Itami's 6+8-1=13 means he's stunned and bruised again. Aika pulls out the Desert Eagles and hoses the group, moving her Progression feats to Improved Crit and Power Attacking for five. 19! 19+15-5=29 will hit everyone and crit. DC 30! Nat 20 results in just a Bruised for Yoi. 9+11 = 20 puts Sailor H at Bruised, Stunned, and Staggered! Itami rolls a 2... 2+6-2. He's dead, Jim. Aw hell... Aika get another HP. 12+6=18, which makes him only Bruised, Stunned, and Staggered.] [Sailor H is stunned. Itami is stunned]
"Think this over... do you really want to hurt me? Do you really want to make me cry?" Yoi spread his hands as if making a peaceful gesture, but Aika noticed his hands edging for his rifle. She caught his eye and stared hard. Caught in her angry gaze, Yoi fumbled the gun and the shot plowed into the ceiling. [Yoi attempts an untrained Feint as a Move Action... 17+4-5=16. Aika opposes with Will for 12+8=20 and is unfooled. Yoi Power Attacks for 5/5, Natural 1 fails.] The flames continued to lick away at her opponents and Itami stopped twitching. Aika dropped her pistols and pulled out the assault rifle as she dashes off to one side, running up the wall, across the ceiling and over back to where she started, hosing fire down on Yoi, who jerked and fell like a puppet with its strings cut. It's not really him. It's not really him. It's not... Aika squeezed tears out of her eyes and looked to her final opponent. [Fire toughness saves. 9+8-2 and Yoi picks up another Bruised. Sailor H again has Impervious. Itami rolls 6+6-3 and is staggered again which puts him at Unconscious. Acrobatic Bluff as Move action 19+11-5=25. Yoi opposes with his Acrobatics 6+8=14 and he's flat-footed. Aika switches to Assault Rifle and PA 5 on the Yoi simulacrum and opens up with 19+15-5=29. That's DC 33... 8+6-2=12. Failure by 21 and he's Unconscious, probably dead really. No one left for the aftereffects of the flamethrower to affect.] Sailor H attempted to strike her with the whip, but again, Aika almost lazily dodged underneath it. [Sailor H rolls 4+8=12 and misses again]
Aika juked off to one side, attempting to throw off Sailor H's dodging as she fired, but Sailor H effortlessly dodged most of the bullets, and stood firm against the rest. [Aika again Acrobatic Bluffs as a move action. 7+11-5=13. Sailor H auto-resists with her +15 Acrobatics. Aika blasts away PA 5 with the Assault Rifle. 13+15-5=23. Exceeds by 4, +2, DC 26. Nat 20 for no damage] Again, the whip lashed out, closer this time. I can't afford to let her hit me... she does that, I might never get free. [Sailor H will attempt another whip attack. 5+8=13 fails.]
Aika suddenly combat-rolled toward Sailor H, and fired. Again, Sailor H spotted her intentions and nimbly dodged the bullets [Aika attempts Acrobatic Bluff again, 13+11-5-1=20. Sailor H rolls 15+15=30 and is unaffected. Aika again blasts PA 5 with the assault rifle. Rolls a 5 for 5+15-5=15 and misses as well.] before swirling her whip about her and fading from sight. [Sailor H attempts to disappear. 18+13=31 for her Stealth check!]
Two can play at that game... Aika dropped her rifle, grabbed a smoke bomb, and threw it between them. She then stepped back on the diagonal, moving her feet carefully to avoid hitting the wall, feeling disoriented in the cloud of smoke. She tried to pull the goggles out to see, but nothing came to hand. Damn it... of all the times for my powers to start malfunctioning... [Aika decides to even out the odds and drops a smoke bomb for Obscure 4 (All senses) and steps back about 10 feet. Her Notice check can't succeed against Sailor H's stealth. The lack of goggles is the result of a power-retool which limits her to one power at a time, but lets her change as a free action] Sailor H, realizing her advantage of stealth was lost, began systematically striking every possible location in the corridor, feeling her arms burn with the constant motion. However, her attack pays off as the whip strikes the hidden Aika. Her costume averts the initial damage, but the whip winds its way around her body and up her neck, beginning to choke her. [Sailor H uses Extra Effort to strike her whip in all directions in front of her as Area (Cone) Strike 3. 17+8=25 would hit. DC 22. Aika's damage save is 12+10 and she just barely saves. Automatic grapple check... Sailor H rolls 20+15=35 and there's no way Aika can counter. Sailor H goes for the Pin/Chokehold. Aika automatically hits the first Fortitude save.]
ShitShitShitSHIT! Aika strained against the whip, struggling until her vision started to grow dim. It won't end this way... it won't! Aika surged, throwing off the loops of the whip. As it slithered off of her, she grabbed it and yanked. The lack of sound within the cloud meant she couldn't tell if her counterattack had any effect, but within the muffling cloud, Sailor H stumbled forward, prone, as she regathered her whip [Aika will attempt to break the grapple. 11+9=20... she'll burn her HP to reroll. 17+9=26. Sailor H opposes with 7+15=22. Aika chooses to throw. Sailor H is at her Heavy Load, so Aika only knocks her forward 5 feet. Sailor H is prone and suffers DC 18. 14+11=25, no damage] and lashed forward at where she'd just hit Aika, but the whip only stirs the smoke by Aika. [Sailor H tries to attack from prone. Makes the concealment check but not the attack check with 5+8=13.]
Following the path of the whip's passage, Aika literally stumbles over Sailor H, turning the stumble into a controlled roll and stab before dashing forward once more.[Aika closes to where Sailor H was and tries to stab her. She makes the miss chance and rolls 18+10=28. DC 25 Damage save. 10+11=21 means another Bruised and an Injured status. Aika then keeps moving past Sailor H.] Sailor H rolls over and attempts to kip-up, but the sharp pain of her injuries forces her to stand more gingerly. [Sailor H rolls 9+15 to fail the Acrobatics check to stand. She uses her move action to stand.]
Aika again ran by, but the change of posture resulted in her missing entirely. She continued running forward before turning once more toward her opponent. What do I do now? She started to consider what size of grenade might bring down H without also taking down the floor of the building. [Aika runs in and swings her knife. Fails her miss chance, runs past.] Sailor H, for her part, clears the smoke cloud and realizes she has even fewer options. [Sailor H takes the opportunity to move out of the smoke cloud, which is down to a 31 foot radius. Her Speed means she can get out easy]
Aika decides to try slashing once more, but stumbles through empty air. Shit! She moved again. Aika skidded to a halt and began feeling her way through the smoky corridor, knife scything in front of her, hoping for a lucky hit. [Aika again does a hit-and-run. Misses entirely due to Sailor H not even being there] Sailor H, for her part, begins spinning the whip in a spiral, generating a hearty wind, which blew the smoke away, revealing an abashed Aika, who promptly dropped her knife to her side and tensed for movement. [Sailor H fiats a Nullify effect on the smoke using her Whip Attack array. Nullify 11 versus what's currently Obscure 3; 10+2 vs 2+3 means the smoke cloud is blown away]
One more run at her... she can't stay lucky, right? Aika ran forward, knife swinging for Sailor H's abdomon. As she passed, the knife opened up another cut along H's torso, but failed to cause serious damage. Damn it! Aika kept running down the corridor before being stopped by the stairwell, closer than she'd remembered it. [Aika makes another charge, chancing it all with another knife attack at 5 Power Attack. 17+10-5=22 which will hit for DC 30. Sailor H's toughness save is 17+11-2=26 and she only takes another Bruised/Injured condition. Aika continues moving past, but is limited by the size of the hallway] She wheeled about and felt the whip sting at her thighs and the backs of her calves, but she was able to push past the pain to stand tall. "That all you got?" she growled. [Sailor H uses her Gimp attack. 16+8=24 will hit. Aika faces a Paralyze attack limited to Slow at DC 19. 14+8=22 and she saves handily.]
We need to wear her down somehow... huh, I think I've got it. Aika once more ran past Sailor H, this time pulling out what looks vaguely like an ice pack, and slapping it on Sailor H's back as she passes, agilely avoiding the clumsy counter-attack. With a hiss, the thermite activated, burning a hole in Sailor H's vinyl outfit and searing her skin before she managed to scrape it off. [10+10 on her Thermite (Corrosion 6) attack. DC 16 Fortitude save first. 6+7=13 for two points of Impervious and one point of toughness and a DC 23 damage save. 1! Let's re-roll that one... Aika's up to 11 HP. 15+10-3=22 which results in just another Bruised/Injured status] [Sailor H falls back to her forte and attempts to snag Aika again with her whip. 3+8=11 is just not going to cut it...]
This feels like one of those nature shows with the wolf taking down the wildebeast... Aika ran by again, this time slapping a larger package of the exothermic paste. This time, the outfit holds, but the skin below begins cooking. With an anguished cry, Sailor H toppled over.[Aika tries the thermite again, this time with a PA of 3. 16+10=3=23 which will again hit. DC 21 Fortitude save. 20+7=27 means no more toughness damage. DC 26 toughness save now. 8+10-4=14 and Sailor H is unconscious!]

Aika swayed on her feet for a moment, feeling the enormity of it all hitting her. They're... they're all dead. I'm never going to see my Yoi again, at least not in this world. Time I accepted that. Suddenly the world started blurring once more. Aika blinked rapidly to try to clear her vision and suddenly, the corridor once more hove into view, but all of the bodies and blood were gone, leaving just the empty and battle-scarred corridor. A splotch of red caught her eye in the far corner. Well, most of the blood disappeared... She carefully picked her way down the hallway, wincing both at how her bruises twinged and also at the sheer amount of carnage she'd caused. They have insurance, right? A little paint and spackle and everything will look just like it did before. As she neared the splotch of blood, she saw that it resulting from a drip drom the ceiling. She used the tip of her assault rifle to nudge the ceiling and part of it shifted and fell, dumping a hockey-mask-wearing fellow to the ground. [Knowledge (Current Events) 3+3=6 and Knowledge (Popular Culture) 13+5=18 means she recognizes him although she doesn't know of any recent events involving him] Melvin Blume, aka the second Fearmaster. He must have been orchestrating this nightmare, and got winged by a stray shot. Aika grinned widely as she snapped a few pictures of him on her cell phone. One more bounty for me. Yatta! She struck a pose, wincing again at her bruises. I really need to heal those up. Let's see if the old technique still works...
"Beautiful field medic-go!" she cried. The magic came sluggishly but eventually responded. The feeling of her injuries fading was wonderful and she was soon completely back up to snuff. [HP to temporarily use her Variable for a wider effect. Healing 10 [Self only, Total]. Her recovery roll of 8+14=22. That's enough for three damage conditions, which includes all of her bruises]
"Don't go anywhere," she said to the unconscious body, "I've still got business with this Beholder guy."

---
Aika's turning out to be a bit of a monster. Some of it was indeed lucky rolls on her part, and unlucky ones on theirs. The flamethrower attack was more effective than I expected, due to the continuing duration, although part of me wonders if I should have had them do more to stop themselves from burning. 10 HP and no damage conditions. And... I need to figure out where I want this story to go next.

[kipling]

Innnteresting, though I had trouble reading this installment. I figured you had it all planned out.

[FuzzyBoots]

Innnteresting, though I had trouble reading this installment. I figured you had it all planned out.

Yeah... I think the fact that I wrote out the mechanical parts first and then tried to insert the narrative confused things. *wrinkles nose* I was pressed for time and thought that it would be easier if I got the harder bits out of the way first, not to mention that I could write bits knowing the future. As it is, it kind of drained my inspiration and I felt constrained into making the text match up against the rolls 1-for-1.

As for where I'm going to have it go... I had plans. I had dreams. But somewhere in there, I got a little sidetracked. I'm almost out of fluff now, and I've got another five floors before she hits either of my other two planned encounter, the end ones. Eh, I'm sure I'll come up with something when I get home. ^_^ Maybe I'll stack the odds against her next time, just in case.