With the gravity lowered, Gravitas is able to get the two easily accessible survivors out.  Those in the rubble are going to be more difficult, but they are very clearly alive, Gravitas can hear their quiet struggles to breath.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Attempts to get people out of there will require a Dex+Athletics role (unless you can think of a better Dex skill), and Analyze weakness can be used to augment the role if desired)

---

Impetus, though drained, manages to clean up every bit of the metallic liquid before it can contaminate the area.  The radiation will still be an issue until the material is moved out of the area, but once Solitaire arrives nearby radiation levels drop rapidly.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Energy Absorption on the arm helps a lot; I'm assuming she spends the activation cost.  And she gets stronger too.

---

Comstock, upon reaching in, finds two drowned and irradiated novas.  Though it shouldn't have been long enough for them to drown, the increased pressure inside forced the metal into their lungs.  The only way Flare is healing them is if she can first raise the dead.

As 'Stock, Sol', Flare, and Imp' look over the remains of the Novas, Slider's portal finally opens, unloading Pax and his team onto the scene over the northwest quadrant of the blast area.  From there they fan out; assuming that no one goes to greet them, Pax will meander over to the cluster of T2M:Aers in about another 30 seconds.

Solitaire's arm begins to glow as it absorbs the ambient radiation, it was always a good, refreshing feeling, and the short boost it gave her abilities was just icing on the cake.

"Well, shit. This is not going to look good on the report..." Solitaire comments offhandedly, crouching down next to the bodies. She grabs Miguel's wrist, picks it up off the ground, and watches it fall back limply. She wanted to make sure they were dead, as she figured she could survive whatever had happened to them, they might just be faking it.

Otherwise, somebody was going to get chewed out, and that wasn't a pleasant thought at all.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Don't have my book on me atm, I believe the dicepool is Stam-Absorption. I'll edit later if i mucked it up.

09:30, Today: Solitaire rolled 4 successes using 9d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 7,5,6,8,4,8,3,5,6. Absorption, Missions

Brings me to Mega-Str 5, Stam 5, Mega-Stam 4, temporarily, if I'm not mistaken. 4Q spent.

---

This message was last edited by the player at 17:34, Thu 04 Feb 2010.

They were dead.  "Hell ... okay, fan out.  Look for someone invisible, someone tunneling under the rock, look for Freak, look for anything that could have done this.  It hasn't been more than a minute.  I'll talk to Pax.  GO!"

Comstock shivered and signaled the mercury to flow out to him, hoping to at least contain the waste and get it out of the two men in a last ditch effort to save them.  Denial hadn't quite left his system yet.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:31, Thu 04 Feb 2010.

"Oh man, this is just sick." Flare was saddened and disgusted by the drowned men. Her powers were massively destructive, but she preferred to unleash them on buildings and terrain. To allow people to die painfully in molten metal was just cruel.

Flare starts hunting for any kind of trail or sign of who might have done this.  She starts at the current area, rather than flying, since this seems to be a ground based attack.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)


Flare rolled 4 successes using 8d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 10,5,4,6,7,8,6,9. Perception + Investigation

---

Angered Suzukaze closes her eyes. Annette couldn't have done this... She's still locked up.... Powerless... Alone.... She reaches out with her senses.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Activating Blindfighting to try and sense anyone invisible.

19:32, Today: Suzukaze rolled 1 success using 7d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,6,3,8,5,3,1. Blindfight.


And the dice hate me.

---

"I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not too sure how long I can hold this stuff up, Grav, can you open a portal between here and a safe storage facility rather soon?" Blood was trickling out of Imp's ears and nose, and his eyes were looking alarmingly bloodshot.  The radiation probably wasn't helping either.

---

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rolled like crap, 1 sux, on the quantum recharge thing.  Spent another health level to get 3 more quantum.

---

This message was last edited by the player at 02:18, Fri 05 Feb 2010.

Gale lands a little ways away from the prisoner's cage, just before Comstock gives the order to search.  She joins in the search, glad that Comstock was going to handle Pax.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
20:26, Today: Gale rolled 3 successes using 3d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 7,7,7. Perc+Inv, Sao Paulo. .

Not bad for not having any investigation. >.<

---

Mercury trickled out of the two bodies and joined the larger pool Impetus was holding. "Give me a second, I'll dig a bowl.  It's not real metal ... it's unstable.  Should disappear if we give it a little while."  Comstock looked around for an appropriate spot to manage this.

Hearing the confusing radio chatter and with Imp running to the scene of... whatever... Phantasm figured that someone should continue helping the unfortunate victims of this mess, most of whom were still trapped in the rubble.  And honestly, since no one had called her, and there were already a half dozen powerful novas over there already, she wasn't really all that necessary probably.


As she wondered what exactly was going on with the enemy novas and the weird metal, Phantasm sent her small army of ants throughout the ruins of the apartments, and moved lightly through the rubble herself to pick up signs of survivors.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

You rolled 4 successes using 13d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 ((9,4,1,4,4,2,6,1,2,4,4,8,7)).
Dice roller hasn't been in a loving mood lately.

Ants should be able to move just about anything though, and climb over whatever they need to.

---

Solitaire glanced around the scene, looking for anything out of place. She wasn't a detective-type like some of the others, but she just might have the best eyes on the team. She figured continuing the search and rescue operation really should be her top priority, but an unknown nova, (and it had to be a nova) running around complicated the equation immeasurably.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
22:17, Today: Solitaire rolled 7 successes using 10d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 9,5,5,10,9,9,10,4,9,3. Percep+Aware, San Paulo.

---

Comstock digs an impromptu storage area for the strange metal, coating it with a thin layer of metal so that it doesn't leak into the soil.  But he can tell that the radiation levels are already going down, and the material is changing into a much more manageable mercury.

After a few moments of work, he heads off to speak with Pax, meeting him as he lands a few yards from the scene.

"So, Comstock, did you have to kill the novas?  It's usually better when we can, you know, INTERROGATE THEM!  And what the hell is going on here?  The whole team is clustered around the center of this mess, while the news is recording all this?  Catching us standing around while there are victims to be saved?  Do you know what our public opinion polls are going to show tomorrow?!"

Speaking into his headset, Pax gives orders to his team via their team-chat channel.
"Everyone, spread out and take the top layer of rubble off this place.  Make it fast, these guys have been taking their time, and we need to get as many people out in as short a span as possible"

Comstock can hear at least one member (Ragnarockette? Hard to tell)yelling back through Pax's headset "but if we move too fast people will die when we move the debris!" 
Pax replies "sometimes we just have to make hard choices, and right now I think more people will be saved by getting in there as fast as possible.  And the news sure as hell will appreciate it more.  Now get going, and show our pals on Americas how to run a rescue op!"

-

Impetus manages to settle the remains of the radioactive metal into the hole Comstock made for it before collapsing from strain.  He has the privilege of listening to Pax berate the team as he watches his teammates go about searching for the rogue nova.

-

Gravitas is still attempting to clear out his building.  He can lift the rubble, but the real problem is doing so in such a manner as to avoid ripping the people apart in the process, especially the one with piping through their chest (Dex+Ath or Med to move the rubble and save the last few; there are also dogs and cats in there, if Grav cares).

-

Phantasm's small army of unnaturally strong (and large) ants is actually quite capable of clearing out the two buildings, and she makes large progress there.  Keeping the constructs around will be a drain on her, but likely more effective than anything else she can do currently.  Her shapeshifted ears pick up movement in the rubble about a block down, and Skew homing in on it from the air.  He pauses in mid-air, a look of frustration on his face, and then begins moving metal in the building, trying to maintain the support structure of it while clearing as much rubble as possible... A quick analysis of the situation tells Phantasm that this situation is going to get people killed.

-

Zero realizes exactly what Phantasm does, as he watches another T2M member tear into a building, rescuing 2 kids but destabilizing the whole structure in the process.  T2M:A had been cautious in their rescues, hoping to get more people out in the long run by moving carefully; Pax aparently intends to have everything finished by the end of the day, one way or another.

-

It occurs to Suzukaze that if only they had Annette here, the woman's incredible mental powers could have stopped this nova before he struck.

-

Those searching for the rogue nova find little to go off of.  Gale finds a spot of disturbed earth near the cage (like something came out of it, rather than just the regular destruction nearby), while 'Kaze and the others find next to nothing.

Solitaire, floating in the air, scans the area but finds nothing as well... But then she sees something... A tiny movement on the surface of the ground, the sound of molecules of concrete being displaced?  Her imagination?  Whatever it was, if she wants to investigate further she will have to move quickly.

"Sir, I didn't kill anyone!  There is another Nova on the scene and my teammates are attempting to locate and detain it before it causes more damage or further jeopardizes the situation!"  Next to Pax, Comstock felt like a whining toy.  As his brain clamped shut against Pax's influence, frustration and metallic-tone crept into his voice.  "If the camera crews get worried, tell them we're capturing the perpetrators of this terrorist act!"

His thinking grew more distant and rational as he grew more stressed.  The prisoners were dead, and it was starting to hit him that this whole thing looked like a contrived setup.  He'd sealed the two in the box, and the two had died from drowning in mercury.

Imp glowers at Pax from his recumbent position, then smoothed his features.  That's some fine leadership there Shelby, and a fine plan, he thought to himself.  As much fun as it would be to tear into the wanker there were much better ways of handling the situation.  "Sir, as you no doubt remember from disaster rescue seminars, people can survive for up to a week trapped under rubble.  More if they have water.  Also, the public will see pulling as many people out as quickly as possible as noble, yes, but think about how much better we will look if we set in for the long haul, work in shifts, and show that we care about each and every person trapped in the rubble.  Let the world watch us work ourselves to exhaustion, then climb back into the saddle and do it again, and again, and again.  Let them see you as the unwavering foundation that our rescue efforts are built around. That's the kind of heroism that the world has come to expect from you sir, and I know that you've got what it takes to give it to them like nobody else can."
As he spoke he felt his skin rupture in a few places, he'd never drawn on himself this deeply before, and shouldn't've had to.  Arrogant S.O.B.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
looking through my enhancements and seductive/seductive looks both say "any attempt to seduce or persuade a target..." so, can Imp use the seduction of fame and power to bring Pax around?  If so, 17 sux.  If not, 11 sux.  Used persuader, seductive, seductive looks, and natural empathy.

---

This message was last edited by the player at 04:30, Tue 09 Feb 2010.

"Crap." Zero was furious with itself. It had thought the strange presence had truly left, and now people where dead do to it's hubris. It tried again to sense the thing out with it's paranoia sense, followed by a mental scan. Zero was truly the worst Doctor ever.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Z activates Creepy Feeling. 1 Quantum.

2 successes on Telepathy Roll.
21:40, Today: Dr. Zero failed (no successes) using 1d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1. Reroll 10, absevant quality .
21:40, Today: Dr. Zero rolled 2 successes using 7d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 6,2,10,8,5,2,3. Telepathy Roll, 1meg. .

---

"Damn, Damnit"

Flare watched impotent as Pax gave his orders, changing their desperate attempt to save life into some action move rescue. Great for press, but much more likely to raise the number of bodies.

She wasn't senior to this group or its supervisors in any way, and even if she wanted to speak out, her powers were nearly useless in getting people out.

Flare opted to take the path she had since she'd been 'recruited' by T2M, ignore Pax as much as possible and try to help as much as she could. Wasn't there a better option?

Far more like the shy Sara that she'd began life as, Flare speaks up.

"I'm, going to help with the wounded.  If anyone has radiation poisoning, I can help with that a bit too."

She floats over to where medical treatment was being set up, a bit disheartened.

Gale crouched near the spot she found, to examine it more carefully.  She'd brush lightly at it with a claw.  She didn't want to call it to the attention of the others until she was sure it was actually significant.

Luckily, if there was one thing Solitaire was good at, it was moving fast. She tracks it for a moment, making sure it was an actual possible contact, not just her imagination. Once she's sure, she keys her mic.

"Possible subterranean contact, quite faint. Tracking now, anybody have a neat trick that could snag it?"

Solitaire broadcast over both teams frequencies, thinking somebody on Europe might have a counter. She couldn't really think of anything her team could do against it, and they seemed pretty spent anyway.

"Ok, folks," Quentin yelled at the others, still in Portugese, "I'm gonna help you out of there, its just gonna take a bit of doing." He carefully analyzed the positions of the trapped people and estimated the amount of damage that'd been done to the impaled man. "Alright, I need you all to try to cover your heads and curl up tight," he advised the trapped people.

Oh so carefully, he began to try to extract the rubble, first starting on the outside and then moving in towards the trapped people, trying to work so as to not collapse everything and treating it all very much like a house of cards.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
You gave the option of Dex+Medicine, so I'm rolling that because the combo amuses me:
00:30, Today: Gravitas rolled 6 successes using 12d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 6,5,7,4,9,9,9,5,10,4,7,3. Dex+Medicine.
00:31, Today: Gravitas rolled 1 success using 1d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 9. Reroll - Steady.
Grand total: 7 - stupid mega-dice never roll successes for me.

---

Pax seems contemplative as he ignores Comstock as irrelevant and focuses on the mega-flattery offered by Impetus.  While he didn't like Impetus stealing all the attention, he was right, and the shape he was in he obviously wasn't saying it to get attention... after all, who wants to be on camera looking like that?

"Hmm.  You have a couple of points there Imp.  Good job son, maybe you should have a team of your own one of these days."

He flips on his headset and send out a message to his team.

Alright everyone, slight change of plans here; slow it down, and take it carefully.  We wouldn't want anyone to needlessly get hurt, and people that aren't dead already will likely be able to survive at least a day in the rubble.  And the world would certainly appreciate us working our asses off and playing it safe.  Pax out.

Turning back to Imp and Comstock, he says "Well, what you staring at metal man?  Get your team back to work.  Oh, and Impetus, you might get that nose bleed looked at."
Poor guy.  He erupted with all the looks, but no substance.  We'll have to watch out for the little guy, make sure he stays out of harm's way... too valuable to lose influence like his... long as he knows who his leaders are... 

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Its amazing what successes in the teens can do for you.

---

At Solitaire's broadcast, Pax begins looking for the nova activity she was talking about.

-

Gravitas receives the team chat, processing it in the back of his mind as he works to extricate the survivors in the animal shelter.  His efforts are largely successful.  Aside from a little tearing of the impaled man's intestines, he's able to get everyone out intact.  The building doesn't even collapse when he leaves, so the animals survive for the time being.

-

Zero doesn't notice the nova's presence right off, but after having Sol point it out and dashing over to the rest of the team's location, his quantum sense picks up the presence from earlier moving away rapidly.

-

Gale notes that the disturbance in the ground is in an area that the cage was touching the broken asphalt, and in that spot the material is pushed up, as though something reached out of the ground there.  But not forcefully, and the asphalt seems oddly... shimmery, like part of it is metallic.  Perhaps the chemical structure is changed?

-

Flare manages to help the people in camp get set up, and her presence calms the crowd a bit, knowing that T2M:A is on the scene (and that there is a nova there to respond to any violent overtures keeps the crowd a bit more level headed).  Between Sol, Imp, and Comstock, the majority of the radiation was contained, so no rad poisoning or burns are present, but plenty of crushing wounds and crush syndrome victims need help http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crush_syndrome

Flare helps stabilize the worst wounds, but is quickly exhausted.  Like Impetus, before long she will be pulling on her own body's resources to heal the injured.

Quentin works quickly to try to stabilize the impaled man, using what few available resources he has on hand, including the victim's clothing, any nearby dog leashes (as tourniquets), etc. Once the man seems to be in reasonable shape, given the circumstances, he fashions a stretcher from anything he can find (a tarp and two reasonably long thin bits of rebar are sufficient), and presses any ambulatory survivors into service as nurses and go-tos as he works. Once complete, he has them haul the severely injured man off to a relief station and then moves on.

I know that Annette is still locked up. I've got to prove it.... I need either Slider or Gravitas...

Suzukaze takes off in search of either Slider or Gravitas. She slows as she comes across them and grabs ahold of their uniform.

"Please.. Please help me. I need a portal into Annette's cell. I need to prove to Comstock she did not do this..."

She falls to her knees. On the verge of not being able to hold back tears her voice is full of worry and sadness as she begins to beg for help.

"Please... I beg of you help me please."

Gale didn't have the experience to be able to say for sure what had happened here.  But the metallic sheen made her immediately turn to the person who she thought would be able to say for sure.  She wouldn't be able to react fast enough to keep up with Solitaire and Pax anyway.  "Hey, Comstock, come take a look at this."

She'd point out the damage to him, explaining how she'd found it.  "This isn't your work, I'm sure of that.  Not sure about anything else about it though."

Once Pax has broadcast his new instructions to his team Imp gets to his feet and heads over to help the wounded.  He didn't have Flare's ability to heal wounds but he did have his OFA certification.  He cleaned the blood off his face with a scrap of cloth and set to work, no rest for the wicked.

Zero starts porting to follow. It reaches out with it's mind once more and tries to read where the thing's home is.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
22:08, Today: Dr. Zero rolled 1 success using 7d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,4,6,2,2,2,8. Telepathy Roll, 1meg. . Ug. This sucked.

---

"Sense it Pax?" Solitaire inquires, pointing for emphasis. "I could smash my way down to it, but if its a phaser, I don't think it would do anything but spook, it, if its not aware we've noticed it already. Not sure I could grab it, even with my left arm. Any ideas?"

Solitaire was annoyed, it was right there and it might as well be on the moon for all she could do about it. Hell, farther than the moon, she'd been to the moon.