Summer in New York City can be the most special time of the year.  The sun shines brightly between the gleaming skyscrapers, sunlight warming the streets below and everyone on them.  The kids are out from school, playing and running and laughing on the sidewalks, their parents following them on their summertime reverie.  Hot dogs vendor serve up plump franks and the falafel from the carts tastes better than it does all year.  Excitement is like electricity and the current flows through all the people laughing and loving and living in the city during the sunniest, brightest time of the year.

But this is not that time, not on this late-June day.  Today the sun only bears down, its height oppressive in an unexpected heatwave that has held the city in its clutches for weeks, with temperatures even worse than the rest of the summer.  The asphalt sizzles and the heat seems to rise from the ground just as it sinks from the air above.  Kids are marginally more tolerant to the heat then their parents, everyone dragging themselves out on necessary chores, getting ready for the upcoming holiday.  Air-conditioning is in short supply, as the mayor has warned the inhabitants of the city of the dangers of a borough-wide black-out if the electricity grid is overloaded from too many requests.  An electricity ration has left as many people as out and about on the streets as inside, as the interior of Manhattan’s buildings offer little relief from the humidity that knows no polite borders.  Hot dogs stew and falafels sit on carts, no one daring to chomp on something as hot as the city around them.  People in cars suffer from the same still, stifling air, boiling in their automobiles that sit motionless in streets that never see a solution to their congestion.

Even out in the open air and sunshine, evil dwells uninhibited.  Danger is not always dark and hidden, sometimes even revealing itself in the blindingly-bright day for all the city to see.  Just because evil is revealed in the light does not mean it is any less malicious.

The most notable thing about the area of Lexington & 67th is that there's nothing notable going on.  No dragon in boxer-briefs or Galactus preparing to eat the planet, starting with New York City, yet again.  Nothing much to see at the moment.  Closer to the intersection, there is an increase in traffic but nothing of striking proportions, about as bad as it gets on not the best day.  There is no particular commotion, no hysteria, no crowd getting to or away from the spot.

https://www.google.com/maps/@4...g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Standing on the corner of the intersection are what anyone could consider a threat: the Wrecking Crew.  Three majestically-built men stand on the north-eastern corner of the intersection, just under a building nearly constructed.  The Wrecker, their leader, stands tall and guffaws, with only his laughter audible, not what he's laughing at.  In front of him is Thunderball, wrecking ball in hand, positioned as if speaking with the Wrecker but looking around the area suspiciously and alert, his brow furrowed.  A few feet from them stands Piledriver, grinning and flexing his muscles for any female that happens to walk by, whistling at the few that make eye contact with him.

There is no chaos, just the men standing on the corner.  A few policemen are directing traffic, in anticipation of trouble more than actually dealing with any present calamity.  Other than those, there is no other police presence or authority, and no panic from the crowd.  The scene at the moment is calm, relatively.  But when one passing car rear-ends another one and the owners of the vehicles take to yelling at each other, both sweating and suffering under the nearly-unbearable summer sun, a feeling of creeping anxiety seems to wash another layer of warmth over those in the area and the sense of a fuse burning dangerously close to its explosive is unavoidable.

Suddenly, one of the police officers directing traffic flails furiously around himself, as if swatting at something around him. Yellowjacket, the former Avenger, grows to full-sized between the officer and the fender-bender accident, both a short distance from each other. The officer's flailing and the hero appearing is enough to get Thunderball's attention.  Just a moment later, the sound of a motorcycle kicks off and She-Hulk saunters up to the villains on the corner.  "Hey, boys. Wanna play with someone in your weight class?" she says as she engages.

<<First Action: She-Hulk

Remember that every post with a dice pool must have the current tally of Plot Points and a choice for next action if it's your turn.  Each hero starts this scene with 1 PP.  Also remember that I automatically buy all Opportunities rolled, at a rate of 1 PP per dice pool (to be translated into Doom Pool dice).>>
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:54, Fri 28 Oct 2016.

Not waiting for a response, She-hulk accelerates into a charge. She lowers her shoulder and plows into Thunderball while he's distracted looking at Yellowjacket.


Buddy d6, Impulsive d4+1PP, Godlike Str d12, Combat Expert d8
12:14, Today: She-Hulk rolled 4,3,1,8 using d4,d6,d8,d12 with rolls of 4,3,1,8.  sucker punch thunderball.

12/d6/1opp

1PP for d4,
1PP for opp = 3 total
+3XP for starting trouble by punching badguy in face



Next: Thunderball
This message was last edited by the player at 17:17, Fri 28 Oct 2016.

<<d6 added to Doom Pool from Opportunity

Thunderball reacts to She-Hulk's physical attack, Total: 12, Effect: d6:
Team    d8
Gifted Physicist (distracted by what's going on around him)    d4
(+d6 to Doom Pool)
Superhuman Durability    d10
Combat Expert    d8

Thunderball rolled 1,1,3,4 using d8,d4,d10,d8 ((1,1,3,4)).

Total: 7, Effect: d4 (default)
Extraordinary Success steps up She-Hulk's Effect die to d8

-die from Doom Pool for Invulnerability to ignore physical stress

Doom Pool: 2d6 +d6 +d6 -d6 = 3d6>>

"Wha!" Thunderball exclaims, much less of a question and more a statement of surprise.  He seems to stumble from his feet into She-Hulk's punch, the attack landing square in the middle of his face.  The blow is enough to rattle the nearby windows and rumble the sidewalk.  Yet he comes to and plants his stance, shrugging the attack is if nothing happened.  He straightens and his face furrows into a mask of anger.

The Wrecker and Piledriver turn to face this new scuffle, their mouths agape, not from surprise that there is a hero here -- that was surely inevitable -- but that the Avengers led with one of their big guns.

The pedestrian crowd around the burgeoning skirmish starts to shift, fortunately moving away and not toward.  Unfortunately, the cars and their inhabitants could be stuck.

"Wow."  Thunderball begins swinging his wrecking ball in a circle, slow at first then quickly picking up speed.  "I thought you heroes were above such a cheap shot.  Clearly I thought too much of you."  The ball picks up speed, until it makes a strong, whirring sound.  "You can pay for that."  The ball reaches a violent velocity then suddenly it swerves and flies straight toward She-Hulk's face.

<<Thunderball physical attack on She-Hulk:
Team    d8
Chip on His Shoulder    d4
(+d6 to Doom Pool)
Superhuman Strength    d10
Weapon/Whirl & Hurl    2d8
Combat Expert    d8

Thunderball rolled 8,3,8,7,3,6 using d8,d4,d10,d8,d8,d8 ((8,3,8,7,3,6)).

Total: 16, Effect: d8

Doom Pool: 3d6 + d6 = 4d6

Reaction: She-Hulk
Next Action: Yellowjacket>>
This message was last edited by the player at 16:17, Sat 29 Oct 2016.

Yellowjacket sighs as he spots the first of the heroes rush into battle. He shakes his head and dashes between where the action is and the people are. With a slow breath he begins to expand trying to put his slowly growing larger frame between the battle and the people fleeing, "Citizens for your safety I suggest you evacuate the local area. I will cover you as you leave!" He looks over at at the Wreckers, ""Wreckers I will not engage you if you do not threaten the citizens.


OOC:
Buddy d10, Need to Prove myself d8, Growth d10, Combat Expert d8

Total= 12 | d10 ED -1 pp to Create Asset Building Sized Human Shield

1 opp so +1 PP for Yellowjacket

Mutually Exclusive Limit: Size of a Ant is Shutdown to activate Size of A Building.

13:48, Today: Yellowjacket rolled 4,4,8,1 using d10,d8,d10,d8 with rolls of 4,4,8,1.  Human Shield.

Reaction: Dice Pool
Action: Daredevil

This message was last edited by the player at 14:20, Mon 31 Oct 2016.

She-hulk was not expecting Thunderball to shrug off her hit like that and even less expecting him to whirl that ball and chain around so fast. It carums off her head with a loud GONG! and sends her reeling. She staggers like a punch-drunk boxer.

15:45, Today: She-Hulk rolled 1,3,1 using d6,2d8,d10 with rolls of 1,1,2,1.  defend against thunderball.

Wow.

2 /d4 / 3opps
+1 PP for the opp = 4PP

He wins by +10, so that'll step up to d12 phys stress on her.


This message was last edited by the player at 22:04, Sat 29 Oct 2016.

The sound of The Man Without Fear landing deftly on a car hood, seemingly from nowhere, is masked perfectly by the titanic thunder of She-Hulk hitting the pavement with senses-shattering force.  Matt takes a brief second to appreciate the seriousness of the situation, and gather a full count of the civilians, before rising and turning his attention on to the gaping crowds.

"All right people, that's a good sign it's time to get moving.  Officers, we need to get them out of here, now."

((Attempting to reduce/eliminate the "Crowded Manhattan Streets" Scene Distinction, which I'm assuming is a d8 to do..?

Solo d10, Protector of Hell's Kitchen d8, Superhuman Senses d10, Psych Expert d8
09:05, Today: Daredevil rolled 4,1,7,5 using d10,d8,d10,d8, unique dice with rolls of 4,1,7,5.  Devil Citizen Outreach Program.
Total 12, Effect d10, 1 Opp = Total 2PP for DD

Next Reaction: Doom Pool
Next Action: Piledriver))
This message was last edited by the player at 14:08, Mon 31 Oct 2016.