Coughing, White Lynx pulled back for a moment. This was not going well. One more hit like that...and she was done for. Heck, she already felt like she needed a good amount of mending. And Goodwill taunting the guy wasn’t going to help either! At the very least, it might mean he’d go back to fighting Goodwill over her, so maybe she could get some good hits in, but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do much more. Still, maybe she could turn this around, charm-wise. The taunt made it a bit harder, but...

“Your friend ran away, Breakneck. And Streak was never here. Plus, your hostage is gone.” Oh please let that be true. “It’s over. Stand down.”

White Lynx rolled 6 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 4,1. Charming. To Talk Things Out with Breakneck.

That sounded more convincing in her head, didn’t it?

(Goodwill and White Lynx each get 1 new xp and take -1 forward, because the dice clearly hate you both.)

A few henchpersons come running out of the front door of the house.

Seeing who's in the front yard, they don't slow down-- they just all run to the left, and keep running.

Three seconds later, the front doorway explodes.

There is a large, horrible monster there, easily nine feet tall. Two horns are notable on his head. He probably weighs at least 450 pounds, mostly muscle and bone. He (easily) carries a large iron club. Since his clothes don't cover his chest and stomach (anymore), it's also easy to note his many tattoos.

"ALL RIGHT! ALL POWERED UP! WHERE'S THE CHEERLEADER?"

The monster looks at Goodwill. "OH, YOU'RE THAT GUY BLACKJACK WAS WORRIED WOULD SHOW UP. I'M TETSUBO THE ONI. I'LL BEAT ON YOU UNTIL THE CHEERLEADER COMES BACK. OR UNTIL YOU DIE."

You've got one chance to MOVE! MOVE IT!

(Before anything else happens, each of you roll Agility, please...)

Goodwill rolled 2 using 2d6-1 ((2,1)).

Yep. The dice hate me.

White Lynx rolled 10 using 2d6-1 with rolls of 5,6.  Agility. Gotta dodge and probably fail.

Well that’s surprising.

Scraps watched the 'Hero' fly off with the prize child, to claim the mission's glory.

With a little whine, he looked around, then sniffed the air for anything interesting.
          - rolled 2 using 2d6 with rolls of 1,1.  Insightful.

POW-- Tetsubo swings his mighty club, and catches Goodwill squarely.

(Goodwill gets 1 new xp, and 2 new stress.)

White Lynx, on the other hand, managed to zip aside before it was too late.

Flying back as fast as she could, Cosmic Girl came in sight of the estat-- oh, my. That was a big monster. And-- not really surprising-- he wasn't on the good guys' side.

Two seconds' worth of flight closer, and she recognized the iron club. OH. So that was the end result of his powering up...

(Cosmic Girl may now rejoin the action...)

---

(Scraps gets 1 new xp, and takes 1 stress.)

Scraps nose told him nothing, but his other senses told him something more important-- the middle of the house wasn't very structurally sound anymore. Time to get out!

(If Scraps tries to jump down into the hole in the floor so as to get out the back door, give me an Agility roll.

If Scraps tries to go out in the hall and then down the stairs and out the front door (well the hole where the front door used to be), give me a Confidence roll.)

There was a now familiar sound of vwoorrrrppp-foosh!!! as Cosmic Girl zoomed down from above, aiming her hands at the enormous goon, and letting rip with a huge strafe of cosmic blasts!

Although...

Maybe she was just a bit too over eager this time...

OOC: 22:12, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 6 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 1,3.  Let's play shoot the enormous evil villain!!!

The iron club hit like... well, like an iron club wielded by a giant. It caught Goodwill in the chin and flipped him end-over-end, rattling his teeth and bloodying his lower lip. Goodwill slammed into the ground and shook his head before getting back to his feet. His confidence would have been shaken at that point, if not for what the giant had said: Blackjack had been worried that Goodwill would show. Nice.

"My tur—"

A sizzling bolt of cosmic energy passed between them, striking nothing but the lawn.

How do you miss something that big?! Goodwill thought to himself, but chose not to say it. It would be rude and hurtful, and Cosmic Girl didn't deserve that sort of treatment.

"MY TURN." Goodwill said again, and clocked Tetsubo.

Goodwill rolled 7 using 2d6+3 ((2,2)).
—Avoid Retaliation

Tetsubo also had a head of iron. Did he even feel that?

Gods, that hit hard! Goodwill seemed to take it in stride though. Seemed like he even threw a solid punch. Still, there were two villains to take care of. The big guy and the fast guy. Goodwill had managed to beat down on Breakneck rather well, so a few more good hits would probably be enough. But he wasn’t going to give in, especially now that his much larger friend was here. Cosmos was back, so the kid was probably safe, so that was a plus. They didn’t really need to hold back much. Still, Scraps wasn’t out yet, so hopefully he would be able to catch someone off guard? Who knows.

Honestly, part of her wanted to duck out of there. They completed the first half of their goal, so this wasn’t a hostage situation anymore. Hopefully, once the kid was safe and protected, Mr. Flynn and the police could head over to assist, but even then, the four of them still had their hands full. Cosmos and Goodwill were focusing on the oni with the club, but there was still Breakneck to worry about. Ideally, he’d run away, but... Hmm. A half-blinded speedster with anger-management issues and a strong desire to fight a guy. Okay, so she couldn’t convince him to stand down, certainly not while the big one was here. But what if she could move him elsewhere? She didn’t know how great they could work together and whether or not his friend could avoid hitting Breakneck, but if she could convince him to move elsewhere, the fight should be easier for Goodwill and Cosmos. Besides, he seemed more interested in them than in her.

Besides, what if she could lead Breakneck right to the police? Sure, the kid would probably be there too, but heavily guarded. He’d have to seriously reconsider the offer of standing down in front of a wall of officers, right? Hopefully Lynx might even be able to get him to run into a few trees along the way as well. Not as easy to do as it would if he had even more gravel in his eyes, but possible nonetheless. It was a bit of a stupid plan, leading along the guy that could kill her in a punch, but maybe this could work. Besides! If she couldn’t convince him, what was the worst that could happen? He’d call her a liar and try to kill her more? That was already going to happen. Only...yeah. Maybe he’d cower in front of the police, sure. But he’d probably still kill her as some sort of last stand. No, she couldn’t just leave yet. It was fight or die.

Her mind made up, Lynx ran for Breakneck, legs and arms sparking. Trying to catch him on the more gravely side of his face, she shot a bolt of electricity at her fellow speedster.

White Lynx rolled 13 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 5,6.  Confident. To Hold Breakneck Off.
--They can’t act as effectively (-1 Stun ongoing until your actions are countered)
--Give them a choice between backing off or be stunned
OOC: I’m not entirely sure whether the first one stacks with the prior -1 or how the choice on the second one works, but this should all be good


“Shocking, isn’t it!”

Scraps instincts told him to get the flock out of here ... and he remembered seeing the back door through that hole that Honey+Lavander Girl had made in the floor.

So turning with all haste, he ran back into the room, and with leapt down to the ground floor below.
           - rolled 12 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 5,4.  Agile for the jumping.

He hit the ground running, letting his paws take him swiftly from this place before it all came crashing down on his head.

WHAM.

The mighty club swung through the air and clipped Cosmic Girl. It wasn't a direct hit... but her uncontrolled landing dozens of yards away helped make up for that.

(Cosmic Girl gets 1 xp and takes 2 stress.)

---

(Tetsubo takes 2 stress.

13:09, Today: Tetsubo rolled 7 using 2d6+2 ((3,2)).

--No collateral damage)

Tetsubo swings his club again, and manages to hit Goodwill a glancing blow.

At the last second, Tetsubo notices that the backswing is about to hit Breakneck, who is trying to use the garden hose to wash the gravel out of his eyes.

(Goodwill takes 1 stress.)

---

Breakneck, standing on wet ground, is no longer blinded, but is now half-stunned anyway.

"What... what... whaaaaa...?"

He looks, for the moment, rather overwhelmed. He staggers backward, toward the far end of the house...

---

In spite of the debris of the shambles below, Scraps lands safely without a scratch.

But what he finds down there surprises him-- it's the lady who had been trying to protect the little boy. "Hey! Hey, puppy, help! My leg's caught...!"

It's hard to say if Scraps understands the literal words, but he does see that her lower left leg is caught under debris... but it isn't so much that her actual leg is caught, as just part of her pants leg...

Will Scraps try to help free her? Or will he get out the open back door while the gettin's good?

Cosmic Girl bounced across the ground a few times. Her gymnastic training allowed her to fall with enough skill not to take any serious injuries, but she was going to have a few bad bruises when this was through.

The poor landing did not stop her returning to the fray, though. She got to her feet and kept rising getting a few feet off the ground, even as she thrust her hands out and unleashed a rapid series of cosmic bolts at the massive Tetsubo, her aim finally getting back on point.

23:30, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 9 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 1,6.  Tetsubo gets zapped! (Possibly...).

Suddenly seeing someone in danger ... in pain, and scared for their life ...
it didn’t even occur to Scraps NOT to help.   Without thought for his own safety, the heroic pup leapt to the woman’s aid.

Grabbing the leg of her pant where it was trapped, he began pulling and growling and shaking the fabric ...
          - rolled 12 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 5,4.  Rescue someone, like a Romantic Idiot.
... until the material tore, freeing the woman.

Quickly stepping to her side, he gave her a comforting nuzzle and lick, the barked at her to “Get up, get up”.
Then, he began leading her towards the door out of this place, without ever leaving her behind.

With constant encouragement from Scraps, Shawna manages to slowly stumble out of the back of the house... "Good dog... gooood dog..." Shawna mutters, limping...

It was time to try some logic again, and see if this fiasco could be put to an end already.

"Guys, guys...." Goodwill floated backwards out of Tetsubo's enormous reach and held up his hands. "You're outnumbered, and the prize is out of reach. You've lost. Even if you win the fight, you've lost."

Hopefully Tetsubo could be made to stand down, even if Breakneck was a lost cause. Tetsubo seemed smart enough to know when there was nothing worth fighting for, not to mention when the boss has lost his fool mind.

Charming: Talk Things Out
Goodwill rolled 4 using 2d6+1 ((2,1)).

Son of a bitch...

Cosmic Girl's blasts hit Tetsubo hard... But they also blast the area behind him somewhat, shaking up White Lynx.

(White Lynx takes -2 forward on her next roll...)



Tetsubo completely ignores Goodwill. Awkwarrrrrrrd.

(Goodwill takes -1 forward from embarrassment, but gets 1 new xp point.)

Instead, Tetsubo is focused on Cosmic Girl-- he's clearly hurting right now.

And then... he makes a break for it.

(Run Away
When you flee the scene roll +agile.  On a 7-9 one thing happens:
--You leave something important behind
--You become a laughing-stock

13:22, Today: Tetsubo rolled 7 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,1.

13:25, Today: Breakneck rolled 7 using 2d6+2 ((4,1)).)

Tetsubo throws something down at his feet-- it turns out to be a smoke bomb. Instantly, thick smoke fills the area.

Based on the stomping sounds, it sounds like Tetsubo's making a getaway (and shrinking back to normal size, based on the sound of it).

Breakneck can also be heard coughing and wheezing (and running around). "Aw crap, what's in that smoke bomb, it smells like old socks!" HACK COUGH WHEEZE "I think I'm aller--" HACK COUGH WHEEZE "--allergic! You-- You'll be sorry you guys ever messed--" HACK COUGH WHEEZE "--with Breakneck! You--" HACK COUGH WHEEZE "...you... you guys suck!"

At the end, he is clearly running away... crying, from the sound of it.

When the smoke clears, the villains are gone.

Except for Tetsubo's large iron club, which lays on the lawn... Perhaps shrinking down to hard-to-find size after being in his oni form meant he was too weak to carry it with him...

"That," Goodwill said softly, "was nearly a fiasco."

If not for getting the kid out safe, this would have been a total disaster. Instead it was just a major screw-up, with all three villains getting away, the house being half-destroyed, and Goodwill himself verging on collapse. One more good hit from Tetsubo might have put him in the hospital. Two might have put him in the morgue.

He walked over to the iron club and poked it with his toe to see how hard it was to move the thing. It must have weighed a couple of hundred pounds, easy. Tetsubo must not have any super-strength at normal size, then. Good to know, in case there's a next time.

"Still, we did good here. Not great, but good. But I think if we work together to train, maybe we could be great."

He looked around.

"Scraps?" he called. "Where are you, boy?"

While he waited for Scraps to respond or arrive, he added to Lynx and Cosmic Girl, "Ice cream sodas are on me*."

---

* = Yeah, he doesn't drink. He's that much of a goody two-shoes.

Cosmic Girl strode up, rubbing her badly skinned knee on arrival. "Sorry about that. I think I got a bit carried away with the blasts." White Lynx was not meant to have been in the firing line. And the house was going to need a lot of renovation.

"Scraps was amazing! He literally saved that boy's life! I am sorry I was not able to come and help outside immediately, but I felt it best to get the kid to safety. And I would love an ice cream soda! But I think seeing a doctor might be a better idea, first."

Scraps, at this point, came bounding around the corner, barking helpfully.
You see, he had an injured human in tow ... and although he desperately wanted to lick Gil's face ... he would first make sure his charge was escorted to safety.
Cosmic Girl would recognise Shawna, of course ... who'd fallen into the floor hole.

As soon as Shawna had been delivered to some form of authority and safety, the heroic pup would turn, and whole-heartedly race to his owner ... leaping from meters away into Gil's arms.

“Yeah, I’m...I’m gonna need a minute,” Lynx groaned out, doubled over. “Won’t say no to that free drink though...”

They got away. Annoying, but at least no one could choke her anymore. Besides, aside from that, things were alright. The kid was safe and damages were mostly localized to the house. And her ribs, gods damned. She felt kind of useless today, overall. The other three were all going around and doing stuff. Punching the daylight out of the villains, grabbing the kid, whatever. All she really did was play bait and get kidnapped. Better job for an infiltrator, she supposed, but she was not terribly helpful when crap started happening.

Still, it was nice, being able to be someone else again, even in that limited state. Probably won’t be another situation like it any time soon, but it was a sweet reminder.

“Honestly, I’m surprised I’m even standing right now. Great shot...Great shot there, Cosmos. Sorry for getting in your way a bit there. Still, I’m glad all that’s over. Another good hit and I’d just be a silver streak on the wall! Does that joke make sense? Nevermind.”

Cosmos looked rather chagrined. "I am truly sorry! I guess I am not used to working with others. But it was very educational. I have learned a lot. And Scraps was amazing in there. I went a bit too far inside, maybe, and he saved the boy."

She rubbed her bruises again. "We should get this woman some help, she might have some broken things. And I am sure that the police want to talk to her. If she knows where those three monsters went, we might be able to catch them before they get time to recover."

"Scraps is smarter than a lot of people," Goodwill said, positioning the dog in his arms so he'd be easier to hold onto. He needed a hand free. "Sometimes I'm convinced he's smarter than I am, anyway."

With a now-freed hand, Goodwill reached into his pocket and pulled out the paper that Blackjack had dropped. Something told him it was important. He'd certainly feel stupid enough if it turned out to be the groceries list.

"So what do we have here...?"

With a slight pout, Lynx corrected herself, “No, sorry, that came out wrong. Not...not your fault. I’m speedy, so I should’ve gotten out of the way. I’m just not feeling great. Really. S’my fault. And congrats, Scraps. Great job in there.”

The adrenaline was just pouring out of her now, wasn’t it? Blinking a couple times, Lynx reasserted her stance, standing straight, if a bit wobbly.

“Who is that, by the by? Was she one of the henchpersons?”

The piece of paper is somewhat cryptic. It reads:


WASHINGTON IRVING 40 19 4 20 63

---

Shawna the henchwoman, though weary, waves to get Cosmic Girl's attention. "...So you saved little William?" she asks.

Cosmic Girl moved to be by Shawna's side. "Yes. I took him straight to safety. By now, he should be with his loved ones, I hope." She sighed. "I am sorry I let you fall, but I had to choose between taking him to safety, and catching you. I do hope you are not too badly hurt."

She paused, uncomfortably, then blurted out, "Why did you do it? Why throw your lot in with such awful people? Or did they have a hold on you?" She was no expert on all matters legal - or on much else, either, for that matter - but she was sure that Shawna might be able to get protection from her associates, in exchange for turning into an informant.