(GOODWILL OR COSMIC GIRL, talk about how you approach the trainyard.

You two can be together already, or not.

As previously discussed, I will be playing not only Jules, but also Scraps.

...So keep in mind, Goodwill, that you will have Jules with you.

And you have all decided, beforehand, that White Lynx needs more rest, so you're gonna go without her this time while the iron is hot.

(Kid Dynamix, White)-Lynx's Player, stand by...)

It was not a lie to say that Cosmic Girl was not known for her subtlety. Her powers tended towards the ostentatious, loud, and highly destructive. But that did not mean she was totally incapable of stealth when the situation required it. She was very capable of suppressing her cosmic energy field, and for this job, it was going to be essential. Norwood had to know they were coming. He would be expecting them. And he knew she favoured streaming out of the heavens in a swirling glow of cosmic fire, raining destruction down upon everyone - and everything - in her way.

So she shut down her aura, and flew as silent as a glider over the tops of the buildings, coming to rest on top of one of the large engine sheds, getting a good view of a large part of the yard from on high. She landed without so much as a vwwwoorrrppp.

Cosmos took the radio off her belt, and spoke into it quietly. "In position. Nothing to report... yet. Over, and things."

It still felt very strange to be talking on a radio like that. Presumably she would get used to it in time.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the train yard, Goodwill was coming in on foot. If he flew, he glowed. That was inescapable. Heck — he glowed if he clenched his fists too hard or ran too fast. If there was a way to shut that down, he didn't know it. And so stealth required that he walk in, using no powers at all.

"In position," he said into his own radio after Cosmic Girl had reported in.

"Psssst," comes a pssssst from over to Goodwill's right. "Psssssssst."

He looks over there... it's Agent Delancey.

Goodwill bit back a greeting, and instead just approached the Agent's location.

"Goodwill, before you continue... there's a couple of people I'd like you to take with you..."

(Kid Dynamix, White-Lynx's Player's new temporary character, now's the time to introduce yourselves to Goodwill...)

There was a soft noise as a lanky figure shifted, sitting up from a lying posture on top of a boxcar next to the agent. Silhouetted against the night sky, he was wearing a loose-fitting outfit that - for those familiar with history - brought to mind a modified version of the golden age hero Dynamix.

This outfit had a definite Mod bend to it - slim, topped with a fine cotton anorak or parka, open in the middle to show off the bold print on his shirt mimicking the original Dynamix's patterns of bold lines.

Having been introduced, the kid - it was hard to tell his age under the half-mask, but the eyes suggested mid-to-late teens - slipped off the traincar to land noiselessly next to Goodwill and the Agent. "Kid Dynamix." Voice was young, too.

"Good to meet you," Goodwill said, sticking out a hand to shake. "I'm Goodwill."

No noise accompanied the third figure's arrival as a ghostly figure floated into view out from a train car near Agent Delancey. Without touching the ground, the revenant neared Goodwill before stopping in front of him, outstretching an arm gloved in grey. Nearly the rest of the man appeared to be grey as well, covered in an almost ghostly grey. But under the man's low hood was a pale, white mask where glowing green eyes shone through.

"Spectre. This job is for free." His voice was as smooth as gravel.

"That's... great?" Goodwill didn't know what this Spectre guy meant by free, but he suspected it didn't mean money. Still, he shook the outstretched hand. "I'm Goodwill. Thanks for coming."

It was good to know the boy knew the value of pro bono work. Still, Spectre had another matter to work through.

"Goodwill. How..." It was difficult to speak, but Spectre assumed his pause would be treated as little more than an intimidation tactic, so he didn't pressure himself to speak like he usually did. Waiting a moment for himself to be ready, he continued, "How is White Lynx? What put her in that state?"

He had gone to see her in the hospital, but her being a hero meant strict secrecy on the hospital's part. So he couldn't see his ward.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 19:19, Thu 07 Oct 2021.

"Solid," Kid Dynamix gave Goodwil a quick but complicated handshake. "Lay it on us, what's the sitch?"

"White Lynx was injured trying to apprehend Doctor Norwood," Goodwill replied. He hated to admit it, but he was a little light on the details. They had split up, and Goodwill was not with White Lynx when she was injured. Later, they didn't really get too heavily into the details because they were too busy dealing with clones... and Goodwill really felt like kicking himself for not asking what had happened. "I, uh... didn't see what happened.

"Norwood is endlessly dangerous," he added. "He even killed me, that one time."

Spectre's glowing eyes wordlessly scanned across Goodwill's before the figure nodded, a curt and precise motion. The boy seemed honest. Spectre had been hoping to hear anything more about what had happened to Diana, but if Goodwill wasn't there, he wasn't there. Not everyone could be everywhere at once like his ward. Until he got a chance to ask the other hero that had traveled with her, knowing the danger they were in and that White Lynx had survived would have to be enough.

"I heard of your funeral. It seems it is not yet your time to go." He'd meant it as a mild joke, but once the words were out, they sounded more like a threat to his ears. "What endless dangers could we see tonight?"

Cosmic Girl's voice crackled through Goodwill's radio. "I'm going to do an aerial sweep. It feels a bit too quiet. I can't help but feel there's a trap waiting for us, somewhere."

She rose from the top of the shed, and tried to look around the yard, but in this darkness, she was pretty useless unless she turned on her sparkly lights.



21:28, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 4 using 2d6-1 with rolls of 4,1.  Insightful... not her strong suit... (Look before You Leap!).

OOC: Welcome, new player, to the ongoing horror that is the dice hating everything I do!

"Hard to say," Goodwill said with a shrug. "Norwood can create all sorts of nightmarish creatures, and we haven't seen the same thing from him twice."



"Roger that. Be careful." It would be difficult for her to find a trap from the air, but maybe she'd spot something. To Spectre and Kid Dynamix, he added, "Let's keep moving."

Biting down on the impulse to respond with a 'Roger that' or 'Loud and clear', as he would at Specter Security, the figure exhaled. "As you wish." If he was going to be Spectre, he was to play up the ethereal act. Anything less might risk the company's contracts.

Were Spectre standing on the ground, he would have straightened up to appear more alert at this point. Floating in the air as he was, the man simply nodded and moved over to Goodwill's side, as if to follow the hero.

"Whatever you say." Kid Dynamix did a backflip back up on top of the boxcar next to them and followed along that way, moving from shadow to shadow, flipping from surface to surface. He seemed to delight in the physicality of his agility, never walking when he could run, never running when he could tumble, never tumbling when he could do an awesome triple backflip.

Little buzzy robots, like toaster-sized helicopters, fly out from a boxcar and start to attack Cosmic Girl.

...Actually, they look like they used to be toasters. Someone (guess whom?) has just stuck rotating aero-blades on them...

(Roll Agility to dodge their initial assault, Cosmic Girl... but take -1 to the roll...)

Well this was entirely unexpcted... attack of the evil toaster ovens. Nope, this had never come up at her training and orientation. Time to improvise!

Cosmic Girl ducked, and weaved, and generally proved that aerial agility was her forte... more so than a lot of helicopter kitchen appliances, anyway. What were they going to do? Lethally make her a bagel?

OOC: 18:47, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 10 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,4.  Dodge the evil toasters with agility! (+1 bonus negated by -1 circumstance penalty).

Cosmic Girl leads the tostercopters on an energetic chase involving loop-de-loops and barrel rolls and stuff.

Chasing her, several of them run into each other and crash. Some get too close to train cars and crash.

Soon there's only one left, but it's the biggest-- and maybe the smartest, since it's lasted the longest? Certainly its spinning aero-blades look the sharpest, there's no question of that.

(Cosmic Girl has proved her superness. Feel free to engage in combat with the Master Toastercopter, or whatever else you want.)

Well, this is not remotely acceptable behaviour from a domestic appliance!!!

Cosmic Girl reasoned that they were now well and truly identified as being present, so subtlety went right out of the window. Her Cosmic Aura flared into life, and she sent out a very bright ray of doom and zap from her eyes, slamming into the Super-Sharp Bladed Toaster with considerable satisfaction!

VVVWWOORRPPP!!!

OOC: 23:46, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 10 using 2d6+2 ((2,6)). (Choose 2)

You hit hard: +1 Stun
You hit hard: +1 Stun

POW!

Cosmic Girl successfully voids the warranty on the final helitoaster.

"Flying... toasters." Goodwill wasn't sure he believed what he'd seen, but it sure looked like Cosmic Girl had been beset by a small squadron of flying countertop appliances. "Norwood is losing his touch."

Continuing to follow the route they'd mapped out, he made a left, then a quick right. They were almost to where they needed to be, and had yet to encounter any resistance on the ground.

Floating along beside Goodwill, Spectre couldn't help but stare up at the sky. Toasters, the boy said? He found it mildly impressive that this villain had managed to transform such an innocuous object into...well, into what he assumed was a dangerous weapon. More impressive was the firestorm that was the other hero working with them. There had been nothing up there, but now the sky was filled with dazzling colors. This was one of Diana's friends? The girl had often gravitated towards the strongest people around her, but this was on another level.

Part of him wished that none of their security contracts ever came into conflict with this clearly battle-worn team.

"That's the other one up there with the...toasters, yes?"

"Cosmic Girl, yes," Goodwill confirmed.

(Hmmmmmm... each of you roll Insightful, please...)

Goodwill rolled 7 using 2d6-1 ((2,6)).

OOC:

21:05, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 6 using 2d6-1 with rolls of 2,5.  Insightful!

Anybody surprised by this? I'm not!

Spectre rolled 5 using 2d6-1 with rolls of 2,4.  Insightful?

It seems Spectre will also be joining the Bad Rolls Club!

11:50, Today: Kid Dynamix rolled 7 using 2d6-1 with rolls of 5,3.  Insightful

Man if I knew nobody had any insight I would have taken some.

There are two very loud BANGS, one right after the other, one right near Cosmic Girl, and the other right near Spectre.

Kid Dynamix is startled, but less so.

The same goes for Goodwill.

Scraps whines. Goodwill looks where Scraps is interested, and sees that there is an electric eye... oh, and there's another... and another... Tiny red laser-lines of light if you know where to look for them...

Must be to scare any hoboes or other curious people away.

Interesting, though, that they aren't all at ankle-height... the one Cosmic Girl tripped was high-up. So Norwood's placed these to scare flyers, too... He anticipated that flying/floating heroes might come for him someday...

(Cosmic Girl and Spectre each get 1 new xp, and take -1 forward.)

Shocked by the loud noise, Spectre fell backwards, which amounted to what looked like his ghostly figure attempting a very sloppy backflip in the air. After a moment, he slowed himself and got his frame mostly stabilized, though only barely upright. He felt quite disoriented, trying to figure out what the noise had been. No one seemed hurt, so maybe it was a noisemaker set off by their entrance? He hadn't noticed any tripwire.

Still, he thought with a hand to his head, it was good that the mask hadn't fallen off. If he were removed from his ghostly state, he would have to go through that meditation process again and that would be very bad in a fight.

With a ghostly groan born of discomfort, Spectre creaked, "I suppose stealth on the ground is no longer an option either."

"Probably," Goodwill agreed. Between Cosmic Girl setting off (and subsequently destroying) the flying toasters, and the loud noises set off by tripping the electric eyes, Norwood had to know they were coming. "Still, we need to be careful of the electric eyes, because the next one might set off something a lot more insistent than just a loud noise."

"Electric eyes?" What was the boy talking about...? Some sort of electronic trigger? Spectre scanned the surrounding area for a moment before noting that the boy's pup seemed to be gesturing in a direction. Fun trick, that. Following the dog's snout, Spectre's glowing green eyes seemed to widen as he saw what appeared to be a tiny red light. Squinting, he looked around a little bit more, seeing several other 'eyes'. He assumed that there were more that he wasn't seeing, going by how most of the lights seemed to be swaying or melding together in his vision. He'd have to follow Goodwill carefully until he managed to reorient himself.

"Good catch, boy."

Scraps wagged his tail happily. The floaty spooky man said he was a good boy! This was a theory Scraps had been thinking a lot about for a long time, so it was always good to have outside confirmation of it! And this was like being praised by Halloween itself!

...Now Scraps wanted a cookie. Preferably one that looked like one of those pumpkins with the faces.

Eyes shining over the (admittedly, cute) dog, Spectre raised an eyebrow. What was he so happy about? All Spectre had done was compliment that young hero, Goodwill. Maybe the dog was pleased that his human friend received a compliment? Then it dawned on him that he had not actually made any sort of gesture towards the boy. Not to mention, going by how he'd followed the dog's nose, it made more sense to compliment him, didn't it? He was very glad for the mask now, as it hid his embarrassment and burning cheeks from the others. He'd done it now. He wasn't very good with people and throwing in a bulky cloak and a mask that covered his entire face did not seem to do him any favors.

Ah well, if a happy dog was the worst of his mistakes today, he would be thankful. Should probably get the dog a treat of some kind as an apology for the misstep. What did dogs like? Maybe a celery stick? Diana had hated them, but they were good for the body. Had a good crunch too. Maybe they'd be good for a dog?

"So the electric eyes are what, like cameras?" Kid Dynamix asked. "Or some kind of... visual trigger? Would bustin' 'em up before we see 'em work, or would that set 'em off, ya think?" He began gathering sharp bits of junk and hefty rocks to test his theory.

"Visual trigger sounds right. I would imagine that destroying them might allow us to get away without injury. Even so, if they are set to go off upon their destruction, being far enough away and preparing for whatever it will throw at us may be enough to avoid consequences."

"Destroying them would trip them," Goodwill said, with about 95% certainty. He'd read about this technology a couple of times. "Electric eyes send a beam to a sensor. If the sensor doesn't get the beam, it gets tripped. So if the beam stops sending completely, the sensor is tripped."

Cosmic Girl reeled from the disorientation and unpleasant shock from tripping the beam. But she got her head back in the game swiftly. She had learned to take knocks early in life. She just wished she was better at spotting them coming...

Very carefully keeping an eye out for more traps, she swooped down to join the others. She heard the tail end of the discussion.

"What happens if they get confused? Or overloaded? I've been working on things. I might be able to send out an electromagnetic radiation burst that would fritz the lot of them. It might fritz everything else in the area too, of course. Or I could just head up high and take them down one by one, in the good old fashioned way!"

Sure. Bolts of cosmic radiation were very old fashioned...

"No need for anybody else to get too close. They know we're here... sorry about that, Norwood never fails to take me by surprise. The toasters were fun, though. I'll never look at a slice of PB&J on toast the same way again, though, that's for sure."

"Is there something we can take out that would... I don't know, just cut off their signals? Like the equivalent of a radio tower or signaling station?" Kid Dynamix asked. "The guy would know something had happened, but it'd be hittin' a bunch of 'em at once so he wouldn't be able to know exactly where."

"Something that could take all of them out at once could be good. Likely louder, not to mention whatever other traps this doctor has in store. But all at once, they might connect with each other instead of with us. I don't know if flying high will truly aid us, however. Wasn't one of those loud noises near you? There's no telling how high they may go. Still, it would be best to get out of the way if we plan on triggering the lot of them. As for a signal, I must confess that I do not know much of these devices. I would not know where to start looking."

"We're wasting time talking about the barn door after the horse has already gone," Goodwill said. "We've already triggered whatever alarms he's got. We just need to move quickly now."

"I do not know much about this technology, boy, but you know as well as I that alarms are not the only adversities that should be on our minds. Those loud noises were disorienting, but they were most likely meant as warning shots. I do not want to carry your friends over to the other side because we moved quickly and not carefully. If we can avoid most or all of them, we should. If we cannot, I believe that triggering all of them would at least get them out of the picture."

"This is kind of moot, unless you actually have a way of triggering the traps remotely," Goodwill said. This was starting to take up too much time. He turned to the other newcomer. "Kid D? You got anything?"

"Yes, perhaps Kid Dynamix may have something of use. And didn't Cosmic Girl offer to...fritz them? I apologize, I am...not good with words and do not know quite what 'fritz' means, but that sounded somewhat promising as well."

Kid Dynamix bounces with excited energy from one foot to the next. "I don't really have much of a plan, other than try to avoid the electric eyes, get close enough to find something worth punching or breaking, and then punching or breaking it without getting hurt..."

He looks around like Sound like a good plan? Yeah? Yeah?

Looking the young hero over, Spectre hesitantly nodded. "If you have confidence in your ability to avoid them, then I have no qualms. How long would your escapade take, as an estimation?"

"Huh? Uh... do you mean-- if I tried to go ahead on my own, or if you guys came too?"

"I had assumed you meant that you would be making your way through on your own. You seem acrobatic enough to explore the area. But if your search requires assistance, I believe we may be able to join you."

"Um, yeah, what I meant was you guys coming too. All of us just... sneaking until it's time to dodge and break and punch and kick, y'know?"

It's clear that Kid Dynamix is open to other plans. It's also clear that this is all the plan he's got.

(He will scout ahead on his own, though, if encouraged to do so.)

"Well then... we'll all go together?" Goodwill fell into 'step' with Kid Dynamix as best he could. With the Kid leaping and Goodwill flying, it wasn't too hard to keep up with his erratic movements.

Falling in line behind the agile heroes, Spectre followed their lead to make his way through the traps and sensors. On some level, he'd hoped that Kid Dynamix would go off on his own to go through the mess of technology, but if they were to move as a team, he would do his utmost to stay with the group.

The group carefully moves closer to the center of the trainyard... and then...

BANG! Kid Dynamix sets off an electric eye!

And then...

A horrible rodent-thing with glowing eyes burrows out of the ground and bites at his leg!

rb.gy/f9heij

He leaps away, but it still grazes his ankle!

"Oww!" he says. He comes to rest on top of a nearby train car... And then he moans and sits down suddenly. "Ohh-- I don't feel good! Watch out, it may be poisonous or something! And there might be more of them!"

The rodent-thing turns toward the remaining heroes, gnashing its huge teeth...

"Stay down and keep an eye on your wound, Kid. You do not wish to lose your foot before your time is up."

Facing the strange bestial figure, Spectre rose a hand from his robes and bits of glowing green ooze shot out from his frame to blast against the rodent.

Spectre rolled 11 using 2d6 with rolls of 5,6.  It's Clobbering Time, against a giant poisonous(?) rodent thing. Forceful - 1 Forward.


It’s Clobberin’ Time!
When you action up your foes, roll + Forceful.  On a 10+ choose 2, on a 7-9 choose 1
--You hit hard (+1 Stun)
--You avoid most of their retaliation (-1 Stun)

The rodent-thing seems stunned... It sort of shakes its head, like it's seeing stars...

Seeing an opportunity to end this quickly, Goodwill zips in and strikes at the creature, attempting to smash its head in.

Forceful, Clobbering Time!
Goodwill rolled 12 using 2d6+3 ((5,4)).
--Hit Hard
--Avoid retaliation

Seeing that the situation seemed to be in hand - it was so good to see her friends really dishing out superhero justice with considerable prejudice - Cosmic Girl did not join the fray. Instead, she kept her eyes peeled for any further incoming nasties. Where one monster appeared, more followed. In that respect, Norwood was aggravatingly consistent...

OOC:

01:36, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 5 using 2d6-2 with rolls of 5,2.  Look Before You Leap, rolling Insightful... with -1 forward!

Useless as always... *8-P

Goodwill smashes the beast... and afterwards, it melts into green goo (non-glowing, thankfully).

Cosmic Girl spots another popping out of the ground right behind Goodwill, though...

Oh no you don't, ratty! There's been more than enough trouble already, and while he might come back to life, Cosmic Girl was not remotely keen on watching him mauled again! And so, she flashed out a hand, and hurled a bolt of cosmic energy at the creature!


OOC:

16:48, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 9 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 2,5.  Clobberin' Time! Let's squish some rat things!

Avoid collateral damage, no bystanders left in danger.

The glowy rat is destroyed-- but another pops up! Darn it!

This one heads for the Spectre guy...!

Pulling back his hand from his attack against the strange creature, Spectre smiled under his mask. This was easier, a fight was easier. Simple. Too bad there was only the one so far.

Suddenly a bolt of energy flashed in the air, taking down another one. He'd thought there was only the one, but clearly he was mistaken. He did however notice the third one that reared its ugly head right before him. In an instant, Spectre moved to blast this one as well...

Spectre rolled 6 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 3,2.  Even more Clobbering Time! Forceful.

...but there simply hadn't been enough time for him to aim. The blast shot wide, missing the creature completely and only managing to singe the ground.

"Don't worry, I've got it." Goodwill flashed over to where the glowy rat was hissing and snapping and kicked it in the head. "Hopefully there aren't a lot of these things."

Goodwill rolled 9 using 2d6+3 ((2,4)).
--Avoid retaliation

The beast's front teeth tear at Spectre's leg... Ow.

Goodwill's kick makes it melt into goo, though... and no new rats pop up.

(Spectre, you take no real damage, but I'll give you a choice:

-1 to your rolls to use your powers until I tell you this has worn off,

or

-1 to your rolls on everything except using your powers until I tell you this has worn off.

Which'll it be?

(You do get 1 xp point, though... which will transfer over to White Lynx when you're done being Spectre.

...Also, I forget-- am I encouraged to try to get Spectre killed, or not so much?))

Let's go with everything except powers. Probably the worse choice, but it seems more appropriate somehow!

As for Spectre's potential for an untimely demise, I'm going somewhere in the middle. If he dies, he dies, but don't go out of your way to kill him off by the end? Sorry that that's a bit wishy washy.

Spectre groaned in pain, halfway between a ghostly moan and a reserved grunt, looking around for more of the rodents. Seeing none, he examined his leg. It didn't seem too bad.

"Thank you. I hope that was the last of them."

"You're welcome," Goodwill replied, glad to be of help. "If your leg is okay, we ought to keep moving before something else pops up."

"I can still move. The concern is appreciated, but a bit of pain is unavoidable in my line of work. If I face any...unwelcome complications, I'll be sure to notify you all."

"Um, guys? I'm out. I still don't feel so good... I think I'd better sneak back to Agent Delancey. I'm sorry... but you guys are in a league that I'm not, at least not yet. But... um... I believe in you. You can do this." Kid Dynamix gives the other heroes two sheepish thumbs up.

Goodwill gives Kid Dynamix a thumbs-up in return, and then turns back to the task at hand: getting to Norwood. With the immediate threats apparently taken care of, he pressed on towards the lair he'd been told to find.

"Thanks, Kid. Stay safe out there. Make sure to tell the Agent's what's happened, especially to you. I know I'm putting on a brave face, but I'm definitely going to get myself checked out later. Don't ignore mysterious injuries."

Impromptu lecture over, Spectre moved on to follow Goodwill.

Cosmic Girl gave the Kid a smile. "When we're done, come talk to me. I can introduce to some people who might have a lot of help for you."

Her trust for the government might seem naïve, but she had not been in any way harmed by them... yet.

She moved up to flank Goodwill. "It seems that they know we are here. But all these defences have been traps, laid for anybody to step into. They might not realise who we are, yet, otherwise we would have seen a bigger response. If we hurry, we could make some headway before they work it out. Where do you think we should go? A place like this is probably full of traps, but there can't be many places that could hide a Norwood Lab."

"I agree we should hurry," Goodwill said, picking up his pace as he did so. Cosmic Girl could match his speed with no problem. "But Norwood probably knows it's us. You triggered a trap for flying foe, after all."

"And I gave him a good kicking, too!" Cosmic Girl, grinned. "I know it was only a toaster, but it really felt good to have the upper hand over his minions for a change! We owe him for more than a few bruises. And you being dead. He is going to find that expensive."

She followed, keeping as alert as she could. She was not really adept at spotting things, her powers were very much destructive, but not exactly perceptive.

OOC: 20:03, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 4 using 2d6-1 ((2,3)).

So, about as observant as ever... Sigh.

"Not to burst your bubble, boy, but if this doctor of yours thinks that the two of you are the only flyers in this city, then he is a fool. I'll concede that the two of you would be the most likely culprits, but unless he has something else to figure out our identities, he can't be entirely sure."

Hurrying along behind the two, he added, "And you're absolutely right, miss toaster-destroyer. Not just that speed is our friend here, but that this Norwood fellow has much coming to him. White Lynx will not have to deal with him when she leaves the hospital."

As the trio (and Scraps) approaches one old traincar...

...It... expands. The sides and roof fold out and downward, and suddenly there's a laboratory with a ramp on each side leading up to it.

Standing in the center, near a lot of machinery, most of it finished, some of it not, is Professor Norwood. "You have drastically moved up my timetable," says Norwood. "I don't appreciate it. Rushing science should be avoided whenever possible."

He flips a switch and turns a dial, and a beam of energy shoots out and hits Cosmic Girl.

Ow!

(Cosmic Girl takes 1 new stress, and gets 1 new xp.)

"See? That should have knocked her out, at the very least. It's not the fault of my calculations-- it's a problem with powering my inventions... This was always the problem of wanting a mobile lab..." He fusses and fidgets with more switches and dials, frowning...

Cosmic Girl was shoved backwards, and perhaps it was the sudden flash of her Cosmic Aura that saved her. Norwood perhaps had not been able to make proper adjustments to the power level. Still, it hurt, physically, as well as her ego.

"Well, I feel so sorry for you! How awful! Now... surrender, or this could go very badly for you."

She floated a couple of feet into the air, and gathered cosmic energy to her hands. Her aura glowed. She was absolutely ready to hand out some long overdue payback.

Unwilling to wait any longer, Goodwill did something he usually tried not to do: rushed headlong into battle. He flew at Norwood, fists out, prepared to knock the villain into the following calendar year.

Goodwill rolled 9 using 2d6+3 ((1,5)).
--Avoid retaliation

Following Goodwill's lead, Spectre held out an arm, firing glob after glob of ghostly ectoplasm directly at the evil doctor. "Calculate this."

Spectre rolled 12 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 6,5.  Clobbering Time for Norwood. Forceful.
It’s Clobberin’ Time!
When you action up your foes, roll + Forceful.  On a 10+ choose 2, on a 7-9 choose 1
--You hit hard (+1 Stun)
--You avoid most of their retaliation (-1 Stun)

Since her compatriots had taken the initiative against the Doc, Cosmic Girl opted for a different strategy. Norwood was a master of technology. Well, then... without his gizmos, he was in trouble!

She looked at the machine the madman was using, and blasted it with her cosmic ray eyes!!! Vwooorrpp!!!

But she was still reeling from Norwood's sucker punch. She should have taken a moment to catch her breath, but her youthful exuberance had made her overconfident... again...

OOC:

01:54, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 6 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 2,2.  PEWPEWPEW!!! Forceful attack!

*weeps in the corner* Why do dice hate me so much?

Goodwill bounces harmlessly off a light green forcefield that was invisible until he hit it.

Spectre hits the forcefield hard... and finally, it fails, and one missile hits Norwood in the shoulder.

Norwood panics-- he slaps a big red button, and runs for it (toward the north, abandoning his facility).

There is an ominous rumbling coming from below you...

(Cosmic Girl gets 1 new XP because the dice love her and want her to have more xp whenever possible.

There's no bad thing that happens to Cosmic Girl yet, but the next time a bad thing arrives, Cosmic Girl is going to be at the top of its agenda.)

The ominous rumble was worrying, but Goodwill needed to get to Norwood. He ignored the sound for now and flew after the fleeing scientist as fast as he could.

Spectre shot out and flew after Norwood just behind Goodwill. This sound would likely be troublesome, but if Norwood felt he could be safe over wherever he was running, chasing after him would likely keep the rest of them safe as well.

What would also keep them safe was blasting Norwood with another batch of ectoplasm.

Spectre rolled 6 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 4,1.  Clobbering Time for Norwood again. Forceful.

At least, if the ectoplasm would actually hit him again.

"You can't keep running away forever, Doctor! Halt whatever you've unleashed and come quietly! Or don't. I still need to pay you back for what you've done to my kid!"

Ominous rumblings are never good, but they're also not really within Cosmic Girl's bailiwick. She is all about the zapping!

She demonstrated this quite vigorously. She rockedted upwards, and kept up with the fleeing Norwood. And at this height, she had the perfect shot! Her eye beams lanced out, with a mighty VVWWOORRPP!!!, and they finally struck straight and true!


OOC:

16:08, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 13 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 6,5.  Once more attempting a Forceful attack on Norwood!

Yay, dice love me again! That would be:

+1 Stun

No collateral damage

The ectoplasm hits Goodwill instead. Oops.

Cosmic Girl zaps Norwood good, though. He's down... looks unconscious. Now what?

The question of "now what" is suddenly answered dramatically when another rodent-thing like the previous ones burrows up out of the ground.

Except this one is larger. Like, 80 feet long larger.

It comes up under Norwood's train-lab and wrecks it, sending it spinning off to the side of the trainyard where it crashes noisily.

But not as noisily as the giant monster rodent-thing.

SQUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKK, it says.

(15:41, Today: The Grandmaster rolled 10 using 2d6+2 ((4,4)).)

Oh, and it blasts Cosmic Girl with beams from its eyes. Yeah. Eye beams. That's a thing that's happening now. Ow.

(Cosmic Girl takes 2 Stress. Ow.)

"You have got to be kidding me," Goodwill grumbled as the giant rat shook off a shower of dirt and debris. Goodwill was covered in some sort of slime that had been intended for Norwood, thanks to Spectre's unfortunate aim. It was as disgusting as the rat.

Clenching his jaw in determination, he dove at the giant creature, fists out. This creation of Norwood's was going to take some time, and he needed to be careful. Surgical, even. He aimed for its head and accelerated all the way there.

Goodwill rolled 9 using 2d6+1 ((6,2)).
—Avoid retaliation

Spectre winced as his aim went sideways. That had been meant for the doctor, but he'd hit one of the other heroes instead. And now Norwood seemed down and out, so there was no sense in continuing to beat him down. Particularly when there was a huge rat to deal with.

Flying up towards the rat, Spectre pressed his arms forward for a point-blank shot of yet more ghostly goo.

Spectre rolled 9 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 4,4.  Clobbering Time for a rat-thing. Forceful.
--You hit hard (+1 Stun)

The Rodent Monster (Rodenster? Monstent? keep working on it) blasts Spectre with beams... POW full blast

(Spectre takes 2 stress!)

This thing is really dangerous-- and tough!

How are our heroes gonna beat this thing?!

"Hey!" Cosmos was blasted a few feet backwards. Her aura flared, but she still got hurt! "That thing is copying me? Has Norwood been stealing our powers all this time?"

She would not put it past him. And moreover, she did not for one moment believe that he could be taken down that easily. He must be up to something. Playing possum. Lying doggo. Whatever.

She did not shoot the rat. Instead, she soared down, grabbed Norwood, and started flying upwards. "All right, you little weasel! Call off the homicidal hamster, or I'll drop you from a thousand feet!"

It was a bit dark for her. But after all this time, her patience with the man had finally run out.

Blasted back, Spectre growled at the creature. The girl had the right idea, pulling Norwood up. He would rather not be fighting a giant rat that could send out these powerful beams, but it would give Cosmos time with Norwood. It was probably better that she be up there. If it were him, Norwood would be a pile of ash by now.

With a groaning roar, Spectre burst forward back at the monster. Cloak billowing out, Spectre blasted his ectoplasm once more, now in an effort to halt the rat's progress. Distracting the beast would hopefully make it easier to take each blow.

Spectre rolled 9 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 5,2.  Hold Them Off, against the rateature. Confident.
--They can’t act as effectively (-1 Stun ongoing until your actions are countered)

Norwood continues to act completely unconscious.



The monster blasts Spectre... but just barely misses. He's succeeding in shaking it up, though not in actually harming it...
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:31, Sun 20 Feb 2022.

Ratzilla seemed not to even notice Goodwill's first attack against it. He turned in midair and doubled back for another hit.

Goodwill rolled 11 using 2d6+3 ((2,6)).
—Hit Hard
—Avoid retaliation

Was Norwood genuinely out for the count? Was he really that much of a wimp? It was a susprise, but Cosmic Girl was not going to argue with it. It was about time they had some luck.

So, since he was not talking, she took the opportunity to shoot a searing bolt of cosmic energy at the rat with her eye beams!

OOC:

19:02, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 10 using 2d6+2 ((3,5)).

Forceful attack!

+1 Stun
Avoid retaliation

Goodwill hits the monster hard... setting up for Cosmic Girl to blast it.

The monster falls to the ground, and slowly starts harmlessly evaporating. It smells terrible.

Ending his blasts of ectoplasm, Spectre flew up and away from the fallen beast. That thing was dangerous, but this should be finished now.

"Is there anything else we should do here, or is it time to take our dear Doctor here away?"

"Is it the real Norwood?" Goodwill asked, returning to the ground. "That almost seemed too easy."

"Have any ideas as to verifying that? The false Norwoods you both faced before...did they bleed?"

Cosmic Girl landed, and dumped Norwood on the ground. She prodded him with her foot. "I agree, he went down far too easily for my liking. I would have thought he would have given himself a lot of personal protection. This whole situation smells like a raccoon three weeks dead. I don't know whether we should fly off and turn this one in, or explore here more. This was easier than I would have expected by far." She repeated her concern, gnawing at her lower lip. "What do you think? And the Norwood clones certainly bled some... and plenty of other visceral things when they exploded. But I have bot really got much experience with the insides of people, so I have no idea whether it was the same as a person."

Norwood starts waking up. "Nnn... Urrnh..."

Goodwill stepped over to where Norwood was waking up and grabbed a handful of his shirt. The other hand cocked into a fist, he made his intentions very plain to Norwood with a simple, "Don't even think about it."

Norwood comes around, takes in the situation, goes very still. "...So... now what...?" he asks...

Cosmos bent down next to Norwood, and held up her hand, a searingly bright ball of greenish-purple fire held within it. "Now we are taking you back to justice! And we'll have no more of your tricks! Now, you tell us! How many more traps and monsters have you got around this dump?"

She expected it to be riddled with the same nasty surprises that he always left lying around, and did not like the idea of the police coming in to clear it all out with an army of giant laserbeam rats, or malevolent griddles. Or worse!

"Don't worry, Doctor. If you come quietly now, we'll make sure you arrive safely into custody, through all the proper channels. Keep resisting, and we'll have to reiterate what the boy said. Some of us are out of patience."

"Ah, well, about that..." Norwood slowly and carefully raises one arm a bit. He points to a gold collar-button. "I'm going to do this slowly, so we all understand that what I'm doing is not an attack..." He pushes the button, firmly.

...Nothing happens.

"...Oh. Damn." He sighs. "That was supposed to teleport me away, but you've clearly damaged it. That was my last trick. I have others, of course, but nothing more at this location."

Agent Delancey steps forward with four black-suited agents armed with rifles. "Very good, everyone. If you're done with him, we'll take him from here..."

"I am so done with him," Goodwill said, handing Norwood over to Delancey's men. "So very done with him."

Norwood had been a thorn in his side for too long, and even killed him once. It was a huge relief to see him into custody.

Cosmic Girl frowned. "Wait a moment... I don't believe him for one moment! That button could have done almost anything! And I certainly do not believe he is just going to go quietly. Where he goes, we should go. Just in case we need to fry him. Or that button summoned a horde of attack robots to his location. He's giving up way too easily for my liking!"

Agent Delancey hesitates. "Well... the plan is to get him off the island of Manhattan... you could escort us, if you want...?"

Scraps starts growling at Agent Delancey. He's never done that before (not to Agent Delancey, anyway).

Spectre floated towards the agent. "Perhaps it would be safer if we were to transport the dear doctor. Firearms are impressive, but he won't be able to do anything 30,000 feet in the open air with the four of us."

"At that height, I think we all stop breathing," Goodwill countered, "but doing it at a few miles lower might not be a terrible idea."

"Normally, I would claim that our charge here could stand to go without air for a time. But I guess I don't need to play 'bad cop' to that extent. Some high altitude will be intimidating enough."

Cosmic Girl mused. "I wonder how high I can go and survive? My powers are from outer space, so... maybe I could do that? Hmm..." But Scraps and his growl made her return to the present problem. "What's the problem, boy?" She looked at the Agent and frowned. "Curious."

She did not extinguish her glowing orb of cosmic power. This was... off.

Agent Delancey gets a little anxious. "Here now, seriously, just hand him over, all right? There's due process and all of that to be followed. My agency may be super-secret, but we're still the good guys, and as such are still subject to the rule of law. There're things that have to be done, paperwork to be filled out and all of that..."

Scraps is still growling at Delancey! What's up with this?

Somehow, despite the mask covering his face, Spectre radiated a growing aura of confidence bordering on excessive. What was clear, however, were the glowing green lights staring out from behind the mask at Agent Delancey, refusing to break eye contact. "All the more reason to leave this to us, good Agent. You can handle your paperwork and we'll keep you safe from the bad doctor. Maybe we could even go with you? Just to ensure your due process duly proceeds as intended. Who better than us to keep things under control? I'm sure there's some paper you can sign off on to make this happen."

Goodwill was more direct than Cosmic Girl or Spectre when it came to Scraps' behavior.

"What is it boy?" he asked the pup. Was he growling at Delancey because something the Agent had done? Or was this not Delancey at all, but one of Norwood's very convincing robots? "What's wrong?"

Cosmic Girl bopped a few inches off the floor. "I've never known him do that to anybody unless he had a very good reason. Maybe we should see your bona fides, Agent?"

It ran against her nature to ever question the word of someone endowed with authority, but she was learning to her cost that things were often not what they seemed.

"That does it-- attack!" says the increasingly-bogus-seeming Agent Delancey. His bogus-seeming men attack.

Delancey picks Norwood up, and starts carrying him toward the nearest cover.

(Each of you, there are rifles being fired at you!

Describe how you deal with this!

(Then I'll tell you what to roll, if applicable.))

Being largely bulletproof, Goodwill ignored the rifles for the moment. Cosmic Girl had a gravity field that was as durable as he was, and Spectre... well, he still wasn't sure what Spectre had. Goodwill moved in front of Spectre, and prepared to tackle the gunmen.

Well, it wasn't like it was unexpected!

Instantly, Cosmic Girl flared her aura of purple and green, and rocketed upwards at speed! A fast moving target was harder to hit. Moreover, she had been waiting for this. She was ready!

As she shot upwards, she launched the ball of light in her hand downwards, splitting it into multiple bolts of light, each zooming with sizzling fury at the spurious gunmen!

With a ghostly wail, Spectre dashed through the air towards the "Agent," blasting out a spread of ectoplasm in an attempt to ward off (read: dissolve) at least some of the bullets.

(Goodwill, roll Forceful please.

Cosmic Girl, roll Agile, please.

Spectre, roll Confident, please.)

Spectre rolled 10 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 3,5.  Goo, goo, what happens to you? Confident.

Goodwill rolled 14 using 2d6+3 ((6,5)).

10:00, Today: Cosmic Girl rolled 11 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 4,6.  See how amazingly agile I am in a crisis situation!

I am amazed that worked... *8-O

Goodwill totally breaks the four rifle-toting agents-- they're robots!

"Bark bark!" Scraps barks in a See?! See?!? sort of way.

The few bullets that ricochet off Goodwill are rendered harmless by having to pass through ectoplasm, and "Agent Delancey" and Norwood lose their footing and fall as Cosmic Girl blasts the ground at their feet-- and they can't get up again quickly, as they're drenched in a torrent of gooey ectoplasm.

(Indeed, a trio of very effective rolls!

Amusingly feels like the heroes have gotten fed up and all snapped said OH NO YOU DON'T at the same time...)

"Where's the real Delancey?" Goodwill demanded of Norwood.

Another Agent Delancey comes out from behind a boxcar. "Over here," he calls. "Kid Dynamix is getting medical care... What--" He spots his double. "Well that's unnerving." He draws a pistol and prepares to shoot it. Then he hesitates. "Er, anyone mind if I shoot that thing? I could understand if you did... If you like, I could, say, call for backup...? Cut my arm and bleed to prove I'm not a robot? And that my blood is red, for that matter?"

Scraps runs up to the new Agent Delancey and pants happily at him, making pleased little yips. "There's one vote," smiles the newcomer...

"I would not mind if you shot him. The man is a clear fake, possibly a robot like the other heroes have mentioned."

Spectre floated over to the new Agent. "I would also very much prefer if you did bleed a little. Just to be sure, Agent."

Cosmic Girl remained airborne, keeping a watch for more sneaky Norwoodian strategems. She glowed, and swept her eye beams around the area, like some sort of bizarre co-educational lighthouse. But she added her opinion. "I'd trust Scraps' nose more than most other things. And I am glad the Kid got help. I did not like leaving him behind, but we weren't given a lot of choice."

Agent Delancey removes a medium-sized combat knife from somewhere in his jacket (you wonder what else he may have hidden in there), and cuts his left wrist in a non-artery/vein spot. The self-imposed wound starts bleeding a few drops of normal-looking blood at a normal-looking rate. "Red enough for everyone...?" he asks...

"If Scraps likes you, I'm good with it," Goodwill said with a shrug. "Part of me wants to verify that this is Norwood, but I think that it's just because part of me wants to see him bleed.

"Hardly charitable of me, though. I need to work on that.

"We may try it in a moment," says the Scraps-approved Agent Delancey. "For now, though..."

Then, just as Scraps-disapproved Agent Delancey snaps his own pistol up and points it, Scraps-approved Agent Delancey fires one shot directly into the center of his double's face.

The head of the Scraps-disapproved Agent Delancey explodes in a small shower of flesh-colored plastic and transistors and other electronic bits. So much for that, then...

"Satisfying, shooting one's doppleganger in the face," says the Scraps-approved Agent Delancey, "but also very unsettling. I don't recommend the experience."

"Noted. Thank you, Agent. Both for the blood and taking care of your robot clone."

Spectre floated back over to Norwood, staring at the man and raising his arms as if to say, "don't try anything or I'll melt your face off with ghost goo."

"I don't think Goodwill's idea is a bad one. I see no issue in watching the man bleed a little in the process of verifying his identity. It's hardly the worst thing he deserves."

Cosmic Girl bobbed down to the floor again. "Not unreasonable. Suffice to say, we cannot believe a word that comes from his mouth. Getting our own verification that this is not a robot is a start. Not that it could not be another clone, of course."

"I'll take the risk..." says Agent Delancey. He goes to Norwood, kneels down next to where Norwood is wearily trying to get ectoplasm off of him...

Norwood struggles a bit harder as Agent Delancey takes Norwood's right arm with his left hand.

When Norwood increases his struggling, Agent Delancey punches Norwood in the jaw with a right cross, knocking him out.

Agent Delancey starts to reach in his jacket-- for a knife, perhaps? But stops. "His lip's bleeding now. That enough, or shall I try his wrist anyway...?"

"Nah, that's enough," Goodwill suggested. The odds that a robot was designed to bleed from its lip were pretty slim, even for Norwood. "Let's just get this guy to jail before another giant animal pops up, or something."

"Sure." Agent Delancey gets out a small radio and calls for backup. "Anything else I should know? Or is this case pretty wrapped up for the moment?"

"Well, we have no clue what else is in his base here. If you want us to help clear it out, I am sure we'd be happy to. Otherwise..." Cosmic Girl looked up. "Otherwise, I'll take aerial surveillance for the transfer." She bobbed up a few feet. "I will be very glad to know the real Norwood is out of circulation. Once he is gone, dismantling his network will be a labour of love, not a chore."

She was too idealistic and naïve to know that it would be anything but, of course...

"I suppose I too am pleased enough to know that this man will no longer be on the streets. And that White Lynx will be able to heal in relative peace." The ghostly Spectre glared at the doctor's bleeding face, disgust clear in his shimmering green eyes. "Perhaps we could split up? One of us goes with the Agent to keep an eye on Norwood, while the other two keep watch over this base to make sure nothing gets in or out before we are all able to clear it from top to bottom."

"Good idea. Why don't you go with Delancey and Norwood, and Cosmic Girl and I will check his base?" Having Spectre go with Norwood was a tactical choice; if Norwood made trouble, Goodwill trusted Spectre to do what was necessary to put him down. "Sound good?"

"My people will do that, but if you want to stick around and stand by, I have no objection," said Agent Delancey.




"I'm all right with that too," said Agent Delancey.

(I have no plans for any boogey-monsters to jump out of anything else here at the trainyard. Let's wrap this chapter up, yes?

Anyone got any additional role-playing you want to get out of the way here first...?)