WHAM. Goodwill hits the man hard.

It's not enough to put him down yet... He's apparently tougher than he looks. He breathes a stream of fire at Goodwill... but it's a hasty, sort of kneejerk reaction, and it misses... Fortunately, no other bystanders are hurt, either...

---

"You are brave to suggest it, but no, I do not think you would be safe. And if one of us needs to open that sphere, it shall be myself, when the time comes..."




"Not... quite yet, thank you... He only just left, let's give him a little time to return..."

"I suppose, if you're so willing to wait and risk this all going sideways, Cognog... That must mean you're either not too worried about her discharging anytime soon, or... your solution as to what "might" work is a quick one." Lynx scratched at the ridge of her nose through her domino mask. Odds were the man could have other reasons, like being too stubborn for his own good, but he seemed to respond more to an offer of reasoning. Of course, this could very well lead him to providing another alternative motive, but if she could get him talking more about his little idea... Well, perhaps he'd accidentally let something slip.

"I will certainly admit to an amount of anxiety, but your comments are quite insightful," says The Cogster. He does not take his eyes off of Echo's sphere.

"So, I still have no idea what to call you," Goodwill said to the man from the museum. "Maybe you can tell me your name before I put you back in your cell, just for the heck of it?"

---

(Hmmmmm. Roll Charming, Goodwill.

Note: I finally decided on a new name for This Guy, I'm happy)

Goodwill rolled 7 using 2d6+1 ((3,3)).

The man pauses. "I am Anynnaug, son of Menw. It is I who ensnared Aegrim, the black dragon of Wyre."

---

(Pronunciation guide:

Anynnaug: An-in-aug (but fast, kind of running the first two together to almost be 1 syllable)

Menw: MEE-nu

Aegrim: A-grim

Wyre: WY-uh



I figured I'd have him tell you and attack if you blew the roll, or give you advantage on your next move if you aced it. Since neither happened, now you just know a villain's name, and the ball's just back in your court :\   )
This message was lightly edited by the player at 18:55, Tue 20 Dec 2022.

"Well, Anynnaug... do you want to surrender, or do I need to knock you unconscious? I don't favor violence when it's unnecessary, but I'm really open to all options at this point."

(New Charming roll buddy)

Goodwill rolled 5 using 2d6+1 ((1,3)).

"I thank you kindly for your very polite offer. But..."

WHOOOOOOOOOSH. The guy breathes fire. At Goodwill. But even more at all the prison guards and Delancey's agents who're watching. It's quite the impressive area-of-effect attack.

A lot of them are able to get to cover, but one guy freezes for a split-second (and even when he recovers, he's not near any good cover).

Will Goodwill fly over there and take the extra hit for the guy, protecting him with (Goodwill's) own body? Or stay airborne and just brace himself for less damage? Or, hell, just fly through the flames and attack Anynnaug immediately?

(Note: whatever you do, Scraps will be okay.)

Goodwill didn't hesitate to put himself between the flame blast and the normal human who could not possibly survive it on his own. He flew into the path of the fire and braced himself.

(Goodwill takes 1 stress (yes, in spite of being tough).)

Ow. But the man in front of him is fully protected from the flames burning Goodwill's back. (Ow, that really was hot.)

But Goodwill also feels a small surge of energy from those present-- BOY do they like him a lot right now.

(Goodwill gets a +1 bonus toward his next roll... ball's in his court.)

The surge of emotion from the bystanders coursed through Goodwill's veins. He turned briefly over his shoulder to wave, then turned back and charged the guy with the barely pronounceable name. Still grinning, he threw a punch at the guy's jaw.

Goodwill rolled 8 using 2d6+3 ((4,1)).
--Avoid Collateral Damage

(Can I save that +1? Couldn't use it on this roll, which was already +3.)

(I meant to allow it to go over the normal +3 limit! (I guess I should have specified.)

However, that just makes your 8 a 9, so... nope, it's used up now)

Anynnaug is knocked to the ground.

Looking rather worried, Anynnaug looks up and tries a tight cone of flame just at Goodwill.

(Goodwill takes 1 stress (yes, even though he's tough).)

It is NOT REMOTELY enough to take Goodwill out of this particular fight.

From the ground, Anynnaug holds up a hand. "...You are a worthy opponent. Had I the sorts of useful tools on me now that I had when you and I encountered one another at the museum, I would fight on. For now, though, since those were all confiscated weeks ago, I'd be interested at this time in discussing your offer of surrender... if it's still on the table..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:20, Wed 11 Jan 2023.

Pausing for a second, Goodwill considered whether the guy was serious or playing him. But the surrender seemed genuine, so Goodwill nodded and accepted it graciously.

"I appreciate that you can see reason," he said. "Let's get you back to your cell, so I can go help save the world."

Agent Delancey and his men rush forward.

Someone puts what look like some sort of strange stone handcuffs/manacles on Anynnaug. "This should hold him, from what we've learned," says Delancey to Goodwill. "Anything I can help you with?" Delancey asks Goodwill.

Cosmic Girl looked around, ever vigilant for trouble, although the problem of the possible horrible explosion seemed to be the main issue. "So, the Echo in World B... how terrible is it going to be if she can't make it back? Do you think we need to go to that world and bring her back? Is that even possible for us?"

She flexed her fingers with a crackle of cosmic energy. "I'm game. Believe me, it is a better option than what I had planned for the day!" Risk eternal banishment to an alternate universe... or do a geography test. She knew which one she preferred!

"Well, sir... it turns out that there is some sort of cosmic crisis going on inside the prison." Goodwill felt a little silly for saying it, but it was what it was. Captain Cosmos had apparently been telling the truth. "It would help if we could get some information on the person literally at the center of it."

He went on to describe what he'd seen inside the prison. If Delancey could explain who this person was in the first place, it might be a big help.

"I'm afraid I couldn't say... but... something does need to be done... The way things are can't possibly last much longer..." says The Cogster...



"Ugh, this is about Subject 'Echo,' isn't it," says Delancey. "We don't really know or understand much... what is it you want to know?"

"Literally everything," Goodwill replied. 'Echo' was a major catastrophe in the making, if Captain Cosmos was to be believed. And he did seem to know what he was talking about. "Where she came from, how she got here, why she's in prison... and anything else you can think of."

"She's apparently from another universe, or timeline, dimension, whatever, where versions of the heroes here are villains-- not evil, necessarily, but definitely pulling crimes-- and where versions of villains here do heroic things. It was hard to interrogate her, because it was so hard to keep her from escaping. Apparently someone with magic cast a spell on her on the same day that her powered counterpart here tried to walk through The Cogster's force-field, and they switched... places. She's in here for theft, tried to rob a bank. Ah... I'm afraid that's about all I know?"

"Okay," Goodwill said to Delancey. "I think I get what's going on... as long as I don't think too hard about it. Now, here's the next big deal: Cogster has volunteered to help, but he wants a quid pro quo. You'd better come inside to negotiate with the guy."

"Yes, okay, let's go," says Delancey.

Inside, Echo has started to pulse faster...

Delancey, alarmed, agrees that if we can pull this off and get things under control again, The Cogster will have more freedoms again-- lots of books (subject to a review board), music (not a radio, but records), and so on. "Just... if you think you can fix this, fix it!" Delancey urges.

The Cogster sighs. "All right-- Delancey, stand back, over there. The rest of you, don't stand back, in case this doesn't work, or works in a way I don't anticipate. Here I go..."

The Cogster walks up to Echo and activates his forcefield, then turns it off. Then he walks closer to her and turns it on...

Something happens. There's a flash of-- green and then-- it's like everything goes reverse-negative, like a photographic negative, and-- there's a wind-- it's pulling you toward Echo and The Cogster-- and--

---

You are somewhere else.

Well, but wait, are you? Echo isn't here... but it's the same big room... But it looks different. The lights are all on, for one thing, unlike the room you just left...

Delancey is there, too.

...Why is he wearing a white suit instead of black? (Your vision is normal again, so what the heck?)

And he's also wearing... an eyepatch?!

"All of you, down on the floor!" Delancey(?) yells at you. "Surrender immediately and you won't be killed!"

There are lots of other agents (in white suits) with guns pointed at you.

The Cogster isn't here. Instead, there's a black-haired woman wearing a mask in a blue costume with the silhouette of a white rabbit on it. "All of you. Trust me. Run. Now. Fast as you can. I'll explain later."

She pushes a button on her glove-- and one wall explodes. Or... does it just sort of disintegrate, but with a really loud noise?

END OF CHAPTER TWELVE

(So do not post now, wait for Chapter Thirteen)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:36, Fri 10 Feb 2023.