"I think that you are going to have a lot of people helping you, Max, even if they don't know it," Doll kindly informed the child as she approached just after Nightshade introduced herself.
"Everyone loves puppies...and if somebody notices a puppy that looks like it might be lost, they're going to stop whatever they're doing to make sure that it's okay."

"I'd like to help you look for him," she offered.  "Can you describe him?  What color fur he has?  Do you know what breed it is?" She clarified the term for him in case the child was too young to understand that word or concept.  "Like, a retriever?  Or a Chihuahua? Dalmatian?  Beagle?...."  She hoped one of those breeds might sound familiar to the kid that he could determine by context how others may have described his dog.

In reply to Doll (msg # 8):

After taking off her helmet, Nightshade smiled at Max while replying in a calming voice, ”No, I'm not an angel. But I can fly when I want to, especially when I need to see things from the sky.” She paused to remove the rest of her riding gear and carefully lock it in the proper compartments on her motorcycle. Quickly walking back over to Max, Tarina greeted the diminutive hero, ”Hello Doll! So you're here to help us find Bowser too. That's good!”

Turning her attention back to the boy she supported Doll's questions, ”Please think Max, you just lost Bowser a little while ago. Can you tell us what he looks like? Or what kind of dog he is?

In reply to Nightshade (msg # 9):

He shows you pictures from a phone of a mud brown Chihuahua. Make a hearing per roll.

OOC
Today: Nightshade rolled 9 using 3d6 with the Hero system. Hearing Perception.
With a Hearing Perception Roll is 15- and +4 to the Hearing Range Modifier,
She made her Hearing Perception by 6, with no distance modifiers until after 16”

OOC:
23:13, Today: Doll rolled 13 (with 4 body) using 3 with the Hero (Champions) system with rolls of 6, 6, 1.  Hearing PER Roll, 12-
What dog?  There's no dog here.

In reply to Doll (msg # 12):

Nightshade hears a whimpering sound.  It is faint.  It is far away.  It is coming from the storm drain, and it had rained recently.

Her ears flicker towards the sound coming from the storm drain. As she turns her head to follow her ears she says to Doll and Max, "I think I hear someone that sounds quite lost and scared in the storm drain over here. Follow me." With that said she quickly and quietly moves to the aforementioned storm drain, still listening for the sound.

Doll couldn't help but feel a little bit excited and pleased by what seemed would be a positive outcome.  If Nightshade was correct, the dog was still alive and nearby.  She smiled cheerfully and joined the group for the journey to the sewer drain.

Naturally being a lot lower to the ground than the others, it was a lot easier for Doll to peer into the narrow opening.  However, she would stand out of the way to give the others a chance to bend down and look for themselves.

OOC: Sight PER Roll if needed.  She also has Nightvision to counter the darkness below.
21:58, Today: Doll rolled 12 (with 4 body) using 3 with the Hero (Champions) system with rolls of 3, 6, 3.  Sight PER Roll, 12-.

"Max, try calling for him.  He'll probably respond to your voice better than he would to ours," she instructed the child.

In reply to Doll (msg # 15):

The kid calls for the dog, but he just whimpered louder.  He sounds hurt.  The drain opening is too small - well too small for Nightshade.  Nightshade will have to find a larger entry point.  -  but Doll could fit.

Nightshade looked around for another entry way into the drain. Spotting an adjacent sewer maintenance cover, she deftly reached into the access holes in the lid and lifted it open, paused for a moment, then nodded to Doll and Max before dropping into the sewer.

“Max?” she called out from the sewer, her voice echoing from the darkness. “I can hear your friend Bowser ahead of me, Doll and I will have him back to you soon.” her voice cheery and reassuring despite its origins.

Ankle deep in the waters of the sewer, her ears twitched in the direction of the whimpering dog.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:25, Thu 24 Nov 2022.

With the narrow drain opening being wide enough to allow for the small dog to fall through, there was more than enough room for Doll to follow.  There was a slight pause as though she was allowing herself the time to reconsider the wisdom of going into a sewer.  However, she was now resigned and accustomed to the idea that she would be getting dirty.  While her tiny size gave her the benefit of going places that others couldn't access, that also meant going into places that were not regularly cleaned.

Doll got down on her hands and knees and crawled towards the opening, positioning herself so that she could drop down feet first. When the reached the ledge separating the street from the sewer, she gripped the edge, hung over the side, and looked down into the relative darkness trying to find a shape that might suggest the outline of the missing dog.  The whining suggested that it might be injured and though she was relatively lightweight, Doll didn't want to add to the animal's misery by accidentally landing on it.  When she felt confident about her landing spot, she called out "Going down!" to let Nightshade and Max what she was doing.

"Bowser?  Where are you, sweetie?" she said gently after landing and taking a moment to get her bearings.

In reply to Doll (msg # 18):

Max is, understandingly nervous.  You both get in and see the dog is pinned under a large limb of a tree.  His head goes under the fast flowing water.  A sense of urgency is in the air.

After almost immediately locating both Doll and Bowswer, Nightshade quickly moves over to where the tree has pinned the tiny dog under the fast flowing water.

Crouching in place to grab hold of the pinning tree limb, Nightshade begins lifting the limb away from the tiny dog just as Doll arrives.

Positioning herself so that the tiny heroine and the small canine are easily able to reach her, Nightshade says, ⁣ “Doll you and Bowswer can climb up my body to get out of the water.”

"Wait!  Don't lift it too high until I reach the dog so that it doesn't get washed away!" Doll shouted in warning when she saw that Nightshade was going to be lifting the branch.  If I don't get washed away first!, she observed.

The shrunken superhuman sprinted down the channel and propelled herself through the air, intending to land on the limb.  However, the bark was slickened by the water and Doll lost her footing and slipped into the fast moving stream.  The tiny woman edged her way along the branch to where she last saw the dog's head submerge.  She cautiously reached down, not fully committing to abandoning the security of the branch, hoping that she would feel what she was expecting to be damp fur.

In reply to Doll (msg # 21):

Doll roll a DEX roll -3 and if you fail, a STR roll.

OOC:
21:05, Today: Doll rolled 11 (with 3 body) using 3 with the Hero (Champions) system with rolls of 4, 1, 6.  Dex Roll (13-) -3 = 10-.
Failed the DEX Roll.

21:06, Today: Doll rolled 6 (with 1 body) using 3 with the Hero (Champions) system with rolls of 1, 4, 1.  STR Roll, 15-.
But succeeded with the STR Roll !!!

In reply to Doll (msg # 23):

The rushing water knocks Doll of her tiny feet.  But, at the last second, she plants her feet and manages to not travel downstream.She also manages to snap the puppy free.  But the poor thing isn't moving.

Both roll paramedics roll.  Note:  everyman skill at 8- if you don't have the skill.

Nightshade does what she can to help.

OOC
Nightshade rolled 6 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,3,1.  Paramedic 12-

Doll pushes her way through the water, dragging the limp body of the dog alongside her until she reaches dryer pavement.  She talked to it along the way, trying to raise a reaction.

"Hey, puppy."

"Nice doggie.  We're almost there."

"Bowser!  Bowser!"

"Tarina!  He's not moving!" she called out with distress.

"Come on, come on," she pleaded quietly to the animal as she placed the dog down and tried to do... something.  This wasn't something for which she had trained.

OOC:
21:54, Today: Doll rolled 12 (with 3 body) using 3 with the Hero (Champions) system with rolls of 2, 5, 5.  Paramedics Roll, 8-.

Lucky that Nightshade seems to know what she's doing.  Otherwise, this might be the origin story as to how Max decided to become a supervillain when the two so-called-superheroes failed to save his dog!

In reply to Doll (msg # 26):

After Doll set the waterlogged pooch down and was unsuccessful in her efforts to bring the puppy around, Tarina sat down, carefully rested three fingers of one hand on the dog's chest, and gingerly brought the canine into her own lap.

Taking a moment to tenderly feel the small dog's body with her other hand, she then quickly covered Bowswer's nose and muzzle with her mouth, alternating between breathing air into the dog's body and massaging its chest with her fingers.

Between breaths she encouraged, ”Come on Bowser, breathe for me, give us a little bark so we know that you'll be alright.”

Turning quickly to Doll, after the next breath she asked, “Doll, if you're doing alright please use my cell phone, call Dr. Zaleska, and tell her about our situation.”

Doll stood at Nightshade's side, rocking back and forth and watching intently as she stepped in and took over the care of the animal.  Something about seeing the helpless little animal and her inability to provide aid brought back memories of feeling small and helpless too.

It wasn't until Nightshade addressed her directly that she broke out of this trancelike state.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied as though coming out of a daydream.  Pulling out Nightshade's phone as she was directed, the tiny woman scrolled through the list of contacts.

"Dr. Zaleska, is she a veterinarian?" she asked as she pressed the button to automatically dial up the number.  "Which name does she know you by?"

OOC:  If she is able to get through on the phone, Doll will explain the situation and provide their location as well as pass along any questions or instructions from the doctor to Nightshade.

Pausing between her efforts to save the puppy, she quickly answered, “Yes, she's trained to deal with any animal that runs, flies, or swims. She knows me as Tarina, I'm one of her unusual patients.”

In reply to Nightshade (msg # 29):

The dog gags and coughs up water before breathing again.  Despite being a tiny puppy, it should still be larger than Doll. The vet says to bring him in, just in case.

Cradling the tiny dog carefully with one arm, and holding Doll with the other, Nightshade carefully moved back towards the open sewer maintenance hole. After taking a moment to listen and safely secure her passengers, Nightshade deftly leaped up and out of the sewer onto the street above.

Making certain that both Bowswer and Doll were doing well after the leap, she spoke to Doll, “ Are you alright? Please push the Uber button on my phone so we can get a fast ride to Dr. Zaleska's office.”

Looking and listening, she called out to the kid, “Max?! Max?! Max, come here! We've got Bowswer and he's safe. We're going to take him to a Doctor to make sure he's doing okay.”

In reply to Nightshade (msg # 31):

Max is so very happy to have his puppy back.  His dad, who was searching another street, thanks you both and he and Max take Browser to the vet.