Gauss 2.L

18:06 <~Antioch|GM> ...
18:13 +tubes|Gauss was voiced (+v) by ~Antioch|GM
18:13 <~Antioch|GM> ptttaktaktaktaktaktaktak
18:13 <~Antioch|GM> All of a sudden, in the middle of Dragon's briefing about the armbands, their functionalities, and the divisions and grouping of capes by power and capabilities, the sound of rain hitting the craft interrupts -- for a moment, it sounds like machine-gun fire.
18:13 <~Antioch|GM> The Tinker turns up the speaker volume to compensate, but it's readily apparent. They're close enough, and low enough, that the coastal storm swirling around Leviathan is buffeting their ship such that its occupants can feel it shift in the turbulence, ever so slightly.
18:13 <~Antioch|GM> Then the bay door opens, and Dragon's voice gets even louder.
18:13 <~Antioch|GM> "Aerial ranged and support."
18:13 <~Antioch|GM> Axis and Warpath are already prepared, and they glide out of the door one by one, straight into the face of the oncoming gale, Warpath tracing solid, glowing red in his wake.
18:13 <~Antioch|GM> In her seat, Pain Train is hunched over, pushing her right thumb out to form a divot between her thumb and her wrist, emptying out the white-powdered contents of a dime bag with her other shaky hand, muttering something inaudible to herself. ||
18:24 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss has finished humming "Highway to the Danger Zone" and moved on to "Don't Stop Me Now", although it's practically impossible for anyone to hear it other than him over the noise. No matter. He glances over at Pain Train. Well, that was one way to prep for an Endbringer fight. Probably not even a particularly bad one, as far as these things go. Not that he really knew anything about
18:24 <+tubes|Gauss> that. She doesn't really look like she wants encouragement like Bath Boy, though. Also, it would be near-impossible for her to hear him over the howling wind. James would be out of his seat and bouncing off the walls if he wasn't literally strapped down. He can hear Brandon telling him that this was insane, that he was going to die, that he didn't need to commit suicide by Endbringer
18:24 <+tubes|Gauss> to prove he could still change the world, that he didn't have to prove anything to anyone - but he did. He had to prove it to himself. Make a difference all the way. No half measures, no cutting corners. He wasn't committing suicide, he was proving he was still alive. He'd been blown up, spent /months/ under the knife, in and out of consciousness. World destroying monsters? City destroying
18:24 <+tubes|Gauss> storms? Killers of men and capes alike? Pff. Whatever.
18:24 <+tubes|Gauss> He's breathing deeply, in and out, and practically vibrating in his seat, tapping what's left of his hands and bouncing his feet. He's ready to go, the adrenaline hitting a peak. ||
18:25 ⇐ pinkmobile quit (uid208117@brockwell.irccloud.com) Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
18:28 <~Antioch|GM> The craft empties further, cape by cape. Pain Train's "Artillery" with Van Helsing, while Ace of Space, Bath Boy and Princess December are something about area control -- he misses it, too inwardly focused on his own thoughts and adrenaline, then on and on, and he's one of the few left in the craft.
18:28 <~Antioch|GM> "Second Line," the craft announces. Several capes stand. Acacia, Anthem, he recognizes those Protectorate capes. Scrimshaw, one of the SPEC mercenaries. Only two capes remain where they are. Lionheart and Holmgang.
18:28 <~Antioch|GM> They must be waiting for the frontline. ||
18:31 <~Antioch|GM> ** Ace of Space, Bath Boy, Goldenrod, and Princess December
18:31 Azrael0037 → Az|Away
18:36 <+tubes|Gauss> Was he supposed to be front or second? They weren't very clear. Gauss thinks about who does what. Well, Lionheart had some kind of invincibility. Holmgang did that dome-thingy, though he wasn't real clear exactly how durable he was. Gauss is pretty sure his power mostly involves punching things, but he's also not too keen on banking on being able to ramp it up enough to trade punches
18:36 <+tubes|Gauss> with Leviathan. He figures the aura thing is closer in effect to Acaia's root-armor-thingy, and stands with the Second Line. ||
18:36 → Turncoat joined (uid185268@ealing.irccloud.com)
18:39 <~Antioch|GM> Acacia's armor immediately starts growing over her, bursting out of her skin and shredding the fabric of her bodysuit as she descends the craft's ramp, Anthem following behind. The roar of the storm and rain is muffled by a dull buzz, and he realizes that Anthem's armor is projecting a sonic field that disperses the raindrops before they touch her. ||
18:46 <+tubes|Gauss> Following in their lead, Gauss reaches for his power. He waits to get a look at the battleground before he flares it. ||
18:50 soulpelt|Wink → soulpelt|
19:03 <~Antioch|GM> He's close enough that he can see the churning shoreline through the deluge. Tinkertech levees intersect with organic walls, thick corded vines quenching themselves with seawater, entwining yards off the coast, forming massive breakers, a barricade for the looming silhouette of Leviathan – there's far too much rain to see him outright, but his figure lurks in the distance, floodlights from nearby building rooftops focusing
19:03 <~Antioch|GM> their glare in his direction. Flying capes hover above a beachhead, one hurling blasts that strike the waves much like the inverse of a pebble dropped into a pond. Where it hits, the ripples quieten, but only briefly.
19:05 <~Antioch|GM> His power flares to life, a crackling red cowl of pure energy engulfing his body, magnifying his strength many times over, every simple movement he makes sparking with power. The rain doesn't touch his skin - it's reduced to steam in contact with his aura, and he's soon surrounded by warm, churning mist as he moves to meet with the other Second Liners. ||
19:06 FossilLord → FossisDead
19:15 <+tubes|Gauss> Holy shit. Gauss suddenly has way more juice than he's ever had before. And he's still got more room to go before he hits the peak, he's sure of it.  He nearly stumbles from the extra strength. It's an absurd thought, but he's going to have to close the distance, or a find a place to vent, or odds are he might take out some of his erstwhile allies. Close the distance with that thing
19:15 <+tubes|Gauss> off in the distance.
19:15 <+tubes|Gauss> Him. It. Whatever the fuck it was. The monster. Gauss feels a shiver go down his spine, and he feels like laughing, so he does. At least he'll be dry. ||
19:17 <~Antioch|GM> Mid-laugh, in a flash, it's begun. The Endbringer lunges forward, plowing through the vine wall like it's made of straw, countless gallons of water sloughing off in his wake in torrents. The water echo.
19:19 <~Antioch|GM> The defending heroes' reactions are quick to match, and a few activate their powers in preparation. Hands down, sand flares red-hot, cooling to glass. Three forcefields rotating about one cape, picking up in RPM. No need to close the distance. Leviathan will do it for you. ||
19:27 <+tubes|Gauss> He can barely even hear the rain over the blood thundering in ears. For all his bravado, he might shit himself. Gauss flares his power. He'd need every scrap he could get to survive first contact. Good thing swimming was part of the physical therapy. ||
19:32 Thaliaway → Thalia
19:36 <~Antioch|GM> His power kicks into an even higher gear, and thin arcs of lightning trail from raindrop to raindrop, fizzling out after a certain distance – the capes surrounding him give him a wider berth, at the sight of that.
19:40 <~Antioch|GM> Then he watches the frontliners do their work. One launches a freezing bomb at the Endbringer's feet, ice crumbling without meaningful resistance, but others capitalize on the moment – a flying cape slams full-throttle into his chest and Leviathan's tail lashes out for stability, ripping the Tinkertech levee to shreds in the motion. A meteor's worth of tangled scrap metal crashes into the Endbringer, golden rings phase over
19:40 <~Antioch|GM> his limbs and constrict them – if they're buying time, it's on the scale of seconds. ||
19:44 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss glances around, unsure what to do. Would there be a valiant charge? Was he supposed to cover someone with a bigger impact? He tries to hold on to the manic high from earlier, but it's hard going in the face of the monster, not even going toe-to-toe with the heavyweights, but outright ignoring them. Where was the right thing here? He might as well be giving a ticket to a hurricane
19:44 <+tubes|Gauss> for illegal dumping.
19:44 <+tubes|Gauss> He gets more angry at the faltering of his own will than anything else. There were millions of people behind this thin line of capes. Every second they bought here was a life saved. Every second was worth the effort.
19:44 <+tubes|Gauss> He knows he has to have a limit somewhere. He saves the next flare for when the monster gets closer, prepares to fire it up even more. If he popped, at the very least, he needed to make sure it all hit Leviathan. ||
19:50 ⇐ Druza quit (uid209687@charlton.irccloud.com) Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
20:11 <~Antioch|GM> The Tinkertech levee starts knitting itself back together, devouring scraps from the tangle of metal that struck Leviathan moments before, reconfiguring itself so the waves pouring off of the Endbringer aren't reflected off of it and redirected back towards shore -- they're contracting, forming a rising barrier primed to encircle the Endbringer.
20:11 <~Antioch|GM> Another delay, another one or two seconds bought.
20:11 <~Antioch|GM> The frontliners take action, and he can see Holmgang's domes erupting from the sand, small stumbling stones from Leviathan's perspective. The Endbringer crashes through the levee, into the beachhead, and melee combatants in the front line throw themselves into the fray. ||
20:17 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss glances around again, seeing if anyone else in the second line is moving. If not, he holds. Last thing he needed to do was charge forward, fuck up some strategy, and get himself and a whole bunch of other people killed. He feels like he's drowning and boiling at the same time in the thick cloud of steam around him. Probably only a trick of the mind. He'd be drowning for real soon
20:17 <+tubes|Gauss> enough if he wasn't careful.
20:17 <+tubes|Gauss> Couldn't be any worse than getting blown up. ||
20:24 → iridium248 joined  ⇐ Thaydean quit
20:36 <~Antioch|GM> The cluster of capes at Leviathan's feet is too crowded for more melee combatants to throw themselves into the fray, but as Leviathan fights, he moves inexorably closer to Rio proper, and the second line repositions themselves, moving to interpose Leviathan's path. ||
20:41 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss follows everyone's lead. Jesus christ. It was fucking huge. Why the hell was he here? Why the hell was anyone here?
20:41 <+tubes|Gauss> Oh, yeah. It was the right thing to do. Fuck it. Gauss stands ready. If Leviathan charges again, he's going to flare his power again and go up swinging. Nobody was going down if he could help it. ||
20:51 → Thaydean and CaptNameless joined
21:06 <~Antioch|GM> The Endbringer's tail scythes through the capes in front, and shortly after, a whipcord of water slashes at all the capes still upright, swinging wider than the tail, and the second wave moves to defend themselves against it.
21:06 <~Antioch|GM> "Get down!" a voice shouts from somewhere in front of him, as his armband rattles off the names of the capes that were just downed. ||
21:06 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss hits the deck. ||
21:07 ⇐ JustLurking quit (uid195947@hathersage.irccloud.com) Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
21:19 <~Antioch|GM> He doesn't so much sense something swinging overhead as he feels the water turn to steam, roiling off of him, practically disintegrating in contact with his aura. By the time his vision returns, his surroundings lit by the red glow of his power, some of the capes nearby have already picked themselves up, ready to engage the Endbringer, filling the gap left behind by the downed frontliners. ||
21:31 <+tubes|Gauss> Shit. Here it comes. Given the effect his aura had had on the water, he might have been able to take that hit, but better not to find out. Gauss picks himself up off the ground, stepping forward to fill the gap, then jogging, then running, opening up the valve on his power again. Given the pace so far, he was only going to get one swing at this. Better make it count. Gauss feels a yell
21:31 <+tubes|Gauss> start to rise, and gives into it, because he was literally about to try to uppercut fucking Leviathan. ||
21:38 <~Antioch|GM> As he moves, he feels his aura start to solidify, transform into something he can warp and mold to his own will. Instead of the soles of his shoe hitting the glassy shore, now he's towering above the ground, aura a massive, corporeal suit of armor.
21:38 <~Antioch|GM> Above the crackle and the storm, he can hear repetitive bass thrums, ear-poundingly loud and surely louder were they aimed at him, sheer force of sound disintegrating the water sloughing off Leviathan and pooling at his feet. ||
21:47 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss is heady with power, with adrenaline, with terror and sheer mania, drunk on it. This was it. This was it. This. Was. It. Enviromentalism, poverty, hunger - What did any of those matter, when there was a monster fight in front of you, as distinctively evil as anything could ever be. Every natural disaster, every plague, every famine personified. Except this time, he could fight
21:47 <+tubes|Gauss> back. Gauss flexes, feeling his aura harden and shape itself. He doesn't go for anything fancy, morphing it into something firmer, something sharper around his hands and forearms as he steadily continues the advance. Gauntlets of sharp edges and points, of hard plates. He forces himself to keep pace, to not rush it. Every second the monster spent walking towards them was one more second
21:47 <+tubes|Gauss> civilians gained to escape, one more second for Scion to arrive and drive the bastard back. Maybe even kill it. James'll fight for those seconds. ||
22:02 <~Antioch|GM> And then he's face to face with the watery bastard himself -- well, face to gut. Even with his aura, he's still shorter than Leviathan's lanky, clawed arms.
22:02 <~Antioch|GM> There's a flurry of gold flecks storming in the area -- his power burns them almost straightaway, but they're clinging to the Endbringer, accumulating, glinting from the floodlight's illumination. Closer to his head, he's struck with projectiles, none of which do any meaningful damage -- and then a massive chunk of metal slams into his head, doing no damage whatsoever, but immediately deforms to cover it like a skintight sheet
22:02 <~Antioch|GM> of aluminum foil. ||
22:06 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss is yelling at this point. He's not sure when he started. Someone apparently already has the face covered, so Gauss goes in at the bastard's knees - fucked up as they were, he still needed them to move. He slugs his best hook at them, whatever that counted for. ||
22:06 <~Antioch|GM> ((Brawl, please.))
22:08 <+tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+4
22:08 <+[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [1] +4 = 5
22:22 <~Antioch|GM> It's like punching a wall, for all the good it does. The water pouring off the Endbringer vaporizes on contact, but the blow doesn't even seem to scratch the surface. Leviathan doesn't even react to it, focusing instead on the metal clinging to his face. ||
22:31 <+tubes|Gauss> You've got to be fucking shitting me. He couldn't even get the fucker to notice him?!? He'd had less fucking impact on the monster than the walls he'd had to wade through to get here. Gauss goes for a hard stomp at the ankle, or whatever you call it, putting all his weight behind it. The face thing seemed to be working, if he could get the monster's attention- ||
22:38 <+tubes|Gauss> ((Not before adding some cleat-spikes to the 'boot'))
22:39 <~Antioch|GM> |||
22:39 Antioch|GM → ~Antioch
22:40 ← iridium248 left  ⇐ Thaydean and Dol|mobile quit  •  tubes|Gauss → +tubes, FaustAndAbout → Faustus
Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
00:48 → Druza, Dol|mobile, JustLurking and Thaydean joined  ⇐ Teller, CaptNameless and Saff quit  ↔ pinkmobile popped in  ↔ Camtist, Turncoat, Lysa, ColdGold and ThalAI nipped out  •  Thalia → Thaliaway, soulpelt| → soulpelt|sleep, Faustus → FaustAsleep, Az|Away → Az|Meeting, FossisDead → FossIsDead
12:14 Antioch → ~Antioch|Evie
12:14 → Bel, Divock, Saff|Cwn (was Saff) and tubes2go joined  ⇐ Cam|Driving (was Camtist) and Thaydean quit  ↔ Woden popped in  •  ColdGold → ColdGold|GM, soulpelt|sleep → soulpelt|, Druza → Druza, FaustAsleep → Faustus|Ichor, Az|Meeting → Az|GM
16:48 <tubes2go> $roll 1d6+4
16:48 <+[ATM]> tubes2go [3] +4 = 7
16:49 <~Antioch|Evie> Thanks!
16:54 → Nonagon|PC joined  ⇐ tubes2go quit  •  soulpelt| → soulpelt|nap
17:18 → Teller, Camtist, iridium248 and CaptNameless joined  ⇐ Bel, Dol|mobile, JustLurking and ThalAI quit  ↔ Druza and Nonagon nipped out  •  Thaliaway → Thalia, soulpelt|nap → soulpelt|work, Saff|Cwn → Saff, Faustus|Ichor → Faustus, Az|GM → Az|Zzzz
23:54 Antioch|Evie → ~Antioch
23:54 ColdGold|GM → ColdGold
Thursday, August 17th, 2017
00:02 → Bel, ThalAI and JustLurking joined  ⇐ iridium248, FossIsDead and CaptNameless quit  ↔ tubes2go popped in  ↔ Camtist, Turncoat, Nick, Teller, Lysa, Divock, ColdGold, Saff|Storm (was Saff), Pink and Druza nipped out  •  Thalia → Thaliaway, Az|Zzzz → Azrael0037, Faustus → Faustus|GM, soulpelt|work → soulpelt|
18:26 Antioch → ~Antioch|GM
18:26 <~Antioch|GM> ...
18:26 tubes → +tubes|GM
18:27 <~Antioch|GM> Thwam. It isn't much, but in tandem with the blows raining onto the monster's face, they're able to prevent Leviathan's inexorable assault for a brief moment.
18:27 tubes|GM → +tubes|Gauss
18:28 <~Antioch|GM> There's more metal slamming into it, some glancing off, others clinging, some even melting down and cooling into a coat. Lightning arcs from his aura to some of the metal patches on him to little effect, looking much like a Van de Graaff generator.
18:29 <~Antioch|GM> Then the moment of hesitation is over, and the Endbringer moves forward, treating the capes at his feet -- Gauss included -- like the minor impediments they are. Up close, he can see that much of the metal that's covering him is comprised of small, gold flecks. ||
18:40 <+tubes|Gauss> It was working! They were stopping- Fuck!
18:40 <+tubes|Gauss> The thought is immediately cut off as the monster starts to surge forward again.
18:40 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss feels strong, stronger than he's ever felt before. And that wasn't even counting the lightning and magic aura armor. He was gonna clock this sucker a good one.
18:40 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss takes a few steps to wind up, shaping the armor on his right hand to have a sort of spiked knuckle-duster on it
18:40 <+tubes|Gauss> Then, with all the strength he can muster, he leaps at the monster's face, intending to knock it's block off. Flying uppercut.  ||
18:40 <~Antioch|GM> ((Brawn.))
18:42 <+tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+4
18:42 <+[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [1] +4 = 5
18:44 <~Antioch|GM> He doesn't hit the monster square on the jaw, but he's big enough to the point where it hardly matters. The force behind the blow is relatively pitiful, bearing his heightened power in mind, yet somehow there's still a notable amount of give. A legion of ghostly soldiers press the assault on all sides, while two Alexandria packages (wait, is that Alexandria herself?) slam into his side in tandem, every action intended to shove
18:44 <~Antioch|GM> him back, off-balance.
18:45 → Dolyn joined (Dolyn@net-9pf5lr.mo.charter.com)
18:45 <~Antioch|GM> And it works, somehow -- when he connected with the punch, it felt like the Endbringer was lighter than usual, there was more give -- did he knock it a foot or two in the air, or is he imagining it? ||
18:51 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss lands with a thunk, laughing, though it's barely audible over the howling gale and the noise of battle. With no time to waste, he follows it up while the other capes press the attack, and tries his luck at another hook at the monster's knee. Drive it back. Buy time. Win.
18:51 <+tubes|Gauss> He hopes someone got that on video. ||
18:56 <~Antioch|GM> Then, he hears something, the whistling of a projectile, but echoed by a deeper bass thrum. A massive sheet of metal crashes into the Endbringer, wrapping around much of his body and crumpling onto it, and even once it comes to a stop it still continues shoving him back, as if an unseen force continued to act on it. More capes join in, aiming high and hoping to combine enough force to topple Leviathan off-balance. ||
18:59 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss keeps up a flurry of blows, trying to capitalize on the opening. He's no pugilist, but with enough force, it's gotta do something. He focuses on the knee and ankle bits with stomp-kicks, straights, and hooks, with all the force he can muster. ||
19:01 <~Antioch|GM> ((Two Brawns, please.))
19:04 <+tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+4 brawn
19:04 <+[ATM]> tubes|Gauss "brawn" [2] +4 = 6
19:04 <+tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+4 brawn
19:04 <+[ATM]> tubes|Gauss "brawn" [5] +4 = 9
19:06 <~Antioch|GM> One, then two punches, putting his whole back into it -- he's feeling power well up from within, unbidden, and he feels like he's reaching critical mass, so to speak. As if to emphasize the point, his aura glows white-hot, but as he lands his blows, they seem to be making an impact, driving Leviathan back one step, then two.
19:07 <~Antioch|GM> Then the Endbringer lowers its head, expelling enough water to slough off the metal caking its skin, and charges forward, the water echo behind him doing much the same, making up lost ground in seconds, headed straight towards him.
19:08 <~Antioch|GM> ((Withstand. Armor bonus applies here.))
19:12 <+tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+5
19:12 <+[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [6] +5 = 11
19:16 <~Antioch|GM> The Endbringer gets close enough to him to slam him with one clawed foot, then the water echo surging behind him slams him with the full force of a point-blank tidal wave. He soars through the air, flying hundreds of stomach-inverting yards before crashing bodily into some building.
19:16 <~Antioch|GM> Still bone-dry, more or less unscathed, and somewhat dizzy -- then his armor blows up, all at once. ||
19:16 <~Antioch|GM> $moderate burn
19:16 <+[ATM]> [Torso] [Any 3] Screaming: Subject must make Guts (morale) roll to do more than scream and flail.  Suffer PAIN, affecting all rolls, for 2 rounds.
19:16 <~Antioch|GM> ((Guts, baseline roll. Willpower would apply.))
19:18 <+tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6
19:18 <+[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [1]  = 1
19:18 <~Antioch|GM> ((You're in a good amount of pain, but feel free to act.))
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19:28 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss slams into the Endbringer with all his might. One, two, take that, you fucker -
19:28 <+tubes|Gauss> Just as he's winding up to kick at it's knee again, he sees it start to move, and realizes it's already far too late.
19:28 <+tubes|Gauss> He doesn't even have time to curse as he goes flying through the air. Shit, this was going to-
19:28 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss crashes deep into some random building, impact and force knocking him silly.
19:28 <+tubes|Gauss>  It takes Gauss a moment to get his bearings, dizzy and disoriented. Another few moments to come to the realization he's not in itty bitty pieces after being literally punted by an Endbringer. He starts to laugh again. That's when his armor explodes. He doesn't even get a chance to ponder this like he does the punt, because he was on fire.
19:28 <+tubes|Gauss> 'Oh god, oh god, aghhh, he was on fire' sums up most of it. Vocally, Gauss screams as he tries to stumble his way outside into the rain to put himself out. ||
19:34 <~Antioch|GM> The rain cools him off some, but whatever damage his power dealt to him, it seems to have been internal. There's no burns on his skin that he can see, but it's an opportunity to take a breather and build up his armor again.
19:34 <~Antioch|GM> There's a vague sense of irony that thus far, his power's done more damage to him than Leviathan has -- it's interrupted by his armband recounting the death toll.
19:34 <~Antioch|GM> "... Desvendar down, FH-3. Goldenrod deceased, FI-6, Malhador deceased, FH-3, Thin Man deceased, FH-3." ||
19:36 ↔ Dolyn (was Dol) nipped out  •  Divock → Divock|LilBang, Thaliaway → Thalia
19:44 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss spends a moment groaning in pain. At least he wasn't literally being burned alive. Again. Just felt like it. He remembers the scene in like, every movie ever where they talk about how you get used to pain. That was crap. You really, really didn't. He's not too happy that his power seems to be dead set on blowing him up every time he used it. Really, really not happy about it,
19:44 <+tubes|Gauss> actually.
19:44 <+tubes|Gauss> Before he could continue this thought, the armband starts rattling off deaths. Right. Who the fuck cared what he wanted? He was here to save lives. People were out there dying while he moped. Gauss shakily gets to his feet. Hopefully nobody would begruge him a short breather after being punted halfway across the city. He checks his armband to see where he is relative to a fight. He
19:44 <+tubes|Gauss> activates his power again, too. ||
19:45 <+tubes|Gauss> ((the fight*))
19:47 <~Antioch|GM> He can feel his strength returning to him -- it numbs a great deal of the pain, too. His armband still has eyes on Leviathan and the front line. It might take him a bit to get back, but they're still holding him on the coast, for the time being. ||
19:48 Azrael0037 → Az|Away
19:51 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss doesn't really see much else to do other than start heading back, so he starts lightly jogging. He'd come here to fight monsters, not mope in the rain. Figuring it couldn't hurt, he presses the non-priority button on the armband, and says "Gauss here. Got taken for a bit of a ride, but i'm headed back in, if anyone's got a quicker route." ||
19:52 <~Antioch|GM> "Acknowledged," the armband replies. "Remain where you are for twenty to thirty seconds." ||
19:54 <+tubes|Gauss> That was quick. Well, it beat walking. Gauss stops and remains where he is. ||
19:58 <~Antioch|GM> It gives him a moment to build up his power again, but there's the question of how far he wants to push it. Blowing up in Leviathan's face seems worse for him than it does the Endbringer. ||
20:00 → CaptNameless joined (uid208854@ealing.irccloud.com)
20:00 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss lets it idle. It was easier to get big than it was to let it off, as far as he could tell. He could survive getting blown up again later. Probably. He could definitely not survive another contact like the last one if he lost his armor beforehand. ||
20:03 <~Antioch|GM> Now his costume's damp and sodden in the rain, getting drenched -- he's strong enough that the additional weight barely registers. Shortly after, a cape arrives, decked out in tactical armor, a mask with an unattached breathing apparatus, and a baseball cap, bearing the PRT crest on his shoulder.
20:04 <~Antioch|GM> "Gauss, right? You took a hit from Leviathan and you're still standing straight?" he asks. ||
20:04 <~Antioch|GM> ** his shoulder and the cap.
20:07 JustLurking → Lurks|Dejen
20:11 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss glances at the hole in the building behind him, and tries to flex a few of his stiffer bits. He wasn't exactly eager to repeat the experience.
20:11 <+tubes|Gauss> He's a bit embarassed, all of the sudden. "Uh, yeah, guess so." He tries a grin. "I don't know about standing straight. I was doing a lot of spinning right after I got hit. Definitely didn't land straight." He laughs again. It's a bit forced, but he ends up laughing at himself laughing and it turns into real laughter. ||
20:13 <~Antioch|GM> "Then you should be able to handle this," he says confidently. "Brace yourself."
20:13 <~Antioch|GM> He steps behind Gauss, putting both palms flat on his back. ||
20:17 <+tubes|Gauss> It takes Gauss a moment to parse the response, but he quickly scrambles away from the contact once he does.
20:17 <+tubes|Gauss> "Woah, woahwoahwoahwoah holdonholdonholdonholdon. I need to, uh, turn up the thermostat." Gauss flares his aura. Twice, because this guy was comparing whatever the hell he was going to do to that last hit Gauss had just taken. ||
20:19 <~Antioch|GM> The armor covers him head-to-toe, shielding him from the rain. In fact, much of the water soaking his clothes starts steaming off -- it's a mystery to him why he hasn't burned his costume yet anyways. A trick of his power, or are the guys he bought it from just that good?
20:19 <~Antioch|GM> "Ready now? Don't think I can put my hands on you now, but it shouldn't make a huge difference." ||
20:22 <+tubes|Gauss> Guass swallows a bit. For all his bravado, he'd seen that punt coming and seriously thought he was toast.
20:22 <+tubes|Gauss> "Yeah, go for it." He clenches his fists to stop himself from shaking. It would really help if the guy actually mentioned what he was about to do. Or maybe it wouldn't.
20:22 <+tubes|Gauss> At least his power was drying him off again. Small miracles. ||
20:23 <~Antioch|GM> The area around him distorts, and for a second, it feels as if he's awfully close to the sky -- awfully close to the sea -- awfully close to Leviathan -- and then it all snaps back into focus, and he's /there/, plummeting at terminal velocity straight towards the Endbringer's face as it carves its way through the barricades with claws and tail. ||
20:30 soulpelt| → soulpelt|work
20:34 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss attempts to think of it as a amusement park ride. One that he's taking blind and has never seen befo-
20:34 <+tubes|Gauss> Before he can complete that thought, there's a lurch and all of the sudden the wind is whistling by and -
20:34 <+tubes|Gauss> "Holy shi-aaaaaAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
20:34 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss' feeble attempt at a curse quickly turns into screaming as he plummets down towards the monster. He doesn't see any other option, with the few brief scraps of rational thought he can muster, than to bring his limbs in close, angle his feet right, and pray that he hits. ||
20:37 <+tubes|Gauss> ((going for the goomba stomp, if that wasn't clear))
20:39 → FossilLord (was FossIsDead) joined
20:42 <~Antioch|GM> ((Brawn roll. Take a +2.))
20:46 <+tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+5
20:46 <+[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [6] +5 = 11
20:52 <~Antioch|GM> He slams into the Endbringer full-force, managing to find one of the fragments of metal protruding from its flesh, and hammering it down with all he's got. At the same time, a red-hot molten ball of lava punches into its chest from another direction, driving the makeshift stake further in -- then Gauss falls, and Leviathan turns away, fixed on a distant roof, the origin of the attack. ||
20:55 <+tubes|Gauss> Guass's whole body shudders with the force of impact, even through his armor, and he's still yelling, but now it's triumphant as he kicks the bastard straight in the face -
20:55 <+tubes|Gauss> And then the Endbringer is turning away, completely ignoring it, and Gauss is falling, tumbling really, as he flails to do something other than land flat on his face.
20:55 <+tubes|Gauss> He's still yelling - it takes a few seconds to fall three stories - but he changes tack when he realizes what the monster's about to do.
20:55 <+tubes|Gauss> "Hey fucker! Over here-" but the ground rises up to meet him before he can say more. ||
20:55 <~Antioch|GM> ((Withstand))
20:57 <+tubes|Gauss> ((incl armor?))
20:57 <~Antioch|GM> ((Yeah.))
20:57 <+tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+4 withstand
20:57 <+[ATM]> tubes|Gauss "withstand" [5] +4 = 9
21:01 <~Antioch|GM> He hits the ground hard, and then the water echo crashes onto him. There's little he can do but not get trampled as the Endbringer charges full-tilt straight into the building, sending the whole thing crashing to the ground.
21:01 <~Antioch|GM> "..."Fusão deceased, FH-6. Gateslinger deceased, FH-6. Hedron down, FH-6. Pain Train deceased, FH-6..."
21:01 <~Antioch|GM> ||
21:06 <+tubes|Gauss> Even with his durability, Gauss can't do much more than curl up as he's knocked this way and that. Leviathan's already charged past and through the house as Gauss works his way to his feet, and all he can do is listen to the ever-increasing list of dead.
21:06 <+tubes|Gauss> What the hell were they even accomplishing here? He'd given as big a hit as anyone had to the monster, and it'd been flat-out ignored. People died so he could get that hit in. He feels his spirit start to falter, and has to remind himself of the real threat - the flood.
21:06 <+tubes|Gauss> They weren't just fighting to beat Leviathan. They were fighting to keep it from destroying the city and killing millions more. A life lost here was hundreds or thousands saved inland.
21:06 <+tubes|Gauss> He had to believe that. Had to. There was no other way to keep going forward.
21:06 <+tubes|Gauss> Gauss chases after the monster. ||
[2017-08-24 13:34:21] <Antioch|GM> ...
[2017-08-24 13:36:15] <Antioch|GM> In a single burst of speed, the Endbringer's pushed its way past the assembled front-line defenses, many of whom are still reeling from the water echo's blow.
[2017-08-24 13:37:07] <Antioch|GM> Water continues to pour off from his body in sheets, and the streets have already flooded, sewer systems long-since overflowed.
[2017-08-24 13:38:36] <Antioch|GM> Peering around the mix of wrecked and intact coastal buildings, he can see the inland team furiously erecting defenses, walls of vine gorging themselves on excess water, icicle traps spearing ineffectually at Leviathan as he strides through the wreckage.
[2017-08-24 13:39:28] <Antioch|GM> Gauss has seen the monster move much faster than this, mere moments ago as it charged full-body into a building and its defenders, and Leviathan's advance right now seems almost lazy, brushing aside any attempt to impede him as a token effort. ||
[2017-08-24 13:47:24] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss chases after the monster, but he's not really sure what the hell he's supposed to do-
[2017-08-24 13:47:24] <tubes|Gauss> He'd just dropped kicked it at terminal velocity, and it'd /ignored/ him. What more could he do? Call it names? Oh wait, he'd done that, and it'd ignored that too and gone off and killed like 5 people. Damn it.
[2017-08-24 13:47:24] <tubes|Gauss> Maybe he could like, kick it in the back of the leg and knock it over? That seems as good a plan as any. If plans even mattered for this crap. He's beginning to suspect that they don't.
[2017-08-24 13:47:24] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss charges. ||
[2017-08-24 13:49:27] <Antioch|GM> ((Brawl/MA applies. You're at Lv. 7.))
[2017-08-24 13:50:58] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+3 brawn
[2017-08-24 13:50:58] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss "brawn" [3] +3 = 6
[2017-08-24 14:00:58] <Antioch|GM> He dives at the Endbringer's feet, slamming his leg into it, and the tail whips around like a horse swatting a fly.
[2017-08-24 14:01:06] <Antioch|GM> ((Dodge or Withstand.))
[2017-08-24 14:03:42] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+4
[2017-08-24 14:03:42] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [4] +4 = 8
[2017-08-24 14:05:24] <Antioch|GM> He catches the tail with both arms, water boiling off of it as he makes contact, and it slams him straight into a wall, causing him to lose his grip – and then brace himself as rubble collapses on him from overhead. ||
[2017-08-24 14:11:52] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss manages to avoid getting pasted or bisected, but the impact with the house still rattles him. Then he gets rattled some more when several dozen pounds of drywall and bricks fall on him. He takes a second to reorient, and tries to struggle out of the rubble. How many houses was he going to get thrown into today? ||
[2017-08-24 14:16:38] <Antioch|GM> "Alert," his armband says, muffled by the debris. "You are about to enter trapped sector EI-8."
[2017-08-24 14:17:35] <Antioch|GM> The minimap lights up red, denoting a literal minefield dotted with obstacles meant to slow or injure the Endbringer. ||
[2017-08-24 14:23:35] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss comes to a stop. Well, if they thought they could do damage to an Endbringer, it was probably a bad idea for Gauss to chase him in there. Still, he couldn't just sit here and twiddle his thumbs. He decides to just hit the contact button on the armband.
[2017-08-24 14:23:36] <tubes|Gauss> "Gauss here. Is there a regroup point or something?" ||
[2017-08-24 14:26:52] <Antioch|GM> The armband pings as he shoves his way out of the debris – his power is flashing white, and it seems like it's built up too much.
[2017-08-24 14:27:59] <Antioch|GM> The map displays an approximate path for him to take to a location on the periphery of the traps, most likely to force the Endbringer to continue moving along the area where capes are primed to do the most damage.
[2017-08-24 14:28:08] <Antioch|GM> $moderate burn
[2017-08-24 14:28:08] <[ATM]> [Torso] [Any 3] Screaming: Subject must make Guts (morale) roll to do more than scream and flail.  Suffer PAIN, affecting all rolls, for 2 rounds.
[2017-08-24 14:28:55] <Antioch|GM> Then his aura explodes, thankfully with no debris above it to crush him as it vanishes, but it feels much like his bones are boiling from the inside out. ||
[2017-08-24 14:36:09] <tubes|Gauss> Oh god damn it, not again-
[2017-08-24 14:36:09] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss flails and screams for a moment as he gets blown up for the second time this fight. As the pain finally fades, he lies on the ground panting again. And getting soaked again. He groans a bit.
[2017-08-24 14:36:09] <tubes|Gauss> Endbringer. Right. Gauss groggily struggles to his feet. He's not sure if he can take much more of that. But if he didn't juice it up, he'd get pasted anyway....aghhhh.
[2017-08-24 14:36:09] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss, with much reluctance, activates his power again, and starts to follow the path laid out for him. He stumbles a few times at the deep ache in his bones. And generally all over his body. Ugh. Gotta keep moving. ||
[2017-08-24 14:39:02] <Antioch|GM> He only has so much left in him, he realizes, as he makes his circumlocuitous way around the path that the Endbringer is being led down.
[2017-08-24 14:39:02] <Antioch|GM> One more self-inflicted explosion, maybe two, and he won't even be able to pick himself back up again, and that's discounting the possibility of him blowing up at a very inopportune moment.
[2017-08-24 14:39:02] <Antioch|GM> Above him, he can see capes from above either flying or leaping from rooftop to rooftop, peppering Leviathan with ineffectual blasts. ||
[2017-08-24 14:41:25] <Antioch|GM> * - from above
[2017-08-24 14:42:53] <tubes|Gauss> He could have sworn he built it up further last time, too. So he can go higher in a fight, but the limit varies? That was stupid. And he was still sore. That bone-deep ache wasn't going away no matter how much he tried to stretch out.
[2017-08-24 14:42:53] <tubes|Gauss> ...An endbringer fight was probably not the best place to be figuring these things out. Not that he was ever going to tell Brandon that.
[2017-08-24 14:42:53] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss can't fly or shoot lasers, so he just continues to follow along. Hopefully they had some of the big guns at the other end. He...he really didn't want to go back in for another round. He wasn't even sure if he'd done anything useful at all.
[2017-08-24 14:42:53] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss hates that feeling more than being scared, so he keeps running. ||
[2017-08-24 14:46:10] <Antioch|GM> ((Athletics))
[2017-08-24 14:47:12] → Lysa joined (uid222159@brockwell.irccloud.com)
[2017-08-24 14:48:33] * Lysa → Lysa|GM
[2017-08-24 14:48:48] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6-1
[2017-08-24 14:48:48] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [1] -1 = 0
[2017-08-24 14:49:36] <Antioch|GM> Maybe it's the fact that his aura isn't there and manifested as armor, giving his legs additional reach.
[2017-08-24 14:50:09] <Antioch|GM> Maybe it's the fact that he's bone-achingly tired, sore and muscles burning as he runs.
[2017-08-24 14:50:47] <Antioch|GM> Maybe it's the fact the fact that he just can't fucking outpace a speedster Endbringer who's an order of magnitude bigger than him.
[2017-08-24 14:51:54] <Antioch|GM> Whatever the case, he falls behind as Leviathan wades through the flooding streets, eating traps and bombardments.
[2017-08-24 14:52:27] <Antioch|GM> Leviathan's progress can be easily marked as the armband announces the names – and sectors – of the deceased.
[2017-08-24 14:54:30] <Antioch|GM> "Swiftspear deceased, FL-8."
[2017-08-24 14:54:51] <Antioch|GM> Golden Fang deceased, FM-8."
[2017-08-24 14:55:13] <Antioch|GM> "Bellstriker down, FM-10."
[2017-08-24 14:58:04] <Antioch|GM> "Bath Boy deceased, FN-9."
[2017-08-24 14:58:20] <Antioch|GM> "Eureka III deceased, EN-10."
[2017-08-24 14:58:23] <Antioch|GM> ||
[2017-08-24 15:12:09] → Teller joined (uid168329@charlton.irccloud.com)
[2017-08-24 15:14:56] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss keeps running. There's not much chance of catching up, and he feels exhausted. It can't have been more than minutes since Leviathan made landfall, but it feels like hours. He hopes he can at least get a chance to do something, but at the same time, he really doesn't. He keeps running, because the armband is spitting out name after name at him and he's just stuck here jogging like
[2017-08-24 15:14:56] <tubes|Gauss> an idiot-
[2017-08-24 15:14:56] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss almost eats pavement, barely managing to recover. Bath Boy. Fuck. And he'd even avoided making references to Goose! God damn it all -
[2017-08-24 15:14:56] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss keeps running towards the fight, filled by an urge to do something, anything, if it'll make even the tinest difference. ||
[2017-08-24 15:24:38] <Antioch|GM> The ground trembles, at first, then quakes. A metalwork colossus that puts Leviathan's height to shame, rushing forward to meet him head on. Gauss is still two blocks away, but the sight is easy to pick out.
[2017-08-24 15:24:44] <Antioch|GM> "EAT!"
[2017-08-24 15:24:46] <Antioch|GM> Wham.
[2017-08-24 15:24:50] <Antioch|GM> "SHIT!"
[2017-08-24 15:24:53] <Antioch|GM> Wham.
[2017-08-24 15:24:58] <Antioch|GM> "YOU!"
[2017-08-24 15:24:59] <Antioch|GM> Wham.
[2017-08-24 15:25:03] <Antioch|GM> "LIZARD!"
[2017-08-24 15:25:05] <Antioch|GM> Wham.
[2017-08-24 15:25:10] <Antioch|GM> "ASS!"
[2017-08-24 15:25:12] <Antioch|GM> Wham.
[2017-08-24 15:25:19] <Antioch|GM> "MOTHERFUCKER!"
[2017-08-24 15:25:22] <Antioch|GM> Wham.
[2017-08-24 15:25:24] <Antioch|GM> ||
[2017-08-24 15:30:26] <tubes|Gauss> That was...That was above his weight class. Gauss moves to try and get somewhere that looked kind of useful - maybe somewhere covering some less durable people. Or where he could maybe be useful once...Was that BFT? Was done doing whatever she was going to do. Hopefully punt Leviathan out to sea. Either way, he'd proven pretty tough so far, but he wasn't super keen on getting in between
[2017-08-24 15:30:26] <tubes|Gauss> that. ||
[2017-08-24 15:37:43] <Antioch|GM> Above the fight, a metallokinetic is bombarding the presumed B.F.T. with as much rubble as they can extricate from the city's wreckage, all of which is subsumed into the titanic suit of armor.
[2017-08-24 15:39:31] <Antioch|GM> Other fliers weave in and out of the fight, getting their licks in where they can, driving Leviathan into pitfalls and other hazards. One, an irregularly-shaped gouge hanging in midair, digs away at the Endbringer's leg, flensing away chunks of flesh. ||
[2017-08-24 15:42:37] <tubes|Gauss> They were hurting it, even driving it back some. And Gauss was sitting here like a bump on a log. He's positive he'll only get in the way there. He decides to press the button again. Hopefully there was just a robot on the other end or something and he wasn't driving some receptionist crazy. Of course, if it was a robot made by Dragon, it might have the ability to get annoyed, and -
[2017-08-24 15:42:37] <tubes|Gauss> right, whatever.
[2017-08-24 15:42:37] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss presses the button. "Gauss here. Uh, I think that fight's above my weight class, is there something else I can do?" He feels like a moron for asking, but, well, no stupid questions, right? ||
[2017-08-24 15:44:29] <Antioch|GM> Ping, ping, ping. His map lights up with yellow dots, each one denoting the position of a downed-but-not-deceased cape. ||
[2017-08-24 16:02:32] <tubes|Gauss> Okay. Helping injured people. He didn't know anything other than like, the first aid they'd sort of vaguely covered in 7th grade health class, but he could dig out trapped people and stuff. Probably. Gauss heads for the closest blip, trying to not get distracted by the gigantic melee going on behind him, or all the names of the dead the armband keeps spitting off. He feels guilty, not
[2017-08-24 16:02:32] <tubes|Gauss> being on the front lines, but Every bit counted, right? ||
[2017-08-24 16:06:27] <Antioch|GM> Helpfully, the armband buzzes somewhat as he approaches the first, buried beneath a collapsed building.
[2017-08-24 16:07:06] <Antioch|GM> All the same, excavation isn't happening unless he auras up, which means he'll blow up sooner or later. ||
[2017-08-24 16:11:14] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss hestiates for a moment, then flares his aura. This time he'd be helping someone for sure, as opposed to getting punted back through a building. And he could vent it before he got blown up, since he wasn't going to get punted through a building. Hopefully.
[2017-08-24 16:11:14] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss starts carefully removing the rubble, trying not to shift it too much. He wasn't a geologist, but doing a rush job and squishing the victim was probably more likely to kill them than if they had to wait another five minutes.
[2017-08-24 16:11:14] <tubes|Gauss> ...If they didn't have five minutes they weren't going to make it out anyway. Gauss tries not to think about that. ||
[2017-08-24 16:11:38] * Lysa|GM → Lysa
[2017-08-24 16:13:32] <Antioch|GM> ((Brawn))
[2017-08-24 16:18:21] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+3
[2017-08-24 16:18:21] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [2] +3 = 5
[2017-08-24 16:19:37] <Antioch|GM> The cape beneath the rubble, Bellstriker, looks to be in awful shape. One arm completely pulped by a slab of concrete, pinned facedown in a rising pool of water, they're nonetheless somehow alive, though certainly entirely unresponsive.
[2017-08-24 16:20:50] <Antioch|GM> Their armband lights up in response to proximity, reading "EVAC?" with green, yellow, and red buttons for priority and urgency. ||
[2017-08-24 16:39:17] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss only keeps his lunch down at the sight of the arm becaue he'd seen similar on his own arms. It was...well, from his time in the hospital, he was pretty sure the odds weren't great on keeping it. This was, uh, what did they do? Right, a tourniquet. The bleeding. Air! Right. Shit. Gauss rolls the guy on his back, and tries to make sure he can breathe. Gauss tears off a strip off
[2017-08-24 16:39:17] <tubes|Gauss> the guy's costume and tries to tie it as tight as he can above the wound site.
[2017-08-24 16:39:19] <tubes|Gauss> ...
[2017-08-24 16:53:21] <tubes|Gauss> If he can get the bleeding to slow down, at least, he'll hit yellow and carry the guy to a safer location. ||
[2017-08-24 16:56:26] <Antioch|GM> ((Dex.))
[2017-08-24 16:56:36] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6-1
[2017-08-24 16:56:36] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [1] -1 = 0
[2017-08-24 17:00:35] <Antioch|GM> The mere act of unpinning his arm from beneath the concrete slab causes his blood to flow freely, and the improvised tourniquet, already sodden, doesn't seem to stem the flow whatsoever. ||
[2017-08-24 17:05:54] <tubes|Gauss> Shit. Gauss isn't sure what else he could do. This guy was going to bleed out before he could get him anywhere. He looks for some kind of cord or something to try again. In the meantime, he hits the red button, then hits the contact button. "This guy is bleeding a lot, and I can't stop it. He's going to bleed out before I can even get him to evac. I...Is there someone with a fire power nearby?" Gauss feels his stomach roil at the suggestion.
[2017-08-24 17:07:28] <tubes|Gauss> stop the bleeding, he wasn't going to make it out anyway...Gauss tries the best he can. That's all he could do. ||
[2017-08-24 17:08:12] * soulpelt| → soulpelt|nap
[2017-08-24 17:09:39] <Antioch|GM> ((Gauss can use his aura to cauterize it.))
[2017-08-24 17:11:31] <tubes|Gauss> --||
[2017-08-24 17:12:16] <tubes|Gauss> ((Is it visible enough to do so now, or do I need to crank it up some more?))
[2017-08-24 17:13:52] <Antioch|GM> ((You would need to crank it up some more.))
[2017-08-24 17:15:21] → Woden joined (Woden@net-mc1q4r.nj.comcast.net)
[2017-08-24 17:18:29] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss has a really, really terrible idea. He presses the button again. "Belay that." He flares his aura, remembering the awful burning sensation, and steaming rain. He sees the scars on his hands, and remembers all that awful -
[2017-08-24 17:18:51] <tubes|Gauss> It was either this, or he died. Gauss flares his aura and applies it to the wound. ||
[2017-08-24 17:19:48] * Faustus|GM → Faustus
[2017-08-24 17:19:53] * Saff|Storm → Saff
[2017-08-24 17:21:51] ← Woden left (Woden@net-mc1q4r.nj.comcast.net):
[2017-08-24 17:22:53] <Antioch|GM> $roll 1d6-1 BSGuts
[2017-08-24 17:22:53] <[ATM]> Antioch|GM "BSGuts" [6] -1 = 5
[2017-08-24 17:23:48] <Antioch|GM> He presses his aura against the bleeding wound, boiling away water and then scorching the fabric – and then the scent of charred flesh, the wound sealing, blackened and burnt.
[2017-08-24 17:24:26] <Antioch|GM> The cape grunts in pain, then reflexively curls into himself, vomiting out a copious quantity of water. ||
[2017-08-24 17:28:21] <tubes|Gauss> Oh jesus, that...smelled mostly like meat in a frying pan. The thought makes him sicker than the actual smell does, but he manages to keep it together. And the water vomiting...that was...probably good, right? Hopefully. He hits the contact button, then the yellow evac button again. Hopefully it'd let him change the settings or whatever and he wasn't diverting attention from someone who was dying.
[2017-08-24 17:29:46] <tubes|Gauss> "I uh, I got the bleeding under control. Need a place to take him." And of course, given what he'd just done, he definitely couldn't pick the guy up, so he backs away a decent distantce and tries to vent some power. ||
[2017-08-24 17:30:45] <Antioch|GM> "Evacuation flyer inbound," the armband responds, as he stands a safe ways away, letting some of his excess power bleed away into the rain.
[2017-08-24 17:30:59] <Antioch|GM> There are still a great deal of wounded to extricate. ||
[2017-08-24 17:33:01] ⇐ Nonagon quit (Nonagon@net-84u.kg5.218.47.IP): Connection closed
[2017-08-24 17:34:27] → Nonagon joined (Nonagon@net-84u.kg5.218.47.IP)
[2017-08-24 17:38:56] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss waits a moment to make sure the evac gets here safely - he could at least take a hit for them if nothing else - and then heads to the next injured person. He's not sure if he's helping more or less by not punching Leviathan in the face, but at least he knew he'd saved one life today. That was something. He heads towards the next closest dot. ||
[2017-08-24 17:43:06] <Antioch|GM> A flier swoops in and envelops the injured cape in a forcefield bubble, ferrying them further away from the carnage.
[2017-08-24 17:44:37] <Antioch|GM> The next closest dot is for some cape with a foreign name he can't pronounce. They're not in excellent shape either – their torso's been impaled by rebar, though it's thankfully low enough to avoid the heart and lungs. ||
[2017-08-24 17:49:04] <tubes|Gauss> Oh jesus. Was that really going to have to be a trick he'd have to repeat? This was just getting worse by the second. He's beginning to think he might rather go back to being punted. At least this guy wasn't buried. Gauss approaches carefully.
[2017-08-24 17:49:04] <tubes|Gauss> "Hey man, can you hear me? Are you okay?" Okay, obviously he wasn't okay, but getting a response was some kind of first-aid thing, right? At least this guy wasn't bleeding out. in front of his eyes. ||
[2017-08-24 17:53:06] <Antioch|GM> There's no response. The cape hangs there limply, the only thing keeping them upright the metal they're stuck on. ||
[2017-08-24 17:55:13] <tubes|Gauss> That's...that's not a good sign. Gauss gets closer, trying to listen for breathing or a pulse. ||
[2017-08-24 18:00:40] <Antioch|GM> ((Know- Medical))
[2017-08-24 18:01:35] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+1
[2017-08-24 18:01:35] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [3] +1 = 4
[2017-08-24 18:02:42] <Antioch|GM> He manages to find a pulse, check the cape's breathing by seeing if the armband fogs up when holding the screen up to their mouth.
[2017-08-24 18:03:20] <Antioch|GM> They're not dead, the armband can read vitals and would have ticked them off as deceased were that the case, but even so – that's subject to change. ||
[2017-08-24 18:06:49] ⇐ Wellwick quit (uid211357@hathersage.irccloud.com): Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
[2017-08-24 18:07:28] <tubes|Gauss> Okay, so he wasn't, uh, fading or anything...Gauss recalls seeing something about like, firefighters cutting people loose instead of pulling them off. He's not sure that's an option here. Hopefully the guy wouldn't just start gushing when he pulled him off. He's not real eager to repeat the same trick he had to before. He hits the yellow button, and goes to pull the guy off, hoping for
[2017-08-24 18:07:28] <tubes|Gauss> the best. ||
[2017-08-24 18:09:49] <Antioch|GM> ((Brawn. You've bled off to level 3.))
[2017-08-24 18:10:17] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+2
[2017-08-24 18:10:17] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [3] +2 = 5
[2017-08-24 18:12:08] <Antioch|GM> He manages to hoist the cape up, making sure that gravity doesn't dig the rebar further into his gut or widen the wound, but all the same, the blood starts leaking.
[2017-08-24 18:12:57] <Antioch|GM> With the downpour happening all around, there's nothing that allows the blood to have congealed over the wound, and given how badly the sewers are overflowing, infection's a concern as well. And tetanus, maybe. ||
[2017-08-24 18:15:41] <tubes|Gauss> Rain. Infection. Sewers. Bleeding gut wounds. He was going to have to do it again, wasn't he. This wasn't what he signed up for at all, damn it.
[2017-08-24 18:15:42] <tubes|Gauss> Of course, he'd gotten his licks in on the Endbringer, and a fat lot of help that had done. Gauss sighs and tries to grit himself as he flares his aura and goes to cauterize the wounds again. If they got these people out, there were healers and stuff that could fix whatever he'd fucked up. Hopefully. But they had to make it out first. ||
[2017-08-24 18:28:31] <Antioch|GM> $roll 1d6+1 EGuts
[2017-08-24 18:28:31] <[ATM]> Antioch|GM "EGuts" [4] +1 = 5
[2017-08-24 18:31:43] <Antioch|GM> Another wound burned shut, and the smell of cooked meat rises over the smell of damp and downpour for a brief moment.
[2017-08-24 18:32:46] <Antioch|GM> Around him, the water in the streets crystallizes into ice and creeps up the sides of buildings, pulling double duty in lowering the water level and keeping half-collapsed buildings intact, not that it looks structurally secure in any shape, form, or fashion.
[2017-08-24 18:32:59] <Antioch|GM> Another evac cape is coming by to pick up the impaled man. ||
[2017-08-24 18:39:04] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss' stomach only turns a little bit this time. You know what, maybe he and Brandon should go for...not steaks, after this. Nachos. Or maybe some soup. He was never going to be able to get that smell out of his nose.
[2017-08-24 18:39:04] <tubes|Gauss> Saving lives, saving lives, saving lives, that was the important part... He spares a glance for the direction of the fight, covering while the evac comes in. Once the guy is out of his hands, he vents and heads for the next one. Had to keep moving, doing something. ||
[2017-08-24 18:42:02] <Antioch|GM> Is it just him, or...? No, it's not just him.
[2017-08-24 18:42:27] <Antioch|GM> The combined onslaught seems to have driven Leviathan two sectors back, pushing him along the same path he came.
[2017-08-24 18:43:13] <Antioch|GM> Good for the home team, extremely not good for the downed people who'd fallen in his path the first time and helpless to withstand another lethal dose of water.
[2017-08-24 18:44:02] <Antioch|GM> Miraculously, it seems B.F.T. is still going at it, still growing larger, spitting out unearthly, echoing strings of expletives with every Sunday punch she drives home. ||
[2017-08-24 18:55:33] <tubes|Gauss> He watches lights on his armband disappear as fight moves through areas with downed and hurt capes. Shit. If BFT is still hammering the bastard, there's not much more he's going to be able to do there. At least they were knocking it back. That had to count for something. This all had to be worth...something.
[2017-08-24 18:55:33] <tubes|Gauss> He goes to the next person in range, not bothering to vent this time. If he had to do delicate work, he could do it beforehand. ||
[2017-08-24 18:58:12] <Antioch|GM> There's a cluster of three capes this time, very easy to see, encased in a large chunk of crystal. Given that the armbands read them as unconscious, it's clearly not breathable -- must have been a last-ditch defense mechanism. This isn't a job for delicate hands. ||
[2017-08-24 19:02:21] <tubes|Gauss> Well, that solved at least one problem. He didn't want to think about the possible after-effects of 'not-breathable'. He was feeling pretty juiced up, not about to hit the threshold, so he takes a swing at the crystal, seeing if he can crack it. ||
[2017-08-24 19:02:47] <Antioch|GM> ((Brawn))
[2017-08-24 19:04:39] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+4
[2017-08-24 19:04:39] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [3] +4 = 7
[2017-08-24 19:05:55] <Antioch|GM> The crystal cracks where he drives his fist into it, though it doesn't outright shatter. Still, fracture points propagate, so he's done the hardest part already. Just a matter of smashing the thing to pieces without injuring the people within, and before Leviathan gets too close. ||
[2017-08-24 19:07:27] <tubes|Gauss> He takes it more carefully this time, trying to knock enough pieces off that he can pull the people out rather. Quickly, though. He could probably take another slap from the water echo, but he didn't want to leave anyone here. ||
[2017-08-24 19:08:25] <Antioch|GM> ((Brawn. You can adjust the modifier as high as +4 or as low as 0.))
[2017-08-24 19:08:57] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+1
[2017-08-24 19:08:57] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [2] +1 = 3
[2017-08-24 19:12:06] <Antioch|GM> He tackles the crystal with a great deal more care. It's slower going than he'd like, but he's able to pierce his way to the bubble within, where the three were trapped, with enough room to tug each one out individually. ||
[2017-08-24 19:14:12] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss hits the yellow button again. If they were breathing, they'd be alright. If they weren't...
[2017-08-24 19:14:12] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss tries to see if they're all breathing anyway. He glances back at the fight and his armband, too, trying to assess priorities. ||
[2017-08-24 19:14:49] <Antioch|GM> ((Medical- Know))
[2017-08-24 19:15:43] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+1 know
[2017-08-24 19:15:43] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss "know" [3] +1 = 4
[2017-08-24 19:18:48] <Antioch|GM> Two are breathing, albeit shallowly, while another isn't breathing but has a pulse. ||
[2017-08-24 19:24:24] <tubes|Gauss> Damn it. You were supposed to do CPR or something here, right? He's pretty sure that if you do CPR without knowing how you can kill someone, or something. He hits the red button, then the message button. "One's not breathing here. Has a pulse. I don't know what to do." He's long given up Feeling awkward about it, just like the fight had long moved out of his depth. Nobody knew what they
[2017-08-24 19:24:24] <tubes|Gauss> were doing here, he was pretty sure. ||
[2017-08-24 19:29:13] <Antioch|GM> "Place on flat surface," the armband instructs. "Tilt head, lift chin, administer rescue breaths until evacuator arrives, ETA 17 seconds." ||
[2017-08-24 19:32:28] <tubes|Gauss> What was a rescue breath? The CPR-breathing-thing? Well, Gauss doesn't have any better ideas, so he follows the instructions as best he can.
[2017-08-24 19:32:28] <tubes|Gauss> He was taking some first aid classes when he got back. ||
[2017-08-24 19:39:07] <Antioch|GM> The armband goes on to detail the specifics in manageable chunks --  pinch the nose, breathe into the victim's mouth, check to see if the chest rises or falls -- but before he gets too self-conscious about if he's fucking everything up, the same forcefield-bubble flier swoops in.
[2017-08-24 19:39:07] <Antioch|GM> "I'm taking all three, right?" she asks. ||
[2017-08-24 19:42:03] <tubes|Gauss> "Please." He says. "This guy's not breathing." ||
[2017-08-24 19:42:51] <Antioch|GM> "Got it," she replies, snagging all three in her forcefield, conspicuously letting their heads all stick out.
[2017-08-24 19:43:32] <Antioch|GM> Both of their armbands go off simultaneously -- proximity warning for Leviathan, who's two sectors away and approaching. Or retreating, but that seems too optimistic of a word. ||
[2017-08-24 19:50:56] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss isn't exactly /scared/...but he hadn't managed to do much other than catch hits, and he definitely doesn't want to be caught in the middle of that brawl. He glances at the evac flier, and looks for a dot not in the line of fire and books it that way. ||\
[2017-08-24 19:59:11] <Antioch|GM> For all the downed he's aiming to rescue, there are more deceased. Not just capes, but civilians who hadn't evacuated in time as well.
[2017-08-24 19:59:11] <Antioch|GM> Amidst the rubble of a building, and it's the first one that Leviathan destroyed, he remembers, there are bodies crumpled and smashed in viscerally disconcerting configurations, and a dull black dodecahedron in the center of it all. unfolding and folding in on itself in a way that doesn't quite make sense to his eye. Whoever he's supposed to be helping evac is... stuck in there...? ||
[2017-08-24 20:10:26] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss feels his fingernails biting into his palms, tries to unclench them before he draws blood, as he heads to his next objective. So many dead. He...he knew that he was barely looking at a drop in the bucket compared to whatever the ultimate toll would be. What was the saying? 'One death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic'.
[2017-08-24 20:10:26] <tubes|Gauss> It didn't make it any less awful. He tries his best to ignore it, not even think about the people he was stepping over. Can't even think of them as people. Just, just think of them as more rubble. Red, pulped -  They were lost. There was still others to save. Had to focus. He was doing something useful. Saving somebody. Every step they pummeled Leviathan back out was more people saved
[2017-08-24 20:10:26] <tubes|Gauss> inland. A cape saved was someone who lived to fight another day. Those were the only thoughts that could keep him going.
[2017-08-24 20:10:26] <tubes|Gauss> Great. What was he supposed to do here? He certainly didn't want to touch it, if it had protected the owner from Leviathan.
[2017-08-24 20:10:27] <tubes|Gauss> "Hello? Anyone in there? It's safe to come out." He says, loudly. Not really, but safer than before, probably. ||
[2017-08-24 20:14:26] * Saff → Saffout
[2017-08-24 20:14:43] <Antioch|GM> The dodecahedron continues doing its tesseract impression for a few seconds, then stops, unfolding in a different direction more slowly this time, like a flower blooming.
[2017-08-24 20:14:43] <Antioch|GM> The fight is a block, maybe two away. He unconsciously parses the information before his armband makes the announcement, he knows as soon as he hears the whip-crack of Leviathan's tail and the string of ragged cusses cut off without forewarning.
[2017-08-24 20:14:43] <Antioch|GM> "Blunt Force Trauma down, FG-7." ||
[2017-08-24 20:24:06] <tubes|Gauss> Oh, hell. He glances back in that direction, then back at the tesseract thing. If BFT was down, there was nobody in the way-
[2017-08-24 20:24:06] <tubes|Gauss> Leviathan could finish her off while she was down -
[2017-08-24 20:24:06] <tubes|Gauss> Shit, what should he do - he could take a hit, at least. Gauss spends a precious second watching the dodecahedron unfold, before he hits yellow.
[2017-08-24 20:24:06] <tubes|Gauss> "Someone will come and pick you up. Stay here. I, I need to get back in there."
[2017-08-24 20:24:06] <tubes|Gauss> Shit, shit, shit. He /really/ didn't want to get back in the fight. But they'd just lost their heaviest hitter.
[2017-08-24 20:24:07] <tubes|Gauss> He starts running back towards the fight. Gauss flares his aura, trying to feel out the limit. ||
[2017-08-24 20:26:58] <Antioch|GM> He gets to the point where his aura solidifies, wreathing him in a suit of tangible armor, and there's no great sense of pressure that comes with overloading his power yet. With the added height it gives him, he closes the gap in barely any time at all. ||
[2017-08-24 20:32:26] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss glances around, trying to take in the scene. Trying to trade blows with Leviathan had just gotten him punted out of the fight, so he decides to stick to rescue and look for BFT. ||
[2017-08-24 20:36:41] <Antioch|GM> B.F.T.'s by no means the only cape participating in the assault. There's an aerokinetic that sends bursts of airs powerful enough to create successive sonicbooms -- one when a blast of air is fired, one when it connects -- and other capes are continuing to press forward as well. B.F.T.'s evidently down, encased somewhere in a tangle of metal. He can more or less ballpark where Leviathan struck, looking at where the gouge from
[2017-08-24 20:36:41] <Antioch|GM> the tail was, and it might well be feasible to pry her out from there. ||
[2017-08-24 20:41:12] ⇐ Camtist quit (uid157531@brockwell.irccloud.com): Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
[2017-08-24 20:42:55] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss looks at the fight for a long second - he knows it's stupid, but he feels like he's not doing anything, running around, trying to stop the bleeding. Even if he'd already gotten punted through a building twice, and failed to even phase the creature.
[2017-08-24 20:42:55] <tubes|Gauss> He shakes his head, and goes to pry BFT out. From what he understood, she was an asshole methhead and super-powered drug dealer - and she'd decided to square up against Leviathan for a second time.
[2017-08-24 20:42:55] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss didn't get it, but he didn't need to get it to know that nobody who came out here deserved to bite it out here. He starts prying at the gouge, trying to get rid of enough metal to get at the woman without accidentally doing extra damage. ||
[2017-08-24 20:42:59] * Lysa → Lysa|Mowgli
[2017-08-24 20:44:33] <Antioch|GM> ((Brawl. Take a +2, as the heat from your aura will soften the metal.))
[2017-08-24 20:47:53] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+6
[2017-08-24 20:47:53] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [3] +6 = 9
[2017-08-24 20:49:23] * Faustus → Feastus
[2017-08-24 20:50:15] → Nonagon|PC_ joined (Nonagon@net-84u.kg5.218.47.IP)
[2017-08-24 20:52:35] ⇐ Nonagon|PC quit (Nonagon@net-84u.kg5.218.47.IP): Ping timeout: 181 seconds
[2017-08-24 20:53:11] * Nonagon|PC_ → Nonagon|PC
[2017-08-24 20:55:03] <Antioch|GM> Gauss's heat-clad hands delve their way through the strata of assorted metal, brushing it aside like a trivial obstacle, even as Leviathan continues to fight in the background. Water hisses as droplets land on the heated metal of B.F.T.'s armor, but he's able to find the person tucked within yards-thick layers of metal, knocked out and with a nasty gash that runs from ribcage to hip. ||
[2017-08-24 21:01:36] <tubes|Gauss> That was a nasty cut, but it wasn't 'bleed out where you sit' bad, which meant he could get her out of here. Gauss stops venting heat, and peels her out, trying to run her to a safer location. He presses the yellow evac button. ||
[2017-08-24 21:04:02] → CaptNameless joined (uid208854@ealing.irccloud.com)
[2017-08-24 21:05:22] <Antioch|GM> $roll 1d6+1 BFTG
[2017-08-24 21:05:22] <[ATM]> Antioch|GM "BFTG" [5] +1 = 6
[2017-08-24 21:06:23] <Antioch|GM> "The fuck?" she groans, stirring. "Put me back in. I'm not done yet."
[2017-08-24 21:06:23] <Antioch|GM> Big words from a rail-thin chick wearing a ruined tank top and pajama shorts. ||
[2017-08-24 21:19:52] <tubes|Gauss> Uh. "Uh." Gauss glances behind him at the gigantic slugfest going on.
[2017-08-24 21:19:52] <tubes|Gauss> "You're not looking so..." Gauss realizes at the last minute he needs a different word. He can't think of one, so he tries again. "Uh, you're kinda bleeding all over the place. I don't think that's a good idea."
[2017-08-24 21:19:52] <tubes|Gauss> The gash wasn't as bad as the other people he'd seen, but it certainly wasn't a 'let me at 'em coach' injury. He glances back nervously again. This was unironically probably the worst spot on the entire planet to be debating with someone whether they were fit to fight. He could probably make her leave, unless she decided to fight him too. He decides to add something.
[2017-08-24 21:19:52] <tubes|Gauss> "And by not a good idea, I mean that you'll probably die if you go back in." If Leviathan had done it before, he could probably do it again. ||
[2017-08-24 21:20:41] <Antioch|GM> ((Brawn))
[2017-08-24 21:22:20] * Saffout → Saff
[2017-08-24 21:22:50] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 1d6+4
[2017-08-24 21:22:50] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss [5] +4 = 9
[2017-08-24 21:23:08] <Antioch|GM> $roll 1d6+1 BFTB
[2017-08-24 21:23:08] <[ATM]> Antioch|GM "BFTB" [3] +1 = 4
[2017-08-24 21:24:05] <Antioch|GM> "Fuck you!" she screeches, thrashing violently in his grip. "Put me the fuck down! Do you think I give a fuck?" ||
[2017-08-24 21:35:30] → Camtist joined (uid157531@brockwell.irccloud.com)
[2017-08-24 21:38:23] <tubes|Gauss> Given how his power was cranked up, it was more akin to holding a small dog than a person, while BFT freaked out. He felt a little bad about that.
[2017-08-24 21:38:24] <tubes|Gauss> "Well, you should." Gauss says. He doubt she hears him. Maybe it was the drugs. He felt like first aid and psych training would be more useful in these fights than combat training. Unless there was some kind of combat training that could keep him from getting thrown through buildings.
[2017-08-24 21:38:24] <tubes|Gauss> Right, uh, the 'rescuee'.
[2017-08-24 21:38:24] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss decides that, well, since the armband called down, someone else more important had made the call. He forcibly hauls BFT out of the line of fire, and hits the green button when he can. If they wanted to put her back in, they could. Not like the giant pile of scrap was going anywhere. ||
[2017-08-24 22:01:35] <Antioch|GM> The armband notes a rooftop to be used as a drop-off point as B.F.T. continues flailing and cursing.
[2017-08-24 22:01:35] <Antioch|GM> He gets a moment to look properly at the fight, and Leviathan seems to be losing further ground, pushed close to the coast.
[2017-08-24 22:01:35] <Antioch|GM> The dodecahedron from earlier has increased from size, and is being forcibly shoved onto Leviathan's head in an attempt to engulf or decapitate it. ||
[2017-08-24 22:02:20] * Feastus → Faustus
[2017-08-24 22:05:45] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss ignores her and heads to the rooftop, checking the armband for any other rescues. No man left behind, and all that. Leviathan losing ground was good, right? Could they possibly be winning
[2017-08-24 22:05:45] <tubes|Gauss> He wasn't really sure how he felt about the giant dodecahedron. Did that mean he'd rescued someone and now they were helping?
[2017-08-24 22:05:45] <tubes|Gauss> Looking at that thing hurt his eyes, so he decides to just focus on the task at hand. ||
[2017-08-24 22:05:58] <tubes|Gauss> ((Winning?*))
[2017-08-24 22:10:16] ⇐ Thalia quit (secret@net-a1sgs2.or.comcast.net): Quit: "No one ever died from a broken heart. But a heart sliced from their chest while they looked on screaming? Not gonna lie. That's killed a couple people."
[2017-08-24 22:11:46] → Thalia joined (secret@net-a1sgs2.or.comcast.net)
[2017-08-24 22:14:32] <Antioch|GM> It looks like other S&R capes have been doing their job -- there are only three blips on the map and two already have capes en route.
[2017-08-24 22:14:32] <Antioch|GM> He can hear hoarse yelling from the thick of the fight.
[2017-08-24 22:14:32] <Antioch|GM> "DIE! FUCKING DIE! JUST DIE, YOU FUCK! JUST FUCKING D---"
[2017-08-24 22:14:32] <Antioch|GM> "Hedron deceased, EF-7."
[2017-08-24 22:14:32] <Antioch|GM> The fractal monstrosity implodes onto itself, Leviathan not looking particularly worse for wear. ||
[2017-08-24 22:24:29] <tubes|Gauss> ...Damn it. That wasn't the kind of answer he wanted.
[2017-08-24 22:24:29] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss tries to dump BFT into the hands of someone else who could handle her - detriment to society or not, he wasn't going to let her suicide bomb the Endbringer, as injured as she was, especially after the showing she'd made.
[2017-08-24 22:24:29] <tubes|Gauss> It just wasn't right.
[2017-08-24 22:24:29] <tubes|Gauss> Leviathan was being pushed back. He'd get that last person out of the way, then try to rejoin the offensive.
[2017-08-24 22:24:29] <tubes|Gauss> Being able to tank a hit had to count for something. ||
[2017-08-24 22:26:31] <Antioch|GM> In the moments it takes for him to wait on evac for B.F.T., he realizes his power's close to overloading yet again. ||
[2017-08-24 22:31:04] <tubes|Gauss> He starts to feel the flucutations and - shit, shit, shit, no, no nononono-
[2017-08-24 22:31:04] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss glances around at all the injured, and decides to just take the quick way down. Better than hurting the injured -
[2017-08-24 22:31:04] <tubes|Gauss> He jumps off the building and vents. ||
[2017-08-24 22:33:22] <Antioch|GM> $moderate burn
[2017-08-24 22:33:22] <[ATM]> [Head] [Any 1] Blackened: Removes one quality from worn gear as costume is damaged.
[2017-08-24 22:33:31] <Antioch|GM> $moderate bash
[2017-08-24 22:33:31] <[ATM]> [Torso] [Part] Broken Rib: PAIN, torso.
[2017-08-24 22:33:46] <Antioch|GM> ((Guts roll -- no power bonus, Endure applies))
[2017-08-24 22:34:03] ⇐ Druza quit (uid209687@charlton.irccloud.com): Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
[2017-08-24 22:35:19] <tubes|Gauss> $roll 2d6 endure
[2017-08-24 22:35:19] <[ATM]> tubes|Gauss "endure" [4] [6]  = 10
[2017-08-24 22:36:56] <Antioch|GM> It's up for debate which is worse, power overloading and burning off a piece of his /brand new costume/, leaving him feeling like he's just been dunked in molten metal, or hitting the ground directly after, without any protection from his power at all.
[2017-08-24 22:37:42] <Antioch|GM> Through some feat of strength or insanity, he stays conscious through it all, steam billowing up in clouds where his power inadvertently went off.
[2017-08-24 22:38:37] <Antioch|GM> Nobody around him that he sees. Nobody caught up as collateral.
[2017-08-24 22:40:40] <Antioch|GM> "Acacia deceased, ED-9."
[2017-08-24 22:40:40] <Antioch|GM> "Bullwhip deceased, ED-9."
[2017-08-24 22:40:40] <Antioch|GM> "Cota de Malha down, ED-9."
[2017-08-24 22:40:40] <Antioch|GM> "Degenerado down, ED-9."
[2017-08-24 22:40:40] <Antioch|GM> "Empyreal deceased, ED-9."
[2017-08-24 22:40:40] <Antioch|GM> "Tetelestai deceased, ED-9."
[2017-08-24 22:40:40] <Antioch|GM> The way he feels, it's like his name is close to next on the shortlist. ||
[2017-08-24 23:02:08] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss just lays there for a moment, stunned. Why had he jumped off a building again? Oh right. His stuid power wanted to blow him up again. And it had. And there were other injured around. So he'd just jumped and hoped.
[2017-08-24 23:02:08] <tubes|Gauss> And it'd worked. Mostly. Guass starts to sit up, but it only brings on the most miserable pain he'd ever felt, and he immediately drops back down. Well, the skin grafts were worse, sharper, but they'd almost immediately doped him up after -
[2017-08-24 23:02:08] <tubes|Gauss> Anyway, that was probably a broken rib. Then the armband starts to read off names. He recognizes one as an Indy local. Fuck. Fucking, damn, hell. He hadn't done anything to help. Nothing at all. Who had he saved? He tries to cling to the notion that they'd stopped further damage by Leviathan inland, but that wasn't much help when you were surrounded by death and destruction.
[2017-08-24 23:02:08] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss tears up a bit, laying in the dirt. He couldn't even see what was going on from here. Hadn't they driven the monster back? How had it taken out so many, so quick?
[2017-08-24 23:02:08] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss elects to roll over and try to get up, and his vision goes gray. It feels like that takes forever to recover from.  He turns back on his side, and with the assistance of the wall, manages to get sort-of standing. That feels almost as good as lying down, as long as he doesn't move too much.
[2017-08-24 23:02:09] <tubes|Gauss> And people were still out there dying, and here he was hobbling around. His eyes are wet from frustation and pain. He tries to choke it back, but damn it all -
[2017-08-24 23:02:10] <tubes|Gauss> James had to believe he'd done something. Something useful. He'd dug BFT out. Those 5 or so capes he'd rescued. He'd bought time in the frontline, may- no, no maybe. He had to believe he'd done something here. Or else he might as well lie down and die.
[2017-08-24 23:02:11] <tubes|Gauss> He's crying slient tears by the time he presses the evac button for himself. ||
[2017-08-24 23:09:57] <Antioch|GM> It takes a good while for pickup to reach his location, in part due to the proximity of the fight and other evacuees on top of the roof he just dove off of.
[2017-08-24 23:09:57] <Antioch|GM> He's becoming vaguely acquainted with the search-and-rescue flier that conjures forcefield bubbles now -- she's the one who picks him up in the end, scooping him and some errant debris up in a half-sphere.
[2017-08-24 23:09:57] <Antioch|GM> "They're doing it, you know," she says, murmuring. "Winning. The city intact, cape casualties the lowest they've been for Leviathan in years. It's a much-needed victory."
[2017-08-24 23:09:57] <Antioch|GM> Doesn't feel much like one. ||
[2017-08-24 23:19:49] * soulpelt|nap → soulpelt|work
[2017-08-24 23:23:03] <tubes|Gauss> James has managed to even out by the time pickup comes. No use crying over spilt milk. He'd had powers for what, four days? Three? He wasn't even sure. He'd do more next time. He had to.
[2017-08-24 23:23:03] <tubes|Gauss> Except he still looked like a pathetic mess. Red-eye'd, barely standing. The flier had held herself together way better, it seemed. He'd seen, what, a couple of bad situations? She'd had to carry the bad situations-
[2017-08-24 23:23:03] <tubes|Gauss> He reminds himself it wasn't a competition. He'd given his best. Tried to, anyway, Had he ever done any less? He doesn't think so, but with what's happened, he doesn't feel confident.
[2017-08-24 23:23:03] <tubes|Gauss>  She sounded like it wasn't her first rodeo, or however it went. He leans back against the bubble, arm pressed tight against his injured side.
[2017-08-24 23:23:03] <tubes|Gauss> "That's...that's good. I'm glad." He doesn't really feel glad. Gauss mostly feels tired. ||
[2017-08-24 23:26:20] <Antioch|GM> "Twenty-five cape casualties," she says. "Saying it now might jinx it, but regardless, it's a hell of a lot lower than the usual of forty-plus."
[2017-08-24 23:26:20] <Antioch|GM> "So thank you," she adds. ||
[2017-08-24 23:27:12] → Dol joined (Dolyn@net-9pf5lr.mo.charter.com)
[2017-08-24 23:27:18] ⇐ Dolyn quit (Dolyn@net-9pf5lr.mo.charter.com): NickServ (GHOST command used by Dol)
[2017-08-24 23:27:18] * Dol → Dolyn
[2017-08-24 23:37:12] <tubes|Gauss> 25? It feels like it should be hundreds, the way Leviathan chewed through them. It wasn't a small number, but...Gauss was pretty sure more people died from car accidents on a daily basis. Then again, people didn't sign up to get into car accidents. Especially not when they'd been told the odds ahead of time. And they'd saved the city? That was something. The hope he'd been clinging on
[2017-08-24 23:37:12] <tubes|Gauss> to justified, at least.
[2017-08-24 23:37:12] <tubes|Gauss> He hadn't even done anything special or useful, though. Meth dealers had sacrificed more than he had, here. Gauss doesn't really feel like he deserves the thanks, but this wasn't the time or the place to talk about that, he was pretty sure.
[2017-08-24 23:37:12] <tubes|Gauss> "I should be thanking you. You're the one carrying me out." He says, slightly woozy. ||
[2017-08-24 23:39:29] <Antioch|GM> "We can thank each other," she replies, setting him in one of the hovering aircraft, where a cape with a medic band around their arm spritzes him with a chilly aerosolized spray – the numbing is almost instant, but it only exacerbates the headiness and loss of focus he experiences. ||
[2017-08-24 23:40:13] <Antioch|GM> ((Let's make it the last post, before you conk out.))
[2017-08-24 23:51:19] <tubes|Gauss> Gauss manages to get out a 'Sounds good', before he gets spritzed. He tries to ask the cape her name, but it mostly comes out as incoherent mumbling. He tries to sit back up - there had to be something more he could do here - only to get pushed back down. James's head hits the poorly-cushoined deck with a thunk. A far off voice advises him to close his eyes and relax, and, well, that
[2017-08-24 23:51:19] <tubes|Gauss> was really all he'd wanted to do in the first place, after all the crap he'd seen today, and he'd been listening to that armband all day, so this couldn't be any different -
[2017-08-24 23:51:19] <tubes|Gauss> James goes out like a light, moments after closing his eyes. ||
[2017-08-24 23:52:07] <Antioch|GM> ||||