Try-Outs (Day 1)

[sheliakbob]

The day of the announced Pantheon of Superheroes tryouts is just about to dawn.
A crowd of hopeful young would-be superheroes has assembled in Perimeter Park, the green torus of parklands that surrounds the core of the 30th Century Empire City. Robotic drones circle to keep everyone out of the scheduled landing exclusion zone for the SS Tomorrow, the Pantheon's soaring rocket ship headquarters.
The buzz of excitement is rising in the crowd, there are flashes and bangs and odd bursts of light as the teenagers show off their abilities to each other, each CERTAIN that they will make the grade and become Pantheon members.
At the very front of the line, having waited a week already--camped out among the trees ever since the location of the tryouts was first announced, is Groven Tor. He's a smiling young man with curly brown hair and dark brown eyes wearing a reddish brown bodysuit. He goes by the codename "Kangaroo Kid".
Nearby is a beautiful young woman with a yellow and green costume wearing her dark hair up in a retro-beehive fashion. She will shyly tell anyone who asks that she is "Moon Girl", but you can call her Mella, if you like. She's nervous but her father has worked hard and pulled strings to get her here and she doesn't want to disappoint him.
There's an alien boy named Kloot with a very long neck and two rhino like horns on his forehead. Cleverly, he calls himself "Horn Boy", invites all comers to a charging headbutt contest and has NO idea why people keep snickering at his codename.
Another alien, with pale green skin and an enlarged cranium, identifies himself as Dezmon 7, "Encyclopedia Boy" and will tell you the species of every leaf or bug that passes by. He is the epitome of the guy who thinks he's the most intelligent person in the room, and works hard to prove it to absolutely everybody at every opportunity.
Another applicant stands nervously apart from all the rough housing and chatter. He has a shaved head and a small metal ball circles his head, running on a thin wire halo that floats inches from his scalp. If pressed, he tells others that his name is Mnemon Darza. He is Memory Boy, able to control, create, or remove memories at will. His sister has already joined the Pantheon. She's called Amnesia Girl.
You've never heard of her!

[Adminenkainen]

Golden Boy, Liw Sungam, was so nervous-excited that he couldn't stop swinging his hands around. His gold-colored suit matched his gold-colored hair.

He looked around at the crowds, hoping for a glimpse of his heroes. His expectations for finishing the try-outs were low; his true goal here was to just meet his personal heroes, the most powerful superheroes in the galaxy -- Brain Boy and Ghost Girl!

[sheliakbob]

There is a disturbance in the crowd of would-be heroes. You can hear shouting and screams and harsh laughter. From a distance you can see a couple of bodies tossed into the air, at least 12 to 15 feet high. They land hard. There is moaning and shouts of "Get help, he's hurt!"
Soon the cause of the disturbance is visible. A tall, burly boy in his late teens comes swaggering through the rapidly parting crowd. He's wearing a jacket of some kind of purple leather over a black bodysuit, with boots made from the same purple leather. He has black hair with one curl hanging over his forehead and a perpetual sneer.
At his side is a shirtless, pointy-eared alien of some kind with orange skin and blood red leggings. As you watch his arm stretches out to five times its normal length and he smacks a young boy in a white and gold uniform, for no apparent reason. On the other side of the leader is a hideous, dwarfish creature with green warty skin, a hunchback, and frog-like features.
"Look at all the wannabe sooper-zeroes!" the leader laughs. "Not a spine in the lot of you! Learn your lesson today, being a hero makes you a zero! Go home before you get hurt!"
Dezmon 7, Encyclopedia Boy gulps and turns a paler shade of green. "T-T-That's Mykko Molok! He's an Argonian super-deliquent! They say he busted out of Darkside Prison on the moon."
Unable to help himself, Dez adds, "Argonians come from a high gravity world. They've got all the powers of a Xenonian, but without the vulnerability to Xenonite! They're bad news when they go rogue."
There is some whispering and gruff words among the hopeful applicants nearby. Kangaroo Kid seems to be trying to rally some sort of resistance to the Argonian thug and his cronies.
Mella, Moon Girl, pays no heed and steps right up to the ruffian. Mykko looks her over and smiles an ugly smile. There are snickers from the cronies.
"Leave here now!" Moon Girl demands. "Or there will be...Trouble!" she strikes a pose, hands on hips, chin up defiantly.
Without a word Mykko backhands her, hitting her so hard that she comes off the ground and flies several feet into the milling crowd of applicants. There is a wide-eyed look of stunned surprise on her face before she hits the ground and there is the crack of a breaking bone. She lies on the ground, tearful, incapacitated and uncomprehending.
Mykko laughs.
"Any other would be Zeroes here, today?" He sneers.

[dspurrier]

SPEHR had already completed his field tests and stopped a local criminal or two. He gets contacted by the doc saying there are brighter things then just be security for Ferris industries. Doctor Sharp tells him to perimeter park and try out for the new Pantheon of Superheroes. Sharp tells Spehr that he is read. SPEHR is flown out on a jet from Ferris industries and is then taken by car to the park. SPEHR arrives at the try outs and notices some people intimidating the recruits. This is not good behavior so SPEHR moves over to investigate

[Adminenkainen]

Golden Boy rushes over to check on Moon Girl and make sure she's not dying. If she's stable, he rushes over to back up Kangaroo Kid.

"Team up, gang! We can surround him and take him!"

[sheliakbob]

Mella looks up at you, confusion and pain in her eyes. "I'm hurt! I shouldn't be hurt? I don't understand..." *swoons*
A girl in a white costume with a red cross on the chest runs up, "I'm Emergency Girl, I can heal her." and promptly lays hands on Mella's broken arm. "Go on!" She cries, wincing as she experiences Mella's pain. "I've got this!"
Kangaroo Kid nods grimly. "I'm with you!" he says, balling up his fist and glaring at Mykko Molok.
"Me too!!" Shouts Kloot, the Horn Boy. He drops into a stance very like a football linebacker, getting ready to charge horns first into the fray.
"But..." Dezmon 7 mumbles. "He's and ARGONIAN! He'll tear us all apart!" he takes a step or two back.
Mnemon Darza joins the group. "I can only use my Memory Power once a day, so far. I'm saving it for the Pantheon tryouts. But you've got my fists at your side, and I'll Amnesia Ray him if things get too serious. I can always try out another time, it's not worth anyone getting really hurt."
Mykko watches the palaver from a distance. His grin gets uglier.
"I think we just might have some would-be heroes, after all." he says to his cronies. "We might get a little action in today!"
The others look to Golden Boy, who seems to have assumed de facto leadership of the group of applicants. "What's the plan?" asks Kangaroo Kid quietly.

[Adminenkainen]

Feb 21, 2019 4:38:55 GMT sheliakbob said:

"I think we just might have some would-be heroes, after all." he says to his cronies. "We might get a little action in today!"

((He has cronies? I thought he only had one with him in the earlier post, unless more turned up? What are their numbers?))

[sheliakbob]

((He has the orange-skinned alien who can stretch his arms on one side and a loathsome frog-like hunchback on the other.))

[sheliakbob]

Meanwhile, a big applicant in a brown with dark-brown hairy fringe costume spots SPEHR walking purposefully toward the impending altercation. Seeing his civilian attire, he mistakes the android for a random park-goer and intervenes to keep him from wandering into the brewing battle.
"Hold on there little buddy!" He says, wrapping SPEHR in his huge, hairy arms. "You don't want to be going over there. Looks like there's trouble kicking up. Little guy like you might get hurt."
He tries to give SPEHR a reassuring smile, but his big flat teeth and determined grimace seem strangely threatening. "I'm Ollie Aught-Delta, but folks call me Bear-Hug Boy. 'Cause when I HOLD someone, they can't never get away, unless I lets go of them!"

[dspurrier]

SPEHR looks a little confused by the man-bear comments about "little guy'. Then he sees the situation escalate and SPEHR needs to assist. SPEHR moves over to the downed person and sees the woman in the red costume. SPEHR comments, "human you are hurt let me get you out of this situation. You the girl in red let me bring her out of the fight so you can help her." SPEHR gently picks up the hurt woman and moves her away from the combat

( OOC unless this is a 2nd edition rule I believe for the purposes of lifting and carrying superheroes treat the strength score as twice the value?)

[sheliakbob]

Ollie is, to say the least, stunned when the "little guy" he just grabbed hold of (little to Ollie who is nearly 8 feet tall and 500 lbs) calmly walks away, while Ollie is STILL HOLDING HIM! True to his claim, Bear-Hug Boy's hold is unbreakable, but...nothing stops a stronger person from just pulling him along. Ollie lets go and drops off, scratching his head.
"Guess maybe he can take care of himself after all." He mumbles.
Mella looks up at SPEHR, still confused.
"He HURT me!" she cries. "Nobody can HURT me! What's wrong with me?"
Emergency Girl walks along after SPEHR, but basically her job is done, the broken arm is mended. She is still concerned about Mella's mental state, however, as the girl seems to be in shock or something.

[Adminenkainen]

Feb 21, 2019 4:38:55 GMT sheliakbob said:

The others look to Golden Boy, who seems to have assumed de facto leadership of the group of applicants. "What's the plan?" asks Kangaroo Kid quietly.

"You're asking me for a plan?" Golden Boy asked in a hushed but panicky voice. "I thought you had a plan! I'll...I'll stall. You talk to Encyclopedia Boy. Find out if Argonians have any weaknesses."

With a sigh, Golden Boy took two steps forward to single himself out. "Is your idea of 'action' hurting girls?" he asked loudly to get Mykko's attention.

((My mistake -- I had misread that post and thought the froggy guy was also the one stretching.))

[sheliakbob]

Mykko gives Golden Boy a wicked grin. "Yeah. Sometimes. When I'm lucky!"
All the Mobsters get a good chuckle out of that.
Encyclopedia Boy frowns for a moment, then beams a confident smile. "Argonians get their powers by absorbing energy from the geomagnetic fields of planets they visit. Argon has no such magnetic field. They're vulnerable to high power magnetic fields with the same charge as their bodies. Ooh! AND the magnetic power they absorb ramps up all their physical properties, including their SENSES! It takes awhile to adjust to the increased sensory input and..."
"Shut him up!" Yells Mykko.
Sloorn, the orange skinned stretchable alien, reaches out with an arm suddenly fifteen feet long and clamps a hand over Encyclopedia Boy's mouth.
"That's it! It's ON!" shouts Kangaroo Kid. His lower body actually transforms into a kangaroo's legs and long tail. With a shout he leaps into the air, flying at Mykko feet first ready for a devastating two legged double-kick.
Kloot, Horn Boy, roars and lunges forward in a charge, head lowered.
Memory Boy runs at Sloorn, to help Encyclopedia Boy, he's twisting through fluid martial arts movements of some kind as he gets ready to strike.
After a moment's indecision, Bear-Hug Boy begins tip-toeing up behind Mykko, arms wide, getting ready to wrap the Argonian in a surprise bear-hug from behind.

[sheliakbob]

Kangaroo Kid's kick flies wide as Mykko easily dodges to one side with a twist of his shoulder (rolled a 7 to hit). His reflexes are superhuman!
Kloot comes charging in roaring and stomping and, with his head down runs right past Mykko, who just raises and eyebrow (rolled a 5 to hit). "I'm over HERE!" Mykko shouts helpfully, shaking his head.
"This is just sad, you guys!" Mykko laughs, casually lighting up a nicostick.
Memory Boy throws a punch at Sloorn, which the flexible alien doesn't even have to dodge (rolled a 5 to hit). It is evident that he is someone who has practiced katas for hours on end, alone in a gym, but who has never actually HIT a person in his life.
"Okay, my turn." Mykko says, swinging an uppercut at Kloot, who is the nearest attacker. (rolls a 3) He's not even trying and his fist whiffs by Kloot's face, missing by a foot.
"Hah-HAH!" Shouts Ollie, pouncing from behind and wrapping his big hairy arms around Mykko.
"You've got to be kidding me." The Argonian says, nonplussed. But (critically failing his Spells save with a 1) he soon finds his arms pinned at his side, unable to shake off the big bear-man.
(The next round attackers get a +2 to hit as Mykko's ability to move or dodge is greatly reduced. He attacks at -2 unless he can make his save.)
Kangaroo Kid bounces back with another flying kick. He hits Mykko, but just bounces off his Bulletproof Skin, doing no damage.
Kloot can't charge again so he just tries to head butt the Argonian with his horns. Mykko yanks Ollie to one side as he dodges the blow.

Meanwhile, Memory Boy throws another punch at Sloorn. And misses. Sloorn whips his free hand around, spinning his elongated arm about like a whip winding up and slugs Memory Boy in the face, hard. (doing 5pts of damage. MB has 7 total, so he's knocked for a loop and is wobbly on his feet)

[sheliakbob]

(Mykko narrowly misses his spells save and is still held this turn)
Growing irritated, he kicks at Kloot. He hits him square in the chest (doing 4pts damage. Kloot has 5 total, so he staggers away, barely on his feet.)
Kangaroo Kid flying kicks again. He would've missed, but Mykko is at a disadvantage, being held from behind. The kick lands and Mykko definitely feels it. (3pts of damage, but Mykko has 14 total)
Kloot staggers around for awhile (checks morale and fails) before collapsing on the grass to have a little lie-down.

Gronk, the hideous frog-alien squares off at Golden Boy, who seemed about to join the battle.
"Haggah-groonk! Prepare now to face the lethal menace of my mighty tongue..." but before he can do anything, Mella comes running in, screaming like a tiger and jumps on his back. She wraps her legs around his chest and starts beating on his flat green head with both hands. (Rolling a 16 to hit, and doing 2 pts of damage with her wee 1d4 dealing fists. Gronk has 4 hp so he's not laughing that off)
"AAAAAAAHHH! Get her off me! Get her OFF ME! *groooooonnnnnnk*!" He begins jumping and scuttling about, with Mella still riding him and still beating on his head.
Emergency Girl is standing nervously on the sidelines. "Careful! Your arm's not fully mended! You could injure it again if you're not careful!"
After a moment, she puts her hands on her hips and glowers. "You are totally NOT LISTENING to me!" She throws up her gloved hands in disgust.
"*grooooooooonnnnnnk*!" squeals the alien as he goes bounding past you with a wrathful beehive haired pixie on his back. She bends down, fully intending to bite him by all appearances.

Memory Boy shakes his head and considers his next move. (fails a morale roll) Which seems to be falling down in the grass next to Kloot, holding his bruised cheek.

Mykko still can't shake Ollie's bear-hug. He's a little annoyed but not badly damaged so its more frustration than anything else.