On one hand, they've been tagging that part of the neighborhood in general, so it wouldn't necessarily be traced back to Sonya. However, it is something that Sonya might be thinking of when deciding whether or not to go on patrol, so I can't fault you for thinking of that.
Holding Out For A Hero: An Original Superhero Quest
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
On the one hand it would be light easy stuff.
On the other hand, at what cost? Reasonably expected price too high.
On the other hand, at what cost? Reasonably expected price too high.
What the fuck was Nightmare doing?
Ensuring his legacy.
Your Nightmare
You decide to just go inside your workshop once you're done covering the tags. You may fight them another day, but you need to take Gwen trick or treating tonight. Plus, you can knock out a lot of work today. You sigh and go inside. You have a lot do work to do today.
---------------------------------------------------------
That night: 7:06 PM
Mr. Nightmare was on stage in Atlas Arena. Everything had been set up. His bandmates were here. The "Demon Head" prop was behind the band, large and imposing. Fog covered part of the stage as the drummer started the opening beats of their song. The crowd was cheering. They loved him and he hadn't even started playing yet. But, as it had been lately, it felt muted, hollow. As if a fog was creeping over his mind and nothing he was experiencing was quite real.
On cue, he played the first few notes of a song, one of his classics, and the crowd erupted in cheers. The next hour of his performance he was on autopilot. Every rift, every note, every dedication and declarations that he loved this city, he was just killing time.
That was when he came to what he was waiting for. His new song "Riding (Through) The Night." For the first time, the world had a little color as he introduced the song. A genuine smile broke out on his face.
This was his time.
He started playing the same song he had played last night. The cheers were almost deafening. His heart started beating out of his chest as he played the song. He felt like his brain was hooked up to a 5000 volt battery and he wasn't slowing down. The symbols on the stage started glowing as he sang the lyrics to the song. His bandmates were no-doubt confused, but the crowd was loving it.
Then he hit the final note.
His voice seemed to echo as Mr. Nightmare's body was engulfed in electricity. His skin started to crack, branching electrical scars appearing, starting on his hands and spreading throughout his body. His eyes were filled with blue electricity. Even his body started to change, growing taller, more muscular. All the while, he was laughing a sinister laugh.
"You ready to scream, Hartford?!" He called out before belting out a chord on his guitar. The electricity, which was centered on him, shot out all around him. The three people on stage, and the people in the first few rows were electrocuted. the people in the closest rows. Their cheers turned to screams as the lightning coursed through their bodies. He started laughing a distorted laugh, as if his voice was being scrambled.
Cheers turned to screams as the remaining concert-goers started to panic. Some tried to head for an exit. Some tried to climb up to the darker part of the stands to hide. Some ducked down where they stood to take cover. To Mr. Nightmare, it was almost like watching ants scramble around an ant hill after spraying it with a can of Raid.
Still, this wasn't enough. He wanted to make sure that people were talking about what was going to happen to night for years.
He brought his right arm up, and back down onto his guitar, playing a whaling chord, and sending a sonic boom out at some of the fleeing concert goers. Some were launched at the seats and concrete stairs. Others were sent flying, and landed with a sickening crunch. Somewhere in the crowd, he saw one kid, maybe 18 or 19, pull out a gun and aim it at him.
He swung the guitar around so that the neck was aimed at him. A bolt of bright blue electricity shot out and hit him in the chest.
His scream briefly eclipsed the others before it was suddenly cut off. The gun he was holding dropped to the ground, next to a pile of ash, and the boy's shoes.
But he wasn't done. This was just a means to an end. As he started to pick off who he could, he waited for the inevitable Heroic response.
----------------------------------------------------------
Starhammer flew through the skies of Haven's Way, one of the wealthier neighborhoods in the city. Something bad happened on major holidays. Always someone trying to do something "fitting" or "ironic" or whatever. Usually, it was some first timer that they took care of easily, but Headquarters made sure everyone that had two working limbs was on patrol.
No one wanted a repeat of '96.
Besides, as long as he managed to stop someone who was a genuine threat, then at least his time wasn't wasted.
As he flew over luxury apartments, McMansions that cost a lot more than they were worth, and immaculately landscaped parks that people rarely used, he saw people trick or treating. Families, groups of children with one or two chaperones, or a group of teenagers who eye him nervously as he flies past. He could go down there, but he decided against it. If they were up to something, it was probably just normal teenage stuff. Way below his pay grade.
He smiled, and gave some families a wave. As he saw the lights of cellphone cameras, he wondered if he'd see these pictures online tomorrow.
"TOC to Starhammer. There's a Code Gamma at Atlas Arena. Multiple civilian casualties. Suspect is still in the arena. It is being treated as a barricade hostage situation" The earpiece in his ear informed him. He was about to sigh when he went over the words in his head again. Code Gamma. Multiple civilian casualties. He narrowed his eyes. He knew that someone would try something, but people had died already.
He opened a a wormhole underneath himself and dove in as if he was an Olympic level diver.
When he exited the portal, Starhammer was floating above the Atlas Arena several miles from where he was just a second ago. And just like dispatch said, there were plums of smoke coming from it. Dozens of people were already running outside, some injured, a few unlucky ones tripped and fell, only to be trampled by other evacuees. Temple was already in the crowd, trying to get the evacuation somewhat organized.
Starhammer shook his head. Temple still had a lot to learn about acting like a Hero. But at least he was trying. The kid needed more experience. Still, with someone handling the civilians, that meant that he could go in to confront whoever was doing this.
He opened another wormhole and flew through, the other wormhole opening inside of the main stage of the Arena. The smell of burnt flesh hit Starhammer before he even appeared on the other side.
The scene around him was pure carnage. Piles of people, at least several dozen, were dead. The arena was still dark enough so that he couldn't see any of the "finer" details. But the smell of charred flesh told him everything he needed to know. He almost gaged at the smell.
Whoever did this wasn't going to jail. They were heading to the morgue.
"Well, lucky me! They sent the top dog to bring me down!" Starhammer looks on stage and sees... it couldn't be described as a person. It looked like one from a distance, certainly. But its skin was charred black in places. The skin had cracks from which poured a steady steam of black smoke. The eyes were two glowing blue orbs.
"You..." Starhammer said. "What kind of monster..."
"Monster? No..." The creature asked, its grin stretching unnaturally across his face. "I'm your fucking NIGHTMARE!"
With that, he brought his hand down on his guitar, playing a chord. Starhammer created a wormhole and fell down into it, the pressurized air smashing into the stands behind where he was.
Mr. Nightmare grinned and turned to the side where he thought that Starhammer would re appear. A bolt of lightning shot out from his guitar where Mr. Nightmare thought he would be. The bolt hit a wooden wall, causing it to burst into flames. But Starhammer wasn't there.
That was when he felt the ground disappear beneath his feet. A wormhole appeared and Starhammer shot out, grabbing Mr. Nightmare's ankles as he ascended.
Starhammer reduced gravity's pull on Mr. Nightmare, making the man as light as a feather as Starhammer carried him upwards.
Starhammer briefly thought of a one liner he could say, but right now, he was just angry. He decided he'd say that he said something clever later, before throwing the villain at the giant demon-head prop towering above the stage.
Mr. Nightmare sailed through the air before he was impaled into the demon's horn. The sharp edge drove straight through his chest. A black ichor started dripping from his form as Nightmare looked at Starhammer. He gave the hero a weak laugh before slumping.
Starhammer looked at the grizzly scene before him. He figured that such a thing would be made of paper and metal wire, something that would collapse under any sort of real weight. And yet, there this Nightmare was, impaled on it. He... didn't know how to feel about it. Part of him wanted to feel bad, but...
That was when Nightmare's head shot up. His grin as wide as ever.
"You should've seen the look on your face" He said. "Still, the show here is over. It's time to take this show on the road!"
Mr. Nightmare's body started to become unfocused, and dissolved into static. And then he shot off of the horn and out of a hole in the ceiling, his laugh echoing through the nearly empty hall.
"Shit." Starhammer muttered before he took off after the newly minted villain.
---------------------------------------------------------
8:53 pm.
Jasmine Keller, along with about half a dozen people, were oblivious to the fight that had started a few miles west. They were participating in a "Zombie Safari" All wearing AR goggles, they were in the back of an open-topped, slow moving vehicle shooting virtual zombies with plastic guns that would have been in an arcade 15 years prior. The AR goggles showed a dilapidated version of their city. Buildings on fire. Shattered windows and bombed out buildings, clouds gathering in the sky. Sounds of fighting in the distance, simulating other people on zombie safaris, were playing in the goggles.
Right now, the truck was in an area outside of downtown proper, near the a park and a bar that was having a loud Halloween celebration. She, and everyone except for the driver, were focused on shooting the zombies that were pouring in from the park that they didn't notice the fighting in the distance.
Jasmine was hitting zombies, focusing on the ones in front of her, when she heard a scream. Glancing to her right, she saw a zombie had climbed onto the truck and was clawing at a woman in her roleplaying group, who had forgone shooting it and was just flailing in panic. Jasmine got up from her seat to shoot the virtual undead. She was about to jokingly chastise her friend about panicking about about a pile of pixels when Starhammer was shot out of the air by a sonic boom and slammed into the truck. Jasmine didn't know what had hit the truck. Just that she was flipped end over end and sprawled onto the pavement, the plastic rifle snapping in half at the fall.
The driver slammed on the accelerator, and the young woman tumbled out of the truck and onto the pavement. As Jasmine opened her eyes, she saw Starhammer fighting... something. Starhammer put both hands out, and a beam of ice shot out. It hits the man in the chest and it starts to freeze. But he turns into static to escape, letting the block of ice that he been surrounding him fall to the ground.
Then, the villain brought his hand down on his... was that a guitar? Well, he belted out a note and it created a shockwave that launched several cars parked in front of the cantina at Starhammer. Starhammer caught the car that would've hit him, and tossed it to the side. Jasmine scrambled backwards, still on her hands and knees just barely avoiding the car smashing into the ground where she was. She darted down the street and pulled out her phone, hoping that neither person would bring the fight closer to her.
---------------------------------------------------------
"Trick or Treat!"
"Aw... Starhammer's on patrol" The elderly woman says, cooing at Gwen's costume. "Looks like we're all going to be safe with Starhammer on patrol."
Gwen beams with pride. "That's right. I'm here to save the day."
"Well I'm sure with your comrades, nothing will stop you from saving the day. Here's a token of appreciation. Some Starbursts for Starhammer" the woman says before putting a few Starbursts into her bucket.
Gwen looked down at the candy, and puts on a smile for the woman. "Thanks Ms. Goei"
As she closes her door, the three of you head back down the street. "It's getting a bit late" Adrian says. "We should probably start heading back home."
"Come on, just a few more houses." Gwen says.
"We've already gone to nearly every house in the neighborhood. Plus, its getting late. It's time to head home" You say.
"Aw..." Gwen says.
"Hey, the sooner we get home, the sooner you can dig into your haul." Adrian says with a smile.
Gwen starts to pout in an exaggerated manner. She wants to say alright, but doesn't want to admit to it.
"Come on, lets head back home and get you to bed, Gwen."
"But I'm not *yawn* tired" She protests. Still, the three of you start the walk home, just a few minutes away. As you walk and talk, your phone starts ringing. Glancing at caller ID, you see that its Jasmine.
"Hello? Is everything alright?" You ask
"Sunny. I'm near the Sandbar Cantina. Things are... it's really bad. Starhammer's hitting this guy but he's not going down!"
"What?" You ask.
Jasmine watches as Starhammer punches Mr. Nightmare into a car. His body bends in an unnatural way as it hits the vehicle, but he snaps back into shape and "This guy, it's like he's made of energy or something."
[] Go downtown to help fight... whatever this is.
[] Go home and stay safe. You're sure that Starhammer has this.
[] Write in.
---------------------------------------------------------
That night: 7:06 PM
Mr. Nightmare was on stage in Atlas Arena. Everything had been set up. His bandmates were here. The "Demon Head" prop was behind the band, large and imposing. Fog covered part of the stage as the drummer started the opening beats of their song. The crowd was cheering. They loved him and he hadn't even started playing yet. But, as it had been lately, it felt muted, hollow. As if a fog was creeping over his mind and nothing he was experiencing was quite real.
On cue, he played the first few notes of a song, one of his classics, and the crowd erupted in cheers. The next hour of his performance he was on autopilot. Every rift, every note, every dedication and declarations that he loved this city, he was just killing time.
That was when he came to what he was waiting for. His new song "Riding (Through) The Night." For the first time, the world had a little color as he introduced the song. A genuine smile broke out on his face.
This was his time.
He started playing the same song he had played last night. The cheers were almost deafening. His heart started beating out of his chest as he played the song. He felt like his brain was hooked up to a 5000 volt battery and he wasn't slowing down. The symbols on the stage started glowing as he sang the lyrics to the song. His bandmates were no-doubt confused, but the crowd was loving it.
Then he hit the final note.
His voice seemed to echo as Mr. Nightmare's body was engulfed in electricity. His skin started to crack, branching electrical scars appearing, starting on his hands and spreading throughout his body. His eyes were filled with blue electricity. Even his body started to change, growing taller, more muscular. All the while, he was laughing a sinister laugh.
"You ready to scream, Hartford?!" He called out before belting out a chord on his guitar. The electricity, which was centered on him, shot out all around him. The three people on stage, and the people in the first few rows were electrocuted. the people in the closest rows. Their cheers turned to screams as the lightning coursed through their bodies. He started laughing a distorted laugh, as if his voice was being scrambled.
Cheers turned to screams as the remaining concert-goers started to panic. Some tried to head for an exit. Some tried to climb up to the darker part of the stands to hide. Some ducked down where they stood to take cover. To Mr. Nightmare, it was almost like watching ants scramble around an ant hill after spraying it with a can of Raid.
Still, this wasn't enough. He wanted to make sure that people were talking about what was going to happen to night for years.
He brought his right arm up, and back down onto his guitar, playing a whaling chord, and sending a sonic boom out at some of the fleeing concert goers. Some were launched at the seats and concrete stairs. Others were sent flying, and landed with a sickening crunch. Somewhere in the crowd, he saw one kid, maybe 18 or 19, pull out a gun and aim it at him.
He swung the guitar around so that the neck was aimed at him. A bolt of bright blue electricity shot out and hit him in the chest.
His scream briefly eclipsed the others before it was suddenly cut off. The gun he was holding dropped to the ground, next to a pile of ash, and the boy's shoes.
But he wasn't done. This was just a means to an end. As he started to pick off who he could, he waited for the inevitable Heroic response.
----------------------------------------------------------
Starhammer flew through the skies of Haven's Way, one of the wealthier neighborhoods in the city. Something bad happened on major holidays. Always someone trying to do something "fitting" or "ironic" or whatever. Usually, it was some first timer that they took care of easily, but Headquarters made sure everyone that had two working limbs was on patrol.
No one wanted a repeat of '96.
Besides, as long as he managed to stop someone who was a genuine threat, then at least his time wasn't wasted.
As he flew over luxury apartments, McMansions that cost a lot more than they were worth, and immaculately landscaped parks that people rarely used, he saw people trick or treating. Families, groups of children with one or two chaperones, or a group of teenagers who eye him nervously as he flies past. He could go down there, but he decided against it. If they were up to something, it was probably just normal teenage stuff. Way below his pay grade.
He smiled, and gave some families a wave. As he saw the lights of cellphone cameras, he wondered if he'd see these pictures online tomorrow.
"TOC to Starhammer. There's a Code Gamma at Atlas Arena. Multiple civilian casualties. Suspect is still in the arena. It is being treated as a barricade hostage situation" The earpiece in his ear informed him. He was about to sigh when he went over the words in his head again. Code Gamma. Multiple civilian casualties. He narrowed his eyes. He knew that someone would try something, but people had died already.
He opened a a wormhole underneath himself and dove in as if he was an Olympic level diver.
When he exited the portal, Starhammer was floating above the Atlas Arena several miles from where he was just a second ago. And just like dispatch said, there were plums of smoke coming from it. Dozens of people were already running outside, some injured, a few unlucky ones tripped and fell, only to be trampled by other evacuees. Temple was already in the crowd, trying to get the evacuation somewhat organized.
Starhammer shook his head. Temple still had a lot to learn about acting like a Hero. But at least he was trying. The kid needed more experience. Still, with someone handling the civilians, that meant that he could go in to confront whoever was doing this.
He opened another wormhole and flew through, the other wormhole opening inside of the main stage of the Arena. The smell of burnt flesh hit Starhammer before he even appeared on the other side.
The scene around him was pure carnage. Piles of people, at least several dozen, were dead. The arena was still dark enough so that he couldn't see any of the "finer" details. But the smell of charred flesh told him everything he needed to know. He almost gaged at the smell.
Whoever did this wasn't going to jail. They were heading to the morgue.
"Well, lucky me! They sent the top dog to bring me down!" Starhammer looks on stage and sees... it couldn't be described as a person. It looked like one from a distance, certainly. But its skin was charred black in places. The skin had cracks from which poured a steady steam of black smoke. The eyes were two glowing blue orbs.
"You..." Starhammer said. "What kind of monster..."
"Monster? No..." The creature asked, its grin stretching unnaturally across his face. "I'm your fucking NIGHTMARE!"
With that, he brought his hand down on his guitar, playing a chord. Starhammer created a wormhole and fell down into it, the pressurized air smashing into the stands behind where he was.
Mr. Nightmare grinned and turned to the side where he thought that Starhammer would re appear. A bolt of lightning shot out from his guitar where Mr. Nightmare thought he would be. The bolt hit a wooden wall, causing it to burst into flames. But Starhammer wasn't there.
That was when he felt the ground disappear beneath his feet. A wormhole appeared and Starhammer shot out, grabbing Mr. Nightmare's ankles as he ascended.
Starhammer reduced gravity's pull on Mr. Nightmare, making the man as light as a feather as Starhammer carried him upwards.
Starhammer briefly thought of a one liner he could say, but right now, he was just angry. He decided he'd say that he said something clever later, before throwing the villain at the giant demon-head prop towering above the stage.
Mr. Nightmare sailed through the air before he was impaled into the demon's horn. The sharp edge drove straight through his chest. A black ichor started dripping from his form as Nightmare looked at Starhammer. He gave the hero a weak laugh before slumping.
Starhammer looked at the grizzly scene before him. He figured that such a thing would be made of paper and metal wire, something that would collapse under any sort of real weight. And yet, there this Nightmare was, impaled on it. He... didn't know how to feel about it. Part of him wanted to feel bad, but...
That was when Nightmare's head shot up. His grin as wide as ever.
"You should've seen the look on your face" He said. "Still, the show here is over. It's time to take this show on the road!"
Mr. Nightmare's body started to become unfocused, and dissolved into static. And then he shot off of the horn and out of a hole in the ceiling, his laugh echoing through the nearly empty hall.
"Shit." Starhammer muttered before he took off after the newly minted villain.
---------------------------------------------------------
8:53 pm.
Jasmine Keller, along with about half a dozen people, were oblivious to the fight that had started a few miles west. They were participating in a "Zombie Safari" All wearing AR goggles, they were in the back of an open-topped, slow moving vehicle shooting virtual zombies with plastic guns that would have been in an arcade 15 years prior. The AR goggles showed a dilapidated version of their city. Buildings on fire. Shattered windows and bombed out buildings, clouds gathering in the sky. Sounds of fighting in the distance, simulating other people on zombie safaris, were playing in the goggles.
Right now, the truck was in an area outside of downtown proper, near the a park and a bar that was having a loud Halloween celebration. She, and everyone except for the driver, were focused on shooting the zombies that were pouring in from the park that they didn't notice the fighting in the distance.
Jasmine was hitting zombies, focusing on the ones in front of her, when she heard a scream. Glancing to her right, she saw a zombie had climbed onto the truck and was clawing at a woman in her roleplaying group, who had forgone shooting it and was just flailing in panic. Jasmine got up from her seat to shoot the virtual undead. She was about to jokingly chastise her friend about panicking about about a pile of pixels when Starhammer was shot out of the air by a sonic boom and slammed into the truck. Jasmine didn't know what had hit the truck. Just that she was flipped end over end and sprawled onto the pavement, the plastic rifle snapping in half at the fall.
The driver slammed on the accelerator, and the young woman tumbled out of the truck and onto the pavement. As Jasmine opened her eyes, she saw Starhammer fighting... something. Starhammer put both hands out, and a beam of ice shot out. It hits the man in the chest and it starts to freeze. But he turns into static to escape, letting the block of ice that he been surrounding him fall to the ground.
Then, the villain brought his hand down on his... was that a guitar? Well, he belted out a note and it created a shockwave that launched several cars parked in front of the cantina at Starhammer. Starhammer caught the car that would've hit him, and tossed it to the side. Jasmine scrambled backwards, still on her hands and knees just barely avoiding the car smashing into the ground where she was. She darted down the street and pulled out her phone, hoping that neither person would bring the fight closer to her.
---------------------------------------------------------
"Trick or Treat!"
"Aw... Starhammer's on patrol" The elderly woman says, cooing at Gwen's costume. "Looks like we're all going to be safe with Starhammer on patrol."
Gwen beams with pride. "That's right. I'm here to save the day."
"Well I'm sure with your comrades, nothing will stop you from saving the day. Here's a token of appreciation. Some Starbursts for Starhammer" the woman says before putting a few Starbursts into her bucket.
Gwen looked down at the candy, and puts on a smile for the woman. "Thanks Ms. Goei"
As she closes her door, the three of you head back down the street. "It's getting a bit late" Adrian says. "We should probably start heading back home."
"Come on, just a few more houses." Gwen says.
"We've already gone to nearly every house in the neighborhood. Plus, its getting late. It's time to head home" You say.
"Aw..." Gwen says.
"Hey, the sooner we get home, the sooner you can dig into your haul." Adrian says with a smile.
Gwen starts to pout in an exaggerated manner. She wants to say alright, but doesn't want to admit to it.
"Come on, lets head back home and get you to bed, Gwen."
"But I'm not *yawn* tired" She protests. Still, the three of you start the walk home, just a few minutes away. As you walk and talk, your phone starts ringing. Glancing at caller ID, you see that its Jasmine.
"Hello? Is everything alright?" You ask
"Sunny. I'm near the Sandbar Cantina. Things are... it's really bad. Starhammer's hitting this guy but he's not going down!"
"What?" You ask.
Jasmine watches as Starhammer punches Mr. Nightmare into a car. His body bends in an unnatural way as it hits the vehicle, but he snaps back into shape and "This guy, it's like he's made of energy or something."
[] Go downtown to help fight... whatever this is.
[] Go home and stay safe. You're sure that Starhammer has this.
[] Write in.
Last edited:
- Location
- Head in the clouds
Yeah. Honestly I'm all for heading in to help evac civilians and move people out of the way.
The one way that I can see us being able to help is if there's a source of magic in the area fueling the guy, and we are the only known magic user hero in the area so we might be able to find it.
Either way I'm all for heading that way to make sure Jasmine gets out.
Maybe see if our magic based attacks hit differently given that this is a cretaure of nightmares and magic tends to follow different rules than brute force.
gatewaewanderer
Wandering Fool
- Location
- East Coast, USA
Magic can be a pretty good equalizer. Even if we don't already have a spell that will work, we might be able to modify one to work or come with a new one on the fly.
- Location
- Head in the clouds
[X] Go downtown to help fight... whatever this is.
So I doubt it's only the heroes aware of things like this:
The idea of someone going out of their way to make their name life on in infamy? I think everyone is aware what it probably means if the heroes are called in on Halloweed.
Throw in that we are being told that Starhammer is having trouble...
It's an all hands on deck kind of night. We really do not want to see what will happen if Nightmare isn't taken down.
So I doubt it's only the heroes aware of things like this:
The idea of someone going out of their way to make their name life on in infamy? I think everyone is aware what it probably means if the heroes are called in on Halloweed.
Throw in that we are being told that Starhammer is having trouble...
It's an all hands on deck kind of night. We really do not want to see what will happen if Nightmare isn't taken down.
[X] Go downtown to help fight... whatever this is.
Should be Starhammer. Also this post isn't threadmarked.
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
[X] Go downtown to help fight... whatever this is.
- Location
- Head in the clouds
Alright so far the votes are to heading downtown.
Honestly my first instincts as to how to help out down Nightmare are:
0. Eyes peeled for magic ritual source. If Nightmare is literally invulnerable to everything he's pulling juice from somewhere and I think we're the only magic hero in the city.
1. Reflect on another combatant on our side. Because I seriously doubt our ability to outmuscle Starhammer and reflects reflected attacks are the most straight up magic attack we have.
2. Try lightning and fire. If they can cause damage at all we're in business.
3. If we can't cause damage, support class time. Either in helping move and heal civilians or defense and healing on the primary defenders until someone finds a way to shut this clown down
Honestly my first instincts as to how to help out down Nightmare are:
0. Eyes peeled for magic ritual source. If Nightmare is literally invulnerable to everything he's pulling juice from somewhere and I think we're the only magic hero in the city.
1. Reflect on another combatant on our side. Because I seriously doubt our ability to outmuscle Starhammer and reflects reflected attacks are the most straight up magic attack we have.
2. Try lightning and fire. If they can cause damage at all we're in business.
3. If we can't cause damage, support class time. Either in helping move and heal civilians or defense and healing on the primary defenders until someone finds a way to shut this clown down
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Looks pretty unanimous to me.
Starhammer Character Sheet
I agree.
Now, before I get started, I'm putting up Starhammer's Character Sheet. Mr. Nightmare's will be up tomorrow.
Starhammer
Now, before I get started, I'm putting up Starhammer's Character Sheet. Mr. Nightmare's will be up tomorrow.
Starhammer
Name: [REDACTED]
HP: [6] 25/25
FP: 12/12
Base Dodge 10
Strength: 13 (Tier 3)
Dexterity: 16
IQ: 10
Constitution: 15 (Tier 2)
Perception: 13
Will: 15
Basic Speed: 7.75
Skills:
Astronomy: 11
Brawl: 16
Gambling: 11
Gravity Manipulation: 14
Hot/Cold Beams: 13
Intimidation: 15
Law (Criminal): 13
Temperature Manipulation: 15
Wormhole: 15
Wormhole Chain: 14
[THE BIG BUTTON]: ??
Advantages:
Attractive
Gravity Based Flight
Hard to Kill
Licensed Hero
Reputation: Starhammer Strongest There Is
Very Fit
Disadvantages
Glory Hound
Loves the Spotlight
Patronizing Towards Non-Powered
Single Minded
Quicks
Gym Rat
Hates Reality Television
HP: [6] 25/25
FP: 12/12
Base Dodge 10
Strength: 13 (Tier 3)
Dexterity: 16
IQ: 10
Constitution: 15 (Tier 2)
Perception: 13
Will: 15
Basic Speed: 7.75
Skills:
Astronomy: 11
Brawl: 16
Gambling: 11
Gravity Manipulation: 14
Hot/Cold Beams: 13
Intimidation: 15
Law (Criminal): 13
Temperature Manipulation: 15
Wormhole: 15
Wormhole Chain: 14
[THE BIG BUTTON]: ??
Advantages:
Attractive
Gravity Based Flight
Hard to Kill
Licensed Hero
Reputation: Starhammer Strongest There Is
Very Fit
Disadvantages
Glory Hound
Loves the Spotlight
Patronizing Towards Non-Powered
Single Minded
Quicks
Gym Rat
Hates Reality Television
Mr. Nightmare Character Sheet
Name: Mr. Nightmare
HP: ?/?
FP: 13/13
Base Dodge 10
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 16
IQ: 13
Constitution: 13
Perception: 14
Will: 14
Basic Speed: 7.25
Skills:
Contacts (Entertainment): 16
Electrokenesis: 15
Interviews: 12
Instrument (Guitar): 17
Knife: 12
Mystic Arts (Occultism): 14
Ritual Magic: 13
Singing: 17
Advantages:
Drug Tolerance
Physical Resistance
Fame
Musical Ability
Disadvantages:
???
???
Quicks
Hedonistic
Live Before I Die
Yeah, I forgot to post this yesterday. Sorry about that.
HP: ?/?
FP: 13/13
Base Dodge 10
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 16
IQ: 13
Constitution: 13
Perception: 14
Will: 14
Basic Speed: 7.25
Skills:
Contacts (Entertainment): 16
Electrokenesis: 15
Interviews: 12
Instrument (Guitar): 17
Knife: 12
Mystic Arts (Occultism): 14
Ritual Magic: 13
Singing: 17
Advantages:
Drug Tolerance
Physical Resistance
Fame
Musical Ability
Disadvantages:
???
???
Quicks
Hedonistic
Live Before I Die
Yeah, I forgot to post this yesterday. Sorry about that.
- Location
- Head in the clouds
So something that I'm amused with is that for all that Starhammer is stronger he's just as durable as Sonya, just that we have better armor.
Also let's avoid lightning bolt spells
...
"Something wrong, honey?" Adrian asks as the phone connection is cut. You hope that it's just a cell tower going or her dropping her phone.
"Yeah, Jasmine's had her car stolen and she needs a ride from downtown." You say. If it was just Adrian, you'd tell him the truth, but with Gwen here...
"Oh..." Adrian says. "Ohhh." He repeats as he sees the look you give him. That its more serious that being stranded just outside of downtown. Which granted, is very fucking serious. Especially to someone on their own. "Well, why don't you pick her up. Gwen and I will sort out the candy. Doesn't that sound fun, Gwen."
"Okay..." Gwen says, slightly disappointed.
You nod. You use your speed to rush home and take your car and park it a safe distance from your home, then find a dark alleyway. Three minutes after you left them, you're on your bike and riding downtown bike.
---------------------------------
You rocket towards downtown. Weaving through traffic and in some cases, through empty lots. to take shortcuts. You're sure that you pass a few police officers, but either they're busy on something else or they don't want to chase you. Which is fine by you, since you don't want to get into a chase while trying to get to Jasmine.
You cross the river over a narrow bridge that runs parallel to the HART tram tracks. The bridge used to have train tracks, tracks that have long since been torn up even through the bridge itself still stands. Though it was blocked off by a gate, there are no rails and the wood creeks when you ride over it. A Blue Line train passes the opposite direction as you rocket towards downtown. You see a few people look at you as you pass them by.
As soon as you crow the bridge, you crash through another gate onto the streets of "Sunny" Skyline, a neighborhood that several rich businessmen have been trying to gentrify for the past few years. As you speed through the streets east of downtown proper, you catch a glimpse of a group of hockey mask wearing people being arrested outside of a Mosque with gas cans stacked nearby. A few blocks down, you see a a group of people either wearing costumes or a group of vigilantes looking for something to do.
You speed by the streets when you get a ping from your earpiece.
"Jasmine? Is that you?" You ask.
"Su- Vigil. Yeah, I'm here and i got all my limbs" Jasmine asks.
"Oh thank God" You say, relief washing over you for a moment. "Where are you" The sounds of fighting rage on in the background. You hear a pop and a crash from the other end and, for a few seconds, the sound of heavy breathing and fast footsteps.
"I'm... I'm alright. Jasmine says. "I'm hiding near the Discovery Gardens." She whispers.
You look to your right in the Garden's direction. In the distance, you see the Tower of Power, a 500 foot tall ride, and centerpiece of the State Fair, which is right next to the Discovery Gardens. "I'm gonna try and and hold out in here. Make a break for it when they move on" Jasmine says. "Heh, maybe hop the fence into Fair Park and hide out there. I could use a Funnel Cake about now..."
"Just stay there." You say. "I gotta find where that is, but I'll be there in a minute" You say as you push your bike even harder.
"Just look for a radio tower. I'm in the fenced off place right next to it." Jasmine says. That is when a loud crash of twisted metal.
"Shit..." She mutters before the line goes dead.
------------------------------------
It was times like this that Starhammer was annoyed with his job.
He had been fighting this new villain throughout the city and so far, nothing he did seemed to hurt him. And while he had been pushing him away from Downtown proper, between Hartford's size, the range limit of his wormholes, and infill, there was no place to take the fight that didn't have people or property.
Mr. Nightmare shot a lightning bolt at the Hero, who dodged out of the way, letting it hit a shoe store. He'd probably get a dressing down for that later.
Starhammer flew at Mr. Nightmare, closing the distance and punching him in the face. Hitting him was like hitting a heavybag filled with Jello, with the head deforming around his fist.
A twisted smile formed on Mr. Nightmare's face as he pulled back his hand, which still had a pick in it, which is soon engulfed in a dark energy. Mr. Nightmare swings the pick at Starhammer, the pick extending into a blade. The hero barely dodges the blade before fore grabbing the man. He throws him into a random direction, hoping that the impact of whatever he hits would slow him down at least. Unfortunately, Nightmare crashes through a large metal fence surrounding a place full of trees. A sign nearby says that its the Discovery Park.
"Starhammer! This is TOC! We're getting reports of your fight. Do you need backup?!"
Starhammer ignores the sounds in his earpiece and follows him into the park.
------------------------------------
"Fuck. Fuck fucking fuck" Jasmine muttered to herself as she tried to retreat deeper into the Garden. It was a place filled with many large species of plants, with signs saying how to effectively grow them, where they were found, and general conservation tips.
But Jasmine wasn't paying attention to any of that. She had lost track of just where whoever Starhammer was fighting went and now, she was trying to find her way out, cursing her luck. She hid behind a tree, scanning the Garden, where the only source of light was the moon and whatever light made it from the tall streetlights on the other side of the fence.
"Hey there baby. Are you lost?"
Jasmine's blood ran cold as the voice called out from behind her. Her breath was caught in her throat. She reached for the gun that she left at home and spun around to meet the voice before she realized that she was holding nothing but air. That was when she saw the source of the voice standing just a few feet behind her.
She vaguely recognized the... person(?) in front of her. He looked a lot like Mr. Nightmare. But he looked... wrong. His skin was blackened from burns, his eyes glowed a fierce blue and cracks could be seen in his skin with sparks of electricity and smoke pouring out.
She screamed, but her feet refused to move.
"Come on baby, don't be like that..." Nightmare says, his voice filled with malice. "Why don't you just sit right there and let me play you a song. It's to die for."
Jasmine grabs a branch from a tree and tries to break it off. Right now, she needed a weapon. Anything to fight back with. She pulled and pulled on the branch, and heard a crack, but the branch wasn't coming off.
Until the entire tree was engulfed in a purplish glow and ripped out of the ground, slamming into Mr. Nightmare. But the tree kept going, dragging the former rock star along the ground until he hit another large tree.
Jasmine stared at the scene in front of her before Starhammer landed beside her.
"Are you alright?" He asked. Jasmine turned around and saw Starhammer. And honestly, it was like looking at a picture. Edited and filtered to look perfect. As he looked down at her, he looked neutral. Not that concerned, not annoyed or frustrated either. Just like this was part of a job. Jasmine nodded numbly.
"So, what are you doing here anyway?"
Jasmine didn't say anything. Mostly because she was nervous. Even if she wasn't here to do anything wrong, she had a vigilante on the other end of her earpiece. If Starhammer caught on, and both she and Sunny were caught...
So when the bolt of lightning rose from the pile of flora and shot up towards the sky, she was almost relieved. Even then, she could only manage to point and say "Look." as the bolt of lightning as it slammed into a radio tower.
------------------------------------
You ride past a gas station and turn right, nearly side swiping a parked car. You can see the radio station in the distance. You're just 30 seconds out.
That is when you see a bolt of lightning shoot from the Garden. IT flies up right in the air and hits a nearby radio tower. The entire metal structure is engulfed in blue lightning. before a burst of static comes from your earpiece and a voice comes on.
"HELLOOOOOOOOO HARTFORD! I HOPE YOU'RE DOING GREAT TONIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! JUST IN CASE SOME OF YOU DIDN'T KNOW, I AM MR. NIGHTMARE, AND I'VE BEEN HAVING BLAST TEARRING THROUGH THIS TOWN! AND IF YOU LOVED MY PERFORMENCE AT THE ATLAS, COME ON DOWN TO FAIR PARK AND FOR A BIG FINALE! AND IF YOU'RE ALREADY THERE, I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR FRONT ROW SEATS!" The sound of laughter blasts through your earpiece before it cuts off.
You see the lightning bolt leave the radio tower and head for the State Fair. And today's one of the last days before it closes. And since it's Halloween and a Friday, there have to be hundreds of people there at least.
That bastard is specifically taking the fight to a place where civilians could get caught in the crossfire. You grit your teeth at that.
You know where the entrances, and the weaker walls, are if you want to go to Fair Park to fight Mr. Nightmare. But then, Jasmine's comms cut out and Nightmare just came from the same garden where Jasmine was hiding...
[] Go to Fair Park. That's where Mr. Nightmare is.
[] Check on Jasmine in the Discovery Garden.
"Yeah, Jasmine's had her car stolen and she needs a ride from downtown." You say. If it was just Adrian, you'd tell him the truth, but with Gwen here...
"Oh..." Adrian says. "Ohhh." He repeats as he sees the look you give him. That its more serious that being stranded just outside of downtown. Which granted, is very fucking serious. Especially to someone on their own. "Well, why don't you pick her up. Gwen and I will sort out the candy. Doesn't that sound fun, Gwen."
"Okay..." Gwen says, slightly disappointed.
You nod. You use your speed to rush home and take your car and park it a safe distance from your home, then find a dark alleyway. Three minutes after you left them, you're on your bike and riding downtown bike.
---------------------------------
You rocket towards downtown. Weaving through traffic and in some cases, through empty lots. to take shortcuts. You're sure that you pass a few police officers, but either they're busy on something else or they don't want to chase you. Which is fine by you, since you don't want to get into a chase while trying to get to Jasmine.
You cross the river over a narrow bridge that runs parallel to the HART tram tracks. The bridge used to have train tracks, tracks that have long since been torn up even through the bridge itself still stands. Though it was blocked off by a gate, there are no rails and the wood creeks when you ride over it. A Blue Line train passes the opposite direction as you rocket towards downtown. You see a few people look at you as you pass them by.
As soon as you crow the bridge, you crash through another gate onto the streets of "Sunny" Skyline, a neighborhood that several rich businessmen have been trying to gentrify for the past few years. As you speed through the streets east of downtown proper, you catch a glimpse of a group of hockey mask wearing people being arrested outside of a Mosque with gas cans stacked nearby. A few blocks down, you see a a group of people either wearing costumes or a group of vigilantes looking for something to do.
You speed by the streets when you get a ping from your earpiece.
"Jasmine? Is that you?" You ask.
"Su- Vigil. Yeah, I'm here and i got all my limbs" Jasmine asks.
"Oh thank God" You say, relief washing over you for a moment. "Where are you" The sounds of fighting rage on in the background. You hear a pop and a crash from the other end and, for a few seconds, the sound of heavy breathing and fast footsteps.
"I'm... I'm alright. Jasmine says. "I'm hiding near the Discovery Gardens." She whispers.
You look to your right in the Garden's direction. In the distance, you see the Tower of Power, a 500 foot tall ride, and centerpiece of the State Fair, which is right next to the Discovery Gardens. "I'm gonna try and and hold out in here. Make a break for it when they move on" Jasmine says. "Heh, maybe hop the fence into Fair Park and hide out there. I could use a Funnel Cake about now..."
"Just stay there." You say. "I gotta find where that is, but I'll be there in a minute" You say as you push your bike even harder.
"Just look for a radio tower. I'm in the fenced off place right next to it." Jasmine says. That is when a loud crash of twisted metal.
"Shit..." She mutters before the line goes dead.
------------------------------------
It was times like this that Starhammer was annoyed with his job.
He had been fighting this new villain throughout the city and so far, nothing he did seemed to hurt him. And while he had been pushing him away from Downtown proper, between Hartford's size, the range limit of his wormholes, and infill, there was no place to take the fight that didn't have people or property.
Mr. Nightmare shot a lightning bolt at the Hero, who dodged out of the way, letting it hit a shoe store. He'd probably get a dressing down for that later.
Starhammer flew at Mr. Nightmare, closing the distance and punching him in the face. Hitting him was like hitting a heavybag filled with Jello, with the head deforming around his fist.
A twisted smile formed on Mr. Nightmare's face as he pulled back his hand, which still had a pick in it, which is soon engulfed in a dark energy. Mr. Nightmare swings the pick at Starhammer, the pick extending into a blade. The hero barely dodges the blade before fore grabbing the man. He throws him into a random direction, hoping that the impact of whatever he hits would slow him down at least. Unfortunately, Nightmare crashes through a large metal fence surrounding a place full of trees. A sign nearby says that its the Discovery Park.
"Starhammer! This is TOC! We're getting reports of your fight. Do you need backup?!"
Starhammer ignores the sounds in his earpiece and follows him into the park.
------------------------------------
"Fuck. Fuck fucking fuck" Jasmine muttered to herself as she tried to retreat deeper into the Garden. It was a place filled with many large species of plants, with signs saying how to effectively grow them, where they were found, and general conservation tips.
But Jasmine wasn't paying attention to any of that. She had lost track of just where whoever Starhammer was fighting went and now, she was trying to find her way out, cursing her luck. She hid behind a tree, scanning the Garden, where the only source of light was the moon and whatever light made it from the tall streetlights on the other side of the fence.
"Hey there baby. Are you lost?"
Jasmine's blood ran cold as the voice called out from behind her. Her breath was caught in her throat. She reached for the gun that she left at home and spun around to meet the voice before she realized that she was holding nothing but air. That was when she saw the source of the voice standing just a few feet behind her.
She vaguely recognized the... person(?) in front of her. He looked a lot like Mr. Nightmare. But he looked... wrong. His skin was blackened from burns, his eyes glowed a fierce blue and cracks could be seen in his skin with sparks of electricity and smoke pouring out.
She screamed, but her feet refused to move.
"Come on baby, don't be like that..." Nightmare says, his voice filled with malice. "Why don't you just sit right there and let me play you a song. It's to die for."
Jasmine grabs a branch from a tree and tries to break it off. Right now, she needed a weapon. Anything to fight back with. She pulled and pulled on the branch, and heard a crack, but the branch wasn't coming off.
Until the entire tree was engulfed in a purplish glow and ripped out of the ground, slamming into Mr. Nightmare. But the tree kept going, dragging the former rock star along the ground until he hit another large tree.
Jasmine stared at the scene in front of her before Starhammer landed beside her.
"Are you alright?" He asked. Jasmine turned around and saw Starhammer. And honestly, it was like looking at a picture. Edited and filtered to look perfect. As he looked down at her, he looked neutral. Not that concerned, not annoyed or frustrated either. Just like this was part of a job. Jasmine nodded numbly.
"So, what are you doing here anyway?"
Jasmine didn't say anything. Mostly because she was nervous. Even if she wasn't here to do anything wrong, she had a vigilante on the other end of her earpiece. If Starhammer caught on, and both she and Sunny were caught...
So when the bolt of lightning rose from the pile of flora and shot up towards the sky, she was almost relieved. Even then, she could only manage to point and say "Look." as the bolt of lightning as it slammed into a radio tower.
------------------------------------
You ride past a gas station and turn right, nearly side swiping a parked car. You can see the radio station in the distance. You're just 30 seconds out.
That is when you see a bolt of lightning shoot from the Garden. IT flies up right in the air and hits a nearby radio tower. The entire metal structure is engulfed in blue lightning. before a burst of static comes from your earpiece and a voice comes on.
"HELLOOOOOOOOO HARTFORD! I HOPE YOU'RE DOING GREAT TONIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! JUST IN CASE SOME OF YOU DIDN'T KNOW, I AM MR. NIGHTMARE, AND I'VE BEEN HAVING BLAST TEARRING THROUGH THIS TOWN! AND IF YOU LOVED MY PERFORMENCE AT THE ATLAS, COME ON DOWN TO FAIR PARK AND FOR A BIG FINALE! AND IF YOU'RE ALREADY THERE, I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR FRONT ROW SEATS!" The sound of laughter blasts through your earpiece before it cuts off.
You see the lightning bolt leave the radio tower and head for the State Fair. And today's one of the last days before it closes. And since it's Halloween and a Friday, there have to be hundreds of people there at least.
That bastard is specifically taking the fight to a place where civilians could get caught in the crossfire. You grit your teeth at that.
You know where the entrances, and the weaker walls, are if you want to go to Fair Park to fight Mr. Nightmare. But then, Jasmine's comms cut out and Nightmare just came from the same garden where Jasmine was hiding...
[] Go to Fair Park. That's where Mr. Nightmare is.
[] Check on Jasmine in the Discovery Garden.