[M&M 3e] Defying the Future IC

[Zelphas]

Mouthpiece's... mouth... is hidden beneath her yellow scarf, but her triumphant grin is all-too evident as the flower crown spins towards her. Equally evident is the scream of anger and pain once Floral's weapon lands atop her head, the brambles and poison working their way into her system with astonishing speed. She fell to her knees, clutching at the crown to wrest it away from her head--

--sunlight danced in the night air for a moment of incongruent impossibility, and Mouthpiece fell fully to the ground atop her dais, soundless. One of the mummies shuddered and collapsed slowly inwards, holding itself upright by magic and will alone; the other snarled, but remained fully fighting fit. The air trembled for a second longer around Nergal before collapsing inwards, causing his wings to list crazily around him even as he tore himself finally free from Ariadne's ropes.

The Satyr's laugh turns into a howl of strangely-mingled glee and rage at Flint's strike, but even as they turn to retaliate the other "cultist" is already gone, flying to his brother. Flint gathered his power to strike at the cracked window, urging his family to flee the field...

"You heard the Seer. We should go,"

"Aww, and just as things might've gotten interesting!"

The voice that came from behind Flint's shoulder is not that of his brother. It is a voice recognized the world over at this point; Watcher may be the most likely out of all the League to give great speeches, but there is one other member who absolutely loves to hear himself talk.

Dante's cloak flutters to the ground, revealing a man of completely different build, height, and weight than the person standing there just moments before. The man takes a moment to straighten the immaculately-pressed, violently yellow shirtsleeves under his crisp magenta blazer, drinking in the attention that his presence brings to the room. His sandy yellow hair, cut short, sways slightly as he looks back and forth, the candlelight glinting off of his thick, rounded spectacles. He smiles, showing yellow-white teeth that are unnaturally sharp in this moment of excitement. The eyes... bright scarlet, with slitted snake's pupils, held open wide in a posture of sheer childlike glee, rest for just a moment upon Flint, giving him a wink.

Apophis, the Lord of Chaos, fifth member of the League of the Future, bounces on the heels of his shiny green dress shoes and takes in a deep, preparatory breath.

I admit, though, it does seem like the fun's almost over here and now." A hiss of scales is the only sign, and the prone figure of Mouthpiece stands, shedding its cloak and revealing Apophis, holding a bouquet of flowers eerily similar to those on the crown Floral threw just moments before. He plucks one and takes an experimental sniff, allowing the crushed blue-green flower to grow fangs and bite down deeply into his cheek. With an abrupt motion, he flings the flower-snake away; it soars into darkness.

The heroes have won, the villains fallen; how noble, how glorious, how... dreadfully dull." The Satyr leaps from its bowing, supplicated position which it took the moment Apophis appeared, Apophis cartwheeling out of the Satyr's robes and flipping into a perfect gymnastics-style landing, arms outstretched. He spins, his hand moving in an exaggerated slapping motion, and Flint is lifted and thrown bodily out of the cracked window, shattering it with his form as he goes.

"Still, I suppose you deserve some sort of reward," Sarah's cry of shock and fear is cut off when Apophis takes her place, looking over the Heroes with an exaggerated frown. After a moment, his face clears as if struck by inspiration, and he snaps his fingers. Behind the Heroes, something grounds and collapses into sand. Apophis grimaces. "Too damaged... Ah well. I know! I'll show you a surprise I have cooking for October. No spoiling, now!"

Apophis unhinges his jaw, and a golden-red snake bursts forth, growing larger and larger and larger. It reaches up, up, up, beyond the reach of the office floor the Heroes are standing in, before getting its jaws around a large, round, glowing orb in the impossible sky.

Apophis swallows the sun.

A moment later and the room is unchanged... but the people and places are different. Floral finds herself standing at the top of the Green Dais, looking at a grotesque sight. A bright pink tutu flounces out, connected to a white, tightly-stretched leotard covering a rotting corpse. The Ballet Zombie spins swiftly, dancing down with unbelievable grace until it is right in front of Floral. With a deceptively delicate step, the zombie drives its heel repeatedly at the biochemist plant's face.

Ariadne is atop the Yellow Dias, facing a zombie dressed in smooth, satiny black coattails; the full tuxedo, complete with cummerbund, bow tie, decorative pins for buttons, and top hat placed just far enough back to reveal the gaping, missing eyehole and openmouthed, vacant stare. The Classical Zombie steps forward immediately, its hands reaching to grab Ariadne's and place one hand on its shoulder, setting the stage for their dance... a dance that Ariadne feels oddly compelled to join.

Nope is at the Black Dais, and his zombie is possibly the most concerning of the group. Sneakers barely peek out under baggy, thick canvas pants, and an oversized tank-top emblazoned with the word "SWOOD" in graffiti-style letters still allows for far too much of the zombie's rotting flesh to be seen. The Hip-hop Zombie immediately spins itself into a complicated tangle on the floor of the dais, elbows and feet swinging Nope's way in wild abandon without ever opening itself up too clearly for attack.

Helios

The phantasmal slap, the crash through the window, should have hurt, but it doesn't; you could swear you hear hissing laughter in your ear just before you are deposited roughly in the empty street outside the office building. A few seconds later, your phone vibrates with several new messages.

Spoiler: Family Texts

Show

Dante: What happened? All ok? Found myself somewhere in Main Drag

Sarah: Flint? Answer! Did Apophis hurt you?

Dante: Sarah, not on phone! If SE arrived, not our business anymore. Meet at hotel.

Sarah: Shut up Dante! Flint, answer! I'm coming back.

Dante is typing...

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Map, to remember the Chaos.

All the Zombies have Mobility of 20, so all have higher Initiative than you.

Ballet Zombie

Move Action: None.

Standard Action: Use Pirouette on Floral. (1d20+14)[34] vs. DC 20 or (1d20+10)[20] On a hit, Resistance DC 25 vs. Multiattack, Secondary Effect Damage. The Ballet Zombie is Deflected at 1d20+14. Crit; DC becomes 30.

Classical Zombie

Move Action: None.

Standard Action: Use Shall We? on Ariadne. (1d20+10)[27] vs. DC 20 or (1d20+10)[15] On a hit, Resistance DC 24 vs. Entranced/Compelled (Only to dance with the zombie) and Progressive Weaken Defense. Hit.

Hip-Hop Zombie

Move Action: None.

Standard Action: Use Turtle on Nope. (1d20+12)[24] vs. DC 13 or (1d20+3)[12] On a hit, Resistance DC 22 + Multiattack vs. Impaired & Vulnerable/Disabled & Defenseless. The Hip-Hop Zombie is Deflected at 1d20+12. Hit, full Multiattack; DC becomes 27.

All PCs are on turn. Helios is 1 Move Action from the battlefield.