[M&M 3e] Defying the Future IC

[Quellian-dyrae]

Lily kept her focus on Gabriel. Sparing Manchineel was about as far as she was able to go; she would leave it to the others to actually help her.

(Because Lily Woods was Lily Woods, she did admittedly have a thought on the subject, one that in just about any other circumstance she would have suggested eagerly purely on its value as an interesting experiment. Whatever, Nope understood his powers better than she did and Helios and Ariadne had a better grasp of magic. They'd either figure it out or come up with something even better.)

She wasn't getting through, although that was kinda okay because neither was Gabriel getting through Ariadne's shields. Gabriel had splattered Manchineel's minions like the insects they were made from, but her diving strike had failed to so much as scratch the barrier. Not for the first time and not for the last, Lily couldn't help but marvel some at the defensive power of Ariadne's thread magic.

But she also knew that the threads were not impenetrable. Give Gabriel enough chances to get through them and she would eventually.

~Cosme, stop!~ she sent, once again opening herself to that strange communion with nature, the single least-understood ability she had. As before, she pushed it into forming a psychic link, though one that could only work between her and someone else with a connection to nature.

But that wasn't the only power she pushed, in that moment, although I maintain it was her least-understood one.

She may have had it longer, and used it more, but she still understood it less than the other power she called forth, then.

Because scientists had their own understanding of Life.

Lily's body began to glow. White light, with occasional sparkles of green. It did occur to her that Raphael's power might perhaps be of use in helping Manchineel. But that wasn't the purpose she called upon it for. Again, sparing her was about all the goodwill that Lily had to offer. Someone else more deserving had need of it.

~Listen to me. I understand. She hurt me too. I know...I know that it would not be so sad a thing, if Gabriel killed Manchineel.~

The glow only grew brighter, intensifying, as with a beat of her wings she hurled herself at Gabriel, arm's outstretched. It probably looked like she was trying to grapple her, or something. To physically restrain her. Hah. She could not have even if she wanted to. Gabriel was far, far stronger than her.

But she did try to throw her arms around her, in as tight a hug as she could give.

~But Cosme Muto should not have to live with that.~

And if she could get her arms around her...she would start dumping Raphael's power into her, wave after wave of it. Everything that she had. To heal her, yes, but that wasn't all there was to it. To a scientist, Life wasn't really a force of healing and renewal, although certainly healing was a capability that seemed mostly unique to life. A force of growth, perhaps, but even that was only one small aspect. It wasn't a power of chi or of spirit, for at least until recently there had been little enough evidence of such things in the physics of the universe. That mages and the mystics might even recognize Life, as the scientists did, as part of the fundamental nature of animals and plants, but the scientists went deeper than that. And not just to the viruses and bacteria, and all the ways that Life could be wielded as a deadly weapon. Even those were just one facet of what science understood.

To a scientist, Life was the process of cells growing, dividing, and replicating. Consuming energy and spending it. Bonding together into organs, and bones, and muscles, and skin. Reproducing, and passing along their genetic information to the next generation, keeping what worked and discarding what didn't. Evolving, mutating. Changing.

Scientists had their own understanding of Life. They also had their own word for their understanding of it.

They called it biology.

And few in all the world had a more thorough understanding of it than Lily Woods.

~It's time for you to come down, now.~

Spoiler

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Extra Effort: Power Stunt off of Flower Power (+10).

Repair Biology [Transformative] [Transmogrify] [Healing]: Mental Communication 1; Flight 5 (Wings), Enhanced Resistance 5 (Reduced Defense 5); Affliction 10 (Entranced/Stunned/Transformed [Original Human Form]; Cumulative, Concentration, Feature [If used as a Finishing Attack in lieu of killing, or target is willing, Transformed can be made permanent, but doing so sacrifices all of Raphael's power within Lily]); Enhanced Extra 10 (Extra Condition 2 [Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless]; Limited [Only against this power]).

Free: Set Favored Environment to Attack.

Move: Attempt to Feint Gabriel at (1d20+7)[21], including +2 for Favored Foe (since while Gabriel is no longer a minion of Manchineel in terms of loyalty she is in terms of like creature type/power source, which I would figure is what matters in terms of Lily better understanding them).

Standard: "Attack" Gabriel with Repair Biology, All Out Attacking for 5, Power Attacking for 2, +2 for Favored Environment, at (1d20+15)[23]. On a hit, Resistance DC 22 vs. Cumulative Concentration Entranced/Stunned/Transformed [Original Human Form], and also Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless for purposes of this power. Descriptor-wise this a painless healing effect (although still registers as an attack if the target is not willing), with Entranced and Stunned simply being from the fact that it's kinda hard to do anything while your entire body is part-way through the process of being restoratively transformed. Ehhh...might land if the Feint succeeds I guess?

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued, Exhausted as of next turn, AoA -5, Floral Blood (-5 Def/+5 Res).