Avenger Assembled

Neko pocketed the card and thanked him politely, her tail lashing behind her. She looked at him with those huge yellow eyes and smiled, showing off her pointed front teeth. "Oh, the show is just a little thing," she said bashfully, looking away as her cheeks seemed to blush a little. "But people do like it," she added smoothly. "How old is your brother? If he is over sixteen, he can come to one of the live shows next year on his own - or your parents can bring him," she added warmly. This routine was the sort of thing Bernadette had seen her try with boys before - and between her pretty face and practiced manner, it usually worked. "Do you play sports?" she asked. "I never watched any till I came here."

Neko considered her options. She could have poured a hundred punishments on the man, each more terrible than the last, as much for the disrespect to the elder as the theft. But that would have meant dropping her disguise and letting the world see that she was not just another girl but the heir to nekomata and bakeneko. And she didn't want to do that! Hours of pouring over outfits with Raina, using an actual water shower (not something she did for just anyone!) - a great deal of work had gone into planning this night. Frankly, she preferred the idea of enjoying her all-important date over catching a robber - but Erik was right there, not to mention Leon. She wound up giving Erik the sort of look she gave him when she really wanted to emphasize that a small doe-eyed kitten like herself shouldn't take out the trash when there were so many strong men in the house - but mostly as a precaution. She was confident that Jack of all Blades had this well-handled.

From around the corner came padding another student, her voice audible before her face. "Thanks to all my fans and everyone in chat!" she said brightly, speaking into what looked like a mechanical insect hovering just in front of her face. "Please remember to like, subscribe, and leave a five-star review for Catgirl Reacts! Super kawaii!" She flashed a double-V victory sign for the camera as it blinked out, reached out and snatched the bug out of the air, then seemed to catch sight of the other two. "Oh hi Bernadette," she said brightly as she tucked the bug into her purse. "This must be your new student." She was a petite young Japanese woman with a distinct accent to her speech, her hair hanging loose on either side of her head and down her back. "Hello!" she said brightly, her eyes tightening into slits as she smiled at Golden Star. "I am Neko Musume. Welcome to Claremont." This was, on instant's inspection, no ordinary girl. Her eyes were huge, almost bigger than a person's should be, and yellow with huge vertical pupils. Her whiteish hair was spotted with brown and visibly shaded from fur to hair as the eye moved down from her head to the rest of her body. Behind her twitched a tail about as long as her legs, white and brown furred, poking out above her brightly colored slacks. Atop her head were set two big triangular ears, which swiveled and twitched as she looked at Golden Star.

Judy lit up at the tone of Carmen's question, though she never lost her gentle grip on Ashley's baby. "Yes, Ah've been trying to organize bible study groups wherever Ah find people who want to listen. Not everybody wants to hear about Jesus in other dimensions or alien planets, but the Farsiders have been around humans enough that they like what we have to say." "...if you don't want to go," said Ashley, following on Judy's words almost immediately. "We can stay here. I don't want you to think I'm just dragging you into dangerous situations for, uh" she looked at the baby and said, "crap and giggles." She hesitated, then went on, keeping her attention focused on Carmen. "I had some - difficult mentoring when I was your age. I don't want you to think I'm just training you to be a soldier or some - crap. There's so many wonderful things out there in the world, even if super-fights ruin them half the time, and you deserve a chance to see them before you turn into an old lady like me."

Sea Devil stood over the fallen woman, staring down at the creature with gigantic eyes with yellow irises and black pupils, looking like nothing so much as a large, angry frog studying a particularly troublesome horsefly. She hadn't heard anything about strange creatures of any sort - at least, no stranger than what one usually encountered on the surface. She raised her trident and poked the being in the chest, most ungently. "Are you the one that killed the dog?" she demanded in a voice like rumbling thunder. I am not even sure if it can hear me, she thought.

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Neko approached the green-haired girl, wrinkling her pert nose. Something definitely didn't smell right as she got closer; but she was too polite to say anything. (Plenty of people in Freedom City had very bizarre smells, after all.) She got closer still and said hesitantly "Oh, ah, hello. I am Neko Musume, welcome to Claremont Academy." She took a deeper scent yet - and suddenly her back went up. Her brown and white hair, which shaded towards fur on top of her head before turning into an artfully-styled ponytail in the back, stood up as she took a step away. Disgust and loathing for this hideous abomination filled her as her yellow eyes bugged wide and a low, angry growl came from the back of her throat. She raised her arms above her head, bared her pointed front teeth, and a voice like a high-pitched squeal from beyond the grave seemed to echo from all around them. "OMAE WA KURUSHIMUDRO , YANKIPIGGU!" And then suddenly, mortified, she turned and ran.

Okay, would you mind editing this into the initial sheet? It'll make it easier to find later.

Does Aquaria know what this is, @Spacefurry?

Ashley nodded. "That's part of why we're going there. If you only meet people when they're at their worst, you're going to think they're a bunch of assholes. It's the same reason cops, and supers, should live in the neighborhoods where they work. Don't worry, those werewolves are still in the same moon prison where we left them." "The Moon people, the Farsiders, they can all read your mind," piped up Judy. "It's a mutant thing. But they're real nice. Ah actually started a church group with some of them, they think it's real interesting." "Hm," said Ashley, not looking like she wanted to comment on that. "Yeah, they're all mind-readers; even the babies. Good thing that's not true for human babies, right Phil?" The baby, sucking on a bottle, had no comment on that. "But if you're worried, they do speak an actual language, they're not just all-telepath freaks or something."

"Oh, just a normal time machine," said Eira brightly. "In any event, I think I am finished here; I just needed to be here for - well, you will see." She smiled. "It was nice to see you again, Bernadette! Remember, if any of you are looking for jobs, give me a call!" With that she turned and marched smartly off on her heel, exclaiming audibly a loud "Jävla skit!!" as the stairway door closed behind her. By this time, Neko had climbed back into the corridor, having finished a short livestream with her fans that had (from her likes and shares) gone very well indeed. #CatgirlNeedsFriends was already trending on TikTok. Once back inside, she caught sight of the green-haired girl and of Carmen and crouched uncertainly in the windowsill, not sure what to make of all this.

Hm - Thrown is not really the power feat you want for long-distance punches, as IIRC that has a component of "something you throw and then go get." You might possibly just want Blast there.

They talked about Carmen and her studies, Ashley asking some careful questions about how exactly the cat-girl was getting along now that her time in high school was almost over. Over in a corner of the room, Judy had shaken up a bottle of milk from the fridge and was settling in to rock Phil. Ashley shot a few looks that way, her expression hard to read, but the younger girl looked happy to be doing what she was doing. "So once you're done," Ashley offered, "I was thinking we'd take a little field trip." She grinned. "It's funny we've been talking about space so much, because it just so happens that I know people on the Moon." "Aw you'll like it there," said Judy from where she was rocking with the baby. "Do you, ah, mind mind-readers? Lots of them up there."

Relieved to talk about herself and not her doppleganger for a moment, the older version of Eira said agreeably, "That is right." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card, which she handed off to Rot with the air of one who had done so many times. The card, made of a stiff, sturdy stuff that wasn't quite paper or plastic, displayed the contact information for KATASTROFF CONSULTING, a small business elsewhere in Freedom City. "Though professionally, I am a scientist and engineer. If you are ever looking for a part-time job, I have all sorts of uses for Claremont students." She smiled winningly, showing off perfectly white teeth. There was a flash and buzz from the other room; and closer inspection revealed that it was now completely empty, just a typical abandoned dorm room. "There, the machine is gone, there is nothing to worry about, yes?" said Eira, a little too cheerfully. "Do not worry, it will not appear in that space again - she knows that it's not vacant." She considered a moment, then handed out copies of her cards to everyone. "If you happen to see her again, please give me a call and I will get rid of her. No, ah, no need to make a disciplinary issue out of it," she added, even though it was hard to say what threat a high school had for a woman in her early twenties.

Eira smiled at Rot and kept sidling by without a care in the world. "Do not worry. I hate everyone - and I'm not people." She seemed to regard the last sentence with particular pride. "I-" When Bernadette recognized her, Eira's eyes widened as she gave the red-haired girl a startled look. "I...am just visiting, yes?," she said. "You...should help the new girl move, don't you think, ...carrottop?" she asked brightly and a little questioningly. Just when her escape seemed certain, the hallway's fire exit door flew open. At the top of the stairs stood a blonde, sturdily-built young woman with brilliant golden hair, a piercing in her nose, and a white labcoat on. It was clearly Eira; a version of Eira in her twenties, wearing a Claremont visitor's ID badge on a lanyard. She hissed something in Swedish at her teenage counterpart, who responded with a rude gesture before hissing at Rot. "You see! This is what it's like! It is a jail for the clever!" "Are you really going to be stupid about this, knowing I remember this entire conversation?" spat the older Eira in reply. That got her what sounded like an extremely rude remark in Swedish from her counterpart, who said "FINE" before storming back into the empty room. The older Eira ground her teeth with a sound like steel rubbing on steel before she said, "Ah, hello - Bernadette, and friends. You must be new," she said to Rot. "Do not worry. She will be gone in a moment once she reverses the polarity of the machine. So are you enjoying campus?" she asked solicitously.

No sooner had Rot indicated her door than it opened and an unusual figure stepped out. Her spiky blue hair, nose piercing, and weathered denim jacket looked fit for a punk rock concert; her white labcoat, goggle, and faint air of energy looked more at home in a high-tech laboratory. "Ohh, this is your room?" she said, a look of barely concealed excitement on her face as she padded out into the hallway. "I must...have been confused, yes?" Her accent was heavy, distinctly Northern European, and she was smiling like she was hiding a very large cookie jar under her jacket. She smiled at Rot as she tried to slip around her in the hallway. "It is very nice to meet you. Welcome to Claremont."

Sea Devil closed her eyes and let the darkness take her. "Stay here," she rumbled in a voice deep like a summer storm. It was too dark for Surfacers to see - too dark for her to see, for that matter. But her suit's sensors sang in her round ears, and so too did the sounds of the park, the wild melee, the calling voices, and the hiss and snarl of their enemy. It was dark. But not so dark as it was at the bottom of the ocean, where her people ruled. With a bellow she leapt high in the air, her armor kicking to life with a sound like rushing waters, crashing feet-first to the ground just behind the blood-drinker as she attacked Nightscale. Having eaten flesh of man and beast, Aquaria had no particular horror of a cannibal - instead of fear, she felt the righteous fury of a warrior. I bet this is the one who killed the dog! She came up behind the woman and caught her around the neck with her trident, jerking her backwards and bouncing her head off a cavernous skull designed to absorb the blows of an outraged whale. It didn't hurt Aquaria a bit - but the woman went down almost immediately.

The moment Rev touched the strange police car, she gained a series of impressions, even as her metallic fingers passed through its outside to grip a slick, soft underneath, like spectral meat and metal she couldn't quite get a firm grip on: A Bedlam police officer of the old school at work, shaking down merchants for protection money, beating a fleeing suspect with his nightstick. One night the officer stops a passing car but a single shot rings out as he reaches the driverside window. Officer Friendly staggers back to his car, and then - The patrol begins. It has never ended. It will always continue. Up in front of them suddenly there was a tremendous crash; and through her vision Rev was able to see their target, the fleeing vampire lord in his fancy pickup truck, now hurtling into the air! The truck had hit a barrier full-tilt and launched itself into the air, its front end smashed, suddenly rolling quickly, like to smash into the concrete barrier just in front of them. The lake! They had reached Lake Michigan; and were about to crash!

The heroes rumbled together down the neglected road, taking it slow to avoid the potholes and fallen debris that had come first from the volcano and later from near-abandonment. It was hard to tell how Cardenas's remote facility here had stayed in operation if this was what the road to it looked like. On an island this underpopulated, there could hardly be a back way in...could there? But sure enough, operational it was. Just when they thought they were about to get lost in the ashy, half-dead jungle as they headed further up a hillside, they found themselves confronted with a closed wire-metal gate across the road and a sign that read C-TECH on the outside. There were no signs of human habitation; the gate was closed by what looked to be nothing more than a simple padlock. But it was Predator who spotted the electric junction boxes located at intervals along the outside of the gate; proof that this gate was electrified! Somebody didn't want anybody climbing the gate, and as they got close, they both could sense the electric charge running through it. If the jungle wasn't so quiet, with only insect noise and the occasional hardy bird, they'd surely have seen dead animals here. Or worse!

Got it!

Judy was full of questions about Claremont, of which she was a recent alum. "Best school Ah ever went to, even if it was the strangest!" she added with a little laugh. Up close, Carmen could smell that there was something decidedly inhuman about the energy being, who radiated a stereotype of Southern Christian girl' while smelling distinctly of ozone and electricity, the stuff of stars and what passed between them. The plans for the afternoon turned out to be lunch, boxes of hot pizza from a California district. "I'll take care of this little angel," Judy promised the two women, heading straight for the refrigerator to start making Phillip his bottle. "You two just have fun." She made no move to join the two women for their meal, and when her back was turned Ashley gave her a look before saying, "You don't have to do that, honey." "Ah know Ah don't," said Judy cheerily, "And don't think you won't owe me for it later," she added with a smile. She had Phillip nestled in the crook of her arm as if he'd been born to be there, singing softly as she went about her work. With a relaxed smile, Ashley turned to her current mentee and said, "I do have something in mind that isn't this, but you need to eat first; I know how crappy high school food is. Here, I had her get triple meat and, uh, margarita pizza," she added, mispronouncing it slightly.

Okay, @Spacefurryand @Supercape, just checking, capital or science base? I wasn't sure after reading your post.

You know what, Aquaria has giant frog eyes and doesn't need 'em to fight anyway, so I'll just fail that save if that's okay with you, Spacefurry! Sea Devil throbs - and leaps into melee with the creature (Move) She then stabs it with her trident. It's fully grappled so I'll Power Attack for +2. Attack vs Creature: https://orokos.com/roll/994516 If that hits, it's a DC 29 Tou save Attack vs. Creature 2: If it doesn't hit, here's my HP reroll: https://orokos.com/roll/994517 = 21

Aquaria's heart pounded wildly as she felt the terrible pressure against her mind, the linked gaze of shark and Atlantean and Jessie's disappointment bearing down on her. She struck her trident against the ground and her helmet snapped open, revealing a broad, froggy face with wet green skin, huge staring yellow goggle eyes, and teeth - such teeth in a mouth that looked big enough to bite off a man's head. Deep One, invader, savage. When she spoke it wasn't in the voice of the machine she used inside the armor, it was in her own wet tongue, a deep, rumbling throb of a voice that boomed in bass: "I WILL - NEVER - BE CAGED AGAIN!" She struck the ground, again and again, and suddenly the very ground opened up beneath them. The effect was like the irising of a lens but made from the curled tentacles of a gigantic squid, a lens that opened up to reveal a great staring eye that they all plunged towards at alarming speed - Before suddenly they were elsewhere, not too far away; behind a copse of trees so close they could still hear the fight between Luke and the homeless woman as Aquaria slumped against her trident, breathing audibly in a low bass rumble.

"Well, I thought we would-" At this point Phil started crying again; and Ashley squeezed her eyes shut before she swore in Vietnamese. "Okay! Okay, home it is-" They teleported again, this time to the sheltered backyard of Ashley and Fa'Rua (and Philljp's) new house. Carmen had only been here a few times but it was an impressive place, a suburban mansion on the outside but with a backyard big enough to land a spaceship in - or a child to play in, these days. Fa'Rua's spaceship was parked not far away, the personal craft about the size of a large truck, though curved and sleek like a resting bird. Looking stressed, Ashley handed Phillip off to Carmen 'so she could make a call.' Just as before, the baby immediately calmed down when Carmen held him, this time actually closing his eyes and looking cozy. There was another flash of light; a rainbow glow like something from a dream; and they weren't alone. The other woman glowed like an impossible rainbow star, radiant like a goddess from her glowing eyes and long black hair - which, as it faded, resolved itself into one of the most famous metahumans on Earth. Judy Cahill, Daystar, walking solar battery, daughter of a former President, now a leading spokesman for Christian superheroes and advocate for the poor. She was dressed in sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt and looked almost normal as Ashley introduced them. "Carmen, this is Judy, Judy, Carmen. Judy is...part of the family," Ashley said after a moment. Judy smiled at Carmen and shook her hand; her grip warmer than Carmen's feline body temperature. "Nice to meet you. Oh mah goodness!" she said, her eyes lighting up. "There's mah baby boy! Hello there!" She grinned at Phillip and added, "Ah went along on the trip to space with her and Fa'Rua when they got this little miracle. You ever go to space?" she asked.