Avenger Assembled

"Server room, huh? Wonder if somebody swiped one." Swiveling his head at a small, short noise coming from near Raina, Riley had the distinct impression that Merlin was stifling a chuckle at his expense, and briefly gave the monkey a hard look before he remembered that made him look like a dip. So I'm not a computer guy! he thought, annoyed as he led the way to the server room's door, glancing quickly at a wall map as they went to familiarize himself with the layout of this floor of the building. He was interested in technology of all kinds, but computers were not really his thing - he preferred his media physical and his records somewhere that the power going down couldn't wipe them. His bow out, he kicked open the door. "Knock-knock!"

Hyperactive: 31 The Director: 17 Weekend Man: 16 Okay, the Weekend Man is bruised and dazed. The Director is maintaining his Mind Control and so can't take a Standard Action. The Weekend Man is up once Hyperactive posts - you'll need to spend an HP to act now given your bruised and dazed status, Weekend Man.

"I dunno," said Riley. "If she'd gone missing, we'd'a heard 'bout it. Even after that thing with the Raven, they'd'a told us." Especially after that thing with Raven. "She's probably just havin' a bad day," he opinedl reminding himself that someone disappearing from the community didn't mean they'd been dragged into the woods and torn to pieces by bears. Moving past that image, he said, "Fred doesn't like t'talk about it, but sometimes she'll just disappear for a while and I think it's cuz of her thing." He wasn't worried about Fred being eaten by monsters - rather, the reverse. He scratched the back of his shaved head, where just a faint trace of dark fuzz was showing. "If we sneak up on her somewhere, she might, you know," he made claws with his hands, "then she'll feel like dogcrap all week even if we take her down again."

All right! Initiative time. Give me a DC 22 Will save to avoid punching Weekend Man, Hyperactive. http://orokos.com/roll/532969 = 17 is when the Director goes.

"Here I am, boys." The Director was suddenly there on the sidewalk before them - a man in his late twenties with a short goatee, old-fashioned suit and tie that belonged to the middle of the last century, and a face that was hauntingly familiar. "You didn't want to be part of the show. Disappointing." He stepped forward and was suddenly on the other side, behind both Hyperactive and Weekend Man. "I had hoped I could learn more about the metahumans of Texas before I began my work here, but perhaps you're not as interested in a show as mein kinder in Freedom. Ah well. Zol Sie krenken un gedenken." He turned to Hyperactive and pointed to Weekend Man. "Beat him."

Okay, it's closed! I'll get a thread started soon and PM the folks who made it in.

I like the Plain Brown Wrapper books - I appreciate their darkly comic sensibility. I like the Algernon Files.

http://orokos.com/roll/532957 = 31 Citizen passes.

Freedom City Trek IKS toQ The IKS toQ, named for the predatory birds that soared above Captain Krek's estate, is a top-of-the-line B'rel Bird of Prey - one specially modified to fire torpedoes and lay mines while cloaked. This made it all the more outrageous when Captain Krek and his crew mutinied at the beginning of the war with the Federation, turning rogue (and pirate) rather than war against their allies. Now back in the KDF's good graces with the coming of peace, the toQ's crew is a motley one - but one that has proven itself again and again. Captain Krek of the House of Kri'stak - For all his prowess in battle, Captain Krek is a young man, albeit one whose skill with the mek'leth is unmatched in the Fleet. Opponents both inside and outside the Empire have at times mistaken his sense of humor, and willingness to let his officers quarrel with him in a crisis, for weakness - a mistake that they are lucky to make once and do not make twice. First Officer Talyana - Talyana is not a young Klingon, her service in the KDF dating back to the days before the Treaty of Khitomer, but her force of personality, skill with a blade, and formidable tactical cunning mean she is among the greatest warriors on the toQ. She is I.I. - Imperial Intelligence, and was originally assigned to the toQ to keep track of its roguish captain. He eventually persuaded her that his course was the honorable one - or did he? Even in their bed, she keeps her own council. Chief Engineer Miral - "No relation to the khesten Kuvah'magh!" A brilliant engineer, she is actually the designer of the toQ's advanced cloaking device. She has no Great House of her own, though rumors of a past betrayal and outcast status dog her away from ship. Technically a civilian, she became de facto chief engineer after the death of her predecessor in an honor duel (he objected to the toQ's defection from the KDF) and has by her brilliance kept her position since - as she has her place in the physician's good graces. Physician Lelel of the House of Kri'stak - Lelel used to be the head nurse aboard the toQ until her predecessor joined the mutiny against the captain - who just happened to be her own elder brother! Federation-trained before the recent war, her gruff personality and sharp tongue has kept her patients in line even when they complain about her unnatural surgeries and other medical arts. Chief Tactical Officer Four of Seven - Four of Seven had a name once, and a House, and his honor. Then the Borg came. Freed from a mysteriously destroyed cube by the crew of the toQ, Four of Seven has slowly learned to balance his own skills as a warrior with the physical and mental upgrades that came with his assimilation. Has been challenged once for his position (after allowing a Breen civilian ship to flee a battle) and proceeded to beat his then-second into Lelel's sickbay with nothing but his bare hands. Chief Quartermaster Soriun - Soriun is an El-Aurian and a long-time advisor (in more ways than one) to young Captain Krek. It was her advice that persuaded Captain Krek to listen to his inner scruples and turn rogue when the war with the Federation began, and her words that helped win Talyana to the captain's side. She is a mysterious woman, and by far the most long-lived of the crew. USS Freedom The Freedom is a Galaxy-class ship - a model that's getting old these days but is still the backbone of Starfleet. The Freedom, a ship that's been in service since the 2360s, isn't quite in the forefront of exploration anymore, but whether they're bringing aid to a famine-stricken colony, moving colonists to their new home, or battling pirates operating inside Federation space, they still see their share of action. The Freedom generally operates out of Janus VI, whose native Horta have a special bond with Captain Lumins, who rescued the Altar of Tomorrow early in her career. Captain Stesha Lumins - Originally the ship's chief medical officer, Stesha Lumins is a friendly captain who loves her crew and is sometimes (maybe often) their surrogate parent. A recent divorcee, she specifically requested a command where she could have her daughter Amaryllis with her. (Starfleet typically does not put families on starships these days, but vessels that serve behind the lines still have that option.) First Officer/Science Officer Tarrant Knight - Most officers don't have the dedication to hold down two demanding posts like science officer and first officer, especially not in today's Starfleet- but the hard-working Tarrant Knight is no ordinary officer. He's brilliant, dedicated, and devoted to his work - albeit maybe not the people person that first officers usually are. (It helps that Captain Lumins likes to handle crew relations more than the typical captain does.) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Yrtimd Kovpesh - Yrtimd Kovpesh is an Iotian, an older man who's been in Starfleet for many years. Raised in a traditionalist family, he still has many of the customs of the Iotians of the 22nd and 23rd centuries - speaking his Standard with a deliberate accent, wearing his people's traditional garb when off-duty, and practicing traditional forms of Iotian ranged combat in the holodeck. (Or at least that's what he says - sometimes the crew are sure he's making up those holidays like St. Valentine's) He's a bit of a flirt and sometimes an odd duck, but his heart is in the right place. Counselor Borhyal Pah - Borhyal Pah was a new vedek on Bajor when the Prophets told him that his secret desires were no sin but a promise for the future - the stars were his destination. He's done his best to balance his faith and his role as a secular therapist and healer, a journey that's sometimes a difficult one but is always one he's eager to walk. His spirituality and broad experiences outside of Starfleet give him an advantage in First Contact and diplomacy situations, meaning he generally has a station on the bridge when not engaged in therapy. Security Chief Tikamat - Tikamat is an Excaliban, a member of a reclusive, advanced race of silicon-based shapeshifters located near the edge of Federation space. Bored with her people's habit of studying passing cultures rather than building their own, she chose to journey out into space and make contact with a Starfleet science team commanded by then Lieutenant Tarrant Knight. Shifting between a humanoid form and her native red-hot, rocky form, Tikamat is new to Starfleet but likely has a bright future ahead of her - if she can control her fiery temper. USS Liberty The Liberty is an old Miranda-class ship with a proud tradition of service dating back to the 2270s. Technically the oldest ship still on active service, it's been in its fair share of fights and always come out on top, making a speciality of tangling with the ancient races and cosmic intelligences that enjoy treating other sentients like playthings. Every year the fleet talks about retiring it, every year it stays in service. Sometimes a classic is a classic. Captain Trevor Hunter - Trevor Hunter has worked his way up from the lower decks, having first been assigned to the Liberty as its chief engineer. His grandfather held that position upon its launch in the 2270s, a fact that fills him with quiet pride. A brilliant, albeit reserved tactical mind, he relies on his gregarious first officer for most of his interaction with the crew. First Officer Corbin Hughes - Big, bluff, and a big fan of archaeology, people like Corbin Hughes pretty well. He likes being first officer, especially for the chance to lead away missions and discover some exciting new artifact on some exotic planet. He doesn’t like to throw his weight around. He came up in the science track and his own regret about switching to command is having to give up his blue uniform! Security Chief Erin White - Erin White isn’t from around here. Born in a grim universe dominated by the United Empire of Planets, Erin fled to this dimension just before that timeline’s Starfleet could close in on her parents’ small resistance cell. Her childhood taught her watchfulness, preparedness, and how to fight to the last. She and Captain Hunter were recently married in a ceremony on Hunter’s native Mars. Chief Engineer Mik'kiee - A tragic case, Mik'kiee is a Deltan born with birth defects that left his empathic senses haywire and his pheremonal abilities almost non-existent. With fewer than a handful of lovers by the time he'd come of age, he knew he could never fit in in Deltan society and so retreated to the comforting confines of Starfleet. As an adult, his reunion with his childhood love Tskiee was a joyous thing, as she guided him towards mastering his empathic abilities and compensating for his weak pheremonal suite with her own. Tactical Officer ch'Nade - ch'Nade is a tough fireplug of an Andorian, a stocky chan's chan who routinely scraps with the MACOs under Erin White's command for fun. His role in a battle is usually behind the tactical console, though, targeting phasers and torpedoes with uncanny accuracy. If the security chief fights in melee, using her sword to great advantage, he's the one who hangs back during away missions and picks things off with his phaser. He loves the United Federation of Planets more than anything, and in his cups may be intemperate about this in the style of his people Counselor Marl Lumas - Marl Lumas is a full-blooded Betazoid with the friendly, open manner of many Betazoid men. That wouldn’t get typically get him a slot on the bridge, of course, but he’s also a trained First Contact specialist and diplomat, with an uncanny ability to win people over. His telepathy is unusually powerful even for a Betazoid, generally leading him to avoid carrying weapons. Recently married to the ship’s helm officer, he’s just about to become a father. Science Officer Tskiee - T’sikee is a Deltan by birth, given to colorful dress off-duty with a sunny personality that makes her popular wherever she goes. She takes her people's oath of celibacy very seriously and works hard to downplay her own natural pheremonal aura of sensuality to make it easier to work among non-Deltans. That being said, she is _very_ happy when she and her husband are able to take shore leave together. (They usually push the air recyclers pretty hard.) Chief Medical Officer Crimson Eagle - Crimson Eagle is one of the first androids in Starfleet, an Exo-III type refitted and rescued by Captain Hunter from her dying planet, and a recent graduate of Starfleet's medical extension program. Though of a warrior disposition herself, she sees her role as supporter rather than supplanter, and rarely goes on away missions. Her role is to assist others rather than lead herself. Helm Officer Darsah - Darsah is a Cardassian, the daughter of a prominent Gul, albeit one with much more interest in other cultures than your typical Cardassian. On a long-term exchange assignment, she’s proven herself to the crew time and again but her habit of "sharpening the blade of her lies” around the rest of the crew means she’ll probably spend the rest of her time in Starfleet as an ensign. Still, she and Counselor Lumas get along well - well enough that her recent request for maternity leave came as little surprise. Martel Station Martel Station is on the Federation-Tholian border, in a part of space frequently visited by travelers from all over the Galaxy, and the only reliable port in a region of space beset by ion storms, black stars, Orion piracy, and similar interstellar hazards. It's technically a Federation station, but its distance from Starfleet headquarters (and dependence on outside traders) means that its commanders have learned to lead with a light hand. Commander T'Seve - The station's commanding officer, Commander T'Seve is from an old Starfleet family - her great-aunt was Travis Hunter's first commanding officer back in the 22nd century. A gifted telepath, she was recently formally bonded with her longtime lover, the Caitian second officer of one of the few Starfleet ships that regularly visits Martel Station. She thinks sometimes of resigning her post to join her mate among the stars - but she has a duty to her people and to her family. There are secrets in Martel Station that she would prefer nobody know, secrets that date back to the founding of the Federation. Lieutenant Commander sh'Torm - An Andorian shen, Commander sh'Torm is a woman out of time. She was serving on board the Constitution-class USS Challenger when it entered a time vortex in 2264, emerging over a century later in an unexpected future. One of the Challenger's few survivors, she remained in Starfleet, looking for shadows of her lost identity, but adjustment has been difficult. She commands the Tempus, the small escort-class ship that is the biggest 'gun' around the station, and has recently become the lover of the mysterious El-Aurian who is technically Aquaria's employer. Lieutenant (j.g.) Jessie White - Jessie White is Commander T'Seve's personal adjunct, a victim of profound psychic and physical trauma. Assimilated by the Borg on her first shore leave, she spent a hellish time as part of the Collective, before being 'liberated' by an ion storm that only delivered her into the hands of Orion slavers who saw her as an exotic trophy. Jessie doesn't like to talk to people - but she works hard, she does her job, and she likes her friends. She has an uneasy relationship with her counterpart - what does it mean that the other Erin has been so much better at being a Starfleet officer than her? If her double from another universe, from an _evil_ universe, is a Starfleet hero - what does that say about her? Daffnee - Technically just one of many ambassadors assigned to the station, Daffnee is a Vorta who claims a sincere interest in the Federation and Federation culture. (She says she was far away when the Dominion War happened and never fired a shot at a member of the Alliance.) She seems like a genuinely decent, likable person who sincerely wants what's best for everybody, and her fellow ambassadors like her so much that she often speaks for them in their relations with the crew. She seems nice. But then, that's what Vorta do, isn't it? Aquaria - Aquaria is a Gorn, of an aquatic clan that strongly resembles a bipedal saltwater alligator from Terra. A few years ago she was serving on a science vessel that destroyed a Orion Syndicate vessel that had dared cross into their territory - while cataloging the ship's hold, she found Ensign White, then a deeply-traumatized prisoner and ex-Borg recently purchased by the Orions. Horrified when her captain ordered the human's death, she turned her coat and ran, rescuing her prisoner and fleeing to the Federation. Now she tends bar at Martel Station, a gregarious, friendly sort despite being a six-foot crocodile with fangs big enough to bite through a Klingon's armor.

Lemme know if that's okay, Ari.

Time slowed to a crawl for Citizen. To his Archetech contacts, he thought Negator is in the Emerald Cities. Call everyone on the ECL. The emergency contact list was everyone with superpowers in the city he and Archetech knew - it wasn't the same as contacting the Freedom League, but it would at least get cell phones ringing. There were mysteries to solve still, and plenty of them, but right now there were lives to save too. He grabbed the other Citizen's arm, loathe to drag his doppleganger into the fight but loathe to go without an ally in what might be a difficult battle. Wonder if he's the one that killed me. "Citizen, I need you to stay here and protect those people," he said, pointing back to where the other Lor had sensibly gotten away from the fight that was about to break out. "If those Negators get past me, they're going to need some help. Guard the complex, make sure the people in it are okay." He almost warned the other Sharl to keep an eye out for Emerald Spider - but figured it was best not to give Peri away. "Good luck." With that, he dived down into the tunnel himself and ignited his magnetic propulsion systems, the electromagnetic engine that powered the robot directly connecting to Terra's magnetic field as it ripped him forward faster and faster, as fast as he could without slamming into one of the sewer tunnel walls at speed. He trusted in his internal systems to navigate him, especially when darkness descended. He headed straight for the sound of antimatter explosions, sought out the coming Negator swarm, and without hesitation flew directly through it before the other paragon had time to say a word.

Riley automatically covered for Fred, just as he'd have wanted her to do if he was off seeking privacy. "She's prolly fine, she just likes to keep to herself sometimes," he reassured Cathy. "If you want to do her a favor, you should take notes for her in second period." He frowned. "Hope she doesn't get an unexcused, she hates being in detention." 'Detention' at Claremont, which usually meant service work on campus, wasn't actually that bad to Riley's mind - Fred would just be embarrassed to be in trouble.

Riley had missed Fred during Advanced Chemistry, especially since he'd been planning to partner up with her to cover the time he'd be missing during his forthcoming week in Pascagoula with Peyton and Riley's extended family. He did a quick check of the library for her and didn't find here there, then the advanced chem lab itself, but there was only so much time before next period. He wasn't too worried - he knew Fred liked to get away and spend time by herself. Still, geez, she must be feeling rough. He'd never asked where Fred went during her occasional absences, figuring that it wasn't any of his business what she did with herself. I should get her something with my trip money. Maybe she'd like to learn to fish...

I'd be happy to run for Bedlam or Emerald City, B.

Something to think about - Ideally PCs (and NPCs) on the team will probably be sincerely patriotic (or can fake it reasonably well), photogenic, have a background free from scandal or have one hell of a redemption narrative, and in some ways be dependent on the new job. For example, Miss Americana would be the wrong kind of PC for the team because her power, good looks, and wealth would make her teammates dependent on _her_ - someone in their early twenties without a steady paycheck would be perfect. Hyperactive is probably just the kind of person they want.

Good good, continue! If you're interested in a Dream Team PC, this is a good time to test it out.

...rescue the President!?! 3-5 players, preferably those with existing patriotic themes. Hyperactive is already in it - if that's okay with you, Kolo!

The response from Woodsman came slowly, at least by Hyperactive's standards, especially when it came to your typical teenager. But about ten minutes after Hyperactive's initial message came - "Okay. I have my gear. You can find me at corner of Payne and McInnis in Moss Point, Mississippi." He didn't mention that he'd had to wake up, tell Peyton that there was a super-emergency, gear up, and then walk enough houses down that there was no risk of disturbing his mother's extended family with Hyperactive's arrival. The summer vacation to his mother's place of birth, way down on the Gulf Coast, had shaped up to be...well, honestly about as difficult as he accepted.

On Earth-Paragons, he'd be a native, yeah. Probably raised in some kind of survivalist encampment.

http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/9842-air-and-darkness-ic/

July 2017 Greenbank As the gateway slammed shut beneath Phantom's spells, Fast-Forward reflexively threw a hand over his eyes, shielding himself from the flare of mystic energies that meant that doorway to the Mayan realms were closed - for now. Quiet settled into the warehouse now, minus the scuttling and yowling of the few werejaguars that Ix Chel had created upon her first emergence to the realm of men. Or so his mystic book had told him, when he'd gone searching through it, not long before the beginning of the investigation earlier that week that had led he and Phantom to the same spot. "Thanks for this, Phantom," he said, standing with unexpected quietitude on the burn mark on the floor where the portal had lain. "Maria wouldn't have appreciated this getting out." He sighed softly, almost imperceptibly, thinking of FORCE Ops, El Gato, and how fate had led him to be the custodian of their memory even though he'd spent over a decade as one of their greatest enemies. - There were considerably more werejaguars than Daggers had anticipated. He'd run into them running out the back of the warehouse, the group of half-dozen in what had been security guard uniforms turning out to be formidable foes. "You'll be the first in Ix-Chel's new army! The jaguar goddess will be the birth of a new age!"

Woodsman was happy to fight about a lot of things - but he took safety seriously, maybe more so than many of his superpowered classmates. He didn't object when Reagent moved him out of the way, even though he was reasonably confident he'd been safely out of the way to begin with. "Likes my hand best," he muttered as he took aim again, then counted down again before firing. The bolt, freed of any of his usual fuses, struck home and triggered the tripwire with an impressive flash of light and heat - just as Fred had planned. By that time Riley, no dumb cookie, was down with his eyes and face protected - there was no point in taking chances. By the time he looked back up, though, it was clear some reaction was continuing. The alchemical fire hadn't actually melted the rock it sat on (it hadn't reached that kind of temperature) but the rock was sparking and popping almost electrically, with occasional smaller flashes of light as the visible reaction worked itself across the rockface. "Well, tripwire works," he told Fred. "Musta been something in the rocks that's doin' that..." They both felt, beneath their feet, a faint tremor from the rocks below.

Woodsman worked his bow and fired, his face expressionless, lodging a bolt in the middle of the rock monster. He'd used up his big explosive bolt before, gambling that the rockfall would destroy anything lurking down beneath the forest, a calculation that might be about to get them all killed. "Jann!" he called, zig-zagging to break up his course and avoid retaliation, "it can't see or smell you! You hit it while I work on the fire! Gonna kill a whole lot of people if it gets outta control!" He retreated quickly but steadily, walking in a quick, steady pace until he found his shelter - a depression in the ground that might be his only protection if the forest fire really did blaze out of control. Kneeling down, he cracked open his toolkit and his crossbow, and got to work as if he had all the time in the world.

"If you're really going to fight this, there's a party coming to you - I already told them you'd be here...I had a feeling you wouldn't run away." Ren was silent for a moment, looking back and forth between Gretchen and Lynn, before rising to his feet. As he did, he began to fade, like the dial being turned down on an ancient television. "Fight for your lives - and for everybody else's. And so I can see you again..." And then he was gone. - On the Fens rooftop, Comrade Frost quickly made introductions to the other heroes upon Queenie's arrival. They were a motley crew - but from the sound of things, they were all the borders of reality had. If the afterlife can truly be called reality. "Yes, yes, you have all come to attention of Freedom League, is very nice," he said, a little distractedly. "I know you, and you, and you. Come, let us proceed to Silberman's at once! We have two final soldiers to recruit - and then, my friends, it is war." He led the way to their West End destination, riding one of Volcanic's pillars of earth and fire.

That's a great idea, K! I'll say that works - the cameras aren't sabotaged. Now are you guys going to go in, or are you trying to draw him out? Either is good!