Avenger Assembled

Man, you have no idea! thought Richard. I'm lucky I don't have like six kids. What he said out loud was "Heh-heh, well, a gentleman never tells. Let's just say life's a lot easier since Junior left for college." He'd been about to say something about how being together thirty years meant you had to get creative, but that seemed rude in the presence of the recent widower Ellis. "Sit back, boys, watch a master at work." Richard turned out to favor classics in his grilling; picking the choicest, thinnest cuts of steak and cutting them thin at super-speed so he could spread them out on the grill and cook them up as steakburgers, smoothly layering an assortment of cheese, sauces, and other spices on the meat as it came off the grill. "Gonna toast your buns!" he declared to Erik with a wink, having figuring out that the other man preferred his style of humor as he swiftly spread out buns on the top rack of the grill to toast them up nicely. "You boys like brats? Sure, everybody likes brats," he added cheerfully, spreading those out on the grill too with a pleasant sizzle. He was in no hurry to finish cooking - but at the same time didn't want to be the one who came in last! He wound up filling two plates with cooked steakburgers and brats, half with cheese and half without, some of the remainder with what he promised was his 'special hot sauce' from a home-labeled bottle he'd brought along for just this occasion, and when he was satisfied with his meaty preparation he nodded and snapped his fingers - and the fathers were suddenly out of their time bubble.

"Not the first time I've done it," said Riley with a little shrug. "Just gotta know how to handle it. Can prolly have the first batch by the Halloween party, if that's still at your place." Trick-or-treating, which some of the kids were doing either on their own, or as supervisors for the Nicholson kids, was definitely out of his reach. If he was going to have any fun, especially with Robin, it was going to have to be at the old Faretti mansion - which, come to think of it, was not a building he was familiar with back home from what he'd overheard. "Box isn't that bad," he admitted. "Better'n a normal school, full of people who'd look at you and me like freaks 'a nature. Or prison."

"Yeah, yeah, there are," agreed Riley, giving the very pretty girl an odd look. He'd heard other students say that in the weeks since their time at Claremont had begun - but Phaedra was the first person who sounded like she actually believed it. "You can see the hatchet if you want," he offered, reaching down to unstrap the weapon and present it to her with the blade pointing down. It was a common steel camping hatchet, without any magic or other arcane marks on it. "I should return to my duties," said Freedom Angel, a look of satisfaction on his face as his charge so easily found a place among her fellow young people. "I am sure the Headmaster will help you with the earthly details of this place." He bent his head and kissed Phaedra on the forehead in a gesture of benediction. With the perfect faith that Phaedra knew made him a rarity even among his kind, Heyzel told her, "Remember always, sister-daughter, that you are His child." He pointed to the skies above. "You are worthy of Him." With that, he was gone, taking off with a rush of air and vanishing into the impossibly blue sky above. "Come along," said Headmaster Summers, looking from Phae to the others. "Why don't we see you to your rooms, Ms. Morningstar, and we can discuss your class schedule after that?"

Mark gave Nina a "later for you" look that earned him only a look of wide-eyed innocence from his girlfriend. He set his hand on her thigh as they sat quietly and sipped their wine, easily able to feel the warmth of her body through the thin material of her dress. "You're awfully militarist for someone who works for the UN," he teased her lightly. "I don't work for the UN, darling, I merely take advantage of their domestic partnership program and generous sub-contracting policies." She stretched slightly, a movement that showed off how low-cut the dress was in the front. They seemed to be reasonably content to pay attention to each other while Asli and Joe got to know each other - the best way to enjoy a double-date. "I dunno, I bet those Syrian kids are still talking about you..."

"I will," pledged Steve. Considering her words, he found himself truly surprised by the fact she knew what World of Warcraft was - but perhaps an immortal life allowed that sort of knowledge about every inch of life on Earth-Prime. "You are a woman of surprises, Talya," he told her with frank truth, before turning and leaving the dojo for the long walk back to Hanover. But perhaps the walk wasn't so long today.

When Robin spoke, Riley winced, his light embrace around Robin's waist tightening for a moment. Jeez, how long were we talking about that stuff? I'm the worst boyfriend ever! "Naw, just him. Hey, Heyzel," he said with a polite nod to the angel. "Heyzel stopped by the Goodman Building while I was there to see if he could get me home. Didn't work." "I am glad you have found a new place for yourself, You will find great wealth in this house of the righteous," the angel told the boy reassuringly. "Uh, yeah, sure," said Riley, sounding unaccountably nervous for a moment, before shaking Phaedra's hand too, his grip strong and callused for a sixteen year old boy's. Crap, does he have a sin sensor? Does he know about the still? "Riley Quinn," he said, his short stature and contralto voice a contrast with his wiry build and the aware look in his eye. He was consciously not wearing his crossbow today, instead with just a hatchet fastened at his left hip. "You'll like it here. Even if certain so-called chem experts still think they're fightin' in the Dark Ages," he teased Fred.

"Thank you for the information," Steve quietly rumbled, nodding to both Erik and Min. He wasn't sure why he needed to know the information - there was nothing Min could say that would injure his feelings. But it is good to know these things about one's teammates, he decided, especially since Min was also the wife of one of one of his best friends. Though winter need not be a time for death. He considered mentioning the upcoming birth of Christopher and Elizabeth's child in the context of changing life brought by the seasons, but decided that story was not his business to tell. "I will remember it."

A trio of students was just passing by on the quad - they'd stopped to look at the unusual sight of an angel dropping off another student, but had resumed their conversation as they went. "Naw, Fred, black powder's fine for a flashbang, but you're just not gonna get the penetration with-" When he caught sight of the smoking hottie the angel was in the process of dropping off, Riley, a little guiltily, put his arm around Robin and made sure to pay attention to her as he finished talking to the diminutive scientist in their company. "with, uh, that old stuff. What you really need is-" "Ah, Mr. Quinn, Ms. Wei, Ms. Chevalier," said the headmaster, waving them over with that smile that brooked no argument. "I don't know if you've met Heyzel, from the Freedom League - and our new student, Ms. Morningstar."

"Thank you," said Steve, dipping his head in acknowledgement. "I should return," he reflected, his head turning to look at the door. "Miss Americana will be finished with her raid against the Alliance. It is not a real raid," he assured Talya seriously. "Or I would be by her side. There is a game people play on the computer where they are either the Horde, a multiracial confederation of dispossessed peoples, or the Alliance, a cruel, land-hungry empire, and launch mock raids upon each other." Gina had described the game to him and he was fairly certain he'd understood all of the pertinent details. "Miss Americana plays it very avidly."

Visions of sickly-pale Atlantean hands on Deep One shrines swam behind Aquaria's big eyes. She wasn't blind to the realities of the situation - never having been reborn as a Dark Brother, she'd only be able to protect the uppermost layers of the shrines from Atlanteans. Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, forgive me! But she reminded herself that the Atlantean desecration would be in the future - Surfacers were there now, right now, and doing who knew what unspeakable things to the treasures of her people? I'll just get them to leave once the Surfacers are gone. If they're really heroes, that is. She was skeptical of the idea...but more willing to believe it than she had been a little while earlier. "Jessie," she said, turning to her friend. "You should go back to the apartment. I'm sorry I dragged you outside today," she admitted, her big eyes downcast. "But you did a great job today. You were a real hero, and you saved all those people. But you can't last underwater the way I can, or the way they can." Despite her confident words, Aquaria was still scared - scared of being alone with the Atlantean bullies, scared of the Surfacers raiding her people's shrine and stealing both the good and bad from them, but she tried not to show it to Jessie.

"Antics, pfaw!" said Frost with a smile Talya's way. "I am authentic Comrade Frost, still in my original bottle. "Good luck with courtship, Set," said Dimitri with a momentary trace of seriousness. "Too little passion in world in these cold days. If you are caught," he added with a wink, "feel free to tell Chosen of Heshem that it was I, Comrade Frost, who put you up to whole thing." He hmmed. "Actually, no, her wrath is exceedingly great. At least wait until interrogation to blame me, will give me time to find realm to hide in." He grinned and leaned forward. "So if you do succeed in plans, what next, eh? You going to make him your handsomest high priest?"

"I am pleased you've arrived safely, Phaedra," said Summers with a white smile, reaching out to shake the young woman's hand with a firm grip. "Welcome to Earth." "You will be proud of this young woman," said Heyzel with his usual unshakable confidence. "She has come further to be here than miles, and traveled longer than years." He turned to Phaedra and for a moment felt that odd, almost human regret that she was not his child by blood, only by choice. But then all children were his child by choice. "Your mother and father will be proud of you too," he told her with that same confidence. "You have broken the chains that bind others to their fate."

October 22, 2015 Heyzel's years among the mortal had taught him many things - that the Angel of Freedom preferred to be active at a global level rather than a local one, that he preferred the work of peace to the work of violence, and that there was indeed more in Heaven and Earth than had been written in his philosophy. It had also taught him, among other things, a love for the dramatic. So it was that when he brought his sister-daughter Phaedra to Freedom City to begin her time with at Claremont Academy, he chose to arrive in the style of his people. Not in a vision - but from the sky. From a height above the clouds, he gave Ardent a reassuring smile. "Come. Let us introduce you to your friends." He worried for the young celestial, as did all those of his kind who did not condemn her for the circumstances of her birth. Angels have this greater than mortals. We need not pray for mercy - we can BE mercy. Convincing his fellows of that had proven a difficult task; which was why he was here to begin with. - Claremont students saw their headmaster walk into the middle of the quad and look up - and a moment later, like a bolt from above, two figures came down out of the sky like twin bolts from the blue and the distant but unmistakable sound of thunder! The first was instantly recognizable for who he was; Heyzel, the Angel of Freedom, reserve member of the Freedom League. The other was entirely new. "Callie Summers," said Heyzel, bowing his head low to her, his great white wings spreading wide behind him and his flaming sword at his belt. "It is a pleasure to visit your campus again." "You certainly are as subtle as ever, Freedom Angel," commented Summers dryly, looking him up and down. "The Lord will provide for your security," he told her with perfect faith. "Come, meet my niece."

When Aquaria rejoined Bie Yie, he smiled behind his translucent mask, looking delighted to see the Deep One had chosen the Spectrum Knights. "I knew you wouldn't turn your back on your people." He pressed a few buttons on his glowing armor; and as Aquaria and Jessie watched, suddenly the air all around them rippled and changed as dozens of columns of stone appeared, each topped by their own towering crystal palace of translucent cones and spirals, each one a different shade of red, blue, or green. Other Spectrum Knights were visible now too - flying to and fro in the air in a broad assortment of colored shapes, walking back and forth on bridges that had arisen between the islands, or visible through the windows of the towering spun-sugar palaces rising far above their heads. They had thought they'd stood on a lonely crag far above an alien ocean; but now it was clear that their lonely crag was part of a vast community. "Wait, they can fly We can-" As she spoke, Aquaria's armor flared to life again, a flash of translucent green seeming to spill out over her body from the trident she still held pointed outwards at her side. She took a step onto one of the glowing bridges and suddenly she was indeed in the air, jetting rapidly upwards dozens of feet before jetting downwards equally quickly, her armor thrumming slightly with a faint noise of electrical feedback. "Jessie, I can fly!" she croaked excitedly, her throat bulging wide. "Come on, let's fly!" "Careful," said Bie Yie with an indulgent laugh, and a look back at Jessie. "You don't want to frighten your friend. Why don't we try walking to the training center? The Galaxy's not going to free itself - but we don't have to free it today." - The training center, the 'palace' with the darkest green, turned out to be a place full of a dizzying array of alien species, the main room being the interior of a large cone where the Spectrum Knights, humanoids and aliens, were conferring in a conference a good twenty feet aboveground. With a reassuring look down at Jessie, Aquaria waved - and then flew up to join the other Knights in a conversation half-audible to the people below. That left Jessie down on the ground; along with a motley group of humanoids, perhaps a dozen or so compared to the two dozen Knights in the air. They were an odd-looking bunch to Jessie's eyes; but looking up, she could match them all to various of the Knights overhead. Aquaria wasn't the only Spectrum Knight with family. Or a friend

APPROVED

Flight 3 (50 MPH, 500 ft./round, Drawbacks: Restrainable) [3 PP] This is probably just a 1 PP Drawback.

Looks like the only thing she needs is showing where the points were spent on her saves.

His face blank, Woodsman worked the lever on his crossbow and fired from the hip. The bolt whizzed through the air and hit the ground at the feet of the leader of the armored trio. What looked at first like a miss was soon revealed to be nothing of the sort as a thick black cloud of smoke came pouring up from the arrow, a cloud so big that it soon engulfed the heroes and the caged Phantom as well! The cloud was thick and unnaturally dark, bearing with it a faint, unpleasant scent of ammonia. Cathy was there and still talking, but Riley Quinn, was a child of the Forest Primeval. When a leader tells you to run, you run! "Tree line!" Woodsman called to the others, turning and running with unerring instinct towards the edge of the clearing, cutting sideways to get out of where the predators would expect him to emerge from the cloud.

Standard Action; Fire an Obscure arrow into the ground at the foot of the Bounty Hunter Leader. This is an Obscure 5 effect with visual and olfactory. Move Action: Retreat 30 feet towards the forest!

"Oh, Jessie..." Aquaria remembered what she'd heard about Jessie's life before coming to Project Freedom, the stories horrific even by Surfacer standards of gory death, loss, and torture at the hands of people who looked like friends. "I'm sorry, I..." She looked out at the water for the first time, hearing the sound of the alien ocean, inhaling with deep breaths the moist scent of the alien air. It was warm here, and wet even this high up - the brackish-smelling water below had to be as warm as a bath. "...I have to try," she croaked softly. "I have to try. We don't...we don't have any heroes, we don't have anyone to fight for us, we're just...amphibians, squeezed between the Surfacers above and the Atlanteans below, and every year another generation grows up believing that Dagon and Hydra can only be worshiped by blood." She put her hands gently on Jessie's arms, careful not to grip. "I've prayed so long and so hard that Dagon and Hydra would give me a sign, would show me that they haven't abandoned my people. Maybe this is our chance. My chance. I promise, as soon as I can, I'll take us home - and you won't get in trouble for this. It's all me."

While Jessie dealt with the Surfacer authorities, something Aquaria was sure she was probably better at than she was, Aquaria's huge eyes narrowed. "They must be doing something wicked," she said thoughtfully, "something that they thought people would stop them if they were doing it." She looked deeply uncomfortable, her muzzled face tight, before admitting, "There are places near Freedom City that I don't think Atlantis knows about." Because they would loot our bodies, our temples, and call themselves blessed for desecration. "They might be trying to rob one of them. I don't...I don't know how to find them, exactly, but I saw places when I was coming here...."

"Naw, man," said Riley with a laugh. "I'm talking about, what is it, Bob's Catfish House. I talked to Wander, you know, the one the fighting kids all talk about?" He grinned. "She says that place is the best by the school - cheap, too. If I wanted to catch something myself, I'd go catch it and cook it up for Robin in the kitchen. Anyway, I figure the other thing with the movie is that's super-exciting, so the girls will get real tense," Riley felt an odd twinge at those words, but shook it off. He was trying to act like a man, dammit, which was what he knew in his bones he was, "and maybe they'll want some company. If ya know what I mean." He took a moment to open a water bottle he'd left in his poncho pocket and took the chance to take a few hard swallows. "You ever have catfish? They're in the river where I'm from, but most of 'em are scared off by all the boats here."

"I can make that," murmured Riley boldy, a smile on his face as he considered the challenge. "I'll see about Anibal, he's an all right guy. You know, I bet Fred could be a help too," he added. "They used to give their babies cocaine back when she's from, she's probably up for helping with a little party." When they looked to be on their own again, he added, "And we do it our way because if we're buying it from somebody else, we're just...just parasites, man. It's like sneaking and lying if we make a lot of fake IDs and stuff. If we're gonna do it, we do it ourselves, and we do it our way."

"Is that true, Ackwareeaa? Is there nothing you would change? For yourself, or your people?" Aquaria, tense, rested her head against the tines of the trident - her face torn with indecision. "I...Jessie, think about it," she begged, turning to her friend. "They're powerful space shamans!" She raised the trident in the air and added, "And if I figure out how to use this, _I_ can be a powerful shaman too. I'm just another Deep One, I don't have any real power except being an amphibian." She took a deep breath, her throat bulging, and went on, "If I can come back to Earth with power, with real power, I can help Deep Ones! And everybody else," she added. "I can be the first Deep One superhero! Superheroes get away with all kinds of things, we won't get in trouble. We can just say we had to go to space to learn how to be better heroes, everyone will think that's okay." She gave Jessie a beseeching, wide-eyed look, begging her best friend in the world to understand. "If we get in trouble, you can just tell Erin it was my fault."

"There are reasons why Miss Americana has rarely socialized with the Interceptors, yes," agreed Steve frankly. "Miss Americana and I rarely attend family events." They'd actually spent the last Thanksgiving, when Steve was not yet formally on the team, working at a soup kitchen before he and Gina had spent the rest of that night together. "At Thanksgiving, we three will be social together." He spoke slowly, obviously considering every word, and continued - his big hands moving in front of him as if he was physically trying to tease the breath out as he spoke. "If there is awkwardness," he said carefully, "it will be shared awkwardness."