Avenger Assembled

Temperance arrived at the police station around the time that Tonya's mother did; the elder woman not hesitating a moment before embracing her daughter, changed and all. "My baby's come back to me!" While the heroes caught up with each other; teenage mystic and ringbearer, veteran flame-wielder, and experienced psychic, the police pulled up their records for both Unferth and Medea recently. The Danish mercenary known professionally as Unferth had been seen in New York some weeks earlier, but there'd been no sign of him since - similarly, Medea had last been seen by the authorities about the time she'd taken part in Stratos' botched bank robbery some weeks earlier as well. There were no records of the two working together in the past, but that didn't necessarily mean anything given the limited resources the cops had available. The heroes themselves were going to have to take over the investigation. As she thanked the heroes (a little more quietly than her obviously overjoyed mom), Tonya told them seriously, "Find the lady who looks like this." She pointed to herself. "I don't remember anything else, but I remember this lady."

Steve walked over to Gina, his every step a heavy footfall, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Your brother will keep your confidence. You have kept his." While there had been no hiding the truth of Peters Evans' transformation, given just how many heroes and citizens alike had been affected by it, the powerful influence of Miss Americana had done all it could to keep the powerful psychic from being discovered by the media - though of course not from his own family. "We will go in our ignorance together. All I know of your Thanksgiving meals I have learned from the television. I have only eaten this holiday at shelters before." Gina didn't seem to find that terribly comforting, so instead he released her and said, "You should eat a meal," he told her, "and put this from your mind. We will have a fine time with your family, and show them our lives." A thought occurred to him and he asked, "Is your brother racist?"

Richard posed with a big thumbs-up and arm around his boy, then followed as their tour guides led them onto the campus proper. "And just think, son, you get through four years here, and you'll have more education than the last three generations of your family," he said with a chuckle. He zipped away between sentences as Mali was introducing the campus, the effect looking as though he'd suddenly blurred away and back again for a perilous second, before rejoining the group. "Radical campus you've got here, little lady," he opined, peering at Mali with a wink over sunglasses he'd donned 'in the moment.' Once they were all inside the main quad, he looked around and added, "What do you kids around here like to do for fun?" Meanwhile, Errant was just sitting down to meditate when he heard a voice - not in his ears, but in his mind, a clumsy mental 'reach' that his own mental powers told him seemed to be coming from outside the window and down on the quad. The mind touching his didn't feel experienced, and the voice was young - maybe eight or nine. Gradually, though, she seemed to become aware of their tentative link. "Bored bored bored I am so bored! This is so boring! How could anything be so boring? Nobody's even flying around or anything! I wonder if Will wants to kiss this girl, eww! I bet he does, he wants to kiss all the girls. I...hey! Hey, you! Can you hear me? What's your name?"

Once they were inside and the cops were gone. Dr. Stratos gave the heroes the stink-eye. "I suppose you're here to laugh at me. They always laugh at me," he explained irritably, his nasal voice settle into a grumble. "'Sebastian, you're too crazy to run the League anymore.' 'Sebastian, you're ready for the nuthouse.' 'By the moons of Antares, Stratos, you have gone mad!' Please." Stratos sneered, turning his ample nose up at the heroes. "Blackstar thinks he's so smart, fancy Mr. Spaceman, Antares doesn't even have moons! It's a star!" He waved his cuffed hands for emphasis. "Lousy Star Knight washout, bet he got those power bands from the Terminus...anyway, everyone says I'm crazy, just because I suggested we bring in mandatory electrocutions just to make sure nobody's an evil robot from space! I ask you, is it CRAZY to be worried that evil robots from space might come in and replace us? Replace us so that nobody even knows we're gone!"

The car arrived at the appointed hour on the appointed day, signalling itself by a single beep from outside. The black stretch limo looked rather out of place on the streets of Greenbank, the sort of thing that would certainly attract attention from anyone watching their warehouse. From the moment they stepped outside, then they'd be in-character until they reached their destination - one that in theory, after days of training together and new cover identities for, they were now ready for. It was cold and wet when they stepped outside, even for Freedom City in November, perfect for a day spent inside somewhere warm and dry. The locals in the audience would probably be pretty happy - too bad the participants in bloodsports were going to have other things on their minds indeed.

APPROVED

At Revenant's kiss, Comrade Frost actually blushed! It was hard to tell, even this close, but his blue-white cheeks did noticeably pinken for a handful of moments. It did not seem like the Russian ice hero got a lot of kisses these days. But he recovered quickly. "I, er, heh-heh-heh...I suppose I can, my dear, since you are suitably penitent." he said with a wink. "It is not so bad what you have done, you have only danced with wrong younger men!" When he thought about it, Frost realized something unusual at this party- he was by no means the oldest! Given his usual haunts, this was unusual indeed. "Later tonight, I show you finest dancing in all of Russia." The fire flickered again at his words. He cocked an eye at Arcturus and said seriously, "You do not have to kiss me, but it is good to hear your story. It pleases me to see a man who wears the bear even in these warm climes." He made greetings to the others as well, but seemed the most interested in the vampire lady and the bear boy before he raised his head and called, "Ah, Lady Tiamat, our fire grows dim without you!"

Agent Paragon PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 8 + 6 + 8 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 34 pp STR 30/18 (+10/+4) DEX 16 (+3) CON 18 (+4) INT 12 (+1) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 16 (+3) Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Melee) DEF: +10 (+4 Dodge, +6 Base, +3 flat-footed) Init: +3 Grapple: +14/+25 Knockback: -10/-2 Saves: 3 + 5 + 5 = 13 pp TOU +10/+4 (+4 Con, +6 Protection) FORT +7 (+4 Con, +3) REF +7 (+3 Dex, +5) WILL +7 (+2 Wis, +5) Skills: 72 r = 18 pp Bluff 12 (+15, SM) Diplomacy 7 (+10) Disable Device 14 (+15, SM) Gather Info 5 (+7) Investigate 4 (+5) Languages 2 (French, German, Base: [English]) Notice 13 (+15, SM) Pilot 7 (+10, SM) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 17 pp Attack Focus: Melee 4 Challenge (Fast Feint) Dodge Focus 4 Improved Crit (Unarmed) Move-By Action Power Attack Second Chance (Disable Device checks) Set-Up Skill Mastery (Bluff, Disable Device, Notice, Pilot) Takedown Attack Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 23 + 6 + 10 + 6 = 45 pp Empowerment Array 11 (22 PP, PF: Alternate Power 1) [23PP] BE: Enhanced STR 12 (to STR 30/+10) {12} + Super-Strength 5 (Effective STR 55, Heavy Load: 24 tons) {10} {12+10=22/22} AP: Blast 10 (PFs: Accurate 2) {22/22} Flight 3 (50 MPH/500 feet per move) [6PP] Impervious TOU 10 [10PP] Protection 6 [6PP] costs abilities 34 + combat 24 + saves 12 + skills 18/72 + feats 17 + powers 45 = 150 pts ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Design Notes: Continuing my current theme of paragons, here's an Agent Paragon - a badass secret agent imbued with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men! As the picture shows, she's modeled off the Carol Danvers Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel, a flying brick blaster who's also a great pilot and secret agent. She doesn't have some of the utility powers of some paragons; she can't fly particularly fast or fly in space, but she's a really good fighter and team player, and between her high Charisma and Disable Device can be everything from the "femme fatale"-style spy to the bomb defuser who stops the doomsday device at the last minute and saves the day. Feel free to adjust her skills to give her a particular role on the super-agent team she was probably on before she became, well, Super-Agent! Her Pilot's not that high, despite her Skill Mastery, largely because she hasn't needed to fly airplanes herself much once she learned how to fly! I left her Blast vague; maybe she's a laser blaster? She could be a mutant, or maybe somebody who merged with a Lor artifact or Preserver weapon like the (now-adult!) hero Megastar. Perhaps she went in to defuse one of those doomsday devices, only to find it was interested in empowering people rather than blowing themselves up. As built, she's not still working for her old agency, but she could easily justify a Security Clearance benefit or a Connected/Contacts feat or two if you want to play up her old roots. Maybe she's a government-sponsored patriotic hero, one dealing with the complications such a person would have in the World of Freedom. More immunities could let her be spaceborne, ready to fly out and be part of some alien super-team on Earth's behalf if she has to. (Maybe get a teleporting friend for that one, though!)

The family parked in Visitor Parking in front of the Jasmine Summers Administration Building, Richard all but bursting with energy as he zipped out of the car and took in the scenery. Normally there'd be a lot of new arrivals, but their middle-of-the-semester enrollment for Will meant that the parking lot was mostly deserted - except for the teacher and student who must have been their welcoming committee. Richard took them both in in a flash, and nodded in recognition. They'd met Martha Dugan in their tour of Nicholson, the Claremont vice-president's daughter (who was a little younger than Holly these days) being the powered one in the family. He didn't know the girl with her, but from a look at her muscular build and pretty Asian features, he suddenly had vivid flashbacks of that Crimson Katana 'talk' he'd had with his boy about a year earlier. "Martha, hello!" said the celebrity speedster, zipping up to shake her hand warmly. "Nice to see you again, Richard," said the Vice-Principal with a smile - Mali didn't know the school's administrator that well, but she did know that Martha Dugan was the highest-ranking person at the school who was an actual professional educator. "And you too, Paige. Hello, Holly," she added to the bundled-up girl trailing after the two celebrities. "This is Mali Benjawan, one of our senior students, she's volunteered to help with your family's tour. Mali, this is Paige and Richard Cline, and their son Will."

"We had an abductee found in the woods about an hour ago," reported the officer, eying Temperance warily. Hero-loving or not, everybody was a little tense on this particular night in this area. He told her the story of the strange-looking young woman and how she'd been ranting in a language no one spoke, then been taken back to the station by the heroes Cobalt Templar and Stronghold. "At first it looked like an alien thing, or one of those Grue robot duplicate things, but now they're saying something about it being magic. Station called in a psychic to read her mind, maybe she can tell you something. She didn't look like a monster herself, more like somebody who got worked over by a giant bird, or giant wolf, or something...what kind of monster did you say you were tracking, again?" Once they had the story, the officers directed Temperance to their nearby sub-station.

Comrade Frost A cloud of white smoke poured down the chimney of Freedom Hall, circulated merrily over the fire (which dimmed noticeably) and then reformed on one of the nearby couches - with his white hair, bluish skin and red eyes, free of his usual bulky costume, Comrade Frost looked more like a Norse elf than a human being, though the costume shop beard ruined the occasion a bit. "Greetings, children!" he declared in a raspy voice. "I am Father Christmas! Have you been good little children this year?" he asked with a wink, leaning out of his seat to wave at the heroes elsewhere in the hall. Unlike them, he didn't seem inclined to move far from his seat by the fire, which seemed to be glowing at a rather attenuated level. "Revenant, Arcturus, come keep an old man company, eh?" called the world-famous Russian hero for a moment. "I want to hear stories of how you have been nice this year!"

With his blade extended to the utmost, Caradoc kept pace just behind and to one side of Miss Americana. With long experience in using a polearm, Steve knew that behind was the best means to move in for defense. Not one for chatter in a crisis, Steve kept his own council behind his faceless medieval armor, ready to move to the assistance of the others as necessary. He had no intention of letting his disguise slip in this place; the Baron would hardly greet an Omegadrone rescuer with open arms. And besides, the idea of coming to the Curator's attention again was certainly not something he relished. He thought, a little absurdly, of Gina's sidekick Sharl, now the programmed defender of his electronic community beneath the Arctic ice, and wondered what the program would think of his old enemy resurfacing here. Thinking about the way Gina usually communicated with her protege, Steve decided Perhaps Gina will omit this story from her correspondence.

Paragon PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 10 + 2 + 10 + 0 + 2 + 4 = 28 pp STR 40 [20] (+15/+5) DEX 12 (+1) CON 40 [20] (+15/+5) INT 10 (+0) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 10 + 10 = 20 pp ATK: +5 DEF: +5 (+2 flat-footed) Init: +1 Grapple: +20-+26 Knockback: -12/-2 Saves: 0 + 4 + 6 = 10 pp TOU +15/+5 (+5 Con, +10 Enhanced Con) [10 Impervious] FORT +15/+5 (+5 Con, +10 Enhanced Con) [10 Impervious] REF +5 (+1 Dex, +4) WILL +7 (+1 Wis, +6) Skills: 24 r=6 pp Craft (Artistic) 8 (+8) Diplomacy 8 (+10) Notice 4 (+5) Sense Motive 4 (+5) Feats: 6 pp Fearless Interpose Leadership Luck Quick Change Takedown Attack Powers: 10 + 1 + 10 + 2 + 10 + 10 + 17 = 80 pp Enhanced CON 20 (to CON 40/+15) [20PP] Enhanced Feats 1 (Ultimate Save [Toughness]) [1PP] Enhanced STR 20 (to STR 40/+15) [20PP] Flight 1 (10 MPH/100 feet per move) [2PP] Immunity 10 (Life Support, Starvation and Thirst) [10PP] Impervious TOU 10 [10PP] Paragon Array 6 (12 pp, PFs: Dynamic, Dynamic Alternate Powers 2) [17PP] DBE: Flight 0-7 (0-1000 MPH/0-10000 feet per move) {1-12} DAP: Quickness 0-6 (0-x100) {6} + Speed 0-6 (0-500 MPH/0-5000 feet per move) {6} {6+6=12/12} DAP: Super-Strength 1-6 (Effective STR 45-70, Heavy Load: 6 tons-360 tons) {1-12} costs abilities 28 + combat 20 + saves 10 + skills 6/24 + feats 6 + powers 80 = 150 pts -------------------------------- Design Notes: Here's the paragon - a nice, straightforward flying brick who can fly faster than a speeding bullet, lift even the heaviest locomotives, bend steel in her bare hands, etc, etc. She's tough and fearless, able to shrug off massive punishment, and has the force of personality to lead her team from the front. I've deliberately built her as bare-bones generic as possible - no Super-Senses, pretty generic skills, and without much in the way of knowledges or languages and the like. (am I planning some specific paragon builds later to model how flexible one of comics' classic archetypes is? Maybe!) She also doesn't have any of those vulnerabilities you hear so much about, which would probably be the easiest way to get more points for her build. One thing she lacks is a headquarters, though at least with her Quick Change she can slip into costume and fly into action as a free action. I figure that yes, she _is_ a mild-mannered reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper, her fantastic writing speed letting her do lots of work and so fill a lot of niches in a declining market. She's got Interpose because every paragon should have Interpose, and she's got Takedown Attack because everybody who's going to fight in melee should have Takedown Attack - especially flying bricks! She can fly in space just fine, but may want to cultivate some Space Travel if she doesn't want to spend her time in near-Earth orbit. Lots of classic paragons out there - the magic girl with the powers of an entire pantheon, the alien and last survivor of her home planet, the super-agent imbued with the powers of a passing alien ally that...OK, Ms. Marvel had a weird backstory, not gonna lie. You could buy up her INT to represent a science-oriented paragon, Comprehend or more languages to represent a recently-arrived alien, and the like. Her powers may be a little bland, but these are characters where it's the backstory and the challenges of being the World's Mightiest Mortal that really matter.

"Yes, I think so, I...oh!" Tonya looked in surprise in Cobalt Templar's direction, bicolor eyes widening, before she looked back at Hologram and laughed nervously. "I can...I can understand English again!" She looked down at a discarded Time magazine and grabbed it ecstatically. "And read! Oh my lord, I thought they'd fried my brain for sure!" She looked down at her bleached-white hands and fell silent. "Can you fix these, too? I mean, I..." She blinked, reaching up to run her hands through hair that was much longer and silkier than it had been at the beginning of the day. "Can...can I have a mirror, please?" she asked, a scared kid (even though she looked a couple of years older than Will) deferring to someone who looked like an adult. --- Temperance had more luck when she reversed her spectral hound's investigations and sent it back the way the creature seemed to have come - she found a definite trail leading backwards towards Kingston, usually a quiet semi-suburban neighborhood that today was alive with activity - the spot where she and her hound lost the creature's trail was in an empty scrub forest swarming with cops. A flashlight beam pinned her briefly in the air before someone yelled, "It's another cape! Stand down!"

"If there is a threat to the world, we will deal with it," said Steve seriously. "But I think it is unlikely that will happen." He gave Gina a reassuring look, or at least as much of one as his odd face and demeanor could manage. "We will show your family what you have built here, and that will be good. What we have is..." He was briefly at a loss for words to describe their relationship, his occasional attempts to do so having only led to arguments, before he finally went on, "is ours. Your family loves you. They will appreciate it for what it is." Having finished his own sparse breakfast, he rose to his feet and began loading the dishwasher that he had reluctantly begun using. "We are not normal," he conceded, "but we are not alone in this. Mara, Yolanda, and their families will be sharing a Thanksgiving meal together today, and they are not normal people either. It will be a...worthwhile occasion." Steve had visited Peter and his family on Gina's behalf when she was otherwise engaged, at least once he was absolutely sure Peter's mental safeguards were in place enough to make sure that he would never know the face of the monster that was taking his sister to bed. As the machine kicked on, he walked into the sparsely-used dining room, mentally reviewing his carefully-memorized checklist for the day. "Now, for the football game this evening, your brother supports the Green Bay Packers. Should we order more cheese in homage to their symbol?"

Temperance's little buddy is able to follow the giant's spectral trail east and south, down towards the trailer park communities south of Jordan International Airport.

Hologram steps into Tonya's mind and finds - You're just leaving work when they come up on either side of you - a short, stocky guy with a heavy brown beard and a woman with jet-black hair and olive skin, both of them dressed for clubbing rather than the working-class streets of Lincoln. The man looks up at you and asks you for the time and then...you're not sure what happens next, but you're beaten up and slashed up, standing in a dirty suburban forest in Kingston. You yell for help, but when the heroes arrive, they and everyone else are speaking a language you can't understand! When Hologram probes, she finds - Hologram's Mind Reading countering is sufficient to overcome the active mental conditioning that is only allowing Tonya to speak Old English, but this will not change her altered appearance. Hologram's DC 25 Well-Informed will let her recognize Medea the sorceress. With a DC 25 check, she also recognizes the man - Unferth is a Scandanavian mercenary and supervillain who affects a "Viking Warrior" theme. He claims to be the historical Unferth from the story of Beowulf, but a lot of guys do that. If every infernalist who claims to have been at the Crucifixion had really been there, it would have been like Woodstock...

Witch from the Future -JK Rowling PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 0 + 0 + 10 + 20 + 10 + 0 = 40 pp STR 10 (+0) DEX 10 (+0) CON 20 (+5) INT 30 (+10) WIS 20 (+5) CHA 10 (+0) Combat: 8 + 8 = 16 pp ATK: +4 (+10 Magic) DEF: +8 (+4 Dodge Focus, +4 Base, +2 flat-footed) Init: +10 Grapple: +4 Knockback: -6/-3/-2 Saves: 0 + 5 + 5 = 10 pp TOU +12/+6/+5 (+5 Con, +1 Protection, +6 Force Field) FORT +5 (+5 Con) REF +5 (+0 Dex, +5) WILL +10 (+5 Wis, +5) Skills: 56 r = 14 pp Concentration 5 (+10) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 15 (+25, SM) Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 15 (+25, SM) Language 1 (English, Future English [base]) Notice 10 (+15, SM) Sense Motive 10 (+15, SM) Feats: 13 pp Attack Specialization (Magic) 3 Environmental Adaptation (Zero-G) Dodge Focus 4 Eidetic Memory Jack of all Trades Ritualist Skill Mastery (Knowledge [Arcane Lore], Knowledge [Theology and Philosophy], Notice, Sense Motive) Speed of Thought Powers: 12 + 2 + 39 + 1 + 3 = 57 pp Device 3 (Flight Suit, Flaw: Hard to Lose) [12PP] Flight 1 (10 MPH/100 fpm) [2DP] Force Field 6 [6DP] Immunity 7 (all environmental conditions, suffocation) [7DP] Immunity 2 (disease, poison) [2PP] Master Mage 2525 Array 16 (32 pp, PFs: Alternate Powers 7) [39PP] BE: Blast 10 (Extra: Autofire, PFs: Variable Descriptor 2 [any magic]) {32/32} AP: Communication 15 (entire solar system, visual and auditory, Extra: Two-Way [+0], PFs: Rapid [x10], Subtle) {32/32} AP: ESP 15 (entire solar system, visual and auditory, Flaw: Feedback, PFs: Rapid 2 [x100]) {32/32} AP: Immunity 9 (Life Support) (Extras: Affects Others 9 and Area [burst] 9) {27/32} AP: Nullify 10 (any one magic effect, Extra: Duration [Concentration], PFs: Improved Crit 2) {32/32} AP: Nullify 10 (any one technological effect, Extra: Duration [Concentration], PFs: Improved Crit 2) {32/32} AP: Teleport 15 (1500 ft/entire solar system: Extra: Affects Others, Flaw: Long-Range Only) {32/32} AP: Transform 10 (1000 lbs, inanimate to inanimate, Flaw: Action [Full], PFs: Innate, Subtle) {32/32} Protection 1 [1PP] Super-Senses 3 (Detect Magic 3 [visual]) [3PP] costs abilities 40 + combat 16 + saves 10 + skills 14/56 + feats 13 + powers 57 = 150 pts ---------------------- Design Notes: Mysa Nal, aka Xola Aq, aka the White Witch, is one of my favorite characters from the Legion of Superheroes. Denied her planet's natural psychic gifts by an accident of birth, she became that rarity in the sci-fi future of the Legion - a sorcerer! Trained on the Sorcerer's World, the last refuge of most Earthly magics in the 30th/31st century, she's been hero, villain, victim and victimizer, and one of the few reliable sources for magic in a world where science has largely triumphed over superstition. So I looked through a few old comics online to get some ideas for the kinds of tricks the White Witch has pulled, and then went from there to think about how a magic user in the far future would operate. First of all, she's smart - much smarter than most contemporary mystics, with a vast understanding of the magical and divine history of the world. This is a product of 26th century educational practices, which have advanced just as much as various other practices. With her high INT and WIS, she can at least try her hand at almost anything. She's a product of far-future medical science, and her enhanced physiology can pretty easily shrug off contemporary diseases or toxins - for a trip back to these primitive times, she had to get her shots! (She's not bulletproof, though, a legacy of mostly fighting big bads like Mordru rather than low-level thugs). One thing she lacks is Comprehend; a downside of popping back to an era when most people don't have access to translators! She has access to super-tech like the flight suit that protects her from harm and lets her fly (without which she is PL 7 defensively), but her primary skill is her incredible magical knowledge. She's designed to operate at a solar system level, augmenting her Teleport, ESP, and Communication with Enhanced Magic earned from frequent use of the Ritualist feat. Her magic is a little generic, but enough to let her fill many niches - she should be able to do _something_ in most situations, particularly against high-tech opponents armed with battlesuits and other far-future gear. It may seem odd that she's good at fighting other mystics, but she's probably one of the few mystic heroes in the galaxy when she's from! Keeps a girl busy. Why is she back in the 21st century? Maybe there's a threat in the future that she's trying to stave off in the _now_ before it becomes a cosmic crisis in the future, or maybe she wants to learn about Earthly magic in an age when it's much stronger than the world she left behind. Her knowledge of the future may be both a blessing and a curse, depending on just how much she knows about our history outside the world of magical affairs. The early 21st century is a good time for Freedom City, but other things are coming. If you don't like the time traveler angle, this works just fine as a Lor mystic come to Earth to investigate what may well be the source of her people's magic...

November 28, 2013 Earth holidays were something Steve Murdock had gradually learned to celebrate during his years living in Freedom City, none having been part of his own upbringing. Some made sense, at least on an abstract level - the religious holidays to celebrate the birth, death, and rebirth of the primary god of the local population, the national holidays to celebrate the birth of the local nation-state, and those that commemorated the beginning and end of the year. His favorite of them all was the day of thanksgiving, perhaps because it was the closest thing to a holiday he himself had had as a child, even if the historical underpinnings of the day were at best an abstraction to the native of the Terminus. He'd spent most of his Thanksgivings on Earth-Prime working in homeless shelters and soup kitchens, gladly giving hot meals and warm beds to those who had fallen between the cracks even of this shining, near-perfect society. This year, however, was different - instead of helping strangers at a difficult time, he was helping someone very close to him indeed. Facing Gina across the breakfast table on Thanksgiving morning, he said, "It is strange to have a holiday together. I like the feel of it." Steve normally worked right through the holidays on behalf of his coworkers with children and families, but had made an exception this year given that Peter Evans was finally well enough to leave his treatment at the Albright Institute and walk safely on the street without fear of disaster. It was an occasion Steve understood only too well. Speaking of the day itself seemed like the safest place for the conversation to go, knowing how tense she was about the holiday reunion with her brother and his family - for all that she'd invited them there in the first place.

The Omega Mob The Australian Federal Police, and many Australian superheroes, know all too well about the criminal activities of Leigh Newman, one of the most infamous Australian crime bosses. From his spacious office in Darwin, overlooking the beautiful Timor Sea, Newman has a finger in every pie in Australian vice - the Italians, the Serbs, the biker gangs, the tongs and the triads, all of them owe a little something to this suspected footsoldier turned drug lord. He's been behind bars a few times, but it's never stuck. Unlike many crime lords, he's not a racist - though he openly despises the "stinking bloody sewer" of Darwin and the "worthless sodding scum" around him, he'll gladly work with anybody to make a profit. Of course, he's also not afraid to sell out his criminal allies-turned-rivals to cops or northern Australia's vigilantes, then move in and take over the newly-decapitated operation once his rival is safely behind bars. The self-described "Omega of Crime" is a short, hairless man covered in brutal-looking scars, and when he smiles his teeth are yellowed with drink and tobacco. Everyone knows he's bent, but general consensus among those who've dealt with him is that the bloody gang war that would result from taking him out would be worse than letting this crude little man run his empire. Despite his crude manner and shocking personal style, peppered with obscenities vile even for an Australian, he's surprisingly charismatic. He's also very fond of references to the Terminus, peppering his speech with gloating talk about how his enemies will all rot in the fires of the Terminus, and adopting the last letter of the Greek alphabet as his personal seal - he's even branded it on his forehead! But Newman is a canny man, particularly when it comes to dealing with American superheroes. He knows they're much more sensitive to talk of the Terminus than Australian heroes, isolated by distance from the invasions were, so he plays "the bit" down when they're around. His footsoldiers, many of whom actually tattoo themselves with the Greek letter Omega, are primarily young thugs addicted to the drugs he supplies them, while his super-agents are heartless mercenaries willing to work for a grotty little man in an ill-fitting suit who happens to be rich. He's currently behind bars after what seemed to be a rare misstep - local Australian hero Larrakite caught Newman after he and his gang kidnapped American 'talking head' Harold Harbing to 'teach him a lesson' about "loving superheroes too bloody much." Newman surrendered to the authorities and confessed everything at his trial; now he runs his empire from behind bars while his loyal lieutenants keep the faith in his absence. He has loudly insisted that the world hasn't seen the last of the Omega of Crime, but frankly Australia's heroes seem to have bigger priorities to worry about. They are wrong. For stats for Newman, use the Crime Boss from page 80 of Iron Age, equipped with the weaponry and armor of from the Freedom City book.

Roll(1d20)+12: 19,+12 Total:31 The giant breaks the Snare! Have an HP, TT - since it takes this opportunity to make a fair escape. Hologram - Give me a Mind Reading power check vs. DC 14.

"Genóge! þu betulde mec! Ic þæs huntunga edgrówunga!" With a mighty effort, the giant strained its tremendous muscles and shattered Temperance's icy barricade. But it made no effort to approach her or resume their dance; instead it flew into the sky with a bellowing roar and heave of its mighty wings, rapidly evading the hydrokinetic as it flew above the roof - and promptly vanished in a rush of wind so icy cold that frosty vapors rose from the space it had departed like a cartoon smoke outline. Temperance was alone, and the monster was gone. - "Ic náhtu acnéow," said Tonya, sorrowfully shaking her head, but she didn't resist or pull away as Paige sat down opposite her and began probing her mind. While the psychic did her work, Officer Petersen put down his police phone and turned to Cobalt Templar and Stronghold with a look of sharp professional concern on his face. "Tonya Morris' appearance matches that of a Jane Doe discovered two nights ago in Wharton State Forest. Black hair down to the waist, blue eyes, and looked like some big animal had been at her before she died. State police think she was a runaway from Manhattan or Newark. No ID yet, either nobody put her in the system...or after she got changed, they couldn't make an ID."

They all piled into the car for the trip across town to Bayview, Paige behind the wheel and Richard in the front passenger seat, Will and his heavily-bundled up sister in the back. The TV cameras were back at home, of course, but Richard had the Nikon CoolPix that even he had to admit was more efficient than the camcorder he'd used to record Will's trip home from the hospital. It was probably for the best Paige was behind the wheel, Richard found his mind wandering back to the past more and more - his son's first steps, his first words, and then his first run at super-speed! And now, off to be a teenage superhero, just like the ones Richard had been fighting when he was Will's age. "Now remember," he said seriously to Will, repeating advice his son had heard from him a lot since they made the move, "if you see what looks like a man made of blue fire chasing you, run and get an adult hero, because that's the Burning Ghost and his hosts are always serious dorks. And don't let any of the other kids try and rag on you just because your mom and dad used to be in the trade. They're probably just jealous your mom and dad are so awesome!" he went on. "Be proud of who you came from, and you'll do fine."

Officer Nancy Lee was waiting for Paige when she walked in, an older woman with a concerned look on her face. "Come in, Mrs. Cline, I'll show you to our victim. Or do you prefer Hologram while in costume?" she asked neutrally. Most superheroes just went by name, of course, but most superheroes weren't ex-villains with their name in the police rolodex. "We have a suspected kidnapping victim who may have been...altered against her will, brought in by Cobalt Templar and Stronghold." She led the way into the 'waiting room' where Tonya Morris was waiting for them, looking miserable as she wrote frantically with pen and paper in a language neither of the women spoke. She looked up at Paige and her escort and said, "Hwæne?" "I've tried to tell her that her mother's on the way," offered Lee, "but she can't understand me, and she can't make herself understood." "Ah, our expert's here," said Peterson, pointing as Tonya's escort ushered a familiar face into the conference room that held Tonya Morris - in her black costume, silver belt, and familiar holographic symbol, everyone knew Hologram, psychic host of popular Discovery Channel show Supercrime! With his knowledge of history, Cobalt Templar knew the TV host was a former villain, now on the side of the angels.

That hits! Roll(1d20)+5: 13,+5 Total:18 It is entangled!