Avenger Assembled

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3956765/ A 3, oh boy!

Steve fell silent at those words, staring off into space for a moment. "You can only live so long with grief," he said reflectively. "Until despair and loss permeate your soul like meat and drink, and you vomit it out with every word and every breath. If what you lived through is too much for you to mourn the dead, then that is for you to decide. Your emotions do not make you evil. They make you young." He fell silent for a moment, then said out loud, "Had you ever seen the taking of a life before? In a small or great quantity such as that."

"I didn't really know!" said Sharl, raising his hands defensively. "Miss A and I don't really talk about that stuff! The last thing I remember is, she was scanning me just before we went off to Erde, and the next thing I know she was putting me back together. I don't even know what happened on the mission or anything, just that we saved Tronik and stopped the Curator, and that...a lot of people got hurt along the way. But you guys are all okay, right?" he asked concernedly. "I mean, you didn't get hurt? I heard Koshiro took out the whole bioneural complex by himself..."

Make a connection to Red Death II, the "Lois Lane snaps and grabs a supervillain's gear" legacy NPC. (She's using the gear of Red Death I, a Soviet supervillain of a previous generation) - perhaps Comrade Zero was a friend of the original and wants to bring his legacy to an end. Sure, RD1 was a no-fooling bad guy, but that's just further reason why these kids today shouldn't be running around wearing his colors...)

January 24, 2013 It was just after beginning of lunch period on Thursday, January 24th, 2013 when a holographic dog appeared in the common room of the Claremont dorm that had recently been the home of Sharl Tulink, the young hero who had given his life to save his home world, and much of Earth, from the ravages of the Curator earlier in the month. Claremont's students had been hard at work rebuilding their damaged campus and making new connections with friends who had been falsely accused of being Terminus replicants, or had in fact turned out to be evil robots from beyond the depths of space. Lora, Sharl's familiar electronic German Shepard, woofed at everybody a moment before Sharl Tulink himself simply appeared in thin air with a faint electrical hum. Standing right in front of the TV, and in fact seeming to be partially projected from it, he was hard to miss. "Uh, hey everybody," he said with a little wave. "I'm back!"

Doctor Zero, so much more handsome and muscular than Comrade Frost!

Frost stood at ground-level and peered up at the observation tower so far overhead, his parka falling away from his head for a moment to reveal his white hair and blue-white skin for a moment before he pulled it back down as he looked at the others. The Russian hero was an observer here, but in the end they were all heroes faced with a crisis. "She is waiting for superheroes. She would not be so public if she did not want the attention of Freedom League." He put his hands in his pockets and said, "I am troubled. Her powers must be under her own control, or else she would have stunned the crowd on her way up there...I suggest we send someone in to speak with her, and have fliers ready beneath."

Sharl waited impatiently through his diagnostics, getting up and pacing whenever he needed to respond to one of Gina's questions, but obviously trying to do his duty anyway. He was a little surprised, when he was done and talking to Gina, to realize that Gina's boyfriend Steve was there too, or, rather, that he was somewhere in the basement where Gina was working from the conversation they were having! He trusted that Gina wouldn't have let anyone see his private information, which only left the rather unsettling thought of just how long Steve had been over at Gina's place! Maybe they'd had a lot of catching up to do, if Steve really had been a robot replicant for so long... "I'll message you if I have any problems," Sharl assured Gina as he headed for the 'doorway' that would take him to Claremont's familiar holo-systems. He smiled, though she could tell he didn't entirely mean it. "Everything will be okay." He paused at the door, and turned back to her avatar and said, "It sounds like it's been really rough, Gina. I'm sorry I wasn't around to help, but I'm glad you could help me. I've always liked you best. Thanks." And with that, as the automatic sliding doors on the wall hissed their way open, Sharl stepped forward into the Claremont system!

"From a material perspective," said Steve thoughtfully, "it is not such a bad life. They are taken away from a young age and given food, medicine, education, the stolen luxuries of a billion murdered worlds...most die young in palace wars between Annihilists, or as shock troops in wars against the Furion or Omega's enemies, but the same can be said for those they left behind." He fell silent for a moment, then said, "I was taken, once, for Gathering among them. That was long enough now that even the youngest of those children must have fallen in the wars of the Terminus.." He fell silent again, then shook his head. "You need not fear such a fate for yourself. Wombs on Nihilor breed entropic mutants more often than not. There is no shortage there. As for becoming Omega's pawn..." He shrugged. "It is a dire thing to say, but there is cold darkness in even the best people. The Terminus feeds as much on corruption as conquest so...do not do evil, and you will not become evil. It is a rule that works on this world. Death may come for you, for me, for all this," he said with a wave at Claremont, "tomorrow. But today we are alive. So be alive, and enjoy what you have. It is very precious."

"Okay...well, I guess that makes sense," said Sharl a little unhappily. "I mean, you used the tools that you had, and putting me in...in a new body is all right." He looked down at his hands and flexed them, watching the muscles move under his pale skin. "I mean, it could be a lot worse, right?" He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, measuring his lungs. "All a person really is what's inside their mind, so having a new body isn't that weird. It's just like you transplanted my everything." He shrugged a little, then added, "Well, if I'm stuck in this system, I guess I should call people and let them know I'm okay." He smiled thinly. "And maybe watch the news and catch up on what happened for ten days."

"Okay, well...if something bad happened, I should go to Tronik first," said Sharl hesitantly. "I mean, people there will be looking for Citizen to help them, even if he doesn't have any answers. I can't just go talk to my friends and worry about my family. If I go there right now, I can help and come back in the morning to see everybody. I..." He fell silent for a moment, thinking things over. "Gina, I'm still not sure I understand what happened. You said you were able to fix me, right? Using what you knew about how my body works to put it back together. Like doctoring? So when you talk about backups, what do you mean?"

"Oh..." Sharl fell silent at that, gradually accepting the bizarre circumstances his mentor was describing. He tangled his hands together on his lap, pulling away from Gina when he sensed her reaction. "I guess I have a lot of catching up to do. But you're okay, and my friends are okay, and Steve is okay?" When Gina nodded at that, Sharl said, "I don't...I don't remember any of it. I've never know what I would do if the Curator showed up, or attacked Tronik, I always thought I'd call you, or the Freedom League, or Dragonfly...but I guess I came up with something." He smiled thinly at Gina, then his face fell. The fate of his body didn't cross his mind, but who might have seen it did. "Was the fight in Tronik? Did my family see it happen? "

Sharl had looked very glad to see Gina face-to-face, but her words made him white as a ghost. "What? I died? How?" He shook his head. "I mean...start from the beginning. The Curator attacked after we came back, okay. Did we make it through the mission, at least? Is the other Tronik safe? Are my friends okay?" He ran his hands through his hair, his computer vitals, at least, still looking fine. "I know I have a lot of questions but you're telling me things and I don't understand!" His mind ran to its obvious conclusion and he looked at Gina, his eyes wide. "What happened to _my_ Tronik?"

"My name is Sharl Tulink, I am a citizen of Tronik. My teacher is Gina Evans and my best friend is Koshiro," said Sharl automatically before he said, "What do I remember? I was sitting on the table and you were scanning me, and we were talking about my plans for the trip to Erde, but that was ten days ago now. Did something happen to my memory?" he asked, looking very concerned. "I can't...I can't feel my projector. Is something wrong with me?" he asked her. "Can I project in your lab? I can't remember anything after you were scanning me, it's like I just...popped from one moment to the next, with nothing in between. Did my memories get wiped?"

"Yes, that is possible," agreed Steve frankly. "But it requires a level of material investment not possible on Earth-Prime. And it is..." He shrugged. "One of many possible strategies the Terminus uses to subvert a world. This world is more prepared for them than most. Eventually one has to simply live, and trust that you can prepare for danger as best you can." He thought for a moment, then went on. "The entropic mutants of the Terminus are...awash in Terminus energies. Permeated with it even in the womb, altered by it at their very core, and then when it manifests told that they are the blessed children of Entropy itself. Sons and daughters of the not-living god." He looked away, and for a moment seemed to be looking at something else entirely. "It is no wonder that they are what they are. You have avoided that fate, and should be glad of this place. You live," he added with perfect seriousness, "in a world of wonders."

"I feel...fine," said Sharl suspiciously as he took in his new circumstances. He'd gone from projecting in Miss A's lab to the inside of what felt like Gina's personal hard-drive. Sharl was quick on the uptake, and Gina could see the monitors that showed his stress jump a little. "Why did you upload me?" he asked, a little bit of concern in his voice and even the shadow of hostility fading as he scratched behind the still-excited Lora's ears. "Sssh, ssh...Is there something wrong with my program? Everything seemed okay when I got up this morning, and I didn't have any problems interfacing with the backup drive system or the Wonderbus..." His voice trailed off as he stared up at the spot he knew Gina preferred to communicate from. "What's going on?"

"That’s true,” Sharl admitted, “But I guess I’m more like a starfish that learns how to fly and starts rescuing the others, I...” Sharl's voice trailed off as he looked around himself. He wasn't in Miss A's lab in the 13th Floor, that was for sure - instead he was inside his 'house' at the desk Gina had programmed for him, looking down at Lora sleeping at his feet. He was just about to ask Miss A what was going on when the dog woke up and looked up at him. With a yip, the big dog jumped on him and began licking his startled face, woofing excitedly, and Sharl automatically gave the excited dog a hard hug before gently shoving her weight back onto the floor. "Easy girl, easy..." he said out loud. "Miss A? Gina? What happened?" he called out loud, knowing his mentor could watch him without him seeing her.

"I am familiar with other beings who have been mutated by entropic radiation," said Steve carefully, "but that does not mean I am familiar with people like you. The origin of your superpowers need not determine your character, however grim that origin may have been." He had thought this through carefully. "How the entropic mutants of the Terminus live is shaped by the world in which they were born, and in which they grew. You live in a world free of significant Terminus radiation and in a place surrounded by heroic people, so you need not fear living the kind of life that they do," he told her reassuringly. "The prejudices you face are regrettable, but there are worlds where it is far more dangerous to be a T-baby. And far more dangerous to know one."

"I'm going to see my mom and dad!" said Dorothy excitedly, looking close to tears. "I missed them so much! They must have been so worried about me when everything bad happened...they must have been," she said with determination. "Sure, uh, Blue Jay, I'll drop you off at school, but then I'm going home! I miss my family!" She looked around and found Redbird. "Thank you so much for rescuing me! You and Midnight and Dragonfly and that lady, you guys are heroes! Just like my friends from the Ringworld...I'll thank them again soon, but I just can't wait to see my family!" She took Blue Jay's hand and made a gesture in the air, a wormhole rippling open in front of them and revealing the smoldering remains of the Claremont administration building. White-faced, Dorothy stood there and looked at the building in shock for a moment, her hand tightening in the older girl's. "I will go with you," Steve promised Gina. "Where else would I go? But first a promise was made that I must keep." He gently deposited Gina in the seat he'd been sitting in, then opened the door to watch Dorothy and Tona standing before the tesseracted scene of carnage. It made Steve hesitate slightly, but he pressed on - his thoughts for the guilt the girls would feel, and the realization that evil had been done in his own name as well. "Go home to your friends," he said encouragingly to Dorothy and Tona. "Treasure them. Our journey is over, and you are safe." Dorothy shot Steve a brave little smile, then pulled Tona through the wormhole behind her.

Android Costumed Detective PL: 10 (150) "The mission hasn't changed. Just me." Abilities: 8 + 4 - 10 + 4 + 4 + 0 = 10 pp STR 30/18 (+10/+4) DEX 14 (+2) CON n/a (-) INT 14 (+2) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 10 (+0) Combat: 12 + 8 = 24 pp ATK: +6 (+8 Unarmed) DEF: +8 (+4 Dodge Bonus, +2 flat-footed) Initative: +2 Grapple: +19 Knockback: -11/-10 Saves: 4 + 4 = 8 pp TOU +12/+10 (+10 Protection, +2 Defensive Roll) FORT n/a REF +6 (+2 Dex, +4) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 56 r=14 pp Computers 3 (+5) Intimidate 10 (+10, SM) Investigate 8 (+10, SM) Knowledge (Streetwise) 8 (+10) Knowledge (Technology) 3 (+5) Notice 8 (+10, SM) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 8 (+10, SM) Feats: 13 pp Attack Specialization (Unarmed) Challenge (Fast Startle) Defensive Roll Dodge Focus 4 Skill Mastery (Intimidate, Investigate, Notice, Stealth) Sneak Attack Startle Takedown Attack Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 12 + 40 + 1 + 20 + 5 + 1 + 6 = 85 pp Enhanced STR 12 (to STR 30/+10) [12PP] Immunity 40 (Fortitude Saves, Psionic Effects) [40PP] Leaping 1 (x2, running long jump 26 feet, standing long jump 13 feet, high jump 6 feet) [1PP] Protection 10 (Extra: Impervious) [20PP] Regeneration 5 (Recovery Bonus +0) [5PP] Speed 1 (10 MPH, 100 fpm) [1PP] Super-Strength 3 (Effective STR 45, Heavy Load: 6 tons) [6PP] costs abilities 10 + combat 20 + saves 8 + skills 14/56 + feats 13 + powers 85 = 150 pts ------------ Design Notes: In honor of one of my favorite Batman: The Animated Series episodes, as well as the recent Curator plot, here's one of my favorite of my own builds revamped for this thread - the android costumed adventurer! He's got the skills any weird avenger of evil should have - he's sneaky, scary, knows the streets like the back of his hand, and is a pretty good detective too. He's dependent on his sneakiness or his scariness to meet his caps in combat, just like most of his colleagues. He just happens to also be a mini-powerhouse who can shrug off bullets, throw a car in a pinch, and leap from rooftop to rooftop, while at the same time shrugging off most forms of harm that affect organic lifeforms. Maybe he doesn't have a cave or a utility belt, but those are things he can accumulate with time and XP. Who knows where a hero like this goes in his downtime - they say he never sleeps. I've built him with the assumption that he's a robot designed to pass for a given costumed adventurer, perhaps a replicant built by the Curator or by Talos who went rogue, either by losing the brainwashing and becoming the mask or simply breaking away from his master. Because of this, one thing he is missing is a significant suite of super-senses. I built him with the idea that he 'feels' like a human being inside his own head, without an ability to pick up radio signals or see in darkness, but that could also easily be bought with PP. Another thing he's missing is an ability to interface with computers - he's a bit more old-fashioned than that, the kind of robot who might have fancy transistors inside him once you open him up. Dropping the psionic immunity would let you give him a soul, albeit one of silicon, or that could be a descriptor for a character who's a full-body braincase cyborg. Gaining those points could let you buy enough computer skills to make him better at upgrading or maintaining himself. With the right skillset, he could be the author of his own situation - perhaps he built a robot and transferred his consciousness there, or stuck his brain in a cyborg body with the help of machines. Note that in the wake of the recent Curator story arc, where evil robot doubles of established heroes went on a crazy rampage, even the most sympathetic unknowing robot doppleganger is going to find himself having to answer some hard questions.

Here is my thread, full of builds. [UPDATE 4/23 Links Fixed] Agent: COULSON! YOU WILL BE AVENGED! Agent Paragon: My attempt at a Carol Danvers-style build Android Costumed Detective: What if the HARDAC Batman stuck around as a good guy? Armored Costumed Detective: Bruce Wayne Beyond Atlantean Mystic: There are lots of mysteries to explore down there. Armored Sorcerer: Inspired by the old "Tony Stark as Sorcerer Supreme" What-If Armored Time-Traveler: When you're tired of being dumped naked in the Jurassic Barbarian Paragon: A Black Adam-inspired build with the idea that Teth-Adam should be able to mess you up pretty bad. Bargainer: Mayor Richard Wilkins III conversion, modified a bit to work in a superhero universe Black Prince: A pretty straightforward Black Panther build. Blind Precog: A Daredevil-type whose abilities come from precognition rather than more 'traditional' Super-Senses. Cryokinetic Cowl: A Mortal Kombat vs. DC-inspired Sub-Zero/Batman mashup Cyberkinetic Cowl: What if a computer hacker became a cowl rather than the other way around? Cyborg Illusionist: These archetypes aren't commonly merged, but I think this build works pretty well! Divine Teleporter: What if Nightcrawler's faith gave him power in a very real and meaningful sense? Divine Weather Controller: Storm with Thor's hammer, sure, why not? Duplicator Living Weapon: ALL the Wolverines Elastic Inventor: My attempt at a Mr. Fantastic build - complete with Baxter Building Elastic Sorcerer: An elastic detective like Ralph Dibny - wearing the Helm of Fate! Electrokinetic Tyrannosaurus Rex: Tyrant Lightning Lizard Frog Thor: Throg at PL 10 Full-Body Cyborg: My take on a Major Kusanagi-like braincase cyborg Gary Mitchell: Ace space pilot jacked up on electro-cosmic goofballs Giant Shapeshifting Robot: A Transformer build God of Patriotic Lies: What if Loki did more than just shapeshift into Captain America? Grue Detective: A Martian Manhunter-style Grue infiltrator, with heavy emphasis on his detective abilities Grue Patriot: Alien shapeshifter turned all-American super-soldier. Or has he? Hestia: The goddess of the hearth from Greco-Roman mythology, built as a PL 10 superhero Hoodoo Doctor: My attempt at building a Hoodoo (rather than Voodoo) practitioner, heavily infused with Biblical magic Ice Princess: Elsa from Frozen, built as a PL 10 Infernalist Bluesman: What if a 1920s jazz musician sold his soul for more than just musical talent? Infernal Ringbearer: Matt Murdock with Satan's power ring Loose Cannon Psychic: Here's my build for an action-oriented psychic like Carrie White Magic Black Canary: Exactly what it sounds like Magic Merc: Deadpool with magic gadgets, sure, why not? Magic Robot: Or in this case, a golem who has learned to master the kabbalistic spells that brought him to life. Military Flyer: Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon, as seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Mimic: Trying to make a version of this archetype who is formidable even without his powers. Mystic Giant: Daughter of Muspelheim; based on a picture Mystic Knight: This is my build for Shining Knight; Sir Justin/Sir Ystin Mythological Powerhouse: Hercules, Hercules! Paragon: Here is a flying brick of no particular origin Perceptive Paragon: A paragon whose focus lies in his Super-Senses Photovore: What if Jubilee still had her light-controlling powers when she became a vampire? Post-Apocalyptic Portal User: Blink from X-Men: Days of Future Past Power Thief Paragon: My take on Rogue's animated incarnation Psionic Gadgeteer: A socially effective genius who can read your mind! Psychic Gorilla: A gorilla who can think. And read your thoughts as well. No, he doesn't want your banana! (Real) Stage Magician: A build of a Zatanna-style stage magician with real powers! Serpentine Paragon: What if Power Girl was from Lemuria instead of Atlantis? Shapeshifting Archer: A Jennifer Lawrence-inspired Mystique/Katniss mashup. Simian Infernalist: A gorilla wielding all the powers of Hell itself? Sign me up! Courtesy of my colleague trollthumper. Size-Changing Gadgeteer: My take on a giant/shrinker, like Marvel's Giant-Man Squishy Brick: A Sunspot-inspired gravity controller with a +5 Damage and +5 Defense tradeoff Unnatural Paragon: Mythos paragon, inspired by the Michael Turner Supergirl Teleporting Rock Star: Lila Cheney Vulcan Jedi Green Lantern: I think the name is pretty straight-forward Weather Controlling Cat Burglar: A pretty straightforward Storm/Catwoman mashup Witch From The Future: A magical character from a sci-fi setting Zombie Speedster: Oh no, it's Zombie Speedster! Historical Figures Benjamin Franklin: Specifically, Benjamin Franklin as an immortal electrokinetic in power armor Frost Nixon: Richard Nixon, Thermovore Giordano Bruno: Hermetic mentalist in power armor Regenerating Paragon: Abraham Lincoln as a flying brick Vandal Savage, courtesy of the Invincible universe. Starry Magus: Mystic priest of ancient Fertile Crescent National Heroes Camazotz: Tijuana's native hero, basically Black Widow in a Batman Beyond suit El Monstro: Hulking vampire defender of northern Mexico El Spectro: Mexico's greatest hero La Tiradora: Conflicted Mexican archer and magnetic controller Macuahuitl: 'Armored' defender of southern Mexico, wielding the Ten Rings of Quetzacoatl Offspring Dust Devil: Fastest desert tornado of them all! [Clock Queen/Set] Flame Cowl: Pyrokinetic avenger [Foreshadow/Ember Psion] Frostflower: Icy plant vampire [Comrade Frost/Fleur de Joie] Psychic Werewolf: So what if Jean Grey and Wolverine had a baby? [Blue Fox/Wendy Go] Swift: Tough archer [Woodsman/Nighthawk] Teslad: The smartest boy in the Interceptors of the future has a secret [Harrier/Miss Americana] Villainous Organization The Omega Mob: Australian Organized Crime Group ran by an Omegadrone! The Spiral: Far-future brains in jars who love to play with superheroes

"Hello, Katharine." He shifted in his seat at her approach and she heard the wood of the bench creak slightly under his great weight. "I am glad you could make it," Steve added, having carefully rehearsed the speech in his head before the girl's arrival. Pedagogy was never easy for him, but he owed it to the community in which he found himself to help all he could. There were worse things than prejudiced peers and paranoid politicians than threatened young T-mutants like Katharine, things which many more experienced heroes might have trouble speaking to her about in any real capacity. Sometimes one simply had to know these things. Somehow talking to her was more difficult than Glowstar had been; perhaps because the older boy had had more experience of the world than young Kat seemed to. "Are you comfortable speaking to me out of doors?" he inquired of her. "Or would you prefer to remain inside?"

February 28, 2013 Claremont campus The damage inflicted during the Day of Wrath was almost repaired by now, particularly on the Claremont campus with its many superheroes. As Steve walked the campus paths, he studied the scene with approval. There was something about the former drone that made the high school students part both ways as he walked down the path, particularly those very few who actually recognized him for what he was. He didn't mind the separation, though. They were all so young, so happy, so much a part of a world that could never be his - to see them going about their lives with no more fear of robot imposters from the sky (or at least with that fear now in the back of their minds and not dominating their thoughts) was a wonderful feeling even if none of them could quite look him in the lined eyes. Heedless of the chill of a Freedom City February, albeit a warm one, he sat down on the bench outside the administration office and waited for his contact to arrive. It wasn't the first time he'd spoken to a Terminus mutant student at Claremont, but it had been a while since he'd had the opportunity. For some, the legacy of what had given them their powers was easy enough to ignore - for others, it wasn't. Kat saw Steve the moment she stepped outside, having been warned ahead of time exactly what was meeting her to discuss being a T-baby. With his brown skin and scarred body, lines stretching over his hands, face, and bald head, the squarely-built, tall former Omegadrone was impossible to miss even sitting down and staring straight ahead at the building as she came out, as if staring right at her. He raised a big hand and waved it, just once.

Across town, the Russian liason to the Freedom League peered at the relayed security image, his red eyes narrowed as he studied the situation.They were under-strength today with Velocity and Gabriel both occupied, leaving only Comrade Frost, Gaian Knight, and his assistant 'minding the store.' And just me behind the monitor. Feh. Frost picked up his communicator from the heater that had frozen over next to him and called Gaian Knight, giving Tarrant the same briefing he'd given Fleur de Joie just a few moments ago. "Attacking negotiator means there is desire to jump. But she does not take him with, nor does she jump. Is a concern. Will be on roof - can you provide transportation?"

The Western hemisphere was just beginning to lighten as the Nightdragon returned from its interstellar voyage, the ship slowing as it passed through the Solar System to avoid destroying the planets nearby. In the end, the day they'd learned from broadcast intercepts had been dubbed the Day of Wrath had come to an end like any other and a new one was dawning over Freedom City. Watching from the sensor room with Gina, Steve watched as the ship passed silently over a just-awakening Freedom City. The damage was visible from the air, but only if you knew where to look. For the most part, the rampage of the robot doubles had scarred only the city's heart, not its flesh, a dichotomy with which Steve was only too familiar. A little help from Redbird, who knew a little something about stealth technology, guided the massive ship down to a silent, invisible landing in one of North Bay's remaining parks, one that just happened to be near the home of the Hunter dynasty's ancestral house. When the ship finally came to a stop on Earth, Steve looked down at Gina, a silent question in his lined eyes.