Avenger Assembled

"Well, I'm not burning a hole in the floor, and I'm not in danger of getting sucked back into the matrix inside the ring, so that's good," said the blue-tinted Citizen with a pained smile. He looked down at his hand where the ring had come to rest, then back to Corbin. "I don't know how you keep yourself together like this," he admitted to the former (and future!) Cobalt Templar. "I mean, I know you don't project yourself, but just keeping things together and concentrating on them...it's not easy. If I didn't already have experience rebuilding myself, I'd never have gotten this far. And yeah, I'll probably go down. I can't usually go underwater in Freedom City without lots of special equipment; might as well give it a try now."

Harrier stared after the retreating scientist, dawning realization turning to coldly burning contempt in his eyes. Loud enough for the speakers, and the cameras no doubt there to hear, he called out, "You summoned me to your ship under the pretense of a false distress signal, assaulted another superhero with your drones in order to lure me into a fight, endangering the humans aboard in the process, then recorded everything as a means of discrediting me and showcasing the power of your technology. You exploited my desire to aid in order to further your own power. I compliment you on your strategy," he said flatly, and added in the most vile oath he could imagine, "it was a strategy worthy of an Annihilist." He turned and headed for the door, speaking aloud for the benefit of the soldiers, "I am going below to retrieve my pike and then engage whatever creature is being summoned before it can threaten the lives of the humans aboard this ship. I encourage you to aid me in my task."

Man, what a jerk that doctor is! Are we still in initiative, SC? (i.e., should I post?)

"Oh man, this is great!" said Mark excitedly. He clapped Erin and Trevor quickly on the back, delighted to see his friend recovered and everyone looking so happy (well, as happy as Trevor ever looked), and gave Corbin a hug. What the hell, it looked like the big guy had wanted one. "I can't believe we got sucked into the Terminus, took out the most dangerous soldiers in Omega's army, helped save Wander, and we're going to make it back in time for Eve's party. I should never have doubted you guys." It wasn't that Mark wasn't conscience of the magnitude of what they'd achieved; if anything, that made it all the more special! "The interdimensional hellspawn, kidnapping, and the death curses were tough, but this part is great. I think I'm ready to get out of here," he added to the Furions.

Edge spends an HP and inspires everybody

Edge's voice sounded clear as a bell over everyone's commlink, a reassuring reminder that heroes didn't abandon their own. He wasn't very good at hiding, but he could just stick around behind the door and wait to pick off any fleeing bad guys. Given who was doing the fighting, he was supremely confident the bad guys would be running. "All right, Liberty League. This is our place, and they're among the things of our people. Let's go out there and show them that when you mess with the history of heroes, heroes show up and make sure that YOU're history." Mark was pretty offended by bad guys laying their hands on his family's stuff; or even their feet.

"We live to heal," answered Coyshur, "especially those warriors who have battled the Knight of Entropy himself." The healers led the pair of lovers out of the building, Coyshur pausing near the door to add, "There may be some changes brought by the infusion of cosmic energy," he cautioned her, "but nothing that would injure you. The power of life itself can be potent, particularly when infused into the flesh of a human." Outside, the doors swiveled open again and Wander and Midnight were reunited with Young Freedom outside, a faint, gradually attenuating white glow around Wander's body the only visible sign of the cosmic infusion she'd taken. There was certainly no more mark of evil magic on her, not even to Etain's senses. "When you have finished with your reunion, we have a dimensional gateway," offered Coyshur to the heroes. "Removing you from the Terminus now will help deflect further attention from you. And increase the Madrigal's humiliation, if she cannot pursue even an attenuated vengeance." He smiled faintly. "We observed your combat."

"I don't know if you know Mali," he asked Koshiro and Indira, naming the Thai martial artist who was one of the few Claremont students without powers. "I've trained with her; she's very good. I've looked up her family and they have a big reputation back in Thailand; that might help if we ever have to go traveling. And she's...nice. Kirsten's good too; that Australian girl? My boss and I worked with her on a big case out in the Fens and she was there in a pinch." He grinned. "Hey, maybe we'll get to take more field trips with lots of students from other nation-states. I don't know about you, but there's a lot of world out here I still want to see." Both girls were pretty cute, at least from his own perspective of thinking most girls his age were cute, and he figured that would be a benefit for Koshiro, at least.

On the way to the cafe, his dog trotting along behind them, Citizen commented to the others. "I have some people we should approach about the team for this coming year, but that's something we should deal with after we get our headquarters. Corbin and Eve went looking for us last year, the least we can do is do the same this year. There's a legacy in our team that we should try and keep around." He put his hands in his pockets and looked up at the alien sun for a moment, then joked, "Besides, we need more than one human on the team. There's got to be a weight limit or something, especially if we want to go to nice parties now that we don't have Eve."

It soon became apparent to Miss Americana that this was no ordinary system, not even an ordinary highly-protected STAR Squad facility. There was no risk of virus here; in fact, any such program would have been in very serious danger from all the security The sorts of hard-coded, damaging projections built into this system had to be the product of a genius like herself. Indeed, barring nano-sized tools and physical construction of the hardware, whoever had programmed the literal firewalls around the system had to have not just a genius like hers but powers very similar as well. Sharl's hasty probing had been out of line, but he hadn't been wrong in the conclusions he'd reached, either. She'd actually have to work at it if she wanted to break through these walls, or at least sneak her way through the door. But there was something else inside the system, something sealed away behind the barriers that would have looked like tough password protection to anyone else. Danson's teeth pulled into a brief snarl that was too familiar, enough to dissuade any doubts Keith might have had about whose daughter this was. "Fine. God forbid I cause the department any problems with capes," she added with a glare. "Sergeant Walker, cover for me, I'm going to have a talk with our guests." With great care, she began wheeling herself out from behind the window where she'd been sitting. Passing the still-blinking computers, she slapped a monitor and exclaimed, "Enough!" Sure enough, the machines went dark after that, the message they were sending out fading away. She rolled her way out into the hallway to face the heroes. "'Scuse me if I don't get up. Not all of us got turned bulletproof. Lemme show you where we keep our robots," she added, rolling herself towards one of the sealed evidence rooms nearby.

Rift 1: 28, bruised Rift 2: 17, staggered; one more good hit should take it out. Go ahead and post again, KD, Sharl will be holding his action till the end of the round in case the thing is still up.

"Sure thing, Miss A," said Sharl, moving to a nearby computer bank and plugging his emitter in there. Pressing a few buttons on the keyboard uploaded both his own program's and D-Gray's to the Lab's holographic projectors, both men snapping to life clear as day as the big wall-mounted units brought them to life, making sure to put a firewall in just in case there was something wrong with the other program. "There, that feels better. Miss A could probably use an assistant," he added in a whisper to the star-struck Voltage. Miss A was more like a big sister to Sharl than anything else; or rather the pretty robot his big sister piloted around; Citizen was well used to the reaction some men and women had towards her. "How are you feeling?" he asked D-Gray once the other hologram appeared.

OK, the monster is bound, helpless, and stunned in the grapple. Go monkey Rifts go! Now is the time for big-time Power Attacks.

Cuckoo PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 28 pp STR 34/24/14 (+12/+7/+2) DEX 10 (+0) CON 34/24/14 (+12/+7/+2) INT 14 (+2) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 16 pp ATK: +4 (+7 melee) [+8 melee w/Ring] DEF: +7 (+2 flat-footed) [+8 in w/Ring] Init: +0 Grapple: +14/+16/up to +26 in suit Saves: 10 pp TOU +12 (+7 Con, +5 from Enhanced Con w/Ring) FORT +12 (+7 Con, +5 from Enhanced Con w/Ring) REF +5 (+0 Dex, +5) WILL +7 (+2 Wis, +5) Skills: 44 r=11 pp Craft (Electronic) 8 (+10) Diplomacy 9 (+10) Knowledge (Technology) 8 (+10) Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 3 (+5) Languages 3 (English [base], Grue, Lor, Spanish) Notice 5 (+7) [13 (+15) w/Ring] Search 5 (+7) [13 (+15) w/Ring] Sense Motive 3 (+5) Feats: 10 pp Attack Focus: Melee 3 Dodge Focus 3 Leadership Inventor Power Attack Takedown Attack Powers: 75 pp Device 11 (Power Ring) (Hard to Lose) (PF: Restricted [DNA scan]) [45 pp] Comprehend 3 (speak, read, and understand any one language at once) [6dp] Enhanced Feats 2 (Attack Focus [melee], Dodge Focus) [2dp] Enhanced Skills 16 (Notice 8, Search 8) [4dp] Enhanced CON 10 (to CON 34/+12) [10dp] Enhanced STR 10 (to STR 34/+12) [10dp] Immunity 9 (Life Support) [9dp] Impervious TOU 5 [5dp] Power Reserve 5 (10 pp; Flight [to Flight 6 [500 MPH] and Super-Strength [to Super-Strength 6 (Heavy Load: 48 tons) [10dp] Super-Senses 1 (Uncanny Dodge [radio]) [1dp] Enhanced CON 10 (to CON 24/+7) [10 pp] Enhanced STR 10 (to STR 24/+7) [10 pp] Flight 1 (10 MPH) [Dynamic] [2+1+2=5 pp] DAP: Super-Strength 1 (Heavy Load: ~1000 lbs) Impervious TOU 5 [5 pp] costs abilities 28 + combat 16 + saves 10 + skills 11/44 + feats 10 + powers 75 = 150 pts ------------------------------------- Design Notes: Carl Kant grew up in Nebraska, the son of pious parents who volunteered as missionaries for their church. He knew from an early age he was adopted; his parents had adopted him in Mexico when he was a very small baby, or so they told him, a foundling left on their mission's doorstep. He manifested a talent for electronics and science from an early age, and his parents had visions of him one day as a scientist or engineer. When he was a teenager, his supernatural abilities began to manifest themselves: great strength and bulletproof skin, even the power to fly. That was the day his parents finally confessed to him that they had misled him ever-so-slightly about his origins: they'd found him as a baby, all right, in a rocketship they'd found crashed in a rural farming district near Mexico City! Fascinated by the story, on his next mission trip he headed for the crash site, and found the rocket where his father had buried it nearly twenty years earlier. He opened the rocket...and very nearly lost his mind as the teaching machines inside poured terrible knowledge into his head: he was the scion of an ancient and powerful race, one born to rule and lead rather than protect and defend, gods among insects, and one day when he came into his full power he would be lord and master of this planet. And, worst of all, he wasn't alone here! But the Cuckoo teaching machine had malfunctioned after drifting in space for so many eons, and between that and his heroic heart, the young man had the strength of character to resist the imprecations of his heritage. He took the rocket and smashed it to pieces with his great strength, then forged the machine inside into a ring he could wear, shielded by the fantastic energies that had once powered the rocket itself. He would find the other Cuckoos on Earth and stop them before their plots could be brought to fruition. Of course, he'd have to go to Freedom City for that. Yet another Paragon with a Power Ring, this time based on my own Cuckoo idea as well as Invincible and Valiant from Edison Rex. He's a tough PL 7 thanks to his alien heritage even without the ring; even if his Cuckoo alien abilities are nullified he's still a PL 7 paragon with the ring! (He's even a lot faster with it!) Lots of room here; Bluff and other interaction skills for investigation and leadership, more science skills to play up his technical skill, more powers in the ring (more Super-Senses, a Detect power perhaps, or maybe a blast) and the like to better fulfill his heroic mission. Hopefully he can find friends in which to confide his secrets before the worst happens...

As Indira and the boys left the house, the friendly German Shepard that had been following them at a respectful distance came trotting up to investigate their new friend. "Indira, this is Lora. She's a holographic dog." He'd gone to retrieve the dog after breakfast, figuring that since he could pop her back into the system if there was a problem, and feeling bad about leaving her in the computer. It was irrational to care that much about a simulated program, but Gina had dropped some pretty strong hints about caring for the animal he'd wanted. "Lora, say hello!" With no fear of the shapeshifted alien, the dog gave a woof and nuzzled her leg. "Good dog." Sharl looked over at Indira and said, "We're here on a mission for the team," he said with a young man's seriousness. "I have a selection of potential team headquarters for us to explore for next year."

All right, grappled! And yes, you can drag it closer to the group.

26 vs 35: 38 KD, do you want to spend an HP and reroll that Grapple? You'll succeed just about automatically if you do.

Alien Agent PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 40 pp STR 34/14 (+12/+2) DEX 14 (+2) CON 20 (+5) INT 20 (+5) WIS 20 (+5) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 DEF: +8 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +5 Grapple: +10/+26 Saves: 11 pp TOU +12 (+7 Protection, +5 Con) FORT +8 (+5 Con, +3) REF +7 (+2 Dex, +5) WILL +8 (+5 Wis, +3) Skills: 56 r=14 pp Bluff 4 (+5/+9) Craft (Chemical) 5 (+10) Diplomacy 4 (+5/+9) Investigate 5 (+10) Knowledge (Life Sciences) 10 (+15) Languages 3 (English [base], Grue, Lor, Spanish) Medicine 10 (+15, Skill Mastery) Notice 5 (+10, Skill Mastery) Search 5 (+10, Skill Mastery) Sense Motive 5 (+10, Skill Mastery) Feats: 6 pp Attractive Benefit (Security Clearance) Inventor Master Plan Skill Mastery (Medicine, Notice, Search, Sense Motive) Speed of Thought Powers: 47 pp Alien Array 13 (26 pp, PF: Alternate Power 1) [27PP] Blast 12 (PFs: Variable Descriptor 2 [any metabiological]) AP: Enhanced STR 20 (to STR 34/+12) and Super-Strength 3 (Heavy Load: ~10 tons) Flight 2 (25 MPH) [4PP] Immunity 9 (Life Support) [9PP] Protection 7 [7PP] costs abilities 40 + combat 32 + saves 5 + skills 14/56 + feats 6 + powers 47 = 150 pts ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Design Notes: Inspired by a recent marathon viewing of the X-Files, here's my build for Agent Dana Scully as a superhero. Given her occasional alien abduction and other chicanery, I've basically built as Ms. Marvel. She can fly, even in outer space, fire blasts of energy, and be superstrong. She makes a nice pocket paragon for a team that might be looking for one, as well as a talented gadgeteer (albeit with a focus on the chemical rather than physical sciences) and she's an extremely competent detective and doctor. She's not as smart as a super-gadgeteer, true, but she's extremely intelligent and a good planner. She was something of a nerd sex symbol back when many of my readers were very young indeed, so she's got Attractive to go with a not-great social package. Origin-wise, she works just fine as an agent (FBI or AEGIS) altered by aliens: maybe she was a Grue abductee and experimental subject rescued by the Lor before the Grue could turn her into some sort of super-mutant, or maybe she accidentally merged with some sort of alien device her agency was studying and mastered its awesome power for her own. Or maybe she got her powers herself from experimentation on alien artifacts! She's got the languages and social skills to have worked with aliens plenty; maybe (as on Superhero Squad) she used to have a thing for that handsome Lor hero from space. She's around PL 4 without her powers, about right for an FBI agent in a very low-powered setting, but of course with her abilities she's as tough as any superhero. She doesn't carry a gun anymore; that's not really necessary when she can lift cars! The one thing she's missing is a significant amount of Impervious; while she's very tough, she's not bulletproof just yet and could be whittled down by bad guys with guns. Something to buy with earned PP; or maybe one of this otherwise strong character's few vulnerabilities.

Veteran Speedster PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 38 pp STR 20 (+5) DEX 16 (+3) CON 20 (+5) INT 14 (+2) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+7 melee/+9 Unarmed) [+13 melee/+15 Unarmed w/Speed Powers]) DEF: [+13 w/Speed Powers] (+7 (+3 flat-footed)) Init: +28 Grapple: +12/+18 Saves: 14 pp TOU +7 (+5 Con, +2 Defensive Roll) FORT +7 (+5 Con, +2) REF +11 (+3 Dex, +8) WILL +7 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 84 r=21 pp Acrobatics 3 (+6) Craft (Chemical) 8 (+0) Diplomacy 8 (+10, SM) Knowledge (History) 8 (+10) Languages 3 (English [base], German, Russian, Spanish) Medicine 8 (+10) Notice 13 (+15, SM) Search 13 (+15, SM) Sense Motive 8 (+10, SM) Stealth 12 (+15) Feats: 16 pp All-Out Attack Attack Focus: Melee Attack Specialization: Unarmed Defensive Roll Dodge Focus Eidetic Memory Equipment 2 Evasion Jack of all Trades Hide in Plain Sight Move-By Action Power Attack Skill Mastery (Diplomacy, Notice, Search, Sense Motive) Takedown Attack Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Equipment: 10 ep Brownstone Museum Size: Medium; Toughness: 15; Features: Communications, Laboratory, Library, Living Space, Power (Emotion Control + Healing), Security System, Workshop Cost: 1+2+7 = 10 EPs Power: Emotion Control 10 ([Limited]: Hope Only) + Healing 10 (Flaw: Personal Only) (WWII flags + posters) {20/20} Powers: 37 pp Enhanced Feats 20 (Attack Focus: Melee (6), Dodge Focus (6), Evasion (to 2), Fast Overrun, Improved Initiative (5), Improved Overrun) [20PP] Immunity 1 (aging) [1PP] Quickness 1 (x2) [1PP] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1PP] Speedster Array 5 (10 pp; PFs: Alternate Powers 2) [12PP] BE: Damage 0 (Extras: Autofire 5, Penetrating 5) {10/10} AP: Damage 0 (Extras: Selective 5, Targeted Area [shapeable] 5) {10/10} AP: Enhanced Quickness 5 (to Quickness 6 [x100]) and Speed 5 (to Speed 6 [500 MPH]) {10/10} Super-Movement 3 (Wall-Crawling 2, Water-Walking) (Flaw: [Limited] Only While Running]) [3PP] costs abilities 38 + combat 24 + saves 14 + skills 21/84 + feats 16 + powers 37 = 150 pts ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Design Notes: Here's my build for a Veteran Speedster like DC's Jay Garrick or Marvel's Whizzer, a Golden Age hero kept young (even if he's in his late 40s, he looks at most half his age) by his speed powers and still able to stay active as a hero. He's slower than the younger generation of heroes; only able to run at 500 MPH and having to exert himself to break the sound barrier, and he doesn't hit as hard as the guys who can routinely push light speed at every opportunity. But he makes up for his lower speed with years of tactical experience and skills, making him a valuable addition to any team. The fact that he still holds the lease on his team's Golden Age headquarters, replete with World War II propaganda posters and team mementos, the sort to remind any hero of why they fight, is another good thing about him. He's an OK chemist and doctor; my nod to the comic book Jay Garrick and perhaps a callback to his origin: did he inject himself with radioactive cheetah blood in order to gain superpowers, or have the same happen to him through some accident? It's up to you! He's PL 7 without his powers, a reflection of his decades of combat experience, and would make a fine costumed adventurer or martial artist at that level. With his powers, he's a full PL 10 speedster with a high attack shift. A Damage 5 attack with Autofire and Penetrating (and an attack tradeoff) is still going to be a threat in superhero combat, if not in the same way as a character with more of a damage shift, and he can easily clear a room of thugs. He's a great scout with Quickness, Speed, and extremely high Notice and Search. 500 MPH was pretty fast in the Golden Age, if slow for a comic-book speedster: it's up to you whether or not he's slowed down or whether the world around him has just gotten faster. He's still faster than any vehicle and many other superheroes; he can still take 20 on Notice checks if he's concentrating. Note that by deliberately not making his Enhanced Speed the base power of his array, he has to actually concentrate to rev up. In a real crisis, he can always stunt Speed 10 (for a total of Speed 11) off his array if you _really_ have to get far away from that bomb in a hurry. Note In a world where superheroes age like the Freedom City universe, a Golden Age veteran still around is something special; he's seen friends grow old and die, and probably outlived his family. But justice is something that never does age.

Erin stepped into the fountain and vanished from Midnight's vision, even with his mutated eyes.

"I got it from work. They were talking about making a whole team of jetpack commandos for UNISON, but the budget fell through so it didn't happen." Mark wasn't one to complain, but he'd mentioned how the United Nations agency was always chronically underfunded next to AEGIS, its American counterpart. "There was some idea I'd take that thing home and figure out how to make more, but-" He shrugged, putting his hand over his eyes to watch the soaring Joe. "I'm sure he'll be fine, I made sure to fuel that thing up before I left." He coughed a little at the brief interlude about his mom, nodding a wordless thanks Travis' way. "Oh, man, I haven't had a good American cheeseburger in forever. It's been a rough summer a lot of places."

The ghost hound wailed and shivered under the joint attack of the two sonic controllers, prompting Citizen to fly in for the kill. He punched it, hard, putting his back into it, only to shout in uncomputer-like alarm as he felt the flesh of his hand briefly sear. "Ah, damn it, it's got some kind of energy barrier! I can't penetrate it, and it burns like...well, it burns!" Pain wasn't something Sharl felt a lot of while projecting, so the sensation was new and deeply unpleasant. He flew back, getting out of the way so the two Corbins could open fire. He hoped his counterpart was having more luck with the two Koshiros. "Hit it hard, try not to make the roof collapse on you!"

DS: The 17 misses (since that was a 1) the 15 hits. Luckily you caught the thing flat-footed at the start of combat. 11 Thanks to a terrible roll, the thing is actually stunned! (Remember when combat did that?) For his part, Citizen will fly up to the thing and punch it with a +5 Power Attack 24 Tou vs DC 28: 28 Shoot! Lousy TOU shift. And now thanks to that Damage Aura, Sharl has to make a save too. 27 He's fine. The Corbins are up as soon as I post.

"No, I haven't had the chance. I don't think Kimber even has a computer, and I...well, I dunno, just showing up in Indira's computer would be rude." He winced, remembering his most recent talk with Gina on that subject. "And yeah, you're right about the team. But you know, I don't want to get sucked into the Terminus like whatever happened at Eve's party back in April. I'm a living computer program who can break machines by grabbing them, you're a badass origami master who once broke a universe with paper cranes. Maybe we're not fighting space gods, but we're pretty awesome." As they walked out of the building, he snapped open a holographic piece of paper, the sheet showing a list of addresses and GPS locations. "Do you know if they're around, though? They'd really come in handy for this, and we know we can trust them."

Roll for both, plz.