Avenger Assembled

APPROVED

Carlton looked a little uncomfortable. "After the invasion in the summer, the department changed policy. Deep Ones are shoot-on-sight, no questions asked. As for their offspring, I don't know, we didn't encounter any during the invasion." He hmmed. "There were some on that sub, though. In fact, from what I heard after our lab boys got through analyzing that submarine, it looked like somebody had gone in and blasted open all the tanks where they kept their spawn, and blasted holes in the deck to let them out into the bay. We got a lot of weird reports out of that sub, though, so I dunno. Either of you know anything about the masks who were on board that day?"

"It would be illegal for you to consume intoxicating beverages in public," Murdock gently reminded his boss with a low rumble. He had no concern about what Mara did in her spare time, nor with the idea of teenagers drinking at all, but that Mara had immediately gone to alcohol was a bit of a concern. As the first reporters began addressing Mara, the lead a tall, muscular woman in a black and white blouse, Murdock took a step back to allow Mara to answer the first question: "Joan Collier, FCN. Do you think your company represents a challenge to Archetech and other 'traditional' super-tech companies operating in Freedom City?" In the back, where the bodyguards stood, the unmiked Murdock murmured to Erin, "The standing reporter bypassed the security scanners with a medical pass. Be mindful of her."

Edge: Cup of Adventure Hotsy-Totsy Nazi Harrier: Power Struggle HAX Rusty Shell Vanity Project Freedom Angel: Citizen: Ethical Dilemmas (and GMing) Shining Promise of Tomorrow (and GMing) Change is Necessary for Growth Box of Peas (and GMing) Space Between GMing: River Monster When A Problem Comes Along Put my Ref point towards Edge, as well as any spare GM pp I might have.

Mr. Archer nodded, taking in what each boy had to say. "Interesting you should say that, because what happened in your scenario here is what happened in the real world. Here, I'll show you. Doom Room, play back Apeknight-Revolution recording," he said out loud, and in between the teacher and the students smaller versions of the scene they'd just seen began playing out before them: the recording was translucent and a little grainy; to Sharl it looked like a bad hologram playback, but the other two boys recognized something that had obviously been recorded sometime in the early 1970s. As they watched, a likeness of Bonda and Fala dueled, slim and dexterous chimp versus huge and roaring gorilla, blades clashing against blades as they dueled before a roaring crowd of gorilla knights and chimpanzee revolutionaries. They could clearly see Hannibal in the lead of the crowd, the chimp peasant leader watching intently. "It's a grim sight, isn't it?" The 'camera' turned, evidently something someone had been wearing or carrying, and caught face to face with the speaker: even Sharl, who knw that face and what he'd done for Tronik, blinked at the sight of the Centurion himself. "Justice will prevail, my friend," said a gravely voice just recognizable as a much younger Duncan Summers. He turned back to the fight, just in time for it to reach its finish. Finally, Bonda disarmed the king and laid him low, holding the sword to his neck and demanding he yield. Fala was defiant at first, until Bonda inquired, "It is the justice of your people...or of mine," boomed the former squire, and at those words Fala covered his eyes and wept in surrender. As the recording ended, first Bonda embraced Hannibal, his brother chimp and revolutionary, and then his wounded master Sir Conor, and a cheer came up as all stood together as the former king was dragged away by his late subjects. "The League got away with their people and the Pegasus plane," said Archer as the recording tapered off. "And came back some months later to put in force field generators to stop the gorilla crusade that was being formed. King Bonda died some years ago, and his son, who's also Hannibal's grandson, by the way, is the current constitutional monarch of the Free City of Apedom." Archer actually smiled. "So you came up with the same solution that the Centurion did. Protect the people, protect innocent life, even if it's alien to you, but let them solve their own problems. Congratulations, boys: As for everybody."

All-Out Attack vs. Robot 2: 23 DC 17+12=DC 29 Tou save, if that hits. Caradoc's to-hit is now 13.

Without a word, 'Caradoc' spun and engaged the robot that was firing on Protectron's head. He didn't know anything about the mechanoid's systems, but in his experience even synthetic lifeforms were destroyed by a solid blast to the brain. He took careful aim, balancing his 'sword' carefully in his powerful grip, and fired, a devastating beam of weirdly coruscating energy that began as bright, shining light and became twisting black fire as it struck home on the electricity-spewing robot. This was perhaps going to go their way after all, especially if the controller was disposed of by the others!

Citizen went with his friends, taking Sir Conor's sword (with the knight's permission) and throwing it to the king as Papercut's waterbomb prison fell away. As the heroes watched, the young chimp squire Bonda confronted Fala, his own blade in hand as he faced down the massive gorilla. "In the name of gorilla, orang, and the chimps that are my brothers and sisters, King Fala I pronounce unfit to rule and damned in the eyes of God! I challenge you to trial by combat!" And as the king roared defiance and charged, and as the chimps outside finally broke down the doors...suddenly the scenario faded away around them, the walls of the Doom Room going dark as the exercise came to an end. "Aw, man, we don't even get to see the fight?" complained Citizen aloud as Mr. Archer walked in. "You will," promised Mr. Archer, looking at all the boys, "but after I debrief you. I don't want to bias your answers if you know how the scenario played out. And it has played out," he added. "The computer has a pretty good idea of the most likely outcomes. What do you think about what happened, boys?" With a glance at the others, Citizen spoke first. "I was surprised the Freedom League was allied to those, uh, people, given how savage their society was," he said out loud. "I thought primitive slavery and bondage wasn't something heroes approved of." "Normally they don't," agreed Mr. Archer, "and you'll be glad to know the League no longer has a relationship with that kind of government. Contact with Earth-Apeknight was made back in the 1940s by the old Liberty League, and they were there to stop a Nazi incursion, not worry about the local government."

"I CANNOT BEE IN THE ROOMZ," agreed Super-Bee solemnly. "IT IS A ZTRANGE THING TO BE ZO ZMALL AT HOME, ONLY EIGHT MONTHZ OLD, BUT TO BEE ZO LARGE IN YOUR CITY. BUT IT IZ VERY IMPORTANT TO LEARN ABOUT THE WORLD OUT HERE." She waggled her giant limbs, polishing her front two against each other, and added, "I AM ZORRY IF I ZTARTLED YOU EARLIER. I FORGET ZOMETIMEZ THAT NOT EVERY ZTUDENT IZ FAMILIAR WITH THE UNUZUAL." Suddenly, she exhaled a gout of red flame easily as large as Kristen's body, directed at her own front legs and not at any nearby humans. "BRR! IT IZ GETTING ZO COLD! WILL HAVE TO BRING MORE HEATERZ."

With Devil Ray subdued, STAR Squad showed up: the armored and heavily-equipped cops who were supposed to be how Freedom City dealt with supercriminals. They were very grateful that a Leaguer had been on hand to deal with Devil Ray and the new Deep One threat, for all that the frightening-looking Pyre took some explanation. When his bona fides were sworn to, the cops went about securing the scene while Sergeant Carlson, the head officer on the scene, shook his head. "We've been getting reports of these things in the water for the last couple of weeks," he commented unhappily. "Winter's coming, and if they're being driven onto land by the cold, we're going to be seeing a lot more of them soon."

God with a Power Ring PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 44 pp STR 26 (+8) DEX 10 (+0) CON 26 (+8) INT 20/14 (+5/+2) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 20/14 (+5/+2) Combat: 16 pp ATK: +4 (+6 melee/+8 Blast) DEF: +6 (+2 flat-footed) Grapple: +14 Init: +0 Saves: 11 pp TOU +14 (+8 Con, +6 Protection) FORT +8 (+8 Con) REF +5 (+0 Dex, +5) WILL +8 (+2 Wis, +6) Skills: 48 r=12 pp Bluff 10 (+12/+15)* Diplomacy 5 (+7/+10)* Disguise 0 (+37/+40) Gather Info 10 (+12/+15)* Intimidate 10 (+12/+15)* Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 5 (+7/+10) Languages 3 (English, Norwegian, Swedish) (Base: Old Norse) Notice 3 (+5) Sense Motive 3 (+5) Feats: 11 pp Attack Focus: Melee 2, Challenge (Improved Trick), Dodge Focus 2, Master Plan, Skill Mastery (Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Info, Intimidate) Power Attack, Takedown Attack, Taunt, Well-Informed Powers: 56 pp Device 11 (Loki's Ring) (Hard to Lose) (PF: Restricted [those worthy]) [45 pp] Enhanced CHA 6 (to CHA 20/+5) [6dp] Enhanced INT 6 (to INT 20/+5) [6dp] Feature 1 (Library) [1dp] Flight 1 (10 MPH) [2dp] Magic Array [30+4=34dp] Illusion 10 (visual and auditory) [30/30] AP: Blast 12 (mystic blast, PFs: Accurate 2, Precise, Variable Descriptor 1 [any elemental]) [30/30] AP: Morph 7 (any form) (Extra: Duration [Continous], PFs: Covers Scent, Precise) [30/30] AP: Strike 6 (Asgardian arsenal, Extra: Penetrating [6]; PFs: Extended Reach 2 [10 ft.], Improved Crit 2, Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Knockback 6, Mighty, Precise, Takedown Attack, Variable Descriptor 2 [any energy or weapon]) {30/30} AP: Teleport 6 (600 ft/20 miles) (Extras: Accurate, Portal) [30/30] Protection 6 [6dp] Immunity 8 (aging, cold damage, disease, poison) [8 pp] Leaping 1 (x2) [1 pp] Super-Strength 2 (Heavy Load: 1.5 tons) [4 pp] costs abilities 44 + combat 16 + saves 11 + skills 12/48 + feats 11+ powers 56 = 150 pts ------------------ Design Notes: Smaller and weaker than the other Asgardian boys thanks to his Frost Giant heritage, Loki Laufeyson was a constant target for ridicule: sometimes being smarter than the big boys just means you're their favorite target, and even the best brother in the world can't constantly protect you. And what young man wants to be constantly protected, anyway? One day, after being tossed in Odin's treasure room and locked inside by some of Thor's buddies, Loki found something there he'd never seen before: a mystic ring of great and awesome power, an artifact once worn in battle by the frost giant all-father Ymir in his war against the Asgardians. Recognizing the opportunity, Loki donned the ring and gained a great and mighty mystic power: he was craftier, more confident, and tougher too, as well as becoming one of the most powerful mystics in Asgard. Little did he realize, though, that donning the ring would make him something neither frost giant or god, a transformation that forcibly cast him out of Asgard and hurled him to Midgard, leaving him with just the ring and the remnants of his godly power. Now he's determined to do good on Earth so that his father will see the mystic power and warrior's heart that it is his and take him home to his bosom! At least, that's how Loki tells it. It's also entirely possible he stole the ring and was cast to Earth for his transgressions by his father, or that his father stripped him of his magic for some transgression and imbued it in the ring to keep him from getting into too much trouble, even that he successfully escaped Asgard with the ring and is now after his own designs on Earth. You never can tell with the Father of Lies. Anyway, here's my build for a God with a Power Ring, based on a recent watching of the Thor movie, where I found Loki a very compelling character. He can do most of the tricks we see in the movie, as well as many from mythology, disguising himself as a SHIELD operative (or horse, for that matter), firing carefully aimed mystic blasts (he can throw around fire if you want to play up his role in the myths some, or ice if you want to emphasize the frost giant thing), as well as walk across a city or summon mighty mystic weapons. He's also a really good illusionist, one with a particular talent for getting his enemies to do something unwise, whether it's to run off a cliff or go get into a really big fight with really powerful opponents. (He can't return to Asgard, which I figure is a condition of his exile and one of the things that helps him get around the Pact). Even without the Ring, he's a smart, savvy PL 7 god who could easily take on a base full of soldiers and agents all by himself. As points develop, consider taking powers out of the ring and giving them directly to Loki, or taking the easy way out and emphasizing the power he gains through the ring. Create Object to represent force fields/stolen items, maybe? He could some Impervious; despite his extremely high TOU, even a thug's gun could hurt him. I've tried to build him as close to the Loki we see in the movie as I reasonably could, he's equally likely to pull out an illusion in a fight as he is a blast or a blade, especially since most of the people he's likely to be dealing with are much more powerful than he is. In the mortal world, in the company of heroes as part of their number, he's likely to play up his role as the wacky trickster, especially since that's liable to downplay just how clever he actually is. (Remember that though Loki is an antagonist to his fellows in the earliest Norse myths, he doesn't become a Satanic figure until very late in the story...) Complications include dealing with his kids, because it's tough to be a hero and a dad!

For his own part, Sharl was in something of a bind. The electronic teenager couldn't just leave his work behind, not when constantly rerouting power from the local grid was taking up all his attention. He'd seen how resilient the local systems were, if he took his eyes off this, especially if he stopped dumping excess power into the 'special requirements' dorm, Ghost Girl would be in serious trouble: heck, if he did it inattentively, he might overload one of the key systems he'd seen like the halogen fire extinguisher room or the psi-nullifiers and make the problem much bigger than any of them could handle. If he took it with him, though, his obvious focus on it would probably make the departure of the rest of the team all the more conspicuous: and they certainly didn't need more attention drawn to them when they were trying to be stealthy. Not wanting to leave them in a bind, though, he did eventually get up and leave, albeit slowly, walking right through the half-open door as if he was a particularly callow youth playing an exceptionally interesting video game.

Upstairs, with Megan gone, Erin's room was full of a wide variety of new objects, ranging from a bubbling lava lamp in the blue and gold of Claremont to a giant brown teddy bear wearing a floppy Mariners hat. He'd stopped with the direct creation, though, and was spending most of his time in conversation with the interesting Erin-Prime, sitting on her bed next to the giant bear. He'd talked a little about the team, but he figured (though he hadn't bothered to ask) that Erin-Prime heard plenty about that from his Erin, so instead the topic had turned to him, and Erin herself. "Working for the UN is really something," he was telling her intensely. "It's really rewarding. Going out there and working to help others every day, all over the world, and knowing I'm really making the world a better place day in and day out in a way I'd never have gotten a chance to do if I was just another League reservist. I was lucky to get the job right after high school." He grinned, and added, "I still get a chance to do cool superhero stuff, too, so it's really the world's greatest job. Back when those Deep Ones showed up over the summer, I got to help a UN strike team take out one of their forts in Germany. It was awesome." He grinned. "So, what are you studying in college?"

Citizen stunts the following power off his 24 pp Tronik array: Nullify Electronics 12 (Extra: Area [burst], Duration [Concentration], Flaws: Action [Full], Distracting, Range [Touch], Progression 6 on Area, Selective, Subtle) [20/24 pp] That should, I believe, let Sharl tag the entirety of the school's electrical system without tagging the nearby town. The Subtle means it can't be traced directly back to him. He will keep doing this as long as is necessary. He will also not hit any mechanical students or anyone who looks dependent on a respirator or some other life support technology. 19 This is inadequate. 25 Eh, I'll take it.

"She's panicking about something," murmured Sharl, watching through the security cameras on his tablet as he sat in the middle of the little group of Young Freedom students, having quietly narrated what he'd been able to see of Kimber's explorations to the rest of them. "Something bad is happening, she's running, she's freezing the building. I..." He hesitated just a moment as his fingers began flying over the keys, his voice a firm murmur. "You guys need to be ready to get over there and help her or something, because I'm about to give her a really big distraction in five, four, three..." Sharl's fingers flew over the keys very fast, and suddenly the lights began to flicker and dim, first in the cafeteria, then the building, then across the entire campus. "Rerouting local power grid directly into school's systems," he muttered, fingers still working. "Won't last forever..."

Finding a opening in the pod, Pyre's blows struck home hard, landing a solid dent in Devil Ray's armor. "Ough!" said the Crime Leaguer, his armor pulling back from his face. "Fine! You got me, you four-armed (%(#, and your little Fleur, too," he added with a sneer. "I'll be out soon as I tell the jury about how I helped stop another Deep One invasion," he boasted. While Devil Ray was no kind of smart or good man, he was willing to stop a fight rather than risk getting a more profound beating. Shooting a glance at Pyre, he added with a sneer, "I didn't know the League was taking _freaks_ these days."

20 He is bruised, dazed, and staggered. Since this is just an intro fight, I'll say he's out for the count.

He fails the save by 13, so he is bound and helpless (at least this round) Now he does technically have cover, so he has +4 to Defense, bound and helpless though he is. (It doesn't say total cover in the power description, so there's no reason it would be the case here)

"There's almost certainly more than one Erde," said Edge with a nod, the usually-cheerful hero looking decidedly displeased at the thought, but he'd taken the same interdimensional classes as the rest of the Claremont kids. "If Daedalus or Dr. Atom can tell us what dimension...uh, she's been in, they can tell us if we're dealing with Hope's timeline or if all this is some new threat entirely." He folded his arms. "It'll also free us to concentrate on finding her killer. Or killers." Erin was right about the lack of manpower, but of course there wasn't much they could do about that at the moment. As the most personable of the team, he took charge of delivering the body into the hands of Dr. Atom (since, unlike Daedalus, he was much more reliable when it came to actually being home, since he didn't have a lot of options these days.)

As she walked through the busy campus, suddenly a tremendous shape came swooping out of the sky! As Glow looked up, an insect easily as large as a U-Haul truck flew out of an open-topped classroom building to swoop by her head. The insect really was huge, each of its limbs easily as big as Glow was tall. Swooping in low over Glow, the giant insect boomed at her in a voice like a jet engine. "HELLO THERE! I DON'T THINK I'VE ZEEN YOU BEEFORE! I'M BAY-BEE!" Though a few students around her stared at the giant insect, no one else seemed to find the site unusual. "ARE YOU THE NEW ZTUDENT FROM AUZTRALIA?"

"I will fight him," replied Bonda to the teens, his voice steady and even, his ape face composed. "If he chooses for his life to end in that fight, it will end. If he is defeated in fair combat before the eyes of the world, the humilation will be enough that it will be as if he had died." As he spoke, a hasty force of gorillas poured into the room, sealing the doors with grim faces as whoops came up from below. The chimps had broken through below, time was running very short. He was quiet for a moment, then added frankly, "By proving myself as a warrior, I had hoped to be an example to gorilla and chimp both, and to prevent a day like today. But spilled blood has called to spilled blood. I can be an example, if not the one I had perhaps hoped. What do you say?"

Devil Ray landed, hard, his armored bulk smashing a small crater into the dock beneath him. He cursed, loudly and violently, and didn't even bother getting up. "All right, playtime's over!" he snarled! He opened fire on Pyre, this time with a devastating bombardment of spears that struck home by the merest fraction, cutting deep across the vulnerable skin of Pyre's lower back: Lou was hurt, the smell of blood in the air and mixing with his fire! Devil Ray was still down, though, the effort of getting to his feet having kept him from reactivating his jetpack.

Devil Ray drops out of the sky and hits the ground, hard. His suit is armored enough that the impact doesn't actually hurt him, but he is startled. He'll open fire on Pyre again; since he's in trouble, he'll go ahead and All-Out Power Attack. 15 Oof, that juuust hits. That's a DC 30 Tou save for a guy with one HP! On the plus side, Devil Ray isn't moving and his Defense is currently +0 (i.e, the target number to hit him is 10).

We love you too, Sorus! Good luck with everything you're doing.

Fleur is up.