Avenger Assembled

Caradoc had no idea what they were talking about, but he laughed a short fakey laugh anyway just to be polite. It was what all the heroes besides Wander were doing. Was it a joke of adults? He didn't really understand most jokes people told, and they could usually tell when he was faking, but he thought it was important to at least pretend to understand. How else was he ever going to learn to fit in with normal people? Everyone seemed to banter with each other so easily, but he doubted he could do the same. As the others entered the theater, he waited at the last for them all to enter, cocking his head as the scent of death gently wafted out the doors. Harrier knew the scent of death well; very well.

"I am Caradoc!" boomed the putative mystic knight, giving the theater a mistrustful look, or so it seemed from beneath his full-face mask. He shook Gabriel's hand as he came in for a landing on the sidewalk, feeling a little bad at being dishonest about his identity in front of so many people he knew. Gabriel, Jack of all Blades, Wander...well, they are all good people, and powerful as well. But I promised Miss Americana I would try and keep the secret! He was glad to see Wander hadn't yet attacked the Terminus; a natural assumption he made thanks to her lack of visible wounds and the look of sanity in her eye. "You are my betters," he said, keeping a space at the rear of the group. "I will follow and provide rear support."

Overhead, Caradoc, the shining knight, flew down from his patrols, his body rippling as he shifted back from the magical dimension where he lived. "Greetings, officer!" he shouted to the police below, the flaming dragonsbreath from the jetpack on his back darkening the sidewalk beneath him. "What seems to be the trouble inside your theater?" He was shouting a little too loudly to really seem that convival, but on the other hand his dragonpack was roaring quite loudly! His magic sword in hand, the gleaming silver knight was every inch the shining, perfect hero. Harrier was nervous; too nervous. He'd been outside of Freedom City lately, making public appearances and saving people all over New Jersey, and though he'd enjoyed that very much he felt strange above all these admiring eyes. He'd told Miss Americana what a good feeling that would be, and it was...but still, in his heart of hearts, he expected the screaming, the terror, the desperate struggle below, and it felt odd. That was one of the things that had drawn him out here in the first place from his dreams. It was...not like the rest.

Citizen shook his head. "It's amazing how many animal species you have here. And so integrated into the way you live. Where I'm from, things aren't like that at all." He thought for a moment, studying Cobalt Templar, before saying, "Hey, do you go to school here? Like, uh, in Freedom City with other kids?" He tried to keep the hopefulness out of his voice. Dragonfly, the only other teenager he knew, definitely did not go to school, and she wasn't much like other kids either.

A flying tour guide! Wait, no, he's another hero. Confronted with his first teenager from Freedom City who talked like a normal person instead of like a genius, Sharl confessed, "I'm not from around here. I'm actually a citizen of...another place." Citizen studied Cobalt Templar through his sunglasses. "Your monuments are fascinating. Do people still ride those things around here?" he asked, pointing to the marble cavalryman on an indifferently-executed Appaloosa. "I've seen what you do with your pets. I would think the stench from all the waste would be terrible."

Cobalt Templar soon saw he wasn't the only person in the air, orbiting around the big Civil War memorial outside the Federal building was a figure he didn't recognize. The tall, angular teenager in the air was floating around the statue, his face half-obscured by big wraparound mirrored sunglasses, wearing a black leather coat that hung behind him like a cape. On his chest, clearly visible, was a marking he recognized as the universal wi-fi symbol. A moment later, the figure in question flew right through the statue and out the other side, still examining it, his body shifting to green-tinted electrical translucency a moment before doing so. For his part, Sharl was doing his best to absorb what he could of Freedom City's history in his day out; a very difficult affair indeed! It was really hard to believe that these peaceful, civilized people in their tiny buildings and with all their space could have gone to war with each other only a hundred and fifty years earlier, but he supposed it fit everything he'd heard about their crazily rapid development. They''d even been riding around on quadrapeds from the statue (the statue made of rock!), so really it was a wonder they hadn't all ridden into walls and such.

"All right," said Sharl quietly. "I'm going to let my...program rest, I guess, and hook myself back up to the mobile emitter down here. I'll be around the house some today if you need me, then I'll go out and see if anyone needs more help....and someday," said Sharl, having gone so quiet Gina'd almost thought he'd left, "when I'm home again, and I have children, I'll tell them about the hero from another world who saved me when everything was lost; who gave me my life and my future back. And it won't be about Miss Americana. It'll be you." And with that, he did fly up through the ceiling.

As the sound of the weirdly echo-less cartoon explosion faded, Joey Scars, his face already covered in soot from the blast, staggered back as Cobalt Templar's energy bullets found their mark. "Agh! You got me!" he called out, his eyes turning to crossed-out X's and a flower sprouting in his hand, the one over his chest, as he fell backwards onto the concrete. Boss Moxie fared a little better, but under the same barrage from Mercury he too went down, calling out dramatically "Sweet mudda Mary! It's moida!" And with that he was down, his fedora falling off his giant head to reveal his hideous combover beneath. Ox shook his muscly fist at the teenage heroes, he and Lucky the only Toon gang members still standing. "Why'd you hafta knock off his hat, you mooks?"

"You're nothing! You're nothing!" Hex was firing blast after blast at Edge, the sheer force of warping reality pushing him backwards even though the shifting matrix of reality couldn't actually hurt him in his double's command. "What are you, just some little do-gooder with no ambitions? You know what my family was? We were nothing! Just slaves and toadys living off how good my dad and grand-dad kissed the Praetor's ass! Well not me! I worked every day of my life to get where I am, and when I get out of here, I'm going to fight my way into the Syndicate and be the baddest man who ever lived! Then we'll see who's just a stupid slave!" "Bull!" Edge fired back, planting his feet as reality warped and bent between them, the air freezing and burning all at once, the two boys sliding back and forth as they fought for purchase. "You got lucky, didn't you!?" he shouted over the screaming of the air. "You can break reality in half and make it your own; you could be the most powerful person in this school! You could do so much, you could _be_ so much, but you don't have the brains to be more than what everyone expects you to be! You're just-" Mark hesitated a moment, seeing himself in the mirror. "And what about you, huh?" the other Mark spat back, both of them shouting to be heard over the buzzing, wailing screech in the air. "Just going to kick back in that ridiculous costume and with your stupid hair, and let everything you could get pass through your fingers? You think saving kittens out of trees and screwing some four-eyed reporter is going to make you happy? You're just as much of a sap as I am; the difference is, I get to do whatever the hell I want along the way!!" The whirling, twisting air between them was beginning to form into a shape, or rather, a series of shapes that was hard even for the Marks to look at. "You get to wear your stupid uniform and hurt people weaker than you, because that way you don't have to feel weak anymore," said Edge, again fixing his gaze directly on Hex rather than concentrate on whatever the hell it was that was developing between them. "That's why you're so sensitive about your dad, isn't it?! He taught you how to be the man you are! The weak, cowardly bully who can't do anything but parrot what he's supposed to believe and hurt people who can't hurt him back!" "Oh yeah? Well what the hell was YOUR dad like?" spat a red-faced Hex. Mark stared at him and shouted "MY FATHER IS A SUPERHERO!" And with that, he pushed further, and there was a tremendous flash...

With her back turned, she couldn't see the crestfallen look that crossed Sharl's face. "This doesn't change the fact that you're my best friend, Gina. I'm happy to help you anyway I can, and to be your sidekick when you're Miss Americana. I promised you that I owed you everything, and I meant it," he finally said. "This doesn't change any of how I feel about you." And it didn't, though he did feel bad knowing how many problems his friend had. "What can I do to help?"

"You know, Gina," said Sharl, choosing his words with great care. "There are...there are people in Tronik who have problems with the outside. It's actually worse in our city, because there are so many more resources available in homes, and because the technology is so much more advanced than it is here. It's not a weakness of yours. There have to be ways you can help yourself, and you probably wouldn't even need to give away your secret ID..."

Sharl looked at her, feeling his heart twist in his chest again, for all that he didn't really have either. "Gina, you're a hero," he said quietly, "even when you're not using that body. You saved my life and my sanity, kept me from being just deleted code in a file somewhere, or worse...you're my only friend out here. You're the person who taught me how to _be_ a hero, that it wasn't just wearing costumes and getting into fights. That it was caring for something that...that no one else would even have realized was a person. You deserve so much more."

"Oh, okay," said Sharl, still sounding doubtful. "So you didn't tell anyone so you could keep your secret identity? That makes sense..." He knew that was part and parcel of the superhero code, and he could understand why someone who wasn't physical like Gina would make a body like that for herself. "And I suppose it's much safer than building a battlesuit like Daedalus. He really got smacked around. Does anyone else know?" he asked Gina.

"It's...better," said Sharl a little lamely. "I went out there and did what I could. Things were pretty rough last night, but the roads are cleared and the children are home safe. I think I actually made it on TV a couple of times, since I wasn't recognized." He shrugged. "I think it's going to be okay. There were cars back driving on the road as I came in. I don't think anyone remembers being Conquered, which is good." He looked at Gina and finally blurted out, "What's Miss Americana?"

"I'll be there." Sharl floated down through the floors to Gina's basement, where the holographic projectors clicked on to support his projection. Though the magnetic fields that made up his body could function independently, as had been graphically demonstrated when his mobile emitter had taken a hit in the fight with Electrolux, he still felt much safer with his body supported by electronic signals while he was in this place. He was there, standing on the floor like a perfectly normal person, when Gina finally came downstairs.

"It's me," said Sharl. He'd steeled himself for this conversation all night, worrying about talking to Gina being as big in his mind as all the superhero stuff he'd done. But he couldn't just let this go; this was big...big enough that it was beyond him. But he was oceans and worlds away from his parents, his friends were all Gina's friends, and Miss A was...well, she was what she was. There was no one here but him to deal with this. "Can I come in?"

It was light out by the time Sharl got back to the house, or rather, light out again. He'd spent the night flying and walking around Freedom City, helping clean up after the Conquering Mind's possession. There really was a lot of work to do, and he'd been in the best position to do it. Flying over a city full of frightened, hurt people had been a scary experience, but he'd done his best to make it better: he'd flown down to an elementary school and helped stranded kids find their families, he'd helped the cops get people out of wrecked cars, and even helped pull a cat out of a tree! It had been a long night, but a good one; it helped that he didn't really get tired while projecting, and the street lights helped everyone see. By morning, as he flew down through Gina's roof, the long night was over and Freedom City was starting to look back to normal. Not hearing her inside, he knocked on Gina's bedroom door.

Sharl handed the bowl to Emerson and stuck his head right through the door. "There you go, Gina, it's all I could make." He gave her a worried look, only his upper torso visible through the wooden door. "Is it okay? I tried to make it like you liked it...did the shower help any?" He was doing his best not to bury her with questions, but it wasn't easy when she was usually the smart and capable one. "Tell me if you need the first aid kit."

When there was no answer for a while, Sharl knocked on Gina's door. "Gina, are you okay?" he called to her. "I made you chicken ramen with cream cheese!" He didn't know too much about what was healthy to eat, but Gina ate ramen all the time so it had to be okay. Normally she liked it spicy, but he was sure this stuff would be okay. He'd eaten it only a couple of times himself; Gina really didn't like it when he tried to eat things, at least when there wasn't time for him to go outside or into the bathroom to dump it out. He could have just walked in the door, but what would that have done to the food he was trying to get her?

Sharl disappeared right through the floor and into a kitchen that he quickly realized he had no idea how to cook in. He briefly panicked, wondering if he should try making a big meal, but soon realized that wasn't what Gina needed at all. He wound up digging out ramen from the kitchen cabinets, heating the water up in a kettle that looked like Darth Vader's helmet. He kept his ears open for Gina, and relaxed when he heard her shower start. Emerson wouldn't have started it without being able to see her, he was sure, which hopefully meant she was actually in it. When he had the ramen prepared, he carried it bare-handed upstairs and sat down in front of Gina's closed door, waiting for the shower to stop.

Sharl's gut twisted at Gina's growing fear, but he pushed past that as he laid her down on top of the sheets. "Emerson!" he called. "Run Gina a shower!" He knew enough about the pipes here to know that you needed to run them a little while to get really hot water, and Gina sounded like she needed a really hot one. He stepped back from the bed, able to tell he was making her upset but not really sure what to do about that. As the robot scuttled past him, he said, "I'm going to go now and make you food," he said, taking a few steps back as he prepared to leave. "I'll be right back, so you can get cleaned up, and we can talk..."

Bulk PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 44 p STR 40 [30] (+15/+10) DEX 12 (+1) CON 40 [30] (+15/+10) INT 10 (+0) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 10 (+0) Combat: 20 pp ATK: +5 DEF: +5 (+2 flat-footed) Init: +1 Grapple: +23 Saves: 10 pp TOU +15 (+15 Con) FORT +15 (+15 Con) REF +6 (+1 Dex, +5) WILL +6 (+1 Wis, +5) Skills: 40 r=10 pp Intimidate 15 (+15) Knowledge: Streetwise 5 (+5) Languages 2 (Korean, Russian) (Base: English) Notice 9 (+10) Sense Motive 9 (+10) Feats: 6 pp All-Out Attack Luck Power Attack Startle Takedown Attack Ultimate Save (TOU) Powers: 60 pp Device 2 (Helmet) (Hard to Lose) [8 pp] -Immunity 10 (mental effects) {10} Enhanced CON 10 [10 pp] Enhanced STR 10 [10 pp] Immunity 15 (critical hits, entrapment, knockback, starvation and thirst, suffocation) [15 pp] Impervious TOU 10 [10 pp] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Super-Strength 3 (Heavy Load: 24 tons) [6 pp] costs abilities 44 + combat 20 + saves 10 + skills 10/40 + feats 6 + powers 60 = 150 pts -- Design Notes: This is my build for the Bulk, a Powerhouse variant from the Archetypes Archive. He's pretty obviously based on a particular Marvel character, one who I trust I don't have to name for you. He's not the strongest powerhouse, he's not the fastest powerhouse, but he can absorb an amazing amount of punishment: he cannot be knocked back, he cannot be held down, he will come for you and punch you in the head! His kicky hat blocks mental powers, though without it his Will save isn't actually awful either. He's also extremely tough, easily capable of shrugging off massive damage thanks to his extremely high Toughness, high Impervious, and finally his Ultimate Toughness. He doesn't have Immovable or Unstoppable: he doesn't need the first thanks to his broad immunities, and Unstoppable isn't really that great unless you're massively optimized to use Slam attacks. Given his massive ability to do damage, it's probably not going to be something he misses. Obviously someone immune to all damage should be an NPC! In fact, if you want to adopt a recent story arc for this character, you can say the character was an invulnerable bad guy who lost power when he became good, going from an unstoppable villanous powerhouse to a still-very-formidable but more human PC. (If you are going to make him an NPC, I would definitely say kick him up and make him invulnerable with the 80 pp damage immunity, the helmet, the other immunities, etc. You don't want to scrimp! I would say someone with the broad immunities on this sheet is likely to be magical in origin, but you could cover it as a particularly helpful mutation or some other equally broad power origin. Up to you! His natural rival is the Wheelchair Mentalist from upthread, of course. Maybe a family connection? Perhaps his father favored that damn egghead, forcing him to go out in the world! And now that the Mentalist is a mad villain, he's built his helmet to take his wicked brother down. Bricks can get branded one-dimensional, but as characters like Atlas have shown on our site, a relatively simple sheet can go in all kinds of directions. Geez3r's sheet (and thread) is a good source for Super-Strength PFs and stunts. Not all of those will sell on this site, but why not try? (I usually don't get creative like that: with a few exceptions, the majority of the builds here actually could get approved if you took the time to put them in the right format)

"Gina, you can barely walk," said Sharl, feeling like the adult in the room for a moment. "You haven't eaten anything all day, you're bleeding, and you've been sitting in one spot all day. I'm not going to just leave you on the floor again! Let me at least get you to your bedroom." He headed up the stairs, his footsteps solid thunks as he walked up. No flying through walls and floors on this trip, not that he'd ever been up in Gina's room before. "You have a bath up there, right? You can shower while I make the food."

"Come on," said Sharl after a moment's hesitation, bending down to scoop Gina up in his arms. She wasn't light, but he was strong, the magnetics in his body making him stronger than he'd ever been on Tronik. "Emerson's going to give you a bath," he suggested, remembering a comment Gina had made once about all the luxuries she'd programmed into the robot, "and I'm going to get you some food. You need to eat, and then maybe sleep. How long have you been awake?" he asked her, still trying to figure out how exactly she did...well, whatever she did that made her Miss Americana and not Gina!

"I'm okay," said Sharl. "I think I owe Star Knight an apology for getting her knocked around. Siren and Captain Thunder managed to ambush Protectron and I before you guys stopped the Mind, I took a few hits. Didn't hurt me any, though. It was a little scary; the Mind said something about recognizing me...probably from one of the minds it conquered, I guess." He looked at Gina, debating her condition, and finally said, "We need to talk, Gina, but not when you're so beat up." She hadn't pushed him when he was on the breaking point, and he owed her that, and much else. "I don't think anyone else suspects anything. Or I don't know...what's Miss Americana doing right now?" He hmmed. Maybe they were talking after all, despite his best intentions. "No one knows I came here. Protectron let me use his radio to send myself into the network, but he wasn't able to trace me, I think."