Avenger Assembled

"Oh, I don't know," said Jack with a smirk, putting his arms around her. "I was thinking maybe I could tie you up and..." He caught Stesha looking at them and coughed. "Erm. Erm, why don't I just tell them I wiped your memory and sent you home in disgrace?" He smirked. "Let them think we did whatever in the meantime. It'll be great." He paused, then added. "Find Zealot, if you can. And I'll stop him for good."

It was by the merest quirk of fate that the angel of Freedom had been in the skies when Valkyrie gave Gigawatt a more personal connection to her gods, but by the time the electrical hero's awareness had returned to the plane of mortals, Freedom Angel had gained a particular awareness of what was transpiring below. His jaw tightening, he swooped in to the scene below, interrupting the dialogue before Valkyrie could answer. We are not enemies, he reminded himself, but all friends, serving the cause of justice. Even though she bears the marks of... He couldn't lie, but that didn't mean he always told the entire truth. Surrounded by a golden nimbus of light, his wings outlined by the sun's fire behind him, the angel looked from Gigawatt to Valkyrie. "The young man asked you a good question, daughter of the Aesir."

Spent an HP on a reroll. Spent an HP to acquire the feat Takedown Attack on his sword. DC 30 Tou saves.

"You will not have this day, I promise." said Freedom Angel, who continued his work among the demons. He knew their ways well and booked no compromise, slashing and striking and smashing, cutting with his flaming blade and smashing his divine shield into their faces until the sound of bone cracked. He would not yield!

"Can you find him?" Jack asked Taylor gently, giving her a searching look. "I can call Elena if you'd prefer. We need to make decisions fast before I have to go deal with everyone else," he commented, pointing back at the closed door behind them. The room still smelled of blood, and surely the owners would want to come back soon. "Once you find him, I can deal with him for you. For all of you."

Jack thought of sharp knives and spilling blood, the feel of flesh ripping in his hands. "All right...all right, well, I guess it wasn't just _my_ powers he inherited," he said with a thin, hard smile. He took the baby and cosseted him, holding him warmly in his arms. "Good boy," he told the so-tiny, so-fragile infant. "Good boy, you're so smart. If you guys can track Zealot, now would be a good time, before everyone comes back in."

"He...wait, what? The baby just popped out of existence?" Jack thought about that, and his eyes widened. "The way I pop out of existence, or the way you pop out of existence? What exactly happened?" It was distracting enough to take him away from his plans for the immediate future, and all he would do to make sure Zealot never again threatened his family. "And what exactly did Zealot do?"

"Jack Faretti," said Jack, catching the boy's gaze with practiced ease. Keeping a smile on his face and his feelings well off it, he waved, but didn't get up as he repositioned the chair that had behind the curtain so everyone could see everyone. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, he sat and studied Mike. "Why do you think you're qualified to take care of my son?"

Jack wasn't smart and he wasn't quick, not when it came to thinking, but he knew his enemies well enough. Only one of them used a whip, and only one of them had ever made Taylor break down like this. Zealot. By the time he'd thought that fast, he was already holding Taylor, his arms strong and secure. "But you're all right, and Jack Jr's all right..." He was holding on to both of them. "It's going to be all right," he promised her. "We're going to find him, and we're going to make sure he never does this again." I left him intact once. He shot a look at Stesha. "Are you all right?"

The room fell dead silent for a long moment, everyone staring at the terribly unlikely trio that had just fallen out on the polished wooden conference table. There were a dozen people there: a combination of impeccable dark suits and slicked back hair mixed with pale-faced ravers who looked like they'd stepped straight out of an all-night dance. The room smelled of blood and perfume, both possibly wafting from the servant in the corner, carrying a massive carafe full of a dark red fluid she was just pouring into the coffee cup of the man sitting at the head of the table. Jack was out of uniform and in another: his tight white shirt and black leather pants making him look like the king of the room. Which, in fact, he was. He was on his feet in an instant, even as the people around him startled to theirs as well. "Everyone out!" Jack called, command in his voice and fangs in his mouth. "Seal the doors and guard against attack! If the super-thugs have found where we are, we could all be in peril! I'll deal with these three!" He slammed his fist on the table, hard enough to make it shake, and the sheer power of his command had the other vampires moving, some scrambling for the doors while others vanished in smoke and mist. Jack shot Taylor a look, his eyes wide, looking wildly for the baby.

"Excellent," said the angel, looking down at the cop cars arriving below. "Why don't I speak to the police and assure them of your innocence, and you can start your investigation?" With that, he took off from the roof and made a neat landing before the police cars, a perfect symbol of holiness before the mundane uniforms and flashing sirens. "Officers of the law!" he called. "The situation is serious, but we have made much progress. Myself, the being who calls herself Divine, and the reformed thief Bombshell are investigating the theft!"

Edge was still adjusting to everything he'd done, half-listening to the conversation in his earpiece. "Uh, maybe? That's...that's a little out of my scope," he admitted to Hellion. "But I think I can fix it. it's just a matter of...making it again, I guess." He winced. "But if it does go, it'll still do some damage. I'm not faster than light like Phalanx or Psyche, I can't think faster than it can rip."

"I do!" said Freedom Angel, though his face clouded a few moments later. "Though it's difficult to send me personal mail these days. The Post Office has decided to use St. Stephens as the destination for most "Letters to the Angels" written in Freedom City, and it's difficult to read and answer all of them at once. People have very many prayers, especially now that they've seen an angel with their own eyes. If you send your message through the League, they can send it to the church with much more accuracy."

"Is that funny to you?" Jack asked Erik in reply, cocking his head and studying Erik like a bug on the bottom of his shoe. "What happened to my brother-in-law, I mean. If it's tough to put yourself in Taylor's shoes, let me put it another way. If someone came to your house and put their hands on your family, would that be funny? Would that be a good time to flail around and order pancakes?" He gave Erik a look as sharp as any knife Jack of Blades wielded. "No? That would make you _angry_, wouldn't it? You'd want to track them down and take the hands that were raised against the people you love, as a lesson to anyone who'd dare cross that line. And rightly so, I might add, whatever sneering judgments you might get from other superheroes for that." Jack Jr. was beginning to fuss at the sharp tone of adult conversation around him, so Jack sighed, settling back in his seat and gently bouncing the baby. Kid really did have good ears. "I'm sure it makes you very unhappy that your mask is off and that other people know you for the man you are. I've been there, I can understand that. But if you're not going to pretend to feel anything about our problems, I'm afraid I'm just not human enough to feign sympathy for yours." He gave Erik a level look. "So what's it going to be? You going to do the Merry Prankster routine on the graves of innocents some more? Because that's fine: I did all this to find out what you and the Interceptors are like, and that'll tell me everything I need to know. Or are we going to sit here and talk like adults about what we can do for each other? Because I'd like to be surprised by human decency for once."

He's an obsessive-compulsive genius who the guards underestimated. Plus, he was Malice's cellmate for a while there.

"That's wonderful!" said Heyzel, actually glowing in his joy. "Oh, I've watched so many weddings, and they're gorgeous!" He beamed. "Do you have a dress picked out? I saw a wedding in the Congo once where the bride wore a dress she'd made herself out of thousands of exotic bird feathers, and it was beautiful! That was one of my favorite things." He hmmed. "I suppose Derrick will need one of those special tuxes..."

"I'll let the two of you get better acquainted," said Summers, a sociable smile back on his face. "Though preferably somewhere else, as I need to meet with another student in fifteen minutes." As girl and woman left, he gave Mona just the ghost of a wink, enough for her to see he'd seen what relationship she was setting up between herself, the challenging student, and the authority figure, and he liked it.

"Maybe you don't understand." This time there was no artifice, no fake smile. This time, as far as Erik could see behind Jack's eyes, there was nothing. It wasn't like looking at a villain or a thug: it was like looking at a shark. "Allow me to explain. Today I showed you that I had information about your family that I would not use, the same that you had about mine, and invited you out to a pleasant meal with my wife and son. I did this because of all the Interceptors, I thought you were the one I could talk to as a man instead of as an arrogant child." He smiled again, and this time Erik saw that what he'd thought was a forced smile wasn't forced at all: it was a smile to go with those flat eyes, a shark's grin on a man's face. "But perhaps I was wrong, Erik. It's been known to happen. Perhaps the honor of your team, the honor of your own name, is less important to you than your dignity. I'm sure Errol Flynn would be proud."

APPROVED

APPROVED

[floatr](Original Pic)[/floatr] [floatr][/floatr] Name: Barry Brewster Bowles Abilities: (10 pp) Str: 42/10 (+16/+0) Dex: 10 (+0) Con: 20/10 (+5/+0) Int: 18 (+4) Wis: 12 (+1) Cha: 10 (+0) Combat: (44 pp) Attack +13, +16 (ranged), Grapple: +34 at full strength/+13 w/out Defense +14 (+7 flat-footed), Knockback: -13, Initiative +0 Saving Throws: (9 pp) Toughness: +16*/+0 (+11 Imp) Fortitude +14/+8/+3 (+5 from Con, +3) Reflex +3 (+0 from Dex, +3), Will +14/+4 (+1 from Wis, +3) Skills: (44 r=11 pp) Craft (electronic) 6 (+11/+12) (w/masterwork tools) Craft (mechanical) 6 (+10) Disable Device 0 (+4/+5) (w/masterwork tools) Knowledge (life sciences) 6 (+10) Knowledge (technology) 6 (+10) Perform (dance) 14 (+14) Notice 2 (+3) Sense Motive 4 (+5) Feats: (28 pp) Accurate Attack All-Out Attack Attack Focus (ranged) 3 Benefit 2 (Wealth 2) Equipment 1 Fascinate (Perform [Dance]) Improved Crit (unarmed) Inventor Minions 16 (25 giant bees) Power Attack Ultimate Save (Toughness) Ultimate Skill (Perform [Dance]) Powers: (117 pp) Device 28 (Bee-Keeper Armor 2.0; 140 points, Hard to Lose) [112pp] Immunity 1 (Bees) [1 pp] Immunity 5 (Interaction Skills) [4 pp] (Drawback: Not vs. Diplomacy) 'you jelly' Drawbacks: (-6 pp) Normal Identity (free action, -3 pp) Vulnerable (Bluff Checks designed to make him gloat; common, moderate (50%) (-3 pp) Abilities 10 + Skills 11 + Feats 13 + Powers 117 + Combat 44 + Saves 9 + Drawbacks -6 = Total 225 - The Bee-Keeper's love? Bees! His hate? Fleur de Joie and her friends in the Freedom League! His goal? REVENGE. He has escaped from prison RIGHT NOW.

I'm fine with you telling that he's presenting a facade. (i.e.; penetrating his Bluff) Erik's Bluff is high enough that I won't waste my time. If you want to tell how he's feeling, i.e., Sense his Motive, roll away!

Avenger: Bananaphone: Taint Funny McGee: This Woman's Work: Summer Job Listing: Public Service: Meltdown: Interrupting Cow: First Blood: Avenger vs. Lukos: Dead Men: So We Meet Again Edge: No More Good Days: High Noon: No Mercy: Shaper of Things: House of L: The End: House of L: Bringing Down The House: Freedom Angel: Pater Noster: LOLWTFBBQ: Out of the Past: Chaos in the Streets: Lonely as a Cloud: Picking Up the Pieces: A Meeting At the Park GMing: Strength to Strength: Fast Heroes: Nevermore: Nockin: Childhood Dream: Revelations: Nazis

Jack studied Erik for a moment, processing through the responses that he thought would work against the other man's obfuscation. It was really something of an intellectual exercise, since none of his innate emotional responses would be terribly helpful in this situation. Instead he took an aspartame packet from its spot on the wall and studied it, crinkling it in his fingers, listening to the artificial sweetener slide around at his touch. When he was sure he could act without betraying his feelings, he threw the packet at Erik's head. "Dumbass," he said with an edged smile. "Now, did you have something you wanted to say, or are you just going to eat pancakes on my dime?"

Jack thanked Anya for the drinks politely, as one would a subordinate, then sipped himself, inviting Anya to do the same. "It's from the same stock I get your supply from," he told Anya. To Taylor, he added, "I've shared my career path with Anya, and she's chosen something similar. To protect her humanity by protecting humans; to be a superhero. I had some people make a costume for her, and now she goes by Rouge."