Avenger Assembled
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The address belonged to a high-rise apartment building overlooking a nearby city park, quiet now this late in the evening. The building soared some thirty floors from the street, a sleek pillar of glass and steel. A doorman and some discreet private security in the lobby, just visible as Jack of Blades peered in from his perch down the street, were supposed to keep out any unwanted visitors, but it was a safe bet they weren't paid enough to deal with the likes of Jack of all Blades and Avenger. Speaking of which, where was the gritty avenger of evil? "Jack." Avenger gripped the flagpole, looking up with no awkwardness at the man perched above him. "Good timing."
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Jack fought the urge to facepalm, taking a step back from the situation. "Anyway, Anya here was just reporting to me about some werewolf activity she'd spotted. You remember, the one I...wait, you were in that pirate dimension that weekend. Anyway, I fought a werewolf a while back, and Anya talked to him. She's helping keep us safe," he said gently, "though that doesn't entitle her to put on airs," he added, shooting his erstwhile protege a look.
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"So as long as you keep her away from-ah, here she is now!" Duncan actually smiled at Erin, the adult, professional smile he used in social situations. "Come in, Ms. White, come in. Erin White, this is Mona Teymourian. She's one of the heroes in our mentoring program, and she's expressed an interest in working with you. Ms. Teymourian, Erin is one of our best students. I think you'll both have a great deal to learn from each other."
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Jack leaped and caught the couch in mid-air, briefly bracing himself before carefully setting it back down again. "Taylor! Jesus, I'm sorry! I didn't think the fact that I worked with one particular vampire was going to be an issue. It's not like this is the first vampire we've ever had over to our place, remember?" He turned to Anya. "And as for you, Taylor is my wife, when she's not Phantom, the guardian of all dimensions. She's got more mystic power in one hand than the likes of you and I have in our entire bodies."
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Avenger spends an HP for Interpose
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Jack winced. This was not going well! "Anya, this is my _wife_, Taylor. Taylor, this is Anya, though she goes by Rouge. She's one of the new vampires in the city, and she's been working as a superhero, as well as one of my assistants, for the last few weeks. You remember, I..." He hesitated. "Okay, I guess I never actually explained that, but we've been real busy."
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"If you have children, Christopher, you'll understand that any parent who truly cares for their family would do anything for the sake of their children. Even if it's the wrong thing." Expressionless, he folded his hands and met Geckoman's eyes unflinchingly. "And if you live as long as I have, you'll understand the value of friends. I won't let a mistake in a moment of grief cloud the memory of the man who was my friend for forty years. He doesn't need your help to bury him." Pulling back from the eye contact, he asked, "Now, did you have anything else?"
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Mark reached down and petted the kitty, a sad look on his face. "Nice kitty...I don't know how to do any of that," he admitted. "I've never...I've never had anything like this happen before. Not even close. I don't know what to do about that, or about anything, anymore. I'm sorry I'm such a bad friend," he apologized, "coming to you with all my problems and being upset like this. I don't know how to deal with feeling this way."
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Duncan gave Chris a tired look. "Christopher, you should consider the fact that Richard Lucas was my friend for considerably longer than you have been alive before you go any further with that line of argument." He studied Geckoman, as if looking for a reaction. "I certainly won't pretend to condone what happened, or what my friend did to the world. But I understand how far despair can drive anyone, especially a parent, when they see part of their family die in front of their eyes. Believe me."
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Duncan hmmed. "No, I think that's a reasonable construction on Rick's part, given what he knows about my family history. I'm surprised Callie wasn't included in the altered timeline, but I imagine Rick would have kept her in New York. He was always uncomfortable with children directly inheriting the legacies of their immediate family members."
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"I'm familiar with what happened, as well as some of the details of the altered timeline. I've had my suspicions that Rick was more than just a juvenile sidekick for many years now. But why don't you tell me what's on your mind, Chris?" asked Summers, sounding almost paternal. "You didn't come here to ask me what I was told."
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Did a mountain scowl, or wrinkle? It was hard to say. "I've been briefed on what happened," said Summers gravely. "Including the details of Rick's disappearance. The Lucas family and I have been very close for many years." He folded his hands, studying Geckoman across the table, letting the teenager continue his story.
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"Come in, Christopher," said the voice from behind the door. Duncan Summers was behind the headmaster's desk, with that usual look on his lined face that suggested he was as much a part of the furniture as the statue of the school's founder in the corner behind him. He got that short nod of acknowledgement that meant Summers both knew and liked you. "What can I do for you?"
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Mark flinched away from Alex's hand, a surge of emotion in his eyes. "No!" His sharp reply startled Oliver, but the cat didn't jump down; instead he stood up and began licking Mark's chin, a bizarre counterpoint to his rush of emotions that quickly died down. "I...I don't know how to deal with any of this," he said suddenly, a gulf opening in his eyes. "Being afraid of hurting people, and my dad gone, and Mom crying all the time, I...it's not right! Things like this aren't supposed to be happening, things like this have never happened! I just...I just don't know what I'm supposed to do!"
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James' hellish powers did Heaven's work as they revived Ironclad, leaving her blinking awake inside her battered armor as she looked up at her savior. Meanwhile, down on the streets, the people of the Fens had come out to cheer their heroes. "Hooray! They stopped the crazy drunk lady!" yelled a bedraggled panhandler. "People do care about the Fens!" yelled another. The crowd started cheering, bystanders running up to help the armored girl who'd been hurt in all the fighting. It was, all in all, a good day in the Fens. And they didn't get a lot of those.
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"I know what reality warping looks like," said Mark, looking deeply uneasy. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the sandwich. "You remember what my dad said, when, when he left, Erin? That reality couldn't handle two reality-warpers." He swallowed. "What if the same thing happens to me that happened to him? What if I lose control of my powers and...and I do what he did?"
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"Come in, come in," said Avenger, ushering Rouge into his spacious, luxurious apartment that practically screamed Wealth! if not necessarily taste. He walked her inside, closing the door, and led her to a brand-new black leather couch before a flat-screen TV, his soft-shoed feet not even squeaking on the shiny, well-polished marble floor beneath their feet. "Can I offer you something?"
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"Let me show you," said Mark, a little worriedly. "I haven't really shown anyone this..." He looked down at his hands and said, "I wish I had a ham sandwich!" A moment later, the air on his lap began to ripple and bend, black inky dots swirling together out of nothing, shaping together into the shape of a thick, juicy slice of ham in between two solid slices of thick black bread. "You see?" he said, sounding worried. "I can just...just do that now!"
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Precisely a week later, the Interceptors' main phone line rang. A playful Vince, after suitable bedevilment, eventually forwarded a faintly ruffled Avenger to the nearest Interceptor, which in this case turned out to be Colt. "Ah yes, Grim's boyfriend, the master gunman! I remember you from the demonic invasion; you're very impressive. Hello. How are you doing today?" asked Avenger, sounding all smooth politeness. "Are your preparations complete? Or do you need more time?"
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The sword-hilt hit the starlet right in the face, knocking her cold and pushing her out of the fight. But she was still on the move, thanks to her jet-powered board, and it was sending her hurtling towards the bold young archer at an incredible rate of speed as she made a loop in the sky! If no one did something soon, Angel and Nock were going to collide, and if that didn't happen, she'd surely hit the roof and cause a huge explosion!
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"I could have dodged that blast," said Mark stubbornly. "Or worn my vest that day, or a lot of other things. But no, I just walked into it without thinking, just like I do everything else." He shook his head. "And no, I didn't tell him. All those years of telling me how proud he was that he'd been able to have all those adventures without ever using any powers...I didn't want to cheapen our family legacy for him by making him think he'd had powers all along, that...that it hadn't really been real. And now look at us." He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm not even the same person I was. My powers have been acting funny ever since we got back."
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Wander's devastating punch made Angel bend over and throw up a considerable quantity of liquor, the former superheroine gagging and vomiting as she wheeled crazily around in the air. She was still strapped to her board, but she wasn't going anywhere except rocketing straight towards the roof where Nock was waiting!
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The OOC
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Taylor was sleeping, and so was the baby, when Avenger's silent phone buzzed in his pocket. He stopped watching the game, putting down his bottle, to take the call. "Rouge? Yes. You met a werewolf last night?" He leaned back, listening intently to her words. He'd been there for the meeting, but listening to her description of what had happened was just as important. "Describe him for me. All right...all right, I've dealt with that one before. Come to my apartment and we'll talk. Use the codewords I gave you so you'll be able to see the door. Yes, see you soon." It wasn't until he'd hung up that Avenger realized he'd invited Rouge back to his apartment for the first time!
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The Cutting Edge is in!