Avenger Assembled

"Jaci, darling, you have no sense of style." Clad in tasteful white leather that clung to her ample curves like paint to steel, the lovely Marionette cheerfully waved a hand at the police officers. With a look and a smile, and a touch of a dead woman's minds against theirs, suddenly a great many of them were dropping their guns, with several actually running to stand protectively around her and guard her against their colleagues' pitiul attacks. "They're always tastier when they wriggle right into your mouth," she said, putting her hand on one beefy cop's shoulder with a shark's smile. "Now come on, they have Benton's Allies of Freedom on display in the Modern Art gallery. It's not going to burn itself."

Marionette goes on 13

The time: Early summer The place: The skies over Kingston!

The police airship hovered high over suburban Kingston, the Klansman and Valkyrie at the controls while the White Knight took control of the radio. The police crew on board had been so easily subdued he'd hardly felt their bullets, and breaking the jaw of that colored boy with the badge had been the most satisfying thing he'd done all day. Though with any luck, it was about to get even better. The radio call went out over every police-band radio in Freedom City: "Listen up! This is White Knight and the Redeemers aboard Aryan-One! This is a message for Fulcrum and her crew of genetic freaks! I owe you something, you filthy slut, and I'm going to give it to you! Right now! If you're not on this airship in five minutes, I'm going to start throwing cops overboard! And if I see the League, or the Midnighter, or the Interceptors, or any other team coming this way, I'm going to send them down in pieces first! Five minutes!"

The flames retreated from Jack of Blades like servants bowing before their master, Avenger's eyebrows going up as the fire rushed away from the masked swordsman. He quickly piled into the building, running low to make it look like the smoke bothered him, gratified by the way the fire seemed to be ignoring him as well. He grabbed men by the collar and began pulling them out, moving with the smooth economy of someone who'd had to move a lot of insensate bodies in his time. He had to admit; the man of blades had done some good work blowing these dealers through the wall.

With one last crackle of energy, his wounds bleeding an alarming white fire, Positron slumped in Avenger's arms, the black-clad vigilante hastily dropping him to the ground. The burning building behind them gave an ominous rumble in time with another clap of thunder from overhead, and Avenger realized it was in peril of collapsing entirely. The fire looked terribly ominous, however, especially since he knew just how easily it would scorch his undead flesh. He took the opportunity to pick up his crowbar again and bring it down across Positron's kneecaps with a crunch. "Didn't have time to scout out the building," he admitted as he left the fallen electrical thug behind. This was not a time for pride. "Where are victims? What's fastest way inside?"

"Ooh, neat. We've got a guy here who gets his powers from sound, I'll have to hook you up with him." Mark's pause to let Trevor finish speaking was the only sign he'd noticed anyone else was talking. "I do stuff with probability, it's pretty cool." Not wanting to sound like he was bragging, he introduced them to several passing students, just to give Warren some familiarity with the campus. "Are you rooming on campus?" he asked. "It was in the packet, but I forgot," he confessed with a smile. "If so, lemme show you where you're probably living."

Mark blinked, surprised and impressed when he saw Faith and Aiko talking to each other in Japanese. Wow, she knows Japanese? He instantly felt bad about underestimating his girlfriend, and so quickly said, "That's neat! Have you met Shinnosuke Koyama? He's the Japanese student I know the best right now. He's pretty cool, he does lots of computer hacking and stuff."

Drop Avenger's need for blood drawback. Replace it with the complication: Needs Blood to Survive Replace with the drawbacks Vulnerable (vs. Holy) (uncommon, moderate) [50%] (-2) and Vulnerable (vs. Magic) (uncommon, minor) [+1) (-1) Doktor'd

OK, that's a DC 24 Reflex save vs. a possible DC 29 damage. And you know what, Giz: have an HP to counteract JoaB's luck with dierolling.

Despite Avenger's best efforts, Positron jerked at the last second, Jack's flaming blade cutting across his face without doing any deep damage. "Aargh! You like fire so much, why don't you see if you can learn to RIDE THE LIGHTNING!" There was an enormous flash of light overhead, followed up by a massive blast of white electricity that struck the earth between Avenger and Jack of Blades, bolts of white fire bursting out to lash at them both in a blinding rush of heat and light. Avenger, for his part, jerked backwards in time to protect himself, lightning crackling along his skin in a way that made him laugh malevolently, before he pulled _hard_ at his foe with an audible crack that made Positron shriek with pain, the man's arm pulling out of its socket! "You're the one shoving your flaming hot weapon into him!" he fired back at Jack of Blades, before adding, "Can't keep this up forever..."

He fails the Taunt And...sonofa. OK, he's Bruisedx2 and Stunned.

A legend has passed. Very sad.

Mark was a cheerful, boisterous talker, the sort of tour guide who didn't let his guest worry about needing to make any awkward conversation. As he led the way onto the quad, he talked all about the school's history, dating back to its foundation in the 19th century, right up through the 1990s when the Terminus Invasion nearly wrecked the place. "Then Mr. Summers bought the place, and made it a school for the super-kids." He trusted that the new guy had gotten that speech already. "What powers do you have?" he asked. "Or do you not like to talk about that?"

I'll find a way. ;)

Things were grim on Star Island, grim indeed. The bad guys, aka the evil reflections of the Freedom League, were mostly in the control room, half-visible thanks to the sad little violet left on one terrified technician's face. A black-armored version of Daedalus was striding around in there like a mechanical god, barking orders at blaster-point to the men and women working for their lives. And at the very edge of the island, something deeply unsettling was happening: a wickedly laughing version of Siren, her scanty costume clad in terrible blood red, was using her water powers to rip the clothes off a very frightened looking man in a security guard's gear with wet tentacles of pain, blowing mocking kisses to him all the way. There was no sign of an evil version of the Raven, and no sign of the good Freedom League...yet.

"Scarab, I know for certain is," said Avenger calmly. What the heck, she'd been pretty free and easy with his secrets, hadn't she? "As for Daedalus, I've seen pictures of the Freedom League's encounter with Count Orlok in the 1960s, the ones Orlok's people made while they were retreating." Orlok had been decapitated by a blast of light from no less than the first Star Knight himself. "I find it unlikely at best that the two men are even father and son." He didn't comment on Dead Head's personality. It seemed...cruel.

"Blades is playing with you," said Avenger with a malevolent laugh at Positron's expense. "Keep fighting, and maybe he'll let me have a turn." Seeming unimpressed by Avenger's threats, the electrical fiend glowed brilliantly, shooting out beams of light as the energy inside him collapsed into his very muscles. They struggled and wrestled back and forth, cursing and writhing in the rain, as the building behind them continued to crumble and burn. "Argh! I'll crush your freaking skulls!" "Have heard that one before," said Avenger, concentrating as he dug his fingers into the man's joints, digging into the places where the armored skin was hopefully a little softer. He heard bones beginning to crack, and he squeezed tighter. "Right there!"

Somewhat belatedly: Avenger's Well-Informed check on Jack of all Blades. Remember that this isn't something JackB is aware of or able to counter. What does a DC 38 check get him vs. JoaB? (Keep in mind that people who know some fairly pertinent information about JoaB (Doc Archeville, Ace, etc) are within Avenger's immediate circle of contacts, and for various reasons are in very good charity with him right now.)

D'oh!

Starsign, you can just upgrade Rycon to PL 10. =) I'm sure there are plenty of folks who'd be happy to help you with that.

At the sight of the ranting supercriminal covered in a massive electrical aura, all Avenger could think was Crap. As yet unseen, Avenger took shelter behind a truck and quickly debated his options. He hefted the crowbar, studying it for a moment, then shook his head. Sure, hit the electrical man with a piece of iron. I the middle of a freaking downpour! There's a good idea! Of course, it wasn't as if he had any better ideas. If this guy took off again, he could blast the neighborhood at will and it would be very difficult for Avenger to do anything about it. Maybe Jack of Blades was a big talker, but he was a standup guy: Avenger was fairly sure the swinging swordsman had not blown himself up, and was not going to turn and run after setting off his bombs. One way or another, it was time to do something before another building burned. He charged the powered-up bad guy, wrapping his arm around Positron's uncovered neck and pulling, hard! His hands almost slipped in the rain, but he just managed to maintain his grip on the man's rain-slick flesh. Not that it seemed to bother Positron any... "Grrah! How many of you are there?"

So we go: Avenger Jack of Blades (heroes rule!) and Positron

Seems like a good time for an initiative roll. Avenger goes on thirty;' Positron goes on 27

What? Who is- Avenger threw up his hand to shield his face as the explosion ripped through the warehouse, blasting away part of the roof but leaving most of the building itself intact. Up above, the upward explosion scorched Jack of Blades' bootheels while leaving the whirling swordsman unhurt by his own spectacular bit of crimefighting. The building probably hadn't taken enough damage to collapse, and the men inside were just knocked out rather than at risk of burning thanks to the general direction of the blast and the good emergency services in the West End. Before either hero could take stock of the situation, though, suddenly the roof of the warehouse was blasted away by a huge discharge of electricity! Now the walls were crumbling, and the men inside in deadly peril. Like a rocket, a white glowing man erupted out of the building, his suit burned away to reveal a luminescent costume that glowed like a new star on the dark and stormy night. "Fool! You think you can laugh at Positron and get away with it? I'll burn your whole neighborhood if I have to do it to stop you!" And with that he landed in the parking lot amid the unconscious thugs and fired a blast at the warehouse across the street, causing another massive explosion!