Avenger Assembled

"After. I've always gone out wearing the hockey mask as Avenger. Makes for a more iconic look and keeps people from looking too closely at me." And when I get so excited I pop fang, no one can tell behind the masks. Yeah, I'll just keep that to myself. Besides, that hasn't happened in a while now. "I don't know." He shrugged a little, calling back to that odd first night. "Takes all kinds, I guess. It was out in the Fens. I've always done pretty well there, though they've picked up new protectors lately. I try not to step on anyone's toes."

Tell her you don't like most monster movies because they're either inaccurate or racist. That'll put her mind at ease. Oh yeah, and that you haven't slept in four years! "There are worse places to sleep," said Jack with a little shrug. "And hey, you've got someone you can talk to now." He reached over and squeezed her hand. "My first time out, some weird super-hooker or something saw me on the streets and solicited me." He grinned wryly. "Maybe that's why I learned to be more careful."

"Nyyeesss...very well! To the sky!" And with that, Tyranny Ape hurled his hostage aside like so much weight and took to the air, flapping his mighty wings and powering his way back through the huge hole he'd punched (again) in the ceiling to make his initial appearance. He headed high into the sky quickly, his deep, baritone chuckle heading down as his silhouette retreated into the bright sky above.

"She's a really great flier," said Mark, grinning at Alex before looking back and forth between his parents. "She's beautiful in the sky. You should see her in the air." "Sounds good to me!" said Rick exuberantly. "I've got to pay a visit to that school sometime soon, see if that history teacher needs any more lectures." It didn't sound like a slip of the tongue. While Rick talked, Martha smiled indulgently and took out her sketchpad, quietly working as she ate and held up her own end of the conversation. "Don't let them fool you," she said with a smile at Alex, "we do occasionally talk about things other than superheroing around the house. Mark's father is just happy to see Mark dating a nice girl." Mark turned unaccountably bright red at that, his ears turning color first. "Mo-om!"

"I, um, don't actually watch a lot of horror movies," Jack confessed. "I rented the ones I brought over last time." He headed for his shelf, dug around for a moment, and finally came up with something that he popped into the DVD player. "Here, this is a good one." Everyone likes Young Frankenstein, right? It's universal. He sat her down on the couch with him, his arm around her. "We don't have to talk about it, or think about it, if you don't want to. I'll stay with you all night if you need me to."

Tyranny Ape stroked his jaw with one massive prehensile foot. "Nyyyees! A test of power most magnificent!" He gave her a look the meaning of which was best not parsed. "You would have made a lovely orangutan, hairless one. But what guarantee do I have of your trustworthiness? Dimensional guardians are notoriously treacherous, particularly the foul homo sapiens." He waved his screaming hostage for emphasis, his booming voice the only thing audible over hers.

"Ah, your grandpa. I'll never forget that time he shot that apple off my head at fifty paces to keep Adamant from pulling my limbs off. Those were the days. So he still likes teleporters, eh?" Rick rubbed his square chin with his unmitted hand. "Ah, I remember those old League teleporters well." He told a remarkably detailed anecdote about one time the Freedom League's teleporters had accidentally transposed them all with their counterparts from Gender-Reversed Earth, leading to some hilarious shenanigans when Centuria and Uncle Sam next went out on patrol. Mark smiled and half-listened; though he obviously liked the story, it was obviously one he'd heard plenty of times before. "Rick, Mark, you're going to give the girl a complex!" called Martha Lucas, who'd come out to join the family with what turned out to be the plates and glasses for their picnic. "She doesn't need to hear all about your exploits. I'm sure she gets plenty of that from our son." It was all affectionate teasing; if superhero talk bothered Martha, she probably wouldn't live with these two. "Mark, would you mind helping me with this?" A loyal son, Mark headed quickly into the kitchen to help his mother with the food, reaching down to squeeze Alex's hand as they went. A few minutes later, they had a set picnic table laden with all the makings of an all-American barbecue; hot dogs, hamburgers, and sloppy joes abounded. It was something of a mystery, except maybe lucky genes, how these people all stayed so thin.

Keep it together. Keep it together. Jack gently lowered the man down into the flower, trusting Stesha's power would do what it was supposed to. Don't do it now. It would be so easy... He gently settled the man down and took a step back to Phantom's side. "I would appreciate that," he said simply, blinking. "It...it sounds like I need to make some calls once I'm there." And then maybe scream for an hour. Or a day.

Startling with a DC of 23 Power Attacking for +3 damage DC 27 Tou save.

The thugs were nothing, their bullets were no match for Avenger's undead power. But the Max addict there was a serious threat, one Avenger recognized only too well from his own days as a junkie. He came in low, his body and posture that of a malignant animal, and charged powerfully, swinging a massive blow directly at the huge thug's face.

Have an HP, Phantom.

Tyranny Ape swore a blasphemous oath that called upon the primate gods of his forebears to perform unspeakable acts to Phantom's spiritual ancestors. With a mighty roar, he spread his monstrous wings and pointed a huge fist at Phantom. "YOU! You'll never send me back to Ape-pire City, do you hear? Never! Ape shall triumph over hairless man, and I am mighty ape with wings! Your hairless magic is no match for my power!" And with that, he snatched up a screaming teller, tucking her under his arm like a football. "Come, do your worst! Her head shall adorn my flying apealace if you dare touch me!"

Who's next?

I did, Doc. They go next. ;)

"Good, good." Still not wearing his mask, Jack hadn't looked bothered by the sudden near-disaster he'd caused. His attention was all directed inward, focusing on the torment that he know knew had been entirely psychological. "You did it!" he called up to Dark Star and Phantom, showing an unaccustomed joy in the moment. "Thank God, thank God." He took the opportunity to make sure that the mad scientist who'd done all this was out like a light.

"Am sure our respective morals are very impressive. Not the topic of conversation now." Codifying the rules of an organization seemed like a waste of time to Jack. You followed the leaders because they were the best at what they did, and if they weren't, you either replaced them or formed your own organization. He wasn't at all sure that point of view would impress his colleagues, though, or even that it was particularly heroic. "Dark Star. You have concerns. Share them...please."

Power Check: 18 In the corners of the room, Odysseus and someone who looks very much like the Golden Age Valkyrie appear!

Odysseus and someone who looks very much like the Golden Age Valkyrie are in the corners of the room, concealed against detection magically and mentally. (The Concealment had the Phantasm flaw, much to Arachnos' chagrin.)

September 18, 2009: Phantom deals with the ominous return of Tyranny Eagle in What, Again?

This is the thread for Phantom's solo battle with the Tyranny Eagle.

It was a typical Friday morning at the First Bank of Kingston, a small regional bank with branches extending throughout the suburbs of Freedom City. There were students dropping off their paychecks, people coming in to make withdrawals at the start of business, children playing in the little puzzle and game corner where they kept themselves busy while their parents waited in the long, roped-off bank lines. And then the flying gorilla in the hawk costume crashed through the front window in a shower of glass, sending people running and screaming in terror! There was only one thought on everyone's mind. "What, again?!" It was a horrible moment, but what could you do against such a terrible threat? Even the guards stood stock-still, frozen in shock as the bizarre monstrosity landed on the counter, flapping its mighty wings and sending a terrible glare down at the hairless mutants, aka Homo sapiens, all around it."I am Tyranny Eagle! Deliver me your valuables, or I shall smash this building to the ground!" By way of demonstrating his power, Tyranny Eagle punched right through the bulletproof glass surrounding the tellers, a look of fury on his simian face. "This will be the start of my new empire! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!"

Yes, yes it does!

That's a Demoralize check, oh yes it is.

Avenger disappeared entirely for a few moments, all darkness, shadows, and movement while she worked on the robot she'd destroyed. When she reappeared, she was heading straight for the near-paralyzed Otaku. This time, though, Avenger was wearing an addition to her mask: she'd peeled the face off the robot and plastered it to her own hockey mask, the oil and hydraulics sticking it there as she headed towards the scientist with murder in her eyes. "Have embraced new life. Will embrace you now, Otaku."

And as promised in chat, there's another HP!