Avenger Assembled

Let's roll for Initiative, shall we? Avenger: 20 Dave: 13 Nevermore: 12, goes first Vampire Ghosts: 12 Melinda 7

The room beneath fell absolutely dead silent in the aftermath of Dark's Star's appearance and speech, the vampire who he'd disarmed fleeing into the darkness. The stillness of the dead was intimidating even among itself, even Jack holding dead still in that single moment of silence. Melinda, as it happened, broke the silence. "I want them dead. NOW!" A moment later her advisor with the staff slammed his staff into the ground and began chanting in a grim, necromantic language that reminded Jack, Scarab, and Dark Star of the tongue spoken by Sister Sixtus and Rocheambeau as they summoned necromantic demons into the world. And no wonder Jack had known to go looking for the cult of the Elder all those months ago. After all, he was personally acquainted with the most powerful vampiric necromancer in Freedom City. As the undead magus chanted, suddenly shadowy forms erupted in the air all around Dark Star, translucent ghouls cast in white and red, ghosts of vampires twice dead with reaching claws and gaping fangs, each one reaching straight for Dark Star. As the ghosts moved in, Melinda dived for Jack, and the battle was joined. There was screaming and blood as the city's vampires turned on each other in a sudden, spasmodic eruption of violence.

"It used to annoy me when people said that," said Jack with a half-smile. "But you know, after seven months, I think I like the sound of it." He grinned all the way. "But here, I took you out of your nice apartment. Can I at least walk you home? Or would you rather just teleport us to your door? Either way, I think I'm ready to travel along with you." Maybe inhumanity wasn't so incompatible with humanity after all.

"Believe me," said Jack honestly, "I know all about that. But I'm sure we'll find the time, between one thing and another. It's a tough business, but we're tough people," he said, meaning most every word even when talking to the tiny Taylor. "I should take you somewhere new, but it's hard to judge that when you've traveled to other dimensions." He thought for a minute, then said, "You're a city girl, right? Ever been to the drive-in?" He grinned. "If you trust me, that is."

That's a DC 16 Fortitude save, Fleur.

The plants wrapped themselves around the Bee-Keeper, swallowing the armored supervillian with an "Awp!" of dismay. But disabling the Bee-Keeper didn't simply end the fight as it had before, not when suddenly the swarm of bees formed itself up and launched an attack against Fleur de Joie! The great glowing-eyed bees abandoned Derrick, having already attacked him once, and assaulted Fleur de Joie with their terrible stings!

Jack gave her a warm look, his eyes frankly appraising. "Don't sell yourself short. I think you have a lot of strengths, Taylor. Even if one of those isn't investigation. The world needs people who can handle action," he said with a smile, "and who know what to do when the chips are down. I know I want to see you again," he offered boldly, jumping on the moment of personal connection. "Some night when I give you more than an hour and a half's warning about what to wear and where to go. Socially."

Avalon, that's a DC 32 and then a DC 27 Toughness save. I would prefer if you don't make your recovery checks until the next round, just so I don't have to go back and track them down. :)

I just realized that I have been completely screwing up the way Dark Star's powers work. :oops: Rather than subject ourselves to the nightmare of rewriting history in this already gigantic thread, Dark Star: have two HP thanks to my multiple screwups. And I hope you won't hold it against me. OK, it is now Dark Star's turn.

OK, Dark Star is up.

"There are worse responses to the Devil than blowing him up," said Jack with a little laugh. "Even if it does make investigation a little more difficult in the aftermath. But that's what friends are for, in my experience." It had been hard to appreciate other women for a while after going to bed with Moira, but Taylor was a woman he could appreciate. Maybe because there was a person there he could relate to so much better, even if the more complicated similarities were ones he couldn't delve into just then. "If you do need any help with the demons, let me know. Though I freely admit the best I'll likely be able to do is rip off their heads where you're blowing off their heads." He smiled. "We seem to have a lot in common that way."

OK, as Bee-Keeper and the swarm are acting on the same turn, it's Stesha's turn now.

"Imps, eh? I've had some experience with infernal magic...I think Scarab may have told you the story about the Knights' first adventure." His mouth quirked again as he contemplated the relative state of his soul. "Are they after anything in particular, or just causing general mayhem?" He started circling Taylor as they talked, an unconscious habit he put a stop to when he caught himself doing it. "I can recommend a few people with experience in dealing with the infernal if you're having a serious problem with the forces of Hell."

"I was," agreed Jack. The memories here were painful in a way very different than the thoughts about his lack of ability to socialize with normal people, but they were at least familiar enough for him to push past. The superhero with the dead family was an old fictional cliche, one he'd been painfully conscious of early on in his career. Like I'm the voice of experience now. Seven months since I put on the mask? "Very boring stuff. Exurban family, parents and one kid. We didn't even have a dog. Freedom City was the place where you went to watch first-run movies, or eat at restaurants that weren't Applebees."

"Hey! Well, good for him." Jack wondered if the wedding would be in a church, and if Taylor might invite him as her guest since the last time had worked out so well. Deep inside, he repressed a wince at the image those things conjured up. "I'm not really a big eater at public events like that, so I didn't really miss anything personally," he confessed. "Big family gatherings like that are usually more about emotions than anything else." He smiled faintly. "I missed the big family experience growing up, but I've had plenty of chances to see it in action with others. You're lucky to have those guys around." He grinned.

Just for a minute, let's all do the bump!

Bee-Keeper spends his action ranting; looking around unsuccessfully to try and find Fleur de Joie. The Swarm makes use of its Anatomic Seperation; one-half tries to pin down Stesha, while the other half attacks Derrick. That's a DC 16 Fortitude Save to avoid a Dex Drain, and a DC 15 Concentration check (thanks to the swarm's linked Environmental Control) to be able to make the Concentration check to drop your normal identity. (Basically, that's giving you two checks.)

"FLEUR DE JOIE!? Here!?" Bee-Keeper was thoroughly fooled by Stesha's clever wiles, looking around wildly and missing her cunning attack from below as the trees around him came sweeping down and wrapped their branches around his armored limbs. "Gah! I know she's here somewhere! Swarm!" he called out. "Deal with the boyfriend and with the shop-clerk! _I'll_ handle Fleur de Joie!" And at that, his armor disgorged a cloud of black, menacing bees, their eyes glowing with supernatural intelligence. "I've bred a new race of bees, Fleur!" he called at the sky. "A race of bees with powers and abilitiezz far beeyond those of mortal bees! You won't get me so easily this time!" With that, the great swarm coming out of his armor formed itself up into an eerie, human-like mass as it hovered above Stesha and Derrick. The great mass divided up into two human shapes, each one only half as thick as the other two. The one approaching Stesha raised its bee-limbs menacingly, the swarm buzzing madly, while the swarm attacking Derrick dived for him to entangle him in bee-limbs! Again and again he felt their stings sink into his tender all-too-solid flesh!

Bee-Keeper is fooled! Bee-Keeper is also entangled! As he's entangled in a fixed object (the willow tree), I'll say he's stuck but not bound or helpless. (i.e; he can still make ranged attacks)

OK, our initiative order is: Swarm: 22 Fleur de Joie: 18 Bee-Keeper: 12 and Dark Star: 8 Dark Star gets 2 extra HP because he's defending his girlfriend (hey, I'm a traditionalist) and because of his Secret Identity; Fleur gets 2 extra HP because of her Secret Identity and because her enemy the Bee-Keeper has shown up. Not being very smart, the Swarm holds its action until the Bee-Keeper's turn. Fleur, you're up.

I'm ready to rock.

"I like you too. It's not many people who could take on the responsibility you have and be so approachable. I can't imagine a cold entry into the Knights of Freedom is an easy task, either. In costume, at least, none of us are particularly welcoming. At least in a conventional way." He looked down at her. "Just as long as they don't serve garlic," he said with a half-smile, moving away from the windows again. "Not that I didn't appreciate the food," he added, sounding oddly apologetic. "Everyone there was very friendly, and very welcoming. The only awkward thing I felt was being so tall." He grinned, his eyes following the movement of her hand again. It was because she had a lovely neck; he told himself, not because he was appreciating anything else about her.

"Thank you, Taylor," said Jack sincerely, turning to her with one of his odd little half-smiles on his face. "I...I appreciate that. It's not easy for me to understand how other people think sometimes," he confessed. "It's just the way I am. And you'd better believe I didn't get into the superhero business to make friends." He shook his head. "But I have made friends. And I'm glad about that. I'm glad we're friends." He cocked his head, looking her over. "And I was happy to help you, Taylor. It's been a long time since I've been in a household that happy. And it's been a long time since I've had the kind of friends who would call on me for something like that at all."

Travel through the heavy jungle was a difficult task for the Claremont kids, their citified upbringings poor training for pushing through rough jungle terrain. Though she'd grown up elsewhere herself, Agent H's experience in rough conditions made it a little easier for her to lead the way through the terrain. Hellion wound up picking up the worst of it as they went, weak spots in the path to stumble over and large insects interested in sucking demon blood seeming to particularly enjoy picking on him as they went. Glancing back at the team behind her, Agent H was the first to overhear the noise coming from behind them. She held up her hand, a look of growing concern on her face, as the ground beneath their feet began to rumble ever so slightly. As the vibrations got louder and louder, she suddenly called out, "Quick! Off the path!" And none too soon as the kids dived off the animal trail into the shelter of the jungle on either side, because crashing through the trees, just behind them on the path, was nothing more and nothing less than an enormous T-Rex torn from the very pages of history, its hide a gleaming shade of pebbly bronze and its eyes set with a reptile's cold, pitiless glare!

Bee-Keeper's Init: 12 Swarm's Init: 22