Avenger Assembled

"Love them while you can, Taylor. And trust them with everything you think you can." He couldn't quite look at her, his own memories flooding back sharply. "I...I'm sorry, Taylor, I shouldn't project my problems onto you." He rubbed his eyes, a tired look on his face, then finally did look over at her. "For what it's worth, Taylor, I admire the work you do. I can't imagine what it's like to deal with the threats you deal with, day after day, to have the whole universe as your beat." He gave her a small smile. "And I think your family would admire you too, given time. But that's the last thing I'll say about that, I promise. So, uh, I guess you're taking me back to my apartment?"

Pale and a little clammy, Jack shook hands and made weak apologies for his sudden allergic reaction. "First, uh, came on me about four years ago at dinner. Not as bad as it was before, but still pretty rough. Nothing to do with the food itself. It was a pleasure coming here. You guys are everything I'd hope to have in a family," he confessed, the words perhaps a more emotional than he'd meant them to be. "A girlfriend's family, anyway." He smiled faintly. Jack was conscious of how unhappy Taylor was as they left, and felt more than a little guilty as he slumped into the passenger seat next to her. He set the food on the back seat, knowing it would just go to waste if it went home with him. "Taylor. This is unsolicited advice. Feel free to tune me out." He stared at the windshield as they headed away. "Tell your family. Their ignorance isn't a shield for them; it's a sword pointed at them." His hands flexed on his lap. "Take it from me."

That is a lovely piece, alder!

Jack was alone for a long time with nothing but his thoughts and memories for company, the knowledge of all he'd lost and the knowledge of all he'd gained coming together to motivate him for what lay ahead. He'd come so far in the space of a few years spent mostly in this one city, and in a few months as a superhero he'd seen things he'd never have dreamed possible. And he'd died, or expected to die, at least once now. Was it such a great thing to take all he'd done and turn it against the culture where he'd been reborn the first time? It was nearly sunset when Jack entered Elena's bedchamber, a familiar place after all the prowling he'd done around the Pyramid. Not wanting to startle a psychic awake, he stood at the foot of her bed to call to her. "Elena! Elena, wake up. I'm leaving."

Since I'm not flying, and moving over pretty rough terrain, I'll say that's my action. (Not that it really matters, since we're out of initiative. )

"If that's what you'd like to do," said Jack agreeably. He took a seat, feeling a twist of pain inside. Can't even do this. Can't even have one evening with a friend... He leaned back and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples in imaginary pain as he listened to Taylor go back in and join her family. At least I accomplished that much, he thought to himself. I came here to help a friend, and that's exactly what we did together.

"Sounds familiar..." When Jack opened the door, his face was bone pale and he was wiping his mouth with a bit of paper towel. "I...don't think I have a lot of eating in me this afternoon," he said apologetically. "I'm still good for the party, though. I'll just go and lie down on the living room couch or something." He gave her a wan little smile. "Some guest I am, huh?"

Dang it, I can't do this alone! Edge dealt with the double-teaming by diving deep under the water, letting James and Eddie go after each other while he swam with quick, powerful strokes over to the deep end of the pool. He just missed taking an Alex upside the head, instead bobbing to the surface just as she came up after her hard landing. He was soaked now, of course, water running down his shoulders as he floated next to her. "Nice landing! I think they've got us outnumbered!" he told her with a laugh. "We need a new strategy!"

"I'm OK. I'm not really bad at it..." Jack felt kind of bad at the worry he could overhear in his friend's voice, so instead he sat back on his heels and coughed. "I don't go into shock like some people do; I just get frickin' sick." He coughed again and flushed the toilet. "I just, uh, just need a minute. So what was up with that necklace, anyway?"

Jack knelt down in front of the toilet and made truly piteous retching sounds, putting his very heart and soul into the act. He debated between the truth and a lie briefly for Taylor before calling weakly, "Stupid of me. It's Chinese food; I should have asked. Good thing I had my pen. But I'm still gonna be here for a while. You guys have another bathroom, right?"

"You know me, I keep my eyes open." He smiled. Jack took a few moments to savor the victory. He wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, but he was savvy enough to tell that he'd just rescued Taylor's sister-in-law from a dangerous magical artifact. That was a good thing, but now there was absolutely no way to avoid the fact that he hadn't touched the food and wasn't going to be able to touch the food during the meal. He scooped up a single bite and put it in his mouth, smiling, and held it there for a long second before spitting it out into his napkin. "Oh...oh, there's garlic in this, isn't there?" With a look of quiet horror on his face, he bolted from the table and made a beeline for the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," said Jack with a ready smile. "I once had a customer who lost a necklace, a little silver and jade thing? Turned out to be worth three hundred grand." He nodded, wide-eyed. "It came from Romania originally, and it dated back to ancient Rome. And the other day, I was watching Antiques Roadshow and this lady had a vase collection that was worth over a million dollars. Antiques are really going for a lot these days, especially in this economy. Like my dad always said, you can't work too hard to provide for your family."

Jack picked up the bracelet and looked it over carefully, peering at it with an interested look on his face while Taylor and her brother talked academia. I have no idea what this is, he thought to himself. "This is lovely. It reminds me of some of the artifacts we have at the casino." Thinking for a moment, he turned to Taylor during a pause in the conversation and handed the bracelet to her. "What do you think about this, honey?"

OK, as Dark Star is not flat-footed, the Vestige's attack is a miss. Vestige, you can still surge and attack again (either spending an HP or taking fatigue) if you want.

"That's a very pretty bracelet," said Jack warmly, gently moving his arm out from under Savannah's hand. "I'm something of a collector myself; we've got a few actual Atlantean artifacts at the casino. May I have a look?" he asked her with a big, warm smile, practically batting his eyes at Savannah. He was concerned by what he'd seen on that bracelet. That couldn't be a good thing.

Arcane Lore check: 19

"Taylor and I look for the cheapest dates possible," Jack admitted with a rueful laugh, giving Savannah a careful glance. "I don't make a lot of money at the casino, and of course she doesn't pull down a lot at school. You know how it is when you're in academia." Jack himself had dropped out after his freshman year to make it easier to get high, but who needed to talk about that. "Import-export?" he asked Savannah. "What do you specialize in?"

Taking 10 for an 18 on Sense Motive. What's up with the Chuns?

"You okay, baby?" Jack asked automatically. When she hesitated a bit before responding, Jack almost got up to follow her before ultimately choosing to keep his seat. "She's got a lot on her plate, if you'll pardon the pun," he said with the smile of a boyfriend excusing his girlfriend's antics. "Between her commitments at school and everything else, we don't get to see as much of each other as I'd like. She's quite a woman." He picked up the wine glass before him and pretended to drink, looking around at the Chun family curiously. "Everything okay on the home front for you guys? Taylor and I didn't have a lot of time to talk family business this week."

Notice: 13

There was a noticeable pause, and then Dr. Archeville heard Avenger's silky growl. "Archeville. In the middle of work. Have you found something? Better be important." Normally Jack was more even-tempered, but this had been a pretty rough day.

"Yes sir," said Jack with a slightly pained smile, pushing his plate back a fraction of an inch. "It was quite a spectacle, let me tell you. I was on my way to work when the blast went off. I work pretty close by there, at the Atlantis, so it's actually on my morning constitutional. I might have bypassed it," he admitted, "but when I saw Taylor going to help that poor lady in her burning house, I had to do something." He reached over and patted her hand, then smiled again at the Chuns. "Your daughter is really something special. I'm glad to have had a chance to know her."

"I'd prefer to be alone for a little while, Derrick. Thank you," said Jack, standing amongst the remains of his life. Looking down at everything for a moment, he looked back up at Dark Star. "You know, I had a lot of time to think while I was falling. About the mistakes I've made, and the regrets I have. But in all that time, I couldn't think of a single regret I have for you. I'm glad to have known you, Dark Star, and I'm glad to have been your friend."

Be that as it may, I have been asked, and so I provide: 21 ;)

Avenger moved with near-blinding speed, striking a single sure, sharp stroke that did the deed before the transformed pig had a chance to cry out. He set the blade down on the body and picked up the head, depositing it in a box he'd secreted nearby for just such an occasion. "Well, that was unpleasant," he muttered. "Thank you, Wesley, I...wait." He put his hand on his face for a moment, leaving crimson prints on the already-stained mask. "The body. The body has to stay as it is, doesn't it?"