Avenger Assembled

I need a Notice check, Sen. Ace, do you see a character like Sen on the invite list?

"I think you're scared of me," Jack replied, moving further back against the filthy concrete wall of the abandoned station. He could see what were obviously the remains of a dead hobo and had to shudder; how long had Lugat been out? How had he gotten out? How much had he seen? There was no way to tell. "Humanity has transcended the pathetic sheep you knew. Now they're the wolves, and we're the ones living by our wits. And living well. You know that I'm the future, and you're nothing but another walking corpse with a POINTY STICK!" Jack reappeared from the shadows, a feral snarl on his face, and felt a sharp surge of satisfaction as the Elder flinched. Not as tough as you look, are you? The two men hesitated, glaring at each other. Jack was confident in his successful show of force, so confident that his antagonist got the jump on him again. Taking no chances now, the Elder disappeared into the darkness around Jack, re-emerging with sword in hand and blade held high! Once again the blade hit home, and again Jack felt terrible pain as the blade cut deeply into his flesh. This is not a joke! Jack thought desperately. He's more powerful than I am, a better fighter, and he's going to kill me if he can. And he can! Despite his thundering fear and agonizing pain, Jack knew what he had to do. He made one big mistake. Lantern Hill may be close to the West End, and maybe he thought he could come here without any other vampires bothering him. But there's a REASON we don't set foot on the streets here!He growled an animalistic snarl, charging right up the blade as he swung with his claws, something in his desperate fury making the Elder pull back automatically. This time, was Jack who struck home, burying his claws into the other monster's ribcage. "Told you...you should be afraid of me." Jack spat as he drove his claws deep, feeling the Elder's heart give way beneath them. As he watched, the centuries-old vampire's eyes widened as his body suddenly, completely collapsed in on himself. "I'll be back!" he gasped, just before collapsing into dust and ash. In response, Jack kicked the ash pile as hard as he could, scattering debris everywhere. "Not as long as I have anything to say about it," he muttered, even as he felt a surge of...he wasn't sure what. He saw the face of superheroes in his mind and knew suddenly, painfully, he was just like them. Another dead vampire. Another dead monster. I'm a big hero.In agony, Jack turned and staggered for the stairs, holding his injuries and walking slowly and deliberately to disguise the fact that he wasn't bleeding. His moral turmoil was enough that he got to the top of the stairs before he remembered where he was. Oh crap! But it was too late, for floating there before him was the unmistakeable figure of Lantern Jack himself!

They reappeared in a place Jack would later learn was a mile away and underground, an abandoned subway station on the West End. This is the Lantern Hill stop... he saw in a distant sort of way as the Elder waved his sword, shaking off the vampire on it like a butterfly impaled on a straight pin. Jack didn't so much as hit the ground; instead he vanished in a cloud of mist before striking the Earth. He flew like the Devil himself was at his feet, disappearing into the darkness around the station. And this time, Lugat wasn't able to follow him. Even as he took shelter, the massive wound in his chest burning agonizingly, Jack knew that he couldn't run. This was Lantern Hill; he couldn't take to the streets. Maybe the tunnels...but then Lugat would be loose, and no doubt return to the party to kill his friends. And tell his secret. "Pathetic." Jack taunted from the shadows, moving faster than the eye could see as he went. "Time in Hell has done nothing but enrage you. Stupid old man." The Elder replied by spitting a black syllable, the shadows around him rippling as he hunted for the lurking Jack. "When I find you, I'm going to cut off your arms and legs and plant your living torso on my crest of arms, you miserable blood-traitor!" he spat. "And that whore you call a queen! I've been watching the vampires of this city for months, and you are nothing but weak-willed, lily-livered leeches clinging to the petty godlings you fear so much! You should be ruling this place as gods of the night!" Jack said nothing in reply, instead keeping careful track of exactly where his antagonist was going. There was still electricity down here from the look of the third rail; he had a chance, at least. "I was going to kill you slowly and give your head to your dam as a warning, but now I think I'll just bring you back in pieces now!"

As the darkness rippled and warped around him, striking like a snake as it battered aside Melinda's subordinates, Jack let his claws and fangs grow, slashing across the Elder's back with enough force to expose flesh twisted by months of unspeakably Hellish torments within. He wasn't a fool, he knew he couldn't stand up to the Elder in hand-to-hand combat. But he could dodge and weave around the man, using his own abilities to hide even in the darkness that was Lugat's tool. What mattered was hurting him, landing cuts and slashes and pulling Lugat's attention away from both Melinda and the younger vampires that he was mowing through like a reaper through grass. Unfortunately, Jack underestimated Lugat's combat abilities: even when he couldn't see him, Lugat could counter his every move and keep from suffering more than superficial damage! Casting his eyes around wildly, the Elder swung his blade to ward off the gnat buzzing at him, becoming one of the very few people who'd actually spotted Jack when his eyes finally locked on the too-fast-moving hero! In a sudden burst of shocking speed, he dived forward and stabbed Jack right through the heart! Jack looked down, too stunned to think, as he saw the metal blade impaling his heart. If that was made of wood, I'd already be dead. Again. When the Elder saw who he'd pinioned, he grabbed Jack by the collar. "You. I have you now." And with that, the two of them vanished in a burst of darkness, shadows wrapping themselves around Jack as they both disappeared.

The room fell dead silent for a moment, Jack himself thinking hard. Ohgodohgod, I can't call the Knights here! What am I going to do? As it happened, Melinda made his decision for him. Standing back amongst a small coterie of toughs from the Theater District, the queen of Freedom City opted not to let her new arrival introduce himself. Vampire or not, it wasn't hard to see the Elder for the threat he was even as the gateway to Hell closed up behind him. "KILL HIM!" she screamed, her voice imperious and face warped to match a predator's snarl. The younger vampires moved, as they always did, young hunters answering the call of their pack leader. They were there to show the strength of the enemy, not to actually survive. And many of them didn't. Jack ran, too, and as he watched his friends and enemies alike died. Lugat Vrykolak struck like a typhoon amid the sheep, his mystic blade removing limbs, bisecting torsos, and taking heads. The lucky ones who fell would recover given sufficient blood and time; the unlucky ones would have no such luck. And if they didn't stop the monster now...God help them all! "I'm coming for you, Ainsley!" Lugat shouted over the noise of the crowd, the humans running in terror and the vampires backing up like so many cornered animals. "Your miserable lackey put me in the chains of Hell! That's where I'm going to send you!" Jack had planned to come up with a strategy for fighting the Elder, maybe consulting with Melinda first and rounding up some of the better fighters in the city, but the moment he heard and understood what the older vampire was saying he knew he had no other choice. If the Elder had seen him for what he was, Jack had to stop him now, right now, and put him down like a dog in the bargain. But how to do that against an enemy substantially more powerful than he was? Only one way sprang to mind: Jack charged into melee against a four-hundred year old menace with nothing but his wits and his bare hands!

It was a really good party. In the company of his fellow vampires, Jack felt none of the awkwardness he felt around humans, none of the uncomfortable predatory urges about preying on the innocent. No one at this party was innocent. A good portion of the city's vampires were here tonight in the West End, filling up Melinda's primary residence with a crowd of undead predators of the night. The mansion's grand ballroom was full of dark princes and princesses dressed up in the height of their finery, slinky-eyed, pale-faced lovelies who looked like nothing more than dark thoughts about sex personified. Claudia was here, yet another boy-toy on her arm, and Melinda herself sat on her throne in the middle of the grand ballroom, her most trusted minions and favorite pets at her side. It was tempting to be here. Too tempting. Don't give in. Jack thought as he looked down into a glass that had been poured from a tap directly out of Melinda's stock. You're supposed to be above these things now. But it would be easy to give in, so easy. Melinda was a good hostess; she kept only the willing on tap for parties like this, the better to benefit the sensibilities of some of her more squeamish underlings. But how did these people get so willing, Jack? Huh? He watched as Merry, the newest vampire in the city, walked off with an adoring young Adonis who she could rip to pieces now, and wondered if the man would survive the night. He remembered the earliest hungers well enough. Jack had done enough for Melinda to be at her side, a position that had the virtue of keeping him down and out of the way. If he was seen as part of her coterie rather than branching out on his own, no one would worry about cutting him down to size. And as long as Melinda didn't know about his other nocturnal activities and thought of him as just the trusted offspring of a trusted ally...well, he was safe enough in her company. The sorts of things she demanded from the handsome young men she kept around her weren't so difficult. He looked down at his cup and sipped it. It was good. He looked up, as everyone else did, when Melinda rose to her feet, a wicked smile on her face. "Good evening, my sisters and brothers!" she called to the crowd, the pretty people and their pretty meals turning to face her. Melinda was younger than some city leaders, willing to talk a more enlightened game than they did. With her teeth out, wearing a custom-tailored dress that combined the style of her native Victorian period with a truly shocking amount of alabaster skin, Melinda truly did look like a dark goddess of the night. "I am pleased to greet you all here in the heart of-" The overhead lights; incandescent bulbs cut to look like candles, flickered violently, then suddenly went out. The humans gasped, but darkness was no obstacle to vampires. Rising to his feet, Jack looked over at Melinda, who had the look on her face that meant death for whichever subordinate was charged with keeping the lights on. Tossing back his drink, Jack leaned close. "I'll take care of this," he promised her in a whisper, getting a nod back from the vampire queen. If he dealt with the slave with the proper amount of force and deception, maybe he could keep the man alive. That was what heroes were for, right? He'd crossed to the edge of the dance floor when suddenly it was the vampires' turn to shout! Jack spun on his heel and looked back into the deep shadows of the darkened ballroom, where just below the gilded roof a deeper, blacker shadow was beginning to pool and coalesce. Melinda and her people were falling back, her slaves keeping themselves between her and the threat, and just in time. No sooner had Jack begun heading back towards the center of the room than a dark-wrapped figure came plummeting out of the ceiling to make an athlete's landing on Melinda's throne. Jack looked up and felt his dead heart skip a beat. The dark prince of the undead raised his blackened sword high, his once-fine clothes now a ruin wrapped in cloth emblazoned with the symbols of Hell itself. "I have returned!"

...OK, you know what? Lord_Fell, this makes the second time that I have seen you refuse to have your +1 Will save, +4 Intimidate character be intimidated by another character. First it was another PC, now it's an iconic setting NPC. Refusing to acknowledge the social abilities of another character, particularly in a play-by-post setting, is a terrible disservice to the other players here and to the person running the thread. Either have your character apologize for using his powers on the crowd without their consent, as he has just been intimidated into doing, or have him leave the thread.

Dr. Tomorrow! Refugee from an world overrun by Nazis! Living legend of WWII! Founder of the Liberty League! Scientist and adventurer! Guardian of Time! You'd better show him respect! ;)

Give us an Intimidate check, Phantom.

All right, gentlemen; the Moon. Tell me what you're looking for, and make Notice or Search checks as appropriate.

Jack had joined the small group to watch the dance by the time the others noticed him, applauding lightly. It was nice to see Grimalkin having fun, not to mention Dark Star. Huh! I guess he likes girls. I'll have to keep that in mind for his birthday. If he has birthdays. Man, it _is_ harder being friendly with normal people than I thought. "Beautiful. We should put the two of you on Dancing with the Superheroes." Down his mental link with Scarab, assuming one was still in place, he sent another line of thoughts her way. Why was I undercutting you? There was a wry, bitter edge to Jack's mind. Maybe I've had more exposure to my own people lately than I want to. I can't... I can't tell you what it's like, Elena. There just aren't words. Unless you do know. Even through the mental link, Elena could clearly hear the awe and envy in Jack's mental voice. The Scarab had its own brand of immortality, one that required nothing more than living. Heru-Ra's ka was certainly considerably older than any vampire Jack Faretti had ever met in his four years dead.

::writes up some NPCs with Stun, then APPROVES::

Fell, don't hate the playah, hate the game...master who thought there was wireless access at the con he was attending this weekend. Sorry for the delay in replies, all!

He fails it, it is keeping his mind protected: 16

When no one spoke up, Avenger leaned close to the intercom. "Why are you here?" The question was presented in a deep, growly voice that would have made a better impact if Ray Trask had actually been able to see him. Jack liked to think so, anyway, because the false Raven in there didn't seem like he was going to spill his guts. He was, however, definitely going to talk. "I'm here because you put me in here!" Trask called out again, fear magnified in his voice. "But you can't keep me in a jar, man! The Raven always flies out!"

Surprisingly good: 18

Avenger put his hand on the side of Vulture's neck. "Stop talking. You will speak when you are spoken to." The look in his eyes was flat and implacable, heightened by the blood on his hands and the recent victory over Vulture and his crew. His voice was as cold as death as he spoke to the boy, his grip not quite painfully hard. He'd learned the lessons of being unsubtle; he would not repeat them. "You have taught me the consequences of mercy, Thomas. It will not be shown to you again. Tell me the name of your cowardly friend, or I will do things to you." He leaned very, very close at that. "You know the ones I mean."

OK, everything looks good here. APPROVED

Ouch! Are you sure you want him to have such low Strength and exotic saves?

Okay, if you guys are both still interested, post here and I'll try and get something started tonight or tomorrow.

True, but Erin has Power Attack.

The gong sound as Mike struck the giant machine was noticeably more quiet and caused less ripples in the air than when Erin had hit the big impervium plate. However, it was still impressively loud and vibrate-y. When the vibrations and sound in the air had faded, restoring both visibility and audibility, Coach Jones slapped Mike on the back, stroking his bearded chin with a look of crafty delight. "That's my boy! Later, I'll tell ya all about my plans for our new all-flying football squad! We'll get jetpacks for the non-fliers, and then, we'll show those so-and-sos how a real team plays!"

Let's call it a DC 15 History or DC 20 Pop Culture check to recognize Doctor Tomorrow.

The screen rippled and changed again, the future coming into view for the two teenagers. They were faced with a handsome, square-jawed blonde man with bright blue eyes, sitting inside a small room that looked like the pilot's cabin of a futuristic spaceship. To their great surprise, he narrowed his eyes and looked right into the lens. "Shouldn't you kids be in school?" he asked with puzzlement. His eyes narrowing, he looked from Erin to Darian, settling on the inventor first. "Oh, it's you. You Claremont kids aren't tampering with the laws of time and space again, are you? Because I told Summers I wasn't coming back there without a really good reason."

OK, well, replace the one at the top with that one and I'll look it over for ya.