alderwitch

Sure, Phantom can meet Arrowhawk for the first time. :)

Taylor plucked at the cuff of her new sweatshirt. That had come out awkwardly but the only way though this conversation was forward, right? Right! "Well, you see. I regenerate. Everything." She paused and then, after taking a deep breath, added, "Even from, ah, death." That fell flat in the room and Taylor rushed through the last of it. "But fire, that I won't come back from. So, if someone cremates the body, that's all she wrote. I realized that while dangling from chains tonight. I've never mentioned it to anyone, so, if he had managed to take me out, who knows what would have happened."

"He didn't have the chance to do anything like that," Taylor said with a shudder that vibrated through her body. Absently she brushed the back of her hand over the cheek he'd touched. The threat had hung over her head but had gone unacted on. "If he had, he'd be a lot worse off than we left him." Taylor paused to rub her arms. The chill, she knew, was entirely in her head. After moistening her lips, she asked tenatively, "Stesha, this is a bizzarre request but, if I ever do die, could you make certain they don't cremate the body?"

Taylor's slumped shoulders made her look even smaller sitting on the couch. Normally she projected such a presence, even out of costume, that it was easy to forget just how small she was. After another soothing sip of the tea, her voice sounded a little more like her usual self as she admitted, "I totally blame the loony tunes. Considering he caught me sleeping, naked and defenseless, I fought back with what I had at hand." Her lips quirked and she glanced up at Stesha, "He kept dunking me in this tank of water. I didn't enlighten him that he could leave me in an airless vacuum and I'd be just fine. Mostly I'm unnerved and raw. A night of sleep and saftey in numbers has done me the most good. He might have made me feel alone and helpless but none of that is true. I've never had anyone who would rescue me." She glanced down, determined not to tear up again. "Its, well, really touching."

Taylor stirred her tea and for a long moment didn't say much of anything. As she was really quite awful at lying, silence was usually her best response when faced with a question she'd rather not answer. Before the silence could grow too uncomfortable, however, she caved. "Terrible. I wept all over Jack. I really never cry." She didn't, of course, volunteer that the tears had been brought on by a far worse shock than that madmen could ever have managed on his own, "Nor is fear something I feel often. A fight's one thing, but to be toyed with at someone's mercy is an awful thing. Not knowing when it would end, or if I'd have to get him to kill me before I let something slip. Jack really rescued me tonight."

"You haven't asked me to take a swing at you yet," Taylor pointed out dryly. She moved accross the mat to him, cautiously. Anytime someone said they were 'going to test your defenses', Taylor assume that testing would begin as soon as she was within range. So, as she walked to him, her gaze flicked over her his body in an effort to anticipate whatever test he had devised. "I assume you mean defenses other than turning intangible."

Taylor settled into the corner of the couch that Jack had vacated and tenatively pressed her fingertips to the now unblemished skin at her temple. After taking mental stock, Taylor said with some surprise, "Much better, actually. Even I don't usually heal quite this fast. That's some tea recipe." After giving Jack a wave and one last small smile, she tucked her legs under her once more and began sorting through the various pulpy books as she talked with Stesha, plucking out ones of interest. "I'll stay up with you until Jack gets back and then have a nice long coma."

She is very obviously an old lady who is waiting for the cops to show up and deal with the mugger tied to a light post I was just trying to make that clear so Avenger can continue on and catch up with Scarab

"I would say one a few decades in the distant future from ours, Ms. White. I assure you, I have no plans to retire any time soon." Headmaster Summers steepled his fingers together, an odd thread of an amusement in his voice. "I assure you, there's no need for those sorts of theatrics. Not to mention the fact that with your metabolism, a serum would be ineffective and a lie detector would need to be configured to your baseline biorythms and is inaccurate at best. Your explanation - without further demonstrations of your abilities - will be more than sufficient. Thank you."

Bruised x 1 : 1d20=11

While Avenger descended on taking the Mobsters out as quickly as possible, Taylor turned her attention to the large individual he'd wrestled with earlier. Focusing the charges crackling around her fingertips, Phantom brought her hands together to combine the arcane energy into one massive charge that arced from her hands to his chest in a searing bolt of light.

Burned my HP to hit: 25

It wasn't overly difficult for someone of Scarab's significant psychic accumen to find a window that allowed her to see both the alarm as well as the lock. After that it was a simple enough trick to tell the lock it ought open for her and not set off the alarm with some telekinetic finesse. She floated in through the opening, concealed to the eyes of any within the house. There appeared to be cameras nestled in the corner of each room but it was clear that none of the cameras were on. Convienently. There appeared to be a rather snooty party going on in the large and formal dining room. Roughly a dozen or so of the city's social climbing new money. Now, stealing a priceless first edition from under the nose of several buffons - that was right up Bombshell's alley. ---------------- Outside, as Avenger snuck closer to the little old lady, a few things became quite clear. This little old lady was both very small and frail, nothing like the acrobatic blonde he'd fought earlier. The mugger had a goose egg on his temple, most likely from a nasty blow to the head. Most oddly, the bungie cord was actually one of those super strong tensile coils that was favored among the leaping and climbing set of supers. The edge of it had been cut, obviously by something very sharp but the knots themselves were quick and haph-hazard. Avenger probably could have been standing five feet in front of this woman and she'd blink myopically at him. The lenses of her smeared glasses were almost half an inch thick. ---------------- While Avenger was investigating outside, Scarab made her way upstairs towards the library. Upon entering, it was clear that this time Scarab was just in the nick of time. Wearing a leather cat suit that looked painted on, Bombshell was delicately disabling the case that enclosed the book. Thick gold hair trailed down her back, covering one eye as she manipulated the wires within the electronic panel that she'd already cracked open. Considering the last time she'd been active, locks had been much simpler creatures, her fingertips moved with a rather frightening level of competence, snipping and twisting the wires together. As for how she got in, the skylight was cracked and.... what looked like a garden hose? Yes, apparently her method in, and presumably out, had been sliding down a garden hose into the library.

Attempt 1: 1d20+7=20 Attempt 2, this time with feeling!: 1d20+7=19 Hmmph.

Avenger is up.

Headmaster Summers simply slid his impassive gaze over to Zoe and arched a single brow in expectation.

The receptionist gave Zoe a dubious look before her gaze shifted to Erin. She waved them to a pair of seats before calling back to the headmaster's office. The girls were forced to wait about twenty minutes before they were shown to the hallway outside Headmaster Summer's office. After another couple of minutes, the door to the headmaster's office opened and one of Erin's fellow students hustled down the hallway, looking about as unsettled as was usual for a meeting with the Headmaster. The door remained ajar for the two girls to file in. As the last time Erin was in here, the headmaster was seated at his large solid desk and was backlit by the sunlight streaming through the window behind his chair. The light cast the room into stark light and shadows. The high backed chair effectively kept the headmaster in relative darkness while the sunlight lit the students quite well in their chairs. "Ms. White, you've brought a friend, I see."

Taylor rolled her eyes at his last comment and dutifully let her hands get manipulated about, "If I widen my stance, I lose a few seconds of mobility by having my feet set. It's a bit of a trade off." She shrugged, since he clearly wanted the 'punch you in the face' stance and scooted one foot out and raised her fists. Although it wasn't the classical boxers style or any form known to Ace, it was obvious she'd had some training as one fist came up slightly close to her body ready to block and the other hovered slightly further out. It was close to several of the various boxing forms but not really any one of them.

A hooded and cloaked figure rose up as the flames died down around her. Hovering above the ground, she pivoted slowly and obviously gave no notice to the bullets empted into her ghostly form. Once Phantom was sure she had the attention of every mobster surrounding her - she began moving her fingers in arcane patterns. Really, it was all showmanship as she could have just as easily blinked into existance and started firing away but she was the one who had her costume. The fire, however, made Phantom some what edgy. Why did everyone have fire these days? As eldritch lighting ringed her hands she picked one of the mobsters - someone who looked important, hopefully - and fired her blast right into the guy's chest. The crackling bolt sent him backward and slumping to the ground and Phantom paused, hands still wreathed with crackling energy to eye them all in silent challenge. Eyes glowing white hot under the cowl of her hood, she struck and impressive and fearsome sight and deliberately so. That's right, boys, eyes on the lady in the cloak.

Will Save: 16 Notice Check: 29 Both passed! Init: 1d20=2 Whee...

With her arms around his shoulders, Alex gave him a thoughtful look, "She has my hair, though and practically my mom's build. I could tell that she's related to me although the twin thing was a lie. I think she was only fibbing about things that she had to." She pursed her lips, her expression thoughtful before her eyes traveled to the few rust stains on her sleeve. Unwrapping her arms from Mike's neck Alex fingered the blood stain. "I know how I can test that, though."

"It is a bit impractical," Alex admitted with a touch of regret as she gave the tiny car a pat. She cheered after a moment and gave James a grin, "Now that you know we have the hang of it, you could let Erin try your car. You know, for science."

Alex laughed with delight as her hair started to float up. Rather than fly, which would have been easier, she kicked over to Mike and prodded him as she started a steady stream of rather one sided conversation about the difference between human propulsion while under the effects of gravity versus the lighter forces out in space. Alex pulled a few coins out of her pockets and sent them spinning with a touch of tk to illustrate her thoughts.

Taylor uncrossed her folded arms and stepped out on the mat. Her posture didn't change drastically but Taylor always had a ready air to her. Her hands were loose and relaxed by her sides and her weight was well centered. Although she bemoaned her height, it did give her a lower center of gravity as she gave Ace a faint smile, "Sure, though I don't know any real style."

I'll take the one on the roll. Taylors not trying to hide her abilities.