Gizmo

Knowledge (Technology) Check. (1d20=7) ...nuts.

Trevor doesn't think those kids are going to pass this course... Gadgets! Damage 11 (corrosive gas grenades, Drawback: Reduced Range [5 Increments], Extra: Range [Ranged], Flaw: Action [Full]) [10PP]

Midnight watched the efforts of the other students and heroically resisted the urge to rub to bridge of his nose and groan aloud. "Good," he told them before they could hurt themselves. "Hide under Halo's illusion. Ace in the hole, yes?" Letting out a long breath he turned back to Wander and began following her advice, moving higher up in the massive tree's branches. "Point taken," he admitted, chagrined as he pulled a handful of small, matte black orbs with silver pins from his jacket.

A small smile pulled at the corner of Trevor's mouth beneath his mask. "That's sweet, but you do remember my power is making smoke, right?" he replied softly to Erin. In a deadpan the auburn haired girl had learned from experience was meant to be wry, he added, "Not everyone can be a veritable demi-goddess." Looking back down at the other students, he resumed his more gravelly voice, the sound easily cutting across the distance. "Squall, cloud cover. Halo, want this village to look like just more forest. Geode, see about some fortifications." Counting heads, his ruby lensed eyes narrowed. "Feline, find Kid Alchemy. Pixie, back her up." The black clad youth's tone left no room for dissent or delay. He turned to Wander once more. "They'll be fliers if they get through. Thoughts?"

Initiative. (1d20+3=16)

A faint smile touched the laconic youth's lips. "Suffice to say it's refreshing having something in common with my peer group." He considered Fleur's description of her fiancee's class. He was familiar with Dark Star from his study of Freedom's prominent heroes and villains, both active and retired. "Cosmically powered instructor teaching a class on other worlds and sentient species?" he considered, clearly intrigued. "Novel."

...nuts. The anonymity Summers had promised of Claremont had held up well against the general public, but the school's true purpose was evidently a distressingly open secret among the active hero community. Which isn't particularly surprising, really, he admitted to himself, despite his annoyance at inadvertently compromising both his grandfather's and his own secret identities. "Oh?" he said aloud. "...not Archer?"

Trevor shook his head slightly. "Senior year at Claremont Academy in the fall. Been taking summer classes, fitting in electives." Off of the botanist's mild confusion, he explained, "The on-campus community is very... active." After a beat, the dark haired youth added, "Plus co-ed dorm building, so." The teenager's dry tone didn't change at all from his previous statements, and it took a few moments to decide whether or not he was making a joke.

If the brief silence bothered the lanky teen it certainly didn't show on his impassive visage. "Until recently. Split my time between here and a boarding school in the city now," he explained. Staring into the fireplace, he added, "Gramps raised me. He can still take care of himself." Something about the way the set of Trevor's eyes changed as he made the last statement made Fleur wonder if he was trying to convince her or himself.

Gather Information Skill Mastery for 20 on Well Informed, too! "I'm Trevor Hunter. I know stuff."

Jack gingerly prodded his wound experimentally. "Woah. Good orb." The various aches and pains he'd been recieved at the hands of Downtime and Medea's chair golem seemed lessened as well. "Hey, thanks, Smash Sister," he told Valkyrie, his expression making it clear he was touched by the heroine's exertion on his behalf. Still propping her brother up, Ellie looked at the hammer wielding warrior woman with newfound interest. "Healing powers... Cool." With a final sloppy salute, Jack and his aide hobbled their way to Scarab's portal, making their way to the infirmary just before the cameras arrived for a close-up. The swordsman grinned weakly as his sister as she set about disinfecting his assorted cuts and bandaging his wounds. "C'mon, three out of five Crime League members. Pretty freaking fantastic, amirite?" The coltish teen sniffed, evidently not bothered by the red smears now staining her jersey. "Scarab and Valkyrie took care of the most powerful bad guys and didn't get their butts shot." "'Midm't meyht meyhr meyhtts mot'," Jack imitated, rolling his eyes.

For the sake of argument: Knowledge (history) Check. (1d20=12) Jack-of-all-Trade > fancy book learnin'.

Preparing a Master Plan: Knowledge (tactics) Check. (1d20+15=27) And, since we'll presumably need it sooner or later: Initiative. (1d20+3=22)

Trevor clicked his tongue lightly as Dark Star rocketed up into the planet's sky. "Typical." Turning back to his cobbled together translator, the young man drew upon the limited sample of Mai'yoa vocabulary to broadcast a brief message. 'No. Hide. Protect. Invader. Khan. Fear. Us.' Dismantling the modular components, he returned them to his belt before swinging with gymnastic ease up to crouch on the branch beside Erin. Fastening the mask of Midnight to his face once more, he looked up into the sky through ruby lenses before gazing back down to the students spread throughout the treetop village. "Headcount and list of assets. Now," he demanded, his voice cold but clear through the gas filter. The tactical part of his mind moved to the fore as he tallied the group's collective powers and skills, devising a strategy.

"Engineering," Trevor responded simply as he moved to the fire place. Retrieving the fire poker from it's rack nearby, he nudged the gently burning logs inside, stoking the flame. "About taking things apart and seeing how they work, either way," he elaborated in what Fleur could only assume passed for a conversational manner with the laconic youth. "Gramps is just a little more thorough," he deadpanned replacing the tool and taking a seat himself, leaning forward slightly with his hands folded in his lap.

"Stop. Talking." the ordinarily patient teen grated flatly, which actually answered Dead Head's question fairly pointedly. Concern for his grandfather was fraying even Trevor's high unflappable nerves. With a sudden though he turned to the zombie, red eyes narrowing under the brim of his fedora. "Good man lives here. Missing. Do these grave robber's take prisoners?" The voice was just quiet enough that the ghoul had to strain to hear it, which somehow lent it an even greater sense of urgency.

Travis nodded sagely, stroking his beard with one hand while he fished around in a drawer on the desk for a pair of nitrile gloves with the other. "Hmm. Yes, wise precaution." Donning the thick black protective wear he accepted the samples from Fleur and turned to his equipment, his attention given over entirely to his work. "Best to leave him to it," Trevor advised, leading the heroine back into the larger sitting room. "He'll call when he has something." The lanky youth made a small gesture to the fireplace and the still warm tea sitting before it. "You can have a seat if you'd like. There's also an extensive library and a small greenhouse if you're interested. Botany, yes?"

Travis's smile broadened. "'I have samples.' Are there any sweeter words?" Standing with Trevor's help, he began walking away from the fireplace, one hand on his cane and the other carrying his tea, nodding for Fleur to follow. In one of the adjoining rooms, the botanist found herself surrounded by shelf upon shelf of test tubes, beakers and Bunsen burners, the varied equipment ranging from cutting edge to practical antiquities. Taking a seat before the largest of the room's desks, the aging chemist switched his glasses for a pair of bifocals sitting there. Flexing his thin fingers, Travis indicated for Fleur to hand over the chemical's she'd gathered. Meanwhile, Trevor moved about the room, turning of small flames and setting a number of liquids bubbling. As he finished preparing the lab, he moved speak with the green haired heroine. "This may take a while. Is there anything I can get you?" The young man's earnest nature softened a tone otherwise without inflection.

Travis responded with a breathy chuckle. "Was something of a puzzle solver in my day, yes," he confirmed. He looked over to his younger family member. "Trevor, if you would?" With a brief nod, the youth disappeared into the mansion out one of the room's many entrances. The elderly chemist, for his part, turned back to Fleur. "At your disposal, of course, young lady. May be past my prime, not out of the game just yet." Hunter's grandson returned with an ornate tray holding a pot of steaming tea, strong enough that the botanist could smell it before he'd even set it down on the table in the middle of the circle of chairs, and the various accoutrements. "Habit picked up from a friend during the war," Travis explained, picking up the cup Trevor poured for him in a surprisingly steady grip. "Now. Details."

After a moment, the door opened to reveal a young, dark haired youth with nearly a foot of height on the botanical heroine despite the notably lean build under his dark brown turtleneck. He offered Stesha a courteous nod as he gestured for her to step inside. "Fleur de Joie, I presume. Please, come in. My grandfather has been expecting you," the teenager' told her in a resonant but surprisingly soft baritone as he led her through the elaborate home's halls to a large sitting room. A fireplace crackled at one end of the room, surrounded by several large, comfortable looking chairs and a gently curving couch of matching material. In one of the recliners sat an elderly gentleman, resting both hands atop a cane balanced between his knees. Travis Hunter was well into the ninth decade, but even now his wizened frame showed hints of the tremendously athletic build he must have once possessed. Spectacles perched atop features strikingly like those of the young man who had answered the door, and a neatly trimmed goatee which had long ago faded to snowy white framed a faint smile. Dark intelligent eyes looked over to the new arrivals as he lifted his cane momentarily in greeting. "Ah, Miss de Joie," he greeted Stesha amiably in a voice which retained much of its strength, apart from a touch of raspiness. "Forgive an old man for not standing; knees aren't what they were. Have a seat. How can I help you?" The aging chemist got right to the point as his grandson moved to stand nearby.

"Well, if it's just guards, sure," the fencer replied with consummate confidence. Considering the caliber of hireling placed on the building's entrance, Jack of all Blades had no doubt he could outwit any minions their quarry might be hiding behind. "Motion sensors and cameras and stuff? Little harder to game, y'know?" He shrugged nonchalantly. "Tell you what, you deal with the electronics, and I'll handle the human element. Soft touch, huh?"

"Actually..." Trevor deftly removed a trio of miniaturized devices from his belt and began slotting the modular components together. "For detecting poisonous gasses," he said, indicating the first, which had a small tube protruding from it. "Coupled with a listening device and some custom rosetta stone code..." The black clad teen added a small parabolic dish and what looked like an advance palm pilot to the first gadget, and switched the conglomerate on. "What's up there?" he asked Erin; with any luck the Mai'yoa before him would now be able to understand the question as well.

Gadgets! Super-Senses 4 (Normal Auditory [Extras: Analytical, Extended], Normal Olfactory [Extras: Acute, Analytical]) [4PP] Comprehend 3 (Speak and Understand Languages) [6PP]

Trevor grimaced under his featureless mask. If the scraps of information he'd gathered from the lips of terrified crooks were to be believed, Avenger was one of the vigilantes who's adopted the original Midnight's modus operandi since his retirement. Unlike the Raven or Arrowhawk, however, Avenger reportedly showed none of Travis Hunter's restraint, routinely exercising needless brutality. "Midnight," he corrected the surprisingly genial zombie flatly before moving to walk briskly past him to the estate. Have to find Gramps first, make sure he's alright. Everything else can wait.