Avenger Assembled

A few second later, a grim-visaged figure stepped from the shadows, wrapped in leather and chains, a costume that was indeed a dark, twisted reflection of Avengemouse's. The two glared at each other for a moment before they seemed to come to a mutual understanding. "He was an odd creature, but I understood him." He turned to Foalcrum. "Lead on." Avenger eyed his counterpart. "Why do you do that?" As Foalcrum looked for her duplicate by machine, she overheard the two grim figures about external and internal monologues.

"It's a pleasure, Mr. Salazar." Summers shook his hand like a man, his grip firm despite his age, and took a careful seat. He didn't look bothered by Blake's attitude; perhaps he was just used to dealing with the vicissitudes of teenagers. "Your education, and your future, are up to you," he said seriously. "I'm here to offer you an opportunity for special education at the Claremont Academy." Blake had heard of the school, it was one of the more elite private schools in Freedom City. Summers looked at Blake levelly. "I've looked at your test scores, your artwork, and your extracurricular activities, and I believe you have a special talent that we can nurture at the school. You're a creative young man, and that's something we try and promote in all our students."

OK, though you may optimize later, this holds up. APPROVED

The older man sat down his cup, giving Blake's uncle time to make introductions. Blake had seen his uncle happy before, an emotion that didn't always mean something good, but rarely was he so obviously trying to control his delight. "Blake, this is Mr. Summers. He's going to be your principal from now on." Half-out of his seat, Summers winced visibly, though it didn't seem like Blake's uncle picked up on it. "That's up to Mr. Salazar," he said, with a faint undertone in his deep, sharp old voice that suggested he'd said words like that already in the last few minutes. Possibly more than once. "I'm just here to speak to you about your education."

March 15, 2010

Date: March 15, 2010 Blake was just coming home from school one fine March Friday afternoon when he noticed a peculiar thing in his uncle's driveway: a luxury car, a black Lexus, with an unfamiliar license plate. Hurrying to his front door, he made out through the porch windows a distinguished-looking older gentleman in the living room, sitting with his uncle and drinking instant lemonade. They were talking in low, controlled voices, and he could just make out a mention of his name.

Edge volunteers!

I have no problem with anything here. I commend your intellectual purity in using Lionheart. APPROVED

More questions were asked by some of the other students, some verifying that yes, the inhibitors did work on all powers, whatever their origin, and that attempting to crack open the inhibitors and figure out how they worked would "require technical expertise that I don't recommend you feign, Anthony." Mark listened to everything, his confidence warring with the uneasiness he'd felt since he'd gotten wind of just what this project was about. He was more than just his powers, he was sure of that...but the thought of going without them made him uneasy. Mark bit his lip briefly, and then raised his hand. "I'd like to volunteer to go first, sir, ma'am." He walked over to the two adults, shook Mr. Summers' hand reflexively, and then stood there and watched with wide eyes as Ms. Harcourt fit the anklet on him. Though Mark felt a faint tingle as the field snapped on, all the people watching saw was just his face briefly paling before he gave everyone a big thumbs up and added, "It feels good!" With that, he turned and walked back to the others, looking a bit subdued.

The Warhammer 40K of Batmen! Strikes me you could work the Ushers into his background somewhere, or use a survivor of the family as a potential antagonist. I like the idea that the Year One Batman would actually have a lot of trouble operating in a city like Freedom, which I think you've touched on OK. Could you work up some sample skill-sets for him, to show how the VP will work?

"Sonofa..." Avenger wiped his forehead, one of the reflexive gestures he'd kept even after undeath. "We did it!" He looked around wildly, scanning the room intently, and would have celebrated more if not for the dead body in the other room. "Too late," he added, a grave look on his face. "And too fast. That bastard. Is everybody OK?" He moved quickly to Taylor's side.

Once in the grotto, Mark and Faith commenced to the making-out. Mark could tell Faith hadn't done this a lot, but she was real enthusiastic and he liked that a whole lot. He wasn't much for a lot of talking in a romantic cliche, and so when things started going further, he didn't say anything, just took his time and enjoyed the moment. In his experience, if a girl didn't like what he was doing, or wanted to do less, she'd say something. That had always worked out well for him, so he kept at that here. If she was happy with what they were doing, why ruin the mood?

AA's Note: Here is the Modern Age Lady Liberty as a PL 10 starting character. She's a fun build, I think. This could work as a Lady Liberty Year One build, or as a successor if the current one retires or dies. I folded most of her powers into arrays and made her less doofy in combat.

Optimized Freedom City Character Build #2: Rogue Grue AA's Notes: OK, here's my attempt at a Rogue Grue. I moved the Shapeshift to Continuous so he can stay disguised even while sleeping or unconscious; he's a very good infiltrator! He can also do his Mind Reading while shapeshifted, though he should probably add a Subtle feat to it while he's in action. Tough to build a shapeshifter or other VP user on base PL while keeping him distinctive.

Optimized Freedom City Build #1: Ultiman Exile AA's Notes: It's tough building an Ultiman on PL 10 (150). They've got a lot of abilities! I simplified this by combining most of his powers into one big Cosmic Energy Control array. I dropped his Regeneration way down and put Healing in his Cosmic array. He can't be killed permanently (if you use FCPBP's Resurrection rules) and can always just heal all his injuries when he's recovered enough to do it. He's a poor fighter, but then again he's never been outside Hyperborea and has probably never been in a real fight.

My (belated) sympathies as well, alder. That's a very tough time.

Reluctantly, a drowsy, cranky Avengemouse flew out of hiding to land next to Foalcrum, his leathery wings spread out behind him lik. Crouching low, he glared up at his massive, hideous counterpart, peering at him through near-sighted, night-adapted eyes. "He looked like something out of a bad horror movie. His eyes, his face, bespoke nothing furry. But looking deep inside, at the man within, I recognized the beast in me." He then added, "Hmmph. Shorter than I thought you'd be. Can you do this?" Avenger stared at the two for a moment before saying simply, "I like the cut of this fellow's jib. I'll be right back." And with that, he disappeared.

"Yes," said Jack. "But I can't help but think that a hallucination would logically know everything I know, and meet my various expectations perfectly." He thought for a minute, then seemed to come to a decision. "All right. I'll buy your story. I'm familiar with the Factor Four. What do you want from me, exactly?"

Jack stared at the horrible horse-headed abomination that had landed on the ground before him, his eyes widening as his grip tightened on the briefcase in his hand. Perhaps he'd finally gone mad? Or was this some sort of blood-substitute freakout? Curse Archeville and his fool science anyway! "Hello there," he said, as if speaking to a madman, "it's a pleasure to meet you. You're from another dimension, you say?"

"The inhibitors will take effect immediately," said Ms. Harcourt, earning a gulp from several of the students. "After all, these are the units designed to restrain superpowered prisoners during their confinement. The only difference is that the battery will run out after twenty-four hours. That's why we haven't asked anyone who is dependent on their special abilities for survival to join us today." "There is one more difference," added Summers. "You can take your inhibitor off at any time during the day. This is not an exercise, not a punishment. But if you remove your anklet, it cannot be replaced, and you will not receive credit."

"Foolish man." Shirtless, his pale chest magnificently muscled like something from a cheesy romance novel cover, Avenger faced Dark Star fearlessly, gesturing in the air to catch the spaceman's attention. "You tamper with beings far beyond your puny comprehension! Surrender now, and I shall spare your mortal life!"

I look into his eyes Children of the night, what music they make! DC 33 Will save. Surging to do all that in one round, since my Mind Control is a full action.

"Well, we could go flying," said Mark innocently, "but I know the wings don't last that long. Not that they're not really cool," he added with a smile. "Why don't we go back out to the beach?" he suggested. "The water's still cold, but that little grotto at the edge is warm enough with James heating up the place." He studied Faith, who was real cute and seemed willing to do all sorts of things to pass the evening. He liked that. "I don't think we'll be in the water that much."

"It's, you know, important," said Mark to Chris, a little diffidently at what they were discussing. "I don't want to think I don't have anything to contribute but my powers." When the last of the children arrived, Duncan Summers wasn't long behind, escorted by the school's science teacher, who carried a big suitcase full of the same ankle-mounted power nullifiers the kids recognized from pictures of Blackstone, the supervillain prison. Most of the kids fell silent as the headmaster slowly made his way into the center of the equipment-filled room to study them all, a hard-to-read look of concentration on his lined face. "May I have your attention, please." At his words, the last kid talking fell silent. "I'm glad to see so many of you here. Welcome to Special Powers Training. I'm sure all of you are curious about what that means." He looked around the room, his gaze unflinching. "For the next twenty-four hours, all participants will be without their metahuman, magical, or other enhanced abilities." He took a breath, and looked more paternal for a moment. "I know many of you are used to your special abilities, some of you have come to depend on them. The prospect of losing them, even for a day, is a frightening prospect." He spared a single, brief glance down at his bad leg and the walking stick he leaned on, before looking up and adding, "But today is about overcoming a disability, not being ashamed by what you've lost. Or being frightened by it. It will be difficult. If any of you want to leave now, by all means, do so."

Blinking back fatigue, Avengemouse was incredibly grateful when he spotted the man that must be his double, walking along a sidestreet with a briefcase in his hand. Big fella, isn't he? Jack Farbatti was tall for a member of his species, looming over even some dogs. But this guy, this weird pink-skinned shaved ape, was a good foot taller than he was. I thought fast, and turned to my colleague for help. "Foalcrum. Better if you talk to him. Hard to confront your double. Can lead to...misunderstandings." And with that, he dipped down neatly into the darkness of the alley, enjoying the blessed quiet. Maybe just a little nap...