Avenger Assembled

"Leave Jack alone," Claudia replied, her voice icy. "He may be powerful, but he's too young and too stupid to realize his relationship with you is going to get a lot of innocent people killed. I don't know what _you_ see in it. You people are supposed to know better than to cross the line. Especially the Chosen of Heshem. Oh yes," she added, "I'm sure that came as a big surprise to Jack. He never had any interest in learning what I had to teach him."

Claudia moved with blinding speed, catching the book inches from her face. It had been close, and Taylor hadn't put her best into the throw, but it wasn't a pretty picture. She eyed the book, eyes moving in a face gone dead and immobile for a moment. "So that's it," she said with a sneer. "We move straight to the violence part of the evening. You people are all alike."

"Chosen of Heshem," Claudia said with a slow, deliberate hiss as her hand landed on Taylor's notebook, "I believe you have something of mine." Her fangs exposed, briefly, like a snake's threat display. "I'll give you this, you know your Greek. Jack always did prefer women smarter than he is."

Jack put his arm around Taylor, even as he beamed at Moira. It was really nice to have his friend back. "Anything you need, Moira, really. We're all just glad to have you back." He sensed that Taylor was a bit uneasy with Moira back, and he was confident enough not to think it was for any unsavory reasons. "Let's see, three months...well, a lot has happened." He shot a glance at Taylor, then at Moira. "We'll talk over lunch."

When Taylor found herself leaving little inky prints on the tabletop, she got up to wash the blue coloring off her hands. When she got back, someone was in her chair. The lady in question was short, no bigger than Taylor herself, with a short pageboy haircut, perfectly-manicured fingers with short nails painted red, dressed in sensible librarian shoes and a sweater and skirt. There was something about her that made even that outfit look sexual, as if she was at the beginning of a sexy librarian skit. She looked up inquiringly at Taylor's approach, but her eyes were absolutely hard. "Yes?"

Claudia and Taylor meet

It was late at night in late November when the thing entered the Freedom College library, a smile on her face as she pushed back her hood. The short haircut she'd died with was in fashion among college students again, letting her blend in and still feel fashionable. Red lips pulling past white teeth, she walked up to the reference librarian by the front gate, among the few people still around at this hour, and smiled sweetly. "Hello," Claudia whispered. Undead ears pricked, finding every human heartbeat in the building. "Could you tell me where I could find Taylor Chun?" She looked him in the eye. In a few moments, the balding old gentleman had happily told her exactly where to find the promising grad student. A few moments more, and she had a perfect description of what she was wearing and what book she'd checked out. Several minutes after that, she left him unconscious amongst the French history volumes, walking away with a swagger in her step and considerably more color in her pale cheeks. She hadn't come for the death of that little man, no indeed. She'd come here with just one person in mind.

Jack stepped across the line when it was open, giving Moira a hearty slap on the back and a huge smile. "It was a team effort, but especially Ace and Taylor," he agreed. "It's really great to see you again, Moira." He casually set aside the massive sword he'd been carrying, resting the huge metal blade in the scabbard he'd left nearby, and moved back to move close to Taylor. There was no use being too friendly with a woman he'd once slept with.

"That's what I'm here for," said Jack, trying to sound professional as he kept his distance from the circle. Taylor had warned him about the consequences of the dead interacting with this particular summoning circle, and so made sure to stay a full body-length away. "Anything unsavory comes up, I'll send it back down so the two of you don't have your concentration disrupted." He'd brought a weapon along for the occasion, an impressively sharp-looking silver sword. "But I'm sure you'll get this right. Taylor's really good at this sort of thing."

...Nightshyft, could you maybe drop constantly-tweaking your uber-shadow powers? I'm not really comfortable having a new player make up a power; use what's in the core book and Ultimate Power, and write up a new one as you have time to learn the system in play. And write a backstory for him, or something? :)

It's fine, Cy. Durf is technically correct in how Nullify works, but this is a dramatic moment, one that's significantly cooler than making Electra roll repeatedly. Go with it, I sez. =)

Jack gave her a smile that was half-predator and all male, his teeth showing. He was frankly much more frightened of this than any fight to the death, but for all that wouldn't have dreamed of pulling away. "Love and death can never die," he assured her, a moment before he bent down and kissed her passionately on the lips, his arms going around her in one long embrace. "Whatever happens today, Taylor, this isn't the end for any of us. It's only the beginning." He released her then, facing the monsters side by side with her.

"Marry me," said Jack, speaking through Avenger's mask in the moment of calm before the storm. His words were pure emotion and raw impulse, a moment of sheer, perfect humanity amid the grim horrors of the day. The ones he'd inflicted, and the ones he'd seen. He dropped the grim visage, looking at her. "When we get out of this. Marry me, Taylor Chun." He met her eyes. "I love you. And I mean it."

"Have a place. But first...we talk." In a sudden, dramatic gesture, Avenger jumped to the ground and pulled aside his mask, tossing his head as his glossy black hair cascaded down to his shoulders. The grim, gritty avenger of evil was revealed as a beautiful man, tall and elegant, his face fine-boned and pale like china. "Good evening," he said in a low, dramatic voice. "My name is Jack. For almost a year now, I've been active as the superhero Avenger. My last team, the one Phantom and I were on, fell apart because we didn't...well, we didn't quite know how to deal with each other. But I think the people here have a good grasp of how to handle outsiders. We're on the outside, keeping the bad from breaking in on the people inside." He looked around at all of them, his voice grave. "Also, if I learned anything last time, it's the danger of secrets. With that in mind...I'm a vampire."

Equipment Edits for Avenger "Jack's Midtown Lair" Size: Small; Toughness: 15 (Concealedx2, Defense Systemx2 (Suffocate 12 (Burst Area); air pumps), Fire Prevention System, Library, Living Space, Security System) Renamed "The Lair" 15 ep to spend: Suffocate to Burst Area 14 (no cost) Add features: Communications Concealedx3 (to a total of x5) Defense Systemx2: Paralyze 14 (Burst Area) (arcane sigils on floor) Laboratory [arcane] Pool Power: Immunity 9 (life support) Power System [gas and bike pumps] Security Systemx2 (to DC 30) Workshop [arcane] Increase size to Medium Increase Toughness to 20 Edits done by Geez3r

"Friends to the-OH GOD!" Edge looked up at the demon, leaped backwards three feet, and landed on his back on the sidewalk nearby as the car rolled away and out of sight. Prone, and a little battered, after a moment's pause, Mark was heard to weakly exclaim, "Friends to the end?"

Personally, I think a little fear is acceptable under these circumstances.

What the heck, I surge and hit 'em again!

Avenger: Let's buy 3 ranks of Notice (for a total of 10 ranks) and 1 rank of Stealth (for a total of 19 ranks) [1 pp] Jack's Will goes up to +14, his Reflex goes up to +12 [6 pp] Impervious 10, costing only 1 with the flaw on Impervious [1 pp] An AP for the Vampire Array Speed of the Dead: Teleport 4 [Extras] [Flaws] PFs: Change Velocity, Subtle, Turnabout (11 pp) [1 pp] Drop Defensive Roll, turn it into Protection for a total of Protection 12 [0 pp] His Concealment vs. Machines should be Permanent. Give it the Close Range PF [1 pp] (You can just note Duration: Permanent next to it. Costs as much as Sustained.) (As usual, Avenger hits his PL caps with Stealth first!) The mods for Avenger's headquarters can be found in Phantom's update. Edge: An extra rank of Luck, woo-hoo! [1 pp] 2 more ranks of Defensive Roll [2 pp] 1 point in each of his exotic saves [3 pp] Charisma up to 19 [1 pp] Edits done by Geez3r

That's the usual DC 21 Reflex/DC 26 Toughness for all demons. :awesome:

"You can do it!" called Edge, speaking to Young Freedom in general more than James in particular. It looked like Erin had that situation well-in-hand."With the power of truth and justice on our side, we can save the day! If we work together, there's nothing we can't do!" He jumped up on a nearby car, the better for everyone to see and hear him, the better to get the remaining demons focused on him instead of Erin or anyone else who was busy trying to perform just that day saving. The car began rolling forward. Mark looked briefly startled, but rolled with it as the car plowed into the demons harassing Breakdown. "C'mon, er...friends to the end!" As Mark started chanting, a billboard suddenly fell off a nearby skyscraper, clobbering the flying succubi like a sight gag from a cartoon. "Friends to the end! Friends to the end!" At his words, the head fell off the fallen statue of the Centurion, landing like Ozymandius smack on the already injured demons near Erin and James. "C'mon everybody, say it with me now! Friends to the end!"

Save one life. Save one soul. Do one thing that makes your life worth what you've done. Still on his feet against all odds, Avenger saw Stesha fall beneath a torrent of demon flesh, and then saw Dark Star's sudden, shocking sacrifice as his gentle friend tore himself apart in one last desperate gesture to save the life of the woman he loved. It was an all-too-familiar moment. And then, right then, Avenger knew where he was going to make his stand. Much as he wanted to stay with Taylor, he had to die where it would mean something. Where it would save one life, where it would keep one person living and breathing. In Dark Star's heroic sacrifice, he'd seen just how important his own desires really were. "Taylor! There's a hole in the line over there!" he called, turning and running. He landed before Stesha's fallen frame, extending a challenge to the recovering horde as he bounded protectively past her, putting himself between Stesha and the demons. "COME AND GET ME!"

"Atlas. Avenger. Hellion. Phantom. And soon Dead Head." Avenger perched on a tombstone again, crouching easily on the narrow edge. "All have talents in our own special way, and we all have reasons we can't bring them to bear along with other super-teams." He was as still as one of the statues for a moment, politely not looking at James as he spoke. "Will work miracles when Dead Head arrives. Will even speak in complete sentences."

If there was one thing Jack knew was true, it was this. THE. DEAD. WILL. RISE. Despite horrific injuries that exposed bloodless flesh and dead tissue throughout his torso and head, he impossibly stayed on his feet, slicing his way through the demonic horde after the fallen figure of Taylor. The demons were pulling at him, too, but his hand closed on her wrist, claws digging in as he caught her arm and pulled with the implacable force of the animate dead. The demon pulling at her caught Jack's eyes and spat, "Unhand my meal or die!" "After death I will let go," promised Jack, a moment before his hand came up and ripped off the demon's face as smoothly as tearing a knife through wet cardboard, the fiend giving a terrible burbling squeal as it fell backwards into the mouths of its waiting confederates. But as he and Phantom fell backwards together in each other's arms, the demonic horde around them closed in for the kill. He'd bought Taylor a second or two more of life, but now their time was about to run out...

When the demons came, Jack fell among them like a fiend, ripping and tearing and being torn himself. There was nothing human in how he fought here at the end, and the monsters ripping at each other were almost indistinguishable from each other. His world was a red haze of blood and death, the screaming in his ears both his own and from a thousand other lips. At the end of things you find out exactly what you are; and at the end of things, Jack was a vampire. A monster. But he was one fighting to protect the innocent, battling alongside those he loved for the sake of those who needed him. So he fought onward as flesh tore and bones broke; his face a mask of pain, his lips ripped away to reveal hideous fangs dripping with the blood of the damned. A demon's banner struck him through the chest, and he staggered... Suddenly, from out of the depths of Hell, a terrible familiar face came pouring out of the horde. Melinda was all fangs and claws now, her face and skin a demon's red, her eyes glittering with malevolent hate. "Well well well, Jack," she said, a laugh in an inhuman voice that pulled at the very edges of reality, "now we see what your humanity gets you. Dying in the dirt while the real monsters rip away the old world and bring out something new and beautiful." She bent close to him and whispered seductively, "It's not too late, you know. The master doesn't punish those who did his work on Earth. And you know you've done his work, Jack. Come back with me and join the winning team. Be at my right hand. You can even bring your little blood-whore, after you make a few changes to her..." Jack spat up demon blood, the foul fluid sizzling on the grass below. "Don't...don't call her that," he growled. "And my name is...AVENGER!" And with that he spat a terrible curse and leaped at Melinda, his fangs digging into her neck as he tore out her throat in a wild cascade of infernal horror!