Avenger Assembled

Players Name: Davis Power Level: 11 (165/174pp) Trade-Offs: None Unspent PP: 9 Characters Name: The Freedom Angel Alternate Identity: Heyzel Height: 5'10" Weight: 180 lbs Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Description: Heyzel appears to be a young man of Middle Eastern features with a strong Roman nose, glossy black hair, and with a strong, muscular build. He goes into battle in Romanesque armor consisting of a red leather skirt and sandals, white round shield emblazoned with a red Florian cross, iron breastplate, and white undertunic and garments. He is armed with a spatha, three feet of steel crafted by holy craftsmen, burning with a perpetual white flame of truth. The sword cannot be taken from him, and he can at will banish it to have his hands free. The blade itself is engraved with a representation of the chi rho, the personal symbol of the Emperor Constantine the Great. Similarly, his shield is a creation of his divine will, not a material object, and can be summoned or dismissed automatically. His most notable features are of course his large wings covered in thick white fluffy feathers, the fully functional appendages with a span of twelve feet when fully stretched out. Strong and flexible, his wings can easily support him in flight as easily as he can fold them back underneath his clothes to be nearly invisible. His flight is powered by both his wings and his innately divine nature: though his wings aren't large enough to support his own solidly-built frame on their own, he does need to actually flap them to glide and fly. History: Somewhere, far away from here, there are beautiful places where good people go to pass into a joyful eternity. As there are infinite souls, there are infinite such planes, but the most famous of course is Heaven: the joyful place where those who have loved truly and kept their faith alive in darkest times are reunited with each other amidst the shining glory of the divine. It is a place of safety and magnificent wonders, a place where the joys of the world are lived forever more. There children play happily in a beautiful pond, here men and women work together to build communities of love and harmony, where no one ever gets sick and no one is ever claimed by age. The guardians of this place are the Angeloi, the shepherds and guardians who watch over the souls as they pass into forever. They have kept their watch since the beginning of the first millennium CE. Many of them were once blessed souls themselves, imbued with the power of angels for their goodness and mercy, bearing children together to carry on their divinely appointed mission. Heyzel was born from such a union centuries ago as we count it, his parents chosen by the Archangel Gavriel to carry forth the legacy of the Angeloi. For much of his long life, Heyzel was like many of his brethren, raised in love, taught faith, justice, and compassion by those who loved him most. Like many children of the angels, Heyzel loved to watch the other worlds of the Cosmic Coil from the very edge of their plain. Full of youthful passion and enthusiasm, he wanted nothing more than to go below and fight for justice among the people of Earth. But such was not the place of the Angeloi, not anymore. The other young angels learned to direct their energies elsewhere, everything from acting as shepherds and watchers of the pure souls of Heaven to defending their realm against the machinations of the Dark Lords who coveted their great power. His mother Jeannel was one of these, a soldier guarding the very edges of Heaven against the machinations of the Adversary. From her he learned the glories of divine battle and just war, the thrill of battling in a righteous cause. Jeannel had been an adventurer on Earth when she'd been younger, a martyr of faith on Earth who had become a guardian of women and the oppressed after passing into the hands of the Angeloi, and her stories about the exciting, strange people down below filled Heyzel with curiosity and wonder. But Jeannel was committed to her new job now, acting as a defender rather than adventurer, and urged her son to follow in her footsteps. His father too had once been an adventurer on Earth, and in fact had been the angel who'd rescued his mother from her pyre. But now they were settled down, as the other angels were, to roles as defenders rather than crusaders. It was only as Heyzel grew a little older that finally he learned the secret of the Angeloi, the great trust they'd been given and the fear that tugged at each and every pure soul. The truth was that the Logos, the Divine Word, had not been heard in Heaven for centuries. Gavriel had spoken for the Word as best he could, but the Angeloi had not carried a direct connection to the Divine since the year 535 of the Common Era. None of the Angeloi knew why the Divine had departed, only that it had. What did it mean that the Creator had abandoned his creation, appearing only in signs and miracles, never speaking to the Faithful? It was a mystery, and one that the young angel vowed to solve. Winning a personal audience with Gavriel, Heyzel persuaded the Archangel to dispatch him as an ambassador to the world below, a champion of righteousness and symbol of the justice and goodness of Heaven, who would at the same time seek out allies in the world below to tease out what had befallen the Almighty. It was a powerful burden to bear, but with the Sword of Truth and Shield of Faith in hand, Heyzel was ready to adventure in the world below. Personality & Motivation: Heyzel is a pious, trusting soul who believes in the innate goodness of all sentient beings. He never lies, never swears, and rarely shows anger. He's still a little clueless about the ways and means of normal people, and sometimes has been left thoroughly befuddled by something as simple as a baseball game or the social dimensions of 21st-century American romance. He is easy to underestimate. Of course, Heyzel is also a centuries-old warrior trained to battle living embodiments of entropy and sin at the end of time itself. He is completely without fear, either of physical harm or social embarrassment. Despite his innately good nature, he actually does feel many of the same impulses as normal men do, he's simply better at controlling them. In particular, he feels anger at sinners and desire for beautiful women, urges that grow only more powerful on Earth's plane. It is a difficult balance. He speaks English (and all other languages perfectly), but when suitably wroth will fall back on a dialect closer to an odd form of Early Modern or 'Shakespearean' English similar to that of the King James Bible. (i.e. "Thou wouldst pull down the pillars of the Earth to further your mad schemes? I say thee nay!") Powers & Tactics: Heyzel (named for a powerful archangel who taught his father unarmed combat) prefers to talk rather than fight, using his strong presence and harmonious nature to defuse tense situations. When forced into combat, he attacks from the air, looking to protect innocents nearby or strike quickly at his most dangerous opponents. The only opponents he will not negotiate with are demons and irredeemably evil creatures: those monsters he attacks swiftly and without mercy. Complications: Enemy (evil demons, infernalists, evil undead) Mistaken Identity (A good number of people mistake Heyzel for a crazy mutant) Legacy (Heyzel's mother is a famous figure from world history) Obsession (Mission) Responsibility (protect the innocent, Heaven's ambassador, St. Stephens and Lantern Hill, family) Reputation (is an angel) Rivalry (demonically-powered or undead heroes; polytheistic pantheon) Secret (Where's the Almighty?) Stats: 14+0+10+2+10+10 = 46pp STR: 24 (+7) DEX: 10 (+0) CON: 20 (+5) INT: 12 (+1) WIS: 20 (+5) CHA: 20 (+5) Combat: 10+10 = 20pp Attack: +5 (+6 melee, +10 Flaming Sword) Grapple: +13 Defense: +10 (+2 flat-footed) Knockback: -5 Initiative: +4 Saves: 5+5+5 = 15pp Toughness: +10 (+5 Con, +5 Protection) Fortitude: +10 (+5 Con, +5) Reflex: +5 (+0 Dex, +5) Will: +10 (+5 Wis, +5) Skills: 72r = 18pp Diplomacy 16 (+21)* Intimidate 13 (+18)* Knowledge: Arcane Lore 4 (+5) Knowledge: History 4 (+5) Knowledge: Theology and Philosophy 14 (+15) Notice 10 (+15)* Perform (Singing) 1 (+6) Sense Motive 10 (+15)* (*=Skill Mastery) Feats: 13pp Attack Focus (melee) 1 Dodge Focus 1 Fearless Improved Initiative Interpose Luck 3 Power Attack Skill Mastery (Diplomacy, Intimidate, Notice, Sense Motive) Takedown Attack Ultimate Effort (Diplomacy) Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Powers: 6+5+6+2+2+6+2+5+4+15 = 53pp Comprehend 3 (Tongue of Babel/holy) (Languages 3 [speak Any, Speak Any/All Simultaneously, Understand Any/All Simultaneously]) (6 pp) Flight 3 (50 MPH; Drawback: Wings) (Angelic Wings/holy) (5 pp) Immunity 6 (Divine Stamina/holy) (aging, disease, poison, starvation and thirst, suffocation) (6 pp) Immunity 2 (Angelic Wisdom) (Bluff checks) (2 pp) Light Control 2 (10ft radius, Flaws: Range [Touch]) (2 pp) Protection 6 (Divine Armor/holy) (6 pp) Regeneration 1 (Angelic Body/holy) (Resurrection 1/week) (PF: Regrowth) (2 pp) Shield 5 (Shield of Faith/holy) (5 pp) Super-Senses 4 (Angel Eyes/holy; Detect Infernal [Extras], Hellfire Awareness) [4] Divine Power 5 (10PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 5) (15 pp) Drawbacks: 0+0+0 = 0pp DC Block: Unarmed --- 21/Toughness --- Bruised, Staged Flaming Sword -- 25/Toughness --- Bruised/Injured, Staged Costs: Abilities (46) + Combat (20) + Saves (15) + Skills (18) + Feats (13) + Powers (53) - Drawbacks (00) = 165/174pp

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"Okkay. May be hard to watch..." He faded from view at that, disappearing from the sight of everyone there. Jack concentrated, digging his hands into fists as he pushed out at the fouled blood inside him. It didn't come out his mouth; instead it leaked out his pores. When he was coated in demon blood as if he'd bathed in it, he reappeared on the other side of Taylor. He looked shockingly disreputable, but like a man who'd bathed in blood instead of a monster who'd drunk it. "I'm ready."

Jack didn't hesitate a moment. He reached out and shook Archeville's hand firmly, his grip strong before he sat back down next to Taylor. "Good to see you again, Viktor," he said politely. There, who was to say how he felt at that moment, surrounded by people who could kill him without thinking about it, who maybe had ever reason to do so? He put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, relaxing in the moment. "Knock 'em dead, honey."

It's funny the things you think about when the world's coming to an end. As he tore through the demonic horde, the super-powerful blood in his system charging him up like the devil's own PCP addict, Jack remembered his own death. The sweet agony of Claudia's fangs at his throat. The feeling of cold, permeating his flesh, permeating through every inch of him until it reached his soul. Then the taste of her lips on his, the deathly fire that had poured through him and rocketed him to consciousness again with a bloody, rageful hunger. Is this what it's all been for? My own damnation, and everything else, to stop these demons? He thought of his parents, the people he'd loved who were dead and gone, picturing them waiting for him in a fluffy cloud Heaven. As he stood on the field of his death, it was a very comforting story.

Jack's grip on Taylor's hand was very tight for a moment, but his hands were steadier now that he'd had a chance to steady himself. He could feel Ace's holy ward tugging at his own awareness like an unpleasant heat pressed against his skin, but entering without hostile intent had gotten him inside the door. "Mmmy god...my peoppple..." He stared out at the wall of demons outside, taking a moment to shake his head. "Nno, no, they'll be alll rightt. Demons showwed no interrest in mee until I staarted killing themmm." He'd ordered the vampires of Freedom City into deep cover, calling on the same ancient strongholds that they'd taken shelter in during the Terminus Invasion. I never thought I would see this myself. God help us all. "Can't go inside," he finally said. "Too much demon blood. Can't...can't be around wounded and helplesscivilians. Will make stand here outside."

"I Love Rock and Roll," said Jack with an amused smile after a moment's reflection. "I think we're about ready for a song that we can all sing along to." He leaned over and pecked Taylor on the lips. "You'll do fine, honey." He waved at Dr. Archeville, eying his present with a curious look. "Ah, I see our audience is getting here just in time!"

Dang it, you've activated Schrodinger's Ward! combusts

The world was vibrating. Consuming demon blood had left Jack able to heal his injuries, but his eyes were locked in a crimson glow, his face pulled sharp and tight like a predator's. He kept his hand on Taylor's, mindful of the angle of her hands. His own hands were cracked and broken, the flesh partially burned on one. "Carrreeeful," he warned, his voice shaking like an espresso addict on a three-day bender, "sheee'lll wakkke upp bblasstting...cmmoonn baby you cannnn do thiss..."

Mark sat up, a glow visible behind his broken goggles that matched the gleam from the recently-opened portal to Hell for a second or two before he shook his head. "Oh...oh God," he said out loud, slowly and painfully pulling himself to his feet. He was bleeding and battered, but he wouldn't stay down. "Is everyone all right?" he called. "Did we...god, James..." He sounded a little out of it; and in fact he was.

The emotions came pouring out of Mark at Alex's touch, an overpowering wave of friendship. People said there was no depth to Mark, but that was just because there was no bottom to the wave of sheer good fellowship and heart that came tumbling out of the depths of his soul. There was not even a flicker of doubt in his mind that they'd save James, that they'd save the day, that all the horrors around them would be made right. They were heroes. This was Freedom City. That was what they'd do. And there were memories of his interactions with James, the good times and happy memories they'd shared down in south Florida, his simple, perfect joy at the wild adventure they'd had together because his friend had wanted to make him feel better. Even when he'd finally put the pieces together and figured out that James was a demon, shortly before James' kidnapping, there was nothing but the trust and hope that they'd get their friend back safe and sound. There was no irony in Mark's soul, no hint of artifice or false saccharine: James and Mark were friends, and that was enough.

Jack now has Takedown Attack (2) and is operating with full Concealment against all senses. (He can't use his Speed while Concealed.) He's only doing +16 (31 Toughness) when he connects with his improvised club.

Jack was past taunting, past teasing. He simply killed in great numbers, tearing his way through the demonic crowd with the cold, lethal fury of a born monster. He'd faded from view entirely now, rendering him dependent on the broken parking meter he'd picked up to act as a club. There was screaming, and death, and blood poured on the ground and it was so very, very good. He wanted to dip his head and lap it up, tasting the delicious super-charged essence of demon, but instead concentrated on sheer force and stealth. The demons on his corner died without even knowing what killed them, their bleeding, broken bodies forming a gradually growing wall all around him. He was leaving footprints.

Fixing Avenger's array this month. This is the proper way it should look. Terrifying Vampiric Array of the Undead 11pp+ 6 APs=17 pp BE: Concealment 10 (all senses except tactile) (PF: Close Range) (Flaws: Blending) (11 pp) AP: Insubstantial 2 (gaseous; Extra: Linked Flight 1 [10 mph] PF: Subtle [11 pp] AP: Drain Constitution 2 Extras: Insidious, Flaws: Requires Grapple LINKED Emotion Control 13 Extras: Insidious, Flaws: Limited to love, Range 2 [touch], Requires Grapple) (PF: Subtle) [11 pp] AP: Drain Constitution 2 (Extras: Insidious, Flaws: Requires Grapple) LINKED Mind Reading 13 PF: Subtle (Flaws: Limited [Probe], Range 2 [Touch], Requires Grapple) LINKED Super-Senses 4 (Postcognition, Flaws: Medium [blood]) [10 PP] AP: Drain Constitution 11 (blood drain, Flaws Requires Grapple) [PFs] Precise, Slow Fadex4 (1 hour), [11 pp] AP: Mind Control 13 (Feats: Mental Link, Subtle), Extras: Conscious, Duration [sustained], Flaws: Action [Full], Distracting, Sense-Dependent [Visual]), Unreliable [5 uses a day] [8 pp] AP: Strike 2 (claws and teeth, PFs Affects Insubstantial (2), Improved Crit, Incurable, Mighty) LINKED Enhanced Feats Fearsome Presence 4 [11 pp] Drawback: Power Loss: Insubstantial and Flight (during daylight hours) (uncommon, minor) (-1) Five points to spend: I'd like to buy Evasion (to a total of Evasion (2)) (1 pp) Takedown Attack (to a total of Takedown Attack (2) (1 pp) Super-Movement: Wall-Crawling 1 (2 pp+2pp-1pp drawback=3pp) AP: Leaping 2 (x5) AP: Speed 2 (25 MPH) Power Loss on Super-Movement Array (during daylight hours) (uncommon, minor) (-1) Edge. Oh boy, ten points! Buying Edge's Fortune Control up to 8 (6 points) His Blast power goes up to 11 with the PFs Progressionx2 [25 foot cubes, 275 square feet] on area His Probability Control goes up to 11 with the PFs Dimensionalx2 [any mystic] added on (how will that happen? Mwahaha!) I'd like to buy the Super-Senses power Danger-Sense [auditory]. [1 point] Immunity (Sense Motive) [2 points] Nobody knows why Mark does what he does. (Seriously) Two ranks rank of Throwing Mastery as an Enhanced Feat, something Mark will mostly use for Aid actions [2 point] I'd like to change his Uncanny Dodge to auditory. I'd like to change his combat score as follows. Dropping it from +9 base to +5 (18 points to 10) and buying Attack Focus Ranged (7) for a total of Ranged Attack Focus 8. This will put him at Attack +5 (Ranged +13) I'd like to drop his blasters (as they suck, and that's sad), letting him sacrifice one rank in Equipment. I'd like to buy a Teleport beacon for 1 EP, putting the remaining 2 EP towards Young Freedom headquarters proper. Sandman was savin the best for last! Yeah... that's the ticket... best for last...

Mark has his Probability Control up, so he can't roll below a seven. Not that it helps him, failing both saves really very badly, but it might help Mike. EDIT: Mark spends an HP to reroll the first save, passing with a 19. He then extra-efforts a roll for the second one, becoming fatigued. 18 boo-yah!

Aiding Erin's dodge against the nearest demon, giving her +5 to her defense in addition to the +5 from Mark's Inspire.

Mark fired a pew-pew blast from his lasers at the demon nearest Erin, the better to give her an edge when it came to combat. "You all know what to do!" he called. "Do what you have to, for Freedom City! For YOUNG FREEDOM! FOR JAMES!" Mark was a young man who believed, and the sheer power of his belief came through to all the other kids as he opened fire.

7 I fail. But I spend an HP on Psyche's behalf if she fails her roll, so with her Inspire bonus she can shake off the effect. (whatever it is.) Don't forget, everybody, that you effectively get an automatic 12 on the roll; 7 from Edge's Probability Control, 5 from his Inspire. (Which Cy already said can be up this round.) Not that any of us have a +12 base Will save.

Edge power-stunts (becoming fatigued along with bruised and staggered) a Selective Area Dimensional Movement Attack: to Hellll! Let's call that a Reflex DC of 20 for the demons. That's the only action he can take this turn.

Edge's head hurt; heck, his whole body hurt. Barely able to see out the lenses of his shattered glasses, Edge concentrated desperately, calling on a deep inner reserve of good fortune he believed was his with the utmost of effort. "We'll get out of this," he muttered to himself, "we'll get out of this..." As Edge concentrated, the air around them began to crackle, reality itself bending palpably all around them. "Getoutgetoutgetoutgetoutgetout..."

Avenger: 47 posts=3 pp+1 Vignette PP=4 pp Darkness Rising: 8 Same Thing: 3 Fallout: A/P: 4 Island: 8 Blackjack: 14 Poison Sky: 5 Riverside Invasion: 4 Southside Invasion: 1 Edge: 63 posts=4 pp+1 Vignette PP=5 pp Some Girls: 14 posts Reunited and It Feels So Good: 2 posts Where the Boys: 14 Getting the Goods: 1 post Best Friend's Girl: 7 Star-Crossed: 1 Summer Nights: 6 Devil: 10 Invasion: Gate: 4 Dust: 3 Birthday: 1 GMing: 18/2=9 posts (1 pp) What, Again?: 2 Caged Bird: 3 Con Games: 8 Checkmate: 2 Beautiful City: 3 I'd like my GM XP to go towards Avenger.

Jack hasn't picked up Speed yet, so in daylight he's just at 30 feet as well.

Avenger Bluffs as a move action (DC 21 w/Skill Mastery.) Hopefully this will leave a great many of them flat-footed. He then begins killing his way through the demons, full-on power-attacking with Takedown Attack for a DC 32 Toughness save.

The worst part, in retrospect, was how very easy it was to start the killing. With one demon's dead body at his feet, Jack laughed, blood staining his lips as he faced the oncoming horde. Their blows, their claws, were nothing, tearing at his clothes and dead flesh without doing any serious damage. If they turned to using their infernal weapons against him, he'd be in trouble...so he'd have to kill them all first. Kill the leader. Kill the greatest of them. Teach them FEAR. "I'm going to enjoy eating your hearts tonight." Jack leaped for the largest demon within his reach, clawing his way up its body to rip at its throat, the great fiend falling as if pole-axed as Jack tore open a great font of ichor, the momentum propelling him forward to fall between a great dragon-shaped beast and a lone devil with a black iron pitchfork. Hissing, Jack grabbed the fork and smashed it into the face of the dragon beast, leaping aside as a jet of unholy flame incinerated the luckless trident-bearer he'd disarmed. Coming back down, he kicked the trident hard, driving it into the face and skull of the dragon, sending it crashing to the earth. He fell amongst a pack of succubi then, ripping and tearing even as they did, leaving four down and broken as if ripped apart by wild animals, finally falling on one luckless imp, picking him up, and biting him in half where the crowd of oncoming demons could see. "Who's next?" he hissed malevolently, feeling a distant tug at the edge of his consciousness. It wasn't right to kill like this, was it? But these were demons...

When Psyche got close to Edge, she distinctly heard him murmuring, "...and staff, they comfort me." He looked up at Psyche and smiled at her, though, focusing on the crowd of demons before them with a brave expression on his face. Mark's mind was full of stories of the past; his grandfather, his father, the Centurion and all the other heroes of Freedom City. But this wasn't a story, now. This was his life, their lives, and the salvation of Freedom City. Conveyed through Psyche, his thoughts came through to the others. Let's do this one for James.