Avenger Assembled

I've already got my roles in this one mapped out. :D

October 7-October 21 Fleur de Joie, Phantom, and Dark Star find themselves caught in a web of Con Games.

The thread where the con happens.

Setting up a webpage for Fleur de Joie had kept Stesha's evenings very busy. Between moderating her small discussion board, answering her occasional email, and going out to deal with "super plant emergencies" meant she was rarely bored. She was checking her email one comfortable Sunday afternoon when she discovered a message from a new source:

APPROVED

James could tell Mark was still chewing over their conversation as he got out of the car, but just being there seemed to put a little life back into him. "I grew up around a lot of people with money," he commented, "but my folks were never more than just comfortable. It's probably a good thing they had so many friends." In the elevator up to the lobby of the big hotel, Mark scratched his chin thoughtfully. "And we do have a nice base. I should get over there and put something in it sometime. I guess I'm worried Alex will think we need to be awkward. She can be real precise like that."

Like the background; seems like a nice straight-up paragon. What's the mechanic on his Penetrating Strength Damage? Oh God, the Will save. The Will save. But if that's what you're going for. His sheet would be easier to read if you cleaned things up a bit: i.e, fixing his attack bar, and making clear that he's got Impervious Toughness, not Impervious CON.

"Yeah, I guess so," said Mark, relaxing a little more. He still looked, and felt uneasy, but he was sure that was going to get better in his friend's company. "And you shouldn't be mad at Mike on my behalf or anything. He did come to me and apologize later." Mark didn't really want to delve too much into that conversation, though, so he moved on to better things. "Things do usually work out for the best, anyway." He looked out the window as they went. "So did I hear you bought one of these for Erin? That's pretty nice, James. You're a good friend."

Mark shifted at James' words, looking decidedly uneasy at them. "I guess that makes sense. It was like someone was mind-controlling him, if they told him all that bad stuff about me..." He swallowed. "But...we're friends, James! Mike and I are friends, we know each other! We fought bad guys together. I've...I've never had a friend be angry with me before," he admitted. "Not like that. I mean, I worry sometimes, but they always just forgive me. Only jerks are mad at me usually."

"I know. God, I know about humanity...and the lack thereof. Feeling like it was never going to matter." Jack took her hand and looked up at her, shocking vulnerability in his eyes for an agonizing moment. "There were things I never thought I'd feel again, Taylor. Until I met you." He held it there, his hand as ever slightly cool and clammy in hers, his face gazing up at her.

"I'm sure it'll be okay," said Mark automatically. "You've got money and your name, and I'm sure I'll be able to talk them into stuff." He hesitated for a few moments at James' words, long enough that it almost seemed he wasn't going to say anything at all. "That's never happened to me before. Out on the quad, I mean, when Mike was shaking me around. He was..." Mark seemed like he was looking for the right word. "He was angry with me, James. Really angry with me. And we were friends!" The words seemed to be opposites in Mark's world. "He wasn't possessed or an evil shapeshifter or anything, he was just...really, really angry with me."

"I'm sure you heard everything," said Mark, half-smiling as he buckled up in the front seat. "About Zoe, and Alex and Mike hooking up, and everything..." He sighed, shaking his head. "You know," he admitted, "I don't care about that part. I know I should, but Mike and Alex look like they're gonna be happy together. They're my friends, so that means I'm happy too." James might have scoffed at that coming from someone else, but Mark seemed to believe every word. Distracting himself, he said, "How about Ch...no, how about the Starlight Room? That really swanky place on top of the hotel, with the dance hall and music."

"I...wow!" Mark thought about that, rubbing his chin. "Maybe...dinner sounds good. You pick the spot." He grinned. "You know all the best places, I bet. And after that...gosh, I dunno!" He thought again, following James as they presumably headed for his friend's car. "How about speedboats?" he asked suddenly. "I've never been on a speedboat. It might be fun."

"A pick-me-up?" Mark suppressed a quick wince at that mental image, having gotten quite enough of that over the last couple of days. When he looked up at James, though, and saw the look in his eye, something appealed to him beyond the unhappiness he was feeling. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good." He stood up, leaves falling off him, luckily leaving not a trace of dust or dirt on his pants. "I'm free the whole afternoon; didn't want to go back to my room yet." He grinned, already starting to feel a little better. "Where we going?"

"Who can follow mystics?" replied Avenger with a bland growl in Dead Head's direction. He was actually fairly unsettled by the walking corpse the more he looked at the man, having definitely concluded that this was not the cheap Halloween trickery he'd mistaken it for. But he was good at covering his own unsettled feelings, particularly behind the mask. "Surprised they took a body like this. Too old to be part of rituals I'm familiar with. And the crowd..." He looked around the cemetery. "Either they came invisible; or someone saw something. Suggest we hunt."

This is the closed thread where James and Mark go do stuff.

Mark Lucas sat on the quad one cool October afternoon, unaccustomed emotions shooting through him as leaves sprinkled down all around him in a colorful pattern. He wasn't bothered that Alex had broken up with him or looked prime to hook up with Mike. He'd enjoyed flirting and fooling around with Alex, but neither of them had been interested in a commitment more than that. His parents had been suitably sympathetic when he'd told them about his breakup, giving just the right consolation that a young man in his situation needed to hear. Mike and Alex would be a good couple, he was sure. It was the other betrayal that really bothered him. Mike's angry face, his loud voice, the distrust and suspicion in his eyes...Why would anyone think that? Why would anyone think that about me? He just didn't understand it. Mike was his friend; Mike was a good guy who he trusted. But he was mad at me! Really mad at me! Having someone angry with him who wasn't a bad person themselves was just...just WEIRD! The more he thought about it, the more the anomaly dogged at him. He just didn't understand it!

"All right," agreed Mark, who truthfully looked as if he'd rather be anywhere else right then. "This isn't my business to hear about either, I guess." He put maybe too much of a beat on those words, and turned to follow Erin out without looking back at the others.

"Well, that's reassuring," Jack made a joke of it even as his voice broke a little. "God...I guess I'm lucky you didn't come in earlier." He made a small noise. "Sometimes I'm afraid it's the...the beast in me that makes me have so much trouble dealing with people. Normal people. But other times I think it's just me." He looked at Taylor. "You know I haven't dreamed in four years? That's why it was so real."

DC 20 Will save to resist his Startle. You're up. :D

Archeville arrived just in time to see an enormous explosion inside the warden's office! Glass shattered and broke against his protection as he felt the heat of White Knight's fiery blast; directed not at him, but at White Knight's former allies. The super-criminals were down like nine-pins, blasted away and through walls. Even the hostages were untouched, though they were certainl appalled "MONGREL DOGS! You're no better than the cotton-picking cretins you shanked in the shower." He pointed at Archeville, a look of murderous fury on his face. "You, though. You're MINE."

Go ahead and write this one out however you'd like guys; just assume that you all get a good debriefing from the school immediately on landing. Congrats on being home. =)

Date: August 5th, 2009 (Continued from Daikaiju Days, Morning in America, and Team Science!) When all was said and done, the return to Earth-Prime took the space of only an hour or two. First came the triumphant return of the Young Freedom stranded in Japan, and the happy reunion of the two teams. Then came the quick trip back to the Resistance base with their stolen hardware, leaving behind the smashed Nazi base that never did explode behind them. Everyone had a chance to see the grim horror that was Erde and understand the magnitude of the struggle the Resistance was facing there. Agent H chose to return with her friends from Young Freedom back to Earth Prime, leaving behind her world with a tearful farewell and a sharp, precise salute to the Resistance and the fallen heroes there. Lilith was delighted to hear of the twin victories on both Kaiju Island and over the robot fortress near Freedom City, and left all the teen heroes with a salute of her own and a job well-done. They'd done a lot of good that day, even if they could tell how much help these people might need in the future. And with that, they were gone in a flash, reappearing on the teleport pad recently retrofitted by Dr. Archeville and his two trusty assistants. It had been a very good day to be a hero...even if they were going to have quite a story to tell Mr. Summers.

When his deception worked, convincing the crowd that nothing had gone amiss, Mark turned around and took in the sight of Mike and Alex embracing. The first thought that passed through his mind was a simple one. Oh. A moment later, That's how it is. Well, geez, why didn't Mike say anything sooner? Or Alex? Waves of deep annoyance shot through him for a moment, easily visible on his pliable face, quickly replaced by calm. Hey, if they're happy that way, they're happy that way. Alex is really sweet, and Mike is...Mike is... With a very few exceptions, Mark was a master of putting annoyance and unhappiness away in places in his mind where they couldn't bother him. But this time...Hey! Mike is my friend! We fought Nazis together! He put thoughts together as he walked slowly towards his friends, rusty wheels turning in his mind. And...and he thought I knocked up Alex! That...that BIG JERK! "So. I think we'd better get off the quad," he said as the crowd filtered away, mumuring, "Dunno if they'll believe that again."

I dunno, insight. Would an Arcane Lore check be more suitable to have some idea of what's going on, durf? Or is that something you'd rather we tease out? Because if it's Arcane, I got a nat 20. :D