Avenger Assembled

September 5, 2009: Alex pays a visit to the parents of her boyfriend, the patriarch and matriach of The House of Lucas

Alex meets Mark's folks.

The return of Mark's parents from their sudden trip to Brazil had taken Mark out of school for a couple of days, the joyful reunion of the Lucas family celebrated with hugs and kisses, home movies and board games, everything a normal family did when they were reunited after a long departure. But Mark had missed his friends at school and didn't want the trouble of moving out again, so he'd opted to keep his dorm room with Mike. An unguarded discussion of his social life had let his parents know about his new girlfriend, and Mark himself was very stoked about the chance for Alex to meet his parents. His family was perfectly normal and average outside of their cool stories, of course, but it was still an important step. He'd made arrangements to meet Alex at his house for an afternoon picnic with the family, something his father had insisted on upon hearing whose daughter he was dating. One lazy afternoon while his mother worked in her studio and his father flipped burgers on the grill, Mark sat out on their big front lawn, watching and waiting for Alex's car. It was a good day, and by all accounts promised to be an even better one. An apple fell from the big tree he sat beneath, and he caught it neatly as he reached back behind him. The house itself was a two-story cottage, a bit old-fashioned for its time, the suburb around it a place of straight roads and white picket fences. It was, he decided, a great place to come from.

I have PMed Psyche. The rest of you go about your business. ;)

Thisisntrightthisisn'tright... Despite the cavalcade of confusion and fear boiling inside him, Jack rose with the other prisoners to take the traditional benediction of the Scarab. One by one the prisoners walked up to the stage, passing between the line of the Scarab's guards, where she drove her glowing tendrils into their flesh, transforming and warping them into massive scarab beetles that took their place on the stage with her. Jack's feet moved in a metronome's rhythm as he made his way up onto the stage, watching as the friendly young man with the dreads who'd shared the cell opposite him was transformed into a hideous beast. He'd never bothered to learn his name. On stage, surrounded by scarabs and guards, Jack alone paused in the mechanical line of prisoners. There he met Melinda Ainsley's eyes square on, speaking again in that alien voice. "You're not the Scarab." She smiled beneficently at him and floated down to Earth to meet him, her eyes glowing red. "I'm the voice of the people, Jack," she teased him lightly. "I am the monster who slays other monsters. I turn what's dark in men into good by showing them what's worse." Her teeth narrowed alarmingly. "You can't say you disagree, can you?" In his ears, Jack heard the heartbeats of everyone in the room; men and monsters and Scarab alike. It took him a moment to realize that the only one he couldn't hear was his own. When he spoke, it was with his own voice. "You don't help them. You hurt them behind the guise of love. You feed them false gods and want them to love you for it." "They do love me for it, Jack." She smiled again, her serpent's tongue extending. "Do you love me, Jack?" "I..." She was so beautiful. She was so right. Jack looked down at his hands again and saw the slow, deliberate slickness there, the red liquid clinging to his fingers. "My hands are covered in blood!" he exclaimed, only after a few moments realizing he'd spoken aloud. "They are," she agreed. "But I can clease you of that." Her tentacles waved in the air, making a low sussurating sound. "Come and join me in the black hole, Jack. Come be a man." Jack looked down at his hands again, then looked up at the Scarab. When he spoke, it was with absolute, ironclad conviction. "I. Am. No. Man." With a roar, he spun and grabbed the flag of the Empire, sweeping it low across the armed guards of the Scarab, knocking them down onto the massive insects that had once been his fellow prisoners, pinning them down as he leapt into the air and hurled the pole directly at Melinda!

For heroically coming to the aid of your friend, and for...stuff, everyone take an HP. Also, I need a DC 16 Notice check from everyone. whistles innocently

It sounds kind of useless. With how rare crits are here, why bother to take the feat at all?

Jack looked at Dark Star as if Ace hadn't spoken; indeed, as if they were alone together and having a private conversation. Jack was truly concerned for his friend here, the comrade who'd stood by him in the darkest time of his life. Losing Dark Star's friendship would be... a challenge. And a sign of his own moral failure, given the man's high character. "Dark Star. We trust you. We know you're reliable. You mentioned incidents. You can talk to us. What happened?"

White Knight: 20 His goons 20 Will get a descriptive post up shortly.

The cell was cold and dark, the light shining in through the window above burning into Jack's soul all the same. Taylor had filed for divorce that morning, a month after his confinement had begun. Can you blame her, Jack? The thought was a bitter, agonizing one. You're a monster. The doctor had died of her injuries before her servant could begin to help her, her throat torn out by the glass he'd thrown her through. He remembered the blood on his hands, so crimson red, the scent of it in his nostrils. She could never trust you, Jack. Not really. You'll never have a normal life again after what you've done. He spent his days in his cell as a zombie, moving back and forth, a walking dead man. Today, though, for some reason, he overheard the guards as they walked in front of the rows of cells. The lead guard was a one-armed man with a hard look on his face, his counterpart a beefy blonde man who always seemed to have a malevolent smile on his face. "Listen up you maggots! We've got a special announcement for you today." The lead guard snarled as he walked up and down the block. "We've got a very special visitor to our little cell. The Avatar of the Holy Scarab herself is coming to OUR prison tonight to bless you miserable maggots! Who wants to volunteer for a little holy blessing?" Hours later, Jack wasn't sure why he'd volunteered. What impulse had led him to believe that he was worthy of meeting with the Lady herself? In the crowded prison auditorium, surrounded by his fellow convicts, he watched as the Scarab's own security took the stage, hard-faced men in blue and white uniforms, before the Scarab's herald took the stage to the applause of the prisoners. Jack didn't move, though, frozen stock-still as he watched the figure on the stage. No...no... The nearly faceless man up there had a Scottish accent Jack recognized only too well, the familiar voice of the Scarab's herald having often appeared on the radio and television. That's not him. That's not him. "Gentlemen of Parousia! I give you...the Scarab!" She floated down from above the stage as the room went quiet, her gold and red armor glistening, cape fluttering behind her. She raised her hands to her face, then slowly, gently, removed her mask. "My children!" Melinda Ainsley said warmly. "I greet you in the name of peace and love!"

Give me a roll for initiative, old chum. ;)

She's putty! (Should have bulked up Will saves for this scenario. =D) Do as you will.

Jack knew he'd just bit into a world of trouble, but it wasn't the first time he'd done that. He was confident he could handle whatever Ace threw at him, and was glad he'd protected himself from the threat the older man represented. He pulled into his parking garage, glancing idly in his rearview mirror as a police cruiser and tow truck zoomed by the opening. Huh. Wonder where they're going. He actually did miss Ace in the elevator; even with the strength of the dead, there were a lot of things to carry up to his apartment. But he was as dexterous as he was strong, and between one thing and another he made it back up to his apartment.

Meh, we're out of initiative.

Hellion's devilish punch took Whoop-Ant's double entirely by surprise, dropping the young man before he could do more than speak. That left them with an unconscious boy and startled Japanese scientist, but so far no one had yet noticed the teenagers and their shenanigans.

Well, that was terrible. :P

"PHANTOM!" Avenger tried something new, focusing his will on the demon and glaring malevolently. "Stop attacking us. You are not wanted here." Unfortunately, he had a feeling that this guy was made of sterner stuff than the usual hoodlums he tried that trick on.

Blowing an HP for Inspire. (+5, as usual) Blowing another HP to surge, switching Fortune Control Array to a Selective Area Blast. That's a DC 20 Reflex save and DC 25 Toughness save for all the bad guys and their weapons in the area.

"C'mon, team!" Edge yelled exuberantly. "Let's show these wannabees how real heroes take down fake bad guys! We've got freedom, justice, and phenomenal cosmic power on our side!" He jumped up on a turned-over chair, giving him a view of everyone around. "Here's a little taste...of Freedom's justice!" And with that the room went mad, weapons sparking and firing, the technology of the bad guys turning against them even as it exploded, wave after wave of magical power washing off the cheerful young man as he laughed.

I say we've waited long enough. With Grimalkin inactive, I need initiative rolls from Dark Star, Scarab, Phantom, and Doctor Archeville. After that, we can start moving on to the endgame. Avenger's is 15 The goons have a more respectable 23 Arachnos has 10

Mark had no answer to give his daughter, none that would make any sense. It was hard, terribly hard, to do more than cling to hope now when so very much had been lost. He looked from Erin to Clara to Argent, his mind leaping back unbidden to so many memories, so many faces now lost. Alex...Mike...Chris...Zoe... He looked up at the sky above, at that terrible darkling tower to the east, the sound of his respirator and the conversation of the others in his ears. This isn't right. This isn't how the story's supposed to end! A moment later, the security alarm of all the Leaguers present rang vigorously in their ears. It was a startlement in the dark and silence, especially when they'd all come off that day of hell. Mark pressed his communicator to his ear, listening to the dispatch. A Dakanan ship had passed too close to the burning cloud over Freedom City, overloading its fuel intake and sending the big rescue craft crashing into the ruined beach. The people on board were trapped by their overloaded systems, and needed help fast. As had happened to him so many times in the course of his life, he and the heroes he was with were the closest to the crash. There were people who needed help, and they were the best ones to give it. With the announcement, the heroes all gathered themselves for the trip, the veteran Leaguers turning their flight suits back on, Erin heading for her cycle again for the quick trip up the coast. Mark and Argent went with them. After all, they were heroes. Life went on.

Have an HP for the Jack-dickery, Ace. Jack will blow an HP to acquire another rank in Equipment and add Concealedx5 (for a total of x7) to his apartment, thus raising the DC to find it to 60. Later, haters. ;)

"I'll give your best to Taylor. Thanks for the help with her stuff. We're just a block from your penthouse," he added, "If you go around the Garbanzo Building. Later, Ace." He was sure Ace had a car there, possibly more than one, to retrieve the one he'd left by Taylor's place. A little belatedly, he'd realized he had no interest in letting Ace Danger know where he lived. And with that, Jack rolled up the window and drove away. On the way he picked up his phone and made a few telephone calls, carefully shutting down a few connection routes between his apartment and anywhere else. For the next little while, for his peace of mind and Taylor's, they were off the grid.

"I'm sure those guys didn't know what hit them," said Jack with a little laugh. "Not with you guys around." Despite the reluctant politeness in tone, Ace was savvy enough to overhear that Jack wasn't actually lying. Jack Faretti did respect Ace Danger's abilities, even if the man himself wasn't his friend. "Oh yes, you'd be amazed at the kind of people I've run into over the years." Jack made his way into a tony downtown neighborhood that wasn't far from where Ace himself lived. Jack prided himself on good location, at least. "All right, here we go." He stopped the car near the side door of a fancy apartment complex. "I don't think we need to bother the doorman on this one," he said with a rueful chuckle, still trying to be polite about all this.

How adult, Jack thought irritably. As if to prove his words, he sped up and away from the curb, driving quickly down the street. "I'm sure Taylor will appreciate knowing how many of her friends have come to her aid tonight. She's already had a hard time of it." He was conscious of the mistake he'd already made, but at least it wasn't one Ace was aware of. Not yet, anyway. And there were a few obvious remedies. "So I understand the two of you met through her family?"