Avenger Assembled

"We, ah, try and make sure all our students get a good reception," said Guimont cordially, "especially the ones who come in during the summer session. It gives us an opportunity to really...get to know our young people, one-on-one!" He talked expansively about the role of teachers at Claremont, a smile on his face and song in his heart, as he led them towards the Administration building. Mark, ever the good chum, helped carry James' bags out of the car. Sensing that maybe the new arrival was getting a little bored with this, Mark leaned close to James and murmured, "He's not so bad once you get to know him. He mostly does counseling for the kids who don't like Dr. Marquez. It's not like we're still a Catholic school or anything. So you're a Freedom City boy too, huh? What brings you here in the summertime?"

"You'll love these guys," said Mark confidently. "Whatever happens tonight, we'll have a great time." He smiled at Alex, then leaned over to Chris. "I think the redhead at the table across from Eddie likes you," he murmured. "Did you see the way she was looking at you when you came over here? She's got kind of a...thing, going on." Sure enough, the pretty redhead with the freckles did indeed shoot a look back at the handsome young men at the other table and then blush, looking away again.

Done and done. (It's July 11)

July 11, 2009: Horrible things happen when the Claremont kids try and take in a show, just horrible! Out Tonight

So what does happen now, chums? ;)

Rachel had not, in fact, had her car lo-jacked, much to her obvious chagrin. She had put a GPS inside the car and the phone, though, and by the time Ace had reached his own vehicle they'd set up a tracker for Rachel's car as it sped west down Route 4 down into Southside. Given Ace's long career and reputation, the police deferred to him on this issue. There were patrol cars in the area, but as Ace himself had said, Marionette's powers could easily turn standard assets deployed against her into assets of her own.

21 Avenger is, however, going to be out of the fight for the first couple of rounds. OK, who's next?

Not if it's pet-zap-pet-zap. Remember, the Sustained duration on Aura-esque effects is only for effects you plan to turn on and leave on. And if the petter is auto-failing the attack roll, that's OK.

Contrary to popular belief, cats don't purr all the time. And it would only be an aura if touching any part of the cat caused the emotion control.

Unfortunately, Shrinking is unlikely to work for you that way. (Shrinking as a whole is not a great power, though we have some house rules that make it moderately less overpriced.) Some solutions: 1. Happycat the plot device: Happycat is an adorable cat who gets into places implausibly and makes you feel better when you pet her. Cats can not be held down by stats! Next month, when you'll easily be able to afford Minion Happycat, buy her then. That way you'll be able to roleplay Wander bonding with the little kitty, always fun. 2. Happycat the NPC: I would have no problems with Happycat the Claremont NPC. That way you actually get to write up the character, can have her interacting with other characters, and then have her bond with Wander and become her minion next month. (And get a points for her, yay!) 3. Happykitten the kitten: With one point, you can buy a regular cat with a one point power: Emotion Control 8 (Limited to Happy, Touch Range; Distracting, Full-Round) and then pump her up next month. That way, you can assume that Wander's cat starts out as a very little kitten, and needs extra love and attention before more of her interesting powers develop.

Eddie put on a burst of speed to chase the man as he ran into the surprisingly crowded alley, dodging between dumpsters and busboys in a chase that reminded him more of a driver-training video than anything else. He put on his best effort to chase the guy, running faster and faster, but he just couldn't seem to close the distance. With the baby's cries in his ears, he put on another burst of speed only to watch the surprisingly fast man and baby run straight through a wall before him! The wall closed up smoothly before them, leaving him with a choice to make, and quickly!

Being met by a man wearing the black and white collar of a Catholic priest didn't do much to allay James's worries about the school, though the kid his own age coming up on the other side seemed like a more pliable person to hang around with. "Well hello, Mr. Prophet," said the priest politely, "it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Father Henry Guimont, and this is Mark Lucas, one of the students in your class. I hope you'll forgive the small greeting party, but we always have a smaller faculty during the summer session. Welcome to Claremont Academy." "Hey," said Mark, giving a friendly greeting to the new guy and heading right past Father Guimont to shake his hand, man-to-man, the way his father had taught him. "Nice to meet you. That's a sweet ride you've got there, is it a...Chevette?" It was a lucky guess from a car magazine he'd flipped through once, but with any luck the other guy wouldn't ask him anything in particular about the car. "You running any bags to your room?"

Let's see, hmm. Gimmie a Speed power check, Eddie.

Mark cocked his head and looked at Eddie. "No, I can truthfully say we've never contemplated breaking down a door in the library." He scratched his chin, still studying the other boy. "For one thing, they've got cameras and alarms on the thing. And for another, that's something we could actually get into a lot of trouble for, man. I mean, the school's pretty easy-going about a lot of stuff, but actually messing around with school property and seriously breaking stuff could cause a lot of problems. I mean, no one wants to go back on restriction the way we were in May." The moment of seriousness took a lot out of Mark, who normally wasn't mindful of any such thing. As Mark and Eddie were speaking, Alex overhead a scrabbling on the stairs behind her. Looking around in the darkness, it took her a moment to notice a very strange little animal studying them all from the turn in the stairwell. The little creature was short, standing no higher than a cat, but it stood on two legs in the posture of a T-Rex or raptor she'd seen in the movies. Covered in a fine coat of feathers, it looked like a strange combination of bird and tiny dinosaur, like nothing she'd ever seen outside of a nature film. Aware that he'd been spotted, thelittle guy looked up at her inquiringly, a hopeful look in his big reptilian eyes.

"Hi, Ace." Marionette's voice was full of honeyed, sensual charm that might well have worked on anyone else. "I was just calling to let you know that I'm going to go murder an eighty-five year old woman in her bed. I know that sounds harsh, but I think you'll agree that it's justice. If you're such a big hero these days, maybe you should see if you can find me first, hmm? Tell Rachel thanks for the keys, by the way, this is a really sweet ride. How's her poor little forebrain doing these days?"

APPROVED

Well, I'm sold. APPROVED

I need a DC 27 Notice check from everyone.

"Eh, you get a lecture about respecting school property." Mark grinned. "First-time offenders, anyway, so you guys shouldn't have to worry about it too much. The worst I'd be likely to get, if I was caught, is just to spend some time writing about the importance of respecting property and following orders." He grinned wryly. "I'd probably get that right from Mr. Summers, no less. He and my dad know each other from old times, but that doesn't make my life any easier around here. Just the opposite, sometimes." He laughed. "But anyway, if you want to meet the rest of the Sneak Club, we can get together later and talk strategy. We've had a couple of attempted teleporters, but there's something up in there that seems to block whatever frequency they're using. Our shapeshifter got fairly close, but she couldn't figure out how to reprogram the inner door lock. You're welcome to look through psychically if you want," he added to Alex, smiling at her, "maybe you can get a better look at the inner security systems than we've had so far."

Stealing a red Corvette did seem decidedly odd, especially for a criminal who had as much apparent experience as Marionette. But a quick consultation through the Freedom City Police would get an APB out on the Marionette and her stolen car, together with enough anti-esper technology to at least have a chance to catch her. Contacting the survivors of the Liberty League and their families was a bit more difficult, but between Ace's connections and AEGIS' knowledge, the job could get done hopefully before any vengeful ghosts of the past showed up with murder on their minds. At that juncture, Ace's cell buzzed. He might have just shrugged off the call, given that this was an emergency, until he looked more closely and saw that it was Rachel's phone calling him. The phone Rachel kept in her car.

I can haz minion stats?

You've almost got it; you just need to drop that Attack Focus a bit. Right now he's at +6 Attack/+9 Damage with his Demonic Strength, which puts him well over caps. Maybe buy some unarmed combat feats for that slot, or more super-strength?

They're looking her way, but they know she's a superhero.

Dryad bolted upright, a silent scream on her lips, and stared into nothingness for a moment before she turned to Dr. Archeville. "I...I am restored." She blinked a few times. "I...I have awakened. Thanks to you, you beautiful German!" She planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you! Quickly, we must defeat the supervillans before they seize control of the island...nay, the world! Shall I have plants pull them into the ground where they might feast on the...no, wait, that would be bad! And I don't want to be bad." She looked at Dr. Archeville. "What should we do...sir?" At that, she gave him a very big smile.

With Ace's various connections, it didn't take him long at all to get the director of the local AEGIS office. "Marionette, huh? Whew, that's one for the history books. I'd have to go all the way back to the OSS days to look her up. Too bad Joe Simmons passed on." As he talked to Bonham, he kept a close eye on Rachel, who was obviously still hurt but recovering from her injury. He was taking a description as Rachel woke up again, the young woman patting at her pockets before she looked up at Ace. "Ace..." she murmured up at him. "Ace, my keys are gone. Is my 'Vette still in the lot?" Sure enough, on closer inspection, someone had driven off with Rachel Danger's red '88 Corvette!