Avenger Assembled

I need a Notice check from you two fine gentlemen.

Memorial Day Weekend, 2009 Doctor Archeville and Dark Star meet Odysseus.

This is happening Memorial Day weekend, or thereabouts.

"Right now we're just all getting acquainted with each other. Some of our other extra-dimensional students have been working on socialization, so this is a perfect opportunity for everyone to 'meet and greet.'" Marquez rolled his chair back to the head of the table, Prometheus weighing his options visibly before sitting back down, the small metal and plastic chair beneath him creaking slightly under his weight. He really was a big guy, easily seven feet tall and four hundred pounds. There was a moment's awkward pause as the two teenagers studied each other, just before the door opened before two more new arrivals. "Hey, Doc! We're not late, are we?" The boy and girl in the door were a study in contrasts; a huge (though not quite as big as Prometheus) metal-skinned young man and a much smaller, daintier young woman, the two of them a voluble pair that Erin had seen from afar on campus before. Marquez confirmed that the two of them were right on time, and quick introductions were made to Erin. "Hey there," said the girl, "Samantha Capote. This is my little brother Sam." She grinned, and so did the huge metal-skinned guy, whose handshake was slightly cold as he shook Erin's hand. Sam looked much odder than Samantha, his metal skin grey and his eyes flat, featureless black. "Nice to meet you."

High school students being what they were, early on there was only one student there besides Mr. Marquez. Erin had been introduced to the wheelchair-bound counselor during her initial consultations with the school, but the big, odd-looking kid sitting by the window was someone new. "Erin, how nice to see you," said Mr. Marquez with a friendly, professional smile on his face. He wheeled himself over to greet her, deft at manuevering his chair in the small space. "Prometheus, come say hello as well." The big boy with the short black hair and round, bland features extended a very large hand to Erin, speaking slowly and distinctly, as if remembering from a script. "Hello, Erin. I am Prometheus. It is nice to meet you."

Man, prison does lock you away from all that's good in life! :(

This is the thread for Quark and Wander's first meeting of the ISSS.

It was a lazy summer Thursday, an afternoon when Quark and Wander both had very little to do. That was a fortunate thing, as both of them had been invited by Mr. Marquez to a meeting of the Interdimensional Students Support Society, a new group specially designed for students "who have come a very long way to our school, even though they may be in the same place that they left." There'd been a promise of cookies and punch afterwards, along with a chance to meet some summer students that neither of them had quite had a chance to be introduced to yet. After all, it was a big school! The meeting was scheduled for the conference room on the second floor of the Diana Falk Cafeteria, a good-sized room with a round table and big screen monitor named after someone named Travis Hunter.

Aight, I think we've polished this one off.

"No, I think that's everything." He smiled, his hand touching hers for just a moment as she handed him the paper. "I'll see you later, Stesha. Thanks again for all your help." When Jack walked out into the daylight again, carefully putting on his sunglasses as he went, he was feeling pretty darn good about himself. Relatively inexpensive flowers for the latest turning, a potential date...it was a good start to the day.

Even more pleased at what he'd wrought, Jack rewarded Stesha with one of his own phone numbers on the estimate sheet. "I think I can definitely approve this," he said with a smile as he signed his name. "I know I like what I see. Make sure you charge it through my business account, okay?" He grinned wider. "Thanks for taking such good care of me, Stesha. I know I'm in good hands with you."

We can probably wrap this one up while we feed into the main thread.

Jack happily took Stesha's number, thinking pleasantly about what he'd achieved. An arrangement made in more ways than one with an exotic, interesting young woman who just might be more than she appeared. It had been too long since he'd had something from a willing donor, and maybe Stesha here would be willing to open up to him in more ways than business. Either way, this was instinctive behavior; he wouldn't have done it any other way. He looked over the estimate sheet with interest, nodding in satisfaction as he looked up over his sheet. "All right, I think we've made all the relevant arrangements. For tonight, anyway. Shall I call you tomorrow night and we check up on our plans?"

Jack found that he enjoyed having the clerk be so friendly towards him, her obvious interest in him enough to make him smile too. He could make her fall all over herself to do whatever it was he wanted, but he was ethical enough that he wasn't going to do that. That thought, unworthy though it might be, was comforting enough that he didn't mind paying what was a fairly exorbitant bill. "And you'll be keeping a close eye on the whole thing?" he asked with a smile. "Making sure everything goes just the way we want it? That's really good to hear, Stesha. I'm glad to know I'm in such capable hands."

Jack winced a little. That price was doable, but it was on the high end of what Melinda had given him. Having things taken out of his hide wasn't just a figure of speech in the vampire world. "I know it's a rush job and that makes things more difficult for you," he agreed sympathetically. "So I can understand that you'd need to charge that much." He gave her a warm, magnetic look. "Is there anything I can do to make the job a little...easier on you?" Jack was ethical enough not to try and really boss this nice young woman around over a few hours as Melinda's toy. He was fairly sure she wasn't the boss here, and he knew what that was like. But she was feeling friendly towards him, well, all the better for everything.

"It's for a friend," said Jack with a quick laugh. "Their request was very specific." He shrugged and grinned, the normal guy dealing with crazy friends. "Oh, so we can keep the fixtures?" He scratched his chin. "In that case, I think we could just hang onto the flowers." He described the venue to her, a two-story house in Midtown that sounded big enough to be a full 19th century mansion. "We'll want bouquets in every room, of course, and some kind of big sculpture in the receiving room if you can manage it. A big heart, made of red and black roses? If you could do all that, I think we can definitely do business."

"It's to celebrate a birth," Jack replied blandly. "The party is a week from tomorrow in a private residence at Midtown. We would want your people to come in and look the place over the day before, and then install it the day of. Can you do cleanups afterwards, or is that something we'd need to contract through our own resources?"

"I assure you," replied Odysseus, "I am no agent of Omega. I am here to make sure that my world, and yours, never need to fear the Lord of the Terminus again." He smiled. "What I propose is that we work together to unite our respective worlds. Two entire peoples working together, fighting together, striving together, to build a better world where no man need fear being cast adrift on the tides of fortune. A place with justice for all. What do you say?"

For that matter, Shaen, if you'd like in on this, go nuts.

Hey, Wesley, we need you! :)

"Actually...best if you meet us at Wading Way. Similar situation has developed here." He told Grim how there'd been a battle in Lonely Point a few nights earlier and now one in by the Pyramid Plaza, frightening conflicts with powerful individuals who bore the faces but had very different powers and personalities of some of Freedom City's greatest heroes. "Crisis big enough for all the Knights to deal with. Could use your help."

Gentlemen, kudos on what's already shaping up to be an awesome thread!

I thought not! For Vulture's sake, I hope he hides. He's learned not to annoy Avenger. :twisted: :)

"Hello, Stesha," he said with a very warm, friendly smile, "I'm Jack." He leaned over the book with her, enjoying the scent of flowers that arose from her body. "What I need is an arrangement made of night-blooming flowers, especially moonflowers, evening stock, and, ah, Nottingham catchfly." He fished into his jacket pocket to dig out a list. "I was wondering, do you have any rose varieties that bloom at night in particular? I'd like to find a night-blooming barkarose if possible."

Avenger sounded unusually befuddled, hesitating a bit before replying. "Yes. Yes, will be there shortly. What situation?" Grim couldn't hear anything but Avenger's voice on the other end of the line, the sound around him dead and still.