Avenger Assembled

In any event, between the darkness and the way Avenger has the semi-conscious Vulture positioned, the boys aren't going to get the whole story anyway. So bring on your penalty, I says!

Well, if Fox is Noticing Avenger instead of Noticing his feet, he's going to break his fool neck jumping off those trees, so I'm not too worried about him. (Penalty-wise, Vulture probably isn't even a medium load for Avenger. I doubt that carrying him is going to be that much of a hassle. Besides, vampires specialize in Stealthily dragging people off into the shadows... )

Oh, I see it now! When I said "the boys can't see Avenger," I meant they can't see him when his Stealth is up. As it was during the surprise round, and as it is now.

From your post on April 15: "EDIT: None of the Bad Guys can see Avenger, God of Stealth..." ;)

After several long moments, Jack's conscience finally won out...sort of. "Private conversation is best, Avenger said. "Prefer not to discuss my medical history in public."

Forgot about my enhanced Will save! But I fixed it, with a little help from my HP friends. That was a Move Action Hide in Plain Sight to disappear off the face of the Earth, since we've established that the boys can't see Avenger and Avenger's friends are busy in melee combat. That attack is a full +5 Power Attack for DC 31 damage. Vulture is stunned, after all, and what could be more surprising? There's no stated reason on Avenger's sheet that he can't do non-lethal damage with his claws. (But how on Earth does he, you ask? He uses his claws to cut open the boy's suit, allowing him to hit him all the harder by use of his strike.)

Avenger ignored Shark's bite with contemptible ease, looking up at the other boy with a malignant look in his red-rimmed eyes. "You're next." With that, while Shark was looking at him, Avenger vanished. In the shadows a few feet away, once he was sure he was perfectly concealed, Jack flipped the stunned Vulture around and whispered in his ear. "You're mine, now. I hope you like knives. I know I do." And with that, he extruded his claws and rammed the bony talons through Vulture's back. He pulled the pointed tips back the moment the damage was done, his now-ragged motorcycle gloves stained with blood.

Yuck. Not killing these boys is going to be a fairly serious exercise in role-playing, especially for Avenger's "first case." Ah well, since it's the Bronze Age, hopefully we can get them to die suitably karmic deaths.

Jack knew the smiles of his own kind well enough. The friendliest vampire in the world smiled like a shark; after all, it's what they were. "If you would grant me the pleasures of your domicile for a little while, I thought we might partake of an old vintage." He lifted the bottle up higher, so the older vampire could see it. Watch him, he reminded himself. Frail vampires didn't survive the predatory dealings of their fellows. This may be his true body, but the weak old man is not his true face. "It's from Melinda's private stock." He gave the old man a predatory smile of his own. "I thought it was high time I got to know some of the powers in the city as more than just a pretty face."

Some thoughts on how other vampires see Jack: (Pitt should know this if he stays in touch with vampiric society at all. It's a small community!) -He's very young, having been a vampire for barely four years now. -He's something of a "party guy," a habitue of clubs and the 'scene', coming from a long line thereof. -He's a daywalker, a member of a somewhat-mistrusted but necessary minority in vampire society. -He's considered something of a "weak sister", almost never killing humans. -He's known to be a very loyal follower of Melinda despite his wussy morals, and has done some of her dirty work. -He's a good fighter.

I saw it in IMAX. It must be seen by all.

"Pitt!" Jack called cheerfully, peering easily through the darkness and past the various artifacts. Kitsch, obviously, and not worth his time."It's Jack Faretti. You know me, remember? From the Black Mass last All Hallows Eve. I was with Claudia." Better not go there.

Jack was torn between a desire to help her friends (not to mention herself) and the firm, rational realization that betraying her secret was a potentially suicidal maneuver. She wanted her body restored and this profound personal mutilation reversed, but not so badly that she wanted to die, or see her friends die. Her other friends, the ones with whom she shared the bonds of blood and death. It was Geckolass who solved the problem for her, a glimpse of her jailbait legs that made him realize the true nature of his own situation. I want her. My urges haven't changed. They're not a man's. Or a woman's. I am a monster. "Will be unable to provide you with what you require." There was something new in Avenger's gravely, feminine voice, an unaccustomed emotion. Regret? "Inform me if this will impede your efforts. After tech suppliers have been dealt with."

Sounds like they'd get along 'well' with vampires. Hmm!

I had nothing yet. Jack's going to take Debbie home and have a fun time.

Mystical crime family, eh? I'd better have a look at that. ;)

"Yes. Yes. Draw him out. Capture him. Acquire reversal." Avenger's voice was quiet, malevolent rage. Jack opted not to mention how he planned to extract the cure from Otaku, not wanting to shock the sensibilities of his coworkers. These were his fellow Knights, after all, and everyone else needed ground for working together. "Perhaps while Archeville researches, rest of us can hunt Otaku. Cover our bases, even if cannot capture Otaku."

Avenger cannot go to the bathroom. As he's recently fed, he might be able to donate the blood of his recent victim, which would lead to all kinds of Complications!

"Suggest you take samples from those who can offer it, said Avenger firmly. She was calmer now than when she'd left, but still prowled the room like a caged cat, cape behind her swishing as she walked. "Otaku affected variety of individuals and types. Very strange. Very puzzling." Inside, Avenger was thinking how very little she actually knew about science. "If he cannot be found, suggest we draw him out. Perhaps with public statement? Burning of rare anime? And then, we acquire treatment for condition."

Oh my! I trust that there's an HP for my Complication in the works? :)

This is the OOC thread for the confrontation between Jack Faretti and Mr. Pitt.

Jack stood alone in the lobby of the Imperator Hotel, nearly invisible to the eye except to the most observant. It was a simple matter to walk through the elevator doors and drift up the narrow shaft, the relatively slow ascent giving him time to think. He was in a black and red suit and tie suitable for vampiric socialization, a bottle of blood in his hands that had come with him through the transformation. This was a social call, even if he was coming without calling ahead to knock the man off balance. Hopefully he wouldn't need to beat Pitt into torpor with the bottle. At the top of the shaft at the penthouse level, he passed through the doors and reformed, waiting to be discovered.

"Your discretion. Tomorrow. Important that the task is done. Will see you soon." Avenger took that opportunity to hang up, leaving himself with plenty of time to get his own work done. It was time to pay a visit to Mr. Pitt in his own style, the better to keep the two halves of his life from colliding.

Upon arrival at Doc Archeville's place, Avenger was confronted with the difficulties of a closed door. The stealthiest person in the world couldn't enter through a sealed door, and she was sure that Doc Archeville had installed some sort of sensors around the door she didn't understand. Science wasn't something Jack really followed, not enough to deal with it in a comfortable, honest way. Besides, she reminded herself, in the current situation, they needed to do something as a gesture of trust. Despite a powerful innate reluctance, Jack knocked on Archeville's door.

"Ah, the hard stuff." For a moment or two, Jack was the small-town kid trying to socialize with the kids in the big-city clubs. He hadn't liked it then, either. "Yes, well, I think we've all had a chance to show off our respective talents tonight." He needed these people, irritated or not, and he wasn't going to go out of his way to alienate them. The thought of betraying Archeville's secret never crossed his mind. Predators did that sort of thing to one another all the time. He shot a quick smile over at Debbie, one that didn't quite reach his eyes despite its perfection.