Hellbound

Hellbound grined and started smacking one fist into the oppsoing palm, anticipating the thug getting to his position. Unfortunately, an arrow dropped the punk just before he could lay into him. There was a brief verbal protest at his target being sniped, but he was starting to get used to that sort of thing from Arrowhawk. For a guy who just shot pointy sticks at people, he was remarkably good at this sort of thing. It looked to him like the battle was now over and he stepped through the big hole in the wall to examine the house interior. Things were a ruined mess and he lamented having missed all of the action. "So what's going on?" He asked the assemblage. "Why'd we just drop kick a house full of gunmen, besides the obvious?"

Ah, shoot, sorry about that. I managed to miss the call for a notice check. On the DC20: 1d20=3 And the DC10: 1d20=4 Missed both, so Hellbound's pretty oblivious right now.

Hellbound shrugged at that. "Don't see why not. No point in having a thick skull if you don't get the skin to go with it." As way of example, he then rapped himself twice, hard, on top of his own head. The hollow sound that the action generated was loud enough to be more than a little disturbing. "'Been called worse things then bonehead in my life, doc, without crying. You don't have to handle me with kid goves here." Of course, what he didn't mention was that many of the people who called him worse things then 'bonehead' ended up in the hospital. That was back before he'd made the decision to become a superhero, however. Plus those people weren't teammates of his or someone that he'd likely depend on some day to save his life. The Doc got a pass on taking shots at Hellbound's intellect. They were supposed to be able to trust each other, and for the young fighter that meant being relaxed enough to survive a few well meant jibes. The mad-science-ish laugh that Archeville let out when he talked about getting under Hellbound's skin was a little more disturbing, however. "Ah... hey, no I don't mind. Knock yourself out, but you might want to be careful about cutting me. See, my blood doesn't get along too well with others. I'd hate to accidentally burn up part of your lab just in the name of getting to know me better."

Awesome idea. Personally, I'd go with one rank of the Super-Movement power 'Dimensional Movement'. That would allow the character to take up to 100 pounds of swag to his storage dimension -- which I envision as being set up like some sort of vault with safe-deposit boxes. That would take care of dropping items off and retrieving them later on. If, on the other hand, you really don't want the Banker to go along with his items into storage then it might get a little trickier. I don't know if it could be handled simply by applying the Only Affects Others -1 Flaw from Boost, but that's a possibility. From there I'd suggest it's only a matter of defining the traits of this pocket dimension and then giving The Banker the necessary immunities to survive spending time there. But, of course, I suck at character construction in M&M, so this probably won't work. I hope you do get him written up, though. Sounds like a great addition to the background of the city. I know that Hellbound would certainly be open to some freelance protection services from time to time as long as it doesn't interfere with his Knights of Freedom work.

Gotcha -- minor edit to my post in light of that.

"Aw, sweet..." Hellbound exclaimed on seeing the computer generated image of himself. "That's me!" He raised his arm to wave at his own 'reflection', watching to see if it reacted. The young man seemed very much like a kid getting his first ride on a locomotive or something equally naive. Not exactly the impression one would expect after watching him beat on others in the ring. "I so need to get me something like this. Oh, man. Do I really look that scruffy?" With Archeville uttering his "dat's odd..." comment, Hellbound turned away from the narcissitic scene. "What's odd?" He asked in confusion.

The Brick Brothers had put up a better fight than Kid Sparks, especially as they were both used to throwing their weight around. The pair also made a pretty good team. More than just a name, the two strongmen actually were fraternal twins and had spent most of their lives working in tandem. But even still, the super-powered thugs hadn't been able to match Avenger's killer instincts or his lethal abilities. Most likely it was a good thing he'd lured them away from the crowd to work his own brand of night-borne-justice, and equally fortunate that the bathroom had been vacated upon news of the action being spread around. Everyone in the bar had gathered around the battle between Hellbound and Tony 'BigHorn'. They were still squaring off against each other in half-crouch positions, trying to simultaneously psyche each other out and size each other up. It looked to be a real clash of titans going on and there was a tension in the air as everyone waited for things to snap back into motion. The last thug, still holding onto ruined pieces of wood from the chair he'd shattered on Hellbound's back, wondered uselessly at what to do next. G.D. Badman, as he preferred to be called, was used to knocking people around as Tony B.'s chief enforcer and right-hand-creep. Though he didn't look like anything special, certainly not as dramatically powered as his fellows, there was a subtle lethality about him that warned people not to mess around. He had a sort of Robert De Niro/Joe Mantegna vibe going that spoke volumes of a genuine, old-school made man. That wasn't quite enough to keep the crowd in check, however, as one slightly innebriated partier stepped forward to help out Hellbound. He held an empty vodka bottle high over one shoulder and brought it down with sloppy force. Unfortunately, the weapon came down on G.D.'s neck and sailed harmlessly through his body as if the thug were nothing but a ghost. The drunken samaritan stumbled off balance at the unexpected lack of resistance and actually fell forward, through his intended target and onto the floor. G.D. stared at the young man, giving him a look of respect for the amount of balls that he'd shown and also an acknowledgement that he was currently too busy to teach him the lesson that he deserved. Nobody messed with the Mutant Mafia and made it through with their skin intact. If it hadn't been for the fact that his boss needed help, then the would-be-rescuer would be nothing but another stain on the barroom floor.

This is why I work to keep the Hellblog as clean as possible. Short little descriptions along with links to every adventure he's currently a part of (or other site aspect that's important to track). So is Divine planning on revisting Dreaming the Day Away after some of her current obligations come to a natural close? Granted, that thread was just for fun and silliness, but it's always out there if you get bored.

So I know you freaks have all heard the rumors about the FC's number one super guy getting in touch with his feminine side. I just want to put all the fragging talk and B.S. to rest. The main man is STILL the man-fragging-man, you got that? Anyone that says any different, just raise your damn hands and I'll show you what I'm packing if you don't believe me. Oh, and if I catch one more inter-geek photoshopping my head onto some skirt's body again? We're gonna see just how far someone's head can fit up where the sun don't ever shine. You got me? Razzinfrazzin' messed up fan base....

As promised, here's a little more info on how I got those new wings. Had a nice little chat with one o' my new partners, Doc Ark, and learned a little more about myself in the process. Just goes to show you little fraggers out there, a dude's never so badassed that he can't spend some time getting to know himself. And I don't mean locked in the bathroom with yer mom's Sears catalog, you pervs.

Before I post Hellbound's next action, I just want to verify where we are in the initiative. New round or is someone else up at the moment?

"Loud pipes save lives, my man." Hellbound commented on bikes not being subtle. But as for what kind of look he was going for? Hellbound hadn't ever given that a lot of thought. He examined himself as best he could, taking in the threadbare, leather jacket and shabby clothing. "How about something besides 'Homeless Man'? I'm getting tired of people thinking my powers involve urinating in subways." The problem lay in Hellbound not being much of a fashion designer. He wasn't entirely certain what to go with or how to craft his professional demeanor, but he'd already thrown a few suggestions out for consideration. Hellbound might not know clothes but he was an avid comic book reader. So what about the ring idea? Hellbound ran that through his mind, envisioning a demonic skull motiff done in silver or white gold. That could be bad-ass and good for later marketing. Once his name was known and respected then he could start selling mockups to kids all across the city. What, and maybe it could be a decoder ring as well? Feh. Hellbound wasn't exactly the 'Drink your Ovaltine' type. Not his style. How about the jetpack? He could get a real rocketeer deal going with a flight jacket and goggles, or maybe rig the enines up to a belt design? Was that actually cool, though? Would people start calling him 'Buck Hellbound'? He tried to picture what his Hellions would say about the new thing and, honestly, it was just too cornball to imagine. Hey, what about a flying cloak? A little strange, yeah, but would it work? Hellbound envisioned himself with a cape fluttering about his shoulders and carrying him around the city on the wind. Scarab already had that look all sewn up, though, and he wasn't confident of his ability to steal her thunder. There was no way Hellbound played follow-the-leader with anyone. He wanted something unique, something nobody really held tightly yet. That left the wings. Could he work with that? Could he come up with a look that said 'I am Hellbound!' with a pair of wings? Maybe he could, it definitely had possibilities. Something leathery like a giant bat-slash-man thing going on? Really strike terror into the superstitious and... No, no, he wasn't going there. Hellbound didn't want to be the terror that flapped in the night. Darkly dangerous was one thing, but at times it almost felt like the whole bat-thing had been done to death. Though he couldn't come up with specific examples in his head of the look being used in the past, it already felt tired and used up. So bird wings? Maybe an angel thing? Yeah. A fallen angel. An avenging spirit like Brandon Lee as The Crow. That was bad-assed. A Hell's Angel, some emissary of a dark and unforgiving god. Looking up from his long moment of quiet contemplation, Hellbound suddenly realized that Archeville was patiently waiting for him to speak once more. Exacly how much time had he just spent slowly craking the hamster wheels of thought? "I got it." Hellbound grinned at last. "Like crow's wings, man. All trim with black feathers and wrath-of-god scale armor." He brought his hands up and made random gestures that were, somehow, supposed to convey the images in his head. "Dark metallics. Kind of a shimmering, blood red vest with annodized titanium scales. Something that'd be easy to move in and makes it look like hell's gone on the warpath. Long, skinny wings that the night just pissed all over. Think you can whip up something like that?"

"You've already got my home phone number." Hellbound mentions. "And I don't have a cell phone right now. I, ah, kinda can't afford it. But before we break up I want to hear more about this dude's sanctuary. "Specifically, like what kind of training setup you have going? Personally I've never found most gyms to be as challenging as I need 'em to be, you know what I mean? Now I don't know if you have any kind of high-tech Nautilus type stuff or robotical trainers, but it'd be nice if I could sharpen myself up on something a bit heavier weight than the YMCA."

Hellbound watched the digital Magilla trundle off, wondering just how tricky it was to make stuff like that. It seemed like superheroes and villains always were dealing with high-tech henchmen of that sort. Sometimes, maybe, it made laymen like Hellbound a bit jaded. Here was this mind blowing example of nigh incomprehensible technological advancement and all he could think about was that walk was the longest period of time he'd ever spent staring at a mechanical monkey's butt. A single shrug was about the most eloquence he could put to the minor, mental considerations towards the philosophy of it all before Hellbound turned back towards the Doc. Archeville had a pretty sweet setup down here. There was some workout gear that Hellbound would have killed to have regular access to, but maybe that'd be a benefit of joining a team. The equipment they had at the local 'Y' wasn't exactly up to the caliber of someone who could flip trucks over. Though he did his best with what he had, the fighter was definitely aching for more challenging routines. "Yeah, a flying bike would be a killer ride, I can't argue about that. 'Sweet for my image, too. But I'm not sure that's really where I want to go, you know? I mean it'd get me to and from a fight in style, but after that it'd be a little limited. "Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't really sound like it'd be on the stealthy side. Plus there's always a chance of getting knocked off in mid-air, and if I ever get stuck in a situation like on that cruise ship a while back... how am I going to wheel a chopper down those tight corridors?" Hellbound gave another shrug, clearly at the limits of his own elocution. "I think I'd be better off with something more personal. I'm thinking, what, a jet pack? Flight ring? Fake wings? I don't really know how these things are done, but am I getting the concept across here?"

"Oh, hey, now that's not creepy at all." Hellbound stated while watching the scurrying, metal critter. Most people seemed to concentrate on making nice robots like dogs or teddy bears or sassy maids named Rosy. Not their Doctor Archeville, however. He had to go straight for the synthetic vermin. Something clicked inside of Hellbound's thick skull. Between the presence of the stainless steel rat and the sensation of being watched, he managed to put two and two together to something approximating four. "Izzat a camera?" He asked of Optimus Primal. The question was followed up with erratic waving gestures in the direction that the critter had vanished. "Can you see me right now? Are those rats, like, part of your security system or do you just have really cool taste in pets? Geez, sounds like about a billion of 'em in the walls. Hope you didn't teach them how to mate." Actually... the only thing that might be cooler than mechanical rats for pets would be mechanical rats capable of reproducing. If anything, the presence of the robo-rodentia only proved to him that he was in the right place after all.

"The... wait, what?" Hellbound muttered to himself. "Did he say comedy-giraffe?" It didn't take long for the instructions to be clarified, however, was the mechanical gorilla showed itself. The fighter raised his arms instinctively upon seeing the thing show up, but without any sort of hostile actions being displayed he relaxed once more. Still, Hellbound seemed to be sizing the gorilla up just in case... He was more impressed with the insides of the house than what he'd seen on the walk up to the front door. Even if it still didn't look like a haven of science-gone-wrong, this was at least a little less mundane. Staring at the circular design on the floor he had to wonder how the Doc kept his pet robo-kong from scuffing its surface. The thing must have weighed a ton. After a short span of walking in silence, it began to dawn on Hellbound that the dimensions were a bit off. The house hadn't looked this huge from the outside, though he supposed that might have been some trick of architecture. Could they do really do that? Make buildings look like they took up less room than they really did? He wasn't sure, though he sincerely hoped not. He'd hate to be dissapointed by Archeville actually not living in a place that violated a few known laws of time and/or space. "Hey Doc!" He called into the air, not sure if the doctor could still hear him. It'd seemed earlier like the mecha-monkey had been the source of communication, but he wasn't sure. "You takin' me to China today, or what? Where are you?"

If he'd been expecting theatrics, then at least Hellbound wasn't disappointed once the door had opened. Very authoritarian, this sort of greeting, and more along the lines of what he'd envisioned for an eccentric genius like Archeville. "Name, rank and serial number. That's all you're getting from me!" He called into the open doorway, perhaps a little louder than he really needed to speak. It sounded like the Doc was using an intercom and the visitor wasn't sure how sensitive the pickups might be. "It's Hellbound, Doc. I wanna talk to you about something."

Ah, I see the Great Genderswitch has struck early? ;)

Hellbound checked his sheet of notepaper again, wanting to make sure he had the right address. This was the home of Doctor Archeville? That couldn't be right. Though he couldn't honestly voice what he'd been expecting, this dwelling was not one of all the possible images running through his mind. It all looked so... nice. There were no mysterious claps of thunder in the background, no creepy lab assistants hopping about the parapets... hell, there weren't even any parapets. Granted Hellbound tended to watch too much late-night television, but what kind of mad scientist had garden gnomes? It had almost seemed like the gnomes themselves were watching him, but that might have just been the young man's imagination and even still... lawn gnomes were a poor substitute for leering gargoyles. He had to remind himself, though, that this wasn't some kooky, cackling, cartoon genius. This was simply a man with an incredible intellect and the generosity to possibly help him out with his mobility. Hellbound couldn't exactly say that he was nervous as he walked up the walk to ring the unassuming doorbell and announce his presence. But he was, to say the least, a little watchful.

Happy b-day! Hellbound tried to get you a gift, but Sister Sixtus' staff kept eating the wrapping paper. So... you know... hope you understand!

Hellbound was actually sorry to see the archer leave. He'd worked with him before, and Arrowhawk was clever. Damned clever. That was something the group would probably need at some point. Not just the brute power or raw intellect that they had in spades, but the ability to get a lot of 'win' from very little resource. He was pretty sure that 'Hawk didn't have any powers whatsoever, and in fact his only weapon had been made obsolete centuries ago. Yet who'd taken down the vampire? 'Sure as hell wasn't Hellbound. "Hey, I don't have any kind of secret identity, but I know how to keep my pie-hole zipped. Maybe I can't show you mine, but if you show me yours then it'll go to the grave with me, dig? I don't rat out friends."

Intro posted for Hellbound, though I'm holding off on any genuine action until we have the initiative orders determined.

Helbound paused in the act of sweeping Moira off of her feet to give her a quick aerial tour of the city and stared at the sudden action. He was wearing his new costume of black leather and sweeping wings, but the look in his eyes held the same determination that he'd always shown. Oww... thought Hellbound. That looked like it hurt, but at least the green-clad hero seemed still capable of talking. He couldn't be that bad off if his injuries weren't preventing casual conversation. But the chick in the school-girl outfit definitely didn't look right in the head. Forgetting the fact that she could fly and throw costumed crime fighters at brick walls (or so he assumed, looking at the fallen Geckoman), she seemed to be planning on doing that the the crew that'd just showed up. Clearly she didn't know who the hell they were.

Initiative for Hellbound: 1d20+11=18 What's the date, by the way? If it's April 5th or later, then Hellbound will likely have his wings and new costume.

Oh yeah? Well I smacked a demon lord in the face with a staff that's apparently made out of concentrated evil :D Which... okay, I'll admit it wasn't that smart of a thing to do. But it was still really cool.