Gizmo

Almost as soon as Mike had stepped in front of him, Trevor was moving around the closest corned, slipping the backpack from his shoulder while the crowd was distracted by the explosion. Reaching inside, he drew forth a familiar black garment. As the smoke cleared, a new gaseous cloud began to float in to take its place, heralding the arrival of a silhouette swiftly sweeping forward. Inky mist pouring from his sleeves, Midnight dove into the obscuring cloud he was creating around the newly arrived armored menace, disappearing from view and leaving Phalanx and the lab's security to deal with the unveiled robots.

Jack of all Blades looked awkwardly between the others before turning up to Dark Star. "Right, uh... we don't really know each other that well, but, erm... cheer up, huh?" He sighed as he finished doing up the buttons of his great coat. "Yeah, yeah, 'shut up, Jack'. I'll just stand over here and freeze my magnificent butt off in the bloody Himalayas, then," he muttered to himself under his breath, taking a few steps away to give the others a modicum of privacy.

17 - Mongrel Angel - Uninjured - 4HP 15 - Pyrethon - Uninjured 13 - Jackalope of all Blades - Uninjured - 3HP 12 - Jack of all Blades - Uninjured - 3HP 12 - Pyre - Uninjured 11 - Calico Angel - Uninjured - 4HP Go ahead.

Jack gave Geckoman a smirk as he took the cellphone. "We've got something a little different in place," he replied, flipping it open and holding it up to his ear. The teenager couldn't help but notice that the swordsman didn't bother to dial first. "Vince, need a pickup." He paused for a moment, listening, then grinned. "I know, right? Freaking Meta-Grue. Right; lates." Jack tossed the phone back to the young hero and shrugged. "Probably coulda just said it out loud, but the speaker lets him talk back," he explained. With all of the cameras and various other electronic devices around Freedom, there were very few places Vince couldn't monitor the Interceptors. Ultimately, it rendered commlinks largely obsolete and a needless security risk. Going without a direct means of contact also played to Jack's independent nature; the AI could reach him in an emergency, but beyond that he preferred to stay off the grid as much as possible. Besides, who could afford a cellphone plan at the monthly rates they charged these days? Highway robbery, is what it was.

Trevor got the impression that more was riding on his answer than which ultimate frisbee team he wanted to be on. High schools were tricky business, and he was going in blind. The wisest move would be to hold off on any overt affiliations until he had more information to work with. Choosing to associate with one group could cut off other avenues, drawing him into clique politics and interwoven layers of teenage drama. Trevor Hunter didn't play politics. He played ultimate frisbee. "Sure," he nodded simply, his tone relaxed.

"I could try cutting it open," Jack of all Blades offered, pulling the collar of is greatcoat up against the wind and snow. Off the looks of the others, the swordsman shrugged. "I didn't say it was a good idea, I'm just throwing it out there. I might be able to drain some the energy off of this thing," he added thoughtfully, "but if it's got as big a battery as I think it does..."

"Ugh, cosmic stuff," Jack grimaced. I'll tell you what, my crew's got a place we can stick Chuckles here in the meantime. Just gotta make a call. You see a payphone around here anywhere?" Being the son of a beast cop, the swordsman had a largely unfounded view of the STAR Squad as glory hounds. Granted, actually being a superhero was exponentially worse, but his gut reaction was still to trust the holding cells in the Underground over the Squad's facilities.

So, where do you want to go with this? Do you want to play through them checking out the warehouse or skip to grudging admission of mutual respect before fading back into the night?

Give me a pair of initiative rolls. Jack of all Blades - Initiative. (1d20+9=12) Jackalope of all Blades - Initiative. (1d20+9=13) Pyre - Initiative. (1d20+3=12) Pyrethon - Initiative. (1d20+3=15)

There was a long, nonplussed pause from the fencers. Jack winced. "That's... actually a lot more disturbing than I was expecting it to be," he admitted. "You're telling me," his antlered double snorted, nose twitching. "No offense, but you guys are, y'know, shaved. Not that there's anything wrong with that! ...I guess." The human swordsman gave him a sidelong glance. "Right... I kinda meant the -" "- talking in unison thing?" Jackalope finished. "I'm thinking that's gonna get worse before it gets better." Before the conversation could continue, a sudden flare of energy sent them both spinning around as a pair of fiery forms streaked through the sky toward them. Jack recognized the first as Pyre, Factor Four's resident thrill-seeking pyromaniac. Beside him flew a long, thin form, similarly engulfed in flames. The creature's flat head featured a frill to match Pyre's goatee, framing a pair of long fangs and a murderous smirk. "Pyrethon!" Jackalope of all Blades supplied.

Huh, maybe they were being literal, Trevor considered. Drama. When Mike mentioned unsafe powers, the lanky youth had assumed the massive, super-fast teen had been referring to himself. Mark's admission raised some obvious questions. Thought the genie was long gone. Residual effect, like with the midnight mist?

Jack poked one of the quivering plant creatures hesitantly with his fiery sword. "Yeah, we maybe want to continue this debriefing outside, kids. That's just not right." Considering the falling meteor which had led him to this spot he paused on his way out the door. "Wait, is there a green rock or shard of something around here somewhere? Whatever fell out of the sky, I'm thinking we don't want to be leaving bits of it lying around."

Jack could try stabbing it! (I keed, I keed.)

If I'd been spreading them out more, I would have gone that way, too, probably. Trying to keep them in tight like that, though, I had to deal with some practical concerns, like who shows up better in front of whom. When I kept them further apart, the white space and standing next to each other facing the same way really emphasized the 'paper doll' aspect and felt like a lot of empty, white space. Besides, except for Edge, who obviously can't look straight ahead, they are symmetrical!

Trevor noticed when Alex corroborated Eddie's outlandish claim, but he didn't comment on it. 'Dating her daughter' was probably some inside joke, a running gag which would be difficult to explain. Or accelerated aging. Or clones. Regardless, it seemed wisest to simply let it go. He accepted the coffee with a shallow nod of thanks and took a sip. He had a feeling he was going to need to be wide awake to keep up with this group. "So, how's this work, then?" he asked as they neared the field.

Sounds like it'd go faster if they worked together on the same wall, yeah?

Well, you had to see this coming:

Jack of all Blades accepted the flask from Ace without asking what was in it. He figured it was either unicorn tears or a ridiculously expensive whiskey; either way, so long at it worked, he didn't need to know. As warmth returned to his limbs, he pointed towards the beacon of energy. "Whatever we're looking for, that's gotta be it," he shouted over the noise of the wind. "Anything putting out that much juice has 'cosmic' written all over it." The swordsman frowned. "I think 'Star's there, too, but he's really... quiet." Jack's extrasensory awareness had always equated Dark Star's gravimetric energies as a symphony of chimes, the music of the spheres. In comparison, this felt like little more than an echo. If the hero was there, he wasn't actively exerting any energy. "C'mon," the swashbuckler instructed, leading the way through the snow.

Is Jack's sword of any use here? Power Attacking with the Autofire version is DC 34, but I'm mostly curious how Corrosion and Penetrating work of stuff like walls.

"Unless!" Jack declared, holding up a finger and pacing dramatically, "They know that we know they have a plan, and they want us to not follow the plan we think they have, 'cause they've really got a different plan than the plan we know about. Or maybe they know that we know they know, and they're counting on us to know their plan is a double bluff when really it's a triple bluff... with a twist!" He turned to Phalanx with a smirk. "Of course, it's a trap, kid, but you're invulnerable and I'm much too pretty to die, so let's get going! Knievel's face isn't going to cave itself in."

Well that's ominous! Quick, somebody hit the Brick while it's still got two demoralizes on it!

"It's funny 'cause I'm a fencer," Jack of all Blades stage whispered loudly to Ace, giving the scowling Avenger an exaggeratedly enthusiastic thumbs up as the vampire dressed himself. Phantom's teleportation continued to make him queasy, and Jack spent the bulk of her scrying efforts grimacing with his hand over his eyes. When the sorceress held out her hands, the swordsman took it without thinking. He blinked as they began to slide into the empty realm of eldritch power that served as Phantom's proverbial superhighway. "Wait, did you say - " Before he could finish the sentence, they were already in the snow covered mountain range. The swashbuckler pulled his greatcoat tightly around himself. "Aw, nertz."

Jack makes a DC 33 Feint against the monster headed for the train as a move action, and uses Set-Up to transfer the benefits to Colt. He then uses his standard action for a DC 33 Taunt against the same beast.

As Grim sped off to deal with the amphibious horror, Jack turned to Colt in the MAVERIC. "We gotta get that one away from the train," he decided as the transport rocketed through the train yard. Gripping the roof, the acrobat swung himself outside so that he was sitting on the car door's window frame, his calves hooked inside. Jack flicked his lighter open to summon a fiery sword and began swinging it back and forth to get the armored monster's attention. "Hey, big, dumb and ugly! Your father's a dilapidated armadillo and your mother's a panzer tank! By which I mean she's ugly and likes having an entire crew of German's inside her!" Jack threw Colt a bemused shrug. Admittedly it wasn't his finest work, but considering that he wasn't really sure is the beast could even understand him, it would have to do. He resumed shouting and waving his sword.

Jack cracked his neck stiffly as Archeville arrived. "Eh, just banged up a little," he grimaced. "Freakin' superspeed; s'cheat, is what it is." The swordsman eyed the scientist's device warily. "That, uh, is the same thing you just fried that kid with, right?" Since his magically induced trip down Acheville family memory lane, the Doctor's amusing quirks had seemed a lot less benign. When the hefty youth spoke, Jack cocked an eyebrow. "Lockdown, shmockdown. Doc probably designed the place himself. He can lead us right though. I wanna see Knievel try to do his gleaming smile bit with a mouthful of chicklets." The swashbuckler was fuming, his pride clearly hurt more than his body. His annoyance was momentarily sidetracked by a sudden thought. "Why'd the flying punk toss away his earpiece? I kinda tuned out his 'rue the day' speech."