Gizmo

Erik wandered aimlessly through the carnival, taking in the eclectic mix of bright lights and strong smells. He'd been acting as Jack of all Blades more than usual in the past several weeks, spurned on by the beating he'd taken from Captain Knievel. He'd lost sight of how important it was to take some time to be Erik Espadas, to ground himself. It was nice to just walk through a crowd of happy, smiling faces. Looking from person to person, Erik suddenly gave a start. There was no mistaking it, the man drawing a crowd at the target shooting booth was clearly the interdimensional cowboy 'Jack' had met earlier that month. It didn't even look as though Colt had changed his outfit; at the very least he was still prominently displaying his firearms. Erik rubbed the back of his head, bemused, as a string regular 'plinks' attested to the man's extraordinary accuracy. The young man still wasn't crazy about having the gunman wandering around Freedom, but he felt a bit better knowing that at least it didn't look like Colt was likely to hit a bystander by accident. Erik briefly considered going over to watch how long the cowboy could keep it up, but quickly dismissed the idea. There was almost no chance of Colt recognizing him as 'Jack', but he hadn't kept his secret identity a secret for so long by taking any chances with it. Heading in the opposite direction from the games, he made his way through the crowd and across the open space to the Haunted House. His interest piqued, Erik payed the attendant and journeyed inside.

1. The Underground 2. The Interceptors 3. The Team

There's also The Team, for simplicity's sake, and The Underground for that mix of edgy but not too violent.

As they entered the carnival grounds, Ellie Espadas rounded on her older brother, scowling. "You are unbelievable, you know that? You're seriously chaperoning me?" Hands in his pockets, Erik Espadas offered her a look of mild surprise. "Why sister dear, whatever do you mean? Maybe I'm just really in the mood for skee ball. Has nothing to do with Arnold over there." As he spoke he gave a small wave to the lanky blond teen standing just out of ear shot, who gave a start, then waved back with an uncertain smile. Ellie gritted her teeth. "His name is Andrew." Her brother nodded absently. "Sure, sure, what'd I say?" Turning back to look Ellie in the eye, he continued, "You have to admit you've gone out with some serious losers in the past." "No, I haven't!" the younger Espadas exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "You're just a complete psychopath!" Jabbing a finger at Erik, she lowered her voice to barely above a harsh whisper. "I am seventeen. This is generally considered beyond the age requiring a babysitter. Now you are not going to ruin this date for me or I swear to god, the next time you break something, I'm just going to let you figure out how to set it on your own!" Erik raised his hands in surrender, fighting off a grin. "Alright, point made hermanita." Walking over to her nervous date, he handed the teen a sawbuck. "Win her a giant stuffed badger or something, huh?" He turned to Ellie. "I'll be checking out the menagerie... if you need me." Glaring, she made a small shooing gesture, and Erik offered her a small shrug and smirk as he wandered off into the carnival grounds.

Getting in 25 posts per month seems pretty reasonable, assuming there's enough chances to do so. Less than once a day, as it were (math!). Anyway, I think Jack would still be up for this. He could certainly use the added income. Of course, he doesn't need it quite so badly as Colt or Razorwing, and he'd be a little wary of the whole thing, which I think could actually be a good thing. Every good team needs the guy who questions what they're doing a bit and keeps everybody honest. Interpersonal conflict equals fun times, amirite? ... I think I just volunteered Jack to be The Chick. Another side note: is it odd that every time I see "MGMT", I always read it as "TMNT" for a split second?

So it is a government funded strike team? Not to be the guy who cried iron age, but that's kinda toeing the line, isn't it? Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but are you saying the team would be given mission objectives without any explanation? That's pretty sketchy and definitely outside UNISON's purview as described in the sourcebook. They're not even allowed to be officially affiliation with the Freedom League; they're pretty much solely an intelligence agency with no actual authority. I could maybe see it if UNISON was funding super teams under the table, providing them with intel but largely just telling them to keep doing what they were doing. That's still pushing it a bit, honestly. As a side note, The Loners were a self-help group, but they also had a member who left behind unironic rainbows everywhere she flew, so...

Man, Jack would be all over this. He's 21 and totally looking looking to get better connected with other superfolks. As far as names go, I dunno about acronyms in general. Maybe it's just me, but acronym super teams always seem to be government funded affairs, y'know? Like, iron age, hyper-muscled strike teams where everybody has claws and/or guns. Possibly a gun that shoots claws. Regardless, there's a sort of implication that they're some sort of agency, like the FBI or CSIS or SHIELD. These would be heroes who are a little too mature for the wacky, pizza-party-having teen teams, but not quite old enough to be taken completely seriously by the big leaguers, right? That seems to call for a vaguely confrontational, one word name, in the vein of The Outsiders or The Loners. Maybe just The Marshals? The Cavalry, The Coalition, The Dauntless, The Intrepid? I guess it would make sense to see who's on the team first, get a feel for the tone and mission statement, as it were.

Man, how does that curriculum even work? You get extra credit for skipping class, detention if you don't destroy school property?

Sure, that makes sense.

As Jack of all Blades walked deeper into woods behind his neighbourhood, the practice foil resting on his shoulder bounced up and down in time with his footsteps. The swordsman felt a bit self-conscious walking through the forest in his full costume, but the crisp autumn air made him grateful for his heavy coat. He scanned back and forth as he went, looking for signs that someone else had been there. Jack was pretty sure the martial artist he'd met earlier that month had mentioned something about Wharton State, but there was a lot of ground to cover. He was about to give up and head back to the city when he heard faint grunts of exertion. Picking up his pace, the swashbuckler made his way towards the sounds.

Well, I know I'd love to have him, but with the new villain rules, it's your call. I'd understand if you'd rather focus on your new hero character.

Ashton or Grenville on the west edge of the city might make sense; there's a bunch of suburbs there, and a convenient railway runs through the latter. The whole area is mainly lower to middle class housing, which means bored kids looking for something to do. Carnivals tend to favour the outskirts of a city, while circuses go right for the center, as a rule of thumb.

"Jack. Jack of all Blades." The swashbuckler sighed. Alright, look. It's just a bunch of car jacking punks, but it's a bigger fish scenario, get me? Just stay out of the thick of things and make sure at least one of them's left in condition to answer my questions, alright?" Turning back around, Jack swiftly made his way to the warehouse entrance. Bending down, he grasped the bottom of the garage door and heaved. The metal slats flew upward, clacking as they receded into the roof, revealing a dozen men who looked up from their work sawing apart stolen cars in surprise. Jack, standing out brightly against the backdrop of the night in the opening, shook his head. "If you boys can't take better care of your toys, we're just going to have to take them away from you." Brandishing his sword, he left forward.

Alright, we're back in action!

Jack was a bit taken aback. The chipper flying girl had seriously derailed his brooding, lone wolf mindset. "I, uh, I guess? I mean, have you done this sort of thing before?" The swordsman wasn't exactly a fan of teen heroes as a rule, and he wasn't crazy about the idea of letting this one put herself in danger, especially since anything that happened to her would be his responsibility. "I can't be fighting and looking out for you at same time, alright, so just... he began gruffly before trailing off. There was something about talking to a grinning girl with wings who had appeared out of thin air that his brain was having difficulty processing. Jack rubbed the bridge on his nose with his free hand. "Nggh. Forget it. You got a name, kid?"

Man, Jack wishes he had work that steady! He should be good anytime in that stretch.

Any chance Jack could get in on this? He has a few issues with the Claremont kids, and teen heroes in general. At the very least, he's got a pretty distinct concept of heroism to share.

I'd love to get some feedback on Jack of all Blades, when there's an opening. He's pretty straightforward, but I figure the build could probably be tightened up, and I could use some advice on where to improve him as he earns more points.

Jack could swing by as well, in his civilian identity. He'd be interested in a carnival, I'd say, especially if the tickets weren't to steep!

Sign Jack of all Blades up, absolutely! Sound epic!

"Man, Drama Star, who writes your material, Simon Furman?" Jack tossed the imposing cosmic hero a wry grin. "No worries, we'll take out the big-nasty, rescue the princess, whatever. I just hope I get a chance to call somebody a primitive screwhead." The swashbuckler was laying the unconcerned confidence on a little thick, but he didn't want the others to think he couldn't keep up."'Sooner that later' is a good call, though. I'll find you guys once I've talked to the registrar." With a sloppy salute, Jack jogged off towards the group signing up for the tournament. The lack of readily available energy sources in his technologically lacking surroundings worried the hero a bit; perhaps he could find someone to lend him a mundane sword just in case.

Well, if it's after September 22nd, Jack of all Blades and Leon should have theoretically already met in the West End. Jack's been looking to step up his game, so getting in some extra training would make sense. Maybe after 'West End Warriors' Leon invited him to the forest for some sparring?

Shall I just wait until we hear from a ref?

Do you want to bother with a Diplomacy check for dealing with the police, or just RP it? It'd probably be starting from Unfriendly, right?

Jack raised a placating hand. "Easy, Tex." The swashbuckler knew Colt was in need of accommodations, but he doubted a jail cell or a hospital bed was what the cowboy had in mind. He turned to the police officer and crossed his arms in fashion that made it clear his hands were empty. "Man, what are you thinking? The guy heroically turns an uncontrolled crash from orbit into something Doc Metropolis could fix by sneezing, and you're giving him the third degree? Orbit! I'm talking about space here. The least you could do is call a paramedic for the man. You know the laws for dealing with off-worlders?" Jack spread his hands. "I know I don't, but I'm betting there's more 'giving the clubhouse of super-folks over there a call' and less 'go all O.K. Corral', amirite?" The hero glanced up at Tarantula. "As for web-for-brains up there, she's like thirteen, cut her some slack."