Greywind

“What's the game plan?” Nightwing asked. Brad held his mask in his hand. The eye shields kept flicking down and then back up. “I'm working on it,” Kris said. “I'm not jumping in, so I get to play referee.” Marlene stood holding Pulsar's hand and her head leaning against his arm. He had his gloves and mask tucked into his belt. “Just do me a favor, Kris, and engage the safeties.” Kris looked at the woman out of the corner of her eye and gave her a smile. “That was my plan, Marlene. Jenny is planning on going in.” Looking up at Jason, Marlene said with a smile, “You don't get bloody and I've got a surprise for you later.” He puller her around in front and slipped his arms behind her. “I love your surprises,” he said before kissing her. He was still looking in her eyes when the door behind him opened. “Whoa,” Nightwing said. “Very Sarah Bryant, Ash.” “How does it fit?” Jason asked keeping his eyes locked with Marlene's. “I guess that answers who put it in my kit,” Ash said teasingly. “Fits good. With the shoulders bare, I feel like I can move. What's so special about it?” Jason turned to her. “The under layer is Nomex with the upper layer being Kevlar. In between is an Omnium mesh. And before you say anything, Dad was the one that arranged it,” he said, turning his attention back to Marlene. “I wasn't going to say anything,” she said with a grin. “Your dad?” Ash was confused. “Once Omnium sets, it's pretty much what it is. Dad wanted to make sure you'd be able to move. The main thing with that outfit is that it's pretty durable with that coating over the Kevlar to help make it cut-resistant,” Jason explained to her. “It should be able to stop a knife. I'm not saying it won't hurt, but the outfit shouldn't be cut.” “My skin can stop a knife blade,” Ash said. “Hey, Ash,” Dani teased, “I think the point is that you won't be fighting naked.” “At least when it happens I don't have to worry about the clothes binding,” Ash said defensively. “No more public indecency charges,” Kris teased. “That only happened once!”

It depends on the villain. Some get away with just hiring. Downside to that is that there isn't really any loyalty to the villain beyond their share of the job if it's a heist. Villains that have an organizational base pay for their minions, which gives them more loyalty in return.

While the accounts may be found out, what authority does U.S. (assuming that's where your game is based) law enforcement have to seize accounts in Switzerland or the Cayman Islands? Isn't that the main reason why those places are used?

Too late. That was how Ra's originally figured out who the Batman was.

McCoy signed up because after his divorce, space was the only place left for him.

Yeah, having George draw one of mine has always been a fantasy.

Ripper looked a lot better when George Perez drew him.

Priest: For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Frank Castle: Matthew 7:2. Priest: You're a long way from the seminary, Frank. Frank Castle: I accepted that a long time ago.

“Want to talk about it?” Ash asked as she stepped into the kitchen. Jason was pulling bowls and various spices from a cupboard. “Talk about what?” “Well, that would be the first answer, wouldn't it?” She pulled an apple from a fruit bowl and wiped it on her shirt. “You seem to do a lot of thinking when you make meals. I assume it has something to do with that brief that Marlene kept you from looking at.” “Where's the pepper?” Ash pulled it from a cupboard and tossed it to him. “That brief is the preliminary report on the bombing of the research lab.” Ash's brow furled. “Bombing? It wasn't an accident?” Jason took the brief from where he had set it and slid it towards Ash. “Want to give me a summary?” “No. Read it. I want your impression without coloring you with my bias of it,” he told her. Jason focused on making dinner while Ash read through the report. Ash paused in her reading. “Where did you get this?” “Captain Stone dropped it by,” he told her. Cocking her head to the side, she gave Jason a hard look. “If anyone finds out that he gave this to you, it could cost him his job.” “If he stops being a cop, he'll be offered a job. Stone knows I have it and you know I have it. I am going to have an internal audit done of security. Maybe Knight can figure out how the bomber got into that lab without being detected.” Nodding her head, Ash went back to reading the report. Ash cocked her head to the side. “Found within the blast radius, see figure yadda yadda, were pieces of a scorched playing card. All pieces cataloged were from the same card, a Jack of Spades manufactured by not important. It was the only playing card found in the area. Research into known signatures of bomb makers shows that incorporating a Jack of Spades into the housing of a bomb points to one Jonathan Dalton, a former special forces demolitions expert.” Ash stared at Jason as he rolled fish steaks through the spice melange he had concocted. “Black Jack.” Jason nodded. “You think Bauer is behind it?” “If Black Jack made the bomb, I'm not saying he's the one that planted it, but with an ego like his, I'd have to say that he'd want to do it himself. But if he made the bomb, it stands to reason that there are three possibilities. The first one is that Anton had him do it. That leads to questions of what does Anton gain by having a research lab blown up. I think it's fairly safe to assume that Anton didn't have it done. “That leads us to the second possibility. What if Bauer had it done? In my book, he's already pretty much certifiable. He doesn't need a reason beyond inconveniencing me.” Jason took a baking sheet of crusted fish and set it aside. “The third possibility is that Black Jack was hired and it is industrial sabotage. If that is the case, then I need to start looking closely at what was being researched in that particular lab.” “You don't know offhand?” Ash asked. He started peeling down a clove of garlic. “The company is a big place. Some projects don't come up to me or Marlene unless there's a problem. There is a chain of command in place. Lab managers. department heads, directors, and so on.” “But you don't think it was straight up industrial sabotage.” Jason started mashing and grinding the garlic. “Keep reading.” Ash's finger traced through the line. “Also found where the bomb had been placed, undisturbed by the blast, showing the craftsmanship of the bomb maker, was a single crystal pawn.” Her finger tapped on the page. “Part of his twisted... why he had Jessica shot?” Jason looked Ash in the eye. “So you agree with my assessment?” Ash slowly nodded. “You still think the son of a bitch shouldn't be killed?”

It doesn't really deal well with splash now. Groups of targets is one thing. Anything else pretty much has to be targeted to be destroyed.

And then it ceases to be a 5e character.

Not necessarily. Especially if you offended the new chief somehow before he got into the position and has a long memory.

Lawyers and judges, maybe. Don't recall Luthor ever ending up in court or prison, except in the movies.

Telekinesis is not a mental power.

"Intelligence is too high. Almost normal." Taskmaster running his school for goons.

I don't think Frank ever looked at the System. He saw his family dead and decided that wiping the Mob out was balance.

I'd just go with Linked.

Or they lead you on journeys to get the information/MacGuffin yourself.

Khan was quoting Moby Dick.

Can't have gay crushes?

Perusing the report for the afternoon meeting, Marlene brought her planner up on her monitor. A look of consternation crossed her face when she saw that her meeting was canceled. “What the hell?” As she watched, her late afternoon meeting was marked “rescheduled”. “Son of a bitch.” She ran her fingers over her keyboard, trying to readjust her schedule. One after another, every meeting she had scheduled for the next day was marked “rescheduled”. Marlene jabbed a button on her intercom. “Sarah, come in here, please.” Within moments, her personal assistant opened the office door and stepped inside. “Yes, Miss Palmer?” “What's going on? My schedule for today and tomorrow has suddenly been cleared.” She tried to flip the page to the following week and it did not respond. “And I can't even look at next week.” “No, Ma'am.” Closing the now unnecessary report, Marlene said, “That's it? You have no idea? You're supposed to be my assistant, Sarah. How can this happen without you knowing about it?” “I was told to tell you to direct any inquires to Mr. Scott,” Sarah said quietly. “I see.” Marlene gave Sarah a hard look. “All right, Sarah. You may go.” She pushed the button on the intercom for Jason's office. “Miss Palmer? How may I help you?” a girl's voice answered. Jason had to make do with someone from secretarial. Jessica was still in California helping her brother's family settle. “I need to speak with Mr. Scott,” she said. “He's in a meeting,” the girl replied. * * * * * Since Jason's current assistant was away from her desk at the moment, Marlene passed it by without slowing. She opened the door to Jason's office to find Sharon Knight speaking to him. “...in your usual spot. I had everything transferred that you requested.” She leaned over the desk for a moment and reached forward. Jason took whatever it was she set on it before Marlene could see. “Jason, we need to talk.” He smiled at her. “Is there a problem?” “I had two meetings this afternoon. One was canceled and the other was rescheduled. All my meetings for tomorrow have been rescheduled and my computer isn't responding to anything. I asked Sarah about it, and she told me that she was directed to send me to you.” Marlene, so used to being in control, was frustrated. “I see,” Jason said. Marlene couldn't help but feel a smile was being held back. “Where's your phone?” A look of confusion passed over her face. “My phone?” she asked quietly. “It's on my desk.” “And your laptop?” Jason questioned further. Marlene knew the signs, but she couldn't believe that Jason would do such a thing. “It's... it's in my office.” She crossed her arms. “Why?” “I'll go secure them,” Knight said. “Secure...? Jason, what are you doing?” Fear passed through Marlene. “Jason, it is you, isn't it?” a tremble of fear in her voice. Jason swiveled his chair out and rose. Stepping out from behind his desk, he said, “It's me, Marlene. Look at your stone.” Marlene tugged a chain out from the collar of her blouse to find the stone hanging from it glowing. Her mien changed. “This isn't funny. What's going on?” He quirked a smile at her. “First things first,” he said, drawing up close to her. Jason's hands went to either side of her face, cupping it, and brought his lips to hers. Marlene couldn't help but press herself against him. His arm went around her and she wasn't fully aware of him lifting her or one shoe slipping free. She was aware of his hand caressing her leg from foot to the hem of her skirt when he sat on the office couch. She was breathless by the time the kiss ended. “What happened to the rules about hanky-panky in the office?” she teased. “I'm on good terms with the owner. I don't think he'll fire either of us,” Jason told her seriously. “Want to tell me what's going on?” “Short answer?” Marlene nodded. “You're being kidnapped. Now you can come along quietly, or you can make things difficult.” She cocked up an eyebrow at that. “And what happens if I make things difficult?” she asked with an amused smile. “Then I throw you over my shoulder and let everyone in the office check out your legs,” he teased. “Hmm. Tempting, but I think I'll go along quietly and keep my dignity in check.” She gave him a quick kiss. “I need my coat and purse. I'll have to check a few things. I might need my briefcase.” She rose off his lap. “No,” he told her in all seriousness. “Coat and purse. No phone. No computer. No briefcase. Absolutely nothing related to work.” Jason stood up after her and snatched her shoe off the floor. “Can I have my shoe?” she asked with her hand out for it. Jason smiled. “No. I'm going to hold on to it to make sure you come back.” Marlene laughed and took off her other shoe. She tossed it to Jason. On stocking feet she went out the door. “Looks like someone is violating dress code,” Sarah teased when Marlene got back to her own office. “So report me,” she sniped back in good humor. Leaving her office with coat and purse, she turned to Sarah. “Monday, you and I need to talk about this.” “Yes, Miss Palmer,” Sarah said. Marlene turned away. “Of course, that assumes you'll be capable of remembering that you wanted to talk to me come Monday.” Marlene turned back with an amused smile. “Enjoy your weekend, Marlene.”

The closest there was to such, were the Age modifiers to NCM.

It was still dark when Marlene awoke. She brushed her arm out and was dimly aware that she was lying down. She had expected to still be in Jason's arms on the couch. Her head rested on her pillow. Jason must have gotten tired of holding her and put her to bed. She sighed. She listened for any noise, but the room was silent. Marlene found herself to still be emotionally drained from the previous evening. “Jason?” she called, not too loudly, to the darkness and listened. Still no sounds emerged. “Mentor... No. Never mind.” Marlene pulled Jason's pillow to herself. Clutching that, she lay and watched the raindrops running down the window reflect the lights of the city in ever-changing patterns. Some time had passed. The darkness of night was slowly transforming into what would be a gray, rainy day. The door swung open for a moment, and then swung closed. Marlene lay still. She heard something being set on a table and then she closed her eyes, feeling Jason's hand rub her back. “I'm sorry, Beautiful. I meant to be back before you woke up.” “I'm in bed alone.” She heard fabric rustling and a chill breeze slipped under the covers. She shivered and then Jason pressed up against her. She pressed herself tightly against him. “Where did you go?” He kissed her lightly on the shoulder. “I laid you down, figuring letting you stretch out would be more comfortable. I went and made breakfast.” “I was comfortable with you holding me. Why didn't you lay down with me?” “Because if I fall asleep I think I'm pretty much done for the day,” he told her. She watched drops of rain race down the window. “It would be a good day to lay in bed together.” Jason smiled. “As long as it's with you, any day is good day to lay in bed.” Marlene rolled over and threw a leg over him, hooking it behind his knee. His fingers caressed her thigh above her stocking. “I'm sorry,” she said quietly. Brushing hair from her green eyes, he asked her, “For what?” “Last night.” He kissed her forehead. “Except for you being upset, I rather enjoyed last night. I had two beautiful women to keep me company and then I got to hold you for most of the night.” “It was a moment of weakness.” “It was obviously something that has been bothering you for a while. I'm sorry for that.” He lifted her chin until he could see her eyes. “Let's not ever let it go that far again. Okay?” She nodded and snuggled back down. “Have we gotten our schedules for the day?” she asked. Jason wrapped his arms around her. “Yeah. We get fifteen minutes for a morning coffee break to go over the nightly reports. Then Legal is blocked out for an hour and a half as a prelude to the meeting with the families of the victims. After that, they get the run of the commissary and we get lunch on the fly and the reports of whatever has been happening while we were in meeting.” “Can we play hooky?”

What if it was the Grateful Dead?