I wasn't aware that Kaos Energy turned a person into a complete jerk too. Just when we thought he was going to be polite and rise above his family name.

I'm curious as to what Sir Mumphrey is up to. Keeping him busy? Keeping him working for the good guys without him realizing it?

And Liu Xi is going to be very disappointed in Vinnie De Soth. After she thought he was so nice and decent too, and taking the time to make friends with him.

The corrupting influence if kaos energies aside, what exactly has poor Tom done that's not in reaction to other people trying to screw him?

He didn't ask to get his kaos powers. He didn't ask to get grilled by G-Men or extradited. He didn't ask to get blacklisted by his agency and placed on either an incarceration or death list. He didn't ask to get recruited by Koo Koo Ka Choo. So looking at it that way, what's he done wrong?


Pretty much. He's putting two of his bad eggs in the same basket.


What's poor Vinnie done now? He's only had someone call at his shop!

It's not what he's done, it's more his attitude. In contrast, Liu Xi has been nothing but kind and polite (in spite of occasional cursing) even though she's had her share of problems.



Isn't that dangerous?



That's what they all say.

She did also burn a couple of people to death and murder an innocent woman in stasis to preserve the life of the god of murder. Snarky Tom hasn't killed anybody so far as we know. He was also pretty kind to Asil.

In fact if you take a look at the LL there are far more candidates for villainy than what we've seen Tom do so far.

> > > I'm curious as to what Sir Mumphrey is up to. Keeping him busy? Keeping him working for the good guys without him realizing it? > > Pretty much. He's putting two of his bad eggs in the same basket. > Isn't that dangerous?

It's a calculated risk. Mumph has seen Tom's file.

> > > And Liu Xi is going to be very disappointed in Vinnie De Soth. After she thought he was so nice and decent too, and taking the time to make friends with him. > > What's poor Vinnie done now? He's only had someone call at his shop! > That's what they all say.

Wait until we see Vinnie's reaction next time.

In fact if you take a look at the LL there are far more candidates for villainy than what we've seen Tom do so far.

But he has a British accent. British accent= evil.

But Liu Xi was never rude about it though. She just accidentally burned to death one person and killed the woman in stasis because she believed it was for survival. Not because it made her feel powerful or superior.



If you go that far you might also have to consider that the Psychic Samurai as an associate of a known criminal (as endlessly polite and patient she always is). And that Lara Night had a mysterious incident of having to kill someone but doesn't want to talk about it much - and she seems to understand the Hooded Hood a bit too much.

Speaking of which...Lara also happens to be an illegal with unregistered and powerful abilities. She might be difficult to deport though.



Once again this brings up just where Lara Night would rate on Sir Mumphrey's threat scale - depending on how much he knows about what she's capable of, and what she's done in the past. Because she's friendly now, but if he's paranoid enough he might not believe she always will be, or suspect her of alternate motives. She does seem to understand the Hooded Hood a bit too much.



It's a tough one for him. Liu Xi is only his friend yet a loyal one...but he doesn't get a chance with a demon temptress too often. Though since he's into the dark arts he probably knows what she is and doesn't want to get himself in trouble. Or maybe he's just afraid Liu Xi will hurt him.

She politely burned someone to death?

And what about all the times she's hurled Chinese curses at people? That language was far from precise.

Tom doesn't need to be rude to feel powerful or superior. He feels powerful and superior al the time anyway.

> > In fact if you take a look at the LL there are far more candidates for villainy than what we've seen Tom do so far. > If you go that far you might also have to consider that the Psychic Samurai as an associate of a known criminal (as endlessly polite and patient she always is). And that Lara Night had a mysterious incident of having to kill someone but doesn't want to talk about it much - and she seems to understand the Hooded Hood a bit too much.

Exactly. Tom isn't a Lair Legion crony so he gets the crap while "protected" hot women get an easy pass.

> Speaking of which...Lara also happens to be an illegal with unregistered and powerful abilities. She might be difficult to deport though.

I expect someone - probably the Librarian - has sorted Lara's paperwork out for her by now.

> Once again this brings up just where Lara Night would rate on Sir Mumphrey's threat scale - depending on how much he knows about what she's capable of, and what she's done in the past. Because she's friendly now, but if he's paranoid enough he might not believe she always will be, or suspect her of alternate motives. She does seem to understand the Hooded Hood a bit too much.

There's probably a set of contingency plans to take down pretty much every powerful metahuman on the planet, and Mumph may have contributed to them. Having the plan and ever expecting to use it are different things of course, but given the number of times heroes get possessed, replaced by evil doubles etc. it seems like a neccessary precaution.

Lara's probably tagged as being vulnerable to poisons, gases, range sonics, biological agents, psionic assult - and bullets. Her psyche profile would indicate she'd likely be distracted by peril to apparent innocents; the old fake exploding baby trick would work on her.

> > > > > And Liu Xi is going to be very disappointed in Vinnie De Soth. After she thought he was so nice and decent too, and taking the time to make friends with him. > > > > What's poor Vinnie done now? He's only had someone call at his shop! > > > That's what they all say. > > Wait until we see Vinnie's reaction next time. > It's a tough one for him. Liu Xi is only his friend yet a loyal one...but he doesn't get a chance with a demon temptress too often. Though since he's into the dark arts he probably knows what she is and doesn't want to get himself in trouble. Or maybe he's just afraid Liu Xi will hurt him.

Vinnie's not unfamiliar with hot demon women; see next time.

Of course, Regret has already been enslaved to Vinnie's father.

But we don't have accents.

No, accidentally. But she wasn't rude before that. The point is she's not behaving maliciously, laughing at someone and then burning them to death - it's more an act of desperation.



That's after she's already angry. She may be polite most of the time, but she lacks the polished composure of the Psychic Samurai.



That's exactly it - by that measure, Liu Xi should feel superior all the time too, because she does have the power to enforce it. Instead she tries to keep her friends and make new ones.



Both of those women would take exception to being considered a Lair Legion crony. Especially Chiaki, who worked hard on her own to make a name for herself.

And that's exactly the point Chiaki would make. There are no free passes - she worked hard to get where she is, and to become trusted. She would expect no less from Tom Black. Chiaki has no sympathy for the corner he painted himself into.

Lara, on the other hand, might agree she had it easier than most, but she would also partly agree with Chiaki - that Tom might feel rejected by the LL but he isn't really helping his case either. Of course she's also the type who would have tried to give him a chance right up until he behaved like a jerk.



That's somewhere Lara would point out the benefits of being nice to people.



Lara also has experience none of the other would-be conquerors had a chance to: She has seen what it takes for Shema to remain in control of her universe. Lara knows it doesn't take raw power to do that, it takes amazing foresight and extreme planning, juggling millions of factors and predicting the outcomes. That she'll admit she's not capable of. It's the primary reason she keeps to small-time, because she knows she can handle that.

She's also probably peripherally aware that the Lair Legion and probably the government are researching ways to destroy her just in case. That's just part of the job, so she's not really offended by it.

What would really give her a crisis of loyalty is if the Lair Legion has a seemingly good reason to take over the universe by force, and asks for her help. That's a sensitive subject for her, because if she refuses to help she would expect the Lair Legion to respect that - but she would also worry that her help could save so many lives, because her use of power could be so focused and precise (teleporting in and obliterating different worlds' leaders would be quick and relatively painless, vs assaulting or threatening each planet directly). They would need a damn good reason to convince her, and she would probably ask them to promise they would give up the power when the need is over.



Now the only remaining problem is explaining it to Liu Xi. Even as a friend she expects better from him.

Well, he did blackmail a friend and hijack a passenger plane this chapter...

I think the point Jason is making, though, is that the agents and air marshalls and whatnot that he deals with in this chapter aren't the ones who asked for any of this either. They're just people doing their jobs. If Dancer was in his place, she would probably talk to the guys back in coach who were ordered to make sure she made her flight, and sympathize that they had to fly halfway across the world and miss their daughter's dance recital in order to watch over her extradition, while Black just goes out of his way to be obnoxious to them. Of course, Dancer's a special case, but still.

Isn't blackmailing friends a Lisa (ie "First Lady of the Lair Legion") trademark?

The "hijacking" of the plane certainly makes Tom a self serving scoundrel to be sure, but he hasn't done anything that makes him a hardcore villain.

Indeed. And if there's an accounting of wrongs she's capable of, it's a fair checkmark on the list.



Oh, I agree... I don't think he's a hardcore villain at all. I thought the topic was whether or not he was something of a jerk, and what actual transgressions he has done. He's not exactly innocent victim of circumstance now, is my only point.

> > > But Liu Xi was never rude about it though. She just accidentally burned to death one person and killed the woman in stasis because she believed it was for survival. Not because it made her feel powerful or superior.

I guess we're talking about two different things as well. Tom hasn't done anything as horrible as Liu Xi has yet, but he has shown an ascerbic disregard for the feelings of people who cross him.

> > And what about all the times she's hurled Chinese curses at people? That language was far from precise. > That's after she's already angry. She may be polite most of the time, but she lacks the polished composure of the Psychic Samurai.

So it's okay to be rude when you lose your temper but not otherwise?

> > Tom doesn't need to be rude to feel powerful or superior. He feels powerful and superior al the time anyway. > That's exactly it - by that measure, Liu Xi should feel superior all the time too, because she does have the power to enforce it. Instead she tries to keep her friends and make new ones.

Tom's meant to be a somewhat grey character, so he has to have significant flaws as well as some virtues.

> > Tom isn't a Lair Legion crony so he gets the crap while "protected" hot women get an easy pass. > Both of those women would take exception to being considered a Lair Legion crony. Especially Chiaki, who worked hard on her own to make a name for herself.

I'm speaking here from Tom's perspective, but also perhaps from that of some of the populace or the government. After all both women have taken up rent-free residence at the Lair Mansion, both have used association with the LL to avoid legal trouble, and both have attempted to establish romantic relationships with members of the team. You and I might know there's more to it than that, but from Tom's limited knowledge they're getting a deal he could never have.

> And that's exactly the point Chiaki would make. There are no free passes - she worked hard to get where she is, and to become trusted. She would expect no less from Tom Black. Chiaki has no sympathy for the corner he painted himself into.

Tom's only real illegal act in these stories so far is to hijack a plane to dicert it from a destination where he knows there's a trap waiting for him.

> Lara, on the other hand, might agree she had it easier than most, but she would also partly agree with Chiaki - that Tom might feel rejected by the LL but he isn't really helping his case either. Of course she's also the type who would have tried to give him a chance right up until he behaved like a jerk.

Tom's "jerkness" appears to be based upon him not liking being shaken down by G-Men or marked for sanctioning by his own government. It's not like he slapped a stewardess or anything.

> > There's probably a set of contingency plans to take down pretty much every powerful metahuman on the planet, and Mumph may have contributed to them. > > Lara's probably tagged as being vulnerable to poisons, gases, range sonics, biological agents, psionic assult - and bullets. Her psyche profile would indicate she'd likely be distracted by peril to apparent innocents; the old fake exploding baby trick would work on her.

> Lara also has experience none of the other would-be conquerors had a chance to: She has seen what it takes for Shema to remain in control of her universe. Lara knows it doesn't take raw power to do that, it takes amazing foresight and extreme planning, juggling millions of factors and predicting the outcomes. That she'll admit she's not capable of. It's the primary reason she keeps to small-time, because she knows she can handle that. > She's also probably peripherally aware that the Lair Legion and probably the government are researching ways to destroy her just in case. That's just part of the job, so she's not really offended by it.

There are undoubtedly plans to take down the LL too. In fact we saw some of them during SR 1066.

> What would really give her a crisis of loyalty is if the Lair Legion has a seemingly good reason to take over the universe by force, and asks for her help.

That's unlikely though.

> > > It's a tough one for him. Liu Xi is only his friend yet a loyal one...but he doesn't get a chance with a demon temptress too often. Though since he's into the dark arts he probably knows what she is and doesn't want to get himself in trouble. Or maybe he's just afraid Liu Xi will hurt him. > > Vinnie's not unfamiliar with hot demon women; see next time. > > Of course, Regret has already been enslaved to Vinnie's father. > Now the only remaining problem is explaining it to Liu Xi. Even as a friend she expects better from him.

Better than what? So far we haven't even heard how he reacts to Regret walking into his office.

This would be the friend who works for an agency planning to either abduct or assassinate him when he returns to his homeland and the passenger plane taking him to a possible-death ambush?


They're jobs they chose to do, though. And it's not like the OPS agents weren't trying a little bit of psychology of their own.

For that matter Mumphrey and Bradbury are playing Black right now, but nobody's complaining about them being jerks.


That she is. Now I want to see a meeting between the two of them; except that they would undoubtedly end up in bed.

It's not always blackmailing. Sometimes its framing them instead.


That's the line I'm trying to walk with him.