> > > 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.