Editing Gavel (section)

==Abilities and Powers==
Gavel's defensive potential is extremely high, to the point that [[Wildbow]] refers to him as someone who can't be killed.<ref name="unkill">Further, the major threats that Contessa and Number Man deemed too dangerous to leave alone weren't necessarily eliminated (either because Contessa herself didn't pay a visit, or because Cauldron didn't contrive to have said parahuman put down), so there's more Ash Beasts, Blasphemies, Sleepers and the equivalent roaming around.<br/><br/>There's no Parahuman Containment Center, so there's no place to put the really dangerous villains. What do you do with the villains who can't be killed, like Gavel? You maybe try to wrangle some giant-killers like Flechette/Foil, but how many of those guys are there, really? - [https://forums.spacebattles.com/posts/15024820 Spacebattles comment] by Wildbow.</ref> His power makes it so he can only take so much damage at a time, and reduced the severity of any damage to a set amount. As such, shooting him with a hail of bullets would be little different from shooting him with one or two bullets, and any given bullet would only gouge out a teaspoon's worth of flesh.<ref name="beam"/> Gavel's defense is strong enough to take hits from [[Scion]],<ref name="scion_block"/> lasting for one or two minutes against him.<ref name="death"/>

That said, Gavel's power is not without weak points: he is relatively vulnerable to beam attacks, as a steady stream of attacks could whittle him down,<ref name="beam">Scion suffered a continual onslaught of powers and projectiles from every direction, and the distraction these shots seemed to give Gavel the chance he needed to find his second wind. The vigilante and ex-cell-block leader of the Birdcage advanced, picking up speed as he found his stride, dragging his hammer beside him.<br/><br/>Scion used a beam instead, directing it at Gavel.<br/><br/>Which was ''interesting''. Maybe. A beam was what ''I'' would have used to deal with Gavel. His power made it so he could only take so much damage at a time, and reduced the severity of any damage to a set amount. Shooting him with a hail of bullets would be little different from shooting him with one or two bullets, and any given bullet would only gouge out a teaspoon of flesh.<br/><br/>Excalibur's scabbard. He could have done so much more with the concept, but he'd gone with a hammer instead of a sword.<br/><br/>I stared, watching as he blocked the worst of the beam with the hammer. Scion stopped, interrupted as Queen of Swords shot him with another power-infused bullet, then resumed the assault.<br/><br/>A spray of bullets wouldn't do much to Gavel, but a steady ''stream'' of them could whittle him down. Blind in the face of the brilliant light, Gavel marched forward. He moved his damaged hammer out of the way, taking the beam in the face and throat instead.<br/><br/>Amazing, perplexing... and I could only stare, watching Gavel's inhuman tenacity, wondering if Scion was using the beam because it was one of the most convenient and effective tools available to him, or because he intuitively understood Gavel's power.<br/><br/>He was supposed to be the source of powers. It made sense that he'd know the particulars about them.<br/><br/>It was a scary thought.<br/><br/>Gavel got close enough to reach out and fumble, putting a hand on Scion's face, two fingers finding Scion's eye sockets.<br/><br/>Scion pulled back a little, maintaining the beam as it cut into Gavel. I could smell something like burning hair. Clouds of it, choking. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/09/21/venom-29-2/ Excerpt] from [[Venom 29.2]]</ref> and he can be taken down by attacks that ignore defenses, such as [[Flechette]]'s.<ref name="unkill"/>

Offensively, Gavel has the ability to lift objects three to four times his own weight,<ref name="clean_appear"/> and to imbue melee weapons with both his durability<ref name="scion_block"/> and with vast impact,<ref name="List">Gavel '''Power reduces incoming damage to a set ammount. Imbues melee weapons with vast impact, but power protects target, resulting in target being thrown great distances.''' - [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pgn9rgYutpBqJg1lSBP3NHnq9WK4ToLq9K4ys_I4cRc/htmlview parahumanList], bolded edit by Wildbow.</ref> strong enough to knock down Scion into a fifteen feet long furrow.<ref name="hitting_scion">Gavel toppled.<br/><br/>No, he was leveraging his full weight, swinging his hammer like an Olympic hammer-thrower might swing theirs. Not even a complete rotation, but he struck Scion dead-on.<br/><br/>Scion hit the dirt, was plowed into a furrow fifteen feet long. He half-climbed to his feet, half-floated, and was struck again. Another swing of the hammer.<br/><br/>It wasn't ''hurting'' him, but it was an inconvenience, and that was something good in my books.<br/><br/>I could feel the hot blood seeping through my costume, running over my shoulders and down my front. My back was already sticky with it. Probably not good for my flight pack. Rachel was running through the crowd, shoving anyone that wasn't actively fighting to get them out of her way.<br/><br/>Gavel hit Scion a third time, and the hammer, damaged earlier by the beam, fell to pieces.<br/><br/>For the fourth hit, Gavel used the toe of his boot.<br/><br/>But each hit was dramatically less effective than the last. Scion reacted to the kick, floating back a little, but it wasn't much at all. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/09/21/venom-29-2/ Excerpt] from [[Venom 29.2]]</ref> He can also transfer his defensive power from his weapon to his target, making the target near-invulnerable as it flies through the air. The target will then be pulverized when it hits something else. Gavel can choose not to imbue the target when hitting them, simply killing them instead.<ref name="aussie"/>

[[Taylor]] compares Gavel's power to that of Excalibur's scabbard,<ref name="beam"/> which provides King Arthur with protection from blood loss and severe wounds while he wears it.<ref>Merlin tells Arthur that Excalibur's scabbard is even more valuable than the sword itself because while he wears it he will not lose any blood or be severely wounded. Morgan le Fay, to whom Arthur has entrusted the care of Excalibur, gives the sword to her lover Accolon to use against Arthur. Provided with a counterfeit Excalibur, Arthur is saved by Nyneve (a character sometimes called Vivien, Niniane, or Nimue). Morgan then steals the scabbard and throws it into a lake so it can no longer protect Arthur. Excalibur must be returned to the water at the end of Arthur's life, a task assigned to Bedivere in Malory's account-but to others in different medieval versions of Arthur's story. - [http://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/frequently-asked-questions Robbins Library Digital Projects › Camelot Project › Frequently Asked Questions about the Arthurian Legends]</ref>