olopi

Bonfire didn’t need to get himself involved in whatever the two of them were working through. Clearly there had been some misunderstandings between the two of them, and probably between CP and what heroing actually was like. At least when you were thinking about doing it as more than a hobby. “Alright, I made a few calls, and looks like one of my sources managed to track down an expert. “ “Now, don’t celebrate yet, ‘cause this guy has some conditions. Mainly, no cameras or similar. I’ve got a plan so you can get some footage, though. I’ll explain on the way. “ “We’re gonna be meeting at the park ASAP. I imagine that’ll give you-” he turned towards Chill Pill “some opportunities to get some public awareness, too. Plus, that place is super busy, chances are some crime’s gonna happen while we’re there, so you can go and shine and get some attention. People love heroes mingling with them, best way to get your name out there. “ “Well, apart from blowing up a reactor, but I can’t recommend that one. “

Yes, the park. That was an amazing opportunity. It was out in the open and vulnerable to attacks, that could satisfy CP. It would give Zyte the opportunity to hide in some bushes and take footage from the distance, probably appeasing his inner paparazzo (and that was there). And it was public enough that any major mishaps would be big enough for quick response. All in all, that sounded like just the place to be at. Plus, Cass had a history of these meetings in parks. Probably not something to invoke, though, unless he wanted sharpshooters to shop up. Which, it flashed his mind, would spice up the film a fair bit. But no, he was doing serious work, the less interference there was, the better. “Yes, the park sounds like a good idea. I’ll make sure Zyte is somewhere else at the time. I’ll bring some backup to blend in with the crowd or distract them and strike should anybody attack us, too. Meet me at the kiosk by the northern entrance. “ With that, Bonfire stepped through the door. Now he just had to engineer this all to work out.

GM “Oh, the station’s just the airport’s security headquarters. We’ve got the guys form the PD coming over, but for now this is in our jurisdiction. We can do it right here, then. “ The officer got out a notepad, scribbling down a few words. “Just so it’s been said and you are aware, these are official statements made to representatives of law enforcement. Lying or misrepresenting the situation may lead to consequences for you if you do, and what you say here will be used as evidence in the case. It is in your rights to deny answering to any question or parts of it as established in Freedom City Local Law, Article 244. “ Bonfire nodded, clearly this wasn’t his first rodeo. “Now then, first question. How were you made aware of the suspect’s presence at the scene?” Bonfire turned to whisper to Leviathan. “Okay, how open do we wanna be about this? I can carry the conversation, but just so we’re on the same page. “

Towards Zyte, Bonfire could only shrug. He’d walked himself into a bit of a troubling situation apparently, because all Bonfire knew, there were enough heroes out there that would’ve been interested in a reality film of some sorts about them. Hell, he was one of them. He replied again while keeping his hand on the phone’s mic. “Maybe you get lucky and some action’s happening around the city, just check TroubAlert. You’ve got access to that, right? There’s something happening on there almost any time of day around these parts.” Then, he turned towards Gibbons. “Yeah, I think I found somebody. I can send you an update or drop by once I’m done with this and let you know. “ Then, back to Armitage, this time speaking a bit more freely as there was nobody listening in right now. Unless somebody was listening in to the conversation elsewhere, which was possible… “Okay. So, object acquired. What’cha got for me, any place we can meet and talk this out? Should be able to distract him once I’m in the general area.”

So far, so good. Perhaps the one tailing them would follow, which would be the jackpot. Barrier got her shield ready, ready to throw up a barrier as soon as the moment was right…. She whispered something to her ally all the while, with things like this it was important that both of them were on the same page. “Now we wait, with any luck they’ll turn the corner and we can take them. Get ready for that to happen. If it doesn’t, we turn around and check where they went.” Barrier leaned back and took a few deep breaths. There was a good chance that the action was about to start, and she wanted to be ready. She could handle it without worries, hopefully, but these kinds of things weren’t what she’d been looking forwards to earlier today.

Bonfire (25) Hot Shot (24) Freedom of Information (1) 1k+ Word Vignette Barrier (1) Praetorians: The Eden Program (1) Bird of Arms None Sha'ir The Spellsmith 1k+ Word Vignette GM (1) Freedom of Information (1) Allocation: GM post to bring both BoA and Sha'ir to 1 post Rollover posts/points from Bonfire who hits 250 this month towards BoA, please. Refpoint to Barrier.

Bonfire picked up the phone and walked a few paces to the side, Zyte could probably still hear him but it looked more natural. That actually was just what Bonfire needed right now. Armitage. It really wasn’t, having to talk to him while Zyte was listening in would only lead to trouble, but perhaps he could spin it around. He pretty much had to, at this point Armitage was the closest thing to a lead Cass had. From the sound of it, Drake wasn’t an immediate concern, at least. “Oh hey, great to hear from you, amazing timing. Now, listen, I’m in the middle of a mission right now and just got hold of some ancient artefact, so before I get back around to your question, do you happen to know anybody I could talk to regarding this? If you do, tell them so send me a message, I’m sure your network of contacts spans far enough. Now, as for your question, I haven’t had time to get around to that yet, chasing after this thing’s meant I didn’t have much time for it yet. I have a few ideas of what we could do though, I’ll see if I can’t get them done while I figure out where I can find an expert.” With that done, he turned over to Zyte real quick, who was probably listening in eagerly. “Sorry, client call, has priority. How about you go talk to Chill Pill while I work out some details here, I doubt this makes for a good recording.”

Cass couldn’t understand Zyte at this point. Why did he get involved in all of this in the first place? Clearly this wasn’t his speciality, as much as he wanted to claim otherwise. Making somebody look good meant being able to do so at a moment’s notice, not having to rely on some sort of external event to even attempt doing it. And then there was the whole aspect about the Mask… “Well, there’s a reason I said Ancient Eldritch Mask. Unless you happen to have a time-traveller on call, I don’t think you’ll find any creator, or anybody who even knows them. As for other mages … don’t ask me, I don’t really deal with magic. No clue. “ Either way, Bonfire walked out of the door, towards CP. “Okay, not sure what the next step of action is, any suggestions? “

... Cass couldn’t believe it. Not all the stuff Zyte revealed about himself, that made sense. No, it was the fact that Zyte knew that Chill Pill probably wasn’t a good fit but went along with it anyways. And the fact that apparently Zyte had approached CP, not the other way around. Which … Cass supposed was a way to run a business, even if it felt a bit weird in many ways. “Well, let’s point him in the right direction then. That’s your speciality, right? “ It was true, Bonfire was hogging the spotlight a bit. Mainly because, from what he could tell, this wasn’t CP’s strong suit. Probably more of a brawler than an investigator. Those were useful, but not in situations like these. “Sure, if you have any ideas go ahead, I’ll think up a few things. “ Drugs, eh? Gotcha. Knew it. Not that it’ll do me much good…

AEGIS did feel like the best destination for the mask. There were some other possibilities, but all of them would require some further follow-up. With AEGIS he’d just be done once it was all done, no need to make sure it was still safe. “Because once this is all done I’d like to not have to worry about somebody being empowered by an eldritch horror ever few days. I’m not saying we have to hand it over immediately, but it’s the only reasonable place to keep it. “ “Sounds like a plan. You can figure out who we can talk to, and I ….” He supposed that meant he would have to do stuff with Chill Pill. Not Zyte, who was being paid for this, but Bonfire, who at this point still didn’t have any monetary gain from the entire deal. Then again, he’d already helped avoid something horrible, so he supposed it was worth it already. “I suppose I’ll try to get something going with CP. Any ideas? You just gotta stick in the background with your camera. ”

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Skills: Please indicate your Skill Mastery’d skills somehow, we generally do it by adding a SM to the skills in question. Feats: You’re already paying for 11 Base Attack, so you don’t need the Attack Focus 2 (Melee) to reach your caps, as the attack specializations bring you to the values you indicated on your combat section.

After that, Cass needed to catch his breath for just a moment. Sudden bursts of activity weren’t healthy, he could feel his lack of physical training every time situations like this happened. He held onto the mask, inspecting it a bit, but promptly holding it away further from his face when he could feel it beginning to affect him. Of course it would. That much made sense, as annoying (and dangerous) as it was. Which meant that it was probably best if nobody else got a hold of this. That did include Armitage, probably. Maybe he’d be useful, but having him touch it … that sounded like a dangerous idea, all things considered. Same for Zyte, Chill Pill and Zane! Which really only left one person to carry it … Damnit “Nice one. Good point, where is he anyways? “ “Okay, so, here’s the deal. Mask, bad. No touching, probably not looking at it, I can already feel it trying to tear me apart, fortunately it isn’t the first time something like this is happening to me. So we need to figure out where we can find an expert, ASAP. I can call some people at AEGIS, maybe they got one. “ He tried to walk back to Zyte, realizing soon that he was still behind bars. He turned over to Vasquez. “Hey, can you let me out real quick?” “Zyte, any ideas on who we could ring up?”

Related to the Legacies, I'd love to do some stuff with Elysian Academy. I've had some stuff written up for them for quite a while but never got to use it, but perhaps I'll have more luck this go around. With heroic legacies, their biggest antagonists' legacy can't be far away either...

Will: 1d20+6 12

Reflex Save: 1d20+6 22 Actually makes it!

That was easier than expected so far. A bit too easy almost, but maybe the talking about the potential destruction helped. People, especially the police, didn’t like destruction, it turned out. Bonfire followed the officer, keeping pace (not that difficult). Seeing the evidence room was interesting. Cass actually hadn’t been in one before, it had never come up, as surprising as that was now that he thought about it more. And then, it happened. It turned out that “time is of the essence” wasn’t him exaggerating. Would’ve been great had he known that before, obviously. He sprang into action immediately, unable to contain himself. M############K Immediately he ran forwards, towards the officer. “PHONE!” The bars didn’t matter, he was already fully smoke by the time he arrived there. He simply ran forward, attempting to re-solidify his hand just in time to snatch the mask out of her hand. It wasn’t the first time he did something like that, but his track record wasn’t amazing…

Diplomacy: 1d20+21 34

At this point Cass wondered just who on the planet didn’t know (of) Zyte. Because it really felt like he’d missed out, which was a strange and unusual feeling. Either way, it meant that there was another potential roadblock, once more caused by Zyte. Sigh He couldn’t let himself get distracted though, if he managed this then everything else would become much easier. “Anyways … Well, from what I’ve gathered so far that Mask is an ancient eldritch artefact with significant powers when used properly. As in, blow up a city block levels of significant at least, probably more. Currently I know of … three separate parties that know of the mask and that it’s stored here, and by what info I have, all of them are likely to turn to violent means to get it. “ “If I, publically, get if off your back that means you don’t have to deal with people attempting to get the mask at any cost. I can take the heat and lead them somewhere I can work together with your guys and the people up at AEGIS to set up some sort of honeypot. We arrest all of them, you don’t have to deal with that and I can even commend you personally in the interviews afterwards.”

Cass couldn’t complain about free coffee. It meant he could get extra luxurious with his order, he could be that nasty to Zyte. Dude probably deserved worse than having to pay 20 bucks for a coffee. So, with that beautiful brew in hand, Bonfire got out of the car. This was the local police station, but in all his almost three years living here, he’d only ever been here once. Which also meant he didn’t have any contacts on the inside unless there’d been some reassignment. Perhaps he’d get lucky… “First things first, we just ask nicely. That sometimes works, but I’m not sure they’ll let you inside with the camera. Only one way to figure it out!” Bonfire adjusted his clothing to look just a bit more professional, then strolled through the door, walking right up to the reception. “Hey, I’m Bonfire. I worked with two of your officers early this morning, there was a guy rampaging around with a mask. I’ve got reason to believe that storing it here will make you the target of an attack, so I’d like to request the ability to carry it with me while I work on removing the threat, safer for all of us. Ready to sign whatever paperwork that requires, but time’s of the essence. “ There was a chance it’d work, and if not, at least he’d tried….

Early WIP for Lady Liberty Legacy for Claremont 2018 Character Name: Lady Liberty Power Level: 10/12 (180/180PP) Trade-Offs: +3 Attack / -3 Damage, Unspent Power Points: 0 In Brief: Legacy to the mantle of Lady Liberty tries to live up to the burden she carries with her name. Song: Cilver – I’m America Residence: Claremont University, Freedom City / Phoenix, Arizona Base of Operations: Claremont University, Freedom City / Phoenix Arizona Catchphrase: - Alternate Identity: Monica Gutiérrez Identity: Public Birthplace: San Salvador, El Salvador Occupation: Student Affiliations: Claremont Academy Family: Idania (36, Mother), Nora (8, Sister) Personality: Monica is a quiet person. Years and years of being ignored or ridiculed have left their mark on her, she’d much rather sit in her room than interact with people. She’s used to people trying to set up a joke at her expense and mistrustful of most people that approach her because of exactly that reason. Unsurprisingly, she struggles with her self-confidence, something that has lead to her taking regular counselling at Claremont, where for the first time in her life she can actually afford to do so. Her recent rise to media recognition has not helped this at all. After the first interviews, many more requests followed and people started to recognize her on the street. This, together with the burden of having to live up to the name of Lady Liberty has only led to her feeling more insecure. Why did the spirit of liberty choose her, of all people? Monica’s love for the US was not the same as that of her predecessors. She loved her country, but it didn’t love her back, something she’d been made very painfully aware of her entire life. Nevertheless, there are subjects she is passionate about, and certain circumstances will lead to her breaking out of her shell. She is invested in politics, often spending way too much time debating various issues online. Her big passion however, is medicine. For a long time she’s known that she wanted to become a doctor, and she has already accumulated a fair amount of knowledge in preparation for her time after high school. History: Monica came to America when she was 3, crossing the border together with her mother. Her father had been killed by one of the gangs and it was obvious that she and her mother also were in danger. So, her mother grabbed what little money she had and made her way north, towards the USA, towards the land of freedom and the American dream. Monica’s mother does not talk about the journey, and Monica can only assume it was not easy for a woman in her early 20s to travel all the way to the American border and beyond. Monica’s first memories are from Phoenix, where her mother still lives to this day. She grew up with little luxury, two meals a day was something worth celebrating, as her mother continued to work most of the day to make ends meet. Monica’s childhood was rather unspectacular. She was aware of her status as an “illegal” immigrant from early on, with all that it meant, even surrounded by people that, in many ways, were like her. She didn’t understand it, she was just as American than any of her fellow class-mates, yet somehow she wasn’t? Then, there was everything related to herself. Without many people to socialize with due to her not fitting into preconceived notions, she found herself on the internet most of her free time. There, she came across a short article on what it meant to be trans, something she identified with immediately. It changed her life, as she learned that her uncertainties were not unique, that there were people that felt the same way. It changed her life, but it didn’t necessarily make it easier. There were hurdles to overcome, any sort of treatment was far out of grasp monetarily. There was her mother, who’d always been a fairly devout catholic. Monica had heard the horror stories and remained quiet about what she’d learned. And even if she knew it was right, she still had to figure out how it fit into her own system of belief. It didn’t take long for her mother to realize, who, contrary to Monica’s fears, took it (rather) well. As she learned then, her uncle, who’d also died back in El Salvador, had had similar feelings, which he’d only ever told his sister, out of fear of exactly the situation Monica was afraid of. Yet, there still was the school situation. Monica withdrew further than even before, now barely spending time with anybody, her attendance record always skirting the minimum requirement. She still wanted to move forward, she still had aspirations, but she’d rather learn at home than sit in school. She’d learn more studying at home, she told herself. Her life changed again on March 2nd of 2018. At first it seemed like a normal day, Monica was walking to school, happy that Spring Break was almost in reach. As she was walking, she spotted a van, veering out of control, right towards a younger student, also on his way to school. She acted without thinking, running onto the street and knocking him out of the way. The next thing she knew, there was pain and she fought to keep her grip on consciousness. But right then, as she could already feel her life fading from her body, something happened. She regained control of her body and the pain was gone, even if she still crashed into a nearby lamppost. It didn’t hurt her, and as she opened her eyes, she realized that she was surrounded by a comforting glow. She’d never seen any superpowers in person before, but she immediately knew what it meant. Jessica Howe, a young journalist for a local TV station, happened to be walking down the street at the same time. She’d managed to capture everything on camera, from Monica’s action to her sudden recovery. Jessica knew what it meant. She’d long been a fan of the Freedom League’s Lady Liberty, who had, much to the pain of many fans, retired not long ago. As it turned out, the Spirit of Liberty had found its next host, and Jessica had been there to visit it. Before Monica had even fully registered what was going on, before the Paramedics had even arrived on the scene, she was already being interviewed, on live television. The story of the young woman who now was the nation’s newest Lady Liberty spread through the internet like wildfire. It wasn’t necessarily a good thing, within hours the fact the newest Lady Liberty was an undocumented immigrant transwoman was spread around various websites, the harassment began only shortly later. It wasn’t just internet trolls, but also members of conservative media outlets. Monica didn’t know how to react, she’d been thrown into the national spotlight without any preparation. She completely cut herself off from all media and didn’t leave the house, unable to cope with what had suddenly happened. It was only when Beth Walton-Wright, the previous Lady Liberty, showed up at her door a week later that this changed. Beth supported Monica and would help her come to terms with what her new position meant. She also suggested that the young woman would attend Claremont Academy in Freedom City, where she’d receive all the training she could ask for. It was not an easy decision for Monica to make. On one hand, it would be the training she needed, both as the new superhero and as an aspiring doctor. Graduating Claremont would open her much more doors than graduating some inner-city public school. On the other hand, it meant moving across most of the country, away from her mother and sister. Away from her (few) friends, and away from everything she knew, having only left the city a few times during her life so far. In the end it was her mother that decided. She knew that her daughter was better off in Claremont, and while Monica was pondering the decision in her room, her mother signed the necessary documents. Monica would attend Claremont starting summer 2018, in what she’d been told would be “quite the class”. Description: Age: 16 (April 3rd, 2002) Apparent Age: 16 Gender: Female Ethnicity: Hispanic Height: 6’1” / 6’4” when Lady Liberty Weight: 183 lbs. / 190 lbs. when Lady Liberty Eyes: Green Hair: Black Complications: Restraints I – Much like her predecessors, Monica loses her powers when restrained. When she is bound, she cannot draw upon the Spirit of Liberty properly. Other than the previous Lady Liberty, this does not have to mean she cannot access her powers at all, even if she herself is not yet aware of this. While being restrained means that she cannot access the full brunt of her powers, she may still be able to use very weak versions of them. As this is something that she carries with her name, this weakness is very well known, thus people are likely to exploit it. Restraints II – The Spirit of Liberty, historically, has always been weakened by restraints, with the most recent Lady Liberty losing all her power whenever she was tied up in some way. Much like the exact powers of the Spirit, this too has changed with Monica. While physical restraints still limit her, it is not a complete loss. However, in return restraint has taken a more abstract meaning with her. Her powers weaken as her resolve does, the more she doubts herself the weaker they get, up to disappearing completely until she has regained her resolve. Legacy of Liberty – Monica carries a massive burden on her. She has to live up to all previous women empowered by the Spirit of Liberty. They fought in the World Wars, in the Terminus Invasion and during many other occasions. While Monica has the approval of Beth Walton-Wright, the previous, and according to many, greatest Lady Liberty, she still doubts whether or not it is really her power to yield, and she has no idea how she’ll ever live up to what her name demands of her. The large fanbase the name caries with it does not help with this, as many of them have been rather unpleasant about Monica’s newfound powers. Publicity – Monica’s identity is incredibly public, she got interviewed under her real name on TV only moments after getting her power. Monica never got to experience what it meant to have a secret identity, something she regrets very much. With this come the usual problems that are associated with a public identity, something she is very aware (and scared) of. Of course, the fact she is an undocumented immigrant doesn’t exactly improve the situation at all, and she is anxious about what may happen related to that situation now that her – and her family – ‘s status is known around the entire country. The Student Life – First and foremost, Monica is a student, with all that includes. She has an attendance to keep, homework to do and things to study. She also has regular counselling sessions at Claremont, meaning that all in all, she does not get a lot of free time. As she didn’t spend much time at school before coming to Claremont, and said school’s curriculum was not exactly great, she struggles somewhat with keeping up acceptable grades, eating further into her time and confidence. Abilities: 4 + 4 + 6 + 6 + 8 + 10 = 38PP Strength: 24/14 (+7/2) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 22/16 (+6/3) Intelligence: 16 (+3) Wisdom: 18 (+4) Charisma: 20 (+5) Combat: 20 + 16 = 36PP Initiative: +6 Attack: +13 Melee, +10 Ranged Grapple: +17/12 Defense: +10 (+8 Base, +2 Dodge Focus), +4 Flat-Footed Knockback: -5/1 Saving Throws: 0 + 4 + 7 = 11PP Toughness: +10/3 (6/3 Con, +4) Fortitude: +6/3 (+6/3 Con, +0) Reflex: +7 (+2 Dex, +4) Will: +11 (+4 Wis, +7) Skills: 48R = 12PP Bluff 5 +10 Concentration 4 +8 Diplomacy 6 +11 Disguise 4 +9 Intimidate 4 +9 Knowledge (Life Sciences) 5 +7 Language 1 (Spanish [Native], English) Medicine 6 +10 Notice 5 +9 Sense Motive 6 +11 Swim 6 +13/8 Feats: 10PP Attack Focus (Melee) 3 Dodge Focus 2 Improved Grab Improved Initiative Improved Disarm Interpose Move-By Action Powers: 39 + 33 = 72PP The Strength of Freedom (40 PP Container) Enhanced Strength 10 [20PP] Enhanced Constitution 6 [12PP] Protection 4 [4PP] Leaping 3 [3PP] The Light of Liberty (30PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 3) [33PP] BP: Enhanced Extra (Impervious 10 (up to); Reflective (Ranged [+1]; Extras: Range (Perception)[+3], Affect Others [+0]; Flaws: Duration (Concentration [-2])) [30PP] AP: Nullify 10 (Bindings [2/r]; Extras: Range (Perception)) [30PP] AP: Dazzle 10 (Visual [2/r]; Extras: Area (Burst), Selective Attack, Alternate Save (Will [first and second save]) [+0]; Flaws: Range (Touch)) AP: Emotion Control 10 (Extras: Area (Burst), Contagious; Feats: Progression 4 (Area); Flaws: Limited to Hope, Sense Dependent (Visual), Range (Touch [-2]) [9PP] linked to Healing 5 (Extras: Area (Burst), Selective Attack, Action (Standard); Feats: Stabilize, Progression 4 (Area); Flaws: Limited to Others, Sense Dependent (Visual)) [20+9=29/30PP] Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block Attack Range Save Effect Unarmed Touch DC22/17 TGH Damage + Grab Dazzle Touch Area DC20 Will Visual Dazzle (Will Save) Emotion Control Touch Area DC20 Will Contagious Hope (Counter Fear) Totals: Abilities (38) + Combat (36) + Saving Throws (11) + Skills (12) + Feats (10) + Powers (72) - Drawbacks (0) =180/180 Power Points

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