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July 10, 2018 The Plaza Hotel, Midtown, Freedom City 12:21 PM This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be. It was too unrealistic, something like this wouldn’t have happened. She was simply dreaming, all of this was one of her bad nightmares and any minute she’d wake up and everything would be back to normal. Monica Gutiérrez was sitting under her blanket, rocking back and forth. She’d been invited to come to the Parade and hadn’t wanted to go in the first place, it was her mother that had essentially forced her to take this vacation. The city was nice, the hotel had all the things she could’ve asked for, especially since all expenses were covered, and the first two days of her vacation had been pretty cool. And then this. She’d seen the rift open up over Liberty Park from her window. She’d seen the news reports, and the first videos on the internet. Her phone had received the panicked messages and calls from her mom and her few friends. Not that she felt like opening any of them. All of this was simply a bad dream, really. She just had to wait and all of it would blow over. The hotel had was not being evacuated yet, probably because of how many heroes were currently residing here. They’d come in from all over the planet, they’d be able to deal with something like this without having to drag along her as a crutch, especially one that would probably get targeted just for who she was. Right after seeing the rift and the first Omegadrones passing through it, she’d closed the room’s blinds most of the way. The TV was running on mute, with Monica occasionally peeking out from under her blanket, she couldn’t avoid her curiosity completely. Her phone was constantly buzzing with alerts, interrupted by the occasional explosion off in the distance. She could hear people hurrying around outside her door, probably trying to evacuate or find a safer place to hide. Not that there was one. The hotel was way too close to Liberty Park, sooner or later the horde of drones would arrive here. Yet it was safer than trying to travel around alone. Unless something big was distracting the Drones, any sort of organized evacuation would’ve made a massive target. The heroes would figure out when … if it was safe to do so. Monica just had to wait until this all was over, until everything would resume as normal, until …. It wouldn’t. She couldn’t even convince herself. She knew what this meant. This was a historic event, whatever would happen, it wouldn’t be the same as before. That was, assuming anybody survived it. And here she was, at the epicentre of it all, worrying the only people that cared about her, dying just to destroy their lives even more. Not that she could change anything about it. At this point, tears forming in her eyes, she was just waiting to die. Punching the mattress wouldn’t do much but it felt like the right thing. Everything was screwing her over. Nothing in her life ever went right. She was only here because she’d gotten those damned powers and all they had done for her so far was paint a national-size target on her back. Everybody was out to just make her life miserable. Her “acquaintances”. The Internet. A bunch of pundits. The entire world and if there was such a thing as a fate, fate itself. Just dying when that truck hit her would’ve been much nicer. Maybe she would’ve been remembered her for something positive, for having done something good. And not for having the audacity of being chosen by some force she couldn’t control in any way. All this energy meant she couldn’t just lie down, she sat up, slamming her fist sideways into the wall next to her at full force, maybe she’d get back some kind of sensation of her body, all she felt ruight now was dread and anger. Of course, right now the spirit had to flare up, as the fist left a sizeable dent in the wall but her fist was just fine. Not even that she could do. Filled with frustration she grabbed her blanket and threw it across the room on a gut reaction. It hit a desk lamp and knocked it onto the floor where the glass lamp shattered into pieces. Great. Usually she would’ve hated this, but right now she couldn’t care. She got up and stomped over to where she’d thrown the blanket. Apparently she couldn’t get hurt, so why care about a few glass shards on the floor? Maybe she also couldn’t get hurt by the Terminus and would live long enough to see everybody she ever cared about die horribly. At this point she could see it happening, apparently life liked to torture her like that. She grabbed the blanket and threw it back towards the bed. The TV screen was showing a bunch of videos of the rift opening, the ones that had spread across the internet like wildfire. Not that Monica needed any reminder of that, the bit of light that still entered through the windows had a notable red tint to it anyways. A red tint, which at that very moment got a lot brighter and more red, as once more something exploded. This time, it was a lot louder than the previous dozen or so times though, something that pulled Monica out of her fit for just a moment, as she walked towards the window to peek out between the gaps in the blinds. A swarm of Omegadrones was down on the street and in the air above it. They looked even more nauseating up close, Monica felt like throwing up just seeing them. They appeared to be fighting a handful of heroes in full costume, one of whom had just blown one of the drones out of the sky. Not that the fight seemed to be going particularly well for the heroes, the drones were outnumbering them massively and beginning to sweep in for strikes. The heroes dodged and fought back, but eventually one of the drones’ pikes found its target, and things spiralled out of control as more and more hits landed. It was a gruesome sight, yet Monica could not take her eyes off of it. Something inside her compelled her to watch. And she could feel something building up. One got struck with a heavy blow right into the chest, dropping onto his knees, as a drone stabbed its spear straight through a woman in armor’s thigh, adding yet more blood onto the street. It was at this point that Monica’s room was lit up in a bright, yellow light. As she looked down at her body, she felt her fear wash away. She wasn’t some civilian that needed protection. She was Monica Gutiérrez, the new Lady Liberty. She was the Light of Hope, and if there was ever a time that hope would be needed, it was right now. Without so much as a second thought, she stepped back, ran forward and leaped straight through the window, her fist sending an Omegadrone directly into the building across the road before she dropped from the 8th floor like a shooting star and making the wish of hope come true. Assisted by the Light of Liberty the heroes could once more fight at full strength, and soon what drones hadn’t been destroyed thoroughly had been driven off. Perhaps it would take a few more hours for some sort of evacuation. Perhaps there wouldn’t even be one. But so long as Lady Liberty had anything to say about it The Plaza Hotel would be a safe haven.

Approved.

Combat Your values for flat-footed, grapple and knockback are off Other than that everything looks good and the character looks like a lot of fun

Zenith was quite right with that expectation. The room the teens had entered looked like it was a run-of-the-mill lobby style room, a few couches to sit down on, two tv screens to inform students of what was going on, various doors leading places. Or at least, it had been, before all of this had happened. The couches were toppled over and broken in half most of them had bloodstains on them, much like a fair part of the floor and room in general. The TVs were showing static, the lights that were meant to illuminate the room were all broken. The wall of entropy that covered the outside of the building covered everything in a red glow, and while the outside had been discomforting, just spending time in this room made the hairs on one’s back stand up. At first glance, the room seemed empty, but something, some instinct, told the heroes that something was moving. Something, which after their eyes had adjusted to the lighting became more and more clear, towards the end of the room, perhaps 40 ft. away. A silhouette that looked way too familiar, one that could’ve meant something positive in this exact situation, if it wasn’t for the inky red and black shine that covered their classmate’s wings as he prowled on the floor, ready to strike his prey.

July 3, 2018 Preparations Posted 8 hours ago | 21084 views | 87 comments Well, most of you will have heard of the Parade by now, so I won’t go into detail with that. What I will go into detail on below, however, is what I’ll be doing during it, since you can bet I’ll be attending. There’s a schedule listed all the way at the bottom, but let’s talk about the most important part first. Next to just blogging from the event on here and my various other accounts, I will also be livestreaming from various locations as I travel around the city. I’ve posted a rough schedule below, however please be aware that this will likely change over the next week and I will notify you all of any significant changes. So, where will I be spending my time? Well, there's quite a few places that… --Click Here to Continue Reading— July 10, 2018 Liberty Park, Freedom City 10:57 AM The infrastructure that had been put together for the event was pretty stunning. It made sense, sure, this was probably the biggest thing the city would see in years, and lots of people were involved in the planning. Still, everything that had been put together, from the transport into the city, to the various stalls that had been set up on the outskirts of the parade’s route, it was amazing to see. Especially if, like Cass, you’d been involved in putting all of it together. Sure, he hadn’t played a major role in it all, but he’d still contributed to getting all of this to run. Not that he could rest on his laurels, he’d be pretty busy the entire day, streaming from various places scattered around the city so those that didn’t make the trip could see what was going on, too. He’d only just arrived in Liberty Park for a previously arranged interview with one of the main organizers of the parade, who would arrive any minute hopefully. “And over there you can see the last preparations for the parade being made, which I will of course be attending. If you didn’t see my last post about it, whether or not I will actually be able to stream from inside it is unsure right now, I’ll update you as I know for sure. “ He was speaking into his phone, and behind it, a few thousand people who were watching him livestream. He’d planned to start some kind of regular livestream for a while but had held off until today to start with impressive numbers and hopefully continue growing from there. He didn’t really need to for any reason of course, but he’d started to really enjoy watching streams over the past few months so launching an own one had seemed like the right course of action. “Alright, the interview was scheduled to start right now but it looks like there might be a tiny delay, which, with all these preparations, is underst-“ “OH SH##” Without really thinking about it, he raised his phone, to show what he was seeing. Out of nowhere, the sky had seemingly been ripped in half. One glimpse had been enough for Cass to know what was happening. He’d been watching a lot of recordings of 25 years ago leading up to the parade. Not that avoiding them at all would’ve been possible considering they were in all the media. “THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENI-“ With that, the stream cut out, on the picture of hordes of Omegadrones appearing from the portal. Of course, the stream going offline did not mean the same would happen to the chat, which had been commenting along occasionally, with slightly more finesse and pleasantry than one would’ve come to expect from an instant messenger on the internet of its size. Not that that latter part lasted. The chat could not bear the load of many thousand messages being send in within a second or two, so conversation spread onto various other communities on the internet within the minute. Before any real reports had made it online, footage from the last two seconds of the stream was already being shared on every social media platform out there, being spread as fast as the dread that came with it. That dread hardly compared to what Cassidy Bauer was feeling right now. He was surrounded by, well, a lot, of people. If he wanted to, he could probably sneak out right now, his powers would probably allow for it. But that would’ve meant leaving all these people to die. He couldn’t fight the Terminus though. At best he could hold off a few of the drones before their sheer number overwhelmed him, killed him, and then everybody else in the park. People would die. No matter what he did. People he knew, people he’d worked with. He could at least do the world a favor by living to fight in a fight he could take. Sneaking out would’ve taken too long. He had to get back to his apartment ASAP to gather up his equipment. If it was even still there. The drones were fast, they’d probably have the city devastated within the hour. He could really only see one option to get there on time. One option he really, really didn’t like. He just hoped nobody here had a camera set up. And that nobody would be watching closely enough to remember it. And that the Omegadrones were too busy to notice him as his body began to first glow softly, then erupted into flames, soon being nothing but a man-size flame floating off the ground. As soon as he regained even a modicum of control over his body, something that always took a bit with the fire, he blasted off, straight northwards, leaving behind the scorched floor and a trail of fire in the sky. He did not have time to think about anything, he had to push himself forward. The faster he went the better his chances at making it out of this alive. He couldn’t pay attention to his surroundings, he had to spend what little focus he could maintain right now on avoiding all the large buildings that stood in his way. Of course, all of this also meant that he was wholly unaware of the Omegadrones following him, at least until two bolts of Entropy whizzed past his head, a third one actually managing to hit him, immediately sending him reeling from pain – and worse – leaving him unable to control his flight, dropping him straight into the ground. Fortunately enough, fire cared very little about being dropped from a fair height at high speed, so that part didn’t do much beyond slowing Cass down. The entropy, on the other hand, hurt like hell. He could barely hold it together and work through the pain. In a strange way seeing the four Omegadrones above him once he’d recovered from the fall actually helped. It gave him something to focus on. It was time to figure out if all this training had paid off. The drones closed in, but moved just slow enough for Cass to mount a response by creating a wall of fire surrounding him, protecting him, and allowing him to slowly draw strength from it. One of the drones’ stabbed its pike straight through, completely unafraid of the fire but Cass managed to twist the flames of body around it, something he suddenly was very glad he’d decided to train. Combat went by in a blur, with Cass relying exclusively on his instinct, reflexes and what he’d learned over the past year or so of combat training. In the end, he stood victorious, but not without having taken another handful of blows, some just grazing him, some actually doing a fair bit of damage. He’d just survived being at essentially the epicentre of the invasion, he wouldn’t die in some minor FC street. He took a moment to gather his strength, before blasting off again, keeping a northern course, and arriving only a minute or so afterwards, without any more Omegadrones in sight. Phasing his hand through the inconspicuous metal contraption next to the door and igniting the inside of it was all he had to do, and the door opened. This place really was a marvel of engineering. It hadn’t exactly been cheap but having a proper base of his own had felt worth spending all this cash on. Especially with all the discounts he got. The door closed behind him as he flew through what was meant to be a living room, currently housing nothing but an old mattress. He hadn’t had time to move yet, but he hadn’t come here for the comfort. One more door, one more lock and he arrived where he’d planned to go. Some weird machine he honestly didn’t understand at all took care of the fact he could usually not turn off his fire form, and moments later, Cassidy Bauer sat in front of four PC screens, an earpiece feeding him all the most recent information. After getting a first look at the situation, he got back up and grabbed a bag he’d placed next to the door for a situation like this. He hadn’t imagined it’d be this but right now he was glad he’d prepared at least something. “Hey, Bonfire here. “ he began speaking into his earpiece as he left the room. “meet me at Managold Bridge. “ There were days when having the contact information of tons of his colleagues really did come in quite useful…

That did bring up a good point Hakim had sort of ignored until now. Just why was Creek back now? He had some suspicions, almost all of them involving somebody summoning the vengeful spirit. Revenge for the murder of a loved one? If so, why did the person responsible chose to go for the sledgehammer approach? Something else entirely? A protest against the military? It would fit with what had happened so far. It was something to keep in the back of his mind, but he’d still not revealed one important thing. Perhaps his origin would be useless, but who knew. “Time’s one thing, the place another. If you appeared here all the way on the coast that means something, because correct me if I’m wrong, but it doesn’t sound like you lived in these parts. “

Changelog: Fixed Grapple, Saves Skills fixed, with cost at 13 PP Fixed the Strength of Freedom label Added "Toughness" onto the Impervious for clarity Fixed cost modifications Changed rank from 10 to 7, for a total cost of 28/30PP The addition of 1 PP in skills also fixes the total.

“Oh, I’ve got a bit. One mome-“ She pretty clearly moved her head away from the microphone, but after a second or two moved closer, sounding more annoyed now that she was responding. “Agh, already removed the displays. No fancy graphics, then. Let’s see.” “You’re using your powers, out in the open. Without even trying to conceal your identity. So either you have no idea what you’re doing, which judging by how quickly you were up there and took the guy out is unlikely, you’re hilariously stupid, which I also doubt, or you don’t have any reason to worry about disappearing.” “And if the past few years, hell, probably just time in general has shown us, unless you’re in Geneva that’s not really an option. I have no idea why the hell you’d forget about that part when it comes to luring me in, but I have to thank you, I did get a bit careless while running away and would probably have just let you in normally.”

What was this guy’s deal? It seemed pretty simple, but somehow it felt like there was more to it. Maybe Hakim had just gotten too used to seeing patterns, after all that was pretty much how Sha’ir’s magic worked. There had to be some way of dealing with this guy. Then he had an idea. It was a long shot, but with this kind of seemingly no-escape curse, perhaps it was an approach. Of course, figuring out anything else about who spoke it meant learning more about Creek. Getting that information could be difficult, but it wasn’t impossible, certainly. Sha’ir jumped onto the spectral horse he’d just summoned with little effort, and tried to keep pace with Creek. “So, tell me more about you. Where you from, and why’d you show up here of all places? Probably some distance from where you lived back in the day?”

Approved.

Character Name: Lady Liberty Power Level: 10/13 (180/199PP) Trade-Offs: +3 Attack / -3 Damage, Unspent Power Points: 19 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 witness 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 carries 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: +20/15 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: +6 (+2 Dex, +4) Will: +11 (+4 Wis, +7) Skills: 52R = 13PP 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 (39 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 Toughness 7 (up to); Reflective (Ranged [+1]; Extras: Range (Perception)[+2], Affect Others [+1]; Flaws: Duration (Concentration [-1])) [28/30PP] 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 (13) + Feats (10) + Powers (72) - Drawbacks (0) =180/199 Power Points

At first, there was no effect. The shard flew towards the field of energy and once it hit it, simply stuck in it like it was a wall. But as the first second passed, it became clear that wasn’t all that would happen. The field’s thickness seemingly changed, it grew thicker around the shard, beginning to slowly engulf it. At the same time, the shard itself began to glow in a colour that was nearly as discomforting as the field itself, which caused this strange sensation of nausea in the back of the head when one was just looking at it. Red lines began to appear on the shard, and right before the field had fully engulfed it, it broke apart into tiny pieces, all of which then seemed to only strengthen the field. It took maybe a few seconds at most, it was hard to estimate the exact amount of time in these surroundings. But while looking around, the teens did manage to spot that one of the building’s front doors was not surrounded by the wall. The text written in stone above the entrance was illegible, the large door had been opened a tiny bit.

Approved.

Saving Throws: Even with Tradeoffs (which aren’t indicated at the start of the sheet, that’s a minor thing but could also be fixed), the most you could reach is +14, +19 breaks caps as it stands. Also you can’t buy ranks of Toughness here, which fixes the above issue. Furthermore the cost at the top doesn’t add up. Powers The Blast would actually cost 33, as you’ve got the 10 ranks at 3/R and 3 feats. Everything else looks good.

The Headmistress paced the room as she waited for the students to confirm what she’d already known, that they’d take part. In a situation like this, it was necessary to get their approval, whether or not they had a choice, on the other hand… She pulled forward a map of southern FC, with the Academy circled in red. A second circle had been drawn around a group of buildings, which Summers explained was Freedom College, only a few minutes’ walk away from the Airport. She then took a marker and began drawing on the map. “Our scouts figured out a fairly safe way, you shouldn’t be attacked if you follow it. The Annihilists are everywhere, so be careful, but we expect low presence along this route. “ She then handed each of the students a small satchel. “There’s a copy of this map, a compass and some other basic utility in there. Use it if you get lost and try to slowly make your way back here, with your safety as the main priority. “ “And now, let’s deal them a serious blow. Good luck.” Some time later Freedom College As expected, the route that Summers had picked out was quite secure, and the group arrived at their destination without getting involved in anything on the way there. The college looked … quite different. Just being around it made one’s hair stand, as if some primal reflex raised an alarm. Which was probably fair, as there was a visible wall of Terminus energy surrounding some of the buildings and when one looked through a window, there was only an inky blackness on the inside. The group was hiding inside a bunch of bushes, only a short walk away from the entrance to the Medical Sciences Building, where the captives were being held according to the intel.

Tagging @EternalPhoenix and @Exaccus just for proper protocol.

OOC for this

July 12th, Third Day of the Terminus Invasion 2248 Hours Briefing Room A1, Subbasement Level 1, Claremont Academy In the hours and days following the Invasion, only few safe areas remained for the citizens of Freedom. One of them was Claremont Academy, as it turns out the Summers had planned for the eventual inevitability, the Academy was prepared for an attack. Or at least, that had been the expectation. As it turned out, the systems themselves could not hold off the hordes of bodies being thrown at them, and what heroes had made it to the Academy spent their time in shifts, assisting with the defence to the best of their ability. The Subbasement was, for the time, fully secured, and the dorms were filled up with people receiving first aid and doing their best to recover before heading out into the fight once more. Walking through the hallways, one had to avoid stumbling over weapons, equipment and clothing, hastily thrown away, with nobody having the energy to try and keep things organized. Keeping up the fight was more important. Which was why a small crowd of heroes had been gathered in the briefing room, for a top-priority assignment. The group was being briefed by headmistress of Claremont, Callie Summers herself. It was a simple briefing, no fancy graphics, no extended speeches, just right down to business. “As you may have noticed yourself, the Annihilists have changed their method of attack. They’ve incapacitated multiple people and dragged them off, something that we’ve been trying to keep under wraps as good as possible in order to preserve some degree of morale. “ “Now, I’m not telling you this for nothing. Our scouts have managed to track down the location these people have been brought to, the College. We need to get them out, and with every minute that passes, they are in more danger. As are we. I need you to get in and extract them. We have no idea how many people are being held there, or what exactly is being done to them. “ “This will be dangerous. You will probably see things I wouldn’t want anybody to see. You will face what we can only assume is a massive force of enemies. We won’t be able to keep up any radio contact, you will be on your own. But don’t ever forget this, all of these people rely on you. This is your chance to save potentially dozens of lives, while also dealing a major blow to our enemies. “ “Now, any final questions? The faster we’re done with this, the more people you can save.”

Bluff: 1d20+11 14

There was a silence, followed by some muttered words coming through, even though they were intelligible. The voice soon continued to speak. “This is what I get for using different filters, argh. It’s me. Same person, you….” Once again the voice became muttered, essentially intelligible. Within moments of Auguste activating his powers, the turrets pointed at him became a bit more active too, probably beginning to aim properly. “Noble Knight my ass. You all couldn’t get me when I was prepared, so you tried to lure me into security and kill me here. Too bad I prepared for that one, eh? Last chance, you can run and figure out how to deal with your colleagues coming after you, or you can leave the place in a bodybag. I stopped playing around a long time ago. ”

Sha’ir waited, frantically trying to figure out what to do, paralyzed by his options. None of whom felt even remotely useful in the current situation. He considered all sorts of things, from calling in backup, to just letting Creek do his thing. Neither of those, ‘nor any of the other things he considered, really felt like the right choice. It was only when Creek addressed him that an idea struck. One he could probably work with, at least for now. “Depends on which town you want. There’s the city, but if you wanna track down proper murderers, you’ll probably find more in the rural areas. “ Was that true? Potentially. Hakim didn’t really venture outside of the ECs too much, he didn’t need to bother with all that potential baggage. Meanwhile, he ducked down, touching the ground with his hand and slowly rising up, drawing a spirit up, which soon took the form of a spectral horse. “It’s not quite the real thing, but let’s see about that…”

“Would be quite nice to know who sent you. And don’t come at me with that “independent” BS, I saw through the pattern a looooong time ago. The failed sniper was a nice touch, gotta give you that. Get my trust up, figure out the details and then strike me here. “ Then, there was complete silence. The room seemed to be perfectly isolated, even though the outside was quite loud thanks to everything happening in the area, none of the sound made it through. And whatever powered all the tech (it probably wasn’t connected to the main power grid), was quiet too.

Hakim really didn’t know what to do at this point. Sure, he had options. But judging from the looks of it, none of them really worked. This wasn’t something he could deal with directly. Indirectly maybe, although he didn’t really know how to accomplish that either. He could attempt to stall Noose forever, but that wouldn’t do much good either. Still, he couldn’t let him roam freely either. Sha’ir just stood there, unmoving. He’d let Creek make the next move. Perhaps he’d figure out something in the meantime. He could always follow him if it was necessary, after all.

“Come on, the jig’s up. I know your bosses won’t exactly like this, but if you spill the beans right now I’ll let you off the hook and you can take the first train out of the city and disappear off the grid. Or you can go on and try to complete your mission, but … in your situation, I wouldn’t try.” Whatever the woman was speaking about, she was doing so with determination. Clearly she believed in every word she was saying. It sounded like she’d finally accomplished something she’d been attempting for a while, although there was a hint of stress in her voice, something that told Auguste that perhaps, things weren’t going as she’d expected.

The woman didn’t even bother to respond, instead slowly piloting the armour in a different direction, turning a corner after a few moments and disappearing behind a few crates, somewhere even Auguste’s vision didn’t quite reach. Meanwhile, he made his way down the stairs. It was simple enough, the doors weren’t locked. He could actually hear how one bomb shelter door opened behind a wall, suggesting he probably wasn’t alone. He stepped through it shortly after, and it led down some stairs, closing behind him. He could note that there were cameras placed in quite a few locations. Hidden away, but he’d managed to stop them either way. After a short descent, he entered a well-lit white room. Immediately he could see what appeared to be quite an advanced workbench by one of the walls, and a sophisticated PC network in one of the corners, with screens spanning most of the wall. However, as soon as he entered the room, the door behind him closed, quite rapidly. Two turrets, quite obviously, appeared from the ceiling, pointing towards Auguste. The woman’s voice could be heard over the intercom. “Gotta say, this has to be the most advanced tactic so far. Need to burn this base anyways, sorry buddy. You’re not getting me this time. So, how about you spill who’s behind all of this and I let you escape without giving you an emmentaler makeover?”