Spacefurry

The Neon Trees were calling from the speakers to reassure the listeners that, in fact, Everybody Talks as Leon checked his phone for a moment, keeping one eye on the road as he did so. “Well, if the GPS is right, there’s a place further down where we should be able to get ‘authentic’ tacos and fireworks of questionable legality.” Luke could actually hear the quotation marks around the ‘authentic’ and picture the mischievous grin Leon gave when he mentioned the fireworks without even looking at his friend. He was chuckling lightly when he noticed the girl on the side of the road himself. He glanced at his best friend with inquisitively raised eyebrows. He gave Luke a little shrug and an ‘it’s a damsel in distress, what else can we do’ look. “Hold on tight.” Was the only warning he gave as he hit the brakes. The Impala skidded and kicked up a trail of dust and tire smoke as it came to a stop just past the young woman. He turned down the radio and little and set the car in Park before he hopped up to sit on the back of the seat. He turn back towards the woman and called out. “Vegas and points in between.” Leon gave her his best smile.

Blackstaff using his Magical Awareness super sense. Let me know if you need a roll.

Christopher nodded along, listening carefully. He had heard rumors not too long ago of some trouble with golden zombies by the docks. He may have to inquire about that later. For now, he could only listen politely. When the subject turned to vengeful curses he sat up a little straighter. Leaning forward, arms resting on his desk. He gave the professor a level look of curiosity. “By all means, feel free to speak frankly.” At the same time Christopher relaxed his mind, letting his senses expand. Opening his third eye, metaphorically speaking, the wizard-for-hire checked the man sitting across from him for the signs of lingering magic. It wouldn’t do for him to allow anyone, much less a potential client, from leaving his office still cursed.

GM Detective Pascal remained tense, the deadly end of his weapon pointed at the woman. If he had heard Nightscale’s warning not to do anything, one couldn’t tell. The barest of trembling and look in his eyes betrayed his anger. Detective Ramesy lowered her gun, holstering it. She carefully approached Pascal and placed a hand on the older man’s arm. “That won’t do anything except make you feel worse.” She said cautiously. He seemed to resist at first, but after a moment he slowly lowered his own weapon. Ramsey nodded and turned her attention to the heroes. “It isn’t my place to-” Ramsey began to reply to Diamondlight, but Pascal interrupted her. “It’s okay.” He said, finally holstering his weapon. The anger was still clear on his face, but his tone was a practiced neutral. “She killed several paramedics when she was being transferred. One of them… one of them was my brother-in-law. He left behind my sister and niece.” Pascal exhaled and seemed to be trying to calm himself. When Nightscale mentioned restraining the woman the detectives nod to each other. Ramsey steps forward, pulling a pair of cuffs from her belt while Rascal rests his hand on the pistol, but doesn’t draw it. Ramsey carefully cuffs one wrist and turns the woman over to do the same to the other one. As she does Pascal turns to Nightscale. “That’s right, you did mention something about a second scent. If she has an accomplice, we need to find them quickly.”

Chimera Power Level: 10 (150/150PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: None In Brief: College student with techno-organic symbiote Catchphrase: *** Theme: *** Alternate Identity: Jennifer Gale (Secret) Birthplace: Organics: Augusta, Georgia / Cybernetics: unknown alien origin Residence: FCU Dorms, North End, Freedom City Base of Operations: *** Occupation: College Student, Forensic Sciences Affiliations: none Family: Mother and Father Description: Age: 25 (DoB: April 1, 1998) Apparent Age: mid 20s Gender: Female Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5’ 6” Weight: 115lb Eyes: Black Hair: Black Description: Lean and athletic, Jennifer enjoys running and does so almost daily. A little on the short side, she has a runner’s build of lean muscle. She wears her hair kept short and hardly bothers with make-up, beyond lip gloss and occasionally nail polish if pushed to go out with friends. Being a college student, her wardrobe usually consists of thrift store shirts and jeans, but she has a favored coat she received from her mother as a birthday gift. She wears glasses of thin metal frames, but the lens are only for show. History: Jennifer comes from a completely mundane family. As far as she knows, no one in her family has done anything noteworthy. Until starting college she still lived with her parents; her mother Susan Gale, is an accountant for a small firm, and her father, is a construction foreman for a small, local company. Jennifer was a prominent member of her high school track and field team, earning a handful of trophies and awards. The year prior to the last Terminus Invasion, Jennifer had just graduated from high school and was enjoying the brief freedom before starting college. She had driven up to High Point State Park for a weekend alone. In the early morning she was enjoying a jog along one of its many trails, oblivious to the two falling stars streaking above that changed courses sharply. By the time she heard the sounds of the incoming alien fighters over her earbuds it was too late. The force of first impact knocked her from her feet and a fraction of a second later the second impact flung her into a tree. The pain was almost unbearable as she tried to drag herself up using the tree as support. Something on one of the ships exploded and showered her with shrapnel, leaving dozens of cuts and a ringing in her ears. Jennifer collapsed to her knees and her vision swam. As her hearing began to clear, she heard shouting and sounds of struggle. Feeling around she was thankful she found her glasses, though one of the lenses was missing. What she saw was two creatures of inhuman nature locked in physical combat. One of the creatures spotted her and shoved the other aside to rush towards her. It yelled something Jennifer couldn’t understand and the second took the opportunity to fire some kind of weapon at the first. The shot tore through the rushing alien, splattering Jennifer in a silvery-gray ooze. Wounded,the alien fell before reaching her and the shooter closed on it, pointing the weapon at the fallen combatant. The alien on the ground rolled onto its back and snarled something at the shooter. The shooter replied shortly before noticing the wounded alien had touched something on its arm. The second alien turned away quickly, as if to run, when the explosion erupted. The wave of force and heat drove Jennifer off her feet and tumbling again. When she finally regained consciousness on the forest floor, she was in dazed and in pain. Pulling herself to her feet she leaned against a tree and looked out over the crater left behind by the explosion. Small bit of metal caught the light here and there, but all Jennifer wanted was to get away from the site. Somehow, she managed to stagger her way back to her car. She couldn’t imagine how she actually made her way back to the hotel she was staying at, but when she finally woke up enough to take in her surroundings, she was in the small hotel bed. Her clothes were torn and bloodied as she stripped them off and entered the shower. Washing off the dried blood and dirt she was shocked not to find and marks on her skin. With only the remnants of her clothes Jennifer began to think she had simply tripped and hit her head while running. That the entire ordeal had simply been a delusion brought on by head trauma and counted herself lucky she seemed to be okay now. It wasn’t until she had returned home, and her mother had asked where her glasses were that Jennifer realized she hadn’t needed them since the hotel room. She made an excuse and went to her room to wonder what had happened. In the following year Jennifer started college classes and nothing else out of the ordinary happened…, until the Termius arrived. The heroes of the city defeated invaders, and all seemed well…, until… Something during the Terminus Invasion triggered the dormant techno-organic organism sleeping inside, and it awakened. In the time since then Jennifer has discovered the symbiote and learned that she could control it. Sure, it scared the ever-loving hell out of her, but after an acceptable amount of freaking out she finally came to terms with it and accepted that this was the new status quo. What Jennifer didn’t realize was that when she was first infected with the active organism, she was seriously injured and the symbiote healed her. The symbiote was small then though, and it took all of its energy to heal her causing it to go dormant until reawakened. And to this day, Jennifer doesn’t know who the aliens were or what they were doing. Was the one that rushed her trying to harm her? Or was it trying to protect her from the other alien? She’ll never know. After finally coming to terms with her new dual life as a college student and hero. Jennifer has had several opportunities to work alongside a few established heroes, and a few other beginners. She tries to learn with every encounter, but she understands she still has a lot to learn. Personality & Motivation: Jennifer is a smart, energetic college student and she loves being active. She has a friendly and outgoing personality and can usually make friends easily enough. She attends Freedom City University to study Forensic Pathology, with the desire to join the city’s police department. Jennifer wants to help people and has decided that maybe she can use her newfound abilities to do that, like those heroes that protected her and the other citizens not just during the invasion, but every day. Power Descriptions: The techno-organic symbiote has a silvery-gray metallic appearance and seems to grow out of Jennifer’s flesh, returning when not needed. When active, it can react with incredible speed, growing protective tendrils around her and increasing her physical abilities to inhuman levels. (Not unlike unlike the Witchblade) Complications: Remove foil before microwaving: (Power Loss) Strong electromagnetic fields can interfere with the symbiote, and in turn cause Jennifer to be unable to use it until she can escape the effect. Keep a leash on it: The symbiote is a semi-sentient organism, it has been known to act on its own survival instincts. The GM can award a Hero Point if these involuntary actions cause a severe breach of etiquette or otherwise makes others uncomfortable, which could result in a penalty to (or automatically failing) certain interaction skill checks. Have you seen my phone?: The symbiote’s instincts for survival can extend to feeling the need to fortify itself. This can result in it ‘eating’ electronics and metals it comes in contact with for extended times to add to its material resources. Acting on its instincts it makes no differentiation as to the source of these materials: friend, foe, or other. The GM can award a Hero Point if this results in a severe complication for Jennifer or a companion due to missing items of importance or mechanical failure. Power Level: 10 Tradeoffs: None Power Points: 150/150 Unspent Power Points: 0 ABILITIES 2 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 4 = 24PP Strength: 12/26 (+8) Dexterity: 14/18 (+4) Constitution: 14/16 (+3) Intelligence: 16 (+3) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 14 (+2) COMBAT 8 + 12 = 20PP Initiative: +4 (+4 Dex) Attack: +10 melee (+4 Base, +6 Attack Focus [melee]) Defense: +10 (+6 Base, Dodge Focus 4), +3 Flat-Footed Grapple: +8/+18 (+8 Melee Attack, +8 Strength, +2 Super-Strength) Knockback Resistance: -1/-3 SAVING THROWS 7 + 6 + 7 = 20PP Toughness: +10 (+3 Con, +7 Protection) Fortitude: +10 (+3 Con, +7PP) Reflex: +10 (+4 Dex, +6PP) Will: +9 (+2 Wis, +7PP) SKILLS 76R = 19PP Acrobatics 6 (+10) Computers 7 (+10) Concentration 3 (+5) Drive 1 (+5) Investigate 7 (+10) Knowledge, Life Sciences 9 (+12) Knowledge, Physical Sciences 9 (+12) Knowledge, Pop-culture 2 (+5) Knowledge, Technology 7 (+10) Medicine 10 (+12) Notice 8 (+10) Search 7 (+10) FEATS 17PP Attack Focus [melee] 6 Dodge Focus 4 Evasion 1 Improved Grapple Luck 3 Quick Change Weapon Bind POWERS 24 + 5 + 21 = 50PP Combat Array 11 (22PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 2) [24PP] (Nanobots, Symbiote, Techno-Organic) BP: Damage 10 [22PP] (Range: 5 10-ft increments, 50’’ max; Feats: Accurate 3; Extras: Range; Drawback: Reduced Range 1 AP: [14+5=19/22PP] Enhanced Strength 14 [14PP] Super-Strength 2 (+10 Str for carry capacity and +2 Str for sustained activity; Feat: Bracing) [5PP] AP: Stun 10 [20/22PP] (Electricity) Movement Array 2 (4PP Array; Feat: Alternate Power 1) [5PP] (Nanobots, Symbiote, Techno-Organic) BP: [3+1=4/4PP] Speed 3 (500 ft/rd, 50mph ground speed) [3PP] Quickness 1 (x2, Extra: Linked [to Speed]) [1PP] AP: Flight 3 (500 ft/rd, 50mph flight speed, Drawback: Limited load [Medium load], Power Loss 1 [Wings]) [4PP] (cosmetic: also grows tail) Physical Container 4.2 [21PP] (Nanobots, Symbiote, Techno-Organic) Enhanced Constitution 2 [2PP] Enhanced Dexterity 4 [4PP] Protection 7 [7PP] Regeneration 8 (Recovery Bonus +2, Bruised 2 [standard action], Injured 2 [5 minutes], Ability 1 [5 hours], Disabled 1 [5 hours]) [8PP] ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Damage Touch DC25 Toughness Damage (Physical) Stun Touch DC25 Fort Stun (Electrical) TOTALS Abilities (24) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (20) + Skills (19) + Feats (17) + Powers (50) - Drawbacks (0) = 150/150 Power Points

Paper - 21 Paper Trail to the City of Sin - 2 Everybody Wants to be a Cat - 1 Young Guardians Return - 5 Dream Chasing - 5 Holiday Cheer! - 4 Friends in the Fens - 4 Blackstaff - 10 Graveyard of the Pacific - 0 Curse of the Hag Swamp - 7 A Dream of Christmas - 3 Chimera - 3 Golden Dead - 3 Predator - 7 Teching the Tech - 0 Holiday Cheer! - 5 Battles Under the Bigtop - 2 GM - 2 (x2 = 4) Let the Bodies Hit the Ground - 2

Paper - 2 Paper Trail to the City of Sin - 0 Everybody Wants to be a Cat - 1 Young Guardians Return - 1 Blackstaff - 0 (+6 GM) 6 Graveyard of the Pacific - 0 Chimera - 1 Golden Dead - 1 Predator - 1 Teching the Tech - 1 GM - 3 (x2= 6) (6 to Blackstaff) Let the Bodies Hit the Ground - 3

Toughness save for Sue: 14 Considering the likelyhood of me rolling a 30 I don’t think I’ll bother rerolling.

Create Object 10 to create a T-Rex shaped construct 40’ long and 12’ tall, the average size according to Google. Should fit fine into the 250 cubic feet he can manage.

Paper Leon’s eyes adjusted to the interior and he quickly took in everything as his eyes swept the room. “What have we learned?” He directed towards Multi-Girl. “This is why you scout before you B&E. Now it looks like we interrupted a party.” He recognized a number of the costumes and faces. Leon gave a little whistle. ”Some familiar faces here tonight.” Paper shot Casanova a smirk. “See, now that just makes me want to ruin all the things.” “Guess if it’s a party, let me introduce my plus one.” Paper pours out of his jacket until it dissolves into paper entirely. It swarms and gathers under Paper, lifting him as it amasses and takes shape. “Her name is Sue.” He grins and the shape under him stretches and snaps massive jaws. The paper T-Rex easily reaching 40’ in length as it uncurls fully. Paper standing on its shoulders a good 12’ off the ground. The construct mimicking a silent roar.

Just for future reference, how high is the ceiling in the main room?

“Tea. Of course.” Christopher said, raising his voice only a hair. He could picture Lark sighing and getting up from her desk. No human could not have heard them in the office from the front desk, but Lark was not human. She was a lycan, what most would simply call a werewolf. And her hearing was more than human. “Mr. Daye is fine. Blackstaff is a, ah, nickname.” Christopher smiled, not sparing the blacken wood staff in the corner even a glance. He laced his fingers and gave the professor his full attention. “I understand what you mean. The rise in cursed objects falling into unsuspecting hands has become a growing concern.” He nodded appropriately. “I even have a colleague, a Mr. Marshak, overseas with a curio shop. He and some assistants have dedicated themselves to recovering and locking away as many as they can find.” He gave the professor a chuckle and opened his hands. “But he’s overseas and you’re in my office, so I think I may be able to help you. I do accept cash, check, card… or equivalent barter.” “That said, what exactly is it you would like my aid with?” Christopher leaned back and as if on cue, Lark knocked and entered. A worn and slightly tarnished copper tray in hand. She handed a coffee mug with tea to Professor Armitage, then another mug on the desk for Christopher.

Leon caught Neko’s look at Erik and smirked. At the older man’s comment he raised an eyebrow and watched at Erik set the pickpocket directly in his path. He quickly followed the older man’s lead though. Letting his walking momentum carry him into the man before catching himself and stepping back. “Sorry aboot that.” Leon thumbed at Erik with his right hand. “Bit ov’a clutz this one is. Let me help you.” Sounding like an overly friendly Canadian stereotype. He started to straighten the man’s coat while rambling. “You really have a nice city, ah. We be have a bit more snow up north though right now, don’tcha know. It’s was a nice change for visiting my online girlfriend.” “Will you get off me!” The man exclaimed, trying to fend off Leon’s almost comical attempt at politeness. “What is this, one of those prank videos?” He finally pushes Leon back. By now the two had drawn the attention of a few other people on the street who were watching “You need to keep your hands to yoursel-“ The man cut off suddenly when Leon raised his hand in placating manner only to have one hand. Where his left hand should be was only a rounded stump. The pickpocket suddenly looked embarrassed and nervous as he noticed the attention they were getting. He looked around then turned away from the group and hurried off with a muttered. “I don’t have time this bullsh*t.” Leon turned back to Neko and Erik with a mischievous grin. “So, who wants to return this, ah?” He asked in the bad Canadian accent, holding up a wallet in his left hand.

Chimera The vessel trembled under her feet with each reverberation of the undead’s assault. The floor under them was already beginning to buckle and tear under the attack. She wasn’t sure when her companion was going to stop being nauseous so she had to take action. She lunged forward and attempted to seize the closest of them. She had to be careful, they seemed slow, but strong.

Grapple attempt on the closest undead. Melee attack: 16 Grapple check: 21

Blackstaff The blonde that had been sitting at the front desk knocked on Christopher’s door opening it enough to poke her head in. “Yes, Lark?” He asked without looking up from his papers. The way she cleared her throat made him pause and look up though. “There’s a Professor Armitage here.” Lark said as she slipped into the office and handed Christopher a business card. His brow furrowed a little as he took the card and read it himself. Both eyebrows rose as he recognized the name. “Send him in.” He smiled at Lark and straightened his papers and set them aside. As the professor entered the office Christopher stood and offer his hand. “Professor Armitage, Christopher Daye. A pleasure, your reputation proceeds you.” He gestures to an empty chair in front of the desk. “How can I help you?” He smiles and asks as he sits.

Initiative: 24

Paper Leon quietly approached the building, not seeing any signs of recent activity outside. The door was cracked and he peeked through with the others. There was a figure on the ground inside. It seemed to be struggling against its restraints as green light and the sound of voices from further in reached them. He didn’t like this, but before he could say anything first, one Bernadette slipped inside, quickly followed by another. Leon bite back anything he was about to say. He watches as the two girls try to quietly cross the loading dock when the green light from the doorway becomes blocked. Leon silently cursed and stepped back to looked for an alternate entry pointed. After only a moment though, he sighed and shook his head. He didn’t feel like playing along anymore. He looked at Luke and shrugged, then he stepped up and threw the door open. He walked in confidently, hands in his pockets and looking directly in the direction of the figure in the opposite doorway. “Knock, knock.” He announced.

Chimera Mere inches from the golden dead Chimera flinched back when it moved. And with its slow movement something else. It exhaled and she could feel the symbiote mask clamp tighter over her nose and mouth. She caught a bare whisper of its smell still and she stepped back fully making a disgusted noise. Her companion seemed to fair worse as the young man lost his lunch on the floor. Chimera pointedly ignored it and kept her attention on the corpse, then realized the possibly. Her attention jumped to the crate beside this one, and the one beside that… This did not bode well…

First save: 25 whoot! Second save: 27 nice! actually rolled well for a change.

Paper Leon sat on the edge of the roof with his two ‘teammates’. Honestly they hadn’t felt like much of a team. Between school, work, and life in general they seemed less a team and more a collection of kids pretending to be one. Leon gave an exaggerated yawn and took a sip from a to-go coffee cup. He hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary… yet. Something felt ‘off’ though and that didn’t sit right with him. “I don’t know about you two, but imma gonna get a closer look.” Without letting go of the coffee cup Leon leaned forward and let himself fall off the roof ledge. Twisting as he fell, paper swarmed and a moment later he was slowly descending via hang from a paper umbrella like a famous nanny. Coffee still in hand. The umbrella closed and tucked under his arm, Leon started towards the destitute warehouse looking for any signs of activity.

Leon will also Skill Mastery it for a 20.

Paper Leon stared at the folded paper. It could honestly have been from any number of people. He knew who he wanted it to be from, but just looking at it he knew it wasn’t. He hadn’t heard from either his brother or sister in months. Not since they had fought. No punches had been thrown, but words can hurt worse. He hadn’t mentioned the fight to anyone other than Neko, not even Luke. His best friend could tell something was wrong but hadn’t pressed the subject. Leon appreciated it. He’d have to tell him eventually. With a sigh he picked it up and regarded it. Even without opening it he already knew what it said and who had sent it. The paper told him. Leon’s phone buzzed and he gave it a quick glance. Timing. Somehow Charlie was really good at that. He had to give the man credit for that. He opened the note anyways and looked it over with his own two eyes. Casanova? Now there was a name he hadn’t thought about in a while. Charlie had been all about messing with their fellow Claremont alumni, and Leo had been happy to go along with him. He didn’t care much for the boy’s attitude, which was saying something coming from him. At least Charlie had been, before he had up and vanished over a year and a half ago. If Leon had done that, he’d have wound up back in juice when they got their hands on him. Leon had tried to fill in some kind of leadership whenever any of them happened to been together and heroing needed doing. Not for lack of effort, but he just didn’t seemed to pull the respect of the others like Charlie did. That was fine, he didn’t want to actually be leader. He was just use to working with a team. Not that he was part of that team anymore. He thought darkly, then shook it off. He closed the note and stuffed it into a pocket. Pulling his phone out again he tapped out a reply to Bernadette’s group text. Leon tapped the coordinates into the map app on his phone and copied it into the chat with another text.

GM “Ramsey?” Detective Pascal’s voice preceded the man’s appearance as he came stumbling back into the clearing. His pistol swept the space quickly before settling on the unconscious woman. “Here!” Detective Ramsey called back, her own weapon aimed at the woman as well. She looked at her partner with something akin to concern as Diamondlight spoke. Detective Pascal’s brow furrowed. “Keep her covered.” Henrico ordered and Ramsey nodded hesitantly. Pascal approached the heroes standing over the unconscious attacker. He looked down at the woman with scrutiny. “It is her.” He said almost under his breath and the shaking of his hands was small visible, but his grip tightened and his aim didn’t waver. Anger began to creep into his expression.

Chimera She couldn’t smell the gold precisely like he could, but the smell of stale death and something metallic definitely hung in the air as the grate cracked open. Chimera managed to swallow back the bile, but she could still taste it in the back of her throat. She nodded at Nightscale’s assessment. “That does appear to be the look of it.” She said and stepped closer, tentatively. Carefully she reached out to touch one of the figures. “They look extremely old. Are these what Max was after?” Chimera asked herself out loud as she leaned in closer.