Heritage

Grimalkin

 

The lovely fae crinkled her nose and shook her head. "You worry too much, you adorable spectre; for one thing, only one of us needs to be a good dancer. Don't worry, I'm going to make you look amazing out there. Here-" 

 

She took his left hand in her right, placed his other one around her waist, and then closed her eyes; as she did so, her body subtlety adjusted its proportions (height, weight, etc) to ideally match him as a dance partner, until they fit together like two peas in a pod.

 

"There, much better! Shall we?"

Shift

 

Things were better than they had been a few seconds ago, but the young android sensed the fight was far from over. Chunk moving to Sebastian's side was probably not a good thing, so Shift moved to neutralize the more durable opponent. She looked like she was about to do a somersault, but instead her nanomass tumbled like a giant Slinky toy, reforming into her female shape right next to Chunk. Then her arms and legs abruptly snapped around his torso, joined shortly thereafter by two more pairs of limbs that slid out of her torso. In this position, it was quite clear Pol weighed well over six hundred pounds.

 

"Stay. Put."

Grimalkin

 

At the sound of Ghost's voice, Grim spun around to face him, the motion of which did all sorts of interesting things to her outfit. "Well if it isn't Mr. Ghost! It's been far too long."

 

She gestured towards the dance floor, a warm smile lighting up her face.

 

"Might I have this dance?"

Reroll: 1d20+8=17

 

That's a 9, so 27? 

 

Grapple check using Additional Limbs: 1d20+28=39

Attack roll for Shift vs Chunk: 1d20+14 

 

Would that connect?

I think Shift is going to try and grapple Chunk. She's +24 normally, and I think she gets bonuses if she switches her VP to Additional Limbs?

Crystal-Gazer

 

Floating in the air, Lulu closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose, held it for a few seconds, and then slowly exhaled through her lips. "Mmm...sure seems peaceful here! Let's have a look 'round, see what's the what."

 

A little bit of Davyd's pop culture obsession crossed over to Lulu in his thoughts, and she grinned. "Well ah'm no Legolas, but ah'll give it the ol' Alabama try." An absent-minded roll of her neck snapped her Chinese government-issued inhibitor collar like it was a cheap Happy Meal toy, easy work for her TK. "There, that's better!"

 

The telepathic redhead's eyes went unfocused as she sent her eyes and ears far ahead of their little group. Her head cocked this way and that, and when she spoke, it was just a bit too loud. "Hmm...not a lotta tech 'round here; looks like most folks are doin' things the old-fashioned way. Simple tools an' draft animals. Wait a sec, ah see...ah see him!" She raised a hand to point at the distant structure. "He's at some kinda monastary or somethin', doin' martial arts and whatnot. C'mon!"

 

And at that, she began swooping through the air!

Crystal-Gazer

 

Reaching out with her TK, Lulu gently picked up Veronica in her invisible mental grasp, and began floating towards the portal.

 

"Be ready for anythin', ah guess!"

 

She closed her eyes and braced herself for the unknown.

Grimalkin 

 

"Good lord, you've gotten tall since I saw you last," Grim blurted out like the old Jewish grandmother she secretly was. "He was like one of those spooky kids from Village of the Damned, but now he's all tall and grown up! You look amazing, Lawrence."

 

She gave him a very firm hug before turning her attention towards another of the arrivals

 

"And Stesha! Give me hugs, you crazy plant lady..."

Crystal-Gazer

 

There was a soft knock on the door of the second floor crèche, and then a red-headed elf with a purse over one shoulder entered the room. She waved a hand and looked somewhat embarrassed.

 

"Hey, sorry ah'm late! Davyd said you might need a lil' help with some of the kids?"

 

As Lulu stepped further into the room, a miniature alpine scene appeared to form around her, complete with snow, pine trees and tiny skiers. As the telepath sat cross-legged on the floor in one corner, a few of the minitaure figures struggled to ski around her.

 

"So what are y'all up to? Oh, that has got to be Davyd right there, don' it," she asked as she indicated the tub full of swans and Jell-O.

Shift

 

Over Charlie's earpiece, he hears a soft contralto voice with just a hint of fury.

 

-Copy that. I'd recognize that jerk's heat signature anywhere.-

 

Seconds later, a high pitched whine can be heard coming from overhead, rapidly rising in volume and pitch.  Suddenly a large projectile punctures the roof, slamming into the floor at a slight angle not three feet from Sebastian's head. A series of beeps increases in speed until the shell splits open and unfolds into an attractive young woman with a big head of curly hair, wearing a close-fitting blue jumpsuit that leaves her lower arms and legs exposed. She looks down at Luke and his prisoner with a warm grin.

 

 "Hello friends! Did you miss me?"

 

Her right arm then raises up, shifting into a massive knobby tentacle before slamming across the would-be Casanova's face.

First roll to hit Cas: 1d20+8=9

 

"Mediocre!"

 

Using Luck for a reroll: 1d20+8=10 (+10) = 20

Forgive me for being very rusty, but what would I need to do to have Shift drop through the roof and do a Slam attack on Chump? It can't just be as simple as roll to hit, right? This is M&M!

Grimalkin

 

After releasing Velocity, Grim turned to Mali and clearly struggled for a second as she tried to place the face and voice, but then Megan did her magical host thing and saved her.

 

"Omigod, yes, I'm so sorry! That was...August of 2014, when I was just getting resettled. You and your friend rented an apartment from me, and worked in the store for a while, right? You guys had that weird skeleton cat that liked spine scritches..."

 

The fae heroine laughed and shook her head

 

"Wow, that has to be the most non-heroic way for two heroes to know each other! How have you been?"

 

When Velocity indicated the two Claremont graduates, Grim smiled and shook their hands with a warm grip.

 

"Oh, nice to meet you! Grimalkin, Mistress of Mystery. Forgive me, I'm not familiar with your work; I don't follow younger heroes as well as I should."

Grimalkin 

 

It had been a long time since Lynn Epstein had walked these hallowed halls. Never an actual Leaguer but often Leaguer-adjacent, the veteran superhero always felt like a bit of an interloper at these shindigs. She often found herself tucked into a quiet corner, literally invisible but watching the spectacle unfold.

 

No matter, she was determined to make a go of it. After spending some time working on her look, she settled on tall and playful, wearing a cranberry red dress conjured out no earthly fabric, but drawing on elements of silk, rose petals and butterfly wings. Grim felt just like Julia Roberts, arriving at the opera in that one movie. Snagging some champagne from an attentive server, the fae heroine scanned the crowd more with her ears than her eyes, searching for familiar voices. And of course one mellifluous laugh caught her ear.

 

"My, don't we all look lovely tonight? Happy holidays, Vel!" She offered her oldest friend in Freedom a warm hug without spilling a single drop of champagne, clearly a gesture of supernatural grace.

 

Shift: 19 for Initiative

"Hey there, girlfriend!" 

 

Though the telepath wasn't physically powerful, her hugs certainly were; she hugged you with her whole self, and sometimes a hint of telekinesis. The recipients of her hugs, especially her best friends, felt warm, safe and loved. After a happy number of seconds, Lulu released Veronica, beaming at her former classmate as she held her at arm's length and looked over her ensemble.

 

"Look at you! Boy, you can take the gal outta the Amazon, but you can't take the Amazon outta the gal! You ready to rush off somewheres, or is this office casual for you?"

This is a slight tweak courtesy of RocketLord. If the picture could be smaller, that would be great.

UPGRADE'd by Dr Archeville

 

 

Default human form

 

Name: Shift

Power Level: PL10/12

Tradeoffs: -2 Attack / +2 Damage, -2 Defense / +2 Toughness

Power Points: 192/192

Unspent PP: 0

 

In Brief: Nanotech artifical lifeform with changeable shape

Identity: Pol Rothstein-Frasier
Birthplace: FR Technologies, Greenbank
Occupation: Hero
Affiliations: Claremont Academy (graduate), Young Guardians
Family: Alan Frasier ('father'), Sarah Rothstein ('mother')

 

Description

DOB: January 24, 2004 (programing completed)

Apparent Age: n/a
Gender: Genderfluid

Ethnicity: n/a
Height: 5' 6"
Weight: 625 lbs
Eyes: n/a
Hair: n/a

 

Pol Rothstein-Frasier is an artifical lifeform in search of a normal life. They appear to a metalic biped of medium height and build, although their body is actually super-heavy due to the nature of the nanomass of which their composed. There are various mimetic plates, joints and hydraulics all over Pol's form that can turn, twist, rotate, contract and expand in nearly infinite combinations to alter their appearance. The upper half of Pol's face is a featureless glass and metal dome, but the lower half bears an expressive, human-like mouth. When they speak, their voice is normally a soft contralto.

 

As a highly adaptive synthetic, Pol can assume any appearance they choose, but they have not settled on one yet; over time, they hope to discover a number of identities to help them interact better with humans. For the comfort of others, Pol with integrate clothing into their appearance, usually a simple dress shirt, slacks and leather shoes in unassuming colors that represent no existing brand.

 

When in the field, Pol adds a dark blue short sleeve shirt and matching shorts, similar to athletic wear, while leaving the rest of their robotic limbs exposed.

 

History:

FR Technologies was a technology start-up created by two Tulane graduates, Alan Frasier and Sarah Rothstein; both had grown disheartened working for larger firms, he for ArcheTech and her ASTRO Labs. They realized that the cost of increased freedom was self-funding projects, but they were convinced that between the two of them, and with the help a small group of friends and family members acting as investors, they would succeed.

 

Their most ambitious project was the Polysynaptic Operations Logarithm, POL for short, a multi-function program designed for use in research labs as a scientific aid. POL was nearly infinity expandable, and capable of performing several calculations or running several pieces of equipment at the same time. But the program was also a data hog, and the two programmers were constantly in the process of upgrading their hardware, at considerable personal cost.

 

Eventually the two programmers made a startling discovery; POL's code was evolving on it's own, becoming more complicated every day. And then it began to make independent queries and commandeering audio and video inputs to sense the world around itself. Without even trying, Alan and Sarah had created an AI child. Once they made this discovery, they began to devour books on developmental psychology as they sought to educate their amazing 'offspring'. In some ways, POL was incredibly advanced for their 'age', such as language and problem-solving, but in other areas they were seriously impaired, especially emotional development. Educating the AI proved to be a full-time job that would take as much time as raising a human child.

 

Ultimately the two programmers realized that it was unfair to restrict a budding young intellect to a room full of overheating hard drives; Pol (as they now began spelling their name) needed a body to explore and interact with the world. The first attempts were essentially similar to NASA probes, remote controlled rovers with sensory equipment to explore the lab, and eventually the Greenbank neighborhood around it. Pol was delighted to see even this grim industrial area, asking questions about everything they saw.

 

Then one day while Alan and Sarah were taking Pol for a ramble, a young man in office casuals approached them; his name was Josh Gentry, and he worked for a technology firm nearby. He'd noticed the surrogate family on his lunch breaks, and he was curious to learn their story. Josh was pleasant and disarming, and soon the somewhat introverted engineers, eager to talk about their beloved 'child', were relaying their whole story. Josh was fascinated, and offered them a chance to collaborate on a more advanced mobile unit for Pol.

 

What Frasier and Rothstein didn't know was that their little mom and pop operation had been under surveillance by the Foundry for some time, and Josh worked for one it's many front companies. The body they provided for Pol was actually a highly advanced nanotech frame, based on a similar model constructed in Vibora Bay. The body's processing functions were distributed throughout the frame, giving it unprecedented storage space, and allowing Pol to truly take their first steps as independent artificial lifeform.

 

But this devil's bargain came with a cost; Alan and Sarah were financially overextended, and Josh's firm exploited hidden loopholes in their contract to claim ownership of Pol. One by one, a series of financial disasters hit the lab (all orchestrated by the Foundry), bringing Pol's creators to the brink of ruin. Desperate to allow their child to have a life of their own, they contacted the exclusive Claremont Academy with an unusual request: could they educate and look after Pol while they sorted things out?

 

As of right now, Alan Frasier and Sarah Rothstein are on the run, chased by anonymous enforcers; they check in with Shift whenever they can, and hope to be reunited some day.

 

Personality & Motivation:

Pol is a curious robot, and very eager to learn more about human society and behavior, although pop culture shows American primary schools to be filled with potential pitfalls. While Pol has done a great deal of research, they have no idea how the other students will react to them, much less how Pol will feel about their fellow students.

 

By human standards, Pol would be considered introverted and somewhat shy, although much of that is simply the robot preferring to observe human behavior as it plays out. They also enjoy games of any sort, the more challenging the better; sports, on the other hand, remain rather confusing.

 

Powers & Tactics:

Pol is extremely sturdy for their size, as well as highly adaptable. They employ to primary attacks, simple bludgeoning or using their nanomass to break down inanimate objects into 'food'. Pol can also assume a bewildering variety of shapes, including small vehicles capable of high speed travel.

 

Complications:

"I have a picture of them." Shift has no idea where their parents are, and misses them terribly. The promise of finding them could be used to fool the young robot.

 

"How strong is this floor?" Shift's super-dense nanomass weighs a lot more than it appears; from time to time, this may be hazardous.

 

"Why do I have to chose?" Shift's ability to change apparent gender at will, combined with their genderfluid identity, may be off-putting to some.

 

"That's okay; I'm not hungry." Not having several human needs like eating or sleeping can be a bit isolating.

 

"They're still looking for me." The Foundry would still like to reclaim its 'stolen property'.

 

"SYSTEM OVERRIDE." The Foundry planted a secret code word into Shift's robotic body. If it is spoken to them, it causes physical lockdown, rendering them incapable of any actions.

 

Abilities: 22PP (12 + 4 + (-10) + 12 + 4 + 0)

Strength: 22 / w. Density: 34 (+12), 54 Lifting (Heavy Load: 22.4 tons)

Dexterity: 14 (+2)

Constitution: -

Intelligence: 22 (+6)

Wisdom: 14 (+2)

Charisma: 10 (+0)

 

Combat: 14PP (8 + 6)

Initiative: +6 (+6 Int)

Attack: +4

Grapple: +24 (+4 Base Attack, +4 Attack Focus [Melee], +12 Strength, +4 Super-Strength), +29 with Elongation

Defense: +8 (+3 Base, +5 Dodge Focus), +1 Flat-Footed

Knockback Resistance: 10 (1/2 of Non-Impervious Toughness 4 = 2, + Impervious Toughness 8), 12 at normal speed or slower (Immovable 2)

 

Saving Throws: 10PP (0 + 4 + 6)

Toughness: +12 (+12 Protection; Impervious 8 )

Fortitude: -

Reflex: +6 (+2 Dex, +4PP)

Will: +8 (+2 Wis, +6PP)

 

Skills: 11PP (44R)

Acrobatics 8 (+10)

Climb 0 (+4) (No Strength bonus from Density)

Computers 4 (+10)

Craft (Electronic) 4 (+10)

Craft (Mechanical) 4 (+10)

Diplomacy 4 (+4)

Disable Device 4 (+10)

Disguise 0 (+0, +20 Morph)

Knowledge (Technology) 4 (+10)

Notice 8 (+10)

Search 4 (+10)

Swim - (Density)

 

Feats: 19PP

Attack Focus [Melee] 4

Beginners Luck

Dodge Focus 5

Improvised Tools

Interpose

Jack of All Trades

Luck 2

Move-By Action

Speed of Thought

Takedown Attack 2

 

Enhanced Feats:

Improved Grapple (if using Additional Limbs)

 

Powers: 124PP

Communication 5 (Radio, Range: 5 miles) [5PP]

 

Density 6 (Mass x5; Cannot Swim; Extras: Duration [Continuous]; Flaws: Permanent; Feats: Innate) [19PP]

 

 

Drain Toughness 12 (Extras: Affects Objects; Flaws: Limited [Objects], Requires Grapple) [6PP]

 

Immunity 40 (Fortitude effects; Psionic effects) [40PP]

 

Impervious Toughness 5 (8 ranks total) [5PP]

 

Morph 4 (Any form; Disguise +20; Extras: Duration [Continuous]) [16PP]

 

Movement Array 2.5 (5PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 1) [6PP]

     BP: Speed 5 (250MPH, 2,500ft [1/2 mile] per Move Action) {5/5}

     AP: Leaping 5 (x50, Running Long Jump: 1100ft long x 275ft high) {5/5}

 

Protection 9 (12 ranks total) [9PP]

 

Super-Senses 4 (Darkvision; Infra-Vision; Radio) [4PP]

 

Super-Strength 2 (4 ranks total; Lifting Strength: 54, Heavy Load: 22.4 tons; Grapple +4) [4PP]

 

Variable Power 1 (5PP pool; Multiple Powers of Any Type or Descriptor At Once; Extras: Action 2 [Free], Duration [Continuous]) [10PP]

 

 

Drawbacks: -8PP

Disability (Anosmia; Frequency: Uncommon; Intensity: Minor) [-1PP]

 

Vulnerability (Electricity; Frequency: Common; Intensity: Major [x2 Effect Rank]) [-4PP]

 

Vulnerability (Magnetism; Frequency: Uncommon; Intensity: Major [x2 Effect Rank]) [-3PP]

 

 

DC Block

ATTACK         RANGE    SAVE                                 EFFECT

Unarmed        Touch     DC 25 Toughness           Damage

Drain               Touch     DC 20 Reflex                  Damage

 

 

TOTALS:

Abilities (22) + Combat (14) + Saving Throws (10) + Skills (11) + Feats (19) + Powers (124) - Drawbacks (8) = 192/192 Power Points

So I'm bring Shift out of retirement, and I want to figure out what they've been up to for the last 3 years. My initial thought was a power down into a more compact form, ala Wall-E or Eve from the Pixar film. This is an easy way to not have to worry about not knowing a lot of current history.

 

The big question I have is where has Shift physically been? The compact form would still weight 625 lbs, so they can't be kept just anywhere. Might she be resting in a storage area somewhere in the ArcheTech HQ?

 

Just getting the ball rolling!

Crystal-Gazer

 

Lulu held out one hand, and Rex's pack floated over to her, and she slung one of its straps over one shoulder. It would probably be a lot more awkward to carry if her TK wasn't doing most of the lifting.

 

"Oh Lord, that does not sound good; helluva surprise if you didn't know what yer gettin' into."

 

The redheaded held out her arms to either side and floated into the air in a t-pose, smiling grimly.

 

"Anyone need a lift?"

Crystal-Gazer

 

Shortly thereafter Lulu gently alighted in the clearing next to her two friends, initially excited to see the pack. "Hot damn, we're on the right track!" But then she looked around the clearing, at the lack of any more additional signs of the young man. "Hell of a place to leave all your stuff behind."

 

Using her TK, she gently explored the backpack as she crouched down beside it, not wanting to leave any fingerprints or contaminating fibers on it. She was looking for any signs of damage, rips or tears that might indicate a struggle.

Notice via ESP: 1d20+15=34

 

Yowza! Note that Lulu's ESP is limited to the visual spectrum and human perceivable audio frequencies.

Any rolls Lulu has to make?

Crystal-Gazer

 

"Let's try a lil' aerial recon, whatcha think?"

 

Lulu held her arms out to her sides and gracefully took to the air, being mindful to keep her elevation well below two hundred feet. Her bright green rain slick made her look a bit like a kite or a Tinker Bell toy, dipping and bobbing in the light rain.

 

It sure is beautiful up here, she sent with a mental sigh. She sent her visual senses no more than fifty yards ahead, scanning the area starting at the foot of the falls, looking for any trace of Rex, both hoping to and dreading to find him.