Ari

Marceau Suvou sped noiselessly through the night, his legs pumping up and down as they carried him to the edge of the Boardwalk, where his informant had told him a meeting of the Mob families Driogano and Oliverti to discuss a potential operation in the Fens. He had decided to investigate, and in necessary put a stop to it. It was common knowledge that the two families worked together, but as of late the Oliverti's had been getting restless, and Giovanni was rumored to be looking for more profitable partnerships. Marceau slid to a halt at the edge of a warehouse near number 4's western wall. He knew he ought to have changed into his disguise at least a block before, but some longing for fresh air kept him from donning his cowl until now, almost within sight of the patrolling men. With a weary sigh he pulled on the rest of his more rigid costume, adjusting the armored boots to iron out a wrinkle in one sock. The red breastplate with the white diamond presented no difficulty, being just flexible and bendy enough to be comfortably put on and worn while still being protective. Attaching the cape, the black red and white hero the King of Suits fired his grapple gun at the warehouse roof above him, scrambling up right next to a blond man in black. Startled, he only just managed to lower his voice before blurting out "Hey, who're you?!" his gaze was fixed on the blue eye symbol the man wore, and with it came a revelation "Are you with Foreshadow? Is he here?" he asked eagerly, his blue eyes gleaming in the dark night.

Okay then, so Fulcrum doesn't hear or see anything unusual.

OOC thread for Have A Cigar!, where Omen, Quarrel and King of Suits deal with a deal in the Mob.

GM 2011, November 4th, 9.30 P.M. The glowering warehouse stood in its place, its number in metal above the large double door, a row of eight of its brothers and sisters, all alike as peas in a pod. Number 4, however, had a special honor tonight: it was playing host to a gathering of the enforcers of two of the leading Mafia families: the Drioganos and the Olivertis. While the two weren't officially at war, they were hardly friends, and their representatives sat on opposite sides of the room, watching each other like hawks while awaiting the all clear from the watchmen posted around the warehouse. With a crackle of static, each band moved towards the large table set on the upper floor of the place, keeping a close eye on each other for the slightest of movements towards the weapons both sides had brought despite the clear orders of their leaders. Al Driogano and Giovanni Oliverti hadn't seen the point of coming in person. So instead they had each entrusted an underboss with the task of making the deal. Seeing it best to avoid meeting together in case of attack, and discounting calling due to attacks that seemed led by phone taps. A meeting like this was one of the few ways they could be sure they had even a chance of being undetected, and even this was thick with risks, leading to the deployment of a dozen of the best shots the two families could gather together for the night. The two underbosses, a sleek, ell-like fellow and one reminiscent of a camel, seated themselves and looked warily at each other. Oliverti was rumored to be readying for a crippling blow to one of the Driogano's operations, and it was hoped that his deal of cooperation could smooth things over for now. Outside, the dozen watchdogs took drags from cigarettes and fingered their weapons, ready to fire a warning shot at the first sign of a cape...

GM "We are not sending Earth citizens into a death trap, Supercape" snapped the captain with more heat than she had shown earlier, something about the term 'death trap' evidently being anathema to her. "We've already begun work disabling the security measures for the first two floors of the complex, but the other twelve or so are proving considerably more resistant to our hacking. We're hoping you can get past in ways we can't from our ships, either through subversion-" she glanced over at Ironclad "-brute force-" Quintessence and Phalanx "-or even turning them to some other state of matter(perhaps her gaze turned back to Supercape)"-thereby deactivating the security systems for that level. Some of the floors appear to be radically differently-protected, the first few are so difficult to crack it took us most of the last few of your weeks to break through, while the others can be traversed without any protection at all" W hile she spoke, the map zoomed in on the circled area, changing from a ship's camera picture to an image taken from an apparently ground-level viewpoint, showing a large black dome covered in a shimmering, semi-transparent energy field. Zooming in on that, it changed to a glowing neon schematic of the complex beneath the dome. "We've outlined the levels and rooms that are safe to travel in green, ones with light security that can be avoided with blue, and secured areas with red and black, and the areas that are utterly impossible to enter are black. As you can see" she continued, tapping the invisible buttons on the black tabletop that governed the display "almost all of the facility is off-limits. We believe that either this is a safety device, and something dangerous is inside that the Preservers want to protect others from, or there's something very powerful and valuable deep within that they didn't want anyone to take or use. With your help, we can discover which, if either, is correct. Until then, this installation is a potential danger to life in your system, and we would be remiss to not investigate it for your protection, also-" she stopped abruptly at Quintessence's question about life on Sedna. "I have no idea. There aren't any of the signs I would associate previous habitation with, but it may be buried in certain parts of the planetoid. I have no way of knowing" She bowed politely to Phalanx, saying silingly "Your help is deeply appreciated. Hopefully this will not be the last time our people assist each other" she turned to Ironclad "Do you have any questions? I have been informed your knowledge of computers and other technical matters"

Doktor'd 11/10/2011 El Heraldo Slight accounting issues that escaped my notice. I ask your pardon for my carelessness. :arrow: He hasn't any unspent PP. :arrow: He's Damage shifted, yet I assumed it would apply to his Emotion Control power somehow. the DC for it in the block is 15 rather than 18. Dok confused why DC was ever 18. Dok SMASH puny DC into even punier number!

"Not really, no" the bulky teen answered casually "Not really hungry yet. Maybe after a few games I will, we'll see" falling in step with Serge he continued "So eight-ball, huh? had no idea place like this would still have a table for it! They've got most everything, don't they?" he grinned cheerfully at his new friend "Thanks again Serge for coming, haven't had much time to meet people at school yet, you know?" He was in high spirits, the school year was coming along smoothly, he was learning more about the geopolitical situation of the world than he had in the last five years in a few months, and he was getting a handle on his powers as well, not to mention he had just gotten a gift for Galanta he knew she'd love.

GM Martin began at once with the assigned listing, glad to contribute in some measure to the escape from this dimension. About halfway through he suddenly stopped, placed the PADD-like device he had been using to make the list onto a small shelf of rock and pulled back on the wetsuit, grabbed the SCUBA gear and raced off down the beach, calling back "Mr. Xavier! I'm going to get at the stuff from that chunk of tank that came with us, test your theory about the Channeler!" pulling the mask over his face, he dove into the water nearby where where they two had landed. It didn't take long to find the slab of concrete and wiring on the sea bed, barely covered by several feet of water. However, even that low level made them simply more of a pain to drag out, as he couldn't rely on the water to reduce its weight appreciably. After a moment's attempt he surfaced, took off the flippers and raced for the woods looking for a suitable stick to use as a lever. Grabbing one that looked recently fallen, he dashed back to the water's edge, gulped down air while pulling back on the flippers, and dove back in. Pushing the improvised lever under the pile, he pushed with all his might, which only made the chunk shift a few feet forward before his strength failed him. Getting out of the water, he rested for a minute or so before removing the SCUBA gear again and returning to the cave "Eh, I'll work something out. Make a grass rope or something to tow it" he went back to the stone and resumed the list. In total, the exercise had taken around four minutes. After a few more he had completed the list which went roughly as follows: Get steady fire going>Get steady supply of food&water>get information about local area>plan performances to be used>plan which towns to go to in what order to make best use of time>figure out where the steam-powered chariots(several lines of garbage symbols)are being made>use engine to provide power to the Channeler>replicate arrival circumstances>get home!

On this next step on my quest to do stupid and terrible things, Martin will attempt to lever a 200lb. chunk of concrete with wires attached over the sand so that it can be got at without needing to be submerged. So this will be a DC 20 STR check to move it about ten feet: 18, barely misses it. So failed.

He nodded glumly at the last words "I only caught a couple episodes of Enterprise, but it had that feeling that so much of bad television has, never saw more than ten episodes of it. Lost was a tragic waste. Rodrigo watched it for years(none of the rest of us thought much of it)and he'd often tell me about it, speculating how the writers would solve the mysteries" he sighed "He overestimated the writers' ability and interest in making an actual mystery to be solved when they could just make up whatever they wished to distract from what they couldn't explain. He thought the ending had some good symbolic value though" "Again, if you get a rip, burn or whatever, don't hesitate to ask for the banner, I can't use my powers for my sole benefit anyway, have to ask permission to use them to help others before they work" after a moment he asked "So, do they take warriors from similar times and have them face off in their area of specialty, like having Attila against Genghis Khan?"

"I'll pay with a credit card" Subito responded after a moment's consideration, recalling he didn't have enough at the moment to pay for more than $200-worth of anything, and he suspected it would cost rather more than that. "As for shipping, I'd like it delivered to this address in the West End-" he gave Stuart a slip of paper with the address in question on it "-within the next two weeks if that can be done" after making the final arrangements for the purchase and delivery of the equipment, he bade Stuart a good day and set off for the food court to rejoin Serge. Catching sight of him he called out cheerfully "Hey, Serge! That's done, and with any luck a 100-pound punching bag will last longer than the last one. Anyway what're you up for, I think you said something about billiards on the way here?"

Sorry for the delay! Was in town on an errand, I'll get an IC up pronto.

Alrighty, and it's a 15... well, looks like nobody wants to see the Terrible Danger.

Well let's see. DC 5 would be the knowledge that Sedna exists and is way out there. DC 10 that Sedna is a trans-Neptunian object about the size of Pluto, has a incredibly elliptical orbit, is reddish and has no moons, meaning its mass is very difficult to determine, as well as a diameter of 1,600 KM DC15 and you know it has a mass of between 1.8-4.3x10(21's power) , is red from a coat of hydrocarbon coverings or tholin after long exposure to UV radiation, is rarely impacted by meteorites or other bodies, and surface composition is mostly methane and water ice.

"A Powerline PVLP156X vertical leg press would be preferable" came the decisive reply "along with a Stamina35-1050 Body Trac Glider and two barbells in addition to a three hundred pound set of weights for them" he continued, reading from a notepad he had tucked into his pocket somehow "a slanted sit-up bench(Crescendo Fitness preferred) and an Everlast 100-year 100-pound suspended punching bag" he checked the list over again and nodded "Yeah, that looks like everything. Do you have these items in stock at the moment, or will I need to order them specially?" he asked earnestly. He knew it would be another month or so before Galanta's birthday, but he wanted to make sure everything arrived in time, without any fear of some part of it arriving a week after the fact.

Subito Sondo hadn't been able to get out from Claremont much, sensible considering the fact that his powers all but forced him to intervene in case of danger, and he still wasn't ready to do much except break things. The Blue Dame had told him that would soon change, but for now Headmaster Summers's order to refrain from patrolling had been obeyed to the letter. However, he still had his duties to uphold, including finding a suitable gift for his sister Galanta's upcoming birthday. She had been complaining on occasion about the weakening of her exercise equipment, and he had the perfect idea for what to get her... He had recently made the acquaintance of another student named Serge Explinker, and had thought asking him along would be a good way to break the ice between them. They cut an odd figure between Subito's stocky, bull-like build and darker skin, hair and mien, beside Serge's taller and fairer structure and more cheerful attitude. "Serge, I need to get something from Triathlon for my sister, I'll meet you at the food court just down the hall in about twenty minutes, that alright?" he had asked as they walked in, "Shouldn't take longer than that" he added as he had added as he loped off. Making his way quickly to the sporting goods store, he approached the salesman who looked less busy than the rest. At the greeting, his frown broke and he smiled brightly "I'd like to buy several exercise machines and replacement parts, if you have any" he answered eagerly.

I'd say we go with C), where they know each other casually, but haven't much idea who the other is beyond face and name and a vague idea of the others' powers.

The Ibis In Brief: the sidekick of the King of Suits, a technological master who uses gadgetry to overcome native weakness. Character concept: Jean-Paul Valley's early Az-Bats suit worn by Tim Drake, with some elements of Static Shock. Or in non-comic book terms: an idealistic high-class teenager wearing a light suit of powered armor in conjunction with electronic weaponry to battle the forces of chaotic supervillainy, assisting the costumed do-gooder who rescued him and his family from the Players.

GM Captain Mirta gestured for the heroes to follow her "The Mission Hall has the equipment to explain everything, just step this way, please" she called over her shoulder as she walked rapidly towards one of the tens of rectangular glowing doors of varying size scattered throughout the transport/reception room. The door she went through gave a flash of light, and led into a large, curving hallway that apparently ran along the side of the ship according to the right wall being transparent, giving an uninterrupted view of the gleaming hull of the Resplendent, not to mention the far-off grey gleam of Uranus. As they walked along it, the captain answered Phalanx's question as best she could "I'm not certain what specifically, the security the Preservers set won't let us close enough to figure out what it is. As far as we know the entire structure is in the form of an astronomy telescope, but that's assuming a lot about the ancient race, mainly that they used the same kind of long-distance technology as you and I do. There's a lot of other machinery and such inside the main compound, but we can't get to it. Force fields, turrets, electricity traps, the works; whatever it is it must be either very important or dangerous, perhaps both" she led the group into a cool, low-lighted oval room with a series of floating screens surrounding an octagonal table. "Please, be seated. The mission will be explained in full" the screens shone to life, showing an image of the red rock of Sedna, with a regular indent on the southern hemishpere highlighted in green...

GM "We certainly have ships that would smash the danger on the planet to atoms, Ironclad the Second, but this ship isn't a dedicated warship, it serves as both a platform for war and research. Besides, we want the technology as intact as possible" the captain replied gravely, "And yes, we have soldiers, but the number we can spare from the blockade don't have the sheer power you can bring to bear in the close-quarters of the ruins we've discovered below the surface. Besides, this is still your people's territory, even if only by right of proximity. So, basically, we have to have a witness from Earth to make sure we respect your property rights, and we can't spare the soldiers to match your efficacy. You've all been chosen to grant us the power to get at the artifacts past the security system which has claimed the lives of eleven Republic soldiers already, and to serve as credible witnesses to make sure we don't overstep our bounds and take all the secrets buried there for ourselves. Additionally, the League wants us to inform them immediately if we find any weapons of mass destruction hidden anywhere in the solar system that might threaten Earth, and we can't guarantee we won't find one that needs to be..forcibly disabled. And odds are we will need people who can do so without access to our ships' firepower" she shrugged at the last item. She still believed she could pull off the mission without outside assistance, but Fleet Command had insisted on this for reasons she couldn't fathom. Yet... she amended to herself. Quintessence's reaction neatly fitted with what she had hoped, his interest sparking in her mind the possibility of using that to encourage him to permit tests to be performed on him to tease out whatever evidence of Preserver methods could be found from his improved biology.

"The dwarf planetoid you call 'Sedna', near the edge of your Sol System, is our destination" came her crisp reply as Verlee shook Supercape's hand. "We've found something there, that we need assistance getting to, something made by the Preservers" at that last she couldn't help but watch for whatever reaction Quintessence would have out of the corner of her eye "It is a pleasure to meet you and behold your namesake attire, Supercape. I've read all of your published articles on quantum theory, and it meshes well with what we know where it does not exceed it by leaps and bounds in terms of theories of practical application. I'm glad the ship meets with your approval, new 'Illumination'-class science cruiser"

"Never seen that, I'll try and convince my family to give it a watch at least one. With a name like that I might not even have to try very hard" he smirked slightly to himself at some in-joke "Glasses? Well, my cousin Rodrigo who lives with us has 'em, never wants for friends either. Maybe it won't be so bad" he shrugged as he put his back to the machinery, proceeding with a set of shoulder presses "But yeah, I need to keep stuff safe, clothes on me tear as easily as with regular people's, though the banner seems to be able to repair them. Maybe the Atom family has some kind of special eye-wear line, like their morphic molecule costumes" he sighed slightly "As for Galactica, I sympathize, former seemed a bit too cheesy to take as seriously as would be best, and the later was too grim and hopeless to allow for the kind of story about gutsy rebels fighting robots in space needs, it'd be like if Transformers pretended to be about the meaning of life for battle robots. Just too obviously trying to be what it isn't"

Record #1 of my second year of operation in Freedom City Addressee: A.O.S, eyes only Dated June, 2011. Ace! So sorry it took me this long, let me tell you how things are going. Met some great people here so far, in winter I met a guy made of semi-molten rock, a jelly-like guy, and a man who can shoot energy beams. They beat down a brawl between a gang of Viking bikers(including a guy with some sort of magic sword), this gang of random guys including a woman with some sort of energy-powers and a man who looked like an Abrams tank if tanks bench-pressed redwoods. Later in the year I cracked down on a thieving gang, which appears to have some connection to a wizard who lives in a castle that exists in another dimension, but also this one(???). Helped make some houses in Haiti to aid in the relief effort, where we were attacked by a giant of a man with insane strength and power who beat me with one punch :? . The team I had there was made up of a guy with power over kinetic energy by the look of it, a male(?) cheetah with enormous speed, a woman with high-tech stuff like you usually only see in movies, and a really strong girl who can teleport around a lot. We beat the strong guy, and the gunman who assisted him, but this large gang of Haitians this witch or something had enslaved caused a stampede, so we couldn't capture her and keep them from causing grievous harm to themselves at the same time. They got away, but we'll get them next time. Also, I went on a little trip to the Schattenwelt in a bus, stumbled upon the realm of the Hittite deities and got an audience with Lady Equinox, that magnificent witch you're a fan of. That's about the highlights, the rest will come in the report to the Records Office. Things have been great, I got a bunch of new friends, pay and work is still steady, and my medical bills have never been lower! I think I'm getting the hang of working on my own here! Will write again, K.o.S.

GM Cpt. Mirta gladly accepted the handshake, relieved that her schooling in general human etiquette had been so thorough. The intricacies of bodily contact among humans had taken more than a twelfth of the Earth's rotation to comprehend even in part. Quintessence was hot property in the Lor scientific circle she operated in, thousands of biochemists, biophysicists and the like champing at the bit to be the first in investigating the rumor that he had been 'upgraded' by Preserver technology, which if true would be the chance of the millennium to unravel many nagging secrets of the mysterious precursor's abilities, not to mention the martial benefits the Lor navy would derive from whatever changes had allowed this human such power. She kept such thoughts from her face, however, saying genially "Well Quintessence, I'm happy to have you aboard! The magnificence of this ship is only a small result of the many advances the Republic has made, consider it and what it hold s a forecast of what your people can expect when you're ready to join us. Our two races have rarely had a chance to meet, and learning things second-hand isn't the best way to experience another culture, I'd be happy to tell you anything you wish to know about me and my people" the fact that he had never left Earth was a common thing among humans, only a small handful of which had ever possessed the means or ability to do so with any safety "Your lack of experience in space will hardly serve as an impediment, it will give you a sense of the wonder and grandeur the universe has that people who have been in space almost all their lives like me have sadly lost" she allowed a small measure of genuine regret into her voice, mainly because it hardly seemed that a desire for lost joy would be an unknown thing among humans.

Doktor'd 11/7/2011 El Heraldo Slightly large amount of additions here, a lot of which is stuff I should have had beforehand. :arrow: Issue with the DC Block, Emotion Control is DC 10+rank, so because of the trade-off it should be 18, not 20. :arrow: I'd like to buy another 4 ranks of Knowledge(Popular Culture) and 4 of Intimidate. :arrow: I'd like to buy a rank of Comprehend(Language) :arrow: I'd like to buy another rank of Flight. :arrow: Buying the feat Power Attack :arrow: I'd like to add the Drawback of Vunlerability(Sonic Powers). The Drawback is Moderate. :arrow: Adding the Complication Power Loss: Subito is granted his powers only so long as he uses them for the benefit of others. If he uses them for the sole purpose of bettering himself, they shall be revoked. Player Name: Arichamus Character Name: El Heraldo ("The Herald") Power Level: 7 (106/111PP) Trade-Offs: -3 Attack / +3 Damage, -3 Defense / +3 Toughness Unspent Power Points: 5 Progress To Bronze Status: 9/30 [b][u]In Brief:[/u][/b] Son of recently-immigrated Peurto Ricans granted powers by the burgeoning national spirit of Puerto Rico, who uses his new-found abilities in defence of those most vulnerable to crime. A student at the Claremont Academy. Alternate Identity: Subito Sondo Identity: Secret Birthplace: Puerto Rico, Adjuntas Municipality, Guayo Barrio Occupation: Student, Clerk (Grocery Store) Affiliations: Claremont Academy, Labor Union (Grocers) Family: Pavor Sondo (Father), Broma Sondo (Mother), Galanta Sondo (Sister), Rodrigo Fuego (Cousin) [b][u]Description:[/u][/b] Age: 16 Apparent Age: 19 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Latin American Height: 5'6" Weight: 184 lbs. Eyes: Hazel Hair: Dark Brown A stocky fellow, Subito nonetheless manages to look taller than he actually is by the practice of good posture and carriage, which he augments with thick-soled boots and a baseball cap. His hair is curly, and cut shortly and as neatly as he can manage it, his eyes are spaced close together and are often shaded out of sight by the cap, and when seen have a narrow, suspicious look. His nose is short and broad, while his mouth is often turned slightly downward to help convey the message given by the eyes. His limbs are short, and he has rather large hands and feet for his age. he frequently wears white t-shirts and blue jeans. In his guise as the gaudy El Heraldo, he wears a brilliantly-colored and heavily-padded jacket. His pants are blue-and-red checkered tights, and his feet are covered with heavy leather boots. A broad cloth bandanna around his head suffices to conceal his identity, with a sky blue feathered hat hat completing the bizarre costume. He carries in this guise a large flagpole, to which is bound the flag of Puerto Rico. [b][u]Power Descriptions:[/u][/b] El Heraldo's powers are signaled by a glow around Subito's body, which takes the rough form of an immense flag made of golden smoke. His powers are an extension of the national spirit he is the host of, which increased his physical power and hearing, as well as the power of flight and a slowly increasing range of powers related to communication. [b][u]History:[/u][/b] Subito Sondo was born in the year 1995 on the island protectorate of Peurto Rico, in the municipality of Adjuntas. His parents, Pavor and Broma, were lower-middle class artisans, specifically metalworkers. His sister was a bold and and terrifying champion of the oppressed for miles around in their town, and the rest of his family were the thenderous, solid people who usually went totally unnoticed in a crowd. Throughout his young life, Subito was surrounded by noise: cars, passing celebrants, loud arguments or even deafening conversations on engrossing topics all combined to make what he can recall of his life in Puerto Rico an endless din. As a result, he grew up expecting noise to be around him at all times, and was rarely dissapointed. Noise became for him a sort of sanctuary, a comforting indicator that all was well. Silence became a warning, a mark that something horrible or disagreeable had happened. His family had a good employ for 8 of Subito's years of life, but a sudden tragedy,the attack of the supervillain Mas Severas against a visit by the Allies of Justice to the municipality, which while it resulted in no loss of life did destroy the family's business. Leaving for Freedom City in 2003, the family got themselves well-ensconced in the Lincoln district, where some relatives helped them find open positions in the Fun-Time Toys factory still active near the docks. Glad for the gainful employment, Pavor and Broma managed to slowly but steadily raise their standard of living over the years, their children proceeding smoothly through school and all things considered life was good. When Subito turned 15 life continued to be good, even after Subito lied about his age to get a job at the same factory his parents worked at (a lie aided by his unusually strong and tall build), and on his first day he tried to catch a wroker who had leaned a bit too hard against an insufficiently-secured handrail, dozens of feet above vats of a solution that worked wonders keeping paint on surfaces, but was deathly hazardous to humans. Subito's footing failed him when he grabbed the other man around the waist, and both tumbled towards a certain death, the workers who could see the scene trying futilely to do something to help. Subito and the other man were abruptly stopped in mid-air, a few yards above the poisonous vat of blue mixture. Surprised, Subito looked up to behold a golden fog about him, and looking after a minute's hesitant experimentization, found he could move himself through the air. Carrying the other man back up to the catwalk, he realized that his strenth had been enhanced (and as he later learned, his endurance), his hearing incredibly sharpened, and that because of the latter he could hear clearly the furious argument being carried out between his parents, the union leaders, and the manager of the factory. Thankfully, the only negative thing that resulted from that episode was that he was merely fired for lying about his age. His family were too surprised, the union too grateful (both for the extra bargaining room and because nobody was hurt in that instance), and the management too furious to discover that one of Toy-Boy's subtler booby-traps had escaped their notice, for any graver punishement to befall him. Also adding to his sense of giddiness as he went to sleep that night was the quiet, insistent voice that grew louder in his sleep, trying to tell him something in Spanish about a meeting. He gave it no thought until later that night, when he was awoken by a gentle tap on his head, jumping out of bed to his feet, he was greeted by a vision of a Hispanic woman wearing blue armor, bearing a vast collection of weapons on her back, and riding a ram sheep, in the vision almost totally transparent. This apparition informed Subito that his family was in possession of an old battle-standard, bearing the coat-of-arms of Puerto Rico (the original flag having been destroyed in 1511), which had been used in nearly every successful battle involved in making Puerto Rico a Spanish holding since it had been made in 1500. As a result, a spirit of victory had attached itself to the banner, lending strength of will and protection from harm to those who held it. The spirt then told Subito that it had slowly grown over the ages, until it had become the national spirit of Puerto Rico, having melded with the ruling entities of the island's Taino tribes after their destruction by the Spanish colonists in the Taino rebellion. The infusion of the memories and power of the tribal spirits was a gigantic step on the Blue Dame's path to sapience. Over the years she (used for ease of reference, 'it' wasn't considered acceptable to her) had grown in knowledge and strength, but the various forces that fought for the island divided and weakened her over and over again. It was only now, when the island nation's sense of self was at another height, that she could empower an individual with her gifts as her herald. She told Subito that she had chosen him over his sister because of his more focused personality. Galanta, to the spirit's mind, while excellent material for a herald of hers was rather too concerned with fighting as an end to itself to give much thought to what the fighting was for. But, she warned the nearly gleeful Subito, she would not stand for any slacking in what she was entrusting to him. As he followed her directions to the hidden chest containing the banner, she told him that he would, to keep his powers, have to keep from acting selfishly or with his sole betterment in mind, and any reneging would be instantly punished. The chest was easy enough to find with the Blue Dame's instruction, and with little trouble he put it back together and took it to a nearby abandoned lot, where the Blue Dame taught him how to use the banner to don the traditional costume of a Herald of Puerto Rico. After a crash course on how to use his powers, the Blue Dame retired into the banner, telling Subito to hurry home, due to the extreme lateness of the hour, and that in the morning he would find the next step on his journey waiting for him. Subito slept soundly, and it took Galanta hauling him out of bed, seating him in a chair, and giving him a light cuff on the shoulder to wake him. He found himself staring into the piercing gaze of a narrow, darkly-clothed man with graying hair at the temples, the rest brown and cut short. The Raven II, Subito learned later, had an informant in the factory the accident had occurred in, and had told Summers about the bizarre incident the same day it had happened. The interview with Duncan Summers was short and painless, except for Broma and Pavor outdoing each other in tearfully telling Subito how he must remember to do what they would wish him to do at the bizarre school Summers was offerring to train him at. Galanta kept her peace, saying as much as their parents with a cold, narrow-eyed stare. After agreeing with Summers that it would be a great idea to learn how to use his powers correctly in a more controlled environment, little was left to do but pack and prepare for the autumn quarter. [b][u]Personality & Motivation:[/u][/b] As El Heraldo, Subito acts as he thinks he ought to, doing his best to be just, kind, fair and honest as he knows how. He enjoys the anonymity of the mask, as it lets him be what he likes without repercussion on how he is viewed as Subito. Out of costume, he is loud, impetuous and full of gusto for whatever he does, having been brought up to see silence as suited only for holy or sorrowful occaisions. His morals are fairly straightforward, and he gives litle thought or time to the why of his ethics. He equates thinking with doing, incomprehending how somebody could think up things they might do, and never act on any of them, and has a hard time understanding how one philosophy or belief system being true doesn't negate the others' validity. On the other hand, he is loath to bring issues like that up in conversation, seeing them as interesting challenges to be overcome on one's own, and would never dream of trying to make people more like himself. [b][u]Powers & Tactics:[/u][/b] El Heraldo has limited resources and severe limits to his gifts, meaning hie must take great care with whom and how he fights. As a profoundly heated individual, however, he is unlikely to do so, instead dashing into the fray with unmitigated aplomb and vigor, no matter how outmatched he might be, using the power of his standard to evoke hope for victory in any compatriots. [b][u]Complications:[/u][/b] [b]Power Loss:[/b] Subito is granted his powers only so long as he uses them for the benefit of others. If he uses them for the sole purpose of bettering himself, they shall be revoked. [b]Responsibility:[/b] Family. He feels honor-bound to serve his family's needs above his own. [b]Secret:[/b] Identity. While he always has his powers, he knows his family is largely defenseless. [b]Underaged:[/b] Subito isn't a legal adult, with all the restrictions that come with that condition. [b]The Who-What Now?:[/b] Subito has almost no idea who's who or what's what in the complex world of jet-powered apes and time travel he's gotten himself into. [b][u]Abilities:[/u][/b] 10 + 4 + 10 + 2 + 0 + 8 = 34PP Strength: 28/20 (+9/+5) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 30/20 (+10/+5) Intelligence: 12 (+1) Wisdom: 10 (+0) Charisma: 18 (+4) [b][u]Combat:[/u][/b] 4 + 4 = 8PP Initiative: +2 Attack: +2 Ranged, +4 Melee Grapple: +13/+9 Defense: +4 (+2 Base, +2 Dodge Focus), +1 Flat-Footed Knockback: -7/-2 [b][u]Saving Throws:[/u][/b] 0 + 3 + 6 = 9PP Toughness: +10/+5 (+10/+5 Con [Impervious 5/0]) Fortitude: +10/+5 (+10/+5 Con, +0) Reflex: +5 (+2 Dex, +3) Will: +6 (+0 Wis, +6) [b][u]Skills:[/u][/b] 36R = 9PP Diplomacy 6 (+10) Intimidate 4 (+8) Knowledge (Current Events) 8 (+9) Knowledge (Popular Culture) 4 (+5) Languages 2 (English, Latin, Spanish [Native]) Notice 4 (+4) Sense Motive 8 (+8) [b][u]Feats:[/u][/b] 14PP Accurate Attack Attack Focus (Melee) 2 Dodge Focus 2 Interpose Inspire 4 Leadership Move-by Action Power Attack Quick Change 1 [b][u]Powers:[/u][/b] 6 + 2 + 10 + 8 + 4 + 6 + 4 = 39PP [list=][b]Device 2[/b](10PP Container, Flaws: Easy-To-Lose) [6PP] (Bandera de la Victoria [Banner of Victory]) [b]Emotion Control 5 [/b](Flaws: Limited [Hope]) [5PP] [b]Impervious Toughness 5 [/b][5PP][/list] [b]Comprehend 1[/b](Languages)[2PP] [b]Enhanced Constitution 10 [/b][10PP] [b]Enhanced Strength 8 [/b][8PP] [b]Flight 3[/b](50mph / 500ft per Move Action) [6PP] [b]Immunity 4[/b] (Cold, Drowning, Pressure, Poison) [4PP] [b]Super-Senses 4[/b] (Accurate Extended 2 [1,000ft Notice Increments] Hearing) [4PP] [b][u]Drawbacks:[/u][/b] -0PP Vulnerability([b]Sonic Powers, [i]Frequency:[/i] Common, [i]Intensity:[/i] Moderate [X1.5][/b])[-2PP] [b][u]DC Block:[/u][/b] [code]ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC24/20 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Bandera Perception DC18 Will Hope Abilities (34) + Combat (8) + Saving Throws (9) + Skills (9) + Feats (14) + Powers (39) - Drawbacks (2) = 111/111 Power Points Doktor'd 11/7/2011