Curious Key

Power Level: 10 (150/150PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: +3 Defense / -3 Toughness In Brief: A fate mage from the netherworlds, escaped from apprenticeship to a dark wizard, looking for a second chance. Alternate Identity: Ash Edict (Public) Birthplace: Skylands - Netherworld Residence: Apartment, West End Occupation: Finder. Minder. Magical mercenary for hire. Affiliations: - Family: Estranged Apparent Age: 25 (Converting to your calendars is more trouble than it's worth) Gender: Agender Ethnicity: Netherworlder Height: 5'9" Weight: 170 Eyes: Gray Hair: Black Ash is a narrow-shouldered individual of moderate height. Their eyes are a featureless gray surrounding dark pupils, their hair cut short above their neck, excepting a braid tied along their left ear that tumbles down to their shoulder, their skin a deep, natural tan. They conceal their body's shape under loose clothing and layers. Their wardrobe is full of jeans and plain, shoulder-length, dark shirts. Over these, Ash wears their cloak. The first magical artifact they made with their own hands, Ash considers their cloak a precious thing, and rarely bares to part from it. a mix of brown, black and gold that fall to their hips, sewn with mystical runes into its insides that flare and spark when harm is done to its wearer. Edict also owns a bat. A typical wooden bat, bought from a sporting goods store that they can't quite remember the name of. It's painted black, and shimmering blue runes are carved along its heft. At first, the bat was a matter of convenience, but over time it has become somewhat an iconic part of Edict's image. Like it or not, it's part of their brand now. History: Edict was never a native of earth-prime. The protections and assurances offered to many born there, the protection of their guardian sorcerer, these were things that Edict had never known. The world that they were born was one build on levitating blocks of earth above a twisting maelstrom of power. These were the Skylands, a Netherworld, as the people of Earth Prime were known to call them, a nominally independent tributary of Empress Una's (may she reign for all eternity) grand, interdimensional sovereignty. This was the place where Ash was born. It was where they thought they'd die. Even then Ash was always, in a curious way, a lucky child. Born under the right stars, with a secret magic burning dormant in their body, Ash understood that they were special. That they were not understood. It coiled inside them, made them bitter. Her bitterness was used as a weapon, to dismiss her words, and made her withdrawn. They wanted, more than anything, an escape to something more meaningful. Something more. Perhaps their powers gave them what they thought they wanted. Perhaps that was simply when their luck ran out. Or perhaps what came next was still better than what waited for them in the Skylands. Regardless, that is when David came. He did not understand all of it, but he understood a piece of it. 'You're special.' He said to them. 'You have a power that no one understands.' He told them. 'Do you understand what this means? You are a superior breed. You belong to another world.' 'I can show you. If you follow me.' He appealed to the angry, bitter part of them that wanted to stand apart, that wanted to stand above. So they took his hand and followed him, of their own will, through a shimmering hole in the air. __________ There is a secret world, hidden behind this one. Maintained with wards, willful ignorance and plain, non-magical bribes and mortal corruption. Castles hidden in folds of space, behind secret keys full of wizards and their servants. Full of mythical creatures penned into cages and dismantled for parts. This was the world David drew Ash into, and once locked there he did not them leave. For they were one of his apprentices, and David allowed his apprentices no more freedom than his dogs, until such a time as he deigned them ready. One of the few courtesies that extended Ash was the choice of their own name. From that moment onward, they were known as Edict. __________ There were three other apprentices in David's care. Leta. A scared young woman who feared being culled as the weakest. And Mal, the strongest of them all, with a born cruelty, who reveled in the monsters that David shaped them into, his inner aggression matched by fang, tooth and claw. And last, Murk, who they knew the least, who kept to his own and revealed nothing of himself. Edict grew up with them. In some ways, they were a fragile, dysfunctional family, sharing in the training and horrors that David set upon them, haunted by the knowledge that one day they would be expected to kill each other to earn both David's mark of esteem and their own freedom. Leta feared going against him, and so kept her head down and did her best to obey, to be the best apprentice she could be. Mal relished the thought of their death at his hands and reminded every opportunity he had. Even Edict didn't trust their odds fell into the habit of obedience. Magic or not, it seemed to them that there was no fate left to them where they did not belong to David. In his name, they did horrible things. In this world, in others. To humans and non-humans. _________ They were almost seventeen. The day that the apprentices knew was the traditional day where they were meant to face each other came nearer. Edict couldn't take it anymore; they mustered their courage and left. Mal hunted them in the form of vicious birds and beasts, while Edict fled with no weapon. The odds, it seemed, were against them. On the verge of death, Edict plucked at fate and attacked their own, twisting it, casting themselves adrift, away from the world that David's stronghold was. Frantically, they moved from Netherworld to Netherworld through gates that connected them together. Through their magic, Edict could always see their fellow apprentices, see David coming, but no matter what they did they were always three steps behind, and getting closer. Years Edict spent on the run, before throwing themselves at the mercy of a world that had kept the forces of Una and the teeming masses of the Netherworld at bay. The world that called itself 'Earth-Prime.' They begged protection from David. Some reared back, either unwilling to involve themselves in what they imagined to be Edict's retribution or imagining the plea to be part of some devious trap. Some came to Edict's aid. Not, Edict thought, nearly enough. But David never came. His castle stood empty. His pets abandoned in their pens. All that was left of his books were ashes. And no matter how they tried to look, they could not discover where he had gone to. _________ Taking the name 'Ash,' Edict started anew. At least as much as they could. The stigma of what they'd done, eased somewhat by the circumstances under which they had been forced to do it, remained, and became a barrier. No one would take them on as an apprentice or allow them closer to their books, and so Edict was forced to uncover things on their own. A mage for hire, Edict could find anything in a city on a whim and a guess, and their mere presence was a good luck charm with the money. They went from David's unwilling pawns to hired muscle. Guarding the back against creeping vampires and watching over kids in training try to call up demons in case something went wrong, Ash couldn't help but feel discontented. At long last, from from David and everything else, Ash truly began to understand parts of themselves that had been dismissed. They could not help but to wonder how many kids were out there. Kids who got restless under the full moon. Who couldn't shut the voices out by clapping hands over their ears. Who felt things no one could explain . . . And how many Davids were out there, holding out a hand, saying "I can show you. If you follow me?" They owed it to those kids to try to find a way to stop it. To be there for them before a David could find them. They laid out a spell over the map of probabilities casting wide, hoping for a direction. It didn't tell them 'how,' or 'when,' or even 'why,' but it told them 'where.' Freedom. With luck, they think, maybe they'll be able to remake themselves. Maybe they'll be able to reforge their fate. Maybe, in Freedom, they'll find their second chance. Personality & Motivation: Grim. Sober. Unfun. These are words that people often use to describe Ash, but they are not always fair. Despite understanding our language, there remains a great deal that Ash understands only vaguely about Prime society. Though in a better position now than they once were, much of what happen on Prime still makes little sense to them, and when they do not understand a thing they fall back into stoney, awkward silence. At the heart of it, Edict is wounded. They see themselves as a selfish creature, trying to create a little bubble of stability where it's a little safer for people to go. In time, Edict hopes to be able to establish themselves in Freedom. Create a place where young minds touched by magic can come and seek shelter. Eventually, reaching out to the Netherworld to bring more kids who need help—like Edict did—out of Una's influence and away from predatory monsters like David. And they'll do what they can to take steps toward making that a reality. Some would argue that alone is enough to name Edict a 'hero.' They would disagree. Powers & Tactics: While it's easy enough to dismiss Edict as a brute who runs up to anything in their way and smashes them with their bat, that isn't strictly true. As a fate mage, they have few avenues for direct attack. The methods Edict has available to them to engage with others physically are, quite simply, cheating by using magic outside their own specialty through ritual and artifact. As an ally, Edict is more valuable for their supportive abilities. With an incredibly potent scrying ability that, mixed with their magical ability to guess exactly where they need to look, Edict is an excellent person to have around if you want to know where to go. And when you get there, their unique ability to twist and subvert fate can help turn any conflict around. But from the outside? Edict simply always seems to know where to go, and when they get there, they hit someone with a bat until the problem goes away. Power Descriptions: To one who cannot perceive magic, Ash's powers are more notable for how they influence the world than how they appear, because the work of fate magic is invisible and terribly subtle. Attacks, on their own, never quite seem to touch Ash. Bullets whiz around them, not as though they were thrown off course or blocked by a shield, but because against probability all of them just so happened to miss. A small spot remains untouched in a furious firestorm, not because anything kept it away, but because the flames just so happened to leave that spot of ground untouched. Coincidences like this happen all the time around Ash, over and over. The fabric of the universe seems to refuse them harm. Their bat glows with strange runes when it hits someone and in the rare event ash is hit, their cloak seemed to absorb far more damage than it really ought, but that seems to be the only thing that seems explicitly supernatural. Someone who can perceive magic can feel what's really going on, though. Golden threads spin out from Mal's heart in countless multitudes, attaching themselves to everything. A constant flow of fate magic nudges, suggests, coerces reality to take a shape that will do no harm to Ash. Complications: Defector - Edict's fellow apprentices are still out there, somewhere. While Edict escaped the cycle David started them on, the others have not. They're involved deeply, and willingly, in the magical underworld. It's only a matter of time before Edict meets them again. Dark Apprentice - The time Edict spent serving as David's apprentice is not so easily cast aside. Their change of heart is often questioned, and some even suspect that their presence serves one of David's gambits. Perhaps they are, and simply unaware of it. Give a hero point whenever the doubt and cynicism of the magical community stand in the way of Edict's goals. Netherworlder - As a netherworlder, Edict's legal existence in Earth Prime is somewhat tenuous. While recognized by the magical communities of earth, non-magical governments and authorities who are not 'in the know' get suspicious, forcing Edict to rely mainly on magical communities. When their status as a Netherworlder cuts Edict off from support or aid, the GM may award Edict a hero point. For Me It Was Tuesday - Edict and their fellow apprentices did many terrible things to many people. There are many who would do anything to get even. Secret? What Secret? - Ash's identity as Edict is on the public record. Any enemies they have can simply look up who they are and they'll find out, immediately. Say what? - Edict's cloak is the only reason that they can understand Earth-prime languages. Without it they speak no language known on earth. This makes being separated from their cloak or being in any kind of magic-suppressing field especially confusing for both Edict and their allies. Abilities: 2 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 10 + 0 = 26PP Strength: 12 (+1) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 18 (+4) Wisdom: 20 (+5) Charisma: 10 (+0) Combat: 8 + 10 = 18PP Initiative: +1 Attack: +4 Base, +10 Bat Defense: +13 (+5 Base, +2 Enhanced Defense, +6 Dodge Focus), +2/3 Flat-Footed Grapple: +5 Knockback: -1/4 Saving Throws: 5 + 3 + 4 = 12PP Toughness: +7 (+1 Con, +6 Protection) Fortitude: +6 (+1 Con, +5) Reflex: +8 (+1 Dex, +4 Enhanced Reflex, +3) Will: +8 (+4 Wis, +4) Skills: 8R = 3PP Intimidation 8 (+8) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 2 (+6) Concentration 2 (+7) Stealth 0 [+12 Distorted Odds] (+13) Gather Information 0 [+8 Distorted Odds] (+8) Search 0 [+8 Distorted Odds] (+12) Notice 0 [+8 Distorted Odds] (+13) Feats: 4PP Ritualist Attack Specialization (Bat) 3 Equipment: 0PP = 0EP Powers: 1 + 35 + 9 + 15 + 15 + 12 = 87PP Features 1 (Temporal Inertia) [1PP] (Netherworld Native) Distorted Odds (35PP Container; Magic, Fate) [35PP] Enhanced Defense 2 [4PP] Enhanced Stealth 12 [3PP] Enhanced Gather Information 8 [2PP] Enhanced Search 8 [2PP] Enhanced Notice 8 [2PP] Enhanced Reflex 4 [4PP] Enhanced Feats 10 (Dodge Focus 6, Luck 2, Beginner's Luck) [9PP] Luck Control 2 (Force Reroll, Spend HP for Others: Feats: Luck 3) [9PP] Super Senses 9 (Fate Awareness [Mental], Mental Sense [Accurate, Acute, Danger Sense, Extended, Radius, Ranged], Uncanny Dodge [Mental] ) 9PP (Fate Reading) Fate Sorcery (16PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power; Drawbacks: Power Loss [If Unable To Speak] -2; Magic, Fate) [15PP] BP: Probabilistic Scry [17/17] ESP [Mental] 8 (Extras: Linked [Quickness]; Feats: Subtle 2) 10PP Quickness 14 (Extras: Linked [ESP]; Flaws; Mental Only) 7PP AP: Enhanced Strike 9 (Extras: Penetrating, Feats: Precise) [11/17PP] (Fated Flurry) Runic Bat 4 (20PP Device; Flaws: Easy To Lose; Magic) [15PP] Strike 9 (Feats: Mighty, Affects Insubstantial 2; Improved Critical 2, Knockback 5, Alternate Power) 20PP (Runic Slam) AP: Stun 9 [18/19PP] (Runic Smash) Apprentices' Cloak (15PP Device; Flaws: Hard To Lose; Magic) [12PP] Protection 6 [6PP] (Defensive Runes) Comprehend 3 (Understand any language, read any language, speak any one language at a time]) [6PP] (World-Walker's Tongue) Super-Senses 2 (Magic Awareness [Visual]) [2PP] (Magesight) Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 16 Toughness Damage Runic Slam Touch DC 25 Toughness Damage Runic Smash Touch DC 19 Fortitude Daze/Stun/Unconscious Totals: Abilities (26) + Combat (18) + Saving Throws (12) + Skills (3) + Feats (4) + Powers (87) - Drawbacks (0) = 150/150 Power Points

"I'll take you up on that," Kat gave Mali a lazy thumbs up as she hefted a big, unhealthy greaseburger in her other hand. "But not today." She took another big, hungry chomp. "S' good." "It's weird, right?" She pecked at her waffle fries and curled her toes at the taste. "Like stepping into a different world. Hard to believe, sometimes, that this is even Prime." Sigh. "When did you decide to do the superhero thing? I mean, lot of metahumans did it after coming to Claremont, but I think most people there who don't have some kind of powers were . . . ?" She let the question hang in the air, unfinished.

Kat blinked, put a hand on her chin and stared at Grim-Warp. She put her hands on her hips and harrumphed. "That's just straight up bad." She admonished. "Being that cute ought to be a crime." Grinned. Part of Warp wasn't sure how to take the extent of Grim's powers. Just . . . Making it out of nowhere? "That seems like it'd really come in handy," Warp said. She wondered how strong it was? Would it hold out against her bolts, or was it just normal ice . . . ? That's rude, Kat. Don't do that. "Never seen any creation stuff be that flexible. Normally it's all 'I'm a rock controller and I make rock towers!' But this feels different." "I am not in the mood to school you all today," Warp announced, sauntering off toward Sakurako's tent. She peered inside, getting a good luck at the interior, before papping lightly on the 'door.' A flash of black-red and she was inside.

Kat stared, expressionless, for a long moment. She rested the palm of her hand on the side of her face, covering up one eye, and sighed. "Freedom." She'd been here for a quarter of her life, by now. She couldn't imagine leaving, not yet. But while the city had stopped surprisingly her long ago, the city continued to offer Kat no end of exasperation. A flash of red, a sharp pained sound and Warp was up on the battlements, peering around. Then, the other one. Inside the castle peering at the detail work. She took her time to admire it. After about thirty seconds she warped back outside, appearing just a foot off the ground and falling very nearly into the same holes her boots had left in the snow before. "That's real cool, but how'd you know to stow away an ice castle? That's awfully specific."

Tyrant Heart

"I . . . Like black and red?" Kat plucked at her vest and grimaced. Of course you do, that's why you're wearing it. EARTH TO KAT. "Try not to feel too bad," she said, nominally to Kwame, but mostly to herself. "She's a supergenius. Endeavor could think circles around all of us on our best day. Just gotta take your pleasures where you can." Kat looked over her shoulder above Sakurako's head. The corner of her mouth twitched upward. She shook her head, firmly to herself. No. Kat tried to find a different track of thought and found one. "Yeah, that happens sometimes." Kat said to Kwame, giving good shrug. "A bunch of guys with harpoon guns attacked the aquarium once, when I was just getting started a couple years ago. That's just Freedom for you. Guns are the least bizarre thing a hero is going to get pointed at them."

Kat honestly had not considered that superpowers might have had something to do with this without malice, but it was possible. I mean, if she was strict about all this, someone using powers to do what was happening in the street was probably illegal, somehow. For traffic obstruction, and whatever mental manipulation was called in court. But Kat supposed it was possible that maybe someone was just feeding on the happiness because they were . . . Hungry? Or some superhero was pumping up the holiday cheer because they liked the season? Kat crossed her arms and hrmphed. "I still don't think this part just . . . Happened. But you could be right," she admitted, reluctantly. "It could be harmless." People had more ridiculous motives to use their powers than 'the spirit of Christmas,' anyway. This was Freedom.

Sixteen? Was this another Claremont kid? Kat had barely known Sakurako a semester as Kat's underclassman before graduating. Any newer kids and, well, Kat would have never met them. He sounded like he would have squeaked, but Kat had honestly written that off as the way he sounded. He really had been trying to growl his voice? She couldn't help but smirk. "Twenty," she allowed, though part of her asked why anyone needed to know. Kwame seemed . . . Unimpressed by their ages. Tough luck, guy. It felt awkward to go after eggnog after literally disintegrating the last one she touched. Instead she wandered off, toward the new arrival. "I don't suppose you can tell if there's anything sinister behind this . . ." She made a circular gesture with her right hand. ". . . Thing." Kat was beginning to give up hope that she would ever know for sure.

Kat shook her head. "No, not a speedster. It's a little complicated, but it's simplest to say I'm a teleporter, and—" WHUMP Sakurako skidded over the snow toward them after her landing, kicking up some of the White Christmas back into the hair. A chunk of it landed on top of Warp's head. She stopped talking, closed her eyes and took a deep, long-suffering breath. "This is it." The snow slowly slid out off her head and fell in a lump on her shoulder. "This is my life, now." Eyes still closed, she pointed her finger back toward where she'd heard the familiar noise. "This is Endeavor. And I've never actually heard of eggnog not being alcoholic. And you," she said, turning her head toward her old Claremont underclassman. "Are definitely not old enough."

If Kat had a tail, would be lashing. Her eyes anxiously scanned over the crowd one last time, waiting for some greater, sinister force to reveal itself. But . . . Kwane's appeal to her ego disarmed her, whereas the big stone brute's overbearing insistence had felt like an insult. Besides, Kwame hadn't tried to force a drink Kat hadn't seen prepared down her throat where she didn't know anyone. "Yeah." Kat grimace, putting on hand on her hip. "I see your point. This is odd, but I can't tell what caused it. But, if it reveals itself . . . there are lots of heroes here." She held out a hand toward Kwame. "Warp. It's a pleasure."

"Right?" Kat relaxed back into her seat. "It's so much easier when you can open an article on your phone, show it to teach and say 'that was me, can I get an extension?'" opened her little baggy and pulled a burger out. She took a huge bite and savored the tasted in her mouth. It reminded her . . . Mali had to worry about eating too much. The baseline body seemed like such a trouble to hold in real fighting shape. But, on the other hand . . . "I don't know how I would have survived without Claremont, honestly. When I first started really using my powers, I started getting so thin, you could see my ribs . . ." Kat pulled her jacket back to expose her midsection. ". . . I was just straight up underfed. Almost fainted in class once, and got chewed out. 'Where do you think all that power's coming from? You need to eat!'" Kat grinned at her own foolishness. "They're probably a huge reasons a lot of us made it through high school at all . . . Now we gotta deal without."

The mood on Kat's part was getting downright hostile, but before Gargoyle could react to it Kat's ears caught an exclamation and her head swung to the side. Kwame was standing right there, look of open admiration on his face. Warp preened, reached behind her and brushed hair to fall more dramatically over her shoulder. "Thank you," she said, and the smile came easy. "Have you noticed anything strange about all this?" Warp made a broad, inclusive gesture. "Like, everyone just decides to have a party? Out of nowhere? And the cops join in? Being a wet blanket is their job."

Mouth forming a hard, irritated line, Warp grabbed the cup of eggnog out of the world-be hero's hand. Instead of drink it, she held it up, clear for him to see, between her hands. She didn't need to marshal her irritation at all; it was already there. Dark lines of power, arced up and down her arm like light-eating electricity. The cup—eggnog and all—disintegrated in her hand as it closed into a fist. "Learn to take a no." She deliberately enunciated each word. "You creep."

UNSHROUDED BY TIFF I noticed, in retrospective, that one of the powers that Warp has just plain shouldn't work. Her 'Entropic Shroud' effect, the Drain Toughness aura, doesn't have any duration mods on it. So it really shouldn't work at all, and I don't think I can make it work without buffing her Terminus array, which I don't want to do yet. So I'd like to have the power just straight up removed from her array.

Kat put her hands on her hips and stared, narrow-eyed, into the crowd. "I don't trust it." "And I don't know about you," she said, raising a brow. "But getting me drinking is just a terrible idea." Someone started up a cheery rendition of 'Jingle Bells' in the background. "Also, not old enough. So there."

Reflexively Kat was reminded of a villain she'd heard of through the grapevine in Claremont who could l switch places with someone by looking into their eyes, but before she could even think of articulating it off Spencer went, flouncing on to her GENIE ENGINE, or whatever. I mean, her machine seemed safe enough! But there was the principle of the thing! It would have taken someone truly daft to miss the little pool of empty space that gathered around Ms. Airships, but while Kat made wariness her habit, she was actually relatively confident she could handle anything that went south. She took a step in toward her unwilling partner and leaned in sideways toward the stranger. "I don't know about you," she said in her best stage whisper. "But I'm feeling kind of like I'm being picked on right now."

"Uh." Kat took one look at the literal, actual gargoyle that was asking her to dance. It took some doing, because she had to crane her neck to look that far up. He looked incredibly impressive. He sounded like a kid trying to imitate his Dad on the phone. "Seriously?" She stepped back shut her eyes tight and flapped her hands a bit before forcing her breath to calm and letting her hands settle in front of her. "I cannot be the only person who thinks this is really super off." Behind her, a pain of children ran in circles, laughing and pelting each other with snowballs before running off in another direction. "There's probably some Psychic vampire trying to gather power to down the world in a hundred years of darkness or, or . . ." She made a frustrated sound and turned around, peering in every direction and seeing festive cheer and joy in every direction. "Or something!" Beat. "I'm not a grinch!" She said, in response to no one. "This is weird!"

"What." Kat's boots crunched against white snow as she walked over the flat rooftops of one of the surrounding stores. She propped her foot on the roof's lip and peered over the edge. She made a broad, confused circle with both her hands that ended with both palms toward the sky. Usually in freedom a police radio frequency yelling about blocked roads meant that someone had started throwing fireballs in the middle of the street or at least that somebody had crashed. Kat knew how to deal with those things. This . . . ? was just a block party. Kat said, rubbed her thumbs against her temple. This wasn't really normal, right? She'd spent half a decade in Freedom. She could tell what was normal here from what wasn't. Right? The soft sound of Christmas music wafted up to her as her face went from baffled to exasperated to resigned. "What . . . ? Oh come on. It's like an old Christmas movie!" She shook her head and hissed through her teeth. Maybe if she got closer she would understand. With a flash of sickly-red light Warp moved through her slip down from the rooftops to the street.

HellQ

The feeling of stepping from cold into sudden warmth was super familiar for Kat, and not necessarily in a good way. Walking out into the sun felt like pushing her hand into warm water after being stuck out in the cold. Cringingly hot on the skin at first, then slowly full of a luxurious, deeper warmth while her body adjusted to the new default temperature. She rubbed her hands together, closed her eyes and barked a little laugh to distract herself from the shock to her system. The takeout place wasn't all that far away, a little shop built into the corner of a larger mall, advertising itself with striped streamers as loudly as they could to passersby. A perpetually apologetic woman in a long apron prepared their food for them, and then they were back in the park, holding bags heavy with their orders. Honestly, Kat had been surprised enough that there was a park in Miami at all. Though they'd done their best to try to hide the city behind carefully grown shrugs and trees, you could still hear the noise of the city, all honks and growling engines, from the bench they found in the middle of the park overlooking a little artificial pond. Kat found herself suddenly shy. She scratched at her waist and found looking Mali in the eye to be a little harder than she thought. “So, have you been keeping up with anyone from Claremont?” Kat grimaced. “I took, uh, a little bit of a break from hero stuff for a while. Lost contact with a lot of people.” She dared an embarrassed sideways glance at Mali.

Player Name: Curious Key Character Name: Title Power Level: 7 (105/105) Trade-Offs: +4 Defense / -4 Toughness, +3 Attack / -3 DC Unspent Power Points: 0 In Brief: Bite-sized concept Alternate Identity: Real Name Identity: Secret Birthplace: Occupation: Affiliations: Family: Apparent Age: . Age: Gender: Height: -- Weight: -- Eyes: -- Hair: -- Power Descriptions: powers here History: History here. Personality & Motivation: Personality Powers & Tactics: Powers Complications: Complication Title - Complication. Abilities: 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 0PP Strength: 10(+0) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: 10 (+0) Intelligence: 10 (+0) Wisdom: 10 (+0) Charisma: 10 (+0) Combat: 0 + 0 = 0PP Initiative: +0 Attack: +0 Base, +0 Grapple: +0 Defense: +0 (+0 Base, +0 Dodge Focus), +0 Flat-Footed Knockback: -0 Saving Throws: 0 + 0 + 0 = 0PP Toughness: +0 (+0 Con) Fortitude: +0 (+0 Con, +0) Reflex: +0 (+0 Dex, +0) Will: +0 (+0 Wis, +0) Skills: 0R = 0PP Skill 0 (+0) Skill Mastery? Feats: 0PP Feat Equipment: 2PP = 10EP Powers: 0 Drawbacks: -0 DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch 17DC Toughness Damage (Physical) Entropic Strike Touch 22DC Toughness Damage (Energy) Stunning Attack Touch 17DC Fortitude Stun/Daze/Unconcious Entropic Bolt Ranged 17DC Fortitude Drain Toughness 22DC Toughness Damage (Energy) Entropic Shroud Touch 17DC Fortitude Drain Toughness World Drinker Touch 17DC Fortitude Drain Toughness 22DC Toughness Penetrating, Vampiric Damage (Energy) Totals: Abilities (0) + Combat (0) + Saving Throws (0) + Skills (0) + Feats (0) + Powers (0) - Drawbacks (0) = 0/105 Power Points

With Mali through, Kat choked off the Tear's connection with her heart. It reacted immediately, irising shut with a relieved whine as the red in Kat's eyes ever-so-slightly dimmed. Pulling out her phone, Kat waited for it to overcome the shock of crossing the country and update its map. “Well, we actually could get some takeout, now.” She pawed at her phone this way and that, trying to tease a little more information out of it. “Looks like there's a burger place pretty close by we can grab something from? Right here, a few blocks down. I mean, I've never heard of it, but I don't go to Miami to eat real often.” She preferred stealing off to Chicago for some pizza, when she had the time. And the money. Ah, college. “I'm not feeling real picky, so unless you have something else you'd like to give a try . . .”

"Miami it is, then!" _________________________________ A Park, Somewhere - Miami, Florida Muffled by the walls, the distant rumble and growl of cars running through the passing freeway made counterpoint with the slow drip-drop of water from a leaky faucet no one had fixed in a week. The linoleum tiles were clean enough in the center, but near the edges where the stalls gathered grim had begun to accumulate, and the metal had begun to yellow. It needed a plumber, but if it didn't get help, it was going to need a demolition crew instead. It had no company except the angry murmur of outside traffic and the sound of its own disrepair . . . But wait— The world whimpered as a thin, sickly line the color of skin under pried-off fingernails cut through the middle of the bathroom. The whimper became a wail as it ripped apart, tearing open space along a vertical line into a wide, festering world-wound within which squirmed bloody redness and absolute black. The impossible chaos of red in the tear became a swirl, became a silhouette, became a shape, became a person. Kat stepped out of her Tear and gave a quick paranoid glance around. No one. She sighed her relief and stepped back away from her Tear to give Mali plenty of room. Unlike Mali, Kat didn't really need to go home to change. A little perk of having a dimensional pocket was always having options. She'd swapped out what she had in the library for a pair of shorts that went halfway down her thigh and a close-fitting tanktop cut above her stomach, both dark-slanted gray, put together with a sleeveless red vest that fell past her waist that was too thin to keep heat in, and was far more useful for show and pockets than anything else.

Kat did a lot of her exercise running. Freerunning, actually. She didn't like machines, much, and maybe it wasn't the most balanced or wise way to do it, but it was how she liked to do it. And if the weather wasn't great for it, all she had to do was go elsewhere and try to move across those streets, the same way she would elsewhere . . ."Miami is pretty nice right now," Kat said, almost to herself. "Go down somewhere like that, warm, for a bite to eat . . . some ice cream, maybe. Just . . . Don't think about it too much. When you can do anything, it's easy to get lost. Just . . . First thing that comes to mind, we can find somewhere for it on a GPS and go there." She punched a fist into her open palm. "Bam."