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Justice 8PM, March 14th, 2020 Betlehem Heights, the noodle place on the corner of 14th and Ramos Robin was nervous. Not quite to the oh-god-I'm-a-wreck level of nervous just yet, but she was nervous. She wasn't the only hero in Emerald City, which was great, but everything was just so random. One day, she'd run into Emerald Spider, then it would be months before she saw someone else. Emerald City was big, sure, but it was almost like everyone was staying away from everyone else on purpose, and well, she'd been nervous about trying to rock the boat there. Emerald City didn't have many heroes, she didn't want to get on the bad side of anyone by pretending she could be the one to call everyone together and boss them around or anything like that. She really didn't want to do anything like that, but, well... things were changing, right? They'd probably seen the news of the Mars Ultio Suits, if they hadn't already run into them on the streets. And well, she knew some things about them that the others might not. At least she had a little bit of local fame with the whole thing with fighting the Wall getting on TV and when she helped put Devlin back in place, so she wasn't a total unknown. Still, she was still nervous about this thing. She was wearing her costume. Red with light grey boots and gloves, a pink lion on her chest and wearing her red domino mask. She wasn't quite ready to let everyone know who she was here, but wearing the full armor would be weird, if she wasn't about to fight someone at least. God, she hoped nobody would start fighting. So, Robin put out the call on HeroHouse and CapesList. A simple message: Hey, everyone in Emerald City, this is Justice! I know we're not really a close-knit community or anything, but things seem to be changing, and I'd like everyone to meet up. I'll be at the noodle place at the corner of 14th and Ramos in Betlehem. I hope I'll see you all there. Right, so, she had met Emerald Spider, Meta-Naut and Kanunu. Hopefully at least one of them would show up, maybe some of the other heroes that had started running around. At least the owners of this place were good people, they didn't mind people in masks and costumes. Maybe she'd even get the chance to thank Emerald Spider for introducing her to the place. So, she waited. Eyes on the door. Hoping that at least someone would show up.

In Brief: Orphaned Latina Necromancer Character: Santa Muerte Power Level: 12 (Built as PL10) Tradeoffs: None (At PL10: -2 Attack / +2 Damage, -2 Defense / +2 Toughness) Power Points: 182/183 Unspent Points: 1 Alternate Identity: Ximena Romero Identity: Public Legal Status: USA citizen with no criminal record Birthplace: Emerald City, Oregon, USA Base of Operations: Emerald City, Oregon, USA Residence: The penthouse loft of the 23 B Apartments on University Hill Occupation: Witch Affiliations: Mictlan Books & Curiosities (Owner), 23 B Apartments (Owner), Atzi Ramirez (Employee, Confidant), Detective Briana Rowell, E.C.P.D., Homicide (Contact), Vivienne (Mentor, Deceased) Family: Mother (Deceased), Father (Deceased), Younger Sister (Deceased), Younger Brother (Deceased), several estranged living grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins DESCRIPTION Age: 25 (Date of Birth: 1995) Apparent Age: 25 Gender: Female Ethnicity: Mesoamerican Latina Height: 5'5" Weight: 115 lbs. Hair: White (Formerly Black) Eyes: Brown (Green while using magic) Ximena stands at slightly above-average height, with a slight frame. Her skin is on the darker end of the Latina spectrum, owing to her indigenous Mesoamerican heritage, contrasted starkly by her completely white hair. As a lifelong self-described "Goth", her clothing consists almost entirely of elaborate and vaguely Medieval or Victorian inspired dresses, mostly in black but sometimes accented with purple, blue, or red, incorporating plenty of velvet, satin, lace, and fishnet, frequently accompanied by corsets or waist-cinchers, with lots of silver jewelry. To change into Santa Muerte, she simply retrieves the enchanted cloak and mask from her dimensional pocket, and with a word and a wave of her hand, they float onto her body as if she were being dressed by an unseen servant, while her makeup expands from her usual dark eyeshadow and lipstick into a full Dia de Los Muertos style skull-face. Her cloak is bright red, while her mask is bone-white, carved into the shape of a human skull, with a black Viridian Stone set into the forehead, directly above her pineal gland. When Ximena casts spells, her eyes turn bright green, and often both her eyes and hands will be completely enveloped in green hellfire. Her spells require elaborate hand gestures and spoken words to function. The gestures range from simply pointing at the target, to drawing elaborate shapes in the air, such as an hourglass, which then take on a three-dimensional spectral green form that she can interact with, such as turning the hourglass over, or breaking it in half to rapidly spill the sands out. Often a spectral sickle appears in her hand, which she uses to cut glowing puppet strings attached to a group of another necromancer's undead minions, breaking his control over them, or to cut a bloody hole in the fabric of space itself for when she teleports or accesses her dimensional pocket. The spoken invocations of her spells consist mostly of sentences or phrases in Atlantean or Lemurian. The spells she's tweaked or created herself often include Latin, Maya, or Nahuatl as well. HISTORY On Ximena Romero's twelfth birthday, her father came home from work, murdered his entire family, and then rampaged through his neighborhood until he was shot down by the police. At least, that's what most people believe. A few know better. Ximena's father was a junior accountant at a firm which, unbeknownst to him, included among its clientele a number of front companies for some of the organized crime syndicates who belonged to the confederacy known only to themselves as "The Chamber". One front company in particular was involved in the purchase and development of some valuable Riverfront property. Late in the day on Ximena's twelfth birthday, one of the senior accountants accidentally forwarded an email to Ximena's father. That email included a spreadsheet with a list of names and figures. The names were Emerald City government officials, mostly members of the zoning board but also a City Council member. The figures were bribes. The contents of that email could have scuttled the entire real estate deal, and landed every person on the list and everyone copied on the email in prison. Before Ximena's father got home, The Chamber had already given the order that he was to be silenced, in such a way as to destroy any credibility he might have beyond the grave. They sent The Terror. It found and possessed Ximena's father before she had the chance to blow out the candles on her cake, but not before he was able to give her his last present, a silver medallion with a strange black stone set into it that perfectly matched the gothic turn her fashion tastes had recently taken. Using her father as a puppet, The Terror butchered Ximena's entire family. When she tried to defend her siblings, it stabbed her repeatedly. She would have succumbed to her wounds if the black Viridian Stone she was unknowingly wearing around her neck hadn't prevented her soul from leaving her body long enough for her to get medical attention. None of The Terror's other victims that night were so lucky. The experience turned Ximena's hair completely white. In the aftermath, the senior accountant managed to gain access to Ximena's father's email account. The damning message was unread. In his haste to get home in time for his eldest daughter's birthday dinner, he had ignored the buzzing of his Blackberry. Once word was received that one of the children had survived, it was decided that it was unnecessary to finish her off, and, more importantly, that it would attract too much attention if a second attempt was made on her life. The land deal proceeded without further complication. Ximena had a large extended family, who took her in, at first. But her good Catholic aunts, uncles, and grandparents quickly started passing her around like a hot potato, each one growing weary of her trauma-induced emotional unavailability, the goth music and fashion "phase" she refused to grow out of, the bisexuality she refused to conceal or repress, and, most of all, her newfound obsession with the occult. She knew that her father wasn't on drugs and hadn't just snapped like everyone claimed. She knew what she saw, and she had to learn how to keep it from ever happening again. Her guardians kept throwing away her books on witchcraft, and she kept shoplifting new ones. Her guardians grounded her, and she snuck out anyway. Eventually they dumped her into the foster care system, from which she quickly slipped away. She wandered, working under the table at odd jobs while chasing any scrap of information she could on magic and the supernatural. She fell in and out with multiple cults and charlatans before she finally found her mentor, the sorceress Vivienne. Vivienne claimed to be twice Ximena's age, though she didn't look it. Impressed with Ximena's potential and persistence, she took her on as an apprentice. The two quickly became more than teacher and student, first friends, then lovers. Vivienne taught her how to harness hellfire, to bind and banish demons, to raise the dead and to put them down again. In addition to the necromantic arts, Ximena learned history, philosophy, languages. Ximena was a voracious student, taking full advantage of her first access to formal education in years. She learned the true nature of the Viridian Stone in her possession, and she built an enchanted mask to house it. She also became friends with Atzi Ramirez, the middle-aged mortal servant who handled Vivienne's legal and financial affairs in the mundane world. Several years passed. Then, one day, Vivienne turned on Ximena. She learned that Vivienne was even older than she claimed, and that her life and her youthful appearance was sustained by draining the life energy of younger women like Ximena, women Vivienne would take her pleasure and amusement from for a few years, until she grew bored of them and they started to age, losing the only true value she saw in them. Ximena was just the latest in a long line, and the power and strength of will she had developed under Vivienne's tutalage only meant that her soul would sustain and empower Vivienne for longer once she consumed it. Vivienne's doom was in underestimating her latest student. Ximena managed to turn the tables on Vivienne, long enough to break Vivienne's hold over her undead creatures who staffed and protected her estate. Instead of seizing control of them, Ximena set them free, and once free, they set upon Vivienne with a vengeance, consuming her body and soul. Once they were finished with Vivienne, Ximena sent the creatures to their final rewards, some willingly, some not. Then she looted Vivienne's estate of its more benign resources and burned the rest down. She has yet to face any reprisal for Vivienne's death, since most of Vivienne's few friendly acquaintances in the magical community "Knew her well enough not to mourn her passing." After disposing of Vivienne's legacy, Ximena decided it was time to return to her home. If she could overcome a seasoned necromancer like Vivienne, then she could deal with the entity that had murdered her family, and any others like it. Atzi, finding herself homeless, unemployed, and free of the mind-controlling spells that she hadn't even known that Vivienne had cast upon her, followed Ximena to Emerald City. With Atzi's help, and the financial resources Ximena had "inherited" from her treacherous mentor, she was able to purchase two properties, a small apartment building, X, where she and Atzi both took up residence, and a storefront where she established Mictlan Books & Curiosities (and installed a magical workspace in the basement). She put Atzi in charge of running both businesses. The store acts as a base from which Atzi is able to act as a broker, putting clients (some paying, some not) who require magical assistance in touch with Ximena, who performs services ranging from brewing potions or crafting charms to investigations and exorcisms. In her own time, Ximena searches the city for lost souls to put to rest, and demons and malevolent spirits to banish from the material realm, hoping to find one in particular. She's foiled several secular crimes along the way, and one police detective, Briana Rowell, has started consulting with her after she helped Rowell close a cold murder case. PERSONALITY & MOTIVATION Ximena's demeanor is usually calm, aloof, and laconic. When she indulges in humor, it tends to be dry sarcasm. When she looks at someone, she seems to be looking through them. She carries heavy emotional burdens she is loathe to unleash upon others, and she is just as reluctant to take on the emotional burdens of others. She's had to be self-reliant for most of her life, and she's been betrayed and abandoned multiple times, so she is slow to trust anyone. But she genuinely wants to help people. The supernatural invaded her life and destroyed it. She has dedicated her life to making sure that doesn't happen to anyone else. Despite her youth, she has existed at the fringes of mainstream modern society for long enough that she doesn't feel comfortable in it. She pays for everything in cash, she keeps hard copies of everything, and she doesn't own a computer or a cell phone. POWERS & TACTICS As a necromancer, Ximena's magic focuses on the power of life and death itself, especially the latter. She can inflict weakening curses upon her foes, launch bolts of hellfire at them, and show them enough of what horror awaits them in the afterlife to break their spirits under the weight of it. Alternately, she can use that same knowledge of the worlds beyond death to provide peace to her allies, invigorating them. She knows how to raise the dead, turning them into the Undead, how to summon, bind, and interrogate ghosts and demons, and how to sever such a creature's connection to the powers that sustain it, obliterating them. Through sheer force of will, she can seize control of the demons or undead creatures created or commanded by another sorcerer. She can perform exorcisms, which break the hold supernatural creatures have over a mortal's fragile mind, and banish those creatures from the material world back to whatever dimension spawned them. She can transport herself and others to the various dimensions of the dead, and she knows their geography well enough to exploit the different physics in those dimensions to emerge back in the material world a vast distance away from her starting point in mere moments. Because of her mask (see below), she can walk those paths freely, the dead mistaking her for one of their own. When she brings along a living passenger, the journey becomes far more dangerous. Her affinity for death has allowed her to sense it as second nature. She can tell when someone has died in a given place, whether it was one person or many, and whether they died slowly or quickly, peacefully or violently. She sometimes receives precognitive visions warning of an impending death, being able to sense the psychopomps looming close by the doomed. She also knows a handful of minor non-necromantic utility spells. She can create and access a pocket dimension, where she stores her most valuable possessions. She can use part of a person, such as a drop of their blood or a strand of their hair, to prepare a compass which will point in their direction. She can create a ghostly hand which can lift, manipulate, and even destroy objects at a distance. She can transmute small objects, rearranging their atoms like a child's building blocks to transform one thing into another. Her enchanted cloak harnesses raw ectoplasm, the substance of ghosts, which is often left behind when they move on to their final reward, or are forced to by an exorcism. The cloak repurposes this energy as a shield, protecting her from harm. When an attack would strike her, swirling green mist appears a few inches in front of her and blocks it. Sometimes the vague outlines of a face appear in the mist, either an echo of the departed spirits whose ectoplasm the cloak harnessed, or a grateful spirit returning to intercede on her behalf directly. The cloak uses this same energy to form currents or wings which lift her off the ground, allowing her to float in the air, and sometimes, as with her defenses, it is grateful spirits who bear her into the heavens. Her mask harnesses the energy of the black Viridian Stone to open her "third eye", allowing her to see in total darkness, to see supernatural creatures for what they truly are, to see magical auras, and to speak with the spirits of the dead as if she were one of them. The mask hides her life signs, making her appear to both living and dead alike as one of the latter. Aside from her magic, Ximena has the sort of genius-level intellect that comes along a few times in a generation, and a tremendous strength of will and and force of personality. If she hadn't decided to become one of the world's greatest witches, she could have become the next Ada Lovelace, Marie Curie, or Susan B. Anthony. Her intensive tutelage under Vivienne left her with the equivalent of a doctorate in several fields of mundane academic study. She speaks over half a dozen languages. Her enchantments adhere best to objects of the finest quality, and she has risen to the challenge, becoming a world-class craftswoman of a dozen different disciplines, from seamstress to metalworker. However, she has focused on her studies to the point of neglecting her body. While she is exceptionally healthy, her physical prowess is below average for a woman of her age. She is almost useless in a fistfight. COMPLICATIONS Enemies: Ximena has banished many demons and malevolent spirits from the world of the living. Some of them hold grudges. And someone might have cared about Vivienne enough to avenge her death after all. The GM can give her a Hero Point when one of them shows up to make an already bad situation even worse. Fame (Local): Ximena's identity as "Santa Muerte" exists in a grey area. She doesn't hide it, but she doesn't advertise it either. Not everyone she's helped recognizes her, but some do, and word is spreading. The GM can give her a Hero Point when being recognized makes her life less convenient in some way. Hyperspace Is A Scary Place: When Ximena uses her Teleport power, she crosses over into one of the Underworld dimensions. The GM can give her a Hero Point if something follows her back into the material world. Alternately, if she brings along a passenger, especially if that passenger's nature as a living creature is not concealed as hers is behind her mask, or if the passenger disregards her instructions ("Don't open your eyes, don't listen to the voices, don't let go of me"), then that passenger may come back possessed, if they come back at all. If her passenger is possessed or trapped on the other side, the GM may give a Hero Point to her, her passenger, or both. Nightmares: Ximena has seen many disturbing things, and she regularly relives them in her dreams. Precognitive visions of death also frequently come to her while she is asleep. The GM can give her a Hero Point and declare that she is Fatigued due to lack of restful sleep. Prejudice: Ximena is female, Latina, bisexual, and a goth. The GM can give her a Hero Point when another character's ignorance of and/or prejudice against one or more aspects of her identity creates a setback for her. Reputation ("Burn the witch!"): Many members of mainstream religions consider Ximena to be a blasphemer and her namesake to be heresy. Most other wizards consider her form of magic to be taboo, and, to be fair, most of those who practice it do so in a far more malevolent fashion than she does. Anyone who can perceive magical auras in detail and knows what to look for can see the mark her use of necromancy (however benign it has been) has left on her soul. The GM can give her a Hero Point if another character's attitude toward her powers creates a setback for her. Responsibility (Business): Even though Atzi handles the day-to-day operations, ultimately, as a landlord and a store owner, Ximena has an obligation to her tenants, her employees, and her customers. And Atzi herself may sometimes require aid. The GM can give Ximena a Hero Point when she faces a setback on account of those obligations. Responsibility (Family): Ximena has a large extended family. Even though she is estranged from them, if any of them found her and asked for her aid, she would feel obligated to provide it. The GM can give her a Hero Point and declare that a family member needs her help at the worst possible time. ABILITIES 48PP ([-2] + 4 + 8 + 14 + 12 + 12) Strength: 08 (-1) (Heavy Load: 80 lbs.) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 18 (+4) Intelligence: 24 (+7) Wisdom: 22 (+6) Charisma: 22 (+6) COMBAT 14PP (8 + 6) Initiative: +2 (+2 Dex) Attack: +4, +8 Hellfire Blast Grapple: +3 (+4 Melee Attack, -1 Str) Defense: +8/+4 (+7/+3 Base, +1 Dodge Focus), +4/+2 Flat-Footed Knockback Resistance: 6/2 SAVING THROWS 12PP (1 + 2 + 9) Toughness: +12/+4 (+4 Con, +8 Protection) Fortitude: +5 (+4 Con, +1PP) Reflex: +8/+4 (+2 Dex, +4 Enhanced, +2PP) Will: +15 (+6 Wis, +9PP) SKILLS 22PP (88R) Concentration 6 (+12) Craft (Artistic) 13 (+20) Diplomacy 9 (+15) Intimidation 9 (+15) Knowledge (Arcane) 13 (+20) Knowledge (Cosmology) 3 (+10) Knowledge (History) 3 (+10) Knowledge (Life Sciences) 3 (+10) Knowledge (Streetwise) 3 (+10) Knowledge (Theology & Philosophy) 3 (+10) Languages 6 (Atlantean, English [Native], Latin, Lemurian, Mayan, Nahuatl, Spanish) Medicine 1 (+7) Notice 4 (+10) Search 3 (+10) Sense Motive 9 (+15) FEATS 8PP Artificer Benefit (Wealth 1) Dodge Focus Equipment 1 (5EP) Luck 3 Ritualist Enhanced: Quick Change EQUIPMENT 5EP (1PP) Mictlan Books & Curiosities (PL10 Headquarters) [5EP] Size: Small [0EP] Toughness: 5 [0EP] Features: [5EP] Cover FacilityAoF Library Security System (DC20) PersonnelBoM Workshop (Magic) AoF = Agents of Freedom BoM = Book of Magic POWERS 78PP Devices 8 (40PP Container [Passive, Permanent]; Flaws: Hard-To-Lose) [32PP] (Descriptors: Enchanted Cloak, Enchanted Mask, Magic, Necromancy) Cloak: Enhanced Defense 4 [8PP] (Additional Descriptors: Defense of Grateful Spirits, Ectoplasmic Shield) Enhanced Reflex 4 [4PP] (Additional Descriptors: Defense of Grateful Spirits, Ectoplasmic Shield) Flight 1 (10MPH, 100ft per Move Action) [2PP] (Additional Descriptors: Buoyed by Grateful Spirits, Ectoplasmic Wings) Protection 8 [8PP] (Additional Descriptors: Defense of Grateful Spirits, Ectoplasmic Shield) Mask: Comprehend 1 (Spirits) [2PP] Features 2 (Deathly Mien*, Undead Presence*) [2PP] *Power Profiles, "Death Powers" Super-Senses 6 (Counters Concealment [Visual senses]; Counters Illusion [Visual senses]; Counters Obscure [Visual senses; “Darkness” descriptors]) [6PP] (Additional Descriptors: Divination Magic, True Sight) Super-Senses 8 (Magic and Supernatural Awareness; Descriptor requency: Very Common; Sense Type: Visual, Default: Accurate, Acute, Ranged; Extras: Penetrates Concealment, Tracking) [8PP] (Additional Descriptors: Divination Magic, True Sight) Enhanced Feats 1 (Quick Change) [1PP] (Descriptors: Dressing Spell, Magic, Telekinesis) Magic 16 (32PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 7; Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [When unable to speak and gesture; Frequency: Common]) [37PP] Base Power: [5 + 5 + 11 + 11 = 32PP] (Additional Descriptors: Utility Spells) Dimensional Pocket 1 (Extras: Duration 3 [Continuous, Lasting]; Flaws: Requires Grapple; Feats: Progression [Cargo] 1 [250 lbs.]) [5PP] (Additional Descriptors: Dimensional Magic) Move Object 1 (Lifting Strength: 5, Heavy Load: 50 lbs.; Extras: Damaging, Range [Perception]; Feats: Precise) [5PP] (Additional Descriptors: Spectral Hand, Telekinesis) Telelocation 10 (Range: 200,000 miles; Extras: Duration [Sustained, Lasting]; Flaws: Limited [Only learns the target's direction relative to her, not their exact location], Medium [Requires a piece of the target, or an object heavily infused with the target's resonance]; Feats: Dimensional 2 [Afterlives, Death Dimensions, Underworlds], Rapid 9 [x1,000,000,000; Take 20 to Search maximum area in less than a second as a Free Action]; Drawbacks: Action 3 [20 minutes], Noticeable, Power Loss [When deprived of specially prepared compass; Frequency: Uncommon]) [11PP] (Additional Descriptors: Divination Magic, Finding Spell, Ritual Magic) Transform 1 (Any inanimate object into any other inanimate object; Extras: Duration [Continuous, Lasting], Range [Perception]; Feats: Progression [Mass] 3 [10 lbs.], Subtle) [11PP] (Additional Descriptors: Transmutation Magic) Alternate Power: [32PP] (Additional Descriptors: Hellfire Blast, Necromancy) Blast 12 (Range: 10 120ft Increments, 1,200ft Max; Feats: Accurate 2 [+4 Attack], Affects Insubstantial 2 [Full effect], Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Incurable, Precise) [32PP] Alternate Power: [32PP] (Additional Descriptors: Curse of Withering, Necromancy) Drain 10 (All Abilities at once; Extras: Range 2 [Perception]; Flaws: Action [Full], Limited [Physical Abilities: Str, Dex, Con]; Feats: Incurable, Reversible, Slow Fade [1 minute]; Drawbacks: Full Power) [32PP] Alternate Power: [22 + 10 = 32PP] (Additional Descriptors: Exorcism, Necromancy, Rebuke Infernal, Rebuke Undead) Drain Toughness 10 (Extras: Affects Objects, Linked [Damage], Range 2 [Perception]; Flaws: Action [Full], Limited [Demons/Devils and the Undead]; Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2 [Full effect], Incurable; Drawbacks: Full Power) [22PP] Damage 10 (Extras: Linked [Drain], Range 2 [Perception]; Flaws: Action [Full], Limited [Demons/Devils and the Undead]) [10PP] Alternate Power: [32PP] (Additional Descriptors: Glimpse of The Abyss, Necromancy, Peace of The Grave) Emotion Control 10 (Extras: Area [Type: General; Shape: Burst], Selective; Flaws: Action [Full]; Feats: Progression [Area Size] 1 [100ft radius], Reversible) [32PP] Alternate Power: [32PP] (Additional Descriptors: Command Infernal, Command Undead, Necromancy) Mind Control 10 (Extras: Area [Type: General; Shape: Burst], Conscious; Flaws: Limited [Demons/Devils and the Undead]; Feats: Mental Link, Progression [Area Size] 1 [100ft radius]) [32PP] Alternate Power: [32PP] (Additional Descriptors: Banishment, Exorcism, Necromancy) Nullify 10 (All Supernatural Emotion Control, Mind Control, and Summon effects at once; Extras: Area [Type: General; Shape: Burst], Range [Perception]; Flaws: Action [Full]; Feats: Progression [Area Size] 2 [250ft radius]) [32PP] Alternate Power: [5 + 27 = 32PP] (Additional Descriptors: Necromancy, Paths of The Underworld) Super-Movement 2 (Dimensional Movement 2 [Afterlives, Death Dimensions, Underworlds]; Extras: Linked [Teleport]; Feats: Progression [Cargo] 1 [250 lbs.]) [5PP] Teleport 9 (900ft per Move Action, 20,000 miles per Full Action; Extras: Accurate, Linked [Super-Movement]) [27PP] Super-Senses 6 (Death Awareness; Descriptor Frequency: Very Common; Sense Type: Mental, Default: None; Extras: Acute, Radius, Ranged) [6PP] (Descriptors: Magic, Necromancy) Super-Senses 4 (Postcognition; Extras: Simultaneous, Special [Substitute interaction skills for Notice and Search, +0]; Drawbacks: Action 6 [20 minutes], Noticeable) [1PP] (Descriptors: Demon Summoning, Magic, Necromancy, Ritual Magic, Spirit Conjuring) Super-Senses 4 (Precognition; Flaws: Limited [Death], Uncontrolled) [1PP] (Descriptors: Magic, Necromancy) Abilities (48) + Combat (14) + Saving Throws (12) + Skills (22) + Feats (8) + Powers (78) = 182/183 Power Points ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC14 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Curse of Withering Perception DC20 Fortitude (Staged) Drain Str/Dex/Con Dimensional Pocket* Touch/Grapple DC11 Reflex Trapped Emotion Control Perception/Area DC20 Will (Staged) Calm: Counters all Emotion Control conditions Despair: Shaken/Helpless Fear: Shaken/Frightened/Panicked Hate: Attitude = Hostile Hope: Counters Despair and Fear conditions Love: Attitude = Friendly/Helpful/Fanatical Exorcism Perception/Area Will or Power vs +10 Nullify* Finding Spell Extended DC20 Will Telelocation Hellfire Blast Ranged DC27 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy) Mind Control** Perception/Area Will vs +10 Controlled Rebuke** Perception DC20 Fortitude (Staged) Drain Toughness DC25 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy) Spectral Hand* Perception Grapple vs +2 Pinned/Bound DC16 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy) Transmutation* Perception DC11 Reflex Transformed *Utility power, not generally used as an attack, but technically capable of being used as such. **Limited to Demons/Devils and the Undead.

OOC for this. Roll Perform (Stage Magic) for your final trick of the show!

GM Jadetown, Emerald City, Oregon Friday, March 20, 2020 7:04:56 PM Xie Fan was a tall, well-built middle-aged man with a kindly face. He was normally one to wear a suit outside his family compound located smack down in the middle of Jadetown, but now the sleeves of his dress shirt was rolled back and the polka dot tie slightly loosened as he made his way on stage, a big grin on his face. Applause rang out from members of his family, his extended clan, and business colleagues and friends. You hear a whistle and shouted Chinese, probably from one of the more inebriated guests. Your audience was scattered around a large garden, mingling under the lanterns hung on trees that cast the party in a bright red glow, hanging around the small bonfire to warm themselves, or eating their dinner and noodles on the banquet tables. Toddlers chased each other on tiny legs as wizened old grandmothers and grandfathers sipped wine. A couple of bodyguards watched the proceedings at the edge of the gathering. The early spring air was chilly, not yet having cast of winter's cloak completely. Behind you, a banner hung between two poles, above the stage you stand on. Happy 50th Birthday Xie Fan! "Yeah! Haha!" Xie Fan waved at the crowd before he came to you, clapping you on the shoulder. "Okay. Let's do this." Time for your coup de grace.

ooc for this @Tarrakhash, @Torpedo Lass Just set up for now, feel free to add on with what you're up to.

GM 1:30 PM, March 7th, 2020 Emerald Skies Airshow, Joint Army/Air-Force Base Clark-Gordon, Cascadia The show had been coming for a while. The skies were clear and blue. Fighter jets roared across the sky, drawing colorful, emerald smoketrails behind them. The crowds cheered, the people of Emerald City was getting into the airshow. Even if the air was cool, the sun was warm. Mattus had sent Chromium to provide security. Since his arrival in Emerald City, he had spent time training at Clark-Gordon, learning to be better. Now, he was security. Just in case, Commander Irons had said. Nothing was going to happen, but it was good to get out there. See the people, see what he was fighting for. No need to be seen unless necessary, of course. A big shiny guy would stand out, but he could at least enjoy the show from the shadows. Nolan Aeronautics was here by invitation. In fact, they had asked for one Anne Mistral in particular. She was famous, after all. If anything, her presence would only draw larger crowds. While another jet soared across the sky, painting emerald circles with its smoke, the call went out that Levity was up next...

Player Name: Eternal Phoenix Character Name: Waverider Power Level: 12 (180/184 PP) Trade-Offs: +2 Damage, -2 Attack(Blast); +2 Attack, -2 Damage (Drain & Nauseate); +2 Toughness, -2 Defense Unspent PP: 4 In Brief: Normal teenage girl with dreams of deaf advocacy back slapped by irony, becomes deaf and mute vibration controller. Now she’s grown up and attending Emerald City University. Residence: Emerald City University Base of Operations: Emerald City Catchphrase: “…” Alternate Identities: Naomi Suleiman Identity: Secret Birthplace: Los Angeles, California Occupation: University Student Affliations: Spectacle (Los Angeles street level hero), a few old Claremont Academy friends Family: Armaan Suleiman (a lawyer), Jana Suleiman (a doctor), Saloni Suleiman (currently interning and married; no signs of powers), Navin Suleiman (first year Claremont Academy student; same powers as Naomi) Age: 21 Apparent Age: Early 20s. Gender: Female Ethnicity: Indian-American Height: 5’ 5” Weight: 115 Eyes: Dark Brown Hair: Black Description: Naomi is of Indian descent, which means chocolate skin and straight jet black hair. She keeps her hair cut just above her shoulders and her makeup is on the minimal side. Her clothes are quite preppy and put together. Usually a ruffled shirt and cute skirt with some ballet flats and tasteful jewelry. Her costume, originally a variation on the Claremont Academy costume, is now quite different. It is still a loose fitting bodysuit, but a ruffled knee length skirt and bolero jacket complete the ensemble. The skirt, sleeves of the jacket, shoes are golden in color. The bodysuit shirt is merely yellow. Howefer, the body of the jacket and legs of the bodysuit are a light lavender A set of embroidered silver concentric circles serve as her symbol. They are on both the bolero jacket and the bodysuit shirt, centered over the right pectoral. Her domino mask is also silver. History: Naomi was born in Los Angeles. No one knew it, but she’d been absorbing vibrations since she was a small bundle of cells in her mother’s womb. Which made the pregnancy slightly more…interesting…than most, but caused no real complications. Growing up, she was the source of the occasional mysterious loud bang, which gradually made her persona non grata among her peers. There were some earthquake scares as well (which really didn’t help), but those weren’t traced to her until later. However, there was one group that didn’t reject her for the occasional weirdness that surrounded her. They were the deaf and hearing impaired kids at her school. So she made friends, and learned sign language explicitly so she could talk to them. She was a normal kid, doing normal kid things. Then it happened. Summer break, 2014. Naomi was waiting for a friend downtown, having planned a beach day. They had agreed to meet at a parking garage, but her friend was late. So she’d stepped into the shade of the parking garage to wait. She felt the vibrations (not that she knew what they were at the time) churn inside her. This had happened many times before. See the mysterious loud noises and odd earthquake scares. The problem was that these were much stronger than before. They…hurt. She leaned against the wall of the parking garage. Her skin touched it, and instantly the mysterious force inside of her ripped its way out, with all the pain that verb implies. It was a sound and quake burst, at the same time, and with more force that she could conceive of. Her eardrums burst immediately. The cilla in her inner ear were smashed down. The bones in her inner ear shattered. The pain was immense. No one wouldn’t have screamed. Unfortunately, that was the last thing she should’ve done. The vibrations had found an easier way out, and tore her larynx to shreds on the way. No parking garage, even in Los Angeles, is built to take that kind of strain. Hell, the surrounding buildings were in trouble. Naomi might have even triggered a real earthquake and endangered the entire city. Except there just happened to be a hero in the area. Spectacle. Claremont class of 2008. The name…didn’t fit his powers. He was stronger, faster, and more durable than any unarmored human could possibly be, but it was his power of infinite capacity (but not infinite rate) energy absorption that saved the day. He chucked his groceries aside, and dove in to save a girl who was having a very bad day. He saved the city. He saved the neighborhood. He saved the girl. He even saved the parking garage attendant. Unfortunately, he couldn’t save the parking garage. It collapsed, crushing all the cars inside of it. Spectacle was not an idiot. He knew the girl, now unconscious, would be blamed. This wasn’t Freedom City. She ought to get away from the justice system, but the civil suits and media coverage would destroy her family. So he got gone, and fast. He dropped her off at a hospital in another district. Spectacle poked his head in now and again, while Naomi was recovering, making it clear in no uncertain terms that they needed to have a conversation. Something Had To Be Done, and such like. When they finally had it, she anxiously begged him not to ship her away just yet. Her parents would never allow it. She had friends here. She was still adjusting to her new life. And so on. He actually had no intention of doing that (otherwise he’d have spoken with someone at Claremont by now), but watched the girl squirm under the idea before announcing he’d train her. Spectacle always wanted a sidekick, after all. When Naomi protested even that much, he told her it was either that or being shipped away. He knew of someone who could be very persuasive, if it came to that. And so Waverider was born. After school training. The occasional easy mission. That sort of thing. When it came down to it, Spectacle was a good teacher, and his energy absorption and overall toughness helped make up for any…mistakes along the way. Until, around the end of the school year, he realized his pupil was growing past his skills. It was sad, but he had to revisit their initial Something Had To Be Done conversation. During this time, Naomi had gotten to know him, and on the whole he wasn’t a bad guy. A skilled and effective hero, who just so happened to be exasperatingly easygoing about everything under the sun. That said his relaxed deadpanning of virtually everything was funny when directed at others. Such as whoever was on the other end at that superhero school he was talking about. Leaving might not be so bad. Her family had grown a bit distant from her, which made some sense. She couldn’t hear them anymore, and sign language was a pain in the butt to learn without a powerful motivation and sufficient spare time to do so. She knew that from personal experience. She also knew the person on the other end of that call (who was growing ever more exasperated, a position with which she both sympathized and found funny) would easily persuade her parents to let her go. And honestly? The prospect was a little exciting now. Sure, leaving her friends would be sad. But she’d be going to a place where she didn’t have to hide her powers from everyone around her. She didn’t have to pretend she didn’t notice when people spoke to her. And, like virtually every teenager ever born, she was always up for a bit of an adventure. Well, she had her Claremont adventures. Some were fun. Some were horrific and traumatizing. But like all things good and bad, they came to an end. She was ready for college, and Emerald City’s elite Malory College had shown interest. Enough to get her to pack up and move cross country again. But when she arrived she found out hadn’t quite made the cut for Malory College. The money was there. Her grades were good enough. There were no problems with her application. Her interview even went well. Yet, mysteriously, she was not selected to join that year’s class. She’d heard good things about Emerald City University’s Pre-Law program. And she didn’t feel like moving again. So far it’s been okay. Truthfully she’d been a little bored. She’d put away her costume after leaving Claremont. She’d wanted to focus on her studies. And avoid insane cannibalistic Morlocks from another dimension. But…she missed it. With great power, there must also come great responsibility too. And she had kept practicing with her powers. She had tried to play it off as needing to discharge vibrational energy, but she knew better even then. So she dusted off the ol’ costume, gave a few individualizing tweaks, and Waverider was back on the scene. . Personality & Motivation: Naomi isn’t one of those ultra-driven hero types, or so she thought. She was a good person, and she had no problem helping out people in trouble, but her sights remained set squarely on her dream of being a lawyer who advocates for deaf rights. Maybe even politics, if she could swing it. She tried not being a hero for a while to focus on her studies, but she simply can’t help getting involved. She was rather remarkably well adjusted. Then she ran into said insane cannibalistic Morlocks from another dimension. She got therapy, processed the trauma, and moved past it. Or again, so she thought. The truth is, she kind of took the first opportunity to get the hell out of Freedom City. She had no problems with Woodsman, but keep his terrible, doomed world as far away from hers as humanly possible. Outwardly, she remains calm and rational, only dwelling on the things she can change. But on the inside she’s made a promise to herself. One she didn’t acknowledge even having made until putting her costume back on. Power and responsibility go hand in hand. They always have. But it has to be more than that. Simply being too squeamish to let people get hurt in front of you isn’t enough. Life is short. Hate is foolish. Love is wise. Always try to be nice. Never fail to be kind. Don’t surrender to fear. Laugh hard. Run fast. Live well. And never, ever give up. Power Descriptions: Naomi is a vibration controller. She can theoretically induce, increase, or reduce vibrations in virtually any material. As sound is simply vibration that can be heard by humans, she can manipulate that as well, although somewhat less effectively at present. She has a personal force field made of high resonance vibrations to protect her. She does not, however, generate the vibrations out of nothing. In fact, her body absorbs and stores vibratory energy for later use. This renders her immune to vibratory (and thus sonic) attacks of any kind, and provides a measure of defense against bludgeoning attacks. She can feel vibrations on her skin, as well. Practice allows to even differentiate between people’s voices. However, actually telling what they’re saying on a consistent basis is currently beyond her, and thus she must lip read or have the speaker(s) use sign language instead. Powers & Tactics: Naomi is essentially a blaster. She’s got a few neat tricks, like deadening the sound in an massive area, increasing the vibrations in a target’s inner ear to sickening levels, or unleashing a deafening wall of sound in a small area. However, the core of all of that is blasting away with vibratory energy. With both Accurate Attack and Power Attack she can shift the damage and accuracy of her attacks around, so it’s not quite as one dimensional as it sounds. Her force field is a heck of a thing. It increases her physical durability by several orders of magnitude, to the degree that it would take heavy artillery or cruise missiles to harm her with it active. And, of course, vibratory/sonic attacks are entirely useless, as she absorbs them. Complications: I’m Sorry, I Didn’t Catch That: Naomi’s inner ear is destroyed. She can’t hear anything. At all. Whatsoever. That said, she does have the ability to feel vibrations. If she focuses, she can even understand speech. Unless, of course, there’s too much background noise. Or she’s tired. Or distracted. You name it. Lip reading can help with this, but it has its limits. So sometimes she can garble people’s words. Or miss them entirely. A GM may award a hero point when this becomes a…problem. Seen And Never Heard: Naomi cannot talk. Her larynx is ruined. Most people don’t know sign language, so she keeps a pen and pad on her person. Easy enough, right? Well…that requires the person she’s “speaking” with to look at her. Which may or may not always be possible in the middle of superheroics. Add to that, her pad and/or pen could be ruined by damage, and then what can she do? A GM may award a hero point when communications between her and anyone else become compromised in this manner. Bad Vibrations: Naomi’s powers run on vibratory energy, such as sound. Her body is constantly absorbing such energy from the environment. However, she has an upper limit to the amount she can absorb. Reaching it triggers a devastating Burst Area of vibratory energy (rank 12 at minimum, with any more left to GM’s discretion) to explode from her body, instantly and agonizingly depleting her reserves (making her Stunned from the pain). Therefore, from time to time she must release some lest this happen. Conversely, she can use up her reserves in combat (by repeatedly attacking with her array, flying for long periods, and/or taking lots of hits to her force field) rendering her attack array, flight, and force field useless until she absorbs enough energy to use them again. A GM may award a hero point for either of these situations occurring. No, I Don’t Know That Guy From That Show: Naomi is of Indian descent. Both parents were born and raised in India, and immigrated later. Americans have some…unfortunate misconceptions about the Indian people. And others can…mistake her ethnicity for another one, such as Arabic. That’s without getting into the fact that she does not, in fact, practice Hindism or Islam, the two dominant religions of India. She’s agnostic, thank you very much. No, her parents don’t approve. A GM may award a hero point for Waverider having to deal with the ignorant and/or prejudiced. ABILITIES: 2+2+4+4+4+6=22 Strength 12 (+1) Dexterity 12 (+1) Constitution 14 (+2) Intelligence 14 (+2) Wisdom 14 (+2) Charisma 16 (+3) COMBAT: 10+10=20 Initiative: +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +5 Base (+10 Ranged, +14 Drain & Nauseate) Grapple: +6 Defense: +10 (+5 Base, + 5 Dodge Focus, +3 Flat Footed) Knockback: -13 w/ Force Field, -1 without SAVING THROWS: 6+7+8=21 Toughness: +14 (+2 Con, +12 Force Field); Impervious 12 Fortitude: +8 (+2 Con, +6) Reflex: +8 (+1 Dex, +7) Will: +10 (+2 Wis, +8) SKILLS: 84 SP= 21PP Acrobatics 9 (+10) Bluff 7 (+10) Concentration 13 (+15)Second Chance Diplomacy 12 (+15)Skill Mastery Knowledge (civics) 8 (+10)Skill Mastery Knowledge (current events) 8 (+10) Language 1 (American Sign Language; English Base) Notice 13 (+15)Skill Mastery Sense Motive 13 (+15)Skill Mastery FEATS: 19PP Accurate Attack Attack Focus (ranged) 5 Challenge (Notice-Lip Reading) Dodge Focus 5 Improved Initiative Luck Power Attack Precise Shot Second Chance (Concentration checks to maintain powers) Skill Mastery (Diplomacy, Knowledge [civics], Notice, Sense Motive Uncanny Dodge (tactile) POWERS: 5+24+10+2+36=77 (all powers have “Mutant” as a source descriptor, and all have Vibration/Sonic as a effect descriptor) Flight 5 ("Waveriding"; 250 mph/2500ft/rd; Flaw: Platform) [5PP] Force Field 12 ("Vibration Field"; Extra: Impervious) [24PP] Immunity 10 ("Vibration Absorber"; Sonic/Vibration Effects) [10PP] Super Senses 2 ("Vibration Feeling"; Extended & Ranged Tactile) [2PP] Vibration Control Array 16 (32PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 4) [36PP] BE: Blast 14 ("Vibroblast"; Feats: Improved Crit 2, Knockback, Precise) [32/32] AP: Dazzle 10 ("Sonic Screech"; Auditory; Extra: Burst Area 50-250 ft radius, Selective Attack; Feats: Progression Increase Area 2) [32/32] AP: Drain Toughness 10 ("Shattering Frequency"; Extras: Affects Objects, Range [ranged]; Feats: Accurate 2) [32/32] AP: Nauseate 10 ("Intense Vertigo"; Extra: Range [ranged]; Feats: Accurate 2) [32/32] AP: Obscure Auditory 10 ("Absorb Sound"; 5,000 ft radius; Extra: Selective Attack) [20/32] DC Block: Name Attack Bonus Range Save & DC Effect Unarmed +5 Melee 16 Toughness Damage Vibroblast +10 Ranged 29 Toughness Damage Sonic Screech N/A, General Area Ranged 20 Reflex to halve 20 Reflex to avoid 20 Fort to overcome if affected Auditory Dazzle Shattering Frequency +14 Ranged 20 Fortitude (Reflex if Immune) Drain Toughness Intense Vertigo +14 Ranged 20 Fortitude Nauseate TOTALS Abilities 22 + Combat 20 + Saving Throws 21 + Skills 21 + Feats 19 + Powers 77– Drawbacks 0= 180/184 points

Bastion Beetle Power Level: 12 (Built as PL10) (180/180PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: -4 Attack / +4 Damage, -4 Defense / +4 Toughness In Brief: A mysterious beetle creature found wandering in the woodlands outside of the emerald cities proper Catchphrase: Bzzzzzzt *Click click* Theme: Durability - Tribes of Neurot Alternate Identity: None Birthplace: Emerald City Residence: Emerald City Woodlands Base of Operations: Emerald City Occupation: Mysterious Beetle friend Affiliations: Emerald City Family: Description: Age: 3 Months Apparent Age: Adult Gender: None Ethnicity: Genetically Engineered Life form (Insectus Invictus Rex) Height: 10ft Weight: 1600 lbs Eyes: Green Hair: N/A Standing at a solid 10ft tall and built to battle and endure, Bastion beetle appears like a chimeric cross of several different species of insects such as a thick opalescent black carapace and the horn formation of an atlas beetle with the fore-horn of a Japanese rhinoceros beetle and the powerful pincers of a Giant Stag Beetle with the thick Elytron of an ironclad beetle and the Powerful wings of a Hercules beetle beneath them. Layered over a stocky humanoid form with thick fiberous muscle tissue at the joints to allow greater flexibility. History: There have been recent reports of seeing a towering humanoid figure clad in black armour and bearing all manner of jagged natural weapons wandering around in the woods outside of emerald city, many are passing it off as a particularly clumsy member of the cryptid clans those in the know with the cryptid clans know that it is not counted among their numbers, Personality & Motivation: Being relatively new to the world Bastion beetle is relatively curious about his surroundings, though he is not particularly aggressive he enjoys his solitude and maintains a small territorial area within the woods, opting to stridulate menacingly at those whom trespass from outside their view if possible particularly having a problem with creatures of comparative size to himself, he leaves smaller mammals, avians and his insectoid kin to their business. Powers & Tactics: If forced into conflict he will opt to hold his ground and attempt to wrestle his foes into submission as his instincts dictate, blessed with the greatest strengths of some of the worlds most remarkable insects as well as an enhanced capacity of intellectual deduction and reasoning he is surprisingly capable of complex tactical decisions and actions Power Descriptions: all of Bastion beetle's powers are based upon the various physiological traits of the beetles he was engineered from, the amazingly tough carapace of the ironclad beetle, the great strength of the taurus beetle and so forth, only his enhanced capacity for intelligent thought stands out. Complications: Bug out: Despite his enhanced intelligence and formidable superhuman physiology bastion beetle is still very much a instinctual creature and as such is prone to knee jerk reactions such as violently attacking or fleeing from percived threats that may not actually pose danger to him. Posing up a storm: Still unused to the verbal communications used by most humanoid lifeforms bastion is far more likely to communicate through body language, namely in the form of assuming somewhat exaggerated poses to communicate thoughts and feelings about a situation, this can be both humorous and threatening to people unfamiliar with him and his odd behavior as well as making it considerably harder for him to lie about things to those who are familiar with the behaviours of insects. Ugly bug brawl: Due to his monstrous appearance bastion has found that he causes great distress in some humans to the point that they actually attack him (with an Aerosol of ineffectual concentration named "raid") This has created an association of being attacked when someone comments on his appearance and can lead to him becoming deeply distressed and extremely jumpy in these situations due to the numerous failed attempts on his life resulting from it. Abilities: 14 + 4 + 14 + 14 + 4 + (-2) = 48PP Strength: 24 (+7) / 38 (+14) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 24 (+7) / 30 (+10) Intelligence: 24 (+7) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 8 (-1) Combat: 12 + 8 = 20PP Initiative: +2 (+2 Dex) Attack: +6 Base, +6 Melee, +6 Ranged Defense: +6 (+4 Base, +3 Dodge Focus, -1 Large Size), +2 Flat-Footed Grapple: +25/+30 Knockback: -16 Saving Throws: 0 + 8 + 8 = 16PP Toughness: +14 (+10 Con, +4 Protection) Fortitude: +10 (+10 Con, +0) Reflex: +10 (+2 Dex, +8) Will: +10 (+2 Wis, +8) Skills: 32R = 8PP Craft [Chemical] 3 (+10) Investigate 3 (+10) Knowledge [Life Sciences] 3 (+10) Knowldge [Physical Sciences] 3 (+10) Knowledge [Tactics] 8 (+15) Notice 6 (+8) Sense Motive 6 (+8) Feats: 14PP Beginner's Luck Improved Grab Jack-of-All-Trades Luck 3 Master Plan 2 Move-by Action Power Attack Skill Mastery (Knowledge [Tactics], Notice, Sense Motive, Investigate) Stunning Attack Take-down Attack Ultimate Effort [Strength Checks] Powers: 16 + 13 + 3 + 4 + 6 + 10 + 14 + 12 = 78PP Beetle Beatdowns Array 7 (14PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 2) [16PP] (Martial arts) BP: Autofire Strength 14 (Beetle Barrage) Add (Extras: Autofire) to Unarmed {14/14PP} (Martial arts) AP: Drain 10 (Kabuto Crush; Drains Any single Trait: physical descriptor 2pp a rank Extras: Affects Objects; Flaws Requires Grapple, Action [Full action] Feats: Slow Fade 4 (1 hour)) {14/14PP} (Martial arts) AP: Secondary Effect Strength 14(Reverberating Strike) Add (Extras: Secondary Effect) to Unarmed {14/14PP} (Martial arts; Vibration) Growth 4 (Beetle Bulk; Extras: Duration [Continuous]; Flaws: Permanent PFs: Innate) (+8 Strength, +4 Con, +1 Size) [13PP] (Biological, genetic modification) Flight 2 (Clumsy Flier; Drawbacks: Power Loss [Wings]) [3PP] (Biological; Wings) Protection 4 (Hardened Shell) [4PP] (Biological, Chitin) Enhanced Constitution 6 (Hyper Efficient Physiology) [6PP] (Biological) Impervious Toughness 10 (Iron Clad Beetle Shell) [10PP] (Biological, Modified atomic latice) Enhanced Strength 14 (Scarab Might) [14PP] (Biological) Super-Strength 5 (Taurus Beetle Strength; Feats: Shockwave, Super-Breath) (+25 Strength, Heavy load: 153.6 tons) [12PP] (Biological) Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 29 Toughness Damage Kabuto Crush Touch (grapple) DC20 Fortitude Drain (phys scores only) Totals: Abilities (48) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (16) + Skills (8) + Feats (14) + Powers (78) - Drawbacks (0) = 180/180 Power Points

ooc for this. @Tiffany Korta, @angrydurf, follow up to EC Showdown, as promised. Once you've made your entrance, give me an Initiative

GM 3PM, March 4th, 2020 The Riverfront District It was perhaps appropriate that Sunburn, Dinostroyer and Metamind had been brought back to the Riverfront district that they had attacked. Their trial had, despite the overwhelming evidence, lasted a few weeks now. It was not much of an argument of guilt, it was more a question of how bad, and how to punish someone that didn't seem to exist. As it turned out, it seemed that Sunburn's claim that that the trio was from another world had been true. Or, at the very least, they had been good at hiding any trace of themselves. Now, a verdict had been reached. Property damage, mind control, but thankfully, no fatalities, and mostly minor injuries. The Upstarts were to be sent to an A.E.G.I.S. holding facility closer to Freedom City, far from Emerald City. Super villains were not something that happened in Emerald City, after all, so they had no way of keeping them. As the group was loaded into individual trucks, they were still wearing the power dampening equipment created by MarsTech. Dinostroyer wore heavy chains, Metamind had been outfitted with a helmet and Sunburn was inside a large tank filled with a strange fluid, with a breathing apparatus around her mouth and nose. She looked even more pissed off than the rest. The trucks didn't far before they simply stopped. The drivers got out, any guards simply left... and then the first shots were fired towards the prison transports. Emerald City was not a city of villains, and it seemed that being a villain here came with its own consequences.

I've been working on a number of plotlines for Emerald City for a while, which I think its time to pull together and try to drum up some activity for Emerald City. So, why should you care? What makes Emerald City different from Freedom City? Emerald City is fertile ground. Unlike the decades of super heroic traditions of Freedom City, super heroes is a relatively new phenomenon in Emerald City, starting with the debut of the Emerald Spider in 2016. In the ordered and controlled Emerald City, you can make a difference. You're not just one out of an endless line of heroes, working to maintain the status quo and keep everything as it is. You are one of at best dozens heroic individuals, a force of change, out to change the city for the better. Why didn't Emerald City have any super heroes until a few years ago? Why are they appearing now? All mysteries that you might solve. Emerald City is full of intrigue and mystery. Behind the scenes, the enigmatic group known as the Chamber keeps the city ordered and controlled. They keep you content and happy, and strike down terribly at any that wrong them... and the city doesn't even know they exist. Through the use and abuse of Emerald City, the Chamber deal in illegal weapon sales, human trafficking and conceal the horrible abuse of the rich and powerful. Organized crime rules the streets, and immortal corporations carry out horrific experiments on the weakest parts of society. Will you be one of the heroes that find out the secret of the Chamber? Will you be the ones that will finally challenge them and bring about change? Emerald City is a city of contradictions. On one side of the city, MarsTech and ArcheTech compete, creating technological marvels, pushing the boundarise and science and knowledge. On the other side, cryptids and magic flourish in the streets. Beings from other worlds and realities are drawn through Emerald City, through its peculiar connection to Z-Space, the realm between realities. All manner of strange beings walk the streets, all manner of adventure and mystery awaits. Emerald City is constantly changing. Your actions matter, what you do will change the landscape of the city. It won't be easy, it will cost you blood, sweat and tears, but what you do will matter. Will you be one of the heroes that Emerald City desperately needs? - - - At the moment, I have the following plans for longer storylines, with more probably spawning from them, or coming along the way, and plenty of intersections between the individual storylines, while leaving room for plenty of other, smaller threads and stories. Mars Ultio Max Mars has introduced the Ultio Suits to the public! Now anyone can be a hero, but that you can doesn't always mean that you should. Not everyone is cut out to be a hero, especially not within the framework of Superheroes as a Service! To compete against MarsTech and show that they are still in the game, rival companies have started rolling out their own corporate heroes. Of course, Max Mars is secretly a member of the Chamber, so the odds of him creating a never-ending number of heroes cannot be entirely altruistic. Not everyone in the Chamber agrees with Max Mars' new initiative, creating friction and fractures within the Chamber. Maybe this will finally push the Chamber to the breaking point of their rising tensions? Emerald Invasion Emerald City might be the premier threat to Emerald City, but they are far from the only one. Emerald City has a peculiar connetion to the the extradimensional realm known as Z-Space, the buffer zone that exists between different universes. From Z-Space, Professor Zed has vowed to conquer the Emerald City of Earth Prime, to free it from its hidden masters! Professor Zed sends his multiversal armies of heroes, villains and monsters to invade Emerald City. Perhaps letting him free the city might be a better choice of evil to rule Emerald City, or maybe you're better off with the devil you know. Emerald City Secrets The Chamber rules Emerald City from the shadows. Their reach never-ending, they seem like an unstoppable juggernaut. No one knows who they are, few know that they even exist, but Rebellion knows that something is wrong and that someone rules the city in secret. Join Rebellion in navigating the labyrinthine secrets of Emerald City to uncover the truth. The New Commander Rita Lang wanted to help people. She really did. Her nanomachines would be used to heal people, to restore what they lose, to make them healthy. To make them better, but, accidents happen. Animal testing resulted in strange deformities and the discovery of a hive mind network in the nanomachines. When one of her coworkers wanted to move on to human testing, Rita was desperate to keep things at a slower pace. Desperate enough to use the nanomachines to take command of the coworker and an army of lab rats during an encounter with Salvo. Ultimately, Rita Lang succeeded in her goals. Only Salvo knows what she did, and Rita holds the secret of Salvo's identity to bargain. Using the nanomachines for evil was a means to an end, not something that Rita had ever wanted to do, but perhaps the experience had an effect on her. Rita Lang is ready to take command. Community Until now, the heroes of Emerald City has been fractured. Lone agents, reacting or acting by their own agendas. Meetings have been by chance, team ups happening solely by luck. Maybe its time to change that. After her meeting with the Emerald Spider and the Mighty Meta-Naut and the launch of the Mars Ultio suits Justice has put out the call on HeroHouse and CapesList to meet in Betlehem Heights. - - - Right now, this is, as far as I can see, every non-archieved PC in Emerald City, so taking the liberty of tagging their players. Everyone else is of course welcome to join with visitors, new migrants to Emerald City, or brand new characters. If you're interested, let me know here or on Discord, and I'll work you into something. If you have any storylines in particular or get any ideas based on this, let me know! Blackstaff Comrade Frost Dalir the Dashing Dreamer, The Emerald Spider Justice Kanunu Levity Mag-Might Meta-Naut Oz Rebellion Salmon/Slipstream Salvo Sha'ir the Spellsmith Techneaux Ultra Girl Venomax Waverider

Since the attempted Grue invasion in the 1950's, and indeed for longer than proposed human history, extraterrestrial life has come to Earth to hide, to escape, to begin anew. Some become quiet, anonymous members of human or pre-human civilization, some rise to become brave heroes or dire villains, and yet others choose to exploit their unique set of circumstances for profit. Of this last is the Black Hole Gang, a band of exiles, fugitives and wanderers who combined their talents, resources and knowledge to become the Sol system's most powerful interstellar crime syndicate. Earth is home to many rare materials, unique wonders and kinds of life unknown in the wider galaxy. It is also poor, unadvanced by stellar civilization standards and largely ignorant of the world outside the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, let alone of the galaxy beyond Sol's orbit. The 'Terrans' know that alien life exists, some of it is hostile, and it comes from somewhere science has yet to determine. Sometimes the Atom Family or Freedom League return with some snippet of information about extrasolar life, but for the most part you can tell the average Terran anything and they'll probably believe it. That's the gravy train the Black Hole Gang runs on, and they are in no mood to lose their spot to the bigger dogs outside the Developmental Quarantine Zone, in which Terrans remain so helpfully unaware and outsiders are given the boot before they divulge too much. Starting in 1979, when the three leaders of the Gang arrived on the Pacific coast fleeing their various problems, they were amazed to stumble upon an entire hidden population of non-humans and even non-Terrans living in and around Emerald City. Learning from them of the mysterious Chamber that had gathered so much wealth and power into the city, using it as a base and laboratory for secret, total domination, the trio sought out the human crime collective and offered their unique skills and contacts in return for a share of the profits and certain escape from Earth if things ever got too bad. Nobody has ever justly accused the Big Brain of being closed-minded or prejudiced, and he accepted their offer. Even agreeing not to ever read their minds without their express permission. Since then, the Black Hole Gang has made a killing smuggling living things, technology and raw materials to and from Earth. After the opening of the extra-Plutonian wormhole, their business has boomed and their importance has steadily increased on both sides of the stellar divide. There are times, even, when they think of the Earth as home. Though for them, home has always and only meant a safe place to hide. Leadership: The original three who started the Gang remain its leaders, titled 'Star's. In order of age: Khorr'Tang, Star of Execution & Acquisition Oversight. When someone needs to be eliminated, or something valuable must be taken, this orange-hued Lor career-diplomat has both the savvy and ruthlessness to get the job done quickly and quietly. A secret devotee of the Katanarchist cult, she's shown tremendous aptitude for personal combat, stealth and mysticism alongside her hard-won people skills and knack for the perfect heist. She sees the Quarantine Zone and neighbouring stars as her future personal fiefdom, has spent considerable resources on building bases through the sector and will stop at nothing to protect her 'investment'. Of the Stars she thinks about, and thus hates, Terrans the least. Gowlim-D, Star of Personnel & Resource Management. The handling of currency, recruitment and care of employees and ensuring everything keeps moving is placed in the hands of this ice-blue Zultasian. Managing the Star Khan's treasures and ensuring every conquered world payed its tribute in full and on time makes coordinating an interstellar gang almost child's play. Heavily-augmented with cybernetics, she can transmit and receive information across the Orion Arm and stores most of the data involving the Black Hole Gang in caches scattered throughout the local sector. From observation posts and the sensors of craft across the void of space, she pulls the strings and leads the dance. As a former Khanate noble she loathes all non-Zultasians as her inferiors. Toyota Corolla, Star of Negotiations & Asset Development. The Gang is in constant need of new contacts, technology and field information. In the hulking and solid rogue Grue, they have a master of the underworld arts who fulfils these roles with ease. Formerly the nameless chief scientist for the Meta-Mind, Corolla now adopts any identity they wish from across a dizzying repository of stolen memories. They make the deals, form the alliances, design the latest bio-tech gadgets and keep Terran and galactic law-enforcement off the scent. It's a never-ending workload, but Corolla remains up to the task. After centuries devoted to one thing at a time, the explosion of possibilities is intoxicating. As the Star who deals with people the most, they individually hate all Terrans. Membership: The galaxy is full of desperate people, and even before the Incursion War there was widespread corruption and crime across the fringes of the Lor Republic and unrest across the Stellar Khanate. The Grue Unity, similarly, relying on unbroken psychic links to maintain order, has regularly lost control of Grue at the edge of its influence, ironically the cause of several invasions blamed on the Meta-Mind. As a result of this, displacement by the Communion and the arrival of the many refugee species from the neighbouring arm, the Black Hole Gang has a reliable stable of tens of billions of beings across known space. Their lowest number is by far human and Cryptid agents on Earth. However, most of these star warriors are common criminals. Little different from the average Terran driven to crime by circumstance or inclination, they provide in quantity and ubiquity what they lack in firepower and technical skill. The research assistant siphoning funds and data to pay for an expensive habit, the indebeted merchant captain reluctantly adding a little extra cargo, the soldier looking to make an accuser disappear. The Black Hole Gang's reach is only into the lowest levels of galactic society, but their grasp is unerring and unyielding. Most membera use the Criminal stat block, with non-human members adding their species characteristics. Equipment rare on Earth, such as blasters and spacecraft, are in common use by them. Methodology: Like their name(chosen purely because it was a common idea), the Black Hole Gang works to bend everything toward itself, unseen yet irresistible. Usually the Gang works in disguise as another organization, from governments to other criminals to even masquerading as Praetorians or Star Knights or superheroes. As well, despite their vast reach and resources, they take care to never work in bulk, or amounts that are difficult to move and hide. One cloning tank, one psychic mutant, one piece of magical art, the Black Hole Gang never gets greedy and takes pains to never over-extend its narrowly-limited power. That aside they will do anything, absolutely anything, for money and control. Resources: The Black Hole Gang has ready access to 9 private space craft on Earth, 507 in the Orion Arm, and approximately 1000 in extreme emergencies. None of these are warships, nor are any heavily-armed or armored. They are mostly small shuttlecraft and freighters. Their personnel is, as stated previously, in the tens of billions. A miniscule number on the galactic scale, but making up a varied and effective workforce that can go almost anywhere the Gang needs them to. Thanks to the Gang, many have biotech or cybernetic modifications that grant them any number of additional advantages, from minor shapeshifting, to invisibility, to direct interfacing with technology to bluffing psychic scans. As well, as Chamber members, they have access to the ferocious and powerful Brande Management supers culled from supervillain families. Some of whom are among the most-traveled humans in the galaxy. Space being largely occupied by airless rocks of little mineral value, the Gang has a great deal of free real estate set up with safehouses, docks with repair and refueling bays, caches on asteroids and so on. On Earth their base is a fortified bunker built beneath the Nolan Aerospace airfield and rocket launchsite. Sphere of Influence: The Lor Republic and Grue Individuality are the most economically stable, technologically-liberal and socially-mobile areas in local space. Thus, most Gang business is done in or with these systems. They exert subtle but considerable influence on the Developmental Quarantine Zone centered on Sol as well.

OOC thread for this thread. Supersuits as a Service. @RocketLord

GM January 25th, Saturday, 2020, 11.55PM Outside Emerald Tower, downtown Emerald City, OR The last lingering, heartrending notes pierced the chill night air, and UK's violin went silent. For a moment, all around Robin was an almost sacred hush as the renowned string virtuoso stood to take a bow. In the glare of red lamps that had filled the night sky, held in place by repulsor bands that turned clouds of countless paper shells into magnetically-unified pieces of airborne art, Robin saw K looking almost uneasy at the awestruck hush. Above and about flitted the newsdrones, covering the MarsTech New Years bash while other electric eyes took in events unfolding across the Emeralds. Of all the crowds, though, this was going to be the biggest. There were familiar faces in the crowd, not like looming Chung was ever going to miss a chance to carry his "THE END IS NOW" signs where a camera was going to be, but on nights like this the comforting seas of familiarity was upset with crosswinds of newcomers, people who'd look at you funny and hurry on if you asked them how they werre doing. In that moment, though, all were united, Munchkin and outsider alike, by that same thrill through every heart. To make a sound would have been blasphemous. Max Mars broke the spell, jumping out of the audience and onto the stage beside K with a single bound, applauding furiously with giant grin on his face. "Yue Kei, everybody! All you shapes and flavours out there, give her a big 'welcome home' hand!" With admirable obedience the Emerald citizens cheered, the cold winter air blasted with steam from thousands of throats. In the heated shelter UK started, laughed despite herself, and bowed in rapid succession to different areas of the crowd. Max grinned like an indulgent father. Switching off his mic, he and UK exchanged a word, the young woman nodding and beginning to clear up her music and put back her instruments. As she did so, Mars went on blithely. "Nicely done! now, Kei has to leave us for the night, but stick around! Because on the stroke of midnight, as we enter a new year, I've got a little surprise for you...well, two surprises, but you'll see! Now, may I have a volunteer from the audience?" His brilliant green eyes scanning the crowd suddenly locked on Robin's. "Well hey-hey, Rob! Glad to see you could make it to another of my little shindigs! Like to come up?" he looked deeply chagrined as he added "I promise, no giant robots this time!"

OOC for this. @Shofet Let's get some initiative rolls for combat once we're past the initial opening posts, so we're ready for that! Justice: 1d20+5 = 25 Boom! 3 Robbers, all acting on same initiative: 7

GM Royal Hill August 20th 2019, 4:30 PM Sirens, shots being fired. The roar of motor cycles tore through the streets of Royal Hill, as three figures escaped the scene of their crime, weaving in and out of traffic on full speed on their bikes, quickly leaving the police cruisers behind. They were all dressed in black, as were their bikes, with heavy bags full of money strapped to their sides. Each seemed to have fire arms of some kind in their hand, occassionally turning to shoot back at the cops in case they got too close. Far behind, they had left behind an armored truck, doors blown open with explosives. A diamond transport, the driver and guard had been left alive, but hurting. New wares for some other upscale jewelry shop or another in Royal Hill, the robbers were sure to get away, unless someone intervened.

OOC for this. @Ari, @Shofet

GM October 4th, 2019 10:30 PM Betlehem Heights A lot had changed on the streets of Emerald City. Things had changed since the events of late August, and something had slipped into the city during the confusion. During the month of September, something new had started spreading through the city. A new drug, something simply called Power. Small white pills with a capital P. Swallow, and two minutes later, you gained random super powers for fifteen minutes. It was a rush, it was exciting, and it was of course completely destabilizing. Street fights evolved into super powered brawls. People fell from the sky, the rush running through their heads. And sometimes, the sheer power simply burned them out, like a candle that burned too bright. At the docks, Magh'kee witnessed a fellow worker swallow a pill, then, with his brief surge of super strength, he did the work of ten men, before the heavy blocks he was carrying fell on him, crushing him. At Compass Rose International, Raya Wells saw a security guard shoot lightning from his eyes at a man that triggered the metal detector. Turned out he had a metal plate in his skull. At Elysium Academy, Elliot Elijah Elder saw other members of the Omega Squad suddenly showing all kinds of different powers that they never had before. To call it strange would be weird, and then one of them offered him some of the Power. The school shut it down as soon as it was discovered, but Elliot grew curious. However they got on the track, all three would eventually end up in Betlehem Heights. The only place to get Power.

There's a new drug on the streets of Emerald City that seems to give people temporary super powers before they burn out! Rebellion is on the case and needs someone to help him! Looking for 1-2 Emerald City PCs not already involved in Emerald City Showdown! Prefably PL7-10, and posting at least once every few days. Bit of a mystery/action mix, so both investigation and fighting.

The Royal Power Level: 10 (199/199PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: (Ranged) +1 ATK/-1DC, +2 Defense / -2 Toughness In Brief: Super villain saboteur and spy. Alternate Identity: Everett Eaton Elder (Secret) Birthplace: Emerald City Residence: Elder Mansion, Northern Shore, Emerald City Occupation: Rich investor / Super villain saboteur and spy Affiliations: The Chamber Family: Emma Emmelie Elder (Wife, Emerald City politician, nee Kessler), Elliot Elijah Elder (Son, enrolled at Elysium Academy, secretly the super hero Rebellion), Elaine Emma Elder (Daughter, College Student), Elaine Kessler (Sister-in-law, deceased). Description: Age: DoB: March 1974 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 6'3'' Weight: 190 lbs. Eyes: Blue / Green as the Royal Hair: Blonde / Black as the Royal Everett Eaton Elder is a tall, reasonably attractive man, with short blonde hair. He is clean shaven, with blue eyes. He is always dressed in only the finest brands, preferably whatever is in fashion at the moment. He speaks rather plainly and openly, with a clear Oregon accent. As the Royal, Everett changes his eye color to green and his hair to black. He morphs a black goatee and moustache, and changes his features, becoming more muscular and powerfully built, appearance wise at least. He tends to speak with a distinctively Spanish accent. He wears a light grey costume, with purple gloves and boots with yellow trim. He has a similarly purple area running over his shoulder and down the outside of his arms, also with yellow trim. He wears a cowl with yellow lenses, with only his mouth with moustache and goatee visible. He wears a classic purple royal lion from coats of arms as a symbol on his chest. He brings a small gun in dark grey, which he calls the Royal Blaster. History: Everett Eaton Elder was the heir to the Elder fortune and name in Emerald. He was very much a rich idiot with no dayjob, and no need for one. For reasons that only fate knows, a strange meteor crashed in his back yard when he was a teenager. When Everett discovered the meteor, he was bathed in a strange radiation that altered him, giving the power to alter his appearance at will. Though he at first used this power merely for pranks and other childish actions, he eventually used his powers for more malicious deeds, eventually graduating into full blown super villainy when he stole his suit and weapons from an aspiring inventor in Emerald City, killing the man in the process. He never even cared to learn the man's name. He continued as a villain, always operating outside Emerald City, doing anything he thought might alleviate his boredom. Over time, the Royal came to the attention of the Chamber, and he became one of their agents, primarily operating abroad, primarily as a spy and saboteur. He would eventually marry Emma Emmelie Kessler, an aspiring Emerald City politician firmly in the pocket of the Chamber. Emma needed the Elder wealth and name to further her political agenda and aim to become the mayor of Emerald City, and Everett wanted a heir that could become the next Royal. There were little love lost between the two, but they at least respected each other, though Everett did attempt, and fail, at starting an affair with Emma's sister Elaine. During their marriage, and as their children Elaine and Elliot was born, the Royal continued his schemes. He tried being a good father, but the children, and their lack of inherited powers. He grew even more distant to Elliot when his son discovered blood under his shirt after a mission. Elliot was but eight years old, but Everett didn't care. He threw himself into his work, even though he briefly protested when his son was enrolled in Elysium Academy. While Everett was horrified at the Chamber's choice to use the Terror to punish his wife, killing his sister-in-law and traumatizing his son in the process, the Royal quietly accepted the punishment, his attention soon diverted as he discovered his daughter Elaine had inherited something resembling his powers after all. The Royal continues working as the Chamber's agent outside Emerald City, as he starts his plans to groom his daughter into taking on his role. Personality & Motivation: Everett is motivated by boredom, above all else. Ever since he discovered his ability to change his appearance, he has used it for his own amusement, eventually putting it to work in adding to his family's wealth. He is a highly competent spy and saboteur, taking great pride in his work, even if he rarely bothers spending the time to learn the why of his missions. He has a preference for working outside Emerald City, to keep his business away from home. In the field, he is quick and methodical. There is no time for taking unnecessary or stupid risks, like exposing his cover for the expense of a joke. While he is not above killing, he generally prefers not to. While he respects his wife Emma to a certain degree, he is very much aware that their marriage is one of convenience: He wanted heirs, she wanted the prestige and money of the Elder name, and there is very little love between them. He had tried starting an affair with his wife's sister, but she rebuffed him. While he tried to be a loving father to his children at first, boredom eventually won out, and he has grown distant, especially with Elliot, the youngest, after he saw blood on his father's shirt after a mission. Discovering that his daughter Elaine had inherited his powers, Everett is currently planning to ease his boredom by training her as his partner. Powers & Tactics: The Royal covers his tracks, prefering to disguise himself to infiltrate and exfiltrate, preferably without being discovered. If discovered, he will usually rapidly teleport around an area to cause confusion of his whereabouts, using his Royal Blaster to take down any in his path. He can be a scarely competent fighter, owing to years of experience. He prefers to avoid larger brawls, instead fighting enemies one-on-one whenever possible. Power Descriptions: The Royal is able to change his appearance to any humanoid form, a mutation caused by exposure to a strange meteor in his back yard as a child. He can also use this ability to blend in perfectly with surroundings, hiding himself from any visual senses. He is an incredibly skilled individual, having amassed a wealth of skills and experience through his more than twenty years as a super villain. While these are his only natural abilities, he also uses technological enhancements to further his own skills: The Royal Blaster and the Royal Suit. Despite having the wealth to commission such items if necessary, the Royal stole them from an aspiring scientist in Emerald City, killing him in the process. The Royal Blaster shoots small pellets, roughly the size of a bullet. These can either deliver a potentially lethal or stunning electric charge. The Royal Suit affords him with an electromagnetic force field that protects him much damage, allows him to climb walls and slows his fall by applying bursts of electromagnetic energy. The lenses offers Infra- and Ultravision. Finally, its most important feature is what the Royal has dubbed the "Quick Escape". By folding dimensions, essentially skipping to another dimension briefly, the suit allows him to teleport between both short and long directions. Of course, the Royal knows, and cares, little about how the items actually works, as long as they work. Abilities: 8 + 8 + 4 + 8 + 6 + 8 = 42PP Strength: 18 (+4) Dexterity: 18 (+4) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 18 (+4) Wisdom: 16 (+3) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat: 12 + 12 = 24PP Initiative: +4 (+4 Dex) Attack: +6 Base, +6 Melee, +11 Ranged (+6 Base, +5 Focus [Ranged]) Defense: +12 (+6 Base, +6 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed Grapple: +10 (+6 Base Attack, +4 Str) Knockback: -1 / -4 Saving Throws: 6 + 8 + 5 = 19PP Toughness: +2 (+2 Con) / +8 (+2 Con, +6 Force Field) w. The Royal Suit Fortitude: +8 (+2 Con, +6) Reflex: +12 (+4 Dex, +8) Will: +8 (+3 Wis, +5) Skills: 112R = 28PP Acrobatics 6 (+10) Bluff 11 (+15) Climb 2 (+6) Computers 11 (+15) Disable Device 11 (+15) Disguise 1 (+5, +30 w. Morph) Drive 6 (+10) Escape Artist 6 (+10) Gather Information 6 (+10) Intimidate 11 (+15) Language 4 (Native: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese) Notice 7 (+10) Pilot 6 (+10) Sense Motive 7 (+10) Sleight of Hand 11 (+15) Stealth 12 (+16) Feats: 25PP Accurate Attack Attack Focus [Ranged] 5 Benefit 2 [Wealth] Connected Defensive Attack Dodge Focus 6 Evasion Hide In Plain Sight Master Plan Precise Shot 2 Quick Draw 2 Uncanny Dodge [Visual] Well-Informed Powers: 9 + 18 + 24 + 10 = 61PP Concealment 4 ("Camouflage"; Feats: Close-Range) (All Visual Senses) [9PP] (Physical mutation) Device 6 ("The Royal Blaster"; 30PP Container; Flaws: Easy-To-Lose) [18PP] (Technology, Weapon) Blast 9 ("Royal Sting"; Extras: Autofire; Feats: Alternate Power 1) [28PP] (Electricity, Ballistic Damage Type) AP: Stun 9 ("Royal Stun"; Extras: Range [Ranged]) {27/27PP} (Electricity, Ballistic Damage Type) Device 6 ("The Royal Suit"; 30PP Container; Flaws: Hard-To-Lose) [24PP] (Technology, Costume) Force Field 6 [6PP] (Electromagnetic energy) Super-Movement 3 (Slow-Fall, Trackless, Wall Crawling 1) [6PP] Super-Senses 2 (Infravision, Ultravision) [2PP] Teleport 5 ("Quick Escape"; Extras: Accurate; Feats: Easy) (500 ft. as move action/5 miles as full action) [16PP] (Dimensional) Morph 5 ("Royal Enigma"; Broad Group: Humanoid) [10PP] (Physical mutation) Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block Name Range Save Effect Attack bonus Unarmed Touch DC19 Tou (staged) Damage +6 Royal Sting 90 ft. DC24 Tou (staged) Damage +11, Autofire Royal Stun 90 ft. DC19 Fort (Staged) Stun +11 Totals: Abilities (42) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (19) + Skills (28) + Feats (25) + Powers (61) - Drawbacks (0) = 199/199 Power Points

-The loud, heart-stopping sounds of an explosion and shattering glass along with the accompanying shock strike around the cities without warning. Within moments, a strange cloud of silvery mist blankets the surrounding area. Just as panic and flight are about to take hold, the cloud begins to swirl without any evident prompting from the wind. It whips itself into a cyclonic mass, discharging what appear to be bolts of bluish lightning both within itself and outward around its immediate vicinity. Both blast and bolts subside and begin to dissipate before anyone can arrive on the scene, leaving the dead and injured as the most immediate concern. The scene is filled with fleeing, panicked crowds and hopelessly jammed roads. The bridges connecting the city have collapsed. Sister cities orphaned from one another- Bethlehem Heights Emerald City, OregonSaturday, August 26, 20196:00 PM South Emerald, the Facet City, a technological hub with a never ending march towards progress. It was easy to forget the city's original growth could be highly attributed to the once large mining community. As the mining industry faded, warehouses grew to support the technology laden industries that had migrated Westward. And of course the working class needed somewhere to hang their hats. Bethlehem Heights wasn't much to look at. It wasn't run down...just not looked after. At least that was how it could be described before the Storm blew through. Cars were on fire, apartments lost power, the streets were flooded with runoff from the Albian River. And looters. Well the looters were feeling particularly bold. As if the police needed any more reason to ignore Bethlehem Heights, the district found itself even more isolated as calls came in from all over Emerald City. Worst of all, there were reports going around that Bethlehem Heights Psychiatric Hospital had an entire wall blown apart. South Emerald was in a state of anarchy.

Techneaux Power Level: 10-12 (180/184PP) Unspent Power Points: 4 Trade-Offs: -5/+5 on Defense/Toughness, -5/+5 Attack/damage (Heavy ion cannon) +5/-5 Attack/Damage on Micro munitions In Brief: A Spark of genius Backed by the thunderous force of personality Catchphrase: Theme: Alternate Identity: Maximilian Lucre (Public) Birthplace: Zurich, Switzerland Residence: Multiple; Penthouse is Emerald City Base of Operations: Emerald City Occupation: Confectioner,Inventor, Billionaire Philanthropist, Founder of LucreTech Affiliations: LucreTech, Max Corp and Several philanthropic Charities. Family: Herman Lucre (Father) Mila Johansson (mother; Died at child birth) Description: Age: 28 (DoB: 1991) Gender: Male (cisgender) Ethnicity: Caucasian (Nordic) Height: 1.905 m Weight: 107 Kg Eyes: Bown Hair: Clean Shaven A Tall and Rotund man Max is carries his weight with a stately posture and dresses flamboyantly given even the slightest excuse, likes to keep himself well groomed even with the regrettable sacrifice of his body hair. History: Max's history begins long before he was even conceived with his father, a German scientist who in the earliest days of the second world war, Disgusted by the horrific immorality of the Nazi parties Ubermensch program, attempted to defect, Sadly he was caught attempting flee the country with his research and in what the SS Commander believed to be Poetic justice, Injected with the experimental formula he had been carrying with him, Over a half dozen compounds of various make up were pushed into his veins and with the resulting seizure and preceeding beatings, he was thus left to die in a shallow grave of a muddy ditch along a rural path. Needless to say none were more surprised by his survival than himself and after crawling his way out of the ditch he found himself with little worse than a limp and able to make it the rest of the way to the rendezvous with the allied agent waiting to extract him with scraps of his research notes he could gather from amidst the chaos clutched to his chest. Herman's Contribution to the allied war effort were at best moderate but still appreciable enough that he was offered full US citizenship under project paperclip following the wars conclusion, a quite life of comfort proved reward enough for the exhausted scientist and for while he settled into life working for DARPA. That is until he met his wife at some event he barely remembered, dragged along as a big name on some project or another he none the less lacked the influence to refuse his employers assistance to attend; it began what proved to be a whirlwind romance that culminated in tragedy and triumph in equal measure. His mother, being of swiss nobility had been disallowed to marry Herman Lucre by her family, having dismissed her infatuation with the commoner as little more than an adventurous if drawn out streak of rebellious thrill seeking; they were shocked and enraged to learn she was pregnant with his child and all but disowned (to maintain their oh so precious public image) Maximilian would never know his mother as; one stormy night in a cottage in Zurich which to this day Maximilian refuses to celebrate; she left this world for the next; dying shortly after delivering him to the world, holding on just long enough to hold him in her arms before she breathed her last; leaving him to be raised in the care of his heartbroken father. As he grew it became apparently that only only did he have an intellect far in excess of his genius father but also a tremendous force of personality that allowed him to turn even the staunchest opposition to his cause, his father sensing the seeds of greatness did everything in his power to ensure max revived the best education his meager means could provide even amidst the Johansson families attempt to quash information of their illegitimate grandson. and so as a young man in his 20's Maximilian raised not one but two companies to the heights of success, the first LucreTech He handed to his father as a means of keeping himself in luxurious comfort whilst he pursued his other agendas, Max Corp on the other hand he dedicated to much more vindictive means, granting it to the care of one of the rival noble families of the johansson and firmly tipping the scales against them and their pursuits on the agreement of regular "donations" to the various charities his mother had championed whilst she held her family's esteem. With a steady source of money from his various investments he settled into a early retirement, content to tinker and pursue his whims and flights of fancy in an idyllic little estate far away from the concerns of day to day life. Or so he imagined. it was on an idle afternoon whilst he flipped through the various foreign channels available to him with a particularly...illegal and quite undetectable modification to his set that he came across a live report of a brawl between various vibrantly costumed heroes and villains fighting in the streets of some american city he'd never even heard of before and was instantly hooked; the vibrant costumes, the drama, the witicism!....the challenge. rushing to his garage (and leaving his latest confectionery experiment to burn) he set to work immediately cobbling together the drafts for a personal platform even has he rabidly thummed through his smartphone looking at various up market properties in that same city. Personality & Motivation: A larger than life bon vivant of tremendous charisma and titanic intellect max is driven to heroism by his ego and hunger for challenge that his day to day activities have failed to provide, though he is far from malicious he is selfish (and driven, brilliant, rich he would hasten to add) he tends to have extreme moods as his emotions are more strongly felt, though he is normally benevolent and something of a party animal, he is equally strongly predisposed to more negative emotions as well, he has a love for flamboyant clothes, eccentric hobbies and theatrics which he regularly indulges in and it is the primary reason he took up the responsability of being a hero. Powers & Tactics: Maximilian is a genius inventor, safely inside his moderately armed and armoured personal combat pod he is capable of raining down long range destruction alongside booming boasts and thundering taunts to opponents with a preferance for opponents who are either on equal footing or far beneath his capabilities by his own assessment, a hero isnt a hero without minions to sweep aside and villains to clash with are they? Power Descriptions: Most of Max's powers are derived from implausibly advanced technology derived from his one mutant power of a bioelectricly overcharged and overclocked brain and as such have sleek and clean looks to them as they blast torrents of green energy at his foes from the comfort and safety of his hermetically sealed combat pod. He makes use of primarily Advanced electronics and machinery in his technologies to produce enviromentally friendly ionic energy to power his pods flight and main cannon The pod itself is an perfect hemisphere of gleaming silvery metal 5ft across at its widest point and just tall enough for max to sit comfortably within. With a deployable Hardend smart glass Cockpit cover that serves to seal the enviroment and provide targeting assistance for the primary cannon and dispersal pattern controls for the micro munitions, both of the pods armaments are neatly stored away in the bodywork of the personal vehicle when not in use, the munitions rack flanking the cannon beneath the paneling of the front quaters of the cockpit, the main cannon telescoping out directly from the heavily shielded main generator from the precise middle of the pod. The cannon itself supports a short quadrouple set of adjustable angle electromagnetic rails that extend from the front of the pod to focus and gather the energy from the reactor and adjust it's firing angle with a suprisingly degree of efficacy allowing for variable magnitudes of ionic energy to be directed with precision. The micromunitions that make up his secondary Armament use unstable hardlight constructs to deliver great concussive force even for their relatively low yields though automatic shaped fracturing points using IFF tags to avoid friendly fire and without leaving dangerous metal shrapnel Rather more impressive however is the pods experimental food Replicator, though as a hobbyist chef max much prefers to hand make his own food it simply isn't practical to do so on the battle field, the technology is itself wildly inefficient in converting Ionic energy and ambient hydrogen atoms into food and can only provide enough food for one person reliably and is unsuited for larger scale use. It is thanks to a relatively less impressive system of oxygen scrubbers and radiators that provide the perfectly comfortable enviroment within the pod. Lastly the pods electromagnetic repulsion powered flight can divert power to a experimental device that uses gravitons to affect space in a limited way allowing the pod to translocate itself by folding spatial dimensions to move without passing through the space between locations. Beyond these the pod is also stocked with various amenities thar serve little purpose beyond providing entertainment and comfort to Max whilst waiting for his time to shine, everything from AR games to various minor appliances that the miniaturisation of his tech has freed up the space for. Complications: Electromagnetic Moodswings: Though he is quite moody naturally; Due to his brain hosting a gargantuan charge of electricity max's very mind can be affected and even altered by the influence of powerful magnetic fields, such as those produced by a MRI scanner these can be harmless such as inexplicable giggling that makes him short of breath and unable to communicate or harmful to himself and others such as violent unreasoning rages Shadows of the past: though he has declawed them financially his mothers family are still quite rich and angry about his decisions regarding Max Tech , weather they know he is Mila's son he doesn't know nor does he care, so far they have only sent rather harmless thugs to try and intimidate him but with his continued taunting and humiliation of them he may yet evoke more firey responses from the humiliated but far from humbled noble family. Sins of the Father: That his father was a nazi scientist (albeit for an extremely short time) is unknown to Max, perhaps for the best, as such he is unsure as to why various affiliates of the failed reich show great intrest in him and his father's work, though he is quite happy to have such audacious villains as them constantly lining up for him to knock down like bowling pins. Abilities: 0 + 4 + 10 + 10 + 4 + 14 = 42PP STR: +0 (10) DEX: +2 (14) CON: +5 (20) INT: +15/+5 (40/20) WIS: +2 (14) CHA: +7 (24) Combat: 10+10 = 20pp Attack: +5 Melee: +5 Ranged +5 Micro munitions +15 (5 attack +10 (accurate 5)) Grapple: +5 (0 Str + 5 Attack) Defense: +5 (10pp) Flat footed: +2 KB: +2 Initiative: +15/+5 (+15/5 Int (speed of thought)) Saves: 1 + 6 + 8 = 15pp Toughness : +5/+15 ( +5 con +10 Protection (Hardened Titanium Armour) Fortitude: +6 (+5 Con + 1 ) Reflex :+8 (+2 Dex + 6 ) Will: +10 (+2 Wis + 8 ) Skills: 24pp (96 ranks) Bluff 8 (+15) Concentration 12 (+14) Craft (electronic) 10 (+25/+15) SM Craft (mechanical) 10 (+25/+15) SM Diplomacy 8 (+15) Drive 4 (+6) Language 4 (Base: German, French, English, Japanese) Knowledge (physical sciences) 10 (+25/+15)SM Knowledge (technology) 10 (+25/+15)SM UE Notice 3 (+5) Pilot 6 (+8) Sense Motive 3 (+5) Sleight of Hand 8 (+10) Feats: 11pp All-Out Attack Benefit 3 (Wealth) Inventor Jack-of-All-Trades Move-by Action Power Attack Skill Mastery (Craft Mechanical, Craft Chemical, Knowledge Physical sciences, Knowledge Technology) Speed of Thought Ultimate Effort (Kn: Technology) Powers: 20 + 46 + 2 = 68pp Supercharged Brain (Enhanced Intelligence 20; Mutation, Bio-Electricity)[20pp] Personal Combat Pod (Device 11) (Technology; Hard to lose, Only you can use; 55 point device)[46pp] Polymath (Quickness 4) (Mutation Bio-electricity; Perform routine tasks at 25x speed; One Type (Mental))[2pp] Attack Range Effect To Hit Save Unarmed Touch Damage (Bludgeoning) +5 DC15 Toughness save (Staged) Grapple Touch Grapple +5 Opposed Strength Heavy Ion Cannon 150ft increments Damage (Ionic energy) +5 DC30 Toughness save (Staged) Micro Munitions 25ft Increments Damage (Explosive) +15 DC 20 (Autofire) Toughness save (staged) Totals: Abilities 42 + Skills 24 (96 ranks) + Feats 11 + Powers 68 + Combat 20 + Saves 15 + Drawbacks 0 = 180/184

OOC for this. @angrydurf, @Tiffany Korta, @Heritage

GM Riverfront August 9th 2019, 4 PM The Riverfront district was as busy as ever on the Friday afternoon. City officials trying to get the last bit of work done before the weekend, locals and visitors starting their weekend in the nearby culture centers and the Yellow Brick Row shopping complex. Traffic had slowed down considerably. Everyone wanted to go somewhere. All in all, a typical Friday afternoon in Emerald City. Peace and quiet, as you would normally find in a city without super villains. Until, suddenly, several men and women stopped what they were doing, and exited their cars. A young man, maybe in his early twenties, stood nearby, appearing seemingly from out of nowhere. He was dressed in a costume with dark and light blue stripes at a 45 degree angle all over his body. He wore light blue boots and small gloves in the same color as the light blue stripes, and had a hood pulled up with the same striped pattern. His eyes were hidden behind a light blue domino mask. One could just spot his short blonde hair at the edges of the hood. His eyes seemed to be glowing white as people left their cards, starting to walk after him and towards the government buildings. Then came the sound, a loud crash as someone big came barelling through the traffic, flipping the cars out of the way while laughing loudly. The ones that caught a good look at him could see a large man, standing at least 10 feet tall, clad in what appeared to be grey armor, stylized like a triceratops, including a large helmet that mimicked that of a triceratops' head: A large flat shield, a pair of horns at his forehead, and a small horn on a part of his helmet over his nose. His eyes were hidden behind black lenses that connected directly to the helmet, while his mouth was left visible. The rest of his armor was the same dull grey as the helmet, consisting of several armored plates interconnecting along his body. He seemed to be running with little rhyme or reason, instead seeming to cause just as much chaos as he could. He didn't seem to care if he hit already empty cars, or cars that still held passengers. Moments after the man had begun his rampage, a bright light illuminated the sky. A woman in a red costume flew from the sky, leaving a trail of fire behind her as she moved. A white sun symbol at the center of her chest seemed to glow as she sent streams of fire flying randomly across the area around her. The yellow goggles that protected her eyes seemed to reflect the light from her flames as she set whatever random targets caught her sight on fire. The goggles were held in place by a heavy leather strap that went over her short black hair. Fire burning in her hands, she came to a stop, hovering above a rather large group of people. "Listen up! I'm Sunburn, and we're the Upstarts! I don't know how a city like this have been this quiet this long, but that's gonna change! This is our city now! So all of you better start handing over everything you got!" Smart phones were capturing everything already. What better place to attack than a city with no other villains? Nowhere to step on your toes or take your score? But the Upstarts had made one mistake: While Emerald City was a city without villains, it was not a city without heroes.