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The Mighty Meta-Naut Power Level: 7/8 (105/126PP) Unspent Power Points: 21 Trade-Offs: +1 Attack/-1 Damage In Brief: Dimension-hopping, time-travelling thrill-seeker who occasionally stops interdimensional and cross-temporal crimes. Theme: Time Crime by Scandroid In the Year 2525 by Zager and Evans The Way Life's Meant to Be by Electric Light Orchestra Alternate Identity: Raya Wells (Legal Identity) / Rosana Carvalho (Birth Identity) [Both secret] Birthplace: Miami, Florida Residence: The Emerald Cities Base of Operations: The Emerald Cities Occupation: Adventurer/CEO Affiliations: Compass Rose International (Company), United States Government Family: Beatriz Carvalho (Mother), Hugo Carvalho (Father), Enzo Carvalho (Brother) Description: Age: 24 (DoB: February 22nd, 2008) Gender: Gender-fluid, primarily female-identifying. Ethnicity: Mixed Brazilian Height: 5’10” Weight: 140 lbs Eyes: Brown Hair: Black Raya is a beautiful woman, no doubt. Standing 5’10”, she’s tall, with a lithe figure. Her skin is deep brown and clear in a way that only expensive spa treatments can get, while her black hair is half-shaven into laser lines on the left side, while on the right it is allowed to fall down to her neck. She prefers colourful makeup, going for colours like gold, cotton candy blue or neon pink for things like lipstick, eye-shadow and eyeliner. As the Meta-Naut, she dresses in a variety of outfits, but the most common one (at least on Prime), is a white half-jacket covered in black lightning bolts and stars, adorned with a pair of tails that drop down to the back of her knees, a red full-sleeve shirt, and blue pants, with a chrome belt and a pair of blue boots to tie it all together. When she needs to obscure her identity, she wears a chrome helmet with a tinted visor. Whatever she is wearing, she always has what appears to be a silver, circular brooch or badge with three concentric rings of what appears to be back-lit or glowing sapphire. History: Rosana Carvalho’s mother Beatriz was a Scientist with a capital S. She sought to expand humanity’s horizons, and bring them to places heretofore only reachable by the superhuman. She wanted to open the gateway to other dimensions, and she had a plan to do it. Unfortunately, to most institutions her plans sounded fairly kooky and thus she was forced to experiment in the basement, developing a machine that could serve as the key to the multiverse. Being quite young, Rosana didn’t quite understand what her mother was working on. She understood that it could bring you to other places, but didn’t quite comprehend the multiverse as it was. That is, until she saw Equestria Girls. Then, suddenly, everything made sense. She could meet Twilight Sparkle. Her plans were made. One night, when her family was asleep, Rosana snuck down into the basement to see the multiverse machine. Not really understanding it, she punched the word “Ekwestreea” into the coordinator, and got ready. With a great burst, the machine zapped Rosana, teleporting her away. In doing so, it also short-circuited itself, destroying its own machinery and knocking out the power to the whole neighbourhood. By the time Beatriz could come down to see what had happened, Rosana was already long gone. Rosana did not get to meet Twilight Sparkle. Instead, she was transported to a place known as Earth-KTX-12, a world in which the dinosaurs never went extinct, and had evolved into a sapient race living under the cruel, dystopic rule of the Dinosaur King. A scared, confused child, Rosana wandered the streets of Dinosaur City, where had arrived, looking for help. While she was lucky enough to find that the dinosaurs spoke English, she was not lucky enough to avoid being arrested by the state on charges of being a potential spy. The trial was quick, once they ascertained that she was not a spy, and instead simply five. However, she was instead charged with entering the country (which covered the entire planet) illegally, and sentenced to eternal community service as an unpaid scientist’s assistant. The scientist she was given over to was Professor Ptu, a Pterosauroid who specialized in interdimensional research, and had explicitly asked for her from the courts. Rather than being evil, however, Ptu was a good and kindly scientist who wanted to overthrow the tyrannical rule of the Dinosaur King. Ptu promised that one day he would send Rosana home to her family, as soon as he figured out the means to do so. For 12 long years, Rosana helped Ptu work, learning some of the tricks of the trade in the process. She wasn't given the full scope of things - Ptu had his secrets, especially the project he was working on to transport people interdimensionally. He said that, once it was complete, it would not only allow them to escape the Dinosaur King's tyranny, but take the fight to him. However, one fateful day, Ptu’s plans to overthrow the government were discovered by the Dinosaur King’s men. As the thugs kicked down the door, Ptu affixed a small badge to Rosana’s chest, and told her to press down on it. As she did, the last thing she saw was Ptu being shot at by the king’s men. Then, suddenly, she was back in her family home, appearing suddenly in the middle of a tearful argument between both parents. To both her and her parents’ shock, though 12 years had passed in the dinosaur world, only 6 days had passed on Earth Prime. While the initial reunion was somewhat joyful, the obvious problems manifested rather quickly. Rosana had spent the majority of her life on another world, and was now almost a grown woman. Painfully, Rosana had forgotten almost all Portuguese from her youth, and was now strictly monolingual. More than that, the fact that her disappearance was directly due to her mother’s negligence in securing the multiversal device put a strain on her parents’ marriage that would never be healed and result in divorce a few months later. Her mother found some way to bond with Rosana in her interest in the device she had traveled back with. Through prodding, Beatriz was able to find all sorts of features embedded in the device, including the ability to travel through dimensions and time itself. It was also capable of other things, like generating a force-field, small blasts of tachyonic energy, even granting the power of flight. It was, simply put, a technological marvel. And Rosana knew exactly what to do with it. Feeling guilty about the damage she had done to her family, Rosana swore to make her family’s life easy. Travelling from dimension to dimension, and into the future, to find advancements in technology and research. Thinking cleverly, she normally avoided any sorts of super-tech that might give herself away, instead going for small things like minor developments in things like cell-phone technology and electric car batteries. However, she ran into a problem when patenting things - by all accounts, Rosana Carvalho was 5 years old, not 17 as she was at the time, and five year olds could not hold bank accounts. While she could do things through her mother, that didn't solve the problem of Rosana basically being a non-entity. Not seeing many avenues, she approached the United States Government. They took a keen interest in her story, and the fact that her mother had managed to successfully develop a multidimensional travel device. Arrangements were made. Rosana was provided with a new identity as Raya Wells and allowed to publish her patents, with the proviso that she allow the government to look over anything she brought with her and veto it should it be too potentially disrupting to society. She was also offered the possibility of helping the world by reporting and dealing with any interdimensional and cross-temporal threats. She took the opportunity, and founded Compass Rose International, a company dedicated to rocketry and space exploration with the money she made from her patents. Meanwhile, her mother was recruited into the United States Airforce as a scientist. With a little s. With her new riches and identity came the freedom to explore reality and different times freely, outside the constraints of simply seeking to enrich herself. Her new powers also allowed her to explore different aspects of herself - like the fact that she didn't always feel like a she, which she found out when she impersonated a man a few times, for various reasons. Nowadays, Rosana, now Raya, protects Earth Prime from those from other worlds and other times who would seek to destroy it as the Mighty Meta-Naut! Personality & Motivation: Raya is someone who has been through the wringer, though she doesn’t want you to know that. Outwardly, Raya is a fairly peppy, exuberant person, even to the point of seeming a bit immature. Which she is. Internally, however, she is guilt-ridden, fairly traumatized and emotionally stunted. While she does enjoy helping people, much of her adventuring is something of an escape for her. She is still intensely uncomfortable with the amount of damage her life has sustained, and enjoys being able to get away from the world and go somewhere where she can be anyone else. Much of her wealth goes to the pursuit of pleasure in the form of fine food, hard drink and other worldly delights. She is prone to lavish on anyone she befriends, and given her sizable bank account, she can lavish a LOT. Despite her outgoing personality, Raya likes her privacy. She maintains a fairly low media presence, and tends to discourage people from digging too deep. One of the big ways to get her mad is to try and investigate her family, which is likely to earn someone her ire and a fairly large legal suit if possible. She eases up around people she trusts more, but she has a lot of anxiety about her life damaging her family more than it already has been. Nine days out of ten, Raya identifies as a woman. She's content with it, but sometimes she feels like she is something else. Sometimes it's a man, sometimes it's something in between. That's when her morph power comes in handy. She personally prefers it as a minor thing, an extension of one of the many facets of herself - but she understands that it is not fully accepted yet, and thus avoids sharing that side of herself with those she doesn't know very well. She generally uses she/her pronouns, but when she is in the form of a man, prefers he/him. When in-between, whatever people prefer is usually fine. Powers & Tactics: Despite her relatively wide array of powers, Raya's tactics are relatively basic. Being a fairly piddly melee combatant, she relies heavily on her tachyonic blaster, using her flight to ensure people can't close the distance. She also makes use of her tractor beam, throwing objects at her enemies or moving things in the way of those trying to get too close. Given the ability to morph her appearance, the Meta-Naut often goes in disguise, hoping to avoid conflict until she can get the drop on people. Power Descriptions: All of the Meta-Nauts powers descend from the use of her badge, which is a highly advanced piece of technology from another dimension. When she uses her powers, she is enveloped by a blue glowing construct, usually concentrated on the area that is receiving the focus of her powers. There is also always a tendril of blue light leading back to her badge, almost forming a sort of wire. For example, when she uses her blaster, it takes the form of a transparent blue gauntlet with a hole in the middle that serves as a blaster, while when she is flying, it appears as though her feet are encased in glowing, winged boots, and in both cases it appears as if they are connected by a glowing blue wire back to her badge. When she flies, or travels through dimensions and time, she is using gravitons. By concentrating gravity to a great degree, she is able to punch a hole in space-time, centred on herself, which allows her to move across the multiverse. Her tractor beam uses gravity similarly, in a focused beam. Many of her other powers are derived from radiation, while her comprehension is from a translator software inside her badge. Complications: We Know Where You Sleep: While the US Government is mostly cordial with Raya, they do keep a close eye on her given the nature of her powers, and at times can be over-bearing. Given that they know her true identity, they're quite willing to leverage that information over her. How Does This Thing Work?: While Raya understands enough about her badge to repair it, she doesn’t actually know entirely how it works, only how to keep it working. This means it can’t actually be produced, forcing her to go to some pretty hefty lengths to protect it. I Must Have It!: The badge is also a technological marvel, unparalleled by almost anything on Earth. This means that many are inclined to try and steal it for themselves. Love Me, Love Me, Love Me: Raya very desperately wants people to like her, and this can come off fairly clearly to some. There are those out there who are unfortunately quite willing to take advantage of this, especially when they know how wealthy she is. Fear the Dinosaur King: The Dinosaur King’s thugs were able to retrieve Professor Ptu’s research, and have developed cruder models of the same badge Raya has. However, they very much want hers back. Do You Have Time for an Interview?: Someone as wealthy as Raya with so little a presence is quite the curiosity, and many journalists are chomping at the bit to find out more information about her. Sometimes, they go a little far. Abilities: 0 + 2 + 2 + 10 + 0 + 4 = 16PP Strength: 10 (+0) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 12 (+1) Intelligence: 20 (+5) Wisdom: 10 (+0) Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat: 6 + 6 = 12PP Initiative: +1 Attack: +3 Melee, +8 Ranged Defense: +7 (+3 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed Grapple: +3/+14 (Move Object) Knockback: -0/-3 Saving Throws: 4 + 4 + 3 = 11 PP Toughness: +7 (+1 Con, +6 Force Field) Fortitude: +5 (+1 Con, +4) Reflex: +5 (+1 Dex, +4) Will: +3 (+0 Wis, +3) Skills: 36R = 9PP Craft Electronic 10 (+15/+17) Bluff 4 (+6) Diplomacy 6 (+8) Disguise 2 (+4/+14) Knowledge (Cosmology) 10 (+15/17) Knowledge (History) 4 (+9) Feats: 16PP Attack Focus 5 Benefit 3 (Wealth 3) Connected Dodge Focus 4 Evasive 2 Luck 2 Powers: 40 PP All powers have the "technological" descriptor Device 10 (50 DP, Flaws: Hard to Lose [4PP per rank]) [40 PP] Comprehend 2 (all languages) [4 DP] (Computational) Enhanced Skills (Data Repository, +2 on Knowledge: Cosmology, +2 on Craft Electronics) (Computational) [1 DP] Force-Field 6 (Power Feats: Selective) [7 DP] (Radiation) Immunity (Life-Support) [9 DP] Morph 2 (Any Humanoid) [4 DP] (Radiation) Movement Systems (6 Points, Power Feats: Alternate Power 1) [7 DP] BE: Flight 3 (50 mph) {6/6 DP} (Gravitic) AP: Super-Movement 3 (Dimensional [any]), Extras: Affects Others, Flaws: Action [Full] {6/6 DP} (Gravitic) Tachyonic Blaster (12 PP Array, Power Feats: Alternate Power 2) [14 DP] BE: Damage 6 (Tachyonic Blast, Extras: Ranged) {12/12 DP} (Radiation) AP: Move Object 6 (Tractor Beam, Heavy Load 3200 lb) {12/12 DP} (Gravitic) AP: Healing 6 (Vita-Rays, Range: Touch) {12/12 DP} (Radiation) Super-Movement (Space Travel [Interstellar]) 2 [4 DP] (gravitic) (4+7+9+4+7+4+14+1= 50 DP) DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 15 Toughness Damage Tachyonic Blaster Ranged DC 21 Toughness Damage Throw Object Ranged DC 21 Toughness Damage Totals: Abilities (16) + Combat (12) + Saving Throws (11) + Skills (9) + Feats (16) + Powers (40) - Drawbacks (0) = 105/126 PP

I'm looking for 2-3 Emerald City based PCs to try and get some more interaction going, maybe get some plots moving for Emerald City. The basic idea is that some out of town super villains are showing up to stake the claim, since the city obviously doesn't have any super villains at all. Of course, Emerald got some heroes, and some people that might not see kindly to out of towners showing up. It might evolve a bit from that, depending on who's involved. I'm planning on involving Justice or Rebellion, depending on interest.

Koschei the Deathless Power Level: 12 (197/197PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: (Ranged) +2 Attack / -2 DC. Defensively under caps. In Brief: Unstable former Russian spy turned psychic head of the Mafiya. Alternate Identity: Gregor Malakov aka Gregory Malinski (Secret) Birthplace: Russia Residence: Emerald City Base of Operations: Emerald City Occupation: Head of the Malakov Mafiya Affiliations: The Chamber, Malakov Mafiya Family: None Description: Age: 98 (DoB: 1921) Apparent Age: Early 50'es. Gender: Male Ethnicity: East Slavic Height: 6'2'' Weight: 165 lbs. Eyes: Green, formerly pale blue Hair: Silvery grey Typically, while appearing to members of his organization or fellow criminals, Koschei wears a full, concealing hood of dark green, showing only his glowing green eyes, with wrist length leather gloves (to conceal his fingerprints) and a dark, tailor-made suit. In his public identity as “humble importer” Gregory Malinski, he dresses in similarly fine fashion, with his silvery grey hair neatly trimmed. Decades of use of the Viridian Stone have left their mark in his eyes, now permanently a vivid green rather than Malakov’s former pale blue (another useful quirk for concealing his true origins and identity). History: The undisputed head of the syndicate bearing his name for decades, Gregor Malakov long ago traded his humanity for power and would gladly trade whatever remains of it for the promise of a few more years of life. For the ability to live forever, he would sacrifice anything or anyone. A spymaster in USSR during the Cold War, Malakov's ruthless climbing through the ranks afforded him with no shortage of enemies. While he remained untouchable due to his success, a single failure would eventually lead to his downfall. Exposed to scientific experiments intended by his enemies in the KBG to destroy him, they instead unlocked Malakov’s latent psychic potential. Initially, his mental powers were limited, but subtle and persistent, like their master. He used them to extricate himself from a nest of vipers and set himself up as a crime lord in Emerald City. There he acquired the fist-sized chunk of green viridian he keeps close at hand at all times. A failed attempt at creating a Preserver Stone, the Viridian Stone greatly enhanced Malakov's psychic powers. With it, he became “Koschei the Deathless,” fearsome master of the Mafiya. Gregory Malinski’s legitimate business interests serve primarily as a means to launder Mafiya money by investing it in shipping, real estate, warehousing, contracting, and various other businesses. Malakov is careful to keep his criminal connections hidden and does not generally deploy Mafiya resources against his business rivals, although he sometimes indulges in using his powers to his advantage in business negotiations, relishing the advantage—and the reputation as a shrewd businessman—they give him. As a member of the Chamber, Malakov keeps Emerald City in a stranglehold, but despite his enhanced lifespan, his age and constant exposure to the Viridian Stone has begun to take their toll on his sanity. While Koschei the Deathless remains a fearsome figure, and can be as subtle as ever in his manipulations, he has grown increasingly paranoid and erratic. Yet, Koschei remains strong, and so far, none in the Mafiya would dare challenge his leadership. Personality & Motivation: Malakov’s greatest fear is mortality: His viridian stone and mind-over-matter have maintained him in a relatively hale and hearty state. For a man nearing one hundred years old, he seems only in his fifties. Still, age has taken its toll, and Malakov wants to find a way to reverse it and perhaps secure true immortality. He obsessively pursues various methods of life-extension and enhancement, careful not to show his hand, lest his enemies try to exploit any sign of weakness. While his decades long use of the Viridian Stone and age has begun to take its toll on Malakov's mental stability, making him prone to irrational action and paranoia, he is still a ruthless master manipulator. Powers & Tactics: On his own, Malakov posses low level psionic powers, unlocked due to the scientific experiments he was exposed to by the KGB. These abilities are enhanced to a fearsome degree when Koschei wields the Viridian Stone, allowing him to read thoughts and memories, project illusions, and strike foes with powerful mental blasts. He can also exert mental influence over the minds of others, editing their memories (a useful means of concealing his activities). Koschei’s powers make his position as mob-boss almost unassailable, since he knows every disloyal thought and can deal with any plot against him before it happens. The Viridian Stone has also granted Koschei a degree of mind over matter, somatically controlling his body to resist aging and shrug off some harmful effects while healing quickly from any injury. While he is trained and efficient with a large number of weapons, particularly rifles and guns, Koschei prefers to use manipulation and subtle use of his mental powers to defeat his foes. Power Descriptions: Koschei's mental powers are all but impossible to track and recognize. Aside from the Viridian Stone in his hand, and the constant glow of his green eyes, one would never know that Koschei were the source of the mental attack that just felled an ally. Even when he takes direct control of a person, they will fail to recognize that they are even being controlled. Complications: Addiction: Koschei has grown dependent on the power of his Viridian Stone, not only for his psychic power, but for his extended life as well. Motivation—Greed: Koschei is motivated by having the very best in all things and believes living well (and wealthy) is the best revenge. Obsession—Survival: Koschei wants to avoid death at all costs and is obsessed with any means of prolonging his life. Unstable: Koschei's advanced age and repeated use of the Viridian Stone has taken its toll on his psyche. While this generally takes the forms of various rants and threats for even the smallest of slights ("Bethlehem Heights will BURN for blocking my Wi-Fi signal!"), Koschei has been known to act on these threats. Abilities: -2 + 2 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 8 = 22PP Strength: 8 (-1) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 16 (+3) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat: 10 + 20 = 28PP Initiative: +3 (+3 Intelligence, Speed of Thought) Attack: +5 Base, +5 Melee, +9 Unarmed (+5 Base, +4 Attack Specialization), +14 Ranged (+5 Base, +9 Attack Focus) Defense: +10 (+10 Base, +0 Dodge Focus), +5 Flat-Footed Grapple: +3 Knockback: -4 Saving Throws: 6 + 9 + 13 = 28PP Toughness: +7 (+2 Con, +2 Defensive Roll, +3 Undercover Vest) Fortitude: +8 (+2 Con, +6) Reflex: +10 (+1 Dex, +9) Will: +15 (+2 Wis, +13) Skills: 160R = 40PP Acrobatics 6 (+7) Bluff 15 (+19) Diplomacy 9 (+13) Drive 6 (+7) Gather Information 12 (+16) Intimidate 12 (+16) Investigation 12 (+15) Language 4 (Czech, English, German, Polish, Native Russian) Notice 12 (+14) Pilot 5 (+6) Profession [Criminal] 15 (+17) Profession [Spy] 15 (+17) Search 12 (+15) Sense Motive 15 (+17) Stealth 6 (+7) Swimming 4 (+3) Feats: 30PP Attack Specialization [Unarmed] 2 Attack Focus [Ranged] 9 Assessment Benefit 2 (Crime Lord) Benefit 3 (Multi-millionaire) Connected Contacts Defensive Attack Defensive Roll 1 Diehard Eidetic Memory Equipment 1 Improvised Weapon Leadership Set-Up Speed of Thought Trance Well-Informed Equipment: 1PP = 5EP Undercover Vest (Protection 3 [Feats: Subtle]) [4EP] Additionally: Access to most guns and explosives listed in the rulebook Powers: 21 + 21 + 6 = 48PP Device 7 ("Viridian Stone"; 35PP Container; Flaws: Easy-To-Lose) [21PP] (Cosmic, Preserver Stone) Enhanced Psychic Powers Array 16 (32PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 3) [35PP] (Note: All stack with same powers in Psychic Power Arrays) (Psionic) BP: Mind Control 9 ("Enhanced Mental Influence"; Extras: Conscious; Feats: Mental Link) {28/32} AP: Blast 8 ("Enhanced Mental Blast"; Extras: Alternate Save [Will], Range [Perception]) {32/32} AP: Illusion 6 ("Enhanced Mental Illusion"; Options: All Senses; Extras: Duration [Sustained], Selective; Flaws: Phantasms; Feats: Progression [Area] 2) {32/32} AP: Mind Reading 8 ("Enhanced Mind Probe") [8PP] 1PP/rank + Mental Communication 9 ("Enhanced Telepathy") [18PP] {26/32} Psychic Powers Array 9 (18PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 3) [21PP] (Mutation, Psionic) BP: Mind Control 3 ("Mental Influence"; Extras: Conscious; Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Insidious, Subtle 2) {12/18} AP: Blast 4 ("Mental Blast"; Extras: Alternate Save [Will], Range [Perception]; Feats: Subtle 2) {18/18} AP: Illusion 3 ("Mental Illusion"; Options: All Senses; Extras: Duration [Sustained], Selective; Flaws: Phantasms; Feats: Progression [Area] 3) {18/18} AP: Mind Reading 4 ("Mind Probe"; Feats: Subtle 2) [6PP] + Mental Communication 3 ("Telepathy"; Feats: Subtle 2) [8PP] {14/18} Somatic Healing 3 (6PP Container ) [6PP] (Cosmic Mutation, Psionic) Immunity 4 (Options: Aging, Disease, Poison, Radiation) [4PP] Regeneration 2 (Options: Recovery Bonus 2) [2PP] Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block Name Range Save Effect Attack bonus Unarmed Touch DC14 Tou (staged) Damage +8 Mental Influence Perception DC13 Will (staged) Mind Controlled N/A Enh. Mental Influence Perception DC22 Will (staged) Mind Controlled N/A Mental Blast Perception DC19 Will (staged) Damage N/A Enh. Mental Blast Perception DC27 Will (staged) Damage N/A Mental Illusion Perception DC13 Will (staged) Tricked by Illusion N/A Enh. Mental Illusion Perception DC19 Will (staged) Tricked by Illusion N/A Totals: Abilities (22) + Combat (30) + Saving Throws (28) + Skills (40) + Feats (30) + Powers (48) - Drawbacks (0) = 198/198 Power Points

OOC thread for this, featuring @NineOfSpades's Meridian and @RocketLord's Justice! Time to fight a robot!

May 27, 2019, 12.47PM, a lovely warm late spring day Emerald City, Oregon, waterfront, annual MarsTech Science Fair "Wow, Meridian! Amazing! If you hadn't stopped those robot ninjas, my MarsTech Olympus-class air-scrubber would be in the hands of evil! Our ozone and oxygen are safe yet again!" Max Mars, standing beaming like a happy child while surrounded by smashed bits of cyclopic glossy-black robots dressed like ancient stage hands, seemed for once even smaller than his five feet next to the towering heroine. His curly red hair, peppered with grey, had caught plenty of the debris from the magnificently-staged mock-combat, and his lovely deep-blue suit and bearded face had caught a full blast of smoke from an all-too real electrical fire, but the grin on his face wasn't damaged or dimmed in the least. The West Coast's favorite source of super-science had been urging for something like this ever since meeting Sophie Powers, and evidently it had lived up to all his dreams at once. The rest of the dock had been cleared and meticulously calculated to allow for the fight to happen without causing any real harm, while the stands stood close enough to the action to let the Emerald City munchkins feel the vicarious thrills. The platform Max and Meridian stood on was two-level, letting the real point of the show make an imposing backdrop-a monolithic black wall marked out with the red planet logo of MarsTech-keep up a presence. The Olympus was some kind of greenhouse gas-condenser, and had been busily proving its worth since its unveiling. By processes Max had been very happy to explain, but which relatively few people understood, it had been drawing carbon and other heat-trapping airborne substances from the air and converting them into other, less harmful solid forms. To hear Max talk, one could be forgiven for thinking the entire ecological crisis was solved for all time. Emerald's favorite son swept a hand to the crowd "A big hand, everybody, for Meridian, today's greatest hero!" The request wasn't necessary, since Emerald citizens weren't yet jaded enough to not be amazed by the sight of people punching robots in front of them, but it did get a standing ovation going! The only less-than-enthralled response was from the Emerald City South Girl Scouts box, in which several hundred uniformed girls busily scribbled notes onto tablets or inspected fragments of metal that blown their way, the wall of uniformed older women around them clapping politely but with veryobvious skepticism. By tradition, the Emerald City North Girl Scouts box was as far from the South's as reasonably possible, and was resolutely and coolly silent. The flying news-drones swept closer, circling to capture the moment, their human counterparts chatting with the MarsTech company reps and snapping photos. Except for the skinny, greasy woman in the grey 50's suit and 'PRESS'-carded trilby who'd been politely put behind the security line after trying to reach the stage and ask questions. She just scribbled and glared from time to time.

OOC for this. @Exaccus

GM Elysium Academy, Emerald City May 16th, 2019 11:30 PM Elysium Academy was as silent as one would expect during the night. The students, for the most part, knew better than to cause trouble, less they risk a punishment. And a pair of students were sneaking through the night, each independent of the other. They had both overheard Mr. Stark with Doctor Trine during lunch. Something about some important correspondence from "you-know-who". Very vague, sure, but also a potential clue. One that could lead to freeing students... or perhaps to the conspiracy behind the academy and the city itself? Neither knew the identity of the other. Neither of the two even knew that there were other rebels among Elysium Academy, but it seemed that on this night, Omen and the Bronze Hornet were about to learn.

OOC for this. @Zeitgeist Blue

GM May 11th, 2019 1 PM ArcheTech West, Bridgepoint Nicole had been given a special opportunity, as part of her internship at ArcheTech. Come to ArcheTech West in Emerald City, shadow Doctor Rita Lang for the weekend. It was not so much a work weekend as a research weekend. The notes about the actual research had been kind of sparse. It had something to do with nanomachines, and a revolutionary use for them, but aside from that, the notes were rather short. They did note that Doctor Lang had specificially asked to have Nicole shadow her, so that was a plus, at least. Something about wanting an outsider's view of the project, which meant Nicole would have to write a report on it once it was done. Doctor Lang was standing outside the building as Nicole arrived. She was a Caucassian woman in the late 40'es. Slightly overweight, which she would attest was because of staying in laboratory all day. Her dark red hair seemed to have been dyed to hide beginning grey hair. She wore a white labcoat, which was open, revealing her jeans and a black t-shirt with the Nine Inch Nails logo. A pair of glasses was hidden in the pocket of the white labcoat. She patiently waited, looking up from her phone as Nicole arrived. "Hey, you must be Nicole. I'm Rita, nice to finally meet you. Been hearing great things about you, kid."

OOC for this. @Heritage: Here you go

GM May 6th, 2019 4:30 PM SIlberman's Northwest, Emerald City Just another day at Silberman's Northwest! Peace and quiet, with a good number of patrons visiting the store. They were spread pretty evenly around the floors, and all in all. It wasn't a busy day, by any means. Things were rather slow, but there were a constant buzz of talking and questions being asked. Outside the weather was cloudy. Not completely dark, but enough to block out the sun, and according to the weather report, it could begin to rain at any time. A man hurried into the store, carrying a rather large book. It was easily 16 inches tall, and almost as wide. It was thick. Like a phonebook. The cover was old and worn. It had once been black, but it was now greying, and the title all but impossible to make out. The man was bald, with a black, greying goatee. He wore round, thick glasses. You could almost believe he couldn't see through them. His jeans were torn at the knees, his grey sweater had probably seen better days. "Excuse me!" he loudly announced, holding up the book. "Where is the owner! I have a great find to show him! The find of the decade!"

Rebellion Power Level: 14 (built as PL 10; 213/215PP) Unspent Power Points: 2 Trade-Offs: (Baton Throw) +4 Attack / -4 DC, (Baton Ricochet) +2 Attack / -2 DC, +2 Defense / -2 Toughness In Brief: Former villain in training uses the power of the Terror to seek the truth. Catchphrase: Boo! Theme: What's Up Danger - Blackway & Black Caviar / Untravelled Road -Thousand Foot Krutch Alternate Identity: Elliot Elijah Elder (Secret), Bronze Hornet (Secret, Super Villain Identity) Birthplace: Emerald City. Residence: Elder Mansion, Northern Shore, Emerald City / Elysium Academy Dorms. Base of Operations: Emerald City. Occupation: Student. Affiliations: None. Family: Emma Emmelie Elder (Mother, Emerald City politician, nee Kessler), Everett Eaton Elder (Father, officially idle rich, unofficially known as "The Royal" super villain saboteur and spy), Elaine Emma Elder (Older sister, College Student), Elaine Kessler (Aunt on mother's side, deceased). Description: Age: 17 (DoB: 2002 January 1st). Gender: Male. Ethnicity: Caucasian. Height: 6'1'' Weight: 180 lbs. Eyes: Hazel Hair: Blonde Elliot is a young man with an athletic build, leaning on the slightly muscular side. While by no means bad looking, he is not particularly remarkable, looking very much like the All-American boy stereotype. He has short blonde hair and hazel eyes, usually keeping himself clean shaved. He carries himself with a certain pride and arrogance. He will usually wear clothing in lighter colors, or the Elysium Academy colors. As Bronze Hornet, Elliot wears a predominantly dark grey uniform. Simple pants, heavy black boots. A heavy dark grey jacket with a large bronze hornet icon on the back, and black gloves. His face is hidden by a black full face mask, with a smaller hornet logo, similar to the one on his back, on his face, with its wings over his eyes. As Rebellion, Elliot appears pitch black, with large white eyes. He does not appear to have a nose or mouth, though it is there. While he will wear whatever clothes is at hand at the time, his "official" look consist of a pair of dark blue pants and a blue jacket with nothing underneath, showing only pitch black, and a blue cap on the top of his head to complete the look. He is somewhat shifty, keeping to dark places or out of sight if possible. History: Elliot Elijah Elder lived a charmed life. His mother was Emma Elder, a local Emerald City politician of some renown, and her career had left her family with a mansion, servants and more than enough money to get whatever they wanted. His father, Everett Elder, came from a rich family, and he spent much of his time either supporting his wife's campaigns, golfing or travelling, often leaving Elliot at home with his older sister Elaine and his aunt Elaine. Elliot grew particularly close to both, while never knowing much of his parents. Elliot was smart, and he knew it, which led him to develop an arrogant streak, which only his sister and uncle Jacob seemed to disapprove of. He had few friends, and never seemed to really push himself in any way. After all, why should he? He was smart, and he was rich. To Emma Elder, Elliot was almost the perfect son, except for one sore point: He was miserable at sports or other physical departments, and Emma needed to have the perfect All-American son to further perfect her image. Over the objection of his father, Elliot was sent to the prestigious Elysium Academy, where he could make something of himself. That was the official reason, at least. In truth, Emma was disappointed in her son, for reasons he had never been told. Everett Elder did not really come from a rich family. He did not just support his wife's campaigns or go golfing. No, he was working working for Brande Management. A super human with the ability to change his appearance, he were one of many agents performing industrial espionage and sabotage for Brande Management, all to increase their stock. Everett wanted out, but he was in too deep, and so, he continued. And Elaine had inherited their powers, perhaps to an even greater degree. Elliot, however, had not. He was a disappointment. Emma needed some way to use him, and Elysium Academy would be how. At the Elysium Academy, Elliot was pushed for the first time that he could remember. With a particular focus on his physical prowess, as per his mother's requests, and Elliot's arrogance grew once again. He was now both a physical and mental threat to those around him, a fact that he reveled in. He didn't care that Elysium Academy was grooming him to be a super villain. He would take what he learned and use it for his own, once he left the Academy. Fine, they wanted to underestimate him. Elliot would deal with them all when the time came. He was given the code name the Bronze Hornet, which he did not particularly like, but he did not care. He could make a proper name for himself at a later point. Unknown to Elliot, his mother had made a fatal mistake. Emma had been in the pocket of the Chamber for a long time. They boosted her political career, she looked in the wrong way or campaigned for what they wanted. Now she made the mistake of actually having law enforcement investigate a business that was closely related to the Chamber. Not something big, not something famous. A money laundering front, a car wash, of all places. Still, she had to be punished. Soon after, during a break at Elysium Academy, Elliot's aunt Elaine went missing. At the same time, the mysterious villain known as the Terror reappeared to stalk the city, killing many along the way. When Elliot was alone at home, with only servants for company in their mansion, the Terror appeared, smashing through the window. As the Terror stood before Elliot, he learned what fear was. And as it collapsed, the fear spirit left the shriveled corpse of his aunt Elaine behind. That could have been the end of it. A terrified youth, a dead aunt. The start of a rebellion by a politician put back in place, and everything could continue as it had. The fear spirit that was the Terror had other plans. Elliot does not know why it did, as it did. From he learned next, it had always returned to the Chamber when its job was done, and its host was left as nothing. Maybe it was its own act of rebellion. Maybe it wanted to punish its creators. Maybe it just wanted Elliot to feel fear. Maybe the last of Elaine's soul influenced it. Or maybe it simply wanted to create another vessel to spread fear throughout Emerald City. Whatever the cause, the fear spirit possessed Elliot for the briefest of moments. And in those briefest of moments, Elliot knew fear and he knew truth. Through the distorted point of view of the artificial fear spirit, Elliot caught glimpses and visions of its creation. Of the things it had seen. Of the things it had done. A weapon, created by a secret conspiracy that ruled the city from behind the shadows. Used to eliminate their enemies. Used to create chaos and fear. He caught glimpses of their plans. About the enormity of everything. Distorted by the fear spirit, distorted by his own fear, distorted by the lingering remnants of Elaine's soul. They were everywhere. They were everything. Elysium Academy was worse than he thought. His mother was in their pocket. And no one knew. It lasted only moments, then the fear spirit was gone, leaving Elliot a changed man. The fear and the truth had changed him. His arrogance gone, he rebuilt his sense of self through sheer willpower. Something had to change, the city had to change. The conspiracy had to be exposed. And Elliot would do it. In the weeks that followed, Elliot did his best to keep up his facade at Elysium Academy, acting as arrogant as ever. Even as he began to become stronger, faster and tougher, displaying strength unlike ever before, he was demoted to Omega Squad, the so-called "Jobber Squad." Probably another punishment for his mother. Elliot didn't care. Being in Omega Squad meant he didn't really have to try hard to keep up his facade anymore. They were meant as distractions, dumb muscle, nothing more. The perfect guise for something much more. He spent all the free time he could researching and planning, until finally venturing out into the night to gather rumors. As he put on a mask to hide his identity, something even stranger happened. While Elliot's physical abilities had grown since his possession, that was only part of his mutation. He found that when he wore a mask, he could morph his appearance, he could blend in with his surroundings, and, perhaps even stranger still, he seemed to posses his own version of the Terror's ability to instill great fear in its targets. His mission was clear. He would use his powers to uncover the truth. By day, he is Elliot Elijah Elder, an once almost-remarkable student at Elysium Academy, now relegated to being used as cannon fodder. By night, he is Rebellion, a fearsome hero that prowls the streets of Emerald City for the truth. Personality & Motivation: Elliot can at first appear arrogant, but humbled by his demotion to Omega Squad, and this is the personality that he tries to project to the outside world. He is smarter, faster, stronger and better than others, so why shouldn't he be? What better way to hide his goals from the world around him than behind a facade that can easily push others away? In truth, Elliot is greatly changed from his previous ways. He has become more withdrawn, though it is noticed by few. He rarely opens up to others around him, having become almost entirely focused on his goal of discovering the truth about the conspiracy behind Emerald City, and how to dismantle it. He keeps notes in secret places, he finds connections even where there aren't any. As Rebellion, Elliot lets his obsession run wild. He takes notes of anything he finds relevant in a small notebook, he tends to stick to the shadows. He can be terrifying or creepy, depending on the subject at hand. He is entirely fearless, which can lead him to taking great risks with little thought for the consequences to himself. Yet, for all of his obsession with his quest for the truth, he is also slowly discovering a more heroic side to himself. It feels good to be good, and to protect others for the sake of it, not just to spite the conspiracy behind Emerald City. Powers & Tactics: Rebellion is a master of infiltration. He will usually morph into unassuming shapes, such as janitors or cleaning crew, anything that will usually not get noticed, to make his way into a building, changing his appearance as necessary, blending in with his surroundings or moving along walls and ceilings. When pressuring a target for information, he will make full use of his ability to cause fear in others. In combat, Rebellion fights using a pair of batons. He is proficient in using them both up close and at a range, being able to throw them with enough skill to make them quickly return to himself, ready for another strike. He uses his strength and agility, rarely standing still, disappearing and reappearing to strike again. He will freely use his ability to cause fear in others to terrify and disable his opponents. Being rather pragmatic, Rebellion will use just about anything around him to his advantage. With great strength, the ability to perform incredible leaps and cling to wall, Rebellion is highly mobile, able to quickly travel across the length of Emerald City. In his identity as the Bronze Hornet, Elliot eschews the use of most of his powers, only utilizing his enhanced strength, agility and stamina. He does not cling to walls, he does not scare heroes and civilians, change his appearance or use batons to fight, instead preferring simple hand-to-hand combat. Power Descriptions: Elliot's powers are a strange mixture of mutation caused by being possessed by the Terror fear spirit, and latent inherited powers being triggered by said possession. Due to psychological issues related to said possession, Elliot is only able to access certain powers without wearing a mask, essentially only those that enhance his physical and mental abilities. He has become stronger, faster and tougher than he ever were before. He is smarter, and when he wants to, posses a strange, almost unnatural charisma. When he wears a mask, Elliot's has access to further powers. He is now able to cling to walls and perform amazing leaps, while being able to slow his falls. While they appear to be physical enhancements, these abilities are psionic in nature, being a very limited degree of personal tactile telekinesis. Unknown to any but himself, Elliot has inherited his father's ability to change his features, creating instant disguises or blending in with his surroundings, making him almost invisible. His most common use of this power is to create his Rebellion disguise, or for infiltration. Perhaps the most horrifying part of Elliot's powers is his ability to create fear in those around him. This psionic ability appears to be a variation of the Terror's "Aura of Terror" ability, though if Elliot's wishes to create paralyzing fear, he requires great focus. In the time since his transformation, Elliot's senses have started to expand. With both he and the Terror being tied to Emerald City, he has begun to notice patterns and clues in the city itself. Seemingly unconnected sights and events can lead him to strange, new discoveries during his investigations, as he follows the grid of the city to the find the monsters that lurk beneath. Finally, Elliot uses a pair of batons for physical combat. Through training, he has learned to throw them with enough precision that they return to himself when thrown, and to perform powerful blows, strong enough to stun an enemy. Complications: CITY/GRID: Rebellion's expanded awareness of grids and patterns seems to be tied to Emerald City, and to a lesser degree to other metropolitan areas. If Rebellion attempts to use his See the Patterns power outside a metropolitan area, the GM might deny the request, as Rebellion's expanded awareness is simply unable to connect the dots, giving Rebellion a Hero Point instead. If the use of the power has been denied once in an area, repeated uses in the same or a similar area cannot be used to gain additional Hero Points. FEARLESS/FOOL: As Rebellion, Elliot feels no fear. While this is a great advantage, it is also a disadvantage, as he has been known to take actions that were extremely dangerous, if not outright suicidal. A GM may award Rebellion a Hero Point whenever he is in a situation where his fearlessness leads him into trouble. HE_KNOWS/TOO_MUCH: Rebellion's knowledge of Emerald City is still growing, as he works to uncover secrets and conspiracies, but there are those that do not take kindly to his meddling. A GM may award Rebellion a Hero Point if the current situation is made worse by Kid Terror being hunted by those working for the secrets that he has uncovered in Emerald City. HERO/VILLAIN: Rebellion is new to the whole hero thing. While he tries to shed the mindset instilled by Elysium Academy, he still has some problems with doing the right thing. What do he choose, to save one life or many? Do abandon his mission and lose a lead to save a life from a random mugging? He is also rather pragmatic and ruthless. A GM may award Rebellion a Hero Point when he is in a situation where he is tested in following his quest for the truth or performing a heroic action. KID/TERROR: Elliot subconsciously represses his powers, unless he is wearing a mask. Once he puts on a mask, he can easily summon the full extent of his powers, but without, he cannot actively access any of his powers marked with the Mask descriptor. A GM can award Rebellion a Hero Point whenever he is in a situation where he cannot use his powers for this reason. REBELLION/HORNET: Elliot's training at Elysium Academy has instilled in him the values of a villain, and given him an identity as the Bronze Hornet. While he struggles to overcome the morals and mindset taught at the academy, he might also come into conflicts where he finds himself on the sides of both heroes and villains. While Elliot's true allegiance is on the side of the angels, he is reluctant to abandon his identity at Elysium Academy, and the safety it provides as he continues his quest. A GM may award Rebellion a Hero Point when he is in a situation where his conflicting identities or values taught at Elysium Academy cause him trouble. TERROR/HERO: There is just something off about Rebellion. While he is ultimately heroic, he has some serious issues in positive interactions with others. A GM may award Rebellion a Hero Point whenever he is in a situation where his mannerisms, appearance and abilities negatively affects other's reaction to him. TRUTH/SEEKER: Rebellion wants to find the truth about Emerald City. It is his great mission in life. Just what is the Terror? Why does the city have so few super villains? Is there some secret chamber that runs the city behind the scenes? And so much more. He has few qualms about discovering the truth and what he must do to get there. A GM may award Rebellion a Hero Point when he is in a situation where his decision to seek out the truth makes the current situation worse in some way, or WHITE/SHEEP: The matriarch of the Elder family is an ambitious politician in the pockets of the Chamber. The patriarch is a super villain saboteur and spy. The daughter has inherited her father's abilities, and though the proces is slow, she is begin groomed into following in his footsteps. The son is trying to be a hero. Elliot might once have shared this mindset, but his meeting with the Terror left him greatly changed. Now he seeks to dismantle the same conspiracy that his family benefits from, and while he pretends that nothing has changed, it is getting harder to hide his changed outlook from his family. Being the unfavorite to at least his mother may also cause him some serious issues. A GM may award Rebellion a Hero Point when he is in a situation where he runs into trouble with his family, either from trying to keep his facade as still truly being one of them, due to conflicts where his actions could cause them trouble in some way, or if his mother's favoritism towards Elliot's older sister causes him problems. Abilities: 2 + 2 + 2 + 6 + 6 + 2 = 20PP Strength: 12 (+1) / 16 (+3) Dexterity: 12 (+1) / 20 (+5) Constitution: 12 (+1) / 20 (+5) Intelligence: 16 (+3) / 24 (+7) Wisdom: 16 (+3) Charisma: 12 (+1) / 20 (+5) Combat: 8 + 12 = 20PP Initiative: +5 (+5 Dex) Attack: +4 Base, +4 Melee, +4 Ranged, +10 Baton Smack (+4 Base, +6 Attack Specialization), +14 Baton Throw (+4 Base, +6 Attack Specialization, +4 Accurate) Defense: +12 (+6 Base, +6 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed Grapple: +5/+7 Knockback: -4 Saving Throws: 5 + 5 + 7 = 17PP Toughness: +8 (+5 Con, +1 Protection, +2 Defensive Roll) Fortitude: +6/+10 (+1 Con/+5 with Enhanced Con, +5) Reflex: +10 (+5 Dex, +5) Will: +10 (+3 Wis, +7) Skills: 116R = 29PP Bluff 5 (+10) Computers 3 (+10) Disable Device 3 (+10) Disguise 5 (+10, +15 with Morph)Skill Mastery Escape Artist 5 (+5) Gather Information 15 (+20)Skill Mastery, Well Informed Intimidate 15 (+20)Distract, Fascinate, Skill Mastery, Startle Investigate 7 (+14) Knowledge (Popular Culture) 3 (+10) Knowledge (Streetwise) 8 (+15) Notice 12 (+15) Search 8 (+15) Sense Motive 12 (+15) Stealth 15 (+20)Skill Mastery Feats: 23PP Attack Specialization (Batons) 3 Benefit (Wealth) 1 Challenge - Improved Feint Contacts Defensive Roll 1 Distract (Intimidation) Dodge Focus 6 Fascinate (Intimidate) Hide In Plain Sight Jack-of-All-Trades Luck 3 Skill Mastery (Disguise, Gather Information, Intimidate, Stealth) Startle Well-Informed Powers: 12 + 32 + 4 + 19 + 37 = 104PP For Mask descriptor explanation, see the complication TERROR/HERO. Device 4 ("Batons"; 20PP Container; Flaws: Easy-To-Lose) [12PP] (Baton) Baton Attack Array 9 (18PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 2) [20PP] BP: Damage 5 ("Brutal Precision Baton Smack"; Extras: Alternate Save [Fortitude] 10; Feats: Enhanced Critical 1, Mighty, Stunning Attack) {18/18} (Bludgeoning Damage Type, Training, Weak point/nerve targeting) AP: Damage 3 ("Baton Throw"; Extras: Autofire 1 [6 ranks], Range [Ranged]; Feats: Accurate 2, Mighty 3, Precise, Ricochet 2; Drawbacks: Reduced Range 2 [Max Range 75 ft.]) {18/18} (Bludgeoning Damage Type, Training) AP: Damage 3 ("Baton Ricochet"; Extras: Area [Targeted Burst], Range [Ranged], Selective Attack; Flaws: Action [Full Turn]; Feats: Accurate 1, Indirect 3, Mighty 5, Progression [Area Size] 2; Drawbacks: Reduced Range 2 [Max Range 75 ft.]) (Area: 15-75 ft. radius) {18/18PP} (Bludgeoning Damage Type, Training, Ricochet) Fear Array 15.5 (31PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 1) [32PP] (Emotion, Fear, Mask, Mutation, Psionic) BP: Emotion Control 10 ("Aura of Terror"; Extras: Area [Burst], Mental, Selective, Flaws: Limited [Fear Only], Feats: Reversible) {31/31} AP: Paralyze Rank ("Paralyzing Terror"; Extras: Mental, Range 2 [Perception], Flaws: Action [Full Action], Feats: Reversible) {31/31} Stealth 0.8 (4PP Container) [4PP] (Inherited, Mask, Physical Mutation) Concealment 4 ("Camouflage"; Flaws: Blending, Passive) (All Visual Senses) [2PP] Morph 1 ("Enigmatic Terror"; +5 Disguise, Broad Group: Humanoid) [2PP] Uncanny Mind 3.8 (19PP Container) [19PP] (Physical Mutation) Enhanced Ability 16 (Intelligence +8, Charisma +8) [16PP] Immunity 1 ("No Fear") (Fear Effects) [1PP] (Mask) Super-Senses 2 ("See the Pattern"; Cosmic Awareness) [2PP] (Mask, Hyper-Awareness) Uncanny Physique 7.4 (37PP Container) [37PP] (Mutation) Enhanced Constitution 8 [8PP] (Physical Mutation) Enhanced Dexterity 8 [8PP] (Physical Mutation) Enhanced Strength 8 [8PP] (Physical Mutation) Leaping 4 (x25 Leaping distance, run 375 ft.) [4PP] (Mask, Psionic) Protection 1 [1PP] (Physical Mutation) Super-Movement 4 (Slow Fall, Trackless, Wall-Crawling 2) [8PP] (Mask, Psionic) Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block Name Range Save Effect Attack bonus Unarmed Touch DC18 Tou (staged) Damage +4 Brutal Precision Baton Smack Touch DC25 Fortitude (staged) Damage +10, Crit 19-20 Baton Throw 30 ft., max 75 ft. DC21 Tou (Staged) Damage +14 Baton Ricochet 30 ft., max 75 ft. 15-75 ft. radius area DC23 Tou (Staged) Damage +12, Targeted Area Aura of Terror Perception DC20 Will (Staged) Fear: Shaken, Frightened, Panicking N/A Paralyzing Terror Perception DC20 Will (staged) Slowed, Paralyzed N/A Totals: Abilities (20) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (17) + Skills (29) + Feats (23) + Powers (104) - Drawbacks (0) = 213/215 Power Points

OOC for this. @Tiff

GM Bethlehem Heights, March 14th, 9:30 PM Bethlehem Heights might not be a rich area, or one where the police routinely patrolled, but it was still home to many. And in the last few weeks, there had been a rash of so far unexplained disappearances. The disappearances seemed focused on the undesirables of society: The homeless, the drunks, the addicts. The people of the street. Not enough to make city hall care enough to send the police for more than routine attempts at searching for the missing people. People were warned to stay off the streets in Bethlehem Heights during the night, but otherwise, little effort was put into finding the missing people, or even finding out what was going on. If anyone were to solve the mystery, it seemed that the heroes of Emerald City would have to step up. And as a man's scream cut through the night in Bethlehem Heights, they might soon get their chance.

OOC thread for this. High-stakes negotiations with a chance of becoming steaks. @Grumblefloof

GM March 5th, 2019, 6.45AM Columbia River, between the Emerald Cities, USA The fog had been creeping in from the sea for hours now, until at last even Emerald Tower vanished. Silently, without fuss or hurry, the mountain of vapor muffled out the distant roar of the two cities, softening the world into a cold, wet blanket. The warning blasts of ships moving up and downriver blunted against the billowing clouds. The river itself had become dark and oily, lapping against the houseboat like gentle, insistent fingers trying to find a way in. The soft bump had gone almost unnoticed, but might have if not for the second, much stronger knock at the hull of the rocking house. With a ripple-less whisper, it emerged from the river. A slender creature, skin smooth and tough as a whale's, large eyes, fin-like fringes at the joints and crowing the head, webs between the fingers and toes suspending it above the water's surface with gentle, rhythmic strokes of its long limbs. "Mr. Kepler," it said in a soft, almost feminine voice, round eyes staring into his, "I am willing to pay several million dollars if you will represent my interests and meet with a dragon. Will you hear me out?"

Maximillian Mars Power Level: 11 (166/166PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: Under caps. In Brief: Super genius super villain that has mothballed his armor to lead a succesful technology corporation, hiding his ongoing villainy behind a popular reputation Alternate Identity: The Commander (Secret, former) Birthplace: Emerald City. Residence: Riverfront, Emerald City. Base of Operations: MarsTech Headquarters, River Front, Emerald City Occupation: Head of MarsTech, Criminal mastermind Affiliations: MarsTech, the Chamber Family: None known Description: Age: 55 (DoB: 1964) Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5' Weight: 170 lbs. Eyes: Green Hair: Light brown, greying at the temples Always dressed in tailored suits from London, Maximillian Mars always looks his best. A bright smile on his lips, a gleam in his green eyes, his hair and beard immaculate, he simply looks perfect, even as wrinkles are beginning to show on his face. History: Once, there was a super villain known as the Commander. He wore a high tech armor, filled with alien technology that he had stumbled upon and reverse engineered as a young man. He wanted power, he wanted riches. He fought the Centurion on several occasions. He was foiled by the Freedom League. Under the Moore Administration, he fought FORCE Ops on several occasions. His ever evolving armor meant that any encounter would mean something new. Never employing the same trick twice, he was a persistent foe. While he was defeated, he always managed to escape, and his identity remained a secret. And then the Terminus Invasion happened. Surprising even himself, the Commander fought side by side with the heroes, even aiding his hated foe the Centurion against Omega. After the Terminus Invasion, the Commander disappeared. Most believed that he had died. Few claimed to have seen him in the years since, but it was never confirmed. It was all just rumors. Years later, the company known as MarsTech appeared. Seemingly out of the blue, the MarsTech brand became synonymous with high tech user friendly technology. The popular Deimos laptop! The Phobos operating system! Stylized and cheap smart phones! They seemed to be ahead of the competition in every regard. Research in the history of the company showed it as a simple start up, all the work of a single man. Working for hire, the founder would eventually create a juggernaut of technological advances that would take the world by storm. That man, that founder, was Maximillian Mars. Inviting the world into his life as the chief designer, creator and director of MarsTech, he would only continue to grow on popularity, as he raised his company to even greater heights in his native Emerald City. He was a man of the people, a friend to every employee, he offered benefits and great pay, paid insurance for all of his employees: In short, the man of the year for all years. And of course, he was also once the Commander, and even now, he was a member of the Chamber, the organization that rules Emerald City from the shadows, supplying his technological expertise and businesses to their goals. The Commander armor left in storage, he now had more power than ever before. Maximillian Mars might be a lighter shade of black than his compatriots in the Chamber, and almost a hero to the people of the world, but make no mistake: At heart, he is still a villain, and his ultimate goal remains: Nothing less than world domination. Personality & Motivation: Maximillian Mars is a genius and a visionary. Even as the mastermind behind MarsTech, and the creator of the vast majority of their technologies and advances, he is friendly and affable. He knows the name and history of every employee, he eats lunch with the janitors every other week, if his time permits. He genuinely cares about his employees, and does his best to keep the them safe from machinations of the Chamber. Still, Maximillian is a super villain, even if he no longer wears the colorful armor of the Commander. He has a ruthless side, having masterminded several of the Chamber's plans, and even if he is the voice that will advocate keeping innocents safe, he is more than willing to go through with anything, if it means furthering his own goals. His ultimate goal? To rule everything. Emerald City is just the start, the testing phase of his plans for the world. After all, Maximillian Mars is a nice man, but he also knows that he is a genius, and he really do know better than everyone else. Powers & Tactics: Maximillian will rarely, if ever, directly confront others in combat. Those days are simply behind him, and he would much rather play mind games, or, if it comes to it, send henchmen, mercenaries or even MarsTech security to deal with any potential trouble. He keeps his involvement in any scheme a secret, perhaps even more so than the rest of the Chamber. Power Descriptions: Maximillian posses no overt super powers, but he incredibly intelligent, able to process knowledge much faster than the vast majority of humanity. His Commander armor is currently in storage, but can be used if necessary. Complications: Better a Villain than Bored: Maximillian wants fame and riches. He wants everyone to respect him, and he has achieved all that. Legally, too. So why do he is he still a member of the Chamber? Why do he still manipulate Emerald City, if he does not always need to? Simple: Boredom. What better way to fall into a lull? The Commander: The stock of MarsTech would surely drop should Maximillian's true nature as a villain and a member of the Chamber come to light. MarsTech: Maximillian genuinely cares about his employees at MarsTech. Abilities: 4 + 2 + 6 + 20 + 8 + 8 = 48PP Strength: 14 (+2) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 16 (+3) Intelligence: 30 (+10) Wisdom: 18 (+4) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat: 8 + 18 = 24PP Initiative: +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +4 Base, +10 Melee (+4 Base, +6 Attack Focus), +4 Ranged, +12 Commander Suit Weapons (+4 Base, +8 Attack Specialization) Defense: +9 (+9 Base,), +5 Flat-Footed Grapple: +12 (+10 Attack, +2 Str) Knockback: -2/-1 (Toughness /2) Saving Throws: 5 + 8 + 9 = 22PP Toughness: +5 (+3 Con, +2 Undercover Shirt) Fortitude: +8 (+3 Con, +5) Reflex: +9 (+1 Dex, +8) Will: +13 (+4 Wis, +9) Skills: 168R = 42PP Bluff 15 (+19) Climb 6 (+8) Craft [Electronic] 15 (+25)Skill Mastery Craft [Mechanical] 15 (+25)Skill Mastery Diplomacy 12 (+16) Drive 6 (+7) Intimidation 12 (+16) Investigation 6 (+16) Knowledge [Business] 12 (+22)Skill Mastery Knowledge [Life Sciences] 6 (+16)Note: Focused on superhumans Knowledge [Physical Sciences] 15 (+25)Skill Mastery Medicine 3 (+7) Notice 12 (+16) Pilot 6 (+7) Profession [Criminal Mastermind] 9 (+13) Sense Motive 12 (+16) Swim 6 (+8) Feats: 27PP Attack Focus [Melee] 6 Attack Specialization [Commander Suit] 8 Benefit 3 (Wealth) Benefit 1 (CEO of MarsTech) Connected Contacts Distract (Bluff) Equipment 1 Fascinate (Bluff) Improved Initiative Inventor Skill Mastery (Craft [Electronics], Craft [Mechanical], Knowledge [Business], Knowledge [Physical Sciences]) Well-Informed Equipment: 1PP = 5EP Undercover Shirt (Protection 2, subtle) [3EP] Smartphone Powers: 3 = 3PP Quickness 6 (Descriptive Name; Flaws: Limited [Mental tasks only]) [3PP] (descriptors) Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block Name Range Save Effect Attack bonus Unarmed Touch DC17 Tou (staged) Damage +10 Totals: Abilities (48) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (22) + Skills (42) + Feats (27) + Powers (3) - Drawbacks (0) = 166/166 Power Points

In Brief: Jason Chorde + Non-Snarky Harry Dresden + Gender-flipped Witch-skin Mercy with Winston's barrier projector Character: Hex Power Level: 12 (Built as PL9) Tradeoffs: None Power Points: 185/187 PP Unspent Points: 2 Alternate Identity: Leonard "Len" Kepler Identity: Secret Legal Status: USA citizen with no criminal record Birthplace: By the side of a county road in rural Oregon, USA Base of Operations: Emerald City, Oregon/Washington, USA Residence: A small house-barge moored on the Southern Shore Occupation: Wizard Affiliations: Briana Whitethorne (Mentor), Mr. Hewitt (Ghost Butler), Various Elemental Spirits who maintain and defend his headquarters Family: Mother, Father, Two Younger Siblings (A set of fraternal twins, Brother and Sister), Various extended family members DESCRIPTION Age: 24 (Date of Birth: 1995) Apparent Age: 24 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian American mutt of mixed ancestry, including, but not limited to, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, and Scandinavian Height: 6’4" Weight: 285 lbs. Hair: Blond Eyes: Green (Gold when using magic) Hex carries a black wooden staff almost as tall as he is, carved from ebony and etched with dozens of runes. He wears a sleeveless indigo robe that goes down to about mid-calf, over a lighter lavender tunic. The robe has a high upturned collar, and is affixed to the tunic with a pair of brooches sitting just under his collar bones, purple sapphires about the size of chicken eggs cut into a hexagonal shape and set into gold. The tunic goes down to just above his knees, and is belted at the waist with an indigo sash. The chest of the tunic is embroidered with a black disc containing white lines arranged in a "Flower of Life" design, 19 small interlocking white circles arranged in a hexagon pattern inside one larger circle. The part of the tunic below the waist is slit to divide it into six flaps. Indigo trim traces along the bottom of the tunic. The baggy sleeves of the tunic are tucked into white leather bracers. The left bracer is also etched with runes, and studded with another gold-set egg-sized hexagonal-cut purple sapphire. Below the tunic he wears a pair of baggy indigo leggings, tucked into knee-high white leather boots with large fold-over cuffs. Over his eyes, he wears a set of leather goggles. The strap is soft leather, while the part around the eyes is boiled hard leather. The lenses appear to be glass, but are actually crystal, transparent from the inside but opaque from the outside. When he uses his magic, his irises take on a slight golden glow, which sometimes shines brightly enough to be visible from behind the goggles. When not actively wizarding, his enchanted vestments transform into normal clothing which makes him look like just another Pacific Northwest hipster: A zip-up hooded jacket, blue jeans, combat boots, and a red and black plaid flannel shirt. His goggles turn into vintage-style black square-frame glasses with non-prescription lenses. His bracer morphs into a hexagonal wristwatch with a broken motor, the hands stuck permanently at 6 o'clock ("It's right twice a day!"). Len's body type is colloquially known as a "bear" or a "dad-bod." He's bulky, and extremely hairy, from head to toe. The hair below his neck is significantly darker than the hair on his head, making it stand out. The bulk is mostly muscle, which his body builds easily, layered over a wide frame (he really is "big-boned"), but it's covered with enough fat (which his body also accumulates easily) to completely obscure any definition. His head and hands are both slightly larger in proportion to his body than a normal adult, which makes him appear overall even bulkier. HISTORY Leonard Kepler was born in the right place at the right time. His parents lived in Emerald City, and it was expected that he would be born there. However, during his mother's ninth month of pregnancy, her father, his maternal grandfather, died suddenly. His parents had to drive out to the remote small town in rural Oregon where he lived for the funeral. They had no idea that their route passed close by a nexus point where several "ley lines" of magical energy crossing the planet intersected, spilling that magical energy into the nearby area. They also didn't know that they passed under a very specific and rare alignment of stars in the sky. Leonard's mother went into labor on the way to her father's funeral, and delivered her son into a point of time and space which imbued him with a natural talent for channeling magical energy and imposing his will upon it. His parents made it just in time for the funeral, with the new baby in tow, making the whole occasion emotionally complicated for all involved. Len's childhood was unremarkable at first. He excelled academically, so his parents made sure to move wherever they could find the best schools in town. The best schools were always in rich neighborhoods, so his family, despite being poor, always wound up living on the periphery of rich neighborhoods, and he always wound up being the one poor kid in a class full of yuppies and trust-fund brats. He seemed normal until he was 8 years old, when his talent began to manifest, mostly in the form of astoundingly unlikely mechanical failures everywhere he went. He was always big for his age, but when puberty hit, he grew like a weed. The combination of being a "teacher's pet," a "fat ogre," poor, and a walking technical difficulty was more than the adolescent could take, so he began lashing out. This caused the manifestations of his magical talents to intensify, which eventually drew supernatural attention to him. As a goddess of Chaos, Eris, also known as Discordia (see Threat Report), became aware of Len when he was eleven years old, and sent her minions to recruit him. Fortunately for Len, and probably the rest of the world, that effort was foiled by Briana Whitethorne, an old-school broom-riding, wand-firing, cauldron-stirring, gravelly voiced, Scotch-drinking, pipe-smoking, dirty joke telling ("Hey, grasp my rod! Hah!") witch. Briana intercepted and defeated the minions of Eris, and convinced Len's parents to let her take him on as her apprentice. For the next twelve years, while his siblings went to school, Len spent nine months out of every year by Briana's side, studying and practicing in her pocket-dimension home, and taking frequent jaunts across the multiverse, dimension-hopping to alternate Earths, visiting different time periods, and even traveling to more exotic planes of existence, like the Astral and the Elemental Realms. Briana appeared to be in her mid-fifties, but various interactions and artifacts Len observed over the years suggested she was much older. Briana taught Len how to use spells, conduct rituals, and forge and brew magical talismans and potions, to control, direct, and when necessary, unleash the magical energy he tapped into. Almost as a by-product of the different magical traditions they researched, he wound up with a knowledge base of history and mythology worthy of a graduate degree in several different humanities. In 2018, after a dozen years, Briana declared one day, with no warning and little fanfare, that Len was her student no longer, but a wizard in his own right, and announced her intention to leave, though she did not say where (or when?) she was going. She bequeathed the pocket universe and all its contents to Len as a "graduation present," pulling up its dimensional anchor and folding up the whole thing into a literal deed which she signed over to him before departing. He decided to purchase a house-barge moored on the Emerald City coast and anchor the pocket dimension there, where he could keep a safe distance from the heart of the city while still having relatively easy access to it. From there, he casts daily divinations to determine when and where he'll be needed to protect the city and its people. PERSONALITY & MOTIVATION In any comedy duo, Len would be the Straight Man that a Wacky Zany Guy would play off of. He carried a lot of anger when he was a child, but his training with Briana, especially in meditation, helped him to let go of that anger a long time ago. When he learned how to control his magic, he also learned how to control his feelings. The angry kid grew up to be a mellow adult, a "gentle giant" who just tries to be nice to people, help out, do the right thing, and avert or de-escalate conflicts instead of initiating or exacerbating them. He radiates a calm, quiet confidence that many people find disarming (a confidence borne of over a decade of traveling the multiverse and escaping or fighting off Death in many forms), with a big smile that comes easily and spreads all the way up to his eyes. When he's not saving the world, or researching new ways to save the world, he likes to curl up with a cup of coffee and a good book, or sing and play on his guitar (at which he's middling, at best). He's a regular at one of the rare local coffee houses that doesn't have wi-fi, for obvious reasons. POWERS & TACTICS Hex has a natural talent for tapping into and channeling the "raw and chaotic magical energy" of The Phoros, another dimension inhabited by beings of the same name, "immortal, immaterial, glowing spheres of light and fire." (See The Book of Magic.) His magical training focused on bringing Order out of that primordial Chaos to which he was attuned, in several different ways. He can cast spells, conduct rituals, or imbue physical items with magic power. Generally, the more time and labor intensive the method of shaping and controlling the magic, the less chance there is of it "leaking out" and wreaking havoc on himself or his environment (see "Walking Techbane" under "Complications," below). He casts spells by quickly speaking incantations and tracing symbols in the air with his fingers. The words are mostly from ancient Atleantean and Lemurian dialects, though they sometimes include snippets of more "mundane" ancient languages, like Egyptian, Greek, Latin, Old Norse, or Sanskrit. They are mostly invocations, entreaties, or references to various mystical entities, realms, and forces across the multiverse. Some of the symbols he traces in the air are Atlantean or Lemurian runes (though, again, sometimes they belong to more "mundane" dead tongues), while others are sigils he created himself, which would require study of his own notes in his private spellbooks to understand. Often, while casting, golden flames will erupt from his eyes and surround his hands, and his fingers will leave burning streaks in the air which will linger for several moments. When trying to go unnoticed, he can whisper or mutter the incantations, and suppress the light show, but the spells are usually more effective when the casting is more bombastic and theatrical. This is the use of his magic which generates the desired effect most quickly, but which is also the most likely to disrupt local technology and/or "snap back" on him, so he limits himself to minor utility spells. He can also conduct lengthy rituals, using a complex combination of spoken incantations, physical movements, runes drawn or carved upon objects and/or the surrounding environment, certain clothes worn (or not worn), and employing all manner of special props or ingredients, ranging from candle flames to animal body parts. His most common application for this use of his magic is to draw an arcane circle upon the ground and cast specially-crafted rune stones into it, in order to divine past and future events, in a manner similar to Scandinavian mystics (though the runes carved upon his stones are all sigils of his own design). He does this regularly in order to figure out when and where his aid will be needed. This use of his magic is less likely to disrupt local technology or harm himself than spell casting, but it is also far more time and labor intensive. Finally, he can imbue magical energy into physical items. This method of magic use is by far the most time and labor intensive for him, but is also the one least likely to cause chaotic side-effects, as it imposes the most direct and permanent "Order" upon the innate "Chaos" of his magic. The items are most effective and resilient when he crafts them himself, which is why his tutelage under Briana included "mundane" skills like sewing, carpentry, and metalsmithing. Then he etches magical runes, mostly sigils of his own design, into the object. Often, the etchings are filled in with ink or dust which includes exotic ingredients. Most of the magical items he crafts are temporary in nature, limited use protective charms or brewed potions which provide some power after consumption which wears off once the liquids have been fully metabolized. The few permanent items he has created involved "locking down" a significant portion of his own personal magical talent, basically carving off a piece of his own soul and trapping it inside the object. If the object were destroyed, that piece of his soul would come rushing back into him, with potentially explosive results. Hex's magic focuses mainly on the summoning, shaping, and unleashing of direct "force," a magical version of pure kinetic energy. To protect himself and others, he uses the runes embedded in his robes to create selectively-permeable force fields and constructs, in the form of glowing golden transparent floating hexagons. To shelter large groups or to protect people from explosions or falling debris, he'll create domes or walls made up of multiple interlocking hexagons, what some would call a "beehive barrier." When he requires personal defense, he'll create one or more hexagons of various sizes, some connected and some not, which will hover and orbit around him, rapidly repositioning themselves and clustering together as necessary to block incoming attacks. Other runes woven into the back of his robes harness that same force to create giant feathered wings of pure energy which allow him to fly. The runes carved into his staff, meanwhile, allow him to cast healing spells, or, if combat is required, to cover the staff in one of several different glowing auras, each a different color accompanying a different effect. One punches opponents away, while another punches through them, and a third ignores their physical body to punch their soul (or rough equivalent). Hex also dabbles in dimensional magic, mostly for travel and storage, and minor divination (obtain information, find what is lost), conjuration (create something from nothing) and transmutation (alter the something that already exists) spells for utility. He doesn't use any mind-controlling or mind-altering magic, or any necromancy aside from the "white necromancy" of healing wounds and curing diseases, in both cases more for ethical reasons than on account of any lack of aptitude. Hex has his talent for channeling magic because of when and where he was born, but that talent has nothing to do with genetics. His parents are both physically unremarkable, and any examination or testing of his body or genes would show a "normal" baseline human. The change brought on by the circumstances of his birth was not to his body, but to his soul. In combat, Hex's first priority is always to see to the safety of victims and innocent bystanders. He'll throw up protective barriers, heal the wounded, spirit people away from the combat zone, and otherwise use his powers and even his own body to intercept any potential harm to civilians first, only actually crossing swords with supervillains if it's the last option. If he does engage in direct combat, then he tries to keep a cool head, use the minimum force required, and offer the villains multiple chances to surrender peacefully. If they finally do surrender, he'll take them up on it without hesitation, even if they spurned previous offers. COMPLICATIONS Disruption: There is no such thing as perfect order. Some chaos always slips out. Every system, no matter how efficient, wastes some energy. If Hex fails a Concentration check to maintain a power, then in addition to letting the power switch off, the GM can give him a Hero Point in exchange for declaring that he has lost control of his magic; it "misfires" in some way that causes something bad to happen. (Based on the drawback introduced in The Book of Magic.) Enemy (Eris): Eris still hasn't forgotten the boy who spurned her. Her minions clashed with Briana and Len several times during Len's apprenticeship. And now that the boy is a man, Briana isn't around to protect him anymore. The GM can give him a Hero Point in exchange for Eris or her minions or pawns attacking or otherwise disrupting him at the worst possible times. Honor: Some villains are going to escape or gain some sort of advantage because Hex will be too busy helping an innocent bystander to stop them. Other villains are going to get surprise attacks on Hex because they offered a phony surrender or begged for mercy and he relented. Obligations (Family, Mentor): If Briana or his family call for his help, he'll drop everything and run to their aid. The GM can give him a Hero Point in exchange for having them request his aid at the worst possible times. Prejudice: While out on the town, Len disguises himself as just another hipster, and for better or for worse, a lot of people are going to treat him as such. The GM can give him a Hero Point in exchange for a penalty or automatic failure on a Diplomacy check if the NPC hates what they think Len represents. Rivalry (Siblings): Len's siblings have been justifiably jealous of his awesome magical life at several points during their emotional development, and others could potentially play on that jealousy, either to gain information about him, or even to enlist direct aid in harming him. Even if one of them had to be mind-controlled into betraying him, they would suffer a penalty to resist that mind control effect, since it would play on their existing darkest desires. Secret (Identity): Len has a loving local family, and any adversaries who learned about his double life could threaten or harm them. Walking Techbane: The type of magic Hex uses is fundamentally incompatible with technology. His magic comes from Chaos, and Technology is an application of Order. Technology uses the existing laws of physics to perform tasks, while his magic changes and distorts the local laws of physics. The use of his magic, and sometimes merely his presence, causes Reality to fight with itself, and the outcome is never certain. For Hex, using magic in the vicinity of machines is like shoving his hand into the innards of an active engine. It's possible that his hand will be fine, but that the engine parts will break or slip out of place, bringing the whole thing grinding to a halt. It's also possible that his hand will be shredded but the engine will go on running without noticing. Or it's possible that his hand will be shredded and the engine will break. Any time Hex uses his magic near a machine (the GM can decide what "near" means), the GM can give him a Hero Point in exchange for inflicting one or more of the following consequences: Hex's effective power rank is reduced. Hex's power effect just fails. Hex suffers Damage, or some other Attack power effect. One or more nearby machines malfunctions, shuts off, surges, shorts out, and/or breaks. Hex hits one or more nearby machines with an Uncontrolled Nullify effect, and/or an Uncontrolled Damage or Disintegrate effect, effectively Linked to whatever power he was using, possibly with the Side-Effect flaw (so that he will suffer Damage or some other Attack power effect if the machines make their saving throws). ABILITIES 36PP Strength: 18 (+4) (Heavy Load: 300 lbs.) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: 18 (+4) Intelligence: 16 (+3) Wisdom: 16 (+3) Charisma: 18 (+4) COMBAT 16PP Initiative: +0 (+0 Dex) Attack: +4, +8 Magic Staff Grapple: +8 (+4 Melee Attack, +4 Str) Defense: +8/+4 (+4 Base, +4 Magic Robes), +4/+2 Flat-Footed Toughness: +10/+4 (+4 Con, +6 Force Field) Knockback Resistance: 5/2 ATTACK RANGE SAVING THROW EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC19 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Staff Strike Touch +5ft DC21 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Staff Strike (Blue Aura) Touch +5ft DC19 Fortitude (Harmless) Healing + Boost Staff Strike (Gold Aura) Touch +5ft Opposed Trip vs +10 Prone + Knockback DC25 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy) Staff Strike (Red Aura) Touch +5ft DC20 Fortitude (Staged) Drain Toughness DC25 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy, Lethal) Staff Strike (Violet Aura) Touch +5ft DC20 Will (Staged) Drain Wisdom DC25 Will (Staged) Damage (Energy) Force Construct (Dropped) Touch* DC19 Reflex Avoided DC24 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy) Force Construct (Trap) Touch DC19 Reflex Trapped inside object Finding Spell 200 miles DC19 Will Limited ESP Element/Energy Spells Perception DC11 Fortitude (Staged) Drain Toughness DC16 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Any “Magic”) Telekinesis Perception/Area Opposed Grapple vs +1 Pinned/Bound DC16 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy) Dimensional Pocket Touch/Grapple DC16 Reflex Trapped inside pocket dimension *The force constructs can only be created at Touch-range, but if he were flying or otherwise elevated, he could potentially create one in mid-air and then drop it onto one or more enemies. SAVING THROWS 15PP Fortitude: +8 (+4 Con, +4PP) Reflex: +8/+4 (+0 Dex, +4 Magic Robes, +4PP) Will: +10 (+3 Wis, +7PP) SKILLS 108R = 27PP Concentration 10 (+13) Craft (Artistic) 12 (+15) Craft (Structural) 12 (+15) Diplomacy 11 (+15) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 17 (+20) Knowledge (Cosmology) 7 (+10) Knowledge (History) 7 (+10) Knowledge (Theology/Philosophy) 7 (+10) Languages 2 (Atlantean, English [Native], Lemurian) Notice 7 (+10) Perform (Singing) 1 (+5) Perform (Stringed Instruments) 1 (+5) Search 7 (+10) Sense Motive 7 (+10) FEATS 5PP Artificer Attack Specialization (Magic Staff) Equipment 8 (40EP)Veteran Reward Interpose Ritualist Trance EQUIPMENT 8PP = 38/40EP Acoustic Guitar [1EP] Masterwork Chalk & Rune Stones [1EP] Masterwork Compass [1EP] Fixed-Gear Bicycle (Vehicle) [6EP] Size: Medium [0EP] Defense: 0 (DC10) [0EP] Toughness: 6 [1EP] Strength: 20 (Medium Load: 266 lbs.) [2EP] Powers: [3EP] Features 1 (Marked with a magic rune) [1EP] Speed 2 (25MPH) [2EP] Pocket Dimension Inside A Barge House (PL12 HQ) [29EP] On the outside, a small trailer home sitting on a flat-bottom boat, little more than a raft with a motor attached. On the inside, a mansion. The interior structure is maintained and defended by a few dozen elemental spirits, organized by Mr. Hewitt, the ghost butler who served Briana Whitethorne and decided to remain with the estate when it changed hands. One room contains a standing portal to the Elemental Realms. The elemental spirits are of limited intelligence, greater than a normal animal but less than that of a person. Most of them take the forms of animals, such as dogs and birds. The spirits can use that portal freely to return to their home dimension at any time; they are not slaves. However, in order to enter the estate from the Elemental Realms, they must accept a voluntary geas which imposes a non-aggression pact between them, and obligates them to clean, repair, and defend the manse for as long as they choose to occupy it, in exchange for a regular supply of "treats" for them to consume. These "treats" mostly consist of manifestations of opposing elements which they can consume. For example, the water spirits are usually provided with fire for them to quench. Mr. Hewitt is the ghost of an Englishman. He appears as a translucent pale blue version of his former self, with a wisp of blue mist instead of legs. He is not bound to the manse; in fact, he refers to it as his "refuge." He politely deflects any attempts to pry into his reasons for staying and serving the household. Cryptic comments have indicated that he was a butler in life as well, and that he lived through both World Wars. Size: Diminutive Exterior / Large Interior [2EP] Toughness: 10 [1EP] Features: [26EP] Defense System 4 (Damage, Snare, Suffocate, Trip) (Spirits) Dimensional Portal (Elemental Realms of Air, Earth, Fire, & Water) Dual Size Fire Prevention System (Spirits) Greenhouse Holding Cells 2 (Toughness 15, Nullify) Library 2 (Masterwork) Living Space Personnel (Spirits) Pool Powers 2 (36/48PP) Comprehend 3 (Languages 2 [Speak Any/All Simultaneously], Spirits, Extras: Affects Others, Area [General, Stationary, Burst], Flaws: Limited [Others], Feats: Progression [Area Size] 4 [100ft/rank = 300ft radius]) [13PP] (Translation Runes) Communication 7 (Range: 200 miles, Sense Type: Mental, Extras: Area, Linked [ESP], Flaws: Limited [One-Way], Medium [Reflective Surfaces], Feats: Dimensional [Earth-Prime], Selective) [6PP] (Scrying Mirror) ESP 7 (Range: 200 miles, Sense Types: Auditory + Visual, Extras: Duration [Sustained], Simultaneous, Flaws: Action 2 [Full], Medium [Reflective Surfaces]) [14PP] When Hex uses the mirror, every reflective surface within the area becomes a potential window through which he can see and hear. If an intelligent creature is near one of those surfaces, Hex can communicate with them telepathically. They will see his image in the mirror, and hear his voice as if he were speaking to them, but it's all in their mind. They will have to speak or write to reply, so any other observers will see or hear them normally, but those other observers will only catch a glimpse of Hex in the mirror and hear his voice if they make a DC17 Notice check. Features 1 (Temporal Inertia) [1PP] (Pocket Dimension Outside of Space and Time) Swimming 2 (5MPH) [2EP] The physical motor attached to the rear of the barge doesn't work. It's just for show. When Hex needs to move the barge, he activates runes etched into the underside to summon a water elemental. Sealed (Defensive Runes) Security System 2 (DC25) (Defensive Runes) Self-Repairing (Spirits) Think-Tank (Spirits) Workshop 4 (Mundane Crafts, Magical Inventions, Both Masterwork) 1 + 1 + 1 + 6 + 29 = 38EP POWERS 86PP Devices 11 (55PP Container [Passive, Permanent], Flaws: Hard-To-Lose, Feats: Quick Change [Transforms into normal clothes and accessories as a Free Action], Restricted [Magic users]) [46PP] Magic Robes: [28PP] (Transforms into normal clothing) Enhanced Defense 4 (Extras: Linked [Enhanced Reflex, Force Field, Immunity]) [8PP] ("Abbridon’s Aegis") Enhanced Reflex 4 (Extras: Linked [Enhanced Defense, Force Field, Immunity]) [4PP] Force Field 6 (Extras: Linked [Enhanced Defense, Enhanced Reflex, Immunity], Feats: Selective) [7PP] Immunity 2 (Critical Hits, Extras: Force Field [Free Action, Sustained Duration], Linked [Enhanced Defense, Enhanced Reflex, Force Field], Flaws: Unreliable [50%]) [1PP] Flight 3 (50MPH / 500ft per Move Action) [6PP] ("Abbridon’s Wings") Immunity 2 (Environmental Cold, Environmental Heat) [2PP] ("Abbridon's Succor") Magic Bracer: [14PP] (Transforms into a wristwatch) Create Object 9 (Max Volume: 9 cubes, Max Toughness: 9, Lifting Strength: 45 [Heavy Load: 6 tons], Extras: Linked [Environment Control], Flaws: Range [Touch], Feats: Progression [Max Volume] 1 [10ft cubes], Selective, Stationary, Tether) [13PP] (Force Constructs, "Abbridon’s Aegis") Environment Control 1 (Light [Level 2], Area: 5ft radius, Extras: Linked [Create Object], Flaws: Range [Touch]) [1PP] (Glowing Force Constructs, "Abbridon's Lantern") Magic Goggles: [13PP] (Transforms into a pair of glasses) Comprehend 1 (Languages 1 [Read Any]) [2PP] ("Eyes of Ios") Super-Senses 4 (All Visual-type senses, Extras: Counters Concealment, Counters Illusion) [4PP] ("Eyes of Ios") Super-Senses 10 (Magic Awareness, Descriptor Frequency: Very Common, Sense Type: Visual [Default: Accurate, Acute, Ranged], Extras: Counters Obscure ["Darkness" Descriptor], Penetrates Concealment, Tracking, Flaws: Limited [Counters Obscure only works for an individual sense, the Magic Awareness, not the entire Visual sense type], Drawbacks: Power Loss [Penetrates Concealment cannot penetrate Lead, Frequency: Uncommon]) [8PP] (Magic Aura Vision, "Eyes of Ios") Vulnerability (Visual Sensory effects, while Super-Senses are active, Frequency: Uncommon, Intensity: Minor [+1 DC]) [-1PP] Device 7 (35PP Container [Passive, Permanent], Flaws: Easy-To-Lose, Feats: Restricted [All powers except the Staff Strike are restricted to Magic users]) [22PP] (Magic Staff) Environment Control 1 (Light [Level 2], Area: 5ft radius, Extras: Action 2 [Free], Flaws: Range [Touch]) [3PP] ("Abbridon's Lantern") Magic Staff 14 (28PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 4) [32PP] Base Power: [5PP] (Staff Strike) Damage 2 (Feats: Accurate, Extended Reach [10ft], Mighty) [5PP] Alternate Power: [28PP] (Azure Aura, "Abbridon’s Healing Touch") Healing 9 (Extras: Action [Standard], Restorative, Flaws: Limited [Others], Feats: Extended Reach [10ft]) [28PP] Alternate Power: [28PP] (Golden Aura, "Abbridon's Rebuke") Damage 6 (Extras: Linked [Trip], Feats: Accurate, Extended Reach [10ft], Knockback 8 [Effective Damage 18], Mighty) [17PP] Trip 10 (Extras: Knockback, Linked [Damage], Flaws: Range [Touch], Feats: Improved Throw) [11PP] Alternate Power: [28PP] (Violet Aura, "Ghost Strike," "Soul Strike," "Abbridon’s Judgement") Drain Wisdom 10 (Extras: Alternate Save [Will], Linked [Damage], Feats: Accurate, Extended Reach [10ft], Drawbacks: Full Power) [11PP] Damage 6 (Extras: Alternate Save [Will, 10 ranks], Linked [Drain], Feats: Mighty) [17PP] Alternate Power: [28PP] (Crimson Aura, "Jaws of Vhoka The Devourer") Drain Toughness 10 (Extras: Affects Objects, Linked [Damage], Feats: Accurate, Extended Reach [10ft], Incurable, Drawbacks: Full Power) [22PP] Damage 6 (Extras: Linked [Drain], Feats: Mighty, Drawbacks: Lethal) [6PP] Magic 5 (10PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 8) [18PP] Base Power: [10PP] (Channeling Raw Magical Energy, Chaos Magic, "Flames of Phoros") Drain Toughness 9 (Extras: Affects Objects, Area [General, Burst, 45ft radius], Linked [Damage, Nullify], Flaws: Distracting, Limited [Objects], Limited [Machines], Side-Effect [Damage], Drawbacks: Full Power) [2PP] Damage 9 (Extras: Area [General, Burst, 45ft radius], Linked [Drain, Nullify], Flaws: Distracting, Limited [Objects], Limited [Machines], Side-Effect [Damage]) [3PP] Nullify 9 (All “Technology” effects, Extras: Area [General, Burst, 45ft radius], Linked [Damage, Drain], Flaws: Distracting, Range [Touch], Side-Effect [Damage]) [5PP] Alternate Power: [10PP] (Conjuring Spells, "Weyan’s Wheel of Workings") Create Object 1 (Max Volume: 1 5ft cube, Lifting Strength: 5 [Heavy Load: 50 lbs.], Extras: Duration [Continuous], Range [Perception], Feats: Innate, Precise, Progression [Object Toughness] 5 [Max Toughness: 6], Subtle, Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [When unable to speak and gesture, Frequency: Common]) [10PP] Alternate Power: [9PP] (Element/Energy Control Spells) Drain Toughness 1 (Extras: Affects Objects, Linked [Damage], Range 2 [Perception], Feats: Precise, Subtle, Variable Descriptor 2 [Any "Magic"], Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [When unable to speak and gesture, Frequency: Common]) [6PP] Damage 1 (Extras: Linked [Drain], Range 2 [Perception]) [3PP] Alternate Power: [10PP] (Dimensional Magic, "Ahgrazul’s Vault") Dimensional Pocket 1 (Extras: Duration 3 [Continuous, Lasting], Flaws: Medium [Existing pockets and containers], Requires Grapple, Feats: Progression [Cargo] 8 [25 tons], Subtle, Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [When unable to speak and gesture, Frequency: Common]) [10PP] Alternate Power: [10PP] (Force Magic, Telekinesis, "Hands of Lamal") Move Object 1 (Lifting Strength: 5 [Heavy Load: 50 lbs.], Extras: Area [General, Burst], Damaging, Range [Perception], Selective, Feats: Precise, Progression [Area Size] 4 [100ft/rank = 100ft radius], Subtle, Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [When unable to speak and gesture, Frequency: Common]) [10PP] Alternate Power: [9PP] (Divination Magic, Rune-Casting Ritual) Super-Senses 8 (Postcognition, Precognition, Extras: Simultaneous, Drawbacks: Action 4 [1 minute], Noticeable, Power Loss 2 [When unable to conduct ritual, draw an elaborate circle on the ground, and/or when deprived of specially prepared rune stones, Frequency: Common]) [9PP] Alternate Power: [10PP] (Divination Magic, Finding Spell) Telelocation 7 (Range: 200 miles, Extras: Duration [Sustained, Lasting], Flaws: Limited [Only learns the target's direction relative to him, not their exact location], Medium [Requires a piece of the target, or an object heavily infused with the target's resonance], Feats: Progression [Counter Rank / Saving Throw] 2 [Rank 9 / DC19], Rapid 8 [x100,000,000, Take 20 to Search maximum area in less than a second as a Free Action], Drawbacks: Action [1 minute], Noticeable, Power Loss 2 [When target is hidden behind a lead barrier, or when deprived of specially prepared compass, Frequency: Common]) [10PP] Alternate Power: [10PP] (Dimensional Magic, Folding Space, Teleportation, "Gates of Ios") Teleport 4 (Range: 1 mile, Extras: Accurate, Portal [Duration: Concentration], Flaws: Action [Move Action to open portal], Distracting [Flat-Footed on any round when he opens or maintains a portal], Medium [Existing Doors], Feats: Change Direction, Dimensional [Between Earth-Prime and Pocket Dimension HQ], Progression [Portal Size] 1 [10ft x 10ft], Subtle, Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [When unable to speak and gesture, Frequency: Common]) [10PP] Alternate Power: [10PP] (Transmutation Spells) Transform 1 (Any Inanimate Object Into Any Other Inanimate Object, Extras: Duration [Continuous, Lasting], Range [Perception], Feats: Progression [Mass] 3 [10 lbs.], Precise, Subtle, Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [When unable to speak and gesture, Frequency: Common]) [10PP] Examples of "Minor Transmutation Spells": Transform locked objects into unlocked objects. Transform broken/torn objects into repaired/mended objects. Transform dirty objects into clean objects. Transform wet objects into dry objects. Change the temperature of an object, to hot, cold, or lukewarm. Heat up food. Chill a drink. Change the taste of food or drink by transforming it into a differently-seasoned version of itself. Change the color of an object. Inscribe text onto an object, or erase text from an object. Abilities (36) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (15) + Skills (27) + Feats (5) + Powers (86) - Drawbacks (0) = 185/187 Power Points

The Iron Matron Power Level: 10 (163/163PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: (Fists of Iron) +4 Attack / -4 Damage, -2 Defense / +2 Toughness In Brief: SHADOW assassin with skin like iron turned caretaker and bodyguard of the Big Brain. Alternate Identity: Natalie Nelson (Secret) Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio Residence: Secret location, Emerald CityBase of Operations: Emerald CityOccupation: Caretaker and bodyguard of the Big BrainAffiliations: The Big Brain, (formerly) SHADOWFamily: Unknown mother and father, deceased. Description: Age: 55 (DoB: 1963) Gender: Female Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5'7'' (projected image) / 6'4'' Weight: 150 lbs. (projected image) / 350 lbs. Eyes: Blue Hair: Blonde At age 55, Natalie Nelson is still an attractive woman. She has kept herself in peak physical condition, and hasn’t let age slow her down. She stands at 5’7” with a willowy build and her face possesses an unassuming beauty. Her straight, shoulder-length blonde hair is normally kept in a utilitarian bun and she spends most of her days wearing a nurse’s uniform. When the Big Brain sends her out in the field, which happens very rarely, the Iron Matron wears a black leather dress reminiscent of a nurse’s uniform. A pair of small red circles with a white cross in the center adorns the front of her costume near the hips, while similar circles attached to red bows embellishes the tops of her stockings. On her feet she wears black stilettos, that in no way interfere with her fighting ability. Her identity is protected by a small black domino mask. This is all a lie, hidden behind a holographic device that continuously projects the image. Natalie is in reality 6'4'', weighing at least 350 lbs., with a powerful, muscular build. A strong woman's build, broad shouldered, muscular. Her skin is not just like iron, it is iron. Though once her iron skin was shiny, almost like a mirror, it has dulled in the years between. The creaks and joints of her body has begun to rust, and her once almost beautiful metallic skin is filled with blemishes and dents from a life of combat. History: Natalie Nelson was an agent of the criminal organization SHADOW. An assassin and martial artist, she earned her code-name from her iron skin, a mutation she possessed from birth. Given up for adoption soon after, she was snatched up by SHADOW. While a formidable ability, her iron skin also left her unable to feel any touch, leading to her becoming isolated from the world around her, easily manipulated into joining SHADOW by the always unfulfilled promise of a cure. SHADOW’s founder, Overshadow, sent her to recruit the Big Brain while he was still in the hospital. Overshadow felt the nascent super villain would make an excellent addition to SHADOW’s growing stable of super-powered operatives. However, if the Big Brain refused his generous offer, the Iron Matron was to eliminate him, making it appear his artificial life support had failed. But Overshadow underestimated the Big Brain’s powers, even at that early stage of his development. The budding criminal mastermind saw what the Iron Matron had in store for him in the recesses of Natalie’s consciousness, but rather than lashing out and destroying her mind, Big Brain gave Natalie what she had always dreamed of: The sensation of touch. Through the use of his powers, Big Brain could let Natalie felt what others felt, or even simulate the responses that a touch would bring her. The Iron Matron defected immediately, leaving SHADOW to take care of the Big Brain as his caretaker and bodyguard, keeping his body alive and protected. Whether the Big Brain truly sees her worth or not, he seems content to simply help the Iron Matron feel, rather than exercising his mind control powers, making her one of the few persons to be truly loyal the Big Brain. Personality & Motivation: The Iron Matron is a hard woman. She is direct, and suffers no nonsense, moving quickly and decisively to eliminate any threats to the Big Brain. She is absolutely devoted to the Big Brain. She will protect him to her dying breath, though so far, it has been to the dying breath of his assailants. The Iron Matron will only rarely leave the Big Brain's side, not trusting anyone else to keep him safe. Powers & Tactics: The Iron Matron is an extraordinarily skilled martial artist, knowledgeable in many techniques that have helped make her an efficient and dangerous killer. Her skin is as hard as iron, which has the added benefit of turning her hands into bone-shattering implements of destruction. Though she does not eschew the use of weapons, she rarely has need of them. Power Descriptions: As the name implies, the Iron Matron is as hard as iron. While this makes her incredibly hard to hurt, it also means that the Iron Matron posses no sense of touch, which has isolated her greatly. Her true appearance hidden by a holographic device, the Iron Matron skin is not just as hard as iron, it actually appears to be iron. Complications: Motivation—Responsibility: The Iron Matron’s first and foremost responsibility is to keep the Big Brain safe. Relationship: The Iron Matron is intensely loyal to the Big Brain. Iron Skin: The Iron Matron's skin is iron. As great as this sounds, this also means that she do not posses any sense of touch, be it to harm or to pleasant experiences. It is only through the power of the Big Brain that she is able to experience the sensation of touch. Don't Look At Me: The Iron Matron is vain. She hates her true appearance, and will react negatively to anyone seeing her without her holographic disguise. Abilities: 4 + 8 + 8 + 4 + 0 + 1 = 25PP Strength: 14 (+2) Dexterity: 18 (+4) Constitution: 18 (+4) Intelligence: 14 (+2) Wisdom: 10 (0) Charisma: 12 (+1) Combat: 10 + 16 = 26PP Initiative: +8 (+4 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +5 Base, +6 Melee (+5 Base, +1 Attack Focus), +11 Ranged (+5 Base, +6 Attack Focus), +14 Unarmed/Fists of Iron (+5 Base, +1 Attack Focus, + , +8 Attack Specialization) Defense: +8 (+8 Base), +4 Flat-Footed Grapple: +7 Knockback: -6 Saving Throws: 6 + 8 + 4 = 20PP Toughness: +12 (+4 Con, +8 [Impervious Protection]) Fortitude: +10 (+4 Con, +6) Reflex: +12 (+4 Dex, +8) Will: +4 (+0 Wis, +4) Skills: 132R = 33PP Acrobatics 12 (+16) Bluff 18 (+19) Climb 9 (+11) Disguise 18 (+19) Drive 6 (+10) Medicine 9 (+11) Profession [Assassin] 9 (+9) Notice 12 (+12) Pilot 6 (+10) Sleight of Hand 12 (+16) Stealth 12 (+16) Swim 9 (+13) Feats: 29PP Accurate Attack Agile Bluff All-Out Attack Attack Focus [Melee] 1 Attack Focus [Ranged] 6 Attack Specialization [Unarmed] 4 Benefit 1 (Cipher) Chokehold Equipment 3 Fearless Improved Initiative Improved Trip Instant Up Interpose Power Attack Quick Draw Seize Initiative Takedown 2 Equipment: 3PP = 15EP Heavy Pistol (Blast 4) [8EP] Knife (Damage 1 w. Mighty, Improved Critical) [3EP] Holographic Disguise Device (Illusion 1 [Visual] w. Duration 2, Limited [Human forms only]) [3EP] Powers: 16 + 16 = 32PP Impervious Protection 8 ("Body Like Iron"; Extras: Impervious) [16PP] (Metal, Mutation) Ironclad Offense 7.5 (15PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 1) [16PP] (Metal, Mutation, Training) BP: Fists Like Iron Rank (Linked) [15PP] {15/15PP} (Impact Damage Type) Damage 4 ("Fists Like Iron"; Extras: Penetrating 5, Feats: Mighty) [10PP] Enhanced Feat 5 (Improved Critical 2, Improved Disarm, Improved Sunder, Weapon Break) [5PP] AP: Deflect 4 ("Weapon-Breaking Stance"; Feats: Precise, Subtle 2) (Deflect all ranged attacks) {15/15PP} Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block Name Range Save Effect Attack bonus Unarmed Touch DC17 Tou (staged) Damage +14 Knife Touch DC18 Tou (staged) Damage +6, Crit 19-20 Heavy Pistol 40 ft. DC19 Tou (staged) Damage +11 Fists Like Iron Touch DC21 Tou (staged), Penetrating 5 Damage +14 Totals: Abilities (25) + Combat (26) + Saving Throws (18) + Skills (33) + Feats (29) + Powers (32) - Drawbacks (0) = 163/163 Power Points

The Big Brain Power Level: 12 (186/186PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: None In Brief: 60'es smartest boy in the world, fallen from grace. Mutated by a bizarre disease, he uses his giant brain and mental abilities as a criminal mastermind. Alternate Identity: Copernicus Oliver (Secret) Birthplace: London, United Kingdom Residence: Secret location, Emerald City Base of Operations: Emerald City Occupation: Criminal Mastermind, Head of F.O.E. Affiliations: The Chamber, F.O.E. Family: Unknown mother and father, deceased. Description: Age: 68 (DoB: 1950) Apparent Age: Difficult to tell, due to atrophied body and giant brain. Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian. Height: 5'6'' Weight: 260 lbs., with at least 90% of body weight coming from his brain Eyes: Unknown Hair: None Copernicus appears as a giant, pink, floating head, with a huge exposed brain, easily the size of the rest of the head. His eyes are yellow, as are his teeth, his face usually contorted into a grimace of anger, with heavy wrinkles making even his face appear brain-like. This is but a projection, created by the Big Brain to participate in the world. In reality, Copernicus Oliver is an atrophied body on a table, attached to a truly gigantic brain. It has been decades since his body was strong enough to life his head, and he appears almost like a corpse, kept alive by an artificial life support system. History: In the 1960s, Copernicus Oliver was touted on television quiz shows as “The Smartest Boy in the World”, and amassed a small fortune in winnings and endorsements before his fame waned after he failed to answer a single question correctly during Beatles Day on the show Q and A. His fame faded and he became another footnote in the history of the Golden Age of Television. Embarrassed, Oliver escaped the public eye, buying a sailboat called Friendly and setting out to sail around the world. Desperate to avoid England, Oliver set a course that took him across the Atlantic and then directly down the coast of Africa. Sailing was smooth until the Friendly was suddenly caught up in a storm that wrecked the boat on a rocky shore. Before he could be rescued, Oliver contracted a rare tropical disease that caused his brain to swell, putting him into a coma for three months. When Oliver awakened, he found himself at home in a hospital — and smarter than ever! Discovering he was also still in the grips of a fatal disease, Oliver turned his intelligence to finding a cure. Facing failure after six months of fevered research, Oliver instead attempted to accelerate the course of the disease, in hopes that he could unlock more of the power of his brain. Injecting himself with an experimental formula, Oliver screamed as his brain swelled against the confines of his skull. A thousand voices crowded into his mind, and he pushed back with a single command: “QUIET!” As everyone in the hospital paused at the voice they heard in their head, Copernicus Oliver died... and the Big Brain was born. Discovering that he could now speak to and command the minds of others, the Big Brain directed doctors to keep him alive and to remove the top of his skull to allow his brain to grow. Once that was accomplished, he needed a place to stay since the hospital and his old home were of no use to him. In order to build it, he’d need money... much more than he currently had. The Big Brain searched through the minds of the city until he found a criminal planning a bank robbery. The Big Brain helped him improve his plan in return for some of the proceeds from the robbery — the same deal the Brain would strike with dozens of other criminals as he assembled his new organization: F.O.E.. Initially, the Big Brain needed the money for himself, but over the years he’s come to enjoy the challenge of bringing villains together for missions and the power he has over a small army of super-beings. F.O.E.’s members assume the giant, disembodied brain that issues them orders is merely a projection disguising their leader’s true nature. Little do they suspect that the Big Brain’s actual appearance isn’t far off: a gigantic brain atop a nearly atrophied human body hidden away in a secret, secured location far away, projecting his will around the world! Personality & Motivation: The Big Brain is a thinker and a planner. Almost all other aspects of his personality have been left by the wayside over the years. He cares little for companionship and has little interest in the “animal” concerns of the physical world. He keeps his body alive because without it he will perish. The one thing he enjoys in life is feeling superior, which he prefers to achieve by outsmarting others. He abhors violence and only involves himself in combat when all other avenues have been exhausted. He prefers to let his underlings handle any violent confrontations, while he remains behind the scenes to direct their activities. Powers & Tactics: The Big Brain is one of the most—if not the most—powerful telepaths in the world, with the ability to project his consciousness anywhere on Earth, communicate with and mentally control others, inflict debilitating mental attacks, and read minds. However, physically, he’s a paraplegic with a brain so large and deformed his body is incapable of supporting it and his atrophied body has been bedridden for decades. If his body is found and threatened, he may be able to defend it by surrounding it with his mental projection, but if that’s not possible, he is defenseless. Power Descriptions: All of the Big Brain's powers are mental in nature. Unable to move on his own, he lives his life by projecting his senses and mind across the world. When the Big Brain projects himself to a given location, he appears as a giant, floating face with a gigantic brain. The powers of his mind is mostly visible in effect only, as he destroys, probes or dominates minds. Complications: Freakishly Large Brain: Though the Big Brain can project his senses, will, and powers around the world, his body is mostly useless and his head is too large to move under his own power. Motivation - Power: The Big Brain wants power. He wants to prove to the world that he’s the smartest, most influential criminal on the planet. Abilities: -2 - 4 + 0 + 20 + 4 + 6 = 24PP Strength: 8 (-1) Dexterity: 6 (-2) Constitution: 10 (+0) Intelligence: 30 (+10) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 16 (+3) Combat: 0 + 0 = 0PP Initiative: +14 (+10 Int, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +0 base Defense: +0 base Grapple: -1 Knockback: -0 / -10 for Remote Sensing Saving Throws: 6 + 0 + 16 = 22PP Toughness: +0/+20 (For ESP Feedback, ESP +8, Protection +12) Fortitude: +6 (+0 Con, +6) Reflex: -2 (-2 Dex, +0) Will: +18 (+2 Wis, +16) Skills: 80R = 20PP Bluff 12 (+15) Diplomacy 15 (+18) Intimidation 15 (+18) Knowledge [Civics] 8 (+18) Knowledge [Streetwise] 6 (+16) Knowledge [Tactics] 9 (+19) Notice 15 (+17) Feats: 4PP Eidetic Memory Jack-Of-All-Trades Speed of Thought Ultimate Effort (Will Saves) Powers: 11 + 51 + 54 = 116PP All powers have the Psionic/Mental and Mutation descriptors Mental Prowess 5.5 (11PP Container) [11PP] Enhanced Feat 1 (Improved Initiative) [1PP] Quickness 4 (Flaws: Mental Only; x10 normal speed) [2PP] Super-Senses 8 (Accurate Acute Radius Detect Psionic (5 ranks), Psionic Awareness (2 ranks), Radius Visual (1 rank)) [8PP] Power of the Mind! 24 (48 PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 3) [51PP] BP: Blast 12 ("Mental Blast"; Extras: Alternate Save [Will], Range 1 [Perception]) {48/48PP} AP: Mind Control 9 ("Mass Mental Domination"; Extras: Area [Burst], Conscious, Selective) {45/48PP} AP: Mind Control 12 ("Mental Domination" Extras: Conscious) {36/48PP} AP: Mind Reading 12 ("Mind Probe"; Extras: Sensory Link) {24/48PP} Telepathic Presence 27 (54PP Container ) [54PP] Communication 9 ("Big Brain Is Talking"; Extras: Area [Burst], Feats: Selective) (Mental Communication, Worldwide Range) [19PP] Big Brain Is Watching (Linked) [33PP] ESP 8 (Flaws: Feedback, Feats: Subtle 2) (Auditory, Mental/Psionic, Visual senses, Continental Range) [26PP] Feature 1 (Projected Image of Giant Brain) [1PP] Protection 12 (Flaws: Limited [only applies to Feedback to ESP]) [6PP] Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block Name Range Save Effect Attack bonus Unarmed Touch DC14 Tou (staged) Damage +0 Mind Probe Perception DC22 Will (staged) Can read surface thoughts N/A Mental Blast Perception DC27 Will (Staged) Mental Damage N/A Mental Domination Perception DC22 Will (staged) Mind Control N/A Mass Mental Domination Perception DC19 Will (staged) / DC19 Reflex Save for DC Mind Control N/A Totals: Abilities (24) + Combat (0) + Saving Throws (22) + Skills (20) + Feats (4) + Powers (116) - Drawbacks (0) = 186/186 Power Points

For NPC Tier, Emerald City refs count as creators for the Terror, if you want to use the Terror. The Terror Power Level: 12 (263/263PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: (Touch of Terror) -2 Attack / +2 Damage In Brief: Artificial fear spirit created by the Chamber uses bystanders as hosts to spread fear. Alternate Identity: Varies Birthplace: Varies Residence: Varies Base of Operations: Emerald City Occupation: Varies Affiliations: None Family: Varies Description: Age: Varies Apparent Age: Varies Gender: Varies Ethnicity: Varies Height: Varies Weight: Varies Eyes: Varies, usually glowing white lights Hair: Varies Almost everything about the Terror's physical appearance varies by its host: Height, weight, age, gender, hair color, eye color, beard or not, as does it clothing. Typically, the Terror is dressed in old, ragged clothing, often including several layers, making it different to estimate the current Terror's size, though it has on occasion broken this pattern and worn more refined clothing, though it will always cover its entire body, leaving at most the skin on its hands visible. Said skin will usually be a sickly, light yellow color, with dark fingernails. The one constant about the Terror's appearance is that it will always wear a hood of some kind, shrouding the Terror's face in complete darkness, with only its glowing white eyes being visible under the hood. The Terror's entire body always seem to be covered in a dark miasma that makes it difficult to see in the entire area around it. History: The being known as “The Terror” is an Emerald City urban legend and media sensation. According to victims and eyewitnesses, a dark-clad figure stalks and corners victims in the city at night, apparently emerging from the city’s underground or sewer system. Victims report lights dimming in the area around them immediately before the attack and a growing sense of fear which becomes paralyzing terror upon spotting the figure swaddled from head to foot in dark, concealing, tattered garments. Initially, sightings of the Terror ended there: victims experienced long moments of utter fear, then the mysterious figure disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving its victims gasping for air and thankful to have escaped. Things progressed, however, until an eyewitness reported a shadowy figure matching descriptions of the Terror fleeing the scene of a victim left catatonic and unresponsive. Emerald City police have potentially connected the Terror to several unsolved incidents of coma or catatonia in the city. In spite of their best efforts, they have no clear leads: the Terror seems to appear and vanish at will, and conscious victims and witnesses are all too badly shaken by the experience to provide any useful details. Many are concerned the authorities are not doing enough, or that the Terror may be unstoppable, which only increases public concerns and has everyone jumping at the slightest sound or movement out of a dark shadow late at night. Whatever it may be, the Terror has become a force in Emerald City, and it is growing more powerful. In truth, the Terror is a creation of the Chamber that secretly rules Emerald City. Through means known only to themselves, the members of the Chamber was able to create an artificial spirit of fear, created through cultural signifiers that were psionically stapled together. Normally docile and controlled by the Chamber, the fear spirit can be sent to posses an unsuspecting person, turning them into the Terror. The Terror will then run wild, attacking at random, spreading fear throughout Emerald City until the host body burns out. The fear spirit then returns to its masters, waiting for its next host. The perfect tool for those special occasions where the Chamber needs someone out of the way, but murder would look weird. It is, after all, much easier to blame something on a single crazy person that disappears into the night. Personality & Motivation: Virtually nothing is known about the Terror’s personality or motives beyond its stalking behavior. It has never spoken to a victim, so far as anyone knows, nor has it contacted the authorities or the media, as some serial killers do. It seems driven to find new victims to feed on their fear, although some of its earliest survivors have described the Terror as hesitant, perhaps even afraid itself, although it seems to have become bolder over time. The fear spirit that creates the Terror seems to have little in the way of sentience. A beast, it lives to inflict terror and fear on the world around it. Or perhaps it is much more cunning than the Chamber believes, simply biding its time? Only time will tell. Powers & Tactics: The Terror appears to mystically or psychically induce unreasoning fear in anyone who sees it, impairing the victim’s ability to function until complete paralysis sets in. In some cases, victims pushed beyond this point become catatonic or comatose, completely cut off from the outside world. The very presence of the Terror seems to carry a dark aura; lights go dim in its presence and it is difficult to make out details. Every shadow seems filled with menace. What’s more, the Terror feeds on its victims’ fear, giving it the ability to recover from injury or harm. It is difficult to damage in the first place, being apparently immune to most mortal concerns (like breathing) and virtually invulnerable to counter-attacks from its victims. They report that, even when able to attack the Terror, their efforts seemed utterly ineffective and did nothing to deter it. Any character suffering from the Terror’s Aura of Terror or Intimidation is unable to affect it with damaging attacks, or anything resisted by Toughness. Even if they can, so long as someone within sight feels fear, the Terror quickly recovers. Power Descriptions: All light around the Terror is dimmed, be it natural or artificial, created through powers or technology, creating a sort of dark miasma.. It is immune to a great many concepts that can give its prey trouble, such as breathing. Just seeing the Terror is enough to cause paralyzing fear in a subject. The Terror is strengthened by the fear of its victims, being all but invulnerable to their attacks, while feeding on the fear to regenerate any damage they might manage to cause. Further drawing on the fear it causes, the Terror is able to strike with terrifying power to quickly incapacitate its victims. Complications: Motivation - Inflict Terror: The Terror exists to create—and feed upon—fear. It is driven to seek out and stalk victims. Outsider: By its very nature, the Terror is an outsider incapable of interaction with society, and apparently with little understanding of people beyond their ability to feed its hunger for fear. Neverending Nightmare: The Terror is constantly creating fear in all those that surround it. The powers Aura of Terror is constantly active, which makes it difficult for anyone to work alongside the Terror. Abilities: 10 + 0 + 10 + 0 + 4 + 10 = 34PP Strength: 20 (+5) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: 20 (+5) Intelligence: 10 (+0) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 20 (+5) Combat: 14 + 18 = 28PP Initiative: +0 Attack: +7 Base, +7 Melee, +7 Ranged, +11 Unarmed (+7 Base, +4 Attack Specialization) Defense: +12 (+9 Base, +3 Dodge Focus), +4 Flat-Footed Grapple: +12 Knockback: -2 Saving Throws: 0 + 10 + 9 = 19PP Toughness: Immune to attackers that feel fear / +5 (+5 Con) Fortitude: Immune / +5 (+5 Con) Reflex: +10 (+0 Dex, +10) Will: +11 (+2 Wis, +9) Skills: 68R = 17PP Climb 6 (+11) Intimidate 17 (+22) Skill Mastery Notice 8 (+10) Skill Mastery Sense Motive 15 (+17) Skill Mastery Stealth 17 (+17) Skill Mastery Swim 5 (+10) Feats: 16PP Attack Specialization [Unarmed] 2 Chokehold Distract [Intimidate] Diehard Dodge Focus 3 Fascinate [Intimidate] Fearless Hide in Plain Sight Improved Grab Improved Pin Move-by Action Skill Mastery (Intimidate, Notice, Sense Motive, Stealth) Startle Powers: 9 + 30 + 40 + 1 + 60 + 5 = 145PP Damage 8 ("Touch of Terror"; Feats: Mighty) [9PP] (Fear, Impact Damage Type, Mutation, Psionic) Immunity 30 ("Beyond Mortal"; Immunity to Fortitude Effects) [30PP] (Fear, Mutation, Psionic) Immunity 80 ("Invulnerable Terror"; Immunity to Toughness Effects, Flaws: Limited [Subjects feeling fear]) [40PP] (Fear, Mutation, Psionic) Environment Control 1 ("Dark Miasma"; Visibility -4) [1PP] (Darkness, Mutation, Psionic) Paralyze 12 ("Aura of Terror"; Extras: Action 3 [Reaction], Area [Perception, Visual], Flaws: Uncontrolled) [60PP] (Fear, Mutation, Psionic) Regeneration 10 ("Feeds on Fear"; Recovery Bonus 10; Flaws: Source [Fear]) [5PP] (Fear, Mutation, Psionic) Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block Name Range Save Effect Attack bonus Unarmed Touch DC20 Tou (staged) Damage +11 Touch of Terror Touch DC28 Tou (staged) Damage +11 Aura of Terror Visual Perception Area DC22 Will (staged) / DC 22 Reflex for no effect Slowed/Paralyzed N/A Totals: Abilities (34) + Combat (32) + Saving Throws (19) + Skills (17) + Feats (16) + Powers (145) - Drawbacks (0) = 263/263 Power Point

Cortex Power Level: 10 (244/244PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: (Pulse Blasters) -2 Attack / +2 Damage, -3 Defense / +3 Toughness In Brief: Mutated super genius drug lord. Alternate Identity: Henry Todd (Secret) Birthplace: Emerald City Residence: Hidden location in Emerald City, normally known simply as the Laboratory. Base of Operations: Emerald City Occupation: Drug Lord Affiliations: The Cartel Family: Louisa Todd (Mother, deceased) Description: Age: 36 (DoB: 1982) Apparent Age: Difficult to tell, due to mutation. Appears to be at least early 40'es. Gender: Male. Ethnicity: Caucasian. Height: 5'4'' Weight: 190 lbs. (most contained in cranium and brain) Eyes: Black Hair: None Cortex is a rail thin man, standing below average height. His face twisted, his body seemingly having little fat or muscle, he would appear just malnourished, if not for his very visible mutation: A gigantic skull and brain, weighing enough to make movement all but impossible for the man, stretching down to almost at his waist. His face appears older than it should be, perhaps from the strain. Without the mechnical support pod he has built for himself, he would have difficulty even moving. He is usually dressed in loose green suit, with a large yellow belt, a yellow harness on his chest, connected to his support pod and yellow boots. History: Cortex grew up in Black Pines, a small town south of Emerald City. His mother was a former mental patient, institutionalized after she was found wandering on the highway in a state of hysteria with no memory of who she was or how she had gotten there. The doctors determined that she was pregnant, and at birth little Henry seemed normal. By the age of two, however, his head was already starting to show growth outstripping that of the rest of his body; he was also already reading at a college level and spoke several languages. As he continued to grow, so too did his frightening intellect. Louisa Todd (given a first name by a caring nurse and taking her last name from the county hospital that had delivered Henry) tried to provide for and protect her son, but she was a weak and fragile woman that never recovered from whatever ordeal had placed her on that road the night she was found. She lacked marketable skills and was prone to incapacitating panic attacks. Unable to hold a job for long, she and little Henry stayed in subsidized housing, where her son quickly became the source of amusement and target of ridicule for the neighboring children. He learned quickly and painfully that the world broke down into two fundamental categories of people: victims and victimizers. Henry Todd resolved that he would not remain a victim, no matter what it cost himself or others, especially others. Early in life, he was exposed to drug dealers, their processes for making drugs, and their business practices… and he observed the respect and fear people showed these men, as well as the money they made. By the age of five he had mastered “kitchen” chemistry to the point where he could produce marketable merchandise using only cheap and legally obtained materials. Effective drugs bought him allies, who sold his drugs in the surrounding area. Money bought him better material to work with, and connections, both of which he leveraged to make more powerful merchandise. By the age of ten, he had manipulated a number of older teenagers into forming the first of many short-lived gangs used solely to front his product. Where money alone failed to motivate, he supplied drugs; where money and drugs both failed to sway, difficult to trace toxins crippled or eliminated. As he grew older, those who encountered Henry learned that it was very profitable to work for him, and very dangerous to work against him. By his early teens, Henry’s mother had passed away gently in her sleep (with a little assistance) and he had disappeared from social service’s records completely. Todd took the name “Cortex” and used various inventions to portray himself as a “supervillain” simply because such beings held so much sway over certain elements of the criminal underworld. Over the past two decades, he built a sophisticated network of fronts, connections, and distributors so large it became a drug cartel all its own. Despite the fact that Cortex would rather stop designing drugs and instead follow his own interests into more esoteric research (still in the realm of biochemistry and organic engineering), his money and respect are both tied up with the cartel, so he continues to split his time between the two. However, in his mind, he now views the cartel as the source of money for his research, not the goal itself. Personality & Motivation: Henry Todd has no conscience or moral restraint. People and money are both just tools to be used and discarded as needed. As Cortex, Henry doesn’t aspire to world domination or other traditional manias associated with the villainous set. He simply wants to be left alone to pursue his research; however, he knows his kind of research usually provokes some form of interference from those with badges or costumes, and so he makes sure he has the resources and power base to deal with any such obstacles. Cortex is coldly vicious when interfered with or confronted. He doesn’t waste time with games or bluster or other egotistical displays unless he thinks such actions grant him some form of advantage. Though not a coward, Cortex is invested in his own personal safety above all else—he abandons facilities, people, and projects without hesitation if he has to choose between himself and them. He is a patient man and in his estimation, he can always get more ”tools”. Powers & Tactics: Cortex possesses superhuman intelligence. He can forecast the likely events of the future from current information and work out the past with the same certainty. Telepaths find it difficult to process his thoughts, granting him a degree of resistance to most forms of mental intrusion. His knowledge and mastery of the biological sciences knows few equals, knowledge he uses to develop and sell designer drugs ranging from horribly addictive narcotics to super-soldier treatments. Cortex’s body is highly underdeveloped thanks to his cranial deformity, but the support pod he uses more than compensates as it is capable of protecting him from even most superhuman threats with its offensive and defensive capabilities. Power Descriptions: Cortex's powers are all ultimately due to his genius. Either the cause of it, or made by it. While his grotesquely oversized brain makse him incredibly intelligent, he has created a support pod to both stabilize him when standing, protect him and aid him in combat. The support pod's most obvious enhancement are the pair of extendible cyberarms, capable of supporting Cortex's weight, fine manipulation and being used in combat. Less obvious are the protective force field that keeps Cortex safe, and the gravitic pulse generator that not only helps keep him upright, but also allows him to fly. The onboard systems include computer and navigation systems, and tools to enhance Cortex's senses, allowing him greater clarity as he works on new drugs. The support pod's weapon systems include pulse blasters, gravity wave discharges and neurotoxin aerosol dispensers. While the exact origin of Cortex's mutation remains unknown, his father might have been involved. Was his mother abducted and experimented on by aliens? Did she escape some secret lab where research on the DNAscent process was being conducted? Or is he simply a mutation or Terminus Baby? Or something far more sinister in pedigree? Complications: Disability: Cortex’s grossly overgrown cranium and brain are larger than the rest of his body. He needs artificial support for his head to keep his neck from breaking and would barely be able to crawl without its support. Motivation - Power and Fortune: In the back of Cortex’s mind, he is never very far from the roach-infested countysubsidized housing where he grew up hungry and ridiculed. Power and money are his security blanket and he can never have enough of either. He may find the cartel and its upkeep tedious now, but they are too necessary to discard. Rival - The Labyrinth: Cortex has created many enhancement drugs and cutting edge bio-modification technologies. This has put him into competition with other fronts for the Labyrinth’s DNAscent enterprises. Todd suspects there is more to his competition than is apparent, but is far from piecing together Taurus’s involvement. Abilities: -2 + 0 + 2 + 20 + 8 + 2 = 30PP Strength: 8 (-1) / 18 (+4) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: 12 (+1) Intelligence: 30 (+10) Wisdom: 18 (+4) Charisma: 12 (+1) Combat: 8 + 14 = 22PP Initiative: +0 Attack: +4 Base, +4 Melee, +8 Ranged (+4 Base, +4 Attack Specialization), +10 Cyberarm Smack (+4 Base, +6 Accurate) Defense: +7 (+7 Base, +0 Dodge Focus), +0 Flat-Footed Grapple: +8 Knockback: -6 Saving Throws: 0 + 0 + 6 = 6PP Toughness: 13 (+1 Con, +12 [Force Field]) Fortitude: +0 (+0 Con, +0) / Immune Reflex: +7 (+0 Dex, +7 [Enhanced Reflex Save]) Will: +10 (+4 Wis, +6) Skills: 200R = 50PP Bluff 15 (+16) Computers 15 (+25) Craft [Chemical] 15 (+25) Craft [Electronic] 15 (+25) Craft [Mechanical] 15 (+25) Diplomacy 9 (+10) Disable Device 8 (+18) Intimidation 6 (+7) Investigation 6 (+16) Knowledge [Business] 9 (+19) Knowledge [Life Sciences] 15 (+25) Knowledge [Physical Sciences] 15 (+25) Knowledge [Technology] 15 (+25) Medicine 12 (+16) Notice 9 (+13) Profession [Drug Lord] 12 (+16) Sense Motive 9 (+13) Feats: 27PP Attack Focus [Ranged] 4 Benefit 1 (Status: Head of drug cartel) Benefit 3 (Wealth: Multi-millionaire) Connected Eidetic Memoery Equipment 10 (Underground Lair, 3 Abandoned Warehouses) Inventor Languages 5 (Japanese, mandarin, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, whatever else needed by GM) Well-Informed Equipment: 10PP = 50EP The Laboratory (Headquarters; Underground Lair) (19 EP) Secret Labs in Abandoned Warehouses x3 (Headquarters; Abandoned Warehouse) (10x3EP = 30EP) Powers: 19 + 90 = 109PP Computer-Like Mind 3.8 (19PP Container) [19PP] (Mutation, applies to all powers in Container) Impervious Will 10 [10PP] Quickness 10 (Flaws: Mental Only; x1000 normal speed) [5PP] Super-Senses Rank 4 (Postcognition; Flaws: Limited [Requires evidence to study]) [2PP] Super-Senses Rank 4 (Precogntion; Flaws: Limited, [Macro-scale trends]) [2PP] Support Pod 22.5 (112/112PP Device; Flaws: Hard-to-lose) [90PP] (Technology, applies to all powers in Device) Extendible Cyberarms 2.8 (14PP Container) [15PP] Damage 6 ("Cyberarm Smack"; Flaws: Limited [Extra Limbs Only]; Feats: Accurate 3, Mighty) [7PP] Elongation 2 (Flaws: Limited [Extra Limbs Only]; 10 feet) [1PP] Enhanced Strength 10 (Flaws: Limited [Extra Limbs Only]) [5PP] Extra Limbs 2 [2PP] Gravimetric Pulse Generator 2.8 (14PP Container) [14PP] (Gravity) Enhanced Reflex Save 7 [7PP] Flight 2 (Flight Speed 25 mph, 220 ft./rnd) [4PP] Flight 3 (Flaws: Distracting; Flight Speed 250 mph, 2200 ft./rnd) (Stacks with Flight 2) [3PP] Onboard Systems 1 (5PP Container) [5PP] Features 2 (Computer, Navigation System) [2PP] Super-Senses 3 (Analytical Auditory, Analytical Visual, Radio) [3PP] Protective Fields 10.8 (54PP Container) [54PP] (Kinetic Energy) Force Field 12 (Extras: Impervious) [24PP] Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects; Extras: Linked to Force Field) [30PP] Weapon Systems Array 10 (20PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 3) [24PP] BP: Blast 10 ("Explosive Gravity Wave Discharge"; Extras: Area [Burst (50 ft. radius)]) {20/20PP} (Kinetic, Gravity, Impact) AP: Blast 12 ("Pulse Blasters"; Extras: Secondary Effect 8, Feats: Autofire, Incurable) {20/20PP} (Kinetic, Impact) AP: Stun 10 ("Gravity Knockdown"; Extras: Alternate Save [Reflex], Area [Burst (50 ft. radius)], Flaws: Daze) {20/20PP} (Kinetic, Gravity, Impact) AP: Stun 6 ("Neurotoxin Aerosol Dispensers"; Extras: Area [Cloud (30 feet diameter)], Feats: Subtle 2) {20/20PP} (Pharmaceutical, Gas) Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block Name Range Save Effect Attack bonus Unarmed 10 ft. DC19 Tou (staged) Damage +4 Cyberarm Smack 10 ft. DC25 Tou (staged) Damage +10 Explosive Gravity Wave Discharge 50 ft. radius DC25 Tou (Staged) Damage +8 Pulse Blasters 120 ft. DC27 Tou (staged) (DC23 secondary effect) Damage +8 Gravity Knockdown 50 ft. radius DC20 Ref (staged) Dazed +8 Neurotoxin Aerosol Dispensers 15 ft. radius cloud DC16 Tou (staged) Dazed/Stun/Unconscious +8 Totals: Abilities (30) + Combat (22) + Saving Throws (6) + Skills (50) + Feats (27) + Powers (109) - Drawbacks (0) = 244/244 Power Points Cortex tends to use criminals that he enhance with his drugs as foot soldiers. While they can be different, these are their common stats. Enhanced Soldier Power Level: 7 (70/70PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: +2 Attack / -2 Damage, -2 Defense / +2 Toughness Complications: Drugged Loyality: Addition to the drugs provided by Cortex means that the enhanced soldiers are fanatically loyal to the drug lord. Abilities: 2 + 2 + 4 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 8PP Strength: 12 (+1) / 20 (+5) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 14 (+2) / 22 (+6) Intelligence: 10 (+10) Wisdom: 10 (+0) Charisma: 10 (+0) Combat: 10 + 10 = 20PP Initiative: +1 (+1 Dex) Attack: +5 Base, +5 Melee, +5 Ranged Defense: +5 (+5 Base, +0 Dodge Focus), +0 Flat-Footed Grapple: +6 / +10 Knockback: -4 Saving Throws: 3 + 4 + 1 = 8PP Toughness: +9 (+6 Con, +3 [Body Armor]) Fortitude: +9 (+3, +6 Con,) Reflex: +5 (+4, +1 Dex) Will: +1 (+1) Skills: 24R = 6PP Climb 4 (+9) Drive 2 (+3) Intimidation 3 (+3) Knowledge: Tactics 4 (+4) Notice 3 (+3) Profession: Soldier 4 (+4) Swim 4 (+9) Feats: 12PP Attack Focus [Ranged] 4 Equipment 7 Fearless Equipment: 7PP = 35EP Assault Rifle (Blast 5) [16EP] (Ballistic damage) Body Armor (Protection 3) [3EP] Assorted other Equipment worth up to 16EP Powers: 16 = 16PP Chemical Enhancement 8 (Container) [16PP] (Pharmaceutical, Physical) Enhanced Constitution 8 [8PP] Enhanced Strength 8 [8PP] DC Block Name Range Save Effect Attack bonus Unarmed Touch DC20 Tou (staged) Damage +5 Assault Rifle 50 ft. DC20 Tou (staged) Damage +9 Totals: Abilities (8) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (8) + Skills (6) + Feats (12) + Powers (16) - Drawbacks (0) = 70/70 Power Points

Prologue Anne Leonard Books had been a fixture in Emerald City's trendy University Hill district since the late Sixties, but earlier in 2018 the elderly proprietor announced her plans to retire and sell the store, as none of her grown children had any interest in something as archaic as running a used bookstore. For several months, it looked as though she'd have to sell to some developer, who would either want to turn the painted lady into an Airbnb, or worse, just tear it down to put up ugly condos. Luckily for Anne, a pair of young out-of-town investors contacted her in August, expressing interest in buying the store outright, including all current stock. They both flew in all the way from Freedom City to begin negotiations, and the retiring bookseller couldn't be more delighted with the young women; true, there was some unspoken tension between the two of them (Anne suspected some sort of romantic entanglements), but they couldn't be more professional or courteous in the business dealings. She felt a small twinge when they stated they would change the name to reflect the connection with the parent store back East, but it was hardly surprising; only her own children wouldn't have made such a change Apparently the younger of the two named Gretchen would actually be operating the store, and she asked a lot of very educated questions about the neighborhood, the store's clientele and what sort of books sold best as well as the most requested items they didn't stock. When all was said and done, Anne felt very good about the sale, and even considered stopping in from time to time to see how young Gretchen McDaniels would fare