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Friday, June 4, 2021 5:56 PM Ryder would have been the first to admit that Shredded Beat, which billed itself as hopefully the first annual festival for local independent and amateur metal bands looking to break out, was a little outside his comfort zone. But Eira had insisted that this was the perfect place to stakeout the mysterious guitarist he and Danica had run into in later February and after a goat-like Ragin had wreaked havoc in the West End the month prior until a few of the Interceptors made short work of it she wanted to be there the next time one of the strange, musical demon constructs appeared. The upperclassman had told him to come dress appropriately but in typical fashion had considered the specifics of those instructions to be self-evident. Ryder had turned to the only fashion expert he knew who specialized in monochrome: Natalia. Which brought him to a milling crowd around the Liberty Park bandshell in a pair of black pants that hugged his legs like a second skin, a sleeveless t-shirt featuring a band name with lettering he couldn't begin to parse and a pre-owned leather jacket Natalia had studded across the shoulders with an insect wing design. He tugged one more time on his leather choker, fastened in front with a small padlock, before forcing his hands back down to his sides. He'd painted his nails an uncharacteristically sombre black and hoped that the sparkly top coat wasn't going to be an issue. He caught one of the other attendees giving him a side eye as they walked by and gave them a terse nod, trying to lower his register for a brusque, "Hey, how you doin'."

Kord Dormitories, Third Floor Claremont Academy, Freedom City, New Jersey Saturday, September 4, 2021 The start of another school year was only a few days away, so unsurprisingly the Claremont Academy campus was abuzz with activity as parents and students descended on the school's dormitories. Amid this activity, a pair of teenage girls with bright red hair made their way from the parking lot toward the Rita Kord Dormitory. At first glance, one might have assumed the two girls were twins, except it was not just their features that were completely identical, they were both dressed in the exact same grey and black plaid skirt and white top. In fact, the only difference between the two was that one was carrying a suitcase and had a backpack over one shoulder, while the other was carrying a box. Bernadette O'Connell glanced back at her duplicate that was carrying the box behind her, letting out a slight sigh at the unintended display of her powers. The teen was glad that her older brothers had stayed up in Boston when her parents had driven her down for the start of the year at her new school, as there had been a few times where the family mini-van had gotten a bit too crowded. Hopefully this new school would help her learn to prevent things like that. Reaching the entrance of the building, the redhead glanced up towards the upper floors a moment before looking back down at the letter from the school that had her room assignment. "Alright, third floor, Room 308." She stated to her duplicate with a slight Irish accent, even though it was entirely unnecessary to communicate that out loud. Her other duplicate that was still back at the car with her parents also knew where the floor was located and could guide them up there when with the remainder of Bernadette's things.

GM TOMORROW! The mighty beast tore through the hallways, running after the young man clad in red, white, blue and gold armor. The mighty Aliengator ran its claws through the wall as the Freedom Eagle blasted at it. He had reached his goal, a swirling circular portal, large enough to bring an army. He held a hand out towards it, and it came to life, a swirling rainbow portal opening. The Freedom Eagle turned just in time to see the massive humanoid alien alligator come running at him, grasping him and pushing him into the portal, leaving the empty hallways behind. The Sky Above the Millenium Mall April 24th, 4PM, 2021 An otherwise nice and quiet day at the Millenium Mall was interrupted. The sky above the mall crackled with rainbow energies and multicolored lightning. A massive circular portal in all the swirling colors of the rainbow opened, releasing two falling figures. The portal closed immediately. The larger, a large humanoid alligator clad in a white armor that left its arms, tail and face free, was grappling the smaller, clad in red, white, blue and gold. The smaller figure managed to kick himself free, spreading out golden wings to stop his fall, while the monster fell to the ground. Seemingly unharmed, aside from parts of its armor starting to break, the creature stood and roared to the sky. Of course, the winged man was not the only hero at the scene!

OOC for this. @Dr Archeville, @Fox, @Kaede Kimura Give me some initiative rolls, and let me get some intro posts!

December 2020 The Smoothie Shack - Riverside, Freedom City Continued from Monkeys on Parade In the heart of Riverside the juice bar Ryder led Natalia to was afforded a little more street front real estate than it might have been further downtown, enough for a large arching sign with the name Smoothie Shack in bright capital letters, flanked by stylized palm trees and fruit silhouettes in a multitude of colours. Through the big front windows diner style booths in pastel colours could be seen, occupied by a smattering of patrons of wildly differing ages and aesthetics. The second storey of the building was given to more understated red brick and windows with shutters, presumably living space. Ryder stopped on the sidewalk to heft his bag over his shoulder with one hand and gesture proudly with the other. "Tada!"

GM cw: gun violence Early December, 2020 Hanover The email was encrypted, and the encryption was custom puzzle nonsense, which was the kind of thing Mara did when she wanted to make sure an important message wouldn't be unraveled by someone who wasn't qualified to read it. Possibly, up to and including the intended recipient. Mara was like that. Once puzzled out, it contained the following:

Fall 2020 The kitchens Between one thing and another, Orange Squad had not had many opportunities so far to get to know each other. But with the traditional American holiday season settling in, it was evidently time to change that. Professor Lynn has spread the home ec class throughout the big Claremont kitchens as best she can, trying to stay out of the way of the hardworking group of student professionals and community volunteers who actually make the meals Claremont students eat. "All right, everyone, I have your assignment. All of you represent different culinary legacies to one degree or another," she said, giving a special smile to Ryder who was clearly already one of her favorite students, "and it's the integration of the whole into one that makes for a really good team!" She smiled, hands inside her apron, as she went on, "what I want you to do is come up with a dish that truly represents your blended legacies. And don't think I'm asking you to cook your lived identity, either, because that's nonsense. Come up with a dish that represents a combination of your past, your future, your skills, and your talents - and prepare a version of it that can be served at dinner tomorrow evening. That's just in case your first attempts don't work out," she added with a smile as she moved among the group of students. "remember, there are accidents in the kitchen - but only happy ones!" Eira extended the finger on her left hand and then began unscrewing it, slowly undoing each joint with an audible click-click-click, watching the organic students as they talked to the home ec teacher. This was not a class to which she had contributed very much.

Claremont Academy Dormitories, Third Floor September 5th, 2020 "I'm not actually sure if the markings are magic," Ryder attempted to clarify as he led Utsuwa down the hallway with Cyan perched on his shoulder and the rest of the Robugs following along nearby, "just that they showed up at the same time she got her magic powers. Which I guess means they're qualitatively magic but not necessarily that they're functionally magic in a meaningful way. Y'know?" He looked over to the more taciturn teenager with a grin to check for understanding or at least continued patience. "Plus Tori's from out of the country, too so you guys can talk about that! It'll be good! We'll have you making friends like an experienced friend-maker in no time!" He gave Utsuwa an enthusiastic thumbs up before checking his phone to confirm he had the correct room number.

Southside, 4:16pm GM It wasn't, by any objective measure, the best part of Southside. The old and the new, falling apart side by side, was the name of the game here: looming apartment buildings of too-small apartments standing next to perpetual (re)construction projects seemingly purpose-built to drive down property value and rob decent people of decent sleep. Most of it was leftover damage from recent invasions and city-shaking battles, of course...too important to ignore, not important enough to pay attention to. It wasn't the doom-ridden ruins of Kingston, but it had its own problems. One of those problems was the apparently slipshod standards around building numbers. The order Ryder's smoothie-delivering job had gotten was large (large enough to make the trip, for sure!) but it was to a home that probably didn't exist. Yet. To the left, 1325 Carolina Street. To the right, 1329 Carolina Street. In the middle, the unfinished, unlabeled shell of a building with tarps where windows should be and nothing so hospitable as a door mat - much less anyone to greet him. There were vans parked outside - proper big ones, work vans. Maybe construction workers got thirsty, but also very busy?

For when it's needed. (It'll be needed.)

Nocturne Power Level: 8 [12] (154/187PP) Unspent Power Points: 33PP Trade-Offs: -2 Defense / +2 Toughness In Brief: Gravity-powered mean teen. Theme: Dear Rouge - Black To Gold Alternate Identity: Natalia Koshchei Birthplace: Freedom City, USA Residence: Claremont Academy Occupation: student Affiliations: Claremont Academy Family: parents, grandfather (Viktor Koshchei - 'Graviton'). Description: Age: 16 (DoB: December 2004) Gender: female Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5'8" Weight: 125 lbs Eyes: gold Hair: black Natalia is relatively tall and svelte, long-limbed with a teenager's approximation of elegance. She has her father's short nose, pale skin, strong features, and piercing eyes (now gold, a side-effect of being infused with her powers), and her mother's straight dark hair and sharp chin. She's probably smiled at least once, surely, but there's no evidence and one gets the impression that all witnesses to the event have since disappeared. She dresses fashionably but not ostentatiously, favoring clean lines and well-fitted clothes in her signature blacks and golds. She has expensive tastes rarely sustained on a teen's budget, and she makes up the difference with self-made (and thus perfectly-fitted) clothing of her own increasingly sophisticated design, along with a carefully-maintained closet of favorites. When up to no good Natalia wears a sleeveless black bodysuit that covers her from her feet to her neck; over this she drapes carefully-tailored gold and black cloth, cut low and tight in the top and flowing freely below the waist, slit up to her hips in an invocation of a fine dress or elegant robe. With a pair of low-heeled ankle boots she can stand just a little bit higher (the better to look down on her foes), and with gold-accented gloves she can protect her hands (and not have to touch...anything). A simple black mask and hood protect her identity. History: Born as the sun set on the Second World War, Viktor Koshchei was a mountain of a man in both statue and intellect, his potential quickly identified and dedicated to the development of new sciences and tools to promote the Soviet Union. He broke ground on exotic sciences. He developed new and fantastic weapons. And he was, in truth...entirely disinterested in all of it. His last great work was a way to harness gravity itself: a machine, attached to a man, that could amplify his strength and abilities to punch through any problem, crush any wall, defeat any enemy. This had always been his way: the direct solution, solving troubles with your own two hands. When he and his work were to be buried, shuffled off to a secret laboratory where neither might see the light of day again, he donned the machine and punched through the problem. From that point on he was a villain of the Cold War, asset and hindrance to all sides. He was Graviton, and his solutions to his problems were direct, decisive, and far more entertaining than a lab. Still, his machine was imperfect, his particles difficult to source; there was a better way, a theoretical way. Not for him, but for a child - a worthy successor. A legacy. His own child, his son, was too old to gain the power himself...and besides, he made eyes at every spy and hero they encountered. No, he would need a new generation. A new child to empower and teach. Natalia was born in 2004 to parents that had long-since settled down, and who had neither the ability nor interest to keep her from her grandfather's attention. Under his guiding hand she learned about a power that was a part of her - not half-machinery, like her deda, but built into her being, infused into every cell of her body. Under his guiding hand she learned everything he thought she would need to survive, and to be every inch as great as he had been. These were possibly not good lessons for a young girl. She got better at manipulating people than at making friends, better at being who she thought she should be than being who she really was. She got into fights (and mostly won) but the more she thought she knew about the world the worse she got at being her own person, and the worse she was at being her own person the more she cut herself from real, human connections. She was a bully, aloof and mean...and worse, she was good at it, even when she didn't want to be. Natalia's parents finally put their foot down when, at 13, Viktor attempted to take her on a 'proper job' - which is to say, an attempt to knock over a bank. Faced with the influence Viktor had already had and who their daughter risked becoming, they cut ties with him and sought to enroll their daughter in a more positive environment where she could still learn about herself and what she could do. Personality & Motivation: There is not a normal person in Natalia's family tree, not to mention a distinct lack of trust all around, and she wears the signs of both wherever she goes. Natalia seeks control - control of herself, control of her abilities, and control of her life; historically she's sought control of the people around her if she could get it. She's not comfortable with vulnerability, nor open displays of empathy between equals, nor seeking help from others. She's been taught, implicitly or explicitly, that there are many kinds of strength but it is always strength that wins in the end. There are movers, and the moved; the manipulators, and the manipulated; hunters and prey. She will not be the latter. Being a young teenage girl she has no idea how to properly pursue any of that, but she assumes a school full of the empowered will be an excellent place to learn. She is lonely in a way she can't properly admit, even to herself. Powers & Tactics: Natalia wields power over the force of gravity, generating & controlling exotic particles that decay far too quickly for proper study. She prefers the hands-off approach, keeping her enemies at bay - she'll lock them down if she can, controlling the battle to the best of her ability and pressuring her enemies until they don't pose any further threat. This more practical tactic is somewhat undercut by her sense of impact and presentation, however; she'll rarely turn down an opportunity to crush an enemy's will along with their strength, all the better to keep them from being a threat in the future, and all the better to make herself seem more controlled and powerful than she may sometimes feel. Power Descriptions: Lower-key uses of her powers may be difficult to perceive, but any larger efforts will see energy pour off of Natalia in uneven black-and-gold patterns; this gravitational energy is far more evenly-distributed at her target, re-manifesting as fields of dim light or fluctuating circles. Complications: Critical Mass: Not all of Natalia's self-control is unhealthy; her power is driven as much by instinct as intellect and in times of great distress or emotional turmoil it may manifest unreliably or unbidden. The Gravity-Powered Menace!: Natalia's grandfather was quite active back in the day, and his identity is not a secret. She is the gravity-powered granddaughter of a known (if partly-retired) gravity-powered supervillain and one could easily assume the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Leverage: Natalia's family contains several criminals, at least one supervillain, and an ex-spy. The politics of this are complicated, and a teenage girl would make excellent leverage for anyone trying to get at or through any given piece of her family. Pride Goeth Before: Natalia cloaks herself in her pride, wields it as both armor and sword; she can be provoked into acting against her best interests if an enemy can dig into her pride and sense of self. She may also be reasonably blackmailed if one found evidence of anything she might consider embarrassing or immature. Social Distancing: Natalia's not used to dealing with other people, and while she's capable of turning up the charm when she wants something, her disdain and the social distance she keeps with casual acquaintances is easily mistaken for malice. Her reputation suffers for it, which may leave anyone who doesn't know her (and some of those who do) unfriendly and untrusting at the outset. Abilities: 0 + 2 + 0 + 4 + 4 + 8 = 18PP Strength: 10 (+0) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 10 (+0) Intelligence: 14 (+2) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat: 8 + 6 = 14PP Initiative: +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +4 Melee, +4 Ranged, +8 Gravitics Defense: +6 (+3 Base, +3 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed Grapple: +4 / +19 Move Object Knockback: -0 / -7 Saving Throws: 5 + 5 + 8 = 18PP Toughness: +0/+10 (+0 Con, +10 Force Field; 5 Impervious) Fortitude: +5 (+0 Con, +5) Reflex: +6 (+1 Dex, +5) Will: +10 (+2 Wis, +8) Skills: 60R = 15PP Bluff 8 (+12 / +16 Attractive) Concentration 5 (+7) Craft [Artistic] 12 (+14) Diplomacy 6 (+10 / +14 Attractive) Intimidate 8 (+12) Knowledge (Current Events) 4 (+6) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 4 (+6) Knowledge (Popular Culture) 8 (+10) Language 1 (English [native], Russian) Notice 4 (+6) Feats: 10PP Attractive Connected Dodge Focus 3 Environmental Adaptation 3 (high/low/zero gravity) Improved Initiative Luck 1 Powers: 5 + 15 + 39 + 2 + 6 + 12 = 79PP (all powers have the 'gravity' and 'mutant' descriptors, ultimately from a 'science' source) Flight 2 (25mph; Feats: Subtle) [5PP] Force Field 10 (Extras: Impervious 5) [15PP] Gravitics Array 18 (36pp Array; Feats: Alternate Power 3) [39PP] BP: Move Object 11 (crush/throw; 24 ton heavy load; Extras: Damaging 8; Feats: Accurate 2, Indirect 2, Precise, Variable Descriptor 1 (any physical)) [36/36] AP: Nullify Flight 8 (drag, nullify all Flight effects; Extras: Alternate Save +0 [Reflex], Area (general, burst), Effortless, Selective Attack) [24/36] AP: Paralyze 8 (collapse; Extras: Area (general, burst), Alternate Save +0 [Reflex], Range [Ranged]; Feats: Indirect 2) [34/36] AP: Trip 8 (riptide; Extras: Area (general, burst), Knockback, Selective Attack; Feats: Improved Throw, Indirect 2) [35/36] Immunity 1 (own powers; Feats: Selective) [2PP] Super-Senses 6 (Gravity Awareness [mental; Accurate, Acute, Radius, Ranged]) [6PP] Utility Array 5 (10pp Array; Feats: Alternate Power 2) [12PP] BP: Environmental Control 3 (low gravity, 25' radius; Extras: Action 1 [Move]) [9/10] AP: Environmental Control 3 (high gravity, 25' radius; Extras: Action 1 [Move]) [9/10] AP: Super-Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling 2; Extras: Affects Others, Area [general, burst], Range 1 [Ranged]) [10/10] Useful Notes: Environmental Gravity Drawbacks: -0PP DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC15 Toughness Damage Move Object Ranged DC23 Toughness Damage Nullify Ranged (45' radius) DC 18 Reflex Area Check |> Contested Check (Ref/Rank) Flight Nullified Paralyze Ranged (45' radius) DC18 Reflex Area Check |> DC18 Reflex Slowed/Paralyzed |> DC18 Reflex (+1/round) Recover Trip Ranged (45' radius) DC18 Reflex Area Check |> Contested Check (STR/DEX) Prone + Knockback Totals: Abilities (18) + Combat (14) + Saving Throws (18) + Skills (15) + Feats (10) + Powers (79) - Drawbacks (0) = 154/187 Power Points