Rock

Epsilon Arrival (9)

"Uhm." Jane squirmed a little more. What did she want? She wasn't sure. She wasn't even there because she wanted to be there, other people just told her it was her best option, and she trusted them. They seemed like they had her best interests at heart. "I want to...learn things?" Pf. Cop-out answer. The headmistress would want something more. "I want to, uh...be able to be fine by myself. To learn enough where I don't have to depend on other people." That was true, at least, if simplistic.

Jane nodded along as Summers talked, keeping her hands still and her eyes fixed on the other woman. "Uh, yeah, ah have questions. Ah guess, mah first one is, well, where am ah gonna be stayin'? Y'all have dorms, right? Are they, uh, gender-exclusive, or are they co-ed? And, uh, also, are all the classes gonna be in the same buildings?"

Jane dropped self-consciously into a chair, placing her hands in her lap where they wouldn't start playing with things. "Uh, yeah, ah guess. Nice of him." She shrugged, eyes drifting around the room. "Ah feel, uh...weird? Ah dunno, ah ain't never been away from mah parents this long before. An', when ah did, they weren't never more than an earcomm away."

Jane nodded at Naomi in understanding, trying not to look like she had her feathers ruffled by the sudden disappearance and reappearance of sound. The darkness drained out of her, until she looked like an ordinary girl again. Then, she got to coming up with a joke, since Naomi had clearly asked for one. Nothing sprang to mind, though, so she set it aside for later. The Houstoner followed the others quietly to the Headmistress' office, trying to keep the butterflies in her stomach from getting out. Riley's comment about the defensibility of the building earned a confused frown, but no actual words. She nodded mutely when they reached the office, and entered. She shook the woman's hand and took a seat on the opposite side of the desk, trying not to fidget. "Uh, quiet, ah guess? Weren't much happenin'."

Ah, fantastic. The deaf/mute girl could understand what she was saying. Handy! It meant she didn't have to start working out how to not get caught. Jane stood up with exaggerated slowness, careful not to move wrong and rip her clothes. These weren't reinforced after all, and in this form she could destroy clothes like paper. Not fun when she was wearing them. Jane gave Cathy a smile. "Thanks but, it looks lahk she can understand. Don' really need that ice." Then, suddenly, the smile turned into a semi-confused look. "Ah thought ya were called 'Cathy'? Oh! Wait. D'you have an alias too?" "Ah'm fahn. Ya know, a li'l nervous, but ah hear that's normal." This directed at Naomi. She shot Riley a look. "Ah increased mah density. Kinda like going from a person to a big walkin', talkin' rock. Makes meh stronger, an' tougher." Jane smiled a big, toothy smile. "Ah can punch through steel when ah'm lahk that! An' it don' even hurt!"

Jane took note of Naomi's arrival as soon as she snapped, which made Jane almost jump. Jane turned to look at Naomi, taking a second to inspect her. The writing suggested...couldn't talk? Could she hear? Jane's mouth opened to answer, but then she realized that, if Naomi couldn't hear, that would be kinda useless and make her look dumb. Instead, Jane took a knee. As she did so, her skin changed color, starting at her core and spreading slowly to her limbs, until she was entirely midnight-black. The ground under her cracked and sagged slightly, as her weight was suddenly increased twenty-five-fold. Using a finger, Jane started writing in the pavement, using her strength to push through it like it was just dirt. The word she traced out was sloppy, but readable. [Jane]. As she traced, she spoke, her voice directed at Riley. It came out deeper, with more rumble, as the density of her vocal cords had changed. "There's stuff ta hunt around here? I wouldn' have thought so, 'cause, ya know, kinda in the city."

Jane squinted at Riley. "No powers? Then why're ya here?" That was a real headscratcher, and it made her literally scratch her head, as something itched right at the base of her skull. "Ah was sent here because, well...ah got powers. An' this is the place where they educate people with powers." She nodded, as if it should have been obvious. "An', uh, yeah, Texas." She blinked at Cathy. "Well, ah ain't sure that'll be necessary, but we'll see, ah guess. If y'all decide to pretend not to know me, it's up to y'all. Ah'll, uh, ah'll try to find those people, though. See if ah can meet them like ya want."

The girl seemed taken aback by the appearance of the other two, for a second. Her schedule was quickly crumpled up and shoved into a jacket pocket - folding is for chumps. "Hi!" Jane spoke one word and, immediately, her accent was clear. It was the thick drawl of someone who'd spent most of their life in the southern US, with just a bit of shakiness. "Ah'm Ep-...uh, Jane. Jane Williams. Ah'm from Houston!" The girl let out a nervous laugh, and grabbed Riley's hand, squeezing. Despite her lean build, the girl was able to put out more squeeze than might be expected - something Riley was probably used to, at a superhero school. "Ya were jus'...hangin' there?" Her free hand waved at the tree. Then, she pulled her hand back to her side, shoving it into her pocket to keep from fidgeting, and the nervous smile turned to Cathy. "Plastics? Lahk, from tv, the popular kids? Ya have those here?"

I've made a thread for Epsilon's arrival, if anyone was interested in joining in! http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/8719-arrival-open/

Jane Williams' arrival at Claremont wasn't exactly subtle. A Freedom League plane got her from HQ to the airport, and then a Freedom League car took her from the airport to Claremont. During the trip, her escort took the time to remind her again and again the rules of her being at Claremont, including where she was and was not allowed to go, and that she had to ask permission and send an itinerary if she planned on going off-grounds. After all that talking, Jane was happy to get to step out of the truck. She squinted a bit at the sudden sunlight, and covered her eyes for a bit. The young woman was dressed as if she'd just had to throw together an outfit. A light-colored sundress, a motorcycle jacket, used sneakers, all of which managed to clash with the other pieces of the outfit. Her escort stepped out of the van long enough to hand her a piece of paper with her schedule, room location, and (once again) the rules of her stay at Claremont, then drove off with a simple reminder that she was always being watched. Jane Williams was left standing in front of the main building, taking her time to adjust and figure out where to go next.

Alright, I added that!

Alrighty, edited the Grappling bonus. Put the 4pp into EVEN MOAR SUPAR-STRANGTH! Now, she operates at high superhuman levels, even when she isn't Dense. For the Complication - I think that's a good idea, but I should probably introduce it later, if possible? At the moment, she's not particularly famous, so her family doesn't really think of as anything other than something they need to re-do later - or maybe get back if they can. I added in some powers-fluff.

Player Name: Rock Character Name: Epsilon Power Level: 10 (150/151PP) Trade-Offs: -2 Attack / +2 Damage, -2 Defense / +2 Toughness Unspent Power Points: 1 In Brief: Genetically Engineered Ex-Supervillain Residence: Claremont Academy Base of Operations: Claremont Academy Catchphrase: None yet! Alternate Identity: Jane Williams Identity: Secret Birthplace: Houston, Texas Occupation: Part-time Nanny Affiliations: Family: Parents, 6 siblings (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Mu, Nu) Description: Age: 16 Apparent Age: If applicable. Gender: Female Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5'10” Weight: 132lbs (3,300lbs. when Dense) Eyes: Dark Brown Hair: Dark Brown Power Descriptions: Epsilon has a set of powers that come together to put her on the front lines. Thanks to her parents' experimentation, she can increase her density, making her much stronger and tougher than even most superhumans, and can fly. The density change is fairly obvious to any onlookers, as her skin turns jet-black and anything under tends to break (or at least bend) as suddenly it has to support something the weight of a car, but concentrated on a much smaller area. In addition, she is always operating with super-human strength and toughness, even while her density is normal. History: For over twenty years, two people who call themselves Pater and Meter, have toiled to create superhumans. Rather than take grown people, or others' children, and try to give them powers, however, they have used their 'own' children. Only the first two (called Mu and Nu) were actually born by Meter – the others were birthed as 'test tube babies', artificially inseminated ovaries placed in incubators. The ultimate goal was to create their 'Omega', the perfect superhuman, unstoppable and unkillable. In the meantime, they worked to perfect their method, building weaker superbeings and using them to 'acquire' research and tech from other scientists. After Mu and Nu, Pater and Meter perfected their method, and so far five have been successfully made, though each one requires so many resources and so much time that their method is impractical in the large scale. Furthermore, the process messes with the subjects mentally, leaving each one with an unstable mind. Alpha, the first, is a variable energy controller and requires constant supervision by his parents as he cannot empathize easily with those he is supposed to save. Beta is a speedster with an extremely low attention span. Gamma, a duplicator, cannot make friends with other people and prefers to befriend 'herself'. Delta, a shapeshifter, lives life as an animal, unwilling to try it as a human. And, finally, Epsilon's mind is open to suggestion, leaving her easy to manipulate. The Freedom League caught on to what was happening sometime during the development of Gamma in their thirdth year of research, but for the next seventeen, and the development of Delta and then Epsilon, Pater and Meter managed to evade them by moving their labs regularly, even going so far as to sacrifice labs that were compromised, with explosives. The closest the League got was when Epsilon was sixteen. Through cunning, luck, and the inattention of the 'parents', the League managed to trap Epsilon, with no chance of escape. Pater and Meter made the call to cut their losses and abandon her, and Epsilon ended up in the custody of the heroes. After a long series of interviews and psychological profiles, it was determined by the League's experts that her extreme suggestibility and the environment she was raised in are what pushed her to obey her parents and commit crimes. They ruled she had not been mentally competent at the time, and rehabilitation, rather than punishment, would be the way to go. She was sent to Claremont Academy, to be educated into the world of superheroing, and kept under the supervision of the local heroes and teachers. Personality & Motivation: Epsilon is usually very open and friendly with people. However, people also frequently notice that she is very open to suggestion, whether normally delivered, or psionically delivered. This leads to people assuming she's naïve and trusting, and manipulating her to their own ends. Powers & Tactics: Epsilon is most often on the front lines of a fight. Since she can take a beating without flinching, she can take on the toughest enemies and expect to make it through none the worse for wear. But, due to her suggestibility, she is very open to new orders, and will often follow orders without questioning them, if delivered from a trusted source. Complications: Identity – Secret: Epsilon was given the new name of Jane Williams, when she was placed at the Academy. It was an effort to help hide her from her parents, as well as simply so that she would have a normal name. People tend to frown when someone just calls themselves Epsilon. Altered Biology: Due to the changes made to her genetic code, treating Epsilon is quite different from treating an ordinary human. Surgeons find organs in the wrong places, and veins connecting to the wrong things. Her body even reacts to invaders differently. In the end, it means that caring for her is difficult and confusing, and best done by her parents (who made the changes) or people with experience in such things. Suggestible: While not exactly weak-willed, Epsilon has a hard time distinguishing between good and bad ideas, when presented to her by someone else. If asked, told, or otherwise instructed to do something that isn't obviously immediately harmful to herself or others, she will usually do what the other person wanted. Ex-Villain: Even if it was determined that Epsilon was not able to make her own decisions at the time, she was once a supervillain, stealing technology and research. Some people remember those days, and intend to ensure she never falls back to those ways again. Abilities: 0 + 2 + 12 + 6 + 2 + 4 = 28PP Strength: 10/34 (+0/12) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 22 (+6) Intelligence: 16 (+3) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat: 16 + 16 = 32PP Initiative: +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +8 Melee, +8 Ranged Grapple: +13/29 Defense: +8 (+8 Base, +0 Dodge Focus), +4 Flat-Footed Knockback: -5/-15 Saving Throws: 1 + 5 + 7 = 13PP Toughness: +6/12 (+6 Con, +6 Density (Impervious 10)) Fortitude: +7 (+6 Con, +1) Reflex: +6 (+1 Dex, +5) Will: +8 (+1 Wis, +7) Skills: 20R = 5PP Knowledge: Life Sciences 4 (+7) Medicine 4 (+5) Notice 8 (+9) Search 4 (+7) Feats: 6PP Interpose Improved Grab Improved Grapple Improved Initiative Stunning Attack Takedown Attack Powers: 39 + 10 + 9 + 4 + 6 = 68PP Density 12 (Strength +24, Toughness +6 (Impervious), Immovable 4, Super-Strength 4 (Turns skin to a midnight black when activated); Feats: Super-Strength: Countering Punch, Groundstrike, Bracing) [39PP] Flight 5 (250 MpH) [10PP] Immunity 9 (Life Support) [9PP] Impervious Toughness 4 [6PP] Super-Strength 5 (Effective Strength: (With Density) 79 [Heavy Load 720 Tons], (Without Density) 35 [Heavy Load 2.7 Tons]) [10PP] Drawbacks: (-4) = -4PP Vulnerability (Psionic; Frequency: Common; Intensity: Major) [-4PP] DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 27 Toughness Damage 12(Physical) Totals: Abilities (28) + Combat (32) + Saving Throws (13) + Skills (5) + Feats (6) + Powers (72) - Drawbacks (4) = 150/151 PP

Mm, alright, I'll trust you on that!