MBCE

Kwame nodded slightly as Warp gave her age. That explains a lot about her reaction to this whole situation. Old enough to have had a bad experience, but still young enough to believe she could stop it from happening again. Ah, youth. He looked back at Gargoyle and Endeavor to see if they wanted to partake in the offer. While he waited for an answer, he looked around at the various people enjoying the festivities. He watched as one of the police officers coming down the hill almost hit a young boy who was running to one of the food booths. Hmm, maybe Warp is on to something. Could this all be related to that freak storm the other day?

Kwame couldn't believe his ears. 17? 16? These are kids! Is this all that Freedom has to offer? He shook his head ruefully. Stop thinking like that. It's not like I'm full of experience. For all I know, they've had their powers their whole lives which is longer than I have. Well, maybe the stone guy and I are more on even terms. Still, Grandma Harris always said it's best not to judge a book by its cover. Who knows, these kids could surprise me. The wrestler looked over at the mentioned booth and smiled. "Thanks, kid. I owe ya one." He took off his glove and reached into his pocket for his wallet. "Anyone else want a cup? I'm buying." He looked at the small group to include everyone present in the offer, even Warp who seemed hell bent on suspecting the worst to happen. His gaze lingered on Grimalkin, not sure whether she was interested in eggnog or not. Her stance and festive Santa hat were at odds with each other, making it hard for Kwame to read her.

Winter Memories December, 2016 Theater district Kwame had just recently arrived in Freedom City. The apartment that he managed to get overlooked the South River. He had just woken up to perform his daily morning workout. He turned on the TV as he took his shower. “It seems, life in Freedom City is going to be extremely difficult today. An unusual snow storm has just hit the city. Authorities are urging everyone to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary. The heavy snowfall has dropped visibility to a mere few feet distance. Public transportation has been stopped due to the poor driving conditions. All schools in the city have closed for the day.“ Kwame moved to the window and looked out. Snow was coming down so strongly that he was unable to see the river. If it wasn't for the fact that he had a clock nearby, he would have thought it was still night. Even the sunlight could not penetrate the heavy downfall. He turned around and started flipping through channels on the television. Each station showed scenes around the city. Snow was piling up blocking streets as well as doors to homes. Reports of water pipes bursting from the sudden drop in temperature filled another portion of the airwaves. This is bad. Real bad. I wonder how the city handles weather like this? Chicago would have had the salt trucks out and about already. If they didn't, the mayor would be out of a job. It’s happened before. Kwame thought of the winter storms that had hit Chicago during his childhood. He still remember the blizzard of 1999 where 21.6 inches of snow fell upon the city. Schools and businesses were forced to close. He was caught at the local youth center and unable to get home for a few hours. While he waited, Kwame had started wrestling with the other kids who were also stranded. He smiled inwardly as the memory reminded him of his first taste of wrestling. Kwame moved over to the dresser and grabbed a shirt. Might as well check on the neighbors. See if everyone is okay. It’s not like I can go jogging in that mess. Kwame opened the door and went across the short hall. Carefully, he knocked on the door. “Mrs. Dawson? It’s Kwame, from across the hall. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” The door opened allowing the smell of freshly baked cookies to enter the hallway. “Oh! I was going to ask if you wanted some cookies. Why don’t you come on in? You could tell me all about yourself.” Standing in the doorway was a woman with gray hair pulled back in a bun. She wore glasses that hung slightly too low on her nose. Red earrings seemed to pull her head lower due to their weight. Mrs. Dawson smiled up at Kwame and he saw in that smile a familiar face. It wasn't until that moment that he realized just how much he missed his own grandmother. The delicious aroma of cookies in the air simply added to the feeling of warmth and home. Kwame smiled widely as he stepped inside. It’s not Chicago, but it does feel like I've found another place to call home.

Kwame listened to Warp's explanation and was caught by surprise when Endeavor landed near them. The wrestler twisted his upper torso to avoid most of the snow that fell atop of Warp. Turning back to the young hero, Kwame laughed aloud. "Looks like the snowy weather is having its intended effect upon you!" Kwame turned to the newcomer and held out his hand to help the spacesuit clad youngster to her feet. "I think you need to work on your landings. If you have twisted slightly to the left, you could have landed on Warp's shoulders. Now that would have been impressive!" He gave a playful wink towards Warp before turning his attention back to Endeavor. "As for the eggnog, it can be made both with or without alcohol. Grandma Harris had a recipe that tasted great both ways. Of course, now, I prefer the alcohol version a tad bit more." He stopped and took a moment to look at the newcomer and the stone creature. He then took a moment to look Warp over carefully. Too young to drink alcohol? Wait a minute, are these kids? There are kids protecting this city? "Hang on a second, how old are you guys?"

Kwame watched the display and nodded his head at the maneuver. He had performed the same move during his bouts with the PCW and TNA wrestling groups but that was normal wrestling. He was interested how well a punch could be pulled when both fighters had the ability to destroy buildings. Kwame shook his head showing that he had no further questions. He was getting more interested in seeing the rest of the workings of the league. So far, it was just what he wanted.

Kwame took a moment to look at the other new recruits. Some of them were very interesting but it did get him wondering how things were going to play out. "Yeah, I've got a quick question. I know this is wrestling, so I assume it's pretty much the same as the mundane leagues, but I've got to ask, with this being the superpowered league, how real do we get?" He gesture over at one of the petite new members as he continued. "I mean, I'm pretty strong and Jesse's pretty much invulnerable. We're going to need to be pretty careful with someone as small as him. I'm assuming your one of those agility type wrestlers, always jumping around the ring, showing off how quick you are?" "I don't want to hurt anyone, but to make this look impressive, we'll need to know just how far we can go." Kwame looked back at DeShaek as he finished.

Kwame took the offered hand in a firm but careful grip. "The pleasure is all mine." He smiled broadly as he released the hand. "Warp, huh? That's an interesting name. Reminds me of a fella I used to wrestle back in the PCW. Oh, that's Pro Championship Wrestling, an independent wrestling group out of Chicago that I used to wrestle for. His signature move was to fling his opponents into the ropes and as they bounced back, clothesline them. He did it so fast that it was like warp speed!" He adjusted his scarf slightly as he added. "You wouldn't be a speedster would? That's how you made the cup disappear?" At the mention of the cup, his eyes widen and he slaps his forehead. "That's right! I almost forgot. That's why I came over in the first place! I was looking for some real eggnog and thought you guys might be able to point me in the right direction."

Kwame took a moment to look around at everyone enjoying themselves and shrugged. "Does it really matter? I'd rather people would have some fun than trying to hurt each other. It is the holiday season after all." He raised his hands in a waiting gesture before continuing. "I admit, it is a little strange. Nothing like this would every happen in Chicago, but then again, this is Freedom we're talking about. Where pretty much anything could happen or appear." Kwame looks towards the stone creature standing next to the woman. "I mean, where else are you going to see," he gestures to include Gargoyle, Warp, a space suit with a large inner tube running toward the snow hill, and all the people having fun, "all of this in one place? As long as there are people like yourself willing to watch out for everyone, let them enjoy themselves." Kwame smiled at the pair and removed his knit cap. revealing his bald head. He quickly took a bow and said, "Forgive my lack of manners. The name's Kwame or as most people are used to calling me, Hammer. I'm new in town and enjoying the festivities before getting to work." He replaced the cap and adjusted the edge to ensure that the red H was slightly off centered.

Kwame stepped out into the street and stopped for a moment to take in the sights. Look at all of this craziness! Even the cops are getting into the swing of things. I guess even Christmas gets people to relax. He lifted his head and shifted the air. Cinnamon! I wonder if they have some real eggnog for sell. With a smile on his face, he adjusted the knit black hat upon his head and tighten the red scarf around his neck. He moved deeper in the crowds looking for a stall that was selling eggnog when he noticed the young lady in costume and the ... stone creature?! Kwame shook his head and moved over towards them. Perhaps they can point me in the right direction. Kwame raised his hand to get their attention just when dark lines of power moved about her arms. Seeing the cup disintegrate in her hand caused Kwame to voice his surprise. "Holy sh--" he began but quickly caught himself as a young girl ran by. "--akes! That was some wicked display of power!" His voice was loud enough for the young woman and stone creature to easily hear. Kwame seemed quite normal. He wore his black knit cap with a red H embossed on the edge, a red knit scarf, a thick down felt winter jacket, blue jeans, and brown construction boots. The clothes, though bulky, did little to disguise the muscular shape on his five eleven frame. He smiled warmly at the pair.

-fin-

This thread can be closed up.

Continues at WNTW Chanel 3 - Action News

Main Thread: New Town, New Beginnings Area: Southside Character: Hammer Date: December 19, 2016 Time: 1 pm news "And now, time for Action News' own Amy Feng with the latest scoop on the super-powered community. Amy?" "Thank you, Jack." Amy Feng said as her image filled the television screen. Behind her, a restaurant with large pane glass windows could be seen. Yellow police tape marked over an area just in front of the main entranceway. A group of gawkers stood around splitting their attention between the various police officers milling about within the restaurant and the nearby camera crews. "Here at Madden's Restaurant in the Southside area, an altercation between a small group of would be thieves and a new arrival to the city occurred. I have with me an eye-witness to the events that unfolded." The camera view widen to include a young boy no older than thirteen standing next to Amy. The wore a gray knit cap that had flaps covering his ears. Behind him, amongst the gawkers, another boy was gesturing wildly at the camera in the hopes of getting on TV. "Young man, in your own words, could you explain what transpired here?" Amy asked as she held the microphone lower to catch every word the boy said. "Yeah, I can do that. It was totally sick! You see, I was in Madden's with my friend Toby," the boy took a moment to point out Toby in the crowd of gawkers. "We were eating when I noticed this bald dude sitting a few tables away from us. I told Toby that the guy looked familiar and all so I took out my phone and checked HeroHouse.com but he was on there. That's when these six guys come barging into the place carrying machine guns and telling everybody to, like, get their money and stuff out so's they could take it. Toby was like really scared and all. I thought he was going to wet himself." Amy smiled down at the boy and prompted him, "And then what happened?" "Oh, that bald guy I thought I recognized stood up and started talking Christmas and stuff like he was some kind of hero or something. But the guy in charge wasn't having any of it. He just turned his gun on the bald dude and shot him! I mean, I've never seen nobody get shot before. It ain't like Call of Duty. Some woman screamed right after the shot and the boss guy told one of his goons to take the bald dude's wallet and stuff. right before he reached him, the bald dude reached out! Toby thought he was some kind of zombie or some such, but I knew better. Only people who could survive getting shot like that is a super!" Amy tilted her head to the side, a small glint of interest in her eyes. "A super? Are you sure? Did he identify himself?" The boy shook his head. "Yeah, I'm sure. He stood up and there was, like, no blood or marks or nuthing on him. Just a hole in his shirt where the bullet hit. That's when the guy nearest him called that he was a super and five of the guys shot at the bald dude. Man, they couldn't hit nuthing. I think only one or two actually hit him, but that was all it took to piss him off. The bald dude then said, 'Time to knock some sense inta ya -- Hammer Style'. Just like that. And then I remembered where I knew him. See, I've always liked watching wrestling and all and one of the wrestler would always say that. He went by the name Hammer in TNA. I couldn't believe it! I thought Hammer was dead or something since he hadn't been around for the past year or so." Amy blinked in surprise. "A wrestler?" "Yeah. I know cause that's how he took out the goons. He caught the nearest guy around the waist and flipped him onto his head! I mean it was the coolest suplex I've ever seen. The guy was knocked out cold! Hammer then turned to the guy by the bathroom. I guess that one was manhandling his woman cause Hammer went ahead and did Hammer Down on him. That's his finishing move and it sure did finish him! So two guys were out already. The last four sure didn't want any part of the beating come for them so they ran. The boss and the lookout by the door made it out quick enough but the other two weren't so lucky One of them got HKO, Hammer's knock out move. That's why the one table got busted up. Hammer slammed him into it! The last guy wet his pants after seeing that. Hammer came over, grabbed his arm and put him in a Figure-four armlock. All the while, Hammer was talking to him all calm and stuff. It didn't take long before the goon was begging for the cops to arrest him." "And when the police arrived? Where was Hammer?" Amy asked taking a moment to look around for the hero. "Aw, he was gone by then. I got him to give me a autograph before he left though." The boy held up a napkin with a short message written on it: To Pete, A true fan! Hammer Pete lowered the napkin and said, "Hammer even told me to keep an eye out for him since he was going to wrestling in the UWL!" Amy raised the and smiled down at Pete. "Thank you. You've heard him, Jack, it looks like Freedom's got a new hero in town and unlike most, this one has a public day job."

This thread is open for anyone to post any incidents that might make the news. For this thread, all news will be covered by Channel 3 (GBN affiliate). Simply respond to the thread with a link to the main thread where the event occurred, Area of the city, characters mentioned, date, and time. Thread: Link to related thread Area: Location of main thread Character: Name of characters mentioned Date: Date of the news Time: time of the news

Just as the gun went off, Jenny was being led back into the main area. She screamed as she saw Kwame drop motionless to the ground. The thug who had been forcing her forward , pushed Jenny into a booth. "Shut your trap or you'll end up like your boyfriend." The leader gestured at the man behind the counter. "Go empty out his pockets," he said. "It's not like he'll need his money any longer!" The goon nodded and moved quickly over to Kwame. Just when he was a few steps away, Kwame reached out at the man's leg only to grasp air. "Damn! I thought you were closer!" Kwame said as he stood up. The thugs all stared, dumbfounded to see a supposedly dead man come back to life. Their surprise only lasted a moment as the nearest man shouted, "He's a super!" before five of the men fired at Kwame. Only one bullet managed to find Kwame and it was unable to cause any damage. Kwame looked down at the two holes in his shirt and frowned. "I liked this shirt! Looks like you boys have just volunteered to be my first attempt at being a hero." Kwame cracked his neck and smiled with an evil glint in his eyes. "Time to knock some sense inta ya -- Hammer style!"

Sense motive check Dc 11: 1d20 9 Thug fails to realize Hammer's playing possum. Attack, Grapple Thug opposed: 1d20+8 9 1d20+27 47 1d20+4 23 Hammer attempts to start a grapple but fails to connect. All six thugs attack: 5#1d20+2 10 10 8 18 5 Remaining five thugs fire at Hammer. One hit but fails to breech his impervious protection.

Round One Attack at Hammer: 1d20+2 16 Hits Hammer's Defense of 16. Bluff attempt - opposed roll: 1d20+8 11 1d20-1 1 Hammer's attempt to bluff being hurt, success.

Kwame watched as the men began to spread throughout the restaurant. One stayed by the entrance, a second went towards the restrooms, a third began moving behind the counter. Two more began walking from table to table, gathering wallets and jewelry from the diners. The leader remained near the center of the room, overseeing the men's movements. Kwame took a moment to size up the leader. What's wrong with these clowns? Don't they know they're in Freedom City? Only a fool would try to rob a place in the middle of a city full of supers. "Five minutes!" the leader called out. Kwame shook his head in disbelief before standing up. "Hey, you! Sit down!" called the leader as he noted Kwame. He pointed his machine gun at Kwame. "Look, fellas," Kwame said as he slowly raised his arms in a non threatening way. "Why don't you guys stop all this nonsense and head hold. It's almost Christmas. Continue like this and you'll get on Santa's naughty list." "Trying to be hero is going to get you killed! Now sit down!" returned the thug. "Or what? You going to shot me?" Kwame asked. "Yeah, I am," the thug replied as he pulled back the trigger and unleashed a bullet. The bullet easily found its mark and Kwame gave a short cry of pain before falling to the ground.

Assement check: 1d20+7 21 1d20+1 3

Thugs Initiative Check: 6#1d20+1! 5 16 9 4 9 9 Hammer Initiative Check: 1d20 12

The six men who entered the restaurant are normal Thugs from the M&M book page 229. They are armed with machine pistols. THUG POWER LEVEL 2 Abilities: Str 14 Dex 12 Con 15 Int 10 Wis 10 Cha 8 Skills: Craft (mechanical) 4 (+4), Drive 4 (+5), Intimidate 4 (+3), Knowledge (popular culture) 2 (+2), Knowledge (streetwise) 4 (+4), Profession 4 (+4), Swim 2 (+4) Feats: Equipment 2 Equipment: Leather jacket (+1 Toughness), pistol (+3 damage), cell phone. Combat: Attack +2, Damage +2 (punch), +3 (pistol), Defense +2, Initiative +1 Saving Throws: Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Reflex +1, Will +0 Abilities 9 + Skills 6 (24 ranks) + Feats 2 + Powers 0 + Combat 8 + Saves 2 = 27

Content Guidebook - Character page with detailed information on Hammer HellQ - Detailed questions about Hammer Interview Reputation - Listing of information that can be found about Hammer through the use of various skills Image Gallery - Place where pictures of Hammer's costume and such reside. Advancement - Listing of earned power points and how they are spent. Threads December 2016 New Day, New Job - Hammer's introduction to the UWL at The Palace of Practice New Town, New Beginnings - Hammer arrives in Freedom City, December 19, 2016 Peace On Earth, And Mercy Mild? - Hammer enjoys a day at the Christmas block party. WNTW Channel 3 - Action News - TV reports about Hammer as a superhero January 2017 Heroic Tech Support - Hammer meets with Endeavor for help with setting up his online profile A Friendly Game - Hammer sets up a game of flag football for various heroes to mingle. Hardware Hoodlum Heist - Hammer finds himself involved with stopping a bank robbery with Chrome and Warp February 2017 One First Shot - Hammer debts with his wrestling team. Vignettes Winter Memories - [December 2016, Winter Wonderland] A strange and sudden blizzard hits the city of Freedom. Beeing Schooled - [February 2017, Bees] A giant bee decides to learn how to wrestle.

11:15 am Kwame saw the waiter moving towards their table and he waved him down. "Hey, can I get another plate of flapjacks? Oh, and another cup of coffee." Kwame took the remaining morsel of food from his plate and stuffed it into his face. Jenny, sitting across from him giggled at the sight. "You sure do eat a lot," she said as she took a sip of her coffee. She looked down at the five empty plates stacked in front of Kwame and shook her head. "Where do you put it all? There doesn't seem to be a bit of fat on you!" Kwame looked down and the empty plates and smiled sheepishly. "It takes a lot of fuel to keep me in top shape. I've always had a good appetite but it seems to have gone into overdrive once my abilities manifested." Kwame lifted his right arm and flexed, showing the largeness of his bicep. "I'm hoping I'll be able to advance to the top tier in the League." Jenny reached out and lightly stroked the muscle. "I'm sure you will. Have you decided what name you're going to use in the ring, Kwame?" Kwame noted a pair of young boys a few tables away talking heatedly amongst themselves. He could just make out enough of the conversation to realize that they were debating his identity. He smiled at the boys which surprised them. "Well, I was thinking about that on the flight here from Chicago. I figure why change. Hammer did me well enough in the normal wrestling world, it will do me well here. Besides, keeping the name means I have access to a ready made fan base." Jenny put her cup down and looked deeply into Kwame's eyes. "True. I guess Hammer would be a good name for someone in the Ultimate Wrestling League." The Ultimate Wrestling League or UWL as it was more commonly known, was still relatively new to Freedom City. Kwame had only learned of its existence a few years ago. He was intrigued by the notion that people of power would continue the sport of wrestling. So many people looked down on the sport believing that it was all staged. For the most part, there was a script for the matches and some of the drama outside of the ring was also planned down tot he wire, but no plan survived engagement. Kwame was sure that the matches were just as staged with the UWL, but there was something about seeing super-powered opponents facing each other as to be thrilling. Soon, he would get his chance to show off just what he could do. The waiter arrived with a tall order of pancakes for Kwame. He deftly placed the platter down while refilling Kwame's cup. He picked up the empty platters and smiled. "If you need anything else, just give me a holler." Kwame returned the smile. "I'll be sure to do that, Stan." Jenny stood up. "I'll be back. I've got to use the restroom." Kwame watched as Jenny walked to the restrooms in the back of the restaurant. Her path took her passed the entrance so Kwame got a good look at the six men, armed with machine pistols, rushing into the restaurant. The first man in raised his weapon and fired off a volley of bullets into the air. "This is a stick up! Don't nobody move!" Kwame slowly put his cup of coffee down. Looks like I'll be making my debut sooner than I thought.

Hammer Threads - personal count (25), official count [ ] New Day, New Job (6) [ ] New Town, New Beginnings solo thread (5) [ ] Peace On Earth, And Mercy Mild? (13) [ ] WNTW Channel 3 - Action News (1) [ ] Resources December Vignette: Winter Memories Image Gallery Guidebook HellQ Reputation