Heritage

"Hey hey." Lynn looked looked a bit concerned and sympathetic as she took a seat at Nicki's table. "So like, will you have to be here anytime she works a shift? That seems awfully unfair to you; at the very least, you should get a free cup of coffee out of it." She sighed and rubbed her face. "I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous about all this; not a lot, just a little. We'll see how things go." She cast a loving look in Gretchen's direction, which she apparently felt, as she offered one of her half-smiles in return. "She really is sweet, y'know; she just keeps it safe on the inside, so she won't be hurt again." Then she looked back at Nicki and smiled. "I get that some people take a little time to get used to, to understand; it seems like an awful lot of work at first, until you really get to know them, and then you find out just how much they have to offer, and you realize it was more than worth it. So, we'll give it a shot and we'll see how it goes! Hopefully for the best."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," laughed Lynn as she held up her hands. "So many questions! Alright, first of all, let me address the whole 'glamour' issue. Many people have a bit of a misconception about it; they assume that since it's just an 'illusion' or a 'dream', it must be insubstantial, like a hologram or something." She leaned forward conspiratorially, and lowered her voice for dramatic effect. "But what they don't realize is that to the Fae, dreams and stories are real." The changeling held out her hand, palm up, and a small figurine appeared, no more than six inches high; it was Mason, jeans, coat, book bag and all! She placed it on the desk in front of the boy, and crossed her arms, a mischievous smile on her face. "Go ahead, pick it up; feel it's weight. It's gotta be porcelain, right? Got to be." After a few seconds, she waved her hand, and the tiny figure vanished as quickly as it arrived, dissolving into what looked a cool wisp of vapour as it departed. "Glamour can be wood, stone, paper, glass, rubber or a dozen other things; it cannot be metal, or at least it can't be when I make it. It can be as simple as a golf ball, or as detailed as an entire bookcase filled with books." (Apparently she noticed his interest in the shelves behind her earlier.) "And it can make you drunk or crush a car flat." Lynn loudly clapped her hands together. "Useful stuff, glamour." She gave the lad a few seconds to let that all sink in before continuing. "Now as to your second battery of questions-" She spread her hands wide. "I was born right here, in South Jersey! I was a mortal descended from a mystic that traced its way all the way back to Avalon. But a ritual was performed at the moment of death that transfered my spirit, my essence, into an immortal shell made of timeless, ageless glamour. So now-" A cloud of vapour swirled around the shopkeeper seated in her chair, and when it parted, she was a dead ringer for actress Scarlett Johansson, still wearing the same apron and hideous sweater. "I am whoever I say I am." She shrugged and chuckled. "It's pretty cool, actually."

Tagged!

Casey caught Punchline's reference to 'Bob', presumably his real (or was that former?) name; clearly he thought of them as being separate people, which made a certain amount of sense. He couldn't be a cartoon clown all the time; he must have a day job, family and friends like most other heroes. Or did he? Somehow she had a feeling that 'Bob' might be just as lonely as the Fanatic, in his own way. Anyway, back to the business at hand. "Can you give us an idea of the layout? Like, draw it or make a model out of something?" She didn't understand exactly how his powers worked, but he did seem to have some sort of limited reality-warping powers, which made sense; she thought back to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and The Mask as examples of what a living 'toon' might be capable of achieving.

The shotgun blast that hit her thigh actually did smart a bit, and Casey winced a little bit when it it, but she literally shrugged off the hit to her shoulder. By this time, the blonde heroine was starting to run out of patience. "Look, I don't know what your beef is with Dr Delacroix is, but you've got to-" As for the rebar to the head...well, it didn't quite mold around the shape of her head, but the blow probably hurt her attacker's wrists more than it hurt her. However, now she was genuinely angry. "Enough!" The speed at which she spun around was truly impressive, and her piledriver of a right hook came rocketing at the teleporter's face like freight train. Thank goodness for all her training at Claremont about strength control, or else her rage-fueled blow would be capable of truly horrible damage.

Okay, now she's finally getting pissed! She is going to turn around and pop Mr Teleporter right in the face. 1d20+10=20 DC 25 Toughness check if that connects.

Please tell me you're not serious. What, you don't like him? So he's a little intense. 'A little intense'? You cannot be that bad at reading people. This kid is a coiled spring. I think he might have knives under his skin. Well, we can't not hire him just because we don't like him; there may be really good reasons why he's that way. Yes, you can. You can not hire someone for a wide variety of reasons, as long as you're not discriminating against someone. Not hiring someone because you're partner thinks he's terrifying is a legit reason, I assure you. You're probably right; I just...I just think everyone has a mom who loves them, y'know? And his mom may be in the crawlspace under his house. Suddenly Lynn cleared her throat as she showed the resume to her partner. "If you want to, uh, look this over-" Gretch looked at it briefly before crossing her arms and speaking very directly to Elias. "Mr Silvestri, though your previous experience is certainly applicable, I don't think it would be best if we hired you at this time. We appreciate your time, and thank you for coming in." "Um...yes, that's actually true. Thank you for coming in."

Grimalkin The changeling laughed. "I'd say they turned out amazing! My kids are way too good looking, too; lots of trouble when they got to high school age, let me tell you." She switched to kvelling in classic Jewish mother mode."Ruthie in particular knew how to work a pair of pointed ears, so there was always some poor broken-hearted boy hanging around the house, asking if she was home. Zach was much shyer, though his grades were always good- " The Shrike Everyone was very nice, and much prettier and better at talking than she was, and Gretchen was about to lose it. Just as she finished her second cosmo (her third drink overall), a gargoyle showed up, which any other day would have been amazing, but right now was too much overload. She addressed the group with a smile as fragile as cracked glass. "I'm sorry, I need a break now." Then she turned to the new arrival and sighed. "I'm the Shrike, and you are super-cool." She offered him a sweet smile, then abruptly pulled up her hood and vanished from sight, the power of her Ring floating her up towards the high ceiling as she reached out to Lynn. Help. Please help. What is it, are you okay? Too many people. I'm pulling a reverse Graduate. Pulling a 'reverse'...are you floating by ceiling? Yep. Invisible. Come get me. Also a bit drunk. I'm on my way; you'll have to guide me, though. Grimalkin The charming fae suddenly stopped mid-sentence, and cocked her head like she'd heard something, and her face looked striken. "I'm sorry, Gretchen needs me; please excuse me." There was a 'whump' as Grim collapsed in on herself, shrinking down to her pixie form, which darted up towards the ceiling in search of her overwhelmed girlfriend. When she found her, she returned to normal size and erased herself with glamour, and held Gretch quietly as the young barista shook with a mixture of nerves and embarrassment. I'm sorry. I know you really wanted to come to this. You don't need to apologize for anything; if anything, I should apologize to you for pushing you to come along. If I could just...one or two people, I'm good. I don't actually hate people, you know. I know. Everyone is staring at me We're both invisible, hon; nobody's staring at us. Oh, right. I forgot. And even if they were, f### 'em; f### 'em all. We can have our own party up here. 'Dancing on the Ceiling'. Like Lionel Ritchie. Exactly; we're exactly like Lionel Ritchie right now. For now, the two lovers were content to float near the ceiling, invisible and slowly spinning to music only they could here.

Oh I forget to do the Notice check! I was about to post here, and realized I forgot that. 1d20+10=25 Does it effect the situation in any way? Sorry to drag this out so long EDIT: sorry, misread that post; clearly it does not. Posting now!

Personally I'd be happy to see a rebuilt version of Divine return to Freedom; so many new people to make feel confusing feelings! Also Gretchen's reaction to her might be hilarious. Samantha Stone or the fey-blooded character would be cool in Bedlam; Freedom is just lousy with the Fae right now

In response to this question, Lynn looked somewhat worried, while there was just a hint of a smile from Gretchen. The two exchanged a set of very meaningful looking glances, almost as though they were communicating on some deeper level. "Well, the state of New Jersey has pretty clear laws on self-defense, " Lynn finally stated. "And as an employer within that state, I would hope my employees would follow those laws. There are three things the law requires: that the threat be immediate, that it's unlawful, and that the force of the response be appropriate. So like, if someone tries to punch you, and you decapitate them, that would be seen as an overly-aggressive response." "Just a bit." "Here's the thing," Lynn continued, leaning foward slightly as she shaped her words through hand gestures. "Traditionally, an employer will always tell you that if the store is being robbed, you should do pretty much whatever the robber says, y'know, barring anything suicidal. Give 'em all the cash in the drawer, let 'em steal whatever they want, etc, because your life is more valuable than anything in the store and everything is insured. And that's true. However-" And here the store owner seemed to be picking her words very carefully. "I am aware that Freedom isn't like other cities, and that things happen here that don't happen anywhere else. And there are people here who aren't like people anywhere else; people who can do things, or possess special skills or training. I would hope that any such people who entered my store would respect it, its employees and its customers as they would in their own home. Because this is our home, in a way; actually literally in our case, because me and Gretch live upstairs." A short pause. "If they entered my store." Gretchen took a step closer and placed an hand on Lynn's shoulder; it was protective, but non-threatening. "Does that answer your question?"

"Mm, I wish," sighed Casey as she fished out another piece. "I sought you out because I was hoping you might help me on a case; it involves a crooked shipping company that's been smuggling very dangerous, high-tech weapons through Freedom for, gosh, maybe years." She took a big bite of chicken, which she chewed very thoroughly before swallowing. "I just helped the city move a cargo container full of some kind of energy grenades off the docks today, some of which had already blown up; I guess they weren't a hundred percent stable or something. The point is, if that whole container had gone off, everyone working on the docks would've been dead." She worked on her chicken for a little bit, letting the information sink in. "The company's been under investigation before, but the cops have never been able to make anything stick, because they've got a pack of sleazy lawyers on call 24/7. One of the detectives working the case asked for my help; he couldn't do it directly, because, well, the law, but he made it very clear if I could help him get some dirt on these jerks, then maybe we could finally put them out of business." The blonde heroine sighed as she carefully tucked her bones in the trash bag and wiped her hands. "Look, the fact is I'm normally what you'd call a 'straight shooter'; I fly around in a flashy suit-" She indicated her red, white and blue costume. "And I help people. I think there's value in being a symbol of hope these days, because the world is not perfect, and can use all the help it can get." And here she paused. "But, I've been starting to see the value of being subtle now and then, even downright sneaky; not every battle can be fought in broad daylight, and sometimes as much as I hate to admit it, you need to...well, get your hands a bit dirty." Casey looked at Echo and shrugged. "I'm not great at sneaky. I mean, I'm getting better at it, but it's still very new to me, and it goes against all my instincts; I tend to want to sock problems in the face. But I did some research, and it looks like you're pretty good at sneaky, especially when you and Jack of All Blades helped bring down that Bench guy. That was some real Woodward and Bernstein stuff, and that's the kind of help I need." She shrugged again. "So, could you help me out with this? I could really use a good partner." A more earnest plea for help with a break-in you couldn't imagine.

Gretchen helped him up as much as he would let her, trying very hard to remind herself that while his desire to shield her from harm was based on rather antiquated notions of female fragility, at least it meant he had concern for others, unlike some spell-slingers she'd encountered. "No, we did not. It seems Ira left a few items off the inventory." Beat. "I'm actually kind of bulletproof. Maybe you should stand behind me." Meanwhile, Lynn was doing her best to comfort the distraught genie. "He's been gone a long time, at least as humans view time; maybe only a heartbeat for you. He's...beyond our realm, I guess you'd say. I don't think he's ever coming back." She twisted her fingers into knots as she looked up into that big, sad face. "How...how did you know him?"

Okay, forgive the long reponse delay on this one. For the record, both Lynn and Gretchen are currently in a thread where they're about to meet Al-Kazar, in some form or another, in another dimension; he'd been missing for decades up until that point. The thread was started months ago, possibly last year, and has been creeping along slowly; I have no idea how it's going to end, beyond Gretchen being given three magic items that once belonged to him, but to my knowledge it doesn't end up with him returning to Earth, so forgive me if my words are a little vague here

The store owner led him back into her office, a relatively small room lined with tall bookshelves on all four walls. The room was dominated by a huge old desk made of dark wood, behind which was a highbacked leather swivel chair; two lower matching chairs were also provided for guests. On top of the desk were a somewhat old-fashioned looking desktop computer, a banker's lamp and a well-stocked candy dish. In particular, Mason's magical senses were drawn to two things; the bookcase directly behind Lynn, who'd taken a seat in the high-backed chair, and a pair of antique firearms, a lever-action rifle and a revolver, that were mounted in a frame on the wall over and behind her head. The entire bookcase, including all the books on the shelves, glowed with magic, as did the wooden pegs that held the two firearms in place. There were other odds and ends that radiated magic, but those two objects seemed the most concerning. Did it feel like a lair? Yeah, a little bit. But what are you supposed to do when the lioness is so polite...? "Have a seat, Mason, and help yourself to some candy if you're so disposed." The beautiful store owner didn't say anything for several seconds; she was pondering the young man, one finger stroking her lower lip, those deep brown eyes upon him. Her gaze was not hostile, however, but seemed to shift from simple curiosity to mild concern. At length, she finally spoke. "I'm sorry, it's rude of me to stare. Here I was, hoping to make you more comfortable, and then I brought you into the spider's web; please forgive me." She drummed her fingers on her desk and sighed. "Clearly, you can sense magical power, which means this whole store probably lights up like a Christmas tree to you. It's mostly glamour, if you're wondering; I'm very good with it." Suddenly Lynn sat up and slapped her forehead. "Oh, that's right, I forgot; I'm supposed to say the words! " She began to rifle through her desk drawers, clearly looking for something. "Just, just give me a sec; there's an oath for situations like this, a vow of safety for visitors..." Finally she held up a small piece of paper in triumph. "Ah-ha, here it is! 'I do swear, by the Cup, and the Sword, and the Staff, to do no harm to you in this place, until violence is done upon me.' See, now I'm Oathbound; couldn't hurt you if I wanted to!" She tossed the paper aside and smiled, looking tremendously relieved.

Just caught an error myself on her Elongation distance; fixed it!

The pretty store owner nodded. "Okay, there's just two other things we need to sort over; first I need to bring in my partner and make sure she's okay with bringing you on, and then there's...this other thing." She picked up her phone and called out to the front of the store. "Hiya Gretch. Can you come into the office for a few minutes? Yeah...yeah, exactly. Okay, cool. Thanks." She switched off her phone and looked back at Elias, her hands on top of her desk. "Okay, so. I don't if you did any research into our store, but from time to time...things happen here. Usually nothing too crazy, but, well...this store was opened by my great-grandfather back in the Forties, and it's had a very colorful history since then, so..." She sighed. "Would the chance of encountering weirdness be a deal breaker for you?" Meanwhile Gretchen stepped into the office just in time to hear this last question asked, and she stood behind and to the left of Lynn. The young man could now get a better look at the young barista (and apparently Lynn's partner); she wore a sleeveless black Velvet Underground shirt, which exposed her pale arms with bore what looked like tattoos of musical notation. Her ears bore many piercings, and the eyes behind her black plastic framed glasses were heavily made up. A pair of black jeans and some beat-up Doc Martin's completed her ensemble. "Hey," she simply offered; she cocked her head to one side, apparently waiting for the potential new hire to answer Lynn's 'weirdness' question.

This character slot is paid for with my Impervium award. EDIT: Apparently, I don't need to use a reward, as I still have an unused PL10 slot

SLITHER Power Level: 10 (150/156PP) Tradeoffs: -2 Toughness/+2 Defense Unspent PP: 6 In Brief: Former MI6 agent with stretching powers Alternate Identity: Isabel Liǔshuāng Fitzmorris-Blakely Identity: Secret Birthplace: Islamabad, Pakistan Occupation: Freelance investigator Affiliations: None currently, formerly MI6 Family: Sir Henry Albert Fitzmorris-Blakely KCMG (father), Anna Wong Fitzmorris-Blakely [Huáng Xiǎoqìng] (mother) Description: Age: 26 (March 29th, 1990) Gender: Female Height: 5’6” Weight: 125 lbs. Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown Isabel is an attractive young woman of mixed Chinese and English ancestry; she's typically dressed in very chic designer clothes typical of the 'horsey set', lots of Burberry tweed, scarves and boots, and always complimented by a pair of elegant leather gloves. When she's not dressing up or just hanging out with friends, she dresses for comfort, usually in sweaters or blouses and comfortable slacks, but she still wears gloves of some sort. As Slither, she wears a full body suit in black and gray made of a special mimetic, thermally-neutral material that refracts all wavelengths of light as well as dampening heat signatures; it makes her very hard to see, but if she moves too fast the photocells struggle to match her movement, and a distinctive ripple may be seen. A pull-up hood and facemask hide her face, and also includes light magnifying goggles for nighttime operations. The hands and feet also include adhesive padding to allow unimpeded movement on walls and ceilings. Lastly the suit is insulted to offer some protection from the cold, which othrrwise drastically impairs Slither's performance. History: Isabel Liǔshuāng Fitzmorris-Blakely (‘Izzy’ to friends and family) was born March 29th, 1990 into a well-respected family that has been part of Her Majesty's Government for over a century, mostly in the Colonial and Foreign Offices (now combined into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, or FCO). Her father is Sir Henry Albert Fitzmorris-Blakely, the former High Commissioner to Pakistan, and her mother is a diplomatic translator from Hong Kong, who met her father through the Queen's Service. Izzy spent much of her childhood living with her family in India and Pakistan, where she developed an interest in Asian languages. While she attended International schools in Islamabad and New Delhi for her primary education, there was never any doubt that she would return to England for university. She inherited her mother’s gift for languages, and was conversant in four languages by age six, and fluent in eight by the time she started university. It was while she was at Cambridge majoring in Politics and International Studies that she was recruited by the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6); the excitement of espionage work intrigued her, and she knew her knowledge of South Asia would prove invaluable in the field. After she completed her studies, she was assigned a cover position as a translator at the British Trade and Investment Office in Lahore, which gave her many opportunities to gather intel on Pakistani business leaders possibly supporting anti-Western interests. She never revealed her undercover status to any of her coworkers, and was very popular among her peers. Then one day in 2013, the BTIO delegation was stopped on the road near Peshawar; all occupants were dragged out of their vehicles, beaten and thrown into trucks that made for the Afghan border. Once there, their captors delivered them to a heavily-armed camp where a huge Russian mercenary brutally questioned them all in turn. Isabel soon figured out that she was the prize he was looking for, and she offered to provide him with information as long as he let the others go free. The Russian, who his followers called 'the Black Dragon', gleefully agreed and then turned his full attention to breaking Isabel. This began a harrowing ordeal that lasted two weeks; the young agent was given numerous drug injections, forced to go for days without food, sleep or water and subjected to a barrage of questions that didn't make any sense. Snakes were randomly thrown into her cell at night by her laughing guards, biting her again and again, leaving dark purple wounds on her arms and legs. Finally Isabel became feverish and collapsed into unconsciousness. When she at last woke up, her mind was clear for the first time in days; the bites on her arms and legs had faded and an odd warmth spread throughout her whole body. Somehow she knew she was different, changed. Isabel walked up to the bars of her cage, took a deep breath, and squeezed right through. Several days later, she showed up out of the blue at the High Commission in Islamabad, stunning the Diplomatic Service who assumed she was dead. The full details of her capture and escape were never revealed to the press, but since her security clearance was in tatters, SIS was forced to let her go. Now out of work but possessing amazing new abilities, Izzy decided to pursue the Black Dragon on her own, determined to bring down his organization by any means necessary, though is reluctant to use deadly force. Her efforts have been fairly successful over the last three years, but she’s just discovered he’s fled to the US, to a city called Bedlam… Personality & Motivation: Most of Izzy's childhood was spent in South Asia, where she grew up around diplomats and the children of diplomats, giving her a very multicultural perspective. She's always been a team player, and though she's thoroughly competent and capable of working on her own, she misses being part of a group like she was back at uni or in the Queen's Service. Her normally outgoing attitude has been somewhat diminished by the events back in Afghanistan, especially by the changes to her physiology which have made human interactions more difficult. Her upper class manners and 'good breeding' might make people think she's a bit of a stuffed shirt, but Izzy is actually very warm and approachable once you get to know her. In her heart, Isabel is still a patriot, and the fact that monsters like Dragomirov walk the earth fill her with a cold fury. She may not be part of the SIS anymore, but she can still do her bit, which sometimes includes taking on freelance jobs for people who's problems with the criminal element that can't be solved by traditional means. Powers & Tactics: There are very few places Slither can't get into if she's really determined; between her serpentine abilities and her custom-made 'Slither suit', she's extremely sneaky and hard to pin down. If she was a more criminal mind, she'd be a highly successful thief, but she's not hurting for money and is passionate about justice. Unfortunately she is now much more sensitive to cold, and the befuddling toxin she secretes can't be turned off. Izzy's built for infiltration and information gathering, and while she can handle herself in a fight, she's far from a heavy hitter. However her toxin is very effective at making people more pliable if not outright unconscious, ideal for incapacitating security guards and the like. Complications: Enemy: Arkady Ilyich Dragomirov, aka 'The Black Dragon', a former member of the Spetsnaz GRU, now a metahuman gangster operating in Bedlam City. It was Dragomirov's men who captured Izzy and her team in Afghanistan, and it was during her captivity and mistreatment that her abilities first emerged, allowing her to escape. She has vowed to see him brought to justice. Pop Culture Illiterate: Growing up in the world of diplomacy and international travel, Izzy didn't have a lot of time to go to the cinema or watch the telly; besides books were far more interesting and portable. Because of this, she doesn't always get the jokes and references of more media-savvy individuals. Posh: Izzy comes from an upper class English family, attended Cambridge and speaks in a rather RP accent; this doesn't always go over so well with the 'hoi polloi', especially if they're from the UK. PTSD: Isabel still has a lot of unpleasant memories of her captivity, leading to heightened vigilance, nervous tension and occasional nightmares. She's been seeing a therapist for over a year, but she still has a lot of work to do. Racism: Izzy’s father is Caucasian and her mother is Chinese; being a biracial child means she’s been exposed to her share of ignorance. Abilities: 4 + 6 + 12 + 6 + 4 + 8 = 40PP Strength: 14 (+2) Constitution: 16 (+3) Dexterity: 22 (+6) Intelligence: 16 (+3) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat: 10 + 12 = 22PP Initiative: +10 (+6 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +5, +10 Melee (+5 Base, +5 Attack Focus), +5 Ranged Grapple: +23/+25 (+10 Melee, +6 Grappling Finesse, +7 Elongation [+2 if using Addl. Limbs]) Defense: +12 (+6 Base, +6 Dodge Focus) Knockback: Saves: 0 + 7 + 6 + 8 = 21PP Toughness +8 (+3 Con, +5 Defensive Roll) Fortitude +10 (+3 Con, +7) Reflex +12 (+6 Dex, +6) Will +10 (+2 Wis, +8) Skills: 80R = 20PP Acrobatics: 4 (+10) Bluff: 6 (+10) Computers: 2 (+5) Diplomacy: 6 (+10) Disable Device: 7 (+10) Drive: 1 (+7) Escape Artist: 7 (+13, +20 w/ Elongation)* Gather Information: 6 (+10)* Knowledge: Current Events: 2 (+5) Knowledge : Streetwise: 2 (+5) Languages: 7 (Cantonese, English [native], French, Hindustani, Japanese, Mandarin, Pashto, Russian) Medicine: 3 (+5) Notice: 8 (+10) Search: 3 (+5) Sense Motive: 8 (+10) Sleight of Hand: 4 (+10)* Stealth: 4 (+10)* Feats: 24PP Attack Focus 5 (Melee) Benefit: Ambidexterity (Hands and feet) Benefit: Wealthy Connected Defensive Roll 5 Dodge Focus 6 Equipment 1 Evasion Grabbing Finesse Improved Grab Improved Grapple (free w/ Additional Limbs) Improved Initiative Improved Pin Skill Mastery* (Escape Artist, Gather Information, Sleight of Hand, Stealth) Uncanny Dodge Well-Informed Equipment: 1PP = 5EP Binoculars 1EP Commlink 1EP Handcuffs 1EP Lockpicks 1EP Multi-tool 1EP Powers: 2 + 10 + 7 + 2 + 8 = 29PP Additional Limbs 2 (Both Legs) [2PP] Drain Wisdom 10 (Extras: Poison, Flaws: Permanent) [10PP] Elongation 7 (500 feet) [7PP] Super-Movement 2 (Slithering, Trackless) [4PP] Device 2 (Slither Suit; 10PP Container; Flaws: Hard-to-Lose) [8PP] • Concealment 4 (All Visual Senses, Flaws: Blending) [4PP] • Immunity 1 (Cold environments) [1PP] • Super-Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling 2) [4PP] • Super-Senses 1 (Low Light Vision) [1PP] Drawbacks: (-6) = -6PP Vulnerability (Cold Attacks, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Moderate [+50% DC]) [-3PP] Weakness (Cold environments, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Moderate, cumulative -1 penalty on all checks, attack rolls and Defense per 20 minutes) [-3PP] DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 17 Tough Damage Drain Touch DC 20 Fort Drain Abilities 40 + Combat 22 + Saving Throws 21 + Skills 20 + Feats 24 + Powers 29 - Drawbacks 6 = 150/156 Power Points

Made a few changes, the big one involving her Wisdom Drain; it is now essentially a non-lethal toxin that her skin always secretes, putting her into classic Rogue territory. One the hand, it makes it easier for her to use than when I had it Requires Grapple, but on the other it makes any sort of intimacy highly problematic. Combined with her Cold issues (she's not actually cold-blooded, but her semi-reptilian physiology is heavily impacted by lower temperatures), I think it gives her some fun challenges to face.

Well inspiration struck and kept me working on this character until almost 6am! It's a conversion from a 3e character I used a few years ago, and I think it's in pretty good shape, though a few things are missing and there are probably a few goofs and formatting issues. Her physical powers all have the Mutation descriptor, and the suit is Technological in nature.

SLITHER Power Level: 10 (150/150PP) Tradeoffs: -2 Toughness/+2 Defense Unspent PP: 0 In Brief: Former MI6 agent with stretching powers Alternate Identity: Isabel Liǔshuāng Fitzmorris-Blakely Identity: Secret Birthplace: Islamabad, Pakistan Occupation: Freelance investigator Affiliations: None currently, formerly MI6 Family: Sir Henry Albert Fitzmorris-Blakely KCMG (father), Anna Wong Fitzmorris-Blakely [Huáng Xiǎoqìng] (mother) Description: Age: 26 (March 29th, 1990) Gender: Female Height: 5’6” Weight: 125 lbs. Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown Isabel is an attractive young woman of mixed Chinese and English ancestry; she's typically dressed in very chic designer clothes typical of the 'horsey set', lots of Burberry tweed, scarves and boots, and always complimented by a pair of elegant leather gloves. When she's not dressing up or just hanging out with friends, she dresses for comfort, usually in sweaters or blouses and comfortable slacks, but she still wears gloves of some sort. As Slither, she wears a full body suit in black and gray made of a special mimetic, thermally-neutral material that refracts all wavelengths of light as well as dampening heat signatures; it makes her very hard to see, but if she moves too fast the photocells struggle to match her movement, and a distinctive ripple may be seen. A pull-up hood and facemask hide her face, and also includes light magnifying goggles for nighttime operations. The hands and feet also include adhesive padding to allow unimpeded movement on walls and ceilings. Lastly the suit is insulted to offer some protection from the cold, which othrrwise drastically impairs Slither's performance. History: Isabel Liǔshuāng Fitzmorris-Blakely (‘Izzy’ to friends and family) was born March 29th, 1990 into a well-respected family that has been part of Her Majesty's Government for over a century, mostly in the Colonial and Foreign Offices (now combined into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, or FCO). Her father is Sir Henry Albert Fitzmorris-Blakely, the former High Commissioner to Pakistan, and her mother is a diplomatic translator from Hong Kong, who met her father through the Queen's Service. Izzy spent much of her childhood living with her family in India and Pakistan, where she developed an interest in Asian languages. While she attended International schools in Islamabad and New Delhi for her primary education, there was never any doubt that she would return to England for university. She inherited her mother’s gift for languages, and was conversant in four languages by age six, and fluent in eight by the time she started university. It was while she was at Cambridge majoring in Politics and International Studies that she was recruited by the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6); the excitement of espionage work intrigued her, and she knew her knowledge of South Asia would prove invaluable in the field. After she completed her studies, she was assigned a cover position as a translator at the British Trade and Investment Office in Lahore, which gave her many opportunities to gather intel on Pakistani business leaders possibly supporting anti-Western interests. She never revealed her undercover status to any of her coworkers, and was very popular among her peers. Then one day in 2013, the BTIO delegation was stopped on the road near Peshawar; all occupants were dragged out of their vehicles, beaten and thrown into trucks that made for the Afghan border. Once there, their captors delivered them to a heavily-armed camp where a huge Russian mercenary brutally questioned them all in turn. Isabel soon figured out that she was the prize he was looking for, and she offered to provide him with information as long as he let the others go free. The Russian, who his followers called 'the Black Dragon', gleefully agreed and then turned his full attention to breaking Isabel. This began a harrowing ordeal that lasted two weeks; the young agent was given numerous drug injections, forced to go for days without food, sleep or water and subjected to a barrage of questions that didn't make any sense. Snakes were randomly thrown into her cell at night by her laughing guards, biting her again and again, leaving dark purple wounds on her arms and legs. Finally Isabel became feverish and collapsed into unconsciousness. When she at last woke up, her mind was clear for the first time in days; the bites on her arms and legs had faded and an odd warmth spread throughout her whole body. Somehow she knew she was different, changed. Isabel walked up to the bars of her cage, took a deep breath, and squeezed right through. Several days later, she showed up out of the blue at the High Commission in Islamabad, stunning the Diplomatic Service who assumed she was dead. The full details of her capture and escape were never revealed to the press, but since her security clearance was in tatters, SIS was forced to let her go. Now out of work but possessing amazing new abilities, Izzy decided to pursue the Black Dragon on her own, determined to bring down his organization by any means necessary, though is reluctant to use deadly force. Her efforts have been fairly successful over the last three years, but she’s just discovered he’s fled to the US, to a city called Bedlam… Personality & Motivation: Most of Izzy's childhood was spent in South Asia, where she grew up around diplomats and the children of diplomats, giving her a very multicultural perspective. She's always been a team player, and though she's thoroughly competent and capable of working on her own, she misses being part of a group like she was back at uni or in the Queen's Service. Her normally outgoing attitude has been somewhat diminished by the events back in Afghanistan, especially by the changes to her physiology which have made human interactions more difficult. Her upper class manners and 'good breeding' might make people think she's a bit of a stuffed shirt, but Izzy is actually very warm and approachable once you get to know her. In her heart, Isabel is still a patriot, and the fact that monsters like Dragomirov walk the earth fill her with a cold fury. She may not be part of the SIS anymore, but she can still do her bit, which sometimes includes taking on freelance jobs for people who's problems with the criminal element that can't be solved by traditional means. Powers & Tactics: There are very few places Slither can't get into if she's really determined; between her serpentine abilities and her custom-made 'Slither suit', she's extremely sneaky and hard to pin down. If she was a more criminal mind, she'd be a highly successful thief, but she's not hurting for money and is passionate about justice. Unfortunately she is now much more sensitive to cold, and the befuddling toxin she secretes can't be turned off. Izzy's built for infiltration and information gathering, and while she can handle herself in a fight, she's far from a heavy hitter. However her toxin is very effective at making people more pliable if not outright unconscious, ideal for incapacitating security guards and the like. Complications: Enemy: Arkady Ilyich Dragomirov, aka 'The Black Dragon', a former member of the Spetsnaz GRU, now a metahuman gangster operating in Bedlam City. It was Dragomirov's men who captured Izzy and her team in Afghanistan, and it was during her captivity and mistreatment that her abilities first emerged, allowing her to escape. She has vowed to see him brought to justice. Pop Culture Illiterate: Growing up in the world of diplomacy and international travel, Izzy didn't have a lot of time to go to the cinema or watch the telly; besides books were far more interesting and portable. Because of this, she doesn't always get the jokes and references of more media-savvy individuals. Posh: Izzy comes from an upper class English family, attended Cambridge and speaks in a rather RP accent; this doesn't always go over so well with the 'hoi polloi', especially if they're from the UK. PTSD: Isabel still has a lot of unpleasant memories of her captivity, leading to heightened vigilance, nervous tension and occasional nightmares. She's been seeing a therapist for over a year, but she still has a lot of work to do. Racism: Izzy’s father is Caucasian and her mother is Chinese; being a biracial child means she’s been exposed to her share of ignorance. Abilities: 4 + 6 + 12 + 6 + 4 + 8 = 40PP Strength: 14 (+2) Constitution: 16 (+3) Dexterity: 22 (+6) Intelligence: 16 (+3) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat: 10 + 12 = 22PP Initiative: +10 (+6 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +5, +10 Melee (+5 Base, +5 Attack Focus), +5 Ranged Grapple: +23/+25 (+10 Melee, +6 Grappling Finesse, +7 Elongation [+2 if using Addl. Limbs]) Defense: +12 (+6 Base, +6 Dodge Focus) Knockback: Saves: 0 + 7 + 6 + 8 = 21PP Toughness +8 (+3 Con, +5 Defensive Roll) Fortitude +10 (+3 Con, +7) Reflex +12 (+6 Dex, +6) Will +10 (+2 Wis, +8) Skills: 80R = 20PP Acrobatics: 4 (+10) Bluff: 6 (+10) Computers: 2 (+5) Diplomacy: 6 (+10) Disable Device: 7 (+10) Drive: 1 (+7) Escape Artist: 7 (+13, +20 w/ Elongation)* Gather Information: 6 (+10)* Knowledge: Current Events: 2 (+5) Knowledge : Streetwise: 2 (+5) Languages: 7 (Cantonese, English [native], French, Hindustani, Japanese, Mandarin, Pashto, Russian) Medicine: 3 (+5) Notice: 8 (+10) Search: 3 (+5) Sense Motive: 8 (+10) Sleight of Hand: 4 (+10)* Stealth: 4 (+10)* Feats: 24PP Attack Focus 5 (Melee) Benefit: Ambidexterity (Hands and feet) Benefit: Wealthy Connected Defensive Roll 5 Dodge Focus 6 Equipment 1 Evasion Grabbing Finesse Improved Grab Improved Grapple (free w/ Additional Limbs) Improved Initiative Improved Pin Skill Mastery* (Escape Artist, Gather Information, Sleight of Hand, Stealth) Uncanny Dodge Well-Informed Equipment: 1PP = 5EP Binoculars 1EP Commlink 1EP Handcuffs 1EP Lockpicks 1EP Multi-tool 1EP Powers: 2 + 10 + 7 + 2 + 8 = 29PP Additional Limbs 2 (Both Legs) [2PP] Drain Wisdom 10 (Extras: Poison, Flaws: Permanent) [10PP] Elongation 7 (250 feet) [7PP] Super-Movement 2 (Slithering, Trackless) [4PP] Device 2 (Slither Suit; 10PP Container; Flaws: Hard-to-Lose) [8PP] • Concealment 4 (All Visual Senses, Flaws: Blending) [4PP] • Immunity 1 (Cold environments) [1PP] • Super-Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling 2) [4PP] • Super-Senses 1 (Low Light Vision) [1PP] Drawbacks: (-6) = -6PP Vulnerability (Cold Attacks, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Moderate [+50% DC]) [-3PP] Weakness (Cold environments, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Moderate, cumulative -1 penalty on all checks, attack rolls and Defense per 20 minutes) [-3PP] DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 17 Tough Damage Drain Touch DC 20 Fort Drain Abilities 40 + Combat 22 + Saving Throws 21 + Skills 20 + Feats 24 + Powers 29 - Drawbacks 6 = 150/150 Power Points

Lynn quickly scanned the documents and nodded. "Great! Having this is a plus," she said as she held up the permit. "Well I have to say, you're actually one of the most qualified people I've seen apply. How would you feel about training to be a barista? I think a lot of the skills you learned at the sandwich place would transfer, and Gretchen and Lance are both really good, so you'd be learning from the best." She set his documents aside as she continued. "I start people at twelve an hour, which is well above the New Jersey minimum wage; you also get to split tips with whoever's working bar, and we offer decent benefits, too. Are you interested?"

Lynn shrugged helplessly. "I have no idea! The last thing anyone in my family heard was that he had a lead on Wihelm Kantor, the Nazis' top occult guy, in 1957; there were rumors that he'd resurfaced in South America, like a lot of other war criminals, and he was determined to bring him in." She took a few more tentative steps forward. "So he booked a Pan Am flight to Buenos Aires, and that was the last anyone saw of him; after ten years, they gave up the search and declared him dead. But he was in here the whole time." As she got closer to the stage, the changeling could make out more details; he wore his 'working' clothes, the immaculate tux, the gold turban and cape, the gaudy gold ring with the big red ruby on his right hand that matched the stone in the middle of his over-the-top headgear. She could make out his facial features now, the distinctive 'Silberman's nose' more pronounced on her great-grandfather, more hawk-like; she'd seen his face before, in countless photos and on posters, but none of them quite did him justice. "Maybe he did find Kantor back then; maybe they fought, and that Nazi bastard injured him, or put him under a spell. And then maybe he used the last of strength to make it here, where he'd be safe." Lynn climbed up the steps onto the stage, Gretchen tentatively following behind, and looked down on the man lying there. "Hello, Ira."

Lynn laughed and shrugged. "Well, we try. Though I have to admit, being a 90s kid, I grew up on Disney movies and the Disney Channel, but I know what you mean; Tinker Bell is not exactly the most realistic depiction of a faerie out there, though really I think we have J.M. Barrie and the rest of the Victorians to thank for that." There was a brief moment while Lynn and Gretchen exchanged glances, and then the store owner noticed the particular book Mason was holding as well as the ring he was fidgeting with, and then young woman in the ghastly sweater politely cleared her throat. "Uh, Mason, do you have a minute to talk in private? Nothing bad, I assure you, but I'd like to talk...'shop' for a second, if you don't mind; we can use my office, if that's alright with you."