Heritage

Grim nodded as she surveyed the many frightened household servants in the cellar. "Yeah. let's do that." She cleared her throat and then addressed the room. "Okay, attention everyone! For your own safety, I think it's best if you get the hell out of this house; clearly, there's something very wrong with one or both of your Dukes, and though it is a bit of a cliche, sometimes the butler actually DID do it. My advice would be to head right outside, contact the local authorities, and stay far away from the building. Thank you." The petite crimefighter turned back to her current partner. "Well I can fly and you can run like the wind, so between the two of us, it shouldn't take too long to the search the place, right?" She shrunk back down to pixie form and hovered in the air. "Where you wanna start?"

GM The big man laughed, his broad shoulders convulsed with merriment. He shook his head and seemed to wipe away a tear. "No, no, everything's fine; just had to get my wind back is all." He slowly stood up and dusted himself off. The Man turned around and smiled that same warm smile he'd greeted her with earlier in the night, but it looked a lot less comforting when his lips and teeth were red with blood. There was more blood visible soaking into the front of his suit, and a small round hole she hadn't noticed before. "And don't worry, little lady." He held up his hand; pinched between his gloved fingers was a deformed bullet, glistening wet. "I didn't mess up your lovely back seat."

Took Shaen's suggestion and dropped the Vulnerability buy-off from the suit, since that's really based on her mutated biology, so realistically once it gets through the suit it's gonna affect her. Used those 4 points to boost up her Flight, add one more rank of Impervious and added Radio to Super-Senses, which can help her scan for signals. Still a ways to go!

Okay, I think the suit works now; that leaves finishing her Cryo array and completing her fluff. Looking good, Ana!

GM The Man shook his head as he pulled out a handkerchief and coughed into it a few times. "No hospital," he was finally able to gasp; the coughs became more frequent and wetter, a very disturbing sound. He pointed outside and to the right. "Pull over." Once the cab was at the curb, Noemi's fare staggered out and collapsed on the front lawn of a large suburban home. The coughing became very deep for a few seconds, until The Man spat very loudly. Then he paused, sat back on his haunches and seemed to look up at the sky and take a few deep breaths. The first dim hints of morning were just starting to tint the horizon.

Okay, I think I've got it: drop Flight down to 2, reduce Impervious to 5, limit Wall-Walking to Zero-G and remove one of her Super-Senses (not sure which yet). That gets me my 9 PP within the Device.

So I just need to have Feature 9 to counter the Disadvantages? I can make that work.

Cryokinesis and DC Block still needs to be finished and her fluff is still incomplete.

Oh crap, I thought Life Support would do that automatically! Damn it, something else to pay for!

This clearly not done and still highly inaccurate; just wanted to put up what I have so far.

Player Name: Heritage Character Name: Deep Freeze Power Level: 10 (150/150PP) Tradeoffs: None Unspent PP: 0 In Brief: Cryokinetic engineer wearing an armored suit of her own design. Alternate Identity: Ana Kristina Plonsky Identity: Public Birthplace: Flint, MI Occupation: Engineer Affiliations: Ship's mechanic aboard the Xeno. Family: Caroline Plonsky (mother), Jurek 'Jack' Plonsky (father) Description: Age: 28 Gender: Female Height: 5'5" Weight: 128 lbs. Eyes: Ice blue Hair: White-blonde Ana is an attractive young woman with a number of unusual physical attributes; her skin is extremely pale and noticeably cool to the touch, her blonde hair is so light that it's practically translucent, and she's typically surrounded by an aura of cold, at least when she's outside her 'snowsuit'. Normally she dresses in dark colors and shades, such as black, charcoal gray, eggplant and deep maroon or burgundy. She's very self-conscious about her pale skin, so she tries to cover it up with sleeveless coveralls and long-sleeved tops; she has to be very comfortable with a person to wear a T-shirt or halter top in front of them. Normally she wears lightweight, non-slip steel-toed boots. Her white and black 'snowsuit' is an armored protective garment of her own design, a modification of the one she developed for NASA; Ana's custom suit is lighter, more durable and built from the ground up to work with her cryokinetic powers. The full head helmet is constructed so that it can automatically fold up into a storage area between the shoulder blades. History: Ana grew up in the economically depressed town of Flint, Michigan; her father was a former employee of General Motors, who currently works as a car mechanic, and her mother is a grade school teacher. From a very early age she was fascinated by how things worked; she loved to visit her father at work, where he would explain what he was working on to her. He also brought home pieces of junk that he found, like old toasters and VCRs, that she would take apart and put back together again. Both her parents encouraged young Ana in her studies and she did very well in school, though she was shy and didn't make friends easily. With money in short supply, her family did a lot of shopping at Goodwill or the dollar store to make ends meet. Once in high school, Ana threw herself into her studies, intent on getting an academic scholarship to MIT or Cal-Tech; though her grades were excellent, she was still unable to gain admissions to either school, so she settled on Kettering University in Flint, where she obtained dual B.S. degrees in industrial and mechanical engineering. By the time she graduated, her academic performance allowed her to apply for and receive a full scholarship to Cal-Tech's graduate program. While there, Ana's designs for lightweight, impact-resistant protective gear caught NASA's eye, and by the time she received her Master's she was working for the space agency full time. She even had the privilege of being selected to go up to the International Space Station as a mission specialist to monitor field trials; Ana trained vigorously for two years for her mission and was very excited for her first Soyuz flight. However tragedy struck aboard the ISS; due to a mathematical error and a series of unforeseen events, Ana and two crewmen became trapped in a damaged airlock after an EVA. Realizing the mistake had been her own, the young engineer advised her fellow astronauts on how to escape while she stayed behind to fix the problem, which endangered everyone in their section of the station. After several hours of work which was tensely monitored by Mission Control, Ana discovered there was no way safe out; in a final radio message, she calmly explained what she'd done wrong and how to avoid such disasters in the future. She praised the crew for all their hard work and professionalism, and was in the middle of saying good-bye to her parents when the airlock explosively decompressed, hurling Ana and her experimental suit out into the depth of space. The world mourned Ana, believing her to be dead, but while several portions of the suit were destroyed, including the communications and biometric systems, most of the suit remained intact. Knocked unconscious by the force of the blast, Ana drifted further and further from Earth as her suit gradually lost power and grew ever colder. A passing Lor spaceship finally picked her up, and the crew was surprised to find her just barely alive! Somehow her accident had trigger a mutation that gave Ana a strange affinity with cold and ice. Personality & Motivation: Prior to her transformation, Anna was a fairly normal young woman, if a bit guarded; nowadays, the walls are definitely up. She doesn't make friends easily, but is fiercely devoted to them once the bond is created. Her sense of humor is fairly dark and sarcastic, and she's more likely to tease someone she likes than say it outright. She enjoys reading (mostly books on scientific subjects), tinkering, watching old movies and a spirited game of ping-pong. Powers & Tactics: Physically Ana is not very imposing, which is why she typically wears her snowsuit if she thinks there's going to be trouble; it allows her to take some fairly solid hits without fear of injury so she can focus on taking down her enemies. Her cryokinesis gives her several ways to drop a foe, trapping them in ice or striking them with icy blasts being the two most common. She can also whip up a localized ice storm to blind and confuse large groups of assailants. If Ana is forced fight outside her armor, she often creates cover with her cryokinesis to offer some protection while she continues with her ranged attacks or unleashes her arctic fury as a storm. She also uses her durable ice to create objects for casual use, such as furniture or backup tools; since cold has no affect on her, using these items is not a problem. Complications: "I thought you were dead!": As far as everyone on Earth is concerned, Ana died during the ISS accident; she has done little to challenge this version of events. The Big Chill: Her altered physiology doesn't make close personal relationships impossible, but it does make them much more challenging. "I'll have the salad.": Ana can no longer consume hot food or beverages; she does, however, get very creative with salads, sandwiches and cold soups, and eats lots and lots of leftovers. Low Battery Warning: While her snowsuit can function independently for days of moderate use, the internal batteries do not last forever; a poorly-timed power outage could be deadly. Abilities: 0 + 4 + 0 + 10 + 4 + 0 = 18PP Strength: 10 (+0) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 10 (+0) Intelligence: 20 (+5) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 10 (+0) Combat: 8 + 16 = 24PP Initiative: +2 Attack: 4, Melee +4, Ranged +6, Cryokinesis +10 Grapple: +4 Defense: 8, 4 Flat-footed Knockback: -6 (-0 without Suit) Saving Throws: 6 + 4 + 6 = 16PP Toughness: +10 (+0 Con, +10 Protection), +0 without suit (+0 Con) Fortitude +6 (+0 Con, +6) Reflex +6 (+2 Dex, +4) Will +10 (+2 Wis, +6) Skills: 92R = 23PP Bluff 0 (+0, +4 w/Attractive) Computers 10 (+15) Craft (Electrical) 15 (+20) Craft (Mechanical) 15 (+20) Craft (Structural) 10 (+15) Diplomacy 0 (+0, +4 w/Attractive) Disable Device 5 (+10) Drive 3 (+5) Investigate 5 (+10) Knowledge (Eidetic Memory) 0 (+5) Knowledge (Galactic Lore) 5 (+10) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 5 (+10) Knowledge (Technology) 10 (+15) Languages 2 (Galstandard, Polish) Medicine 1 (+3) Notice 3 (+5) Pilot 3 (+5) Feats: 6PP Attack Specialization 2 (Cryokinesis) Attractive Eidetic Memory Improvised Tools Inventor Powers: 32 + 5 + 36 = 72PP Cryokinesis 15.5 (31PP Array, Feats: Alternate Powers 3) Base Power: Create Object 8 (8 10-foot cubes, Toughness +8, Lifting Strength 40 [Heavy Load: 3 tons], Extras: Duration [Continuous], Feats: Precise, Progression 2, Subtle) [28PP] AP: Blast 10 [1PP] AP: Environment Control 5 (Cold 2, Hamper Movement 2, Visibility. 100 foot radius. PF: Precise, Selective) [1PP] AP: Snare 10 (PF: Reversible) [1PP] Immunity 5 (Cold Damage)[5PP] 'Snowsuit' (Device 9 [45PP], Removable) [36PP] Feature 5 (Buys off Weakness) [5PP] Flight 3 (50 mph) [6PP] Immunity 9 (Life Support) [9PP] Protection 10 (Impervious 6)[16PP] Radio Communication 4 (Range: 1 mile) [4PP] Super-Movement 1 (Walk-Walking) [Limited: In Zero-G only ][1PP] Super-Senses 3 (Direction Sense, Distance Sense, Radio, Time Sense) [4PP] Drawbacks: (-4) + (-5) = -9PP Vulnerability (Heat, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Major [+100% DC]) [-4PP] Weakness (Heat, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Major, -1 drain all abilities per 5 minutes [50 rounds]) [-5PP] Abilities 18 + Combat 24 + Saving Throws 16 + Skills 23 + Feats 6 + Powers 72 - Drawbacks 9 = 150/150 Power Points

Here's a nice 'map' of the Milky Way Galaxy, showing our approximate position; if we picture it divided into rough thirds by the three main factions, it works out pretty well. Note that the current thinking is that the center of the galaxy is a massive black hole!

Pixie Grim flew over to Velocity and hovered in front of her face. "Great work, Vel! That's a pretty good-" She stopped abruptly when she noticed the other Duke. "Waitaminute, what's he doing there!" The tiny fae zipped over to the speedster's two unconscious victims and flitted from one to the other. "Two Dukes, huh? Well that's pretty frickin' bizarre! C'mon, let's tie them all up!" She returned to her normal size, and then gestured to the rest of the servants. "Can you folks please help us move them to the couches?" She gestured, and a huge spool of what looked like nautical hemp rope appeared back in the lab. "There you go, Vel; ought to be enough for you to hog-tie them!"

GM The Man slowly leaned forward, his great head looming just behind Noemi's as he spoke slowly, carefully enunciating every syllable as though speaking to a child. "I have already provided you with my home address; if you need more specific instructions, I will supply them. Exit here at Sidney Ave and head due east. Once we get to Osgood, take the right." He leaned back again, and then began to cough; a shallow dry cough, almost like a hiccup. He covered his mouth with a gloved hand and coughed a few times more, his broad shoulders shuddering in the rear view mirror.

The changeling nodded her head and tapped her nose with the tip of her finger. "You got it, bud; on Bill's world, or rather in his alternate dimension, time moved faster relative to ours." She shook her head and chuckled mirthlessly. "Y'see, for every year I was away here, I experienced close to thirty over there." Lynn didn't say anything for a few seconds, just staring off into space, through she did take another sip of her orange juice. When she did talk again, she could barely force the words out. "We had three kids together, Bill and I; Zachary, Ruth and Jonathon. Eight grand-kids that I know of and twenty-seven great-grand-kids, though again, there might be more." She swallowed hard. "Bill and I lost contact with Jon - sh##." She got up suddenly and headed over to the sideboard, fetched a bottle of pinot noir and a glass, and returned to the rest of the group; her glass was filled and drunk to the bottom in a matter of seconds. Tear-filled eyes squeezed shut, she whispered, "My babies; my poor, poor babies...!"

Lynn snorted like the thought was patently absurd. "No! Well, actually I did do an undercover op there once that was kinda horrific; Never Been Kissed it was not." She shuddered dramatically. "Not one of my proudest moments. The bookseller conjured up a comfortable high-backed leather chair and matching couch; she took a seat in the chair and indicated the couch with a wave of her hand as a bottle of orange Gatorade appeared in the other. "So look, if you're looking to set up your own team or something, I can definitely be flexible on the rent, but I will need a larger security deposit; y'know, just in case." She took a big swig from the bottle, but nearly spat it back up as she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and no guns! Pets are fine, but no guns; had enough of them in my previous life."

Grimalkin took in everything the servants were saying and tried to make sense of it, but it was challenging; the key points were the realtionship between the Duke and Rutte, and the nature of the Duke himself. She found herself wishing Dok A was here to help her figure it out, but that just made her feel worse. So for now, it was just her and Velocity to fiigure out this mess. What was the Sherlock Holmes line everybody quotes? 'When you eliminate the impossible, whetever else remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.' Of course, Conan Doyle didn't know about time travel or super-people when he wrote that, so the definition of 'impossible' was a lot harder to figure out nowadays! After making sure that Robert and the other unconcous folk were comforatable on their leather couches, Grim shrunk down to pixie size and began to flit this way and that around the cellar, looking for any windows, gaps or air vents small enough for her tiny body to fit through.

Full Throttle, Mysterious Circumstances and Gorilla Warfare all sound like good potential Grim threads!

He did give her an address, I just didn't bother to make up a fake one.

None of this made any sense, but it was pretty clear these servants were terrified; with a flick of her wrists, Grim dispelled her claws, then held up her hands in a placating manner. "See, nasty claws are all gone now." She looked around the cellar for a few open spots on the floor, far from the menacing cables. "Let's get all of our unconscious people out of harm's way, okay?" The fae gestured a few times, conjuring several chaises longue in the Victorian style. "Here, help me get them off the ground. And tell me more about Rutte; what's his deal?"

GM Nothing from the back seat for several blocks, though The Man did take a deep breath that he let out very slowly. "Client relations," he finally said rather cryptically. "I met a client at the theater tonight. I don't always travel." There was a series of odd clicking noises that Noemi couldn't identify at first, but then it came to her: he was methodically cracking his knuckles, one at a time, in succession. "You talk a lot, do you know that? Not everybody likes to talk." A pause. "Let's just listen to the music for a while."

GM For a very long time, The Man said nothing; he leaned back further into the seat with a creak of leather, his face completely obscured by shadow. From time to time, a stray flash of neon light would pass across his face, and at those times it was clear he was studying Noemi intently, that pale blue gaze haunting the rear view mirror. When he spoke again, the warmth had completely left his voice. "I was working." And now the young cabbie was able to pick out a new smell from underneath all the pricey men's fragrances, a familiar coppery smell she knew well from her life before. Fresh blood.

Give me a DC 15 Notice check, good sir.

GM The Man grinned and waved a hand dismissively; he settled back in the seat, his broad shoulders relaxed. "Wagner's so overrated; the Italian's write the best opera, hands down. Now if you're talking ballet, you've got to head to Russia; Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky. All of the Russians are pretty good, really." He paused to run the fingers of a gloved hand through his hair; the gloves were black leather, and looked fairly pricey. "The Germans do some good work, too, the three B's especially." He counted off on his fingers. "Bach, Brahms and Beethoven." He chuckled and shook his massive head. "Heh; my piano teacher would be proud." He was quiet for a while, just watching the lights and the traffic roll past, his face half in shadow; the scent of his hair tonic and cologne filled the inside of the cab, expensive stuff. At length, he answered her second question. "Home; North Bay is home." He gave Noemi the address, his eyes never looking her way. "Take your time, kid; I'm in no hurry."

Grim has no such Knowledge!