Geez3r

Black Tier Blockbuster: OMEGA – The Murderer of Centurion – (PL 20 - 600pp) “Oblivion is upon you.†Abilities: 50 + 2 + 50 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 132PP Strength: 60 (+25) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 50 (+20) Intelligence: 20 (+5) Wisdom: 20 (+5) Charisma: 20 (+5) Combat: 30 + 24 = 54PP Initiative: +5 Attack: +15 Grapple: +40, +50 w/powers Defense: +15 (+12 Base, +3 Dodge Focus), +6 Flat-Footed Knockback: -15, -20 in armor Saving Throws: 0 + 4 + 15 = 19PP Toughness: +20/+25 (+20 Con, +5 Protection) 5/15 Impervious Fortitude: +20 (+20 Con, +0) Reflex: +5 (+1 Dex, +4) Will: +20 (+5 Wis, +15) Skills: 124R = 31PP Bluff 9 (+14) Intimidate 25 (+30) Knowledge (Cosmos) 15 (+20) Knowledge (Galactic Lore) 15 (+20) Knowledge (Tactics) 15 (+20) Knowledge (Technology) 15 (+20) Notice 15 (+20) Sense Motive 15 (+20) Feats: 18 PP All Out Attack Assessment Benefit 2 (OMEGA, Native to Terminus) Dodge Focus 3 Fearless Improved Grab Improved Grapple Improved Initiative Power Attack Skill Mastery (Intimidate, ) Startle 2 Takedown Attack 2 Ultimate Toughness Powers: 275 + 23 + 13 + 5 + 30 = 346PP Variable Power 25 (Any combination of traits, 125pp pool) Extras: Free Action to Reconfigure (+2), Duration (Continuous) – Master of the Terminus [275pp] Super-Strength 11 PF: Counter-punching [23pp] Immunity 13 (aging, life support, starvation and thirst, own powers) [13pp] Impervious Toughness 5 [5pp] Omega's Armor – (Hard to lose Device 7 – 35pp pool) PF: Restricted x2 [30pp] Protection 5 Extras: Impervious Toughness 10 [15pp] Comprehend 2 (Languages) [4pp] Flight 8 [16pp] Drawbacks: (-0) = -0PP Abilities (132) + Combat (54) + Saving Throws (19) + Skills (31) + Feats (18) + Powers (346) - Drawbacks (00) = 600 / 600 Power Points Samples Settings for Master of the Terminus Variable Power: * Disintegration X [5pp/rank, Max rank of 25] * Damage X Extras: General Area Burst, Duration (Continuous) (+3) [5pp/rank, Max rank of 20] * Emotion Control X (Fear & Despair) Extras: Action (Reaction – Whenever a superhero is murdered by Omega) (+3), Perception Area, Selective; Flaws: Range (Melee) (-2) [9pp/rank, Max rank of 13] * Transform X (All Inanimate Matter) [5pp/rank, Max Rank of 25] * Teleport X Extras: Accurate, Portal (+2); PF: Progression x5 (250ft wide portal) [5pp/rank + 5pp, Max Rank 20] * Blast X Extras: Indirect x3, Homing x4; [2pp/rank +7pp, Max rank 25] * Insubstantial 3 (Terminus Energy) Extras: Duration (Continuous); Affects Corporeal Applied to Strength [38pp] My first Black Tier Blockbuster, and your first impression is probably something along the lines of “well that's not fair†and you would be right. Fighting a Black Tier Blockbuster is the equivalent of fighting Galactus; actually fighting them is your option of last resort. Black Tier Blockbusters are a hair's breadth away from flat out being PL X characters who don't even bother with stats at all. In this case, that is being represented by the massive Variable Power pool. Furthermore, Omega doesn't even really need his Variable Power pool; he is fully capable of beating your heroes into the ground without it. I think this may wind up being a running theme for the Black Tier Blockbusters, just to denote how massively powerful they really are. It also gives GM's a free pass for the Blockbusters to do whatever it is they need to do to move the plot, because the BTB's are very much walking plot points. When someone utters the phrase “Omega is coming.†everything else stops, those three little words are your story now. Also new in this build is the fact that it's a cannon PC. Does this mean that Omega is suddenly now a PL 20 murder machine in FCPbP? Heck no. Everything in this thread is entirely optional, always has been, always will be. But, I've been kicking around the idea of rebuilding some of the cannon NPC's as Blockbusters. This would essentially be that version of the character if they actually got their hands on the MacGuffin. Or maybe they got a bad case of the Kenson maths and need to be kicked up a few notches to represent their true potential. The point is that they're the same character, just a little more beefy. And onto the build proper, well I really don't have much to say really. I took the stat block from the book and just added more to it. And to be frank, there wasn't much to work with. Omega is the stereotypical big scary guy from the evil end of space. Strong enough to beat Earth's mightest heroes into the ground, and enough cosmic juju at his fingertips to literally level the playing field. He didn't really have any canonically impressive skills or feats, he just kind of beat everyone up. I figure he left all of his lieutenants the job of actually sorting out the logistics of conquering the galaxy. Said lieutenants will likely be made into Blockbusters of their own at some point, because that'll give me a bit more in the way of creative freedom. And it also hammers home the fact that you just don't have to fight Omega, you have to fight all the legions he brings to bear as well.

AGENDA Member - Orange Tier Blockbuster: Kallig – The Devil You Know (PL 14 - 280pp) “A toast! To our glorious battle, and to the feast that follows!†Abilities: 14 + 2 + 14 + 20 + 6 + 10 = 66PP Strength: 24/30/46 (+7/+10/+18) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 24/30/38 (+7/+10/+14) Intelligence: 30 (+10) Wisdom: 16 (+3) Charisma: 20 (+5) Combat: 20 + 12 = 32PP Initiative: +1 Attack: +10 Grapple: +17, +21 w/powers, +35 in armor, +41 at full Super-Strength Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed Knockback: -3, -5 w/powers, -15 in armor Saving Throws: 0 + 4 + 8 = 12PP Toughness: +7/+10/+18 (+5/+10/+14 Con, +4 Protection) 12 Impervious Fortitude: +7/+10/+14 (+5/+10/+14 Con, +0) Reflex: +5 (+1 Dex, +4) Will: +11 (+3 Wis, +8) Skills: 208R = 52PP Bluff 16 (+21, +25w/Attractive) Craft (arcane) 15 (+20) Diplomacy 16 (+21, +25 w/Attractive) Gather Information 15 (+20) Intimidate 15 (+20) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 15 (+25) Knowledge (Art) 15 (+25) Knowledge (Business) 15 (+25) Knowledge (Civics) 15 (+25) Knowledge (History) 15 (+25) Knowledge (Theology & Philosophy) 15 (+25) Notice 7 (+10) Profession (Contract Negotiator) 17 (+20) Sense Motive 17 (+20) Feats: 20 PP All Out Attack Artificer Attractive Benefit (Duke in Court of Hell) Connected Contacts Distract 2 (Both Intimidate & Bluff) Dodge Focus 4 Improved Grab Improved Grapple Interpose Power Attack Ritualist Skill Mastery (Knowledge (Arcane Lore), Knowledge (Business), Knowledge (Civics), Profession (Contract Negotiator)) Stunning Attack Well Informed Powers: 6 + 6 + 2 + 14 + 57 + 13 = 98PP Enhanced Strength 6 [6pp] Enhanced Constitution 6 [6pp] Super-Strength 1 [2pp] Immunity 14 (Life Support, Aging, Fire Damage) [14pp] Kallig's Armor (Hard to Lose Device 14 – (70pp pool) PF: Restricted – Only Demons) [57pp] Enhanced Strength 16 [16pp] Enhanced Constitution 8 [8pp] Protection 4 Extras: Impervious Toughness 12 [16pp] Super-Strength 6 PF: Bracing, Counter-punching [17pp] Super-Strength 6 PF: Dynamic [15pp] * DAP: Flight 6 Feature (Adds Fire descriptor to Strength based attacks when power-attacking) [1pp] Kallig's Hammer (Easy to Lose Device 4 – (20pp pool) PF: Restricted – Only Demons) [13pp] Add Ranged Extra to Strength Bonus [18pp] * AP: General Area Cone applied to Strength Bonus * AP: Adds Trip 14 Extras: Knockback; Flaws: Melee Range; to Strength Bonus Drawbacks: (-0) = -0PP Abilities (66) + Combat (32) + Saving Throws (12) + Skills (52) + Feats (20) + Powers (98) - Drawbacks (00) = 280/280 Power Points Kallig was the third addition to AGENDA's roster, which would really make him their first team mate since beforehand it was just a team-up between Mesmero and Recon. Kallig and Mesmero had actually crossed paths many times before teaming up. As they were both power brokers, they ran in many of the same circles. Unlike many of Mesmero's other competitors, Kallig mostly kept to his own affairs, rarely seeking to overtly meddle in another's affairs. However, Mesmero noted that Kallig had a habit of being in a position to pick up the pieces when another organization imploded. Rather than compete with one another, Mesmero proposed a partnership, which Kallig accepted, while the former had a sneaking suspicion that this was the latter's plan all along. But it wasn't just for Kallig's negotiation skills that Mesmero recruited him; Kallig was a true to life demon. Or more precisely half-demon. Kallig's father is, Zarrek, an arch-demon of rather impressive stature, while his mother, Abigail, is the leader of a cult dedicated to Zarrek. The pair had originally planned to sire a child to serve as the vessel for Zarrek on the mortal plane, by-passing the pesky Pact that had put a stopper in many dealings between the planes. The timely arrival of Eldrich prevented the ritual from being completed in full. Eldritch also sealed the majority of Abigail's spellcasting ability, but spared her life. By all accounts, Kallig lead a well-adjusted life, and seemed to be totally okay with being hell-spawn. In fact he followed in his mother's foot-steps, taking up the dark arts as her pupil, seeking to tap into the infernal energies that lay dormant inside of him. Kallig found the only way to keep his abilities active was a permanent edifice that draws out and enhances demonic energy. Kallig's mother has since passed away, and her damned soul was sent to Hell, into the waiting arms of Zarrek, who has molded her into a powerful demon in her own right. The two have a sickeningly lovely-dovey relationship. Kallig has more than a few personal goals that he is pursuing, his overarching aim is to break the Pact and unleash Hell. Those he considers allies will of course be treated favorably under the new regime, which obviously includes the members of AGENDA. However, Kallig takes the long road, and for the time being, his immediate goals center around money, power and influence; his father's primary sin of greed runs deep in his veins. Personality wise, most people wouldn't think Kallig as the stereotypical demon. He's boisterous, fun loving, inviting and generally kind of a nice guy to be around. He enjoys the finer things in life, and spends a lot of time enjoying leisure time. In between jobs, it's not uncommon for Kallig to spend a lazy afternoon smoking fine Cuban cigars with a glass of bourbon poolside. However, that enjoyment for life carries over into the battlefield, where he is rarely seen not smiling or laughing. He once famously toasted that he should very much like to buy Centurion a drink after the latter punched him halfway through 3rd Street once their battle was completed. While he can carve wide paths of destruction he almost never does so, considering it unsportsmanlike like to beat those that can't fight back. And if you're someone who can fight back, Kallig will wait until you're good and ready to fight. He's even gone so far as to save civilians side by side with heroes when his fights have put lives in danger unnecessarily. When Mesmero questioned this Kallig merely replied “Victory tastes sweetest when it's fairly won, and your adversaries are forced to admit your superiority - just because I'm a bad guy doesn't mean I have to be a bad guy.†Next up in the set is Kallig. Kallig takes a lot of cues from Marvel's Thor who is honestly one of my favorite superheroes. He came up pretty high on the budget, at a stompy 280 power points. In AGENDA's roster, he serves three main purposes: he's the Big-Guy when there's a spotlight to be had, the money man when there isn't, and to be the moral center. He's also very close to a villainous PC I nearly submitted back in the day, but went with Malice instead. Going down the line, he's Toughness and Damage shifted pretty heavily, and with good saves he'll be quite hard to put down, and can really lay the smack down when necessary. Then from his skill and feat selection, you'll note that he's far from being a simple dumb bruiser. With his wide array of Knowledge skills, he can tell precisely what will fetch the highest price from a glance at an art gallery. He also serves as a fence for their stolen goods, after Mesmero or Recon has set up a meet. Lastly, a lot of the other members of AGENDA are very cold and calculating, which could make their decent into a grim and gritty “take what we want, kill anyone who gets in our way†team very easy if not for Kallig reminding them what good things there are to enjoy in the world. This also means that Kallig clashes a bit with the team every now and again, as they consider him a goofball at times. Mechanically, there isn't too much to say about this build. He's big and powerful in his own right. I gave him some more beefiness outside of the armor and hammer to focus on the fact that a half-demon is far stronger than joe someguy off the street. His armor is where the majority of his power comes from, allowing him to fly and massively increasing his strength and toughness. I added the same feature that I did back in my old Thor-knockoff build, but subbed in fire for lightning. The hammer just gives him fancy ways to use is new found strength. For my own design aesthetics, I rarely give big bruisers like this some sort of Strike + Mighty type of power. In my book, when you can drop kick a tank easily, it doesn't really matter how sharp your sword is at that point. Also, for a lot of these big bruisers, I wind up having a nice chunk of their Super-Strength be split off from their Super-Strength & Flight Dynamic Array; it helps define a character's upper limits of speed. I don't really like Paragons horning in on Speedster territory unnecessarily. If you're going to be that fast, make that your shtick.

AGENDA Member - Orange Tier Blockbuster: Recon – The Golden Eye (PL 14 - 235pp) "Be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet." Abilities: 12 + 10 + 10 + 6 + 8 + 2 = 48PP Strength: 22 (+6) Dexterity: 20 (+5) Constitution: 20 (+5) Intelligence: 16 (+3) Wisdom: 18/32 (+4/+11) Charisma: 12 (+1) Combat: 28 + 20 = 42PP Initiative: +21 Attack: +14, +18 Ranged Grapple: +20 Defense: +18 (+14 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +7 Flat-Footed Knockback: -2/-5 Saving Throws: 3 + 5 + 3 = 11PP Toughness: +5/+8/+10 (+5 Con, +2 Defensive Roll, +3 Costume) Fortitude: +8 (+5 Con, +3) Reflex: +15 (+5 Dex, +10), Evasion 2 Will: +9 (+4 Wis, +5) Skills: 208R = 52PP Acrobatics 19 (+24) Bluff 9 (+10) Climb 7 (+15) Disable Device 10 (+15) Drive 10 (+15) Escape Artist 15 (+20) Intimidate 14 (+15) Knowledge (Current Events) 7 (+10) Knowledge (Streetwise) 7 (+10) Knowledge (Tactics) 12 (+15) Notice 19 (+23/+30) Search 19 (+23) Sense Motive 16 (+20) Sleight of Hand 19 (+24) Stealth 19 (+24) Survival 6 (+10) Feats: 32 PP All Out Attack Assessment Attack Focus (Ranged) 4 Benefit (Can perfectly read lips) Challenge (Takes only a -15 penalty to Stealth checks while Sniping) Defensive Attack Defensive Roll Dodge Focus 4 Equipment 2 Evasion 2 Hide in Plain Sight Improved Aim Improved Critical (Bows) Improved Initiative 4 Move By Action Power Attack Precise Shot 2 Quickdraw 2 Ranged Pin Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Stealth, Notice, Sleight of Hand) Uncanny Dodge (visual) Equipment: Costume – Protection 3 (3ep) Grappling Gun – (Super-Movement 1 [swinging] Linked to Speed 2 [25 MPH]) (4ep) Powers: 23 + 7 + 10 +18 = 58PP Super-Senses 23 (Analytical -all visual, Counters Concealment-visual, Counters Illusion, Counters Obscure-all, Extended x2, Penetrates Concealment, Radius-all visual, Rapid x3, Danger Sense, Infravision, Microscopic vision 1, Ultravision) [23pp] Enhanced Wisdom 14 Flaws: Limited to Notice Checks [7pp] Archery Supremacy 5 (Probability Control, Flaws: Limited 2 [Archery]) [10pp] RECON's Bow – Device 6 (30pp, Easy to lose) [18pp] BE: Blast 4 PF: Mighty 6; Autofire – Rain of Arrows[24pp] AP: Blast 4 PF: Mighty 6; Improved Critical, Precise, Progression (25 range increments – 2,500ft); Improved Range 5 (2,500ft range increment); Subtle, Penetrating 1 – Sniper Shot AP: Blast 4 PF: Mighty 6; Area – Burst (rank 8); PF: Triggered x2 – Grenade Arrow / Trap Arrow AP: Snare 10 PF: Reversible – Bolas Arrow AP: Dazzle 6 (All Visual, All Auditory) Extras: Burst Area – Flash Bang Arrow AP: Drain Toughness 8 (Objects and Living) Extras: Ranged – Breaching Arrow AP: Damage 4 PF: Mighty 6; Extras: Targeted Area Cone, Selective – Rapid Shot Drawbacks: (-0) = -0PP Abilities (40) + Combat (42) + Saving Throws (11) + Skills (52) + Feats (32) + Powers (58) - Drawbacks (00) = 235/235 Power Points Ariel Cross, also known as Recon, would be classified by many as the world's deadliest assassin except for one fatal flaw in her resume: she has never taken a life. This wasn't always the case, growing up Ariel was rather unexceptional. She had incredible eye sight, but often shunned her gifts because too much information bombarded her mind if she were to really look at her surroundings. A chance meeting with Mesmero would change all of that. Mesmero had contracted himself out to another villain to do a series of heists to distract the local heroes from the true objective, and he happened to be robbing the bank Ariel was in with the help of some mind controlled muscle. As was standard operating procedure, Mesmero looked into the minds of the bank patrons while the goons loaded up the cash; he used them simply to keep an extra eye out and help to be aware of his surroundings. He was surprised at what he could see through Ariel's eyes, and he saw an opportunity in the self doubt and self pity Ariel had within her. He contacted her mentally, and gave her instructions on how to meet him, should she ever want to reach her full potential. Ariel would accept Mesmero's offer and he would in turn hold up his end of the bargain, training her, and giving her the mental discipline to withstand the onslaught of information her eyes would provide. The pair would form a strong friendship and from there, they would go on to form AGENDA. Recon, as she now preferred to be called, now used her keen eyesight to become one of the best archers to ever live. A rune encrusted bow from Kallig and high tech arrows from Pulsar would cement this reputation. Recon would in turn eventually be a mentor figure to the newest member of their team: Citizen, as Recon was responsible for Citizen's combat training. As part of AGENA, Recon's main focus is obviously reconnaissance. She is the one to identify threats, and call out attack patterns, and if need be, avenues of escape. When forced into battle, she is a cold and calculating sniper, preferring to work from extreme distances where need be. She is especially skilled at taking down members of the opposition that break off from the main group. If given time to prepare, Recon is even more dangerous, as she can set up scores of traps, and with her ability to see through walls, always knows the precise moment to spring the trap. Recon also likely knows the identies of many super heroes and villains, and the same can likely be said for Mesmero as well. To date, AGENDA has never so much as hinted at exploiting their knowledge So, something a bit different with this build here. I've decided that I'm retroactively going to assign Mesmero to being the leader of a team comprised entirely of Blockbusters, called AGENDA (Agents for the Gainful Enterprise of Nominally Destructive Acquisitions). They are for all intents and purposes a collection of honorable and practical thieves. Mesmero assembled the group for the purpose of putting together a team where they would watch each others backs and better themselves and each other through teamwork. Also, lots of money. The team has kept a low profile for most of their history. They never killed anyone, and injuries they inflicted on guards tended to be minimal, likewise with damage done to the environment. They simply pulled a well executed heist, and then vanished for months, on end. As for Recon herself. Yeah, she's quite possibly the best archer on the planet. If she has a line of sight to you, she can probably shoot you, or failing that, set up some traps for you to walk into later. You will pretty much never get the drop on her with all of the visual super-senses she has. When in doubt, Recon probably saw whatever it was that happened. Her Archer Supremacy has actually more than 1 rank, meaning it does something other make natural 1's not be an auto-miss. Assuming no trade-off feats are being used, that means that Recon, will at minimum hit Defense 23 every time. Her bow and arrows are just a combination of tricks shots and trick arrows. Since she has Mighty 6 on a lot of her settings, even other archers that pick up the bow won't get as much mileage out of it as she does. In combat, she is basically relegated to sniping, which she is phenomenal at. Yeah, she takes a -15 penalty to her Stealth check, but everyone looking for her takes a -1 to their Notice check for every 10 ft between them. And Recon can shoot you at a half mile without penalty, and has eyesight enough to count the buttons on your shirt from that distance.

Just an update. The audit is finally upon us. I've got one more week of madness before things hopefully calm down. Two if the auditors find problems.

We're entering audit season which means obscene amounts of overtime for me. So I won't be around until later at night.

It quickly became apparent that the pair had far more questions than they had answers, at least for today. An awkward silence fell over the two of them as the rest of the tests were performed. Most of it was pretty standard fare, testing reflexes, reactivity to light, cheek swab, and so on. Maxima reverted back to her normal Cassandra self to conduct these tests; super-strength was excellent for punching gorillas, not so much for delicate lab work. Cassandra seemed to be working off of some sort of checklist, and after a while they finally seemed to tick every item off the list. "That should just about cover everything. I have.... a lot of data to crunch. I probably won't have anything really concrete for you for quite a while; this is firmly in uncharted territory." said Cassandra as she absently ran her hand through her hair, eyes wide as she surveyed the desk and her notes. Snapping her focus back to Cho, she pulled open a drawer and pulled out a little card. "But, if you ever need to talk, here's my card. I'll write my home phone and address on the back. I don't care what time it is, or what day it is, if you need my help, all you need to do is ask." she added firmly, handing the card to Cho. "I can walk you back down to your family whenever you're ready." she said quietly, knowing that the family issues would take just as long to resolve as the science ones.

"Well there is also the chance that the mutation was localized in your mother. Women don't continually generate sex cells as they age, as men do. It could potentially be the case that only certain egg cells inherited the mutation due to the external stimulus that was the Terminus. One such cell would later become you." replied Maxima, still firmly in scientist mode, seeking for explore all of the different possibilities before commiting to a single answer. "Of course, there's still much we don't know about the Terminus itself. I'm just making educated guesses here, I could be completely off base. Part of the reason I wanted to meet with you is because there is so much we don't understand about the Terminus. So, I just wanted to thank you for coming here. It took a lot of courage to do it." said Maxima thinking in terms of people rather than puzzles again.

"Genetics can be a very tricky thing under the best of circumstances. Super-human genetics are an entire other ball of wax." replied Maxima, feeling quite relieved that there was some ray of sunshine on this discussion. "In genetics, there are dominant traits and recessive traits, also hybrid traits, but we'll ignore those for this discussion. You also have 2 sets of chromosomes, one from each parent. On each set of chromosomes, is a trait you inherited from your parents, who, like you, also has two sets of the same chromosome. If just one of the sets have the dominant trait, that trait is the one that it expressed. Both copies of the trait need to be recessive for that trait to be expressed." Maxima paused for a moment to make sure Cho was still with her up to that point. "Now, scientists speculate that somewhere within the human DNA is a supposed "meta-gene" that allows for super-powers to be expressed. If you get struck by lightning when you have the meta-gene, you get super-powers, if not, you get a hospital bed. As and fyi, much of what I'm talking about right now is basically on the cutting edge of science so there's an excessive amount of speculation here. Scientists believe this trait to be recessive. So called families of super-heroes generally only pop up if both parents have powers themselves. What complicates the matters further, is that the meta-gene may not always be expressed. Some traits don't trigger until their is an environmental catalyst for their activation. In the previous example, being struck by lighting. Or, perhaps in your case, being exposed to the Terminus. Furthermore, there's also the chance that the Terminus altered your DNA, rather than catalyzing a mutation that was already there. In which case, the powers you received would be encoded on your DNA, but not your mother's."

Maxima mulled over what Cho was saying for a moment. "Well this exercise is more for your positioning, and keeping your coordination in the face of any growth spurts or mutations you may have. For precisely applying pressure, I've got something else in mind." Maxima made her way back the desk and pulled out a small little canister, about the size of a soda can. She opened it up, and poured a red goo into her hand. She then bats it between her hands where it forms into a quasi-solid ball. "You ever have a science class where they have you mess with cornstarch? It's a non-Newtonian fluid, the harder you press on it, the harder it resists. Well this is the super-science version of that. It may not look like it, but I'm batting and kneading this with enough force to bend steel. If it stays goo, I know I'm not squeezing hard enough. And I've got a whole range of these things, each calibrated to a certain strength threshold, that way you can get used to applying different levels of strength." elaborated Maxima as she demonstated the properties of the goo. "And for your Terminus emissions, in a normal human, those symptoms you're describing are consistent with the activation of the fight or flight response. There may be some correlation to your adrenal gland. I'll have to review the scans to get a proper answer for you though."

Maxima couldn't help but enjoy the youth's energy. "Not breaking stuff huh? Let me tell you, I got a whole lot to teach on that subject, which I learned the hard way." said Maxima while mentally reliving some of her flubs earlier on in her career. "I might not look it right now, but part of my mutation is that my cell structure is significantly more dense. I can't go in the water because I outright sink. I clock in at about 4 tons when I'm like this." stated Maxima as she positioned herself in the center of the lab. "A lot of what I used to do, and something you're probably going to have to do, are just exercises to get your mind to adapt to your body's new size. It's a bit similar to Tai-Chi, only instead of redirecting your opponents movements, you're just trying not to get tangled up in your own. For bruisers like us, it's often times not a matter of how strong you are, but of how well you can apply your strength. And for me, it was about not putting footprints in the sidewalk every time I went down the street. Now, see if you can follow me." said Maxima as she began to lead Cho through a few different forms and stances. It wasn't anything fancy, and was probably pretty lousy as a fighting style, but you felt kind of centered doing it.

"You're actually the first person I've studied face to face." replied Maxima offhandedly as they were looking over the readouts of Cho's activity on the computer screen. "I usually get brought on for consultations, a second opinion, or to crunch data. I tend to work in more in the lab room than on the front lines. While I do enjoy the work, it's nice to actually get to know the people by talking to them, rather than looking over their chart. Most of the data is anonymous as well. I just have patient numbers. Your files will be the same by the way. Wouldn't want too much data falling into the wrong hands." While Cho went about the workout, Maxima stayed pretty focused on the computer screens, but did occasionally look back at Cho, practically as if Maxima was looking through her, though with all the fancy gizmos in the room, she just might have been. "I'd say you did quite well. According to the North American Standard Force Application Measurement Method, you would be a low end Class 4. The NAS-FAMM doesn't really mean much to most people, so don't go quoting that stat to people expecting a huge response. The scientific community is still trying to hash out a measuring system. Class One starts out at 16 times the average human lifting capacity, each successive class covers a range up to four times the previous benchmark cutoff, so Class 2 is 64 times average human, and so on and so forth. As since you're going to ask, I just scrape over the threshold for Class 5, and the highest measured was Centurion at Class 9."

Maxima just chuckled as Cho complained about the weight. "Well I'm not gonna throw a semi at you unless I know you can catch it now am I!?" she asked shaking her head, still suppressing some laughter. Maxima looked over at the display on the wall for how much was being lifted, which was a little over 2,500 lbs now. Well there's the class one threshold passed with flying colors. She's probably a high class three, maybe a low four. thought Maxima to herself as she took a step back into the scientist role and evaluated Cho's performance. Maxima again chuckled as the full body scanner was mentioned. "Funny you should mention that." she replied as she hit a few buttons, and long machine like arms descended from the ceiling, arrayed with all manner of lenses and cameras, and more than a few doo-dads that emitted some kind of light as the whole arrangement slowly orbited around Cho. "Best way to see if you've got any unknown powers is to observe the ones we do know about in action. Be careful now, the bar will begin to add weight at an accelerated rate. Remember, squeeze once to stop the weight gain, and twice to shut it down entirely." cautioned Maxima as the readout now said Cho had over 4,000 lbs. in her hands.

Maxima just shrugged as the topic of her not so secret identity came up. "If you're willing to put yourself on the line to help others, you've got the strength of will needed to keep a little secret." she said calmly. "I figured that not matter how accomodating I might be, there'd still be some doubt lingering in the back of your mind as to how pure my intentions were. This was the best way I knew how to dispel them. I got into this business to help people." she concluded sincerely. Clapping her hands together, she continued "Now before we get to the fun stuff, we need to get one more boring bit out of the way first." Maxima reached down and tossed the aforementioned barbell to Cho. "This place really isn't built for the two of us to duke it out, and it would be better if we got a handle on your strength limits before we did have at it."

Maxima had a big smirk plastered on her face as Cho stumbled over her words a bit. She's a good kid. thought Maxima to herself, giving Cho's hand a little squeeze. "I initially got my powers when I was a bit younger than you were." explained Maxima, as she was glad was no longer looking up at Cho. "Though they weren't as... prominent as they are now. My powers are inborn mutations to my genetic code. My baseline powers were low level strength and toughness, but my brain's congnitive ability was also enhanced. Over time with continued mutation, and some... prodding along the way I got to where I was today." explained Maxima. She felt it was only fair to even the playing field so to speak between them, with Maxima knowing (or soon to know) quite a lot about Cho's abilities. "And as for the weight lifting, I started doing it before I had a lab to test myself. And as I said, my powers were pretty weak to begin with, so I needed to give myself an edge. Now that I can do this..." she said gesturing towards her new stature "I've found that my strength increases proportionally when I change. Stronger Cassandra equals a much stronger Maxima."

As the gears in Cho's brain began putting together the pieces, Cassandra flipped a few switches on the wall, sealing the door, blackening out the window and disabling the security devices in the room. The system was intended for working on confidential government contracts (at least that was the official line, Grant had these systems in place for conducting their shadier operations), but it also quite handy for the working super-hero to get in a little workout while they were waiting for data to process, or for code to compile. "Oh of course I use it. Everyone knows I'm a regular at the gym." said Cassandra innocently enough as the last of the security systems shut down. But with an impish smile, she took a knee on the ground before her body suddenly grew and expanded into an amazonian frame that dwarfed even Cho. Cassandra's clothes were seamlessly replaced by a blue and white singlet by some device she was wearing, the lab coat probably was abandoned so it didn't get ripped. Standing to her full height, the good doctor extended her hand to Cho. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. The name's Maxima."

Maxima (8)

Cassandra grinned from ear to ear as Cho made her declaration. "That's the spirit!" she cheered gleefully. "Well I think I just about talked your ear off here, so hows about we go ahead and put some of this expensive equipment to work here and see what you can do?" she asked, but not really waiting for an answer, suddenly seeming pretty animated. She got up and went to a nearby closet, deciding to ditch her labcoat, which showed off her well built frame. She also pulled out a barbell that seemed to have, for lack of a better description, Tron-lines running its length. Cassandra pushed a button on the wall, and a section of the floor pulled away to reveal a large metal plate with the same sort of lines running its length. "So, I've made this company a lot of money in my day, but that means I sometimes work insane hours. As you can probably guess, I'm a bit of a health nut, so I wasn't too keen on missing out on going to the gym. The company compromised and got me this set up here. It's basically a set of linked electromagnets; the bar and the floor only attract one another. But since this technology was originally developed by ArcheTech, it was over-engineered beyond belief, which is good because it can even give people with super-strength a workout. Controls are in the bar itself, I'll set it to progress mode, which means it'll just get heavier and heavier until you tell it to stop. Squeeze once and it'll stay at that weight, squeeze twice and it'll enter into repel mode, where it'll just hang in the air." explained Cassandra demonstrating the function of the machine. "Oh and the screen on the wall over there will display how much you're lifting."

Cassandra's face softened quite a bit as that day was brought up. Her eyes instinctively glanced over to the picture frame on the shelf. On it was a picture of her mother standing in front of the AEGIS headquarters, the same building she was in when Omega laid siege. "As of right now, I've just been forming hypothesis. I can't say most of this for certain. A lot of these super-powers are inherently random, but commonalities do exist, especially among shared origins. Those infused with Terminus energies tend to be resilient, while those with psionic abilities also tend to inherit increased cognitive abilities. But lightning doesn't strike twice as they say. Those closest match we have on record for you for instance, that person could also fly, and the Terminus energies would leak out of themselves whenever they started to really exert themselves." explained Cassandra. She paused for a minute to collect her thoughts. "The one thing I can say for certain right now is that your mutations are not over yet. You will likely either refine your current powers and physiology, or develop new ones. We can start running some tests if you'd like to get some clearer information, but anything too detailed will take time to process." said Cassandra. She didn't want to get Cho's hopes up that they might have an answer that very same day.

And again the pen came out as Cassandra went to work writing her notes. This time, however she strikes out a few lines from the previous dialogue out. She also writes for quite a bit longer after Cho is done talking, seemingly doing some sort of calculation. "Well... I want to run some tests first, but I think I've got a pretty good idea of what is going on here. You aren't the first individual to have been infused with Terminus energy, and thankfully, not the first to have been reviewed by scientists." added Cassanda as she jabbed her pen in the direction of a stack of papers and folders sitting on a nearby shelf. "You bear quite a resemblance to one subject in particular as a matter of fact. Increased size, strength, toughness and the ability to project Terminus energy, and you're a bit fuzzy on the control aspect on that last one; another commonality. My initial assumption is going to be that the Terminus energies in your body are continually mutating it, to better conform to its needs. Your growth spurts and hardened musculature could be the result of your body strengthening itself against its own internal burden. You likely feel pain because the process is not yet complete." said Cassandra sitting back, waiting for Cho to absorb the news.

"You don't have to explain or defend yourself. Family is always a bit complicated." said Cassandra with a wry smile. Cassandra otherwise keeps her comments to herself as Cho begins to explain their powers, however Cassandra is writing furiously on the notepad. While the pad is kept in plain view, she seems to be writing in shorthand, either that or technical jargon. When Cho was finished, Cassandra finished writing her last thought or two, before setting down the pen, reviewing her own notes. "Well, from what you've told me so far, it seems like a few of my hypothesis may hold water. In this world, there is matter and energy. This is also dark matter and dark energy. X and Y, and then by extension, not-X and not-Y. Two sides of the same coin that are diametrically opposed to one another, and in fact cancel out one another should they come into contact with one another. And then there is the Terminus. By all knowledge we have, rather than not-X or not-Y, or even not-Z, the Terminus is simply not." explained Cassandra. "It is oblivion embodied, and can yet somehow interact with matter and energy and not negate it. It's a paradox, and one I wish to investigate. I believe it could be a literal new dimension in science. The human biology is a frail thing; infused with Terminus however, it becomes something very different. Tell me, have any of these energy flare ups occurred without conscious effort on your part? And how have you reacted to other elemental hazards, such as fire, lighting or lasers?"

While the debate most certainly wasn't finished yet, it at least seemed to pause. Seizing this opportunity, Cassandra started to lead the family into the facility proper. "If we can get started, just follow me." said Cassandra as she started walking to the security door on their right, swiping her ID card as she does so. "So just a few ground rules, and things you should be aware of. For security reasons, I'm going to have to ask you to stick with me or a security escort while you're here. We've got some projects in development that need to be kept under wraps. You're also going to notice security cameras and keycard access areas, as a heads up. If you need to use the facilities while you're here, speak up." She leads the family up a floor and down a few hallways, to what appears to be her personal lab, judging by the plaque on the door. The lab itself is covered in high tech machinery, half of which the lay-person wouldn't even recognize. In the corner of the lab, she has a plain wooden desk with a collection of chairs that seemed to have been grabbed from where ever they were available. "Please have a seat." says Cassandra as she takes her own seat behind the desk, pulling out clipboard with notepad as she gets settled. "Why don't we start off with you telling me what you yourself know about your powers Cho? And feel free to be as detailed as possible."

Cassandra's smile faltered for a moment while the family had their little blow out. Notes to self: "Benjamin" is likely a point of contention. Likely, these two are not Cho's biological parents, or rather one of them isn't. Closeness of touch, to the mother and abruptness of conversation with father suggests, the mother is the biological parent and remarried. Assumption matches correlation of recessive traits displayed between daughter and presumed mother vs presumed father in 3:1 ratio. Furthermore, puff of smoke likely resulted from some form of energy discharge, likely uncontrolled. Safe to conclude that energy output may still be tied to emotional responses; perhaps tied to treat assessment and/or flight or flight response? Uncontrolled energy output may be tied to family's unease of Cho's current situation. surmised Cassandra as she took note of the situation internally. "I'm going to be blunt, so we nip this in the bud right now. Cho, I am not here to take your powers away; for all intents and purposes, that option isn't even on the table right now. I am here so you and your family understands your powers, your strengths and your limitations. The truth of it is that until you understand them, you powers are a double edged sword; understand them and they become a shield." stated Cassandra matter-of-factly. This was also coincidentally a rehearsed line, Cassandra meant every word.