Geez3r

Eric contemplated for a moment. He was about to answer when the waiter finally made their appearance. He was young clean-shaven man, probably only in their mid-twenties, but never the less carried themselves with an air of professionalism that only came with years of experience. If he recognized either of his patrons this evening, he did not show it as he ran through the list of specials for this evening. "I will have the house merlot to drink, and I will have the filet mignon with the rosemary and mushroom gravy as my entree. Thank you." said Eric passing the menu back to the waiter. Either Eric had eaten here before or picked out what he wanted earlier as he had not cracked the menu so far this evening. After Natalya placed her order and the waiter returned to his duties Eric finally answered her question. "I think soldiering through it would be the better option. I am not particularly well known for either my tact or subtlety. My stubbornness however? Besides if I can stick with this - correction: when I stick with this - they'll all come around; but I need to maintain the mental fortitude to complete my objectives first."

"I may be more notorious for my work in the fields of science, but I was also a businessman for many years; I am quite familiar with the concept of diminishing returns." he replied in response to her comment about finding an off switch. "I have always been in tune with my limitations. I know I cannot be everywhere and I cannot save everyone, all I can do is prepare. Because my talents are technical in nature, rather than through training, mysticism or some other boon that sometimes to be prepared, I literally have to sit in my lab and do my homework." he said, spreading his arms wide. "But turning to the other matter, I think we might be at an impasse at this point." replied Eric after a moment's contemplation. "If I did not think I could be redeemed, I would have stayed in jail." he said simply. "Earlier, you said that there were those who were beyond redemption. I don't believe that. Certainly, it is far easier to fall than it is to rise, but I think that's why we allow that concept into our minds in the first place. If there is a limit to how much I can accomplish in my life, then that means that the amount of good or ill I can do is finite. And even if I were to die, as a scientist, my work lives on after I die, laying the foundation for progress in the future." replied Eric, while also starting to wonder if the waiter was ever going to make an appearance.

Eric chewed on his tongue as Natalya laid out her strategy. I should have expected this. She is a thief and a spy after all. he thought to himself as he made a conscious effort not to look her in the eyes as he took a sip of water. He turned his attention back to her, trying to keep his voice as muted as possible "I appreciate the advice but... I don't think that would work for me. Out of everything involved in this... life, the part that always was the hardest was hiding who I was." He sat up straighter and this time made sure to look intently into Natalya's eyes. "At any point in my career, I was sure of what I was doing. I was sure that I was being the man that I needed to be. When I was apprehended, it meant that I no longer needed that facade. For the first time in years, I was I. To go back now that I'm, and pardon the use of your phrase, on the side of the angels is incomprehensible to me."

"Innocent until proven guilty. Heard those words rather frequently, only recently have I seen them acted upon." replied Eric nodding. "But you pretty much hit the nail on the head. If only everyone else could take a moment to think through the course of actions that lead to my release, they would see that I'm either playing a very long game or actually innocent. Instead they follow their baser instincts, and demand further retribution for my past misdeeds." he started, a bit of a bite creeping into his tone as he eyebrows furrowed into a scowl. He let out a frustrated sigh and his shoulders drooped a little. "Much as I hate them for it, I can't blame them either. I've been where they are and I've gone to the places where those thoughts take you." he said looking past Natalya more than at her. "People see me walking around, a free man and they feel that the system has failed them. That feeling turns law abiding citizens into people who think that they're above the law. I don't want to be someone else's start of darkness. How do you look people like that, people that you've hurt, in the eye and tell them that their anger isn't justified?"

Eric could not help but chuckle and shake his head as Tayla rather skillfully got straight to the heart of the matter. "I suppose my intentions for tonight were more than a little transparent?" replied Eric seeing no reason to hide the matter. "And since we're being so familiar, please call me Eric." he continued extending her the same courtesy she had to him, sounding quite relived to do so. "Yes, the difference between life inside those walls and life outside has smacked me in the face a little harder than I anticipated. Off the record..." he started, dropping his voice. "The first morning after I got out, I sat in my bedroom for over an hour before I realized I could leave whenever I wanted to." he admitted. Eric reached for his own glass of water, but abruptly stopped as a thought occurred to him. He folded his arms on the table in front of him before he took his turn to gaze at his dinner companion. "What made me one of the grey, and not one of the black?"

Eric's eyes went wide as Natalya made her appearance, but he was gentlemanly enough to regain his composure in short order. "Ms. Browning, a pleasure to meet you, and I must say you look positively stunning." replied Eric stating the obvious as he shook her hand with his own mechanical one, which was surprisingly gentle and a fair bit warmer than Natalya was likely to be expecting. "Please, have a seat." he said as he pulled the chair out for Natalya. "I did not forget all of my manners, but I make no promises on remembering which fork is which." he added with a wry smile before taking his own seat. "I'm... glad to be breathing fresh air again." replied Eric after he weighed his words a little. There was clearly more to it than that, but he seemed to at least want to attempt to get through all of the pleasantries first as he continued "I just want to thank you for agreeing to meet with me, especially on such short notice."

Eric had been out of prison for over well over a week by this point, and he was still staggered by how much the city had changed in his absence. Not only were entire buildings simply not where they once stood, it seemed like everything that stood in the same spot was different. And the cellphones were everywhere. Sure they had been popular before he was locked up, but not every 5 year old had to have one. He didn't recognize anything on the radio anymore, and he certainly knew nothing about what was on TV anymore. In short, he felt old and out of place. The constant death threats didn't do much for his self esteem either. Now it would be rather in keeping of character to just bottle up those emotions and deal with it, but Eric had been down that road before, and frankly no one wanted that to happen again. So he made a few calls to try to see if there was someone who he could talk to, who had gone through this before. Turns out there was. And so Eric had donned his finest suit (at least of the variety that didn't come with a power supply), and invited his guest of honor to a rather swanky restaurant. He was initially surprised he got a reservation so quickly, but he figured the owners might feel that he would take vengeance if they were to snub him, an opinion Eric felt no immediate need to correct. He had arrived early, getting a requested table in one of the darker areas of the restaurant, his mechanical fingers idling drumming on the table while he waited.

Heritage, that sounds like an excellent idea, but I echo your sentiment that it's something not likely to occur right out of the gate. So we'll put a pin in that one and double back to it later, sound good? Alder, Bombshell seems like a good jumping off point. I'll see if I can get a thread up either tonight or tomorrow.

Heritage, I think you may be right. If there's too much animosity, there's not a thread to be had, they simply tell him to buzz off, but if there's too little, there's no conflict for the thread to center around. The only angle I can think of working in off the top of my head would be if Eric was in the midst of writing a book about what life is like on the inside of Blackstone prison, and the Freedom City correctional system in general, and he was hoping to drum up support from local businesses. Alder, I think either of those could work. Would Phantom be the type to seek Eric out? I know Eric would try to seek out Bombshell, as she is pretty much the poster child for reformed villains.

The title is really is all you need in this instance. Right now I'm wanting to lean on social threads to help reintegrate Bastion into society, though I totally understand the desire for the other PC's to want to devolve it into a combat thread (which I will support if there's interest). There are three avenues I've been thinking of for threads to occur, but I'd like input for which people think would be the most interesting and/or which they would like to be a part of. Characters that were associated with Malice/Bastion are going to be given priority. 1 - The Press Conference - You simply don't let someone with Eric's rap sheet walk out of jail without letting everyone know that this is going down. I'm waffling between whether or not the details of the press conference were released ahead of time. On the one hand the real life implications seem to favor letting the press know ahead of time, while the comic-book implications would totally have the surprise reveal of Eric walking into the stage and shaking hands be the last splash page of a comic to continue in the next issue. 2 - Villains out shopping - Eric wanders into a PC when the both of them are in their civilian ID, Eric being oblivious, but the other PC not. A nice walk in for anyone who own their own business or the like. Semi-related to Eric getting his finances back in order; maybe the penthouse he moves into makes him your neighbor. 3 - The Patrol - Eric goes out on patrol as Bastion in his full power armor hoping to help solve the latest crime spree, but to the PC's or the police want his help? As I mentioned above, if anyone has any other thread ideas, I'm all for it.

Oh derp. Forgot that would be a Melee attack, not ranged. I knocked it down to a rank 9 effect.

I had thought I had built him to be PL 11 offensively & defensively. He's got +8 Attack with Range and +14 Damage, for a -3/+3 tradeoff @ PL 11; with Melee he's got +13 Attack and +9 Damage, which is a +2/-2 tradeoff @ PL 11. Defensively he's got +7 Defense and +15 Toughness, for a -4/+4 tradeoff @ PL 11. Did I screw up the maths?

Added the Flight & Super-Strength data as well as updating the DC block.

Player Name: Geez3r Character Name: Bastion, Power Level: 12/13 (195/196PP) Trade-Offs: +2 Attack / -2 Damage (Melee), -3 Attack / +3 Damage (Ranged), -4 Defense / +4 Toughness Unspent Power Points: 1 In Brief: One of the world's most infamous super-villains attempts to redeem himself. Residence: Penthouse, Downtown Freedom Base of Operations: as above Alternate Identity: Eric Michaels Identity: Public Birthplace: Freedom City Occupation: Super-hero and scientist Affiliations: AEGIS, Blackstone prison (inmates & staff), Archetech Family: Emily Michaels, mother (estranged) Description: Age: 35 (DoB: May 19th, 1980) Apparent Age: Same as actual Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5'9” Weight: 155lbs Eyes: Green Hair: Deep Red Eric has changed a fair amount since the last time he was in the public eye. He still has a fair complexion, and he still wears his hair in a side parted ponytail. But his face has a few traces of early wrinkles, but his eyes seem to be much softer and sagely. The most prominent change is of course the plated metal arm on his right side, Eric decided to leave it shiny and chrome rather than to make it look like a regular arm. Several years outside of the power armor, as well as plenty of free time have allowed Eric to dedicate time to an exercise regimen, putting quite a bit more muscle on his previously rather skinny frame. Power Descriptions: Eric still uses the red, white and blue Mantle of Freedom that he created so long ago. It has however gone through many upgrades and revisions. This latest version is his first true foray into purely energy based weaponry, wanting to distance himself somewhat from what Malice stood for. As such, this suit is a little more trimmed down than other power armor suits he has used in the past. It offers the basic package of flight, protection and super strength, with this newest version having baseline super-strength running in parallel to the weapons system. The weapons system offers basic energy blasts, but also allows for creation of hard-light objects and the ability to manipulate objects at a distance. With this new design Eric wanted to show that power armor was something more than just a weapon. History: Most of Eric's history is well known and documented. By most accounts he was a normal, albeit brilliant citizen of Freedom City for most of his youth, and even into his early adult life. He was the only child of Hank and Emily Michaels, attended the local schools and graduated high in his class at HIT. His life would take a tragic turn when his father was killed in the crossfire of a meta-brawl, having pushed Eric out of the way and taking the hit himself. Something inside of Eric broke on that day, and he swore vengeance on the heroes of Freedom City for letting such a tragedy befall this city. He began funneling resources from the company he worked for as its head researcher, Darts (the very same company that would later become Archtech) to build the tools required for his crusade. He built an underground complex beneath his own house in a quiet Riverside suburb. He also constructed a suit of power armor, in the colors of the American flag, that he would later dub “The Mantle of Freedom” as he would come to perceive himself as a champion for the way of the future. His crusade of violence and 'social justice' would finally be brought to an abrupt end in June of 2009, when an explosion rocked Freedom City, one centered at Eric Michael's door step. Eric would lose his right arm in the aftermath, as well as most of his possessions, and the world knew he was Malice. He surrendered to the police without incident and was summarily sentenced to Blackgate Prison. That is where most people believe that the story stops, but this is where Eric's life would take yet another turn. While Eric sat in his jail cell, day after day, his anger grew and his bitterness began to fester. In any other time or place, he would have been left to rot for his crimes. But this was today and it was Freedom City, and that meant a second chance. There had been some success in years prior with convicted super-villains turning over a new leaf, the largest of which being the pardoning (or lessening of sentences) of prisons who fought against the Terminus Invasion of '93. It was after that day that leading members of AEGIS saw that possibility of using incarcerated villains as impromptu agents. Similar ideas had been tossed around before, most notably Project Strong-Arm during the Moore years, where the idea was to use inmates as expendable shock troops, but they rarely gathered much traction (at least officially). But as one psychological study after another pointed out, many of these criminals could be wildly successful if they merely applied their talents toward legal ends. So the idea was introduced to give inmates a means by which they could contribute to society, slowly, but surely, until it was deemed that the inmates were reformed at which point they would be released. Serving in a law enforcement or military capacity was still on the table course, but now it was not the only course of action. They called it the Fresh Start program. The program was championed by Harriet Wainwright, head of the probation department. She had success with work release programs with lesser criminals before hand, but now in the years leading up to her retirement, she wanted to end on a high note, and to prove, once and for all, that anyone could be redeemed if given the right environment. The Freedom City prison system had no shortage of inmates in need of rehabilitation, but the problem was finding one with enough “brand recognition” for lack of a better term that wasn't a complete nutcase; after all you don't try to scale the largest mountain on your first rock climbing expedition. The one name they kept coming back to was Malice. At one point in time he may have been the most notorious villain in Freedom City, but what set him apart was the fact that he wasn't captured, but he had surrendered himself into police custody without a struggle. Bonus points for first calling his mother so that he could tell her himself that he was a villain rather than her finding out on the 6 o'clock news. Harriet believed that Eric had once been a good man, but he had lost his way after tragedy struck, she merely needed to show him the way to being the man he once was. They started to give Eric more involved counseling and evaluation, a process which continued throughout the program's duration and is even scheduled to continue after his release. They also gave him avenues to put his talents to use. It started as small things, getting his opinion on a new gadget or other piece of tech AEGIS was developing, or his insight on a case they were working on. Then they allowed him access to build a robotic prosthetic arm to replace the one lost in his final battle. It would later to progress to Eric helping to repair the MAX armors at the prison, he even went so far as to start proposing ideas for upgrading them. It wasn't long before AEGIS was allowing him outside of the prison for supervised missions. But the real change came from what Eric saw when he was working with AEGIS. In the past he had blamed the system that had allowed super heroes to run rampant; the same system that had allowed his father to die. But now, he saw there never was a system; it was always just people. Regular, ordinary, every day people who were trying to make the world a better place. They were struggling under the burden they were trying to carry, and every day they knew that there was a chance that they would fail, but they tried anyway because it was the right thing to do. And in that moment, Eric saw his actions as Malice for what they really were; someone who claimed to be a savior lending a helping hand was really a bully crushing those weaker than him under his heel. Eric swore to himself, never again. Personality & Motivation: Eric is a man that has committed a great number of atrocities that now knows how far he has fallen and is now trying to claw his way back to being a good man. He does not shy away from what he has done or who he was. He answers questions about his past bluntly and truthfully. He says that pretending our past didn't occur is the surest way to repeat its mistakes. He is sincere in his desire to make sure that he is a better person today than he was yesterday. Powers & Tactics: Eric fights like a very smart man in a very expensive flying tank. He weighs his options, and sizes up his opponents before deciding on a course of action. That being said, his usual tactic is to use a gun, and if that doesn't work, to use more gun, some habits are hard to break that way. He can mix it up with melee style combat, but ranged is still his preferred style. He has modified the weapons array on his Mantle of Freedom to offer options beyond simply blast everything in sight. The titular bastion-field in particular is the newest innovation. It allows for the creation of hard-light constructs and it can serve to both restrain enemies and protect allies. Complications: Infamous – As Malice, Eric made literally thousands of enemies, switching sides only added people to that list. He is not liked by many, and loathed by most. Indebted – Eric owes his freedom to the efforts of the probation department and the members of Blackstone prison, especially Harriet Wainwright and Warden Drummer. Come hell or high water, he will do right by them. Ex-Con – Eric is a convicted felon and though his sentenced was commuted, there are many things he simply can't do anymore, and many watch lists he shows up on. Stats: 8 + 2 + 8 + 20 + 4 + 4 = 46PP Str: 18/28 (+4/+9) Dex: 12 (+1) Con: 18 (+4) Int: 30 (+10) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha: 14 (+2) Combat: 16 + 8 = 24 PP Attack: +8, +13 Melee Grapple: +18, +24 in suit, +30 at full Super-Strength Defense: +7 (+4 Defense, +3 Dodge Focus) Knockback: -13 in suit, -2 without suit Initiative: +10 Saves: 6 + 2 + 6 = 14PP Toughness: +4/+15 (+4 Con, +11 Protection) – Impervious 10 Fortitude: +10 [+4 Con, +6] Reflex: +3 [+1 Dex, +2] Will: +8 [+2 Wis, +6] Skills: 80r = 20 PP Bluff 8 (+10) Computers 5 (+15) Craft (electronics) 5 (+15) Craft (mechanical) 5 (+15) Diplomacy 8 (+10) Disable Device 5 (+15) Intimidate 13 (+15) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 5 (+15) Knowledge (Tactics) 5 (+15) Knowledge (Technology) 5 (+15) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 19 PP All-Out Attack Attack Focus (Melee) 5 Benefit (Wealth 2) Dodge Focus 3 Eidetic Memory Inventor Luck 2 Master Plan 2 Power Attack Speed of Thought Powers: 68 PP Device 19(Hard to lose; 95pp pool) [76pp] (12 + 21 + 15 + 4 + 9 + 34 = 95 Enhanced Strength 10 [10pp] Protection 11 Extras: Impervious 10 [21pp] Flight 6 (Max Speed 5,000 ft/round; 500mph) PF: Dynamic [15pp] * DAP – Super-Strength 6 (Maximum Effective Strength: 58; 25,600/ 51,200/ 76,800/ 153,600/ 384,000) Super-Senses 4 (Darkvision, Infravision, Ultra hearing) [4pp] Immunity 9 (Life support) [9pp] Blast 14 [34pp] * AP – Snare 14 * AP – Move Object 14 * AP – Damage 9 Extras: Targeted Area Burst, Selective; Flaws: Full Round Action * AP – Create Object 11 PF: Precise, Progression x2, Selective, Stationary, Tether Drawbacks: -4 Normal Identity (Full Round Action to don Battlesuit) [-4] DC Block: Unarmed (no armor) DC 19 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) - Melee Unarmed (in armor) DC 24 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) - Melee Blast DC 29 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy - Laser) - Ranged Damage DC 24 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy - Laser) - Melee Snare DC 24 Reflex (Staged) - Hardlight Constructs Costs: Abilities (46) + Combat (24) + Saves (14) + Skills (20) + Feats (19) + Powers (76) - Drawbacks (4) = 195/ 196

So I've been mulling over reactivating Malice as a PC, but as this is a big shift, I'm going to post it up in Character Building rather than the bank first, also there's a few details to iron out. Malice/Tempest Power Point Calculation: Tempest currently sits at 210pp who was made my “primary” PC once the no-villains rule was enacted, having the same point total Malice did http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/2482-tempest-geez3r-pl-14-hero-platinum/ Since Malice had an NPC readjustment, it's hard to figure out how much PP he did have back in the day, so I'm using Tempest to back into that figure. In September of 2009, Malice was last active, having just hit PL 13 during that month, but I don't know his exact total http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/2498-pp-awards-for-september-2009-all-should-read In October of '09 Tempest got 4pp http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/2643-pp-awards-for-october-2009-all-should-read In November of '09 everyone got 5pp http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/2707-pp-awards-for-november-2009-all-should-read December '09 – 4pp http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/2793-pp-awards-for-december-2009-all-should-read January of '10 – 5pp http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/2877-pp-awards-for-january-2010-all-should-read In February of '10, Tempest was made inactive and Jester was active http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/2998-pp-awards-for-february-2010-all-should-read Jester was active in March of '10 http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/3117-pp-awards-for-march-2010-all-should-read and then NPC'd in April, as Dynamo took over http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/3251-pp-awards-for-april-2010-all-should-read So that means that theoretically Malice should have 210 Tempest total -4 October '09 -5 November '09 -4 December '09 -5 January '10 = 192pp With that budget in mind, here's the new version of Not!Malice Player Name: Geez3r Character Name: Power Level: 13 (192/192PP) Trade-Offs: +2 Attack / -2 Damage (Melee), -3 Attack / +3 Damage (Ranged), -4 Defense / +4 Toughness Unspent Power Points: 0 Progress To Silver Status: 42/60 In Brief: One of the world's most infamous super-villains attempts to redeem himself. Residence: Penthouse, Downtown Freedom Base of Operations: as above Alternate Identity: Eric Michaels Identity: Public Birthplace: Freedom City Occupation: Super-hero and scientist Affiliations: AEGIS, Blackstone prison (inmates & staff), Archetech Family: Emily Michaels, mother (estranged) Description: Age: 35 (DoB: May 19th, 1980) Apparent Age: Same as actual Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5'9” Weight: 155lbs Eyes: Green Hair: Deep Red Eric has changed a fair amount since the last time he was in the public eye. He still has a fair complexion, and he still wears his hair in a side parted ponytail. But his face has a few traces of early wrinkles, but his eyes seem to be much softer and sagely. The most prominent change is of course the plated metal arm on his right side, Eric decided to leave it shiny and chrome rather than to make it look like a regular arm. Several years outside of the power armor, as well as plenty of free time have allowed Eric to dedicate time to an exercise regimen, putting quite a bit more muscle on his previously rather skinny frame. Power Descriptions: Eric still uses the red, white and blue Mantle of Freedom that he created so long ago. It has however gone through many upgrades and revisions. This latest version is his first true foray into purely energy based weaponry, wanting to distance himself somewhat from what Malice stood for. As such, this suit is a little more trimmed down than other power armor suits he has used in the past. It offers the basic package of flight, protection and super strength, with this newest version having baseline super-strength running in parallel to the weapons system. The weapons system offers basic energy blasts, but also allows for creation of hard-light objects and the ability to manipulate objects at a distance. With this new design Eric wanted to show that power armor was something more than just a weapon. History: Most of Eric's history is well known and documented. By most accounts he was a normal, albeit brilliant citizen of Freedom City for most of his youth, and even into his early adult life. He was the only child of Hank and Emily Michaels, attended the local schools and graduated high in his class at HIT. His life would take a tragic turn when his father was killed in the crossfire of a meta-brawl, having pushed Eric out of the way and taking the hit himself. Something inside of Eric broke on that day, and he swore vengeance on the heroes of Freedom City for letting such a tragedy befall this city. He began funneling resources from the company he worked for as its head researcher, Darts (the very same company that would later become Archtech) to build the tools required for his crusade. He built an underground complex beneath his own house in a quiet Riverside suburb. He also constructed a suit of power armor, in the colors of the American flag, that he would later dub “The Mantle of Freedom” as he would come to perceive himself as a champion for the way of the future. His crusade of violence and 'social justice' would finally be brought to an abrupt end in June of 2009, when an explosion rocked Freedom City, one centered at Eric Michael's door step. Eric would lose his right arm in the aftermath, as well as most of his possessions, and the world knew he was Malice. He surrendered to the police without incident and was summarily sentenced to Blackgate Prison. That is where most people believe that the story stops, but this is where Eric's life would take yet another turn. While Eric sat in his jail cell, day after day, his anger grew and his bitterness began to fester. In any other time or place, he would have been left to rot for his crimes. But this was today and it was Freedom City, and that meant a second chance. There had been some success in years prior with convicted super-villains turning over a new leaf, the largest of which being the pardoning (or lessening of sentences) of prisons who fought against the Terminus Invasion of '93. It was after that day that leading members of AEGIS saw that possibility of using incarcerated villains as impromptu agents. Similar ideas had been tossed around before, most notably Project Strong-Arm during the Moore years, where the idea was to use inmates as expendable shock troops, but they rarely gathered much traction (at least officially). But as one psychological study after another pointed out, many of these criminals could be wildly successful if they merely applied their talents toward legal ends. So the idea was introduced to give inmates a means by which they could contribute to society, slowly, but surely, until it was deemed that the inmates were reformed at which point they would be released. Serving in a law enforcement or military capacity was still on the table course, but now it was not the only course of action. They called it the Fresh Start program. The program was championed by Harriet Wainwright, head of the probation department. She had success with work release programs with lesser criminals before hand, but now in the years leading up to her retirement, she wanted to end on a high note, and to prove, once and for all, that anyone could be redeemed if given the right environment. The Freedom City prison system had no shortage of inmates in need of rehabilitation, but the problem was finding one with enough “brand recognition” for lack of a better term that wasn't a complete nutcase; after all you don't try to scale the largest mountain on your first rock climbing expedition. The one name they kept coming back to was Malice. At one point in time he may have been the most notorious villain in Freedom City, but what set him apart was the fact that he wasn't captured, but he had surrendered himself into police custody without a struggle. Bonus points for first calling his mother so that he could tell her himself that he was a villain rather than her finding out on the 6 o'clock news. Harriet believed that Eric had once been a good man, but he had lost his way after tragedy struck, she merely needed to show him the way to being the man he once was. They started to give Eric more involved counseling and evaluation, a process which continued throughout the program's duration and is even scheduled to continue after his release. They also gave him avenues to put his talents to use. It started as small things, getting his opinion on a new gadget or other piece of tech AEGIS was developing, or his insight on a case they were working on. Then they allowed him access to build a robotic prosthetic arm to replace the one lost in his final battle. It would later to progress to Eric helping to repair the MAX armors at the prison, he even went so far as to start proposing ideas for upgrading them. It wasn't long before AEGIS was allowing him outside of the prison for supervised missions. But the real change came from what Eric saw when he was working with AEGIS. In the past he had blamed the system that had allowed super heroes to run rampant; the same system that had allowed his father to die. But now, he saw there never was a system; it was always just people. Regular, ordinary, every day people who were trying to make the world a better place. They were struggling under the burden they were trying to carry, and every day they knew that there was a chance that they would fail, but they tried anyway because it was the right thing to do. And in that moment, Eric saw his actions as Malice for what they really were; someone who claimed to be a savior lending a helping hand was really a bully crushing those weaker than him under his heel. Eric swore to himself, never again. Personality & Motivation: Eric is a man that has committed a great number of atrocities that now knows how far he has fallen and is now trying to claw his way back to being a good man. He does not shy away from what he has done or who he was. He answers questions about his past bluntly and truthfully. He says that pretending our past didn't occur is the surest way to repeat its mistakes. Powers & Tactics: Eric fights like a very smart man in a very expensive flying tank. He weighs his options, and sizes up his opponents before deciding on a course of action. That being said, his usual tactic is to use a gun, and if that doesn't work, to use more gun, some habits are hard to break that way. He can mix it up with melee style combat, but ranged is still his preferred style. He has modified the weapons array on his Mantle of Freedom to offer options beyond simply blast everything in sight Complications: Infamous – As Malice, Eric made literally thousands of enemies, switching sides only added people to that list. He is not liked by many, and loathed by most. Indebted – Eric owes his freedom to the efforts of the probation department and the members of Blackstone prison, especially Harriet Wainwright and Warden Drummer. Come hell or high water, he will do right by them. Ex-Con – Eric is a convicted felon and though his sentenced was commuted, there are many things he simply can't do anymore, and many watch lists he shows up on. Stats: 8 + 2 + 8 + 20 + 4 + 4 = 46PP Str: 18/30 (+4/+10) Dex: 12 (+1) Con: 18 (+4) Int: 30 (+10) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha: 14 (+2) Combat: 18 + 12 = 30 PP Attack: +9, +14 Melee Grapple: +18, +24 in suit, +30 at full Super-Strength Defense: +8 (+6 Defense, +2 Dodge Focus) Knockback: -13 in suit, -2 without suit Initiative: +10 Saves: 6 + 2 + 6 = 14PP Toughness: +4/+16 (+4 Con, +11 Protection) – Impervious 10 Fortitude: +10 [+4 Con, +6] Reflex: +3 [+1 Dex, +2] Will: +8 [+2 Wis, +6] Skills: 72r = 18 PP Bluff 8 (+10) Computers 5 (+15) Craft (electronics) 5 (+15) Craft (mechanical) 5 (+15) Diplomacy 8 (+10) Disable Device 5 (+15) Intimidate 13 (+15) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 5 (+15) Knowledge (Tactics) 5 (+15) Knowledge (Technology) 5 (+15) Notice 8 (+10) Feats: 16 PP All-Out Attack Attack Focus (Melee) 5 Benefit (Wealth 2) Dodge Focus 2 Eidetic Memory Inventor Luck 2 Power Attack Speed of Thought Powers: 68 PP Device 17(Hard to lose; 85pp pool) [68pp] Enhanced Strength 12 [12pp] Protection 12 Extras: Impervious 10 [22pp] Flight 6 PF: Dynamic [15pp] * DAP – Super-Strength 6 Super-Senses 2 (Darkvision) [2pp] Blast 15 [34pp] * AP – Snare 15 * AP – Move Object 15 * AP – Damage 15 Extras: Targeted Area Burst, Selective; Flaws: Full Round Action * AP – Create Object 12 PF: Precise, Progression x2, Selective, Stationary, Tether Drawbacks: -4 Normal Identity (Full Round Action to don Battlesuit) [-4] DC Block: Costs: Abilities (46) + Combat (34) + Saves (14) + Skills (18) + Feats (16) + Powers (68) - Drawbacks (4) = 192/ 192

Computer monitor has kicked the bucket, so I'll be spotty until I get a replacement. On the plus side, I was looking for an excuse to upgrade my computer.

Animal Man was sure he had arrived at the right place, but that only meant that the difficult part was only just beginning. He assumed the form of a spider and scampered up the side of the hull, and morphed into the form of a rat as he made it over the railing. He wove his way between the crates as he tried to make his way to the internal compartments of the ship. Right now he wanted to avoid a fight, he didn't know whether or not the people on this ship knew what was going on or not. It could just be the captain slipping an additional crate or two among their shipment of completely legitimate cargo. Sure the crew was probably in on it as parking out in the middle of the ocean tended to raise red flags, but mauling someone just trying to make a living for their family tended to get one booted out of the super-hero crowd in fairly short order. He wanted to find the captain, or at least the bridge, but for now he just had to stalk the shadows and get a lay of the land.

Maxima: Not So Average Joe's - 1 post Blood on the Sands - 1 post Animal Man II: Jurassic Fight Club - 1 post

"You pointed me in the right direction, that's all I was asking." said Animal Man with a shrug before he extended his hand to the harbor master. "Think I might be able to impose on you for a moment longer and borrow a telephone?" asked Animal Man as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the phone on the wall of the office. A moment later, Animal Man dug the card out of his pocket and let the police know what he learned... "Yeah they're in international waters by this point. I'm going to tail them to see what's up, but I wanted to keep you in the loop, just in case. Alright, thank you officer." Back on the pier got his bearings from the position of the sun in the sky, before diving into the water, morphing into a great white shark before he hit the water. Beneath the waves he slowly started to follow the course of the boat, knowing he likely had a few hours of this to go, thankfully being a large predator would deter most sea life.

Cassandra took the card more to be rid of the increasingly persistent and creepy recruiter than anything else, trying to force a smile onto her face, but faltering; something was really just unsettling about this guy. "Yeah, I'll do that... thanks...?" replied Cassandra as she started to back away from the man, slowly turning the card over in her hands. She wandered back to the more populated areas, hoping now that she had taken the card, Mr. Creepshow would stop following her. She had to wonder though, why was she singled out. They were still very early on in the competition, how most of the field ranked with one another was still quite debatable. Did he know more than he was letting on? That was a distressing thought, and one that may warrant further investigation, so Cassandra pocketed the card, before trying to refocus her mind on the next match.

Maxima The Building Blocks of Life - 3 IC Posts Blood on the Sands - 4 IC posts Not So Average Joe's - 4 IC posts Animal Man II Jurassic Fight Club - 3 IC Posts

Cassandra just smirked as Chris and Liz had their joking little spat while she got up, put on some rubber gloves and grabbed some cotton swaps out of one of the nearby cabinets. There was some technology on site that could collect DNA through more advanced means, but it might been deemed a little... invasive so Cassandra decided to go with the low tech method before ramping to the sci-fi. "Say 'aaaaaaahhhh'." said Cassandra half jokingly as she collected her samples from Chris and Liz, before depositing them into a machine that proceeded the scan the swabs as it systematically scanned the area with a green laser grid. Cassandra threw her gloves into the nearby garbage and retook her seat at the surface computer. A few quick key strokes later and the data from the scanner was being displayed, with Chris and Liz's DNA slowly being sequenced. "The machine we've got here just collects the data, we'll need something else to analyze it." explained Cassandra as she began typing away again, bringing up a parallel screen that had a completed DNA sequence. "This is my own genetic sequence that I brought up from my mainframe I mentioned earlier. Now spooling through the whole code would take far too long, especially since I have a few extra pairs of chromosomes in my DNA, so I developed a program that scans DNA for statistically unlikely protein sequences in your DNA. Most of the DNA sequence from one person to another is identical, as most of your DNA is just instructions on how to build basic proteins or to indicate basic stuff like the number of limbs. So if I were to highlight the odd strains in my DNA, like sooo..." said Cassandra as she made a few more movements on the computer before sections of her genetic code were highlighted in green "we can see what, genetically speaking, makes you unique."

Ordinarily at this point in the process, Cassandra would be scribbling furiously on her note pad, making notes of possible avenues of research and experimentation, key data points, the usual stuff. This time however, Cassandra just sort of sat there in a blank stare until after Liz finished. "Okay... J-Just time out - just time out." she said shaking her head clearly flabbergasted as she threw down her pen and used her hands to call 'time out' with enough vigor one would think she was attempting to get the attention of a referee hiding out of sight behind Chris & Liz. Cassandra began speaking very slowly and deliberately, pausing after each sentence, making sure she understood the full ramifications of what she was just told. "You have developed a programmable nanoswarm. One that is capable of rewriting human DNA. In such a way that they can develop super-powers. In developed, living subjects. But so far has only produced one success. Who is your significant other. And knowing this, you injected yourself with this serum. On multiple occasions. Meaning you are capable of reproducing this serum, but not its results. And having done all this, you claim to not be a biologist?" asked Cassandra incredulously. Having gotten that off of her chest, Cassandra took a calming breath. "Ok, cards on the table, I modified my own DNA structure. Severely. Back at base, I have a mainframe that specializes in genetic sequencing, and I'm able to remote in from here, so I think it would help if I got a sample of your DNA Chris to get a baseline for what we're dealing with. Also, since you were exposed to the same serum Liz, I would like to get a sample from you as well."