Avenger Assembled

"No..." said Sharl, tracing his fingers over the utilitarian display. "I mean, there are people occasionally hurt by weak nuclear radiation, but nothing that would need a poster." He shook his head. "You hear rumors about it, but believing in mutants is as crazy as believing in aliens. Or other dimensions...I don't know." He pulled his glasses back up so they better covered his eyes. "We can ask my parents about it when we get there, or when we see it on the news going up." He led the way out of the alley, turning them down into an alien city street. This far down; the streets were nearly deserted. Which was to say, it looked like a typical weekday on the streets of Freedom City. Despite the crowd, though, no one looked their way. Or did they? It was hard to tell who was looking anywhere in a society where everyone wore dark glasses and nearly identical clothing; the main fashion variant that some people favored form-fitting black leather rather than the long coat that young men like Sharl did. Even Sharl's black hair and short haircut seemed to be a common strain among the citizens of Tronik. Sharl quickly led them to a door in the side of the building that was rapidly filling with people, obviously Tronik's version of an elevator. Once a dozen or so people were inside, their little box began to rise with a smoothness that belied what a look outside revealed was fantastic speed: they were rising faster than the mightiest express elevator in Earth-Prime. And no wonder, with so much space to cover. Sharl looked out the window at the familiar sights of the city, murmuring to Mary nearby, "There are more militia cruisers flying around than I remember..." His discretion got him a glare from the man opposite; indeed, almost no one else was talking at all. They didn't look frightened, either; just very quiet. On the wall opposite in the elevator, the commuters were watching the news, flashes of images like a rapidly changing channel flicking on the nearby wallscreen: "...Council President Batage reports that effective plankton harvests are expected to double with the deployment of new oceanic grafting technology...solar plant on the sunward continent target of opposition by anti-government protesters who claimed that..." The face of a uniformed humanoid in futuristic black body armor replaced the news anchor: "The Tronik Militia reminds you: If you see a mutant, report it. The life you save may be your own." And with that, with the elevator's most recent stop, Sharl turned and headed off. "This is it, Ema and Mary," he murmured as they walked out into a steel-lined corridor cast in greenish-blue by the glowstrip overhead. "This is our floor..."

"Does the racial memory of the human population extend to the period of devastation?" inquired Harrier as they walked. "Even if they have lost their knowledge of the names and faces of their attackers, often those stories can survive in folk tales and ancestral memory." He offered her his arm as they walked, acutely conscious of just how pregnant she was. He could have offered to fly her, but his own condition, when put against hers, didn't bear thinking about. "If you and they show no sign of contamination, that is a promising sign. But it is best if I investigate. There have been many...exceptional cases over the centuries."

Sharl stepped through the gateway and was assaulted by strange sensations: air that tasted green, sounds that blew cold winds across his skin, sensations beneath his feet that jangled like alarm bells! He forced himself to adapt to the synthesisia, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths, and gradually his body and mind adjusted themselves to their new surroundings. No, not new surroundings; to the surroundings where he'd been born and raised, to the place that was "Home..." He opened his eyes and found himself back in a place once familiar and alien: they were back at the base of the 30th district, the familiar white-blue glow of the ground sector lights the only reliable illumination. The distant, reassuring hum of the air recyclers that were all that kept the land at the base of hundreds of mile-high towers inhabitable by humans sounded in his ears as he looked up, and up, imagining his family so far overhead. In the deep sky, where sectors bent together like trees to form a forest of steel overhead, he could just make out a few slivers of welcoming green sky, with little flivvers moving back and forth between buildings. For Miss Americana and Dragonfly, Tronik was a considerably more alien place, and it took a few moments for their perspectives to adjust. They were surrounded by buildings that were more like tremendous towers, huge skyscrapers cast in dark blue and gunmetal grey, rising far higher and bulking far thicker, than any building on Prime had ever dreamed, packed so closely together they blotted out the barely visible alien sky overhead. The Pyramid Plaza in Freedom City would have been lost in the forest of steel overhead. The air had the faint smell of ozone and the whine of equipment was everywhere; the glare of artificial light glowing all around them. Overhead, half-visible craft flitted silently from building to building, without even a glow at their tailpipes to show what might be powering them. There were no birds against that sky; no sign of animal life in the alley they shared. From outside the alley came the sound of people and conversation, but no one who sounded like they'd noticed their arrival. "There's an elevator just around the corner," called Sharl to the women, "with my passcode, it'll take us right up into the sector! It...oh." Sharl fell silent as the wall near them flickered to life, the sensors built into the building sensing a human presence: just as he'd expected, the usual bills had been posted even here. And the leading one was written in a style familiar to anyone from a civilized world: SHARL TULINK LAST SEEN 1/3/18242, and the sort of smiling teenager shot underneath that was that of any civilization. Sharl put his hand against his face in the wallscreen. "I guess they're still looking. We...we need to get up there!" Next to his picture, though, was another poster, smaller and more utilitarian, that the native hero didn't notice: IF YOU SEE A MUTANT, REPORT IT.

"I will need to tour the devastated areas for signs of Omegadrone attack," said Harrier honestly. "Large areas of high technology introduced through violent artificial means. A scouring of inhabitants. Charnel pits and objects placed to reduce the morale of survivors." He felt ugly saying the words, and even more as he asked, "Have you had your unborn child medically checked for exposure to Terminus radiation? Or toxic chemicals? I can recommend an extremely competent super-scientist with a medical interest...and if you did find evidence of Grue activity, that is reassuring. No one has attempted to sterilize the planet."

Projectile Hero PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 30 pp STR 20 (+5) DEX 14 (+2) CON 20 (+5) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 28 pp ATK: +6 (+10 w/Strike) DEF: +10 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +6 Grapple: +21 max Saves: 10 pp TOU +10 (+5 Con, +5 Protection) FORT +8 (+5 Con, +3) REF +5 (+2 Dex, +3) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 64 r=16 pp Climb 5 (+10) Concentration 10 (+12) Craft: Structural 10 (+10) Knowledge: Earth Sciences 10 (+10) Notice 13 (+15) Profession (miner) 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 14 pp All-Out Attack Dodge Focus 2 Fast Overrun Improved Initiative Improved Overrun Luck 3 Move-By Action Power Attack Takedown Attack 2 Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 52 pp Cannonball Array [20+1+2+2+2=27 pp] Flight 10 (10000 MPH) [Dynamic] DAP: Damage 10 (Extra: Area [burst]) DAP: Damage 10 (PFs: Accurate 2, Improved Crit 2) DAP: Super-Strength 10 (Heavy Load: ~180 tons) Impervious TOU 10 (Extra: Duration [sustained] (+0) ) [10 pp] Protection 5 [5 pp] costs abilities 30 + combat 28 + saves 10 + skills 16/64 + feats 14 + powers 52 = 150 pts Design Notes: Here’s a hero who flies around on a jet of energy, surrounding himself in a shield of energy to make himself bulletproof. He’s really, really fast, easily capable of breaking multiple Machs in flight, and at the same time he punches really, really hard while having the ability to generate massive explosions! He’s a familiar enough archetype, similar to Freedom City’s own Victory. I gave an origin similar to his comic book progenitor; i.e. that he’s a miner or geologist with the power to take to the air, breaking the surly bonds of Earth and touching the face of God! He’s fast, he’s really strong (with redirecting his powers towards ‘towing’), and in general he’s your go-to guy for aerial combat while covering a not terribly-populated niche in the sciences: only dedicated science types are liable to have a higher Earth Sciences total than this guy even with his average INT. I didn’t give him the ‘must be flying’ drawback on his Strike or his Impervious TOU, I think those things are better left to complications. Rather than give him the Force Field power, I went with giving him Impervious TOU with a Sustained duration: that way he’s not totally vulnerable when his field isn’t turned on (and he has a decent chance of surviving a failed Concentration check at high speed), but he still has a definite advantage to be gained by turning on his ‘force field’; he’s freaking bulletproof with it! He can fight military jets on even terms as it is; shrugging off their machine gun fire and going toe-to-toe with even your larger missiles: with Flight 10, he can outpace almost all flying characters, and all mundane aircraft as well. Note that I avoided giving him any extras on his Strike, so he can hit for full damage and still keep up a respectable flying speed with the Dynamic power construction. This is a pretty flexible concept. One thing to give him might be Immunities to reflect someone who can survive the vicissitudes of high-altitude travel; as it is, while he can survive flight at 10000 MPH, he’ll freeze or suffocate if he goes too high. With a few more immunities, he can even fly in space! (Though you’ll probably want Space Flight for that, given just how far it is even to the Moon at the 20000 MPH that is this guy’s accelerated move) You could also give him some Leadership or Inspire if you want to represent someone with experience managing his teenage superteam. Consider making him part of a big family of superpowered folks, perhaps as a result of all the uranium their family mined over the years. (How much did they mine? So much!)

Having come back in with the Gravois family, Mark didn't hesitate. He was back in his bright, cheerful costume; exactly the opposite (in more ways than one) of what his counterpart would wear. "Erin?" he said, kneeling down and staying just out of arm's reach so he wouldn't frighten her: he hoped he wouldn't frighten her, anyway: "This is for you." He produced from the air a sandwich, two all-beef patties, lettuce, mayo, and a sliced tomato inside wheat bread: he'd been practicing. "Here, eat up. If you want more, I can make that too. We can give you whatever you want to eat."

Edge (Vignette) Down Together (and GMing) Rainmaker Fusion Other Fishies in the Sea Harrier (Vignette) The Stars Went Out The Last Picture Show Citizen The City of the Future Strange Visitors State of Grace GMing Measure of a Hero Lonely Eyes Conquering Mind

"I had not considered the idea. Perhaps it is worth trying." And he meant it. "As for the future," he added, "to be here, with a friend, eating good food in a safe place, is a future brighter than I could ever have dreamed. Only here, with heroes, could I believe in something more." He let her lead the way when they walked outside, resisting the urge to pop into either version of his armor. "Have you encountered any evidence of non-Terran intelligences on or near this planet?" he asked her as they walked outside.

Sharl guided the way, more on instinct than memory, as his mind went back to his terrified flight of a few months ago. "This was all different then," he said aloud, walking along the sidewalk out of memories of what walking in that 'road' was like. "I couldn't even feel the ground beneath my feet, or see anything but myself. Stepping from Tronik out to this was like walking off the edge of reality; just falling and falling forever, knowing there were things in there with me but not able to see them or touch them." He shuddered a little, and added, "I'll have to..." No, come to think of it, he didn't have to try this again on the Internet in Freedom City. Chances for that were going to be thin on the ground. What had been a mad, panicked flight was much, much easier as a straight shot through a recognizable, if deeply alien cityscape. He didn't recognize the backdoor to Tronik at first, since after all it had looked nothing like this his first time through! But as they went, the cityscape seemed to part as they reached the edges of the network's coverage, until finally they found a classic Daedalus computer construct: literally! From its marble steps to its Doric columns, the gate to Tronik looked like something from classical Greece. This time, it was Sharl who took the lead as he put his hands on the big brass door. "From the other side," he said, "It just looked like a door to nowhere, but stepping through it..." He ran his hands over the 'brass' surface. "If it's in the same place, it'll just be an alley in the ground sectors. Somebody posted anonymously on the alien boards that there'd been a sighting, so I came down and investigated." He blinked. "I didn't even tell my parents where I was going. They'll be...right through here."

Harrier ate; he'd known real hunger, real poverty too long to not eat food when it offered to him. "I have never been in school," he told Stesha. "My parents had both been educated on their world before its destruction. They taught me what they could about all they knew, but there was survival to consider first, and always. That made me luckier than most." He looked down at his reflection in the bottom of the bowl, the lines just visible beneath his skin seeming to catch the light. "I would be alien to them," he said, as if he was trying to talk himself out of a tempting possibility. "As I am elsewhere. And I am not clever or wise."

"It is...satisfactory," said Harrier, speaking slowly and distinctly in his metallic timbre. "Many of the men I work with in the kitchen are also displaced by war or poverty from what had once been their homes. We have camaraderie. And when I walk the aisles I can see children and families, and I enjoy that. I have considered the jobs available to men with my identity and skills, but there are none other." He smiled faintly. "When Lady Liberty gave me a list of jobs I could work upon my freedom, I thought that Champions was the restaurant where superheroes ate all the time. But it is a normal place, and I think I am the better for that. There is very little that is normal about me, or about my life, and to have some of it is...pleasant. When I am given charity, I must pay it back."

Motorcycle Daredevil PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 50 pp STR 24 (+7) DEX 24 (+7) CON 24 (+7) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 (+13 Melee) DEF: +13 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +11 Grapple: +20 Saves: 10 pp TOU +7 (+7 Con) FORT +10 (+7 Con, +3) REF +10 (+7 Dex, +3) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 60 r=15 pp Acrobatics 13 (+20) Craft (Mechanical) 5 (+5) Drive 13 (+20) Notice 8 (+10) Perform (Daredevil) 13 (+15) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 22 pp Acrobatic Bluff All-Out Attack Attack Focus: Melee 5 Dodge Focus 5 Evasion Fast Overrun Fearless Improved Initiative Improved Overrun Move-By Action Power Attack Second Chance (Drive checks) Takedown Attack Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 21 pp Device 5 (Motorcycle) (Hard to Lose) (PF: Restricted [+12 ranks in Drive]) [21 pp] -Enhanced Feats 2 (Quick Change 2) [2] -Immunity 3 (environmental heat, suffocation) [3] -Impervious TOU 7 [7] -Speed 5 (250 MPH) (Extra: Affects Others) (PFs: Wall Running 2, Water Run) [13] costs abilities 50 + combat 32 + saves 10 + skills 15/60 + feats 22 + powers 21 = 150 pts ----- Design Notes: Here's my take on the Motorcycle Daredevil archetype from the Silver Age book (aka, Ghost Rider if he hadn't sold his soul, or Evel Knievel as a superhero). I've re-envisioned the concept as a very, very good stunt driver with a really very good motorcycle: I figured that his fancy red white and blue costume (complete with cape!) is part of the motorcycle, so I weighed the costs together. He's as strong, tough, and fast as it's possible for a human being to be: even without his souped-up bike he can take monster hits and recover after just a little time in the hospital. (With Ultimate TOU, he can take a terminal velocity fall (+20 damage) and come away with being stunned and injured; luckily being a daredevil, this guy is going to have lots of Complications powering his HP pool) With his fancy motorbike, he can ride up the side of buildings, across ceilings, and even over water! Note that while a regular motorcycle had Speed 5; equipment can't use accelerated and all-out moves the way Device-powered Speed can: this guy can break the sound barrier in his lean machine and he can do it in style! The Impervious and Environmental Immunities help while doing the FLAMING WHEELS OF DEATH, while Quick Change means he can pop right back into his swinging 70s open-chested leisure suit before he goes and flirts with the ladies. (Yeah, this guy has a definite mid-70s funk about him, but there are still insane people doing this sort of thing on a regular basis in backlots and on dirt tracks all over America!) In combat he'll zip around on his bike, clearing the room of goons, or he'll just punch them right in the head! (Affects Others Speed is my way of giving him the ability to ride with a passenger, something that's not easy to model with non-vehicle stuff when it's not his strength being directly exerted here) Give him an aquatic theme to play a latter-day Tommy Bartlett (look it up!), or perhaps a suit that gives him Wall-Crawling if you want to play the Human Fly II. In Freedom City you run the risk of getting confused with Captain Knievel, notorious supervillain, but I like to think you'll be able to reclaim the legacy of the insane daredevil by demonstrating the sheer awesomeness of your heroism! Ride right up the side of the Pyramid Plaza and jump to another tower while rescuing the lady tossed in the air by a supervillain? Yessss.

Lucky's eyes widened, and he obligingly spilled the beans. "Mistah R is the big boss, see? The boss of all bosses, and-" "QUIET YOU MUG!" Boss Moxie was awake and fighting mad, his three foot something frame knotted with rage. "Ain't nobody the boss of Boss Moxie, see! We wuz just doin' a favah for Mistah R so he'd cut us in on his action!" "Sheesh! Okay, fine," said Lucky, beset on both sides. "You don't hafta be makin' no federal case outta it." For her part, Roxie had looked away, giving the saddest little shriek of all as she was threatened with erasure by the big bad superhero! For his part, Ox was all injured dignity. "You know, mistah," he said with great, slow patience, "you shouldn't oughta threaten a lady to get two fellas to talk. I'd have spilled da beans if you'd smacked Lucky around some, easy." As the muscular little midget spoke, the police sirens in the distance got louder, and the cops appeared down the street.

Harrier told her all he had been up to, much of which had been outside the city. "I have been adventuring under a new name and identity," he said, "secured for me by a friend. I find that my face, and my...self can be a distraction when trying to work with others, or rescue those who have every reason to fear and hate me. Much of it has been outside the city. While things are quieter in the less populated regions, they can be more pleasant as well. To stand on a clean beach and feel the water beneath my toes, to see birds in the sky and crabs on the sand...it is quite lovely." He asked after her own fate as well, and that of her child. "When it is of age, bring your child to Champions. We have a good children's menu," he said stolidly. "And children love the little hero toys."

"I will look as far as I can," said Harrier, relaxing now that he knew he was in safe company. "It is unlikely that a world as habitable as this one was a victim of a direct attack. Worlds that do repel direct assault, or that close their dimensional barriers to mass bombardment, are usually deliberately poisoned by chemical transformation of their atmosphere, or by fusion suppressors fired into their star, or..." His voice was flat, as if describing something that had happened a long time ago, to other people. And indeed, it had. "...But since this world is habitable, that seems unlikely. However," he added, "the chance must be investigated. If they closed their barriers after the initial assault, but before the installation of the transmission towers, a habitable, if devastated planet, is still possible. The changes of radiation poisoning in such a case are high. You are right to be concerned."

Harrier started at the sudden transport, his hackles going up as he felt a sudden feeling of dislocation...but luckily sense reasserted itself before he could do more than startle the extremely pregnant heroine before him. "I have had experiences with perspective shifts before," he said after a moment's awkwardness. "That was surprising." He blushed furiously and looked away, afraid he'd offended her, but she still offered him food he accepted a place at the table and took subs and salad and soft drinks alike. "That was more than just teleportation."

Harrier accepted her offer graciously, in fact looking quite grateful. Skipping work on a Saturday was easy enough with the long hours he worked through the rest of the week, but it did mean that he'd have been looking at eating at the charity kitchen, or perhaps beans from a can again: he'd eaten much worse in his life, but eating so well was far better. "Thank you for the meal," he said, his voice its usual quiet, steady beat. "I will give you whatever technical assistance I can." If the sight of a pregnant woman fazed him, well...he'd dealt with those ancient pains a long time ago. "Congratulations on your successful breeding."

April 30 2011 Murdock sat alone on the park bench, its sturdy steel and wood holding up even his great weight without a creak, and waited for his contact. He'd gotten word through his contact in the community, namely Miss Americana, that his old acquaintance Fleur de Joie was looking for him as a technical expert. The request had been for Harrier, not Caradoc, so he'd come in his own skin to avoid causing a panic. The last thing he needed was for that very nice young woman with the gravitic husband to be frightened at the sight of him again. So instead he closed his eyes and sat on the bench, smelling the sweet flowers of spring all around him. Nature untamed really was a glorious feeling, especially since he had so little experience of it outside this place. Could any city be more beautiful than Freedom City?

Pinball Hero PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 30 pp STR 20 (+5) DEX 14 (+2) CON 20 (+5) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 28 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Unarmed) DEF: +10 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +6 Grapple: +15 Saves: 10 pp TOU +10 (+5 Con, +5 Protection) FORT +8 (+5 Con, +3) REF +5 (+2 Dex, +3) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 64 r=16 pp Acrobatics 13 (+15) Computers 5 (+5) Concentration 5 (+7) Knowledge: Popular Culture 10 (+10) Knowledge: Technology 5 (+5) Languages 1 (Japanese) (Base: English) Notice 8 (+10) Perform (pinball wizard) 9 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 14 pp Acrobatic Bluff Attack Specialization: Unarmed 2 Challenge (Fast Acrobatic Bluff) Dodge Focus 2 Fast Overrun Improved Initiative Improved Overrun Luck 3 Seize Initiative Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 50 pp Alternate Form 10 (Pinball) [50 pp] -Damage 10 (Extras: Area [Trail], Selective) [30] -Immunity 3 (nausea, suffocation) [3] -Impervious TOU 6 [6] -Protection 5 [5] -Speed 5 (250 MPH) (PFs: Wall Run, Water Run) [7] -Super-Senses 1 (Sight [Radius]) [1] -Drawback: No Hands (while in Ball Form) [-2] costs abilities 30 + combat 28 + saves 10 + skills 16/64 + feats 14 + powers 50 = 150 pts -- Design Notes: Here's a somewhat unusual hero: he has the power to turn into a giant ball! With his Speed and Area Damage, he can tear through a given area like a bat out of hell, sweeping through minions easily with the sheer power of his steel-hard body. He can roll up walls and across water, and if he pushes himself to all-out speed he can even break the sound barrier! Not bad for somebody who doesn't even have hands while in his ball form: it's up to you whether or not he actually turns into the ball, or whether he's just inside its casing and holding on like somebody inside one of those spinny gyroscope things at the mall or Spacecamp. I've gone with giving him a pinball feel, perhaps making this guy one of those uber-popular Bronze/Iron Age trendy heroes who has now fallen on hard times: but perhaps recently rediscovered as people have started playing pinball again for nostalgia reasons? His big weakness is probably TILTing; i.e., falling: with his low Impervious, falling off a surface on which he's rolling on is probably going to hurt. Luckily he usually doesn't need to worry about that! I gave the immunity to nauseate and radius sight because they seemed like logical power developments for somebody whose power is being inside (or being!) a giant hamster ball. (As his enemies have probably pointed out more than once over the years...) The Trail extra on his Damage means that it affects people _behind_ him: I figure in combat he'll clean up by rolling right through an area, then use his move action to go wherever he wants to be at the end of his turn. Someone like this would have been a natural for slam attacks, but that didn't quite fit the concept of the character so instead I went with this way of doing things. He's a good goonsweeper, but his lack of Power Attacking means he's better off getting someone else in to fight the final boss. I admit, I got the idea for this character from Holy Roller, one of the more enjoyable Wild Cards characters of the last couple of years. (The Rev. Thaddeus Wintergreen is that vanishingly rare evangelical Protestant from Mississippi in genre fiction: a happy man with no bigotry or prejudice in his heart, who believes in a Creator who loves all men and women). If you like the religious theme, by all means, pick it up! There' s nothing that says you have to play the pinball theme, I just liked the connection to the vast and glorious world of Bronze Age theme heroes. And who wouldn't enjoy a Rogues Gallery with a pinball theme; all pinball!

Alex's grandfather was luckily just arriving there behind his station, and he quickly began punching numbers into the teleporter control pad. "I can't get you to Blackstone proper," he agreed, "but I can put you down in the middle of the 'holding pen' where they route teleporters who come in without access. Easier than setting up dampeners for them, and lets them catch some breakouts or breakins before they start. The secured perimeter and guards will give you an extra layer in dealing with...this little lady," he said, nodding in Singularity's direction as he waited for a sign of approval from the kids.

Sharl joined them a few moments later, somewhat ungracefully sticking his finger in the IR port before reappearing inside the machine itself. As he stepped out of the 'air' to stand beside the two women, it took them a moment to realize what was different about him: after all, his avatar hadn't changed a bit. But inside the simulation, Sharl didn't look like a computer program brought to life or a cunningly projected hologram. If they didn't try and peer at the code inside him, he looked like a human being. "Wow, so here we are..." Sharl smiled a little nervously, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Uh, welcome to the computer," he joked. "Miss Americana really did a nice job programming this for me. It feels as close to home as I could have gotten. Are we ready?" When Miss A indicated they were, Sharl opened the door to his room, revealing not the pretty blue sky visible through the windows, but rather something else entirely: a long corridor that stretched out before them, leading out to a broader, wider metal security door. "Wow, that must be the gate to the network..." He added to Dragonfly, "Before, when I wasn't pro...when I couldn't understand this, it all looked like crawling chaos. I couldn't even understand I was in Miss A's computer until she started talking to me. Did you want to do the honors?" he asked Miss A.

Scary Hero PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 26 pp STR 30 [16] (+10/+3) DEX 14 (+2) CON 16 (+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 16 (+3) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Melee) DEF: +12 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +3 Grapple: +22 Saves: 13 pp TOU +8 (+3 Con, +5 Protection) FORT +6 (+3 Con, +3) REF +6 (+2 Dex, +4) WILL +8 (+2 Wis, +6) Skills: 44 r=11 pp Bluff 7 (+10) Concentration 8 (+10) Intimidate 12 (+15) Language 1 (Chinese) (Base: English) Notice 3 (+5) Sense Motive 13 (+15) Feats: 16 pp Attack Focus: Melee 4 Dodge Focus 6 Fearless Power Attack Takedown Attack Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 60 pp Alternate Form 9 (Fear Demon) (PF: Subtle) [46 pp] Emotion Control 10 (Flaw: Fear Only) [10] Enhanced Feats 5 (Challenge 3 [Fast Startle, Mass Intimidation, Powerful Intimidation], Second Chance (Startle) and Startle) [5] Enhanced STR 14 [14] Leaping 1 (x2) [1] Morph 5 (same mass) (Flaw: Objects of Fear Only) [10] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Super-Strength 2 (Heavy Load: 3 tons) [4] Immunity 3 (aging, disease, poison) [3 pp] Protection 5 [5 pp] Regeneration 1 (Resurrection 1/week) [1 pp] Super-Senses 5 Detect Fear 2 (Acute, Analytical, Extended, Radius) [mental] [5 pp] costs abilities 26 + combat 24 + saves 13 + skills 11/44 + feats 16 + powers 60 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: Here's my build for a 'fear-controller', modeled on Marvel's Trauma. He's a scary guy: he has the ability to sense whatever you're afraid of and turn into it, bringing about an impressive transformation that makes him very formidable in combat. He's a good hand-to-hand fighter and a low-grade powerhouse, with a power that lets him scare the pants off anyone. Anyone without Fearless, anyway, and since that lets you target almost all NPCs, why not? The idea is that his Detect lets him pick up on what you fear (though maybe not why, since it isn't Mind-Reading) and then become that thing, blasting you with a wave of terror in the process. Note that I've built him so that his shapeshifting powers work even on people who are Fearless: sure, it may not have a game mechanic effect, but he can still annoy them. And even on mindless robots, he can still beat them up with his fists. I've gone with the idea that this character is the offspring of a mortal person and some physical embodiment of the emotion of fear: this can be a magical story, or a rubber-science one about the archetypes of humanity's dreams: perhaps he's a monster of clinical psychology! You can finesse that however you want; perhaps he 'should' be a true shapeshifter and aura reader, but a grim childhood or something locked him into some fairly grim powers. Accidentally making enemies by turning into their worst fear (zombies, perhaps?), or getting a beating from them all unawares, is going to be a potential source of great complications for you, and the more complications you get, the more HP you get! This is a natural build for a Hero High setting; so many potential emotional problems he could have! Just don't get annoyingly emo about it; the character may be depressed, but there's no reason why he has to be depressing; IOW, he may be dark, but there's no reason why he has to darken all the threads he's in. Putting a smile on his face should be your goal, as well as putting expressions of pure terror on the faces of your enemies (and maybe your friends, but only if they're being real big jerks to you). He's Fearless himself, which really does seem to fit someone with his apparent background.

For once in his life, Mark didn't know what to say. How do you comfort someone who thinks you're a monster; how do you soothe someone who thinks you're her greatest tormentor? After a moment's hesitation, he realized there was only one good way. "I'm going to go check on the others," he offered while leaving the platform. "Sage got them out of here so they wouldn't get hit by us incoming, they can't have gone far." He hated to leave, but he trusted Wander and Midnight with his life, and Supercape was a good guy too. They'd be able to handle this without him.

As they all formed up together, Mark exchanged a look with Singularity, or rather, he looked at her and she began screaming in a high-pitched keen while writhing frantically in Wander's arms. Remembering all he'd heard from the other Daisy's transcript about what a filthy bastard his counterpart was, and thinking about what Singularity must have endured even at the hands of others here, Mark looked away: he could face anything but his friend's face in terror and agony, looking at him with nothing but sheer, unbridled horror. We'll make it right, he told himself. We'll make it right... "Now! Do it now!" Above them, the ceiling gave way, and terrible daylight shone in as dark figure swooped in above.

John Henry PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 32 pp STR 18 (+4) DEX 20 (+5) CON 18 (+4) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 28 pp ATK: +6 (+12 melee) DEF: +12 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +9 Grapple: +16 Saves: 18 pp TOU +8 (+4 Con, +4 Protection) FORT +10 (+4 Con, +6) REF +10 (+5 Dex, +5) WILL +9 (+2 Wis, +7) Skills: 72 r=18 pp Climb 1 (+5) Craft (Structural) 15 (+15) Intimidate 14 (+15) Knowledge: History 10 (+10) Languages 2 (Seminole, Spanish) (Base: English) Notice 13 (+15) Sense Motive 13 (+15) Survival 3 (+5) Swim 1 (+5) Feats: 24 pp All-Out Attack Attack Focus: Melee 6 Challenge (Fast Startle) Dodge Focus 4 Improved Initiative Luck 3 Move-By Action Power Attack Startle Steadfast Takedown Attack 2 Ultimate Save (Will) Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 26 pp Immunity 1 (aging) [1 pp] Impervious TOU 8 [8 pp] Leaping 1 (x2) [1 pp] Protection 4 [4 pp] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Steel-Drivin’ Array [10+11=11 pp] Strike 4 (PFs: Improved Crit, Mighty) (Extra: Penetrating) AP: Burrowing 5 (50 MPH) (Extra: Affects Others) (PF: Subtle) costs abilities 32 + combat 28 + saves 18 + skills 18/72 + feats 24 + powers 26 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: This is my build for John Henry, inspired by the DC Universe’s New Frontier version of the character. My take on this is that John Henry is a mythic legacy passed down from generation to generation like Freedom City’s Lady Liberty, but in this case is focused on the freedom and legacy of African-Americans. When the first John Henry died sometime in the 1870s, his spirit found a new successor, a courageous battler for his people and their salvation, and they’ve continued to tell their story through the generations. Now the hammer is a mythic instrument of power from which he can never be separated. This build would work just fine as a new version of the character, or as his Golden Age self from previous generations. John Henry’s legacy is one about working-class African-Americans surviving in a system dominated by powerful elites and new technology: equally heroic as Paul Bunyan and others, but also very different. He’s a badass abnormal with a lot of power; his hammer (which cannot be taken from him) is a threat to anyone with its Penetrating 4 and his use of Power Attack, and he can also use it to tunnel through the Earth. (Just as you’d expect him to be able to!) He’s a great builder, though no genius, an ability perhaps honed by decade upon decade of working with his hands. He stays on the move in a fight, walloping bad guys with powerful blows, and no crowd of Klansmen or CCCers can hope to slow him down once he’s in a real fight. He’s got massive saves, as befits a hero of this caliber, and with his Ultimate Will he can keep going even when everything in his body is telling him to stop and slow down. He’s also much faster than his enemies are likely to expect: his high Dex and Initiative give him a decent chance of beating someone to the punch, especially some guy with a steam-powered shovel working alongside him. He’s a natural fit for a team of American legends, playing to a story of American power and a legacy that the mainstream audiences may be uncomfortable dealing with. But that’s okay: John Henry just keeps driving his hammer. It’s what he’s here to do. If you don’t like this particular archetype, make him a ranged specialist for Pecos Bill, or perhaps add some ranks of Growth for Paul Bunyan. (Who’ll need Sidekick for his big blue ox, naturally). It’s up to you whether a character powered by myth is a magical one; you could easily come up with some science fluff about the collective gestalt and the power of the human psyche and make him basically a mental character. Or perhaps it is magic! It’s up to you. You can also remove the legacy aspect entirely and just make him Ultimate John Henry: i.e., is he just a crazy guy? But I rather like the image of a legacy of heroes since the 19th century, just not a legacy that most people really want to engage with. He makes an interesting ‘rebel’ character for a game set in the 40s; his story is mythic enough to make him part of, say, a government superteam, but he may see the cause of oppression as being one to fight beyond even fascism abroad. And who’s to say you can’t tell a story like that right here and right now?