Fox

"Yeah, I've got, uh...." Matt turned to search his things again only to run into one of his dogs, which had already dragged an old, beaten portable cd player out from goodness knows where and dropped it helpfully on the bed. "...yeah, that. Good boy," he praised, giving a quick head rub to a creature that, for a moment, could have been any other big, dumb animal. "Nothing wrong with ignorance. S'what the dogs always tell me, anyway," he said, one of the other hounds supplying a plastic grocery bag for him to package the player and selection of disks in. "'It's just a chance to learn, Howl,' or whatever. Better to admit it now and enjoy life than wait 'til you're gone. Don't have much of a chance to learn after, most of the time. Here you go." He held the bag out, shrugging. "Headphones are an old pair of ear buds - not as nice as the big set you were just using, but lighter. I think the batteries in the cd player are dead, s'why I wasn't using it, so you're on your own replacing them. Little hatch on the bottom, shouldn't be hard to figure out. Try not to break anything? They're just, y'know, things, but they're important things and the music's a lot harder to replace than the player. I do want 'em back."

"Wh...I care! Sometimes. About....stuff." He'd have sulked if he wasn't sure it would have been critically un-cool, and if he wasn't busy glaring daggers at the dog by his feet, which had demonstrated an unseemly amount of mirth right up until Matt shoved its head so hard with one sock-laden foot that the creature's upper body disappeared into an old blanket, paws flailing in faux-helpless sibling-esque struggles. One of the others snorted, though it did shoot its master an ambiguously important look. Matt frowned back, some unseen communication passing between them. "...yeah, okay," he muttered, settling back to let Winifred finish her music with a minimum of distraction. "I know, I noticed it too, earlier. We'll take care of it tonight, alright? Caring doesn't mean we can't let it wait a bit."

At prompting from the others, Indira snaked an arm out for the volleyball, giving it a careful look-over as she hefted it in one hand. "I have never played," she admitted, turning the ball over in her hand. "It should be an interesting experience. I shall...serve?" Tossing the ball once or twice to get a feel for its weight, the young woman finally threw it up, took a careful step, and performed a solid (if slightly inaccurate) overhand hit that sent the ball sailing over the net toward their opponents' feet with somewhat more force than her human-seeming frame would have allowed.

"My favorite....?" Matt looked slightly overwhelmed at the very idea of a favorite song, glancing down at his music box and then back over to the dogs as if they were to be of any help whatsoever. At their obvious lack of sympathy and assistance, he made a grumbling noise and started thumbing through his collection. "Overall, I dunno, it's too hard to pick? It'd depend on my mood, and what I'm into lately, and whatever else....but, uh, in metal...." The boy fished out another worn, beaten jewel case, gently retrieving the disc inside and deftly swapping it for the one Winifred had already sampled. "Little different," he admitted, hitting buttons - from the snippets of sound audible in the headphones, apparently skipping through songs. "Same kinda genre, different group, different sound. But I guess this one's something I keep coming back to. Means something to me, I s'pose."

"N-nah," Matt countered; he seemed briefly distracted, but he got over it quickly enough. One of the dogs made a sound like laughter, but it was directed at the boy, not his guest. "Everyone learns about things for the first time sometime, right? Better late than never. Too many people hit the dirt never knowing really important stuff. And not much more important than music. Besides, I tried showing savages printed word once," he added, drolly. "They tried to eat it." That the dogs definitely found funny, and the one toward the end of the bed found its head pinned between the mattress and his master's foot in an attempt to quiet its laughter. "Words are delicious," it insisted, defiant to the last. "But, uh, glad you liked it, I guess? If you liked it. Not gonna lie, didn't think it'd have that big an impact. They aren't always my favorite metal band."

Gaian Knight / Tiamat - Dragonfly (maxed) Mystery at Bedside Manor (2) Wraith Down the Unfamiliar Road (1) Eclipse - Grim Looking For Treble (1) Woof. Split the Dragonfly posts between GK and Eclipse, so that they at least get 1pp; ref point to GK, please.

"Perhaps it was best that I stuck with swimming," Indira hummed, gliding past the surfers, toward the shore. "Besides being too heavy for a board, that is. Getting back on after falling off would have been an interesting ordeal. It looks very fun, though." Her idea of "swimming" was very briefly seen as she hit the sand, looking for all the world like a life-sized steel-cast model of some alien movie horror, before it casually melted away and reformed into a more familiar woman-shaped profile. Kimber has issued a challenge on behalf of their honor, and she was hardly going to disappoint; even her hair seemed ready, slowly wrapping itself back in a loose ponytail of its own accord. "I will try to not cheat, too much," she solemnly promised, taking her place at her best friend's side of the net, "but I cannot make any promises."

The dogs had made no signs of aggression while the music played, one even beating its tail to a drum beat its canine ears could hear even through the heavy-set headphones, but they also took no steps to hide their protective streak. When Winifred looked up, she met not just Matt's eyes, but another three pairs that had set up a casual but protective ring around the boy. At her request they settled back down, flopping heads back into the mattress (or, for the unlucky mutt on the floor, the hard ground - which it immediately and audibly regretted), and their pack leader barely seemed to notice. "Uh - sure. Sorry about not warning you about headphones; guess they're weird to you. Pressing the 'again' button," he announced, and he did.

"Mmh," Mara softly replied, casting her eye around the room. Despite some training from Ellie and Erik, she was not any kind of expert hand-to-hand fighter; she remained, in her bones, an engineer. And an engineer used tools. She opted to grab an unattended blanket, quietly unfolding it into an improvised net, and moved around the beds to take up her place a few feet to the side of the vent. The action served a secondary purpose: when the blanket was briefly in front of her face, it hid the lights dancing behind her eyes. A barely-perceivable shimmer in the corner of the room adjusted to turn its invisible eye upon the room, an action mirrored by its peers in the hallway and beyond. She hoped she wouldn't need them...but with people's safety at risk, it couldn't hurt to be ready. Just in case.

Woop! You're absolutely right - I had to make a last-minute toughness change when adjusting caps and forgot to propagate it. Fixed!

Character Name: Alice Ishikawa Power Level: 8-13 (8.5 w/ Sneak Attack) (180/208PP) Trade-Offs: +4 Attack / -4 Damage, +2 Defense / -2 Toughness Unspent Power Points: 28PP In Brief: Young sneak-thief without a sense of purpose. Residence: Bedlam. Alternate Identity: The Gremlin (pejorative) Identity: Secret-ish. Birthplace: USA Occupation: Thief. Affiliations: The Fix, assorted Bedlam criminal groups Family: Estranged (mother, father, brother). Description: Age: 21 Apparent Age: 21 Gender: Female Ethnicity: Japanese Height: 5'1" Weight: 110lb Eyes: Brown Hair: Black/Brown When she was a child, she dreamed of being the tall, classy cat burglar - elegant, curvy, and devastating. It wasn't in the cards. Alice Ishikawa is a lot of mischief packed into just over five feet of body (five feet one, she'd insist), and she manages to leverage a surprising amount of strength and stamina out of such a slight frame. A lifetime of good training and diligent attention to her health (in service to her profession) has rendered her fit, acrobatic, and flexible. As second-story work is not typically a daytime activity, her skin tends to be on the fair side, though she's somehow managed to get this far without earning many obvious permanent marks or blemishes. She keeps her dark hair short, largely for practical purposes, not coincidentally framing her delicately-featured face and complimenting a pair of equally-dark eyes that manage to be as sharp as they are playful. Her personal fashion demonstrates a fondness for old t-shirts (often of bands she's never heard play), odd accessories (apparently on pure whim), and reliable footwear (even if she could scale a building in sandals or heels)...unless she's working, in which case her clothing is close-fitting, durable, disposable, unmarked, and darkly-colored, with as much skin covered as possible and any sleeves or pant legs tied down with wrappings or tucked away where they can't interfere. History: Alice's life has been nothing if not defined by theft, even from birth. When a lab accident at Mr. and Mrs. Ishikawa's research station threatened the latter's late-term pregnancy, the over-funded and under-supervised military group in charge were only too happy to provide medical care. When their new child presented otherwise-inexplicable abilities, said group was entirely willing to take the child to a remote facility for testing...and somewhat less willing to give her back. She wasn't going to change the world, but with proper training perhaps she could have been molded into quite the asset. It was a sentiment that the criminals of Bedlam shared. When a cargo ship pushed its luck too far and fell out of local protection, its raiders expected valuables, drugs...but not a young metahuman on ice ("secured for transport", as decreased funding had called for the consolidation of various off-the-books facilities). At first she was a novelty, but once they realized what she was capable of she was a tool. Need something stolen? Send the kid to do it, worst case is she gets killed or captured...and while the former never happened, the latter became something of a game between the leaderships of the various Bedlam powers. Who's got the little gremlin now? What's she after, and what can we use her for if we catch her? Even she lost track of how many times she changed hands, but while she liked some "employers" more than others her age and upbringing left her feeling that she was without better options. Teenagers, however, are notoriously harder to control...and stealthy, teleporting teenagers doubly so. Eventually she tired of games and being ordered around and stole herself, vanishing into the city as soon as she could do so without angering anyone she couldn't handle. Since then, bereft of other purpose and knowing little else, Alice has worked freelance: if you need something stolen, if you need a sneak-thief or second-story artist, put the word out. Maybe the gremlin's bored. Personality & Motivation: Alice has few problems taking orders and frankly enjoys her work, but operating at the behest of a long series of handlers and thugs (not to mention being a constant outsider and red-headed stepchild) has left the young woman somewhat ill-equipped to pursue her own passions, if she even knew what those passions were...outside of her craft, which she continues to hold to a high (and proud) standard. She can take care of herself, but doesn't know where she fits in with the world at large. Her obedience should not be mistaken for blind servitude. She expects a certain level of disrespect and discrimination but blatant disregard for her person or autonomy will be met with sass and equal disregard for the interests of her would-be employer. Even on the job she is playful, mischievous, and impolite. Powers & Tactics: Alice is of the opinion that if fighting has started, something has gone very, very wrong and her best option is to get out of dodge. She's a reasonably-skilled hand-to-hand fighter and carries a collapsible staff for utility and personal protection, but both are weapons of last resort when working; get in, go unnoticed, and get back out - no getting caught on cameras, no getting seen by guards. If truly necessary she'll allow for the latter if it's a half-second of pre-unconscious panic as she descends on one she can't circumvent, but one of her hard rules is never, ever any killing - it invites more trouble than it's worth. Surprisingly few know about her teleportation, considering; she uses it sparingly and at some point she just became "the weirdly effective thief asset" instead of "that weird metahuman girl", especially among the lesser powers of the city. Alice prefers it that way: the fewer who know her secrets, the better they are at getting her out of trouble when she needs them the most. Power Descriptions: Alice's one and only super power opens temporary windows in space: these perfect but short-lived ellipses allow her to jump to another nearby location she can see. Complications: Family: Alice's parents don't know what came of her, but they're still out there, somewhere, and could be used as leverage. Missing Asset: It was a while ago now, but Alice was, theoretically, a military project - and likely not the only one. Records are scarce (curiously, acquiring and training children is not popular with many higher-ups who get wind of such things) but somewhere out there may exist a group or groups who'd love to reclaim their investment. Reputation: She never held membership with any of them, but many gangs and organized powers in the city at least know of 'that little gremlin', and very likely used her on a job at some point, somewhere. Opinions may vary, depending on performance and whether she was used for or against them, but among those in charge she's a known factor and her teleportation is unlikely to be a surprise to anyone very highly-placed. Sticky Fingers: Alice just...really likes taking things. She really likes taking things. Presented with the opportunity during a job, she's hard-pressed to not acquire goodies on the side if she thinks she can get away with it and it won't harm anyone she doesn't think has it coming. Teleportal: Alice's teleport is, in fact, a teleportal: she creates a window in space and either moves through it, or moves it around her. This makes it useless for getting out of grapples or bindings, as she can't be selective about what does and does not get teleported. Abilities: 4 + 12 + 8 + 4 + 2 + 4 = 34PP Strength: 14 (+2) Dexterity: 22 (+6) Constitution: 18 (+4) Intelligence: 14 (+2) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat: 16 + 16 = 32PP Initiative: +14 Attack: +12 Melee, +8 Ranged Grapple: +18 Defense: +10 (+8 Base, +2 Dodge Focus), +4 Flat-Footed Knockback: -3/-2 Saving Throws: 5 + 7 + 6 = 18PP Toughness: +6/+4 (+4 Con, +2 Defensive Roll) Fortitude: +9 (+4 Con, +5) Reflex: +13 (+6 Dex, +7) Will: +7 (+1 Wis, +6) Skills: 156R = 39PP Acrobatics 13 (+19)SM Bluff 5 (+7) Climb 13 (+15)SM Computers 3 (+5) Concentration 4 (+5) Disable Device 13 (+16, +18 w/ masterwork tools)SM, SC Disguise 4 (+6) Escape Artist 13 (+19)SM Knowledge [Current Events] 3 (+5) Knowledge [Streetwise] 8 (+10) Knowledge [Tactics] 8 (+10) Language 2 (English [native], Italian, Spanish) Medicine 4 (+5) Notice 11 (+12)SM Perform [Dance] 8 (+10) Search 13 (+15)SM Sense Motive 5 (+6) Sleight of Hand 13 (+19)SM Stealth 13 (+19)SM, SC Feats: 43PP Acrobatic Bluff Attack Focus (Melee) 4 Attractive Blind-Fight Defensive Roll 1 Dodge Focus 2 Elusive Target Equipment 5 Evasion 2 Fast Task 2 (Feint, Trick) Grappling Finesse Hide in Plain Sight Improved Initiative 2 Improvised Tools Instant Up Luck 3 Master Plan 2 Move-By Action Power Attack Prone Fighting Second Chance 2 (Disable Device, Stealth) Skill Mastery 2 (Acrobatics, Climb, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Notice, Search, Sleight of Hand, Stealth) Sneak Attack Ultimate Effort (Stealth) Uncanny Dodge 2 (Auditory, VIsual) Redirect Equipment: 5 ranks = 25ep Binoculars [1ep] Climbing Equipment [1ep] Concealable Microphone [1ep] Knife [4ep] Masterwork Lockpicks [1ep] Medical Kit [1ep] Mini-Tracer [1ep] Night-Vision Goggles [1ep] Hideout [14ep] A forgotten and carefully-secured section of what was once an unfinished tower for high-class residents (now a mostly-empty home for squatters who don't want trouble); unremarkable and somewhat cramped, and nearly inaccessible from the outside without foreknowledge and the ability to teleport, it's home sweet home none the less. Toughness: 20 [3ep] Size: Tiny [-1ep] Features [12ep]: Communications Concealed 5 [DC +30] Fire Prevention System Gym Living Space Security System 3 [DC 30] Powers: 5+4+5 = 14PP Device 1 (5dp earbud; Flaws: Hard-to-Lose; Feats: Subtle) [5pp] Communication Link 4 (other earbuds; Feats: Subtle) [5dp] Device 1 (5dp collapsible staff; Flaws: Easy-to-Lose; Feats: Subtle) [4pp] Damage 2 (Feats: Extended Reach, Improved Trip, Mighty) [5dp] Teleport 3 (300'; Flaws: Short-Range; Feats: Change Direction, Turnabout) [5pp] Drawbacks: -0PP DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Melee DC17 Toughness Damage (Staged) Knife Melee DC18 Toughness (19-20) Damage (Staged) Staff Melee +5' DC19 Toughness Damage (Staged) Totals: Abilities (34) + Combat (32) + Saving Throws (18) + Skills (39) + Feats (43) + Powers (14) - Drawbacks (0) = 180/208 Power Point

Mara seemed pleased, in the same way she was always pleased when she built something on-the-job that cleverly solved a situation she didn't really want anyone to be in - her tiny hint of a satisfied smile was there, but there wasn't a lot of warmth in it and the weight of circumstance pulled down at its edges. "Weirdness," she answered, frowning; lights danced behind her eyes as she fed the drone - and, by extension, the whole net of them - some basic instructions to try to get better resolution out of the projected image. The drones had the instrumentation for it, but they weren't really designed for motion tracking; still, by the time Ellie's gotten the last of her sleep from her eyes - or, as much as she was going to get without a good night's rest - Mara had finally gotten a half-decent hologram going, projected at chest-height and following the movement as it made its way. "It's moving through the floors. Through the floors," she emphasized, hologram tilting to better convey depth. "Reads like ducts, but ducts are not large. Access points are even smaller. Too small for normal people. Might not have noticed at all if I hadn't put a drone by a vent by accident, caught an anomaly. Should be able to follow it, though, see where it's going. Up for a walk?"

The dogs seemed no less amused by Winifred's opinion on their opinion, a problem Matt solved by shoving a sock-covered foot onto one of their heads to pin it to the mattress. "Don't take 'em seriously. For whatever it's worth, they don't really judge people, they just think they're funny and enjoy messing with folks. I don't think they'd actually care if you were, uh, experimenting, it'd just be one more way to mess with you if they got it into their stupid furry heads that messing with you was a good idea. Never seen 'em do any actual harm they weren't told to do." The dog's head had given him better leverage to scoot back on the bed a bit, the animal making decidedly canine grumbling noises while suffering no apparent real distress as Matt shoved backwards to pull large, heavy-corded headphones off one bed post. These he offered to the young alchemist, plugging the other end of the long cable into a severely beaten cd player. "Classical might be boring, don't wanna hit you too hard, so let's meet somewhere in the middle I guess," he shrugged, popping out a disk and, with some percussive maintenance, convincing his old player to play it. "It's some of their newer stuff, Tarja left a while ago and the new girl's not the same, but she's not bad and that means nothin' to you so, uh, here you go," he shrugged again, hitting play.

APPROVED!

Indira had, in a lull, managed to make her way over to the food, gently digging out a couple of her metal 'cupcakes' and inspecting them with a smile. "I could gain a little weight," she noted to no one in particular, weighting a pair in her hand before setting them next to the fire to warm. "I believe it is tradition to exercise before eating such things, so I will go for that swim. I...ah, I would not touch those, however. They are likely to get very hot." She offered the group a short bow and just...walked off into the water, strolling through the waves and down along the underwater floor until she disappeared from view entirely. Shortly thereafter, something could be seen cresting the water's surface here and there, like some kind of alien manta ray, trailing multiple tendrils and a long, thin cloth.

The container power still indicated 87pp; in the interests of not prolonging review for trivial edits, I went and fixed that myself, since the rest of the math had been updated. APPROVED!

APPROVED!

Combat Because M&M hates us, you round flat-footed defense up (your dodge bonus is the part that's rounded down); at +5 Defense, Judex would have a flat-footed defense of +3, not +2. Skills I'm guessing you wanted +12 Knowledge (Gods & Dead Thinkers), not +2.

APPROVED!

Combat Initiative is listed as +6, but I can only see a -1/+2; did an Improved Initiative feat get dropped? Attack is listed as +10 for Cybernetic Enhancements, which would require a +6 bonus, but I only see two ranks of Accurate there. Powers The base effect of Chrome's Cybernetic Enhancements array is over-budget; Damage 6 with 10pp of extras and 1 feat would cost 17pp; that plus 4pp of Super-Strength is 21/20pp total.

APPROVED!

Tally: You've bought 28pp of Abilities, but only listed 24 down at the bottom of the sheet. This puts Stronghold over-budget by 4pp.

Gaian Knight / Tiamat: - Dragonfly: - Wraith: Down the Unfamiliar Road (4) Eclipse: - Grim: - It was a fun month. Glad that work project's finally winding down. Ref point to Gaian Knight, please.

APPROVED!

APPROVED!