GranspearZX

"Oh, it never, ever stops at just one thing." Crusader nodded. If he'd learned anything, it was the nature of greed and how it could change people. They didn't call it a 'deadly sin' for nothing. He stretched his arms above his head and gave a slow nod. "I'll keep my eyes and ears open; if I hear anything, you'll be the first to know. As for patrollin'... S'what I'm out here for. Wouldn't mind taggin' along."

"Mobsters... pfft. Cowards." Crusader was mostly silent as Mad Dog told his story. It reminded him of his twin brother's gambling addiction, and the number of times he'd been mistaken for Ben when they came looking to collect a debt. Unfortunately for them, Clark was in much better physical shape than them--mistakes like that were much, much rarer now. "I had... well, have a brother who turned to that life after my dad passed. I'll never understand why. It ruined him... so I lean a little harder on those wannabe gangsters. Guess we've got that in common." Name aside, the Crusader wasn't always a Boy Scout; he was human, after all.

"...monsters. Tch." He gave the priest a nudge with his foot before Cannonade tied him up. Following him into the last car, he looked around, still curious as to what exactly this 'Typhon' character was all about. He rubbed at his chin in thought, maneuvering his shield to rest on is back where it was supposed to. Shaking the thought from his mind for the moment, Crusader started to untie the conductor before gently setting the unconscious man on the ground. He was breathing, at least, though he was pretty certain that wasn't the priest's intention at all. This wasn't quite as 'over' as Crusader would have liked; sure, the battle was won and the people on the train were safe... but they'd try again. They were too stupid not to try again. He narrowed his eyes a bit and sighed. So much for that date. Damn it all. He clenched his fists tightly, then looked over at the other three. "Nice job," he said, smiling faintly as he headed back towards the tied-up villain. "What'd you all say your names were? Don't think we got to that part."

Nope, nothing.

GM There was no answer at the door immediately, but it was clear there was someone inside the room, humming--a young nurse, on her way out of the room. "Oh, excuse me..." Hugging her clipboard to her chest, the nurse turned to leave, moving past Wisp and the others on the way to the nurse's station. Inside the room, there were two beds; Julia was lying on the bed on the far side of the room, the lone occupant. There were flowers and balloons from Claremont students and faculty alike on the table near the window, midday light filtering in through the half-closed curtains. There was a small radio beside the hospital bed, along with a brown, leather-bound book and notepad. Outside that, there seemed to be very little else to look at.

The Crusader seemed like an older guy in his speech and manner, but he was surprisingly nimble for a stocky guy, hopping backward and then up onto a seat when the snakes came slithering his way. He scowled and his eyes narrowed, rearing his shield back and turning his body like a coiled spring before launching the large metal disc at the Serpent Man's head.

Power attacking with this one for a -5/+5 Save DC tradeoff: 1d20+9=20 -5 gives it 15.

"I guess you could call it that. 'Legacy hero'... sounds fancy. Don't think I'd ever refer to myself as that, though." It did seem rather... odd. He'd never known the exact term for such a thing; there were plenty of 'legacy heroes' that he could think of. He looked over at his brother, still drowning his sorrows in a bottle the Crusader couldn't identify from where he was sitting. He sighed and nodded at Mad Dog. "Yeah. A change of scenery'd do us all a world of good, I think." Part of him wanted to knock Ben unconscious and deposit him on his doorstep; at least then, Clark wouldn't worry about whether or not he got home. Either way, the fresh air would do him a world of good. "Selection process? I dunno. It just kinda happened one day. Didn't really see it comin' at all... I'd like to think I'd be doin' this with or without the shield."

20Q 1. Where is your hero from? "I was born in Chicago. Moved to Freedom City when I was like 10." 2. How would your hero physically describe him/herself? Is this different from how others would? "I was always a pretty athletic kid. A little on the heavy side when I was younger; I don't think anybody really thought I'd grow out of that 'pudgy kid' stage. Most people who see my old pictures don't even believe it's me. Puberty, huh?" 3. Does your hero have distinguishing speech characteristics or recurring mannerisms? "Not really. I don't really have a good poker face though... if I'm annoyed with someone, they can definitely tell." 4. What is your hero's motivation? "I want to DO something with this power. At first, all I was trying to do was keep my head above water and not let the Beast Rune consume me, but now that I understand it... I feel like I need to find some greater purpose. I still don't know what that is... but I'm looking." 5. What are your hero's greatest strengths and weaknesses? "My greatest strength? I guess it's my need to know things. I don't often act without understanding my situation, and there's always some cool new thing to learn. Sometimes I let my impulses get the better of me though... Can't even blame that on the Beast Rune. It amplifies the whole aggression thing, but it didn't create it." 6. What does your hero love? What does your hero hate? "Well... I don't HATE anybody really. I mean... it seems like a lot of effort that's ultimately wasted on people. I hate situatons, not people. I hate bullies. I hate liars. That's just how I am I guess... real simple. "Love is... a strong word. I mean, I never really thought about it. I love my parents I guess. Even my mom. Never mind what she did or didn't do. I still don't know why, but... y'know. Whatever." 7. How would you describe your character's mental and emotional state? "Let's face it; I'm a control freak, at least when it comes to my own feelings. I spent so long just trying to guard my inner rage against the Beast Rune that I don't really know how to be any other way. I can always feel it though... just a constant, nagging annoyance at everything." 8. What does your hero fear the most? "I... don't deal with water well. Large bodies of it, I mean. I had a bad experience once. Let's just leave it at that." 9. What is your character's greatest ambition? "It used to be just living a normal life, but that's just silly. I mean, I have an ancient runic symbol on my back that lets me turn into an eight-foot bear. Still... the first user of the Beast Rune taught people how to survive against some pretty ugly odds. I guess that's all I really want... to be able to give something like that back to people." 10. How does your hero feel about the state of the world and his/her place in it? "To be honest... I feel kind of invisible. For a long time, the threats I've had to deal with are stuff that no one really knows about. No one'll ever hear about an extradimensional demon preying on dreaming kids or vampiric monsters snatching the homeless off the streets. I'm surprisingly okay with that... I guess that's really my place in the world, at least right now--making sure the darker elements of the world stay in the dark." 11. Does your hero have any prejudices? How does he/she get along with others? "I don't really like bossy people. I guess it's a little arrogant on my part, thinking that I'm a little smarter than most people, but I own that. So when someone tells me what to do, it doesn't usually go over well. Don't really have much use for authority, but I'm not gonna go out and break any laws or anything." 12. Where do your heroes loyalties lie? In what order? "Family. Friends. And everybody else. Pretty much in that order." 13. Does your hero have a lover or partner? How do they feel about the hero now? "I used to. but that was before the whole magic thing. I'm not even sure if she still lives in the city, to be honest..." 14. Does your hero have a family? What is the relationship there like? "Well, my dad's in jail. I'm closer to him than anybody, and not just because my magic comes from the experiments that were done on him. He's been there for me even from behind prison walls, which is a lot more than I can say for a lot of people. My mother's... on the run, I guess. I haven't seen her in years. I haven't stopped long enough to look for her. I'm a little afraid of what traveling that road might look like... but I know it's coming." 15. How would the people closest to your hero describe him or her? "Adamas thinks I overthink everything. He might be right... I've heard Errant say the same thing. When I don't think, though, stuff gets broken, so who knows? I'm sure there's a happy medium in there somewhere..." 16. Is your hero a role model? "Me? Nah. I mean, I try to do positive things in public, but a role model? Nah. Too much pressure. Leave that to the real cape-wearing heroes." 17. How spiritual is your hero? Does your hero follow a religious tradition? "Spiritual? Well... the Beast Rune is, in effect, a collection of animal spirits. I guess it does take a certain amount of spiritual awareness to even begin to commune with something like that. The tradition that spawned the Beast Rune is long dead, though--unless you count the Cult of the Beast Rune. Definitely not subscribing to that level of crazy." 18. Is your hero part of a team, or would he/she like to be? Why? "It'd be nice to bounce some of my magical knowledge on other people. The only people I've ever talked to about it are a lot older than me, except for maybe Crow and Etain. Being on a team... sounds nice. The last time I tried to do something dangerous on my own, I ended up being mind controlled. Not fun." 19. How does your hero feel about the place of metahumans and aliens on Earth? "Eh. I mean, who am I to judge? I mean, you never really know who you're talking to these days... and I know several metahumans who're just, y'know, regular people underneath all the other stuff. Pretty sure we can all coexist reasonably well." 20. If you could give one piece of advice to your hero, what would it be? "Don't be afraid to just let stuff go. Sometimes, certain things really aren't worth holding onto."

"This shield's older than I am. Not really sure where my old man got it." He looked back at it for a moment and smiled at his father's memory, looking back at Mad Dog. "He's had it since at least the 80s. Y'know, before that whole superhero ban thing. I grew up with this thing hanging on my wall; I thought it was an antique until I caught him sneaking in one night. In costume. No song and dance was gonna get him out of it... so he explained everything. Well, as much as he knew anyway." He nodded slowly. "The shield's passed down from one Crusader to the next. So far, I'm at least the fourth; God only knows how far back the mantle really goes."

Player Name: GranspearZX Character Name: Caliber Power Level: 12 (198PP) Trade-Offs: None In Brief: Ex-military DNAscent man-hunter. Alternate Identities: Carlo Azevedo Identity: Public Birthplace: Sao Paulo, Brazil Occupation: Mercenary Affiliations: Family: None, all deceased Age: 38 Apparent Age: 38 Gender: Male Height: 6'5'' Weight: 185 lbs Eyes: Red with black sclera Hair: None Description: The DNAscent process has given Carlo a very unique appearance. His skin is a solid, angry-looking red, with tiger-striped black marks all over his legs and arms, and his eyes are a similar crimson hue with cat-like irises. A decade of military training has also given him a solid, muscular build. Still, Barrage's genetic mutation has caused him to look decidedly inhuman; each hand has three thick fingers rather than five, as if the index/middle and ring/pinky fingers are fused. His ears are pointed, as are his teeth; slightly larger than usual canines and incisors make his smile look decidedly menacing. Power Description: Carlo's radiation-based powers seem wild and almost uncontrollable at times; most of the time, there seems to be very little precision involved when all four of his arms are firing bursts of bright red radiation. This, however, is a part of Carlo's larger general battle style--luring an enemy into thinking he's some uncontrolled nutjob when, in reality, he's quite able to hone his control of his abilities into a delayed blast once he's lured an enemy closer. His containment suit prevents him from causing himself accidental harm when he gets especially desperate and irradiates an area. His codename comes from the fact that there's a distinct, gunshot-like sound every time he uses his Blast powers. He often holds his hands like a gun, in fact, to fire at an enemy. History: Growing up in the streets of Sao Paulo, Carlo barely knew his parents; from an early age, he learned to fend for himself, stealing and conning his way through his childhood. He was a pretty average kid physically, but quickly learned to intimidate others through force. It was only a matter of time before his constantly beating up neighborhood kids escalated to robbing adults, and the police knew him on a first-name basis before he was 14. Smarter than the average thug, Carlo knew that he couldn't keep things the way they were without ending up in jail, so he did the only thing he could think of, joining the military at 17. He wasn't a stand-out soldier, but he was exceptionally well-disciplined and knew who to kiss up to and when. It was skill that served him well over his eight-year career, earning him several promotions and the opportunity to participate in an experimental procedure the government was sponsoring, in an attempt to give soldiers superhuman abilities. Carlo jumped at the chance, and was one of the only survivors of the next six months of grueling experiments; out of nearly 40 candidates, only Carlo and 3 other candidates survived, and of those four, only Carlo managed to escape the facility. He fled the country and did what he did best--survive. He eventually made his way to Freedom City, building a reputation for himself first as an underground fighter, then as a full-time enforcer for the Mazziari family. When they were taken down by an undercover operation, Carlo disappeared again for several years, resurfacing as the mercenary-for-hire Caliber. Personality & Motivation: Caliber is something of an enigma, and is difficult for most people to decipher. On the surface, he's a typical rogue in that he looks after the most important thing in existence--himself. He is quick to suggest alliances with those more powerful than himself, or who possess necessary skills for him to complete a mission; he's even quicker to plant a knife in the back of anyone foolish enough to accept and let their guard down. He seems driven to take anything and everything from whoever happens to have it, and most believe that his insatiable greed continually drives him forward. This doesn't make him careless however; Caliber has a natural and constant suspicion of everyone, and any semblance of trust is usually just an act. Surprisingly, Caliber has never killed a contract mark directly with his powers--after all, no one can fear him as they truly should if they're dead. In that manner, he's highly narcissistic to the point of arrogance. Abilities: 2 + 6 + 2 + 0 + 2 + 2 = 14PP Strength: 12 (+1) Dexterity: 16 (+3) Constitution: 12 (+1) Intelligence: 10 (+0) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 12 (+1) Combat: 8 + 8 = 16PP Initiative: +11 Attack: +4 (+8 w/ Radiation Array) Grapple: +5 Defense: +10 (+4 Base, +6 Dodge Focus) / +2 flat-footed Knockback: -8 Saving Throws: 9 + 4 + 6 = 19PP Toughness: +9 (+1 Con, +8 Protection) [imp 8] Fortitude: +10 (+1 Con, +9) Reflex: +7 (+3 Dex, +4) Will: +7 (+1 Wis, +6) Skills: 76R = 19PP Acrobatics 3 (+6) Bluff 8 (+9) Climb 6 (+7) Diplomacy 6 (+7) Intimidate 13 (+14) Knowledge [tactics] 8 (+8) Language 2 [English, Portuguese (Native), Spanish] Notice 8 (+9) Sense Motive 8 (+9) Stealth 6 (+3) Survival 4 (+5) Swim 4 (+5) Feats: 28PP Accurate Attack All-Out Attack Assessment Attack Specialization (Radiation) 2 Defensive Attack Defensive Roll Dodge Focus 6 Endurance Equipment 5 Improved Aim Improved Initiative 2 Sneak Attack 3 Track Ultimate Effort (Aim) Uncanny Dodge (Visual) Powers: 36 + 66 = 102PP Device 9 (containment suit; hard to lose) [36PP] Immunity 14 (Radiation damage, life support) [14PP] Leaping 4 (x25; running jump: 275 ft., standing jump: 137 ft., high jump: 68 ft.) [4PP] Protection 8 (Extra: Impervious 8) [16PP] Speed 3 (50 mph / 500 ft / move action) [3PP] Super-Movement 4 (Slow Fall, Swinging, Wall-Crawling 2] [8PP] Radiation Blast Array [66PP] BP: Blast 15 (PFs: Homing 3 [5 attempts]; Extras: Autofire [interval 2, max +5], Penetrating) [63PP] AP: Blast 15 (PFs: Improved Range 3 [+1500 ft.]; Extras: Autofire 2 [interval 1, max +5]) [63PP] AP: Blast 7 (PFs: Indirect, Progression [Area], Subtle, Triggered [by stepping onto area]; Extras: Area [burst, 70ft radius], Penetrating) [32PP] AP: Drain Constitution 10 (PFs: Incurable; Extras: Area [Cloud, 50ft], Disease, Range [Ranged, 1,000 ft]) [41PP] Abilities (14) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (19) + Feats (19) + Saving Throws (28) + Powers (102) = 198 Power Points DC Block: ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Blast 15 (Base Power) Ranged DC30 TOU (Staged) Damage (Energy) Blast 15 (AP) Ranged DC30 TOU (Staged) Damage (Energy) Blast 7 70 ft. Explosion DC22 TOU (Staged) Damage (Energy) Drain CON 10 50 ft. Cloud DC20 FORT(Staged) Drain CON Flash-Bang Grenade 20 ft. Radius DC14 REF (Staged) Dazzle (Visual, Auditory) Combat Knife Touch DC17 TOU (Staged) Damage (Physical)

Crusader raised an eyebrow. He wasn't really sure what he was expecting to hear, but 'veterinarian' wasn't it. "Phone numbers? Yeah, sure, why not." It wasn't often that he gave out his cell phone number. He was smart enough that he didn't have anything personal on it, and he had his tucked away inside his boot. "Retired, huh? That's a shame. Sure he had his reasons though." That was a name he'd definitely heard several times, and though he'd never laid eyes on the guy, that was probably for the best.

Crusader might be interested. Of course, he doesn't know Push at all... but I'm sure we could fix that.

"That's... not a bad idea." He didn't want to keep relying on his father's savings; it was only a matter of time before he really would be on his own. This place, however, would give him a place to stay, and having a job would give the entire situation some semblance of normalcy. As they toured the kitchen, he found himself actively considering the library. "I wonder if Miss Cross would donate a few books to us for that library," he muttered, mostly speaking to himself. When he looked up, he saw the knife gouges and paused for several moments. "...the hell happened here? Er... wait. Maybe hell DID happen here."

Hoo, lovely. Reflex Save (1d20+4=17) Reflex Save 2 (1d20+4=16) Crusader's good. :)

"Yep. Full-time job." He wasn't going to say what, of course. Not that he didn't trust Mad Dog with that information, but there were too many open ears around. Teaching and coaching were definitely full-time jobs, and he'd always been the sort of teacher who tries to make himself as available to his students as possible. The fact that football season was over helped tremendously; he was only an assistant to the hockey coach, and it took up significantly less of his free time, allowing him to keep a watchful eye over Freedom... though Ben was certainly an all-encompassing distraction. "You got a job other than busting skulls? Not that there's anything wrong with that," he said with a wry grin, glancing over his shoulder again. It seemed that, at least on the surface, most people were starting to accept their presences...

"...there's gonna be more cleaning involved. Mystical and otherwise." He coughed at the dust as he peered into one of the dusty old bedrooms, still shaking his head a bit at Evander's statement. "Secret passages.. this isn't Clue, you know." He still didn't like the way he was eying Etain either; part of him wanted to stuff him back into the broom closet he'd come out of. "Some of this stuff is just gonna need outright replacing. I don't even have a job yet... ...say, you wouldn't happen to know anyone who'd hire a 16-year old kid, would you, Nick?"

"About three years," he said, thinking as he said it. "Yeah, three or four. Kinda hard to keep track sometimes." He downed the drink Mad Dog bought him rather quickly. "Guess it's been on my mind for longer than that though. The last Crusader died during the Terminus Invasion." His face remained impassive as he said it; in the midst of his sentence, he spotted his brother across the room, already on his third or fourth drink. "...so what about you?"

Nah; I checked the points store and there's no Vibora Bay in there. The demon missions in Millennium City, if I have this right, lead into the Vibora Bay Crisis.

GM Marcus shook his head. "I've been there twice. The first time was by accident; nightmare creature was trying to possess a little girl so it could roam free in the real world. Believe it or not, usually they're not a BAD thing. Dreams are how we cope with reality. They're really doing people a favor by feeding on fear and nightmares. However, some get a little greedy, and... yeah." The second floor was surprisingly quiet; Marcus paused in the hallway long enough to try and dial Rene again, letting the others get ahead. There wasn't another soul on the floor save the three women at the nurse's station, and they seemed too busy to take a whole lot of notice to four teenagers. Room 216's door was already cracked slightly open...

This is what you (and anyone else who wants to make the necessary roll) would know at DC20: While I'm at it: 1d20+11=24

"Hm." Crusader grinned, though he couldn't really be sure if he was being made fun of or not. "Name's Crusader, by the way. I... didn't exactly choose the look. You could kinda say it chose me." He shrugged. "Don't usually hang around the Fens much, but somehow I always end up here... Maybe I oughta try wearin' something a little less conspicuous." There was, of course, the matter of the shield, but it wasn't really all THAT unusual compared to the red and white costume.

GM Marcus wasn't speeding on the way across town, but it was pretty clear that the shapeshifter was tired and irritable. "Being stuck in a nightmare sucks. Being stuck in someone else's nightmare is even worse. I'm not sure what's going on, but I'd rather have backup this time. ...you do know how this whole Nightmare Realm thing works, right?" He glanced over his shoulder; he meant the question more for Mercury than either of the girls--Etain probably knew more than he did, and he just assumed Wisp wasn't as magically-inclined as the rest of them were. Freedom Memorial Center wasn't difficult to find at all; taking Marcus's car seemed like a pretty good and lazy option when one realized how far it was from the nearest subway station at Freedom City University and the monorail. The parking lot wasn't any more crowded than normal and he managed to find a vacant spot relatively close to the emergency room, easily identified when an ambulance came screeching past, sirens blaring. "God, I hate hospitals," Marcus muttered, climbing out of the car. He looked again at his phone and then looked around; he wasn't entirely sure where Rene was, but knowing him, he was already inside. The receptionist was especially helpful when they walked in; it seemed that they weren't the first group of Claremont students to come and check on Julia's status. "Room 219", she said; it didn't take long for Marcus to start heading in that direction.

Attack roll: (1d20+7=22)

"...yeah, we just ruined his day. Nice." Crusader was at the front of the car, the smug grin on his face fading as the priest came into view. His first instinct was to rush right back at the robe-wearing serpent man, shield first to slam right into the charging figure. It seemed like a rather impulsive thing to do, but it hardly seemed heroic just to let the guy blow past him.