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November 2nd, 2015 11:04pm For whatever else Freedom City is, it is the epicenter of meta-human activity in the world. And that means that the world's largest collection of death rays, possessed talismans, magic rings and all other man of super weapons are collected in close proximity. When the city's criminals are caught, these items are confiscated, logged as evidence, and stored in different locations throughout the city so as to not paint too large of a target on any one location. One such facility is in Lonely Point, the closest geographically to Blackstone prison. This facility however only houses items that are damaged or broken so this facility is theoretically the safest as anyone breaking into the area won't acquire any new firepower once inside. As FCPD learned today however, that did not mean that it wasn't a target. The facility had been the target of a coordinated assault of meta-humans, who made a clean getaway, with the police unsure of what was stolen. Police forces were being assembled, Blackstone was locked down in case this was a precursor to a jail break and the story was played on all the late night new channels and radio stations. And now, the heroes began to arrive on the scene to lend a hand in apprehend these dangerous criminals.

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.

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.

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