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June 3, 2017 Bedlam City, United States Midmorning News traveled fast in the age of constantly connected, always-recording electronic devices. Two days ago an unbelievable video had popped up on YouTube of an odd, furry creature appearing near the artsy neighborhood of Bedlam. The video showed it appearing near Central Perk with an unconscious woman in his arms. Even the apathetic citizens of Bedlam wouldn't let a pretty woman be accosted like that and several of them confronted the beast, making it release the girl before driving it out. Before long the video showed an ambulance rolling up and checking over the woman. This morning's newspaper had contained a press release from Acting Chief Executive Officer Dunwoody on the activities of the "Woodchuck Man." It was a shockingly quick turn-around for a statement from Bedlam's finest, which could probably be put down more to the victim being a pretty, white girl rather than the video. Normally after the morning rush Central Perk got pretty quiet; even Terminal Drive wasn't quite enough to keep a coffee shop bustling at all hours. Now though everyone had to make do with convince-store coffee or even brew their own at home, because Central Perk was entirely encircled with yellow policetape. A crowd of grumbling twenty-somethings with a tendency towards scarfs were standing nearby, grumbling about a less-than-quality caffeine fix in the morning. Standing in the middle in her pink workout clothes, Ami Rask sipped at her water bottle. She knew there was something to find here, she just needed to figure out how to get the couple of police guarding the location to leave and how to get this crowd to disperse.

A thread for suchlike in this thread. @KnightDisciple, get Judex out here!

Now that Brigandine's back in the game I'm looking to start a story with her. Couple of PL 7/8s investigating some of Bedlam's urban legends. Who's up?

July 15, 2015 The Caribbean SS Mictlan The Captain's Table Day Two of the cruise was formal night, which meant the Captain's Table and a chance to get to know the other superheroes either volunteering or working as security for the Mictlan's maiden voyage. Edge and Monsoon had spent the first day of the cruise mingling, Mark and Nina doing their best to put aside Freedom City and Socotra and enjoy a rare vacation. Having gotten to know his girl pretty well over the years, Mark had been worried that Nina would resent being thrust into the role of "girlfriend of the famous UN hero" - but as it happened Nina hadn't spent much time worrying about that at all. "So you see, Captain Festus," the water controller was just saying, pausing as she cut open her rare steak, the glittering yellow at the head of her costume a warm color in the light of the crowded dinner deck, "Socotran refugees will be among the most motivated people your line can hire. They'll work hard, be comfortable even with low pay, and the older ones will know how to fight if there's trouble." "Well, I don't really know anything about that," said Festus with a cheerful chuckle as he dabbed at the steak sauce dotting the edges of his regulation graying beard. "And you know, normally we don't need quite this much security on a cruise ship! But the line wants to make sure the new engines are protected - they were made from experimental technology the US government developed back in the 40s, you know, and you never know what some super-hooligan will try to steal! Hoh-hoh-hoh!" Having been busy with an autograph, Edge turned back to the captain and the other guests around the table. The dining area was indeed crowded; it looked like almost everybody who could had gotten on their best clothes for an old-fashioned cruise ship dinner. It reminded Mark of pictures he'd seen from his parents' honeymoon, and his father's world travels. "People from Socotra get profiled a lot," he said quietly, "but you won't find better people." He reached under the table and squeezed Nina's hand. Eating in costume in a formal setting might have been strange for some people, but this was the kind of thing Mark had quite literally grown up doing. As for Nina, he thought she could look regal sitting in the dirt, much less in costume. "Ah, there's the rest of our guests now!" Festus waved cheerfully as another group of costumed individuals arrived - after all, who could turn down a place at the Captain's Table? No one - not if they were being paid to appear in public in costume as part of their time on the all-expenses-paid, six-decked luxury cruise liner as it steamed from Miami to Venezuela and back again over the space of two gorgeous sun-kissed weeks.

Saturday, March 28th, 2015 Millennium Mall, Freedom City, New Jersey Afternoon The Millennium Mall was a huge place, filled with shops of every description, and packed with roving crowds of shoppers, families, and couples. Ami Rask was indistinguishable in the crowd, and it was only partly because of her height. In the crowd she was just another young, pretty girl, holding big bags and with a hot credit card in her purse. She had been shopping for most of the morning; with the weather turning, it was time for her to update her spring wardrobe. It’s not that she didn’t have anything from the last couple years. It was just that she didn’t have anything new. Ami dropped into a heavy leather chair, one of the sets placed strategically to help exhausted shoppers rest and recuperate. As she breathed, she watched the crowds passing around her. A woman eight or ten years older than she was, pushing a stroller with a sleeping baby in it. An older man, with gray in his hair, walking hand in hand with a bald man. A harried man carrying his toddler in a baby bjorn, while texting. The displays of affection made her smile as she rested, a window into the lives of normal people. More people came by and she watched them, growing more pensive. A young couple, his arm around her waist, window-shopping. An older pair, with kids running around their feet. It made the young girl acutely aware that she was shopping, all alone, for herself.

Rolls and suchlike involving

I need to get Brigandine into threads with other heroes now that she's around, and since it's sort of still in the middle of the school year, it doesn't seem right to just have a "new arrival at Claremont" thread. So instead we're going to say she's always been around and is only now getting her own title. This thread is going to be for PCs at the PL 7 or PL 8 level. It's going to involve a ruckus at Millennium Mall; I'm looking for two or three other PCs to be in it, besides Brigandine.

Player Name: Raveled Character Name: Brigandine Power Level: 7 (105/105PP) Trade-Offs: None Unspent Power Points: 0 Progress To Bronze Status: 0/30 In Brief: The latest heir to an ancient legacy. Alternate Identity: Ami Jennifer Rask-Martel Identity: Secret Birthplace: Lyon, Rhone-Alps, France Occupation: Student, superhero Affiliations: Claremont Academy, Rask Aeronautics, Martel Industries Family: Walter Rask-Martel (Father), Brigitte Rask-Martel (Mother), Caroline Rask-Martel (Older sister), Jack Rask-Martel (Younger brother), many more. Description Age: 16 Gender: Female Ethnicity: Danish-French-Swiss Height: 5' 11" Weight: 115 lbs Eyes: Green-gray Hair: Black, dyed blonde Ami Rask is a tall girl, still skinny in the way of youth, with a boundless energy and an enthusiasm for life that shines through in everything she does. She hair is long and straight and naturally dark, but she dyes it a honey-blonde color. Her eyes are green-grey and bright and usually open very wide. Most of the time Ami is dressed in simple, elegant dresses and skirts in solid colors or complex patterns. She's a stickler for cleanliness and will usually check her clothes once or twice an hour for stray hairs, fuzz balls, or uncut threads. When Ami knows she's going into combat, she wears a jumpsuit designed by Martel Industries to maximize her psychic potential. It's grey-black, with large circles of channeling material over her chakra points and lines connecting them all. When she pushes her powers to the max, she lights up like a fiber-optic Christmas tree, but it helps to keep her powers under control. Her telekinetic 'suit' is a large, vaguely human-looking form with trunk-like legs and arms. Power Descriptions: Ami can create telekinetic fields that she layers around herself, creating an energy suit. While the suit is active, she is in the center of a ten-foot tall vaguely humanoid figure, with huge arms and legs and fingers. The suit is created from her will and her mind, so it reacts to her emotional state; when she's angry it may develop spikes and long, jagged claws. When she's scared it may become sleeker, more compact, more able to hide. When she's showing off it will gain a more defined and more clearly feminine form. History: Ami Rask has always lived in interesting times, and loved every minute of it. Her family is wealthy; about the same time as her parents married, Walter’s engineering firm was brought under the wings of Martel Industries. So Ami and her two siblings were born into the Martel family, with the usual high standards Martels demanded of all their family members. Ami approached every test with zeal and elan, and even when she failed she came through it with a smile. Even from a young age, there didn’t seem to be any limits to her courage or her desire to explore, and when she started moving things with her mind she accepted the new training with open arms. Soon, in addition to her regular schooling, Ami found herself given more specialized instruction and inducted into some of her family’s secrets. She already knew the Martels traced their line back to Charlemagne; she didn’t realize that the family had spent centuries battling to protect civilization. Now that Ami had some of the very special skills that the Martels had cultivated over generations, she would be expected to take a more active role in their fight. Despite the danger and difficulty of the drills, Ami approached every day with new enthusiasm and progressed through the training with speed. At the same time, her cousin Eve Martel was learning things at the Claremont Academy that she never could have understood if she stayed under the family’s protective wing. Sage was one of the most effective soldiers the line of Charlemagne had ever produced, and the decision was made to enroll Ami in the school. She accepted the notion of going across an ocean and living among strangers in a strange country with the same excitement that she did everything. She was sad to leave her family in France, but she was excited to go live in America and learn from the same people that taught her storied cousin. Personality & Motivation: Ami Rask is a gregarious woman, always upbeat and outgoing. She loves meeting new people, trying new things, going new places, and she very rarely says 'no' to anyone. She works hard to keep an upbeat outlook no matter what the situation may be; even if things seem bleak, she is always looking for the silver lining and trying inject as much positivity in to a situation as she can. Ami is intensely aware of her family's place, as the heirs of Charlemagne and longstanding protectors of the world. More specifically, she tries to live up to the standard set by her aunt, Eve Martel. While not everything the intense young Martel has done is openly discussed even within the family, she knows that her aunt has become a respected hero in Freedom City. Her name her family is a challenge to live up to, but her aunt is an example to emulate. Powers & Tactics: Brigandine isn't very subtle in her approach. She gets into melee distance to the most dangerous enemy on the field and engages them directly, wrestling them if she thinks she can overpower them with brute strength, or else keeping them busy so any allies she had can deal with other threats. If an enemy is keeping away from her, she can use almost anything lying around the battlefield as an effective javelin, or close the gap with a powerful leap. If she can, she likes to sneak up close beforehand to guarantee that she can start the fight by immobilizing the biggest threat Complications: Secret The decision was made a long time ago to keep Charlemagne's legacy a secret from the world at large. Ami strives to keep that secret, which means she has to keep her own superheroic activities a secret. Thrill Seeker Ami will try anything once, the more dangerous the better! She might choose an unsafe action simply because it's more thrilling. Psychic Backlash Ami's amazing suit is created by her own psychic power, and while she can usually control it, if she pushes her limits she can 'strain' her powers. Rousseau Was Right, You Know Ami can be idealistic, and if an enemy tries to surrender she'll probably accept it. This means ruthless foes can take advantage of her better nature. Agent of Charlemagne As a Martel, Ami may be called upon to undertake special missions for her family's mission. This could lead to a conflict of interest with other superheroes, even her friends. Abilities: 0 + 4 + 6 + 2 + 6 + 8 = 26PP Strength: 25/10 (+7/+0) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 20/16 (+5/+3) Intelligence: 12 (+1) Wisdom: 16 (+3) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat: 6 + 8 = 14PP Initiative: +2 Attack: +7 Melee, +3 Ranged, +7 Thrown Grapple: +7/+20 Defense: +7 (+4 Base, +4 Dodge Focus, -1 Size), +2 Flat-Footed Knockback: -3/-1 Saving Throws: 0 + 2 + 3 = 5PP Toughness: +7/+3 (+5/+3 Con, +2 Protection) Fortitude: +5/+3 (+5/+3 Con, +0) Reflex: +4 (+2 Dex, +2) Will: +6 (+3 Wis, +3) Skills: 56R = 14PP Bluff 8 (+12)Skill Mastery Concentration 8 (+11)Second Chance Diplomacy 11 (+15)Skill Mastery Drive 8 (+10)Skill Mastery Intimidate 0 (+6Large/+4) Language 5 (Danish, English, French [N], Italian, Mandarin, Japanese) Pilot 8 (+10)Skill Mastery Stealth 8 (+6Large/+10) Feats: 17PP Attack Focus (Melee) 4 Attack Specialization (Thrown) 2 Benefit (Martel Family) Benefit (Wealth I) Dodge Focus 4 Improved Grab Second Chance (Concentration) Skill Mastery (Bluff, Diplomacy, Drive, Pilot) Quick Change Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Powers: 29 = 29PP Alternate Form 5.9 (Mind Improves Matter) [29PP] Enhanced Strength 7 [7PP] Growth 4 (Large Size, +8 Str, +4 Con, -1 Att/-1 Def, +4 Grapple, -4 Stealth, +2 Intimidation, Flaw: Permanent) [12PP] Leaping 2 [2PP] Protection 2 [2PP] Speed 2 (25MPH) [2PP] Super-Strength 2 (Str 40) [4PP] Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Melee DC 21 Toughness (staged) Damage (Physical) Totals: Abilities (26) + Combat (14) + Saving Throws (5) + Skills (14) + Feats (17) + Powers (29) - Drawbacks (0) = 105/105 Power Points