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Nancy Street, Oct. 17th 10:47PM It was a relatively quiet night on Nancy street. Gunfire could be heard in the distance, a woman's scream, a child crying, the sounds of domestic disturbances and aggravated assaults, and of course after the screams faded to whimpers, the sounds of sirens. All in all, a quiet night in comparison to most. The rain had started to fall on Bedlam City, doing it's level best to wash the grime and the muck and the human refuse away. To leave the world clean and new again. Bedlam, and Nancy street in particular, would not be so easily swept away. It's stain marked the states, the world, a dark black spot on a hardwood floor that refused to come up no matter how much you scrubbed. Bedlam was the reminder of mistakes past, of wrongs done, of lives lost. A strange sound over the din of inequity peeled through the air of Nancy street. The church bells started to ring. No mass anyone knew of was taking place, it was no holiday, it was not quite midnight. The crystal clang of that pure sound seemed both off and ominous, and many lights turned on in the houses and tenements, this sound above all others piqueing the curiosity of the jaded residents. As the bells faded there was a knock on Ronin's door. Downtown Bedlam Abandoned Mill It was a quiet and dark place that Victor popped into, stepping out of the shadows. This was not part of his contract with the Scarpias, but old habits died hard, and he needed to destroy something... precious. No one was in at the moment, as he had made sure, it wasn't time for justice to be meted out, it was time for the chase. Victor laid the parchment he brought on a dresser and pinned it in place with a dagger, it's hilt in the style of a rose dripping blood, the symbol of his old Order. The parchment read: The Church on Nancy Street. Come find me, or I find those you hold dear. There was no signature. Victor smiled again as he melted back in the shadows. The petty thugs might be upset that he was bringing an uninvited guest, but he cared little. They were nothing, he did work for them to pay bills, so he could do his real Work. The game had begun.

Player Name: EviscerusNox Character Name: Bugbear Power Level: 7 (105/107PP) Trade-Offs: -2 Damage/ +2 Attack Unspent Power Points: 2 In Brief: Ghost of a dead Boxer returned to solve his murder and protect Bedlam. Alternate Identity: Declan Kelly Identity: Public Birthplace: Bedlam Occupation: Boxer/ Dead man Affiliations: none Family: Victoria Weiss-Kelly (wife). Description Age: 27 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Irish Height: 5'11 Weight: 240/0 lbs Eyes: Blue/ Red Hair: Black Declan was an imposing figure in life. Not the tallest guy in the world, but he packed on a lot of muscle into his middling frame. Many likened him to boxers like Rocky Marciano in stature. He had stark black hair and stark blue eyes that did make him somewhat successful with opposite sex despite his several times broken nose and cauliflower ear on his left ear. In “death” Declan looks even more intimidating. Almost all color looks to be drained from his form, with the exception of the constantly flowing blood from the wounds of the explosion and the deep red eyes. He still wears the same clothes as the day he died. A tan trenchcoat, now charred and tattered, a black fedora and black tattered 3 piece pinstripe suit. All his clothes have seen better days as much of them are charred and ripped in places and stained with blood and dirt. All this detail is discernible despite the fact you can see right through him. Power Descriptions: Declan’s power is that to phase out of the physical world. Or “ghosting” as he would call it. He glows a slight pale blue aura and is translucent when his power is functioning. When he uses his “Ghost Strike” his hand glows an even brighter blue and seems to be less translucent and more “real.” History: Declan Kelley was never anything special. He grew up in Bedlam, poor like everyone else, he worked for the seedier elements as muscle, to get by and pay for his next meal, just like everyone else. He had a temper and was prone to trying to solve his problems, both real and existential, with his fists, with violence, just like everyone else. At least, everyone else in Bedlam that wasn’t one of the do-gooders with powers. He always sneered at their kind. Of course it was easy for them to live a life of morality, they had the power to make that kind of thing happen. Declan was just a man, and he had to do what he had to do to survive, and that sometimes meant hurting people who didn’t deserve it. When he was in his just a boy he started boxing, he was always strong for his age, and the local gym was the only place he could go where everyone seemed to be equal, and the streets of Bedlam seemed a distant concern. He’d train for hours and hours, forgetting the world around him, the darkness and the dirt that worked its way into everyone’s lives in this city. By the time he was 18, he was actually a pretty good boxer. Sure he would never be a contender, you needed money and connections for that, but he did alright on the local circuit which helped supplement his meager income in a way that didn’t make his stomach twist, like working for the Scarpias. Declan’s life was simple, uncomplicated, boring, just like everyone else’s until Victoria. Declan met Victoria when he was playing bodyguard for one of the Scarpias barely ranking lieutenants, at The Circle Perk. She was serving coffee, and when she met Declan’s eyes it’s like color finally came into the world for him. He’d never seen someone so beautiful, so alive, so happy, so… not like everyone else. After a couple weeks of going back to the coffee shop on his own - and he hated that place because what was so hard about getting a black coffee there, why did it have to have funny Italian naming for its sizes and what in the wold is a Macchiato? – anyway after a couple weeks he finally felt the courage to ask the waitress for her phone number but before he could take she put a finger to his lips, handed him a napkin with her name and number, then told him to call her tomorrow. She pushed a small cup of coffee into his hands then laughingly pushed him out the door. They started dating that week, and were married the month that followed. Declan had never met anyone like Victoria, she loved life, and she loved the city. Bedlam, she loved Bedlam! Declan had never heard such a preposterous thing. She wasn’t blind to the darkness, or the evil that had its fingers around everything, but she saw what Bedlam could be, and if other people could see it too, then Bedlam would be beautiful again. She always believed that if you showed people compassion, that said compassion would become infectious, and the world could change with a smile. She had Declan believing it too, because her smile changed his world from something ugly, into something glorious. That all changed 6 months into their marriage, when he was blown up. Declan had quit working for the Scarpias, because Victoria wouldn’t have it, and had just been boxing full time instead of on the side. He was working his way up the local circuit, making a name for himself, when he was approached about fixing his fight with the Scarpias’ golden boy, Ty “Ten Punch” Derringer. The payday was big, but he knew what Victoria would say, the disappointment she’d feel if he did anything like that was enough for him to immediately say no. The button men who came to him with the offer tried to rough him up, but he easily put them down. Deep down, he knew that wouldn’t be the end of it, that there’d be a price to pay, but he thought he’d be willing to pay it, for Victoria. About a week after turning down the money, the night before the fight, Declan came home from practice, dressing in his best to take Victoria out for dinner, to find his apartment ransacked and Victoria beaten, and tied in the corner. She was frantically gesturing towards the stove, the gas line had been ripped from the wall and the stink of methane was in the air. Without thinking Declan raced to Victoria, picked her up, and jumped out the 4th floor window just as the apartment exploded. Shrapnel and flames engulfed Declan, and though as he lost consciousness he wrapped himself around Victoria, shielding her as much as he could from the blast, then turned so that he would fall on his back, and she would not hit the ground. When he came to he was standing over Victoria’s unconscious body, her leg was broken and she wasn’t breathing. He reached out to touch her, and he noticed he could see through his hands. He couldn’t grab her, couldn’t interact with her. He could only stand there and watch her bleed. He heard tires crunch on glass and ducked behind a dumpster. He didn’t know what was going on, but if this was the Scarpias he’d do something, anything to protect Victoria. He was relieved when he saw it was paramedics. The rest of the sounds of the world started rushing back to him, shaking him from his shock and he heard sirens, fire, and crying. He stayed hidden as he watched the paramedics work on Victoria. He heard the words “I got a pulse!” and he nearly screamed in relief. He started to run to her and the paramedics turned to look at him, their eyes going wide and skin going pale. They screamed “What is that?!” And started to back away from Victoria. Declan stopped. They had to keep helping her, they had to get her to the hospital, and that meant that Declan had to go. With anger and pain in his eyes he turned and just flew through the building and up into the night. He watched from above and followed the ambulance back to the hospital as best he could. Eventually he found which room Victoria had been put in after surgery, and there he “haunted,” watching her sleep with tears in his eyes. He was pretty sure he was dead so he thought it was funny that ghosts could cry. He stayed with her for weeks as she recovered, hiding from nurses and doctors, waiting for her to wake up. All the while he, thinking about who it was that did this to him. That killed him and hurt his Victoria. As soon as he knew she was safe, he would find out. One night, a nurse came in to the room that Declan didn’t recognize. A male nurse, holding a syringe of some kind. Everything about this felt wrong to Declan. She hadn’t gotten any injections in a week, why now? Declan flew from the bathroom where he was hiding and reached for the nurse, his hand clasping around the man’s wrist. His hand glowed, and he could actually feel the flesh under his fingers. The man yelped in surprise and dropped the syringe, turning to look at Declan. Declan recognized him then, another one of Scarpias’ cronies, just like he had been. Declan felt fire in his belly and snarled balling his other hand into a fist, getting ready to beat this man to death. He was obviously here to take Victoria away from him. He wouldn’t let that happen. No one would EVER take Victoria away again. As he reared back with one meaty paw, he heard a scream and saw Victoria looking at him, horror in her face and her eyes. Declan’s heart broke and he let the nurse go, who scrambled out of the room and down the hallway. He tried to plead with her, “Honey it’s ok, it’s me, Declan! Everythings ok!” but she either couldn’t hear him because he wasn’t making sound, or for her screams. There was shouts in the hallway as nurses and doctors ran to Victoria’s room, all stopping short and gasping or screaming at the sight of Declan, a translucent man bleading and burnt standing over Victoria. Feeling defeated, frustrated, and completely destroyed, Declan flew out the window leaving Victoria to the care of her doctors. To the care of the living. It’s been 2 months since then and Declan has learned a little bit more about his “condition.” He is dead, but he can affect the real world, at least, living things, with effort. He has spent most of that time guarding Victoria from afar, making sure no one tries to harm her again. So far no one has. But he also plans to hunt down whoever set that bomb, and the rest of the Scarpias, and everyone like them, that would seek to take something as beautiful and loving as Victoria out of the world. He knows he can never be with her again, as he is dead, but at least he can make sure she’s safe. Personality & Motivation: Declan in death is a downright dour man. He sees no light in the world, except that which comes from his wife, and he’ll do anything to protect that light. He takes no time for relaxation or comfort, except for the hours he spends watching his wife while at work or at home. All other time is spent looking for his killers and the would be assassins. He’s got unfinished business, and as soon as Victoria is safe then he’ll think about the rest of his eternity. Powers & Tactics: Declan uses his powers the only way that makes sense to him. He is a ghost after all, he passes through walls, stays in the shadows, learning what he can from the living. In a fight he relies on the skills he had in life as a boxer, but his punches now don’t connect with flesh, they hit at the very essence of a person. Even though he technically doesn’t need to, it’s ingrained in him to try and cover up, dodge attacks and counter. It’s hard to actually slip punches with his philly shell style since the punches just pass right through him, but he still considers it good practice to try. Complications: Not Actually Dead: Declan doesn’t know this, but he’s not actually dead, or a ghost. When the explosion went off it triggered a latent mutation that partially phased him out of reality making him insubstantial. His power works on it’s own for the most part but if it’s ever nullified or if he somehow falls unconscious he’ll revert back to being full flesh and blood again and has a high chance to succumb to the wounds that he received from the blast that don’t affect him in his ghosted form. If he ever does get his insubstantial turned off he immediately goes into the dying state and must receive immediate medical attention. Enemy: Scarpias Mafia. Obsession: Find his killers and the ones who tried to kill his wife and bring them down. Responsibility: Protect Victoria, his wife. Abilities: 8 + 2 + 6 + 0 + 4 + 0 = 20PP Strength:18 (+4) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 16 (+3) Intelligence: 10 (+0) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 10 (+0) Combat: 10 + 10 = 20pp Attack: +5/9 (Melee) Grapple: +13 Defense: +7, +2 flat-footed (Dodge Focus 2) Knockback: -4 Initiative: +2 Saving Throws: 4+2+3 = 9pp Toughness: +7 (+3 Con, +4 Protection) Fortitude: +7 (+3 Con, +4) Reflex: +4 (+2 Dex, +2) Will: +4 (+1 Wis, +3) Skills: 20r = 5pp Craft: Mechanical 1 (+1) Intimidate 4 (+4) Knowledge: Streetwise 2 (+2) Notice 4 (+5) Medicine 2 (+2) Sense Motive 3 (+4) Stealth 4 (+6) Feats: 7pp Attack Focus Melee 4 Dodge Focus 2 Power Attack Powers: 40 + 4 = 44pp Container 8 "Ghost Form" 40pp (Power Loss: all powers when insubstantial is off) Insubstantial 4 (mutation) “Ghosted” [20PP] Immunity 4 [Fatigue, Aging, Suffocation] “Specter Physiology” [4pp] Flight 2 (25 mph / 250 feet per Move Action; "Ghost Walk") [4PP] Strike 1 (PF: Mighty, Extra: Affects Substantial 5, Alternate Save: Will 5; “Ghost Strike”) 12pp Protection 4 (mutation) “Specter Physiology” [4pp] Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block: ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Ghost Strike Melee DC 20 Will (staged) Damage (Physical) Unarmed Melee DC 19 Toughness (staged) Damage (Physical) Totals: Abilities (20) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (9) + Skills (5) + Feats (7) + Powers (44) - Drawbacks (0) = 105/106 Power Points