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Midtown Freedom City, New Jersey Tuesday October 8, 2024. 4:45 PM The members of Red Team had been on a field trip to Freedom City University to attend a lecture on campus. After the lecture, they had returned to the school van for the trip back to Claremont Academy. Apparently, something had caused a major traffic jam on State Route 6, so the driver had tried to take them through downtown over to State Route 4. While the plan had initially worked reasonably well (even with the normal early rush-hour traffic), they were in the heart of Midtown when traffic became totally gridlocked and they had come to a complete halt. It had not taken the students long to learn the cause. The police had blocked off the street a few blocks away in response to a bank robbery that was underway. Apparently there was something else taking place in the city that had the attention of most of the police and some of the city's heroes, so there were not enough resources to respond to the bank robbery right away. After a brief call back to campus, the Headmistress had given the students permission to intervene and assist the police. So they had exited the bus and made their way to where the police blockade was set up. While the officers had initially been a bit skeptical about a bunch of teenage superheroes intervening, they had quickly realized there were not a lot of other options at the moment. The officers provided the Claremont students with what little information they had. Apparently there were about 10 or so armed men in ski masks who were being lead by Wildcard from the Crime League. They had taken several hostages in the Freedom City Trust building, an old, two story stone structure that dated back to at least World War II. It was a strong, sturdy building, with a large lobby area on the main floor and an open atrium to a balcony on the second floor around which were various office and conference rooms.

Fair Grounds (near Ocean Heights Amusement Park) Port Regal, Freedom City, New Jersey Friday September 27, 2024. 3:00 PM As had been the case for well over a decade, the last full week of September had the fairgrounds near Ocean Heights Amusement Park was host to the Freedom City Renaissance Faire. The faire was spread out across the grounds, with various areas each offering a different experience. One of the areas available was the "Royal Court," a pre-fab structure made to look like a small castle which sat at one end of the fairgrounds. The interior of the building was designed to resemble a throne room, where there were various staff acting out various court functions and interacting with visitors. With the faire soon to wrap up at the end of the weekend, Claremont Academy had arranged for students that wished to attend to be excused from their last class of the day and had provided buses to transport the students to the fairgrounds. After the buses arrived at the parking area, the students were free to go where they wished for the next several hours. Lynn Conners had made her way down the main street to the Royal Court, walking along with her roommate Mattie Hooper. Like several guests at the faire, the blonde teen was in costume. In this case it was a dark green dress, with a corset, under which she wore a white blouse with somewhat billowy sleeves and brown leather gloves. The last few weeks since classes had started at Claremont had been a bit of a whirlwind. At times Lynn had almost felt a bit overwhelmed, by things, but had generally managed to keep herself from having a breakdown. Mattie's regular presence had been a big help with that, as well as her weekly counseling sessions. "There it is up ahead." The blonde said to her roommate, noting the small castle ahead of them.

Rita Kord Dormitories, Third Floor Claremont Academy, Freedom City, New Jersey Wednesday, January 15, 2025, 1:32 AM Over the last several months, Mattie Hopper had generally gotten accustomed to her roommate Lynn Conners having trouble sleeping. There were days where for whatever reason, things just got too overwhelming for Lynn, and she would cry herself to sleep or have to take some medication to help her get to sleep. It was also not at all uncommon for Mattie to be woken up in the middle of the night by Lynn having a nightmare. Sometimes, Lynn would toss and turn a bit, but rollover and settle down without ever waking. Other times, she would be jolted awake in tears, often taking some time to settle down and be able to go back to sleep. Tonight was completely unlike any of those other times. Mattie was jolted awake by the sound of Lynn screaming at the top of her lungs. The blonde sixteen-year-old was violently tossing in her bed, almost as if struggling, and continuing to scream so loud Mattie was sure others in nearby rooms could hear. Unlike other times Lynn had a particularly bad nightmare, this time she did not seem to be waking up. A few doors down on the floor, two of the upper classmen on the floor were indeed jarred awake by what was going on in Room 306. To Carmen Alvarez Arrache, Lynn's screams were as ear piercing as if she were in the room right next to her. Meanwhile, Iris Miller was awoken by a completely different stimulus. The young telepath felt the feelings of terror that were gripping Lynn's subconscious mind in her nightmare, ringing out as loud as any auditory scream…

(GM Post) Mid November, 2024, After Classes While Michael and Baz were fighting Pavo While Carmen and Mizuki were fighting Grus There were other things going on, and none of the three groups knew that the other two were also engaged in a fight against Sola's Dark Commanders. Sola and her Dark Commanders did not stop at a single action, they were always plotting many things at once; a variety of schemes and plans to attempt to reclaim the Umbra Star, to reclaim the powers used by the Sentries, to reclaim the might of Asterim so Sola could rule as the queen of a Netherworld. So while Pavo was in the middle of a brawl in Southside, and Grus was being hunted in Lincoln, Lawrence and Parker- the last remaining members of the group that had gotten into a fight with the Starblights at the start of the year- were not left out of the loop. It had been a request to Parker's phone from Estelle Jones, the individual with the power of Sentry Orion, who had been the first to be on the side of the Claremont students when Ashley and Felix had taken control of her friend group by force. She'd kept in contact with Parker, even if the group as a whole had repeatedly avoided 'going straight' as it were. They weren't actively doing bad anymore, but they had been non-committal on doing any more than that. The text was fairly simple; to come to the same theater where at the start of the year they had fought the draconic Ashley as Sentry Draco, because she needed their help with something. She knew Lawrence could teleport, at minimum, so she didn't figure that'd be too much of a problem for them to come pay her a visit.

(Golden Star Post) November, 2024 Doom Room, Claremont High Baz and Michael had been practicing in the Doom Room on one day. Michael had recently learned how to shoot his own type of laser beams, similar to Baz, and he had been getting help from the Insectoid student to learn more about how to use them, since he hadn't figured it out. As always, Michael was willing to ask for help when he needed it, and he'd paid for Baz's time in pizza and soda for the bug kid to eat while he tutored Michael in how to shoot laser beams. He had helped with studying too, but he knew when he needed to pay someone actual things for their help, and this was one of those kinds. His beams were golden blasts of light that erupted from his eyes or fingers, and while he had first few had been quite inaccurate, under Baz's help he was slowly becoming more and more accurate with them. He at least wasn't scorching the walls or floors as he was trying to practice. When a handful of new targets came down, floating on little drones, he focused his energy, making a glowing star on his index and middle finger. With his index finger extended, he took careful aim and blasted through a handful of targets one after the other while Baz watched. When he finished, he brought a smoking finger to his lips and blew it out like a candle with a grin to him. "...Like that, right?" he asked Baz, checking for confirmation. "You're way better at this then me, so I'm hoping I can figure this out."

Fair Grounds (near Ocean Heights Amusement Park) Port Regal, Freedom City, New Jersey Friday September 27, 2024. 3:00 PM As had been the case for well over a decade, the last full week of September had the fairgrounds near Ocean Heights Amusement Park was host to the Freedom City Renaissance Faire. The faire was spread out across the grounds, with various areas each offering a different experience. One large area of the fair was the market. It was a collection of pre-fab buildings designed to resemble European buildings from the Renaissance as well as stalls and carts set up to create an almost maze-like series of alleyways among them. Contained within were various shops that offered all manner of themed goods and gifts, as well as a number of food carts, stalls and even a couple of buildings set up to resemble taverns. With the faire soon to wrap up at the end of the weekend, Claremont Academy had arranged for students that wished to attend to be excused from their last class of the day and had provided buses to transport the students to the fairgrounds. After the buses arrived at the parking area, the students were free to go where they wished for the next several hours.

GM Afternoon, Wednesday November 13th,2024 The Schuster Auditorium, Hanover, Freedom City Now, as far as coach Armstrong is concerned, Violet Squad is in for a treat, being chosen to be the squad to join him for an incursion to Schuster Auditorium to the Ultimate Wrestling League exhibition. The somewhat rough and tumble coach, not always a hit with the students, though he proclaims that he is only acting as he is to toughen them up, is, of course, not using this as an excuse to have Claremont pay for his ticket, no. This is all for the sake of the students. "Now, isn't this excitin', kids?" he proclaims, as he stops near the entrance after having lead the squad inside the auditorium, which is filled with a people watching a number of exhibition matches between the league's super powered wrestlers. He is clad in a black jacket with the UWL logo proudly emblazoned on the back, his large blonde moustache neatly trimmed for the occasion. "See over there? And there!" The coach is excited, and the atmosphere is frankly infectious here. "Take it all in, kids. Today we're gonna learn all about the sweet art of wrasslin'!"

Beaudrie Opera House Theater District, Freedom City, New Jersey Tuesday November 12, 2024. 10:20 AM A couple of weeks ago Headmistress Summers had spoken with a few her students about an opportunity to assist a field trip for several of the youth attending the Nicholson School to attend a performance by the Freedom Youth Philharmonic for several area elementary schools. Michael Adon, Sarah Thatcher and Jack Davydov had volunteered. Earlier that morning, the trio had been transported over to the Nicholson campus in nearby Port Regal, where they had met the teacher leading the field trip (Ms. Houston) and the group of forty some students that were attending the performance. They had then loaded onto a school bus and made the trip over to the Theater District in downtown Freedom City. The level of excitement for the students varied considerably, ranging from very excited for many of the younger students (those nine or ten years old) to a more resigned indifference with the teens in the group. The area around the Beaudrie Opera House had been rather chaotic, with more than a dozen school buses all dropping off loads of elementary school students to attend the performance. Michael, Sarah and Jack had managed to help keep all the Nicholson students together and guide them into the building, making a stop by the restrooms for any that needed to use them, before heading off to find the groups seats in large venue. It was perhaps even more chaotic inside the building than out, as hundreds of students were gathered, many chatting away as they waited for the performance to begin, teachers and other chaperones keeping an eye on them and making one last headcount to ensure everyone was present. Sarah found herself sitting near some of the thirteen and fourteen year old students, many of whom were focused on their cellphones or otherwise looking around for distractions. One of the older girls looked particular bored and restless, Sarah thought she recalled her being introduced as Victoria. Jack was seated among some of the ten-year-olds, his gentle nature having won them over on the bus ride, despite his imposing height and frame. Among the group were two twin girls, Madison and Mary who seemed very excited to see the performance. Backstage….. Lynn Conners stood among the other members of the Freedom Youth Philharmonic as they waited for the que to take the stage. The blonde sixteen-year-old was wearing a long black evening dress with sleeves that went to her elbows. She was holding her violin and bow in her hands (her sheet music already out on a music stand by her chair) as she took a deep breath to try to steady the many emotions she was feeling. Although she had been part of the youth orchestra for a couple of years back in her timeline, it felt so very different here. For one thing, all of the other performers were unknown to her, as this timeline’s versions of any that she had known in her timeline being six years younger, and thus not yet in the orchestra (if they were even learning classical music here). Even the conductor was different in this timeline. As if that were not enough, there was also the fact that Lynn had managed to gain a spot in the orchestra outside the normal tryout process (in no small part due to her adopted family’s support of the orchestra over the years). The blonde girl let out a sigh as she opened her eyes again but did not focus on anything in particular as she continued to wait to go out to her seat…..

Fair Grounds (near Ocean Heights Amusement Park) Port Regal, Freedom City, New Jersey Friday September 27, 2024. 3:00 PM As had been the case for well over a decade, the last full week of September had the fairgrounds near Ocean Heights Amusement Park was host to the Freedom City Renaissance Faire. The faire was spread out across the grounds, with various areas each offering a different experience. At one end of the faire was a mostly open area set up for a number of events and activities that were more physical in nature. This included a jousting list with regularly scheduled jousting exhibitions. There was also an archery and axe throwing range, among other activities. With the faire soon to wrap up at the end of the weekend, Claremont Academy had arranged for students that wished to attend to be excused from their last class of the day and had provided buses to transport the students to the fairgrounds. After the buses arrived at the parking area, the students were free to go where they wished for the next several hours.

Sub-Basement of Claremont Academy Bayview, Freedom City, New Jersey Friday September 13, 2024. 10:00 AM (Counting as GM Post) A spooky day! In theory. Friday the 13th, the day of horror and spooks. Especially one getting so close to Halloween. It was that day when the student listing of Renee Cole King, Vanya "Jack" Davydov, Harper Hale, Daphen Celeste, and Sarah Francine Thatcher were requested in a room with a very exciting name. It was noted to show up in either their uniforms or costumes and expect strenuous activity. In the case of the last group of the week, it was likely they'd already heard rumors either from other classmates or their Sophomore classmates about what to expect; that they'd get a chance in the 'fabled' Doom Room, to test their mettle and powers against some of the creatures cooked up in the complex and effective simulator. Some of the tales their upperclassmen and fellow sophomores had said about what they would encounter had been clearly exaggerated, likely in good humor for the newer students; a particular Upperclassman had regaled several students with a tale that she'd had to fight The Centurion. She'd later been sternly lectured by another Upperclassman about scaring the new students. So they probably weren't going to fight The Centurion. But others had suggested encounters that seemed more than possible; The Maestro, Dinosaurs, Orion the Hunter, just to name a few. While the stories varied in the specifics, the overarching details did indicate there was probably going to be some sort of fighting or other conflict for the students to navigate to get a hold of their powers and learn how to work as a team, and for the faculty themselves to be aware of those same factors, because nothing beat a first hand test. In that way, you could in fact take it as the first test of the new school year. The large room was mostly white and grey, covered in hexagons, and gave no indication as to what the group would be facing as they entered, heading down the stairs from the student entrance to the building. They couldn't even tell who was going to be administering the test, as the black windows in one side of the room were one way, letting the instructor see but not the students. All they had been told was to get into costume and get into the room, and the test would begin soon.

Bayview Mall, Early October, 2024 October was getting started early at the Bayview Mall. A legion of 12 foot tall Skeletons guarded the entrance to the Mall. In the open planned courtyard of the mall, you could take pictures with cut outs of Freddie, Jason, the Predator, and other horror movie icons. For kids, Scooby-Doo and Freddie Fazbear and the like offered much more sanitized versions of spooks and scares, all alongside the classic witches and goblins and ghouls. Carmen Alvarez Arrache, Harper Hale, Katherine "Kate" Melita Devon-Leeds, and Alden Underwood were also at the Bayview Mall. There was an overarching reason for this, alongside a few specific individual reasons to draw the Claremont Students to the mall. Harper Hale was getting pictures for her first article in the Claremont school paper; an article on the Halloween decorations going up around town, the new Halloween activities at the Bayview Mall included. The current fun was getting a special set of commemorative stickers if a young child in question went to all the special zones set up and got signatures from the Head Witch of the Coven, the Skeleton King, The Zombie Lord, The Werewolf Pack Leader, and Frankenstein. While Halloween wasn't for a few weeks yet, it was nice to get out and do stuff like this early, especially when many stores were offering Halloween discounts and stores putting up early Halloween costumes- the Freedom League was a popular as ever-, so a family could do a lot of their Halloween shopping very early in the month. Meanwhile, Carmen as a Senior had been given her own mission; to get some decorations that were going to be going up on Claremont's Campus for the month. They'd run out in the middle of putting up decorations, and Michael had begged Carmen to take his (mother's) card and go pick up some more Halloween stuff; another few skeletons, some witches and skulls and jack-o-lanterns. Due to certain other issues going on, Claremont students were expected to go out with their teams as much as possible, and as such Kate and Alden had, additionally, been asked by Claremont's local super-powered Golden Retriever to go with her and help her carry back the supplies. So the 4 members of the Green Squad were currently in the Bayview mall, carrying out their specific tasks and keeping an eye on each other to make sure that no one got concerned. Accompanying them- partially to help Carmen as well, but also as an adult figure in charge-, was the new School Nurse, Anna-Marie Delgado. An older woman in her mid 50s born in Mexico, like Carmen she was a native Spanish speaker, a handsome older woman with dark hair and eyes. She was content to let Carmen handle the transactions of business, working purely as a social support, since the school wanted Carmen to get a little more comfortable in her own skin as she got closer to graduation. Everywhere in the Bayview mall, young kids ran about watched over by their parents as the Claremont students carried out their tasks. It was a nice day, and it seemed like nothing was going wrong.

Early to Mid October, 2024 It had started with a complaint to Parker and Michael while they were helping another student. Thomas- a student at Claremont with limited magnetic manipulation powers- had complained that he had been suddenly accosted by Dr. Metropolis one night while he was off school grounds. He quickly realized it wasn't Dr. Metropolis when the Hero had attacked him, displaying all the usual powers of Dr. Metropolis. But Thomas had escaped before suffering serious harm. A further investigation- and telling the teachers- had revealed more incidents. Not always Claremont students, but always superpowered people, Heroes or not; a member of the Freedom League appearing suddenly and attacking them, then leaving just as quickly. Quickly after, there had been a decision made for Claremont students. No one truly believed that the Freedom League would attack Claremont students or other super-powered individuals with no cause; not just because it was quite easy for some students to simply call their parents or guardians and confirm that-, but if someone was pretending to do it, the students of Claremont needed to be careful. And that was why they mostly now were required to travel with their teams, or with other students, to rely on safety in numbers. Call for help, don't engage if it's a bad idea, all the usual precautions. But for Heroes, and those who wanted to be Heroes, could they really stay on the sidelines when duty called? When people's lives were in danger, could they sit idly by and allow others to risk themselves, or let civilians be hurt? The question was about to be answered in the middle of Freedom City. Vueriz, Parker Powers, Lynn Conners, and Diego D'Angelo had just dropped off some archival books to the Freedom Public Library for storage; older versions of text books and spare yearbooks and copies of the School Newspaper- all stored in the public library archives-. But while they were preparing to head back to Bayview and Claremont, the Freedom Monorail passed above them, and then let out a loud groan. The front car shifted as if it's alignment had been broken. Then the second car jackknifed, bouncing violently up and down and then swinging left and right. Each car after swung even more violently, then as the fourth car hit the problem spot in the rail, the entire rail snapped; the three cars in front continued careening forward wildly, even as sparks flew from them with the emergency brake activated. Meanwhile, the fourth car was falling straight down, heading towards a congested intersection of cars and people, who were screaming as it fell towards them. Meanwhile, the metal bars and gears of the destroyed monorail line was also falling towards other people, threatening to crush them under the mass of metal. And above that, on the destroyed monorail line, bolts of lightning were striking nearby buildings as a blur of black and green sped across the shiny faces of the large buildings of Freedom's City Center, avoiding the bolts that were blowing out windows and twisting metal in the buildings.

Fair Grounds (near Ocean Heights Amusement Park) Port Regal, Freedom City, New Jersey Friday September 27, 2024. 3:00 PM As had been the case for well over a decade, the last full week of September had the fairgrounds near Ocean Heights Amusement Park was host to the Freedom City Renaissance Faire. The faire was spread out across the grounds, with various areas each offering a different experience. At the heart of the faire was the town square, an open courtyard like area with side streets that led to the other areas of the faire. Several seating areas for guests were set up in sections of the square. From time-to-time various performers moved about the open spaces entertaining small groups of guests. Off to one side of the square was a small stage, which was the site for several scheduled performances throughout the day. With the faire soon to wrap up at the end of the weekend, Claremont Academy had arranged for students that wished to attend to be excused from their last class of the day and had provided buses to transport the students to the fairgrounds. After the buses arrived at the parking area, the students were free to go where they wished for the next several hours.

Sub-Basement of Claremont Academy Bayview, Freedom City, New Jersey Monday September 9, 2024. 10:00 AM The start of the school year had been Monday, which had brought with it all the chaos of the first day of school, figuring out where all the classes where, making last minute changes to schedules, and more. Given one of Claremont's unique (and secret) purposes was helping teenagers with meta-human powers learn to control and better use their powers, this included time being schedule for new students to have some time in the Doom Room so the staff could get some baseline readings on their abilities. Six of the new class of Sophomores had their sessions scheduled for mid-morning on the second day of classes: Kate Devon-Leeds, Lynn Conners, Gookgak, Owen Akerlund, Reil Estime, and Kadene Estime. As they had been told to be ready for combat simulation and other strenuous activity, the teens had been told to wear the Claremont school uniform, or their costumes (if they had them). So Lynn and gone back to her and Mattie’s dorm room and changed into her costume before making her way down to the Doom Room. Once in costume, the blonde teen had felt a bit more comfortable at moving at full speed, so had been one of the first to arrive. She was dressed in a skin-tight black body suit with red stripes, gloves and boots, along with black goggles with red lenses. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail to help keep it out of her way. Lynn looked about the large room that was located with one of the sub-basements beneath the school's grounds as she waited for some of her classmates to arrive. The room was rather Spartan, with smooth white and grey walls, a floor that had a hexagon pattern and a high, almost cavernous ceiling. Along one of the walls, a couple dozen feet above the floor, there was a dark set of plexiglass windows. While she had never been in the Doom Room before (either here or in her original timeline), Lynn had trained some in the Freedom League’s Wreck Room, so she had at least had some understanding of what to potentially expect from this session.

Fair Grounds (near Ocean Heights Amusement Park) Port Regal, Freedom City, New Jersey Friday September 27, 2024. 3:00 PM As had been the case for well over a decade, the last full week of September had the fairgrounds near Ocean Heights Amusement Park was host to the Freedom City Renaissance Faire. The faire was spread out across the grounds, with various areas each offering a different experience. With a variety of events that required horses or other animals, one area of the faire was comprised of stables and animal pens to house the various animals when they were not needed. Also included in this area was a small petting zoo to allow for children to be among some of the animals. With the faire soon to wrap up at the end of the weekend, Claremont Academy had arranged for students that wished to attend to be excused from their last class of the day and had provided buses to transport the students to the fairgrounds. After the buses arrived at the parking area, the students were free to go where they wished for the next several hours.

The Fens Freedom City, New Jersey Wednesday November 6, 2024. 9:40 PM A light rain fell on Freedom City, making the dark night even darker. The section of the city was a combination of cramped, dark alleyways and buildings to crowded narrow streets light with various bright neon signs for seedy bars, pornography stores and the like. On a dark rooftop of a four-story building toward the middle of the Fens, a temporal distortion formed in the air, expanding out to a doorway sized portal. Stepping out of it was Lawrence Harrow, dressed in the Claremont training uniform of blue and yellow. In one hand he had the black domino mask he wore when openly operating with his powers (at least most of the time). Things had been rather busy since the start of the year and the formation of the teams, and while Grey team had worked together some in the Wreck Room, they had not spent as much time together as Lawrence might have liked. So, he had gotten authorization from the Headmistress to take the team out on a patrol in the city. Turning back, he looked over the others on the team as they emerged from his portal that had brought them from the Claremont campus. "Welcome to the Fens." He said in his refined British accent. "One of the poorer and more troubled areas of Freedom City. There have been efforts to revitalize parts of it, but those have only been small areas. And crime is still a major problem. So, that is what I thought we might try to help with some tonight."

Rita Kord Dormitories, Third Floor Claremont Academy, Freedom City, New Jersey Saturday, September 7, 2024 Although it was a rather cloudy day, the weather was warm and pleasant in Bayview Heights. Once again the start of another school year was drawing near, with classes starting in just a couple days. As was tradition, this mean that the Claremont Academy campus was a scene of general chaos as students and their families made their way to the school’s dormitories to get the students moved in for the year. Two of the older students tasked with trying to maintain some semblance of order for the third floor of the Kord dormitory were Carmen Arrache and Iris Miller. A sixteen-year-old girl exited one the stairwell at the west end of the floor, pulling behind her a large suitcase with one hand, while the other held a violin case. Lynn Conners had her long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and was dressed in a navy blue skit and a white button up blouse. She tried her best to have something of neutral expression on her face as she started down the hallway toward the room she would be sharing with Mattie Hopper for the year. The blonde teen could have already been to her room if she had wanted to, but did not want to so openly use her speed (she would save that for putting things away in her room). Instead, she had taken the time walking from the parking lot to try to calm herself after the ride from North Bay with her adopted brother. Lawrence Harrow reminded her so much of her own brother (although some of his mannerism and accent were completely different) that being around him too long often triggered memories of what had happened that lead to her barely escaping her own timeline and eventually ending up in this one. Thankfully she was feeling a bit better at the moment, the last thing she wanted was to have a nervous breakdown the first day at Claremont.

Sunday February 18, 2024 Late afternoon After over a day and a half of fun in the water and sun at the Harrow estate on Wakaya Island, Fiji (in addition to some more serious topics), it was unfortunately time for the Claremont Academy students to return back to Freedom City for the start of the next school week. After about an hour or so of chaos, everyone was eventually gathered back on the large deck at the back of the main house for Lawrence Harrow to teleport them all back to campus. As the group of teens stepped into the temporal portal Lawrence created once again, they initially felt a similar sensation to what they had the day before when transported to the South Pacific. But suddenly, rather than stepping out the other side of the portal back at the Main Quad at Claremont, the teens felt as if something tugged on them, causing each to stumble forward and as the world reformed around them and they were not at Claremont Academy. Lawrence Harrow, Parker Powers, Mizuki Iwasaki, Baltazar Botez, Consuelo Nunez, Ryan Jacobs, Vueriz, and Michael Adon all found themselves in a dead end alleyway between a pair of three story buildings. Out past the open end, they could see and hear a large crowd of people gathered, though none seemed to notice the sudden appearance of the teens. The weather was cool, but much warmer than the February cold they had expected. The teens were still in the clothes they had been wearing, and Vueriz had her skyboard, but all the rest of their bags and other things were nowhere to be seen. Wearing a pair of jeans and a red Arsenal hoody, Lawrence looked about the alleyway, a concerned expression on his face before he seemed to focus on something distant and out of view. "This is not right." He simply stated, a hint of concern evident in his refined British accent.

Edward Jon Carter Dormitories, First Floor Claremont Academy, Freedom City, New Jersey Saturday, September 7, 2024 The weather in Bayview Heights was rather warm and pleasant, despite the mostly crowded sky. With school set to start in just two days, the students (both old and new) had returned for move in day at Claremont Academy. As was typically the case, the campus was something of a controlled chaos, with parents and students making their way from the parking lot to the school's dormitories, or over to the administrative building for some last-minute correction to a schedule or other enrollment issue. The first floor of the Edward Jon Carter dorm was no different, with students and parents alike filling the halls. Ryan Jacobs and Daniel Miller found themselves as two of the upper classmen assigned to the first floor, having to help direct new students to rooms and answer questions from students and parents….

The Happenstance cut a strange figure in the waters around Freedom. In the open bay, around more current boats, around people enjoying their day, the old style ship cut a figure, a very specific sort of one as it navigated the waves! It was quite the sight, and upon that ship was the crew of the Happenstance, including the Captain and First Mate, and the Captain's roommate, Owen Akerlund, brought out on a fine sunny weekend to play around on the ship. There was absolutely nothing going wrong with the day, a blessing of the pirate captain Riel, perhaps. But it came like a sudden shock as the group neared the underside of the Centery Bridge. Black, billowing clouds almost erupted; seeming to form from absolutely nothing high above the bridge before immediately splitting open into a torrential downpour, sending the other boats scattering for safety away from the rain, and the lightning that split the sky as well. What had once been a perfect day had suddenly become a terrible one for being outside. While the Captain may have been protected by his notorious good luck, the rest of the ship was not near as lucky. And the clouds were still churning, almost bubbling with fury high above them. Almost like there was something IN the Clouds, about to break out.

Riverside Freedom City, New Jersey Friday March 15, 2024. 9:20 PM Located in Riverside, Midnight Hour was Freedom City's only underage nightclub. As such, it was often a popular spot for high school students and younger college students unable to get into twenty-one and over establishments. Tonight, the club was particularly crowded for the live performance of the band Multiplicity, which had an ever growing social media presence in the last two months. Tickets for the venue had been sold out for weeks, and the club was packed to capacity with people. In the crowd were several students from Claremont Academy, as the lead singer, Bernadette O'Connell, was a senior at the school (and the other members of the band were alumni of the school as well). The Irish teen had provided free tickets for any of her fellow students that had wanted to attend. Backstage, Bernadette was waiting with the other members of her band for the start of their set. The Irish teen was wearing a red and black plaid skirt, a white dress shirt with a red tie, over which she wore a black leather jacket. Two of the redhead’s duplicates stood a short distance away, both wearing jeans and long sleeve T-shirts, one had on a brunette wig, the other a blonde wig, which, together with the shadows toward the back of the stage would help conceal that the backup singers looked very similar to the lead singer. Standing nearby was the lead guitarist, Summer Sands, who was dressed in black jeans and long sleeve T-shirt. As was often the case, Summer was focused on last minute adjustments to her guitar and was blocking out most everything else in preparation for the show. The other two members of the band, Mark (the drummer) and John (the base player), were standing where they had a partial view of the stage and the some of the crowd gathered in the club. "Wow, looks like a full house." Mark commented. Bernadette walked over and glanced out a grin coming to her face. "I told ya that Neko could help increase boost engagement an' get us noticed." She glanced over at the clock on the wall. "Almost time fer us ta get out there."

Power Level: 8/10 (150/152PP) Unspent Power Points: 2 Trade-Offs: Toughness -2 / Defense +2 In Brief: A rebellious teen mutant with the ability to give life to the inanimate.. Catchphrase: "Easy Peasy" Theme: Alternate Identity: Diego D'Angelo aka Animist Birthplace: A lab hidden somewhere in the Mojave desert. Residence: Freedom City Base of Operations: Claremont Academy Occupation: Student. Affiliations: None for now Family: Doctors Davide and Michela d'Angelo, Domenico and Damiano D'Angelo, twin brothers. Description: Age: 16 (2008) Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5'11'' Weight: 155 lbs Eyes: Green Hair: Black Diego is a lean young man with ruffled black hair and piercing green eyes, he has a somewhat pale complexion, mostly the product of indoor living, as he gets tan easily if forced (probably against his will) to spend time outside. His chest and arms are covered by a strange geometric pattern, a byproduct of the cloning process, that is visible under ultra-violet light, but hard to notice with a naked eye. He usually wears casual clothes, chosen for comfort rather than anything, baggy jeans, t-shirts with long sleeves, an black oversize hoodie, or a leather jacket, although more than a fashion choice this is due to the fact that he has yet to find his own 'style' since when he was still with his family he had little choice of what to wear. He always carries a pair of oversize earphones, although more often than not they are hanging around his neck. He had his ears pierced while on the run and although he wears a single earring he changes on which ear seemingly at random each day. When he is at ease an Italian accent become evident as he speaks, but otherwise he had been taught how to emulate different ones. He is frequently seen fidgeting with a tacky silver zippo lighter that's a present from the first person he saved. History: Diego is the rebellious scion of two "reformed" super-villains turned government assets, although calling him their 'son' would probably be a bit of a stretch as both himself and his two brothers are clones, engineered by his parents, both brilliant scientists with very few moral qualms. Since youth Diego has spent his life training to work as an agent for his parents together with his brothers; Domenico whose ability allows him to affect living creatures much like Diego can alter inanimate objects and Damiano who can consume the consciousness of others to temporary absorb their knowledge and increase his own abilities. It was the triplets' natural rivalry that pushed Diego toward developing a rebellious streak in his youth, at least partially just as contrast to Domenico's almost absolute loyalty to his parents and the Damiano deeply introspective nature. Eventually the extremely regimented life at the compound and the growing sketchiness of his assignments pushed Diego to try and escape. His plans lead him to a confrontation with his brothers, after a few initial failures, that didn't end the way he wanted, while Diego did manage to leave with his life, his scrap with Domenico left both hurt both body and feelings and there was little he could do to convince Damiano to go with him. At first Diego enjoyed his newfound freedom, the world his oyster now after all, but he quickly found himself feeling lonely and deprived of the purpose he has had for all his life, albeit one he did not enjoy. Mindless entertainment could only do so much and the young man found himself aimlessly wandering around the country, picking fights and getting into trouble. Although even during his initial peregrinations Diego had already somewhat started to realize that helping people made him feel way better than just caring after himself, the choice to try and become an actual hero only came to him when one of shenanigans grew way out of proportion. A confrontation born out of a simple game of pool, one where Diego had been caught cheating that had escalated to violence. While a few thugs would not have posed much of a threat one of his opponents actually had a mutant power of his own, a fiery one at that. Although the young man managed to make his escape before being burnt he quickly realized that his opponent, whose experience with his mutant power were limited at best, had set the building ablaze and he was not trapped inside. Diego tried to help, safely from outside the building at first, but when he projected his consciousness within the flames and smoke assaulted his diffused senses, it was too overwhelming, there was nothing he could really do from there. He could just run of course and it was, well tempting, he had already left his brothers behind it would be easier with a stranger, he reasoned, in the end though his conscience would not allow him to do so. It was perhaps the first time Diego was truly tested outside the confines of the simulated scenarios at his family's compound and it felt, well too much for him, Diego had to fight both the fire and his own instincts projected on every burning piece of furniture within the building screaming at him to get away. He managed to reach his fellow mutant, who was barely conscious trapped under a collapsed wall, but the smoke had the best of him before he could do much else. He was not going to make it, at least without the intervention of an actual super-hero who has gotten to the scene in the nick of time, as heroes often do. When Diego recovered some time later, the hero that had saved him pointed the young man toward Claremont and Diego accepted the invitation. Personality & Motivation Diego is a free spirited young man and definitely not a believer in rules or authority figures, justifiably so, if you ask him at least. He is crafty, adaptable, playful, although some might say that self control is not exactly his forte and that 'at times' he might be 'a bit' fickle. He quickly finds new passions to throw himself into and fall in love with new ideas, just to discard them the day after to chase the next big thing. He is not the kind of person that can stay idle for long, he is constantly fidgeting, fills any blank paper he can find with doodles and in general keeping himself busy. He definitely is not the introspective type, dislike long silences and quite places, he prefers to find himself surrounded by noise and chaos, frequently of his own making He is very much a 'care about the destination, not the journey" and "the ends justify the means" kind of guy. He does his best to stay on the heroic side of morality however, which often involve thinking 'what would mom and dad do?' in any situation and then act in the opposite way, which given that both of them are amoral scientists with an attitude for general evil it is possibly an effective strategy. While he is somewhat gregarious, making friends is not his forte and since the betrayal by the people closest to him, at least when he doesn't second-guesses himself about him having actually done the betraying part, he struggles to get new people in his circle of trust. Powers & Tactics: Diego is a mutant with the ability to split his mind and invest portions of his consciousness into inanimate objects, granting them the ability to move and empowering them. Due to having had his ability since a very early age and having mostly focused his training on honing it, Diego tends to rely almost exclusively on his power to fight and on his natural agility to stay out of danger, using his fists only if there is absolutely no other alternative. He doesn't like to hurt people and prefers to use his knack to disarm, grapple, or otherwise vex his opponents from afar. Power Descriptions: Diego's mutation allows him to awaken, empower, control objects and gain a deep understanding of what makes them tick, even absorbing a small portion of an object essence into himself, mimicking some of that object traits and acquiring skills related to the item in question. His Jack of all trades feat, although at least partially the product of his diverse (and constantly changing) interests, is also magnified by his power. His gift also allows him to talk with inanimate objects although he is not sure if the personalities they manifest are actually intrinsic of them or if he is just projecting a portion of his mind subconsciously. Diego can split his consciousness within multiple objects at the same time and even dedicate them to different tasks, which he does not only in combat, but also to ease his day to day life, making most chores "complete by themselves" while he is doing something else. His Quickness is not actual physical speed, but reflects this ability. He can merge his consciousness with a location with his "Genius Loci" power, such as a building or a small complex, like a zoo, a college campus or a military base, becoming aware of anything that happens within it, like if he was everywhere within the building at the same time although this is a bit "trippy" (not that he minds) and definitely distracting. To use this power however he needs to be physically present at the location and can't "scry" at the distance. The Shape matter ability reflects him animating something and having it rearrange itself, while Animate Object is intended to be mostly residual for corner cases that aren't already covered by other applications of his powers. Complications: Spontaneous Animation: It's not unusual for objects that are around him to animate on their own, fueled by Diego subconscious, this happens more frequently when he is on edge. Those animated objects are not under his direct control and might become annoying or even dangerous. His ability to understand what inanimate things have to "say" is also constantly active and at time they can be distracting. Corrupting Resonance\Mental Feedback: since his powers works by merging fragment of his consciousness\spirit with his surroundings to "awaken" nearby objects, cursed items or areas infused with a particularly strong or corrupting emotional resonance (places where something terrible happened for example) might have lingering effects on him. His powers that don't already have the feedback flaws also have this vulnerability, mental and spiritual attacks can be aimed at the stuff he is animating to affect him. The path of least resistance: Diego tends to prefer quick and dirty solution to an issue if possible, which might get him into troubles, his ability to learn the basics about anything with almost no effort also means that he rarely fully applies himself to something and quickly lose interests when teaching himself new stuff which might become an issue (for his school life as well). The young man also has a bit of a tendency to run from problems, sweep them under the rug or get distracted rather than facing them, although he trying to fight this tendencies for the sake of becoming an actual hero. Easily distracted \ Hedonistic: Diego is in constant search for new experiences of all sorts and to enjoy his newfound freedom as best as he could, he is easily tempted by anything that he might find fun, plus his ability to literally divide his attention certainly doesn't help. Rebellious Rebel: Diego knows what he is against very well, mostly anything that aligns with his parents previous morals, but he doesn't exactly really knows what he is 'for', at least for now. Not outdoorsy: Diego is a city boy, a creature of comfort, accustomed to be surrounded by noise and his gift is more effective with man-made objects and locations, the wilds make him feel uneasy. Cloning Blues: while Diego tries not too pay to much attention to his nature, but deep down his artificial upbringing is a matter of shame and can be used to goad him into a fight. Family of super-villains: his parents and his twin brothers are super-villains and would definitely love to have him back as part of the team. Diego was also home-schooled for most of his life, although his parents did their best for him to still be well adjusted (a spy that can't move in society being useless), he still might be clueless about some facets of life. ABILITIES (+0,+8,+4,+12,-2,+4) 26 PP Strength: 10 (+0) Dexterity: 18(+4) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 22 (+6) Wisdom: 8 (-1) Charisma: 14 (+2) COMBAT (+8,+8) 16 PP Initiative: +8 (Dexterity +4, Improve Initiative +4) Attack: +4 (+4 base), Power +8 (+4 Base, +4 Accurate) Grapple: +4 (+4 Melee Attack) Defense: +10 (+4 Base, +6 Dodge Focus), +4 Flat-Footed Knockback Resistance: -2 SAVING THROWS (+6+6+7) 19 PP Toughness: +6/+2 (+4 Defensive Roll, +2 Constitution) Fortitude: +8 (+2 Con, + 6 PP) Reflex: +10 (+4 Dex +6PP) Will: +6 (-1 Wis, +7 PP) SKILLS 19PP (72) Bluff: 8 (+10)Skill Mastery Concentration 11 (+10) Craft - Art (Drawing) 4 (+10) Craft - Mechanics 2 (+8) Computers 2 (+8) Disable Devices 4 (+10) Escape Artist 6 (+10) Gather Information 6 (+8) Knowledge (Tactics) 2 (+8) Languages (Italian, Spanish, Russian, French, English [Native]) 4 Notice 11 (+10)Skill Mastery Search 4 (+10)Skill Mastery Sleight of Hand 6 (+10)Skill Mastery Stealth 6 (+10) FEATS 15 PP Defensive Roll 2 Dodge Focus 6 Evasion 1 Improved Initiative 1 Jack-of-All-Trades Luck 2 Uncanny Dodge 1 (Auditory) Skill Mastery 1 (Bluff, Notice, Search, Stealth) POWERS (35, +4, +1, + 10, +5) 55 PP Animation 14 (28 PP Array; Alternate Power 7) [35 PP] (Descriptors: All Mutation) BP: [28 PP] (Animate) Animate Object 8 (Extra: Range[Perception], Sensory Link, Flaws: Distracting, Feedback; Feats: Mental Link 1, Horde 3) AP: [28 PP] (Swift animation) Move Object 12 (Extra: Range [Perceptions], Flaws: Feedback, Feats: Precise 1, Subtle 1, Indirect 2) AP: [28PP] (Fantasia) Move Object 12 (Extra: Area [Targeted Burst 80 ft], Selective, Feats: Accurate 2, Progression 1 Precise 1, Flaw: Range [Touch], Duration [Concentration]) AP: [28PP] (Bedlam) Damage 8 (Damage 8 (Extra: Targeted Area [Burst 80 ft], Selective, Feats: Accurate 2, Precise, Progression 1) AP: [27PP] (Snaring Animation) Snare 8 (Extras: General Area [Burst 80 ft], Selective, Feats: Indirect 2, Reversible, Progression 1, Flaws: Range [Touch]) AP: [27PP] (Rearrange Objects) Shape Matter 6 (Extra: Duration [Continuous], Flaw: Range [Touch], Feats: Precise, Accurate 2) AP: [28PP] (Genius Loci) Container (Drawback: Standard Action to activate - 1 PP) ESP 4 (All senses, Feats: Subtle 2, Flaws: limited to a building or small complex he is physically in) {14} Move Object 3 (Extra: Range [Perception]. Precise, Subtle) {11} Quickness 8 (Flaws: Limited to mental tasks [mostly notice and search in the area] ) For a total of 13 quickness [Descriptor: Omnipresence] {4} AP: [27PP] (Infuse Essence) Boost 7 (All traits [5PP], Extras: Affect Objects [Only objects] +0, Flaws: Affect Others [others only], Drawback:Only mundane objects) Comprehend 2 (Objects 2 ranks) Flight 1 (Drawback: Platform) Object Mimicry 2 (Variable Power [10PP], any trait all at once, Flaws: Touch Range; Limited to manufactured objects, Action [Standard action]) [10] Quickness 5 (50 speed) Mimicry Samples: Abilities (26) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (19) + Skills (19) + Feats (15) + Powers (55) = 150 /152 Power Points

2024 - 2025 Claremont Academy School Year begins September 9th! Dear Parent, Guardian or Mentor Figure, Congratulations to your child or ward on being admitted to the upcoming school year at Claremont Academy! We couldn't be more excited to welcome them into our proud legacy of academic excellence, practical experience and community service. The semester will begin on Monday, September 9th. Dormitory move-in dates begin the prior week prior on Saturday, September 7. Below you will find a list of supplies each student will be expected to bring with them, along with a list of those provided by the Academy including toiletries, dormitory furniture and active wear to be used during our award winning physical fitness programs. Financial aid is of course available to students attending on scholarship and we offer meal plans to suit all needs. Our administrative offices will have been in touch by now regarding any dietary restrictions, allergies, atmospheric requirements, etc. See the enclosed contact information for any further inquiries. Claremont Academy has long been home to students of both exceptional ability and exceptional circumstances. While students should be prepared to work hard developing their talents and learning invaluable real world skills they can also look forward to a welcoming community of peers with their own unique perspectives and experiences. Orientation will cover movie nights, extracurricular clubs, our expanded intramural league and other activities. These are the friendships which will last a lifetime. Welcome to Claremont Academy!

Serendipity Power Level: 8 (180/183) Unspent Power Points: 3 Trade-Offs: +3 Attack / -3 Damage, +4 Defense / -4 Toughness In Brief: Astonishingly lucky swashbuckler/pirate from a parallel world. Theme: Liberation, by DizzyEight and Errol Allen Alternate Identity: Riel Estime (Public) Birthplace: Paralogue, Earth-Aquivan (Earth Prime has no analogous town, but it’s in the Caribbean equivalent) Residence: Claremont Dorms (Weekdays), Happenstance (ship, Weekends) Base of Operations: Freedom City Occupation: Aquivan Pirate, Claremont Student Affiliations: Crew of the Happenstance Family: Stormchild (Kadene Estime, fraternal twin sister) Description: Age: 16 Apparent Age: late teens/early 20s Gender: Male Ethnicity: Ambiguously Brown (mishmash of what on Earth Prime is African, European, and Native American) Height: 6’ 2” Weight: 170 lbs Eyes: Dark Brown Hair: Black Riel dresses like he just stepped out of an Errol Flynn movie. Poofy shirt, pants straight out of the Age of Sail. Boots, sometimes gloves, etc, you get the idea. It's well weathered clothing, however, and shows where its been mended many times. History: Earth-Aquivan is a very different place than Prime. Some type of apocalypse, war, or combination thereof knocked the place back centuries of progress. It's been deliberately made unclear exactly when that happened, aside from it being out of living memory. Including the stories the very old may have been told when they were young by the very old then, it was at least 2 centuries ago and probably more. Currently, it is the Age of Sail. Moreover, it's the Golden Age of Piracy. That sounds worse than it is. Though there are in theory independent nations, they all are subordinate to the Throneless Ministry. It manages the primary law enforcement and military body aka the Throneless Navy and its Marines. The Ministry itself is a brutal and tyrannical government that uses the Navy and Marines to enforce its authority with maximum force. The Navy and Marines, however, are more of a mixed bag. The corrupt and the wantonly cruel are a part of them, but there are also those serving who believe in helping people and delivering justice. It's not a perfect situation by any means. The Navy, despite the best efforts of many within it, has done some hideous things. But pirates? Pirates are worse. The freedom of the seas appeals to many for many different reasons, but the end result is a class of seaborne marauders stealing, destroying, and killing their way across the seven seas. Except, of course, when they aren't. Because pirates aren't uniformly worse. There are those who take to the seas not for the freedom to rob and pillage with impunity, but to live their lives as they will under no one's thumb. To seek adventure, fun, and camaraderie. This class of pirate may be a minority, but they often rain down hell on the rest for their misdeeds. So, much like the Navy, pirates aren't easily categorized as all good or all bad. This is why Riel Estime and his sister Kadene set out to sea. Freedom and adventure. Well, that, and a certain legendary pirate's treasure allegedly on the other side of the world from where they were born. They were orphans born into poverty. Just dirt poor street kids running around one of the busiest and most important ports in the Western Seas. But of course, kids don't stay kids forever. Mischief that might be laughed off or escaped with nothing more than a stern lecture when done by a five year old is a crime worth hard time when done by a fifteen year old. So it was get some employment/go to jail (giving up on their dreams forever), or taking to the seas. The former option never even entered their minds. They had just started making a name for themselves a year into their journey. A stout ship. A loyal crew. First major bounty issue. The Luckstorm Pirates were riding high, well supplied, and off to finally make the long journey to what on Prime is the Cape of Good Hope. They did not make it. A fog Kadene couldn't disperse rose, and then the seas got exceptionally rough. When the mists cleared, well...the ship and crew were unaware anything was different. Until they got their bearings and realized they were somehow over a thousand miles off course. Which was, naturally, totally impossible. Unless, of course, that was no normal fog. Since Kadene couldn't disperse it, it must have been. To make a long story much shorter, they headed for land, investigated the first bit of land they came to, did some light robbery for perishable supplies, dealt with the handful of "Marines" sent in response, and set sail again. Because something was very, very wrong here. They had zero context for automobiles and modern firearms, let alone computers and smartphones. So they decided to investigate a larger settlement they had seen signs for. This turned out to be Freedom City. It started quietly, with just the twins in the enormous alien city. It ended loudly, with a furious battle on the waterfront and actual water between the Luckstorm Pirates and the assembly of the heroes Aquaria, Sgt. Shark, and a whole mess of cops. Fortunately, the heroes realized they were dealing with foes extradimensional and clueless, not hardened criminals, and the actual ending was rather...amicable, really? Aquaria's word counted for more than perhaps she may have expected, and nobody was crammed into the legal system unnecessarily. Their matter of fact descriptions of their world sounded almost nightmarish, so slack was cut. As long as the twins agreed to attend Claremont Academy, anyway. Meanwhile, the two would actually like to get back home, please. Their dreams of adventure and legendary pirate treasures have not dimmed in the slightest. Personality & Motivation: Riel is very much a free spirit. Freedom and liberty are very important to him. Justice...not so much. He's not a believer in hierarchies or authority on their own merit. He's not going to listen to or automatically respect someone just because of their position. His respect and deference are earned. This isn't to say he's some confrontational jerk. Not at all. He's a pretty nice guy, actually, and charming besides. Very much in the dashing swashbuckler mold. A man of honor socially but in combat? Screw that. Cheat with wild abandon. But to be clear, he decides his actions. The law, social rules, and authority figures do not. He's not opposed to hearing alternative options, but yeah. He'll be perfectly polite and reasonable about it, as long as the issue isn't pressed too hard, but there is no authority that can force his compliance. He's a freedom loving pirate, after all. Motivation wise, he wants to go home. It's not complicated. Various groups in Freedom are allegedly working on it. So it's only fair that he does the hero thing in the meantime to help them and those who support them out. Plus y'know his heart isn't made of ice or stone. Powers & Tactics: On Earth-Aquivan, those who die without achieving their dreams (and didn't ever give up on them) create a magical fruit. These are called Dreamer's Fruits. These fruits, when eaten, grant superhuman powers. They're relatively rare but nonunique, and thus don't have special names. Riel ate one that made him staggeringly lucky. It makes him significantly less likely to harmed by any danger, apparently by sheer coincidence. This gets a little odd when he somehow can avoid being seen by multiple people on open ground actively looking for someone. He even seems to be able to actively manipulate probability to some degree. Tactically, he's a swordsman who can strike unseen basically every turn if he feels like it. With that said, he can use both Defensive and Power Attack at need. Acrobatic Bluff, Improved Feint, and Improved Taunt are on deck to make opponents miserable. Set Up transfers the benefits of these to someone else (like his sister). Improved Trick and Redirect can be good for a laugh. And Takedown Attack makes cutting through minions easier. Power Descriptions: Riel Estime is just some guy with a sword. The vast majority of his powers simply don't have any active manifestation. Luck Control MAY produce a flash of yellow light when used, especially if he's using Spend Hero Point For Another, but that's it. Complications: Weakness (Sinks Like A Rock): Unfortunately, the downside of having eaten a Dreamer's Fruit is suffering paralysis and total power loss when immersed in salt water. Y'know, like the ocean. Fresh water doesn't remove Fruit powers, but they're still paralyzed. A GM may award a Hero Point for this happening. Quirk (Aquivan Pirate): This is kind of a catchall. From another world, so technology, pop culture, and idioms? Mystifying. And doing stuff that doesn't make sense to folks from Prime. Like misunderstanding wound severity because folks take more to die on their world. Or casual petty theft of minor items (primarily but not exclusively food) from stores because while they're good, heroic sorts, where they're from that's not particularly wrong. Especially for pirates. A GM may provide a Hero Point when this cultural disconnect becomes an issue. Responsibility (Luckstorm Captain): Riel is the Captain of the Luckstorm Pirates. They may live on the Happenstance, but these PL4-5s are his job to take care of. Not day to day, as they're adults and can handle that much. But being pirates, even good natured ones, they may get in legal trouble. Or be attacked by supervillains. Or hear the Captain is in trouble and loyally come running to help. Etc. A GM may award a Hero Point when this becomes a problem. Power Loss (Moonlight Jinx): The moon, being linked to the tides and thus the ocean, has an effect on Riel's powers. Specifically, direct moonlight can (but not necessarily WILL) cause his Concealment, Luck Control, or Features to fail. The more full the moon, the more likely it is to happen. Unless, of course, the moon is hidden by clouds, smoke, etc. A GM may award a Hero Point for this happening. Quirk (Way Too Quick Draw): When faced with drawn weapons or other obvious signs of imminent violence Riel has a tendency to automatically draw his sword without consciously deciding to do so. Blame how dangerous the seas and ports of his world can be. This can make de-escalating situations or convincing others of their lack of hostile intent...challenging. A GM may award a Hero Point for this becoming a problem. Abilities: 4 + 6 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 10 = 32PP Strength: 14 (+2) Dexterity: 16 (+3) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 14 (+2) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 20 (+5) Combat: 10 + 10= 20PP Initiative: +7 Attack: +5 Base, +9 Melee, +11 Sword Defense: +12 (+5 Base, +4 Enhanced Defense, +3 Dodge Focus), +5 Flat-Footed (with powers), +3 Flat-Footed (without) Grapple: +11 Knockback: -2 (w/ D. Roll), -1 (Flat-Footed) Saving Throws: 3 + 5 + 5 = 13PP Toughness: +4 (+2 Con, +2 Defensive Roll) Fortitude: +5 (+2 Con, +3) Reflex: +12 (+3 Dex, +5, +4 Enhanced Reflex) Will: +7 (+2 Wis, +5) Skills: 68R = 17PP (1PP = 4 Skill ranks) Acrobatics 12 (+15) Bluff 10 (+15) Diplomacy 5 (+10) Gather Information 5 (+10) Knowledge (civics) 3 (+5) Knowledge (physical sciences) 3 (+5) Knowledge (streetwise) 8 (+10) Language 4 (Dutch, English, French Native, Portuguese, Spanish) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 2 (+5) Feats: 55PP Acrobatic Bluff Attack Focus (melee) 4 Attack Specialization (Sword (Device 1)) Challenge - Improved Feint Challenge - Improved Taunt Defensive Attack Dodge Focus 3 Elusive Target Equipment 2 Improved Initiative Improved Trick Power Attack Quick Draw Redirect Set-Up Skill Mastery (Bluff, Diplomacy, Notice, Sense Motive) Sidekick 30 (Stormchild) Takedown Attack Taunt Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Enhanced Feats Defensive Roll Evasion 2 Improved Critical (Sword Strike (Strike 3)) Luck 4 Equipment: 2PP = 10EP (1 rank of the Equipment Feat = 5 'Equipment Points') Happenstance [Vehicle, 10EP] Size [2EP]: Colossal Strength: 50 Defense: -8 Toughness [1EP]: 14 Features[2EP]: Living Quarters Personnel Powers [3EP]: Speed 1 (10 mph, 88 ft/rnd) [1EP] Super-Movement 2 (Water Walking; Flaw: Permanent) [2EP] Powers: 10 + 30 + 3 = 43PP All powers except the Sword use magic as a source descriptor Concealment 10 (Escape Notice; Flaws: Passive) [10PP] (luck) Container 6 (Fortune’s Favorite Son; 30PP Passive Container) [30PP] (luck) Enhanced Defense 4 & Enhanced Reflex 4 (Fortunate Evasion; Feats: Defensive Roll, Evasion 2 ) [15PP] (luck) Feature 1 (Charmed Life; Riel is largely immune to routine “bad luck”. He will never get a flat tire, have to wait in line, or run into delays due to traffic accidents or weather.) [1PP] (luck) Feature 1 (Gambler; Riel can automatically win at games of chance, unless pitted against an opponent with this Feature (in which case, the game is resolved normally).) [1PP] (luck) Luck Control 3 (Luck of the Devil Himself; Force a Re-roll, Negate GM Fiat, & Spend Hero Point for Another; Feats: Luck 4 ) [13PP] (luck) Device 1 (Sword; 5PP Container; Flaws: Easy-To-Lose) [3PP] (sword) Strike 3 (Sword Strike; Feats: Improved Crit, Mighty) [5PP] (slashing) DC Block Name Attack Bonus Range Save & DC Effect Unarmed +9 Melee 17 Toughness Damage Sword Strike +11 Melee 20 Toughness Damage Totals: Abilities (32) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (13) + Skills (17) + Feats (55) + Powers (43) - Drawbacks (0) = 180/183 Power Points

May, 2024 The school year was slowly winding down. In the next month, Claremont would be finished for the year. The seniors would be moving on, and everyone else would be moving up. A new batch of Freshmen would be moving in. The Barking Raven Arcade, in Riverside, was offering discounts on tokens for the last few weeks of the School Year; a strategy to get bored students in and maybe make them think about spending their summer playing on the flashing screens. For students who were burnt out on studying finals or projects, Barking Raven offered a reprieve. The arcade was a fairly large fixture on Dikto street; a broad building with two stories and an open central area once you entered through the doors. It had both games one could play for tickets- and a massive wall of prizes- and competitive arcade and single player games; it had cabinets of shooters, racing games, DDR, and fighting games alongside basketball games, skeeball, and the like. It was a place for everyone, despite the turned down lights, and it offered all you could want for a day where you didn't want to think about school work anymore. Michael had started sending texts beginning in the morning. It had been free to spread to anyone at the school; after all, it was easy for one friend to tell two friends and so on. In that way, it was known within Claremont that there was an excursion planned out to head to Barking Raven and take a break before the very very end of the school year. He had also been clear that if anyone didn't have the spare cash but wanted to go, he would pay for their arcade adventure. Michael himself had arrived not long after ditching his Claremont uniform for a very simple t-shirt and jeans combo that looked almost nothing like Michael Adon, and he was currently blasting zombies on a House of the Dead machine. His constantly around friend Sam had decided to camp on a Street Fighter VI Machine, where she was playing Juri against anyone who decided to try and go a few rounds.