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Ghost's Apartment in the Fens A few days after he met Fleur de Joie Casper was pacing around in the apartment, looking at his phone. He had been thinking about this for a while now. Should he use Comrade Frost's number? It was a leap to make, skipping all those steps and asking about getting into the Freedom League, and he still wasn't sure if he even wanted to join, but Carrie would think it'd be cool if he was a member of the Freedom League, right? At least once she finds out about him being Ghost. Could be nice to have some support network, too. Did the Freedom League offer a stipend or payment or anything like that? Casper looked around his tiny apartment. That... well, it wasn't the important thing, but it wouldn't be bad, right? Probably not what he should lead with. Breathing out heavily, he sat down on his and looked at the phone. Alright, alright. Fleur had given him this number, he should use it. Worst that could happen was a no, right? It would probably be a no, but he had to try, at least. Punching in the number, he waited for Comrade Frost to answer...

Make, oh, whatever rolls you think you should make, @RocketLord

April 2021 Lantern Hill Cemetery Late evening Raina had saved Comrade Frost's number on her phone at Talya's suggestion but that didn't mean she got a lot of calls from him. "Hello!" came the cheerful, oddly-accented voice when she picked up. "Is this fire witch? This is Dimitri Peshkov! Tell me are you free this evening?" Dimitri peered around the side of the crypt as he looked around for the groundskeeper, nodding in satisfaction when he saw the man had gotten off-shift. Things were so much easier now that the graveyard had decided to hire a company rather than actually pay a man to live on-site.

Location: Freedom Hall, Freedom City Date: Thursday, July 25, 2019: 1:37 PM FREEDOM LEAGUE TO ANNOUNCE NEW LINE UP AND ANSWER QUESTIONS: 2:00 PM Outside of the shining walls of Freedom Hall, a small crowd of interested onlookers formed up behind press. Staff were making sure that any random bystanders were finding a place in the crowd, overseen by Cynthia. For once, the lobby and reception area were closed to the public while everything was set up. It had been a gradual transition, in many ways, as the vanguard of the League retired and handed off their duties one by one to the former Auxiliary members. It was known, really, that these heroes had become the New Freedom League, but this would be the first official press conference, confirming the retirement of many of Freedom's best and most beloved and the rise of their new League. A lot of work went into those preparations, most of it by staff but the heroes were busy themselves. After all, there were speeches to be made, questions that would have to be answered and not all the press invited was all that friendly. There were bound to be hostile reporters looking for gossip or tidbits to make their headlines pop. Plus, after the press conference, there was to be a reception open to any who might visit Freedom Hall and their old-but-new heroes. Of course, planning a party for 'any who might show up' would have been enough to keep staff busy. Leilani slipped between two harried staff members to offer Dimitri the notecards that were supposed to be his script. No doubt, he'd find some place new to discard them. She wasn't in costume as Leilani was here to join the crowd with the other interested on-lookers although she'd probably end up drafted by staff to help set tables and other minutuae when the League went out to talk. Raising her voice so that it would be heard, Leilani offered, "Cynthia says its ten minutes to showtime."

Mid-July 2019 The summons had gone out to a variety of heroes - come to Freedom Hall at such and such a time on such and such a date for a meeting with Comrade Frost in the League satellite. Some had gotten the message personally in intimate conversation with the ex-Soviet, some had gotten it through professional correspondence. A uniformed League employee had shuttled them all inside the Hall and to its teleporter, where now (if Frost's calculations were correct) they were all about to arrive! When the flash and noise of teleportation were over, Frost spread his arms, producing a slight chill in the air in the metal-walled room that looked a bit like something out of Star Trek - if you ignored the big transparent window to one side that showed the Earth below. "Welcome to space! Feel free to ogle Central America if interested," he declared in his distinct Russian accent.

GM Dec 10th, Hong Kong Agent Sunny Fields had almost tore her hair out trying to track down the stolen daka weapons that she had the Scarab had dealt with in Cairo. Yasser, the Daka-powered gun runner had already started dealing, and with a good bit of old fashioned detective work, they had found that the destination was Hong Kong. W.E.S.T was still on the case, but the matter was now more about intelligence and investigation than exotic science. Still, the weapons were clearly dangerous, and W.E.S.T had asked the Scarab to help. And detective Jackie Wu was her contact. A short, strong man in his fourties who liked dark suits and dark glasses, and clearly knew what he was doing. "Pleased to meet you" he bowed, with good command of English and a professional handshake as they met on the HK airstip that had flown the Scarab in. "Things are going crazy in Hong Kong. Dr Sin has been arrested in Holland, and all the gangs and right hand men are stepping up to try and make a power play. They are going to be fighting over those weapons. And probably fighting with those weapons. I'm no scientist, but from what I understand if they go wrong they could level a block...." Meanwhile... Club Immortus, Hong Kong Who had arrested Dr Sin? Why, The Immortal trio of Comrade Frost, Voin, and Dreadnought. And whilst an apparently great success, Dreadnought and Voin had been called away to baby sit a wild card, the ancient immortal called Morgen they had found from that adventure was causing rumblings in the green fields of Wales. And meanwhile, the mysterious Mr. Murk had asked Comrade Frost and Tsunami to see what the fallout in Hong Kong was. He was rather concerned, and felt responsible. But Mr. Murk operated from the shadows, and this needed someone who could walk in sunlight. Sonny Cho, an immortal who lived in Hong Kong, greeted Comrade Frost and Tsunami. He knew the former, of course. And Sonny Cho knew the streets of Hong Kong like nobody else - he was well aware of Tsunami's connections...

Even as the tension left by the HATERS gathering in Liberty Park slowly died down, for the time being, at least, and the heroes of Freedom City were all going about their daily lives and stopping threats to innocent people as they came, another event was already being set up. Ads were placed on what seemed to be every single bus stop and lamppost in the city, with each one having phone number tear-off tags for people to take. If one were to take the time to read one of the ads, it would read, in a psychedelic font... We are living in a New Age of Gods and Monsters! So are you prepared to be enlightened on the divinity of the superhuman? If so, the Super Freaks and Pinnacle Path invite you to hear the message of the Creator and reconnect with the self and nature in a gathering that will be as far out as Nirvana itself! All people are welcome, regardless of whether or not you have powers! We will also be answering any questions you might have, so ask away! We will also be recruiting, for any who are interested in joining us! Notable guests will include the famous hero the Third Eye and our newest addition to the collective serving the Creator's will, the Hypno-Hippie. Admission is only $4 for adults 18 and up, $2 for children 4-17, and completely free of charge for children 3 and under. All proceeds will go directly to Greenpeace. Saturday, May the 12th at 1:00 PM at Liberty Park in Freedom City, New Jersey There will be music, too Free food and alcohol will be provided Call 555-108-SUPER for more information, or take a tear-off below As the days passed, tents, as well as a small stage, complete with speakers and a microphone, were all being set up. Rumors as to just what this "message" of these "Super Freaks" was were all over the place, and concerns that this might be the beginning of a violent cult, but since this was a charity event, and actual agents from the Greenpeace fund came by and confirmed their connections to this event, the Freedom City government let it pass. Comrade Frost, Thoughtspeed, and the third Scarab, as well as typical guards, had all been hired by the city government as security detail, to keep an eye on not only this Super Freaks religious movement and see what they make of it, but also to make sure the event goes as smoothly as possible, as the agents of Freedom City's government who hired them to do so realized that some people might not take too kindly to the idea of superpowered beings being worshipped as gods. Which leads us to the day of the actual gathering. May 12th, 2018 12:20 PM Liberty Park Grand Lawn Like the lovechild of Woodstock and an outdoor religious sermon, the lush, green fields were dotted with folding tents whose canopies had a tie-dye design on them, folding tables underneath them filled with fruits, vegetables, alcohol, but no meat. The stage overlooking it all had the Super Freaks logo and font on its background, and immediately preceding the stage, rows and of folding chairs were arranged in a very neat, orderly fashion, with a few spaces in between each section so people could get in and find their own chairs. Quite a few of the seats had been filled already. Several visitors had blatant mutations or "tells" that marked them as Terminus babies, mutants, magical beings, or what have you, though most of them were outwardly human. It is apparent that visitors from all ages and walks of life were anything from curious, to hopeful, to apprehensive, to something else entirely depending on the person you asked, as to just what this message of "the divinity of the superhuman" even was. The city had seen its fair share of self-styled gods with superpowers, as well as actual divine beings, more than a few of them supervillains and superheroes, so some people didn't know what to expect. In this town, you had to be prepared for anything. Even so, no one has actually started anything disruptive, yet at least. Many of them are currently waiting patiently, or perhaps impatiently, for the speakers to show themselves and make this whole thing worth their while. The entire event was fenced off, like a concert, from the rest of the park, though several openings in the fences were there, for some members of the staff to take admission money as more and more people waited in line to get in. The staff in question would be by far the most eye-catching of them all. Identified by their stereotypical hippie clothing, these were apparently members of the Super Freaks association, and some of them had blatant outward differences from the normal human form as well, like how one had butterfly wings, and how another looked like a giant horned humanoid tiger. Many of them were catering, setting up equipment, handing out flyers and schedules, or playing music on their instruments to entertain some of the bored children. With forty minutes until the start of the actual sermon, the heroes have some time to kill...

OOC thread for this.

March 25th, 2018 Club Immortus, London... Late Evening Mr. Murk awaited patiently. He was a patient man. He had all the time in the world, and quite possibly longer. And yet, whilst things were not urgent, he felt the need to act. Something had gone missing, and that something was important. Not merely because that something happened to be an apparently immortal woman encased in ice in a hill in Wales, but because he could forsee some of the web of possibilities that had been wrapped up in this act. It disturbed him. The rules of the Codex Immortus were far from perfect, he knew, and must always be examined - not just by him, but by wise minds of its members. But he was, for the most part, glad that they were there. They had been used positively from time to time. He was not sure this was one of those times...not sure at all. So he had sent for Voin and Comrade Frost for help. Dreanought too, was intimately mixed up in this, but he would need awakening...it would be about now, by his timekeeping. He remembered their favourite drinks and favourite foods, and had arranged for them to be prepared. He knew, after all, when they would be arriving. For himself, he drank some Gin and tonic. For now, at least. He had a Pinot Noire and Chicken salad waiting, but he confessed to himself he had no particular thirst or appetite today...

All right, @Tarrakhash, @Tiffany Korta give me die rolls you think are prudent here! Maybe Notice and Sense Motive, certainly.

February 2018 St. Gregory's The area around St. Gregory's Church was the home of one of the larger Russian emigre communities in Freedom City, a legacy of the city's long history of accommodating immigrants from all over the planet - and beyond. The owner and manager of A Taste of Irkutsk, the closest thing you could get to authentic Siberian cuisine in this part of New Jersey, was a fairly recent arrival in Freedom City, with ample friends and family back in the old country. So when the most famous Russian super-agent in the United States called him and reserved a table, he'd been happy to provide whatever he needed - including a restaurant that was mostly empty despite this being the dinner hour. Sitting patiently at a table for two, Comrade Frost waited for the arrival of his guest. The message had come to the Davydov residence - not Claremont Academy. Comrade Frost, the longest-active member of the People's Heroes, had invited Vanya out for an evening of "delicious Siberian fare for the appetite of a young bear!" (the exclamation point had been in the original) - a pointed invitation that was difficult to refuse. Vanya had grown up on stories of the People's Heroes and how they'd defended the motherland from the Germans during the Great Patriotic War; Vanya's father had grown up on stories of the People's Heroes and how they kept the Soviet Union safe from the forces of capitalism. Who could turn one down? "Don't let him frighten you," Ivan had assured Vanya. "This is not 1975 and this is America, not Russia. Everything will be fine." Still, Ivan had opted to come to the restaurant with his son, promising to stay "out of the way and let you do the talking, since you are a big man now." The restaurant certainly smelled familiar as they got off the bus together, the scents of home easily detectable even on the street. Was that pelmini in there?

West Berlin, 1948 A Cold Winter Night The snow fell lightly through the streets and whilst the air was still there was no denying the chill in the air. This was a defiant city but the blockade was biting, and there was a taste of misery floating in the air. Mr. Murk tapped his way through the streets. This was no place for a blind man, for charity was drying up even if not gone. And yet, here was an opportunity. He had money to buy on the black market, and a target in sight. Nevertheless, he felt the cold and his stomach rumbled. One nasty soul had tried to mug him. A blind man. Mr. Murk was a merciful sort by nature, but he had punched the man much harder than he strictly needed too. Counting the steps, clicking his cane, he knocked on the door of Hertzmann Fine Cigars. Not much call for cigars now. Not much coming in and out of Berlin. It had transformed, by necessity, into a smugglers shop. But it still sold cigars, and Mr Murk's nostrils flared at the sweet aroma as he entered. It was warm, too. Bathed in the bleak dimension of the Murk, he wore the look of a tall thin German man complete with well groomed blond hair and strong jaw. Best not his real appearance. He sat down, ordered a pair of cigars, and lit one for himself, waiting for the cold immortal he had seen in his visions to enter. Surely it would not be long now...

GM Nizhny Novgorod Nizhegorod Oblast Russia Wednesday, February 1st, 2017 1:00 PM (5:00 AM Eastern) It would take special cause for Comrade Frost to find himself called back to Russia on a mission. Especially serving under official Freedom League capacity. Special cause like a series of disappearances with no trace left behind. Including those inside of the Kremlin. Rumors were starting to spread about Baba Yaga returning and stealing "naughty children". As the only member of the People's Heroes still serving since the last great battle against Baba Yaga, Comrade Frost was called in secretly. Sandman, the guest in question, was brought in a special consultant by Comrade Frost, as he was told not to tell the proper Freedom League about the mission, political pride preventing sharing with the world a potential threat arising from out of Russia. That was if there was any truth to the rumors to begin with. After all, many things went bump in the night...

With the team gone an eerie silence settled over the suddenly too large, open, and vulnerable dojo. The children were fitful in their beds the tension in the household penetrating their slumber though not yet waking them. Gina wheeled herself silently around the kitchen completing the tasks left unfinished by the evening's interruptions with a quiet efficiency that belied the worry etching her face. Jill was left to monitor the security systems with VINCE looking for signs of anything out of the ordinary Talyas final advice ringing in her ears, "When they know we've come for them there's no telling what he might do, don't let him draw you out, and be ready for anything." Dimitri sat in the control room at freedom hall monitoring the police and military bands for anything unusual fortunate that he'd been left behind from the rest of the league's mission to free a small town in Vermont from Glaciers grasp when Talyas call for aid reached him. The usual dispatch and report of the police bands suddenly shifted as an evacuation was called for a West End neighborhood, a 'Gas Leak' but no chatter on the utilities and the order sent from some office of public safety the league had no ties to or information about. All too convenient. Across town Klara sat in a parkside cafe sipping her tea when Talyas request to be on alert reached her, perhaps it was for the best after all her wife had been called into the embassy tonight, it seemed date night was destined for interruption this week. She had just finished her cuppa when a caravan of firetrucks blazed past heading east sirens screaming into the night. Ace hunched forward over his desk phone pressed to his ear, "Those were supposed to have burned up over the pacific after the invasion." he sighed very nearly sounding his age as he hung up the phone and stood pulling on his coat and hat with a disgusted glance at the phone before he stormed out of the office shouting orders to the staff.

The OOC for Look What You Made Me Do The assumption here is Talya contacted her friends to be on alert that the interceptors were addressing a threat and the kids et al might be in danger. Vince and Jill will take note of the police and fire activity and reveal that there is an evacuation in progress for a gas leak. Vince however can detect no fluctuations in gas pressure that would indicate any truth to that. The fire trucks passing klara are clearly heading for hte west end. As people spill into the streets they will grow congested making swift evacuation difficult if not impossible. feel free to message me with any other questions or clarifications

It was a small list - the friends that Talya still had from her time among the Allies of Freedom was a small list that grew smaller yet every year. Most of them - all of them, really - had public personas just as flashy as Natalya Browning's public facade. They were also well aware that Talya's actual private life was something she had always kept decidedly so, so the understanding that discretion was expected was well understood alongside her invitation to visit the recently renovated apartments above the Espadas' School. Well, to most of them, it was likely well understood. For Ace, she made the effort to include a pointed phone call alongside sending a private town car - lest she get the damn Dangermobile hovering outside a window just because he wanted to tease. It might have been any other cheerful weekend afternoon at the rather noisy home of four very young children. That Talya was tense was only clear to those who knew her very well - and those who could compare her usual level of tidiness to the current downright sparkling level of cleanliness in an apartment with very young children. It was, frankly, unnatural to see the living room looking like something out of a magazine as the blonde Brit frowned before going to rearrange the art fully folded quilt on the couch's arm for the third time.

GM Maybelle McQueen, Queenie It had been a long trying night. The Moore family reunion was one of the most trying ones. Sure, the guy who made Freedom City hell in the late 80s and early 90s, but he had a family. And money. So, a labor of love of your job was. Franklin was all talk surrounded by people. He knew of Queenie's heroics. If you weren't one of the best chefs in town for impromptu large gatherings he would have went elsewhere. After the restaurant was clean and the employees gone, you took to the sky. It was clear and refreshing. When you got home, there was a light on in the kitchen. As you called out, you heard a voice you hadn't heard in a long time. "Yeah honey," your deceased husband said, sitting at the kitchen table in the work clothes you saw him last in, "don't worry about... where am I?" Lynn Epstein, Grimalkin You were alone, looking through orders, just before the store opened. Lady Liberty merchandise was flying off the shelf ever since that biopic was made. In a world full of superheroes, people had their favorites. You got a text from Gretchen, as you were just about done and the doors were open. "Who's this?" Followed by a face that you knew Instantly. It was Ren. Nanowire. Alive. "I walked in our home to find him. Said he wanted to see you. Know where you were." A quick message followed, "Is there something you want to tell me?" Robert Spalding, Vita Nexus "Son," you heard you father for the first time in a long time. It was a questioning. he saw you using your powers to dispatch a bunch of hooligans trying to rob a parts store late at night. He seemed to come from absolutely out of nowhere. "You, you have it? That explains a lot now that I think about it." Your father smiled, healthy as the day is long. A quick scan revealed that it was a person, and it was alive. But something did not match up with 'being alive'. Mechanical wasn't the term for it, but He was running on human interaction. But for all intents and purposes, this was your father. Dr Dmitri Ivanovich Peshov, Comrade Frost "Champion," you heard Hel's voice from beyond. "Do not be alarmed, I'm here to deliver to you a task. People from the realm of the dead are coming up missing. I want you to investigate. Find out who's taking them." And that's the command you were given. No other words were spoken. Your investigation lead you to many different people with seemingly returned friends and family. Though they knew nothing of being dead.Just remembering their last healthy moment before dying and showing up in their family's home. Leilani Keli'i, Volcanic Unfortunately not all people coming back were nice and/or good people. Villains, yes. But abusive and alcoholic relatives also. Some ran for cover, others had their past to deal with. Still, there were protectors looking to do good in the world. Alive or dead they weren't going to get a free walk. Still, you heard the pleas that the dead had come back to life. That something was very very wrong.

Comrade Frost Power Level: 10/13 (various) (211/214PP) Trade-Offs: +2DMG/-2ATK, +2TOU/-2DMG Unspent PP: 3 Alternate Identity: Dr. Dimitri Ivanovitch Peshkov, the "Ice Commissar" Identity: Public, though the fact that he is a vampire is not known to the general public Birthplace: Moscow, Russia Occupation: Liaison between People's Heroes and Freedom League Affiliations: People's Heroes, Freedom League Family: No blood relatives living In Brief: Ex-Soviet cryokinetic vampire supersoldier turned occult investigator Age: 104 (Born August 1, 1913) Apparent Age: 30 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian [turns extremely white when using his powers] Height: 5'8" Weight: 150 lbs Eyes: Light blue [pink when using his powers] Hair: Light blond [white when using his powers] Physical Description: Comrade Frost these days dresses in a blue, white fur-lined parka over a dapper white suit. He wears a blue domino mask with black eyepieces and usually keeps the hood up, and white gloves in situations where he knows he'll need to use his powers (using them for any length of time generally makes his hands very cold to the touch). His skin turns extremely white while using his powers. In more formal occasions, he loses the parka and mask and simply rocks the suit. In very formal occasions, he'll don the modified blue and white uniform he wore as a zampolit in World War II. That's also the only time you'll see him wear his medals, and between one thing and another he's got a lot of those. Power Descriptions: Comrade Frost is a cold manipulator only, unlike many other cryokinetics who can summon large amounts of ice and snow. He can drain the heat out of large groups or individuals, as well as brittly freezing solid objects or paralyzing someone's muscles with a touch. He can heal his own injuries by draining the heat from the environment around him, but only when he focuses his attention on a single target: otherwise the heat becomes lost to him. He can fly by transforming himself into icy fog; he can make himself tougher by freezing himself solid. His eyes turn an albino's pink when he's actively using his powers, and his hair frosts white like snow. Personality and Motivations: Surprisingly warm for a century-old Communist vampire, Comrade Frost has an avuncular relationship with young people, especially young heroes. He's ultimately a gentle man who enjoys a joke, even one at his own expense, and is only really roused to anger by Nazis, pseudonatural creatures, and other unholy monsters. His decades of unlife have taught him to respect magic, but he fears it in the wrong hands, and won't be afraid to utterly destroy some mystic artifact rather than let it fall into the hands of evil. History: Born in a small town outside Moscow in 1913, Dimitri Peshkov was not an attractive man in life. A bright student, he grew up lazy and a little jaded, convinced of his own intellectual superiority over his fellow students in high school and college. He became a veterinarian, tending to the animals in collective farms, out of a mild interest in helping those less fortunate but mostly for the chance to be the smartest and best-educated man in the room. When war threatened his country in 1941, he joined the NKVD, not the Red Army, not out of a special patriotism, but because he thought it would keep him away from the battlefield. He was wrong; and that would be the death of him. The old Dr. Dimitri Peshkov died beneath the sacrificial blade of the Thule Society in the spring of 1942. The NKVD doctor had been captured on the Arctic front during the defense of Murmansk and had, under the Commissar Decree, been handed over by the Wehrmacht to the SS for execution. He might simply have been shot, but a passing group of Thule mystics needed him for a special task. Operating in the far north under Kantor's commnd, the Thule circle had found an ancient Norse altar, consecrated to Hel and her father Loki, and had learned they needed human blood to open the gateway to another world. And so they did. But as Peshkov fell into darkness, a voice came to him. The life-long atheist found himself floating before Hel, the guardian of Niflheim and ruler of the Norse underworld, one of the first new arrivals in her realm in a long time. Hel explained to Peshkov, as one would to a child, that she could not be summoned to Earth by such powers the Nazis had. In the heart of the greatest war the world had ever known, Death already stalked the land, and no wizard could hope to control it. But she had seen the capture of her haughty uncle Donar, and knew the plans of the Thule Society for the world of men, and she loathed them for the blasphemers they were. So she offered Peshkov a choice. He was a descendent of Rurik and had died at the hands of her enemies; if he stayed in Niflheim in her palace, he could have a place at her side to tell her about the world above, and perhaps as master of those few Thule sorcerors who had fallen into her hands when they had died of disease or accident after taking up the worship of the Asgardians. Or he could walk the Earth again as a draugr, a being of great power and might, with the heart taken from him by the Nazis replaced by a gateway to the icy realm of Niflheim. Given the choice, Peshkov chose to live. If you could call it living. Dimitri awoke on the altar and froze his captors solid, burning their shrine down behind him and feeding on the heat within as he began the long, painful walk back to Soviet lines. He learned how to control his powers and feed from the heat of the sun, from burning fires and life's heat rather than life's blood, and when he arrived back among his own people (and immediately, wonderfully, was plunged into a hot bath...that he immediately froze solid), Dimitri Peshkov was ready to begin his new identity: Comrade Frost, costumed defender of the Soviet Union! But of course it wasn't that easy. Dimitri was the only one of his allies familiar with magic, something which his own government denied the existence of. Comrade Frost rapidly became the Peoples' Heroes' magic expert, a role he had to play very subtly. He took every chance he could to team up with the Allies of Freedom and the Liberty League, desperately trying to pool his resources with those better-connected and better-educated in these matters as he tried to stave off the threat of magical darkness at home. And there was the war, grim and terrible. Comrade Frost was one of the first Soviet super soldiers into Berlin, and was there for the last great convulsion of the Reich. His superiors denied his request to join the hunt for Kantor, and so he wasn't there when the Allies of Freedom were betrayed and murdered by the forces of darkness. It was a hard blow for the super-soldier and he slipped into a deep depression after the war. Only a battle against the snake-cultists of Lithuania roused him from his funk in 1948, the mystic-trained hero recognizing the cultists of Yig for what they were! If the cultists of the Unspeakable One and his dread allies had come to the Soviet Union, there were urgent matters to deal with indeed. His war wasn't over. Comrade Frost was not one of the better-known Soviet super-soldiers to the general public; he was just there in the various engagements with American heroes, German holdouts, Baba Yaga, and the other famous battles of the Peoples' Heroes but he was well-known to superheroes. Sometimes he was an enemy to mystic heroes in the United States and elsewhere, stealing mystic artifacts out from under their noses for the Soviet Union's use but for the most part he was an ally: a fellow enemy of darkness who could always recognize that there were threats to the universe as deadly as any nuclear missile. Briefly imprisoned in 1953, he was freed after Stalin's death. He was a busy man in the 1960s as Stalinist controls lapsed and the world of magic became more and more powerful in the Soviet Union, taking time out to fight Superior in Cuba in 1962 and war against the forces of Baba Yaga in the 1970s. Dispatched to Afghanistan in the late 1970s to help battle undead warriors summoned to life there by Muslim clerics, Peshkov was horrified at the violence and pointless waste of yet another war; when he returned home in the 1980s, he let others take over his role as magical champion while working to support Gorbachev's reforms. With the fall of the Soviet Union, Peshkov resumed his work as a defender of the world against magical threats, for the first time working regularly in countries besides the land of his birth now that he was free to travel. There was a whole world out there! Peshkov is currently assigned to Freedom City to act as the liaison between the Peoples' Heroes and the Freedom League, as well as deal with the worrisome reports he's heard about magical activity in Freedom City. Barriers he helped erect many, many years ago now are beginning to melt. Complications: Is very old [a hundred year old Russian]Is an Ice Vampire [a terrible ice monster, albeit one who can pass for men]Has made a lot of enemies over the years [has fought a lot of terrible monsters from beyond space] Has made friends - and would die for most of themThe ladies (can't touch this!) [very solicitous towards women whose powers might let them actually have a relationship with him, though he is capable of dimming his cold aura]Niflheim's Champion [What else does Hel want with him?] Abilities: 0 + 0 - 10 + 10 + 6 + 12 = 18PP Strength: 24/10 (+7/+0) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: --- Intelligence: 20 (+5) Wisdom: 16 (+3) Charisma: 22 (+6) Combat: 12 + 12 = 24PP Initiative: +8 Attack: +6, +8 Unarmed, +8 w/ Thermovore Array Grapple: +6, +13 w/ Icy Body Defense: +8 (+6 Base, +2 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed Knockback: -6, -11 w/ Icy Armor -4, -7 w/ Icy Armor vs. blessed/holy, magic, or silver Saving Throws: 6 + 5 = 11PP Toughness: +12 (Imp 10 w/ Icy Armor) +8 (Imp 6 w/ Icy Armor) vs. blessed/holy, magic, or silver Fortitude: --- Reflex: +6 (+0 Dex, +6) Will: +8 (+3 Wis, +5) Skills: 68 ranks = 17PP Bluff 7 (+13) Skill Mastery Concentration 3 (+6) Intimidate 7 (+13) Handle Animal 2 (+5) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 5 (+10)Skill Mastery Knowledge (History) 5 (+10) Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 5 (+10) Languages 8 (Danish, English, German, French, Old Norse, Old Slavonic, Japanese, Spanish, Base: Russian) Medicine 2 (+5)Skill Mastery Notice 7 (+10)Skill Mastery Sense Motive 7 (+10) Stealth 10 (+10) Feats: 13PP Attack Specialization (Unarmed) 1 Beginner's Luck Benefit 2 (Status [Freedom League Reservist, People's Heroes]) Dodge Focus 2 Eidetic Memory Improved Initiative 2 Jack of all Trades Ritualist Skill Mastery (Bluff, Knowledge (Arcane Lore), Medicine, Notice) Uncanny Dodge (visual) Powers: 1 + 3 + 21 + 5 + 21 + 30 + 8 + 4 + 3 + 4 + 3 + 29 = 132PP Drain Constitution 2 (blood drain; Flaw: Requires Grapple) [1PP] Environmental Control 2 (cold 2 [extreme], 10 feet; Extra: Duration [Base, +0], Range [Touch], PF: Precise) [3PP] Gadgets 3 (Assorted Devices; 15PP Variable Power, Any Power, Multiple Powers At Once; Extras: Duration [Continuous]; Flaws: Hard-To-Lose) [21PP] Sample Allocation: Greatcoat (Protection 4 (Extra: Impervious 3)) {7/15} Hel's Eye (Enhanced Thermovore Array 4) {8/15} Healing 1 (thermovore; Extras: Action 4 [Reaction], Total; Flaws: Personal, Source [Fire/Heat Attacks]) [5PP] Icy Body 10 (20 points; PF: Alternate Power) [21PP] BE: Enhanced STR 14 (to STR 24/+7) {14} + Impervious Toughness 6 (icy armor; note: Active Sustained effect) {6} {14+6=20/20} AP: Flight 4 (100 MPH/1000FPM, PFs: Move-By Action, Subtle) {10} + Insubstantial 2 (icy fog) {10} {10+10=20/20] Immunity 30 (Fortitude effects) [30PP] Protection 8 (icy flesh) [8PP] Protection 4 (vampiric flesh; Extra: Impervious; Flaw: Limited [not against blessed/holy, magic, or silver]) [4PP] Regeneration 6 (Recovery 5 [+0 total], Resurrection 1 [1 week]; Flaw: Source [blood or heat over 37oC/98oF]) [3PP] Super-Senses 3 (infravision [enhancement: tracking 3 [full-speed]]) [4PP] Super-Senses 3 (Magic Awareness 3 [visual]) [3PP] Thermovore Array 12 (24 points; PFs: Accurate, Alternate Power 4) [29PP] BE: Damage 12 (thermovorous touch; Extra: Vampiric) {24/24} AP: Drain Toughness 12 (brittle cold; Extras: Affects Objects, Penetrating; Flaw: Limited [Objects Only]) {24/24} AP: Paralyze 12 (Extra: Alternate Save [Fortitude]) (icy grasp) {24/24} AP: Damage 12 (thermovorous touch 2.0; Extra: Alternate Save [Fortitude]) {24/24} AP: Damage 12 (thermovorous storm, Extras: Alternate Save [Fortitude], Area [General, Cylinder], Flaw: Action [Full]) {24/24} Drawbacks: -4PP Vulnerable (Cold [common], major [x2]) [4PP] DC Block: ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 15 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Unarmed Touch DC 22 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Brittle Cold Touch DC 22 Fort (Staged) Drain Toughness Paralyze Touch DC 22 Fort (Staged) Snare Thermovorus Touch Touch DC 27 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Damage Touch DC 27 Fortitude Save Damage (Physical) Damage Touch DC 22 Reflex Save/ DC 27 Fortitude Save Damage (Physical) Totals: Abilities (18) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (11) + Skills (17) + Feats (13) + Powers (132) - Drawbacks (4) = 2011/214 Power Points

It wasn't entirely uncommon for Raina's training sessions to be unconventional, really. After all, Talya had made her practice running in heels and picking locks. The immortal spy's idea of well rounded skills was, to say the least, unconventional. Still, there was something out of the ordinary for even her training sessions when she arrived to the dojo and was hustled in quickly by a robed Talya. "Excellent, you're here. Just enough time to get changed," she told Raina, shooing her towards the restroom and a gown hanging on the back of a stall and a pair of shoes. "High end society - old money." Talya volunteered with a nod towards the cosmetics before vanishing towards the door to get ready herself although it wouldn't take her long at all. She was well used to the art of the quick change. "And we've just under an hour to be gone before Erik gets back for his evening lessons to make our escape. Never ask permission for what you can apologize for in the morning... Honestly, that's terrible relationship advice. I'm rather lucky that they're quite so indulgent. I'll wait outside the door."

It was only turning from the chill of winter to the first blush of spring but Leilani was quick to shed any sort of nod to the inclement weather and return to sundresses and sandals. Extra layers really only meant more clothing to go through should some emergency crop up... and it seemed like there was an emergency more often than not. She was hopeful, however, that tonight might prove the exception to the rule. Leilani paused to gather her keys and sandals in hand and confirm with others that called the DuTemps building home that she was out for the evening before she left. One advantage of calling the odd castle on top of a high rise home meant that it was easy to launch herself out a window without anyone blanching at the activity. Igniting the air below her feet with a thought, Leilani couldn't help but smile as she rode the heatwave down towards the sidewalk in lazily criss crossing streams that never failed to remind her of lazy waves and sunny afternoons in Hilo.

Dutemps Building December 2016 It was unusual for a groups of people who lived in the same location to gather together to throw a Holiday party, but Dutemps wasn’t the most normal of places. First it was a castle high above the skyline of Freedom City, looking like it was from a fairytale or a cartoon but then again so did a lot of Freedom City. And this fairytale castle in the sky was home to an amazing bunch of female misfit heroes. And today they were having a party. One of the smaller halls had been prepared for today’s event with a incredibly well stocked buffet table and a fairly impressive sound system for hopefully a fruitfuls night partying.

CN: Date: Late July, 2016 Location: The Beach, Port Regal The Atlantic might be colder than the sea that Leilani had grown up loving, but the waves held a familiar rhythm and even if the sand was darker, the beach more rocky, working it with Kimo held a certain strange familiarity. It wasn't home - not quite - but it wasn't utterly foreign either. Which, perhaps, made it an appropriate place for a not-quite impromptu celebration of sorts. At least, with having begun to shift her things out of the League headquarters and into the Dutemps building, Leilani had accepted and acknowledged that while her powers remained concerning, they weren't actually out of her control. Her good-natured nephew (Leilani couldn't call him her great-nephew still with a straight face) had been all for an evening of surfing and beach barbecue, not to mention meeting more of the super-hero community and the off-hand invitation had been extended towards the rest of those calling the castle home. Leilani had traded her life-guard swimsuit for an off duty alternate. With a sarong knotted around her waist, she set about setting up the wood with the intent of setting up a proper bon-fire, pausing to wave over the guests she recognized when they arrived. "Kimo, watch yourself, yeah? Gonna put up some bumpers," she paused in her building of the small wood tower to gesture, mounding up the sand and rock to form larger banks to provide at least a little bit of visual privacy from the rest of the stretch of the beach. "Remind me to put that back afterwards." Leilani added in a mutter as she returned her attention to stacking wood.

Content Notices: Violence, Birth Scene Location: Espadas School of Self Defense and Swordsmanship! Date: July 19, 2016 Talya was very good at suppressing the potential consequences for her actions. Leaping off buildings, after all, was much easier if one didn't think about what missing a handhold might mean. Unfortunately, ignoring the eventual ramifications of the biology of how a baby (or two. Two!) would enter the world did not actually prevent the event. The cramps and back ache had only gotten worse despite her refusal to acknowledge that it might not just be late term pregnancy aches and pains. Although, she'd not admitted (and likely never would), it was fairly clear to those closest to Talya that the ex-spy was at least unsettled by the impending birth. Perhaps even frightened. At the moment, though, she was mostly just holding up the relocation to Sanctuary as if not stepping through the portal might some how prevent the next several hours. "I've changed my mind," Talya announced mulishly, her arms crossed over her chest. "Perhaps I could just be unconscious for the entire thing, after all. They still do that, don't they? If we went to the hospital instead, could they just knock me out?" Unlikely to say the least with her magical ability to shake off most things mundane and Talya's mystical biology did not often play well with other magics. Intellectually, she knew that but at the moment, logic was not high on the spy's list. "I'd bounce right back from a c-section. Probably. Almost certainly."

May 2016 "Hello, children!" The famous, or more likely infamous, Dr. Dimitri Peshkov was waiting at the curb when the Claremont shuttle bus arrived - all smiles beneath his parka's raised hood. "Welcome to headquarters of the Freedom League!" He sketched a courtly bow to Fred as she stepped out, then gave Ardent a warm, almost predatory smile as she joined the Chinese alchemist before doing the same thing. "I am Comrade Frost, and I will be your lecturer for special study session on heeero history today. It will be exciting times, sure," he said, pulling his heavy gloves back on. "Did you have pleasant ride?"