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GM Evening, Thursday October 31st,2024 A fancy apartment building in Parkside, Freedom City "I really appreciate you doing this on such notice, Casper," Jessie says from the couch, her resting on top of it. Normally, she was fine, but today Jessie Taylor Wilson had the worst luck of her life. Everything had just seemed to go wrong. Dropped her favorite cup by accident, stepped on the cat's tail, scratched her car, and so on, and finally, she had fallen and sprained her leg. It wasn't too bad, but she had to rest, which meant no going out trick or treating at the big event at Liberty Park for her daughter Carrie. Carrie had her own idea, of course. Call in her dad, and get him to go with her. Jessie had hesitated a bit. They're on good terms, the split was (mostly) amicable, but still... he might have plans. As it turns out, those plans weren't anything that he wouldn't drop to take his 10 years old daughter trick or treating, and he had brought his girlfriend, Lynn, who Carrie absolutely adored. The plan is set for Halloween, then, as Carrie, dressed up as Lady Liberty, eagerly waits for her parents to stop talking so they can go already.

In this world, there are unexplained mysteries. There are powers beyond human comprehension, knowledge beyond what people can learn. But there is also curiosity, that attempts to forever shine a light on those mysteries and curiosities. But what happens when curiosity turns beyond acceptable? What happens when Curiosity becomes Obsession, when Obsession becomes Hunger? The sparks of knowledge- the fire of Prometheus-, fall where they may. That others might be burned by them is of no consequence to the man whose only desire is to Know. Early September, 2024. The Fens The Fens could never catch a break. Sure, there wasn’t a Doomforge hanging above it like Kingston, but no one had ever really tried to make The Fens into a more respectable place; the same seedy porn stores, the same waterfront houses, barely hanging above the marsh that continues to threaten the city. Once, the Alien Gator had wrestled with Freedom Eagle in this area. Now, The Gators- a gang from the most mosquito filled, marshiest area- and the Eagles- a hispanic gang seeking to take over the waterfront bars- exchanged fists and gunshots between the streets. When the Theater District ended, so did the funds, so did the care. The Beaudrie Opera House was refurbished, recreated, and remade. But Tucker’s Theater, an arguably just as historic movie theater that had shown movies for 70 years, was left to dilapitate, the side of the building graffiti’d back and forth as a spot of territory the Gators and the Eagles fought over. Whenever one group was pushed back, the other would quickly paint over the previous tags, declaring it their own. When that group was pushed back, the tags would be replaced, repeated every few weeks. But now Tucker’s Theater was burning in the early evening. Wooden beams twisted under fire, splintering into ash. The brick facades were licked by flame, turning a sheer, burning black as they were charcoaled. Plastic melted and bubbled on the front, still showing the times for the last few movies the theater showed before it closed down a few years ago. It was brighter than the setting sun, illuminating the nearby blocks in the darkness. And outside it, the Eagles sat in or on cars, watching the blaze, laughing and jeering at the members of the Gators that were trapped in the burning building. Had they set the fire, or were they lucky bystanders? It was unclear at this moment, but one thing was sure; they were not helping the situation, and the fire threatened to roast those alive and even spread. To them, if they couldn't have it, it seemed they were fine with no one having it.

GM 1 PM, Saturday April 6th, 2024 West End, Freedom City Silberman's Books It is a lovely day. The sun is shining over Freedom City, the birds are flying about and singing. A nice Spring day, the kind of day where it seems like nothing can go wrong and everything will be fine. Silberman's Books is an institution by this point, slowly inching closer to having been part of the city for 80 years. The current owner is of course one Lynn Epstein, otherwise known as Grimalkin. Her relationship with Casper Church, the friendly neighborhood Ghost, has progressed quite a bit lately, and it is time for Lynn to meet Casper's daughter, Carrie. Everything will of course go perfectly well and there will be no issues or troubles ahead. Right?

High Earth orbit The Lighthouse February 14, 2024 8:30 PM UTC (Greenwich Mean Time) / 3:30 PM Freedom City, New Jersey A request had come to the Freedom League from the Atlantean royal family, asking them to allow rather recent Claremont graduate Heroditus Stylianos the opportunity to examine some of the technology used in the Lighthouse. Given the close connections and long history between the League and the royal family, the request had of course been granted and arrangements made for a tour. While coordinating the tour, Velocity had realized that although Ghost, the most recent member of the team, had joined a couple years earlier, he had not really had the full orientation on operations on the Lighthouse. Deciding to take the opportunity to take care of both things at once, the speedster had arranged for the two to meet her at Freedom Hall so they could teleport up to the space station. "And welcome to the Lighthouse." Velocity said with a smile as she appeared on the Lighthouse's teleportation pad along with Heroditus and Ghost. The yellow clad speedster gave a wave to the technician manning the controls for the teleporter as she stepped off the pad. "We are currently located on deck five, which also houses the infirmary." Glancing back to the other two, she continued, "So, up to you if you want to work our way up to the command center before starting in on the lower levels or start up at the top and just work our way down."

OOC for this. @Heritage

Friday, January 5th, 2024 On a rooftop in the Fens, on a starlit night, almost without a cloud in the sky GHOST Casper looks at the scene before him. Is it going to be good enough? Will it work? Or will he have to change his plans last minute, figure out some better way to do this? No, no. It will have to do. Sometimes, the simple is best, and it's not like he's been given any indicitation that he needs to pretend to be something he's not. So. A rooftop in a building in the Fens, with a nice overview of the city centre, and a nice look at the stars above. A table with a nice red and white checkered tablecloth, plates, utensils and glasses for both of them and a box to keep the food he brought heated, a bottle of champagne (not too expensive, even with the Freedom League stipend, there's limits, after all) and... Then Casper waits. He is wearing his costume, as usual, but with the little red butterfly he wore at the christmas party. He hasn't told Grim why he has asked her here, so hopefully, it will be a surprise.

Ghost Power Level: 12 Effective Power Level: 12 Power Points: 235/250PP Unspent Power Points: 15pp Trade-Offs: +5 DEF / -5 TOU In Brief: Long time hero still in action after a life of hardship. Catchphrase: "Just your friendly neighborhood Ghost." Theme: 100 Bad Days - AJR Alternate Identity: Casper Baltazar Church Birthplace: Freedom City Residence: The Fens Base of Operations: Freedom City Occupation: Constantly changing Affiliations: Freedom League Family: Jessie Taylor Wilson (Born 1988, real estate agent, ex-wife), Carrie Belinda Church (Born 2014, daughter living with mother), Cole Church (1950-1995, father), Carrie Elizabeth Church (1948-2017, mother) DESCRIPTION Age: Born Febuary 13th, 1988 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 6’0’’ Weight: 155 lbs. Eyes: Light blue Hair: Brown Casper is a brown haired man in the mid 30'es. His eyes are light blue, almost, but not quite unnaturally so. His hair is usually cut short, and he sports a full beard. He usually dress in cheap or well worn clothes. Casper often seems to be tired. The friendly neighborhood Ghost wears a light grey and white costume with thick black accents. The costume is mainly light grey, with white boots and gloves, separated from the rest of the costume with thick black lines. The middle of his chest and lower body is white, separated from the light grey with the same thick black lines, which also show the difference between pants and shirt. Thick black lines stretch from just under his chest, under his arms and connecting on his back. He wears a white mask that covers his entire face, leaving just his eyes visible. Casper wears a pair of x-ray goggles with light blue glass that seems to glow over his eyes. While they seem to be built into the costume, each lens can be moved and placed separately. His logo is a stylized light blue ghost that almost seems to be glow, placed directly in the middle of his chest. Offensive use of Ghost's powers tend to create a chaotic light blue energy effect . HISTORY Casper Church probably shouldn't have attended that science expo at ASTRO Labs back in High School. Looking back, that was the thing that pretty clearly changed his life forever. The malfunctioning extradimensional looking glass device that bombarded him with some strange radiation was a dead give away. The researchers at ASTRO Labs checked him out, everything seemed fine. Harmless particles, they said. Nothing to worry about. Have a nice little promise of an internship down the line, everything will be fine, nothing to worry about. A few weeks later Casper fell through a floor and then walked through a wall. Everything was not fine. In fact, they were better than fine. He had super powers. With help from Doctor Benjamin Palmer, the ASTRO Labs researcher that had first checked him out, he figured out his powers and limits, developing a close relationship with Doctor Palmer in the process. As any other enterprising Freedom City youth suddenly granted powers, Casper had a choice to make. He tried to use his powers to become rich and famous. The Ghost made a few headlines appearing on television and online, made some money. It was some good weeks. Then, he saw something he shouldn't have at the set. The man that had hired him had ties to a super villain group, one that was planning a large scale heist. Casper didn't care, it didn't have anything to do with him. Then the gang hit ASTRO Labs. Casper's mentor was killed in the attack. Casper reasoned it was all his fault, and the Ghost went on the warpath. He confronted the producer and fought the gang. Victorious, the Ghost set out to become a hero. That was the prologue. Since 2003, the Friendly Neighborhood Ghost has remained a Freedom City fixture, fighting the good fight and saving lives. Never one of the most well known heroes of Freedom City, his status has fluctated wildly from beloved hero to hated menace and back again over the years. With an evergrowing rogues gallery of his own, the Ghost has saved Freedom City on multiple occasions, though his efforts have rarely been acknowledged by the city at large. Not that it bothers him. Action is his reward, after all. Having experienced a great deal of super heroic and extra normal conflicts have left him a bit wiser about the ways of the world, and perhaps a bit weary, but nonetheless still a dedicated hero. Ghost seemed to be doing well. Casper on the other hand? Not so much. Turns out that having a super heroic double life is hard work. Professionally, he never amounted to much. He just couldn't hold a steady job, always rushing off to play the hero. He had married his high school sweetheart in 2010. In 2014, their daughter Carrie was born. Casper had told Jessie his secret identity long before they were married, but even then, his double life eventually created cracks in the relationship. In 2017, the marriage broke, with Jessie gaining custody of Carrie. Even though the former couple tried to remain on friendly terms, Casper had lost an important pillar in his life. Casper's father had died when he was young. In 2019, illness claimed his mother. A chance encounter with Fleur de Joie of the Freedom League led to Casper to realize that he had been in a rut at best, spiralling at worst. He needed to do better, to become better, at least according to himself. To become someone that his daughter would be proud of. At Fleur de Joie's suggestion, he reached out to Comrade Frost, then leader of the Freedom League Auxillary, which he joined. The Freedom League Auxillary saw little action during this time, and would eventually become inactive, though Ghost would make the move to the Freedom League proper. Staying busier than ever, Casper initially formed few bonds with other members of the Freedom League, often hindered from participating in meetings due to action elsewhere. During this time, he met and befriended another experienced crimefighter, Grimalkin. The duo were clearly attracted to each other, though Casper would, as usual, continue to second guess himself and what they felt. After all, Grimalkin could just be friendly. A long, hard life of fighting is piling on, but still, Casper remains a hero as the Friendly Neighborhood Ghost. At least things have started to look up, at least until the other shoe drops. PERSONALITY & MOTIVATION Casper is tired. He has been fighting crime in Freedom City and beyond since 2003, and it has cost him much. The once optimistic and happy-go-lucky Ghost has become jaded. He will still crack jokes and snark with the best of them, but with far less enthusiasm than he used to. Still, despite his seeming reluctance, Casper is a hero. He might act like he doesn't believe he can make a difference, but that doesn't matter: He will still try. No matter what else happens in his life, Casper will always be a hero, and he will never give up. Even if he will complain a lot along the way. Casper's sense of responsibility will always win in the end. If he can do something to save the day, he will. This has cost him missed dates, job interviews, meetings with his mother and so much more. He might be brilliant, but what does that matter if he can never keep to an appointment? As Casper's personal life has fallen apart, he has retreated more and more into the Ghost persona, spending at least as much time in his mask as outside it. He is still reeling from his divorce, and the fact that he can't spend nearly as much time with his daughter as he would like to. After all, he has responsibilites, and it wouldn't be fair to try to explain those to a preteen. Casper desperately wants to be seen as a good father and a cool dad by his daughter Carrie, with little succes. She likes her father, sure, but she sees him more as a bumbling dad than being cool in any way. He has finally decided to give up on Jessie, and is content to be on friendly terms with her. Despite his love for Carrie, Casper is really not too fond of teenagers or young heroes in general. He feels that he has been where they are now, and, well, look where that got him? Sure, they might end up doing better than him, but really, why even bother? There's plenty of people out there and yeah, he knows that he's a bit of a hypocrite there. He's already gone through it all, no reason they gotta go through heartbreak too, right? POWERS & TACTICS Casper prefers a stealthy approach, approaching his targets and attacking through walls, floors, ceilings or anywhere else where they can't see him until it is too late. He is not above living up to his codename and taking actions to scare his enemies. He will often quickly change his position, rarely staying in one place at once, while moving his surroundings to his own benefit. Despite his preferance for stealth, Casper seems to have trouble stopping talking if he is discovered, throwing jokes and taunts as often as attacks. POWER DESCRIPTIONS The strange radiation from the extradimensional looking glass irrevocably altered Casper's body, granting him the ability to become intangible by dimensionally dispersing his body. Through time and training, he has learned to use this power in a great number of ways, from simply passing through matter to completely dispersing his body to reconstitute close by, effectively teleporting. He posses fine enough control to only make part of his body intangible or tangible, and he can use this ability to fly. His body also seem to have been generally enhanced, making him much sturdier and agile than he would otherwise be. Casper's intangibility can have a number of interesting effects on the world around him. By touching a living person, he can perform what he calls a Chilling Touch, effectively stunning on knocking out his foe. Alternatively, he can disrupt a target's nervous system, causing severe, lingering damage with a single touch. Casper calls this ability the Shock Touch. Casper can turn another person or item temporarily intangible by touching them, effectively allowing him to push them into the floor, walls, cars or whatever else is around, allowing him to trap them with his Phantom Touch. Casper can augment the effect of his intangibility into affecting a greater area by becoming fully tangible. When he imbues his effect with Phantom Force in this way, he might be tangible, but his abilities affects the entire area around him. When he affects the world around him he creates a chaotic, light blue energy effect. Casper augments his powers with a pair of goggles that gives him X-Ray vision, only stopped by lead. Originally built as a jointly by Casper and Dr. Palmer, Casper has since refined and improved the device, adding GPS capabilities. COMPLICATIONS Can't Get No Respect: Despite his long career, having saved the day, the city and much more countless times, Casper is hardly considered an A-list hero, with a number of his victories not even being public knowledge. He's popular in some circles, hated in others, or even outright dismissed. Casper has some ambivalent feelings towards this, and might react harshly if dismissed, despite his experience. If Casper lashing out at someone for dismissing him makes the situation worse, the GM can award him a Hero Point. Friendly Neighborhood Ghost: So far, being Ghost have pretty much ruined Casper's personal life, but he can't help himself. He has these powers, and he has to use them for good. The GM can award Casper a HP if his sense of responsibility somehow makes his social situation worse, be it missing appointments, losing yet another job or getting someone mad at him. Ghostbusters: Casper has made a great number of enemies over the years, having fought just about any bad guy. When Ghost encounters an enemy, there's at least a 50/50 chance that he has fought them or thwarted a scheme before, which means they might know some of his tricks, and might want to defeat or even kill Ghost in retaliation. If Ghost has encountered an enemy before and their knowledge of him or attitude towards him makes the situation worse, the GM can award Casper a Hero Point. Hands-On Approach: Casper's power to temporarily phase the solid objects and make others slip into them relies on his targets being relatively close to a surface. If Casper's target is flying or the GM otherwise deems them to be too far away from a surface, they can negate any succesful Snare via Phantom Touch, giving Casper a Hero Point instead. Loser Dad: Casper wants nothing more in life than for his daughter to think that he's cool. The GM can award Casper a Hero Point if Carrie is somehow placed in danger and used to weaken Casper, Casper finds some way to try and make her seem him as cool, but being cool means worsening the situation, or he is otherwise hindered by the love for his daughter. Scary Ghost: Casper's enemies have at times managed to convince the public that he is, in fact, a super villain. While he has always managed to clear his name, some people are still suspicious of Ghost's motives. If this somehow complicates or worsens a situation, the GM can award Casper a Hero Point. ABILITIES 0 + 2 + 2 + 10 + 6 + 6 = 26PP Strength: 10 (+0) Dexterity: 12 (+1) / 24 (+7) Constitution: 12 / 20 (+5) Intelligence: 20 (+5) Wisdom: 16 (+3) Charisma: 16 (+3) COMBAT 8 + 12 = 20PP Initiative: +7 (+7 Dex) Attack: +4 Base, +12 Melee, +4 Ranged, see Power attack bonuses in DC Block Defense: +17 (+6 Base, +11 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed Grapple: +12 (+4 Base Attack, +8 Attack Focus [Melee]) Knockback: -3 / -2 without Defensive Roll SAVING THROWS 5 + 7 + 7 = 19PP Toughness: +7 (+5 Con, +2 Defensive Roll) Fortitude: +10 (+5 Con, +5) Reflex: +14 (+7 Dex, +7) Will: +10 (+3 Wis, +7) SKILLS 124R = 31PP Bluff 12 (+15) Skill Mastery Computers 1 (+6) Craft [Electronic] 5 (+10) Craft [Mechanical] 2 (+7) Disable Device 10 (+15) Gather Information 12 (+15) Skill Mastery Knowledge [Current Events] 5 (+10) Knowledge [Physical Sciences] 10 (+15) Knowledge [Streetwise] 10 (+15) Knowledge [Technology] 10 (+15) Notice 12 (+15) Search 10 (+15) Sense Motive 12 (+15) Skill Mastery Stealth 13 (+20) Skill Mastery FEATS 38PP Attack Focus [Melee] 8 Benefit 1 [Freedom League Member] Challenge (Fast Feint) Contacts Defensive Roll Dodge Focus 11 Evasion 2 Hide in Plain Sight Inventor Jack-of-All-Trades Luck 4 Move-By Action Power Attack Skill Mastery (Bluff, Gather Information, Sense Motive, Stealth) Taunt Uncanny Dodge [Auditory] Well-Informed Veteran Awards Equipment 2 (10 EP) Freedom Leagues Communicator [6EP] Communications 5 (Radio, 5 miles; Extra: Area; Flaw: Limited [Other FL Communicators]) [5EP] Communications Link 1 (Freedom League HQ) [1EP] POWERS 4 + 8 + 12 + 7 + 30 + 40 = 101PP Device 1 (5DP Container; Flaws: Hard-To-Lose) [4PP] (Descriptors: X-Ray Goggles, Invention, Technology) Super-Senses 4 (Vision Penetrates Concealment; Drawbacks: Power Loss [Lead]) [3DP] (Descriptors: X-Ray Vision) Super Senses 2 (Direction Sense; Distance Sense) [2DP] (Descriptors: GPS) Enhanced Constitution 8 [8PP] (Descriptors: Ghostly Constitution, Physical Mutation) Enhanced Dexterity 12 [12PP] (Descriptors: Ghostly Dexterity, Physical Mutation) Flight 3 (Feats: Subtle 1) (500 ft./turn, 50 mph) [7PP] (Descriptors: Phantom Flight, Dimensional, Physical Mutation) Friendly Neighborhood Ghost Array 14 (28PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 2) [30PP] (Descriptors: Dimensional, Physical Mutation) BP: {4 + 23 = 27/28PP} (Descriptors: Intangible Ghost) Immunity 2 (No need to breathe, Vacuum; Flaws: No Permanent Flaw (+1): Continuous Duration) [4PP] Insubstantial 4 (Incorporeal; Affected by Cold; Feats: Selective, Subtle 2) [23PP] AP: Teleport 11 (Extras: Accurate; Flaws: Short-Range; Feats: Change Direction, Change Velocity, Progession [Mass] 3, Turnabout) (Teleport w. 1000 lbs. of mass. Distance 1100 ft.) {28/28} (Descriptors: Poltergeist 'Port) AP: Selective Area Power 12 Adds (Extras: Area [General Shapeable], Selective; Feats: Progression [Area] 4) (12-300 5 ft. cubes) to Ghost With The Most Array {28/28} (Descriptors: Phantom Force) Ghost With The Most Array 18.5 (37PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 3) [40PP] (Descriptors: Dimensional, Physical Mutation) BP: Stun 12 (Extras: Affects Corporeal; Feats: Reversible) {37/37} (Descriptors: Chilling Touch) AP: Damage 12 (Extras: Affects Corporeal, Secondary Effect; Feats: Reversible) {37/37} (Descriptors: Shock Touch) AP: {3 + 27 + 6 = 36/37} (Descriptors: Turning Others Ghost) Affects Others Flight 3 Adds (Extras: Affects Others, Linked [Insubstantial 4]) to Flight [3PP] Insubstantial 4 (Incorporeal; Affected by Cold; Extras: Affects Corporeal, Affects Objects, Affects Others, Linked [Immunity 2] (+0); Flaws: Action 2 [Standard]; Feats: Selective, Subtle 2) [27PP] Immunity 2 (No need to breathe, Vacuum; Extras: Affects Others, Linked [Insubstantial 4] (+0); Flaws: No Permanent Flaw (+1): Continuous Duration) [6PP] AP: Snare 12 (Extras: Affects Corporeal, Secondary Effect; Flaws: Range [Touch]; Feats: Reversible) {37/37} (Descriptors: Phantom Touch) DRAWBACKS -0PP DC BLOCK Name Range Save Effect Attack bonus Unarmed Touch DC15 TOU (staged) Damage +12 Chilling Touch Touch DC22 FORT (staged) Fail: Dazed >5: Stunned >10: Unconscious +12 Shock Touch Touch DC27 TOU (staged) Damage +12 Phantom Touch Touch DC22 REF (staged) Fail: Entangled >5/2nd Fail: Bound & Helpless +12 Chilling Touch - Phantom Force Area, 12-300 5 ft. cubes DC22 REF Area effect: Pass to reduce Stun Effect to DC15 Area DC22/16 FORT (staged) Fail: Dazed >5: Stunned >10: Unconscious Shock Touch - Phantom Force Area, 12-300 5 ft. cubes DC22 REF Area effect: Pass to reduce Damage Effect to DC20 Area DC27/21 TOU (staged) Damage Phantom Touch - Phantom Force Area, 12-300 5 ft. cubes DC22 REF Area effect: Pass to reduce Snare Effect to DC15 Area DC22/16 REF (staged) Fail: Entangled >5/2nd Fail: Bound & Helpless Totals: Abilities (26) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (19) + Skills (31) + Feats (38) + Powers (101) - Drawbacks (0) = 235/250 Power Points

GM The Fens Evening Early March 2022 The Fens was in chaos. A pair of super villains had made the district into their own personal battlefield, fighting through the the streets, the rooftops and anywhere they could. One of them was a man in light brown cargo pants and full face mask, with a slightly lighter brown cape and yellow glasses, a black trenchcoat over the rest of his clothes. He was heavily armed, with a pair of rifles strapped to his back and handguns in his hands. He was flipping around, shooting and shouting, laughing and having the time of his life. The other was a man in completely black costume , with letters in different fonts, forms and colors that seemed to move and shift all over it. He made noises, and words sprang to life before him, letters appearing in the air before him taking on the properties of the words that he spoke. SHIELD to block the shots, BOOM to blow things up. He didn't say much, aside from that, but he was throwing everything he had at his opponent. Somebody would have to do something to save the Fens!

OOC for this. Let's try and get @Spacefurry and @Sophistemon involved first, then @Heritage and I will join in a bit later!

GM Late November, a few weeks after Silver Screen Dreams A Tuesday evening At the roof of a random rundown apartment in the Fens It had taken Ghost a few weeks to realize that Grimalkin might actually have been flirting with him during the whole deal at the movies with Silver Scream. It probably wasn't that, but talking with someone else with experience. Besides... it had been a quiet day. Not even a single thug to stop or anything like that. So, he'd reached out through HeroHouse (after working out how to recover his accoun), and now he was waiting on the top of a rundown apartment building in the middle of the Fens, on a clear November night.

OOC for this. @Heritage

GM April 2nd 2021, 11:30 An abandoned warehouse in Kingston The music was loud. The beat was good, people were having fun, with the music blaring through the empty warehouse in Kingston. Things were slowly starting to return to normal after the Terminus Invasion. At least normal enough that plenty of people were feeling brave enough to get to the abandoned areas near the Doomforge to take over the buildings for underground parties. Like the one that Luke Landers and Leon Moore found themselves at. The music was loud. The party was fun.

GM Hanover, on a rooftop opposite the Bastion Technologies building 6PM, January 6, 2021 A few hours after Chimera fought Freestyle at FCU Campus, she had arrived in Hanover. The weather had grown colder and darker. A silent rain was slowly falling. Positioned on a roof across the street, Chimera looked at the Bastion Building, nestled between start ups and internet companies. From out here, it looked pretty ordinary. Just another little tech company in Hanover, one among many in Hanover. She was not alone. A shadow fell on her from above.

November 3, 2021 Claremont Academy Casper hadn't exactly volounteered for the whole meet-a-mentor gig at Claremont. He had sworn that he didn't do well with kids, that he wasn't the mentor type or anything like that, but hey, that was how it went, and as one of the newest members of Freedom League Auxillary, well... he had to put in the hours, somehow. Sure, he had plenty of experience, but he really wasn't sure it was the kind of experience that he should share with these kids... But, here he was, hanging around in the middle of it all, looking around Claremont, trying to do his best to seem like the kind of guy that these kids shouldn't go to ask questions.

OOC for this. @Nerdzul, @Spacefurry

OOC for this. @Spacefurry

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

Freedom City Medical CenterFreedom City, New Jersey.Wednesday, April, 10th, 20217:22 PM Eight thousand employees. Fifteen hundreds of which are physicians. Eight hundred beds. Ten doctors at the top of their fields with a superhuman specialization. And absolutely not one person with an answer to the question permeating throughout the sprawling Freedom Medical Center. Just where was baby Koa? It had been a good hour since everyone in the Labor and Delivery floor had fallen asleep. Including a woman who ended up sleeping through her own delivery. It had only been five minutes. But for Ata Kahale it was the longest five minutes of her life. When she awoke her baby was nowhere to be found. Hospital security was quick to pull the camera footage. Footage that has now dominated the the Freedom City news cycle for the past hour. Six robed figures exited the supply closet on the floor after everyone had fallen asleep. They entered Ata Kahale's room and left with her child back towards the supply closet. Disappearing without a trace.

GM A Friday evening in late February, 2021 The Boardwalk, outside the Diamond Clover Casino It had not been a evening for Raina so far. Eddie had seemed like a nice enough guy at first. He had taken her to a magic show at the Boardwalk. The magician wasn't exactly good, but he was trying at least, not helped at all by Eddie's heckling and talking over each and every thing that he did, loudly explaining to Raina how he would have done the trick so much better. No, Eddie had turned out to be quite insufferable, and Raina had left, leaving the Diamond Clover Casino soon after. It had been a good day for Casper. No trouble at all so far, he had been hangng out with Carrie and had taken her to a kids' show at the Boardwalk, and she had absolutely loved it. He could have sworn that Jessie had looked a bit differently at him when she picked up Carrie, too. All in all, a good day, and he had spent the rest of the afternoon and evening hanging out at the Boardwalk, just feeling good about himself for once. Of course, either of those feelings wouldn't last. In the cold clear night, the roar of bikes echoed through the Boardwalk. A biker gang tore through the Boardwalk, all wearing jackets with an a horned skull with burning eyes and a pentragram on the forehead that identified them as "THE DEVIL's ADVOCATES FREEDOM CITY". Few wore helmets or any kind of protection, laughing and shouting as they drove amongst the people that had to leap for their lives to get out of the way. Of the two riders in the lead, one looked almost unnaturally pale, a red bandana tied around his forehead, his rapidly thinning black hair pulled back by it, and the other, with a full light brown beard and long hair, wore a helmet in the style of an Imperial German Pickelhaube officer's helmet.

Even though she knew full well what time it was, the dark and the cold were still a bit of a shock to Stesha as she stepped out of the largest knot in an ancient oak tree. She'd spent the past fifteen hours of a very long day much closer to the equator, helping out with a World Food Program/UNISON/Freedom League joint humanitarian project in Haiti. Evacuations ahead of the unseasonable tropical storm had kept casualties low, but the damage had still been extensive and a huge amount of arable land wiped out. She'd done good work helping put things back together, but it had been exhausting, miserable work in soupy humidity broken only by periods of pouring rain. By the time she'd finished doing what she could, her uniform was so soaked she could barely pull it off so she could change into somebody's spare UNISON jumpsuit. Even with as long as the day had been, even as tired as she was, Stesha wasn't quite ready to go home just yet. Ammy was out with her class on an overnight camping trip, and the house was so big and echoey with nobody else in it. She thought often about removing the extra bedrooms and going back to a cottage, but every time she considered it, some disaster or other filled all the rooms again. Tonight, though, it was empty rooms and tomorrow another tremendously long day of trying to organize the tax information for the 501(c)(3) that funded Sanctuary's needs from Earth Prime. Unless of course some disaster came up, she thought wryly, and wasn't it terrible and wrong to wish for a disaster just to avoid paperwork? Liberty Park, like most of downtown Freedom City, was never truly dark. Here on the footpath near the Children's Zoo, blue twinkle lights were strung along the path and through the trees, making soft shadows over the bench she sat down on. Just a few minutes to unwind, she figured, and she'd be ready to go home. Or at least cold enough to want coffee. With a rueful grin, she pulled a handful of seeds from her pocket and began flicking them across the path one at a time, letting them take root and grow into flowers as they fell.

OOC for this.

Under the circumstances, it was a beautiful day. The circumstances being Freedom City in early February, that meant clear skies and biting cold air that kept the SuperCrime crew of five huddled around their portable heater whenever they could get a break from setting up the outside shoot. It definitely wasn't the weirdest or most uncomfortable circumstances they'd shot in over the past fifteen years, but they were none of them as young as they used to be, not even Paige herself. They'd set up a small working area in a quiet park, a couple of portable chairs, several cameras, and a little canopy over a knot of equipment and monitors. "All right," Paige began, checking things off on her tablet as she spoke. "This looks like a standard two-camera interview, over the shoulder and with the overhead boom plus lavs. Is that all set to go, Fred?" The second unit director nodded, barely looking up from his own tablet. "I'm going to be doubling Kelsey on sound to try and kill some of this wind noise, but we'll have to handle it in post. It's too bad there aren't fifty thousand buildings in this city we could've gone inside for this..." Paige laughed. "His first suggestion was on a rooftop of one of those buildings; this was a compromise. Speaking of which, what's the hot dog situation?" "I sent Vivi to the cart," Fred confirmed, "they'll be back any minute. We'll have to keep this tight," he reminded her, "we still have that other one this afternoon." "No problem," Paige assured him blithely. "We've done this a million times."

OOC for this. @Heritage, @Spacefurry Give me some Initiative rolls, so we got those ready and out of the way.