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Friday, October 28th 5:39 PM It was another quiet day at the Black Petal Cafe, and Eric LaCroix was pretty happy about that. It had actually been a rather quiet month - ever since the incident at the Parkhurst, it had been a good month of simple dealings with the restless dead and the occasional exorcism for flavor. Every so often there'd been an attempt at a robbery, or maybe the occasional cackling supervillain, but things had been pretty sedate on the heroing front. It was good to have some time to think on things and not have to deal with a major crisis. Of course, the Halloween weekend was starting up, and who knew what would come with that, but for now, it was time meant to savor. He was in the middle of preparing a double-shot caramel latte when something pinged the distance edge of his senses. Someone dead was in the coffee shop. He scanned the crowd - no one looked like parts of them were falling off, or even had the pallor of the recently deceased. There weren't any obvious ghosts, and a poltergeist likely would've made more noise by now. He filed it away in the back of his head, waiting for the time to go on dish-clearing duty to see if he could scope out the specter. He handed the latte off to the customer and took the register once more. "Welcome to the Black Petal," he said. "How may I help you today?"

"So are you listening? So are you watching me?" 6.30pm Friday June 8th 2011 Siobhan Drake sighed as, once more, she was stuck in the tedious task on going through her email inbox and getting rid of all the cranks, naysayers and the occasional threat (and tonight, one slightly scary marriage proposal), to filter down to those people who actually wanted her help. And what she saw made her sit up so rapidly that it dislodged a sleeping Hayley from her perch on Siobhan's shoulder and go crashing into the waste paper basket. <What? What's going on? Who's on fire?> "Get the cordless phone," said Siobhan, clicking her fingers to turn into Equinox and stepping away from her laptop, but not before sending one quick message saying that help was on the way. "I'm calling for back-up."

Equinox Power Level: 11/15 (185/232 PP) Trade-Offs: None Unspent PP: 47 In Brief: Witch focused on fighting Earth's supernatural villains. Alternate Identity: Siobhan Drake (Shiv-awn, not See-oban) Identity: Public Birthplace: Freedom City, NJ, USA Occupation: Theology lecturer at FCU, Campaigner for the occult community Family: General Jonathan Drake (Father, 51), Jessica Drake (Mother, 46), Francis "Frank" Smith (Uncle, 39) Age: 28 (born 21st March 1983) Gender: Female Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5'9'' Weight: 130 lbs. Eyes: Grey (White when using powers) Hair: Brown (Black as Equinox) http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/Ecalsneerg/melanie-laurent.jpg Description: Of average height and fairly slender, Siobhan Drake is not strikingly different from most people on the street. Her most distinctive features are her long brown hair, grown to half-way down her back, and her piercingly blue eyes. Typically, she dresses in plain t-shirts and jeans, eschewing dresses and high heels for more 'practical' clothing. That said, she can alter her clothing to any outfit of her choosing with a snap of her fingers. As Equinox, Siobhan's eyes become brilliant white due to use of her magic, casting enough light on her face to obscure her identity. In addition, she uses a simple temporary spell to dye her hair jet black. She wears a white long-sleeved t-shirt and trousers underneath a deep black floor-length coat. On her shirt is a logo on a black-outlined circle with one half completely black and the other white, representing the position of the sun during an equinox. In both identities, Equinox wears an elaborate silver pentagram, although usually hides it while not in costume. History: It's safe to say Siobhan Drake had a rough childhood. She grew up getting teased for the funny name her Gaelophile parents gave her, moved house a lot due to her father's profession as an Air Force General, and then being present for the Terminus Invasion when she was a little girl. After the trauma of the invasion, General Drake decided his family should stay in Freedom City with Siobhan's maternal uncle Frank. However, childhood petulance dictated that despite her parents trying to improve her life, Siobhan still resented them for her name, for the moving and even for moving to a city that gets invaded! Once she hit her teens, she started rebelling on a huge scale, sneaking out and drinking, smoking cigarettes, going through different goth/emo/fashion-obsessed phases, and then finally, to top off her parent's worries, she ran away from home. While travelling across the country, she fell in with a rough crowd of wannabe mages, who met nightly and tried out rituals they'd found from various old texts they'd dredged up. However, when it came down to it, they were just a bunch of talentless, pretentious teenagers using affected names. However, their leader (a man calling himself 'Keter'), had some talent, and was pleased to find that Siobhan had plenty of it. Therefore, while she showed interest in old pagan faiths and magic, Keter tried to manipulate and coerce her into demonic and necromantic rituals. She resisted for a long time, until in a frustrated rage, Keter went ahead without her and tried a summoning with his more lacklustre skills. He and his little 'coven' failed, and the summoning went awry, just as Siobhan's conscience finally snapped her out of it and she arrived to stop it from happening. Faced with a demon on the rampage, Siobhan used what little magic she knew to try and bind the monster, but to no avail. Sent reeling by the magical backlash of it shattering its bonds, it looked hopeless... until Adrian Eldrich appeared on the scene, effortlessly saving the day with a word and a gesture. While angered at her not stopping it before it happened, and at Keter's escape, Eldrich took pity on Siobhan, taking her home to her worried parents. From there, she set about turning over a new leaf. Spending the next five years studying theology at Freedom City University, she turned to Wicca and began living by its philosophy, using her magic responsibly. To aid in this, Eldrich instructed her a little until she was ready to stand on her own. Taking a job marking tests and teaching a few small classes, Siobhan decided to become the superhero Equinox, fighting off criminals, protecting people, and hunting rogue mages in order to make sure what she allowed to happen wouldn't repeat itself again. Personality & Motivation: Equinox is a driven, dedicated individual who has learned from her past mistakes. While her job as a superhero requires some degree of violence to protect people, she nonetheless maintains a peaceful attitude, attempting diplomacy and trying to talk out problems, not resort to violence. Trying to believe in the good side of people, nonetheless, she often upholds a perhaps unwarrantedly harsh stance on those starting out using magic, simply due to her bad experiences with rookie mystics in her youth. In addition, when stressed, she has a tendency to get a little snippy with people. Siobhan wants to make the world a better place, but predominantly, believes in protecting the innocent before drastically changing the world perhaps against other's wishes. She has the ability to do so, the drive to do so, and thus in her mind, must do so. Deep down, she hopes that being a superhero might also help her family to forgive her for her follies of youth. [floatr]http://freedomplaybypost.com/wiki/images/a/a0/EquinoxGlow.jpeg[/floatr] Powers & Tactics: Equinox is a highly trained and skilled mage. While deprived of much of her magical prowess without her wand to focus them, with it she is a veritable force of nature, with a wide variety of spells available to her. She is an expert elementalist, able to conjure up fire, wind, earth and air, although she tends to favour fire and wind as the more impressive-looking. She can also magically lift objects due to her control over the elements, create protective magical wards and fly on spectral white wings. When she wants to show off, she can also make her force field glow brightly, illuminating the area around her. With her wand and pentagram, her powers become more focused, and thus much more effective. In addition, they allows her to use the more difficult spells of controlling the weather and healing the wounds and fatigue of others. The wand also removes the need to speak and gesture in order to cast spells, requiring only flicks of the wand. Typically, she will try to negotiate with her foes rather than attack them outright. If pressed, she will prefer to bind and restrain foes rather than blast them with the elements, although if pressed to or if left with no other choice, she will use more outright offensive attacks. She is also aided by her familiar, a raccoon named Hayley. Through their mystic bond, they can communicate with thoughts, and Equinox can see through the small fuzzy animal's eyes if she so chooses. Hayley herself is somewhat more intelligent and powerful than a normal raccoon due to possessing traces of Equinox's residual magic. Complications: Addiction (Cigarettes): While aware it's a filthy habit, Siobhan nonetheless has a ten-a-day one. "An' It Harm None, Do As You Will": Equinox follows the Wiccan Rede, and thus is reluctant to use damaging spells except as a last resort, preferring to talk or use binding spells initially. She also loses access to her Magic array for 24 hours if she stunts mind-controlling powers like Emotion or Mind Control against a human being. "DAMMIT, I HATE MY NAME!": Siobhan is irritated by her Gaelophile parents giving her a Gaelic name noone can pronounce. She finds it hard to resist losing her temper when people get it wrong or make fun of it. Enemy (Keter): For all Equinox and Eldrich know, Keter is still alive, and might yet claim his revenge. Magical Gestures: Without her wand to focus her magic, Equinox must use gestures and words to use her innate Environmental Control, Force Field, Flight and Magic array. Prejudice (Openly Practicing Wiccan): While not usually an issue, Siobhan's unconventional choice of religion sometimes lead to difficulties. Public Identity: Siobhan has recently gone public with her secret identity, and as an openly practicing witch, in an effort to educate about the occult and protect young, impressionable practitioners from harm. Responsibility (Eldritch): While Adrian Eldrich knows that Siobhan did more to stop Keter than help him, nonetheless, he helped her, coached her in magic and helped her at a low point, and thus Siobhan feels she owes him a favour. Responsibility (Family): While still somewhat estranged from them, Siobhan's family still matter to her, and she strives to protect them. Responsibility (Magical Threats): Equinox feels obligated to focus on preventing magic from being misused, and thus spends much of her time fighting magical foes. In particular, she specialises in those creatures native to Earth, not other dimensions, as well as those mages misusing their powers. Responsibility (Job): Siobhan Drake lectures on theology part-time in Freedom City University, and really can't afford to lose her job, because... Struggling: ...She hasn't much money, spending a lot of what she does earn on mystic supplies. Abilities: 0 + 2 + 2 + 6 + 8 + 4 = 22PP Strength: 10 (+0) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 12 (+1) Intelligence: 16 (+3) Wisdom: 18 (+4) Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat: 14 + 12 = 26PP Initiative: +1 Attack: +7, +11 Magic Grapple: +7, +21 Telekinesis, +24 Telekinesis + Wand Defense: +11/+6 (+6 Base, +5 Shield), +3 Flat-Footed Knockback: -5/-0 Saving Throws: 5 + 5 + 8 = 18PP Toughness: +11/+1 (+1 Con, +6 Force Field, +4 Pentagram) Fortitude: +6 (+1 Con, +5) Reflex: +6 (+1 Dex, +5) Will: +12 (+4 Wis, +8) Skills: 76R = 19PP Concentration 12 (+16) Craft (Artistic) 12 (+15)Skill Mastery Diplomacy 9 (+11) Intimidate 4 (+5) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 12 (+15)Skill Mastery Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 7 (+10)Skill Mastery Languages 2 (English [Native], Greek, Latin) Medicine 1 (+5) Notice 11 (+15) Sense Motive 6 (+10)Skill Mastery Feats: 22PP Artificer Attack Specialization (Magic) 2 Equipment 2 (10EP) Luck 3 Ritualist Sidekick 11 (Hayley the Raccoon) Skill Mastery (Craft [Artistic], Knowledge [Arcane Lore], Knowledge [Theology/Philosophy], Sense Motive) Trance Powers: 4 + 8 + 36 + 2 + 8 + 11 + 8 + 1 = 78PP Device 1 (5PP Container, Flaws: Hard-To-Lose) [4PP] (Pentagram of Warding) Force Field 4 (Feats: Subtle) [5PP] (Magic Spells of Warding) Device 2 (10PP Container, Flaws: Easy-To-Lose, Feats: Restricted 2 [Equinox]) [8PP] (Wand of Spell Focus) Features 1 (Special Effect [turns into steel sword as free action]) [1PP] Magic 3 (Rank 17.5, 35PP Array, Increases Spell Ranks to 11 [Healing to 9, Obscure to 12, Telekinesis to 17, Weather Control to 7], Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Alternate Power 1 [8]) [9PP] Alternate Power: Nullify 11 (All Magic Effects, Extras: Effortless, Linked , Flaws: Range [Touch]) [22PP] + Strike 10 (Extras: Linked [Nullify], Feats: Improved Critical [19-20], Mighty, Variable Descriptor [Flaming Sword]) [13PP] (Blade of The Witch-Knight) [35PP] (Magic, Anti-Magic, Steel, Slashing) Magic 14.5 (29PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 7) [36PP] (Elemental Magic) Base Power: Blast 9 (Extra: Penetrating, Feats: Variable Descriptor 2 [Any Natural]) [29PP] (Summon The Elements) Alternate Power: Blast 9 (Extras: Area [General, Burst, 45ft radius], Selective, Flaw: Action [Full], Feats: Variable Descriptor [Any Natural]) [29PP] (Wreak Havoc) Alternate Power: Healing 7 (Extras: Energizing, Total, Feats: Regrowth, Drawbacks: Action 2 [5 minutes]) [27PP] (Seal Wounds) Alternate Power: Obscure 9 (Visual Senses, 500ft radius [5,000ft with Wand], Extras: Independent, Feats: Variable Descriptor 2 [Any Natural]) [20PP] (Natural Barriers) Alternate Power: Snare 9 (Extras: Backlash, Feats: Reversible, Variable Descriptor [ice, Wood]) [29PP] (Binding) Alternate Power: Telekinesis 14 (STR 70, 85 with Wand [Heavy Load: 200 tons, 1,600 tons with Wand], Feats: Precise) [29PP] (Move The Elements) Alternate Power: Teleport 7 (200 miles per Full Action, Extras: Affects Others, Flaws: Limited [Long-Range], Feats: Progression [subjects] 2 [5 Passengers]) [16PP] (Mystic Teleport) Alternate Power: Weather Control 5 (100ft radius [500ft with Wand], 20PP of Mix-&-Match Environments [28PP with Wand], Extras: Independent, Total Fade) [25PP] (Call Down The Sky)Features 2 (Quick Change 2) [2PP] (Magic) Minor Magical Effects 3 (6PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 2) [8PP] Base Power: Flight 3 (50mph / 500ft per Move Action) [6PP] (Air Magic, "Riding The Wind") Alternate Power: Impervious Toughness 11 (Extras: Force Field, Flaws: Duration [Concentration]) [6PP] (Armor of Earthen Will) Alternate Power: Sensory Link 5 (5 miles, Extras: No Save, Simultaneous, Flaws: Limited 3 [Hayley], Feats: Subtle) [6PP] Force Field 6 + Shield 5 (Extras: Linked) [11PP] (Magic Spells of Warding) Super-Senses 8 (Magic Awareness 3 [Mental], Extras: Accurate, Acute, Extended [100ft Notice Increments], Ranged) [8PP] (Magic) Super-Senses 1 (Communication Link [Mental, Hayley]) [1PP] (Magic) DC Block First DC is without wand, second DC is with it ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Melee DC15 Toughness (Staged) Damage Area Blast Ranged DC19/21 Reflex (area), 24/26 Toughness (staged) Damage Element Blast Ranged DC24/26 Toughness (Staged) Damage Snare Ranged DC19/21 Fort (Staged) Entangled/Helpless Sword Melee DC25 Toughness (Staged) Damage, preceded by Nullify vs Will/power rank Abilities (22) + Combat (26) + Saves (18) + Skills (19) + Feats (22) + Powers (78) - Drawbacks (0) = 185/232 Power Points :arrow: Important notes on stacking: the two Force Fields stack as one power for all purposes (and thus the pentagram adds Subtle to the base Force Field). Similarly, the magic arrays stack, and the APs come from the whole array pp. Since it's Restricted 2, there won't be a situation where the wand's power alone gets used rather than with Equinox's. Hayley the Raccoon