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

(GM Post) November, 2024 Claremont Academy Gates Carmen and Mizuki had been volunteered to help with cleanup from the Claremont Halloween party. It was mostly separating recycling, cardboard to cans to plastic, while leftover candy was being donated and handed out to charities. It was a bit boring for work, but it was also a nice way to get some extra credit on a few classes; either if they needed it or if they just wanted to juice a grade. The pair were currently sorting the boxes out near the entrance to the school into various bins, so that when the trucks came by the pick up, they'd know which box to grab without having to go searching. It was a bit of a dreary, overcast day, with rain constantly threatening to break through the clouds but never for more than a few seconds. A dreary day that had left two Super-heroines who had done some superheroing together a bit of time to be alone and talk, without the presence of evil villains or their other friends dominating the conversation.

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

GM Morning of the 30th of November 2024 The sun rose over Freedom City, same as it always had. The night prior had seen a small event, magical energies were being channeled to two locations for an unknown purpose. Two teams of heroes investigated, and it seemed the situation was resolved. Yet none of the heroes seemed to remember much of what occurred, or how they got back to their home. The Atomic Tower, Midtown Rev awoke with a start, to the sound of an unfamiliar alarm. The offending object was quickly found and silenced, revealing that whoever set it must be some kind of sadist to set alarms at such an hour. Or one of those exercise freaks. One could never be too sure. But this morning exertion revealed a new issue. The arms that passed through her vision to turn off the alarm were not hers, evinced by both the different skin tone and the sensation of normal muscles moving beneath her ordinary skin. She looked around what seemed to be some high-tech small apartment, an Atom logo on the door. Where was she? Blackstaff Investigations Devon was no stranger to uncomfortable beds. He had spent a long time training to be an EMT and it had featured many uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, but since moving to Freedom City it had been some time since he had slept on such a lumpy mattress. He could feel a pressure behind his eyes, like the feeling of knowing there was a predator outside the tent but turned within. Perhaps it was a result of whatever transformation that had yet to lapse that he could feel. The springs in the mattress creaked as he rolled over, opening his eyes upon an unfamiliar room. The floor was old wood, a spattering of furniture around. Light filtered in from a window that was being cleaned by small creatures. Did that mean his teammate Adrianna was nearby? As he shifted he caught sight of his arm, feminine, unfamiliar, and missing the Encyclopedia Eternita. Bayview, Claremont Academy, Michael's Room Gookgak awoke slowly, peacefully. His body hummed with unknown power. In his dozing state he initially imagined this was how a bear or other great beast might slumber. Powerful, self-assured, safe. It was a nice feeling. But that blissful glow could not go on forever, his sleep rudely interrupted by the sound of an alarm. So motivated, the Gobbelyn opened his eyes upon a room that he had broken into on more than one occasion. He flailed indignantly at the fiendish noisemaker, crushing it with a migthy swing of his arm. Michael's arm? Sitting up in the bed he bore witness to a human room he had only seen while standing on tables and bookshelves. The stature of a man. The Fens, Armstrong Residence, Alice's Room Carmen had sensed something was off quickly. Her body felt inordinately heavy, but simultaneously seemed to be barely pressing into the bed she could feel beneath her. It was similar to the feeling of floating upon the surface of a pool, but the sensation was all around. The greatest downwards force upon her body felt like the blanket above her, pressing her down onto the bed gently. She felt like there was a knot of tension in her center of gravity, like a muscle she had never been aware of was engaged at a low degree. The air brushed over her skin but failed to rustle her hair, Some instinct deep inside her was telling her that she was in the wrong place, and upon opening her eyes Carmen found this was confirmed. She was in a small, cozy room. A bookshelf contained an eclectic mix of books and old toys, a couple of unfamiliar pictures staring at her. A girl with black hair smiling out from the center of the nearest, hugging what looked to be her family. Carmen rubbed her eyes to center herself, the sensation differing from what she was accustomed to in an initially unknowable way. After moments it hit her though. She had no claws, no fur, her tail and ears no longer twitching in agitation from her confusion. What had happened? Had something broken her curse? Did this strange room she found herself in have something to do with it? The four heroes quickly started to come to the conclusion that they had swapped bodies with other people. But how and why eluded them. The last thing they remembered was responding to a disturbance near Lake Mackenzie. Perhaps that might hold the answers, but first they need to find out where- and who- they are.

Sunday February 18, 2024 Late afternoon After over a day and a half of fun in the water and sun at the Harrow estate on Wakaya Island, Fiji (in addition to some more serious topics), it was unfortunately time for the Claremont Academy students to return back to Freedom City for the start of the next school week. After about an hour or so of chaos, everyone was eventually gathered back on the large deck at the back of the main house for Lawrence Harrow to teleport them all back to campus. As the group of teens stepped into the temporal portal Lawrence created once again, they initially felt a similar sensation to what they had the day before when transported to the South Pacific. But suddenly, rather than stepping out the other side of the portal back at the Main Quad at Claremont, the teens felt as if something tugged on them, causing each to stumble forward and as the world reformed around them and they were not at Claremont Academy. Bernadette O'Connell, Neko Musume, Owain Celliwig, Rosalinda Sommaripa, Jonah Janse, Carmen Alvarez Arrache and Iris and Daniel Evans found themselves along the waterfront of the Boardwalk, just near the Paradise casino. Around them were several people, all of whom acted very surprised at the sudden appearance of the teens, some screaming in panic and running, while others just began moving away quickly. The teens were still in the clothes they had been wearing, but all the rest of their bags and other things were nowhere to be seen. The sun was just coming into view off to the east, but the weather was far warmer than it should have been for an early morning in February for Freedom City. "What ta bloody hell." Bernadette stated as she reoriented herself to the unexpected location the group found themselves in. Glancing around, she scowled. "Where are the others?" The Irish redhead was wearing a pair of torn black jeans and a grey hoodie, in anticipation of ending up back up in the winter weather back in Freedom City. But her scowl was quickly replaced by a look of surprise as she looked out at the skyline of downtown Freedom City. It was clearly Freedom City, only the skyline was very different than the teens were used to. Several prominent more modern buildings were not there. And glancing down the east, the massive Sentry Statute was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, bugger us." Bernadette muttered as she looked out at the very different city skyline.

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

*In current Draft* La Puma Negra Power Level: 10/12 (183/185PP) Unspent Power Points: 2 Trade-Offs: None In Brief: A familiar curse courses through the veins of a young woman, fighting over control against the will of a feral puma. Alternate Identity: Carmen Alvarez Arrache (Secret) Birthplace: Aquadilla, Puerto Rico Residence: Claremont Academy, Freedom City, USA Occupation: Student Affiliations: Claremont Academy, Saint Philomena Orphanage Family: None Living Description: Age: 18 DoB: 2006 Gender: Female Ethnicity: Hispanic Height: 5’8” Weight: 170lbs Eyes: Yellow Hair: Black A Feline humanoid young woman of black hair and lithe figure. She likes to keep her hair long and somewhat untamed in its look, her body covered in greyish black fur. Typically, La Puma Negra wears the more gymnastic attire in Claremont colors, but has more recently begun to wear a black variation to suit her needs. History: Born Carmen Alvarez Arrache in Aquadilla, Puerto Rico, abandoned at birth and given to the orphanage of Saint Philomena, a Catholic run institution. Growing up, she had looked outwardly normal and lived a somewhat normal life until the age of 12, where her blood family's curse began to manifest, first with small personality changes. The preferring of meat products, growing out her hair, and a more feral like attitude. This would only get worse as months went on and Carmen retreated in panic after hurting a fellow orphan with claws that had begun to grow. She had barricaded herself in her room, not letting any of the nuns of the orphanages save for food and communion. If it wasn’t for intervention from the Claremont Academy, the young Carmen would have likely further closed herself, blaming her fate on an unknown sin that she was paying for, the nuns unable to provide the needed care that she needed during these traumatic times. By the age 15, Carmen would be accepted into the school, having received on grant additional support until she was capable of physically and mentally attending the school. Time and therapy had helped her, but still certain aspects of her curse have pushed beyond her growing shy nature to one of a more feral-like stance, feeling a sort of wild anger and ferocity that is at times barely held back. Though more open to others, Carmen is still weary of large crowds and focuses upon her. More recently however, she has begun to have a relationship with the fellow Claremont Hero “Goldenstar” after meeting him over a Christmas party both had been invited to. The name La Puma Negra was one that she had come up with herself early on with her time at Claremont, attributing it to her dark fur color and cat-like appearance. Said appearance and ability being fairly similar to the long believed dead hero El Gato has raised certain speculation. Personality & Motivation: Carmen displays outwards ferocious exterior and short-tempered nature, prone to bouts of boredom with an at times low attention span coming from the feline nature of the curse. When parts of her true personality emerge, it is often rather shy and introverted. These two personalities often clash with each other, becoming a contest of wills. Carmen wants to confront and learn of what she is, to apply herself and potentially do some form of good. Her curse weighs heavily on her conscience due to her catholic upbringing, seeing it as a sin that she must repay in some service. Powers & Tactics: The curse that Carmen has altered her into a feline humanoid, resulting in abilities beyond that of a normal human being. Her senses are far enhanced, allowing her to see ultra-violet light and see in the dark. Hearing and smell has also been altered to an amazing degree. Her agility and natural strength have also increased dramatically, allowing her to far easily climb surfaces and to lift heavy objects. In combat, Puma Negra uses hit and run tactics, using her enhanced mobility to come into close quarter combat and escape away quickly before retaliation. Her goal is to typically throw herself into combat to immediately confront enemies of what she believes is roughly equal to lesser footing while harassing larger and or more powerful foes. Power Descriptions: Puma looks in all appearance to be a humanoid were creature of a feline sort, wild and typically ferocious in a fight. Most of her powers are part of this strange and odd form, including razor sharp claws that can be retracted when not needed or threatened. Complications: Catholic- Carmen was brought up under strict Catholic upbringing, being a firm believer. This has resulted in conflict with her more feral self, believing it to be a punishment of some sort of sin. She typically tries to attend service, keeping to the back of the congregation or generally out of sight. Temper- Feral nature of her curse has pushed her to have a rather strong temper, easily getting frustrated when things do not go her way at times. Not a pillow in her dorm has been spared clawing, generally taking her anger out on them after classes or training, and in rare cases, on classmates during training. However, outburst like this are generally harmless, Puma taking great pride in controlling herself from hurting others. This has been strained recently by a more feral shift. Children- La Puma Negra will go to great lengths to protect children from harm, even putting her life in danger for them. This partially stems from her own personal contempt for herself and her unnatural form, wanting others to live a normal life which she cannot. Short Attention Span- Due to the same feline curse that grants her powers, La Puma Negra is also affected by other instinctual traits. From a love of meat to a tendency for resting at high places, having fitted her bed to be a little bit taller. Poor- Being an orphan and with no source of employment, Puma is a ward of the school, given only a small stipend from the school every month for her own purposes. Steadfastly independent, the lack of money is a quiet shame. Abilities: 2+4+4=10 Strength: 12/26 (+1/+8) Dexterity: 14/30 (+2/+10) Constitution: 14/30 (+2/+10) Intelligence: 10 (+0) Wisdom: 10/15 (0/+2) Charisma: 10 (+0) Combat: 8+16=24 Initiative: +14 (+10 Dex, +4 Imp. Init.) Attack: +4 Base, +10 Melee (+4 Base, +6 Attack Focus [Melee]) Defense: +10 (+8 Base, +2 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-footed Grapple: +12/+18 (+8 Str, Base Attack Bonus +4, Base +6 ) Knock back: -5 Saving Throws: 3 Toughness: +10 (+10 Con) Fortitude: +10 (+10 Con) Reflex: +10 (+10 Dex) Will: +5/+9 (+2 Wis, +3, +5 Enhanced Save) Skills: 61R= 16pp Acrobatics 4 (+14/+18 w. Enhanced Skills) Climb 4 (+12) Concentration 0 (+2) Escape Artist 4 (+14/+16 w. Enhanced Skills) Gather Information 4 (+4) Handle Animal 8 (+8) Intimidate 4 (+4/+10 w. Enhanced Skills) Knowledge Arcane 8 (+8) Knowledge Civics 4 (+4) Knowledge Theology 3 (+4) Language 1 Knows Spanish (Native) and English Notice 4 (+6, +10 w. Enhanced Skills) Search 4 (+4/ +8 w. Enhanced Skills) Sleight of Hand 4 (+14) Sense Motive 0 (+2) Stealth 0 (+10, +20 w. Enhanced Skills) Survival 4 (+6/+8) Swim 0 (+8) Feats: 20pp Acrobatic Bluff Dodge Focus 2 Elusive Target Evasion 2 Fast Feint 2 Improved Crit 1 (Claws) Improved Initiative 1 Improved Trip Instant Up Luck 2 Move-By-Action Skill Mastery (Stealth, Acrobatics, Climb, Swim) Startle Takedown Attack 2 Uncanny Dodge 1 (Hearing) Improved Grapple Powers: 1+6+16+16+24+14+5+3+3+14+6+1+2=110PP All powers have the Magic descriptor unless otherwise noted Additional Limb 1 (Tail; 1 Additional Limb) [1PP] Device 2 (Bolas; Easy to Lose) [6PP] -Trip 4 (Range 40’; Knockback; Accurate +2; Subtle) Enhanced Constitution 16 (Beyond Human Stamina; +16 Con) [16PP] Enhanced Dexterity 16 (Curse Born Advantage; +16 Dex) [16PP] Enhanced Skills 4 (Predatory Enhancement; +10 Stealth, +4 Search, +6 Intimidate, +4 Notice, +4 Acrobatics, +6 Attack Bonus, +2 Escape Artist, +2 Survival, +4 Will) [24PP] Enhanced Strength 14 (Curse Born Power; +14 Str) [14PP] Enhanced Will Save 5 (Will Save +5) [5PP] Speed 3 (Feral Mobility) (50mph, 500ft/rnd) [3PP] Strike 2 (Claws; Feats: Mighty) [3PP] (Claws) Super-Sense 13 (Feline Senses; Acute Scent [2], Acute Hearing [2], Darkvision [2], Extended Scent 1 [1], Extended Hearing 1 [1], Low-light Vision [1], Scent [1], Tracking (Scent) 1 [1], Ultra Hearing [1], Ultravision [1]) [13PP] Super-Movement 3 (Hunter’s Mobility; Sure-footed 1, Wall Crawling 2 (Full Speed)) [6PP] Telepathy 2 (Feline Communication; Flaws: Limited to Emotions, Limited to Felines) [1PP] Leaping 2 (Agile Jumping; Jumping Distance x5) [2PP] DC Block Claws (Strike 2) Touch DC:25 (19-20 Crit) Toughness (Might)+10 Unarmed Attack Touch DC: 23 Toughness +10 Trip 4 (Crit 20, Range 40’) +12 Totals: Abilities (10) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (3) + Skills (16) + Feats (20) + Powers (110) - Drawbacks (0) = 183/185 Power Points

Early April, 2024 Freedom Central Library It was a nice day in New Jersey, and in part because of that, Michael and Carmen had left Claremont after class to go have a date. A date that they both promised would not be about superheroing, would not involve alien invasions, or being trapped in time bubbles, or teenage delinquents, or any of that. Michael had picked up sandwiches from Stan's Super Heroes; the local place's habit of naming sandwiches after supers had obviously always fascinated their biggest fan, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that he hoped that some day he would have a sandwich 'of his own', so to speak. But he was currently eating one named for Velocity as he and Carmen sat under the stone sphinx named April on the stairs to the building. It was decently populated, but not enough to make Carmen uncomfortable, which gave the two enough privacy to sit quietly and eat together while enjoying the day. The actual Library itself was fairly busy today; they had announced an interesting exhibit of several of the first recorded written versions of many famous tall tales, in addition to oral counterparts spoken by historical researchers. Banners across the front of the heavy granite building in the City Center announced readings of the original stories of Paul Bunyan, Mike Fink, Johnny Appleseed, and more. Michael had some interest in those stories- they were, to him at least, somewhat of the precursors of modern Superheroes-, and he'd picked up several copies of collections of the tales earlier in the day, resting next to him as him and Carmen sat on the stairs. Michael was not talking about superheroing, or studying, or anything like that, at least at the moment. He was simply leaning against the base of the sphinx statue and enjoying his time with Carmen, and talking about more interesting, teenager things. That included the yo-yo that his brother had gotten bored with no long after obtaining, that he was now practicing with. "Honestly, I'm not very good with this thing." he said as he threw the yo-yo out and let it roll back into his hand. "I've watched some Youtube videos and people can do crazy stuff with them. Have you ever used one?"

GM The Painted Desert, Arizona March 3rd, 2024 10:00 AM The Painted Desert survival class has been going on for years at Claremont at this point. Rumors have started to spread by now. Most of the time, the chosen students get to spend some time in the Painted Desert, learning how to survive in a hostile environment, seeing some pretty sights. Then there are, of course, the survival classes that go awry. The ones that end up going into a strange mesa that takes them on time travel adventures as they go through the paths. Sure, it sounds outlandish, and after the first or even second trip, it could have been anything, but after the third trip? Well, there is obviously something out in the Painted Desert. The last few years have been calm, at least. Just a normal survival class, nothing happening. Nobody ending up in any mesas or other time periods. Whatever weirdness happens in the Painted Desert is obviously over by now, right? It should just be a regular survival class. Right? That's what the young would be heroes Baltazar Botez, Carmen Alvarez Arrache, Bernadette O’Connell and Vueriz would perhaps think, at least, as the van that has taken them from the airport stops in front of a small house in the middle of nowhere and opens. They have been told where they would go and what they would have to go through. The heat during the day, the massive drops in temperature during the night, having to navigate and survive without using their powers, at least to the extent that they can. A woman with black hair tied into a long braid sits by the house, with a massive backpack sitting next to her. She is wearing a wide brimmed dark grey cowboy hat and tan shorts and t-shirt. "Hey guys, I'm Alexandra Macedon. Welcome to the Painted Desert."

March 28th, 2024 The area around the Liberty Dome was packed with people for the first baseball game of the season. Especially when it's a grudge match. The block around the Liberty Dome was, in some ways, it's own minuscule city; high cost hotels, nice restaurants that weren't too expensive, and street entertainment; dancers, balloon artists, radio DJs, the like. People were cooking at tailgates, or buying food off street vendors. On main street, a massive stage had been erected for Comets Corona, the local affiliate's baseball stats team; a set of a man and two women who listed statistics and did between-inning commentary, along with pre and post game analysis. The actual announcer team- featuring former GM Russell Mills who now did color commentary, alongside 'The Voice of the Comets' Chuck Champ- would already be in their booths inside. There were carnival games and street dancers entertaining people, and the Comet's mascot had been seen a few times wandering the grounds with a video crew in tow, playing pranks. The Opening Day match for the Comets was a known grudge match; the former Freedom City Flags- now named the New Orleans Patriots- were coming for an away game, and setting that grudge match on opening day was a clear attempt to get ratings up for at least the opening of the season. It was almost impossible to get tickets, every seat in the stadium was going to be filled on opening day. And it just so happened that the first pitch was going to be thrown by The Patriot- Member of the Freedom League-, and she had gotten two additional passes for the upper deck behind home plate. Which she had given to Carmen, who had then given one to Michael. This was a fortuitous stroke of fortune for Michael, who had wanted to go to opening day but had been unable to obtain tickets, so he was even more high on Carmen than he usually was, even if it meant they needed to go as Golden Star and La Puma Negra instead of as Michael and Carmen. When he found out that it was The Patriot who had gotten the passes, he was likely going to be a little embarrassed. So Golden Star and La Puma Negra were taking in the sights and sounds in the block around the Liberty Dome in the crisp March air, and Michael had gotten them both hotdogs- if nothing else, he was going to be paying for all of Carmen's meals-, while they waited for the Patriot to come pick them up or for the game to begin, because they weren't sure exactly how busy or swamped she was going to be up until she threw the first pitch. He was being very careful not to spill mustard on his formal Super suit- because of course he had a formal Super suit-, while also making sure no one got too close to Carmen or made her uncomfortable. He wasn't the hovering type, but he also wasn't going to hang Carmen out to dry. He was also desperately keeping his mouth shut to not just spew baseball facts all over Carmen. "Do you want a jersey? They changed the material in them so they're not as good as they used to be, but still, having matching team jerseys could be fun..."

OOC for this. @Thevshi, @Supercape, @MoonSimply, @Kaede Kimura

Kingston Freedom City, New Jersey Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 5:25 PM After the decision had been made to move to the ruins of Kingston to await the arrival of the Boran Dovox, also known as Sovereign, the heroes that had delt with the minor rampage of Explodo the Great moved to a location not far from the Doomforge. Paradigm and Star Khan flew to the new location, to ensure that Dovox's assault transport would detect them and not start searching for the Star Khan. Fleur provided transportation for the other heroes. Paradigm and Star Khan stood out in a ruined parking lot, a few burned out husks of cars scattered about and half destroyed buildings nearby. Neither seemed particularly nervous as Paradigm was scanning the sky. "I see the transport." She stated after a few moments. "It appears to be headed directly for us." Star Khan had been alternating between scanning the sky as well and looking over at Paradigm. When she indicated she had spotted the transport, he looked back to the sky before looking about the barren landscape around them for a moment. It was not long after that the transport came roaring into view, flying down low towards the ruins of Kingston. As it approached the area where Star Khan stood beside Paradigm, it veered to the right and started to circle the area. As it passed to the right, a large, circular object dropped out, rockets slowing its descent as it landed a short distance away. A large, nearly eight foot tall mech dropped down next to the circular object, which opened up to reveal dozens of armed aliens in armor that began to move out away from the drop pod. With them were three large reptilian aliens with red scales and tusks, and two normal sized aliens dressed in black body suits. The transport continued to circle around, another drop pod dropping down to the left of where Star Khan and Paradigm were standing, along with another mech. A group of similar forces deployed from the second pod as well. The transport then flew over to the area out in front of Paradigm and Star Khan, almost landing as five figures jumped out of the back and the transport lifted back up into the sky. Leading the group was another of the red skinned reptilian aliens, standing well over seven feet tall. He was dressed in ornate armor and held a large, glaive like weapon in one hand. Walking just behind him, on either side were two tall figures dressed in black, teal and white armor, which had a small white eight pointed starburst in the center of the chest plate. The armor had a black and teal hood, and a full armored face mask with black visor. Each carried a long pike, the tip of which crackled with energy. Fleur recognized the armor from Freedom League briefs about Khanate Justicars. Just behind them were two more of the large tusked aliens, each carrying large swords. Star Khan looked from side to side a moment before looking back at the group approaching from the front. "Hunters, hounds and traitors." He stated simply as he looked at the two armored figures. "Justicar Wryy, Justicar Har’al, you would do well to set down your weapons and surrender, I may be willing to forgive you." "Kinarr Khan! I am Prince Dovox, the Sovereign!" The large tusked alien in the front of the group called out loudly as he came to halt. "You are not worthy to lead the Stellar Khanate, so I am here to take your head, and your throne!" He added, pointing his glaive at the young Star Khan. He then turned to look at Paradigm. "Praetorian, you have no business here, step aside." He snarled. "Neither do the Terrans." He added, glancing about at the others. "That is where you are wrong Dovox." Paradigm stated simply. "The new Star Khan has extended an offer of peace to the Republic and Coalition, so his safety is of great concern to the Praetorians." "But additionally, I have a personal interest here. Kinarr also made a proposal of marriage to me in the council chambers. So, until such time as I either accept or decline, he is my prospective intended." Dovox simply snarled as he gripped his glaive with both hands. "Then you can die together, makes no difference to me."

OOC for This Thread Will Carmen and Michael finally have a regular date that isn't interrupted by superheroics!? Seems Unlikely.

Saturday, September 11, 2023 Southside, Freedom City The first week of classes, somehow, was over. The feline vigilante known as La Puma Negra reclined languidly on the big couch in the common area on the first floor of Kord Dormitory, non-commitally flipping through a magazine. Suddenly, her hair stood on end. Ugh. She knew this feeling. It had to be that weird girl on her floor . . . Rot floated into the common area. She saw a wild tangle of black hair sticking up above the back of the big couch. "Oh hey, Carmen! I was just looking for you." As the matter-disrupting teen with the green dreadlocks flew closer, the feeling of unease just got worse. "Uh, I know I'm kinda skeezy, and I know my bad vibe might be worse for, uh, cat people than for, like, non-cat people, but, uh, I've got this favor I was going to ask you. . . ." Although she's floating in the air, the grungy teen still manages to look like she's walking on egg shells. "So, uh, the first time I tried crime fighting, I kinda ended up getting a little bit, uh, arrested, and I like, broke a bunch of stuff. . . . And that incident at the Albright Institute has got me more worried about my powers than ever. . . Anyway, now that I'm at Claremont, I was kind of trying to be a little less, uh, spastic with the hero stuff. So, um, people say that you do, like, crime patrols. . . Uh, it's there any chance maybe I could like, you know, tag along one time maybe? Like maybe you could, like, give me some pointers on like how to do it without screwing everything up?" Consuelo finally takes a breath. She seems to remember something. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the best part. I've got these bracelets now, of you wear it, that creepy aura that comes off me won't effect you. . . Um, if you want. . . " And Consuelo holds out a friendship bracelet made of black fabric.

Mid-late January, 2024 The End of January brings the beginning of February. As the first month ends, so to do many resolutions fall by the wayside. But change has not stopped occurring just because a new year has begun! In fact, often the last shackles of the prior year's poor decisions can only be thrown off during the first month of the new one! Our new group of heroes, having encountered a group of delinquents, are now in a position to restore some level of normalcy to the lives of 5 troubled young girls. ------------------------------------- Ashley did not like losing. She didn’t lose often, of course, and whenever she did it put her in a foul mood. She had excuses, of course. Ashley didn’t lose, she reasoned to herself. It was the other three; they couldn’t keep up their end of the engagement. She was fighting off two of them at once and winning, the other three had a numbers advantage and they couldn’t keep up with them. They were pathetic. What was even the point of all of them having powers if they were so useless! Power should go to the strongest! That was why she had the powers she did, after all. Those who weren’t deserving, shouldn’t have power. ------------------------------------- Felix didn’t care about losing, but he was annoyed. He wasn’t the strongest, after all, but he liked his niche; he liked the new powers he had. And he had barely gotten to use them at all before that British kid had made him so slow he couldn't even move. Which was whatever. Paradox had acted all high and mighty about it ‘that’s inevitable, you aren’t on his level; your borrowed speed can't compete with his natural abilities'. Paradox didn’t know anything about anything, no matter what he acted like. What really grinded his gears was the Bug Boy. The one who had actually knocked him out. That bug didn't really understand anything about how cool FX was. GBB? GBB was garbage compared to FX! He thought he was cool, but Felix was actually the cool one! He just didn’t get how cool Felix was. He was gonna show him how wrong he was about that. ------------------------------------- Ashley had always been entranced by the Starstone ever since she first saw it. It had as many facets in it as there were stars in the sky- something she realized was meaningful-, and when you looked through one of the facets you could see a constellation. Each facet had a different one stored in it. It was also a clear source of tremendous energy, something the girl given the codename Eclipse was always desperate for. It had given her a tremendous amount with the Draco constellation, but it clearly had more; there were 88 constellations in the sky, but there were only 7 Starlights right now. So there had to be more juice in the gem than it was giving. It sat on the stage of what had once been a bustling theater just off Michigan Street; a prismatic gem that shifted through the hues of every color imaginable- and some beyond that-, about the size of a man's chest. Ashley didn’t know where it came from- the other girls did, but they seemed uninterested in telling her-, but she didn’t care anyway. She floated over to it and placed her hands on it, concentrating and breathing in its energies. “...Now come on, give me what you’re hiding...” “Ashley!? What the heck are you doing!?” someone called behind her, but she wasn’t paying attention to them. She had something bigger going on, after all. All this stuff; the color coding, the ‘Starblights’. They were small time. She was Eclipse, and she was big time. ------------------------------------- Lawrence had been right about one thing; Michael had thought Mizuki was insanely cool for getting the abandoned boat house out of the Headmistress and the faculty. He hadn’t gotten all overbearing about it, but he was clearly appreciative of Mizuki being willing to share something she had obtained with her own hard work with her friends. What was maybe less exciting was the realization that both of the groups had been harassed by color-coded schoolgirls- and one guy-, though appropriate congratulations had also been given to Baz, Mizuki, and Lawrence that they had handled their group so easily while the one at the Aquarium had been a bit more troublesome. It had also been noted that Parker, Consuelo, and Carmen had been excellent, though. Parker had even managed to open a line of communication to one of them thanks to his gentle nature. That was what the group was doing now, after school two days later, waiting for Parker to call the girl who had given him her number to continue their communications. When everyone had arrived and was prepared- including whatever preparations they had made for this-, the number was dialed, and after three rings, it was picked up. “Alright, listen. I’m gonna talk for a second and then you can ask questions, but we need to be quick about it.” The voice definitely belonged to the orange wearing Orion from the Aquarium. “About 2 years ago, a weasel named Enoch approached me, Kitty, Ashley One, Zoe, and Jenny. He said he was being hunted by magical things from another dimension and turned us into the Starbrights. We got super powers that he gave us from a gem called the Umbra Star.” she clearly sucks in breath through her teeth. “It sucked. A bunch of terrible stuff happened to us because of it, and Enoch wasn’t exactly great at being a mentor. We were constantly fighting monsters sent by this evil queen named Solus, they were threatening and hurting our friends and family. Then, about a year ago, one of her monsters killed Enoch. And we didn’t even have him anymore. So we gave up. Stopped bothering to fight the monsters, didn’t really go to school. We only had each other. But sometimes the monsters still found us.” She talks fast but it’s not hard to understand her, and her frustration is clear even in just her words; she’s not a delinquent lashing out because it’s fun, she’s a girl their age who is hurt and wounded. “Ashley II and Felix weren’t part of our group. They ended up caught up when one of those monsters attacked us. But the Umbra Star that gives us our powers gave them powers too. They already had powers, so it just made them even stronger. We all could see they were a problem, even beyond us, but we couldn’t really do anything about it; we don’t decide who gets the powers and who doesn’t, only Enoch could figure that out and he never told us. So we had to stick with them. But it’s not gonna fly anymore. They’re way too violent, and they’re clearly working for some other purpose.” she was quiet again, for a second. “...If you take them out, get them arrested, beat them down and take them away to Juvie or some prison or something, maybe the connection will break. And we can be free of them. The others won’t ask this because they’re concerned about each other; no one wants to get blasted by Ashley or watch someone else get blasted. But I’ll do it, because we need the help. We don’t want to fight you. The others don’t know I’m talking to you, but if I show up with you, they won’t side with Ashley and Felix. If you help us, we’ll call it even and split, no hard feelings.” she paused. She was tense, extremely. And it honestly could have been seen as quite suspicious that a girl that had just been trying to punch everyone was now asking for help. "...Okay, sorry. I can answer any questions now." She finally said.

OOC for the other thread. We're going to split up after a bit but we'll keep this as the first thread; there will be a split when the team splits up, then reconverge in here. For now, feel free to give a little blurb about anything you would have done in between, or anything you would have brought to this little meet-up. If it needs a roll, we'll figure it out

Okay, pulling this out. @RocketLord @The Sailor @Huckleberry @MoonSimply Dragon Star Initiative 1d20+7: 23 [1d20=16] Puma: 29 Dragon Star: 23 Spaceman: 20 Rot: 20 Torpedo Lass II: 17 I have intentionally left it vague how you are entering; feel free to enter dynamically and cooly as you wish to; you don't have to just walk down the narrow corridor to the boss arena, you can break in through the ceiling or emerge from a hidden area upstairs and leap at her or whatever. Be explosive!

( @RocketLord @MoonSimply @Huckleberry @The Sailor ) Starlight Theater on Michigan street had once been a place of culture. 50 years ago, it held many popular plays. Lauren Hammond once performed there, in an adaptation of Carmilla, staring as the titular Vampiress. But not long after Hammond gave her curtain call, the theater followed not long after. Silver Scream had haunted the theater once, but eventually stopped; the despair of her major starring performance in the theater also being a horror-themed play made the spirit unwilling to stay there for long. Despite that, or rather, because she had been there before, no one had wanted to invest in the theater. That made it the perfect place for a group of disaffected, burnt-out teens to set up shop when the pressures of super-heroing and school life became too much. It had been the same reason that Ashley and Felix had gone to take a look around, unaware of the Starblights, that led to them gaining powers. And now, sitting on the stage was a gem that was the source of a beam of violet energy that shattered the roof and reached into the sky. While the gem was prismatic, it was slowly turning dark as pitch; with each star that fell from the sky to become one of those strange star zombies, one of the facets of the Gem turned black. This was what happened when Magic was twisted to dark purposes; the darkness became self-perpetuating, and given enough time, the Umbra Star would turn into the center of a Netherworld. But the star wasn't the biggest attraction, it was the Dragon. The Dragon was less solid than pure energy, made of a deep, rich purple. It had defined scales, each representing one of the constellations in the sky; it was western in appearance; two forelimbs, two back limbs, and two giant wings, a long, twisting neck, and a tapered snout. It's long tail didn't really end; it twisted and turned and disappeared into the Umbra Star like a tether, attaching the giant dragon to the gem in the center of the stage. There was a form in the very center of it; a human shaped bundle of darkness that was the source of it. And when the dragon opened it's mouth and Draco's voice boomed out of it, it was clear who that human was. "IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE. I've never felt better! This gem is the greatest source of power I could have ever hoped for! I'm going to live up to my name now; I'm going to Eclipse the sun itself!" Then the dragon pulled back it's mouth and roared, loud enough to vibrate the entire theater. This was it's roar of challenge to Spaceman, Torpedo Lass II, Rot, and Puma. Amid the destroyed theater; seats of rotted wood, the collapsed second story boxes, the forgotten, faded posters, there was a Dragon, and there were those who wanted to stop it.

Pumped for this thread. Feel free to take your first post as far as you like. Anywhere from just responding to Consuelo, all the way to seeing the stage for their crime patrol.

Riverside Freedom City, New Jersey Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 4:54 PM Seeing that it was Valentine's Day, Sampson’s Sodas had been pretty busy since the local middle school had gotten out. It would continue into the evening with high school students from the area and beyond. Once classes had finished for the day at Claremont, Michael Adon had hurried to start his shift at the store, now nearing the end of the first hour. Currently, all the seating at the raised tables along the front windows were full, as were most of the booths along the interior walls. But for the moment, there were no pending orders that needed to be filled, so Michael was able to catch his breath. This gave him a chance to go over and talk to one of the few individuals sitting on the barstool seating along the counter that ran towards the back of the store. Seated furthest from the door was one of his fellow Claremont students, Carmen Arrache, who arrived at the store just a short time ago. Carmen had finally decided to take Michael up on his offer of a discount at the soda shop and come out to see him during his shift. Elsewhere in Riverside…. Jean Dweomer was currently sitting on a bench at one of the small park areas that were scattered throughout Riverside. Dressed in civilian clothes, the Anthro-fox certainly attracted a few stares, but this was Freedom City, so they were often brief. The small playground in the park was currently empty, with any of the kids that would be interested likely home and having dinner. At least a few couples had walked through or by the park since Jean had sat down on the bench, seemingly on their way to one or more of the restaurants, art stores or other venues in the area.

December 1, 2023 Claremont Academy As if gym class wasn't bad enough... They'd been divided up as partners for basic unarmed combat when the flash of light came, a snap and boom of white that was all-too-familiar to La Puma Negra. The scene was familiar to none of them, however. They were no longer standing on the washable firm mats of the Claremont gym floor, instead they were standing inside a strange place. It was a room full of trophies; statues of a caped figure holding up a gigantic globe, surrounded by smaller statues of men and women in togas, artifacts from countless worlds and timelines. The walls on either side were of some exotic metal, as was the floor; with doors visible that seemed to lead off to a much larger tunnel complex. This was the lair of the late legendary Centurion, long a museum --- or was it? The whole place had a strange air about it as if long-neglected air had just been recently been disturbed, the air thick with dust and the distinct scent of blood. And then a man appeared; blonde and blue-eyed, he was wearing the Centurion's costume but clearly wasn't him. La Puma Negra recognized the adult form of Quirk (and perhaps a few others did too) - his daughter was no longer with him. "Welcome, combatants!" he called in a booming, artificially amplified voice. "You have reached the Centurion's stronghold! But be warned, if you seek to claim his true power, the guardians may not be what you expect! You must defeat them and reclaim the Centurion's rocket if you wish to be victorious. Let the combat begin!" And then, he vanished.

Rai Ki Wai Estate Wakaya Island, Fiji Saturday, February 17, 2024, approximately 9:42 AM local time After having a bit to eat with Michael, Carmen had decided to explore more of the island while the others began either settling in near the pool or started making their way down to the beach. Moving away from the area near the main house, she found the property had several open grass fields, along with well cared for gardens, but then quickly became jungle. A short distance from the buildings and tennis court there was also a helicopter pad. Moving into the jungle, the teen was met with an array of scents, from the various wildflowers and other plants to numerous birds and other small animals. It was certainly reminiscent of Puerto Rico, if different flora and fauna. A short while after stalking through the jungle, Carmen came to a tall fence that seemed to be set up around the property. Beyond it lay more jungle and the higher elevation that was toward the center of the island. Of course, the fence represented little in the way of an obstacle for the teen.

(GM Post) Mid January, 2024 What should be an easy assignment turns violent! A fun visit turned into a semi-nautical nightmare! What's a high school assignment compared to the aggression of Supervillains!? Can our Heroes save the day AND complete their assignment!? The Freedom City Aquarium was always open for students doing projects, especially ones from the well-funded Claremont Academy, whose headmistress was a significant donor for the massive, three story building and it's attached research vessel. A big exhibit now was a live Blue Whale, currently swimming in a fenced in area of the harbor while it recovered from injuries sustained in the wild. But there were plenty of other exhibits throughout the three stories of the building. Parker Powers, Consuelo Nunez, and Michael Adon had, in their Sophomore level Biology Course, been given an assignment along with the rest of the class to go around the city and examine a microbiome in the city; the same assignment that sent Mizuki, Lawrence, and Baz to the local Estuary underneath the amusement park. Carmen had gotten the chance to earn some extra credit by going along with them, partially as a chaperone and partially by writing her own essay about some of the more interesting examples of sea life at the aquarium. While it wasn't a microbiome in reality, since obviously it wasn't natural, it did allow the group to present comparisons between creatures of the same species that were adapted to different locations; a major example of this were Otters, as the Aquarium had both Sea Otters and River Otters among it's other exhibits. With special permission from the handler, the group was currently standing on a platform in the sea otter exhibit, taking notes to compare it to the River Otters they had visited before. With it's thicker fur and heavier body, the creature was quite different from the slick, svelte river otter that was it's biological cousin. It wasn't anything specifically straining or dangerous, it was actually pretty relaxing. Right up until the alarms went off, flashing red lights in the exhibit the group is in as a voice echoed over the loud speaker. "All Visitors and non-security personal please exit the Aquarium. Metahuman Activity is occurring." Which wasn't great to begin with, but it got worse when Carmen, her senses naturally more heightened than the three Sophomores, could hear a wail of pain by the largest beast in the area. It was too high to be heard at first, but on it's second scream, even Parker and Consuelo could hear it. Someone was torturing the Blue Whale, and the poor creature was screaming in fear and pain, loud enough that it could be heard inside the building. The otters fled off the platform into deeper water to escape the sound, and the crying whale was interwoven with the sounds of violence occurring on the lower levels of the Aquarium.

OOC for This Thread Featuring: Spaceman La Puma Negra Rot Golden Star So with her Ultrahearing, Carmen heard the Blue Whale first, but it quickly became audible to everyone, so everyone can react to it without needing to wait for now.

"No, you get some sleep," said Ashley Tran in a friendly sort of way, careful to keep her voice low enough that she didn't alarm the small baby she was holding as she paced the Claremont campus. With her helmet and jacket off (or rather, in her motorcycle's storage), she could have been any adult visitor to Claremont's campus. Well. Most of them weren't wearing sunglasses just in case anyone should happen to pick her out as a former student twice over; and few of them were carrying a baby. "We'll be fine...this is not more dangerous than the mining planet!" she added seriously. "You have been up with the baby all weekend. Get some rest, babe." She hung and smiled down at Phillip, who was going through a phase where he only stayed quiet when his mother was holding him. So naturally he immediately started bawling his bright blue eyes out, crinkling his little tomato face, and otherwise throwing up a storm. "Sssh, sshh..." She flushed slightly as she sang to the baby, thinking how easy her mother had always made this look. Well she'd told Carmen what to expect when they met, even if she hadn't actually seen the baby before - babies cried, what could you do?