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Midtown Freedom City, New Jersey Friday January 10, 2025. 7:30 PM Lynn Conners guided the grey BMW iX electric SUV she was driving through the somewhat busy Friday night traffic of Midtown. The blonde teen was thankful that the snow that had fallen earlier in the week was gone from the streets, even as traces of it could be seen around the city. Inside the vehicle with her were Jack Davydov, Owen Akerlund and Kadene Estime, the four teens out on a double date for the evening. "This would have been so much quicker if we had a flying car." Lynn stated with a hint of a smile. "Could have avoided all this traffic and been there already." Even as the teenage speedster spoke, she pulled into the parking garage located a couple of blocks from the seafood restaurant where the four teens had a reservation for dinner. With the night air still a bit below freezing, Lynn was dressed for the weather, wearing a pair of dark, form fitting jeans, a soft red sweater and a pair of warm boots. She had a winter jacket as well, but it was folded up on the console beside her for the moment, as the inside of the SUV was a comfortable temperature. Overall, the blonde teen had seemed in a generally better mood so far this evening that was normal. After the Freedom League’s Holiday Party, Claremont's winter break had begun. While Lynn's adopted parents and brother had gone to England for the holidays, Lynn had gone with her maternal grandparents from this timeline on a ski trip to the Italian Alps and then down to Venice to spend some time with them. With classes having started back up earlier this week, this was her and Jack's first outing after they decided to start dating (as opposed to having just gone on some dates back in the fall), so there was certainly amount of excitement and nervous energy behind the blonde’s outwardly collected demeanor.

GM Kirby Art Museum Parkside, Freedom City, New Jersey December 17th, 2024, 11 AM It was a balmy morning in Freedom City. The Kirby Art Museum was just about to open for the day, and there was a small line to get in. There was excitement in the air as museum attendees jammed their hands in their pockets and breathed into clasped hands to keep warm. Their newest exhibit, "Freedom City in Popular Culture" opened that day, and everyone was excited to see it. Paintings, advertisements, rare comic books, and movies, all made by Freedom City locals would be on display. Reporters from local newspapers waited impatiently, clutching their cameras and sound equipment, eager to be the first inside. The museum, two stories tall, is a work of art in and of itself with a beautiful crystal spire atop it visible from miles around. Having suffered from super-battles in the past, security guards wearing Kevlar vests with futuristic-looking pistols in their holsters patrol up and down the line, occasionally talking into their earpieces. They weren't about to have another incident on museum grounds: twice was quite enough. Everyone in line had to wait a bit longer, as the security team was taking every precaution to ensure the valuable exhibits remained where they belonged. Finally, the doors opened, and a slow trickle of attendees were allowed inside. Owen was waiting at the back of the line, looking around for his friends. "Are you guys on your way?" he sent via group text.

(GM Post) Early January, 2025 Sampson's Sodas: Riverside Sampson's was a pretty nice place to hang out if you were a Claremont kid. It wasn't quite the mall, it wasn't quite the movies. But Michael and Sam worked there, and almost always at least one of them was there after school, which meant half off drinks and food at minimum. And if it was Michael working and you needed it, he'd pay for your meal and drink without a second thought. It wasn't a full arcade, but it had a few games. It wasn't a full sports bar, but you could wrangle the remote off whoever was working pretty easily. So the Claremont Students were always welcome at Sampson's, and Sampson's was always open for them to come visit. Today it was Michael who was working after school, in the lime green Sampson's polo, for the Claremont students who had made their way over. Another benefit of Michael being the worker was his homework was never far away, because he worked on it between orders. And that meant that Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshmen could all be tutored by him when they needed it. He didn't even charge for it. Sampson's itself was a store that catered to those highschoolers who were trying to be cool, who were too young for bars but wanted to join them, too old for play places and wanting to get away from them. It had a very heavy theme of wood in it's pizza bar style, high chairs on a bar, personally brewed, small batch sodas in barrels that were designed and crafted in the back of the brick building. A pair of pizza ovens could produce fresh made pies on order. The walls had sports team jerseys; a signed Andre Leroux Freedom Blades Jersey from his rookie year, a Freedom Comets jersey, a jersey from the Freedom City Rayguns's Andy 'Lancer' Tyler, and a Darrell Marks jersey from the Freedom City Heroes. And that wasn't counting the hockey and high-school jerseys on the display. Including one that Michael himself was always a little bashful about; his football jersey from his Sophomore year at Franklin D. Roosevelt High where he took the team to state as Quarterback. For Superheroes, there was a known AEGIS Contractor faculty in the back; the same place Michael had gotten his powers, but it wasn't talked about often. Even Michael was prone to dismissing talk about it, since it wasn't part of things that teenagers should really be getting involved in, and he believed fully in keeping the Soda shop separate from the AEGIS stuff in the back. Right now, Mass Lines was playing Young Punks, and Michael had one of the TVs tuned to the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom that had just aired; he was a big fan of Zack Sabre Jr. It wasn't that busy at Sampson's, only a few people were there, watching TV, working on homework, or eating and drinking. Not everyone that came to Sampson's was a Claremont student. In fact, the Claremont students probably didn't make up the majority as a general rule, not because it wasn't popular, but because there were so few of them. That meant the majority of customers at any given time were not superheroes or meta humans at all.

GM Saturday Afternoon in November 2024 Outside Pizano's Pizzaria, Grenville Owen was the first to the pizza shop, and he sat nervously on the curb. Despite his roommate, his sister, and Gookgak not having a phone, he was able to arrange a time to get pizza with them. Joining them was Luke, also known as Nightscale, a Claremont graduate he met recently. Owen was dressed in a solid color maroon T-shirt and jeans, and his new Converse sneakers tapped a relentless rhythm against the pavement as he bounced his knee. He was a bit nervous, not just about being out in the city for the first time, but hanging with his new friends. His first few months at Claremont had been a whirlwind of classes, training, and meeting new people. This was really the first chance he had to get out into the city and not worry about what was coming up with his classes, and he couldn't help but keep his head on a swivel as he took in the new sights and sounds. Speaking of new sights, Owen had to constantly remind himself that Riel and his twin weren't from this dimension, and nor was Gookgak. Maybe Luke would be able to balance the group out... The restaurant they were meeting at was a small, family-owned pizza shop called Pizano's. Owen had never been there, of course, but their online ratings were stellar. The shop had seating for around 50, with a red-and-white checkered tile floor and photographs on the wall of celebrities that had eaten there. The prices were reasonable too, something that Owen was definitely aware of. I'll really need to get a job soon...

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

@Poncho @RocketLord @EternalPhoenix @Spacefurry @Jack OOC for Geeks on Parade!

@EternalPhoenix @FlyingFresh @Nerdzul OOC for Pizza Party!

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

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

Prime Mover Power Level: 8 (151/156PP) Unspent Power Points: 5 Trade-Offs: -2 Attack / +2 Damage, -2 Defense / +2 Toughness In Brief: A folksy and optimistic farmer kid who happens to have kinetic abilities and a budding career in super-science. Catchphrase: Theme: Prime Mover by Rush Alternate Identity: Owen Akerlund, Public Birthplace: Badger Bluff, Wisconsin Residence: Freedom City Base of Operations: Claremont Academy Occupation: Student, Farmer, Superhero Affiliations: None yet. Family: Henry and Lily Akerlund [Parents], Gary and Jackson [Older Brothers]. Description: Age: 16 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian, Norwegian heritage. Height: 5’11 Weight: 180 Eyes: Light Blue Hair: Dirty Blonde, cut short. Owen grew up working on his family’s dairy farm, so while being towards the larger side, would be best described as “sturdy”. He keeps his hair cut fairly short, but since moving to Freedom City has considered letting it grow out a little. He has light blue eyes that show his kind heart. History: Owen was a normal kid until his 14th birthday. He grew up with his loving parents and two older brothers, who taught him the value of hard work on their dairy farm. He had decent grades growing up, not stellar, but not failing either. He spent his time out of school doing community activities such as baseball, 4H Club, and Future Farmers of America. In short, he was an all-American kid with a big smile on his face. This all changed when he walked outside on his 14th birthday. His father wanted to surprise him with his own tractor to help out on the farm (Owen had been driving them since he was 12, but the small town of Badger Bluff overlooked such things). Owen was so overcome with joy and surprise that his powers activated suddenly and with explosive force, leveling one of his family's barns and completely destroying his new tractor. He liked growing up in Badger Bluff, but one thing he learned very quickly was that everyone gossiped, and Owen was soon the talk of the town. Kids at school that he had previously known as friends treated him like he was an alien species, and his parents were very concerned. They reassured him that the property damage wasn't his fault, but Owen wasn't convinced. He spent several weeks in a deep funk, unable to feel the optimism that filled his life before the accident. Stranger still, his powers seemed to spark a change in his perspective - his way of viewing the world. Suddenly, the math that had plagued him seemed easy, effortless. He quickly transferred to his school's upperclassman physics classes, and even that was incredibly easy. He had learned long ago the basics of vehicle maintenance, but now he had these new ideas, and he couldn't rest until he could draw them out. Owen was filled with strange and new ideas, spending many sleepless nights drawing out blueprints for more efficient engines for his family's farming vehicles, and furiously scrawled out wild mechanical ideas that, as far as he knew, no one had thought of yet. Though he wasn't a bad student, his power awakened in him a greater understanding of the world around him, and Owen quickly realized that his mutation turned him into a living kinetic battery, and that another power surge was inevitable unless he learned to control it, or built something to keep it contained. As his parents and school started to notice his absense more and more, Owen was hard at work on his first true invention: a sort of "power vest", as he called it, to keep his power contained, and in fact, give him control over them. The first few prototypes were big and clunky, but he quickly refined it to something he could easily wear under his clothes. He returned to school with a newfound confidence as he could finally pass for a normal kid again. But Badger Bluff doesn't exist in a vacuum, and news of the young man's powers spread to Freedom City, and soon Owen received a discreet letter asking him to attend an academy for special youths such as himself. Owen was initially confused, and nervous. He had never lived anywhere other than Badger Bluff before, and other than occasional vacations to Wisconsin Dells or Lake Geneva, hadn't left the state of Wisconsin. But with his parent's blessing, he struck out on his own, and now finds himself a new student at Claremont Academy. Personality & Motivation: Owen is incredibly optimistic, even under bad circumstances. He sees the good in everyone, which may lead to some issues (see below). He is more than a little naïve, having grown up in a mostly wholesome environment means that he was not exposed to those things many teenagers dabble in, such as smoking, drinking, and swearing. Having grown up working with his family to their common good, he loves being part of a team and helping others. In many ways, he feels that his life up to this point was training him to be a hero. Powers & Tactics: Owen's powers give him a powerful mastery over kinetic energy, which he uses to great effect. He first focuses on making sure that any civilians are safe, then attacks foes at range with powerful bursts of kinetic energy, only using the larger Kinetic Detonation when he's absolutely sure it's safe. Owen can mix it up in hand-to-hand combat by powering his punches with explosive kinetic force. His useful ability to slow down and sap any flight or super-speed powers of his enemies can be quite useful in a dangerous situation as well. Owen also excels as part of a team, and helps his allies by setting up advantages they can use in combat. Power Descriptions: Owen has built and designed a power vest, which is a harness that he wears under his clothing at all times to help him control his powers. His body is always generating a small amount of kinetic energy, so it does not typically interrupt his day-to-day life. The harness looks like a thin black vest with numerous circuits and wires. This strange equipment helps him shunt the excess power his body generates and helps him refine its use. The kinetic energy his body generates is typically invisible, but when he's in a fight or he has a "power surge", the massive amount of kinetic force he uses resembles a blurring swirl of energy, somewhat like looking at an object moving too fast to see. Owen's powers also make a lot of noise, so he rarely if ever resorts to stealth! Complications Lemme Scooch Past You There: Owen is used to plain speaking, and has difficulty in situations where delicate rules of etiquette are important. In addition, his power vest has a tendency to malfunction when he's nervous or unable to concentrate on maintaining his powers... Uff Da: Owen is constantly tinkering with his kinetic harness that helps him control his powers. Sometimes it fails, resulting in potential for property damage. You Betcha!: Owen is a very friendly, genuinely “Midwestern Nice” kind of guy. He would do anything for his friends, and sees the best in everyone. This means his good intentions can be taken advantage of easily. Abilities: 2 + 0 + 4 + 8 + 4 + 4 = 22PP Strength: 12 (+1) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 18 (+4) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat: 4 + 4 = 8PP Initiative: +0 Attack: +6 (+2 Base, +4 Kinetic Array) Defense: +6 (+2 Base, 4 Dodge Focus), +1 Flat-Footed Grapple: +3 Knockback: -9 Saving Throws: 5 + 4= 9PP Toughness: +10 (+2 Con, +8 Force Field) Fortitude: +7 (+2 Con, +5) Reflex: +8 (+0 Dex,+8 Enhanced Reflex) Will: +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 64R = 16PP Craft [Electronic] 8 (+12) Craft [Mechanical] 10 (+14) Diplomacy 8 (+10) Disable Device 8 (+12) Knowledge [Current Events] 8 (+12) Knowledge [Physical Sciences] 8 (+12) Notice 6 (+8) Profession [Farming] 8 (+10) Feats: 11PP Eidetic Memory Improvised Tools Inspire Luck 2 Power Attack Takedown Attack 2 Teamwork 3 Enhanced Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Impact Fist) from Kinetic Mastery Array Powers: 37 + 18 + 16 + 2 + 12 = 85PP Kinetic Mastery Array (30PP Array; Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 5) [37PP] (Kinetic Energy, Mutation, Super-Science) Base Power: Blast 10 (Kinetic Surge; Extras: Penetrating 8, Power Feats: Precise, Split Attack) {30/30} Alternate Power: Blast 10 (Kinetic Detonate; Extras: Area [Burst, Targeted]) {30/30PP} Alternate Power: Strike 10 (Impact Fist; Extras: Knockback, Penetrating 8, Power Feats: Improved Critical 2) {30/30PP} Alternate Power: Paralyze 10 (Sap Kinetic Energy; Extras: Area [Burst, Targeted], Alternate Save [Fortitude, +0], Selective) {30/30PP} Alternate Power: Drain Movement Powers 9 (Steal Momentum; Extras: Ranged, Alternate Save [Reflex, +0]; Feats: Slow Fade [1 rank/minute]) {28/30PP} Alternate Power: Move Object 10 (Momentum Displacement; Extras: Damaging) {30/30} Flight 6 (Kinetic Propulsion, Extras: Affects Others) [18PP] Force Field 8 (Extras: Impervious 8) [16PP] Super-Senses 2 (Direction Sense [visual], Distance Sense [visual]) [2PP] Enhanced Reflex 8 + Enhanced Feat (Dodge Focus 4) [12PP] Totals: Abilities (22) + Combat (8) + Saving Throws (9) + Skills (16) + Feats (11) + Powers (85) = 151/156 Power Points DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Kinetic Surge Ranged Toughness 25 Damage Kinetic Detonate Ranged Reflex 20/Tou 25 Damage Impact Fist Touch Toughness 25 Damage Sap Kinetic Energy Ranged Reflex 20/Fortitude 20 Paralyze Steal Momentum Ranged Reflex 20 Drain