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GM Hong Kong, Night time The moon was on form, tonight, shining over a cloudless city, surrounded by twinkling stars. It was a beautiful city. Madame Raven knew that on the ground, ugliness was afoot. A trial of gossip and rumour had pointed the way, and her spirit of adventure had driven her. Here, at Superior Silk Industries. At first glance, it looked ramshakle, a production factory for textiles, a rather high end product. Then why did it look so broken? Because it was not. This was a facade. Well hidden camera's, superior locks, and subtle reinforcements all made this more of a fortress than a factory. And the remarkable Raven could see it all. Something bad was happening at Superior Silk Industries, something tonight. the company had a crooked reputation (although it did produce fine garments). Criminal activity under the disguise of legitimate (even successful) business. Exports to Europe, America. Conflict with Dr Sin and his leutinenats. Bribery and corruption with the Chinese goverment. And a deeper layer of rumour - hard to believe. Sorcery, Kung Fu, Masters of Ki, Ninja's. The usual hotch potch of Martial Art baloney, for sure, and yet the Raven detected some grain of truth within the soup of gossip.

All good things must, one day, come to an end. But sometimes, that ends comes sooner than one thinks. Such is the way of the Mantle of the Raven, one of Freedom City's most iconic heroes. The Batman of the Freedom City setting, one that passed from Father to Daughter, and now is soon to pass from Master to Apprentice. Currently, Raven II/Callie Summers is the one actively holding that legacy. Aleksander Nakani, aka Nevermore, is slated to take up the mantle sometime this summer (after his graduation from high school!). But just passing on the cape and cowl because he graduated, that feels a bit lame. So instead, I'm going to try to run a thread or three to pass the torch. I've hashed some initial ideas out, and I'm laying out the framework here. What I'm looking for is input on the NPCs, especially villains, to be involved, and then some PCs to have assist Nevermore. My general thought on the setup is that Raven has been tracking some faint trails of clues that lead her to, I dunno, a warehouse or something with an electronic message left there. It's a taunting message from Dr. Sin, her grandfather, all wrinkly and evil and stuff, taunting her that she never faced him directly because she knew she would lose, and now she's getting old too. She keeps mopping up the scraps from his table. Can she leave him be? So the Raven goes after him...and runs right into a group of cowl-type villains (the likes of Blackbird, Fear Master, Red Death, Warden, Silencer, and/or others) led by a much-younger-looking Dr. Sin. Via some magic or super-science or something, he has not only maintained his life and health, but reversed his aging to be in the prime of his life (physically he looks maybe 30), and even granted himself some minor metahuman powers (probably just a light Paragon package or some such). The combination is too much, even for Raven, even wearing her most cutting-edge powered armor suit. It turns out that Sin chose this moment to strike because he believed that before long, her advancing age would prompt her to create a suit powerful enough this plan wouldn't be guaranteed to work. But he had to wait until now to let age do some of the work. It was a delicate balance! So she's captured, imprisoned, etc., not sure yet what he's going to do with her (probably taunt her father for a while, then brainwash her and give her the same rejuvination treatment he used, make her his chief lieutenant). Before he can taunt anyone, an automated timer and message alert Nevermore to what's going on. Queue the Recruitment Montage! Nevermore takes an entire team to fight these guys, just enough that everyone gets a one-on-one matchup, and he gets to take on Dr. Sin one-on-one, and manages to beat him (dice willing!). Callie's been hurt and worn down enough by all of this that, while she can function in her civilian life well enough, it's too much of a risk to take up the Cowl again. So the story ends with Aleksander standing on a rooftop.... As the Raven. What I'm looking for: Bit of help refining the ideas here. Suggestions on which NPCs to have as additional villains. Suggestions on pre-made sheets to use for everyone, and adjustments as we think necessary. Help figuring out who a good PC team to assist would be! I'm really wanting and hoping to keep this as a primarily-Cowl endeavor. That's not to say that no one on the mission can have any powers, just that I'm wanting this to be more the skill-y characters than the likes of our biggest, flashiest, most powerful heroes steamrolling the bad guys. Motivation among the Cowls is probably to "keep it in house"! So this is a combination of "putting the idea out for refinement" and "recruitment drive". I'd be looking for 4, at most 5, other heroes. This won't all happen at once; I'm thinking maybe 1 "setup" thread, and 1 "action" thread. Time-wise, I'd like this to be built up a bit, so the 1st thread probably happens in a month or two (and is forward-set a bit), and the next one after that one's wrapped. Maybe starting it in...April-ish? May, if that's how it shakes out.

Thursday, April 18, 2013 5:30 AM Claremont Academy, Bayview, Freedom City, NJ "And that was the last thing Warp remembers before passing out in her dorm room after teleporting back." Duncan Summers finished explaining, a hint of fatigue in his voice. The retired superhero turned educator was sitting in his recently rebuilt office at Claremont Academy, his prior office having been all but destroyed during the events of the Day of Wrath a few months earlier. "And how is Warp doing?" Came a dark voice speaking from within the shadows of a corner of Duncan’s office. The speaker was none other than his daughter, Callie Summers, the current Raven, and she was there in costume. Duncan had little doubt that his daughter had been up much of the night already, working on some case or another, but if she was feeling any fatigue from the early hour, she was doing a much better job of hiding it. "She is in the infirmary still, but doing well. Whatever was used to knock her out has left her considerably groggy, but there will be no lingering effects." Duncan replied. "And there is no sign of Tsunami, El Heraldo or Net Fly?" Raven then asked, though she knew well enough the answer. "No, none of them have returned to campus. Based on what I have learned, the fire department was called to a fire at the address Warp provided, but when they arrived there was no longer any active blaze, though evidence that there had been a fire. They currently have cordoned off the building, planning to further inspect it in a few hours when there is better light." "Good, then they likely have not contaminated the scene yet. I have a bit of time to get in there and look around before they do." Raven replied. "Don't worry, I will find them." The heroine then began moving towards one of the office's windows. "I have little doubt." Duncan replied, eyeing his daughter hesitantly. "But…are you certain you should investigate this alone? You know very well that he could be involved." Raven stopped a moment before the glanced back over at her father. "Yes, I am fully aware of that possibility. But this is my responsibility, I was the one that brought Giang here, knowing full well her family's background." And with that, the dark clad heroine was gone out the window, vanishing into the still dark morning sky. Still seated in his chair, Duncan stared out of the window to where his daughter had disappeared from view. While normally he had full confidence in her abilities and decisions, where Dr. Sin was possibly involved, he was a bit more concerned. Letting out a deep sigh, Duncan reached for the telephone at his desk and dialed a familiar number. "Alan, I am sorry about the early hour, but I need to speak with Ms. Pefr, Ms. Baudin and Mr. Crowe immediately."

November 17, 2013 Port Regal Providence Asylum Dotted with cheerful statuary of frolicking cherubs, its rose-and-sandstone facade visible from miles away, the warmly lit and well-tended Providence Asylum looks like nothing more than a giant strawberry wedding cake - it's an excellent place for Freedom City's mentally ill to recuperate from the challenges of their disease - what kind of person puts an insane asylum in some Gothic hellhole, anyway? Between Claremont training, patrolling, and the occasional help with a mass breakout, the heroes Wraith, Crimson Tiger, Blodeuwedd, and the second Foreshadow were all familiar indeed with the building and its contents - which made a summons to the rooftop for a meeting with the ever-mysterious Raven all the more intriguing! The night was dark, and cold, but dry for Freedom City in the fall, with a crisp bite in the air to mark the cool weather to come. Though security at the Asylum was famously tight, making breakouts almost impossible, sure enough (just as promised in the message conveyed to them by the Dark Detective's agents) it seemed particularly light tonight - there were gaps in the spotlight coverage and the cunningly concealed electric fence was actually deactivated, thus making it possible for a canny foursome to make their way not just to the building but to the very angel-dotted rooftop at its summit!