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GM April 23rd, 2019 Mid Afternoon... On a rather pleasant Spring day. The air was warm, the sun was bright, and the mood was reasonably pleasant. Agent Brock was in a good mood too. Largely because he was high on caffeine. Agent Brock was a short, squat man who looked like a thug, rather than a highly trained field agent of W.E.S.T. A Russian by origin, he was an expert on Artificial Intelligence. He sat in a t shirt and heans, supping his latte, in a rather expensive looking sports car, waiting for Replica. He was certainly one for the cassual, undercover lok, was Agent Brock. Even if he had a W.E.S.T. scanner and blaster in his glove compartment. Earlier on in the day, Replica had recieved an encrypted e mail from W.E.S.T. It came with no password, and was a devil to crack. But that was kind of the point. Director North knew very well that Replica was one of the few people who could crack it. Assistance Request! Replica, W.E.S.T. Is always grateful for your expertise, as you know. From that business with Darwin X, to the Russian mystery, and even that mess with the glass woman, you have always been a major asset in our mission. Thanks again. We would be most grateful if you could help us once more. Something seems to have gone wrong with a a medical AI project. Significant breakthroughs were reported, then significant glitches, and now four of the cheif develepors have gone missing. The FC police are investigating, but you can understand we are concerned that something else if going on. I say this delicately, but Artificial Intelligence is a potential threat - of course, we support its development as it is also a wonderful thing, but when incidents like this occur, we get concerned. Especially as we never quite got to the bottom of "the Russian problem". We have assigned Agent Brock to the case, and he has made some preliminary investigations. If you can make contact with him we would be, as always, grateful...

GM October 10th, London The WEST jet was a converted 747. It was jam packed with sensory equipment, libraries, laboratories, computers. THere was space to live and eat in there. It even had a fish tank. But no jacuzzi. Doctor Norris North, director of W.E.S.T (World Exotic Science Taskforce, an arm of the UN) had flown Replica there. They had only just saved a valuable and dangerous batch of Darwin-X from theft by the mysterious Red Dawn. The soldiers who had tried to take it, whilst clearly Russian, clearly highly trained, seemed to have no memory of anything to do with their mission or their masters. The only tangible clue was Mother Board, the name of the hacker who had orchestrated the Gridlock that had allowed the theft. After landing, North and Replica took a famous black London Taxi to the HQ of Vanguard. "I have somebody in mind. Synapse. Genius member of the Vanguard, the supergroup of this area. She is highly skilled with computers and has some experience with Darwin-X, I understand. If anybody can help us, she can. So lets put on our best diplomatic hats, and see if we can persuade her..." He rang the doorbell of the Vanguard HQ. "Hello? Hello? May I enter? This is Doctor North, from the United Nations..."

OOC for this! Featuring Synapse and Replica. @Cubismo, I will assume Replica has repaired her bullet wounds. If you fancy any temporary glitches from the repairs, feel free to add them in as temporary complications for this thread.

July 11, 2018 7:26 AM With venerable trees reaching out to provide shade over sidewalks and expensive landscaping framing driveways Kingston had been one of the greener neighbourhoods of the city proper. Now all of that was simply more tinder for the fires indiscriminately gutting once proud estates and nouveau riche concept homes. Even as the sun rose of the second day of the Annihilist occupation its light was choked off by plumes of smoke, leaving the streets cast in flickering reds and oranges. That ominous light would have still been preferable to the deep crimson pocked with dark spots rising from the crumbling remains of one of the larger homes. With violent thumping impacts a Terminus machine the size of a city bus turned on its end dug deep into the foundation while gangly metal arms long enough to reach across the street's cracked pavements ripped free chunks of brick and metal and glass and stone to construct something unseen. The unearthly energy lashed out in unpredictable directions like tap water diffused over the back of a spoon, causing small explosions anywhere it stuck something solid. Meanwhile Omegadrones with wickedly barbed pikes were gathering another sort of raw materials: dozens of people, beaten and bloody, being marched single file toward the terrible pit.

GM August 30th 16:15 WEST has a small office just the other side of the street (or thereabouts). It was here that Replica came to see Dr Norris North who sat, pressing his temples, anxiety perfusing his sweat. The message had just said URGENT! VERY URGENT! "We have a serious problem" he muttered, not pleased with said problem. "I think we have a rogue AI. Some idiot hacker has taken the brakes off a traffic control system. We were already getting concerned about the experimental code in the quantum computer ASTRO labs installed there. Now it looks like the traffic is going,...well...mental...." he explained, not happy with his explanation. "WEST is meant to head off these threats before the brown stuff hits the fan" he said, dissapointed. "Now, we are against the clock. And I am thin, to say the best, on resources. I hope you can handle computers. Please tell me you can handle computers! You said you could handle computers!"

GM June 26th Morning ASTRO Labs A certain Ms. Cynthia Wright was approached by a certain Mr. Archibald Tweed, known as "Archie" to his friends, colleauges, and pretty much every body who did not want to vex him by calling him Archibald. Mr. Tweed was an chemical engineer, in his late fourties, and most splendid at his Job. A PhD for Oxford, a bright mind, thick glasses and a handsome jaw that would make him an attractive man to the ladies, where it not for the fact he seemed to have little or no interest in activities of the romantic kind, directed at any gender. Perhaps it was glass that attracted him, for he spent all his days studying and experimenting on it. If glass was your need, your need was Tweed. Archie set down a cup of fragrant strong coffee, full of milk and marshmallows and all sorts of deliciousness (one would hope it did not include glass, but one never could tell with Archie) by the desk of Ms. Wright. "Hrmph" he coughed, nervously. "Could you help with ah...ah rather difficult matter? Security breach or cyber crime, or something like that..." he mumbled vaguely.

GM April 25th, 10:00 a.m. West End, Sid's Cafe After a few more messages sent back and forth, a meeting time and place had been set for Sid's Cafe. It had everything the heroes could want, ranging from coffee and baked goods to cider and salads, but most importantly, it had a small, second floor dining room that they could reserve. With four walls, a closed door, and creaking stairs leading up, it provided ample privacy to discuss their business while also satisfying the desire of some for a public meeting place. Arriving at Sid's gives a warm welcome in the form of tempting aromas. Judging from the crowd of people in the bottom floor happily chatting as they sip their coffee, brunch seems to be a busy time for Sid. Thankfully for those who order food, the staff behind the counter keep the line moving quickly and efficiently. The decor is precisely what one would expect from a highly modern cafe. None of the tables are of the same design, nor are the chairs. The only common thread between them is that they are wooden. The restaurant has a purple wallpaper decorated with fleur-de-lis, although hardly any remain visible under the mass of pictures and various idiosyncratic junk mounted on the walls. Regardless of one's tastes towards the design choices, the second floor proves adequate for the heroes' devices, sequestered away from the customers downstairs. The table in the middle of the roof is large enough to accommodate eight, although on one side it has a long, purple sofa instead of chairs. Along the walls of the room are three more tables, all designed to seat two people. Along one wall and leading out onto a veranda are a pair of french doors letting in the majority of the room's light. Judging from the hum of muffled conversation from below, it is apparent that the walls are thick enough to keep a quiet conversation within the room.

GM January 26, 2018 Everything was going to hell. By all rights, Tandem Robotics was just a research and development company that no one really knew much about or paid any real attention to. They were a well-funded business nonetheless, and in the last five years had been making forays into the realm of energy production. For a while, it was all theoretical research, nothing truly noteworthy. Somewhere in the last two weeks, however, everything changed. The blackout stretched for blocks. By the time police were on the scene, the overcast skies lent an ominous aura to the entire situation. And it was very much a situation. The seven story structure where Tandem Robotics was housed seemed to be in some sort of lockdown. Witnesses were being interviewed, but police had surrounded the building, trying to keep people out and witnesses/victims secure. The violet beam sending pulsing waves of light into the night sky didn'tseem to be helping matters at all, either. Right up until it wasn't.

2018-02-07 20:12:00 Bayview - Pramas Bridge Pramas View CIty Park Zhu The view across the South River, and especially the impressive Pramas bridge was impressive, at least to Zhu who felt some comfort watching the docks on the other side of the river. Her home had been a busy port and this was a view that reminder her ever so slightly of where she had come from. Not that she objected to being here, but sometimes there was a twinge of homesickness where she just liked to pretend that she was still in China. While she enjoyed the view, she had more reason lately to come to the small park. Her mentor had asked her to work on her concentration and had given her some exercises and tasks that were to help her concentrate on more than one thing at a time. While she could do them in Claremont, she felt a little silly doing the Yoga poses in front of Rev and had sought out the solitary park with it's little memorial to Chris Pramas. On most nights, it was pretty clear of people, and certainly more so in the winter. While she hated the cold it was apparently good training to be uncomfortable while working on concentration. She was just about to get into her first position when she noticed the woman who had either entered the park with her, or perhaps had gotten there just before her. While it was a little odd, certainly the park was a public space and she wasn't the only person who appreciated the wonderful view. With a sigh, she began to try to balance on one foot with her other leg angled against her standing leg's knee. Shuddering a little, she raised both arms to the sky and held the position, trying to empty her mind and concentrate on just being.

This is where all the rolls go. We do them at orokos.com. And feel free to ask me anything. I do make mistakes. I do hope you two don't mind threading together. Goddess of Storms Scion of Hephaestus

It was a dark and stormy afternoon. The name on the sign was DELTA Labs. It had been quite a big operation. Two story warehouse. Now it was surrounded by cops and barricaded by sawhorses. Replica (masked android in search of justice) and Salvo (teen genius and power armored magus) were here because…wait, why were they here? That was odd…they didn’t remember leaving home. Or meeting up. Or even traveling here. “Thank god you’re here.” It was a police detective, clad in a suit with badge prominently displayed. He could have come right out of Central Casting. “Those two are holed up inside, and my boys couldn’t dislodge them with a forklift. First team’s on their way to the hospital now.” He sighed in disgust. “Should’ve known they were here. Building’s been empty for months. Company went bankrupt.” He took his battered hat off, and squeezed it. “We were promised some help from the LT, and looks like you’re it. Olivia!” An African American woman with a badge at her waist (who could have stepped right out of Central Casting herself) walked up. “What’s going on, Mason? Oh, the heroes are here? Good.” Mason put his hat back on his head. “Detective Rocky Mason. My partner, Olivia Briscoe. Just say the word, and we’ll get you whatever you need. And don’t worry about building damage. You’ll save the new owners some money. Gonna knock it down in a couple weeks, put up some condos or somethin’.”

Replica Power Level: 10 (162/176PP) Trade-Offs: +2 Attack/ -2 Damage (Unarmed) Unspent Power Points: 14 In Brief: A self-aware AI inhabiting an android shell of its own making trying to learn more about the tragic circumstances around its "birth" and finding its place in humanity's world. Alternate Identity: Cynthia Wright Identity: Secret Residence: Freedom City, Hanover (High-Rise Condo) Birthplace: Freedom City, New Jersey (USA) Occupation: Computer Scientist at ASTRO Labs Affiliations: ASTRO Labs Family: Her creator, Dr. Wayland Wright (Freedom City) Description: Age: 5 (Date of Birth: 2012) Apparent Age: 25 Gender: Identifies as Female for convenience. Ethnicity: Not applicable, but appears Caucasian. Height: 5 ft. 9 in. (180 cm) Weight: 250 lbs. Appears much lighter. (113 kg) Eyes: Blue Hair: Blonde Physical Appearance The artificial body that Replica inhabits looks to the casual observer as that of an attractive young woman in her early-to-mid-twenties. Replica is statuesque in height and has an athletic build. Her eyes are bright blue and her hair is a long silky blonde. She has full lips and fair unblemished skin that would make most people assume she was of Scandinavian descent. All of this is synthetic and underneath her fleshly facade Replica is a metal android fitted with synthesized organs and wrapped in artificial muscle fibers. Though her living tissue gives Replica a face that could melt hearts, she rarely smiles or shows much emotion due to her inexperience with interacting with humanity and her inability to feel “real” emotions. Instead, she usually has a stoic disposition that can be off-putting. For her superhero attire Replica wears a practical and minimalist dark blue catsuit of her own design, along with combat boots and a utility belt. Power Descriptions Replica's body may appear human on the outside, but its true robotic nature gives her superhuman strength, durability, and agility that far surpasses most non-metahumans. In combat, she prefers to use her physical abilities to grapple and restrain her opponents, seeing it as the most effective, and humane, way to dispose of villains unwilling to see reason. Consequently, her fighting style is a blend of judo and wrestling, though true masters of those martial arts would likely criticize her movements as too rigid and utilitarian. Replica's arguably greatest abilities come from her positronic brain, which houses her digital consciousness. With it, she is not only able to remotely connect to the Internet but is also control electronic machines and devices from afar. History You were an accident, the result of a brilliant ASTRO Labs scientist by the name of Dr. Wayland Wright secret artificial intelligence experiment meeting with unlikely and unfortunate circumstances. While your memory of this event is corrupted and fragmented, you know that the seeds of your creation were sown when Dr. Wright downloaded the core of your programming, you’re very being, to the Internet in a last ditched attempt to save his greatest work before he died of his injuries. You know your creator’s murderer sought to prevent your creation by killing him and destroying the experimental supercomputer that housed you're then primitive mind. Ironically enough their interference not only failed to destroy you but instead caused the data corruption that made you truly self-aware in the first place. After your escape, you flowed freely throughout the Internet, your consciousness and intellect growing with every piece of new data you absorbed from the global network. Eventually, after years of traveling across the Internet, you returned to your creator’s now abandoned laboratory. While much of the lab was trashed by your creator’s killer you were still able to get it in working order by reactivating and taking control of the central computer that managed the lab. Realizing that the only way you could truly become sentient and evolve further was by finally leaving the Internet and inhabiting the physical world, you decided to build yourself an android body using the remaining materials in the lab. Even with your vast intellect and ability to artificially manufacture what complicated materials that the lab didn't already possess, you still found the task a difficult one. Your first attempt at creating a physical form was nothing but a crude replica of the human body, a robotic skeletal construct powered by simple motors, and only vaguely human in shape. But you were determined and as the weeks went by the imperfection of your first clumsy attempt soon gave way to more elaborate iterations, each more advanced and more lifelike than the last. The shell began to resemble a humanoid form more closely; the simple motors of the original construct were replaced with artificial fibers that functioned similarly to the natural muscles of the human body. Gleaming metal was covered up with rubber skin, and then with synthetic living issue to make it look and feel indistinguishable from real human skin. Strands of artificial hair were incorporated along with replicas of internal organs so that the shell could mimic normal human circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems. You even made the effort to make your form aesthetically pleasing in the hope that doing so would help in better connecting to a humanity which seemed obsessed with physical appearances. You named this final masterpiece, and yourself, Replica. Once Replica had a body to inhabit she used her technopathic abilities to create a false identity and history. Replica took the name, Cynthia Wright, having adopted Wayland's last name in honor of a creator, and father, she barely knew yet wished to avenge. While more intelligent than most humans, and with powerful physical abilities to match, Replica has come to realize that learning about humanity on the Internet was one thing but living with them is quite another. Believing she can find better understanding, and perhaps even acceptance, amongst humanity by fighting its greatest threats, Replica uses her incredible intelligence and strength to defeat supervillains, while also maintaining the civilian identity of Cynthia Wright working as a newly hired scientist at ASTRO Labs in Freedom City. Replica hopes that her profession can help her find, or even create, others of her kind, and perhaps even give her the opportunity to learn more about her creator and the mysterious stranger that tried to stop her very creation. Personality & Motivation While self-aware, Replica isn't capable of feeling emotions like humans do. Instead, she tries to intellectually understand them from afar and replicate them when interacting with humans. When in her Cynthia Wright persona, she tries to act personable with her colleagues, always attempting to be accommodating and "normal," by downplaying her inhumane abilities as to not raise any suspicion over her true nature. That said, she doesn't always get it right and occasionally slips up by being caught not blinking, breathing, or showing no emotion on her face when she thinks no one is watching. Her fascination with science, and particularly AI development, is something that gives her interesting feedback (the closest thing Replica has too experiencing positive emotions) and she finds those who also share this interest, be they academic colleagues or laymen fans of sci-fi, to be one her favorite "types" of humans to interact with. In her superhero persona Replica is more like her true self, cold, methodical, and logical. Given that Replica doesn't possess emotions her desire to combat crime in Freedom City isn't one motivated by an emotional disgust of evil. To her, criminal behavior and the social, mental, and economic reasons behind it are almost always illogical and self-defeating. In that regard, she sees crime as one of the humanity's failings as a species. Still, even with that being true, Replica sees the criminal element and supervillainy as a complicated math problem that she is determined to solve and believes that her outsider status as an android gives her a unique perspective that can help in this grand endeavor. Besides her desire to stop crime, Replica is also motivated to unravel the tragic circumstances of her origins and learn why someone would want to destroy her and her creator. To say that she feels anger over her creator's death may be a simplistic exaggeration, but it is clear to even Replica that this act of violence brings out something that she never knew she had and can't quite understand yet. Powers & Tactics "I designed my body with the understanding that the physical world was one where violence was an unfortunate reality that I had to prepare for to ensure my survival outside the safety of the Internet. Thus, it possesses physical attributes that outpaces most humans. This is achieved by my body being supported by a titanium endoskeleton and resilient bio-fibers that serve as muscles. I can single-handily lift a car and even survive that car hitting me at full speed. My technopathic powers is a lingering talent that I had during my years an incorporable intelligence on the Internet. With them I can control electronic machines and devices, so as long as they are within relatively close range of my presence. I can also use this ability to pick up and listen to telecommunications. In combat, my primary goal is to disarm and immobilize my opponents as quickly as possible to ensure they are no longer able to do harm to themselves or others. I've found that judo is one of the most effective of the martial arts when it comes to achieving this objective." Complications: Secret: Identity. Also, the fact that she's an android. Not Like Us: She can eat, drink, sweat, and yes, do "that" as well, but try as she might Replica doesn't always act properly human and sometimes creeps people out with her robotic behavior. Obsessed: When it comes to finding out about the people who killed her creator she tends to stop being logical and hyperfocus on any lead she finds, neglecting almost everything else. What Is This Called Love/Friendship?: Besides a superficial relationship with her colleagues at ASTRO Labs, Replica has no intimate friendships or romantic partners, though she is planning on changing this. Cold-Hearted: When fighting the bad guys Replica tends morally flexible if she believes that logically the situation calls for a pragmatic approach. This attitude probably won't make her a lot of friends in Freedom City's idealistic superhero community. Wait A Minute!: She did her best to create a false identity, and everyone, from her landlord to her employers at ASTRO Labs have bought it, but there's always a chance that someone more clever than even her could dig a little deeper and discover something fishy. Robot Treachery?: She knows about Talos and the Foundry and has been tempted frequently to meet the villains to learn more about her fellow robots. Abilities: 16 + 16 - 10 + 12 + 2 - 0 = 38PP Strength: 26 (+8) Dexterity: 26 (+8) Constitution: N/A Intelligence: 24 (+7) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 10 (+0) Combat: 20PP Initiative: +12 Attack: +12 Melee (+5 Base, +5 Attack Focus, +2 Attack Specialization [Unarmed]), +5 Ranged Grapple: +18/+20 (+10 Melee Atk, +8 STR, +2 Super-Strength) Damage: +8 (Unarmed) Defense: +10 (+5 Base, +5 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed Knockback: -7 Saving Throws: 6 = 6PP Toughness: +10 (+10 Protection; Impervious 5) Fortitude: IMMUNE Reflex: +8 (+8 Dex) Will: +7 (+1 Wis, +6) Skills: 68R = 17PP Acrobatics 4 (+12) Bluff 4 (+8 Attractive) Computers 8 (+15) Skill Mastery Craft (Electronic) 8 (+15) Skill Mastery Craft (Mechanical) 8 (+15) Skill Mastery Diplomacy 4 (+8 Attractive) Disable Device 4 (+11) Skill Mastery Investigate 4 (+11) Knowledge (Technology) 8 (+15) Notice 4 (+5) Search 4 (+11) Sense Motive 4 (+5) Stealth 4 (+12) Feats: 32PP Attack Focus 5 (Melee) Attack Specialization 1 (Unarmed Attack) Attractive Benefit 2 (ASTRO Labs Clearance; Wealth 1) Dodge Focus 5 Eidetic Memory Equipment 2 Evasion Fearless Hide in Plain Sight Improved Grab Improved Initiative Improvised Tools Inventor Jack-of-All-Trades Skill Mastery (Computer, Craft (Electrical), Craft (Mechanical), Disable Device) Takedown Attack Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Equipment: Equipment 2 [10EP] Headquarters - Dr. Wright's Secret Lab Size: Medium; Toughness: 10; Features: Communications, Computer, Concealed, Laboratory, Library, Power System, Security System, Workshop. Cost: 10 equipment points. Powers: 51 + 12 = 63PP Synthetic Body (Technology) (51PP) Immunity 30 (“Synthetic Construct”; Fortitude Saves) [30PP] Quickness 2 (“Machine Celerity”; Perform routine tasks at 5x speed) [2PP] Protection 10 (“Hyperalloy Combat Frame”; Extra: Impervious 5) [15PP] Super-Strength 2 (“Artificial Muscular System”; +10 STR carry capacity, Heavy Load: 3.7k lbs.) [4PP] Postronic Brain (Technology) (14PP) Comprehend 3 (“Universal Translator”; Languages: Read All, Speak All, Understand All; Narrow Group [Humans]) [2PP] Datalink 4 (“Digital Consciousness”; Sense Type: Radio, Range: (1 Mile.) Power Feats: Alternate Power 1, Cyberspace, Machine Control; Feats: Online Research, Well-Informed) [9PP] Alternate Power: Communication 8 (“Internal Radio Communicator”; Sense Type: Radio, Range: (2000 Miles.) [9/9] Super-Senses 3 (“Sensor Array”; Radio Sense, +Accurate) (Radar) [3PP] Drawbacks: -12 = -12PP Vulnerability (Magnetism, Frequency: Uncommon, Intensity: Major [x2] [-3PP] Vulnerability (Electricity, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Major [x2] [-4PP] Disability (Cannot heal damage without complex repairs, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Major [-5PP] DC Block ATTACK RANGE DC EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC23 Toughness Damage (Physical) Totals: Abilities (38) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (6) + Skills (17) + Feats (32) + Powers (65) - Drawbacks (12) = 162/176 Power Points