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Bedlam City October 31, 2020 - Sundown "H-hey, how long is this gonna take already?" Robert Meza asked for the dozenth time, fiddling with the expensive looking watch on his wrist and looking about the interrogation room as though he was going to spot something new inside the four dour walls. His chair creaked as he shifted his weight about and his flop sweat made his dark hair fall limply against his forehead. "You got somewhere you'd rather be, Meza? There's the door," Detective Montgomery snapped irritably. Heavyset and red faced he'd left his jacket draped over the back of the chair across from Meza while he paced back and forth in front of the two-way mirror. "The ADA's running late is all. Once she gets your statement, we get you out of the city for a while, like you asked. So until then, just shaddup, yeah?" Meza drew his shoulders together and ducked his head slightly then looked about the room again. "Yeah, yeah, okay. But what's he doing here?" The third man in the room, lounging in a chair in the corner raised an eyebrow over one ice blue eye. "Lucky for you your lawyer knows a police station is a pretty stupid place to go if you wanna avoid anybody on the Mara's payroll," Lou Lubrano replied dryly, smirking in Montgomery's direction. He tugged at the cuffs on his rumpled suit jacket. "Consider me insurance. You like insurance, right Robbie? Firebug like you?" The informant looked away but set his jaw, hands palm down on the table in front of him. "Look, I'm not saying I'm no angel. But I hadda do something this time. Th-they was just kids, y'know? Ain't right." Lubrano's expression remained impassive, partially concealed by his black beard but he paused in silence for a moment. "Yeah, Robbie. I know." A tinny rendition of a cheerful pop tune broke the heavy silence permeating the room. "@#$% ringtone," Montgomery swore as he stomped back to the table and fished a phone out of his jacket pocket. "Yeah?! Of course I'm-- what? You got held up by what?!" With a sudden groan Meza collapsed over the table in front of him, muscles spasming. Lubrano was on his feet in an instant but stopped mid-step at a screeching noise. Mesa's fingernails, suddenly more bestial talons than anything, were carving deep trails in the metal surface. When his head shot up it was with luminous yellow eyes and teeth too large and too sharp for his jaw. He opened his mouth to ask a question but all that came out was a confused growl. He thrashed with another spasm and the table was tossed away from him, torn free of the rusted bolts attaching it to the floor. Montgomery went for his sidearm but was caught in the shoulder by the flying furniture on its way to smash into the two-way mirror, spiderweb cracking but not quite shattering. With tearing polyester, cracking bone and popping watch links Meza's form doubled then tripled in size, becoming a hulking creature covered in dark fur that towered over Lubrano. The beast stumbled froward a step before throwing its head back in a deafening howl, a sound that could be heard faintly echoed through the walls of the police station. Suddenly seized by a need to get away Meza leapt forward, swatting Lubrano aside like a straw dummy and crashing through the mirror in a rain of broken glass. Forcing himself back to his feet and ignoring Montgomery's attempts to free himself from under the dented table, Lubrano looked through the broken pane to see the path the werewolf had torn through the adjoining room and out of the building. Pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket he shook one loose without looking away and put it unlit between his lips. "...huh."

St. Romuald’s, Hardwick Park 10:00am, Tuesday, 23rd July 2019 In an area known for the dominance of one gang it was rare to find a place that managed to remain neutral, though no one would dare speak out, and until recently St Romuald had been known as neutral ground. Padre Miguel was a bear of a man who few would dare tussle with. That was until recently when suddenly and without rhyme or reason he began to subtly, and not so subtly, change. With everyone concerned about the other problems going on around Hardwick Park very few were paying any attention, but there were a few that were paying attention...

OoC for this.

Thanksgiving 2018 Nightingale's warehouse Nicci's place had advantages over Anna's - it was bigger, cleaner, and you didn't need to start generators to turn on the lights. It was a good place for Thanksgiving dinner, and so it was tonight. Anna was at the head of the table, her hair up and wearing the pseudo-Victorian dress Nicci liked, looking down at a table that seemed, well, not exactly like her family but was close enough for now. There was Esperanza on one side, her styled hair dyed a mix of red and black that matched her crimson shirt and black dress, Jason across the table, the two of them shooting each other looks like feuding siblings, and Nicci next to Anna herself. Anna had had big plans to make a Honduran Thanksgiving for her sidekick's benefit, but an irritated Esperanza had fired back that her mom had never bothered with that stuff anyway. So instead they had what could optimistically be described as an all-American Thanksgiving; roast turkey and cranberry from the can, stuffing from the box and mashed potatoes from same, and a sweet potato casserole Anna had picked up somewhere that had marshmellows cooked brown on top. Esperanza was eating and not saying much; which was about as good as it got. It was going to be a good day. Anna reached under the table and squeezed Nicci's hand, smiling at her. "Happy Thanksgiving, honey," she said softly. Maybe nothing here was on the menu for Nicci - but she was going to make sure Nicci ate well that night.

Fall 2018 A Sunday evening The secret headquarters of Lady Horus Wadjet had taken Anna's departure to go pick up Chromium as a good occasion to break down her gun and rework its parts, something Nicola knew by now meant the girl didn't want to talk. She usually didn't. She was near the skylight of Old Main, the glass open to allow for Lady Horus's return, the lunch Anna had picked up from Five Guys not quite cooling yet as it sat on a table she'd pushed out for the meeting. "So. You and the old lady," she looked up from her work at Nicola, who Anna had invited over to meet the new guy "and make sure he ain't got no bad intentions." Anna had gone all out for the troubled teen who was about to move in with them, clearing out a space opposite from where Anna and Esperanza's rooms were. "Good for her." Esperanza's hair had grown out a bit since Nicola had first met her, though it was still short enough that it didn't reach the nape of her neck. - Out by the dockyards, Chromium had been asked to wait for his "ride" to Anna and Esperanza's secret headquarters - so here he was, the Sunday evening crowd light enough that even he attracted relatively little notice.

Stark Hill July 12, 2018 The world was on fire. But it took a long time for the ashes to reach some places. While the sky bled crimson and the towers of the capes burned off on the East Coast, Bedlam was in a state of gridlock. There was doomsaying, but only at a somewhat greater pitch at any other day. The Mayor had already talked about getting the National Guard ready to deploy, but word was the Governor was holding off until there was tangible evidence that the threat had gotten beyond Lake Erie - and even then, odds were he would be much more interested in anywhere that wasn't Bedlam. The Special Assault Squad was in the streets in force, but they seemed to be taking their exercise dealing with desperate and fervid individuals hoping to take advantage of an all-you-can-grab, end-of-the-world sale. And so, the morning of July 12 dawned in Stark Hill as it had any other day. With the blood being hosed into the gutters, with the rise of an oppressive heat fed by the winds off of Lake Michigan, with Obedieh Brick on the 12th hour of "BREAKING NEWS," screaming about the need to grab the biggest gun one could and use it as the ultimate deterrent against the death gods from outer space. The haze and the fury was growing, but it was the same haze and fury as might be expected as Bedlam approached the dog days of summer. That is, until the brownstone on 3rd Street was cut in half. Those who were nearby would say it started as a "flash of black light," a half-second glimmer of palpable darkness. Curiosity turned to panic as the sound of crumbling brick and creaking steel filled the air, as gravity took hold on the building and rent it like a hunk of bread, causing it to list and tilt towards the buildings at either side. And from within, there was still that glimpse of brilliant darkness...

Summer 2018 Hardwick Park From her rooftop perch, Wadjet watched the girls down below through binoculars, occasionally stopping to make notes in the notebook she'd started carrying. Los únicos que quedan son los que no fueron con Mouse, ¡estúpido! ¿Crees que a la Mara le importa una mierda que no corras? She was writing down names and faces now, the names of girls she'd grown up with, wondering when they were going to find themselves in the goddamned graveyard. Once she was sure she had all of them, she and Anna were going to pay them a little visit and get them to get the Hell out of town. This group of four, the oldest of which couldn't be more than sixteen, was eating pupusas and obviously working themselves up to steal the silver Porsche 911 that some dumbass whiteboy had left parked here in a corner of the neighborhood near Wolverton, where the cops usually didn't bother patrolling. She didn't really care about what property crime they were about to commit, but if she could catch them in the act, it might be a weapon to use to get them the hell out of this neighborhood - this neighborhood where dreams went to die.

Give me a Notice check, @Tarrakhash http://orokos.com/roll/639613 = 18 for Wadjet.

Player Name: AvengerAssembled Character Name: Lady Horus Power Level: 10/12 (177/181) Trade-Offs: +2 Defense/-2 Toughness, -4 ATK/+4DMG [as Lady Horus] Unspent Power Points: 4 No More Statuses: 0/0 In Brief: Lo, the Sunhawk returns for a new generation! But there are secrets. Homebase: Bedlam City Songs: "True Colors," Kesha "Meant to Live," Switchfoot "Hurt," Johnny Cash "God's Gonna Cut You Down," Johnny Cash "Calendar Girl," Neil Sedeka Alternate Identity: "Wouldn't you like to know?" Identity: Secret Birthplace: Bedlam City, Wisconsin Occupation: Adventurer Affiliations: Various Family: "Just look it up in the books!" - Son, Richard Cline, Daughter-in-Law Paige Psion-Cline, Grandkids (2.5...maybe?) Age: Stories of Horus go back around 4 millennia/eighty-four this year. Gender: Female Height: 5'9" Weight: 150 lbs Eyes: Blue Hair: Platinum blonde Description: It's clear Lady Horus is probably not Egyptian by birth - most Egyptian women of any generation have not been fair-skinned platinum blondes, for all that her hair hangs in the curly ringlets in fashion in the New Kingdom. But other that she certainly looks the part - her costume consists of a gold-beaded white linen kalasiri that hangs loosely on her frame and comes down just below her knees, white bodice, white shawl over that, the cloth reinforced with polished bronze pieces that sparkle like the sun, all adorned with the gold and jewels of an Egyptian noblewoman. On her head is the blue khepresh of a pharaoh at war. She should probably not be able to see! The upper part of her face is covered by a gold and blue half-mask of a hawk, decorated in the Egyptian style, the mask itself resting on the lower part of her nose. Yet she does seem to be able to see just fine, thank you. When not wearing the Helm, she looks like an attractive older woman who keeps herself healthy through vigorous running; slender and healthy, with hair she'd begun to actually dye blonde because her natural shade of platinum looks too much like the grey it really is. She favors jogging suits and other outfits suitable for both anonymity and fast running, and usually is wearing a pair of old-fashioned running shoes. When she does get a chance to dress up, she favors bright gold jewelry that's just this side of tacky and bright red pumps. History: Lo! The Sunhawk has returned to the World of Man - as a woman! Lady Horus appeared in Bedlam over the Christmas holiday back in 2016 but has already made herself notable as the city's loudest and toughest protector. In a town of grim avengers of evil, criminal vigilantes and vigilante criminals, she's the biggest action in the city. Before she donned the Helm, she was a lovable rogue. No, she was a cold-hearted monster. No, she was a loving mother. No, she was an irresponsible adrenaline junkie. Anna Cline has been all these things, and more, in her long life (she turns eighty-four this year!). She ran wild as a teenager, becoming Calendar Girl - one of the last true supervillains of the 1950s. Empowered by the chronitons her body had absorbed from a childhood encounter with Dr. Tomorrow, she fought Midnight and the Centurion before disappearing into the future - a future where she met Dr. Tomorrow! She spent a few months as one of his companions, traveling through time and space with him, learning the true extent of her powers and what it meant to have a connection to Time itself. And then they landed in the early 1960s, and she realized how Tomorrow had betrayed her - while she'd been going on adventures in time and space, her estranged mother and father had died in the Olympian Invasion. The so-called heroes had taken all the glory, but had they been there? No! Had she been there, playing at hero? No! She cursed Tomorrow's name and ran; and didn't stop running until she ran into some old friends who were forming a new organization - the Crime League of the 1960s! She made a new friend there; Bryant Haliday, and for a little while Calendar Girl and Doc Holiday were partners in crime, and more. And then she was pregnant, and Bryant left her. Was she an unnatural mother to make sure her son was born with powers like hers, exposing him to temporal radiation even in the womb? Was it so bad for her to support herself and her son in the only way she knew how - to reinvent herself as Clock Queen, the mistress of time and crime, and battle everyone from Doctor Tomorrow to her personal arch-nemesis - the Centurion (aka "The Golden Gargoyle!")? Her family was dead and the heroes would take her son away if they caught her. So she made sure they never did, at least not for long. She had to do some things that weren't too pretty; but she never killed anyone or was part of any plans about killing, and if she was around killers, well - that wasn't her problem! It was the heroes' job to stop the so-called villains, wasn't it? When her son was old enough, he joined her as Tempus Fugit and she truly couldn't have been prouder. Her son had a girlfriend from those crazy Psions - but what the hell, maybe they'd pull it off and she'd get to preside over another generation of people like her. But times were a-changing, the 1970s turning into the 1980s. Bowman got drunk and quit?! Whatever happened to class? Horus defeated Set and imprisoned him? Man, she liked Set. And then came the museum robbery - the police closed in, now with power nullifiers (where the hell had they gotten _those_?) and one put a gun to her son's head to make her surrender. She cut him after that, charges they added to the many, many still on the books for Clock Queen, and when she realized her friends had abandoned her and her son she was left with an inescapable problem. Richard Cline turned eighteen years old two days after his arrest. Freedom City juries hated If he was tried as an adult, he'd be in jail for twenty years. So what does a mother do? Anna took all the blame herself, spinning a tale of child endangerment and abuse, one that got her son held until he turned twenty-one and then freed (to a criminal career she happily followed) - and one that, between this and that and the other thing, got her a sentence of twenty-five to life. She spent the 1980s in Blackstone and the 1990s in Blackstone too, even coming back after a few happy days of freedom after the Terminus Invasion, knowing that her incarceration was what kept her son from being jailed for the rest of his life if he was ever caught. She was immensely surprised to be freed the first time she was up for parole. The Centurion, dead now for years, had left a message in her file - a statement on behalf of her character, urging that she be allowed to rejoin society. That was a hell of a thing. By the time she was out, her son was married and settled down. She drifted for years after that - she couldn't go back to her old ways without endangering the life her son and new daughter-in-law had built, not without hurting the grandkids she adored. She wasn't going to sell out and be a hero, that was for damn sure - but what else was she supposed to do with herself? She lived on the money her son sent, and selling a few items she'd saved over the years, and maybe stealing now and again - acutely aware of a reality that her long time in prison had made absolutely acute. She was old, and getting older. She wasn't immune to aging as she'd often thought, it just happened more slowly to her than it did and the reality that the immortals she knew were this close to dancing on her grave became an ever-heavier weight balanced on her soul. Then, a couple of years ago, what was supposed to be one last job turned out to be a brush with divinity - with unexpected consequences. . Personality and Motivation: Lady Horus has the charisma of her predecessor (and the habit of showboating in combat) but evidently a different personality - she's more inclined to mock and belittle the failings of her opponents rather than call them out as a fellow warrior. She's more close-mouthed than her predecessor as well, talking little about the origins of her powers and what has brought her to Bedlam, generally spinning the question around to one about the welfare of the person she's speaking to. She likes kids and pets - is tolerant of certain kinds of crime but despises those who exploit others, particularly those who are hostile towards women and children. When angry, her accent 'slips' and she shouts in a gutter argot unfamiliar to the average citizen of Bedlam, sounding more like a 1930s cartoon character than the sometimes-Shakespearean Sunhawk. Without the Helm, she's not actually that different - just more tired. She can feel her time running out but she does her best to make sure no one can tell she knows. Powers and Tactics: Lady Horus is faster and more agile than her masculine counterpart, wielding the Ankh of Horus with a frenetic energy that speaks more to the kineticism of a young sunhawk at war rather than the brute strength of the Avenger of old. That said she seems to be less creative with her powers than her predecessor - generally striking with mighty blows of her ankh while weaving in and out of combat, occasionally blasting foes or pummeling them with great strength. She has manifested some abilities denied to her predecessor - in particular teleportation, self-healing, and invisibility. Without the Helm, she fights dirty - staying invisible as long as possible, hitting from behind, and otherwise doing whatever it takes to survive. The years may be catching up but she is still entirely capable of outfighting SWAT officers or even low-level metahumans, especially if her goal is just to run away and find the Helm (which it usually is). Complications: Anna, No!: Anna YES Fake!: Lady Horus is not the same person as the old Horus - a source of resentment for many, both divine and otherwise. Grandma: Not all of Anna's opinions have kept up with her age. Help Me Out Here, Sister: Much of Lady Horus' knowledge of the gods of Egypt comes from the spirit of Nephthys, the Lady of the Mansion. But Nephthys, or rather the fragment of her embedded in the Helm, has her own agenda and often keeps her own counsel - and has her own feelings towards the woman who wears the Helm of Horus. Hey, That's Mine!: When deprived of her Helm, Lady Horus reverts back to her normal self within the space of 1 minute. Long Past? Your Past: Anna Cline's life is on the record - and the record is not so cheerful. Not So Tough: Lady Horus lacks much of the physical prowess of her illustrious predecessor. Who Are You?: The mystery of exactly who Lady Horus is remains just that - at least to most. )$% @#$* *& @ !#$%*: Lady Horus's greatest antagonists are the Hammer of Justice and Stabbo the Clown. Also kind of the Centurion. Abilities: 0 + 4 + 4 + 0 + 4 + 2 = 14PP STR 26/10 (+8/+0) DEX 14 (+2) CON 14 (+2) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 20/12 (+5/+1) Combat: 8 + 8 = 16PP Init: +2 / +22 with Super Speed ATK: +4 (+6 Ankh/+10 Super-Speed) DEF: +12 (+8 Dodge Focus, +4 Base, +2 flat-footed) Grapple: +4/+17 Knockback: -8/-1 Saves: 3 + 6 + 3 = 12PP TOU +8/+2 (+2 Con, +6 Protection [8 Impervious]) FORT +5 (+2 Con, +3) REF +8 (+2 Wis, +6) WILL +5 (+2 Wis, +3) Skills: 48R=12PP Bluff 10 (+11/+15) Disable Device 5 (+5) Escape Artist 6 (+8) Knowledge (History) 5 (+5) Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 2 (+2) Languages 2 (Ancient Egyptian, Arabic, Base: English) Notice 6 (+8) Sense Motive 6 (+8) Stealth 6 (+8) Feats: 42PP Dodge Focus 8 Eidetic Memory Equipment 3 (Headquarters Old Main) Evasion Fearless Move-By Action Sidekick 24 (Wadjet) Taunt Ultimate Save (Will) Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Equipment: Belchner College's Old Main: [Size: Huge; Toughness: 15; Features: Communications, Computer, Concealed (2), Infirmary, Laboratory, Library, Living Space, Power System, Security System] [15EP] A few people who work at Belchner College remember the good old days. Belchner has never been the most prestigious institution in Wisconsin, but it spent decades attracting students from all over the northeastern part of the Badger State. Then came That Guy - the president they don't name, with his friends on the Board of Trustees, and his ties to the city's 'business community', and the way secretaries had to go into his office in pairs. That was when faculty started deserting, when alumni stopped donating, and when the students began to realize they could do whatever the hell they wanted. Old Main is from the good old days - a three story brick building covered in gargoyles, actually the first building on campus built back in the late 1880s. It had classrooms and the library, a chemistry lab, even a small museum down in the basement full of artifacts donated by wealthy alumni The building's been boarded up since a few years into That Guy's reign as President - he was sure students wanted a bigger gym and skating rink, and he was sure they didn't want to waste time in an "old dump" like this. There were plans to demolish the place but then a small group of alumni sued the president for threatening a college landmark, then a few years into _that_ suit the college turned out to be running deep in the red; and then the president fled the country ahead of an arrest warrant... The college spent some time dumping things they didn't need anymore - microfilm readers, desktop computers that were supposed to be replaced with free student iPads, the various detritus of a college in the midst of a transition. From the outside it's a sad building, covered in graffiti, its windows boarded up where they're not broken, its doors boarded up too; the dying grass on its little plot full of cigarette butts and beer cans. Inside, the first floor still looks like Hell - but the second floor is full of superheroes! Lady Horus (aka Anna Cline) and Wadjet (aka Esperanza Azul) have been living here for the last few months, having moved in during the college's Christmas holiday. They've fixed things up - the library, the chemistry labs, the computers, Anna acquiring things for her protege's genius to put to good use. There's no central heat, but cunningly-concealed solar panels on the roof provide electricity, and luckily the water systems in the college are indifferently run enough that they were able to get running water in the building. Anna's lived in worse places. And this is a place Esperanza built. It's a good place to fight a war. The Hammer of Justice hasn't found them...yet. Powers: 45 + 1 + 1 + 32 + 2 = 81PP Device 11 (Helm of Horus, Flaw: Hard to Lose, 55PP, PF: Restricted [Those Chosen By The Gods]) [45PP] Enhanced Charisma 8 (to CHA 20/+5) [8DP] Feature 1 (Advice from Nepthys) [1DP] Immunity 3 (aging, disease, poison) [3DP] Ankh Array 13 (26PP, PFs: Accurate, Alternate Powers 2) [29DP] BE: Flight 5 (250 MPH) {10} + Strike 14 (PFs: Improved Crit 1, Takedown Attack 1) {16} {10+16=26} AP: Blast 14 (Extra: Penetrating 10 [as DMG 24], Flaw: Action [Full], PFs: Improved Crit 1, Variable Descriptor 1 [any light]) {26/26} AP: Enhanced STR 16 (to STR 26/+8) {16} + Super-Strength 5 (Effective STR 50, Heavy Load 12 tons) {10} {16+10=26/26} Protection 6 (Extra: Impervious 8 ) [14DP] Feature 1 (Temporal Inertia) [1PP]Immunity 1 (aging, Extra: Affects Others, Flaw: Limited [Half-Effect]) [1PP]Super-Speed 5 (Speed 5 [250 MPH/2500 ft per round], +20 Init, Quickness 5 (x50), 10PP array, PFs: Accurate 3, Alternate Powers 4) [32PP] BE: Concealment 10 (all senses, Flaw: Passive) {10/10}AP: Damage 4 (Extra: Autofire, PFs: Improved Crit 2) {10/10}AP: Damage 4 (Extras: Area [Targeted, Shapeable], Selective], Flaw: Action [Full], PFs: Improved Crit 2) {10/10}AP: Healing 2 (Extra: Total, Flaw: Personal) {10/10}AP: Teleport 3 (300 ft) (Extra: Accurate, Affects Others, Flaw: Short-Range Only, PF: Turnabout) {10/10} Super-Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling, Water-Walking, Flaw: Limited [Only While Moving]) [2PP] costs Abilities (14) + Combat (16) + Saves (12) + Skills (12/48) + Feats (42) + Powers (81) = 177/181 pts