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Player Name: Eternal Phoenix Character Name: Waverider Power Level: 12 (180/184 PP) Trade-Offs: +2 Damage, -2 Attack(Blast); +2 Attack, -2 Damage (Drain & Nauseate); +2 Toughness, -2 Defense Unspent PP: 4 In Brief: Normal teenage girl with dreams of deaf advocacy back slapped by irony, becomes deaf and mute vibration controller. Now she’s grown up and attending Emerald City University. Residence: Emerald City University Base of Operations: Emerald City Catchphrase: “…” Alternate Identities: Naomi Suleiman Identity: Secret Birthplace: Los Angeles, California Occupation: University Student Affliations: Spectacle (Los Angeles street level hero), a few old Claremont Academy friends Family: Armaan Suleiman (a lawyer), Jana Suleiman (a doctor), Saloni Suleiman (currently interning and married; no signs of powers), Navin Suleiman (first year Claremont Academy student; same powers as Naomi) Age: 21 Apparent Age: Early 20s. Gender: Female Ethnicity: Indian-American Height: 5’ 5” Weight: 115 Eyes: Dark Brown Hair: Black Description: Naomi is of Indian descent, which means chocolate skin and straight jet black hair. She keeps her hair cut just above her shoulders and her makeup is on the minimal side. Her clothes are quite preppy and put together. Usually a ruffled shirt and cute skirt with some ballet flats and tasteful jewelry. Her costume, originally a variation on the Claremont Academy costume, is now quite different. It is still a loose fitting bodysuit, but a ruffled knee length skirt and bolero jacket complete the ensemble. The skirt, sleeves of the jacket, shoes are golden in color. The bodysuit shirt is merely yellow. Howefer, the body of the jacket and legs of the bodysuit are a light lavender A set of embroidered silver concentric circles serve as her symbol. They are on both the bolero jacket and the bodysuit shirt, centered over the right pectoral. Her domino mask is also silver. History: Naomi was born in Los Angeles. No one knew it, but she’d been absorbing vibrations since she was a small bundle of cells in her mother’s womb. Which made the pregnancy slightly more…interesting…than most, but caused no real complications. Growing up, she was the source of the occasional mysterious loud bang, which gradually made her persona non grata among her peers. There were some earthquake scares as well (which really didn’t help), but those weren’t traced to her until later. However, there was one group that didn’t reject her for the occasional weirdness that surrounded her. They were the deaf and hearing impaired kids at her school. So she made friends, and learned sign language explicitly so she could talk to them. She was a normal kid, doing normal kid things. Then it happened. Summer break, 2014. Naomi was waiting for a friend downtown, having planned a beach day. They had agreed to meet at a parking garage, but her friend was late. So she’d stepped into the shade of the parking garage to wait. She felt the vibrations (not that she knew what they were at the time) churn inside her. This had happened many times before. See the mysterious loud noises and odd earthquake scares. The problem was that these were much stronger than before. They…hurt. She leaned against the wall of the parking garage. Her skin touched it, and instantly the mysterious force inside of her ripped its way out, with all the pain that verb implies. It was a sound and quake burst, at the same time, and with more force that she could conceive of. Her eardrums burst immediately. The cilla in her inner ear were smashed down. The bones in her inner ear shattered. The pain was immense. No one wouldn’t have screamed. Unfortunately, that was the last thing she should’ve done. The vibrations had found an easier way out, and tore her larynx to shreds on the way. No parking garage, even in Los Angeles, is built to take that kind of strain. Hell, the surrounding buildings were in trouble. Naomi might have even triggered a real earthquake and endangered the entire city. Except there just happened to be a hero in the area. Spectacle. Claremont class of 2008. The name…didn’t fit his powers. He was stronger, faster, and more durable than any unarmored human could possibly be, but it was his power of infinite capacity (but not infinite rate) energy absorption that saved the day. He chucked his groceries aside, and dove in to save a girl who was having a very bad day. He saved the city. He saved the neighborhood. He saved the girl. He even saved the parking garage attendant. Unfortunately, he couldn’t save the parking garage. It collapsed, crushing all the cars inside of it. Spectacle was not an idiot. He knew the girl, now unconscious, would be blamed. This wasn’t Freedom City. She ought to get away from the justice system, but the civil suits and media coverage would destroy her family. So he got gone, and fast. He dropped her off at a hospital in another district. Spectacle poked his head in now and again, while Naomi was recovering, making it clear in no uncertain terms that they needed to have a conversation. Something Had To Be Done, and such like. When they finally had it, she anxiously begged him not to ship her away just yet. Her parents would never allow it. She had friends here. She was still adjusting to her new life. And so on. He actually had no intention of doing that (otherwise he’d have spoken with someone at Claremont by now), but watched the girl squirm under the idea before announcing he’d train her. Spectacle always wanted a sidekick, after all. When Naomi protested even that much, he told her it was either that or being shipped away. He knew of someone who could be very persuasive, if it came to that. And so Waverider was born. After school training. The occasional easy mission. That sort of thing. When it came down to it, Spectacle was a good teacher, and his energy absorption and overall toughness helped make up for any…mistakes along the way. Until, around the end of the school year, he realized his pupil was growing past his skills. It was sad, but he had to revisit their initial Something Had To Be Done conversation. During this time, Naomi had gotten to know him, and on the whole he wasn’t a bad guy. A skilled and effective hero, who just so happened to be exasperatingly easygoing about everything under the sun. That said his relaxed deadpanning of virtually everything was funny when directed at others. Such as whoever was on the other end at that superhero school he was talking about. Leaving might not be so bad. Her family had grown a bit distant from her, which made some sense. She couldn’t hear them anymore, and sign language was a pain in the butt to learn without a powerful motivation and sufficient spare time to do so. She knew that from personal experience. She also knew the person on the other end of that call (who was growing ever more exasperated, a position with which she both sympathized and found funny) would easily persuade her parents to let her go. And honestly? The prospect was a little exciting now. Sure, leaving her friends would be sad. But she’d be going to a place where she didn’t have to hide her powers from everyone around her. She didn’t have to pretend she didn’t notice when people spoke to her. And, like virtually every teenager ever born, she was always up for a bit of an adventure. Well, she had her Claremont adventures. Some were fun. Some were horrific and traumatizing. But like all things good and bad, they came to an end. She was ready for college, and Emerald City’s elite Malory College had shown interest. Enough to get her to pack up and move cross country again. But when she arrived she found out hadn’t quite made the cut for Malory College. The money was there. Her grades were good enough. There were no problems with her application. Her interview even went well. Yet, mysteriously, she was not selected to join that year’s class. She’d heard good things about Emerald City University’s Pre-Law program. And she didn’t feel like moving again. So far it’s been okay. Truthfully she’d been a little bored. She’d put away her costume after leaving Claremont. She’d wanted to focus on her studies. And avoid insane cannibalistic Morlocks from another dimension. But…she missed it. With great power, there must also come great responsibility too. And she had kept practicing with her powers. She had tried to play it off as needing to discharge vibrational energy, but she knew better even then. So she dusted off the ol’ costume, gave a few individualizing tweaks, and Waverider was back on the scene. . Personality & Motivation: Naomi isn’t one of those ultra-driven hero types, or so she thought. She was a good person, and she had no problem helping out people in trouble, but her sights remained set squarely on her dream of being a lawyer who advocates for deaf rights. Maybe even politics, if she could swing it. She tried not being a hero for a while to focus on her studies, but she simply can’t help getting involved. She was rather remarkably well adjusted. Then she ran into said insane cannibalistic Morlocks from another dimension. She got therapy, processed the trauma, and moved past it. Or again, so she thought. The truth is, she kind of took the first opportunity to get the hell out of Freedom City. She had no problems with Woodsman, but keep his terrible, doomed world as far away from hers as humanly possible. Outwardly, she remains calm and rational, only dwelling on the things she can change. But on the inside she’s made a promise to herself. One she didn’t acknowledge even having made until putting her costume back on. Power and responsibility go hand in hand. They always have. But it has to be more than that. Simply being too squeamish to let people get hurt in front of you isn’t enough. Life is short. Hate is foolish. Love is wise. Always try to be nice. Never fail to be kind. Don’t surrender to fear. Laugh hard. Run fast. Live well. And never, ever give up. Power Descriptions: Naomi is a vibration controller. She can theoretically induce, increase, or reduce vibrations in virtually any material. As sound is simply vibration that can be heard by humans, she can manipulate that as well, although somewhat less effectively at present. She has a personal force field made of high resonance vibrations to protect her. She does not, however, generate the vibrations out of nothing. In fact, her body absorbs and stores vibratory energy for later use. This renders her immune to vibratory (and thus sonic) attacks of any kind, and provides a measure of defense against bludgeoning attacks. She can feel vibrations on her skin, as well. Practice allows to even differentiate between people’s voices. However, actually telling what they’re saying on a consistent basis is currently beyond her, and thus she must lip read or have the speaker(s) use sign language instead. Powers & Tactics: Naomi is essentially a blaster. She’s got a few neat tricks, like deadening the sound in an massive area, increasing the vibrations in a target’s inner ear to sickening levels, or unleashing a deafening wall of sound in a small area. However, the core of all of that is blasting away with vibratory energy. With both Accurate Attack and Power Attack she can shift the damage and accuracy of her attacks around, so it’s not quite as one dimensional as it sounds. Her force field is a heck of a thing. It increases her physical durability by several orders of magnitude, to the degree that it would take heavy artillery or cruise missiles to harm her with it active. And, of course, vibratory/sonic attacks are entirely useless, as she absorbs them. Complications: I’m Sorry, I Didn’t Catch That: Naomi’s inner ear is destroyed. She can’t hear anything. At all. Whatsoever. That said, she does have the ability to feel vibrations. If she focuses, she can even understand speech. Unless, of course, there’s too much background noise. Or she’s tired. Or distracted. You name it. Lip reading can help with this, but it has its limits. So sometimes she can garble people’s words. Or miss them entirely. A GM may award a hero point when this becomes a…problem. Seen And Never Heard: Naomi cannot talk. Her larynx is ruined. Most people don’t know sign language, so she keeps a pen and pad on her person. Easy enough, right? Well…that requires the person she’s “speaking” with to look at her. Which may or may not always be possible in the middle of superheroics. Add to that, her pad and/or pen could be ruined by damage, and then what can she do? A GM may award a hero point when communications between her and anyone else become compromised in this manner. Bad Vibrations: Naomi’s powers run on vibratory energy, such as sound. Her body is constantly absorbing such energy from the environment. However, she has an upper limit to the amount she can absorb. Reaching it triggers a devastating Burst Area of vibratory energy (rank 12 at minimum, with any more left to GM’s discretion) to explode from her body, instantly and agonizingly depleting her reserves (making her Stunned from the pain). Therefore, from time to time she must release some lest this happen. Conversely, she can use up her reserves in combat (by repeatedly attacking with her array, flying for long periods, and/or taking lots of hits to her force field) rendering her attack array, flight, and force field useless until she absorbs enough energy to use them again. A GM may award a hero point for either of these situations occurring. No, I Don’t Know That Guy From That Show: Naomi is of Indian descent. Both parents were born and raised in India, and immigrated later. Americans have some…unfortunate misconceptions about the Indian people. And others can…mistake her ethnicity for another one, such as Arabic. That’s without getting into the fact that she does not, in fact, practice Hindism or Islam, the two dominant religions of India. She’s agnostic, thank you very much. No, her parents don’t approve. A GM may award a hero point for Waverider having to deal with the ignorant and/or prejudiced. ABILITIES: 2+2+4+4+4+6=22 Strength 12 (+1) Dexterity 12 (+1) Constitution 14 (+2) Intelligence 14 (+2) Wisdom 14 (+2) Charisma 16 (+3) COMBAT: 10+10=20 Initiative: +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +5 Base (+10 Ranged, +14 Drain & Nauseate) Grapple: +6 Defense: +10 (+5 Base, + 5 Dodge Focus, +3 Flat Footed) Knockback: -13 w/ Force Field, -1 without SAVING THROWS: 6+7+8=21 Toughness: +14 (+2 Con, +12 Force Field); Impervious 12 Fortitude: +8 (+2 Con, +6) Reflex: +8 (+1 Dex, +7) Will: +10 (+2 Wis, +8) SKILLS: 84 SP= 21PP Acrobatics 9 (+10) Bluff 7 (+10) Concentration 13 (+15)Second Chance Diplomacy 12 (+15)Skill Mastery Knowledge (civics) 8 (+10)Skill Mastery Knowledge (current events) 8 (+10) Language 1 (American Sign Language; English Base) Notice 13 (+15)Skill Mastery Sense Motive 13 (+15)Skill Mastery FEATS: 19PP Accurate Attack Attack Focus (ranged) 5 Challenge (Notice-Lip Reading) Dodge Focus 5 Improved Initiative Luck Power Attack Precise Shot Second Chance (Concentration checks to maintain powers) Skill Mastery (Diplomacy, Knowledge [civics], Notice, Sense Motive Uncanny Dodge (tactile) POWERS: 5+24+10+2+36=77 (all powers have “Mutant” as a source descriptor, and all have Vibration/Sonic as a effect descriptor) Flight 5 ("Waveriding"; 250 mph/2500ft/rd; Flaw: Platform) [5PP] Force Field 12 ("Vibration Field"; Extra: Impervious) [24PP] Immunity 10 ("Vibration Absorber"; Sonic/Vibration Effects) [10PP] Super Senses 2 ("Vibration Feeling"; Extended & Ranged Tactile) [2PP] Vibration Control Array 16 (32PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 4) [36PP] BE: Blast 14 ("Vibroblast"; Feats: Improved Crit 2, Knockback, Precise) [32/32] AP: Dazzle 10 ("Sonic Screech"; Auditory; Extra: Burst Area 50-250 ft radius, Selective Attack; Feats: Progression Increase Area 2) [32/32] AP: Drain Toughness 10 ("Shattering Frequency"; Extras: Affects Objects, Range [ranged]; Feats: Accurate 2) [32/32] AP: Nauseate 10 ("Intense Vertigo"; Extra: Range [ranged]; Feats: Accurate 2) [32/32] AP: Obscure Auditory 10 ("Absorb Sound"; 5,000 ft radius; Extra: Selective Attack) [20/32] DC Block: Name Attack Bonus Range Save & DC Effect Unarmed +5 Melee 16 Toughness Damage Vibroblast +10 Ranged 29 Toughness Damage Sonic Screech N/A, General Area Ranged 20 Reflex to halve 20 Reflex to avoid 20 Fort to overcome if affected Auditory Dazzle Shattering Frequency +14 Ranged 20 Fortitude (Reflex if Immune) Drain Toughness Intense Vertigo +14 Ranged 20 Fortitude Nauseate TOTALS Abilities 22 + Combat 20 + Saving Throws 21 + Skills 21 + Feats 19 + Powers 77– Drawbacks 0= 180/184 points

GM Tea Time, Around 4PM, May 15th, 2020 All Across Emerald City Hello, hello, all my new friends! I am the White Rabbit. The man on the screen looked smart, in his long tailed jacket. The jacket was black, with a red and white pattern on the lapel, with the red on each side looking suspiciously like half of a heart. He wore an off-white vest under it, with a white dress shirt and a neatly tied dark red tie. On his head, a black bowler hat, with a pair of white rabbit ears under it, pointing down. His hair was short and blonde, but he sported some impressive sideburns. The man looked so happy, a wide smile on his lips, as he looked down at a golden pocket watch in his hand. To most, he probably looked like a slightly deranged kids' show host. Some saw him on their television, where he had suddenly appeared. Some heard him on the radio. For others still, his image had suddenly appeared on the screen of their smart phones. Anything connected to the public air waves, he was there. Oh my, would you look at the time? It is tea time! The very best time of the day! And oh, what a party we will have! So come, my friends! Come, and let us have tea! Join us, my friends and I, and come for tea! We even have cake! He threw his head back, laughing quickly at himself, before turning back to the screen. My old friends are out there already, y'know. Go and find them, they will tell you what to do. They'll show you how to really get the party started! Now, hurry up! After all, you're late, you're late, for a very important date. All across Emerald City, the effect was instant: Anarchy. As they were drawn into the White Rabbit's power, the citizens of Emerald City took to the streets. Even to those that escaped the madness of the mind, the city seemed to take on a brand new life. Everything was changing, twisting and turning. A cartoony world of wonder, with giant flowers, playing cards and more, spreading all across Emerald. It was almost enough to make one go mad. A fairy tale wonderland, spreading out across the city streets, as the White Rabbit's new friends began to spread into shops, stores, homes, banks, government offices and more. A group of heroes were among the unaffected. Whether by chance or design, they had escaped the White Rabbit's friendship. It wouldn't take long for them to notice that the greatest concentration of White Rabbit's friends seemed to be centered near the Yellow Brick Row shopping district...

OOC for this. @EternalPhoenix @Dr Archeville @Growth Spurt @Tiffany Korta Your opening post could describe how you avoided being affected by the initial outburst of friendship from the White Rabbit. You might not have heard him, you might have passed a Will save, you might have broken free of his control, I'm good with most choices. The effect from radios, tvs and phones are based on audio. Can't hear it, can't be affected by it. Doesn't mean you'll be immune if you go up against White Rabbit in person, though! You'll find some way of discovering the large concentration of affected people near Yellow Brick Row, and then we'll go from there. You might spot the others there, or you might not. Up to you.

GM 3PM, August 25th, 2020 University Hill, Emerald City Naomi might not have expected that Elliot would ever take her up on the offer to talk or help with the issues at his school, but months after their meeting, she had received a simple text message: Things are getting worse at the school. I need your help. Meet me at the Starbucks to the South of the University Hill Campus. The Starbucks was busy. People talking all around. A lot of people that Naomi recognized from the university, some that she shared classes with, others that she had only see. It wasn't completely crowded, but there was enough people around that it would be difficult for anyone to cause a scene of any kind without being noticed. She would soon see Elliot, sitting by himself by a table, fending off a guy that asked if he could sit.

OOC for this. @EternalPhoenix feel free to make any description of the Starbucks that you want.

GM 2PM, March 21st, 2020 The Riverfront, Emerald City Since the meeting of heroes at the noodle place in Betlehem Heights, Waverider and the mighty Metanaut had volounteered to try and get their hands on an Ultio Suit system. Find a rich kid with a suit, convince him to hand it over, work their charms a little bit maybe, or, well, however else they could do it. A week or so later, they had found someone. A guy named Elliot Elijah Elder, his dad was rich, his mom was on the city council, he attended a fancy private school, so of course his mom had bought him an Ultio Suit. He hadn't really used it a lot, but Metanaut had caught him going into the suit to catch a purse snatcher, then out again, even if he had seemed kind of bored. Now, Elliot was sitting by the waterfront at the Riverfront, just looking out at the water. All alone, away from his school. Probably the best time to strike up a friendly or not so friendly conversation.

OOC for this. @Shofet, @EternalPhoenix

Title unrelated to thread content. But seriously now. I have three PCs and a Sidekick I'm not using right now. Queenie's got Praetorian things to do, so I'm happy enough with that. Who would like to GM something for me? Terrifica, the prickly costumed detective Waverider, the Claremont senior and vibration controller Pacer and Stalwart, Speed and Strength Incarnate, twins, and Claremont juniors

Later on, May 15th. It was getting on, the end of... a bewildering day, her folks were still working through the paperwork and hammering the details, so they were giving her a bit of space to still explore. Having already met some of the sterling members of the community, she felt that at least she could talk to the others here and it wouldn't be such a colossal disaster. If, yanno, I wasn't staring like a deer stuck in headlights at everything. And it wasn't like she knew how to relate to people. Hi! I am Corinne, you know my father, probably better than I do! And I can do things with stuff. The Zen garden hadn't been as zen, because she had to deal with people in unfamiliar territory. ,Well fortunately she was able to sort herself out, and she had a longboard, and that helped. The rhythm of it. Pump, pump, glide. Then came the movement on the board, making it weave as she shuffled and twirled on the board itself. Arms held up and bent at her elbows for balance.

May 11 Wednesday 2017 7:15 PM Bayview, Freedom City The sun was setting on Freedom City, but it was the Bayview waterfront that received particular attention. The warm red glow of the sun was reflecting off of the tranquil ocean surface, it basked the rising residences and streets in restful splendor. This peaceful illumination was matched by an unusual heat for spring, it felt like an early summer to most. The unusually warm evening was made pleasant by a warm breeze, that lofted up from the ocean and took the smells of late dinners out from the open windows of Bayview dining rooms and into the street. Naomi found herself on foot taking a set of streets she’d hardly been down back to Claremont. The usual towering opulent houses had given way to rows of smaller homes, cute yards with waist high fences and rectangular backyards filled with children toys and hanging clothes. The night was quiet, and while the night was always quiet for Naomi, this particular evening she felt hardly a vibration. A steady pulse of the water running underneath her in the pipes below, the pitter patter of tiny foot steps on the sidewalk as two children ran by her. The reverberations of their laughter gliding through the warm spring air. The regular stillness of it all was interrupted by two screeching thuds on the pavement blocks behind her, she could feel the roar of the sirens on her skin before the blue and red lights cast a silhouette of her as they passed by. The marked white and blue mustang that read Freedom City Police slowed down and veered right taking the next street up. It slowed to a stop out of sight and two heavy individuals got out and slammed their car doors. Without being able to see the situation on the street ahead of her, she could feel the wailing cries of a singular woman piercing the air and a slow hum of many people muttering, accompanied by the gruff tones of authorities and a whispering sense of foreboding that spread like a radial cloud from the center of the scene.

Friday, August 26th, 2016 The Athletic Field, Claremont Academy, Bayview 8:14 PM The sun was beginning to set, the Academy’s main building, located to the south catching a last few glimpses of sunlight. Most of the school’s students had returned or arrived already, in preparation of the new school year starting in just three days. Some had also stayed through the break, or arrived earlier, earlier in their summer break. Among the latter group were Jann Fa-Re, Selena Kwon and Alexander Lloydd, all of whom had been at the school for at least a few weeks now. They all got along, so they had been spending time together, and were doing so right now. While many of the students attended the Kick-Off Dance held in the gym, or were out in the streets of Freedom City doing their own thing, these three had decided to take the relative silence this day would offer, with most people doing the best with their last few days of break-time, to work on something. They had planned it, they had acquired the supplies they needed through various ways, and as the sun was now setting, it was time to put the plan into motion. Meanwhile, a few dozen feet to the south, Naomi Suleiman was spending her time inside her room. A dance did not interest her much, so she just was inside her room for now. Suddenly, something caught her attention. Through her window, she saw a group of people, three or so, flying above the athletic field. It was something unusual for a variety of reasons, including the fact almost everybody was currently at the dance.

Bayview, Freedom City, New Jersey Friday, April 29, 2016 3:24 PM local time Even if the news had not been full of stories covering the several incidents around the world that appeared inspired by the Plagues of Egypt, the rumor mill at Claremont Academy was currently talking about little else. Several Claremont students had already been involved in dealing with some of the incidents. Frostbyte and Ardent had been there for the very first of the "plagues," over at Ocean Heights Amusement Park. Reagemt had then been at the incident with several Deep Ones in Providence, Rhodes Island. El Huracan and Sparkler had even been present at another during their ride along with the veteran hero Asad in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. And that did not even count the incidents at which Claremont alumni had been present. Thus far one of the biblical plagues had struck somewhere in the world each day for the past week. There were at least two plagues left (if one went by the order they were supposed to fall), and if the timing held true, one should be occurring on this Friday. But even with the anxiety that was hanging over much of Freedom City and other major cities, life had gone on at Claremont Academy, with the students attending their classes and training as normal. It was a beautiful Spring afternoon in Freedom City when classes ended for the week at the school. The weather was warm and the sun was out. But even as several students made their way outside onto the grounds to take in the warm weather and sun, the sky began to dim. It started faintly, almost as if a large cloud had passed over the sun. But there were no clouds big enough in the sky. But it did not stop there, the day began to dark even more, as an unexplainable darkness began to spread through the sky over Bayview.

January 31, 2016 Goodman Building Floor 16 It's Sunday in the Goodman Building. The Atoms are out of town, some at school, some visiting family on the Moon, some in other dimensions. Most of the building's staff have the day off, but given the sheer size of the scientific operations in the facility, as well as the necessary work that went on here, several hundred people were still in the building. "So yeah, here's where I stayed for two weeks," Riley Smith-Quinn was telling Robin, the two of them walking together through the now-empty isolation quarters under the eye of Dr. Matt Drummond, Riley's original physician upon his arrival on Earth-Prime. The silver-haired old physician watched as one teen showed his girlfriend the cot, the small bookshelf "Hey, they've still got all those weird Andi comics!", and the tablet computer that had been all he owned upon his arrival. "Well, all I owned that ya let me have, anyway," he said with a smile the doctor's way. He hadn't talked much about his time here, but oddly enough he was more relaxed than Robin had seen him in a while. Maybe because this place wasn't home - but then it had never tried to be, either. "I think you remember why we kept your hatchet and quiver, Mr. Smith," said the doctor with a paternal twinkle in his eye. "Still, you were an easier patient than the young person who tried to punch her way through the security door," he said, making a gesture towards the transparent steel that made up the outside door of the small suite, now open since no extradimensional visitors were staying here. "Yeah, well.,,." Riley shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "Thanks for lettin' me show Robin 'round. You the only one on the floor today?" "No," said Drummond, shaking his head. "There's the skeleton staff in the dimensional sciences office, two colleagues of mine in the reconstructive surgery bay, and one dealing with a magical crisis. You know how it is here - we never really shut down."

GM Freedom City Shipyards The Waterfront, Freedom City, New JerseyWednesday November 11th, 2015 5:00 PM Most visits to the Waterfront by the general public were not centered around the shipyard. But, most visits didn't revolve around a public unveiling. Heavy restrictions placed upon Germany after World War I ended meant that the country could no longer keep any semblance of a respectable standing naval force. In response Germany created a dummy corporation so as to secretly rebuild its naval force from the ground up. An act that was a direct violation of the military sanctions placed upon the country. The greatest success story to come from this was U-Boat 000. The only Type XXVII U Boat ever built. This top secret nuclear submarine unofficially held the record for most ships sunk during a commercial raid. When the US joined in the war, this record extended to being responsible for the sinking of the most Allied cargo ships. At least until a convoy finally brought the submarine down. As Germany has long since denied the extinction of the XXVII when a research expedition from ASTRO Labs uncovered the wreckage no one in the government raised a complaint when team offered to donate it to the Hunter Museum of Natural History. The fact that the ship transferring the submarine would be arriving on Veteran's Day turned the entire event into a garish celebration. Food stands, flags, and above all members of the media were posted all over.

Naomi stepped out the cab. Spectacle’s contact here at Claremont had paid for the cab from the airport, so she didn’t have to pay the cabbie. It was the middle of Saturday, so she fully expected no one to be around. Maybe the office had someone? She shouldered her backpack and started pulling her wheeled suitcase. She hadn’t brought tons of stuff. As a proper teenager, everything was on her smartphone and laptop. The former was on her hip and the latter was in her backpack. She passed through the front gate and glanced around. Vacant, of course. Wasn’t there a mall nearby, or something? Some of the others here were superheroes, so maybe there were on patrol? She shivered a little. She should’ve though today’s outfit through a little better. A halter top, bolero jacket, and short pleated skirt were good for California, but Jersey was a bit cooler. The leggings she donned in the airport and her super cute knee high boots were probably helping, but it was still nippy. This was why she’s brought so few clothes, compared to the closet that was virtually exploding at home. Different climates demand different wardrobes. Well, that and airlines charge so much for checked bags. There was such a thing as taking advantage of a decent person’s generosity, even if they were richer than Bill Gates. Not that she knew they were, necessarily, but the point remained. Well, this clearly wasn’t the place to start, so she stepped back out the main gate and followed the fence around until she found an opening and the gardens. She could feel people, distantly. Must be in the dorms or something. And there’s a nice helpful sign. Administration building. Yes. Halfway to the goal. Now, if only they had someone who knew sign language. Because the pen and paper thing was getting really, really old. Her phone vibrated on her his. A text? From Spectacle’s burner? And she had to text her parents, too. She put her backpack down next to her suitcase and got to work. Her parents would be simple enough, but her little brother would have about as many questions as Spectacle, if not for the same reasons. She’d be taking selfies just to satisfy both of their curiosities. Not that that was a problem.

Waverider Power Level: 8 (119/123 PP) Trade-Offs: +2 Damage, -2 Attack(Blast & Drain); +2 Attack, -2 Damage (Nauseate); +2 Toughness, -2 Defense Unspent PP: 4 In Brief: Normal teenage girl with dreams of deaf advocacy back slapped by irony, becomes deaf and mute vibration controller. Residence: Claremont Academy dorms Base of Operations:Freedom City in general with a focus on Bayview Catchphrase: “…” Alternate Identites: Naomi Suleiman Identity: Secret Birthplace: Los Angeles, California Occupation: Student Affliations: Spectacle (Los Angeles street level hero), Claremont Academy in general Family: Armaan Suleiman (a lawyer), Jana Suleiman (a doctor), Saloni Suleiman (currently Pre-Med and engaged), Navin Suleiman (elementary school student) Age: 16 Apparent Age: 16 Gender: Female Ethnicity: Indian-American Height: 5’ 5” Weight: 110 Eyes: Dark Brown Hair: Black Description: Naomi is of Indian descent, which means chocolate skin and straight jet black hair. She keeps her hair cut just above her shoulders and her makeup is on the minimal side. Her clothes are quite preppy and put together. Usually a ruffled shirt and cute skirt with some ballet flats and tasteful jewelry. As being a superhero wasn’t in her future plans until relatively recently, she wears a variation on the standard Claremont uniform. The tights have been replaced by relatively loose fitting slacks of the same material. The top is a bit looser of a fit, as well. History: Naomi was born in Los Angeles. No one knew it, but she’d been absorbing vibrations since she was a small bundle of cells in her mother’s womb. Which made the pregnancy slightly more…interesting…than most, but caused no real complications. Growing up, she was the source of the occasional mysterious loud bang, which gradually made her persona non grata among her peers. There were some earthquake scares as well (which really didn’t help), but those weren’t traced to her until later. However, there was one group that didn’t reject her for the occasional weirdness that surrounded her. They were the deaf and hearing impaired kids at her school. So she made friends, and learned sign language explicitly so she could talk to them. She was a normal kid, doing normal kid things. Then it happened. Summer break, 2014. Naomi was waiting for a friend downtown, having planned a beach day. They had agreed to meet at a parking garage, but her friend was late. So she’d stepped into the shade of the parking garage to wait. She felt the vibrations (not that she knew what they were at the time) churn inside her. This had happened many times before. See the mysterious loud noises and odd earthquake scares. The problem was that these were much stronger than before. They…hurt. She leaned against the wall of the parking garage. Her skin touched it, and instantly the mysterious force inside of her ripped its way out, with all the pain that verb implies. It was a sound and quake burst, at the same time, and with more force that she could conceive of. Her eardrums burst immediately. The cilla in her inner ear were smashed down. The bones in her inner ear shattered. The pain was immense. No one wouldn’t have screamed. Unfortunately, that was the last thing she should’ve done. The vibrations had found an easier way out, and tore her larynx to shreds on the way. No parking garage, even in Los Angeles, is built to take that kind of strain. Hell, the surrounding buildings were in trouble. Naomi might have even triggered a real earthquake and endangered the entire city. Except there just happened to be a hero in the area. Spectacle. Claremont class of 2008. The name…didn’t fit his powers. He was stronger, faster, and more durable than any unarmored human could possibly be, but it was his power of infinite capacity (but not infinite rate) energy absorption that saved the day. He chucked his groceries aside, and dove in to save a girl who was having a very bad day. He saved the city. He saved the neighborhood. He saved the girl. He even saved the parking garage attendant. Unfortunately, he couldn’t save the parking garage. It collapsed, crushing all the cars inside of it. Spectacle was not an idiot. He knew the girl, now unconscious, would be blamed. This wasn’t Freedom City. She ought to get away from the justice system, but the civil suits and media coverage would destroy her family. So he got gone, and fast. He dropped her off at a hospital in another district. Spectacle poked his head in now and again, while Naomi was recovering, making it clear in no uncertain terms that they needed to have a conversation. Something Had To Be Done, and such like. When they finally had it, she anxiously begged him not to ship her away just yet. Her parents would never allow it. She had friends here. She was still adjusting to her new life. And so on. He actually had no intention of doing that (otherwise he’d have spoken with someone at Claremont by now), but watched the girl squirm under the idea before announcing he’d train her. Spectacle always wanted a sidekick, after all. When Naomi protested even that much, he told her it was either that or being shipped away. He knew of someone who could be very persuasive, if it came to that. And so Waverider was born. After school training. The occasional easy mission. That sort of thing. When it came down to it, Spectacle was a good teacher, and his energy absorption and overall toughness helped make up for any…mistakes along the way. Until, around the end of the school year, he realized his pupil was growing past his skills. It was sad, but he had to revisit their initial Something Had To Be Done conversation. During this time, Naomi had gotten to know him, and on the whole he wasn’t a bad guy. A skilled and effective hero, who just so happened to be exasperatingly easygoing about everything under the sun. That said his relaxed deadpanning of virtually everything was funny when directed at others. Such as whoever was on the other end at that superhero school he was talking about. Leaving might not be so bad. Her family had grown a bit distant from her, which made some sense. She couldn’t hear them anymore, and sign language was a pain in the butt to learn without a powerful motivation and sufficient spare time to do so. She knew that from personal experience. She also knew the person on the other end of that call (who was growing ever more exasperated, a position with which she both sympathized and found funny) would easily persuade her parents to let her go. And honestly? The prospect was a little exciting now. Sure, leaving her friends would be sad. But she’d be going to a place where she didn’t have to hide her powers from everyone around her. She didn’t have to pretend she didn’t notice when people spoke to her. And, like virtually every teenager ever born, she was always up for a bit of an adventure. . Personality & Motivation: Naomi isn’t one of those ultra-driven hero types. She’s a good person, and she’ll help out people in trouble, but her sights remain set squarely on her dream of being a lawyer who advocates for deaf rights. Maybe even politics, if she can swing it. In the meantime, she’s got no problem with the Wake Up, Go To School, Save The World thing. She’s…rather remarkably well adjusted, actually. She’s calm, rational, and only dwells on the things she can change. This doesn’t mean she doesn’t get frustrated, anxious, or depressed, but that she’s learned to deal with such emotions in a way that stops them from inhibiting her life. Power Descriptions: Naomi is a vibration controller. She can theoretically induce, increase, or reduce vibrations in virtually any material. As sound is simply vibration that can be heard by humans, she can manipulate that as well, although somewhat less effectively at present. She has a personal force field made of high resonance vibrations to protect her. She does not, however, generate the vibrations out of nothing. In fact, her body absorbs and stores vibratory energy for later use. This renders her immune to vibratory (and thus sonic) attacks of any kind, and provides a measure of defense against bludgeoning attacks. She can feel vibrations on her skin, as well. Practice allows to even differentiate between people’s voices. However, actually telling what they’re saying on a consistent basis is currently beyond her, and thus she must lip read or have the speaker(s) use sign language instead. Powers & Tactics: Naomi is essentially a blaster. She’s got a few neat tricks, like deadening the sound in an massive area, increasing the vibrations in a target’s inner ear to sickening levels, or unleashing a deafening wall of sound in a small area. However, the core of all of that is blasting away with vibratory energy. With both Accurate Attack and Power Attack she can shift the damage and accuracy of her attacks around, so it’s not quite as one dimensional as it sounds. Her force field is stops bullets with little effort, and it’d take a very powerful blunt strike to get past her absorption and the field. And, of course, vibratory/sonic attacks are entirely useless, as she absorbs them. Complications: I’m Sorry, I Didn’t Catch That:Naomi’s inner ear is destroyed. She can’t hear anything. At all. Whatsoever. That said, she does have the ability to feel vibrations. If she focuses, she can even understand speech. Unless, of course, there’s too much background noise. Or she’s tired. Or distracted. You name it. Lip reading can help with this, but it has its limits. So sometimes she can garble people’s words. Or miss them entirely. A GM may award a hero point when this becomes a…problem. Seen And Never Heard: Naomi cannot talk. Her larynx is ruined. Most people don’t know sign language, so she keeps a pen and pad on her person. Easy enough, right? Well…that requires the person she’s “speaking” with to look at her. Which may or may not always be possible in the middle of superheroics. Add to that, her pad and/or pen could be ruined by damage, and then what can she do? A GM may award a hero point when communications between her and anyone else become compromised in this manner. Bad Vibrations: Naomi’s powers run on vibratory energy, such as sound. Her body is constantly absorbing such energy from the environment. However, she has an upper limit to the amount she can absorb. Reaching it triggers a devastating Burst Area of vibratory energy (rank 7 at minimum, with any more left to GM’s discretion) to explode from her body, instantly and agonizingly depleting her reserves (making her stunned from the pain). Therefore, from time to time she must release some lest this happen. Conversely, she can use up her reserves in combat (repeatedly Power Attacking and/or taking lots of hits to her force field) rendering her attack array and force field useless until she absorbs enough energy to use them again. A GM may award a hero point for either of these situations occurring. No, I Don’t Know That Guy From That Show: Naomi is of Indian descent. Both parents were born and raised in India, and immigrated later. Americans have some…unfortunate misconceptions about the Indian people. And others can…mistake her ethnicity for another one, such as Arabic. That’s without getting into the fact that she does not, in fact, practice Hindism or Islam, the two dominant religions of India. She’s agnostic, thank you very much. No, her parents don’t approve. A GM may award a hero point for Waverider having to deal with the ignorant and/or prejudiced. Abilities: 0+2+4+2+2+4=14 Strength 10 (+0) Dexterity 12 (+1) Constitution 14 (+2) Intelligence 12 (+1) Wisdom 12 (+1) Charisma 14 (+2) Combat: 8+6=14 Initiative: +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +4 Base (+6 Ranged, +10 Nauseate) Grapple: +4 Defense: +6 (+3 Base, + 3 Dodge Focus, +2 Flat Footed) Knockback: -8 w/ Force Field, -1 without Saving Throws: 3+4+6=13 Toughness: +10 (+2 Con, +8 Force Field); Impervious 8 Fortitude: +5 (+2 Con, +3) Reflex: +5 (+1 Dex, +4) Will: +7 (+1 Wis, +6) Skills: 44 SP = 11PP Bluff 5 (+7) Concentration 11 (+12) Diplomacy 5 (+7) Knowledge (civics) 4 (+5) Knowledge (current events) 4 (+5) Language 1 (American Sign Language; English Base) Notice 7 (+8) Sense Motive 7 (+8) Feats: 11PP Accurate Attack Attack Focus (ranged) 2 Challenge (Notice-Lip Reading) Dodge Focus 3 Improved Initiative Power Attack Precise Shot Uncanny Dodge (tactile) Powers: 4+16+10+3+24=57 Flight 3 (Power Feat: Subtle; Flaw: Platform) [4PP] Force Field 8 (Extra: Impervious) [16PP] (Vibration Field) Immunity 10 (Vibration/Sonic) [10PP] Super Senses 3 (Extended(Tactile), Ranged(Tactile)) [3PP] (Vibration Feeling) Vibration Control 10 (20 pp array; 4 Alt Powers) [24PP] BE: Damage 10 (Vibration Control; Extras: Range(Ranged)) {20/20} AP: Drain Toughness 10 (Extras: Affects Objects [Only], Range [ranged]) {20/20} AP: Nauseate 6 (Power Feats: Accurate 2; Extra: Range [ranged]) {20/20} AP: Obscure 8 (Auditory, 1000 ft radius; Extra: Selective Attack) {18/20} AP: Dazzle 6 (Sonic Control; Auditory; Extra: Area(General, Burst; 30ft Radius), Selective Attack) {18/20} DC Block: Unarmed (+3 Hit, Melee, DC 15 Toughness) Vibration Control (+5 Hit, Ranged, DC 25 Toughness) Drain Toughness (+5 Hit, Ranged, DC 20 Fortitude [Objects only!]) Nauseate (+9 Hit, Ranged, DC 16 Fortitude) Sonic Control (30 ft Burst Area, DC 16 Reflex) Abilities 14 + Combat 14 + Saving Throws 13 + Skills 11 + Feats 10 + Powers 57 – Drawbacks 0= 119/123