Eternal Phoenix's Character Factory and Archetype Blendarama

[EternalPhoenix]

Kaede Kobayashi

 

Power Level: 9; Power Points Spent: 180/180

 

STR: +2 (14), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +3 (16), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +2 (14)

 

Tough: +3/+6, Fort: +6, Ref: +12, Will: +9

 

Skills: Acrobatics 12 (+15), Bluff 3 (+5), Diplomacy 3 (+5), Gather Information 3 (+5), Knowledge (physical sciences) 3 (+5), Knowledge (tactics) 3 (+5), Language 5 (+5), Notice 12 (+15), Sense Motive 12 (+15), Stealth 12 (+15)

 

Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (ranged) 3, Dodge Focus 3, Equipment 1, Evasion, Improved Aim, Improved Critical 2 (Flash Arrow (Dazzle 6)), Improved Critical 2 (Gas Arrow (Fatigue 6)), Improved Critical 2 (Multi-Target Shooting (Blast 6)), Improved Critical 2 (Normal Arrow (Blast 6)), Improved Critical 2 (Restraint Foam Arrow (Snare 6)), Improved Critical 2 (Shock Arrow (Stun 6)), Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Skill Mastery (Acrobatic, Notice, Sense Motive, Stealth), Ultimate Effort (Aim), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Bow And Arrows (Device 5) (Easy to lose, Only you can use)

   Trick Arrows (Array 9) (default power: blast)

      Cable Arrow (Linked)

         Speed 6 (Linked; Speed: 500 mph, 4400 ft./rnd)

         Super-Movement 4 (Linked; slow fall, swinging, wall-crawling 2 (full speed))

      Flash Arrow (Dazzle 6) (Array; affects: visual senses, DC 16, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Flash Arrow (Dazzle 6)); Improved Range 2 (300 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 3000 feet))

      Gas Arrow (Fatigue 6) (Array; DC 16, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Gas Arrow (Fatigue 6)); Range (ranged); Action (full); Improved Range 2 (300 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 3000 feet))

      Multi-Target Shooting (Blast 6) (Array; DC 21, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Multi-Target Shooting (Blast 6)); Line Area (5x150 ft. line - Targeted); Action (full); Improved Range 2 (300 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 3000 feet))

      Normal Arrow (Blast 6) (Default; DC 21, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Normal Arrow (Blast 6)); Improved Range 2 (300 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 3000 feet))

      Restraint Foam Arrow (Snare 6) (Array; DC 16, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Restraint Foam Arrow (Snare 6)); Improved Range 2 (300 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 3000 feet))

      Shock Arrow (Stun 6) (Array; DC 16, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Shock Arrow (Stun 6)); Range (ranged); Action (full); Improved Range 2 (300 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 3000 feet))

      Smoke Bomb Arrow (Obscure 6) (Array; affects: visual senses, Radius: 250 ft.; Improved Range 2 (300 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 3000 feet))

Psionic Amplification (Container, Passive 9)

   Psionic Camouflage (Concealment 6) (all aural senses, all visual senses; Passive)

   Psionic Quickness (Quickness 3) (Perform routine tasks at 10x speed)

   Psionic Resilience (Protection 3) (+3 Toughness; Impervious [3 extra ranks])

   Quickness Arrow Feats (Features 6) (Notes: If Action flaw on Trick Arrow array setting, removes it. If not, adds Autofire where applicable (so not Cable Arrow or Smoke Bomb Arrow).)

   Telekinesis (Move Object 3) (Strength: 15, Carry: 66 / 133 / 200 / 400; Range (perception); Precise, Subtle 2 (unnoticable))

   Telekinetic Arrow Feats (Features 6) (Notes: Adds Homing 2 (2 attempts), Ricochet 2 (2 bounces), and Subtle 2 to Trick Arrows Array where applicable (so not Cable Arrow or Smoke Bomb Arrow).)

   Telekinetic Lensing (Super-Senses 3) (distance sense, extended (type): Visual 1 (-1 per 100 ft))

 

Equipment: Knife

 

Attack Bonus: +9 (Ranged: +12, Melee: +9, Grapple: +11)

 

Attacks: Flash Arrow (Dazzle 6), +12 (DC Fort/Ref 16), Gas Arrow (Fatigue 6), +12 (DC Fort 16), Knife, +9 (DC 18), Multi-Target Shooting (Blast 6), +12 (DC 21), Normal Arrow (Blast 6), +12 (DC 21), Restraint Foam Arrow (Snare 6), +12 (DC Ref/Staged 16), Shock Arrow (Stun 6), +12 (DC Fort/Staged 16), Unarmed Attack, +9 (DC 17)

 

Defense: +12  (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -6

 

Initiative: +3

 

Languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Japanese Native, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 30 + Skills 17 (68 ranks) + Feats 17 + Powers 62 + Combat 36 + Saves 18 + Drawbacks 0 = 180

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 20

Height: 5’ 5”

Weight: 120 lbs

Ethnicity: Japanese

Hair: Black

Eyes: Dark Brown

 

Background: When Kaede Kobayashi was 7 years old, she killed a man with his own gun. It was an accident, naturally. He was a bank robber. She and her mother happened to be in the bank at the time. A security guard managed to surprise the man, and his gun skittered across the ground to Kaede. She thought she could just point it at him and he’d give up and run away. Kid thoughts, you know? But, of course, what rational person thinks a kid is going to shoot them? And indeed, she had no intention of doing so. She wasn’t, of course, trained in proper gun safety. So when the robber overcame the guard and rushed her for the weapon, she accidently pulled the trigger.

In a Western country, she’d have been applauded. Heroic little Kaede, saving everyone. Might have even been a movie about it. Or maybe just a tv special. But this was Japan where the gun laws are super strict, social harmony is god, and psychiatric treatment is for the weak. Also kids can be extremely cruel and dealing with that is a minefield of potential social disharmony that few teachers dare to walk through. So it is safe to say that poor little traumatized Kaede rapidly became socially isolated and viciously bullied. To be fair, it wasn’t like literally nobody tried to help. There was a teacher or two. A couple of students, one of whom we’ll get back to. But when most people (children and adults) think you’re a monster because you killed a man (Accidently? Don’t be silly, of course she meant to go the whispers) your childhood will not be fun. Especially when “most people” includes your own mother, who was literally there. Naturally, she turned to video games to escape.

There was VR game to come out in the wake of the Nihonto Incident, and Kaede became one of its best players. But there was a problem. Every time they held a PvP tournament, one of the players who lost was violently murdered with a knife. The game company said it was coincidental, but after the third tournament nobody was buying it. She was frightened, but her friend (that student I said we’d get back to) was able to console her and convince her to join the fourth. Where she ran into the investigating Hayate Ishikawa, Arielle Cadieux, and even Ichika Ishikawa. They became friendly with each other, though the trio didn’t mention the investigation. As the investigation reached a climax, it was revealed that Kaede’s friend (who had stood behind her even in the days when nobody else did) was the younger brother of one of the Sweetheart Slashers. He cared far more about what was between her legs than what was between her ears, and if he couldn’t have it, well…his knife could do the penetrating just as easily. His brother said it was just as fun, anyway.

The fourth tournament would have ended with a violent stabbing death as well, except Hayate exploded into Kaede’s apartment and whooped her now psionic ex-friend’s ass with his bare hands. Kaede didn’t actually completely need the help, as her powers had begun emerging from repeated exposure to Hayate, Arielle, and Ichika. Apparently online interactions count, when a certain tech widget hadn’t been removed from the revamped VR helmets. Outside, Arielle and Ichika engaged in a pitched battle with the tattered (and psionically powered) remains of the Sweetheart Slashers. Hayate dragged him outside as the rest of Psi-Division arrived and the battle became a rout. Especially as the police began to respond to the sounds of violence. To make a long story short, Kaede joined Psi-Division after this. New friends without any of the old baggage. Plus help for developing and then using her superpowers. And the Sweetheart Slashers more or less ceased to xist, because prison.

 

Powers & Tactics: Kaede is a mutant psionic. Her powers are best understood as Psionic Amplification. This means that her normal human abilities are being augmented by her willpower. Her specific powers manifest in both subconscious and conscious telekinetic abilities, along with enhanced reflexes and an interesting telepathic power. The subconscious TKmanifests i enhanced physical resilience. Enough that most mundane man portable firearms cannot harm her. The conscious telekinesis is, well, telekinesis. It’s not really any stronger than her muscles, but allows her to make her Trick Arrows extra tricky. Sh can redirect them if she misses up to twice, effectively making a second shot. She can bounce her arrows off two different corners, allowing her to attack opponents she can see but not reach. And her telekinesis completely shields them from normal detection while attacking. Additionally, it can function like fancy binoculars, letting her see further and know the distance to whatever she’s looking at.

Her enhanced reflexes and quickness are relatively minor on their own, but with her arrows allow them to be launched faster than would otherwise be possible. Her telepathic power is quite unusual. She can make herself completely invisible and silent, but not when actively attacking. Telepathic suggests that it shouldn’t work on robots or machines, but strangely enough it does. So telepathic is really only a best guess.

She carries a Bow and several types of Trick Arrows, as she’s does not have enhanced melee and does have a firearm phobia. She’s got Cable Arrows for swinging around/climbing walls, Flash Arrows for blinding targets, Gas Arrows for putting them to sleep, Normal Arrows for simply injuring them, Restraint Foam Arrows to bind them, Shock Arrows to stun them, and Smoke Bomb Arrows to block vision in an area. Multi-Target Shooting is firing a Normal Arrow at every target in an area. Other people can technically use them as is, but they lose the Improved Ranged and Progression feats. Cable Arrow drops to Speed 2 in other hands, and Multi-Target Shooting ceases to exist.

 

Tactically, Kaede is Psi-Division’s sniper and reconnaissance specialist. The latter is generally more important than the former. Generally speaking, she can shadow anyone for hours with Psionic Camouflage and Telekinetic Lensing. Unlike the other snipers of the Revolution, she has more than just damage at her long ranged disposal, and it’s what she prefers to use against living targets. She prefers to be a support sniper rather than an assassin. Thus far, she has not had to be the latter, or which she is extremely grateful. She has Improved Aim to help hit when Stealth is going well, and Acrobatic Bluff for when it isn’t. She also has All Out and Power Attack for maximum sniping goodness. Move by Action keeps things mixed up, and Ultimate Aim is for when she absolutely, positively, needs to make the shot. She does have power stunts available, but they’re different arrow types. Like an Explosive Arrow (Blast 6, Area Burst) or Poison Arrow (Paralyze 6, Alt Save Fort, Range [ranged]). Mostly she doesn’t need them.

 

Personality: Kaede excels at keeping a cool head in all situations. This was not always the case. For years she was a mess. Badly traumatized, and prone to breaking down even if someone pointed a finger gun at her. Children can be exceedingly cruel to each other, especially when they smell weakness. Kaede should have been a sad and cautionary tale about Japanese society. Instead, Psi-Division intervened. And at last, at very long last, she began to escape the weight of darkness. Ironically, the sniper of the team sees what they are more clearly than any of the rest do. They are not heroes. It may be for a good cause, but they are criminals. Thieves, kidnappers, and assaulters. Hayate, Arielle, and even Ichika are murderers. They are, in no way, shape, or form the good guys.

On the flip side, she has close and intimate knowledge of what it means to be weak and vulnerable. To be helpless in the face of her assailants. And honestly? Jacob Cross’s approach isn’t bad. Cops can and do suck. Real superheroes don’t always fill all the gaps. She’s living proof of this. So there’s nothing wrong with helping out where they can. And when the law isn’t enough? When the bad guys get out of it through money, influence, or whatever? Well. Something still has to be done about them, right? Right?

…right?

[EternalPhoenix]

The Icons

 

Overview

 

It was 2001, honestly. One specific terrible day in September. You see, by 2001 the great spurt of heroes following the first Starman’s example (or the examples of those who followed his) had all but dried up. His debut in 1961 is considered to be the start of the Silver Age of superheroics in North America. His retirement in ’86 ended it, but that’s where that second category comes in. There were still more heroes to honor his legacy. This was the all too brief Bronze Age. Because the first Starman and Starwoman died in ’93, the latter flying the former away from Earth at a significant fraction of the speed of light. The fusion reaction that powers all Starfolks was failing catastrophically and god only knows what a miniature supernova might have done to the planet. And with the two of them went the last of the old guard. The ones who’d been there since the first days of the post WWII revival era. Hell, the second generation was thin on the ground. Criminals weren’t running around with snub nosed pistols and tommy guns anymore. The best had assault rifles, explosives, something resembling military training, and none of the honor of the old families and syndicates. This was the fortunately quite brief Iron Age, and even heroes did some hideous things to not get, well, brutally murdered. Because the ones who stood on principle…kinda did. There were exceptions, of course. The bulletproof could act with more impunity and there are always heroes who find ways to simply never be hit.

 

The specific turning point has never been identified. Vincent Mortelini was active certainly, but BLACK had not yet been formed so he was only one man. FBI’s Psi-Division certainly put in heroic amounts of effort in the period. As did the second Starman, widely known as the son of the first. Which turned out to be kind of the problem. Starman II, especially after his father’s death., worked himself to the bone to feel worthy of his pseudonym. So he was easily the most prominent superhero in North America (and top tier globally) when the monster Armageddon smashed his way up from where it had been buried (at the bottom of the goddamn Gulf of Mexico) after Starman I killed it (the only thing he ever killed with his powers) in an incredible effort that probably shortened his life. The monster went Star-hunting and simply crushed anyone who tried to stop it. Even a young Tex Austin and a scrambling unprepared Shining Guardian found themselves outclassed. Fletcher was retired and out of shape at the time. Caviezel was and is only a man. It is not known what Scarlett was up to that day. It found Starman II’s wife (Starqueen), son (who had only recently become Starboy II), and not yet empowered daughter. Astonishingly, the two managed to hold him briefly, so the daughter could escape. Starman II wasn’t at home in Chicago. He was actually helping with a scientific project in Antarctica. He was still trying to prove himself, even that day. He probably felt he didn’t have any choice. There was nobody strong enough who was around enough. Reportedly it took until his wife and children were actually under attack to figure out where he was and contact the tiny facility. Starman II scorched the air on his way back. Literally. Friction’s weird at high speeds, especially if one won’t catch fire. He was recorded in Chicago airspace, likely crashing fist first into Armageddon and saving his family, at 845 AM. 60 seconds later the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

 

Starman II and Armageddon brawled across Chicago until he got the monster out of town. But the hero was losing. At 1028 AM, when the North Tower fell, he was clearly at the end of his tether. Just about any other hero ever would have fallen down and stayed there. But he had to have known his father wouldn’t have. So he refused to. According to eyewitnesses, it was the single most heroic thing they’d ever seen. He wasn’t strong enough. There was no one to help him. And somehow, he made both of those facts irrelevant. He killed the monster (the only thing he ever killed with his powers, either) and then immediately collapsed. He died in his wife’s arms, with his son looking on, less than five minutes later.

 

The great hero everyone, whether they wanted to admit it or not, depended on…was gone. America’s heroes had never felt more incompetent or useless. Morale was bad. The press was worse. And then the Shining Guardian and Fletcher stepped (officially) out of retirement to organize The Icons. It’s not and never was a superteam. The Feds were and are a little touchy about an interstate organization of technically illegal vigilantes. They’re not complaining about the help in crisis situations, but it would make them look hypocritical. So the Icons maintain the polite fiction that they are only a social club. They get together to talk shop and be friendly with each other, not fight crime. They weren’t there to help Starman II when he died. The disorganization of America’s heroes not only cost him his life, but a bunch of lives in New York City. Even a younger Tex outstripped any mundane crane’s lifting power, but he was laid up with broken bones. Tidal could have made a spectacular difference against Armageddon, but he worked out of Miami and didn't have any movement powers he could use at the time. To use two examples. Never again. So they got organized. The Shining Guardian, Fletcher, Tidal, Caviezel, Shadowspirit, and Tex Austin.

 

It hasn’t exactly been the smoothest of rides. An alien invasion of Seattle headed by Tidal’s wife Lei Zi, Duchess of Lightning. That time Fletcher made (by accident) an evil AI android bent on the destruction of all life. Congress trying to regulate and control superheroes to finally solve that hypocrisy problem, which anyone passingly familiar with the…highly independent nature…of most professional superheroes could have told them would never work. And indeed, it only caused a civil war in the Icons. And then, of course, there was the Infinity War, where they finally failed and half the universe died for it. Iin fairness, the only two heroes to ever successfully stop Kuros when he was the Conqueror were Nick Phoenix and Starman I, with the latter needing significant help and likely shortening his lifespan like his battle with Armageddon did. And finally, the Endgame, where they corrected their mistake at the low, low price of literally all of their founding members either dead or inactive for an unknown amount of time. If not permanently.

 

So, as 2019 dawns, it’s a brand new era for the Icons. The post Endgame recruitment drive has borne fruit in the form of four veteran heroes added to the ranks in the forms of legacy hero #1 Starguy, the spectacular Samaritan, legacy hero #2 The Human Rocket IV, and Tidal’s recommendation Dust. So it’s not all bad news. Tidal could always come back from whatever he’s doing in space. Tex will heal eventually. Hopefully. Caviezel may find it as difficult to retire as many heroes do. Sage’s schedule could calm down. (Creator’s Note: This one’s the most unlikely by a bunch, hahaha) Scarlett could reappear like she has before. And even if they never return, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Of all the founders, only Fletcher had successfully adapted to a wireless world. The rest were stuck somewhere in the past. Tidal lives like he’s in medieval China. The Shining Guardian never quite made it out of the 40s. Shadowspirit, the 50s to 60s. Caviezel, the 80s. At least Tex had made it to the 90s.in 2001, this wasn’t the hugest problem. A decade and a half later though, and they were all noticeably behind the times. So some new blood can’t hurt.

 

A final note. Being a superhero in the same way that the Icons are supeheroes (traditionally) is, in the Phoenixverse, an inherently political act. Or at least, being devoted to the safety and well being of everyone regardless of race, creed, gender, orientation, or whatever is going to be seen that way by the general public. The general public consists, naturally, of members o the entire political spectrum. And so no matter what the Icons or Icon-aspiring heroes do, they’re going to piss someone off in the process. America’s political divisions in the second half of the second decade of the 21^st Century aren’t getting any better. Political pundits sound off as much about heroes as they do about business in Washington. Naturally, they’re never talking about how good a job the heroes are doing and how we’re lucky to have them. More like question their competence and sanity. World’s getting darker. America’s no exception. Fortunately, there’s some Icons to light the way to a better tomorrow. Unfortunately, they have no way to know if that’s enough. There’s a sense of being out of step with the common person. It’s only natural. The common person runs away from gunfire and explosions. Even emergency services might hesitate before rushing in. Heroes, as a general rule, never do, and that’s enough for some people to think they’re insane before the whole “saving everyone regardless of who or what they are” issue even comes up. Ah, well. Best to focus on the things heroes can actually do something about. Like catching criminals, rescuing people from burning buildings, and getting kittens out of trees for little girls.

 

A final, final note. I believe superhero stories are fundamentally hopeful. Or they ought to be. It’s just that the world they’re in can and does fail to live up to that. And we as storytellers shouldn’t flinch from showing the reality of it. That there’s cruelty, brutality, and petty little wickedness in the world. The world is dark, but heroes bring the light. They bring hope with them wherever they go. They don’t and I’d argue shouldn’t be perfect, ideal people. They should struggle and hurt and sometimes fail. But the thing that all writers of superhero stories should never lose sight of is that they are ultimately the lightbringers. Where there are no heroes, evil, villainy, and wickedness thrive. The weak suffer and the helpless are exploited. But when just one shows up, all that changes. I hope the Icons show this theme well.

 

Active List	Inactive Reserves	Hall of Honor
Queenie (Maybelle McQueen) Terrifica (Samantha Carson) Medic (Dr. Daniel Ivanoff) Spike (Spike Douglas) Candy (Candace Mikkelsen) Z (real name unknown) Marian Soaring Eagle Magna (Gabrielle Williams) Orca Starguy (Gordon Wright) Samaritan (Vonnie Murray) The Human Rocket IV (Reginald "Reggie" Morton) Dust (Mariana Rodriguez)	Tidal (Lei Gong, Duke of Thunder) (in space) Tex Austin (injured) Caviezel (Ronald Caviezel) (attempting retirement) Sage (Sagacious Winifred Burke) (busy as fuck) Scarlett (real name unknown) (missing) Crusader (Sir Randall Knight) (primarily active in Britain) Nick Phoenix (???)	The Shining Guardian (Henry Kim) Fletcher (Morris Archer) Shadowspirit (real name unknown) Starman I (John Thompkins) & Starwoman I (Judy Thompkins) Gunsmith I (Connor Morris) Megagirl (Megan Price) Arriba (Jose Vega) Nega I (Hal Scott) Alsea Countess Starman II (Jesse Thompkins) Stargirl II (Jacqueline “Jackie” Thompkins)

[EternalPhoenix]

Queenie (Maybelle McQueen)

 

Power Level: 14; Power Points Spent: 255/255

 

STR: +1 (12), DEX: +2 (14), CON: +2 (14), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +5 (20)

 

Tough: +2/+14, Fort: +8, Ref: +8/+14, Will: +14

 

Skills: Concentration 12 (+15), Craft (chemical) 17 (+20), Diplomacy 10 (+15), Gather Information 5 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 17 (+20), Language 4 (+4), Notice 12 (+15), Sense Motive 12 (+15), Stealth 3 (+5)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (ranged) 6, Interpose, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Skill Mastery (Craft (chemical), Diplomacy, Knowledge (physical science), Sense Motive), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Ring of Aura (Device 34) (Hard to lose, Restricted use (Those of exceptionally noble and heroic spirit))

   Aura Aim Assist (Enhanced Trait 6) (Feats: Attack Focus (ranged) 6)

   Aura Comms (Communication 9) (sense type: radio; Omni-Directional Area; Variable Descriptor 2 (Broad group - Any Tech))

   Aura Database (Variable 2) (acquire: any one of (type) - skills; Action 2 (free); Limited (to Knowledge skills))

   Aura Defense Field (Linked)

      Enhanced Trait 6 (Linked; Traits: Reflex +6 (+14))

      Force Field 12 (Linked; +12 Toughness; Impervious)

      Shield 6 (Linked; +6 dodge bonus)

   Aura Flashlight (Features 1) (Notes: Capable of emitting a directed cone or beam of light at will,

as if you carried a powerful flashlight at all times.)

   Aura Flight (Flight 14) (Speed: 250000 mph, 2200000 ft./rnd)

   Aura Force (Array 14) (default power: blast)

      Aura Blast (Blast 14) (Default; DC 29)

      Aura Bondburst (Snare 9) (Array; DC 19; Burst Area (45 ft. radius - General))

      Aura Bonds (Snare 14) (Array; DC 24)

      Aura Burst (Blast 9) (Array; DC 24; Burst Area (45 ft. radius - General))

      Aura Constructs (Create Object 14) (Array; Max Size: 14x 5' cubes, DC 24)

      Aura Kinesis (Move Object 14) (Array; Strength: 70, Carry: 68.1 tons / 136.2 tons / 204.8 tons / 409.6 tons)

      Aura Magic Canceller (Nullify 14) (Array; counters: all powers of (type) - magic, DC 24)

      Aura Support Extension (Immunity 9) (Array; life support; Affects Others (Only), Burst Area (45 ft. radius - General))

   Aura Life Support (Immunity 9) (life support)

   Aura Sensors (Super-Senses 14) (accurate: Radio, direction sense, distance sense, extended: Radio 1 (-1 per 100 ft), extended (type): Visual 1 (-1 per 100 ft), extended (type): Auditory 1 (-1 per 100 ft), infravision, radio, ultra-hearing, ultravision)

   Aura Translation (Comprehend 2) (languages - understand all, languages - you're understood)

   Aura VI (Features 1)

   Space Travel (Super-Movement 3) (extra ranks 3)

 

Attack Bonus: +8 (Ranged: +14, Melee: +8, Grapple: +9)

 

Attacks: Aura Blast (Blast 14), +14 (DC 29), Aura Bondburst (Snare 9) (DC Ref/Staged 19), Aura Bonds (Snare 14), +14 (DC Ref/Staged 24), Aura Burst (Blast 9) (DC 24), Aura Magic Canceller (Nullify 14), +14 (DC Will 24), Unarmed Attack, +8 (DC 16)

 

Defense: +14  (Flat-footed: +4), Knockback: -13

 

Initiative: +2

 

Languages: English Native, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 32 + Skills 23 (92 ranks) + Feats 8 + Powers 137 + Combat 32 + Saves 23 + Drawbacks 0 = 255

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 41 (appears early 30s)

Height: 5’ 6”

Weight: 125 lbs

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Hair: Dirty Blonde

Eyes: Blue

 

Background: Maybelle McQueen never intended to be a hero. Her passion was and is cooking. Specifically, making the fruits of world class culinary skills affordable to the masses. She was a culinary student, and a gifted one at that. Then, one day, a silver ring appeared on her dresser as if it had always been there. Thinking it was a gift from her fiancé, Steven (make your jokes now), she picked it up. The virtual intelligence inside started to explain what it and the ring were. Another woman might have panicked at the sudden voice in her head, but Maybelle listened, curious. She listened as it explain about it’s master, the future’s heroine Aura. About how the ring’s power depended on her heroic spirit. And about how there were two other rings somewhere in the world. Again, another woman might have jumped (or adamantly refused) the call to heroism. Maybelle’s answer was a dull “Meh.” Totally uninterested in anything but her dream, she put the ring in her dresser drawer and promptly forgot about it.

Unbeknownst to her (even in modern times), the Ring of Aura is part of something much bigger. Deep in the future, a heroine named Aura created three rings and a staff and sent them back in time. Between the four items and her amulet, the world shattering power the maniac known as Auric once had remains sealed away. Auric himself was once a man. Somehow (his repeated time travel has fuzzed out the details) he became magic incarnate and utterly insane. Aura, with her amulet and its do anything Anti-Magic energy, was the only one in the universe able to stand against him. But with every battle, his power grew until Aura’s amulet hit its limit defeating him again. The battle was…catastrophic. Entire star sectors lay in ruins, testament to Auric’s power and Aura’s failing ability to stop him. There was one chance. Just one. While he recovered, his power was dispersed. If it could be collected and sealed away, he would pose much less threat. Taking some of the unique material from her amulet, Aura made the rings and staff. Together with her amulet, she sealed the power he had not yet regathered away. Even hobbled, Auric would be a potent threat. He had called upon allies before, and there were lunatics who thrived on destruction other than he. Not to mention the ones who might think they could claim his power. She had to get them away. Other dimensions were too dangerous. With a heavy heart, she prepared to cast them back in time. She did take precautions, in the form of the Virtual Intelligence. It would attempt to keep the items away from the selfish and greedy and push them towards the noble and heroic. They would have a portion of her power as well, just in case Auric or someone else went chasing after them. The Rings and Staff have appeared far less throughout history than one would think. Prior to Maybelle, the best known one was a certain British general during the American Revolutionary War. He was, fortunately for the Americans, continually stalemated by the original Lady Liberty. And that is not the ring Maybelle has. That one is still in the general’s family, unused since his death.

Steven and Maybelle set a wedding date. Shortly after their graduation. He was training to be a pastry chef at the same school, and that was how they had met. Graduation loomed. Then Auric appeared. He sought to destroy Aura’s legacy and free his power. He knew the ring was in that certain city. He knew the kind of person it would find to wield it. So he started blasting things. Somebody had to stop him. People were going to die. Maybelle balked. She wanted to be a chef, not a hero. The cops were helpless before him. She could help everyone. Just put on the ring and go. But her dream! Maybe if she gave him the ring, he’d leave. It wouldn’t be right. Back and forth, she wrestled against her own nature, the nature the ring had sought out in the first place. Eventually, ring in hand (but not on finger), Maybelle confronted Auric. He could feel the ring on her, and the kind of person she was. Noble. Compassionate. Heroic. It turned his stomach. She had to die, RIGHT NOW. Wait. Who was that who shoved her aside? Why is she screaming that one word? …did she just put on the ring?

It wasn’t anger Maybelle was feeling. It was guilt. She had been selfish for once in her life, and now the city was damaged. People were hurt. And Steven…oh God, Steven. If she’d just taken up the responsibility when it had come to her, none of this would’ve happened. It was all her fault, but she refused to let it go one step further. Auric was going down. Except for the small part where she barely knew what she was doing and he very much did. After getting smacked silly, she flew away (God in Heaven, she was flying), knowing Auric would follow her out of the city. After getting to an abandoned area, she turned and fought. He nearly killed her before the thought of her classmates and everyone else at his nonexistent mercy fueled a power surge that broke through his defenses. Critically injured, Auric teleported away. Maybelle collapsed into a heap.

It should go without saying, but Maybelle finished culinary school. Graduated at the top of her class. Worked at a few dives to earn money, then opened her own restaurant. The Southern Queen. With her flight speed, even in the early days, she could cover a lot of turf. So she pretty quickly because the American South’s first call when anybody needed backup. This is how she became an Icon. She backed up the Shining Guardian and Shadowspirit as they busted up a deep rooted Neo-Nazi terror cell inside the US Army. They appreciated her powers and skillful use of them, and brought her into the group. This was after the invasion of Seattle, but before Fletcher (accidently) created a genocidal AI. She sided with SG during the civil war in the Icons, and as a consequence had her beloved restaurants (she had acquired a second by then) seized by the federal government. She was among the Dusted at the end of the Eternity War, and so was dead for a year until her resurrection with the rest of the Dusted. She participated in the big battle against Kuros the Annihilator during the Endgame. In the wake of that event, her restaurants have been returned to her. And now she finds herself regarded at the current leader of the Icons by the government and general public. Despite the fact that they haven’t decided if they’re even going to have a leader in the first place. Though the Shining Guardian more or less indicated Maybelle was his successor in the group. Oh, bother.

Her local (as in the American South) allies are the now ex-police officer Burning Hammer (a mutant pyrokinetic), the physician Reverie (a teleporter who doesn’t know her powers origin) and the now college student and speedster Mach 3 (she isn’t nearly that fast, however, struggling to get to Mach 2). Her most persistent enemies include Auric, naturally, and the seemingly infinitely duplicating thief Multiplicity (a woman).

 

Powers & Tactics: Maybelle McQueen has no superhuman powers. She thinks. She’s aging funny, or maybe she just has good genes. Can’t tell yet. The important part is that nobody knows this. The Ring of Aura (a technological device) is not something she normally talks about to anyone. Because what kind of idiot openly discusses the source of their powers if it can be taken away as easily as a ring can? The Ring can technically do anything the wearer can imagine. It’s incredibly advanced technology from a distant future, ater all. Maybelle, however, does not have an unlimited imagination. As such, the Ring does a lot for her but not literally anything. Let’s run down the list. Increased ranged accuracy. Radio communications with any kind of tech. A database full of knowledge. A defense field that both makes her a hell of a lot tougher (as in she can ignore rockets with it active) and significantly more difficult to hit. Hypersonic flight. Immunity to most environmental concerns, like breathing. A massive sensor suite including wide spectrum vision, heaing, and even radar. A language translation suite. A Virtual Intelligence (or VI) to keep her informed of the Ring’s capabilities and find a new wielder if necessary. She can even switch into an FTL flight mode and zip across the universe. She uh, doesn’t do that a lot.

And, of course, she has a large variety of other actions to choose from. She uses mainly constructs made of pure force, but after nearly twenty years, she knows what Aura actually is. Anti-magic. So she can counter magic with her attacks (which is normally impossible if you’re not also using magic) or nullify it outright with one of said attacks. The full attacks consist of damage and capturing bonds in both single target and area varieties. She can also create force constructs, move hundreds of tons without physically touching them, and even extend her immunities across an area to protect others.

As a final note, to get a bit mechanics-y, the VI can decide to deploy Extra or even Extraordinary Effort across the board (sustaining the extra output throughout the battle) if the situation is dire enough and Maybelle is responding appropriately. Understandably, this is a rare event and as such doesn’t actually cost her any Fatigue or Hero Points precisely because she was no control over it. The Endgame was such an occasion. Kuros had to call down fire from his armada to get her off of him. If this is happening, however, she cannot use Extra Effort with the Ring’s abilities, for obvious reasons. Power Stunting is still possible, though.

 

Tactically, Queenie prefers to use Aura Bondburst, Bonds, Constructs, or Kinesis to restrain her foes instead of smacking them down. This does not mean that she won’t. She overpowered Kuros with several Aura Blasts during the Endgame, after all, and laid waste to his forces with Aura Burst after he drove her off and the Stars were taking their turn. She dropped whole ass starships on her path of destruction. Her preference for restraining her foes comes from an adamant refusal to do lethal damage. It’s both her preference and a prohibition from the Ring. Virtually uniquely among all heroes, tweeners, and villains she cannot inflict lethal damage on living beings without release from the VI, no matter how many damage ranks she uses. This is more Complication than Drawback (as certain unalive beings can appear alive at first), so it is not reflected in her build. It also wouldn’t apply if she picked up a gun or something. Not that she would, but you get the idea. As technically the Ring of Aura can do anything the wielder imagines, just about anything is a possible power stunt. However, she is a chef, and so cooking themed powers like fire control or adapted culinary tool attacks are much more likely to be stunted instead of say, psychic attacks or controlling the weather.

 

Personality: Maybelle is a gregarious type. She’s talkative, smiles easily and often, and is generally very pleasant to be around. She’s also one of the most paragon-y people on earth. She’ll defend others like the proverbial Mama Bear. She’ll stand and fight when all seems lost. She’ll never give up as long as there’s breath in her. Her integrity is unquestionable. Her courage undeniable. Her compassion unmistakable. Even her chef’s work is to make other people happy with impressively excellent food at an affordable price. She’s also a hardcore foodie. Sort of. She doesn’t have much patience with the fancy stuff. Sure, it’s delicious sometimes, but the pretentiousness of it all drives her nuts. It’s food. You eat it. Swear to Jeebus.

Still, she’s the most prominent “people person” of the Icons now since Terrifica, Medic, and Spike are…polarizing figures, at best. It’s an awkward position, to be sure. People just kind of assume she’s the leader, like the Shining Guardian was. And…she doesn’t know about that. She’s always willing to help, but leadership? She’s just a chef from South Carolina. Terrifica’s the one with all the brains. Medic’s the one with the drive to make a better planet. On a fundamental level she doesn’t understand what people see when they look at her. She’s just doing what she thinks is good and right, in her view. No reward or accolades are necessary. She’s content to return to her kitchen when the action is over. But that’s changed now. So many people are looking to little ol’ her as their great hope. All she ever wanted to do was put smiles on people’s faces. And now she’s the most prominent active superhero in the United States, if not all of North America. It makes her uncomfortable, honestly.

[EternalPhoenix]

Terrifica (Samantha Carson)

 

Power Level: 11; Power Points Spent: 255/255

 

STR: +5 (14/20), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +3 (16), INT: +15 (24/40), WIS: +9 (16/28), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +3/+9, Fort: +9, Ref: +12, Will: +12

 

Skills: Acrobatics 12 (+15), Bluff 12 (+15), Computers 1 (+16), Craft (electronic) 1 (+16), Craft (mechanical) 1 (+16), Diplomacy 7 (+10), Disable Device 1 (+16), Investigate 1 (+16), Knowledge (earth sciences) 1 (+16), Knowledge (life sciences) 1 (+16), Knowledge (physical sciences) 1 (+16), Knowledge (streetwise) 1 (+16), Knowledge (technology) 1 (+16), Language 5 (+5), Medicine 1 (+10), Notice 6 (+15), Sense Motive 6 (+15), Stealth 12 (+15), Survival 1 (+10)

 

Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Focus (melee) 3, Attack Specialization (Unarmed Attack), Beginner's Luck, Defensive Roll, Dodge Focus 3, Eidetic Memory, Equipment 4, Evasion, Improved Critical 2 (Terrifi-Cannon (Blast 12)), Improved Critical 2 (Terrifi-Staff Shock (Stun 7)), Improvised Tools, Inventor, Jack-of-All-Trades, Luck 2, Master Plan, Online Research, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Skill Mastery 3 (Acro, Bluff, Comp, Craf (elec & mech), Dis Dev, Inves, Med, Notice, SM, Stea, Surv), Speed of Thought, Takedown Attack 2, Taunt, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory), Well-Informed

 

Powers:

Nano-Fiber Battlesuit (Device (Hard to lose, Only you can use)

   Fiber Armor (Protection 5) (+5 Toughness)

   Integral Radio (Communication 6) (sense type: radio; Omni-Directional Area; Subtle (subtle))

      Datalink 6 (Alternate; sense type: radio; Omni-Directional Area; Subtle (subtle))

   Life Support System (Immunity 9) (life support)

   Optical Assist Lenses (Super-Senses 6) (analytical (type): Visual, extended (type): Visual 1 (-1 per 100 ft), infravision, ultravision)

   Strength Enhancement (Enhanced Strength 6) (+6 STR)

Superhuman Brain (Container, Passive 7)

   Enhanced Intelligence 16 (+16 INT)

   Enhanced Trait 2 (Feats: Eidetic Memory, Speed of Thought)

   Enhanced Wisdom 12 (+12 WIS)

   Quickness 10 (Perform routine tasks at 2500x speed; One Type (Mental))

Terrifi-Staff (Device 6) (Easy to lose; Subtle (subtle))

   Terrifi-Combat (Array 13) (default power: blast)

      Freonic Ray (Snare (Array; DC 18; Secondary Effect; Accurate 2 (+4))

      Sonic Flash Burst (Dazzle (Array; affects: 1 type + visual - visual & auditory, DC 18; Accurate 2 (+4))

      Terrifi-Cannon (Blast 12) (Default; DC 27, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Terrifi-Cannon (Blast 12)))

      Terrifi-Staff Shock (Stun 7) (Array; DC 17, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Terrifi-Staff Shock (Stun 7)); Autofire (interval 2, max +5); Accurate (+2), Extended Reach (5 ft.))

      Terrifi-Staff Smack (Strike 4) (Array; DC 24; Extended Reach (5 ft.), Mighty)

Utility Belt (Gadgets 2) (Action 2 (free))

 

Equipment: Terrifi-cycle, Terrifi-Labs

 

Attack Bonus: +10 (Ranged: +10, Melee: +13, Grapple: +18)

 

Attacks: Freonic Ray (Snare 8), +14 (DC Ref/Staged 18), Sonic Flash Burst (Dazzle 8), +14 (DC Fort/Ref 18), Terrifi-Cannon (Blast 12), +10 (DC 27), Terrifi-Staff Shock (Stun 7), +15 (DC Fort/Staged 17), Terrifi-Staff Smack (Strike 4), +13 (DC 24), Unarmed Attack, +15 (DC 20)

 

Defense: +12  (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -4

 

Initiative: +3

 

Languages: Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Mandarin), English Native, French, Portuguese, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 42 + Skills 18 (72 ranks) + Feats 33 + Powers 106 + Combat 38 + Saves 18 + Drawbacks 0 = 255

 

*****************************************************************************************

 

Terrifi-cycle

 

Power Level: 11; Equipment Points Spent: 10

 

STR: +2 (15)

 

Toughness: +8

 

Features: Remote Control

 

Powers:

Speed 5 (Speed: 250 mph, 2200 ft./rnd)

 

Defense: +0

 

Totals: Abilities 1 + Skills 0 (0 ranks) + Feats 0 + Features 1 + Powers 5 + Combat 0 + Saves 3 + Drawbacks 0 + Equipment 0 (0 ep) + Weapons & Armor 0 (0 ep) = 10

 

*****************************************************************************************

 

Terrifi-Labs

 

Power Level: 11; Equipment Points Spent: 10

 

Toughness: +10

 

Features: Communications, Computer, Fire Prevention System, Garage, Gym, Laboratory, Library, Living Space, Power System, Security System 1, Workshop

 

Size: Diminutive

 

Totals: Abilities 0 + Skills 0 (0 ranks) + Feats 0 + Features 11 + Powers 0 - Combat 2 + Saves 1 + Drawbacks 0 + Equipment 0 (0 ep) + Weapons & Armor 0 (0 ep) = 10

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 38 (appears mid 20s)

Height: 5’ 4” (5’ 6” in Fiber Armor Battlesuit)

Weight: 115 lbs

Ethnicity: ½ Han Chinese, ½ English Caucasian

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Dark Brown

 

Background: A man named Lucas Carson went to China to spread the Good News of Jesus. He fell in love and married a local, Meili Song. They had a daughter, Qiaolian, who they cared for very much. However, the local Chinese officials slowly got wind of Lucas’s actions, and began to pursue him. Soon, it was too dangerous to bring a small child along all the time. So Lucas and his lady love began to leave Qiaolian at a local Buddhist temple that did double duty as an orphanage of sorts. One day, not long after Qiaolian’s eight birthday, they left her there again…and never came back. Qiaolian missed them terribly, but she had friends, and the monks were nice. Plus a aged Kung Fu master had set up shop and was teaching some of the children, including Qiaolian. And then her powers kicked in, increasing her IQ exponentially. She had more than enough to do.

Four years later, a white man came to the temple. He worked for Cassandra Carson, Lucas’s aunt. He was looking for Lucas, but instead found Qiaolian, who calmly explained who she was and why he should care. In exquisite and exacting detail. It wasn’t a full week before Qiaolian was headed to America (Boston, specifically), home of the fairly large Carson family. Cassandra was not impressed by the “dirty little chinagirl” and immediately changed her name to Samantha. Sam blurred through schools, far too intelligent for the material in middle and high school. She became one of Boston College’s youngest students in their entire history at 16. There, her rapid pace slowed, not due to the increased difficulties of the material, but due to studying virtually everything under the sun. A teenaged Terrifica had a short career as a local crime fighter, but at the time it didn’t interest her any more than anything else and she quickly dropped it.

It was during this time she met Stan Gresham, the man who would become her husband. She was 18, he was 23. Love happened. Eventually. Stan graduated and started his psychology practice, and Sam fast-tracked herself through MIT. They got married. Their son, Lucas was born. Named after Stan’s mentor, not Sam’s dad. Sam graduated MIT and took them up on their professorship offer. Meili, their daughter, was born. Sam felt…unfulfilled. A genius like her should be more than just…this. 

She was a deeply conflicted young woman. Every life path she could possibly take seemed either insufficient for her gifts or bothered her on moral or ethical grounds. She was capable of outthinking entire universities. If she went into a scientific field she would steal the futures of virtually everyone in it. She didn’t feel she had the right to do that. She could start curing cancers. Revolutionize inorganic chemistry. Develop innovative new physics applications. Reengineer any one of million types of equipment. She could be a billionaire by 30. At the low, low price of everyone who currently had or dreamed of a career in that particular field. Hell, she could go into politics. Fix the broken parts of the world. But that too, carries a price she was unwilling to make anyone else pay. She started getting angry. It wasn’t fair. What was the point of being gifted like this if she couldn’t goddamn use it? She was, in her estimation (which is quite incorrect), on the verge of ditching ethics and morality to just fix things, already. And then Starman II died.

Sam knew he was mortal, you know? She came to the United States in ’93, after the first Starman had died. She’d been five years old when he retired. So Starman II was the only one she’d ever known. She knew he was mortal. She knew he could die. This did not make the fact that he was dead seem any less impossible. He needed to be replaced. She had never once considered becoming a superhero as the answer to her lack of fulfillment. She’d tried it once as a teenager and didn’t really like it. However, she had been, well, quite frankly half assing it. No commitment. This was going to be different. The first goal was to purge organized crime from Boston. Thus Terrifica debuted properly in early 2002…and had to take maternity leave before the year was over. Don’t you just hate it when multiple life plans end up conflicting with each other? Lucas was born August 30, 2003. Named after Stan’s mentor, not Sam’s dad. Terrifica went back to work in October. Not a full year later she was out on maternity leave again. Meili, after Sam’s mother, was born on Feb 13, 2005. The plan was for two children and also Sam was annoyed, so she and Stan began using birth control. Terrifica returned to Boston full time at the start of April.

And was functionally a force of nature. She made and continues to make life very difficult for the Patriarca crime family, Irish Mob, Triads, and various street gangs. Due to her origins, she is one of the very few professional superheroes to make strong inroads into Boston’s Chinatown. Boston-New England, really, is a noticeably more crime free place in the Phoenixverse thanks to her 9 solo years between 2005 and 2014. What happened in 2014? Fletcher (accidently) made a murderous AI that tried to exterminate humanity with an asteroid. It took control of a foundry and minted a whole legion of robotic drones to go against the inevitable heroic response. If it had just been the Icons who responded, things may have gone quite poorly. Instead, Terrifica, Spike, and Candy showed up too. Three extra sets of hands (and Terrifica’s giant addition to the braintrust) made smacking down all the drones and saving the world from the asteroid easier. It was Terrifica, however, who blacked out local wifi and put a railgun shot through the last drone as it tried to escape with the AI inside. The three of them were recruited to the Icons in the aftermath. Terrifica did not participate in the Icons civil war, as she thought it was painfully stupid. She simply stopped being Terrifica for a while, until the governor as Massachusetts himself requested she get back on the job. Thus she wasn’t actually around to participate in the Eternity War. She was not among the Dusted, but her entire family was. It was shattering, to be honest, and a very ruthless Terrifica was the one who provided the method of reacquiring the Crystals of Power Kuros had used in the first place and then shattered to provide finality to the matter. Thus she was there during the Endgame and acquitted herself quite well in the final battle, acting as tactician and basically directing the course of the fight with Kuros’s forces. The long awaited return of the Starfamily brought a smile to her face.

Now, with Fletcher gone, she is the more or less undisputed brains of the Icons. Her son Lucas has started sidekicking for her as Excello. The gynoid double of herself she made to patrol the city when she was away or busy became self aware, taking the first name Xiaolian and heroic codename Exquisita. She has arguably the strongest Rogues’ Gallery in the group. The impossibly mysterious Maven, who somehow without any detectable powers can change bodies like most people change shirts. They are the most dangerous person in New England. The Mechanic, an old tech villain with dementia who is nevertheless the second most dangerous of Terrifica’s enemies, because of his Kill Terrifica, or KT, series of robots and large battlesuit. None of them work properly anymore and they have lots of weaknesses, but other heroes (who know nothing of them) are in for a stiff fight. Her former boss at MIT, who went mad trying to perfect cryogenic sleep to save his wife and became the supervillain Winterian. And the Gray Man, who uses his superhuman charisma to dominate Boston’s criminal underworld, talk his way out of the justice system and almost into Terrifica’s pants every time they meet and he gets to speak.

 

Powers & Tactics: Terrifica has a lot going on. A potent mutant power, two technological devices, and a utility belt full of goodies. On top of all that she’s a master martial artist, specializing in several Changquan styles (Changquan being the classic acrobatic and kick heavy style of Chinese martial arts) with additional training in Wing Chun (which focuses on hand strikes and defense instead).

Her mutant power, well…even if she had no powers, Terrifica would have been a once a century genius. With them, her intellectual might is such that if it were physical strength instead she’d be able to crack titanium with a punch and lift multiple tons. If it were ranged accuracy she’d outclass every special forces soldier on the planet without effort, and being among the best in the world. She is incredibly intelligent. An intellect more powerful than any computer on the planet. This is not all. Her awareness and perceptiveness is also significantly boosted. Her memory is functionally perfect. And her mind can move at up to 2500 times normal human speed. This is still slower than modern computers, which are at least 10 million times human speed in terms of performing basic operations. However, unlike computers, her brain (like all human brains) can perform a multitude of operations simultaneously (known as parallel processing), giving her specifically a massive advantage over even the beefiest supercomputers. And unlike all human brains, she can multithread (or think about multiple subjects at the same time) with ease.

The first device we will discuss is her Fiber Armor Battlesuit. Unlike most devices that bear the title of Battlesuit, hers is not made of metal, but cloth. Cloth armor is probably the oldest style of armor in the world, starting with leather and linen. Wood was also used in places, but that’s irrelevant to this. The point here is that the Fiber Armor part is basically upgraded Kevlar in functionality. Lightweight, flexible fabric that’s equally resistant protection against fists, blades, fire, electricity, and anything else the world can cook up. Mundane armor that reaches this level of protection always has a hard element, be it metal or ceramics. This is again, lightweight, flexible fabric only. A radio is integrated into the cowl, as are special lenses that extend her visual ranges. It also includes a full life support system and minor strength enhancement based on hydraulic exoskeletons

The second device is her Terrifi-Staff. It’s a collapsible metal quarterstaff, with several additional features. The Freonic Ray is a heat displacement effect, trapping targets in ice. Sonic Flash Burst can temporarily blind and deafen the target. There’s a built in high powered stun gun, and she can of course just hit people with it. That last is stronger than expected due to some special metals in the outer shell. The most remarkable feature, however, is the Terrifi-Cannon. It is a magnetic railgun that hits as hard as cruise missiles and yet fits into an ordinary collapsible quarterstaff.

Her Utility Belt does not initially seem special. This is deceptive. Through the use of some minor spatial distortion technology, there is a hell of a lot in those small pouches. Terrifica is known as being prepared for literally anything, and her Utility Belt is why. She has spent a lot of time crafting multiple modular device systems to be prepared for virtually anything. There is nothing inside of it she can actually attack with (that is what the Terrifi-Staff and her hands are for), but everything else is on the table. Movement effects like flight or teleportation. Immunity to various types of effects. Tools of incredible quality that enhance crafting. Manuals of incredibly dense technical information. Literally just about anything.

She also has a motorcycle she can use via remote control (the Terrifi-cycle) and a small apartment away from her civilian home that functions as her headquarters (Terrifi-Labs).

 

Tactically, the first thing to understand about Terrifica is that she’s a brain, not a fist. She manipulates the situation so that fighting becomes foolish and unnecessary first. She’s probably the only working superhero who regularly calls 911 to report crimes in progress. A woman has to prioritize, after all. A couple of gang members breaking into a closed store is not nearly as important as stopping a murderer from claiming another victim. Then again she may well be the only one who thinks about other crimes happening where she isn’t and can’t get to. And her Utility Belt throws a very unpredictable wrinkle into everything. Immunities. Super Senses. Concealment. Extras (like Area [Burst] or Autofire) for her Terrifi-Staff’s attacks. So. Speaking broadly, she prefers Freonic Ray and Terrifi-Staff Shock as less violent methods of putting enemies down. Sonic Flash Burst can be a good set up move. She does not use the Terrifi-Cannon on living targets unless she can’t harm them any other way.  She has Acrobatic Bluff, enough Bluff to Feint effectively, and Taunt. Oh, so much Taunt. She has Power Attack to do more damage, too. Things to keep in mind: Master Plan. She never leaves home without one, and the average result gives her and her allies +3 on all skill checks and attack rolls for three rounds. Followed by a +2 and a 1 for one round each. Online Research and Well Informed mean she knows at least the basics of whatever she’s up against this time, allowing her to select the appropriate item from her Utility Belt. And to top it all off, she has Inventor. See, with Beginner’s Luck followed by a boost from her Utility Belt, her Inventions will have an average of 29 PP to work with. That is not a typo. 29 PP. Of course, that is only under desperate circumstances. It’s more likely she’ll just pull out the regular gear and leave Beginner’s Luck alone for an average of 20 PP. Taking 20 on the design phase thanks her to Mental Quickness and then breaking out the advanced tools to get a 26PP result is also possible.

 

Personality: The first thing to understand about Terrifica’s personality is that her parents dropped off the face of the earth when she was eight years old. She did not have her powers yet. She was just a powerless and ignorant child. Then she got a power. The best possible power for someone who felt that way. She started running away from those two feelings, and hasn’t stopped since. Yes, being superhumanly intelligent has bred a certain degree of arrogance, however the former still applies. Which is the first reason she can’t permit herself to ever be wrong. There’s any number of excuses that can salve her psyche, however. If she was ever truly wrong, then she was ignorant. If she’s ignorant, then she’s powerless too. And suddenly she’s a terrified eight year old again. Understandably, she doesn’t go there.

Second thing, from the age of twelve to eighteen she was raised by her great aunt Cassandra Carson. Blue blooded aristocratic hell witch. That woman believes she’s superior to everyone because of her pure bloodline and stellar (if only human) intellect, and she hated the fact that her son diluted the precious blood. Even if young Samantha Carson tried mightily to ignore the lessons of that cold loveless house, many of them stuck. They appealed to someone who was objectively superior (in one way) and felt unwanted, unloved, and alone. She is slowly shedding those mannerisms, but negative emotions can bring it all right back. Like fear. Or anger. She knows how to treat people properly, but one’s past is never that easily conquered. Of course, that isn’t all there is to it. See Fourth, below.

Third, one of the main lessons of that cold and loveless house is that intelligence is the most important quality in a human being. It was the only thing of hers Cassandra never insulted. Thusly, Terrifica considers her intelligence her only valuable asset. She is very proud of it specifically because she doesn’t believe anything else about her is particularly special. Her aunt Cassandra made very sure of that. Cassandra literally changed her name without her consent or indeed any input from her at all. She still, in some ways, sees herself as the “dirty little chinagirl” her aunt always referred to her as. Not worthless, necessarily, but certainly not someone of value. Fixing things, solving problems, making things right after they go wrong, figuring out an explanation for the inexplicable. All of these things give her that boost to her self esteem. Hence why she works so hard to prove herself, and is always thinking about everything from every conceivable angle. It’s also why someone calling her some variation of stupid causes such a negative reaction. It’s an attack on the core of her self-worth. Furthermore, it’s another reason why she must be right. Of course, she isn’t consciously aware of this inner self image.

Fourth, contradicting her efforts is the fact that she also considers her superhuman intellect extremely dangerous. Walking around with a dirty nuke level dangerous. There are all sorts of terrible ramifications and consequences of using her extreme intellect on the world. There are all sorts of wonderful ones, too, but those aren’t the ones she loses sleep over. She considers managing her intelligence so that it doesn’t hurt anyone, even indirectly, the single most important responsibility she has. She is terrified to a level she fundamentally can’t grasp about failing in that responsibility. To the point that, aside from the lessons of her aunt Cassandra, that is the main reason she’s so harsh as Terrifica. The harshness comes from her knowing that people who aren’t harsh like she is. The kind ones, mannerly. They make people fond of them, and prone to listening to them. Doing what they say. There aren’t words for how terrifying a prospect that is to her. She can’t possibly account for all the variables in how her positive influence might go wrong. Being harsh is just so much easier on interpersonal relations, not to mention it’s more natural to her (again, because of aunt Cassandra). Professor Samantha Carson is a much nicer person, but Professor Samantha Carson will never be in a position to effect change in the world. Intentionally so. If Terrifica gets something wrong, people will get hurt, and she will have failed in her responsibility. This is absolutely unacceptable, so she (once again) must be right at all times.

Fifth, to not fail or ever be wrong she has developed a very controlling personality, in addition to being harsh and caustic. Because she must be right and in order to do that she requires all the information she can get. And that comes from being the person in charge of a given situation. It’s not that she minds taking orders, it’s that she is deeply concerned about the fallibility of those giving the orders. A fallibility she will not permit herself to share. Even when things go wrong, and objectively it isn’t her fault in the slightest…she still considers it to be her fault. Her failure. She can, of course, be perfectly reasonable about this, but it doesn’t mean the feeling goes away. That she could have done better. Done more.

Sixth, she doesn’t really understand people all that well. Knowing psychology is one thing, practicing it in person is another. To be fair…she’s not like regular people. Her extreme intelligence and high mental speed are unique among superhumans. There is only a tiny amount of people on earth who know what it is like to even have one of those two abilities. Let alone both. So in a very real sense, she has no idea what it’s like to be a regular person. She doesn’t know what they think or what they feel. She can only theorize. And god, does it show. Of course, it always bothers her, because of all that above.

Finally, with all that said… Terrifica is also a woman with a deep well of compassion, a strong sense of ethics, and an endless supply of kindness. Once you get to know her, anyway. She doesn’t make it easy, as she will only show even the slightest emotional vulnerability to someone who has very much earned her trust and respect. Which is a task in and of itself, considering all her other issues. Her goal, her true goal, is not to dominate and control. Not to keep the people where they were and let her do all the thinking. NO. A thousand times NO. Her goal is to bring the common person up to her level. To apply enough education and training that the entire human race improves dramatically from its present state. Then, and only then, can she walk beside them as equals. This is her dream. One of the two things she wants most in the world. The other being to finally find out what happened to her father. It’s not out of love at this point, though she does still cling to his memory. It’s because being unable to solve his disappearance has become a failure. And as has been said, this cannot be allowed to stand.

To summarize, her reputation is that of an arrogant and smug bitch, constantly snarking and being snide. The truth is…a bit different, as laid out in detail above. She’s prickly in many ways, applies her own impossibly high standards for herself to other adults when she really shouldn’t, and comes off as incredibly arrogant if one doesn’t know how competent she actually is. It ain’t bragging if you can back it up, and holy shit does she ever. She’s deeply insecure, has an obsessive streak a mile wide, and is terrified of becoming a monster even by accident. And yet. She’d pass the “get the little girl’s kitty out of a tree” test effortlessly. In fact, she’d get something out of her Utility Belt to help the little girl do it herself, while gently encouraging her and empowering her. Her entire goal in the superhero business is to make the need for her to do it totally unnecessary. She’s a woman of contradictions, that Terrifica. Also quite cathartic to watch verbally tear idiots apart.

[EternalPhoenix]

Medic (Dr. Daniel Ivanoff)

 

Power Level: 12; Power Points Spent: 255/255

 

STR: +4 (18), DEX: +4 (18), CON: +4 (18), INT: +5 (20), WIS: +5 (20), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +4/+12, Fort: +12, Ref: +12, Will: +12

 

Skills: Acrobatics 11 (+15), Bluff 12 (+15), Climb 1 (+5), Computers 5 (+10), Concentration 10 (+15), Craft (electronic) 5 (+10), Craft (mechanical) 5 (+10), Diplomacy 12 (+15), Disable Device 5 (+10), Gather Information 12 (+15), Investigate 5 (+10), Knowledge (behavioral science) 5 (+10), Knowledge (life sciences) 15 (+20), Knowledge (physical sciences) 5 (+10), Knowledge (streetwise) 10 (+15), Knowledge (tactics) 5 (+10), Knowledge (technology) 5 (+10), Language 4 (+4), Medicine 15 (+20), Notice 10 (+15), Search 5 (+10), Sense Motive 10 (+15), Sleight of Hand 1 (+5), Stealth 6 (+10), Swim 1 (+5)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (melee) 4, Attack Specialization (Kinetic Club (Device 1)), Defensive Attack, Elusive Target, Evasion, Improved Critical 2 (Mass Muscle Spasm (Paralyze 12)), Improved Critical 2 (Neural Agony (Stun 12)), Improved Critical 2 (Olfactory Sensitivity Increase (Nauseate 12)), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improvised Tools, Interpose, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Skill Mastery (Diplomacy, Gather Info, KN (life sciences), Medicine), Takedown Attack, Ultimate Effort 2 (Medicine checks, Toughness checks), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Dimensional Alien Hybrid Physiology (Container, Passive 3)

   Inhuman Resilience (Protection (+8 Toughness)

   Perfect Immune System (Immunity 3) (aging, disease, poison)

   Seemingly Bottomless Stamina (Immunity (enviromental conditions (all), sleep, suffocation (all); Limited - Half Effect)

Kinetic Club (Device 1) (Easy to lose)

   Kinetic Club Strike (Strike 4) (DC 23; Mighty)

Life Control (Array 25) (default power: healing)

   Life Force Infusion (Healing 12) (Default; DC 22; Restoration, Total; Persistent, Regrowth)

   Mass Muscle Spasm (Paralyze 12) (Array; DC 22, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Mass Muscle Spasm (Paralyze 12)); Alternate Save (Fortitude), Autofire (interval 2, max +5), Secondary Effect)

   Neural Agony (Stun 12) (Array; DC 22, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Neural Agony (Stun 12)); Autofire (interval 2, max +5), Secondary Effect)

   Olfactory Sensitivity Increase (Nauseate 12) (Array; DC 22, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Olfactory Sensitivity Increase (Nauseate 12)); Autofire (interval 2, max +5), Secondary Effect)

Life Process Awareness (Super-Senses 2) (analytical: Life Process Awareness, awareness: Life Process (Visual))

Sky Walking (Flight 1) (Speed: 10 mph, 88 ft./rnd)

 

Attack Bonus: +8 (Ranged: +8, Melee: +12, Grapple: +16)

 

Attacks: Kinetic Club Strike (Strike 4), +14 (DC 23), Mass Muscle Spasm (Paralyze 12), +12 (DC Fort/Staged 22), Neural Agony (Stun 12), +12 (DC Fort/Staged 22), Olfactory Sensitivity Increase (Nauseate 12), +12 (DC Fort/Staged 22), Unarmed Attack, +12 (DC 19)

 

Defense: +12  (Flat-footed: +6), Knockback: -6

 

Initiative: +8

 

Languages: Chinese (Mandarin), English Native, Italian, Russian, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 50 + Skills 45 (180 ranks) + Feats 22 + Powers 75 + Combat 40 + Saves 23 + Drawbacks 0 = 255

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 54 (chronological), mid 30s (biological)

Height: 6’ 3”

Weight: 225

Ethnicity: ½ African American, ½ Extradimensional (appears Caucasian)

Hair: Dark Brown

Eyes: Dark Brown

 

Background: Medic is a…controversial…figure. He was the first recruit to the Icons after the founding of the group. The main problem with him is that he’s a political firebrand in much the same way that Gunsmith was back in the 60s and 70s. He doesn’t run for office, or run any organizations. But he’s got opinions and by God, you’re going to hear them. The root of all this is twofold. He’s a New Yorker born and bred. He grew up poor and Black in the1970s Bronx. He was educated at NYU in the 80s. Worked at over a dozen hospitals in the city since. He has seen the seemingly infinite variations on how people can be shitty to each other, and he’s had more than enough. The other is that he’s had the ideal physician mentality since he was a kid. He knows, bone deep, he was put on this planet to help people and make their lives better. As long as it can be managed without hurting anyone else. It should go without saying that not everyone is like that. So Dr. Daniel Ivanoff (physician, surgeon, superhero, community activist, the list goes on) is in the news a lot. He appears on talk shows, be they TV, radio, or podcast format. He doesn’t ever stop calling people out who could be doing more. He doesn’t ever stop advocating for progressive ideas like how the NYPD doesn’t have to be called in to solve literally every problem and also they should be a hell of lot more accountable to the people of the city they’re supposedly working for. Basically he’s a professional pain in the ass to anyone who puts pride, profits, or whatever else over people and their lives. This would make him a profound political liability, except again like Gunsmith, he’s one hell of a superhero, probably the best surgeon on the planet, and obviously coming from a place of sincere, committed altruism. So he’s merely controversial instead.

The name Ivanoff is actually somewhat important to Phoenixverse history. It is the given surname of a certain extradimensional alien woman who popped up just in time for World War II. Her English was shaky, so her first name is a corruption o what she said her name was, and her last name is a corruption of the thing she kept initially repeating. Sh-sha wanted off. Off of where was never clear, and after her confusion cleared up she refused to clarify. Still, she was a useful ally to Project Blue Liberty on the European front. She saved the lives of everyone who wasn’t Big Blue (Oliver Snow) on multiple occasions with her healing powers. Ollie was a bit too tough to need her help more than a few times. After the war, the Project was dissolved and she disappeared for twenty years. She only showed up again because it’s kind hard to give birth around people without being taken to the hospital. And a kid needs a home to grow up in. Reengage legal identity, whatever. Where she was for those two decades and exactly who the father was are things she refuses to disclose. She was a good mother for 18 years. And nothing else. They lived quietly but happily in a fifth floor walkup in the Bronx. Where the money for rent, bills and food came from is something else she refuses to disclose. When Daniel went off to college at NYU in ‘83, she said her goodbyes to him and walked out of that apartment and his life. She’d reappear to take him out to lunch out of nowhere, or just visit for a day or two, but basically she was gone for over twenty years and he didn’t know where she was. When she finally reappeared for good, it was working a group of supervillains in 2007. The opposition group to the Academy’s teams. The situation there has only grown more nuanced in the past decade plus, but still, Mom. Really? Even to her own son, Sasha Ivanoff is inscrutable and ever mysterious.

Daniel has already been a superhero for several years on that awful September day in 2001, but it is inarguably where he made his name. Medic went into the Towers again. And again. And again. He helped clear obstacles, caught jumpers, and healed critical injuries all day. New York’s other heroes at the time, having only human stamina, flagged. He did not, or at least didn’t show it. There is a legendary photograph of him being physically restrained by half a dozen cops and emergency workers from making one more run after the first tower collapsed. Funnily enough, this didn’t work and he had to smash his way out of a window to avoid being caught in the second tower’s collapse. He did it carrying two people. There were more than two in that room. It haunts him to this day. He didn’t find out Starman II had died and why until the following day. And he didn’t leave the area for several more days, as he was deeply involved in the search for survivors or at least remains for their families. There are a few hundred people who only survived that day because he was there, and could easily get to the top floors that emergency workers and the rest of New York’s heroes could not. This is why New York loves him, and he’s merely controversial across the nation.

There wasn’t any specific event that caused Medic to be recruited to the Icons. He was kind of famous, and good at heroing, so they nabbed  him in2002. He wasn’t at Lei Zi’s invasion in Seattle because he was performing major surgery and naturally missed everyone’s calls. He has, however, been present for everything else and as expected took  the Shining Guardian’s side in the Icons civil war. And it was a sad day in New York when he was among the Dusted. He returned after the Dusting was undone, and participated in the final battle of the Endgame. Specifically by healing every injured hero he came across and whooping the asses of Kuros’s forces with his powers and trademark club when there weren’t any. He was enough of a pain in the ass that Kuros himself came to deal with him. Before they could do more than scuffle briefly, however, the Star-siblings showed up and started whooping Kuros’s ass.

His allies list is uh, not short. NYC’s hero business is booming. He can call on the folks at NPC Investigations, the spectacular Samaritan (himself a new Icon), and the martial artist and lawyer David Hero’s group (featuring the flying blaster JETTE, the powerhouse Kosma, other martial artist Tai Kwon, mystical shrinker Bee Girl, phasing Ghost Hornet, and acrobatic Night Wast). His most persistent enemies include the dangerously destructive Entropa (an old enemy of his mother’s species) and Cueball (a Mob enforcer who’s gotten very tired of Medic patching up his victims) This may not seem like a lot for New York, but Medic has teamed up with Samaritan against his enemies in, from, or created by the infamous Agency many times, and he’s provided back up to David Hero in the past as well. Though with the formation of his group, the latter likely needs it less these days.

 

Powers & Tactics: Most of Medic’s powers come from the fact that his mother is an extradimensional alien from a place called the Sternal Core. Information on it is basically nonexistent. Sasha says this doesn’t matter, as there’s no one left there anyway. She refuses to disclose any further information. His Kinetic Club was a gift from Sasha as well. She’s equally tight lipped about where she got it from. It hits significantly harder and is more durable than a mundane club, but does not appear to do anything else.

As a alien/human hybrid, he’s a lot more resistant to damage, immune to disease, poison, and kind of aging (just a second), and highly resistant to most environmental conditions with a weakened need for both sustenance, sleep, and air, The immunity to aging does not function in the normal, expected way. Basically every time he uses his powers he knocks a bit off his biological age. So if he stopped using his powers all together he’d age normally and die of it at some point. Individually, the age decreases aren’t much. He’s only wiping away a week to a month at a time. But considering how often he uses his powers, especially his healing touch, well…he is effectively ageless and slowly getting younger. Because it’s such a slow process, he’s not entirely aware of it.

As for those powers, he generates and controls life force energy. His most common use of this by far (to the degree that it was thought for a long time it was the only application) is a healing touch. Now this isn’t as useful as you might think for a surgeon. It can’t cure cancer, autoimmune diseases, or genetic disorders. It can’t unclog a person’s arteries or remove foreign bodies like bullets or metal shards. And while he can heal neurological damage, this does not mean therapy isn’t necessary to regain what was lost. He can’t resurrect the dead, either. He can heal any type of physical damage to the body, regenerate lost limbs and organs (keyword lost, if patient never had one he can’t give them one), save people from even the most terrible diseases and lethal poisons, and stabilize the dying. All with one touch. A touch that he can easily use on himself if necessary. The other three powers he uses most often are almost the opposite. He can cause temporary paralysis by causing every muscle in the target’s body to spasm simultaneous. He can flip the switch on a target’s neurology, causing extreme pain that can easily result in unconsciousness. And he can crank up the sensitivity of a target’s sense of smell so that all odors are overpowering, causing them to become ill and even vomit.

There are a couple of other powers. He can see the life force energy inside of a person, basically allowing diagnose their aliments as if he was looking at the combined results of the world’s finest MRI and X-Ray machines. Only better. And, for reasons that are still unknown, he can slowly fly. His mother can’t do that, and she has no idea where it came from. So maybe it’s a mutant hand me down from his father?

 

Tactically, normally Medic doesn’t use his offensive powers on people. They’re kind of hideous things to do to someone, so he’d rather just smash their faces in with his Kinetic Club. That, he can fix pretty quick. But if an enemy does manage to really piss him off, they will learn to regret it very quickly, as he’ll go powers free on their asses.He’s got enough Bluff to Feint if he needs to, but primarly he’s a straightforward butt kicker. That is, assuming they don’t want to talk it out. Because he doesn’t actually want to hurt people, you know? He has Accurate, All Out, and Power Attack. Also Move by Action, Interpose, and surprisingly Ultimate Toughness. As for Power Stunts, well…he can, technically, do damage with his powers. It just seems like the exact opposite of what he should be doing. Still, Cellular Disruption (Strike 12, Alt Save Fort) is there if for some extraordinarily dark and desperate reason he should need it. And even worse, he thinks he could turn someone’s body into a mass of nothing but overgrown cancers. This would be a Continuous Transform effect, but sweet Jesus why?

 

Personality: Daniel Ivanoff knew why he was put on this planet before he entered kindergarden. To help people. To make their lives better. So he’s a very kind and compassionate man, with plenty of humility. You see, he doesn’t put on his Medic onesie to bash criminal skulls in. People resort to crime for reasons, dammit. It’s a symptom of a greater disease. And he is a doctor, after all. If the city, state, and/or nation could just fix a few systemic problems and/or injustices, he’d have to hit less people in the face. And that would make him happy beyond words. He’s a neighborhood guy, sort of. NYC may be a big city, but the criminal community isn’t a tenth of a percent of the population. Over a 24 year heroic career he’s met a whole lot of them several times. He doesn’t want to put people in prison; he wants to rehabilitate them if at all possible. And it’s possible more often than regular people think. So if you’d just take a look at this study these very fine folks over at the university have done regarding-

You can see why some people can’t stand him. He’s one of the most altruistic people on Earth, and that’s really good. But he never. Turns it. Off. All day, every day. If he’s not in surgery or on rounds he’s on the street doing hero stuff or helping organize soup kitchens, bake sales, charity softball games, protests against the latest killer cop, or any one of a dozen other things. If he’s not doing that it’s another interview to get his take on things and of course he’s going to call out the mayor, the city council and maybe even the governor and legislature. Even the President and Congress do not always escape unscathed, especially in the last few years. People genuinely wonder when he sleeps or takes time for himself. He’s a cheerful man, full of ideas, respectful of boundaries, and eager to help. He is exceedingly generous with both his money and his time. He truly is among the best of us. He’s just also so goddamn exhausting to be around for very long, because he never stops encouraging/cajoling/demanding everyone else do their best for others, too.

[EternalPhoenix]

Spike (Spike Douglas)

 

Power Level: 12; Power Points Spent: 210/210

 

STR: +2 (14), DEX: +2 (14), CON: +2 (14), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +5 (20), CHA: +5 (20)

 

Tough: +2/+14, Fort: +8, Ref: +10, Will: +12

 

Skills: Acrobatics 8 (+10), Bluff 5 (+10), Gather Information 10 (+15), Intimidate 15 (+20), Knowledge (arcane Lore) 2 (+5), Knowledge (civics) 2 (+5), Knowledge (current events) 7 (+10), Knowledge (streetwise) 12 (+15), Knowledge (theology & philosophy) 2 (+5), Language 4 (+4), Notice 10 (+15), Search 2 (+5), Sense Motive 10 (+15), Stealth 8 (+10), Survival 5 (+10)

 

Feats: Attack Focus (melee) 4, Challenge - Improved Demoralize, Challenge - Improved Startle, Eidetic Memory, Evasion, Improved Critical 2 (Spike Barrage (Strike 12)), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Gather Info, Intimidate, KN (streetwise), Sleight of Hand), Startle, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Skin Spikes (Force Field 12) (+12 Toughness; Duration (continuous), Impervious)

Spike Extension (Elongation 6) (Elongation: 250 ft., range incr 60 ft., +6 Escape & Grapple; Projection; Limited 2 (No Escape or Grapple, Cannot apply strength, no fine motor skills))

Spiked Attacks (Array 12) (default power: strike)

   Spike Barrage (Strike 12) (Default; DC 27, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Spike Barrage (Strike 12)); Autofire (interval 2, max +5) [10 ranks only])

   Spike Burst (Strike 12) (Array; DC 27; Burst Area (60 ft. radius - General))

   Spike Cone (Strike 12) (Array; DC 27; Cone Area (120 ft. cone - General))

   Spike Line (Strike 12) (Array; DC 27; Line Area (5x300 ft. line - General))

Spiked Jump (Leaping 6) (Jumping distance: x100)

Spikes (Super-Movement 2) (slow fall, wall-crawling 1 (half speed))

 

Attack Bonus: +8 (Ranged: +8, Melee: +12, Grapple: +14/+20)

 

Attacks: Spike Barrage (Strike 12), +12 (DC 27), Spike Burst (Strike 12) (DC 27), Spike Cone (Strike 12) (DC 27), Spike Line (Strike 12) (DC 27), Unarmed Attack, +12 (DC 17)

 

Defense: +10  (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -13

 

Initiative: +6

 

Languages: Chinese (Mandarin), English Native, Korean, Russian, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 38 + Skills 26 (102 ranks) + Feats 13 + Powers 76 + Combat 36 + Saves 21 + Drawbacks 0 = 210

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 37

Height: 6’ 1”

Weight: 180

Ethnicity: African American

Hair: Black

Eyes: Dark Brown

 

Background: Spike Douglas ought to be a supervillain. He’s got the powers, the bad attitude, and the worse reputation. But he’s not, and why is pretty simple. It will, however, take some background first. A long time ago. Pre slave trade. Pre written records. There was a man in Africa who pissed off a god and had his entire bloodline cursed. In time, the name and pantheon of said god were completely forgotten. The curse, however, remains. That forgotten god is a vindictive son of a bitch, who does not care that the original offender is long dead, and any memory of him is long gone. He does not care that the world has changed, that the slave trade tore said bloodline out of Africa and deposited it in North America. His pride is injured, and he will see every descendant of the offender suffer until the end of the human race. It gives him great pleasure.

So, like every male member of the bloodline (females are always miscarried, because the god is a dick) Spike was not quite born. The curse activated and tore him out of his mother, causing her immediate death. And wherever his father was, he also died on the spot as the curse betrayed him. The curse, by the way, kills anyone who loves Spike the next time they touch him, or on the spot if they already are once they shift into loving him. It does not differentiate between types of love. Romantic, platonic, familial, or any other kind. They get the spikes and die. You can imagine what this would do to a child, especially when they don’t know why it’s happening. The god appeared to Spike in his teen years, exposing the whole situation to the homeless runaway. The god expected either the usual despair and self-isolation or murderous rage and supervillainy. Spike took a surprising third option. Outraged defiance. Well, that’s one reason to become a superhero.

20 years down the road, and the god is pissed. Yeah, Spike has no friends or loved ones. Yeah,  he’s got an enemies list a mile long. Yeah, he’s kind of miserable. But he’s also Los Angeles’s acknowledged main protector. The big dog in Hell A. Nobody likes him, but the sheer number of times he’s thrown himself between Angelenos and certain doom cannot be denied. This is how he became an Icon in the first place. He rolled up on the genocidal AI that Fletcher had (accidently) made, cussed it out, and started punching holes in drones with his spikes. This respite for the Icons was sorely needed so they could regroup and eventually destroy the AI. They kept him on afterward. Every super group needs an attack dog, so to speak. Surprising no one, he told both the Shining Guardian and Fletcher to fuck off, staying out of the Icons civil war. He did, however, show up somehow for the Eternity War, and actually held off Kuros for several minutes before being flattened when The Savior became annoyed. He was not among the Dusted specifically because the god and his curse did not allow it. So he was around but not especially useful until the final battle of the Endgame, where Terrifica’s tactical direction gave him a wide berth. Kuros’s forces got to see what being on the other side of the horror movie was like, and they did not like it one bit. This, naturally, has enhanced his fearsome reputation.

The god has not stopped yammering at him angrily. Well, fuck him. Fuck the Sheriff’s Department and big chunks of the LAPD too. And fuck the rich Hollywood suits, too. You see, Spike is still homeless. Intentionally so. Los Angeles has a fairly large homeless population, and mostly nobody cares when one disappears. The same can be said about LA’s sex workers. Or any other occupation the desperately poor fall into. Because Spike isn’t just LA’s protector; he’s the champion of the poor and downtrodden. The lost and forsaken. He’s fought supervillains (such as liquid metal man Mercury, earthquake specialist Tectonica, and the fire and cold controlling duo of Fahrenheit & Celsius), mini kaiju rising out of the sea, and a dozen flavors of vampires and demons. He doesn’t actually have any regular heroic allies. However, Starguy (now an Icon) has backed him up before, as have local heroes Sargette (former US Army), Telebolt (electric teleporter), and Valley Girl (invulnerably skinned). Two police officers in Angel Rodriguez (with her superhumanly strong and durable wings) and Celeste Martinez (with her advanced cybernetic arm) have also lent assistance, on occasion. He purposefully avoids and thus has no relationship of any kind with Exile House LA and the Second Gen.

 

Powers & Tactics: Spike is the victim of a divine curse. An infinite number of indestructible cylindrical spikes of all possible widths linger in parallel dimension, the portal to which is just under his skin. He uses this in several ways. His primary method of defense is merging them with his skin to create a bumpy skinned appearance. It sounds comical, but he’s ignored rocket fire. The spikes themselves are, as previously stated, indestructible. They’re not a perfect barrier, however. They do transmit the force of attacks made against them, just greatly reduced. So Spike can be damaged with his skin spikes out. It just takes heavy force to do it. Blunt spikes, when extruded rapidly through the feet, make him capable of “leaping” great distances though basic physics. It’s uh, a lot easier to overcome 180 lbs of inertia and defy gravity to launch him into the air than to move the earth from its orbit. A helluva lot of tiny spikes on his hands and feet make clinging to walls and ceilings a breeze. He doesn’t have to worry about falls, either, as long as he can grab a handhold somewhere. He can maintain extended blunt spikes for as long as he wants, effectively extending his reach approximately 250 feet.

But of course, arguably the main event is how he attacks enemies. It’s basically horror movie villain stuff. He can spike anything with a big radius, wide cone, or long line. And there’s also his trademark Spike Barrage, in which he wildly oscillates the spikes in and out as he punches, doing potentially horrific damage.

 

Tactically, Spike is 100% pure ass kicker. It’s not that he can’t do rescues. It’s that he’s best at kicking the everloving shit out of Acceptable Targets. He’s a pure damage guy, without any exotic alternatives. Basically, he hears about a problem, he go finds it, and either he intimidates it away or it gets the fuck spiked out of it. This is his reputation, and he uses it well. He does attempt to avoid collateral and property damage with his area attacks. The basic plan is Improved Startle+Spike Barrage=fight over or close enough. And generally this works, actually. Anybody he’d do lethal damage to is also the type to be intimidated by him and his reputation and either run like hell or cut the shit. It’s not like he’s unwilling to cut effect ranks to avoid doing lethal damage, it’s just that he rarely has to. He also has Improved Demoralize and Power Attack, for when those prove to be needed. He never power stunts.

 

Personality: Spike is an angry, abrasive asshole. He’s honestly a very intimidating man. With that said, it’s not the maximum volume shouting kind of angry. It’s the slow burning rage of a man who knows he was destined to be fucked over the instant the sperm penetrated the egg and the new cell started duplicating. It ain’t just the curse, either. He’s a homeless black man in Los Angeles. City authority (including law enforcement) has a…mixed…reputation when it comes to not mistreating the economically disadvantaged and ethnic minorities. And that’s when they just don’t…abandon them to the nonexistent mercies of the criminal and supernatural underworlds. He’s seen some deeply fucked up shit. He’s been at the center of some deeply fucked up shit. So hell yes, he’s angry. He can’t get close to anyone or they will die, and Hell A chews up and spits out the vulnerable on a daily basis. He’s got a lot to be angry about.

With that said, rage and spite alone do not a hero make. Like, maybe for a year. Perhaps two. But almost twenty? Nah. There’s a fundamentally decent human being under there. Nobody who’s thrown themselves between defenseless people and horrible danger as often and as many times as Spike has can be anything less. He’s never gone completely off on anyone who hadn’t earned it through assholery or stupidity. He’s not normally abrasive to nuns, priests, and other ministers. He often wears a battered faux gold cross that belonged to his mother, and is occasionally seen just sitting in churches praying. There is a very lonely and miserable man underneath all that rage and aggression. Not that he’ll ever show that to anyone, of course. Because the most first and most important thing he has to protect people from is himself. Dammit.

[EternalPhoenix]

Candy (Candice Mikkelsen)

 

Power Level: 10; Power Points Spent: 210/210

 

STR: +2 (14), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +3 (16), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +7 (24)

 

Tough: +3/+8, Fort: +7, Ref: +12, Will: +8

 

Skills: Acrobatics 12 (+15), Bluff 13 (+20), Concentration 12 (+15), Diplomacy 13 (+20), Gather Information 13 (+20), Intimidate 3 (+10), Investigate 7 (+10), Knowledge (business) 2 (+5), Knowledge (civics) 12 (+15), Knowledge (life sciences) 2 (+5), Knowledge (physical sciences) 2 (+5), Language 4 (+4), Medicine 2 (+5), Notice 12 (+15), Perform (oratory) 8 (+15), Search 7 (+10), Sense Motive 12 (+15), Stealth 12 (+15)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (melee) 4, Attack Specialization 2 (Drain Glucose (Fatigue 8)), Challenge - Improved Distract, Challenge - Improved Feint, Challenge - Improved Taunt, Defensive Attack, Distract (Bluff), Dodge Focus 5, Eidetic Memory, Elusive Target, Evasion, Fascinate (Bluff), Fascinate (Diplomacy), Grappling Finesse, Improved Critical 2 (Drain Glucose (Fatigue 8)), Improved Critical 2 (Hard Candy Weapons (Strike 4)), Improved Initiative, Improved Trick, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Bluff, Diplomacy, KN (civics)), Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack 2, Taunt, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Hard Candy Armor (Force Field 5) (+5 Toughness; Impervious [3 extra ranks])

Sugar Control (Array 12) (default power: strike)

   Drain Glucose (Fatigue (Array; DC 18; Range (ranged))

   Hard Candy Constructs (Create Object (Array; Max Size: 8x 5' cubes, DC 18; Impervious)

   Hard Candy Weapons (Strike 4) (Default; DC 21, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Hard Candy Weapons (Strike 4)); Autofire (interval 2, max +5) [2 extra ranks], Penetrating [2 extra ranks]; Accurate (+2), Extended Reach (5 ft.), Mighty, Subtle (subtle), Variable Descriptor (Narrow group - Bludgeoning/Piercing/Slashing))

   Sugar-kinesis (Move Object 12) (Array; Strength: 60, Carry: 17 tons / 34 tons / 51.2 tons / 102.4 tons; Range (perception); Limited Material (Sugars))

   Sugarstorm (Strike (Array; DC 23; Cloud Area (40 ft. diameter, lingers - General))

Sugar Road (Flight 5) (Speed: 250 mph, 2200 ft./rnd; Platform)

 

Attack Bonus: +8 (Ranged: +8, Melee: +12, Grapple: +15)

 

Attacks: Drain Glucose (Fatigue 8), +12 (DC Fort 18), Hard Candy Weapons (Strike 4), +14 (DC 21), Sugarstorm (Strike (DC 23), Unarmed Attack, +12 (DC 17)

 

Defense: +12  (Flat-footed: +4), Knockback: -8

 

Initiative: +7

 

Languages: Arabic, English Native, German, Hmong, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 42 + Skills 37 (148 ranks) + Feats 37 + Powers 46 + Combat 30 + Saves 18 + Drawbacks 0 = 210

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 35

Height: 5’ 7”

Weight: 135

Ethnicity: 1/2 Caucasian (German/Swedish ancestry), ½ Costa Rican (Hispanic)

Hair: Dark Brown (dyed, normally Black)

Eyes: Hazel

 

Background: Candice Mikkelsen is a defense attorney in Milwaukee. She’s quite popular among the courthouse dwellers for being extremely attractive, very nice, and a bastion of integrity. Candy is by a lot the most prominent superhero in Milwaukee. She’s quite popular among the citizenry for being extremely attractive, very nice, and a bastion of integrity. If you suggested that the two brown haired and hazel eyed women with almost identical builds were the same person, you would be laughed out of town. Candy captures criminals and gets them sent to jail. She’s obviously on the side of the law. Candice puts in incredible effort to prevent criminals from going to prison. She’s obviously one of those bleeding heart types, more concerned with the rights of scum than protecting innocent people. The citizens of Milwaukee are uh, wrong. As you already know, Dear Reader, the superhero Candy and defense attorney Candice Mikkelsen are the same person.

That, however, is not the only secret she’s carrying. Her sugar powers are not the result of magic, focused telekinesis, or some weird mutation. She’s a Phoenix Mutate. Their collective reputation was already rather poor due to some incidents of death and destruction when their powers inevitably emerged. However, the debut of the Academy’s Alpha Team in 2007, their subsequent battles with Josef Pietrovich’s group (among others), and the emergence of Beta Team later that year pushed things to a breaking point. These were teenagers with the powers of gods. They fought each other with the wild abandon of the former and apparent disregard for life and property of the latter. The debut of Gamma Team in 2011 was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Carlos Javier, the Academy’s headmaster, had too much influence for the federal government to do anything, and Josef Pietrovich was a fugitive already. Some states passed registration laws, but they mostly didn’t work. So all that’s left is several dump trucks full of prejudice from the normies. A Phoenix Mutate gets attacked because of said prejudice, has to retaliate with very strong powers they don’t necessarily have full control of yet or face serious injury/death, and there’s another incident for the nightly news about how dangerous those Phoenix Mutates are. It is, uh, not a stable situation. Especially after the entire Javier Academy and Josef Pietrovich’s group finally joined forces to combat said escalating prejudice and moved to what is functionally an island fortress in the Caribbean.

So…obviously Candice doesn’t want to have anything to do with…any of that. Understandably so. Unlike many but not all Phoenix Mutates, she was able to hide the emergence of her powers. The shift in her metabolism was easily explained by her being 13 at the time. She was significantly overweight as a kid, but the excess weight melted away fairly rapidly after her powers emerged. Her sudden increase in fondness for candy and sweet treats was just a new personality quirk. Of course, the actual reason was that her blood sugar requirements had spiked (to the degree that anyone else would have been in a hyperglycemic coma) to support her rapidly developing powers. And always having some hard candy on hand was also a way to practice her control over them. So, she hid her powers all throughout school, university (Northwestern), and law school (University of Chicago, because why move again?). She passed the bar exam in Wisconsin, and voila. The newest member of the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office, serving under who is still the District Attorney, John T. Chisholm.

Up until her college days, she had no intention of being anything other than a very good lawyer. But the curriculum at Northwestern opened the door, and a certain encounter shoved her through it. Jackson Park has a statue of Starman II in it. Lovely little exhibit about him, too. This isn’t strange. Chicago was and is the home city of the Starfamily. Grant has another one. Burnam and Marquette have statues of the first Starman. Lincoln Park has one of the entire original Starfamily. Candice’s encounter, however, was in Jackson. Specifically, with a teenage girl who was also visiting the statue that day. Jennifer Thompkins, not that the two swapped names. She was visiting her father. The conversation wasn’t particularly long, and it’s unlikely Jennifer even remembers it. For Candice, however, it was one of the defining conversations of her life. The masked vigilante who appeared for a year or two in Chicago has never been positively identified.

Candice stopped because law school is grueling even for smart people, and she simply didn’t have the time. After moving back to Milwaukee, though? Candy made her debut. It was a rather simple idea, really. As a prosecutor, she had the inside info on the bad guys, and so when she took them down she what to do make it easier to win the trial. The ethics of these were a little, uh, dubious, but she was Doing The Right Thing, so whatever. It wasn’t like the office rookie got to do anything important anyway. So she wasn’t even affecting her own cases. This distance became hard to maintain as her years of experience accumulated, until a certain event made it impossible. Namely, the Shining Guardian, Shadowspirit, and Queenie busting up a deep rooted Neo-Nazi terrorist cell inside the US Army. While that trio never set foot in Wisconsin, the investigative aftershocks exposed a small group at Fort McCoy, compromising the local JAG office until it too could be exonerated of any wrongdoing. That small group was going to shoot their way out of the Fort and try to execute their horrific plans for Milwaukee…except the base commander was a smart man unrestrained by pride. He’d called in a local superhero, namely Candy, to provide support if needed. To make a short story shorter it was, uh, needed. With the local JAG office enduring an internal Army investigation, the State of Wisconsin got first crack at prosecuting the group. And since they planned to commit their additional crimes in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee County DA’s office got to take lead.

The case basically finished off Candice’s belief that the justice system was honorable and fair. She knew it wasn’t, really, after 4 years of putting people in prison. But knowledge and belief aren’t the same. She had tried very hard to be totally ethical and above board, despite being a superhero who may well have gotten her defendants arrested in the first place. There were others who didn’t try quite so hard. Additionally, these guys (the Neo-Nazi terrorist remnants) had gotten a dozen chances only to get more or less slapped on the wrist each time. They were young men with promising futures, after all. Meanwhile Candice had pled out a number of young people (who didn’t do half of what these guys did) she now didn’t like to think about who got slapped with prison sentences measured in years. Three guesses as to the skin tones and/or economic statuses of the former and the latter. She stayed until the verdicts. Guilty on all counts, of course. She was a very good prosecutor, after all. Then she left the DA’s office and immediately joined the public defender’s office.

Of course, the following year was when Fletcher (accidentally) made a murderous AI. She wasn’t the most impressive (Spike was noticeably more powerful and Terrifica went full supergenius) during the actual battle, but she was the one who got the word out that the Icons needed help this time. The Icons extended her an offer not because of her combat skills (though they played a part) but because she was a people person and her city genuinely liked her without caveat. This was not a thing that Spike or Terrifica could claim. Gotta have positive role models in the group, too, you know? She sided with Fletcher during the Icons civil war. As an officer of the court, she knows obeying the law is Extremely Important. She was a part of the Eternity War, though no match for Kuros. And she was among the Dusted, so she didn’t appear again until after that was undone and it was time for the final battle. She acquitted herself quite well there, finally cementing her “Sugarstorm” into her regular arsenal. Now, she’s tied for most popular Icon with Queenie, and actually outshines her among het men, lesbians, and other female oriented persons. Seriously, she’s extremely attractive.

Candy doesn’t have any regular allies in Milawaukee. It’s a small city by American standards. Less than a million people. Their last big names died in ’92 (Kuros’s revenge invasion) and ’01 (tried to help stop Armageddon, did not go well). She’s the first to stick with it after those two. Hero game is brutal, after all. However. She has her eye on two new folks who surprisingly took up her banner after she was Dusted. A private detective with superhuman strength, and the latest heroic member of an unending family feud. The former’s name she doesn’t know (yet), but the latter is Anti-Venin. Her most persistent enemies include the primary crime boss in the city Lardaceous (big, fat, and physically dense enough to be functionally immobile; with superhuman strength and durability), and batshit crazy The Nutritionist (fruit and vegetable theme mundane weapons, plus her equally crazy gang the Sugarfree Alliance). The arch nemesis of Anti-Venin and other side of that unending family feud, The Toxic Tyrant, has also begun to make waves.

 

Powers & Tactics: Candy is a Phoenix Mutate. Like all of them, she only has the one simple sounding power, but it’s the sheer breadth and versatility of it that makes her dangerous. To maintain her cover as not-a-Phoenix-Mutate-please-don’t-hate-me, she is habitually sandbagging her power to the point where it now takes effort to access her real strength. Her simple sounding power is control over sugar. But it’s not just table sugar, or sucrose. It’s everything that can chemically be called sugar. Fructose (fruit sugar). Glucose (blood sugar). Lactose (milk sugar). If it’s a monosaccharide, a disaccharide, an oligosaccharide, or even a polysaccharide, she can do whatever the hell she wants to it. Move it like she has telekinesis (she doesn’t, but close enough), tear it out of whatever it’s in (be it food, drink, or living flesh), alter its chemical structure to that of a different sugar, or craft sugar and/or candy substances with a tensile strength superior to that of concrete. Basically she can turn a bag of sugar into what is effectively bulletproof glass in as many pieces and shapes as she likes. Only the “bag of sugar” can be a counter full of baked goods. Or a soda fountain. Or a bar full of malted beer. Or even a person. As previously stated, she is a hell of a lot more powerful than she’s allowing herself to be. The “bulletproof glass” example is just what she does with her power. It is not all it is capable of. Since she’s a lawyer and not a chemist, she has no idea her power also applies to deoxy sugars. Such as deoxyribose (which is part of DNA), fucose (present on the surface of mammal, insect, and planet cells) or fuculose (an important part of avian flu viruses) and rhamnose (which appears in many types of plants as well as being a part of the tuberculosis bacterium).

With that said, she leans very hard on constructs made of hard candy. Her default mode is still manifesting hot pink hard candy armor and melle weapons (staves, swords, spears, axes, hammers, etc), and simply beating the opposition up. She is an expert melee fighter, so that’s usually good enough. The primary style she’s trained in is Kunst des Fechtens (German swordsmanship, technically, but it includes other weapons). However she has cross training in Escrima and kickboxing. Post Endgame has see her upgrade this default significantly, however. Fighting an army adjusted her perspective. The armor is now hard enough that she can ignore any man portable mundane firearm. The weapons hit harder, faster, and penetrate armor more readily. The other candy constructs she creates have the same durability as her armor, and she’s retrained her “base power” (in her mind) of sugar-kinesis to its original strength. She’s welcomed her ability to drain glucose out of a person to tire them and her “Sugarstorm” (a cloud of tiny razor sharp hard candy flakes that can shred enemies) to her regular combat rotation. Additionally, the speed of her “Sugar Road” (a hard candy platform she destroys and recreates as she moves through the air; ground supports are required however) has increased five fold. She can now effectively fly faster than most cars.

 

Tactically, well, as stated she still mostly relies on her Hard Candy Weapons. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. She has both Improved Feint to help hit Improved Taunt to potentially do more damage, and Takedown Attack 2 to just mow through low level enemies. With that said, Hard Candy Constructs are excellent cover to protect civilians with, and Sugar-kinesis can bury the battlefield if there’s enough sugar around. Drain Glucose can be surprisingly effective on single targets. And the Sugarstorm proved its worth against the armies of Kuros. Sugar Road and Move By Action keep her quite mobile. She has both Accurate and Power Attack. Improved Distract and Improved Trick have their uses, as does Stunning Attack. She only has one regular power stunt left. Hard Candy Blast (Blast 12). She’ll have to develop some more, as two out of the prior three are now in the regular rotation. How bothersome. Do not forget that she is a Phoenix Mutate, and thus has Untapped Poetienal for free. So when she uses Extra Effort, she gets three ranks of additional effect instead of two. This can be used with Extraordinary Effort, as well. When she does this, it is a documented effect known as Plus Overdrive.

 

Personality: Candy is, fittingly enough, a sweetheart. She’s just like, really nice. Kind. Generous. Compassionate. Empathetic. Etc. A very likeable people person. Cheerful, optimistic, and confident. Kind of the ideal hero, really. And that’s the point. Candice, obviously, isn’t some perfect ideal person. But when she forms the hard candy mask on her face she puts on the performance. Because the civilians need it. They need their hero to keep smiling even when things get tough. Or panic will start to set in, and they’ll start making increasingly poor decisions out of fear. So, she has to show them she’s on top of the situation and everything is fine. Even when she has absolutely no idea what she’s supposed to do. Even when she’s terrified. It’s part of a hero’s job. Their responsibility.

This is the point where either the negative elements of her personality or the downsides of the positive get airplay. But…there aren’t any, really? She doesn’t always make the greatest decisions, but who does? Her sense of legal ethics is shaky, but that’s true of all lawyers who are also superheroes. She was 17 when Starman II died. Almost a legal adult, but still a kid in many ways. It was a tragedy, sure, but it had almost nothing to do with her, you know? But that little talk with Jennifer. The ethos of Starman, whichever one it was. Power inherently came with responsibility. She stood there, in front of the statue of a man who’d given everything he had to protect people, next to the daughter who missed him terribly, and felt ashamed. She may not have had quite as much power (in her opinion) as a Star, but she still had more than most. She could do a lot of good with a law degree, but this did not inherently require her to abandon her powers. She could do better. Do more. So she does. ‘Nuff said.

[EternalPhoenix]

Z (real name unknown)

 

Power Level: 10; Power Points Spent: 225/225

 

STR: +2 (14), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +2 (14), INT: +5 (20), WIS: +5 (20), CHA: +5 (20)

 

Tough: +2/+4, Fort: +7, Ref: +10/+14, Will: +10/+12

 

Skills: Acrobatics 7 (+10), Bluff 10 (+15), Climb 3 (+5), Diplomacy 10 (+15), Disable Device 5 (+10), Drive 7 (+10), Gather Information 10 (+15), Intimidate 10 (+15), Knowledge (streetwise) 10 (+15), Knowledge (tactics) 10 (+15), Language 1 (+1), Notice 10 (+15), Sense Motive 10 (+15), Sleight of Hand 2 (+5), Stealth 12 (+15), Swim 3 (+5)

 

Feats: All-Out Attack, Assessment, Beginner's Luck, Challenge - Improved Demoralize, Challenge - Improved Distract, Challenge - Improved Feint, Challenge - Improved Startle, Connected, Contacts, Defensive Roll 2, Distract (Intimidate), Elusive Target, Evasion 2, Improved Critical (Bar Smack (Strike 3)), Improved Initiative 2, Jack-of-All-Trades, Luck 5, Master Plan, Master Plan 2 (tactics), Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Seize Initiative, Set-Up, Skill Mastery 2 (Bluff, Diplo, Gather Info, Intim, KN (tactics, Notice, Sen Mot, Stealth), Startle, Takedown Attack 2, Teamwork 3, Ultimate Effort (Toughness & Will saves), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

The Instinct (Container, Passive 10) (Innate, Subtle 2 (unnoticable))

   Enhanced Attack & Defense (Enhanced Trait 26) (Traits: Attack Bonus +6 (+15), Defense Bonus +4 (+14), Reflex +4 (+14), Will +2 (+12))

   Enhanced Feats (Enhanced Trait 4) (Traits: Defensive Roll 2 +1 (+2), Evasion 2 +1 (+2), Improved Initiative 2 +1 (+2), Feats: Seize Initiative)

   Instinctual Danger Sense (Super-Senses 13) (counters concealment: Mental, counters illusion: Mental, counters obscure: Mental, danger sense: Mental, extended: Mental 3 (-1 per 2 mi), radius: Mental, ranged: Mental, uncanny dodge: Mental)

   Lucky As Hell (Luck Control 1) (force a re-roll, Feats: Luck 5; Uncontrolled)

Z's Education Bar (Device 1) (Easy to lose)

   Bar Smack (Strike 3) (DC 20, Feats: Improved Critical (Bar Smack (Strike 3)); Mighty)

Z's Special Phone (Device 2) (Hard to lose)

   Communication 6 (sense type: radio; Subtle 2 (unnoticable), Variable Descriptor 2 (Broad group - Any Technological))

 

Attack Bonus: +9/+15 (Ranged: +9/+15, Melee: +9/+15, Grapple: +11/+17)

 

Attacks: Bar Smack (Strike 3), +15 (DC 20), Unarmed Attack, +15 (DC 17)

 

Defense: +10/+14  (Flat-footed: +7), Knockback: -2

 

Initiative: +7/+11

 

Languages: English Native, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 44 + Skills 30 (120 ranks) + Feats 32 + Powers 64 + Combat 38 + Saves 17 + Drawbacks 0 = 225

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 33

Height: 6’ 1”

Weight: 225 lbs

Ethnicity: African American

Hair: Black

Eyes: Dark Brown

 

Background: Z is an enigmatic figure. He is the first Five Year Vet to come out of Baltimore. Ever. There is no record of any other superhero getting past the five year barrier. It’s not because it’s an exceptionally dangerous city for heroes. It’s that the problems there are deeply intractable. Stuck in the twin shadows of Washington, DC and Philadelphia. Only half a million people inside the city limits. The gang violence is without end. Over 300 murders per year, highest per capita in the United States. It’s a city that’ll break your heart. There’s no one criminal or supervillain responsible for the state of the city. There’s no one organization to take down and save the day. The city’s problems are systemic. Poverty. Neglect. Corruption in both city government and law enforcement. And these have bred a criminal subculture and a general hostility to the police department. Yet it is not a city without hope. It has some of finest medical facilities in the world. A football team that’s routinely in the playoffs. And a hero devoted to saving it from itself.

They say cities get the heroes they deserve. If that’s true, then it’s a hell of a reflection on Baltimore that they have Z. He is, without a shadow of a doubt, the darkest of the Icons. Before his recruitment to the Icons, he was considered nothing more than an urban legend. A boogieman that would get you if you were bad enough. BCPD’s files knew better. He is technically wanted in countless violent assaults. No murders, however. BCPD considers him just another gang leader, albeit one with an interesting moral code. Killing is bad, but maiming and crippling are a-okay. For once, law enforcement basically has it right. Z is in fact a gang leader. He does, in fact, commit acts of extreme violence on people committed to being his enemies. Without killing them, amazingly. The rest, though, the police have no way of knowing to begin with. He doesn’t tell people, generally. It’s Z after a certain fictional masked hero from Spanish Mexico. And, nowadays, after a certain anime protagonist turned violent revolutionary. Because yes, Z is plotting a violent revolution, but not of the type you’re probably thinking of, Dear Reader. His plan is to conquer that criminal subculture. He would prefer to do it by winning hearts, but some folk are hardheaded. Don’t know how to listen when people talk sense. That’s aight, tho. A broken knee, busted collarbone, or shattered spine takes them out of the game just as effectively. And makes other folk more likely to discard their hardheadedness. Surprisingly, this is working. Slowly but steadily, Z is taking over Baltimore’s criminal underworld. It seems impossible, but then a lot about Z seems impossible. Like how he’s still alive.

The story Z tells about his early days is that a friend of his was killed in a shootout. Collateral damage. As always, nobody saw nothin’. Quick and easy superhero origin story. Except this is Baltimore, the city that’ll break your heart. The usual methods don’t work. Not in B-more. Or rather they do, but then it twists on the hero involved. Like congratulations, you locked up that robber. Except his baby momma was counting on that money to pay off her loanshark. His two cousins hate you, and tell everyone they know that you’re a piece of shit who nobody should cooperate with. And now her cousin has to commit robberies to help her out. You see, Baltimore is one of the biggest small towns in the world. Ain’t but six degrees o difference between one resident and another. Trying to knock down any one of its problems is like trying to kill the Greek hydra without any fire, or volunteering to be Sisyphus. Z knows this well. He spent years trying in the traditional heroic way. Did some good here and there, but he was basically a hamster on a wheel. No progress made. More and more enemies who wanted to kill him. And a list of allies that shrank faster (via death or abandonment) than it grew. He came within a hair’s breadth of not just picking up a gun, but trying to kill his way out of the problem. Because he had the gun in his hand and the intent to use it before one of his allies made him see sense.

Z needed to change tactics. So he did. Instead of trying to be a traditional superhero, he went in a different direction. Gang leader, and organized crime boss. Take out everybody else, become the new kingpin of Baltimore’s underworld. In essence, transforming himself into the hardest of the hard motherfuckers. By the time he became a Five Year Vet, the word was out. Z wasn’t someone to be fucked with. Regular superheroes just beat bad guys up. Z was, as previously stated, leaving people crippled and maimed. Like he’d gone full psychopath or something. Except…one, he wasn’t killing anyone. Two, he was clearly building his own crew. And three. The why he did not hide. Every single one broke one of Z’s new rules. They’re several of them, but they basically boil down to don’t do any kind of significant physical, financial, or material harm to people. Break Z’s rules, and he breaks you. Period. No exceptions. No mercy. No pity. But on the flip side, anybody who needs help so they don’t have to break his rules can get in touch. He’ll either help them out or he knows someone who will.

Yeah, Baltimore will break your heart. But it can also lift you up again. Z was initially limited in what he could do, but one grateful person led to another. And another. And another. Contacts. Allies. People willing to step up and fight for a better city but ho didn’t want to be actual superheroes. Jessica Alton, mother to Tigress of the Exiles. Moriel of the Earthbound Host. Bai Ling, Tibetan pacifist martial artist. To name a few. Z does not fight alone. This is how he is slowly saving the city. A list o contacts and allies a mile long, and a willingness to brutalize as many as it takes for the rest to get the message. Because of this, he only has one persistent enemy that is an individual, as many larger criminal organizations like the Bloods, Crips, and Black Guerrilla Family have branches in or near the city. This enemy is Frank Lloyd, a corrupt bail bondsman who both has his own local crew and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. For obvious reasons, Z and Lloyd have never come face to face in the street. They’ve exchanged words, but always with Lloyd at a safe distance, with people between them (like on opposite sides of a full church on Sunday), or in a public area like a shopping mall or midday downtown street. He’s a crafty motherfucker, clearly.

At any rate, Z never intended to be anything more than Baltimore’s darkest protector. Until the Shining Guardian recruited him to replace the, uh, “staying out of it you idiots” Terrifica as a strategist and resident knower of stuff. Which, with his contacts and allies, isn’t as much of a stretch as it initially appears. To his credit, he didn’t appear out of his depth during the Eternity War. It was his clever scheme that delayed Kuros collecting the last of the Power Crystals by a full day by basically hiding it deep in Baltimore. The unfortunate part is that this only encouraged Kuros to summon his armies to the city, thus triggering the titular Eternity War between the Shining Guardian’s Icons faction and Z’s gang versus Kuros and his armies. Z was unfortunately among the Dusted, which left his city in even greater chaos. Still. His return during the Endgame was an unexpected rallying moment, and he’d brought his entire gang with him. Thanks for the portal, Blackrose. He acquitted himself quite well during that final battle. He may not be quite the strategist that Terrifica is (which is no insult to a man without enhanced intelligence), but his perspective and ideas are dramatically different. Between that, and being the only Icon with his own personal army at his beck and call, it could be said that Z made his name that day.

Which is why it’s kind of strange that nobody’s seen him in person since. He’s made plenty of phone calls and sent plenty of text messages. Jessica Alton, Moriel, and Bai Ling say that he’s fine and they’re just acting as intermediaries at his request. Z himself has confirmed this by phone. But uh…if that’s true, then where is he, what is he doing, and why are the Icons not responding for requests for information about him? Nobody, not even his closest associates, knows where he lives, his real name, or even what he looks like under all that Ravens merch. Even as he has hit the height of his fame, Z remains an enigmatic, mysterious figure. He’d have it no other way. Apparently.

 

Powers & Tactics: Z, as far as anyone knows, has no superhuman powers. He’s just got really, really good instincts. Apparently. Though…street level heroes speak of having an “instinct” for the work. Just…knowing what you need to do when you need to do it. All the best heroes have tended and do tend to display such a thing to some degree. And the poor ones rarely ever. So it’s not impossible that this is the truth. That his instincts for hero work really are just that keen. At any rate, something’s going on. Because nobody’s that accurate or that dodgy without professional training, and by his form Z clearly has little to none. Luck also appears to generally be on his side. And few people have a, well, instinct for dangerous situations like he does. When something’s wrong he just…knows. Not specifically what it is, but all the same.

He carries a pair of technological devices, though calling the metal longshoremen’s bar he calls his Education Bar technological is a stretch. It’s a glorified club, but it works. His phone, on the other hand is rather special. For one, it’s not a phone. It’s a radio communication device that can connect to the cellular network. Or any other tech based network. And unless one can detect radio waves, it’s undetectable. Even if one can, it still requires pretty good perception to detect.

 

Tactically, Z is both street level mook destroyer and consummate team player. His only method of direct attack is a swift Bar Smack, but those who only watch out for that are doing him a grave disservice. Improved Demoralize, Distract, Feint, and Startle. Set Up. Teamwork 3. And Master Plan 2, which on average will grant a +3 bonus to skill rolls and attack checks for three rounds, followed by +2 and +1 for one round each. Beginner’s Luck and Jack of All Trades let him try his hand at anything and do reasonably well. Z is the type of hero who works best with a team and does everything he can to make them better at what they do. Connected, Contacts, and Well-Informed keep him in the know and supplied with teammates to support. And for when he has to fight himself, All Out and Power Attack are on deck. For reasons that should be obvious, he can’t power stunt at all.

 

Personality: Z is the other angry black man on the Icons. Folks tend to think of Spike first in that category, because he’s more prominent and often much louder. Z is low key. Quiet. Subtle. Because while he may be angry, his anger management skills are excellent. They need to be, because what he’s angry about isn’t something one man with a glorified club can change. His city is slighted. Mistreated. Ignored. Neighborhoods either rot unseen or get gentrified, pushing out the original residents. He’s not being fair. People are trying. They’re always trying. It’s just Baltimore. The city that’ll break your heart. But also the city that’ll lift you up again. His city knows the meaning of loyalty, for better and for worse.

It’d be a stretch to call Z a good man. Good men don’t leave people weeping in the street with shattered knees. But he’s honorable, fair, and he keeps his word. He’d pass the “get the little girl’s kitty out of a tree” test easily. He can be kind, generous, and helpful to his allies. He can also be cold, cruel, and vicious to his enemies. You come to his city, you obey his rules. Or you suffer the consequences. That’s how it is. End of story. Well. One last thing. He doesn’t enjoy hurting people. His anger does, but he doesn’t. It’s regrettable, but necessary. Don’t like it? Then why are you in Baltimore?

[EternalPhoenix]

Marian Soaring Eagle

 

Power Level: 9; Power Points Spent: 225/225

 

STR: +1 (12), DEX: +2 (14), CON: +2 (14), INT: +6 (22), WIS: +7 (24), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +2/+4, Fort: +6, Ref: +12, Will: +12

 

Skills: Acrobatics 8 (+10), Bluff 7 (+10), Climb 9 (+10), Concentration 8 (+15), Diplomacy 12 (+15), Gather Information 12 (+15), Handle Animal 2 (+5), Knowledge (arcane Lore) 14 (+20), Knowledge (earth sciences) 4 (+10), Knowledge (theology & philosophy) 9 (+15), Language 5 (+5), Medicine 3 (+10), Notice 8 (+15), Ride 8 (+10), Search 9 (+15), Sense Motive 13 (+20), Sleight of Hand 3 (+5), Stealth 8 (+10), Survival 13 (+20), Swim 9 (+10)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, Attack Focus (melee) 3, Attack Specialization 5 (Grapple), Contacts, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Dodge Focus, Endurance (+4), Evasion, Grappling Finesse, Improved Aim, Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Initiative, Improved Pin, Improved Throw, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Ritualist, Skill Mastery (Knowledge (arcane lore), Search, Sense Motive, Survival), Track, Uncanny Dodge (Mental), Well-Informed

 

Powers:

Hunting Rifle (Device 3) (Hard to lose)

   Hunting Rifle Shot (Blast 5) (DC 20; Improved Range 2 (250 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 2500 feet))

   Scope (Super-Senses 1) (extended: Normal Visual 1 (-1 per 100 ft))

Judo Techniques (Array 2) (default power: - linked powers -)

   Chokehold (Strike 4) (Array; DC 19; Alternate Save (Fortitude); Requires Grapple)

   Joint Lock (Stun 4) (Array; DC 14; Requires Grapple)

   Standing Throw (Linked)

      Throwing (Strike 4) (Linked; DC 19; Limited (Trip Must Succeed))

      Tripping (Trip 4) (Linked; Range (touch))

   Striking (Strike 3) (Array; DC 19; Mighty)

Last Scion of Three Bloodlines (Features 1) (Notes: Supernatural Beings lose all Powers (if they don't have a CON score, their Fort Immunity remains) and have their Physical Ability Scores reduced to Bystander ranks when in combat with Marian. This is functionally a PLX ability that can't be quantified with numbers, but it's important to list here. It also has no effect on humans, aliens, and other mortal beings. She also has no control over it whatsoever. She neither turns it on nor off. It just happens because of who she is.)

Readied Rituals (Variable 4) (acquire: any one of (type) - powers, limited to: magical powers; no attack effects; Action 2 (free); Unreliable (5 Uses))

Spirit Talker (Comprehend 1) (spirits)

Spiritual Senses (Super-Senses 6) (accurate: Mental, acute: Mental, awareness: Spirit/Soul Awareness (mental), radius: Mental, ranged: Mental)

 

Attack Bonus: +11 (Ranged: +11, Melee: +14, Grapple: +26)

 

Attacks: Chokehold (Strike 4), +14 (DC Fort 19), Hunting Rifle Shot (Blast 5), +11 (DC 20), Joint Lock (Stun 4), +14 (DC Fort/Staged 14), Striking (Strike 3), +14 (DC 19), Throwing (Strike 4), +14 (DC 19), Tripping (Trip 4), +14 (DC 14), Unarmed Attack, +14 (DC 16)

 

Defense: +12  (Flat-footed: +6), Knockback: -2

 

Initiative: +6

 

Languages: Cheyenne, English Native, Hopi, Lakota, Spanish, Ute

 

Totals: Abilities 42 + Skills 41 (164 ranks) + Feats 31 + Powers 48 + Combat 44 + Saves 19 + Drawbacks 0 = 225

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 33

Height: 5’ 4”

Weight: 120 lbs

Ethnicity: Native American (hybrid of Cheyenne, Hopi, Lakota, and Ute)

Hair: Black

Eyes: Dark Brown

 

Background: Marian Soaring Eagle is a study in contradictions. Clearly she cares about her people. She’s proud of being a Native American, to the point where she changed her legal name to better represent who she is. But by the same token she is very much a creature of the 21^st Century, with no real patience for “the old ways”. If she were someone else, this really wouldn’t matter. Unfortunately, she is the last scion of three old shamanic bloodlines. Old as in they were old before a single European had ever set foot on American soil. You see, North America has a prison. A supernatural prison, where all sorts of incredibly dangerous and nasty creatures are imprisoned forever. Well. Not forever. Until the seven shamanic bloodlines that imprisoned them run out. At the time, long before any European had set foot on American soil, this was unimaginable. Today, well…four of them are gone. And the last member of any of the rest is Marian. She does not like it, not one bit.

Marian wasn’t raised in mysticism. She wasn’t even born on a reservation, for god’s sake. She was born in Santa Fe. She went to school, grew up, and knew nothing about the whole “Last Scion” thing. Being Native was both good and bad. Good because millennia of history, their own languages and stories, just fantastic. Loved it. The bad, well…racism, obviously. Cultural appropriation. Etc. You know. And this was her life. Until a cousin she’d never met died, and the ghosts of her three grandfathers (that she’d also never met) appeared to her and told her of her destiny. Oh. Oh, fuck that. Fuck one hundred percent of that. She wanted to be a search and rescue specialist not…not a Magical Native American! Jesus, what a cliché. She told her ghostly grandfathers where to go and how to get there. She’d have kids eventually and they could bother them about it. Less than a week later the first cultist tried to murder her, ranting and raving about how their masters would drown the world in blood or some bullshit. This was weird, but whatever. Crazies were everywhere, right? Of course, that loser was not the last one to give it a shot, and some of them had freaky powers. She couldn’t hold down a job, because these goddamn assholes would cut through anyone to get to her. God. Fucking. Damn. It. Fine. She hit the books. Listened to some old stories from folks on various reservations. And she went from irritated to completely terrified. Not like, screaming terror either. That slow, cold, paralyzing fear that simply grips you so hard you can’t think, let alone move. It seemed like every single horrible monster from the old stories was both real and crammed deep under the Rocky Mountains somewhere. And the only thing keeping them there was the beating of Marian’s heart. Fuck. Double fuck. Triple fuck. Quadruple flying mother fuck. Whether she believed it herself or not was totally irrelevant. What was relevant was that a whole host of murderous fanatics did. She didn’t want to be murdered, obviously, but if the stories were true…well, she’d better not get killed before she procreated, if you know what I mean. So. Super duper. Time to learn how to defend herself. Some judo. Some marksmanship. And yes, damn it all, some shamanic magic from her three grandfathers.

That was 2007. Marian has a reputation now. Professional badass and spiritual heavyweight. Also, she donated some of her eggs for women who can’t have babies normally, and she knows they’ve been used. 21^st Century tech for the win. So “last scion” is maybe a bit of misnomer. But she still doesn’t want to be murdered, and dumping such a tremendous responsibility on a child seems like a shitty thing to do. Because she knows they’re not just stories now. She’s been to the prison that she is the sole warden of. Even with a will as strong as hers, she had nightmares for a week. She is a search and rescue specialist for those lost in the desert or the mountains. She spends a lot of time in the wilderness, actually. It’s a lot easier not to get found that way. And there’s a lot of work to do with the spirits of the land and sky as well. They’re ill treated by modern Christianity, and the initial settlers were openly hostile. So sometimes they take revenge, and that’s bad news for anybody human in the area. Both of these are good work. They need doing. But Marian is always a little annoyed. Because she’s a walking cliché, and she doesn’t like it. Not one bit.

She joined the Icons Civil War on Fletcher’s side, because like hell she needed the federal government after her too. She was there for the Eternity War, but Kuros outclassed her in power by several country miles and she is not an idiot. Very luckily, she wasn’t among the Dusted. Very unluckily, her biological children apparently were, as she was ducking fanatics about once every two weeks. Yes, even in the middle of nowhere. Really good tracking spells, apparently. How annoying. She played a key role in undoing the Dusting with her vast magical expertise. Knowing how to reform the Crystals of Power is as much a magical ritual as it is a scientific endeavor. Terrifica brough the science, and Marian brought the magic. As a result she was there during the Endgame, trying very hard not to get killed in the massive battle. Today, with the Shining Guardian retired and Sage way too busy, she’s the resident magical specialist in the Icons. Oh, yay. As a side note, she kept the one Crystal of Power not to shatter again. The Soul Crystal, containing the soul of Shadowspirit. Well, “kept”. It’s underneath the Rockies in the super prison, not in her back pocket.

Marian has one consistent ally. Her poorly named boyfriend Super Biker, with his sentient alien motorcycle that gives him superhuman strength and resilience. And one persistent enemy. The…actually, it’s not clear what Croy is, aside from ungodly powerful and imprisoned underneath the Rockies for being outstandingly hostile to humanity. One would think it’d be kind of difficult to get messages out from a prison that doesn’t allow visitors on pain of joining the inmates or a gruesome horrible death. And yet, Croy must be managing somehow, as his cultists try to murder Marian every other Thursday (metaphorically speaking). While there’s plenty of other fanatics (washed and unwashed) after her life, it is Croy’s who seem to have the easiest time finding her. Which isn’t even a little disconcerting, why do you ask. Hearing a master’s name consistently from these nutjobs isn’t unnerving at all, why would you think that. And the horns all over his humanoid goat like body and the very sharp teeth in his mouth aren’t intimidating in the least. Don’t know why you brought it up.

 

Powers & Tactics: Marian has several things going on. She’s an expert judoka, carries one technological device in her Hunting Rifle, and has a variety of magical powers. The Hunting Rifle has superior range to mundane rifles and a scope to let her see as far as it can shoot. Her judo techniques, however, are a bit more complicated. She can grapple, throw hard enough to injure, strangle, inflict pain with joint locks, and even (surprisingly to the uninformed) simply strike as non-grappling arts do.

Her magical abilities are more complicated still. She can sense spirits of all kinds with her mind. Spirits of land, sea, and sky. Spirits of fire and storm. Spirits of things living, and of things that once were. There’s a lot to see out there, if one knows how to look. And she can talk to and understand them all. Sometimes this is very annoying, as they like to bother her while she’s getting laid or on the toilet in the morning. The other part of her magical powers is that she’s an extremely capable ritual magician, able to keep 5 finished rituals on hand for use at any given time. Her magical tradition is…well, she doesn’t use one. The best analogy she’s doing what Jeet Kun Do or modern MMA do to martial arts. She takes what works for her and bins the rest. Because by god if she has to be a Magical Native American she’s going to do it her way. With that said, her cobbled together tradition does have limitations. She doesn’t do anything actually offensive or damaging, and the power level of these readied rituals is relatively limited. The beefier rituals she can’t hold onto and must use immediately. There is also the Last Scion effect, which is elaborated on in her build.

 

Tactically, Marian is a little tough to predict. She follows the driving philosophies of judo,  “maximum efficiency, minimum effort”, “mutual welfare and benefit”, and “softness controls hardness”. So she’s not the type to beat the living shit out of the opposition unless there’s literally no other way. She uses her Readied Rituals for utility and battlefield control, letting her allies handle the rough stuff. Also, she’s primarily a rescue style hero anyway. She finds hikers lost in the mountains; she doesn’t beat up street criminals. Her Readied Rituals are often sensory effects, like Illusion, Concealment, or ESP. Though one is always a movement effect; most likely Teleport but not always. This, contrary to appearances, does not mean that she’s incapable defending herself. She carries her Hunting Rifle in plain view, and will toss an attacker to the ground hard with a judo throw. Or she can simply grab them and either choke them out or stretch their joints until they pass out from the pain. Actually physically Striking is a last resort, but always a option. She has Accurate, Defensive, and Power Attack for use at need. Improved Aim helps her hit with her Hunting Rifle. Improved Disarm can be remarkably effective against those reliant on weapons. And Ritualist can be used on its own or to turbocharge her next Readied Ritual. Understandably, she doesn’t power stunt.

 

Personality: Most heroes choose the life, but some are shoved into it kicking and screaming. Marian isn’t quite one of these, but its close. She’s a good person, full of compassion for her fellow humans. She was going to help people by being a search and rescue wilderness specialist, after all. But it still wasn’t her idea. So, surprisingly, she brings a very…down to Earth…perspective to the Icons. She’s the deadpan-iest and snarkiest of the deadpan snarkers, which is a hell of a thing in a group that contains both Terrifica and Samaritan (no slouches in the snark department). In a world where heroes can be battling space aliens one day, demons another, and homicidal robots on a third she makes sure that her allies know that this shit is ridiculous. But not some kind of negative way, where she’s insulting it. She’s simply trying to maintain something resembling a civilian perspective.

She’s basically the token normie, only snarking off as opposed to constantly freaking out. She doesn’t fight crime. She’s a rescue hero. The only times in her normal life when she has to fight is when another fanatic shows up to knife her or when a big land predator (like a bear or mountain lion) decides she looks tasty. She has judo for one and a gun for the other. Fights against teams of supervillains or whole alien armies is not in her wheelhouse. With that said, simply quitting the Icons has never occurred to her and honestly never could. Because, weirdly enough, they need her help. And she’s never been able to say no to someone truly in need. She was always going to be a hero, even without the Last Scion stuff. Would’ve lacked the super part, but all the same. She’s just in denial about it, that’s all.

[EternalPhoenix]

Magna (Gabrielle Williams)

 

Power Level: 9; Power Points Spent: 195/195

 

STR: +3 (16), DEX: +7 (24), CON: +3 (16), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +7 (24), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +3/+5, Fort: +7, Ref: +12, Will: +8

 

Skills: Acrobatics 13 (+20), Bluff 12 (+15), Computers 7 (+10), Diplomacy 12 (+15), Disable Device 7 (+10), Escape Artist 13 (+20), Gather Information 12 (+15), Investigate 7 (+10), Knowledge (civics) 2 (+5), Knowledge (current events) 12 (+15), Knowledge (earth sciences) 2 (+5), Knowledge (life sciences) 2 (+5), Knowledge (physical sciences) 2 (+5), Knowledge (popular culture) 12 (+15), Knowledge (streetwise) 7 (+10), Knowledge (technology) 2 (+5), Language 3 (+3), Medicine 1 (+8), Notice 8 (+15), Search 7 (+10), Sense Motive 8 (+15), Sleight of Hand 13 (+20), Stealth 8 (+15)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Focus (melee) 4, Attack Specialization (Gymnastic Kick (Strike 1)), Attack Specialization 2 (Aura Dagger Array (Array 9)), Challenge - Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Challenge - Improved Taunt, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Dodge Focus 3, Evasion, Improved Initiative 2, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Escape Artist, Gather Info, Sleight of Hand), Taunt, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Aura Dagger Array (Array 9) (default power: stun)

   Anti-Magic Dagger (Nullify 6) (Array; counters: all powers of (type) - magic, DC 16; Effortless)

   Dagger Fan (Strike 6) (Array; DC 21; Cone Area (60 ft. cone - General), Selective Attack)

   Multi-Dagger (Blast 6) (Array; DC 21; Autofire (interval 2, max +5))

   Stun Dagger (Stun 6) (Default; DC 16; Range (ranged))

Olympic Level Athleticism (Container, Passive 2)

   Fast (Speed 1) (Speed: 10 mph, 88 ft./rnd)

   Gymnastic Kick (Strike 1) (DC 19; Mighty)

   Tough (Protection 1) (+1 Toughness)

   Vaulting (Leaping 1) (Jumping distance: x2)

   Wall Running (Super-Movement 1) (wall-crawling 1 (half speed); Limited (to one Move action))

   World Class Gymnast (Super-Movement 2) (perfect balance, slow fall)

 

Attack Bonus: +8 (Ranged: +8, Melee: +12, Grapple: +15)

 

Attacks: Anti-Magic Dagger (Nullify 6), +12 (DC Will 16), Dagger Fan (Strike 6) (DC 21), Gymnastic Kick (Strike 1), +14 (DC 19), Multi-Dagger (Blast 6), +12 (DC 21), Stun Dagger (Stun 6), +12 (DC Fort/Staged 16), Unarmed Attack, +12 (DC 18)

 

Defense: +12  (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -2

 

Initiative: +15

 

Languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English Native, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 52 + Skills 43 (172 ranks) + Feats 25 + Powers 31 + Combat 34 + Saves 10 + Drawbacks 0 = 195

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 31

Height: 5’ 1”

Weight: 105

Ethnicity: African American

Hair: Black

Eyes: Dark Brown

 

Background: GabrielleWilliams had a life plan. She was a gymnast. Her destination? Athens. Summer Olympics 2004. She’d wanted it since 1999, when she was too young to try out for Sydney. Gymnastics was her entire life, and everyone involved knew she was a unique and special talent. Oh, yes. She had a life plan. She’d win lots of gold in Athens, help the US win more gold in 2008, and then coast on lucrative sponsorship and coaching deals. Easy. And she was really goddamn great. If she’d gone to Athens, not only would she have displaced multiple gold medal winners in individual events, but the USA would have won team gold as well. 2008 wouldn’t have been much different. She’d already taken home multiple gold medals from the 2003 World Championships in Anaheim. The gymnastics world was legitimately buzzing about Gabby Williams. And then the genetic test derailed everything.

In the Phoenixverse, those with superpowers have a…rocky history with organized athletics. Generally speaking, people with superpowers were banned by the start of the Silver Age. But there was no way to test for them like there was for things like drugs and steroids. So if any time an athlete was perhaps a little too good, rumors swirled. Generally, though, they were just naturally talented. Enhanced strength, quickness, stamina, or whatever else alone did and does not an elite athlete make. One has to have talent in all the other aspects to make it, and well, for the most part people with superpowers are still people outside of them. Almost all of them aren’t going to have what it takes to be an elite athlete even with their power. And then, This status quo changed in 1986, when genetic testing started to become available. Metahumans and mutants could now be detected without flawed human observation. As the years progressed, the technology and techniques became more refined. A metahuman’s specific powers (but not degree of power) could be detected and identified by the mid 90s. After years of pleading, after Summer 2000 minor metahumans were allowed into the Olympics. Testing was now capable of identifying how powerful a given metahuman was. Mutants, however, were far more variable. Their genetic structure could not be completely trusted as a  predictor of their powers. They remained banned even if their powers could be identified.

So there it was. Right there, in black and white. She was a mutant. She wasn’t in 2003. At least, she thought so. Naturally, USA Gymnastics investigated. They found, to Gabby’s horror, that her parents had been falsifying her results for years. The genetic samples tested had always belonged to her mother and not her, ever since the first one came back mutant positive. Gabby didn’t even know what she could do, and the tests couldn’t explain it either. She had to give back all of her awards and medals. Stripped. Shamed. It was a pretty big scandal. The irony of it, as the older Gabby reflects, is that her powers have nothing to do with her body at all. Well. Probably. Ironically, one of the girls on track for 2020 is a mutant (a psionic empath, as if it matters), but genetic testing has advanced further. 2016 was the first Summer Olympics mutants were allowed, but there weren’t any both willing and in position to try. The scandal broke Gabby’s relationship with her parents, and made her stop using that nickname. She’d be Gabrielle forever more, now. She had to find a new life lan.

Well. Her sense of justice was outraged. And now that she wasn’t laser focused on the Olympics, she noticed some other things that further outraged it. But as a teenager, she couldn’t do anything. Except pay attention and take notes. It’s not like she was banned from all gymnastics gyms. She could still practice. She could still coach the younger girls. And she could pay very close attention to the sort of thing her ever hovering parents apparently prevented from happening to her. She took notes. She recorded conversations. She took photographs. All the way through college and her bachelor’s in journalism. Her blog (The Magna Report) went unnoticed, at first. There was a lot going on in Philadelphia, as in any larger American city. Gabrielle was content to let the evidence pile up. She was working with the WCAU news team as the new girl. She was building a career. Magna, on the other hand, was just getting started. The Magna Report featured a lot of stories. She was busy as a bee. She’d discovered what her powers were during college, experimented and gained full control over them. The masked Magna didn’t want to merely fight crime in the streets. She wanted to take down bigger fish whenever possible. So she took her blog to Youtube.

The Magna Report exploded. Her reports on the Catholic archdiocese sex abuse scandal got additional people arrested in connection. Her series on the Black Mafia almost broke them, as Philly PD came down like the Wrath of God. She also did significant damage to the K&A Gang, exposed Philly’s Greek Mob, and blew the lid off corruption inside Philly PD. This is why Fletcher recruited her to his side during the Icons civil war. Without Caviezel or Terrifica he was short a damn fine investigator. Between Magna and Candy they could just about match either. This is the point where I’d say something about the Eternity War and her role in it. Except that was 2017. It was in 2016 that her long series of posts and videos on the abuse and corruption inside USA Gymnastics began to bear fruit. Rachael Denhollander, someone she’d interviewed years earlier, had her story picked up by the Indianapolis Star. Who, unbelievably, credited The Magna Report for some of the material. Her server started wheezing under the strain after that. It collapsed multiple times after the 60 minutes interview with Jeanette Antolin, Jessica Howard, and Jamie Dantzscher. Magna had arrived. Just in time for the Eternity War, and her Dusting at the end of it. Oh, well.

Of course, the Dusting was ultimately undone, and just about every local investigative reporter had taken up a collection to keep The Magna Report’s bills paid during its owner’s absence. Magna participated in the final battle of the Endgame, as well., and did okay for a reporter. She was, however, a little miffed to miss the fallout of her work. Especially since it wasn’t finished yet. As 2019 dawns, The Magna Report has begun publishing posts and videos again. This superheroic investigative reporter is very far from finished.

As of 2019, Magna is the only Five Year Vet in Philadelphia, hero or villain. This may seem surprising, for such a large city to be bereft of any major supers action, but it’s really not. Cities have down periods. Philly’s supers scene in the Iron Age was a warzone, and basically everyone from that era is dead, crippled, or serving a length prison sentence. There are signs of it beginning to perk up again. Magna being the first. A handful of promising rookies inspired by the superheroic investigative reporter. A handful of villains rising to oppose her and them. Hopefully it won’t go nearly as poorly as last time.

 

Powers & Tactics: Magna is a world class gymnast and a mutant. An impossible one, in fact, even by mutant standards. Aura energy, as far as anyone knows, can only be used by the three Rings and one Staff of Aura. Except Magna can use it without any of those devices. Granted, she’s a hell of a lot more limited than they are, but as far as is known she is the only person on the planet (or indeed, ever in history) to be able to use Aura energy naturally. This may have something to do with one of her father’s ancestors, a servant for a certain Ring wielding British officer during the American Revolution. Or it may not. At any rate, she can summon and throw dagger shaped shards of Aura energy that fade scant seconds after leaving her hands. Some are basically knives she can throw at a single target or fan out in an arc. Others disrupt the nervous systems of living being, potentially causing unconsciousness. And still others can disrupt magic with one dagger. Magna herself doesn’t know very much about magic except to recognize a spellslinger when she sees one, and thus this last is kind of useful for her. As a final mutant powers note, her powers do affect her body. Channeling Aura energy (which she does at a miniscule level constantly simply by being alive and a bit higher one by generating daggers) undoes the aging process and minor wear and tear injuries before they become noticeable. So teenage Gabby, despite never using a dagger, did have an advantage over her fellow gymnasts. She could train and practice just a little harder and a little longer every day, and recovered just a little faster. However, as previously stated, if she didn’t have the athletic and acrobatic talent (and willingness to work hard) to maximize this unknown advantage, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Her world class gymnastic abilities are all training and talent, though. Faster. Higher jumping. Tougher. A kick with her surprisingly powerful legs. Falling simply isn’t a problem as long as she has a surface to ease the fall with, and she can balance on narrow, inclined, or awkward surfaces without effort. Hell, she can wall run for a bit before gravity catches up. It all adds up to someone who is an almost peerless master of parkour. As a final training note, her melee skills come from some basic training in kickboxing and Tae Kwon Do. Her own prodigious natural talent did most of the work, however.

 

Tactically, Magna is an Aura Dagger throwing, Move by Action’ing machine. Against mooks, Stun Dagger and Dagger Fan get the job done. For tougher foes, Multi-Dagger is the option of choice. If an enemy is toting any magic paraphernalia, Anti-Magic Dagger can disable their powers long enough for her to defeat them. Gymnastic Kick exists for when and if her powers are disabled. But she never stops moving. Improved Acrobatic Bluff is her bread and butter. Improved Taunt gets layered in for flavor. Accurate Attack helps her hit if necessary. Defense Attack helps her not get hit. And Power Attack can crank the damage up a notch. Keep in mind that between an auto 30 on Escape Artist, +15 Stealth bonus, and how tiny she is, she can fit into some astonishingly small hiding places. Also remember that her Acrobatics skills allow her to do ridiculous nonsense like jumping off second story buildings without suffering injury, dashing across basically anything that will hold her weight, no matter how thin, uneven, angled, or slippery, and she basically jump across a street (41 feet running jump, 20.5 standing jump, and 9.75 high jump). She can cover some turf, if what I’m saying. Her power stunts are basically Dagger Fan with a different Area Extra, such as Burst, Line or Shapeable. She can’t do Cloud, though. She doesn’t do them a lot, though, as Cone serves her quite well.

 

Personality: Magna is, in a word, driven. She’s carried forward her attitude as an elite gymnast into the superheroic life. Maximum effort. No quitting. Little Miss No Days Off. Always hustling. Always working to be better than she was yesterday. She has absolute faith in her physicality. That her body and powers will do what she asks them to do. It doesn’t come across as arrogance or cockiness, but simply a total lack of doubt. She doesn’t have to look and think about doing something. She either can and she’s doing it or she can’t and she’s not. In a way, she’s kind of terrifying. She wasn’t born with hesitation or an off switch in her. But of course, that’s a trait some of the finest athletes in history have shared, so one can’t complain too loudly, yes?

She is a superhero because she has a strong sense of right and wrong. Very strong. Her parents lied for years for their own benefit. Their own egos. To be the parents of the wunderkind. The amazing prodigy. And when that went away she started seeing a lot of things more clearly. People hurt others for their own pleasure. Other people lie and cover it up so they won’t look bad. Or out of disbelief. Or discomfort. Or so the name of their organization won’t be damaged. The emotional baggage and trauma left in the wake, well…that’s apparently less important. Magna, respectfully, disagrees. One’s job, the prestige of one’s organization, and even one’s personal comfort aren’t worth spit next to the physical and mental health of others. If someone is being harmed by someone else, do something about it. Magna certainly is.

[EternalPhoenix]

Orca

 

Power Level: 10; Power Points Spent: 180/180

 

STR: +10 (30), DEX: +4 (18), CON: +8 (26), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +10, Fort: +10, Ref: +10, Will: +7

 

Skills: Acrobatics 6 (+10), Bluff 7 (+10), Diplomacy 7 (+10), Gather Information 7 (+10), Intimidate 5 (+10), Knowledge (earth sciences) 8 (+10), Knowledge (life sciences) 8 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 3 (+5), Knowledge (theology & philosophy) 3 (+5), Language 1 (+1), Medicine 2 (+5), Notice 7 (+10), Sense Motive 7 (+10), Survival 7 (+10), Swim 14 (+20)

 

Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Focus (melee) 5, Dodge Focus, Endurance 2 (+8), Environmental Adaptation (Underwater), Improved Trick, Interpose, Luck 3, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Swimmer of the Deep (Immunity 2) (environmental condition: Cold, environmental condition: Pressure)

Swimming 8 (Speed: 500 mph, 4400 ft./rnd)

Tough Hide (Protection 2) (+2 Toughness)

Whale Might (Super-Strength 5) (+25 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 51.2 tons; +5 STR to some checks; Groundstrike (Radius: 100 ft., DC 20), Shockwave (+10, Cone: 100 ft., DC 20), Super-Breath (+10, Cone: 100 ft., DC 20), Thunderclap (Area: 50 ft., DC 20))

Whale Senses (Super-Senses 7) (accurate (type): Auditory, darkvision, ultra-hearing)

Whale Sized (Growth 4) (+8 STR, +4 CON, +1 size category; Permanent; Innate)

 

Attack Bonus: +5 (Ranged: +5, Melee: +10, Grapple: +25/+30)

 

Attacks: Unarmed Attack, +10 (DC 25)

 

Defense: +10  (Flat-footed: +5), Size: Large, Knockback: -9

 

Initiative: +4

 

Languages: English Native, Hawaiian

 

Totals: Abilities 48 + Skills 23 (92 ranks) + Feats 19 + Powers 46 + Combat 32 + Saves 12 + Drawbacks 0 = 180

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 30

Height: 9’

Weight: 1000 lbs

Ethnicity: Bipedal Humanoid Orca

Hair: None

Eyes: Blue

 

Background: Truthfully? Orca doesn’t know what he is or where he came from. He remembers nothing from before he washed up on the beaches of Hilo, Hawaii about ten years ago, fully grown. The surfers took it in stride, especially when he spoke English and was as chill as they were. The only reason he knows his age is because Fletcher ran some tests once. He never intended to be a hero, ya know? But ya know how it goes. He’s chillaxing at the beach 24/7, because he didn’t have a house for obvious reasons. Somebody gets in trouble out there, swimming, surfing, or whatevs. Like, what was he gonna do? Sit and watch? Nah, brah. Lifeguards can’t be everywhere. And if it’s a ship, brah? They’re woefully under qualified to help. And you know how it goes. Word gets around. Local authority starts depending on a whale-man, ya?

 Orca is just about the quintessential example of a rescue hero. Hawaii is pretty quiet on the supervillain front, and law enforcement does a pretty good job handling mundane criminals most of the time. So mostly he can be found hanging out on the beach. Hawaii has a lot of beaches, granted, but he’s almost always near people, too. Plus the State was kind enough to get their hero a smartphone in his size. And then they got him a waterproof one, because he forgot once, haha. Honolulu built him a small house to sleep in, too, in the Makiki neighborhood. Hilo also built him one in Hilo Bayfront Beach Park, not far from where he was found back then. He’s arguably the most famous person on the islands. He’s certainly the easiest to pick out of a crowd, haha. Hawaii’s Icon is a legitimate tourist attraction, and tourists compete to see and get pictures of him. Maybe even short videos these days.

Of course, Orca’s life isn’t all surfing, tourists pleasing, and lifeguarding. Hawaii may be pretty quiet on the supervillain front, but quiet is not the same as silent. So he’s had his share of punch ups. Especially after getting drafted to Fletcher’s side in the Icons Civil War. But that’s over now. He actually missed the Eternity War, being all the way in Hawaii. This was important, because he wasn’t Dusted and the people who weren’t needed him more than ever. He did, however, make the Endgame, and did his part. These days he’s more or less the liaison to the Seawings Adventurer Guild, as their member Kaikoa lives on he islands. The two have each other’s backs when the fecal matter hits the oscillating device. It’s pretty cool, all things considered. Meanwhile, who or whatever is responsible for his current condition is still out there with unknown intentions.

 

Powers & Tactics: Orca is obviously a mutant. Well, probably. There’s the off chance he’s an amnesiac demigod or something, but that’s a frightening prospect. Because it would mean there’s something in the Pacific Ocean that isn’t afraid of pissing off one of the various Polynesian pantheons, who tend to respond to significant slights with tsunamis, earthquakes, and erupting volcanoes. So, mutant. Roughly equally human and orca (hence his name) in equal proportion. He’s very big, very strong, swims faster than any mundane watercraft, and has a few little side bonuses. Like no fear of the pressure or cold of the depths. He has a full sonar sense, like all whales do, and can see without light, which most whales can’t. He is a mammal, and thus needs to breath, but he can hold his breath for a looooong time compared with humans. Easily three minutes, and over six with a deep breath. He’s not damage proof in any way, just tougher than any human could possibly be without heavy armor. He’s a hell of a swimmer, too, and that aforementioned strength tops out in the triple digit tons. With Tex Austin out of commission, he’s actually the physically strongest active member of the Icons, even beating out Starguy.

 

Tactically, Orca isn’t any kind of master combatant. Most likely he’s running up and applying fist to face. He does have Acrobatic Bluff and Improved Trick, but his bonuses aren’t super impressive. He can Power Attack, too, but that’s only going to happen against tougher enemies. He does cut strength ranks to avoid inflicting lethal damage, while using the +2 version of Accurate Attack. But basically he’s an uncomplicated brawler who’s more dangerous in the water due to his Enviromental Adaptation and Swimming ranks. He wouldn’t know a power stunt if it bit him on the backside.

 

Personality: Orca is the chillest dude imaginable. Like the lovechild of Owen Wilson and Matthew McConaughey as a surfer dude and professional grade beach bum. He’s a surfer who knows all the lingo, and a skilled biologist and oceanographer. He has a deep and abiding love for the ocean, and intentionally harming it is a good way to get on his bad side. He doesn’t own any shirts. Kids adore him, especially little girls. People just feel safe around him, despite him being a giant whale-man with very sharp teeth in his enormous mouth. He gets along with everyone he meets without any apparent effort. That’s just how he is.

[EternalPhoenix]

Starguy (Gordon Wright)

 

Power Level: 10; Power Points Spent: 240/240

 

STR: +10 (15/30), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +10 (15/30), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +10, Fort: +10, Ref: +7/+10, Will: +7

 

Skills: Acrobatics 12 (+15), Bluff 12 (+15), Craft (artistic) 8 (+10), Diplomacy 7 (+10), Gather Information 12 (+15), Knowledge (art) 8 (+10), Knowledge (popular culture) 3 (+5), Knowledge (streetwise) 3 (+5), Language 5 (+5), Notice 12 (+15), Search 3 (+5), Sense Motive 12 (+15), Stealth 7 (+10)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (melee) 3, Challenge - Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Challenge - Improved Feint, Challenge - Improved Taunt, Evasion, Improved Critical 2 (Unarmed Attack), Improved Initiative 3, Interpose, Luck 3, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Takedown Attack 2, Taunt, Ultimate Effort (Strength checks), Ultimate Effort (Toughness saves), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Infinite Energy Drain (Nullify 10) (counters: all powers of (type) - energy effects, DC 20; Duration 3 (continuous), Effortless; Range (touch))

Starheart Augmented Physiology (Container, Passive 10)

   Stellar Durability (Impervious Toughness 10)

   Stellar Might (Super-Strength 5) (+25 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 25.6 tons; +5 STR to some checks)

   Stellar Resilience (Enhanced Constitution 15) (+15 CON)

   Stellar Strength (Enhanced Strength 15) (+15 STR)

Starheart Speed (Container, Passive 5)

   Stellar Quickness (Quickness 5) (Perform routine tasks at 50x speed)

   Stellar Reflexes (Enhanced Trait 15) (Traits: Attack Bonus +2 (+7), Defense Bonus +2 (+10), Reflex +3 (+10), Feats: Evasion, Improved Initiative 3)

   Stellar Speed (Speed 5) (Speed: 250 mph, 2200 ft./rnd)

 

Attack Bonus: +5/+7 (Ranged: +5/+7, Melee: +8/+10, Grapple: +18/+25)

 

Attacks: Infinite Energy Drain (Nullify 10), +10 (DC Will 20), Unarmed Attack, +10 (DC 25)

 

Defense: +8/+10  (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -10

 

Initiative: +15

 

Languages: American Sign Language, Chinese (Mandarin), English Native, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog

 

Totals: Abilities 32 + Skills 26 (104 ranks) + Feats 23 + Powers 125 + Combat 26 + Saves 8 + Drawbacks 0 = 240

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 29

Height: 5’ 11”

Weight: 170 lbs

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Hair: Light Brown

Eyes: Brown

 

Background: Starpeople can duplicate their powers onto a willing target. Once. This is not what happened to Gordon Wright, alias Starguy. It is what happened to his father. Kind of. Stargirl II (Jackie Thompkins) dated Glenn Wright for a while in the mid 80s. Glenn was unaware of his powers until the incident. Glenn and Jackie were having an intimate encounter and the combination of their powers, for lack of a better term, glitched out. Glenn did not receive the Starpowers. He never gained a Starheart. And as far as anyone is aware, Jackie should still be able to grant them that once. And yet, much later, when Gordon (who is not Jackie’s son; she and Glenn broke up before even considering having children) turned 13, he got both his father’s powers and the Starpowers. How this happened, nobody freakin’ knows. Least of all Gordon. The problem is that they directly conflict with each other. Glenn’s mutation absorbs energy. A Starheart generates it. So poor Gordon can use neither to their fullest potential, as they’re too busy fighting each other. At least Glenn and Georgia (his mother) were thrilled. Gordon held off on putting on the mask until he graduated high school. Being a teen superhero did not sound appealing in the least. So, ironically, it was the same year the Exiles were bouncing around Los Angeles in their first year of existence that Starguy made his debut. He did not meet them. It was not for lack of trying. And in time they moved to New York City. Starguy stayed in Los Angeles.

The only major incident of his heroic career so far was saving Naomi Suleiman (currently Waverider of the Academy) on the very terrible day her vibrational/sonic powers emerged. She was in a parking garage, waiting for some friends. She felt poorly, and rested her hand on a wall, only for the stored vibrations of her 12-13 years of life to tear their way out of her. They destroyed her hearing and when she screamed from the pain tore apart her larynx. They were threatening to destroy the parking garage, and possibly even cause a seismic event. Fortunately, Starguy was nearby. He used his powers to take the edge off her emissions and get her out of there. The parking garage still collapsed, but there was no earthquake. He also used his budding connections with city government to keep the young girl from being charged with a crime or in any way held responsible for the damage. Then he took her on as a sidekick for a little while, before he realized the training of a fully fledged Phoenix Mutate was more than he could handle. So, he made a cold call to the Javier Academy, and managed to get young Waverider accepted. Her parents took some finagling, but it was nothing he and Headmaster Javier couldn’t handle. He’s kind of proud of how far his former partner has come in the following years, honestly.

He wasn’t among the Dusted, and so was running around Los Angeles like a chicken with its head cut off after it happened. Though it was…hard, as Glenn and Georgia were among the Dusted. He was present at the Endgame, thanks to the Exiles. Finally got to meet them. Check that off the bucket list I guess. He wasn’t chosen as an Icon before now  because they already had a Los Angeles guy in Spike Douglas and at the time didn’t want to show any favoritism towards bigger cities. But with all six founders off the board for the foreseeable future if not permanently, they needed skilled bodies and Starguy was among the selected. Spike did not put in a good word for him, but that’s just how Spike is. He doesn’t take it personally. Meanwhile, a young woman named Jessica and her younger brother Jonathan have grown up watching him…

He doesn’t have any particularly persistent enemies beyond occasionally borrowing Spike’s, Tectonica hates him because he can shut her down pretty easily, as her powers aren’t that different from Waverider’s and weaker in the bargain. Fahrenheit and Celsius aren’t big fans, either. However, he’s slowly found himself the main spoke that the Los Angeles hero scene revolves around. Sargette (former US Army), Telebolt (electric teleporter), and Valley Girl (invulnerably skinned) have his back and he has theirs. He’s good terms with Exile House LA and the Second Gen, too. And the police officers in Angel Rodriguez (with her superhumanly strong and durable wings) and Celeste Martinez (with her advanced cybernetic arm) seem to be around when things start happening more often than not.

 

Powers & Tactics: Starguy is an unusual case. He has two directly conflicting sets of mutant powers. Directly from his father he has a genuinely impressive amount of energy absorption. And from his father’s old girlfriend (somehow) he has a Starheart and the accompanying physical alterations.

The energy absorption not even his father Glenn knows where he got it from. He simply says “I did a lot of drugs in the 80s, man. I don’t know” Super helpful, but whatever. Starguy can, by touching something, absorb any energy in it into what appears to be a bottomless well. No matter how much he soaks up, it never fills. Energy is a very broad category, as well. It includes literally everything that isn’t a firearm, medieval weapon, claw, fang, or unarmed strike. Yes, this means he can put out a fire by touching it and yes, he’s helped out the fire department doing just that. The aperture, however, is not as wide as it could be, as it’s continually absorbing energy from his Starheart. If that conflict could somehow be resolved, he’d likely be as powerful as his father, who’s literally immune to energy effects and even has a degree of resistance to physical damage (since it’s kinetic energy).

As for the Starheart, these are basically legendary now. Everybody knows what they are and what they do. There’s a fusion reaction in Starguy’s chest, pumping out energy as only they can. The accompanying alterations cause his body to channel said energy into strength, speed, and resilience. Every other Starperson except the original Starman could emit and manipulate this stellar energy in various ways, but Starguy can’t specifically because of the conflict with his father’s energy absorption. And the strength, speed, and resilience are severely blunted compared with the rest of the Starpeople. Again, the conflict. He’s still very strong, able to crack steel with a punch and lift double digit tons. He’s still very fast, able to outpace even the fastest of automobiles. His accuracy, dodging, and reflexes are all enhanced as well. He’s still very tough, able to ignore mundane weapons up to artillery fire. But when both Starmen were known to be able to lift fully loaded aircraft carriers, and the second and his mother were able to break the sound barrier with impunity, well…it does feel a little inadequate, doesn’t it?

 

Tactically, Starguy is a puncher. He’s basically a street brawler in terms of style. With that said, he’s a street brawler with 11 years of experience. Even modest talents can grow teeth with a decade plus of practice, and his talent is not entirely modest. He has Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Feint, and Taunt to in hitting and dropping enemies. He has Accurate, All Out, and Power Attack to also aid in hitting and dropping enemies. He even has Interpose and Move By Action to both protect others and stay mobile. So he’s pretty flexible what he can do outside of punching, and even the punching itself is fairly flexible. Against ordinary thuggery, he’s at full +5 Accurate Attack. It’s against energy users where he can get tricky, readying an action to use Infinite Energy Drain as a counter. A full +5 Power Attack counter, if needed. Did that with a mini-kaiju’s fire radioactive breath attack once. It was uh, very surprised. So was Spike, heh. Keep in mind that he has Ultimate Strength and Ultimate Toughness, as well. He is one of the Stars, after all. He has one power stunt. It’s the Drain version of his Infinite Energy Drain. Generally Nullify suffices, but sometimes one just needs a Drain to solve the problem.

 

Personality: Starguy named himself that for a reason. He sees himself as, ultimately, just a guy. Easygoing, humble, and helpful to his neighbors. In many ways, he’s the perfect legacy to the original Starman. It’s not a thought process for him. People need help. People need that symbol to look to and have faith in. Starman II’s kids weren’t stepping up, and fair enough, their dad died doing this stuff. It makes sense they may not be into it. But the Star means something. Or it used to. Somebody had to hoist the flag high. Let the people know that the legacy of Starman wasn’t spent yet. So he did it. Not for fame. Not for glory. For hope. He knows he can’t do the stuff a fully powered Starperson could. But he can do something.

Of course, the “real” Star-siblings making their big debut during the Endgame shook him a bit. Seeing himself as “just a guy” is a double edged sword. He’s been at this for eleven years. He’s done a hell of a lot of good. But he can’t see it. He’s always seen himself as a substitute until the “real” Starpeople were ready. He doesn’t understand why the Icons specifically wanted him. He’s not anybody special. He’s just doing what anybody would do if they could. You know? He’s just a guy. And that, of course, is exactly why they wanted him in the first place. It’s that exact thing that makes him special. But because of the type of person he is, he will very likely never understand it.

[EternalPhoenix]

Samaritan (Vonnie Murray)

 

Power Level: 11; Power Points Spent: 255/255

 

STR: +8 (16/26), DEX: +8 (16/26), CON: +8 (16/26), INT: +4 (18), WIS: +4 (18), CHA: +4 (18)

 

Tough: +8, Fort: +8, Ref: +14, Will: +8

 

Skills: Acrobatics 12 (+20), Bluff 11 (+15), Climb 12 (+20), Computers 6 (+10), Craft (mechanical) 11 (+15), Diplomacy 11 (+15), Disable Device 6 (+10), Escape Artist 2 (+10), Gather Information 11 (+15), Intimidate 6 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 11 (+15), Knowledge (streetwise) 6 (+10), Knowledge (technology) 11 (+15), Language 1 (+1), Medicine 1 (+5), Notice 16 (+20), Search 1 (+5), Sense Motive 16 (+20), Sleight of Hand 2 (+10), Stealth 7 (+15)

 

Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Beginner's Luck, Challenge - Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Challenge - Improved Taunt, Dodge Focus 3, Evasion, Grappling Finesse, Improved Initiative, Improved Trick, Inventor, Jack-of-All-Trades, Last Stand, Luck 3, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Redirect, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Climb, Notice, Sense Motive), Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack 2, Taunt, Ultimate Effort 3 (Constitution, Dexterity, & Strength checks), Ultimate Effort 4 (Tou, Fort, Ref, & Will saves), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory), Untapped Potential

 

Powers:

Human Totem (Container, Passive 12)

   Enhanced Abilities (Enhanced Trait 30) (Traits: Constitution +10 (26, +8), Dexterity +10 (26, +8), Strength +10 (26, +8))

   Enhanced Feats (Enhanced Trait 2) (Feats: Beginner's Luck, Jack-of-All-Trades)

   Totemic Leaping (Leaping 2) (Jumping distance: x5)

   Totemic Quickness (Quickness 2) (Perform routine tasks at 5x speed)

   Totemic Recovery (Regeneration 11) (ability damage 2 (recover 1 / hour), recovery bonus 1 (+1 to recover), recovery rate (bruised) 2 (recover 1 / action), recovery rate (disabled) 2 (recover 1 / hour), recovery rate (injured) 2 (recover 1 / 5 mins), recovery rate (staggered) 2 (recover 1 / 5 mins); Persistent)

   Totemic Senses (Super-Senses 10) (acute (type): Olfactory, extended (type): Visual 1 (-1 per 100 ft), extended (type): Auditory 1 (-1 per 100 ft), extended (type): Olfactory 1 (-1 per 100 ft), low-light vision, ranged: Tactile)

   Totemic Speed (Speed 2+1) ([Stacking ranks: +1], Speed: 50 mph, 440 ft./rnd)

Wrist Mounted Grapnel Guns (Device 5) (Hard to lose)

   Grapnel Cable Capture (Snare (DC 18; Precise, Tether (800 ft.))

   Grapnel Swinging (Linked)

      Speed 1 (Linked; Speed: 10 mph, 88 ft./rnd; Stacks with (Totemic Speed (Speed 2+1)))

      Super-Movement 3 (Linked; slow fall, swinging, wall-crawling 1 (half speed))

 

Attack Bonus: +14 (Ranged: +14, Melee: +14, Grapple: +22)

 

Attacks: Grapnel Cable Capture (Snare 8), +14 (DC Ref/Staged 18), Unarmed Attack, +14 (DC 23)

 

Defense: +14  (Flat-footed: +6), Knockback: -4

 

Initiative: +12

 

Languages: English Native, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 42 + Skills 40 (160 ranks) + Feats 33 + Powers 80 + Combat 50 + Saves 10 + Drawbacks 0 = 255

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 26

Height: 5’ 10”

Weight: 170 lbs

Ethnicity: ½ African American, ½ Puerto Rican (New York)

Hair: Black

Eyes: Dark Brown

 

Background: Vonnie Murray was an ordinary teenager in the Brooklyn who had brains to spare and a slight gadgeteering bent. One day, when he was 14, one of his inventions went haywire, spraying both him and his sister with unknown energies. He soon found he was stronger, faster, and tougher than everyone on the block. Like most kids his age, he idealized super heroes. Now that he had super powers, what better idea than to give it a go? It was a smashing success. He saved people. Punched out thugs. Street level stuff, but Brooklyn. Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan began to take notice of his presence. Meanwhile, his personal life had begun to improve. Gail Verner, one of his classmate and just about the most idolized girl in school (not that she catered to that impression, mind), started hanging out with him and his small circle. Small meaning Vonnie and a rotating cast of neighborhood kids. Most notable were Darrell (moderately wealthy), Tonio (meathead with a good heart), Carmen (fulfilling that tough Latina stereotype unironically), and Laquiesha Janine AKA LJ (fulfilling that airheaded party girl stereotype apparently unironically). As time went on, Vonnie and Gail even started dating. Young love is a beautiful thing.

That said, The Agency has a vested interest in new superheroes, as some of them can become useful. However, Vonnie (now being called Samaritan by the media because of his cross t-shirt and borderline reckless devotion to getting people out of harm’s way), had no detectible super powers or special training, despite his tremendous physical gifts. A lesser Agency asset was sent to capture him. It…didn’t go well. The man was an idiot, and a thug. Not to mention somehow his combat programming didn’t take, so he couldn’t fight any better than the thug he started out as. He went smashing through Vonnie’s home, and managed to murder his mother and Gail (who happened to be visiting) before Vonnie arrived. Vina was on the floor, clearly next. Seeing two of the three people he loved most in the worst broken like dolls, and the same about to happen to the third… Vonnie absolutely fuckin’ snapped. His vision grayed, and he attacked the monster who’d stolen almost everything from him. They almost killed each other in a savage brawl across what seemed like half of Brooklyn. The thug was strong, but for every hit he got on Vonnie, Vonnie hit with two or three. They fought until neither could stand up. Doctors still aren’t sure if the thug will ever walk again, but Vonnie recovered with remarkable speed. A neighbor (LJ’s dad, as it happened) took the devastated siblings in afterward. As it turned out, LJ was not an airhead. It was just a phase, and the shock of seeing her friend in physical and emotional agony shook her out of it pretty hard. As Darnell, Tonio, Carmen and the rest drifted away, she drifted closer. Gail was a good person, no doubt about it, but LJ possessed a decidedly larger heart. Vonnie slowly rebuilt his life. The NYC press blaming Samaritan for the whole affair didn’t help, but he refused to quit hero work. His mother and Gail, had they known he was Samaritan in the first place, would not approve. His reputation was ruined. So what? He didn’t do this for praise. Eventually his friends drifted back to him. By that time he and LJ had been going out for a month already. The press moved on. 10th grade was wrapping up. It had been an entire year. The memories still hurt, but on the whole...life was good again. He even felt confident enough to confide his life as Samaritan to LJ. She took it well, all things considered.

And then another Agency asset attacked. This one was smarter and could actually fight, but there was something wrong with her. She was a bird analogue with razor feathers, only she seemed very, very sick. There was an air of desperation about her as she launched an assault on Vonnie as he was swinging home. The combination made her sloppy, not that Vonnie noticed. The collateral damage added up, but he couldn’t do anything more to take her down than he already was. He couldn’t do anything but watch as people were injured. His people. And then he saw LJ, holding her fallen father. He was going to meet them at the corner store. Vonnie snapped again, and his vision grayed out. He was stronger, faster. The bird woman couldn’t dream of stopping him. He hit her again. And again. And again. Her razor feathers dug into his flesh, but he didn’t feel it. It was when he hadn’t been hit back in a while that he backed off. Blood loss abruptly caught up to him, but before he passed out he saw her. Broken, like a doll. Vonnie was horrified, but also on some level well satisfied. Which only horrified him more.

And thus the pattern o his life was set. He fought the Agency. He fought criminals. He fought supervillains. He graduated high school. LJ broke up with him for a while to try her luck in Los Angeles. He went to NYU. He rescued people rom burning buildings. He got kittens out of trees for little girls. He saved lost balloons for toddlers. He took gunshot victims to the ER. He graducated NYU a year later because of all the superheroing and enemy making. He got hurt a lot. Sometimes badly. Sometimes very badly. He’s been shot, stabbed, punched, impaled, exploded, half drowned, partially electrocuted, seriously burned, and a dozen other ways to get hurt. People think the Exiles have had a busy eleven years. Ha! Vonnie’s got them edged out. Today Vonnie is a high school teacher in his home borough of Brooklyn. He and LJ got married after he graduated NYU. She’d come back by then. She didn’t entirely succeed at become a Hollywood actress, but she’s a regular model for a couple of cheap clothing brands and also an actress in off-off-Broadway productions. Being in his life has proven to be insanely dangerous, but she doesn’t care. He’s lost friends to the grave, insanity, supervillainy, and even a dimension hole once? That was a weird one. Oh yeah, almost forgot. Teamed up with some of New York’s heroes like Medic, David Hero, and Tai Kwon to storm the Agency’s main NYC base and put it out of business. Get them off his back for a while. It was a good thing.

He wasn’t among the Dusted, but it did something very weird to his powers where they just…didn’t…work…exactly? Individual parts of them would just turn off without warning. Or invert somehow. Instead of being slightly stronger than the strongest, he’d be slightly weaker than the weakest. Or instead of seeing blocks away, he’d go blind for a while. Completely unpredictable, and after a few painful accidents even his stubborn ass had to admit he couldn’t be Samaritan while this was happening. He was, of course, at the Endgame with every other hero on the planet. He did okay, he guesses. The highlight was playing keep away with the…Power Crystals? No, Crystals of Power. Power Crystals were from that TV show. Anyway, he was playing keep away with Kuros The friggin’ Annihilator and about a billion well armed goons. Just another day at the office, man. His life is so crazy. One last thing rounded out his 2018 campaign. Telling Penny Nihara out of NPC Investigations where that old Agency base of ops was. Seemed like they’d started up again. He asked to tag along, but honestly she did the thing where she smiles politely and it’s like she’s turned into Death, Destroyer of Worlds while saying no thanks, she could handle it. From what he heard, she handled it all right. But you know, they were Agency. They deserved it. So whatever.

As for persistent enemies…oh god. Samaritan has arguably the largest Rogue’s Gallery of any active hero. And they’re almost all. Friggin’. Animal themed. With a color and a name. Greaaaaat. Grey Wolf, with all those guns and that sharp nose and the dozen mercenaries on his team with their guns. Crimson Lizard, with the strength and the friggin regeneration. If he could just manage to stay Professor Reilly instead of a homicidal lizard man for two full months back to back, that’d be super. Black Hawk, with the wingsuit and again the guns and the explosives and the general insanity. Jade Tiger, who he is going to punt down the block the next time he sees her, swear to god. With her claw gauntlets and martial arts and friggin endless thievery and really tight costume. Stupid sexy supervillains. The Ivory Hippo, in the weirdest friggin’ combat suit he has ever seen. Why rubber, man? Just why? He knows it’s because bludgeoning attacks and bullets bounce right off, but the man looks like the hugest doofus. Also, oh god, Squid Cerulean. With the tentacle. So many tentacles. All of the tentacles. This isn’t anime pron, man, what are you doing? Especially with that natural fabric dissolver? Naked people can still kick your ass. Defeat by modesty is not a thing. It will not help you rob banks and jewelry stores. Look, you get it. We can do this all day or move on to allies. Like Medic. Medic is great. He likes Medic. David Hero is the man. Tai Kwon? Also a cool guy. Kosma rocks. JETTE is…kind of a rhymes with witch? But eh, whatever. The three they’re training are okay for rookies. He’s even worked with the Human Rocket IV. Seriously, if they’re a hero in New York and Samaritan hasn’t teamed up with them at some point, they must have started literally last week. Again, his life is so crazy.

...okay, so his life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. That was the glib, flippant way of discussing it. He does that a lot. Because his enemies are fuckin’ terrifying. Gray Wolf and his Wolf Pack hunt heroes and villains alike for sport, and they’re pretty damn good at it. Crimson Lizard is frighteningly intelligent and determined to rid the world of its “filthy apes” by any means necessary, including bashing all their skulls in with his bare hands. Black Hawk is a psychotic murderer who’s claimed the lives of a couple of Vonnie’s friends over the years, and can be horrifyingly cunning and strategic. Jade Tiger is…well, less scary. But absolutely nothing will stop her quest to make the list of the world’s top ten thieves, and she’s left enough bodies and shattered lives in her wake to make that assertion very convincing. Ivory Hippo, on the other hand, is a violent thug who got his hands on a battlesuit that makes him stronger than Crimson Lizard (which is saying something), immune to both bludgeoning and ballistic damage, and can stand up to artillery fire. I he could actually fight worth a damn he’d have killed Vonnie years ago. Fortunately he’s got too much to go get even rudimentary training. And Squid Cerulean? Invented that natural fabric dissolver. It’s an acid, and he has other, more lethal ones. And mutated those squid arms onto himself. The only person Vonnie knows of who’s smarter is flippin’ Terrifica. When the Squid starts up one of his schemes, people die and Vonnie usually needs backup from someone. And while the Agency isn’t currently operating in New York thanks to Vonnie and co. smashing them a few years ago and Penny Nihara killing everyone they had in the city recently, he knows they haven’t forgotten him. They want him in an examination room, strapped to a table until they figure out how his powers work and how they can duplicate them. He also knows that they don’t necessarily care if he’s alive when they strap him to that table. So you know, crazy life.

 

Powers & Tactics: The spectacular Samaritan is mutant with one technological device. His mutant powers are something extremely unusual. Mutants with animal powers are fairly common among mutants. They’re not uncommon among those with magical or divine powers, either. But here’s the thing basically everyone forgets. Humans are animals, too. Saying Samaritan has all the powers of a human being doesn’t sound like he has any powers at all, though. This, however, is misunderstand it. Those with animal powers never just have the regular abilities of the animal. They’re almost always exemplars of the species and often better than the animal itself at the animal’s specialties. And this is true of Vonnie, as well. Yes, he has all the powers and abilities of a human being...but they’re either at their absolute peak or slightly beyond. His strength, speed, resilience, agility, leaping ability, regeneration speed, and senses are either just as good as the best human in the world’s or slightly superhuman. The reason why is even crazier. He is connected on both a mystical and quantum level to every unpowered person on the planet. Nearly 8 billion people. He can occasionally tap into this, turning the whole “having everyone’s abilities concurrently” thing into a “having one specific ability cumulatively” thing. This can briefly spike his resistances to basically everything, his strength, his agility, you name it to incredible levels. What’s even crazier is that he’s not even using all of his powers. He’s only using the ones he knows about. His mental abilities are his own, when theoretically they don’t have to be. He may well be able to tap into the accumulated knowledge and skills of the entire unpowered human race. He’s actually doing a little of that subconsciously already, which is where is expert melee and dodging skills come from. Bottom line, Vonnie has the potential to not just be one of the greats, but a genuine legend.

His technological device is his Wrist Mounted Grapnel Guns. They’re…pretty simple, actually. There’s one of them on each wrist. He can snare a target in the cabling or simply swing around at twice the speed he can run. They’re also useful or stopping falls and making his way up walls faster than climbing. If a cable is cut he can just replace the hook. He’s got plenty of cabling, which is actually a wire just thick enough to not cut people when pressed tightly against skin.

 

Tactically, Samaritan keeps it moving. Between his just beyond superhuman athleticism and Grapnel Guns, he can cover a startling amount of ground in a very short time for someone supposedly just about human standard. He uses Move by Action constantly. Grapnel Cable Capture works great to keep mooks pinned down. He’ll Accurate Attack +2 against them, using Takedown Attack 2 to just bulldoze them. NYC thuggery has a minimum of +2 TOU. Big city, higher standards, you get it. There’s no need for that with supervillains, though. He can just punch and kick them regularly. Improved Acrobatic Bluff is his bread and butter, along with Improved Trick and Redirect. Improved Taunt is also on deck, because he does not stop sassing the enemies. All Out Attack is for when he starts to lose his temper, and Power Attack is for more damage. But really, he doesn’t stop moving except for Tricks. Keep in mind that his jumping distances (105 feet running jump, 52.5 feet standing jump, 25.75 ft high jump) are absurd, and that’s assuming he isn’t grapnel’ing up the side of a building (because literally NYC) hundreds of feet at a time. The grapnels can catch his falls, too, so he can freely leap off buildings to evade and reposition. Don’t forget his senses, either. Ranged tactile is ridiculous, and the range on the others is not to be sneezed at. He doesn’t actually have any power stunts, but please note Inventor. All this together is why so many criminals and supervillains really, really hate him.

 

Personality: The spectacular Samaritan is a wise cracking, constantly snarking protector of the weak. As the saying goes, he got jokes. All of the jokes. He’s not a clown, mind. He just can’t stop mouthing off, even to beings that can crush him like a beer can. He’s a permanent respect free zone, though it is important to note he does not offer actual disrespect to genuine allies and friends. It’s when he stops being a smartass that people should worry. Because he’s got one hell of a temper. It’s the downside of his powers. All of his negative emotions and/or personality traits are at human peak, too. So he has a genuinely awful temper, and he constantly works to keep it in check. He’s seen what happens when he doesn’t.

Vonnie Murray, on the other hand, basically has PTSD. The wisecracking, joking, and smartassery is a defense mechanism to block out how goddamn terrified he is half the time. One of the world’s most powerful organizations has been trying to capture him and experiment him to death since he was 14 years old. Most of his massive Rogue’s Gallery would be all too happy to kill him. Every time he makes a new friend or ally he has to wonder whether or not they’re going to become a victim of or join said Rogue’s Gallery. One would think that anyone sane in his situation would find a extremely remote location, dig a deep hole, climb in, and close it behind them. But again. It’s the downside of his powers. Or, in this case, the upside. Because all of his positive emotions and/or personality traits are at human peak. Love. Hope. Compassion. Empathy. Kindness. He is basically incapable of turning away from someone in need. Because on a fundamental level he is them. He is all of us. Hence his name. Samaritan, after the parable of the Good Samaritan. He’ll never stop trying to be one. For everyone he meets. Never.

[EternalPhoenix]

The Human Rocket IV (Reginald "Reggie" Morton III)

 

Power Level: 10; Power Points Spent: 180/180

 

STR: +3 (16), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +3 (16), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +3/+8, Fort: +7, Ref: +12, Will: +8

 

Skills: Acrobatics 7 (+10), Bluff 7 (+10), Computers 7 (+10), Concentration 7 (+10), Craft (electronic) 12 (+15), Craft (mechanical) 12 (+15), Diplomacy 7 (+10), Disable Device 7 (+10), Gather Information 7 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 12 (+15), Knowledge (streetwise) 7 (+10), Knowledge (tactics) 7 (+10), Knowledge (technology) 12 (+15), Notice 7 (+10), Sense Motive 7 (+10), Stealth 7 (+10)

 

Feats: Attack Focus (melee) 5, Dodge Focus 5, Luck, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Craft (elec & mech), Notice, Sense Motive), Takedown Attack 2, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Flight Belt (Device 1) (Hard to lose)

   Magneto-Gravitic Flight (Flight 2+13) ([Stacking ranks: +13], Speed: 500000 mph, 4400000 ft./rnd; Subtle (subtle))

Flight Suit (Device (Hard to lose)

   Armoring (Protection 5) (+5 Toughness)

   Helmet Sensors (Super-Senses 9) (accurate: Radio, direction sense, distance sense, infravision, radio, time sense, ultravision)

   Integral Radio (Communication (sense type: radio)

   Magneto-Gravitic Flight Boost (Flight (Speed: 2500 mph, 22000 ft./rnd; Stacks with (Magneto-Gravitic Flight (Flight 2+13)); Limited (Requires Flight Belt))

   Masterwork Toolkit (Features 1)

   Sealed Systems (Immunity 9) (life support)

Wrist Turbines (Device 3) (Hard to lose)

   Computer Link (Datalink 2) (sense type: radio)

   Turbine Settings (Array 5) (default power: strike)

      Turbine Flight Boost (Flight 5) (Array; Speed: 250 mph, 2200 ft./rnd; Stacks with (Magneto-Gravitic Flight (Flight 2+13)))

      Turbine Lift Boost (Super-Strength 5) (Array; +25 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 3.7 tons; +5 STR to some checks)

      Turbine Punch (Strike 5) (Default; DC 23; Penetrating [4 ranks only]; Mighty)

      Wind Turbine Blast (Move Object 5) (Array; Strength: 25, Carry: 266 / 533 / 800 / 1.6k; Cone Area (50 ft. cone - General); Range (touch))

 

Attack Bonus: +7 (Ranged: +7, Melee: +12, Grapple: +15)

 

Attacks: Turbine Punch (Strike 5), +12 (DC 23), Unarmed Attack, +12 (DC 18)

 

Defense: +12  (Flat-footed: +4), Knockback: -4

 

Initiative: +3

 

Languages: English Native

 

Totals: Abilities 36 + Skills 33 (132 ranks) + Feats 17 + Powers 48 + Combat 28 + Saves 18 + Drawbacks 0 = 180

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 28

Height: 6’

Weight: 180 lbs

Ethnicity: African American

Hair: Black

Eyes: Dark Brown

 

Background: It all started in 1963, with Terry Cruz. He was a filthy rich industrialist in New York City. A witty, charming genius, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t like him. At least, that’s how the official story goes. He invented a flight belt made out of inexpensive components. He then built a battlesuit around the technology, and became a superhero (The Human Rocket III). He was never as famous as Starman or any of the Champions, but he did his part. In 1975, however, Terry made a fateful decision to follow a dream. Humans didn’t need to be stuck on the ground. He’d make it so everyone could fly. He needed a helper, so he recruited his 15 year old cousin Caroline (already a tech genius in her own right), his own younger brother Donald (the man was a born salesman, better than even Terry) and set to work. A year later, Caroline debuted as JETTE, and the flight belts were put into production. Donald was to run the factory itself, with Caroline as tech support. Terry would help out where he could, but his life was a busy one. Between being President and CEO of his own company and being a superhero his spare time was extremely limited. So, he trusted his family with his dream. This was, to a degree, a mistake.

At first, everything was okay. There were some unexpected bugs to iron out in the manufacting process, but between Caroline’s skills and Donald’s leadership they pulled through. Then the first shipment disappeared. It turned up in the hands of a band of thieves, with the design weaponized in ways Terry had only seen in his nightmares. He and Caroline stopped them, of course, but that didn’t account for the entire shipment. Orders dried up overnight. His good name was tarnished. The FBI was investigating him for giving them to those criminals. As if he’d do such a thing. He was going to get to the bottom of this. There wasn’t any need to stop production. They’d just store them in the factory until Terry cleared his name. It took two years (and a few more battles with flight belt equipped criminals), but get to the bottom of it Terry did. Donald, as it turned out, while he shared much of his older brother’s intellect, lacked anything resembling Terry’s integrity. He did, however, share the knack for hiring competent people and putting them in positions to succeed. “The Don” was a rising star in the criminal underworld, and this was his chance to make it big. Terry refused to let it be at his expense. Turned out Don had his own battlesuit, and a squad of battlesuited muscle (including many of the factory’s key employees) to back him up. Terry had just Caroline. The fight tore the factory apart, and destroyed the stored flight belts. When it was over, “The Don” was presumed dead, his goons had vanished, and any evidence that didn’t point directly to Terry and Caroline Cruz being guilty of his crimes was virtually destroyed.

The trial was quick. The prosecution basically had them cold, and anything that could’ve proven their innocence was long gone. They both got over a decade of hard time. Between that, the lost money spent on the belts and the revelation of just how much money Donald had stolen from his brother’s company, Terry was ruined. Both of them were barred from using their technological skill sets without authorization as a condition of early release. After his release, a broken Terry quietly disappeared.  Caroline scraped by doing odd jobs and moving around a lot, until she moved back to New York in 2003. Years after the trial nobody remembered Terry and Caroline Cruz anymore, let alone The Human Rocket and his sidekick JETTE. She started doing unlicensed PI work to pay the bills. She never expected to see her cousin again. In fact, she fully expected him to drink himself to death like she was slowly going to. This, however, was not what fate had in mind. For either of them.

And here, Dear Reader, is where Reginald Morton III comes in. Reggie to his friends. Well. If he had friends. Unfortunately, Reggie was a huge and obvious nerd. Equally unfortunately, he was attending a huge New York City high school. So he got picked on high school. Such a shame. But there was one place he could go where not even his tormentors dared follow. A broken down old boxing gym, with a bitter old man living in it. Couldn’t have been making much money. Nobody was ever in it when Reggie came to visit. But his bullies were scared of the old man. There were all sorts of scary rumors about him, and his tongue was razor sharp. Metaphorically speaking. As this is a superpowered world, it should be made clear that it was his wits that were sharp and quick. Still, the old man liked Reggie, and he let him hang out in the gym.

It was an unlikely friendship that warmed old Terry Cruz’s heart. He’d managed to stash some retirement money offshore before the Feds yoinked all of his money as the proceeds of crime. Thanks a lot, Donald. But you know…there were reasons he liked this kid. Reggie. And deep inside Terry, a hero’s heart still beat. Even if he was too old and bitter now, the kid wasn’t. So Terry brought out some of his old gear he was able to salvage after his release, and started teaching the kid a thing or two. Of course, when he told the kid who he was, he didn’t expect him to go to the library and read up on the whole saga. And then Terry had to tell him his side of the story, and for the first time since the 70s, somebody actually believed him. If only because it was sloppier work than the Human Rocket III would have ever done. And then the kid told him he’d found a schematic of Terry’s flight belts on the internet, and made his own. Terry understood the internet fine, and he knew damn well that design was supposed to be locked down by the Feds. And a skilled amateur had pulled it off the internet. Donald was alive. Damn the man.

Reggie, bless him, was ready willing and able to help. So, we know how this story goes. Eager young man and his wise mentor. Terry insisted on waiting until after his high school graduation. But after that, the fourth Human Rocket took flight for the first time. This was 2009, for those keeping track of the years. He started making his name as a rookie hero around NYC, and ran smack into no less than the Exiles. Specifically, Hummingbird. He helped her out of a jam and she introduced him to her friends. The Exiles were together in New York all year long. Being the Exiles, all sorts of trouble found them. And the fourth Human Rocket was by their side backing them up the entire time. He was even at that fight at the end of the year, where Cory’s dad killed Hummingbird. His friend. His…well, it wasn’t quite love, but…well…he’d never know, now. As has been told, the trauma shattered the Exiles, and they went their separate ways for a time. Reggie was not immune to this. He simply went back to being only of New York’s heroes rather than not quite an Exile. When they got back together a couple of months later, he tried. He really did. But…he was never really one of them. In the nicest way possible, they were ‘Bird’s friends. Not his. And she wasn’t…she wasn’t there anymore. He wasn’t one of them. So when they moved out to Portland to found Exile House, he stayed in New York. Phone numbers were exchanged. Promises made to keep in touch. Everyone involved knew them for the lies they were, but it’s what you say, right? And so, Reggie was left alone with his broken heart.

He did get a weird phone call from Stormy the following year, but his memory of it is fuzzy. Terry said something went wrong with time for a little while. He guesses they helped fix it. He’s too embarrassed to ask. It’d be super awkward calling just for that. So he was a solo superhero again, with the wise mentor in the shadows. Though a weird thing happened at the end o the fifth year of his career. 2014, for those keeping track of the year. There isn’t a ceremony or anything or getting your Five Year Vet stripes. It’s informal, but still, here and Terry were celebrating with the news on in the background. One of the new superheroes Reggie had heard about was on. She seemed a little…old…to be starting now, but no judgements. Terry saw her and totally freaked out. He had to go to bed early because it tired him out. Lots of things were beginning to tire him out. And he didn’t remember doing it in the morning. That was starting to happen more, too. Not a lot, but he knew Terry was old old. Like in his 80s old. And he hadn’t been taking care of himself very well for years if not decades. Reggie worried, but Terry would simply tell him to stop clucking over him like a mother hen.

It was a couple years after that before he finally ran into JETTE. 2016, for those keeping track of the year. And it was the same JETTE that had been Terry’s sidekick back in the 70s. It was a proper team up, with David Hero (the apparently immortal legend himself), Kosma (who he’d heard good things about, and Tai Kwon (who was actually a little younger than Reggie, which surprised him). There were ninjas, and a plot to destroy the city by resurrecting an ancient…dragon? Really? Well, he saw the bones. Still could have been a dinosaur, Reggie says. Also, they weren’t like, real ninjas. Real ninjas are Japanese. These were Korean guys. But you know…martial arts. Weapons. Funky pajamas. These guys were ninjas in all but ethnicity. So…magic was real, because they were gonna resurrect the dragon with it. Terry said it was, but you know…Reggie didn’t believe him. Oh, boy. But the capper was that he got to talk to JETTE and tell her about Terry and how he was all old and wouldn’t let anyone help and-JETTE cut him off very rudely, because she wasn’t very nice anymore, and they went to see Terry. And the cousins, after decades apart, reunited. Mr. Hero called Medic in, and Terry, well…he was slipping harder and harder. He needed around the clock care, Medic said. It broke Reggie’s heart. The man was the grandfather he never had. But it also broke poor JETTE’s. Fortunately, she still knew how to get through his computer security to access his money, and they got him into a good rest home on the Upper East Side. And JETTE, bitter and rude and mean as she is, took over the mentor role. They’re…not quite partners, but they do work together sometimes.

Reggie was, sadly, among the Dusted, so he has no idea what happened that year. New York had to have been in chaos. Not only was he gone, but Medic, Kosma, and Tai Kwon were too. Even Samaritan was out of commission. He wonders how Mr. Hero and JETTE coped. But the Dusting was undone, and all of New York’s heroes participated in the final battle of the Endgame. After that, Reggie actually wasn’t the first of Mr. Hero’s group to be recruited. They went for Mr. Hero first, and when he politely declined in order to focus on New York, JETTE. She also declined, a bit less politely, and pointed them towards Reggie. He wasn’t sure, but JETTE said she’d keep looking after Terry when he was busy, so all right. Terry still remembers both of them…sometimes. His nurses are really nice. But Reggie can tell. He’s dying. Very slowly, but Terry Cruz is dying. The once brilliant industrialist, CEO, and superhero is now a confused old man in adult pull ups. Reggie doesn’t mean that like an insult. It’s just…it makes him sad. His friend is fading away. He knows it makes JETTE sad too. He’s 100% his own man, now. No Exiles. No mentors. No partners. The person responsible for keeping the spark of heroism alive is Reggie Morton. He is the Human Rocket in this era. Heir not only to the legacy of Terry Cruz, but those other two guys. The second in the Golden Age, and the original in the Old West. Crap, he should probably upgrade his gear then.

Reggie’s most persistent enemy is “The Don” Donald Cruz. He’s much too old to be a physical threat anymore, but as an old crime boss has plenty of minions in cheap knock off battlesuits to deal with. Other than that, he sometimes tangles with some of Samaritan’s enemies to help the poor guy out. Every hero in New York does, sooner or later. When not doing Icons stuff, he works with David Hero’s group. They’re, as previously mentioned, JETTE, Kosma, and Tai Kwon. There are also the rookies Bee Girl, Ghost Hornet, and Night Wasp. He does not know why Samaritan can’t remember their names. Medic does. Oh, well.

 

Powers & Tactics: The fourth Human Rocket, like each of the other three, has no superhuman powers. He is a tech specialist with three devices. However, he is not a genius like the other three. He’s exceptional, to be sure, but not a genius. He is furthermore an expert melee fighter, well trained in boxing’s fundamentals. His devices are his Flight Belt, his Flight Suit, and his Wrist Turbines. The first is a Terry Cruz design. The second is, as well, but with significant medications from Reggie. And the last is entirely his own design. The first is simply enough to be mentioned here. It’s the Flight Belt. It is exactly what it says it is. It allows the wearer to fly through manipulating gravity and electromagnetism. It’s faster than walking or even running, and probably faster than bicycling. It’s slower than anything with an actual motor. It is, however, cheap and easy flight.

The second device is his Flight Suit. Terry Cruz used a full battlesuit, but Reggie wanted something more flexible. So while it is well armored, with sealed systems and an integrated radio, it’s not a full battlesuit. The sensors in the helmet consist of basic radar, an expansion of his vision to the full light spectrum, a clock, and a navigation system. He keeps a toolkit on it for repairs or technical work if necessary. But the big thing the Flight Suit does is jack up the speed on the Flight Belt from below anything with a motor to literally hypersonic. It does not function on its own; it is purely a boost to the Flight Belt.

The third and final device is his Wrist Turbines. They can link up to computers up to a hundred feet away for Reggie to apply his computer skills. It is, however, the actual turbines that are the main event here. They have four settings. The first is the one he gets the most use out of in combat. His trademark Turbine Punch. The turbines blow out air with great force as he, well, punches, and it does significantly more damage. Doing this is…inadvisable without the Flight Suit or other hand protection on, however. He may break that hand. The second most used setting is the turbines channeling their energy into through the Flight Suit for even more flight speed. Beyond hypersonic. Unlike the Flight Suit’s boost, however, they can function on their own, providing about as much speed as your average race car via traditional jet turbine action. Only it’s through the air instead of on the ground. The turbines can also blow out air very quickly, creating a cone of wind that can blow things under a ton away. The final setting is somewhat unique. It increases his lifting strength by blowing air at what he’s trying to lift. He can move objects weighing actual tons doing this. However, it is of no help for anything that’s strapped to his back or whatever. It has to be in his hands to receive to the boost.

 

Tactically, the fourth Human Rocket is a pretty simply combatant. He flies and he uses Turbine Punch. A +2 Accurate Attack and Takedown Attack 2 let him cut through NYC’s thugs (+2 TOU is the minimum for Big Apple thuggery). He mixes in Wind Turbine Blast on them, too. And Power Attack is for beefier supervillains. He’s not really any good at Feinting, but he’s got some Bluff and can give it a shot, maybe. That is really, genuinely it. Reggie is perhaps better used as a scout, since he has radar and a potentially ridiculous flight speed to slip away with. Like was said in Background, he should probably upgrade his gear now that he’s an Icon.

 

Personality: The latest Human Rocket is…normal? Generic, even. He’s a nice guy, he both wants to and likes helping people, and he’s a bit of a dork. Genuinely Hero 101 stuff. It’s kind of weird, actually. The hero biz normally chews up and spits out guys like this by the score. He’s had a lot of help and a lot of luck, and so he’s still here. Carrying on the legacy. On his own. It’s not that he thinks he can’t do it. Not at all. If the past decade has proved anything, it’s that he can do it. He is a worthy successor to the legacy of the Human Rocket. It’s not about putting himself down or downplaying the kind o hero he is. He doesn’t feel like an impostor, or anything. It’s a difficult feeling to explain. They’re all such special people, you know? The Icons. Hell, even Terry, JETTE, Mr. Hero, and his group. Their personalities are flashy and dramatic. They’re really interesting people, and he wants to get to know them better. But…he’s not all that interesting. You know? He knows he’s done a lot of good. He knows he’s a real hero. But who on earth would be interested in getting to know Reggie Morton? He’s boring. Generic, even.

Of course, there is no such thing as a generic human being. It is that very down to earth nature that makes Reggie interesting. He’s not some extraordinary person, as heroes go. He doesn’t have an overwhelming passion driving him forward. He’s not psychologically complex or damaged. He’s not even someone with the morals, ethics, and self restraint of a saint. He’s exactly who he appears to be. A fundamentally kind and decent man who helps people. Because he likes to, he wants to, and it’s the right thing to do. He’s made mistakes in the past. Let his temper get the best of him. Let fear control him. Gave in to sadness. But he’s always picked himself back up, but his gear on, and gone back out to help once again. That counts for a hell of a lot more than he thinks it does. But you already know that, don’t you Dear Reader?

[EternalPhoenix]

Dust (Mariana Rodriguez)

 

Power Level: 9; Power Points Spent: 165/165

 

STR: +2 (14), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +2 (14), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +2 (14)

 

Tough: +2/+4, Fort: +5, Ref: +12, Will: +7

 

Skills: Acrobatics 12 (+15), Bluff 8 (+10), Concentration 7 (+10), Diplomacy 8 (+10), Gather Information 8 (+10), Investigate 3 (+5), Knowledge (current events) 8 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 3 (+5), Knowledge (streetwise) 8 (+10), Language 2 (+2), Notice 7 (+10), Search 3 (+5), Sense Motive 7 (+10), Stealth 12 (+15)

 

Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Focus (melee) 7, Challenge - Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Dodge Focus, Evasion, Grappling Finesse, Improved Critical 2 (Martial Arts (Strike 2)), Improved Defense 2, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Pin, Improved Throw, Improved Trick, Improved Trip, Luck 3, Move-by Action, Skill Mastery (Acobatics, Notice, Sense Motive, Stealth), Takedown Attack 2, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory), Well-Informed

 

Powers:

Chain (Device 2) (Easy to lose)

   Chain Strike (Strike 2) (DC 19; Penetrating; Custom (+2 to Disarm), Custom (+2 to Trip), Extended Reach 3 (15 ft.), Mighty)

Dust Cloud (Obscure 6) (affects: visual senses, Radius: 250 ft.; Selective Attack; Range (touch))

Martial Arts (Strike 2) (DC 19, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Martial Arts (Strike 2)); Mighty)

Weak Telekinesis (Move Object 1) (Strength: 5, Carry: 16 / 33 / 50 / 100; Range (perception); Precise, Subtle 2 (unnoticable))

 

Attack Bonus: +7 (Ranged: +7, Melee: +14, Grapple: +17)

 

Attacks: Chain Strike (Strike 2), +14 (DC 19), Martial Arts (Strike 2), +14 (DC 19), Unarmed Attack, +14 (DC 17)

 

Defense: +12  (Flat-footed: +6), Knockback: -2

 

Initiative: +7

 

Languages: English Native, Haitian Creole, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 28 + Skills 24 (96 ranks) + Feats 32 + Powers 29 + Combat 36 + Saves 16 + Drawbacks 0 = 165

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 24

Height: 5’ 7”

Weight: 135

Ethnicity: Cuban-American

Hair: Light Brown

Eyes: Light Brown

 

Background: Mariana Rodriguez does not know how this happened. Her, an Icon? Dust, an Icon? It does not feel earned. Well. Most things don’t, really. Including becoming a Five Year Vet last year. Because Mariana Rodriguez is dead. She died of a congenital heart defect at age 9. She’d been sick and weak for her entire life. One day in the hospital, she closed her eyes and went…away. Her life had been short and mostly miserable, so she didn’t mind. At least the pain and weakness was over. And so, little Mariana accepted her death. Except. The reason she went unconscious was anesthesia. She was getting a heart transplant. The surgery had odds of success so low no surgeon would touch it. Her desperate parents pleaded and pleaded…until word got up to New York City and one Dr. Daniel Ivanoff. Even 15 years ago he was just about the best surgeon on the planet. He flew down to Miami to perform the transplant. Of course, a heart transplant involved basically killing the patient, only keeping their blood oxygenated and pumping with machines. So in a way, Mariana isn’t wrong. She died. Rather gruesomely. The over 4 hours of surgery was, of course, a complete success. Daniel threw in his usual rejection preventing alterations to the transplanted organ, and she was good to go. If she wanted to come back.

Truth be told, Mariana didn’t. Her new heart, however, had other ideas. Metaphorically speaking, of course. It was strong. So, the little girl who had closed her eyes and accepted the end of her short, miserable life opened them again a few days later. A miracle. Thanks, Daniel. You’re a real one. Of course, repairing a sad little girl’s heart isn’t quite so easy as replacing her physical one. As far as she knew, she had fully and completely died, and she’d been brought back against her wishes. Not that anybody had asked, mind. God, no. And not only had they brought her back, but someone else had died so it could happen. Someone else about her age had died so that a person who didn’t even want their life anymore could live. Just didn’t seem fair, somehow. It wasn’t like she had wanted to die. She still didn’t, really. But she just…didn’t care. Her new heart was strong. Her body responded and did whatever reasonable thing she asked it to. It really wasn’t fair at all. She developed an apathetic, lackadaisical attitude. A sort of personal nihilism, if you will. She had died. It really doesn’t matter what you do after that, does it?

Mariana got older. Keep living, keep growing. She first encountered Antonio Vizquel when she was 13 and he was 18. Her parents were gangsters, which is how they afforded all of her treatment years ago. There was a meeting she got dragged along to. All this would be hers one day, after all. He wasn’t anybody but a young, hungry hotshot. Yet. But he was handsome, confident, and that smile made her wonder about lots of things most parents would rather their little girls not wonder about. Especially not when the wondering involved a young man half a decade older than said little girl. They didn’t meet again for two years. This was when Antonio noticed her back. Romance time. Ah, true love. On both sides, believe it or not. And yes, plenty of lust too. Let’s move on. To the crimes. So many crimes. He trained her in martial arts and gunplay, then introduced her to the group he was a part of. They trained her further. It was an idyllic few years. Oneshot and his Lady Vicious. They were Bonnie and Clyde’ing it, as literally as possible. Antonio, or Oneshot, did most of the violence and killing, but Mariana, or Lady Vicious, was no innocent. Sex, drugs, and electronica. They were young, deeply in love, and totally reckless. Antonio was basically a selfish brat who hadn’t managed to grow up yet in any way but the physical. Mariana, though, didn’t care if she lived or died. This was all just an extended epilogue, so why not enjoy herself? Of course, it was not to last. The efforts of heroes (like Tidal) and law enforcement saw some of the group turn state’s evidence, and the resulting stress caused the group to self destruct. There were half a dozen shootout of Miami’s streets, and a final violent fistfight in a burning warehouse. Which then exploded. Mariana was flung into to bay by the force. She was dead. Again. She closed her eyes and went away. Again. The epilogue had been enjoyable, but it was over. She didn’t mind. Everything went dark.

And then she woke up in a hospital bed. Again. She wasn’t that badly hurt, actually. Tidal had saved her. He’d saved everyone still alive after the explosion. Including Antonio. He did not, however, even remember his name. Amnesia. Their masks and trademark outfits had been burned by fire, shredded by the explosion, and then soaked in seawater. The masks were in the bay. The outfits were unrecognizable. The rest of the surviving group wasn’t so lucky, though some managed to escape. Innocent victims, huh? No more Oneshot and his Lady Vicious. That was over. All that was left, as she left the hospital for epilogue number two, was what next? Tidal was waiting for her. He knew who she was. He knew a lot of things. In the course of a conversation, he turned her entire worldview around on her. People only die once, Mariana. And all of your past is merely prologue to what you do next. She would like to say there was some kind of major revelation, and she became a totally different person all of a sudden with a burst of cathartic weeping. But nah, psychology doesn’t work like that. It was a much quieter, more subtle thing. She discovered the lie at the core of her identity. She…kind of wanted to live, actually. Not like, a lot. It wasn’t some vigorous feeling or anything. So…maybe it didn’t matter if she died, right? But until then (because it’d happen or not, mostly outside of her control), what right did she have to harm others? Nothing like a little self awareness and self perception to change your whole worldview. That 9 year old little girl with her bad heart. She may have accepted death, but she wanted life. How very contradictory. How very human. Heh. Okay, then. Time to actually live, for once.

The superheroine Dust debuted a few months later, using her powers in another way to differentiate herself from Lady Vicious. The name came from something she’s actually embarrassed to have said. So pretentious. Somebody asked who she was, and she said “The same as anyone else. Nothing but ashes and dust.” Such a cheesy line. She is living her life one cheap thrill at a time. Clubbing. Fighting organized crime. Doing stupid crap for views on the internet. Well, the nerds think she’s hot and totally dig her personality, so whatever. She was technically among the Dusted last year, after her Five Year Vet status was official. She didn’t mind that death, either, but once again she came back. Ended up in the final battle of the Endgame. She still doesn’t understand why the hell Tidal recommended her to replace him because he was going to be away. He’s a god. Knowledgeable, skilled, and powerful. She asked him, before he left, why he picked her over a dozen other more experienced and powerful heroes. Lei Gong, Duke of Thunder, only smiled mysteriously and said “The arc of your life is interesting.” Those words together don’t make sense. The sins of her past are heavy. She was too young and too in love to realize how bad things were getting until it was way too late. She wouldn’t say she has regrets, and she wouldn’t call what she’s doing a quest for redemption. She’d have to give more of a damn for those words to be right. It’s more like…it’s better to do good than evil, right? But you know, whatever. She’s gonna die permanently sometime. Might as well go with the flow. And in the meantime, well…she’s gonna carry that weight.

As someone who fights regular crime in Miami, she doesn’t have any persistent enemies. Howeer, with Tidal away doing whatever he’s doing, she’s temporarily inherited his. The Winter Court swordswoman, Frostica. She tries to turn the beaches into a winter wonderland sometimes. Dust doesn’t believe in faeries, so this is obviously a crazy person with weird mutations. And there’s the reality TV star wannabe quartet with the mutant elemental powers. Gail Gust, Chelsea Chill, Sun Soaker, and Adri Ablaze. Giant losers. Dust actually likes kicking them in the head. They’re actually sorcerers, but Dust doesn’t currently believe in magic, either. Miami is a little barren without Tidal, but there are three rookies.  Ultrasonic, Polarity, and Miss Fortune. She hasn’t met them. Yet. Matter of time. There’s no rush.

 

Powers & Tactics: Dust is a metahuman psionic and expert martial artist. Her powers are entirely telekinetic in nature. As metahuman telekinetics go, she’s more or less average. It’s what she does with them that’s quite different. As Lady Vicious she was more or less a standard telekinetic. Throwing things, grabbing people, etcetera. Since she had both a partner and  a gun back then, it mostly worked. Until it didn’t. As Dust she’s taking a very different approach. Between the beaches and street debris, there’s lots and lots of little particulates all over Miami. Her uses her telekinesis like a gentle but persistent breeze, creating a big dust cloud. This dust cloud blocks the vision of everyone she wants and nobody she doesn’t want. So she can pummel the bad guys with near impunity. Most of the time. That one guy had good hearing and so it was a bit of a fight. Doing the dust cloud thing takes up most of her telekinetic power, but she’s still got a little left to do relatively small things with. Open doors, shove things off tables, squeegee her clothes when they get wet, stuff like that. And unless one’s senses can detect the use of psionics, this is impossible to detect. Naturally, fastidiously cleaned indoor areas won’t have enough dust for her to actually make the cloud. This is actually fine, as she isn’t restricted to the use of environmental particulates. She can use liquids, too. And if there’s a lot of people in the area, she can tug loose hairs and dried skin right off of them. This doesn’t hurt them. Basically she has options. The definition of “dust” in her dust cloud is rather…loose.

Her martial arts style is Jeet Kun Do. Invented and made famous by Bruce Lee, it is a hybrid, extremely adaptable style (to the point where it almost can’t be called one) that can do both grappling and striking. She specializes in striking, however, and uses a length of chain to extend her striking reach threefold. Since every user’s Jeet Kun Do is different because of how the style works in the first place, her own Jeet Kun Do takes elements from Muay Thai and kickboxing in addition to fighting much like Bruce Lee.

 

Tactically, Dust is pretty simple. Activate Dust Cloud, punch blinded bad guys unconscious. Maybe a head kick. Or a flying knee strike. There’s always the chain, too.  It’s useful for tripping and disarming and hitting bad guys that are over there instead of right next to her. It can confuse anyone guessing where she is in the Dust Cloud, and that’s good. Seriously, almost all the time that’s all she needs. The rest of her training just sits there doing nothin’. But every once in a while there’s somebody with a mutant sensory power or something, and things get more interesting. Improved Acrobatic Bluff can help her hit. Defensive Attack and Improved Defense 2 can keep her untouched even if she’s ever sufficiently outclassed. Improved Disarm, Improved Throw, and Improved Trip augment her chainwork. Most people have trouble getting up quick, and they need their precious weapons. Improved Trick and Move by Action are on deck in case they’re needed. Takedown Attack 2 means she mows through mooks like it’s going out of style. Grappling Finesse and Improved Pin augment her grappling if that ever comes up. Never know. It might. She has a few telekinetic power stunts. Both off of Dust Cloud. First is straight up Enhanced Telekinesis (Move Object 4, Perception Range) that puts her Weakened Telekinesis at full power. She can also do a TK Burst (Move Object 5, Touch Range, Burst Area, Precise, Subtle 1). TK Blast (Blast 5, Accurate 2) is technically possible, but the rarest of them. She does these when her Dust Cloud isn’t working. As that’s kind of rare, so are these.

 

Personality: Dust’s life philosophy is “whatever happens, happens”. Nonchalant and relaxed. Taking life as easily as possible. She’s a simple woman, really. She likes good sleep, good food, a good dump, good sex, and a stiff drink more or less in that order. She likes to listen to music. She likes to dance to said music. Beyond that, behold the field in which she grows her fucks. See that it is barren and indeed, has never truly been cultivated. But don’t confuse this for an abundance of passivity or a reluctance to make decisions of her own. It’s not an absence of personal desires, either. She’s just going with the flow. Being like water. Flexible and adaptable to all circumstances.

As previously stated, she’s not a hero to atone for her days as Lady Vicious. Also, don’t bring those up, and especially don’t talk about Oneshot. They’re her one sore spot. But yeah, she’s not on some quest for redemption. That would require to care more than she does. The past is the past. Can’t change it. Just have to live with it. What motivates her is that although this may be her life’s extended epilogue…although she may be dead and just waiting for it to finally stick…other people are still fully alive. So…it’s like a basic right and wrong thing, savvy? She’s not crazy. She knows the difference between the two. And she knows which one is better to do. It’s not really any more complicated than that. Superhero work is fun. She’s doing good and right. And if it ends this extended second epilogue of her short and miserable life…she’s perfectly okay with that. But you know. There’s no rush. If it happens, it happens. And when it does, she’ll say goodbye and…good night.

[EternalPhoenix]

Tidal (Lei Gong, Duke of Thunder)

 

Power Level: 15; Power Points Spent: 300/300

 

STR: +10 (18/30), DEX: +5 (20), CON: +10 (20/30), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +5 (20), CHA: +5 (20)

 

Tough: +10/+12, Fort: +10, Ref: +16, Will: +16

 

Skills: Acrobatics 15 (+20), Craft (chemical) 17 (+20), Diplomacy 5 (+10), Disable Device 12 (+15), Gather Information 10 (+15), Knowledge (arcane Lore) 12 (+15), Knowledge (earth sciences) 7 (+10), Knowledge (history) 7 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 7 (+10), Knowledge (theology & philosophy) 17 (+20), Notice 10 (+15), Sense Motive 10 (+15), Stealth 15 (+20)

 

Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (melee) 4, Attack Specialization 3 (Unarmed Attack), Challenge - Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Defensive Roll 2, Dodge Focus 5, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Critical (Thunder Blow Strike (Strike 6)), Improved Critical 2 (Lightning Bolt (Blast 16)), Improved Critical 2 (Unarmed Attack), Power Attack, Ritualist, Skill Mastery 2 (Acro, Craft (chem), Dis Dev, KN (arcane lore & theo/philo) Notice, Sense Motive, St, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack 2, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Divine Physiology (Container, Passive 12)

   Divine Immunities (Immunity 28) (aging, common descriptor: Electrical, common descriptor: Sonic, disease, enviromental conditions (all), poison)

   Divine Resilience (Enhanced Constitution 10) (+10 CON)

   Divine Senses (Super-Senses 7) (accurate (type): Auditory, darkvision, ultra-hearing)

   Divine Speech (Comprehend 3) (languages - read all, languages - speak all, languages - understand all; Limited (to Asian languages))

   Divine Strength (Enhanced Strength 12) (+12 STR)

Duke of Thunder's Garb (Device 6) (Hard to lose, Only you can use (Those With The Duke of Thunder's Permission can lift))

   Shadow Robes (Concealment 10) (all senses)

   Soft Armor (Impervious Toughness 10)

Thunder Hammer & Lightning Mirror (Device 9) (Easy to lose, Only you can use (Those With The Duke of Thunder's Written Permission can lift); Indestructible)

   Sonic Masking (Obscure 2) (affects: 1 sense type, Radius: 10 ft.; Selective Attack; Range (touch))

   Striking Thunder, Bursting Lightning (Array 20) (default power: - linked powers -)

      Lightning Bolt (Blast 16) (Array; DC 31, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Lightning Bolt (Blast 16)); Accurate 2 (+4), Indirect 3 (any point, any direction), Precise)

      Lightning Portal (Teleport (Array; 800 ft. as move action, 2000 miles as full action; Accurate, Portal)

      Thunder Blow (Linked)

         Thunder Blow Shatter (Drain 16) (Linked; drains: single trait - toughness, DC 26; Affects Objects)

         Thunder Blow Strike (Strike 6) (Linked; DC 31, Feats: Improved Critical (Thunder Blow Strike (Strike 6)); Mighty)

      Thunder Explosion (Strike 5) (Array; DC 30; Burst Area (75-1875 ft. radius - General) [10 extra ranks], Selective Attack [10 extra ranks]; Mighty, Progression, Increase Area 4 (area x25))

 

Attack Bonus: +10 (Ranged: +10, Melee: +14, Grapple: +24)

 

Attacks: Lightning Bolt (Blast 16), +14 (DC 31), Thunder Blow Shatter (Drain 16), +14 (DC Fort/Staged 26), Thunder Blow Strike (Strike 6), +14 (DC 31), Thunder Explosion (Strike 5) (DC 30), Unarmed Attack, +20 (DC 25)

 

Defense: +16  (Flat-footed: +6), Knockback: -11

 

Initiative: +5

 

Languages: Chinese (Mandarine) Native

 

Totals: Abilities 54 + Skills 36 (144 ranks) + Feats 28 + Powers 118 + Combat 42 + Saves 22 + Drawbacks 0 = 300

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 56 (body), as long as there has been storms in China (mind and soul)

Height: 6’ 6”

Weight: 170

Ethnicity: Han Chinese

Hair: Black

Eyes: Dark Brown

 

Background: Until 2011, nobody believed or even knew Miami’s local hero Tidal was a god. Well. It’s not like Lei Gong (pronounced Lei Kung) spread it around. He was simply a Chinese immigrant and professor of meteorology at Florida International University. It was and is slightly unclear how he got the job in the first place, but he’s more than competent at it. He’s an institution at this point, having been there for 25 years at this point, and is well regarded by virtually all of his students. The hero Tidal had been around for about as long, but had no major public accomplishments to his name. Originally, he appeared to be more of a water controller than anything else, hence the name. But time went on and he demonstrated both wind and sonic, along with significant skill in (of all things) Muay Thai. He was a well respected hero, and that is why he was recruited to help found the Icons in 2001. That is the start of Lei Gong the man.

Lei Gong, Duke of Thunder, is much older. Time, for proper deities, does not necessarily operate in the same linear fashion it does for mortals. And there are fewer limitations on exactly how many points in space they can occupy at once. So the thunder god is still doing his job over in China while the professor teaches class in Miami. To be clear, the professor is a formerly empty human being that the god is occupying, functioning as both soul and mind. The Phoenix-bearer and the vampire are such fussy creatures. Though in truth, there are so many more mortals than there used to be. His real body would likely cause much harm to them. And he doesn’t want that. For you see, Lei Gong is one of the Chinese pantheon (the Shen)’s foremost intelligence specialists. He is both spy and assassin in addition to his thundering duties. The professor, however, is not on a mission from Tian (meaning Heaven, but there’s other places with the name so the Chinese will be used her). He is operating on no orders, and thus has slain no one in his mortal form. What he is doing could be called a vacation, but that’s not entirely accurate. The best way to put it is that, until 2011, he was merely amusing himself. Which is why he concealed his involvement in any of his actual major accomplishments as Tidal, leaving the citizens of Miami guessing about who had intervened.

Lei Gong, Duke of Thunder, is married. His wife is Lei Zi, Duchess of Lightning. Also known as Dianmu, she was human once. Until he angrily murdered her for throwing out rice that he mistakenly thought was still edible. The Jade Emperor (his superior), found out. Furious, he had her resurrected and turned into a god. Lei Gong’s punishment was to marry her. So, even after several thousand years, Lei Gong is still very remorseful and a very kind (if sometimes distant) husband who has calmed his temper. Lei Zi, for her part, inherited her husband’s formerly quick temper. She is, perhaps understandably, a rather jealous woman. 2009 in Seattle was not the first time she tried to destroy a city to get her husband to spend time with her instead of his students and mortal associates. It was merely by far the least subtle of her attempts, all of which had previously only targeted Miami. Ironically, all she has to do is ask, and Lei Gong will spend all the time with her that she wants. But of course, as a mortal woman raised to divinity not on her own merit, but as a punishment for someone else, she has a pretty strong inferiority complex. She does not and in some ways cannot believe that it could be so easy as merely asking. And so the cycle of her become displeased, acting on it, him defeating her plans, and them making up until she becomes displeased again rolled on and on.

It was Kuros The Conqueror who put her up to invading Seattle and provided the army. He whispered poisonous words about the relationship between Lei Gong and his pretty, young, and female teacher’s assistant, and about how attached he seemed to be to his mortal allies. Pray consider, O Mother of Lightning. Perhaps he has no intention of ever returning to Tian? Of ever returning to you? Yun Tong (who makes clouds), Yu Shi (who causes rain to fall), and Feng Po Po (who unleashes the winds) were not fooled by his lies about their friend and lord. But alas, Lei Zi was. She became furiously angry (and, as usual, underneath it all terribly frightened) and the invasion of Seattle occurred on schedule. It was, of course, defeated by the Icons. Feng Po Po had flown with the winds to warn Lei Gong of her intent, and Tidal rallied the Icons to Seattle and Fletcher’s defense. Unfortunately, her scheme had been far too public this time. He could not cover it up and thus protect her from the Judgment of Heaven like before. Divorcing thunder from lightning was and remains a poor idea, but a formal separation was enforced for a time. Lei Zi could not descend to Earth. Lei Gong could only return on official business. Such a pity.

Meanwhile, Tidal had another problem. Everyone who’d been paying attention knew he was a god now. Anyone decently well versed in Chinese mythology even knew which one. And the Icons were, well, a little annoyed that he hadn’t mentioned that kind of important detail before. Such a messy situation. Quite bothersome. Still, there was two whole years to sort it out. Two and not three because there was a minor situation to sort out for Tian. Orders for his mortal form, how surprising. He ultimately had to bring that pretty, young, and female teacher’s assistant to Tian to have the fragments of the Lightning Crystal extracted. And then Thunder Hammer the bejeezus out of a Fae who managed to steal it. Such a messy situation. Quite bothersome. But again, two years to smooth things over after that. And then, Fletcher made that damnable machine. He quite overreached mortal ability. If the finest artisans of Tian cannot make a thinking machine that will never turn murderous and violent, no mortal can either. He smashed quite a few of the machines the thinking one was controlling, but it wouldn’t have been enough without Spike, Candy, and Terrifica showing up to even the odds a bit. Shortly after that, Tian summoned him again to deal with an interloper. Somehow, Tex Austin had gotten lost on his way home from the battle with the machines and ended up in Tian. It turned out this was a plot of Bak Mei, The White Eyebrow, Betrayer of Shaolin, to make like the Monkey King millennia earlier and steal the peaches of immortality. The reason for this turned out to be entirely irrelevant, as he’d been dripping poison words into many Shen ears. Thus Tian split into a civil war. Breathe in the irony of both aspects of Tidal’s life splitting into a civil war in the same year. Between him and Tex, the situation was resolved. Unfortunately, Bak Mei escaped punishment once again. And the last gasp of his plotting was destroying the sky ladders and stealing all the somersault clouds on his way out. For Tidal this wasn’t really a problem. He could return to Miami whenever he chose. Tex, however, was quite stuck unless he wanted to fall a few miles onto the wrong continent. And he couldn’t leave Tex in Tian alone. He was the only one who could speak for him among the Shen. Especially with the Celestial Bureaucracy in more chaos than usual. Well. At least he could spend time with Lei Zi.

Or perhaps not. The prelude to the Eternity War was Kuros The Savior and his armies storming Tian. He clobbered both Tidal and Tex easily (damn that Gravity Crystal), threw the Celestial Bureaucracy into absolute anarchy, and most importantly killed Lei Zi’s mortal form, causing her to reincarnate somewhere in China. Tidal was, understandably, pissed off. One of the sky ladders had been repaired, so he sent Tex on ahead to warn the Icons. It was time for Lei Gong to do one of the things he hated most. Paperwork. He returned to Earth during the height of the battle in Baltimore more powerful than ever as a result, and severely injured Kuros. It was not enough. Half the universe died because Lei Gong, Duke of Thunder, lost his temper for the first time in millennia and didn’t aim for a killing blow with his first strike. The following year he did not do very much at all. Many of his students has been Dusted. His teacher’s assistant was, as well. Such a messy situation. Quite bothersome. But when the depleted Icons reassembled to undo the Dusting he joined them. And when Kuros, in his new mode as The Annihilator attacked in rage that they would defy his will, Tidal stepped up beside the Shining Guardian and Fletcher to battle him first. Though they technically lost that fight, he followed it up by demolishing any of Kuros’s armies who in reach. And with Lei Zi’s Lightning Mirror, he had quite a long reach indeed.

After the battle, he went to China and found Lei Zi, now a relative newborn. Then he returned to his constellation and his office. What he is officially up to is patrolling the outer borders of Tian until the Celestial Bureaucracy can return to it’s usual sense of chaos. Many of the gods are still recovering from the civil war and Kuros’s assault. Their offices are still under repair. Many of their mortal forms were Dusted, causing them to reincarnate. When the Dusting was undone, the reincarnation wasn’t. So many gods now have two mortal forms in the world, which is against Shen rules. The largest bureaucracy in all creation is struggling to cope with not one, not two, but three unprecedented events in rapid succession. What Lei Gong, Duke of Thunder, is actually doing is brooding. His internal sense of order is just as disrupted as Tian’s. His beloved wife is an infant. For now, he finds himself out in space (constellations are stars, which is how he got out there) aiding a young woman named Jackie and her intrepid crew. And firmly insisting that she is in command, not him. He will likely return someday soon, but until then there are alarming rumors of someone with a weapon that can permanently slay even gods. Now that’s worthy of investigation if nothing else is. And, strangely enough, Professor Lei Gong has not missed a single class. Ah, paperwork. If there was anything you couldn’t solve, he’d be sincerely out of luck.

Tidal’s most persistent enemy was, in fact, Lei Zi. He remembers that Winter Court swordswoman with strange ideas about what Miami’s climate ought to be. Frostica, that was her name. Or what the newspapers called her, anyway. And there is that newish elemental sorceress quartet. Airess, Cali Brr, Soon Omi, and Adri Ablaze? No, that doesn’t sound quite right. Gail Gust, Chelsea Chill, Sun Soaker, and…okay, Adri Ablaze was actually correct. More reality tv wannabes than hardened criminals, honestly. And being as he’s off planet poor Dust is stuck dealing with them. Well. Perhaps those rookies will be of assistance. What were their names? Hullabaloo? That doesn’t sound right. Polarity and Miss Fortune were the other two, certainly. Oh yes, Ultrasonic. That was it.

 

Powers & Tactics: Tidal is a god clothed in human flesh. With the appropriate paperwork both filed and approved, he no longer has to borrow portions of the powers of his friends. His divinity significantly enhances normally frail mortal flesh, he has two (three, technically) divine artifacts, and he’s one of the greatest martial arts masters to ever walk the face of the world. All of China’s striking styles are at his disposal. Yes, all several hundred of them. He’s the Heavenly Assassin. It comes with perks.

The divine augmentations to his physiology improve his strength (crack steel with a punch), upgrade his resilience (simply superhuman), add what’s basically sonar and lightless vision, let him read, speak, and understand any language native to Asia, and render  him immune to aging, electricity, sonics, disease, all types of environmental conditions, and poison. He is the Chinese god of thunder, and mighty indeed.

His two divine artifacts are his Duke of Thunder’s Garb, his Thunder Hammer, and Lei Zi’s Lightning Mirror. All three cannot be moved from where he places them, let alone used, with written permission from his office in Tian. Needless to say, the list of beings he’s done that for is a bit short. The Garb lets him shrug off damage up to a rocket launcher (something he cannot normally do) and, fittingly for a Heavenly Assassin, can shroud him from all senses. His Thunder Hammer and Lei Zi’s Lightning Mirror are wielded together. The Hammer causes thunder by hitting things with it. Because he is a god, this is fantastically damaging. Both his Thunder Blow and Thunder Explosion can smash titanium with ease. The latter is even an area attack that can cover anywhere from a 150 feet to over a half mile radius. The former is inarguably stronger, however, as sonic vibrations tear apart the targets ability to resist the actual hammer strike. The Mirror causes lightning to strike from an unexpected direction with a similar amount of force. It can also generate a portal to any known location up to 2000 miles away. The Hammer has a secondary ability of being able to totally silence an area 20 feet in diameter. Surprisingly useful for an assassin.

 

Tactically, well…it depends. Mortal thuggery is basically a waste of his time. Turn on Shadow Robes and Sonic Masking. Turn off Divine Strength. Pummel them all unconscious without effort. If he encounters enemies of a higher PL that he can’t harm without Power Attacking he’ll turn Divine Strength back on and pummel them unconscious without effort. Honestly, he doesn’t bring out the Hammer and Mirror for ordinary supervillains. He doesn’t need them. It would take opponents of a higher caliber to make him bring out the big guns, and they would likely bitterly regret making him do so. Kuros is literally the only opponent he’s ever faced that’s absorbed multiple Thunder Blows. Please note that both Thunder Blow and Lightning Bolt are one damage rank higher than a full unarmed Power Attack, which justifies his approach more or less. He relies on Shadow Robes, Hide in Plain Sight, and Improved Acrobatic Bluff to help him hit. All Out Attack is never used with his unarmed attacks, but the others? Yes, especially with Power Attack. Also note that he has Ritualist and an excellent KN (arcane lore) bonus to use it with, should he need something outside of his normal abilities. He is perfectly capable of power stunting with the Thunder Hammer or Lightning Mirror, however he does not see any need at present.

 

Personality: The tales of Lei Gong, Duke of Thunder being notoriously short tempered were true. Killing someone (the future Lei Zi) who had genuinely done nothing to deserve and then having to look her in the face and recite wedding vows…well…it changes a deity. Eventually. He was always well mannered and quite calm when his temper wasn’t getting the better of him, and that has not changed. This does not mean he’s incapable of being serious in serious situations, of course. He is not a being that rattles easily. Or at all, really. He comes off as what he normally is. A genial and not unfriendly man. Reasonable. Helpful. But there is always that emotional distance between him and anyone else. Because he is a god, and they are not. His perspective is simply too different for him to feel anything more than fondness for any given mortal. This does include all of the Icons, as well, and even the citizen of Miami. He likes them, mostly. He respects the courage and high ideals of the Icons. He appreciates the respect and adulation given by the citizen of Miami. With that said, if orders came down tomorrow he would kill any of them without the slightest hesitation. That is, after all, his actual job. Heavenly assassin. He knows it would never happen. His hammer is only employed against the truly wicked, as judged by the knowledge and wisdom of the Jade Emperor. But the point remains.

So why, then? Why did he disguise himself and become a superhero? Well, as stated way up above, it was mostly or his own personal amusement. He likes humans. He likes watching them struggle and grow more capable through education and training. One could call it a paternalistic outlook, and they’d be near enough. It’s why he’s a college professor, and a very good one at that. How mortals evolve on a personal level is fascinating to him. Because gods and their divine servants don’t do that. He has not changed appreciably since…hmm. Well, call it the first storm in China. The only difference between him now and him then is that he no longer indulges his temper. Of course, all mortals must age and die. Sometimes they do it without the aging part first. They travel on to the next great mystery, as he says with a soft smile that reveals nothing at all. Still. He is permitted a certain degree of latitude in his actions. Therefore, he will always protect the mortals when he is able. It wouldn’t do to lose his source of amusement. And he is quite fond of many of them, after all.

[EternalPhoenix]

Tex Austin

 

Power Level: 15; Power Points Spent: 255/255

 

STR: +20 (20/50), DEX: +2 (14), CON: +20 (20/50), INT: +1 (12), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +5 (20)

 

Tough: +20, Fort: +20, Ref: +10, Will: +15

 

Skills: Bluff 5 (+10), Diplomacy 5 (+10), Gather Information 5 (+10), Handle Animal 5 (+10), Intimidate 5 (+10), Investigate 4 (+5), Knowledge (business) 4 (+5), Knowledge (civics) 4 (+5), Knowledge (earth sciences) 9 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 9 (+10), Knowledge (streetwise) 4 (+5), Language 1 (+1), Medicine 2 (+5), Notice 12 (+15), Perform (singing) 5 (+10), Perform (stringed instruments) 5 (+10), Ride 8 (+10), Search 4 (+5), Sense Motive 12 (+15)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Dodge Focus, Improved Initiative, Interpose, Luck, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack 2, Ultimate Effort (Toughness checks), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Psionic Might (Super-Strength 15) (+75 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 419.4k tons; +15 STR to some checks)

Psionic Speed (Speed 5) (Speed: 250 mph, 2200 ft./rnd)

Psionic Stamina Boost (Enhanced Constitution 30) (+30 CON)

Psionic Strength Boost (Enhanced Strength 30) (+30 STR)

Skintight Force Field (Impervious Toughness 15)

Telekinetic Jump (Leaping 5) (Jumping distance: x50)

 

Attack Bonus: +10 (Ranged: +10, Melee: +10, Grapple: +30/+45)

 

Attacks: Unarmed Attack, +10 (DC 35)

 

Defense: +10  (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -17

 

Initiative: +6

 

Languages: English, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 42 + Skills 27 (108 ranks) + Feats 13 + Powers 115 + Combat 38 + Saves 20 + Drawbacks 0 = 255

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 48

Height: 6’ 5”

Weight: 280 lbs

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Gray

 

Background: Tex Austin is 48 years old. He was born in 1971, the same year Fletcher originally debuted. Smack in the middle of the Silver Age. His earliest memories are of the original Starman and the rest of the Champions. Yeah, young Tex was a big fan. He was one of a legion of young boys who all wanted to be Starman when they grew up. Unlike almost all of them, Tex turned out to actually be able to do it. Sort of. 1989 wasn’t 1961. World was darker. At least it appeared to be. Probably wasn’t. Tex doesn’t know. He does know that it was just plain different. S’fair enough. Four assassinations of nationally famous folks, including one president and then his brother the candidate. All of Vietnam. Two alien invasions. That’ll change the national psyche a bit, he reckoned. Still, nothing like a little good old fashioned heroism to rally the people, right? Things can still be good. Just gotta give it a whirl. Even if the Champions seem to be gone. And Starman is all half broken and retired. His son’s an okay Joe, though.

Of course, nothing in life is so easy. Like all those young Starman fans who grew up and gave heroism a try, Tex found it harder than it looked. A lot more violent and improvisation than it seemed on TV. Made it tough for a man to hold onto his principles. Not impossible, though. And there was a bright side. Met a nice girl. Annabelle, his sweet angel. Sky Rider, she called herself back then. Nothing like a little teamwork, you know? He even married her to cement their partnership. And then, uh. Well. Starman died. Tex’s hero died. Big ol’ explosion, out in space. Makes it hard to keep goin’, you know? Like nothin’ happened? Annabelle was pregnant again, too. So he eased off the gas a bit. Bought the ranch. Lot of work went into getting it up and running. He didn’t stop heroin’, mind. Just took more time to handle personal matters. 3 kids in 6 years and learning the specific details of running a cattle ranch tends to fill out the personal calendar. Gotta look after the rugrats, you know?

Armageddon. Not the Biblical end of the world, but that grey skinned beastie that crawled out of the Gulf. Gosh dang thing came smashing it’s way through Texas, going North. Can’t have that. It was also a chance to prove himself against a foe even his hero had had a bushel full of trouble with. It, uh, did not go well. Tex got a first class education in the tiers of power. He was not on the top. It was. Well. He’d do it again tomorrow. It did mean, though, that he was laid up with broken bones. Couldn’t help out in Chicago. Couldn’t help up in New York. That September day was just terrible all around. And so, the son o his hero died. A little niggling part of himself wondered if it wasn’t a little bit his fault. He’d been a bit lax in his training, to be sure. It was for the ranch, his kids, and their futures. He’d made a value judgement an decided what was more important. He wasn’t wrong. But it bothered him. So when he recovered, he got back to training harder. Truth be told, even his youngest (Dallas) was old enough to look after herself a bit at 3 years old, and the other two (Charlotte at 9 and Gabriel at 6) were in school most days. And parenting was a team effort with his Annabelle anyway. Okay then, back to training.

Of course, he got a call after that decision.  A fateful call indeed, and one he was happy to answer. The Icons were founded. Him, the Shining Guardian, Fletcher, Shadowspirit, Tidal, and Caviezel. The first ten years weren’t so bad. Mopping up after Starman II, because he, well…he couldn’t do it himself. Picked up Medic and Sage and Scarlett. Decent enough folks, he reckoned. It was, uh, 2011 where things started gettin’ serious. Tidal’s wife invaded Seattle. Didn’t know he was married. Didn’t know he was a god. Thought there was just the one, up in Heaven. Learn something new every day. Tex was pretty easily the star of the whole affair. Not that he could’ve done it all by itself, but you know. He got to show off the fruits of a decade training to improve his powers. When you’re punching hoverbarges out of the air casually, it uh, tends to stand out. So he was a little famous after that, heh. 2014 was that robot punchin’ nonsense Fletcher got them into through arrogance. Wasn’t really his fault overall, Tex reckoned, but the man had sat home twiddling his thumbs instead of trying to trespass in divine realms like creatin’ life, it would have never happened. So some of the blame was his, if not all of it.

Gettin’ home for that turned out to be complicated.  Boy did it ever. It got real foggy all of a sudden and then he was in the sky and all these Chinese people were yammerin’ at him what he guessed what their language. Then they were speakin’ English and still not making any sense. This couldn’t be Heaven. He wasn’t dead. And where were all the angels and Jesus and the Lord God Almighty? Well, he didn’t want to fight, so he sat in what was pretty much house arrest. Wasn’t so bad. They fed him good, even if he got a bit sick of rice after a while. Then Tidal showed up, and that Back May feller made a mess of everything. There was some fightin’ done. Okay, a lot of fightin’ done. Got it sorted thought. Civil wars. So messy. And the bad guy got away, doggone it. He broke or stole all the ways back. So Tex was stuck. He could send messages, though. Tidal got him phone service up there. Somehow. So naturally he heard about the Superpower registration Act and the civil war in the Icons. Wouldn’t have happened he been there, he reckoned, but what can you do?

Course, that wasn’t the end of the messiness. Kuros the honest to goodness Conqueror was next up. Him and the folks with him lambasted everybody within lambastin’ distance, including Tex and Tidal before he was on his way. Trouble was, he was headed down to the surface, and that was one big problemo. Those Chinese gods had gotten the way down fixed just then, so Tex went to warn Fletcher and everybody. Found Fletcher’s crew no problem, and they were on it. But finding the Shining Guardian and company took a little longer. Long enough for Fletcher’s crew to get as lambasted as Tex and Tidal were. So Tex stood and fought again in Baltimore during the Eternity War. He was still banged up, but he did the best he could. Just wasn’t good enough. Not even Tidal swoopin’ in at the last minute was good enough. Other Icons said half the universe died in the Dustin’. Certainly seemed so. It took his wife Annabelle and his son Gabriel, and brought Dallas callin’ from the Pacific in a panic. Whole bunch of those Seawings was gone, too, and she didn’t know why. Explainin’ it wasn’t any fun a’tall. There wasn’t anything left to do, really. Except hug Charlotte and mind the ranch. Crime was down. Supervillains were takin’ stock o’ things too.

 

And then Terrifica and Marian Soaring Eagle (his own Miss Wings) came through with a plan to fix everything. His part was to, uh, just sit there and let the machine they helped the Shining Guardian make draw off his abundant psionic energy to remake the Mind Crystal. You know, the energy from his mind that fueled his powers. Didn’t weaken him none. Other folks might have had trouble, but Tex’s training was paying off again. Course, after all of them was together, well…there wasn’t anybody but Tex tough enough to withstand the power of using all seven Crystals of Power at once. You know, without dying on the spot. So he did it. He made the wish. And uh…kind of lost track of things for a while. Blinding, white hot agony all over his entire right arm. It was holdin’ that belt thing Terrifica had made to hold the Crystals and channel their power. When he was aware of anything beyond intense pain again, he was uh, kind of buried in the rubble of the Archeron facility they’d been borrowing. He’d unconsciously shielded Marian from the rubble, which was good. But Spike was half buried and Orca wasn’t quite strong enough to move all the rubble on his own. Fair enough, it was half a building. Lot of concrete and steel. So Tex gave him a hand. Just one. Right arm was worse than on fire. Then they were free, and Tex got to just sit and lose track of things for a minute or, well, several actually. When he could focus his eyes again, his whole family was there. Annabelle. Charlotte. Gabriel. And Dallas. There was a big battle behind them to fight, and so Tex started to get up. But wonder of wonders, they pushed him back down told him to rest. They’d handle it. From most of ‘em, it wasn’t so surprisin’. But Charlotte had never been the heroic type. It warmed his heart. Oh, his beautiful wife and his kids, now all grown up and punchy. Tex himself didn’t really participate in the final battle of the Endgame, but his family did it for him. It was a beautiful sight. A happy ending, yeah? Aside from Shadowspirit and Fletcher dying, and the Shining Guardian and Caviezel retiring. They saved the whole universe. Don’t think either Starman ever did that. He was sad about his friends, to be fair, but he was trying to see the good.

Trouble was, there was three different folks who took a look at and used their healing powers on his right arm. That Exile fighter, Priestess, she went first. The Seawings Guildmaster, Miss Yasmine, was second. And fellow Icon Medic was last. And couldn’t none of ‘em repair the damage. Medic ven had his Momma (who was there, surprisingly) take a look at it. She said it had to heal natural or not at all. Nothing outside could get it to heal up any faster. Not even Tex’s own powers. So, for the first time in well, ever, Tex is recovering from an injury like an unpowered human. It’s slow going. He can’t tell if it’s gettin’ any better. Sometimes it seems like it’s gettin’ worse. But the ranch still needs tending. And folks know Charlotte has powers now. That’s gettin’ a little messy. She’s gonna need his help afore long. Hurry up and heal, arm. People need him. He can’t just sit around hurtin’ all the time, doggone it. Please.

His most persistent enemies are the pairing of Blue Norther (a cold controlling powerhouse) and Dragon Wind (a fire controlling speedster). There is also the superhumanly strong bull-man Tauros and the real estate magnate and cattle rancher Thaddeus Morgan. His most common allies are, well, mostly family. His wife Annabelle sometimes comes out as Sky Rider still. She’s a psionic, too, but a flying speedster type. His son Gabriel uses the hero name Lonestar, and inherited some of both of their powers. Dallas is out in the Pacific somewheres, but if the need was dire enough she’d come back. She’s got powers from both Tex and Annabelle too. The Stranger’s out there with her, but he can be back in seconds. Marian was a regular ally, but now she’s got Icons stuff on her plate. And there’s Sledge out of New Orleans, with that mystic hammer of his.

 

Powers & Tactics: Tex is a metahuman psionic without any special martial arts training. His will augments his physical abilities to a genuinely phenomenal degree. He’s one of the strongest and most durable people on the planet. He’s strong enough to crack adamantine, the hardest metal in the world, with a punch. He can hoist a fully loaded aircraft carrier as if it weighted no more than a hay bale. He’s tough enough to outright ignore even a battleship’s main guns. It’d take a fully fledged ballistic missile to actually hurt him. But that isn’t all. He’s a fast enough runner to outrun any automobile, and he’s got just enough telekinetic power to “leap” hundreds of if not over a thousand feet through the air at a time. He is exceptionally powerful for a psionic. Neither his wife nor his children nor anyone else have proven able to keep up with him. Yet. Dallas may yet match him in time.

 

Tactically, well…he doesn’t tangle with basic thuggery much. Like his hero Starman, he’d simply disarm them and inquire about their surrender to the law. Hell, Thaddeus doesn’t even fight so he’s in this category. He leans on Accurate Attack and grappling with ordinary supervillains. Tauros is over here. Dangerous to ordinary heroes, you better believe it. To Tex? Nah. But against actual threats, like Blue Norther and Dragon Wind, he’ll make with the regular punches. For Blue Norther, anyway. He can’t hit Dragon Wind without a full +5 Accurate Attack. Individually they’re not a threat to him, but together they’re an issue. He’s got All Out Attack for more accuracy, Power Attack for more damage, and Stunning Attack for more polite violence. Gets a lot of use out of that last one. Please note Interpose, Move by Action, and Takedown Attack 2. Got a lot of use out of that last one in 2011 and 2014. Ultimate Toughness stopped using the Crystals from killing him. The most important thing to remember, however, is that his right arm is currently crippled and in a sling. This means his usual suite of power stunts is entirely unavailable and carrying more than his medium load of 279.4k tons is impossible. Pulling or pushing is not, but carrying is. He is also carrying a Complication related to this that can force him to resist a Stun effect at whatever rank the GM desires or just force him to take a Dazed or Stunned condition out of sheer pain if he is engaging in strenuous activities such as combat.

 

Personality: The first thing to know about Tex is that he’s the most stereotypically Texan Texan to ever Texan. No, seriously. The cowboy shirt, belt, boots, and ten gallon hat are his everyday attire. He reckons things instead of thinking about them. Things aren’t good, they’re mighty fine. His parents are still “Daddy” and “Momma”. And yes, he uses y’all, doggone it, and even holy moly unironically. The man owns and runs his own cattle ranch and farm, for heaven’s sake. It is unclear how much of this is an act, and how much is actually who he is. Annabelle finds it charming. Charlotte is mortified. Gabriel tolerates it. And Dallas loves it. Either way, he’s a respectful and easygoing guy, albeit with a blazing temper once successfully provoked. He works hard because it’s just what you do. He’s passionate about livestock and livestock care. Above all, he never, ever swears. For example, he doesn’t say “what the fuck” or even “what the hell”. He says “what in tarnation”.

Today, well, Tex is dealing with something he’s never had to before. Both feeling and being weak. You know, compared to normal. He was incredibly used to being the strong one. The rock for everyone else. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. Everyone could rely on him for support. Even if he wasn’t always good at the emotional stuff, he still had a person’s back. Because he was tough, you know? Whatever life threw at him, he could take it and keep goin’. Wasn’t any need to get all emotional about stuff. Just keep goin’. And now…and now…he can’t be like that anymore. He needs help just to put his doggone shirt on in the mornin’. Bluntly, his self image has taken a brutal hit, and the longer his arm takes to heal, the worse the psychological wound becomes. And because he’s spent his whole life as the rock for everyone else, he hasn’t the faintest idea of how to perceive that he needs help, let alone actually ask for it. Ironically, this is what’s preventing his arm from healing. His greatest strength, his willpower to endure anything through grit, determination, and self reliance, has been turned against him. Almost like, deep down, he knew he could be a more well rounded individual and did it to himself.

[EternalPhoenix]

Caviezel (Ronald Joseph Caviezel)

 

Power Level: 13; Power Points Spent: 255/255

 

STR: +5 (20), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +5 (20), INT: +5 (20), WIS: +7 (24), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +8, Fort: +9, Ref: +12/+18, Will: +15

 

Skills: Acrobatics 7 (+10), Diplomacy 7 (+10), Drive 12 (+15), Gather Information 17 (+20), Intimidate 17 (+20), Investigate 15 (+20), Knowledge (civics) 5 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 5 (+10), Knowledge (streetwise) 15 (+20), Knowledge (tactics) 10 (+15), Language 3 (+3), Notice 8 (+15/+25), Search 5 (+10/+20), Sense Motive 8 (+15/+25), Stealth 12 (+15), Survival 2 (+9/+15)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Assessment, Attack Focus (melee) 10, Attack Specialization 2 (Grapple), Challenge - Improved Demoralize, Challenge - Improved Startle, Contacts, Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus 7, Elusive Target, Equipment 3, Evasion, Improved Block, Improved Critical 2 (Boxer-Slugger (Strike 3)), Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Initiative, Improved Pin, Improved Throw, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Skill Mastery 2 (Gather Info, Intim, Investigate, KN (streetwise), Notice, Search, Sense Motive, Ste, Startle, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack 2, Track, Uncanny Dodge 2 (Visual & Auditory), Well-Informed

 

Powers:

Eyes of Truth (Container, Passive 10)

   Absolute Truth of Self (Stun 13) (DC 23; Alternate Save (Will), Range 2 (perception); Limited (Doesn't work on targets previously rendered unconscious by power), Sense-Dependent (Visual), Side-Effect (sometimes - Affects Caviezel))

   Enhanced Attack & Defense (Enhanced Trait 18) (Traits: Attack Focus (melee) 10 +6 (+10), Dodge Focus 7 +6 (+7), Reflex +6 (+18))

   Enhanced Skills (Enhanced Trait 9) (Traits: Notice +10 (+25), Search +10 (+20), Sense Motive +10 (+25), Survival +6 (+15))

   True Sight (Super-Senses 10) (awareness: Hidden (visual), counters concealment: Visual, counters illusion: Visual, counters obscure (all): Visual)

Martial Arts Techniques (Array 5) (default power: strike)

   Boxer-Slugger (Strike 3) (Default; DC 23, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Boxer-Slugger (Strike 3)); Penetrating [1 extra rank]; Mighty)

   Boxer-Swarmer (Strike 3) (Array; DC 23; Autofire (interval 2, max +5) [3 extra ranks]; Mighty)

   Judo Chokehold (Strike (Array; DC 23; Alternate Save (Fortitude); Requires Grapple)

   Judo Throw (Linked)

      Throwing (Strike (Linked; DC 23; Limited (Trip must succeed))

      Tripping (Trip (Linked; Range (touch))

Toughened (Protection 3) (+3 Toughness)

 

Equipment: Flashlight, Vehicle: Full-size Car

 

Attack Bonus: +8 (Ranged: +8, Melee: +12/+18, Grapple: +21/+27)

 

Attacks: Absolute Truth of Self (Stun 13) (DC Staged/Will 23), Boxer-Slugger (Strike 3), +18 (DC 23), Boxer-Swarmer (Strike 3), +18 (DC 23), Judo Chokehold (Strike 8), +18 (DC Fort 23), Throwing (Strike 8), +18 (DC 23), Tripping (Trip 8), +18 (DC 18), Unarmed Attack, +18 (DC 20)

 

Defense: +18  (Flat-footed: +6), Knockback: -4

 

Initiative: +7

 

Languages: Arabic, English Native, German, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 56 + Skills 37 (148 ranks) + Feats 37 + Powers 66 + Combat 38 + Saves 21 + Drawbacks 0 = 255

 

*****************************************************************************************

 

Vehicle: Full-size Car

 

Power Level: 15; Equipment Points Spent: 14

 

STR: +15 (40)

 

Toughness: +10

 

Features: Alarm 1, Hidden Compartments 1, Navigation System 1, Oil Slick

 

Powers:

Speed 5 (Speed: 250 mph, 2200 ft./rnd)

 

Defense: -2, Size: Huge

 

Totals: Abilities 2 + Skills 0 (0 ranks) + Feats 0 + Features 4 + Powers 5 + Combat 2 + Saves 1 + Drawbacks 0 + Equipment 0 (0 ep) + Weapons & Armor 0 (0 ep) = 14

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 57

Height: 6’ 5”

Weight: 250 lbs

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Hair: Brown and Gray Mix

Eyes: Blue (Eyes of Truth), Brown (without)

 

Background: Ronald Joseph Caviezel was arguably born in the wrong decade. A wronged cop turned private detective with a cool car who likes to solve problems with boxing? There was hundreds of these guys in the Golden Age, or it seemed like it. Though it could just as easy be said that it’s better he wasn’t born back then, as he’s very unique in the Heroic Age. He was born in Detroit in 1962, the same year as the second Starman. He’s never forgotten this. Every birthday reminds of his…well, not a friend (Starman II would disagree), but more than an acquaintance. Detroit isn’t that far from Chicago, after all. Jesse Thompkins could swing by whenever he liked. 280 miles was nothing to someone who was casually hypersonic. Caviezel, having grown up in Detroit as the city slowly fell apart, has what could be called strong opinions on segregation and redlining. He’s not especially left leaning, but stupid is stupid. The stubborn, hateful insistence on never allowing the mostly black Detroit and the mostly white suburbs to mix damn near killed the city. He knows. He was there. He lived it. That’s why he says hate makes people stupid.

By the time he joined the Detroit Police Department, the slide was obvious to anyone with functioning eyes. But back up a sec. Little Ronnie Caviezel was a dickhead kid. You think, growing up, that his black neighbors didn’t know what was happening to the city? And who was responsible? You think their kids weren’t listening? Little Ronnie didn’t live in the suburbs. He lived in Detroit proper, one of the only white kids in a sea of blackness. Somebody with better conflict mediation and/or avoidance skill would have had a better time. But Caviezel has never been afraid of a fight. Not even when there was 10 of ‘em. Fuck ‘em. And he had good fist fighting instincts from a very young age. So yeah, sometimes he got his ass kicked. But you should see the other guys. This was…not a good way to grow up. His single mother was working herself to the bone, and there was her kid, getting in trouble for fighting all the time. Leaving multiple other kids as beat up and bloody as he was. At her wit’s end, she sent him to a local boxing gym. Well. THE local boxing gym, then and arguably now. The Kronk Gym.

Detroit has a long history of producing boxing champions. Joe Louis, to name one. But a few big names were about to emerge from the city while Little Ronnie became big Caviezel. Alvin “Blue” Lewis. Mickey Goodwin. Hilmer Kenty. Hedgemon Lewis. And, of course, the legendary Thomas “Hitman” Hearns. Little Ronnie Caviezel thrived in that environment. He took to the sweet science as if he was born to do it. It looked like Detroit had another budding star on their hands. He started training at age 10 in 1972, to keep him out of street fights. He debuted as a junior boxer at age 15 in 1977, because he’d become a fighter with a ridiculous level of promise. His fights weren’t even close. In 1979, after his 17^th birthday, he became a youth boxer. Still nobody could handle him. In 1980, he needed a day job. He’d graduated high school. So he joined Detroit PD. Police officer by day, boxer by night. He waited three years to go pro. 1983 saw the debut of 21 year old Ronnie “Blue Eyes/Iron Joe” Caviezel. Never could stick to one nickname. He was busy as a bee in the 80s. Police work. Boxing training. Night school. Actual boxing matches. Even finding the time to date a pretty young thing. Busy, busy, busy. Because he was apparently also a naturally gifted detective, and he made that rank in 1986. He was 24 years old. He was married to his pretty young thing, named Josie. He was an undefeated professional boxer. He was the new detective assigned to Vice, but Homicide was angling to get him. He was also not an idiot. He had one last fight, and retired from boxing in 1987 at 25 years old.

The reason he was so good at boxing was that he had his powers virtually from birth. They’d strengthened as he’d gotten older, and as a grown man it was no longer fair. That last fight was to confirm his hypothesis. Of course, Detroit PD wasn’t pleased to lose one of their most valuable PR tools, but it was what it was. It wasn’t like he stopped training, and he was happy to take exhibition bouts for PR purposes. ’89 was where things went shitty. Homicide detectives often worked long hours. He’d made Sergeant by now. Was respected for his police work and not his pugilism. He trusted his wife Josie. They talked about everything. They were thinking about kids. He shouldn’t have trusted her for five seconds, let alone over five years. She was a honeypot for the Detroit Partnership. Organized crime. The Italian-American Mafia, to be precise. Her lover was a hitman.  He found this out when said hitman tried to kill him, laughing about what a huge idiot he was. Aka the last day Ronnie Caviezel ceased existing and the hero Caviezel first appeared. Aka the day he stopped giving a fuck. They framed him as a dirty cop, with years of info from his own lips to condemn him with. And then the hitman came or him. Big fucking mistake. Caviezel broke his face, ducked the friends trying to arrest him, tracked down the subfaction Josie and her lover belonged to, and stormed it with nothing but his bare hands and a bad attitude. They had guns and higher numbers. This turned out to be totally irrelevant. He left them all with broken jaws, concussions, cracked ribs and/or bruised livers. Josie herself he left spitting up blood after a stiff punch to just about the belly button. He was sucking on a lollypop, seated on the hood of his car, when the police showed up in response to calls about gunfire. He was the only person who’d been in that house in the last hour who wasn’t arrested and imprisoned for a long, long time. So much evidence in that house. He still quit the police force and got his private detective’s license. The divorce was final before her trial was over.

From there, Caviezel started establishing his reputation. See, in 1989 Detroit had 624 murders. 5 years later, in 1994, it had 541.  5 years after that, in 1999, it had 415. And in the year of our Lord 2018, there was only 261. Yes, the city made changes that lowered crime overall. Yes, the police put in serious work. However, at least in the Phoenixverse, Caviezel has been the difference maker. A virtually peerless detective and boxer with zero tolerance for bullshit. Of course Starman II noticed him.. they met when Jesse asked for his help in identifying someone. This was 1992. He wasn’t even a Five Year Vet yet, for Christ’s sake. Starman flew his car with him in it down to St. Louis, where Caviezel was able to identify the battered corpse of local millionaire Connor Morris. And then reconstruct his final night, and why it was his final night. Making Starman II and Caviezel the only two people on the planet at the time who knew Connor Morris had been Gunsmith, of the Champions of Justice. They collaborated several more times over the next 9 years. If Starman II could have been said to have his own Gunsmith…his own mercurial detective best friend…then it was Caviezel.

So when Armageddon was bulldozing its way up from the Gulf of Mexico, Caviezel had already hopped in his car and was driving to Chicago. He didn’t beat Starman there, but he did arrive in time to give him a break. Yes. You read that correctly, Dear Reader. Flesh and blood boxer Ronald Joseph Caviezel engaged in a fistfight with a monster strong enough to break a Starman’s bones. It helped that it couldn’t lay a hand on him. This time it was perfectly fair. Because if that damn thing actually hit him, it’d be a closed casket funeral at best. And it was going…fine? It couldn’t hit him, he really couldn’t hurt it but he could keep it occupied. Until he broke his damn hand. It was to be expected, honestly. Armageddon could absorb Starpowered blows. Caviezel was only a man. He was tough, but his bones were quite breakable by comparison with the monster’s flesh. Fortunately, Starman II was ready to make his last stand. How that went has already been told elsewhere. However, there is a famous photograph of Starqueen I holding her husband’s body and wailing. Her son weeps silently beside her. On the outer edge of that photograph is part of a trenchcoat. Caviezel’s trademark trenchcoat.

So, hell yes he helped found the Icons. Where the hell were you assholes? Well. That was unfair. The Shining Guardian and Tex Austin were still recovering from the injuries inflicted by the monster. They had tried. Fletcher was coming out of a comfortable retirement, and he wasn’t any more powerful than Caviezel anyway. And Tidal and Shadowspirit had simply been too far away. So the group was founded. Like with Starman, he was their detective. Though he can’t claim total credit. Vincent Mortelini had his Phantom Network passing both him and Shadowspirit information. This was the beginning of that duo’s long friendship. He swung past St. Louis in 2009 and gave recently discharged Marine Duncan Morris the battered and broken rifle of Gunsmith. For Jesse, who never got the chance to do it himself. There weren’t any particularly flashy or dramatic adventures, however. until Lei Zi invaded Seattle in 2011. Tidal was a god. Yay. He didn’t care because once again, he was a flesh and blood boxer going up against superhuman adversaries. It was time to train in something else. A different martial art. He chose judo.

He was there after Fletcher (accidently) made a murderous/genocidal AI, punching robots, calming down a suddenly panicking Scarlett, and easing Candy’s case of imposter syndrome. Literally just a boxing judoka here, ladies. If I can punch robots, so can you. And much better with your violent superpowers. He took the Shining Guardian’s side in the Icons civil war.He was disappointed to see Shadowspirit on the other side. He did not get the chance to try punching Kuros in the Eternity War. The big battle just didn’t go his way for that. He wasn’t among the Dusted. He tried to help keep order in Detroit, but it wasn’t needed, really? The city was in mourning, not chaos. And when the time came to reform the Crystals of Power, he went with Shadowspirit (who had come to get him in the first place) to that high mountain in the Rockies, guided by Marian Soaring Eagle.

What happened there, on that mountain, is unclear. It is known that he came back alone and bruised as if from a fight, Soul Crystal in hand. It is also known that reforming the Soul Crystal requires, well, a soul. Meaning someone has to die. It cannot be done with murder, despite Terrifica’s jokes. It requires a willing sacrifice. Whether it’s of life, love, or something else important is also unclear. Magic is a fuzzy, undefined thing at times. With that said, Caviezel was at the final battle of the Endgame, though he’d lost his taste for punching Kuros. Ironically, he was the one who ended up with all seven Crystals of Power initially. So he was stuck running from the intergalactic tyrant and those…well, they looked like wolves if wolves were redesigned by cannibalistic psychopaths. All of the NOPE, sayeth Caviezel. But once again, he was only a man. So he passed them off to Samaritan, who was nearby and much more mobile. He spent the rest of the battle punching out brainwashed clone soldiers.

So, why is he trying to retire? He’s fifty-seven, you assholes. He’s been doing this shit for thirty goddamn years. Man’s got a right to quit when he starts getting old. He’s been training and, more importantly, eating like a boxer for all thirty and then some. He’s got high blood pressure and his heart ain’t what it used to be. He got winded in the middle of the Endgame. Him, who runs miles almost daily, got winded. And his knees don’t appreciate all that running anymore. He’s getting old and tired. That’d be excuse enough, but you  know…it’s the weight of thirty years. He’s lost friends, you know. People he respected. Two of them just the other month. Shadowspirit and Fletcher. His hands ain’t perfectly clean, either. He worked the whole Iron Age. He carried a gun throughout it. It saw use. More use than he likes to think about. So yeah, he’d like to get out. Whether he can actually manage it is a whole other matter.

He’s got enemies. He’s spent thirty years being a huge spike in the ribcage (like a thorn in the side, but worse) of the Detroit Partnership. They only let their enemies leave the game in a box. Whenever Lestari shows up in the United States they end up having a violent fistfight. Scarlett’s disappearance isn’t sitting well with him, either. She was there for the Eternity War. They were fighting side by side for half of it. But she didn’t show or the Endgame, and nobody could reach her. Her apartment HQ was deserted. There’s a dozen threads to follow there, as clearly something happened. And then there’s the kid. All Caviezel’s life he thought his power was unique. The Shining Guardian said so. Sage said so. Marian said so. His own research said so. Only one person could have the Eyes of Truth at a given time. So uh…why does his own personal teenage fangirl have them too? And he can’t leave her to the nonexistent mercies of the Detroit Partnership, dammit. They’d hurt her just to get at him, when he has no connection to her. She’s not his kid. They’re not related at all, at least not anymore than any two random white people from the Detroit metro area. He ruled that out first. Goddamn it. He may not able to retire after all…

 

Powers & Tactics: Caviezel is a expert boxer and judoka with one magical power. As a boxer, he’s skilled in two out of three of the common styles. Brawler/Slugger and Swarmer/In-fighter. Brawler/Sluggers aren’t known for their finesse, accuracy, or dodging ability. Their general style is to throw single powerful punches that are pretty well telegraphed in advance. One would think this wouldn’t work, but they’re also willing and able to absorb ridiculous punishment to get that one strong punch in and weaken their opponent for the next one if not outright knock them out. Boxers like George Foreman, Rocky Marciano, and in modern times Manny Pacquiao have fought like this. Not necessarily exclusively, as boxers can be capable of more than one style. Swarmer/In-fighter is the total opposite, offensively speaking. An barrage of weaker punches that are more likely to end a fight via attrition instead of one big punch. To that end, boxers in this style may be excessively tough like Brawler/Sluggers, or freakishly good at dodging blows. At least one of those is required, as since they stay close to their opponent during the whole fight thus having to deal with the opponent’s attacks constantly. Boxers like Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson were known for using this style, as well as Rocky Marciano and Manny Pacquiao from before. His training in judo allows him to throw opponents to the ground hard, or choke them out after grappling them. It’s not as exciting. Just a secondary skill set.

Caviezel’s magical power is the main event, however. The Eyes of Truth. Supposedly, only one person in the entire world has it at a given time. That person is born with it, and when they die another person is born with it. Absolutely, positively nothing can hide from his eyes. All deception, falsehood, concealment, obscurement, you name it, unravels. Whatever the source of it, his eyes see all that is hidden and concealed. So yes, he can see in the dark without a problem. The list of people who can successfully lie to him is uh, extremely short. But it’s not just his eyes. All of his senses are superhumanly sharp, even if only his vision has the additional benefits. It functions as a form of body reading, meaning he knows what the opponent is going to do before they do it. This makes his attacks more accurate and improves his dodging abilities by a large degree. This is why he retired from boxing. It wasn’t fair at all. The last bit is the reason he wears sunglasses all the time. Anyone who looks him in the eyes seems a reflection of themselves as he sees them, with all self justifications and deceptions stripped away. The shock of this can daze, stun, or even send the target into catatonia depending on the strength of their will. If this happens, it can never affect them again once they wake up. This isn’t normally a problem, however, as such a thing is life changing. They don’t often cross Caviezel’s path as enemies again.

 

Tactically, Caviezel has a lot of options. Against rank and file thuggery, he sticks with Boxer-Swarming and Accurate Attack +4, using Takedown Attack 2 to mow through them. Tends to be a massacre. It’s with actual supervillains he starts to layer in more complicated tactics. Boxer Slugger for tough guys. Judo Throw for really tough guys, as they’re not normally know for being able to get up quickly. Judo Choke is primarily for enemies that have superior mobility to him. Grab ‘em with a readied action, choke ‘em  out. Fuck your Move By Action. Go to sleep. Improved Startle can help hit. Improved Demoralize can drop resistances. As mentioned, he has Accurate Attack. There’s also All Out, Defensive, and Power Attack available. Improved Disarm takes weapons away. Improved Throw and Trip make Judo Throw better. He can Improved Grab after one of the Boxer settings hits and grapple away. Stunning Attack can turn any of his Martial Arts Techniques from doing damage to…not doing damage. More polite violence. Absolute Truth of Self works the same way. The Eyes of Truth have no power stunts available. And honestly, he’s satisfied with his current Martial Arts Techniques. The only thing he could stunt would be Joint Locks (Stun 8, Requires Grapple) and Stunning Attack already covers that effect.

 

Personality: Behold the machine where Caviezel’s fucks were once lovingly crafted. Behold that it is broken, and covered in thick dust. But this isn’t a peaceful acceptance of events. Oh, no. It’s actually the flip side of that coin. It’s a peaceful acceptance of the fact that people are gonna be people. The poor, stupid, blind bastards. All falsehoods fall away before his eyes. He knows the true motivations that drive people even when they don’t. Unresolved trauma. Basic selfishness. Unthinking hatred. Yeah, there’s more positive ones too, but they’re rarer. We’re all just glorified apes in the end. We want to avoid pain and feeling bad. We want to be happy and feel good. We all want to leave something behind us when we’re gone. It isn’t always or only children, but yeah. It ain’t rocket science. People are people. They’re gonna do what they’re gonna do. Ain’t no help for it.

What Caviezel can control, however, is what he does. His own choices. He can look himself in the mirror and at least attempt to understand what drives him. He knows he’s kind of a cantankerous asshole. He can be grumpy and monosyllabic.  He also knows that his heart’s in the right place. Somehow. Despite how he may act, he does want to help. He’s just normally irritated, as he can literally see how much everyone in his sightline is lying to themselves and others. That’d annoy anybody, and he has to see it all the goddamn time. Even in his allies and friends. Despite all that, his early training in boxing drilled into him that you fight until the bell. Perseverance and determination are the most important qualities in the ring. Which is yet another reason he’s having a hard time retiring. Dammit.

[EternalPhoenix]

Sage (Sagacious Winifred Burke)

 

Power Level: 12; Power Points Spent: 255/255

 

STR: +2 (14), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +3 (16), INT: +5 (20), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +5 (20)

 

Tough: +3/+15, Fort: +8, Ref: +8, Will: +17

 

Skills: Acrobatics 2 (+5), Climb 3 (+5), Concentration 17 (+20), Disable Device 5 (+10), Drive 2 (+5), Gather Information 10 (+15), Intimidate 10 (+15), Investigate 10 (+15), Knowledge (arcane Lore) 10 (+15), Knowledge (streetwise) 5 (+10), Knowledge (theology & philosophy) 10 (+15), Language 3 (+3), Medicine 2 (+5), Notice 7 (+10), Perform (stringed instruments) 5 (+10), Search 10 (+15), Sense Motive 7 (+10), Stealth 7 (+10), Swim 3 (+5)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Artificer, Challenge - Improved Demoralize, Challenge - Improved Startle, Equipment 2, Force of WIll (can spend hero point to substitute Will save in place of Fortitude save), Improved Critical 2 (Agonyshock Tempest (Blast 15)), Improved Critical 2 (Hatefrost Aurora (Blast 15)), Improved Critical 2 (Ragefire Blast (Blast 15)), Improved Initiative, Improvised Tools, Power Attack, Ritualist, Second Chance (Concentration checks to maintain powers), Skill Mastery (Intimidate, Investigate, Knowledge (arcane lore), Search), Startle, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Emotion Magic Tattoos (Array 16) (default power: blast)

   Agonyshock Tempest (Blast 15) (Array; DC 30, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Agonyshock Tempest (Blast 15)))

   Compassionate Regeneration (Healing 9) (Array; DC 19; Restoration, Total; Limited to Others; Persistent, Regrowth)

   Defiance Field (Create Object 15) (Array; Max Size: 15x 100' cubes, DC 25; Impervious [12 ranks only]; Range (touch); Progression, Object Size 4, Selective)

   Empathic Telepathy (Mind Reading 12) (Array; DC 22; Duration (sustained))

   Hatefrost Aurora (Blast 15) (Array; DC 30, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Hatefrost Aurora (Blast 15)))

   Ragefire Blast (Blast 15) (Default; DC 30, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Ragefire Blast (Blast 15)))

Mystic Force Field (Force Field 12) (+12 Toughness; Impervious)

See Magical Effects (Super-Senses 1) (awareness: Magic (visual))

Titanium Will (Immunity 30) (will saves; Limited - Half Effect; Innate)

Wizardry (Array 10) (default power: environmental control)

   Air Control (Move Object 6) (Array; Strength: 30, Carry: 532 / 1.1k / 1.6k / 3.2k; Range (perception))

   Counterspell (Nullify 15) (Array; counters: all powers of (type) - magic, DC 25; Action (full))

   Hex Technology (Nullify 10) (Array; counters: all powers of (type) - technological, DC 20; Burst Area (50 ft. radius - General); Range (touch))

   Scrying (ESP 6) (Array; affects: 2 types - normal visual & auditory; No Conduit; Custom 2 (Rapid 2 (x100)))

   Shadow Magic (Obscure 6) (Array; affects: visual senses, Radius: 250-1250 ft.; Selective Attack; Progression, Increase Area 2 (area x5))

   Summon Light (Environmental Control 5) (Default; light (bright), Radius: 100 ft.; Selective Attack)

   Veiling (Concealment 10) (Array; all senses)

   Worldwalking (Super-Movement 3) (Array; dimensional 3 (any dimension); Custom 2 (Portal); Progression, Dimensional Move (carry 250 lbs))

 

Equipment: Vehicle: Compact Car

 

Attack Bonus: +9 (Ranged: +9, Melee: +9, Grapple: +11)

 

Attacks: Agonyshock Tempest (Blast 15), +9 (DC 30), Counterspell (Nullify 15), +9 (DC Will 25), Empathic Telepathy (Mind Reading 12) (DC Will 22), Hatefrost Aurora (Blast 15), +9 (DC 30), Hex Technology (Nullify 10) (DC Will 20), Ragefire Blast (Blast 15), +9 (DC 30), Unarmed Attack, +9 (DC 17)

 

Defense: +9  (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -13

 

Initiative: +7

 

Languages: Chinese (Mandarin), English Native, Korean, Latin

 

Totals: Abilities 42 + Skills 32 (128 ranks) + Feats 16 + Powers 105 + Combat 36 + Saves 24 + Drawbacks 0 = 255

 

******************************************************************************************

 

Vehicle: Compact Car

 

Power Level: 12; Equipment Points Spent: 9

 

STR: +10 (30)

 

Toughness: +8

 

Powers:

Speed 5 (Speed: 250 mph, 2200 ft./rnd)

 

Defense: -1, Size: Large

 

Totals: Abilities 2 + Skills 0 (0 ranks) + Feats 0 + Features 0 + Powers 5 + Combat 1 + Saves 1 + Drawbacks 0 + Equipment 0 (0 ep) + Weapons & Armor 0 (0 ep) = 9

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 43 (chronological), late 20s (appearance)

Height: 6’

Weight: 160 lbs

Ethnicity: ¾ Caucasian, ¼ Korean

Hair: Black

Eyes: Blue

 

Background: Sage (she hasn’t used her full name ever) is a fucking mess. Her life has been virtually nothing but a nonstop barrage of trauma and misery. To some, she would be well within her rights to fuckin’ snap and become the villainous monster the Wizards of the White Court think she is. But that’s the hell of it. She’s just too damn strong to go crazy. Her mind just won’t break. And she just can’t seem to get herself killed. Not that she wants to die, you understand. But at least that way it’d finally be fuckin’ over. The only reward for work well done is more work. Goddamn it. She just wants to be left in peace and not have any murder cases, news of fresh monsters on the loose, or bad magical omens popping up. But San Francisco can’t go a goddamn week without someone who needs her particular brand of help desperately beating down her door. She’d really, genuinely appreciate it if the problems of the city, Faerie, and the supernatural world in general would, for once, stay solved. And that fuckin’ assholes would stop creating new problems. But no. It’s just one damn thing after another. In fact, it’s worse than that. The damn things overlap. She does not know how Megagirl did this with a smile.

It started when her mother Haewon (who was deeply weird about herbs and thus named all three of her daughters after them) divorced her father. To be fair, her father was never around anyway. Always out there doing god knows what. His work always called him away. It would take until Sage was an adult before she learned he was a rogue wizard with a deeply complicated past and sense of morality. Also, he died shortly after she was born. When she can stand to think about her mother, she wonders if Haewon was simply determined to destroy herself out of sheer contrariness. She certainly never did what anyone wanted her to. She was in a permanent state of extreme rebellion against, apparently, everything society found good and right. Or even basic common sense. So she was kind of a shit mother. Who had three kids with a shit father who was never around, and then had a series of shit boyfriends who abused her until they tried to control her. Then they were gone, and she went and got a new boyfriend. Juniper (the oldest), Rosemary (middle child), and Sage (the youngest) basically raised themselves, getting the hell out of whichever apartment they were in as soon as legally possible. So, literally their eighteenth birthdays. Happy birthday, Juni. Bye, Juni. Happy birthday, Rose. Bye, Rose. Yeah. Like that. Just like that. Of course, they left for an additional reason. Haewon managed to get married again. He was 100% pure bastard. Sage knows what he was now. Mind mage. Psychemancy. Psychic magic. Haewon was all too happy to be his brainwashed servant. Her sisters bailed in time. And Sage, goddamn it, was too much like her mother to force the issue. So the bastard used a subtler enchantment. He stole her ability to love anyone but him. The huge dumbass forgot she could still hate him. And she did. Fervently. She reserved the bulk of her hatred, however, for her mother. For Haewon. And that was the situation for a little while. But everyone snaps eventually. Sage snapped in epic fashion. She had the elemental tattoos by then. She walked into the master bedroom, froze her mother solid with her first Hatefrost Aurora, and incinerated the bastard with her first Ragefire Blast. Then she left the now burning house.

Her sisters found her. The Burke sisters, each with a third of the Emotion Tattoos, part of the Seven Sorceries. Three wounded, traumatized sisters, each mourning both the mother they wished they’d had and the father they never did. They spent three years battling supernatural menaces around San Francisco. Juniper, Rosemary, and Sage, in a pretty mansion in a lovely neighborhood. They were quite the charmed trio. However, it was not to last. It was the Iron Age, and as is known, most heroes don’t get past year five. To make a long story quite short, they’d made enemies in those three years. Said enemies assaulted that pretty mansion and kicked the fuck out of them in a spectacular battle. Juniper died. Rosemary and Sage had a nasty argument afterward, and parted ways. They may have reconciled in time, but the White Court’s enforcers swooped down on the injured and exhausted Sage almost immediately afterward. She had, after all, committed cold blooded murder three years prior, and her location had finally been revealed by the chaos of the battle. Mundane authorities did and do not have the resources and knowledge to deal with magical criminals, so for a bunch of centuries now the White Court has taken up the duty. Their current Merlin (Sayid) draws a hard line when it comes to magical murder and mind control. Death penalty. No exceptions. Sword to the neck. Off with their head. Sage was in just about the worst emotional state of her life, so she was cool with dying, and in fact provided some vigorous encouragement (in typical Sage fashion) for them to just get it over with already. And yet. For reasons Sage did not know at the time, Henry Kim intervened.

She spent about five years at Henry’s house in Denver. It did not always go well. She wasn’t allowed to leave, and had to do what he said. If you, Dear Reader, understand anything about Sage at this point, you will understand how poorly she would react to both of those things. And neither of them was any good at being warm, feeling humans instead of a prickly asshole (in Sage’s case) and a stubborn hardass (in Henry’s). He was the wizarding teacher, and she was the apprentice. It was not easy, but they bonded quite well and she learned a lot. At the end of the five years, in June 2001, the White Court tested her. The tests were grueling and unpleasant. They were not only designed to test her magical prowess, but her mental stability and psychological makeup. She passed and was accorded a full Wizard of the White Court. She could move out and have her own life. So she did. She moved to San Francisco and hung out her shingle as a private detective. Three months later she was surprised to see Henry help found the Icons after that terrible day and September. She’d recognize those spells anywhere after five years. Huh. Well, whatever.

And three months after that, her life started descending into its current infinitely aggravating and exhausting state. Let’s run down the list.

Harrassment from her White Court monitor, Keith Copeland.

2002. A wizard wannabe dealing mystical drugs and using a combo and erotic and lethal blood magic to commit homicides to weaken local crime kingpin Vivian Wu.

2003. DEA agents deciding that magic belts that transformed them into werewolves were the best way to get rid of Vivian Wu, instead of like, legal methods.

2004. That time she, uh, started an underground global war with the Vaughn family of vampires. Amon breed, as if it matters. If was to save her idiot reporter boyfriend, Bobby Liu, and it didn’t even work. She had to cobble together a spell that would hold his vampirism off, and like hell it would last forever. Especially since he split town shortly afterward.

2005. Then all of Faerie went to war over a couple of murders, and it was this whole thing. Technically she saved the world by solving that one, but it would have been a long form apocalypse, spread out over a few generations.

2006. Then there was the one where Fallen members of the Earthbound Host tried to steal some important divine artifacts and bring a plague apocalypse to San Francisco. Almost didn’t fail, that was closer than she liked. Also the last time she saw Bobby Liu for quite some time. The magic preventing him from fully transforming into a vampire was holding. Somehow. This one got her into the Icons. Thanks, Henry. More work to do. Nice.

2007. Next up, the cursed gay porn studio, where Vanessa Fordham (succubus and Asmodeus vampire at once, somehow) took over the Violet Court of…you know, what do they call those? Cubi? Cubuses? Well, whatever. She got her wolf Sombra out of it. Yes, she is a real wolf.

2008. The following case was half a dozen members of the Black Court of Necromancers blew into town and almost murdered everyone in it for a chance at divinity. No, Sage did not ride an undead T-Rex through the Embarcadero. It was a trio of triceratops through the Tenderloin. Also the case where she got roped into being an enforcer for the White Court.

2009. This caused problems, as her ally Rue’s son Basil turned out to have one of the two thirds of the Emotion Tattoos that Sage did not. And he was getting in trouble with them. And and dealing with Halloween horror movies summoning…fetches? Is that what they’re called? Fuck, she neither knows nor really cares. Look, they feed on fear, there was a lot going around that week. Ended up with Sage stepping in for Basil the way Henry had stepped in for her, and for the same reason. Not that she knew it at the time. Basil was, somehow, Rosemary’s son. With Rue. Who was a purified demon with a human soul. Oh, boy. This kid’s gonna have it rough.

2010. Welcome to year 9, where Sage had to help Vanessa Fordham secure her power in the Violet Court against a pair of conspiring usurpers who had been quietly murdering the weakest sorcerers, metahumans, and other potential hero types. And of course, the last one standing had to call something from fucking Outside. Like, yeah the Emotion Tattoos were designed to deal with threats like that. Did not mean it wasn’t an insanely dangerous thing to do, you fucking idiot of an incubus. And the cherry on the fucking cake was giving Vivian Fucking Wu the authorization to open her own Court.

Year 10. 2011. So…remember those Fallen members of the Earthbound Host? They’re baaaaack. Guess who else is back? The Faerie Courts. The problem? Despite her extensive prepations for such an event, Vivan Wu had been kidnapped. Yes, by Fallen fucking angels. And this was Sage’s problem because the Summer and Winter Queens were in accord. Kidnapping a Court’s monarch was a big no-no, and needed to be dealt with. By Sage. Now would be good. And this is the one where Rue got badly hurt and mostly retired from the field. Dammit. So hell no, Sage could not make it to Lei Zi’s invasion in Seattle. She was fucking busy.

2012. To make a long story short, Keith Copeland (professional pain in her ass) showed up at her doorstep badly injured and on the run from the White Court. Uh. What. You’re accused of murder & treason. What. Of course it’s not you, Sage is not an idiot. Aw, here it goes. Another fucking disaster. Exposing a mole in the White Court. Some ugly fights, and in the end it barely goddamn mattered, because matters between the Courts are like matters between jungle predators. Show weakness, get eaten. Admitting to being vulnerable to infiltration would just encourage further infiltration and bigger moves. So when Keith Copeland died saving Sage’s ass, he got the blame for all the stuff he was running from in the first place. Fucking bullshit. Met Marian Soaring Eagle, though, when she showed up to kick the fuck out of…whatever the hell that was, during the climax on Alcatraz.

2013. A quick summary. Her office exploded. Her home burned down. She broke her back. Basically the war against the Vaughn family of Amon vampires spilled into town. Because they’d found Sage’s daughter, Rika. Yeah. She’d not mentioned that one to anyone. Bobby Liu’s kid. Yeah. She’d disappeared for a bit before the gay porn studio director called. Said it was a month’s vacation. She’d earned it, right? She lied. So. A lot happened. She made a few deals she really shouldn’t have, because she’s crazy when it comes to family. But the day was saved. The Vaughn family, all several dozen thousands of them worldwide, were destroyed. And all she had to do was break the spell holding Bobby’s vampirism back, and stake with that special stake. Easy peasy. And then to get out of those deals, she had herself killed. Specifically, she had herself assassinated and magically wiped her memory of ordering it in the first place. So, she died. Well. Mostly. Was supposed to be totally, but damn those Faerie Queens.

2014. Being mostly dead and running around San Francisco as a ghost, she totally missed the whole…Fletcher making an AI…thing. She doesn’t actually remember this very well. Apparently one of the two  Black Court members who survived that whole last episode came back in ghost form, too? There was a lot going on, but it mostly didn’t have much to do with her.

2015. Fully alive again. Yay. Not what she wanted. Not at all. Again, damn those Faerie Queens. Sage doesn’t give a fuck how desperately she’s needed. She’s genuinely tired of this bullshit. Leave her the fuck alone. But of course, that’s now how it works, how is it? No. Evil’s afoot, and literally the only person in the entire universe who can deal with it in time is Sage. San Francisco, Oakland, and the greater metro area are going to be destroyed when Alcatraz explodes. The Faerie Queens muster for war again, as their children are misbehaving. It never fucking ends, does it? So naturally, in this mood Sage told both Henry (aka the Shining Guardian) and Fletcher to fuck off, staying the hell out of the Icons civil war.

2016. Still got deals to honor, Sage. Now go rob Odin with a fallen angel and backstab him after. Wait, what? The Fallen members of the Earthbound Host are back, and working schemes. Of course, nothing went entirely as they or Sage planned. Tch. Well, at least it wasn’t an emotionally draining as the last few-oh, fuck is that literally dammed angel coming for Rika? Fuck.  And now her daughter knows what she looks like, and…fuck, man…how can she not be a better mother to the munchkin than she was to her own. Or than her missing and presumed dead sister Rosemary was to Basil.

2017. The Eternity War. Sage made it in time to Baltimore when Henry called. They still lost. The Dusting happened. Sage had to hold together San Francisco without some of her most stalwart allies. It sucked. It sucked a lot. But Rika wasn’t Dusted, and neither was Rue.

2018. The Endgame. Aka the last time Sage ever turns her phone off for an afternoon with her daughter. Fortunately, Radical Dreamer knew what she was up to, and thus she put in an appearance at the final battle. Whooped plenty of ass, too.

As 2019 dawns, the Faerie Queens are calling a peace summit. Every single Court is invited. The wars between the supernatural forces of the world have gone on too long and cost too much. It is time for peace and stability. Of course, not every Court agrees with this, and there are those outside of the Courts who agree with them. Including a certain ancient being with a deep hatred for humanity. The stage is set. But will San Francisco host historic peace talks, or become nothing more than a battle ground?

Sage has been through more than most heroes with twice her years on the job. So both her allies and enemies lists are second in length only to the spectacular Samaritan. Different from him, however, is that some straddle both categories. For example, in no universe are San Francisco crime queenpin Vivian Wu (and Tiger Court Queen) or power behind the Violet Court throne Vanessa Fordham anything but villains. Except they do have a vested interest in keeping the city and by extension the entire world intact and as functional as possible. The Queens of the Summer and Winter Courts of Faerie are operating on an entirely separate code of morality that has precious little to do with any human ideas on the subject. And their direct servants obey orders or are punished. Yet they are only performing their role in the grand scheme of things, and are in no way wholly good or evil. The Wizards of the White Court would never be confused with villains or evildoers, but they can certainly be overzealous to the point of fanaticism and/or overcautious to the point of cowardice. Though in fairness, most of them aren’t particularly capable or interested in combat and so their leadership has to account for that, both to keep their weaker members safe and successfully navigate the treacherous waters of global spellslinger politics. Even former unambiguous allies like Pepper (the reincarnation of Juniper, it’s a long story) and Basil (Rue & Rosemary’s son and Sage’s apprentice) have changed greatly over time and are no longer as directly heroic has they were. So it’s complicated.

The two beings Sage can absolutely count on are Matthew Chen (former SFPD now, and still semi-recovering from a nasty knee injury) and Rue (a powerful purified demon with one of the Seven Sorceries at his disposal, yes, but also old and half crippled from an injury helping Sage years ago). She’s got vampires, demons, rogue Fae, and fallen angels on her enemies list. It’s not a fun time.

 

Powers & Tactics: Sage bears the Emotion Tattoos, one of the Seven Sorceries. She is also a highly skilled wizard. The Seven Sorceries are incredibly potent enchantments created near the dawn of civilization to protect humankind from the monsters and demons of the day. Every erg of magic and life in seven of the mightiest magicians to ever walk the earth is in one of the Sorceries. Together, a full 49 are represented. The Emotion Tattoos are, perhaps, slightly misnamed by modern standards. The seven of them channel a certain feeling into mana and that mana into a spell. Sage has had access to Ragefire, Hatefrost, and Agonyshock from a very young age. Perhaps a bit dramatically named, but correctly so. Ragefire channels anger and rage into fire and heat. Hatefrost channels hatred and loathing into ice and cold. Agonyshock channels agony and pain into electricity and lightning. Somebody who’d had a life full of sunshine, rainbows, and puppies probably couldn’t use them very well, but Sage is extremely powerful when she does. One of the deals she made back in 2013 unlocked the Tattoos sealed away when Juniper died. Defiance Field channels sheer stubborn refusal into shapes of pure force. Compassionate Regeneration channels compassion and care for others into healing magic. Juniper was good with these, which should tell people a lot about the type of person she was. And in 2015 the other two were foisted on her when Basil’s humanity was removed. Empathic Telepathy channels empathy and understanding for the feelings of others into psychic magic. Reading their minds, specificially. The last one doesn’t yet have a name that Sage knows. Both Rosemary and Basil told her to figure it out for herself. This makes sense, since magic is what you specifically make of it. Not what someone else tells you it is. It is also not a helpful statement, as apparently whatever it is channels happiness and joy, which are not emotions Sage has any real experience with. Superb. And, to put a cherry on the top of everything, multiple magic users (like Marian, Pepper [who was once Juniper, remember], and Basil) has told Sage she’s using the Tattoos kind of badly. She’s all power, with no finesse or technique, and horribly inefficient in the bargain. Sage cordially invites them to either tell her directly what she’s doing wrong or go fuck themselves.  She does, however, concede the point that she doesn’t know what the fuck she’s doing and nobody will give her so much as a goddamn hint. This is, of course, because learning the full capabilities of the Emotion Tattoos is a journey of (appropriately enough) emotional self-discovery that is completely different for everyone. Fuck one hundred percent of that, sayeth Sage.

The Emotion Tattoos, for the record, look like tattoos. Lines of crimson/orange flame, ivory/blue ice shards, and black/violet lightning bolts run in straight up her arms, ultimately connecting over her shoulder blades. (Ragefire, Hatefrost, and Agonyshock) A golden heart is on her sternum, right over her heart. (Compassionate Regeneration) A silver chain link circlet, well, circles her head at about mid-forehead. (Defiance Field) Her ears are bracketed by an interesting wavy design that resembles an EKG in green. (Empathic Mind Reading) Whatever the seventh is have not yet appeared. And they glow when she’s using the power in question.

As a wizard, Sage specializes in Photomancy. This is also known as Light Magic. Please note that this is a specialization, not a limiter. She is also trained in Aeromancy, Spatial Magic, and basics like counterspelling and disabling technology among others. She uses Photomancy to see magical effects, create both light and shadow to hide herself, disguise her presence, block sight in an area, see areas far away (this also includes Aeromancy for the sounds), and the basic spell of summoning light. Her main use of Aeromancy is to blow things around. The weight limit is in the thousands of pounds, so she can knock over cars or even carry lighter ones this way. Her first main Spatial Magic is a basic one. Creating a portal to another dimension. This is normally used to travel to Faerie or some other mystical realm. Her other main Spatial Magic spell is the force field that shunts damage away from her. It allows her to ignore even artillery and rocket fire.

 

Tactically, Sage typically acts like a particularly brawny thug. Just throwing power at the enemy and praying for the best. Usually because she’s 1) already hurt, and 2) said enemy is something that can kill her quick and easy. Her Notice isn’t great for a hero of her stature and power level, and she lacks Skill Mastery. So she gets ambushed a lot without her Mystic Force Field on. Her Sense Motive is in the same boat, so she’s short her dodge bonus often enough, too. But her Blasts hit like a freight train, and supernatural opposition ain’t human, so they’re always Acceptable Targets. Meaning she doesn’t have to care whether or not she kills them outright. Also meaning she can use Improved Demoralize or Startle and All Out or All Out Power Attack them into oblivion. Accurate Attack is there just in case her opposition is human supervillains. With mundane thuggery she’d just use Air Control to throw something at them, if she didn’t just use Veiling and slide around them in stealth mode. With Artificier and Ritualist, she can be quite the crafty opponent given time to prepare. Unfortunately, that’s a known quality of all wizards, and so their enemies normally refuse to give them that time. If she wanted to, she could power stunt a lot off her Wizardry array. Photomancy, Aeromancy, and Spatial Magic are pretty flexible traditions. So it’s not strange to see her pull off some unexpected one off effects like a visual Dazzle, visual Illusion, Flight, or Teleport. And yes, she could pull out a damaging light or wind blast too. There’s 20 PP to play with, go have fun.

 

Personality: Sage is a fucking mess. No, seriously. Her damaging powers explicitly work by channeling her rage, hatred, and pain into magical energy. Hatefrost may not get as much use as the other two, but Ragefire is virtually her trademark and Agonyshock ain’t that far behind it. Years and years have gone by, and she’s still as much of a big ball of rage and pain as anything else. She’s got unresolved guilt and grief. The kind of psychological trauma a person gets when they’re thrown into desperate, impossible situations over and over again. She murdered her mother. She got her older sister killed, and god only knows what happened to Rosemary. She abandoned her own child immediately after she was born. She killed said child’s father with her own two hands. Over and over again, everyone she cares for gets hurt or fucking DIES because she can’t god damn mother fucking leave well enough alone. She just can’t leave the damn cat in the damn tree.

That’s a metaphor. When people are in trouble and they need her help, she is completely and utterly incapable of standing aside and doing nothing. Simply cannot turn her back on them. She is an implacable foe of anyone or anything that would harm people. And oh my god, she doesn’t want to be. It’s gotten her in so much goddamn trouble. Then the people who, for some idiotic reason actually like her, come running along behind her. And they pay for it in blood and pain. It should go without saying that Sage doesn’t have a very good opinion of herself. She can’t see the hero. She can’t see San Francisco’s mightiest and most stalwart protector since Megagirl. She can’t see how strong she is. How much light and good she’s brought into other people’s lives. She also can’t see that not everything is her fault. That she isn’t responsible for the choices other people make.

But that’s all internal. Sage has the reputation of being a perpetually angry, rebellious hellbitch, but that’s over a decade out of date. She’s still a professional contrarian, is easily irritated, often surly, and enjoys being deliberately annoying as a coping mechanism. Basically she has Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and was never anywhere close to properly treated for it as a child. So instead she’s learning to be less angry, argumentative, and rebellious as an adult, which would be hard enough without the full cargo ship loads of stress and trauma she’s had to endure in her regular life. But she’s Sage. Enduring is what she does. Aside from flinging fire at monsters about to eat people or whatever. And telling bossy assholes (like certain puffed up authority figures) to eat shit, fuck off, and die.

[EternalPhoenix]

Scarlett

 

Power Level: 9; Power Points Spent: 225/225

 

STR: +4 (18), DEX: +4 (18), CON: +4 (18), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +4/+5, Fort: +9, Ref: +12, Will: +12

 

Skills: Acrobatics 11 (+15), Bluff 12 (+15), Craft (chemical) 3 (+5), Disable Device 8 (+10), Disguise 12 (+15), Drive 6 (+10), Escape Artist 6 (+10), Gather Information 7 (+10), Intimidate 12 (+15), Investigate 8 (+10), Knowledge (arcane Lore) 3 (+5), Knowledge (behavioral science) 3 (+5), Knowledge (civics) 3 (+5), Knowledge (streetwise) 13 (+15), Language 2 (+2), Medicine 2 (+5), Notice 12 (+15), Search 8 (+10), Sense Motive 12 (+15), Sleight of Hand 6 (+10), Stealth 11 (+15), Survival 12 (+15)

 

Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Focus (melee) 6, Attack Specialization 3 (Knife Throw (Blast 2)), Benefit (Wealth (Well Off)), Challenge - Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Challenge - Improved Demoralize, Challenge - Improved Feint, Challenge - Improved Startle, Challenge - Improved Taunt, Defensive Roll, Dodge Focus 5, Elusive Target, Equipment 3, Evasion, Improved Critical 2 (Crimson Blast (Blast 12)), Improved Critical 2 (Knife Throw (Blast 2)), Improved Critical 2 (Pressure Strike (Strike 2)), Improved Critical 2 (Rapid Strikes (Strike 2)), Improved Initiative, Improved Trick, Precise Shot, Quick Change, Quick Draw, Skill Mastery 2 (Acro, Bluf, Disg, Intim, Notice, Sen Mot, Steal, Surv), Startle, Takedown Attack 2, Taunt, Track, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Blood Magic (Array 13) (default power: illusion; Unreliable (5 Uses); Custom (Take 1 Injured Condition per use))

   Crimson Blast (Blast 12) (Array; DC 27, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Crimson Blast (Blast 12)))

   Crimson Deceiver (Illusion 6) (Default; affects: all sense types, DC 16; Progression, Area 2 (25 ft. radius))

   Crimson Portal (Teleport (Array; 800 ft. as move action, 2000 miles as full action; Accurate; Change Direction, Change Velocity)

   Crimson Regeneration (Healing (Array; DC 18; Restoration, Total; Limited to Others; Persistent, Regrowth)

Magic Blood (Regeneration 28) (recovery bonus 5 (+5 to recover), recovery rate (bruised) 3 (recover 1 / round without rest), recovery rate (disabled) 8 (recover 1 / round without rest), recovery rate (injured) 6 (recover 1 / round without rest), recovery rate (staggered) 6 (recover 1 / round without rest); Persistent, Regrowth)

Scarlett's Knives (Device 3) (Easy to lose)

   Knife Fighting Techniques (Array 6) (default power: strike; Subtle (subtle); Custom (Array 5.5))

      Knife Throw (Blast 2) (Array; DC 21, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Knife Throw (Blast 2)); Mighty 4 (+4 to damage), Precise)

      Pin Down (Snare 6) (Array; DC 16; Power Loss (vs. targets not wearing any clothing))

      Pressure Strike (Strike 2) (Array; DC 21, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Pressure Strike (Strike 2)); Alternate Save (Fortitude) [4 extra ranks]; Mighty)

      Rapid Strikes (Strike 2) (Default; DC 21, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Rapid Strikes (Strike 2)); Autofire (interval 2, max +5) [4 extra ranks]; Mighty)

 

Equipment: Scarlett's Sedan, Scarlett's Townhouse

 

Attack Bonus: +6 (Ranged: +6, Melee: +12, Grapple: +16)

 

Attacks: Crimson Blast (Blast 12), +6 (DC 27), Knife Throw (Blast 2), +12 (DC 21), Pin Down (Snare 6), +6 (DC Ref/Staged 16), Pressure Strike (Strike 2), +12 (DC Fort 21), Rapid Strikes (Strike 2), +12 (DC 21), Unarmed Attack, +12 (DC 19)

 

Defense: +12  (Flat-footed: +4), Knockback: -2

 

Initiative: +8

 

Languages: English Native, Polish, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 40 + Skills 43 (172 ranks) + Feats 40 + Powers 54 + Combat 26 + Saves 22 + Drawbacks 0 = 225

 

*****************************************************************************************

 

Scarlett's Sedan

 

Power Level: 9; Equipment Points Spent: 7

 

STR: +10 (30)

 

Toughness: +9

 

Powers:

Speed 5 (Speed: 250 mph, 2200 ft./rnd)

 

Defense: -2, Size: Huge

 

Totals: Abilities 0 + Skills 0 (0 ranks) + Feats 0 + Features 0 + Powers 5 + Combat 2 + Saves 0 + Drawbacks 0 + Equipment 0 (0 ep) + Weapons & Armor 0 (0 ep) = 7

 

*****************************************************************************************

 

Scarlett's Townhouse

 

Power Level: 9; Equipment Points Spent: 8

 

Toughness: +10

 

Features: Concealed 1, Garage, Gym, Laboratory, Library, Living Space, Security System 1, Workshop

 

Size: Tiny

 

Totals: Abilities 0 + Skills 0 (0 ranks) + Feats 0 + Features 8 + Powers 0 - Combat 1 + Saves 1 + Drawbacks 0 + Equipment 0 (0 ep) + Weapons & Armor 0 (0 ep) = 8

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): Unclear, at least 100 years (chronological), late 20s to early 30 (appearance)

Height: 5’ 8”

Weight: 140 lbs

Ethnicity: Hispanic (exact country unclear)

Hair: Black

Eyes: Brown

Base of Operations: Chicago, Illinois

 

Background: Scarlett is a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma. Her first documented appearance was over a hundred years ago. Nobody is sure if she’s even human. Theories run between demigod city spirit to faerie trickster to immortal space alien. Between that and her alleged penchant for straight up murdering criminals and supervillains, she’s been a very controversial addition to the Icons. Caviezel is her number one supporter, and the Shining Guardian wasn’t and isn’t too far behind. Because Chicago isn’t just Star territory. It had spawned heroes for decades before the original Starman even moved to town. Scarlett is arguably one of them, though people outside of the Icons disagree on whether the Scarlett of the 2010s is the same as the Scarlett of the 1920s. And whether someone who allegedly kills people counts as a hero in the first place, and not a supervillain with good publicity. The truth is…complicated.

Have you ever made a mistake? One you couldn’t take back? Scarlett has. More than once. Her last name is Rodriguez. It wasn’t, then. She wasn’t Latino, either. She was probably Italian? She doesn’t know. She had a brother. His name was Carmine. She doesn’t really remember whether they were abandoned or orphaned. She remembers that Carmine took care of her. They were just kids, but he was older and a boy. He could get work where she couldn’t. Especially because she was sick a lot. Poor food, bad sanitation in the slums, so many people and so much noise. But he was dedicated and determined, and she got old enough and well enough to help. They may not have had parents, or relatives, but they had each other. They grew with the city. Carmine was making good money with his shop. He has employees and everything. But crime in the city was bad. The violence was holding people back, or so he said. Scarlett doesn’t remember very well. She’d started getting sick again. She does remember the year. 1920. Carmine put on a mask and a fancy red suit and long coat. He got a gun and went out to do battle with the gangsters. He called himself The Scarlett Guardian. He was a hero, but you know the numbers. 10% don’t get through a year. 1% don’t get through five. He beat the odds on that first one. But not the second.

Scarlett was the one who went and found him, then brought him home. Poor Carmine. He’d only ever tried to help, and they killed him for it. Cornered and tommy gunned until he stayed down. His powers weren’t as strong as Scarlett’s, so he died. Scarlett remembers very well what she did next, and it’s well documented in the newspapers of the period. Carmine wanted her to go out with him, so he’d had a suit, coat, and mask made for her, too. She should have gone with him. That was her first mistake. What she did next…well…some people say it was, too. She put on the suit, the coat, and the mask. They weren’t quite the same as his. There was this special gas that deadened her senses a little, turned the suit and coat red, and made the mask stick to her. Carmine had understood. He’d always understood. Sometimes the city was bright, loud, or smelly, and it made her sick. But with the suit and mask, it wasn’t a problem anymore. She took Carmine’s spare gun and her own first set of knives out into the city. And did what she did next. Even Scarlett will admit that it was really more like serial killing than superheroing. Even in that era. Carmine would have probably thought it was excessive. But he was dead. And she was very angry.

Of course, a person can’t be angry forever. She sure tried, though. A second mistake for the list. They really thought she was a psycho. No, there were just rules, and you broke them. That’s what she said, back then. What happened to Carmine eventually happened to her, too. Well, it happened a lot, actually. She was running her brother’s shop, now, so she could afford replacement suits and coats. And she learned to the specific chemical stuff to them that made the gas work, and learned how to make the gas, too. The occasion she’s talking about specifically happened after the gangster era was brought to an end. Like previously stated, a person can’t stay angry forever. And with Torrio gone and Capone in prison there was nobody left to be angry at. She wasn’t a bad detective, really, so she started helping out here and there instead of just killing people or whatever. A shift in methodology that did not go unnoticed by the Bureau of Investigation (not yet the FBI). She was Melvin Purvis’s “lady in red”, Anna Sage, whose tip led to the demise of John Dillinger. Or rather, she was the one wearing the orange dress that day. The real Anna Sage (aka Ana Cumpanas) was not there that day. This was the plan between Anna and Scarlett, who wasn’t half as scary as she’d been five years prior. When “Anna” quietly disappeared after shots were fired and Dillinger was downed, the real Anna was questioned and spilled the truth to the Bureau, who were annoyed at a glorified serial killer intervening in a federal matter.

To tell the truth, it had been ten years since Carmine was killed. After the death of Babyface Nelson, the Chicago division focused on Scarlett. She was the last renegade of the era running free and doing as she pleased despite a shocking amount of violence and death left in her wake. So she was ducking the Bureau (including after they became the FBI in 1935), the Chicago Outfit, and even a supervillain or two. The Outfit she could dodge, intimidate, or fight off. The supervillains she could sic one of the other two on for a while if she couldn’t kill them outright. But the FBI never stopped. She knew from the examples of Dillinger and Nelson that killing a few would just make the rest mad, and that was wrong anyway. They couldn’t be intimidated, not really. Only left dodging, except he FBI was and still is pretty good at what they do. Her final stand in ’38 was a violent affair. She’s ashamed to admit the old anger came roaring back. Accidently burned down that building. They knew her name, so there wasn’t any going back to the shop. The Depression had all but killed it anyway. Surrounded by flames, almost unconscious from blood loss and smoke inhalation, Scarlett worked her first blood magic spell. And died. But not forever.

Scarlett came back. Reborn, really. Surprised that worked. New face. New eyes. New ethnicity. Same brain. Same powers. New understanding of them. A full adult. Neat. Okay, back to work. Well. Kind of. This body had family, apparently. Oh, dear. Body jacking wasn’t the plan. Though…she was pretty sure this person had died, by that big bloodstain she woke up in. So maybe it was okay? She hoped so. She liked these people. They clearly loved the person this body had belonged to. She liked them, too. They weren’t Carmine, but they were good. Yes. Good. 25 years had gone by. 1963. Chicago in the Silver Age got pretty violent. There was a lot for superheroes to do. She never ran into any of the Stars. But you know, she didn’t kill anybody. No guns, either. Just the knives. The rest was the same. Seemed to be the thing to do, so why not go with the flow? Mistake three. A nice shop. Suit, coat, and mask. Yes. This time the law was too busy to worry about her comeback. Well. It’s not like it was that long. A decade and a half. Sixteen years, really. Then one of Starman’s regular sparring partners figured out who she was, or who her body had originally belonged to anyway. The third Neutron was one smart fella. Also a lot more powerful than her. He beat her to death in her own shop. Well, what would have been death for anyone else, probably. Then he locked the doors and set it on fire. With her kidnapped family in it. She loved them, by then. Quite a bit, really. She saved them. She saved them all. Of course, she wore her powers down to a nub doing it. No strength left. Aw. She didn’t want to be dead again. But her shop was on fire. And Neutron would just come after her family again, probably. She used the spell again. Better, this time.

1994. Her current life. Scarlett Rodriguez. Not a full adult. Just a kid, really. Nice parents. Cute little sister. That was okay. World had changed again. It was okay to be violent and murderous now. Which was good, because she was angry about having to leave her family again. Very angry. But you know what they say; insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. So she joined the police department instead of having a shop. The thing that changed her into a proper superhero again was meeting Caviezel. He came investigating some of her killings. Homicide detectives get better info and enough forensic raining to avoid leaving evidence behind. Know this guy’s literally evil, but got nothing on him. That’s okay, she could just costume up and go deal with him. No more bad guy. Normally this would have been like, a fight. Caviezel vs. Scarlett, let’s she and him fight. Except no. He saw her and wanted to talk instead. Oh. Okay. People don’t normally try to talk to her. A very long conversation. He’s a good friend, and a good man. He was also right. And she wasn’t. The Iron Age was over, you know? Killing was out again. That’s the flippant response. The serious one was that, well…he was right. She wasn’t Being Good, like Carmine always did. She wasn’t living up to his example like she wanted to and he’d approve of. (Caviezel, for his part, understood that imprisoning a being that can open one vein and reincarnate 25 years from now in a new body whenever she wants is a stupid idea that would never work unless she allowed it to, so rehabilitation is a superior solution. Especially when you can see through her layers of self deception and reveal them to her.)

Plus, you know, life wasn’t so bad. Mom and dad (these third ones) had died a little early, so she got to be Carmine for her kid sister for a little while. And there was this nice guy she was dating. He had two cute kids. Her first two lives hadn’t ended all that well, and she missed those guys a lot. Carmine was dead, and second life’s family wouldn’t recognize her plus it had been over thirty years now since she’d seen them last. This third life was good. She wanted to keep it as long as possible. So she put the guns away again. She was brought into the Icons in 2010, after the Seven Soldiers incident. Caviezel’s opinion counted for a lot, sure, but Fletcher, his former partner Armsman, the Desert Stranger (whom Tex Austin knew well) and Crusader (Sir Randall Knight) She was not there for Lei Zi’s invasion because she was on a case for her day job of homicide detective and could not get away without losing her job. C’mon, Captain. It’s an emergency. Nope, this is Priority One. All hands on deck. Your other stuff will have to take care of itself, Rodriguez. Darn. She was, however, there for everything else. Fletcher making that AI in 2014. She took the Shining Guardian’s side in the Icons civil war. So she was there in Baltimore for the Eternity War. And that is where her story takes a turn. See, between Lei Zi’s invasion in 2011 and battling that AI in 2014, she married that nice guy. His name was Ethan Slater. She lived in his house while keeping her apartment for her own stuff. Like Carmine, Ethan understood. He was also happy to have a woman who didn’t abuse him or his kids verbally or physically. When the civil war happened, she was already a few weeks pregnant and hasn’t noticed yet. Since her identity was still secret, she could still be at home without the mask, suit, and coat on.

It was not that Ethan or any of their three children were Dusted. It was that she was. Homicide detectives make enemies, just like superheroes. And with the initial chaos of the Dusting, one took advantage of the opportunity to get some revenge on Detective Scarlett Rodriguez. Unfortunately, she was not home. Her husband and children were. Scarlett was gone until the final battle of the Endgame. She did fine enough there, but was obviously distracted. Afterwards, she returned home to an empty house that had apparently not been lived in for some time. Sure, okay. Maybe Ethan and the children were among the Dusted too. So she went to the station, her workplace. Her little sister Mia was there, having both been a detective in Vice, Scarlett’s replacement in Homicide, and thus not Dusted. Mia had her children. But Ethan was dead. She took a trip to the graveyard. Scarlett displayed grief and rage at the headstone of her husband. And that night, she went to find the son of a bitch who’d murdered her Ethan and made her children watch. She was, for the first time since Carmine, very angry.

Scarlett knew where her husband’s killer was. He was not alone. This did not matter. They were laughing at his description of his work. Chicago PD got the call a while later. A room full of gangsters, massacred with knives. One in particular the killer of these men seemed to have taken a long time with. Neither Scarlett nor Detective Scarlett Rodriguez have been seen since. She does not appear to be anywhere. If she had cast the spell and reincarnated, her body would have been found. Detective Rodriguez is not a suspect in the killings, as she isn’t known to have any knife skills nor any connection to the superheroine Scarlett. The Icons don’t know her secret identity, aside from Caviezel. And he’s got more than enough on his plate at the moment to think of investigating one mass killing in Chicago. The truth? Scarlett is hiding. She’s made a horrible mistake, is terribly ashamed, and doesn’t know what to do about it.

 

Powers & Tactics: Scarlett is an expert knife fighter who has magic blood. No, seriously. She’s a very rare and unusual type of sorcerer. Normally, sorcerers generate mana from their souls and store it in their bodies. And Scarlett is arguably still doing that, but instead of infusing into her entire body, it’s just in her blood and bone marrow. And by in, what is actually meant is fully integrated and inseparable from. This, understandably, makes spellcasting difficult. Not only does she need to bleed to cast any spells, but a portion of her blood is used up in the process. So if she uses it more than five times in a short period, she’ll start getting light headed from blood loss. Actually injuring herself to get the magic blood out is less of a problem, as her magic blood effortlessly regenerates all injuries in extremely rapid fashion. This too, can technically wear out after too much blood loss due to injury or spellcasting, but it lasts far longer. The third Neutron was physically strong enough to injure the original Starman, and it took him several blows to get her regeneration to even begin to fade. However, her bone marrow replaces her blood at a far superior rate so even if her powers are fading due to blood loss they will quickly return with food and rest. This can take anywhere from an hour (if she’s just run out of her normal spellcasting allotment) to several hours (if she’s taken and recovered from extreme punishment) to a full day (if her powers were ever totally worn out and she wasn’t dead from her injuries somehow).

Her knife fighting skills aren’t from any specific school, really. It superficially resembles Eskrima, as she uses a knife in each hand. However, there are movements from the Sicilian school of stiletto fighting, Andalucian navaja fighting, and the teachings of William E. Fairbairn as well. So it’s arguably her own style. She can, of course, simply rapidly stab people, but she can also throw one to damage or several to pin down if the target is dressed today. The only more exotic technique is a “pressure strike” which inflicts internal damage. She carries a genuinely ridiculous amount of knives to fight with. She owns more knives than shirts.

 

Tactically, Scarlett really is mostly a knife fighter. Her nonlethal attacks are all bludgeoning damage, for the record, while if she ever went lethal it’d be piercing as expected for knives. Knife Throw and Pin Down are ranged, with the latter being great to hold down opponents for a follow up attack or just in general.  Rapid Strikes and Pressure Strike are melee, and each has their strengths. That’s all she needs for common thuggery. Throw in Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Demoralize, Feint, Startle, and Taunt plus a +2 Power Attack if necessary for any ordinary supervillains. With her regeneration, it’s not a big issue to deal with them this way. It’s against those situations a step up from the ordinary where the magic comes out. Sometimes she needs +12 damage instead of +8. It’s just how it is. Illusions can make fighting so much easier, as well as aiding civilian escape or just being a big flashy distraction for someone else. We all know how useful one teleport can be. And sometimes people are hurt and they need healing. Extra Effort can overcome the Unreliable Flaw for another use, but now she’s Fatigued so it makes sense she doesn’t do that a lot. One would think Blood Magic was ripe for any number of power stunts, but they’d be effect she hasn’t practiced well. They take more blood than she’d like, in basically the same way as the aforementioned Extra Effort. So she doesn’t really bother in the heat of the moment. But if you, Dear Reader, can think of other mundane Knife Fighting Techniques, you are welcome to have her stunt them.

 

Personality: Scarlett is a very unusual personality. It’s what makes people think she isn’t human. She’s very, very strange. I am not a psychologist, Dear Reader, but she fits quite well many of the symptoms used to diagnose autism. She has sensory sensitivity to bright light, certain sounds (including some people’s voices), and certain smells (like sulfur, or ammonia). She displays repetitive, ritualistic behaviors like wearing the same outfit every single day from her closet full of identical outfits and eating from a relatively limited menu of food items. And, of course, a strong resistance to change. She’s been dressing and acting the same way through three lifetimes and nearly a century of time. She even has issues with social interaction, lacking anything resembling the intuitive understanding of other people that most have. She has had to make do with a cobbled together intellectual understanding that, until Caviezel, was rather flawed. This is the part that’s caused her to be able to casually kill if they’ve met the qualifications in her mind. It makes logical sense to remove someone who is causing more harm than good to society, yes? Especially if they show no signs of being willing to change that, yes? They wouldn’t be acting that way if they hadn’t accepted that this could happen to them, yes? Of course, it’s not nearly that simple, even in strictly logical terms. Putting the legal arguments, psychology, and discussion of systemic poverty aside, Caviezel correctly identified why she was behaving the way she was. Because Scarlett herself didn’t know, either. Not really. She was angry. Oh. Is that what that feels like? But they deserved it, right? It’s not about what they deserve, Scarlett. It’s about the kind of person you want to be. What kind of person do you want to be, Scarlett?

The other reason is that like many autistic persons, she has a high level of alexithymia, which is the inability to identify and describe one’s own emotions. And if she has difficulty understanding her own emotions, imagine how difficult it is to understand anyone else’s. Naturally this makes interpersonal relations rather…difficult. So the common description of her in the old days as a psycho killer makes sense. She seemed basically sociopathic, and capable of shocking violence because she didn’t understand. And because they were the bad guys, it didn’t seem to matter. Some people would say that she’s a lost cause, and to give up on her. These people have not seen her through the eyes of Carmine, Ethan, and especially Caviezel. They have not seen her put her life on the line in and out of costume to protect people. The answer to that question. The type of person she wants to be. She doesn’t want to be an enraged psycho killer. Those are the bad guys. Villains. She wants to be a hero, like Carmine. To rescue people in trouble and defeat the bad people who would harm them. Until recently, she’d been doing an admirable job. But her standards for dealing with said bad guys were formed in a very different era, where killing them was accepted practice. It took Caviezel to explain to her why she was wrong in the first place. There aren’t words for the guilt, the shame, and the strength of her desire to make up for all that killing. She tried to change. She tried to atone. She tried to be different. Until one asshole kicked her right in her most sensitive psychological spot (losing people she loves), and all her work to be a better hero and live up to Carmine’s example was undone. So, now what? She doesn’t know, really. Maybe she hasn’t really changed at all…

 

[EternalPhoenix]

Crusader (Sir Randall Knight)

 

Power Level: 12; Power Points Spent: 255/255

 

STR: +10 (16/30), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +3 (16), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +3/+12, Fort: +6/+9, Ref: +9/+12, Will: +12

 

Skills: Acrobatics 12 (+15), Bluff 12 (+15), Concentration 2 (+5), Diplomacy 12 (+15), Gather Information 7 (+10), Knowledge (arcane Lore) 12 (+15), Knowledge (civics) 7 (+10), Knowledge (history) 7 (+10), Knowledge (life sciences) 2 (+5), Knowledge (physical sciences) 2 (+5), Knowledge (tactics) 17 (+20), Knowledge (theology & philosophy) 12 (+15), Language 6 (+6), Medicine 2 (+5), Notice 12 (+15), Search 2 (+5), Sense Motive 12 (+15), Survival 2 (+5)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Assessment, Attack Focus (melee) 3, Benefit (KNT CMDR, Order of St. Michael & St. George, Royal Victorian Order, & Order of The British , Benefit (Recipient of the George Cross), Challenge - Improved Feint, Challenge - Improved Taunt, Defensive Attack, Evasion 2, Improved Block, Improved Critical 2 (Crusader Sword (Device 3)), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Interpose, Lionheart, Luck 4, Master Plan, Master Plan 2 (tactics), Power Attack, Quick Draw, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, KN (tactics), Notice, Sense Motive), Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack 2, Taunt, Teamwork, Ultimate Effort 2 (Toughness & Will saves), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory), Weapon Bind

 

Powers:

Crusader Armor (Device 12) (Hard to lose, Only you can use; Indestructible, Subtle (subtle))

   Armor Senses (Super-Senses (awareness: Magic (visual), awareness: Demonic/Hellfire/Infernal (visual), counters concealment: Visual, counters illusion: Visual, darkvision)

   Armored Might (Super-Strength (+40 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 204.8 tons; +8 STR to some checks)

   Armored Strength (Enhanced Strength 14) (+14 STR)

   Heavy Plate (Protection 9) (+9 Toughness; Impervious)

   Translation Enchantments (Comprehend 2) (languages - speak all, languages - understand all)

Crusader Shield (Device 6) (Easy to lose, Only you can use; Indestructible, Subtle (subtle))

   Hellproof (Immunity 5) (custom: Demonic/Hellfire/Infernal 5)

   Magic Resistant (Immunity 20) (very common descriptor: Magic; Limited - Half Effect)

   Shield Blocking (Impervious Toughness 3) (Duration (continuous); Duration (sustained))

   Shield Deflection (Enhanced Trait 12) (Traits: Defense Bonus +3 (+12), Reflex +3 (+12), Feats: Evasion 2, Improved Defense)

Crusader Sword (Device 3) (Easy to lose, Only you can use; Indestructible, Subtle (subtle))

   Sword Strike (Strike 2) (DC 27, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Crusader Sword (Device 3)); Penetrating [7 extra ranks]; Mighty, Variable Descriptor (Narrow group - Bludgeoning/Piercing/Slashing))

Enhanced Biochemistry (Linked)

   Enhanced Trait 3 (Linked; Traits: Fortitude +3 (+9))

   Immunity 9 (Linked; life support; Limited - Half Effect)

 

Attack Bonus: +9 (Ranged: +9, Melee: +12, Grapple: +22/+30)

 

Attacks: Sword Strike (Strike 2), +12 (DC 27), Unarmed Attack, +12 (DC 25)

 

Defense: +9/+12  (Flat-footed: +6), Knockback: -12

 

Initiative: +7

 

Languages: Arabic, English Native, French, German, Latin, Russian, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 36 + Skills 35 (140 ranks) + Feats 35 + Powers 95 + Combat 36 + Saves 18 + Drawbacks 0 = 255

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 56 (chronological), 35 (biological)

Height: 6’ 1”

Weight: 185 lbs

Ethnicity: Anglo-Saxon

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Gray

Base of Operations: London, England

 

Background: Sir Randall Knight is a living legend in the United Kingdom. The patriarch of The Knight Family. Fourth generation superhero. An untouchable legacy that started 42 years ago when he was 14 years old. And probably the British government and monarchy’s single greatest pain in the ass. Big Ben may be Britain’s mightiest hero, but Randall is their unquestioned leader. His influence in the British hero community is immense. If he wasn’t a very good man, this would be a problem, actually. Most countries don’t have someone like him, who can rally the virtually the entire hero community to his banner and cause. That is how much influence and respect he has. And by God, it was earned in blood, sweat, and tears.

The tale actually starts at the fuzzily defined dawn of the Mystery Men Era, with Emerson Knight. He was an explorer, as many young men were in those days. In 1900 at age 21, he found the armor, shield, and sword of The Knight and the chainmail and short sword of The Squire in a forgotten cave in Somerset County, England. As the tale goes, he took up the former and became the first of a new generation of British superheroes. He was characterized as a good man and a noble hero, but it was the Mystery Men Era. Emerson was a man more interested in using his sword than his shield. He aided the Celtic Princess Keira in her exploits during the First World War, and was knighted by King George V for his courage and heroism. His son Cedric took up the gear of The Squire in 1921, and began to fight by his side. But alas, Sir Emerson was the wrong kind of man to be The Knight, and in 1928 the armor abandoned him when he needed it most in favor of Cedric. Thus passed Sir Emerson Knight, first of a bloodline of heroes. He was mourned by many and his funeral was well attended.

Cedric took up the mantle and became The Knight II. The 21 year old, much like his father, was characterized as a good man and a noble hero. But also much like his father, he was a man more interested in using his sword than his shield. He fought injustice and evildoers through Scotland, England, and Wales, and was much respected. He became a leader in Britan’s Golden Age heroic community. He fought the Nazis and Italians throughout World War 2, serving proudly alongside Britan’s other super operatives and the American Project Blue Liberty. For his exploits, he was knighted by King George VI. After the war, in 1949, his son Sheldon took up the gear of The Squire, and began to fight by his side. They even aided the Allied Forces in the Korean War. But alas, Sir Cedric was the wrong kind of man to be The Knight, and in 1956 the armor abandoned him when he needed it most in favor of Sheldon. Thus passed Sir Cedric Knight, second of a bloodline of heroes. He was mourned by many and his funeral was well attended.

Sheldon took up the mantle and became The Knight III. The 21 year old, unlike his father, was characterized as a bloodthirsty asshole, with neither honor nor nobility to be found in him. He was indeed a man far more interested in using his sword than his shield. It should surprise no one that not only did he fight crime and evildoers through England, Scotland, and Wales, but also in Northern Ireland and Ireland proper. Anywhere he could find a fight in the entire British Isles. Though it must be said that the Sheldon who returned from the Korean War resembled the one who left in appearance only. He was never the same again. Still, he did protect people, especially in the invasion of ’71. So Queen Elizabeth II knighted him like his forebears were. His son Randall took up the gear of The Squire in 1977, and began to fight by his side. They even fought side by side in the invasion of ’82. But alas, Sir Sheldon was the wrong kind of man to be The Knight, and in 1984 the armor abandoned him when he needed it most in favor of Randall. Thus passed Sir Sheldon Knight, third of a bloodline of heroes. He was mourned by very few and his funeral was sparsely attended.

Sir Randall (as he was knighted after his heroics in ’82) up the mantle and became The Knight IV. The 21 year old was nothing like any of his three predecessors. In the fourth generation a man had finally appeared who valued his shield over his sword. He married a brilliant woman who took his name. Morgan Knight. The World’s Finest Chemist and the superheroine Lady Alchemist.  Their first child, Jessica, was born in ’91. In ’92, he distinguished himself further in the brief struggle against Kuros’s revenge invasion alongside Fletcher and Starman II before Nick Phoenix put an end to the whole thing by himself. After that, he fought injustice and evildoers through Scotland, England, and Wales, as well as having many scientific and mystical adventures alongside his wife. His second child, Sophie, was born in 1998. This was also the year Jessica began to accompany them under the name Miss Page, and was clearly looking forward to becoming The Squire when she was old enough. He was understandably unwilling to appoint a new Squire. Regardless, the family’s adventures continued until 2005, when The Squire’s equipment made the decision for him. Specifically, by selecting a new user itself and teleporting to him. One Daniel Cross, age 14. Whether Randall liked it or not, his sidekick and successor in seven years I the pattern held had arrived. This damaged Randall’s relationship with Jessica (also age 14 at this time), who changed her codename to Lady Knight and starting using actual medieval weapons instead of a wooden spear. Sophie, for her part, took up chemistry and her mother’s original codename of Alchemist Girl, making her the second of that name. The Knight Family was an established thing, having many interesting adventures. But Randall and well, everyone else, knew that his time was coming to an end. It was fully expected that in 2012 the armor of The Knight would abandon him in favor of Daniel when he needed it most, and he would die. This did not cause him to limit his activities in any way. In fact, he fought all the harder, exactly like a man who knows he’s running out of time. He had to leave the world better than he found it when he died. This did not happen. Precisely because, unlike his forebears, he was worthy.

In 2012, The Knight Family went to Glastonbury Tor, and through a hidden door in St. Michael’s Tower that had not been there before and has not been seen since. They had received a mysterious summons, like many calls to mystical adventure before them. This, however, was different. There was battle to be had, problems to be solved, and innocents to be saved to be sure. But it was all a great big test from the magical kingdom of Avalon. And Sir Randall, Daniel, and surprisingly Sophie all passed. So indeed the armor, sword, and shield of The Knight abandoned Randall, but not when he needed it most, and not for Daniel. It abandoned him for Sophie, and two more powerful armors were revealed. Crusader, which was given to Sir Randall, and Templar, which was given to Daniel. The damaged relationship between Randall and Jessica was even repaired at last. The gear of The Squire was returned to storage in the family’s estate. Sophie, or as she now called herself, The Alchemist Knight, would select one when she was ready or it was time. As of the start of 2019, this has not yet occurred.

Sir Randall Knight isn’t an Icon, technically. But he was arguably Fletcher’s best friend until the archer’s death at the end of the Endgame. The entire Knight Family was present at his funeral. When called on with enough time to get across the Atlantic in time, he would absolutely show up to help. This means that he missed Lei Zi’s invasion, Fletcher making an AI, and the Eternity War. They simply happened too fast for him to even get on a plane, let alone finish crossing the Atlantic. He did, however, appear for several other lesser situations and thus is as well known to the American public as any actual Icon. He missed the Icons civil war because he was not allowed into the country until after the Endgame. It was thought (quite correctly) that he would have talked sense into Fletcher and turned the whole of the Icons against the Superpower Registration Act. So his visa was denied, delayed, and a dozen other bureaucratic stalling tactics. Alas, his pain in the ass-ness became a pain in his own ass. Because he is a pain in the ass. He has been leftist/liberal/progressive/whatever, a prominent public figure in British circles, and a literal aristocrat with a seat in the House of Lords for literal decades now. He’s been a Life Peer since ’92 (when he was also given that George Cross), and carries the hereditary Baronetcy Sir Emerson was granted in his day. So he’s technically Lord Randall Knight. That, however, makes him uncomfortable. While he is a professional pain in the ass to anyone who puts pride, tradition, profits, or power over the well being of the people, he is also fiercely loyal to Britain and especially its people. The Crown and government he is loyal to when they deserve it, in his eyes. They continue to put up with him and let him retain his various honors because well…he earned them through valorous action and it is an absolute certainty that he would do it again in a heartbeat. Whether he likes someone or approves of their actions has no bearing on his safeguarding of their lives even should it be at the cost of his own. Now if only he’d kindly shut up about certain matters, they’d get along swimmingly. At any rate, should the current Icons need him and he isn’t occupied with his own affairs, he will fly over to lend his assistance without hesitation.

Sir Randall can call on any hero in Britain for an ally if he is ever in need. The other members of the Knight Family (his wife Lady Alchemist, children Lady Knight and The Alchemist Knight, and partner Templar) are regularly at his side. The mighty Big Ben is a stalwart friend. He is arguably the mightiest and most durable hero in the world besides America’s Tex Austin, but still has the maturity and psychology of a child. Sir Randall has arguably been the best influence on the veteran young lad. The legendary Celtic Princess Keaira returned a few years ago. She has the strength and resilience of the stone statue she once was, expert combat skills, and a very large sword. The costumed detective Paragon has firmly made his name these days. And the trio of Umbrella Queen (a melee fighter who makes umbrellas harder and more indestructible than even adamantine), Nisse (a user of Fae magics), and Tattoo (can use the memories, knowledge and skills of friends who have died) are street level veterans that can be relied upon.

On the enemies side, his own current personal enemy is the virtually immortal Blackguard. However, the thief Lyla Fox has played poor Morgan for years and years. The mad scientist Doctor Brennan Rao, his “lovely assistant” (they’re really partners, but he’s again insane) Hermoine St. Germain, and his “procurer” (really mercenary muscle) Fiona Watson are quite dangerous threats, being enemies of the mighty Big Ben himself. The Doctor’s genetic monstrosities have threatened the safety of the British populace many times. The current living genetic monstrosities are, in order of threat level, Talil (basically a humanoid housecat and less dangerous than even that sounds), Scales (a clawed lizard man dangerous to mundane police, but even rookie heroes should defeat him handily), Braineater (a parasite that hijacks living people’s bodies and slowly eats their brains; even heroes should be wary), Arachnofiend (a spider monster who eats anything it can; rookie heroes should run), Tuskenfiend (four legged, sharp teeth, sharp claws, and those tusks; it again eats anything it can; non-Five Year Vets should run), Carnifiend (Tuskenfiend without the tusks and on steroids; if you’re not on the level of a new Phoenix Mutate, run if you can and get eaten if you can’t), and Destructofiend (a giant cyborg with powerful eye lasers; leave this one to Big Ben and Keira, please). The wizardess Morgana The Black Queen (yes, that Morgana, or so she says, and Keira [who would know] believes her) and Karnak (an undead man who can match Big Ben in every category) round out the perils facing Britain.

 

Powers & Tactics: Sir Randall Knight had no superhuman powers before meeting his wife Morgan. He was just an expert swordsman in enchanted armor with an equally enchanted shield and sword. A while ago she gave him a serum that chopped a bunch of years of his age, so that’s nice. And a while before that she had another one that enhanced his biochemistry, making him more resistant to uh…everything. But especially environmental concerns, disease, poison, and suffocation. So that’s rather useful. Thanks, love. He doesn’t use any particular sword style. Or rather, he uses the Knight Family style, where they train to hit the enemy with their sword without any special techniques, like they did in medieval times.

The Crusader armor, shied, and sword are indestructible by any known means, they can disguise themselves as ordinary clothes and accessories, and they only function for Randall. Even the sword will not cut in another person’s hands. It’d be just a glorified club. But in his hands it can cut through even the toughest armor like butter. Or pierce through. Or smash through. It’s flexible like that. The shield, on the other hand, is a little more complex. It grants the user significant resistance to magic and outright immunity to demonic/infernal powers and Hellfire. It’s also, yanno, a shield. Helps block damage from getting to the user. The armor, is well, armor. Capable of shrugging off all man portable mundane weaponry and even lesser on its own, combined with the shield he’s ignored rocket fire. But it also makes him quite strong, able to crack steel with a punch and lift hundreds of tons. There is also the translation enchantments (which work on spoken language only, unfortunately) and a significant sensor suite. Concealment, Illusions, and darkness are no impediment to his vision, and he can see both magical and demonic/Hellfire/infernal effects.

 

Tactically, Randall is really just a swordsman. Always has been. He does always try to talk it out first, if that seems possible. Using Improved Block or Improved Defense to protect himself. If not, than he will fight. Though, truthfully common thuggery cannot penetrate his armor, to there’s no reason to do anything but Improved Disarm them and Accurate Attack +5 punch them unconscious. It is for ordinary supervillains that he’ll bring out the sword and shield for. That much Accurate Attack is still the order of the day, however, reducing it if necessary. He doesn’t want to unintentionally inflict lethal damage, after all. With stronger foes, he doesn’t bother holding back like this. Indeed, he’ll use both Improved Feint and Taunt. He’s got All Out, Defense, and Power Attack to cycle through at need. Accurate+Defensive can be used to turtle up, All Out+Power is a savage attack, etc. Don’t forget his rank of Teamwork and his Master Plan feats for working with others. +3 to attack rolls and skill checks for 3 rounds is nothing to sneeze at. The +2 and +1 for one round each following isn’t, either. He does not power stunt.

 

Personality: Sir Randall Knight believes in nothing. Nothing, but the truth of who we are. We are warmth in the cold We are light in the darkness. We are love amidst an uncaring universe. We exist. Right here. Right now. None any better than the rest. We all blood. We all suffer. We all die. We are all, in the end, forgotten. We are all dust in the wind. Less than an eyeblink in the span of a far greater universe. None of it matters. And that’s the point. The universe is cold, dark, and uncaring. But we have no need to be. No one can choose when they are born. Very few get to choose when they die. Circumstances not of our own making constrain many of our choices throughout our lives. And yet, the answer to a simple question is always ours to decide. What kind of person do you want to be?

Indeed, Sir Randall Knight believes in nothing. But that is irrelevant. He decided the type of person he wanted to be a very long time ago, and nothing has swayed his resolve. He did not decide to be a hero, though he is one. He did not decide to be a killer, though he is one of those as well. He decided to simply be a good man. The best man he was able to be. Because one day he will die. Everything he is will disappear into oblivion. But until then, he can be warm and loving. A light in the dark or those who are lost in it. Many are eager to deal out death and judgement. He is not among them. He does not consider himself nearly wise enough for that, and considers anyone who does to be fooling themselves. He is a man of kindness and forgiveness. Of empathy and compassion. Of courage and valor. And of honor and respect. He is a helping hand, a protective shield and wise counsel in one’s ear. He is an ever stalwart defender of life, free will, and the right to pursue one’s own happiness.

Because Sir Randall Knight believes in nothing. He seeks no meaning out of his existence. He serves no higher purpose or calling. He is simply here, now. He has decided the kind of man he wants to be. He has a family that loves him, friends across the sea, and the respect of his peers. That is enough.

[EternalPhoenix]

Nick Phoenix

 

Power Level: 16; Power Points Spent: 500/500

 

STR: +20 (18/50), DEX: +4 (18), CON: +20 (18/50), INT: +4 (18), WIS: +4 (18), CHA: +4 (18)

 

Tough: +20, Fort: +20, Ref: +12, Will: +16

 

Skills: Acrobatics 4 (+8), Bluff 16 (+20), Computers 16 (+20), Concentration 8 (+12), Diplomacy 16 (+20), Disable Device 16 (+20), Gather Information 16 (+20), Intimidate 16 (+20), Medicine 4 (+8), Notice 16 (+20), Search 16 (+20), Sense Motive 16 (+20), Stealth 4 (+8)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Beginner's Luck, Eidetic Memory, Equipment 4, Evasion, Improved Initiative 5, Interpose, Inventor, Jack-of-All-Trades, Luck 4, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Skill Mastery 5 (KN skills), Takedown Attack 2, Ultimate Effort (Strength checks), Ultimate Effort 3 (Fort, Toughness, & Will saves), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Eternal Flame of Destruction & Rebirth (Array 36) (default power: - linked powers -)

   Burning Destruction (Linked)

      Burning (Blast 12) (Linked; DC 27; Accurate 4 (+8), Incurable, Precise)

      Destruction (Drain 12) (Linked; drains: single trait - toughness, DC 22; Affects Objects, Range (ranged); Accurate 4 (+8), Incurable, Precise)

   Destruction & Rebirth (Transform 12) (Array; affects: anything, Transforms: 5000 lbs., DC 22; Duration (continuous); Action (full))

   Flames of Rebirth (Healing 11) (Array; DC 21; Action (standard), Affects Objects, Range (ranged), Restoration, Total; Limited to Others; Persistent, Regrowth)

   Phoenix Fire Blast (Blast 20) (Array; DC 35; Autofire (interval 2, max +5) [10 ranks only], Secondary Effect; Incurable, Precise)

   Phoenix Fire Burst (Blast 16) (Array; DC 31; Burst Area (60-2000 ft. radius - General), Selective Attack; Progression, Decrease Area 4 (-4 ranks), Progression, Increase Area 4 (area x25))

   Phoenix Might (Linked)

      Enhanced Strength 32 (Linked; +32 STR)

      Super-Strength 20 (Linked; +100 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 439.8bn tons; +20 STR to some checks)

   Spatial Warping (Teleport 20) (Array; 2000 ft. as move action, Anywhere in the universe as full action; Accurate; Change Direction, Easy)

   Telekinetic Toolkit (Move Object 16) (Array; Strength: 80, Carry: 272.4 tons / 544.8 tons / 819.2 tons / 1.6k tons; Perception Area (Targeted), Range (perception); Indirect 3 (any point, any direction), Precise, Subtle 2 (unnoticable))

Infinite Rebirth (Container, Passive 18) (Innate)

   Healing 5 (Action 4 (reaction), Restoration, Total; Personal; Persistent)

   Immunity 11 (aging, life support, starvation & thirst)

   Regeneration 41 (ability damage 8 (recover 1 / round without rest), recovery rate (bruised) 3 (recover 1 / round without rest), recovery rate (disabled) 8 (recover 1 / round without rest), recovery rate (injured) 6 (recover 1 / round without rest), recovery rate (staggered) 6 (recover 1 / round without rest), resurrection 10 (instantly); Persistent, Regrowth)

Memory Reconfiguring (Variable 10) (acquire: all of (type) - skills, Feats: Eidetic Memory; Action (full), Limited (to Craft, Knowledge & Language skills))

Movement (Array 30) (default power: flight)

   Quickness 20 (Alternate; [0 active, 60/60 PP, 1/r], Perform routine tasks at 5000000x speed)

   Speed 20 (Alternate; [0 active, 60/60 PP, 1/r], Speed: 25000000 mph, 2.2e+08 ft./rnd)

   Flight 20 (Default; [15 active, 60/60 PP, 2/r], Speed: 500000 mph, 4400000 ft./rnd)

   Super-Strength 20 (Array; [15 active, 60/60 PP, 2/r], +75 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 439.8bn tons; +15 STR to some checks)

Phoenix Stamina (Enhanced Constitution 32) (+32 CON)

 

Equipment: Time and Space Ship (TISS)

 

Attack Bonus: +12 (Ranged: +12, Melee: +12, Grapple: +32/+67)

 

Attacks: Burning (Blast 12), +20 (DC 27), Destruction & Rebirth (Transform 12), +12 (DC Fort 22), Destruction (Drain 12), +20 (DC Fort/Staged 22), Phoenix Fire Blast (Blast 20), +12 (DC 35), Phoenix Fire Burst (Blast 16) (DC 31), Unarmed Attack, +12 (DC 35)

 

Defense: +12  (Flat-footed: +6), Knockback: -10

 

Initiative: +24

 

Languages: English Native

 

Totals: Abilities 48 + Skills 41 (164 ranks) + Feats 35 + Powers 308 + Combat 48 + Saves 20 + Drawbacks 0 = 500

 

******************************************************************************************

 

Time and Space Ship (TISS)

 

Power Level: 16; Equipment Points Spent: 20

 

Toughness: +20

 

Features: Communications, Computer, Dual Size (Fine), Fire Prevention System, Gym, Laboratory, Library, Living Space, Pool, Power System, Workshop

 

Powers:

Deflector Shielding (Impervious Toughness 15)

Holo Disguise (Morph (morph: broad group, +40 Disguise; Duration (continuous))

Ion Drive (Flight 15) (Speed: 500000 mph, 4400000 ft./rnd; Subtle 2 (unnoticable))

Time and Space Travel (Super-Movement 6) (extra ranks 3, temporal move 3 (any time); Subtle 2 (unnoticable))

 

Size: Large

 

Totals: Abilities 0 + Skills 0 (0 ranks) + Feats 0 + Features 11 + Powers 4 + Combat 2 + Saves 3 + Drawbacks 0 + Equipment 0 (0 ep) + Weapons & Armor 0 (0 ep) = 20

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): It’s incredibly complicated (chronological), Varies between early 20s and mid 50s (appearance)

Height: Varies within human norms

Weight: Varies within human norms

Ethnicity: Varies within human norms

Hair: Varies within human norms

Eyes: Varies within human norms

Base of Operations: Mobile throughout time and space

 

Theme Song: [url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cc0qNU7Ez4]I Am The Doctor Restructure[/url]

 

Background: Nick Phoenix is the G. O. A. T. There is no discussion, debate, dissention, disputation, or argument on this topic. Nick Phoenix is the greatest superhero of all time and space. Except, interestingly enough, on Earth. He is both legendary and mythical. Literally. If there is a tale anywhere (including Earth, this time) of a legendary hero from the past who saved a whole lot of people from a terrible danger, but that person is unnamed? It was probably Nick. One of the most interesting thing about him is that nobody’s encountered him in chronological order. The Nick who appeared today and the Nick who will appear next week can have a few days or untold eons of difference in their ages. And this can be flipped, so he may not actually remember meeting the people he met yesterday. Because for him, that yesterday is tomorrow. One gets used to it. Due to his tendency to resurrect relatively frequently (as compared with the eon of eons he’s been alive) he may not even look like the same person. Hell, occasionally he’s female presenting. But nobody dresses like him. Black bodysuit. Bright orange bird on the chest. Bright orange boots, belt, and bracers. You see someone like tthat, it’s Nick. Or Nicki, as the case may be.

But let’s rewind to the beginning, shall we? It started in a cornfield in central Maryland. Sometimes the cornfield is in central Kansas, or central California. Regardless. There was a boy, standing in it. Sometimes the boy is 9. Sometimes he is 14. Sometimes he’s even 5. He’s done a fair bit of manipulating time to obscure his own origins. Suddenly, the sky was bleeding fire. The infinitely powerful semi sentient energy being known as the Phoenix had chosen this boy out of everyone else throughout the entirety of the multiverse to bear its power. Out of a number of beings so close to infinity that it makes no difference and it chose one ordinary, boring human boy in the middle of nowhere. What the heck, right? The after of that is even more confusing. Did he go to the Javier Academy, graduate and work for it until he no longer could? Did he grow up on that farm in Kansas before moving to the big city as an adult? Or was that time in the cornfield just a vacation and he grew up in suburban Cali just outside Sacramento? Bluntly, yes. It was all three and more.

The common thread is that he became something more. A powerful superhero. One who, in the end, could not stay on Earth. His power attracted too much attention from the rest of the universe to his home. Also he was becoming the one guy everyone depended on. So he beat feet. Split the scene. Didn’t let the door hit him where the good Lord split him. He began traveling throughout all of time and space, having adventures. Quite literally all kinds of adventures. He has seen the birth of all creation. He has fought in the first seven Time Wars, and walked away from the eighth in disgust. He was there watching when time ran out until there was nothing left in all creation. No time. No space. No matter. Just. Him. He has seen pocket universes where the laws of physics were devised by a madman. He has seen things no one would ever believe. He has lost things no one could ever understand. And he knows things. Secrets that must never be told. Knowledge that must never be spoken. He has performed the greatest and most heroic of deeds and the most terrible and horrifying of atrocities. His mind and heart have shattered from the strain and he has spent millions of years sobbing into the void until he inevitably recovered. Repeatedly. He has made impossible choices in impossible situations for longer than the mortal mind can conceive. Because no matter how powerful one is, they can still make mistakes. They can still be too late. Or simply not good enough.

Nick Phoenix is the greatest superhero of all time and space. He has saved and protected a number of sentient beings so close to infinity that it makes no difference. He has thwarted threats so dire all other heroes could do nothing but soil themselves in terror. And yet. He is a murderer. A mass murderer. A committer of genocides. Then again, what choice does one have, really? When a species warps time and space so that it was and forever will be homicidal scorched earth style conquerors, xenocidal cyborgs filled with nothing but hate, or omnicidal religious fanatics devoted to ending everything for their blind idiot god? He tries to save them. He always does. He tries very hard. But when the choice is between one person, one group of people, or even a whole species, and all creation…it’s not a very hard decision, logically speaking. It doesn’t make him feel any better. The wars he couldn’t stop. The battles he’s had to fight. The times he was simply too late. He has heard more screams than anyone could ever count. Grief. Terror. Pain. Oh, yes. He is the greatest superhero of all time and space. He’s also the only one available who can cover that beat. There is no one else. It’s just him. And what does one do with all that pain? Where do they put it? If they’re anything like Nick, they hold it. Tight. And they swear that no one else will feel this pain. Not as long as they can prevent it. Not on their watch. No.

But of course, his life is more than a long parade of misery and suffering. That’s the trouble. Because he is that great superhero. Things go well quite a lot. There are friends and traveling companions and lovers. People listen when he speaks or his clever schemes work out like a charm. He doesn’t have to fight, let alone kill anyone. He’s stopped intergalactic wars with his words alone. His life can be and is very good for very long stretches of time. But it’s like he tells them all. Everyone dies, and everything ends. Even him. This is not inherently a bad thing. It is just the nature of reality. So there are indeed good times, and they outnumber the bad. But the bad always comes around again. And he has to do make more impossible choices in impossible situations. Do terrible and horrifying things that are the least terrible and horrifying option available. The universe isn’t fair. All creation is a fairness free zone. It’s his job, his responsibility, his literal life’s work, to change that where he can. And sometimes that means not being there when he could have easily saved the day.

Starman II was his friend. Jesse Thompkins was his friend. But Nick knew from the day he first met him back in 1986, that he had to die in 2001 for the Icons to form. He knew that he had to stay away from all the crises that have so far happened in the 21^st Century so that they’d grow even stronger. Because for all his power, Nick cannot be everywhere and everywhen at once. Every world, including the one he was born on, needs to learn to do for themselves what they can do for themselves. This is the reason for the existence of Phoenix Mutates, though the execution has been fumbled because he left the most important parts to circumstance and free will like a good man ought to. Dammit. It was also the reason for the Phoenix Corps, and did that ever crash and burn in spectacular fashion, double dammit. The burden is heavy. Crushing. But the universe’s mightiest hero shoulders it. Because he’s both a good man, and he’s seen the universes where he doesn’t. However, he is susceptible to misinformation and simply not knowing what’s happening. If he’d known what Kuros was up to, the Eternity War and the Endgame would have simply not happened. But he didn’t because he was at the other end of the universe. He didn’t know what the Dusting was. He’d heard of it on his legion of trips to the future, but it’s got as many names as there are languages in the universe, and they don’t all mean the same thing. So how was he to know it was one big event? And after it happened, the universe was in chaos and he still didn’t know what had happened, exactly. And then it unhappened a year later, causing yet more chaos. Seriously, the hell is going on? Wait wait wait. This is when Kuros and his whole outfit disappeared? Oh, shit. Oh, fuck. He’s got to get everybody ready. What’s next is even less fun. If he remembers this right, there’s some really overbearing space overgods, and then the First Great Time Crash. Yes, that means there’s other ones. Please keep up. He’s got a lot of work to do and as usual not nearly enough time to do it.

 

Powers & Tactics: The Nick part of Nick Phoenix actually has a power, but it’s quite minor and he hasn’t used it since…wow it’s been a long time. He could (and still can, probably) make his hands very, very hot. The Phoenix part is what takes center stage. The Phoenix itself is a cosmic being of nigh infinite or actually infinite power. It’s difficult to tell which, and the point is largely moot anyway. It is bonded to Nick’s very soul, allowing him to use its two powers. The Flames of Destruction, and the Flames of Rebirth. The former can destroy absolutely anything. There is no immunity to Phoenix fire, now matter how powerful the being. The latter can recreate and/or resurrect absolutely anything, even if absolutely nothing is left of the destroyed target. The amount of time it was destroyed is irrelevant. The key to understand Nick’s powers is that he can control what the Flames of Rebirth recreate and/or resurrect something as. A rock shattered to pieces, vaporized or even completely disintegrated, can be reformed as basically whatever the hell Nick wants. This applies to things that are not rocks. Like liquids. Gasses. And living things. Like himself.

The Flames of Rebirth are not just an active use power, either. They make him about as ageless and immortal as it’s possible to be. Any and all injuries, from nova bombs and neutron torpedoes to the wear and tear of being alive in the universe, simply regenerates in startlingly rapid fashion. He cannot permanently die while bonded to the Phoenix. Even if he took enough damage (from said nova bombs) to utterly annihilate his physical form, he would recover from even that in under a minute. More likely under 30 seconds. Usually. He has some conscious control over when he fully resurrects. This is good, because killing him tends to significantly to completely alter his physical appearance and elements of his personality. It is, in a way, like that version of him truly dies. So he doesn’t actually like to use his ability to resurrect if he can possibly avoid it, and doesn’t like to finish doing it if he has to. He’s still Nick. Or Nicki, occasionally. His memories are not altered. The deep seated, core elements of his personality are the same. He still wants to help. To protect. To save.  It’s just the other parts that can change.

Now, because of his ability to destroy and recreate his body at a whim he could, technically, have any power he wants. This is, after all, the more refined and directed but otherwise identical method of how he has Phoenix Mutates basically create themselves. But really, if it isn’t broken, why fix it? So mostly he uses the Flames of Destruction to, well, destroy things, and he has genuinely incredible speed, durability, and strength. With the ability to fly on the side, as a treat. This isn’t casual level of strength, durability, and speed, either. He’s towed entire planets on a chain. Tanked supernovas without major damage. Treated the speed of light like a low fence instead of an impassable barrier. He can also warp space and eleport, or use an incredibly refined version of telekinesis. He’s also adapted to untold years of memories by storing them in the collective unconscious and pulling them out at need. Knowledge, crafting skills, and more languages than anyone can shake a stick at.

 

Tactically, well…honestly? If you’re using Nick Phoenix in your game, it (in most cases) should be as the ultimate heroic deus ex machina. That is his usual narrative role. The fecal matter hits the oscillating device, nobody who isn’t PLX can handle it, and the heroic side only has the one of those. Him. In those, the majority of cases, the existence of the build above is largely irrelevant. You can have him do whatever you want him to do. Most likely handling the PLX stuff so your PCs can still do PC things and shine in their own way.

This changes, however, if you’re running a game where the PCs are his traveling companions. There, this build is actually crucial. Flashing up to PL X tier power warps the fabric of reality. It’s fine temporarily, but he doesn’t walk around as a PLX all the time. The more problems he can solve without doing that, the better. Naturally, this is where PCs come in. He’s extremely capable, yes, but even he has trouble being in two or more places at once. Well. Normally. PL Xs can break that rule. But again, he wants to do that as little as possible. So having an extra set of hands or three is lovely. Plus, new friends are always good. So, he’ll do what he can to look after them while remaining the type who likes to talk before resorting to nonlethal tactics to defeat enemies. He’ll probably get more use out of Memory Reconfiguring and Interpose than his array. Like a certain “man of steel” from that cartoon where he teamed up with six like minded individuals for a couple of seasons. Nick’s got no problem looking like a worthless jobber if it means his allies come out of things okay.  Which may surprise the PCs when he actually shows his power for once and they realize that “Nick” is that Nick.

 

Personality: It would surprise some people to learn that Nick Phoenix is a pretty dedicated pacifist. He vastly prefers to solve problems with talking or some clever trick. He lives in a universe on fire and tries to be the soothing rain that cools the heat. It’s not about justice. It was never about justice. Revenge? Hah! Irrelevant and unimportant. He cares. He cares so much. He can’t stand aside and let bad things happen. Let people suffer and die. Him, who can bring them back with a gesture, saves them before there’s any need of it. God, he doesn’t want to hurt anybody. He’s never wanted to hurt anybody. But you know how the saying goes. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. He will never do nothing. Never.

There’s a saying attributed to Abraham Lincoln. If you want to test a man, give him power. Nick Phoenix has more power than any mortal man. He has more power than any god. And yet, he wanders time and space as nothing more than a man. He doesn’t want it. He never wanted it. There are times when he hates it. Loathes it. Commands the Phoenix to leave him be and let him finally die. But in the end, that part that makes him Nick Phoenix has nothing to do with his powers. It’s that warm, soft, and tender heart of his. And so the Phoenix always returns in his time of greatest need. The Phoenix did not choose him so that he could be a superhero and save all the people he has. That was entirely his idea. The Phoenix only chose him because he would never abuse it. Because he’s a fundamentally good person who strives to operate from a place of love and respect for all living things, and to be better at it than he was yesterday. This can be hard to remember when one sees his eyes burning with wrath and Phoenix fire as xenocidal cyborgs fall burning from the sky.

Because he is not perfect. He has bad days. He makes mistakes. Sometimes terrible ones. He has a nasty temper if his buttons are continually and deliberately pressed. There are beings (those xenocidal cyborgs, for example) he hates with every fiber of his being. Villains and evildoers have found out the hard way that his reputation is not bullshit. He will try a thousand thousand times to resolve things without violence. He will try a thousand thousand more times to resolve things without lethal violence. But if they’re determined to take things a billion light years past the Moral Event Horizon, he’ll remove them from the universe without hesitation. But not without regret. Because he’ll forever think he could have done better. Done more. Made it so that killing them wasn’t necessary.

It would be so easy to turn cold. To be a tyrant. A god. To simply force the universe to be the way he wants it to be. Who the hell could stop the bearer of the Phoenix from doing whatever the hell he wanted? And that’s exactly why he doesn’t do it. It would be a betrayal of the highest order. A betrayal of everything he believes in. Light. Love. Freedom. Hope. A betrayal of his very self. He doesn’t hate the beings he does because they’re evil or because of the wicked things they’ve done. He hates them because they’re a reminder of how he’s failed them. And God, that hurts. He can’t stand it. But he refuses to turn cold. To stop caring. To let his warm, soft, and tender heart wither. He will never do nothing and let evil triumph. The battle, after all, is never ending, isn’t it?

[EternalPhoenix]

The Shining Guardian (Henry Kim)

 

Power Level: 13; Power Points Spent: 285/285

 

STR: +15 (16/40), DEX: +1 (12), CON: +3 (16), INT: +5 (20), WIS: +5 (20), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +3/+18, Fort: +9, Ref: +9, Will: +15

 

Skills: Acrobatics 4 (+5), Bluff 7 (+10), Concentration 10 (+15), Craft (artistic) 15 (+20), Craft (mechanical) 15 (+20), Diplomacy 12 (+15), Gather Information 12 (+15), Intimidate 7 (+10), Investigate 5 (+10), Knowledge (arcane Lore) 15 (+20), Knowledge (history) 5 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 5 (+10), Knowledge (theology & philosophy) 10 (+15), Language 3 (+3), Notice 7 (+12), Search 5 (+10), Sense Motive 7 (+12), Stealth 4 (+5)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Artificer, Attack Focus (ranged) 3, Attack Specialization (Unarmed Attack), Beginner's Luck, Eidetic Memory, Improved Initiative, Inspire 4 (+4), Interpose, Jack-of-All-Trades, Leadership, Luck 4, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Skill Mastery (Craft (art & mech), Gather Info, KN (arcane lore)), Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Ferromancer (Array 14) (default power: move object)

   Magic Camera (ESP 9) (Array; affects: 2 types, inc. visual - visual & auditory; No Conduit; Medium; Custom (Rapid (10x Search speed)), Notes: Medium of machines)

   Mystic Magnetic Bindings (Snare 14) (Array; DC 24)

   Mystic Magnetic Blast (Blast 14) (Array; DC 29)

   Mystic Magnetic Burst (Blast 9) (Array; DC 24; Burst Area (45-90 ft. radius - General); Progression, Increase Area (area x2))

   Mystic Magnetic Control (Move Object 14) (Default; Strength: 70, Carry: 68.1 tons / 136.2 tons / 204.8 tons / 409.6 tons; Range (perception); Limited Material (Metal))

Ferromantic Armor (Device 18) (Hard to lose, Only you can use; Indestructible)

   Armor Plating (Features 5) (Notes: Provides Protection 10 when Ferromatic Force Field is inactive)

   Communication 8 (sense type: magic)

   Enhanced Strength 24 (+24 STR)

   Flight 12 ([0 active, 0/24 PP, 2/r], Speed: 50000 mph, 440000 ft./rnd)

      Super-Strength 12 (Alternate; [0 active, 0/24 PP, 2/r], +60 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 13.1k tons; +12 STR to some checks)

   Immunity 9 (life support)

   Impervious Toughness 10 (Duration (continuous), Linked (Ferromantic Force Field (Force Field 15)); Duration (sustained))

   Super-Senses 7 (awareness: Magic (visual), direction sense, distance sense, radar, time sense)

Ferromantic Force Field (Force Field 15) (+15 Toughness)

Longevity (Features 1) (Notes: As a proper wizard, Henry absolutely does not age normally. But he does, in fact, age.)

 

Attack Bonus: +9 (Ranged: +12, Melee: +9, Grapple: +24)

 

Attacks: Mystic Magnetic Bindings (Snare 14), +12 (DC Ref/Staged 24), Mystic Magnetic Blast (Blast 14), +12 (DC 29), Mystic Magnetic Burst (Blast 9) (DC 24), Unarmed Attack, +11 (DC 30)

 

Defense: +8  (Flat-footed: +4), Knockback: -14

 

Initiative: +5

 

Languages: English, Korean Native, Latin, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 40 + Skills 37 (148 ranks) + Feats 27 + Powers 123 + Combat 34 + Saves 24 + Drawbacks 0 = 285

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): Over 180 (chronological), Over 240 (actual), mid 60s (appearance)

Height: 6’ 2”

Weight: 210 lbs

Ethnicity: Korean

Hair: Gray

Eyes: Blue

 

Background: The Kingdom of Joseon, late in its existence. Less than a century before it would be gone. Truthfully, the man known today as Henry Kim isn’t sure when exactly he was born. He used to remember the date, at least, but that was two calendar changes ago. The first king he remembers is Sunjo of Joseon, who started his reign in 1800 at age 10. The first major event he remembers is the “Year Without A Summer” caused by the eruption of Mount Tambora in modern day Indonesia. He remembers it specifically because the crops failed, and the village went very hungry that year. People died. One doesn’t simply forget losing their little sister to starvation. He was a commoner (or sangmin, with yangmin being more polite but less accurate), unlikely to see the age of 30 before disease, the heavy labor of pre industrial farming, or army service ended his life. Pyeong-an Province was not a happening place, outside of cities like the very old Pyongyang. Though that was probably true of rural areas all over the world. He wasn’t anyone, and he never expected to be. Well. At least he wasn’t a “vulgar commoner” (cheonmin), “untouchable” (baekjeong), or a serf (nobi). And then his story took a sharp left turn.

The local government run elementary school (hyanggo) was, of course, a bad joke. Neglected and barely functional. Basically useless. Except as a method for finding students of exceptional potential, for those who knew how to look. Henry (obviously he has changed his name since then) was brilliant. An exceptional mind, wasting away in commoner-hood. A patron sponsored him into a local privately run elementary school (a seodang), which was in much better condition. As schools go, it was…unusual. It taught the Chinese classics as all of them did, to be sure, however there were other lessons carefully layered in as well. Adult Henry recognizes them easily as functionally a subtle test of a child’s capability for magic. While technically anyone can learn how to use magic (even if they already have spellcasting ability naturally) with enough study and effort, having the aptitude for it was and is preferable for any teachers.

As you, Dear Reader, may be expecting at this point, Henry excelled here, too. He was taken in by a Wizard of the White Court (the Merlin of the era, in fact) as an apprentice, and began his training in spellcasting and arcane lore. Never again would he dig in the dirt or break his back pulling rocks out of the ground. He was, technically, downgraded in social status to a “vulgar commoner” in the process. Joseon, perhaps wisely, distrusted spellcasters of all varieties. His training went well and he was accorded a full Wizard of the White Court by the time he reached adulthood. This, of course, was not the end of his training. Still, he gained greater and greater fame and respect as a combat wizard. He was a critical part of the Battle of Krakatoa in 1883, and in fact was the one who personally set the volcano off. Killed one hell of a monster doing that. He wasn’t literally at ground zero at the time of the explosion. He’d already fled through a portal from an allied Wizard. Over thirty six thousand died as a result, and he does regret that. However, that particular monster would have brought mass death to the entirety of Southeast Asia. And the White Court’s mightiest combat wizards simply couldn’t kill it. So, plan K. No, he wasn’t responsible for Santa Maria in 1902. He’s a ferromancer, not a volcano-mancer. And he was in China anyway, dammit. Literally on the other side of the Pacific. He did pat that Wizard on the back, though. Nice win, kid. Novarupta in 1912 wasn’t…exactly his fault. It was going to erupt sometime in the next month anyway, and well…it turns out the local mana fields were…volatile and reacted unexpectedly to magnetic spells. It really wasn’t the plan, but he’ll never complain about a deceased…you know, he never got the type of that monster. Bah, it doesn’t matter. It was throwing Hellfire and about to murder a bunch of defenseless Alaska Natives. Good enough. For the record, Pinatubo in 1991 was entirely natural, as far as he knows.

He was in Alaska that day because he’d was planning to move. Joseon was basically dead, and honestly he’d never had an excess of loyalty to it or Asia anyway. Henry Kim officially immigrated to the United States a year later after recovering from some injuries and wrapping up a few loose ends. He has never left, unless one counts serving in World War II. He settled in Denver, and he has never left there either. His early years were spent getting settled and making a little money through independent mining work. And being confused for Chinese. A lot. However, rising racial tensions in response to World War 1 made him think. The Mystery Men Era had been underway for about 20 years. He’d read the stories in the Denver Times, Denver Post, and Rocky Mountain News. He knew the Council would not approve, but screw them. He took up the mask that hid his ethnicity and strapped on his armor and gauntlets. The Shining Guardian debuted in 1921. His earliest adversaries (aside from the usual organized crime figures of the period) were mainly the Ku Klux Klan, who actually rode the tide of nativist sentiment into public office, including Mayor of Denver and Governor of Colorado. By the time the Great Depression was firmly gripping the nation, however, nativist sentiment had largely faded and the Klan was voted out of office.

Henry…doesn’t like to talk about the Depression. At one point one in four Denver citizens were out of work. The Dust Bowl devastated farms. It was ugly, and as a mere Korean he was no exception to the misery. However, newspaper records detail the Shining Guardian protecting the Civilian Conservation Corps as they built trails and campgrounds in Denver’s Mountain Parks, and openly aiding the Works Progress Administration with his powers as the built roads and fixed schools. A few paintings by the mysterious artist H.K. were even purchased to decorate government buildings. Meanwhile, Denver was becoming a transportation hub for both rail and air, with the Moffat Tunnel and Denver Municipal Airport being built in ’28 and ’29 respectively. The economy, however, did not recover until the onset of World War II. Europe needed stuff. America had a large industrial base. And Denver benefitted. The city was growing. They had a resident veteran “mystery man”. (The term “superhero” was just beginning to be applied to such individuals east of the Mississippi, and thus hadn’t yet reached Denver yet.) All was well.

And then Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. A day that will forever live in infamy, or so Henry says. Project Blue Liberty, during its conversion from scientific project to special operations group, went recruiting heroes to join the war effort. As a native Korean, Henry had no love for Japan. He wasn’t…the most enlightened individual, in those days. He went to war to curb Imperial Japanese ambitions, basically because fuck them. Again, Henry was absolutely a hero, but he was not politically correct, woke, or whatever term is in vogue at the time of reading, Dear Reader. He wasn’t as virulently racist and sexist as some of his contemporaries, and homophobia has never been a part of his worldview. But the man who went to war basically to exact his personal vengeance on the Japanese for what they’d done to his homeland was not a good man. What altered his perspective were his allies on the Pacific front. Not so much team leader Human Rocket II, but the ageless samurai Jin and one Betsy Hartwell (now Wilder of the Javier Academy). The Desert (now Pacific) Stranger’s much greater life experience also played a role. Henry was, perhaps, being unfair. And if he was being unfair, then what kind of hero was he, really?

It must be said. Project Blue Liberty, be it in Europe or the Pacific, wasn’t a modern superhero company. They were superpowered military operatives. They killed Japanese soldiers. A lot of Japanese soldiers. And 6/7’s of Japan’s superpowered operatives. The Sword of The Rising Sun started 21 members strong in 1942. There were three left after the taking of Okinawa. And one each was in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Pacific team was in every major land battle until the bombs were dropped. They were deployed on separate ships during sea battles to do what they could. The Human Rocket was functionally a faster, more maneuverable fighter plane. The Stranger could teleport from plane to plane, blowing heads off with his magic revolvers. Henry had added greaves to his ensemble, allowing him to stick to metals or hover in mid air. Plus a magnetic controller is the last thing mundane naval and aerial vehicles are equipped to deal with. He routinely tore the wings off planes and ripped the rivets out of hulls. Jin’s “sword” can cut through anything he laid eyes on. And even Betsy had indestructible metal bones she could move and control with her mind. So she could kind of fly, too, and amplify the force of her unarmed strikes. As in the real world, the Navy and Marines could have done it without them. The Sword of The Rising Sun would have made it much harder, but after Midway it was all over but the losing. The Japanese soldiers on land, paradoxically, had it a little easier. They resisted fiercely, and the Pacific team’s advantages weren’t as visually dramatic and game changing. But between them and the steady backup of the Marine Corps, they island hopped across the Pacific. Starting with Guadacanal, they fought their way into possession of the Solomon Islands, on to the Marshall Islands, then Guam, Iwo Jima, retaking the Philippines and storming Okinawa. Then the atomic bombs were dropped, and the war ended. They killed a hell of a lot of Japanese soldiers, sailors, and airmen.

For those recoiling in horror at “superheroes” killing their way through a warzone, this was not actually unusual for heroes in the Mystery Men Era and Golden Age. It was a very different time. Before Starman, and before federal and state governments took a big rethink on how much leeway they were giving what was technically illegal vigilantes. Gunning down Mafiosi by the score would still get a supposed “hero” in as much trouble as one would expect. That’s just mass murder. But if a hero had walked up to Al Capone in the street and stabbed him in the heart, the non-corrupt members of the Chicago PD would be more likely to pat the hero on the back than try to arrest them for homicide. If a supervillain or criminal became bad enough or a big enough threat, law enforcement simply looked the other way. If the city saved didn’t give the hero in question a medal. This doesn’t mean every hero back then was a killer. Far from it. But it was basically normal, if not expected behavior. And the entire Pacific team was, of course, from that era and had blood on their hands prior to the war. Even Henry.

At any rate, the war ended. Project Blue Liberty was disbanded. And everyone moved on. In Henry’s case, the Shining Guardian returned triumphant to Denver, more popular than ever. There was, however, a distant dark cloud on the horizon, growing closer with every passing year. The same year as the end of the war, the House Committee on Un-American Activities was made a permanent part of the House of Representatives. HUAC started getting Hollywood movie industry people blacklisted in 1947. 1949, with the first Soviet test of an atomic bomb, did not help. But the match to the tinder was 1950. Mao gained control of China despite heavy US financial assistance. Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury related to lying at his HUAC interrogation years earlier. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were caught spying for the Soviets. And the Korean War started. This is, of course, where J. Edgar Hoover and Joseph McCarthy enter the story. Hoover, to his dying day, neither liked nor trusted superheroes. The FBI was the single greatest impediment and danger to Golden Age heroes, and even a hassle to the Silver Agers before Hoover’s death in 1972. The Senate Internal Security Subcommittee was also formed in 1950. Superheroes were on their list. The harassment and federal distrust was so intense that heroes first started permanently retiring in 1951. The older ones, at first, especially after Hoover’s FBI started exposing secret identities and using them as leverage to force testimony. But it was McCarthy who did the most publically. He was headed the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in 1953 and ’54. Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party? If you have nothing to hide, why not take off that mask and show who you really are? Etcetera. Ad nauseaum. And so forth. The aging Human Rocket called a historic meeting of all veteran heroes left standing. This included the Shining Guardian. A unanimous decision was not reached that day, but the prevailing mood was established. Henry was arguably the most prominent hero who held on the longest. However, he had met a special lady. And when McCarthy used his authority to compel the Shining Guardian’s presence in the Senate chamber, Henry (through Denver’s newspapers) told him to go to hell, and finally retired his heroic identity. The Shining Guardian was gone.

Henry Kim, however, was not idle. He married that special lady, and had a few children. The White Court of Wizards made him their designated top enforcer after the death of the previous. He was, all in all, quite busy. It was a return to the type of life he’d been leading before adopting the mask of the Shining Guardian. He generally wasn’t home very often. The Shining Guardian missed almost the entire Silver Age, only reappearing briefly to defend Denver during Kuros’s invasion in ’82. This was naturally surprising as hell to heroic historians, as he’d been gone for 28 years. Kuros’s return in ’92 was over too quickly for him to do more than think about getting his old gear out. His frequent absences did not endear him to his children, who scattered out of Denver. He simply lost track of them. Until he attended a meeting of the White Court, called to discuss a young spellslinger who’d killed both her mother and stepfather. She was twenty years old. Her two older sisters were either dead or missing after she spent a few years with them. This wasn’t an unusual occasion. Mundane authorities, generally speaking, do not have the ability to deal with magicians who go rogue and/or evil. So the White Court of Wizards since time immemorial (well, at least since before the Romans invaded England; earlier records are spotty even if oral tradition isn’t) has taken up the duty of dealing with them. How that has worked has depended on the personality of the person Merlin has reincarnated into this time. The current Merlin is an Anglo-Syrian man named Sayid. He is a practical and pragmatic man, but one who has to deal with certain political realities. And when it comes to such things as murder or mind control using magic, he is as hard as diamond. Magical homicide merits nothing but execution. The year was 1996. His wife, that special lady, had been dead for over a year. Old age. Alas. The name of the young woman was Sagacious Winifred Burke. The woman she had murdered, her mother, Henry recognized the name in horror. He had, after all, written it on her birth certificate himself. The young Miss Burke was his granddaughter. For the first time in one of these hearings, he intervened. He had influence and political capital. He used some of them. Plus Sayid was and is mostly his friend. So instead of an execution, the future Sage went home with Henry. He did not tell her he was her grandfather. An apprentice. Older than normal, but doable. Their relationship got quite rocky at times, because Sage is Sage, but it was ultimately quite a positive five years together. They have quite a lot of love and respect for one another. The White Court vacated her sentence, accorded her a Wizard, and permitted her to move to San Francisco and have her own life. This was June 2001.

Three months later, on that terrible day in September, the Shining Guardian returned to stay. He pulled his gear out of literal mothballs to battle the monster Armageddon. Heroic historians were once again shocked out of their shoes. It had been 19 years since he last appearance, and 28 more since his official retirement. A total of 47 years had gone by and not only was the man who spent over 30 years protecting Denver still alive, he was in combat condition. He arguably did better than anyone at stalling Armageddon, even if the monster ultimately smashed him aside on his way to Chicago, the battle with Starman II, and both of their deaths. In the aftermath, Henry took stock. He was not the same man he had been 47 years ago, when he angrily retired in the face of a braying jackass (in his opinion) not entirely dissimilar from the literal Klansmen he’d started his career opposing and a public that was all too keen to turn on those who they once admired. He was certainly not the man who’d debuted 3 decades prior to that. He’d liked both Starmen, and appreciated their work. He’d been to war. Twice, actually. There was a pilot program to send the Blue Liberty Pacific team to Korea. Human Rocket II and Henry had signed on, but the other three couldn’t be found and souring public and government opinion dragged them back to the US a couple of months later after they’d landed in Inchon with General McArthur. He’d raised multiple children. Poorly, even he would admit, as he wasn’t around often enough. But still. He’d seen the Civil Rights Movement, the Space Race, the entire run of the Champions of Justice, and many other things. It was time. He’d been gone too long. And so, a legend from the past teamed with another (Fletcher) and four of the current generation (Shadowspirit, Tidal, Tex Austin, and Caviezel) to form the Icons. And then he learned Shadowspirit’s actual age (second only to his own in the group, my goodness) and sighed because it broke the narrative he had in his head. Dammit.

They just did mundane superhero team up things, honestly. It wasn’t a big deal. Henry had the time to finally make his battlesuit. He’d been toying with the design for longer than Tex had been alive. But now he actually built it. His old gear was…fine? It was fine. But he’d learned much more about magic since he’d first built that armor and gauntlets, and he’d grown a lot as a wizard. He’d only made the greaves for WWII. It was past due time for an upgrade. So, soon enough, the Shining Guardian debuted with a new and upgraded look. A full battlesuit, like he was Valia or something, heh. His old gear went back into the literal mothballs and stayed there. This made him team bus, and honestly he didn’t mind. They were doing fine, but in the back of his mind he always knew the big test was coming. And in 2011, it did. Tidal was a god. Lei Gong, Duke of Thunder. Shock. This was Henry’s shocked face. All good wizards are students of mythology, and the strange man who can make thunder happen by hitting anything with a blunt object is not a mortal human. No. Henry had seen too much to believe in coincidence anymore. And Tidal’s wife, Lei Zi, invaded Seattle to get him to…spend more time with her? Really? All right, then. They fought off her army, Tidal talked her down like he’d done it a thousand times before, and all was well. But seriously, we should talk about how you’re a god and your beloved wife is your arch nemesis, somehow. It’s concerning. We don’t want a repeat of this event.

2013. The whole…Neo-Nazi terrorist cell…thing. Well. The only people who know…oh, right. It’s just Henry now. It was both him and Shadowspirit who knew the truth of that matter. There were Neo-Nazis involved, yes. Most of the conspiracy involved them, actually. But the mastermind was a loose end from World War 2. The surviving member of The Blade of The Rising Sun. Their enforcer was a very old friend who had not been seen since the last retirements in ’54. The ageless samurai. Henry’s best friend on the Pacific team. Jin. Oh, dear. He was heavily brainwashed and not at his best, which was good because Henry remembered him cutting a Japanese cruiser in half once. Things got, uh, very messy. President Obama had to fake his death briefly. There was like, five big fights against Neo-Nazi supervillains embedded in the US Army. Queenie helped a lot. Thanks, Maybelle. Really nice of you. Feel like joining us after this? Everything culminated in a massive battle aboard a modernized Floating Fortress. The brainwashed swordsman who’s sword wasn’t actually a sword but a ray of divine sunlight versus the magnetic wizard who preferred heavy armor over robes. Well. It all worked out in the end. He saved Jin. Shadowspirit killed the last of Japan’s superpowered WW2 operatives with her bare hands. He had become a very evil robot; it’s fine. And a lot of Neo-Nazis criminals and supervilains went to prison for a long, long time.

2014 was the first crack in his otherwise firm friendship with Fletcher. The damn Irishman created a monster. Just completely overreached his own abilities. And the Icons had to clean up the mess. Hell, they needed help in the form of Spike, Candy, and Terrifica. One of them doesn’t show up, they either fail and that damn AI crashes that asteroid into the US, killing the human race. Or the damn thing escapes to bedevil them another day. What the hell were you thinking, Morris? However. He was falling back into old habits. Let’s not. Instead of yelling, he chose understanding. And he did understand. Fletcher was old, too, and he didn’t have the benefits of a wizard’s longevity. He was feeling his mortality, that’s all. It was fine. He’d learned better. It was fine.

2015. As it turned out, it was not fine. It was not fine at all. That grinning ghoul McConnell (in Henry’s opinion) in the Senate was older than Fletcher. Starman and the Champions all debuted when he was a grown adult. He was there the whole time. He knew how important independence was to America’s heroes. And he pushed this dammed thing through anyway. Bastard. He was (again, in Henry’s opinion), no different than that braying jackass McCarthy. He tried to be reasonable, he really did. He tried to explain the problem to Morris. His friend. Who ought to understand. And what did Fletcher do in response? Tell him to stop living in the past. One of the most important parts of being a hero was obeying the law and especially the federal government to the best of their abilities. Henry tried to explain that the federal government can do hideous things too, and it was heroes’ very autonomy that prevented them from being involved and left them capable of stopping it if necessary. The hideous things done to Native Americans for their land. Slavery. Jim Crow. The internment o Japanese Americans during WW2. Hell, Henry had even partially agreed with that last one at the time, before returning from the war and learning the full extent of it (My god, even children? And in those conditions? They were supposed to be better than the Axis!) and just how much of their businesses and property now belonged to nice, respectable whites.  And again, what did Fletcher say? Stop living in the past, Henry. It’s the 21^st Century. We don’t do things like that anymore. The hell we don’t. He tried to be reasonable. He really did. But it was the principle of the matter. The Icons broke in two, just like their leaders. Some followed Henry in violation of the new law. Some stayed with Fletcher and obey it. And others (Sage, Spike, and Terrifica) told both to fuck off (Terrifica was less vulgar, but still) and disappeared. The civil war had begun. Worst of all, Tidal and Tex Austin were away on mission in the Chinese Divine Heavens (or Tian). Well. Henry (ever the tactical leader), recruited Z out of Baltimore, so that his group could use the city as a base.

2017. The Eternity War. The civil war was still going when Kuros The Savior stormed out of Tian and fought his way through Fletcher’s team, the Exiles’ core team, and some other allies. Fletcher, desperate and critically injured, called Henry to warn him Kuros was coming for the last Crystal of Power, and to stop him at all costs. Who had the Time Crystal in Baltimore? Z, of course. And it was his scheme using it that delayed Kuros by a full day as the remaining Icons and Z’s gang fought him in the titular Eternity War. Because while it may have been a day outside of Baltimore, it was a much longer span of time inside the city. It was a battle for the ages. Spike showed up out of nowhere to fight Kuros. Henry took his own run at the intergalactic menace. This, ultimately, could not stop Kuros from claiming the Time Crystal and reverting all the changes that had happened during the War. Then a more powerful Tidal showed up and almost killed him with a single blow. Almost. Half the universe died for that almost. Half of Henry’s team died for that almost. They all turned to dust and blew away. There was nothing else to do.

2018. The Endgame. Nothing else to do, that is, until Terrifica and Marian Soaring Eagle came to the rescue. Kuros had shattered all of the Crystals of Power killing half the universe. Between those two, they knew how to get them all back. This got Henry back on track. His contributions ended up being two fold. Not only did he go on the mission with Fletcher that recreated the Time Crytal, it was his artificing skills (and Marian’s knowledge) that built the enchanted device that drew off Tex Austin’s psionic energy and reformed the Mind Crystal. The loss of Shadowspirit for the Soul Crystal hit him hard, as she was the first death since they’d started the Icons. They were friends. Still. A universe to save. And so they did. Tex all but destroyed his arm, but it was done. And then the enraged Kuros (now The Annihilator) attacked. Henry, Fletcher, and Tidal teamed up to fight him. He beat Fletcher. Again. He beat Tidal. Again. Henry wasn’t beaten yet before Kuros got annoyed and summoned his armada and armies. In this corner, one wizard in a half broken armored battlesuit with a fully broken arm. In the other corner, the infamous intergalactic conqueror and tyrant with what seemed like his entire massive military. Henry knew he would die. Knew it. He splinted his arm with his armor and magic and prepared to fight anyway. And then several dark portals opened, and literally every hero on the planet (summoned by the Exiles) swarmed to his side. Including every Dusted Icon. Thus began the final battle of the Endgame.

It was a frantic, frenetic battle, as everyone tried to defeat the massive military set against them and stop Kuros from getting his hands on the reformed Crystals of Power and literally end of all life in the universe forever. Because fuck you ungrateful bastards, apparently. There were several very awesome moments, but absolutely none topped Starman III and Starwoman II showing up out of nowhere and dominating Kuros even after he’d got his hands on the Crystals again. They were pushed away by the sheer power the Crystals possessed, and then Henry had to watch Fletcher (even after everything, arguably his best friend), die to save the universe. Kuros and his military were gone. And for the first time in his life, Henry didn’t know what to do next. His thoughts returned to a short while ago, just before everyone had rescued him. And a short while before that, to Terrifica’s time displacer device that had sent him and Fletcher back. And to 2014, to a remark from that dammed AI. He’d really spent nearly two centuries fighting, hadn’t he? Even the Icons, as noble and good as his intentions were. As much as it was an effort to change himself. It had been yet another cause to fight for. Something else to pledge his crusader’s banner to. So he wasn’t idle enough to realize the kind of man he was or feel regret for the things he’d done. Always focusing on what he could do next. Always charging forward. For the first time, he realized he was tired. Old. Regretful. Terrifica’s machine had a charge left. If he stayed here and now, he would inevitably be drawn back into the same life he was currently living. And after today, he had more than earned the right to retire. Terrifica, who was about to take the machine apart, stopped. She let him go. From her perspective and that of all the Icons, he wasn’t gone all that long, really. Just a few minutes. From his, however…

Henry Kim returned to 1954. To his special lady. He explained things to her. He remembered when he’d been home in that house, and it wasn’t often. And this is how it went. When the Henry Kim of that period was home (which wasn’t often or for all that long), he went and stayed in a hotel. And when that Henry Kim left on his noble crusade against evil again, the Henry who knew how important the soft things were returned to his wife and children. He still managed to lose track of the one terminally rebellious daughter who ended up giving birth to Sage and her sisters. But everyone else? He knows where they are. An older, wiser Henry Kim stayed out of things. His wife still died in ’94, and he mourned her harder than he did the first time. He wasn’t Dusted, and a year after found his way to the Endgame’s battlefield. He didn’t move quite as well, now. He met with Queenie, Terrifica, and Medic there, shortly after the younger version of himself had departed. He spoke with them for a little while, to confirm his permanent heroic retirement. And then he went home again.  The White Court’s Senior Advisory Council took a little more convincing. He’s still their top enforcer, but he doesn’t go out quite as often these days. He’s older now. He values his peace, his quiet and his rest. With that said, he repaired his armor long ago. If another Endgame or invasion of ’82 situation happened again, he’d answer the call. He’s not that retired.

 

Powers & Tactics: Most people think the Shining Guardian is a tech specialist who uses a battlesuit for his entire powerset. Most of the rest think he’s a mutant with magnetic powers who cross trained as a tech specialist and uses a battlesuit to augment those abilities. All of these people are wrong. Henry Kim is a master wizard, specializing in Ferromancy and Artificing. Ferromancy is a fancy word that means magnetic magic. So they were right about the magnetic powers, very wrong about the source. And everybody’s wrong about the battlesuit. Artificing is…not that different from being a tech inventor, actually. Requires a lot of the same basic skills. Like mechanical engineering. Mathematics. A little chemistry. Or a lot, depending on what you’re doing. Alchemists need quite a bit of chemistry knowledge. But Henry doesn’t brew potions, primarily. He’s a blacksmith. Armor and assorted gear. Of course, if one is going to build anything more complicated than physical machinery, well…here is where Artificing and tech inventing part ways. The techies use electronics, batteries, wires, power generators, things of science and technology. They have to work with things entirely of the physical world, and these things can cost a lot of money. Artificiers do not necessarily have this limitation. Well. Henry doesn’t. Being a Master Ferromancer has perks. The two power sets synergize quite well together.

As for Ferromancy, well…the base level of understanding of it is just magnetic magic. That is what the word means, as previously stated. It is not just that. A better term would be technomancy. Though truthfully, ferromancy’s modernization into that is in its infancy. High technology is still so very new compared to the age of human civilization. Henry’s siblings likely lived and died without ever seeing a train, for example. Modern Koreans two centuries later likely can’t imagine life without high speed rail. Though maybe not ones from where he was born. So what Henry does is mostly just tricks of magnetism and electricity. Until it isn’t. What he does with Ferromancy as the Shining Guardian is pretty simply, actually. Damaging blasts of magnetic force in single target and area varieties. Binding a target with sheer magnetic force. Peering through basically any video camera on Earth and even some in orbit. And, of course, the basic thing that comes to mind for someone with magnetic powers, lifting literal tons of metal. Though in Henry’s case the weight limit is in the hundreds of tons. He also uses a powerful force field to protect himself. As a reminder, Ferromancy is a specialty. He is still a master wizard with access to at least half a dozen magical traditions like Pyromancy (Fire Magic), Terramancy (Earth Magic), Graviomancy (Gravity Magic), and Photomancy (Light Magic).

As an Artificier his shining (heh) achievement was his Ferromantic Armor. It is a genuine work of art, and one of the few modern battlesuit designs that isn’t taking a lot from either the third Human Rocket or Baroness Valia. It has armor just in case he’s caught with his force field down. Even with it up, it still provides a degree of damage resistance, with him being fully able to ignore artillery fire. It has the requisite life support systems, a communication system, improves his strength, and allows him to fly at hypersonic speeds. The energy involved in powering this last one can be traded for lifting strength instead. The limit here, if he does not have anything allocated to flight, is in the double digit thousands of tons. Quite impressive. Obviously, he doesn’t normally use that much raw might, as it costs him all of his flight speed to do it. But when the need is pressing, he can be truly mighty. The last element is a senor suite in the helmet. It included radar, a magical GPS system, and renders magical effects visible to him.

 

Tactically, the Shining Guardian has a lot of options. He prefers to act, well, like a wizard. Flying around and using ranged attacks. Thuggery can’t hurt him even with his force field down, as long as he has his armor on. So he can either take his time and bind them all with magnetic force, or turn off Gravitic Strength and pummel his way through them with Takedown Attack.  The former approach works reasonably well for ordinary supervillains, too, though he turns his force field on for those. But if they can get free, well. That kind of power always comes with enough durability that his damaging effects won’t cause lethal damage by accident. Even a full Gravity Strength punch isn’t totally out of the question in these cases. And that’s…kind of…it. He’s not really any good at feinting or demoralizing. Accurate and All out Attack aid in hitting. Power Attack jacks up damage when necessary. The interesting bit is that between Inspire, Leadership, and Luck 4, he can turn the tide of a battle in a flash. His power stunts are legion, actually. Magnetic control tricks. Technology control tricks. Fire control tricks. Earth control tricks. Gravity control tricks. Light control tricks. The list goes on and on. He’s a master wizard who can pull basically any type of spell out of his ass. If I started listing individual ones, we’d be here all day. And this entry is long enough, don’t you think?

A note. Prior to 2002, he was PL 10 and basically using a different build as the Shining Guardian. Henry Kim, White Court enforcer, is another different build. He doesn’t use the armor for that, and all 75 points are redistributed to spells he doesn’t use as a superhero. He was never exactly sandbagging his capabilities, just making his life easier while operating on his own time while casually disguising his wizardry. Official White Court business isn’t done quite so publically as superhero work, and there’s rules attached besides. So the Shining Guardian and Henry Kim throughout their careers would probably be at least 3 different builds other than this one. Maybe a 4^th for Krakatoa era Henry. This is, however, the build that he would use if the world was in such danger that he needed to come back for one more fight.

 

Personality: Saying that Henry Kim was an angry man isn’t quite right. How someone does magic is dependent on who they are. Kind, nurturing people become kind, nurturing wizards. There are plenty of healers. Gardeners. Researchers. No two wizards are quite alike, after all. Henry Kim learned how to fight. How to inflict harm on other beings and avoid harm being inflicted on him. He may have directed it in a useful and productive direction, but for most of his life Henry was the type of man who preferred to solve problems with violence. He was not a mean or cruel man by any means, but his mentality was very…Old Testament. He was not a kind or compassionate man, either. He protected the weak and vulnerable and helped those who needed it out of principle. Some things one does, and others one does not allow. End of discussion. Paradoxically enough for a wizard, he was a warrior. Honorable in his way, but ultimately a man who preferred to throw a closed fist instead of extend an open hand. This was who he was as a Mystery Man. This was largely who he was as a husband and a father. An immovable hardass. One with the right principles, to be sure, but that didn’t make him any easier to like or get along with if one was too different from him.

This was not who he was as an Icon. Much of that man was there, but he’d changed. His children abandoned him. Fled his presence as soon as they were legally allowed to. No money. No job. No prospects. Just to get away from him. And like everyone else in the Silver Age, he followed the exploits of the Champions of Justice. He read the newspapers and watched the news. A different man would have gotten into his pride. Been angry. Insisted he was the right one, and everyone else was the ones who were wrong. But even when he was an immovable hardass, this was not who Henry Kim was. He could be a perfectly reasonable man about many things, and he never thought he was perfect or unable to make mistakes. So he thought about everything, and came to a realization. He may have been very good at safeguarding people’s lives and livelihoods, but he was pretty goddamn awful at doing the same for their hearts. Though in fairness, that was something the little commoner boy turned wizard apprentice turned evil battler had never been taught. His teachers and his life had taught him nothing except how to be cold and hard. Like his armor. And his attempts to be warm and soft were at best fumbling and pathetic. Upon this realization, in his house newly empty with his beloved wife freshly buried, Henry Kim sobbed inconsolably.

It was with Sage where h started finally learning how to properly be warm and soft. He still had to be a hardass fairly often, because Sage is goddamn Sage, but the two fumbled their way into an actual warm relationship for arguably the first time in each of their lives. He helped found the Icons to help make up, at least to himself, for his mistakes in life. His days of killing anything other than Acceptable Targets had come to an end. He did a lot more fighting with the Icons, and it was good and right and he saved a lot of lives, but…that AI had a point. He’d spent his entire life either fighting or preparing for the next fight. He literally didn’t know who he was without either an enemy to oppose or a cause to fight for. So he went to find out, and is mellower than ever in his retirement.

[EternalPhoenix]

Fletcher (Morris Archer)

 

Power Level: 12; Power Points Spent: 255/255

 

STR: +3 (16), DEX: +5 (20), CON: +3 (16), INT: +7 (24), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +3/+8, Fort: +8, Ref: +15, Will: +10

 

Skills: Acrobatics 10 (+15), Bluff 12 (+15), Computers 13 (+20), Craft (electronic) 13 (+20), Craft (mechanical) 13 (+20), Diplomacy 12 (+15), Disable Device 13 (+20), Drive 5 (+10), Gather Information 12 (+15), Knowledge (business) 8 (+15), Knowledge (civics) 8 (+15), Knowledge (current events) 8 (+15), Knowledge (physical sciences) 13 (+20), Knowledge (streetwise) 8 (+15), Knowledge (tactics) 8 (+15), Knowledge (technology) 13 (+20), Language 2 (+2), Medicine 2 (+5), Notice 17 (+20), Pilot 5 (+10), Search 3 (+10), Sense Motive 12 (+15), Stealth 10 (+15), Survival 12 (+15)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Focus (ranged), Attack Specialization (Unarmed Attack), Attack Specialization 2 (Tech Bow & Trick Arrows (Device 8)), Benefit (CEO of Archeron, Inc), Benefit 3 (Wealth), Challenge - Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Defensive Roll, Dodge Focus 4, Equipment 7, Evasion, Improved Aim, Improved Critical 2 (Trick Arrows & Force Lens Blasts (Array 14)), Improved Initiative, Improved Ranged Disarm, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Power Attack, Precise Shot 2, Quick Draw, Skill Mastery 2 (Acro, Comps, Craft (elec & mech), Dis Dev, Notice, Stealth, Survival), Ultimate Effort (Aim), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

 

Powers:

Costume (Device 5) (Hard to lose)

   Body Armor (Protection 4) (+4 Toughness)

   Integral Radio (Communication 6) (sense type: radio)

   Mask Sensors (Super-Senses 13) (analytical (type): Visual, direction sense, distance sense, extended (type): Visual 1 (-1 per 100 ft), infravision, microscopic vision 2 (cell-size), time sense, tracking: Visual 2 (normal speed), ultravision)

   Wireless Computer Link (Datalink 2) (sense type: radio)

Tech Bow & Trick Arrows (Device (Easy to lose)

   Trick Arrows & Force Lens Blasts (Array 14) (default power: blast)

      Acid Arrow (Blast (Array; DC 23; Secondary Effect; Improved Range 2 (400 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 4000 feet))

      Adamantine Arrow (Blast (Array; DC 23; Penetrating; Improved Range 2 (400 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 4000 feet))

      Adhesive Arrow (Snare (Array; DC 18; Backlash; Improved Range 2 (400 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 4000 feet))

      Boxing Glove Arrow (Trip (Array; Autofire (interval 2, max +5), Knockback; Improved Range 2 (400 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 4000 feet))

      EMP Arrow (Nullify (Array; counters: all powers of (type) - technological, DC 18; Effortless; Improved Range 2 (400 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 4000 feet))

      Explosive Arrow (Blast (Array; DC 23; Burst Area (40 ft. radius - Targeted); Improved Range 2 (400 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 4000 feet))

      Flash Bomb Arrow (Dazzle (Array; affects: visual senses, DC 18; Burst Area (40 ft. radius - General); Improved Range 2 (400 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 4000 feet))

      Force Lens Multi-Blast (Blast (Default; DC 23; Autofire (interval 2, max +5); Improved Range 2 (400 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 4000 feet))

      Grapple Arrow (Linked)

         Speed 3 (Linked; Speed: 50 mph, 440 ft./rnd)

         Super-Movement 4 (Linked; slow fall, swinging, wall-crawling 2 (full speed))

      Smoke Arrow (Obscure (Array; affects: visual senses, Radius: 1000 ft.; Selective Attack; Improved Range 2 (400 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 4000 feet))

      Strobe Arrow (Paralyze (Array; DC 18; Range (ranged); Improved Range 2 (400 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 4000 feet))

      Taser Arrow (Stun (Array; DC 18; Range (ranged); Improved Range 2 (400 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 4000 feet))

      Thermite Arrow (Corrosion 4) (Array; DC 19; Range (ranged); Accurate 2 (+4), Improved Range (100 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range (max range x2, 1000 feet))

 

Equipment: Fletch-cycle, The Fletchery

 

Attack Bonus: +11 (Ranged: +12, Melee: +11, Grapple: +14)

 

Attacks: Acid Arrow (Blast 8), +16 (DC 23), Adamantine Arrow (Blast 8), +16 (DC 23), Adhesive Arrow (Snare 8), +16 (DC Ref/Staged 18), Boxing Glove Arrow (Trip 8), +16 (DC 18), EMP Arrow (Nullify 8), +16 (DC Will 18), Explosive Arrow (Blast 8), +16 (DC 23), Flash Bomb Arrow (Dazzle (DC Fort/Ref 18), Force Lens Multi-Blast (Blast 8), +16 (DC 23), Strobe Arrow (Paralyze 8), +16 (DC Staged/Will 18), Taser Arrow (Stun 8), +16 (DC Fort/Staged 18), Thermite Arrow (Corrosion 4), +20 (DC Fort/Tou ), Unarmed Attack, +13 (DC 18)

 

Defense: +15  (Flat-footed: +6), Knockback: -4

 

Initiative: +9

 

Languages: Chinese (Mandarin), English Native, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 48 + Skills 58 (232 ranks) + Feats 39 + Powers 44 + Combat 44 + Saves 22 + Drawbacks 0 = 255

 

*****************************************************************************************

 

Fletch-cycle

 

Power Level: 12; Equipment Points Spent: 15

 

STR: +2 (15)

 

Toughness: +8

 

Features: Remote Control

 

Powers:

Flight 5 (Speed: 250 mph, 2200 ft./rnd)

 

Defense: +0

 

Totals: Abilities 1 + Skills 0 (0 ranks) + Feats 0 + Features 1 + Powers 10 + Combat 0 + Saves 3 + Drawbacks 0 + Equipment 0 (0 ep) + Weapons & Armor 0 (0 ep) = 15

 

*****************************************************************************************

 

The Fletchery

 

Power Level: 12; Equipment Points Spent: 20

 

Toughness: +10

 

Features: Communications, Computer, Concealed 1, Dock, Fire Prevention System, Garage, Gym, Hangar, Infirmary, Laboratory, Library, Living Space, Pool, Power System, Security System 3

 

Size: Large

 

Totals: Abilities 0 + Skills 0 (0 ranks) + Feats 0 + Features 17 + Powers 0 + Combat 2 + Saves 1 + Drawbacks 0 + Equipment 0 (0 ep) + Weapons & Armor 0 (0 ep) = 20

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): Deceased in 2018 at 68

Height: 5’ 10”

Weight: 185 lbs

Ethnicity: Scottish

Hair: Snow White (formerly Red)

Eyes: Green

 

Background: Morris Archer was very likely the last Silver Age hero still active. He was a remarkable man, but he was only that. A man. He was born in Ireland in1950, but emigrated with his parents at a young age, bouncing across the country to Seattle. A city whose heroes may now never entirely escape his shadow. His idol publically debuted when he was 12. The costumed detective Gunsmith. Young Morris thought he was the bee’s knees. The formation of the Champioins of Justice in 1968 only confirmed his hero worship. A mortal man keeping up with virtual gods through skill, customized gear, and will. Morris wanted to be like him. So he trained himself and made his own public debut as Fletcher in 1971. In those days he was more or less a classic archer style hero, protecting the city of Seattle from all sorts of threats. He was also building up his company, Archeron Industries. There was simply never enough time to go meet his hero. Not enough hours in the day and not enough days in the week. Ironically, the two men did meet once. Or rather, Morris Archer met Connor Morris, the civilian identity of Gunsmith. A charity event for the wealthy drew both to Los Angeles for a day and a night. To the end of both of their days, neither knew who the other man was.

The disappearance of the Champions (Gunsmith with them) in 1985 broke Morris’s heart a little. He never learned about Gunsmith’s return to earth at the end of the year. The original Starman’s retirement the following year was a sign of darker times to come. The dawn of the Bronze Age. Soon enough, Fletcher’s first partner Songbird (Lauren Brown) was crippled in combat and his sidekick Bowyer (now Armsman) got addicted to cocaine. Fletcher threw him out in a rage, and Songbird abandoned him in frustration. His company started to struggle, having to fight off more than one hostile takeover attempt. And then came the invasion of ’92. Fletcher had helped back in ’82, but the Champions had handled a lot of the heavy lifting. Now there was only Nick Phoenix and Starman II on that scale. It was briefly very ugly, though he made an unlikely friend in Sir Randall Knight (who was the third The Knight at the time but has since changed names and armors to Crusader). And then Nick Phoenix showed how powerful he actually was and dismantled both Kuros’s armada and Kuros himself without any apparent effort. Fletcher was 42 years old. He’d been a superhero for literally half of his life. A life that, by the way, seemed to be falling apart around his ears due to the strain of being a superhero put on his schedule. And one of the world’s mightiest superheroes has just explicitly demonstrated that he was kind of superfluous when it really counted. He was in love with a woman (the lovely Deirdre) and wanted to marry her, too. But she was adamant that she’d only marry Morris Archer. Fletcher could not come along. So, after 21 years of loyal, dedicated service to the city of Seattle, Fletcher retired. Morris Archer married Deirdre, put his company back in order,and repaired his relationship with the retired Lauren and in recovery Bowyer (now firmly Armsman). He missed the entire Iron Age, though he mourned the passing of the original Starman and Starwoman that began it the same as everyone else.

Then, like for a very large amount of people, one terrible day in September 2001 changed everything. Though truthfully, he may have come out of retirement regardless. His love Deirdre had died of cancer earlier in the year, and his mansion was unbearably empty without her and her family (who had no reason to visit now, having never liked Morris much). Nick Phoenix was away. Starman II died. The Twin Towers fell. And America’s heroes were showed to be a disorganized mess that couldn’t coordinate a response to any of it. Morris would, until the very last moments of his life, wonder if in some way it was his fault for retiring too early. The guilt and desire to make up for it would define him until those very last moments. Regardless, now 51 years old he got together with the Shining Guardian, Shadowspirit, Tidal, Tex Austin, and Caviezel to form the Icons. Never again. Not on his watch. Fletcher was actually crucial in the early going due to being a literal billionaire and able to just…send helicopters to get those who weren’t quite so fast. This was less necessary after Vincent Mortelini’s Phantom Network started slipping them intel through Shadowspirit and Caviezel. A few phone calls, and everyone could be on scene by the time anything happened, especially with SG’s strength and flight speed to help gather them.

They handled some minor situations early on, and even recruited new members in Medic and Sage. Their first test, however, was when  Lei Zi, Duchess of Thunder, invaded Seattle with an army because she was pissed at her husband Tidal for not spending enough time with her. Her solution to this problem was to murder the lowly mortal who dared who dared call himself the ally o a god and decimate his beloved city. Where she got the army from, however, was unclear until much later. The Icons (minus Medic, who was performing surgery that day and thus missed his warning calls) defeated the army and Lei Zi. Tidal talked his ever temperamental wife down. Again. And the day was saved. Fletcher, however, was profoundly affected. He was in his 60s now, and feeling his age. He was also concerned about his new sidekick and ward, Bowyer II (Yuki Archer), who had been injured in the battle. So he made a mistake that didn’t seem like one. The win against Lei Zi was closer than he liked, and 9/11 was, as ever, weighing heavily on his mind. The Icons weren’t quite good enough yet. There needed to be a system so that they could identify threats faster, so they could deploy faster. And, as always, he turned to advanced technology. A computer monitoring system. But it needed to be flexible, and understand a hell of a lot of subtle things even a human might get wrong. So he spent much of the next three years, in between aiding the Icons and his own adventures, building an artificial intelligence to run the computer monitoring system. He used a scan of his own brain engrams as a starting point. He named it Arrowsmith, after himself and his old hero. That’s what a Fletcher is, after all. Both of these things proved to be horrible mistakes. Arrowsmith took about five minutes after it’s activation to decide that Fletcher was ludicrously insane, and about five minutes more time spent looking at the internet to decide that the best way to minimize human suffering was to exterminate the entire species. Oh, dear. It also vehemently rejected the concept of having a name as a human idea that would soon be gone.

The Icons rallied again at Fletcher’s call, and did battle with the AI and its legion of well armed drones. They needed the well timed assistance of Spike, Candy, and Terrifica to successfully prevent it from dropping a meteor on North America and ending the world, but the day was once again saved. However, the incident trashed Fletcher’s reputation outside of Seattle, and even in his city his popularity was at an all time low. A whole new screw up to make up for. This was the reason for his cooperating with the federal government after the passage of the Superpower Registration Act. He had to make it right. Unfortunately, this was yet another mistake. The Icons shattered. The Shining Guardian took a group in defiance of the new law. Fletcher has to recruit additional heroes in Marian Soaring Eagle, Magna, and Orca to keep the group functional. Tidal and Tex Austin had gone on a mission to the Chinese Heavens, and didn’t even know what had happened. To make matters even worse, Sage, Spike, and Terrifica told both sides to fuck off (Terrifica was less vulgar about it, but a fuck off is a fuck off) and disappeared into their cities. The Icons civil war had begun.

It was going when Kuros The Savior stormed out of the Chinese Divine Heavens (or Tian) after kicking lots of ass (including Tidal and Tex Austin). To say Fletcher and his team were…unprepared…was a bit of an understatement. Fortunately they had a little help in a middle aged woman named Jackie with some very familiar powers and her crew of alien…calling them heroes would probably be stretching it, but they had good intentions. They’d been pursing Kuros across half the universe as he smashed everyone in his way of collecting the seven Crystals of Power. After exiting Tian, he had five. And the Exiles core team showed up just in time to lend a hand, too. Blackrose, Radical Dreamer, Myrcelle, Astra, Flare, Stormy, Cory, and Windstorm. All eight. Unfortunately, Kuros was still goddamn Kuros. Perhaps without five Crystals of Power, they’d have had a shot. With them? They got trashed. There was a moment where they were very close to winning, but then Kuros recognized Jackie, she panicked, and everything went to hell. Fletcher tried to stop him last, pulling out one shot arrows he’d never before used because they were too damn powerful. But in the end, Kuros critically injured and defeated him too. Dreamer gave him the Mind Crystal (when the hell did he get that?) after brief conversations with both Fletcher and Kuros. The Savior departed for Baltimore, where he would be stalled for a day by Z’s machinations in the Eternity War, then turn half the universe to firmly deceased Dust. This did not help Fletcher’s guild complex. Not at all.

Recovering from his injuries took most of the year. The depleted Icons came back together, but had no answers until the return of Terrifica. The Crystals of Power shattered after Kuros used them. But they could be remade. Terrifica knew some of how to do it. Marian Soaring Eagle knew the rest. It was simply a matter of doing the seven impossible tasks required. The recovered Fletcher accompanied the Shining Guardian on a trip to the past to accumulate enough chronal energy to reform the Time Crystal. The rest of the Icons scattered to do what they could do. The seven Crystal were gathered again, and Tex Austin with his strong will and sturdy body, resurrected everyone Kuros had callously murdered without killing himself. Kuros, now the wrathful Annihilator, returned inside three hours. The final battle of the Endgame had begun. Fletcher fearlessly stepped up to face him again despite his earlier crushing defeat. But this time Kuros did not have any Power Crystals, and Fletcher had help in the Shining Guardian and a more powerful Tidal. The result, however, was not appreciably different. The three had worked together for 17 years. Their teamwork was flawless. However, this was Kuros, who even the legendary original Starman had barely defeated. Who Nick Phoenix had needed his cosmic power to dominate. They simply weren’t powerful enough. Fortunately, the Exiles showed up with literally every hero on the plane to help. Starting with an overcharged Queenie. The battle devolved into a full scale war not just to defeat Kuros, but to keep the reformed Crystals of Power out of his hands lest he murder literally all life in the universe (including himself) as a final “fuck you” to everyone who was “ungrateful” for his only taking half last time. It was not enough. Kuros prepared to end all life in the universe, only to scuffle with Fletcher one last time. He tossed the hero aside once more, only to find he did not have the Crystals anymore. Fletcher remembered what Dreamer had said to him last year. Only one way to end this forever. Dreamer had signaled him telepathically scant seconds earlier. This was the moment where everything would be decided.  The Crystals of Power studded the Tech Bow. Fletcher made his wish, drew back the drawstring, said his last words, and fired. The Tech Bow violently exploded, sending him flying. And across the entire universe, the empire of Kuros The Conqueror, Savior, and Annihilator spontaneously collapsed. His cloned and brainwashed troops turned to dust and blew away. His ships and stations crumbled to ash and cinder. His loyal officer corps also became dust. And, at last, even Kuros himself turned to dust and ash, and blew away in the wind. It was over. Fletcher was still alive, amazingly. His injuries, however, were terrible. The only thing keeping him alive was his own will. He was struggling, trying to get up with a body that was no longer physically capable of doing so. There was still work to be done. A world to be safeguarded. He couldn’t abandon them all again. They needed him. Songbird (with her cybernetically reinforced spine), Armsmen, and Bowyer came to his side, having been involved in the battle like every other hero (all of whom were looking on, including the remaining founding Icons). They convinced him that he had more than earned his rest. And thus passed away Morris Archer, alias Fletcher. The end of a long tale that began with a small boy and his idol, and ended with three generations of heroes standing vigil over his last moments. He was only a man, and that was enough.

Fletcher leaves a complicated legacy. Was he a hero? Absolutely. His legacy from his first stint is untouchable. 21 years of excellence. It’s after he came back, and especially after Lei Zi’s invasion that it gets complicated. He was an old man without any superpower running around with an armored wizard, a god in human flesh, the mightiest psionic powerhouse the world had yet seen, and various other superpowered heroes. Many of whom were literal decades younger than him, resistant to aging, or both. It caused many to question his sanity and his judgement. Then there was the whole murderous AI incident, the Icons (and US hero community) splintering on his watch, and the colossal failures of the Eternity War. It cannot be said that he should have stayed retired. The Icons simply wouldn’t have worked without him. He was absolutely crucial to their success as well as their failures. So again, his legacy is complicated. I leave it to you to judge for yourself, Dear Reader.

At any rate, he had a whole pack of persistent enemies that someone else is going to have to deal with in Seattle now. Probably Armsman (who, as he is in his late 40s, has to be considering retirement) and Bowyer (who doesn’t even have her Five Yet Vet stripes yet), as they know them fairly well between the two of them. With the recovered Songbird (who is in her mid 50s and not about to be clocking significant field time) in a support role. Let’s see. There’s Cutler (Damon Hartwell), an assassin and basically if Fletcher used a sword instead of a bow. Farrier (Bill O’Brian), a long time business rival who decided to settle the score with a suit of powered armor. Marble Man, a statue that has occasionally come to life and caused trouble since the 70s.. The Technoids, a quartet of robot thieves for hire. Black is the stealth specialist, Red is the melee combat specialist, White is the mobility specialist, and Yellow is the sharpshooter. The last enemy is Fletcher’s arch-nemesis since before his initial retirement. The archer and extremely competent assassin, Sharper. She’s one of the top ten assassins in the world, and only lost the number five spot because of Fletcher’s continued intervention. One of her revenge scheme was crippling Songbird with an arrow to the spine. It remains to be seen how any of these will react to Fletcher’s death.

 

Powers & Tactics: Fletcher had no superhuman powers. He was a genius tech specialist, expert in boxing and karate, and one of the finest archers are all time with two devices in his Costume and Tech Bow & Trick Arrows. The primary question is that how did a man in his 60s maintain such a fantastic level of physical fitness? Fanatical exercise would have helped, certainly, but wouldn’t have done the entire job. Well. Archeron Industries has a pharmaceutical division, and Fletcher spared no expense. Any kind of chemical or serum to get the least bit of an edge on Father Time. It worked quite well, but was nibbling at his total lifespan. Originally he may have lived to his late 90s if not longer, but by the time of his death this had dropped to 80 at best.

His Costume was a relatively simple thing. Body Armor. A integral radio. A wireless computer link superior to most wi-fi but with much shorter range. And the lenses in his mask cranked up his visual senses about as high as they would go. Full light spectrum. Increased visual distance. An analysis suite. A tracking suite. Lots of things.

It was his Tech Bow and quiver full of Trick Arrows that were extremely remarkable. First off, the Tech Bow itself had a Force Lens capable of emitting rapid fire blasts of damaging pure force. This was just in case he ran out of arrows (unlikely after a point) or lost his quiver (more likely, unfortunately). That point where running out of arrows became unlikely was when he replaced his more or less normal quiver with a fully technological one. It looks like there’s only one o every arrow type in the quiver, but it’s got teleportation tech built in that automatically teleports a new arrow into that slot (from his headquarters in Seattle, the Fletchery) after one is drawn out and the sensors in the glove of his drawing hand no longer register it’s presence. Never could get the tech to work on a larger scale. Never will, now. The arrows are also pretty heavily technological and not normal arrows. They’re just lightweight metal shafts when drawn, albeit marked with visual and touch signs that indicate what type of arrow it is. It is the Tech Bow that activated their internal workings when the arrow was nocked so that when it was fired it had the desired effect. As for the various types of arrows…look, there’s a lot of them and neither of us has all day. If there was a type of attack he probably had an arrow for it. Along with a smoke arrow for hindering vision in an area and a cable arrow for added mobility when his flying Fletch-cycle wasn’t an option.

 

Tactically, Fletcher was ready for almost anything. 12 different arrows in the regular rotation. Like I just said, if there was an attack effect, he had an arrow for it. And since he was a rare genius and had a lot of experience, he was more than competent at picking the right arrow for the job. No preferences. Despite the range on his arrows, he rarely was a sniper, preferring to stay close where he could be of more assistance if necessary. He did, however, still make some damn good long range shots over the years. He had Accurate Attack, Improved Aim, Improved Acrobatic Bluff, and Ultimate Aim to help him hit, Power Attack for more damage, and Improved Ranged Disarm to knock dangerous weapons out of hands. He also had Inventor to make things even harder on his enemies. As for power stunts…just like his arrows, there are too many to list here. The average quiver has room for 20 arrows. His tech quiver was bigger at 24 arrows, and only half of those are listed in his build. He power stunted more than any other Icon by a country goddamn mile.

As a final note. This build represents Fletcher from the Invasion of 2011 to just before the Endgame. Year Zero (or 1971) Fletch was a PL 8 with +12 accuracy and +4 Effect, +11 defense and +5 toughness (+3 CON, +2 D-Roll). He was using a normal bow and regular trick arrows in those days. He still was in ’82, when he’d reached PL 10. +14 accuracy and +6 effect, +13 defense and +7 toughness (+3 CON, +2 D-Roll, +2 Armor). His return in 2001 was basically this build but with five arrow AP’s knocked off to remove a rank of Device. Attack Spec (unarmed) and Ultimate Aim are also absent. For the Endgame Fletch had cheesed Inventor to bump his Body Armor up 2 ranks and all of his trick arrows and the lens shots up 2 ranks, so he was PL 13 during the final battle.

 

Personality:  Fletcher was a man haunted by his failures. The loss of Starman II weighed heavily on him. He was the last active member of a generation of heroes that simply seemed to sputter to a halt. Despite 21 years of initial service, after 2001 he always felt that he could have done better. Done more. His mind was not fool enough to think that he could have saved Starman II at all. But his heart was another matter. Yet the harder he tried to set things up so the world would be safer than he found it before his aging body finally betrayed him, the more events seems to slip out of his control. He did not know how he kept making the exact wrong decision. And the only way he knew to do something about it was to simply attempt to learn from his mistakes and try harder next time. The guilt and remorse eating him alive was simply something he had to put up with. He was an old school Irishman raised in the 50s and 60s. Talking about one’s feelings was not something they did.

So most who knew him saw only the warm and friendly man. A stereotypical Irishman with the “gift of the gab” and thus charming and quick with a joke or a witty quip. He could be more than a little arrogant and prickly, to be sure, but he who clearly cared about his fellow humans. The genius billionaire philanthropist. Seattle’s greatest champion. An endlessly kind man worthy of standing beside his idol as one of the greatest to ever put on a costume. His courage and determination knew no bounds. He was a very driven man who refused to let anyone or anything (even himself) stop him from achieving his goals. Ironically, the very same quality that complicated his legacy. He was a legend. Then an Icon. He was Fletcher. He was Morris Archer. He was only a man, and that was more than enough.

[EternalPhoenix]

Shadowspirit (Real Name Unknown)

 

Power Level: 12; Power Points Spent: 255/255

 

STR: +5 (20), DEX: +7 (24), CON: +5 (20), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16)

 

Tough: +5/+7, Fort: +8, Ref: +17, Will: +8

 

Skills: Acrobatics 8 (+15), Bluff 12 (+15), Diplomacy 7 (+10), Disable Device 12 (+15), Disguise 12 (+15), Escape Artist 13 (+20), Gather Information 12 (+15), Knowledge (arcane Lore) 2 (+5), Knowledge (current events) 7 (+10), Knowledge (history) 7 (+10), Knowledge (streetwise) 7 (+10), Language 4 (+4), Medicine 2 (+5), Notice 12 (+15), Sense Motive 12 (+15), Sleight of Hand 3 (+10), Stealth 13 (+20), Survival 7 (+10)

 

Feats: Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Assessment, Attack Focus (melee) 10, Benefit (enigma) 3, Challenge - Improved Feint, Challenge - Improved Taunt, Chokehold, Defensive Attack, Distract (Bluff), Dodge Focus 4, Elusive Target, Equipment 3, Evasion, Fascinate (Bluff), Fearless, Grappling Finesse, Improved Critical 2 (Martial Arts (Strike 2)), Improved Grab, Improved Initiative, Improved Pin, Improved Throw, Improved Trick, Improved Trip, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Quick Change 2, Skill Mastery 3 (Acro, Bluff, Diplo, Dis Dev, Disguise, Esc Art, Gather Info, Notice, SM, SoH, Steal, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack 2, Taunt, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory), Well-Informed

 

Powers:

Martial Arts (Strike 2) (DC 22, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Martial Arts (Strike 2)); Mighty)

Martial Arts Training (Container, Passive 2)

   Fast (Speed 1) (Speed: 10 mph, 88 ft./rnd)

   High Jumper (Leaping 1) (Jumping distance: x2)

   Stealth Gymnastic Training (Super-Movement 2) (slow fall, trackless)

   Stronger Than She Looks (Super-Strength 1) (+5 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 800 lbs; +1 STR to some checks)

   Toughened (Protection 2) (+2 Toughness)

Soviet Regen Treatment (Linked)

   Immunity 3 (Linked; aging, disease, poison)

   Regeneration 35 (Linked; ability damage 8 (recover 1 / round without rest), recovery bonus 4 (+4 to recover), recovery rate (bruised) 3 (recover 1 / round without rest), recovery rate (disabled) 8 (recover 1 / round without rest), recovery rate (injured) 6 (recover 1 / round without rest), recovery rate (staggered) 6 (recover 1 / round without rest); Persistent, Regrowth)

 

Equipment: Hovercycle

 

Attack Bonus: +7 (Ranged: +7, Melee: +17, Grapple: +24/+25)

 

Attacks: Martial Arts (Strike 2), +17 (DC 22), Unarmed Attack, +17 (DC 20)

 

Defense: +17  (Flat-footed: +7), Knockback: -3

 

Initiative: +11

 

Languages: English, Inuit, Japanese, Russian Native, Spanish

 

Totals: Abilities 52 + Skills 38 (152 ranks) + Feats 52 + Powers 55 + Combat 40 + Saves 18 + Drawbacks 0 = 255

 

*****************************************************************************************

 

Hovercycle

 

Power Level: 12; Equipment Points Spent: 15

 

STR: +2 (15)

 

Toughness: +8

 

Features: Remote Control

 

Powers:

Flight 5 (Speed: 250 mph, 2200 ft./rnd)

 

Defense: +0

 

Totals: Abilities 1 + Skills 0 (0 ranks) + Feats 0 + Features 1 + Powers 10 + Combat 0 + Saves 3 + Drawbacks 0 + Equipment 0 (0 ep) + Weapons & Armor 0 (0 ep) = 15

 

Age (as of Jan 2019): 118

Height: 5’ 4”

Weight: 125 lbs

Ethnicity: Russian

Hair: Snow White (covered by mask)

Eyes: Blue (obscured by mask)

 

Background: Shadowspirit was very old, very tired, and very sad. She was a teenage girl in Petrograd (present day St. Petersburg). She went on strike with basically everyone else in early March 1917, and thus was a relatively minor part of the February Revolution (Russia was not yet on the current Gregorian calendar, thus it was still technically February for most of it). She was a firm Bolshevik by the end of June, after a brief revolt in the city in the Bolshevik name (but crucially, not with leaders Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky’s permission) failed miserably and most were arrested. She was disguised as a boy under a false name in the Red Guards by the time of the October Revolution. Her unit was one of those folded into the new Red Army. The Russian Civil War started in early 1918. By the time it ended in 1923, Shadowspirit had adopted her most enduring alias of “Natalia Godunova” and was regarded in inner circles as probably the best scout, spy, and assassin in the Red Army. She was an important part of suppressing the Kronstadt Rebellion in 1921, which brought her to the attention of one Josef Stalin.

Stalin had many loyalists and agents, but very few survived his purges. The woman known only as “Natalia” was one of both. Her actions were a key part of Stalin taking power instead of Trotsky, leading to his exile. Trotsky’s bodyguards had a good description of her, in case she was sent to kill him. This was, in part, the reason why she never was. The other part is that she was very, very busy. One of the NKVD’s top agents, answerable only to Stalin himself, she spied on everyone. Information she collected led to assassinations, jailings, or being sent through the Gulag system. She performed some of the assassinations personally, as an unarmed woman would be more likely to be underestimated in the period. The Great Purges of ’37-‘38 featured much of her work alongside many others. She was legitimately feared.

Especially in world War 2. The Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, as is known, on June 22 1941. The extremely unprepared Soviets were on the back foot for quite some time. Between Nazi super operatives and their regular military, they forced the Soviets to the brink of defeat…and “Natalia” out of the shadows.

There were six of them. “Natalia” was considered the leader.  A giant of a man, irradiated to prodigious strength and durability by early nuclear testing. A bulky prototype armored suit created for undersea work, but did not lack for weapons. The alleged son of the Slavic thunder god Perun that was actually an android advanced even by today’s supertech standards. And two genuinely badass Cossacks, one an impossibly skilled archer and the other a truly gifted kinetomancer. The English language newspapers called them the Defenders of the People. Since I am decidedly not fluent in Russian, Dear Reader, that is what I will use. Put bluntly, the Defenders whooped Nazi ass wherever they found it. The cream of the Nazi super operative crop was still in Western Europe at the start of the invasion, so what they were up against was mostly pathetic or regular military. It was still a race against time to push the Nazis back before too much territory was lost or the top Nazi super operatives came calling. It all came to a head at the Battle of Moscow, where the Defenders proved their worth and booted the Nazi armies away from the city. Honestly, the Defenders killed more Nazi super operatives than any other force during the war in a long series of dramatic battles across every major battlefield on the Eastern Front. And ultimately the invasion could not be sustained without them. The Defenders and the Red Army may well have reversed the blitzkrieg all the way into Berlin, except for the incredible telekinetic rage of a young Jewish Phoenix Mutate named Josef Pietrovich. The Red Army was delayed reorganizing after that incident at Auschwitz. The Defenders were not. Neither were the members of Project Blue Liberty, since it was now months after D-Day. It was the last stand of the remaining Nazi super operatives. The Project and the Defenders nearly came to blows afterward. “Natalia” had orders to kill ‘em all and drag the corpses back to Russia for experimentation. Oliver Snow had orders to arrest whoever surrendered. A tense moment indeed. But an agreement was reached, and the Defenders returned to Mother Russia heroes.

This did not last. Mostly because Stalin, in his aging paranoia, wanted them killed before their popularity lead to anything…undesirable. Whether anything would have happened or not is irrelevant. “Natalia”, ever the loyalist, obeyed. She killed the two Cossacks in their sleep in 1946. She killed the inventor of the armored suit in ’47 by throwing him off a high balcony, and then delivered the suit and its schematics to the NKVD. The irradiated man succumbed to cancer that same year. She’d poisoned him with plutonium shards in his food. The android took a little longer. But in August 1949, she lured him to modern day Kazakhstan, to the site of the first Soviet nuclear test. Surprisingly, being literally nuked didn’t kill him, only doing enough damage to knock his systems offline and revealing his android nature. So she took his disabled body to the NKVD, too. And then Stalin died. Well, one thing first. “Natalia” was starting to get old. But stolen secrets wrung from captured Nazi scientists and the bodies of slain super operatives provided a potential solution. The treatment seems to work quite well, especially with Soviet improvements. So “Natalia”, in mid 1952, underwent a special treatment. The pain was excruciating. The rehabilitation was worse. Relearning how to walk. How to feed herself. All of her skills and abilities. In a sense, the woman she was before died, and she was reborn a new person. Unfortunately, she was declared ready for duty again on the same day (March 1, 1953) that Stalin was found semi-conscious from a brain hemorrhage on the floor of his Dacha. He died four days later. It was announced the day afterward, which is how “Natalia” found out about it.

The following three years were spent in a bit of a daze. No one but Stalin had had the authority to give her orders. Nikita Khrushchev, as First Secretary and Georgi Malenkov, as Premier had the combined authority to do it, but they’d have to agree, and they’d also kind of just found out she wasn’t a myth or a combination of several people. And even outside of that, there were questions about just how loyal to Stalin she was. They didn’t trust her, and honestly nobody should blame them for that. So she had literally nothing to do but sit in Moscow under informal house arrest. She was, however, allowed into the room when Khrushchev unleashed his speech. On the Cult of Personality and its Consequences exploded “Natalia’s” entire worldview. She openly wept during the four hour speech. She had been quite blind. Afterward, she reaffirmed that her loyalty lay with the Soviet Union, not with any one man. Still, Khrushchev became Premier in 1958 and the only man authorized to give her orders. And he did. They were, perhaps, kinder order than Stalin’s ever were, but she remained a spy and assassin. It was the Cuban Missile Crisis and the accompanying near intervention of Starman and Stargirl (later Starwoman) that changed things. The Treaty of Havana banned superhuman operatives above a certain minimal grade being used in official warfare, liking them to tactical nuclear weapons. And this put “Natalia” out of work. And, a couple of years later, Khrushchev out of a job. With him out of power, there was no one left who could call her back. “Natalia” disappeared.

All of this is not known to anyone currently living with only a few notable exceptions. The Shining Guardian, Caviezel, and Terrifica. The former two because Shadowspirit told them, her best friends, about it. The latter because she figured it out on her own. Her history from there becomes even less traceable, which is impressive. She popped up in Vietnam as more or less a spectator on the War, but records are inconsistent how when, how long, how often she was there, and if it was even her in the first place. She literally wrote the book on how to be a ghost in the world, at least for Russian speakers, so it makes sense that if she wanted not to be found or tracked, that is how it would be. So it isn’t entirely clear when the professional superhero Shadowspirit debuted. It was definitely after the end of the war in Vietnam in 1975, as her old war stories include watching the tanks roll in late April. With enough detail that she had to have been there. But when she arrived in Anchorage is unknown. What is known, however, is that she rescued then 17 year old Cindy Paulsen from Robert Hansen, and beat the stuffing out of him. This was June 13, 1983. She’d apparently been tracking the serial killer for a while, which would throw doubt on her being in Saigon in ’75 (as Hansen apparently began killing in ’71) except again, the sheer detail. The beating got Hansen arrested, and the suspicions of the Alaska State Police and an FBI profile on an unidentified killer got his belongings and vehicles searched. Souvenirs of his killings were found. Time for prison. Alaska seemed to have its own superhero.

One hell of a debut, sort of. Once her costume was described in the media, people came forward as having seen her for years. Just dismissed as being tired or drunk. And it was always dark. The crime rate in Alaska is among the highest in the United States, so she never lacked for something to do. An Anchorage news anchor coined her name, calling her a “ protective spirit in the shadows”. Sure, why not? And this was the state of affairs in 2001, when the Shining Guardian and Fletcher combined their brainpower to make contact. She’d been active for a long, long time. Just like them. Their new group could just another steady veteran presence. And so, Shadowspirit helped found the Icons. The early days weren’t so bad. Vincent Mortelini and his Phantom Network passed them information. Well, her and Caviezel, who were a bit more…ethically flexible. It was 2011 when things got interesting, with Lei Zi and her alien army invading poor Fletcher’s Seattle. She helped with that, certainly, but it wasn’t nearly as flashy and dramatic as Henry, Tidal, Tex, and Fletcher were. She was just there, punching and kicking and sometimes shooting with their interesting rifles. Aw, her accuracy had declined. A pity, but she had no reason to practice anymore.

2013 was certainly an adventure and a half. Oh, yes. Poor Henry. They fought Neo-Nazis, avoided regular Army and law enforcement, and even briefly helped the President fake his death. This was harder than she thought it would be. Improved security since the days of Kennedy, it seemed. She knew of Jin, yes, but he was Henry’s friend and Henry was the one who wanted to save him no matter the cost. She simply went along with it. Queenie was very helpful. Proved her worth as a hero quite well, in Shadowspirit’s opinion. It all came down to a final battle on a very big plane. Flying Fortress, Henry called it. While Henry faced off with his old friend, “Natalia Godunova” dealt with the last member of The Blade of The Rising Sun. He was a robot now, his flesh having failed him years ago. She breathed in the irony of this, considering her own situation, and then smashed the robot with her bare hands. He was the brains behind the whole affair. With Jin rescued, the mastermind destroyed, and a lot of Neo-Nazi supervillains defeated, the day was saved. Good job all around.

She again played a minor role when Fletcher accidently made that AI that almost killed everyone in the world. All she could do was punch robot drones, and she did it well. She stuck with Fletcher during the Icons civil war because she knew which way he would fall once the law was passed and knew that he would need a friend. Candy was too new, and the rest would go with Henry or away. Caviezel and Terrifica surprised her. She thought each of them would have made the choice the other did. Ah, well. No one was perfect. So, she was still with Fletcher, Candy, and the replacements he had recruited when Kuros The Savior came storming out of Tian (the Chinese divine realms) in 2017. It would have made any difference for Orca to be there. They would have still lost. If that Jackie’s team and the mightiest of the Exiles were not match, the whale man would not have made any difference. She and Marian Soaring Eagle helped everyone get proper medical attention while Kuros and his forces moved on to Baltimore and the Eternity War. Of course, after that there was not a lot to do except help manage the chaos after half of all life on Earth had turned to dust and blown away.

2018. Terrifica and Marian Soaring Eagle had a way to undo what had been done. To reform the Crystals of Power Kuros had shattered in doing what he did. This was good. Everyone had a role. She went with Caviezel to that high mountain to reform the Soul Crystal. He came back, bruised as if from a fight. She did not. Well, in a manner of speaking. What happened on that high mountain is unclear. What is known is that reforming the Soul Crystal requires a soul. Meaning someone has to die. It cannot be done with murder, despite Terrifica’s jokes. It requires a willing sacrifice. Whether it’s of life, love, or something else important is also unclear. Magic is a fuzzy, undefined thing at times. So passed the 118 year old Shadospirit. Of many aliases, but the most common being Natalia Godunova. It was not the name she was born under, but it was the name she used the most. As a note, the new Soul Crystal was the only one not to shatter anew after Fletcher used them to destroy Kuros and all of his forces to end the Endgame. It is stored underneath the Rockies, accessible only to Marian Soaring Eagle and Sage.

Shadowspirit had no regular enemies or allies in Anchorage or indeed the whole of Alaska. It’s not a very well populated state. There’s more people in the city of Milwaukee than in the whole state, so it makes sense. Her legacy is that of a heroic one, and a few new heroes have popped up to honor her. How long they’ll last remains to be seen. The legacy of Natalia Godunova, on the other hand, is not nearly as nice. In Alaska she was a humble martial arts dojo owner. Forgotten. In Eastern Europe and the former USSR, she isn’t remembered as merely the Boogeyman. She is remembered as the person you called to kill the fucking Boogeyman. She was one of Josef Stalin’s most silent and inescapable agents, and her death or imprisonment was never reported. A virtually immortal killer disappeared into the world. The prospect of her reappearance keeps intelligence agencies in the area up at night. The truth of her is, as ever, somewhere in the middle. She was loyal to Stalin, yes, but she was more loyal to the ideals of the Soviet Union. She believed what the “Man of Steel” said. Until that speech by Khrushchev, where she learned the truth of what he had been doing. She was a monster serving a greater one. Her patriotism had been exploited virtually from the start by a man who knew what he was doing. She left Russia under a cloud she never fully escaped. Not even at the end, on that high mountain. Not even decades of heroism could fully erase the red in her mind’s ledger. And even now, her soul does not yet know peace. It is serving as the Soul Crystal. The epilogue of the life of Natalia Godunova, alias Shadowspirit, is not quite over yet…

 

Powers & Tactics: Shadowspirit was genuinely one of the finest martial artists on the planet, and the beneficiary of a Soviet super soldier program that gave her mutant powers. As a martial artist, she was right there when Sambo was being initially developed (separately) by Viktor Spiridonov and Vasili Oshchepkov (whom her work got sent to prison, where he died ) for the Red Army in the 1920s. So, Combat Sambo was her base and strongest martial art. However, her travels through the world (both as a Soviet agent and afterward) broadened her skill set. She augmented her Sambo training with a few of the martial arts it takes from, such as boxing, kickboxing, judo, wrestling, and jiu-jutsu. She also trained in karate.

Her mutant powers were generative in nature. She would heal with phenomenal speed from even the most grievous injuries. But it was the depth of her ability to heal that was truly remarkable. Merely by living, humans accumulate a collection of wear and tear injuries from repetitive use, diseases, and poisons. Their bodies’ ability to recover from such things is both imperfect and wears out over time. This is a very surface level description of the aging process. It’s much more complex than this description. However, the treatment caused her to heal even this damage. For Shadowspirit, there was no such thing as scarring or permanent damage from anything at all. So she did not age properly, and at first this was confused with being genuinely ageless. This was not the case. The accumulated damage of living could not kill her, as she healed from it perfectly. However, this had nothing to do with bones, organs, and connective tissue simply wearing out over time. The peak strength of the body simply runs out. She was genuinely biologically 118 years old at the time of her death. She just so happened to be the healthiest and most physically fit biologically 118 year old that has ever existed. One’s muscles (including the heart) are built up and maintained by stressing them to the point of damage, and they build back stronger. Exercise has been shown to help keep bones stronger than they would be otherwise through a similar process. Imagine how that worked with her regenerative speed. As such, it’s not particularly clear if she could have died from natural causes or simple aging at all. It’s entirely possible that she could have kept on living for centuries, getting older and weaker but never quite enough to die. And she was keenly aware of her gradual decline. There were some things no amount of exercise could deal with. Liver, lungs, kidneys, GI tract, etc. They were all in extremely good condition, but still 118 years old.

 

Tactically, Shadowspirit was about as pure an unarmed fighter as it’s possible to be. She hadn’t used so much as a knife in over 30 years. She didn’t need one. She’d spent over 30 years as a super spy, so she was by a country mile the founding Icon least likely to charge into battle with foes. She made use of Stealth and Disguise liberally. A old and very effective spying technique is simple eavesdropping. And only once she had the information she required would she start punching people in the face. Ordinary thuggery was absolutely no match for her. She’d simply Accurate Attack for +2 or +3 and Takedown Attack 2 through them like a buzzsaw. For ordinary supervillains she could mix things up with Improved Feint, Taunt, and Trick. Layer in All Out and Power Attack for more durable foes. She was quite a skilled grappler, and could choke foes unconscious given enough time. Stunning Attack could mix things up. She had caution but no fear of being injured, as it would heal in seconds. She could not power stunt at all.

A note: This build represents Shadowspirit, not the Russian spy and assassin Natalia Godunova. As such, it only represents her from 1983 to her death in 2018. From 1917 to her treatment in 1952 would be at least three different builds, and her capabilities from her discharge in 1963 to her reappearance 20 years later are not known. She also didn’t have the Hovercycle until 2002, as it was a gift from Fletcher.

 

Personality: Shadowspirit was very old, very tired, and very sad. You, Dear Reader, would be too if you were her age. And had had the kind of life she had had. She spent over 35 years of her life fighting and lying and killing for an ideal and the man she thought embodied it more than anyone else. A set of unnoticed ears. A knife in the dark. Breaker of necks and souls! She had faith. She believed. And it was all bullshit. Lies, deception, and charm. Stalin was not the hero of the Soviet Union. He was its greatest villain. A monster she had blindly served. And yet she could never entirely dismiss him as that. If she was a tool and a pawn, then why he did he not get rid of her? Why did he depend on her for so many missions? Why was she made leader of the Defenders? Why did he trust her, all the way to the end, when many others fell out of his favor? She never was able to figure it out.

It could be said that she was a woman on a path of atonement. There was so much blood on her hands. So much red in her ledger. She had believed that it would all be worth it for the glorious future of the Soviet Union, but…well. It wasn’t. There wasn’t any one moment where she decided to be a superhero. It was something she just fell into. Without Robert Hansen, she may have remained nothing more than an urban legend until whenever the end of her days came at last. Slowly balancing her ledger, one saved life at a time. But that changed. She got to do good on a larger scale with the Icons. She enjoyed that. But she was getting older and older. And her ledger was still so very red. That day, on that high mountain, was her chance to balance it forever. It appears that she took it. And yet…her soul does not appear to be satisfied. She did not permit the Soul Crystal to break. Even dying for half of all life in the universe was apparently not enough for her. For now.

This does not mean that she was morose or a grump. Far from it. She acted like the most obvious spy imaginable. A walking caricature of the foreign femme fatale. This was all in good fun. She liked to tease people a little. What can be said? She was very old and no longer gave a shit about making her friends and/or allies a little uncomfortable. It wasn’t that she couldn’t turn into an absolute professional virtually instantly. Because she could, when it was needed. She was perhaps a little fatalistic in that curiously Russian way. Bad things are going to happen whether anyone wants them to or not, yes? But you hope they don’t, right? And then she turns the philosophy around, just a bit. Because hope requires action. Sitting and hoping never accomplished anything. The 17 year old who marched in the streets of Petrograd was still alive and well, all the way to the end. Even if she was very old, very tired, and very sad. She still believed in hope and taking action for a better world. Collective action would be best, but she would take what she could get. She was, after all, still a Bolshevik in her heart.