Mutants & Mastermind Presents – “Astonishing Tales of Centropolis”

Mutants & Mastermind Presents – “Astonishing Tales of Centropolis”

OOC Thread
Rogue's Gallery


[sblock=Centropolis]
Welcome to Centropolis City
A brief history of Centropolis…
Founded in 1848 by prospectors looking for gold and silver in western Nebraska, they settled on the southern banks of the Platte River to explore into the hills of the surrounding area. Enough deposits were found that the city grew rapidly. By the 1880’s it was also a major destination for cattle drives and a number of small and mid-sized slaughterhouse plants were formed.

Centropolis would have remained a small frontier boom town has it not be for the discovery of Unobtanium around the turn of the 19th century. In fact it is one of the few places in the continental US where this rare mineral is found in anything but minute quantities. Due to the refinement and processions of this precious mineral, the industry to meet that needs were located here.

The Centralist Canal was build to connect the ore mines and the Platte River during the 1930’s.

Centropolis bills itself as a clean, safe and modern city of 8 million, but scratch the surface and one can find a great deal of corruption and crime.

Take a Quick Tour of Centropolis City…
Random Info about the city…



Some of the City’s Major Corporations
Daedalus Robotics – headed by Allen James Callaway, this manufacturing company is the city’s premier group in robotic technology. Most of the robots are for manufacturing but Allen is looking into law-enforcement and para-military applications.
Drake Industries – run by the young Gary Drake, this corporation is involved with heavy industry and manufacturing. Unknown to all, Gary Drake uses the wealth and resources of his parents company to support his various charities and is considered the most eligible young bachelor of Centropololis. Drake is secretly the thrill-criminal Shrieking Moonbat, and uses his wealth to support his criminal enterprises. He is not really evil, nor does he need the money, he just commits high stakes crimes for the thrill of it.
Cross World Industries – headed by Bernadette Wellington Cross, this corporation is one of Human Inc.’s main competitors. While publicly Raymond and Bernadette appear to have a friendly rivalry, they really hate each other with a passion and Cross would love nothing more than to wipe Human Inc. out of existence.
Glass-Mikhail Financial Group – headed by Rebecca Glass and Sergei Mikhail, this group is the city’s main banking and financial organization.
Human Inc. – headed by Raymond Shawe, one of the richest men in the world and the most prominent corporation within the city. The corporation is involved in hundreds of fields of scientific research, and is one of the US Militaries major supplies of everything from combat planes to body armor. Raymond himself does not really trust metahumanity and works to help “normal everyday” people live in a world where super beings shot lasers out of the eyes, fly without any known outside source, etc. The EXO Man-of-War Powered Walker System is one such project that Raymond believes will one day be the great equalizer allowing anyone to stand up to these inhuman costumed threats.
Marrs Military Industries – headed by Maximillian Marrs, a young technical genius, the corporation is a world leader in small arms and military software technologies.
Pandora Inc. – is a worldwide corporations with enclaves around the world. This think tank and research group is world renowned in the fields of medicine and genetics, but is secretly a front for Victor Helios (aka Doctor Frankenstein) and his FleshWorks factory. It is locally run by Walther Black (Mr. Black) and while rumors abound that they might be involved with some illegal actives they are vigorous denied by the corporation’s team of highly paid lawyers.
Sigil Works Group – headed by Doctor Sigil (no other known aliases or names known). This group does not really produce anything; instead they do pure research and have made a number of important scientific breakthroughs. Doctor Sigil himself is a metahuman with super-human levels of intelligence and is working on hundreds (if not thousands) of different theories at any one times. He has created repluser-fields (near anti-gravity), fission and anti-matter energy technology, teleportation/worm-hole accelerators, to name only a few of the most famous works. Most of these do not completely work yet, but he is confident that within a few years, humanity will make a huge leap.

Other Neighborhoods and Incorporated Townships of Centropolis
Blue Bluffs – located north of Upper MainTown, Blue Bluff is mostly where the ‘old money’ of Centropolis is located (i.e. the Robber and Train Barons). As Centropolis has changed and moved towards high tech industry and Unobtanium production many of the older families lost a lot of wealth and influence. Today many of the old mansions are abandoned or in ill repair as most of the wealth of the city (and the family’s that control it) moved into Ridgeway and Sunny Newark.
Chinatown – located between the lower-east side of Wellington Heights and Ridgeway neighborhoods, as the name implies it is where much of the cities Chinese immigrants settled.
Fairview – to the north east of Upper MainTown, Fairview is a mostly suburban enclave of Victorian style homes, parks and malls. Nothing much happens in this small neighborhood.
Hillsdale –to the east of MainTown on the northern side of the Platte River, Hillsdale is a mixed neighborhood of suburban homes and high-tech industrial parks. Daedalus Robotics has a major domestic robotic manufacturing center here and is one of the largest employers in the area. The Raven Academy of Exceptional Students is located here and the ‘unusual’ student here often sneak off campus to do a little “patrolling” in the surrounding areas.
Little Russia – on the eastern boarder of the Red District, this city is made up mostly of large tenement housing units and is dominated by the Medved Koroli. Drugs and gambling are rampant here, but also some of the best ethnic restaurants are also located here.
Lantern Hill – on the northwestern part of town, this neighborhood was settled by Irish and Russian immigrants after the Unobtanium mines were first opened. These mining families also brought their churches and with the wealth from the mines lead to a number of large cathedrals being raised here. It got its name from the tradition of hanging colored lanterns on every street corner during the holidays and their cultures traditional holidays.
Park Ridge – one of the richer suburban enclaves to the west of greater Centropolis city. More millionaires are located here then almost anywhere in the city. The Centropolis police force is supported by a large number of private security forces, all with limited legal enforcement powers within the district.
Pine Oak – This northern town was settled by a number of Vietnamese and eastern European immigrants and was mostly built to chatter to the students of the Pine Oak Technical University.
Silver Town – located ten miles north of the city and not far from the Middleton Army Base, it once served at a miner temp-town for the silver mines (before the discovery of Unobtanium). Today it has remade itself into a ‘Mecca of Gambling’ with a number of large casinos.
South Place – located south of the Smokes and Red Haven, this lower-middle class residential area is surprisingly low on much of the crime that plagues the neighborhoods north of it.
Sunnyvale – located some ten miles to the southwest of Upper MainTown, Sunnyvale is located near the Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Park. This park has been greatly expanded in the last few years with a large endowment from Pandora Inc. In fact Pandora has a secret underground facility here where they have been experimenting with new Chimera breeds and then released back into the park to see how well they survive in the wild.
The Smokes – located west of the city and running along the southern side of the Platte River, with parts of the Red District spilling over into it, this is the location of most of the city’s heavy manufacturing and industrial area. While much of these industries are ‘cleaner and greener’ then older manufacturing it is still dirty and pumping out huge columns of smoke and ash, from where it gets its name.

Important and/or Unusual Places
A.E.G.I.S. (American Elite Government Intervention Services) – US federal agency under the Department of Homeland Security with the most direct influence over meta-humans and costumed heroes and villains. There main facility in Centropolis is located in the heart of MidTown but this is most a front, with their primary base is closer to the Danver Airforce Base.
Atlas Dedication Park – one of the largest parks in Centropolis, this dedication park is heavily forested with numerous sidewalks and hiking trails. It is patrolled by the Centropolis City Police fairly heavily and is considered fairly safe day or night.
C-Train System – an incredibly advanced and modern elevated monorail system that covers most of the city. During the work week more than 80% of the city rides it to and from work.
Center Park Zoo – this large zoo and park located within Wellington Heights and spots some of the largest collection of exotic animals in North America.
Centralist Plaza – something called ‘Time-Square west of the Mississippi’, this throughway runs along Atlas Avenue and 1st Central Way. Dozens of major shopping centers and hundreds of minor ones line the Plaza on both sides of the Ave. and they are visited by thousands of people every day.
Centropolis General Hospital – located on the south side of MainTown along the river, this large and modern hospital is the envy of many major cities. Again grants and corporate sponsorship has made this hospital one of the most advanced in the world. It has over 500 beds spread over half a dozen buildings and is a world leader in the treatment of numerous cancers and various diseases.
Danver Airforce Base – north of the Middleton Army Base and west of the Unobtanium mines, this sprawling base is another line of defense for the all-important strategic mines. A full squad (12 men) of Human Inc.’s EXO Man-of-War Powered Combat suits (X-Core) is located for initial testing of the suits for military applications.
Founders Square – located in front of Human Inc. this Square is a dedication park to all the heroes of the city, including its founders and some of the metahumans that have died defending the city over the years. There is a large water fountain and a number of bronze statues scattered throughout the park.
Lakota Hospital for the Criminally Insane – located in the Little Russian (on the border with Red Haven) neighborhood this hospital facility is world famous for housing some of the most dangerous and insane criminals of the country. At present both the so-called Psycho Dragon and Kill-Joy are both housed here along with almost a hundred other inmates. Doctor Kenneth Washington is the chief psychologist and physician on staff, and is secretly also a super villain called Doctor Wraithman, head the criminal origination known as V.I.L.E.
Meadows Manor Home for Disturbed Children – located on the northern part of Wellington Heights, this medium security home of psychologically children who have no criminal records.
Middleton Army Base – located north of Centropolis, and only a few miles from the largest Unobtanium mines, is this sprawling military base. At present commander is one General Marcus Ironworth, a no-nonsense, by-the-book leader who has a deep distrust of all things to do with metahumans or costumed vigilantes.
Millionaires Pavilion – one of the world’s largest and most expensive shopping centers located in Ridgeway. This mall has a strong private security presence and does not allow ‘just’ anyone inside.
Newton Fusion Facility – located just outside Centropolis on the northwestern banks of the Platte River this is one of the most important power generation facilities in the world. Private security is provided by Human Inc. and Cross World Industries.
Platte-Rock Super-Max Penitentiary “Iron Rock” – a smaller super prison located on the west side of the Middleton Army Base, on an island on the upper Platte River. This prison is designed to house about 100 metahuman criminals (it is an important metahuman facility, but not the most important and there are at least a dozen others of equal size spread throughout the U.S.).
Raven Academy for Exceptional Students – located in the Hillsdale neighborhood this private school is run by the eccentric Profession Farley Whiteraven, who also secretly houses and trains young metahumans to use and control their powers.
Silver City Residential Arcology – a first for the world, this Acology is run by Daedalus Robotics where almost 70% of their entire work force and their families live and work. Taking up four city blocks in eastern MainTown and just over 80 stories tall, it is a modern marvel of engineering and planning. The idea is that a person can be born here and never have to leave. The Acology includes its own schools, hospital, private police force, malls, parks, and of course business located within its’ walls. There are numerous shops and malls open to the public located on the first four levels and extensive underground parking.
Unobtanium Mines – there are hundreds of mines located to the north of Centropolis, the most important controlled by Human Inc. and Cross World Industries. Security at these sites are extremely tight as this is one of the only locations of the mineral in the USA territories.
The United States Federal Platte Penitentiary – located to the east of Centropolis, this maximum security prison is where most of the state’s federal non-metahuman prisoners are located.
Yellow Brick Row Farmers Market – originally, Centropolis’s farmers market was on both sides of the Platte River, but in the 1950’s most of the southern side was abandoned or sold over for warehouse construction. The north side farmer’s market was also threatened when the owner got the bright idea of painting the brick road that ran through the market yellow and remain it ‘Yellow Brick Row’. Today it is an extremely popular destination for both locals and tourist and runs almost a full mile along the eastern riverfront.

Major Criminal Organizations
Diamond Family – run by Don Virginia ‘Diamond Lady’ Diamond, the youngest daughter of Tony Diamonds, she has reorganizing and regroup the last remains of her father’s mod organization after his assassination and is determined to not only hold on to the last bit of crime that they still control (mostly extortion and gambling within Ridgeway and Upper MainTown) but she plans on somehow destroying the Medved’s and retake control of the city’s crime.
Doctor Destroyer – arguably the most powerful super villain on the planet, the doctor does not have a direct hand in the affairs of the city or its super-villains, but a number of his proxy followers (such as Iron Mask and Fear Monger) have bases in the area seeking to exploit the city’s technology and mineral wealth.
FleshWorks – founded by Victor Helios to provide various criminal enterprises pre-built mooks, such as Skin-Jobs (realistic looking androids), Golems (Frankenstein monster type reanimated corpses) and Chimera (animal human hybrid creations). Doctor Frankenstein has numerous secret facilities throughout the area and around the world.
F.O.E. (Fraternal Order of Evil) – this secretive villainous group of metahumans, under the leadership of the mad inventor, the Atomic Brain (a brain in the jar), controls most of the super and metahuman crime within the city. They have been thwarted multiple times by various heroes over the years but never destroyed and their secret lair within the city has never been discovered.
Feral Underground – made up mostly of outcasts and degraded mutants and escaped Chimera, they live in many of the city’s old abandoned subway system south of MainTown (these tunnels were supposedly sealed off after the earthquake of 1979 and replaced by the C-Train system). They are involved in mostly petty crimes of thief, smuggling and some exertion. The mysterious leader of the Feral Underground is known only as ‘Red Rags’ and always appears wearing a full body ragged red cloak. The supervillain known as the Rat King has strong ties to the gang and often helps them against the police or pesky superheroes.
H.A.R.M. (Humans Against Real Monsters) – a splinter group of various anti-metahuman organization groups that believe that all metahuman, costumed individuals and mutants are too dangerous to be allowed to exist and must be stopped before they expose themselves as the “demons” they truly are. They have some unusually rich secret patrons that fund and support their activities around the US and the world.
The Medved Koroli (the ‘Bear Kings’ in Russian) – the Russian Mafia is one of the strongest crime families within Centropolis. Headed by Dmitri ‘the Crime Tsar’ Alexandroy, a ruthless and greedy man who surrounds himself by only most cutthroat knee-breakers, they control most of the crime in Red Haven and much of the drug trade within all of Centropolis. They destroyed most of the Old Italian mafia ten years ago with the assassination of Capo Tony ‘Pooki’ Diamonds and took over most of his old organization and crime infrastructure (although some escaped and are trying to make a comeback, see above). Dmitri has a core of ‘Chimera’ bear and wolf bodyguards provided to him by FleshWorks.
S.H.A.D.O.W. (the Secret Hierarchy of Agents for Domination Over the World) – while not a major force within Centropolis, the secretive overlord of this villainous organization, Overshadow, has agents and resources here due to his interest in the various high tech industries and the Unobtanium mines.
V.I.L.E. (Villains In Larcenous Enterprises) – formed for the express purpose of providing metahuman muscles for criminal enterprises that lack them. The group is run by a meta-villain known as Doctor Wraithman, who in his secret identity is also one Doctor Kenneth Washington, head doctor of the Lakota Hospital for the Criminally Insane (and their base is actually under the hospital). Note though that the group almost never takes any jobs within Centropolis itself as not to draw attention to their location.
V’sorri Infiltrators: there remains remnants of the vicious V’sorri invasion from five years ago, especially in Centropolis. These aliens live in disguise (though various technological or psychic illusions) and still stow dissent and disaster in and around the Unobtanium industry. It is unknown why the remained for when Atlas sacrificed his life to stop the invasion, their leader the Star Khan, promised never to invade the world again.
W.R.A.I.T.H. (World Renegade Anti-Industrial Terrorist Headquarters) – this villainous organization operations throughout the world, but due to the importance of the various corporate enterprises and the mining of Unobtanium in Centropolis, has made a major focus of their criminal enterprises here. Their goals are unknown but it seems to involve the destruction of most of the world’s industrial infrastructure and governments.
The Yellow Hand – the most powerful of Centropolis’s Triad gangs, whose’ mysterious leader they call the ‘Emperor in Yellow’. They control almost all crime within Centropolis’s Chinatown located in the lower-east side of Wellington Heights and Ridgeway, and also most of the prostitution and some gambling within the Red Haven. They are also involved with human trafficking and smuggling on the riverfront.

Brief Super-hero History
Centropolis never had much metahuman activity until after the Perfect Human Project produced the city’s first major hero – Atlas. He, along with sponsorship by Raymond Shawe and Human Inc., formed the city’s first super team called the Centurions. Human Inc. helped build the Centurion Towers (across Centropolis Plaza from the Monolith Tower), a state of the art, 20-story ‘C’ shaped office tower built to withstand insane amounts of damage.
The Centurions battled F.O.E. and various other villains, including such world threats Doctor Destroyer and Firebird (presently imprisoned at Iron Rock).
Atlas was killed five years ago during the V’sorri Invasion, but his sacrifice saved the world. Most of the other Centurions were injured, killed or retired after this. Two years ago the Centurions were briefly reformed by a small team of heroes. Led by Freeze Police (a retired Centropolis police officer injured in the line of duty who was giving a cyborg body and ice/cold generating gloves by Marrs Military Industries as a promotion for their new weapons line), Hard Water (the ‘Old Man River’ river spirit of the Platt River), and Traveller (an extremely powerful teleporter). The group battled F.O.E., Medved Koroli and the Yellow Hand extensively but then disappeared about a month ago for no apparent reason. The Centurion Towers have remained closed sense then and crime is on the rise throughout the city.[/sblock]

EPISODE #1 – THE TERMINUS INCIDENT
ISSUE #1 – “Into the Storm”

THE HEROES OF OUR TALE…
Monday, April 11^th, 2016, 10:49am CST
‘The Yellow Brick Row Farmers Market’, MainTown Centropolis

It was a warm and sunny spring day in MainTown Centropolis, when the peaceful scene was shattered by a huge explosion on Dover Street and 1st Ave… right in the heart of the city’s historic Farmers Market!!! The heart-stopping boom of the explosion shattered glass and could be heard for miles around. Within moments a strange black whirlwind vortex formed. A cyclonic mass that suddenly discharging what appear to be bolts of bluish-black lightning bolts within its core and lash outward around the immediate vicinity. The vortex of blackish energy then rose into the sky, perhaps twenty meters off the ground, lightning-like bolts peppering the area with additional destructive energy. As suddenly as it formed and grew the vortex and the bolts subside and began to dissipate before anyone (including the heroes) could arrive on the scene, leaving the dead and injured as the most immediate concern. The fleeing, panicked crowds and hopelessly jammed roads meant that there was no conventional vehicle (including emergency vehicles) are getting into the area any time soon...


[sblock=Keiko aka Kitsune]Keiko is on the other side of the ‘Yellow Brick Row Farmers Market’ (this market stretches a mile or so along Dover Street. Keiko was knocked off her feet by the “BOOM” of the explosion but suffered no ill effects. People around her was also knocked down and are now screaming and shouting. Most are attempting to stand and then flee the area. Glass was shattered all around the area and every car alarm with a mile of the blast are now blaring making it hard to hear much.[/sblock]

[sblock= Karl aka The Paladin]Karl is enjoying an early lunch on a park bench in the Atlas Memorial Park, watching the folks enjoying an fine spring day when he feels the explosion to the southeast of where he is sitting. It’s was less then a mile away and he sees the expanding vortex or strange energy appear after the explosion and then slowly fade back… it sort of reminds the young paladin of the portal that brought him to this world. Oh it is very different in many regards but still strangely familiar. As the vortex fads he hears the screams and cries of the wounded and scared and various blaring of horns that he has come to associate with car-alarms.[/sblock]

[sblock=[COLOR=#333333]Eliza[/COLOR] aka Galatea]Eliza Petroski is also at the 'Yellow Brick Row Farmers market', just one block north of where the explosion was. She was mostly just window shopping but had stopped into a local thrift shop to drop off some extra cloths she had when everything went dark for a second. The explosion shakes the building causing all the lights to go off and plaster and ceiling tile (along with some of the lights) to crash down onto the other customers and Jane. With the dust quickly filling the large open sale’s room and the only light spilling in from the outside, it starts to get very dark where Petroski is. You could easily walk out of the room and be outside without too much trouble if you want but you are not in costume. Outside screams and multiple car alarms are making for a chaotic scene.[/sblock]

[sblock= Caleb aka The Shadow]Caleb is on his break at the Millionaires Pavillion when he is asked by a co-worker to help jumpstart her car as the battery is dead. While the pair are outside, Caleb sees the explosion over the cityscape. A few second later the both hear the explosion and then feel the sonic boom. You are about two miles from the MainTown core which is the general area that you are sure the explosion came from. Your co-worker is shocked by the explosion and suggest that you head back inside to check the news and also because your boss will probably want to secure the mall to keep the patrons safe, just in case there are more explosions to come. As if on cue, a red light starts flashing over the armed security lockdown door indicating that the mall would be going into emergency lockdown in less than one minute.[/sblock]

Karl saw the explosion and grabbed his bag. With a blast of that size, there would be injuries and people trapped in the debris. As he made his way toward the noise and confusion he looked for a place to change into his armor. (Like a public restroom or an abandoned van) [roll0]

Keiko sat groggily up, her ears ringing and her head spinning. All around were the tinkles of glass and the sounds of panicking people, sounding a little muffled to her ears. What had happened? She focused her attention on the light coming from behind her, 'looking' that way without turning her head. Looming overhead was a rapidly dissipating vortex of dark clouds, with the last vestiges of lightning dancing across it. As she watched, stunned, it faded away entirely, leaving plumes of smoke and coronas of St Elmo's Fire leaping over a nearby flagpole.

Her eyes widened. It was a reflex...her ability to see had nothing to do with those organs. This was absolutely incredible! Oh, and horrible of course! Terrorists attacking Centropolis! Lashing out at...uh...the Farmer's Market. Sure! Why not?!

Stumbling a little, Keiko got to her feet and ducked behind a little snack shack that looked to have been abandoned. It only took a moment for her to concentrate on that strange mental 'field' that surrounded her, through which she could sense light. And through which she could change light. A trick she'd learned, to change the light leaving her to match the light coming towards her on the opposite side. It was handy. It made her invisible, basically.

Thus concealed, she set off at a sprint towards ground zero...the spot underneath where she'd seen the funnel cloud disappearing. If it was this bad here, imagine what it must be like THERE! And she wanted to know what had happened! That cloud didn't look like any bomb she'd ever heard of!

(OOC - Using the Concealment power, and the mobility boosts (+3 Leap, +2 Speed, Wall Crawling and Safe Fall), and moving at full speed towards the epicenter of the explosion. Using Perception to assess the area: [roll0])

The Shadow

Millionaire’s Pavilion
Monday, April 11, 2016/10:49 AM

“Okay, try it now, Alice,” Caleb said, stepping back from the car.

The pretty blonde inside cranked it over and the car came to life.

“There you go,” Caleb smiled as he disengaged the jumper cables from her car and his truck. “Let it run for about fifteen minutes to charge,” he told her as he tossed the cables into the storage box in the back of his black Dodge Ram 3500 extended cab pickup.

“Thanks so much, Caleb!” Alice said as she got out of the car. “I can’t believe I was so stupid to leave the lights on. I didn’t mean to ruin your break.”

“Not a problem. Easy enough to fix,” Caleb told the younger security guard as they waited while her car charged. “And I’ve still got some break left, so no worries.”

Caleb pulled his truck back into a space. As he was climbing out again there was a large BOOM, and even from this far out they could hear the windows of the Millionaires Pavilion rattling.

“What was that!” Alice asked with surprise.

Caleb turned to look across the canal. Nothing could be seen past the high rises of Main Town, but that was where the boom had originated, he was sure. “I don’t know,” he said as Alice shut down her car.

“We should get inside,” Alice told him. “They’re going to want to lock down the Pavilion. Maybe something will be on the news.”

“Maybe,” Caleb allowed, glancing back at the Pavilion. Indeed, the red emergency light was flashing, indicating the building would be going into a security lockdown in a minute.

“C’mon! We gotta go!” Alice said, already taking off at a jog. The employee lot was quite a ways away from the building.

“Right behind you,” Caleb assured her. But he went to his truck and opened the back door and pulled a black bag from beneath the rear seat. Then he took off for the Pavilion.

Alice was already inside when Caleb saw the security door start to lower on the rear entrance. He pushed his speed and tucked into a roll. sliding underneath just before it crashed down and locked.

“Jeez, what are you, some kind of superhero?” Alice asked with tense amusement as she helped him up.

“Hardly,” Caleb said, wiping off his uniform. His boss would get pissy if it was dirty. “Let’s go check in.”

They were in a rear service corridor that was not too far from the locker rooms and the security center. They entered to find the place in a frenzy of activity, though not panicked.

“What’s going on?” Caleb asked.

Josh, the dispatcher, shrugged. “Don’t know yet,” he said. “Just that there was some kind of explosion in Main Town.” He gave Alice a shy smile, which she returned.

Caleb nodded and switched on the police scanner. “Farmer’s Market got hit by...something,” Caleb deduced from the emergency services chatter. “I’m going to change my uniform and make the rounds,” he said.

The locker room was empty, so Caleb flipped off the lights. The darkness meant little to him, at least since that fateful mission his team led against a V’sorri ship five years ago. Since then he’d always felt more comfortable in the dark.

As he started to pull off his security uniform his cell phone rang. Digging it out, he saw KIM on the screen and gave a sigh of relief. He knew his daughter was safely in South Haven High School, but it was a relief to know she was alright.

“Daddy? Where are you?” Kim’s voice said when he answered.

“At work,” Caleb replied, pulling out his fresh uniform.

“What’s going on?”

“Some kind of explosion in Main Town, at the Farmer’s Market. Just stay where you are and you should be fine.”

“Yeah, we’re okay here,” she said. “We went into emergency lockdown.”

“Same here,” Caleb said. “It’s well away from me, so don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried. You should go help.”

Caleb paused. “Help?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Kim’s voice lowered. “You know...the Shadow…”

“No, I got what you’re implying, Kimmy, but it’s in Main Town. I don’t operate there. Besides, there’s not much I could do but get in the way.”

“C’mon, you’re supposed to be some kind of hero,” his daughter whispered.

That hurt. “I’m not a hero, Kim. I just protect the people in Red Haven.”

“Yeah, well, lots of people from Red Haven shop at the Farmer’s Market,” Kim shot back. “Gramma does.”

Caleb sighed. “What do you want me to do?” he asked. “We’re on lockdown here. I’m at work.”

“Just go and see what you can do,” Kim said. “If nothing, then they’ll hardly miss you!”

Caleb rubbed his eyes tiredly. Between his day job and his night job, he knew he didn’t get enough sleep. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll check it out. It’s probably nothing. Gas main or something.”

“Good!” He could hear the pride in his daughter’s voice. “Oh, and Auntie Virginia called me last night,” she said. “She wants to know what you’re planning for my coming out party.”

Caleb blinked, and his voice grew cold. “I told her I don’t want her in contact with you. And...what coming out party?”

Kim sighed as the old debate over her mother’s side of the family threatened to rise up again. “Sweet sixteen. She...wants to throw a debutante ball…you know, for her niece...”

Caleb’s fist clenched. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths. “You don’t turn sixteen for months. I hadn’t thought about it.” He didn’t want Virginia Diamond anywhere near his daughter, but he knew the mafiosa had lost a sister when his wife died.

“So no plans?” Kim had slipped into sarcastic teenage mode. “Great. So I can tell Auntie Ginny to go ahead?”

“I...no...just…” Caleb said, flustered. “Look, we’ll talk about this later. If they let you out of school, go to Gramma’s house and stay put,” he told her. “I’ll check in.”

“Okay.” Kim’s voice deflated a bit.

Caleb sighed. “Kimmy...I’ll...I’ll consider it. Truly.”

“Thanks!” Kim said, brighter. “Daddy...I love you. Be careful.”

“Love you too, Kimmy.”

Caleb hung up and stared down at the black bag he had brought from his truck and put in the bottom of his locker. He sighed and picked it up, opening it, and pulling out his other uniform. It was a fairly simple affair. Black combat boots, black combat pants, a black t-shirt and tight long sleeved shirt. They were left over from his Army days. In the hectic aftermath of the V’sorri invasion when he’d been mustered out with an honorable medical discharge after massive exposure to exotic radiation, he had inadvertently neglected to turn them in, and apparently the paperwork had fallen through the cracks of Army bureaucracy. Developed for the Army by Human, Inc, the material was made of an experimental kevlar weave, light and supple like normal combat fatigues, but offered some moderate extra protection against harm. The Army wore them under their usual combat armor.

Caleb buckled on a utility belt. It had some zip restraints and bolos hanging on it. He pulled out a small metal cylinder and tested the release mechanism, letting it extend out into a full staff, then broke it apart into two batons before returning it to full and collapsing it again. He slipped it into a holster on his hip. Over the weapons and costume went a long black heavy leather duster that had seen better days, another bit of protection. He had added a hood that he pulled up, which would leave his face in deep shadows. The coat was loose enough to allow plenty of freedom of movement, swirling around his legs.

Caleb paused to estimate the distance he would need to travel to get to the Farmer’s Market. His motorcycle that he used to patrol was in Red Haven. The streets were likely clogged, so his truck would be useless. That left his...alternate method. Fortunately Caleb had grown up in Centropolis and knew the city quite well. He estimated it would take about a dozen jumps before he reached the Market two miles away.

With that decided, the Shadow wrapped the darkness around himself and faded away. He slipped from shadow to shadow, jumping across town, a dark closet here, the shadow of a shade tree there, even the trunk of a car, before he appeared in the shadow beneath a fire engine amidst the commotion in the Farmer’s Market.

Emergency services swarmed the area. Shadow rolled out from beneath the truck, blinking against the bright spring sunlight. This was not exactly his element, not conducive to his prefered methods. He darted along the edge of the area of destruction, spotting a partially collapsed storefront. Moving closer, he thought he heard yelling from beneath the debris. He reached out with his senses, feeling the darkness beneath the pile.

Shadow focused, touching the dark energy in his body. His skin blackened past black and became the stuff of shadow itself. He slipped into the debris, passing through it as easily as a shadow, and emerged beneath where the debris had fallen, propped up by some furniture. From the sounds of things, it didn’t appear to be that stable. A little girl sobbed in the darkness beside him.

“It’s going to be all right,” the Shadow’s baritone voice spoke from the darkness.

The little girl shrieked, looking around and trying to push away, which only caused the debris above them to shift dangerously.

“Stay calm. Don’t move.” Shadow pulled out his cell phone, using the light app to show the girl she had nothing to fear, though his face remained hidden in shadow. “It’s all right. I’m here to help. Are you hurt?”

“M-M-My leg…” the girl said through her tears. She couldn’t be more than ten years old. She reminded Caleb of his daughter.

“Let me look.” Laying the phone down, he gently probed her leg. He had basic field medical training from his Army days. She squealed in pain. “It’s broken,” he told her. “And trapped under something. But I’m going to get you out. Just hold on to me.” He moved closer, putting the girl’s arms around his neck.

“What’s your name?” the Shadow asked.

“Jenny,” the girl sniffed.

“Okay, Jenny. Here’s what I need you to do. Close your eyes and don’t open them. It’s going to be cold, and you’re going to hear...whispers and things, telling you to do things. Don’t listen to them. Just concentrate on holding on to me. Can you do that?”

Jenny nodded.

“Okay, here we go.” Shadow held the girl tight. Then he wrapped the darkness around them. Faintly, as if from a distance, he heard the debris give way, crushing the small protective space where they had been.

And then Caleb was blinking against bright sunlight as he stepped from the shadow of a building with little Jenny in his arms.

[sblock=Rolls]
Not sure what you might need, but here’s a stealth roll for sneaking around.
[roll0]
[/sblock]

Karl doesn't spot any nearby restrooms or places where he would be totally concealed so he races deeper into the park until he finds a place where there is no one around. It takes him less then a minute to done his armor and grab his weapon and shield. He is fairly confident that he can store his bag and lunchbox here without it being discovered any time soon. He then heads out and reaches the edge of the park. He can see that smoke and dust is rising from where the explosion happened and that people and cars are streaming away from the area, clogging the streets and sidewalks. Emergency vehicles can be heard of the human cries of fear and terror and all the alarms that seem to be blaring everywhere at once!

Kitsune makes it too the center of the explosive radius and notes that the destruction is not as extensive as she would have expected from such a large explosion. There is a small crater where the bomb or whatever cause the explosion happened but its not deep or extensive. There are bodies around, but also a fair number of people who are injured screaming in pain and begging for help. She then notes also there is a young man standing about thirty yards away. He is covered in dust and his cloths are burned but he appears otherwise unharmed. He is staring blankly into the sky as if studying something with his full concentration. She thinks he is muttering to himself but she can't make out his words over the sounds of the injured and the alarms of various nearby shops.

The Shadow gets to the edge of the disaster area and is able to extract Jenny without any problems. No one seems to have noticed him as there is a lot of dust and debris littering the area and hanging in the air. There are other people around crying for help but a majority of people that he can see appear to be fleeing the area in a panic...

Jenny blinks and looks around half blind, saying "What...what... happened?"

Keiko trotted to a halt on seeing the epicenter of the blast with all its surreality. The litered bodies. The shallow crater. The...guy just standing there in the middle of it all, totally unhurt. Abruptly a new paradigm dawned on her.

Not a bomb? NOT A BOMB! It was THIS GUY! He...he must have just tapped into ancient energy, or been bitten by something radioactive, or had one of the chili dogs, and BOOM! Mutation! Super powers! A new hero was born!

...admittedly, born amidst carnage and horror. That kind of took the buzz off a little. BUT NEW HERO!

She looked around. So...it was tricky. Because she figured she should sort of start helping people or something...but she really wanted to chat the new guy up and see what awesome powers he had and maybe give him a few tips on maintaining a secret identity (Tip 1: Don't explode. For more tips, buy her book!)

For most folks of a heroic persuasion, this would be a problem. For the sly Kitsune(!), it was all in a day's work!

A blur of light coalesced near the spaced out Bomb Man (as such he must be named), resolving quickly into the figure of a young woman in a black bodysuit with grey accents, wearing a mask styled to resemble the classic 'kitsune' masks of Japan, though clearly of more modern make and measure. The image looked pretty much just like Keiko when she was in costume, except this figure also had a pair of white foxtails swishing around behind it.

She didn't have those, IRL. They'd be SUPER hard to get through a hole in the costume too, unless the hole was big, and then it would probably be TOO big and...ugh, distracted. People to save!

The 'invisibility' effect concealing her faded away, and she instead cloaked herself in the appearance of a costume identical to the one her double had on. Even the tails, though they were just constructs of light. If anyone touched her, they'd feel her real clothes and skin, but that didn't really matter at the moment.

Man, imagine those poor saps who actually had to change clothes to go hero! Hah! Life was hard unless you were good!

The Kitsune near the man said, "Hey buddy. You okay there?" Its voice was just air made to move through electromagnetic vibrations; a kind of telekinesis. But it sounded realistic enough. Keiko had had practice imitating her own voice like that.

The real Kitsune darted towards the nearest citizen in peril and piped, "Don't worry! I'll save you!"

(OOC - So creating the illusion and making it speak is her action. She moves as well. Speaking herself I believe is a 'free' action. Next turn she'll have to decide between making the illusion react to whatever happens over there, or actually being useful. Switching her Concealment power to her Morph power to assume 'costume.' )

"Jane" (Who has a real name I swear) Spent round 1 burning holes in a acrylic winter hat and its pulled halfway down her face as she starts to get ready to fly outside, despite her looking like an overly styled trying too hard bohemian nightmare wearing an obnoxious christmas ski mask.

Paladin lumbered into a run [roll0], the polished brass covering his helmet gleaming in the sun. The same brass shone on his shield, in the form a sun symbol, which was duplicated in gold embroidery on his sky-blue surcoat.

The man blinks a few times and glances at Kitsune but remains silent, his mouth moving but no sounds come out. Finally he seems to focus on the young heroine and he starts blinking when suddenly his eyes go wide. Shuttering he says "What...what's wrong... what's wrong with you... oh I think... think I'm going to be sick... your... your don't have any skin???? Why.. why are you fading? Fading... can...can see through you... agh now you don't have skin again... I'm going to be sick". The man then turns and starts emptying his stomach content onto the sidewalk...

The Phoenix dons her makeshift mask and gets ready to move outside...

The Paladin struggles to make his way through the throngs of fleeing people and vehicles. Most don't seem to even notice him in their desperate headlong wish to escape. One man does seem to take notice and stands right in front of him yelling "Who are you? Can you help me?? My wife, she's trapped!!!"