[Mutants & Masterminds] A World Less Magical But No Less Fantastic

[Davies]

Haiyu

Twenty-seven years* ago, the planet dubbed Tauwidge, fourth rock from the star Pyreon, to be found just beyond the coreward borders of both the Technate and the Vaask Hegemony, became the site of a colonization attempt by the latter stellar nation. When word of this effort reached the Technate, there was some concern that this might mark the beginning of a major wave of expansion by the Vaask, which might threaten the fragile peace that had reigned since first contact. So the Emancipation, a TSA starship, was ordered to visit Tauwidge and investigate the circumstances there.

They found a devastated planet. At some point between the establishment of the colony and the arrival of the Emancipation, some unknown force -- almost certainly part of the Dark Side, in hindsight -- had bombarded and invaded Tauwidge, overcoming the planet's defenses and leaving every structure on the planet in ruins. The Emancipation's commanding officer ordered his crew to search for survivors, not really expecting to find any, and to document the disaster for the benefit of the Vaask, ideally convincing them that this had not been a Technate attack.

To the surprise of Senior Medic Maig Crullyar, he managed to find the only living Vaask who remained on the planet, a pregnant female who died of her injuries shortly after giving birth aboard the Emancipation. She lived just long enough to name her daughter 'Haiyu' ('Grief' in Vaask) and to ask Maig to care for the child. Maig was extremely uncertain about this prospect, but told himself that he would just care for the youngster until the rest of her extended family asked for her back.

As it turned out, that never happened, and by this point, Haiyu and her adopted Chiraben family have a fairly good idea of why. Haiyu, possessing strength and toughness far above even that of even an exceptional Vaask, is clearly the product of some sort of super-soldier project that the Hegemony has likely abandoned after the disaster on Tauwidge. While Haiyu would probably be welcomed back if she ever returned to the Hegemony, it seems fairly likely that her welcome would be short-lived, as would she.

Of course, growing up in the Technate as an enhanced member of a species that many Technate citizens view as an enemy was not exactly easy. Haiyu coped by learning as much as she could about the philosophy and history of her species and finding self-esteem in embracing this history. Ironically, it's since been observed that Haiyu probably takes the code of honor that the Vaask profess more seriously than many subjects of the Hegemony, who, much like Chiraben, often pay only lip service to high ideals while being utterly selfish and opportunistic. She understands this, but considers it irrelevant; she answers for herself alone.

After completing her education five years ago*, Haiyu briefly attended the TSA academy, but washed out fairly quickly. Somewhat at loose ends, she decided to apply to the Bureau, and was lucky enough to attract Captain Mystic's attention and interest. Becoming one of Yuriko's students, Haiyu found herself and her abilities tested as they never had been before, and rose to the challenge. The Captain arranged for Haiyu to receive an Artifact dubbed the Armor of Tauz, less for its protective qualities -- which are impressive, to be sure -- than for its AI tactical computer, which turned a tough brawler into a cunning soldier and investigator.

Like most Vaask, Haiyu thrives on competition, and has selected her teammate Hlnsky as the individual with whom she will compete. Both of them are experienced hand-to-hand combatants, but where Haiyu focuses on power, Hlnsky embraces grace. The two of them can and have engaged in endless arguments about the superiorities of their respective styles, and (at least in Haiyu's case) the arguing is probably more fun than actually winning the argument would be. They both know that the other has their back, just as Haiyu has the back of every member of her team.

Haiyu -- PL 9

Abilities:
STR 6 | STA 6 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 7 | INT 4/2 | AWE 4/2 | PRE 2

Powers:
Armor of Tauz: Removable (-8 points)

• Armored Shell: Impervious Protection 5 - 10 points
• Jump Jets: Array (5 points)
  • Boosted Leap: Leaping 5 - 5 points
  • Micrograv Thrusters: Flight 5, Limited to microgravity - 1 point
• Sealed Systems: Immunity 10 (life support) - 10 points
• Tactical Computer: Enhanced Advantages 4 (Assessment, Evasion 2, Uncanny Dodge); Enhanced Awareness 2; Enhanced Intellect 2; Senses 2 (danger sense, radius vision) - 14 points

Claws: Strength-based Damage 1 - 1 point
Dashka: Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical, Reach; Easily Removable (-2 points) - 3 points
Shielded Mind: Impervious Will 6, Limited to mental effects - 3 points
Super-Strength: Enhanced Strength 3, Limited to Lifting - 3 points
Toughened Hide: Impervious Toughness 4 - 4 points
Translator Circuit: Comprehend Languages 2 - 6 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Benefit (Bureau agent), Equipment 5, Extraordinary Effort, Fearless 2, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Interpose, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Skill Mastery (Intimidation), Startle, Takedown, Teamwork.

Equipment:
Autoblaster Rifle (Ranged Multiattack Damage 8)

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+12), Close Combat: Dashka 2 (+9), Expertise: Galactic 4 (+8/+6), Expertise: Military 5 (+9/+7), Insight 4 (+8/+6), Intimidation 11 (+13), Investigation 4 (+8/+6), Perception 7 (+11/+9), Ranged Combat: Blaster 6 (+9), Vehicles 7 (+10)

Offense:
Initiative +5
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 6)
Claws +7 (Close Damage 7)
Dashka +9 (Close Damage 9, Crit 19-20, Reach 1)
Blaster Rifle +9 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 8)

Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 7, Fortitude 10, Toughness 11/6, Will 8/6

Totals:
Abilities 60 + Powers 52 + Advantages 20 + Skills 28 + Defenses 12 = 172 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Honor. Prejudice (Vaask in the Technate.) Rivalry (Myr Hlnsky.)

 

[Davies]

Masogue

Very few Zakashi joined the Armada, as the overwhelming majority of their people were firmly allied with the mystics during the Schism War. Those who did were members of the ship clans, a minority culture of the Zakashi who spent most of their lives aboard star-faring craft, largely abandoning the traditional Zakashi faith. According to legend, the clans were hired to ferry the exodus part of the way to their destination, only to realize that there was no real possibility of return, and so accompanied the rest of the fleet to Muraddin, and have been at the forefront of the Technate's space exploration ever since.

One of the consequences of this is that every Zakashi in the Technate knows every other Zakashi, sometimes only by reputation but more usually due to their family connections. Due to the fame that Masogue (MASS-oh-GWAY) earned a decade* ago, as the pilot that achieved a still-unbroken record in completing the Zebulon Run, he seems to run into members of his very extended family with somewhat disturbing frequency. On one recent mission to an unoccupied world, his teammate Hutryea quipped that if they encountered anyone here, it would probably be one of Masogue's relations. Before Masogue could reproach the robot for this absurdity, a ship piloted by a distant cousin hailed them. Masogue chose to say nothing.

After his success as a racer, Masogue went into the traditional business of transportation, ferrying people across the Technate. During one such trip, five years* ago, he found himself having the unique company of Captain Mystic. Normally, Masogue avoided conversing with his passengers, since he values his privacy and expects that they should do the same, but on this occasion he found himself curious, as it seemed likely that he would never have the chance to talk with someone who was able to fly through space without the use of a ship. They talked shop, in other words, and found that their respective intuitive understandings of the intricacies of hyperspace navigation were quite similar.

Some time later, Masogue was recruited by the Bureau of Law Enforcement to act as the official pilot for a certain group of agents -- Yuriko Tyler's class. The Captain gave him a ring from the small collection of artifacts she'd discovered on her home world and brought with her, known to Technate sources as the Ring of Corsere. (Exactly how this girasol ring ended up on Earth, specifically in Russia, sometime in the 19th century remains something of a mystery.) As she had theorized, Masogue's perspectives on space and time allowed him to use the ring's quantum computing mechanism to become a technomancer, like the Captain herself -- and frankly, to do more with that talent than she could.

Masogue is fascinated by the new world that has opened up to him through technomancy. While certainly interested in using his talents to help the group perform their investigations and protect the innocent, he's much more motivated by a desire to explore and learn -- to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. That curiosity has led him this far, and though it is possible that it will lead to many mistakes, he's convinced that without it, he will go absolutely nowhere.

Masogue -- PL 9

Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 3 | AGL 5 | DEX 4 | FGT 5 | INT 4 | AWE 3 | PRE 1

Powers:
Multiple Arms: Extra Limbs 2 - 2 points
Ring of Corsere: Removable (-13 points)

• Force Field: Linked Sustained Immunity 10 (life support); Linked Sustained Impervious Protection 6 - 22 points
• Psychic Radio: Mental Communication 3; Effortless Mind Reading 9, Limited to Surface Thoughts, Subtle - 34 points
• Quantum Computer: Comprehend Languages 3; Enhanced Advantages 2 (Eidetic Memory, Technomancer); Quickness 6, Limited to Mental - 13 points

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Benefit (Bureau agent), Defensive Attack, Eidetic Memory, Equipment 4, Fast Grab, Grabbing Finesse, Improved Grab, Improved Initiative, Language (Technate Standard, [Xanshi is native]), Move-by Action, Skill Mastery (Vehicles), Teamwork, Technomancer.

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+11), Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+9), Expertise: Galactic 5 (+9), Insight 7 (+10), Investigation 5 (+9), Perception 6 (+9), Ranged Combat: Blaster 4 (+8), Technology 8 (+12), Vehicles 9 (+13).

Offense:
Initiative +9
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 2)
Blaster +8 (Ranged Damage 5)

Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 9, Fortitude 6, Toughness 9/3, Will 10

Totals:
Abilities 58 + Powers 56 + Advantages 14 + Skills 27 + Defenses 18 = 173 points

Complications:
Discovery--Motivation. Family. Private and Secretive.

 

[Voltron64]

So that leaves Myr Hlnsky and Hutryea for Thursday and Friday.

And all those artifacts of Captain Mystic's, clearly they belonged to foes of her dad or other incidents he came across?

 

[Davies]

And all those artifacts of Captain Mystic's, clearly they belonged to foes of her dad or other incidents he came across?

Actually, she started assembling the collection during her own Earth-based career, to keep them out of Pythonian hands, and continued after she left for the Technate. Her dad was more inclined to think things like this belonged in a museum, so the only one that she inherited was the Amulet. (She only ever used the Amulet, having been warned early on that using multiple Artifacts at the same time was a great way to commit suicide.)

 

[Davies]

Hutryea

Robot rights activists in the Technate have noted and commented on a number of significant changes in the way that robots are manufactured as citizens of the Technate, when compared to the way that they were manufactured prior to their emancipation. These changes all add up to the fact that robots designed to be free tend to be a bit less resistant to damage than their earlier counterparts. While most manufacturers insist that this is simply the result of the changing economics of the robotic manufacturing industry, rather than any sinister motivation, most find this an unconvincing argument.

For roughly the first two-thirds of the thirty-five years* since his activation, Hutryea was more or less oblivious to such concerns. He had been constructed to work as an administrative worker within the Bureau of Law Enforcement, not a field agent, and rarely encountered anything more dangerous than occasionally riotous office parties. The notion that he would ever end up stepping softly in a danger zone would have made him use his voice synthesizer to make the series of random beeping noises that functions as his laughter.

Around twelve years* ago, however, things began to change. He had occasionally received and checked the reports submitted by Yuriko Tyler before that point, and admired the way that they were always complete and didn't leave out important information like those from other operatives, no names mentioned. But then it chanced to occur that the Captain personally submitted her report on her last mission as a field agent before she transferred to the academy, and Hutryea took the opportunity to thank her for her excellent paperwork and offer her congratulations. (Occasionally, he finds himself wishing that he'd kept his overactive vozer offline.)

Yuriko accepted his thanks warmly, and then hesitantly asked if he'd be willing to use his personal time to help her out with some unfamiliar paperwork that she'd run into while preparing for her transfer. As Hutryea generally spent his personal time linked up to an entertainment feed that was probably only a little less boring than watching static, he was happy to agree. Somehow, and he's not entirely clear about how, this resulted in him being permanently transferred out of his comfortable position into a much more exciting (read terrifying) and adventurous (read seriously terrifying) one as the administrative assistant to the Captain's class of lunatics.

Don't misunderstand; he still likes Yuriko, and is proud to call her friend. And he's come to think of many of her students in the same light, and wants to help them as much as possible. But putting his life in jeopardy in the service of anyone, even his friends, is not really what he ever expected to do. It's made him very much aware of how fragile and poorly equipped for battle he is, given that his only armament is a contact stunner with a limited number of shots. The Captain offered to give him one of her Artifacts, but the difficulties involved -- he'd have to have it incorporated into his systems so that his circuitry could interact with its psi-electronics, and this would not be a safe or trivial procedure -- convinced him to turn the offer down.

Regardless, Hutryea continues to act as the team's official computer expert and administrator, trying to avoid going into the field as much as possible, though his chemical analysis systems are sometimes put to use whether he likes it or not. Unfortunately, even when he does hang back, he's still at risk, as the places they use as headquarters are rarely as secure as he'd like. Well, at least he's accumulating a lot of stories that he'll probably turn into a book one of these days. That would be nice.

Hutryea -- PL 9

Abilities:
STR 2 | STA -- | AGL 4 | DEX 2 | FGT 6 | INT 6 | AWE 2 | PRE 1

Powers:
Machine Interface: Radio Communication 1; Comprehend Machines 2 - 11 points
Reconstruction: Immortality 5 (minimum of 1 day), Check Required (Technology, DC 20), Quirk (loss of all memories)- 1 point
Robotic Body: Immunity 50 (Fortitude effects, mental effects); Protection 6 - 56 points
Sensory Package: Senses 7 (acute analytical scent, darkvision, extended radio, ultra-hearing) - 5 points
Small Size: Permanent Shrinking 4 (Strength -1, Dodge +2, Parry +2, Stealth +4, Intimidation -1) - 4 points
Stunner: Affliction 8 (Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Unreliable - 4 points
Translator Circuits: Comprehend Languages 2 (understand and read all languages) - 6 points
Treads: Speed 4 (30 MPH) - 4 points

Advantages:
Benefit 2 (Bureau agent, make Gather Information checks with Technology), Eidetic Memory, Improved Defense, Improvised Tools, Jack-of-all-Trades, Skill Mastery (Technology), Speed of Thought, Well-informed.

Skills:
Deception 8 (+9), Close Combat: Stunner 4 (+10), Expertise: Administration 4 (+10), Expertise: Galactic 3 (+9), Expertise: Science 3 (+9), Investigation 3 (+9), Perception 8 (+10), Persuasion 6 (+7), Stealth 3 (+11), Technology 6 (+12), Vehicles 6 (+8).

Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +6 (Close Damage 2)
Stunner +10 (Close Fortitude 8)

Defense:
Dodge 12, Parry 10, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 6, Will 6

Totals:
Abilities 36 + Powers 91 + Advantages 9 + Skills 27 + Defenses 11 = 174 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Avoids Combat. Physical (cannot climb or swim, one arm.) Requires Maintenance.

 

[Davies]

Myr Hlnsky

Chazzikz, the home world of the Wazoshen people, was claimed as the territory of one of the Hazlan nations roughly one hundred and sixty years* ago, when the Wazoshen were an Iron Age culture. Fortunately, this particular Hazlan nation wasn't interested in subjugating or annihilating the sapient life of worlds in their sway, unlike others that existed at the time, but only in hunting the local wildlife. However, their lack of regard for the Wazoshen resulted in a low-level insurgency against their planet's new masters, which only ended when the Hazlan nation in question fell to the Technate.

As the Technate had no interest in colonizing or exploiting Chazzikz, being solely interested in the system from a strategic perspective, they were quick to assure the Wazoshen that they could return to their former lives. While many were content to do just that, other Wazoshen felt that they needed to continue to fight against their former conquerors and learn from their new 'allies', and offered their services to the Technate as irregulars and scouts. This began a tradition that has continued right up to the present day.

Myr Hlnsky is one of the current generation of Wazoshe scouts in the Technate service, expected to learn all that is possible from the starfolk and then bring it back to Chazzikz so that what is useful can be put to use building up their own culture; if the Technate one day falls, the Wazoshen intend to be able to stand on their own. While he was initially working with the Frontier Patrol, Hlnsky's talents in this area quickly found use by the Cosmic Intelligence Agency, and it was there that he first crossed paths with Captain Mystic on one of the rare occasions that the Agency and the Bureau were forced to work together.

Yuriko Tyler quickly realized that her new associate wasn't all that happy in his current posting, and worked out why. Psychic talents are not uncommon among the Wazoshen, but those who possess them typically wind up as counsellors and sages rather than risking their lives as scouts. Hlnsky had somehow managed to conceal his empathic abilities from everyone up until the present, using them sparingly, but now they were making him miserable as they exposed him to the -- shall we say -- somewhat amoral personalities of his superiors. Impressed with his discipline, the Captain offered to help him, and impressed with her integrity, Hlnsky agreed.

Consequently, Hlnsky ended up transferred to the Bureau and became one of the Captain's favored students, receiving an Artifact dubbed the Cloak of Sh'Halla. It enhanced his already formidable talents for infiltration, practically making him into one of the 'ninja' that Yuriko told him about. Consequently, he has put a lot of effort into developing his abilities as an unarmed combatant, leading to his rivalry with his teammate Haiyu, who approaches the martial arts from an entirely opposite perspective. Hlnsky sometimes finds her unceasingly competitive behavior annoying and would generally prefer to focus on getting the mission done rather than who does so. Still, he has her back, and would admit that it's a rather broad back that has lots of potential uses and -- in combat, combat, not what you're thinking!

Myr Hlnsky - PL 9

Abilities:
STR 3 | STA 4 | AGL 5 | DEX 5 | FGT 8 | INT 4 | AWE 2 | PRE 3

Powers:
Cloak of Sh'Halla: Array (20 points); Removable (-4 points)

• Cloaking Field: Concealment 10, Affects Others, Passive - 20 points
• Defense Field: Reaction Damage 5 (when touched) - 1 point
• Disguise Field: Morph 4 - 1 point

Empathy: Mind Reading 9, Limited to Emotions - 9 points
Gliding: Flight 3 (16 MPH), Gliding - 3 points
Keen Senses: Senses 3 (low-light vision, scent) - 3 points
Striking Strength: Strength-based Damage 2 - 2 points

Advantages:
Assessment, Benefit (Bureau agent), Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Equipment 4, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Aim, Improved Initiative, Languages 3 (Technate Standard, others, [native language]), Move-by Action, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Stealth), Tracking

Equipment:
Blaster Pistol (Ranged Damage 5, Subtle, ALT: Ranged Affliction 5 [Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated], Subtle), Goggles (+2 to resist visual afflictions) and 7 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+9), Athletics 6 (+9), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+10), Deception 6 (+9), Expertise: Survival 6 (+10), Insight 7 (+9), Investigation 8 (+12), Perception 9 (+11), Ranged Combat: Blaster 6 (+11), Sleight of Hand 6 (+11), Stealth 8 (+13).

Offense:
Initiative +9
Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 5)
Blaster +11 (Ranged Damage 5)
Defense Field -- (Close Damage 5)

Defenses:
Dodge 12, Parry 10, Fortitude 7, Toughness 6/4, Will 7

Totals:
Abilities 68 + Powers 35 + Advantages 18 + Skills 34 + Defenses 17 = 172 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Favors Low-Tech Solutions. Rivalry (?) (Haiyu.)

 

[Davies]

Christine Dell

A long time ago -- or so she's been told by someone who seemed to know what he was talking about -- Christine Dell's ancestors had the power to literally smell valuable ores hidden within the ground, advising miners where to dig. Gradually, they lost that power as the wealth that it gained them drew them further and further away from their roots, with only rare members of the family demonstrating the talent. How and why it mutated, in Christine's own case, so that she can only smell metal that is specifically used in coinage, as well as ink and paper used as currency, is not something that Mr. Statia was able to explain to her.

Being able to exactly determine how much money a person has on them makes for a nice party trick, but it's becoming increasingly useless as time passes and people make more use of credit cards, debit cards, electronic transactions and cryptocurrencies, none of which trigger her sense of smell. Still, the talent caused her to have an interest in finance from her teenage years onward, which eventually led to becoming a CPA in her home state of New York, with her education underwritten by Argus. Christine went to work for the company, expecting to help keep their books in order, only to find herself assigned to the Financial Crimes division and investigating all sorts of weird scams. It was, she'll admit, exciting in retrospect.

After a year of this, she was given a different assignment, transferred from Financial Crimes to Extraterrestrial Contact in order to assist a visitor to Earth establish herself in Chicago. In the process, she ended up learning a fair bit about the current state of the cosmos, which was rather humbling. Still, the assignment seemed easy enough, and thing were going rather well ... and then Edeth wound up meeting some recent acquaintances and getting herself (and Christine) dragged into a huge thing with the Vagabonds, and some of the Powerhouse, and Jodie Crowley, and Fortuna Imperatrix, and probably some other scary people that Christine was lucky enough not to actually meet.

From her own perspective, the most important part of the whole fracas was the fact that Christine became a 'known quantity' to the Vagabonds, someone that they regarded as reasonably trustworthy, so that she could be assigned to work with them as their handler while they're learning about being superheroes or whatever it is that they're doing. They know that she works for Argus, as the company is being upfront with them as some other parties sometimes aren't, so that they'll be more inclined to give trust in return. Good relations with friendly extraterrestrial agencies are considered absolutely essential to Earth's security.

Of course, this is all a bit much for a simple girl from the Bronx. She works with a group of interstellar freedom fighters, one of whom is apparently an interdimensional starship. She has gone all over the world in their company, and faced things she never would have imagined -- and none of this is anything she ever trained to handle. And yet she keeps going, somehow, because she gets the distinct impression that if she ever slows down to think about any of this, she'll probably break under the strain.

And the weirdest part of it? It's nothing, really, but halfway through the first bit of this craziness, she realized that Darkwing's crazy girl sidekick, Dancer, was smiling at her for some reason. Before Christine could say anything, the woman spoke up and said, "You're going to do fine. Argus is lucky to have you." And she hadn't even mentioned who she worked for at that point! What the heck was that all about?

Christine Dell - PL 4

Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 1 | AGL 2 | DEX 2 | FGT 3 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 2

Powers:
Scent of Money: Senses 4 (acute analytical ranged detect money [olfactory]) - 4 points

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Contacts, Defensive Roll, Equipment 4, Ranged Attack.

Equipment:
Meta-taser (Ranged Affliction 5 [Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated]), handcuffs, smartphone, 7 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+4), Deception 4 (+6), Expertise: Business 5 (+7), Expertise: Civics 4 (+6), Expertise: Current Events 4 (+6), Expertise: Galactic 3 (+5), Insight 3 (+6), Intimidation 3 (+5), Investigation 6 (+8), Perception 6 (+9), Persuasion 4 (+6), Stealth 2 (+4), Technology 3 (+5), Vehicles 3 (+5).

Offense:
Initiative +1
Unarmed +3 (Damage 1)
Meta-Taser +3 (Ranged Fortitude 5)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 4, Fortitude 3, Toughness 3/1, Will 5.

Totals:
Abilities 26 + Powers 4 + Advantages 8 + Skills 27 + Defenses 8 = 73 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Secret (Argus agent.) Somewhat Overawed.

 

[Davies]

David Kerrigan

David Niko Kerrigan was born in New Zealand in 1988. From almost the time that he could walk, he wanted to fly. Fate did not see fit to grant him superpowers, however, and so he spent his adolescence in study in order to become an officer cadet in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, earning his pilot officer stripe in 2011.* He flew numerous missions over the next five years, notably assisting in the defense of the island against a Megapteran, and was considered a likely candidate to eventually serve as a squadron leader. Unfortunately, this was not to be.

In 2016, Kerrigan developed retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that normally manifests in childhood and causes night blindness and a gradual loss of peripheral vision. As no member of his family had ever had this disability, its development was doubly mystifying. Regardless, he was given a choice of transferring to a ground-based unit or receiving a medical discharge; frustrated at the loss of his dream of flight, Kerrigan accepted the latter, expecting to wind up working at his father's grocery store in Nelson.

Fate was not quite done throwing him curveballs, however; Kerrigan wound up recruited to work for Argus. As the agency doesn't have much presence in New Zealand -- or at least not much visible presence, as he was soon to learn -- this came as something of a surprise. The offer of an exciting life and the possibility of at least some flight operations was further sweetened by the notion that he could be put on a waiting list to receive a treatment that might reverse the retinitis. With all that in mind, Kerrigan agreed to take the offer.

He's proved to be a fairly talented agent. Working under the supervision of near-legendary analyst Violet Hayes, he helped to thwart a number of Korean-sponsored operations throughout the Pacific rim between 2017 and 2020. Consequently, he was given a new assignment -- following her first appearance as a superhero in California, he was tasked with contacting Basilea's exiled daughter Nzarde and becoming her handler. He decided to approach her in much the same way that Hayes had approached her mother, while she was engaged in a social setting, and saying, "Hello, I'm an agent for --"

When he woke up in the hospital, Kerrigan began to suspect that this might not be the best approach. Hayes, who was waiting for him to regain consciousness, agreed, helpfully pointing out that he'd walked up to her while she was drinking in a dive bar in a manner that suggested that she did not welcome company. He's made a few more attempts since then, without suffering actual injury but also without achieving any real success. Until he gets pulled off this assignment, though, he's going to keep giving it his best possible effort.

For her part, Nzarde usually puts any encounters she has with him firmly out of her mind as soon as they're over, never even bothering to remember his face.

David Kerrigan - PL 6

Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 3 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 5 | INT 3 | AWE 3 | PRE 3

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Assessment, Contacts, Defensive Roll, Equipment 5, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Languages 2 (Indonesian, Korean, Samoan, Spanish), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Tracking, Uncanny Dodge

Equipment:
Light Pistol (Ranged Damage 3), Meta-taser Pistol (Ranged Affliction 5 [Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated]), Smartphone, Car and 2 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+5), Athletics 5 (+7), Close Combat: Unarmed 1 (+6), Expertise: Civics 4 (+7), Expertise: Current Events 4 (+7), Expertise: Military 4 (+7), Insight 5 (+8), Intimidation 3 (+6), Investigation 4 (+7), Perception 4 (+7), Persuasion 4 (+7), Stealth 4 (+6), Technology 3 (+6), Treatment 2 (+5), Vehicles 6 (+9).

Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +6 (Close Damage 2)
Light Pistol +7 (Close Damage 3)
Meta-Taser Pistol +7 (Ranged Fortitude 5)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 7, Fortitude 6, Toughness 5/3, Will 5.

Totals:
Abilities 48 + Advantages 21 + Skills 28 + Defenses 10 = 107 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Brusque and Direct. Physical (suffers increased visibility penalties, poor peripheral vision.) Secret (Argus agent.)

* In our world's history, the RNZAF disbanded its air combat squadrons in 2001. This seems unlikely to have happened in a world where New Zealand is occasionally threatened by kaiju.

 

[Davies]

Pamela Maxwell

Some people just end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pamela Maxwell (not Pam, never Pammy) fully expected to graduate from Brown with a degree, maybe do some postgrad work, and then probably end up doing some sort of job that would never put her actual education, focused on history and sociology, to use. In 1996, however, she wound up stumbling on to a scheme by a group of mad scientist wannabes to open a portal to Dimension Q or something like that -- look, she wasn't interested in the details of what the crazy people wanted to do, only in the fact that it was probably going to destroy Rhode Island at minimum, and she felt obligated to prevent that since she was, you know, on Rhode Island.

As it turned out, the recently formed Argus Security had been tracking the purchases of one of the mad scientists involved in this little plot, and showed up to take control of the situation about ten minutes after the portal would have opened up if Pamela hadn't interfered. They arranged for the arrest of the crazy people and interviewed Pamela about what had happened, then thanked her for her courage and ingenuity. Pamela took this with good grace and appreciated that they gave her some cover to take a sick day after all this, but fully expected that this would be the only time that her life would involve such bizarre phenomena.

Surprise! Surprise! She was wrong about that, too. Three more times in the next year, she ended up discovering some sort of evil scheme and interfering with it before Argus got involved. In the interview about the last of this insane episodes, one Dr. van Vliet offered the hypothesis that Pamela had some sort of unconsciously-employed superpower that bent probability to attract these sorts of experiences, dubbing her a strange attractor. If this was the case, then it only made sense for her to come work for Argus, where her talents could be put to good use and she could receive training and assistance in dealing with these situations.

The 'and assistance' was what sold her. Courage and ingenuity are great, but she would pick backup over both.

Pamela ended up being given a cover job as a teacher, often inserted into various high schools across the nation where Argus suspected that young superheroes were being educated. (She regards her time in Newark, attempting to act as a mentor to Megawatt, as the worst failure of her entire career.) As she generally ended up teach social studies, she was actually getting to use her education, and that was nice. In 2017, while working at a certain public school in Philadelphia, she received notice that the True Believer was going to be working there shortly and that Pamela was now assigned as her new handler, as her previous one couldn't manage the relocation from San Francisco. So she befriended Janet Hinkley when she arrived, and has helped her out covertly ever since. She actually quite likes the star-spangled heroine, and has backed her to the hilt in disputes with Argus.

No one was expecting, when this began, for True Believer to end up mentoring a group of young superpowers. Pamela was initially a bit concerned at the prospect of acting as the handler for both True and the nascent Minor League, and was relieved when another agent was put in the latter position. This relief has turned to annoyance as she's gotten to know Martin Callahan, and become frustrated at what she sees as a bitter, sullen old man. Frankly, Pamela's looking forward to Callahan's retirement as much as he himself is, even if it does mean that she's going to get a lot more work added to her plate. She knows that she'll do better at it than him ...

... which may explain why Clarity is having some disturbing visions about her.

Pamela Maxwell - PL 5

Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 1 | AGL 3 | DEX 3 | FGT 4 | INT 1 | AWE 3 | PRE 1

Advantages:
Attractive, Beginner's Luck, Daze (Deception), Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 4, Evasion 2, Hide in Plain Sight, Improvised Tools, Luck 3, Ranged Attack, Taunt, Uncanny Dodge

Equipment:
Meta-Taser (Ranged Affliction 5 [Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated]), smartphone, 8 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+5), Athletics 2 (+3), Deception 6 (+7), Expertise: Current Events 6 (+7), Expertise: History 5 (+6), Insight 5 (+8), Investigation 4 (+5), Perception 4 (+7), Persuasion 6 (+7), Sleight of Hand 3 (+6), Stealth 5 (+8), Technology 4 (+5), Vehicles 2 (+5).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +4 (Close Damage 1)
Meta-Taser +4 (Close Fortitude 5)

Defense:
Dodge 4, Parry 4, Fortitude 3, Toughness 6/1, Will 7

Totals:
Abilities 38 + Advantages 19 + Skills 27 + Defenses 7 = 91 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Rivalry (Martin Callahan). Secret (Argus agent). Strange Attractor (if there's craziness in her vicinity, she will get dragged into it.)

 

[Davies]

Hodan Yasin

Sometimes Argus acquires its agents in a decidedly twisted manner. Hodan Yasin, the Chief Administrator of the company's offices in Nairobi, started her professional career as an employee of one of Argus' competitors. WonderWorkers Incorporated was established by her father, Hassan Yasin, in 1999, and intended to provide the same sort of services that Argus did and does, but focusing its efforts in East Africa. It did this well enough that when Argus finally negotiated the acquisition of WWI in 2008, Hassan was offered a director's seat and occupied it until he passed away from old age in 2017.

The terms of that merger were largely negotiated by Hodan, who had been her father's right hand for the last few years of WWI's existence, as well as acting as a field operative before that. While her own company was right on the verge of going under, she nevertheless convinced Argus that WWI had much more to offer them as a partner than as a subsidiary. Putting her father in a director's chair was both a retirement present for the old man and also a way to ensure that there was an African on the board. (Hodan privately finds the Director General's pretensions to African identity to be absurd, despite his birth and the unusual circumstances under which he was raised.)

Hodan's goals are to preserve the safety and freedom of Africa, in general, and specifically that of the sub-Saharan region. If the nations of this continent are to rise to the potential she believes that they possess, they will have to do it themselves, not because of saviors from the West or the East. However, alliances with powers from beyond the region, like Argus, are helpful if their resources can be applied in an appropriate manner. And Hodan is quietly convinced that she is the best available person to perform that application.

One of her subsidiary goals has been to improve the relationship that exists between Kenya's hero, the Ghost Hunter, and the branch of Argus under her administration. This has been a very frustrating experience; the Hunter has managed to foil every effort to even contact him, much less to establish some sort of alliance. It makes no sense to Hodan. She knows that the Ghost Hunter must be at least as clearsighted as she is, so surely he can see the advantages that connecting with her would grant him. With his talents combined with Argus' resources, they'd both be able to do so much more good than they can do alone. Why is he avoiding her, then?

She isn't willing to believe that the Ghost Hunter has realized her intentions, and decided he doesn't want any part of any of it.

Hodan Yasin - PL 5

Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 1 | AGL 1 | DEX 2 | FGT 4 | INT 5 | AWE 4 | PRE 3

Advantages:
Benefit 4 (multi-millionaire), Connections, Contacts, Defensive Roll, Equipment 4, Evasion, Grabbing Finesse, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Languages 3 (English, French, Swahili, others, [Somali is native]), Ranged Attack 3, Redirect.

Equipment:
20 points as needed.

Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+7), Deception 6 (+9), Expertise: Business 5 (+10), Expertise: Civics 3 (+8), Expertise: Streetwise 2 (+7), Insight 4 (+8), Investigation 3 (+8), Perception 3 (+7), Persuasion 6 (+9), Stealth 6 (+7), Technology 2 (+7), Vehicles 5 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +5
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 0)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 7, Fortitude 3, Toughness 3/0, Will 7.

Totals:
Abilities 40 + Advantages 24 + Skills 24 + Defenses 12 = 100 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Ambitious.