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

[Davies]

Tomokaze Kyousuke/友風京介

It probably said something unfortunate about his lifestyle that his immediate reaction to awakening in considerable pain was a sense of resignation. Nothing so verbal as the words, "here we go again"; the pain left no room for that sort of coherent thought. But mixed with the hurt was a weariness, and a bit of dread on top of them both. After a moment, the pain eased to a manageable level, and his eyes opened to an unfamiliar ceiling. The view was then interrupted by something much more familiar -- the face of Nagase Aya, Isekai no Miko, Warpwitch. His charge, his employer. His furiously angry all-of-the above. The furiously angry part was especially familiar, and he braced himself for what was to come.

She did not disappoint. "You did it again," she said, in a quietly menacing tone. "Again, you jumped in front of some inane science fiction weapon that was pointed at me. Again, it went off and put you in the hospital. Again, you interrupted my line of sight to the inane science fiction weapon so that I couldn't interfere with it and thus prevent the part where it went off. You did it all again -- after I told you to stop. Doing. That."

He opened his mouth to offer some sort of defense to her accusation, but she kept right on delivering her opening argument. "This is the fifth time this year. You will be in here for a week. During that time, I will have to hire a temp to answer the phones, do the filing, drive me places, all that stuff that is in your actual job description, plus the things that aren't in there like the foot massages that you are starting to be slightly competent at doing. This is an enormous hassle. Why are you inflicting this enormous hassle on me?"

"I regret my actions," he managed to mutter.

"You regret your actions," she repeated in mockery of his tone. "Well, that makes it all just dandy, doesn't it? No, it does not. How many more times am I going to have to say, stop trying to help me outside of the office, before you actually do it? Or are you determined to keep doing these things and thus keep arousing my anger? Do you enjoy my anger? Is that it? Does this little song and dance that I do amuse you?"

"No," he said. "It does not."

There was no real right answer to that question. Both claiming that he did find it amusing and claiming that he did not would have made her equally angry. The only comfort in telling the truth was a sense that he was doing the right thing, even though it caused him nothing but pain. That was probably a sign of a serious flaw in his character.

"Then why?" she said, subsiding a bit, to her quietly menacing level of anger. "Why do you keep doing this? Why go through this, over and over? You could quit. I wouldn't give you a good reference, because you know how much you irritate me, but you have years in this job that could get you one that wouldn't put you in this sort of danger. Tell me -- why do you keep working for me when you know what's going to happen?"

He looked at her, remembering the day that they had met, the day that the most unusual person had come into his life and changed it forever, turning it upside down. He remembered learning the truth about her, being told to keep it from her, and watching that hurt her over and over again. He remembered the day his nerve finally broke, and he told her the truth, and everything had turned upside down again, but not in a way that set things back to the way that they had been at the start. More like moving it up the threaded shank of a screw, towards a destination that he still did not understand, and probably never would.

The truth, then. "I have a duty," he said.

She stared at him. "Fine, then," she said quietly. Then shouted. "Fine, then! Do your damned duty! Get yourself killed trying to help me! I won't care if you do! I will forget you the second you're dead, you hear me? You -- you person without relevance or significance!" Finally bereft of language, she let out a snarl of purest anger, then turned and stomped towards the door out of the hospital room.

Just before she reached it, it slid open, and a nurse with bright pink hair was standing there. "Please do not shout, it disturbs the patients," she said in a calm tone.

"That's fine, my patience is disturbed, too," Aya snapped in English, then brushed past her.

The nurse closed the door behind her, then approached the bed where he had, after a moment where he managed to sit up enough to watch that confrontation, collapsed once more. "She seems quite angry," said the nurse as she made a note of his vitals. There was something odd about that, but he was too tired to give it much thought.

"I said the wrong thing," he replied agreeably. "I don't know what the right thing would have been."

"I suppose you could have said that you have a duty of care where she's concerned," said the nurse.

"Kindness can seem cruel, sometimes, and too much truth can be just as harmful as a complete lie," he said, shaking his head. "I learned that the hard way."

"Maybe," said the nurse. "Or maybe you learned the wrong lesson. Oh well. I guess that's love."

What a weird thing to say, he thought as the nurse walked away from his bed. What a -- "Wait," he said aloud. "Do I know you?"

She paused at the door, looked back as she slid it open. There was something strangely familiar about that smile, and the cool blue eye above it, but he found it hard to remember any details. "Not anymore," she said, and was gone.

The nurse walked down the hallway a short distance, then pulled a fob out of her pocket and clicked it. With a sound like a key being drawn along a piano string, a glowing portal opened up before her, then closed as she stepped through.

Tomokaze Kyousuke -- PL 5

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

Advantages:
Contacts, Defensive Roll, Equipment 5, Language (English [Japanese is native]), Luck 2, Ranged Attack 2, Well-Informed.

Equipment:
Meta-taser (Ranged Affliction 5 [Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated]), Smartphone, and 13 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+5), Deception 6 (+8), Expertise: Administrator 3 (+5), Expertise: Science 4 (+6), Expertise: Streetwise 2 (+4), Insight 5 (+7), Intimidation 4 (+6), Investigation 6 (+8), Perception 4 (+6), Persuasion 4 (+6), Ranged Combat: Meta-Taser 2 (+3), Technology 4 (+6), Vehicles 4 (+5).

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

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

Totals:
Abilities 30 + Powers 0 + Advantages 13 + Skills 26 + Defenses 8 = 77 points

Offensive PL: 5
Defensive PL: 5
Resistance PL: 4
Skill PL: 3

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Duty of Care (Nagase Aya.) Secret (Argus agent.)

 

[Davies]

Jacky Frost

Considering that she has been active in the shadows of Denver for more than forty years, without any time "away", one would think that the woman who calls herself Jacky Frost would get a bit more respect. Two factors get in the way of that, however. The first is her relative lack of ambition. While she expects, and generally gets, a piece out of any deals that are made in her nightclub, she always settles for a comparatively small piece and has never tried to expand her operations beyond Inferno. The second, more significant reason is the rumors which claim that she acts as an informant for the police and superheroes.

Sixteen years old when Denver received its "bath" of mutagens, Janet Whitney was left with the ability to absorb heat and a complete lack of any ability to turn that absorption off. The best that she could manage was the ability to reign it in so that she only drew the heat from objects or people she touched, which generally hurt them quite a bit. (Her aging process was also greatly slowed, but that would not be apparent for years to come.) There are tales that suggest she initially tried to use this gift as a vigilante, but found crime more appealing in the long run. By the time that the Mile High Marauders were founded, she had already established herself as a club owner and backer for various heists and other schemes.

Throughout her long life, however, she has never really been motivated by a desire for profit. She likes money, of course, but her primary goal in life has always been to add excitement to a life that seemed cold and dull even before she found out that she would be around for decades. Thus, Jackie has shown willingness to take more chances than other criminals, up to and including burning (pun intended) associates if she thinks doing so would result in something interesting. These chances have a habit of paying off.

While her personal morality can be described as "interesting=good/boring=bad", some of the acts she considers boring have a coincidental relationship to acts that conventional morality might describe as appalling. She regards human trafficking with disgust and contempt, for example, and has been known to interfere with those who bring such business into her club. (Actually seeking them out is not something she would ever do, though.) She also finds the goals of the metasupremacist movement to be pointless and inane, and has no problem ratting them out when they come to her attention.

When she passes on information to superheroes -- never to the police, despite the rumors -- it is always on her own terms. Trying to get her to give up information when she does not want to do so is futile. On the other hand, she never asks for any exchange of favors for information, either, believing that this will help to communicate the seriousness of the situation when she does make her reveals. She has cultivated relationships with both the Blur and Polymorph this way, though she associates more with the latter than the former, these days. She avoids dealing with heroes who have ice or cold-related powers as much as possible.

Jackie can usually be found observing the activity of Inferno -- dubbed that because she runs the place to be rather warm -- from a private lounge that overlooks the dance floor. She does go down among the crowd from time to time, less out of a desire to socialize than because she wants to remind everyone who owns the place. When she does so, she has security around her to ensure that no one gets too close, as much for their benefit as her own. During the hours that Inferno is closed to the public, she runs the heater at an even higher level, enough to be uncomfortable for most humans. To her, these temperatures are blissful, and she congratulates herself for putting most of her money into the private generator that powers them ...

Jacky Frost -- PL 7

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

Powers:
Icy Cold: Reaction Damage 6, Permanent; Environment 1 (intense cold); Immunity 11 (aging, fire effects) - 36 points

Advantages:
Attractive, Benefit 2 (independently wealthy), Connected, Contacts, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 2, Fast Grab, Well-Informed.

Equipment:
Inferno: Size Medium; Toughness 10; Features Communications, Living Space, Power (Environment 2 [intense heat]), Power Supply, Secret, Secure Feature (living space), Security System - 10 points

Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+8), Deception 6 (+10), Expertise: Business 6 (+8), Expertise: Crime 8 (+10), Expertise: Streetwise 9 (+11), Insight 7 (+10), Investigation 6 (+8), Intimidation 6 (+10), Perception 6 (+9), Persuasion 8 (+12).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 1 and Damage 6)

Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 8, Fortitude 3, Toughness 6/1, Will 7

Totals:
Abilities 42 + Powers 36 + Advantages 11 + Skills 33 + Defenses 13 = 135 points

Offensive PL: 7
Defensive PL: 7
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 7

Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Flashes of Conscience. Reputation (informer.) Weakness (other sources of cold.)

 

[Davies]

The Dreamfiend

In the late 1960s, a man named Garry Potter worked as a janitor at the Willow Point school in the small town of Summerland, New York. When the town suffered a rash of child disappearances in 1968, Potter was implicated as a suspect and arrested for the crimes, but released on his own recognizance due to a lack of evidence. Owing to a rumor that the charges against Potter had only been dropped due to a legal technicality, a group of concerned parents took up arms against Potter and attacked him at his workplace. In the ensuing melee, Potter was set on fire and burned to death. None of the vigilantes would admit who was responsible for this, and in the end no one was ever convicted for Garry Potter's death. To most, his guilt was proved when clothes belonging to some of the missing children were found buried in the backyard of his home, and the disappearances stopped after his death. For a while, at least.

A decade later, a reporter (already somewhat famous for having covered the aftermath of a series of murders in Warren County, New Jersey) paid a visit to Summerland to chronicle the town's unusually high rate of suicide, homicide, and disappearance, which had if anything increased after the death of Garry Potter. The alleged killer had become a creature of local folklore, even featuring in songs sung by children. The reporter speculated that the ghost of Potter was haunting the town, either metaphorically or literally. This speculation eventually gave birth to a series of movies that portrayed Garry Potter as a malevolent ghost that haunted the teenagers of Summerland and other parts.

But what the reporter never discovered was that he was not the first person to investigate Summerland. Just what drew occultist Leonard Valentine, years from becoming the third Blakestone, to this town in 1975 remains unclear, but he was better equipped both to get to the bottom of things and to ensure that no subsequent inquiry would be able to learn the truth. What he discovered disgusted and angered him. Not only had Garry Potter been innocent of the crimes of which he was accused, but the police officer who had actually been responsible for the disappearances (with the children sold into slavery across the country) had started the rumor about the "legal technicality", and then covered it up by planting the clothes in the home of the dead man.

It was not possible to punish the worst offender in this case -- the officer had died of a heart attack in the interval -- but Valentine felt a revulsion for the entire community for the willful blindness and prejudice that had led to the tragedy. Using magic he did not fully understand, he tore a piece of his own psyche away from the rest and transformed it into a phantasmal entity that could afflict the dreams of the people of Summerland. It was his expressed intention that it would embody the verses of one of the songs about Garry Potter, and that Summerland would, indeed, never sleep again. Having completed his work, Leonard Valentine left Summerland and never looked back.

The monster that he made, the Dreamfiend, could not actually kill people in their dreams, unlike the fictional character inspired by all this. But the manipulations of the dreams that it inflicted on their victims left them without restful sleep and could even put them into a cataleptic state. When the latter happened, the monster would materialize and finish off the helpless victims, usually by smothering them, before returning to a phantom state. On rare occasions, the demon would materialize to attack a conscious (but usually weakened) target. While a dangerous combatant, and hard to hurt, the demon was (and still is) most vulnerable in these instances. But whatever is done to it, it always reforms within a week.

Through the rest of the seventies and the eighties that followed, the Dreamfiend haunted the nights of Summerland, slowly accumulating power from those it fed upon. A handful of occultists and would-be heroes who discovered its activities attempted to prevent them, but usually just became its prey. By 1991, it had gained enough that it shattered the psychic fetters that bound it to Summerland, allowing it to seek victims across the country. It settled for a time in Snoqualmie, Washington, before a group of eccentric FBI agents managed to exorcise it in 1996. More recently, the Dreamfiend has haunted the town of Orono, Maine, preying upon the students at the University there. The authorities in Orono have begun to realize that there is a problem, but have yet to figure out what steps need to be taken to address it, and will likely spend many sleepless nights before they do. If they're lucky.

Dreamfiend -- PL 10

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

Powers:
Born and Reborn From Dreams: Immortality 2 (1 week); Protection 8; Regeneration 1 (natural healing) - 13 points
Dreamspeech: Mental Communication 1, Limited to sleeping targets - 4 points
Nightmare: Perception Range Cumulative Affliction 10 (Resisted by Will; Fatigued, Exhausted, Incapacitated), Limited to sleeping targets, Subtle 2 - 32 points
Phantasm: Linked Concealment 10, Materializing; Flight 8 (500 MPH), Distracting; Immunity 30 (Fortitude saves); Linked Insubstantial 4, Materializing - 78 points

Advantages:
Assessment, Daze (Intimidation), Improved Critical 2 (unarmed), Improved Initiative.

Skills:
Deception 10 (+13), Insight 8 (+13), Intimidation 10 (+13).

Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +4 (Close Damage 4, Crit 18-20)
Dream Mastery -- (Perception Affliction 10)

Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 6, Fortitude -, Toughness 8, Will 9.

Totals:
Abilities 34 + Powers 127 + Advantages 5 + Skills 14 + Defenses 10 = 190 points

Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 7
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 8

Complications:
Sadism--Motivation. Obviously Inhuman.

Note: Nightmare is a fear effect, so Fearless improves resistance checks against it.

 

[Davies]

Malkin

When contemplating the vile and the villainous, it is not uncommon to note how many cases are tragic, in the old sense -- how many examples of them could have become positive forces but for circumstances that were likely beyond their control. Even when considering those who, deliberately and with malice aforethought, chose their path of destruction, there is often a sense of regrettable waste. This can easily shade into pity, which can be dangerous in more than one way.

Twenty-odd years ago, Louis Robbins, a resident of Tampa, set out to become one of the first major supervillains of the second age of heroes. He knew exactly what he was doing, and was inspired solely by greed and a touch of arrogance. He also had -- or more accurately imagined that he had -- a deep empathic connection with animals, and so sought to use them as minions in his crimes, under the alias Beast Master. (He had, for the record, never read the Andre Norton novel of that title, nor any of its sequels.*) Thwarted by Fuego, he went to jail for robbery and animal endangerment, and the latter charge was what really stung.

Never imprisoned for long thanks to the assistance of a certain patron who found him amusing and somewhat useful, Beast Master continued to engage in his attempts at infamy for several years before reaching the conclusion that he was outmatched by his opposition. Rather than admit defeat, however, Robbins decided to up his game and sought out the notorious Dr. Charles MacCorkindale, the Manimalist, and offered himself to serve as an experimental subject and have animal characteristics imprinted on himself. MacCorkindale believed that this would free Robbins of what little "false and hypocritical morality" he still possessed; Robbins believed that his "deep empathic connection with animals" would allow him to retain his original personality.

It is still not clear which of them was more mistaken in their beliefs. Regardless, the ape-tiger-human hybrid that emerged from the experiment, who dubbed himself Malkin, was a much more dangerous criminal than Beast Master had ever been, vicious and homicidal rather than greedy and selfish. (He also promptly betrayed MacCorkindale and destroyed the laboratory where this all took place, setting the scientist back years.) Further, his claim to have personal influence over the animals that he used in his crimes had become the truth, as he was able to exert psychic control over their actions, which he (delusionally) believed to be them responding to his "supremely Alpha" status.

Regardless of his false beliefs, he was active as a criminal throughout the American southeast for the next decade, often captured but never held for long. However, he has not been sighted in the wild (pun intended) since 2018. Most observers, including Argus sources, believe that he has fallen victim to another, equally dangerous villain (such as the Reaper), or attempted to mutate himself further and suffered lethal consequences, or possibly suffered some misadventure while attempting to control an animal that resisted his psychic influence.

They are mistaken, but not by much. The Reaper did nearly kill him when their paths crossed in 2018, but Malkin escaped death. In need of assistance, however, he sought out his estranged sister Lauren Robbins, a self-proclaimed conservationist who operated an animal rescue facility in their home state. Lauren agreed to help him, but only in exchange for his own assistance in maintaining her facility. Malkin agreed to her terms, and she supplied him with Paramorphan, an opioid substance to help him with the lingering pain of his injuries, while he used his animal control powers to ensure that the animals under her care were docile.

And that is where he has been ever since. While his injuries have long since healed, Malkin is now thoroughly addicted to the drugs supplied by his sister, and spends most of his time in a stupor where he does little except use his animal control powers to essentially domesticate the animals in the facility, allowing people to visit and interact with them, often posing for pictures with even dangerous creatures unable to resist. This is clearly a mistreatment of these animals, and it is not good for Malkin either; his health is beginning to fail. On the other hand, if the truth of the facility is exposed and he is freed, he will return to crime and be even more psychopathic than he was at the start of all this. Furthermore, in order to pay the costs of his incarceration, both the drugs and his high food expenses, Lauren Robbins is engaged in a number of other criminal activities, which cause even more harm to their community.

Sometimes, there are no right answers.

Malkin - PL 11

Abilities:
STR 7 | STA 6 | AGL 5 | DEX 2 | FGT 8 | INT 0 | AWE 3 | PRE 1

Powers:
Animal Control: Burst Area 2 Progressive Affliction 8 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Compelled, Controlled), Concentration, Limited to animals, Subtle 2 - 42 points
Claws and Teeth: Strength-based Damage 2 - 2 points
Fur: Immunity 1 (cold) - 1 point
Predatory Senses: Senses 6 (acute tracking scent, danger sense, darkvision, ultra-hearing) - 6 points
Predatory Speed: Enhanced Defenses 8 (Dodge 4, Parry 4); Leaping 2 (30 feet); Speed 4 (30 MPH) - 14 points

Advantages:
Agile Feint, All-out Attack, Chokehold, Close Attack, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Fearless 2, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Critical (claws), Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Startle, Takedown, Uncanny Dodge

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+12), Athletics 4 (+11), Close Attack: Claws 4 (+12), Expertise: Survival 9 (+9), Insight 6 (+9), Intimidation 9 (+10), Perception 7 (+10), Stealth 8 (+13).

Offense:
Initiative +9
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 7)
Claws +13 (Close Damage 9, Crit 19-20)
Animal Control -- (Burst Area Will 8)

Defense:
Dodge 10, Parry 12, Fortitude 10, Toughness 8/6, Will 5

Totals:
Abilities 64 + Powers 62 + Advantages 18 + Skills 27 + Defenses 7 = 178 points

Offensive PL: 11
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 9

Complications:
Psychopathy--Motivation. Addiction. Big Eater. Obviously Inhuman.

* Movies? What movies?

 

[Davies]

186 heroes.
153 villains.
164 ambiguous types.
And a few dozen characters from elsewhere in the multiverse.

I think it might be time to take another extended break from this project.

 

[Davies]

The House of Time Regained

The first thing that most people experience when they stumble upon it -- or believe that they have done so -- is a moment of confusion, for the building almost never fits the architecture of the surrounding area. And if that area is one that is familiar to them, the confusion is doubled, for the building will not have been in this location until recently, despite not looking at all like a new construction. The more literary minded will immediately reach the conclusion that this is a little shop that was not there yesterday, straight out of weird fiction, and fully expect that if they do not enter, they are unlikely to ever find it again. And they are correct ... but their odds of doing so are not zero.

Within, some expectations go unmet, for it is not a shop in the usual sense of the word. At the door, new arrivals will be greeted by the manager of the building, seemingly a human female who introduces herself using the name Clara Saville. She will speak whatever language the guest uses, though with an unfamiliar accent and sometimes making slight mistakes that betray a lack of idiomatic familiarity. Clara will explain the bare facts of the House to the guests, but will politely ignore any questions about its origins or owners. Questions about herself will be answered with repeated statements that she is the manager of the House of Time Regained, nothing more and nothing less. On at least one occasion, however, Clara was heard to remark that she was the janitor of the House, though not in the modern sense of the word. (The handful who have met both individuals have noted that her facial features are somewhat similar to those of Exelion.)

Within the House are many rooms where guests are welcome to stay as long as they wish, and have food provided for them, without charge. The rooms lack most comforts, but it is possible to sleep on the couches provided, and each room has an en suite bathroom. The primary attraction, however, is a television display. Watching it will present what appears to be a recording of the memories of the watcher, from their point of view, but without any distortions or delusions. The display never reveals anything which the viewer did not know, but can provide clarity about certain things that have been forgotten, for whatever reason.

It should be noted that this is the form that the service provided by the House takes in the modern day, with the memories apparently being streamed directly to the display. A decade or so ago, the memories seemed to be recorded on discs that had to be inserted into a player; in eras before that, they appeared through videocassettes or reels of film. The earliest recorded description of this facility, within a letter written in 1870 but describing a visit to the House that took place in 1843, referred to an extraordinarily realistic-seeming magic lantern show.

The House will only ever display the memories of those within it. Clara has occasionally received requests to display the memories of others, especially those with whom the guests are intimate -- or imagine that they are -- but always politely refuses them as impossible. However, the individuals whose memories are displayed need not be fully or even partially conscious. On one noteworthy occasion, Clara facilitated the display of certain memories within the mind of an individual left comatose by a vicious assault, at the request of Blakestone, in order to identify their attacker.

Needless to say, the guests of the House of Time Regained are not always happy to have their memories exposed in this manner, and sometimes become hostile towards the manager. Clara is quite able to defend herself, but rarely counterattacks unless her attacker indicates a desire to damage the House itself. Even then, she will confine herself to incapacitating them and expelling their unconscious form from the building, which nearly always makes it impossible for them to find it again. More rarely, when dealing with those who express grief for what they have seen, she has sometimes expressed some compassion for their suffering. Generally, though, she will only say what she once said to one of her most famous guests: "These are the shadows of things that have been. That they are what they are, do not blame me." (He would later use this phase in a novel.)

Clara Saville -- PL 11

Abilities:
STR 4 | STA 5 | AGL 4 | DEX 3 | FGT 7 | INT 3 | AWE 7 | PRE 5

Powers:
Otherworldly Being: Immunity 31 (aging, life support, mental effects); Protection 8, Impervious 12 - 51 points
Remembrance of Things Past: Linked Illusion 11 (auditory, visual), Independent, Limited to depicting memories; Linked Burst Area Continuous Mind Reading 11, Limited to memories, Subtle 2 - 68 points

Advantages:
Daze (Deception), Defensive Attack, Equipment 2, Fascinate (Deception), Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Jack-of-all-trades, Multilingual, Startle.

Equipment:
The House of Time Regained: Size Small, Toughness 10, Features Concealed, Dual Size (Medium), Effect (Remote Sensing 1 [mental, visual]), Effect (Affects Others Immunity 1 [need to eat & drink]), Living Space, Moveable, Security System, Self-repairing - 10 points

Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+9), Deception 6 (+11), Expertise: Magic 6 (+11), Insight 7 (+14), Intimidation 7 (+12), Perception 6 (+13), Stealth 6 (+10).

Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 4)

Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 9, Fortitude 7, Toughness 13, Will 13

Totals:
Abilities 76 + Powers 119 + Advantages 10 + Skills 20 + Defenses 15 = 240 points

Offensive PL: 11
Defensive PL: 11
Resistance PL: 10
Skill PL: 9

Complications:
Duty--Motivation. Bound to the House (suffers damage when physically removed from it.) Flashes of Pity, Fits of Pique.

 

[Davies]

Dyspemous

Vahalatho, a planet in the Unclaimed Regions, was settled by Chiraben explorers some eight hundred years* ago. Far from the larger communities of their diaspora, the planet was left to its own devices following the collapse of the Chiraben League and the rise of the Imperium. The planet was eventually unified under the rule of the Khlarish family, ostensibly because of their commercial and military advantages. The real story was that they had discovered or acquired what they referred to as "the virus of power" -- a biological weapon that bestowed mind control abilities on most of those whom it infected. The Khlarish duly infected every member of their family with this virus, and nearly every member developed the power. But "nearly every" is not all.

Born roughly sixty-five years ago, Dyspemous Khlarish of Vahalatho was one member of the dynasty who had failed to manifest the symptoms of the virus, leaving him an outcast among his family. Due to his other talents -- a keen interpersonal insight and strategic abilities -- he was nevertheless given a position as the governor of one of the more rebellious territories of their empire. But Dyspemous was under no illusions that he was expected to rule successfully. He was intended to serve as a martyr whose death at the hands of revolutionaries would justify still harsher treatment for the people of this province by one of his older half-siblings or cousins.

His family had underestimated him, however, and he was able to overcome many of the schemes against him through skillful and compassionate leadership, and through the cultivation of allies among the people whom he was supposed to be oppressing. Sadly, Dyspemous and his friends had the misfortune to be living at a time when the virus of power had begun to mutate, no longer spreading only through blood transfusions but also infecting those whom the power was used against. And one such victim developed the most potent form of mind control that their world had ever seen, and used it to wreak havoc against all those whom he blamed for his misfortunes -- and Dyspemous was one of those whom he targeted.

To Dyspemous, it was as though a great darkness had descended on his mind, demanding that he do as he had been commanded and destroy those who trusted him. Somehow, he was able to resist that demand -- perhaps due to his own strong will, perhaps due to his earlier exposure to the unmutated form of the virus -- but to do so required all that he had, and he felt certain that eventually he would succumb. He was a proud man, the Prince of Vahalatho, but in that moment, in the silence of his soul, he cried out for someone, anyone, to help him.

His cry was heard. In a cell elsewhere on the planet, a captured alien sensed his struggle, and further sensed that this young being had much still to accomplish in his life. Without apparent hesitation, the alien commanded their power prism to transport itself to Dyspemous and aid his struggle, and then died immediately without the life support field their prism had provided. Bonded to the power prism, Dyspemous used its energies to overcome the virus of power, and then to defeat the one who had tried to use it against him.

That was the beginning of a decade*-long struggle between Dyspemous and the rest of his family, as well as others who had acquired the virus of power. He would eventually be contacted by others who wielded the power prism and informed of its nature; in time, after he had helped to establish a more egalitarian world order than had heretofore existed, Dyspemous agreed to travel to the planet Aperion and learn still more. After another decade* spent in the service of the Council which governs both planet and power prisms, he was chosen to serve as one of its members, and has done so for roughly twenty years*.

Dyspemous is someone who has always been driven to fulfill the duties asked of him, and to exceed the expectations of those who ask them of him. How much of this is due to his childhood, where he was viewed as completely inadequate by most of family, and how much of it has developed since then, is impossible to say. He is an extremely competitive person, who finds it hard to resist turning most group activities into contentions between the participants, but he always competes fairly and honestly, and genuinely admires those who are able to surpass him and encourages those who cannot to keep trying. (Deliberately throwing such competitions is one sure way to anger him, however.)

His greatest fear concerns the possibility that he did not overcome the virus of power, all those years ago, and that it is still hidden within his psyche, influencing him in subtle ways. He has subjected himself to repeated psychic examinations by other counsellors and allied psychics, and they have never found anything of the sort. And yet that is exactly what they would find if he was employing the powers of the virus to deceive them ...

Dyspemous -- PL 13

Abilities:
STR 12/1 | STA 2 | AGL 3 | DEX 3 | FGT 2 | INT 4 | AWE 6 | PRE 4

Powers:
Power Prism: Removable (-26 points)

• Force Field: Linked Sustained Protection 16, Impervious 12; Linked Sustained Immunity 10 (life support) - 38 points
• Offensive Applications: Array (30 points)
  • Basic Blast: Ranged Damage 13, Accurate 3, Split Attack - 30 points
  • Exo-Field: Enhanced Advantage 8 (Close Attack 8); Enhanced Strength 11 - 1 point
  • Hallucinator: Illusion 10 (all senses), Limited to One Subject, Resistible by Will - 1 point
  • Mind Probe: Cumulative Mind Reading 10 - 1 point
  • Stun Blast: Ranged Affliction 13 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Accurate 3, Reversible - 1 point
  • Tractor-Presser Beam: Move Object 15 (800 tons) - 1 point
• Phased Flight: Flight 15 (64000 MPH), Aquatic; Insubstantial 3; Movement 3 (environmental adaptation [zero-g], space flight 2) - 51 points
• Sensory Applications: Senses 10 (hyper-extended 3 accurate analytical radio) - 10 points

Terrifying Resolve: Immunity 10 (interaction effects); Immunity 20 (mental effects), Limited to Half Effect - 20 points

Advantages:
Assessment, Attractive, Benefit (Councilor of Aperion), Close Attack 8, Defensive Attack, Extraordinary Effort, Fascinate (Persuasion), Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Inspire 2, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Skill Mastery (Persuasion).

Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+6), Expertise: Galactic 8 (+12), Expertise: Politics 7 (+11), Insight 5 (+11), Intimidation 6 (+10), Investigation 4 (+8), Perception 3 (+9), Persuasion 9 (+13), Ranged Combat: Blaster 2 (+5), Vehicles 4 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +14/6 (Close Damage 12/1)
Basic Blast +13 (Ranged Damage 13)
Stun Blast +13 (Ranged Will 13)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 6, Fortitude 5, Toughness 18/2, Will 13

Totals:
Abilities 50 + Powers 128 + Advantages 17 + Skills 26 + Defenses 19 = 240 points

Offensive PL: 13
Defensive PL: 13
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 8

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Bureaucratic and Ceremonial Duties. Competitive. Temptation of Power.

"Although [he] did not realize it, he was already infected with the virus of power -- to which, by a psychological quirk in his brain, he did not have enough resistance!" Green Lantern [1960] #7, written by John Broome.

 

[Davies]

Gebela

Professor Adossegm Rogrigam

Perhaps because their early history -- like that of Chiraben humanity (and like Terran humanity as well) -- was largely shaped by the rivers of their home world, Gebel historians often view time itself as a river, with a course that can be changed by external factors; unlike other species, who take it for granted that things could only have happened as they did, Gebela contemplate the "what ifs" as much as they do the "what was". Perhaps the greatest of their "what ifs" is the question of what could have happened had the Manguai not discovered their home world fairly early in their exploration, something that even the Manguai concede was an accident. Would they have been able to stand alone as a fourth great power? Would that have delayed the start of the Imperium, or brought about its rise earlier?

At the time of that first contact, the Gebela had begun to explore their solar system, sending robotic probes to one of the three moons that orbits Hacadikem. They were excited to learn that they were not alone in the universe. Like so many other peoples, they were quick to trade the material wealth of their solar system in exchange for the star drive and other technology that could allow them to explore and learn more. But some canny negotiator among the Gebela managed to persuade their fellows to ask for the rights to those resources to revert to them after a few centuries. The Manguai negotiators hurriedly agreed to these terms; they may have planned to put the Gebela further in their debt later, but events did not play out that way.

In the meanwhile, Gebela explorers charted nearby sectors of space far more thoroughly than the Manguai did, selling the astromomical data and resource rights to their patrons and generally making themselves useful. In the process, they, not the Manguai, made first contact with the Vautaro, and dealt with them far more peacefully than their patrons might have done. Many Gebela became enchanted by the mystical world view of their new associates, and became the first non-Vautaro students to study with them. They did not realize that the Manguai would see this as a betrayal of their client status, that this would spark the first great war in this region of space. Could they have? Perhaps.

Regardless, the first war was brief by comparison to those which would follow, but still horrifying to the Gebela. Those of them who were loyal to their Vautaro mentors and those who honored their Manguai patrons met in secret and discussed these events, and resolved that, regardless of their philosophies, Gebel would never again fight Gebel, no matter what. There are those who wonder whether this agreement might have resulted from the influence of the Geretil, who observe a similar ethic and are known to have tried to persuade other species to embrace it. Regardless, the Gebela commitment to this principle lasted for centuries.

It lasted right up until the rise of technomancy, which proved to be every bit as appealing to the Gebela as mysticism had been before it, dividing their species as surely as it did the rest of the Imperium. In the fury of the Schism Wars, their ethic was abandoned, and immense damage done to Hacadikem in the process. When all was said and done, the surviving Gebela almost uniformly joined the Armada -- in fact, it is sometimes claimed that their shipyards contributed two in every five of the ships that transported the exiles away from the Imperium, more than any other species -- with only a handful of those profoundly loyal to the mystic order remaining behind.

In the Technate, the Gebela embraced the sciences, setting aside both technomancy and mysticism. The stereotype of the Gebela is a multidisciplinary scientist who has a list of degrees longer than their arms who professes at an academy. As with most stereotypes, this is nonsense; there are not nearly enough academies or teaching positions for that, and there are Gebela who run small businesses, manage agricultural projects and provide transportation for hire. That said, even the cab drivers will probably be better educated than most of their Chiraben passengers.

Perhaps the most famous Gebel in recent history has been Adossegm Rogrigam, formerly the Chief Engineer of the TSV Adventure during its legendary voyages. After supervising the refit of the ship, he accepted a position as Dean of Engineering at the TSA Academy, passing on the lessons he learned from the often deadly missions he had survived. The Professor has also remained in communication with his former shipmate Otodevol, who keeps him informed about the parts of their current activities that do not feature in official reports. When he learns, from one source or another, about the damage that "his" ship has suffered while defending Earth during the recent Konan invasion, his first impulse will be to travel there to assist in the repairs. Whether that will be permitted remains to be seen.

While the Gebelaare an amphibious species, they are strictly fresh water dwellers, unlike their former Manguai patrons who can exist in both. Much like the slugs they somewhat resemble, Gebela suffer dehydration when exposed to salt, and can die from this if they do not rehydrate quickly. (Deliberately salting them is considered attempted murder under Technate law.) It should also be noted that the Gebela, again like slugs, are hermaphroditic, but uniformly use male pronouns when speaking Technate Standard for the sake of convenience.

Gebel Scientist -- PL 4/MR 4

Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 0 | AGL 1 | DEX 1 | FGT 1 | INT 6 | AWE 4 | PRE 1

Powers:
Amphibious: Movement 1 (environmental adaptation [aquatic]); Senses 1 (low-light vision); Swimming 2 (2 MPH) - 5 points
Slime: Environment 1 (impede movement 2), Limited Uses - 1 point

Advantages:
Equipment 6, Improved Initiative, Second Chance (Aid checks).

Equipment:
Protective Uniform (Protection 4, Subtle), Stunbeamer (Ranged Affliction 5 [Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated]) and 15 points as needed.

Skills:
Expertise: Galactic 2 (+8), Expertise: Science 3 (+9), Insight 2 (+6), Perception 3 (+7), Persuasion 4 (+5), Ranged Combat: Stunbeamer 2 (+3), Technology 1 (+7), Vehicles 3 (+4).

Offense:
Initiative +5
Unarmed +1 (Close Damage 1)
Stunbeamer +3 (Ranged Fortitude 5)

Defense:
Dodge 4, Parry 2, Fortitude 3, Toughness 4/0, Will 5.

Totals:
Abilities 28 + Powers 6 + Advantages 8 + Skills 10 + Defenses 8 = 60 points

Offensive PL: 4
Defensive PL: 4
Resistance PL: 4
Skill PL: 4

Complications:
Discovery--Motivation. Susceptibility (salt.) Others as Needed.

Note: This is a typical Gebel scientist; there are exceptional individuals who have higher INT scores and higher skills, often in much more specialized Expertises than I normally use for characters. However, it is rare to find one with a total skill bonus of greater than +14. Professor Rodrigam, a PL 8 character, has Expertise: Science +12 and Technology +13, along with comparably higher skills in other areas.

 

[Davies]

Bridget Helm

In 1911, German novelist Hanns Heinz Ewers published a novel entitled Alraune, a scientifically updated version of the so-called mandrake myth, which held that women could independently conceive female offspring by consuming that root, believed to spring from the final ejaculations of hanged men. The novel described a woman created through artificial insemination, portrayed as incapable of love, who became involved with one Frank Braun, the protagonist of two other novels by Ewers. As Braun was something of a self-portrait of the author, there are those who have suggested that this novel depicted certain "adventures" of his from the first decade of the twentieth century. No one knows for sure, of course.

Exactly one hundred years after the publication of Alraune, however, an individual who went by the name Professor Erich ten Brinck (born Albert Ludlum) announced to the world that he had, eighteen years earlier, recreated the mandrake myth, inseminating a woman with artificially created sperm to produce what he called "the modern Alraune", a young woman named Bridget Helm, whom he now introduced to the public. The "Professor" loudly declared that, with this advancement, science had at last destroyed the so-called "natural order" and killed "god". This naturally attracted the attention of a number of disturbed indviduals who attempted to assassinate both the mad scientist and his beautiful daughter in vengeance for this perceived blasphemy.

As this had all happened in Seattle, Trouble took an interest in the case and acted to prevent one of the assassination attempts that seemed likely to succeed. In the process, the living weapon wound up befriending the modern Alraune. As someone who was herself the product of mad science, she felt a certain empathy for Ms. Helm, while coming to strongly dislike the professor. It seemed to her that he was deliberately inflaming the public, and that his rants about the absurdity of the claim that his creation had no soul (which had started before anyone made that claim) seemed to be suggesting just that. Trouble had come to the conclusion that Bridget Helm was somewhat amoral and callous but not a soulless monster, and began to investigate further.

She was horrified but not really all that surprised to learn that the account of her origins given by the professor was a lie in almost every particular. First, and perhaps most disturbingly, while he had indeed begun the experiments that would result in her birth eighteen years before, he had only achieved a successful result fourteen years before. Ludlum, to use his real name, had sped up her physical maturation through chemical treatments, and conducted a number of other grotesque experiments on her. In the process, he had learned that his creation could recover from nearly any form of injury, something he had gone to some lengths to test.

The ultimate irony was that none of this had been what he wanted. "Deliberately inflaming the public" had been his goal all along, in order to provoke them into the outlawing of experiments of this sort and any form of non-traditional reproduction. The fact that his creation apparently could not die meant the ruination of his plans, even without the involvement of Trouble -- who went to some lengths of her own to ensure that he wound up behind bars. Having done so, she was left with the problem of what to do about Bridget. With help from Sam Hazzard, the young woman was placed in foster care with a couple whom the two women trusted, in hopes that they could help her adjust to a more mundane existence.

It did not work. Bridget lived with them for four years, until she aged out of the foster care system, and still thinks of them fondly, but she remained apathetic and indifferent towards the rest of humanity. For a long while she treated those whom she encountered as sources of entertainment and comfort, manipulating them through her charisma and discarding them when she needed them no longer. In recent years, though, she has started to grow out of this behavior; while still indulging in it occasionally, she now prefers to live and let live when possible, and has even sometimes manipulated others in ways that improve their lives, in her view. (Of course, not everyone appreciates these supposed improvements.) When asked about this, she commented that she has come to understand that she is going to be around for a long while, and a world of general misery does not really appeal to her. Bringing up her origins, however, has been known to provoke very vicious responses from her.

Unfortunately, the somewhat enlightened attitude she now possesses has come too late for her to avoid winding up on the "monster list" of Maureen Summerisle, after the latter witnessed her casually wrecking the lives of everyone (other than Maureen) who happened to be in a old-fashioned soda shop at the same time as them. Maureen has succeeded in killing Bridget several times, but has yet to devise a way to do so permanently, with the "best" she was able to manage leaving the Alraune out of action for a full month before the concrete cracked enough for her to squeeze herself out. Bridget finds this annoying, to say the least, but just tries to avoid Summerisle when possible, as she is not nearly as vindictive as her nemesis.

Besides, they are one who cannot love and one who chooses not to. "Ain't we a pair?" she commented once.

Bridget Helm -- PL 6

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

Powers:
Undying: Immortality 5 (1 day); Immunity 3 (aging, disease, poison); Regeneration 20 - 33 points

Advantages:
Attractive 2, Daze (Deception), Evasion 2, Fascinate (Deception), Defensive Roll, Great Endurance, Improvised Weapon, Jack-of-all-trades, Set-up, Taunt, Ultimate Effort (Deception).

Skills:
Deception 5 (+10), Expertise: High Society 5 (+7), Expertise: Popular Culture 5 (+7), Expertise: Streetwise 6 (+8), Insight 6 (+9), Perception 4 (+7), Persuasion 6 (+11), Sleight of Hand 5 (+5), Stealth 6 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +1
Unarmed +2 (Close Damage -1)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 5, Fortitude 5, Toughness 7/5, Will 7

Totals:
Abilities 34 + Powers 33 + Advantages 13 + Skills 24 + Defenses 11 = 115 points

Offensive PL: 1*
Defensive PL: 6
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 6

Complications:
Peace--Motivation. Enemy (Maureen Summerisle.) Manipulative (but not always detrimentally so.) Temper (particularly concerning her origins.)

 

[Davies]

Usagi-ouji/Prince of Rabbits/うさぎ王子

Shimizu Keiji has been given a power he never asked for and inducted into an organization he had never heard about, much less wanted to join. If he fails in the tasks that this situation demands of him, he will die. If he succeeds in those tasks, he will speed up the extinction of the human race ... and probably be killed anyway, once that has been accomplished. There are no good options here and not even any "less bad" ones. So he takes whatever comfort he can in doing what he loves, running and jumping and tumbling through life. Sometimes, while doing that, he can forget. But only sometimes.

The first occupant of the house of the Rabbit in the Shēngxiào was a woman who went by the alias Gun-Bunny*, and seemed to draw on the somewhat vaguely defined spirit of "the girl with a gun". Possessed of powers similar to those of Megan Excalbur, but with a focus on firearms, as well as an ability that allowed her to "respawn" at a different location after suffering lethal injuries, she committed a number of assassinations between 2009 and 2015, when she was captured under circumstances that prevented her from respawning by suicide. She was the first member of the Shēngxiào to ever be captured alive and the last as well.

Keiji was unaware of any of that on the afternoon that life as he knew it ended. He was looking forward to some free-running practice in downtown Osaka, the first time he had been able to do so after a week of rain. Unfortunately, he slipped on some roofing that had not dried as much as he had thought, and plunged to what he expected to be serious injury if not death. His fall was arrested by one of a pair of women on the street below, which was the upside. He would come to know the woman using some sort of telekinesis to hold him aloft as Hebi-Onna, and that the woman who addressed him was Diorite; that was the downside.

Diorite made it clear that, having saved his life, she now owned it, and would shortly be granting him the spirit of the Rabbit once it departed from its previous host. Although his opinion was not really consulted, Keiji nevertheless frantically agreed to this. With that out of the way, Diorite brought him along when she teleported to the location where Gun-Bunny was being held. She promptly declared that the former occupant had failed her for the last time and melted her while Keiji watched in horror, then teleported them away again before the guards could react. The realities of his situation had been made completely clear to him.

Keiji does not possess any of the powers of his forebear. The mantle of the Rabbit has given him slight physical enhancement, such that he is capable of moving very quickly and jumping great distances, which also allows him to make powerful kicks and strikes. For the most part, he is employed as a courier by his fellows in the Shēngxiào, who only ever meet in person at the express command of Diorite. However, he has also performed a number of robberies and assaults at their request -- mostly as distractions from other schemes, something that the Ghost Sweepers have started to realize -- as he is terrified that any failure of any of them could become his own "for the last time".

He is no longer in contact with any members of his former life. He trusts absolutely no one. Everyone in the world is his enemy and if they catch him they will kill him. But first they have to catch him.

Usagi-ouji -- PL 8

Abilities:
STR 3 | STA 3 | AGL 3 | DEX 1 | FGT 6 | INT 0 | AWE 1 | PRE 0

Powers:
Bunny Hop: Immunity 5 (falling damage); Leaping 5 (250 feet); Movement 1 (environmental adaptation [urban]); Speed 3 (16 MPH) - 18 points
Little Nose: Senses 1 (acute olfactory) - 1 point
Rabbit Punch/Super-Kick: Strength-based Damage 3 - 3 points

Advantages:
Agile Feint, All-out Attack, Beginner's Luck, Defensive Roll 2, Great Endurance, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics), Teamwork.

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+9), Athletics 4 (+7), Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+10), Expertise: Magic (INT-based) 4 (+4), Expertise: Streetwise 8 (+8), Intimidation 6 (+6), Perception 4 (+5), Technology 4 (+4).

Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 6)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude 4, Toughness 8, Will 7.

Totals:
Abilities 34 + Powers 22 + Advantages 11 + Skills 21 + Defenses 14 = 102 points

Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 4

Complications:
Fear--Motivation. Bravado, Not Bravery. Subject to Orders.

* Her real name has never been discovered; she sometimes used the alias "Fumimura Hoko", but there is no record of any individual by that name.