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

[Davies]

Jack Neutron, The Metamorphic Man

As Michael Faulks lay on the street with a crushed rib cage, feeling his life ebbing away as he stared up at the strangely clear sky, he found that his life did not pass before his eyes. Maybe things would speed up in the final moments and he would glimpse scenes of the first forty-eight years of his life. Right now, though, all that he could think about was how things had been going so well in the last few months, and then had gone so horribly wrong in the last twenty-four hours.

During the Konan assault on Earth, he had seized the initiative and led his agents on lightning fast strikes against the suspected locations of many of the bombs set by the Combination to prevent outside intrusion against their rule over St. Louis. They had been even more successful than they had dared to hope; from intercepted communications, he learned that there was only one still active, and Faulks swore to find that last threat and eliminate it before the year was out. Unfortunately, his superiors at Argus believed that it would be more productive to launch an assault against the Combination despite the remaining bomb, disagreeing with Faulks on "acceptable losses" and (to be fair) concerned that new bombs could be constructed and render all that effort pointless. He spent as much time arguing with the bosses as he did directing the search.

Unfortunately, someone else was listening in on the arguments. Billie Zane had even less concern for the collateral damage that would result from the detonation of the last bomb than Argus did, and saw an opportunity to eliminate members of the superpower oligarchy by attacking the Combination with a large army of Saturn agents. The Powerhouse responded to the attack, making an unlikely alliance with the Combination. Faulks gave the order to his people to help in the defense of St. Louis, and wound up in the thick of it, firing a blaster rifle at point blank range towards Zane in her powered armor. It did nothing, and she bashed him aside without a second glance.

From what he could hear, the battle sounded like it was winding down. He wondered who had won. Much more than that, he wondered whether any of the people who had trusted his leadership were going to survive this. He wondered a lot of things, really.

And then ...

And then, my friends, something strange happened. When a woman who had died when he was nine years old walked up to where he was lying on the street with a somber look on her face, Faulks thought that he had actually passed without realizing it. And then she spoke. "You did a brave thing, just now," said Janey Quantum. "I'd like to apologize for what my daughter did, but ... no, never mind. Here's the thing. If I do nothing, you're going to die, and then I'm going to die shortly afterward. Or I can do something, and then one of us doesn't have to die. I wish I could offer you a choice, but we're all out of time and choices, here." And with that, her hand glowing, she bent down and touched his chest. The world went as white as the gutters of a comic book page.

When he woke up, his ribs were no longer crushed, and Faulks had never felt so alive -- confused as could be, but so alive. He got up and half-stumbled over to where the Powerhouse and the Combination were having a confrontation in the aftermath of the battle, with Kingfisher threatening to detonate all the bombs if the heroes failed to depart immediately. It annoyed him, and before he realized what he was doing, he projected an explosive blast right at the winged bandit, knocking him back quite a bit. "Hi, guys," he said to Paragon and the others. "Could I get a lift? We've got some stuff to talk about."

At the Argo, it was determined that whatever Janey Quantum had done before returning to the past (and her death) had infused him with powers like those she had possessed, but that Faulks was still learning how to use. One of the first abilities that he mastered was the knack of transforming his clothes and the air around him into a flexible shell of woven steel and cavorite, granting him protection and the power of flight. With this means of concealing his identity, he assumed the ops moniker -- or rather nomme de guerre -- of Jack Neutron, the Metamorphic Man. (His middle name is John, hence Jack.)

His life has changed a lot in the two weeks since all that happened. He was fired from Argus, as he was expecting, but the new Director of Combination Activities is someone he helped to train and trusts. On the other hand, he has been promptly recruited by the Powerhouse, who are understandably concerned about the power that he demonstrated. He recognizes that he has a long ways to go before his skill at using that power makes him worthy of the title "superhero", but through the Powerhouse he has access to some of the best teachers in the world for this peculiar occupation. In the meanwhile, he has settled in as the first resident hero of St. Louis since the Combination took over, letting Kingfisher know that the authorities are aware that there is only one bomb left, and that they will know if he builds more. The never-ending battle continues, but the forces of evil seem to be on the back foot right now.

There are just two things that make Michael Faulks a bit uncertain about his new role in life. The first is the look of horror and grief that he glimpsed, for just a moment, on the face of Dancer when he created his shell for the first time, while she was watching. He does not know what could have caused that, which worries him. The other concern, probably more serious, is why he keeps hearing the voice of Janey Quantum in his head ... not talking to him, just talking. At least, so far.

Jack Neutron, the Metamorphic Man -- PL 9

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

Powers:
Cavorite-Steel Shelled: Flight 7 (125 MPH); Impervious Protection 9; Strength-based Damage 3; Activation (Standard Action) - 33 points
Transmutation: Array (54 points)

• Basics: Continuous Transform 9 (400 lbs; anything into anything) - 54 points
• Corrosion: Linked Damage 10, Secondary Effect; Linked Weaken Toughness 10, Affects Object, Secondary Effect - 1 point
• Explosion: Linked Ranged Damage 9; Linked Ranged Selective Burst Area Damage 9 - 1 point

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Assessment, Connected, Contacts, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Fearless, Inspire 2, Leadership, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Shot (Ranged/Cover), Teamwork.

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+4), Athletics 3 (+4), Deception 4 (+7), Expertise: Military 5 (+6), Expertise: Science 3 (+4), Expertise: Streetwise 6 (+7), Insight 4 (+6), Intimidation 5 (+8), Investigation 6 (+7), Perception 4 (+6), Persuasion 2 (+5), Ranged Combat: Transmutation 3 (+5), Sleight of Hand 2 (+4), Stealth 4 (+5), Technology 4 (+5), Vehicles 4 (+6).

Offense:
Initiative +1
Unarmed +5 (Close Damage 4/1)
Corrosion +5 (Close Damage 10 and Weaken Toughness 10)
Explosion +5 (Ranged Damage 9 and Ranged Burst Damage 9)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 5, Fortitude 5, Toughness 13/11/4/2, Will 7

Totals:
Abilities 34 + Powers 89 + Advantages 14 + Skills 30 + Defense 12 = 179 points

Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 3

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Nemesis (the Combination). Physical Limitation (artificial leg can be disabled by Nullify Electrical, leaving him Hindered and Vulnerable). Voices In His Head (not hostile ones, just distracting at times.)

 

[Voltron64]

Hell of a character development...

 

[Davies]

I said at the end of his original profile that he was one accident away from becoming a superhero ... I just never said which one.

 

[Davies]

La Dame Bleu

Until a short time ago, la Dame Bleu -- Maryse Beaucheme, to use the civilian name that everyone knew and pretended not to know in response to her insistence that her identity was a closely kept secret -- was perhaps the most powerful and most respected superhero of Europe. Respected, but not admired. Her haughty, patronizing manner ensured that she was not well-liked, even in her native Belgium. On the other hand, the worst that anyone could say about her was that she was a snob, and that she often became bored by the less exciting aspects of superheroism, such as cleanup or charity appearances. Her death, during the early stages of the Konan assault, came as a shock, and she was sincerely mourned ... but mostly because it was thought that, had she not died, then other losses of more beloved heroes later in the conflict, such as the Swedish hero Grader or the Austrian Jodler, might have avoided.

Born in 1987, Maryse was the only child of Jules Beaucheme and his second wife, Madelca Meusz, a younger sister (or possibly half-sister) of the notorious Gordion Meusz. Madelca displayed none of the gravity-influencing talents of her family, and it is something of a mystery why her daughter possessed such formidable talents of this sort, which she first demonstrated at the age of fourteen. Her father had passed away six years before that, leaving the training of these talents entirely in the hands of her mother, who "encouraged" Maryse to develop all of her abilities -- mental, physical, and extranormal -- to remarkable degrees. From what has since been learned, it seems likely that Madelca intended for her daughter to literally conquer the world on her behalf, simply to show up the main branch of the Meusz family.

Fortunately, by the time that she deemed herself ready, at the age of eighteen, Maryse found the notion of ruling the world to be utterly absurd. She was smart enough to realize that she could never administer a global state by herself, and that the handful of individuals whom she trusted -- all servants at the Beaucheme manor -- would likewise be ill-suited to such roles, requiring her to recruit people who might potentially betray her. The whole thing would just be work, work, work, and she gave it up as a bad idea, preferring to indulge herself by engaging in such altruism as suited her whims. (The possibility that she was rebelling against her domineering mother has been suggested.)

Regardless, by 2008 she had developed enough of a reputation for competence, if perhaps not for tact, that she was offered membership in the Powerhouse, which she rather rudely declined. It has since been suggested that she expected the group to press the issue, and was offended when they took her first refusal for her final word on the subject. Regardless, her interactions with the other members of the team were at best coldly polite in the aftermath, with much of her spite being directed at the one whom she most frequently encountered: Blakestone, particularly after the formation of the Ultra Girls, who also received a great deal of scornful treatment from la Dame. Later, it would be suggested that she resented the fact that Blakestone had been considered important enough join the Powerhouse while still a teenager.

Her history with the Ultra Girls led to an awkward situation when she was forced to swallow her pride and seek help from them in 2015, when la Dame Bleu was attacked with a power nullification ray by alleged Korean agents while visiting Paris, leaving her depowered for nearly a week. It was a miserable experience for all involved, with Maryse and Blakestone almost coming to blows on a few occasions during that long, long week. However, while la Dame departed without uttering a word of thanks after her powers were finally restored, Danielle noted that there had been a moment of hesitation where it seemed that Maryse had almost been about to offer some gratitude. Blakestone just rolled her eyes at that.

La Dame Bleu was noted for having a good working relationship with Argus, with a "handler" who was open about his affiliation with the group and did a great deal to keep her feathers unruffled. (This is believed to have involved a lot of flattery.) Because of this, she was quickly advised of the Konan threat and unhesitatingly joined forces with those heroes who were gathered to plan a response. She accompanied Paragon, Super-Giant, Bombast and other spaceworthy fighters into battle when the Konan fleet arrived in orbit, and accounted for three of the mass driver-equipped cruisers before she came under coordinated fire from their gunships. Stunned by the first barrage, her shield dropped and she was nearly torn apart by the second.

Blakestone found herself strangely bereft when she learned of the death of her rival. After the affair was over, she took it on herself to travel to Beaucheme manor and express her regrets. Her meeting with the elderly Madelca was, if possible, even more unpleasant than any of her interactions with Maryse had been, as the old woman seemed quite certain that la Dame was only faking her death to annoy her. The narcissism that Madelca displayed was horrifyingly reminiscent of behaviors that Blakestone had seen in her own mother, and she sought to escape quickly. However, she also met some elderly servants who were sincerely mourning the death, and learned from them that Maryse had genuinely envied the happiness Blakestone had been able to find in her life, and also regretted that her upbringing had left her often unable to express any of her actual feelings in a public manner.

Unsure how to take any of this, Blakestone returned to her House of Riddles, and made a point of telling those whom she loved how much they meant to her, something that she has also had difficulties doing in the past. It may be said, then, that la Dame Bleu won a great victory even after she left the field.

La Dame Bleu -- PL 13

Abilities:
STR 3 | STA 4 | AGL 4 | DEX 4 | FGT 6 | INT 5 | AWE 3 | PRE 3

Powers:
Gravity Control: Perception Range Move Object 7 (3 tons) - 21 points
Gravitic Shield: Linked Sustained Protection 14, Impervious 12; Linked Sustained Immunity 10 (life support); Deflect 8, Limited to physical - 44 points
Gravity Techniques: Array (27 points)

• Advanced Gravity Control: Enhanced Perception Range Move Object 13 (25 kilotons), Concentration - 1 point
• Gravitic Blast: Ranged Damage 13, Precise - 27 points
• Gravitic Drag: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 13 (Resisted and Overcome by Strength; Hindered & Vulnerable, Defenseless & Immobilized), Extra Condition, Limited Degree - 1 point
• Gravitic Pulse: Linked Burst Area Damage 9; Linked Close Burst Area Move Object 9, Limited Direction (away from self) - 1 point
• Gravitic Whip: Ranged Damage 11, Indirect 4; Enhanced Advantage 1 (Improved Trip) - 1 point

Transatmospheric Flight: Flight 8 (500 MPH); Enhanced Flight 7 (64,000 MPH), Distracting; Movement 1 (environmental adaptation [zero gravity]) - 27 points

Advantages:
Benefit 4 (multimillionaire), Connections, Defensive Attack, Extraordinary Effort, Improved Defense, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Well-informed.

Skills:
Expertise: Science 3 (+8), Expertise: High Society 4 (+9), Intimidation 7 (+10), Perception 3 (+6), Ranged Combat: Gravity Powers 7 (+11), Stealth 2 (+6), Technology 2 (+7)

Offense:
Initiative +4
Unarmed +6 (Close Damage 3)
Gravitic Blast +11 (Ranged Damage 13)
Gravitic Drag +11 (Ranged Affliction 13, Resisted by Strength)
Gravitic Whip +11 (Ranged Damage 11)
Gravity Pulse -- (Burst Area Damage 9 and Move Object 9)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 6, Fortitude 7, Toughness 18/4, Will 11

Totals:
Abilities 64 + Powers 123 + Advantages 10 + Skills 10 + Defenses 15 = 222 points

Offensive PL: 12
Defensive PL: 13
Resistance PL: 9
Skills PL: 4

Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Delusion ("I have a secret identity, despite doing nothing to disguise myself.") Easily Bored. Utter Snob.

Note: Should stats for the PL 11 "Year One" version of la Dame Bleu be needed, modify as follows: reduce STR, STA, AGL, DEX and FGT by 1 rank each; drop Improved Defense; reduce Sustained Protection to 13 ranks and Deflect to 6 ranks; reduce Gravity Mastery Array to 22 points and drop Gravitic Pulse (reduce most slots to 11 ranks and Gravitic Whip to 8 ranks); reduce Enhanced Flight to 5 ranks; reduce Dodge to 6, Will to 8.

One track mind, one track heart
If I fail, I'll fall apart
Maybe it is all a test
'Cause, I feel like I'm the worst
So I always act like I'm the best

 

[Davies]

Dr. Abraham van Helsing

"Abraham van Helsing" was a name made up by Bram Stoker (partially from his own name) while editing the various diaries and letters of the Dracula operation into a novel. "Martin Hessel", the name used for this individual in official British documents, is likewise known to have been an alias. Any record of the actual identity of this person was likely lost in the large-scale destruction of secret documents during the final stages of the November Revolution that brought down the German Empire in 1918. "Van Helsing" will be used for its familiarity hereafter.

Very little that was stated about his background in the novel should be taken at face value. His comments about his "late son" were chosen to create a sense of sympathy between himself and "Arthur Holmwood", much like the unlikely account of the start of the supposed friendship between himself and "Dr. Jack Seward". Likewise, his comment about his supposed wife, imprisoned in an asylum, was part of a rather crude joke that he made, betraying a much more cynical attitude towards his patient than he had expressed so far. His official dossier reported that "Van Helsing" had been married, but that his wife had predeceased him and that their marriage had never produced any children. The accuracy of that assessment is open to question.

That same assessment portrays him as a man driven to hunt "the undead" (a term that really was of his own coining, apparently) because of both his deep Roman Catholic faith and his scientific curiosity. These were indeed significant parts of his character, but the dossier failed to note that he was also quite patriotic. It is possible, even likely, that whoever put together the dossier, influenced by their own prejudices, believed that his Catholicism would contraindicate such a nationalist sensibility. This would be a costly mistake, but not the greatest made in this operation.

In 1894, when "Van Helsing" was called in to assist in the clean-up of the Dracula operation, the British believed that he had already "eliminated" two vampires in Europe in the past decade, neither of which were "kindred" to Dracula. (This was considered important when he was contacted, suggesting that the King Vampire was even then regarded as a potential asset.) These were only those that whose existence, and the cessation thereof, the British could confirm; there may have been others. It is unlikely, given what he emphasized about "the power of combination" in addresses to the others involved in the operation after it turned into a vampire hunt, as well as his advanced age -- roughly seventy years -- that he acted alone, but nothing is known about these accomplices.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of his involvement in the treatment of "Lucy Westenra" was his use of blood transfusion. This was, prior to the official discovery of blood variation in humans*, an extremely dangerous procedure. Some have suggested that his actions were undertaken not to save the life of his patient, but rather to hasten her death and transformation into a vampire. This does not seem consistent with his expressed attitudes, but subsequent events make it harder to defend him. After staking the so-called "Bloofer Lady", rendering her helpless and immobile, he and Seward turned her over to British intelligence so that she, and not Dracula, would be their vampiric agent. His "fee" for this service was a pair of vials of her blood, ostensibly for his own experiments. However, the affair was not over, and it is likely that his true character began to emerge at this point.

After eliminating the brides of Dracula and (seemingly) the Lord of Darkness himself, "Van Helsing" returned to his native Leipzig (or so he claimed.) It is now known that the vials of vampiric blood (and possibly samples that he illicitly obtained from "Mina Harker") were given into the care of agents of Abteilung III b, the military intelligence branch of the Imperial German Army. They used them, along with a number of other examples of mad science, to create the creature later dubbed "Orlock". It is unclear whether "Van Helsing" was aware of these experiments, but even if he was, he may have regarded them as a regrettable necessity.

By 1898, his health was failing, and his death, by what seems to have been natural causes, was reported in 1900. But there is an ambiguity here, even, for no remains were to be found in the crypt where he was supposedly laid to rest when it was opened in 1931. The dreadful possibility exists that Dracula, or some agent of his during this period of inactivity, arranged for his great enemy to become ... perhaps not an ally, but a useful slave. Or perhaps some other weird tale ensued.

"Dr. Abraham van Helsing" -- PL 5

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

Advantages:
Assessment, Contacts, Eidetic Memory, Equipment 2, Fascinate (Persuasion), Favored Foe (vampires), Improved Aim, Teamwork, Tracking.

Equipment:
Stakes (Strength-based Damage 1), garlic, an allegedly consecrated host, other vampire hunting gear.

Skills:
Deception 6 (+8), Expertise: Civics 6 (+8), Expertise: Magic* 5 (+7), Expertise: Science 5 (+8), Expertise: Theology & Philosophy 7 (+9), Insight 6 (+10), Investigation 6 (+8), Perception 5 (+9), Persuasion 6 (+8), Stealth 6 (+6), Treatment 6 (+8).
* INT-based ...?

Offense:
Initiative +0
Unarmed +3 (Close Damage 0)
Stake +3 (Close Damage 1)

Defense:
Dodge 3, Parry 3, Fortitude 2, Toughness 1, Will 8.

Totals:
Abilities 30 + Advantages 10 + Skills 32 + Defenses 8 = 80 points

Offensive PL: 2*
Defensive PL: 2
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 5

Complications:
Faith--Motivation. Elderly. Physical Limitation (missing two fingers on his right hand.) Secret (vampire hunter, secret agent.) Subject to Orders.

* The existence of blood types had been discovered by a handful of mad scientists in the years after Blundell, but their results were generally not well-accepted.

 

[Davies]

Doctor Typhon/ドクター颱風

Nearly fifty years after his death, he remains one of the most notorious supervillains in the history of Japan. (His notoriety outside of Japan was much more short-lived.) It is somewhat telling that there are those in Japan who will insist that he was not Japanese himself, citing his birthplace and some old rumors about his birth as proof. This would have annoyed him -- and his annoyance tended to have fatal consequences for its subjects.

Ichikawa Sousuke was born in Taiwan in 1924, but Taiwan was then a colony of the Empire of Japan, and his father was a bureaucrat within the colonial administration. His mother died not long after his birth, and the rumors derive from the fact that his father quickly married his Taiwanese housekeeper (and reputed mistress.) Regardless of such gossip, the young man grew up full immersed in the nationalist ideology of the time, and fully intended to serve in the Japanese army. He would get his wish, but not in the way that he expected. By his seventeenth birthday, it was already clear that he was had a prodigious intellect, and he was promptly recruited for a special unit. No, not that one. There were others, and his was based in the Home Islands.

While working there, Ichikawa made the acquaintance of an older scientist, one Kunisawa Chihiro. They were not friends, but the younger man did find some of the theories that the older proposed concerning the hidden strengths of the human body to be fascinating. Even if they had been friendly, however, Ichikawa would have come to despise Kunisawa after the latter deserted the unit and went underground midway through 1943. For his part, Ichikawa vowed to fight to the bitter end. Of course, then Japan as a whole surrendered, and there was nothing he could do about that. Worse, the critical research he and the others had accomplished during the war was judged irrelevant, and he was neither prosecuted for war crimes nor recruited to continue his work elsewhere. Frustrated, Ichikawa settled down with a wife and soon grew a family, taking out his frustrations on them when they grew too much for him.

In 1954, however, some of the work he had done on the nascent science of gigantology came to the attention of an office of the recently established Japan Self-Defense Forces, and he was contacted with regards to an expedition to Dread Island. Pleased to be at work again, Ichikawa agreed and joined the expedition, leaving his pregnant wife and two young children behind. The last radio contact with the expedition reported that they had arrived at the island and were setting up camp. After that, there was nothing but radio silence.

Ten years after, an Australian expedition to Dread Island was startled when a delirious and disheveled Japanese man stumbled out of the jungle and into their campsite. Ichikawa claimed to be the last survivor of his own expedition, but was confused about how long he had been on the island, believing that it had been no more than a month since his arrival. The Australians had already concluded their observations, and they agreed to take him back to Japan on their way home. After reporting on the disaster to the JSDF, Ichikawa prepared to return home, sure that his family must be deeply mourning his absence.

They were not; once seven years had passed, his wife had promptly remarried and his children now viewed her second husband as their father, and were quite happy about their new circumstances. This annoyed him, fatally so. The one survivor of the massacre was the son who had not even been born when Ichikawa set out, who happened to be playing baseball with some friends. In the aftermath, Ichikawa went underground and abandoned his name, assuming the alias Doctor Typhon and seeking to punish the world for not recognizing his genius and for the suffering he had endured.

Doctor Typhon had several clashes with the Reid group and other American heroes, but his most frequent foes were Jiraiya and Tsunade. (It is not clear if he ever realized they had been trained and enhanced by Kunisawa.) However, he generally worked through minions or lieutenants, rarely allowing his opponents to confront him directly. He developed many horrific inventions in his career as a supervillain, most famously a series of kaiju-scale robots that each caused as much damage as any of the actual creatures of Dread Island. His signature weapon, however, was the aptly-named "dust of death", a paralytic compound that suffocated its victims. Fortunately, his efforts to produce a form of the chemical which could affect large areas came to naught.

In 1974, Doctor Typhon was contacted by an individual interested in recruiting his scientific services. Amused at her presumption, he agreed to the meeting, fully intending to murder her for her effrontery and completely uninterested in what she had to offer. Despite that, he found her ideas intriguing, but as Jiraiya and Tsunade had begun an attack on his base at the same time, he was forced to cut the interview short and end it as he had originally planned. Before he could do so, however, she somehow disarmed him, as though she knew exactly what he was about to do, and shot him with his own dust. When the two ninja broke into the control room of his base, they found him stone dead and completely alone.

The son who had survived his rampage kept the family name of his stepfather, going by Serizawa Katsuhito for the rest of his life.

Doctor Typhon -- PL 8

Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 3 | INT 7 | AWE 3 | PRE 4

Powers:
Dust of Death: Affliction 9 (Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed and Vulnerable, Stunned and Immobile, Dying and Paralyzed), Extra Condition; Removable (-3 points) - 15 points
Imperturbable: Immunity 5 (interaction skills) - 5 points

Advantages:
Assessment, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 10, Improved Aim, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Inventor, Ranged Attack 2, Startle, Uncanny Dodge.

Equipment:
50 points as needed for any given plot, typically including bases and vehicles.

Skills:
Close Attack: Dust of Death 2 (+5), Deception 6 (+10), Expertise: Criminal 2 (+9), Expertise: Science 4 (+11), Insight 6 (+9), Intimidation 8 (+12), Perception 8 (+11), Ranged Attack: Guns 4 (+7), Stealth 5 (+8), Technology 6 (+13), Vehicles 3 (+6).

Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +3 (Close Damage 0)
Dust of Death +5 (Close Fortitude 9)
Gun +9 (Ranged Damage varies)

Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 5, Fortitude 4, Toughness 7/2, Will 9.

Totals:
Abilities 48 + Powers 20 + Advantages 21 + Skills 27 + Defenses 15 = 131 points

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

Complications:
Power--Motivation. Casual Killer. Intolerance (persons who express emotion.)

 

[Voltron64]

The son who had survived his rampage kept the family name of his stepfather, going by Serizawa Katsuhito for the rest of his life.

Geez, no wonder he was so messed up.

These sorts of things really are often a cycle....

 

[Davies]

Geez, no wonder he was so messed up.

These sorts of things really are often a cycle....

And now you know another reason that people are keeping a very close eye on Ryuji.

 

[Davies]

Tiger Girl/タイガー・ガール

Image by MK Castaneda.

In some versions of Chinese mythology, the Tiger and the Dragon are eternally at war, neither able to permanently defeat the other. This is definitely not the case among the Shēngxiào, where the first occupant of the house of the Tiger, known by the alias Hidden Tiger, constantly came out the loser in any conflict with Shēng Lóng, who regarded him with contempt. (Ironically, he was also the only person there who got the reference, as that movie is known as Green Destiny in Japanese.) Nevertheless, Shēng Lóng endured this with transparently false patience until a meeting in 2014 where he received what he took for permission from Diorite, and then snapped the neck of his supposed rival without resorting to the use of his superpowers. The meeting ended soon afterwards.

On that very same day, in a hotel room rented by the hour, a certain executive at a certain talent agency was having a private meeting with one of the idols whose career he was producing, nineteen year old Furukami Yuna. It was a somewhat awkward meeting, as she wanted to discuss her next public appearance and he wanted to discuss how the agency was going to cease representing her. Despite the entirely inappropriate relationship that had existed between the two of them since she was fifteen, he had come to agree that the other two members of her group were simply better entertainers than she was, and that it was time for things to end. He finally explained this to her, bluntly, and told her that she would be expected to do one last "graduation" performance where she would bid farewell to her fellows.

Yuna stared at him a moment, and then, just as bluntly, told him that this would not be possible. "Because I went to see the two of them before I came here, and I killed them both with this knife." She was upon him and had cut open his stomach before he could even cry for help, not that any would have come. He managed to claw at one of her eyes before he bled out, and this really upset her; her eyes were one of her charm points after all. So she was engaging in some retributive desecration of his corpse when someone cleared their throat behind her. Diorite had not expected to find the new occupant of the house of the Tiger this quickly.

Seven years later, Furukami Yuna is one of the top idols in all of Japan, selling vast quantities of merchandise and constantly pushed by her agency -- which she secretly owns, and whose employees and other idols are kept in a state of suspended terror, never knowing whether any given day will be their last. She ignores those who claim that she is at best an average singer and dancer on the grounds that they are people who understand the price of everything and the value of nothing. (She came up with that by herself, incidentally.) As part of her image, she wears an eyepatch over her left eye, although it has long since healed thanks to her regenerative abilities. However, it does slightly change color when she takes up her aspect.

Yuna works patiently to use the entertainment industry to promote the nihilistic agenda of the Shēngxiào, spreading an ideal that all that matters is whatever pleasure you can squeeze out of life, regardless of who has to be hurt in the process. She has come under suspicion of being an influencer for the group repeatedly, but has always dodged out of the way of investigations by the Ghost Sweepers thanks to clever use of sacrificial pawns. She realizes that she is herself a pawn of the senior members of the Shēngxiào, but plans to gradually change that.

However, she has no intention of directly challenging the Dragon. Rather, she will slowly arrange for the other occupants to be replaced by new members who are primarily loyal to herself, then have them collectively challenge Shēng Lóng, wearing him down until he falls. Then she will rule under Diorite, until she finds a way to attack her, dethrone her, and take her place. That there might be someone behind Diorite is not something she has considered, but if she does, she will view them as just one more obstacle set in the path to becoming God that providence, or rather her own future God-self, has laid out for her. And then she will hurt everyone everywhere all at once, forever.

She is Tiger. Hear her roar.

Tiger Girl -- PL 9

Abilities:
STR 5/-1 | STA 5/-1 | AGL 7/1 | DEX 1 | FGT 8/2 | INT 2 | AWE 4 | PRE 3

Powers:
Aspect of the Tiger: Activation (Standard Action, -2 points)

• Catseyes: Senses 3 (low-light vision, acute and tracking Olfactory) - 3 points
• Claws: Strength-based Damage 2, Accurate, Improved Critical 3, Subtle - 7 points
• Transformation: Enhanced Agility 6; Enhanced Fighting 6; Enhanced Stamina 6; Enhanced Strength 6; Regeneration 5; Subtle - 54 points

Deranged: Immunity 20 (mental effects), Limited to half effect - 10 points

Advantages:
Attractive 2, Benefit 2 (independently wealthy), Chokehold, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative.

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+12/+6), Athletics 6 (+11/+5), Deception 7 (+10), Expertise: Magic 4 (+7), Expertise: Performance 4 (+7), Expertise: Popular Culture 6 (+8), Insight 4 (+8), Intimidation 8 (+11), Perception 6 (+10), Sleight of Hand 8 (+9), Stealth 6 (+13/+7).

Offense:
Initiative +11/+5
Unarmed +8/+2 (Close Damage 5/-1)
Claws +10 (Close Damage 7, Crit 17-20)

Defense:
Dodge 7/1, Parry 8/2, Fortitude 7/1, Toughness 10/5/4/-1, Will 7

Totals:
Abilities 22 + Powers 67 + Advantages 12 + Skills 33 + Defenses 5 = 139 points

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

Complications:
Sadism--Motivation. Delusion ("I am the greatest idol the world has ever seen".) Fame. Laziness (prefers to make men do things for her.) Secret Identity. Subject to Orders.

"I am the revelation! The tiger force at the core of all things!"

 

[Voltron64]

Chuuni-ing as Darkseid, now that's terrifying.