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

[Davies]

Chiropterri

According to a fable supposedly set down by Aesop, at one point the birds and the beasts prepared to make war on each other. But the Bat found himself unsure for which side he should fight, for he was in some ways both. When the beasts bid him join them, he claimed to be a bird; and thus also when the birds bid him join them did he claim to be a beast. At last, peace broke out -- yet this was not a good thing for the Bat, for he was welcome among neither side, now. One who is neither one thing nor another has no friends.

Terri Cooper entered the superhuman community in 2010, as one of the victims of Dr. Charles MacCorkindale, alias the Manimalist, a mad scientist who developed a process of imprinting certain animal traits on human beings in the belief that this would allow his 'patients' to live lives unencumbered by what he considered the false and hypocritical morality of civilization. Basilea stopped the rampaging animal-people from doing too much damage and prevented Dr MacCorkindale from transforming himself into a kaiju-style creature, and used Hesperan medical technology to reverse the treatment he'd performed on most of his victims.

While transformed into a humanoid bat, Terri retained more of her original mindset than most of MacCorkindale's victims. While flying under her own power was an experience that she thoroughly enjoyed, she wasn't interested in 'rampaging' or hurting anybody, and actually helped to prevent one of the other transformed victims from doing that. However, when she overheard that the Hero of Hespera was planning on returning her to her original form, Terri panicked and few away as fast as she could, escaping that fate.

She made her way from California up to Illinois, occasionally engaging in petty crimes to keep herself fed, but also sometimes assisting people she encountered who needed help. Her somewhat vague plan was to present herself to Darkwing as a new partner in crimefighting, figuring that her abilities would be a useful compliment to his. To her annoyance, he tried to arrest her for all those minor offenses and wouldn't even listen to her explanations! He was able to fly rings around her, too, and so she went to jail.

There she stayed for a few years, until she got out for good behavior. While somewhat hardened by her experiences, Terrri -- Chiropterri, as she now called herself -- still wasn't interested in being a serious supervillain. But it was pretty clear that she wouldn't be welcomed as a superhero, either. So she's settled for trying to just do what she thinks is best, helping people when she feels like it, and committing petty crimes when it suits her. As a result, most of the villainous community in Chicago are disgusted with her, and Darkwing also keeps trying to put her back in the joint. One who is not one thing or another has no friends.

In addition to her wings and the claws at the ends of them, Chiropterri has the ability to release a shrill cry that can stun those in her immediate vicinity. This attack is both sonic and ultrasonic in nature, and so ordinary protection from sonic attacks doesn't assist in resisting it. Absolute sound-blocking techniques might work, however. She also recovers from most injuries quickly, and can echolocate like a real bat.

Chiropterri -- PL 9

Abilities:
STR 4 | STA 4 | AGL 7 | DEX 3 | FGT 8 | INT 0 | AWE 4 | PRE 1

Powers:
Bat-Signal: Burst Area Cumulative Affliction 6 (Resisted and Overcome by Fortitude, Dazed, Stunned), Concentration, Limited Degree - 18 points
Claws: Strength-based Damage 2 - 2 points
Healing Factor: Regeneration 10 - 10 points
Keen Senses: Senses 7 (accurate radius tracking hearing, acute smell, danger sense, ultra-hearing) - 7 points
Wings: Flight 2, Wings - 2 points

Advantages:
Agile Feint, All-out Attack, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Uncanny Dodge

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+14), Athletics 7 (+11), Close Attack: Claw 4 (+12), Expertise: Streetwise 10 (+10), Intimidation 8 (+9), Perception 8 (+12), Stealth 6 (+13).

Offense:
Initiative +11
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 4)
Claws +12 (Close Damage 6)

Defense:
Dodge 12, Parry 10, Fortitude 5, Toughness 6/4, Will 6

Totals:
Abilities 62 + Powers 39 + Advantages 7 + Skills 25 + Defenses 10 = 143 points

Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Neither One Thing Nor The Other. Prejudice (animal looks).

 

[Davies]

Ah, what the hell. Let's see how long I can keep up this pace.

Incidentally, if you haven't watched Brand New Animal yet, you're missing out.

Dú Láng and Láng Zai

The original Dú Láng (Lone Wolf) was a masked martial artist who fought crime in Hong Kong from the mid-1960s onward. Almost nothing is known about his mundane identity, and it's not clear if he had any super-powers; his feats, while extraordinary, have been duplicated by mundane martial artists since then. Having worked with the Grail Knight on one occasion, he joined his ally in fighting the Battle of Vietnam, and was reported killed while trying to save the life of Kid Wolf. However, in the immediate aftermath, it was discovered that his remains had disappeared, leading to a legend that Dú Láng had been some sort of immortal. Sightings persisted over the next two decades.

In 1999, sightings of Dú Láng increased dramatically, and even skeptics admitted that someone was clearly using the identity. The new Dú Láng was much more brutal than the original, and there were unconfirmed reports of him killing his opponents. These were investigated by the Hong Kong Police Force, who eventually announced that they were unable to determine whether any murders had been committed, or indeed any crimes at all; the official conclusion, announced in August of 2001, was that the activities of the supposed Dú Láng imitator were nothing more than urban legends.

Then Cerebron attacked, and any questions about the reality of the new Dú Láng were firmly answered when he was filmed in combat with the attacking drones. He was clearly different from the original, wearing a remarkably realistic wolf's head mask rather than a painted hood, and demonstrated clearly superhuman abilities. He was every bit as averse to interviews as the original had been, however, and escaped from the hospital where he was treated for his injuries in the attack's aftermath rather than answer any questions.

Reportedly, the Powerhouse attempted to contact Dú Láng and offer him membership, but he avoided contact with them right up until 2015, when he joined forces with a number of them while preventing an attempt to overthrow Hong Kong's government which was backed by the Empire of Korea. It was an uncomfortable alliance, as Dú Láng was very blunt that he would not observe any 'code against killing' that the Powerhouse expected, and that he viewed them as naive idiots for operating in that manner. Despite this, Darkwing noted that the wolf-headed hero did not actually kill anybody in the course of their battles, though he inflicted some very serious injuries against the enemy combatants, particularly those who had killed Hong Kong citizens. In addition to this difference of values, Dú Láng refused to answer any questions about his background, though he laughed at the idea that he was the original Dú Láng.

In 2018, Dú Láng began working with a partner, dubbed Láng Zai (Wolf Cub) by the press. If her mentor is a mystery, she's even more of one. Apparently possessing the power to change her shape into a bewildering variety of animals, ranging from insects through to mammals, she exhibits a friendlier attitude towards the public and the police, though this has become less apparent since the duo have started acting as protectors of Hong Kong's protest movement from 2019 up to the present.

Dú Láng -- or Mark Liu, to use the name he was born with -- is keeping a large number of secrets, even from his partner and pupil. He was born in West Germany in 1975, and associated with a number of pro-Pythonian students while still in high school. In 1992, he joined with twelve of these students to perform a ritual supposedly taken from the Book of the Great Scorpion which transformed them all into werewolf-like creatures. This so-called Brotherhood of the Wolf committed many crimes in the Germanies and Austria. (They are still active there, and have, ironically, become recurring enemies of Magnolia.)

After the end of the Pythonian Insurgency, Liu became increasingly disenchanted with his colleagues, whose political ideals had largely been replaced by greed and bloodlust, and broke with them, fleeing the country for Hong Kong. He eventually adopted the Dú Láng identity in order to do something to make up for the harm he'd caused. He has never deliberately killed anyone -- though he's not foolish enough to believe that no one has died as a result of fighting him -- but uses his murderous reputation as a tool to encourage people to surrender rather than risk death at his claws. This has not always had the results that he would prefer.

Láng Zai, on the other hand, is a native Hong Kong resident, born about a year after the handover. Her powers developed in her mid-teens, and are probably a straightforward mutation. Fearing that she'd be conscripted for the People's Liberation Army's Metahuman Guard, she ran away from home and sought out Dú Láng for training in avoiding capture. He initially refused to assist her, but events beyond either of their control have forced them together. Their relationship is strictly professional; she would either laugh or become ill at the idea of dating someone as ancient as he is, while he keeps his homosexuality another secret.

Dú Láng - PL 11

Abilities:
STR 7 | STA 6 | AGL 4 | DEX 1 | FGT 11 | INT 3 | AWE 3 | PRE 1

Powers:
Loping Movement: Enhanced Advantages 5 (Defensive Roll, Evasion, Improved Initiative 2, Uncanny Dodge); Leaping 2 (30 feet); Speed 3 (16 MPH) - 10 points
Semblances: Array (5 points)

• Homid: Morph 1 (completely human form) - 5 points
• Lupus: Morph 1 (wolf form) - 1 point

Song of the Wolf Pack: Auditory Perception Area Affliction 10 (Resisted by Will; Dazed and Impaired, Disabled and Stunned), Extra Condition, Limited Degree - 20 points
Thick-Skinned: Protection 3, Impervious 9 - 12 points
Wolf Senses: Senses 5 (danger sense, low-light vision, acute tracking olfactory, ultrahearing) - 5 points

Advantages:
Animal Empathy, Close Attack 2, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Great Endurance, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Initiative 3, Languages 3 (Cantonese, English, others [German is native]), Power Attack, Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Deception 8 (+9), Expertise: Survival 7 (+10), Intimidation 8 (+9), Investigation 5 (+8), Perception 8 (+11), Stealth 8 (+12).

Offense:
Initiative +16
Unarmed +13 (Close Damage 7)
Song of the Wolf Pack -- (Perception Area Will 10)

Defense:
Dodge 11, Parry 11, Fortitude 11, Toughness 11/9, Will 9

Totals:
Abilities 70 + Powers 53 + Advantages 7 + Skills 22 + Defenses 18 = 170 points

Complications:
Justice--Motivation. Power Loss (Thick Skinned, against silver weaponry.) Reputation (murderous vigilante). Secret Identity, and Other Secrets.

Láng Zai - PL 9

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

Powers:
Beastforms: Variable 9 (shapeshifter), Move Action, Limited to animal shapes - 72 points

Advantages:
Defensive Roll 2, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Uncanny Dodge

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+6), Close Combat: Unarmed 6 (+8), Insight 4 (+6), Investigation 4 (+6), Perception 4 (+6), Stealth 5 (+7)

Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 1 or by shapeshifted form)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 7, Fortitude 6, Toughness 6/1, Will 5

Totals:
Abilities 28 + Powers 72 + Advantages 5 + Skills 14 + Defenses 19 = 138 points

Complications:
Justice--Motivation. Secret Identity.

 

[Davies]

Bàofēngyu

Shen Meifeng, operating under the alias Bàofēngyu (Tempest), is recognized as one of the most powerful superhumans on Earth. There are other weather controllers -- Snowfall is one of them -- but none of them have Shen's command of all atmospheric phenomena or her sheer power. For more than a decade, she has been quietly working to reduce the atmospheric pollution of modern China and to prevent weather-related disasters, while also fighting monsters and supervillains who afflict her nation. This leaves her without much time for a social life, but she was something of a workaholic even before her powers developed in her early adolescence.

It should be understood that Bàofēngyu is not an agent of her nation's government or a member of the People's Liberation Army's Metahuman Guard, though she has always 'happily' volunteered her services to the latter during times of national crisis. The quotes around 'happily' are deliberate. The price she pays for her independence is that she can never voice any opinion that is critical of the state or any of its policies, and must be seen as someone who voluntarily upholds it. If others voice such opinions in her hearing, the best reaction from her that is likely to be given is a very formal statement that she would prefer not to discuss such matters at the present.

She does in fact have some opinions on the subject of her country; if these are not necessarily as pro-democracy as some Western observers would prefer, they are generally in favor of a less authoritarian and more compassionate government than the one that currently exists. Under no circumstances will she ever express these opinions in any public manner; anyone could be listening, at any time. With regards to foreign governments, Sheng is generally politely skeptical that things are any better anywhere else, or at least that they are not better on a broad enough scale.

Another consequence of her situation is that she has had to decline the invitation she was given to become a member of the Powerhouse, not long after she made her debut on the world stage. She regrets this, as she would welcome the opportunity to talk shop with the other defenders of the world, and to have peers she could trust. But Shen is aware that if she were permitted to join the group by the State, it would be with the understanding that she would report on their activities, and she is not interested in being a spy.

What does interest in her is developing her powers even further than they already have. Her command of the atmosphere has probably reached its fullest potential, but she suspects that she can go further in other areas. She feels that she might be able to develop the same sort of command of the waves that she's seen Nereus developing, and possibly even command over the movements of the Earth and the flow of its fires. If she could do all that, then she would be truly beyond anyone's control but her own. It is a terrifying but very tempting thought.

Bàofēngyu - PL 12

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

Powers:
Forecast: Senses 4 (precognition), Limited to weather phenomena; Senses 4 (hyper-extended ranged detect weather control) - 6 points
Hardened Air Shield: Sustained Immunity 2 (suffocation); Sustained Impervious Protection 8 - 14 points
Weather Control: Array (36 points)

• Exposure: Selective Ranged Burst Area Affliction 8 (Resisted by Fortitude; Fatigued, Exhausted, Incapacitated), Subtle; Dynamic - 2 point
• Fog: Selective Burst Area 3 Visual Concealment 4 Attack; Dynamic - 2 point
• Hailstorm: Burst Area Ranged Damage 11, Indirect; Dynamic - 2 point
• Shaping: Environment 9 (3 points of effect), Selective; Dynamic - 37 points
• Thunder & Lightning: Linked Ranged Damage 8, Indirect 2; Linked Cumulative Ranged Affliction 9 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Fortitude; Hearing Impaired, Hearing Disabled, Unaware), Limited to Hearing; Dynamic - 2 point
• Tornado: Cylinder Area Damaging Move Object 12, Concentration; Dynamic - 2 points

Wind-Riding: Flight 6 (120 MPH); Movement 1 (environmental adaptation [weather]) - 14 points

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Benefit 2 (well-off), Connected, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion 2, Extraordinary Effort, Improved Defense, Languages 2 (English, Mandarin, others [Wu is native]).

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+11), Athletics 8 (+9), Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+9), Expertise: Business 6 (+10), Expertise: Science 6 (+10), Insight 6 (+8), Intimidation 8 (+9), Perception 6 (+8), Persuasion 8 (+9), Ranged Combat: Weather Control 6 (+9).

Offense:
Initiative +5
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 1)
Exposure -- (Ranged Burst Area Fortitude 8)
Hail Storm -- (Ranged Burst Area Damage 11)
Thunder & Lightning +9 (Ranged Damage 8 and Affliction 9, Resisted by Dodge)
Tornado -- (Cylinder Area Damaging Move Object 12)

Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 9, Fortitude 5, Toughness 15/10/7/2, Will 9

Totals:
Abilities 46 + Powers 81 + Advantages 13 + Skills 32 + Defenses 18 = 190 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Public Identity. Temptation of Power.

 

[Davies]

Sun Wukong

He's never claimed to be the original Monkey King who accompanied Xuanzang on their Journey to the West, more than a thousand years ago. On the other hand, he's never claimed not to be the original Monkey King and so on and so forth. When he told the story of his origins to his closest current human friend, the wealthy and brilliant Zhang Xingxing, she noted that he'd left one crucial detail out of his account. He praised her perspicacity and smiled broadly, never addressing that point. By then, she'd gotten used to this sort of thing, somewhat to her dismay.

According to Wukong, in one particular heavily forested valley of the Himalayas, there still lives a community of the vanara people, ape-like humanoids who have sometimes been mistaken for the yeti of Tibetan folklore. Their histories and accounts of their origins are somewhat vague and confused, but they believe that they were somewhat more widespread in ages long past, featuring in the stories that became the Ramayama, and even travelling further west, possibly as far as Africa. Their legends claim that they are the children of gods, but these gods are not terribly important to their current view of the world, which is largely informed by Buddhist teachings.

In any event, periodically they hold a competition to determine if any of their young are capable enough to go out into the cruel, unwelcoming world beyond their forest, as the Monkey King once did. In the aftermath of the most recent such tournament, the current individual who proclaims himself the Great Sage Equal of Heaven set forth to see what could be seen, to learn and perhaps to teach. He wandered eastward into China, seeing much that did not please him, and some things that did. Eventually, he chanced to meet Xingxing, who has told him of a great martial arts tournament to be held next year, in which he has decided to involve himself.

If he is the original Sun Wukong, and he doesn't address the question except in vague and confusing ways, then his abilities have been greatly exaggerated. He is not a genuine shape-changer, but has mastered the art of projecting hypnotic suggestions into the minds of those around him that causes them to think he has changed his shape, along with other illusions. He can also project his will as physical force that is even greater than his already remarkable strength, and gaze into the hearts and minds of others. As a master of illusions, he cannot be deceived by them himself. His famous staff can extend itself quite some distance, but definitely not as far as the stories would claim. And above all else, he is as tough as the stone from which he was supposedly born.

Oh, and the crucial detail? He has never claimed to have actually won that tournament in his homeland. Then again, he has never claimed not to have won it, either.

Sun Wukong -- PL 11

Abilities:
STR 8 | STA 10 | AGL 6 | DEX 4 | FGT 9 | INT 1 | AWE 3 | PRE 3

Powers:
Cloud Surfing: Flight 6 (120 MPH), Platform - 6 points
Compliant Gold-Hooped Rod: Strength-based Damage 2, Accurate, Reach 3, Split Attack; Easily Removable (-3 points) - 4 points
Contemplative Gifts: Array (33 points)

• Deeper Truths: Illusion 11 (auditory, olfactory, visual), Phantasms - 33 points
• Know The Hearts of Others: Cumulative Mind Reading 11 - 1 point
• Strength of Will: Perception Range Move Object 11 - 1 point
• Transformations: Morph 4, Resistable (Will), Improved Resistance 7 - 1 point

Superhuman Durability: Immunity 3 (aging, disease, poison); Protection 3, Impervious Toughness 13; Regeneration 10 - 29 points
True Sight: Senses 7 (visual senses counters all concealment and illusion) - 7 points

Advantages:
Agile Feint, All-out Attack, Benefit (Cipher), Close Attack, Fearless, Improved Critical (staff), Improved Initiative, Languages 4, Power Attack, Takedown.

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+9), Athletics 3 (+11), Expertise: Streetwise 6 (+7), Expertise: Theology 6 (+7), Insight 7 (+10), Intimidation 5 (+8), Perception 6 (+9), Persuasion 4 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +10
Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 8)
Staff +12 (Close Damage 10)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 9, Fortitude 11, Toughness 13, Will 11

Totals:
Abilities 88 + Powers 82 + Advantages 13 + Skills 20 + Defenses 11 = 214 points

Complications:
Faith--Motivation. Friend (Zhang Xingxing.) Impulsive. Inhuman Appearance. Reputation (fake mythic hero).

 

[Davies]

Zhang Xingxing

Argus is officially not welcome in the People's Republic of China. Official disapproval, of course, is not viewed as a particular barrier by Argus' board of directors or those individuals in China who want to employ the organization's services. They operate under a variety of front organizations, some of which the Ministries correctly suspect as being fronts, some of which they don't know about. These operations typically last only a few years before they have to be rolled up, fairly quickly. One that has lasted a surprisingly long time is the Bèimó Corporation, run by Zhang Xingxing.

Zhang's father recognized that she was a Hyperbrain when she was about two years old -- that was twenty years ago, incidentally -- and spent a day or so contemplating the future his youngest daughter would face when she was inducted into China's thinktanks, which have endured much longer than those in the West. That future was a sad one, but he knew that she would be trained to use her talents for the service of her nation, and took consolation from that. And then he saw that she was studying his company's spreadsheets and making adjustments to improve them, and decided that his nation could get stuffed.

Zhang has been carefully taught to present the appearance of a giggly, boy-crazy airhead used as an attractive 'face' for her company by a group of evil old men who actually don't take a breath without consulting her. The 'boy crazy' part has not taken much effort, as she does in fact have a healthy desire for romance. But she's sure that will come after she makes her first billion or so, and confines herself to flirting without ever taking anything further. Anything she does for Argus is done entirely in her own interests. That's why she's associated herself with Sun Wukong, or whoever he really is, with the intention of using him as the keystone of a strategy to take down Thunder Dragon, for which she expects to be given a seat at the big table. That's all that she cares about.

Except that's not really true. Spending time with Wukong, seeing the joyous way that the crazy hairy man lives his life, has opened her eyes to the fact that her own life is kind of sad and shabby by comparison. Sure, she gets excited when she makes a score, but it never lasts very long, and then she's back to living in constant apprehension about the next one. She's still not sure about any of this, and keeps telling herself that the reason he's so happy is that he is so very very dumb, but she can't shake the feeling that his genuine friendship might be worth -- well, let's not get crazy, only as much as all her money.

And regardless, she still intends to send him into a fight that she thinks he probably can't win, but he's so darn enthusiastic about it that she's starting to hope that she's wrong about that.

Zhang Xingxing -- PL 6

Abilities:
STR -1 | STA 0 | AGL 1 | DEX 3 | FGT 3 | INT 8 | AWE 4 | PRE 2

Advantages:
Attractive, Beginner's Luck, Benefit 4 (multi-millionaire), Connections, Contacts, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 6, Evasion, Grabbing Finesse, Improved Defense, Inventor, Languages 2 (English, Mandarin, others, [Cantonese is native]), Ranged Attack 3, Redirect, Taunt.

Skills:
Deception 7 (+9), Expertise: Business 3 (+11), Expertise: Science 3 (+11), Insight 4 (+8), Investigation 1 (+9), Persuasion 7 (+9), Stealth 6 (+7), Technology 2 (+10), Vehicles 5 (+8).

Offense:
Initiative +1
Unarmed +3 (Close Damage -1)

Defense:
Dodge 4, Parry 4, Fortitude 3, Toughness 5/0, Will 7.

Totals:
Abilities 40 + Advantages 27 + Skills 19 + Defenses 10 = 96 points

Complications:
Ambition--Motivation. Growing a Conscience. Secret (Argus agent).

 

[Davies]

Megan Excalibur

Every nation answers the challenge to its authority that the mystical poses in its own particular way. Many nations, including the United States, make a concerted effort to ignore it when possible and treat it as just another set of superpowers when not. Others typically seek out those who have ties to the mystical but remain sane enough -- and human enough -- that they can be guard dogs rather than wolves prowling the borderlands between the known and the unknown. This is the path that Japan has chosen, at least for now.

Why it is that so many of the mystical phenomena that transpire within the shadows of Japan's cities turn horrific so easily remains an unanswered question. There are those who insist that it is because of the island's frequent victimization by kaiju in the previous decades, which have left lingering scars on the nation's collective unconsciousness. Some place the blame on earlier scars that resulted from the nation's rapid modernization. And then there's the possibility that this isn't just the way that it is, but that someone is making things turn this way.

Regardless, the current set of wolves-turned-guard-dogs are a small group of agents, informally dubbed the Ghost Sweepers, who exhibit powers that -- they believe -- derive from their possession by spiritual entities associated with heroic or monstrous figures from Japan's history and folklore. The leader of these agents, or at least their commander in the field, is a young woman who uses the name Megan Excalibur, a somewhat eccentric individual for a government employee. She dresses casually, dyes her fair hair a pink color, and speaks in a slangy, English-influenced dialect that even her teammates have trouble understanding at times. However, no one questions that she has authentic powers that allow her to apparently create weapons from thin air and wield them with uncanny skill, allegedly due to her relationship with the ghost of the 16th century swordsmith Senjo Muramasa.

Much of Megan's behavior is a deliberate act, a pretense of taking nothing seriously. She was born in 1997 under the name Sakura Megumi, and is the biracial daughter of English businessman (and convicted criminal) Guy Gisborne and his Japanese mistress. She was initially educated in the United Kingdom, and speaks fluent English, but was sent to Japan for high school when her father's struggle against the Ultra Girls began to heat up. This ultimately resulted in him going to prison, where he is likely to remain for the rest of his life. Megan takes that very seriously, and wants to someday thank the people who put him there. More than anyone else in the world, she knows exactly what sort of person her father is, and how much he belongs in jail.

In the meanwhile, she hunts ghosts, demons, fairies, all sorts of things that people call into being because they can't accept that they are the authors of their own fate. She believes that 'Muramasa' is just a part of her own personality, but still speaks to 'him' in a courteous and formal manner, and uses the weapons that 'he' fashions for her in a dignified and respectful manner. Failing to do this will rob her of their use until she atones, which is a hassle she really doesn't need. She prefers to disrupt the activities of hostile entities in a way that leaves their host unharmed, even though it would be easier to end these phenomena by ending the host. So far, that hasn't ever had to happen. But how long can that last?

During the course of her activities, Megan has crossed paths with Argus agent Miho Tamura. They don't get along, as much because of their clashing attitudes as the rivalry between her government-sponsored organization and Argus' privately run operation. While they can and have worked together, it's never a comfortable partnership. She has also encountered Darkwing on one of his operations in Japan, and found him to be a much easier ally to work with. Aside from that, she mostly associates with her teammates and their circle of contacts, and hasn't left Japan in the last six years.

Megan Excalibur -- PL 8

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

Powers:
Weapon Mastery: Enhanced Advantage 3 (Improved Critical 3), Variable (weapons) - 4 points
Weapon Summoning: Variable 2 (weapons), Free Action - 18 points

Typical Settings:
Blaster of Blasting: Ranged Damage 5, Accurate, Affects Insubstantial 2; Easily Removable (-5 points) - 8 points
Dual-Wielded Blades: Strength-based Damage 3, Split Attack, Affects Insubstantial 2; Easily Removable (-2 points) - 4 points
Shield of Defense: Enhanced Defenses (Dodge 3, Parry 3); Strength-based Damage 2, Affects Insubstantial 2; Easily Removable (-4 points) - 6 points
Sword of Promised Victory: Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical, Affects Insubstantial 2; Easily Removable (-2 points) - 4 points

Advantages:
Assessment, Attractive, Benefit (Ambidexterity), Close Attack 3, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Improved Critical 3 (variable), Improved Initiative, Language (English, [Japanese is native]), Power Attack, Takedown, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+7), Athletics 4 (+6), Close Combat: Sword 2 (+8), Expertise: History 6 (+7), Expertise: Streetwise 6 (+7), Insight 6 (+8), Intimidation 6 (+9), Investigation 6 (+7), Persuasion 6 (+9), Ranged Combat: Blaster 4 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 2)
Dual-Wielded Blades +11 (Close Damage 5, Crit 17-20)
Sword of Promised Victory +11 (Close Damage 5, Crit 16-20)
Blaster of Blasting +9 (Ranged Damage 5, Crit 16-20)
Shield of Defense +9 (Close Damage 5, Crit 17-20)

Defense:
Dodge 10/7, Parry 12/9, Fortitude 5, Toughness 4/2, Will 9.

Totals:
Abilities 44 + Powers 22 + Advantages 15 + Skills 25 + Defenses 17 = 123 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Power Loss (all, if she offends "Muramasa".) Prejudice (biracial, both in Japan and the UK.) Secret (government agent).

 

[Davies]

Diorite

The American war in Vietnam, and its horrific finale, did a great deal to provoke anti-American sentiment in Japan. Many of the most militant members of this movement ended up joining the Pythonian Insurgency, but not all of them did. One particular group of these individuals held back and watched the gradual dissolution and ultimate destruction of the Pythons with the same jaded disgust as they'd watched Mishima's stunt two decades earlier. There had to be some way to make Japan great again, but nothing that had been tried so far was working. What to do?

And then, in 1995, they were contacted by a member of a different radical group who'd stayed out of the Pythonian grasp, perhaps the last surviving member of the Stardust Crusaders. Specifically, this individual had been in charge of the Crusaders' method of communicating with their master, and had spent the last two decades trying to figure out how to restore communications. He had a plan but not the wherewithal to implement it; the Japanese radicals had the wherewithal but no plan. Clearly, they should join forces.

They disagreed, and tortured the specifics of the plan out of him before killing him. The ritual, for there couldn't be any question that this is what it was, required some unusual components that would take a while to manufacture. So one of them adopted a child from the cadet branch of their family as his daughter and raised her isolated from the world except for one close companion. Fourteen years went by; the girl was separated from her companion, fed an unusual tasting meal, and then brought to the basement of their home where it was revealed to her whom she had just eaten. Over the sound of her screams, a chant began, and the door appeared before them. The girl's father opened it and then threw his daughter through it before closing it again.

A moment or so later, there came a knock from the other side of the door. They opened it, and a woman -- much older than the girl who had been sent through, yet still clearly her -- stepped through. Before they could say anything, she asked a simple question. "Whom did you seek to contact through your ritual?"

And her father answered, "Someone to destroy those who oppose us."

She nodded. "I am she." And with one more word, she caused his brain to melt out through his eyes, ears and nose. The others died in much the same way soon afterwards.

She took the name Diorite, the name of a rare mineral found in Japan, and then set about bringing about the destruction of the enemies of her summoners, which she casually defined as the entire human populace of Earth. She is in no hurry to bring this about, having all the time in the world at her disposal, and so has chosen to take the slow route of destroying this one specific nation through twisting its mystical phenomena to bring about horrific outcomes. Diorite intends to spread chaos, madness and death across Japan, and then move on from there to the rest of the world.

It should be understood that she doesn't hate humanity. She just believes that the species has demonstrated its unfitness to survive, and is seeking to euthanize it in what she considers a relatively humane manner. Diorite understands that she will be opposed, and has treated those who have opposed her with politeness and courtesy while nonetheless destroying them. There is no more point in becoming angry than there is in anything else. If they can stop her, then they demonstrate their continued worthiness to survive, until the next time the door to Daath is thrown open, which it surely will be.

It might be possible to convince her to abandon her goals; if she were to be made to realize that humanity exists on countless other worlds than this, then she could conclude that ending humanity on this one planet is ultimately irrelevant. If that happens, she will return to Daath and admit her defeat to Ananke, facing the consequences of that failure. What those will be, she cannot imagine. Perhaps a different assignment will be given her. Or she might be destroyed. It doesn't really matter.

In combat, Diorite will usually spend a few rounds simply defending herself rather than counterattacking, to establish that she cannot be harmed by those who oppose her. Thereafter she will utter such words of power as seem appropriate, reserving her Word of Death for the end of any conflict, or for someone who poses a genuinely serious threat. She has worked patiently to ensure that no one can take advantage of her greatest weakness, but it is still possible to discover the name she bore before she was sacrificed, and then use it to bring about her end.

Diorite -- PL 14

Abilities:
STR 7 | STA 8 | AGL 4 | DEX 2 | FGT 6 | INT 7 | AWE 8 | PRE 6

Powers:
Beyond Mortality: Immortality 5 (1 day); Immunity 30 (Fortitude); Protection 8, Impervious 14; Regeneration 5 - 67 points
Seven Words of Power: Array (42 points)

• Word of Banishment: Perception Range Movement 1 Attack (dimensional travel to prison dimension), Resisted by Will, Increased Resistance 13, Reversible - 1 point
• Word of Death: Perception Range Damage 14, Resisted by Will, Hearing-Dependent - 42 points
• Word of Motion: Accurate Easy Extended Teleport 10, Extended Only - 1 point
• Word of Pain: Perception Range Cumulative Affliction 14 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Hearing-Dependent - 1 point
• Word of Rule: Perception Range Cumulative Affliction 14 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Compelled, Controlled), Hearing-Dependent - 1 point
• Word of Sight: Remove Sensing 14 (visual), No Conduit - 1 point
• Word of Terror: Perception Range Affliction 14 (Resisted by Will; Impaired and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Disabled, Incapacitated and Paralyzed), Extra Condition, Hearing-Dependent - 1 point

Advantages:
Daze (Intimidation), Fascinate (Intimidation), Fearless 2, Improved Defense, Startle.

Skills:
Deception 8 (+14), Expertise: Magic 6 (+12), Insight 7 (+15), Intimidation 10 (+16), Perception 5 (+13), Stealth 8 (+12).

Offense:
Initiative +4
Unarmed +6 (Close Damage 7)
Word of Banishment -- (Perception Range Will 14)
Word of Death -- (Perception Range Damage 14, Resisted by Will)
Word of Pain, Rule or Terror -- (Perception Range Will 14)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 16, Will 12

Totals:
Abilities 96 + Powers 109 + Advantages 6 + Skills 22 + Defenses 10 = 243 points

Complications:
Nihilism--Motivation. Power Loss (Immortality, when killed by one who knows her true name and speaks it.)

 

[Davies]

Bobby Garfield

Roberto 'Bobby' Garfield was born in Vancouver, but largely raised in New Zealand with his mother's Samoan family. After a brief stint in New Zealand's professional wrestling organization, he found a place in the ranks of Adventures Unlimited, a pan-Pacific private military company that provided muscle for various archaeological, exploration and reconnaissance efforts. (Based in Hawaii, it was founded by a former JSOT operator who'd decided that Argus was too stuffy for his tastes.) In 1999, he and several other employees of the organization were hired to accompany Professor Raymond Fenner on his mission to Dread Island.

By any reasonable standard, this mission was a complete debacle. Three of the company lost their lives, and the four survivors were mutated, with Bobby being one of the latter. He fell into a pool of unidentified and electrified chemicals, and emerged with the ability to fly at fantastic speeds. All of that was bad enough, but it turned out that Fenner was planning on using a mind control device on some of the sub-kaiju creatures of the Island and turning them into an army to conquer Australia, and on top of that had no intention of paying his hired hands. So they stopped him on Dread Island and pursued him back to Australia, where their heroics attracted a fair amount of media attention.

The Australian government had been paying attention to recent world events, and recognized that superheroes were starting to make a comeback. One of their more foresighted ministers wanted to get ahead of the curve on this issue, and offered the four mutants support if they agreed to join forces as Australia's official super-team. In Bobby's version of events, he persuaded the other three that they had a responsibility to use their newfound powers for the benefit of the world, and so led them to form the Discovery Company. (There are three other versions of this series of events.)

In Bobby's view, the last twenty years have been pretty great. They've been doing the job that they set out to do, and are a respected and admired super-team. Sure, they've been through some rough patches, and Bobby's heart aches a bit when he thinks of all the crap Max, in particular, has suffered for the team, but the notion that any of this should make them call it quits is utterly alien to him. He wants to help people, and the Discovery Company helps him to help people, so why would he ever want to stop?

However, something that he's aware of but doesn't really want to admit to himself is that the members of the company are essentially big fish in a fairly small pond, and that there are much larger fish and ponds elsewhere. In Australia, they're some of the most powerful heroes around, but that doesn't mean much on the global scale that their friends in the Powerhouse operate on. If, as Brad has sometimes suggested, they were to combine with the Powerhouse, they'd be second-stringers at best. That's not something that Bobby really wants.

One common misconception about Bobby is that he has super-strength in addition to his super-speed. He is much stronger than a normal human being, but he's still within human limits, and his might is entirely the product of a fanatical dedication to physical fitness, which he encourages in his fellows. Just how well he'll be able to keep up this regimen, as he grows older, is another thing that he tries not to think about.

Bobby Garfield -- PL 9

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

Powers:
Hyper-Speed: Concealment 4 (visual), Limited to While Moving; Enhanced Advantages 5 (Defensive Roll 2, Improved Initiative 3); Enhanced Defenses 12 (Dodge 6, Parry 6); Flight 10 (2,000 MPH), Aquatic; Quickness 6 - 48 points
Speedster Tricks: Array (18 points)

• Cyclonic Press: Burst Area Move Object 9, Concentration - 18 points
• Rapid Attack: Selective Burst Area on Strength Damage - 1 points
• Sonic Boom: Burst Area Affliction 9 (Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated) - 1 point

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Fearless 2, Improved Initiative 3, Instant Up, Move-by Action, Takedown, Teamwork.

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8), Athletics 6 (+10), Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+8), Insight 5 (+7), Perception 4 (+6), Persuasion 7 (+10), Vehicles 6 (+9).

Offense:
Initiative +16
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 4)
Rapid Attack -- (Selective Burst Area Damage 4)
Sonic Boom -- (Bust Area Damage 9)

Defense:
Dodge 11/5, Parry 11/5, Fortitude 7, Toughness 7/2, Will 6

Totals:
Abilities 46 + Powers 68 + Advantages 8 + Skills 15 + Defense 11 = 148 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Fame. Slightly Oblivious.

 

[Davies]

Jeanie Rayne

Born in Hawaii in 1974 and raised partly there and partly in California, Jean 'Jeanie' Rayne first got involved in heroics when she was a freshman at UCLA, when she stumbled onto a small-time Pythonian operation on campus and promptly contacted JSOT. After she graduated with honors in 1996, she was promptly headhunted for Argus, and took to the training rather well. Her first major assignment, a couple of years later, was to undercover in the competing Adventures Unlimited organization and keep an eye on its activities. She never found any evidence that they were up to anything criminal, but was still on the job a year later when she was tapped for the Dread Island expedition.

Exposed to the "photonic breath" of the kaiju known as Opticullus, Jeanie found herself mutated into a flying energy projector, and worked with her surviving teammates to thwart Professor Fenner's ambitions. She thus found herself on the ground floor of a new team of superheroes, an ideal position for an Argus agent. She was somewhat surprised by the orders she got from headquarters, but immediately obeyed them, and explained to her new teammates that she had been planted inside Adventures Unlimited by Argus, but had been cut loose after her mutation. This neatly sidestepped any possibility that they might find out about her past association with Argus, and would allow her to present her intelligence from the organization as "tips from old friends".

It's really been a while since Jeanie thought of herself as an agent, though. She's been a fairly straightforward superhero for more than twenty years now, and while she still gets the occasional briefing and passes monthly updates back, she's also fairly sure that the agency has other operatives in place to monitor the group. The directors probably wouldn't mind if she just resigned, at this point, and that might help her to deal with the periodic twinges of conscience that she feels about lying to her friends.

At the moment, she's vacillating between Brad's notion that they should contact the Powerhouse and apply for membership en masse, and Bobby's insistence that they keep right on trucking as they have been. Both ideas have their upsides and downsides, she thinks, and she also wonders if maybe the Discovery Company has outlived its usefulness. It's been an awful long time since they did any 'discovering', after all. Maybe a better course of action than either of those options might be to dissolve the Company while renegotiating their contract with the Australian government so that those who want to stay in Australia can keep on as government-sponsored heroes can, and those who don't can move on.

But she's not sure herself what she wants to do, and suspects that if she did become a member of the Powerhouse, she'd be under much more scrutiny by Argus. That's not something she really wants, but it might happen regardless.

Jeanie's greatest weakness arises from her nature as a solar energy absorber -- she becomes progressively weaker when her energy output exceeds her energy input, though even the relatively limited energy from the moon and stars will let her remain active during the night, outside of new moon and heavily overcast nights. Underground and undersea, she quickly burns through her stored up energy, and will try to get out of such situations as quickly as possible.

Jeanie Rayne -- PL 9

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

Powers:
Light Control: Array (18 points)

• Laser Barrage: Ranged Multiattack Damage 6 - 1 point
• Laser Blast: Ranged Damage 9 - 18 points
• Laser Flare: Cumulative Visual Perception Area Affliction 9 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Fortitude; Visually Impaired, Visually Disabled, Visually Unaware), Limited to One Sense - 1 point
• Light & Heat: Selective Environment 3 (daylight, extreme heat) - 1 point
• Light Speed: Enhanced Flight 9 (125,000 MPH), Aquatic, Quirk (only in Photonic Form) - 1 point

Photonic Form: Enhanced Defenses 10 (Dodge 5, Parry 5); Flight 7 (250 MPH); Sustained Immunity 10 (life support); Sustained Impervious Protection 5 - 44 points
Photonic Resistance: Immunity 5 (light damage) - 5 points

Advantages:
Assessment, Fearless 2, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3, Teamwork.

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8), Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+7) Deception 7 (+9), Insight 4 (+6), Investigation 5 (+5), Perception 4 (+6), Ranged Combat: Light Control 2 (+5), Stealth 4 (+8), Technology 4 (+4), Vehicles 4 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 1)
Laser Barrage +8 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 6)
Laser Blast +8 (Ranged Damage 9)
Laser Flare -- (Visual Perception Area Affliction 9, Resisted by Dodge)

Defense:
Dodge 11/6, Parry 9/4, Fortitude 5, Toughness 7/2, Will 6.

Totals:
Abilities 34 + Powers 75 + Advantages 9 + Skills 21 + Defenses 10 = 147 points

Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Fame. Secret (not-so-former Argus agent.) Weakness (darkness, becomes progressively Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated.)

 

[Davies]

Brad Payne

Brad Payne, one of the two actually Australian members of the Discovery Company, tells a story of trying to enlist in the Australian Defense Force after he got out of high school, but being turned down due to what he terms politics. Frustrated, he managed to make his way to Hawaii in order to sign up with Adventures Unlimited just a few days before he got tapped for the Dread Island expedition. The rest is history, of course ... and what precedes it are lies. He's not a particularly good liar, but he's never given anyone a reason to go looking for the truth.

Biron Panagakos, to use the name he was given at birth, never finished high school, much less tried to enlist in the ADF. By the time he was 16, he was thoroughly enmeshed in the coils of a group of latter-day bushrangers, who supposedly claimed descent from the legendary Kelly gang but were probably just a bunch of ex-Pythons. From this dubious source, "Brad" learned everything he knew about fighting and surviving in the wild, both skills that he would come to rely on heavily after the group was finally broken up in early 1999. He escaped capture, and managed to make his way to Hawaii ... well, the rest of it is more or less true. He viewed Adventures Unlimited as a sort of French Foreign Legion where he could escape from his past.

Whatever sins he might have committed as a bushranger, though, all karma was surely repaid when he ended up being first paralyzed and then swallowed alive by the horrific kaiju known as the Boalisk. He survived, thanks to a secret that he himself did not know -- he was a distant cousin of Steve Panagakos, the member of the Primal Pattern known as Antaeus, and the experience of being exposed to the Boalisk's stomach acids activated his own power to become solid stone. He was still somewhat traumatized by the way that his super-strength didn't allow him to tear his way out of the monster, but instead had to ... well, pass.

Despite this somewhat unauspicious start, Brad was an enthusiastic proponent of the formation of the formation of the Discovery Company, and an enthusiastic participant in their exploits. He's an enthusiastic fellow, though some have noted that his enthusiasm tends to burn itself out fairly quickly, leading him to move on to something else. So it was that he was also an enthusiastic voice in support of the proposal that the Powerhouse made to the Discovery Company, that they should all join not long after the other group was formed. The rest of the team voted against it, though, and he got used to the idea.

More recently, however, he's come back to that old idea, noting the way that Max's heart clearly isn't in it anymore, and arguing that they should check to see if the Powerhouse is still interested in having them as members. He'll never admit it, but he's a bit afraid that his own abilities aren't really anything special in comparison to the members of the Powerhouse, and worries that putting it off as long as they have was a big mistake. As for their contract with the government, well, the pols have tried to amend it so many times that they probably won't really care if it dissolves completely. Heck with 'em!

Honestly, it's a surprise to him that he's stuck around as long as he has.

Brad Payne -- PL 9

Abilities:
STR 10/4 | STA 12/4 | AGL 1 | DEX 2 | FGT 6 | INT 0 | AWE 1 | PRE 2

Powers:
Jet Pack: Flight 7 (250 MPH); Removable (-3 points) - 11 points
Solid Form: Enhanced Stamina 8; Enhanced Strength 6; Enhanced Strength 3, Limited to Lifting; Immunity 10 (life support); Impervious Toughness 8; Activation, Move Action (-1 point) - 48 points
Sleeper Hold: Progressive Affliction 8 (Resisted and Overcome by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Grab-based - 16 points

Advantages:
Close Attack 2, Defensive Attack, Fearless 2, Interpose, Ranged Attack 2, Takedown, Teamwork

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+13/+7), Expertise: Survival 6 (+6), Intimidation 5 (+7), Perception 5 (+6), Stealth 5 (+6).

Offense:
Initiative +5
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 10)
Sleeper Hold +8 (Grapple DC 20, Fortitude 8)

Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 6, Fortitude 14/6, Toughness 12/4, Will 6

Totals:
Abilities 40 + Powers 75 + Advantages 10 + Skills 12 + Defenses 12 = 149 points

Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Accident (damage to surroundings). Dark Secrets. Fame.