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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8122133" data-attributes="member: 30538">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<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-jW6V3hd/0/79a2f00e/S/sample-a082cd39e17b2d87ef354d51706114ff-S.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />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 11Abilities:STR 7 | STA 6 | AGL 4 | DEX 1 | FGT 11 | INT 3 | AWE 3 | PRE 1Powers:Loping Movement: Enhanced Advantages 5 (Defensive Roll, Evasion, Improved Initiative 2, Uncanny Dodge); Leaping 2 (30 feet); Speed 3 (16 MPH) - 10 pointsSemblances: Array (5 points)<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Homid: Morph 1 (completely human form) - 5 points</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Lupus: Morph 1 (wolf form) - 1 point</li> </ul>Song of the Wolf Pack: Auditory Perception Area Affliction 10 (Resisted by Will; Dazed and Impaired, Disabled and Stunned), Extra Condition, Limited Degree - 20 pointsThick-Skinned: Protection 3, Impervious 9 - 12 pointsWolf Senses: Senses 5 (danger sense, low-light vision, acute tracking olfactory, ultrahearing) - 5 pointsAdvantages: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 +16Unarmed +13 (Close Damage 7)Song of the Wolf Pack -- (Perception Area Will 10)Defense:Dodge 11, Parry 11, Fortitude 11, Toughness 11/9, Will 9Totals:Abilities 70 + Powers 53 + Advantages 7 + Skills 22 + Defenses 18 = 170 pointsComplications:Justice--Motivation. Power Loss (Thick Skinned, against silver weaponry.) Reputation (murderous vigilante). Secret Identity, and Other Secrets.Láng Zai - PL 9Abilities:STR 1 | STA 1 | AGL 2 | DEX 2 | FGT 2 | INT 2 | AWE 2 | PRE 2Powers:Beastforms: Variable 9 (shapeshifter), Move Action, Limited to animal shapes - 72 pointsAdvantages:Defensive Roll 2, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Uncanny DodgeSkills:Athletics 5 (+6), Close Combat: Unarmed 6 (+8), Insight 4 (+6), Investigation 4 (+6), Perception 4 (+6), Stealth 5 (+7)Offense:Initiative +6Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 1 or by shapeshifted form)Defense:Dodge 8, Parry 7, Fortitude 6, Toughness 6/1, Will 5Totals:Abilities 28 + Powers 72 + Advantages 5 + Skills 14 + Defenses 19 = 138 pointsComplications:Justice--Motivation. Secret Identity.</blockquote>

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