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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8186777" data-attributes="member: 30538">Hazard<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-rN2J7Qt/0/c651f97d/S/dolphpunisher-1280-1510868364401-S.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />There was never any question in anyone's mind that Ken Hazzard was going to follow his father into the army. Educated at a top military academy and later among the best of his class at West Point, he was as prepared for the conflict in Vietnam as any American officer could be in 1971. Which, when he arrived in country as a green officer two weeks before Stardust departed for there, turned out not to be nearly enough. Ken's hidden superpower, his ability to sense danger and recognize when psychic powers were in use around him, was turned against him in an environment where powers were in constant use and danger was nearly omnipresent. His mind began to fracture under the strain, though he managed to keep the men under his command alive throughout the Battle.The final blow came afterwards, when the helicopter carrying him, those men and the bizarre superhero named the Iconoclast suffered a major malfunction and crashed into the jungle. In a debriefing many years later, Ken would state that he wasn't sure what had caused the malfunction, but that the Iconoclast had saved his life at the cost of his own. In a more private letter to his younger sister, he explained that at the time, he'd believed that the helicopter had been sabotaged by CIA operatives hostile towards the Iconoclast, based on a comment that the other man made before passing away. However, he admitted that he had been completely paranoid by that point, and had no proof of any of this.Consequently, rather than wait to be rescued, Ken disappeared into the jungle, deserting from the army. He made his way through Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, keeping a low profile but occasionally becoming involved in various low-level conflicts as a hired gun. His psychic powers continued to expand in response to the challenges he was facing, in ways that unfortunately did nothing good for his mental health. Increasingly, he began to see himself as part of a great evil that existed to destroy other evils, a hazard set in the path of the wicked, and demonstrated a cruel, even sadistic sense of humor in his dealings with others.By 1974, he'd departed Malaysia for Hong Kong. It's believed that his change of venue may have been inspired by a confrontation with a certain pair of British-based freelancers, but he's never commented on this episode besides stating that he was lucky to be alive in the aftermath. Regardless, it did not seem to have changed his general attitudes, though his first two years in Hong Kong were fairly quiet ones. During this time, he made the acquaintance of Fa Ni-chen, the younger sister of one of the most likely suspects for the identity of Hong Kong's original Lone Wolf.  They became intimate, and, after Hazard actively began his vigilante career in 1976, she assisted him on several occasions.A little more than a year into these activities, Hazard was contacted by an individual interested in recruiting someone of his talents. She played on his paranoia, suggesting that the operation which had nearly killed him had in fact been directed at him, rather the Iconoclast, and that those responsible enjoyed positions of authority in the contemporary CIA. Her organization was planning to avenge these and many other crimes, and were willing to sponsor his general war on crime in exchange for his help. Seduced by her rhetoric, he agreed to accompany her back to the United States, breaking up with Ni-chen when she argued against this idea. Later, he would learn that Ni-chen had died in childbirth, but was unable to learn anything about the child she'd born, if any.And so Hazard joined the Pythonian Insurgency. To his credit, it didn't take him long to realize that the organization was utterly at odds with whatever remained of his sense of morality. Initially, he attempted to quietly undermine the Insurgency from within while continuing to use its resources for his personal war, but his efforts were repeatedly foiled by other agents, including Pythia herself. He would later come to the conclusion that she knew exactly what he was doing, and subjecting him to the same sadistic behavior that he often inflicted on others.By 1980, he had learned enough of the Insurgency's plans to genuinely frighten him, and determined to make his escape from the organization. He did so in the company of one Cassandra Mack, the younger sister of Natalia Latham (nee Mack), who'd come to share his horror and disgust. They went on the run together, attempting to warn someone, anyone, about what the Insurgency was planning, but found their attempts foiled or ignored. Their own relationship also turned passionate, and a daughter was born to the two of them in 1982. Unable to care for her, the child was left in the care of an associate of theirs in Kansas, before being seized by Child Protective Services at the age of four.Frustrated by all of this, Hazard returned to his old patterns of behavior, directing most of his fury at criminals associated with the Insurgency. However, he had undergone something of a personality shift, and sometimes employed 'mercy bullets' when dealing with individuals whom he either wanted to interrogate or simply did not believe deserved death. (A less charitable interpretation of his decision, that he was more mercifully inclined towards fellow Americans than he was towards Asians, has been proposed.) On several occasions, he worked with operatives of the Joint Special Operations Task Force, including his younger sister Shannon, and employed a mask during such episodes rather than reveal his true identity to her.Cassandra Mack was killed in a shootout with Python terrorists assaulting a nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian SSR in 1986, allegedly in an attempt to gather radioactive materials for a 'dirty bomb'. Left alone once more, Hazard's care regarding his 'secret identity' became somewhat haphazard, resulting in his sister learning of his true identity a year later. After learning of the existence of his and Cassandra's daughter, Shannon arranged for the young girl to be adopted by their parents and raised without the knowledge of her actual background. As far as is known, she still has no idea of her birth parents' identities.While never formally joining JSOT, he participated in many of the major battles of the final years of the Insurgency, though notably not the trip to Mars. (He flunked out of the abbreviated astronaut training that all participants undertook.) He was present at Pythia's death, but has never discussed that episode with anyone. In the aftermath, President Lynch issued him a full pardon for his many crimes, and he quietly departed from JSOT headquarters with the promise that he would visit his elderly parents and new 'younger sister'.That promise was never kept. Hazard's movements between 1993 and 1999, when he resurfaced in New Mexico and joined the same underground fighting league as Fa Xing-La, alias the Concrete Angel, are not known exactly, nor are his motives in taking the Concrete Angel as a student. Less than a year later, he was dead, killed by Butcher Bill, a former Pythonian and long-time enemy. Despite his pardon, he was nevertheless denied burial in Arlington due to his less than honorable discharge from the Army, and instead laid to rest in a plot in Seattle, purchased by his student.Hazard -- PL 11Abilities:STR 2 | STA 4 | AGL 4 | DEX 4 | FGT 6 | INT 2 | AWE 4 | PRE 3Powers:Body Armor: Protection 4, Subtle; Removable (-1 point) - 4 pointsMental Awareness: Senses 5 (acute extended radius mental awareness, danger sense) - 5 pointsPsychic Abilities: Array (12 points) <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Become Invisible: Concealment 8 (all but mental), Resistable (Will DC 18), Affects Others and Self, Affects Others is Tiring - 12 points</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Enhanced Striking: Damage 6, Accurate 2, Affects Insubstantial 2, Subtle - 1 point</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Shattering Glance: Perception Range Damage 4, Resisted by Will, Sensory Dependent (visual) - 1 point</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Shielding: Burst Area Affects Others Impervious Will 6, Limited to Mental Effects - 1 point</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Vitality: Energizing Healing 4 - 1 point</li> </ul>Supermachine Gun: Array (12 points), Easily Removable (-4 points) <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Lethal Rounds: Ranged Multiattack Damage 4 - 12 points</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Non-lethal Rounds: Ranged Affliction 6 (Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated) - 1 point</li> </ul>Telepathic: Selective Area Communication 2; Mind Reading 5 - 24 pointsAdvantages:All-out Attack, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Equipment 6, Evasion 2, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Instant Up, Language 3, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2, Startle, Takedown, Uncanny DodgeEquipment:15 points of equipment as needed.Greenhouse: Size Medium; Toughness 8; Features: Communications, Computer, Concealed, Garage, Gym, Living Space, Power System, Security System - 10 pointsMotorcycle: Size Medium; Strength 1; Speed 6 (ground; 120 mph); Defense 10; Toughness 8 - 10 pointsSkills:Acrobatics 4 (+8), Athletics 5 (+7), Close Combat: Unarmed 6 (+12), Expertise: Military 6 (+8), Expertise: Streetwise 8 (+10), Insight 5 (+9), Intimidation 6 (+9), Perception 7 (+11), Ranged Combat: Guns 5 (+9), Stealth 4 (+8), Vehicles 6 (+8).Offense:Initiative +6Unarmed +12 (Close Damage 2)Enhanced Striking +16 (Close Damage 6)Submachine Gun, Lethal +11 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 4)Submachine Gun, Non-lethal +11 (Ranged Fortitude 6)Shattering Glance -- (Perception Range Damage 5, Resisted by Will)Defense:Dodge 10, Parry 12, Fortitude 6, Toughness 10/8/6/4, Will 12Totals:Abilities 58 + Powers 57 + Advantages 25 + Skills 31 + Defenses 20 = 192 pointsComplications:Justice--Motivation. Hunted by the Authorities. Sadistic Sense of Humor. Uncontrolled Power (Mind Reading).These stats represent Hazard in his prime (1985-1994). At the start of his career (1976-1984), his STA is 3, FGT is 4, AWE is 3, PRE is 2, his Psychic Abilities only include Become Invisible and Enhanced Striking, he doesn't have a Supermachine Gun (replace with a standard Submachine Gun as part of Equipment budget), he doesn't have Defensive Roll, Improved Defense, or Takedown, his Dodge is 10, and Will is 9. At the end of his life, his STR is 1, STA is 3, AGL is 2, DEX is 3, AWE is 6, PRE is 4, and he doesn't wear his Body Armor or use any weapons or Equipment.</blockquote>

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