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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8474723" data-attributes="member: 30538">Deucalion<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-N869QML/0/20c014a7/S/415840-Quantum-S.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Like many senior members of the ancient families in the late 1950s, Barbara* Mason found himself somewhat concerned about the increasing prevalence of empowered individuals outside the families. While there had always been individuals like this, often unrecognized by-blows but also just the product of the winds of fortune, they had never been quite so numerous as they had become. The old-fashioned ways of dealing with them, either by bringing them into the families and indoctrinating them with the importance of secrecy or by assassinating them before they gained too much public attention, were not going to work in this new age. But no one could agree what should take their place.For his part, Mason found the attitudes of most of his fellows to be pusillanimous in the extreme. While concerned about the possibility of exposure, he was not at all intimidated by the superpowered set, in large part because he was one of the most powerful members of his family in generations. What he felt, more than anything else, as he considered the superheroes and -villains, was a sense of envy at the way that they were able to demonstrate to the world what they could do. It vexed him that this should be so, and yet he continued to heed the traditions.That was, until 1964, when his valet -- a distant cousin who'd never demonstrated any powers -- came up with an ingenious plan. What if Mason were to disguise himself, using dye to turn his black hair and beard white, making him look much older than his forty-seven years, and pose as one of the wild talents? In so doing, he'd be able to exercise his talents and possibly bring down some of the threats to the families' security. Enchanted with this idea, Mason worked with his cousin to create the identity of Deucalion, named after the survivor of one of the survivors of the Deluge in Greek mythology.Thus disguised, Deucalion attacked a construction site in New York City -- owned, though various proxies, by himself -- and drew out Captain Mystic, whom he proceeded to fight as a peer. It was the most exhilarating experience of his life to that point, even if he was unable to bring the confrontation to the swift conclusion that he'd imagined. But then, just as he had finally managed to gain his opponent's measure, an explosion ripped through the site, trapping both combatants beneath tons of rubble!Forced to work together to escape, Deucalion came up with a nonsensical story about his family being descended from extraterrestrials who'd arrived in the Americas around the same time as the pilgrims. If Captain Mystic recognized this tale for the absurdity that it was, he chose to focus on the more immediate issues confronting the two men. After they reached the surface, Deucalion prepared to resume the fight, but the Captain pointed out that whoever had set off the bomb had clearly intended for both of them to die. Conceding the point, Deucalion continued to work with him to investigate, and discovered that, prior to his arrival, a man whom he recognized as his valet had visited the site.Hurrying home (and barely even recognizing that Captain Mystic was pursuing him) Deucalion discovered that his valet had taken his wife and two children captive and was planning to extort a fortune from their cousins for their safe release. Their arrival put paid to that plan, and the traitor chose suicide rather than face whatever punishment Mason could come up with. In the aftermath, Mason pledged that he was done with such schemes, mostly to persuade Captain Mystic to chalk this up as a terrible misunderstanding and forget about it. It worked.Despite ample temptation, Barbara Mason never again assumed the Deucalion identity, and relocated his entire family away from New York to Portland in order to minimize the possibility that they might ever be suspected of involvement in such activities. He lived long enough to see the birth of three of his five grandchildren, passing away quite peacefully in 1986.Deukalion -- PL 10Abilities:STR 10/1 | STA 3 | AGL 4 | DEX 4 | FGT 4 | INT 1 | AWE 5 | PRE 7Powers:Energy Absorption: Immunity 20 (energy damage), Limited to half effect - 10 pointsEnergy Field: Flight 7 (250 MPH); Sustained Impervious Protection 9 - 32 pointsEnergy Projection: Array (24 points)<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Explosive Pulse: Ranged Burst Area Damage 8 - 24 points</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Pulse Beam: Ranged Damage 12 - 1 point</li> </ul>Metavision: Senses 5 (ranged acute detect energy, darkvision) - 5 pointsStrength Amplification: Enhanced Strength 9, Fades - 9 pointsAdvantages:All-out Attack, Benefit 4 (multimillionaire), Connections, Defensive Attack, Move-by Action, Power AttackSkills:Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+6), Expertise: Business 7 (+8), Expertise: Current Events 6 (+7), Expertise: History 6 (+7), Insight 4 (+9), Intimidation 2 (+9), Perception 5 (+10), Ranged Combat: Pulse Beam 4 (+8).Offense:Initiative +4Unarmed +6 (Close Damage 10/1)Pulse Beam +8 (Ranged Damage 12)Explosive Pulse -- (Burst Area Damage 8)Defense:Dodge 8, Parry 6, Fortitude 8, Toughness 12/3, Will 10Totals:Abilities 58 + Powers 81 + Advantages 9 + Skills 18 + Defenses 15 = 181 pointsOffensive PL: 10Defensive PL: 10Resistance PL: 9Skill PL: 5Complications:Envy--Motivation. Family. Secret Identity. Temper.* Yes, this is also a name for men, though not much used as such these days.</blockquote>

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