Name: Nick Ferrin

Codename: Steel

Age: 32

Gender: Male

Place of birth: London, UK

Occupation: Jack of all trades – Nick does what needs to be done. He usually works in the citadel creating metal items, particularly weapons and armour or on the wall, although he likes going out on patrol. This is because he thinks his powers are useful, not out of an adolescent desire to play at being a hero. That’s what he tells himself, anyway.

Race: Human (Meta)

Appearance: Tall (about 6’2”) with a lean, sparse frame. He has pale colouring – dark blond hair worn slightly too long to be tidy, bright blue eyes and (if you look very closely) a few freckles; he’s the sort who’ll burn before tanning. He has rather hard features that may give him something of a forbidding look, but he has a rather appealing lopsided smile when he uses it. He has a surprisingly rich voice, with a distinct British accent. Wears hard wearing, casual clothing (jeans and a plain shirt or T-shirt). Outside, he can transform the metal he wears into a thin bodysuit of armour; it’s light and flexible enough for him to move in but strong enough to deflect most small-arms fire unless they’re from powerful handguns or at point-blank range.

Powers: Metal manipulation (some smartass called it ‘ferrokinesis’ – jerk). Can shape and bend metal (notably steel). When Nick is using his power, the metal flows under his hands like liquid into whatever form he desires. Blades, claws, whips, armour… providing he’s got the raw materials, he can do it. Given time, he can create some fine weapons and armour – his artistic training seems to give him a pretty instinctive ‘feel’ for creating blades that are well-balanced and armour that fits someone well.

He may sometimes use any ‘scrap’ bits of metal to make small toys for kids (although what’s scrap in this environment is debatable).

He needs metal to work on, he can’t just create it out of thin air.

He can only control solid metal – trying to touch molten steel will screw him up as badly as it would anyone else. And yes, touching really cold steel will take his skin off.

Skills: He’s learnt how to use his powers to fight melee style – he can ‘melt’ the metal he wears into spiked gauntlets or blades and use them to poke holes into people or things; he fights with a mix of dirty fighting and basic martial arts. He’s also used to forming crude shields/armour at a second’s notice.

He has an artistic eye for detail and a memory trained to recall things accurately – he can sometimes spot things that look ‘off’ and can produce an accurate drawing of a scene or location hours later.

He has a reputation as a fairly tolerant person, and his laid-back attitude and civilian background means that normal humans may come to him with problems or complaints rather than the more military heroes.

Equipment/Resources: Wears a thick chain around his neck and two wristlets that could double as manacles. They look like silver but are actually highly polished steel. He usually carries a couple of small steel rods in his pockets as well.

Weaknesses: Nick needs be touching metal with his bare skin – ideally his hands – to be able to manipulate it, and apart from some crude work with cold iron, he can’t manipulate anything but steel, so no working with silver or gold.

Aside from his metal manipulation he’s a normal guy, not an action hero – if he gets hit, it’s going to hurt.

Other supers with extreme heat/cold powers could conceivably nullify his powers since steel is a conductor (in low enough temperatures it will shatter like glass). Any magnetic powers will also ruin his day.

Suggested: if he uses his power too long or too frequently in a short time period he can become slightly anaemic (I had an idea that it might leech some of the iron from his bloodstream – feel free to quash this if it’s a bit too stupid an idea).

Psychological Profile: Nick comes across as polite and reserved, which he is to an extent – he’s perfectly polite and friendly, but tends to keep people at arm’s length until he gets to know them. Despite his reserve, he’s very much a team player and will do what’s required of him without any complaints, though if he thinks something is a bad idea he’ll point out his objection and the reasons behind it. But still waters run deep – he does have passions, just doesn’t like sharing them with everyone. Rub him up the wrong way and he will eventually snap; get close to him and he’ll be one of the most loyal friends you could hope to have. He has a very dry, ‘British’ sense of humour.

Biography: Born in one of the suburbs of south London, Nick had a conservative middle-class upbringing with parents who were constantly arguing. They divorced when he was 12, and he was shuttled back and forth between them for the next couple of years until he was 14, when his mother re-married an American and moved to the States. His father, afraid that his sullen teenage son would end up joining a gang and getting into trouble, suggested he take some creative courses and Nick discovered he had a talent for art. He enrolled at the Wimbledon College of Arts when he was old enough and gained a BA in Fine Art. He attracted a reasonable amount of notice as a talented young artist the best part of a decade ago, although 99.9% of people could pass him in the street without knowing who he was, which suited him fine.

Life seemed pretty good until his ability to shape metal suddenly manifest four years ago. He was learning to control it when he received a call that his mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and only had a few months to live. He flew over to the States and managed to re-build some bridges with her in the last days of her life – he was holding her hand when she passed away. Before she died the world had gone crazy; getting back to the UK was pretty much impossible, and with his father no longer alive, there was no one he was desperate to get back to, so why try to leave? His powers were revealed when he was attacked by a thug with a knife – he instinctively shaped the metal casing of his watch into sharp claws and tore through the guy’s throat. He was spotted by one of the other heroes (if anyone wants to volunteer for that, please do) and persuaded to travel west with Pariah and the other heroes where he could learn to use his powers properly and help keep what was left of civilisation alive. Having no other real purpose, he agreed.

Name: Annalise Turner (usually called Anna)

Codename: Flare

Age: 24

Gender: Female

Place of birth: New York

Occupation: usually patrolling or running shotgun for scavenging parties.

Race: Human (Meta)

Appearance:


Powers: Pyrokinesis – she can create (although it takes some effort) and manipulate fire.

Anna finds it hard to create fire – using a lighter to create fire and then manipulate it is much easier. She can shoot fireballs like a fantasy wizard, or surround herself and possibly a small group of others with a wall of flames hot enough to melt metal. She invulnerable to all fire-based attacks – fire just licks harmlessly at her skin (although anything she’s wearing/carrying may be damaged).

Skills: Marksman – thanks to her training in the army Anna is skilled and experienced in using firearms.

Endurance – also a result of her army training, she’s physically fit and has the discipline to go for hours without food or drink and deal with minor injuries – she’s not going to freak out at the sight of her own blood.

Basic first aid – she can treat basic wounds in the field (limited to stopping bleeding by applying pressure and rigging up a crude sling/splint for broken bones).

Equipment/Resources: Wears her old military fatigues (or something similar). She always carries a handgun and a general purpose knife. She always has a couple of cigarette lighters on her. She’s currently experimenting with using a weapon rather like a chain whip coated with a flammable liquid that she can set alight with her powers.

Weaknesses: Anna is both impatient and stubborn – she finds it hard to stand back, preferring to jump into a mess; he stubbornness means that she also may find it hard to admit when she needs help – both habits that could see her getting into some very bad situations.

She finds it hard to summon her fire powers if in a very cold environment.

Has a little sister staying in the citadel with her – anyone messing with her has just pressed Anna’s berserk button.

Using her powers for prolonged periods is exhausting, and Anna had pushed herself dangerously close to the edge of exhaustion before now.

Psychological Profile: Impatient, smart (if not as clever as she thinks she is) and decisive. Anna can take orders if she has to, and will happily defer to a more experienced leader, but is quite a ‘take charge’ kind of person. She sees herself as responsible for the safety of others, particularly normal humans.

Biography: Annalise was born in The Bronx, the second of three children. The head of the family was her mother, a strong woman who tried to ensure her children got a decent education and followed a moral path. Anna’s older brother worked as the overnight clerk in a 24 hour store and was shot during a botched robbery. As a result Anna decided she was going to join the police – maybe then she could prevent other teenage girls being told their brother had been shot dead.

She worked hard, facing racism and sexism as well as jibes about her background, but satisfied the entry requirements. She looked likely to have a promising career in the forces until her powers manifested – at about the same time that the world started to go to hell in a handbasket. Annalise went through various tests and when the government instituted martial law Annalise was drafted into the armed forces – her fire manipulation was thought of as a promising military asset. She was at first somewhat resentful at the conscription, but rather to her own surprise took to the life like a duck to water.

When the world finally collapsed, Annalise went back home to recover her little sister, the last surviving member of her family, and drove west after the others. She was willing to join Cassandra’s band and promised that she’d fight to the death to protect it, so long as they were willing to house her and her little sister. So far, so good.

Name: Jack Wright

Codename: Reaper

Age: 28

Gender: male

Place of Birth: Castile, New York

Occupation: medic (field medic level), and designated scavenger.

Race: Human

Appearance:

Jack is about six foot even, and lean but built. He has rich brown eyes and dirty blonde hair. He's usually considered more handsome than most guys, and he clearly likes being paid attention to for it. He has a perfect cocky yet charming smirk that fits him perfectly.

Powers: supernatural. Jack Wright is a necromancer of sorts. He doesn't raise the dead, but he has a whole slew of magic that draws from death's arts.

Death's Wings: Jack's favorite skill is a short ranged blink teleport. He can use it once every minute, or need be faster at the cost of life aura his or someone else's.

Silent but deadly: His next is invisibility. After a few seconds of concentrating jack vanishes. If he remains still it can last about half an hour to an hour if his concentration is perfect. Moving slow 20 min, Walking normal 10, sprinting 1.

Cold touch of death: Jack has access to the chill of death and can do basic cryokinesis. Little ice shivs, chill people, little things like that.

Reap: Jack's final skill is to drain life. By placing both hands directly on someone and holding them for five minutes he can drain their soul. This energy can do two things either jack heals himself and provides sustenance, or he can trap it in a totem. The trapped souls can be used later to empower his skills, or later healing.

The empowered skills are:

Unlimited blink for one minute for one soul

Double length of invisibility for one soul

Larger ice constructs varies

More control over ice for 5 min for one soul (can propel it through the air, lower temp in a large area, that level)

With more souls he could do astounding things, but he had placed his own moral limits.

Skills: Jack is a medic for the army, so he has all the medical skills needed to treat injuries and some surgeries, but not diseases really. He vaguely remembers things from classes on treating common illnesses, but not many.

Jack is a fully trained Sgt from the military. He is strong, fast, and tactical for it.

Equipment/Resources: Jack is a big fan of old school revolvers and rifles. He carries two Smith and Wesson .45 revolvers and a Mossberg tactical lever action rifle, but has a Winchester on his mantle. This doesn't mean he can't use other guns he just really likes his lever action and revolvers.







Jack wears his military armor, but just normal clothes under them. He has a leather cowboy hat that he does not go out without. He also has a tattered and holey duster that he still wears. Occasionally he wears a pair of goggles for the extra eye protection.

Jack has a couple belt pouches and such with misc supplies. Trail mix, water, stuff like that. Necessities really.

Jack's totem is an small wood carving. He made it himself based on a recurring dream.

Weaknesses: Jack walks a constant moral line knowing he could be super powerful, but at what cost? His reaping of souls makes him feel powerful, and also somewhat like a drug high. He's fought the addiction and won, but he can't let his will lapse.

Jack's moral code let's him only reap those who deserve a fate worse than death. He has on occasions met those people a ripped their souls out leaving the shell to rot.

Jack has death on his side, but he can die like all the rest. His healing factor is strong, but needs a soul to work, and he rarely ever has one to use.

If jack uses his skills too much he begins to tear at his own soul. He has to limit his power use or be ready for the agony of his own soul being torn out.

Jack is human in all other ways.

Psychological Profile:Jack has always been someone torn between lives. A once proud american who saw the nation’s dark underside, and a hero with dark powers. Jack over all is compassionate and a real man of the people. He’s no stranger to manual labor and need be will work all day in the farms right alongside everyone else. Normally he instead is needed for his medical training. Jack has learned a lot about people from medicine and not just physically. He’s learned how to calm down an injured person how to help with the psychological damage that comes with injury. He’s been noted as staying up all night with those who have come down with something that cannot be cured. Most people don’t have a family left, and no one wants to die alone.

This has lead to some questioning Jack. His ability to Reap souls has been known for a while, and that in combination with tending to the dying has some dangerous implications. Jack has never taken the soul of an innocent person even from people who did something against him because they needed to. Only the truly evil deserve that pain.

On the other hand Jack very much lives up to his name. When he finds those who deserve it he is the reaper. Rarely has he come across those that are truly evil those who: know what they do, know it is evil, and want to continue. Those that are driven by these corrupt desires meet the agony of the Reaper.

Jack is always in constant battle with fully indulging in his powers. If he took more souls he knows he could be unstoppable he could cleanse the wasteland. At the same time he knows to do so would prove he was more evil than any soul he ever took.

Biography: Jack was born into a good old fashioned family of farmers. Child six, boy four. He was raised strong from farm work, but he didn't turn out as just a country hick. He went to school and did well gaining an interest in medicine alongside a want to join the military. He wanted to save lives and make those who did wrong pay. He was so sheltered to it all a boy in a red white and blue blindfold.

He pushed through training and was deployed to the real bloody world. Here he was really shaped. Everything went from black and white to gray and red. He learned that everything is relative that his perfect home wasn’t so perfect that our foes were human too, and not always wrong.

six years into his military career Jack was doing well as it turns out honor isn’t entirely lost on the battlefield and his actions and bravery had gotten him promoted up to Sgt. It was also around this time that his powers manifest. Plagued by black dreams Jack found himself connecting to the aura of death: plants sometimes withered under his feet, animals were terrified of him, and other occurrences began. Weeks into this Jack’s dream became more vivid as he was able to make out a recurring totem in them. The powers came under control soon after.

Jack hid his powers not sure whether he was capable of controlling them. He could feel the cold chill of death in them. He knew there was something dark to them, but at the same time he craved that power. This could change the battlefield this could change the world. When other superhumans were confirmed he knew it was time.

There had been a lieutenant on the base who took POWs and then abused them in horrifying ways before executing them. Command had no proof of this, but everyone knew they all had heard it, but no matter what the lieutenant had control and never left any trace. As a lower ranking officer most people who had witness reports were too minor to impact the case either. Jack decided this was where things needed to start. Jack used his powers to follow the lieutenant to the prison and not only get proof in the form of film, but also confront him directly. The two brawled but Jack’s new powers put him on top as he blinked around and chilled the cruel lieutenant. Jack grappled with his foe and began to tear at the blackened soul of the man. He tore the life force right out of him leaving an empty shell to rot. The camera also recorded Jack’s fight and his powers. With no way to edit it Jack decided it was best to submit it all to the brass. With this he was sent to F.O.R.G.E. the new R&D site in Washington.

Jack was still a soldier and held his position but now was subject to tests and exams at least until they realized jack had nothing different physically than a human. He simply had formed an ethereal connection to the energy associated with death. He could channel it, but nothing had actually changed. He was kept in reserve on F.O.R.G.E. until the world started going down. He remained on base part of a back up plan. Jack knew that these wars were going to have hundreds of souls, and likely more than a few hundred corrupted enough Jack would be willing to reap them. Need be he could ascend all his powers to end this war. The chance never came though everything collapsed too fast for a viable plan to be put together. Jack couldn’t do much but defend the base until the end. After it was all over Jack headed south with a band of soldiers for the city of angels. In the end only he and another man, Isaac Hecht, a scientist from the site and now his only friend made it there.

Today Jack does what he can to preserve the lives of the people in the citadel. On one hand he is the caring doctor who even if he can’t save you will stay with you to the end so you won’t be alone. On the other he is the Reaper, a force ready to purge the corruption of this world.

“Death is both mercy and torment. Which can I provide to you?”