(Appearance Note: The cybernetics are covered by a synthetic skin most of the time. Which can be removed by water, heat, fire, and also torn off very easily, because it's not part of her and therefore she sucks at making it.)
Personality: Surprisingly easygoing and never quite seeming worried by anything, Robin is very difficult to throw off. There's a certain level of detachment in how little she seems to care, as though she genuinely isn't afraid of anything - a trait which is as admirable as it is a massive problem. Most of her actions are motivated by a borderline obsession with 'upgrading' herself, whether that be robbing a secure shipment for rare parts, or picking a fight with a powered-up gang just to see how well she does.
She's certainly not unintelligent, but doesn't take into account the big picture - preferring to dedicate her wits to defensive snark instead. In fact, even when confronted she completely dismisses the consequences of her actions, preferring to do whatever suits her in the moment. In a word, she's painfully naive; and in a city full of powerful players, that kind of thing can really come back to bite you.
History: It's been said that everyone's the main character of their own story, that they play a part in someone else's. If you were to ask Robin, that's a complete lie. Because the world is filled with people whose tales would never be written. The boring, the predictable, the utterly forgettable. You can't be a character if there's no story there to tell - if your existence is so completely inconsequential that you're little more than a footnote on the great big book of life. When every day's an exact routine, every night's the same damned dinner and the same damned room and the same damned bed...
You might have a name, a face, and an address, but you're nobody at all.
A fittingly pathetic description of her life, one that seemed made up of a thousand filler episodes and not a single thing of substance. Completely average. Never wanting for enough to struggle, never rich enough to fill her days with excitement.
When she came to this realisation, at the age of twenty-two, she made it her mission to change it, to become better. Desperation set in to find something that would give her an identity, some reason to be remembered, to be somebody for once in her life. But it all felt wrong, and it all rang hollow, and no matter what she tried she'd come back home to the same vapid entertainment and bland, flavourless, food.
And eventually, after months of trying, she reached a tipping point, failure after failure building up - a frustrated scream, lashing out against a glass door and putting her foot straight through it, when something changed. She didn't know what exactly until she woke the next day, the lacerations caused by the glass completely healed over.
The main feature of her particular power set was difficult to realise right away, and for a while she thought the slow healing was all she had. Still, she kept feeling a temptation to gather parts, to work. And soon enough, she gave in, going on a shopping spree for whatever she could get her hands on and giving in to the urge to use them for something. Picking up a knife in her hands, she got to work.
The memory of that first session is hazy, but waking in a pool of her own blood and looking down at her foot to see something as much machine as flesh was more than enough to realise what she'd done. It should have been a horrifying revelation, to know that she'd torn away her own skin, but she smiled.
Because this, this hybrid of man and machine... this was something. This was someone. And while her abilities seemed practically non-existent when it came to things outside herself, she had enough expertise to craft a synthetic skin that would cover her hybrid appearance. A skin that, admittedly, was easily torn away, flammable, and for whatever stupid inconvenient reason water-soluble, but it covered up well enough.
And within the next couple of years, she'd saved up enough to buy a garage in one of Boston's cheaper areas, working as your everyday, run-of-the-mill mechanic. Partly because her abilities put her on the level of a slightly unreliable human worker, but mostly because it gave her an excuse to have an actual workshop where she began to properly recreate herself - not that she'd let anyone in there, mind you. The bloodstains would be very difficult to explain.
Still, every fight won, every shop robbed, every crime stopped was worth it. Because finally, even if it was in secret, Robin knew she was finally leaving a mark. Even if no-one suspected the ever-cheerful mechanic's identity, hidden under synthetic skin and shabby outfits, she knew the truth.
And Automaton, at last, was someone with a story worth telling.
Abilities
Current Classification: Tinker (5), Brute (1)
Specialising heavily in self-alteration, her tinker abilities are almost exclusively limited to being used on her own body - rather than the creation of weapons and gadgets, everything she makes has to be implemented into herself, replacing or reinforcing what is already there. Of course, the nature of having to change out her own parts makes improving herself a painful and drawn-out process, considering she has to remain conscious the entire time. The power won't allow her to try anything on her vital organs, either - presumably a restriction preventing her from killing herself by accident.
In order for her to make her alterations safely, she also has increased regeneration. Not enough to make a significant difference in a fight, but enough that most wounds heal within a matter of hours. If she loses a limb or something similar, it's not growing back - she'll be stuck trying to make a replacement. As is, making a major alteration can leave her incredibly vulnerable for anywhere from 10-12 hours, not to mention that she'll likely pass out as soon as the recovery process is completed.
Current Modifications
Her limbs are the only part where she's made any significant modifications so far - they're armoured to the point of being almost bulletproof, joints upgraded to allow a far greater-than-normal range of movement, and implemented a retractable blade into each arm which can be extended forwards from the wrist, or back from the elbow. While she's toyed with the idea of adding ranged weaponry, she hasn't found the materials to do so yet.
In terms of the rest of her body, there are two notable alterations. First are the reinforced muscle fibers which leave her better able to take a hit and significantly (around 3x) stronger than the average human, though she can't compete with many genuine Brutes. Second is the prototype cloaking device she's currently working on, though it currently only operates for about a minute at a time without overheating and shutting down - and is designed more for camouflage than genuine invisibility.
She has also claimed to have a built-in cup holder, but that might just be a joke.
Retractable Blades, both arms
Light armour, arms & legs
Increased joint mobility
Muscle Reinforcement, Full-body
Cloaking Device (Prototype)
...Cup holder (?)
Modifications will probably be updated as she makes new additions/alterations throughout. It's only likely to happen with an actual reason for her to do so (i.e. someone beating her into the pavement), and I'll probably run them by you @Sickle-cell whenever I'm thinking about adding new stuff.
First off, that is such an awesome trigger event. No explosions, no death, no carnage, just life. I love it.
The character is utterly perfect. Even down to the face she usually only makes self-improvements in response to external stimuli. Deep down, she still seems to be the same person - unable to make changes to her life without something telling her to. I'd appreciate you running the changes by me, but I sincerely doubt there will be a problem with any of them.
One change required. Give her a Stranger 1 rating on top of everything else due to the prototype stealth tech. We can upgrade her rating if she gets it fully working later. After that, consider her accepted =P
Whelp, now I got self-conscious about how many female characters we're making. ... OH, WELL, IT'S CANON THAT THERE ARE MORE FEMALE CAPES THAN MALE! XD
Basically, I was like, "everyone's probably going to be villains" and made a hero to watch everything happen. But, heh. We'll see what happens. Here she is.
She has a helmet of similar fashion as the armor to hide her face when out, though the helmet lets her hair hang out under it behind. And the armor does not have a red dress in it, it’s armored legs instead.
Personality: Knight is a generally kind-natured girl with a mild case of insecurity. She’s not the social butterfly nor the social recluse, but more the kind to stand close to the rest and privately hope she doesn’t have to speak. She’s most at home when there’s only a few around that she knows well and share a close partnership with. She doesn’t handle stress well, and may flounder if the objectives are unclear. Yet still, she wants to be the hero that defends the people.
Because of how her life developed, Knight wants to do her best as a Hero of the Protectorate. She feels proud of her father who once stood where she now stands, and wants to uphold his proud legacy. Despite this, she’s a little lazy and will avoid taking on additional non-essential duties if she can at all avoid it, her past as a girl who had everything shining through. Nevertheless, she reacts hopefully to all notions of stopping villains, becoming fully alert.
That said, while her power is capable, she’s not experienced quite yet. While Knight has had plenty of training and her body is fit, she has only had a minimal amount of actual encounters with villains. Also, these stalemates where the Protectorate are unable to just head out and deal with villains despite knowing they’re there confuse her considerably, and puts additional stress on her mind. She can but be wary, when will the time come to strike…? She can but wait and hope.
History:
Rosaline was born the daughter of a rather well-off man named Harold Buckner and his wife. They had made a minor empire in the world of transporting wares across the nation and the storing logistics behind it. Herself, Rosaline was raised a relatively normal girl, with friends and going to parties and such. She was aware of the cape-scene, but wouldn’t take part in it because she wasn’t concerned, mostly.
However, one day her father and his wife were attacked while driving in their car. No doubt the attackers thought to take the rich man and get rich of him when the car crashed from the attack. When they then approached the car, they found the car filled with blood. Not wanting to be associated with murder, the villains hightailed. The blood was that of Rosaline’s mother. She died, and Harold could do nothing but let himself be overcome with hatred. This was not what he told Rosaline. He told her he had triggered, and killed the assailants. She believed him.
The lie somehow went undetected, while Harold went through the motions. He managed to make himself contacted by Cauldron. He used a hefty amount of his fortune to earn himself his powers as soon as possible. Then, when he finally got his powers, Harold took the less-than-subtle name Retribution, left his company and became a Protectorate hero in Boston in order to find those that had killed his wife.
Rosaline, while of course sad over her mother’s death, supported her father and took over working at home while also going to school, intending to be the sunshine in her father’s otherwise very dangerous life, to always meet him with a smile. And it worked. For a while. They were happy together, and the villains knew Retribution as a formidable hero. Rosaline was proud of him, and hoped he’d always be there to defend the city…
After five years of service, Retribution vanished. He didn’t come home one night, and Rosaline had to continue life on her own. Day after day, she could simply hope her dad came back. She lived close to a supermarket, and to school, and money wasn’t really an issue. Then, one day, Harold was declared KIA due to extended absence. Perhaps, he had done something Cauldron did not approve of and they had him removed…?
Rosaline was crushed. She had now lost both her parents to villainy. What… would she do?
… After considerable searching on the internet, she received an email. It was… exactly what she had been looking for.
Just like with her father, Cauldron found a Buckner seeking powers on the internet. They never told her that her father had done the very same thing fairly recently. The rest of the story continues as could be expected. Rosaline used her considerable inheritance and spared no expense. Alone she had no need for the family mansion, and as long as she kept enough to seem like she was still reasonably wealthy it all still connected.
But, now she owes Cauldron a few favors, that may or may not come back to haunt her…
Honestly, compared to what she paid for, Rosaline’s power is a little lacking. The vial she got should have given her a stronger power. But what’s done is done, she isn’t about to complain.
Cauldron arranged a kidnapping to take place to explain her sudden triggering, hiring some villains to “kidnap” her and through that explain why Rosaline triggered. It was simple enough. She was a rich girl that was the child of a recently deceased rich man. An easy target. Going along with this and then “scaring away” her kidnappers, Rosaline had her explanation for why she got her powers. And then she was set.
Ever since her father had become a hero, Rosaline had been taking self-defense courses, just in case someone wanted to use her against her father she had wanted to be prepared if she had to defend herself. Turned out this would be to good use. Then, when she did get her powers, she used the remaining money to fashion herself a suit of armor to be her battlefield suit. She was the daughter of Retribution, and she’d be placed in the same city. She wanted to succeed where her father had failed.
Now, at 19, she’s just over the limit to become a Ward. So officially, she’s a Hero. But, she’s still young.
Rosaline was born the daughter of a rather well-off man and his wife. They had made a minor empire in the world of transporting wares across the nation and the storing logistics behind it. Herself, Rosaline was raised a relatively normal girl, with friends and going to parties and such. She was aware of the cape-scene, but wouldn’t take part in it because she wasn’t concerned, mostly.
However, one day her father and his wife were attacked while driving in their car. No doubt the attackers thought to take the rich man and get rich of him when the car crashed from the attack. When they then approached the car, Harold Buckner triggered, and killed the attackers. But, after the dust had settled, his wife had already died by their attack.
Harold, taking the name Retribution, left his company in the hands of his capable management while he himself went and became a Protectorate hero in Boston. Rosaline, while of course sad over her mother’s death, supported her father and took over working at home while also going to school, to be the sunshine in her father’s otherwise very dangerous life, to always meet him with a smile. And it worked. For a while. They were happy together, and the villains knew Retribution as a formidable hero. Rosaline was proud of him, and hoped he’d always be there to defend the city…
After five years of service, Retribution vanished. Did he die where nobody could see him? He didn’t come home one night, and Rosaline had to continue life on her own. Day after day, she could simply hope her dad came back. She lived close to a supermarket, and to school, and money wasn’t really an issue. Then, one day, Harold was declared KIA due to extended absence. Rosaline was crushed. She had now lost both her parents to villainy. She had lost purpose to her life. She was unsure what to do next.
Fortunately for her, some villains decided that for her. A rich girl, living all by herself, with recently deceased parents? Is there any sweeter a target? … Though, they seemed to not entirely have considered what happened last time someone attacked a member of the Buckner family. Alike to her father, upon being attacked Rosaline triggered in a panic as they invaded into her mansion, and somehow repelled the attackers. And it… it felt good.
It was clear to her. She was her father’s daughter. She had been taking self-defense classes even before this, but it was time to put it to good use. Alike to her father, Rosaline went to the Protectorate to enlist, wanting to make good on her father’s legacy.
Now, at 19, she’s just over the limit to become a Ward. So officially, she’s a Hero. But, she’s still young.
Abilities
Shaker 5, Mover 2
Knight’s power allows her to pause time in a block of certain volume around her. This space becomes what essentially amounts to an immovable object, because the area of paused time allows nothing to penetrate it. However, that isn’t all of it. She can also shape said area that she forms to almost any shape she wants it to have, and can then telekinetically move it within a range around herself with considerable speed. She uses these in several different ways.
Her range lies at around 15 meters around her, while the total volume of frozen air she can make lies around a cubic meter. She can feel where her frozen air is, and controls its shape and movement through that link. The exact measurements and the force she can apply differs by the day and if her power feels like cooperating fully on said day. At peak efficiency she can be a fearsome opponent. The force of her telekinetic ability is comparable to the force of what a Brute 2 should be able to accomplish.
Because light cannot go through her frozen time, the blocks mostly appear somewhat dull blue from the nitrogen inside. It is possible for her to seal physical objects inside her frozen air, however, and if those are close to the surface then the color of those objects will be seen. If objects or air were in motion when she froze it, then upon releasing the frozen time the object will retain the motion and potentially come crashing out of it in the same manner it was frozen.
If they don’t have too high volume, she’s able to create two or three fields at the same time. She can hold one Knight’s Sword while still being able to create a Knight’s Shield in front of her, or stand on her Knight’s Steed while still able to Shield or Sword as necessary. However, the size and telekinetic power she can apply on each when splitting up is decreased, and it will take more on her mind, as described in the final paragraph here. Depends slightly on if her power is working efficiently currently.
Different uses of her power.
Knight’s Shield - The area she creates is essentially an immovable object that she can control. By simply making it a wall, she can block enemy attacks and halt the progress of movement. She can also shift it around telekinetically, making it impact objects with certain amount of force and block the attacks of others. Or she can just smash the block into someone to try to hurt them, but then she’s better off using the next ability.
Knight’s Sword - She shapes a weapon in the air in front of her using paused time. She then grips it and telekinetically moves it, and she has a weapon of stopped time. Because she can shape it, she can make this into whatever bladed weapon she currently needs and make it really, really sharp. Also, with the illusion that she’s wielding it as a weapon, she hopes to make people forget she’s moving it telekinetically to slice in at an enemy from an unexpected angle as she can make it shape itself or leave her hand but still slice at will.
Knight’s Steed - Here’s why she’s a part Mover. She can freeze an area beneath herself that she then stands on as a platform, and then she makes it fly using her telekinetic control of said area. Of course, using said platform reduces the amount of focus she can give her other abilities, but the momentum allows her to carry herself and others to new places. While her acceleration is somewhat low compared to many fliers and damages her maneuverability when on the steed, she can focus said acceleration over time to actually build pretty good speed before air-resistance puts a stop to it.
Knight’s Armor - Knight’s most powerful ability. She completely seals herself in a thin stretch of frozen time around herself, and then shaped said stretch as she moves to accommodate her and then she can use her telekinesis to propel herself to attack. In this form, Knight becomes practically invulnerable to physical blows as they cannot pass through her barrier of frozen time. But, she does need two slits to see with her eyes, though she can seal those if necessary. However, she cannot use her other abilities when using this, meaning she’ll be unable to support team-mates or similar. Also, she doesn’t actually get stronger, so while she cannot be damaged enemies can restrain her still. In addition, doing this combines all aspects of her power and it puts considerable stress on her mind, refer to the final paragraph.
Limitations - She cannot pause time when there’s anything living inside the field she tries to pause. This includes humans and animals, but also things like plants and insects. This is Manton Effect working, and she cannot freeze herself either.
Also, while she can control things telekinetically, the force she moves it with can be countered by the strength of others. So although enemies cannot themselves move the immovable block she creates, they CAN stop her from moving it herself with their own strength. While she can freeze time around objects, she prefers simply using air. Because, if she freezes a part of a wall, she can’t move her frozen area because the rest of the wall resists the movement.
And then, of course, there’s her own limit. Every time she uses her power, a pressure is put on her mind which works to keep the time frozen. Every time she needs to shape or move the barriers of frozen time, the pressure works inside her head. If she tries to strain herself to do more, which she can, she’ll eventually feel an echoing, growing pain on her mentality. Her power has the potential to make her basically invincible… but that, is first at the price of considerable pain and pressure on a particular thread inside her mind, and that might one day snap.
Just so everyone knows, as the 0th post on the OOC, I am going to post up a map of Boston showing who controls what area of the city. Now, I have never been to Boston personally, and I don't expect you to stick to actual places there, either. If you want to use an actual map of Boston to give yourself a starting grid (I normally take names and what a place is and create my own ideas from there), go right ahead.
Another thing I'll post will be a Faction Graph, showing any relationships between the current factions.
And the final thing - purely as a bit of fun - I will post a Boston Most Wanted List. If you want to compete for the top spot, you can =P
Barring the money side of things, she sounds like a sourcebook for a Covenant Cape :-P
The promise of future favors is always an accepted form of payment in lieu of cold hard cash.
Calling in past debts is always so much fun after all. :D
The faction most likely to have connections to the Russian Mafia would be The Consortium, I reckon. I love the overall feel of her, though, so I can't think of any required changes ^.^
Yay!
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Whelp, now I got self-conscious about how many female characters we're making. ... OH, WELL, IT'S CANON THAT THERE ARE MORE FEMALE CAPES THAN MALE! XD
We're just working to end sexism, one female character at a time. :3
I'd also like to make note that her true offensive capabilities from viral and bacterial forms will most likely not come into play here. Mostly because she could just create a dozen super forms of already deadly viruses and bacteria and release them all at once as airborne, waterborne, fluid-borne pathogens and eradicate everyone. And that's not fun. ;D
So for sake of enjoyment, whole I do plan on bringing that stuff up and all, her main fighting sources will be from her internal side of things.
Information
Name: Alice Rein
Cape Name: Toxic Taint
Theme Song:
Aspects
High Concept: Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Trouble: Wicked Bitch of Boston
Origin: They See Me Shuffling
Growth: You Think You've Beaten Me?
Adventure: My, My, What Sharp Teeth You Have...
Bio
Personality: Alice is capacious, seemingly unstable and thus unpredictable. One thing that remains common is a highly flirtatious attitude. While in her good graces, however, one will find her rather motherly towards them. This can be confusing given her flirty nature.
On the flip side, Alice can be viscous and demented, revelling in the pain and suffering of her enemies.
And, of course, she's easily offended and should be dealt with as if she were a Queen if you don't wish to draw her ire.
History: (I'm going to skip the long, boring details of childhood.) Once Alice was of age, she moved away from the small town life style of her birth, going from Idaho to Chicago overnight. There she took advantage of her pretty face and slid right into modeling for anyone willing to pay get a decent price. She didn't worry about those pesky Capes, those nutty villains, or even really the Endbringers. She was untouchable. Perfect. Gorgeous.
Which was her downfall, as one might expect.
At the age of 24 everything crashed around her. Literally. Some Villain or another had gone mad, destroying as much as they could. It just so happened one target building was the one Alice was in... On the top floor.
As the building fell sideways, Alice found herself trapped in rubble, miraculously alive. Painfully she looked around, in shock from both the situation and the pain in her face and legs, and realized with horror that she could die. Her, of all people!
It was then that she caught her reflection in the remains of a mirror. Her face was ruined! Robbed of it's beauty! What was she going to do if she lived now? And how could she live? She was alone, all alone, in a building that could finish falling at any moment...
In a flash she triggered over the audacity of it all. Her face fixed itself before her very eyes, her body rearranging itself to escape the trap of death she was in. And she was intricately aware of all of it. Everything around her, the little invisible things inside her and on everything.
But while she lived, a piece of herself was lost forever. Her sanity was shattered, sometimes existing and sometimes not.
She roamed around for a while, going from City to City and enjoying herself as she saw fit. Eventually she heard of the factions of Boston coming to a head, and knew that was where she would find her real fun and expand herself into something truly glorious... For better or for worse.
Abilities
Classified as a Shifter / Brute 7 and Master / Shaker 6, Toxic isn't someone to mess around with.
Having complete control over her own physiology, Toxic can take on any form she desires. This can also serve as a defensive measure, as she can shift her vital points around to avoid serious injury and heal at an accelerated rate. She does have a preferred form, but it can be incredibly difficult to track her as she can change her scent along with her looks.
Her other ability stems further from that, as she has complete control over bacteria and viruses inside her body, and around her. This allows her to both cure diseases, manipulate these cells to make them worse or better, and to create brand new biological threats never seen before.
I'd also like to make note that her true offensive capabilities from viral and bacterial forms will most likely not come into play here. Mostly because she could just create a dozen super forms of already deadly viruses and bacteria and release them all at once as airborne, waterborne, fluid-borne pathogens and eradicate everyone. And that's not fun. ;D
So can actual canon characters. Be thankful you and them share at least one trait - that you kinda play fair =P
What is everyone's opinions on my posting the first official IC post tomorrow and kicking off the show?
Well, I'll get the rest of my character sheets forum-ready for tomorrow then. Might also post on the status bar one final time to see if I can wrangle one last person, just in case =P