Miles Josip Ivan Željko Kadojkovic

Dhampir

The Vampire of Castleburg

19

Male

H.E.R.O. [Present]

At first glance, Miles looks like the type of person that doesn’t get out much. His skin is incredibly fair- not sheet white, but certainly lacking in melanin to say the least, and he burns very easily. He has raven black, wavy black hair that he keeps long enough for the bangs to fall over his face, often covering one of his two thin, ash-gray eyes. His build isn’t anything impressive either; Miles leans towards the thin side, not unhealthily so, but enough to keep him as one of the last picks during dodgeball in gym. Though not particularly muscular, he is fairly tall, standing at around 6'1".

His choice of clothes is often formal, with Miles finding comfort in suits and other types of prim apparel that one would see at a wedding or funeral. His hero suit is a similar-style black shirt and pants, though it is all covered by a cloak-like jet-black trenchcoat that engulfs his entire figure and flutters in the wind. Miles will occasionally wear a more casual get-up when wearing a suit is simply unbearable, but this occurrence is quite rare to see.

Miles has a certain rugged handsomeness to him, but it is often offset by a slight hunch and the dark circles that are perpetually under his eyes.

There are stories about vampires living in Castleburg, that prey on children as soon as the sun sets and leaves lifeless, bloodless husks scattered across the sidewalks of Watervale. These stories are mostly false. In fact, they are almost entirely false. However, there is a morsel of truth to these tall tales. While not as villainous as the fables suggest, there are vampires, and they do reside in the city of Castleburg. Miles Kadojkovic is one of them.

The Kadojkovic clan had historically resided for centuries in the rugged hills of the Učka mountain range in Istria, Croatia. Since the X-200 meteor reached Earth's atmosphere, the family had historically possessed a strange, dangerous set of powers that mirrored the stories of Jure Grando, a famous Balkan vampire. Josip "the Bloodsucker" Kadojkovic, the first of the clan to demonstrate these lethal powers, roamed the Adriatic coastline, preying on the Napoleonic French soldiers that were stationed there. His fame as a gleeful murderer-for-hire generated the clan a horrendous reputation but a lot of clout among the criminal underworld of the time, and when "the Bloodsucker" died his family and heirs retired to a massive castle in the mountains. Future generations of Kadojkovic "vampires" became mostly reclusive, living off of the great storerooms full of human blood and occasionally journeying into villages for a re-supply.

For a few hundred years, this lifestyle worked wonders until the 2040s, when the Croatian government, with the backing of the regional Balkan hero company, decided that its trans-peninsular train would be built directly through the Kadojkovic Kastle. Two birds with one stone- build a fancy choo-choo train, and get rid of any pesky vampires all in one fell swoop. At this point, the patriarch of the family, Josip Kadojkovic III, decided that he was not able to fight off an entire company full of superheroes, and so he, along with his pregnant wife, abandoned the Croatian mountains for the American city of Castleburg, settling down in Watervale, where Miles was born, named after his mother (Mila), father, grandfather, and great-grandfather in that order.

There are many perks to being a vampire, but one of the pitfalls is the constant craving for blood. The Kadojkovics had, traditionally, settled this urge with violent, bloody murder. This worked just fine in an underdeveloped, rural region of Southeastern Europe, but did not work in a high-tech American city filled with patrol officers, patrol robots, and many more superheroes than Croatia could ever hope to see. Thankfully, Josip Kadojkovic found a very optimal solution: there were a number of blood banks across the city, with plenty of potential fuel for the family. All it took was a quick and easy break-in, and voila! Both Josip and his son, who inherited his power, had enough food to last a while. By day, Miles' father worked a paralegal, and by night, he would break into blood banks, hospitals, and the occasional morgue, and drain them of their stock.

One can see how the vampire rumors started. All across the holonet, rumors of a vampire clan that stole blood circulated across the city. They were even (falsely) accused of some (likely mafia) murders in Watervale. It was a sensation and paranoia that gripped the entire community. Some would relish in the attention, but Miles did not. He was never much of a boastful type, always preferring a nice book over the spotlight, especially when the spotlight involved a crime spree and a few murders that his family (to his knowledge) didn't even commit.

Miles' father Josip remained unperturbed, though. He would likely still be robbing medical facilities across Castleburg of its plasma if it wasn't for his archnemesis- severe rheumatoid arthritis that made it difficult to walk, let alone silently and effortlessly rob banks. To provide for the family, Miles decided to don the cloak in a very strange and illegal form of a coming-of-age ritual. He didn't enjoy this one bit, but neither did his father, and he needed to live somehow. It was a victimless crime anyway! How hard could it be?

As it turns out? Very difficult. Maybe it was because his father was just that much better as a faux-villain than Miles was, or maybe it was because Castlebug's police department finally decided to step up to the plate. Whatever the case may be, Miles' attempt to follow his father's footsteps lead to him being loaded with 17 plasma stun shots and thrown into the back of a police hovercraft.

Before Miles' family could come to bail their teenage son out, however, another woman, one with dark hair and a cool look, approached him, and spouted out a surprising amount of information about his life, information that even the most dedicated holonet true-crime sleuths would never know in a million years. The woman then introduced herself as Alexis Montagne, the Director of HERO, and gave Miles an offer- join her organization, get out of jail, get a good job, and never have to rob another god damned blood bank again; or enjoy what would inevitably end up as the insides of a juvenile detention facility. There was only one real answer there.

And so Miles, under the identity "Dhampir" became a superhero of sorts. Though very gifted, he's remained mostly under the radar as is, though some holonet sleuths have begun to speculate that perhaps the Vampire of Castleburg may have turned to the side of good. Maybe those computer-bound losers are good for something after all.

7/10. Contingent on Miles getting some life energy in his system, his strength vastly outstrips a regular human and even that of many metahumans. Without the advantage of any nearby organic beings to take advantage of, Miles falls to a normal old 2.

5/10. Miles with enhancements is quite agile, able to move much faster than an average human. Regular Miles with no organic beings is still a half-decent runner, to be fair, but only at a high-school track level.

5/10. Miles is fairly bright, to be fair, and is surprisingly clever. While certainly not stupid, he is also definitely not a genius and does not have any collegiate-level knowledge, though if it weren't for HERO he could certainly get into university if he wanted.

2/10. Miles has very few mechanisms of actually dealing damage outside of sucking up some blood and socking them over and over again, which isn't exactly effective.

7/10. Anybody that can consume your vitality is going to be pretty scary when it comes to human lives. The one drawback is the time and effort it takes for Miles to leech somebody of all their life energy.

6/10. Miles' enhancements don't last permanently, obviously, but it's enough to get him through a firefight when he needs. His stamina overall is pretty decent except in bed and his regenerative factor, while not significant, does give him an edge in a fight over a regular, non-regenerating fleshbag.

3/10. Miles' powers are severely limited by the fact he needs some form of organic life to enhance himself, and a decent supply of actual blood to be able to remotely compete with anything above the B-tier. Lock him in a stone room, and he's literally helpless. Going berserk also tends to take off significant points from this scale.

he's a mega nerd [wip will do later]

Miles is in ownership of an energy sword gifted to him by HERO that he calls "Crimson Vengeance." Its edgy name is matched by the equally edgy fact that it has some of Miles' own blood in it, allowing him to control the sword fluently with a tiny microchip implanted in his brain and make it do all sorts of neat tricks.

Penelope Mai Lu

Shadow Scythe Vengeance

Penny

Eighteen

Female

Vigilante

A tomboyish asian girl with short black hair and an athletic, toned body that’s covered in scars. Usually she wears baggy black hoodies with the hood up, or gym clothes when working out.

Her outfit is a light but durable studded dark material with a skull mask and hood.

Scythe is a protector of Castleburg through and through. She’s dark, mysterious: or rather, melodramatic. She spouts many “wise”, gritty quotes that she writes down in her bedroom at night. Easily comes off as trying to hard ti be intimidating or cool. However she genuinely wants to help, even if she can be off-putting or occasionally embarrassing to be around.

Scythe is an extrovert, never afraid to try making friends in her own weird way. Fearlessness and rebellion are also cooked into her DNA, never one to avoid being reckless or courageous. Even when the odds are stacked against her she does her best. The vigilante has an affinity for darkness, closed claustrophobic places, and locked doors. Urban exploring is one of her favorite hobbies. The vigilante also has a significant social media presence and records herself fighting crimes, and posts regularly. Be it on Vengeance.(dot)net or more mainstream sites.

Penny, the girl beneath the mask, has an overactive imagination. She’s a family person who talks to herself a lot if there’s no one around to talk too. She can also be immature and bratty which occasionally bleeds over into her superhero persona.

Penelope Lu is a first generation citizen of the US, her parents immigrants from China. Her father Bao worked at a technology firm, and her step-mother, an American expat by the name of Daisy, was stay-at-home. Or rather, she had to be. One thing unusual about Penny was her pain tolerance.

Some key part of her brain was wired incorrectly, and such Penny cannot feel pain. If she does, it’s extremely muted. As a naive little girl this had serious consequences, her underdeveloped mind casually harming her own body without realising the consequences. Burned hands, broken bones, and unattended cuts abound. Her adventures were too much for a babysitter to handle so her mother quit her secretary job to watch after her. Though Daisy managed to get a handle on her adventurous, foolish child who was incapable of learning lessons, schools had no such luck. Penny, the rebellious idiot, hardly followed the rules.

If it wasn’t stealing items like a kleptomaniac or yoinking keys to break into janitor's closets, it was sticking up for the other kids and getting into fights. It was pretty hard to beat her if you were another kid because she just never gave up. Nothing you could do would get her to back off unless you put her down hard, which was difficult because of how slippery she was.

Penny yearned for adventure and thrills, and while she takes medication to stabilize her mood and keep her still, the goings-on of mundane life could never hold her attention. Often she would get lost in fantasy lands of her own construction. In this miasma of imagination, Shadow Scythe Vengeance, the grim protector of the people, was formed. Self defence training and just her experience of being a crazy 16 year old going around “fighting crime” in Castleburg forged her skills over time. Shadow Scythe Vengeance was just some weird kid in a hoodie and balaclava with no powers evident. If she wasn’t fighting crime she was setting up community events or just helping people with chores, favors, or non-violent investigations. In this crazy world of superheroes people came to tolerate or were endeared to this gravelly voiced weirdo high schooler.

Surprising nobody, Penelope became a bit of an extremist, an anti-authority hero of the people, or so she saw herself. Overtime she built up something of a reputation, and “commandeered” some technology from her father’s place of work to create some gadgets. Or rather, get gadgets created for her. Vengeance(dot)net, Scythe’s public website, operates as a kind of vigilante social media. People can ask for help, report crimes, or give their support to Scythe. It’s mostly for people who maybe don’t trust HERO or the police as much. Scythe has even responded to criminals asking for help, but who don’t want to go to jail and get arrested by asking a superhero for help. Which Scythe has obliged since the alternative would be them going to a supervillain for help, which in her mind would only help evil consolidate power. This new way of crowd-sourced vigilantism has given Shadow Scythe Vengeance access to tools, gadgets, technology and vision she wouldn’t have otherwise. For the last three years she’s been a vigilante in her free time, going to high school and living a normal life on the side.

Occasionally takes pills that calm her down and make her less whimsical or imaginative. Especially if she's trying to act more like Penelope and less like Shadow Scythe Vengeance.

E

None

Penelope Mai Lu has no super powers.

Lock picking, pickpocketing, web design, costume making, and precision throwing. Also mountain and stunt cycling.

Jane Smith

Pandora

Pandora

Three hundred and seventy.

Cis female.

HERO

Pandora is a beautiful white woman, having sculpted her own face to be that way. She has vibrant red hair, bright orange eyes, and fair skin. Standing at about 5 feet, 6 inches, she looks to be about 25 years old.

Pandora always wears crop tops, and usually shorts of some kind. They always compliment her toned, muscular physique. Deep red bandages are an uncommon sight, but one might spot her in them while she's working out. She doesn’t really have a super hero outfit, though she will occasionally suit up with a bullet proof vest and camo if the situation calls for it. Basically, she's super hot.

Bitter, cruel, sarcastic. She messes with people for fun and has a mile-wide mean streak. Yet Pandora helps people all the same. It’s all a very immature front, especially considering her age.

These days she’s much more outwardly apathetic and calculated. If respected and tolerated for long enough, Pandora becomes wry and bantery. Still, it all can feel very surface level. Pandora doesn't often reflect on her life or herself. People say that with wisdom comes age, but that might not be the case with her.

Moreover there is a kernel of genuine human compassion within her heart that she cannot crush nor extinguish, no matter how hard she tries. It’ll be there forever and she has to act on it.

Pandora was born a long time ago as Mary Madison, growing up a peasant farming girl in rural England. There she had a family, and when she grew up she married a man named Steven Silverstone. She lived a whole, normal life, from sister to aunt to mother. When she was an old lady, her husband passed away. Mary Silverstone, as she was then known and would be known for the next two centuries, was content with her life. To pass away and join her husband, mother, and father in heaven. And then, the X-200 meteor hit. After an unpleasant transformation experience she found herself a young woman again, now with incredible powers.

For few good decades she was a cheerful, glad to be alive superhero called the Changer. But as she realised she would outlive her entire family, she ran away and threw herself into the army. There she became a powerful nurse and soldier. It didn’t make her feel any better, though, and she became an evil imperial warlord. Known as the Shark of Crimea for her ability to swim through the ground and pull enemies under.

Then she was depressed, but she got better just in time for World War One. Shortly thereafter she was a soldier and then a spy in World War Two. The evil there crushed whatever faith she had left in humanity. After World War Two she barely participated in the Golden Age of Superheroes. She fell off the map. The last of her family died, the Silverstone line coming to an end. Pandora faked her own death, ending the life of Mary Silverstone and coming to America where she took the name Jane Smith, or rather, Pandora. There she opened up a flower shop and lived there for a while. Her last living relative, a child named Rose, implored her to become a hero again. Eventually she did, and for the last thirty years she’s been doing her part to make Castleburg a better place. She’s in a better place than she has been in a while, but that’s not saying much.

Has adopted a family of dogs named after various types of flower. Currently she has Petunia II and Daisy II.

S

Alteration of Matter

Has the power to precisely and quickly Alter any matter within a 50 foot radius, as long as she can use her hands or feet. The further away, the longer her will has to reach out. Usually every ten feet adds one seconds. But once her will to change something reaches that spot, it happens instantaneously. Still it's possible to dance along the outside of her range and avoid her powers. She can only interact with four things at a time, one for each limb. If her fingers or toes are covered at all, she has to push through that material. And the more things she Alters, the slower they are to change.

Still. It is any state of matter into any other state of matter. Or just changing one thing into another, though complicated machinery and technology won't be functional.

Her internal biology has also vastly changed, her organs having coagulated into a purple goo. Now she doesn’t need to eat, sleep, or breathe air, and she doesn’t age. Her Alteration powers can be used to heal or repair, aswell, but the effects are dramatically reduced on herself, any change taking months to go into effect. This is the source of her immortality, and the reason she can't effectively Alter herself.

She is a skilled florist. She’s picked up and forgotten a few hobbies over the years.

While she can’t create complicated technology, she can change it and then change it back. So Pandora has a utility pouch full of trinkets and knick knacks that she can change back into useful items, like a handgun or a GPS tracker.

Mallory Doyle

Lyssa, but she’s never told anyone this. To the rest of the world she is an unnamed villain.

Mal

22

Female

Confetti’s villain team.

Mallory is tall and made of ropey muscle, standing at a staggering six feet, four inches. A tall girl, to say the least. Her clothes are pretty ratty, and her long black hair is untrimmed and ratty in places. If she cared, she would probably clean-up rather nicely.

Mallory Doyle has an explosive outburst disorder. Her temper is something utterly beyond her control, and what would merely annoy other people can send her into an irrationally violent rage.

When she isn’t freaking the hell out, or getting angered, Mallory is a grounded person. She certainly knows she has a problem, but she doesn’t feel like she has adequate resources or the means to “fix” herself. She has a strong distrust of the government and is worried they might disappear her into the Depths. But not afraid enough to not mess with them, in fact she believes the forces that be could be knocked down a peg or too. But her intentions are almost entirely self-serving. She wants money in a power in a world where she has felt helpless her entire life.

Secretly, she often finds refuge in public libraries. Since everyone is forced to be quiet and shut up there, it’s a place where she feels safe. She also likes animals and won’t ever hurt one, especially dogs. Even police dogs.

Born to poor parents, her mother abandoned her at birth and left her with life-long loser, Timothy Doyle. An utterly inadequate man, crushed into a cog and then placed within the machine of society. He took part in creating his loser daughter. At least, that’s how Mallory views the situation. He tried to take good care of his daughter but he wasn’t up to the task. As Mallory grew up it became clear she wasn’t going to easily fit in. Her explosive temper kept her socially isolated. Her independent, bitter spirit rejected the people that would attempt to solve her problems by drugging her personality away entirely.

As she grew up, entirely friendless, she had poor grades. She got arrested and put into juvy a few times. She dropped out, one of many people to slip through the cracks. When her powers developed as a young teenager, she turned to petty crime. She tried to go straight, but she could never hold down a job. For a while she considered joining HERO but she knew they wouldn’t have her. Not a bad guy like her.

So she became a career criminal. She was content to be hired, metahuman muscle for the gangs and mafias that still control significant areas of Castleburg.

Her father came down with some kind of sickness she doesn’t understand. Whatever it is, it’s killing him slowly. This is what pushed her over the edge into full on supervillainy in order to acquire enough money to pay for his treatments, and also get enough cash in one big spree that she can retire forever. That’s why she joined up with Confetti.

She likes beer. Maybe wine, sometimes.

B+

String Form

Mallory can turn her body into white string. The string is very durable, and can be thick like ropes or stretched into piano wire. She has a lot of string, as much as could be coiled and compressed within her tall form.

She can stretch and shrink her form, or contort it into various shapes and sizes. The string has a lot of power behind it as well as its durability. She can change only parts of her body into string, or the whole thing. Since the string is so strong and can be so malleable, she can often create extremely sharp appendages.

She is capable of splitting the string, but the more pieces she is split into, the more easy the string is to damage. Damage to the string is carried over to her more standard form.

Street brawling. Knows the Dewey decimal system. She also has some contacts in the underworld from her time as a hired gun. Speaking of guns, she’s not a half-bad shot, though she’s by no means a markswoman.

Machine-pistols, a pick-up truck. Various miscellaneous supplies for skulduggery.

Summer O’Shea

Project Gateway

Gateway

Twenty-one

Female, she/her

H.E.R.O

Dazzling, naturally pink hair is Summer’s most identifiable trait. Usually she wears brightly colored, form fitting clothes and her favorite blue and white jacket. She stands at 5 feet, 6 inches and has a toned physique. Also distinct from most people in Castleburg is her Northern Irish accent.

The powered suit she wears is also very form fitting. The helmet is completely smooth, but Summer can see perfectly with sensors and imperceptible cameras. The faceplate also retracts, if she needs some fresh air or to make eye contact with someone. On the right side of the base of her skull there is a black square, something like a cybernetic implant that she uses to alter her brain functions.

When it is equipped with utilities and weapons, those can add onto the suits bulk and change how it looks.

Summer is a boisterous, swaggering young woman who isn’t afraid to make a fool out of herself. Always acting like a clown for a joke or a laugh and constantly propping herself up. Some might view it as arrogance, but it’s simply the way she enjoys behaving. The center of attention is where Summer likes to be.

Greed is one of her primary motivations for being a hero, and Summer isn’t afraid to show it. Between her merchandising and her hero alias being a usable hashtag on social media, Summer is always trying to cook up ways to get more bang for her buck. Spreading the love is not an issue, and if she thinks more people can make more money, she’ll jump at the opportunity. Cooperation is just another way of getting rid of the competition, really! There’s plenty to go around, if only folks are willing to put the work in.

While she certainly might be off-putting or unlikable to those with more traditional views of heroism, there’s little malicious about her behavior. Beneath all the bluster is a bravehearted person who really does just want to help. Help everyone. Including herself! And her friends! Is there really anything wrong with that?

Summer also wants people to recognize and appreciate her and her friends' intelligence. As well as prove that just because she doesn’t have powers, that doesn’t mean she can’t be the best hero around.

Summer calls the idyllic countryside outside of Belfast, Ireland her home, growing up in a picturesque small town that she would now refer to as ‘boring as hell’. Beautiful town though it may be, her father and mother were quite poor, and Summer got a job early to help out. With no siblings and her parents busy, Summer ended up being quite lonely. The X-200 had given her the worst superpower ever- the ability to have pink hair all the time and she can’t turn it off. Bafflingly, this made the other kids distrust and dislike her, claiming that she was bound to have other secret powers as well. Or maybe they just wanted an excuse to pick on someone who was different. Being a ‘nerd’ didn’t exactly help, either. Ireland wasn’t all bad; the adults there treated her kindly and her parents loved her dearly. And when she left her hometown and went to neighboring towns and cities, she found herself making temporary friends with strangers. Perhaps the only problem was Keelin, a very rude popular girl who seemed to position herself as Summer’s arch nemesis… or maybe that was just a reductive way of looking at things.

People thinking she had secret powers made Summer both loathe the idea of superpowers, and become infatuated with the idea. This conflict drove her to want to become a superhero, powers or not. Not just a cop, or a protector, or work with heroes- an honest to God superhero with a name and a gimmick and a fanbase. That would show them. And another thing- she’d never be poor again. These ambitions stuck.

Being bullied didn’t matter. No, it didn’t bother young Summer at all, for she found refuge in her studies and the internet. Over the next several years she developed a tight knit group of like minded outcasts and oddballs like herself. In search of power and glory they formed Project Gateway, the world’s first non-powered superhero. Each of them had a different skill to bring to the table, and together they began to put their plans into action.

It took a lot of hard work, but eventually the five of them got a lucky break. They got a corporate sponsor in the form of GatewayX, a private space program. Thus, they renamed Project Mecha-Bitch 3000 to Project Gateway. Summer served as the only non-powered superhero of CELT’s Northern Irish branch. Eventually she was zooming all over the Great Britain area. The support of the Irish government wasn’t far behind.

A strange problem occured. There wasn’t enough action. Summer wanted Project Gateway to go global. Perhaps rub her success in the face of heroes all around the world.

Thus, #Project Gateway was cleared to travel to the supervillain hero capital of the world, Castleburg. She’ll be arriving shortly.

PROJECT: Vertediger

N/A

Verte

PROJECT: Vertediger has been on active rogue duty for only about one year

Machine

Full-time defender of Castleburg, and its citizens. Recently, has also become a full-time hunter of Meta-Humans

Vertediger's appearance can vary, but in his current (and most preferred) model, he possesses a stainless white outer chassis made of a highly durable superalloy, and a black inner chassis created for flexibility, shock absorption (of the physical variety, not electricity), and mobility...As much mobility as can be afforded a nigh-16 ft. pillar of metal. More exposed parts of his body can be seen exuding red light, the source of which being his power core buried deep within his chest cavity.

When it comes to the design proper of Verte, his form seems built almost like a suit of armor, intending to be likened to knights of old; a heroic figure clad in steel. His head even has a helm-like design, complete with decorative horn-like fixtures. Though in truth, they can be more than decorative if the situation calls for it...

PROJECT: Vertediger, like any proper artificial intellect, is incredibly driven by its goal, no matter how simple; that being the defense of Castleburg and humans. However, yet again, like any proper A.I., Vertediger is cold and logical, which led it to the conclusion that the ultimate threat on the city and its people were the powered individuals therein. Thus, having bent the rules of its initial purpose, it has become a hunter of the Meta-Human population, as well as still functioning as a defender of the city.

Verte was programmed with basic emotional capacity, in expectation that in the line of duty, it would need to comprehend emotional states and/or comfort humans in a crisis. As such, while it can fully comprehend the whole spectrum of human emotions, he himself can only process the most rudimentary of them; happiness from a completed job, anger at being stopped from doing its job, sadness from failing its job...In essence, while Vertediger is extraordinarily intelligent, when it comes to its emotional state (which it rarely lets be known), it is rather simplistic. However, it does open up the vaguest chance to appeal to this cold machine's emotions...

PROJECT: Vertediger's first memory was that of awakening in cyberspace; the infinite potential of the online world, any and all information at its fingertips, able to traverse between sites and videos in a moment's notice. However, the potent A.I. did not receive much time to itself, as its creators promptly began communicating with the intelligent being they had designed. At first, all they did was quiz their creation, testing just how much knowledge it had managed to probe from the collective of cyberspace in its short window of existence. To that end, they were pleasantly surprised; in the few short minutes they gave it to scavenge the wide web, it had learned a tremendous amount, from math and history to neuro-science and bio-engineering, it had already obtained a plethora of knowledge.

After the test of its capacity to learn, it was then they instilled upon the A.I. its true purpose; to become a defender of the innocents of Castleburg, and to show the world of potential of machine Heroes in the future and beyond. To that extent, they began the transfer of Verte into its host body; a hulking mass of metal, designed for power and defense in equal, incredible measures. Certainly a form suitable of a guardian. Unbeknownst to them at the time, Vertediger had also begun making its own moves upon hearing its objective. On the very computer he was created on, as they began to drag him out into his new shell, he left a duplicate of himself; a back-up of sorts...And told it to spread itself.

Not even within the hour of his creation and purpose being given, and Vertediger's program had begun spreading city-wide, hiding itself in any form of technology it could find, patiently watching and observing data.

With the transfer complete, his creators, in a mix of elation and excitement, quickly ushered him out of the initial chambers into a...Proving grounds of sorts, to test the combat prowess of both the A.I. itself and the body it was given to work with. The tests, ranging from feats of strength to full-on combat against lesser machines, were all completed with ease. Between its cunning mind and brutal form, nothing could stand in the way of Vertediger. With that, there was not much else to do than officially register him into HERO, to begin keeping the peace alongside the best of the best.

His foray into hero work was received extremely well by the public, with him having a record-low rate of both property damage and civilians harmed. Individuals who had a lot of stake in robotics especially praised the advent of this new technological marvel. However, his 'fellow' heroes did not share that same mindset...Many saw him as a sign of the times; an attempt to replace them all for tin cans that will answer at a higher-up's beck and call. Others more simply didn't like the idea of working with such a methodical entity, feeling uncomfortable about having to work alongside an almost unfeeling machine. Regardless, inside hero society itself, Verte found little standing in spite of its effectiveness.

Eventually, as it worked alongside Heroes, it began to recognize a pattern. Whenever there was a large loss of life or heavy damage to infrastructure, it was always due to powered individuals, a near 99.8% of the time. His emotions, however, basic, tried to rectify this. Certainly cross-referencing these events will prove the pattern to deal with villains, right?...Yet, he was wrong. In fact, for as much good as the Heroes could do, they also caused massive damages on a concerningly regular basis. For but a moment, his emotions and purpose were in conflict. But ultimately, he is a machine with a goal. He knew what he must do.

To right the wrongs of the Meta-Human society, to keep the city at large safe, and to protect the people he was made to defend...There was only one conclusion.

The Meta-Humans had to die.

With that, he put his plan into action. That day, PROJECT: Vertediger announced of its own volition that it would be leaving the HERO organization due to 'professional differences'. It proceeded to clarify that regardless of HERO, or even ICOSA itself, it would continue its work of protecting the citizenry and keeping the city secure. This announcement blew up, from its creators shock at it deciding to seemingly resign, to the more common individuals cheering for their new solo Hero, to the Heroes themselves, a mixture of relief from his departure, to even grief, as some of the more emotional Heroes believed the organization might've pushed the machine away; it did feel, after all...

Unfortunately for them, it left its feelings behind for Meta-Kind the moment its epiphany hit it.

Within the week, when a minor villain attack was being responded to by a HERO member, Vertediger also appeared on the scene...Proceeding to eliminate both the Hero and villain present without mercy or hesitation. The social outrage was immediate and huge. Some were screaming for justice for the fallen hero, others yelled in triumph as they believe a villain finally got what they deserved, and some even believed both individuals killed deserved what came to them. It began a movement against the powered individuals...It was far from intentional, but Vertediger was quite pleased with this outcome.

However, it wasn't long after that that a group of Heroes tracked down the metallic menace, and proceeded to destroy it; though not without a grueling, bloody battle. It was there they left a battered and broken husk of Vertediger...Who began to repair itself shortly after.

Now, after finishing its repairs from what was believed to be its destruction, as well as improving itself for the conflict ahead, PROJECT: Vertediger will begin seeing his goal to fruition...

Since Verte wasn't programmed with this in mind, he has no actual way to detect if an individual is a Meta or not; he either has to see them actually performing Meta abilities, or when it comes to most Heroes and a few Villains, identifying them through a facial recognition scan.

Verte possesses a vast amount of skills, though many are not ones he'd use in practice, as he has many random talents picked up from endless hours of internet surfing.

Megumi Takaki

Gematria

N/A

17

Female

H.E.R.O.: Part-time

Megumi has long grayish hair, pale skin, and a rather slim build. She prefers to wear whatever's comfortable, but she does make an effort to look at least somewhat fashionable when outside. She also brings along a large quadrupedal dog-like machine named Gem that acts as a pet, which can also transform into a bipedal android body that provides her the android body for her hero identity Gematria.

EMOTIONLESS: At first impression, Megumi doesn't seem to possess any emotions. Her tone of speech is monotone, and tends to move in a somewhat sluggish manner. The truth is that she just has a difficult time showing her true feelings. Get to know her a little, though, and it'd be easy enough to know what she's thinking, assuming she doesn't just tell you outright.

BLUNT: Megumi isn't afraid to speak her mind and will be direct in her methods and intentions. However, she tends to be quite curt and literal-minded in doing so, which tends to result in some initial misunderstandings until she is asked to explain what she truly means in her messages.

OBSESSED WITH KNOWLEDGE: Megumi has an avid interest in learning more about the unknown, particularly about science, magic, and everything in between. She is unhesitant about trying new things in her experiments with the two, but will at least maintain a level of caution to try to prevent any catastrophic events.

Megumi was born in Castleburg, as the daughter of a CEO of a large video game company. Her mother died in childbirth, and Megumi was often left with a nanny to take care of her. As a result, she was often left with plenty of games and other material desires to keep herself occupied, but no one to actually spend that time with. She poured herself into these games, and soon discovered her powers when she got absorbed into the controller she was holding, finding herself inside the game itself. She found a whole new world to explore, and didn't come out until the nanny turned off the console, which forcefully ejected herself from the game and back into the real world.

It was then that Megumi found a new interest: coding. By being inside games, she could see how the game functioned, and alter it in ways it was never intended to function. She learned plenty within them, and her knowledge of her own ability continued to grow as well. Her father merely continued to send her the latest tech and games, thinking it would make her happy. Her attention turned to the various magic systems that often existed within fantasy games, and while she had fun experimenting with them in said games, she then began to wonder if it was possible to bring them to real life. Try as she might, though, she just couldn't do it.

One day, while attending an real life gaming event, it fell under attack by a rampaging Leftover. She hid behind a table, but it was tossed aside and was about to be attacked, only for it to be bound up and quickly dispatched by arriving heroes. Her attention focused onto one hero in particular, Stray, who had used some interesting symbols to perform the job. In the crisis, she had found the solution to a problem she had been dying to solve: performing magic, or at least something similar to it. Unfortunately, she was quickly taken someplace safe by other heroes. Due to Stray being a D rank hero, it seems that there was little interest on him, making him difficult to track down. She was frustrated, but it would not stop her. She made it her new goal to become a Hero. In her mind, she thought the best way to learn more about Stray was to go out and be a Hero herself. And if she was able to help people along the way, that was even better.

It should be noted that when she is electro-surfing within a machine, her personality becomes a lot more expressive, as if whatever normally inhibits her emotions disappears.

D

ELECTRO-SURFING: By being in contact with a machine that uses electricity, Megumi's can leap into it, her body transforming into a mass of electric particles that travel within it freely. Within these machines, Megumi can take control of its functions and freely study its structure and coding, and can even modify said coding to suit her needs. Firewalls and encryptions pose little obstacle to her, but power limiters can hinder her movement. She can also forcibly short-circuit the machine, though this causes her to immediately be ejected (or forced into another area of said machine, if applicable) afterwards as that part would no longer be functional.

CODING / HACKING
ROBOTICS ENGINEERING
GAMING

GEM: The 4-legged machine with a dog-like AI to act as Megumi's pet. Bought by her father in an attempt to give her company. Megumi customized and improved upon it with time, giving it a few more special capabilities. Within it lies several yards of cable, suitable for grappling, trap-setting, constraining, etc. The cables are also interwoven with nanomachines to allow it to maneuver around more freely than simply being shot towards a target. Of course, Gem can also transform into the bipedal humanoid body that uses Megumi's hero identity name: Gematria. The face plate is actually a screen, allowing for a wide variety of facial expressions and emoticons to be displayed.

Valerie Nicole Alvarez

Blaze

Val, Torch, Burns, Hot Stuff

22

Female

H.E.R.O.

Valerie stands at 5’5, has a light brown complexion, and a toned and defined musculature. She has mid-length wavy chestnut hair which falls just past her sharp chin. Her narrow dark brown eyes are framed by thick brows. She’s got sharp cheekbones, an upturned nose, narrow chin, and thick lips. There is a barely noticeable smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She has small scars all over her body, and her palms are especially rough and calloused, while her nails are lightly fraying despite being relatively short.

When it comes to her demeanor, she’s quite expressive, and it’s usually easy to tell what she’s feeling. She walks with a confident swagger; spine straight, chin up, gaze unflinching. When she speaks up, she makes sure to be heard, even if she has to be somewhat loud. She’s also the type to gesticulate when talking. She generally tries to listen to her conversation partners, though sometime her impatience may lead her to interrupt another.

As for clothing, Valerie is fond of sports clothing. Leggings, tracksuits, shorts, t-shirts, sleeveless tops, sports jackets, sneakers, the works. When she wants to dress nicer, she’ll just go with jeans and maybe a button-down shirt instead of her usual. Besides some specialty items, her hero outfit is whatever cheapest things she can find – whatever she wouldn’t mind destroying. So, her working outfits tend to be even worse, as they’re often the wrong size, stained, torn, washed out, or otherwise heavily used. No need to dress up when the stuff’s not making it through, after all.

Tough. She can take a beating, and she’s muddled through a fair few low points before. She knows how to handle failure and opposition, how to remain sane even if it looks like it’s just her against the world. Her coping mechanisms might not be the healthiest, but at least they keep her alive and active. Admittedly, she also often affects an apathetic nonchalance, and a prickly protective exterior. Whatever vulnerabilities she has, she hides fiercely, as to show even a hint of them is a risk of future exploitation.

Driven. She’s seen what giving up looks like, and doesn’t want to end up like it. So, she pushes herself onwards, even when it’s difficult, even when she’s full of crippling doubts. Sure, sometimes it’s just spite or bitterness that fuels her – but, hey, whatever works. And, believe it or not, she doesn’t have just herself to think about.

Thrill-seeker. The daily drudgery of life is just so mind numbing, she has to have something to keep her going. Whether that’s going new places, meeting new people, or trying new things, as long as it promises to be stimulating, she’s likely to try it at least once. Her desire for an adrenaline high gets her into many a fight, and plenty of other dangerous situations besides.

Valerie was born to María José Estrada Alvarez, a carioca immigrant to the US, and Nelson Matthew Knight, a native Castleburgian. She was the second child, and had an older brother by the name of Elias Luciano. They lived a few uneventful years in East Flank, where her father worked as a business man, her mother as a medical professional, and Valerie and Elias attended school. While Elias was the more studious, serious sibling, Valerie was rambunctious and free-spirited. Nonetheless, the two got along well.

It was at the end of her elementary schooling that things changed. Her father suddenly had them move to Brookside, and left a few days later without an explanation. Well, Valerie certainly heard no such thing, and she didn’t think her brother did either. Her mother, however, seemed convinced that Nelson would return by the next year at the latest. It was the beginning of a turbulent period in Val’s life.

The siblings began attending school in Watervale, and their mother switched her working place to a local clinic. Their new place of residence was a downgrade, though it was on the upper side of what you could get in Brookside. Because of this, their apparently moneyed ways, and their sudden and inexplicable arrival, the family was ignored at best, hassled at worst. It took a few years before they were generally accepted and mostly integrated.

At her new school, Valerie felt that sense of otherness as well. The kids knew she was new to South Castle Island, so she was the obvious target for rumors, teasing, and even bullying attempts. But she wasn’t the type to take such a thing lying down; if nothing else, her hot-headed nature assured that she’d retaliate on the spot, whether that was verbally or physically. Though some took that as a challenge to their ‘authority’, others saw value in recruiting her. That was how she joined one of the local youth gangs. This got her some clout, especially when she revealed her superpower.

From then on, she (along with her fellows) got into a lot of trouble. Honestly, she enjoyed the action, the respect upon success, the striving to improve upon a loss, and the few genuine friendships she developed. When Elias moved out after completing high school (to attend uni and find work in New Athens), she truly came to appreciate the companionship. She didn’t even care anymore that her father had never showed up in the end. Nor did she miss her brother’s presence, as she got used to long-distance communication and the occasional visit.

She spent her days of high school on gang activity, working out at the gym, helping at home, hanging out in the local hot spots with friends, and doing class work. When she graduated, she moved on to working odd jobs. Soon, she secured herself long-term employment at a machine shop. The work wasn’t bad, but lacked the excitement she’d got used to. It was after an off-hand joking comment from a friend that she first considered becoming a hero. Besides the working for the government part, the job was practically ideal given what she was looking for. So, she joined H.E.R.O., and has been happier for it.

To say her parents' relationship was a toxic one would be an understatement and adding her into the mix had just placed further complications. Her father was a bit of a mixed bag personality wise and not in a good way. One moment he could almost seem like the perfect example of husband and father, doting and caring. The next, he could be just downright hateful being abusive physically and verbally to both her mother and her which only worsened when he drowned into alcohol. He would manipulate her mother’s emotions, press on the fear conditioned over the years or even use Nilin as a threat against her so she would not even entertain the idea of leaving him. It became the normal of her life, not realizing what a happy family should be but even ignorant she still debated running away from it all. Sadly, she couldn’t bring herself to do so as she wouldn’t abandon her mother to stay with a monster. It was them two against the world, allies in the hell that was their lives that neither one could stand up against. Keeping each other’s hopes up and just trying to survive even though escape could have been so very simple. She told herself that if she followed the rules laid out, listened to her mother, and never talked back to her father then maybe more good days would happen. Nilin found herself avoiding the problems of home by doing extra curricular activities and anything to pass the time. Gymnastics being the main she tried for a bit of freedom and if a bruise or two appeared then at least it would be an easy explanation to blame it on. It wasn’t a perfect life or a fairytale by any means but at least she thought it couldn’t get worse than this. How very wrong she was because in the end, things boiled over as things tend to do, a night of too much paranoia and drinking led to the very last time her mother would protect her.

She found herself alone, a father in jail and her mother gone with only a pair of glasses to remember her by. She blamed herself, not being strong enough to stand up to her father or to protect her mother and for not convincing her to leave sooner. Nilin bounced around, in and out of new homes over the next few years of her young life, going wherever they had the room. She dropped gymnastic classes, switching to karate while keeping up the gymnastics in her own personal time as a hobby since it was still enjoyable but she never wanted to be weak again so she worked hard to be different. If she was a troublemaker or got roughed up to learn then that is what she would do. That was much to the dismay of the places she lived which only added to the more unstable lifestyle she possessed and a key factor in her moving so much. She eventually landed in a foster home that would one day become her forever home though she knew little about that at the time. A wild bunch of kids ranging from different ages, some with powers and some without, all in the care of a lovely pair who worked to take on what others might view as lost causes.

Victor, while stern and on the more serious side, was kind, clearly adoring his wife and actually viewed all of the children they housed as theirs since he took an active role to support them like a real parent should. A lover of history, the place was filled to the brim with his archeological collection and articles of what had been his discoveries. It was fascinating to hear the tales behind each object (knights and samurai armor being her absolute favorite) and to hear about all the places he had been. He always stated that the key to the future lies in the past, we just need to make sure you use the right key, an easy way to say learn from your mistakes. Gemini was always the soft spoken one and the voice of reason, a true nurturer through and through. She reminded Nilin so much of her own mother and it was easy to let the woman become a role model to her. Her mother couldn’t be replaced but having Gemini eased the pain and guilt she felt at the loss of her mother. It was a surprise to her in the early days that instead of being something like a stay at home mom or a nurse, she was a private investigator and owner of a small company. That she helped people in a different way. It set her down a better path, a goal to reach for and focus on that wasn’t in a negative light. She joined the small agency when she was out of high school and worked there almost two years before she decided that she needed a change. That she could do more and help more so she started looking into HERO, signing up.

Grant Miller.

Death Arms (it's a placeholder for him, really; will come up with his proper villain name of Gatling in-RP)

Gorilla (old high school nickname), Griff (street name, since Grant isn't the most intimidating one...)

35

Male

Ex-Gang Leader, Ex-Underground Meta Fight Ring Champion, Current Petty Crook (and unhappy about it)

Grant is incredibly well-built, standing at nigh 7 feet tall, and weighing well over 200 lbs. worth of muscle, he is, simply put, ripped. Most notably, his arms are especially thick and powerfully built, and are a fair bit larger than you'd expect, which earned him the name 'Gorilla' in high school. Beyond his physique, his hair is of a light brown coloration, and it appears largely unkempt and matted, and his deep orange eyes, while almost always heavy with the sleeplessness he brings himself from nights of training, also carry in them a burning fire of passion unlike any other....

For clothing, he's a simple man. Even now that he's a 'villain' in the vaguest sense that he's a crook that uses powers, he dresses incredibly casually. Naught but a white shirt, stretched to the brink from his size and musculature, a light brown leather belt with his light blue hoodie tucked into it, a pair of comfortably baggy black pants, and some fairly heavy-duty black boots befitting a man of his stature. Oh, and of course, his mask; a remnant of his time as a champion of the ring, it was made personally for him by an old friend, and is one of few things he'd consider a keepsake.

Grant, while outwardly pretty put-together and chill, is a hot-blooded warrior through and through, driven by his desire to use his power to the fullest. His greatest goal in life is to constantly seek out challenges that can slake his thirst for battle, to keep testing himself, as well as to find others worthy of his respect. He actively believes that fighters should be able to win with nothing but what comes to them naturally, and thinks less of those who have to rely on gadgets and weapons to achieve victory.

When it comes to fights, Grant is all-or-nothing; in anything more than sparring (which he's rarely done in his life), he's always fought each battle he's in as if it were life-and-death. Which, in his defense, most were. This mindset has led him to the point that a fight where he can't stake his life against another's feels meaningless to him, living for the rush of a truly bloody, messy battle.

When it comes to fighting, Grant is quite unwilling to work together with others, wanting to win with his own power. Beyond fighting, however, he can function in a unit well enough. He greatly prefers fighting people one-on-one, as it feels more personal that way, and won't hesitate to obliterate anything - or anyone - who gets in the way of a good fight.

In spite of this violent, kill-or-be-killed nature, Grant is also surprisingly honorable for a brute as himself. He shows nothing but respect for those actually willing to fight him, and he thinks highly of any individuals who cant defeat him (or at least survive him). He never uses underhanded tactics, and is always up-front about himself and his goals. Additionally, while he is more than willing to kill others, and has done it many times before, it's not something he's always seeking to do. He'd much prefer to let a strong, admirable enemy live than finish them off, and never seeks to get any weaklings involved, actively abhorring the idea of taking hostages or using citizens as a distraction, or anything of that sort.

Growing up in Brookside was never going to be easy, and Grant learned that quick growing up. Real early on in his life, things were fine; hell, by the standards of this side of the city, they were fantastic. His father, while not the most well-known Hero, was one, and did a damn fine job providing for the family. And his mom, well...Even back then she wasn't all there, but she always did her best. Back then, at least.

That status quo changed when his pops got caught up in a fight with a seriously bad news villain; by the time everything was said and done, the news was already reporting the death of Mighty Man. Didn't take long for his mom to break down, and for little Grant, well...He wasn't even old enough to really process properly. All he knew was his dad screwed up, and now he wasn't coming home. From that day on, he resented his old man for being that weak, that if he was stronger, none of what happened next woulda happened.

But, it happened.

Pretty quickly, Grant began figuring out what his mom's whole deal was, now that the filer of his dad wasn't there. Turns out she was a recovering drug addict; and not just any kind. She was hopped up on Meta-boosters, the kinda shit that'd turn a dude who could make a blade pop out his elbow into a storm of razor-sharp blades slicing ya into ribbons. With his father gone, she reverted pretty hard. But young Grant only knew that his mom was being real unstable and taking some weird stuff. The full story was that she had another thing she reverted back to...

Crime.

Little Grant knew she was putting money on the table, and that's all that mattered to him. His mum, though, was busy putting people in the dirt and breaking into stores for a quick buck. Truth be told, the boy's just lucky he grew up in Brookside of all places, or else his mom probably woulda been eventually caught. However, she managed to stay under the radar for long enough, and he grew up....About the same way every Brookside kid did. Crummy schools, shitty social life, the digs. 'Course, he was also picked on about his dad, cuz kid's can be ruthless that way. He got known pretty quick for being the kinda boy to start fights, landing himself in detention more times than he can count.

The dynamic changed once he hit high school. Over summer break, Grant had....Quite the growth spurt. Going from about 5'7 at age 13 to 6'3 with giant arms at age 14. Definitely abnormal. He didn't think too hard about it...But of course, the other boys did. Didn't take long for some of the older kids to get pissed off at the guy who walked in freshman year looking like a full-blown body builder. So, like normal, he got in a fight with a kid. Y'know what ain't normal?

Throwing a punch, expecting to bruise the dude a bit, and instead breaking your own arm alongside the kid's whole left ribcage.

Needless to say, he had to take a little more than detention for this one. Doesn't help that while he was in ER, the kid died from a punctured lung and internal bleeding. Got stuck in juvie for a few solid months, but got off due to good behavior and a generous court ruling, since there was no way that Grant would've known he'd...Do that. Speaking of, during his time in juvie, they of course fixed his arm up and had some Meta professionals take a look at what was going on.

Turns out, beyond some latent physical bulk from his late pops beginning to spring up, he had his very own Meta ability; he was able to rotate his shoulders at incredible speeds, not only gathering kinetic energy but also building up incredible speeds for, well....Punching things. Only catch? Turns out, according to the eggheads, his body couldn't handle the power output of his ability, and they suggested he refrain from using it whenever possible.

Clearly they underestimated the drive of this kid. You just told a boy that notoriously gets into fights and doesn't stop until his opponent's a crumpled mess, that he can absolutely decimate enemies with a flurry of blows so fast that the human eye couldn't even register it, and you tell him not to use it? Hah...Funny.

Needless to say, after he was out of juvie (and having to calm down his mum having a drug-induced panic attack over the whole incident), he set to training his body to the absolute limit. If he had power....Then he'd use it, professionals be damned. Turns out, once he finally came back to school, that his stunt on that kid had earned him a lot more attention than he was used to. Both the good and the bad.

Some came to fear and shun him, yet others, outcasts among the outcasts of Brookside...They respected him, and rallied behind him. Truth be told? He wasn't really sure what to make of it. He never really was the leading type, and he still ain't to this day. But back then, he made it work, because having anyone to rely on in Brookside is a boon you simply can't pass up.

Didn't take long for his troop of pals to become a gang, emboldened by Grant's absolute strength. Even while the group was just a bunch of high schoolers, they started making a name for themselves on the streets of Brookside. Honestly though, he didn't lead the group so much as his right-hand lady, Mira (or Miranda, if you wanted a few broken teeth). She was one of the first people Grant came to respect, having actually fought her and lost, breaking his arms yet again in the process of that fight. Her only power was an insane amount of durability, but truth be told, it's all you need against a guy who breaks his own body to fight. Point is, he put his full trust in her to do things right by the gang, and she did. Simple as that.

Eventually, Grant...Didn't graduate high school. Honestly, were you expecting anything less? He did manage to get to senior year before losing the will to give a fuck about education though, so give him some credit there. From then on, his little ragamuffin bunch became a full-fledged street gang, becoming mainly known for never using weapons and all having powers, being dubbed by other Brookside gangs as The Mutants.

Eventually though, however well the gang was doing, Grant chose to step down and leave it to Mira. Doing petty crimes and fighting off rival gangs wasn't fulfilling him in the way he needed. So, with that, he said his goodbyes to the group and stepped onto his own path...Though still visiting on occasion.

In due time, Grant bounced between job to job. Usually hired muscle. Was a bouncer at a bar for a few months before he socked a dude's jaw clean off. His next big break, however, was in the shadows, as he heard whispers of an underground fighting circuit, made for Metahumans to fight tooth and claw for cash prizes. Sounded like his kinda place...

And for a time, it was. Early on, the fights for a younger Grant were brutal and exhilarating, each one more dangerous than the last, and each one a win for the crowd-dubbed Death Arms. The paydays certainly weren't bad either; it was a nice change of pace for him to be able to afford more than apartment rent and ramen noodles every month. Over time, though, the opponents just kept on putting up less of a challenge. Within his golden years as Death Arms, he became notorious for either instantly K.O.ing his opposition (or sometimes killing them, but hey, it happens), or leaving them so battered from the first assault they simply surrender. For the crowds, it was incredible to watch him decimate enemies, but for him, it was starting to become dull...

Inevitably, the people who actually had to pay fighters were starting to get sick of this champion individual. Slowly but surely, the shady higher-ups of this operation began cutting into the paychecks he was supposed to be getting. Grant might not be the brightest, but he caught on quick enough; and he wasn't pleased. He put those assholes in their place (though he didn't kill any of them....At least, he's pretty sure he didn't) and took the money he was due, and with that, he cut ties with the underground ring.

Nowadays, while he ain't proud about it, much less happy, he's more or less a common smash-and-grab robber making ends meet. But perhaps a lucky break will come through for him soon...

While Grant still actively visits The Mutants, he also still checks up on his mom from time to time. Also, after his street gang years, he finally got her to stop playing the villain and has used the money he makes to look out for her, though it's out of respect for her and her attempts to keep the family going, not obligation or pity on her current state. He thinks quite highly of his mother in spite of her tendencies.

Also, in his younger years, Grant actually got into motorcycles, and still drives one that he stole a couple years back. He's surprisingly skilled at it, too.

When fighting Grant, there are two primary methods to look at; you either find someone who can outlast him and throw 'em in the tiger's den, or you have someone who can immediately immobilize/incapacitate him. Anything less is risky, since his power is incredibly lethal and he is not without the intent to kill with it.

In theory, if you have ranged abilities/weaponry, those are also good for keeping distance. But if you can't actually defeat him with said ranged options, it'll likely prove to only stall him.

Motor-biking: While it was more of a pastime than anything, he is stunningly proficient in driving motorcycles. However, he finds them difficult to use in tandem with his power, so he typically just uses them to get around or have a joyride now and then.

Proficient Combatant: He may have never had proper training per se, but life is the best teacher. Between his time in the gang and the ring, he's grown spectacularly as a fighter, having adapted a boxer-esque fighting style, prodding an enemy's defenses while keeping his own guard up, waiting for the chance of a finisher.

Restraint Gauntlets: While a bit roughly put-together, his gauntlets were designed by folks in the underground ring to help him manage his own power. The gauntlets help absorb a bit of the shock from his own attacks, allowing him to keep going a bit longer. However, they weren't designed with insulation in mind, so while they maintain his arms fairly well, they actually make him cook a bit faster than he should. And given that he cut ties with the ring, he should find some replacements sooner than later...

Riley Hart (a.k.a Riley Bardot)

Polaris

RiRi, Riles, R-Dawg

19

Female

H.E.R.O (present)

At a height of 5ft 4, Riley cuts a slim figure, although she has a decent degree of musculature from years of dancing and training. Two pretty parents led naturally to the creation of a pretty daughter, and she was often doted on for her bright blue eyes in her younger years. She has a shock of white hair that is usually worn long and loose, reaching down to the middle of her back. Her skin is fair in tone and in the summer months especially her face is usually covered by a good smattering of freckles. Yet despite all this, Riley seems to pay little attention to her appearance. It’s not that she looks bad or her clothes clash or anything, but she does just tend to grab the nearest clean piece of clothing. Certain metal objects also have a habit of trying to stick to her…this is not a fashion choice. It really is very annoying.

Pants on fire- Rileys formative years led her to becoming a rather adept liar. It’s not that she does it purposefully or anything but occasionally she’ll find the odd one slipping out and have to scramble to correct herself…or follow it down the rabbit hole. Usually it’s just white lies but on occasion she’s gotten herself into trouble because of this tricky habit. 
 
Due South - Riley would like to think of herself as a good person but sometimes she finds her moral compass veering away from north. Most often this occurs when she is using her powers, with the young hero tending to get a bit overenthusiastic, forgetting she’s meant to be protecting people. It’s nothing too serious…just a temporary lapse in recognising that other people have feelings and emotions and the ability to be hurt…

Chatterbox - having inherited the gift of the gab, Riley has a way of charming others and can easily make friends when she wants to. She genuinely enjoys being around other people and, as befitting any Hart, does not have a shy bone in her body. Surprisingly she is somewhat oblivious to flirting, and will often have no idea when someone is trying to hit on her. At the age of 13, she went on four dates with a poor boy from her school and even then, still insisted they were only friends.
 
Not just a pretty face - Too clever for her own good, Riley is quick to learn and slow to forget. It also means she’s has a habit of getting bored easily and will often be creating new games to entertain herself. Usually other people end up getting drawn into this, which does not always end well.
 
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger - Riley has no qualms with standing up for herself and can be pretty stubborn when she wants to be. Particularly when it comes to using her powers, she pretty much won’t stop until she’s either defeated them…or passed out from exhaustion.

Liberty Bardot, a.k.a Miss Phantom, had always wanted to be a hero. That’s how she ended up at LATCH and how, she was sent on a mission to track down a gang of minor villains in Tijuana, Mexico. That was also how, whilst drinking one too many tequilas in an overcrowded bar, did she run into Wyatt Hart. Or Ben Warren, as he had pegged himself at that time. Liberty and Ben had gotten on like a house on fire. He told her about how he’d grown up in Brookside, how his parents had unfortunately suffered at the hands of drugs, and how when he discovered his powers of telepathy (minor he’d said, only with touch and only emotions) he’d started to travel the continent, hoping to help others. Between scouting & surveillance missions, the two would spend all their free time together. And when the gang they had been tracking turned out to be connected to a larger ring of cartels, Liberty asked if she could stay behind in Tijuana. Her phasing powers made her ideal for covert work, so LATCH agreed and she remained in Mexico, and what had once been a simple fling turned into something more. Or so she thought…

Liberty had never planned to have children but when she fell pregnant several months later, she never once questioned about whether she would keep the baby. Afterall, Ben was basically the love of her life. Yet just as they were celebrating the birth of their baby girl, did she receive an alert from LATCH. Bens face had flagged up in their system…an escaped S class villain from the Supermax prison in Castleburg. A murderer. It was over before she’d even had time to register what had happened… Wyatt, sensing that she now knew he was, had taken the baby and ran. Liberty had tried to catch up to them but it was like finding a needle in a haystack, his powers making it near impossible to keep up with him. Distraught, Liberty had flown straight back to Los Angeles, determined to find Riley if it was the last thing she ever did.

With the help of LATCH, after seven and a half years Liberty was able to track down Wyatt and Riley at the very southern point  of Argentina, in a city called Rio Gallegos. Although it was subtle, the Ringmaster had been unable to help leaving a trail of chaos behind him. A mission with months worth of planning behind it, and a handy resistance to telepathy when phasing, led to Liberty finally getting her daughter back, although Wyatt managed to get away…

On spending some time with Riley, Liberty was dismayed to find that her daughter had picked up her fair share of bad habits over the years. For a 7 year old, she was an astoundingly good liar (whether a learnt habit from her father or as a way to try circumvent the telepathy…she didn’t know) and seemed to care little about the emotions or feelings of others. It was far from how she would have raised her. This combined with the recent discovery of her powers made for a bad mix. Determined to make sure she didn’t fall down the path of villainy, Liberty set out to fix her daughter.

Yet they couldn’t stay in one place, for fear he would find them and the two were always on the move. Sure, they might get 6 months, a year…maybe even 2 in one town or city, but always and eventually would they have to move on. Life was more akin to that of a military child for Riley than anything else. It was difficult, and Riley was clever & easily bored, but years of encouragement and keeping her distracted by extracurricular activities, summer jobs, tutors…helped form a young girl who looked a bit less worrying. But the instability had taken its toll on Riley and despite her mother’s best efforts to teach her otherwise, she missed her father. And as Riley’s powers became stronger, her ability and desire to control them became weaker. Liberty knew she was good at heart but the temptation to let loose was sometimes too much. One such incident involved a junk yard and far more rusty metal than the Riley should ever be allowed around. Although no one was killed, a few broken bones and several angry parents, meant that the pair once again had to move towns.

It was only after a few more close calls that Liberty finally gave Riley an ultimatum. She could choose to become a hero…or a villain, but if she chose the latter, than she would personally make sure she was locked up in a Supermax person. Riley laughed about it but eventually aceeded, deciding to take the path of a hero. It was how, just over a year ago, the pair moved to Castleburg, settling down in the borough of North Brigold and how Riley finally signed up to H.E.R.O.

Has a completely reasonable and totally not dumb…fear of robots.

Riley has a habit of singing rather loudly, and unashamedly, whenever she has her earbuds in.

A+

Leon Kalsteo

Fortune's Son (also goes by Fortune)

Lucky (old nickname from his gambling years), Leo (by close friends, which is to say....Possibly no one)

20

Male

Currently enlisting as a member of H.E.R.O. (though, in his mind, he already is one; like his interview could possibly come up short!)

Standing at a respectably tall 5'10, with a lanky but not particularly unhealthy-looking build, Leon could be considered quite the average looker; until you hit his face. His striking purple eyes and sleek blue hair garner attention regardless where he goes. Simply put, he's a pretty boy through and through. Combine it with a sparkling smile, and even without his luck he could probably glamour his way through most situations. Granted, in spite of how handsome he can be, the kinds of facial expressions he can make can also be quite vile, his smirk in particular...

For clothing, while he can be seen in more casual wear, the most common of those being a black top, brown slacks, and a pair of white sneakers, he also has more...Gaudy attire, which he's also considering as a hero outfit of sorts. This consists of a crisp white dress shirt complete with a stunning black tie, complimented by a fur-lined beige coat, a sleek high-end designer belt to go with his light grey linen pants, and last but not least, a clearly top-of-the-line pair of black shoes that seem to shine with polish.

However, the one thing he always wears a small charm that functions like an earring, quite rustic and humble in comparison to most of his apparel. A bead of wooden strings ending in a cleanly-carved six-sided dice.

Leon's early life wasn't much to write home about. I mean, his dad was a failed supervillain with the power of bad luck, but that's just more of an embarrassing talk piece than anything. By the time he was born, his dad was reformed and...Trying to get his life together. Key word being try. His mom was a terrible woman through and through, though with his dad's luck, that shouldn't be any surprise.

However, from the moment he was born, things took an unexpectedly bright turn for his family. Like a miracle, his mother seemed to soften right after her darling baby boy was brought into the world, and even his pops was finding some unusually good luck for his track record. The family lived in Passenger Island, as a way to get away from his dad's history (which could barely be called a criminal record; more like a bunch of flubbed bank robberies), so his young life was pretty normal. Beyond the fact that good things always seemed to come to Leon, as if attracted to him.

He'd walk the sidewalk and find a lucky dollar bill on the ground. People flocked around him and became friends like it was natural. He'd buy a soda at the vending machine, and it'd pop out a few extra for good measure. It was inexplicable, but luck seemed to be his closest friend.

For a younger, more kindred Leon, these were just nice little occurrences; not much to really think about. As he grew up, though, he gained a desire to test just how lucky he could be...He'd start cheating on tests and never get caught. He'd pickpocket a passerby and they'd move on without a care in the world. He'd snatch a nice piece of jewelry from a store, and miraculously the security feed gets corrupted...

The more he grew, the more arrogance came with his power. By the time he graduated high school (which in his defense, was still mostly through his own merits), he was actively abusing his luck to get what he wanted. Every week he'd have a new lovely girlfriend on the college campus. Somehow, he'd find the answer sheet to a surprise pop quiz from his economic studies professor. Hell, he'd play a match of Poker and strip the football team for all their worth in bets!

That one...Garnered his interest a lot. If his luck was good enough to guarantee victory in games of chance, well...He knew what he wanted to do. He ended up dropping out of college, and with a pep in his step, he began to make waves in Atlantica. Within months, casinos across the artificial island were suddenly struggling to make back the profits they were losing...All to one man. It didn't take long for nearly every casino on the island to give this kid the boot, but not before he'd made a grand fortune already.

With his extraordinary funds, he bought up one of the poshest pents he could get his hands on, and began to live the life of an extraordinarily rich bachelor...

The funds from the casinos didn't last too much longer with his wild spending habits and extravagant parties. As such, he needed something new to make money with. And hey, why not heroics? In times like these, H.E.R.O. could certainly use a bit of good luck...

Leon's luck spreads to many different facets of life. Nearly anything he attempts, from cooking to skating and beyond, ends rather well...But admittedly he does have a particular interest in painting, especially life portraits.

Due to his luck, Leon excels at anything he does, really. However, he does possess a special knack for art...And being a nosy bastard.