This story is set in the middle of the summer, and in a very peculiar universe. The same technological advancements and events have taken place. However, a strange condition has occurred that has given people God-like powers that defy the laws of science itself. Granted by a mysterious green energy that resides inside of them. These people have been around for two centuries, until they came out of the shadows nearly fifty years ago. Since then, they've became a growing part of society. Strictly regulated by the NEST organization, most of these enhanced humans are no different from the average human. They wear no capes, no cowls, they are average citizens that simply want to live their lives. They go to school, they get jobs, they have fun. And they are everywhere.
This story in particular is set in a sunny californian city called Verthaven... The Sunny city of dreams and heroes. They couldn't be anymore wrong. Called a mixture of New York, Miami, San Francisco, and Venice, this watery city is paradise to some people, the perfect summer vacation spot. They rarely note the rampant crime and sinister organizations working in the background. Now is the time where they put their plans in motion, and like dominoes, the city will be brought to its knees. This story centers around the trials and tribulations of the Metahumans of Verthaven. Their choices and involvement in what will change the city.
You can be one of these characters with superpowers. Of any background, and ability. Remember, power corrupts, but only if you let it. It is entirely up to you what you'll use your supernatural power for. Robbing banks, gaining strength, or helping the world for the better.
Choose your battles carefully, and your allies with even more care. Since all actions have consequences... Can you be sure who will follow you?
|| Overview ||
Honorary Co-GMs:@Spoopy Scary, @UrbanEvolution Genre: Modern Fantasy, Urban, Superhuman, Low-Scifi, Character Driven, Interaction heavy Recruitment Status:Closed Currently looking for: Teenaged characters, and some criminals. Players: 7
Hello, hello, hello, I am Mr Allen J, and welcome to my Roleplay, Verthaven. The continuation of the "Black Fall verse" I've established. The basic jist of things is that the universe has Superhumans, and instead of capes and heroes, most of them just seek to live their lives. The RP is set in a sunny city on the California coast known as Verthaven. Known for its beaches, and Superhumans. The RP will revolve around a diverse cast of these Metahumans as they go about the city. Now, this RP will be very sandbox-y, people will be able to make their own choices. With a focus on character development and interaction. I hope you come here to make an interesting story, because I have. I'll be putting all that I got into this RP.
|| Plots ||
1.1 Terror of the Fiends:
Enemy number one of Verthaven has quickly become the Fiends, drug dealing maniacs and fools, after they turned a normal summer festival into a complete bloodbath, lead by their mysterious leader, Khan. Causing a battle to take place between the Fiends, NEST, and any civilians willing to take arms against them. After one of the worst terrorist attacks of all time, the Fiends left the entire downtown district coated in blood, and calling for vengeance. After the incident, NEST, the VPD, and the National Guard has launched an all out offense against the Fiends. Launching swift, and deadly blows against the criminals. NEST has formed a meeting for it's top members to discuss how to handle the Fiends, what they have access to, and their hierarchy - and how to bring it all down. However, after the festival, new light has been shed on the attack. A lab owned by the Intelligent System Designs organization has been found desolate. Equipment stolen, computers wiped, and every scientist there at the time has gone missing. Which raises starling questions. Are the Fiends behind it, or are they just the puppets?
1.2 The Pursuit of Science:
In the wake of the Fiend's seeming all out offensive against the city, a new threat has creeped into the city. Intending on using the Fiends as a distraction as they commit their depravities in the name of science. This new threat, approved by the Hands of Science themselves, intend on launching attacks against Verthaven's Metahumans. One by one, the Metahumans begin to go missing one night, and those that haven't been captured are being stalked, hunted. Only they can get to the bottom of this....
|| Rules & Notes ||
[1.01] The usual rules. No godmodding, metagaming, powerplaying, autohitting, etc.
[1.02] Swearing, alcohol, drugs, and sex are fully permitted in the RP long as you do not do it excessively.
[1.03] There will character deaths in this RP. By submitting a sheet, you acknowledge that your character will have to deal with the consequences of their actions. If your character does something dangerous, then they may get injured or die. Don't Godmod your way out of it. I won't purposely go out and kill characters (That I like), but I may purposely injure them for the sake of the story.
[1.04] You are required to post once a week or you will placed as inactive. But, please say if you're leaving the RP, especially if you're in the middle of any interactions/important subplots. Any inactive characters will be forgotten about, or killed off if they were significant enough to the story. However, everyone is free to do as they please with any inactive characters.
[1.05] I don't care too much about post length. I rather have a short meaningful post over one full of filler. That said, all I want is one paragraph. Just one. Be prepared for some long posts every now and then. However, I expect average writing at least. I also recommend that, once we get into the mix of things, you do plenty of collaboration posts.
[2.01] Respect everyone else at all times, please. Solve conflict with civility. Last thing I want is for things to become toxic. The golden rule is: Don't be a dick.
[2.02] Me and my GMs have the final say. We aren't tyrants, but if things get out of hand, we'll have to settle things ourselves.
[2.03] I'd rather that we talk on the OOC as much as possible - even if it's irrelevant chatter. I makes the RP seem more lively, and keeps everyone attached to it. If you must, my information is in my sig.
[2.04] I tend to very critical when judging sheets - please don't take it as a personal attack.
[2.05] Feel free to ask about anything, anything. I'll happily answer them.
[3.01] This is an advanced RP, I expect a moderate amount of detail when writing your sheet. The one thing I tend to make people go back and edit is a lack of detail. I should say that your sheets don't have to be as detailed as mine. On the same note, try to make your characters interesting.
[3.02] You have a great deal of freedom when creating a character. You can make someone of any gender, sexuality, background, etc. Long as it's written respectfully. I will not accept characters with mental illnesses unless they are written correctly.
[3.03] I'm gonna say it now; I'm not a fan of sociopaths/psychopaths, dark and tragic backstories (Without proper mental repercussions), one-note "badasses", perfect characters, and any of the sort. So keep that in mind when planning your character.
[3.04] "Magic" does not exist in the setting. This RP will be mainly scifi with slight paranormal themes here and there.
[3.05] The following powers are banned; "instant death" powers, mind/character control, time powers, anything with "omni-" attached to it, reality warping, gravity manipulation, life-force absorption, complete indestructibility/absolute defense, and probability manipulation. I also will not accept characters that have powers that can only be used in a fight. If you want to know why these powers are banned, I'll tell you.
[3.06] I encourage a written description for the character's appearance section. If you must, you can provide a picture. It must be a real photo, or a realistically drawn one.
Mutants, Freaks, Overhumans, Gods themselves... Commonly called Meta-humans are normal humans that were afflicted with a strange condition that has given them powers that defied the laws of nature and physics. Men with super strength, women who can teleport, children who can control nature itself. These powers are extremely varied. These abilities stem from a strange energy that resides deep within them. A green flowing energy that is known as the Meta-human energy. A invisible energy that is extremely hard to detect through normal means. This energy inhabits a Meta-human's entire body, from their skin, to their bones, to their blood. The energy isn't detrimental to them, or the environment, not even in the slightest, it can even be called beneficial. What is interesting is that scientists have observed that energy is the same, everyone has a slightly different form of the energy. Which is believed to be related to how no Meta-human has the same exact power. When a Meta-human uses their power on the outside world, a small amount of the meta-human energy gets projected and focused in that area. Such as a Water-Elemental controlling a cup of water will get some of the energy projected into it, until they cease control and the energy will return to their body. There will be a residual amount of the energy on it, however. It's so faint that it's extremely hard to even detect, only extremely specialized and complex technology can detect faint amounts of the energy. Another interesting effect the energy has is how it grows within a human being. Starting out with a small amount of the energy, until it grows as they develop and learn new things about their powers. Stronger Meta-humans tend to have more energy within them. However, there's a particular connection between high-stress situations and the advancement of powers. Under high-stress situations, powers rapidly develop.
There is no set age when powers develop. Some Meta-humans are born with their powers, while others won't develop until late into their lives. Powers received are sporadic at best. There is no way to predict what power a Meta-human will have, nor who will develop powers. Not even the strongest information-type can determine that. That said, any power a Meta-human receives is almost random. Completely unrelated to race, culture, education, or physical activity. It is also theorized that every human being has the potential to become a meta-human. However, there are such a thing as hereditary powers. Powers passed from parents to the children, or simply run in the family. These are relatively uncommon, but this is the reason why there are entire families of Meta-humans. However, while inherent powers do exist, anyone will get a different version of a passed down power. In what ways vary. Sometimes it's a slight difference, then other times there's a difference in function, or they will have an ability that nobody else have. Like it's been stated before, Inherent powers are uncommon, but there is a chance family members will get a power. Which will be explained below.
Meta-humans have a very particular effect attached to them: The Black Fall Effect. This has two main effects on the meta-human population. Firstly, all Meta-humans are subconsciously attracted to each other. So subtly that it's next to impossible to even notice. It causes the shyest people to head out and interact, or draws people to one particularly location. The more Meta-humans that are around, it will cause a "flocking" effect. The other primary effect is that those who spend plenty of time around other Meta-humans have a higher chance to develop powers themselves. It can't be a minimum amount of contact, it has to be years around Meta-humans for someone to develop powers. Which is why family members and close friends are extremely likely to get powers.
Meta-humans are only capable of using one third of their potential strength, very similar to muscles. These natural limits are theorized to be in place so that they don't burn out. However, similar to flight-or-flight, high-stress situations allow Meta-humans to push themselves beyond their blocks, and develop them in the process. However, while powers are truly incredible, they come at a price. Powers have a toll on the body and mind. Excessive and unrestrained use would cause what could be described as physical overexertion. They'll get tired and weak from use, along with some bodily damage. Pushing powers beyond their limits in high stress situations cause even worse problems, and at it's most extreme, it may cause an effect known as "Ashing". This is basically an extremely deadly aliment where a Meta-human self destructs. Their powers shut off, and all their cells will die at an alarmingly fast rate. Their cells will drop off their body like specs of ash, and this process will continue until there is absolutely nothing left of a Meta-human. This state is extremely deadly, and there's a mere 4% chance of survival - Even if a ashing victim does survive, there are some permanent physical damage (Amputation, Brain damage, loss of powers, etc, etc - Are a few). Ashing is what Meta-humans truly fear, as any meta-human can ash if they are not careful.
There is a slight prejudice against Meta-humans. With people who can easily tear a city to shreds, it's a given. However, with the advent of NEST and the other laws in place to keep Meta-humans in check, it has greatly waned. All Meta-humans must be registered and have a special chip implanted in them that will allow them to be identified by NEST officials. Any unregistered Metas caught will be immediately forced to register.
|| Classifications of Metahumans ||
The NEST organization assigns every Meta-human a specific class based on their type of power.
| Cerebral |
The Mind. Easily the most straight forward out of all the power types; Cerebral powers have something to do with the mind. Any power that has something to do with the mind. Out of the three primary power types, Cerebral powers are the least diverse. Usually falling under powers that let people gather information, alter minds, or exert their wills on the outside world. Telepathy and Telekinesis are the primary Cerebral ability - with a great deal of the Cerebral types have differing versions of those two powers. There are a variety of other Cerebral abilities (Astral projection, Memory Manipulation, etc). Subclasses:
Extra-Sensory. The Extra-sensory class entails powers that allow people to gather (and sometimes share) information on a extra-mental level. A sixth sense you could say. Powers under this sub-class strictly deal with gathering information. Telepathy is stated to be under this class, yet the powers that are mainly under this class are Extra-sensory powers such as ESP, Precognition, Retrocognition, etc.
| Super-System |
The Body. Super-System type Meta-humans have abilities related to the body of themselves or others. Super-System powers are easily the most diverse out of all the Power Classes. Any power that changes (or enhances) the body in any way can be classified as a Super-System power. Powers such as Super strength/speed, flight, and Regeneration are prime examples of Super-System abilities. Subclasses:
Bestial. A very common sub-type of Metahuman, Bestial Metahumans have traits from the Animal kingdom. Most, generally, have the traits of one Animal. These abilities are divided into two functions; either they're permanently altered with the animal traits, or they have the ability to transform into animals. They don't exactly have to be based off an animal, a Metahuman can simply have animal-like, or bestial traits. There are some Bestial Metahumans that are based off of Mythological-beasts (Such as Werewolves, Dragon, etc).
Biological. Those under the Biological class have the direct ability to actively manipulate their biology and anatomy, rather than have permanent alterations. They have the ability to manipulate the biological makeup of themselves and others. Bones, blood, skin, muscle, etc. This can include shape-shifting, growing new muscles, and skin-manipulation.
| Elemental |
The World. Those under the Elemental class have the ability to warp matter and energy to their will. Most Elemental types have control over one, or several similar, elements. Many of them function the same way, in the way that each Elemental-type has the ability to move the Element that they have control over, along with a few extra tricks. However, not all Elemental types are like this. Any ability relating to a kind of matter falls under the Elemental Class. A Metahuman that could turn into stone, or a Meta empowered by water, would count as an Elemental ability (Albeit falling under the Super-System Class). However, abilities that have to do with the manipulation of body, or mind, would be Super-System or Cerebral. Subclasses:
Energy. Energy-types are Metahumans with an affinity over Energies. They operate similarly to Elemental-types, they can generally create and control an energy they are attuned to. This is a very broad definition. It can range from electricity, to fire, to sunlight, or sound. Just like it's parent class, turning into energy, or getting empowered by it also counts as Energy.
Cosmic. Cosmic-Type Metas have powers over the celestial bodies above them. These meta-humans have powers related to comets, meteors, asteroids, stars, planets, nebula, quasars, dark matter, the sun, and the moon. The powers can range from limited control over the sun, to getting empowered by the element.
| Power |
The Essence. The least common type of Meta-human out there. Opposed to altering the mind, body, or the world, Power-types alter the very essence of Superpowers; the Meta-human energy. For example they can alter it (On a large, or small, scale) to give themselves different powers (Power replication comes to mind), or enhance, or weaken, the powers of others. They are easily the most feared out of all the Power-types. There are some Meta-humans under this class who can give or take away powers - there's even some who can manipulate powers themselves.
| Other |
Powers that simply don't fall under the above categories.
|| Metahuman Hotspots ||
| Black Fall |
The proclaimed "City of Freaks". Black Fall is famous because it has the most Metahumans congregated into one City (1% of all Metahumans live in Black Fall). Easily the most important location for Metahumans. The city went from a small fishing town to a major hub for gamblers, tourists, businessmen, and families, in the course of a few centuries. It contains people of almost every ethnic background. It is located in Pennsylvania, on the Delaware river, not too far away from Philadelphia. It is split down the middle by the river, with one part of the city on each side. Technically it is apart of New Jersey too, since one side of Black Fall is technically on the state of New Jeresy. The West side of the city is known as "Old World Black Fall" where the city started. It has most of the population centers and major buildings that have been there from the start. The East side of the city is known as "New Black Fall" which is much more commercialized. It contains most of the clubs, casinos, and mansions.
| Stadium City |
Created over the course of a few decades, with heavy Metahuman involvement, Stadium City stands in Ohio. Stadium City was ordered by the President to be created by Metahumans in order to help alleviate the Anti-Metahhuman hysteria and show that they are helpful. Stadium City, in design, doesn't appear too different from other cities. It has residential districts, a downtown, plenty of skyscrapers and more. It has plenty of Metahumans, however. After the construction of the city, many of the Metahumans that made it stayed in Stadium City and their descendants remained there. However, it was ridden with crime for decades. Over the years, the city began a hive for all sorts of Organized Crime, plenty of which involved Metahumans. Plenty of gangs and mafias made Stadium City their home. The Police and NEST had a hard time getting them out, as plenty of them were corrupt themselves. However, things changed once the Tyrants moved in and took over. Now, the underground crime belongs to the Tyrants, and the city is much better. Crime is at a low, and people feel safe again. Also, the ISD Headquarters is also situated in Stadium City.
| Highroller Heights |
Located near the borders of Arizona and Nevada, Highroller Heights is the bastard son of Las Vegas (Sometimes referred to as New Vegar). Massive, boiling hot, in the middle of an american desert, and gives you great reason to check your shoes every morning. Just without the class and style that movies and other media outlets build it up to be. It's run down, the people are bitter, and just about everyone wants to make a quick buck - At the expense of others of course. This city has tons of casinos, and other fancy places to make the place look good for the tourists (The main source of income of High-Roller heights). But when you see the city for what it really is, you'll reconsider. By day it's a sandy city, a pleasant place, if you know where to go. At night, the seven deadly sins take over. Sex workers, gangsters, drug dealers, rapists, and lunatics roam the streets. To say the least, crime is high here. Because corruption is rooted so deep, the crimes are brushed aside with a simple wad of cash. High-Roller Heights has racial diversity, so people of all colors are a common sight in this city, along with a high population. The city is located in the middle of an active desert. There is sand far as the eye can see, it's skin blistering hot, and since it's a desert; don't expect rain. Superhumans are a common sight here.
| Mendel |
Located in northern Louisiana on the border between Louisiana and Mississippi is Mendel, a city of about 200,000 people where 6,000 are meta-human. The city was once a manufacturing hotspot, but when the Corvo Family, a metahuman organized crime syndicate, moved in, everything changed. They began to pump money into the west side of the city, attracting more businesses and cleaning it up significantly despite weakening the east side. The city is divided in half by the Mississippi, similar to Black Fall. The east side is a poor city living around the few factories left operating, and the west side is a more modern metropolis with a lot of corporate buildings. The city is most famous, however, for its gangs; the Vanguard and the Skulls. The two rival gangs have a tremendous amount of influence on their perspective sides, and often clash with police and each other, much to the appeal of the media. About a year ago there was a gang war between the two sides which gained international attention and left parts of the city in complete ruin.
| Organizations of Note ||
Note: All Organizations below are primarily situated in North America.
| NEST |
With the oncoming rise of Meta-humans, an organization was deemed necessary to keep them in order. So shortly after Meta-humans became known to the world, the Government revealed their special police force: Code-named NEST. NEST is a powerful organization trained and equipped to handle any and all Meta-human threats. Credited for saving cities, and even humanity at large, they are highly celebrated for their heroism. NEST is comprised of Agents that were selected from various military and police backgrounds and trains them to face off against Meta-humans. Though, they are very known for employing Metahumans of their own. However, NEST only accepts the best of the best. They need professional soldiers to face off against some of the most dangerous human beings on the planet. As expected, they are also armed to the teeth with the best weaponry and tools the Government can offer. NEST is known for employing power suppressant collars. They have teams and HQ's set up in every major city in America, and Canada - There has been talks to expand NEST to the major South and Central American countries. The NEST teams are well enough connected that should a significant enough threat show up; forces from other teams will be allocated. NEST as a whole does not discriminate against Meta-humans, there has been some incidents of bias agents, but their goal is also to maintain a balance between the two kinds of human being. While they have soldiers trained to take down Meta-humans, that is merely one side to this faction. NEST has another branch that handles civilian meta-humans, and enforces the many laws that keep them in check. They act as Superhuman social works, more or less, and they handle larger backlashes against Meta-humans. They strictly enforce the many rules and restrictions set on Meta-humans, while also keeping track of their development. They head the Meta-human restriction act; which means they keep track of any meta-humans, and make them go many tests to deem them safe to live with society. Any Meta-humans that do not meet this criteria will be sent off to a special base made to house Meta-humans too dangerous to be let run freely with society. Alternatively, they also have special prisons for Meta-Criminals. However, the NEST organization also approves, and works closely with, the Academy Program.
If one doesn't wish to use their powers, then they are given a power suppressant collar and allowed to live their lives.
| The Academy Program |
The Academy program was created after being approved by NEST in response to the growing concerns of where Metahumans are to learn how to use their abilities. There have been some, rather unsuccessful, schools for superhumans ran in the past - By what this generation would call amateurs. From the mid-80's forward, the collective Governments have pushed the "Academy Program" worldwide. Where Academies were created for people of all ages to learn. There was a total of 221 Academies created across the United States. Some of the most successful Academies are, naturally, Academy 218, and Academy 01 (Also known as "Camp ThinkerRock"). They serve two purposes. First, to teach Metahumans how to their powers in accordance to NEST standards. Second, to educate young Meta-humans in usual educational trials.
| Intelligent System Defense (I.S.D) |
There are many questions about Metahumans. What are they? Where did they get their powers from? What can we learn from them? The ISD are the people seeking to answer them. The head organization for Meta-human research and development, the ISD is an organization dedicated to continued research on the new Metahuman phenomenon at the request of NEST. In the many facilities across the US and Canada, The ISD have discovered everything known about Metahumans. The Metahuman energy and how it works, the Black Fall Effect, Ashing, and more. They have done this through a network of volunteer Meta-humans. They work very closely with NEST and the Saviors, however they choose to remain neutral on the Pro/Anti-Metahuman scale. Their objective is to learn about Metahumans and what can be done with the Metahuman energy. Any Metahuman can volunteer for some humane experiments. Recently, ISD has controversially started experimenting on ways to remove the Meta-human energy, "curing them".
| The Savior Foundation |
Often called "Saviors". The lead Anti-Metahuman organization, and the antithesis to many Pro-Metahuman organizations. They believe that Metahumans as a whole are far too dangerous, and must be removed if humanity is to survive. The Saviors were formed by the big pharmaceutical CEO Berlioz Auxiere, as a means to assist humans afflicted by Meta-human related incidents. The Saviors also invest in research towards a way to remove powers, and have pushed for NEST to remove rights from Metahumans. Naturally, the saviors are despised by a large number of Metahumans. However, they are not known for overt or violent acts against Meta-humans. They work towards their goals peacefully. Their objective is to help people. Whether they've been the victim of a Metahuman related incident, or afflicted with a detrimental superpower. Their secondardary goal is to find a way to "cure". Though, it is reported that a large number of the Saviors are extremely Metaphobic. It's also believed that the Saviors secretly fund the Meta hate group, the Pure.
| The Tyrants |
The most infamous and successful team of Supervillains ever to hit America. The Tyrants were a large group of Meta-humans that were responsible for countless crimes. Bank robberies, large heists and many more. They were infamous because of how well they covered their tracks and hit hard. They were known for their code of honor, never hurt innocent people, and chose their fights carefully. Which is how they lasted so long. Unlike other criminal fools, they didn't make enemies, so the need to hunt them down was low. However, when they did fight, they were known for their. What they are the most known for is how they took over Stadium City's crimeworld. Over the course of a few years, the Tyrants systematically destroyed every gang and other organized crime organization, and absorbed them into the Tyrants. Building up a massive army of gang members, and using them to destroy the larger organizations (Or run them out of Stadium City). Until they completely controlled the city's crimeworld, by eliminating the competition. They now stand at the top, controlling all drugs, guns, and more, that run in and out of the city. Ever since the takeover of Stadium city, they seemed content with maintaining their empire rather than going out on big jobs. Which was called a good thing. Since the Tyrants ignore civilians, and there aren't too many big organizations to exploit them anymore, Stadium City's crime has gone down to all time lows. Some small time crooks are too afraid to even run out. The Tyrants are ran by the powerful Queen Carmelita, and the elderly Barracuda. Queen Carmelita has a powerful tactile Telekinesis power, and the Barracuda can extend blades over a distance, and they can cut through anything.
| The Pure |
An extremist group, the Pure are dedicated to the complete annihilation of all Metahumans from the United States. The Pure are comprised of people from various backgrounds. Former-Soldiers, Police Officiers, and regular people, all with the goal of killing Metahumans. The Pure has taken credit for many deaths of Metahumans, and attacks on ISD, and NEST facilities. Despite their small numbers, they are surprisingly effective. Because of their numbers, they are incredibly organized. They often plan hits on the request of concerned civilians, and they carry them out with brutality. They usually plan traps, or surprise attacks. It doesn't matter if the Metahuman is a threat or not, they'll kill anyone with a superpower. Man, woman, or child, criminal or innocent, it never matters to them. It's believed that NEST and the Saviors have a hand in the Pure.
| The Hands of Science |
A shadowy group, no one knows what the Hands of Science are, or what they want. They've been called a more extreme version of the ISD. The Hands of Science are known for preforming experiments on Metahumans. Except, they have no concept of ethics or humanity. They kidnap Metahumans and forcibly preform experiments on them (Before killing or releasing them). Or they distribute devices, or drugs, that fiddle with powers in some way. All done by an extensive group of scientists. They have a large team of Agents that preform the field operations. People that distribute strange the aforementioned drugs and devices. Often lying and tricking Metahumans into using them. What their goals are is ambiguous. It's believed they want to find a way to create Metahumans so they can sell them to the highest bidder. The Hands of Science are believed to be responsible for plenty of Metahuman related incidents. NEST is working into investigating the Hands of Science. However, the Hands of Science know something about Metahumans that the world doesn't.
| The Changeling Unit |
Only a few people know of the terror that is the Changeling Unit, a baby kidnapping ring. As child of Metahumans are more likely to develop powers themselves, the Changeling Unit kidnap Metahuman babies all over the North American continent. To sell to the highest bidder (Most of their babies go to the Hands of Science). Nobody knows about the Changeling Unit, but they are feared. They keep a low profile by excising great stealth and subtly when they kidnap. To the point that nobody knows they were there until it's too late. However, they have slipped up a few times in the past.
| The Ivory Deer Community |
Founded by Wallace Melbrondt (for whom the estate is named after due to his stark white, antlered appearance) and several of his associates, the Ivory Deer Community is a collection of meta-humans who have suffered from physical alterations and birth defects that have caused most of them to be branded as, for lack of a better term, abominations. Located in a forest clearing not too far from the city of Black Fall, the gated community accepts any meta-humans who have been cast out due to their appearance, and offers them free shelter, sustenance, and entertainment. Melbrondt has made it clear many times that he does not accept meta-humans who still look human, partway due to past altercations that have left him with a less-than-stellar opinion of them. The Ivory Deer Community keeps a bare minimum level of contact with NEST only because they are required to by law. If such weren’t the case, they’d ignore them entirely. Recently, a strange plague - that specifically affects Metahumans - has afflicted a majority of the Community's inhabitants. They have been placed under quarantine by NEST and the CDC.
Size: 38,442 acres Population: 936,128 Time: June 29th, 2015 Crime: High
Verthaven is a metropolis on the very beaches of California, in between San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The city started out centuries ago as a coastal settlement during the Californian gold rush. Gold was found in the mountain, so they formed a small town for a place to rest. During this period, Verthaven grew into a mighty city - just like it's rival city, San Francisco. Even after the Gold Rush ended, and they milked the mountain dry, the city continued to boom. In a few years, the population absolutely quadrupled, and continued to grow. Rows and rows of houses were built, and because of it's location, it became a hub for fisheries, traders, and rich families. Who helped the city thrive. Pushing into the 1900's, the city quickly became a massive boom-town capable of rivaling it's neighbor cities. Skyscrapers, row-houses, businesses, and more, quickly filled up the budding city until it reached it's peak.
It's technically bigger than San Francisco, but no where near as large as San Francisco. It's location also made it a great spot for the overprivileged, and vacationers. Even to this day, not much has changed. The population of the city is slightly higher than that of San Francisco too. The population is large, diverse, and open to a myriad of change. It's population is diverse in terms of Ethnicity too. Plenty of people chose Verthaven as their destination when they immigrated. The city is comprised of a wide range of Caucasian, Asian, African, cultures, with some Middle-Eastern people making the place their home. This has influenced the city being very multi-cultured, and tolerant of each other. However, like Black Fall, it has become a hot-spot for Metahuman activity. Many Metahumans gathered in Verthaven during the early 50's, after Metahumans were outed. The Black Fall effect gathered the westward Metahumans in Verthaven, just like how the Metahumans on the Eastern part of the United States went to Black Fall. A large minority of its large population is Metahuman, and it's another reason the city has so much to note. Crime used to be pretty low, but as the years went by, and more organizations sprung Verthaven, it has gone up. The city's poverty and levels of homelessness has also been on a steady increase and shows no signs of stopping. However, a major blow has been dealt against the city's organized crime. The Fifth-Seed Crime Syndicate, Verthaven's mafia, and La Familia De Asesinos, a Mexican cartel, have been eliminated by the police (With support of NEST). Removing two major players from Verthaven's crime world. The side-effect was that it left a power vacuum.
One of the main draws of Verthaven is it's rather unique geography. Starting off with the miles, and miles of pure sandy beaches (And other noteworthy landmarks like rocks, and businesses). It makes it a great place for people to relax - whether you're on vacation or not. The sea beyond the beaches are pure Atlantic Ocean. Easily the city's most distinguishing feature is the network of waterways that go through the city like a large web. These rivers are what the city was built around, and they're well integrated into the city's design. The largest and most notable river is the Cross-River, which, as the name implies, is cross-shaped, and miles wide. One end comes from the oceans, while the other leads into other places in the United States. It splits the city into four large sections, with a network of smaller rivers running through them. Each of the rivers lead into a large lake in the very center of the city, and inside of this lake contains an island. Giving the city a very unique look when walking through it. The city itself appears to be a mixture of New York, San Francisco, and Venice. It's a very populous city, and it's lined with all sorts of houses, businesses, and places to just have fun. The streets are lined with palm trees, and other bushes. The city is absolutely massive, and thus, there are plenty of ways to traverse the lands. There is a massive network of highways connecting each part of the city with one another, along with a trolly network that'd give everyone a scenic way to get around. What the city is mainly noted for contributing to the Metahuman community, other than it's high population. Inside of the city limits of Verthaven contains the NEST National Headquarters. It's a major contributor to NEST activities all over North America. This is where the most NEST Agents are trained, and is the home to the very first NEST team.
Weather is generally fairly sunny around Verthaven. It's very unexpected for any weather conditions other than rain. The city is warm and sunny during the summer, and moderately cold in the winter months. Year round, the city is very humid due to all the water that flows through the streets. The city sees rain quite often. It's also at risk for flooding, and tsunamis. The city has faced floods more often than any other city on the Californian coast. In 2003, the city was hit with the largest and most destructive tsunami in the city's history. The city was flooded, and hundreds of people died, many more were injured. Massive damage was caused to the city, the very same damage that is being fixed to this very day.
|| Districts of Verthaven ||
As stated above; Verthaven is divided into four sections called isles, and from there, their land is sectioned into various sub-districts. Each isle has it's own name, which has it's own special theme. Each isle has a female name ending in a. Isabella Isle is the top-left section of the city, holding it's pore official districts. Estella Isle is the bottom-left section, and is more of the city's business and shopping center. Rosalina Isle is the top-right section of the city, being it's the leisure center and its primary commercial area. Priscilla Isle is the bottom-right a more domestic district that is primarily residential. Now, the city's shape is best described as squarish, with a cross shaped river separating these locations. At the very center of the city is a massive lake known as the Centerpiece Lake.
| ISABELLA ISLE |
| Ferris Square (AKA. City Hall) |
One of the oldest sections of the city. Ferris square is the political heart of the city, and houses some of the first buildings, known as City Hall Square. City Hall Square contains large garden for tourists to walk through, leading up to the stairs of City Hall. City hall itself is a massive building that stands over the garden like the White-House. It's the center of all the official Verthaven decisions. Around City-Hall Square are some of the first houses that were planted during the Gold Rush. These houses are considered to be Antique Homes, and kept to the highest standard. Only those willing to shell out money, and put considerable effort into maintaining these houses are allowed to even purchase them. Some of these houses (The especially old ones) are inhabited, and merely kept around as tourist attractions. Other than that, Ferris-Square has to be the smallest district of the City. There aren't too many residential areas, as everything here is kept official. Not too far away from City-Hall is the primary police headquarters.
| Knightdale Rows |
Surrounding Ferris-Square is the Knightdale-Rows Residential district. The more high-end neighborhood due to it's proximity to Ferris-Square. Unlike the other districts, Knightdale rows consists more of nice Apartments, and Condos rather than houses. In fact, houses are scarce. The district itself has a very lowly, modern feel. It looks a little bit. It's a hot-spot for Hipsters because plenty of it's locations cater to the Hipster-Demographic. It's jam-packed with Dive-bars, parks (For music festivals), and clubs. Along with stores that sell Hipster fashion. It's ideal for the over-privileged music lover, artist, or Tumblr Warrior. Knightdale Rows doesn't have too much crime due to the high police presence. Certain organizations operate within the Knightdale Rows, however.
| The Ghost Town |
Originally a section of Knightdale Rows, a terrible accident was caused by a Metahuman which destroyed a couple houses, and left the area in hospitable. It's been long evacuated, and closed off by the city officials. Leaving nothing but ruins here. Damaged homes, businesses, and parks. However, the location is often hit up by teenagers off on dares. The place is spooky, and that's the appeal of it. Often enough, they're picked up by VPD and told to get out of there. Strangely enough, some of them said they saw strange creatures lurking outside their peripheral....
| NEST Headquarters |
Far west of Ferris-Square is the Tower that overlooks the city. This is the NEST National Headquarters, and it's where much of the nationwide NEST decisions are made. It's where the NEST Chairmen, and City-Directions, come to meet in times of Crisis. It's a massive base that's several miles large, and contains plenty of buildings - merely a few miles away from the beach, and some of the base is touching the Cross River. The main building is a massive Skyscraper that touches the cloud. A beauty of modern architecture made out of concrete and steel - what people generally see is the glass windows (Bulletproof and reinforced) going from the very top to bottom. This building contains office after office, meeting room after meeting room, and plenty of databanks. Surrounding the main building are several other buildings. Such as a Prison, Barracks, a Hangar to house NEST vehicles, a Hospital, and Docks. Other than those buildings, a majority of the Headquarters is dedicated to training future NEST Agents. There's miles of training grounds (Obstacle course, shooting ranges, etc). Finally, surrounding the NEST Headquarters is a massive fence.
| The Crystal Shores |
Northern parts of the sandy white beach. Separated from it's lower half, The Fire Shores, by merely a few mile wide river. The Crystal Shores are much nicer and more expensive than it's sister beach. Despite being the smaller one. While there's plenty of public beaches - it's shore is lined with private beaches for those who can afford them. The Crystal Shores are dotted with hotels, casinos, and high-end apartments/condos. There's even a few mansions on the beach.
| Academy 12 |
Academy 12 is one of the very first Superhuman Academies set up. It's located to the far north-west of the NEST HQ, built not too far off the beaches of the Crystal Shores - and on the very city limits of Verthaven. Academy 12 is one of the primer Academies set up by the Academy Project (It's main rival being Academy 218). Built with the idea of educating, and training young Metahumans with using their powers, so they may safely be integrated into society. It has everything that students need. Dorms, Training Rooms, Education Rooms, Shops, and etc. Dorms are entirely optional because of the proximity of Residential areas.
| ESTELLA ISLE |
| Bazaar Riviera |
Overlooking the shores of the Cross River is the Bazaar Riviera. Which is basically row after row of various stores on the water front, going to the very center lake. A historical location coming from the time the city was just growing. Stores here have items imported from various countries, and offer wares from many cultures. They offer special items that people can't get anywhere else in the city. Whether it's an antique, or even food that comes from different countries. The Bazaar is also home to many Apartments. The Bazaar has plenty of crime. Mostly in the form of purse-snatchers waiting for women to drop their guard, and thieves that'll snatch items at the first available opportunity.
| Eureka Harbor |
On the river-bank towards the point where the rivers meet is the Harbor district of Verthaven. Similar to the Iron District below, it's comprised of, you guessed it, docks. Large cranes can be seen from all over the Estella Isle, and this is usually the first destination for boats. However, it's pretty seedy, hookers, pimps, and drug dealers hit this place up pretty often. It's also wear many illegal goods are smuggled in and out of Verthaven.
| Union-Point Hills |
South of the Bazaar Riviera is the Union-Point Hills, another major residential area that makes up the majority of the Estella Isle. It's called Union-Point hills because the District is on ground much more elevated than other parts of the city. It's just as historical as the Bazaar Riviera. Union-Point is rowhouse, after rowhouse, after rowhouse. Consisting primarily of middle-class families. There's not as much diversity here than there is in other Residential Districts. Union-Point consists primarily of Caucasian people, with other Ethnicities being uncommon. Pushing southwards, the housing drastically drops in quality. As many of the people who live in the lower parts of Union-Point are low-income. It has a distinct Italian influence, as many Italian families moved in. It has plenty of Italian Eateries (Like Pizza).
| Chinatown |
Not too far off from Union-Point is the city's Chinatown. The section of the city dedicated to Asian culture - not just China's. The streets and buildings are covered with Chinese decorations, and structures. Plenty of neon signs gives the place a distinct look at night. People go here if they want to get some good Asian food. Chinatown is famous for it's restaurants. It's also known for it's various Martial arts studios. There are plenty of houses and apartments that are home to Chinese families.
| The Iron District (AKA. The Industrial District) |
Located south of Union-Point is what make jobs. It's a massive sector that consists of plenty of factories, warehouses, docks, and etc, providing jobs for the big burly men of Verthaven. Times are hard around Verthaven, so it's not as populous as it used to be. Many of it's locations have been shut down. Leaving once prosperous buildings empty, and decaying. This part of the city has become a bit of a Ghetto. The houses are cheap, so people are quick to flock to them, and there's plenty of rundown Projects. Thus, the location has become an invitation for crime.
| The Fire Shores |
The Southern half Verthaven's massive beachlands. It's always alive with beach-goers coming from all over the country. It's a popular spot for surfers, and tanners. Unlike the Crystal Shores, the Fire Shores are more accessible. Meaning less private-beaches, as a great majority of it is public beaches. It's dotted with Beach houses for whoever can afford them. It has plenty of restaurants, hotels, and there's even a massive amusement part built on top of a boardwalk in the center of the beach.
| ROSALINA ISLE |
| Downtown |
A great deal of money is poured into The Crowns to make sure it's the very pinnacle of Verthaven. It's a large tourist attraction that lies on the South-western part of the Rosalina Isle. Containing hundreds of shops, restaurants, and various hotels - and the District is known for it's restaurants. There are many different kinds of restaurants here (From many different cultures), and they are all delicious and high-classed. The streets are usually lined with residents and tourists walking to their destinations. The Crowns is lined with massive skyscrapers, and tourist attractions.
| Turtle-Creek |
North of Downtown is Turtle-Creek, the richest neighborhood in the city. Turtle-Creek is lined with expensive house after expensive house, with some high-end apartments and mansions thrown in for good measure. The people who live in Turtle-Creek are among the city's wealthiest people, and they support the city in the only way they can, by pouring money into the city. Thus, Verthaven holds Turtle-Creek on a higher priority than the rest of the city. Crime response is near instant, along with the district being the cleanest and shiniest section. Inwards, there are plenty of private schools, and colleges for the rich and important.
| Las Palmas Strip |
East of Downtown is the Las Palmas Strip, a Las Vegas like strip of Casinos, Clubs, Strip Clubs, and hookers. It's the smallest section of the Rosalina Isle, but it's by far the most memorable. It's the center for sinners who want to go out at night and have some fun. During the day, it's nothing special - A few restaurants, and casinos are open - but during the night it comes alive. Full of all sorts of people. From the saints who want a little sin. To the sinners who want to be saints. Crime is pretty high in this section. It's just loaded with drug-dealers, pimps, prostitutes, and drug addicts high out of their mind. Other than those locations, there's a few raceways, and hotels - along with some dingy apartments on the outermost parts of Las Palmas.
| Eagle-Rock Row |
Forming an L around Downtown, Turtle-Creek, and Las Palmas is the City's "ghetto" located right on the very edges of Verthaven. Contrary to belief, Eagle-Rock Row is easily the largest district of Verthaven, and it also holds the title of being the worst part of it. It's the poor district of the city, and because of it's low property taxes, it's full of the less desirable people. And run down houses. Eagle-Rock Row is just strife with crime - with three major gangs working out of the district. The Row also has shady motels, shitty casinos, and STD infested strip clubs.
| PRISCILLA ISLE |
| Central Valley |
One of the primary Residential Districts in Verthaven. Central Valley contains a good amount of it's population centered in this densely populated district. True to it's name, Central Valley is located within a somewhat steep valley. Central Valley is very suburban, there's not too many row houses or apartments. It's generally comprised of nice looking single houses. Obviously, this section of the city is populated by the middle-class. There are plenty of children in this segment of the city because of the schools, and the proximity to University Row.
| University Row |
A district that is West of Central Valley. University Row was created because back in the day there weren't too many schools in Verthaven. Most of the young students went to other cities in order to get a higher education. This was corrected when several colleges were set up, along with plenty of grade-schools. Houses and apartments were also set up close by in order to provide cheap housing for college students. There's also some families living in University-Row, but they are far and in between.
| Columbian-Heights Park |
Sandwiched in between Central Valley, and University-Row is an upper-class neighborhood, known as Columbia-Heights Park. It is, as the name implies, a massive park that has been declared it's very own district. This area is a very nice looking part of the Priscilla Isle. It has tall trees, and the rivers flowing through it are very clean. Columbian-Heights has paths, and bridges going throughout it. Which makes it ideal for the bike-rider or jogger. Along with picnic areas, stages, and more. There's some houses in Columbian-Heights, and they are fairly nice. Though, Columbia Height's housing is generally comprised of Apartments.
| Misc. Locations |
| Centerpiece-Lake |
The Centerpiece-Lake is the large circular body of water that the Cross-Rivers lead into. The Centerpiece lake is what the corners of each isle touch. They each have beaches on the corners of them. It's not uncommon to see yachts, and such boats going through it. The lake goes fairly deep, and has a island (More of that below) right in the center of it.
| Standing-Rock Mountain |
The mountain-island in the lake that lies within the very center of the city. It's a massive island, with a tall mountain that can be seen from most points in the city, touching the clouds. Because of urging from Historical, and environmental, groups, the island has zero industrialization, and is completely untouched by companies, and the housing market. The base of the mountain is surrounded by a dense forest of trees, brimming with wildlife. From Verthaven's origins as a gold town, there is a complex network of mineshafts going through it. Normally, it's only used as a tourist attraction, all other times it's strictly closed off. There are old towns that were well used during the gold-rush, and, like the Mineshafts, they are only used as tourist attractions. There are no roads or bridges to the island - the only way on is by boat, or by swimming.
| Eastover Woods |
The very east-end of Verthaven is surrounded by thick woods, known as the Westover Woods. This area is full of swampy wilderness, and wild animals. Relatively devoid of human life, other than a few houses and cabins. Roads and trails run through these woods - and beyond them, are clear Californian plains for miles.
| The Sewers |
Underneath the city is a complex network of tunnels that act as the sewers. They are dark, cold, concrete tunnels, full of human waste and trash. They are often used by gang members as a way to get around, and to act as a hideout. Plenty of the city's rejects have also taken residence in the sewers.
| Island of Providence |
Technically not apart of Verthaven, the Island of Providence is a island that rests several miles off the coast of Verthaven. One large tropical island, with a archipelago on the east end of it. It has a small village on it, along with plenty of resorts and hotels, with it's intention being a vacation hot-spot.
|| Gangs & Organized Crime of Verthaven ||
| The Fiends |
Easily the most dangerous and unpredictable gang that has taken the Iron District, and Union-Point hills as their territory. Responsible for a number of robberies, murders, rapes, and riots. They do whatever they want, and what places them above the other factions is that they lack subtlety. They're willing to open fire in a crowd of people, bumrush a line of police officers with knives and hammers, and walk into the White House and announce they have a bomb in their back pocket. Most of this recklessness comes from the fact that most of the fiends are hopped up on experimental drugs that makes them willing to do just about anything. They are a band of vicious drug-dealers that distribute experimental new drugs to the inhabitants of Verthaven. These drugs range from hallucinogenics, and drugs that induce mutations. These "experimental" drugs come from the Hands of Science, who are merely using the fiends as a middleman in order to test their drugs on unsuspecting people. The Fiends are a very large gang, consisting of adults, teens, and even children. Whoever the gang can get hopped up on their drugs counts as one of their soldiers. A small percentage of the Fiends are Metahuman. Members of the Fiends often wear gas-masks, and cover their body with tattoos. This is their downfall, however. A Fiend alone is easily managed, but a group can be a massive headache. Their arsenal inevitably, varies. They can go from using fire-arms, to garden tools. Just whatever a single member can get their hands on. It's very hard to peg their leadership, but the Fiends seem to be ran by a man named "The King", and six of his lieutenants, who relay the orders from him. NEST and Verthaven's Police Department have been working hand in order to stop the Fiends. NEST is involved because they want to know where the Fiends are getting drugs that mutate people (And destroy the source), along with stopping Metahuman members of the faction. To the point where a great deal of the city's Police efforts is going towards stopping the Fiends.
| The Highway Stars |
The Highway Stars are a rather ruthless Biker gang that claims to merely be a group of harmless motorcycle enthusiasts. That couldn't be any further from the truth. The Highway Stars are vicious, and show little mercy. They attack people, sell drugs, rape women, and steal cars. Many people have fallen prey to the Highway Stars and have left with only their lives. As their name implies, they claimed Verthaven's highways as their territory. They operate out of various garages, bars, and strip-clubs (Namely the ones close to the Highway). They'll let anyone with a motorcycle join, race does not matter to them. Their initiation into the gang is decided by older members. It could range from stealing something, to downright murder. They patrol up and down the highways of Verthaven looking for easy picking. Either a car they want to jack, or someone walking down the Highways. Once they find their targets, they'll box the person in and brutally beat them down (Even killing some of their victims), and take everything they have. They believe in returning the favor against all who cross them. They remember who pisses them off, and they'll set up a trap for the person. They'll lure the target onto the Highway (Or wait for them), then they'll go wild. They'll violently attack their mark while they're on the road. Throwing objects at them, breaking their windows, shooting out their tires, and eventually knocking them off the road. If the person survives, then they'll either leave them alone, or go in for another beating. They're known for being very volatile. So much as saying the wrong thing to one of them is enough for them to mark you. The Highway Stars are a large gang, and they have enough members to keep eyes on the city's highways. Members usually wear leather jackets with the gang's Star logo on the back. Despite their tendency for violence, the Highway Stars primarily sell drugs (Mainly heroine) along the city's Highways. The gang often gets into conflicts with the Fiends and the Red Crown.
| The Children of the Iron Cross |
One of the city's oldest gangs, formed in the 50's during the height of racial tensions. Operating in the Priscella, Estella and Rosalina Isles, The Iron Cross, at it's core, are a group of violent white supremacists. They were credited for many violent attacks on non-white people, and plenty of deaths. The Iron Cross are responsible for a number of hate-crimes across Verthaven. Their mission is a ethnic cleansing of the city. Because of their ideology, they are very hard for the police to get rid of. Along with being very large - they have even recruited people from other cities. Their members is very high, and dangerous - along with diverse in age group (Some of their members are old people). Many of their members look the part - they're covered in tattoos, shaved heads, and jackets with patches of Nazi symbols. Membership includes committing a sufficient enough hate-crime for the Iron Cross to consider them dedicated enough. A bit of their membership consists of Metahumans. The Iron Cross are armed with all sorts of weapons, mostly the weapons that their members brings. The Iron Cross are very organized, and they take orders from a man known as Kaiser Plage. People don't know who he is, but he's known to be a Metal manipulating Metahuman. Their main opponent is the Red Crown, a smaller, but equally dangerous, gang. For... obvious reasons. They have declared all out war on each other, and plenty of people are being caught in the cross-fire.
| The Red Crowns |
The self proclaimed "Kings" of Eaglerock Row. Compared to the Crips, and the Bloods, The Red Crowns are the newest part of the "gangster" craze (Fueled by bad rap music). They are mainly comprised of African-American, and Hispanic males (With some Asians) who couldn't get good jobs, or simply didn't want to. The Red Crowns were originally two smaller gangs, the Reds, and the Spanish Crowns. They united because of the common enemy they saw in the Iron Cross, who were utterly demolishing both of them in numbers. The Red Crowns formed an alliance, and that alliance quickly became a combination of the two factions, and they quickly grew from there. Gathering people that were abused by the Iron Cross, they became a massive threat within Eaglerock Row. Despite having a bit of infighting, and rivalries within the members. They distribute drugs to the community, and do things you'd expect such a gang to do (Rob people, break up stores, and etc). They have a very small percentage of Metahumans (At least three) among their ranks, and they're treated as soldiers of the highest degree. They have been known to attempt to force other Metahumans to join them. Their members are denoted by red colors, and symbols of royalty. It's not uncommon for them to spray-paint their territory with Crowns, or Thrones. Most of their efforts have been combating the Iron Cross - the organization they declared war on - and the Fiends - their main competition in the drug trade. It's best not to cross the Red Crowns, as they are very numerous and dangerous.
| The White Spider Society |
The White Spider Society are a very mysterious organization that specializes in sex, basically. They own several clubs and brothels all over the nicer parts of Verthaven - having a heavy presence in Las Palmas, and Downtown. The White Spider Society in Verthaven is merely a branch of a larger organization that is situated in Europe (And still have heavy connections to them). The Organization itself is owned by White Arachne, a very wealthy and mysterious woman. She has enough money in order to support the Society, and pay off anyone who might bring up any issue. She doesn't exactly run Verthaven's branch, she leaves her daughter to handle it (With her orders in mind, of course). Yet, she sometimes appears in Verthaven (Because she constantly remains on the move). The White Spider Society is very mysterious, despite having public brothels and clubs open to everyone. They keep as much about the inner-workings of the organization a secret. For good reason, the Society runs Verthaven's prostitution ring, and manage high-quality prostitutes all over the city. Along with importing/exporting prostitutes into other countries. The Society also has an interest in catering to "acquired tastes" which come in the form of Metahumans. They primarily recruit Metahumans with Bestial power-sets to work in their brothels. The Society is incredibly classy, and well organized. The members are recruited, and only those who can uphold the Society's standard are allowed in. Men or women, they do not discriminate. It's members are noted for wearing animal themed masquerade masks, white, pinstriped, suits, and having incredibly polite, butler-like, personalities. These are to make the members blend in to each other as much as possible (And keep their identities a secret). Despite these traits, the Society is easily the most docile gang. They do not commit violent crimes unless they are pushed. When someone does cross them, they tend to go missing. White Arachne has been bribing the police and NEST to keep off of her for a little while now...
| The Good Magic Family |
The Good Magic Family are a splinter group of a organized crime family that works out of Highroller Heights called the Noctis Family (Ran by one of their princes, Cyril Noctis). The Family calls themselves a sort of high-class mafia like the old Chicago gangs - despite owning relatively little territory. They are a small gang that mainly extorts "protection" money out of businesses in the Bazaar Riviera, though they cheat Casinos out of their money over in Las Palmas. Their members are adorned in suits, fedoras, and white porcelain masks, and often walk around with poker cards. The Good Magic family focus on subtlety above all else. They're an organization that would get wrecked by the police, or any other gang, if they attracted their attention. Which is why they're not known to be particularly violent - they refrain from murder. They attempt to handle their problems with money, and stealth. If violence is required, they are swift, dangerous, and quiet. They're not known for being violent, after all. Their leader, Cyril Noctis, is noteworthy for his actions before forming the Family. Doing everything he can to amass as much money as possible. It's left him a trail of enemies, but he uses his discreteness in order to avoid getting flayed alive. He is a Metahuman with the power to control Casino-items, along with a few other neat tricks. He's often accompanied by his silent assistant Morgana Ogmur, a woman who is a living plant.
| The Pure |
The Pure have a sizable chapter within the bounds of Verthaven. Because of it's heavy Metahuman activity, and the presence of the NEST HQ, they feel it's necessary to put more effort towards "making it pure". They have killed a large amount of Metahumans over the years ruthlessly. They have most notably butt heads with many of Verthaven's criminal organizations. Getting into fights with them because they have Metahumans. Recently, members of the Pure from all over the nation have been gathering together in Verthaven....
| The Hands of Science |
Ever since the conception of the Hands of Science, they have had a heavy hand in Verthaven. They have several secret labs within the city limits, and have been kidnapping Metahumans off the street to experiment on them. Along with tricking Metahumans into taking experimental injections (In order for them to test what would happen). However, they have a hand in several of the factions listed above. They are in contact with the Fiends to provide them with drugs they need to test. They also have a hand in NEST, The Pure, The White Spider Society, the Iron Cross, and various small time crooks (Spoilers!). Pulling their strings behind the scenes.
[b]Power Class:[/b] [INDENT](Cerebral (Extra-Sensory), Super-System (Animal, Biological), Elemental (Energy, Cosmic), Power, or Other[/INDENT] [b]Power:[/b] [INDENT][/INDENT] [b]Limits:[/b] [INDENT]Depending on the power, this may be optional[/INDENT] [b]Weaknesses/Drawbacks:[/b] [INDENT][/INDENT]
Director of the Verthaven Branch of NEST for several years. Stern, and cold, she has lead this branch of NEST with efficacy for so long that the grand NEST council refuses to let her vacate her spot. She is feared by all Metahumans. However, she's not what they think she is. A tall, ivory skinned woman that has distinctly European facial features. Topped off with her head of curly hair. She usually wears a variety of pinstriped suits.
Powers:
Unknown. It's ambiguous if she even has a power.
Name:
Agatha Crest
Age:
28
Description:
One of NEST's finest human agents. She is responsible for the arrests of many criminals, and her combat record is near spotless. However, despite her high-combat capabilities, she chooses to moderate civilian Metas rather than combat rogue Metahumans (For unknown Reasons). She is Caucasian, with once again, European facial features that are probably Dutch, or French. She's a few inches above average, and is pretty thin. Agatha has a head of a light-brown hair, usually wearing her labcoat. However, one would note all the scars she has. Agatha is pretty friendly to all the Metahumans she meets. She strives to be the most useful and helpful NEST Agent out of all of them. However, she never gets close to anyone, pushing them away whenever they try to get close.
ALBATROSS is one of KINGFISHER’s higher-ranking officials as well as Sam Clarke’s mission control. He is a greying man with salt-and-pepper hair that’s slightly longer than regulation and a thick beard. His right leg from the knee down is prosthetic, the result of a nasty run-in with a few members of the Tyrants back in his day. Said leg injury ended his career as a NEST agent, forcing him into retirement until KINGFISHER called him up and gave him a job. He is still kind of edgy about the whole situation, and often wonders what his life would’ve been like had his leg not been taken off. His voice is low and gravely, though sounds official, like someone who knows what they’re talking about. As ALBATROSS is still stationed in Mendel, he sees what Sam is doing via a microcamera in the front of Sam’s armor and a drone, which he keeps at the NEST HQ.
Powers:
Superhuman agility and reaction time, but this is kind of irrelevant since ALBATROSS isn’t even in the same city as Sam.
CONDOR is a KINGFISHER agent who is also stationed in Verthaven. His job is to assist local detectives in finding the source of the Fiends’ mutagen drugs and shut it off. Condor is a tall and muscular black man of Rwandan heritage. As a KINGFISHER detective, he dresses usually in a black suit with a black tie and a pair of black sunglasses. His hair is in long, thick dreadlocks which are tied behind his head and come down to the middle of his back. He carries with him a Sig Sauer handgun, a really big semi-automatic handgun.
Powers:
Telepath. Why? because I’m boring.
Name:
Ariella D. Sinclair (Callsign Lamplighter)
Age:
26
Description:
Ariella D. Sinclair acts as Mission Control for a majority of the rank & file NEST Agents. She was formerly a field agent, but she was assigned to act as mission control after an incident. She also acts as the Quartermaster for the Armory from time to time. Ariella is a small-framed, 5'5 woman, with a very well toned build. She has plenty of muscles underneath her uniform from working out. She's of German descents, and has blonde-hair that's kept in a pony-tail.
Powers:
Elemental-Orb Creation. Ariella has the power to create floating orbs of elements (Fire, Electricity, Water, etc) and control them. The largest orb she's created was the size of a yoga-ball.
Fiend NPCS.
Name:
Khan (Real name unknown)
Age:
Uncertain, likely in mid-thirties.
Description:
The leader of the Fiends, and a feared Metahuman, Khan appears to be an Asian woman with very pale and sickly skin. She has a very small, and malnourished frame, with little curves, and her dirty, dark-brown hair is tied up into a bun. She looks very sick. She tends to dress very lightly, usually wearing a bikini of some sort, and any form of pants. However, despite her looks, Khan appears to have military training from somewhere, as she's displayed impressive hand-to-hand combat, and weapon. And she knows just how to deal with NEST, and screw with their heads. Khan is a high-priority target for NEST.
Powers:
Miasma. NEST Reports that Khan has the power to secrete a whitish-blue fog from her body, and transform into this fog to become intangible (At the cost of the fog disappearing). It has two primary characteristics. Once it comes in contact with a dead, or unconscious, body, it will take control of the body and seemingly "revive" the person. From there, Khan can give these zombies very basic orders. These zombies can only operate within her cloud of fog, and are hard to kill due to their nature. Second effect is that anyone who inhales the fog will begin to have hallucinations. The longer they breath in the fog, the worse the effects will be. Until the person goes mad. The largest feat Khan preformed with this power was engulf most an entire district with it.
The mayor of Verthaven as of the last few years. Good at his job when he's not drunk on his ass out of misery. Price has lamented his position since day one, with Verthaven's meta-human population being the cause for a plethora of damages and setbacks that he has had to manage. The gradual increase of collateral repair and NEST operations has turned him from a proud figure of the public into an unkempt mess of a man. But somehow, he has managed to stay in office.
Powers:
Jesus Christ no.
Name:
Megan Jervious
Age:
Appears in her mid-twenties
Description:
A mysterious woman that appears just as quickly as she disappears. Not a soul knows what she wants, or where she came from, but her objectives seem to be the most mysterious part of her. She appears only to Meta-humans, and often helps them in different ways. Otherwise she only speaks to them briefly. Anyone who encounters her quickly finds out about her rather juvenile personality. Extremely cheery, and almost sociopathic in attitude. Megan has one consistent appearance. A tall redhaired woman with freckles, dressing modestly, and having unmatched beauty.
Powers:
Amorphous Shape-Shifting. Megan's body is comprised of a vaguely organic substance that she can freely shape into anything imaginable. This substance is lightweight, self-repairing, and allows her to mimic the properties of anything she has encountered before. It's highly suspected that there's more to this ability.
Name:
Molly Schuler
Age:
28
Description:
Molly Schuler, intrepid reporter. Molly is the top-reporter for Verthaven, and is often the first face people see on the news when something happens. She's a woman of Eastern European descents, going off her Olive skin. She has sharp-facial features, and is quite striking, her black hair is tied into a neat bun. Her body is curvy, and she usually wears suits that accentuate her figure.
Powers:
None
Verthaven's Youth.
Name:
Jodie Jacqueline Penny (Just call her Penny)
Age:
13
Description:
A young girl that went missing several years ago that ended up in Verthaven. She's lost, confused, and hunted (By what). All because of her power. She's short, around 5'2, and a budding young girl. Going through puberty. Penny is Caucasian, with a face splattered with freckles, and has sharp facial features. Most notably is her large, pointed, Grecian-nose that pokes out forward somewhat. Her face has a layer of dirt and grime. Penny wears a white T-shirt with a glittery pink cat over her chest, jean shorts that goes past her knees, and pink Skechers. She doesn't exactly have access to changes of clothes, so she's been stuck wearing the same thing for awhile now.
Powers:
Physical Power-Bestowal. Penny has the ability to gift baseline humans with physical buffs - Super-System abilities. Such as Super-strength, regeneration, enhanced senses, etc. She has learned a degree of control over this ability, so she can choose what power she gives people. She can't give people powers like shape-shifting/transformation, or animal-powers, only enhancements of what people already have.
Name:
Jake Vin Valos
Age:
17
Gender:
Male
Description:
Jake is a prince in all definitions of the word. He's the son of Jason Valos, owner of several clubs and casinos all over the United States. Leaving him, his twin sister Gabriela, and their various siblings, in the hands of maids and butlers - with loads of money. Hilarity ensues. Jake is known from all over Verthaven as a party boy, and overall chilled person - and is easily the most outgoing out of his siblings. He's very polite, and calm, treats everyone with respect. True to his family, Jake is a Brazilian boy. His light-brown skin tells much about his Spanish roots. He's thin, and has the build of a swimmer. Thin limbs without body fat or muscles. He certainly has a feminine vibe to his facial features. It might just be the glasses, though. His hair is a very black color, slicked back. Jake usually is seen wearing a suit, or any other fancy article of clothing. Usually he has an overcoat over it all.
Power: Light Absorption & Expulsion.
Jake has a form of light manipulation - he absorbs light from the environment, and expels it in several forms (He can also shoot a laser with a prism), create holograms, and turn invisible (He'll be blind, tho) .
Name:
Gabriela Mya Valos (Or just Gabe)
Age:
17
Gender:
Female
Description:
Twin-Sister to Jake. Their features are pretty much the same (Brazilian heritage, brown skin, black hair, etc). Much rougher in appearance, creating such a contrast between them. Where Jake looks like a prince, Gabe looks like a biker. She stands at the average female height, and is quite curvy. Though, her skin is covered in burn scars. She looks like a bad burn victim. Though, she functions perfectly fine, despite those burns. She just keeps them covered up with her leather biker outfits. Though, there's no hiding her missing eye - hidden behind a large black eyepatch. There's three claw-point scars running down that eye - indicating that some beast clawed it out. Gabe keeps her hair styled in a pony-tail. Gabe certainly is an easily angered human being. She's always seen as aggravated, and quick to fight. Though, she's nice enough in normal situations.
Power: Pyromancery.
Gabe has an enhanced form of pyromancery, her flames are far more intense than average, and can burn people to a crisp. However, her heat far outpaces her resistance to heat.
Name:
Johnathon Valos (Or Johnny)
Age:
20
Gender:
Male
Description:
Former New Orleans Gangster, thrusted into the life of wealth and luxury. One of the older and more troublesome members of the Valos family, Johnny is a mixed boy of Italian and Brazilian descents which shows through his caramel-toned skin. He's average heighted at 5'11, and is slightly muscular. He has long limbs, and broad shoulders. His facial features are diamond shaped, sharp, and he's notable for having a large, strong, chin, and black, slicked back hair. He's notable for his sense of fashion that's fancy, and pimplike. He's usually wearing suits, hats, longcoats, etc. Years as a thug has made Johnny quite the fighter. Also he's a douchebag.
Power: Negative-Emotion Form
Johnny can shift into a vibrant form empowered by the negative emotions that go on around him. In this form, Johnny is much faster, and much more durable, at the cost of being weaker against elemental/energy attacks.
Name:
Sylvia Lana Bertoose
Age:
16
Gender:
Female
Description:
Younger half-sister of Johnny (but in no way related to Gabe or Jake), Sylvia was Johnny's partner, and overall morality pet when Johnny was in New Orleans. Now she's a good friend of the Valos family, and partaken in many of their adventures. Sylvia is a strange, girl that likes to screw with people whenever possible. Whether it's through speech, or her actions. Sylvia is a very short (5'2) girl, with a thin, lanky build of a swimmer, and has white Caucasian skin due to her mixed European (Including Italian) roots. Though, her most notable feature would have to be the long, back length, hair that she dyed silver. She's often seen with a guitar on her back.
Power: Sound Manipulation.
Sylvia has the ability to alter sound in several ways (Mimic, intensify, hush, and distort, as well warp, strengthen, echo, speed up, and slow down sound), along with creating explosive blasts of sound. However, she is not completely immune to sound, and can still be damaged.
Name:
Lin Baozai
Age:
17
Gender:
Female
Description:
Daughter of a rich scientist and owner of a company known as the Baozai Pharmaceutical Company, Lin Baozai was the oldest among a group of three sisters (Four, since her father also fathered a bastard daughter). She had everything she ever needed, and more. A life of comfort that was unheard of. The current Girlfriend of Jake Valos. Lin is Chinese, and has a whitish skin with very heavy golden overtones. Her build is very thin and frail, and her hair is black, straight, and tied up into a bun. Her facial features are sharp, nearly avian. She's usually seen wearing a dress of some sort.
Power: Telepathic Shape-Shifting.
Lin has the power to read minds (Professor X style) and assume forms based off of those thoughts. You could be thinking about your mom and she could shapeshift into her, or you could be thinking about a person you saw the other night, and bam! She shapeshifted. She is capable of disobeying the laws of mass conservation to an extent, allowing her to assume the forms of people larger/smaller than her. Her telepathic abilities on their own aren't too shabby. She can read thoughts, send them, and open mental connections over a large range (Which she can expand with effort). She can also send sexy thoughts to people.
Name:
Mika Baozai
Age:
20
Gender:
Female
Description:
The much older (and much more judgmental) half-sister of Lin Baozai. She was the result of big pappa Baozai having one night stand with a secretary, and eventually she joined the family in their mansion. She's incredibly polite, but also extremely judgmental, arrogant, and haughty (She looks down on everyone). Mika, like her sisters, is Asian (Chinese, Thai, and Japanese, to be exact). She's somewhat chubby, and has a gut, due to a real lack of exercise and over indulging herself in sweets. Her facial features are diamond shaped, and sharp, and she has a pony-tail (her hair is black btw) that reaches her back. She's known to put a flower in it. Mika's attire is very modest, and schoolgirl-y.
Power: Cerebral Power-Replication.
Mika has the power to copy and store Cerebral powers inside of her. Which she can switch between, but she can only use one at a time. At the moment, Mika only has Lin's telepathic abilities, and a telekinetic power that requires her to touch an object first.
Name:
Jaska Valos
Age:
10
Gender:
Male
Description:
An aberrant, an unknown scion that was added to the Valos family very recently, and still being introduced. There is something very wrong with this young boy from first glance. He looks bestial, almost demonic. Jaska is a young boy with light-caramel skin, a mixture of his Japanese and Brazilian roots. He's very small, standing at 4'8ft. Now, what makes Jaska so frightening is the manifestation of his powers in the form of physical alterations. A mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, jagged claws on his hands and feet, wings with a twelve foot wingspan, a thin devil-y tail with a blade at the end, three horns above his ears (that point backwards), a one foot long tongue, and pointy ears! Otherwise, he looks perfectly normal, even with a head of black hair. His personality also offsets his looks.
Power: Apex-Predator & Inner-Beast.
Jaska's a beast, he promises more than teeth marks when he attacks. Obviously, the first part of Jaska's power is that he's been given physical alterations. Those alterations do exactly what you'd expect them to do (Idiot). However, Jaska's also been given enhancements in the following areas: strength (Nothing that'd allow him to overpower a fully grown man), speed (On all fours, he's hard to catch), agility (he can pull off flips, and is quite flexible), senses (Hearing, smell, sight - though his hearing is the best), regeneration (He can bounce back from wounds quite well), and camouflage (He's the invisiblessed - but, no, really, he can make himself harder to see). At the cost of being quite frail in this state. On the other hand, if Jaska is mortally wounded, his inner-beast will activate. It's basically a giant, hulking form (That's one inch taller than Henry, and way cooler), and has strength (Can lift one ton) and durability (He can take physical blows fine, but blades, bullets and energy? Not so much) that matches it. This state lowers his speed by quite a few notches. He'll be a bit faster than the average running speed on all fours - otherwise, he's pretty slow. In this state, he'll rampage around until he's defeated, or runs out of energy - either way, Jaska will be out of it for awhile while he recovers. Oh yeah, before he begins the transformation, his wounds will quickly regenerate before his body focuses on the transformation (In the process, eliminating his regenerative factor for the duration).
A former student of Academy 218 who is now a seminarian (in training to become a priest). Eli is a genuinely kind and generous young man, known for his great capacity for compassion. He is average-height, about 5’11”, with pale caucasian skin and light blonde hair. His hair is short and somewhat messy, and his eyes are a cold, beautiful blue. He is slightly overweight. He is impeccably clean, a handsome fellow who’s always clean-shaven and well-groomed. He generally dresses nicely, wearing button-down shirts or nice polos, jeans or khakis, and, when it’s cool out, a wool coat.
Powers:
Healing and Angelic Aura Firstly, Eli is one of the most gifted healers to have ever been identified. He can easily heal almost any wound, and if he concentrates hard enough and combines his two abilities, can actually heal mental and genetic illnesses. Eli’s second ability is a little more...confusing. You see, Eli radiates an aura of energy which he refers to as an Angelic Aura. Besides automatically boosting the mood of whoever he’s around, this aura has the ability to strengthen biological processes and powers based on faith. Basically, if another person around Eli concentrates on their faith in something, they can boost their powers and become stronger or more durable. This doesn’t necessarily have to be religious faith, just faith in anything; a religion, an ideology, another person such as a spouse, if the person can concentrate on something that they have faith in, then they gain the boost. The more faith they have, the stronger the effects become.
Jasmine Chang is a detective in training, currently pursuing a degree in criminal justice from Stanford. She is a serious and somewhat idiosyncratic girl, a normal person pretending to be a god. She acts with little emotion, pretending to be a sociopath that she knows she isn’t, and believes herself to be much smarter than she actually is. This often puts her in trouble, as she believes herself to be much more adept at things than she actually is. She’s a tall girl, about 5’10” and is well-built due to her time in the gym. She’s of Asian and English descent, with Asian skin and a slight british accent to her voice. She has dark eyes and a pretty, heart-shaped face. Her hair is black and is cut short in an almost boyish moptop way. She is OCD-level neat, without even a hair out of place. Generally she wears a white or pink blouse, charcoal-colored pants, black pumps, and a charcoal-grey wool trench coat (she literally has an entire closet of charcoal-colored slacks and blouses).
Powers:
Extrasensory Perception Jasmine has ESP, the ability to spontaneously learn things about her environment through unnatural means. This makes her senses exceptional, and allows her to very easily learn simple things (such as the combination of a padlock or if someone is lying).
None. Veronica resides within the sewers of Verthaven.
Appearance
Hair Color:
Black
Eye Color:
Blue
Ethnicity:
Caucasian
Physical Appearance:
Veronica can be described, in a singular notion, as a pretty young woman buried underneath a layer of filth and grime. She owns a meager, lanky frame that does not do well to give her a healthy look. She has far from an attractive figure, though such parts of her body are always covered up anyway. Her terribly pale skin rests underneath a veil of smeared dirt from just under a year of living in Verthaven’s sewers. She owns a heart-shaped face with sullen eyes, a low-bridge nose, a thin brow and pale lips, all covered in more filth. Her hair is black and ragged, running wildly down to the length of her shoulder blades, not having been properly trimmed in years, with flakes of dirt caking quite a few strands. If all this were cleaned and handled appropriately, she wouldn’t look so terrible. But she’s long since foregone tending to her own appearance.
Attire:
Veronica has worn the same outfit for the past year. A long black nightgown and a gray, knitted wool robe, both having been subject to plenty of wear and tear.
Personality
Innate & Outward Personality:
Veronica has been devoid of an appropriate social life since… pretty much ever. As such, her personality is entirely introverted, being almost entirely cut off from any interaction whatsoever with the outside world. All she does is lounge about in her little hovel in the Verthaven sewers, sending one of her children topside to gather food and supplies every week, and having another guard her the rest of the time. Through one of her children, Pale, which can be considered the only vessel through which she traverses the surface world, she keeps to herself, doesn’t speak to others save when necessary, and does her best to maintain a low profile, lest she risk drawing the attention of one of the local gangs back to her little hideout. Or, God forbid, NEST.
Hobbies/Interests:
Nothing of note. Veronica is interested purely in staying alive and out of sight.
Skills/Talents:
Again, nothing of note.
Prized Possession:
None.
Quote(s):
None.
History/Bio:
Veronica Marlowe was born somewhere in rural Montana on the fifth of March, 1995, to a family met with ill fortune. Even before she’d come around, meta-humans had been among their numbers, and the parents had suffered for it. The first two children had developed powers at very early ages, despite the fact that the mother and father, Hank and Margaret, were both ordinary human beings. When the oldest child Peter first displayed his ability to assume a pseudo-magma form at age 5, the couple did their best to keep him in check, and away from the prying eyes of their mundane neighborhood. Then came Stephanie, an unstable telekinetic. Shortly after her powers caused major damage to both the family’s house and surrounding ones, NEST came knocking. Hank and Margaret gave up both their children almost immediately, requesting that NEST put them on an adoption program, which they complied with. The couple’s reputation amidst the community was already ruined however, with seemingly no chance of saving. Thus, they packed whatever wasn’t destroyed and moved into an isolated woodland community, hoping to start over.
Two years later, the couple had another child, whom they named Veronica. Upon her birth, they’d made an agreement that this would be the last one, and the moment she showed signs of being a meta-human, they’d get rid of her. That day did eventually come, but not as early as the first two children. Veronica had lived a quiet, peaceful life in the forest community, her parents convinced they’d finally made a normal child, up until the age of seventeen. Some months after her birthday, her first regurgitation occurred, and needless to say, her parents were both disgusted and disheartened. Shortly after they put in the call to have NEST come pick her up, the surrounding neighborhood was upon the house. World had long since traveled that the two were notorious for breeding meta-humans, and the folks had been keeping an eye on Veronica, just waiting for an opportunity to act on their own accord. By the time NEST had shown up, the house had been assaulted, and the Marlowes and Veronica had fled. But not together.
After that day, word on Hank and Margaret had been quelled, and the two have faded into obscurity. Veronica, however, went her own way after they abandoned her at the house. She fled southwest, hopping buses and hitchhiking. On many occasions, her power proved to be both beneficial and harmful. Over the course of a year, she’d taken the time to learn the properties of each of her regurgitated offspring. Desperation and starvation had led to her consuming the remains of one of her children and, while lacking in nourishment, did prove its own practical use after a while. Veronica eventually figured out the entirety of her abilities, using each of her “children” for her own benefit and survival. Pale got dressed up and fetched her food and supplies, Red kept her safe while she hid away, and the Twins… well, the Twins weren’t used for much, but they were always available.
Eventually, Veronica ended up in Verthaven, making her way there after hearing quite a bit about it. She was of the mindset that it’d be a relatively easier location to settle into, given the major concentration of meta-humans. However, accounting for NEST’s heavy presence in the city, and out of fear and uncertainty as to what they’d put her through if they apprehended her, she remained keen on hiding away instead of attempting to assimilate into society. So far it’s worked out, and she’s carved a little sanctuary out of the sewers for herself. It’s not the most attractive lifestyle but she seems keen on it.
Relationships
Family:
Hank Marlowe (Father, 60) Margaret Marlowe (Mother, 58) Peter Marlowe (Older brother, 35) Stephanie Marlowe (Older sister, 28)
Dynamics:
None yet.
Abilities
Power Class:
Super-System (Biological)
Power:
Veronica’s innards operate on a peculiar, and admittedly grotesque, system. On a weekly basis, she regurgitates a small, infantile being. The “child”, as Veronica refers to it, then proceeds to rapidly mature into a humanoid organism, reaching its prime in a mere matter of hours after birth. The child remains in a pseudo-active state once it reaches maturity, acting as a mindless servant under Veronica’s command. It is void of sentience, Veronica’s own consciousness forming an extension into its simply-developed brain, allowing her to control it effortlessly. Come a week or so after the child’s conception, it will then disintegrate into a puddle of sludge, and that sludge will quickly evaporate if not sealed in an airtight container. About an hour after the child disintegrates, the process begins again.
The physical form of every newly regurgitated child varies, depending on if Veronica has consumed the sludge of any of her previous children or not. If so, the new child will be a direct reincarnation of the one whose sludge she consumes, with no alterations whatsoever. If she hasn’t consumed any sludge in the hour-long timeframe between the disintegration of her previous child and her upcoming one, then the result will be randomized. Over the years, Veronica has bottled up a stable collection of different types of sludge, allowing her to freely choose what comes next birthing. They are separated into three staple templates so far.
The first one is the most human-like out of all of them. Average height, pale skin, gaunt features, solid black eyes, and a flat nose. Veronica uses this child, referred to as “Pale”, as her own personal grocery shopper, errand runner, and in general, her servant. She has Pale dress himself in a coat, hat, and sunglasses to conceal his appearance so as to not draw any unwanted attention when he slinks back down a manhole into the sewers.
The second child, simply referred to as “Red”, is not so inconspicuous. Tall, muscular, covered in sinewy callouses and red flesh, eyes stark white and lids almost fused shut. Red is Veronica’s bodyguard, and time-wise, her most active one. Red keeps the hideout safe from potential assailants by fending them off with loud roars and shows of strength. Through Red, Veronica is much more likely to resort to violence in a situation.
And after him are the Twins, a little more unique than the first two. Two small, dark-skinned, frail beings that stand at half of Veronica’s height, with gleaming red eyes and sharp, spindly fingers. Nigh indistinguishable from each other, the Twins are essentially Veronica’s method of scouring Verthaven at night, when she needs something done in the safety of low visibility. They possess impeccable vision when surrounded by darkness. Out of all of the children, the Twins are the least used, but that doesn’t take away from their capability.
Limits:
Only one child (or two, in the Twins’ case) can be active at a time. Veronica cannot regurgitate a new child until the current one(s) has/have expired, either by the natural flow of time or by her commanding them to commit self-slaughter. What's more, straying too far from Veronica's location will cause them to lose their mental connection to her, whereupon they will keel over and disintegrate.
Weaknesses/Drawbacks:
This pertains to each child individually. Pale is unremarkable in essentially every regard save aesthetically, being slightly weaker than an average human male when it comes to physical strength. Red is not so weak, his bulk telling no lies as to what he can lift and throw, but even with Veronica’s full command, he is slow in both his reactions and responses, and he cannot exit the sewers once he’s reached maturity due to his size. The Twins are the weakest and most fragile of the children, and while their nocturnal vision is commendable, even one bright light is enough to blind them both. Their bodies are extremely sensitive to sunlight as well.
We just started, of course we're still recruiting. lol
Hey, you can never be too sure. I just wanted to make sure you guys weren't the "WHAT NO NO NEW JOINERS WE SETTLED THIS OFFSITE WHY DON'T YOU KNOW THIS" type.
Hey, you can never be too sure. I just wanted to make sure you guys weren't the "WHAT NO NO NEW JOINERS WE SETTLED THIS OFFSITE WHY DON'T YOU KNOW THIS" type.
Fortunately for you, that isn't my usual brand of dickishness.
Westgate, Black Fall, PA; staying in Isabella Isle, Knightsdale Rows
Appearance
Hair Color:
Dark brown with black motor oil stains, especially in the shoulder areas.
Eye Color:
Dark brown
Ethnicity:
Korean
Physical Appearance:
Ratchet has narrow Asian eyes that are turned inward with the tear ducts at about 4 degrees, with round edges and untouched eyelashes. Ratchet has smile lines near her eyes. Ratchet has a nose with a bit of a bulbous tip, with barely-noticeable blackheads that she over-emphasizes almost to the point of it being rather annoying. When she’s amused, her nostrils flare out as she laughs (not cartoonishly large, but just somewhat noticeable), and she doubles over. Her lips are somewhat thin and stoic, although she prefers a slight smile, just to let people know that behind the grime and fiberglass, she’s a human being. Her ears have attached lobes and do not protrude very far from her head. They are shaped somewhat like a blunt “?”. Ratchet does not wear makeup, since she doesn’t see any point if she’s just going to get her face and body all covered in motor oil anyway.
Ratchet usually ties her hair back in a ponytail using a rubber clamp (she claims that it’s the first thing that she found when she first went into the auto shop, and asserts that she doesn’t give an expand dong about it). Sometimes she forgets the clamp on her nightstand and just gets another clamp from the garage (she has a collection of about five clamps, two of which her father has asked her repeatedly to return). Nevertheless, oil does splatter, and it does get in her hair. (Before you ask, Ratchet does take showers, but she often surrounds herself with engines anyway.)
Ratchet has broad shoulders for a girl and toned arms. Her left forearm is missing due to an accident with a semi truck’s engine block. Instead of a left forearm, she has a three-pound fiberglass gauntlet buckled to her left bicep that has a rip-key flywheel attached to a wheel well where her wrist should be. She has to wear a brace to keep the thing lifted up, since she couldn’t find anything sturdier to support the fiberglass prosthetic. She wears the brace around her waist. The flywheel’s key mechanism is made of an old BeyBlade top and part of a shopping cart’s wheel and pivot. She has to work harder to lift her left arm due to the weight of the mechanism; as a result, her left arm is slightly thicker with muscle than her right, and she has a bit of a hanging posture. Ratchet quite honestly does not care what size her breasts are, but if she snaps a string or something by accident she’d have to go buy a B-cup brassiere. She usually just hops into a baggy pair of overalls, making hip/rear size somewhat irrelevant in public, although she does have a typical Korean lower-body type, with bulbous calves and horseradish-shaped thighs (albeit somewhat stretched for her height). She wears size 8 shoes.
Underneath her right breast, below her armpit, Ratchet has a long splotchy birthmark that you could see if you strain to see it (please don’t, first of all, it isn’t that important, second, looking for a birthmark under a boob isn’t the quickest way to a good relationship with anybody). Generally she will have grease spots and oil splatters on her skin all over the place, and will likely smell like gasoline for most of her day. (True friends would like her whether she smelled like a diesel engine or not.)
Ratchet shaves her legs, like, once in a blue moon, since she sees no reason to due to her overalls.
Attire:
Usually, Ratchet just throws on a underwear, a shirt, and some grease-stained, baggy overalls before going about her day. (She likes overalls because she finds the belly pouch very, very useful.) Instead of having pockets, Ratchet wraps a tool belt around her waist that contains the objects that she needs for the day. She has a philosophy of always carrying a wrench and a screwdriver, but whatever else she’s got in there depends on what she’s going out to do. Sometimes she just leaves with a tin of Altoids, her Nintendo 3DS (you never know where you could get a StreetPass), and her wrench and screwdriver.
Ratchet only wears short-sleeved T-shirts because of the need to accommodate her prosthetic left forearm, which has, at the end of the wrist, a flywheel instead of a false hand (the reason for which I will explain later). She has a variety of different colors and patterns, some with logos or designs or images upon them (she has a particularly-worn, somewhat grease-stained Pikachu shirt) that she picks based on the first one on top of the pile in the dresser drawer. Her dark-blue denim overalls have several large grease spots, especially in her chest area and thighs. The overalls have a sizable pocket, about 7” tall and 11” wide. She has a pair of black Converse All-stars with no laces that she always wears (except to band concerts and other formal occasions, in which her attire in general will be formal as a whole), and may or may not put on socks depending on the potential for jeopardy that she could put her foot in that day. If she does decide to do so, she will put on a not-necessarily-matching pair of Hanes socks. She has both white and black socks, and doesn’t give a shake of a wrench to whether or not they’re the same color.
Personality
Personality:
Ratchet is always focused on a task at hand (only her right one, since she doesn’t have a left), when she has one. She will relentlessly pursue a task, but can become focused solely on that task and not much else. (Fortunately, she does not suffer from functional fixedness.) Nevertheless, her work ethic and passion make her an all-the-better fit for the auto shop. Ratchet is passionate about cars and how they work.
Despite having suffered an injury that led to an amputated left forearm, she seems quite mellow about it, and even makes several hand jokes. When not working seriously on something, Ratchet is chill and calm. She sits with her lanky legs out and her arms wrapped around the back of her chair’s seat. Ratchet has a small tic in which she’ll play around with a bolt on her prosthetic, twirling her right index finger around it clockwise. She may fidget, and once or twice check her Instagram or tumblr or something. She often gets wrapped up in sports if she watches them, especially soccer. However, she’s willing to snap right back to work when she is needed.
Ratchet talks about a variety of subjects, such as Doctor Who or Pokémon, and subscribes to shofu’s YouTube channel. She has an appreciation for a variety of different fandoms and/or published works (including the famed Moby-Dick) and has an appreciation for dank memes. She posts often to tumblr, mostly in the form of sketches that she takes crummy iPhone pics of. She’s not quick to pick a fight, but if she hears them fightin’ words tho, she lets her flywheel rip and holds it up as if preparing to rub tire tracks all over the perpetrator’s face. She doesn’t give a crap about the negative connotation within gender that her nickname has acquired in modern times, since she knows that it means a kind of wrench (Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest bothers her a little, though).
In terms of interpersonal relationships, Ratchet certainly likes to talk to people who share any of her interests. She does not get bored with people, and actually has social interactions, contrary to the rumors that spread about her affinity for automobiles. Yes, she enjoys fixing up a car with her papa, but really, people? Ratchet’s all about motors, and that applies to her speech as well; she’s a total motor-mouth. Get her talking about cars, and you’re going to be there for a while. Ratchet, however, is persistent in trying to maintain a person’s attention upon her, and can be a bit pushy or demanding. She never means harm.
Hobbies/Interests:
Model-making (especially cars), video games (especially Mario Kart), drawing (thankfully, she didn’t lose her writing hand!), auto repair, trumpet.
She loves putting model cars together; she finds the entire experience, from cutting out the pieces to piecing them in place to painting and lacquering the whole thing, very rewarding and quite calming.
She’s an ace at Mario Kart, and loves to pick either Toad or Rosalina. She bought both Mario Kart 8 packs and likes the City Tripper and Circuit Special the best out of the kart bodies. She often gets first, but isn’t too fazed by losing. (But she sucks at League of Legends, unlike most of her Korean brethren, including her brother Winston.)
Mostly she just has time for quick sketches and gestures, but if she has time to sit still and draw, she’ll do it.
Ratchet often helps out in her father’s garage, repairing cars for the people of Black Fall. Since she discovered her power, she found it a whole lot easier to help out since she can flick her wrist and bring a dolly with tools over (okay, that’s not exactly how her power works, see the section on her power).
Ratchet, despite having only a single arm, loves to play the trumpet, and had to develop several strategies for maintaining proper intonation without the ability to use her trumpet’s mini-tuning-slide. She plays popular songs and video-game music she finds on the Internet, but also owns a concerto book. She’s been second chair in her school’s top wind ensemble, and the section leader graduated last year, so she’s practicing to be chosen as first chair. (She refuses to touch other people’s instruments. Ew!) She was given a trumpet solo in this year’s marching band field show opener, and is enthralled to be able to play it.
Skills/Talents:
When rollerblading, she can do a special trick in which she twists her left arm and uses the flywheel to do a 360-degree turn. She looks a little awkward while doing it, however, and whether or not that can be called a talent is debatable. Ratchet has exceptional talent in the arts and humanities, and an advanced understanding of single-variable calculus, but kind of glazes over in any life-science topics. She can hold her breath for seven minutes and twenty-eight seconds, and quite literally cartwheel. To compensate for the loss of her left hand, her right hand has become extremely deft, and allows Ratchet to perform card tricks with ease, as well as other delicate tasks.
Ratchet is, however, a bit of a wild driver (habits from experience in playing Mario Kart). For this reason, she has a smaller, more maneuverable car, an old Fiat 500 with a Bluetooth music player bolted to the dash and an iPhone charger plugged into the cigarette lighter (because she’d rather charge her phone than smoke). She and her dad worked on improving the 500’s suspension system in order to keep it from sustaining damage from Ratchet’s driving. She hasn’t gotten killed yet, though, so that’s a plus.
Prized Possession:
Her wrench and screwdriver, which were given to her mother the last Christmas before her mother’s death (2008).
Quote(s):
”An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. You know, like myself.”
“You can call me pushy. That’s really not too far from the truth.”
“I still manage to be pretty handy around the auto shop, despite… you know.”
“It’d probably take a blue shell, a red shell, and a Bullet Bill to get me in a car crash."
History/Bio:
Injae Park, AKA Ratchet, is a first-generation Korean-American born to Jehyun and Evan Park on March 10, 1998. In her younger, more vulnerable years, Injae (known affectionately as “Ratchet” to her father Evan due to her curious habit of twisting objects) had a curious mind and a tactile style of behavior. Until she was about nine, Ratchet lived in the town of Amherst, MA, before moving to Black Fall. She plans to return there for college if she applies and gets in. As a child, Ratchet spent a lot of time in her father’s garage, simply playing around with whichever spare part happened to lie right next to her. (Her father, responsibly, kept her out of the way of any cars he worked on, at least until she was mature enough to have the sense not to herp-a-derp knock over a Ford Mustang’s engine and crack her skull open.)
Ratchet’s power of kinetokinesis first came to light in kindergarten, when, dissatisfied with the slow speed of one of those Fisher-Price backyard mini-coasters, she willed the coaster to move faster and accidentally caused a boy to fall off the swings by immediately removing his kinetic energy and forcing gravity to start over with him. Suffice it to say, she made the little cart move a bit too fast and launched herself into a chain-link fence, breaking her own leg.
Quickly, the paramedics rushed Ratchet to the emergency room, where they informed the Parks of an abnormality in Ratchet’s DNA, indicative of a Meta-human. Suffice it to say, they were required by law to register Ratchet in the NEST database. Of course, neither of the Parks were happy that Ratchet was being treated like a convicted felon. The bureaucrats, however, allowed the Parks to stay in Amherst until any noticeable development occurred in Ratchet’s powers (under strict scrutiny, of course). (Perhaps the fact that Ratchet freaking broke her leg helped them with their discretion.)
Ratchet managed to live a fairly normal life, although awareness of her powers allowed her to experiment with them. For instance, she would roll a Hot Wheels die-cast car across the garage floor and stop it with a motion, before causing another Hot Wheels car to move using that same kinetic energy. She continued to hang around her father’s garage, and her father even began to teach her the ropes of auto repair.
Ratchet’s mother was diagnosed with leukemia in 2006; she lost the battle to cancer in 2008, but lived to see her daughter hit puberty and begin to blossom into a good, strong young woman. Mrs. Park knew, and appreciated, Ratchet’s love for machines, and acknowledged Ratchet’s desire to help her, even though she knew that Ratchet couldn’t. She knew she was terminal by the time December came in 2008, and rushed to buy Ratchet her treasured wrench and screwdriver before finally passing.
Ratchet lost her arm in 2010, when she was in seventh grade. Her father, sleepily working on a Peterbilt’s engine, jerked a winch too hard. Unfortunately, the cables were too worn-out to support the sudden movement, and the engine fell, banging a corner and shattering Ratchet’s left arm, right below the elbow. Miraculously, the engine block spared Ratchet’s left arm’s joint, but the doctors had to amputate everything below that. To make it up to her, her father resolved to build her prosthetic himself, with Ratchet’s input. By this point, Ratchet knew a lot more about her power over kinetic energy, and discussed plans with her father about her prosthetic limb. They didn’t have the technology available to the public then to create artificial neurons and therefore neural connections to a prosthetic hand, but that didn’t stop Ratchet and her father from crafting a metal forearm from a shopping cart, a BeyBlade (or two, since they accidentally snapped the first one trying to fit it into the wheel well), and three pounds of fiberglass.
2011 proved a turning point in terms of Ratchet’s powers, since that was the year that she took a physical science course and learned about the conservation of energy, and gained a fuller, more in-depth understanding of her abilities. (Knowledge of her powers certainly made the class a lot easier, more so than that ruddy life-science garbage.) Curious Ratchet continued to experiment with the mechanics of her ability, and even learned to play video games using her power, manipulating the control stick or D-pad with little bursts of energy from her flywheel arm. (She was SO glad when Nintendo included the 3DS stand accessory with Kid Icarus: Uprising!)
Eventually, Mr. Park had to move his business from Amherst to Black Fall because of Ratchet’s developing power over kinetic energy. There, she attended high school, having a generally normal life at school and helping her father in the garage at home (while keeping up with her homework; Koreans have standards!). She took marching band, concert band, and auto shop, waiving out of foreign language due to her proficiency in Korean. She just finished her AP Physics 1 and AP English Language and Composition classes, crossing her fingers that she would get 5’s.
After her pre-summer band camp, Ratchet, with her family, left for Verthaven, planning to stay for about a month. (The fact that one of the districts in Verthaven shared the name of one of her favorite video game characters quite amused her.) Primarily, she is visiting her family, and they are staying with their father’s sister, who has a daughter younger than Ratchet.
Relationships
Family:
Evan Park—Father
Jehyun Lee Park—Mother (deceased)
Winston Park—Brother
Sonmi Kim—Aunt
Kate Kim—Cousin
Dynamics:
Evan Park | Familial Love | Father | ”Dad might be cluttered, overworked, and a little on the dopey side, but he’s still my dad, there for me every time. I mean, know any other dads that’ll make you a prosthetic out of a BeyBlade?”
Winston Park | Classic Brother-Sister Love/Annoy Relationship | Younger Brother | ”Sometimes I’m tempted to let my wheel fly and drag Winnie, in his chair, away from his little League of Legends game. Mostly ‘cause that’s all he talks about.”
Sonmi Kim | Cool Aunt | ”I think awesomeness runs in the family whenever I see my aunt.”
Kate Kim | High Positive Regard | ”Always, always look forward to seeing good old Kate. She’s a lovely younger cousin, and I like playing with her. Though she shouldn’t mess with my trumpet stuff…”
Abilities
Power Class:
Elemental (Energy)
Power:
Kinetokinesis: The ability to control a body of mass’s potential energy and transform it into kinetic energy. She can manipulate another body's kinetic energy to transform that potential energy, essentially giving an object an indirect “shove.” To do this, she can take energy from a different, moving body, or a moving part of a body of mass, and transfer it to a different, resting body. This, however, causes the moving body from which Ratchet leaches the kinetic energy to come to a stop, its movement converted back to potential energy.
Ratchet can therefore use her power to make an engine turn or a motor run by focusing her power upon a shaft, cog, or piston. She finds it easier to move the internal mechanisms of an engine rather than an entire car or bus because of the complexity of the machine and the fact that if she tried to use her power to move the car itself there would be a horrible grinding noise that signified the destruction of the engine (learned that the hard way).
Ratchet is well aware that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed; the loss of her left arm both hindered her and helped her. Instead of opting for a fake hand or a hook or something, Ratchet instead had a metal forearm with a flywheel embedded in the wrist joint installed into her arm. Ratchet found it somewhat difficult to construct the flywheel mechanism with only one hand to work with, but with a couple old BeyBlades and some help from her father, she could pull (get it?) off the job.
tooconfusing;didn'tunderstand: She moves stuff by making other things stop moving.
Limits:
In the very simplest terms: inertia, the tendency for an object at rest to remain at rest. In order for Ratchet to properly use her ability, she must overcome the inertia of that body with enough kinetic energy. Otherwise, she might as well try and move a brick wall.
Ratchet cannot obtain kinetic energy from too many sources at once, which is why she can’t just snap her fingers and have the kinetic energy of the air itself at her disposal (also, that would probably kill someone). She compensates for this with her flywheel; contrary to what you may think, however, this does not provide Ratchet an endless supply of movement, since that would be both OP and scientifically inaccurate.
Ratchet also has to deal with the force of friction, which prevents her from being a perpetual motion generator. To keep a body constantly moving, she must re-spin her left arm’s flywheel and continually transfer energy into the body, like shoveling coal into a steam locomotive’s boiler. She may be able to compensate for this for a while, but for larger objects this proves a problem. Ratchet’s ability is inversely proportional to the mass of the body she tries to use her ability on, even if she does have the flywheel which can activate kinetic energy for her to use.
One thing to note: this power does NOT mean levitation. Whenever asked if she could levitate things, Ratchet scoffs and asks if the questioner knows the basic laws of physics. She can’t defy gravity. The least she can do is constantly remove kinetic energy, but even then she can’t keep up with gravitational acceleration.
Weaknesses/Drawbacks:
Attempts to use her power on massive objects will result in cramping; overexertion will cause Ratchet to pull a muscle. This is because the energy that she indirectly exerts must overcome the body’s inertia, as explained above. Also, Ratchet will become tired if she has to keep yanking the flywheel’s rip key over and over again; this gets progressively worse as the object she tries to move increases in mass.
Other:
Sample Post:
Mother of pearl, why won’t this plane take off?!
Injae Park, A.K.A. Ratchet (for her mechanical prowess, NOT as a derogatory term) fidgeted in her somewhat-uncomfortable economy-class seat on an American Airlines passenger jet. She was sorely tempted to will the kinetic energy away from one of those baggage-carrier trucks and push it into the airplane; only her knowledge that trying it would give her a hernia kept her from doing just that.
She flicked the wireless switch off her Nintendo 3DS and checked her Pokémon Alpha Sapphire game. The Dusknoir on the bottom screen bobbed up and down as she moved the model of May around the map using her right index finger. A little pastel-pink bubble hovered over Dusknoir’s icon, signaling its desire for cupcakes.
She pulled out her 3DS’s touch stylus from the back of the console; just as she did that, however, she heard a loud DING, announcing the beginning of the safety-and-regulations video that played before every flight. “Thank you for flying American Airlines…” it began.
Ratchet knew all this already. Pull on the straps to inflate the thingy, put all carry-on whatchamacallits in the overhead place. She rolled her eyes and looked casually out the window.
As section leader of her school band’s trumpet section, Ratchet felt that she had a need to memorize the show music. She had stuffed an older version of the show’s opening production in her pocket just to memorize the melody. She pulled it out, unfolded it carefully, and began to hum her part, pinning the sheet to her lap with her flywheel and miming the fingerings with her right hand. Ratchet winced as she heard the wheel creak. Oh, gosh, that was going to annoy people. She would have to oil that. She had convinced her dad to let her take her trumpet on vacation, and she luckily had a bottle of valve oil on her. She could probably use that.
Um, right after they reached a cruising altitude.
Ratchet felt the airplane lurch forward and taxi onto the runway. She looked out the window, away from her opener. The turbines whirled faster and faster, making a high-pitched whine that signified that the plane was soon taking off. Ratchet folded her paper back up and stuck it in her pocket as the plane surged forth, powered by its jet engines.
Here's my main man. I'll have my other characters up later today or tomorrow.
Basic Information Name:
Malik Tobias Wright
Nickname/Alias/Etc:
M, Toby, Goblin
Gender:
Male
Age:
23
Height:
5ft 11in
Weight:
212
Home District:
Priscilla Isle - Central Valley: Lives with his grandparents, sister, and niece in a comfortable two story home.
Appearance
Hair Color:
Black
Eye Color:
Dark Brown
Ethnicity:
African American
Physical Appearance:
As a child, Malik could remember his Mother telling him how alike he was to his father, both in mind and body. Sharing the same oblong shaped head, wide set eyes, and large nose, Malik is an almost picture perfect copy of his father. As a teenager he had grown his hair out into long dreads, but after his imprisonment, Malik has kept his hair short or completely buzzed. Standing tall, and toned, his body is proportional and evenly muscular from working out often. Blessed with little acne, risen scars from past fights stand out on his ebony skin, covering most or his upper arms and chest. Originally given the nickname Goblin thanks to his large, pointed ears, and grin, the dilation of his eyes when activating his powers gives him an even more sinister look. With a deep almost rumbling voice, and a laugh that's often described as booming, he can be a real loud mouth when he wants to be. While his constant grin is often seen as menacing, or intense, his cheery disposition has become his greatest defense in uncomfortable situations. Hiding behind a grin, or a laugh, Malik hardly expresses himself anymore.
Personality
Innate & Outward Personality:
Towards others, Malik does his best to be cordial and social in conversations, but even as a child he never understood the meaning of subtlety. Overly blunt towards strangers, with a cruel humor that makes even his closest friends cringe, Malik has never had a filter. It isn't beneath him to apologize for his actions, however. Malik understands that he can be a bit much, so unless he's with friends or family, he typically stays quiet. Not necessarily uncomfortable around large groups of people, singular interactions and smaller groups allow him to open up more.
The death of his brother has had a huge impact on Malik's beliefs and mentality. Once selfish, and narcissistic, Malik expresses sympathy towards the less fortunate and puts the needs of others before his own. If it means the safety and security for his friends and family, he'd be willing to go through hell and back without a second thought. Especially if it's for his niece, Kiara. Taking on the role of guardian, Malik has made it his goal in life to make sure his niece is happy, and healthy.
Traumatized by the events that put him in prison, Malik experiences frequent anxiety, and bouts of depression. Loud noises make him jumpy, while guns make him edgy. Unable to talk to his niece about her father, DeVonte's name alone brings up hard memories. Working under Moses for so long, there are times that Malik misses the money, and confidence he used to have while running the streets. As the saying goes, snitches get stitches, so it wouldn't surprise him if he pissed off a few people by snitching on Moses. Despite all this, he doesn't regret giving up the life he used to have.
Skills/Talents:
- Middle Man: Thanks to his experience with Moses, Malik knows a number of dealers and homeless around Isabella Isle. If you're itching for a particular fix, or looking for some information about the area, then Malik's your guy. - Athleticism: If there is one thing Malik is proud of himself for, it's his physical health. Exercising regularly, for coping reasons and to stay healthy, athletic challenges and tests of endurance come easy to him. Believing he can keep up with the best, Malik gets a little competitive when it comes to other people playing against him in certain sports.
History/Bio:
Born into poverty, and raised by the streets of Eagle-Rock Row, Malik's life has always been a tug of war between what's right, and the thrill of the fast life. The middle child to a single mother who worked two jobs, Malik and his siblings lacked a stable parental figure and as such, were given to much independence to truly mature. Unlike his younger sister who excelled academically, Malik idolized his older brother DeVonte, and the dangerous gang life he frequently bragged about. Seeing potential in his younger brother once his powers developed at the age of 14, it was through DeVonte's encouragement that Malik began taking his life in the wrong direction.
From middle school to high school his life centered around delinquency, and his own selfish needs. From disregarding school, bullying others, and even committing petty crimes; Malik did what he wanted, and listened to no one but himself. With no clear direction in his life, he began hanging around his brother, and the Red Crowns. Despite his age at the time, Malik's eagerness to prove himself quickly caught the attention of Moses Dereux, a high ranking meta-human and drug dealer of The Red Crown. Taken under his wing Malik became the middle man, messenger boy, and go-to-guy for Moses and his connections on the street. Thanks to this effort, Moses gained more power over the streets and caused internal conflict amongst the Red Crowns.
Addicted to the money he made, and the power he gained while working under Moses, Malik was easily influenced and began participating in robberies, drive-bys, and even drug abuse. Before he realized how deep he was, the Red Crowns retaliated against Moses and his crew, and during a simple meet up a drive by took the life of his older brother, DeVonte. Traumatized, and enraged, the sudden stress triggered something within him and with this new growth in power, Malik attacked the car that shot, and killed his brother. Flipping the vehicle, and critically injuring the people inside, Malik was arrested for gang affiliation, and attempted murder in the second degree.
Good behavior and cooperation with NEST authorities to capture and detain Moses allowed him to be released after six years, instead of his original fifteen year sentence. However, during his imprisonment Malik's family went through rough times of their own. Losing one son to street violence, and the other to prison, Malik's mother became addicted to crack. Caught up in her addiction she lost her job, home, and eventually her daughter and granddaughter. As going in and out of rehab became her usual routine, Malik learned his sister and niece moved in with his grandparents. Upon his release, his grandparents welcomed him with open arms and allowed him to move in with the rest of his family in hopes of giving their grandson a second chance at life.
By visualizing the actions in his head, Malik can lift, grab, and push anything within his field of vision through the influence of his mind. Malik's psychic strength is proportional to his own mental capacity, however. So if an opponent is physically stronger then his mental strength or current state of mind, they can easily break free, or are immune to his ability altogether. So far inanimate objects are the easiest for him to effect seeing as they can't resist his influence, but no matter his attempts, Malik has never been able to lift a car without experiencing debilitating migraines or severe nosebleeds.
Ballistic Telekenisis
Only activating in times of absolute stress, Malik's powers go into overdrive and enter a new of level of destruction whenever his life is in danger. Without conscious effort nearby objects can be moved, or propelled away at high speeds, while small inanimate objects can be compressed or even exploded. Completely dictated by his emotion, the stronger Malik feels when in the state, the more uncontrollable it becomes. Caused by a mutation in his genes, upon activation his eyes dilate completely turning the white of his eyes completely black, giving him an almost possessed look.
Weaknesses/Drawbacks:
When entering his Ballistic state, extended use of his abilities can cause disorientation, and at times even disassociation. During these blackouts Malik has little control over himself, or his powers, and has been known to attack anyone around him, at times even hurting himself. As an offensive ability, Malik lacks any kind of defense when fighting. Unable to deflect attacks, or even use his powers as a shield, he is completely open to physical and mental injuries of any variation. Excessive use of his telekinetic powers can leave him, at times, powerless and exhausted. For example: After flipping the car and being arrested Malik wasn't able to activate his abilities for two whole weeks, and for a majority of that time, all he did was sleep.
Other:
Theme: Tyler The Creator - 48 Currently on parole, Malik is drug tested once week, and is unable to purchase or even hold a gun. He cannot enter the Eagle-Rock Row area, or come into contact with any of the Red Crowns for any reason. If he were to break any of these rules, or fail his drug test, Malik would be immediately arrested and thrown back in prison. Even with his history, his current goal is to become a full-time student at Academy 18.
@He Who Walks Behind The one question that I have is how energy (Like if Maxine shoots a fireball at her), and non-solids (For example: if Meifeng throws water at her), factor into her power?
@ToadRopes I want to start the Jen/Ratchet/Meifeng group off after their volleyball match (WHICH WAS SO EPIC, IT WAS FULL OF EXPLOSIONS), that okay with you?
@Valhalla I still like how you used Tyler the Creator as your faceclaim. He was accepted last time, so you can put him in the character tab.
