nitemare shape

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

How does one get one of those cool character banners?

@LukasVolkov

I made a lot of them ones in the game. Things have been a tad hectic, so give me a few days and I'll see what I can come up with.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Character Name: Nikki Martinez-Gallegos
Alias: Flamenco
Speech Color:HotPink
Character Alignment: Villain
Identity: Secret

@LukasVolkov

Approved

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

“This city is beautiful, isn't it?” Richard Midas said to Alison Sparks as the pair stood gazing out of the large picture window that gave the owner and CEO of Midas Industries an unrivaled view of Lost Haven. “As beautiful as it is though, this city is troubled. It seems like it's always under the gun.” Midas continued, never taking his eyes off of the Lost Haven Skyline.

“It does.” Sparks said in agreement.

“It doesn't matter if it's terrorists with space lasers, the latest freak of the week, or our own 'heroes' that are more concerned with making an entrance and looking cool than actually doing what's best for the city.” Midas' voice trailed a bit as he spoke.

“Heroes.” He said after a momentary pause. “Idiots with flashy costumes and more power than they know what to do with. They think they're doing good out there, but all they do is make things worse.”

“That's one way of looking at it.” Sparks said in a neutral tone. Though she hadn't exactly been a fan of the numerous super heroes who have come out of the woodwork in recent years, she had to admit that without them Lost Haven would more than likely be nothing more than a burning pile of ruins.

“It's the only way to look at it." Midas snarled."Take the big blue showboat for example. He comes out of nowhere, catches my space station out of the sky and announces his presence to the world. The next thing you know, this city is in constant threat. A demon invasion, that Nightmare character...the Hounds of Humanity. It never ends.” Midas told her.

“Look, I'm not his biggest fan, but he's done some good.” Sparks said.

“He has. There's no denying that.” Midas agreed. “But he could have done great things. Did you know that after he first arrived here, I reached out to him. I offered him a place here, working with me. I told him that together we'd be able to change the world. But he wasn't interested in making any real, lasting change. He was more interested in playing dress up and punching problems until they go away.” Midas was about to continue his current train of thought, but stopped as a penitent smile crossed his face.

“Pity.” He said finally as he stepped away from the window.

Sparks just stood there silently as her employer spoke. While he paid well, she had learned a long time ago not to interrupt him when he goes on a tangent.

“And that's why we're where we are now. There has to be a better way to ensure the safety of this city. One that doesn't include relying on costumed saviors to protect Lost Haven or her people. I think that working together with our new friends, we will be able to ensure the safety of our home, while making a nice profit while we do so.” Midas said with a grin. “I was glad to hear that your meeting with our new partners went well.”

“It went as well as it could have.” Sparks said.

“Indeed.” Midas agreed. “I was pleased to hear that you did everything necessary in the situation.

For a moment, a sudden pang of disgust washed over Sparks. Indeed, she had done what Midas had expected of her, and she had used all of her skills to ensure that the deal was still solid after the Daybreak fiasco.

“I did what I had to do.” Sparks said, her tone suddenly cold.

“Indeed.” Midas said with a chuckle. “In fact, I want you to get ready. We'll be going to Crown Ridge shortly. I have a possible acquisition that I want to look at myself, and we'll be meeting our friends in the Eye while we're there.” Midas told her.

“I'll get the car ready.” Sparks said obediently.

“Not just yet. Give me a half hour, I want to go visit with the twins before we go.”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

“I wasn't always like this...”

Lyger heard the words of Insomnia even as he raced through the streets of Crown Ridge on the back of his motorcycle in search of the maniac. Earlier in the night, the madman had taken control of a local news station, where he slaughtered the crew and broadcast his intentions to the entire city. The scene that had played out on television had been effective in delivering the maniac's message, and it had the desired effect on the populace, as there had been reports of rioting and looting throughout the city.

“For years, like so many other people, I struggled with the inability to sleep. It affected my family, my work, my life. In fact, there was no aspect of my life that didn't suffer because of this affliction. So, I set out to do what any person in my position would do...I set out to find a cure. Unfortunately, the cure didn't work out as I had anticipated. You see, the cure that I found did not cure my affliction, it did so much more than I had ever dreamed. Though at first it was painful, both physically and mentally, to the point where I believed I was losing my mind, eventually I came to realize that this cure, this wonderful miracle that I had created, truly had liberated me. Now I see things the way they really are. I am able to see the world for the nightmare that it is. Truth be told, I have never been more alive, I have never seen so clearly. And soon, I will help you all see as clearly as me.”

The madman's threats echoed in the back of Lyger's mind as he continued his search for the maniac. Through the hijacked broadcast, Insomnia had boasted about his plan, and how he, and several like minded individuals would soon release the “cure” that had turned Insomnia into a monster into the city water supply. The thought of an entire city overrun by an army of Insomnias sent shivers down his spine. In fact, he had even thought of calling in some of his new “friends” to help, unfortunately, Icon was currently occupied and Iron Knight was otherwise unavailable. And even though Slipstream's abilities could prove useful, she was still too green to help in Crown Ridge, and he would be damned if he were to get her killed in this hell hole. So he had no other options, he was on his own.

There were 3 main locations that would most likely be the targets for the chemical dump, the Pequawket Water Plant was the least likely of the three main water plants to be attacked, as it only supplied water to the Lower East Side and Carson, while the Casco Plant only supplied water to the South End. It was too small of an area to make any real impact, and if Lyger was sure of anything, it was that Insomnia wanted to go big.

That left the New Portland Water Plant, which provided water to about ninety percent of the city. If Insomnia really did plan to put his “cure” into the water supply, this is where he would do it. So that is where Lyger was going, he just hoped that he wasn't too late.

***

Lyger approached the New Portland Water Plant and soon realized that he was not the only one that had deduced that Insomnia had chosen this location for his target. Outside of the water plant, chaos had erupted in the streets. Self proclaimed vigilantes had made their way to the water plant in an ill advised plan to protect it from Insomnia, however, their misguided but good intentions fell to the wayside when they began fighting one another, and soon, a full on riot had had erupted in front of the water plant, a riot that had overwhelmed the Crown Ridge police officers who had arrived on the scene to protect the plant from any attempts by Insomnia to tamper with the water supply.
Lyger jumped from his motorcycle and drove his foot into the jaw of the nearest rioter, instantly knocking the man unconscious. He had barely landed when a second man moved on him, only to be met with a jab to the throat and a right hand across the bridge of the nose. Though his strikes were punishing, he still held back, not wanting to do any real damage to the rioters.

I really can't blame them. They're scared, they're acting out. Who knows, if things had been different, I might have been one of them. Lyger thought to himself as he planted another of the rioters face first into the street.

For every rioter that Lyger put down, it seemed as if two more emerged. While he was engaged with a pair of rioters, another was able to get behind him and hit him across the back of the head with a wrench. The sudden attack nearly knocked him from his feet, and for an instant he was thankful that Ash had been able to reinforce his head gear with some light armor for just this type of situation. However, before he could react to the newest attack, another came, this time, one of the rioters had grabbed is legs and held on as tight as he could, then another came, this one grabbing him around the shoulders. Before he knew it, over a dozen of the rioters had surrounded him, taking him off his feet and began punching and kicking him all at once.

Well, this is an embarrassing way to go out... Lyger thought to himself as the idea that this might just be it for him entered his mind.

Lyger struggled to get free of the rioters, however, there were too many of them. As he struggled, he was pounded with punches and kicks. The rioters stomped him and beat him with blunt weapons until he couldn't fight anymore. Then, just as he had come to the realization that he couldn't get himself out of this situation, that his overconfidence had not only cost him this battle, but perhaps his very life had set in, the pummeling stopped. It was almost as if his assailants were being pulled off of him one by one.

Surprised by the sudden end to the beating that he had been receiving, Lyger looked up and saw that the rioters who had been assaulting him were floating several feet off the ground above him. Then, all at once, they were slammed down onto the pavement. Confused by what had just happened, Lyger sat up and looked around him. He saw a number of other rioters engaged with the police, and then he saw a familiar figure standing a dozen or so yards away from where he sat. It took him a moment to figure out where he knew the young man from, before he figured it out. It was the same young man who he had rescued from the Hounds of Humanity several months prior.

“It looked like you could use a little help.” The young man said to him. “I didn't really get a chance to thank you the last time we met...They call me Reklis.” he said as he offered Lyger a hand up.

“You shouldn't be out here, this is a dangerous situation.” Lyger told the young man who simply looked at the black clad hero incredulously.

“Clearly.” He said as he began walking towards the entrance of the plant. “See you in there.”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

I should have something up tomorrow

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Despite the recent destruction caused by the Hounds, the people of Lost Haven were eager to move on, and what better way than to lose themselves to festivities. Summer was still going on strong, and at the Lost Haven mall they had several summer specials going on, perfect for a new swimsuit or anything summer related. With the Jones family eagerly taking advantage of the time and season. But that didn’t exactly fill David with excitement.

His daughter Maddison, along with his wife Cecily, had found another department store, and eagerly dived in looking at anything that caught their eye; while David himself sat just outside on one of the conveniently placed sofas, and keeping him company were several other ‘family’ men.

“I’m happy they’re happy, ya’know? Especially after all that meta stuff. But we all know they’re not gonna wear even half that!” Another man walked up to the circular formation and fell onto a chair, with his bags falling onto him or the floor in a ruffled mess.

“Tell me about it, ‘bought the kiddo a nice summer dress with her mom a while ago, and I’ve never seen her put it on again!” David yelled out too, feeling relieved.

“But we’re going to Hawaii after today, so maybe some of this will get some use soon.” He gestured to the bags resting in between his feet.

“Ohh, that’s nice, I heard they’ve got this new beach show that’s gonna-” One of the other men started but was interrupted by several screams and shouts coming from the Marcy’s just next to them.

“Uh oh.” David muttered, with the other’s saying something similar. It took only a moment for the rest of them to start running inside, bored sons and father’s quickly sprinted into the store, while David started moving away.

“I’ll call the cops!” He shouted to nobody in particular.

Scott and Alexa sat in the food court of the new Lost Haven Mall. They found themselves on the far end of the food court, next to the large windows which overlooked waterfront. The new mall was nice, and it was a good way for Scott and Alexa to spend some quality time together, since between her time as the head of the East Coast division of Winstone Industries, and his time split between helping to run the Hub, as well as his “extracurricular” activities as Icon didn’t leave them with much time together as of late.

“You know, I never figured that Shaggy would be the badass of the Scooby Gang.” Alexa teased as she slurped down her Thai noodles.

“You and me both.” Scott said with a chuckle.

“You know, when I was a kid I kind of had a crush on Shaggy. Though, naturally my dad would have preferred that I liked Fred.” She joked.

“Naturally.” Scott said. Truth be told, he didn’t care much for Alexa’s father, though, to be fair, Jonathan Winstone had made it perfectly clear that he did not approve of Scott’s relationship with Alexa, in fact, he hadn’t spoken to her since they had gotten engaged. However, Scott was determined not to let that ruin their day.

“So…” Scott began, before stopping mid word, as if something had caught his attention.

“What is it?” Alexa asked, suddenly concerned.

“I’m not sure, but there’s a commotion on the other end of the mall. I better go check it out.” Scott told her.

“I’ll come along.” Alexa said.

“I don’t think it’s necessary. I’ll go check it out and I’ll come right back.” Scott told her. “Enjoy your lunch, I’ll be right back, and if I do need your help, all call you.” Scott said as he got up from his seat and began to make his way down to the other end of the mall.

The store was big, but in between shouting and running, it wasn’t hard to find the source of the problem. It didn’t really seem like this called for his kind of muscle, so David leaned behind a clothes rack and watched. A pudgy man holding several purses and random products had already been surrounded by a group of angry men and women.

One of them moved to grab the thief’s arm, only for his hand to swipe right through, and an arm fell onto the ground. This was met by screams from everyone, including David, as the thief deftly caught the tossed merchandise with his other arm and quickly barreled through the crowd.

With both arms?

‘Now, this is a job, for me. Probably’ David thought as he walked out from behind the rack, and stopped the man with his palm stretched out.

“This isn’t your day, just give up the merch and-” David stuttered for a moment as he recognized one of the purses, and in his hesitation the blew right past him.

“Wait a minute you!” David shouted as he threw both his arms, in a half-baked attempt to get around what he saw earlier, only to be just as shocked. The man had tossed the stolen items into the air, and swallowed them. Leaving behind another pair of arms on the floor.

As Scott approached the source of the commotion, several people ran past him coming from the opposite direction. He picked up his pace as the panicked shrieks grew louder. He was about to press the nano activation button on his bracelet to change into his superhero identity, however, being in the mall presented a certain problem: security cameras. The mall had dozens of cameras all over the place, and changing into his uniform here could potentially compromise his identity. However, as he moved closer to the disturbance, a solution presented itself. Just up ahead, there was an archway which served as sort of an overpass. Not only did it not have any cameras of its own, but it served as a natural blind spot for the other cameras in the area. So, as Scott reached the archway, he pressed the activation switch on his bracelet and almost instantly, the nanites in the bracelet covered his body in the instantly recognizable uniform of the masked hero, Icon. After making his way out of the archway, Icon lifted several feet off the ground and flew toward the center of the disturbance.

When he arrived at the Marcy’s Department Store, he saw a number of shoppers trying to take down what he could only assume was a shoplifter, trying to make his way out of the store with a large quantity of merchandise. However, to his surprise, the strange bandit was tossing the goods into the air and swallowing it. If it hadn’t been for a certain overpowered animated stoner that he had thrown down with just a day prior, this would have been the most bizzare thing that he’d ever seen. Icon hovered over to the entrance of the store and touched down on the ground.

“That’s enough.” Icon said to the strange thief. “You’re done, come quietly before you get yourself into any more trouble.”

With the sudden appearance of two heroes, both of which he seemed to recognize, as a new panicked expression coated his face. The man tucked both of his freshly grown arms tightly on his chest, along with his legs, and dropped onto the floor. Bouncing forward towards Icon, then back into Terra Firma’s faceplate, and through the overhanging sign at the front of the store, making his escape outside.

David, having barely recovered from seeing the man’s arms fall off, had been caught by surprise and was given a good toss back into a rotating clothes rack; breaking it, along with sending an avalanche of clothes falling down onto him.

‘Damn, he got me, and in front of Icon too.’’ David shamefully thought to himself as he quickly tried to brush himself off.

Icon watched as the thief sent Terra Firma crashing into a clothes rack, sending the merchandise cascading over him. Icon moved in to grab the still bouncing thief, however, much to his surprise, there was something different about the man. He felt strange, almost gelatinous to the touch. The man’s strange texture took Icon by surprise, which caused him to let go of the man, if only for an instant. However, that one instant was all the crook needed, as his body began to twist and change. The strange man suddenly hunched over, and an arm seemed to force its way out of the man’s back. However, it was more than just yet another arm. A second man, identical to the first, emerged from the crook.

“Well, that’s disgusting.” Icon said to himself as even more copies formed from the original thief.

David had only just removed a clingy sweater when the second man had appeared.

”Two of them? Now this is getting out of hand.” David said as he sprinted after them. In just a few strides he had chased them to the front exit, only to stop right in his tracks. The people in the mall were all over the place, running and overall just trying to avoid the men. The men, that were all exact duplicates of each other, and all of the clones were running out of different stores; some were even pushing carts along.

“Icon, you ever see anything like this? There’s way too many of them to catch like this.”

“No, not quite like this. But sadly, this isn’t even the weirdest thing I’ve seen this week.” Icon told Terra Firma as he watched half a dozen identical men scatter from the store. “We need to try and coralle them. We can’t let them get out of the mall.”

“Right.” He muttered.

“But where?” As David searched his thoughts he remembered that they were closer to the west and south exits, and that he had parked the SUV on the west side.

“South exit, let’s see if we can group them up there, less people. Then I can trap them in one place.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Icon said as he darted off in the direction of the fleeing clones.

As he reached the first of the clones, Icon reached out and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and hurled him toward the south exit before the clone could react. He then went after the other clones nearby, grabbing them two at a time and bringing them back to the southern exit. Then, without missing a beat, he bound the clones together with the velvet rope of the nearby crowd control barriers, leaving this batch of clones contained, he then raced off to assist Terra Firma with the remaining clones.

David for his part moved towards the other end of the mall to catch the men who were trying to avoid Icon. He tried to grab one by the back of their jacket but missed when he suddenly dipped and rolled into two more.

Deciding he was done with this game of keep away David flung his arm towards them, zapping one of them in the rear with a small jolt of lightning, drawing a quick yelp from the other man, and helped to hasten their pace. David did this several more times, sometimes at the ground with a stronger bolt, and herded them towards the southern exit. It struck David as odd, though, that they never tried to converse with each other, or otherwise plan for this.

Moments after Icon had left the clones bound at the southern exit, he came across several more of the clones as they were passing through a crowd of bystanders who were running in a panic, doing whatever they could in order to get out of the fray. Icon flew just above the crowd, plucking the clones out one by one and depositing them in a heap back near the south exit with the others.

The southern exit led out into a parking lot, that may or may not have been as empty as David had implied; with several cars still parked around, along with their owners dodging David fearfully, or rushing towards their cars.

“Everyone, get out of the lot!” He called out to the civilians as knelt onto the ground and tried to shake up the areas where the thieves were before finishing them off, trying to bid some time for the people to clear out. Some of them fell, even toppling over one another sometimes, but suddenly they all looked at him.

“That’s it, I’m at my limit!” The men shouted at him. One of the nearest doubles moved to punch him, and David tried to counter by grabbing his arm firmly. Except when he tried to grab them the arm curved around his hand, and clocked him in the jaw. A surprised David reflexively tried to jab the man in the chest, only to find his fist going right through. This put a pause on his brain, taking advantage of this, the man shifted his left arm into a giant mallet and slammed it into David’s side, throwing him into a Toyota Camry.

With the numerous clones now accounted for and detained, Icon turned his attention to who he assumed was the original thief who had surprised Terra Firma with a bit of a shape shifting, and had taken the hero off of his feet.

With Icon’s attention turned elsewhere, the restrained clones began struggling to free themselves from their bindings. They tried contorting their bodies, they stretched and pulled, working in concert in order to get loose. However, nothing they did loosened the rope that bound them. After several moments, almost as if resigned to their fate, the clones stopped struggling. Then, something began to happen.

The clones began to lose their consistency. It was almost as if they were melting away where they sat. They no longer struggled, they simply began to dissolve, reverting to a pinkish gelatinous sludge. It wasn’t just the clones that were bound by the velvet security rope, but the other clones that Icon had deposited nearby, who lay unconscious on the floor. Another moment passed, and the individual “puddles” of pink goo seemingly came to life, moving toward one another and combining their mass until there were no more individual puddles, but one single mass of jiggling ooze, which then began to move toward the exit, toward the original thief.

Panicked mall goers shrieked as the slithering ooze made its way out the door and into the parking lot. The sudden commotion got Icon’s attention, causing him to look in the direction of screams.

“Well, that’s disgusting.” Icon said as he saw the slimy pinkish mass moving slowly away from the mall.

As the mass of slime got closer to the shape shifting thief, it began to accelerate toward him, not stopping until it had reached the man, where at first it seemed that it would cover him. However, rather than coating the man in the pinkish goo, it merged with him, causing him to grow rapidly in both height and girth. Now standing at over seven and a half feet tall, the grotesque being turned to regard Icon, seemingly with a newfound confidence.

With the newly formed monster focused on Icon, Terra Firma had gotten back to his feet and was determined to put it down before anyone was hurt. He advanced on the figure, striking at it with a punch that would put down most foes, however, he failed to make contact. Just as the punch was about to land, the creature’s body separated, causing Terra Firma’s fist to pass harmlessly through it, and then reformed once the attack was no longer a threat. Terra Firma threw several more punches, however, each attack met the same results.

”H-he’s fast.” David stammered out as he struggled to land even a single punch.

Icon heard Terra Firma’s words and nodded in acknowledgement. Then, he took a step toward the creature that stood before them, lifting himself several feet off of the ground, and flew toward it. However, instead of attempting to make an impact with the creature, he began flying in circles around the monster. He peppered the creature with punches as he flew around it in a clockwise rotation, and then, he quickly shifted and reversed his track, moving counterclockwise while still punching the creature just hard enough to stun it. Several moments later, with the creature staggering, barely able to stand, Icon touched down on the ground as he and Terra Firma prepared to end the assault for good.

David nodded as he stepped forward to the misshapen monster, then took a quick accounting of his powers, and a thought occurred to him. He could put out heat, why not the reverse? Looking up and down the villain, David quickly jabbed his hand in, with some visible disgust as the ‘goop’ stretched and contracted from the energy of Icon’s blows. He channeled heat only for a moment like exhaling, then ‘inhaled’, sharply drawing in nearby heat.

The villain recovered from its stunned state just long enough to realize its lower body had been dried over and frozen almost instantaneously, it tried to stretch the rest of its body away, but as it stretched out it reduced its mass and temperature allowing David’s heat reversal to travel faster, and finally ending this; leaving a giant icicle in one end of the parking lot, that thinly stretched towards the street.

David waited a moment to observe his handiwork, and to make sure the deed was done, before popping his hand out with a soft snap. Small shards of ice followed his arm out, but the villain managed to stay in mostly one piece.

”Well. I suppose that’s our, uh, Goopman on ice.”

“Oddly enough, not the strangest thing I’ve seen this week.” Icon told Terra Firma as he shifted his eyes from the frozen “Goopman” to the other hero. “You did good work here today.” Icon said casually.

“Listen, I’m actually glad I ran into you. You were a big help with the whole Hounds fiasco, and again here today. I’m sure you noticed that things are getting worse out there, and we need to be better prepared for the next Hounds of Humanity. Which is why we’ve decided to put together a team. We could definitely use someone with your skill set, if you’re interested.” Icon said to Terra Firma as a crowd of people began to approach the scene now that the threat had been neutralized.

”And here I thought it was just me. It really does seem like the world is getting busier, and in all the wrong ways. Sure thing, it’ll be good to have an organized effort the next time we have an Hounds attack. Hopefully, there won’t be another one.”

Icon nodded in agreement, then his face became slightly sullen.

“If I’ve learned anything, it’s that there is always another one. If it’s not the Hounds of Humanity, it’ll be someone...or something else. But next time, we’ll be prepared.”

”Then that something will have to deal with the likes of Terra Firma and Icon. They don’t stand a chance.” David said as he extended his hand.

Icon took Terra Firma’s outstretched and gave him an earnest handshake. After releasing the other hero’s hand, he pressed a button on his belt, and the chevron shaped buckle opened. Icon took a small device from the hidden compartment and handed it to Terra Firma.

“This is a communication device that Iron Knight cooked up. If we need to reach you, or vice versa, this thing can reach us anywhere on Earth, or in the outer orbit...so far.” Icon told him. “Welcome to The Guardians.” Icon said before the both of them took off, disappearing into the skies.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Is there a timeframe for the end of Season 2? I've got the skeleton of my origin mostly assembled, but I want to be sure I'm on track.

@Eddie Brock

At least a couple of months. We want to give folks a chance to finish up their arcs before we move to the next season.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

I see. I suppose I can start pre-planning.

Now I wish there was a quicker way to skim through all the apps. How many healers there are altogether?

@Ever Faithful

The quickest way would be to go to the character tab, where you can find all of the character apps without having to skim through the entire OOC thread. There aren't many healers to be honest.

Also, feel free to visit us on our Discord chat, the link is provided on the 1st page of the OOC

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

I would join in, but I'm late to the party seeing how deep you guys have gone.

@Ever Faithful

Well, it's never too late to join in. We're largely sandbox which allows for people to join in at any time. We're also beginning to wind down on the second season and will be bringing season 3 in with a bang. You're not going to want to miss that. Join up, do an origin arc and maybe a team up or two, and that will probably get you to the next season. Everyone here is great to work with and very welcoming.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Sorry for being MIA the last few days. I got a small case of the damn plague thanks to a coworker deciding to come in and share his misfortune....feeling better, planning to get some work done on a collab and maybe even something else I've been working on.