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X-Men: The New Era - Avalon Rising

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GM Post

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The next few moments were tense within the Danger Room as the students began to react simultaneously. Bolts of electricity launched from Daniela's fingers as she attacked the metal beast, which had still had its eyes locked on Matt's form as Heidi rushed in to pull him from harm's way. When the electricity made contact, the beast was launched backwards slightly, as if hit by a surge of force. The mechanical form rolled over itself for a moment, before slowly rising back to its feet. The red eyes appeared slightly brighter as its charred head turned towards Daniella. The eyes themselves seemed to lock on to the girl who attacked it, before the light behind them grew dim for a moment.

As Jasper reached out into the code, doing her best to take control of the beast from within the simulation, she could sense the code itself changing on the fly as a result of her probing. And she could tell, for the briefest of moments, that her plan had worked. She could see, for a split second, through the eyes of the mechanical wolf as it stared with hostile intent towards her classmates. But as she probed even farther than that, bypassing the room's security measures to take control of the beast itself, that the code began changing to fight her. While Jasper was quick, whatever code was creating the world within the Danger Room seemed to be just as quick. And it was not eager on giving up control to the technopath. The mechanical wolf seemed to "glitch" slightly as Jasper vied for control over the beast, the projection seeming to stutter and repeat the small movements of the beast getting ready to pounce. While she wasn't yet successful in taking over the beast, it was left vulnerable.

X-Men: The New Era - Avalon Rising

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GM Post

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As the doors flew open, the dark interior of the building was revealed in part. The entrance to this building appeared rather simple. Peering inside, the students gathered would see the artifical sunlight cast shadows over a simple lobby area with a tile floor. A large, empty reception desk stood in front of a wall that was flanked by two long hallways. To the left and right of the entrance was a waiting area with simple chairs and coffee tables littered with magazines. A few TVs hung silent and lifeless on the walls, and the rather simple green striped wallpaper felt awfully tacky. Despite the blandness of the exterior, the interior of this danger room simulation was complex and eerie. It seemed a bit too real.

With one exception, that is. Two small red lights illuminated from the rightmost hallway. They were rather close together, but mostly obscured in shadow. They started to grow larger, matched by a series of rhythmic thumping. As the sound and lights grew, the figure they were attached to came into view. It was a rather large, mechanical beast. It had no fur or flesh, but instead appeared to be made entirely of gray metal. It had a long snout with sharp metal teeth, walked on four legs, and seemed to be standing a couple feet high. Its red eyes appeared to be locked on Matt.

Almost as soon as it came into view in the darkness did the wolf-like creature begin dashing through the lobby towards the open door. It seemed to be charging straight for a dazed and confused Matt, making significant bounds with its metal legs. It seemed to have hostile intent, and would most likely close the gap in a matter of seconds. If someone was going to do something... they'd best do it fast.

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel & DC Comics RPG

I R O N M A N

_{Stark Tower, New York City - Present Day}

Issue 1.01.02: That's My Tech

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_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: Issue 1.01.01: Never a Dull Day

"JARVIS, I need energy readings ASAP. Tell me they don't have a working reactor." Tony watched as the light inside of the cannon grew, beginning to spill out from the edges of the barrel. As the light seemed to be reaching a breaking point, Tony shifted his arms, causing him to spin towards the left. He managed to duck out of the way just in time as a large beam of energy shot out of the cannon. Tony recognized it as a repulsor blast, and watched as the energy shot out into the sky above, missing any skyscrapers due to the angle. Tony shook his head. Too close.

"Sir... the energy readings appear to be inconsistent with your Arc Reactor. It appears they are using some sort of industrial battery that is draining quickly."

Tony continued rocketing towards the truck, flexing his fingers and toes ever so much to increase the power of his repulsor thrusters. "Let's go with the standard fireworks, JARVIS." A small slot opened up along the back right shoulder, revealing a small cluster of missiles in the armor. Tony's eyes locked on towards the large van mounted with the cannon, aimed more towards the front cab of the van. As his eyes hovered over where the driver was, a red circle locked in on the location. Without another second's hesitation, a single rocket shot out fast towards the van. It broke in through the front window as Tony steered his course away from the van and towards the armed terrorists, the explosion ripping the van apart. Tony landed with one knee and one fist planted on the ground, the glowing blue eyes of the suit turning up and passing over the several hostiles who seemed to turn their own gazes towards each other in confusion. "Come on, this is not how you ask for directions to the zoo."

The terrorists raised their rifles up towards the Iron Man, letting loose a hail of bullets. Unsurprisingly, the bullets simply ricocheted off the metal armor. Yet, they continued firing until their clips had been unloaded. Seeing as they didn't even get a scratch on him, they seemed to be taken aback with a level of fear. Tony, with a bemused smirk underneath his mask, raised his hands up with his palms facing out. "Alright, my turn." Moving like a well oiled machine, the Iron Man fired repulsors to pick off the terrorists one by one. Within a matter of seconds, they all were on the ground motionless. Tony shook his head and sighed, turning back towards Stark Tower. He looked down at his wrist, a set of commands appearing on a superimposed holographic keyboard. He tapped away at the commands with his right hand, before pausing to speak. "Alright, Rhodey, crisis averted. You can go ahead and have your janitors clean up the mess."

"I appreciate it, Tony. I've got agents en route. My strike team is making their way up the stairwell now to the Penthouse, so you might want to get there ASAP if you want an alibi."

"Ten-Four."

Without another second of hesitation, Tony flew back off towards Stark Tower. He again weaved through the city with ease, making a quick approach to his personal landing pad and rushing into the chamber. Within seconds of locking the boots into place, various mechanical arms removed the armor in its entirety. He stepped off the platform, ran down the stairs of his penthouse office, and made his way to the bar to pour himself a drink. As soon as the whiskey began to touch the glass, a boot kicked in a door near the elevator and a team of four SHIELD agents, with weapons drawn, stormed in. Their eyes quickly scanned the room, and two agents quickly moved up the stairs to keep an eye on the balcony. One of the agents approached, holstering his sidearm. "Any disturbances, Mr. Stark?"

Tony finished pouring his drink and lifted a hand towards his throat, making a fairly realistic choking sound as he answered in a raspy voice. "Sore throat." The agent took a step back, nodded and lifted up his hand to make a circle motion followed by a point towards the door. Wordlessly, the SHIELD agents nodded and left the Penthouse to leave Tony Stark to his drink in peace.

Or so he thought.

Tony walked over towards a couch that sat in front of a large flat screen projected tv on the wall, the volume automatically turning up as he sat down. It was news coverage of the press conference taking place downstairs. Pepper was nailing it, spouting something inspirational about the Stark legacy and their goal in ensuring a "Greener Tomorrow." She loved that catch phrase, but it had too much of a Banner spin for Tony to be entirely on board with it.

He downed what was left of his drink and was moving to get up when static interrupted the broadcast, the colored bars seeming to signal a technical error. That is, if it weren't for the large symbol superimposed on top of them. A symbol that Tony Stark was all too familiar with. Involuntarily, Tony dropped his glass. He didn't hear the sound of the glass shatter on the floor beneath the couch. His eyes and his memories were locked on the logo.

The Ten Rings were back.

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel & DC Comics RPG

_{San Antonio, Texas - Present Day}

Issue 1.02.01: This is a Hold Up

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_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: Issue 1.01.06: The Outlaws

Violet sighed as she knelt down next to the other hostages. She placed her hands behind her head, and watched as the bank robbers began going person by person down the line, stealing handbags and wallets. Violet grimaced as she saw them getting closer and closer. She took a deep breath as they finally arrived to her. She felt the cold steel press against the back of her head as the individual leaned forward, his hot breath rolling over he neck. "Purse, wallet... Everything in the bag."

Violet took a deep breath. "No... I think I'm good."

The next moment was a familiar blur. She was yanked up to her feet, a gun placed to her head, as there was shouting. Violet kept her eyes closed as she was dragged towards the front of the bank, in sight of the gathering cops and onlookers through the glass front doors. She looked out at the gathering SWAT trucks and the like, seeing the guns turning in their direction. She took a deep breath, shut her eyes again.

In the next moments, things were a blur. She heard the power being shut off, but then heard a hail of bullets behind her. Violet's eyes bolted open as she turned her gaze over his shoulder. She saw some flashes of light coming from the upstairs balcony as one of the fellow bank robbers began firing at something out of sight, only for the criminal to fall back as as an arrow pierced his shoulder. The robbers aimed their guns up towards the balcony, just as two figures emerged from the shadows. One was a man clad in a red jumpsuit, sporting a quiver and backwards hat as he looked down at the scene from behind a pair of wrap-around red sunglasses. The other individual sported a red hoodie and a red mask to obscure his entire face, two sidearms brandished. The bank robbers looked up shocked for a moment. Violet's eyes locked on the man with the bow and arrow for a moment, before her eyebrows knit in frustration as the gun pressed against her head was aimed towards the balcony. "Shit."

The bank robbers, frustrated by the situation, began opening fire. Roy and Jason quickly vaulted over the railing towards their targets. With ease, Roy knocked back two arrows and let them fly while in mid-air, impaling two of the bank robbers in their shoulders. Their guns slid across the ground as they released their grips to clutch at their bleeding wounds. Jason, on the other hand, wasn't as merciful. He let loose a barrage of bullets at two other bank robbers, and they fell limp to the ground. All that was left was the man holding Violet hostage. Roy and Jason both aimed their weapons at him. "Put the gun down and no one else has to get hurt, man."

The bank robber opened his mouth to speak, but only let loose a loud grunt as Violet thrust her elbow into his gut. In one swift motion, she moved a hand up to grasp at the gun he was holding, ripping it away and using it to club her captor across the jaw with a quick spin. He hit the ground hard, clearly unconscious. Violet turned her gaze back towards the two vigilantes, sighing as she walked past them. "We need to move, now."

Jason turned his gaze towards Roy, his expressionless mask somehow sending the message of confusion to his partner. The archer simply shrugged his shoulders in response, forcing Jason to call out, "What, no thank you?"

"You're welcome." Violet moved towards the back of the bank, opening up a door into a maintenance closet. In the center of the small room was a large uneven hole and some debris, a clear sign of a tunnel having been blown open. Violet looked back towards the two vigilantes. "We need to move. Now."

Roy's face was washed over with understanding as he swore under his breath, jogging forward to meet his sister. Jason turned back towards the former hostages, who were starting to slowly rise to their feet confused. His voice was harsh and gutteral as he shouted at them. "Go. Now." He walked backwards towards the closet, sliding his guns into holsters on his belt.

Roy looked down into the hole that gave way to a shallow tunnel, then back at his sister. "Career criminal, huh? That's what you do now?"

Violet rolled her eyes, kicking off her heels and jumping down into the tunnel, looking back up to her brother. "Lecture me later. Sometime after we avoid getting arrested."

Roy turned his gaze away to Jason as he approached, gritting his teeth. "Fucking... alright. Move." Without another word, Roy quickly jumped in to the tunnel behind Violet, and Jason followed. Violet led the way down the rather smoothly crafted tunnel, moving at a light jog while ducking her head to avoid smashing it on the low ceiling. The only light came from glow sticks lining the sides of the small tunnel casting an eerie green glow.

The others followed, Jason calling up ahead with his modulated voice. "You were a plant."

Violet shook her head as they continued forward. "Please, I'm much more than that." She continued until the tunnel seemed to reach an end with some sort of strange covering. She quickly lifted a hand to press against the top left of the panel, and a click was heard as it swung out. On the other side was a wine cellar, with a table set up with a few white chef's coats and duffle bags set up. Violet turned her gaze towards the other two. "Just throw those on over what you've got, and throw the hero shit in the bags. You've got thirty seconds."

Roy and Jason took no time in quickly removing their respective "face coverings" and weapons, tossing them into their own duffel bags. Violet, in the meantime, quickly moved to push the large wine rack back to cover up the entrance to the tunnel as she threw on the white chef's coat over her white blouse. She slipped on some loafers that were off to the side and moved towards stairs on the other end of the room, lifting her wrist to check her watch. "Time's up. Let's roll."

Roy and Jason finished adjusting their chef's jackets as they brought the bags, following Violet up the stairs into a kitchen filled with chefs hard at work. Violet seemed to duck through the line cooks with ease, while Jason and Roy kept bumping and squeezing past the kitchen staff. Violet walked through a door on the other side of the kitchen and out into a back alleyway, where a blue sedan was parked and waiting for her. She looked back at the other two as they caught up, shaking her head. "I'll meet you two at the diner on Elston in two hours. Try to be on time for once, Speedy." She leaned forward, kissed her brother on the cheek, and then quickly opened the driver's side door and slammed it behind her. The car sped off and turned right out of the alleyway as police cars and sirens screamed past the alleyway in the opposite direction. Roy and Jason were left standing there dumbfounded for a moment.

"Did she just-"

"Yeah... that's my sister."

X-Men: The New Era - Avalon Rising

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GM Post

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There was a slight pause after the students asked their questions, with the voice returning along with a new sight: a large screen in the imaginary sky providing a voice to text transcript of Tabitha's voice. "Your objective is for at least one of ya to get to the flag by getting through the building. It is a collaborative exercise, so I would recommend relying on your mates."

The text remained in the sky for a moment, the words hovering in mid-air before slowly dissipating. The voice and a new line of text replaced the old quickly. "If there are no other questions... the flag awaits!" Tabitha's bubbly voice practically shouted that last line in glee, and it was accompanied by a fanfare of trumpets... her personal touch on the exercise, one might guess. The building, and it's rather simple entrance, waited for the students' approach.

X-Men: The New Era - Avalon Rising

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GM Post

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As the students gathered into the Danger Room, a bubbly British voice rang out over the intercom. "Alright students, good morning! I have the pleasure of running your danger room activities for today. Before we get started, it's important that we get a few things out of the way for safety. I would first like to recommend all of you to be sure to stretch before we get started. Based on the simulations Mr. Pierce left behind, today will most likely involve a bit of running and climbing. You won't want a cramp when things get a tad wonky."

As she paused while speaking, the room began to shift. Along the wall near the door, a 3-Dimensional object began to take shape. After a moment, a set of 5 lockers labelled for the five students took a more solid form. The room itself also seemed to take on a new image. The spacious room seemed to grow brighter and began to take the form of a desert landscape. It was morning, and while there was some sort of sun overhead along with some clouds, there was no abnormal heat or temperature change. The door to the room seemed to disappear, instead replaced by flat desert. In front of the students, a building began to take form: a simple, three story concrete structure with metal double front doors locked with a combination padlock and chain. The building had boarded up windows with bars over them on the ground floor, with upper floors seeming to simply be boarded up. On the roof, clearly visible from where the students were, was a flagpole with the school's flag waving in an imperceptible wind.

The voice spoke up again over the intercom. "Make sure to keep only items that might be associated with your powers. Your goal in this first assignment, as per Mr. Pierce's instructions, are to capture the flag... and that's all he wrote down. Does anyone have any questions?"

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel & DC Comics RPG

I R O N M A N

_{Stark Tower, New York City - Present Day}

Issue 1.01.01: Never a Dull Day

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_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: None

"We are five minutes from the grand unveiling. Now is not the time to start drinking."

Tony leaned back in his chair, looking out the window while dressed in a red suit. Clutched in his hand and half drunk was a glass of scotch, coming from a bottle that Tony had already forgotten the name of. It was probably something fancy, knowing the kinds of things people sent him. His bloodshot eyes traced over the rest of the New York skyline leading out towards the bay, the red veins more of a sign of his lack of sleep than anything. Tony turned his gaze back towards Pepper, who was sporting a matching red jacket and skirt. She had the same look she always had towards him these days: frustration. He raised an eyebrow at her, flashing the usual smartass grin that seemed to be permanently glued to his face when around her. "My mouth was dry. I needed something to drink-"

"There's this magical drink called water, Tony. I know you're aware of it, because you always had me stock overpriced bottles of it in the fridge right behind you." Pepper shook her head as she held up the tablet that she held in the crook of her arm, tapping away at the screen. "I had JARVIS double check the energy readings and run a practice test this morning-"

"JARVIS, run the numbers again." Tony quickly downed the rest of his drink as he stood up, walking over towards the window as he looked down at the street below. The area right outside of the Tower had already been sectioned off for the big event. The press trucks were assembled, and the reporters were already taking their seats. From up here, they looked like ants. For a moment, a thought crossed through Tony's mind. Is that what he thinks of us?

A disembodied voice cut through the awkward silence. "Sir, all readings indicate the reactor is stable. Do you need anything else, sir?"

Tony shook his head, walking back over to his desk and tapping on the glass covering. The desk lit up, revealing an embedded monitor setup with security footage covering all the building entrances and the reactor room. "Just keep me posted if there's any irregular chatter coming from the NYPD or the SHIELD detail."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "If anything happens, Rhodey can take care of it."

Tony shook his head, walking past her and towards the elevator. "And if Rhodey doesn't, JARVIS is going to keep the engine running in case he needs backup."

As if on cue, a large boom echoed from somewhere in the city. Tony turned his gaze out the window, his eyes falling upon smoke coming from the Brooklyn Bridge. In his ear, a familiar voice began barking orders. "Air support, get me eyes on the bridge. What are we looking at?"

"From the looks of it... we're looking at AIM units on the bridge. And some sort of... cannon? Moving in for a closer... no, pull up, pull-"

Tony and Pepper watched in horror out the window as they saw the quinjet approaching the Brooklyn Bridge get struck down with a large blast of blue light from the bridge. Tony turned his gaze towards Pepper, who simply sighed. "I'll use one of the usual excuses."

Tony nodded, walking away from the elevator and towards the stairs behind the bar. He pressed down on the communicator in his ear. "Sorry to barge in Commander, but this looks like a job for our mutual friend." Tony could practically see his friend hanging his head in defeat. With the silent acceptance, Tony moved his finger away from the communicator, speaking out loud. "JARVIS, is the Centurion in the chamber?"

"Of course, sir."

Tony walked up to the top of the stairs, which led to a small landing. To the left was a set of sliding glass doors that led out to a small landing platform. To the right, however, was a sliding cylindrical door that opened to reveal the front half of the suit. Tony walked up into it as if it were second nature, lifting his arms to fit into the outstretched figure of the suit. As his feet slid into the boots, the chamber began spinning as metal arms lowered themselves to stitch up the armor. Within seconds, the silver and red metal plating locked in around him. By the time he was facing the sliding glass doors on the other side, the suit had closed in around him and the faceplate slid down. It always took a moment until the display inside the helmet, but the red and blue display lit up to provide data accompanying the panorama view to match what his vision would show. The Iron Man lifted both of his feet out of the footholds in the chamber, and walked out onto the launch pad. Tony lowered his hands to his sides with his palms facing downwards, and the repulsors on his legs and feet activated to launch the Iron Man into the air.

Tony flew down low, weaving in between the skyscrapers of Manhattan as he approached the Brooklyn Bridge. He could hear screaming and police sirens, the wails of ambulances approaching and shouting on megaphones. All of it sort of blended in together at this point as the Iron Man raced towards the terrorists. And within but a few moments, Tony began making his main approach as he flew over the highway directly towards the bridge. His HUD began automatically marking the terrorists, little parts of his screen zooming in to confirm the beekeeper-like hostiles. And, of course, part of his screen zoomed in and held on a large metal truck that had a large cannon on top of it. The interior of the cannon began glowing blue, and Tony squinted his eyes as he heard something faint in the audio mix coming from the internal speakers. "JARVIS... isolate the audio coming from the cannon."

"Right away, sir." Almost instantaneously, all the sounds of New York were stripped away. The roaring winds and thunderous sounds of his repulsors launching him forward were stripped as well, leaving a single sound. A familiar whining sound that Tony had first heard years upon years ago. His eyes widened.

"That's... a repulsor cannon?!"

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel & DC Comics RPG

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L

R E D H O O D / A R S E N A L

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^{_{Jason Todd/Roy Harper ♦ Former CIA and Team 7 Secret Agent/Former Army Ranger and Team 7 Marksman ♦ Texas, USA ♦ Outlaws}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

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^{"You know... they really left us hanging there."}

^{"If we weren't hanging upside down right now, I would punch you."}

What if you removed the mentors from two incredibly flawed former sidekick characters and had them team up and go around the country fighting crime? Well, you would get this take on the Outlaws that I've whipped up. A huge part of Jason Todd's arc as the Red Hood has always been rooted in revenge and pain. Beaten within an inch of his life and managing to survive, Jason takes on a new mantle and enacts bloody revenge on criminals. Roy Harper, on the other hand, is a grounding and inherently funny character. He's always trying to prove that he's a hero despite his past actions and his very, very serious character flaws. These two characters have had their own comics run as a duo, and they work well in the setting of a world much like our own. One in which a country is torn, divided, and in need of unconventional heroes.

Jason Todd, in this iteration, was a CIA operative. He was a poor orphan from the streets of Gotham who wanted to make something of himself... so he took every opportunity he could to become someone. He started out doing simple intelligence gathering when he was recruited by the CIA, learning the arts of infiltration and close quarters combat. His skillset saw him recruited by the elusive group known as Team 7, a U.S. Black Ops team tasked with keeping the world "safe" from all threats. He's been with Team 7 until a fateful event six months ago while infiltrating the League of Assassins (where he had further honed his skills). He was sold out by a member of the League, and taken to a warehouse in Vlatava. There, he was beaten with a crowbar within an inch of his life by an unknown assailant wearing a red hoodie and a simple black mask. He was left for dead, with a simple message: Vertigo sends their regards. Since then, he was discharged from service in Team 7 after psych evaluations have found him to be too vengeful and unstable for active service.

Roy Harper's past is a lot simpler. He was a kid who, from a very young age, had impeccable aim. He learned of his skills in handling a rifle and a bow and arrow at a young age at a Boy Scout camp in rural Oklahoma. He was so good, in fact, that he started to compete in local competitions. Hell, he even became a small legend in the circle of competitive archery, even being slated to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games on behalf of the USA. Unfortunately, his life took him in a different direction when drug tests outed that he was a heroin addict. He lost all respect within the archery community and barely managed to graduate high school as he was sent out to rehab. His life changed when he got clean and met an Army recruiter by happenstance at a bar. It would give Roy exactly what he had always wanted: purpose. He proved himself to be, once again, and amazing marksman. So amazing that he rose through the ranks quickly, before being picked up by Team 7. He served as a designated Marksman for the Team on dangerous assignments, and met Jason Todd through Team 7. About a year ago, though, Roy resigned from his position to take care of his ailing father, who ended up passing only months ago. Since then, Roy has decided to make it his mission to see the country that he fought and bled for. His mission was interrupted when he saw a very familiar face walk into some rundown bar in some barely known one road town in rural Texas.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

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Jason and Roy have one thing in common: they believe deeply in protecting other people. Jason Todd wants answers as to who exactly beat him within an inch of his life, but more importantly wants to find a new purpose. When he reconnects with Roy in a bar and ends up fighting off some men associated with the Aryan Nation, Jason finds a new purpose: removing those racist scum from the face of the Earth. His deeper motivation, though, is an outlet for the anger and rage that is pent up inside as a result of both his injury and his commanding officers' lack of investigation into the matter.

Roy's motivation shifts very quickly within this story. He starts just wanting to see the nation he fought for, since he never really got to actually travel and just see the country for what it was. The problem is that the nation Roy stumbles upon isn't the ideal that he fought for. So, Roy has to pick up his bow once again to fight for a future and the ideal that he had fought for once again: a land of the free, where every man is born equal.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

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Team 7

John Lynch: The former leader of Team 7, John Lynch is secretly a telekinetic metahuman. He is a cold and calculating man, and there's more to him than meets the eye.

Slade Wilson: One of the most experienced and toughest soldiers in Team 7, Slade has always been in it for one thing: the glory of combat. However, following his son Jericho falling terminally sick, Slade has been trying to find new ways to make money to save his dying son. Who knows where this has led him...

James Bronson: A hero through and through, James Bronson was an intelligence operator for Team 7 who, following Jason and Roy's escapades, will be tasked with bringing in the two men to answer for their crimes.

Dinah Drake: A special agent working for Team 7 and the first member of the organization to develop metahuman abilities. Dinah often worked on assignments with Jason (The Sparrow) under the callsign "Canary."

The Aryan Nation / Brigade

White Dragon: The leader of the Aryan Brigade as a whole, and secretly a vigilante in Dallas, Texas that targets minorities in particular, William Heller is a highly trained soldier with money lining his pockets. He has taken on the title of "White Dragon" as the head of the Aryan Nation, and uses his money and influence to influence police departments and get his hands on experimental technology to aid in his plan for the extermination of "inferior races." He has even gathered white supremacist metahumans together and spun the press into calling them the "Freedom Force."

Heatmonger: One of the Aryan Brigade's militant operatives, Heatmonger is a blonde haired woman with experimental flamethrower gauntlets courtesy of one William Heller. She is a member of the Freedom Force

Backlash: A metahuman with the ability to elongate his arms and manipulate them to form squid-like tendrils. He is a member of the Freedom Force.

Iron Cross: A metahuman with super strength who serves in the Freedom Force.

Golden Eagle: Not directly connected to the Freedom Force, Golden Eagle is a former marine who now acts as a vigilante and leads the militarized Aryan Brigade wing of the Aryan Nation.

Blind Faith: She is not a direct member of the Freedom Force, but is always around when they operate publicly. She has telepathy, and uses her abilities to force people of color to admit to crimes openly that they have never committed... or perhaps convince them to commit the crimes themselves.

Their Pasts

Chesire: Jade Nguyen is a member of the League of Assassins, and has been tasked with tracking down Jason Todd and making him answer to the League for his infiltration and "stealing" of trade secrets. By her own right, Jade Nguyen is an incredibly skilled assassin and a brilliant toxicologist. She has killed many of her victims by use of poisons and toxins.

Count Vertigo: Werner Zytle was a brilliant chemist and a member of the Vlatavan royal family... before all of his family was executed publicly in a bloody militaristic coup four years ago. The former Count was nearly killed himself by a sniper bullet after his new steward (Jason Todd in disguise) tricked him into getting in position. Since then, Werner Zytle has taken on an alias (Cecil Adams) and has started up a new crime syndicate called Vertigo. Werner has been cooking up powerful new drugs that have been hitting the streets and using the money he's been gathering to build up his organization until it's strong enough to take back his country... but not before he gets revenge on the people who tried to kill him.

Basilisk: A metahuman terrorist organization that believes in granting superpowers to the world at large to prevent a future in which only a select few powered individuals control the world's politics. The movement had a basis overseas, and was a frequent target of Team 7's operations. Basilisk mostly operates from the shadows, and was last concretely tied to the Vlatavan Royal Family. Who knows what they've been planning since then...

S A M P L E P O S T:

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Taste of Violence

_{Some Shithole, Texas, USA - Present Day}

Issue 1.01.01: Taste of Violence

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_{Interaction(s): None}

Previously: None

"How do you do it? How do you just live like this?"

Sitting across the table from the speaker was a red-headed, lean man in a sleeveless red mechanic's vest. He had on a simple baseball cap with an American flag emblazoned across the front of it, and blue jeans that were ripped and worn around the knees. He was currently in the midst of devouring a triple bacon cheeseburger, juices and sauces dripping down his chin and onto the plate below. Roy Harper set the burger down for a moment, chewing the giant bite of food that he took as he grabbed a napkin from the dispenser on the side of the table to wipe the liquids off his mouth before responding. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jason Todd sighed. He felt out of place in a run-down bar in some basically no-name town in Texas. He was wearing a designer black turtleneck with the sleeves rolled up and black slacks. His hair was carefully constructed and gelled to look somewhat messy. As Roy answered, Jason leaned back in his seat. "How do you not want to get back into the action? You were the best sharpshooter in the business. If you made a call, you could be back in Team 7 in a heartbeat."

Roy plucked another napkin to begin wiping away the sauces on his fingers as he gave a sly smile. "I did my time. Followed orders, had some fun. But you know... I never really saw this country. Traveled around it for competitions, but was never allowed to actually see anything. I've never been to the Alamo, or the Empire State Building. And neither was my dad."

That last word hung in the air for a moment. Despite the distance from his death, that fact still stung Roy. As for Jason, it made him stop in his tracks and rethink what exactly he was asking his former coworker to do for him. And as the two men sat in silence, another sound from outside the bar cut through the awkward silence.

The two men watched the scene unfolding outside. There, a few men with pick-up trucks that were proudly flying the confederate flag pulled up into the parking lot just as a black man in a t-shirt and jeans was walking towards the bar. The confederate-supporters got out of their pick-up and started surrounding the guy, blocking his path to getting into the bar. Jason's eyes narrowed as he watched one of the large men start shoving the victim of their hate.

Jason turned his gaze back to Roy, who was watching his dinner companion with concern.

"I need to use the bathroom."

"Don't."

"Don't what? I need to take a piss."

Roy simply shook his head as Jason stood up from the small two-person table and made his way towards the back of the restaurant. He went into the back of the bar, finding the small closet that was marked as the men's restroom. As soon as he entered and locked the door, Jason looked up towards the ceiling for window near the top of the bathroom. He went to try and lift open the very wide and simple window, only to find it to be a bit stuck. The former spy sighed as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small utility knife. He flicked it open and ran it along the bottom of the window, removing a layer of grime and filth that was keeping the window a bit stuck down. With another attempt, the window was able to swing out. Jason then sighed and quickly jumped up into the air, using his momentum and strength to kick from one wall to the other and then up towards the window sill. He slid himself out from the window and landed behind the bar.

As Jason circled around the side of the bar, he could hear the situation had escalated. He could hear a cry for help as there was grunting and the sound of kicking and groaning. So Jason rushed around the side of the building, his fists clenched and at the ready. As he rounded the corner, about five men were gathered around their victim. They were kicking him in the head, chest, back, and legs. One of them, the one stomping down on the guy's legs trying to break them, shouted out, "Get back on to your ghetto now, boy! This place ain't for your kind."

Jason could feel the rage boiling inside him as he began rushing forward around the corner of the bar. With each kick and hit, he remembered the sensations coursing through his chest, his arms, and his skull. He almost thought the painful sensation in his hand was just a sensory memory until Jason was brought back to reality at the sound of a different voice yelping in pain. One of the racists was clutching the side of his ear as he fell down to the ground over the bloody mess of his victim, and was trying to scramble back onto his feet as his compatriots stared in shock.

The next moments were a blur of adrenaline and pure instinct. When one came in on his right with a right hook, Jason stepped back and provided a small redirecting shove to have the man clock one of his friends in the face. Another came forward trying to tackle the former spy to the ground, but Jason simply stepped to the side and provided a quick kick to the man's knee. The sound of the crunch was satisfying as the Team 7 operator decided to go on the attack in delivering a quick strike to the man he had first attacked in the neck by the time he got to his feet, leaving him choking for air.

While caught up in the chaos of the hand to hand combat, Jason was surprised and petrified with fear as he saw the two other assailants has run back to their trucks and were loading up their shotguns with appropriate shells. He had only a moment to duck back behind another car in the parking lot before the shotguns began firing off in his directions, followed by whooping and hollering. That is, until Jason heard something he wasn't expecting. He heard screams of pain coming from where the two men were firing. As Jason peered around the hood, he saw that the men had been struck by arrows in their shoulders. It didn't take long for Jason to put two and two together, especially when his marksman friend stepped out from around the other corner of the bar holding his bow with an arrow nocked and drawn. Roy turned his gaze towards Jason for a moment and nodded for him to make his way over. The vigilante did so, and began running towards the archer. Without so much as a word, Jason and Roy fled to a beaten up red van and got in. The latter threw van into drive and spun out onto the empty evening road, taking off from the scene of their crime.

Without sharing a single word, the two men knew what they had just done. And they knew that it wouldn't take long before the police were called and the authorities were looking for them.

As far as they were concerned, Jason Todd and Roy Harper were now Outlaws.

P O S T C A T A L O G:

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Issue #1: The Outlaws
Part 1: Taste of Violence
Part 2: Stagecoach
Part 3: The Claim
Part 4: The Killer Inside Me
Part 5: The Technocrate
Part 6: The Outlaws

Issue #2: Escape from San Antonio
Part 1: This is a Hold Up

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel & DC Comics RPG

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L

I R O N M A N

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^{_{T O N Y S T A R K ♦ G E N I U S / B I L L I O N A I R E / P L A Y B O Y / P H I L A N T H R O P I S T
M A L I B U / N E W Y O R K C I T Y ♦ S T A R K I N D U S T R I E S}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

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^{"I am Iron Man."}

I'm back to take another crack at everyone's favorite self-obsessed billionaire. The concept I'm running with Iron Man this time is a little more simple and open ended: Tony Stark is paranoid. Aliens, gods, monsters, mutants... as far as Tony Stark is concerned, they're all threats to the world at large. The origin is roughly standard: The Ten Rings kidnapped Tony to get him to make weapons for them. He made his first suit to escape, and shortly after became Iron Man. Iron Man would have become active five years ago, and would have been a founding member of the Avengers. Stark Industries has, on paper, transitioned into developing clean energy solutions while also manufacturing luxury vehicles and jets: a far cry from its origins as a weapons manufacturer. Of course, that's not the only thing keeping the company afloat. A secret division within Stark Industries, code-named Stark Unlimited, has been working on a new project behind the scenes: the Iron Legion. The goal of the Iron Legion is to develop Iron Man drones capable of being dispatched by an organization like SHIELD in order to defend cities and people from any number of threats.

Of course, things never go as planned. This arc will take some inspiration from the famous "Armor Wars" storyline, as Tony's technology will be stolen and sold on the black market. Of course, threats come from all sides. Issues revolving around the legality of Stark's arc reactor technology, personal issues with Pepper, and Tony's constant need to prove his superiority are going to drive him to his breaking point. The question then remains: just how Invincible is the Iron Man.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

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I've decided to lean a little bit more into Tony being a very complicated character when it comes to heroes. Unlike characters like Captain America or Superman, Tony's morality isn't exactly as black and white. He's paranoid and narcissistic, believing himself to be the smartest person in whatever room he walks into. More than that, though: he believes that he's humanity's only hope if someone like Superman turns on the people. Because of his fears, Tony has become rather isolated and obsessed with his quest to protect the world. While he does do some work with SHIELD and intends to contract out his Iron Legion to them, he does everything in his power to hide his technology from them and the rest of the world. Of course, once it becomes clear that he can't hide his creations from the world any more... things are really going to hit the fan.

This story of Iron Man is going to be focused on his greatest enemy: Tony Stark.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

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Supporting Characters

JARVIS: Tony Stark's AI assistant, based on his childhood butler.

James "Rhodey" Rhodes: Rhodey is a longtime friend of Tony Stark, since their meeting during a brief stint in which Howard sent his son to a military academy. The two became fast friends, with Rhodey often acting as the voice of reason to the eccentric billionaire. Rhodey has been Iron Man's handler in both the Air Force and later as his handler in SHIELD.

Pepper Potts: Tony's former personal assistant, and now the COO of Stark Industries. Pepper is a Harvard graduate and a shrewd business woman, but has a soft spot when it comes to Tony Stark. The two dated early on in her career, but separated so she could focus on Stark Industries.

Ivan Vanko: A nuclear scientist who believes that Tony Stark stole his father's arc reactor schematics, and whose lawsuit against Tony and Stark Industries is currently on its way to trial.

Former Antagonists

Obadiah Stane (Arrested): Former Executive for Stark Industries, who was responsible for Tony's first encounter with the Ten Rings terrorist organization. He latter secretly attempted to recreate the Iron Man armor and used it as the Iron Monger. He is currently in SHIELD custody on The Raft.

Justin Hammer: The CEO of Hammer Industries and longtime rival of Tony Stark and Stark Industries. While Tony is aware of Hammer's involvement in creating the armor and weapons of some of his adversaries, Justin Hammer has never been convicted for his crimes.

The Mandarin: The leader of the Ten Rings terrorist network, The Mandarin has remained elusive to the Iron Man. The two have never fought directly, though the Ten Rings have continued to operate despite Iron Man's previous efforts.

Aidan Blomfield (Arrested): A career criminal hired by Justin Hammer to use his technology to face off against Iron Man using a sort of crude repulsor technology. He was the first real enemy of the Iron Man, and is still sitting in a cell upon the raft after somehow escaping prison twice to face off against Iron Man with upgraded tech.

Donnie Gill (Arrested): Donnie Gill was an engineer at Hammer Industries who used stolen schematics of Victor Fries' technology to develop the "Blizzard" suit. Justin Hammer had Donnie use the suit against the Iron Man, but was defeated and imprisoned by SHIELD. He is currently being held on The Raft.

Gary Gilbert (Arrested): A political lobbyist seeking to force Congress to pass a bill forcing Stark to manufacture his arc reactor technology for public use. His efforts failed, but the lobbyist was able to get in touch with Justin Hammer. With his career in shambles, Gary Gilbert accepted Hammer's deal and worked with Donnie Gill as Firebrand to try and take down the Iron Man. He too was defeated and is currently imprisoned on The Raft.

Boris Turgenov (Deceased): Boris Turgenov was a Russian soldier gifted a suit of armor (The Crimson Dynamo) with a crude arc reactor installed inside of it by Anton Vanko. The arc reactor was incredibly unstable, and was destroyed in the confrontation. Tony Stark barely survived the encounter himself, and designed the Silver Centurion and Anti-Radiation suits to replace it.

Armors

Mark XVII - The Silver Centurion: One of his most impressive armor designs to date, the Silver Centurion is the most capable suits of combat armor in Stark's arsenal. It's an upgrade of his traditional suit of armor after it was severely damaged in a confrontation with the first Crimson Dynamo.

Mark XVIII - Anti-Radiation Armor: A rather impressive suit of armor that was designed to not only survive in high radiation environments, but absorb radiation to convert it into energy.

Mark XIX - Hydro Suit 2.0: An update of a utilitarian water-based suit of armor he developed. The suit was improved to survive in high-pressure environments and has an improved propulsion system designed for aquatic environments.

Mark XX - Space Suit: Stark designed this suit in the event he ever needed to travel into space. This suit is meant for high maneuverability and is outfitted only with upgraded repulsor technology.

Mark XXI - Godkiller [INNOPERABLE]: Highly classified, and currently unfunctional.

Future Threats

Melter (Bruno Horgan) - A scientist who developed a "melting" weapons technology that he believes Stark's repulsors are based on.
Detroit Steel (Doug Johnson) - A "superhero" in the employ of Justin Hammer, and willing to work for any company for a price.
Firepower (Jack Taggart) - A military test pilot working on a covert project named FIREPOWER in conjunction with Cordco.
Force (Clayton Wilson) - Former professor who developed his own suit off the black market schematics to avenge his dead brother.
Crimson Dynamo (Valentin Shatalov) - Vlatavan General who was responsible for the Vlatavan coup a few years earlier.

S A M P L E P O S T:

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Never a Dull Day

"We are five minutes from the grand unveiling. Now is not the time to start drinking."

Tony leaned back in his chair, looking out the window while dressed in a red suit. Clutched in his hand and half drunk was a glass of scotch, coming from a bottle that Tony had already forgotten the name of. It was probably something fancy, knowing the kinds of things people sent him. His bloodshot eyes traced over the rest of the New York skyline leading out towards the bay, the red veins more of a sign of his lack of sleep than anything. Tony turned his gaze back towards Pepper, who was sporting a matching red jacket and skirt. She had the same look she always had towards him these days: frustration. He raised an eyebrow at her, flashing the usual smartass grin that seemed to be permanently glued to his face when around her. "My mouth was dry. I needed something to drink-"

"There's this magical drink called water, Tony. I know you're aware of it, because you always had me stock overpriced bottles of it in the fridge right behind you." Pepper shook her head as she held up the tablet that she held in the crook of her arm, tapping away at the screen. "I had JARVIS double check the energy readings and run a practice test this morning-"

"JARVIS, run the numbers again." Tony quickly downed the rest of his drink as he stood up, walking over towards the window as he looked down at the street below. The area right outside of the Tower had already been sectioned off for the big event. The press trucks were assembled, and the reporters were already taking their seats. From up here, they looked like ants. For a moment, a thought crossed through Tony's mind. Is that what he thinks of us?

A disembodied voice cut through the awkward silence. "Sir, all readings indicate the reactor is stable. Do you need anything else, sir?"

Tony shook his head, walking back over to his desk and tapping on the glass covering. The desk lit up, revealing an embedded monitor setup with security footage covering all the building entrances and the reactor room. "Just keep me posted if there's any irregular chatter coming from the NYPD or the SHIELD detail."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "If anything happens, Rhodey can take care of it."

Tony shook his head, walking past her and towards the elevator. "And if Rhodey doesn't, JARVIS is going to keep the engine running in case he needs backup."

As if on cue, a large boom echoed from somewhere in the city. Tony turned his gaze out the window, his eyes falling upon smoke coming from the Brooklyn Bridge. In his ear, a familiar voice began barking orders. "Air support, get me eyes on the bridge. What are we looking at?"

"From the looks of it... we're looking at AIM units on the bridge. And some sort of... cannon? Moving in for a closer... no, pull up, pull-"

Tony and Pepper watched in horror out the window as they saw the quinjet approaching the Brooklyn Bridge get struck down with a large blast of blue light from the bridge. Tony turned his gaze towards Pepper, who simply sighed. "I'll use one of the usual excuses."

Tony nodded, walking away from the elevator and towards the stairs behind the bar. He pressed down on the communicator in his ear. "Sorry to barge in Commander, but this looks like a job for our mutual friend." Tony could practically see his friend hanging his head in defeat. With the silent acceptance, Tony moved his finger away from the communicator, speaking out loud. "JARVIS, is the Centurion in the chamber?"

"Of course, sir."

Tony walked up to the top of the stairs, which led to a small landing. To the left was a set of sliding glass doors that led out to a small landing platform. To the right, however, was a sliding cylindrical door that opened to reveal the front half of the suit. Tony walked up into it as if it were second nature, lifting his arms to fit into the outstretched figure of the suit. As his feet slid into the boots, the chamber began spinning as metal arms lowered themselves to stitch up the armor. Within seconds, the silver and red metal plating locked in around him. By the time he was facing the sliding glass doors on the other side, the suit had closed in around him and the faceplate slid down. It always took a moment until the display inside the helmet, but the red and blue display lit up to provide data accompanying the panorama view to match what his vision would show. The Iron Man lifted both of his feet out of the footholds in the chamber, and walked out onto the launch pad. Tony lowered his hands to his sides with his palms facing downwards, and the repulsors on his legs and feet activated to launch the Iron Man into the air.

Tony flew down low, weaving in between the skyscrapers of Manhattan as he approached the Brooklyn Bridge. He could hear screaming and police sirens, the wails of ambulances approaching and shouting on megaphones. All of it sort of blended in together at this point as the Iron Man raced towards the terrorists. And within but a few moments, Tony began making his main approach as he flew over the highway directly towards the bridge. His HUD began automatically marking the terrorists, little parts of his screen zooming in to confirm the beekeeper-like hostiles. And, of course, part of his screen zoomed in and held on a large metal truck that had a large cannon on top of it. The interior of the cannon began glowing blue, and Tony squinted his eyes as he heard something faint in the audio mix coming from the internal speakers. "JARVIS... isolate the audio coming from the cannon."

"Right away, sir." Almost instantaneously, all the sounds of New York were stripped away. The roaring winds and thunderous sounds of his repulsors launching him forward were stripped as well, leaving a single sound. A familiar whining sound that Tony had first heard years upon years ago. His eyes widened.

"That's... a repulsor cannon?!"

P O S T C A T A L O G:

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A list linking to your IC posts as they're created. This can be used for a reference guide to your character or to summarize completed arcs and stories.

I R O N M A N

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel & DC Comics RPG

@NinaDivine @Sloth

I know Black Canary could be an important character in a GA arc, so it's very much a character I am willing to part with. It is not a problem for me to part with her in the supporting cas, just let me know. It's also a character who would most likely have some small plans or could be negotiated to bounce between as needed.