My guy, the last time I rolled for my quest, you fuckers Rider Kicked a recurring mini boss so hard that she ended up becoming a good guy in training. The dice rolled so hard in my quest that I had to go back to my prewritten plans for the entire arc and change them up.
I think I just have a dice curse/blessing. If I had rolled 1 less, we would have hit exactly 100 with that +15 effect modifier.
My guy, the last time I rolled for my quest, you fuckers Rider Kicked a recurring mini boss so hard that she ended up becoming a good guy in training. The dice rolled so hard in my quest that I had to go back to my prewritten plans for the entire arc and change them up.
I think I just have a dice curse/blessing. If I had rolled 1 less, we would have hit exactly 100 with that +15 effect modifier.
My guy, the last time I rolled for my quest, you fuckers Rider Kicked a recurring mini boss so hard that she ended up becoming a good guy in training. The dice rolled so hard in my quest that I had to go back to my prewritten plans for the entire arc and change them up.
I think I just have a dice curse/blessing. If I had rolled 1 less, we would have hit exactly 100 with that +15 effect modifier.
Mona develops her own superpower, separate from the Ambrosia. Since LL said that she was something like a camouflaging fish, maybe some sort of octopus camouflage. (This is what I'm hoping for!)
Mona develops a sensitivity or immunity to whatever the Leviathan's BS is.
Mona gets all her keywords, guaranteed.
Mona can take a SECOND dose of Ambrosia immediately.
Mona's DNA and some of her new keywords become available for our next hero (Rhys, get your ass over here).
My guy, the last time I rolled for my quest, you fuckers Rider Kicked a recurring mini boss so hard that she ended up becoming a good guy in training. The dice rolled so hard in my quest that I had to go back to my prewritten plans for the entire arc and change them up.
My guy, the last time I rolled for my quest, you fuckers Rider Kicked a recurring mini boss so hard that she ended up becoming a good guy in training. The dice rolled so hard in my quest that I had to go back to my prewritten plans for the entire arc and change them up.
I think I just have a dice curse/blessing. If I had rolled 1 less, we would have hit exactly 100 with that +15 effect modifier.
As we can see, it defies what we thought would make for a good build since there's no overlapping keywords that guarantee the appearance of a superpower. Only Invulnerabilty from Steadfast is guaranteed since it's his only keyword, but perhaps since we're using DNA as a basis for our superheroes, the familial connection makes all of these powers appear?
If so, supers who're part of the same family tree just became real important assets for us.
If we use this for Rhys, we have to reduce the Potency by 2, but we can also fit Daggermaw into this to 2x Enhanced Strength and Transformation. Though, doing so is probably inadvisable since if the key here is the genetic connection, then adding someone unrelated may spoil the entire bunch.
Personally, I'd skip this build until we get someone with Potency 8. Powerful as it is, I'd rather build Rhys as a operative/spy/detective (Think Batman or the Question) to reinforce our Espionage score since we really wanna make sure we're dominant in that field in order to catch more supervillains before they're ready to attack a city. That's Mona's ideal situation after all.
See, that's under the assumption that we can use a sample more than once. We just used our only Steadfast sample in the winning plan, so we likely can't use it in any future combinations.
See, that's under the assumption that we can use a sample more than once. We just used our only Steadfast sample in the winning plan, so we likely can't use it in any future combinations.
It's been clarified we can use the same DNA sample more than once. What we can't risk is using the same build twice, which does give us more leeway with builds.
As we can see, it defies what we thought would make for a good build since there's no overlapping keywords that guarantee the appearance of a superpower. Only Invulnerabilty from Steadfast is guaranteed since it's his only keyword, but perhaps since we're using DNA as a basis for our superheroes, the familial connection makes all of these powers appear?
If so, supers who're part of the same family tree just became real important assets for us.
I would say you're focusing too much on keywords and not enough on what the powers actually do. Dragonsteeth made minions but was limited by the energy she had. Adamant was a endless source of a regenerating super metal. Steadfast was unkillable. Even with a lack of overlapping keywords, the nature of those powers synergizes really well.
I would say you're focusing too much on keywords and not enough on what the powers actually do. Dragonsteeth made minions but was limited by the energy she had. Adamant was a endless source of a regenerating super metal. Steadfast was unkillable. Even with a lack of overlapping keywords, the nature of those powers synergizes really well.
That's a very good point. Though, the focus on Keywords mainly stems from needing to guarantee the appearance of powers since while there are combos that would theoretically work insanely well together, it's a moot point if a part of it doesn't appear due to losing the roll on a 1x power.
We'll grow more flexible in this regard once we better know what the odds of a power appearing are, but my years of gacha gaming has taught me to never bet on something I can't rig the odds on.
We'll grow more flexible in this regard once we know what the odds of a power appearing are better than we do now, but my years of gacha gaming has thought me to never bet on something I can't rig the odds on.
Horizon, City of Levithan's Rest – Old Industrial District – October 18, 2067
[X] Plan Hypernovae (Unquenchable Star Ver)
-[X] [Novalight] (8 POTENCY)
-[X] [Crimson Soprano] (2 POTENCY)
-[X] [Soldier X] (1 POTENCY)
-[X] POTENCY REDUCTIONS (-3 POTENCY)
-[X] TOTAL POTENCY OF DOSE: 10
"Stop! Stop! Be careful, you fool!"
"Now, Doctor, what did I say about bullying members of our staff?"
The look Ibis shoots Chaucer is positively venomous, but it spares John Henry Rhodes his ire. Of all the difficulties you anticipated would be involved with building a remote testing facility on Horizon proper, Dr. Ibis' reaction was the thing you felt was the most inevitable.
John Henry, the darling man, doesn't react to Ibis' haranguing, but calmly finishes assembling the last of the machine's components and smoothly rises to his feet.
"Finished. I'll need to do a dry run to calibrate, but that should do her," he says, fondly patting the overlarge device in front of him. It looks like a giant centrifuge attached to a series of tubes, which probably isn't far from what it is.
"Finally! I can't believe the time we've wasted! Why must we even build a facility down here?"
"Ha! Good one, doc!" Rhys Gardner says from his position by the door. You wanted to keep the number of people who were aware of Project Prometheus small, and Rhys and John Henry were both excellent at their jobs and already aware of what you were doing. "That's a pretty good imitation of those dumbasses from earlier, yeah? Like it isn't obvious why we can't test an unproven superhero-serum while in outer space! You believe those guys? What if it blows up or something? What am I supposed to breathe? Ain't no air in space! "
"Yes . . . um . . ."
"Yeah, John Henry was saying earlier how this was all your idea," Rhys continues, gesturing at the other man, "I was like 'woah'! That Dr. Mammoth Ibis sure is a smart cookie. No wonder he's in charge."
"Oh, yes. Yes, of course! That's exactly what I was saying earlier, wasn't it Rhodes?"
"Of course, Doctor," John Henry says without looking away from his work, "I made sure everyone knew this was your idea."
Dr. Ibis preens. "Well, thank you Rhodes. I'll give Valiant Silver this: she trained excellent staff!"
Chaucer gives Ibis such a look of deep disgust behind his back that you have to hide your smile behind your hand. John Henry is as impassive as ever, but Rhys throws you a wink. It is a pleasure to have such competent subordinates. If either man took offense at not being selected for Project Prometheus' maiden voyage, neither of them showed it.
Speaking of which, you had one more thing to do.
Mona sits in the adjoining room, shivering slightly in nothing but a hospital gown. Mona was a true Horizon native, finding ways to be cold even on this balmy evening. She is kicking her legs nervously, biting her lip.
"This is your last chance to change your mind," you tell her, "Not a soul in Horizon would blame you. What we're doing is unprecedented. Dangerous. If Uiara or Adamant were here, rest their souls, they would tell you to reconsider."
Mona looks up at you with an all-too-familiar set to her jaw and look in her eyes. "They would? Well . . .what would you tell me?"
You smile. "Would you rather be perfect for an instant? Or mediocre for a lifetime?"
Mona nods. "I want to do this. I . . . I have to keep everyone safe."
As good a reason as any. "Very well. I believe we'll be ready to begin shortly. Do prepare yourself."
"Umm, Lady Leizi? Before you go . . ."
"Yes, darling?"
"Umm." There she is, biting her lip again. "N-never mind. I'll ask you afterwards."
You crook an eyebrow, but, when Mona looks away, you decide to let the matter lie. Let the girl have her secrets for now.
Thirty minutes later, your decision to administer the Ambrosia outside of Jacob's Ladder proves prescient.
* * *
Mona lies sedated in a patient chair, with a large number of intravenous catheters in her arms. Behind her, John Henry and Dr. Ibis carefully, carefully, deliver the refined goldnine into the machine at one end, and the slurry of DNA to the other. Ibis had insisted they must be combined at the last possible moment, and you see both substances collide in the center of the machine before rapidly flowing toward Mona.
The Ambrosia gives an unearthly, golden glow for a second before disappearing into Mona's veins. At first, nothing happens.
Then, annihilation.
Mona's chest thrusts forward as, in the center, an anomalous divot forms. Her chest seems to collapse under its own weight before expanding again, with a sphere that is less black in color than a gaping absence. It reminds you of something Towarri could make, but, before you can finish the thought, Mona's body explodes with a blinding light. Her flesh becomes photons, streaking and swirling around the dark sphere, expanding ever outward. Suddenly, she sits up, her eyes open but filled with so much luminescence you can't see if she's awake.
What saves everyone next is your years of experience and Rhys' instinctual obedience.
"Everyone out!"
You hook John Henry around the arm and drag him with you, sprinting as fast as you can run. Rhys follows you closely with Dr. Ibis slung over his shoulder like a rag doll and dragging Chaucer with his other arm. You don't break to explain yourself; you just run.
The glowing light becomes unbearable, even with your sunglasses. You are running blind, literally, and feel the sting of sunburn on the back of your neck, a gentle touch of radiation. Still, you move your legs as fast as they will go, outside the converted warehouse, running. You just hope you'll be far enough when—
Night turns to day as you go blind again, even behind your closed eyes. It's like being in the heart of a star before, just as suddenly as it came, all of the light pulls back.
The warehouse in front of you is now a smoking crater, the ground around it melted.
"Stay here!" you command, expecting to heeded, and run back towards the center. You check the ground, but it's rapidly cooled. Your screen, made by Nora herself, shows there's a raised level of radiation but nothing immediately dangerous. You navigate back to where Mona was, your stride measured and controlled. You all needed to get out of here immediately before someone came to investigate what that was.
But first you had to get Mona. In the center of the crater you found her.
Or what was left of her.
It was like a jet-black, wax impression of Mona's head and torso, limbless, her eyes closed peacefully, glowing with an anti-light. You call out to her, but there's no response. You have no idea if she's still alive.
You carefully touch her body, and when nothing happens, you try to lift her.
Oh my. She's . . . heavy. You're going to need some help.
* * *
You are Mona Merola-Morales, and you have no idea where you are.
Weren't you . . . weren't you about to get superpowers? It was dangerous and junk, but you totally had to do it! The world needs Justice Unlimited! Needs it! When Lady Leizi came to you, you thought you were in trouble. But then she offered to give you superpowers and join Justice Unlimited? Like, what? You could have just died right then, but you kept it cool! You were so chill and all, "Yeah, that sounds cool with me if it's cool with you." Then you winked, which wasn't cool but—
Wait. Did you die?
You fall to your knees in despair. That's so unfair! You didn't even get to see Valiant Silver's lab!
And . . . and you chickened out asking Lady Leizi if they could take care of your mom. The hospital was out of her medicine—everywhere was—and she was getting sick again. You didn't want to seem like you were trying to guilt her or anything, so you decided to wait until after they did their science-thing.
And now you are dead! And here! Today sucks!
But . . . where was here?
The area around you was a featureless void. It was creepy, to be real. But something was making your hair stand up on end. You stood up, because it felt like someone was watching you.
You looked around and—there! You saw it! An eye! It was maybe thirty feet near you, but then it pulled away. Wanting for anything else to do, you followed it.
And then wish you hadn't. Because what you found was super-duper grody, ew!
It was a sea of wriggling, purple flesh that was only differentiated up by long, swaying squid-like tentacles topped with innumerable eyes. In the center was a suspended cocoon, vaguely shaped like a woman with a great eye in the center of her forehead.
"Aw, yucky."
That was apparently the wrong thing to say because every one of the thousands of eyes looked in your direction.
"O-oh. Sorry! I was just surprised! I'll . . . I'll be going now—"
But it was not to be. Dozens of tentacles whipped towards you, faster than you could see, and suspended you into the air. You fought and struggled, but they were strong and you didn't have your superpowers yet. Slowly, they transferred you to other tentacles which passed you, in turn, to other tentacles until, before you knew it, you were face to face with the cocoon woman. She looked at you the same way you would look at a particularly audacious fly in your soup. With a rasping voice, she croaked out a single word.
"You . . ."
"Stop! Wait! My heart isn't ready!"
"W-what?" she said, apparently dumbfounded.
"Wait a second. I'm dead!" you realize, "You can't hurt me!"
". . . you're not dead. You're just unconscious." An eyestalk suddenly whips past your ear and disappears for a second before returning. "Lady Leizi is moving your body back to Jacob's Ladder as we speak—wait. You can see me?"
". . . no?"
"You can see me. How can you see me?"
"With . . . with my eyes?"
"What are you?" she snarls, the tentacles tighten and shake you violently, "No one can see me!"
"M-maybe y-your just h-having an o-off day?" you stutter out through all of the shaking.
"No one can see me!"
Well, this isn't how you hoped your day would go. You feel the pasta you had for dinner start to rise in your throat but, before you vomit, you notice there's a mark on the cocoon-woman's face. You squint to see it . . .
Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.
Stat Check: ESPIONAGE 5. Mona has ESPIONAGE 2.
You rolled: 9.
9 - 1 = 8. Failure!
. . . but the shaking is too violent.
"NO ONE CAN SEE ME!"
The shaking stops, but you kind of miss it, because now she's trying to rip you apart. She pulls you tight, like a child trying to snap a rubber band, but she can't. It's only a matter of time before you break in half but—wait a second—she can't do it!
Your body feels hard. Like a diamond but somehow even more resilient. You feel something boil and bubble at your fingertips before—
A stream of nuclear light erupts from your fingers and severs the tentacles holding you. You expect to fall, but, before you do, your body stops mid-air.
You're flying! Holy poop! You're flying!
The creature roars in pain, pulling her main body away from you.
"Take that!" you say with a smirk, hands on your hip, standing on air, "Didn't your mother teach you how to treat a lady?"
Good one, Mona! Man, you wish Lady Leizi was here to see how cool you looked.
But instead of swearing revenge and bantering back, the cocoon-lady starts sobbing. Big, ugly sobs, like a heartbroken child.
"It hurts!" she moans, "Father, please! Help me! It hurts! I don't want to watch anymore today!"
You drop your hands, not having expected . . . well, this.
"Y-you, um, good?" you ask. But she just sobs harder. Ah, dang, you were starting to feel bad. "Hey, I'm sorry, I think we got off on the wrong foot . . ."
But she doesn't hear you, or, if she does, she ignores you. "It hurts! It hurts! Father, please! I want to go home today! I'll be good, I promise!"
Oh, crapbaskets, did you just laser a sad child? Come on, Mona, you're supposed to be a hero! You try to think of how to comfort this . . . young lady, but, before you can, you feel the presence of something else.
Something large. Something fetid and disgusting that sets your stomach roiling again. The voice that speaks is deluded and cunning, begging for all, unearned.
"WHATEVER HAS UPSET YOU SO, CHILD?"
You don't look at it. You don't look at it. You don't look at it. You just turn around and blast it with all of your might, screaming.
You are Lady Leizi, you allow yourself to slump back in your chair.
You are exhausted. Two days. Two days of calling in favors and running interference to prevent anyone from learning about your . . . explosive first administration of Ambrosia.
"I must say, I am both in awe and terror of you, Lady Leizi," Chaucer says, reading an article on his screen, "'McLeod-English Heavy Industries denies all allegations that the explosion in the OID two days ago was caused by the failed testing of a new spacecraft engine . . .' Well, of course they would, if they were avoiding a lawsuit. Or, if it wasn't true."
"I have no idea what you mean, dear," you lie, "I don't keep track of corporate intrigue."
Chaucer snorts while you wait for Dr. Ibis to arrive. Through a window, you see Mona excitedly showing her mother around the base.
"I still can't believe she's the same girl who exploded up two days ago," Chaucer says, "There's not a mark on her. You couldn't tell her apart from any other girl her age."
"I assure you, Chaucer, she is nothing like any other girl her age," a new voice in the room says.
"Dr. Ibis, thank you for joining us," you say, "I know you've been hard at work these past few days."
For once Dr. Ibis isn't manic or ranting. He looks focused.
"I've prepared a report of the subject's powers," he says without preamble, "They're extraordinary."
"Well, don't keep us in suspense, Doctor. Please. The floor is yours."
Dr. Ibis sits down and activates a display in the center of the table. A holographic rendition of Mona's head and torso after the administration of Ambrosia appears.
"The subject's power is gravitational in nature. This part of her is her 'core', if you will. It is actually a hyperdense gravity anomaly, not unlike a supermassive black hole."
"My God," Chaucer breathes.
"God has nothing to do with it, just Dr. Mammoth Ibis," Ibis says absentmindedly, "But if he did, I'm not sure even he could damage her. Her body has the density of several galaxies. Trying to damage it would be like trying to destroy a solar system with a toothpick."
"What about the rest of her body?" you ask.
"It appears to be trapped energy, orbiting her core. How it resembles her old appearance and how she can still perceive sensation from it is a mystery that is currently beyond me," Ibis says in a rare admission of ignorance, "But it's also the source of her destructive potential. It orbits her body at an angle. The light we saw during the administration was caused by the friction of all the matter rubbing against each other as it swirled into her core."
"And she has control of it?" Chaucer says, giving Mona an uneasy look through the window, "The gravity?"
"Nearly perfectly. It's how she's able to fly—she can go so far as to even change the direction her personal gravitation field pulls her."
"That power isn't especially helpful if it can only come out in a great destructive burst," you comment.
"Well, it's fortunate she has other ways of controlling it, then. That same friction creates powerful magnetic fields she can aim. Then she can eject matter from her body at near-relativistic speeds through the fields like a particle accelerator. She could easily level the city if she applied herself."
Dr. Ibis rubs his face and changes the display to Mona in a testing ground. There's a deep furrow in the earth the size of a football field in front of her. Mona is missing an arm but seemingly in no distress. She's sticking her tongue out and lightly hitting herself on the head with her remaining hand.
You feel a headache coming on.
"The only limit to the subject's power is that she uses her body for 'fuel'. This makes sense since she's literally blasting parts of herself away. Her body regenerates by absorbing radiation. The ambient ultraviolet light in the atmosphere is enough to do this over time, but I imagine it would happen more quickly with other sources."
"So she's indestructible, naturally regenerates, and has energy weapons more powerful than even Novalight?" you summarize.
"Indeed."
"Wonderful," you smile, "As green as she is now, I would say Towarri probably could have defeated her in battle. But with proper training and instruction? I can only think of four other metahumans, ever, who could stand against her."
Chaucer clears his throat. "That's well and all, but how is her mental state, Doctor? That's a radical change for anyone to go through. Let alone with all of this responsibility on her shoulders."
Ibis snorts. "She's fine. She's more concerned with what her costume will look like and that strange vision she had."
"Yes," Chaucer says, "About that. Do we have any knowledge about the creatures Mona saw, Lady Leizi?"
DC 10.
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 5. Lady Leizi has OPERATIONS 5.
You rolled: 5.
5 + 0 = 5. Failure!
"None whatsoever," you're forced to admit, "It's possible it was a hallucination caused by the Ambrosia, but I'm not going to make any assumptions. We'll be on the lookout for anything matching the description of what Mona saw."
What Mona described was repulsive. However, more concerning was its "Father" and obsession with being unobserved.
"Very well," Chaucer says, "Then, before we go, I believe there is one more matter to decide."
Ibis groans and you hide a sigh. You're also not a great fan of marketing.
Name: [Name Undecided], Mona Merola-Morales Keywords: Fundamental Force Manipulation, Invulnerability, Regeneration, Flight Side Effect: ??? Faction: Justice Unlimited Potency: 13 Stats: HIT 8, REPUTATION 8, ESPIONAGE 3, OPERATIONS 4
Ibis' Notes: The subject's power has turned her body into a hyperdense gravity anomaly, not unlike a supermassive black hole and with the density of several galaxies. Her external "body" is an ablative shell of orbiting energy. Subject can control the gravity at her core and reabsorb the energy body into her core body. Doing so creates a massive amount of friction resulting in magnetic fields. Said fields can launch matter from her body at relativistic speeds. Doing so will result in a reduction of her overall body's mass, which can be regenerated by absorbing radiation.
Subject can use control of gravity to fly at supersonic speeds, possibly even relativistic speeds.
Now the fun part! What will we call our newest hero:
[ ] Hypernovae
[ ] Starlight Knight
[ ] Quasar Girl
Write-in (subject to QM veto) [ ]
What will her costume/general vibe be?
Write-in (subject to QM veto) [ ]
What is Mona's Emblem? Write-in (subject to QM veto) [ ]
What is her costume's primary color? Write-in (subject to QM veto) [ ]
"I'll write a short chapter," I said like an idiot. "Nothing too long. I just want to introduce Mona and hint at the side effect," I said like a dumber idiot. "It won't take too long!" I said like the dumbest idiot ever.
Vote open until I finish the next part: Start of Issue #1 and selecting missions!
"This is your last chance to change your mind," you tell her, "Not a soul in Horizon would blame you. What we're doing is unprecedented. Dangerous. If Uiara or Adamant were here, rest their souls, they would tell you to reconsider."
It was a sea of wriggling, purple flesh that was only differentiated up by long, swaying squid-like tentacles topped with innumerable eyes. In the center was a suspended cocoon, vaguely shaped like a woman with a great eye in the center of her forehead.
"Aw, yucky."
That was apparently the wrong thing to say because every one of the thousands of eyes looked in your direction.
Something large. Something fetid and disgusting that sets your stomach roiling again. The voice that speaks is deluded and cunning, begging for all, unearned.
"The subject's power is gravitational in nature. This part of her is her 'core', if you will. It is actually a hyperdense gravity anomaly, not unlike a supermassive black hole."
But if he did, I'm not sure even he could damage her. Her body has the density of several galaxies. Trying to damage it would be like trying to destroy a solar system with a toothpick."
"Well, it's fortunate she has other ways of controlling it, then. That same friction creates powerful magnetic fields she can aim. Then she can eject matter from her body at near-relativistic speeds through the fields like a particle accelerator. She could easily level the city if she applied herself."
"The only limit to the subject's power is that she uses her body for 'fuel'. This makes sense since she's literally blasting parts of herself away. Her body regenerates by absorbing radiation. The ambient ultraviolet light in the atmosphere is enough to do this over time, but I imagine it would happen more quickly with other sources."
"So she's indestructible, naturally regenerates, and has energy weapons more powerful than even Novalight?" you summarize.
