AKA [OOC | Superhero | Closed]

by **The Cyberiad Council** » Tue Mar 17, 2020 7:19 pm

In Character | Roster | Lore Thread | Theme

Welcome!

Aka is set in a world very much like our own, save for the existence of people with extraordinary abilities. Metahumans, as they have come to be called, derive their powers from multiple different sources and origins, but ultimately what matters is where they place themselves in the battle between heroes and villains.

Since the mid-1980’s, metahumans that have gone through a series of trials and training to be “Sanctioned” have been allowed to operate globally to combat villainous metahumans. The global organization known as Argus monitors and tracks all hero activity, acting as both a support network and policing agency. One of their most effective means of combating troublesome metas and rogue heroes alike is the Argus Special Enforcement Team, or A.S.E.T. for short.

Unfortunately, due to the secretive nature required for A.S.E.T. to operate, many people don’t have many positive things to associate with Argus when they take a surface look. To fill this PR void, the Argus Investigation and Detainment Division created the Argonauts: a team of young, up-and-coming heroes to take on a more public role to contrast A.S.E.T.

This is where your character comes in, as one of the new heroes invited to join the Argonauts. You have accepted the opportunity and traveled to Argus’ main headquarters near Zürich, Switzerland to meet your new team and see how you are going to fit in.

Being a hero is dangerous and no one can see what lies ahead clearly, but at least you have a team to face it with.

In this RP, you will play as a member of the newly formed Argonauts. Starting with a relatively green and inexperienced hero will give you the chance for greater character progression in my eyes as everyone plays the members of the team getting used to working with each other. Character creation is delved into a little deeper further on in the post.

For this RP, I’m going to be implementing a mechanics-lite system. Don’t worry about keeping track of any numbers, I’ll be doing all of that, but the goal of the idea is that it will make it easier to know what is and is not acceptable for your character to be able to do in any given scenario. We are dealing with superpowers in a vague text-based roleplaying system, which has been rife with absurd and disjointed feats in my personal experience. With this, it will hopefully make it clear whose characters are best suited for a task, or even capable of attempting a task. Those of you familiar with TTRPGs will hopefully find it intuitive, but don’t worry, more will be explained after characters are created and the IC begins. My goal is to make a simple system that allows for a greater depth and cohesiveness in group writing. If it falls short, we can always throw it out.

I hope you will all have fun in this RP, but I do want to caution against those who want to try and “win” or have the best or most overpowered character. That will not fly here and goes against the nature (I feel) of such RPs. If you want to play here, expect to be one of many skilled and creative writers crafting a shared story together. I also ask that you attempt to merge your character into the world that I, along with several others, have put many hours of work and attention into. It is not perfectly world-built by any means, but it is near and dear to my heart. I would suggest perusing the Lore Thread linked at the top of the post if you are unfamiliar with aka (or Are We Heroes as it was previously known).

Now that my spiel is over, on to the rules, and character creation!

Rules

The OP’s (The Cyberiad’s) word is final in deciding matters.
Don't be a jerk, disrespecting another player or OP will result in you being banned from this thread.
See the Character Creation section for banned character elements and powers
Play responsibly and realistically. Your character may have superpowers, but make them a believable character as much as you can. If you make a jerk character or have them do outrageous things, expect realistic consequences. If you take on a villain team full of killers on your own, expect to die.
Do not godmod or egregiously metagame. Be aware of what your character can do with respect to other characters, and be aware of what your character can logically be aware of.
Please do not post wip applications, I will not look at or evaluate applications until they are done.
Have fun and work with other players to craft posts.

Character creation
Alright, now lets get on to the fun stuff.

Innate Heroism: The first thing I want to say is that you should make a character that wants to be a hero. Your character may have issues, quirks, or shortcomings (sometimes these things can be great if used properly) but the premise is that you were a solo hero who has been recently sanctioned, and invited to be part of the Argonauts. Your character should want to be a hero at heart, and be striving for that. Additionally, your character should be sane. Argus would screen out people with bad mental instability, so keep that in mind, please.

Rules on Powers: A very important element of superhuman rps is obviously the powers. In my experience in RPing, there are some powers that just really aren't fun to play against, or that unbalance things. I have also seen powers abused and twisted from their original interpretation. For that reason, I wanted to set aside this little portion to talk about them and help you understand what powers I will and won't accept for your character to have. The first banned power is Time Manipulation and similar abilities. If your character can stop time, there is literally nothing any other non-time manipulating character can do to stop you from killing pretty much everyone. So your character may not stop time, freeze time, slow time, accelerate time, or time travel either forward, backwards, or sideways (timeline hopping).

The second banned power is super speed greater than 100 mph. Speedsters present much of the same complications that time manipulators can cause, namely the ability to kill other player characters before they have a chance to defend themselves sans metagaming or godmoding.

The third banned power is precognition. This is only partially due to 'cogs ability to metagame with an IC excuse, but they can ruin plot twists (if the op allows them to by telling them what is going to happen) and/or they can state things and say 'well, my char has precog'. So I am going to avoid all that by banning precognition for player characters.

The fourth banned power is direct mind control and similar abilities that take control away from other players (note this is basically the general theme for the other banned powers; they take away other player's freedom or lessen it).

What I would like to see are more innovative abilities alongside the old classics. Try and be creative with your powers and abilities if you want, but don't make your character overpowered. I'll talk more about balancing in the next section, but even if you say 'I won't abuse that power' I don't care: if your character has an ability that can be exploited to turn into something op, I won't allow it despite how many times you cross your heart and hope to die.

Weaknesses, Drawbacks, and Limitations: Balance is very important to ensure things are as fair as possible, and on that notion I want to talk about how to balance your character. Just so we're using like-terms I want to define 'weakness' as something that your character has, either physical or mental, that could be exploited by another character to lower their effectiveness in combat. This means that 'being human' is not a weakness, so don't try to pull that as justification for having op powers. Your character does not necessarily have to have a weakness, but if that is the route you choose to go in an attempt to balance your character, there are some things to consider. Firstly, having something like a 'kryptonite' is not really a solid weakness. If it's a really rare and obscure substance then how or why would other character's have it? And if it's really common, how can you be effective at all? To top this off as a bad weakness, if it is a true analog to Superman's kryptonite, it would make your character basically useless if it is present. Try to have a weakness that is common enough to keep you from super saiyan, but that doesn't make you useless when exploited.

Drawbacks are another way to balance your character that instead of relying on external factors, focuses on ramifications of character powers. Possible drawbacks could include, but are not limited to, needing large caloric intakes or ways that using powers harm your character, like having flame powers that can still burn the user.

Limitations are hopefully self explanatory, but in short they are limits that you put on powers that could otherwise be overpowered. Some limits could be something like being able to fly, but only be able to fly carrying less than 50 lbs of extra weight. Keep these things in mind when making your character to increase the likelihood of your character being accepted.

Species: Sorry, I'm not allowing aliens or alien hybrids this time around.

Magic: For balancing purposes, you may not have 'magic' as an ability. Therefore, you cannot have a character that can cast spells. Why? Well, I feel that creates a character that is too much of a 'swiss army knife'. Now, magic CAN be an explanation for powers. That means you can shoot fireballs and call it magic instead of mutant human powers.

Tech: The tech level for this RP is roughly modern-tech. So if it isn't in current use it is not available to your character(that means experimental tech and prototype tech and theoretical tech is not allowed). The exception to this is having your character specialize in making advanced technology. This will count as an ability for your character to grant them access to this more advanced technology.

Money: If you choose to have your character be well-funded from the get-go, that will count as an ability. But note that Argus will provide some funding, to a point.

Application

Code: Select all: [box][align=center][size=150][b][u]Argus Metahuman File[/u][/b][/size][/align] [b]Name[/b]: [b]Alias[/b]: [b]Age[/b]:(At least 18, but should still be relatively inexperienced at heroism) [b]Gender[/b]: [floatright][spoiler=Appearance](place appearance description or image link here)[/spoiler][/floatright] [b]Powers[/b]: (please list and describe. Do not just put links to superpower wiki) [b]Drawbacks & Limitations[/b]: [b]Weaknesses[/b]: (If applicable) [b]Equipment and weapons[/b]: (please list, if applicable) [hr][/hr] [align=center][size=150]BACKGROUND[/size][/align] [b]Nationality[/b]: [b]Hometown[/b]: [b]Personality[/b]: [b]Bio[/b]: [align=center][size=150]ADDITIONAL INFORMATION[/size][/align] [b]Fears/Phobias[/b]: [b]Skills[/b]: (additional languages, mechanical skills, etc) [b]Theme[/b]: [/box]

by **The Cyberiad Council** » Tue Mar 17, 2020 7:19 pm

The Argonauts

Team Members

by **Futrellia** » Tue Mar 17, 2020 7:31 pm

Argus Metahuman File

Name: Richard Reyne
Alias: Knight Owl
Age: 26
Gender: Male

Powers:
Genius-Level Intellect
Whilst growing up in the world of corporations and the highest class of society, certain requirements were expected of young Richard. Being the brightest and smartest of all the other families was certainly number one on that list. Attending the best schools, learning from the best tutors and an entire arsenal of the world's greatest educational learning tools granted him many benefits that excelled his IQ to 176. Because of this, Richard has provided himself with the best tools and equipment for his new role as a Guardian of Justice, including dabbling in advanced technologies that have put him and his company at the forefront of the Cyber Security and Military Technology industries.

Elite Combat Training
Utilizing his connections in the military sector, Richard has had the opportunity to train with elite military operators from the U.S. Army Rangers, the U.S. Navy SEALS, the British Special Air Service, and the Russian Spetznaz. He has received top hand-to-hand and advanced firearm proficiency training.

Martial Arts
To compliment his combat training, Richard has become proficient in Krav Maga, Aikido, Ninjitsu, and Wing Chun.

Drawbacks & Limitations:
Despite the peak-human conditioning, military training, the martial arts, and intelligence and all the money he could ever need, he is only human, and like any human, he can die much easier than the rest.

Weaknesses:
As Knight Owl is human, he is susceptible to injury just like any normal human being. Broken bones, deep gashes, bullet wounds, all being examples for just what Richard has received.

Equipment and weapons:
JumpJets: Equipped inside his boots are tiny microthrusters that give Knight Owl the ability to jump between 130 feet, and can glide for miles using the expandable wings built under his arms. The JumpJets can also be used to accelerate Knight Owl as he glides, giving him the ability to fly, but the Jets last a maximum of thirty seconds in flight before they enter a venting stage that takes a minute or more depending on the energy output. At maximum propulsion, Knight Owl can fly up to 150 miles per hour.
Owlwings: The wings are attached to the underneath of his arms and can be deployed at the push of a button, and are made of the same materials as his suit.
Staff: Knight Owl wields a staff made from solidified and weighted Graphene. At both ends of it are 12 gauge shotguns barrels that can fire three rounds each of Buckshot.
Wrist-mounted Projectile launchers: On both of Knight Owl's wrists are launchers that fire high explosive, tear gas, EMP, smoke, and electrified grenades. It can also fire stun-darts to pacify enemies.
Heads-Up Display: On the inside of his helmet, Knight Owl has access to suit integrity, ammunition counters, night-vision, thermal imaging, radar, distance indicator, and cyber-warfare suite. The helmet has a built in virtual intelligence, named Ollie that assists Richard in decisions and other information.
Grappling gun: To assist with accidental falls or for use without the use of his thrusters, Knight Owl can use a grappling gun capable of reaching 100 yards and can pull in any direction 80 mph.
Cape: His cape was not made purposely for the fact that all the superheroes in comics used them. It is attached to be used as a bullet-proof curtain. It can be used to shield Knight Owl from bullets and can be used for camouflage in dark environments.
Talons: The three spikes adorning each arm are used for deadly hand-to-hand combat. Made from Obsidian-infused tungsten carbide, giving it a more than razor sharp edge as well as the strength and durability of tungsten carbide.

BACKGROUND

Nationality: American
Hometown: Seattle, Washington

Personality:
To outsiders, Richard can be misconstrued as outwardly hostile or unfriendly at the least. To those he doesn't know, he speaks few words and would prefer to avoid them. To the few friends he has, he's extremely loyal and warming to them. He treats them like family and will do whatever he can to help them in their endeavors. Behind closed doors, he's funny and sarcastic at times.

Bio:

Richard Anthony Reyne was born August 14, 1980 to Walter and Mary Reyne. The son of ambitious businesspeople, Richard was raised around his father's corporation, running through the halls of Salus Corporation's Seattle headquarters while his father worked. His mother worked for the same corporation as the Chief Financial Officer as well as promoting foreign contracts across the world. By the time he was 14 years old, he had learned the ins and outs of the corporation, accompanying his mother to many business trips to China, Germany, France, Brazil, and India. Weeks before his 15th birthday, he accompanied his mother on a trip to Nigeria. During this trip, he and the convoy of his mother and ten other Salus associates were intercepted en route to the Nigerian capital by Boko Haram, an Islamic extremist group. Using armored trucks and machine guns, they rounded up each American and executed them, saving Richard and his mother for last.

They would be transported to an isolated encampment nearby and subjected to evil tortures in the name of Islam. Throughout the night, the screams of his mother could be heard as a young Richard cowered in a small hut, occasionally facing severe beatings from the commander of the cell. The punishments lasted for days, giving the two just enough food and water to stay alive. The wounds that Richard's mother couldn't be fixed with first aid and she would succumb to them on the third day. In the morning of the fourth day, the Nigerian Army found the location of the encampment and within a matter of hours, Nigerian soldiers descended on the camp. The firefight lasted only minutes but felt like hours for the exhausted and scarred Richard. Richard returned a different man. With his wife gone and their son scarred, Walter Reyne drowned himself in whiskey, leaving Richard alone for days at a time. Without his father, Richard accepted that their family was forever gone. He struggled through High School, dabbling in drugs, alcohol and self-harm. At the age of 16, Richard failed a suicide attempt by overdose, saved by the Mansion's caretaker and rushed to the hospital with only minutes left to spare. When Richard turned 18, he joined the United States Marine Corps, but was discharged after multiple behavioral problems and striking another recruit. After returning home, he began taking self defense classes, bought a handgun and took handgun classes. He began going to the gym, growing stronger. As his father's health deteriorated, Richard took a larger role in the corporation, pledging that he would turn his life around for the sake of his mother, who would have wanted better. His relationship with his father would very slowly repair itself. Despite his life looking up, he carried with him a deep resentment and hatred, specifically for those that took his mother from him. He became proficient in Krav Maga and trained hard. He enrolled in Gonzaga University, majoring in Criminology with a minor in Business Administration. After a turbulent four years, he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree. At the age of 23, his father died of a heart attack. With his relationship with his father somewhat repaired, the loss of a second parent wouldn't devastate him like the first. He resolved to diving into Salus Corporation and while it was ran efficiently with a Board of Directors, he would be brought in as a voice of approval for the Board. As Salus was heavily invested in cutting edge technology with several contracts with militaries around the world, access to prototypes and other equipment was easy. For months, he experimented and built his own suit, donning the alternate name "Knight Owl".
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Fears/Phobias:
Through his most turbulent years, Richard had become fearful of nightmares, which had become frequent in his latest years. Many of them depicted reliving the horrors of Nigeria, hauntings of his mother and father coming back to him, blaming him for their deaths.
Skills:
Richard is fluent in Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and German.
Theme:

by **Skyggeheim** » Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:24 pm

Argus Metahuman File

Name: Danica Nikitich
Alias: Zanarod (literally: "За народ" or "For the people.")
Age: 22
Gender: Female
]

Powers:
Zanarod: The basis of Danica's powers actually originate from a magically-gifted necklace named "Zanarod". Capable of enabling the user to perform superhuman feats, "Zanarod" summons the power of Russian bogatyr - knights - of legend. The list of powers "Zanarod" gives her is listed below.
Verbal Summoning: By saying its name and calling out to it, Danica can summon the shield, greatsword, glaive, and suit of armor. They will immediately "equip" themselves onto her.
Super-strength: Danica becomes very strong when wielding Zmey. She is able to lift and press about 20 tonnes.
Enhanced reflexes: Fairly self explanatory, but she is able to move and strike rapidly, as well as defend against supersonic attacks.
Enhanced speed: This moreso relates to her ability to strike and shift, rather than to run. Her attacks can be, figuratively, lightning fast.
Protective barrier: Her armor in and of itself can resist up to .50 caliber bullets, but she is able to create and maintain a magical protective barrier about 10ft in diameter by planting her shield solidly in the ground.
A Hot Knife through Butter: Her blade is able to cut through extremely tough material, including some metal. She can mentally command her blade to ignite in flame.

Drawbacks & Limitations:
Her primary drawback is that the powers are only present when she summons Zanarod.
She requires an insane amount of food to maintain herself after using Zanarod.
She is a "jack of all trades, ace of none" in terms of enhanced physical feats. She is much more powerful when combining all of her abilities than when trying to single one out.

Weaknesses:
Ranged combat is not exactly her forte.
She can be outclassed by explosions.
She is not stealthy. In any sense of the word. Zanarod and "sneaky" are antonyms.

Equipment and weapons:
Zanarod
Narodny Blade
Narodny Shield
Narodny Glaive

BACKGROUND

Nationality: Russian
Hometown: St. Petersburg

Personality: Danica is a bit of a mystery. She can be as cold as the Russian winters she grew up in at times, and as warm and welcoming as the fire her family always kept lit at others. Primarily, her mood is dependent on what side of the bed she woke up on given any particular morning. Despite this, she is fiercely protective of her friends and honorable to a fault. She cannot bring herself to lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do. This can lead to conflict and tension among those she does not know or considers to be less-than morally sound. She has enough courage to last her a lifetime over, which can be conceived as an over-inflated ego. Though she is not quick to fly off the handle, when she is angered she is hard to calm. She is not rash, but she fights battles - whether verbal or physical - to win them. She tends not to mince words, especially with someone she doesn't like. This can make her come off as hostile, but those who are used to her know she means no harm by any of it. End all be all, she is an individual who cares - perhaps too much - about the "righteous duty" of heroes and how they are supposed to act. Whether this will net her more friends or more enemies, only time will tell.

Bio: Born in St. Petersburg to a very "old money" family that was often tight-lipped on the subject of how specifically they acquired such wealth, Danica often found herself somewhat perplexed by her situation as a younger child. On one hand, her parents maintained the air of the elevated aristocracy. They turned their nose up at many of the poorer Russian people and catered specifically to other families that would net them advantages in the complex dynamic of Russian domestic politics. On the other hand, Danica's grandfather consistently lectured her on the Nikitich family duty of "upholding the right of the commons" and "becoming a paragon to the citizens of Russia".

Much to her parents dismay, Danica grew far closer to her grandfather than she ever did with her mother and father. Often, when her parents would attend the classic "rich people" functions, Danica's grandfather would steal her away to go on gallivanting throughout St. Petersburg, or whatever city they were staying in at the time. This led to Danica developing a connection with the downtrodden, the masses of Russia whose political and social needs were often never heard by the upper echelon of the political elite. She used the sizable inheritance she was given to give back to the people, building churches, schools, homeless shelters, wherever she could.

When Danica was sixteen, her grandfather revealed the secret of the Nikitich family lineage. They were the direct descendants of one of the most famous "Bogatyr" - Russian knights - in history: Dobrynyna Nikitich. A hero in his own right in medieval times. Her grandfather discussed how Dobrynyna was gifted with a item of legend by a Grandmaster of Magic: the Zanarod necklace. It empowered him perform incredible feats of strength and skill through its own magical potency. He told Danica that the Nikitich family was, however, doomed. It was only once every one hundred years that someone worthy enough to harness the power of Zanarod would be born into the family. It was with this that he gave her the necklace he had been keeping. He told her he was not worthy to wield it, as he had shown cowardice in his days by fleeing Russia during the Second World War to avoid conscription. His parents were consumed with avarice and greed. But the necklace had chosen Danica.

Almost immediately upon passing on the necklace, Danica's grandfather fell ill. He passed away not a month later, and Danica almost immediately fled the clutches of her mother and father. Taking her money with her, she used her connections to forge a new identity for herself in America, buying a plot of land in Massachusetts and attempting to hone her skills of combat. When she was actually eighteen, she attended Yale University to obtain a Bachelor's Degree in Medical Studies. It wasn't long after graduation that informants notified the top dogs of the Argus Investigation and Detainment Division of Danica's connection to the Zanarod necklace, and she soon found herself among one of the few members chosen for the pilot program of the Argonauts.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Fears/Phobias: Being labeled as dishonorable, a traitor, etc.
Skills: Very capable in melee combat, being proficient in forms of medieval martial arts, as well as regular hand-to-hand combat. Though she is not much of a tactician, she has decent battlefield awareness. Speaks both English and Russian fluently. Educated at an Ivy League University, for however much that counts.
Theme: Some Pushkin for you.

by **Khasinkonia** » Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:29 pm

Tagerino, might be able to app. I have a few ideas bouncing around, and I might telegram you a few of them once I've sorted out a few other matters.

by **Mercatus** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:41 am

Argus Metahuman File

Name: Marty Sullivan
Alias: None
Age: 22
Gender: Male

Powers:

Shapeshifting: Not in the way you'd think, he cannot physically manifest as another person. Instead, he can form stabbing, slashing, cutting, and blunt weapons from his body mass, or just solid shapes. For instance, his arm could become a sharp blade, or he could form a spear by detaching some of his body mass and it will turn into a sharp throwing weapon, or he could also form sharp spikes on his back like a porcupine. The color of the newly formed items or body extensions is a carbon black. This shapeshifting allows for him to reach a variety of places without the tools people would usually bring to get such places. For instance, he could form climbing picks from his hands and scale a building, or do the same with his feet and "stand" on a ceiling. He can change the appearance of his clothes with this ability, but they are only able to create different shades of black, and doing so has no real practical use in heroism. Items or extensions made with this ability have a similar weight and toughness to that of chromium. He cannot create anything with moving parts or special chemicals, such as bombs or guns.

Enhanced Reflexes and Attack Speed: To accompany the ability to form melee weapons, his attack speed and defensive reflexes are supernaturally fast. This should be self-explanatory. Even when not handling his self-formed weapons, this ability comes in use with guns as well. He could shoot a pump shotgun in a manner that almost seems as if one is mag-dumping a semi-auto shotgun. A semi-automatic handgun in his hands will seem like a submachine gun. He is very quick on the draw, and an opponent won't have time to blink before he has the gun out. He is also very fast at reloading and can load a shotgun tube at speeds that would have all gunslingers dumbfounded.

Enhanced Running Speed and Jump Height: He can slowly accelerate to 32 mph. in a pursuit or when fleeing. In close quarters, he can rapidly accelerate for short bursts with enough power and balance to run up a short wall. His jump height likewise is impressive, but not overpowering, he is able to jump 12 feet in the air.

Blunt Attack Strength: Kicks, punches, and clubbing weapons will knock opponents back and possibly disorient them. The knockback varies between 3 yards and 15 yards depending on the speed and force of the blow. Blunt blows from Marty could put deep dents in steel, but not punch through it. Blows with clubbing weapons will snap unprotected bones in two or more pieces.

Marty is already well-funded by a financial gift from his uncle.

Drawbacks & Limitations:

Speed bursts and reaching his max speed will tire him out quickly, and he needs to drink lots of water after extended periods of doing so in order to not get dehydrated. While any formed weapons or body extensions may stop physical injuries, any part of his body is still left un-shifted is vulnerable to anything that would injure or kill a normal person. Any formed item that can remove from the body will take whatever mass it had with it, and he will need to re-absorb such an item in order to regain any lost mass.

Weaknesses: Marty has notoriously bad luck.

Equipment and weapons: Fabrique Nationale Herstal FiveseveN: 5.7x28mm handgun with a 20 round magazine, and his generally preferred duty weapon, as he can fire it at incredible speeds. Magnum Research Desert Eagle Mark XIX: .50 AE handgun with a 7 round magazine and stout recoil. He will generally have this when he expects tougher targets. Kimber Diamond Grade 1911: .45 ACP 1911 pistol with an 8 round magazine. This pistol is luxurious in its looks and materials, made of blued stainless steel with 24k gold decoration and walnut grips, he carries this to impress or intimidate. Benelli M3: 12-gauge shotgun that holds 7+1 rounds, it can go pump or auto. Marty's is equipped with a collapsible folding skeleton stock with a cheek weld, shell holders on the top and left sides with each holding 7 shells, and a muzzle brake.

BACKGROUND

Nationality: American
Hometown: Albany, Georgia

Personality: Marty Sullivan is a cool and calculating individual, having adopted this attitude after witnessing and doing as much as he can to stop gang activity in downtown Albany, GA. He can even seem somewhat brutal if you were to see him in action against said gang members. His will to be a hero is strong, and has an innate desire to perform the best out of the other Metahumans in his group. Because of this, he has also developed a competitive side, and is willing to do whatever it takes just to come out on top. This competitive nature can seem uninviting to others, especially considering the fact that they may have to work in a team.

Bio: Born and raised in Albany, Marty grew up knowing gang activity was just part of life, despite living in the safer side of the city. He grew up knowing that life wasn't some cushion that would save you if you fell. As far as education went, Marty was a good student, he managed to maintain low and high As in all of his classes. His wealthy uncle, who lived in Florida, frequently visited Marty and his parents, and taught Marty the ins and outs of how to be successful in life like he was. Marty had his first run-in with a gang when his father was driving him home from an Atlanta Braves game, he was 6 at the time, and his father dealt with them by pulling a shotgun from their car. Concerned for his son's future safety, his father taught him to shoot at that age. Because of a developing fascination with mechanical systems, he disassembled the rifle his father had given him, figured out how each part worked, and then put it back together. He learned that he could mag-dump faster than anyone when he was age 10. At 14, his father taught him how to defend against gangs if he was caught without a gun, which is also when he learned of his ability to shapeshift his body into sharp weapons. His father indeed found it unusual, but decided that such an ability would be all the more help against gangs. Starting from when he was in High School, he began giving anonymous tips on gang members within his school to the police, much to their appreciation. After some time, the gangs sniffed him out, and cornered his car when he was driving through downtown. He had no guns on him at the time, so he used his unique ablity to neutralize or scare off the thugs, while also learning of his incredible agility and speed. After this, he promised he would devote part of his life to mitigating gang activity. If he found out about a drug seller in his school affiliated to a gang, he would make them talk, then go deal with the gang. His methods would be considered somewhat brutal by some, but the police let him continue. When he left High School, he went to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech, while also taking a part time job as a cop in downtown Albany, where he became well-known and loved by officers assigned there, and also gaining a good reputation with the GBI. When he finished his 4 year degree, he was selected to join the Argonauts, who had taken note of his abilities and skill in dealing with dangerous situations. When his uncle learned of this, he gave Marty a financial gift of $350,000 to start off his new life with.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Fears/Phobias: Failing to be the best, having others surpass him etc.
Skills: Very skilled with mechanical systems, particularly guns, and can easily do whatever modification to a firearm that could be desired. Everything from machine gun conversions to replacing an action, he can do it. He is a frighteningly accurate marksman and is also skilled in melee combat with weapons formed from his shapeshifting ability.
Theme:

by **Okayanos** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:42 am

Argus Metahuman File

Name: Fionn Szabo
Alias: Avalerion
Age: 22
Gender: Male

Powers:
Builder: a catch-all term for a specific type of B2 Cognition powers that give the user a superhuman aptitude for the creation and maintenance of advanced technology. It's said often that no two Builders are identical, and ARGUS records would indicate that each individual possesses a unique specialty- though overlap often occurs. Fionn's specialty, as far as he knows, lies in suits of powered armor that require a human pilot, as well as weapons systems designed to function with the suit. Differing from famed hero Colossus, Fionn's suits are designed for extreme high mobility and even flight- a fighter jet as opposed to a tank. His current suit is the Coronis, a piece of engineering notable for its heavy thruster mounts and powerful arsenal. The Coronis's weapons and abilities are listed below.

Machine cannons: Small-caliber guns mounted on the top pair of thrusters. Primarily used for intercepting missiles or for distracting targets.
Micromissiles: Tiny guided warheads stored in the lower pair of thrusters and the suit's thighs. Used for indirect fire, pressuring hidden targets, etc.
Beam Magnum: A handheld, pistol-style energy weapon. Draws on a rechargeable power core to produce a purplish-tinted blast. Standard loadout has two stored on the suit's center back.
Beam Saber: A melee weapon that produces a blade of solidified violet energy, a kind of hardlight that cuts through many materials, but produces little external heat. Two are carried, stored in the suit's forearms where they can be unveiled and held in the hands when needed.
Aegis Shield: A forearm-mounted kite shield which projects a thin kinetic dampening field- an energy field which absorbs and reduces the force of incoming attacks. Latches onto the bottom of the lower thruster set. Standard loadout mounts two, allowing one for each hand.
Multidirectional thrust system: Four back-mounted thrusters on moveable arms afford an impressive degree of mobility and speed. The Coronis utilizes small hover jets in its feet, allowing the suit to 'skate' along the ground during high speed movements, while using more traditional walking motion to conserve energy.
Augmented Reality Interface: Within the helmet, the pilot is fed data for suit performance, weapon targeting, combat analysis of targets, and so forth. The Coronis does not feature any built-in AI, however.
Augmented Physical Capability: When using the Coronis, the suit is able to augment and boost the wearer's strength and speed along with granting flight and access to its weaponry. Currently tested at a 15 ton lift, with capability of reacting to supersonic threats, potentially faster. Maximum combat speed is superhuman, able to maneuver and strike at speeds above the average human reaction time.
Internal power core: Provides power to the suit's functions, and recharges stored beam weaponry. Uses solar power to recharge in the field, or can be directly hooked up to a charging port at base.

Drawbacks & Limitations: As a piece of advanced technology, the Coronis has a pointed weakness towards hacking- it's electronic defenses are mostly untested, and technopaths are a fairly common type of metahuman. The flight capabilities of the suit limit its total weight, meaning that the armor is not as tough as it could potentially be. .50 caliber bullets can inflict damage on all but the heaviest-plated areas, and explosive warheads can cause lasting damage. Until a tougher, lighter material is found, this weakness will remain. Maintenance of the suit can only be done by Fionn, or at least a Builder meta with an applicable specialty.

Weaknesses: Fionn is squishy when outside of his suit. His power is concentrated in his creations, not in himself. With it's multiple thruster engines, powerful weapons, and bold red color scheme, the Coronis is not a machine built to hide.

Equipment and weapons: See power. Beam Saber and Beam Magnum could conceivably be wielded by Fionn outside of his suit in a desperate time. While he can't usually bring them on missions, Fionn keeps all the necessary tools to repair, tune, and upgrade his suit.

BACKGROUND

Nationality: Polish American
Hometown: Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.

Personality: Fionn tries his best to be positive, as well as to act like a proper hero when 'field work' is thrust upon him. This has developed into a kind of professionalism usually rare among younger heroes. On missions, it can sometimes make him as mechanical as the suit he pilots. Indebted would be the only suitable word to describe Fionn's feeling towards other metahuman heroes. He wasn't given this power for nothing, and he owes it to every other hero to work to his fullest. He thaws out somewhat when off duty, holding a suitable feeling of camaraderie toward those he works alongside in the Argonauts.

Metas are fundamentally broken people. A Class I event leaves an impact on all those who survive- some describe the feeling as being ten years older within an instant. A loving family can fill the hole left by trauma, but can't close it. Obsession is an unhealthy thing, born of a drive for nothing more than vengeance. Having loved someone who turned out to be evil, the only thing left is guilt. Such is the nature of Fionn Szabo.

Bio: Fionn was not born. He was made. He and his twin sister Seresviel were products of their father's Builder specialization, miracle children artificially grown due to the mother's infertility. Can either of them be called less human for something that was out of their control? Doubtful. The twins were the second generation of children grown into the Szabo family, the first being represented by their single older sister, Eira- one who has already set out on her own path, finding a place in the world all her own.

As for the younger twins, they still needed time to find themselves. Neither possessed an active metahuman gene at birth, so naturally they were believed to be powerless. Shortly after the time of Incident Gnosis, that powerless became much more pronounced. With the first appearance of the inhuman Class I metahuman threat called Yaldabaoth, both twins were made more powerless than they ever could have imagined. Their survival was as miraculous as their birth. The manifestation of metahuman abilities could be seen as a blessing or a curse depending on one's views. While Fionn is ready and willing to make use of his abilities, Seres is stubbornly reluctant and bedridden.

The reason for Fionn's motivation and Seres' apprehension traces back to Yaldabaoth, to what is unofficially called the Portland Incident. After initially appearing near Stonehenge, Yaldabaoth did battle with many powerful heroes, and then went dormant. The threat was declared neutralized. And then, of course, fate's sick sense of humor caused Yaldabaoth to emerge once more, rising from the sea and wreaking havoc on the North Pacific Coast. Cities fell, and thousands lost their lives in an incident often spoken of in the same breath as St. Petersburg and Chicago. Local heroes put up a valiant defense against the oncoming storm in their attempt to stop or at least slow the monstrosity. Among their numbers was Portland's #1 hero, a pyrokinetic called Ifrit who could become living flame. He walled off Yaldabaoth's progress with great swathes of fire that seemed to demand the villain's attention.

Seres was unlucky enough to be inside the corralled zone at the time, one of a number of unfortunate few. Forced to take physical form to extract her, Ifrit perished in his moment of vulnerability as Fionn's sister was pulled to safety. Both of the twins were extracted aboard an ARGUS craft even as Yaldabaoth's amorphous form seemed to glare at them, billowing towards the two with something like malice. Something inside of Fionn stirred at the demise he had narrowly escaped. Him and Seres both clutched their heads as the Argus craft flew, and they both awoke to a new world.

ARGUS bureaucracy first touched the twin's lives upon landing. The swirls of ice and snow forming into the shape of angelic wings around Seres, and the glow of power inside Fionn's veins and impossible schematics in his mind were unmistakeable to anyone who had spent any amount of time around metahumans. The twins were both registered with ARGUS before they'd even had time to process the disaster they had made it out of. Seres was left chronically ill, likely due to Yaldabaoth's presence being near her for too long. Fionn was left with nothing but a thirst for vengeance, and the knowledge of how to build a machine that would get him to it.

He toiled to create the machine with the encouragement of family to back him, and the images in his head to guide him. As if by magic, the parts he gathered were eventually built into a suit of armor, with what seemed a simple design philosophy. Go faster. Hit harder. Leave everyone else behind. Never stop striving to improve. These guiding tenants were made manifest in the first prototype. Fionn's feet left the ground for the first time that day. He felt no powerlessness wrapped in his metal, soaring at a hundred miles per hour, leaving the world beneath him as a streak of color. The hero Avalerion was born that day. He was selected as a student at the Metahuman Academy, the same one as a certain Hades. The academy honed his skills, just as Fionn honed his armor and weapons.

Whether an intervention of fate, a mysterious choice of someone high in the chain of command, or a pulling of strings by his father, Fionn was selected by ARGUS to become part of the newly formed Argonauts.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Fears/Phobias: Not knowing. Inadequacy. Disappointment.
Skills: Basic training in melee combat, armed and unarmed- only really useful when augmented by his suit, though. The skills learned while piloting the Coronis have extended to the point that he could drive or fly almost anything (barring the most complex vehicles) if he were put at the controls. Routine suit maintenance has given him an understanding of mechanical systems in general, though not to the superhuman degree that he understands high-speed mech suits.
Theme: //DEPLOYING HEROIC THEME SONG
Alternatively, for old time's sake

by **The Cyberiad Council** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 6:32 am

Skyggeheim wrote:
Argus Metahuman File

Name: Danica Nikitich

Accepted.

Okayanos wrote:[box]
Argus Metahuman File

Name: Fionn Szabo

Accepted, but maybe decrease the load-out of the suit to a 'default' and then introduce more pieces later on.

And just a general lore critique for both, it was the Argus Investigation and Detainment Division that recruited you, not A.S.E.T. it'self. The later is a specific black-ops like team that doesn't have much direct power in the Argus command structure.

by **The Cyberiad Council** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 7:34 am

the apps are looking fairly good, but post the finished product again, please. I don't like WIPs clogging up the thread.

by **Skyggeheim** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 9:12 am

The Cyberiad Council wrote:
Skyggeheim wrote:
Argus Metahuman File

Name: Danica Nikitich

Accepted.

Okayanos wrote:[box]
Argus Metahuman File

Name: Fionn Szabo

Accepted, but maybe decrease the load-out of the suit to a 'default' and then introduce more pieces later on.

And just a general lore critique for both, it was the Argus Investigation and Detainment Division that recruited you, not A.S.E.T. it'self. The later is a specific black-ops like team that doesn't have much direct power in the Argus command structure.

Fixed for you.

by **Okayanos** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 11:25 am

The Cyberiad Council wrote:
Skyggeheim wrote:
Argus Metahuman File

Name: Danica Nikitich

Accepted.

Okayanos wrote:[box]
Argus Metahuman File

Name: Fionn Szabo

Accepted, but maybe decrease the load-out of the suit to a 'default' and then introduce more pieces later on.

And just a general lore critique for both, it was the Argus Investigation and Detainment Division that recruited you, not A.S.E.T. it'self. The later is a specific black-ops like team that doesn't have much direct power in the Argus command structure.

Decreased loadout to only have the default stuff, and fixed the lore.

by **The Cyberiad Council** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:02 pm

Okayanos wrote:Decreased loadout to only have the default stuff, and fixed the lore.

Looks good.

by **Mercatus** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:20 pm

My app is finished.

by **The Cyberiad Council** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:05 pm

Mercatus wrote:My app is finished.

It is a very interesting app, although it looks like you're going in two fairly different directions with your powers. That isn't a problem in itself, it just makes it a little more challenging to see where you want to go with him.

Also, this is just a suggested drawback/weakness that may be interesting: if you're warping your body mass into a metal-like compound, that would mean your body would get lighter if you used it as a projectile. That would then require you to go retreive your generated projectiles, or eat a ton to regen the mass.

It's just an idea, you can decide how your power works.

But I'll accept the app.

by **Mercatus** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:28 pm

The Cyberiad Council wrote:
Mercatus wrote:My app is finished.

It is a very interesting app, although it looks like you're going in two fairly different directions with your powers. That isn't a problem in itself, it just makes it a little more challenging to see where you want to go with him.

Also, this is just a suggested drawback/weakness that may be interesting: if you're warping your body mass into a metal-like compound, that would mean your body would get lighter if you used it as a projectile. That would then require you to go retreive your generated projectiles, or eat a ton to regen the mass.

It's just an idea, you can decide how your power works.

But I'll accept the app.

That was going to be present from the get go. I'll be sure to list that.

by **Harbertia** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:44 pm

I don't know if she's hero enough for Argus to enroll in the team, and thus can take such a judgement with agreement. Perhaps improving her abilities to a greater level if desired. I am also aware that the additional lore could clash with something I am unaware of as the lore thread was not complete. If however she is acceptable I am interested in seeing how the other characters interact with her.

Argus Metahuman File

Name: Melora Alma Genene Altaire'
Alias: Alma
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Melora is a tall woman at around 6' 4". She has pale white skin, blue eyes, and black hair. She likes to wear dresses when in a casual setting but will done tighter clothing when in more demanding situations prefering shorts and short sleeved shirts that keep her forearms and calfs open. Argus can determine if such is suitable. She has a tail that is long and slender.

Powers:
Prehensile Tail - Melora's most notable physical difference is her prehensile tail which measures 1 1/3 meter in length. It can act as a whip and lift 9 kilograms (20 pounds). When used as a whip the tail produces a stinging sensation upon contact generating a mild numbness that grows with each hit.
Enhanced Balance - Due in part to the tail Melora is capable of keeping a greater balance and performing acrobatics.
Bioglow - Melora can cause parts of her body to glow. These parts (her forearms, neck, and calfs) glow due to fluid filled glands. They glow can be cool or warm to the touch and she can cause the effect to activate in patterns.
Shield - Melora can generate a physical barrier measuring 1 meter across and 2 meters high with in 1 meter distance from herself.

Drawbacks & Limitations:
Tail - The numbing agent is considered mild as it would take two whips to the face for one's facial muscles to relax beyond use- and even then the whips would have to be to the same side of the face.
Shield - Can only be activated where she is looking and so long as her eyes are open. She has tried to extend the her staring ability but it remains close to, at most, 30 seconds with difficulty.

Weaknesses:
A numbing of Melora's tail, or other disabling of it would cause her balance to go from Enhanced to Subpar resulting in an inability to run without falling over nor to walk a tight rope or beam without falling. She could managed to walk but moving briskly would cause her to fumble and running would cause her to fall over
Bioglow - Due to the nature of this power coming from translucent glands that show her veins if no covering is over those parts Melora lacks some muscle in her arms and legs. In lacking such the glands are vulnerable points and unfortunately points that would be close to enemies during combat.
The Doctors - Family, as is to be expected, provokes a loyalty and love that no other force can obtain. Melora cares deeply for them, and is unlikely to take risks should they be put into danger. This could be exploited.

Equipment and weapons: What ever Argus deems to provide.

BACKGROUND

Nationality: French
Hometown: Giverny

Personality: Melora likes to sing, and doesn't like silence. She's usually smiling and cheerful with a lot of hope going into this. Most of her anticipation for hero work came from her childhood and thus she approaches it with a mind of confidence. She however also likes attention and may try to be where she is most exposed to viewing. She wants others to be happy, but is a bit hindered by her focus on herself. She's not someone who would abandon others to save her self no, she's just someone who may try to help another by giving examples about herself. She also likes to dance and thus her off time will largely consist of her acting like a popstar- singing and dancing while doing some other task- such as cleaning her room. Even when playing a sport she is likely to have some song on her mind. She claims to be a Valerian fan, but she has only ever seen the film and didn't like the protagonist. She simply likes the opening of the film and the people of the beach planet- so one can argue that she is not in fact a fan. Melora takes how others think of her a bit more then others might- an effect of her upbringing at the facility where she aimed to gain the staff's approval for the sake of a smile on their part. If there is one power she could wish for, it'd be Moderator - Empathetic.

Bio: Melora was engineered by the French-Canadian Genetics Firm 'Alma' as part of a canceled European answer to Project Eventide. Melora's early life was spent in a controlled environment where she learned French, English, and Chinese while receiving training in methods utilized by private security firms and police departments in the western world. Melora heard a lot about the 'outside world' and was eager to help it but when the project was canceled so too was the rest of Melora's training. A pair of scientist closest to her opted to take responsibility for integrating her into society under an agreement of having her appear from time to time to demonstrate what Alma is capable of given proper facilities and financial backing.

Melora's life outside the facility did not start with applause or some grand show but a simple farmhouse close to Giverny. There Melora was, after her 'parents' where confident of her readiness and town officials assured of good behavior (thanks to Argus's portal power dampeners), introduced to the more normal citizenry and to the gardens in Giverny. Her private schooling at the facility set her apart from other students though too did her more physical quirks. While Melora behaved well her time at the facility had left her with the desire to help and she often ended up coming off as nosy and gained a reputation for getting into matters that didn't directly concern her. Though even this wasn't enough given what she had been told she was meant to be.

When presented at a Geneticist Conference in Genevia Melora, understanding such to be a show, carried her self as one might in a performance which wasn't exactly what the company had wanted. The representatives of Alma present had hoped for a more 'genuine' presentation and Melora had to deal with her parents being disappointed by her coming off as show offish and aloof during the presentation.

After working out why her parents where disappointed, Melora began to take up singing as a form of copping while keeping the next presentation in mind. She started, as a means of both drawing attention to herself and putting her language skills back to use running a video blog. -as per OP's suggestion put a bit of freelance hero work here- She proved to be able to draw interest to her rather well, and while she's certainly not worked as hard as Danica or Fionn to overcome obstacles- or perhaps she's so bright eyed as to not have noticed her struggle- she was by this exposure noticed by Argus which offered her the chance to be something more akin to what Alma had meant her to be.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Fears/Phobias: Melora has a peculiar phobia regarding featureless expanses devoid of buildings. Buildings, namely the confines of the Facility, give her a sense of security and people give her a sense of not being alone. It is perhaps the better way to define her phobia- the fear of being entirely alone. Even when alone in her room she could hear through the walls. Being unable to see a building, people, or hear even signs of life- to be isolated and miles from others causes her to have reactions ranging from distressed calling out to running in search of people until passing out. The camera and her blog give her a sense of company even if she's the only person around.
Skills: Melora can speak Chinese, French, and English. She's a bit out of practice in the area of Gracie, the fighting style she was training in at the facility.
Theme: Themematically 'Alma' goes for white and gold.

by **Valloria** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:51 pm

Argus Metahuman File

Name: Nicholas Fowler
Alias: Hades
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Standing at 6'2" and 125 pounds, Nicholas is a slightly-awkward teenaged version of the "tall, dark, and handsome" trope, or at the least aspires to be. He's certainly got the tall-and-dark bit down. He has a diamond-shaped face with delicate features, large brown eyes, high cheeks and a long, thin nose that comes to a point. His thick, wavy ebony hair—which he blow-dries straight, mind you—is parted messily at the side, its undercut coming down to his sharp cheekbones. His pale olive skin stretches tight over a bony frame with little muscle or fat to speak of. He prefers to stay clean-shaven, although if under a lot of stress he'll often let it go several days before a shave. Nick is normally described as above-average in attractiveness, but not to the level where people stare at him in the street; perhaps a 7 or 8 out of 10. He compensates for his thinness by wearing multiple layers; he's most often found wearing his favorite outfit: a well-fitted brown leather jacket over a dark grey cardigan with a white linen button-down underneath. A pair of faded black drainpipe jeans with some decorative ribbing and extra pockets protect his legs from the elements. His trusty black Chelsea boots and a pair of aviators round out the look. If it's cold out he'll add a light grey knit sweater under the cardigan, a pair of black leather gloves, and exchange the leathers for a black peacoat and grey scarf. No matter what, he wears a mother-of-pearl inlaid band with an amber gem passed down from grandmother to mother to son and a necklace with a cylindrical piece of onyx as the charm his father got him when he developed his powers.
his face

Powers: Athenian Recollection:
Similarly to all biologically-based psychocognitive powers, Nick's power interacts with the Athenian plane of particle interaction. When the brain processes information, energy is expended. Neurons lose energy and some of that energy is transformed and produces electromagnetic Athenian photons. This becomes the enabler for all biological psychic powers: a chemical conversion or interaction with this expended and converted energy. Athenian particles are interchanged between biological matter and the physical world — forming massless, metaphysical connections with objects, areas, etc. as experiences are had and memories are formed. The stronger an individual's memory of a particular thing, the more Athenian particles are connected to it, almost like an invisible tether. Indeed, the more people that have experienced/remember something, the stronger the Athenian particular presence is in that thing. Nick's primary power is the ability to tap into the web of Athenian connections that characterize the physical world. The manifestation of this power is threefold:

Sensory: Firstly, his power supplies him an unending stream of highly accurate observations: a helpful HUD overlaying his vision of the world telling him basically everything about anything he sees. High stress increases the volume of information, so in combat, it's like a helpful AI engine guiding his motions, helping predict what his opponent will do by analyzing their (and their enemies') every past move they've made in combat and assisting him with technique through replicating moves by the historical greats. As an added benefit to this power, his memory is impeccable for things he has been present for, as his connection with his own Athenian particles is the most compatible due to biological matchup. All of his senses are at peak human strength and are supplemented by information from his power. He sees measurements and bits of information almost as if they were in the air around everything surrounding him, providing him with an unrivaled economy of motion and extremely accurate depth perception.

Investigation: There are two principle types of powers based in the Athenian plane: receptory and inceptory. Receptory powers allow observation and interaction with other people's Athenian particles. Inceptory powers allow for their manipulation and influence. Nick's primary abilities are receptor: he is able to access the world's Athenian connections, enabling him to know other people's memories, as well as recalled information about places and objects. This power additionally allows him to 'leap' from connection to connection, with decreased scope each time. For example, if he's 'investigating' someone present in the room and sees a memory of them in a fight, he can 'leap' from that memory to their opponent's memory, but only to memories where their adrenaline was significantly heightened. From there, he can leap to another person's memory, but the window he has to their lifetime web of Athenian particles is far narrower, usually based on timescale.

Interruption: The final expression of Nick's powers is his ability to locally interact with the Athenian plane. This manifests as In the heat of battle, an aura of raw power, manifesting itself in the form of Athenian alteration, surrounds him upon his summoning. Depending on the situation, the aura can reach up to fifteen feet in every direction and affects everything in the field's ability to form and recall Athenian connections. The effect is enhanced by proximity and of course, physical contact. This allows him to scramble enemies' focuses, unbalance them, and reduce the amount of sensory input they receive, making him a devastating melee combatant. On the reverse side of this, overwhelming a person's senses by vastly increasing the availability of information in the target area can be used to devastating effect, especially after sensory deprivation. Additionally, Nick can fire beams of information alteration that, upon contact with an object or person, will freeze their ability to make Athenian connections so long as the beam is sustained. Prolonged exposure to either variant can lead to the gradual erasure of previously formed Athenian connections, and around 12 hours' worth will render someone effectively permanently braindead, with only their involuntary functions remaining.

Drawbacks and Limitations: Athenian Recollection

Sensory: Of course, this isn't omniscience. There are several key qualifiers. Firstly, the simpler the subject matter is, the faster he understands it. This means the difference between seconds and minutes, to even hours or days, to absorb information. If he wanted to know how to build a nuclear bomb, even under optimal circumstances it would take weeks and there would be so many holes in the information it would be inoperable; as a general rule, the more complex the topic is the difficulty and time it takes scales exponentially to the point of impossibility: restricting him from learning to create something that's yet to be conceptualized. He must also be able to connect the fact to something he's seen or read about, lending itself to many hours spent hunched over a computer screen reading about, well, everything.

Investigation: Furthermore, his knowledge of people does not extend to telepathy: he's only able to see their past experiences and those of people connected to them. This can result in incorrect assumptions without regard for the inner motivations of people. Furthermore, such investigation requires contact: he must be able to see a person to see their full experiences, hear their voice to hear their past words, touch them to feel things they've felt, etc. The timescale of his investigations are theoretically unlimited, however the less Athenian connections a piece of information has with multiple people/sources the less he is able to investigate it without close proximity. At least one living person must have formed Athenian connections with something for him to investigate it.

Interruption: The aura is a conscious choice and can be taxing when used for long periods of time. People outside of the alteration field do not suffer the effects, so this only works on those he is within 15 feet of. Additionally, this field of alteration does not affect the senses of those it interacts with, more rather it modifies how much information can reach them — almost like cloaking an area in druglike darkness, fog or haze. The effect is indiscriminate, as it does not target individuals and effects the area itself. Darkness is the most common variant of his most common use: information denial, hence the name Hades. This power can be partially or fully overridden by those who are able to modulate their own senses or can be operated from outside the area. The beam counterpart's affected target must be within Nick's periphery in order to remain in effect and must be "fed" or Athenian interaction will begin again in after a few minutes.

Weaknesses: He has no innate physical buffs, thus despite his mental powers being practically at peak for a human, his body is only as good as a normal human's can be. Like it or not, Nick is a shrimp. He is physically rather frail, and while fast and tall, does not have any muscular strength to speak of. Additionally, his powers render him a poor long-range physical combatant, although his postcognitive range is practically unlimited.

Equipment and weapons: A blacksteel neurotoxin-coated bident around 8 feet long with a rapier hidden in the base and a concussive blast generator in the bidens crafted by Arsenal; a Glock 17 pistol, a 25-year-old Yamaha upright piano, an expanded Swiss army knife.

BACKGROUND

Nationality: American
Hometown: Dania Beach, FL / Long Island City, Queens, NY

Personality: ENTP 8w9, a classic Byronic and guile hero. On the surface, Nick is all charisma. Raised by an insurance salesman father and Brooklyn-born stockbroker mother, he was born to be a negotiator. A good thing too, as his intelligence (and power) has allowed him to pick up pretty much any mental skill he wants over the years. He's an extremely eloquent, fast-talking snarker that gets by largely on force of personality alone. He's quick-witted and clever; he always has a quip handy and a smile is never far from his lips. Although quite perceptive, and very attuned to the feelings and emotional state of his fellows, due to his upbringing he himself is terrified of being emotionally vulnerable. One might even think he built up his persona specifically to hide those very insecurities. He prefers to maintain a larger-than-life persona to those outside his inner circle, replete with oft-ridiculous asides and comedic pop-culture references. In this respect, he often likens himself to the principal character of the TV show Psych, Shawn Spencer (especially considering the nature of his power), as well as Chris Knight from Real Genius. His ironic and sarcastic humor cover up deep internal trauma related to the fact that he wasn't able to save his mother's life. The flipside of this amiable, humorous public persona is semi-frequent bouts of severe depression, during which he withdraws himself or becomes laconic, serious, and melancholy. His humor becomes more bitter and his comments more biting. Personally, he values competence and integrity above all else, with intellect as a close third. His worldview is highly cynical bordering on pessimistic, and he is normally suspicious of the motivations of others. Can often be found playing piano, as he has been since age 6; he writes his own music as well as playing the traditional classical repertoire. When he's not expanding his vast knowledge base, he can be found training with his dual-wielded sabers, which are his weapon of choice only because, as he says, they "look super badass."

Bio: Born in the affluent Miami suburb of Dania Beach, Nick was raised by two working parents who placed an extremely high value on education. He grew up very well off, attending the most elite public schools in the area; his parents both had graduate degrees and had spent their childhoods in public education, which they placed a high value on. His powers were discovered at an early age, but due to the adroit parenting employed by both mother and father, Nick was happy to disguise the more apparent ones while using his power to score highly in school. Content with his upbringing, Nick nonetheless suffered from bouts of depression and anxiety, inherited from his mother. He excelled in school, earning respect from his teachers and shunning by his peers, and graduating high school at the tender age of 14. His mother had retired several years earlier from her job as a stockbroker to be a full-time homemaker; his father having left his high-powered executive position at a major investment bank to found his own firm and the husband-wife team struck out on their own. The move caused significant tension at home, but with the business' success, the family maintained their comfortable life. Initially, he intended to pursue a degree in history and teach that subject before going back to graduate school for another degree, that time in International Relations to work for the United Nations as a policy advisor. To serve his country. But that all changed, quite rapidly in fact, during the summer he turned 16.

It began as a small lump on his mother's lymph nodes. They both figured it was just a sinus infection, a not-unusual ailment in a family that collectively suffered from severe allergies and frequently dealt with such infections. However, soon enough, her condition worsened. By the time she visited a specialist, the cancer had spread throughout her body and she was given a 15% chance of survival. Nick's father, crushed, suffered a mental breakdown and left the family for a month, leaving Nick to pick up the pieces. Devastated that despite his powers he was unable to catch this earlier, Nick threw himself into his work and into caring for his mother. His father returned, but their previously loving relationship was replaced by icy avoidance. Although dad was able to take over some of the caretaking duties and began bringing in a stable income again, Nick was still his mother's primary caretaker, working tirelessly to find a way to mitigate the disease. Unable to save her, his mother passed after a little more than a year. It was the final straw for Nick: with nothing and no-one left to give him a reason to stay at home, he made arrangements at the conclusion of his senior year of undergrad and moved to New York. There, he survived on the goodwill of family and his skill with predicting moves in the stock market, contenting himself to be distracted from his anguish by sleeping around with girls he never even gave a chance to try and understand him half as well as he could immediately understand them. He had been on Argus' radar for some time, and not long after his move to New York, he was picked up by the Metahuman Academy as their youngest-ever recruit, just 17 years old. He finished his term a year early well-respected by peer and instructor alike, having distinguished himself on several missions and taken a place as somewhat of a protegé to Cypher. Now, the next chapter begins with his recruitment to the Argonauts.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Fears/Phobias: Failure to anticipate the future and protect those he feels are his charges, not being respected, his past.
Skills: His powers, while they do not grant him innate skills, bestow upon him the knowledge to learn most skills incredibly quickly. He is not an omniglot, but his mind is capable of translating writing instantly. He is, however, a highly skilled swordsman and marksman due to his perception abilities and he has a knack for knowing how to ask the right questions.
Theme: The Vampyre of Time and Memory by Queens of the Stone Age, his favorite band.

by **Sraelyn** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:53 pm

Oh boy. Might bring Johan back for this

by **The Cyberiad Council** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 6:38 pm

Harbertia wrote:I don't know if she's hero enough for Argus to enroll in the team, and thus can take such a judgement with agreement. Perhaps improving her abilities to a greater level if desired. I am also aware that the additional lore could clash with something I am unaware of as the lore thread was not complete. If however she is acceptable I am interested in seeing how the other characters interact with her.

Argus Metahuman File

Name: Melora Alma Genene Altaire'

I like this idea a lot. And no, your lore doesn't directly clash with anything established lore, but one point of clarification I think is important is the nature of Eventide. The St. Petersburg Accords, the governing document that created Argus and modern metahuman law, including rules of superheroes, prohibits anyone with metahuman powers from working directly for any National Government. Therefore, Eventide was a more secret project and tended to operate in the shadow. That being said, international espionage is certainly a thing, and Argus is far from perfect at weeding out illegal metahuman-government cooperation. So Alma's existence and original purpose is an awesome idea.

How I'm treating my mechanics-lite system will allow me to scale her to the relative power levels of the others, so you only have to improve her abilities if you wish.

Accepted.

by **Union Princes** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 6:56 pm

Holy Moly, Cy you're back! You're actually back!

by **The Cyberiad Council** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 7:01 pm

Futrellia wrote:WIP

Khasinkonia wrote:Tagerino, might be able to app. I have a few ideas bouncing around, and I might telegram you a few of them once I've sorted out a few other matters.

Sraelyn wrote:Oh boy. Might bring Johan back for this

You all can disregard the 'paused to new apps'. I want to see what yall throw at me before letting more people tag

Union Princes wrote:Holy Moly, Cy you're back! You're actually back!

I am indeed. All it took was a plague. But if you want to try to throw up an app, go ahead, you beat the cut off.

by **Union Princes** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 7:43 pm

Argus Metahuman File

Name: Maria Ludwig
Alias: Holiday
Age: 20
Gender: Female

Powers:
[Healing Blood]: Her blood could heal all wounds and cure all forms of diseases, sickness and poisons. It could reattach broken or torn-off limbs of a wounded person, but it could not cause regrowth of an entire body part or organ without consuming numerous gallons of her blood and time.
[Corrosive Blood]: Her blood becomes corrosive and acidic based on adrenaline levels and by how much she is aroused. This will not nullify the healing properties of her blood, but instead significantly slows it down the process and increase the pain inflicted from the wound. (Imagine putting a hand full of paper cuts into the Dead Sea, the saltiest sea in the world, for a minute and that's what it's like having corrosive healing blood placed on a wound.)
Drawbacks & Limitations:
No prior experience in combat training before she joined
Blood cannot resurrect corpses or heal dead tissue. The organ has to be alive in order to be healed.
Blood cannot heal not fatal-illnesses such as amnesia or dwarfism.
Weaknesses:
Her father's stigma continues to cling to her due to the Guilty by Association fallacy the world has placed on her.
Not experienced in combat in all, Maria literally grabbed whatever weapons that existed in the house to use since those were the only ones she was familiar with.
Equipment and weapons:
Suomi KP/-31: This was her grandfather's weapon in WW2, he was lucky enough to be assigned this gun and Maria was even luckier that her own father kept it around. Probably out of sentimental value. Its 71-round drum and 900 rpm was amazing for its time but the design has nearly reached 100 years old and have already been bypassed by superior options.
A bag full of syringes: Literally a bag full of disposable syringes that are used for injections. A nightmare for anyone afraid of needles.
Scalpel knives: She also carries around an impressive array of scalpel knives.\
The Journal: Maria possesses her father's private medical journal containing all the research and experimentation he did on Maria. Whether it contains revolutionary findings or mindless insanity remains hidden to the open public and utterly secret to anyone but herself and her dad.

BACKGROUND

Nationality: German
Hometown: Rottenburg, Bavaria

Personality: Not exactly a stoic but she does carry a calm aura around her. Like a white rose drenched in blood, Maria, however, does have a cruelty streak when angered. To outsiders, she may does seem emotionally detached to the trauma she had experienced in her childhood. Either she seems complacent or ignorant on what happened. Underneath all the layers, she was only trying to keep her family from falling apart.

Bio: Maria's mother died of childbirth when she was born so her father had to take up the responsibility of raising her. He was in the field of medicine but he also had a morbid curiosity on body function, more importantly metahumans. This mentality was all that Maria knows and admires as she knew nothing of the outside world when her father kept her a prisoner in her own home except to go to school. When it was discovered that she had superhuman powers of healing, her father wasted no time experimenting and dissecting her to seek the key to human immortality. He infected her with a whole host of diseases, from Ebola to Smallpox to the Bubonic Plague itself, and forced her to eat contaminated food and drink filthy water.

But as she grew older, she began to see the toll of being a widow breakdown on her father's sanity and the illusion shattered. It would lead to his arrest in a house raid when the Interpol finally got a warrant to search his house. He was arrested and got sent to a mental hospital for the criminally insane. With nowhere else to go, Maria was about to be abandoned to the streets if it weren't for Argus learning about her healing blood that they quickly enlisted her as soon as they found her. With the potential danger the Argonauts face, it wouldn't hurt to have healing blood on standby.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Fears/Phobias: Her father disappearing from her life. Being truly alone if he did.
Skills:
Excellent in First Aid
a skilled surgeon
skilled in knives and darts.
multilingual in English, Dutch, and Danish
Theme: A Little Heart to Heart

by **Harbertia** » Thu Mar 19, 2020 12:57 pm

The Cyberiad Council wrote:
Harbertia wrote:I don't know if she's hero enough for Argus to enroll in the team, and thus can take such a judgement with agreement. Perhaps improving her abilities to a greater level if desired. I am also aware that the additional lore could clash with something I am unaware of as the lore thread was not complete. If however she is acceptable I am interested in seeing how the other characters interact with her.

Argus Metahuman File

Name: Melora Alma Genene Altaire'

I like this idea a lot. And no, your lore doesn't directly clash with anything established lore, but one point of clarification I think is important is the nature of Eventide. The St. Petersburg Accords, the governing document that created Argus and modern metahuman law, including rules of superheroes, prohibits anyone with metahuman powers from working directly for any National Government. Therefore, Eventide was a more secret project and tended to operate in the shadow. That being said, international espionage is certainly a thing, and Argus is far from perfect at weeding out illegal metahuman-government cooperation. So Alma's existence and original purpose is an awesome idea.

How I'm treating my mechanics-lite system will allow me to scale her to the relative power levels of the others, so you only have to improve her abilities if you wish.

Accepted.

With that clarification, and a second look at the lore thread I think it's safe to say that Melora herself is not aware of Eventide, and given as she thought she'd be a public figure we can assume that she really didn't know fully what she was being trained for. Given how she was integrated into society it's likely that there is a lot more to her story then she knows though perhaps Argus knows more about her past then she actually does in regards to the events that lead her into being. Such would allow you to fill in what she doesn't know in a lore friendly fashion that still leads up to her joining society before becoming an Argonaut.

by **Union Princes** » Thu Mar 19, 2020 4:27 pm

Sorry for not having a finished app so soon. Im still brainstorming the bio.

by **The Cyberiad Council** » Fri Mar 20, 2020 5:29 am

Union Princes wrote:Sorry for not having a finished app so soon. Im still brainstorming the bio.

That's alright, there's no rush, but just looking at what you have so far, it kind of seems redundant to some of the other applications. Just a heads up.

AKA [OOC | Superhero | Closed]

AKA [OOC | Superhero | Closed]

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