(Un)Retired Superheroes THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN For over a decade, a team of young heroes called the League of Heroes has protected Fortress City and the entire planet from the forces of evil. With their leader, Strong-Arm, and his second-in-command, Silhouette, they have taken down any and every villain that dared to cause trouble on their watch. They were seemingly impossible to beat, saving the earth from meteors, alien invasion, even a highly advanced race of subterranean humanoids that made a bid for world domination. One by one, they all fell under the might and cunning of the League of Heroes. But the impossible has happened: the League of Heroes has been destroyed. On Monday, there was a huge explosion at the Stronghold, the League's headquarters in the middle of Fortress City. A ferocious battle seemed to be raging inside, but in less than thirty minutes all went quiet. The police and the ambulance arrived on the scene much too late, finding the mangled bodies of their beloved heroes among the wreckage of the Stronghold. The mayor made an announcement on the news that the League was no more and a public funeral was arranged. Thousands of people flooded the graveyard and the surrounding streets to pay homage to the fallen heroes and a pall of depression fell over the once vibrant, bustling city. A RAY OF HOPE The only ray of hope in the aftermath of such a horrific event is that one heroine's body was not found along with the rest of the League of Heroes: the body of Silhouette. Silhouette is an extremely skilled fighter, trained by an ancient master of Kung Fu, capable of taking down a dozen men with just her bare hands. She has a dislike for guns, preferring to use her hands and her surroundings to defeat criminals, but will use a gun if absolutely necessary. Her name, Silhouette, comes from the fact that she is as quick and stealthy as a shadow, and when she sneaks into the territory of foreign enemies, all they see of her when she leaves is her distant silhouette as she makes an escape. But some people believe that just because her body is missing, doesn't mean she's alive. It could be that she was completely obliterated in the explosion and that there was no trace left of her to find. Still, more hopeful individuals chose to believe that she somehow got away, that she was probably hurt during the battle and that she is in hiding, recuperating until she is well again. However, as time goes by, this theory seems less and less likely, as Silhouette has yet to reappear. THE MYSTERY KILLER No one knows what or who is responsible for killing the heroes and destroying their headquarters. The newspapers have dubbed the culprit the 'Mystery Killer' and everyone is looking out for whoever might be responsible. If it was a known supervillain, no doubt he or she would have stepped forward and bragged publicly, but no one has done so. The silence is almost more terrifying than if a spandex-clad psychopath had flown over the city shouting that he had murdered the entire League in one fell swoop. And as time passes, the suspense and horror only builds. Unanswered questions swirl through the minds of concerned citizens: Who is responsible? Where are they? What powers do they possess? And what do they have planned for the rest of Fortress City? THE BEGINNING OF OUR STORY You are a retired superhero. At one time you patrolled the streets, protecting the innocent and striking terror into the hearts of villains, but for whatever reason, you gave it all up and you are currently retired. It could be that you lost hope or that you simply got too old, but you have watched with pride and joy as the League of Heroes was formed and kept a vigilant watch on Fortress City and beyond. But now the League is gone, brutally murdered. You watched firefighters digging through the smoking carcass of the Stronghold on the news, watched them find the corpses of the young heroes, and watched the massive parade of civilians crowd the streets as they made their way to the public funeral the very next day. Just three days after the incident, an email was sent to each of your computers: 'MEET ME AT THE RUINS OF THE STRONGHOLD AT MIDNIGHT. IT IS TIME TO TAKE UP YOUR CAPES AGAIN. EVIL WILL NOT WIN. -S' You are impassioned by the email and decide to accept the call to arms. Our story begins as you get ready to head to the Stronghold and begin hunting down the Mystery Killer. Send your Character Templates to the GM (me) for approval before you make your first post. GAMEPLAY/RULES When creating your character, please be mindful that their powers must relate to each other. For example, if you can summon fireballs it wouldn't make since that you can also breath ice. If you have a fire power, your other powers must also be fire-related. You are allowed to have up to three powers and one weapon. Also, be very specific when describing your powers. If you're super strong, just how strong are you? If you're super fast, are you faster than a speeding bullet or just faster than a normal person? What are the limitations of your powers? Can you only use them under special conditions? That kind of junk. (You can have a non-powered superhero if you wish: non-powered heroes can have up to four weapons/equpiment. List all of them and what they can do in your template.) Make your superhero realistic. You can't be good at everything. In the skills category, make sure to include anything other than powers that your hero can do: hot-wire a car, kick-boxing, computer hacking, etc etc. Halfway through the story, you can't suddenly reveal your hero is a black belt in karate or can fly a helicopter if it is not included in your template. Follow these guidelines and you should be fine. Once approved, create your first post and get ready to kick some ass. SUPERHERO CATEGORIES These are the categories that the League of Heroes use to classify heroes. Your hero must fall into one of them: Superhuman - A regular human with extraordinary skills, such as extreme fighting prowess or a genius-level IQ. Enhanced - A regular human who obtained super powers through a scientific experiment. Mutant - A human who was born with the mutant gene, passed down from one or both of their parents. Mystic - A human who can control magical forces. Some mystics have a natural talent for using magic, while others have to train and study for years to learn to use it. (If you choose a mystic, instead of listing three powers list three spells that you can use. Detail exactly what the spells can do.) Divinity - A being from another dimension that was once worshiped as a god by early humans. Any god/goddess from mythology falls into this category. Usually Divinities only come to earth during times of great need, but some choose to live on this dimension to protect humanity. TEMPLATE (EXAMPLE) REAL NAME/ALIAS: John Snow Knows Nothing, aka The Prince of Promise AGE (30 & up): 32 GENDER: Male CATEGORY: Mutant POWERS: 1) Freezing Touch - The ability to freeze objects with his touch. The bigger the object, the longer it takes to freeze, and the longer he holds it the thicker the ice that covers it. 2) Ice Conjuring - The ability to create almost any weapon out of ice. The larger and more complicated the weapon, the longer it takes to form. 3) Blizzard - The ability to create a blizzard in an area of five feet around his body. The temperature within the blizzard is -12° Celsius (10 Fahrenheit). When he creates the blizzard, it blasts back anyone standing too close and anything that tries to penetrate it will be blown away by fierce winds. He can only hold the blizzard for up to three minutes.SKILLS: Sword-fighting, horse-riding, fairly good at hand-to-hand combat, military strategist, getting in trouble. APPEARANCE: John Snow is hella good-looking, with curly raven hair, wide shoulders, pale skin, a slim, fit body, and the saddest brown eyes you ever did see. He likes to wear a huge wolf pelt that weighs him down and is not very fashionable. WEAPON/S (If any): Just the ones he can conjure with ice. OTHER: John Snow has a pet Dire Wolf named Ghost, but there's no telling where it is half the time.
The night was cold and silent. Streams of clouds covered the sky, blotting out most of the stars. In that mysterious half-light, a lithe figure moved, stalking from shadow to shadow. It was Silhouette, dressed in tight black clothes and soft-padded slippers. She wore her crinkly black-brown hair in a tight braid down her back. When she passed through a spot of moonlight, her striking features were briefly visible: high cheekbones, smooth caramel skin, large hazel eyes, a full, wide mouth, and a strong chin. But it was only for a moment and Silhouette swiftly continued on, like a cat in the dark. At the end of Main Street, she came to the ruins of the Stronghold. It had once been a huge dome of white marble held up by mighty columns, with a twenty-foot-tall wall around the perimeter, but now it was reduced to rubble. Taking a deep breath, she stalked through the front gate, which was blasted off its hinges, and headed into what was left of her former headquarters. She stepped over countless broken pieces of marble until she finally reached the main entrance. The wide double doors were missing, leaving a gaping black rectangle where they had once stood. Inside, it was dusty and dark, the strong smell of smoke filling the air. There was a giant hole in the high ceiling, letting in the moonlight, and one side of the room was piled with rocks that the firemen had moved to find the League of Heroes' bodies. Silhouette stared for a moment at the wreckage before shaking her head sadly. Then she quickly and silently moved to a place in the shadows where she could watch people come in, but they could not see her. I hope they come, Silhouette thought to herself. They have to come...don't they? She bit her full bottom lip and told herself to shut-up and be patient. This was her last hope at getting justice. They had to come.
I landed on the roof. Thank God I didn't bring Joey. I began to lower myself down a hole in the crumbling concrete roof when I realised it was too far down. "Silhouette!" I called. This is exactly why I gave this up. But I couldn't just allow all those deaths, many friends gone to quickly. My bloody feathers have already retracted. I have to let go. Hitting the ground with a thump, I found myself in the once impressive Stronghold. My legs were full of searing pain, but I knew that this pain was nothing compared to the many who had fell here. "Silhouette? I... I've came!" She must be here. She would never be late, she was the one who always stayed true to her word. My eyes scanned the room trying to pick her out as I eased himself up. I stumbled, waving my arms about in the gloom. "I know your in here. I can hear your heart." It always fluttered quickly, contrasting her calm demeanour. She is over on the right. I think. My mind was busy with trying to handle the pain in my legs. Great help you are, nearly breaking your legs. I inched himself over to the wall where she should be and nursed my legs, hoping she would reveal herself.
Silhouette must be mad as a hare, if she thinks I will give this opportunity up. I look around and I spot my cloak in the gloom of my apartment. Summoning the blue cloak to my side, I set off into the darkness. So many hero's gone, in one explosion? Was that right? I try to shove the memory to the back of my head, but it still surfaces. It was like the explosion I caused when I broke out of the lab. The doctors, would have killed me, it was in their thoughts, but.... I killed so many others. Looking around I spot a blue Prius. It'll do I decide, as I use my telekinetic abilities to tear off a door, and form a circular plate. I step on, and relish the night air as I fly ahead. In the distance, I can see the Stronghold. Sapphire was once my name, and so shall I keep it! I decide, as I look at the Stronghold. I then see a lithe figure landing on the roof above. Friend? Or foe? Silhouette is too smart to just invite me. I stand on the steps, debating weather to go in. A cock of a gun makes me whirl around. A mortal? Or mutant? I raise my hands. Its a black figure with a gun. Oh well, his stupid mistake! I dart forward and grab his forehead. "Sleep". I command. Blue energy dances around my fingers, and I feel my eyes flood with blue energy. I drop his limp body. Then I turn around, and walk up the stairs, and go through the doors, where I sense others. Hiding, in the shadows. " Hello?" I call.
Silhouette stepped out of the shadows and gave Pigeon Man a friendly smile, touching his arm as a greeting. She had watched him clumsily fall into the building with mild amusement. He was a lovable goofball. "I forgot you could do that, hear my heart," she said in her soft voice. Silhouette always spoke in a whisper, like she was telling secrets, but really she was just soft-spoken and socially awkward. Usually Strong-Arm did all the talking when she was with the League of Heroes, but Strong-Arm was no more. She got a little choked up thinking about him, but she forced herself to focus on the here and now. She was Silhouette, the super ninja, and she had work to do. "So, you came," she continued, nodding at Pigeon Man. "Good. I can use all the help I can get." That's when Sapphire entered the room. "Hello, I'm Silhouette," she said. "I sent the emails. Thank you for coming. I can't tell you how grateful I am." Silhouette held out her hand for Sapphire to shake and gave her a welcoming smile.
Spoiler REAL NAME/ALIAS: Jacob Craft, aka Maestro AGE (30 & up): 45 GENDER: Male CATEGORY: Mystic POWERS: 1) Flash Mob - like the Pied Piper, he has the ability to use music to override the thoughts and control the behavior of those in earshot. Animals are no challenge, but sentient beings, like humans, require more effort, and often more complex music than a single person can produce, but it is doable. In an odd quirk, even technically deaf living things can be controlled, as he once saved a hospital by piping a plague out of the patients, though the effort nearly put him into a coma. 2) Dissonance - he is able to shatter objects and inflict pain with sound. 3) Lullabye - can use music to render those in earshot unconscious. Used on a large group, the result is simple sleep, or he can focus on an individual and put them into a coma. SKILLS: A skilled musician; accomplished, if not expert, in hand-to-hand combat; decent marksman APPEARANCE: A nice looking man who's kept himself in shape, despite middle age; thick black hair gone mostly silver; green eyes; clothing has lots of pockets for carrying musical implements. His costume's signature colors back in the day were green and purple WEAPON/S (If any): Carries musical instruments, such as a harmonica or ocarina with him at all times, but isn't above using a handgun or retractable baton in a pinch. OTHER: A natural-born Mystic, he was once told his abilities came from a mysterious force called The Narrative, which ensures there is always someone to carry the legacy of figures such Snow White, Red Riding Hood, and, in Jacob's case, the Pied Piper. He retired from superheroics when the mother of his son--the product of his questioning youth--died, and he became a full-time parent. When the strange letter arrived, his now-adult son had graduated college and was moving in with his girlfriend. Jacob Craft, once known as the Maestro, observed the rubble and felt a lead weight in his chest. "So many," he said to himself. "so young." He couldn't help but picture his own son, David, among the dead, and his heart ached for the parents of the fallen heroes. Up ahead, he saw a winged man land, and be greeted by a woman and a figure in a cloak. He picked his way across the rubble, drawing out his harmonica--just in case. When he drew nearer, he recognized the others and relaxed. "Am I late for the party?" Jacob asked.
I looked around the room, while shaking Silhouettes hand. He saw the torture witch had entered through the roof, and another figure, drawing closer. "Silhouette, so many of our friends died, I will help whenever I can. But first, I think, we should all explain our powers. Surely our friends here won't object." Spotting the man, and his comment, I laughed. "I don't think you are that late. Also, strange choice of a weapon, that harmonica."
"You go on thinking that," Jacob replied with a smirk, deigning not to remark on the car door. He wasn't in that god-awful bodysuit, so he didn't blame Sapphire for not recognizing him. "Though, don't you think the exposition should wait until all the characters are assembled?" Oh, how easy it was to slip into the Narrative way of thinking. He turned to the Silhouette and smiled, taking her hand. "It's been far too long, dear," he said, kissing her gloved hand.
"Oh, wow," Silhouette said awkwardly as Jacob kissed her hand, a faint blush coming to her cheeks. She never knew what to do when guys did that. Was she supposed to say thank you, or just smile like a queen and nod politely? "So, um, thank you for coming, Jacob. Really. Your abilities will definitely come in handy." Then she turned to Sapphire. "Well, Pigeon Man here can fly and has really powerful hearing," she told her. "And he has a pet pigeon...his name is Joey, right? Where is Joey?" She looked around, and when she didn't see the bird, she shrugged and went on. "And Jacob here was once known as the Piper. I'm sure you can guess what that means. As for me, I can fight really well and I'm good at infiltrating enemy bases and sabotaging their operations. That's why they call me Silhouette," she finished with a shy smile. "I believe one or two more people are coming," she added as an afterthought. "But I just think you should know before we begin...this will be dangerous. You might die. You do realize that, right?" She looked around at all of them.
Jacob's expression sobered. "Someone took out the entire League," he said. "If someone doesn't at least try, we've all had it, anyway. I don't think any of us is going into this with their eyes closed."
I raised myself up, rolling down my sleeves as my wings had already gone. I felt small and awkward with these others. Damn, I hate the name Pigeon Man. "Course we aren't," trying to ignore the throbbing pain in my legs, "I just hope Joey will understand if..." I allowed a smile to ease the tension slightly. Sapphire and Maestro looked at me expectantly while Silhouette gave an encouraging smile. Everyone here scared me slightly and I wanted to break this horrible feeling. "I'm going look for clues or summat." I mumbled, limping away.
Timothy had had a nice day. Nothing strenous had happened, the medical research company he was working for had some minor breakthroughs. Of course, he wasn't responsible for any. He worked in IT, though he found that people he depended on had a tendency to do alright as well. Then he went to the casino, where he'd made a steady twelve percent profit per month for the last four years. Then the email had come, he'd had a minor panic attack. Well, maybe two, or three, three sounded closer. Three was defiantly the, okay, four. Tim had left this behind for a reason, mostly because he wasn't doing much. True he'd stopped Dr Frantic, but that was only because the doctor had stepped in some dog crap and started hopping around and trying to shake it off. No one liked dog poo on their shoes, and it was an experience that Timothy wouldn't like to experience. When he arrived he noticed a few people already there. No one he'd ever worked with though, and he found himself just standing silently. He found a spot where, if the building was still standing, he'd be at the outer wall. Though right now that meant very little. He lifted his hand and waved in a vague greeting, before putting it back down again.
As I turned to look for 'clues' I noticed someone else approaching. Great, who's this going to be? Mr Amazing? But as the figure stopped, he realized it was a man looking as uncomfortable as him. "Hey, you!" I called walking towards him. I stifled a yawn, wishing I was back in bed. "Do you have any ibuprofen?" I added as pain shot up through my leg again.
Tim began patting himself down quickly, feeling something in his pocket and pulling it out. Hmm, he didn't remember putting that in his pocket. "Uhm, I've got some paracetamol if that helps." He said, holding up a small packet.
"Ah, thanks!" I gave what I hoped to be a welcoming smile as he handed me the packet. How many do I take for nearly broken legs? "I'm Danny and I wish you could call me that. Not what the others call me," I took a deep breath, "Pigeon man. But we've got to keep identities secret so you'd better." I took two of the tablets, swallowing them both at the same time. I didn't want to overdose. I handed the packet back over. "You can come over, you know."
"Well" I said. "I have the ability to manipulate any nonanimate blue object, and I can read minds. And Silhouette, I don't think any of us will come in here thinking we can just find a bomber and skip away." I laugh a little, then I head off searching for clues. I walked around, still searching for clues, and overheard Pidgeon Man and the newcomer talking about secret identitys. Are they exchanging drugs? And didn't Silhouette say he had a pigeon named Joey...?
"I have a few anxieties so I'd rather stay back here." Tim stated, backing up a few paces. "I'm not exactly the superhero sort you see. I actually work in IT. Computers try to kill me less often."
As Pigeon Man left to speak to another newcomer Jacob didn't recognize, Jacob turned to the Silhouette. "Do you have the Marshalls' report on the explosion? If we knew what sort of bomb was used, that would give us a lead."
Sapphire yawned as she listened to Jacobs conversation. "Bombs are of course, an option, but I would bet that our killer is also Genetically Enhanced. Not a mutant, nor God. Enhanced is the best, in my opinion, due to the fact that if he had the powers before he was enhanced, why did he not destroy them before?" She said.
"Also, what need would a god have, to come to this earth? " She then turned, and walked across the room to the newcomer. "Hello, I am Sapphire."
(How much of the Stronghold was destroyed?) Jacob looked back at Sapphire. "Given that the building exploded, a bomb seems the best place to start. Eliminate the mundane before we start in on the crap we can't test for." Returning his attention to Silhouette, he asked, "And I suppose it would be too much to ask if any security footage survived?"
"Erm, Sapphire, he doesn't really want to, you know, join in. He likes computers, which I can't blame him for." I paused as she looked dead at me. "You know what, you two have a chat or something, I'll go see if Silhouette or anybody needs me." Needs me? God, I don't think anyone here needs me. A guy who knows about computers could be more help right now. I limped back over, hoping that the pain killers would kick in soon. They appeared to be getting on with it fine, discussing bombs and such. I suppose I could look for remnants of that. "Do either you know what sort of bomb it could be?" I asked, tentatively.
"If he wants to be alone, sory for intruding!" She calls as he limps away. I should just read their minds. Or not, that would be rude. She then looked around, and looked for traces of bombs. "The easiest explosive on the market is pentrite. I am going to look for traces of that!" She calls out to no one in particular.
"I'll just wait here." He stated, finding a relatively comfortable piece of rubble. "Everything'll be alright." He murmured. "It always is."
