Catalyst's page

Julia sniffs the first jalapeño before she raises it to her mouth. After a few chews, she swallows it easily, "I don't know what the rest of you are on about. The capsaicin in jalapeños are minuscule on the Scoville scale. We should switch to habanero peppers if you want some real bite." One after another, Julia pops jalapeño after jalapeño into her mouth until the seventh that causes her to chew it for a while. Flushing a bit, Julia pushes the plate away, "I think that is enough. Anymore and I'm sure I'll tire myself of the flavor." She pours herself a glass of milk from another carton as beads of sweat drip down her forehead.

Once the holograms fade from their simulation, Julia takes a moment to pull her glove back on her hand and take several deep breaths to calm herself. She pins back a stray bang behind her ear as she walks out to join the others. "I don't know about the rest of you but even for a simulation that was terrifying. I pray we never have to meet the real Doctor Viktor Von Doom. I think I could go for a cold glass of water about now."

Pyrokinesis: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Again and again, Julia concentrates as she creeps closer and sends balls of fire shooting at Doom's ocular devices (aka eyes), trying to distract and blind him for the others.

Julia shakes her head as Doom sees through the act and instead just goes with lighting his cape on fire with her pyrokinesis.

Pyrokinesis: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Julia winces as Kid Wonder goes down for the count but notes that Doom seemed distracted by her fake 'Johnny Storm' and Isabelle's touch. She once again ignites her hand and spins the fire into a fake Human Torch and sends it to start spinning around Doom, trying to force a no-man's land between Dr Doom and the rest.

Pyrokinetics: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Julia strains her concentration as she peeks over the car she is hiding behind and wills her 'fire-man' to zoom toward Doom and unleash a small stream of fire at him before then flying over his head and cutting down another street. The fire will collapse and go out once she can't see it.

Pyrokinesis: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

With the sound of Doom's repulsor blast ripping into Jackson, Julia ducks out of line of sight behind a car on the street. Panic starts to rise in her chest as she slowly begins to remove her right hand glove. Once her glistening flesh is exposed to the air, the chemicals leaking from her skin pores undergoes spontaneous combustion as Julia subtly alters the composition of the molecules in it. Hand ablaze, she concentrates and starts to form the fire up into a roughly man-sized funnel of flame. I hope this at least distracts him before someone ends up dead.

Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

Julia shakes her head at the mental plans of attack.

Everyone take a step back for a second. If we start wailing away at this guy in the midst of a populated area there is going to be collateral damage. Those police officers have simulated families back in their simulated homes that will cry simulated tears if their daddy doesn't come home tonight. Doom is looking for the Fantastic Four, right? How bout we use that to lure him to a safe area before engaging him? I might be able to simulate a Human Torch look-alike at least from a distance.

Eidetic Memory(Expertise: Current Events/Politics): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
Yay for my one advantage, eidetic memory. +5 on checks to remember things and can make Expertise checks to answer questions about things as if I was trained in it.

Julia stops for a second in her tracks before breaking into a run in the direction all the faster X-men have already bypassed her, "Read again, did you say Von Doom? As in Victor Von Doom, aka Dr Doom? Oh dear, we're in quite a pickle even if this is a simulation. I suppose the Professor likes his trials by fire to be extra crispy." Her voice goes into teacher mode as she comms the important parts to the others, "Victor Von Doom is the leader or despot of Latveria, a small Eastern European country. One of the smartest men in the world, Dr Doom has a personal rivalry with Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. With his custom made robotic armor, Dr. Doom has been witnessed performing amazing feats of strength and withstanding blows that could topple some skyscrappers. In addition, he possesses a wide range of defensive and offensive weaponry built into the suit. So don't go in half-cocked, please. We need a plan. Professor, any thoughts?"

Athletics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Julia starts jogging down the street in the direction of the flash as both comm and mental conversations start rolling in. The sight of Whisp and Psyforce floating by causes her to shake her head at the spectacle of them both. Julia touches her comm as she continues attempting to slip through the crowd unnoticed, "Does anyone have visual on the source of the incident yet?"

Julia shakes her head at the voice speaking in her mind. If only things were ever that simple. It is only a matter of time before someone gets hurt because my lack of control on what my traitor genes let me do.

As the Danger Room fires up and makes it feel like they are instantly teleported into the midst of downtown New York City. Julia looks around as already it seems Vincenzo is walking off, "Remember what the Professor said. Treat this as the real thing. So don't go walking into traffic unless you really can withstand being plastered over the hood of a car or truck." The young woman looks nervously around at the crowd that parts around them before testing out if the personal bubble follows her as she sets out after Vinny.

At the end of the examination and when the girls finally have their outfits on (No matter the awful color palette.) and both boys and girls are waiting outside the Danger Room doors, it is easily discernible that Julia is not very comfortable in the material. It feels too thin, this can't keep it all in. What if I end up causing someone to go into toxic shock because they brushed against me by accident?!

Still fidgeting when the doors open, Julia, who gave herself the handle Catalyst during registration, peers into the huge room, stunned by the size of such a place, "I suppose we won't have to worry about accidentally ripping holes in the walls in such a space."

Julia makes sure she goes last to touch the device and with great reluctance removes the glove from one of her hands. The skin of the hand shimmers slightly as if she had just gotten out of a bath and was still wet. She quickly presses it against the pad long enough for the device to register her bio-metrics before donning the glove again and wiping off any residue from the pad with a thick rag she produces from a pocket.

Inside the medical bay, Julia's mouth drops at the introduction to Sikorsky, "Professor, is this an AI? I didn't think outside of movies that technology was advanced enough to produce such a thing." She collects herself from the shock long enough to remember her manners, "Hello, Sikorsky. It is a pleasure to meet you as well."

Julia flinches as chairs go flying into the walls and turn into so much kindling. After Alex seems to calm down for a moment, she coughs loudly, "Please, let us all calm down for a moment and let cool heads prevail. We are no where close to being ready to stop a pack of angry alley cats much less other people with similar conditions so let's cut the machismo chest pumping. As the Professor made clear, there is going to be a lot of training and studying on our abilities and how to make them do what we want when we want long before we'll have to face the real thing. Even then the goal sounds like more to act as mediators between the two sides then to go in guns blazing and add more bodies to the death toll."

Julia listens intently to the Professor's orientation speech, even jotting down a note every so often. As the flood of questions start from her fellow students, she sits back and thinks hard on what was said.

While I am ecstatic to have access to such a state of the art facility and training under an expert of our... condition, I'm not sure if I'm ready for this talk of being figureheads of our kind. You become a target when you take on such a role; a target for all the hate, fear and evil that others would throw you way merely for being different. Most of those here are still children. Do they even know the responsibility and cost associated with the position beyond the glitz, glammer and excitement of it all? Do I have the courage inside to make such a choice myself? Who will be the next to be burned from my decision?

Julia looks up at Xavier as she comes out of her quiet contemplation, "Professor, I am unsure if I have the conviction to join you all the way to the end of your journey but I would like to try and walk the path with you at least a ways to see if I have it in me to help produce such a future without fear, prejudice or hatred for any people of any creed."

She removes her glasses to cleanse the lenses with a scrap of fabric retrieved from her pocket, "And as Alex said, I will not choose to use my... abilities in the murder of anyone, regardless of affiliation or intent."

Julia masks a blush behind a gloved fist over her mouth and a forced cough. She fiddles with her glasses, straightening them afterward, "I suppose the occasional exception in the system helps to prove the rule. Regardless, I have no time for silly activities such as swooning over boys when there are more pressing matters that I must concern myself with."

Like figuring out a solution to my condition.

Julia takes the offered flying sandwich from Vincenzo and drops it back in the trash. As much as she would like to keep chatting about science with Michael, Julia allows herself to be dragged along by the other girls, "We'll continue this conversation another time, yes?" Before they exit the kitchen, Julia gives the three a look, "I suppose I'll be seeing you three at orientation shortly. Remember, don't be late."

Upstairs, Julia shakes her head at Alex and Isabelle's boy talk, "Men, as with all animals, are driven primarily by hormones. You can mask it under the pleasant sheen of civility but peel back the layers and you'll find they each act much in the way a dog or monkey would." At the anger over the sexist thoughts, she shrugs, "That is his own hang-up and on him, it does not bother me one bit. Women are just as capable as men in every field of study except maybe the ability to pee standing up and self-enjoyment of your own noxious emissions." As they get into the elevator to look for the pool, Julia seems to stare off in space for a moment, "At least they don't all seem hopeless." Michael seemed to be intelligent and worth having a conversation with... or two.

Julia perks up at the talk of genetics and the magic word, 'labs'.

"Interesting. Have you followed the work of Dr. Mullis and his polymerase chain reaction? Before you know it we'll be on the cusp of unlocking the whole of the genetic code in our DNA. Did you happen to see if the institute has a scanning tunneling microscope while you were down in the labs? I've desperately wanted to get my hands on one of those."

Julia puts a finger to the bridge of her glasses and straightens them while giving Michael the 'look'. I knew I should have finished unpacking first! My perfume is in there somewhere. She tries to play it 'cool' as she shrugs like his description of her aroma was nothing, "I'm studying to be a chemist so I'm usually elbow deep in various... substatnces. That's all you're smelling."

Julia turns to look at the other two joining their foot-in-mouth comrade as she nods to them both and doesn't reach for the offered hand when Jackson makes his way around, "Hello Jackson. I'm Julia and sorry but I have a thing about touching so please excuse me for not formally introducing myself." She glances down at his hand and tries a weak smile to show her apologies. "Our new classmate here," as she points to Michael, "was in the midst of regaling us with his opinion on our personal scents. I take it you boys have found the rest of the institute to be up to code? We were just about to do likewise and find out what the state of the aquatic facilities are here."

NERD

I get to play the part of Debbie Downer. :P

Julia looks across the kitchen at the appearance of a specimen of the male persuasion. She raises a hand in greetings and a quick declaration of his presence, "Hello, Michael. I'm Julia and this is Alex and Isabelle. Are you a new student as well?" Julia's odor is a cross between the sharp, heady smells of a chemistry lab with a subtle undertone of garlic (the smell that white phosphorus gives off when ignited.)

Julia shakes her head at Alex while she cleans, "I could wish for such a benign affliction, Alex, but my own disability is not something I generally like discussing in length. Suffice to say that it falls within the realm of chemical reactions and let us leave it at that." As she finishes washing the dishes and laying them out to dry, Julia flicks her hands over the sink, causing beads of water to roll off the liquid resistant material of her gloves.

"Adventure is all and good but do remember this isn't a summer camp. We are now students at this institute. Though unlike students at a normal school where the worst trouble they can get into is throwing eggs at the freshman, playing hooky, or getting caught cheating on an exam, we might actually end up knocking down walls, severely injuring others, or any number of worse scenarios if we do not take the gravity of our situation seriously."

You people and your crazy posting rate! :P

Back up in the hallway, Julia blinks at Alex's odd knowing reply before comprehension dawns on her, "Oh, a telepath. Good to know. And hello, Isabelle. I'm Julia." She follows the other two girls into the kitchen where she joins in the sandwich making which Julia goes about in a practiced way.

Bread. Mayo. Meat. Lettuce. Bread. Cut off the crust.

Julia puts away the sandwich materials once she and the other two are finished and cleans up any mess before taking a seat and joining the conversation while she eats, "I am here because the Professor approached me with an education opportunity that I could not pass up. I'm sure we've all come to this school to learn something from the Professor. Hopefully that will include control for those of us that require it." That includes not reading stray thoughts without permission. There are some things not meant to be shared... ever. If you're still picking up thoughts, Alex, you'll get a brief flicker of imagery from Julia that is hard to make out. Nothing but shifting shades of red and orange accompanied by the sensation of heat and the faint screams of a child.

Julia slides the plate with her half-eaten sandwich away from her as she reaches up to rub at the inner corners of her eyes under her glasses as if she was dealing with an emerging headache. "The grounds are big enough that I'm sure there is a pool around somewhere. Probably in the back. Or if nothing else, there is the nearby lake. Though I doubt we'll have time for a swim, Isabelle, as Orientation is not far off. It wouldn't do to be late on the first day." Julia stands and starts to clean up her plate and either of the other two girls' plates before they head off to look for the pool.

The moment the mansion comes in sight down the long driveway, Julia's eyes are glued to the spacious grounds and facilities. On par with some private high schools or colleges, the young woman finds herself suddenly nervous at the implied intimacy the school represented. Unlike public high school were a student could blend into the background and have limited interaction with everyone nonessential, Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters did not have that vibe.

As the limo pulls to a halt before the front door steps, Julia takes a deep breath and makes sure her gloves are snug and secure before stepping out of the vehicle. She waves off the driver as she retrieves her own luggage, a large rolling trunk and several smaller suitcases, from the trunk. She quickly stacks the baggage into a balanced tower before rolling it up the steps and into the mansion.

The personal greeting by the Professor calms Julia's nerves as she tries to keep herself from geeking out to much in front of the headmaster. "Thank you again for letting me enroll in your school, sir. I'm sure I'll be able to learn a great many things in this esteemed establishment of learning." Introductions finished and itinerary laid out, Julia starts the arduous journey of thumping her luggage one step at a time up the grand sweeping staircase in the center of the main hall.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

The blonde woman finally arrives at the top of the stairs and takes a breather for a moment and catches sight of a pair of boys chatting amongst one another as they start down to the kitchen. Oh right, this school is co-ed. She straightens her glasses before turning her head and rolling her bags toward the girls' dormitories.

Julia looks for the first vacant room, not overly caring for proximity to amenities or the view from the windows when choosing. She has just begun unpacking when her stomach grumbles with the tell-tale sign of hunger. The last thing she had eaten was a granola bar that morning before the limo arrived to carry her here. Julia shot a disappointed look at her stacks of neatly folded cloths barely begun to be sorted into the closet or dresser drawers. She would prefer to be completely settled in before beginning an exploration of the facilities but another hunger rumble illicits a sigh of defeat from her as she makes for the kitchen herself.

As she exits her room, Julia catches sight of another girl leaving her own room next door. Blonde hair, good looks, athletic, and similar in age, she must be a cheerleader. She catches herself internal monologuing before she holds up a gloved hand in a wave-like greeting to Alex, "Hello, I'm new here. I guess I'm going to be your neighbor. I'm Julia."

For those of you unfamiliar with the system (I myself am more used to the 2ed version of M&M), when you're designing power sets (aka arrays/alternate powers under an umbrella power), remember unless they are linked or made dynamic you can only use one power in the array at a time. At least, that was how it was in 2ed and I don't remember reading if they changed it or not.

I'll use myself as an example: normally, the chemicals secreted by Catalyst's skin are toxic to other people and by touching a person, she can cause a number of conditions to that person. This is my Chemical Secretion power that acts as Affliction 8. Now I also wanted her to be able to alter the chemical composition of the secretions into something that instantly combusts when introduced to oxygen. This is her Chemical Combustion power that acts as a Damage 8 ability. Since those powers are connected in some ways, I put Chemical Combustion under Chemical Secretion as an Alternate power that isn't linked. Now this means that if I want to use Chemical Combustion to set someone on fire by touching them, I can't at the same time use my Chemical Secretion power to afflict them with status conditions.

For a more classic example, lets look at Superman: If Superman had a power for Flight and under that power also put his Super-strength (for whatever reason) power and didn't link them. Now Superman can fly whenever he wants or pick huge things up but if he tries to fly and hold up... oh lets say the Statue of Liberty, he is going to make a nasty dent in the street when he comes crashing down.

Probably use something like the Side Effects flaw for the seizures and friction burn. There are a few other flaws you could stretch to mimic the drawbacks.

On to code names: Tachyon. Splitsecond. Hyperspeed. Velocity. Jitters (for your seizures and speed!).

I'll have to come up with a cool codename, suggestions anyone?

Manifest. Poltergeist. Psi-cle. Psy-pher. Psy-clone.

Here, Captain my captain!

A slight name change from Hazard, since it was already taken on the boards. Crunch is done on this character profile. I'll see about finishing up fluff and crunch on my second application tomorrow.