Aw man! Sad news. Totally get it, though, the last two semesters as a CS major (or any major, really) can be pretty brutal. Good luck to you GM, and thanks so much for the game!
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Jusker winces as the car careens into a building. "Okay, good idea, bad move." He looks at the robot bodies. "Worked though, I guess. Maybe I should stick to the old-fashioned way. Give me... give me a club." A pink greatclub shimmers into existence between Jusker's hands. He charges forward toward another robot, hoping to send it flying into another-- not quite as destructive as the car-bullet method, but less collateral damage that way. "Come 'ere!"
Fiancee and I started watching She-Ra yesterday. It's really good!
It was a slow night on Sycamore. The usual crowd was filtering in and out of the Bouncing Beaver; Jusker lurked nearby, waiting for a target. He wanted somebody to stumble out, too trashed to walk straight, fumbling with car keys. Best of both worlds that way. The amulet would help him subdue the drunk-- he was "saving lives," after all-- and then he'd relieve the poor fool of anything valuable. He knew better than to steal cars; too easy to wind up in prison that way. Lifted phones weren't worth much, as a rule, because most of them got tracked. Jusker kept to wallets, and the occasional watch. A commotion went up about a block down. Some cape fighting another, most likely. Jusker didn't pay it much attention. Normal folk usually got left alone during super brawls, and with his amulet hidden, he could easily pass for normal folk. He kept an ear out, but his gaze stayed on the Beaver's front door. Suddenly, the commotion got closer. And closer. Jusker whipped his head around in time to see the front grill of an Audi sedan leaving the street and quickly filling his field of vision. The front seat was empty, and the tires were skidding more than rolling along the ground. Uh-oh. "Deflect right!" he shouted, crossing his arms reflexively in front of his face. A wall of energy appeared in front of him, angled to one side. The car caromed off his shield and crashed into the parking lot. Jusker realized too late that he had chosen the angle poorly. Had he deflected the car into the empty street, it might have bled momentum and eventually stopped in the oncoming lane. Instead he had chosen the parking lot, and the results were disastrous. The car slammed into two other cars with such force that they were pushed outward, colliding with the vehicles beside them. The Audi, meanwhile, continued through the opposite row of cars and the next, and finally crashed into the side of the Beaver, crumpling the aluminum outer wall. He didn't want to count the number of vehicles compromised by his split-second decision, but he knew he couldn't stay here. The owner of the bar would be furious, ready to blame anyone caught in the parking lot. Jusker bolted. * * * * * Looking around desperately, Jusker sees a few parked cars and is suddenly reminded of that night outside the Bouncing Beaver. That car was thrown. As bad as the results of that night had been, it couldn't be denied that if destruction had been his goal, the car was damned effective. I don't know if I can throw one myself-- but I can shoot it. "Okay, I need a slingshot. Not a little one, but like... for that car. Can I do that?" Concentrating, he conjures a large slingshot in front of a nearby parked car. Four or five robots were lined up along the sidewalk in front of it. Straining, he pulls the pocket back and hooks it around the car's rear fender. Please let this work. Then he lets go.
I'm here, although I doubt I'll get a post up this weekend (various errands all day Saturday, Pathfinder day for my gaming group on Sunday). I just haven't come up with a cool flashback yet.
Tremors shake the car, and Jusker looks around anxiously. "What in the--" Apex immediately gets on his communicator. Amulet? Do I really need a codename? Cause that one's lame. The masked teen then starts giving orders, which Jusker only half-heard, because by then he was on his way out of the car. "Uh, containing the explosions. Right. Let's get airborne." He pushes off the ground and surveys the scene. Whatever he expected to see, it wasn't this. Cartoonish robot bomb dummies blocking streets and sidewalks, doorways and parking lots. Impish creatures beat on them with sticks and stones, until they explode. Each explosion causes the ground to shake, which is the tremors felt inside the car. "I... uh..." The sheer absurdity of such a sight having come out of nowhere stops him in his tracks. He shakes his head to clear it. "Okay. This is happening, and I need to control it. That shield thing worked pretty well last time, let'stry that." He darts to the closest robot, whose fuse is almost out. Holding out his hands, Jusker encases him in pink energy.
It fails utterly. Maybe Jusker hadn't learned from his first mistake, or maybe these things are just too different from the last robot. Whatever the reason, his energy shield does nothing at all to contain the blast-- if anything, making it worse by adding extra shrapnel. "Ok, not the way to go." Looking around again, he sees another problem: there's just too many of them. "One at a time won't work. I need to take out a lot of them."
Jusker relaxes somewhat when Alex deftly disarms his accusation. "It looked like something from a cartoon," he says as he pulls the hoodie over his head. As if to confirm the girl's story, it smells like a thrift store. "The power core was big and red and right in the middle, with the words POWER CORE written on it. At least, I'm assuming that's what it was. A bunch of wires leading from that into the arms and legs. I mean I don't build robots, but I'm guessing they don't actually look like that on the inside." He looks down to make sure his amulet is well-hidden beneath the hoodie. His heart beats faster when Alex starts unbuttoning her shirt. "Oh. I, uh, didn't realize we were at that point already." He dutifully looks in the other direction, but tries to make the most of his peripheral vision.
In other news, Bran might be getting a huge statue in his honor!
Some muscle along. Never before had Jusker been referred to as "the muscle" in a group. Honestly, it felt good. He takes the hoodie. "Incognito. Right." In truth he didn't have a costume; it had never occurred to him that he should need one. T-shirts and jeans, like what he has on, are the only costume he owns. But if I'm to keep making money from hero work, I should probably get one. But... What would my name be? He scoffs at the mention of shelters. "Don't worry, I didn't plan on going back." Suddenly he realizes-- she knows about him. About his situation. He'd never been ashamed of it, because nobody he knew was any better off, but if he's going to be teamed up with these two and the others, then he's going to be seen as different. He gives her a long look. "But where I came from don't make any difference. I do just fine."
"You don't--" Jusker begins at Alex's comment, but catches himself when she mentions yesterday. "Oh yea?" What was her name in costume? Silver Shadow, I think? I wonder what she goes by the rest of the time. He decides to follow her, figuring that if he's going to be part of the same team he should at least find out what she has to say. Worst case scenario, I could bust out of a car. "Mask off," he mutters once he climbs into the vehicle. His face reappears from behind its shimmering shield. "So what's this about, and how did you find me? I mean it's a big city." Part of him is still thinking about the pistol-- he doesn't need it as a weapon, of course, but those things are worth a whole lot more than the cash he'd just found. He can eat like a king now, the good fat kind.
Jusker steps into the alley, his amulet in full view, where some stranger is currently flanked by two would-be thieves. No weapons drawn, yet, but one of the men is noticeably bigger than the other. Right before opening his mouth, he remembers what Apex had told him yesterday. Why not. "Mask," he mutters. His eyes and nose become shrouded in pink. "I can get you out of this," he calls out loudly to the unfortunate man, "for all the-- okay, for half the money in your wallet." "Piss off, kid," one of the assailants retorts with barely a glance in Jusker's direction. "Whoa, check it out, Cal," the other says after giving Jusker a longer look. "Forget this loser. Let's get that." The first looks over at Jusker, then at his chest, and clearly agrees. He turns to face Jusker, the original target forgotten. "I'll be needing that necklace, kid. Hand it over and you can live." The third, no longer being threatened, backs up slowly and then runs. Great. So now I get nothing. "So I guess right now I'm supposed to say something about teaching you the error of your ways. But honestly, I'm just mad that now I get nothing out of this." "He said, hand it over!" The thinner one pulls out a Beretta pistol and fires, aiming to cripple, the teen notices, but not to kill. "Shield!" Jusker barks. Quick as lightning (and thankfully so!) Jusker's body is encased in armor, made of the same energy that hides his face. The bullet ricochets off, then the second, then the third. The inertia of them pushes the teenager back a few painful steps, but he stays on his feet. The man stops firing and sneers. "Fine. Have it your way." The bigger man steps forward, his hands crackling with electricity and a smile on his face. Jusker assumes a ready stance. The big man fires a bolt of lightning, but the young super darts to one side just in time. "Beam weapon!" he shouts, pointing his chest at the big man. The energy beam takes the big man off his feet and careening into a brick wall. He crumples to the ground. The thinner one, faster than Jusker would have expected, lands a punch on the side of his head. Dazed, Jusker forces out a word. "Muscles!" Veins of pink energy lance down his arms and legs, and the second blow hardly even hurts. He blocks the third, and a single punch to the gut from Jusker's enhanced arm knocks the wind out of the thin man. The teen follows this up with a hard shove across the alley; the thin man hits another wall and slumps. I'm sure they'll be fine, he thinks as he leaves the ground. Then, changing his mind, he lands and rifles through the pockets of one thug and then the other. A few minutes later, Jusker emerges from the alley with a pistol to sell and sixty-four dollars cash.
Jusker makes his way back to "his" part of town. It took a while for him to find which house he was currently staying in. He'd been kicked out of two youth homes for breaking curfew too many times, so now he makes do with whatever abandoned house he can find. He has to move regularly, to keep his amulet and belongings from becoming some other bum's amulet and belongings. He hides his amulet under his shirt as he gets close. "Hey kid, long time no hear!" "Shut up," Jusker shoots back. There weren't many people begging on this block, because no one had any money to give. But Reggie didn't care. He sat on the corner each morning, begging can in front of him. Most days it was still empty at nightfall. He had noticed Jusker's habit of talking aloud to no one, which provided an unexpected amount of entertainment for the old man. Jusker suspected Reggie had little else to occupy himself. "I'm trying to ignore him, but--" He sighs. "You know you're just proving his point, right?" Reggie cackled. In the house, Jusker collapses onto his air mattress. For a long time he had to make do with whatever blankets he could find, but now that he has income he could get a proper portable bed. He pulls out his earpiece-- carefully-- and sets it down beside him. A team, huh? he thinks as he drifts off to sleep. Might be fun.
Eh, I wouldn't say Jusker is crushing on Bronwyn-- more like still discovering who's available and who isn't. (I had someone else in mind, heh. But we'll see what happens.)
Jusker nods. "This friend who kissed you tonight... Sounds like he's really got you in a knot." He takes stock of what he knows about this girl. Short hair, calloused hands, and at least one pretty useful power; she's clearly a super who's used to combat. That she managed to get into her situation at all is a bit surprising. I guess even fighters can find themselves having personal problems. "So you've got a boyfriend waiting for you, and a friend wanting to kiss you. Must be nice." Whoops. Suddenly this conversation is getting much more personal than he had intended. Then again... so what. Who is she, anyway. "I don't... really have that. So maybe I'm not much good for this kind of thing. But it seems to me like your boyfriend isn't the one you really want to be with." He shrugs. "Just something to think about. I ain't gonna screw up your life, you'll probably never even see me again; I don't wander this side of town often."
Damn. This girl is not only spoken for, she's spoken for twice. So much for that winning streak. He briefly considers leaving then and there, but decides against it; a squad of supers willing to call on him again and a girl pouring out her heart to him is more positive reinforcement than he got for much of his life. So that's something. "Um." He considers her question. Jusker's own first kiss was meaningless. He was 9, and begging for change on a seedy corner. One of the street workers got in a fight with (Jusker assumed) her boyfriend. "You're such a g*****n loser, Skiff!" she yelled. "Look, this kid's more've a man than you. Least he's makin' his own money!" Without another word, the girl grabbed young Jusker by the shoulders and planted her lips onto his. He remembered her tasting like cigarettes. Then she stormed off, leaving him in a daze. He avoided that corner from then on, and hasn't seen her since. But that probably isn't the answer Bronwyn wants. "Well yeah," he says lamely. "I mean you only get the one. But I'm guessing it wasn't your first?" As soon as the words leave his lips he realizes it's a dumb question. "Sorry, no of course it wasn't."
Jusker gives Bronwyn a tentative smile. "That's a relief. I saw you run here, and... well, it's been a dangerous night for me already. Room for one more?" He sits on the concrete to her left, so that his earpiece is away from her. "I'm Jusker, by the way. And I don't think those are twenty-four hour joints," he adds, indicating the building behind them. Running at top speed to a church, late at night, emotional wreck, messaging someone. My guess is she just got dumped.
Jusker floats above the ground, relieved that his powers seem to work again. "Willing to let me go now, are you?" the teen mutters. He heads toward the house he's currently squatting in, staying only a dozen or so feet above the ground as he flits between buildings. The higher up he is, the easier he is to spot, and for all he knows the cops are still out looking for him. So I have, like, a squad now? It's a strange thought. He wiggles his left ear, feeling the earbud that's now sitting inside it. He approaches a cross-street and sees a person running past. A girl. He thinks nothing of it at first, until he realizes that she's outstripping the cars around her. "Another teen super, huh? Question is," he wonders aloud, "is she running to something, or from it?" Seeing nothing charging behind her, he decides to follow. "Hey, I'm on a roll tonight. Besides, maybe she needs help." Plus she's kinda cute, he mentally adds, but keeps that part to himself. The girl leads him far out of his way, and stops when she reaches some church. Jusker keeps a careful distance, for a variety of reasons. After futilely trying the front doors, the girl collapses sobbing. Well it's not an emergency, which is good I guess. But what's so special about this place? "Not the kind of help I can give, though," he mutters. "All right, all right, I'm going." He lands some distance away, the light from his amulet winking out. He approaches Bronwyn on the church steps. "Hey. You, uh... You okay?"
Fine by me! I figured it'd be that kind of game when I signed up.
Yep, I gave Influence to Wingblade and Bran. Also I'll choose to grow closer to the team and clear Angry. Skuld helped me out of danger when she could've left me with the authorities, so she gets Influence as well.
Jusker tries to run, but having seen the kind of tech those agents have, he knows that without his powers he doesn't have much hope of escaping. Fortunately, he finds himself swept up by a sudden rush of wind. As flying methods go, he isn't a fan of this one; he hasn't the slightest idea or control over where he's being taken, and it's hard to stay upright while being constantly buffeted by winds. But he can't deny its effectiveness. About halfway to their destination, he notices that Skuld has managed to pick up the whole team this way. So she can fly too... sort of. At least I'm not the only one who hates cops. He's all too happy to touch ground again. "Thanks." He straightens his clothes and watches Wingblade fly off. "Any of you know how to get one of those licenses? She seems to have one, and Whippoorwill too, whoever that is. Looks to me like getting one's a pretty smart move-- I don't want have to do this every time."
Oh hell no. "It's been fun, you guys, really, but that's my cue. See ya." Jusker whirls to face away from the police and the strange van. I've never really tested how fast my flight speed is. Time to find out. He crouches, springs upward... ...and promptly lands again. "No." He tries again, with the same result. "No. Get me out of here now, I don't care if they're the proper authorities!" He tries to manifest his powers in other ways, thrusting his hands forward or making a throwing motion, with no better results. Then he tries to run, but with no powers manifesting he is quickly caught and subdued. Jusker stops struggling. "Thanks a lot," he tells no one in a defeated tone. "No, we need to not be in this mess at all. How am I supposed to do the hero thing now?"
Hm. I would say that as a fledgling super Jusker values power, so Wingblade definitely gets influence over him; he saw her succeed where he failed. Bran gets influence too, since he helped with Jusker's own powers and because of the way they were able to sandwich the explosion between them.
Jusker takes Apex's cloth mask. "Thanks," he replies coolly. "But I'd rather use my own. Mask me." Opaque pink energy appears and conceals his eyes and nose. The gem in his amulet, the light from which had faded and gone out when he hit the ground, glows softly at the same time. He likes giving orders, this guy. "So you two have worked together before, I take it?" he asks Apex and Wingblade. That girl is new, the Silver Shadow. He turns to Shadowboxer. "I was just leaving. You with them too?" Didn't catch Spear Guy's name, and I don't know about Goddess Girl either.
Also, Jusker, it looks like you didn't take your free +1 to a label of your choice at character creation. Whoops, thanks! Jusker doesn't currently go to school but I was envisioning him being persuaded to, either by the team or by his amulet (or both).
Jusker tentatively picks up the communicator. So I'm part of a team now? "I... didn't expect this either." He stops himself from saying more when Wingblade snaps at Silver Shadow. Sounds like these things are important to her somehow. Well I'm sure not getting on her bad side. "Uh, yea, sure. Good idea." He turns it over in his palm. "I can see it's an earbud. Can I talk into it too?" He fits the device into his ear.
Jusker pauses when the winged girl promises to keep him out of trouble. "I guess I could stick around." Worst case scenario, I bet I could get away if I needed to. "My name's Jusker. I don't have a made-up name; I'm honestly pretty new to the whole scene. And, uh... no, I don't really have a way of contacting people." He left the rest unspoken. He could probably afford a phone now-- he's never tried buying one-- but he's made it this far without one and didn't see the point in starting now. Who would he call or text? "He mentioned a license," Jusker adds, indicating Shadowboxer. "Do I, uh, need one of those?"
"Ow." Sitting painfully on the grass, Jusker notices that he was thrown dozens of yards by the blast. Despite his barrier, the explosion had knocked him backward so fast he hadn't had time to react. He didn't even know if his efforts had helped. If this is what it feels like to be a hero, I could do with less of it. "Yeah, thanks." He lies flat on his back. "Man that thing was big. Any idea where it--" He cuts off mid-sentence upon hearing sirens, and curses. "Time to go." He doesn't know for sure if they're coming this way or what they would do when they got here, but it doesn't matter. Life spent being poor and desperate teaches a kid to avoid sirens. Gritting his teeth, he pushes himself to his feet.
Also keep in mind that with the robot and monster both gone, all they'll see is a group of superpowered teens in an area of utter destruction.
...knocking over a bookshelf full of s+~$ty YA Fanasy and Sci-Fi ... Hey, my pre-teen bookshelf contained only the coolest YA fantasy and sci-fi.
Vulnerabilities? "Do you know what he's talking about?" Jusker pauses. "Whatever that means. People need to lay off, I've never done this before." Taking the spear-wielder's advice, he focused on the whorls of energy within his barrier, smoothing it out as if he were smoothing a wrinkled sheet. At the same time, he curves the edges toward the robot, hoping to keep the blast from spreading.
Just like the saying goes, don't ask the question if you don't want to know the answer. :D
Flying Amulet Guy? Eh, whatever. "Maybe. If Spear Guy is ready to take that..." Jusker flies around to put the robot between Bran and himself. "Okay. I've never tried it against something this big before, but here goes." He holds out his hands in front of him, fingers splayed, palms forward. "Giant barrier!" Pink force energy pours out of his hands and coalesces into a large rectangle.
Try as he might, Jusker can't seem to grab more than a few of the drones as they hum around him-- he's still getting used to controlling his flight. The winged girl, clearly, doesn't have that problem. Deftly, she grabs a drone and points it back at the robot, providing an opening for one of the others. Maybe I should practice working with others. He looks around for ways of doing the same, taking his eyes off the arm at exactly the wrong moment. A loud smash and his right peripheral is suddenly a blur of incoming metal. He crosses his arms in front of his face right as the metal fist slams into him with jarring force. Badly wounded, he twists in midair to send the arm crashing into the ground-- straight toward more houses. Sh**. "Go get that arm!" he yells at Wingblade. You're a better flier than me. Turning back to the robot, Jusker sees an opportunity. "It has eyes. I wonder if it needs them. Beam weapon right at the head!" A jet of pink energy lances toward the robot's head.
So, question. Taking a Powerful Blow requires me to "roll + conditions marked." How does that work with Insecure?
That was probably the most frustrating thing about being a CS major in college, and really about coding in general: It doesn't matter how much time you spend coding, because in the end, it either works or it doesn't. You could work hard for three days and have nothing to show for it, and (especially in a non-school environment) your clients/bosses will wonder what you've been doing the whole time.
Hey, Wingblade, Thor Girl, Cute Spear guy, amulet guy, focus on the Robot. If it doesn't go down, the lava thing might explode soon! "Right." Introductions can come later. "Okay, so the best thing to do is to take out these drones." He pauses. "Well not with the beam weapon, obviously. I nearly hit that winged girl. I'll try squeezing them really hard and see if that works." His muscles swell, and he chases after the drones in midair, trying to grab them and crush them with each hand.
What's weird is-- well, everything really. But especially the part where those two don't seem to even notice all this destruction. "I think those boys are responsible somehow. These things seem to be tied to their game. But so far they've ignored me." Maybe the masked guy doesn't have powers? He sure hasn't shown any so far. "Maybe you'll have better luck with them." He turns around in the air, without waiting for a response. "That counts, right?" he continues, clearly no longer talking to Apex. "I mean I went to them first. Okay, let's work on the robot! Beam weapon!" A jet of rose-colored energy lances out from his amulet toward the robot.
Surveying the scene, Jusker notices that several other would-be heroes have stepped up as well. A girl with wings. A man in a mask. A woman sporting some type of goddess motif. An armored man wielding an elaborate spear. A woman in a dark cloak. And Jusker. His tattered clothes had been replaced with somewhat-better ones, now that he had money to buy them with, but it must look odd to see him fighting the same fight. He has no mask, no costume, no symbol. The gem in his amulet glows faintly under his shirt, as it always does when its powers manifest. The goddess woman brings her power to bear in a thunderous punch, giving credibility to her choice of outfit. The armored man plunges his spear into the lava monster, showing that it's more than just decoration. Jusker floats above them, being largely ignored in the chaos. I should probably at least look like I belong. He pulls his amulet out and lets it rest openly against his chest. The silver and gold medallion is vaguely eye-shaped, hanging from a gold chain. The pink gemstone in the center glows visibly in the night. "I think I found why these things are here," he calls down to the heroes. "Is, uh... anyone good with kids?"
"You... What? So these things are from a game?" Jusker pauses. "Looks like a card game. Rich kids play them sometimes. I don't know how they got the images to show up out here though."
Jusker toys with the bills in his pocket as he makes his way into the convenience store, his amulet carefully hidden under his shirt. I earned this. It was an odd feeling. He couldn't remember the last time he had cash that he hadn't begged for or stolen. He'd earned himself more than one scar from those times, too-- the times he'd stolen from someone who was quicker than they'd looked. And I won't have to steal this either, he thinks as he reaches out a hand for the first bag of chips he sees. Suddenly, he feels a jolt and his legs stumble back out the door, carrying the rest of him along. He knew immediately who had done it, but did't realize she even had that kind of power. "Hey! You can't just force me around, I wasn't gonna steal it, I just made another... twenty..." His voice trails off when he sees it: a battle between an armored robot and an armored lava elemental. Where the hell did this come from? I was just out here! "Whoa. Okay, um... thanks." There's no time to gawk. Jusker rises off the ground and assesses the scene. Children can be heard inside the apartment building nearby. He sees a few other people nearby, but they've all got room to run. "The apartment building, I know." Not long ago, the brown-haired teenager would've simply run away, endangered children or no. Now, with powers, he might still have done the same-- if not for the source of those powers, his beautiful amulet, insisting that he always help others. He floats up to the children's window right as it explodes outward. He throws up his arms to shield his face, but sustains a number of painful cuts to his arms and legs from the flying glass. 'You all right in there?"
I could see Apex having an interesting relationship with Jusker too. He's a Nova but his power comes from his amulet, without which he's just a normal person (and not an especially talented one at that). Someone who doesn't have powers might find that irritating.
Aaaaand we're back again!
Cool. I'm just waiting to get written in.
Heh, ok I think I get it. So some of you know some, and others know others, but so far nobody knows the whole team. Interesting!
I'm a little confused... Do you know each other's secret identities, or no? Sometimes it seems like yes, and sometimes no.
I've codified Jusker's powers in his profile. There are several, but I hope they're limited enough to be interesting.
Thanks for the slot! Jusker the Nova, checking in. I may look for a different avatar over the next day or two. And yea, I had issues with the avatar selector on Friday; haven't checked since then.
Here is SodiumTelluride's submission, the Nova Jusker Ragnos. Backstory and prompt are in the profile. Jusker doesn't currently have a superhero name because I think it would be fun to have one form organically, maybe even from an ally.
Crunch isn't quite finished, and I won't have time before close of recruitment, but I wrote out how Jusker got the paper. Hope you like it!
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