Tigereye

Re: WWYCD: "Dear Superhero" (Warning: Ugly situation) Deuce is a member of the World Watchers. Even if there was interference from a friendly government, this is exactly what the Watchers were chartered to stop. It may be in a way "beneath" them, but the mention of rapes and abductions for G*d-knows-what would get his interest, as it engages his sense of WW2-era gallantry towards women. He would probably get those Watchers who can go incognito to do so to get to the real reasons behind the abductions and rapes. He would even go alone if necessary, as a lone ex-spy with the World Watchers' resources could do a lot of damage to the government of Duhu. He probably would not be alone, though. Huntress, his psionic alien "shadow", would be appalled at the treatment of innocent, unarmed humans and would definitely want a piece of the action. Others would also want to participate for their own reasons. If a supervillain happened to also be along to fight alongside the Watchers, it would depend on the villain, their known motives and their crimes. Deuce would be very naturally suspicious of the motives. If a villain was the motive force behind the crimes, of course, Deuce would move hell and Earth to make sure they were brought to justice even if a little deadly force was involved (although he does not like to kill, he has no CVK at all). Book Deuce a flight to Duhu. He'll find his own transport to Tazera. Ubru Kantera has at least one new ally, and a most resourceful one at that...

Re: superuseless superpowers There was a great Top Ten List on this very subject a long time ago on Letterman... 1. Top Ten Least Exciting Superpowers for Comic Book Superheroes (Hero Games translations by Tigereye) 10. Super spelling: Eidetic Memory, Only To Memorize Spelling of Words (-1) 9. Lightning-fast mood swings: Psy Lim: Suffers From Severe, Unpredictable And Rapid Mood Swings (Common, Total) 8. Really bendy thumb: Stretching, 1", One thumb only (-2) 7. Unusually natural smile when posing for photographs: Persuasion, +5 PRE and +10 COM, Only When Posing For Photographs (-2) 6. Ability to calm jittery squirrels: Mind Control 4d6, Only To Calm (-1), Squirrels Only (-2) 5. Power to shake exactly two aspirin out of a bottle: +40 DEX, No Combat Use, Only To Shake Pills From Pill Bottle (-2) 4. Ability to get tickets to Goodwill Games: Your guess is as good as mine, here! 3. Power to score with other superheroes' wives: +30 PRE, Only To Seduction Rolls With Other Superheroes' Wives (-2) 2. Ability to communicate with corn: Retrocognitive Precognition, Only In Area With Corn Present (-2) 1. Magnetic colon: Telekinesis, x STR, Only with Magnetic Objects (-1/2), Only From Embarrassing Area of Body (-1/4)

Re: A super-powered normal James T. Kirk: Transform Working Computer Into Non-Working Computer, Major Transform

Re: 70's Fashion Horrors [Col Kurtz from Apocalypse Now] The horror, the horror... [/Col. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now] Seriously, what sick mind collected those fashion monstrosities? I don't care if they wore them during that time- people wear all kinds of wacky fashions in every era. But to collect these sartorial Crimes Against Humanity in a website?! (Shudder.)

Re: Tales of the Destroyer Our universe doesn't have Doctor Destroyer; we have our own uber-villain named Mister Perfect. He's not as powerful in some respects to DD, but he's a master of force fields and as a result is almost invulnerable to attack, and is also a wizard at other fields of science and technology such as mind control and duplication. His mindset is similar to the evil Doctor's, however, and he pretty much fills the same spot in our metahuman "ecology", as it were. Detroit was instead demolished by Mechanon, but there's an island in the South Pacific that is no longer there because Mister Perfect was suspected of being there. The French allowed the heroes to set off a vibranite bomb just on the chance it would get rid of him (nuclear yields, but zero radioactive fallout). This was because he nuked the original Stronghold with an enhanced-EMP weapon (killing most of the guards and families in the process) and set free most of the world's supervillains, then duplicated them...the French did not want this guy running around on one of their islands, no matter how uninhabited it was. Mister Perfect is so dangerous, one of our PC's reduced his Code Against Killing (Total) to a Code Strongly Opposed To Killing - Except For Mister Perfect!

Re: I need a function! The Last Dictionary is a rare volume used by occult groups to make (or break) apocalyptic spells and rituals. Recently, it was used by Buddhist monks to attempt to write the six billion names of the Godhead using its handy name generator. The attempt only failed when a monk misspelled the 3,486,464,135th name, also throwing off the rest. Writing a new spell using the Last Dictionary may result in a visit from wizards who will attempt to purchase it so it cannot be used; or from an evil magic-user like Takofanes, who will take the spell, leaving the lifeless husk of the creator behind... Next: The Vegan Corollary

Re: Why do the Champions waste so much time being "good citizens?" My tuppence worth from the perspective of my character Deuce, probably the most Iron-Agey of all the heroes in the campaign I'm in... Although defeating evil is certainly most of the equation of being a superhero (and admittedly, I have no intrinsic superpowers I'm aware of), it is not the entire equation. At first, I was also cynical of such things as charity events, but then I thought back to organizations like the White Cross in the British Secret Service that brought comfort to widows and orphans within MI6. With the high profile for many superheroes, it stands to reason that the power and influence (and often money) they wield would also benefit many. I hesitate to use the modern term "role model" - it is a cliche, and I would reject such a label to such a flawed person as myself - but many average people admire and want to emulate the ethical and moral stances of superheroes. If they give money or time for a worthy cause because a hero supports it, this is even better. The public face is also an important one, and cannot be over-rated. I do not try to seek the public eye myself, but I will not stand in the way of my fellow team members from doing so, so long as they are not prima donnas about it. Charity for the right causes creates moral distance between heroes and villains. Most villains will not create charitable organizations, or do it for the most cynical reasons. Not expecting any recompense is the way to do it. Many of my team members therefore give to charity anonymously or do so out of the public eye, but many do not, and let their profile "steer" the public. Fortunately, most of the causes our team support are difficult to clearly oppose without coming off as a monster in doing so (such as human rights, hunger, environmental and wildlife protection). So too, perhaps a bit callously myself (I have been accused of having a ends justify the means mentality- why I'm not a role model), I've found that charitable events expose some villains at vulnerable moments. When you expect a villain to attack, you can launch a counter-ambush, and can turn the tables on them. Cheat them one better, I always say.

Re: The great supervillain market Interesting what kids come up with. These are far more imaginative than some of the villains others (even in mainstream comics) came up with- I may actually use a few myself! Mr. Nuke should also have an extremely high PRE (call it Mutually Assured Destruction- MAD- or Deterrent Effect, or what have you). He should have the ability to literally terrify any normal human without some psych lims, and cause some pause to any hero who is not immune to nuclear weapons. Gobi could have powers similar to the Sandman, but could also have a powerful Armor-Piercing PD ranged EB, extra time, area effect - Sandstorm! He could also combine cold attacks with his sand attacks- it gets darn cold in the Gobi.

Re: SpringSharp ship design software I am amazed I do not have this, as naval architecture happens to be a hobby of mine. Repped with enthusiasm! Thanks, Captain Obvious!

Re: Sex and the Single Superhuman

Re: Sex and the Single Superhuman I only have a few Hero System characters: Deuce is James Bond. 'Nuff said, except it's a blast to run him in a modified Bronze-Age superhero universe, where his Seduction skill (18-) can be almost like another power. He's seduced three so far...one a semi-villain, the others metahuman heroines. Casey is a magically-animated car, and although knowledgeable in some things, is still very "young" mentally, so he is still getting used to the idea of how living beings reproduce sexually. He is a "chick magnet" however - in more ways than one. (His "owner", Michele Night, is a Hot Elf Chick who often gives the '69 Chevy Corvair a wash- in a bikini- because isn't that what all Earth girls do with sports car?) From my Champions group: Metal Master is one of the wealthiest men in the world, and has three girlfriends (triplets!), calculating that he could at least do as well as Hugh Hefner...his body is covered with a silvery-gray symbiotic metal life form, so you can do your own speculations about his sexual abilities. Brick is at least as lecherous as Deuce, but has the twin disadvantages of being only 5' tall and brick red. He has gotten to know romance with at least one lady, though - the Japanese female "brick" Charm Girl... Flare is fairly new to the group, although the male heroes have noticed the Cajun beauty... Outfox is almost more alien than a real alien...being a human-animal (mostly fox) hybrid, she's beautiful but also a bit jarring. After her escape from her Chinese captors, she became a very exotic call girl in Taiwan. Sparkler has a steady male DNPC boyfriend, a policeman. She does not appear to be absolutely immune to the charms of her male colleagues, however. Victoria Celeste is a Victorian-era doll, magically animated to be a sort of Golem. Human sexuality is not unknown to her, but her attitude is also Victorian. Binary (not to be confused with the other Champions hero) is still suffering from the effects of post-traumatic amnesia. What he does after he recovers (and if he recovers) is anybody's guess. His nanite cloud may also present an obstacle. Retribution is an avenging angel, on missions from Gahd (insert Dan Ackroyd's voice here), although she never refers to the Universal Power by name. (She doesn't know it that well...) This actually allows her to explore sexuality more than you'd think - she will do anything to get to her eventual target. Huntress is a Predator-type alien with marriage issues; she has many suitors due to her high status (sort of an interstellar game warden), but those suitors are very, very far away. She's very young (the equivalent to a human 18-year-old) and beautiful (to other Yautja, that is) but she's developing more fondness for humans than for certain members of her own kind. She had a passel of suitors show up a while ago, but she was able to pass them off to a doppelganger from a parallel dimension.

Re: First role playing memory Mine (believe it or not) was Villains and Vigilantes. I actually started as a teenager first playing wargames as a 13-year old in high school (the first game was called Objective: Moscow, an old SPI game). I played them almost exclusively until the role-players in the club introduced me to V&V (because D&D was anathema to my wargamer soul at the time- I wasn't much into Tolkien). Didn't look back. I still want to run my old V&V character Antarcticus some day- as a Hero Games character- perhaps as a villain instead. The first game I actually GM'ed was Traveller. The first edition, right after they came out with High Guard (Book 5). Endless fun- I changed the universe a bit to make it Earth-centric, and set it soon after the discovery of jump drive and the wild, wooly days of deep space travel. I've loved scientific verisimilitude in my games ever since- even if they're totally fantastic, I like having the flavor of science in them, as accurately as the current tech will allow. I first played Champions in the Marines, at the Naval Aviation School in Memphis. First edition, right out of the box. My first character was the Australian heat-elemental Scirocco. He got knocked out his first adventure, and about every other one thereafter until his force field improved and he could take more than a few hits (and his player learned to target from range). Good times.

Re: Cursed dice My best friend rolls legendarily bad dice- he had a character in my old Star Trek game with a Luck stat of 99 (and for those of you who are not familiar with the old FASA system, it was percentage-based and he was therefore very lucky). Well, he rolled double-ought twice. In one game session. With major injury on the line the second time around. The probability of that is one in ten-thousand. His crew had to drag his unconscious body off the planet (and he was fortunate for the wonders of 23rd century medical technology, or they'd be transporting his dead body off!) Ever since then, whenever we get into a unlucky streak with our dice, we hand the dice to him for a few rolls to "Degauss" them- remove the unlucky magnetic flux, because clearly they can't be more unlucky than when he rolls them... and it works. The losing streak usually stops cold in its tracks. Our little in-joke (for those of you who are Roman history buffs) is that he used to torture deer in a previous life...

Re: 10kT nuclear bomb Hope you're not actually thinking of using one in a Dark Champions game- the mere threat of using one should be enough... After paging through some books and looking up some websites on atomic weapons, you might lose about 1-2 dice of killing damage (18 or 19d6 vs. 20d6 Killing EB, Explosive) with a reduced Megascale effect. The statistics, even for a 10 kt weapon, are chilling enough: The fireball radius is 323 feet. Radius of fireball when the shock front breaks away 312 feet. As shock front breaks away a second thermal pulse begins. Distance to 1 psi overpressure (moderate structural damage) 4.57 miles. Distance to second degree burns to exposed skin 1.45 miles (Link: http://www.unitedstatesaction.com/nuclear-low-yield-weapons-impact.htm ) The first radius can substituted with the "Metals Melt" part of the Equipment Guide chart on Page 133, with the last one of course substituted with the "Second Degree Burns" part of the chart. The radius of the others can then be extrapolated. It would probably be better to describe what it would do in abstract, rather than what it would do specifically to the characters. In any Dark Champions game- heck, in anything but a cosmically powerful Champions game- the only real immunity to a nuclear weapon is being as far away from the fireball as possible, and upwind. Only two humans are known to have survived within 150-300 meters of the hypocenter of the Hiroshima bombing (where the center of the blast hit the ground). One was in a basement of a government building at the time. (He later still suffered severe radiation sickness before recuperating to tell his tale.) The other was in a sturdy concrete bank. She also did not did not escape unscathed (she suffered lacerations, burns and radiation poisoning, largely from drinking the infamous "black rain"), but she was still alive 60 years later. We may be able to attribute each of these individuals Luck which mitigated their damage. Detonated in a high-density population city (like many Asian cities) will magnify the effect to near-Hiroshima levels. The urban sprawl of many American cities may actually serve to reduce casualties. Terrain must also be accounted for - the bomb that fell on Nagasaki was at least half again as powerful as the one that fell on Hiroshima, yet many people were saved just by the presence of surrounding hills and the number of people who died was therefore somewhat less. The time of day is also important- detonating a bomb at midnight in a large downtown American city is likely to cause fewer casualties as many Americans commute to their places of work. Blowing it up at 10 am would be ideal. Taking the link's example of Washington, DC, we can assume that on the average about 200,000 people would die within a few weeks. About half of these would die within seconds. If we detonate it in anywhere more or less densely populated (Washington's population density is about 3,700 people per square kilometer on average) we can assume more or fewer people die. Assume that, at most, a bit less than twice the dead are surviving wounded- medical assistance will be hard to come by, what's left will be hard-pressed to treat the tsunami of injured, and the injuries will often be severe and hard to treat. Fires could create a firestorm (winds carrying heat to other objects, magnifying the effect) if detonated in a particularly flammable piece of terrain. And of course, there are all the wonderful eight effects of a nuclear weapon, including radiation either directly or from fallout, one of the ultimate NND Drain attacks... Surviving characters will probably want to go into a basement for at least two weeks, if there is no way to easily escape... pleasant dreams...

Re: Baby Destroyer We don't have Destroyer in our universe; we have an equivalent mega-villain, so I will act as though Destroyer actually has replaced him one-for-one. Deuce would smell a trap. For one thing, his natural suspicion of any of Destroyer or his ilk would also not innately trust this child at all. For another, he's terrible with children; he's never had to raise one at all, and would not want to foist it on his fellow team members (unless one wanted to retire to do it). Deuce prides himself, as the former master spy, to be able to think several moves ahead of his opponent, even though he knows he's not as smart as many (in fact, most) supervillains. A baby Destroyer at the World Watchers tower would just complicate his group's lives more than they already are. However, it's just a tot, so... So his first inkling would be to turn over the child to either UNTIL or another organization with mentalists who could mellow the child's natural need to want to dominate others (the child would still be precocious beyond belief, and frankly, is far more intelligent - even now - than most normal adults, so it's perhaps right that he should have some eventual authority over others even at a young age). Later, the child may be fostered by some Ector type who could eventually turn the young Destroyer into a superhero. He would also work to try to locate and destroy any more hidden lairs for the Destroyer, just in case he has an equivalent "aging weapon" stowed somewhere else, along with "brain tapes" or something if they exist that would reload Destroyer's memories... He would also check with other superheroes who manipulate time (Favors are wonderful things), if any exist, to see if there is anything they could do to set things right in case Destroyer has planted an "Age Bomb" somewhere else.

Re: Prisoner Exchange B]Deuce[/b] would arrange it so that it appears both the villain and the hero are caught in a massive blast in the middle of the desert, which is in fact all son et lumiere... (In other words, IIF 3d6 Flash Attack, Sound, Mental and Sight Groups, Trigger, Megascale Explosion, 1 charge) The villain wakes up back in the Hole after an NND attack rigged to his costume ("You really didn't think we were going to let you go back in your own costume, did you?") while the hero, of course, shows up, suitably critically "injured" in the hospital. Amazing, if it hadn't been for that big rock in the way... If it's a double-cross -and if there's a mentalist worth their salt on the team, they should know - Deuce delivers his patented Charisma Attack on the "hero" in question while the rest of the Forces of Justice use the huge diversion to take the villain in disguise down (and if possible, more of the Syndicate too) The presence attack: A Bible casually tossed to the prisoner: "Pray. Because The Deuce does not exchange prisoners. He only collects them." Deuce then blames it on the most powerful baddies in the campaign outside of the Syndicate, who clearly wants Roberto dead, for doing so weakens the Syndicate in his favour...and any "Roberto" the Syndicate later finds in prison is then rumoured to be a double planted by this other villain or villainous organization. As you can see, Deuce chooses discord among villain groups and subterfuge over a direct confrontation. A holdover from his espionage days...

Re: What else is a classic trope ? The nigh-indestructible, ultra-powerful, super-genius master villain. Always escapes just after the heroes flee his invincible Deathtrap and spoils his Master Plan. (Doctor Doom, Lex Luthor, Darkseid, Doctor Destroyer...)

Re: You Are President! Deuce is a British citizen. Prime Minister of Great Britain, yes. President, No. Casey originated in the US 39 years ago. Unfortunately, he/she/it does not qualify for the strict definition of "born". The US population would have to be very, very weird to write him/her.it in as President. Casey's a bit of an innocent, not being used to this whole "living" thing. He is not so naive, however, as to think that a villain could have caused all this to his/her own ends. If such an unlikely event occurred, he/she/it would have the election investigated as to honesty and integrity. If it still turned out to be a fair and legal election, (and it would probably go to the Supreme Court) Casey would be remarkably wise, placing humans experienced in their fields placed in all areas of the cabinet. Getting environmental laws strengthened, alternate energy sources established and a progressive energy tax passed would just be the start. (He knows the damage cars can do to the environment, and does not like harming other living things. Sitting too long in rush hour traffic opened its "eyes" to air pollution.) Casey believes driving is better when it is a pleasure, not a chore, for both car and driver. Oh, and Casey would also get Ralph Nader banished from the United States. Despite his Green candidacy, Casey thinks Nader is an ego run amok. Did I mention he/she/it is a Chevrolet Corvair?

Re: Your character's theme song would be? Well, considering Deuce is in fact, the heroic identity of one James Bond, born in 1922 in Glencoe, Scotland... I won't go there. It's too bloody obvious. OK, anything by Dame Shirley Bassey. Casey, my newest character, is a magically-animated 1969 Chevrolet Corvair. (Bad but unfounded Reputation- by 1965, the handling problems Ralph Nader had with Corvairs were in the past) His song? "Born To Be Wild", by Steppenwolf.

Re: What would happen if Los Angeles County vanished? I think it would go something like this... Lex Luthor: Fall into the sea. [With a little wave] Bye bye California. Hello new west coast. My west coast. [overlays map with new map] Costa Del Lex. Luthorville. Marina del Lex. Otisburg-- "Otisburg"? Otis: Miss Tessmacher said. She has her own little place. Lex Luthor: "Otisburg"? Otis: It's a little bitty place! Lex Luthor: [angrily] "Otisburg"?

Re: Unique, interesting powers This Bomb Has A Tiny Gyroscope...: +30 PRE (30 Active Points), 1 Recoverable Charge (-1 1/4), IIF (-1/4). Real Cost: 12 Pts. IIF can be any ordinary object a gentleman would have on him (a cigarette case, a cell phone, a lighter, a hand in a card game, a martini shaker...). The idea is to bluff the enemy into thinking that the item has a secret power that it, in fact, doesn't actually have, or is more powerful than it actually is. No Skill roll is actually needed- the idea is that the power of the supposed gadget supplements the Character's Bluff skill, as a bonus to Deuce's PRE. He can really only use this power once per day, but if he can recover the item he can use it against another target or targets later (hence the Recoverable). Deuce once used this ability to convince an alien leader that an ordinary (if somewhat large) steel ball bearing was in fact a "thermal detonator" of just-sub-atomic power... and if they wanted to remain in one unburnt piece he had to order his compatriots to remain where they were. They did. (Hey, it worked for Princess Leia!)

Re: WWYCD: Escape Stronghold! Deuce is non-powered. It's unlikely he'd be sentenced to Stronghold, but if he were, the sheer dependence on technology would actually be a hindrance to the guards... ...Seduce the female guard (or even the male one- anything for freedom!) ...Convince the warden he's innocent, or the guards into looking the other way at critical points (did I mention he's got Seduce and Persuasion at 19-?) ...Use Disguise to camouflage himself as an entertainer (or a staff member) during one of the prison concerts, escaping with the band ...Use his Simulate Death Talent to get thrown out with the garbage, an executed criminal, or even the sewage (assuming he knows that it won't be incinerated!) ...Rely on his teammates to free him. Probably this option is best, unless the US has become such a corrupt institution that he's SOL, in which case they may be prisoners as well...

Re: Superheroes Who Kill? Our universe is a "killing has consequences" one... this tends to limit the killing, and in fact creates a real divide between the villains (who of course can and do kill) and the heroes (who are allowed to kill but generally do not because of the consequences). The consequences are quite apparent. Our Doctor Destroyer clone created a secret island base (that turned out to be a bit of a "Potemkin Village" but our heroes didn't know that at the time). The heroes actually received permission from the French government to use any weapon they felt appropriate on the island, as it was uninhabited and in French territory. After several medium-yield plasma bombs were detonated with no apparent effect on the base's force field, one of the PCs (the Magnificent Metal Master) set off a vibranium bomb... for which he purposely underestimated the yield so that if the other PCs knew about it they would not spill the beans mentally. It went off with the force of 2.3 megatons (the loudest noise in the world), completely destroying the island (vibranium explosions, fortunately, are completely non-radioactive) but also sinking a French patrol frigate, killing three crew members. The PC went into a funk. He is now regretting his actions, as the killing had unintended consequences. He also is rapidly losing his CVK with his action, but just as rapidly replacing it with a nascent obsession with bringing the Doctor Destroyer- equivalent to justice, and possible lethal justice. (Fortunately, the French have forgiven him, as the menace was still real, if not quite at the world-shaking magnitude everyone had thought it to be.) My character, Deuce, has the opposite problem. He has been a killer most of his adult life, and had a government sanction those killings. Now, however, the government has declared his skills obsolete (in fact, they've declared him obsolete) and removed his Licence To Kill. He can kill, but now is learning to out-think his opponents to bring them to justice, rather than just dispatching them. It helps that his offensive powers are the weakest of the party... And the most unique situation... we have a Predator-type alien PC (Hunting Specter) with the concept of Code Versus Killing Humans, as she is, in effect, Earth's "Park Ranger", preventing her own kind from killing humans unnecessarily or without proper preliminary procedures. (For one thing, killing children, pregnant women or any unarmed human being is a no-no). Even with humanoid aliens, she can be remarkably humane, in her own way... She amputated Herculon's ear instead of killing him after she knocked him out cold. She satisfied her trophy-hunting instinct, "counted coup" against her opponent, and did not kill him. (Of course, now Herculon is hunting his mutilator...if he can just figure out who the heck cut off his ear...) Many of the PCs do not have CVK in name, but are very reluctant to kill because of the fact that killing will have dire consequences. Justice in our universe (at least in the US) has the death penalty, and the world's governments reserve for themselves the right to grant lethal force. There is an effective global legal system against super-criminals, so heroes are encouraged to knock the villains on their tushies and bring them in. Our GMs are not going to be so completely stubborn about enforcing it that under the right conditions, a PC simply is artificially forbidden to kill. Demons, robots and undead villains are mostly fair game, for example, as they are not technically alive to begin with... It's not entirely four-color, but it provides much the same effect. It gives a much more real feel than an artificial CCA limitation - kill someone without state sanctioning, for the wrong reasons, or the wrong people, or at the wrong time, and find yourself in Stronghold with the baddies...not a good place to when you're a hero.

Re: Looking for a good name Virgil Ivan Tracy. (Sorry, a friend of mine is a huge Thunderbirds fan. Kind of rubbed off on me today.) How many heroes have the first name Virgil?

Re: WWYCD: "Tell me about your teammates." To: Liaison, MI6 Cc: UNTIL Law Enforcement Directorate, Chicago Division, USA From: DEUCE Re: Impressions and Evaluations of Team Members in World Watchers Metal Master: Although the most experienced and potentially most powerful member of the group, I feel he is also the most idealistic and therefore the most vulnerable. Perhaps this is why the group nominated me the team leader despite being probably the weakest overall in powers. The recent destruction of the island in the Dry Gambiers using the vibranium bomb has left him a bit of an emotional wreck. He has taken full responsibility for the underestimation of yield, which sank a friendly French ship by accidenwithout much real result. (On the other hand, we have discovered a non-radioactivematerial with the force of a thermonuclear weapon. Pure sonic force with the yield of 230 kt/kg is nothing to be trifled with.) After the I am a bit of a loss, as his reticence to killing I believe was a useful counterpoint to my perspective, and so we may be in the process of "crossing over" a bit in terms of our opinions of lethal force. I am also concerned of his extended isolation from the triplets he has as his companions. He may need some professional psychological assistance- perhaps Dr. Silverback can give a referral? Brick: Initially, I mistrusted him, as he comes off a bit hotheaded. However, differences in class upbringing accounted for the initial impression, and now I personally regard him as a peer. Certainly, his odd appearance can create a bad first impression. I regard his knowledge of civil engineering and construction probably the most useful things a metahuman could have. Also, despite his small stature, he is also the strongest being I have ever met. (And to smooth things further, we have socialized at the local pubs- sorry, bars.) My only concerns are of his sensitivity to his origin (he is, as the modern parlance has it, a "mutant", for which he is exceedingly prickly of slights or prejudice) and what will happen when he meets someone or something that can injure him badly. Sparkler: Sparkler and I have an excellent rapport, borne of a joint mission in Louisiana. She is a simply marvellous girl as her instincts for danger are truly rare. And how does one project burning Thermite from one's hands without immolating themselves? My only worry is of her addiction to chocolate as a "fuel" for her powers (psychological addiction, perhaps?) and her lack of overall experience as a metahuman crimefighter. I have no concern of her overall combat potential or skills; just a concern of her being a "one-trick pony", depending on her powers over her skills. I've heard it's a common problems among very powerful metahumans. Not having any myself, I cannot have any such overconfidence. Victoria Celeste: As I have a slight distrust of so-called "magic users", I was initially skeptical of an animated, or if you will, "possessed" Victorian porcelain doll. However, whoever created her (regardless of his evil intent) was possessed himself of genius, for whatever his source of powers, she is a remarkable automaton, capable of closely imitating a human being to a very precise degree, and also capable of a wide array of powers. Whether they are as she maintains "magical" abilities or if in fact they are simply psychic in origin is now a moot point. My concern is if we can trust her entirely - if she can survive more than a century and a half, what of her creator? Retribution: I strangely find myself trusting her the least of the long-term members of the group. For one thing, she is undoubtedly well-connected and her powers have a purportedly divine origin, but is this true? Is it from the Creator or some other more sinister source? And her recent transformation into an "Angel of Vengeance" is a bit troubling. What if her new set of orders clash with ours? And she now may be subject to recall; this could be troublesome, as the Creator (or whomever) could rob us of her services at inopportune times. Outfox: Definitely not a double agent, despite what some in my own service have said. (They should have seen what she did to the Chinese "hero" Graniteman.) In a way, I am more concerned about her safety than even my own, as she is still quite young and a bit impulsive. The passage of time should give her experience in this regard. Her capabilities in martial arts are almost supernatural. That she was the product of selective genetic engineering is a tribute to the technological prowess (and ethical corruption) of the modern PRC. I am concerned that the Chinese will try to convince or coerce her into returning, possibly at the hands of the "Tiger Squad". Chayinde: I have to say I am two minds of our extraterrestrial. A former intelligence operative can but only be ambivalent about a mind-reading, mind-probing, mind-shattering alien, with the face of a faintly anthropomorphized hermit crab, whose role is roughly equivalent to a "game warden", with Earth being the "preserve" and humans themselves being the "game"; in that regard, she is somewhat akin to a known enemy agent with which one must work. However, she has proven her loyalty to me and the group time and again, and has never betrayed a mental confidence of any ally. I worked closely with her on a mission to Britain, and she volunteered her services without hesitation. She also has combat capability outside of her psychic powers, and is our team's pilot. Mama Moxie: On reserve. Although I regard his (her?) hermaphroditic tendencies as a bit off-putting (is this common nowadays?), Moxie is an excellent recce scout with the ability to walk through almost any substance without harm. Moxie has also allowed my parent service to examine the base technology of his/her flying motorcycle. Flare and Binary: So far, I do not know enough about these team members to form much beyond a first impression of them. Flare I trust more than Binary, but that is because Binary appeared from the same artifact that has caused us so much trouble in the past. Binary has powerful yet unreliable abilities of atomic-level assembly and disassembly, and he is also troubled with profound memory loss of his past, which not even Chayinde has been able to sift through. Flare's psychic powers are complimentary to Chayinde's, yet she has Mama Moxie's abilities to walk through most physical objects. I trust you will find my assessments useful. As always, my deepest regards, Deuce