Finally! it took me a while longer than I'd expected to get these two done. Please let me know if they need overhauling or tweaking in any way:


[hider Nick]
[b]Name:[/b] Nick Ferrin

[b]Codename:[/b] Steel

[b]Age:[/b] 32

[b]Gender:[/b] Male

[b]Place of birth:[/b] London, UK

[b]Occupation:[/b] Jack of all trades – Nick does what needs to be done. He usually works in the citadel creating metal items, particularly weapons and armour or on the wall, although he likes going out on patrol. This is because he thinks his powers are useful, not out of an adolescent desire to play at being a hero. That’s what he tells himself, anyway.

[b][b]Race:[/b][/b] Human (Meta)

[b]Appearance:[/b] Tall (about 6’2”) with a lean, sparse frame. He has pale colouring – dark blond hair worn slightly too long to be tidy, bright blue eyes and (if you look very closely) a few freckles; he’s the sort who’ll burn before tanning. He has rather hard features that may give him something of a forbidding look, but he has a rather appealing lopsided smile when he uses it. He has a surprisingly rich voice, with a distinct British accent. Wears hard wearing, casual clothing (jeans and a plain shirt or T-shirt). Outside, he can transform the metal he wears into a thin bodysuit of armour; it’s light and flexible enough for him to move in but strong enough to deflect most small-arms fire unless they’re from powerful handguns or at point-blank range.

[b]Powers:[/b] Metal manipulation (some smartass called it ‘ferrokinesis’ – jerk). Can shape and bend metal (notably steel). When Nick is using his power, the metal flows under his hands like liquid into whatever form he desires. Blades, claws, whips, armour… providing he’s got the raw materials, he can do it. Given time, he can create some fine weapons and armour – his artistic training seems to give him a pretty instinctive ‘feel’ for creating blades that are well-balanced and armour that fits someone well.

He may sometimes use any ‘scrap’ bits of metal to make small toys for kids (although what’s scrap in this environment is debatable).

He needs metal to work on, he can’t just create it out of thin air.

He can only control solid metal – trying to touch molten steel will screw him up as badly as it would anyone else. And yes, touching really cold steel will take his skin off.

[b]Skills:[/b] He’s learnt how to use his powers to fight melee style – he can ‘melt’ the metal he wears into spiked gauntlets or blades and use them to poke holes into people or things; he fights with a mix of dirty fighting and basic martial arts. He’s also used to forming crude shields/armour at a second’s notice.

He has an artistic eye for detail and a memory trained to recall things accurately – he can sometimes spot things that look ‘off’ and can produce an accurate drawing of a scene or location hours later.

He has a reputation as a fairly tolerant person, and his laid-back attitude and civilian background means that normal humans may come to him with problems or complaints rather than the more military heroes.

[b]Equipment/Resources:[/b] Wears a thick chain around his neck and two wristlets that could double as manacles.  They look like silver but are actually highly polished steel. He usually carries a couple of small steel rods in his pockets as well.

[b]Weaknesses:[/b] Nick needs be touching metal with his bare skin – ideally his hands – to be able to manipulate it, and apart from some crude work with cold iron, he can’t manipulate anything but steel, so no working with silver or gold.

Aside from his metal manipulation he’s a normal guy, not an action hero  – if he gets hit, it’s going to hurt.

Other supers with extreme heat/cold powers could conceivably nullify his powers since steel is a conductor (in low enough temperatures it will shatter like glass). Any magnetic powers will also ruin his day.

Suggested: if he uses his power too long or too frequently in a short time period he can become slightly anaemic (I had an idea that it might leech some of the iron from his bloodstream – feel free to quash this if it’s a bit too stupid an idea).

[b]Psychological Profile:[/b] Nick comes across as polite and reserved, which he is to an extent – he’s perfectly polite and friendly, but tends to keep people at arm’s length until he gets to know them.  Despite his reserve, he’s very much a team player and will do what’s required of him without any complaints, though if he thinks something is a bad idea he’ll point out his objection and the reasons behind it. But still waters run deep – he does have passions, just doesn’t like sharing them with everyone. Rub him up the wrong way and he will eventually snap; get close to him and he’ll be one of the most loyal friends you could hope to have. He has a very dry, ‘British’ sense of humour.

[b]Biography:[/b] Born in one of the suburbs of south London, Nick had a conservative middle-class upbringing with parents who were constantly arguing. They divorced when he was 12, and he was shuttled back and forth between them for the next couple of years until he was 14, when his mother re-married an American and moved to the States.  His father, afraid that his sullen teenage son would end up joining a gang and getting into trouble, suggested he take some creative courses and Nick discovered he had a talent for art. He enrolled at the Wimbledon College of Arts when he was old enough and gained a BA in Fine Art. He attracted a reasonable amount of notice as a talented young artist the best part of a decade ago, although 99.9% of people could pass him in the street without knowing who he was, which suited him fine. 

Life seemed pretty good until his ability to shape metal suddenly manifest four years ago.  He was learning to control it when he received a call that his mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and only had a few months to live. He flew over to the States and managed to re-build some bridges with her in the last days of her life – he was holding her hand when she passed away. Before she died the world had gone crazy; getting back to the UK was pretty much impossible, and with his father no longer alive, there was no one he was desperate to get back to, so why try to leave?  His powers were revealed when he was attacked by a thug with a knife – he instinctively shaped the metal casing of his watch into sharp claws and tore through the guy’s throat. He was spotted by one of the other heroes (if anyone wants to volunteer for that, please do) and persuaded to travel west with Pariah and the other heroes where he could learn to use his powers properly and help keep what was left of civilisation alive. Having no other real purpose, he agreed.

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[hider Anna]
[b]Name:[/b]  Annalise Turner (usually called Anna)

[b]Codename:[/b] Flare

[b]Age:[/b] 24

[b]Gender:[/b] Female

[b]Place of birth:[/b] New York

[b]Occupation:[/b] usually patrolling or running shotgun for scavenging parties.

[b]Race:[/b] Human (Meta)

[b]Appearance:[/b]
[img]http://images.sodahead.com/polls/003239067/2550681062_Nix_fullbody_answer_14_xlarge.jpeg[/img]

[b]Powers:[/b] Pyrokinesis – she can create (although it takes some effort) and manipulate fire. 

Anna finds it hard to create fire – using a lighter to create fire and then manipulate it is much easier. She can shoot fireballs like a fantasy wizard, or surround herself and possibly a small group of others with a wall of flames hot enough to melt metal. She invulnerable to all fire-based attacks – fire just licks harmlessly at her skin (although anything she’s wearing/carrying may be damaged).

[b]Skills:[/b] Marksman – thanks to her training in the army Anna is skilled and experienced in using firearms. 

Endurance – also a result of her army training, she’s physically fit and has the discipline to go for hours without food or drink and deal with minor injuries – she’s not going to freak out at the sight of her own blood.

Basic first aid – she can treat basic wounds in the field (limited to stopping bleeding by applying pressure and rigging up a crude sling/splint for broken bones).

[b]Equipment/Resources:[/b] Wears her old military fatigues (or something similar). She always carries a handgun and a general purpose knife. She always has a couple of cigarette lighters on her. She’s currently experimenting with using a weapon rather like a chain whip coated with a flammable liquid that she can set alight with her powers.

[b]Weaknesses:[/b] Anna is both impatient and stubborn – she finds it hard to stand back, preferring to jump into a mess; he stubbornness means that she also may find it hard to admit when she needs help – both habits that could see her getting into some very bad situations. 

She finds it hard to summon her fire powers if in a very cold environment.

Has a little sister staying in the citadel with her – anyone messing with her has just pressed Anna’s berserk button.

Using her powers for prolonged periods is exhausting, and Anna had pushed herself dangerously close to the edge of exhaustion before now.

[b]Psychological Profile:[/b] Impatient, smart (if not as clever as she thinks she is) and decisive. Anna can take orders if she has to, and will happily defer to a more experienced leader, but is quite a ‘take charge’ kind of person. She sees herself as responsible for the safety of others, particularly normal humans. 

[b]Biography:[/b] Annalise was born in The Bronx, the second of three children. The head of the family was her mother, a strong woman who tried to ensure her children got a decent education and followed a moral path. Anna’s older brother worked as the overnight clerk in a 24 hour store and was shot during a botched robbery. As a result Anna decided she was going to join the police – maybe then she could prevent other teenage girls being told their brother had been shot dead.

She worked hard, facing racism and sexism as well as jibes about her background, but satisfied the entry requirements. She looked likely to have a promising career in the forces until her powers manifested – at about the same time that the world started to go to hell in a handbasket. Annalise went through various tests and when the government instituted martial law Annalise was drafted into the armed forces – her fire manipulation was thought of as a promising military asset. She was at first somewhat resentful at the conscription, but rather to her own surprise took to the life like a duck to water.

When the world finally collapsed, Annalise went back home to recover her little sister, the last surviving member of her family, and drove west after the others. She was willing to join Cassandra’s band and promised that she’d fight to the death to protect it, so long as they were willing to house her and her little sister. So far, so good.


[/hider]