[b][u]Those on High[/u][/b] [i] So you want to know about Those on High, do ya? Alright then, let me tell ya what I know... See, things happened slowly at first. You had some underground, low powers types who snuck into Manhattan after everything started going crazy. Mostly Seers and Mind Readers, Invisible types. Things that could slip under the radar. Well, all of a sudden the Mind Readers had these spots they couldn't hear anything from. Few weeks after that the Seers started having problems predicting things. The others appeared weeks apart, but without much fanfare to foreshadow their arrival. Y'know, they're all powerful. But we don't know shit. After they came, people started hearing her. The Clairvoyant. She'd lay bare everything that made you you, your thoughts included. She hears everyone in the city, their minds. And those who get in her way? She strikes them down. The early telepaths tried to get her. Their minds don't work no more. But you stay on her good side, or out of her direct notice? She's like our protector. You're in trouble, you call out to her Highness. Maybe she'll help. Maybe she'll get someone to ya. Then came the Prescient. See, we assume that one is a he, but no one knows. The Seers couldn't predict stuff like before. All of a sudden it's like destiny is a singled out into a few stands. Like this Epic is Fate itself, pulling us all towards one general end. Cutting the strings he don't like. And if that doesn't terrify you, you're a stupid fool. The Island is our guardian. He tends to our City, keeping it in pristine condition. Those with physical abilities look to him for guidance and help. But people don't realize the darker side to the High Island. How he could destroy the very fabric of reality, and smother all of us in a moment with our own City. Next is the High Electric. He too came without notice, but he was the one us Normals noticed the fastest. He tends to our power grids, our lights and energies. Elemental Epics bask in his glory, for he is energy. Provider of our City, but a living bomb. Lord of Energy in every way, the High Electric is the controller of all of us directly. And finally came the High Venom, a woman as poisonous as her name. She is the patron guardian of the Freaks and Abominations, giving them sanctuary in Under Town, beneath our very feet this instant. She is god of all things evil, from poisons to toxins to plagues. Legends have it that she changes appearances at will, and grants boons to those she deems worthy. Even more of a myth is her supposed ability to heal. But believe you me, it isn't worth trying to find out.[/i] [hr] [b][u]Shared Characters:[/u][/b] Any player can make use of these characters, within reason. Please keep consistent with their characters and keep them in one scene at a time; No having Dragon be on one side of town helping you push back the Swarm while another character's chatting to him in Central Park, OK? Epics: [Hider=Dragon Heart]Name: Hunter Clay Epic Identity: Dragon Heart Age: 24 Faction: Epic Ability: Energy control; able to redirect energy and store it. Usually concentrates on kinetic energy, giving him super speed, though he can also express it as lightning Weakness: Intimate contact. The lower limit is kissing, but anything more involved than that also works. Personality: Though with his dangerous side, Dragon heart is a very easygoing fellow, considered more of a Hero in the city than a villain, despite his fickle emotions. He's most destructive when bored or frustrated, but doesn't kill unnecessarily. He's also fairly insightful, and will often try and talk through problems rather than smash through them. Of course, if he gets to the end of his short fuse, he'll put a rather quick end to things. Appearance: He claims he doesn't wear a costume, but really his black t-shirt, black cargo jeans and boots are pretty much a uniform. He stands at 6'2" of impressively designed muscle and rugged, action-hero looks, which has earned him quite a fan club both among normal and rookie Epic women. A few more seasoned female heroes have admitted an attraction to him as well, which the Epic tabloids usually jump on with headlines. Background: Dragon heart has a soft spot for orphans, having been orphaned himself. At 8 years old, he began his career as an Epic, having made money through bounties, being a bodyguard for hire, and anything else he thought he could turn a penny. Having very few expenses, he's actually wealthy enough for a decent apartment. He also has a hatred for a villain Epic known as Blacklight. The clashes between the two have demolished buildings, despite the Island's intervention and swift reconstructions.[/hider] [hider=Blacklight]Name: Jace Clay Epic Identity: Blacklight Age: 23 Faction: Epic Ability: Energy draining, to the point where he's capable of creating whips of dark energy that can both drain and pull things closer to him. Weakness: Contact with someone who loves him Personality: Asshole. Obsessed with power, and people who have it, his dearest dream by his own admission is to steal the power of a High. This, however, is in his few lucid moments. Most often, he's a boiling mess of emotion, throttling people for irritating him one moment and laughing maniacally at distraught witnesses the next. Despite this, he has a dark cunning when he chooses to apply it. Appearance: He has a white face, with sharp features that look like they were cut from marble. His eyes have long since gone black, like that of a shark's, and his hair has gone bright blue. As if to contrast this, he wears black boots, black clothes tight on his gaunt figure, and big black boots. When he has to move around unnoticed, which is often, he wears a thick leather jacked and leather fingerless gloves. Background: Nobody knows much about Blacklight before he announced his arrival in Epic City by murdering three Epics in broad daylight. He has claimed to have been orphaned, but also claimed to have killed his parents when his powers manifested. He simultaneously claims to have family and be an only child. In short, people have no idea. One of the few things that get a consistent reaction out of him is the mention or appearance of Dragon heart; he flies into a vicious, homicidal rage.[/hider] Freaks: [Hider=Nightmare]Name: Donovan Shields Freak Label: Nightmare Age: 29 Faction: Freak Ability: Fast healing. He can heal from any wound that breaks his skin in a matter of seconds. Mutation: His bones and most of his organs have been replaced by independently mobile veins and arteries. These are capable of piercing skin and draining blood, directly fuelling his healing. Weakness: The smell of anasthetic leaves him unable to heal the wounds his blood vessels inflict when they burst out of his skin. Personality: He is fiercely loyal to the High Venom, though he hasn't met her personally. Otherwise, he's calm and contemplative when not feeling the urge to drain others for blood. Nightmare is a terrifying fighter, as the few who've seen him in action can attest; he most often releases his veins through the wrists, grappling and strangling his foes before draining them. However, any wound can release hungry, questing veins, even those on his head. Appearance: Bright red skin, almost as if he is permanently blushing over every part of his body. The whites of his eyes are usually blood red, and the irises have gone pink. He has no hair, and his body seems to be inconsistently shaped. Despite this, he wears normal clothing, if shorter than what he should be due to a permanently feverish body temperature. Background: He suffers from amnesia, but remembers he has been a servant of the High Venom since he gained his 'powers'. Her guidance channels him away from draining people of blood, though he still occasionally slips up and leaves a bloodless corpse in an alleyway. He's one of her more valuable servants, as despite his hunger he can carry messages to people without causing too much trouble.[/hider] [hider=Marching House]Name: Natania Shay Freak Label: Marching House Age: 18 Faction: Freak Ability: Telepathy. Able to link two minds, hers or others, in vivid mutual hallicinations allowing for all the senses to be fooled. Mutation: Her body is no longer human, encased in a shell most similar to an oyster or clam five foot across. Weakness: Strapping something over the lips of her shell silences her telepathy and renders her unable to communicate. Personality: Hating her new form, she suffers from worse and worse bouts of depression. Despite the support of a few Freaks who empathise with her, she grows ever more silent and withdrawn. She gladly helps others speak to each other, but ever more rarely appears when spoken to. But she is grateful to those who take care of her, and finds herself unable to go through with suicide. When she does appear, she shows an obsession with being touched, often considering even the illusion of a hand on her shoulder or hug sufficient payment for contacting people. A couple of her caretakers act as intermediaries, keeping her from people who'd exploit her personality. She claims that the High Clairvoyant talks to her often, but most dismiss this as wishful thinking. After all, why would the High Clairvoyant care about a Freak? Appearance: Marching House most resembles a clam or other bivalve atop six insectoid legs. While the shell isn't ugly of itself, she hates her new form and hides as often as she can under blankets and in darkness. She has a series of eyes resembling her human ones along the upper half of her shell, each fringed with lashes. She most often rests with her shell partially open, claiming "it's cooler", but will slam shut whenever anyone attempts to examine the interior. When appearing in a projection, she looks like a normal 18-year-old girl, with red hair, athletic figure, and wearing a gymnast's leotard. She's cobbled together her face from what she remembers of her old appearance, however, and she hasn't reproduced her old beauty. Background: She was a normal teenage girl, attractive and from a well-off family. One day she was struck with terrible, debilitating pains in the middle of class, forcing her to curl up into a ball. The pain refused to subside for weeks, after which she woke up in her new form. The doctors assigned to her case had removed all mirrors from her room, but her telepathy allowed her to understand what had happened. She fled her home and ran away, ashamed to be seen by anyone. Ending up in the sewers with a group of deformed Freaks, she found sympathy and caretakers who helped her figure out her new life.[/hider] Credit: BlueTommy2[hider=The Nest]Name: Nudd Richards Freak Label: The Nest Age: 27 Faction: Freak Ability: Nudd can control all manner of insects and arachnids using nothing but his mind, and he can produce new insects from his body whenever he is wounded. He can use these insects to fly, attack, heal, lift, and poison, as he is able to control most any form of insectoid creature, his favorite for transportation are assassin flies, and his favorite for murder is the fat-tailed scorpion. Mutation: Nudd's skin is pale, wrinkled, and frail, his nose, ears, and lips have all sloughed off, along with another important body part that he'd rather not discuss. His body appears bloated and moves on its own, due to his body basically being a living insect hive. He smells awful and doesn't bleed when wounded. His nails are yellow and cracking, and his lower back has obvious livor mortis marks, his body seemingly already dead. Weakness: If Nudd comes into contact with wood, it immediately kills all insects within or around him. Personality: Nudd is a heavy nihilist, believing that every human is a plaything of fate and that fate is nigh-omniscient and inescapable. This belief is what leads to his murders, as he believes he is freeing those trapped by fate from their entrapment. His ultimate goal is to wipe out the human race and then kill himself. He is calm-voiced most times and often gives off a sense of affability even as he is slitting a person's throat. He speaks fluent Welsh, but considers it an ugly language, and prefers English. He hates anyone who dares question his beliefs, considering them brainwashed by agents of fate. Appearance: Nudd is almost seven feet tall and has gaunt limbs and a sharp-angled face. His body is extremely bloated and wide. He wears nothing from the waist up, only wearing jeans and boots on his lower body, though when he wishes to avoid detection he wears a longcoat, incredibly conspicuous, but the only thing large enough to hide his bloating, and a wide-brim hat to hide his face, though at his height it's hard to remain undetected. Background: Nudd was one of Edward's few childhood friends from back in Wales. They were both basically left to their own devices by their parents and bonded over that, spending their time being delinquents and the like. Nudd was a dormant freak, however, and his mutation asserted itself on his fifteenth birthday. His ears, nose, eyelids, and lips all sloughed off, and his skin became incredibly weak and wrinkled. Every time he was injured, swarms of insects poured out, fully controllable by his mind. He didn't take this well. Nudd went into a spiraling mess of self loathing and existential crisis, eventually developing a belief that fate was a true factor, and it was bad. He began murdering in an attempt to "free" people from their fate. Eventually this list of people "freed" included Edward's first boyfriend. Edward approached Nudd in rage and they fought. Edward had yet to gain full control of his powers yet and was defeated after being electrocuted by an exposed Breaker box. Nudd escaped and Edward decided to leave Wales forever to escape the bad memories. Nudd has been travelling the world, killing anyone in his path before moving to avoid detection.[/hider] Normals: [hider=Chief Jerry Thomas]Name: Jeremiah Thomas Alias (if any): Jerry Age: 53 Faction: Normal Personality: Jerry is a tough, no-nonsense sort of guy. He's straightforward, blunt, and only barely wise enough to know when to keep his opinion to himself. This wins him much respect among his men and some among Epics, but little from the politicians and rich people. And that is entirely fine by Jerry. Appearance: With his hair and mustache turning to grey, and his once-athletic figure turning to fat, Jerry is the stereotypical police chief in appearance, especially in uniform. It is stupid to underestimate him, as he's just as capable of kicking criminal rear as he was in his twenties. He's hardly ever out of the usual ECPD uniform, with his gun holstered on one hip and a stun baton on the other. On occasion, he's known to borrow a few items from the PARTs (Parahuman Assault and Response Team), and wear a bulletproof vest in case of real emergency. Background: Born and raised on the island, Jerry is not only a career cop, but a legacy as well. He saw the ECPD all but fall apart after the arrival of the High, and he's reorganized what remains into a proud, lean organization, clearly capable of taking on and arresting young or weak Epics, Freaks and any normal criminal the Heroes don't get to first. It was under his leadership that the PART bureau was established, specifically to deal with Epics and Freaks who break the laws of the city. With his drive inspiring not only normal citizens, but his own children, to join up, the ECPD is a legal gang, willing to sidestep the law (a little) to enforce the Law.[/hider] Credit: ihinka[hider=Corporal Regan Murphy][b]Name:[/b] Regan Murphy [b]Alias (if any):[/b] None [b]Age:[/b] 32 [b]Faction:[/b] Normal/PART [b]Personality:[/b] Regan is a very friendly and carrying person. She loves to laugh, hear people laugh and make people laugh. To that end she has a natural and quick sense of humor. She's very gentle with kids. In work mode she is cool and calm, and carries an unyielding sense of justice. She is courteous to strangers, but is really warm and completely open with people she truly likes. [b]Appearance:[/b] [hider=This][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/7c/1c/e7/7c1ce7117613d101a8e33c954661b0ff.jpg[/img][/hider] [hider=Aaaand this][img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HEb7XEhimJQ/T1quiWI_aDI/AAAAAAAACw0/7fN_EH8iGLM/s1600/john+carter+poster+Dejah+thoris.jpg[/img][/hider] Since a picture's worth a thousand words and because I'm not all that good at describing physical characteristics I'll let these two speak for me. Ragan's 5'8 slight to medium build. Fit and athletic as per her profession. When in civvies she's a casual dresser. Jeans, cargo pants or shorts. Boots, sneakers, tank tops, shirts, t-shirts. She doesn't like skirts, but she does love little black dresses for formal events. [b]Background:[/b] Regan's mother, a member of the surviving Amish community, was raped during her rumspringa by a violent, crazed-with-his-newfound-power young Epic. Since she was badly beaten and bleeding profusely after the rape, she was admitted to a hospital. Her parents were notified and she was quickly discharged and brought back to the community. Because her rape was medically proven, there was no grounds for shunning or excommunication. However the community did not believe in abortion and Regan's mother was made to carry the baby to term. Soon after, baby Regan was delivered to an orphanage in Epic City, sponsored by the ECPD. Regan grew up under the stern, yet loving, eye of the caregivers in the orphanage. The children were well cared for and well provided for thanks to the patronage of the ECPD and its employees. Regan never wanted for much. She was well clothed, well fed and well instructed and educated. She had daily chores, as did all the children in the orphanage to teach them a sense of responsibility and accountability. When Regan was about eight years old, well beyond the adopting age... A family arrived. Emily and Collin Murphy. Regan knew the woman as one of the cops who often visited the orphanage to play with the children or talk with them about being good, staying away from strangers and out of trouble, studying and stuff like that. Emily'd always been good to Regan. The girl'd even imagined once or twice that she would one day adopt her. But that never happened and soon she outgrew the silly notion. She didn't mind living in the orphanage. She was told her parents'd died so she didn't wonder why she was abandoned, like some of the other children she lived with. She didn't know how to be sad for them, because she never knew them. She didn't even know their names. But she was a little sad when Emily stopped coming to the orphanage at some point and she had to abandon her dream of the lady cop adopting her. She couldn't know Emily had stop coming, because she and her husband were trying to have a baby. And that she'd almost carried the baby to term, but after unforeseen complications, they'd not only lost the baby, but she'd lost the ability to give birth. When finally Emily and Collin had started healing from the loss of their unborn child, they'd started thinking of adopting. And Regan was Emily's one and only obvious choice since she'd always loved the little girl. And so, at eight years of age Regan was adopted within the Collin family. She was ecstatic her favorite lady cop had returned for her. And she quickly grew to love Collin too. He was a warm man. Author of children's books and children fantasy books. So Regan was spoiled rotten come bad time. He would weave the most phantasmagorical stories for his favorite little girl, as he liked to called her. Little Regan would also spend hours upon hours getting into all sorts of trouble around her mother's precinct. She was an inquisitive kid with a bright mind and a penchant for puzzle solving. It was all Emily could do to spare the young girl the more gruesome side to her work. When Regan was about fifteen Collin and Emily sat her down and told her the truth about her mother and how she'd been conceived. Regan did feel sad then for her birth mother then, because she sorta knew what it meant for a girl to get raped. And she couldn't begin hating all Epics, because of what her birth father did to her birth mother, since she already knew there were good Epics thanks to Emily. She did ask Collin and Emily if her mother had given her away or is she was forced to abandon her, but they honestly didn't know. And that was that. Regan grew to be a kind young woman. With a quick mind and an aptitude for solving puzzles. From Emily she inherited a love for sports and martial arts and a sense of justice. From Collin she inherited her sense of humor and whimsy, her love for books and arts. Thanks to him she discovered her love for singing. She had a beautiful naturally husky voice which she often used to put the children to sleep whenever she, Emily and Collin would visit the orphanage, where she had spent the first eight years of her life. Immediately after college Regan joined the ECPD and began working hard toward her goal - PART. More hard work followed and a couple of years after she was accepted in the Parahuman Action Response Team, she was awarded the honor to be offered a position in the Special Response unit where, to the pride of her mother and father, she climbed to the rank of Corporal in charge of her own small team. [/hider] Credit: ihinka[hider=Megan Robinson][b]Name:[/b] Megan Robinson [b]Alias (if any):[/b] Megs [b]Age:[/b] 18 [b]Faction:[/b] Normal [b]Personality:[/b] Megan is a vibrant girl despite her disability. She has a very sunny disposition, but can be very serious when the need calls. She is wise beyond her years and is more calm and settled compared to other kids her age. She loves drawing and telling stories with pictures since it's how she can best express herself. She wants to be a graphic novelist. Megan possesses a boundless empathy and understanding towards other people's suffering, being born deaf-mute. [b]Appearance:[/b] At 5'8 Megan is tall and lanky, but certainly not frail. She is pail with gold blond hair and vivid blue eyes. Her nose and shoulders are littered with freckles, which she quite adores. Her facial features are delicate, with straight nose, pink slightly pouty lips and almost translucent eyebrows and eyelashes. She enjoys wearing all sorts of clothing. Pants, skirts, blouses, shirts, Ts. The more vibrant in color the better. [b]Background:[/b] Megan was born deaf-mute to Sara and Jorge Robinson. Her parents went to great lengths to provide everything their girl would need in life as a deaf-mute. Since her father worked as air traffic controller, their family never wanted for money. They were pretty well off. Megan received the best of care and started learning sign language and reading lips early on. She grew up a happy kid despite her disability, and a little bit spoiled being an only kid, but not too much. She was a good kid and respected the boundaries her parents set for her. Plus she couldn't well afford to brake them carelessly. Not in her condition. She needed to be a wise kid, if she wanted to grow up safe and sound. When her father experienced a burnout at work the doctors recommended rest and relaxation so the family decided to go camping in Missoula Park. They'd been camping for a couple of days and everything was going fine. The three of them were having a blast and Megan's father was getting better with each passing day. One evening Megan woke up feeling the urge to pee. She knew she was supposed to wake one of her parents and not go alone, but she didn't want to disturb them and she wouldn't go too far anyway. She bravely exited the tent and went in search of the right bush. She knew people feared the forest at night because of all the noises. Animals, birds, insects, but she couldn't hear any of those sounds, so in a way she was fearless. She shouldn't have been. At night, in the dark and without her hearing her balance was off. She tripped and fell in a small ravine, hitting her head and passing out. When next she woke up, the forest was burning and someone was pushing her into the ground. When she woke up for the third time she was in the hospital and her parents were sleeping on chairs near her bed. They looked so very tired but relieved and happy she was alive and well. The next couple of weeks Megan visited the hospital often to stay with the firefighter who'd saved her life - Teagan Heyes.[/hider] [hider=Khan]Name: -not on record- Alias (if any): Khan Age: Estimated at between 45-55 Faction: Normal Personality: Ruthless, driven, and polite even when slicing an Epic's throat. Khan holds himself as a businessman, and is genial and charming to anyone he meets. Despite the fact that he irrationally loathes all Epics and Freaks, including the High. He demands respect from his followers, and acts quickly and decisively when he doesn't get it. Appearance: A large caucasian male. That's how his ECPD document begins and ends. Reports of his blond hair and blue eyes are known from only a few witnesses, and they 'disappeared' shortly after. He's usually clad in a white business suit, with a crimson red shirt and a white tie. Atop his head is a white, wide-brimmed fedora with a red band. His shoes are also white. In fact, the only part of his known outfit that isn't white or crimson is a single gold tie clasp. Background: Nobody is entirely sure where Khan came from. What they do know is that he's the most terrifying force in Epic City outside of the High. Leader of the gang known as the Kryptonites, Khan is directly responsible for more Epic deaths than any known person, and indirectly responsible for a great number more. His followers use any tactic possible to destroy Epics, and care little for collateral damage. Their stated mission is to "restore the supremacy of humanity".[/Hider] Credit: BlueTommy2[hider=Maria]Name: Maria Daniels Age: 20 Faction: Normal Personality: Maria is agoraphobic and rarely leaves her home, though a few years without a home has definitely made her a lot less fearful than she was in the past. She is almost as sarcastic as Edward, a factor towards their becoming friends, though she doesn't show this to anyone she doesn't know, preferring to stay quiet and hide in corners. She hates danger, and does all she can to avoid it. Appearance: Maria is around 5'4", almost too thin, and with very thin limbs. She's very insecure about most aspects of her personality, including her weight, which she believes is too low, and her face, which is pointed and decidedly man-like. She has bright red hair that she wears at shoulder-length. She has bright green eyes. When she does leave the house, she covers up as much as possible, wearing huge jackets and scarves even in the summer. Biography: Maria is Edward's room-mate. They met at a bar when Edward first arrived at the city and was looking for love in all the wrong places. She was dragged there by her friends and he was only there because there was nowhere else, so they were both intensely uncomfortable. They got to talking, she found out he was gay but they enjoyed each-other's company and she needed somewhere to live so it turned out well enough. She's unemployed but works with him on repairing his outfit when it gets damaged. She's very introverted and rarely leaves the house, but Edward doesn't mind because he cares about her like a sister. She was born in Epic city and has lived there all her life, she isn't uncomfortable with the High's dominance of all parts of the island in any manner, even if she did, she's too agoraphobic to do anything about it, though she's trying to come out of her shell. She was kicked out of her home at 18 by her old fashioned parents, and was homeless for two years, living off of what friends she had before meeting Edward.[/hider] [hr] Player Character Sheets: [Hider=Epic CS]Name: (Birth name. Usually secret for most Epics and Freaks.) Epic Identity: Age: (Epics and Freaks may not be older than 30) Faction: Epic Ability: (Your supernatural ability. If you have a minor, unnoticeable ability but act normal, you're still an Epic) Weakness: (What removes your powers?) Personality: (quirks, anything different) Appearance: (usual clothes, mutation, special costume) Background: (Essentially Vital Stats and Notable History)[/Hider] [Hider=Freak CS]Name: (Birth name. Usually secret for most Epics and Freaks.) Freak Label: Age: (Freaks may not be older than 30) Faction: Freak Ability: (Your supernatural ability. If you have a minor, unnoticeable ability, you're still a Freak) Mutation: (Short description) Weakness: (What removes your powers? Doesn't remove Freak Mutations) Personality: (quirks, anything different) Appearance: (usual clothes, mutation, special costume) Background: (Essentially Vital Stats and Notable History)[/hider] [Hider=Normal CS]Name: (Birth name) Alias (if any): Age: Faction: Normal Personality: (quirks, anything different) Appearance: (usual clothes, general appearance) Background: (Essentially Vital Stats and History)[/Hider]