Name: Robert Winters
Age: 51

Para Category: Omega
Threat Level: 4
Powers/Abilities: As an Omega class Parahuman Robert has two distinct abilities;
Extended Tactile Senses – A kind of extrasensory ability which allows Robert to feel things using any surface within 100 feet of him. If nothing is happening he does not have a sense of what those surfaces are or what they are currently in contact with, it does not give him a 3D map of his surrounding environments or give him any clues as to its layout. However, if something comes into contact with a surface within his range he will have a sense of where that contact occurred in relation to his current location, i.e. direction and distance. He will also be given a sense of what the surface is and what the object that came into contact with it looks like and how forceful the contact was; all information he does not have when things are still.

It is a complicated sensation; one that Robert is still growing accustomed to and one that he has difficulty explaining to others.

Imbuement – Robert has the ability to empower items that he touches with a variety of different Parahuman-like abilities, expending a limited amount of energy in the process. The abilities are varied but usually take the form of different Beta or Gamma class powers such as elemental control or enhanced attributes. The item is usually given a number of charges or a set duration for the power, depending on if the ability needs to be activated or is passive; once the charges or duration is expended the item returns to normal.

The activation of the power is something only Robert can do, meaning that the empowered items cannot be handed to another Parahuman or non-Parahuman to use unless the ability is passive in nature. Once Robert of expended his daily allowance of energy he can no longer imbue any other items with abilities until he has next slept, which seems to recharge whatever internal battery this power works on. At the same time, any items that have been empowered by Robert lose whatever power they had when Robert falls asleep or otherwise loses consciousness.

Skills:
• Leadership – Robert has been a leading figure in both the anti-Lorne groups he used to be a part of and the Parahuman Protection Society he has since joined for over fifteen years at this point. He is very well acquainted with being in a leadership position both at an operational and at a strategic level.
• Urban warfare tactics – For years Robert was a member in what could easily be described as an insurgency within Marlon, taking part in and leading operations that often brought him into conflict with the police and with Lorne’s private security. He has a good understanding of urban fighting and the tactics it requires.
• Weapons training – Robert’s experience with the group Citizen has given him ample opportunity to learn how to use a number of firearms in the field.

Weaknesses:
• Wanted man – Seen as the successor of William Grace, once the most wanted man in Marlon, Robert is also highly wanted by both the authorities and Lorne. This would already be a problem were it not for his prosthetic arm making it very difficult for him to blend into a crowd in any meaningful way.
• Power-induced headaches – With the large amount of information it can provide him, Robert’s sensory ability can at times overwhelm him. If he focuses on what it is telling him rather than pushing it to the back of his mind as he usually does it can lead to painful, even debilitating, migraines.
• Age – To put it bluntly, Robert is too old to be a rebel any longer. He is slower than he used to be, weaker, and tires more easily. Rebelling is a young man’s game and it seems like every fight is another reminder of why this is the case.

Brief History: There was a time, before Lorne moved in and took over everything, when Robert was a normal guy. He was an only child growing up in a bad neighbourhood, poor, but his parents were good, hardworking people who raised him to be the same; his dad taught him how to fix things, how to drive, how to fight and things like that while his mom taught him morals and ethic and life lessons and helped him with school work. He was luckier than most.

He went to school and worked hard, even though he felt it wasn’t his thing, because that was what he was taught to do and because he wanted to rise up out of his humble beginnings and he needed an education for that. After graduation he tried college for the same reasons only to drop out after a year and a half and enrol in a trade school instead; his parents were a little disappointed and he felt like he was disappointing them, but working with his hands just suited him better than books or exams ever would. After that he went to work in a factory, repairing machines and equipment and helping to keep the place running smoothly.

Five years later the building he worked in and the company that owned it were bought out; Lorne moving in a taking over like they did with everything. People were apprehensive about a large corporation buying the company they worked for, but there were no layoffs and assurances were made that no major changes were to be made. For a while at least business continued as normal, with the only difference being the name that appeared on Robert’s bank statement when his pay came in.

Over time however, Lorne made their presence known. New management and oversight was brought in, a Human Resources department established and filled with corporate suits, people were fired and no replacements brought in as work crews were stripped down and corners cut in important areas in the name of profit. Where before they were judged for the quality of their work, they were now being judged for their quantity; people that weren’t productive enough were fired and more pressure was put on those left to pick up the slack. Accidents and injuries became more common, as did repairs as the number of breakdowns rose and Robert and his colleagues were having trouble keeping up.

People complained of course. Overworked production line men and mechanics and shift managers who predated the takeover, they all voiced their own concerns and made their own stink about what going on and every time they received the same generic response about how they were being heard and that this was just a transitional period and how things would get better. Things never got better of course and anyone who made too much of a nuisance of themselves or who tried to get others involved, especially anyone who spoke of a strike, would coincidentally fail their next review and find themselves out the door.

Robert wished he was one of those people. He should have made more noise when he could.

He was twenty eight when a routine repair finally went wrong. He was repairing a machine that should have been replaced years ago, that had been pushed too hard, when a safety mechanism failed while he was elbow deep in its inner workings. His forearm was crushed, the limb barely recognisable as anything other than ground meat by the time they managed to free him. Of course the investigation found that he was the one at fault and the corporation denied him medical costs or compensation, instead firing him for negligence and leaving him crippled and unemployed. He blew through his savings covering the costs of his amputation and recovery and only managed to avoid homelessness by moving back in with his parents.

He next few years were a blur of short lived jobs, alcohol and becoming increasingly depressed at his current situation. Lorne, the company that drove him towards his current state and then kicked him to the curb, seemed like an ever growing presence in the city; their fingers reached into every facet of his life and the more he cared to look the more he could see their influence and their wealth. It disgusted him. It was at this point that he found other like-minded people who had similar reasons to dislike or even hate the Lorne Corporation; protesters, activists and other outspoken individuals who objected to Lorne for any number of reasons, whether they were personal like his own or simply objecting to any entity growing as powerful as Lorne had.

Robert took part in the protests from that moment on, joining the marches and waving the signs and telling his story to people who would listen, but in the face of the juggernaut they were trying to fight it was pointless. They were too few in number, their voices too small, to deal a significant blow what Lorne had become. They had entire PR departments working to drown them out and counter their message, while telling the same lies and handing out the same false promises they had always given; activism could only do so much when Lorne’s influence had reach the levels of local government, the police and even the courts.

At some point a small minority of those in the anti-Lorne group began to take more direct action. Otherwise peaceful protests would erupt into violence against the police or Lorne’s private security, vandalism and destruction of Lorne property and buildings became more prevalent and even attacks against Lorne employees weren’t unheard of as some people grew dissatisfied with the lack of progress they were making. There was one man in particular who was the loudest voice calling for greater action against Lorne, one man who stirred up the anger into violence and who organised the angriest and most hateful into a pseudo-rebellion; William Grace.

Robert was one of the people caught up in William’s growing movement, as his personal loss at the hands of Lorne made him especially vengeful towards them, and the two struck up a quick friendship. With his arm there was little Robert could do to help take action, but his story was an easy way to demonstrate how ruthless the Corporation could be at times and Robert used this to help recruit people to William’s cause. There numbers grew and with the increased manpower their actions escalated, organising themselves and planning larger attacks against Lorne’s holdings in the city, while continuing the riots and disruptive actions from before. More people meant more funding, money that they put towards weapons and equipment that they could use to further their cause. Things were growing at a dangerous pace and soon William Grace was the leader of a fully-fledged militia within the anti-Lorne factions of the city.

This did not go unnoticed of course and the group, which had yet to be named, soon became public enemy number one under the less than subtle influence Lorne exerted over the police and the mayor. William and the other leaders of the group were wanted criminals and any affiliation with the group at all became a crime in and of itself. All the while Robert remained a close friend of William’s, helping him organise his people and plan the group’s efforts. Somewhere in the middle of all this William got Robert the prosthetic arm that Lorne had denied him almost a decade ago, so that he could finally take part in the growing rebellion.

There is not much to say about the next few years other than that the group continued to operate as they had, damaging Lorne properties and assets and attempting to disrupt their operation as much as they could. Lorne continued to grow larger and more powerful and William and Robert’s group did the same as the Corporation continued to make more enemies during their expansion and how their at times heavy handed approach to quashing protests and riots was viewed by the public. It was during this time that the group finally adopted a name; Citizen, to reflect their goal of championing the rights of the common citizens of Marlon over the greed of a private entity.

In 2046, William Grace was killed during a raid on Citizen’s headquarters in which many of their more senior members were either killed or arrested. The remaining leadership of the group, Robert included, were torn on how to continue, whether to pull back to avoid further retaliation or to step up their attacks in revenge, or to continue as they had been doing. The disagreements eventually turned into a schism that split Citizen into smaller factions with Robert becoming the new leader of what was probably the closest to his and William’s vision.

Three years later the incident at the Tower occurred and Robert became a Parahuman. Lorne established themselves as a staunchly anti-Parahuman entity, even convincing the government and police to crack down on them and a new faction arose in the city in retaliation. Robert allied what was left of his group with the Parahuman Protection Society, becoming a member of its leading council and a figurehead among the more militant members of the group.

Pause: Holly has the ability to overdrive her mind, boosting her reactions to the point where the world is almost stopped for her. A second for the world would be an hour for her, for example. It allows Holly to make a new, fully thought through course of action in a position where she has more information or she needs to quickly figure out a way to get out of a sticky situation. Doing this also boosts her thought processes to match, making her slightly smarter in this time.
Limited Probability Advisement and Computation: Holly can look at a course of action and calculate her probability of managing to commit to and complete that action, but cannot calculate the effectiveness of that action. A harsh but accurate example is that she can calculate how much of a chance she has to break someone’s arm, but cannot calculate if breaking the arm would put him out of the fight or if he would just keep swinging. For the effectiveness, she has to just use her own head to figure out how effective something will be.


Escape Artist; Holly will always have a plan of escape, even in situations where everything is fine and dandy. Backing out of an awkward conversation and picking her way out of cuffs are both the same to her; she needs an out, whether that is claiming she needs to go to the bathroom and then slipping away or working out a route of escape for when the opportunity arises.
Intelligence: Holly knows when it’s time to break or if she can stay just a little longer, and has the common sense to suspect what may be around the corner without having to peek first. She doesn’t need her ability of probability advisement to know when something is a stupid idea.
Street rat: Even in places she hasn’t been before, Holly knows what a good place is to hide and a bad place. She knows the places where the cops roam little and the places that the cops keep on lockdown. She knows the druggies, she’s familiar with the gangs, and she has her badman contacts, couple human, few para. She’s street-smart.


Criminal: Though not at the status where every cop would recognise her, a cop running a check on her would probably not find an innocent girl. Because of this, Holly avoids going to the police for any reason, and tries to keep somewhat of a berth between herself and them if she sees one in the street.
Caught in a Daze: Holly can sometimes end up stuck in a daze if she is thinking too much whilst using her powers. The probability of many actions can confuse and distract her until she snaps out of it. Someone smart can stick her in a bit of a loop if she falls for it.


Nothing was very good in the early points of Holly’s life. She was what many would call born into the life of crime, under the parenting of a father and mother who mugged, stole and robbed for their lives. Her parents becoming criminals to survive was their choice, after refusing to go to university, to college, to schooling. Holly’s was not her choice - it was how she was raised. She knew that being a criminal was bad, was evil, but after she started committing crimes she found herself in a hole that she couldn’t dig herself out of - but didn’t necessarily want to get herself out of. What kept her onboard for slipping into homes was the fact that she could come out with phones and money, and she would get away with it. Sure, she may have been noticed once or twice on CCTV, and may have been hunted by the police (as well as competitors in the criminal business) a few times, but that was a part of the risk to her, a part of her lifestyle. There wasn’t a way out.

Holly found herself orphaned at the age of nine and placed in an orphanage after her parents were killed in a robbery gone wrong; the owner had been home, and he was not happy about the unexpected intrusion. It was often forgotten that she even lived in the orphanage by those caring for the children as she would spend long days and nights outside. As she grew up, the times that she spent away from the orphanage grew longer, until she left for good, preferring the streets to the stooges who claimed they were good at taking care of children.

From there, Holly began her criminal activities again - by thirteen, she was partaking in small crimes, such as shoplifting to keep herself alive and afloat, selling stolen bits and pieces from electronic shops to gangs to give herself a little money. She was barely touched by the gangs not because she was unique or of high stature with them, but because she was a reliable source.

It was at the age of fifteen that the top of the Tower exploded, and the already tactful Holly was given a gift to help her in her criminal ventures. Ever since the explosion, Holly found herself more calculative about situations she placed herself in, putting more planning into her moves. Finding an advantage came with a scare for her, however; she found that she could pause whilst on the run from the police. She had wondered if she had been caught for she could not move, however she realised that nothing else was moving, either. It took her some time to figure out that she was moving, just at an extremely slow pace, and even longer to figure out how to make everything move normally again. Once she had escaped and time had passed where she was not on the run, she practised controlling the power by watching birds and people, and then triggering a Pause so that she could see everyone and herself slow down. With her new abilities unlocked, she used them to further her criminal activities, and used them to her own advantage, not anyone else’s.

Age: 36

Appearance: Owen does not cast a physically imposing figure, he stands around average height at five feet and ten inches with a lean slightly athletic frame. His hair is a dark brown shade and at a medium length. A scruffy beard evident on the bottom half of his face and neck. His eyes are green in color, often staring off at his surroundings or stuck in thought. He tends to dress in non eye catching fashions and shades, all part of the goal of blending into crowds when he needs to. He does not carry any weaponry on him or special equipment.

Para Category: Beta, threat level 4.

Powers/Abilities: Owen is technopathic, which grants him control over manmade machinery and crafted metals. He can technokinetically mold, alter and reconstruct these to his will. For example a car could be molded into a robot guardian, crafted and twisted until its been given a humanoid shape then fights in his defense. Or he could strip that same car of its metal sheeting and mold that into a suit of armor for himself or others. One common usage of his power is to strip metals and create a barrier or a walkway. In the past he has ripped guns from the hands of opponents with his mind, then crumbled the firearms like piece of paper. He's also hacked into mechs and turned them to his side. He can interface into computers, cameras and other types of electronics and manipulate them to a degree. Highly protected and encrypted systems give him a lot of trouble. The potential upper limits of his abilities are frightening especially in a world filled to the brim with machines, metal and technology.

The power is not without its limitations or drawbacks though. He is only able to manipulate machinery, metals and technology within his vision and it must be man made. He can not control natural earth occurring metals unless they have been first crafted by human hands. He believes he may one day be able to use his powers to that extent but has been utterly unable to so far. Prolonged usage of the power or at massive capacities tires him. A particularly stressful experimentation of his powers nearly led him to blackout.

Skills:

• As a talented engineer even before gaining his powers Owen is very creative and detail oriented. He's a resourceful man with a focused thought process. As well as an intelligent, college educated man with years of experience in a difficult field. It is difficult to catch him off guard.
• Owen has taken it upon himself to learn a few forms of martial arts in the name of self defense. While he is not a deadly unarmed combatant he can hold his own in a brawl against less trained opponents.
• In his time as a parahuman he's put it upon himself to do whatever it takes to survive. He's ruthless in his ways and actions, doing anything needed to thrive, prosper and evade capture/death. Nothing is out of question when his own status is on the line.

Weaknesses:

• Other than his technopathic powers he is entirely human. He bleeds just the same as every other person.
• Owen's mental stability is in question due to recent traumatic events, the state of the world an his status as a wanted parahuman. He's much less trusting of people that he once was and is suspicious of others true intentions. He has no qualms with turning his back and fleeing as self preservation registers highly for him. He's had to resort to some worrisome deeds in order to survive.
• He's a bit of a loner, he does not make many friends or allies. His lack of trust comes into this very strongly.
• He's a known parahuman, having committed several crimes to get by and further himself. The general public may not know his face but the authorities do. While he has done nothing sadistic or inhuman he has been connected to multiple break ins, robberies and hostage takings.

Brief History: Owen was born into a poorer family in the slummier districts of southern California. As an only child raised by a single mother he had an at times, rough childhood. His father was never in the picture and he can't recall a single memory involving the man. His mother, Jocelyn told him his father took off for the east shortly after Owen was born and never heard from again. His mother worked in a factory and did everything she could to give her son a happy life. He repaid his mother's devotion for him by focusing intently on schoolwork. Even though he'd often come home bruised from being frequently bullied. He never had many friends in school, or was ever the most social of children. He'd find his sanity in machinery, a deep fascination with robotics from a young age would serve as an ironic sign of his future self. He finished near the top of his class and was given a scholarship to the prestigious Stanford University where he'd enroll in their engineering program.

The future seemed ever bright to the intelligent Owen. College was much the same as high school, minus the bullying, thankfully. He put his head down and focused strongly on schoolwork until the day he walked out with his degree. Tragedy would strike a few days after his graduation as his mother was killed in a mugging. The event had a profound effect on the wide eyed Owen, affecting him deeply for months. He'd push himself forward and get a job at AeroVironment, a robotics company which manufactured unmanned robotics for several of the world's militaries. Owen would play a strong hand in the progress and development of multiple projects, earning himself a reputation within the company and within the field. He'd move on from the company in 2042, taking a higher paid position across the country in Marlon in 2042 for the Lorne Corporation's robotic's division.

His work with Lorne would earn him more accolades, though being employed by such a massive company in a cutthroat city would change him. Still the job was good and filled his wants in life, he'd even fall in love with a fellow employee, Bethany Robinson who he'd maintain a romantic relationship with for a few years up until the catastrophic event at the Tower. Owen was struck by the wave of energy, finding himself embedded with strange powers. His experimentation with his newfound abilities both intrigued and frightened him. He did not seek out to become a hero or cause trouble, instead he continued to try to live his normal life and hide his technopathicness. Bethany never approved of the powers, they frightened her deeply. It would be the cause of several fights between the two.

After one rough confrontation between the two Owen angrily lashed out and released his powers. He shifted the inside of his apartment, molding and shaking every piece of machinery in it. Windows shattered and the door launched off the hinges as the enraged Owen was not able to control his still newfound abilities. Bethany ran away terrified, tears streaming down her face as crooked pieces of metal jutted from the walls, floor and ceiling. As Owen ran after her, trying to get her back the police were called and he had to flee. He lost his job at Lorne Corporation and found himself wanted by the authorities. Since then Owen has has had to live a much different life, moving from place to place constantly. He's begun to dip into using his powers, seeing how far he can take them, how powerful he can become. All while remaining angry at the world.