The Gifted: A Fast-Paced Superpower RP (Still accepting! New storyline beginning soon!)

[NarcissisticPotato]

Most of this stuff is for Arc 2. If you want all the information on Arc 3, I recommend heading here and posting a CS there as well. Welcome back to the world of the Gifted! This world is unlike our own and after the events of the Maybark Incident, the population of humans with unnatural powers has increased exponentially. These humans, aptly dubbed "metas", are individuals with powers ranging from the most mundane of things to being able to wipe out entire towns in a blink of an eye. Due to initial public backlash, very little is known about the origins of these powers but after public opinion on metas changed, more and more research was indulged in the field. Now, five years later, there isn't a country on the Earth that has yet to arm itself with a powerful Meta or group of Metas. Whether they serve the public, hire their services out to others or use their powers to make money, metas have become a critical part of life in this new-age of superpowers. The first group highlighted --the Heroes-- are the guardians of the common people and the main judiciary body when it comes to dealing with other metas. The second --the Mercs-- are typically lone-wolves who offer the use of their abilities in different situations, for the right price, of course. For example, a Merc could be paid by a celebrity to protect them or used by gangs for smuggling. The final group --the corporates-- are a group of metas that use their abilities to make money or become top of the food-chain of business. Each group has their differences but they're all linked by one single truth - Metahumans are driving society in a new and completely arbitrary direction. So, will you climb to the top of the business empire and forge billions for yourself? Or will you protect the innocent from harm in this dangerous new world? Maybe you can even offer your services for a price? Whatever way you choose, it is guaranteed to be a long and bumpy ride. ---

Background

May 1st, 2010: The Maybark Incident. At 3:41 pm, at the local community high school in Maybark, NC, student Joseph Brown went on a murderous rampage, ending in the deaths of three fellow students and one teacher. He was eventually taken down by local law enforcement. Normally this would go down as another school tragedy, and perhaps it would get some media attention before dying down after a month or so. This massacre, however, would go down in history books as one of the defining moments in human history. The reason behind this was the assailant's God-complex, largely fueled by his seemingly unnatural powers. Following this, publicity around mysterious, previously thought unexplainable events exploded. Dozens of individuals were revealed to also have unexplained powers, and shortly after national efforts flushed many more out. Laws were passed in an effort to control those gifted in many countries, forcing thousands to take action: Either hide underground, or make themselves invaluable. Now, five years later, the Gifted are separated into two groups. The 'Hots', those publicly recognized as having super powers and not treated as pariahs for it. Corporate moguls, public activists, and superpowered groups defending cities all fall under this category. Hots make up a vocal minority of the Gifted, making up perhaps one-tenth of their numbers. The remaining Gifted, 'Colds', stay out of the spotlight. Many try and live normal lives, ignoring their powers to the best of their ability. Some, however, spend their time as anti-heroes roaming the streets, or as private mercenaries and criminals. It is August 1st, 2015 in Los Angeles. The city is one hit hard by change, having one of the highest rates of registered superhumans. It has recently lost its protectors, a 'hot' group of heroes known as 'The Magi' after the federal government asked them to take care of their new super-prison facility, known as 'The Sleeper Facility'. New heroes have been asked to take their place, from around the nation, and a handful have accepted. Word has spread, and gangs around the city challenge these new capes. Mercenaries are in hot demand as businesses and individuals are unsure of the new heroes, while the corporate 'colds' continue their business as usual. L.A. is rife with possibilities and opportunities for anyone with the guts to make them. The city is seemingly under siege from within, and the worst is still yet to come..

Character Sheet

Name: True, given name. Alias(s): If you have an alias you're known by. Age: Self Explanatory. Affiliations: Either The Heroes, The Mercs, or Corporate. Description: Basic description of your character in and out of costume. Powers: Your supernatural abilities. Cumulatively, they should equal standards roughly meeting A Class Ranking or lower. Skills: Your practical abilities, gained through hard work or natural skill. Equipment: Any notable equipment you own goes here, including vehicles Ranking: A Rank or lower. (Optional) Brief History: A brief summary of your character's back story. Keep it brief.

Power Rankings

SS Rank: Abilities which make the user capable of taking out small cities, bending reality in some profound way, or taking control of small armies. Gifted with SS rankings often have issues with mental health, and given their capabilities, most have a Flee On Sight order. S Rank: Abilities which allow their user to wipe out small towns, move faster than sound, or can create highly advanced weapons. Generally have a large range, and are considered to be highly dangerous opponents. Most have a Flee On Sight order. --- A Rank: Gifted with A Rank abilities are able to take out city blocks with their powers, lift tens of thousands of pounds, or possess functional immortality. The lower end of this is considered the ceiling for starting PC characters. Most have a Flee On Sight order, unless risk for civilian casualties is low and suitable firepower is present. B Rank: Those having B Ranked gifts can wipe out commercial sized buildings with their powers, heal others of grievous wounds in minutes, or a strong elemental power. While still exceptionally dangerous, most have a Kill On Sight order, assuming capable personnel and low risk for civilian casualties. C Rank: These abilities grant the user powers capable of destroying a typical ranch-style home, having a powerful animal physiology, or excellent speed and reflexes. Exponentially more common than B Ranks and above, C Ranked Gifted only have a Kill On Sight order when they refuse registration and resist law enforcement. D Rank: Again much more common than C Ranked and above, these abilities are often minor but life changing, such as amazing senses or a minor elemental power. Most D Ranked and below accept registration and live normal lives. D Ranks have a Seize On Sight when refusing registration. E Rank: Almost non existent abilities. Perhaps they can light a cigarette with a snap, or see marginally better in the dark. These powers are actually rarer than D Ranks and above. Most theorize this is because most powers grow over time, while these seem to have stopped after being discovered. Have a Seize On Sight order when refusing registration. F Rank: The ones who drew the short straw in becoming Gifted. Their abilities harm themselves while offering little to no benefits. When combined with their sometimes uncontrollable nature, many live painful or erratic lives. *Note, that all of these descriptions assume the height of a user's power. For example, an SS ranked criminal would have difficulty destroying a small city, but would be capable of it given focus and determination. Basically, all powers round UP, to their maximum capabilities. **Also note, that multiple abilities in a Gifted are not uncommon. In this case the sum of all their powers are taken into account when assigning a ranking to that person.

---

Rules

1. Due to our last GM going MIA, no one has particularly stood up to the GM post. For that reason, the decisions made are consecutive and are usually decided amongst the others. 2. This is a PG13 RP! Feel free to cuss and use adjectives in your fights, but no sex! Do that via PM. 3. Yes, this is Low-Casual and up. This means post at least two-three full lines in this thread. However, I still expect clear speech, decent grammar, and good formatting! Walls of text will be ignored until reformatted! 4. No PC Killing without its player's permission. This isn't a rule I'm a huge fan of, but I will enforce it just like the others. 5. Follow any other site rules, in addition to my own. If you make it a habit of breaking rules, you will be allowed a single post to say farewell with your character, and then you will be removed from the RP. 6. Please, enjoy yourself. Immerse yourself in the story, the characters and try to do the best you can!

--- CS Examples: MiddleEarthRoze - Nightingale AcerRo - Elijah Craigh

[Eviledd1984]

Name: Dean Kycek/Jenni

Alias(s):Bojangles

Age: 20

Affiliations: The Mercs

Description: Basic description of your character in and out of costume. Out of costume he wears a denim jacket with blue jeans and red shirt underneath,He has black gloves with dark brown shoes and a gold spike earrings in his ears.In costume he wears hospital slacks wearing matching shirt with a doctors gloves and finally a medical mask.

Powers: Dean has psychic and telekinetic powers to control things like cars and medium sized objects along with smaller objects like pens but nothing like building and ships,He can sense other supernatural presences seeing ghost along with showing illusions to criminals to mess with his mind/He also has the power to project the image of his sister much like he could to summon ghost to mess with the criminals but with his sister she can kill criminals with Dean being far away form them.

Skills: Is a master knife wielder,Lock picking,A novice at hand to hand combat.

Equipment: Switchblade knife,Butterfly Knife and Lockpick

Ranking: C

(Optional)
Brief History: Dean was born a twin with his sister Jenni who was latter eaten by Dean while still in the womb leading him to have her personality and mind giving him two personalities,He was a very strange child being a kind child but when Jenni takes over his body he would kill animals even killing another child who was bullying Dean.He later became a superhero to help people much like they usually heroes would but Jenni when she takes over his body wants to kill and only kill.

[Letter Bee]

Name: Constantine Ramiel King
Alias(s): Insert
Age: 30, but looks 22.
Affiliations: Heroes
Description:


Powers:

((Old Power, Edited Out: Constantine's power is basically the power to insert himself into new situations and organizations via a specialized form of Mind Control and Illusion, which he has made stronger by attaching 'mental conditions' for said power to activate. Said conditions are that 1.) he must write up a convincing 'story' or 'alibi' on a piece of paper, basically a 'self-insert' story, and 2.) there must be an available 'opening' for him in the situation and organization that he is inserting himself into. For example, if he wants to insert himself into a Corporate Project as an executive or secretary, there must be an executive or secretary job open. If he wants to enter a story about romance, there must be a slot open for the narrative 'roles' of the best friend or alternative love interest.))

((The perks of this power are immense; with the right alibi and opening, Constantine can basically place himself into any situation or important organization, and leave them just as easily. Not merely that, but due to the fact that his power is boosted by his self-imposed conditions, he is undetectable by powers and technology that pierce mind control and illusions. However, there is a super-drawback to this power as well; this undetectability applies only to the people 'within' the story; people outside it, such as people from another project, or newcomers to said project, or, in the case of the romance story, just passing bystanders, would be immune to the mind control and illusions, and be able to catch Constantine in the act; this means that Constantine is good mostly for temporary insertions.))

((Also Retconned Out: Constantine's power is to walk into people's dreams, either for the purpose of reading his destination's memories, or to talk to them without danger of surveillance, or, most potently, reshape their dreams to nightmares. However, there are two limitations to this power: 1.) Constantine has to be asleep when using this power, and 2.) all of his targets gain the power of Lucid Dreaming, allowing them to control the contents of their dreams as well as Constantine can, perhaps even better. Which is why turning dreams to nightmares is only a last-ditch option in the man's arsenal.))

Constantine's power is to control the ability of people and electronic eyes to process images, basically, an illusion that doesn't rely on holograms, but on mind manipulation. Or, in other words, he can control what a person sees. However, this power has limits in that it cannot affect the other senses, such as smell, touch, hearing, or even taste. As for electronic equipment, he can mess with the process by which cameras and such form pictures, allowing him to deceive them, too. However, stuff such as pressure sensors, electronic listening bugs, or infrared beams aren't covered by this power.

And, finally, while he can deceive the eyes of animals like dogs, he cannot deceive their sense of smell.

Skills: Constantine is a trained spy who is skilled in subterfuge, with training in weapons, faking and hiding evidence (for when his powers are not enough), and a basic knowlege in History, Literature, Tactics, and a smattering of Science and Technology. He also knows the basics of Economics and Management, so as to further infiltrate companies. However, his main weakness is that his body is as frail as a normal human, especially to Metas.

Equipment: Guns, Surveillance Equipment, Knives, Recording Equipment, a Notebook and a Pen for his self-insertion stories.

Ranking: C - A, depending on the level of self-insertion that Constantine indulges in.

Brief History: Constantine Ramiel King was an ordinary Chicago boy whose parents ran a small bookstore...in a district where fights between the local heroes and villains were common. Despite this, he and his parents lived a relatively happy life until, one day, a fight between metahumans set fire to their bookstore and Constantine's parents were killed, with Cosntantine himself surviving because of his small size. Furthermore, the one who killed the boy's parents was one of the heroes...who promptly adopted Constantine in a fit of remorse. As you can expect, relations between Constantine and his new 'father' were not the best for a long while, but eventually, they reconciled, and it was at that time that Constantine's Metahuman powers surfaced.

For some time, Constantine was a normal Metahuman with the ability to use Mind Control and Illusions, but, as he grew older, he realized the fact that attaching 'conditions', mental requirements for him to use his powers, made them more powerful, enabling him to overstep his normal limits. At the same time, he also became involved in the Metahuman Rights Movement, and he saw the injustices facing the Metahuman community from both the Government and the Corporations. He also realized that while he alone cannot fix the world, he can make things a little better, seeking out isolated injustices and rectifying them, and fighting for better conditions for both Government and Corporate Metas; if they cannot have the same rights as a 'true citizen', then he would at least make their lives a little better...

[NarcissisticPotato]

Guys, you already posted, it's fine!

[Adjectives]

Name: Thomas Howard
Alias(s): Mara the Magical
Age: 39
Affiliations: None
Description: Thomas in his normal, original form was a tall, slender and slightly attractive man. He was looming and always smiling - his mouth so big and his eyes so wide that people often had to adjust their gaze. His neck was slightly too long and without muscle, and his thin body seems endlessly long. Before the emergence of his powers, Thomas worked a part-time office job for the government and working part-time as a magician which was where his heart lay. He wore his magician garments proudly - billowing black robes, a freshly ironed and tucked shirt, long crisp black trousers and claw sharp polished shoes. And to top it off, his intimidatingly massive top hat and dark eye mask.

Powers: Mara's powers lay in the supernatural: that is, the science too tough for humans to understand. His powers emulate Mara, the Buddhist demon of skill-less emotions and the enemy of any enlightened being. In his pursuit of mischief, chaos and sorrow, Mara's powers are completely random but often have negative effects due to his evil intent.
For instance, he may wish to pull a gun out of his hat to fight an enemy, but pull out pepper spray. Or aim to curse them with bad looks, but make them so beautiful they're murdered by stalkers.

Skills: Can type 105wpm, owns two double-jointed thumbs and can play 'Nearer my God to Thee' after spontaneously learning it on violin at a very chocolatey Greek wedding.
Equipment: Magical top hat and wand.
Ranking: A or above? Eeek.

Brief History:
By the age of thirty, Thomas was incredibly depressed and suicidal. His life had up until then been completely void of anything extraordinary or interesting, and it had made him sick. He had become tired of living his ordinary, average existence and often kept writings full of suicide plans which he only ever meekly attempted. Instead of recovering, Thomas' depression spiralled out of control. He became violent and depended constantly on drugs before his mind descended into psychosis. Not long after these dramatic and sudden events, Thomas had vanished from his asylum room, leaving walls scratched with the image of a haunting black demon and the words 'Mara' bloodily covering the floor.
Since then, accounts have flooded out of LA and cities across the world of a masked magician causing chaos; turning a Greek's family wedding guests into chocolate, faking the deaths of notable leaders in the middle east and transforming royal family members into hermaphrodites.

[NarcissisticPotato]

Awesome, you're in! http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/58944/posts/ooc?page=1

[RoflsMazoy]

Hey, I kind of want to join this but I want to know what the story's been like so far and how many active players there are

Someone help please?

[Kalas]

Aster Javian

Name: Aster Javian
Alias(s): Apollo, A.J. or Jay
Age: 26
Height: 5'9
Weight: 170lbs
Affiliations: Merc (Occasionally takes Corporate jobs)

Hair Color: Grey
Eye Color: Ice Blue
Ethnicity: American-Sicilian

Physical Appearance: The easiest way to describe Aster's appearance is simply; Trouble, or rather, a troubled history. His rugged facial features tells the story of his abrasive past. His heavy-set eyes and thickly-lined jaw give off an air of menace or underlying bitterness about his person. A.J's past struggles are also punctuated by an old scar that runs over his left eye. His Grey hair is swept back, giving off a slicked-back look. If left down, his hair reaches down to his jawline and stops just afterwards. He tends to keep it at this length out of preference more than anything. Aster likes to maintain his chiseled physique and takes great care in his own bodily health. He does, however, have a few distinct scars on his body which can easily be made out to be knife wounds or injuries caused by other sharp objects. Despite this, he doesn't mind people seeing them rather than hiding them away. His shoulder-blades are covered with an intricate Edo-Japanese tattoo which extends down each arm, eventually stopping at the insides of his forearms.

Attire: Tends to stick to darker colours, predominantly black, dark greys and blues. Likes to wear standard, form-fitting tops but nothing too extravagant. He can often compliment these single-coloured t shirts with his favourite black leather jacket. His bottom half is usually covered with dark, slim-fit jeans or chinos. His choice of footwear can be anything from Converse to High-tops and anything in between. His shoes are easily the most diverse thing about his clothing.

Powers: Hard-Light Manipulation

Hard-Light Conversion
Aster can convert most forms of matter into high-energy visible light (HEV light), which he can then change into Hard-Light. This process can range from seconds to minutes or even hours depending on the size and scale of the object. He cannot convert Living Matter such as Humans, Animals or Plants but he can convert Matter that is no longer considered alive I.E. Wooden Objects, Corpses etc. After converting objects to Hard-Light, he can then re-shape them to his will to create various weapons, walls and other defensive or offensive objects.

Hard-Light Teleportation
Despite not being able to convert other sources of Living Matter, Aster can convert himself into Hard-Light. He utilizes this ability to teleport himself rapidly across short distances. The process of converting his own matter into HEV Light allows him to move at incredible speeds once completed, before re-materializing himself as Living Hard-Light. Once teleported, Aster can quickly revert himself back to his normal state of Living Matter or teleport again if needed. The maximum distance of teleportation is 30 meters. (Approx. The distance between 1st & 2nd base in Baseball) This process also leaves a Hard-Light shell of his being standing where he originally teleported from that eventually shatters and fades away.

Hard-Light Lances
Aster can generate lances made purely of Super Density Hard-Light. This means that whilst the Lances are extremely difficult to destroy, they don't posses much mass because of their base properties of light. As such, Aster can utilize these Lances as weapons in the same fashion as a Bo-Staff or he can choose to launch them towards his opponents at super speeds like a javelin. They can inflict heavy piercing damage as well as blunt trauma. Aster possesses a very high proficiency when using these Lances. Aster can also choose to charge these lances to that they explode on impact. He may only utilize three lances this way per day, however.

Skills: Aster has spent most of his life studying multiple forms of fighting including Taekwondo and Muay Thai. His Muay Thai is probably his strongest and most refined Martial Art, due to it's purely destructive style with the use of elbows, fists and legs. His Taekwondo is used mainly for muscle memory and disciplining his body so that he doesn't waste energy with his movements. To achieve this, he practices his Patterns daily.

Equipment: Aster rides a Ducati Sport 1000 as well as owning a Harley Davidson Iron 883 and a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro SS. He rides his Ducati most of the time and uses his Harley on occasion. The Camaro he keeps garaged unless the weather takes a bad turn.

Ranking: A Rank.

Brief History: Aster was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Not much is known about his childhood or teenage years but he is known to have had close links to the Gambino Crime Family whilst growing up. It is heavily implied that his father is a Made Man within the crime family and one of the main reasons for Aster's departure of New York. His registration file states that Aster Javian is an alias chosen to prevent the Gambino Family from tracking him down. Despite there being known Gambino activity within L.A., Aster has yet to be discovered for who he really is. He has, however, managed to portray himself as an Associate for the family to aid in their activities within L.A. This is so that he can keep tabs on his father and the ongoing search to bring him back to New York. His participation is such that he hasn't yet garnered the interest of any Full Members of the family, he is simply recognised as a friend of a friend.

[Mr_pink]

Interested, I'll talk to my friend about joining and get an app up probably tomorrow if not tonight.

[NarcissisticPotato]

RoflsMazoy said
Hey, I kind of want to join this but I want to know what the story's been like so far and how many active players there areSomeone help please?

Hey Mazoy! Well, so far, we've had someone break into Aperture Labs which ended in a chase. The heroes and mercs descended upon the LAPD HQ which ended with a lot of bloodshed as the Mercs tried to stop a gangster called Caro who was going to reveal every Merc in the city. Then, the girl who stole from Aperture got caught by them and is currently a few hundred feet beneath a mining platform! I'm working on Story Arc 2 for when that clears up!

[Larfleeze]

Mr_pink said
Interested, I'll talk to my friend about joining and get an app up probably tomorrow if not tonight.

The friend has arrived.
You have no idea how long I've waited for something like this...
Dibs on the magic kung-fu character.

[Teal]

Was wondering, can I try out for a spot? It appears I came late, but this seems like a fun opportunity to miss.

[Kalas]

Let me know what you think of my CS. :D

[NarcissisticPotato]

Mr_pink said
Interested, I'll talk to my friend about joining and get an app up probably tomorrow if not tonight.

Awesome! Thanks for getting a plus one, I'll take a look over your app when completed!

Kalas said

I maybe would have lessened his powers if it wasn't for the fact that we need someone who can beat Cypress! Very nice application though, you're accepted! If you have any questions then just shoot, if not then you can head to the main-post and begin on an IC post!

By the way, we have a shortage of heroes so I'd prefer another one or two!

[NarcissisticPotato]

Larfleeze said
The friend has arrived. You have no idea how long I've waited for something like this...Dibs on the magic kung-fu character.

So much attention! This is exactly what the RP needs! Also sure, that sounds like a pretty cool character to me! Throw up a CS when you can.

Teal said
Was wondering, can I try out for a spot? It appears I came late, but this seems like a fun opportunity to miss.

Feel free to!

[Kalas]

NarcissisticPotato said
I maybe would have lessened his powers if it wasn't for the fact that we need someone who can beat Cypress! Very nice application though, you're accepted! If you have any questions then just shoot, if not then you can head to the main-post and begin on an IC post!

Aha! Well, just say the word and I can write up some weaknesses, if you'd like?

EDIT:

Also, where do you want my character to be?

[NarcissisticPotato]

Kalas said
Aha! Well, just say the word and I can write up some weaknesses, if you'd like?EDIT:Also, where do you want my character to be?

Sure, some weaknesses wouldn't be so bad! You can put your character wherever you want, really. I know that there will be three more new people getting posts up between now and tomorrow so if you want to wait and start with them then go for it! If you don't then there is about three different story-lines going on, feel free to ask on the main OOC if you could drop into one of them?

[Teal]

I'm done. Tell me what you think about it.

[NarcissisticPotato]

Teal said
I'm done. Tell me what you think about it.

Looks good but make sure not to power-play using Cerebro. It has the potential to be very over-powered if he can adapt quickly in the heat of battle! Overall though, looks good to me!

[Mr_pink]

So will a new OOC be made or will we just put our apps on the old one?