Hound55

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel & DC Comics RPG

I just wish he had edited out "Les Wein" at the bottom with his username, instead.

@Retired

Who do you think I am? @Lord Wraith? @Master Bruce? Someone who isn't a complete basketcase with coding and images?

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel & DC Comics RPG

BACK! BY POPULAR DEMAND!

---

Character Application:

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L

THE BLUE BEETLE

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

T E D K O R D ♦ E N G I N E E R / V I G I L A N T E / H E R O / C . E . O / B L O C K B U S T E R M O V I E M E M B E R
♦ B O S T O N , K . O . R . D E A S T D I V I S I O N / “ T H E E M B A S S Y “ , M A N H A T T A N , N E W Y O R K
♦ K O R D O M N I V E R S A L R E S E A R C H & D E V E L O P M E N T / S U P E R B U D D I E S

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

---

“My greatest strength is an unfocused mind. This is because while you are all thinking of one idea, I’m thinking of five different ideas. My greatest weakness however is an unfocused mind. This is because while I’m supposed to be thinking about one thing, I’m actually thinking of five other things.”

Ted Kord is the pre-eminent astronomical engineer on Earth. He's also one of the most brilliant engineers in general. Unfortunately, he has been forced to swap his labcoat with a suit in order to take over the Chief Executive Officer role at the Research and Development company his father built, due to his rapidly declining health.

Gifted with an eidetic memory, more money than sense and that engineering brilliance he was inspired by a growing number of superheroes to try his hand at going down the same path.

After being publicly put in the spotlight, saving numerous lives during a crisis of some kind, Ted Kord chose to ride his wave of popularity to form his own privately funded Superhero team, called "The Superbuddies" which would combine human and metahuman/mutant heroes to show that collaboration across such lines was possible. Headquartering in New York, at a facility he designed called "The Embassy", the Superbuddies have become something of a joke in a Justice League/Avengers world.

Still, that won't stop Ted from throwing his weight around to do good. "Hey! That was another fat joke, wasn't it?" I don't know what you're talking about. "Alright, but I'm watching you."

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

---

Ted's foremost motivation is to help. Almost to the point of naivete. He loves the idea, the notion of being a hero, which he got from watching his uncle Dan Garrett's Saturday morning superhero show "The Blue Beetle Power Hour" which has had the greatest influence on his life.

His goals are to make his private superhero group the Super Buddies a success, keep his father's legacy Kord Omniversal Research and Development - of which he is the CEO - growing strong, and maintain his relationships with his friends and loved ones. He's a good, yet brilliant, simple man leading a complicated life.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

---

Character and Equipment

Character and Equipment:

Ted Kord – Good natured and affable, unfocused yet brilliant. Ted Kord possesses an eidetic and photographic memory, the ability to demonstrate great logic and deductive reasoning and a love of film (particularly Bond and Mission: Impossible movies). Ted was a gymnast in high school (and a few pounds lighter, but hey, who’s judging…) which plays a heavy factor in his agility based hand-to-hand fighting style.

The Bug – Originally designed by Ted as a prototype for potential space travel (young Ted set his mind to Mars as NASA first began sending probes and rovers) it has since been repurposed for his foray into superheroics. Mimicking the series Star Trek: Enterprise, Ted found a way to provide shielding by magnetizing the airship’s hull. He also found ways to electrify the outer shell to protect it from unwanted boarders. Capable of withstanding the pressures of the deepest sea trench or space travel, the mostly solar-powered Bug is at the bleeding edge of modern crimefighting vehicular technology and Ted’s pride and joy. It’s also controllable by remote, capable of flying or hovering on auto-pilot without Ted needing to be at the helm.

The BB gun – Ted’s primary defensive weapon, the BB gun is capable of emitting either a blinding flash of light, a strong compressed air blast, or a single five second deafening sonic screech. The BB gun is also powered by solar charged battery cells that Ted keeps on his person.

Ted also has access to a ridiculous array of self-invented gadgetry and gimmicks, although most are limited in use and would require the foresight and planning to bring them to utilize.

The Superbuddies

The Superbuddies

This will be expanded upon after my first arc with available characters - I don't want to take too many off the board without giving people a chance to apply for them.


Maxwell Lord – A former CEO for a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company, Maxwell Lord acts as a figurehead organizational leader planted by Ted Kord as a front for explaining where the money has come from in return for a share of the revenue streams. Unscrupulous and money-grubbing by nature, he can be quite a stringent taskmaster in keeping the team on mission to preserve their brand as heroes which makes up his mealticket.

_{BOOSTER FRIGGIN' GOLD!}

– A schmuck from the 25th Century. Also happens to be Ted’s best friend, if only because he knows him personally in both his chosen identities. When he was younger he was sent back in time to ruin Ted’s life and send him on a trajectory that would teach him humility under the pseudonym “Carter Johns” by a person whose identity has thus far not been revealed… Neither he nor Ted knew this purpose at the time. He merely thought he’d met a new best friend.
The two became reunited in Year Three of this game’s continuity, after he grew bored with his dead-end job as a security guard at the Metropolis Space Museum, stole a bunch of superhero artefacts and decided to try and make something of his life in a simpler time. He’s barely held in check by the supervision of Skeets – the security/automated tour guide of the museum that took the trip with him.

He brings chaos to Ted’s life, but also friendship. But also chaos. Even for Ted’s already fairly chaotic lifestyle. He brings chaos.


Ice – Tora Olafsdotter was formerly a security officer for a branch of S.H.I.E.L.D known as the Global Guardians, who dealt with providing security for foreign dignitaries and private citizens of international importance. She was fired from this S.H.I.E.L.D branch before the advent of the Avengers, which may have put her skills to other use. She also happens to be Ted’s girlfriend. And a metahuman. Which is not why he dated her. I mean, not that that would be an issue for him not to either. Because he is not a bigot. She is cute, looks amazing in a cocktail dress, and can tolerate Ted’s more irritating quirks which previously subjected him to the single life (which may be a metahuman power in and of itself…). Ted has zero complaints.


Fire – Beatriz Da Costa was Tora’s best friend and almost like a bigger sister for her when the two worked previously for the Global Guardians. She barely tolerates Ted and trusts that this whole thing will soon end once Tora comes to her senses, sees him for the geeky dork he is and dumps him for someone better suited to her. She is extremely open and comfortable with her own body and sensuality, which makes Ted wrap a towel around himself anytime the team uses the on-site pool. She is extremely protective of Tora. She secretly enjoys the excitement of the Superhero lifestyle, but would never admit as much to Ted.

Kord Omniversal Research and Development Board Members and Relevant Employees

Chief Executive Officer - Ted Kord
Chief Operations Officer - Jeremiah Duncan
Chief Financial Officer - Veronica Sinclair
Chief Marketing Officer - Randall Truman
President of K.O.R.D East Division (based in Boston) - Melody Case
President of K.O.R.D Central Division (based in Chicago) - Curt Calhoun
President of K.O.R.D West Division (based in Pasadena) - Conrad Carapax

Secretary to the CEO - Angela Revere
Head of Cybernetics/Electronics/Online Security - Murray Takamoto

S A M P L E P O S T:

---

Sample Post:

Let’s get the morbid stuff out of the way first. All things being equal I’d rather not drag you through that at all - it’s not really my way - but if I didn’t mention it you’d probably blow it up to be a whole thing that’s bigger than it is. Claim I’m living in denial. Escapism or whatever. In this case it really is nothing but a river in Egypt.

I don’t really forget things. I mean, ever. I can still remember my mother and I haven’t seen her since my parents split when I was 3. And I mean REMEMBER her. Down to the fine lines and slight wrinkles of the face. The slight signs of crows feet that by now would surely be fully formed from a few decades time now passed. If you gave me a lump of clay, given enough time I could come up with a pretty good facsimile - soldering and working with nanotech gives you pretty steady hands - because it’s burnt in there. Saved to disk.

So yeah, “Wah, poor little rich boy barely got to know his mother”, that’s where I’m going to start with this. I mean, it’s not the sum total of the morbid stuff that I’m talking about, but I guess it informs on a fair bit of what I do, I guess. Or something.

And don’t worry, this isn’t that kind of story where we pan back out and I’m lying on a psychiatrist’s lounge saying all of this. Even if it feels like that right now. I just believe in laying it all out there up front, so then we don’t need to dwell on it anymore. We can get on with life. Life which is fun, crazy, beautiful, exciting and full of surprises.

I’m not normally this depressing either, trust me…

Actually, you know what? Let’s roll with some life first, and then come back to this. I already feel weird, and like I’m laying all my problems on you too thick as it is.

---

K . O . R . D . E A S T D I V I S I O N - C O N F E R E N C E R O O M 1

---

^{Present Day | Boston, Massachusetts}

Fluorescent lights flicker on. Feminine hands lay out two boxes of donuts on the conference room table. She leaves and returns with a caterers platter of sandwiches.

Angela Revere. Secretary to the CEO. Receptionist. Employed by K.O.R.D for over a decade. Owner of two cats. Scourge of the unsolicited caller.

A man walks in wearing a tidy, conservative suit and a thin tie. He fingers a few of the donuts before making his selection and taking his seat at the table.

Abner Jenkins. Chief Financial Officer. Former mechanical and aeronautical engineer. Worked for 30 years in the industry, including previous employers Boeing and Ferris Air. Owns no cats. Has a plastic surgeon on speed dial to repair his face in case he ever smiles.

A man and a woman wander in together, but not together. Not for the man’s lack of trying. The man wears a suit that costs more than Abner Jenkins car, and his well coiffed hair takes longer in daily maintenance than Angela Revere spends on the Weekly Notices emails to the whole company. The woman is wearing neat business attire, is listening politely, but is holding a folder against her chest displaying very “closed off” body language. Both help themselves to first pick of the sandwich platter.

Randall Truman. Chief Marketing Officer. Employment History - Impressive, yet varied. Has never stayed at one workplace for more than 3 years. Wouldn’t be surprised if cats have mysteriously gone missing from his area. Has a plastic surgeon on speed dial for emotional support.

Melody Case. President of K.O.R.D East Division. Only ever worked at K.O.R.D. M.I.T graduate, attended Yale business school post grad to prepare for transition into executive positions. Doesn’t mind cats, but doesn’t have the time for them right now. Just as she has no need for a plastic surgeon.

A man in his early-to-mid twenties wanders in like he owns the place - In his defence, his name’s on the building. He spends some time considering the sandwich platter, before selecting a meatball sub with cheese and grabbing a donut for when he’s done. He sits himself at the head of the table as is expected of him, even though he’d be perfectly happy sitting on the side like everyone else.

Ted Kord. Chief Executive Officer. Only ever worked at K.O.R.D… except for a paper route his father made him take when he was a boy. Did not attend M.I.T. Between cats at the moment. Once got told he could “do with a tummy tuck”, but we don’t mention that.

Angela fiddles with the remote and the conference call equipment to make sure that both are working, and as the monitor warms up, two more executives are shown in split screen sitting at two tables elsewhere.

Curt Calhoun. President of K.O.R.D Central Division. Previously worked at Wayne Enterprises, poached by K.O.R.D as Wayne Enterprises were in the midst of a hostile takeover. Don’t ask him about cats. In fact, don’t ask him anything about life outside of business.

Conrad Carapax. President of K.O.R.D West Division. Previously held executive positions at 4 different Fortune 500 businesses. His wife owns a cat - it doesn’t care for him much, even though he’s often left feeding it and cleaning and replacing its litter tray. Highly regarded, but sometimes feels he’s slumming it at K.O.R.D even though his current title is the highest he’s held.

Finally, the last member of the board meeting comes scurrying in. An elderly man with his hands full of paper, as well as juggling a briefcase. Randall Truman makes an unkind joke, that gets neither laughs nor attention from its target. Ted takes the briefcase from him and helps him find his seat. Once he sits down in the empty seat next to Ted, he quickly sorts the paper and puts two thirds in his briefcase, and gets ready for the meeting. Finally getting back to his feet and grabbing whatever sandwich was closest as an afterthought.

Jeremiah Duncan. Chief Operations Officer. Only ever worked at K.O.R.D. One of founder Thomas Kord’s oldest friends. Has a cat, which his wife mostly attends to, knowing he’s generally too busy working late hours. Most plastic surgeons would shrug and consider him too far gone - neither he nor his wife are bothered though.

“So… we’re all here.” Ted started the meeting off. “Does Angela have to read the previous meeting’s minutes out, or did everyone read the email?”

Nobody said anything, but eyes fell on Jeremiah Duncan. Uncomfortable silence, until he realized people expected a response from him, even though the question was addressed to the room.

“No, no, no. I’m fine. Besides, this is the flagship product meeting. I think we should get to the point at hand, since it’s so important.” The old man replied.

“Fair point. Anyone want to lead us off?”

Abner Jenkins leaned forward and made his pitch, grabbing a second donut and using it as a confusing prop, waving it around with his hand gestures as sprinkles flew.

“Well, I think the common sense idea is the B.E.E.T.L.E suit. With Tony Stark introducing the world to the Iron Man armour and then promptly declaring it “Not For Sale” he’s created a unique opportunity with a vacuum of demand for a product that isn’t being sold…”

“We would have to re-purpose the suit. I mean, it’s not exactly designed for that kind of use.” Ted interrupted, considering Abner’s proposition.

“That’s true. But with a prototype that already exists, we’re well ahead of the curve on most…”

“And the B.E.E.T.L.E also doesn’t use repulsor tech…”

“That’s not really the important thing is it, though? We have a solid product that with some minor adjustments or additions would be highly desirable in the Defense force industry after what Stark showed them, and entitle us to those highly lucrative--”

“Whoa, whoa… Wait. Defense? You want to repurpose the B.E.E.T.L.E into a weapon? I’m surprised to hear you say that. I mean, that thing was your baby, Abner.”

“Well, Stark just showed us it pretty much is, Ted.”

“I thought the ‘E’ stood for ‘Exploratory’, Abe. Well, one of them anyway, not the other two. 'Breathable Exploratory Extreme Terrain Livable Exoskeleton'. I mean, that’s going to be the thing we’re going to have people wearing when we get the first people on Mars!”

“Jeremiah, finances aside, best case scenario, how far off are we from actually getting to Mars?

The old man started shuffling through his papers. “Umm-- well, that could be hard to say… we don’t know exactly what kind of--”

“Jeremiah.” The CFO pressed firmly.

The old man looked defeated and shot Ted an apologetic look. “We could maybe get a 2025 launch date. Maybe.”

“2025 is the earliest launch date. And I take it that’s only considering the business logistics on our end and not considering the fact that Mars only comes around to being at its closest in relation to the Earth every two years. And THEN it takes about a year to get there once WE DO launch.” Sprinkles flew, he was in full swing now.

“This is the flagship product meeting, Ted. We have to MAKE IT past 2025 as a business or else that becomes a moot point. Now we have something that is easily fabricated,” Abner started counting off, finger to donut, “would only need minor adjustments,” he held two fingers to the almighty donut, “AND people would ACTUALLY WANT, and you’re getting hung up on a moral issue that could keep our company from ever getting there at all.”

Ted sat at the table, hand to the side of his face in contemplation.

“We’ll table it for now and keep spitballing ideas. How about the solar panels?”

Using angular solar cells, a revolutionary new K.O.R.D patented silicon-doping system, and a far more efficient DC/AC inverter, Kord Omniversal had come up with solar panels that pushed the technology right to the edge of the Shockley-Queisser theoretical efficiency limit.

He'd come up with some pretty good solar panels, in other words.

Abner shuffled papers of his own and replied with the costs of production.

“They’re bleeding edge technology, Ted. But they’re still too expensive to mass-produce.”

“Yeah, but, maybe if--”

Jeremiah cut him off. “No, he’s right Ted. If you’re going to come at the energy industry, you need to have either something game-changingly revolutionary like arc reactor tech or cold fusion, or you need to be able to competitively price. it’s a cutthroat world to get into. I mean Roxxon alone, would--”

“Ok, ok. Solar panels are no good. Well, how about KORDEX? I mean we’re using it for this very meeting right now? You guys are hearing us fine, right Curt? Conrad?”

“Mr Kord. We’re hearing you fine!” “Thrilled to be here, Mr Kord.” The pair of telecommunicating executives replied.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Abner Jenkins muttered.

Ted looked at the grizzled old financial officer quizzically, before Randall Truman explained.

“He’s right to be derisive, Ted. The L-Pad is the dominant device across most of the world, and it’s L-isten, L-ook and L-ink software is the unparalleled frontrunner in online telecommunications. KORDEX is pretty much nothing but an in-house communications gimmick, with all due respect.” Truman explained, whilst giving no due respect whatsoever.

“Yeah, but it’s fully encrypted. I mean it’s technically superior software.”

“The man on the street doesn’t care.”

“What? How? How can they not care?”

“The man on the street would rather use Triple-L because everyone uses LLL. All of their friends use LLL. Everyone knows and understands the simple functionality of LLL. And it’s cool. They’re the market-leader by such a vast margin the runway is just incomparable. It’d be like trying to take on Coke with your grandmother’s cola recipe.”

Ted noticed there was no hesitation to suggest air quotes when calling LexCorp’s product ‘cool’, and immediately suspected his own CMO had a preference for product that was not even theirs.

“So Lex Luthor could be listening to every conversation ever and people would still rather it because it’s cool… What a world.”

“I’m pretty sure that a man as brilliant and successful as Lex Luthor would have better things to do than listen into people’s private conversations.” Randall Truman said, shaking his head and chuckling at the absurdity of the CEO’s assertion.

“Well, what else is there..?” Ted mused to himself.

“There’s the B.E.E.T.L.E…” Abner repeated, grumbling.

“Ted…” Melody began. “There’s alway the anti-car theft device.”

“Of course!” Exclaimed the CEO, as he scrambled to the laptop that Angela was taking notes on, ushered her away and began searching for relevant files.

“The Carjack Off Anti-theft and Immobilization device!”

“It needs a new name…” Randall uttered.

“That’s not important.” Ted refuted.

“It is if it’s ‘Carjack Off’...” Randall replied. “No way I could move something called that.”

“The testing phase worked great! In fact some of these test videos would work for the advertisement themselves…” Ted clicked on a video, and the monitor split screen to three panels with the two executives feeds moving to one side to play the test video unobscured.

In a concrete and steel parking garage an elderly woman is walking alone. A ‘carjacker’ armed with a rubber blade attempts to mug the old lady, who hits a button on her keys. The man is immediately blinded with an extremely bright flash of light from the key ring. The man clutches his face, and turns away from the light. Blinded, he starts to swing the rubber blade around in front of him, resorting to dumb luck in his hopes of striking the elderly lady. With a press of another two buttons a concussive sonar blast launches the man off his feet a good dozen or so feet, where he’s knocked out cold and lying on the cement. The elderly lady walked up to the fallen carjacker and whacked him with her purse, before walking back to her car. Dropping the keys before she got there, she had time to gingerly bend over and pick them back up, before opening the car door, adjusting her hair in the mirrors and slowly driving away.

“I mean, even if we don’t have a product here, we could send that in and get $500 off of America’s Funniest Home Videos…”

Another test video played. This time the ‘carjacker’ had a gun. The elderly woman pressed a button on her keys and handed them over. The carjacker ran over to her car, got behind the seat, and as he went to turn the engine over a set of secondary airbags in the car deployed, first knocking him out and secondly trapping him in a position from which he couldn’t escape. The hazard lights on the car flashed, an alarm went off and periodically a voice spoke over the top of the alarm warning people to stay clear, that a robbery had taken place, that the authorities had been called and to remain calm and clear of the scene until police resolved the matter.

“Jeremiah?” Ted asked his old COO, almost pleading that he have another viable option besides pumping out armoured suits for the military.

“It’s a good product. Compatible enough that we could make it work with most new model cars…”

Randall interjected. “And I do have an existing relationship with quite a few automakers. If I pull some strings I might be able to deal directly with dealerships.”

All in assembly turned to look at Abner Jenkins. Sensing the moment he took the opportunity to grab another donut.

“It’s not sustainable.”

“It is sustainable, Abner.” The COO dissented. “And you know it.”

“Not as a business plan. Yes, the… anti-theft device is a sustainable product for this year, but that’s just it. This year. If we roll out the B.E.E.T.L.E that could secure us for years to come. In fact with new versions, updates and upgrades it could even potentially carry us until we achieve our CEO’s Mars goal if Stark stays out of the Armour war.”

“We’re a Research and Development company, Abner. It says it right in the name. We’ll come up with another idea next year, or we shouldn't be calling ourselves that in the first place.”

“You’re crippling this company’s financial future for your own hyperactive morals, Ted. It’s a vacuum. It will be filled by someone. Might as well be us hauling that money away.”

“Not just my morals, Abe. A man who’s a second generation weapons manufacturer looked down the barrel of the camera and told the world ‘No. You’re not getting this.’ and decided to pivot away from that line of business altogether in the process. The least I can do is consider that and say ‘Me neither.’ when I have other alternatives.”

Ted got to his feet and started to stack his things to leave.

“Angela, can you make sure this food gets taken down to the engineers after the meeting?”

Ted took a beat for one more thought before he returned to close down the discussion with his CFO.

“And I don’t generally like to throw it in people’s faces, Abe. But as for my hyperactive morals, there’s another word in the company’s name besides ‘Research’ and ‘Development’. And I'm not talking about 'Omniversal'. If I’ve got to stick my name to something, I’m damn sure going to make sure it’s something I can believe in.”

---

T H E R E S I D E N C E O F T H O M A S K O R D

---

^{2 hours later | Elsewhere within Boston, Massachusetts}

Ted stood on his father’s doorstep, with a brown paper bag in hand, his tie and suit jacket were now gone and his top button was undone with his sleeves rolled up.

A man who was pushing 50 opened the door and stared blankly at his son.

“Hello? Who is it?”

Ted stood there uncomfortably long, and then furrowed his brow in concern. Just before the dam burst and the edges of his father’s mouth curled into a smile. He couldn’t keep it in anymore and cracked up laughing.

“You know, that isn’t funny.” Ted said, as he walked in the house, closing the door behind him.

Wiping a single tear from his eye, the older man replied, “Then why do I laugh every time I do it?”

“Yeah, right up until the first time you don’t.”

“Yep. But by then I won’t know any better anyway.”

“No, I’ll be the one tearing up, and it won’t be because of laughter. Thanks Pop…”

“Way to kill the laughter and bring down the mood, Buzzkill.”

“Yep, that’s me alright.”

An uncomfortable silence passed between the two.

“So what’d you bring me?” Thomas pointed down to the paper bag.

Ted held up the paper bag “Two corned beef 6 inches and a peanut butter filled donut.”

“Oh, My boy! You remembered!”

“Remembered nothing… the engineers won’t touch the corned beef. You’re eating scraps.” Ted smirked.

“Let me guess? Quarterly financial meeting?”

Ted looked to see if he was joking this time. But picked up no sign, and his concern came creeping back.

“No. Annual flagship product meeting.”

“Oh right, right…” Thomas said. “That time of year again.”

Another uncomfortable silence.

“Are you serious?”

“Look, don’t look at me like that. I’m retired now. I don’t need to know what the date is every day, alright? I don’t have anywhere I need to be, I don’t have a calendar to keep track of every day. So drop it.”

“Alright, alright…” Ted said, but the concern wasn’t going anywhere.

“So how’d it go?”

“We’re going with an anti-car theft system I started on a few years back, and palmed off on the engineering pool when I had to start the monkey suit route.”

“Really? Just a car alarm?”

“It’s a bit more than just that.” Ted walked over to his father’s fridge and pulled a can of Soder out. “Dad, Abner Jenkins was trying to get me to militarize his B.E.E.T.L.E armour into generic Iron Man spin-offs.”

“Wow. That’s sad. Poor guy must really be losing hope.”

“Yeah, he went on this whole tirade about it being improbable we’d make it to 2025.”

“Well, where finances are concerned you should listen to him. It’s why I put him there for you. But I’m telling you right now, you’re going to need to watch him like a hawk.”

“Why’s that?”

“Nothing’s more scary than a man who feels his legacy is being threatened. If he’s saying that, he’s having doubts he’s ever going to see anything become of his B.E.E.T.L.E suit, and I have to tell you… that thing is a design work of art.”

“Well, I’m trying. Sometimes you’ve just got to live with finding a way to get on base until that fat, juicy one comes sliding across the inside of the plate for you to put into the bleachers.”

“So that’s all you had? Car alarm and Killer B.E.E.T.L.E?”

Ted took another deep swig before answering. “Had some other quality products, but nothing without marketing or manufacture difficulties to roll out as a flagship.”

“Let me ask you something… When Abner went on his tirade, how did Pasadena and Chicago respond? Calhoun and Carapax?”

“They didn’t say anything. Why?”

“Ehhh… maybe nothing. But you said ‘tirade’. Abner’s normally pretty steady. I don’t know Calhoun too well personally, he came recommended and I picked him up late during the whole Wayne Enterprises/Sionis takeover. And Carapax. Conrad has some ambition to him.”

“You left me a board filled with ambitious, power-hungry executives? Wow. Thanks Pops.” Ted sarcastically fired back.

“Ted, if I could have left you a company filled with Jeremiah Duncans I would have… unfortunately, in all my travels I’ve only ever found one. Be glad you’ve got him. As for Calhoun and Carapax. I’m just saying, Calhoun I don’t know at all, but I KNOW Carapax. Power-hungry or not, he IS good at his job. I only left him in charge of his own little corner of the world, and he’s good at that. Just don’t let him in a position where he can bite you. Because he will, if you give him a chance. And he’s crafty enough to wait for it. So if Abner was really bothered, I’d expect the two to be having some kind of discussion, if they hadn’t already before that meeting.”

“Ugh… I thought I left high school drama, backstabbing and politics behind me.”

“This is the business world, Ted. If you leave politics and backstabbing behind you--”

“--then your back is going to get some pretty deep holes in it.” They said together. “Yes. I know… I know.”

“I just wish I could have stuck around longer to help you out.”

“I know. But you did the right thing pulling the pin early.”

“If they’d have found out you have early onset alzheimer's they’d have forced you out before you could have made your own choice on who to pass it down to...”

---

So yeah, I guess that’s where it is really.

Poor little rich boy with a perfect memory, can remember his own parents splitting up.

Poor little rich boy with a perfect memory had to take over his father’s business early.

Poor little rich boy with a perfect memory is going to have to watch as his father’s mind turns to mush and live in and recall every single moment of it.

Oh. And Alzheimer’s is hereditary, and autosomally dominant.

So that’s pretty much where the morbid ends. You won’t read another word about it from me.

Because here’s where the fun starts...

So remember it.

P O S T C A T A L O G:

---

Not necessarily canon, but perhaps you'd like to read:

1. “I mean, even if we don’t have a product here, we could send that in and get $500 off of America’s Funniest Home Videos…”
2. He grabbed his sky wire and looked down the hatch at the lights of the city and rooftops far below. “Well, if I screw this next bit up, at least I won’t have to worry about what I’m going to do for long…”
3. “Whoa! No-no-no-no-no-no… Don’t want to do-- wait… do I?” Ted thought for a beat. “No. Lucrative as that side of robotics may well be… let’s leave that to more… driven men. Shower, delete preference profile ‘looking for a good time’.”
4. “See!” He pointed at her. “Still the boss! Respect commanded!” The elevator door opened. He walked in and turned around. “Now please call ahead so that I can see the Research and Development engineers in my Research and Development company...” He called back to Angela as the elevator doors closed.
5. “I just realized this is the most I’ve been able to speak to a fellow scientist’s wife or girlfriend at one of these events without either her eyes completely glazing over, or outright running away and going to talk with Tony Stark instead…”
6. “Yeah, you know how it is, Hank. All these kids out there these days… All hopped out of their gourds on... Fizz.”
7. “I’m not going to kill him, Jeremiah.” He mumbled whilst deep in facepalm. “I might shave him bald and feed him each of his $5,000 suits, and the expensive Italian loafers he purchased with his undeserved senior executive salary, garnishing it generously with his own hair… but I’m not going to kill him.”
7b. Back-end of Blue Beetle/Spider-Man crossover courtesy of @DocTachyon
8. Tora nodded, and straightened up, hands on her hips. “I should get out of here. Make sure we get your B.B. Suit clear from when the police get here and do their sweep. Did I say that right?”
“No, it doesn’t work like that. B.B. gun is a play on words. You know ‘Pew! Pew!’ like the kid’s toy?” Ted said, making finger-guns.
9. “How do you even put a thing like that on? I mean it looks like it’d hurt your neck anyway, but... Oh he’s wearing gloves! Well that makes sense. You wouldn't put a helmet like that on without gloves…”
10. “That’d be right. You drive around in a hotrod like this, all of a sudden you’ve got every two-bit wallcrawler out to make a buck stepping off the curb in front of you to drop a lawsuit.”
10b. Crisis/Event Spider-man/Blue Beetle team-up courtesy of @DocTachyon
10c. Crisis/Event Spider-Man/Blue Beetle team-up courtesy of DocTachyon
10d. Crisis/Event Spider-Man/Blue Beetle team-up courtesy of DocTachyon
10e. Crisis/Event
10f. Crisis/Event Culmination - Captain America/Wonder Woman/Arsenal/Blue Beetle team-up courtesy of @Lord Wraith, @Webboysurf and [@Star Lord]
Epilogue. “Just-- please don’t destroy the universe. It has all of my stuff in it and I just got it how I like it.” Ted facepalmed.

Season Two:
1. First Post - The Embassy Opens and Ted's Hero
2. Post Two - Pool Antics and What's Hank Been Up To?
3. Post Three - Exit: The Scarab And Janet Van Dyne: New Sensation
4. Post Four - Enter: Scott Lang
5. Post Five - The Palmer MediTech Heist
6. Post Six - Tora
7, Post Seven - DaCosta Family Values
8. Post Eight - More Dan Garrett/Veronica Sinclair/Intro Terry Sloane and "A New Marketing Campaign?"

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel Comics / DC Comics Crossover RPG!

The only one of you I have met is Wraith, but I see the names stay the same while the games change. Question being, am I the only one here without a pre-made CS?

@role model

I don't have anything.

...that said, I've played as Ted Kord before in a different game and it'll be a virtually identical take so it probably won't take me much effort to come up with something.

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel Comics / DC Comics Crossover RPG!

<Snipped quote by Hound55>

Let us play villains, you cowards.

@Byrd Man

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel Comics / DC Comics Crossover RPG!

Disclaimer: Characters from ... will not be permitted. Nor will ... Similarly, villains are off-limits. With so many characters already to choose from, adding a third faction after the hero and anti-hero lines unnecessarily complicates things.

@Master Bruce

Boomerang does not care for your sneaky rules tucked away at the end there...

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel Comics / DC Comics Crossover RPG!

<Snipped quote by DClassified>

I've actually cleared my Dick Grayson concept with both prospective Batman players, so I know my idea will work no matter which ends up with the Dark Knight.

@Lord Wraith

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Hey, all! I'm back and will be returning as Miss Megaton in Season 3. Just gotta take some time to get caught up and decide how I want to merge my planned season opener with the big event...

In the meantime, I do have a casting change. Henceforth, the role of April Newton/Miss M will be played by Elizabeth Lail (You, Once Upon a Time).

Reference

@Eddie Brock

Great to have you back!

One Universe: World Of Heroes - A Marvel Comics / DC Comics Crossover RPG!

The world is in peril..? Again..?

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Previously…

Hider

Alan Coghlan walked to his kitchen and took down a cup from a cupboard at head-level, filled it with filtered tap water from a tap and downed his day’s worth of pills. He walked over to the living room and turned the television on to the news. He sat down in his own recliner, separate from the sofa.

DING-DONG!

Isn’t that always the way?

With some effort he got to his feet and, shuffling at first, he made his way to the front door.

DING-DONG!

“Alright. I’m coming! I’m coming! Hold on!”

He opened the door and found himself inches away from him. Of course it was him. That man in black. Complete with balaklava in the middle of the brightest part of the day.

“Are you going to let me in, or am I going to pick you up by your lapels and carry you inside for this talk, old man?”

Alan sighed and looked both ways down the street.

“I suppose I’d better let you in then…”

Alan Coghlan seemed to age another ten years in that moment, he shuffled back to let the masked Vigilante into his home and the pair went into his lounge room.

“Where’s the other? I don’t want any surprises.”

“He lives out the back. But it’s too early yet. He doesn’t generally wake up until 10.”

“So Grampa, the city has this-- Oh, Hi.”

Isaac raised his eyebrows at the old man with skepticism.

“Alright. You can sit down next to your grandfather. He’s got a story to tell us.”

“No. He doesn’t.” Alan said stubbornly. His resolve returning. Not like this.

The Vigilante’s eyes steeled. He checked the layout of the house. The old geezer seemed willing to talk, just not in front of the kid. The kitchen was isolated from the rest of the house.

“Change of plan. Your grandfather could probably do with a cup of tea--”

“He doesn’t drink tea. He drinks coffee.” The younger man stood his ground and crossed his arms obstinately. Dennis didn't care for how this man had walked into his home and started barking orders, but he also didn't exactly understand the situation.

Isaac’s brow furrowed. Even Alan was close to snapping at his grandson in frustration. But gathered himself.

“Coffee, then.” Isaac spat between gritted teeth.

“Dennis, please. I’ll be alright.”

Dennis walked out into the kitchen to get to work on coffee, but not without giving the man in black a glare.

As soon as his grandson left the old man uttered “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. You have as long as it takes water to boil to tell me why in the Hell I saw an old former hero associating with the known terrorists behind the Pax Metahumana bombings. So you’d better make it good.”

Isaac sat in a red velvet antique chair that gave him the angle on both the kitchen and the old man. He leaned forwards onto his haunches so his face was inches away. He wanted to be close enough to read every tick, every involuntary wrinkle, any possible attempt at deception crossing the old man’s face.

“Well… it all started in the winter of 1929…”

---

The old man’s story completed; the pair sat there in silent contemplation.

“So that’s it?” The man in black asked. The long tale of alien artefacts, heroes and villains, death and domestic terrorism seemingly not enough for him. “That all of it?”

“That’s the all of it.” The old former hero confirmed.

“AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaAAAARGH!” Dennis charged around the corner from the kitchen brandishing the Golden Rod, levelling it at their uninvited guest.

“Hmph… Pointing a weapon at me. _{If only that had occurred to all of those other violent sociopaths who have wanted to get rid of me over the years…}” The Vigilante dripped with sarcasm.

“I don’t care what he did! Or what crazy made up bullshit he told you! You’re not taking him! I’ll drop you where you stand! --Sit! --I’ll put you down on the place where you are!” Dennis fumbled over his threats, his grandpa’s eyes almost rolled to the floor.

“You’re not going to shoot me.” The Vigilante uttered plainly, with a completely level tone and not moving an inch.

“Yes, I will!”

“No. You won’t.” He gave a clipped reply, his confident tone still not wavering at all. “You’re more likely to shoot your grandfather or yourself than me. But you’re not going to do that either.”

“Why? Give me one reason! I’ll—”

“I’ll give you three.” He turned to glance at the older hero to ensure he wasn’t making any kind of move, before returning his line of sight to the younger man wielding the powerful energy weapon. “Reason one, because you don’t even know if that thing can work on me. There’s a reason it didn’t prevent your identity from being revealed to me. Magic gets kind of—hinky—around me. Even alien magic, as it turns out. As far as you know, all firing that thing at me at me will accomplish is pissing me off. Which is reason 1b… or two, if you’re not counting along yourself…” The Vigilante got to his feet and started to take the inexperienced hero’s space, still talking rapidly and keeping him off balance. “…Two, you really don’t want to piss me off. I’m not some two bit street thug, bank robber or random hellspawn demon. You’re trapped in an enclosed space with me – which incidentally is part of 1c or three if you’re still not following – and I assure you, no matter what kind of training ‘Gramps’ over there gave you…”

“Hey… Hey, watch it... Move back now…” Dennis feebly countered, but the Vigilante was in full swing. It wasn't going to happen, even unarmed, the experienced vigilante was already in the process of taking full control of the situation.

“…no matter how hard he worked you. You’ve never seen anyone move like me.” His brow dropped into a scowl, and he was smiling a wide leer at the younger man. “Which takes us to three, you’re standing in close quarters. In your grandfather’s house. You fire that thing off in here and take out a load bearing wall, you’re liable to bring the damn roof down on ol’ Pops… and I can’t have that. Because I came here for the truth and he’s been giving that to me, and still has some to go. And since you’re being so polite and letting me talk, I’ll throw in a fourth reason for free...”

“Wha—”

“--Because you’re not holding the damn thing anymore!” The Vigilante looped a length of material - the couch protector from the chair he’d previously been sitting in - around the younger man’s wrist, and with a single flourish ripped the Golden Rod out of his grasp, and tossed the device along with the balled up material into the corner of the room.

Dennis watched the Golden Rod fly out of his grasp in horror.

“Well, I’ve seen enough.” Said the old man from his chair. “You took it from him. Far as I’m concerned, you should keep it.”

Dennis looked aghast, unable to even formulate words. He ran out the back door to his own place.

The Vigilante turned to hold out a hand to stop the younger man, but he was already gone, so he turned back to the older man. He pulled his balaklava off of the bridge of his nose in frustration. This family was stress and anxiety given human form.

“I can’t. That wasn’t just some bullshit line. The same reason it didn’t keep your identity safe from me is the same reason I probably wouldn’t be able to get it to work. Far as I can tell it works from a combination of alien technology and alien magic.” He explained.

“Oh…” Was all the older man was able to muster as a reply. They both looked to the door the younger Aquilifer had left through.

“That’s really all you were left to work with?” The Vigilante growled.

“Yep.” Alan Coghlan responded with deep resignation. The old man clearly very economic with his words.

“I guess we’re lucky you didn’t gift-wrap those Pax Metahumana nutbags an entire meta-nuke arsenal to carpetbomb the whole fucking world…”

---

The Vigilante shuffled through discarded beer cans, this time in someone else’s house. It wasn’t as pleasant a change as you might think.

“Look… just… Leave me alone for now.” Came a low mumbling. “I’m fine. Just not at the mo-- Oh. It’s you.”

“It’s me.” The Vigilante confirmed.

“What? Come to kick me out and take my home too, huh?” Came the sullen response.

“Well, the place has got a Hell of a view from the back stoop… He pointed to the back door which still hung directly over the cliff face, overlooking much of Lost Haven.

The younger man turned to snap at him with a heavy scowl crossing his face.

“--I was joking.” The flat monotone from the voice modulator gave away nothing.

“You didn’t seem like the kind to joke around.

“Yeah, well… The moment seemed to call for it.”

The pair sat in uncomfortable silence for several seconds. Birds tweeted in the bright light of day from outside of Dennis’ place.

“I’m not taking the thing from you. I wasn’t lying about my deal with magic. I almost certainly wouldn’t be able to get the thing to work-- Hell, if the thing wouldn’t immediately break if I even trie--”

“That’s not the point though, is it? He doesn’t even know you. Hell, he doesn’t even trust the hero-types who dress themselves all in black. I’ve heard him say stuff about you before...” The Vigilante raised his brow behind the mask in moderate surprise. “...when you were on the TV.”

Isaac remembered the regrettable public display he made during D-Day, and the press van which had been filming him and grunted his distaste at the memory.

“But it's not even just that. He knows you five seconds, someone he previously distrusts, and immediately hands it over to you. Without even asking. I try to keep you from hauling him off to prison for... whatever he’s supposedly done--”

“Aiding and abetting terrorists.” The Vigilante flatly replied.

“--aiding and abetting terrorists. Dennis gestured at the Vigilante for his answer. “And he gives some ridiculous story that’s obviously never going to believed by anybody--

“Actually, it's the truth.”

“--that’s actually the truth and was completely believed by you… Wait, what?”

“Your grandfather was telling the truth. At least as far as I can tell… But that sounds like something for the pair of you to work out between yourselves later. He was definitely keeping that from you. Regardless how it affects the pair of you, I don’t plan on hauling him off to prison… there’s too much to prepare for, now that we know these aliens are coming to invade.”

Dennis’ eyes glazed over. “I’m sorry… How much money are you expecting to receive back from Nigerian royalty? You believe his story? I don’t even believe his story. You believe in aliens???”

“I believe in THESE aliens, yes.”

“Oh-kaaaay. Well then, I guess I’m sorry I was pointing the Golden Rod at you then.”

“It’s OK. You weren’t going to shoot me.”

Dennis scowled at the other arrogant hero. _{“So you said…”} He muttered.

“And as for your grandfather trying to give me your gig, I wouldn’t worry too much about that either. You’re thinking about that all wrong.”

“Oh I am, am I?”

“You’re thinking of it as a gift, which he bestows on people. That’s not how he’s thinking about it. He’s thinking about it like… I don’t know? A responsibility? A debt? It’s hard to put into words. He’s taken out a mortgage on the whole world, and it's coming up time to pay the piper.”

Dennis looked at him blankly. He didn’t care for how familiar this man seemed to already view himself as being with his family’s dynamics, but as he spoke about the weight of debt, this man almost seemed to be coming from an empathic place - one where he felt he could actually relate.

“Your brother actually wanted this life, didn’t he? Same with the other guy.”

Dennis sat in total introspection and an answer fell from his lips almost involuntarily as he followed the Vigilante’s logic. “Yeah…”

“So he’s already lost one grandson who actually WANTED to be part of this lifestyle. Now he’s had to thrust it on his OTHER GRANDSON who never asked for it, right when these aliens are about to ‘close the deal’. Aliens who he has seen and experienced obliterate EVERY opposing force they’ve ever stood against. And you’re going to blame him if he tries to throw it at someone else he sees as possibly being capable of doing the job who happens to show up at the 11th hour?”

Dennis wasn’t sure, so he sat in silence.

“Let me ask you this… Have you made it clear lately that you actually want this? Or are you just mad that he’d give something you feel you’re owed away without even asking?”[/color]

Dennis thought about this as well. The pair sat and shared another extended awkward silence.

“I think I had better have a long discussion with the old man…

“I think you had.” The Vigilante stood up, his feet dropping back through the metal detritus that covered the younger man’s floor. He turned and gave Dennis a disappointed look through the balaklava, the kind he normally got from his grandfather.

“They’re not all from now… I’d actually stopped drinking.” The younger man promised.

”Is that supposed to be better?” The older hero asked, wading through a sea of metal cans.

“Isn’t it..?”

---

The Vigilante started to walk back down the driveway, contemplating the meaning of everything he’d learned on this day and how best to respond to the new information, when he was met once more by the older man scurrying to see him one last time before he left.

“Wait… wait…” The old man hissed hoarsely.

“What is it?”

The old man presented a box, and gestured for the Vigilante to keep his voice down. _{“I know what you said about the Rod and magic, but I can still give you something to help. Just don’t use them publicly until… you-know-when. The Golden Rod, it sends back intel, you see?}

The Vigilante opened the box and saw a pair of metal… things. He didn’t know what he was looking at or even how to describe them. He furrowed his brow.

“What are these?” He tried to whisper, his voice still coming through the modulator uncomfortably loud.

_{“They’re Gravity gauntlets. I’ve been reverse-engineering the technology of the Golden Rod for years. Whilst the Rod presumably is powered initially by some kind of alien magic combined with their tech, these are battery powered.}

The Vigilante opened the box again and saw how they’d be able to fit over his gloves.

“Ah.”

_{“They’re currently pre-set to 10x regular G-force, but they’re adjustable. Hit the button as you’re throwing a punch or throwing something and it artificially affects the mass being thrown. If you press the button just normally, it’ll just feel like you’re carrying something heavy. Be careful though, it’s easy to hurt yourself… separate your shoulder.”}

“Speaking from experience?”

“Well, I wasn’t as young as I used to be...

“Hmm… Well, I gotta go. It looks like you’ve got something else painful to sort out, out back. He thumbed back at Dennis’ house behind the main home. “Or you’re going to have separated something else.”

The pair parted ways, with the old man's head cowed at the thought of the task ahead.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Join us in our CAH Chatroom

Catch up on the events of Season 1:
and now Season 2

@nitemare shape