Blood of Heroes - A 3rd Edition Mutants and Masterminds Campaign Setting
Earth, 2021. An alien race known as the Skree has ruled over the planet for the past 20 years, subjecting the local populace to the sadistic whims of their most brutal reign. True heroes have been all but eradicated during the Skree Invasion of 1999-2001. That or they have fallen prey to the Skree's corruptive influence and mind-altering technology. Those heroes that still survive, do so either in reclusive hiding or by battling one another in gladiator-like fashion as the Skree's amusement. Now after twenty years of servitude, a new breed of heroes are slowly starting to emerge. Fed up with the decadence that now surrounds them and fueled by their own personal desires, these young heroes have decided to try and make a stand for humanity, once and for all.
Does this new breed of heroes have what it takes to rise up against the Skree and take back their homeworld? Are they capable of breaking the shackles of oppression that bind them to a life of unwavering servitude? Time shall tell True Believers, to see whether or not these few elite individuals truly possess...the Blood of Heroes.
Saturday morning. Early. Emerging from the shadows of the stairwell to his apartment is Nickolai Tenebrous. The well-dressed man takes a rather large bite out of the sizable piece of Grenki (french-toast style slice of baguette covered in jam) held in his left hand. The man's other hand does its best to keep the styrofoam cup filled with hot tea stable as he walks down the hallway. The time is nearing 9 a.m. and Nikolai is expecting the apartments' maintenance man to arrive at any moment. Having only just recently moved into the Excelsior Arms Apartments, Nikolai is still in the stage of "settling in" to the establishment and has recently received word that it is time for his two-week walk-through to be conducted. A rather simple procedure, Nikolai was to make a run through his apartment and list all the items which he found wrong with the place prior to the his first month coming to a close. The resident maintenance man in turn, is expected to fix said problems as quickly and complacently as possible.
Nikolai continues to go over the list in his head as he nears his apartment door. The man shifts his cup of hot tea to his mouth and grips the edge of its lid tightly with his teeth as he uses the freed up hand to fumble about his pocket for his keys. Several drops of scalding beverage trickle down slowly upon the cup's exterior. His watch just now clicking over to the time "9:00 a.m." Nikolai is taken aback as he notices that the door to his apartment is already open and slightly ajar, a tiny pink slip of paper reading "Maintenance Inside" already placed upon his door.
** ardh05 **
Saturday Morning. Early. A lone figure lies curled up in the fetal position atop a mound of moldy mattresses in the basement of building-C. The muscular genetic hybrid of wolf and man formerly known as "Experimental Test Subject ARDH-05" twitches in his sleep. The genetic marvel appears to dreaming. Raspy scoffs and shrill yelps are heard coming from the unfortunate creature as he is forced once more to relive the horror that is responsible for his current dilemma. As the thing continues to dream, his body flinches and trembles.
Welcome to the game! Feel free to dive on in, describing yourself and/or merely continuing on as need be.
Trogdor? You have only been at the Excelsior for two weeks, hence the introduction the way it is. You have met the landlord and heard the name Mr. Han as being the local handyman but have yet to meet him.
ardh05? You have been hiding out down here in the basement for about 3 weeks to a month tops. You make your home in the water damaged region of the basement that appears to be left alone and ticker-taped off from the rest of storage down here. Feel free to describe whatever accident it was that caused your former pack to be killed off.
When Life Hands You Razorblades. You Make A Baseball Bat Covered In Razorblades!
Nikolai Tenebrous - he had to remind himself to respond to 'Nick,' since that seemed to be the more common form of his name here - pushes open the door with his foot, balancing grenki and tea in his hands. The pastry was the closest thing he'd found to the his preferred breakfast treat, and he was happy to have found a place to get them in Hoboken. He'd originally discovered them on his first trip to New York in a Russian bakery in Greenwich Village. But that place was no more, along with most of the rest of Manhattan. He shakes his head at the tremendous lost and returns to the present.
"Mr. Fowler?" he calls out. "Mr. Han?" Tenebrous is a man of average height and average build, with jet black hair and blue-grey eyes. He is dressed well, but not overly fancy. Right now he's wearing dark grey slacks, a black turtleneck, and a blue-grey blazer. His apartment is as simple as his clothing - clean and uncluttered. The furniture is what came with the place, as are the pictures on the wall. Only a few personalizing items give the place life: a few books on the coffee table that show signs of having been read recently, a picture of an older man and woman in a leather frame set on an end table, and a few small statuettes made of onyx and granite placed on the bookshelves. The impression it gives is of a place just shy of being spartan.
"Hello," he adds. "Have you come for the walk-through?"
As the door to Nikolai's apartment opens further, a short asian man can be seen emerging from the archway leading into the kitchen. "Hai," the elderly japanese-looking man comments, bowing slightly to Nikolai's presence, "I am Mr. Han. I come to fix things!" The man appears to be in his 60's and is clad in a khaki-beige colored jumpsuit. A large toolbox lies open in the entry hall of Nikolai's apartment and Mr. Han is currently wringing his hands off with a soiled handkerchief. As he does so, the elderly man inquires. "I currently working on sink. You do me favor? Hand me that wrench over there in my toolbox? The big one!"
Last edited by Eanwulf on Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
When Life Hands You Razorblades. You Make A Baseball Bat Covered In Razorblades!
"Mr. Han," Tenebrous replies, setting tea and grenki down on the kitchen table, "I'm Nick Tenebrous. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He moves over to the toolbox and crouches down to find the requested wrench.
"I see you found the list I left on the table," he adds, handing the wrench over. "It's not very long, I'm glad to say. The apartment is in very good condition considering," he pauses then adds, "well, considering the current situation. You must be very good at your job."
** Trogdor**
Mr. Han smiles warmly and nods. "Hai! Thank you! I almost done with list. Only sink left to do." The elderly man then takes the wrench from Nikolai's hands and proceeds to reenter the kitchen. A feeling of comfort washes over Nikolai as he is suddenly drawn into the kitchen as well. The man notices his "To Do" list lying upon the counter, everything on it already checked off save the issue of the possibly faulty water heater. Surely this old man couldn't already be done with the other items in such a short amount of time?
Nevertheless, Nikolai is grateful to see someone so diligent with their work. Mr. Han smiles from beneath the sink as he begins to tighten the disposal coupling with his wrench. "I just about done with your disposal." the old man comments, drops of grime and water dripping upon his face. "Last tenant must have tried to grind up whole chicken and made it clogged."
Whistling a happy tune, Mr. Han eventually comments. "So, you new to Excelsior? How you like your stay so far? Everything alright? Mr. Han like to know his tenants are all alright."
When Life Hands You Razorblades. You Make A Baseball Bat Covered In Razorblades!
"Everything has been fine so far," Tenebrous replies. "It's not the best of neighborhoods, I have to admit. But the apartment's clean, and now everything's working again, I have no complaints. So I'm doing alright." He narrows his eyes and looks at the list again. "Are you going to be okay with the water heater on your own? I'm not doing anything else this morning if you'll need someone to hold a torch for you - beg pardon, flashlight."
** Trogdor **
Mr. Han seems to be pleased by Nikolai's response. "Good, good," the old man comments, "Mr. Han very glad to hear that you doing alright."
One last turn of the wrench and Mr. Han stands to his feet. "Hai," the man begins, now turning on the faucet to test the disposal, "That what Mr. Han was going to ask you if you were home today." Satisfied that his work is done, the old man then continues. "Exactly what Mr. Han was going to ask you, hai!" Nikolai's garbage disposal purrs with life and the two share a nod of satisfaction and acknowledgement with one another as the old man begins to clean his hands once more with his handkerchief.
"Your water heater work fine." proclaims Mr. Han as he wrings his hands together amidst the handkerchief, "It must be boiler down in basement that bad. Mr. Han could use help getting to it and holding flashlight. We had pipe burst last winter and still trying to fix it all down there. Much mess!"
When Life Hands You Razorblades. You Make A Baseball Bat Covered In Razorblades!
"I'd be happy to help," Tenebrous replies. "I've nothing pressing all day." In fact, getting to know his neighbors and the neighborhood was his business right now. That was why he was living here and not in his sanctum. If he was going to figure out how to stop the Skree, he would have to learn a bit more about what their occupation really meant.
"I'm at your disposal, Mr. Han," he continues. "Please lead on. The sooner I can have a proper hot shower, the better."
** Trogdor **
Mr. Han bows deeply and gives his thanks to Nikolai. "Hai," the man proclaims happily, "Good, very good!" The tiny man then places his handkerchief into the side pocket of his jumpsuit and makes his way out into the hallway. Pausing to place his hand upon Nikolai's shoulder to both pat him on the back out of appreciation and get by, the elderly man suddenly staggers backwards and nearly falls down upon the floor!
Magical Awareness - Mr. Han's touch is magical! The sensations felt are almost enough to make you stagger as well. Perhaps the old man can likewise detect those emanations coming from yourself? Either way, the old man seems taken aback by the touch.
When Life Hands You Razorblades. You Make A Baseball Bat Covered In Razorblades!
Shocked by the touch, Tenebrous nearly staggers himself. But he catches himself against the wall and keeps his feet. Immediately he bends down to check on Mr. Han's condition and to offer what help he can. "I'm very sorry, Mr. Han," he says in an apologetic tone. "I had no idea you were sensitive to magical emanations, else I would have warned you." He offers a hand to Mr. Han to help him rise, but doesn't touch him, allowing the prostrate man to decide whether to risk further contact.
"I see we are both more than we appear," the mystic adds, not attempting to hide his true nature. "I assure you, I mean no harm to you or anyone in this complex. Quite to the contrary, I would defend any of you should you be in danger. I had merely been seeking a quiet place to stay away from the notice of the Skree for a time.
I'm assuming that the staggering was as much surprise as anything and that if he'd been expecting it, he wouldn't have staggered. Is that a reasonable assumption. Sort of like touching something you expect to be at room temperature and finding out it's actually pretty hot. It might not be too hot to touch. But your instinct would be to pull away as if it were boiling.
