Mutants & Masterminds: The Indigo Children - [Prologue] Shirayuki

[Shirayuki]

Melissa sat alone in Central park. Her friends hadn't shown up and she had spent the day just enjoying being outside and not in the theater. She loved the theater sure enough, but every now and then it was nice to get away. As the sun was setting she decided it was time to head back home, and packed up her books. She wore a pair of fake reading glasses and her hair was pinned up at the back of her head. She had her plain looking coat and casual attire, painstakingly assembled to make her virtually indistinguishable from any other woman who liked to to read peacefully in the park, and began heading home.

She began walking back across the park to her home on the North side, Thie gilded cage her father had given her after her first major leading performance. It was a nice Apartment, near the top of the building with a good view of the park and the city. It would be a quiet night tonight, one with no suprises. She'd finally get a well deserved rest. She happily thought about her huge bathroom and the near jacuzzi-sized bath that awaited her. It would be a good night.

[jameson (ST)]

The sunset in New York was a good hour or two earlier than it would be elsewhere, but the tall skyscrapers brought the horizon to new levels the further inland one was on the island. Central Park was still relatively safe during the daytime, the police made sure of that, but at night the city as a whole became more dangerous and in the park it was too easy to hide amidst the trees to keep proper order.

Melissa saw the sun still but it was half obscured by buildings and long shadows stretched from west to east like the dark claws of some malevolent being. Her pace quickened as she saw some less than savory types loitering at the edge of the cleared space. They'd been there for some time, watching, waiting perhaps. Now as the dark fingers of shadow crept across the ground they grew emboldened. Melissa clutched her book tightly and kept her eyes forward as she made her way home.

[Shirayuki]

She'd stayed a bit later than she thought. She made her way quickly through the park, staying as close to the lights that were coming on one by one. It would be bad if she were recognized, even worse if both that and she had to use her abilities.

She was annoyed with herself for staying to long, and even more so, annoyed with the city for being so unsafe. Her grandparents had told her stories of what the city was like in the forties and fifties. It wasn't perfectly safe, but at least people could walk around without too much worry.

Subconsciously her fading mood was chilling the air around her, as an attempt to keep people away from her. Nothing major though. She was agitated, and it was starting to show in her face, her frown of displeasure at the whole affair the most obvious sign.

"Honestly, it used to not be like this."

[jameson (ST)]

The effect was slight, her breath came in puffs of white, the ground and object around her started to gather tiny flecks of frost. She hurried on, the path wound at a leisurely pace but straying off would put her closer to the ever deepening shadows under the trees. Behind her Melissa heard one of the youths make a cat call, others shouted comments.

She spared a look over her shoulder and found a small group of four young men following her. They wore gang colors and though she didn't know what any of it meant in a specific sense she knew what it meant in a general sense, that she was in trouble if they caught her. That was only reinforced by the content of their shouts.

[Shirayuki]

She didn't start running to her credit but she did pick up her pace. She consciously decreased the temperature around her another ten degrees, silently wondering if they'd even notice. She hated men like these, and if one of them touched her they would regret it.

[jameson (ST)]

Evidently they noticed the sudden chill because the next thing one of them shouted was, "Hey baby, its getting cold out here, why don't you let us keep you warm?!" Hardly inspired but it did its job in burrowing just a little further under Melissa's skin. However rather than unnerve her it helped to set her resolve. She kept her pace up and kept moving, as soon as she got to West 110th Street she'd be fine. She kept telling herself that everything would be fine.

Melissa glanced over her shoulder at the three punks. She found they'd quickened their pace and were closer now, and gaining. She broke from a fast walk to a slow jog and as she turned away from them again she had only a moment's warning before she collided with a man who'd been standing in the path. Her books went one way, she went the other, and the man offered hardly more than a grunt as she rebounded from him.

[Shirayuki]

Careless. She was going to be caught now. Her manners took over as she tried to salvage things. "Pardon me sir, my apologies." She quickly made to gather her books, the temperature around her dropping another twenty degrees as her mood worsened. She wasn't scared of the thugs so much as she just wanted to avoid a fight. This was supposed to be a nice and peaceful day.

She had to get moving again and fast, the guys who'd been chacing her were almost on her now.

[jameson (ST)]

"Naw baby, don' think nuthin' of it. I'm sure you can make it up ta me if ya try real hard." Melissa looked up and realized the the man she had run into was wearing the same gang colors as her three pursuers. He had one of her books in his hand and the other was already reaching out to grab hold of her.

[Shirayuki]

"Don't Touch me!" She dodged around him trying to avoid the brewing catstrophe. Her shout was loud enough for everyone to hear. In a quieter voice "Keep the book, you might like it."

This was very bad, and now she was outnumbered 4-1.

[jameson (ST)]

"Oh ho! Little missy doesn't want comp'ny? It's cold out here, you sure you don't want some help stayin' warm?" He scooted into her path and bought his comrades time to catch up until shortly they ringed around Melissa making catcalls and half hearted grabs at her ass and breasts.

[Shirayuki]

"Hands off!" Surrounded she quickly began to scowl. The temperarture around her was already 30-40 degrees colder than elsewhere. Her breathing came out as white puffs of vapor and She looked at the most dangerous of the group. "I guess you're not going to listen to me."

Ice seemed to surround her, forming from moisture in the air, and Ice began to coat the hood she'd singled out, giving him seconds to act before he'd be completely encased in ice.

Click to reveal..

activated forcefield (free action)

Cold control (snare) automatically hits her target withn perception range. "Does he still get his save against it if it autohits? Will edit if need be... Rank 5 snare

[jameson (ST)]

Water vapor deposited onto the goon in a flash solidifying into chunks and slabs of ice. "Wh-wh-what-t-t t-th-the f-f-fuck?" he asked through chattering teeth as the cold bit into his flesh. One of the other three took a quick appraisal of Melissa and took off at a run while the other two moved in, the first leveling a backhand slap to her face while the other attempted to grab her for a grapple. Their timing was in opposition and the gang member's grapple brought Melissa out of reach of the other, his hand missing her face by a mile.

Click to reveal..

Reflex +1 vs Dc 15

(19:57:27) ChatBot: (jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 11.

Fail by 3 = Entangled (-2 def, attack, -4 Dex)

Strike +2

(20:16:40) ChatBot: (jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 1.

MISS!

Grapple +2

(20:16:43) ChatBot: (jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 20.

HIT!

Grapple Check +4

(20:18:44) ChatBot: (jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 6.

Result = 10

[Shirayuki]

Melissa scowled as the hood got ahold of her, and struggled to break free of his grasp, succeeding handlily. Shelooked at the two unfrozen men and scowled. This was not how she'd wanted her evening to go.

She reached to the water vapor in the air commanding it to freeze around the thug who'd tried to slap her, hoping to freeze him as well.

Click to reveal..

1d20+str+Atk for breaking grapple

(20:36:46) ChatBot: (Shirayuki) rolls 1d20 and gets 18. success

Snare is autohit dc15 reflex save to avoid entanglement

[jameson (ST)]

The gang danced backwards and to the left as more ice condensed out of thin air. Chunks coalesced on him but quickly broke off or simply failed to hinder his movement. With a scowl he ducked in quick, his fist balled and went for a stomach punch that missed Melissa as she pushed away from the second man.

The grappler took a half step forward and lashed out with a kick in aggravation, "Damnit chicka, you're makin' me angry!" The man's heavy boot caught Shirayuki in the gut sending her stumbling back with a grunt. Meanwhile the third man continued to struggle against his icy bonds.

Click to reveal..

Reflex +1 vs Dc 15

success

Strike +2

(10:41:07) ChatBot: (Jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 2.

MISS!

Strike +2

(10:42:47) ChatBot: (Jameson) rolls 1d20 and gets 20.

CRITICAL HIT!

Damage DC = 15+2+5 (crit. bonus) = 22!

(10:46:13) ChatBot: (Shirayuki) rolls 1d20 and gets 8.

Spends a hero point

(10:59:15) ChatBot: (Shirayuki2) rolls 1d20 and gets 13.

13+7 = 20

ail by 2 = Bruised

[Shirayuki]

"I don't have time for this." She exteneded her hands and the wind began to howl, and soon a localized blizzard began to form around them obscuring their sight and hearing with roaring wind and snow. She quickly made her way out of the blizzard and began moving for the park Exit, looking to get as far away as she could quickly.

Click to reveal..

activating Blizzard, creating a localized blizzard of wind and snow around her 100 feet across grants total concealment and running away due to selective, she everyone within but herself.

When she finally made it to the exit she got profoundly lucky and hailed a cab. She paid the extra to take the long way home, wanting to throw the goons off on the off chance they'd made it out and tipped the Cabbie abit extra for his time and patience with her.

Finally she had made it home and after a boring elevator ride made it to her floor and room. She could almost feel the warm water of her bath. "This is gonna feel so good..."

[jameson (ST)]

In the park three men stumble out of the improvised blizzard as it begins to die down. Snow covers them all and one of the three wears hunks of ice like he'd broken free of a block just prior. An area a hundred feet across is covered in white that stands in stark contrast to the brown grass around it.

"What the hell? You think that girl was-" the one still breaking ice from his clothing was cut off as a figure stepped out from an unmarked black van, the kind of van the mob used to disappear people, the kind that was conspicuously inconspicuous.

The sun had fallen below the level of the horizon and only the sullen afterglow colored the deep west sky. The streetlights in the park were only fifty percent intact, and of those only fifty percent worked. The man stood in shadow illuminated by the cast off glow of lights that were nowhere near the general area. Deep shadow obscured his features and his clothing, but did nothing to obscure his voice. "That the girl was what?" he asked them.

"None of your business man, piss off."

The figure raised his arm, draped as it was in shadow only the gleam of the gun in his hand offered warning. There was a dull cough, an almost polite sound, and the ice-clad gang member fell to the grass. "What was it that you think that girl was?"

"H-h-hey man, we don't want no trouble. The chick man, she was protected by ice and snow." The tall one held his hands out, they were empty, beside him the thicker one did the same and nodded in agreement.

"You're sure it was her that did it?" They nodded. The man shook his head, "Another mutant like Apex."

"Yeah man, some kind of freak like Apex. She ... she wore ice like some kind of suit man!"

"Tell me, how would you like jobs?"

"Doin' what?"

"Fighting back."

[Shirayuki]

The bath was relaxing, and indeed what she needed after the events in the park. The phone rang, bringing her from her Revierie and she got out to get it, quickly wrapping a towel even as she grabbed a phone. "Hello" It was one of her costars from the play, Alexa. "Would you like to go catch a show tonight? I was thinking about taking in a movie."

She nodded. "Yeah that will be fun, which feature?" "That one with the hot guy as a spy at 10. I'll pick you up at your place at 9:30"

"Okay seeya then."

She hung up and looked at the clock, she only had abut forty-five minutes.

[jameson (ST)]

Nine thirty rolled around and Melissa was waiting on the sidewalk as Alexa pulled up in her little Civic. They quickly cut into traffic and headed for the theater. Since the event the population of NYC had dipped enough that in combination with public transit the levels of street traffic had finally reached a delicate equilibrium that avoided the insane gridlock of years before but was still busy and cluttered enough to make the subways, cabs, and buses attractive options. The result was the if you wanted a car and were willing to put up with it you could actually get use out of it.

The one flaw that generally the subway avoided ... accidents happen.

They were only two blocks from the movies when the SUV blew right through the stop sign and out of the alley way. It slammed into Alexa's car on the driver's side and sent it careening and spinning out of control and into the parked cars on the side of the road. Melissa had, barely a second before impact, turned to say something, whatever it was had been lost to pain that burned like hot iron. That last second turn of her head saved her life however. She saw the massive SUV's headlights bearing down, and, with the kind of self protective instinctive reflexes that allow a trained martial artist to execute a throw and a joint lock without thinking, or allow a policeman to draw and fire without conscious preparation, she condensed every last free water molecule out of the air. Freezing bone dry air solidified the water to ice around her body in a fraction of a second.

The passenger side crumpled inward as the car was slammed into a parked vehicle and glass and steel tore into ice rather than flesh. Blunt trauma however brutally shattered the ice and battered the woman inside. Bruises, fractures, and a mild concussion quickly followed. Luckily, at least as much as that can be used, the pain lasted only a moment before unconsciousness took over.

Continues in [Prologue] Ross & Melissa