Character Creation

Your sacrifice is appreciated, fine human being.
I always assumed 90s X-Men creators were fans of classic Scooby Doo.

This makes me think that Ultimate Instinct Shaggy would be a Nova.
I don't know what to do with this information.

Except maybe.... stat it out... ?

MEGA ATTRIBUTES
Mega-Strength (3np+1 Taint)
Mega-Stamina (3np+1 Taint)
Mega-Dexterity (3np+1 Taint)
Mega-Perception (2np +1 Taint)

ATTRIBUTES
Strength 5 [Might 3]
Dexterity 5 [Martial Arts 4]
Stamina 5 [Endurance 4, Resistance 5]

Perception 5 [Awareness 5]
Intelligence 3 []
Wits 4 [Biz 1]

Appearance 3 []
Manipulation 1 []
Charisma 5 [Leadership 3]

(4 NP Spent for 9 Attribute points)
(1 NP Spent for Ability Dots)

Backgrounds
Mentor (5)
Attunement (1)
Eufiber (2)
Node (4)
Allies (4) He's got a cult of followers that practice different forms of occult magic, they shelter him
Connections (1) He has Houngan of Vodou who is his friend and business associate.
Resources (1) He's just starting out.
Follower (5) Sigrdrifa, his TARDIS.

Armor 3
Flight 2np+1 taint
Quantum Bolt 2

So how am I looking on points here?

Don't forget endurance and resistance 3 is free
Also why is megaperception 2np with taint where all others are 3

I see about posting something for tomorrow.

Just to clarify, are we playing heroes/vigilantes? And is it safe to assume that we’re fighting against the main supers league and/or power registration act?

I know my characther is likly not working with the big supers.

I think the best way to get my guy into Murderous Mount is to have him on the run from corrupt authorities. Larynx has probably been done wrong by The Evil Four and is in hiding with the tainted.

I'd like to go with resisting the main supers.

Anyone want to volunteer to be the person who found my character and brought him out of isolation? Maybe convinced him to join the fight.

Larynx has got the soothing voice and general manipulation... but would The Horror listen to a normal-looking person?

𝙹.𝙰.𝙽.𝚄.𝚂. 𝙰𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚕 𝙵𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝙹𝟸𝟷𝟻-𝟺𝚊𝟸
Subject: Anders Dvořák (Codename: "The Horror"), Assessment Interview
Interview Date: 11.22.2015
Location: ████████
Interviewer: Dr. Adam Kettering

---

The recording opens with a black screen displaying the file number of the interview in blocky white characters, along with the following warning: Sigma Nine Clearance Required. Video presents threat of psychological impairment. Do not view without proper authorization.

The screen then changes to show a dimly lit room with no apparent furnishings other than a metal table, behind which is a bare wall. Seated at the table is a cloaked figure. The subject's head is tilted down, and a large hood obscures his face. His hands are gloved and resting on the table's surface. Not an inch of the subject's skin is visible.

The view shifts abruptly for a few seconds as someone off-screen adjusts the recording device. The interviewer, Dr. Kettering, is not seen in the video. He speaks from somewhere behind the camera. Dr. K's first few words are muffled by the sounds of his chair as he sits.

DR.K - … the first thing you remember, Mr. Dvořák?
AD – My earliest memory? (The subject speaks with a thick slavic accent. His voice is highly distorted; it has a much deeper register than is possible for human vocal chords.)
DR.K – (Nervously clears his throat) ...of your eruption, yes.
AD – At the time I became nova — what you call "eruption" — I was living in Harrachov. It a small town in the north, near border with Poland. Maybe two hours from Prague by automobile. It is nice place. Simple and quiet. I grew up there. Have you ever been to my country?
DR.K – The Czech Republic? No, I'm sorry to say that I have not. I've heard good things.
AD – You should see it one day. My hometown is at foot of the Sudetes Mountains. In the spring, the hills and forests turn a lusher green than anything you could imagine. The countryside fill with wild flowers and deer and birds singing. The Mumlava River fattens with snow melt and rocky steps make waterfalls as you walk the banks. In autumn, trees become so orange and red that the land looks on fire. It is...
DR.K - Were you going to say "beautiful"?
AD - Some might say that.
DR.K - It sounds lovely. (Sound of shuffling pages.) Now you said you were in Harrachov, your hometown, when you erupted. This was 1989?
AD - Máte pravdu.
DR.K - English, please.
AD - I said you are correct. It was year of Velvet Revolution. My country not yet independent. We were still part of Czechoslovakia, but things were changing. The Soviet Union get weaker every day. All the time, citizens protest against rule of Communist Party. Politicians embrace perestroika. East Germans travel to Prague to get around Berlin Wall, and no one stopping them. It was exciting time to be alive. I was a young man going to university. I was... full of ideas and very political. I participate in peaceful student demonstrations at Prague and Bratislava. Doing my part to change the world, or so I believed.
DR.K - And what specific situation do you think triggered your eruption?
AD - What made me the monster I am? That is what you want to know, doctor?
DR.K - That's... not how I would have phrased it.
AD - Violence.
DR.K - Pardon me?
AD - You heard me. It was violence that caused me to "erupt," as you say.
DR.K - I must confess that my knowledge of Czech history is limited, but wasn't the Velvet Revolution a non-violent transition of power?
AD - There was no physical violence. That is true... for the most part. The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia did not shoot us with bullets, but they had their novas. Novas that could crush our spirit of dissent and change our minds with honeyed words. When someone forces their will on yours, is that not a kind of violence? The Party disbanded entire crowds of protesters with tools like telepathy and superhuman charisma. But as they watched the governments of the Warsaw Pact fall, one after another, the Party leaders grew more desperate.
AD - (Subject sighs.) I worked at factory that made aircraft parts. Czechoslovakia was major supplier of high quality parts for other socialist countries. The company decided to go on strike as workers insisted the Communist Party be removed from ruling position in the country’s Constitution. Government pretend to be sympathetic to our demands, so they do not send soldiers. They send negotiator, instead. But this negotiator is a nova. A flawless looking person with an angelic face that begged to be trusted. He come in and give speech; the most persuasive speech a human could make. His words are too perfect for a baseline human to stand any chance of saying 'no'. Most of us are quickly swayed, but a few strong-willed workers hold out and resist. I am one of them. With the strong-willed ones, the nova resorts to psychically dominating our minds. As the nova batters down my willpower with his thoughts, something happens. I fight and fight as he grind away my mental strength, and I start to feel sharp pain in forehead.
DR.K - At the location of the MR-node?
AD - (Subject uses his left index finger to point directly at the center of his forehead.) Yes, it was my node, but I not understand that at the time. Headache get worse and worse. I heard that resisting mind powers too hard can cause brain hemorrhage, so I think I am dying. Pain is almost unbearable, but it just my node roaring to life. Being awashed in that nova's quantum energy triggered my own eruption. It turn out that I was latent nova, and all I needed was exposure to a quantum source to complete the transformation. In this case, the quantum source was an active MR-node.
DR.K - And then what happened?
AD - (Contemplative silence. Subject responds after a minute long pause.) I changed. I not know anything happen until the pain stopped. My eyes are closed but I hear... screams. The most primal, blood-curdling screams that you ever imagine a human making. I hear that sound many times over, from a hundred people at once. I open my eyes and see the nova standing in front of me, but he is... gouging out his own eyes with his thumbs. I still remember his eyeballs bursting; the blood and macula pouring down his cheeks. I look around and the other workers... they are facing me and also screaming. Some are blinding themselves with their own fingers or tools. Others have fainted or started vomiting uncontrollably. A few are even committing suicide: they slash their own throats with utility knives or shove their heads into industrial machinery. In less than a minute, everyone in the factory is self-blinded, dead, or traumatized to brink of insanity. Except for me. I am surrounded by blood and screams... I not realize I was the reason until it all over. But you already know all this.
DR.K - Why do you think that?
AD - Please, doctor. I do not doubt you already aware of my history. You knew my birth name. Your field agents knew enough to capture me without using direct visual contact. Czech government and European Union are sharing information with J.A.N.U.S., I suspect.
DR.K - It's true that we try to thoroughly research our targets before acquisition. I did read the file about the massacre at the Aero Vodochody factory in August, 1989. You erupted more than thirty years ago, yet shortly after this incident, you vanished for the better part of three decades. Had you been hiding all this time?
AD - After factory, I ran home. I cover my face with jacket and try to get to my house. I was scared and did not understand what was happening. My parents were waiting when I arrived.
DR.K - And they also... saw your face?
AD - (Subjects nods slowly.)
DR.K - What became of them?
AD - They did not fare any better than my coworkers.
DR.K - I'm so very sorry.
AD - (Subject shrugs.) It was long time ago. But when I saw what I did to my mother and father, I fled to the forest and stayed there. In time, I found an old abandoned church, very remote, and fixed it up as best I could. I lived there in solitude, far away from civilization. I survived as a hermit; completely alone. I could not even keep animals for company as my appearance affects them, too. Even the insects avoid me. This how I survived unnoticed for many years.
DR.K - Well, not entirely unnoticed. The Liberec Region of the Czech Republic, where Harrachov is located, has a number of urbans legends about a terrifying figure that lives in the depths of the wilderness. The stories are used to scare young children. Those who've witnessed his face say it's the stuff of nightmares. Locals refer to him as hrůza... "The Horror."
AD - Your translation is accurate.
DR.K - You could have remained in hiding. Better yet, you could have reported yourself to the government, gotten registered, and received some help for your... condition.
AD - (Subject makes a sound that seems to be laughter, but there is no humor to it whatsoever.) Registration? I will never register myself with any government or organization. If I registered, how long before I get eliminated, hmm? You think anyone would tolerate the existence of a nova like me? As a species, humans worship at the altar of beauty. Someone who reminds people of their ugliness is a problem.
DR.K - I believe the main concern regarding you, Mr. Dvořák, is the nature of your quantum expression. Your abilities cannot be deactivated or suppressed, at least not without great difficulty. You possess the power to shatter the minds of millions or drive them to kill themselves - all it would take is one televised broadcast of your face. Surely you can understand why the world's nations would view you as a possible existential threat.
AD - I understand. I am too dangerous to let live. Either I should be locked away forever or executed for the good of all. Does J.A.N.U.S. not agree with that assessment?
DR.K - I'm confident that you will be treated fairly by the authorities. J.A.N.U.S. is only holding you temporarily. You are to be transferred into the custody of the League. It's standard procedure. They are better equipped to handle your unique needs. Your ultimate fate will be decided by your fellow novas.
AD - Then you have sentenced me to death.
DR.K - So why did you leave your hermitage, then? Only in recent years have your activities caught our attention. Had you remained hidden, you might have stayed off of our radar.
AD - (Subject sighs.) Someone found me.
DR.K - Really? And who found you?
AD - Another nova. Somehow, he tracked my quantum signature and found me in wilderness.
DR.K - Do you know this nova's name?
AD - I do, but I have no intention of telling you.
DR.K - And did this nova visitor wish you harm?
AD - No. He located me because he wanted to recruit me. You should understand, until that visit, I had no social interactions with anyone else for almost thirty years. I ran into occasional hikers or hunters while foraging in the woods, but those weren't real interactions. Just lot of screaming. But this nova arrives, and he catches me up on everything. Living in isolation, you don't get much news. He explain to me the state of the world.
DR.K - Was he immune to your appearance, or did you cover yourself up?
AD - No one is immune to me.
DR.K - What was he trying to recruit you for?
AD - What do you think?
DR.K - So your aims are political? There's no point in resisting the Powers Registration Act. Nearly all of the world's novas have come to accept it. You must realize that you are hopelessly outmatched?
AD - I grew up in a non-democratic society, doctor. I know what authoritarianism looks like. But like such societies, I wield same weapon.
DR.K - And what's that?
AD - Fear. Did you know that I feed on it? I don't know if that piece of information is in your file.
DR.K - (Sound of interviewer shifting nervously in his chair.) No... I did not.
AD - The Czech government is aware of my appearance, of course. They know I am very strong. They also know that my skin is difficult to damage, because... well, they have tried. But what many do not know is that the fear and disgust of others... these emotions sustain me. They nourish me. The greater the heights of terror, the sweeter the meal. In fact, I not eat actual food in decades.
DR.K - Um... how did you keep yourself fed during your isolation? I thought you rarely saw anyone.
AD - I'm sorry, doctor. I may have lied about that. I discovered my strange diet not long after eruption. I tried to fight it, but I got too hungry. Regular food and water weren't enough. So I start visiting nearby communities. But I behaved myself. I only terrify those that deserve it. You know... murderers, rapists, pedophiles. I make many trips to bad parts of town. How do you think those urban legends about me began?
AD - (Subject leans forward and audibly inhales.) You are afraid, too. I can smell it. You hide it well, but you have been ready to shit yourself this whole interview...
DR.K - I... of course, I'm scared. Any sane person would be. Even with your face obscured, you exude a palpable aura of terror.
AD - What you are experiencing is effects of the Taint that afflicts my body. But you cannot know horror, true horror, until you see what is under the hood. What do you say, Doctor Kettering? Care for a peek?
DR.K - No... thank you.
AD - Come now, doctor. No scientific curiosity? I can show you hideousness that no human mind can fathom.
DR.K - Keep your hands down. Mr. Dvořák... don't! This is your last warning!
AD - (Subject slowly moves his hands toward his hood.) I've enjoyed seeing your J.A.N.U.S. facility. It was very informative visit. Now, it is time for me to go.
DR.K - Don't do it. Don't touch that hood. We have enhanced individuals on standby. If you try to show your face, they will subdue you...
AD - By all means, call them in. Let them stare into the abyss, as well.
DR.K - (Interviewer stammers uncontrollably. Sound of a chair being knocked to the floor.) Please! Dear God, please don't! I beg you!
AD - God is not here, doctor. Only me.
DR.K - (An alarm begins to blare somewhere outside of the room. There are sounds of fists banging on a metal door.) LET ME OUT OF HERE!!! CODE RED!!! I REPEAT, CODE RED!!! TURN OFF THE LIGHTS!!! TURN OFF THE FUCKING LIGHTS!!!!!!!
AD - Look at me, doctor. See the ugliness of the world, of yourself, reflected in me. Look at me. I said, LOOK AT ME!!!!!
DR.K - (Sounds of interviewer whimpering, crying, and gagging.) No... I... no... my mind... can't... please....

The lights shut off, and the screen goes black. The interviewer screams, and continues screaming unabated for a full ten seconds. Subject can be heard laughing before the recording is turned off. Session ends.

Well we know Larnyx knows I can get safehouse connections. Plus you know Comet looks weird. So that would be a double plus to bring Comet in.
Maybe they are transferring Horror or we are breaking in as he breaks out and I had already goten is a place to.lay low (because it would take a while to travel from where Horror was being held)
Of course you can do a couple things from there. Maybe the sagehouse we use came with the stipulation of a favor or something happens before we get to it or inbetween it and Murderous Mount.

SO many anus jokes which I will only occasionally make both in and out of character. :P

The question is: why would we want to retrieve The Horror? What's our stake in this rescue? Maybe we're all escaping from a J.A.N.U.S. facility after The Horror goes on the presumed rampage at the end of that disturbingly good flashback. We team up out of self preservation [Larynx and Comet recognizing each other is a plus] and so the band got together.

Unless someone else wants Horror out and we were tasked with getting him out. ?

I'm fine with whatever people want to do.

I think the idea that makes most sense would be that we all happen to be escaping the same J.A.N.U.S. facility and become breakout buddies.

The idea about someone hiring people to break out The Horror also works. Could be the same person who brought my character out of his isolation.
Now that you mention it, the character does have an SCP vibe.

I obviously took some creative license with my backstory. I exaggerated my character's abilities for dramatic effect. He can't quite drive people to suicide or madness (yet), but I'm working on that.