Challenger:
PL: 11
Strength 8 (2)
Stamina 8 (2)
Agility 8 (2)
Dexterity 8 (2)
Fighting 8
Intellect 2
Awareness 4
Presence 3
Skills: Acrobatics 2 (+10), Athletics 2 (+10), Deception 11 (+14), Expertise [Current Events] 8 (+10), Expertise [Medicine] 6 (+8.), Expertise [Soldier] 12 (+14), Insight 9 (+13), Intimidation 10 (+13), Investigation 6 (+8.), Perception 9 (+13), Vehicles [Air] 2 (+10), Vehicles [Land] 2 (+10), Vehicles [Water] 2 (+10)
Advantages: All-Out Attack, Benefit 2 [Ambidexterity, Security Clearance], Assessment, Close Attack 4, Contacts, Defensive Roll, Evasion 2, Improved Critical [Unarmed] 2, Improved Defense, Improved Feint, Improved Trip, Luck [Determination] 2, Power Attack, Precise Attack [ranged; cover], Ranged Attack 4, Takedown Attack, Tracking
Powers: Super Soldier Treatment: Enhanced Strength 6
Enhanced Stamina 6
Enhanced Agility 6
Enhanced Dexterity 6
Enhanced Advantages 6 [Great Endurance, Move-By Action, Quick Draw, Second Chance (Fortitude Checks), Seize Initiative, Uncanny Dodge]
Leaping 3
Speed 3
Sonic Pistol: (Removable –6 pts) [28 pp]
Sonic Beam: Ranged Damage 11 (Extra: Penetrating)
-Sonic Stunner: Ranged Affliction 11 [Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated; resisted by Fortitude] (Extra: Cumulative)
Offense: Initiative +8
Melee Attack +12 // Unarmed Damage +8; critical 18-20
Ranged Attack +12 // Sonic Pistol Damage +11
Defense: Dodge +11
Parry +11
Toughness +9*/+8 [*Defensive Roll]
Fortitude +10
Will +11
Costs: Abilities 34+ Skills 28+ Advantages 26+ Powers 88+ Defenses 15= 191 pts.Real Name: Nathan Ross
Height: 6’ 3”
Weight: 240 lbs
Hair: Grey
Eye Color: Blue-grey
Complications:Family Ties: Challenger is Megastar’s grandfather, though the young hero has only recently been made aware of it. Their relationship is somewhat strained as a result.
Normal Life: Challenger’s identity as Nathan Ross isn’t public knowledge.
Old Solider [part 1]: Challenger bases most of his teaching style on the drill instructors he had in boot camp. Basically imagine R. Lee Ermey with super powers teaching the kids at Claremont.
Old Solider [part 2]: Challenger spent the majority of his career as an operative for the American Government. Even though he’s been retired for over a decade he is called upon from time to time to deal with a “unique” or “special” mission.
Responsibililty: Challenger has been juggling his work as hero and part time government operative with being married his entire career. Sometimes his wife, Lauren, has to accept that his work will always come first.
Sense of Duty: Challenger feels that his experiences, training and abilities make it his job to properly train the students to become better heroes.
Background: Nathan Ross was one of the first wave of heroes from WWII, taking part in a government experiment to make super-soldiers based off the serum that gave the Patriot his abilities. Upon gaining his powers and a brief time spent training in tactics and soon was given the costume and weapon that he be became known for as Challenger. He operated mostly in the European Theaters of war and worked several times with the Allies of Freedom, becoming good friends with most of the members. Not being able to avenge their deaths at the hands of Nacht-Krieger is something he’s regretted for the majority of his adult life. After the war Challenger went on to continue working for the American Government, performing covert missions over the years as he settled down in his personal life; getting married, having children and such things.
Nathan stayed active for several decades, though the ways war was waged changed severely during that time, he eventually “retired” from field duty and spent several years being in-charge of a group of “super-agents” (all of whom had minor powers and loads of training). Finally during the 80’s he became fed up with the double standard of how things were done in his home town of Freedom City, where he was one of the few heroes who could avoid any troubles with the law if he used his powers in public due to his status as a government operative. So he retired and started to spend more time with his family, which by this point included grandchildren. When his first granddaughter, Emily, began to manifest her powers Nathan took the lead and started to train her in their use, much to her dismay. His idea of training is very similar to boot camp styles of older times, though he did “take it easy” on Emily due to age and gender (he’s still old school in his thoughts on women, though it‘s eased in his later years). Eventually Emily was deemed “as trained as she can be” and though it was during the end of the Moore Years she eventually made her way into the world of heroes (calling herself Shattersky, as she had developed gravity powers), though she did manage to find another teenage hero, Bugout, who was slightly more….hyper than she was. They had some minor success dealing with the mob and the gangs, keeping their drug trades and violence managed. They were lucky enough to stay low-key enough to stay mostly off law enforcement’s radar, especially with the original FORCE Ops and the duo of the Eye of Justice and Evening, but they made a difference in many lives dealing with street crimes.
Then the Terminus Invasion happened. Nathan dusted off his old costume and did much to help keep all the heroes organized, his leadership skills coming into play more than his actual powers (though he did manage to deal with several Omegadrones on his own. He has one of their power pikes hanging as a trophy). Unfortunately though Emily and Bugout weren’t as lucky. They gave their lives protecting a group of civilians from some of the escaped criminals from Blackstone, it was simply a case of their being overpowered by more experienced and vicious men and women. Nathan retired heartbroken following that crushing loss, to this day he is still estranged from his son over Emily’s death. Though his daughter didn‘t completely agree with her brother she did see his points on the matter but she didn‘t blame Nathan for Emily‘s death, though she feels he could have done more to prevent it from happening and didn‘t have much to do with Nathan either. For several years Nathan was a hermit, living in his home without going out, though his wife stood by him during those tough years.
Eventually Duncan Summers reached out to Nathan and what he proposed was simple: train the students at the Claremont Academy in a manner he saw fit to be better prepared for life as a hero. Summers saw that Nathan had a talent for training and respected the man for his past work during WWII and had seen the results of his training with Emily. It was no small task, it took years of work on Summers’ part; eventually time had healed much of Nathan’s grief and guilt and the fact that his grandson (his daughter’s child) had gained powers of his own and had become a student at Claremont.
Nathan has found that he enjoys working at Claremont, the students challenge him in all manner of things, in ways he never thought possible. He realizes that he still has much to offer them and he’s willing to use lots of “tough love” to make sure they take it. Most of the time Nathan is dressed in black BDU pants, a white tee shirt with a ballcap sporting his “colors” (the theme used in his Challenger costume of old: a star over a blue & silver background) and his sonic pistol in a shoulder holster.
In his first two years at Claremont Challenger’s pet project was Megastar, the young paragon was in need of some serious discipline and Challenger was just the man to give it to him. What most people doesn’t realize, aside from Headmaster Summers that is, is that Challenger is trying to connect with his grandson in some way since he’s not really been involved in his life since he was born. For his part Megastar (Chris Beck) had no idea of his relation to Challenger for the majority of that time, but that was more due to his mother’s insistence that Nathan not reveal their relation to one another himself. It had been Nathan’s choice to not be part of Chris’ life early on and now that he’d decided to reach out she wass all for it, but wanted it done in slow steps as to not alienate Chris. Nathan had agreed to those few stipulations but it didn‘t end well as Chris still managed to discover that Challenger was kin to him thanks to a time-traveling trip to the 1980s that lasted for a few weeks. For several weeks Megastar didn’t attend Challenger’s class and avoided his grandfather every time they were in the same room. It wasn’t until Megastar was injured fighting his Anti-Earth counterpart, Darkstar, when the Next-GEN went to Anti-Earth following their trip through time and he was left confined to a bed for a long recovery period and was physically unable to get away from his grandfather that Challenger confronted Chris and a long, involved (and sometimes tense) talk that the two of them came to an understanding.
Since the graduation of the senior class, which for the most part was the members of the Next-GEN (aside from Bolt), and the start of the new school year Challenger has been focusing on his other students. Giving special attention to the members of the new Next-GEN, which means special classes for them on top of their normal sessions with him including bi-weekly ‘field trips’ into Freedom City to learn the basics of fighting street crime (which Challenger is somehow able to relate to the likes of the Crime League).
