Heroes of Our Day: Daily

[SFiercex4]

This will (hopefully) be an interesting anthology/collection of tales regarding the various heroes/villains of my Hero of the Day thread. I'll be posting these (hopefully) daily. Let's see if this experiment comes to fruition.

Heroes of Our Day

Exoteric

Exoteric Daily #1
Exoteric Daily #2

[SFiercex4]

Exoteric Daily #1

The warehouse was quiet this evening, the activity having died down from earlier today. The docks past the warehouse also remain quiet, empty save for two privately owned boats tied to the dock.

One hundred feet away, a man stood among a stack of crates and metal bars lying outside another warehouse entrance. "God, I hate this part of the job," the man mumbled quietly to himself as he looked on. He pulled out a cigarette and went to light it. Breathing in the fumes deeply, the man looked on from his viewpoint. 'Why do these lookouts always take hours? I want to take a shower badly, I feel so dirty hanging out in this...place...'[/color] the man thought to himself, puffing out a cloud of haze in front of him. He looked down at his hands, blackened as one would expect from someone who worked here everyday, and grimaced.

To his left, the man spotted movement and sneaked back behind the assorted riff-raff behind him. Near the docks two men appeared, carrying a large crate along with them. A third man, a mammoth man of tremendous girth, ambled slowly behind the two carrying the crate. Coming from the lot beside the set of warehouses, a car pulled up and five other men emerged, the group opening the trunk and revealing stacks of tightly-wrapped packages. "There we go..." the man whispered to himself. With a stern look on his face, the man closed his eyes and focused. The man's skin swirled, reforming and reshaping into the form of one of the men in the group at the car. The transformation was flawless; there was nothing to suggest this man had looked like anyone else. The man's clothes formed effortlessly as well, able to mingle with the newly designed features seamlessly. The newly formed man walked out quietly toward the parked car.

Stealth Check 9, not so good for her first check. Using the Morph array, 10 ranks, +50 to Disguise check, Mimic 10 ranks, 50 points available for Mimicking Ability Scores

The man moved quickly to the parking lot, but underestimated the available cover. Two men at the car bark out a warning in another language and take cover behind the car. The three men approaching with the crate pause in their tracks, expecting shady business.

The man, immediately aware of his mistake, dives low to the ground for some sort of cover. 'Damn,' the man cursed himself in his mind. Looking around in a rush, he spotted a small rock and grabbed at it. From his position on the ground, he threw it towards the warehouse wall, hitting it squarely and emitting a resounding clang. Both the group at the car and the three men with the crate revealed weaponry and hurriedly drew their guns, aimed at each other and the source of the sound.

"Good...this will do," the man quietly mumbled as he crept to one knee and approached the car.

Bluff check 26 for the diversion, Stealth check 15 for cover again, this time it succeeds.

The man, cigarette in tow, knees crouched, withdrew in his other hand a pink baton as he approached the men at the vehicle. Flicking the cigarette away, he placed a hand on the shoulder of the broadest of the five men in the area, muttering a quick "Thanks," before looking to fire the baton to the man's head.

Surprise round, only Exoteric acts. Connects with a Mimic attack, taking on the mook's ability scores. The mook has average physical characteristics, 14's on physical, 10's on mental characteristics, and Exoteric mimics 12 points worth of physical attributes.

Afterwards:
Chawbacon (the big man) gets Initiative roll 16
Exoteric gets Initaitive roll 11
The generic mooks all get Initiative roll 4

"Ahhhh wellllll theeeen, gentlemeeeeen. Ah reckon a fine mess we done stepped in, boys. Mebe I shud jus' finish the job right now!" the large man laughed aloud as he and his men approached with guns held up.

The man slammed his oddly colored baton into the head of the man whose appearance he mimicked, knocking the man flat to the ground. The other two men turned their gunfire to the impostor in front of them, firing at the figure in front of them. A bullet grazed him as he deftly moved to another opponent, and he winced as the sharp pain ran through his arm and registered. The men led by the large man, at the sound of gunfire, opened fire as well, placing large welts on their car and shattering a window behind them.

Exoteric connects a landing blow on one of them, the others have to roll 1d20+2 against 20 defense, with one rolling a 19 and actually connecting. Exoteric is bruised, everyone else is fine.

At the sound of gunfire, the men in front of the impostor panicked. The man swung his baton at another of the frantic men, barely missing the back of his head. The other five men opened the car door and tried to start up the engine. The two gunmen with the large man fired into the crowd again, knocking two more men.

'This hasn't been hot at all...' the man thought. He closed his eyes again, once again reshaping his figure. His form now changed even more significantly, as his body molded itself into a voluptuous female form. Amidst the cover of night and the havoc of gunfire around the car, the men across from the morphing figure were unable to see the changing shape. When this figure's skin finished its last alterations, the figure of an attractive young woman, in her mid-20's at most, with long, curly blond hair and a well-rounded figure appeared before the the three men.

"Oh boys, how could ah ever repay you? the newly made woman exclaimed as she walked quickly towards the men. "Ah was captured and held hostage by those terrible, terrible men! My name...

"Mah ladee, I came here not for your beeeeeeautiful figure, but for the money!" the large man said as he "nudged" the woman to the side, pushing her onto the ground.

'Rude.' the woman thought as the large man approached the car. The two men that managed to enter without harm hurriedly started the vehicle before the large man arrived. In one clean grab, the large man guffawed and snatched the large vehicle up, lifting it with effort into the air. "You boys done got sumthin' I want! I ALWAYS git wats I want!" he yells out as he slams the car back down onto the ground.

The woman watched from the distance she sat, shuddering at the strength of the man. 'I don't think he's going to be much fun to play with.'

The man, having taken care of his business there, turned to the woman. "Now, little lady. What was that that you said about dem boys holdin' you hostage? I kinda like that idea, I do much so. Whatchoo boys think, huh?" the man erupted in another bout of hefty laughter as his two henchmen joined in.

The woman stood as the men approached her. "Boys, boys. Now no lady could totally give into her...whims and let you all jess...take me away. Still, I am a woman who enjoys her...fun. Maybe you gentlemen can help in that department?" As the hefty man arrived, a hand moving slowly towards the woman, she changes shape again, startling the group. Her body shifts again, finally stabilizing into a form in a form-fitting spandex suit, yellow in color with red lines racing down the sides. The top of her face was hidden in a red domino mask, and her once blonde hair had turned black and grown even longer. The woman jutted out a hand, touching the arm of the behemoth before her.

Diplomacy check 29 making the group friendly, or at least as friendly as they're going to get with their definition. Bluff check 19 to trick Chawbacon as a move action, opposed by Sense Motive 10, catching the dolt by surprise. Attack roll 23, more than enough to catch the surprised Chawbacon. She reverts to normal form, losing her Morph part of the array in favor of maintaining the Mimic (Ability Scores) of the mook and copying at Mimic 17, technically. Still, in this instance, I'd only allow her to Mimic the Density, Impervious Protection, and Immovable ranks.

"Gotcha right where I want ya! You won't get away, big boy, now that EXOTERIC has a hold of what you can do!" the woman yelled out in triumph.
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Hope that first one came out well, took me four days of combined time, bits and pieces of it, to write completely. I'll try get this going as much as I can during this break, as when school starts again, things will get busy again. Enjoy!

[SFiercex4]

Exoteric Daily #2

Exoteric smiled triumphantly, her hand resting on the arm of her assailant, a sense of new power and strength rushing through her. 'He had to have something, let's see what we have here...' she thought to herself, clenching her muscles. 'Hmm, tightening a bit more than I expected. Could be good for my butt.'

"Listen here, missy, I don't know what trick you done just pulled on me, but I sure don't appreciate a liar! BOYS!" the large man beckoned his hillbilly henchmen with a wave of his other arm.

The two men, confident that the smallish figure in front of them was not going to harm them, fired away at their boss's request. Bullets rained down once again on Exoteric, with a shot hitting her in the chest, embedding itself in her costume. "Nice try, hun, but it looks like you're going to have to do more than that," Exoteric proclaimed smugly. 'Didn't know that would happen, guess it turned out pretty well for me.' she thought, thankful she was lucky to receive the type of powers she lacked.

After reviewing and thinking about the Mimic power, I've found that it can only add to whatever effects you currently have, if you already have them, including ability scores and saves. Thus, she needs to be careful not to go over the PL limits. As a result, I dropped her Toughness to +5, reducing Defensive Roll ranks, giving her some more skills. Thus, now she's received Chawbacon's:

Density rank 8, granting her +8 Str bonus, Impervious Protection 4, Immovable 2 w/Unstoppable, and Super-Strength 2
Super-Strength 2, AP: Groundstrike
The additional Immovable ranks, totaling 5 ranks
And Immunities to critical strikes, cold, high pressure

That's a hefty list. Note that I'm playing her not knowing everything she receives, she gets anything that's possible for her limits.

One of the gunmen rolls a 19, connecting but doing nothing thanks to her Impervious Protection.

"All right, miss, you run your mouth too much for a proper Southern lady. I think you need good ol' Chawbacon here to teach you sem MANNERS!" the gigantic Chawbacon yelled out. Exoteric flinched as Chawbacon brings down his huge paw towards her. Exoteric dipped and dodged the slow moving grasp of the behemoth.

"You ain't gettin' away frem Chawbacon, lady. We gonna make you pay!" he called out again, swinging his arm through the air in frustration.

A disdainful look formed on Exoteric's face. "I don't think so, sweety, I'm just not that into you," she quipped, congratulating herself in her head for the biting remark. Baton in hand, the sleek shapeshifter swung at burly Southerner, easily connecting on the man's stomach but offering nothing but a thump and a chuckle from the big lug. "Gonna take more than that, ma'am!" he bellowed as she darted back in shock.

The men volleyed their shots again, firing again into the fray. Bullets flew past harmlessly as the two combatants fought. Some slammed harmlessly into Chawbacon, who gave them nothing more than a wave of his hand.

Attack Roll 26, DC 25 Toughness save, Toughness save 32, Chawbacon makes it easily. The mooks miss and move even with Chawbacon.

Exoteric was taken aback by the effortless brushing aside of her attack. 'This boy can take a shot or two, I don't like my chances all that much, even with his powers. I might have to outsmart him...doesn't look too hard,' she reflected as the man already began his approach. The giant lumbered toward her with surprising speed and made a grab at her again, only to wade meaninglessly through empty air. "Missed me darling!" she proclaimed arrogantly as a baton swing of her own zips by the head of Chawbacon, leaving him untouched. Skipping back a distance again, she rolls to dodge the gunfire of the two henchmen, who remain confused by the hardiness of the young woman.

Attack roll 18, that won't hit her, but Attack roll 14, that won't hit him. Time for some more intelligent play.

"Stop moving quickly, or I'LL STOP YOU MYSEFL!" Chawbacon burst out angrily, rumbling at the young woman. 'Think quickly,' Exoteric thought in her head as the man approached. A deft sidestep sent the man spiraling off-balance. Chawbacon, unprepared for the quick motion away from him, lost his footing and fell to the ground in front of Exoteric. Having closed her eyes for her maneuver, she was now presented a gift; the large, unstoppable powerhouse had fallen to the ground due to gravity's undeniable grip. 'This is my chance,' she thought, a smile forming once again on her lips.

Assuming a tense stance in front of the hapless henchmen, she leaped into the air. As the bumbling man got on all fours, he looked up to see Exoteric coming down and cracking the baton firmly on Chawbacon's head. He uttered a thick "oomph" before falling to the ground. Exoteric returned to a standing stance, looking proudly at her slightly dented baton. 'Might have to get myself a new one after tonight,' she thought, beaming with confidence.

The two men, having witnessed their boss fallen at the hands of a now frightening woman, had decided they had had enough. She turned to face them, and a quick "BOO" forced the men, guns already trembling in their hands, to fling them harmlessly at Exoteric before fleeing in the direction behind them.

Chawbacon attempts a Charge action, Attack roll 11, natural 1, causing an utter fail. I had him trip over himself for that failure, I found it appropriate. He ends up prone for Exoteric, who takes an Aggressive Stance and uses her HP to gain the Power Attack feat. Power Attack for 4, Attack roll 24, big success here. Forces a DC 29 Toughness save. Toughness save 15, yielding a Staggered, Stunned result. Exoteric stands at 16 Defense until her next action.

"Well, that was fun while it lasted," the heroine said as she walked toward the nearest stack of crates, this one slightly closer to the road she took to get here, and leaned on it for support, placing the baton back into its slot on her belt and drawing another cigarette. She released a somewhat relieved sigh. "I think tonight earned another one of these," she says aloud to no one in particular.

From behind her, a voice bellowed out again. "Who the hell do you think you are, huh? No one messes with Chawbacon! I'll teach you some dern manners, I'll teach you good!" Chawbacon yelled out as he stood, wavering still from the shot to the head.

Exoteric spun around, her back to the dizzied big man. Shutting her eyes and giving it some thought, she recalled the appearance of one of Chawbacon's boys and reverted her form to his. "Boss, boss, are you OK?" she said in the drawl she recalled.

"You lyin', cheatin' bitch! Don't lie! Don't you lie agin! It's not becomin' of a lady!" he growled angrily as he began ambling slowly towards Exoteric.

The "man" in front of him shrugged, "Guess there's no fooling you," she responded as her form switched again, from the henchman to that of the Southern girl from earlier. She drew from her belt a small device and cradled it under her arm. In her new drawl, she proclaimed, "And there stood Chawbacon, Southern gentleman and an homage to the great Larry the Cable Guy!" The smile, despite the darkness, could be seen, wide across her young face. As the man began his motion again, the girl quickly placed everything back in a concealed bag and ran.

After a good distance, Exoteric returned once again to her normal, costumed form. She leaned against her car, a beaten down but still effective Honda Civic, dark blue, but a faded, dirty color now, six years after purchase. A puff of smoke appeared before her as she breathed out heavily. 'Gonna have to stitch up at the clinic again.' she said as she flipped up her cell phone. Behind her, sirens could be heard traveling towards her vicinity; after all, bullets tend to cause disturbance calls, and such calls tend to lead to police. She spun on a heel and was about to head back to the scene and claim her fame, but the pain in her shoulder shot through the rest of her arm. 'Stick with the stitching,' she decided, raising the phone her ears again.

The phone rang three times before a groggy female voice answered, "Mmmm...hello?"

"Grace, sweety, we have to talk," Exoteric responded.

The voice on the other line breathed heavily into the phone. "I'll get the kit, Sue," Grace said, shifting out of her bed and onto the cold, wooden floor.

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I liked that one, interesting little fight, I didn't know how Exoteric would pull it out, even with even powers. Anyway, look for Exoteric #3 and maybe another member of my ensemble from Heroes of the Day in the next Daily issue.

[SFiercex4]

Exoteric Daily #3

The beaten down blue Civic drove up to a residential neighborhood a bit on the outskirts of Steel City. The car rattled to its destination, but by no means was it a clunker just yet. Of course, with the recent activity it has seen, the estimates for how much longer it would end up lasting could not be more than a few months. Inside, dressed in a yellow outfit seemingly made for the movies was the heroine Exoteric, but after she had fled the scene and city to reach this quaint home, she removed the mask and returned to being Susan Koo, albeit in an odd costume.

Susan was quietly napping in her car when a knock on the window roused her. "Sue, it's 3 o'clock. I need sleep," Grace Meltzin declared as she peered into the car. The young Grace wore an unassuming nightgown, nothing sexy, just comfortable. It was definitely unsuitable for the 28 degree evening on the outskirts of Steel City, and Grace displayed her discomfort clearly by shivering as she knocked.

"Grace, honey, we need to talk about that wardrobe of yours," Susan replied groggily as she stepped out of her car. "That just isn't appropriate evening wear."

Her free hand on her hips in a disdainful fashion, Grace replied, "It's appropriate in my sleep, which is where I would be without you dragging me out tonight. What did you do this time?"

Susan lowered the shoulder of her outfit to reveal the mess underneath. "Hit me clean, I think, hurts like a bitch," she described.

"Get inside," Grace ushered her quickly into the her house. The Meltzin family, consisting of husband Rick, wife Grace, and their two daughters Samantha and Melanie, lived in a suburb of Steel City known as Milton. They owned a nice-sized home in some residential area in Milton, which promised one day to be worth double what they put in, or at least that was what the realtor mentioned when they bought the dream home three years back. Unfortunately, such success was in the cards for the Meltzins, who were struggling under their current mortgage to pay for everything they need. Rick and Grace certainly did their part, but fighting to get anything going under the current Steel City economy was an uphill battle.

Grace had just returned two hours ago from a 16-hour shift at Steel City Memorial Hospital, where she works as a nurse. After quickly checking the house to make sure everything was in order after dinner and the kids usual playtime shenanigans, Grace had finally arrived at her side of the bed, cozy and warm, especially for the fall evening. She slipped easily into sleep, until a familiar ringtone woke her with a plea quickly becoming more and more common.

This is one of Exoteric's uses of her Connected feat, as Grace Meltzin would, with a quick Diplomacy check 21, gladly offer her services in stitching up and attempting to repair her various wounds.

"You know, you should really pay me for this, I'm not even authorized to do this kind of stuff." Grace complained to her best friend as she cleaned her forceps in hot water. "You're lucky that thing isn't in there deep, or you'd be heading to the hospital."

"Doesn't matter, I've got insurance from my job," Susan calmly replied as she gripped her arm.

"Your job pay for you getting shot?" Grace turned and stared at her friend.

"Accidentally, sure, why not? I'm a reporter, I'm in the line of fire a lot," Susan stared back.

Grace nodded her head back and forth slowly as she returned to her cleaning. "Not as often as this. How many bullets have I had to rip out of you?"

"Two."

"Feels like a million already. Try not to get people to shoot when you're around. Use your feminine charm," Grace smiled and shook her head again.

Susan cracked a smile as well and closed her eyes, reforming her skin once again, into a man in his early 30's, with short brown hair and decent build. She walked up behind Grace, placing a hand on each side of her torso. "You mean like this charm?" she said in a voice familiar to both women.

Grace gasped, dropping the forceps into the sink. "I told you to stop doing that. That's creepy, he's upstairs sleeping." she said, a bit disturbed by the process.

Susan reverted back to her normal form, once again clinching her right arm. "Just hit me with the pain, doc."

Grace turned, apparently ready. "You'd better be ready, it IS going to hurt." She pinned Susan to the side of the porcelain tub and placed the forceps on the wound, eliciting a healthy yelp before Susan recovered and bit her tongue to hold off the sound.

In ten minutes, the procedure to remove the bullet was complete. The wound Susan received was shallow but significant, and Grace then tended to the bleeding, which had slowed but was still present. "What are you doing to yourself out there, Sue?" Grace asked as she cleaned the skin around the wound.

Susan shrugged. "Guess I like the excitement."

"It's got to be more than that. What happened to you? What made you this way?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Gracy."

"Fair enough, but there's got to be a reason you suddenly changed, both physically and mentally. This some sort of 'I owe the world this' thing? 'Cause you sure do plenty of favors with that body of yours on television."

Susan laughed for the first time all day; the day had just started, after all. "That's not it. I...I want to see that I can do this. I'm really in it for the kicks, it seems."

Grace frowned, dabbing more alcohol on the wound, much to Susan's chagrin. "You're going to get yourself killed, and I won't be able to stitch you up. I don't want to see your funeral, not now."

"Stop being so damn melodramatic, Gracy. I'm fine, I'll be fine, I'd just like it if occasionally I could come here without being injured." Susan nudged her friend with her good arm and flashed the smile again.

"You know times are tough and I'm working extra now just to pay for this house. Rick and I don't want to sell it, it's our dream. We're going to make it work," Grace responded, a worried look washing over her face.

Susan offered her good arm again, patting Grace lightly on her back. "I know you guys will. You'll think of something. Hey, if I get injured enough, you could gouge the prices through the roof. I wouldn't want anyone else treating my stabs and bruises."

Grace stopped her business to give Susan a hug. "You're nice, Sue, thanks. But really, I want you to stop doing this. You don't have anything to prove."

"There's always something to prove, Gracy. I've always got to prove myself, make it not about my looks. I got to make it about me."

Grace sighed, exhausted and unhappy with the answer she received. "Try not to be so much of a showboat on TV then. In AND out of costume." She grabbed her kit and started delicately stitching the wound.

Susan cringed, the pain uncomfortable to say the least. "That's part of who I am. If I'm gonna make it about me, well, that's me."

"Then stop being you." her friend retorted as she stitched.

Susan held back an urge to hit her friend, as this would bring about some complications in her repairs. Ten more minutes and Grace completes the final touches. "Stay off of that thing. It'll come apart if you move that arm around too much. Give it a week, and I'll take it off," she instructed.

"Yes, mommy." Susan nodded and joked with her former college sorority sister. "Take care of yourself, babe. When we both have time, we'll have to buy you some new clothes." The two hugged again as they stepped back out into the cold evening.

"OK, Ms. Superhero Girl, you tell me when you're done fighting crime and maybe we can shop," Grace responded, seeing her friend off. Susan hopped into her car, waved once more before heading off to her apartment in the city. Grace watched for a few more seconds, sending out a prayer in her mind for the great Exoteric, hoping she could stay safe enough for them to go shopping for a while longer.

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I actually had a much easier time writing that one than the first two, surprisingly because I usually have a hard time writing dialogue. Could still be bad dialogue, I suppose. Tell me what you think!