The New Disasters: The Protege

The Protege

Alias: Hellion

Name: Riley Grant

Look: Man, White, Athletic Body, Casual Clothes, Protective Wear

Potential: 4

Abilities

Shared Ability: Elemental Control

Hellion specializes in gravity control magic. These spells allow him to seemingly enhance his own physical capabilities to superhuman levels. His magical affinity also extends to limited power over time and space. Hellion is able to teleport for short distances, as well as slow time around himself. Patch has mastered such spells to a far greater degree. Sadly, it would be difficult for him to get around otherwise, considering his injuries. He is also not as offensively oriented in his use of magic.

Your Own Ability: Impossible Fighting Skills

Hellion has adapted his powers for use in combat, allowing him to take on stronger or more numerous opponents. It must be noted, he already has a natural talent for fighting hand-to-hand. He has been continually training in the martial arts for more than two years, now. Moreover, the addition of magic allows him to fight with speed and strength that most humans couldn't manage, let alone other teens.

Your Mentor's Ability: Hacking

Though he would never think of parading the fact, Patch may be one of the most skilled programmers in the world. He has long since learned to apply his skills to cracking the security on computers. His supernatural level of knowledge and insight enable him to handle machines that are magically enhanced or not of human make. Patch is also very capable when it comes to the social aspects of hacking. People tend to lower their guard when faced with his professional, but unassuming and friendly demeanor.

Mentor

Leonard "Patch" Starling, renegade AEGIS operative

Embodies: Savior

Denies: Mundane

Labels

Default:

Danger: 0

Freak: 0

Savior: +1

Superior: +2

Mundane: 0

Current:

Danger: +2

Freak: 0

Savior: +1

Superior: +1

Mundane: -1

Moves

Captain: When you enter battle as a team, add an extra Team to the pool and carry +1 forward if you are the leader.

Be Mindful of Your Surroundings: When you assess the situation before entering into a fight, you may ask one additional question, even on a miss.

Been Reading the Files: You’ve learned about the superhuman world through your mentor’s resources. When you first encounter an important superpowered phenomenon (your call), roll +Superior. On a hit, tell the team one important detail you’ve learned from your studies. The GM will tell you what, if anything, seems different from what you remember. On a 10+, ask the GM a follow-up question; they will answer it honestly. On a miss, the situation is well outside your base of knowledge; the GM will tell you why.

Mentor's Resources: Communicators, False Identities, Surveillance Equipment

Background

How did you first meet your mentor? About a year ago, I was stupid, angry, and trying to prove myself. I spent a lot of time at an underground fight club for superhumans, using my clairvoyance to win matches. One night, I was getting mauled by this girl named Mathilda when a scrawny guy in the audience cast a spell to help me move faster. It still barely kept me in the fight. She matched me hit for hit, even with the magical buff. The man running the show appeared and tossed a pair of swords into the ring. He wanted this match to be to the death.

After I told him to go to hell, I think he opened a portal there. A beast made of fire burst out of a tear in space and lunged at us. We grabbed the swords. Uh, to defend ourselves from the hellhound thing, if it wasn't clear. While this was going on, I noticed some weird, code-like runes scrolling across the portal. The scrawny guy limped into the ring with us and ushered us through the hole. Yes, I'm aware that would have been insane in normal circumstances. But for some reason, I felt I could trust this man.

In fairness, he got my opponent and I to a safe place. Just not on Earth. Stories say the archmages of old left behind a legacy for humanity to discover. Places of power where magic flowed like air. I saw a garden overgrown with rose vines, but I'm pretty sure my new friends were looking at something else. Mathilda was crying her eyes out, while the scrawny guy just looked confused. Acting on another hunch, I tried a spell to clear the thorns away. There was a gate back home on the other side.

Mathilda ran off as soon as we through the portal. She was still carrying the sword, but it now looked like a work of art, a saber with a golden hilt. Thankfully, Leonard stayed to introduce himself and help me try to make sense of what happened.

When and why did you choose to train with them? So, clearing a path through the garden? That was the second unaided spell I'd been able cast. Like, ever. Taking a detour through a Sanctuary definitely gave my powers a boost, but I still needed someone to teach me how to use them. I wasn't figuring that out too well on my own. Plus, the few other magic users I knew were my age and not interested in using their gifts for anything good (with one notable exception). I got quite a bit of practice through my run-ins with those idiots, but it didn't really help to develop my skills. Leonard offered to take me on as an Apprentice, right after our escape from the fight club. Needless to say, I accepted.

Why did they agree to train you? He said I had great potential, and not just as a mage. But I needed to find a purpose for those abilities. Patch needed my help, too. Look, I'm not going to beat around the bush. He was a mess. I don't know all the gory details about his past, but between his limp, spine injury, and a cursed wound that won't heal, he wasn't as spry as he used to be. Or too proud to admit it. Though Leonard was still in the hero (he prefers the term "vigilante") business, he needed someone to do field work in his place.

Who else, outside of the team, knows about your training? As I later learned, most of the supernatural community know Mathilda as Seraph. She's a member of a magical sect that cut ties with the community at large because of its policy of keeping a distance from mundane affairs. The superhero thing is acceptable, but frowned upon. On the other hand, running for a major leadership position or showing people how to make gold is right out. Leonard says she was already considered a dangerous radical. But after being exposed to the Sanctuary, her powers evolved like mine. Oops. Seraph and Patch have some kind of history together. One that he won't tell me about. ...he said he isn't ready.

Patch had one other Apprentice. No, she didn't turn to evil. Matter of fact, I don't completely blame her for leaving. I hadn't seen my sister since our parents broke up, and I was surprised to find Morgan at Leonard's office one night. In a lot of ways, she was a better magic user. But she and Leonard never saw eye to eye on what it meant to try and make a difference. Patch believed heroism was a painful, thankless burden. One people had to take up for the sake of those in need. Morgan couldn't accept that. In her eyes, heroes were symbols of hope, not lurking vigilantes. Morgan struck out on her own after their falling out. But I've made it clear that if she needs me, I'll come running.

Admittedly, she's doing okay for herself. If you call a contract with a huge media company "okay", that is. Morgan, or Reverie as you probably know her, is one of those heroes who does their thing with a camera crew in tow.

Why do you care about the team? Someone once said that without his friends, he'd be dead or insane. And I am right with him. The team has stuck by me through just about everything since became an Initiate. I couldn't fight the good fight without them.

Additional Notes

- In lieu of a traditional disguise, Hellion wears a starmetal ring, enchanted to cause people and even surveillance devices to overlook his features. In case that doesn't work, he also has a pair of AR goggles (better than nothing). His protective gear consists of weighted gloves and a discreet set of armor and greaves, all made from woven moonsilver, a magical metal that is extraordinarily durable and good at absorbing impacts.

- Reverie's magic is based on manipulation of light and technology, but she also possesses the rare ability to amplify superhuman powers. This particular spell is cast through the medium of song. Also, it can be broadcast through digital devices or radios.

- As stated, Seraph's magical abilities drastically improved after her encounter with the Old Rood. While she could only control kinetic force before, she has declared herself to have dominion over all of the energies of the universe (so far, she has demonstrated manipulation of heat, electricity, and sound). Moreover, the saber she now wields is an ancient and enchanted weapon, which she claims to be Arondight.

- The foremost organization for wizardry in the world is The Order of the Gray Beacon, which most magic users in Halcyon City have at least made a token show of allegiance to. Each continent has at least one branch of the Order, led by a High Magister, with Halcyon having a branch all to itself (Antarctica has four High Magisters). It must be noted, they are not the only major group of their sort.

- But their only true ideological rivals are the Prism Tower, formed by mages who oppose the Gray Beacon's policy of limited intervention in mundane affairs.

While its headquarters are located in Halcyon City, this order's sphere of influence includes North America, Japan, and areas of the Pacific. The Prism Tower is lead by a mage who holds the title of Master, and her lieutenants, the Winged Nine. Each of them are powerful magic users who have taken aliases based on the angelic ranks.

Relationships

You and Copycat teamed up a few times before the rest of you came together.

Your mentor is cautious; they asked you to keep an eye on _____.

Influence

Gave: Seed, Trigger

Over: Melody, Trigger, Copycat

Conditions

None