RPGnet:Shard
PL10
Real Name: Martin "Marty" Thorn (public ID)
Age: 20
Home reality: Earth-608
Abilities
- STR 12 STA 14 AGL 1 DEX 0 FGT 6 INT 1 AWE 3 PRE 1
Skills
- Athletics 12, Close Combat: Unarmed 6 (+8), Deception 1, Insight 3 (+6), Intimidation 1 (+2), Investigation 1 (+5), Perception 3, Persuasion 1, Ranged Combat (Throw) 0, Stealth 1
Advantages
- Benefit, Ambidexterity, Fast Grab, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Trip, Instant Up, Interpose, Takedown 2, Ultimate Effort (Toughness)
Powers
- Malleable (Array): Burrowing 6 (Limited: through material Toughness no greater than STR mod), Clinging (Movement: Wall-crawling 2), Elastic (Speed 2), Flowing (Insubstantial 1), Stretching (Elongation 3), Swinging (Movement 1) • 10pts
- AE: Shield (Create 10, Impervious, Innate, Tether / Diminished Range 2, Proportional) • 1pt
- AE: Spikes (Damage 5) • 1pt
- AE: Spray (Cone 2) • 1pt
Crystalline Defenses: Enhanced Stamina +10, Immunity 20 (Environmental Conditions (all), Fatigue Effects, Life Support), Impervious (Toughness) 14 • 54pts
Crystalline Senses: Sonar (Senses 3: Accurate: Hearing, Ultra-hearing) • 3pts
Crystalline Strength: Enhanced Strength +10 (100 tons) • 20pts
Offense
- Initiative +1
Unarmed +8, Close, Damage 12
Spray (Burst Cone 60ft, Area, Damage 10)
Defense
- Dodge 6
Parry 6
Toughness 12
Fortitude 12
Will 6
Shield (see above)
Spikes (Reaction 3 (when attacked in close combat), Requires DC 10 attack check, Noticeable (jagged crystal shards), Damage 5)
Dodge 9, Parry 9 Toughness 15 (Impervious), Fortitude 15, Will 9
Power Points
- Abilities 36 + Skills 6 + Advantages 10 + Powers 90 + Defenses 8 = 150
Complications
- Monstrous: A huge humanoid form comprised of countless fragments of crystal that shift and shimmer constantly with unnerving subtlety, even when Shard stands still.
Motivation: Acceptance: Though Shard revels in the crystalline form's power, they are acutely aware of how monstrous they appear and do all they can to show the humanity that lies within.
Background
Martin Thorn joined S.W.O.R.D. fresh out of grad school. He'd been angling for the FBI, but something in his test results spoke to S.W.O.R.D.
Four months in, monsters rained from the sky. This happened from time to time—comics, everybody!—but the frequency was increasing of late. Marty's field team was dispatched to investigate an impact site near Tuscon. Amid devastating collateral damage, the extraterrestrial monster fought the known monster Rommbu. The latter defeated the creature before disappearing. Among the evidence the S.W.O.R.D. team found at the site were strange crystal fragments—at least, Marty thought there was something strange about them; to his partner, Elena Cortés, they were simply sharp rocks.
They'd just returned to the Peak when proximity alerts sounded—another wave of monsters was incoming from deep space! The space station was thrown off kilter as multiple monsters struck, its gravity systems unable to compensate fast enough. Anything that wasn't already secured went flying, including Marty and the case with the crystal fragments. The two collided and everything went black for Marty. Once S.W.O.R.D. personnel got things back under control, his unconscious body was discovered with a large crystal chunk embedded in his chest.
In the infirmary, Dr. Hank McCoy (aka Beast) performed scans to see how the shard could be removed safely. He detected minute vibrations that soon grew stronger—suddenly the shard sprang from Marty's body and zipped from the room like a crystalline snake!
Beast was forced to remain behind to treat Marty's wound and make sure he was stable. S.W.O.R.D. security chased after the shard. They found it back in the hangar, absorbing the other crystal fragments. Swelling in size, the shard emitted a loud, strangely harmonious scream as it assumed a humanoid form.
Beast bounded in just then and the fight was on! Powerful as the shard was, this wasn't Beast's first rodeo. By the time he had the crystalline creature under control, Beast knew what he was dealing with. The crystal had somehow absorbed Marty's consciousness—Marty was the Shard!
Beast would need to do further tests to see whether the crystal had sapience of its own, not to mention to determine how—or even if—Marty's mind could be returned to his body.
Unfortunately, that would have to wait as Earth was still under attack from waves of extraterrestrial monsters. The Peak was struck again by multiple monsters, including one that tore through the hangar in the direction of the station's power core. Marty—Shard—didn't hesitate. They dove down the jagged hole after it.
Shard tackled the monster as it tore its way to the core. The Peak had suffered fatal damage from multiple strikes, but at least the comms still worked. Although they heard Abigail Brand give the evacuation alert, Shard stayed where they were, doing everything in their power to keep it from reaching the core. They couldn't hold it off forever, though, and soon the monster ripped into the core with a giant paw to unleash the powerful fusion energies within. Shard sensed that it was absorbing the energy, growing more powerful—but it was too much for the monster to take. The last thing Shard saw was a brilliant flash as the core detonated, wiping out the monster and tearing the crippled Peak asunder.
When Shard came to some time later, they were less surprised to be in an alternate reality than to even still be alive at all. Not to mention stuck in this strange crystalline form...
Unbeknownst to Marty...
It's unclear whether the core explosion sent Shard through a tear in reality, or they were plucked from Earth-608 in the nick of time.
Speaking of Shard: The crystal didn't absorb Marty's mind. Rather, he's a mutant with "crystalkinesis." In the chaos of the moment, Marty threw his consciousness into the crystal. Theoretically, he could learn to command crystalline structures outside his current form and even possibly return to his human body.
Back in Earth–608, Marty's body did make it off the Peak before the space station blew up. In fact, thanks to Shard taking on the monster, all the station personnel had enough time to evacuate. Unfortunately, the world is still under assault by strange monsters from beyond the stars...
Personality
Marty grew up friendly but a bit of an introvert. Although a follower, he always had a strong moral compass.
Since becoming Shard, they're a bit more boisterous. They also now prefer they/them pronouns. Whether that's due to feeling they're an entity made up of thousands of tiny discrete pieces or a larger understanding of their identity remains to be seen.
Earth–608
This reality is almost identical to Earth–616. The main distinction is that its timeline is a bit out of sync in two key ways:
S.W.O.R.D. is still in charge of monitoring extraterrestrial threats. Plus, the Monsters Unleashed event begins earlier, prior to Thanos's invasion of Earth. This means it's before Kei Kawade gains the power to make real whatever he draws—specifically the giant monsters that prove to be vital in defeating the Leviathon Tide!