Editing The Sanguine Squad: The Protege

'''Gem the Protege'''

==Intro==
'''Jennifer Janice Calley''' was an ordinary 9-year old girl attending a Halcyon City elementary school (P.S. 118) when a battle between super-powered people broke through into her 4th grade classroom. Unconscious and in critical condition after the battle involving '''Diamond''' and '''Ambassador Bell''', she slipped into a coma in which she dreamed of '''Diamond''', who told her that, if Jennifer wanted, she could continue the legacy of superheroism that stretched back beyond recorded time.

Jennifer, being 9, agreed that this seemed like a grand idea. When she woke, she told her parents about the dream and they did not believe her. Jennifer did not give up, though, and listened to her heart about becoming a superhero.

Six years later, her powers began significantly manifesting and she began a self-imposed training regimen that was, honestly, not very good. Within a year, she was testing her abilities on the streets of Halcyon City. Eventually, she began hearing the voice of '''Diamond''' in quiet moments, whispering advice and thoughts, and seeing her memories (and those of incarnations further back) in her dreams. With practice and directed meditation, Jennifer was better able to connect with the memories of '''Diamond''' and obtain advice and thoughts on her training.

By this point, she was also interacting with the superhero community, many of whom were not entirely please with her wearing an outfit and emblem very similar to a member of their community that many still missed.

==Character Writeup==
===Basic Information===
'''Hero Name''' = Gem

'''Real Name''' = Jennifer Janice Calley

'''Looks''' = Young Woman, Black/Asian (Chinese), Athletic Body, Loose Clothes, Mentor's Garb (style, colors inverted)

===Abilities===
The abilities of '''Diamond''' and '''Gem''' are derived from a minor revision of the Legacy Playbook's Kryptonian-esque ability tree to make it more like a standard FISS superhero from the PS238 webcomic: '''Super-Strength''', '''Invulnerability''', '''Super-Speed''', '''Flight''', and ''Super-Senses'' (though ''Super-Senses'' may be replaced)

'''Mentor Ability''' = Impossible Combat Skills (From mastery of all Legacy abilities)

'''Shared Ability''' = Invulnerability

'''Own Abiliity''' = Superhuman Physique (Super-Strength without sufficient skill to use it that well)

===Labels===
'''Danger''' -1; '''Freak''' 0; '''Savior''' +2; '''Superior''' +2; '''Mundane''' 0

===Character Moves===
'''Assess the Situation''' = When you assess the situation before entering into a fight, you may ask one additional question, even on a miss.

'''Fireside Chat''' = When you seek advice from your mentor, roll + the Label they embody. On a hit they will tell you what to do. On a 10+, mark potential if you follow their advice, and take +1 ongoing to follow through. On a 7-9, you get +1 forward to see it through if you do it their way. On a miss, they don’t have time for you because something big has gone down; mark a condition, GM’s choice.

'''Heroic Tradition''' = When you give someone the advice that you think your mentor would give, you can roll + the Label your mentor embodies to comfort or support someone, instead of rolling + Mundane.

===Team Moves===
When you '''share a triumphant celebration with someone''', ask them if you’ve been a good leader or effective teammate. If they say yes, your mentor loses Influence over you and you mark potential. If they say no, your mentor gains Influence over you, and you take +1 forward on using the Label your mentor embodies.

When you '''share a vulnerability or weakness with someone''', tell them a secret about your mentor (including your feelings towards them). Give them Influence over you and add 1 Team to the pool.

===Moment of Truth===
The moment that you show who you really are: your mentor, or something different. You can do whatever your mentor could do and more. You can do the incredible, even the things they always failed to accomplish. Of course, they’re not going to see you the same way, no matter which path you choose…

===Backstory===
'''How did you first meet your mentor?''' = In a dream.

'''When and why did you choose to train with them?''' = While in the dream. Because I was 9 and wanted to be the best girl, which is what she promised that I could be.

'''Why did they agree to train you?''' = Because she believed that, with pressure and heat, I could be turned into a Diamond.

'''Who else, outside of the team, knows about your training?''' = No one, really. Disembodied voices in your head are not really something one discusses in polite company. Even with the team, I tell them that she just disappeared from public view.

'''Why do you care about the team?''' = Because they deserve it and they need it. Especially those that think that they don't.

==Further Questions==
'''1: What's the view of the common person toward Diamond? What kind of reputation did she have?'''
Diamond was mainly involved in natural disaster relief and team-ups to fight big supervillain plots. From the public's perspective, she was not really a star superhero, as her powers were focused around the comparably non-flashy FISS type (Flight, Invulnerability, Super-Speed, Super-Strength) and she never sought out popularity like many others.  She was respected for her work and had a reputation as pleasant to be around, but not particularly beloved except by those she directly helped.  

This means that the superhero community did love her, though, which has caused some friction for Gem with older supers as her costume is similarly themed to Diamond's.

'''2: How do you get along with your parents? Do they know about your super-ing?'''
Jen's relationship with her parents is complex.  During a spectacular crisis about 6 months ago, they discovered that she was an active superhero. Their main cause for upset, though, was that she had been dishonest with them. After she showed them the extent of her abilities, they were okay with her going out to help people and aid in post-"incident" repairs, but they want her to avoid risk ("Call an adult superhero hotline.").

She has not really told them that she is being heavily mentored, but she has mentioned that an adult is helping her learn the ropes.

'''3: What do you admire the most about Diamond? the least?'''
Jen is most impressed by the fact that, around 8 years after Diamond's disappearance, there are supers giving her pushback for wearing a similar costume to Diamond. When she hears Diamond's voice whisper of them, there is fondness and love, while there is actual hurt at her absence in some of the heroes' eyes. Diamond was not flashy, but she was [i]important[/i] in a way that Jen now desperately wants to be.

This also leads to the most annoying thing about Diamond: she is always constantly whispering about planning things out to ensure that damage is kept to a minimum, especially damage to people (even villains!) because "the best victory is when you turn the villain away from their path." Sometimes, 17-year old Jen just wants to wreck stuff.

The scariest thing for Jen is that she doesn't know how this ends, really. She is scared that she might lose herself to Diamond.  She can tell that her personality is changing towards being more thoughtful and kind. Even though she is becoming a "better" person, she is worried that she is not the source of the changes. This is one of the driving factors for her to find others like her, to see what they have gone through and where they end up.

'''4: Which super is commonly viewed to know Diamond the best, or to be in a position to speak for her? How does that person react to you?'''
For the public, the Elemental Angels (Led by Airsmith) were who she was most often seen with. They are elemental kinetics, so she provided a nice bit of tankiness to their crew.

Of the main members, Sinder (Fire) and Greenknight (Life), came on after and don't care, while Airsmith, Quake-king, and Aquafier are fairly ambivalent toward her so far... as long as she behaves. "Everybody needs a gimmick."

From Diamond's scrapbooks in the base, a hero called Retroman (inventor/low level superhuman physical attributes, dressed up like a pulp sci-fi hero) is pictured most frequently, but he went missing shortly before Diamond. Apparently, the handsome young man was a bit of a playboy, and ancient (8 year old) photographs exist on the net of him with many supermodels and actresses.

The strongest (and most awkward) emotional reaction from Diamond came when she was confronted by the superhero Tankbuster. He had been Diamond's lover at the time of her death, and she had even told him, "You should never worry about me, because I always come back."

Thankfully, he had not really understood what she meant.

He had been upset with her costume when they met and swore that he would be keeping an eye on her. Since then, things have mellowed between them, and he pops up occasionally to take her out for late-night coffee to talk. When they last saw each other, he had even said that Diamond would probably not be angry that Gem was wearing a similar uniform.

==Inspirations==
Mostly '''Retrogirl''' and '''Diamond''' from Brian Michael Bendis' '''Powers''' comic book and '''84''' from the '''P. S. 238''' webcomic, with a splash of '''America Chavez''' (from Marvel Comics) and '''Jessica Jones''' (also from Marvel Comics).