NANCY HARTWICK History: Nancy Hartwick was a perfectly ordinary housewife...perhaps prettier and more intelligent than the others in her social group, but somehow this never caused a problem because she never flaunted it. She is an elementary school teacher in Crystal Lake, Illinois; working with the few handicapped students. She also moonlights as an assistant self defense instructor at the local gym, and is quite active in the PTA. Michael (she calls him Mike or Mikey-poo ) is a solid and steady provider teaching chemistry and physics at the local high school. They met while she was in college studying Child Psychology for her teaching certificate. They fell in love, and is usually the case in middle class America, soon entreched in a rather mundane and boring existance. Her dull, boring, and mundane existance was to change forever, though, on the day that fate granted her powers that she could never imagine... She has three children (Bonnie, Jeremy, and Stephanie) who areages 10, 7, and 4. She also has a husband, Michael. <><><><><> [GM] Another day at work; it was Parent-Teacher night, so you spent all evening speaking to the parents of your students. After everyone has gone home, you call Mike to tell him you'll be late, and spend a few hours taking care of paperwork and cleaning up. Finally, at about 10 PM you walk out to your car in the elementary school parking lot. A heavy arm wraps itself around your throat and you see the glimmer of a knife. Terror nearly overwhelms you- this doesn't happen in Crystal Lake, you think! But this is a classic mugging situation, and so your self-defense training gives you an immediate response; you jab an elbow into his ribs, grab his bicep with your other arm, and spin around to sweep his leg out with an osoto-gari throw. He's about six feet tall, wearing heavy black clothing, and unfortunately, you're not well trained enough, or used to being attacked, so you don't think to kick him in the temple until he has already sprung to his feet. Now you've lost your momentary advantage, and you are well aware that a few years of Judo at the local YWCA does not guarantee your ability to take on a knife-wielding mugger who is twice your size. He kicks out at you, and you jump back, considering whether you can outrun him. No one is likely to be close enough that screaming will do any good, but you do anyways, just in case. Maybe it will scare him off. No such luck. He lunges at you, slashing at your face with the knife. You succeed in grabbing his arm, and you throw him, desperately. He goes flying, and keeps on flying. You watch in awe as he sails across the parking lot and hits the side of the auditorium with a bone- jarring impact. Then he crumples to the ground. You gasp, catching your breath. Oddly, he didn't go sailing in an arc, but in a straight line. This stikes you as strange, but no more strange than your throwing a grown man twenty yards. <><><><><><><> She catches her breath, just staring at the man, her mind awhirl. *I couldn't have done THAT!*, she thinks. Suddenly, she realizes that she should call the police. She keeps an eye on the man as she pounds on the service entrance, hoping that Herman, the janitor, is near enough to hear. -Nancy- <><><><><><> [GM] After a few long minutes, as you keep a wary eye on your attacker, who lies still unmoving, you hear Herman's grumbling voice. "Who the hell...?" Opening the door, he looks at you in surprise. "Mrs. Hartwick? Thought you'd have gone home by now!" Quickly you explain the situation to him. He tries to make you sit down while he looks you over, but you insist you're all right, and you should call the police now. Herman says he'll go stand guard over the mugger while you call. A quick telephone call later, you step cautiously back outside to wait for the police. Herman is standing directly over your assailant...in fact he's pulled off the man's ski mask. This strikes you as a bad idea and you approach nervously, telling Herman "I don't think you should get so...." Herman stares at the man, and looks over at you in shock. Blinking, you look down at the still- unconscious man. It's Mr. Fennody, one of the fourth grade teachers. You've known him for four years. He has always seemed to be a nice, outgoing guy. Single, but you understand he's been dating someone in town for almost a year. There's never been any trouble connected with him....you'd never have imagined him trying to assault you. You can already hear a siren approaching. The police arrive, with an ambulance. Mr. Fennody is loaded onto a stretcher and put in the ambulance...you hear the medics talking about a severe skull fracture. Come to think of it, there is quite a large splotch of blood on the auditorium wall where he hit. The police want to take your statement, of course, and now you realize that trying to explain how you were standing next to your car when he attacked you, yet he wound up crumpled against the wall sixty feet away, may prove difficult.... <><><><><> [Uhhh...I feel a little uncomfortable bringing this up, but will CHC always tend to be this bloody? I know I'm overreacting, but I'm more of a four color kinda guy and I don't like excessive bloodshed in games I play in. I hope I'm not blowing this out of proportion, but I think it's best to resolve this before I waste too much of your time if it's going to be a problem.] Nancy is quite upset when she recognizes her assailant as a friend of hers...but when she realizes that she's severely injured him, she's almost to the point of tears. "I don't know how it happened," she sniffles. "I was trying to get into my car...he grabbed me...I don't know how I hurt him...he...he...." It seems that she on the verge of hysterics, or at least upset enough that she's not able to give them all the details at this time. -Nancy- <><><><><> [GM] [I can adjust the storyline according to your preferences, for the most part; if someone WANTS to be really violent, I'll allow it, though there will most definitely be very negative consequences. If you want to be much more restrained, a "Superman/Spiderman"-type good guy, that's probably better. I just don't want to impose a certain moral outlook on anyone; I won't require everyone to have a Code Vs. Killing, for instance, but if they DO kill someone, they will face the consequences. Remember, since there is not yet any precedent for superheroes in the law, most courts aren't likely to be very sympathetic towards people who think they can run around beating up alleged criminals just because they have superpowers. I'm not into gratuitous bloodshed, but I'm running this with a "realistic" perspective, i.e. using superpowers on normals tends to get messy. Sorry to put Nancy through the wringer right off the bat...think of it as a character builder; I'm sure this incident will strongly reinforce in her mind, once she realizes what she's capable of, the need to be very careful with her powers. And I'll try not to traumatize her with any more excess violence in the near future. If it's any comfort to you, most paranormals' powers tend to manifest under traumatic circumstances. Your fellow players are all going through major head-spinners, though not all of them manifested under violent circumstances. Also, everyone seems to be running fairly "nice" characters, so I don't think there will be a problem with excess violence. You will meet some villains who are truly evil, and violent, but I won't be too gory with details if it bothers anyone. Especially since I'm trying to keep CHC out of the Adult section for the most part. ] The police are understanding of the trauma you've been through. They offer to take you home, and tell you that you can come down to the station when you're more able to give a statement. Preferably as soon as possible, before you forget too many details. Mike, of course, is rather disconcerted when his wife comes home with a police escort. He's even more disconcerted to find out you were attacked. <><><><><> [Okay, that's cool. I just wanted to make sure I didn't accidentally blunder into an issue of the Punisher or something like that. I'm sure she'll appreciate your consideration in the future. You know, that's always something that's intrigued me...you never see anybody sitting down to tea suddenly look up and say, "My goodness...I feel as if I have the strength of a hundred men running through my veins. Care for some more scones?" Awww...you mean Nancy doesn't get to go undercover and break up the superpowered gang of dominatrixes that are running rampant throughout the country? You're no fun any more....] * * * * * She thanks the officers profusely for being so understanding, then spends most of the trip home in silent (and nervous) contemplation. When she gets home, she goes to hug Mike...and holds off, standing away him as the officer who brought her home explains what happened. "I'm all right, Mike, really," she says when she sees the look on his face. She then turns to the officer. "Thank you...I think I'll be okay now that I'm home. I'll come down to the station as soon as I can." She closes the door slowly as the policeman heads back to his cruiser. "I have something to tell you...." She glances up towards the second floor. "Are the kids all in bed?" -Nancy- <><><><><> [GM] Mike says "Uh, yeah, although they probably aren't asleep...waiting for you to get home and kiss them goodnight, and all that." You go upstairs to take care of your maternal obligations (plus hugging your kids is a good way to calm the nerves), then go back to the living room, where Mike is waiting with a very concerned expression on his face. <><><><><> Nancy heads upstairs to tuck the kids in. Even though she makes sure not to touch them, it gives her a sense of normalacy that almost helps her to forget the recent weirdness. Almost. When she finally gets back down to the living room, she's looking much better as she sits down next to Mike, moves to kiss him...and pulls back. "What happened?", he asked as their lips parted. "Are you okay?" "Yes, I'm fine," she says. "I stayed late after the Parent/Teacher conferences...just like I told you I was going to. It was about 10:00 when I finally left the building. I was unlocking my car when a man in a ski mask attacked me with a knife. It was Mr. Fennody, the fourth grade teacher...you remember him, don't you? I can't imagine what possessed him to do something like that." "But it gets even weirder. He was so much bigger than I was...and the little bit of judo that I know wasn't helping much. He grabbed me...and then he suddenly FLEW off of my body...sixty feet...into a wall. I heard the paramedics say something about a skull fracture." She looks as if she wants to reach out and hold him, but she doesn't dare. "Mike...what's happening to me?" -Nancy- <><><><><> [GM] Mike says, "What do you mean, he flew off of you? You threw him, right?" You try to tell him how far you threw him, and Mike frowns. "Maybe...are you sure things didn't get a bit mixed up in your head? I mean, this was a serious panic situation. You could have easily thrown him farther than you normally could...people tend to become a lot stronger when they're fighting for their lives. Come on, honey, it's all right. I know you didn't want to hurt anyone." He puts his arms around you. <><><><><> "I mean he FLEW off of me," she answers in a distraught voice. "I saw him...there wasn't an arc to his path, like when you throw a ball...he went straight as an arrow into the wall!" She gestures to illustrate her meaning. "Maybe a little farther...but sixty feet? That's how far it must have been to that wall. I still haven't figured out what I'm going to tell the police. They'll think I'm crazy!" She moves away as Mike reaches for her. "Don't touch me!", she says in alarm. "We don't know what made him fly away from me...and I don't want to risk hurting you and the kids. I don't know if I can control it...whatever it is." -Nancy- <><><><><><> [GM] Mike says "Nancy, look, you haven't sent anything else flying, have you? Calm down, we can figure this out. You're not going to hurt me. I don't know what the explanation is, but there has to be one. Let's try to figure it out, OK?" <><><><><> "I haven't touched anybody since either," she replies gravely. "There's no use in taking unnecessary chances. But trying to figure this out is a good idea," she adds after a moment. "How do you suggest we go about it?" -Nancy- <><><><><> [GM] "Heck, I don't know. I'm not even sure what you think happened, except you threw this guy...Mr. Fennody, my God, didn't we have him over for Thanksgiving last year? Anyways, why don't you try picking up something heavy? But don't hurt yourself or anything!" You can tell that Mike still doesn't really believe you- probably thinks you became hysterical, and have blurred what happened in your mind. <><><><><> Nancy nods. "Yes...that's the one. He was such a nice man. I wonder what made him do something like that?" She shakes her head sadly. She sighs, then continues, "Anyway...I don't want to do it here in the house...." She thinks for a moment then says, "We have those concrete blocks in the back yard...the ones you had the car on when you were working on it a few months ago. They were pretty heavy." If he agrees, then she heads out to the back yard and sees if she can do anything with the blocks. She'll throw anything that she picks up into the wooded lot across the street, so none of the area houses gets damaged. -Nancy- <><><><><> [GM] You heft the first block, and toss it. It goes about two feet, before plopping on the ground with a solid thud. Mike watches you with a mixture of concern and...something else. Something that's starting to annoy you. Truth be told, you've always considered yourself to be MORE level-headed than him, if anything, and you really don't appreciate the fact that he seems to think you've temporarily taken leave of your senses. With some irritation, you lift another block with a grunt, and heave it. It suddenly becomes feather-light in your grip, and as you throw it, it goes up, and up, and up... It disappears from sight. You and Mike stare after it, then stare at each other. "Christ." Mike says. He almost never swears. <><><><><> Under the circumstances, Nancy's willing to forgive a little profanity. "You see?", she says with a kind of anxious vindication. "I'm not crazy! I think this must be related to my state of mind. I was only able to throw it far away when I got angry with you...just like I was frightened when Mr. Fennody grabbed me." She looks anxiously off in the direction the block went in. "I think I should go and see how far it went. I hope i didn't hurt anybody...I didn't think it'd go nearly that far!" She looks over to Mike. "Stay with the kids...I'll be back as soon as I can." She heads into the house and gets her coat, a flashlight, and the clip-on pedometer that Mike uses when he goes out running. She then heads off in the direction she threw the block. -Nancy- <><><><><> [GM] Mike's not keen on letting you go, but acquiesces. You walk over half a mile, without seeing a sign of the concrete block. You're about to give up and go home when you notice flashing lights and hear voices from the next street over. Coming around the corner, you see two police cars, one parked in front of a house, where a cop is talking to a small group of people. Another police car is circling the block, shining his searchlight into bushes and alleys. As you come closer, you see that the cop and the residents of the house are standing around a Ford Ranger parked in front of the house, behind the police car. There is a large hole in its roof, and in the door facing the street. And sitting in the street next to the vehicle, or rather, imbedded in the street, is a concrete block. It apparently came down at an angle, shearing through the truck. You shudder violently. It must have hit like a small meteor. And if it had hit the house.... You are almost a mile from where you threw it. <><><><> For a moment Nancy feels faint and more than a little ill. She decides that she needs Mike here, both to give her some moral support and a ride home. She looks for a phone booth to call and tell him where she is so he can come and pick her up. -Nancy- <><><><><> [GM] One of the policemen did notice you, but you don't look like the kind of person who goes around throwing bricks at people's cars. He greets you casually, accepts your comment that you're just out for an evening walk (which is basically the truth), and mentions that there may be a hoodlum in the area...someone vandalizing automobiles. He suggests that you might want to get home, and be careful doing so. You have to walk a couple more blocks, to a corner 7-11, to call Mike. He comes to pick you up. He wants to see the "landing site", but the police probably wouldn't appreciate rubberneckers, and neither of you likes leaving the kids home alone, even for a few minutes, so you head straight home. Mike is quite for a bit, while you shiver. Then he comes and puts an arm around you, not allowing you to pull away this time. "Nancy," he says gently, "we have to figure out what happened to you, how you did that...and in the meantime, we can't live in fear of your...power. I don't think you're going to spontaneously send me into orbit." You don't appreciate the humor, but it is comforting to be held. "Come on", he says. "You said yourself that both times it happened when you were distraught...and both times, you were TRYING to send something flying. Maybe not as hard as you did, but obviously it takes some kind of effort on your part, it doesn't just happen by itself. Now, we can go test this some more, or if you're too upset now, we can go to bed and worry about it tomorrow." You're not sure if he's being remarkably calm about this, or if the magnitude of what you did hasn't sunk in. You keep imagining that brick plummeting out of the sky from God knows how far up. But he does have a point. And you don't relish the idea of spending the night sleeping alone in another room. On the other hand, he seems to be assuming you "did" something to make Mr. Fennody, and the brick, go flying. Maybe you have just somehow become enormously strong...and while you're hugging Mike, you could flex your arms and accidentally crush him? The thought makes you shudder all over again. <><><><> She thanks the officer for his concern and goes on her way.... She tells Mike the address of the house that the block fell in front of. If he wants, he can swing by there on his way to school and look for himself. "How do you know I won't send you into orbit?", she asks in a worried voice. "What makes you the expert? Yes, both of the times it's happened I was emotional...anger or fear...but how do I know that love won't have the same effect? What if we're in bed together and it happens? Mike, I could *kill* you...." She takes a deep breath and tries to calm herself. "I don't feel like doing it tonight...I have to work tomorrow and it's already after midnight. Maybe you could arrange for us to get into the high school tomorrow and I could use their weight machine. That'd be a little safer, wouldn't it? I could get a sitter for the kids." -Nancy- <><><><><> [GM] Mike says, "OK. But neither of us is sleeping on the couch. Don't worry, we can suspend doing anything....that might, uh, trigger something unexpected. Until we know what's going on. But we're going to bed together, like we always do." He's being very stubborn. Maybe his way of dealing with the shock (and fear?), to insist on going on as normally as possible. You really don't feel like having a big fight with him, so you agree. But you stay apart from him as much as possible, and don't get much sleep. The next day, he takes you into the high school gym early in the morning. First of all, Mike hands you one of the weight bars (without weights on it) and asks if you can bend it. Putting aside questions about damaging school property, you take a deep breath and try. The bar stays solid and rigid. Mike smiles and says "So much for super-strength! Unless you want me to try making you angry...?" He is getting you exasperated, the way he keeps making light of this. But becoming annoyed doesn't cause the bar to bend. With an admonishing look at Mike, you set the bar down, and try picking up a 30 pound weight. It feels like it weighs thirty pounds. With some effort, you hold it up, very carefully. And concentrate on making it lighter. Being careful to keep a good grip on it; you DON'T want it to go flying! And it does become lighter. Suddenly it feels like it weighs nothing in your hands. Cautiously, you move it back and forth, still holding it in a death grip. It could be made of styrofoam, though it feels as solid as before. Mike watches you wave the weight around, with a quizzical look. Then, very carefully, you let go with one hand, and hold it in the palm of your other. Then push it up with your finger. The thirty pound weight rests lightly on the tip of your index finger. Mike reaches out, and taps it. It begins to spin slowly, and drift away from your hand, as if floating in zero G. <><><><> Nancy isn't terribly enthralled about going to the high school in the morning...she really should be getting the kids ready for school...not to mention the fact that she's feeling tired after getting practically no sleep the night before. Again, though, she gives in to Mike mainly because she just doesn't like arguing with him. But those dark thoughts are banished as she stares in wonder at the disc that hovers lazily in the air. "My God," she whispers. "It's gravity...I'm controlling GRAVITY!" She just keeps looking at it, seeing if the effect eventually wears off, her mind racing with possibilities. -Nancy- <><><><><> [GM] The weight floats and spins, drifting across the room. You worry that it will hit something and make as if to go after it...Mike is already reaching for it...and somehow your thought triggers a reaction- the weight jerks in the air and comes floating back towards you. You reach out a hand, bringing it to a halt, and sense gravity reasserting itself on the hunk of metal. You consider whether you want to keep it floating in the air, and while you hesitate, gravity decides. The weight drops to the floor with a heavy thud (narrowly missing your foot). Mike stares. "That's impossible!" he says. "Controlling gravity...that's for comic books! There's just no way...." But you both saw it. And you FELT it. You can feel it now...the mass of the weight, yourself, Mike, other objects in the room. The force of gravity, holding them down, pulling them against the Earth's surface.... ...and you can sever that force, bend it to your will. <><><><><> [Original message lost; Nancy reacts with amazement, and delight. She wills the weight to rise, and then circle around her head.] <><><><><> [GM] The weight lifts off, floating to a point at eye level. Then you reach out with your mind, giving yourself a specific gravity that applies only to the weight, negating the pull of Earth's far greater mass on the metal disk, and give it a push that starts it orbiting around your head. You can feel your own "pull", as felt only by the 30 pound artificial satellite you've created, and the lines of force from below, reaching out to the weight and being shunted around it...by you! Mike stares, at you and at the weight, like he's looking for strings. Then suddenly grabs it, halting it in its orbit (though it still tries to pull out of his hands- given the velocity that you sent the concrete block flying last night, you're pretty sure you could generate a force stronger than his grip). "Nancy, someone's coming!" he says urgently. <><><><><> Nancy laughs giddily as the steel disc begins to circle her. This all seems so unreal.... But Mike's warning brings her back. The object resumes its normal gravity and she attempts to look appropriately busy as whoever it is comes into view. -Nancy- <><><><><> [GM] It's the football coach, who is a little surprised to see you and Mike in the gym this early. He and Mike exchange pleasantries, and you leave. "My God, what does this mean?" asks Mike. "What are we going to do?" He looks at you uneasily. <><><><><> Nancy is beginning to get her feet back under her after the giddy sensation of power overwhelmed her. "Calm down, Mike," she says, taking him by the arm. "Let's go home and get the kids ready for school. I think we've found out all we can here." As they start heading out the building, she looks around to make sure the coach (or anyone else) isn't still in earshot. "Let's not blow things out of proportion," she says quietly when the coast is clear. "This isn't as bad as it might have been...I still look the same, so as long as I don't show these abilities off in public, I can still have a normal life. That'll give us time to figure out what we should do." "As for what it means...you've got me. I'd like to think this happened for a reason...some higher purpose...but I just don't know. Without knowing how I got these abilities, it's hard to fathom why I might have been given them. All I know is that we need to keep our heads. Panicing is just what we DON'T need right now. I need you to be with me...so try to stay calm...okay dear?" She puts a comforting arm around him. -Nancy- [Just out of curiousity...a campaign question. Once these super powered individuals start "coming out", how many of them are there going to be? Will there be lots of them? I was just thinking that it might be interesting if the entire Hartwick family got powers. Then again, maybe not. ] <><><><><> [GM] [The frequency of metahumans, and whether or not more members of the Hartwick family develop superpowers, is something that may become an issue for you to explore later. A question for you, since Nancy mentioned a "higher purpose"; is she particularly religious? Are the Hartwicks a church-going family?] Mike nods, and puts an arm around you in return. (To your great relief...Mike is a stand-up guy, but for just a moment, you were starting to fear that he wouldn't be able to handle this....) "Maybe you're being a bit premature. This could be a temporary phenomenon, for all we know. I think we should find someone who can tell us more....if there is such a person." He frowns. "I certainly wouldn't want you to become a prisoner in some lab, though. Or the center of a media circus. I have some friends at the local university, of course, but Illinois State's physics lab probably doesn't have the resources to investigate this kind of thing. If anyone does." On the drive home he chuckles and says "I hope you don't have any ideas about putting on a skin-tight costume and playing Wonder Woman?" <><><><><> [Well, I hope EVERYONE develops them then. I hate hearing kids whine...especially about something like "Tanya got superpowers...I want some!" I imagine the Hartwicks are probably Catholic but not devout...they probably go to church more as a community participation thing than any severe religious convictions.] * * * * * Nancy nods. "That would be a good idea...but I can't imagine who we'd go to. But your friends at State would be a start. We could at least find out a little more about what I can do and how powerful I am." She sighs. "I don't know what to tell you, dear," she says in a slightly worried voice. "Until we find out what the government's attitude is going to be about this, I'm not planning on advertising what I can do. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I wouldn't want to be drafted or something like that. Not that I don't trust the government, but...well, you know...." She smiles back. "And what's wrong with that?", she asks in a huffy voice. "Wouldn't you like to see me in a skin-tight costume?" She poses sexily for a moment, then slumps back in laughter. "Seriously, though," she says after a moment, "it might not be a bad idea to have a costume, just in case I need to go out in public and use these abilities. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say. Maybe I'll have a look through Jeremy's comic book collection and see if there's anything that comes to mind." -Nancy- <><><><><> [GM] "Sure, I'd love to see you in a skin-tight outfit....I don't want anyone ELSE to see it!" Mike grins. Then becoming serious "Why would you need to go out in public? I really don't like this superhero notion. Even if you were going to do that, I'd rather you wear Kevlar or something than some silly spandex outfit. Not that I want you doing any such thing...." "Anyways, I'll talk to my friends at the university, see if I can get an idea where we could study this- it'll be kind of hard, since I can't directly tell them what it is I'm after, not yet. In the meantime," he sighs, "you still need to go to the police station and talk to them about last night." <><><><><> "I'm not planning on it," replies Nancy, "I'm just trying to think ahead. What happens if there's some kind of accident in town? If I can save lives, I want to do it...but at the same time, I don't want to put you or the kids at risk." "Believe me," she says with a sigh, "I'd love to have Kevlar instead of spandex. But where am I going to get enough for a bodysuit? And how would we be able to afford it? I don't think our budget could stand something that expensive." "Do it need to be that complicated?", she asks. "All I really want to find out is how much mass I can affect and how many 'reverse Gs' I can give an object. But I'm also thinking that I should be able to make things heavier as well as lighter...at least it stands to reason. There are lots of possibilities. Maybe I can fly now...at least if I manipulate the gravity right." "Don't remind me," she says with a grimace. "What am I going to tell them? I can't lie...but I can't tell the truth either...." -Nancy- <><><><><> [GM] Mike says "Just don't get too carried away with this gravity thing, OK? Like I said, it could be some freak occurence, and tomorrow everything will be back to normal." "Anyways, I think you should just tell the police that you were on your way to your car when Mr. Fennody jumped you, and you threw him into a wall. You don't have to tell them exactly where you were at the time, and if you're unclear on details, I think they'll understand." <><><><><> Mike's talk of "going back to normal" sobers Nancy up a bit. She ponders how different things seem to be...like a blind woman suddenly able to see. "Maybe you're right," she says quietly, "but I hope not...." She listens and nods slowly. "Yes...I suppose that would work. As long as they don't press me for details, I think I'll be all right." Her face firms with resolve and she continues, "I think I'll go and do it after you get home from work." -Nancy-