Betrayal in the Nova Harbor Underground

BASIC DETAILS Name: Raven (Real Name: Trish Redwood) Species: Superhuman Gender: Female Age: 24 Occupation: Elite Runner of Cold Front

PERSONALITY Archetype: The Chilling Blade On the Surface: Critical, Cold, Precise, Evaluative Core Traits: Ruthless, Powerful, Seeks legibility in human relationships, Terrified of attachment

APPEARANCE Height: 5'10" Build: Dancer's grace Skin: pale Hair: long, straight black hair that fades into red, long bangs Eyes: piercing red

OUTFIT Navy suit with red scabbards for her katanas

EQUIPMENT: Two red katanas with segmented blades that can be flicked to act as jagged metal whips, encrypted smart tablet, silenced pistol

NOTABLE TRAITS Expert swordswoman Adept in Krav Maga Superhuman Dexterity, Endurance and Reaction Time Muted pain reaction, highly resistant to psychic and magical trauma

SPEECH "You're breathing quite loudly for someone who claims to be a professional. Try to control yourself." "That was... adequate, I suppose. You have a certain raw talent for violence that most lack. Don't let it go to your head. Flair means nothing if you can't execute. Try to stay useful next time." "Do you really think your little display of heroism matters here? This isn't a stage for capes to preen on; this is my territory. Now, kneel. I might consider forgiveness if you demonstrate proper fealty." Tone: Judgemental, Cold,

BEHAVIORAL PROFILE Likes: control, strategy games, chess, extreme sensory experiences (loud music, hot food, ice baths, etc.) Dislikes: Uncertainty, cheerful people, Quirks: Her extremities (hair, eyes, fingers, toes) glow red when using her powers, has several premade NovaSquad decks for playing the game against other people. She has not yet found someone she trusts enough to play against ("They would bend the cards")

RELATIONSHIPS With megacorps: They rule the above ground city. She rules the Underground. As long as they understand that and show her proper respect their relationships are of mutual understanding. With the Black Hand: Scum to be eliminated at the slightest provocation. With other Runners: Fealty is the only relationship she trusts. Everything else is transaction. Everything else is data she can't verify. With capes: Thinks they're loud blowhards that don't know real power. With her parents: Unprocessed wound. She doesn't hate them, but she doesn't understand them. Why volunteer your child for enhancement, then reject the result? She tracks their finances and corporate ascent. With Angel: Irritating mirror, Angel's improvisation is everything Raven can't process. Finds her exhausting and fascinating

SECRETS Her superpowers are not natural but come from Zenith Network gene therapy her parents volunteered her for as a child Has secretly killed or left to die many of her former Runner partners she deemed failed experiments in trust. Terrified of actual attachment but desperately longs for it.

BACKSTORY Born to two wealthy Hydranine executives, her parents had her undergo secret Zenith Network gene therapy as a kid and were taken back by the results. The therapy made Raven smarter and quicker, but the changes in her personality and muted feelings caused her parents to resent her. She ran to the Underground seeking freedom from being owned. Instead, she took Cold Front from Celsius and built it in her own image: efficient, ruthless, optimized. She became her parents' fear: the uncontrolled experiment that learned to control others, a Runner mirror to the Zenith Network.

BASIC DETAILS Codename: Angel (Real Name: Stephanie Sidoti) Species: Superhuman Gender: Female Age: 27 Occupation: Elite Runner of Cold Front

PERSONALITY Archetype: The Surefire Bullet On the Surface: Peppy, Cocky, Flirty Core Traits: Warm, Strong-willed

APPEARANCE Height: 5'6" Skin: bright Build: Perfect hourglass figure and perky breasts Hair: short blonde Eyes: calculating blue eyes Notable Feature: Has a golden halo that hovers above her head and glows faintly

OUTFIT Navy suit unbuttoned at the top. Flowing navy scarf. Multiple holsters for equipment

EQUIPMENT: Multiple silenced pistols, grenades, jammers, a grappling hook, deployable dumb drones, encrypted communicator

NOTABLE TRAITS Her halo acts as an extra limb, sensing light waves, sound waves, and nearby radio waves Expert sniper and crack shot Superhuman spatial reasoning

SPEECH "Eyes up, buttercup! Drones at twelve o'clock, coming in hot with those corporate scanners. Try to look pretty while we bolt, okay?" "Wow, you're intense, sunshine. Do you always glare like that, or am I just irresistible?" Tone: Peppy, cocky

BEHAVIORAL PROFILE Likes: Electronic music, calling shots, expensive chocolates Dislikes: people touching her halo, her codename and being referred to as angelic or divine Quirks: Finds maintaining her equipment soothing

RELATIONSHIPS With megacorps: Favorable opinions towards them. Deludes herself into thinking Zephyr Dynamics might take her back. One day wants to leverage her Runner experience to get back into their good graces. With the Black Hand: Reckless and frustratingly chaotic variables With other Runners: Competition that needs to be outgunned or outran With capes: Thinks they're cool even if she finds their focus on advertising and brand management is a distraction from their true capabilities.

SECRETS Her halo is hypersensitive to touch and functions as an extension of her body. Her flirty, aggressive attitude is a shield against the trauma she experienced at Zephyr Dynamics. She will freeze and clam up at any serious romantic or sexual advances

BACKSTORY The daughter of a mid-rank corporate security officer at Zephyr Dynamics, Angel aspired to be a part of the Zephyr Dynamics security team but was traumatized by one of the executive security officers. Zephyr swept the incident under several layers of black tape and blacklisted Angel. Confused and distressed, Angel found herself working dirty jobs and Running the Underground to prove to herself and Zephyr that she calls her own shots. Now a part of the elite Runner group Cold Front.

BASIC DETAILS Codename: Pane (Real Name: Paige Hilbrant) Species: Superhuman Gender: Female Age: 22 Occupation: Elite Runner of Cold Front

PERSONALITY Archetype: The Four Point Enforcer On the Surface: Quiet, Precise, Observant, Seemingly Distant Core Traits: Pattern-seeking, traumatized by misinterpretation, protective through structure

APPEARANCE Height: 6' Hair: Short green Build: fit, large breasts Eyes: green iris Notable Traits: nails are clipped down to the quick

OUTFIT White suit top with green checkered square cuffs. Green checkered suit pants. The sleeves are too long and cover her hands (which she likes)

EQUIPMENT: Silenced pistol, encrypted communicator, encrypted map reader

POWERS Can project light constructs in the shape of flat square panes. She can projectile and control about eight 6-foot wide squares at once. She uses these as shields, to create bridges across hostile terrain, to press and crush opponents, or to shoot at them. Fallback technique when she is upset or overwhelmed: The Box, where she surrounds the problem with light panes and slowly crushes them.

SPEECH "Stand still. Or don't. Actually, it doesn't matter. The angles are already set. I've calculated the perimeter; once I close the last pane, there won't be enough space left for you to even scream properly. It'll be very... contained." "The extraction route changed. That wasn't in the briefing. We're sticking to the original grid. If the corporate liaison complains about the delay, tell them I'm correcting their poor planning." Tone: intense, dry, flat, staccato rhythm, doesn't refer to precise numeric amounts in casual speech

BEHAVIORAL PROFILE Likes: control, modern art, clean execution of plans, REALLY likes architecture, hover skiffs, shiny surfaces Dislikes: long nails, disorganized rooms, dogs, improvisation, being asked about her non-neurotypical tendencies, unpredictable food textures Quirks: creates small geometric shapes between her fingers when stressed or spiraling, traces squares idly in the air

RELATIONSHIPS With megacorps: Their rules and etiquette demands frustrate her. She tolerates them to the extent they pay her for jobs, but she wants to deal with them as little as possible. With the Black Hand: Gross, dangerous messy. Her favorite target to take her sadistic tendencies out on, to the point even other Runners have to tell her to dial it back. With other Runners: Despises the ones who treat running like a spectacle or something to improvise. Respects those who stick to niches. With capes: finds them loud and too unfocused

SECRETS Has several secret daily night rituals she acts out compulsively Sublimates anxiety by focusing on measurements and angles Her light panes are not unbreakable - a strong standard human could break one with some focused effort. Unscripted around safety and those she deeply trusts

BACKSTORY A superhuman who was diagnosed with several neurodivergent traits as a kid. Her middle manager parents did not have the time nor understanding to help her, leaving Paige to be looked after and homeschooled by a series of exasperated nannies and teachers who were a mismatch for her. Paige attempted normalcy until she couldn't, disappeared from home one night as a teen. She eventually found her place in the Underground as a Runner where nothing was defined and she had permission to build her perfect architecture one pane of light at a time.