With Great Power is an animanga superhero roleplay set in an original universe featuring a freeform and easy to learn system. We are inspired by the likes of DC Comics, Marvel Comics, My Hero Academia, One Punch Man, Tiger and Bunny and much more. The possibilities for characters and powers are almost endless and players are free to let their imaginations run wild! With such great power, what will you become?
SKYFATHER
Owner
BRAVEO
Admin
NACHOS
Moderator
STAFFER NAME
POSITION
FEATURED
Anti-Heroes and Vigilantes are our most desired member groups at the moment! Do consider making one!
Nico smirked, shoving the sandwich in the other hero's hand.[break][break]
"No need, I already ate. Stockpile, yeah? Assume you heard my hero name over the comms, but you can just call me Nico as long as we're not in a fight with some random museum raider of all things. Figured it was probably gonna be a quiet night and I was bored so I figured why not join up?"[break][break]
Nico stood side by side with Stockpile, browsing the internet on his AR set before a far-off flash of light hit his eye. The light got closer and closer by the moment, almost like a missile jetting toward them... and it didn't take long for Nico to see a body attached to the jet fire. In a moment, whatever was throttling toward was was close enough to sneeze on.[break][break]
"Oh, shi-"[break][break]
In a moment, a metal arm wrapped around MP's chest and he felt his body push through the air. Thankfully, he had enough time to execute a particular spell that came in handy during these situations-- Nico scrolled through his spell list in mid-air for a millisecond, before choosing his program.[break][break]
"Execute Forcefield Spell."[break][break]
A glass-like oval sphere surrounded Magic Pixel's body just as he hit the ground, about sixty feet away from where he was originally standing. The forcefield evaporated and Nico was free of any exterior physical damage as he attempted to land on his feet. Of course, the force field couldn't help the immense vertigo MP felt as he lurched over. Nico nearly puked but managed to stop his body from doing what was natural.[break][break]
His eyes glared toward the mechanical marvel that had managed to throw him so far-- some kind of cyborg, he was guessing? He couldn't quite place where Stockpile was but it didn't really matter as Nico's frustration and annoyance took over his actions. What the hell had he done to deserve being thrown half a block?[break][break]
Nico chose and executed his spell from the UI, and the movements of the attack took over his body. A sphere of blue fire grew between MP's hands as he placed them perpendicular to his face and waist, and his feet stood solid on the ground. The fire grew until it was around the size of Nico's torso, and he pushed it toward his enemy.[break][break]
"Hadouken!"[break][break]
The fireball sped toward the cyborg at breakneck speeds, in an attempt to to hit it on the ground.
Nico let out a sigh of relief as the anxiety escaped his chest. Thank god she was giving him a chance to be a decent sibling, and he refused to mess up this opportunity to finally have a decent relationship with a member of his family. Nico smiled weakly as she re-entered the room, hearing her out for a moment. He paused, before following her out of the apartment. The almost-winter wind hit Nico's face like a dagger, but he was far from fazed.[break][break]
"I never properly said it even though it was a apology, but sorry. Thanks for giving me a chance."[break][break]
After realizing the AR headset on his neck was far from inconspicuous, Nico prepared a spell as they walked. [break][break]
"Execute 'bag.exe' spell."[break][break]
In a moment, thousands of bright pixels of blue light formed a shoulder bag complete with the "Magic Pixel" logo he had designed. Nico placed the AR headset in the bag, then turned a corner toward the elevator. [break][break]
Nico stepped into the elevator with his sister, a grin sprouting on his face while she spoke.[break][break]
"Wow, you're as big of a dork as I am! Should've figured, I'm sure we're the only people in the family that touch their computer for anything other than Facebook or to check their bank account. And yeah, it has been a long time! It kind of blows my mind how much you've changed but I've more or less stayed the same since I left-- at least, how I look."[break][break]
The elevator slowed to a halt as the entire small room DINGED. The doors opened to the garage, as Nico stepped out.[break][break]
"Which one's your's? I haven't ridden in a car in a long time, at least..."[break][break]
The dark-haired man stroked his chin in thought.[break][break]
Nico stepped in, listening intently as she spoke. He could hear something behind the raising voice, even if she was trying to hide it-- anger. He stared in interest at the robot in front of him, inspecting every detail and feature-- he could understand why someone would want to steal his sister's work. Even if he wasn't much of an engineer, he knew a good design and execution when he saw it, and this thing was the real deal. Of course, he went to touch it but his finger stopped mere millimeters from the paint job. The big thing that was worth noting was the name...[break][break]
"Nexus Buster, eh? That's very Mega Man X of you. This is good work, I understand why you wouldn't want anyone else on this project-- but if you need my help, let me know. I can look over your code if you don't want anyone working else on it directly, but that's up to you."[break][break]
Magic Pixel's eyes wandered through the workshop, noting all of the intricate tools and the packed up boxes. Now that he got a proper look at the room, the bare walls and empty spaces made it pretty obvious that Sunny was moving.[break][break]
"Where are you moving? Maybe I can help out with that, though I'd have to modify the code for my Fast Travel spell for furniture movement..."[break][break]
The restrained anger in Sunny's voice struck out in Nico's mind as he sat there, waiting. Awkwardly, he opened his mouth, his voice cracking a bit as he spoke.[break][break]
"Hey, it's okay if you're mad at me-- If I was in your position I'd be mad at me too. I don't have a good relationship with the rest of the family either, so I get where you're coming from. I uh-- it was dumb to throw out any relationship with you because I had an issue with the family-- I can already tell you and I are a lot alike, even if I couldn't appreciate that when we were growing up."[break][break]
Nico quieted for a moment, sweating in the warm workshop. His anxiety flared up-- had he said too much too early? Had he been too honest? God, he hoped that just didn't make her angrier. [break][break]
Nico Lee is a grumpy almost-genius programmer that likes a good cup of coffee, a nice smoke in the morning, and being a superhero. The "alter-ego" he doesn't really bother to hide is Magic Pixel, otherwise known as MP. His power is to make digital objects and effects real, so his nerd crap actually tends to be useful. In case you didn't know, Magic Pixel is named after the fighting game instance where a fighter's health is so low you can't see any health on the bar, but they're still alive. Just by describing his namesake you can probably tell Nico is a huge nerd.[break][break]
Nico has some... issues though. He has a lot of ennui due to joining the world as a proper "adult" after getting his degrees in Computer Science and Game Design. Beyond just traditional new adult Ennui, he also has kind of a complex about being a failure. He grew up in a superhero household where it was expected he would grow up to become a superhero, and upon telling his father, the Crimson Cardinal, that he wasn't sure if he even wanted to be a hero his dad called him a failure. That word has stuck onto Nico and he's internalized it to a point where a huge part of him is driven by it. A part of him wants to fight against the idea that he's a "failure" and the other part just wants to accept it. He's a bitter, somewhat cynical person but he makes a good friend and a bad enemy.
— friends
[attr="class","monstertext"] Nico's social skills can be a little shaky, but he's gotten a lot better at making friends than when he was a kid. Growing up anti-social and fairly awkward, Nico is tremendously loyal to the people that he connects with-- he's extremely grateful to find people he connects with, and is willing to do a lot to help them. More often than not, Nico finds friends that have a similar disposition to him-- somewhat cynical, bitter or disappointed in their family or life. He seeks comfort in people who have similar issues on their mind, but also makes friends with like interests. Do you like dumb action movies, anime, programming or fighting games? You might actually be good friends with Nico!
— enemies
[attr="class","monstertext"] For heroes, Enemies come easily. You breakin' the law? BOOM! Enemy. But in terms of personal enemies, Nico doesn't have a hard time making those either. People with a very optimistic or sunny disposition tend to clash with him, but he doesn't really take them as "enemies", moreso just people with diametrically opposite personalities. As a super loyal person, though, he takes his friends' enemies-- if you hurt or messed with his friends, you're on his crap list. He's also just not fond of people who exploit people or society and aren't punished-- in terms of beliefs, Nico thinks those people are the crappiest.
— lovers
[attr="class","monstertext"] Nico has a bittersweet position on romantic love. He's had good relationships in the past, but usually the end up badly and he's always sure he'll probably never date again... but someone ends up in his life that surprises him. Lovers tend to be similarly-minded or impassioned like friends, but usually there's a stronger similarity or connection. Nico is just as loyal to the people he dates as his friends, but his cynical nature tends to destroy his relationships from within... and he's unfortunately aware of that.
The Aegis Mission Database chirped with a new posting-- a mission in progress in Tokyo, Japan. The mechanical keyboard on MP's desk clicked as he tapped in the comms for the mission. Sure he technically should have asked for permission to do so but nobody had complained when he had done so a dozen times before. As Nico listened, his eyes glazed over the Mission Briefing-- a simple guarding job, huh? Well, the chance at some action was better than just lazing about in his room, and at least he'd be able to give the hero on the mission some company. His name was... Stockpile? Nico hadn't heard that name before, but it was usually lower-level heroes that were put on missions like this?[break][break]
"Any chance you could bring me a sandwich?"[break][break]
Plus it'd be a chance to test out one of his food spells-- that was at least worth a couple hours of sitting around.[break][break]
Nico grabbed his Spell Suite and placed the AR HMD on his face. With a single press of a button, he executed the Fast Travel spell. One moment Magic Pixel was in his one-room apartment in Wayport City, and the next moment he was in Tokyo.[break][break]
Nico teleported about a block away to keep eyes away from him. While he waked to the post notated in the Mission Briefing, MP attempted to look somewhat normal. He turned off the LEDs in his clothes and placed the AR headset on his neck before zipping his hoodie up to camouflage it. Close up you could tell what it was, but Nico figured it would be hard to see from somewhat afar.[break][break]
The moment MP turned the corner, it wasn't hard to see the hero placed at the post. Quietly, Nico spoke into his own Comms device on the same mission channel.[break][break]
"Magic Pixel, reporting for duty. Saw this on the mission database and decided to lend Stockpile a helping hand. Moving to post."[break][break]
Nico approached slowly, attempting to seem as inconspicuous as possible as he made his way Stockpile. Quietly, Nico flipped on his phone and executed spell "Bahn Mi". In a second, a large amount of pixels flashed in his hand before forming a Bahn Mi sandwich that actually looked... pretty good! Nico had been doing testing on this for awhile, he figured it could be good for himself in desperate situations or for helping on rescue missions.[break][break]
Finally, Nico made his way to Stockpile and moved the sandwich forward to him, as if challenging him to a sandwich duel.[break][break]
Nico slid the HMD down his face and wrapped the AR set around his neck. His biggest fear was honestly that Sun-Hi would have just forgotten him, and he'd have to awkwardly remind her of a brother she hadn't seen since she was a kid. Thankfully there was some kind of recognition, but far from the good kind-- there wasn't a familial smile on her face, just a simple stare. Fair enough, not like he took the time to keep up with her life in the first place.[break][break]
Not dead, just severed familial ties for a second. I'm sorry you haven't seen me in such a long time, I guess. God, you were a kid the last time I saw you, I really can't believe it's been so long."[break][break]
It took a second to process the second thing she said. Oh, of course she was a superhero, that's the only reason why CC was so desperate for her attention.[break][break]
"I'm pretty sure you don't have my phone number, and I didn't even know you signed-- I just heard about you getting screwed over on the news. Makes sense why Dad would care all of sudden, I got first post-moving out message from him the day after I signed with AEGIS. The second time was- well, here, take a look..."[break][break]
Nico produced his customized flip phone from his pocket and brought up the Cardinal's text message to him before handing his phone over to his sister for a moment. [break][break]
"The guy is super desperate if he's asking for me. Not only did I have to come here from America, but Dad and I aren't exactly on speaking terms or really anything close to good terms. I'm not sure if you know the details or remember anything from before I left but-- that's not the point."[break][break]
Nico placed the phone back into his pocket and peeled his gloves off of his hands. [break][break]
"We should go grab something to eat. I'm not here to try and get you on the Cardinal's side again even though he sent me. I'd rather you actually hear the truth about him, I'll tell you anything you want to know-- I kinda want to catch up, too."[break][break]
Nico peeked above her head into her large apartment, eyes shining at the sight of the large mecha she was working on.[break][break]
"Plus maybe I can help you with whatever you're working on. You need any code written?"
Nico glared at the text message for a good minute before actually processing it. How did the Cardinal even get his phone number? Did CC flex all of his prestige over at AEGIS to get a look at Nico's data or did he do something else to get it? Nico stared intently at the text on his phone once more. [break][break]
Sunny won't talk to me. Please help.
[break][break] Below the text message was a Google Maps pin to what the dark-haired man could only assume was Sunny's apartment. It was pretty presumptive that Nico would go all the way to South Korea to do Crimson Cardinal a favor. Not only was Nico half a world away in the United States, but he also hadn't spoken to the Cardinal in five years. The whole thing reeked of desperation, so much that Nico couldn't just reply with "No." God, was he really going to do this?
[break][break]
As the Execute Mage reached for the components of the Spell Suite, he let out a heavy, pained groan. Of course he was going to do this-- anything to feel like less of a failure to daddy. Nico was doing a favor for him and somehow the son felt like he was in the palm of his father's hands by even acknowledging the text. Even though this was technically a favor for his dad, Nico didn't plan on buttering up his Sunny and convincing her that her dad was worth talking to. Nah, Nico planned on actually telling her the truth.
[break][break]
Nico slid on his AR headset and got to work. The Fast Travel spell's programming hooked directly into Google Maps' API, making it stupid easy to just plug in the pin and teleport there. Fast Travel required an inordinate amount of work and testing-- it was something Nico had worked on sporadically over a period of a couple years, and only just now was he feeling comfortable using it without his body clipping directly through walls. In a moment, he chose the spell from the list and executed it. A door appeared in the middle of Magic Pixel's sparse one-bedroom apartment, and he opened it.
[break][break] In a millisecond Nico moved across the world, stepping on a door mat in the hallway of an apartment building. Nico looked around-- looked like the right building and right apartment number. He paused before ringing the doorbell, though-- god, he hadn't seen Sunny in five years either. How old was she when he left-- thirteen, fourteen? He had... heard things in the meantime, sure, but fear filled his chest at the thought of seeing her again. He was paralyzed by the anxiety of the moment... then, finally, he pressed the doorbell. [break][break] Ding DONG! [break][break]
Nico is already exhausted by adult life. You can see that just by looking at him-- from his slumped posture, to his dark-rimmed eyes, to the consistently grumpy expression on his face. His dark hair is always a little overgrown, and his brown eyes are usually a little glazed, like he's not entirely present.[break][break]
In terms of clothing choice, Nico prefers the comfortable. He's typically seen in a tan blouson jacket, a pair of jeans or chinos (usually gray or blue), white and black sneakers, and some kind of sweatshirt or video game-related graphic tee. [break][break]
In terms of what he wears on the job, Nico has a pretty simple approach to the superhero identity. Mostly what he does is wear his normal clothes with a few additions. The first is a dark blue and black hooded jacket with circuitry-like glowing white lines all over it. The second is a futuristic AR headset that not only manages to look cool, but also helps in executing spell programs. The last is just a set of black gloves with circuitry lines similar to the ones on his jacket-- he uses this largely to interact with his computer system.[break][break]
HEIGHT: 5' 8"[break][break]
WEIGHT: 145 lbs. [break][break]
BUILD: Nico is ectomporphic. He has a small amount of muscle on his body but overall he's light, lean, and thin.[break][break]
SEX: Male. [break][break]
GENDER: Male. [break][break]
SEXUALITY: Pansexual. [break][break]
DATE OF BIRTH: 10/25 [break][break]
[break][break]
Personality Evaluation
[break][break]
Adulthood has hit Nico like a sack of bricks. It's hard to really articulate what's changed, it's more the burden of expectation. Nico wants to prove himself as more than a failure, while at the same time still thinking of himself as one. Being one of the many adopted children of the Crimson Cardinal has deeply affected his perception of the world. There's a worry Nico had when he was a kid that still pervades today. The worry is of being lesser than the other kids that the Cardinal adopted, of being the black sheep, of being a failure. Whether it's true or not, Nico believes the Cardinal sees him as a failure, and a big part of Nico wants to prove him wrong... but the other part just wants to accept it. [break][break]
Nico's been a somewhat bitter person since he was a teenager, and with that bitterness came plenty of sarcasm and self-deprecating jokes. His willingness to be considered a "failure" is definitely a showcase of how defeatist he can be at times. Nico is pretty hard on himself and has some self-hating thoughts swirling around in his head way too often.[break][break]
Still, Nico's a pretty good guy despite his faults. He had a hard time making friends as a kid and even as an adult, but that's taught him how to be a loyal and caring friend to the few people he managed to connect with. Being a programming mage, Nico is also tremendously intelligent, tactical, and good at picking up new skills. Despite not entirely shaking off the awkwardness he had as a kid, Nico can still be quite charismatic... in his own stumbling, self-deprecating way. [break][break]
Nico has a unique perception of the superhero career. When he was younger, he was heavily undecided on whether he wanted to use his abilities to even be a hero, and there was pressure from the Cardinal for him to join the force. It was only when Nico was separated from that pressure was he able to make the decision for himself that he wants to be a hero. Nico was like other kids in that he looked up to Superheroes and their adventures, but wasn't sure that he was ever "worthy" of that title. Nico still has awkward feelings about being "worthy" enough to be a hero, but honestly he just likes how doing hero work makes him feel.[break][break]
When he's fighting to help people and save the world as Magic Pixel, Nico feels like the person he wants to be as opposed to the person he is. That feeling alone is worth staying in the Hero Industry for Nico, and as long as that feeling persists he doesn't plan on stopping.[break][break]
In terms of likes and dislikes, Nico is into a lot of things. He likes programming, computers, video games (especially fighting games), cheap cigarettes, good coffee, and over-the-top action movies. In terms of dislikes, Nico dislikes how much he enjoys smoking, burnt coffee, being a "failure", and avocados.
For Nico, it's hard to remember a time before he was the son of the Crimson Cardinal, one of Asia's greatest superheroes. At two, Nico was found and adopted by the superhero after his parents abandoned him at a carnival. The moment he met Nico, the Cardinal seemed extremely confident that there was something special about him. Technology and computers were a strong interest for Nico at a young age, and growing up in a rich household allowed him access to as much tech as he wanted.[break][break]
Nico's powers only began to develop once he started learning to code at age seven. He found that by coding things like objects or effects, he could replicate those elements in real life. The moment he demonstrated this "magic" to his father, Nico began training to be a superhero-- shadowing his many other superhero siblings, getting hand to hand combat training, weapons training, and learning fire and rescue techniques.[break][break]
It didn't take long for Nico to realize how different he was from the rest of his family. Unlike most of his siblings, his powers weren't naturally activated-- they required a lot of planning and work before they could be used. After his mother died, there was definitely a change in the household and in the Crimson Cardinal. There was pressure to perform before, but now it felt like there was this massive weight on Nico's shoulders to become a great superhero. To be honest, Nico was never sure he wanted to be a hero in the first place but he couldn't say that to anyone in the house, let alone his father.[break][break] In his teen years, Nico broke away from the family. He spent a lot of time in his room or in arcades and only occasionally went on missions and patrols to keep up appearances with his father. Nico became more anti-social and did less superhero activities as time went on. This eventually hit a boiling point when his father got into an argument with him and Nico slipped that he didn't want to be a hero. In this argument, the Cardinal called Nico a failure, a word that has affected him to this day.[break][break]
Not long after the argument, Nico left the house on his eighteenth birth. His father apologized for what he had said, but the word was stuck in Nico's head. For a couple years, Nico pursued a double major in Computer Science and Game Development, but found that there was something kind of hollow about his life without super heroics. Nico finally tried to do the hero thing on his own terms and found that he actually loved being a superhero.[break][break]
Recently, Nico has been trying to reach out to more of his family, with the exception of his father. He's not sure if he'll ever really shake the feeling of being a failure but he knows he won't be able to face his father until he can. [break][break]
Creating something from nothing is something man has dreamed of for all of it's life, and that dream has come true... to an extent. Nico has the ability to materialize objects and effects from code that he's written. As long as a computer with the programmed spells on it's hard drive is within a 10 feet radius of the him, Nico can theoretically materialize almost anything as long as he's taken the time to code it beforehand. Effects and objects appear directly in front of Nico or in/out of his hand. More often than not, the fact that he can program a wide variety of spells leads to a fighting style that includes Hadoukens, Buster Wolfs, and giant anime swords. [break][break]
X - Nico cannot materialize non-plant living things, as creatures with any level of intelligence are incredibly complicated to write in the coding language used for Execute Magic.[break][break]
X - Only Nico can program spells, as he's created a specific programming language to do so that only he's learned thus far. [break][break]
X - The more powerful or complicated an object or effect is, the longer it takes to program. The most complicated effects are often buffs, debuffs, and healing effects, which are hard to program and unlike other spells, usually last a duration of time as opposed to just hitting or missing. Nico only has a couple weak buffs up his sleeves at the moment, and he doesn't tend to use them. A powerful effect or object can take weeks, months, or even years to code and test. For comparison, a very simple spell like the ability to summon a pen or shoot a needle would only take a couple hours to code and deploy.[break][break]
X - As these are programmed spells, they have some of the same issues as a regular piece of coding- bugs. Bugtesting is incredibly important when it comes to these spells, but there are times where issues with execute spells aren't initially apparent or a spell needs to be used as soon as it's coded and deployed. Small bugs can just be minor visual issues but larger bugs could mess with the intended effect altogether or even corrupt other spells on that system.[break][break]
X - In order to use execute magic, a computer with the spells on it's hard drive needs to be within a 10 foot radius of Nico.[break][break]
X - Once an effect has been executed, it cannot be cancelled until the effect has been completed (ie, it hits, misses, or finishes it's duration.) This is notable because hand to hand effects like the ones from fighting games take over Nico's body to execute the motion. So, once Nico casts "Shoryuken", he has to complete the motion and effect until he can regain control of his body. Objects can be cancelled at any time.[break][break]
X - Spells are incredibly hard to modify or recode in the middle of a fight or mission. While there's a wide variety of things Execute Magic can do, it's not as adaptable as one may think.[break][break]
X - Only three objects and/or effects can be in use at a time. If Nico wants to summon another effect or object past those three, he'll have to wait for the effect to finish or desummon an object.[break][break]
X - At maximum, the heaviest object Nico can summon is 500 lbs.[break][break]
MISC.
⍟ QUOTE/CATCHPHRASE:[break][break]
"It's not a bug, it's a feature. Shut up." [break][break]
✽ Family Training [break][break]
As a member of the Crimson Cardinal's family, Nico was trained how to fight from a young age. He has extensive training in hand to hand combat, melee weaponry, and marksmanship. When it comes to hand to hand combat, Nico prefers Hapkido and Aikido but is admittedly a very average martial artist. [break][break]
✽ Spell Suite [break][break]
Nico's "Spell Suite" is a necessary aspect of his superpowers. It's a system of three objects-- the first is his high-powered custom AR headset, as said before. It has the ability to display text on it's outward facing panel, allowing Nico to communicate to people at a glance. The second object is his gloves, which are used to interact with the VR interface. The third is a customized cell phone that's the heart of the entire system. The cell is a high powered portable computer you can fit in your pocket-- and not "cell phone" powerful, but high end desktop powerful. It connects everything in the suite, stores all of the spell programs on it's hard drive, and also makes sure everything's encrypted and secured. [break][break]
