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!
The lead mobster would tell that Oliver had no interest in negotiating deadlines. While he could occasionally aggressively negotiate folks, he was smart enough to know this young man was different. Denying the guy would just make him mad, cause more trouble for the gangs. Besides, what was the harm in letting the kid try? The boss would blow another ring of smoke, shaking his head and looking at the young crime boss across the table, the mobster would retort "You're not willing to bargain are ya...? Fine. If you die though, we'll be speaking to the count. Call it insurance." The rest of the thugs would mutter amongst themselves whether it was a good idea or not. Either way, their minds had been made up for them.
The request made by Oliver was a much easier thing to accommodate. As it just so happened, one of the surviving robbers from the bank heist only a week ago was there. The Italian man would raise a hand, and then speak "Butch, come tell Mr. Belmont about our cat problem." A man with a broken arm and black eye would walk forward. From the vent above, Catman himself would recognize the figure from last week. It was a thug Aegis had arrested, the man must have escaped on bail. An injured Butch would recount that evening "Well... Some of the boys have taken to calling the guy Catman. I was at the bank last week with Charlie an' Benny. We three had machine guns, high caliber stuff, belt fed. Once we're inside the building, the guy drops down from the roof and cover the place in some kind of smoke screen. We shoot into the smoke, but, uh... miss. After that, he throws some kinda' knives at us, like he's a ninja or somethin'. He runs at Charlie, pops him in the nose, then uses the guy as a human shield when I try to shoot him... Then he tosses Charile's body at me before trying to beat in my face..."
The man in the attic would nod, as the story was entirely true, though he did have a bit of help. If he wanted to end this meeting anytime soon though, he would need to drop in uninvited. Standing up from his crouched position, the floorboards beneath his feet would creak.
The entire room of gangsters would look upward as they heard something come from the attic... The mob boss would face palm slowly, "How could we have forgotten to check for prying eyes? Did any of you boys know there was an attic in this place?" Multiple thugs would shake their heads no. The boss would sigh and hand Butch a pistol. "Butch, Bobby, Sam... You three go up there and check things out... I smell a rat."
Edward knew he would have to act fast. The three thugs would surly find him since the attic was so small. Deciding to prepare an ambush, the vigilante would use his grappling gun to latch onto the ceiling. Downstairs, Butch would open the hatch, using the latter leading to the attic. He would climb up as two others would follow. They were all three armed, and well prepared to take on a threat, or dumb journalist. Edward hung stealthily and silently overhead, waiting for the three to get into position. "Hmmm, I don't see anyone here... You Bobby?" The man would shake his head in response "Nah, doesn't look like anyone's here... Right Sam?" The pair of thugs would turn to see a decapitated Sam lying on the ground, his head cleanly cut off.
Before the pair could even react, the man's head would be dropped onto the floor from the ceiling. They would look up to see Catman with one hand on a grappling gun, and the other on a bloody katana. "Meow."
On the floor below, the group of gang bosses would hear a series of shouts, yelps, and gunshots coming from upstairs. Something was going horribly wrong...
Whispers of the various thugs would be halted as Oliver lifted his hand. His display against the leader of the clover gang left others grasping at their own shirt collars in fear. After the explanation, whispers would continue, but in a much more hushed tone. The clover leader swallowing hard and commenting. "Gee.. Uh.. Hadn't thoughta' that..."
Catman would train his eyes on the criminal at the other end of the table, the one who displayed some sort of strange power. The man had personally sworn to remove the thorn from the gang's side, that being the vigilante himself.
The lead mobster would grab his brow with his left hand, sighing for a moment, "Bobby, hit Mr. Belmont and I with a spota' wine. We've got some explainin' to do..." A large man with a wine bottle and glass would approach the boss and Oliver, offering each a glass. "It's a 77 venue, good stuff." The man would say taking a sip.
Explaining further "I know you have considerable connections my friend. You father had considerable connections too, good man... So, let me to tell you what you're up against." The mobster would take out a map of the city, pulled directly from this coat pocket. There would be six 'X's marked across the map in red ink. "Each X is an arms deal that went wrong. Sometimes the boys comeback alive but beaten, others don't... Everyone who's seen him says its a guy in a black suit with ears like a cat, Heh, imagine that..." The mobster would allow everyone in the room to get a good look at the map, making sure they understood the situation. "Here's the real mystery though... No one knows what kind of power this guy has. Hell, just last week he takes out three guys with machine guns like it's nothing... Point is, this guy is dangerous." The boss would take another sip from his glass deciding "Tell ya what. I only have so much say over what these fine gangs do, but I'll make ya a promise. We'll give you one week to make this clown go away for good, but if it takes longer than that, we'll have no choice but to deal with the count... Does that sound reasonable fellas?"
The other bosses and underbosses would be chatting around the room as before, but this time they were all in agreement over something. they liked the idea.
The vigilante would roll his eyes as the woman thought she was being ignored entirely. "I'm not ignoring your existence, that question was directed at you... If I was ignoring you, then I wouldn't have spoken at all..." Edward saw crime fighting as a job more than a hobby. It was something that required seriousness and tact. From his guess, this woman looked at hero work as a day job, and not the war on crime it actually was...
He would almost chuckle at her assertion of him needing manners. That was perhaps the least important thing to him, as all he needed was information... Deciding to find it himself, he would walk back over to Butch, and begin rummaging through the man's pockets. The thug would simply be begging "Take whatever you want, just don't kill me!" eventually, he would find an envelop tucked away in the crook's coat. It didn't seem to contain drugs or money, but an actual letter. Taking the piece of paper, Catman would stuff it into an empty container on his utility belt.
Meanwhile, the doctor would be asking about his name. Edward would give a simple nod, asserting "I am Catman. Well met Doctor, I appreciate your assistance..." His heart rate would increase as she called an Aegis clean up crew, but would remain calm on the outside. They were the organization who denied him for having no powers, he didn't even have a chance. Charlotte had also seemed to realize he was no hero, and even warned him that they were on their way.
"Heh, even if Aegis did see me, they would just call me an amature and tell me to beat it. Maybe they would try to arrest me, but that wouldn't go well for them..." Edward would grab the grappling gun at his side, preparing for a quick escape.
The mobster would snuff out the lit end of his cigar as Oliver took a seat. Things were about to get serious, as the man they had been waiting for had finally arrived. “Ah little Oli’ I remember playin’ golf with your pop back in the day...” The young crime lord seemed to be getting right down to business. His assessment was a fair one by all standards, even catman in the vent overhead would silently agree. “I admire your sense for business. Let me tell you something Mr. Belmont, you don’t get to be my age without wits. We wouldn’t be doing this job without a damn good reason, so, allow me to explain...”
The man would put the cigar back in his mouth, sucking in for a second, and then blowing a ring. “There are two very good reasons we’re doing this, the first of the two is perhaps the most concerning... The natural order of things has been broken. Aegis, or one of their ‘hero’ operatives has been coming after the gangs lately. Mostly our weapon traders, probably trying to disarm us... Point is, they’re coming after us, and the man who’s doing it is brutal.” The man would pause for a moment, trying to let his words sink in. Their underworld was at risk, and this was the best course of action. “Now for the second part. Big time super villain, calls himself the ‘count’, is looking to take on hero HQ... He’s offer any crime family or organization 4 million to sign up. The guy is looking for manpower, guns, anything we can give. So, get Aegis off our backs and 4 million a piece, not a bad deal I’d say...”
Catman himself understood the situation, he had been the one causing all the trouble, not Aegis. The heroes were arrogant, only going after the bigger threats in town. He made it his own personal mission to rid the town of gangs like this, someone had to do it. It turned out he'd broken enough noses to finally get some attention from the underworld... The big question was, how to proceed? Another would be whoever the hell the 'count' was. The guy must have been a new villain in town...
Figuring it was in his best interest to gather more information, Catman would remain hidden, not making a sound. The mobster would continue his spiel "So, that's the situation. Who here's in?" A large bald Irishman would stroke his beard before responding "Well, I was off put at first myself, but if you're being backed by an actual villain... Count the Clover gang in." The room would break out into multiple conversations and whispers as others considered joining up...
Downtown Wayport City could be a dangerous place, and this particular evening was no exception. Catman had caught wind of a shady meeting going on Downtown. Thanks to his work on stopping the underground arms trade, he eventually got his hands on a letter addressed to one of the gang's underbosses. It detailed the meeting's location, an apartment room on floor 13 of a large complex. That was the location in the letter at least...
=========Downtown Apartment M12=========
Apartment M12 was filled with influential members of the criminal underworld, and they had all shown up to discuss the destruction of Aegis Headquarters! The front door was being monitored by some sort of bouncer, clipboard in hand with a list of names. The rest of the men appeared to be well dressed, all gathered around a large table in the middle of the room. It looked like some sort of discussion was about to begin...
With the event on the thug's minds, very few of them would think to check for prying eyes. These prying eyes just so happened to be green, as Catman himself would be hidden away in the attic, looking down at them all from an air vent. While there was no way he could take them all out at once, he would at least be able to catch wind of their plan. If some of the criminals got sloppy, then maybe he could swoop in to clean things up
One older man appeared to be some kind of Italian mobster, heading the meeting up at the end of the table. The man would start smoking a large cigar, as others began to gather around. "Hey, boys... Were's the rest of em'? Ain't every crook in town suppose to be here?" One of the man's guards would shrug, remarking "Well boss, we told everyone. So, uh, yeah..."
As Catman had knocked the second thug to the ground, he would notice the boss slumped over from across the room. Someone else was there, and it wasn't a little someone by his account. A massive woman appeared to be the one responsible, taking advantage of the man's negligence. She wasn't dressed as a hero, perhaps she was a civilian with a power of some kind? That raised multiple questions, but he couldn't afford to let it interfere with his investigation of the underground arms dealing going on. Aegis was worried about larger threats than that, but he was determined to clean up their mess.
Butch, who was not unconscious would crawl out from under his partner's dead body. Edward would simply walk forward causing the crook to crawl backwards while aiming his gun. "Back damn you!" Edward would smile slightly, watching the man pull the trigger. It would make a soft 'click' sound, indicating it was out of ammunition. He thought as much, seeing the weapon was belt fed, and lacked a belt... Butch would crawl back faster, only to be stopped by Catman who stomp against the man's stomach with his right leg. "Aaarggg..." The guy would moan. "Don't move," The vigilante would mutter.
Edward's eyes would switch to the woman approaching him. She seemed to be teasing him with the treat comment, and must not have realized he was a vigilante. That could be an issue, but maybe this woman could assist him. Ignoring her comment, he would elaborate "I've been hunting down dealers and buyers of an underground weapons racketeering ring. They've been operating across town for the past couple months. Local. No mob or yakuza associations. Know anything?" His gaze would then turn to the injured thug.
Picking up Butch by the collar, Catman would question "That question goes for you too. I expect answers..."
The criminal trio would continue making their way inside the bank, holding up one of the tellers at gunpoint. Things seemed to be going their way so far, as one of the thugs would toss a large duffle bag up on the counter. Raising his gun to the male teller from before, he would demand "You, get filling this thing. All the damn cash in this joint. Try anything funny, any police show up, any heroes outside that door, POP! You're head's gettin' blown off." The banker would nod vigorously, and start stuffing cash from behind the stall into the bag.
The leader of the bunch would be bold enough to set down his gun for a second and light a cigarette. "Uh- Boss, you sure that's a good idea?" Bruno would question. "God Damn it-- Can't a man just smoke a fuckin' cigarette in peace? Thank you" The thug would shrug at his bosses' response, keeping his weapon trained on the teller. There robbery would suddenly be put in jeopardy as the boss heard a sound from across the room. It seemed to be that of a pen getting knocked to the ground... Deciding to investigate, he would toss half his smoke on the ground and walk towards the noise. "Calm down fellas, I'm sure it's nothin'."
Meanwhile, outside the building, Catman would find himself on the Bank's roof. He could tell all three armed assailants were in the place, and there was likely a hostage situation. If that was the case, then he would need to clear the room with brutal efficiency. Noticing a ventilation shaft, the vigilante would kick in the metal grate that separated the bank from the outside world. Diving into the shaft, Edward would find himself overlooking the bank's main room. The three men were clearly in view, and they likely knew who he was. Many small time thugs heard about the new up and coming vigilante in Wayport. The big mystery being, what powers he actually had? Making a flashy entrance could get them to panic.
The leader of the thugs would bend over to pick up the pen, inspecting it for a second and shouting back "Ah, it was nothing guys, just a p-," before he could finish his statement, a metal grate would fall from the sealing, and Catman would drop down to the middle of the room! Charlie's eyes would widen "It's Catman!" Butch would respectively ask "Who?" Edward himself would smirk, only responding with "Meow."
In that moment, he would slam a smoke pellet against the ground, creating a large cloud. The first two thugs would begin firing a hail of bullets into the cloud, all in hopes of hitting the man. Thankfully, their vision was terribly obstructed, and they weren't very good shots to begin with. A black shuriken would be launched from the cloud, stabbing into Charlie's shooting hand. "Gah! My hand!" Then, as Butch was reloading, Catman would lunge directly at Charlie with a superman punch. The fist would strike the man's left eye, dazing him for just long enough. His partner's machine gun was now reloaded, and ready to fire again. Bringing the rifle up to the feline vigilante's body, the brute would pull the trigger. Unfortunately for them, Edward would grab Charlie by the shirt, using him as a human shield! "Aaaahh, Butch! Stop damn--" The man would be dead within the first couple shots, and Butch would lower his gun in shock. "Ah Charlie! No!" Catman would simply scowl, and toss Charlie's body at Butch, knocking him over.
In all the confusion, Edward had lost track of the Boss. He wondered what happened there...
Downtown Wayport City could be a dangerous place, and this particular evening was no exception. Three men had a dangerous plan, purchase automatic weapons from an illicit dealer, and then make their money back with a robbery. It was a simple plan, effective, but a dangerous one. It was around 7 PM as the sun set, and several businesses were closing their doors for the night. One such business included the downtown 'Bank of Wayport', the target of these scoundrel's.
The three large men would march up to the building's front door, the leader of the pack deciding to knock. "You sure knocking is a good idea boss? Don't we wanna get the drop on em?" The leader of the thugs would nudge his buddy, "Corse we do Butch, just watch me... And Charlie, get ready to put on a show..." One of the bank's teller would open the door and slowly explain "I'm sorry sirs, the bank of Wayport is clo--... Oh my..." The teller's eyes would flash to the weapons being held by the men, before continuing "On second thought, head right in fellas! We've got all the money you could ask for!" the man would start hyper ventilating in fear. The thugs would walk inside the building, the boss of the crew chuckling to himself "Now that's what I like to hear..."
Across town would be a bloody arms dealer in an ally. The man would be slumped against a brick wall with a broken nose, and a business card in his lap. In front of the unconscious body would be Catman, searching through the man's trench coat. The dealer thankfully had a checkbook of sorts, one that detailed a recent transaction. Three men, three light machine guns, that was some serious firepower. If the police were to get involved, they would be torn to shreds, and a SWAT team would take too long. It was up to him to figure out where these guys were headed, and what they were planning on doing.
The obvious thing to do was a bank robbery, and the closest one was the 'Bank of Wayport', only a short walk away. Thankfully, Catman was able to do a bit more than walk, using his grappling gun to ascend to an apartment complex's rooftop. After jumping from building to building, he would eventually be overlooking the bank, just in time to see the group of men marching in.
Edward is a man in peak human physical condition, possessing green eyes and light brown hair that's occasionally dyed blonde. He has a slightly tanned skin tone that tends to mesh well with his physique. While he tends to wear a broad assortment of clothes, Edward can usually be seen in common workout clothes, or his black suit (If on vigilante business). [break][break]
HEIGHT: 6 ft. [break][break]
WEIGHT: 185 lbs [break][break]
BUILD: Incredibly muscular and well developed, 10% body fat. Mesomorph. [break][break]
SEX: Male [break][break]
GENDER: Male [break][break]
SEXUALITY: Heterosexual [break][break]
DATE OF BIRTH: 03/05 [break][break]
[break][break]
Personality Evaluation
[break][break]
Edward's personality is a had one for anyone but himself to discern. While around most, he would radiate a happy-go-luck or fun loving attitude, it would all be in an effort to hide his innermost feelings. For whatever reason, he was born with a deep hatred of criminals, and large admiration for heroes. While many people had similar feelings, none quite had his passion. The heroes would stop villains for a time, sure, but they would never truly deter them. Edward knew the villains needed something to fear, something to make them reconsider their next actions. the best way to teach fear, would be through pain. Like training a dog, he would need to make villains yelp for mercy, and kneel at his feet. Then, when they were done, have them hauled off to think about their actions. [break][break]
This mindset didn't come from a tragic experience, but from a simple logical solution in his mind. It was a solution others may have even overlooked, operant conditioning. Unfortunately, his idea of justice was an unlawful one. [break][break]
Edward Conner was born an only child into a simple middle-class family in Wayport city, the center of superhuman activity. He grew up hearing stories of heroics, from his parents who were first hand witness. Like many youngsters, Edward would be determined to become a superhero himself, and his parents would simply chuckle at the assertion. The boy was average by every standard, a completely normal and healthy human. Though as he grew older, and insistences of him becoming a hero grew became more pestering, Edwards parents would enroll him in karate classes. At the age of four, he seemed to have an incredible ability to understand and grasp fighting. [break][break]
The young Edward's teacher was amazed at level of skill this child had, and would manage to quickly teach him. Within a few months time, the boy was just as skilled as a blue belt, but lacked the ability to achieve such a rank due to being so young. There was a loophole around this however, if he could get his parents permission to participate in a tournament, he could become a black belt before age six. Thankfully, his parents would oblige, and to everyone dismay, the boy would become a champion for his age level. Edward was the world's second youngest black belt, a true fighting prodigy. [break][break]
After this achievement would come many others, as Edward would go on to master a large variety of martial arts. Jujitsu at age 7, Maui Thai at age 9, Taekwondo at age 11, Aikido at age 13, Kendo at age 15, and ninjitsu at age 17. Once he turned eighteen several diffrent MMA leagues would approach him, the wealthiest to which he would join up.[break][break]
While many always figured Edward wanted to become a great fighter, only his parents ever knew his true intentions. The entire time, his only goal was to become a hero. As soon as he started getting steady checks from his fights, the man would finally be able to fulfill his dreams. Edward would use much of his wealth to purchase armor, weapons, gadgets. Once properly suited up, he decided to head to aegis headquarters. His very first question, "What's your power?" when explaining he didn't have any superhuman abilities, he was laughed off the premises...[break][break]
Having worked too hard, and dedicated his life to becoming a hero, Edward decided to become a vigilante. He wanted to become a symbol of bad luck and misfortune to all dumb enough to take him on. He would become a black cat, Catman.[break][break]
While it is not a true "Power", Edward was born with a mind attuned to understanding and learning martial arts. He is no mutant, or alien, just a regular human who happens to be a prodigy at fighting. Edward has achieved black belt status in seven different forms of martial arts, trains daily, and fights professionally once every two months. Many sports commentators have gone on record claiming Edward Conner is likely the greatest pound-for-pound non-superhuman fighter in history. In theory, he could become even greater by learning more styles. He has a current MMA record of 12 wins, 0 losses, 0 draws.[break][break]
For those who skipped the backstory, here are a list of his mastered fighting styles: [break][break]
Karate [break][break]
Jujitsu [break][break]
Maui Thai [break][break]
Taekwondo [break][break]
Aikido [break][break]
Kendo [break][break]
Ninjitsu/Ninpo [break][break]
[break][break]
X - While Edward is a great fighter, and is in almost inhumanly good shape, his is still a regular man. Bullets can penetrate his skin, as could knives, ect.[break][break]
X - It takes Edward time to learn other fighting styles, usually a year to master a new style.[break][break]
MISC.
[break][break] ⍟ CATCHPHRASE:[break][break]
"Meow..." [break][break]
✽ Freerunning [break][break]
While many just thought it to be another hobby of Edward's, he's spent a good deal of time mastering parkour. he knew it he was to become a hero without powers, mobility would be a must. His free running skills are near master level, allowing him to easily traverse city-scape on foot. It's also taught him a wide variety of flips, rolls, and other gymnastic techniques.[break][break]
✽ Utility Belt [break][break]
Knowing that there are a large assortment of foes who would easily overpower him with superhuman abilities, Edward came prepared. He wears a belt around his waist with several pouches containing various gadgets to get him out of sticky situations. The belt contains a Grapple Gun (30 foot reach), Smoke pellets (15x15 square feet coverage), Black Shuriken (usually only carries a handful), Handcuffs (Steel, 2 pairs), Calling Cards (A set of 20, his calling card).[break][break]
✽ Catsuit [break][break]
The utility belt isn't the Catman's only defense, as he wears an armored costume. The Catsuit is a custom design that combines aspects of a wetsuit and hoodie. This suit has light kevlar plates that cover the chest, back, legs, and arms. The plates could stop low-calibur bullets, but little more. The suit also has a long belt that secures the utility belt, and hangs off his back like a cat's tail. [break][break]
✽ Cat-tana [break][break]
A standard katana with a carbon fiber black hilt, and titanium blade. Edward is a master of kendo and ninpo, making him a fantastic swordsman. He usually keeps this blade strapped across his back. [break][break]
✽ Physical Conditioning [break][break]
As one of the word's greatest martial artists, it would make sense for Edward to be in great shape. the young man was speed and strength comparable not only to other professional fighters, but many high level Olympians as well. He can beanch press around 750 lbs, remarkable for his bodyweight, but hasn't broken any records quite yet. He's also been timed running at a maximum speed of 25 mph, olympic level, but not quite the best. [break][break]
