System Initialization

Error! Paradox event in progress!

Values outside of bounds. Please run debug system.

Error! No Administrator in local existence.

Searching for nearby candidates…

Candidate Qualities:

Proximity to Initialization point

Not under the effects of temporal or reality-warping abilities

INT 15+

EGO 15+

PRE 15+

Potential Administrator found.

Contacting candidate…

System Notice

There is no Local System Administrator for your local region/dimension. As the closest potential candidate that meets the qualifications, you are offered the position of Local System Administrator.

Do you accept? Yes / No

System Notice

You are now promoted to Local System Administrator!

15 Experience granted.

Experience spent on mandatory Local System Administrator package.

Administrator Notice

Paradox event in progress. Local values out of bounds. Prolonged exposure may cause damage to universe.

Recommended action: Run debug process.

Run debug? Yes / No

System Notice

Local values out of bounds. Debugging…

System install incorrectly formatted. File corrupted.

Patching System Install files… Complete

Applying System version 11.21.1983.

Administrator Notice

Rogue values destabilizing system. Quarantine values?

Yes / No

I reeled as a whole bunch of blue screens popped up, one after another. I thought I was back to the bad old days of Internet Explorer! I cleared them away and hit ‘yes’ a few times, not really paying attention to what was happening. Didn’t know what a system administrator for reality did, but I figured I’d be better off having that power, than letting someone else get it. Whatever it was.

That mandatory Local System Administrator package turned out to be something called a ‘Knowledge Skill (System)’, with a couple ranks in it, and something called a ‘Perk’ titled ‘System Access (Administrator)’. Suddenly, I just… knew things about this System. Like, I wasn’t all-knowing, but I felt as though I could understand things about the structure of the System. Like how I just knew that the System Access perk gave me better control over the System, and possibly better access to information on the System.

What was the System? As far as the implanted knowledge told me, it was basically like the rules of the universe. More than just things like the speed of light, or talk of gravity and mass and all of that. The System governed, well, everything, including superpowers. And it made it follow rules.

Why hadn’t we ever found out about this before? Surely, if there was some kind of System that governed how superpowers and all that worked, someone would have said something by now! Especially with how so many superpowers seemed to break any rules but their own. There were more than a couple reality warpers out there, after all!

The answer, frustratingly enough, appeared to be that one of the damn reality warpers had busted it. Not sure exactly how. There were no real details, other than a date stamp, and a code. I’d have to play around with my new access to learn how to pull up that kind of information. What I did know is that the date stamp roughly coincided with the recorded birth of Mit-amen, an Egyptian girl born in the days of Akhenaten, and the first recorded superhero, as witnessed by time travelers.

I remembered reading about that in my History of Superpowers class. Some slaves were attempting to throw off the Egyptian yoke, and promised plagues by their god if they weren’t let go. The supposed ‘divine plagues’ were actually coordinated attacks masked by ancient mysticism, and it was Mit-amen that exposed the plot, and the slaves fled.

The final battle between Mit-amen and the leader of the rebellious slaves took place at the shore of the Red Sea, as she rode ahead of the Pharaoh’s host to ensure that the slaves did not escape. She caught up with them, and the great Mit-amen proved her might as she placed a dread illusion upon the slaves, causing them to believe that their god had opened a path in the sea for them. But it was an illusion, and the slaves drowned themselves, never knowing the difference until it was too late.

That couldn’t be coincidental. Something about the birth of the first superhuman in our reality caused the ‘System’ to break. Or perhaps it was just the System at that time, and we’d never gotten updated, for one reason or another? Perhaps the last ‘local administrator’ had been caught up in the drowning of the slaves?

Administrator Notice

Rogue values quarantined. System online.

The sudden silence was deafening. I looked over to where the Doctor and Master had been fighting. There was nothing. No sounds of combat, nothing.

Moving to where I could see the sight of the battle itself, I found myself gaping. It was easy to see where the two combatants had been, battling it out with their technological minions. But the chaos of the battle had just stopped, with minions and the like freezing in place, as though they’d never been given motive force. And of their creators, nothing.

It was like they had just dropped off the face of the Earth, or were swallowed up by the void, leaving not even a trace behind. I looked back to where their time machines/lairs were, and they were still there. It was just the two time travelers themselves that had disappeared. Or, perhaps they had been ‘quarantined’?

Knowledge Skill (The System), (14-): 3d6 = 10 (Success)

That was it, wasn’t it? The System had decided that the Doctor of Time and Master of Paradoxes were ‘rogue values’ that were destabilizing the System and preventing proper function. So, the debugger worked like a virus checker and quarantined them.

Going over the information I had obtained from becoming the local administrator, it became clear that the System had deemed them a concern, and quarantined them into pocket dimensions, isolated from the rest of the universe, essentially in stasis, until their case could be reviewed and they could be either released or purged. The purging bit sounded very final, so I decided playing around with things like that wasn’t in my best interests. I figured that those two would keep until I figured out a way to bring one or both of them back without destroying reality. At the very least, they wouldn’t object to me taking a few more things out of their lairs before the cops showed up.

As I looted a few more treasures, I thought about that blue box. My System knowledge told me that the system essentially had dice rolls involved in it, with 3d6 being the basic roll everyone got. For most things, you wanted to roll that 3d6 and get under the target number. My knowledge skill had a target of 14 or under, which was really pretty good, considering that the max on a 3d6 was 18.

Of course, circumstances could modify that target number. Very basic information might bump it to a 15 or 16 and lower, while obscure questions might have a target of 10 instead of the normal 14. So, there was some benefit to having a target number of 20- on a 3d6, I guessed.

But that brought up some very particular questions. Namely, what other skills or abilities did this System say I had? And how did they compare to ‘normal’ people?

Basic Info

Name

Iceblade

Aliases

Mirikon Mollen, The Chiller, Frosty, Stuart Grosse

Height

1.78m

Weight

90 kg

Eyes

Brown

Hair

Brown

Base Points

400

Total Spent

615

Max Disadvantages

200

Disadv. Used

200

XP Earned

15

XP Used

15

The knowledge from my Administrator package allowed me to figure out how to open my character sheet, for lack of a better word. The sheet had different tabs on it, presumably so someone wouldn’t get confused by the overload of information. When I opened the ‘Basic Info’ tab, I saw that information come up.

The first thing I noticed was how it had my ‘Name’ as Iceblade, but my actual name as one of my aliases. Sure, I spent almost all of my time as Iceblade, in one form or another. And yeah, I didn’t remember the last time someone actually called me by my real name. But to list my real name as an alias? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

The same was true of the metric measurements. While, yes, the numbers were correct, I was an American, and generally thought in those terms. Sure, I could understand why a system might prefer metric measurements, since scaling was easier, but that was a bit off-putting, to say the least.

The real meat and potatoes of the basic info screen was my points totals. Discounting the 15 xp that had been given and then spent as part of my administrator package, that left me with 600 overall ‘points’ spent, with 200 of them from ‘disadvantages’. According to my System knowledge skill, that meant I was considered a very high-powered superhuman. Except I knew that I was nowhere near the power level of some of the top tier supers, on either side of the law. And what were these disadvantages I had?

Disadvantages

Cost

Disadvantage

5

Distinctive Features – Mutant (Not Concealable, Noticed and Recognizable, Detectable only by Technology or major effort)

Despite all his other abilities, Mirikon Mollen was born a mutant, and will still appear as such to those who can detect mutants.

15

Distinctive Features – Tangible Sexuality (Not Concealable, Noticed and Recognizable, Detectable by commonly-used senses)

Even without the aid of his ring, Iceblade oozes sexuality and confidence from every pore. Even without trying, people always take notice of him, even when he would rather stay inconspicuous.

10

Distinctive Features – Aura of Cold (Concealable, Noticed and Recognizable, Detectable by commonly-used senses)

Iceblade is so attuned to the ice and cold that his body unconsciously chills the area around him. His body temperature is normally 80F (as opposed to a normal person’s 98.6F), leaving his skin cool to the touch.

10

Hunted – Super-Human Defense Initiative 8- (Less Powerful, NCI, Capture)

The SHDI has been hunting Iceblade for a long time, hoping to capture him for his crimes, and to get him off the streets. Unfortunately, they sometimes show up to make his life difficult.

5

Hunted – Villain Groupies 14- (Less Powerful, Watching)

Life in the Information Age has led to Villain Groupies (the same sorts who become enamored with thieves and killers) looking to learn everything about Iceblade. He often runs across groupies who recognize him. A surprising number of these groupies are female. Perhaps for that reason, the groupies never actually wish him ill, but they sometimes get in the way of his work.

15

Hunted – Squadron Supreme 8- (More Powerful, Harshly Punish/Kill)

Unfortunately, the Squadron Supreme has developed something of a grudge against Iceblade. Their leader, Indomitable, is especially interested in tracking Iceblade down and bringing him in, dead or alive. (He would prefer dead.)

10

Psychological Limitation – Vengeful (Uncommon, Strong)

Iceblade cannot allow a betrayal to go unavenged. Even minor slights demand repayment in kind. While he may be persuaded to delay his revenge, he won’t forget it.

15

Psychological Limitation – Competitive (Very Common, Moderate)

Iceblade is easily spurred to action by a sense of competition, and is driven to win whenever he competes.

15

Psychological Limitation – Assertive (Common, Strong)

Iceblade has a great deal of trouble letting others talk down to him, or in any way walk over him, whether it is socially or not. This can cause problems when the smart play is to accept things as they are, rather than telling people what he thinks about the situation.

10

Psychological Limitation – Prejudiced against Heroes (Common, Moderate)

Iceblade views the superheroes in the world as generally hypocritical beings who pretend to be good when they are just as bad as he is.

10

Reputation – Vengeful and Sadistic, 11- (Extreme, Known only to a small group)

While the general public does not know about Iceblade’s ruthless tendencies to those who have wronged him, it is common knowledge amongst the criminal underworld that he repays treachery with utter destruction.

15

Reputation – Womanizer 14-

Iceblade’s constant flirting, sex appeal, and notable conquests have given him a very strong reputation as a womanizer, rake, and playboy.

15

Social Limitation – Secret Identity (Frequently, Major)

Iceblade’s true name has been kept out of the public eye. His true identity is a mystery to most, allowing him to actually use his true identity to have a civilian life, if he wants. But keeping his identity secret is quite a bit of work at times.

10

Social Limitation – Sex Object (Frequently, Minor)

Because of his aura of sexuality and history of conquests, people often think that he is nothing but a playboy, who has gotten where he is by luck and seduction more than anything else.

10

Social Limitation – Loner (Frequently, Minor)

Iceblade has spent many years alone. While he may have acquaintances and liaisons, there are few, if any, he can call a friend, and fewer still who manage to make it into his confidences.

30

Vulnerability – 2xSTUN from Fire attacks (Very Common)

As a creature of cold, Iceblade is weak against fire, taking twice as much STUN damage from such attacks.

Total Bonus

200

I frowned slightly. That list was certainly expansive, and I couldn’t argue with any of it, really. However, I felt a distinct dislike that the System had somehow manage to categorize all my faults like that. It was unnerving. How was I supposed t—

Hunted Roll: 3d6 = 6 (14-)

“OMG! It’s him! Iceblade!”

I bit off a curse as some of the ‘villain groupies’ found me. The fangirls were flattering, but there was no way I was going to let them get close to me. That was an easy way to get yourself infiltrated. Instead, I used a cloud of icy mist to hide myself as I made my escape.

No way was I dealing with this now.