Thunder & Lightning
Very very fright'ning!
There was never really any doubt that John Harrington and Margaret Russell would marry each other. Their respective parents were close friends, and when they each had children within a few weeks of each other, a boy and a girl, there was much joking that they'd created a way for the two families to unite. The jokes kept being told as the two children grew up, and somehow they stopped being jokes. The two started dating in high school, got engaged after graduation, and married in 1987 after John got his accounting certificate.
Had they really come to love each other or were they simply bowing to parental pressure? Only they know that ... and maybe they've forgotten.
Their honeymoon was a lavish gift from their parents, a boat on which they could sail around the Gulf of Mexico like the independently wealthy that they hoped to one day be. Less than a day out from land, though, their boat was caught in a sudden storm that rained down strange precipitation onto both of them. Disturbed by this eventuality, they returned to shore, sold the boat, and resolved to live within their means henceforth. They weren't to know that they'd been subjected to the effects of the same "weather controlling devices", designed by one Sebastian Stratos, that would empower Captain Thunder.
They figured that out over the next few weeks. Margaret had been granted tremendous strength and resistance to injury, while John had the power to discharge lightning bolts. It's to their credit that they didn't go mad with power immediately, as all too many mutated individuals do. On the other hand, they also didn't come to any profound realizations about the nature of power and responsibility, either. They had no interest in being psychotic villains or equally-psychotic heroes like the ones they read about in the news. So they resolved to never use their powers for any purposes.
Yes, they
were fond of making resolutions, weren't they? But they stuck to the one about their powers for nearly a decade, through many situations -- such as when they moved to San Francisco a week before Loma Prieta -- probably tempted them quite a bit. However, perhaps the weight of living under two resolutions was a bit too much for them. Or perhaps they attempted to salve a deep and abiding unhappiness in their lives with material things that cost more than they could afford. Be that as it may, they found it harder and harder to live within their means.
Finally, in 1996, they realized that they would not have enough money to pay what they owed in income taxes. After some mild panic, John hesitantly suggested that they use their powers to perform some burglaries to get the money they would need. At least, that's how Margaret tells it; John portrays it more as a decision that they both developed independently. Regardless, they did agree to the notion, and took some pleasure in burglarizing a federal building to get the money needed to get the government off their back.
Unfortunately, they hadn't learned their lesson, and the next year they had to do it again, and the next year, and the next. In 2000, they were finally caught by a pair of superheroes, and went to jail for their crimes. They served five years of an eight year sentence before a federal judge ordered their release in support of the Project Freedom initiative in Freedom City, an opportunity for them to put their superpowers to use for the common good.
Needless to say, they were miserable. Any hope they'd ever had of a normal life was ruined by the notoriety that they earned as members of Project Freedom. (Some may have described what they earned as fame, but not these two.) When they were finally released from the program, there was no doubt in either of their minds what they would do now. Everyone called them supervillains? Fine. They'd be supervillains. Since then they have worked for VIPER as super-mercenaries, taken cities hostage, and generally made public nuisances of themselves as some of the most wanted criminals in the United States.
And all because of a lousy honeymoon.
Thunder -- PL 11
STR 14 |
STA 10 |
AGL 4 |
DEX 4 |
FGT 8 |
INT 0 |
AWE 3 |
PRE 2
Powers: Flight (Flight 8),
Invulnerablity (Immunity 10 [life support]; Protection 4, Impervious Toughness 10),
Strength Tricks (Array: Burst Area Affliction 7 [Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Stunned], Extra Condition, Limited Degree),
Super-Breath (Array: Close Range Cone Area Move Object 11, Limited to Pushing Object Away, AP: Create 11, Requires Water, AP: Close Range Cone Area Nullify Fire Powers 5, Broad, Simultaneous).
Advantages: All-Out Attack, Improved Initiative, Interpose, Move-By Action.
Skills: Expertise: High Society 4 (+6), Expertise: Superheroes 4 (+4), Insight 6 (+9), Intimidation 8 (+10), Perception 6 (+9), Stealth 4 (+8), Ranged Combat: Throwing 4 (+8).
Offense: Initiative +8, Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 14), Thunderclap -- (Burst Area Fortitude 7).
Defense: Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude 12, Toughness 14, Will 10.
Totals: Abilities 90 + Powers 54 + Advantages 4 + Skills 18 + Defenses 13 = 179 points.
Complications: Revenge--Motivation. Hatred (Charlie Graham).
Lightning -- PL 11
STR 1 |
STA 3 |
AGL 5 |
DEX 3 |
FGT 7 |
INT 0 |
AWE 2 |
PRE 3
Powers: Electrical Control (Array: Ranged Damage 14, AP: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 14 [Resisted by Dodge, Fortitude to remove; Visually Impaired, Visually Disabled, Visually Unaware], Limited to One Sense, AP: Ranged Multiattack Damage 9, AP: Burst Area 2 Ranged Damage 7, AP: Weaken Electronics 7, Affects Only Objects, Broad, Simultaneous),
Electromagnetic Field (Sustained Impervious Protection 10),
Electrical Phase Shift (Accurate Easy Extended Teleport 7, Increased Mass 3),
Invulnerability (Immunity 5 [electrical damage]).
Advantages: All-Out Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Startle.
Skills: Athletics 4 (+5), Ranged Combat: Electrical Control 5 (+8), Intimidation 7 (+10), Perception 4 (+6), Stealth 4 (+9), Technology 4 (+4).
Offense: Initiative +7, Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 1), Lightning Bolt +8 (Ranged Damage 14), Actinic Flare +8 (Ranged Affliction 14, Resisted by Dodge), Chain Lightning +8 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 9).
Defense: Dodge 9, Parry 7, Fortitude 9, Toughness 13/3, Will 9.
Totals: Abilities 48 + Powers 95 + Advantages 5 + Skills 14 + Defenses 17 = 179 points.
Complications: Thrills--Motivation. Jealousy.