Main Event Winner!

Hall Of Fame!

Survival - 11 Wins!

Brutal - 2 Fatalities

AFFILIATION

Alignment: Hero

Team: Solo Hero

VITAL STATS

Strength: Weak

Agility: Standard

Mind: Standard

Body: Weak

RECORD

Personal Wins: 11

Personal Losses: 1

Ren

Thirty-five students from sat atop the roof of their high school, quietly talking amongst each other. Why they had all decided to gather on the roof they didn't know, but it was the perfect idea now. Dining on dinners during sunset on one of the highest buildings in town. One of those things at least half of them wished had come to them earlier.~Despite being together for their little supper, they drifted apart into their own little groups. Those from the chess club found their little corner, chattered amongst themselves about the latest sci-fi show that was about to debut on some network somewhere and how bad it could possibly be. A small group of would-be skatepunks lounged around in the shadows, wordlessly soaking up the clouds, the few birds flying about overhead, and any other contents the sky cared to show them. And several stragglers from the poetry club sat around a small group of three – Angel, Rose, and My. They spoke very quietly about various good things, charmed or cherishable. The poets spoke, mostly. The three of them enjoyed listening too much. ~Rose was the first to see him. My was the first to notice that Rose didn't seem to be listening anymore, just staring intently at something, her eyes then following hers to see just what she saw. Angel was the first to notice the two of them watching the same thing. Her eyes followed theirs, as the poets' followed hers, the chess players' followed theirs, and the skatepunks' followed theirs. A lone figure stood besides the rooftop maintenance shed. He looked out at the sun and the hazy horizon surrounding it, letting the wind blow in his face. The autumn breeze did not bother him - it picked up a little and he brushed a lock of hair behind his ear. His hair was long, maybe shoulder-length, light enough to drift in the current. Drifting like the gray greatcoat that billowed behind his back.~He breathed with a strange rhythm, a way that became more apparent as he lifted his arms from his sides. He held them out, his fingers slowly curling away from his palms while he breathed in and out, in and out. Not so much in and out, more like it was in out, in out, in out, with no recognizable break in between, a sort of fluid breathing to which there was no separate inhale or exhale, just one continuous motion that did not cease. He was taking in the wind, not just letting it brush by his face but letting it pass through his nose and down into his lungs where it could only spread to the rest of his body before being released again into the current.~The man - or boy, whichever he could be called, he looked too innocent and whimsical to be a man and too still and in-tune to be a boy - slowly began to spin on his heels, letting the wind spin him around or at least pretending to. A slow pirouette, not that really but a better word for it they could not think of, one that reminded them of fallen windmills and the knick-knacks some people put in their front lawns to give a good indication of how strong the wind blew. The greatcoat moved with him, wrapping around him one moment and jumping into the current the next. Then his feet stopped touching the ground, and he lifted off into the air.

He hung there for a moment, remaining still in body but still spinning around and around and around. His eyes shut and his chin raised up, then he began to climb higher. Higher above the roof, above where he had been standing, where he had let the wind brush across his face, and higher above them. Them, they looked on astonished into near-silence with only little sounds of awe escaping their throats to tell one another that they were still there. They did not run from the sight. They did not need to nor did they want to. They could only watch as he drifted upward, and then slowly towards them.~For a moment, he opened his eyes to look at them. His eyes caught theirs as sand began to fall from his shoes. They didn't realize it at first, only looking into his eyes or trying to catch them again as he span, but eventually noticing the stream of sand falling down and being pulled into the wind. Then they saw that this was not sand, but it was him. He was falling into fine dust, breaking down from the feet first, then into his hands and arms, then into his legs and eventually into the rest of his body. The last they saw of his eyes was caught up in a whirl of sand before it was gone, taken away by a gust of wind. All that remained of him was his greatcoat. It drifted down, no longer supported by a set of shoulders, falling towards the rooftop.~It fell towards Rose, casting her into a moment of shadow before she dropped her books and reached out for it. The coat fell into her arms, its weight suddenly becoming real and making her take one step back. She held it, slung over one of her arms, and stared at it. They all stared at it, not in curiosity or puzzlement, but in this odd forlorn way as if they had just lost something dear and precious.~She could stand there, looking at the coat for an eternity. But she instead sat down and ran her hands along one of the coat's folds. She slid her hand into a pocketful of sand. It was soft against her fingertips.~No one spoke of the event from that day on. They didn't need to. They all accepted it. A person they hadn't seen before could fly, break apart into dust, and never be heard from again. Perhaps they all thought it would just be regarded as some silly mass hallucination. Or maybe they wanted to keep it to themselves. They were there to experience it, so it was their memory alone and it would remain that way.

Waterproof

     Immunity: Standard

Rose would never know why, but she had felt like walking home that day. It escaped her to tell Angel – one of her uncles ended up picking her up and taking her home. My decided to walk home – she stayed with her for awhile until she had to turn off Rose's path and make her own way home. So it was just Rose in the twilight, going through town until she reached the home she slept at.~She had thought it would be a nice and quiet walk through the city. She hadn't expected the winds to pick up or for the sky to tear itself open. She walked under whatever overhang she could find, keeping herself mostly dry except for her shoes. She shivered briefly, clutching tightly at the greatcoat folded in her arms. It had gotten very cold, and she was glad that she hadn't been soaked. That could only make it unbearably more cold and uncomfortable. She didn't like to be miserable when she was outside, but sometimes it was unavoidable. And now she would have to cross the street, exposing herself to the rains that were changing ever so slowly into torrents. She stood on the sidewalk, staring across the street to the barely-visible signs beyond.~She looked down to the coat she held in her arms. Its gray matched its bleak surroundings, but it stood out somehow. She stared thoughtfully at it, and decided to try it on. She gently slipped off her backpack and let it settle on the ground, then slung the coat over her shoulders, sliding her arms inside the sleeves. She adjusted it until it fit comfortably across her shoulders and back. It was a perfect fit.~She sighed in a sort of contented awe, curling it tightly around her, letting it envelop her in new and welcome warmth. She could only feel the wind blowing across her face and ankles now. The greatcoat protected her from the bitter cold. It was so comfortable, relaxing even. She didn't know how long she stood there, didn't care to know. It was being wrapped tightly in bedcovers on a chilling winter night, it was taking a warm bath after building snowmen and snow castles, it was hot chocolate before the fireplace after a day of shoveling or raking. A beautiful warmth that she wanted when she remembered what it was.~It was still raining. She opened her eyes and forgot that she should care. Picking up her backpack, slinging it across her shoulders, and wrapping herself tightly in the greatcoat, she continued out into the rain.

Fade-Resistant

     Polymorph: Standard

She wore it into school the next day. Angel and My were waiting outside the building for her, as they did almost every other school day. My gave her an odd look as she approached, Angel somehow not noticing and preferring to wave and call out a greeting. Rose waved back, smiling with an ease different from her usual. Rose slowed her pace in front of them, and they turned to head inside. Rose held at the straps of her backpack, My every so often glancing at the coat from Rose's right, and Angel demure as always, oblivious to My's curiosity.~Once they were inside, weaving by groups of students hanging around the rows of lockers that belonged to them, My spoke up. "Rose?"~"Hm?"~"Your coat.... It's purple."~"Not purple, violet." She had always wanted a violet coat.~My's eyes turned to the ceiling, momentarily puzzled. "Wasn't it gray before?"~"Are you sure?"~"...No, I guess not. But I don't think it was violet."~Rose shrugged, hands tentatively sliding into the pockets. Something poked at one of her fingers. A piece of paper. She fingered it for a moment to make sure it wasn't just a tag, then pulled it out. It was a folded-up note. She unfolded it and began to read.~To the person wearing my jacket,~This is your jacket now. Take care of it and it will take care of you.~Sincerely and with love,~Gary Spencer, the former owner of this jacket.~She smiled when she read the word 'love'.

Shock-

     Telekinesis: Standard

Rose liked to walk home every day after that. No more buses or carpooling for her, she went straight home through the city, past the theaters and apartments. Everything passed by her like oil in water, vivid and serene in the light, soaking up the sights and smells and letting them rest in her mind. Moisture in the foggy air. Cars passing a little fast. Feet of all sizes and shapes. Light bouncing off windows and shining on wood and stone and skin. Some distant shouting and a shadow on the sidewalk that moved closer to her. ~She looked up and saw something that was falling towards her. It was made of polished wood and was very pretty. She didn't move, couldn't or wouldn't get out of the way fast enough. She could imagine it hitting her shoulder, throwing her to the ground, dazing and breaking her. Directly above her it stopped going down, instead shooting to her left and into a building's brick wall. It shocked her, she stumbled towards the edge of the sidewalk.

Absorbent

     Kinetic Absorption: Standard

She wasn't in the road but she was near it, until her foot slipped off the curb. Cars were still passing. She could imagine slumping on the windshield as it hit her, throwing her back onto the road as it stopped. She heard tires screeching, a blaring horn, and the crunch of fiberglass.~There was a car in front of her, engine running, driver sitting stunned behind the wheel. She did not move, the car did not move her or touch her even. There were handprints in the hood.~She looked at the windshield and saw someone leaning over the hood instead of her own reflection. She knew who it was. He looked nervous.

Breathable

     Immunity: Standard

The driver made Rose exchange information before they went their separate ways. Rose took the rest of the way home in a taxi. The ride would be short but there was still lots to take in. She could see sharply through the haze to the outside. She watched idly as people walked in and out of buildings, on the sidewalks, through their lives. She thought she might be able to listen to them if she put her ear to the window. She cracked it open instead.~Moisture in the foggy air. Cars passing a little fast. Feet of all sizes and shapes. Newer things now. The scent of fresh-baked bread from a bakery, even through the taxi's hot smell. Someone whistling a Beatles tune as loud as they could.~She sat in a beautiful, solemn content. She was safe. She felt free.

Airy

     Environmental Awareness: Superior

"Hi Mom." Rose said it before her mother opened the door. She said it again when her mother walked into the kitchen.~"Hi Rose." She eyed her daughter's coat. She hadn't seen it before today, despite Rose having it for a week. "Where'd you get that jacket?"~"A friend gave it to me."~"It looks kind of old."~"I like it."~"Is it from anyone I know?"~"No." Rose reached into her pocket and fingered the note. She thought a moment about telling her mother everything. The school roof, the sand that was no longer in her pockets, the walks home, the phone call they'd likely receive tomorrow about a damaged car.~She drew the note from out of her pocket. Paused. Unfolded it. As she glanced at the note, a look of puzzled wonder crossed her face.~To the person holding my coat,~Could you please give my coat back to me? It's a very nice coat and I like it very much, so I would like to have it back.~Sincerely and with thanks,~Rose Wendell, the current owner of this coat.~It was in her handwriting this time. She didn't recall writing it.~"What's that?" Her mother glanced at the paper, disinterested.~"It's something I wrote for myself earlier." She folded it back up and slid it in her pocket.

Highly Durable

     Force Field: Superior

There was a floor-length mirror in Rose's house that she would pass every time she came through the front door. She's stop to look in it every now and again. She hoped she would see someone else in it.~She'd see him there and in other mirrors every now and then. She knew he was the same person she saw on the rooftop – Gary. He had the same shoes and pants and shirt. He didn't wear the jacket, that was hers now. Sometimes he looked tired or sleepy. Most of the time, he smiled. One time she saw him wiping something off his face. It looked like sweat and soot.~She wished he would be in the mirrors more, to see if she could talk to him and find out who he was. She knew he was the one who protected her now.

Lightweight

     Immunity: Standard

She stood alone upon the school's rooftop. The sun had begun to fall behind the horizon, making the sky glow with the color of the leaves she could remember raking and jumping into so many times. It was a beautiful sunset, like many other sunsets before it. But she could grasp the true beauty of it now. She wasn't sure what it was or how she could understand how lovely it was, but it all made her feel like drifting off into it. Going into the warm sky and going beyond seeing the beauty and actually feeling it.~She could only smile as she lifted her arms up from her sides. If only she could do what that boy did. Lift up into the sky. She started to turn on her heels, closing her eyes as she moved across the roof in her lilting circles. Feeling the breeze blow through her hair and around her ankles while she danced, humming a tune to herself. She hardly noticed when she went over the ledge, still spinning in circles with her arms raised and her hands outstretched. She could only hang in the air and spin. She didn't notice when she floated back over the roof and touched back down again, slowing in her spinning until she stood still again and stared at the horizon. She smiled, coming so close to wondering if she was dreaming it all....