NEW YORK CITY, PRESENT DAY Sounds of battle echo across the war-torn cityscape. The few heroes left standing fight desperately; this has become far more than just a battle for justice and the balance of the world. People used to joke about it, dismissing it as nothing more than a passing idea. With such a staggering number of supervillains compared to heroes, why didn't they all just team up and tip the scales in their favor? It used to be nothing but a joke—nobody thought it would ever become a serious issue.
Hundreds of fallen heroes litter the streets of New York City. Prominent figures from every division of the Avengers, the X-Men, and even smaller-scale groups like the Defenders all lie defeated. The few heroes left standing continue to fight desperately. Those who once clung tightly to their secret identities no longer care to hide them in this dire ultimatum.
A ragged, out-of-breath Spider-Man battles a horde of villains on the horizon. He no longer says anything, focused only on his breathing and the fight in front of him. He just has to hold them off a little longer.
At first, this seemed like nothing more than Mole Man carrying out his usual routine of trying to sink New York into the ground. The Fantastic Four were the first on the scene. Very quickly, however, the team realized this wasn't one of his usual attempts. No, this wasn't about burying the city—it was a strike from below.
That was when the first wave of villains began.
"Pete, please hang in there. It won't be much longer," a desperate Richards says to Spider-Man over one of the hundreds of communicators handed out to the other heroes.
There's no response back, only the sounds of pain from a poor boy fighting like his life depends on it.
Reed Richards, one of the founding members of the Fantastic Four, works tirelessly on a strange machine as the battle rages around him.
"Damn it all, Johnny, Ben, Susan... how could this have slipped by us? Well, it doesn't matter now. There's always a solution to be found in everything," Reed says in a frustrated tone.
The machine slowly whirs to life. Flashes of blue and white light caress the scrap metal fused around it. H.E.R.B.I.E slowly comes back online, his battery nearly drained.
"No time to waste. This is a big one, Herb," Reed begins, no longer able to hide the exhaustion in his voice. "You're going to deliver this isotope sample gathered from the initial breach. Bring it to S.H.I.E.L.D., and relay the recording of the attack to Fury. I did what I could with this hunk of junk. I can only send you back..." He struggles for breath. "Maybe a handful of years. It should be more than enough. Now go!" Reed commands the loyal robot.
H.E.R.B.I.E buzzes in response before stepping into the machine. Part of it descends around him, whirring as it locks into place around his body.
WHOOSH
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ROTATIONID:wl4JSqKC05/28/26(Thu)11:49:45
>>6419253(OP) The sun peeks through the blinds of your windows, causing you to stir from your sleep. You wake up, stretching and letting out a big yawn as the morning light continues to slowly fill your bedroom. The smell of a balanced breakfast being cooked from downstairs, no doubt from your mom, fills your nose. You hop out of bed and make your way to the upstairs bathroom. Shedding off your pajamas, you take a good look and examine yourself in the mirror. Yep, that's you, you're a..
Your light brown, short hair ruffles into a cowlick in the backmost area of your scalp. A sign of a good sleep, your blue eyes meet your own in the mirror and you contort your lithe body in a stretch. Stepping into the shower, the steam fogs up the bathroom as you spend some time freshening up for the day ahead of you.
"Tommy, breakfast is ready!" You hear mom yell out from downstairs.
You hurry up with getting ready, throwing on a plain black t-shirt and some jeans. You style the front of your hair up into spikes. After you're finished you race down the stairs and are greeted at the table by your parents, a plate of bacon and eggs waits for you.
You eat it voraciously, your moms always been a good cook, and your dad jeers at you asking if you're ready for your first day of highschool. You just shrug as he continues to tease at you.
"Just remember to focus on your schoolwork, not the girls," he says. Your mother shoots him a look and he just smiles at her.
Your father likes to think he's funny. Sometimes he does too much, both of them do from time to time actually, but you know it's out of love. Besides your parents, however, there's always been one other constant in your life. You've always been able to rely on..
>My best friend, Kaitlin
>My best friend, Alex
>Actually, I've been kind of a social pariah most of my life
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AnonymousID:jIokazmZ05/28/26(Thu)13:39:21
>>6419285 >My best friend, Alex GOTTA have our best bud
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AnonymousID:E5vcTlvE05/28/26(Thu)13:54:11
>>6419285 >Actually, I've been kind of a social pariah most of my life Insert sob_story.exe
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AnonymousID:PecaVcwR05/28/26(Thu)14:04:53
>>6419285 >My best friend, Kaitlin It's time for a 'GIRL in the chair'
Kaitlin, you've been pretty close ever since first grade. Your dad always cracks jokes about how you're a chick magnet, but it's not like that though — not so far, anyway. Whenever you both hang out, it's always a great time. The last time you hung out was during the final week of summer break, when you watched a charity race between the Human Torch and Iron Man.
Time passes as your parents take care of the kitchen while you gather the rest of your belongings for school. Your first day of high school leaves you feeling a little nervous. Your timetable is pretty standard, and you got to choose a couple of electives to focus on. You decided to stick to your strengths, so you mostly picked...
>Physical education electives
>Science electives
>Art electives
>Shop and technical electives
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AnonymousID:PecaVcwR05/28/26(Thu)15:14:03
>>6419332 >Science electives Most story possibilities I think
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ROTATIONID:5VzCR95d05/28/26(Thu)15:21:08
>>6419338 Just to clarify, specializing in certain areas of your character won't lock you out in any way from improving other areas or other story routes. It's just starting strengths and character building largely to develop.
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AnonymousID:PecaVcwR05/28/26(Thu)15:25:39
>>6419340 I believe that, but I've always liked how Marvel eggheads can be doing time travel shenanigans one week, gene splicing the next, and cooking up killer robots the week after that, yaknow what I mean?
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AnonymousID:jIokazmZ05/28/26(Thu)15:27:18
>>6419332 >Science electives Love me some science heroes sorry
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AnonymousID:Yn9biZ7M05/28/26(Thu)15:34:29
>>6419351 You're telling me you want to be following in the footsteps of REED, that FOOL?! >>6419332 >Shop and technical electives I much prefer being a hands-on techie. Making a big clunky powersuit or whatever is 10x cooler than a bunch of gadgets.
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AnonymousID:Nb3RwZeE05/28/26(Thu)16:53:17
>>6419332 >Art electives Because I like being different and because we always hear about the techies or super genius
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AnonymousID:Ao6F/GP605/28/26(Thu)16:58:28
>>6419332 >Art electives I'll also go against the grain
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ROTATIONID:5VzCR95d05/28/26(Thu)16:59:01
I'm gonna keep this going for another little since it's a somewhat important vote, defining our characters initial archetype and stat bonus. I'll update closer to 5pm EDT
>>6419476 To give a few ideas, you could also give half of the bonuses you would give Thomas in any of the specializations, and narratively just say we're a little scrambled between the two electives. Maybe being however young we are is a neat excuse for the teachers to let us see both before we decide which one we stick later on
Just spitballing here, don't mind me! I'm sure you can figure something out QM
>>6419332 >Art and science electives Gained the 'Aspiring Braniac' trait You now gain a +1 bonus to any roll requiring an INT check. You also no longer need to roll for performance on any written tests
Gained the 'Visionary' trait You now gain a +1 bonus to any roll requiring a DEX or PER check. Likewise, your keen perception grants you limited insight to certain things that would go unnoticed by the average human
You've always enjoyed the fine arts. Living in a world filled with thousands of people wearing differently designed spandex suits, it's hard not to have a creative eye. Likewise, you've always been interested in the sciences. Ever since Tony Stark first opened up about his time spent in captivity—literally forging his escape from scrap metal—or when Mr. Richards and his team returned from their intergalactic journey with newfound powers, the world of science has felt truly limitless to you.
The timetable sheet you printed forever ago is staring you in the face. You're pretty happy with the selections you made on it. However, you live quite a distance from Midtown High and need to take the bus to get there. You could take the school bus and possibly make a friend along the way, or you could choose the city bus. There's always something happening out in the city to sightsee, though you'll most likely arrive at school just on time, with little room to do much else.
You set out from your home, closing the front door behind you. It's a lukewarm, sunny day outside, the lingering summer heat still doing its best to maintain its grip on the slowly changing season. What will you do?
>Take the school bus, maybe make a friend, arrive with time to spare
>Take the city bus, see what might be going on, arrive fashionably right on time
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AnonymousID:fgvQrT5p05/28/26(Thu)20:56:04
>>6419489 >Take the school bus, maybe make a friend, arrive with time to spare Why not?
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ROTATIONID:wl4JSqKC05/28/26(Thu)20:57:25
>>6419488 Thanks for the tips! I appreciate it. This is my first quest, though I've been lurking for a long time, since the first Homeless Mutant Quest thread. I welcome all advice and any creative write-in ideas someone may have, even if unprompted. I'll do my best to try and appeal to any ties that persist with voting.
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AnonymousID:uHOSxzD205/28/26(Thu)20:59:13
>>6419489 >>Take the school bus, maybe make a friend, arrive with time to spare
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AnonymousID:ZJseFhzf05/28/26(Thu)22:05:15
>>6419489 >Take the school bus, maybe make a friend, arrive with time to spare The brainiac-visionary combo is pretty sick
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AnonymousID:TSTMqspb05/28/26(Thu)22:07:42
>>6419489 >Take the school bus, maybe make a friend, arrive with time to spare
Weird science is gonna be a thing apparently. I guess magitech or mad science won't be a huge hurdle much less alien tech.
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ROTATIONID:wl4JSqKC05/29/26(Fri)02:03:34
I will write the update tomorrow morning. 10am EDT more than likely.
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AnonymousID:sgQPz44/05/29/26(Fri)03:07:20
>>6419489 >Take the city bus, see what might be going on, arrive fashionably right on time.
Not such a straight arrow.
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AnonymousID:0bvkGGzo05/29/26(Fri)04:31:41
>>6419489 >Take the city bus, see what might be going on, arrive fashionably right on time
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AnonymousID:MMtlcXs/05/29/26(Fri)05:36:17
>>6419489 >Take the city bus, see what might be going on, arrive fashionably right on time No reason to let school capture is early, when we could be enjoying everything Marvel NYC has to offer its public transitgoers.
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ROTATIONID:wl4JSqKC05/29/26(Fri)13:18:31
Rolled 1 (1d2)
We're tied, as such we will resort to the dice gods.
You walk up to the designated bus zone for your school. You wait outside for a few minutes, and it isn't long before Kaitlin finally races out of her house and catches up to you. You roll your eyes at her clumsy, half-hearted attempt to run to the stop. Classic disorganized Katie. She's wearing a pair of baggy green sweatpants along with a loose black sweater. Her raven-black, mid-length hair clings to her neck and shoulders; it seems even her mild run caused her to work up a sweat. In a way, very similar to you. Neither of you has ever been the most athletically inclined. You met Kaitlin in first grade in your art class, and she's the one who sparked your artistic endeavors. You can't say you've ever quite been up to par with her skill level in the arts, though you're pretty confident you have her beat in the sciences.
"Hey, Thomas!" she says a little overenthusiastically, her smile beaming at the sight of you. You make a mental note that she's probably incredibly relieved it's you here and not some weird kid she doesn't know.
The two of you strike up a conversation for a few minutes. You ask her what she's been up to in the final weeks of summer break. She mentions that two nights ago, her parents took her to see a Dazzler concert, which was unfortunately cut short by an anti-mutant hate group.
Finally, the bus arrives, and Kaitlin is the first to board ahead of you along with a few of the other kids who were waiting as well. Once you get on, you see Kaitlin patting the seat next to her. You nonchalantly take a quick look around at the kids who boarded the bus a few stops before yours.
There's a lithe girl with long blonde hair sitting by herself, casually texting someone. Not far away from her seems to be either a secret admirer or a creeper; you can't really tell.
Gazing at the blonde-haired girl is a very lanky, brown-haired boy sporting reading glasses. He's also sitting by himself, but unlike the blonde girl, you get the feeling that maybe it's not by choice. For a brief moment, you think he notices that you caught him staring at her. He glances at you quickly, then meekly lowers his head and looks away.
Lastly, you notice a tan-skinned girl sitting far in the back by herself. She's being lightly teased by some of the others around her, though not in a menacing way. With that being said, the ones doing it are keeping their distance. She has very long black hair, an amazing complexion, and an athletic build to boot. This girl looks shredded! It kind of makes you jealous in a way. Among the people playfully teasing her, you catch one of the boys asking, "The White Tiger wins another tourney, huh?" he says, jabbing the tan-skinned girl on the shoulder.
The bus driver is looking at you a bit impatiently. Time to get going.
>Sit with Kaitlin
>Sit next to the blonde girl
>Sit next to the weird guy wearing glasses
>Sit next to the tanned girl
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AnonymousID:+RHUW9Id05/29/26(Fri)14:08:21
>>6419772 >Sit next to the tanned girl I actually have no idea who any of these characters are. Among the new people she seems like the only one who would be great company
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AnonymousID:jIokazmZ05/29/26(Fri)14:22:50
>>6419772 >Sit with Kaitlin I mean cmon she's our friend
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ROTATIONID:wl4JSqKC05/29/26(Fri)15:08:45
For those who wanted the city bus route to start. Your chances of meeting someone and the events you would see on the way to your destination would and will continue to be based on a dice roll. Some current events and people for taking the bus the first time may have included...
EVENTS:
1.Seeing a weird robot in a rush somewhere, your high perception would've allowed you to lock eyes on a rather agile cat burglar chasing the robot...
2.A pro-mutant rally headed by the current main lineup of X-Men for this quest
3.Watching a newscast, apparently there are some exotic insects being delivered to a museum around your school! It seems a foreign and highly venomous spider has gone missing from the list..
ENCOUNTERS:
1.A huge dark skinned man dressed in a yellow shirt and jeans is on the bus. Wait a minute.. isn't that guy a Defender?
2.Nothing out of the ordinary happens on the bus ride, your short walk to school however you hear a gunshot and see a wounded Punisher
3. The mutant rally is interrupted by an anti-mutant group, forcefully pulling the bus to a stop and you're saved by a strange seemingly homeless mutant.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Events that are missed still happen in the background of the progressing story, there's just no direct intervention/interaction from your character in them (assuming you're ABLE to do something in a meaningful way during them at that point).
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AnonymousID:fgvQrT5p05/29/26(Fri)15:46:07
>>6419772 >Sit with Kaitlin She really is our friend
You just want to play it safe, you decide to sit next to Kaitlin. The sweat from her (very) temporary run has since dried, and cascades naturally down to her shoulders now. The open window from her side of the seat blows her bangs around in a mild dance.
She sighs, "The Dazzler concert was really good for while it lasted. I don't understand what the big deal is with mutant rights and other people, just let them live," she says in a moment of passion.
For a brief moment, on the bus ride to school you catch a news broadcast way off in the distance of the downtown area, the toweringly tall monitor displaying the news reads MUTANT RALLY ON 4TH AND 23RD INTERRUPTED BY UNNATURAL EXPLOSION you sigh. It's true, mutants like the X-Men have been made public since well before you born. However, on the other hand there are those groups like The Brotherhood, and violent independent mutants who often egregiously say and do things that are against humans like yourself.
Kaitlin looks off in the distance as well, her eyes widen at the report when she realizes what you're looking at. She shakes her head and a single tear forms in one of her eyes, "It's.. it's bullshit," she mutters under her breath.
>Stay silent but comfort her
>Tell her she's right, mutant rights are just as important as human ones
>Frankly you don't care for muties
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AnonymousID:a1hWWSYB05/29/26(Fri)19:03:13
>>6419890 >Tell her she's right, mutant rights are just as important as human ones We're a nice guy, right(:
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AnonymousID:+RHUW9Id05/29/26(Fri)19:19:08
>>6419890 >Stay silent but comfort her Ehh, mutants are people for good and for ill
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AnonymousID:fgvQrT5p05/29/26(Fri)19:21:20
>>6419890 >Tell her she's right, mutant rights are just as important as human ones >"Humans steal, rob, murder and do a lot of disgusting things to one another. I hate the people who do that, not the human race as a whole. Fuck Magneto and the Brotherhood can stick a whole fist in their asses"
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AnonymousID:0bvkGGzo05/29/26(Fri)19:44:41
>>6419890 >Tell her she's right, mutant rights are just as important as human ones
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AnonymousID:TSTMqspb05/29/26(Fri)19:52:51
>>6419890 >Tell her she's right, mutant rights are just as important as human one Why do I have a funny feeling she is a mutie? Either way, they are still human and just as much of an asshole. Otherwise, humans cannot breed muties and vice versa. Really just semantics. Not like they are outright aliens, right? What's next, alien or AI rights? You cannot even argue that those things are even human at all.
PART 1/2 >>6419890 >Mutant rights are human rights Gained the 'Mutant Ally' trait Mutants under the HEROIC, NEUTRAL, VILLAIN temperament are naturally more open to diplomacy with you, causing CHA rolls with them to be slightly easier. When working together with a mutant ally, you now gain a stackable +1 to any roll while teamed up
The injustice done to mutants throughout their brief public history isn’t right. Seeing Kaitlin hurt over their struggles causes you to feel grief as well. You place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Mutant rights are just as important as human rights,” you tell her.
Her eyes light up at the sight of your reassuring, confident smile as you comfort her. Her response quickly escalates from your hand resting on her shoulder to a tight hug initiated by her.
“Thanks,” is all she says as she wipes away the tear trailing down her face.
The two of you settle back comfortably into your seats once again. The rest of the bus ride passes with idle chatter between you, and nothing particularly passionate sparks up again with Kaitlin. At the end of the ride, however, after stepping off the bus, she turns back to look at you as you descend the steps onto the Midtown High school grounds. She grabs your hand; it feels warmer than usual, filling your chest with a strange swelling sensation.
“You’re a really amazing friend, Thomas. I hope your first day goes well,” she says with a smile. You feel like Kaitlin has become even closer with you! Your strengthened bond has unlocked Kaitlins passive 'Set The Scene!' giving her a permanent +3 to any PER based roll Kaitlins bond level: 3/6 - Very Close Friend
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ROTATIONID:wl4JSqKC05/29/26(Fri)21:25:03
PART 2/2 >>6419947 It's time for your first day of high school to truly start! Thankfully you have plenty of time to spare that allows you to explore and become somewhat familiar with the school. Many different students roam the hallways and outside the school, this is one of New York's biggest high schools in terms of registration, you examine your timetable again, relieved that your kicking it off in a subject you're very familiar with, biology.
Eventually, enough time has passed where you're able to attend your first class. Making it their early, you take a seat at one of the desks in the middle of the classroom, slowly the room is filled with students who also have a similar timetable and eventually the teacher for this class. A built man with blonde hair and blue eyes, what you quickly notice about him is that he's missing an arm, though he seems quite practiced with the other as he writes his name expertly on the board with his chalk in big letters.
MR.CONNORS
“Hello, everyone,” he begins, his English accent peeking through his words. “I’ll be your biology teacher this semester. My name is Curt Connors, though you may call me Mr. Connors if you prefer,” he says with a smile.
The room falls silent. One student coughs in the background, causing the awkwardness to escalate slightly and the atmosphere to grow tense. It becomes very apparent that this teacher is a little odd, though at least he seems friendly.
Mr. Connors brushes back what little hair he has with his hand. “Right, well, I’ll begin with attendance then.”
“Peter Parker,” he calls out.
The lanky boy with thick glasses from the bus raises his hand.
“Gwen Stacy.”
The blonde girl from the bus raises hers as well.
This continues for a few minutes until he reaches the end of the list. The lesson begins, and not much of note happens during class. The teacher expresses his profound admiration for reptiles and mentions that he is actively performing research on cellular regeneration, causing Peter Parker to perk up with interest.
“Well, let’s dive into the more exciting elements, shall we? You’re going to get into pairs, and we’re going to finish off with a bit of science trivia,” he announces.
Without hesitation, the room scrambles. Some people have already paired up with each other, more than likely either out of instinct or because they already know one another from somewhere else. Several boys are trying to pair up with that Gwen girl, including Peter, who isn’t even bothering to hide his jealous expression at her popularity. The choices are quickly becoming slimmer.
>Pair up with that Parker kid
>Try to be partners with Gwen
>Quickly try to see who else is available and pair with someone random
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AnonymousID:TSTMqspb05/29/26(Fri)21:41:02
>>6419953 >Pair up with that Parker kid Desperation has the opposite effect on girls, bro. The harder you try, the worse it gets. The less you care, the easier it is.
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AnonymousID:+RHUW9Id05/29/26(Fri)21:41:35
>>6419953 >Quickly try to see who else is available and pair with someone random
>That was Gwen and Peter Not touching the curse with a 10 ft pole
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AnonymousID:fgvQrT5p05/29/26(Fri)21:56:47
>>6419953 >Quickly try to see who else is available and pair with someone random I wanna be a bro for Peter and give him advice, but not so soon.
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AnonymousID:TSTMqspb05/29/26(Fri)22:00:36
>>6419969 I would rather meet him before he becomes a super. Easier and less messy that way. Otherwise, I would agree.