Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Fallen Icons: Scott Stewart, formerly Clockwise, Second of the Cosmic Watch

SYSTEM: ICONS

Time travel is a tricky thing. There are unintended consequences that can create multiple universes. And, though human science hasn't caught up to this point yet, every universe created makes the existence of the cosmic "bubble" that contains all of them just a bit more tenuous.

The race that protects the reality stream—the Watchmen of the Cosmos—have one rule that stands above all others: No time travel. They don't prevent time travel. (Examples among earth's heroes are legion: The Streak, for example, has traveled both forward and backward in time; Exemplar had membership in both future and present groups.) Some small number of those are trying to destabilize history, either to bring about the future that they want (in the case of the Autoarchons or the Onyx Corps or the Semioticians, to name but three) or destroy the cosmic bubble entirely (the Nimble Flame).

Instead, the Watchmen have a corps of agents throughout the galaxy who are attempting to preserve what they call the Ideal Calendar. These seconds (the Seconds of the Cosmic Watch) must attempt to stop tampering events without themselves traveling through time. To help them, the Watchmen have crafted for them miraculous weapons: the Second Crystals, implanted in a wristband. A Second Crystal is limited only by its wearer's willpower and imagination.

In Nevada there is a test facility for a small aircraft company: Flying Iron Aircraft. The head of their test pilot group, Scott Stewart, used to be a Second of the Cosmic Watch, until he broke the single most important rule of the Watchmen.

He traveled in time.

He had done it before, in the company of the Streak, but this time he took a time machine from Chase Hunter, Chronomaster, and went back to save the woman he loved.

The Watchmen did not banish him. (For all their power, the Watchmen have peculiar limits; they have never been able to eliminate Dexether, the renegade Second.) They took back his crystal, and passed protection of this sector of space to another Second.

Now he lives with Cadence Ironside, the woman he saved. Together, they run Flying Iron Aircraft.

If you ask him, Scott will say that he made his choice, and he abides by it. But his wife will tell you that, sometimes in his sleep, he says the Oath of the Seconds:

Because I fought when Chaos beckoned
The Cosmic Watch hails me its second.
Every second, every day
Ever vigilant we stay
Preserving all events we may.
From Chaos and Disorder's power
We of the Watch protect each hour.


Scott Stewart


Prowess5Intellect4Determination-
Coordination4Awareness4Stamina12
Strength4Willpower8
SpecialtiesMilitary, Pilot (Master), Power (Cosmic crystal) Expert
PowersNone.
QualitiesFearless, for good and bad
Will do anything for the woman he loves
Long history, with guilt, enemies, and allies

Clockwise, Second of the Cosmic Watch

In his prime as the Emerald Moment, he had the Cosmic Crystal on his wristband.


NameClockwise (Scott Stewart)Prowess4Intellect4Determination1
Coordination4Awareness4Stamina8
Strength4Willpower9
SpecialtiesAerial Combat, Military, Pilot (Master), Power (Cosmic Crystal)
PowersCosmic Crystal Cosmic Power (Device) [Constructs] Limit: Limited to user's Will score; Limit: Needs daily recharge.10
Extra: Effect [Adaptation]
Extra: Effect [Blast]
Extra: Effect [Flight]
Extra: Effect [Force Field]
Extra: Burst
QualitiesPart of a galactic paramilitary organization
Fearless, for good and bad
I fought the law

His biggest enemy was of course Withershin, the rogue Second.

Notes


The comic book item has a ridiculous number of powers, but for these write-ups I wanted to keep the number of powers down to six or less, with the rest being stunts. I hope I chose wisely, and that the Qualities involved will help you generate enough Determination to stunt the extra powers. The Adaptation power takes the place of universal translation and life support or the occasional flying to the center of the earth or whatever. (I know that the Adaptation power doesn't officially do translation, but it's in the wheelhouse of this concept, and really, the stories are almost never about translation difficulties; as a GM, I'd just give it to him.)

Constructs is from Great Power. I decided that he stunts the Space flight extra to his flight, though he does use it frequently.

EDIT: Did I really forget to give the prime version three Qualities? Yes. Yes, I did.

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