March, Part Two
If you missed it yesterday, I started a wee stroll through Pride Month from a Mutants & Masterminds lens, and today, we’re moving right along to the second stripe of the original Pride Flag’s rainbow, to Red.
March Red (later, Zap)Among the colours of the original pride flag, red represented love. After the flare of light that transformed eight people marching in the 1978 San Francisco Pride Parade into the superhero group later known as March, twink Mick Kenny found himself aware of the presence of every single person around him in a way that he’d never experienced before—an empathic ability where every mind around him hummed almost audibly—and it nearly overwhelmed him, though the reality of suddenly wearing a red mask and a costume helped distract him from the odd new sensation.
A moment later, when the hateful bigots who’d shown up to try and stop the marching surged forward, Kenny found himself face-to-face with a much larger, and very angry man, and something pulsed from his mind and the man simply stopped, blinking in confusion at first, and then putting down the sign Kenny was fairly certain he’d intended to wield like a club. Kenny had reached into the man’s mind and placed compassion there, and as he turned and saw more angry, violent people, he closed his eyes and released a wave of empathy and understanding through the oncoming crowd, and most of them simply slid to their knees, then toppled over, curling up and closing their eyes, pleasant smiles on their faces.
It was a power he’d soon master, and one Kenny used to great effect for his political activism, most especially while taking part in zaps, which his small, and often easily overlooked presence was already an asset in moving people into position for the disruption of public media events.
March Red quickly became a central part of March in general owing to his ability to link all eight of them together into a telepathic network where they could speak to each other mentally, which sometimes put strain on his non-heroic life, as he became, in many ways, the “emergency line” all the members of March used to reach each other at any time. March Red—who’d later take the name of his favourite tactic, and rebrand himself as Zap by 1980—was often the one left in the position of speaking for the group as a whole, given his ability to dampen hostility. March Red didn’t mind that role, and rose to the challenge with empathy and charm, and while his preference for non-violent disruption and discourse aimed at educating and enlightening often rubbed March Pink the wrong way, the two gained much respect for each other over the years, though rumours of their involvement were never true.
After learning he was HIV positive in the mid-eighties, Zap removed his mask and came forward as a public face of the disease, continuing his fight to educate and enlighten in an effort to drive the government to act faster to find a cure and raise awareness of the disease, often praising the efforts of organizations like Aids Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). While this increased threats on him both in his heroic and non-heroic identity, Kenny’s refusal to back down was an inspiration to many. His passing at the age of thirty-four in 1988 signalled the first real fracturing of March as a whole after a decade of action, most especially for March Red/Pride, and without access to their mental connection to each other, the rest of the group often had to fight battles without immediate backup—a situation many of their enemies took as much advantage of as possible.
March Red, 1978 (PL 8)
Identity: Mick Kenny (At first secret, eventually public)
Cis Male, 24, 1.69m, 65kg, hazel eyes, light brown hair
Group Affiliation: March, Base of Operations: San Francisco
Attributes: Str 0, Sta 0, Agi 2, Dex 2, Fgt 1, Int 2, Awe 6, Pre 3 (32 points)
Powers: Empath: Mind Reading 6 (Limited to Emotions), Senses 2 (Detect Minds), Enhanced Advantages 4: Animal Empathy, Fascinate (Persuasion), Fearless, and Uncanny Dodge (quirk: limited to when facing living opponents with minds/emotions) (12 points); Empathic Link: Communication 3 (Mental, Limited to March members) (9 points); Quick Change: Feature 1 (Transform into costume as a free action) (1 point); Zap: Affliction 8 (Resisted and Overcome by Will; Dazed, Compelled, Controlled), Perception Ranged, Cumulative, Quirk: Limited to living beings with minds and emotions; control is limited via adjustment to their emotional state. AE: Pacifying Zap: Affliction 8 (Resisted and Overcome by Will; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Close Burst Area, Cumulative, Selective, Quirk: Limited to living beings with minds and emotions (33 points)
Advantages: Animal Empathy, Connected, Contacts, Defensive Roll 4, Fascinate (Persuasion), Fearless, Uncanny Dodge (6 points)
Skills: Expertise—Mass Media 4 (+6), Insight 1 (+7), Investigation 4 (+6), Perception 1 (+7), Persuasion 3 (+6), Stealth 3 (+5) (8 points)
Offense:
Initiative +2
Zap — (Perception Range, Affliction 8)
Pacifying Zap — (Close, Burst Area Affliction 8)
Unarmed +1 (Close, Damage 0)
Defense: Dodge +6, Parry +6, Fortitude +4, Toughness +4/+0 without Defensive Roll, Will +12 (19 points)
Power Point Totals: Attributes 32 + Powers 55 + Advantages 6 + Skills 8 + Defenses 19 = 120.
Complications:
Motivation—Acceptance: Even before he was empowered, March Red was a force for activism, taking parts in “Zaps” and other demonstrations for the acknowledgement and advancement of gay rights movement. Now that he’s got powers, he works all the harder to make a difference in ways only he can. Prejudice: All the members of March are targeted as openly queer. Red March does his best to educate and de-escalate when confronted with homophobia (or queer hate of any kind), but sometimes even his patience runs out. After he openly discusses being HIV positive, Zap also faces further stigma and prejudice based on his status. Motivation—Justice: March Red has a strongly developed sense of right and wrong, and the injustices of the world, especially against queer people and those who are HIV+, drive him to make the world a better place. His methods tend to be nonviolent, educational and emotive, which often leads to arguments with the more militantly minded of the team, especially March Pink/Pride.
