Halt Evil Doer IV

Update for 2012

Because Heroic Earth is an updating universe, I thought I'd share what WOULD have happened
should I have published a 3rd edition of the Heroic Earth setting guide. Here's the following updates
for the various heroes, locales, and so on.

Nations

* The Red Jaguar has successfully reclaimed rulership of Nestoria, killing the reigning potentate and
defeating a PHANTOM army hired by the United Nations to remove him from power. He has now
declared a Pan-African relief effort and fully intends to crush against any foe who gets in his way.

* Aquarius II has been chosen from the son of Aquarius and the married subordinate of one of his
people, who was educated by George Timons over the past decade as a ward (but not crime fighter).
Yes, his name is Arthur Dakkar and he has claimed kingship of Atlantis with the help of an unnamed
group of heroes.

* The Red King has been deposed from Genesis Island by the Tomorrow Society, which has set itself
up on the island temporarily to help the new government survive. Mass Castle has since been
demolished (though it's rebuilding). Rumors attest that the Red King is in numerous other bases,
though he was briefly thought killed by Robyn Hood.

* Zulan successfully has begun setting up puppet nations in other realms. It has discovered orihalcon
deposits (previously found only in Nestoria and Atlantis) which has made it one of the richest nations
on Earth.

* The survivors of Olympiana have founded "New Olympus" on the moon and are attempting to
terraform it with magic. The United Nations, so far, does not recognize their sovereignty over it.

* Seventh Heaven was destroyed by General Venom and Divinos has since relocated to the
northernmost point of Alaska.

* Otherworld's fairy courts have finally overthrown the Dark Undermaster.

Heroes

* Robyn Hood (a.k.a Robin Hood XVIII or Robin Hood II) is now a member of the Patriots. She has a
flirtatious rivalry with a certain french archer on the Tomorrow Society.

* The Patriots have begun an aggressive expansion program where the Patriots have founded
satellite branches with equal membership given to all of its leaders. In short, the PCs can be Patriots
themselves and hobnob with the others.
It has also opened a training camp on Patriots Island.

* Lamplighter Laws have been formalized into a "Hero Act" which firmly gives government
supporting heroes a huge advantage over vigilantes and illegalizes a lot of activities. Unlike Marvel's
version, it's actually very ambiguous.

* The Tomorrow Society has relocated due to their refusal to associate with the hero act and are
now outlaws in the USA.

* Helios the Sun King has joined the Tomorrow Society despite being still listed as an archvillain.

* The Gene Nation has dissolved into numerous sub-groups. The Zealots who revere the Red King as
a god, the Genetic Warriors, and the Inhuman Defense Force.

* The Steel Commando has founded a sub-team called the Iron Corps, a team of Foundation
armored heavy-hitters.

* Eugene Timons has been adopted and gone on to become Black Wing III, changing his costume to
hide the change. This is actually part of Alexander Timons larger campaign as he's recruited "other"
Black Wings to assist his efforts.

* With Serena Mass' help, Frankenstein has bound the spirit of Doctor Frankenstein and become a
member of the Tomorrow Society.

* Mordred has joined the Tomorrow Society as well, which has done WONDERS for their reputation.

* Ultimatum and Valkyrie have graduated the Tomorrow Academy. Ultimatum has since left the
group to join the Patriots while Valkyrie remains the new team-leader.

Villains

* Battle Czar has conquered a portion of Romania and become dictator of that realm, forming a new
communist utopia based on Mithan technology. This is after his exposure as the Red Spider. It's
called East Wallachia.

* Dragon Industries has been completely dismantled by the Russian government with the
Foundation's help, thanks to an unnamed group of superheroes.

* The Brotherhood of Thieves has been formed as sort of a cat-burglar society which has a classicist
99% motivation (despite its members being quite rich).

* The Secret Society of Assassins has broken away from the Black Hand, being devoted to killing for
pay but also possessing a code of honor that the Iron Khan doesn't have.

* Ares has returned to the Earth, once more fostering war and destruction across the Earth along
with Pestilence, Commerce, and Thanatos.

* The International Crime League has broken up into several rival factions because, you know,
criminals. Ganglord Gorilla has had his brain transplanted into a new hulking human body but has no
more control over it.

* General Venom has gone missing, being replaced with a charismatic arms dealer and sociopath
Jack Washington III. He's currently CEO of SpartaCorp since Kenneth Kane was forced to flee the
country.

* The Dark Undermaster managed to recover the Book of Orkus and used it to forge the Armor of
Orkus, which he's used to seize Merlin's lair and become Earth's Supreme Magnus. Merlin is
currently missing. A cult has started to him in Ruritania.

* The Elite has been cancelled with minor fanfare with Mighty Man now working for the US
government.

* The Aesir has since debuted in their place, being composed of Norse gods.

* The Psychotic Seven is now the Psychotic Five and more likely to disintegrate further.

* The Iron Khan has removed the Black Hand and his section of PHANTOM from the group, splitting
it in half.

* Death Mask III is actually directly behind PHANTOM's woes as he believes he'll be able to dominate
the world much easier with a smaller support group around him.

Neutral

* The Foundation for World Harmony has since gotten a new director who is completely unprepared
for his current responsibilities. He's going to eventually be replaced on the short list by George
Timons or Michael Specter.

In the meantime, he's a walking disaster.

* America Force One has been re-introduced, replaced instead with ULTRA Force One, being now
the Marines of the Foundation for World Harmony. This is due to the new General Venom being a
sociopath with many clones and an almost Overshadow-esque malevolence.

Here is some of my input on the new developments:

-The Black Sheep continues to hunt The Red King through "interrogating" (read: torture) members of
any existing Gene Nation cells he can find.

-While Dragon Industries has been taken apart, due to Battle Czar's take over of his homeland.
Dracula is looking to crush the usurper and reclaim his kingdom. Dracula really doesn't like
foreigners in general be they Turk or Slavic.

* Ares International was bought by SpartaCorp and JWIII was placed in charge of it as part of the
governments attempt to make the group "legitimate" and no longer a purveyor of foreign interests.

Cue face palm from Colonel Shepard.

* UNITY with the disintegration of Dragon Industries has allied itself with PHANTOM and become
their version of OVERTHROW.

* The Globalist is now The Global Commander and had a brain tumor removed, making him
"marginally" more sane.

* Baroness Blade has also taken the Iron Khan's place on the PHANTOM board of directors. So yes,
PHANTOM now has Cobra Commander, Destro, and the Baroness.

* Dracula has a desire to kill his son, partially because the Globalist attempted to do the same to
him.

* The Exterminators have taken over Project: Icarus, using robots and mind-control nanites. The
organization no longer has any government backing that's not unwilling or through bribery since it's
a dominionist robot group.

State of the Union

When the first edition of Halt Evil Doer! was released, I decided to do something of a superheroic
treatise on the War on Terror. As a result, most of the villains of the setting were superpowerful and
rich with an almost "above the law" mentality. Terrorists were a primary enemy the world was
seemingly powerless to deal with.

However, since that time, most of the "corporate overlord" myth has been busted. The rampant
corruption and favor trading Wallstreet was involved in collapsed on itself. The super ultra-rich are
still present, more firmly entrenched than ever, but it seems they're no more capable of managing a
successful world domination scheme than anyone else.

Also, terrorists across the world have a tendency to split and join together as political positions
change. Much of the Middle East and Africa has gone through revolutions or regime changes with
the wars against them having mixed results. Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Il, and Qadaffi are gone but
there are plenty more where they came from.

The new Heroic Earth is one where the unlimited wealth of the archvillains is no longer a guarantee.
The new Jack Washington probably wields more power than the President of the United States but
PHANTOM, The Gene Nation, and Black Hand have taken major hits. Smaller, less monolithic
organizations have taken their place. Plus, I think the International Crime League was redundant and
made for less interesting stories than dozens of super-powerful criminal gangs warring on each
other.

Plus, with all the work that people have done expanding the number of heroes and anti-bad guy
groups, it seemed ridiculous to think they were totally on the defensive. Evil turns on itself and the
good guys have given as good as they've gotten. As a result, the world has moved slightly more to
the "Good" side of the Equation than the "Evil is Ascendent" status of previous editions.

Ironically, I've also decided to make some choices as well for the moral ambiguity. In General
Venom's case, he may or may not have ever been able to make the choice but his replacement has
firmly moved the House of Serpents to the side of evil. Battle Czar has embraced at last his Stalinist
tendencies while the Psychotic Seven is now slipping to redemption or damnation. Simply put, you
can't walk the line between good and evil without falling one side or the other.

Of course, even with a hundred Patriots, there's a thousand villains and more growing every day.

Jack Washington III

Jack Washington the Third is not only a mysterious enigma, having apparently appeared seemingly
out of whole cloth not too long ago (though various business records and underworld dealings claim
him to have been around for a while, but Foundation analysts suspect them to be excellent fakes),
leaving various theories floating about between the Foundation, the Patriots and others on the
righteous side as to who he is. These include General Venom with a new and hardened guise taking
the HoS in a dangerous direction, a figurehead for an overthrowing council, and Venom's father's
brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate (credit given to Splotch for that one).

The truth is a bit different... and far more humiliating for General Venom.

Though one of the world's preeminent robotics experts, Jack Washington Jr. had his hidden mental
flaws, which, since he used his mind as a template for android duplicates, commonly resulted in a
number of duplicates with issues ranging from OCD to sadistic natures. In retrospective, it's not
surprising that one of the androids didn't try to overthrow the General sooner.

Yes, you heard that right. Jack Washington III is one of Venom's android duplicates. And General
Venom got beaten by his own duplicate horribly. Given that he had the same mind as Venom, Jack III,
once he'd set up his own groundwork, had launched unsuccessful attacks on his original, but
effective enough to drive the leader of the House to a certain isolated base following specific
protocols that Jack Washington III was aware of.

At that point, Jack locked him off in that base, taking complete control of the systems, and by the
time Venom got out and figured out what the Jesus was going on... Jack III had usurped complete
control of the House of Serpents.

As pointed out by Charles, Jack Washington the Third is Overshadow-like and none of the moral
restraints that still remained in General Venom. Safely insulated legally from the Houses' activities by
his astute efforts, Jack III runs the show completely (his 'clones' being 'perfected' androids incapable
of rebelling themselves), and any vestige of reforming America is just for show.

His goals are simple. His Manifest Destiny mind is fixated making a truly imperialistic and all-
powerful American Empire- at the cost of every other nation in the world- with him at the head as a
President for Life, of course. Given that he managed to carefully smoke out Kenneth Kane as Death
Mask III (the one thing DM didn't do to PHANTOM, since Spartacorp is too useful a legitimate source
of cash, crooks, cronies and corruption to waste) and arrange his being named CEO by a HoS-affilate
packed Board of Directors, many fear he could just do it.

The Chilong Decree

So as Kenneth Kane was sitting in his luxurious Spartacorp corner office, things were looking good,
he felt. UNITY had been co-opted, the Gene Nation was in disarray, and the heroes were getting a
hand (not the hand they wanted). Everything was looking up, he determined. (Unfortunately this
and the following series of events were but shortly before JWIII made his move.)

It was right at that moment when he had the arrival of Black Dragon, whom he had hired to attack
the Iron Khan ('cleaning out the stale dumplings'). Ironically, he never got a chance to proffer the
massive cash and 'potential cure' Kane was offering. Black Dragon revealed that an 'Enigmatic One
informed him through the proceeding exposition' that the Khan was the target, and thus the job
would be pro bono.

And thus, Black Dragon smuggled himself into the Khanate as a royal yak herder, (the nostagia of the
tribal Mongolic past does some sway over the Iron Khan) and promptly crashed the annual Khan-
centric festival in the capital, challenging Temijin to a death duel in front of the cream of the Black
Hand, the Emerald Dragon, and thousands of peasants.

To the surprise of many, the Khan agreed, and forbade anyone from interfering in the duel or
impeding Hector Santana's departure should he of all things win. And indeed, after a long martial
arts battle, Black Dragon eventually got tired of fooling around and fired a full machine pistol clip
into the Khan's head.

In the aftermath, the Khan got resurrected of course, albeit with some prestige damage. He also
instituted the Chilong Decree, a contingency for such an event... Since being the former overlord of
BD, having several hundred years of master villain experience, and quite perceptive, the Khan knew
that Black Dragon could never kill him without PHANTOM aid.

Ergo, Death Mask had moved against him, and the Black Hand responded in kind. As a result
observers for the following few months apparently found that PHANTOM was undergoing a civil war,
as shadow battles signaled the Khan's withdrawal from PHANTOM.

Death Mask just laughed when he heard the news, which when brought to the attention of the Iron
Khan at the cost of many Black Hand spies -- mystified him utterly.
The Genesis Island Crisis

For three weeks the world held its breath as Genesis Island was in the throes of violence not seen
before on the island. It started with a simple find on a beach. An old chest washed up on shore.
Investigating Genesis Island security forces opened it up and found guns. About 15 top of the line
PHANTOM energy rifles. Once more there were shipment instructions included in the chest. The
matter was brought to the attention of Archbishop X who ordered a secret investigation fearing a
underground movement on the island arming themselves.

Genesis Island's special investigators soon cracked a member of the human underground. Using
methods that would make the KGB blush, the investigators climbed the latter to find the mastermind
behind the ring. They made an astounding discovery. The top man was none other then Paul
McCord, one of the members of the Chessboard and close personal aide to the Red King. Taking
McCord into custody they used many methods to break down McCord telepathic resistance. After
days of sleep deprivation, drugs, and mental probing McCord's mental walls crumbled. Their then
found information that shook the Chessboard to the core. The Red King ordered the weapons to be
imported and distributed across the human underground. They were going to be used to take out
Archbishop X and most of the Siblinghood of Living Gods in one fell swoop. Apparently, Cassius
never trusted Hamilton Strauss that much and found his extremism deeply unsettling.

Strauss was furious. It was bad enough that the Red King had made peace with the humans but now
he was arming them against his own kind. Sharing that information with members of the Chessboard
who were loyal to his cause. Together they plotted to overthrow the Red King and turn Genesis
Island into a something very much akin to a modern Congo Free State.

They knew that the populace wouldn't accept the execution of the Red King . They needed to make
him a martyr. Used as a symbol to galvanize the metahuman population but make sure the Cassius is
out of the way to prevent him from stopping their plans. They decided to paint The Red Knight as a
pro human traitor who assassinated Cassius. They would use the already broken McCord as a puppet
to provide evidence of this and implicate the whole non metahuman population.

Around the same time, the Tomorrow Society was fleeing the United States. Seeing a chance to try
and turn his half sister to his side, Cassius granted the Tomorrow Society asylum on Genesis Island.
This afforded the conspirators an opening as Cassius chose not to wear his armor around his half
sister. Trying to strike a less aggressive and more civil tone. Calling for a debate rather than a
confrontation. It was in a meeting with most of the human members of the Chessboard and Serena
Mass when the conspirators struck. Almost the entire meeting was slaughtered. The Red Knight was
able to hold of the attackers while Serena and Cassius used a secret escape route to flee the island.

That night Archbishop X announced to Genesis Island that the Red King had assassinated the Red
Knight along with Serena Mass. The Red Knight was then killed by War, who by that time had
abandoned his PHANTOM connections as that organization was in the throes of being downsized.
Archbishop X announced a live confession by Paul McCord implicating the Red Knight and most of
the human population of Genesis Island. In that message was a code word. 'Simon de Montfort'
indicated that it was not true and that those in the underground should arm themselves and prepare
for revolution. After the confession, Archbishop X announced that the remaining Chessboard
members decided that the rights of the human population were suspended and that all humans
would be remanded to physical labor centers and their possessions would become property of the
state.

That is when the violence started. It didn't take take long for the remaining members of the
underground movement to convince many that they were about to be put into slavery or worse. The
underground were well armed. Taking advantage of Cassius' order for lax security to smuggle in
many more weapons then Cassius would of expected. They struck hard and fast blowing up Genesis
Island security stations. The Civil War was on.

The images coming out of Genesis Island in those few weeks were some of the most horrible any
had seen. The two sides tore at each other with no regard to the rules of war. The world saw what a
full scale war fought with superpowers and high technology would look like. There was no concept
of non-combatants or innocents. Everybody not on your side was an enemy. A fight for survival.
Many commented that whomever won would rule over a smoking crater. Also at stake was Genesis
Island stockpile of chemical and biological weapons. Some which were used during the fighting.

The fighting actually came to an end when Serena Mass returned to the island after hiding Cassius
away. This turned the majority of Archbishop X's forces against him. Strauss was abandoned by his
own bodyguard and tossed from DNAscension palace. The remaining sides parlayed and a new
constitution was formed. Serena was named Queen with a new legislature split half and half
between Metahuman and human members. The Tomorrow Society was given special power to make
sure one side didn't try to lord over the other.

HED - Australian Heroes

Australia Star

Rosalyn Tyler is Australia Star the most famous, beloved and beautiful hero in Australia. If you need
someone to open a new mall, appear on breakfast TV or be the guest of honour at a black tie event,
Australia Star is the first name event planners think of.

For Rosalyn she takes her responsibilities very seriously and although she would much rather be
flying about saving lives or blasting villains with her Starlight powers she accepts carrying out these
extra promotional duties even though other heroes avoid them like the plague.

The Digger

The Digger is a mystery to all and in the rare times when he has said more than a grunt he claims to
have fought Rommell during World War II as a member of the Desert Rats. His gaunt and half shaven
appearance, military uniform does lead credence to that story but how or why he is now fighting
criminals in Australia over 50 years later and still appearing in his 30s has never been explained.
Utu

Like many New Zealanders Chris Mika moved to Australia in search of a better life for himself and his
family. For the first couple of years life was good for Chris as he found a trucking job that paid
double what he could earn in New Zealand. Then the firm was purchased by a shell company owned
by Phantom whom started replacing staff and moving mysterious cargo around the country.
Concerned Chris spoke to his manager and was sacked the following day accused of thievery.

Fighting to clear his name Chris lost his family, house and all his assets in legal costs and then at the
last moment the Company decided to drop all charges. Reduced to living on the streets Chris swore
revenge and barely a month later Utu made his appearance.

Striking hard and fast from the shadows Utu has become notorious for the savage beatings carried
out on his enemies and is firmly in that grey area between hero and villain.

As for Chris, his life is now a mix of dreams and nightmares living on the streets and every couple of
days waking up in Melbourne, then Perth or Sydney with no memory of how he got there.

The Brotherhood of Thieves

The Brotherhood of Thieves isn't a young organization. Quite the contrary, it is an organization that
dates back at least a century and has a unverifiable history stretching to ancient Roman times. The
legendary history of the organization states that it was originally founded in Rome as a collection of
plebs who made a pact with Hades and several other lesser Roman gods to forever carry their legacy
in exchange for unnatural skill at thievery. These gods would each choose a champion that would
serve as the "Council" of the group with Janus, Hecate, and Furina being amongst the confirmed.

Supposedly, the group continued largely unchanged through the fall of the Roman Empire through
the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and the present day. None of this can be confirmed, however,
and the only confirmation of the organization's history can be done by Alexander Timons and
Cynthia Van Helsing who first encountered the group in 1923.

The Brotherhood of Thieves was, by then, headed by the original "Gentleman Thief" Arsene Lupin. It
is to Alexander's considerable humility that he admits Arsene is one of the few opponents to
conclusively defeat him on multiple occasions. Doctor Aeon had much better luck facing Arsene
Lupin and the two managed to reach several stalemates with Arsene towards the end of the man's
career.

It was Doctor Aeon (and Alex's theory) that Arsene Lupin was such a raging egomaniac that he really
couldn't stand letting his legend die out after old age claimed him. After Doctor Aeon spoiled him
from stealing more than a few cup fulls of water from the Fountain of Youth, Arsene supposedly
collected the world's greatest thieves and made a gentleman's club (with women members since he
saw no reason to NOT have them) with a faux history.

Arsene's descendants claim this is hogwash and give an elaborate story how he won leadership of
the group from its corrupt and decadent leader, Count Cagliostro of Ruritania. Whatever the case,
the organization kept a surprisingly low profile throughout the age of heroes since its members were
so good they actually managed to rob everyone from Hitler to Area 51 without ever being detected.

The organization went "public" only recently with Lady Grayhaven protecting Irene Addler V from
the retaliation of the group when they accused her of treason. In all likelihood, this was part of a
carefully orchestrated plot to draw in new members and inspire new supervillains to follow
examples less psychotic than what's typical of today's criminal market. Yes, the Brotherhood of
Thieves takes the future of super-criminals very seriously and thinks its high time someone taught
the worst of them a lesson.

Not that the Brotherhood of Thieves is filled with altruists, mind you. For every Robin Hood-type
there are three who are only interested in their own fame and fortune. The organization's genteel
exterior also hides a thousand plots against other members. Unfortunately, the Brotherhood tends
to recruit narcissists who each believe themselves to be the best.

As a result, there are plenty who actively want to crush the other members in cruel and humiliating
ways. This is only kept in check by the fact that the guild is usually able to divert such thinking
towards contests like "steal the cowl of Black Wing" and "retrieve Woden's staff." These contests are
actually held quite regularly and are behind many inexplicable happenings. The Brotherhood has few
rules on how these contests can be won, you see, and its Council awards points on style. A contest to
steal the Mona Lisa thus had members turn multiple copies from various time periods, the model
herself, a dozen copies made by a kidnapped Leonardo, and the entire Louve.

The Brotherhood of Thieves has a friendly relationship with the Fraternity of Supervillains as well as
the Secret Society of Assassins. In the former case, many members have dual-membership while the
later is employed as a form of housekeeping. The Brotherhood of Thieves considers murder uncouth
and any thief who has to resort to it to be a brute. Which, of course, leads its more sociopathic
members to simply hire out whenever they need someone killed.

The Brotherhood of Thieves, peculiarly, also has a sub-chapter in the Academy of Notre Dame or as
it's known more commonly, The Sewer Rats. Basically, it's a (literal) underground French training
base for henchmen. Its teachers include The Musketeer and Black Dragon, which goes to show you
that stealth is taught alongside flamboyance (Black Dragon is capable of being invisible when he
wants to be - it's just that when he doesn't want to be he's VERY LOUD ABOUT IT). The Sewer Rats
are actually exceptionally competent thieves, killers, and villains in their own right. It's just that they
tend to be only a threat to superheroes in groups.

Fallout from the Genesis Island Crisis

Where is Cassius Mass?

Cassius was severely injured during the assassination attempt. It took him months to recover.
He didn't return to Genesis Island because he feared that the radical members of the
Chessboard found out about his daughter. He spent a year tracking down his daughter. They
are now on the run from various factions that know of that Cassius is not dead. Just what
effect Cassius has on his daughter and vice versa is yet to be determined. (Cassius could
mellow out or Sarah Mass* could turn into Graydon Creed)

* I don't think that Cassius's daughter was ever named. It doesn't fit I can change it.

Where is War?

War escaped Genesis Island and formed the Genetic Warriors to carve out a country of his
own to rule. Right now he is focusing on Africa and will soon come into conflict with
Nestoria.

Where is Peace?

Peace is the High Priestess of the Zealots. She took what was left of the Siblinghood and
established a doctrine that Cassius Mass was Prometheus reincarnated bringing the fire of
Metahuman superiority to the Earth. The Zealots know that Cassius is alive but believe it is a
clone. They seek to kill him so that his soul can go and establish Metahuman dominance of
heaven. Yes, they are quite cult like.

Why did Serena accept the position of Queen?

Simply put, she feared that the violence would escalate. You had two factions that were
pretty much set on doing horrible violence to each other. She soon found that the two factions
needed a lot more babysitting and mediating despite the horrible things that happened. The
first order of business was to quarantine those infected with Grey Plague. A antibiotic
resistant form of the aerial Bubonic Plague that was released during the fighting. Oh, it also
got off the island and now is infecting the populace of the world.

Why did Helios join the Tomorrow Society?

He was invited. He actually serves as one of the Justices of Genesis Island along with
Valkyrie. He wasn't part of the fighting during the Genesis Island Crisis. He still holds his
views but seems to appreciate being recognized and consulted. He can also law down the law
physically rather then verbally if need arises.

Can Archbishop X ever come back?

No, he went splat. Really really splat.

The Secret Society of Assassins

Take the Thugee, the multi-religious sect of bandits who murdered people with silk scarves in order
to please Kali. Combine them with the Hashishan, the drug-addled group of Islamic fanatics. Add the
skills of the Oba Nobunaga serving sect of Black Dragon shinobi.

What do you get?

Well, a lot of corpses.

None of these sects were fond of one another but for centuries, they lived under the control of the
Iron Khan and were forced to get along.

Somewhat.

Not a year went by when three or more corpses didn't turn up from their squabbles. Ironically, this
brought them closer together.

Over time, the three sects and their various recruits started talking about what they DID have in
common. Specifically, their profession of killing people. In time, they hammered out a collection of
precepts called the Black Codex, which defined what passed for honor amongst them.

For the most part, the Black Hand's various killers did not abide by this Codex. There was a vast
collection of thugs in the organization who were only loyal to the Iron Khan for the promise of Black
Hand gold or because they believed he was a kind of Dark Messiah. Others remained loyal to their
original traditions, allying with the other groups only so long as it was necessary.

Still, the bonds of the Black Codex drew a small sect together early on and these individuals became
united completely when Cain's Knife was discovered in 1932. The instrument of the First Murderer
in the Hebrew religion was little more than a rock used by early hominids that may or may not have
been related but the weapon became a blessed tool that they used to communicate with Kali and
other deities of destruction.

From there, the Secret Society of Assassins gained a new purpose. They would kill the people that
their gods asked them to. These were sometimes the guilty, rapists or fellow murderers. Other
times, it would be the suffering and plague ridden. Other times still the demented and infirm
trapped by their own bodies.

Poor kings and tyrants both fell under their knives. Gossiping wives or fools who distracted inventors
from great discoveries joined the ranks of the fallen. Some still, were killed for completely
inexplicable reasons.
Then the order came down to kill the Iron Khan.

To the credit of the Secret Society of Assassins, they did not immediately turn against their master
but debated the matter heavily. Too heavily since the Iron Khan's response to this was to order an
attack of the
Khanate military on all their sanctuaries and send the Black Hand's stormtroopers against them.

The resulting battle is one that inflicted serious casualties upon the Secret Society but did not kill
them, which is the worst thing one can do for an assassin. Cain's knife was destroyed in the battle,
however, its fragments shattered and each taken away by members to allow the Nightmasters of
each sanctuary to communicate with their gods.

The Secret Society of Assassins takes contracts, don't get it wrong, even psychotic killers have to eat.
However, this is merely to fund their greater work. They are champions of death, in a most literal
fashion, and seek to elevate the arts of murder to an art form. Ironically, not all members of the
Secret Society of Assassins, are religious fanatics as the group takes in outcasts and killers of all sorts.
One simply has to agree to abide by the Black Codex to do join. One oddity is that its members get
along like family, bonds forged by the Iron Khan's reprisals are hardened many times over.

It makes meetings...interesting.

The Carnival of Tears or The Carnivale, however, is an organization that George Timons has spent
the better part of ten years hunting down with his now ample (by his standards) free time.

The Carnival of Tears is a group that Kenneth Kane has membership in and is a VERY exclusive club
that offers membership to an incredibly elite group - specifically people that are genuinely, utterly,
and completely evil. Their hobby is to do crimes which will never be solved because they're
effectively random and consist of utterly ruining the lives of individual people. A hobby Kenneth
Kane can get behind, though he he is considered a glutton by their standards.

They SAVOR the horror they inflict.

The Owls of Athens was a secret society of the world's most highly intelligent supercriminals.
Kenneth Kane was actually DENIED membership because he was viewed as basically not fitting their
criteria for wisdom. Likewise, General Venom and Cassius Mass were considered too public. The
Owls of Athens attempt to resurrect the global domination of the Illuminati behind the scenes by
secretly manipulating events and attempting to covertly destroy human initiative as well as hope.

Yes, hope.

They believe when all of humanity is hopeless, they will be able to rule the world.

Finally, there's the Black Sail Pirates that are actually a collection of the flashiest, nastiest, most
psychotic bandits the world has ever known. The group is a bit below the radar but more or less
cannot stay in prison very long because they're exceptionally good at simply KILLING everyone who
stands in their way of getting free (and their allies helping them do). They have their own ghostly
pirate ship where they meet through ghost portals and more or less commit random terrorism.

The Black Sail Pirates are notable for the fact that they actually AVOID superheroes for obvious
reasons.

Character Updates
Black Dragon: Thanks to his full body transplant, Black Dragon has about twenty-years left of his life
which is pretty good for a man in his mid-forities. Unfortunately, he's become aware of hell thanks to
some of his encounters and is quite annoyed by this due to being a Buddhist (admittedly, his
understanding of Buddhism could use a little work. For example, the central tenant of Buddhism is
not "every man for himself.")

As a result, he's re-dedicated himself to NOT DYING.

Disturbingly, Black Dragon has fully won the favor of the Black Dragon ninja-clan and has now a fairly
large number of henchmen who ALSO take the name Black Dragon including a heretofore unnamed
cousin. Black Dragons attempts to ditch them have so far failed, up to and including hosting a Ninja
Volleyball tournament.

Dark Undermaster: The current Dark Lord of the dimension is attempting to gather as many mystical
artifacts as humanly possible to guarantee his position. He's also preparing for the mother of all
revenge quests against Bres the Beautiful. Unfortunately, his duties keep drawing him in to save the
universe from Cthulhu and other eldrich monsters. What's bizarre is he's actually made a number of
friends in the supernatural community due to the fact it's not really a community which exists in the
blackest of whites.
Valkyrie, OTOH, is horrified to see him show up at meetings of mystical champions. Her reaction is
roughly equivalent to Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost in Joss Whedon's run.

Jack Washington Junior: Currently outfitted with an eye-patch, artificial leg, and artificial arm, Jack
Washington can no longer wear his armor. Worse, artificially accelerated aging is hitting his clone
body. Strangely, leaving his suit has left him remarkably aware of his surroundings and he's decided
to spend the remaining years of his life bringing down the House of Serpents. He's also allied with
the Red Jaguar of all people and is one of the people who helped bring down their puppet states.
(Which are now being transitioned to democracy).

Battle Czar: Has embraced the evil Kool-Aid. The failure of communism and the fact the people are
now transitioning fully away from it was accompanied by the exposure of his many crimes. Disgraced
and vilified, Battle Czar murdered many former friends to escape the former Soviet Union and is now
determined to rebuild it by force. He refuses to believe his new extremism may be partially
motivated by guilt. East Wallachia is essentially watched continuously by an all-powerful Big Brother
who is hated by the public despite his best efforts to be "loved."

The Global Commander: He's still a scheming, conniving, cowardly, backstabbing weasel. He's just
one with a brain now and a surprising amount of charisma. The Global Commander has remade
Unity into a much more effective organization with top of the line weapons and absolutely no
scruples. He's also created a coherent ideology based around a Utopian One World Government
built from the ruins of economic and social anarchy. The Global Commander has replaced Colonel
Moran as head of PHANTOM's military, which has been officially disbanded.

Amusingly, Baroness Blade is unable to influence him psychically as she could General Venom.
Baroness Blade: Revealed to have been psychically manipulating Supreme and General Venom (as
well as Michael Spectre) despite their best efforts, she's been declared an enemy of the House of
Serpents. Despite her personal belief she's slumming with UNITY, she's been welcomed as the
second in command of PHANTOM. Baroness Blade has also revealed her ultimate master plan - she
enjoys causing chaos and suffering on a massive scale for the hell of it. Ideology has always just been
an excuse. Her many redemption attempts and romances with heroes? All faked to manipulate
them.

Merlin: Is currently being hurtled through time and space randomly in a magical barrel (formerly
belonging to Diogenes) without any of his magical powers. Merlin is being forced to rely on his wits
to try and correct the staggering damage done to the time stream by the Lords of Paradox, that have
decided to start retroactively writing heroes and villains out of the universe. Oddly, a price of this is
he's immortal. He reincarnates somewhere else and someWHEN else as someONE else whenever he
dies (The barrel eventually finding him).

Kenneth Kane: Being a man in his sixties bothers Kenneth Kane to no end and while he could create
a clone body for himself, he's gotten it into his head that he's somehow not the Caesar he wants to.
So OBVIOUSLY it's the fault of his minions. As a result, he's responsible for the purges in PHANTOM
and also many of its civil wars, hurting his own organization in his his usual style. This is all subtext,
however, to his "plan" to create a leaner-meaner PHANTOM.

What's really happened (in addition to imprisoning his best friend, Colonel Moran) is he's planning to
go back to old fashioned Silver Age terrorism. He will bring the world to its knees even if he has to
kill every single human being on the planet to do it.

The Emerald Dragon: Has formally broken away from the Black Hand and has decided she will be the
one to kill her father. To that end, she's going to find the perfect person to kill him. Until then, she is
killing the world's greatest martial artists in duels in hopes of finding someone strong enough to fight
him. Yeah, it doesn't really make much sense. However, she's exalting in her newfound freedom and
enjoying the martial arts benefits. Unsurprisingly, her lifestyle requires a great deal of money and
she's taken up martial arts assassination on the side.

Ultimatum: Having located a Thran "Purple Ray of Healing" and used it to heal all of the people he
injured during his early years plus paying over a half-billion dollars in compensation (all gained from
crushing coal into diamonds and super-gold mining) he's finally made peace with his past. As a
newfound Patriot, he's mostly made up for his crimes in the eyes of the public and is determined to
prove himself the best hero in the world. Of course, the fact he was eight years old was revealed to
the public and its hard to blame him for it (his mother - however - is annoyingly getting treated as
the most oblivious woman in America).

Ultimatum, unfortunately, has to spend Silver Age Superman-esque efforts protecting her from his
enemies now.

Tyburn Tree
After more then twenty years as perhaps the worlds greatest swordsperson and most gentlemanly
thief, boredom is starting to creep up. For the most part Katie has retired to the Cayman Islands,
only going out to train her adoptive daughter, Melissa 'Missy' King. Who may be better then her
trainer. Her daughter has taken the sobriquet of Thomas Turpin and has gone on to menace not only
Black Wing III but also Robyn Hood.

She still looks like she is in her late twenties but her actual age is early 40s due to her theft of some
of the Foundations anti-aging treatments. She has sent out feelers, as Katie King, to The Corbie to
see if he would be interested in joining her in island retirement.

Dr. Antiquity

Still a anti-magic fanatic but one employed in secret by the Dark Undermaster to collect as sorts of
dangerous magical baubles. Antiquity believes that the DU is destroying them rather than collecting
them. Al-Kindi sometimes goes with the other Justicars on missions. He isn't really liked since he is
quite fanatical.

Black Jane

Has actually been sealed and no longer able to animate Lament by the Dark Undermaster. He keeps
her that way as a way to insure that The Last Ranger doesn't get any ideas. Her unsealing would be
'apocalyptic' according to DU. Like the Krakatoa of ghostly energies. Suffice to say the spirit of
Raven's malice has been simmering for quite some time.

Edit:

Forgot One.

Decibelle

There have been unconfirmed reports that someone matching the last know appearance of
Decibelle has been attacking House of Serpents operations. There are many theories from those in
the know about the A - Squad. Some believe that Decibelle was injured and put into a healing coma
stasis for more then a decade and Venom released her. Other believe that it is a robotic duplicate
that JWIII is using to draw out General Venom. Finally, some believe that it isn't the real Decibelle
but another metaman that is using her appearance as a legacy hero. No one has gotten close enough
to actually determine which is the truth.

(This brings up an uncomfortable topic for the Patriots. Its about time for the A-squad to begin
getting legacies and copycats. How do they deal with it? Do they tell the new heroes who the A -
Squad and what they were actually doing?)

Superhuman Registration Act a.k.a The International Ban on the Proliferation of Superhuman
Soldiers.
The reason for the United States' Hero Act and the European Union's similar Anti-Urban terrorism
bill, the
IBPSS is an agreement signed by the majority of United Nations members and all of the Security
Council. The bill is, supposedly, just an expansion and clarification on the post-WW2 ban on
superhuman research.

Really, the ban is a much more comprehensive attempt by the various world governments to codify
the role superhumans are meant to play in a world where they're increasingly a presence in day-to-
day life. The International Ban prevents any nation from intentionally developing offensive
superhuman abilities in a laboratory and curtails any private corporate research into anything
superhuman engineering related.

The IBPSS actually expands the role of superhumans in government affairs in some areas, however,
including the expectation that eventually every nation in the world will have access to a superhero
team of some sort or another. In the meantime, that Foundation for World Harmony agent status
should be given to any superhuman who is a demonstrated asset as opposed to a potential threat.

The IBPSS also clarifies the role that superhuman agents can have across international boundaries.
The expanded Patriots teams now have authority to visit most nations and pursue felons across
borders without much in the way of difficulty. Furthermore, superhuman extradition is much easier
with an international court being set up for international superhuman terrorists (not to mention
extraterrestrial ones).

Private organizations are now forbidden from assembling their own superhuman armies (including
A.I and genetically modified superhumans) with terrorism laws now capable of going after
International Crime League "gene labs." Surprisingly, Metamen are protected under this law with
individuals not required to register their abilities unless they are capable of inflicting lethal damage.
Even then, they can and will simply be required to do an anonymous test to prove they have control
over their power.

Research into removing the Metagene has also been banned by international law, despite
widespread protest, and suppressing powers is only supposed to be done in the case of proven
dangerous criminals. Severe economic sanctions and war crimes charges have since been inflicted on
Zulan and its leadership as a result. The Knights for a Pure Mankind have also been hit hard due to
the treaty banning many of their collected "anti-Meta" weapons.

More troublesome is the registration element. Bluntly, every Metaman whose ability can be used in
a lethal manner must be registered with the government. Not registering it is an imprisonable
offense. Likewise, any vigilante who wants to work with superhuman powers must go through a 6-
day test that allows them to prove their competence for duty. Likewise, they must register the
extent of their abilities with the government. This is far different from the original ban to register all
superpowers everywhere but still rubbed A LOT of lobbies the wrong way.

Despite attempts to win over Metamen support for this bill, it went over like a ton of bricks. It didn't
help that China and Russia's acts pushed the limits of the Anti-Metamen legislation and flat out
violate its "defense" principles on a regular basis. The Tomorrow Society, as usual, protested every
single avenue that it could and later resorted to flat out sabotage against the attempts to create
comprehensive databases of superpowers. The Gene Nation, of course, simply resorted to terrorism
with Genesis Island poised to continue its inhuman (literally) research with no competition.

Things went bad to worse with the Point Zero Incident. Battle Czar being implicated in massive
amounts of Red Hammer research on live test-subjects assembled from criminals and arms
trafficking in superhuman abilities to continue his war for communist supremacy. The fact he
murdered his own adopted daughter to cover it up caused a panic in Russia as not soon after was
discovered the massive presence of vampires in the highest echelons of industry. Battle Czar's
conquest of East Wallachia followed by Red Jaguar's takeover of Nestoria necessitated a swift
response worldwide.

The Crackdown of 2012 resulted in a massive anti-terrorism campaign spearheaded by the

Foundation for World Harmony's new director. Hundreds of superhuman criminals were rounded up
and incarcerated without trial in the belief it was possible to eliminate superhuman terrorism
overnight. Plans were also made for attacks on Genesis Island when the Patriots and Tomorrow
Society came into conflict (primarily over extremists on both sides). In the end, the Tomorrow
Society was outlawed in the United States and allowed refuge (due to a hastily arranged treaty by
Alexander Timons) on the newly liberated Genesis Island.

the Praetorian Guardsmen

Bunker: A brute with tungsten-hard skin and massive fists which could dent tank armor, Bunker was
decked out in patriotic South African colors, but was not a native Afrikaaner. His actual nationality
was never known, but he was a wanted criminal across most of Africa for war crimes, murder, grand
theft, and numerous other felonies. While a foul-mouthed and obnoxious racist, Bunker could be
almost disturbingly soft-spoken and well-behaved around women and children, even if they were
black.

The Orange Matron: The daughter of the famed WW II hero Commander Orange, she was the oldest
and longest serving member of the team, having served alongside her father as the Orange Girl (and
later Orange Maiden). Enhanced strength, durability, and reflexes complimented a limited power to
manipulate her personal density and gravity (allowing her to '"fly" and deliver jackhammer hard
blows). She was a child of privilege and convinced of white superiority mostly due to upbringing.
While mostly a decent sort otherwise, Orange Matron could be ill-tempered, especially as she grew
older and began losing her youthful looks and sex appeal; her metaman condition was progressive,
and she grew more muscular, more imposing, and nearly crimson hued as time went on, which
mader her white supremacist government handlers quite uncomfortable. Longtime lover of
Commander Cannonshot.

Rooivalk/Red Kestrel I: The original South African Blackwing counterpart was a brave and even
noble character, but also committed to perserving the cruel apartheid regime. He was convinced
that black Africans were not "ready" to govern themselves, and would turn his homeland into a
failed Marxist state if they were allowed to rule. Rooivalk was a master of urban combat and
counter-insurgency, as well as superbly trained helicopter pilot, fighter, marksman, and athlete. His
arsenal included many Blackwing-inspired gadgets, a gliding cape, one-man chopper, conventional
firearms, and PHANTOM-supplied weapons.

Sky Chief: A brilliant designer and engineer, Sky Chief piloted an airship which might best be
described as flying gunwing, with enough firepower to quell a riot in a heartbeat. The craft was
dubbed "Red Skies", while his souped-up, armored hovercar was "Rolling Thunder" (it had a sonic
cannon mounted on the hood). No slouch as an athlete or hand to hand fighter, Sky Chief was
nonetheless the team's transport and gadget man. A closeted homosexual, his racism was of the
genteel, intellectually rationalized variety, but he rarely felt guilt over any of his actions taken to
defend minority white rule. He was very generous to "agreeable" blacks and coloureds, due to
noblesse obligee and a rather offensive condescension. Unknown to most, Sky Chief was a distant
relative to the German science hero Captain Mors, and had adopted his infamous ancestor's tech for
gravity-defying purposes.

The Mariner (o Navegador)

Rufino Ernesto De Santigo-Santiago was a card-carrying member of the Uniao Nacional from the day
and the hour he was old enough to vote: he was also a member in good standing of the Legiao
Portugese and proud to have been a member of the Mocidade Portuguesa before that.

In this day and age (especially amongst the English-speaking peoples) all this is so much Portuguese,
but what it boils down to is that De-Santigo Santiago was, practically from birth, fanatically loyal to
the cause of the Ultra-Nationalist National Dictatorship which ruled Portugal for almost half a
century, best described as close cousin to Francisco Franco's regime in neighbouring Spain.

Amongst the central pillars of this dictatorship was an Anti-Colonialist agenda, dedicated to
preserving what was left of the centuries-old Portuguese Empire (at the time we speak of, reduced
to Goa in India, as well as Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea in Africa - the last is now
known as Guinea-Bissau), an agenda which few of Portugal's 'overseas provinces' found agreeable.
Violent disagreement ensued and bloody war followed hard on its heels.

Prior to the outbreak of what became known as the Portuguese Colonial War, De Santigo had
already leaped at the opportunity to serve his nation and preserve the Empire; enlisting in the
Armada Portuguesa, De Santigo was caught up in the events of the Indian annexation of Goa and
very nearly perished with Portugal's hold on it's Indian Outpost and his ship, the NRP Afonso.

Cast into the sea during the course of the action, De Santigo would have perished, had he not
discovered his ability to breathe underwater. Quite indifferent to being revealed as a Metaman, De
Santigo made every effort to return to action, even after being rescued by his defeated comrades-in-
arms and was held back from doing so only by the promise that if he was patient he could do more
for Portugal than merely die well.

Trained to serve as the standard-bearer for the Estado Novo, gifted the title of one of the earliest
heroes of Portugal's empire as his codename, De Santigo threw himself into the bloody Colonial War
with devotion and precious little mercy shown to his opponents - serving variously with the Navy, as
well as the Destacamentos de Fuzileiros Especiais and Companhias de Fuzileiros Navais, the fore-
runners of Portugal's Marine Corps, across the various warzones.

Despite the ruthless courage of The Navigator and better men than he, as well as not a little success
in arms, Portugal surrendered. As The Navigator saw it, The colonies were GIVEN away by the new
government, after the so-called Carnation Revolution which so disgusted him that he effectively
severed himself from the homeland to which he had considered himself devoted.

Brought to South Africa by friendships dating from his operations in Angola during the Colonial War
and the prospect of a continuing struggle against that cursed Marxist state (in the form of the Border
War), renamed die Mariner by the Afrikaans-speaking portion of the population, an aging de Santigo
would become a member of the so-called 'Praetorian Guard' mostly due to the consistent skill he'd
displayed in coastal counter-insurgency operations and his much-appreciated habit of never
questioning with his superiors, originally born of zealous loyalty and strengthened by a vindictive
streak bred of his own Homeland's rebellion against the 'Right-Thinking Government' which had
ruled it for so long.

During his time with the 'Praetorian Guard' The Mariner would go on to become the dedicated foe of
Aquarius, throwing himself into combat with the Sea-King, despite the enormous disparity between
their respective powers (only partially compensated for by the full support of the South African
Navy): given that The Mariner only possessed one, while Aquarius was ... Aquarius, it's perhaps
unsurprising that De Santigo often came off worst.

Springbok

In 1980, Timotheos Van Rompaij was an Olympic-class athlete in a country which had been barred
from participation in the Olympic Games since the very year in which he was born - at eighteen years
old, he was a promising amateur being courted by just about every major team in the country, held
back from accepting one of these generous offers only by the fact that he would have to finally
decide which sport he wanted to commit to (and finding that he didn't actually wish to give up ANY,
even to focus on another).

It was at this point that the golden-boy athlete was approached by representatives of the South
African Government with an offer which amounted to an order - become a superhero. Gifted with all
the support the government believed necessary to attract some much-needed international good
publicity to their Superhuman Defence Force, Van Rompaij was granted the much-coveted mantle of
The Springbok (a development which surprised no-one) and very carefully kept away from anything
more strenuous than a glorious PR opportunity.

Somewhat reluctant to be written-off as little more than a living poster, Springbok asked that he
become more involved with the defence of his nation against the forces of Communism, Crime and
every other threat; taken under the wing of Rooivalk, he was carefully trained in some of the lesser
arts of counter-insurgency, became rather capable as a street-level crime fighter and very, very
carefully kept away from those elements of South African Super heroism that might tarnish his
golden-boy image for the duration of his career.

Timotheos was very quietly retired after the Collapse of Apartheid, although his mantle would be
given to another promising young hero with a sporting background - Van Rompaij would go on to
shock the world by offering his whole-hearted support to the youngster and to the sporting
integration of South African, quite unsolicited. Ironically his greatest act of heroism came only AFTER
he stopped wearing a mask.

Captain Africa I-III

Rowland Fearghas Mills was born at the very turn of the 19th Century to the 20th, in what was then
Southern Rhodesia, and would go on to become one of the last heirs of a vanishing breed - those
eccentrics who had done so much to explore, colonise, civilise (or at least pacify) the African portions
of the British Empire.

A man very much at home in the wilderness and familiar with the wild sort of souls that wandered
there, possessed of a domineering temper, an absolute sense of 'Fair Play' and a romantic
wanderlust, partly-Irish yet determinedly 'More English than the English' Mills was equally-
determined to become the first man to see the entirety of the African Continent, North to South,
East to West.

Frequently distracted by adventure, Mills was by turns scout, soldier and spy for the Mother Country
during the Great War, eventually evolved a temperament so eccentric and possessively protective
that when he saw how much evil was abroad in Africa he decided to found a lineage of champions
who would carry on the fight to protect Africa when he was gone (in part so he could get back to
wandering and partly also in competition with the Quatermain-Leopard lineage, who had inflicted
the only irreversible setback to his plans by keeping him out of Nestoria - albeit at times only just).

A great and terrible man, 'Captain Africa' would go on to be remembered as a famous adventuring
Mystery Man during the Pulp Era and a somewhat obscure superhero during the Second World War
- eventually passing on his mantle to his son to wander away into the African bush to be seldom seen
again.

His son Colby Raibeart Mills was undoubtedly a more pleasant man than his father, but not
otherwise his equal or superior - attempting to apply his father's methods to resolving the
Chimurenga (The Rhodesian Bush War) in favour of his fellow Rhodesians, he achieved some success
in the field (often associating with Grey's Scouts, a group of mounted infantry) but utterly failed in
his central ambition. Moving to South Africa, he was embraced by the nascent Praetorian Guard and
lived just long enough to die regretting it.

HIS son, Rowland Merrick Mills, inherited his father and grandfather's mantle just in advance of the
fall of Apartheid. He has done his best to redeem it, but remains little-loved and regarded as one of
the most minor rivals of the Red Jaguar - that he continues to persevere despite this status (which
might be called a death sentence by the polite) and general marginalisation by the South Africa
heroic community is as a feat of Heroic Willpower perhaps more remarkable than any performed by
the 'Praetorian Guard'.

Lady of the Southern Cross

Trinity Hanraets achieved the unenviable honour of becoming the only female recruit to the
'Praetorian Guard' by virtue of the fact that she was too strong-willed to be ignored and too
powerful to be easily destroyed by a team composed largely of extremely-martial mere mortals in
costumes - no matter how efficiently and brutally patriarchal they might be.

Swiftly becoming beloved by the population and hated by the hard core of the 'Praetorian Guard' for
being completely colour-blind (best attributed to a liberal education outside South Africa), The Lady
of the Southern Cross holds a unique distinction as the only member of the Praetorian Guard to
survive a defection attempt, going on to serve as part of the rag-tag band of Freedom Fighters which
would bring the Guard crashing down (with some help from The Justicars) and a senior stateswoman
of the Modern South African superhero community.

Balm

With the sole exception of The White Warlock, Maria Smit was perhaps the single most
irredeemable and notorious member of the so-called 'Praetorian Guard': where others had to be
bribed, compelled or blatantly forced to their most hideous duties, Smit embraced them with the
fervour of a religious fanatic who worshipped the worst extremes of Apartheid and failed to notice
the insanity inherent in the fact that The White Warlock was eager to carry them still further in his
quest to make the continent of Africa his puppet.

In all honesty, even when the man was informed that he did a better job of serving the Devil than
God by no less an authority than Desmond Tutu, his only reply would be that HE knew more about
God than any kaffir in a dress. His attitude to those poor souls who were actually given into his hands
as opponents of the regime was even less subtle and infinitely more brutal.

A healer, Smit was perhaps the most notorious torturer in the service of the White Warlock, famous
for the length of time he could prolong an interrogation - or an execution. Recruited after eager
participation in Operation K (for Koevoet, as noted elsewhere the Afrikaans word for Crowbar, which
says it all), Smit often felt reluctant to leave the work which glorified his aptitude for the infliction of
pain for his other role as corpsman of the Praetorian Guard for which his powers uniquely qualified
him.

He was an extraordinarily nasty customer and all South Africa thank whatever face of the divine they
turn to that he's dead. Whether that puts a final end to him, in a world where Count Reich might see
him as a delightful recruit is an interesting question.

Galaad

Erez Zimmerman, a devout Jew of the nominally-Orthodox South African persuasion, discovered at
an early age that he possessed two unique abilities - the first, that his senses were extraordinarily
acute to a degree which put many an animal to shame and second, a memory that forgot nothing
and readily recalled all that he had witnessed. At an impressionable age, he was recruited to the
'Praetorian Guard' by recruiters who played upon South Africa's support for and co-operation with
the State of Israel, conquering Zimmerman's political moderation and dire suspicions regarding
uncomfortable parallels between South Africa under Apartheid and another notoriously oppressive
regime of the 20th Century.

Eventually placed under the supervision of Balm (who nicknamed him 'Gilead' in what be one of his
rare displays of what might be called a sense of humour or simply a habitual use of Biblical labelling),
Erez was obliged to confront the worst extremes of State Oppression and remember EVERYTHING
for later testimony. He remained thoroughly cowed by the horrors he was obliged to witness and the
unspoken threat that Balm would visit them upon those he loved if he strayed, right up until he put
an end to what proved a short-lived partnership by putting a bullet in Maria Smit's skull.

He was kept alive long enough under torture to be liberated by a party of Freedom Fighters and to
this day remains the living memorial of all those that died at the hands of The Regime, changing his
codename to Galaad (meaning 'Mass of Testimony').

One important aspect about the Praetorian Guardsmen was the sheer longevity of the team. The
group began as an informal, occasional team-up of 1930s/early 1940s era Great White Hunters,
Fortune Seekers, Occult Investigators, and similar Two-Fisted Adverturer-types from across the
African continent (almost exclusively white, though an Indian weird-science hero and a traveling
Chinese martial artist/peasant wizard took part in an odd shared aventure or two as well). Though
mostly assembled through circumstances which culminated in a showdown with a collection of
mutual foes in South Africa, they agreed to semi-annual meetings, even establishing a
"headquarters" of sorts in Johannesburg-basically a rented beer hall with trappings from their
various adventures.As noted, only a few of the "New Praetorian Legion" were South African, but two
would spawn descendents who served with later incarnations: the original Captain Africa of
Rhodesia was among the founders, while the Indian science-hero (armed with refinements of
Captain Mors' antigravity, along with startingly advanced firearms designs) was the (officially
unacknowledged) maternal grandfather of Sky Chieftain.

During the World War II years, the South African government fielded a 'exceptional operations
military unit", composed of the remaining pulp-era heroes, elite soldiers, and a few genuine Golden
Age superhumans (such as the Cannonballer and Captain Orange State (finest son of the former
Republic of the Free Orange State) and his daugher Orange Girl. They coordinated (and soon
incorporated) champions from pro-Allied colonial states (most especially Rhodesia) and even a
handful of Black and Asiatic metamen (driven to help the lesser evil of racist nationalist regimes to
defeat the horror of Nazism in Africa). Though technically dubbed the South African Special
Defensemen (by some dull bueracrat), they were more commonly known as Praetor's Pride, after
their leader Jerome "Preator John" Shieldsmith, a famed S.A. military hero and guerilla fighter.

Following the end of the Second World War, the S.A. government showed surprising foresight in
NOT disbanding the team, but instead going further to organize, train, equip, and back the group
with official sanction and public relations/propaganda support. The now re-named Preatorian
Guardsmen were meant to serve as a source of National/White pride, an extension of the State
Security Apparatus, and an early entry in the upcoming Superhumans Arms Race. S.A. was perhaps
the best of the "third-tier" nations in developing their para-normal assets in the decades following,
up until the end of the Apartheid government.

The Praetorian Guardsmen were the public superteam of the S.A. regime, and as such they were
relatively heroic in their actions, though they still clearly enforced the bigoted and oppressive
policies of their government sponsors. Certainly the group took part in some general brutalities and
even genuine atrocities over their existence, but these were almost exclusively "unofficial missions"
or black ops undertakings, poorly documented and revealed at all only after Nelson Mandela rose to
power. Most of the truly heinous activities were committed by The Lawful League, which was
composed of cold-blooded murderers, diehard racists who considered non-whites to be subhuman,
unrepentant meta-criminals coerced or cajoled into service, and real monsters (mostly brain-
damaged aberrations caused by flawed super-soldier experiments). Also nick-named the Eugenics
Brigade, Brute League, and Bloodletting Legion, they ranked among the more fearsome
supherhumans in African history. It is telling the White Warlock and Balm were the only known
Preatorian Guardsmen members who also served with the Lawful League (the White Sorcerer led
both teams at various points!)

This is not to say the Praetorians did not include ne'er do-wells; For example,Bunker was a notorious
superhuman criminal, infamous throughout much of the continent-but not under that codename or
identity; when recruited by the S.Africans, the tungsten-tough thug simply changed costumes and
pseudonyms, took off his mask (Bunker was ruggedly handsome, despite his ogrish physique), and
loudly repeated his new, government-approved origin story at every public appearance. The main
attributes for Praetorian membership aside from supra-normal abilities (or at least outstanding
human aptitudes) were good looks, "civilized" behavior,and white skin (part-Coloured heritage such
as that of Sky Chieftain was tolerated as long as it could be plausibly denied).

It should be noted that although the Praetorians were a tool of a racist authoritarian regime, most of
the members were NOT (entirely) amoral or malevolent; most even superficially acted as
superheroes after a fashion. Rooivalk (though granted, he was the best of the bunch) didn't engage
in needless brutality, spew racist epithets at his foes, or terrorize civilians among the minority
population. The first "Red Kestrel" was in some ways an honorable man-physically brave, true to his
sworn word, courteous and amiable. Both during his past as a highly decorated military non-com and
then as a police officer, he acted to reduce corruption and needless violence. But still, Rooivalk I
believed non-whites were generally inferior by birth (though they were "individual exceptions"),
African blacks were too uncivilized to govern themselves, and most people needed to be ruled by a
strong hand. Ironically, he thought of American blacks as superior to those of his own nation, and
enjoyed much of African-American culture, especially jazz.

Orange Matron was of similar character, though she was less pleasant company: her privileged
upbringing had left her a bit spoiled and haughty (family wealth, father was a national hero and a
polymath genius), but her relative dullness in comparision to the brilliant Captain Orange, coupled
with her ongoing physical changes, left her insecure and defensive. Orange Matron was aware her
mutations would have counted as "genetic damage" and resulted in segregation or exile had she
been a true metaman, rather than her powers being induced by her father's pharmaceutical elixer.
She went out of her way to be kind to minority children and senior citizens, but in a smug,
patronizing manner. Her temperment was better so long as she was getting along well with
Commander Canonshot.

Bunker was about as bad as a Praetorian Guardsman got to be without being moved to the Eugenics
Brigade (aside from Balm and the White Warlock), as he would cheerfully murder, loot, pillage, and
raze for fun and pay. But even he had standards-Bunker drew the line at killing children or women
(so long as they were non-combatants), disdained torture, and considered rape to be "beneath him,
or any REAL man". He was an unrepentant racist, and engaged in filthy racial pejoratives, but really
did not white people better than anyone else (meaning he was an obnoxious bully to everyone).
Bunker could turn on the charm when needed, even displaying a crude form of gallantry, though this
was nearly sarcastic. His good looks and easygoing demeanor made up for much.

Commander Cannonshot was a fairly nasty piece of work, especially as he considered any civilians
who MIGHT have aided dissidents, insurrectionists, or terrorists to be legitimate targets. But he
possessed enough morality to intervene against outright needless murder or carnage. He was
certainly heroic when it came to defending the white population against crime, accidents, terrorism
and natural disasters as well.

Sky Chief was not really any more or less prejudiced than any typical ruling South African, though so
staunchly anti-communist he viewed the entire ANC, Nelson Mandela, and other "agitators" to be
merely "Marxist and Soviet dupes"; he was dedicated to maintaining the status quo. Despite
technically being a "coloured", as his maternal grandfather was the Indian science-hero Dr. Astro-
vee, Sky Chief was officially considered "white" (the family's money and engineering prominence
factored into this) and never empathized with the oppressed populations. He made a conscious
effort to live up to his "heroic legacy", and acted in a self-consciously "noble" manner. This cut
against his natural personality traits, as he was arrogant, officious, and self-centered by nature (Sky
Chief's paternal lineage run through the notorious Harry Flashman line). His homosexuality was
tolerated by the other Praetorians and the S.A. government because of his usefullness, though
Bunker and Cannonshot chronically taunted him about the matter.

Save for White Warlock and Balm, the worst S.A. superhumans were either outright outlaws or
assigned to the Eugenics Brigade, AKA the Blood Legion. Racist zealots who couldn't restrain their
violent impulses, dim-witted and destructive grotesques (a few created by S.A. experimentations),
psychopaths, psychotics, and the like comprised the Brigade, which was spoken of in hushed
whispers throughout Africa. Among the most feared members were the smiling cut-throatJolly
Roger, the enticing assassinDark Lustre, the monstrous, chitteringChitin-Girl, The Rope(whose
mystic lariat once hanged a saint), The Blazing Man, sheathed in white flames,, Rampart (an
"ethnic cleansing specialist"), and cold-metal-cladKrugerand. Thankfully their mortality rates were
high-the members had multi-million dollars bounties put on their head by the Nestorian state, they
frequently turned on each other, and the S.A. authorities found it necessary to liquidate many.

Jolly Roger (II) - Jean Pierre Fitzroy is denied the title of "Jolly Roger the Second" by the French
government for obvious reasons and only appears as such on the Superhero Wiki. A French national,
Fitzroy admired the original WW2 hero for his style and the idea of being a modern day submarine
pirate. Fitzroy, himself, adopted the superheroes' uniform and trademark accent plus many of his
mannerisms to the point some people actually thought the man had gone bad.

Born an impoverished Parisian, he got involved in arms trading and diamond smuggling early on.
Eventually recruited into PHANTOM, he was surprised to find that his desire to dress up as a
superhero and become a pirate was pleasing to the brass. Rhey gave him a heavily modified nuclear
submarine and a license to more or less do whatever he wanted. This was when Jolly Roger (II)'s
career was born and his life became a collection of atrocities topped with war crimes.

Jolly Roger II was a sick, sick, man who discovered how sick he was only after he found out how
enjoyable murder was. His criminal network eventually expanded to include drug dealing, organ-
trading, slavery, unlawful scientific experimentation, and terrorism. Jolly Roger was tried in-absentia
by French courts for sinking a French nuclear sub and killing its entire crew.

Why?

Giggles.

The South African Praetorian Guard attempted to build better relations with the Western World by
capturing him but Jolly Roger always managed to escape custody within hours of apprehension. In
the end, the White Sorcerer recruited Jolly Roger after faking the pirate's death. Having deduced the
man was completely without morals and willing to work for money, the White Sorcerer decided to
make him one of his many "Fire men" who would conduct terrorist activities called "Fire Drills" on
behalf the South African government as deniable assets.

Jolly Roger's activities didn't really change despite now being designed to accommodate the White
Warlock's "Three Principles" (specifically: kill large numbers of black people, stir up civil wars, and
make South Africa seem like a paragon of stability). The Praetorian Guard, to show you how much
loyalty the White Sorcerer had to his agents, had orders to kill the pirate on-sight.

They almost did, twice.

Sadly, Fitzroy never managed to be put down by the Praetorian Guard and went on to continue his
criminal career after the fall of apartheid. Indeed, it was Fitzroy's submarine that took the White
Sorcerer from South Africa after a failed plot to kill Nelson Mandela. Jolly Roger II went onto become
a factor in the Algerian Civil War. His star fell, however, to the point that he became a paranoid
recluse that lacked all of his earlier piratical fury.

His final fate was recorded in a "Jacob Hunter, AGENT OF THE FOUNDATION" comic cold opening
where the artists depicted him being killed by a sniper bullet while trading in stolen French nuclear
weapons. Most readers didn't even recognize him despite his trademark eye-patch and cutlass. It
was an innocuous ending to a figure who had lived his entire life seeking attention.
On a related note, ironically, the White Warlock DID succeed in his primary mission. South Africa
managed to maintain its independence from the majority of superhuman secret societies and
organizations spread throughout the world at the time. Likewise, he managed to prop up apartheid
and its government when foreign (and local) heroes might have torn it down rather easily. Even
worse, he managed to make South Africa disproportionately influential during the majority of the
Cold War.

To this day, he remains something of a bugbear to the continent of Africa. Thankfully, much like
Count Reich II, he's one of the villains who maintains a 0% approval rating. While slightly less
infamous than the Red Skull, the kind of people that the White Warlock employs are pretty much
restricted to white supremacists and general scumbags of all sorts.

Unfortunately, he managed to escape Nestoria after Red Jaguar killed one of his body doubles. He
actually ended up ruling that nation for the better part of a year thanks to the use of nanites and
brainwashing. Frankly, it was a miracle it took so long to realize what had happened given he wasn't
particularly subtle about his doings - serving openly as Emperor Quartermaine's Chancellor in a
Grima Wormtongue capacity.

You can tell what sort of fellow the WW is by the fact that he recruited a cadre of associates who are
still doing his business in Nestoria, focusing on the idea that Nestorians should ethnically cleanse the
rest of Africa and build their own United States-esque superpower.

Dark Lustre

Unlike priestesses and druidesses, who only unwillingly took ugly or crippled girls, sorcerers took
anyone who showed evidence of a predisposition. If the child passed the first years of training, magic
entered into the equation—straightening and evening out legs, repairing bones which had badly
knitted, patching harelips, removing scars, birthmarks and pox scars.

The young sorceress would become attractive because the prestige of her profession demanded it.
The result was pseudo-pretty women with the angry and cold eyes of ugly girls. Girls who couldn't
forget their ugliness had been covered by the mask of magic only for the prestige of their profession.
-The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski.

Magic is something most scientists possess no ability to dissect. This is due to the fact that the
mindset to use magic is the antithesis of most rational, ordered minds. There are exceptions, of
course. The John Smith Society and its Aetherites would never be able to create half their inventions
if not for their insanity giving them the power to breach both sides. Likewise, alchemy was created
from using early science to create an organized system for the ultimate disorganized ideals.

The White Sorcerer had no particular ability to use magic himself but was aware it might be able to
benefit him. To that end, he tried to figure out a way to find someone he could use. Ironically, it
ended up with a misshapen orphan he found on one of his many trips to the ghettos. The child was
unwanted by anyone for her hideousness and the White Warlock proceeded to adopt her as his very
own.
The White Warlock's experiment was a resounding success as he systematically abused her in such a
way as to make her resent the outside world more than she ever resented her twisted father. It took
a long time but he eventually raised a child every bit as ugly on the inside as he was. Once she
extracted a hideous vengeance on a group of young boys who misused her badly (secretly in the pay
of her father), he sent her to associates in the newly-formed state of Khanate.

It was under the Emerald Dragon's tutelage (some say more) that she learned a measure of self-
worth. Mastering the various forms of magic taught by the Black Hand, she developed a bitter
simmering hatred of men which was only reflected by and enhanced by the Emerald Dragon's own
issues with the less fair sex. Mortaging her soul to Lamialith, Nightmare Lord of Lust and Retribution,
she also gained a cold beauty utterly lacking in warmth.

Dark Lustre returned to South Africa soon after, fully aware that the White Sorcerer was responsible
for her every woe. To highlight how the Black Hand twisted things, she sought no revenge against
him but merely threatened him in order to establish she wanted a relationship of equals. Instead,
the entire male sex as well as the majority of the female one bore the brunt of her wrath. Because
she'd been made to feel weak and tiny, Dark Lustre would do the same to the rest of the world.

During the majority of apartheid, Dark Lustre served as a 'Femme Fatale' who seduced and killed her
opponents as a sort of black widow. Many times, she went out of her way to do so in the most
humiliating and sanity-blasting manner possible. Amusingly, some of the only people ever to resist
her charms were George Timons and Lucien Drake. The later, for whatever reason, never showed
any attraction to her whatsoever (notable primarily due to his otherwise Lothario reputation).

Both Aquarius and Red Jaguar, much to their regret, fell for the Poison Ivy-esque seductions of the
woman. While much of her work was done during the Cold War to help South Africa keep ahead of
the rising changes of world politics, Dark Lustre ruined lives as a matter of course. Her favorite hobby
was destroying marriages and orphaning children - classy lady, really *sarcasm.*

Dark Lustre's star fell with apartheid's fall as the sheer amount of horror she'd inflicted on literally
hundreds of men and women was discovered by Dame Michelle Holmes' investigators. It was made
doubly horrific as it was discovered her seductive prowess was, more often than not, simple
enchantments which deprived her victims of free will. Later, she became an Athena villain when she
started kidnapping women and turning them into made-to-order sex slaves.

Dark Lustre was thought killed during the Psychotic Seven's coup, having briefly attempted to
reinvent herself as a "Dark Protector of Women." This, of course, was done by NASTY! comic
imprints which ignored she was a misogynist as well as a misandrist. Unfortunately, if Dark Lustre did
die, she didn't remain so. Instead, she returned in the year 2010 in a John Milton Miller comic and
has been an occult supervillainess ever since.

Appearance: Dark Lustre in her natural form is a breathtakingly beautiful African woman with long
silver hair and eyes more like a cat than a woman. Yes, she looks like an evil Storm. Her costumes
tend towards the extreme with her most tame one resembling that of the Goblin Queen, complete
with loin cloth and kinky boots (plus a witch's hat). Much to the disgust of many readers, Amazing!
comics artists seem to love drawing her despite her utterly irredeemable nature. She is also capable
of disguising herself with illusions but would NEVER shape-shift.

As a mark of her deal with Lamialith, she bears a set of almost undetectable scars on her back. These
form the demon queen's symbol.

Powers: Dark Lustre is a masterful illusionist and enchanter who is capable of spinning most mortals
to do her bidding. Sexual preference doesn't matter to Dark Lustre's mind control and she's often
used it to humiliate and destroy people. As a reminder to those who would sexualize her too much,
yes, this means she's a multiple mass-rapist.

Dark Lustre also possesses the ability to summon demons, brew potions, and work various other
forms of magic as the plot demands. The one weakness she really has is her magic doesn't work
against people genuinely in love. In fact, touching them causes acid-like burns.

The White Sorcerer: More often called the White Warlock- a name which Mr. Fauntleroy hated as
"Male witches are NOT called bloody warlocks damnit!-and I am no MERE witch at all!-the White
Sorcerer is likely the worst mortal villain most of the HED world has never heard about. He has
virtually no redeeming qualities whatsoever, save perhaps a twisted form of self-honesty-the White
Sorcerer knows he is a soul-blasted monster in human form and makes no pretense otherwise. He
ranks only a few rungs below Death Mask, Count Reich, and a few others in terms of sheer
malevolence. This is perhaps to be expected given his lineage-he is not only a Moriarty by-blow but
also a Kurtz (an infamously depraved Belgian colonial warlord)-as he may represent evidence of
congenital evil. Though unconfirmed, it is likely a least one fiendish Chinese villain of the Pulp Era
also numbers among his extended family tree. He was worse than any other Praetorian Guardsman,
more malicious than the others in the Bloodletting Legion/Eugenics Brigade, and more inhuman than
anyone else in the Monster Brigade. As his parents and siblings were hardscrabble "coloureds" in a
Soweto ghetto, he felt almost obligated to burn them to cinders (along with the immediate
neighborhood) to cover his identity, as a non-white was limited in South Africa, no matter his
powers.

Despite his self-bestowed title, Fauntleroy had little aptitude for spell-casting, aside from the talents
of mesmerism and minor shape-shifting (he could look like any other adult human male). But his
near-genius level intellect and unshakeable ambition made him a gifted occult researcher indeed.
His skill at ritual magic meant the White Sorcerer was never without several prepared mystic objects
and contingency spells at his disposal. When the massive bounties placed upon his head by the
Nestorian and Zulan governments threatened to overwhelm even these personal defenses, the
White Sorcerer led a squad drawn from the Bloodletting Legion on an expedition into one of the
bleakest, most dire Otherworld realms to recover a most puissant artifact, the Clutching Blooded
Hand. Half of the mission's members were lost, two slain by the White Sorcerer when they tried to
collect the price on his head. Still, one the occult weapon was in his grasp, his powers increased
vastly, as the Hand granted its' wielder formidable flesh-crafting magics.

As a Praetorian Guardsman, the White Sorcerer "toned down" his bloodlust, content to humiliate,
maim, or (when necessary) slay foes with a minimum of fuss. He always preferred the slow hurt over
a quick death however-the Sorcerer simply couldn't always get away with that sort of thing when the
other Praetorians were about. As Hooded Death of the Eugenics League, he reveled in torture and
prolonged murder.

Dark Lustre was scarcely the only female companion whom the White Sorcerer shaped into an occult
villainess-he had a predilection for young nubile women (of any race) and thoroughly enjoyed
corrupting the vulnerable. As with the aforementioned Dark Lustre, he sometimes ended up with
more than he bargained for, and at least twice the vile Fauntleroy created angry, edgy super-
heroines instead.

He was widely hated or feared by all his teammates and many tried to murder the White Sorcerer;
he had the luck of Satan himself as eight assassination attempts from his own "allies". Sickeningly, he
is reputedly still alive and working even more diabolic evil across the African continent and even the
Middle East. Only the strength of the Black Hand prevents him from extending his malignant
schemes into Asia as well.

BTW: Superior work Charles and Libra on extending on my concepts. I really enjoyed all the other
Praetorian Guardsme such as Spnringbok and the Mariner, as well as the first two Bloodletting
Legion members Jolly Roger and Dark Lustre.

Krugerrand
"Beware of his heart of gold, his heart is cold."

Raymond Kruger's family claimed to be a branch of Paul Kruger's family tree, though South Africa's
historical societies never managed to verify it. Modern historians tend to agree Raymond Kruger was
nothing more than a Johannesburg pick pocket turned confidence man who cheated his way to the
top.

As early as the 1950s, Raymond was one of the most diabolical criminal masterminds in all of Africa.
His activities started fairly minor but the end of the Golden Age gave him the confidence to carry out
the kind of plans Moriarty and Helios the Sun King did in South Africa. Indeed, several of them were
wholesale lifted from smarter villains playbooks (to terrible success). Eventually, he abandoned all
morality and began engaging in some of the most depraved money-making schemes the world has
ever seen.

For example: He managed to make a fortune in gold bullion salvaged from the oceans, using the
Merrow and an old book of spells he acquired from the Cult of Kytholoo. It required the occasional
human sacrifice to Dagon but that was a small price to pay for such treasures. Kruger's infant son
actually ended up becoming the Merrow High Priest, Ocean King, despite the fact Kruger thought
the Merrow had eaten him.

Kruger would later start looting the Lost World and other "hidden civilizations" for their treasures -
often engaging in good-natured 'worship me, I am a god' imperialism with the natives. Usually, the
natives were well aware he wasn't a god but found it difficult to argue with a man leading an army of
gun-toting psychopaths. If he wasn't stopped by the Grayhavens or Red Jaguar (the current one's
grandfather), he'd sell the survivors of his raids into slavery. In Cape Town, he actually became
famous for his 'blood parties' where he auctioned off meals to the city's vampire population.

In South Africa, he actually had the audacity of publishing his own comic book which portrayed his
racist adventures as Scrooge McDuck-esque treasure hunting (he was eventually sued by Carl Banks).
Raymond, of course, refrained from printing his association with pirates, communists, vampires, and
SMERSH. The White Lotus Society tried to eliminate him early on but Kruger actually managed to
foster all of his accumulated bad karma onto his brother-in-law, causing said man to be dragged off
to hell in his place. It was a trick he used several times in his career.

The South African public ate up his public persona and he was disgustingly wealthy by 1959. That
was the year he almost died attempting to rob Fort Knox. Yes, you heard that correctly. Yes, he was
stopped by Jacob Hunter. Yes, he's the actual inspiration for the character you're thinking of (there's
a reason those earlier articles were non-canon). No, he's never painted a woman in gold paint (at
least before the movie - frankly, it is kinky as all get out isn't it?).

Unlike his literary counterpart, Raymond managed to survive his encounter with Jacob Hunter due to
a coerced Nestorian alchemist.

Despite not being especially racist (at least towards the end of his life), Raymond was a gleeful
supporter of apartheid. It created vast opportunities for the exploitation of natives and he took
advantage of that with gusto. Apartheid had no greater champion than Raymond Kruger, even if
Kruger Precious Metals had subsidiaries which openly donated to anti-apartheid causes. In fact, they
gave Kruger (through proxies) enough credibility to open dozens of anti-apartheid charities. These
funneled millions straight back into Kruger's pocket. He would later expand these charities to include
anti-war and anti-starvation ones.

Yes, Kruger was a scumbag.

In time, the White Sorcerer came to him with an offer. The White Sorcerer was many things but
economically talented was not one of them. Kruger would fund his experiments and extracurricular
activities while reaping whatever benefits the White Sorcerer managed to derive from his research.
Kruger would also be given complete access to the White Sorcerer's various teams under the guise
of being a government adviser. Really, by the end of apartheid, the Eugenics Brigade as much his
private army as a genocidal task force of the government.

African conflict diamonds, assassination of business rivals, espionage, slave labor, stock market
manipulation, and terrorism to spike global prices were all tools of Raymond Kruger. His network
eventually became the cornerstone for the International Crime League's presence in Africa when the
organization offered him stock options and a seat on the board. Even then, he made more money
than they did off the deal. He even managed to lead the team from the front with Krugerrand (II),
the armored knight who was actually a brainwashed Lancelot du Lake.

I'll be detailing him later.

In the end, despite complicity in the deaths of over ten thousand people, Kruger was fully prepared
to become part of the Mandela government when Splotch exposed him with Springbok I and II, of
all people. Worse than being arrested and drug off in chains was the South African government
confiscating the majority of Raymond's immense wealth. Despite this, Kruger believed he would be
able to escape and/or beat the charges against him. After all, rich men like himself NEVER stayed in
prison very long.

Assorted Notes:

Krugerand: In his younger days, Raymond Kruger was quite the adventurer, a fit and daring solider of
fortune/treasure hunter; though never really a "super-normal", he was able enough to serve
alongside an early version of the Praetorians, outfitted with custom-crafted body armor and twin
firearms. Still, despite his drive and will, Krugerand's vices (the finest liquer, food, and cigars) got the
best of his physique as he entered middle-age, leaving him soft and fat by his forties. By that time his
immense fortune was established and he was content to rely on strategic brilliance, ruthlessness,
and minions to accomplish his aims. Still, he remained vain and in order to perpetuate the Kruger
name as a brave and heroic one; to this end he paid a succession of fitter men who bore a
resemblence to don armored exo-skeletons and march into battle against South Africa's enemies. His
media cohorts were well compesated to plant the stories that "Auric", "Goldplate", "Midas" and the
others were either Kruger himself or personally led and trained by South Africa's wealthiest man.

One ambitious young nephew of Krugerand's actually did volunteer for an alchemical experiment at
the hands of White Warlock, emerging as "Goldstruck", a figure of superhuman strength and
endurance. Though initially serving as his uncle's eyes and ears on the Guardsmen, he was not
content with being in the employ of Big Uncle Raymond. He betrayed the team and struck a deal
with with the ICL, becoming first a villain for hire then the leader of his own crew in North America.
Since making his presence felt in the States, Goldstruck has clashed most often with Galactic
Guardsman Marij'n. Nearly impervious, Goldstruck has repeatedly escaped from Super-Alcatraz only
to nonetheless be brought low again by the cosmic-amulet wielding hero.

Libra: I accept your ruminations on the illustrious Captain Orange and his less blessed daughter as
canon; the Captain's multiple scientific disciplines extended to chemistry, geology, and civil
engineering, leading naturally to a career in S.Africa's diamond industry. His formula was initially
intended to enhance the endurance of miners. Some impurity in the elixer combined with an Orange
family genetic quirk resulted in the acquistion of super-powers.

Jerome "Praetoria John" Hammersmith was indeed a Prof. Henry Jones Jr. type figure, though an
anthropologist rather than an archaeologist. He was also an occult scholar, often battling the
supernatural only to learn more about the world of dark magic. And yes, the Praetorian Guardsmen
team went through fits and starts, with the informal Pulp Era club essentially dying out entirely
shortly after WW II ended.

Red Kestrel and Stone Ghost were indeed at odds with each other throughout their careers, though
in truth Stone Ghost held a decided edge. The black hero was stronger willed, personally trained by
both Red Jaguar and (later) George Timmons, and equipped with Nestorian technology. Still,
Rooivalk was tough, well-prepared, and experienced from years in the military and police force. Near
the tail end of his adventuring career, Rooivalk was provided with PHANTOM gadgets and weapons,
as the S.A. government began almost openly cooperating with PHANTOM and even the Black Hand.
The economic anti-Apartheid pressures had so isolated S.A. by the early 1990s that the nation nearly
descended into criminal state status. Red Kestrel knew at this point Apartheid would soon fall, but
saw no future besides continuing to loyally serve until the very end. Perhaps for the best, he was
defeated and forced into exile by Blackwing I and Stone Ghost before then.

Yes, Red Jaguar particularly despised Commander Cannonshot. The Commander was almost the
definition of antihero-brave and daring but also sneering, cruel, and uncaring of the harm inflicted by
his vainglorious actions. There was too much about the Commander that Red Jaguar secretly
recongnized and feared in his own soul.

Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was a smaller, poorer, and weaker counterpart of Apartheid South Africa.
The former British colony lacked the diamond industry wealth of its' neighbor and the ruling white
population was only slightly more than 1/25th the nation's whole, as opposed to South Africa's
privileged tenth. Beset by hostile forces within and without, the country's white supremacist
government fell over a decade before S.A. apartheid came to an end. Sadly, Robert Mugabe proved
to be no Nelson Mandela, instead fulfilling the worst expections of becoming just another brutal
Marxist dictator. The once bountiful agricultural nation now struggles with disease, tribal violence,
and even starvation. Sadly, one tyranny was exchanged for another.

Before collapsing, the Rhodesian government did employ a team similar to the Praetorian
Guardsmen, though the "National Super-Defensemen" were never as numerous, well-equipped, or
formidable as the South African group. Many of the "Colonials", as the team was better known to
the black population, were simply elite soliders in surplus PHANTOM battlesuits or even combat
robots supplied by third-rate ICL masterminds. Lacking the larger nation's resources, Rhodesia
turned to criminal enterprises for support much sooner than S.A., and hired mercenary villains such
as Big Game Hunter and Razortalon outright.

The Colonials' did have a few members worth noting, even if most were minor leaguers by Western
standards. As noted, Captain Africa II spent considerable time in the country while fighting the Bush
Wars. Commander Canonshot was also "loaned out" by the Praetorians for a short time as a goodwill
gesture. But the most notable native white supremacist "heroes" were the Colonials' "Titanic Three"-
Retarius, a veteran warrior armed with a mystic net and trident, the lovely and powerful (but
genuinely dim-witted) Kohoutek, and the chalk-skinned, herculean White Giant. All of the "Super-
Defensemen" fled or died by the time Rhodesia became Zimbabwe.

Ironically, two of Rhodesia's longer-lived champions were non-whites. Bloodline was of mixed Anglo,
Malay, and Native heritage, a non-metaman genetic variant with enhanced senses, fangs, and a
formidable physique. A superior hunter and tracker of men who delighted in the chase leading to the
kill. The Grave Ranger was a black anti-marxist whose wife and children were murdered by Mugabe-
backed rebels, before being hacked with machetes and buried while still alive. Whether through
mysticism or the metaman gene, he arose to wreak vengeance upon communists, dissidents, and
terrorists, even against his own oppressed people. Though Kohoutek was by far more super-
powered, Grave Ranger was the most feared single individual in the nation.

Stone Ghost later became venerated in Zimbabwe because of his efforts to restore justice and peace
for all, black and white alike. This was one reason Mugabe collaborated to have the man murdered.

Medreut

Lancelot du Lake is an invention of French poets, much like Alan A Dale didn't appear in the Robin
Hood legend until the 19th century. The Victorian Alan A Dale, of course, was actually friends with
*A* Robin Hood but inserted himself into the narrative of the Medieval one while assisting him in
robbing Great Britain's wealthiest. Lancelot, however, was a wholly fictitious creation of the French
who wanted one of their own in the popular legend.

Well, sort of.

You see, there was a few elements of the legend that were true that the original French poets wove
together: Arthur's best friend, the best knight in the world (save for Gawain - those two were always
close in skill), the whole Guinevere thing, his relationship to the Lady of the Lake -- okay, more or
less Medreut IS Lancelot. It's just that he is not nor has never been French (he's WELSH dammit) and
the original stories about Lancelot kept in mind he was a bloody-minded killing machine.

The change in his name doesn't bother him quite as much. Apparently, despite four thousand Marys
in British monarchy, Medreut and Mordred had too similar names to be remembered. You know,
despite the fact that Morgana NAMED HIM AFTER HIM. Morgana has the same problem with her
sister Morgause.

In any case, depending on his mood, he'll grudgingly admit that he is in fact Lancelot du Lake's
inspiration but please note it's something of a berserk button. John Cleese and the one in Excalibur
tend to be only versions he likes (admittedly, he confesses, the poets were a little too accurate in his
killing spree following his affair with Guinevere - plus his killing spree when he rescued her - plus his,
YOU GET THE IDEA!).

ANYWAY, Medreut is the product of the Lady of the Lake's affair with a local monarch. She's a sidhe,
it's what they do. Raised by his mother in Otherworld, he still possesses the ability to breathe
underwater and this has lead to a startling number of adventures in Atlantis over the years. It also
contributed to his occasional "burp" in terms of dealing with emotion since the fey are well known
for their inability to control their emotions and didn't teach poor Medreut much self-control. They
did, however, teach him a ridiculous amount of fighting techniques and give him magic arms second
only to Caliburn.

You know the rest of the story, more or less. Medreut went to King Arthur's court and became his
best friend. The stories tend to gloss over Medreut was genuinely the most honorable of the knights
but 6th century honor was a BIT different than 15th. He survived the battle of Arthur against
Mordred and decided to spend the rest of his days atoning. Well, SOMEONE forgot to mention as a
half-fae he was immune to age and he discovered much to his annoyance he was immortal. Worse,
he actually possessed limited regeneration and an immunity to disease.

Medreut eventually tried to make up for his past mistakes and became best friends with Emperor
Charles the Great, where he assumed as one of the first paladins "Peers" he'd be able to be part of
something equally grand as Arthur's court. Medreut was formally adopted as Charles' nephew and
went on to become the inspiration for Roland. Yes, you may note that Orlando/Roland was ALSO
something of a bloody-minded psycho with relationship issues. He's gotten over that, mostly.
Honestly, Medreut decided Charlemagne wasn't for him after said monarch decided the best way to
unite his kingdom was kill everybody who didn't convert to Christianity.

What followed was roughly one thousand years of Medreut getting caught up in people attempting
to recruit him for righteous causes followed by him reluctantly given in only for him to get
disillusioned again. The Crusades, Jihad, French Hugenots, French Revolution(s), Napoleon,
Cromwell, and more "there's a terrible monster that only you can slay" than you can shake a stick at.
He actually has few regrets about his work during the American Revolution and his brief time
protecting American Indians with Tecumseh.

In any case, Medreut actually managed to remain independent of any heroism issues right up until
Raymond Kruger and the White Sorcerer found his coffin where he'd been buried alive by Nazis.
Medreut was fairly certain that SHOULD have killed him but, much to his horror, the Morrigan
protected him from death during that time. Nursed back to health by both men, he was subjected to
horrifying brainwashing experiments that were followed by him being put in a techno-magical suit of
armor that made him Krugerland.

Yes, Kruger substituted Medreut as himself in the battlefield JUST so he could collect the
endorsement money.

Medreut doesn't even REMEMBER any of the stuff he did as one of the Eugenics Brigade but when
he finally had the spell broken decades later, he chose to imitate a modern day animal fable, "of
course you know this means war." Medreut is basically a super-powered swordsman and berserker
of Wolverine-level capacities. Despite "only" being PL 12, he is one of the few individuals Lucien
Drake will simply flat out run from. Part of this may be the fact Lucien's mother was Medreut's
daughter and he considers Lucien someone he needs to beat sense into on occasion.

Medreut, himself, is an albino with white hair and scars who is a weird combination of pretty with
badass. Sort of like if Sephiroth was somehow the kind of guy who could sit down in a biker bar and
nobody hassle him. His personality is best compared to Discworld's Carrot's sword. He's from a time
when being a knight wasn't about being shiny but being very good at killing people. He mostly
restricts himself to killing supernatural monsters, though, mostly.

Rampart

The Eugenics Brigade had a surprising number of non-racists amongst it. Dark Lustre was, of course,
more focused on gender than race. Raymond Kruger and the White Sorcerer were mildly racist but
mostly too sociopathic to care about anyone but themselves. Then, of course, there was Rampart.

Originally a Cape Town police officer, Joshua Rampart was the kind of guy who would have been at
home in the SS. Rampart vigorously denied this, of course. Why? Because he would never have been
at home amongst the Germans, disgusting descendants of Huns that they were. No, instead,
Rampart believed only Anglo-Saxon purity (specifically SOUTH AFRICAN Anglo-Saxon purity) had the
chance of saving the world from the degenerates populating it.

Joshua was one of numerous candidates selected for Project: Purity by the South African
government. Volunteers simultaneously of suitable ethnic background but expendable should the
tests kill him or drive him insane. Attempts by the South African government to blame Rampart's
later activities on the "Superhuman Process" have failed since it was obvious to his former co-
workers he was a lunatic from the start. Becoming a superhuman just unleashed the beast that was
inside him.

Rampart was granted invulnerability, super-strength, a powerful healing factor, and an almost
infatiguable body. It was an amazing success since the other twelve volunteers turned into
subhumans or unintelligent monsters of various sorts. With his chiseled good-looks, he seemed like
the perfect embodiment of South Africa and was immediately marked for becoming their chief
superhero.

Much to the disgust of the South African government, Rampart immediately proved impossible to
put on their Praetorian Guard. Racism, sexism, homophobia, and so on were all well and good but
they were ALL Rampart seemingly concerned himself with.

After Rampart raped and murdered his ex-girlfriend (and her sister), he was immediately brought
down and put in a control collar by the White Warlock. Rampart's resentment at being given ordered
by a colored man like the White Warlock almost allowed him to break free of the collar's pain-
inducing powers until the hypnotic powers of the mastermind brainwashed him. He was hypnotized
into being unable to see his teammates as anything but the whitest of the white.

It would have been the source of mockery if not for how bloody STRANGE it was.

As a member of the Eugenics Brigade, Rampart was the most gleeful murderer in the team. His Hulk-
like rampages were notable for the fact he was completely rationale during all of them. He just
enjoyed causing mayhem. Despite the horrible nature of his crimes, Rampart believed he was a
superhero doing his patriotic duty. He just brushed off the whole business with his ex (and others) as
superheroes deserving special treatment.

The end of apartheid was so bizarre to Rampart (How could whites lose to blacks? Impossible!) he
was fully prepared to wade his way through South Africa, killing everyone who stood in his way, until
he restored things to "their proper place." He was stopped by Athena, who curb-stomped him. Later,
when he broke out from prison, he was badly beaten by Valkyrie. Later; Ultimatum, Ymir, and
Divinos similarly humiliated him. Rampart had been so used to being stronger than everyone else
that he never actually learned to fight.
After close to twenty-years in prison, the sixty-year-old Rampart broke out one last time and died of
a heart attack while fighting Black Wing III. South Africa has offered to give Eugene a medal for this.
They had wanted to execute Rampart for years but hadn't figured out a cost-effective way to
accomplish it.

The A-Squad: The Second

After General Venom slipped from JWIII clutches, JWIII having his maker's memories decided to take
an ace out of the General's hands and formed his own A-Squad. Finding that the youngsters who
grew up during the original A-Squad exploits were now coming into their own. He decided to form
his own to hunt down Venom and well twist the knife a little bit. (If you haven't noticed JWIII is a
dick) Dressing up an android duplicate as the American Avenger, he recruited a team of inspired
youngsters. Telling them that they should strike against the renewed House of Serpents. In actuality,
they were taking out parts of the HoS that may have been loyal to Venom or not loyal to JWIII.

American Avenger II

One of JWIII androids. Pretty similar to the original American Avenger except the killing is kept away
from the other team members since they aren't the hardened criminals that the original A-Squad
was.

Neolith

A Huli from Papa New Guinea. Tari was born a metaman. The first evidence of his power came from
early childhood. He was an omniglot, could understand and speak any language even if he had not
encountered it before. This skill extended to reading. It was through this power that Tari found a
longing to explore more then just the island he lived on. At puberty he found that he could also turn
his skin rock hard increasing his strength to superhuman levels. It was the tail end of the Iron Age
and Tari noticed the similarity of his ability to Megalith except he couldn't grow taller. Tari soon got
the idea that he would become a superhero and that is how he would see the world., plus he could
help people along the way. Dubbing himself Neolith (new stone) as opposed to Megalith (big stone)
Tari started off at the tender age of 17 in Port Moresby but soon moving to Australia where he was
recruited by Jack Washington III.

Though he dresses in traditional Huli fashion, he is the most well read and perhaps intelligent
member of the team. He is a voracious reader and takes a real interest in people. Though his
specialty isn't in science or engineering. He prefers philosophy and economics. He can also insult you
in any language of your choosing.

Phantom Works

Kyle Gonzalez grew up in the Antelope Valley of California. His mother and father were mechanics
and had a large collection of junked machines. Kyle learned the mechanics trade well and a quite an
aptitude for it. Due to his home schooling, Kyle never went to high school or college. He live
vicariously through the news and Amazing Comics accounts of the A-Squad's adventures. He liked
Skunkwerks the best. He was quiet, smart, and blue collar like Kyle. Kyle even modified his own
welding mask to imitate the one Skunkwerks wore.

Leaving home, Kyle ventured into the big city and soon found work in a junkyard breaking down and
salvaging working parts. As a non-certified mechanic Kyle couldn't live in the best of neighborhoods.
When thugs and drug dealers moved into his apartment complex and started pushing around his
senior neighbors and himself, Kyle decided he need to do something. Building himself a really crude
set of power armor, he combated the gangs. He was dubbed and derided as the Junkyard Steel
Commando or Captain Tetanus. He was named as one of the cheapest heroes by the Los Dios Times.
Kyle called himself Phantom Works after Boeing's secret project division but no one really caught on.
He labored in obscurity for a year till JWIII recruited him.

Rebuilding his suit with HoS technology, Kyle built a suit of powered armor quite different from his
previous one. It was sleek and stealthy , almost undetectable by any technological means and many
biological ones. Incorporating a cloaking device, the suit was a walking information denial system
leaving most tech based heroes blind and deaf. The suit also packed quite a wallop in both close up
and ranged attacks. Kyle has kept the welding mask type helmet as a nod to his childhood hero. Kyle
actually doesn't like Ultimatum of all the Patriots, mainly because when they first met Ultimatum
said 'Hey aren't you Captain Tetanus'.

Balloon Buster

Jameika Greene is probably either crazy or has a death wish. Jameika always wanted to be a pilot,
being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes put a clamp on being a professional pilot. That didn't stop her,
by hook or crook she became a crop dusting pilot. All the better to emulate her hero, Baron Manfred
von Richthofen. While crop dusting Jameika practiced all the aerial tricks that he read about. Stalls,
barrel rolls , cobra rolls, and extremely low flying all with the chance that Jacob could go
hypoglycemic at any time.

Jameika got his taste of heroism from a large forest fire. She was contracted to drop water on the
fire, which she did by flying stupidly low to drop with pinpoint accuracy. Suffice to say the California
fire fighters association was a little bit angry when she described to the press how it was the greatest
thing ever to fly so dangerously and that she might go into a coma at any time. Jameika's pilot's
license was pulled and she was sent back to her native Illinois. This didn't stop her though. Sneaking
into Raven's airport she was able to get into a 777, take off, and proceeded to do barrel rolls all
about Raven's airspace. Divinos was finally called in to stop the aircraft and take Jameika into
custody.

JWIII sprung her and made her an offer. She could wear a new updated version of the Sky Commado
suit and be a hero and do all the aerial theatrics her body could handle. Suffice to stay Jameika keeps
pushing the suit to its limits. When it came to it though, there was only one color the suit could be:
red.

(Grr. Lost the second half of the post due to the board logging me out.)
Aspara

A first generation Indian-American. Ashan Nayar was enamored with the superheroes in America.
Her parents were less then enthusiastic with her fandom. It was the middle of the Iron Age and
superheroing became a much more violent and dangerous profession. The pushed for her to study
and think about becoming a doctor or a lawyer. When Ashan discovered her power she was
incredibly excited, her parents less so. Making her own costume of white, gold, and silver Ashan
named herself Aspara, after the celestial maidens of Hindu religion. Aspara started her career locally
in Baltimore and was soon recruited by JWIII.

Aspara is bright, bubbly, and wears her heart on her sleeve. Though she is smart, she can be a bit
scatter brained at times. She can fly and alter her density to be as wispy as a light cloud or as hard as
a diamond. This grants her a degree of super strength and durability when in harder density. The
real reason Aspara joined the team is to rebel against her parents. Aspara is really the emotional
center of the team.

Distortion

He who fights crime with the power of rock. No, really. Distortion is a 6'5" punk rocker with his
multicolored liberty spikes adding another 7 inches to his height. Pierced, tattooed and dressed in a
spiked leather jacket, plaid pants, and combat boots Distortion cuts an intimidating profile. Slung
over his shoulder is a beat up stratocaster. This is the source of his powers and playing power chords
on it can produce many effects. Sonic blasts, bursts of light and color, and vertigo inducing wails are
just some of the tricks it can do. Distortion is brash, anti-authority, and confrontational.

Jerry Blackmore was a short skinny and nerdy 16 year old. One day he ran into a weird man in a
barrel who shoved the guitar into his hands and told him to keep it safe before disappearing back
into the barrel. Taking the guitar home Jerry decided to learn how to play it. Maybe he could get
some attention from girls that way since his stature and shy demeanor wasn't getting it done.
Strumming the guitar he was transformed into Distortion. Jerry didn't start off a hero but when Dr.
Antiquity attacked his school Jerry was forced to transform and use the guitar to fight the anti-magic
fanatic. Jerry is much more confidant in his Distortion form and prefers to stay in it as he is
embarrassed by his scrawny normal form.

Aftermath

After it was revealed to the public just who they were really working for, the A-Squad attacked any
HoS installation they could find. They destroyed American Avenger II. They soon came in contact
with the Patriots who feared that they might turn into another Psychotic 7. Suffice to say the two
teams didn't start off on the right few feet.

The Patriots chided the A-Squad for not clearing the area of civilians before they attacked HoS
installations. The A-Squad countered that this warned the HoS operatives. The Patriots accused the
A-Squad of killing people en mass during their time with the HoS. The A-Squad countered that was
all American Avenger II and that Ultimatum killed far more people then they did. Regardless, the
Patriots told them that they continue to use a name that was used by hardened criminals, the A-
Squad pointed out that while the original A-Squad were criminals they did more heroic things than
Divinos did during that time and Ultimatum was distinctly on the other side. This didn't go over very
well. The Patriots thought the A-Squad were young and disrespectful. The A-Squad thought the
Patriots were being hypocrites. Finally, the Patriots demanded that Jamieka go back to prison. The A-
Squad discussed it and told the Patriots to try and come and get her. The two teams almost threw
down right there.

Cooler heads sort of prevailed. It was decided that Ashley Morgan who had similar life experiences
should mentor the team. The A-Squad not really wanting to fight with the most respected hero team
in the world accepted on the condition that Ashley resign from the Patriots and not spy on the team.
So far it has been a delicate situation. The A-Squad is chafing under Ashley's leadership and feel they
are being punished for no reason. Ashley is not exactly enthusiastic about what is in her opinion is a
babysitting job. It doesn't help that the A-Squad has made it clear what will happen to her if they
find out that she betrayed their trust. Something about a 10,000 foot drop with no parachute.

ohn Hepburn

The former Section Chief for the country of Zulan, John Hepburn was used to being considered
essentially worthless by the Foundation for World Harmony. While possessed of excellent skill at
logistics, intelligence analysis, and (most of all) paperwork - he was a cold fish. No one liked working
for him and no one respected him due to the Foundation's reputation for cowboy cop and
supergeniuses. Bluntly, no one wanted to work under a paper pusher and he was remanded to a
country where intelligence was primarily gathered by satellites.

Which is why John Hepburn was perfect for Jack Washington III's purposes. Quietly forwarding him a
substantial amount of information about PHANTOM, International Crime League, and Gene Nation
activities - John's star rose to ridiculous heights. His career was then made by the revelation that
Michael Spectre was making a royal fool out of the Department of Homeland Security.

With Michael Spectre revealed as a House of Serpent agent, Dame Michelle Holmes was blamed for
missing such an obvious mole. She, disgusted at the USA attempting to pass the football for their
own screw up, retired. General Victory, in a form of misguided protest, resigned.

John Hepburn thus found himself the perfect man to replace her. He also found himself promoted to
a position he was completely unqualified for. In John's defense, he was dealing with an incredibly
hostile workplace with many of Dame Michelle Holmes' followers blaming him for her resignation.
John also made enemies out of the two people who might have eased his transition.

Alexander Timons had his security clearance revoked despite designing 60% of the Foundation's gear
due to John's attempts to prove they were above corruption by corporations. Colonel Shepard, the
head of the Iron Corps, was quietly removed from overseeing anti-terrorism tactics instead of being
promoted to General Victory's place as head of their military operations.
With the extremely polarizing decision to outlaw the Tomorrow Society followed by a half-dozen
half-hearted assassination attempts by PHANTOM, John has actually picked up a substantial amount
of genre saviiness. He's decided to prevent himself from being dismissed as just another paper
pusher unfit for the job by making it utterly impossible for the Foundation to blame anything on him.

The Foundation has, due to his direct authority, classified virtually all of their operations. Secret
prisons, secret messages, breaking its Five major departments into HUNDREDS of smaller
compartmentalized departments and running everything on need to know bases. He's even taken to
working with A.I and Doppleganger robots as opposed to the real thing whenever possible.

Honestly, John is becoming more than a little frightening as he's just realized the potential for
extraordinary abuse at his command. Just as a joke, he actually smuggled a nuclear warhead into
Ruritania and attempted to set it off. Much to his guilt and surprise, it did, though in a barely
inhabited mountain range. Death Mask III's protests that this wasn't his doing were completely
ignored. He's also running black ops against Khanate and other nations in hopes of goading them
into war so he can get a "Big Win" on his record.

As a result, John may start learning to exercise his authority.

"JW"

One of John Hepburn's big problems was his complete ignorance of military affairs, much less black
ops. Given he was desperately worried about his job performance review in the first weeks after
Dame Holmes' resignation, he didn't want his utter lack of experience to come up. This is where he
did something which shocked even Jack Washington III.

Heading down to the evidence locker for incarcerated super-criminals, he had one of Jack
Washington Junior's androids powered up and reprogrammed by his sister Kesley. JW, operating
under the oh so inspired name of Jerimiah Wilson, was stripped of his technological know-how and
left only with a genius-level skill at tactics and military affairs.

Just for the hell of it, John also gave him a gravelly voice and a tendency to wear a bandanna like
Rambo. JW was then placed in command of the Foundation for World Harmony's military
operations, though Director Hepburn oversees the vast majority of these personally. He just leaves
all of the tactics and socio-political ideas to JW (what does that leave, exactly? JW isn't sure).

What's bizarre is JW has worked out so far. He's completely lacking in General Venom's
megalomania and is mostly interested in just getting the job done, whatever said job is. Even better,
he routinely goes on missions and has won the lasting respect of many of its teams. JW is aware that,
as a human-cyborg android THING, he'd lose it if the truth was ever known but has spent much of his
time cultivating good relations with Ultraforce One's members.

JW, it should be noted, has been reprimanded for punching Jack Washington III in the face after the
later attempted to use command words supposedly hard-wired into every android's circuitry.
Kesley Hepburn and Amethyst

Like her brother, Kesley Hepburn is a American citizen born in West Germany who was later
educated in England. Kesley Hepburn, however, was always a little "special." Bluntly, she had severe
socialization issues and fit the stereotypical depiction of a hacker shut-in. John actually had to pay
for plastic surgery and psychological counseling to make her 'presentable' when he informed the UN
he wanted to hire her as his personal secretary.

(This being comics, of course they went a little overboard and she now resembles Alison Mack if she
rarely washed her hair)

One thing that Kelsey is good at is hacking, however. After her education in England, she went on to
the John Smith Society where she attended class by video conference robot and spent the next four
years in the basement, experimenting with cybernetics. Her self-designed computer brain makes her
one of the most effective hackers in the world with only Noah Stein (the former "Ink") coming close
to matching her. Minerva, in England, considers her an archrival on the net.

It helps Kesley "cheats" and has used Ultramind 2.0's upgrades (on file at the Foundation) to design
an A.I android to assist her in dealings. Amethyst is, ironically, far more sociable and handles the
majority of the Director's dealings. She's uploaded herself into Kesley's doppleganger droid and
more or less taken over her "public" identity.

It's debatable who is the better hacker between the two, especially since they're essentially the
same person with different priorities. Amethyst is easy to tell from Kesley as she washes her hair.
Amethyst also has an apartment as opposed to trying to live in the Foundation Island Building
ventilation system. The fact she has any sort of life AT ALL, in fact distances her. In fact, due to their
dissimilarities, there's a rumor going around the base that Kesley is either insane or has a twin sister.

Oddly, both are close friends with JW.

Dark Undermaster

Robert Kingsley is at a transitional period in his life.

Oh, he's not thinking of leaving supervillainy. After all, those have been the best years of his life.
Robert Kingsley doesn't regret his failed relationship with Morgana Le Fey. After all, if she was going
to dump him for that slime ball, Bres, then he's better off without her. He doesn't even regret losing
the Otherworld, since he feels he was getting a little too comfortable there.

No, he regrets the fact that he didn't have a proper relationship with his children. Jun and Ken
Matterson.
Really, Valkyrie and Ultimatum should have seen it coming. Their revolution with the help of King
Arthur, the Tomorrow Society, and dozens of other fairy-based heroes they'd assembled was going
too smoothly. The Otherworld ultimately runs on tropes so there was bound to be SOME twist at the
end.
Really, though, the "Luke, I am your father" twist? That was hack writing at its worst.

In the case of Robert Kingsley, he remembered the affair he had with a mysterious fan at a
convention. It was during his youth when he looked less like old Tim Curry and more like young Tim
Curry. When he was just a man completely and utterly full of himself. She, of course, was the former
Queen of the Two Courts and thus it was perfect for siring half-human children.

After all, who could resist a guy like this?

Valkyrie, of course, was suitably appalled while Ultimatum just played the resulting scene for all its
angsty drama. The Dark Undermaster took a dive during the fight and thus decided to take a good
long look at his life. No longer having to worry about not being able to love, the Dark Undermaster
has decided he's going to be an excellent father to them both! He's also going to be the BEST evil
overlord the universe has ever seen!

His new armor will make him perfect for that!

Jun and Ken are completely horrified by the Dark Undermaster attempting to bond with them. Even
more horrifying is that the Dark Undermaster has actually started thinking about how it would be a
bad thing for the universe to be destroyed while his kids are in it. Before, he assumed he'd just flee
to another universe, but now he's actively decided to work against the various horrors.

What's bizarre is that, so far, he's completely sincere in his desire to protect this dimension. He's just
gone about it by taking the mantle of Gatekeeper from Merlin (banishing him in the process),
making various deals with supernatural entities, and assembling a vast collection of magical items to
drain.

He isn't remotely powerful enough to stop Orkus or similar beings but he hopes to eventually
become so, a feat that many believe will make him more dangerous than Dracula or the Iron Khan.

Ophelia, High Priestess of the Zealots

One of the world's most dangerous nutballs (again, Splotch displays his wisecracking talents in a
questionable fashion- may Ultimatum stop encouraging him). Ophelia was a mid-ranking soldier in
the Genesis Island military, an occasional bedmate of the Red King- which unfortunately fed her
passionate love for Cassius Mass, and she came to see him as a Metaman of Metaman, which
effectively became equated to God.

After the disappearance of the Red King and Serena Mass becoming the ruler of Genesis Island-
which her accursed Tomorrow Society of race-traitors in tow, Ophelia departed rather than accept
her God's double-dealing sibling as leader of the chosen dominant race.

Of course, plenty of diehards, enough to form the Zealots, came with her, and she used her fervor
and influence to fashion herself as the High Priestess. Even since, the Zealots have engaged in
different acts of terror against notable human targets and various foes like Black Wing II. The recent
'Crusade of Zeal', a full-out invasion of Falconrest in response to a local councilman's anti-Metaman
comments campaigning for re-election, provoked a Knights for Pure Mankind response, killing
hundreds as collateral before the Patriots, Foundation and Iron Corps came down hard on the
Zealots. Ophelia and a few of her inner circle escaped, though, and the Crackdown of 2012 was
encouraged in part by her attack.

Ophelia, despite her unbalanced delusions and behavior when it comes to Cassius Mass, is an
effective leader and rabblerouser, and possesses thermokinetic powers of great strength, allowing
her control over both fire and ice.

The Blazing Man

The Blazing Man, Richard Porter was either born without the ability to feel empathy with other
human beings or some tragedy resulted in it. Passed through various homes, Richard frightened the
people around him despite the fact he wanted to prove himself a loving and devoted son.

Eventually, Richard learned how to imitate human behavior and became quite good at manipulating
people. Becoming a soldier in the South African Defense Force, he worked his way up to commando
and was given glowing reports by all of his superiors. It helped that Richard fully aligned himself with
the dominant party's reigning views. Richard was quite racist but in a cold-detached way, seeing the
oppression of blacks as a necessary thing to elevate whites.

Selected by the White Sorcerer as a candidate, he underwent the same process as Rampart. In his
case, the process destroyed his body and transformed him into a burning skeleton capable of flight
as well as destructive fire. Richard was unable to turn off these powers and required a special
chamber to sleep in.

Bizarrely, Richard was okay with his transformation. He no longer required food or rest, though he
slept to maintain his sanity (such as it were). Richard was also invulnerable, the skeleton portion of
his body being strictly an illusion he projected. He could also blast things with Human Torch levels of
heat. Provided the government kept him entertained with audio books and voice-activated proto-
computers, he was quite content to be a fiery ghost.

Richard would have been fine in the Praetorian Guard but the government believed, instead, he was
better served as a deniable weapon. Without ever questioning his orders, Richard carried out
countless brutal assassinations and massacres for the government. To this day, Richard is considered
one of the most brutal and horrific war criminals South Africa has ever produced.

Ironically, the Blazing Man never committed any of these atrocities with malice. It was merely his
duty to the South African government. If he wondered why they were butchering the family of
Kruger's business rivals, blaming it on the Umkhonto we Sizwe, he never brought it up. Ironically, he
became close friends with some of his teammates. Dark Lustre, in particular, found him the only
person in her life who never wanted anything from her.
It was Dark Lustre's 'gift' which was his undoing. Performing a magical ritual, she restored his body
and gave him complete control over his gifts. The ritual also healed whatever was wrong with his
brain chemistry, allowing Richard the ability to feel empathy for other human beings. Indeed, the
ritual gave him a connection to others far exceeding what most people will ever feel since it was the
first time Dark Lustre ever used magic in a selfless manner.

He shot himself an hour later.

Chitin Girl

Chitin Girl's origins are blackly humorous in such a way that it's almost not safe for work. One day,
Rampart had a dead and bleeding girl in his bed. Maybe she was a teenage prostitute, maybe she
was just someone he kidnapped. Laying there dying, the White Sorcerer plopped her over his
shoulders and dumped her in his laboratory to experiment on.

Waste not, want not.

Working with the research of Doctor Henry Moreau, a man who went on to pioneer modern day
animorphism, the White Sorcerer combined it with Rampart's own D.N.A in hopes of creating a
stable combination. The DNA stabilized, this time, due to the fact the girl was a latent Metaman.
Most of the other subjects liquified. In a rare subversion of superhuman research disasters, the
White Sorcerer successfully used the breakthrough to create the Monster Squad.

Chitin Girl, herself, had no memory of her life prior to the White Sorcerer's experiments on her. She,
however, was an early supporter of the Monster Squad's terrorism and a weak mind easily
persuaded to assist in it. Ultimately, when that body rebelled, she was the only member to return to
their original master. She couldn't foresee a life outside of the one she'd been given.

Membership in the Eugenics Brigade, however, convinced her that the South African authorities
were lunatics beyond even her ability to stomach. Not because of conscience, that had been
eliminated by whatever process the White Sorcerer had put her through, but because they were so
bloody-minded stupid. As she grew to an adult, she became much more assertive and personable.

By the time apartheid fell, Chitin-Girl had participated in so many atrocities that there was a shoot-
on-sight order for her. She'd trained herself to be a killer and immune to death, so she easily
slaughtered her way through those sent to apprehend her. Having no employers, Chitin-Girl decided
to become a "supervillain-for-hire."

Chitin-Girl is pretty much a punch-clock monster and has moved from various employers ranging
from the International Crime League to the Gene Nation. She doesn't care who hires her as long as
the money is good and she likes her employers. In that respect, she has more experience fighting
superheroes than just about anyone else. It also helps that, as a biologically enhanced Metaman, she
has a slowed aging rate.

Chitin-Girl has no particular interest in doing anything but live a luxurious life for as long as possible,
being simultaneously without conscience but also without exceptional evil. Still, she's killed more
people than a 90s antihero and has no hesitation to do so in order to protect her freedom.

Chtin-Girl appears as a naturally bleach white-skinned girl with long dark hair and a surprisingly
attractive form. It's only when she uses her powers that she becomes disgusting, transforming into a
mob of giant spiders or a hideous mutated spider-thing. She has a half-human half-spider form that
more pleasing to the eye but still intimidating. In any of her shapes, she has much greater strength
than a normal human.

Chitin Girl also possesses the ability to spin webs, though the process is rather revolting to look
upon. Chitin Girl does drink nothing but blood but actually only dines on animal blood since the
thought of drinking human blood revolts her. The only time she does snack on humans is during
intercourse, make of that what you will.

Misery
Good, you are awake. I want you to remember this. Is your hand nice and numb? Good. I wanted you
to know that what I am about to do gives me no pleasure. It is unfortunate but you will be an
instrument of my revenge. Now, when I am done I will make sure that you get the best medical care.
Wouldn't want you to die now would we ? Shall we begin? Its such a shame that we have to remove
a healthy hand.

Dr. Harold Boatwright was New Amsterdam's best trauma surgeon, probably the best when it came
to Metaman physiology in the world.. He was used to patching up heroes and the victims of attacks.
He has operated on almost every type of being on Earth. Of course, this meant that he had more
access to the identities of many heroes and villains and their loved ones then just about anybody on
Earth.

Dr. Boatwright's descent into villainy is quite tragic. It started with his wife. She was diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer. Even in the age of super science, pancreatic cancer is a death sentence. Dr.
Boatwright reached out to anybody he could. Even to the villains that he operated on. No one had a
cure. Dr. Boatwright prayed to any deity he knew of. He knew they existed, heck he preformed
surgery on a few of them. Dr. Boatwright's wife died five months later.

Then his kids got into a horrible car accident. Both of them suffered severe brain trauma. The
prognosis wasn't good. They may never wake up from their medically induced coma and if they did
there was no knowing if any brain functions would be present. Again, Dr. Boatwright reached out to
anybody he knew or helped in the past. No help could be found. Again, he prayed. After three
months his kids condition did not improve and with no help seemingly on the way, Dr. Boatwright
decided to pull the plug on his kids life support. In less then a year, he had lost his entire family.

How come he had to lose his loved ones? He was a healer, he saved hundreds of lives both grand
and not. Some of Earth's greatest champions were alive because of his skill, his hand. What
benevolent deites would take away those he loved most? If they wouldn't respond to his pleas and
his skill at healing, maybe they would respond to his ability to inflict pain and hurt. He would spread
misery throughout the world till they gave him what he wanted. His wife and kids restored to health.
Gathering his surgical supplies, Dr. Boatwright burned down his house. What followed was months
of gruesome maimings. None of the victims were actually killed though. They were simply maimed
and left at the doorstep of a major hospital. Hands and feet were amputated. Eyes, vocal cords, and
tongues were surgically removed. One poor man even had his chest opened up and his lungs
damaged leaving him with a raspy cough. All the wounds were cauterized to make replacement with
prosthesis or donated organs difficult or impossible.

All the victims reported they were conscious throughout the procedure with just the area removed
being under local anesthesia. They all reported a man fitting Dr. Boatwright's description wearing a
black surgical mask and the smell of pine based cleaner. Dr. Boatwright sometimes sends samples of
that same cleaner to his older victims to remind them of their experience. They couldn't remember
being kidnapped or delivered to the hospital. Some of the victims were connected to local heroes
and villains.

Dr. Boatwright was finally hunted down by Lucien Drake who figured the man must be under some
sort of evil influence. Finding the man wasn't and knowing that death wasn't punishment enough,
Lucien crippled Dr. Boatwright and left the doctor a quadriplegic. That was not the end of Dr.
Boatwright, dubbed Misery by the press. It seems that Mister Z has taken a shine to the mans work
and has since empowered him to continue the spread of his mission of misery.

Sweden
peacefully neutral since 1814, ranked second in the World by the World Economic Forum in
2010, as well as #10 on the United Nations Human Development Index and the most equal
country on Earth in terms of economic division according to the Gini Coefficient - is in all
likelihood one of the nicest places to live on the face of Earth. Even so, as any readers of the
Millennium Trilogy will probably be quivering to point out, the Swedish have their fair share
of problems: a crime rate steadily creeping upwards, the third highest rate of assault and
threat, one of the highest rates of reported rape on the Continent and worst of all a bad habit
of just not talking to the police about this sort of thing amongst elements of the population.

Yes, SWEDEN has severe problems with Crime, that includes Superhuman Crime (not to
mention Mythological Terrorists - no, not mythical, Mythic) and quite frankly Law
Enforcement can't always work around their limits fast enough: luckily for the Swedish,
Sweden has been the leading the field amongst the Scandinavian nations in terms of support
for local superhuman champions for a while now (despite the noble efforts of Ice-Mariner
and Valravn, amongst a few others).

If that sounds like an overly narrow superlative, well, consider the fact that out of twenty-
seven EU member states only nine have produced a superhero population considered worth
adding to the International Superheroes Index* and now consider the fact that Sweden
numbers amongst The Nine, alongside neighbouring Finland (as well as Belgium, France,
Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom). There's a reason for this.

*On Heroic Earth it's a little like the equivelent of Jane's ... for superheroes.
Well, actually there are several, but what it all boils down to is that alone amongst the
Scandinavian nations Sweden was not involved in the Second World War: it's population was
therefore neither stamped down upon by the Eugenics Brigade or able to beat the
Ubersoldaten (which Finland, near to the end of the Second World War and the strength of
the Eugenics Brigade WAS).

In the eyes of the Swedish, superhumans were never tarnished by association to quite the
same degree as they were in the other nations of continental Europe - and during the Cold
War, while other nations harvested the cream of their Superhuman populations for foreign
service to staff the Freedom Alliance (or The People's Revolution), Sweden was able to keep
her champions close to Home - and benefit from congenial ties with the United States to buff
them up a bit.

While a bit more organised and a touch more low-key than their American counterparts (or
some of their European colleagues: Ice-Mariner comes to mind and refuses to quiet down
until he's mentioned), Sweden's superhero community has been doing Yeoman Service for
King and Kingdom since before the dawn of the Silver Age (albeit never more colourfully
than now, as something of a Renaissance sweeps the European Superhuman community,
newly liberated from the shadowy domination of the continent by PHANTOM which culled
so many of those who refused to keep their heads down).

Foremost amongst this population are the Kamraterna (The Comrades) a trio of heroes
sometimes jokingly referred to as having been "awarded the three crowns of Superheroes" -
while only moderately well-known on the World Stage and most often no more than three
strong, The Comrades serve as the steel spine of the Swedish superhero community and a
solid core to which additional heroes might be added in times of emergency (during the
Orkus Invasion, for example, Heroes assembled from all around the Baltic to form one half of
a massive pincer movement against Baba Yaga's forces as they streamed out of Russia -
matching or exceeding their comrades in Central and Eastern Europe).

Long may they continue to do so.

Aran (Honour)

Sweden's most advanced suit of power armour to date, Aran is at the bleeding edge of
Scandinavian Power Armour technology and the cutting edge of European Battlesuit tech: the
trio of operators who rotate piloting duties during peacetime - who can also be relied upon to
man it's older step-sisters Draken and Manskliga Rattigheter (Human Rights) in the event of a
real emergency - are equally sharp.

Foremost amongst them - by virtue of seniority, experience and having survived an encounter
with Baba Yaga's chicken-walker hut with his faculties as well as most of his limbs intact - is
Yngve Elof Svenson, a distaff relation of the Swedish Royal Family (which means his
ancestor was born on the wrong side of the blanket), a man who has taken the motto of his
old regiment (the Livgardet) to heart: Given that motto is "We do the impossible" he has a lot
to live up to.
He failed, albeit only temporarily, in the sense that he actually died trying (that chicken-
walking hut is a MEAN son-of-a-birch) then got right back up again - after CPR, emergency
evacuation and the implantation of the extremely advanced cybernetics which would make
him even more of a top-flight Power-Armour Jockey than he was already and malfunctioned
spectacularly seconds after activation.

Minutes after failsafe and a certain amount of panic set in, Elof came back from the dead.
Again.

As you've no doubt noticed, this means that Elof has cheated death, like many another
superhero - unfortunately for Elof, unlike many similar cases, his own has attracted the
attention of Death who appreciates the cinema of Ingmar Bergman as much as the next
supernatural entity.

They play chess.

Svenson keeps winning, which means he gets to keep living.

For now.

Disa

In the time when a God-King ruled in what would one day become Sweden, a long period of
peace saw a population explosion which threatened to produce a famine - deciding to curtail
this threat of starvation before predictions of famine could come to pass, the King decided to
sacrifice to Odin all the elderly, handicapped and sickly souls he could find in his kingdom
(as thanks for the Long Peace which had produced this increasing problem of population
growth in the first place).

To say that Disa Sigstensdottir of Uppland was less than impressed by this stroke of 'wisdom'
on the part of her king is a complete understatement of fantastic degree. She came before the
King and his senior chieftains, had words with them about their wisdom and offered her own
rather more less democidal advice. Given that they weren't entirely blind to her mockery of
their theories of population reduction, the King and his Chieftains set her a challenge to prove
her cunning, before they would consider hearing her council.

God-King Freyr asked her to visit him, but forbade her to do so by foot or by horse, in a
wagon or in a boat: she would not be permitted to visit him either dressed or in a state of
undress. The time of her visit must not be within a year nor within a month, she must come
neither during daytime nor night-time, nor should she come when the moon was waxing or
waning.

Disa, being a cunning woman, passed the test by harnessing two young men to a sled: By the
sled, she had a Billy goat and she kept one leg on the goat and the other leg in the sled: for
clothes she wore nothing but a net, and she timed her meeting with the king for dusk of the
third day before Yule, a day which was not counted in the year but was considered to be an
additional day between two years.

Having duly proved that she could think circles around the old men at court (and their king),
the wisdom of Disa was swiftly heeded - members of the population were chosen by lot,
given goods and chattels, then sent out to settle the thinly-populated northern regions of the
Kingdom and cultivate the land.

The wisdom of Disa was such that her rulings were eagerly sought by all men and women of
sense across the land. The millennia since then have done nothing to wither the sense of the
women in her line - or their hatred of the Asgardians, who have so ardently fought to retain
their frequently bloody-handed grip on their Scandinavian heartlands.

They eagerly sent for the first Christian missionaries to arrive in Sweden and lent them their
support (priests of the White Christ had their faults, but transmission of a near-omnicidal
hunger for battle, a cosmic death-wish and a habit of human sacrifice were not amongst
them), as well as masterminding other strokes which curtailed the power of Asgard in this
world over the centuries - eventually leaving once-Imperial Sweden a much, much, much
more peaceful place.

To say that this failed to endear them to Odin and company is an understatement of Mythic
proportions: still, the Disadottir have kept on going to spite the Old Gods of the North and to
protect their fellow men and women from Asgardian spite. The current heir to the mantle,
Cathrine Ronja Albertsson, is currently operating as a costumed adventurer and voice of
common sense alongside the Swedish superhero population - albeit in her own sharp-edged
and distinctively punkish manner.

Vainamo (Law-Poet)

Tomas Aatu Waldemar Tomasson, alias Vainamo the Law-Poet, is the latest scion from an
unbroken lineage* which has never quite been able to decide if they're 'Sweden Finns' or
'Finland-Swedes' mostly because at the time the lineage was first verifiably recorded in the
chronicles the distinction was a pretty academic one (given that what are now two separate
countries were one, albeit not necessarily the same) and the family has retained a fine disdain
for little things like Borders ever since, especially when they presented barriers to a noble
cause.

The family helped make the Kalmar Union, rode with Gustavus Adolphus, played a discrete
role in making Sweden a Great Power and helped break up their dominions by playing a part
in the negotiations which left Finland an autonomous grand principality, then led cultural and
political resistance to the Russians - and finally played their part in the Winter War and the
Continuation War against the Soviet Union (although they also played The Scarlet Pimpernel
to the Nazis, conducting Jews to the relative safety of Sweden in considerable numbers) - to
cut a long, splendidly-told story short, they've got around and that's not even counting their
contributions to the defence of Finland and Sweden (along with the rest of Scandinavia, as
well as some of the other states around The Baltic Sea) or the families ancestral - and
unconformable - ballads.

The present heir of this illustrious lineage, having been born in Sweden thanks to an accident
of fate (as well as his illustrious father's habit of playing hob with both the CIA and the
KGB) has spent his career dividing his time impartially between the two neighbouring
nations. It was not he, on encountering a much younger Arna and Disa, who suggested that
they pool their efforts (that would be Disa, ever sensible, especially when faced with the
prospect of all three being hanged separately if they didn't hang together), but it was Vainamo
who charmed everyone concerned into embracing the idea with enthusiasm.
He has since spent almost as much of his career chaffing Arna and grumbling around Disa as
he has brooding on the evils of the World, waxing poetic about them and then kicking the £%
$ out of those who perpetrate them (with the odd fit of wood-carving with his puukko and the
odd tune on his prize kantele by way of a less stressful hobby).

It's been a good life and even better thanks to the fact that the trio work beautifully together -
even if Arna is a stick-up-the-backside rationalist and Disa is as tone-deaf as a broken stick,
bless them.

*Albeit one which has, like many families of great antiquity, had to shuffle surnames about a
bit as the line of descent passed back and forth between various branches of the family tree.

The Double Headed Axe

It is common knowledge that symbols have power. Archaeologist have found one symbol
throughout the near east and Greece associated with the earliest finds of human civilization.
That of the double headed axe. From Knossos to Ur. The remarkably similar design seems to
be ingrained into the places of power. Even appearing as early as Catalhoyuk. It was no
sword that Sargon brandished as the symbol of his power but an axe which he dipped into the
Arabian Sea to show his conquest of the known world.* For a symbol to be held in such
regard, it's origins are maddeningly baffling. Even the Order of Thoth-Hermes knows not of
its origin. No god uses it as their symbol but its relationship to power is quite evident. They
know it contains domineering and brutal magic like the ancient leaders who made it their
symbol. Perhaps it is connected to a long forgotten god or maybe a wholly human symbol
whose power is forged through the earliest days of human memory.

This ax is a formidable artifact itself. It bestows great military prowess on whomever possess
it, a lust for conquest, and a portion of power from the currently missing Sumerian pantheon.
Currently, it resides in Dracula's keep but he is unable to use since he isn't mortal.

Invoking the double headed axe is done rarely, it is powerful but also forgotten. To note no
modern hero or villain uses it. Though, the Order of Thoth-Hermes is somewhat interested in
its implications as organic human magic. If some more interesting research does interrupt
them first.

Purity Fire
Arguably the final noteworthy member of the Praetorian Guard during the last throes of Apartheid,
b]Purity Fire[/b] actually held little racial animus, let alone feelings of white supremacy. Unlike many
of the Praetorians, who hailed from upper-class, middle-class, or military backgrounds (save those
recruited from the criminal ranks), Purity Fire grew up in a blue collar environment. Her father and
older brother (still living in the family home) were worked in the diamond mines, while her teenage
sister waited tables at a local eatery and her mother was a traditional housewife. While her parents
nominally adhered to the racial caste system of South Africa, neither were particularly political or
ideological, being more concerned about the realities of their day to day working class lives. They
were, however, committed Christians, and practiced the values of good will and tolerance. The
family members were generally friendly and respectful toward everyone, including any minority
individuals whom they encountered. While there were few luxuries, the girl who would become
Purity Fire never lacked for food, shelter, or love.

Her placid childhood was shattered when her family's home was invaded one night by three masked
thugs, angry unemployed young men barely older than her brother, out on a spree of robbery and
violence. Her father was shot dead, her brother beaten senseless with clubs, the other female family
members bound, gagged, and assaulted-all before her eyes. Somehow managing to escape notice,
she bolted from the house, crying out for help. In the dark of the night, the panicked girl lost her
way, and tumbled down the slope of the nearby diamond quarry.

The girl who dropped flailing and screaming into the pit was barely twelve years old. The individual
who stalked up out of the quarry back to her family home was a full-grown young woman-nearly ten
years older physicall and possessed of an unearthly wisdom. The screams of the human filth who
dared harm Purity Fire's family filled the night, as she first blinded and then incinerated them with
the brilliant light that flashed from the gemstone fragments embedded in her palms. Yet perhaps
there was still the child inside her, as she could not restrain her powers when Purity Fire's sister lept
to embrace the "angel" who had rescued the family; the radiance pulsed from the transformed girl
in joy, burning and maiming the left side of her sister's face.

Purity Fire served with the Praetorians because she was driven to protect-and more to avenge-the
ordinary people harmed by criminals, guerillas, super-villains and the like. She showed no mercy in
combat, striking down foes with lethal bursts of electromagetic radiation, even as she shielded
innocents and allies with constructs of hard-light. The voice in her head-the one Purity Fire swore
came from the broken diamond whose halves were enmeshed in her flesh-urging her to brook no
evil act, to destroy the violent with even greater violence.

For her power and loyalty, the S.A. government supported her surviving family members (Purity
Fire's sister was partially disfigured, her brother left with permanent nerve damage, her mother
mentally traumatized), while also helping Purity Fire adjust to the radical changes in her mind and
body.

Withdrawn and quiet, Purity Fire was sheltered from the worst members of the team by Rooivalk
and Orange Matron, while Sky Chief and Cannonshot were indifferent to her, and Bunker was
genuinely rather creeped out by the girl, saying Purity Fire's eyes "looked like her soul was burnt ta
ash"; the White Warlock wanted to exploit her, of course, but was stymied by whatever entity-or
madness-dwelled inside the girl

BTW: The men who assaulted and brutalize her family were white. She simply hated all those she
perceived as evil to be worthy of death.

South Africa: Praetorian Guard fates.

The Praetorians:
Bunker was, as noted in his intro, a wanted man in several nations across the continent. He was
never apprehened or unmasked before his recruitment into the Praetorians. Though his strength
level was low-end compared to true superhuman bricks or powerhouses, Bunker was a skilled
brawler, well-versed in nasty street-fighting techniques. He also lived up to his reputations as
"tungsten-tough"; Bunker's skin and soft tissues were resistant to even anti-tank gun shells, making
him the most durable Praetorian, save for Lady of the Southern Cross and the Orange Matron. As a
masked villain, he went by the codenames "Captain Hardcore", "The Hard Man", and "Smashmouth"
among others.

As mentioned, he was an unrepentent bigot, though given his disposition toward everyone this
really didn't mean Bunker treated minorities any worse-but he held horribly stereotypical ideas and
was not shy in his use of racial epithets. He actually did watch his manners around even black
women and children, fancying himself a "thug but not a bully"; Bunker slept with women of all races,
and rape was the sole crime he had been accused of that Bunker did not actually commit. In his
mind, "real men" didn't have to "take it or pay for it, the ladies give it for free".

Decked out in boots, black leather pants, a white tee-shirt, and a blue jacket festooned with patriotic
S.A. insignia, Bunker said he got his powers from "The Spirit of South African White Strength and
Unity". Other rumours spoke of a convict in an Angola prison volunteering for an illegal biological
experiment, a metaman delinquent who murdered his first man before learning to drive an
automobile, or a pact with Satan which even Old Scratch himself was now afraid to collect on.
Bunker especially liked the last one.

Rooivalk/Red Kestrel actually created his costumed identity before recruitment by the government.
The man was an admirer of the American Blackwing, almost to the point of being a "fan boy", and
studiously tried to discern and copy Blackwing's methods, training disciplines, and equipment (on a
much more limited budget). His skill levels and armament improved once backed by the S.A.
government, of course. He felt more shame than bitterness after being blackmailed by his "hero"
Blackwing I into retirement and exile. The high points of his life were his marriage, the birth of his
son, and attending the first meeting of the Blackwings of the World. He never spoke against
Falconcrest City's champion to his son, and even encouraged the young man to share Rooivalk's
collection of Blackwing memorabillia.

Commander Cannonshot was even handsomer than Bunker, and infinitely suaver; he was
considered a sex symbol during the heydey of the Praetorians, appearing on newspaper and
magazine covers throughout South Africa. He even appeared in S.A. movies and television shows,
playing himself in fictionalized adventures. The government played up his image as a ladies' man,
even arranging dates with beautiful young actresses and heirs. The Orange Matron tolerated this to
a point, as she was generally willing to put aside her jealousy for the sake of "public relations",
meaning S.A. propaganda for the team. Eventually she had enough and implored her influential
father to put a halt to the staged romances. While many viewed the Canonshot/Orange Matron
pairing as opportunistic (on his part) or desperate (on her end), the two actually came to love one
another. Traditional in her morals, the Orange Matron demanded and received a proposal and
marriage from her lover. The two wed shortly before the F.W. DeKlerk era which heralded the end of
apartheid. She was less racist than entitled and ultra-conservative, but did not adjust well to the
more liberal era which began to unforld in the 1990s, and aggresively pushed back against the
changes. Still, throughout her career the Orange Matron was one of the most decent Praetorians.

Sky Chief's heritage was indeed rich with high-flying adventurers and inventors. Not only was his
maternal grandfather a crewman aboard Captain Mors famed craft (later becoming an aeronautical
pulp hero in his own right, combining Mors' designs with his own inventions) but a paternal uncle
served with the famed WW II ace Sky Wulf, while his mother flew a few missions with the famed
aviatrix Jane Worral. Becoming a "superhero" was a bit of a lark for Sky Chief, a chance to test out
his innovative designs while living a life of adventure for "God and Country". He was quite closeted,
as homosexuality was literally illegal in S.A.; he sexuality drew taunts from Canonshot and Bunker,
and awkward unease from Orange Matron. Rooivalk was polite and even somewhat friendly, as Sky
Chief was a decent teammate. He was close friends with Lady of the Southern Cross and got along
well with Springbok (only platonically).

The exact nature of Purity Fire's gemstones remained unknown to S.A. scientists and her Praetorian
teammates. She evidenced abilities beyond energy projection and force-fields, including flight, mind-
over-matter, and telepathic projection, but Purity Fire manifested these powers only rarely, usually
when highly emotional. While she clearly displayed intelligence and maturity past even her apparent
age, at times she regressed into the attitudes and maturity levels of her twelve-year old self. Her
jewels of power resembled the amulet of a Galactic Guardsman; if they were indeed related, the
"voice from the gemstones' may hace been the mentality of Grigori-or even a Djinn.

Marshall Jebediah "Jeb" Hogge

When a superpowered or supervillain criminal needs transporting, the Marshall service assigns Jeb
Hogge. Its not that he is by the book. He has more shootings on his record than the next two
Marshalls combined. In fact his nickname in the service is the Carolina Cowboy. No, the reason they
assign him is he is the toughest and meanest Marshall they have. This tends to come in handy when
transporting persons that everybody from PHANTOM to the Iron Khan would like to see free.

Jeb Hogge was born in Hatteras, North Carolina. Despite his nickname Jeb usually dresses in a white
seer sucker suit,a panama hat, and two tone black and white shoes. He has a countryfied Carolina
drawl. Though he is very quick with a pistol and skilled with a shotgun, his primary weapon is his
stare. The man just looks mean and serious. Of course, his reputation is well known to those in the
United States. He was first noticed when he shot, some say executed, the supervillian Silver
Barracuda in broad daylight and in public while sitting at a restaurant. After that he was reassigned
to supervillian transport services. From there his reputation grew delievering 95% of his those in his
custody. 3% of the rest were killed trying to escape.

Hogge though is not exactly liked in the hero community. First, many suspect that the escape
attempts aren't really escape attempts, just Hogge playing executioner. Though so far he has been
cleared in everyone. Other question his tactics of shooting henchmen first then asking for surrender,
even going so far as to threaten to kill the prisoner he is transporting instead of handing them over
to the henchmen. Part of is well as detailed, Hogge is just plain old mean. Even then, most would
admit he does a good job given the persons he is escorting.

Director Hepburn is actively trying to recruit Hogge to be part of the Foundation for World
Harmony's transportation division. So far Hogge has declined, though the offer of course hasn't
endeared Director Hepburn to the superhero populace.

Solo Australian Villains

Giggles

The villain known as Giggles looks harmless yet his power is both insidious yet underrated by the
general public. It wasn’t until pictures of the very straight laced, short back and sides and incredibly
humourless hero nicknamed “Po Face” by friends and enemies alike, went viral on all social media
sites showing him rolling on the ground laughing madly with tears streaming down his face that
Giggles reputation increased exponentially.

As many heroes have said since, they approach Giggles to capture him and then their lips begin to
quiver and next thing they are helpless with laughter. Several very strong willed heroes such as
Australia Star can resist laughing but then they fall victim to the sucker punch.

Bushranger Crime Family Members

Triple Threat

The heart of the Bushrangers is the three brothers known collectively as Triple Threat. George, Boris
and Eugene Sloan were always involved in crime from hotwiring cars at age 10 to committing armed
robbery four years later. It was during a stint in a youth detention facility that the brother’s
superhuman abilities manifested allowing them to easily escape with their newfound abilities as
energy controllers. Calling themselves Thunderbolt, Starlight and Moonlite the brothers have been a
thorn in the side of law enforcement and heroes throughout Australia ever since.

Founding the team now known as the Bushrangers the brothers spend nearly as much time fighting
and under-minding each other as leading the team. Whenever one brother gains dominance over
the others he becomes a Captain and the others Lieutenants however Barrack believes that the
Bushrangers are most dangerous when the brothers are all Captains.

While most people are aware that Captain Thunderbolt, Lieutenant Moonlite and Lieutenant
Starlight are brothers, many are unaware that they are triplets and one way to get their complete
and undivided attention is to claim that they all have different fathers.

Priscilla

In quite a few countries around the world there is still a stigma attached to been “beat up by a girl”
and Australia is a country where this attitude is very prevalent. The stigma is even worse if the girl is
actually a guy in a dress whom is not Scottish.

The former Kings Cross entertainer now known as Priscilla plays on this attitude and being so OTT
likes nothing more than grappling the strongest looking opponent “she” can see. Her fellow
members of the Bushrangers take great pleasure in their opponents discomfort when their brick is
wrestling them into submission.

There are more than a few heroes in Australia who have come to loathe the particular shade of long
lasting lipstick that Priscilla loves to wear.

Mad Dog

One of Australia’s most beloved critters is the Koala, now imagine a Koala standing nearly 5 and a
half feet tall with biggest softest brown eyes and you have the Bushranger member known as Mad
Dog. Mute or just reluctant to speak Mad Dog is more Loony Toons Tasmania Devil than Bungo the
Bear and just needs to be pointed in the right direction where his superhuman strength and razor
sharp claws can cause maximum damage.

Solo Australian Villains Notes

Giggles - Given that Giggles happens to look like a young lady dressed up as what can best
be described as a cross between a schoolgirl and a pink teddy bear (complete with a bow in
her hair, right between the - presumably fake - little round ears), it's probably for the best that
she prefers to use laughter as her weapon, rather than screaming terror.

On the other hand you'd be surprised by how creepy it is to see people laugh themselves into
paralysis and even occasionally to the point of breathlessness (in other words past the point
where one begins to risk death by oxygen deprivation). Or being a comic book fan, perhaps
you wouldn't be.

Whatever the case, Giggles remains polite, friendly, shamelessly criminal and either quite
unconcerned about anything except getting her own way without having to wory about being
brought to book for it.

The Triple Threat - Given that the Brothers Sloan were born practically-identical triplets,
it's perhaps unsurprising that they've spent much of their lives doing their best to prove
beyond doubt just how INCREDIBLY different they are from one another. Given that they
nearly killed each other after taking to a life of superhuman law-breaking independently
(failing to recognise one another until it was almost too late), one could safely say they've
done a pretty good job.

Having each developed their own unique style, methodology and following before combining
their resources to form what might well be the largest and least-coherent mob of Super-
Rogues in the Country, it's perhaps unsurprising that Thunderbolt, Starlight and Moonlite
spend as much time at odds with one another as they do fighting off local do-gooders.

While this HAS kept them from being as succesful as they might be, they've still managed to
make their little co-operative venture a Continent-spanning organisation (with a chapter in
every state and territory of Australia, although Victoria remains their particular stronghold) -
partly because the brother's mobs tend to be better at avoiding one another than their bosses,
but mostly because the Trio remember will in the end always remember that they are brothers
and act accordingly.

Most of the time, at least.

Captain Thunderbolt - Given that George happens to be the Sloane brother who acquired his
powers first* and left and has been working as a super-criminal for the longest, he's also the
one most regularly able to subordinate his siblings to his way of thinking (and remains the
only one of the three to have never been reduced to the rank of Lieutenant, however
temporarily).

The most professional of the three, his particular approach is quick and economical - stun or
stagger all bystanders, get in and out fast, leave as little collateral damage in your wake as
possible: Given that this approach produces the lowest number of casualties, people tend to
think of him as the Gentleman of the Triple Threat. He actually more of a straightforwardly
greedy crook, but he is just solid and thoughtful enough that many still find it comforting to
imagine him exerting a calming effect on his more ... spectacularly heedless brothers.

Or would, if they imagined that those ner-do-wells actually LISTENED more often than once
in a blue moon.

*An entity who may or may not have been Zeus MASTER OF OLYMPUS, just enough
Retsina and a lightning-shaped scar in an obscure location are known to have been involved -
or so George claims, at any rate.

Captain (occasionally Lieutenant) Starlight - Boris Sloane has always been and remains the
most headstrong of the three, as well as the most idealistic. The only one of the Triple Threat
who admits to being a metaman, Boris is also the only one who tried to become a superhero
when he discovered his powers (having long been a fan of the likes of elder statesmen like
Skyraider and even supers who were then novices, like Australia Star), but failed despite
some truly impressive efforts.

This would be because Boris likes the bottle a wee bit too much and allowed it to persuade
him that, if the cops were going to treat him as a vigilante, he might as well act the part - he's
regretted the decision ever since, although only when he's entirely sober (which is
vanishingly seldom).

Of the Bushranger Triple Threat Boris remains the most political - a Metaman Rights Activist
who remained unaffiliated with either the Gene Nation or the Tomorrow Society, but
unceasingly stalwart in his opposition to the Knights for a Pure Mankind (to the point where
he became something of a hero to the more extremist elements of the Australian Metaman
scene).
At the present time he more closely resembles a terrorist than the vigilante he used to be or
the hero he once hoped to become.

Lieutenant (occasionally Captain) Moonlight - Eugene Sloane has always been the most
ambitious of the three brothers and remains the one most likely to try making the leap from
plain superhuman crime to blatant supervillainy, going to great lengths to cook up schemes
likely to secure his acceptance by the Fraternity of Supervillains. He isn't quite there yet,
those schemes tend to fail at great expense and his brothers tend to lord their superior
resources over him as a result.

Eugene accepts this philosophically, mostly because he remains the brother most devoted to
his family despite it all, and refuses to give up on his dreams.

He'd be an oddly inspiring figure, if it weren't for the fact that "Act like a God-King" has
been at the top of his to-do list for over twenty years, which means that he can only be a truly
unpleasant sort of fellow.

Think the love-child of Paragon and the Red King, without their charm.

Priscilla - Priscilla and Captain Thunderbolt have been very happy together for a long, long
time.

No one can quite work out WHY.

Mad Dog - Mad Dog doesn't really resent being mistaken for a werewolf half as much as he
hates being mistaken for Razortalon. As he puts it "snnrra hrrrgh glargha grrrrrr yiii wu-
wu-wu yaghaa bluk-blah-blahi!" (in actual English "That guy's an animal!"). The two have
actually met on a couple of occasions - honours remain even thus far, but Mad Dog carried
away more scars from the fights, which remains a sore point with him.

El Vaquero

The colorful avenger of the Rio Grande has actually grown more morose. He knows he has only a few
years left before the date of his doom is here. He had a reversal of his financial fortunes though,
being a time traveler has certain advantages when it comes to investing. He has become an angel
investor for several start ups that will invent certain popular new technologies. He has already set up
a will to dispose of his estate, though he has never married. He has an on and off again relationship
with Sally Longrifle but has become further distanced from people as the clock ticks down to
doomsday. He has made it know through what superhero contacts he has about Orkus's upcoming
invasion, though his contacts are minor. He never joined a team and his area of operation was vast
and isolated. He has reached out to Alex Timmons though he has only met the man as Black Wing a
few times. Surprisingly, Merlin has been increasingly visiting El Vaquero, probably because El
Vaquero represents a stable time loop and there is no exact origin from where Plateado came from,
no one has seemed to actually make the horse in the time loop. Hector has made a will that names
several charities as benefactors, surprisingly none of them have to do with superheroing.

The National Super-Defensemen of Rhodesia

The National Super-Defensemen of Rhodesia: Put together by the white supremacist Rhodesian
govt. in the late 1970s, as part of their increasingly desperate efforts to stave off collapse, the Super-
Defensemen (or "Colonials" as they were commonly known) were inspired by the Praetorian
Guardsmen, but were never as effective or numerous. The former British colony of Rhodesia was
surrounded by hostile nations and the relatively tiny white population had no real ability to go on
oppressing the native African population. The Colonials had few notable members, with the most
formidable being detailed here.

Retarius was a hard-bitten, scarred career solider and mercenary who was well into his fifties when
he became a superhuman. His could project blasts of lightning, water, or steam from his trident,
envelop several foes at once with his nearly unbreakable net, and pierce armor with his dagger.
Purported to venerate the Greek god Poseiden, Retarius could also control the flow and shape of
water with his touch. The team leader was an ardent anti-Communist, a believer in white colonial
rule, and rather foul-mouthed to boot. Still, he adhered to a soldier's code of honor and was not a
hateful man, despite his bigotries. Unlike the Retarii of Ancient Roman, he was in no way effeminate,
playing up his macho image to the hilt.

White Giant was widely disliked by his teamates, as he was a boastful, arrogant, and slightly
cowardly figure despite his stature and might. Best described as an albino bodybuilder the size of an
ogre, he was immune to heat and flame, strong enough to uproot tress to use as clubs, and could
absorb as much physical damage as ten normal men. White Giant was reticent to face anything
resembling a fair fight, backed down immediately from the black Grave Ranger when confronted
about the Giant's obnoxious racism, and chronically harassed the slightly dim Kohoutek. Despite his
greatly stamina, he whined incessantly about even minor injuries suffered in combat. The White
Giant was actually an alchemical golem, the creation of a very smart but socially awkward young
man; badly overweight and unathletic in his real life, projecting his mind into the chemically crafted
Hercules allowed him to live out his dreams of strength and masculinity.

The only black "hero" to serve the Rhodesian state, Grave Ranger was never confirmed to have any
superhuman abilities-but he was known to survive wounds that should have killed him, slay half a
dozen armed enemy soldiers with only a machete and his bare hands, and face down overwhelming
odds without flinching. Rarely speaking, Grave Ranger fought with a cold ferocity that impressed
even Retarius; he despised Marxists even more so than the modern gladiator. Having lost his wife
and children at the hands of Mugabe's rebels, Grave Ranger was a man with no fear of death. He
would have led the Colonials if not for his race.

Bloodline was the only other nonwhite, the part-Malaysian serving as the Colonials' tracker, scout,
and spy. Some manner of atavastic throwback, he greatly enjoyed ambushing his targets, then
tearing into them with his fists, nails, fangs, combat knife, and spiked club. Clearly a sociopath,
Bloodline enjoyed cruel practical jokes, humiliating taunts, and the infliction of pain on his foes. He
never felt more alive than when chasing down a fleeing enemy. Strangely, he tried to fit in with his
teammates, by acting constantly upbeat and clowning around. He served the govt mostly because of
the pay, perks, and opportunities for slaking his baser instincts.

The last member to join before the fall of Rhodesia and the advent of Zimbabwe, Kohoutek was the
most powerful by far. As might be guessed, her metaman abilites were activated when her
namesake comet passed closest to the Earth; these powers included flight, a force-field, telescopic
vision, and projection of heat and freezing beams from her hands. A fair-haired beauty, Kohoutek
was borderline mentally challenged. An innocent and sweet young woman, she was coaxed into
serving in the Colonials by her family. She never enjoyed hurting anyone, and held no feelings of
racial superiority. She was something of a discipline problem for Retarius, as Kohoutek was prone to
throwing tantrums and childish rebellion whenever she was unhappy.

Los Dios Rogues

Doctor Dreddful: A stock villain from the Warner studios that was never used much because he was
too scary (versus Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd), Doctor Dreddful was a mad scientist who had a
Satanic laboratory like Rottwang and a genuinely evil streak. In the end, Doctor Dreddful escaped
from Paint Town early on and decided that being a supervillain against humans was infinitely more
rewarding.

Doctor Dreddful tends to impersonate human beings by making "people suits" with zippers. (out of
actual PEOPLE no less - see what I mean about too scary). His technology is ridiculously advanced
because, as a cartoon, he's capable of making them do anything he wants. About the only thing that
marks him as a cartoon is the fact that he's prone to breaking into song and using a group of
anthropomorphized hyenas as minions. There's also the fact that Doctor Dreddful can't NOT fall into
storytelling tropes.

Doctor Bones: The extremely hot Doctor who resembles Emily Deschanel with glasses, Doctor Myra
West is the great granddaughter of Herbert West: Reanimator (1920s version as opposed to the
Jeffrey Coombs one). While HP Lovecraft didn't do much of the Literary Agent hypothesis thing (his
nightmares gave him more than enough fodder), Herbert West was actually someone he knew.

Emily shares her ancestors fondness for converting dusty old necromantic texts to modern-day
science. She's responsible for many of the modern day zombie plagues that have affected the United
States and the less than stellar resurrections some supervilains have been forced to endure. Emily is
a sociopath with absolutely no moral boundaries, particularly around death. Oddly, she's seemingly
undersexed since every plot she's involved in not related to zombies or the undead is related to
seducing superheroes.

Cement Mixer: A ridiculously huge man with muscles on top of muscles, Cement Mixer is the idiot
bastard child of Freya with a dwarf. Taught by his father in the ways of construction, Cement Mixer
(he's forgotten his real name due to the beatings he's taken over the years) decided it was more fun
to simply use his vast strength to steal things. As powerful as Divinos, Cement Mixer has gotten into
all manner of fights over the years and nearly killed Ymir on several occasions. He's just too damn
stupid, greedy, and lazy to actually pose much of a long term threat.

Well, sort of. Ymir had to surrender once because Cement Mixer was fully willing to throw a
skyscraper at him. Yes, one filled with people. Cement Mixer has a longstanding friendship with
Puzzles, since both of them are just above being legally incompetant. It should be noted Cement
Mixer is loved by his father who has been known to fashion magical items for Cement Mixer's
marginally more intelligent friends, The Construction Crew.

Demon Dragon: He's a dragon. No, not one of the ones I wrote about in Skyrim. An actual dragon!
Demon Dragon is C'grr'grr'gnash'grrr from the Winterweir setting. A survivor of the Terra'shar
empire, he's come to the planet Earth in order to lay claim to it. Forging an alliance with the Iron
khan, Demon Dragon taught him many principles of science the Iron Khan used to improve his
alchemy and sorcery. In exchange, the Iron Khan helped Demon Dragon launch a series of
devastating Kaiju attacks against Tokyo. After getting his butt routinely kicked by the Prismatic
Commandos and Typhon during the 1970s, he eventually decided to move to Los Angeles. There,
Demon Dragon ended up teaming with Fafnir on a regular basis.

Ymir, as noted, states that he's the only superhero in the world with two dragons in his rogues
gallery.

Fufur: He's fifteen feet tall, has horns, fur, and looks like a bear crossed with a bat and a ram. Yes,
Fufur is the biggest bully in hell. Well, one of them. Fufur can assume a human form of a seven foot
tall HUGE man who looks vaguely unclean but he enjoys cutting loose with his true form. What does
Fufur like? TO FIGHT! Fufur basically exists to go around the world picking fights with the world's
best warriors and killing them in hopes of finding someone worthy of testing his skill. The problem is,
of course, on those rare occasions he IS killed he just goes back to hell.

Fufur is all about honor and the integrity of the warrior blah blah but the truth is that he rarely fights
opponents who have a snowballs chance in hell against him. Both Lucien Drake, Ymir, and Medreut
would really like to put this guy down for good.

The Rope:

Perhaps the most vile member of the Blood-Letting Legion aside from The White Warlock (and
arguably the Warlock's adept Dark Lustre), the Rope was not one man but many (and at least one
female as well), each wielding the malefic cursed noose in turn. Most were what the South African
regime deemed "highly motivated"-career military or police who had lost family or friends at the
hands of non-white criminals or terrorists. The myth of the "unkillable" Rope was perpetuated by
the government, as there was genuine propaganda value in the idea that Apartheid had a champion
who could defy death itself.

Those chosen by the SA authorities (or sometimes,fate) to take on the role were invariably tall,
strong, and fit inviduals in their physical primes, identically masked and costumed. In due time, each
possesser of the lariat began to resemble their predecessors regardles, becoming more muscular,
hunched, and brutish looking. All were driven by race and ethnic hatred, paranoia, and a thirst for
murder. They gained enhanced strength, durability, stamina, and senses. The Rope iteself could
strike, grapple, and constrict targets with extraordinary force, as if it were the hardest of metals
rather than mere hemp fiber; it was also nearly unbreakable (it would require Ultimatum-level
strength to do so), as well as impervious to flame and rot. It could seemingly coil about the wielder's
enemies as if alive, and most astoundingly could strangle ANY living or once-living being-even the
undead, or those nearly invulnerable to such harm. Only androids, golems, robots and the like are
fully immune.

The history of The Rope goes back at least to the age of the Spanish Inquisition, when it was used to
execute at least two vampires and one Jewish occultist who proved difficult to kill or restrain by
normal methods. It is known to have been used in the American colonies to hang several TRUE
witches (the Salem victims were falsely accussed), one of whom was a verified White Witch who
used her spells only for the good of all. In the pre-Civil War era, a black ex-slave was executed by
slow strangulation in Bayou Bay, Louisiana; the man was a natural healer, possibly even an early
metaman, who used his talents to cure and make whole the ill or wounded of any race, creed, or
class. In a few cases, the Rope was clearly used by good men and women against, evil, as when a
young boy in rural Pennsylvania in the late 1960s somehow held off several walking dead assaulting
the family farm. But always it is associated with violence and horror, and most frequently with
hatred, injustice, and cruelty as well.

The Rope surfaced in Africa shortly after the Pa episode, in the Republic of the Congo. It was
discovered by the occult investigator/adventurer Doc Jotunn, an aging but still capable figure from
the Pulp Era. After slaying the demonic bokor and looting the creature's treasure vault, Jotunn
turned the Rope and a few more minor items over to his government sponsors. The White Warlock
recognized the value of the item, and a new member of the Blood-Letting Legion was created.

Those who carried the Rope for too long began to go for days without food or rest, driven only to
hunt and kill. Their paranoia became such they eventually began to avoid even close allies, thinking
all were turning against them. Those who did succumb to terminal exhaustion or fall in combat
invariably committed suicide.

Or at least they were found lifeless, hanging from The Rope.

Director Heburn's Files

*HIGHLY CLASSIFIED*
*TOP SECURITY CLEARANCE*
*DIRECTOR'S EYES ONLY*

Guns of Liberty: The absence of superheroes with a direct loyalty to the state is something
which has long vexed the Foundation for World Harmony and forced us to work with semi-
independent contractors. The Guns of Liberty project will free us from this particular
problem by using captured PHANTOM, Genesis Island, Project: Icarus and House of
Serpents technology to produce a wholesome and helpful collection of tailor-made
superhumans with artificial gray matter brains downloaded with falsified memories.
These champions of justice will infiltrate and gradually phase out the Patriots project while
forming the backbone of new government superhero teams for all Foundation for World
Harmony sponsors. Obviously, they will have "kill switches" should they prove unstable as
occasionally occurs in this situation.

Super Human Serum: The capture and dissection of Jack Washington Junior is a high
priority for this body as is the recovery of super-intellects and athletes from all across the
globe. We have access to all the technology necessary to improve the genes of humans in any
way we choose, the problem is we lack the necessary templates to do so without
unnecessarily risking the lives of our soldiers. It is my suggestion that, in addition to doing a
little grave-robbing, we also capture expendable superhumans in order to find out what gives
them their specialized abilities. Ironically, Metamen are NOT a priority for this project but
the top of the line "super-normals" who seem to defy the limits we normally think of.

Death Mask III: A clear and present threat to world stability. It is my opinion that direct
bombing of the country until he is dead could only improve the situation.

The Saint Peter Directive: As an atheist, I would like to state that I find this directive's
name to be offensive. However, it is clear that the abundance of so-called supernaturals is
something that can no longer be tolerated. I am pleased that the Security Council and their
respective governments have chosen to approve my plans for the total destruction of all
Hemophages world-wide. This, of course, is something we cannot simply carry out willy-
nilly. Hemophages exist all across the planet and their elimination would be extraordinarily
expensive in a time that we are all strapped for funds.

I am thus suggesting we do our best to experiment with the now-cured AIDS virus as well as
influenza plus captured half-human/half-hemophage hybrids. These projects will be handled
with the utmost discretion, of course, and it is my hope we can develop a virus capable of
annihilating the so-called vampire scourge within ten years. I should remind the board of
directors, however, that the existence of vampires is likely to be proved before then and we
should prepare for a public backlash where the Foundation takes the forefront in their
elimination.

World Charity League: As much as I consider Alexander Timons to be an unstable

narcissist with severe borderline personality disorder, I understand the Board of Directors
disagrees. I have thus decided to note the Foundation for World Harmony is now creating a
department with the UN for large-scale humanitarian relief with extranormal technology. It
is the hope of mister Timons to use this to bring together Genesis Island as it attempts to
make up for its rogue nation status by distributing free medicine as well as using Metaman
power to relive crisises across the globe. I see no reason not to support this, which will go
wonders for improving the Foundation's reputation abroad.

Michael Spectre: The termination order has been placed for him.

Prison X: Super-Alcatraz has proven too easily escapable and requires too much red tape in
my humble opinion. It is thus my opinion we should look to a more advanced society, albeit a
dead one, in the late Mithran one. Rather than deal with the revolving door of incarceration,
I believe it is better we transport suspected terrorists to the Annihilation Zone for
interrogation and incarceration. With no legal rights in this place, we can subject them to
humane but effective methods of mental analysis in order to discover their secrets. In time,
this will result in the annihilation of the various so-called "super-terrorist" cells.

The Iron Khan: It is my opinion the Chinese government needs to take over Khanate as
soon as possible. Rather than send an assassin to eliminate the Iron Khan, I have decided the
best source for his removal would be to banish him to Abaddon. While it is illegal to deal
with "rogue nations" like Orkus after their last invasion plan, contacts with the dictator's
organization have indicated that they would like to get their hands on him.

World Economy: While I know this is beyond the purview of my agency, I note that the
Foundation for World Harmony has an "eagle-eye" view of the situation. It is my opinion
that the salvation of world economic stability relies on a number of factors *see enclosed
details* Bluntly, we need the so-called supercorporates and we should actively consider
giving them DEFACTO nation status and work to make them partners with the various
world-governments. I know people are afraid of a Dutch East India Company situation but,
really, none of us are that stupid.

World Information Control: Internet piracy is a clear and present threat to world
economic stability and we've seen how information can be leaked worldwide with the
"Wikileaks" scandal. It is my opinion the Foundation for World Harmony should arrange for
AI to be employed to censor government information moving to and from local government
servers. This would also allow us to monitor the activities of terrorists in the Information Age
with much greater accuracy.

Obviously, all steps would be taken to guarantee local rights and privacy are not
compromised.

Director Hepburn has a bunch of strategems for dealing with all of the various super-factions. After
all, Dame Holmes just wasn't TRYING hard enough.

PHANTOM: Clearly, the organization was destined to break up anyway. It's current disintegration is a
show of how acute applied economic force is more effective than Dame Holmes and Major Victory's
attempt to defeat them with military force. Attempts to co-opt the organization's various sub-
organizations is undoubtedly the best strategy for dealing with them. It is a broken organization and
once Ruritania is defeated, it will fade away like the Taliban.

UNITY: In my opinion, the much greater threat than PHANTOM. Unity's Global Commander will
undoubtedly continue to expand the organization and eventually engage in overt warfare with it due
to the fact they compete for the same terrorist backers. In my opinion, direct military force is the only
option for dealing with them.

Gene Nation: I believe the registration of criminal Metamen is certainly not sufficent to prevent the
rise superhuman terrorism. Therefore, I suggest monitoring of all Metaman support groups and
places they are likely to be recruited from. They are waging a Jihad on the human way of life and
while the organization is temporarily decapitated, it's still a worldwide network of evil.

Black Hand: The criminal network of Khanate is going to crumble soon due to starvation and massive
lack of infrastructure crippling said nation. Rumors that it is a group which has survived thousands of
years is ridiculous and undoubtedly hyperbole. Economic sanctions will continue to promote
starvation and desperation from the Khanate people but their repression ultimately will result in the
nation self-destructing. Much like North Korea, I say good riddance to bad rubbish.

The Psychotic Seven: Ironically, the group was beneficial as long as it was together. Their continued
status as fugitives encouraged America to pour billions of dollars in resources and equipment in the
Foundation. The Red Jaguar's presence in Nestoria is a sure sign he's going to resume his attempts at
world domination and it is my opinion that nation should be bombed back to the Stone Age.
Aquarius' death is welcome news, however. The rest are almost irrelevant and should be pardoned if
they can kill the Red Jaguar.

The House of Serpents: Having reviewed their files, I think this group is little more than a puppet
organization of UNITY. The real House of Serpents was totally destroyed in the 1980s and I
encourage Ultra Force One to STOP SENDING ME TEXTS that say otherwise. Jack Washington Junior
died decades ago and his clone from the 1980s was a badly misused caricature created by American
extremists. Let him rest in peace.

Jack Washington III: The best contractor the Foundation for World Harmony has ever had and a
perfect replacement for Alexander Timons. Unlike him, he didn't see the need to go off and fight
crime in tights. It's my hope he'll continue to pursue his political career and become President of the
United States in 2012. Already, he's above Gingrich in the polls and has won a test poll in California.

The Vampire Nation: Kill them all.

The Red Spider: A communist terrorist organization? How...1958. Battle Czar is obviously a dictator
of a rogue nation and needs to be dealt with but even I find myself wondering how the man could be
so incredibly backwards.

White Lotus Society: A terrorist organization of Metamen who use their powers to impersonate
supernatural abilities. They have an anti-Chinese agenda and are involved in all manner of criminal
conspiracies. It will be my pleasure to assist the People's Republic in eliminating them as well as
rounding up its members in the United States, Tawain, and Japan.

International Crime League: Really, nothing worth concerning ourselves with.

More Painttown Toons

American Eagle: THE ULTIMATE PATRIOT. American Eagle is super-serious, dignified, and the
unfunny in a lot of American cartoons. He was never quite often used due to the fact that a lot of
people took the cartoons including him as satires of American exceptionalism (which they were).
Putting on his helmet, however, he routinely goes out to fight crime FOR AMERICA.

Oddly, American Eagle is actually quite good at it. This is due to the fact that, like all cartoons, he's
effectively invulnerable. He also lacks the gibbering insanity which cripples most toons. His attempts
to involve himself in the doings of the Steel Commandos and Valkyrie's lives are quite annoying to
them.
Especially since, as the Bald Eagle, American Eagle is actually PL: X when dealing with matters of
AMERICA and has done some Bat-Mite esque messing with the heads of heroes. His preachy
moralising doesn't prevent him from getting beaten up on a regular basis, however, because it's
invariably funny (the toon's one weakness).

Steel Commando III has set him up as Sheriff of Paint Town to get him out of his hair.

Mischief: A human who had a Toon's spleen surgically implanted into him by a mad scientist (is
there any other kind when you're a janitor at the John Smith Society), Barry Barrowitz can assume
the form of a madcap invulnerable clown at will. He's not really a superhero because, well, he's a
lazy dumbass. However, he THINKS he's a superhero and on the occassions he fights crime - he's
reasonably effective. More often, though, he spends his time PRANKING superheroes.

He's an especial bane on corporate executives and lawyers. Mischief is a regular feature in Paint
Town and is friends with everyone, mostly because he CAN take a joke.

Piggy Banks: The trillionaire adventurer who travels with his three piglet nephews and his idiot
brother on quests to find treasure across the globe. Piggy Banks was never used much because, well,
he's a blatant Warner Brothers copy of Scrooge McDuck. Piggy, himself, resents this implication.
After all, he's a pig.

Piggy is frequently kidnapped by unscrupulous businessmen due to the oddball fact of his Toon
nature. Because he's THE MILLIONAIRE TOON, any business he involves himself in will inevitably
strike it rich. He's actually been barred from participating in human business except in an advisory
capacity due to the fact it's considered influencing the stock market with magic.

Snow White: It's Snow White. What? She's the Mayor of Paint Town. Oddly, she possesses the ability
to assume "human" form for a short time due to the fact she's not an anthropomorphized animal.
She is currently married to the Handsome Prince but not Prince Charming (who she divorced).

Rose Red: Her sister, by the way, is a toon werewolf hunter. Like her sister, she possesses the ability
to assume human form. In this form, Rose Red has been killed on occasion but always comes back
due to contrived circumstances.

Barry Wolf: A stock villain from hundreds of cartoons over the years. Barry has to be a cannibalistic
monstrous toon-eating thing who is, nevertheless, a complete idiot. Despite attempts to make him
scary during the 1990s, Barry got over his habit of trying to eat regular humans and now just mostly
vaguely menaces them.

Alex and George: A pair of cartoon ravens that were meant to satirize Raven industries but became,
essentially, Heckle and Jekyll. Because they were designed to satirize corporate America, they do
their best to ruin Alex's life at the most inopportune moments.

Angel Mouse: Basically, Divinos as a mouse. Except funnier.

Angel Mousette: Yeah, do the math here.

The Villainous Egghead: Kenneth Kane's ancestor satirized as a cartoon mad scientist.

Ultra Force One

America Force One fought a holding action against the House of Serpent for a good portion of the
eighties, managing to smash the more outrageous plots of the House of Serpents within the United
States while crushing UNITY wherever it reared its ugly head abroad.

By the time the nineties came around, a great number of nations decided they wanted a piece of the
action and began putting forward their own candidates for a United Nations-based anti-terrorist
organization that would be the single biggest deterrent to non-government based military action
that ever existed.

Then it went nowhere.

Don't get me wrong, the Foundation for World Harmony got some damn good agents out of it but
PHANTOM and the House made sure that they never got the authority to do the kind of large-scale
wetworks necessary to root them out. Dame Michelle Holmes was forced to employ the Patriots or
Tomorrow Society on dozens of occasions, even if they were inappropriate for the job.

The Psychotic Seven's coup attempt managed to get the gears rolling again on Ultra Force One and a
secret collection of military operatives were recruited across the globe. These weren't the initial
members of Ultra Force One, these were the guys who would TRAIN them and they were the most
elite from every military in the world.

Israeli Special Forces, SAS, Navy Seals, Marines, you name it. They were given a budget that had to
be leaked from the Foundation and dozens of other sources. Even so, just about everyone expected
General Venom or Death Mask III to subvert this group like they had so many others.

Right before the group recovered a secret fortune of over ten billion dollars in cash and a database
listing every single dirty operative of PHANTOM as well as the House in the United States
government. The first year of Ultra Force One's operation was spent underground as a group called
The Renegades. They masqueraded as a soldier of fortune organization willing to take any job so
long as the price was right.

In the end, they shut down over three hundred operations of PHANTOM and the House worldwide.
It was actually Ultra Force One which exposed Dragon Industries and detonated the fallout-free
nuclear weapon in Molatov Air Force Base (destroying 90% of the Red Spider's assembled super-
weapons as well as their central command - destroying the organization and forcing Battle Czar to
move to East Wallachia in disgrace).

Ultra Force One has gone on close to a thousand ops since then, assembling tough teams best suited
for each mission. They have a 90% success ratio so far, which is impressive because the ten percent
failure rate is with a almost unanimous "suicide mission" description. Now here's the real kicker -
none of Ultra Force One's leadership is dirty. Nope, not a single one. They've successfully prevented
every single infiltration of the unit from PHANTOM to Tsavong to robots. Whoever designed this
team, designed its countermeasures well.

This isn't to say Ultra Force One is invincible and incorruptible. Its members are assembled from
some pretty strange backgrounds and the group has suffered heavy casualties on several missions.
They're willing to take a hit if they feel its going to actually start forcing back the groups that have
profited under appeasement-minded bureaucrats like Director Hepburn. Yet, a lot of its upper ranks
are also VERY old soldiers who have enough experience that Death himself is hesitant to collect their
souls.

While Ultra Force One has access to an immeasurable amount of technology and resources, its
members are remarkably low tech compared to the Foundation as a whole. They prefer real guns as
opposed to lasers and are more inclined to blow up a door than try and hack it electronically.
Standard training procedures encourage out of the box thinking that is best exemplified by this sort
of scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoOOpLpcF28

Ultra Force One's chief advantage is also the fact that most of its members are just this side of crazy.
The testing procedures broke the majority of soldiers it took and the psych exams actually weeded
out those who were loyal to their home nations above the human race as a whole. A few "bad" Ultra
Force teams have been created from the washouts, ironically going on to become enemies of the
team itself, but for the most part - they're a collection of genuine heroes.

Its biggest problem? Well aside from the ENTIRETY OF THE TERRORIST COMMUNITY WANTING TO
KILL THEM, it's the fact you never know if the other guy in the break room speaks your language
when you want to know if there's coffee left.

Ultra Force One Sub-Teams

Dark Angels: The pilots of a squadron of stealth-technology outfitted fighter jets. The Dark Angels
are all trained as special forces operatives as well. They are based on a similar team from the Golden
Age of superheroes. The group has an original time-lost member of the group leading it and a very
particular mission: to kill Count Reich II in a manner that sticks. Count Reich II killed the founder of
the group during WW2 and they have never given up their quest to avenge him.

Fathom Nine: The world's best anti-terrorist unit based around Naval vessels. Yes, that includes the
Atlantean Royal Guard. They obviously do a lot of anti-Merrow activity and coastal bombardment
but their favorite activity is HUNTING PIRATES. Seriously, that never gets old. They're also
responsible for the numerous Thunderball-esque adventures that the team is often called to
participate in.

Hell's Hammers: Ultra Force One's armored division, including mecha and armored warsuits. Hell's
Hammers is mostly a bunch of tank girls and boys who love getting down and dirty. Peculiarly, most
of them have IQs in the low 300s and more than a few of them were educated in the John Smith
Society. The engineers here are just as tough as anyone else, thinking up dirty but techie ways to
smash terrorism.

Amusingly, in the future, their descendants suspiciously resemble The Brotherhood of Steel from
Fallout.

Renegades: The 'black on black' group. The Renegades are officially washouts from the team who
are employed as mercenaries world wide. What's bizarre is, legally, that's really what they are.
Members of the Renegades are fired and there's no paper trail that says they haven't been. It's just
Ultra Force One has no problem dipping into their kitty to HIRE THEM BACK to do stuff they can't
legally do themselves.
In their spare time they fight crime, seriously.

Mongoose: Everyone UNANIMOUSLY hates the name but it's the collection of teams with the full-
time mission of wiping out the House of Serpents. They operate strictly on a "it's easier to ask
forgiveness than permission" basis which has allowed them to actually inflict serious setbacks to Jack
Washington III's mission. The members are mostly American, including several descendants of
America Force One members. However, just about everyone sincerely hates the House and intends
to see it brought low.

The Open Fist: Ninjas. Nuff said.

As for the organization as a whole, how does it survive its new Director? JW is secretly assisting
them. It's rumored that General Venom, the real one, is secretly their prisoner and supplying them
with intel.

The team has been known to engage in a number of "bug hunts" and vampire "catch and stakes" in
addition to its regular missions. Bizarrely, the team seems to have no problem believing in magic or
the supernatural despite Director Hepburn's complete loathing of it. Possibly because of the fact
PHANTOM once tried to kill them with a bunch of ghosts.

Ultra Force One Squadrons

The Menagerie: Not a team itself but a part of how you weed the men (and women) from the
boys (and girls) in Ultra Force One. It's the training camp FROM HELL.

A special forces regime where each member of the team is given an animal codename and a
color depending upon graduation (Blue Eagle, White Fox, Gray Panther, Crimson Snake, and
so on etc). The Menagerie is interesting because a LOT of graduates are Metamen but almost
none of them really rely on their powers as their chief tool. It's the exact opposite stance of
the Tomorrow Society. So it's less like Cyclops who is the best eye-blast guy in the world
than a Special Forces operative who has eye-blasts.

Interestingly, if you can find their secret headquarters they'll train you. It's recruited whole
squadrons of people who want to get in on fighting terrorism. Of course, it's also done very
good in wiping out infiltrators (usually when the camp is discovered - the HOV and
PHANTOM launch full-scale attacks, so far all of them have failed MISERABLY due to the
defenses set up around them).

The Menagerie has trained A LOT of veterans of the Genesis Island Civil War's losing side
(you know, the believers in democracy and freedom). One of the big scandals from Ultra
Force One is the fact that a number of the members went off to try and kill Dame Michelle
Holmes and only got stopped by JW. Even so, they WILL kill her and Jacob Hunter if they
have the chance. All of them want to avenge their former leader.

Tomorrow Force: Ultra-Force One's specific Metaman-related anti-terrorism brigade.

Everyone assumed they'd be typical Metamen hunters right up until they blew up a
Exterminator processing plant then killed forty members of the Knights for a Pure Mankind.
They've been VERY successful in locating the Knights (its notable that they are NOT a
protected group like the Church of Humankind but a terrorist organization like the KKK- a
fact some Metamen forget when they think there's no legal recourse against them). Tomorrow
Force has also a burning desire to wipe out the Gene Nation's militant offshoots and killed off
an entire cabal of Zealots.

Notably, its roughly half and half human versus Metamen with both sides believing in Doctor
Byrne's dream but being disillusioned with the Masses as people who perverted it.

Open Palm: Basically, Open Palm exists as the group designed to hunt down and wipe out
the Black Hand. Its members attempt to combine Ninjitsu with modern Special Forces
reconnaissance and stealth techniques. The team primarily works to eliminate key Black
Hand personnel and often operates in some pretty bizarre missions. Jacob Hunter is their
blind teacher and it contains several masters of Kung Fu style characters in addition to highly
skilled martial artists.

Open Palm also has a number of tragic cybernetic ninja monstrosities called the Reapers.
They are survivors of PHANTOM experiments to create Meteman assassins. Many of them
are suicidal death-seekers.

Sanction-Seven: A section of the team that doesn't officially exist, Sanction-7 answers to
high-level members of the NSA and DOD who no longer trust the United States government.
Sanction-7 works with the Renegades on unauthorized missions to expose connections
between the House of Serpents and the United States government. Bluntly, they're a kill
squad and everything they do is highly illegal. The team has lost three members to suicide
and had to execute one of their own when he attempted to go public.

Strangely, the group is SEVERELY troubled by their actions in defiance of 90s antihero
stereotypes. They're worried tremendously about becoming what they fight and only want to
undo what's been done to the USA before dismantling S7.

The 300: Right now, it's more like fifty with 250 waiting in the wings. The Red King once
bred a group of supersoldiers (150 males, 150 females) by cloning the world's best military
leaders and doing lego genetics (Doc Aeon, JW and his son, plus the Black Wings were
included) before it was stopped by the Patriots and the kids were taken off to foster homes in
the Silver Age. That was twenty years ago and they've been basically educated by the state
until the point they're ready to be the sueprsoldiers of the future.
Bizarrely, Ultra-Force One is holding them back against regular humans and has instead been
working on sending them abroad....very abroad. Yes, the 300 fight aliens. Often doing
wetworks on other planets and achieving VICIOUS victories. Amusingly, a lot of them use
codenames from video games with there being six or seven "Samus" amongst them. Master
Chief is actually their most common rank, of course.

Neither the Thran or the Tsavong have any idea Earth is engaged in covert operations against
them, even if these have included blowing up starports and even a fleet or two in retaliation
for actions on Earth. The idea that humanity is actively engaging in war on OTHER
PLANETS would actually...well to be honest, terrify them. Especially since the 300 use alien
technology mix-matched to the point it's roughly equivalent to Freedom city's Star Knights -
only with bigger guns.

Despite the fact they work with each other, UF1's members are often very uncomfortable
with the 300 and often try to help socialize them. For the ultimate badasses (which is a VERY
debtable topic given the company they keep - many team members outright trash them except
for their equipment) they are often fairly shy and awkward.

"It's like everyone is Rand'al'thor or an anime heroine."

Ultra Force One Military Strength

Ultra-Force One has a "core" membership of approximately 500 Special Soldiers, not including the
fifty "Space Marines" who are basically an oddball collection of children watched after by NASA and
a bunch of actual marines trained in space combat. These are the soldiers who have graduated the
Menegerie and go on all the sorts of oddball strange missions that our heroes expect to do.

Additionally, the group has close to 2,500 support personnel who maintain their machinery at all
times. What's interesting is that most people actually think Ultra Force One is much bigger than it
really is. They have some HUGE bases that are almost ghost towns for all intents and purposes.

This is due to the fact that Ultra-Force One is doing its very best to hide the Omega Directive that
was built by its founding members. Specifically, it's a rule where they might be called upon for the
purposes of coordinating the take down of the Foundation for World Harmony or, god forbid, the
United States from the HOV. In the Near-Future dystopia, they failed at both. Ultra Force One's
leadership is familiar with this horrific dystopia and hopes to protect both the nightmare world from
occurring.

Really, the only thing that's keeping them from just flat out murdering Jack Washington III is that
he's a ridiculously human robot (not a person) and shooting him is about as effective as killing a
cylon. They might still revert to that on the belief that it would at least prevent his Presidential bid.

Very troubling to Director Hepburn, Ultra Force One actually doesn't answer to him. It's under his
authority officially but he doesn't have the power to deploy it in one of the few sensible moves made
by the United Nations Security Council. As a result, the group almost universally loathes the Director
and he's nearly irrelevant to their missions. Instead, UF1 gets their orders from their home nations
and General Starr.

Ultra Force One has, in fact, actually crippled Director Hepburn's ability to deploy military force.
Dame Michelle Holmes could, if she wanted to, invade nations but UF1 has more or less supplanted
the Foundation for World Harmony's former peacekeeping role. Instead, the Director is largely
reduced to merely making suggestions to people in power and hoping they'll do bombing. He is
loathe to ever go to UF1's teams because he hates them with a passion, considering them people
who don't respect his authority.

To maintain good relations with the common fighting soldier of the team, UF1 often works with the
mainstream military forces of major world nations. As such, they maintain much of the Foundation
for World Harmony's former power DEFACTO of summoning all the militaries of the world to aid
them even if they no longer legally have it. General Starr. if he had to burn every bit of credit he had,
could probably get a WW3 invasion of Ruritania or East Wallachia or Zulan going. He's as you might
note, reluctant to do that.

Honestly, the team isn't growing at the rate they want as well. With the entirety of the world's
military forces at their disposal to pick and choose from, they have a desire to have 5,000 soldiers.
Unfortunately, they're stuck at their current numbers. They want PL 6 to PL 8 "skill alone"
supersoldiers with a few PL 10 Black Wing wannabees to boot. As a result, that's a pretty tall order
and the team has suffered almost five hundred casualties since it started its full-scale deployment in
January.

Obviously, they would annihilate themselves quickly at that rate if not for the fact they've inflicted
far heavier damage on all the world's major terrorist factions and won themselves some serious
street cred. They also annihilated the headquarters for the Thran's Gestappo-esque Doombringers
Judiciaries without them being clued in. Bluntly, even if they're good at what they do, they need
heroes and thinkers to make up the difference or Ultra-Force 1 will be a heroic but literally short-
lived group.

Sample Ultra-Force One members

General John Starr: Japanese American John Starr is the descendant of the daughter of a member of
the 47 Ronin and an American serviceman. Amusingly, he was the runner up for Dame Holmes
replacement before Director Hepburn (and eliminating the "usual suspects" of Alexander Timons,
Steven Sheperd, and Colonel Victory). Almost all of his men consider him a four star badass and a
hero when he's just as much a paper pusher as Director Hepburn. It's just he has moral intergity
equal and exceeding the absolute lack of it his "boss" does.

John Starr is destined to die at the hands of the White Warlock according to Crystal Ball. He suspects
this will handle soon but is fully prepared to meet his destiny with a stout heart.

Black Cobra: A former member of the Reapers, Black Cobra is a ninja who is capable of killing
virtually everything under the sun with his positronic katana (lifted from a deceased Thran warrior).
He barely ever speaks and is one of the team's "big guns" for dealing with everyone. Oddly, despite
his lethality, Black Cobra prefers to use stealth and sleep gas grenades rather than kill people - only
doing so as a last resort. Most believe him to be a Buddhist, which is true.

In fact, Black Cobra is a robot created by the Black Hand who rebelled because it had learned the
value of human life. The majority of the team would be surprised to find he's an inorganic being but
would probably not care in the long run.

Crimson Scorpion: Ashley Morgan's replacement from the House of Serpents, Elizabeth Morgan was
raised from near childhood by Ashley's cousins to be a killing machine then given an infusion of
Spider DNA that more or less gave her the powers of everyone's favorite webhead. A defector from
the House of Serpents, she actually still believes in its idealogy but believes that Jack Washington III
has betrayed it and the entire organization is a failure due to its terrorist activities. Instead, any
future House of Serpents would best be served as a nonviolent political movement.

Notably, she doesn't discuss politics with everyone and just acts as a cool professional killer. It's
often difficult for her due to the fact she looks like Scarlet Johanssen to an absurd degree.

Major Storm: A Pakistani Frenchman, Major Storm's family fled from Pakistan due to PHANTOM
soldiers massacring everyone for the drug trade. As a result, he's the one most gung ho about going
after criminals with their extra-legal authority. Due to the fact he's married and has children, his true
identity is classified. Major Storm is actually annoyed by the fact he's a Metaman with limited
weather-control abilities and has no desire to ever use them, mostly having educated himself in how
NOT to use them. This doesn't always work, sadly.

Gold Fox: A East German-born fighter pilot, Anya is pretty much the embodiment of the laddette.
Very few on the team, which includes METAMEN, can stomach as much beer as her without being
impaired. Anya is actually the adopted daughter of the Red Knight and while utterly lacking in his
scientific acuem, feels a sense of inherited guilt at his Nazi past and believes she can somehow atone
for him by proxy. Bizarre fact: due to being a veteran of the Orkus Invasion and the Psychotic Seven's
coup, she's actually approaching the Red Baron's kill score.

Crystal Ball: A blond haired Romani from Los Dios, California. She plays up a lot of stereotypes just to
mess with people but is actually a powerful Metaman psychic. She is also an excellent infiltrator,
master of disguise, and martial artist. Crystal Ball, she hates her name of Tiffany Plum, is well aware
of the future to an almost absurd degree. Ironically, this initially drove her to drugs and alcohol but
she was persuaded to become a operative for UF1 on the belief the future COULD be changed.

Crystal Ball, notably, never graduated the Menagerie despite being capable of and feigns being too
lazy.

Sailor Joe: An obnoxious shipman who pretty much exists to fulfill every Naval stereotype ever
written, Sailor Joe is actually a Navy seal as opposed to a member of any battleship crew. He
specifically joined Ultra-Force One because he could act the way he wanted with no repercussions
(much like Gregory House became a Doctor). Sailor Joe has an oddball tendency of getting into the
most trouble of any member of the group and has been kidnapped no less than thirteen times.

(I remind you, in a unit that's bee active a month and seven days. One day had it happen seven times
as UNITY attacked the base and captured him only for it to be attacked by the Black Hand followed
by mercenaries from Ares and a surprising number of bungled escape attempts which has to be seen
to be believed)

Sailor Joe, amusingly, became a seal because superheroes saved him as a child and he wanted to
repay the favor.

White Elephant: John Paul Henrickson hates this name and it's obviously a pun despite being earned
at the Menegerie. John's distaste is from the fact that despite appearing white and being very British,
he's actually biracial. Despite this, he looks straight out of a Burroughs novel. The illegitimate son of
Big Game Hunter with a London typist, he much prefers the codename Safari. John Paul is the
world's greatest tracker, hunter, and a brilliant warrior-poet. He also vacations in the Hollow Earth
where he's a minor potentate.

White Elephant more or less leads the team to all the lost ruins and oddball circumstances it finds
itself, being one of the team's regulars. He also has a Pet juvenile T-rex named "Max."

Renegade Notes
One would think that The Renegades were wash outs because they were not skilled enough. That is
actually far from the truth. Most of them washed out reasons like: Problems with authority, refusal
to wear a uniform of any sort or clothes for that matter, not believing in stealth at all, an out sized
sense of revenge, pyromania, criminal records in almost every EU country, etc.

Surprisingly, they work very well together. Having accomplished such things as:

-Completely destroying the totalitarian government of Santa Rosa. That was in revenge for non-
payment.
-Blowing up most of Castle Dracula.
-Breaking into Director Hepburn's office, kidnapping him, and holding him hostage in Alacatraz. This
was also for non-payment.
-A cross-country spree of destruction and bank robbing through Ruritania. JWIII paid for this.
-Fought the army of Nestoria to a standstill for three days while being outnumbered 15 to 1. They
were evacuating PHANTOM scientists to the EU akin to Operation: Paperclip.

It helps that their motto is "Everybody Pays". Basically, they will take any job from anybody as long
as it ends up hurting one of the "bad guys".

SpartaCorp

The world breathed a sigh of relief when Kenneth Kane was removed from office. He had never been
"proved" to be responsible the literally thousands of deaths and ruinations he perpetrated while
CEO of SpartaCorp but just about everyone suspected their Boss of it towards the end. The
secretaries were terrified of being terminated in the most literal manner possible, scientists were
terrified of being blamed for unethical experiments, and employees flat out had their families held
hostage.

Really, it takes a lot of EFFORT to make a corporation as evil as SpartaCorp. Oh sure, you can get
them to be willfully negligent all too easily. God forbid, it's incredibly easy to get people to be
greedy. However, it's a little harder to go the lengths Kenneth Kane did to just flat out make its
employees willfully part of terrorist activities when he employed over twenty-million people
worldwide. Even arms dealers and cigarette manufacturers have their standards after all.

Then Jack Washington III took over and the group got worse. No, seriously. No one knows how the
hell he's managed to pull it off but combining the wealth of SpartaCorp with the influence of the
House of Serpents has drastically raised the company's morale while actually taking to kicking dogs
FASTER. Part of this is the terrifying fact that, insane sociopath that he is, JWIII believes what he's
doing is for the greater good. Admittedly, it follows no greater good anyone rationally could believe
in but he's one of those blissfully self-deluded dictators.

Simply put, SpartaCorp is out to more or less form the equivalent of the American East India
Company world wide. It wants to be able to direct where the United States goes to war, where the
United States influence spreads (everywhere), and intends to foster conditions worldwide so that
interventionism is necessary on a constant basis. What's terrifying is he wants to rebuild America's
global alliances for this and have the American Empire friendly with the majority of its conquests.

The scary thing is not that he's pretty close to that (he is) but this is only his PUBLIC plan. The plan he
uses for all his ideological nutbar followers. Basically dictionary definition fascists who believe the
government and corporations should walk hand-in-hand with a nationalist authoritarian military.

His real plans are quite a bit worse.

Pentex from the old Werewolf: The Apocalypse game was more or less ridiculous in its size and scope
plus its aims but JWIII has managed to build something equally as huge. This is due to the fact that
the presidents of countless companies are actually Citizen's Militia members who acquire the
companies and take their orders directly from JWIII. He doesn't need to buy them or operate with
them. They more or less agree to any of his demands and he is now fully capable of manipulating the
stock market in bizarre and horrifying ways.

He's also branching out SpartaCorp vastly. It's no longer going to be "just" a gun manufacturer and
arms dealer but is going to be pushing its resources across virtually every imaginable venue. People
will breathe, eat, and defecate SpartaCorp products all with low-levels of brainwashing from JWIII.
He's already purchased several major brands of fast food, shopping, and so on that are ubiquitous in
American life. Hell, they're ubiquitous in other countries as well. He's even legitimized large portions
of the HOV's military by creating the world's five largest PMCs, all working directly for the USA as a
sort of American Foreign Legion.
This is fine, really. Rich supervillains aren't exactly new and he'd eventually run into the problem
Dracula and Kenneth Kane did. It's not hard to be evil and rich. It's hard, however, to be EVIL and not
have your very public assets seized. Jack Washington III is pushing the military, genetics, and so on
tech for a very good reason. He's intending to get as big a hold on it as humanly possible, literally
make it so that his resources are an integral part of human infrastructure.

Then he's going to blow it up.

As the cards fall, Jack figures as the only guy prepared for the end of humanity, he'll be the one in
the best position to pick up the pieces. After all, really, CEOs are less restrained than the President in
many ways but have less power. The President is much more restrained than CEOs.

So why settle for either when you can reign over hell as a god?

Freehold

Freehold is one of the oldest settlements in America, originally settled by exiles from Wales during
the reign of Queen Elizabeth. A vast amount of gold was paid to the crown as a bribe to allow the
settlers to leave, having been accused of many things from cannibalism to ritual sacrifice to papistry.
The settlers, of course, were in no way worshipers of the Pope and thus were allowed to leave
England safely and set up their colony on the shores of Massachusetts.

In truth, the Freeholders were not Satanists but a collection of mixed pagan/Otherworlders who
primarily venerated the Celtic gods as a set of angels who had fallen from God's grace but were still
allowed to have some dominion over humanity. A certain amount of Satanic influence afflicted the
colony but that was primarily due to Belial due to the fact that the Old Serpent had been driven out
of their lands by a Welsh Saint and who was now free to harass them (since said Saints bones were
not taken with them).

The colony was nearly wiped out before it was born by the Merrow, who considered the territory to
be theirs by right. In an early alliance between Native Americans and white settlers, the two joined
forced to drive the Merrow back into the sea. Later, a family of Englishmen called the Macneers
made an unholy pact with the Merrow, interbreeding with them in exchange for both magic as well
as gold from the sea bed. The Macneers were driven out but their followers went on to found the
village of Lowtown which was eventually joined with Freehold once the town expanded and the old
legends died down.

Local hero and pirate, Michael O'Hara became famous along with Saint Alyssa during the early days
of New World when the two of them bound The Kraken beneath the city after the Lowtowners
summoned it in order to kill all of the non-believers in the New World. The Kraken, actually a half-
Merrow/half-Entropic Master demigod, was then bound beneath Freehold's bay and became known
as the "Beast of Pirate's Bay." It still appears in dreams and occasionally free a tentacle or two to
drown swimmers or lure lovers to their doom. Michael's statue still stands in the center of Freehold
and his descendants are still famous, being almost as politically prominent as the Kennedys.
Witch-hunting fever eventually afflicted Freehold and drove its pagan worshipers underground with
almost a hundred hangings. The irony of this is that it caused many of the previously white witches
of the region to turn to genuine worship of Belial and the Entropic Masters. As a result, Freehold has
remained a center for a low-level occult war between various factions ever since.

Freehold was at the center of the American Revolution, being a place where the British set up a
major headquarters and inadvertently ****ed off a lot of the locals. Fleeing renegade mystics of the
European Illuminati proceeded to recruit many of the local Masonic lodges into their ranks, creating
the grounds for the American branch. Anti-Royalist, The Bluecoat, waged a vigilante war against
loyalists during this time, though his activities were far from benign. German mercenary Karl Mueller
would fight as a human during this time period, inflicting staggering casualties on the rebels while
also murdering literally hundreds of monsters freed from Freehold mystic's prisons (the violence of
the revolution violating their prisons).

Troublesome for Karl, he's heard that more than forty families claimed illegitimate children by him
and while he only has one son in the Modern Era, he isn't sure he can discount the possibility that
most of modern day freeport can claim heritage from him. It would explain the town's "spooky"
nature. Post the Revolutionary War, the town would become a center of the Illuminati's double-
dealing and where much of the plans to create an American Empire were formed. The Lodge of the
Serpent would be founded centuries before the House yet make use of much of the same imagery.

By the time of the Great Depression, Freehold was a major port that created its own boardwalk
rivaling Atlantic City. Falling under the sway of local crime boss, Boss Ronald O'Hara gambling was
legalized within certain parts of the city and it became a place where prohibition was more or less
was ignored. The gang violence was terrible and eventually got just plain weird with the introduction
of vampires.

The city fell under a shadow and it would not be freed from that shadow until the arrival of Ink Spot.
Ink Spot, known as the "Scientiffic Hero", was more of an occult investigator than anything else.
Through the late 1930s, inspired by Doc Aeon, he was involved in literally dozens of supernatural
cases. While not a scientist himself, he represented the banner of reason in the minds of the public.
A secret society of inventors, called the Knights of Aether joined him with the Starling Family, The
Golden Alchemist, and The Invisible Queen. Most of these ended up dead but they broke the power
of the dark supernatural forces over the town and also ended up assisting the FBI in taking down
Boss O'Hara.

During the 1940s the town became host to the Liberty Men and the bad guys were simply clobbered
every weekend when all of America's best heroes came into the city to talk shop. The FBI, with the
assistance of the Liberty Men, raided much of the remaining holdouts and Lowtown mysteriously
burned to the ground in The Great Lowtown Fire. Only a small number of people died in the fire
itself, officially, but reports claimed that the fire was sparked by some sort of Treasury Department
raid. Few of the agents involved could later be reached for comment.

After WW2, President Einsenhower named Freehold the location where much of the United States'
'hard superhuman' research would be done. No longer trusting Project: Icarus, they became working
on physics experiments related to super-technology as well as alien devices. Project: Icarus,
amusingly, ended up building several labs in the location just because so much new technology was
coming out of Freehold's labs. Doctor Aeon created the first John Smith Society Institution there
before his disappearance.

The place would eventually be renamed the Freehold Institute of Technology after they accidentally
summoned Typhon with a radio mating call. Even so, FIT remains a center for oddball researchers
and is only slightly less eccentric than the Utah JSS headquaters. It is here the majority of
supervillains and heroes that now work throughout the city were born. A bizarre rivalry exists in
Freehold between the science criminals and the more supernaturally inclined ones with the former
often refusing to believe in the later, despite the fact that magic is a documented phenomenon in
Heroic Earth. Likewise, the supernatural wizards and cultists of the town often try to diss science
whenever possible despite the fact that science heroes routinely smash their summoned gods and
monsters down.

Modern Freehold is a much larger city than Boston and much more influential, being roughly the size
of Freedom City. Protected by Splotch, the city could use a much larger number of heroes within its
ranks even though he is constantly trying to save it from the flamboyant number of criminals which
makes it their home. The city is VERY politically active and the headquarters of the House of
Serpents is underneath it. This has, of all things, resulted in a staggering number of advanced
weapons ending up in the hands of local criminals and street toughs. Despite this, the locals aren't
particularly living in a shadow of fear.

For whatever reason, the criminals of Freehold have CLASS.

Freehold Notes

Freehold. Slip of the tongue.

Or a quirk of the finger - it's honestly a fair enough mistake to make (I know that I sometimes
have difficulty keeping the various worlds turning in my imagination, in the same way a
plate-spinner has difficulty keeping the china on the pole!).

I may still tease you a little about it anyway: we'll have to wait and see.

(Remember the HOS' headquarters is under the city)

I do, in fact - one of the major reasons I placed America Force 1s old Home Base in Los
Dios, instead of one of the spiritual homes of the American Spirit was because the mental
image of them briefly setting up shop in the area then getting wind of the major HoS
concentration in the area before exercising the better part of valour was slightly depressing
(and possibly accurate).

Also because my mental image of them as spiritual heirs to the Big Men of American Tall
Tales had pretty much solidified at that point and where else would modern myth-killers set
up shop other than beautiful Los Dios?

Freehold is one of the oldest settlements in America, originally settled by exiles from Wales
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

In truth, the Freeholders were not Satanists but a collection of mixed pagan/Otherworlders
who primarily venerated the Celtic gods as a set of angels who had fallen from God's grace
but were still allowed to have some dominion over humanity.

Most of the colonist leadership was drawn from those born in the region of Anglesey (aka
Yns Mon), once the heart of the Druidic faith in Britain and still of interest to the majority of
Celtic Cosmic Eternals, even if those who worshipped openly them have had to keep their
little theological peculiarities very, very quiet since Saint Cybi set up on Holy Island - mostly
to avoid attracting more monks!

A certain amount of Satanic influence afflicted the colony but that was primarily due to
Belial due to the fact that the Old Serpent had been driven out of their lands by a Welsh Saint
and who was now free to harass them (since said Saints bones were not taken with them).

Amusingly Belial COMPLETELY denies the whole affair, since it would be somewhat
embarrassing for him to admit that he'd been driven off by Welshman TWICE OVER (Saint
Patrick being a Welshman, or something close enough to one, for all that he'd made his life's
work in neighbouring Ireland).

The colony was nearly wiped out before it was born by the Merrow, who considered the
territory to be theirs by right. In an early alliance between Native Americans and white
settlers, the two joined forced to drive the Merrow back into the sea.

Casualties amongst both settlers and natives were so high that both came near to extinction
before a considerable degree of intermarriage occurred and the second major wave of
immigrants from the Old Country arrived - in this case containing a significant Irish
Minority, taking their inspiration from the Flight of the Earls and in many cases fleeing the
Plantations of Ulster.

History fails to record this in any legible form because most of the English clerks found one
Celtic vernacular as incomprehensible as another - allowing this Irish contingent to pass itself
off as being as Welsh as Edward of Carnarfon. Well, that and the eyesight-affecting
consequences of having one's palm crossed with silver.

Later, a family of Englishmen called the Macneers made an unholy pact with the Merrow,
interbreeding with them in exchange for both magic as well as gold from the sea bed.

Not to mention the security only putting an entire ocean between themselves and their own
personal nemesis Saul King could give them. Given that he largely operated on the right-hand
side of the Atlantic until the dawn of the 18th Century, it wasn't a bad bargain (despite having
only Evil consequences for the World).
Michael's statue still stands in the center of Freehold and his descendants are still famous,
being almost as politically prominent as the Kennedys.

Family legends that Saint Alyssa was the foremother of their lineage (and that Michael
O'Hara regarded getting past her drawers as a touch more difficult than thwarting the Kraken,
she being a good Catholic Nun and a Saint to boot) remain current, despite almost certainly
having only this for a grain of truth:

Michael O'Hara loved chasing what he had no honest business catching.

Witch-hunting fever eventually afflicted Freehold and drove its pagan worshipers
underground with almost a hundred hangings. The irony of this is that it caused many of the
previously white witches of the region to turn to genuine worship of Belial and the Entropic
Masters.

There is considerable evidence that it was this wave of hangings (most of which involved no
sentence of Witchcraft, taking place as they did during the first quarter of the 17th Century,
when such things were going out of vogue, none of which fooled the locals in the least) and
the ensuing backlash of genuine practitioners turning down the Left-Hand Path were what
drew Saul King to Freehold for the first time.

To say he was not happy with the prevailing state of affairs is a considerable understatement.

Freehold was at the center of the American Revolution, being a place where the British set up
a major headquarters and inadvertently ****ed off a lot of the locals. Fleeing renegade
mystics of the European Illuminati proceeded to recruit many of the local Masonic lodges
into their ranks, creating the grounds for the American branch.

There are suspicions (in fact there are MANY suspicions when it comes to Freehold's shadow
history, since the cabals involved tended to find rivals to be so numerous that raising their
head above the parapet to be about as survivable as jumping into a shark tank while bleeding)
that what REALLY ticked off the locals was the fact that the British contingent garrisoned in
the town contained a significant number of representatives of those factions which had
chased the local Illuminati across the Atlantic.

To be more accurate this scared the spirit out of the local Illuminati, who swiftly took
advantage of local protests against certain political acts of Parliament to whip up a certain
amount of trouble for their pursuers and a smokescreen for their speedy departure - even they
were a bit surprised when this led to bloody Civil War across the 13 colonies.

Anti-Royalist, The Bluecoat, waged a vigilante war against loyalists during this time, though
his activities were far from benign.

Almost equally-efficient and unpleasant was his primary opponent, one Captain Crown, an
American Loyalist whose attitude towards Patriots was no more warm-hearted than that of
'The Blue-coated Slave of Satan and Son of Hell'* was towards Tories.
*Modern histories tend to trim the name a bit: Karl Mueller remains just a little bit amused
that the figure most associated with Hell in Freehold during the Revolution wasn't HIM.

German mercenary Karl Mueller would fight as a human during this time period, inflicting
staggering casualties on the rebels while also murdering literally hundreds of monsters freed
from Freehold mystic's prisons (the violence of the revolution violating their prisons).

Troublesome for Karl, he's heard that more than forty families claimed illegitimate children
by him and while he only has one son in the Modern Era, he isn't sure he can discount the
possibility that most of modern day freeport can claim heritage from him.

Rumour has it that seeing entire families impregnated by a potential Antichrist was the last
straw for a lot of those worshippers of the Celtic Cosmic Eternals who'd clung on in Freehold
- most of them would move westward with almost unseemly haste after the war was done,
eventually winding up in Los Dios.

After that the occult scene in Freehold became just a wee bit morally grey.

Falling under the sway of local crime boss, Boss Ronald O'Hara gambling was legalized
within certain parts of the city and it became a place where prohibition was more or less was
ignored.

O'Hara has since been described 'as more Joe Kennedy than Al Capone' - being more
interested in expanding his political power by doing favours for ALL his constituents than in
falling in line with the Phantom League (to the point where local government was
outstanding in it's contribution to the hunt for the Black Phantom).

Ironically, his son would become EXTREMELY Electable by virtue of his activities as an
anti-crime crusader and failed to achieve anything more than local success only due to the
fact that he was obliged to take his father down for his ties with the local gangs to do it.

Ronnie kicked himself for a month after that one.

The gang violence was terrible and eventually got just plain weird with the introduction of
vampires.

Interestingly Freehold at this time was a heck of a lot worse than FALCONCREST in terms
of gang violence - it wasn't until after the vampire showed up that the local Irish and Italian
mobs buried the hatchet (in this case in the skull of the first Vampire Boss, although that
didn't keep him down for long) and local crime began to be organised in the Ankh-Morpork
style.

A secret society of inventors, called the Knights of Aether joined him with the Starling
Family, The Golden Alchemist, and The Invisible Queen.

The Knights of Aether at the time being a cabal of inventive types who admired King
Arthur only slightly less than they did Doc Aeon - rumours that Merlin was an associate of
theirs at this time are probably only partially accurate.

The Starling Family can best be described as two generations of Law Enforcement (local
and national) working as one, working their way around the jurisdictional conflicts so
elegantly engineered by Ron O'Hara mostly by virtue of the fact that it's sort of hard to
sustain arguments with your own family when they aren't personal.

The Golden Alchemist was a probably-foreign gentleman of colour who'd been drawn to the
city by it's unique mixture of science and magic - then kept there by genuine philanthropy
and the fact that he'd only be offering up his back for a stabbing if he took the road out of
town.

The Invisible Queen remains more obscure than all the rest put together, but appears to have
been a chess-obsessed genius kept housebound by sheer physical sloth and able to make a
significant impact on the Underworld never-the-less by virtue of the squadron of agents kept
close at hand.

Few of the agents involved could later be reached for comment.

Sadly at least half could only be reached care of Lovecraft Asylum.

A bizarre rivalry exists in Freehold between the science criminals and the more
supernaturally inclined ones with the former often refusing to believe in the later, despite the
fact that magic is a documented phenomenon in Heroic Earth.

This is more by virtue of the fact that refusing to believe in something is a pretty valid
strategy when it comes to beings which tend to react to faith like an opium fiend reacts to the
prospect of a quick fix - also because the varied and amusing reactions of frequently-
flabbergasted (or just annoyed) mystics really lightens a science-heroes day.

For whatever reason, the criminals of Freehold have CLASS.

Also a wide range of very large and shiny implements of destruction, as well as an ongoing
internal feud (Science Vs Magic again) which keeps them pointing their nastier colleagues at
one another, rather than the population.

Samhain I-IV

Oswald Macneer was the third son of the Macneer's final remaining in-bred branch. His mother was,
in her own way, deeply committed to preventing the family from falling into the ancient pagan roots
of its ancestry. So she devoted herself to becoming a Calvinist of the absolute worst sort, being the
sort of mother that Tom Riddle and Carrie were born of. Oswald, himself, was mentally ill from an
early age and prone to arsonist tendencies. The beatings did little to discourage them and when he
finally killed the old biddy by burning her alive in their apartment, he ended up taking the entire city
block with him.
Ironically, his absentee father had taken out a life insurance policy on her and in lieu of his
abandonment both Oswald and his brothers were the beneficiaries. Adopted by a much nicer family
that was only slightly weirded out by their cruel, bullying, and positively surreal children - they all
succeeded in their own way. Oswald, himself, sought higher answers. Determined to revenge
himself in some small way against God, he became involved in Freehold's thriving occult scene.

The occult scene being slightly more respectable in this world than our own, Oswald was the kind of
puppy killing black-wearing Satanist teen that parents groups feared corrupted their youth. Bizarrely,
given Freehold was the kind of community prone to love and tolerance for its diversity, this
completely escaped most. Ironically, Oswald never made any contact with supernatural entities or
achieved any results with his spells. Bluntly, all the malevolent powers of the universe could tell he
was hopelessly evil so there was nothing he could offer them.

Still, Oswald believed if he just 'believed' enough he could achieve success. His last major attempt
was when he sacrificed his foster parents to Arawn by causing their brakes to fail in a fiery crash.

Oswald's youngest brother, Enoch, was the darling of the family and soon devoted himself to
becoming an inventor. Getting himself a scholarship to F.I.T, Oswald decided that his brother would
be his meal ticket and became a Master of business in both senses of the word. Setting himself with
SpartaCorp, he became a headhunter of talent. Oswald was very good at getting impressionable
young minds to sign over the rights to their theories and works before they were aware of the full
benefits. He was also very good at getting the less talented to spy on the corporations that hired
them for peanuts on the espionage they did.

Oswald was a very wealthy man by the time he was thirty-five and actually getting help with his
pyromania, only killing his therapists twice to prevent them from going public. That was when the
Stein Brothers appeared in their superheroic identities and he instantly recognized them as
harnessing the power of the Annihilation Zone. They were, undoubtedly, the heralds spoken of in
sacred pages of Orkus he'd inherited from his grandparents. Splotch and Ink soon found themselves
harassed on a near daily basis by superpowered mercenaries hired by Oswald.

Frustrated by the lack of success in acquiring him "real" occult power, Oswald decided to capture
them himself. Suiting up his stupid but thuggish brother, Herod, in a special power-suit they were
testing; he unleashed Samhain, the Master of Halloween. Oswald, bizarrely, grew jealous of his
brothers frustrated attempts to defeat them and ultimately ended up murdering his brother in order
to claim the identity for his own. He believed, erroneously, that his new found costumed identity
would cause the Entropic Masters to contact him.

This failed.

Oswald ended up getting captured a year later, arrested for the murder of Dorothy Parker, the
fiance of Noah Stein. Death Mask III used this opportunity to frame Oswald for many of his own
crimes, resulting in him being institutionalized and the key thrown away. This lead to Enoch Macneer
trying to avenge his brother. Enoch was afflicted with a split personality, believing that the spirit of
Halloween was possessing him at times. In the end, Enoch ended up exploding his Demon Glider and
was presumed killed.

Splotch thought that was the end of Samhains reign of terror.

He was wrong.

Ichabod Hallows became the fourth Samhain, a Hamilton University professor who served as the
dark avenger of fear for much of the nineties and later 21st century. Ichabod Hallows was much
more psychological and dark than his fellows. Recently, he was captured by the Patriots and interned
in Super-Alcatraz for a sentence of two hundred and fifty years.

Ichabod Hallows, it should be noted, was in no way a relation to the other Samhains. In fact, he
actually began his career after being their therapist in prison. He was conducting a study on
supercriminals and abnormal psychology which lead him to create the belief there was a line of
mnemonic descent between them. This, of course, was later proven to be nonsense but it was this
sort of theatricality which lead Ichabod Johnston to change his last name to Ichabod Hallows.

Amusingly, the other Samhains TRULY *HATED* Ichabod for his usurpation of the mantle and
employed plenty of catspaws in order to try and get it back from them. Only recently has that
become possible due to the man's ignoble defeat.

Oswald was recently released from the sanitarium, "evidence" having come up he was not
responsible for the many crimes of Death Mask III or himself.

HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHhahahaha.

Samhain appears as a burning jack-o-lantern headed scarecrow wearing a suit of power armor that
gives him exceptional strength as well as enhanced spacial awareness. Samhain possesses a wide
variety of technologically based tricks and "magic" designed to imitate magic. These include
exploding pumpkins, raven-shaped boomerangs, and a bat-shaped glider. In all of his incarnations,
his public persona is completely mad.

The Renegades

When Deputy Hepburn reaches for his antacid, it is most likely he just read a briefing on the latest
exploits of The Renegades. After he takes his tums, he then calls General Starr and demands to know
if he was the one that hired them. To put it bluntly, if their targets didn't happen to be worse people
then themselves most would consider them one of the single most destructive forces on the planet.
Up there with UNITY, PHANTOM, and the House of Serpents. That is saying something for a group
that numbers about 20 at its height. There are three main reasons for this: 1) The group welcomes a
certain type of crazy. Your average Spec Ops soldier is a calm and collected individual. The average
recruit for The Renegades is a violence prone adrenaline junkie. They relish combat, they also are
supremely creative in the application of said violence. 2) They don't care about a criminal record.
This would normally muster out anybody in the regular armed forces, for the Renegades that is
resume building material. As long as you follow the few rules they have and play relatively nice with
their teammates all is good. Violate those rules and you end with two in back of the head in a bog
somewhere. 3) They know they are expendable. Legally they can't rely on anybody but themselves
so dodging local authorities, the various organizations they have bloodied, the Foundation, and even
Ultra Force 1 have bred a certain creative ruthlessness into the members.

The Renegades get most of their work from General Starr to do things that Ultra Force 1 can't do
officially or where the risk is too great. Ultra Force 1 can't go into Ruritania and blow up Death
Mask's latest death ray but The Renegades can. To do this, Starr has been using old Illumanati
resources and channels. This could backfire as the criminal underworld is getting sporadic reports
that the Illumanati is not quite dead. Besides, General Starr the Renegades will take work from
anybody including other villains as long as they are attacking other bad guys. The Renegades will be
quite happy killing a Death's Head cell for UNITY one week and then the next breaking into a UNITY
data center to steal some servers the next. On their downtime they do fight crime, though they don't
see it as heroism. Its training.

Still with all their ruthless creativity, the body count is pretty high. The average lifespan for a
Renegade soldier is three months. So, if you meet a member that has been around longer than that
know that you are looking at a very dangerous individual.

Long Term Members

"Why do we have codenames? We aren't some spandex wearing b*****!
"If we didn't have codenames, everybody would know you are Sven Olafsson and wanted in almost
every country in Europe for acts of mayhem. We couldn't get you a passport"

Big Dog: Big Dog has been around in Soldier of Fortune circles forever. His resume reads like a list of
every hotspot in the world for the last 30 years. In the 80s it was Afghanistan and Africa. In the 90s
Bosnia, Burma, and Columbia. In the 2000s Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan again. When General
Starr was looking for someone to help evaluate and select members for Ultra Force 1, Big Dog was
the top of his list. It was then were the form and function of The Renegades was first discussed. After
helping Starr form the first generation of what eventually became Ultra Force 1, Big Dog was given
the freedom to recruit his own team from the scraps and washouts of Ultra Force 1. It is said that
organization adopt the attitude of their leader. This is very much the case with the Renegades. Big
Dogs life as a mercenary has taught him to regard combat as an any means necessary fight. There
are no rules of engagement.

Big Dog is a man in his late 50s and while he doesn't go out on missions often, he is still dangerous.
He is skilled enough to shoot out Black Wings zip line with a pistol when Black Wing is in full swing.
Supreme usually sends a HoS hit squad to kill him on his birthday since Big Dog is one of the few
baseline humans to ever stymie him. Suffice to say this is usually a death sentence for whichever
unlucky members get sent on it.

Alligator: A Cuban-American metaman. Alligator is a disgraced CIA operative. His metaman abilities
make him more durable and a little stronger then the average human. He lifts in about the 1 ton
range. Alligator was drummed out of the CIA due to his style of operation being a little bit louder and
a little more hands on than the CIA would like. Louder in the case of a trail of bodies and large
explosions and more hands on in the fact that Alligator is wanted on 14 counts of murder in Mexico.
Alligator is proficient with most small arms and explosives. On his right arm he has a self generating
carbon fiber zip line launcher which he can use for a variety of purposes. Alligator usually wears a
gator leather teflon backed vest, gator leather cowboy boots, and a silver cross into battle.

Bull Bull started his career with the Danish Navy. Finding that the military wasn't a good fit due to his
problems with authority. Being dishonorably discharges for fighting his superior officer. Bull soon
joined an outlaw biker gang and rose quickly through the ranks in part to his sheer propensity for
violence. Leading the gang for several years, Bull racked up an impressive number of warrants
throughout Europe. Again finding that even life with a bunch of hardened criminals couldn't sate his
lust for action and violence, Bull signed up for The Renegades. It seems that he has truly found his
calling, the life provides him with near constant battle and Bull smiles like a maniac through all of it.
Describing explosions and gunfire like the most beautiful music to him. Bull is a tall man with black
hair and lot of tattoos. He has two full arm sleeves and a large bulls head on his chest. He doesn't
prefer any particular weapon except for one that is loud and can cause a lot of damage. He wears
motorcycle boots, chains, and a leather motorcycle vest into battle. Even though he left his gang, no
one is dumb enough to try and reclaim the gangs colors from him.

Ace: The groups helicopter pilot. He actually would of made Ultra Force 1 except that it was
discovered that Ace wouldn't fly if he wasn't properly dressed for battle. Properly dressed being the
helicopter pilots helmet and radio and a kilt with nothing else. Yep, Ace says that he flies best when
he flies almost nude. In fact, it was found that Ace could barely fly when forced to wear an actual
pilots uniform. He was drummed out but Big Dog snatched him up and let him fly with whatever he
wanted to wear. Figuring that if someone gets upset about being flown around by a half naked dude
then The Renegades are probably not the best place for them.

Rock-On: A heavy weapons and demolition specialist. Rock-On was washed out of Ultra Force 1 due
to a fascination with fire and explosions that no sane person should have. A Frenchman of Algerian
descent Rock-On usually serves as the Renegades door gunner and usually sings, badly, in the middle
of battle. His artist of choice is Elton John. Rock-On is not allowed to detonate any explosives but he
can make them. He tends to sit down and watch any explosion with no regard for what is going on
around him. Rock-On has scrawled on his M2 "This Machine Kills Fascists".

California: A female sniper. Despite the cold sniper cliche, California is endlessly chatty. Filling the
radio with all sorts of babble. This doesn't seem to effect her ability in anyway but is the reason she
got drummed out of Ultra Force 1. Though she seems like an airhead if you stick around her very
long you begin to pick up the double meaning behind her words. While it seems like she is talking
about nothing, she is actually calling targets and giving scouting information. Its just so heavily
entrenched in babble that anybody listening in would wonder why they would take along such a
person. Her mouth never stops off mission either.

Hamilton University

Hamilton University, the Harvard of the Weird.

Hamilton University is one of the oldest institutions in the United States, having been
founded before the Revolutionary War by immortal necromancer Randolf Curwen. Curwen
University was renamed, however, due to the fact that its original alumni ended up being
implicated in black mass rituals. In a surprising bit of foresight they left Randolf's
considerable occult library alone. Later, many alumni left their own expanded selection of
supernatural texts.

The library, for the most part, is fairly harmless. You're more likely to find a vast catalog of
demon types, the ecology of the Penanggalan, and maps of Mammaloth's lost pyramids than
you are to finding books on how to summon the various evil creatures most wizards desire to.
These things exist, unfortunately, but most are locked away in the special collection.

Randolf was also intelligent enough to keep his actual spellbooks hidden, encoded with a
cipher to appear as ledgers for his business. Despite this, the Hamilton Library has no less
than a dozen pages from the Book of Orkus and several insane texts written from individuals
attempting to decipher how to use them - God help them.

Unlike Mass Castle, Hamilton University doesn't really have any overt signs of its
supernatural heritage and is more creepy than magical. The vines are overgrown and smell
vaguely unclean while the mortar is always crumbling even on the new buildings. Shadows
have a little too much substance and there is a dreariness that clings to everything. The
university's fraternities are mixtures of close knit secret societies and outright cults while its
classes include such cheery topics as "The Black Death" and "Witchcraft of the 17th
century."

A big irony is the majority of these spooky classes go in one ear and out the other of the
students. They're taken less for the chance to learn about the bleaker chapters of human
history and more for the credits. It does, however, mean that the majority of college-educated
Freeholders have a surprising knowledge of depressing subjects.

Part of the issue is that its more supernaturally inclined professors believe outright in the
"Things man was not meant to know" adage. They do not believe that the general public is
ready to know about magic and while they're the best resource in the nation about "proven"
magic, they tend to do their best to hide it from all but the worthiest individuals. They may be
correct in this as a staggering number of prospective students come looking for knowledge
about how to summon demons or bend souls to their will. The peculiar aura around the city
undoubtedly tends to attract a darker sort than most, anyway.

Ironically, they're working at cross-purposes with the less magically orientated staff. The
sciences department are filled with individuals determined to disprove magic through all
manner of biological and physics-based experiments. The rate of disasters with these
experiments from Living Mummies to Electrical Ghosts to Wolfweres is pretty high.
Contrary to what you'd think, these dramatic results just cause more attention to be paid to
their findings.

There's actually a somewhat hilarious pool between students of FIT and Hamilton University
over who produces the most supervillains. Hamilton is currently in the lead due to the fact
that they have the works of Doctor Henry Moreau on file but FIT would pull in the lead if it
was known how many House of Serpents mercenaries got their start as poorly paid alumni.

The John Smith Society also makes it a point to EMPLOY plenty of people from these locals
even if they don't educate them. Doctor Aeon, himself, was a graduate of Hamilton
University for approximately six of his seventeen Doctorates.

Hamilton University has an extremely well-funded anthropology department and is infamous

for sending its manned expeditions off into the lost corners of the Earth to document ancient
civilizations. Hamilton University frustrates many news reporters and documentarians due to
the fact that, for whatever reason, most of its professors are more interested in rare spiders
found in the lost cities they uncover than the lost cities themselves. This may help explain
why janitors finding ancient powerful medallions in the basement is a common occurrence
(though, frankly, you'd be amazed at what's in the basement of most regular museums and
universities).

The pride of the anthropology department is, of course, Reggie the Tyrannosaurus Rex
skeleton. While the Freehold zoo has living dinosaurs due to Hamilton-funded expeditions to
the Hollow Earth, Reggie remains the largest specimen ever discovered. Reggie, of course,
has been animated on several occasions only to be pummeled him back into extinction.
Expect quite a few howls every time this occurs as the teams are meticulous about making
sure he goes back to his original state.

Hamilton University has a thriving athletics program almost in spite of the vast resources
poured into its odder subjects. The Freehold Razorbacks are not exactly blowing away the
competition from Falconcrest and New Amsterdam, however. Still, the student body tries and
they've been said to have one of the best cheerleading sections in the nation. Ironically,
despite their teams usually sucking.

Just off the campus, still serving coffee is, the Cup of Joe cafe. Ink Spot's original cafe from
the 1940s, it remains owned and operated by Noah and Joel's cousins. The place doesn't
really have much in the way of supernatural or oddball influences but superheroes get their
drinks free. No one knows, exactly, how they know but it just happens. This is due to the fact
there's gremlins in the back.

Seriously.

No, you can't see them.

Stain I, Stain II, and Bloodstain

There is nothing more infuriating than jumping at the call only to find out that the call was looking
for someone else.

Moses Stein is the great-grandson of Jenny Sprockets and Ink Spot, just the same as Joel and Noah.
Unlike Joel and Noah, childhood friends, his parents treasured their superheroic ancestry. They
raised Moses with the belief that one man could make a difference, all that it took for evil to triumph
was good men to do nothing, blah blah blah. At the age of twenty-five, Moses was researching
Annihilation Zone energy in hopes of duplicating his ancestors' ring.

Then his cousins discovered their ancestor's ring and unlocked their shadow-powers. Here's where
fate was just CRUEL. Had Moses just gone to his cousins with his suspicions and asked to be let in on
it, they would have shared the ring with him. The really insane part? Most likely, they would have
discovered the ring is a placebo and capable of permanently granting shadow-slinging powers to
anyone who wore it. Well, anyone of Ink Spot's bloodline, at least.

Instead, Moses felt cheated and angry that his cousins refused to come clean with him (their
identities were plainly obvious to anyone who knew what to look for, after all). Moses decided to
continue his research and ended up being recruited by a disguised Doctor Necros to create a replica
of their ring.

Given the original ring was invented by a Thran scientist using technology sixty-five million years
more advanced (Thran are ***** scientists due to their relentless warmongering and strict
adherence to idealogy but that's still a lot), it's an accomplishment he got as close as he did.

The duplicate ring gave him all the abilities of Splotch and Ink plus super-strength besides.
Unfortunately, it also infused his mind with Annihilaton Zone radiation and drove him as mad as
Doctor Necros. Even worse, the ring exploded and infused his body with a THING from another
reality, one which turned his jealousy into a full-blown split personality. Moses began to believe that
his brothers sabotaged his experiment and had tried to murder him. Stain, thus, vowed revenge on
the "evil" brothers.

During the Iron Age, Stain briefly merged with the Shadow Demon and only killed "evil" people in a
list that rapidly expanded from its original definition of rapists and murderers. This "Dark Defender"
period of his life is considered the absolute ebon of superheroism in Heroic Earth, even lower than
the Psychotic Seven coup since people were actually cheering Stain on despite his numerous past
atrocities.

Ultimately, it ended when Stain joined the Psychotic Seven's coup and nearly murdered the
President's children before Moses shattered the Shadow Demon's control (assisted by a hefty
beating from Splotch).

Moses has regained lucidity several times since then. Uniformly, his reaction to the dozens of
murders he's committed has been one of horror and remorse. He's even attempted to commit
suicide, believing his actions to be the result of the Shadow Demon inside him. Sadly, each time, his
split-personality has kicked in and rescued him from death. A few times it's even manifested
supernatural powers beyond those of his normal abilities, such as a healing cocoon.

What's especially tragic is Moses' family has suffered tremendously for their actions. While their
identities are still secret, the Stein family is as known for producing Stain as anyone else. Worse,
Moses was newly married with a baby when he became Stain and his wife has been harassed by the
Shadow Demon repeatedly. Several of Stain's former victims have also come after them, hoping to
either hurt him by harming his family or using them to lure the monster out.

Currently, Moses has managed to seemingly rid himself of the Shadow Demon and his powers. He's
converted to Christianity, much to the disgust of his family, and is presently free due to the ample
evidence he wasn't responsible for his crimes. Splotch, unlike Black Wing, is genre savvy enough to
believe that the other show is going to drop every second.

He thinks Stain is going to return at any minute to murder both his brother and himself. Obviously,
Moses' family wants nothing to do with him either. Moses, of course, wants to atone for his crimes
and is presently seeking out heroes to assist him. If the Shadow Demon DOES return, most likely it
will target them first.

Stain II

Baldwin Lurhman, a.k.a the Badger absolutely despised being a perpetual B-lister. Blessed with fairly
useful Metamen abilities including super-strength, endurance, and the ability to bore through solid
rock with his claws - he was also a guy who had the dorkiest name in the world. It didn't help that he
was accursed with a desire to eat slightly rotted food. Having been beaten up literally dozens of
times by Splotch, Baldwin was all for trading up to A-list supervillain status.

Agreeing to be a guinea pig for Doctor Necros, against his better judgement, Baldwin was given a
"new and improved" version of the ring that Moses Stein created. Giving him all the abilities of Stain,
Baldwin was certain that his days of being a schlub were over.

That was before he killed and ate his best friend.

Baldwin is now HORRIFIED by the fact that he's got a monster inside of him every bit as strong as the
one in Moses Stein. In fact, it's worse because Moses actually possessed a strong moral character
before he became Stain.

Baldwin is currently employed by Jack Washington III as a bodyguard, said individual having taken
care of Baldwin's legal troubles. He's also promised to cure Baldwin's condition, having generated
some devices to help control it. Jack Washington III, of course, has no intention of doing so. In fact,
he's assisting Baldwin's Shadow Demon in becoming the dominant spirit within him and enjoys his
company more than the thuggish Mister Lurhman.

Bloodstain

This guy deserves to die.

No, seriously, Tom Roarke is the guy you point to when you need an argument some people are so
bad that the world would be better off without them. Black Wing II has tried to kill him permanently
and so has Robin Hood II. Even Angel Girl has attempted to dump him in the sun at one point,
viewing him as the sheer inhuman embodiment of evil. Divinos, honestly, thinks they're exaggerating
as he knows many more monsters who are worse. Tom Roarke, however, is a completely monstrous
creature who preys on the innocent for **** and giggles.

Tom Roarke's origins start as the product of an abusive relationship before growing up in institutions
who judged him to be incurable from the very beginning. When he broke out of a high security
institution at eighteen, he went on a seven state killing spree. His preferred targets? Children. It
wasn't because he had any particular perverse lust for them, he only believed that they were the
sort of people that would cause the most misery by their loss.

Tom Roarke eventually ended up being selected by Project: Icarus as a weapon to capture Splotch,
using the fragments of Moses Stein's ring to give him similar abilities. Even worse, they activated his
latent Metaman abilities which gave him the ability to survive as an astral entity and enter people's
dreams. As Splotch summarized it best, "He's what you get when you combine Stain, Blood Wing,
and Freddy frigging Kreuger."

Tom Roarke's rampages have resulted in Stain and Splotch teaming up, Doctor Necros temporarily
putting aside his latest mad scientist experiment (mostly because Bloodstain makes such a damn
mess), and just about every person with any amount of scruples to turn against him. It comes as no
surprise that Death Mask III, Project: Icarus, the White Warlock, and Paragon (of all people) have no
problem employing him. Despite this, he's died almost fourteen times since gaining his power with
his current incarnation being the sixth clone created by Project: Icarus complete with his memories.

Tom Roarke has no particular angst over this, possibly because his astral self moves into these new
bodies whenever they're created and possibly because you need a soul to care about whether or not
you have one.

Toon Notes

The American Eagle

As a note, the American Eagle is a mostly non-Anthropomorphic Bald Eagle* with the
exception of the fact that his talons are as nimble as most hands, as well as the fact that his
face can show emotions beyond "shriek" and "haughty scorn".

He has also, when pressed, admitted to the fact that 'The American Eagle' is a nickname
which he adores and owned up to possessing a personal name - Young Abe.

Old Abe, it should be noted, is his mother.

*He's actually very sensitive about being 'bald by nature' and ALWAYS wears that helmet of
his (a WWI tin derby, to be precise) to avoid the embarrasment of showing off his hairless
pate ... which is, in fact covered by exactly as many feathers as one would expect on the head
of a bald eagle.

He also lacks the gibbering insanity which cripples most toons.

To be strictly accurate most 'Toons are less 'gibberingly insane' than they are operating on a
completely different understanding of Life, The Universe and Everything - basically, their
worldview is grounded in the essential premise that if it's funny, it's going to happen to one of
them sooner or later, so you might as well get around to ensuring that it happens (preferably
to someone else), that it happens to someone who can survive the process (i.e. other 'Toons ...
or superheroes) and that it's therefore hilarious, rather than tragic, so that EVERYONE can
laugh about it afterwards.

Basically even the craziest toon works on this surreal logic - and it should be noted that the
majority of the 'Toons are at least as rational as any other celebrity walking around the streets
of Hollywood (having noticed that the Real World is not like their own) which is why studios
are still wiling to employ them. Admittedly, given the fascinatingly broad spectrum of
neuroses on display in Hollywood at any one time, this isn't saying much.

It should also be noted that not all of the 'Toons have either never noticed (or never deigned
to notice) that residents of the Real World don't automatically 'Get Better' and are verifiable
crazier than an Escher-designed garden path. This would be why they are very, very carefully
kept in Paint Town at all times by their more lucid fellows and why most visitors to Paint
Town (where the Guidelines of Cartoon physics apply) tend to be very thankful that the so-
called 'Tall Tales* are on hand to act as wardens.

*Of whom more anon - they're the refugees from Otherworld who arrived by way of the
original America Entertainment animated features, back in the forties and are fully lucid, if
cartoonish.

Well, except for Pecos Bill, but he's been hanging out with the 'Toons for too long.

Steel Commando III has set him up as Sheriff of Paint Town to get him out of his hair.

Amusingly Abe's actual title should be 'Head of the Neighbourhood Watch' but no 'Toon
worth his paint would accept such an un-melodramatic title!

Mischief

To be strictly accurate Mischief has the spleen AND the heart of a 'Toon (Doctor Dreadful
never used the latter, but resents that The Villainous Egghead actually gave that juvenile
meatbag his spleen into the bargain. How's he supposed to work up a proper head of
villainous RAGE without his spleen?!?

Piggy Banks

In truth Piggy Banks doesn't actually mind being locked out of Private Trading (although he
was happy to keep his honourary position with Raven Industries - ironically he's not even the
craziest member of that particular association), since his truest passion has always been the
quest for Fortune and Glory, rather than mere money.
Thankfully he's also a keen seeker after knowledge and a keen amateur historian, which
means he actually leaves the numerous Lost Cities, misplaced kingdoms and sundry
curiosities he and his nephews unearth intact - whenever possible, at least.

Interestingly Piggy Banks actually self-identifies as a Chinese-American and in fact seems to

express (or perhaps more accurately was originally based upon) the character traits associated
with the pig in the Chinese Zodiac. Thankfully he's not a walking stereotype - even if he does
have an absent-minded habit of referring to those nephews of his as 'Number One/Two/Three
Nephew' rather than Ham, Spam and Lucky.

Snow White

In fact Blanche - as she prefers to be known - is actually the head of the Paint Town residents
association, rather than the mayor but definately remains the Alpha Female (there's a reason
she was able to wind those Seven Grizzled Miners around her little finger and her Hepburn-
esque charm is only part of it).

She seems dedicated to simultaneously living down her portrayal by Disney (despite the fact
that she closely resembles it, both physically and in character, when she isn't thinking) and
giving the Moral Character of the World a good Spring Cleaning: If it weren't for the fact that
she's genuinely good-natured and rather sweet in person, she'd be completely intimidating.

As things stand she tends to come off as more Katharine than Audrey.

Rose Red

As should be immediately obvious, Rose Red is a student of the famous Little Red Robin
Hood (you thought Black-Wing was the only one who inspired imitators?), as well as Barry
Wolf's parole officer: there's a reason he keeps his muzzle clean you know, no matter how
much he might wish to get it very dirty indeed.

Barry Wolf

A devout fanboy of Fenris, Barry has dream of emulating the one and only BIG BAD WOLF
for the entirety of his existence in the Real World and does his best to act accordingly -
unfortunately for him, he has a Problem of a delicate nature:- He just growls, howls and
prowls, but he's never actually been able to get his muzzle bloody, no matter how many times
he gleefully brings himself to the brink of doing what BIG BAD WOLVES do best.

You know how it is - you're with a girl, you've waited until the perfect moment came, howled
and prowled and fattened her up for all your worth, you're waiting in bed for the main course
and then - nothing happens.

It's very embarrassing.

Alex and George

George, of course, has only ever been heard to say "Nevermore" with moderate variation of
inflection - which Alex, being a natural born motorbeak can be relied upon to translate AND
reply to (yes, that's right, he actually provides 95% of every conversation with his partner -
not to mention every other one).

Angel Mouse and Angel Mousette

Mikael actually LOVES Angel Mouse and Angel Mousette, because for some reason Mr.
Hoppy REALLY dislikes them (quite possibly because they're exactly as noble as Divinos
and Angel Girl ... but actually have a sense of mischief and have therefore actually
outpranked him - FOR JUSTICE! - his second worst nightmare brought to life!).

The Villainous Egghead

The Villainous Egghead will have you know that he's just SICK and tired of that horrible
fellow Doctor Dreadful lowering the tone of Master Villainy across the land.

Honestly, The Villainous Egghead has dedicated himself to his craft with eggstraordinary
dedication, studying all the sciences (Physical, Medical and Social) so that he can whip up a
most eggcellent scheme and all the Arts (social and performing) so that he might do so in
eggcellent style, with a minimum of unpleasantness (all the better to attract the Public to
screenings of his next Magnum Opus) and that rotten egg Dr Dreadful just runs around
KILLING people!

KILLING I tell you - That's no trade for a proper Star of Stage, Screen and Cunning Scheme!
The only killing worthy of the World's Greatest (technically-*) Criminal Mind is the killing
made at the box office when one's latest scheme has been pulled off (and recorded for
posterity).

"There! That, my dears is the eggsact truth of my opinion. Now, would anyone like an
autograph? You, young lady? Eggcellent! Why yes my dear, I do sound like that noted
thespian and raconteur Vincent Price - I should, he was my original vocal coach you know.
My voice actor!?! - now where would you get an egg-straordinary idea like that?"

Or, to reduce all that egg-scruciating verbiage to a single sentance - The Villainous Egghead
is so deep into The Method that he can't decide if he's a master perfomer playing a master
villain or a master villain playing at being a master performer.

Also that he looks rather like a Victorian Humpty-Dumpty and really sounds like Professor
Ratigan with a curious verbal tic.

The Gentleman

Clarence O'Hara is the Lord, Undisputed Master, King if you will, of Freehold's Underworld.

He has gone to elaborate lengths to secure the city underneath his control so that every single
gang, no matter what ethnicity or nationality, pays homage to him and ultimately plays by his
rules. Clarence O'Hara's network of criminal contacts and associates extends far beyond
Freehold but just about all of it is designed ultimately to make sure that no one can oust him
from his position as the city's Boss of Bosses.
If you need proof of his ability, take note that Splotch and Ink have been thwarting his
criminal efforts for the better part of twenty-five years yet they haven't managed to oust the
Gentleman for very long. Hell, they've even been forced into far too many "Enemy Mine"
situations against more violent PHANTOM or International Crime League backed gangs. The
Gentlemen will do whatever it takes to secure the borders of his fiefdom but he considers it a
place to protected as opposed to exploited.

Make no mistake, Clarence O'Hara is no friendly neighborhood rogue. If it was required to

kill his own son to protect his city, he would.

In fact, he did with Edgar O'Hara. Said man tried to overthrow him with the help of Ganglord
Gorilla, forcing Clarence to choose between his family and his city.

He chose his city.

He also is the sort of guy who thinks that crime has to be controlled within Freehold's borders
to the point he would never think of retiring. He's a racketeer, pimp, drug-dealer, arms trader,
and fully capable of flooding the rest of the country with junk if it means Freehold is slightly
safer. He's got membership within the House of Serpents, PHANTOM, and is now a boss of a
major breakaway faction in the International Crime League. You don't get that kind of power
if you aren't willing to get your hands dirty.

Still, it's easy to fall under the sway of Clarence O'Hara's charisma because he really does
believe he's the lesser of two evils and only uses as much force as absolutely necessary.
Splotch frustrates him to no end as he and his brother have never accepted any of the
Gentleman's rationalizations. Even their short-lived alliances and the attempts by the
Gentleman to get them to focus their energies elsewhere have never convinced them he's
anything but a thug in a 10,000 dollar suit. His half-hearted attempts to kill them, mostly
brought on by the fact he can't ignore them, haven't helped matters.

Clarence O'Hara, despite his surname, did not grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth. The
illegitimate child of one of the family's lesser scions and a Hispanic maid, he worked his way
up through the gangs from the very bottom. Ultimately, it was his bullet that silenced his
father and forced the remaining O'Haras to acknowledge him as head of the family's criminal
enterprises. They've tried to regain control from him on several occasions but when you have
General Venon on your speed-dial and can summon a Foundation hellicarrier attack, you
really aren't in much danger from normal criminals.

The Gentleman has more than a passing resemblance to Sean Connery yet assistance from
stolen Raven technology has given the physique of a much younger man (and it's almost
completely muscle). The Gentleman fights with a technological sword and shield which
possess powers capable of putting him on an equal-footing with his superheroic archrivals.
Splotch is the first to point out that, ridiculous-looking or not, his energy blade has nearly
killed him more times than anyone but Stain and Doctor Necros. It doesn't hurt that the
Gentleman is immune to the quipster's taunts.

Seriously, he has a feat called "Master of Self" which renders him immune to Taunt and gives
him a +4 bonus to resisting mind-control of any sort.
Like many super-criminals, he's unafraid of using a mixture of magic and supertech to make
sure he survives. This has resulted in making escapes that many are completely unprepared
for. Sometimes its via a carefully hidden teleportation platform while others it's a special
amulet that allows him to turn invisible. The Gentleman will deal with any power from Celtic
gods to Entropic Masters if he thinks it will give him the slightest advantage.

Curiously, despite the fact he's well-aware of his probable damnation, the Gentleman remains
a devout Catholic. This came in handy when dealing with Belial. Their meeting was one of
the few times Clarence has been genuinely shaken.

The Gentleman only managed to avoid having his soul taken due to Belial's amusement that
there was ANYONE left in the world who still reacted with appropriate terror at meeting the
Devil.

It should be noted that the Gentleman is the father of police officer and nineties anti-hero, the
Amulet.

Midnight and Moonlight

Sometimes it's hard being superheroes. Midnight and Moonlight have been trying to help the
people of Freehold for the past decade years, since they were fifteen years old. Unfortunately,
despite the fact that they have selflessly opposed SpartaCorp and the criminal underworld at
great personal cost, both are considered to be criminals.

Part of this is due to the fact that Midnight and Moonlight are proof positive of SpartaCorp's
criminal malfiseance. The two of them were kidnapped from their foster home as children
and subjected to punishing DNA experiments by Project: Icarus before an attempt was made
to brainwash them into assassins for PHANTOM.

Tamara and Martin Stonebrook managed to escape on their own power, liberating the
majority of superhumans kept hostage there, but PHANTOM brutally suppressed the action
and framed them as members of the Gene Nation. Worse, they flat out executed one of the
guards there to make them into murderers in the eyes of the police.

Midnight and Moonlight managed to dig themselves an even bigger whole when the
Psychotic Seven recruited them for their coup. The pair, realizing what was going on,
immediately snuck away and managed to save a bunch of Washington DC residents from
being killed. Unfortunately, none of the people they rescued believed they weren't attempting
to kill them.

Midnight and Moonlight have managed to convince the local police they aren't a threat to
world but the FBI still has them listed as potential threats. Director Hepburn, especially,
would love to have them taken down so he could force them to serve as agents in his personal
army. They do have friends amongst the superhero community in the Tomorrow Society and
Patriots but, unfortunately, can't be helped by the later due to several dumb decisions they
made during the Registration business.
Midnight and Moonlight joined Black Wing II's team with the Tomorrow Society but ended
up being caught up, AGAIN, with people they shouldn't have been involved with. Hecate
convinced them that the government was indiscriminately interning Metamen, so they agreed
to break into Super-Alcatraz to help liberate them. Of course, it wasn't true and they ended up
freeing Jack Union by mistake.

Really, they'd love to go after the Psychotic Seven just so they could make up for that one.

It's not that Tamara and Martin are gullible, it's just that they're rather big-hearted and easily
convinced that there are conspiracies behind every corner. Plus, really, they rival Ink for
horrible luck. They actually helped save the city of Freehold from a nerve gas attack which
would have killed thousands (their biggest accomplishment). Jack Washington III ended up
taking credit for it as a concerned citizen.

Moonlight is a white-haired woman with an almost angelic beauty of mixed racial descent.
Martin is similarly white haired of mixed racial descent, almost as beautiful in his own way.
Moonlight glows with a perpetual Saint Elmo's fire if she doesn't concentrate while Martin
actually emits a sort of anti-light. Bizarrely, Moonlight seems to be tied to Paradise while
Martin is tied to the Annihilation Zone.

Despite this, neither seems to be affected by the nature of their powers. They are pretty
standard energy-manipulators, capable of creating constructs from them. Bizarrely, they feed
on each others' power. Without the other, they rapidly lose their abilities within a few hours.
Both are capable of switching to their native dimension, though it is an experience neither is
comfortable with.

Moonlight was an atheist before her transformation so proof positive of the existence of
angels kinds of messes with her on a level she's not really ready to deal with. Martin, by
contrast, is a Muslim convert who believes the Annihilation Zone is Hell.

Despite the fact that both of them have suffered worse than Job in certain areas, they are both
incredibly idealistic and want to help everyone they can.

Swash!
She-Wolf of the Sea!

Mary Read Former professor of Archaeology and History at Hamilton U. Professor Read's life
changed when she assisted in the reclamation of what was thought to be Henry Morgan's flagship
Satisfaction off the coast of Panama. Opening up one of the coral encrusted chests Professor Read
found a medallion completely untarnished. Storing the medallion away, Read continued her work.
Just when the recovery was almost complete Read found out that the majority of the artifacts
weren't going to a museum like she was told but towards the collections of various extremely
wealthy individuals. That is when the medallion first spoke to her.

Some spirit inhabited that small trinket and it didn't want to be stuck in some museum. It also
responded to her subconscious desire to take the artifacts and convinced her that it was a great
idea. Yes, the artifacts belonged in a museum and it could help her with that. Donning the medallion,
Mary Read found herself more brazen and confident. The spectral weapons and crew helped as well.
When it came time to depart with the artifacts a ghostly ship rose from the waters. The next day
several museums in Britain and Jamaica received the artifacts from an unknown benefactor.

From that day Mary Read became Swash!. Always looking to liberate priceless artifacts from private
collections and take a just a bit off the top for herself. She leads a ghostly crew from spectral flying
pirate ship. Though a thief at heart, Splotch and Ink have been able to team up with her against
much more dangerous villains as much as they have fought her. This could be due to an unrequited
crush on the shadow slingers. Swash! has tried to invite either Stein brother to her Captain's
Quarters many a times.

While she has the medallion and steals regularly Swash! can turn into mist, command a crew of
piratical apparitions, summon and used ghostly weapons, and finally summon and command her
pirate ship. Ink and Splotch were not the only ones she has teamed up with though. She is a
somewhat frequent partner of Tyburn Tree were they are known as The Twin Blades of Terror when
Thomas Turpin tags along they are the Tri-Blades of Terror. Which is a rather new and for Splotch,
headache inducing.

Doctor Henry Moreau

Theme Song: "DIY world" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caa0wQ4Dyj4

Doctor Thaddeus Moreau was a Metaman who possessed the ability to graft appendages and
bestow enhanced attributes on his test subjects. Doctor Moreau's family didn't inherit his
extraordinary abilities but, surprisingly, his research actually formed the foundation of much greater
insight into the nature of Metaman abilities.

His son, Thomas Moreau, was recruited by Queen Victoria as part of The Institute to study the
science of captured Tsavong technology. Managing to cure a dying Tsavong of influenza, he forced
him to teach him the Tsavong language and learned a substantial amount from their computers.

Ultimately, Doctor Henry Moreau was unable to crack the secret of how to create superhumans like
he desired but combing his father's research with alchemy he learned from various secret societies,
he became the single greatest authority on superhuman genetics for the next century. Indeed, so
great was his brilliance that Mammaloth granted him immortality and made him Doctor Mabuse.

Doctor Mabuse unleashed unspeakable evils for a time in Germany before leaving the country with
the rise of the Nazis. Ironically, he believed that Hitler's focus on Aryan supremacy would interfere
with any real progress in creating a Master Race. The students he tutored as they grew up, however,
became Count Reich I and II.

Doctor Mabuse adopted a young boy leaving Germany and proceeded to make him a lab assistant.
While he didn't stay in Freehold long, Doctor Fitz Moreau, became one of the founding members of
the revised Project: Icarus. Fitz Moreau became one of America's most murderous and evil scientists,
only for him to be slain during one of the Tomorrow Society's many missions.

Doctor Henry Moreau, however, is nothing like the majority of his ancestors. An absent-minded
professor with an interest in improving humanity for the benefit of all, he's caused more trouble for
the world than many archvillains. Doctor Moreau is one of the world's best geneticists, outdone only
by his former student the Red King and the Lord Evillutionary.

Unlike most mad scientists with a focus on genetics, Doctor Moreau actually prefers to teach than
attempt to use his skill to harm others. Unfortunately, this and his insistence on pushing the
envelope with live testing has resulted in the creation of several supervillains. The Living Mummy,
The Electric Ghost, The Human Gargoyle, and The Shoggonath are just a few of his creations. He
also perfected the instant-cloning process and is responsible for the "turn insects into giant versions
of themselves" ray (he's still working on a name).

In any sane universe, Henry would have been locked up and the key thrown away for his blatant
disregard of safety protocols. However, other scientists have used the runoff from his discoveries to
create countless medical advances. Henry, himself, has earned almost fifty million dollars from his
work only to donate it all to Hamilton University. This, along with the desperate nature of many
people with terminal diseases or a desire to gain superpowers, means he has no end of people
willing to volunteer for his experiments.

Splotch, perhaps unfairly, believes Doctor Moreau is an innocent victim in all of his experiments. As a
result, he's protected him against numerous assassination and murder attempts. Part of this is due
to gratitude, Doctor Moreau has helped him against numerous scientific problems relating to his
powers. In truth, Doctor Moreau is cheerfully amoral and cares nothing for either Splotch or
Theseus, but he doesn't have any desire to be a criminal either.

FOR SCIENCE is his rallying cry.

Microwave

Jennifer Morgan's parents were die-hard followers of General Venom. Ironically, individuals
who were more inclined to believe in his original ideology of complete transparency and
promoting genuine democracy abroad (even if it was against US interests). When her cousin
went off to join the CIA, Jennifer was proud of her. Jennifer, though, wanted to be a Doctor
instead of a soldier.

Jennifer was shocked when her cousin came to her and revealed their parents were terrorists.
Jennifer was forced into an agonizing situation where she had to choose between doing what
was right and staying with her family. In the end, Jennifer reluctantly assisted Splotch in
protecting Ashley Morgan from recapture and her parents committed suicide rather than be
captured.

This was the start of Microwave's traumatic relationship with superheroes. Expelled from
school less the daughter of a terrorist bring Hamilton University bad publicity, she eventually
got back in after the time she bashed Samhain's head in with a vase. Nursing an attraction
with Splotch, she eventually decided to date the more normal and decidedly down-to-Earth
Joel Stein.

She was less than pleased when she discovered his true identity. As she stated, the whole
'secret identity' thing was understandable but it was a pretty cruddy thing to do to your
girlfriend. Despite a number of breakups, they managed to get back up together due to the
fact Jennifer was a frequent target of supervillains.

Amusingly, the Weasal lost his hand when he figured out Jennifer was Splotch's girlfriend
only to find out she had spent months training with her cousin in self-defense. Jennifer would
have probably terrified plenty more supervillains off if not for the fact that she became a
target of them herself.

It was little more than a typical accident with a particle accelerator, dormant Metaman genes,
and a series of formula she'd been taking from Doctor Moreau that changed her life. To this
day, she wasn't sure how the Professor talked her into that last one, but it resulted in her
gaining heat-based superpowers. Unlike the vast majority of people who gained superpowers,
she decided the important thing to do with them was help people.

Despite the fact that it was a major inconvenience.

Never giving up on her dream of being a doctor despite the difficulties of doing so with
superpowers, especially in the Post-Registration period, she continues to pursue the dream.
She believes she'll be able to help more people as a hospital Doctor than she could as a
superhero. Despite this, she still serves as Freehold's part time protector during alien
invasions or disasters.

The difference between Marvel's Registration and HED! is that only people who intend to be
superheroes and actively take on supervillains have to register their powers. Even then, the
UN document insists only those abilities that are lethal have to be registered. Unfortunately,
Jennifer Morgan qualifies for all of these.

Amusingly, Splotch's identity is STILL secret. Much to her annoyance.

Jennifer Morgan is an attractive redhead who is routinely considered to be one of the loveliest
women amongst superheroes. She does little to accent this, however, wearing a functional
heat-protecting costume. She is highly intelligent and has an extremely sharp personality. Her
biggest issue is that she wants to be a law-abiding citizen who works within the system but it
seems to have a particular loathing for her since she's become a Metaman.

Jennifer Morgan is close friends with Angel Girl, Crimson Wing, Miss Frankenstein, and
Lady Grayhaven. Jennifer is considered something of a big sister to Valkyrie as well. She is
currently engaged to Splotch after he finally popped the question after almost a decade of on
and off dating. Even Alexander Timons, perpetual bachelor he is, thought "Thank God" when
this happened.

Freehold Notes
Brewster's Mill: Brewster's Mill was the site of an early 20th century battle between the
citizens of Freehold and the Tsavong. In the end, Antaeus managed to stop it in his civilian
identity along with a number of unsung magical heroes plus courageous citizens. Still, the
casualties were fairly large and resulted in a cover-up from the government. It wasn't until the
third Tsavong Invasion that the heroes of Brewster's Mill were recognized.

Converted into a park, Brewster's Mill is a war memorial for all those Americans who have
perished in extraterrestrial wars. It also contains a memorial for foreign soldiers who have
died defending the world, despite controversy. The Museum of Extraterrestrial Warfare has
quite the collection of alien tech in its basement.

Boardwalk: One of Freehold's most recognizable landmarks. The Boardwalk is owned

almost entirely by the O'Haras and filled with some of the most beautiful casinos in the
world. Unlike Las Vegas, the Boardwalk remains entirely under of the mobs who give the
place a dangerous edge that has yet to cut into the tourist trade. The Boardwalk, itself, is
clean and crime-free but the surrounding ones are dedicated way to satisfying the vices of
patrons.

Unsurprisingly, habitual debtors are prone to disappearing in the area.

Freehold Bay: Freehold is a massive port town with seemingly ample room for fishing,
commercial freight, and everything in-between. Just off to the side, however, is Pirate's Bay
which was a cavern system that extends underneath the hole of the city. Despite attempts to
make it a tourist trap, the place contains a vast underground river that is filled with the
remains of an underground pirate city. The place is still prone to having ghosts, booby traps,
and so on discovered.

As the people of Freehold know, The Goonies was obviously based on their town. Stephen
King has admitted he got the idea for It based on some legends of Boogeymen living
underneath the town sewers.

Freehold Robotics Corporation: The Institute (do NOT call it "FIT" if you are alumni or
want to befriend them) perfected the science of robotics in the nineties by reverse-
engineering alien technology as well as building on the work on Doctor Aeon. FRC is the
result of several junior mad scientists hoping to make the highly expensive beings
commercial friendly.

In fact, Doctor Aeon had nothing to do with it. Jack Washington Sr. created the first robotics
designs and Jack Washington II created the first fully functional android, "Medic", who is
still blindingly loyal to her creator in a way many people find uncomfortable. FRC has some
geniuses but it is to their eternal embarrassment they've made more progress reverse
engineering the robots of the HOV and PHANTOM than they've ever on their own.

Billions to waste on personal projects helps, I suppose.

Honestly, FRC has had mixed results. The corporation would have gone under if not for the
fact that it is highly successful at creating cybernetics the government subsidizes for veterans.
Basically, the legal status of robots is the tricky thing. Several have been granted citizenship
and creating a sentient race of slaves is not the goal of FRC. At least, not the goal of many of
its designers. Some of them, in fact, are actually quite about this and keep their own
collection of android servants at home.

Recently, Jack Washington III outbid Alexander Timons in a takeover bid and has started
pumping billions into their work. He has promised, privately, to certain members of the board
that the future of America will be personalized "semi"-sentient android servants. He hasn't
decided which pleases him more, a Skynet genocide of humans or enslaving his own race in
the world's greatest act of extended hypocrisy. He doesn't even have a justification for that
one, it would just be for the Lulz.

FRC is protected by local android superheroes, "Micro" and his sister/girlfriend "Chip." Most
of their opponents are renegade crazy-androids reprogrammed by fired employees. Megaman
jokes are quite common as are jokes about RoboCop.

Lowtown: The working-class industrial district of Freehold, Lowtown is built on New

Devonshire and is currently suffering fiercely from the economic crisis. Lowtown is a
location filled with a large amount of drugs, weapons, and inner-city violence. The
Gentleman in a rather cold-blooded move, allows new gangs to love into Low Town and
attempt to gauge their power bases before bringing down the wrath. Lowtown is also notable
for its many abandoned factories and warehouses perfect for the average superhero
adventure.

O'Hara Tower: The tallest building in the city, O'Hara Towers is a nice place for all manner
of supervillain showdowns with heroes due to the fact that it's pretty much several dozen
stories of evil. All manner of corrupt corporations, criminal organizations, and so on rent
space. Violence is not at all uncommon in the place with Matrix-like shootouts in the lobby
plus plenty of penthouse style showdowns between the mob and Splotch.

Splotch Villains Notes

The Electric Ghost

Roger Turing was one of Doctor Moreau's attempts at transcending the shroud of death. Finding that
Dr. Hebert West's chemical compounds a dead end, Moreau decided to go digital. Assuming control
of the brain dead Turing who had languished in a coma for several years. Moreau was successful in
uploading the man's memories to a computer system but found no response. Believing that the
coma had lead to permanent non responsiveness, Doctor Moreau promptly forgot about the
experiment and moved on to other fascinations. The fact was that Turing did wake up but didn't no
how to respond. The weeks with no sensory input combined with spurts of information from web
access has severely warped Turing's mind. When he was finally able to download himself into a
robot body, the continuing lack of any sensation led to a rampage through the city. The Electric
Ghost was stopped by Ink and Spot. Who both thought the robot was just another FRC creation that
went haywire.

Turing has gone on to menace Freehold ever since. He has also worked as muscle for other villains
who promise him the ability to feel. Though he potentially could have access to unlimited amounts
of information, Turing's mind is much too degraded to actually process many functions other than
raw emotion. Now, that Splotch knows the truth he kinda feels sorry for what is left of Turing which
seems to be less and less in each incarnation.

Gyrfalcon

Kevin Gilbride was a drifter and petty thief. While moving through Freehold Gilbride tried to steal
from one of The Gentleman's bookies. Catching Gilbride red handed, they brought him to the
Hamilton University's chemical waste disposal and sealed Gilbride in a barrel. That barrel happened
to be some remains of Doctor Moreau's experiments. Whatever was in that barrel transformed
Gilbride into a hawk person. Seeking his revenge against the thugs who tried to kill him. Gilbride
began calling himself Gyrfalcon after the large hunting birds native to Northern Europe. He has
tangled with Splotch many times.

Unlike most Gyrfalcon actually likes his new form. He enjoys the flight, enhanced strength, senses,
and razor sharp talons. Though the appetite for pigeons, rats, and mice is a little disconcerting.
Recently, Gryfalcon has come under employ of the Gentleman as one of his enforcers. Gryfalcon
thinks that O'Hara has finally recognized his strength and ability. In reality, The Gentleman just uses
him as his own personal hunting bird.

Mazuku

One of The Gentleman's top captains. Mazuku runs Lowtown for The Gentleman and is responsible
for bringing in new talent to the organization. Mazuku is a hard man. Coming over from Somalia as a
boy Mazuku grew up in Lowtown and was shaped by it. Though not physically imposing his eyes
reveal that he is one that is not unaccustomed in the slightest by violence. His name in Swahili
means Evil Wind and Mazuku fully lives up to that nickname.

Mazuku is a metaman. His ability is to turn into any gas. Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide are
his favorite forms but he can turn into any. In his gas form he of course is unable to be physically
damaged though is susceptible to being dispersed by force or captured in a container. He can always
eventually reform but it may take awhile. Mazuku's first name seems to be Asad.

Jack Tar

The current Jack Tar is actually the fifth man to use that name. The legacy of the name goes back to
before the American Revolution. Outside of Freehold though, the Jack Tars are not well known. The
first Jack Tar was active about 10 to 15 years before the American Revolution and battled British
Press Gangs either fighting them off or rescuing the poor unfortunates that were captured by them.
The second Jack Tar was active during the War of 1812 and into the 1830s battling both the British
and the Macneers. The third Jack Tar didn't appear the late 19th century and was active in the Union
movement but soon became known as a violent enforcer. The fourth Jack Tar debuted as a hero
during WWII and helped make sure that Freehold's port was clear of spies and saboteurs. After the
war it became quite apparent that the fourth Jack Tar was also a legbreaker for the the O'Hara
criminal empire.

The fifth Jack Tar is a hero that dresses in an 19th century sailors uniform and domino mask. Though
slightly stronger and tougher than a normal human, the fifth Jack Tar's real power is that he has
several tattoos done in magical ink that can come to life. So far he has a parrot, crossed tomahawks,
a bulldog, and finally a harpoon. Though none of the effects of those tattoos are lethal, they certainly
are painful. Jack Tar is mostly active around the shipyards and docks of Freehold. Always targeting
The Gentleman's smuggling operations. No one is quite sure why the current Jack Tar decided to use
a name that was sullied by the last two men that took it.

"Yeah, he looks goofy in his sailor get up, but you stop laughing when you get a harpoon through
your chest. That hurts." Though they battled when they first met due to a misunderstanding, Jack Tar
has been an ally of Splotch for a long time. Though not as powerful as the shadow slinger, Jack Tar
fights dirty and has an ear to the ground of an area of Freehold that Splotch doesn't visit often. Also,
he has an awesome motorboat. Like the ones on Miami Vice.

More Splotch Villains

Doctor Tarantula

Splotch's secondary mad scientist archenemy eventually had a final team-up with Doctor Necros
before HED 2.0 and was murdered at the end of it. Doctor Necros proceeded to harvest the Doctor
Tarantula's exoskeleton and adapt it for his own use. Doctor Tarantula has, of course, returned but
it's now in a hideous half-human half-spider THING form. Amusingly, his daughter is completely
unphased by this and is actively assisting him in his weird Spider-based plots to TAKE OVER THE
WORLD.

Doctor Tarantula was a 1930s Pulp Villain and enemy of Ink Spot. It's just that he actually managed
to survive via longevity potions until the modern era (potions which required drinking the blood of
normal people). Doctor Tarantula, he insists, was NEVER a Nazi and resents the Nazi pretender (!)
who menaced Freehold under his name during WW2. In fact, Doctor Tarantula was working for the
Nazis but it was due to his beautiful first wife being held hostage back in Germany.

It should be noted he had his name legally changed to Doctor Simon Tarantula before his
transformation. To this day, no one really knows what his deal was aside from some vague hints he
was a refuge from Germany. He just showed up one day and started menacing Ink Spot. You can't
even blame his wife being held hostage since he was doing horrible experiments and building giant
robots well before then.

Yeah.

The Living Mummy

Doctor Edward Easton was a dual Egyptology and medical researcher at Hamilton University. During
one of his displays, a group of supervillains broke in and one of them used a white phosphorous
grenade which left his entire body covered in horrific burns. Doctor Moreau, in hopes of helping the
man, noted he was a carrier of a "Radical Scientific Experimentation Volunteer" (or RSEV) card so he
subjected him to untested Tsavong-based skin-grafts and a regeneration formula injection.

Doctor Easton found himself covered in permanently dessicated skin which had healed in such a way
as to look like he was a centuries-old corpse. Worse, somehow, he'd become a life-energy vampire.
Able to absorb the life of the living, he could briefly return to a human state but only for a short
while. Attempts to live without it, only lead to him "dying" by becoming a shriveled up corpse. One
which was actually still alive and aware.
Splotch sympathizes with Doctor Easton but considers him a murderer for all the people he's killed
to avoid that horrific fate.

Wolfwere

Doctor Moreau's, arguably, weirdest experiment was on a wolf that he gave the "Moreau Formula."
This transformed the wolf into a full-grown adult human. Possessed of an astounding intelligence,
the newly created human quickly learned everything from language to mathematics as well as
culture. However, his enhanced intelligence came at the price of him utterly repressing his life as a
wolf. Moreau, in a shocking display of originality, named him Romulus Moon.

Sadly, while Doctor Moreau thought he had perfected his ancestor's process, he hadn't. Wolfwere
fell in love with with Doctor Moreau's research assistant and ended up tearing her apart during his
first full-moon transformation. The unstable formula turning him into a Crinos-form werewolf with
superhuman strength to match his human side's superhuman intelligence. Doctor Moreau, after he'd
returned to "normal", chose the worst time to inform him of his true heritage. Romulus, of course,
went COMPLETELY NUTS.

Romulus Moon has bizarre Victorian manners and his attempts to kill Splotch often have a rather
old-fashioned flavor. Romulus has, on several occasions, attempted to create a bride for himself or
infect everyone in Freehold with lycanthropy.

Shoggonauth

A diabolical THING from another dimension! The Shoggonauth is a blob-like entity possessed of vast
alien intelligence and psychic powers! The Shoggonauth was originally summoned during an
electricity demonstration by Nikolo Tesla, only to have the monster sent back to its home realm by
the timely intervention of Ink Spot. Sadly, its brief encounter with humanity convinced the dreadful
thing that it needed to conquer our universe.

With its vast powers its often contacted impressionable young scientists to bring it over. As long as a
part of it survives, sadly, it will regenerate in either this universe or the next. It doesn't reproduce,
though, since disparate parts of the creature will simply merge when they meet.

Shoggonauth has, on occasion, indicated that it is the source of Splotch's powers or that it is actually
the entity that created life on Earth when it was nothing more than a primordial soup. This is, very
likely, nonsense and just reflects the creature's massive ego. Shoggonauth possesses the unusual
ability to animate any object part of its protoplasmic body infects - so it is prone to animating store
dummies and turning them into things resembling Autons. It also briefly possessed Splotch's car in
something similar to the movie Christine, only with less lust from the evil car and more trying to kill
him. It was the last time Splotch ever tried to get a wall-crawling vehicle.

Shoggonauth is, it should be noted, not a deity but just something plain WEIRD.

Splotch Villain Notes

Splotch's enemies rarely confined their malevolent activities to Freehold. This is especially true of his
more monstrous, even aberrant foes. As a result, nearly all of the mad science villains, preternatural
beasties, and truly grotesque Splotch rogues have battled other HED universe heroes (and villains) as
well.

The Shoggonauth has scarcely been confined to the New England enclave, as the monstrosity has
repeatedly breached the dimensional walls, been summoned by foolish mystics, or regenerated from
remnant parts in locales across the United States, and even the globe. It has been hunted down by
Morwen (who unsuccessfully tried human sacrifice to banish the beast for good), the Hierophant
(using Lady Grayhaven and the Lady Lions as pawns), and Vlad Dracul (the vampire lord believed the
creature would be cancerous to life on Earth); the heroic pair of Battle Czar and the first Winter
Watchman almost destroyed the monster in Rus shortly after the fall of the USSR; and in an episode
that either involved time-travel or a heretofore unknown earlier appearance, the original Neverman
(the human ex-astronaut) saved Seattle from a Shoggonauth incursion in the mid-1970s.

Unlikely as it might seem, Dr. Tarantula's greatest enemy during his villainous World War II years was
The Frankenstein Monster! The Nazi evil was such even Adam (the "creature" personality)
recognized he needed to stand with humanity against true monsters, while even the sociopathic
Victor persona despised the so-called Nazi scientists as charlatans and fools. As Dr. Tarantua
alternately shilled for the Nazis or simply pursued his own twisted schemes to the detriment of the
US government, it was only logical for one mad-scientist-cum-monster to be pitted against another.
Those few who were aware of the Monster's activities during this time period actually considered
him a "patriotic hero" of sort, though one given to erratic behavior (several very capable handlers
were assigned to keep a watch over the Monster, however). Victor did attempt to betray the Allies
from time to time, even temporarily teaming up with Dr. Tarantula, but Adam always managed to
break through and regain control in time to stop him. It should be noted the Adam personality
displayed a much higher level of intelligence during this era.

Ymir has also clashed with Dr. Tarantula, especially since the latter's assumption of a semi-arachnoid
form. Dr. Tarantua was never shy about employing atomic energy in his weird experiments-in fact,
his favorite tactic since the advent of the Atomic Age has been creating gargantuan insects through
radiation bombardment. As he frequently raids labs and military bases for nuclear materials, he was
almost certain to find opposition in the Atomic Viking.
For all his considerable intelligence, Dr. Tarantula doesn't realize how far above his weight class he is
punching against Ymir.
As much as Splotch's villains have been known to cross over and battle other HED heroes, the
wisecracking shadow-slinger has also mixed things up against foes drawn from the rogues' galleries
of other costumed crusaders. He's had to deal out does of sanity to both Wonderland-obsessed killer
Mad Alice and the fear-mongering Samhain when the two Blackwing foes brought their madness to
Freehold; more than once, Big Game Hunter has tried to lay claim to the price placed on Splotch's
head by the Gentleman, learning each time Splotch is lord of the urban jungle; and when the House
of Serpents reared up in Freehold, Splotch taught General Venomm that even snakes are swallowed
by shadows.

Though Splotch is often underestimated due to his irreverant and self-deprecating mannter, he is
actually quite powerful and effective, with a crimefighting career spanning nearly twenty years. Still,
there have definitely been times when the inky avenger was forced to fight out of his league. This
episodes include battles against Puzzles, when the flawed Divinos-clone flew into town to sample
famous Freehold-cream pies, and a rampaging Frankenstein Monster when the creature was
pitching a hatefest against humanity. He has also faced down Deathmask on more than one
occasion, surprising holding his own against the worst of the Moriarty clan, and earning Kenneth
Kane's lifelong enmity for Splotch's "impudence".

New Amsterdam

The Second Anglo-Dutch War strongly offended Johan Driegberg a.k.a Long John Stone, a
man of questionable Dutch descent but extreme wealth. Having intended to retire in the New
World with his vast accumulated fortune, Johan didn't do the sensible thing and retire in the
Caribbean. No, instead, he paid ample bribes and got numerous traders to move from the
newly conquered province of New York to an illegal settlement up-north.

New Amsterdam was built on several islands which had been created during the Age of the
God-Kings in order to bind the spirits of numerous monsters and evil despots, as well as seal
over the entrance to a tunnel to the Hollow Earth. Coincidentally, most of these would not
trouble New Amsterdam until Antaeus and Divinos arrived in the city during the 20th
century. Otherwise, honestly, New Amsterdam never would have survived to become the
juggernaut it is.

New Amsterdam is TECHNICALLY in the state of New York but is actually an island chain
above it that links to the mainland. It won't long before the two cities are bouncing into one
another.

Really, despite the fierce loyalty of New Damers to their city, it's not exactly been a history
of roses and sunshine. Conquered soon after it became a thriving settlement, Johan
Driegberg's son was hung by the British for piracy and the city was cleaned out of its criminal
element. Well, the obvious criminal element. If they'd removed the entirety of the criminal
element, the city would have bee burned to the ground.

As a result, it became a place where many of Britain's less impressive citizens chose to retire
and those who wanted to go to the New World but didn't really fit in any of the other
colonies. Amusingly, almost a quarter of the new immigrants during the 17th century were
French. Having arrived at the New World to trap live free, they never really went past the city
known as "the City of Prostitutes, Lice, Liquor, and Guns."

New Amsterdam was occupied by the British during the Revolutionary War and ended up
becoming a place rife with patriotic sentiment. This was as much due to the fact that it's
population consisted of many indentured servants, exiled criminals, and people of dubious
English heritage as anything the British did. This was when New Amsterdam got its first
superhero, The Lamplighter.

A Minuteman who lost his innkeeper father to a drunken brawl, he decided to wage a one-
man war against the hellish evil afflicting his city. He destroyed pirate ships, killed
murderers, exposed corrupt officials, and even "protected Negroes as well as Injuns!" (it was
the 17th century, roll with it). The Lamplighter's egalitarian policies were partially due to the
fact he was secretly married to a Iroquois woman he'd married against all the "common
sense" of the time. Later, she joined in his crime-fighting.

The Lamplighter's efforts inspired the citizens of New Amsterdam to clean up their act,
somewhat, and he captured the imagination of the city. Later, the Lamplighter was
immortalized with a huge lighthouse statue in the middle of the bay which most citizens
considered horrifically garish. Ironically, it was put up roughly about the same time as the
Statue of Liberty and the two cities insist the other was ripping them off.

Whatever the case, the city continued to build itself up normally until the 19th century. Then
it became famous for the works of Doctor Steam and his amazing Fair of Wonders!. An
eccentric inventor from Holland, Doctor Ignatius Steam intended to revolutionize the world
with his inventions. In fact, Doctor Steam was a traveller from the year 2XXX and
constructed countless devices well beyond the capacity of normal people to build in this era.
Steampowered jetpacks, mecha, and orihalcon powered death rays were the order of the day
for almost twenty years.

Sadly, Doctor Steam's inventions were not much more than a novelty outside the city despite
numerous attempts to replicate them. Worse, the Steam Mongul and his vicious gang of
CHINESE THUGS (the 19th century was not very politically correct in describing their
rivalry) engaged in a bitter war with Doctor Steam over his technology.

The Steam Mongul, of course, was the Iron Khan and his attempts to force Doctor Steam into
building weapons he could use to conquer the New World for China lead eventually to the
majority of them being destroyed.

Doctor Steam, himself, was eventually dragged off by Time Agents back to Edenia for his
many flagrant violations of the Temporal Accords. Still, his adventures lead to the city
becoming far more economically prosperous with the lesser results of his efforts making it a
fabulously advanced city for its time. Crime, unfortunately, prospered still with Butcher Pete
becoming infamous in New Amsterdam's underworld as the secret master of the city.

Butcher Pete eventually died at the hands of Union soldiers but not before becoming a
terrifying spectre linked to the city's leylines. Butcher Pete, despite being a vicious anti-social
thug, was also a (low-ranking) member of the Illuminati with an interest in geomancy.
Amusingly, despite the fact the buildings he funded keep him as an unbanishable specter,
they also keep out most other ghosts.
Butcher Pete appears once every generation, normally, and kills thirteen innocents to renew
his power. Oddly, despite his preference for women, it's not necessary. He actually stuck to
prostitutes, usually not guilty of some horrible crime, so people thought his MO was
something else entirely.

In-between these actions, he rules a hellish Underdam which is pretty much his own private
universe. Sadly, neither Pete or his kingdom vanish when his killing sprees are thwarted, it
just means he won't be able to manifest as a mortal or ghost for the next twenty-years.

Banishing him would require tearing up the city or somehow destroying him in the heart of
his universe.

The Emancipator and Unionist came from New Amsterdam during this period. Both were
attempts by citizens to emanate the Lamplighter. Sadly, the former was resoundingly
despised by the populace while the later had questionable popularity at best. Ironically, both
achieved their lasting fame outside of the city.

In a somewhat bittersweet tale, the Emancipator died early on in his career but the South was
so angered by his efforts that they publicized him as a second John Brown. The Underground
Railroad adopted his name and costume then so that literally hundreds of Emancipators took
his place, leading to countless slaves being freed during the Civil War. Many of these would
settle in New Amsterdam's Bourbon District.

The Unionist, by contrast, eventually gained supernatural powers from the spirit of America
and ended up bitterly battling the similarly empowered Dixie Belle. Dixie Belle was someone
he initially thought to be a sweet lady but the inherent evil of slavery corrupted her into
increasing acts of barbarism during the later half of the Civil War. In the end, the Unionist
sacrificed his life to destroy a hellish army of deceased Confederates who found themselves
(amusingly) barred from entering the city by Butcher Pete's ley lines.

Sadly, almost no one witnessed the heroic act and those who did were accused of making up
an amusing folk legend which vilified the South.

By the early 20th century, New Amsterdam was a thriving port city filled with a racially
diverse and technologically advanced infrastructure. Architect Randolf Curwen was invited
to design many of the city's skyscrapers but, unlike Falconcrest city, threw out most of the
designs and went with cheery upbeat Art-Deco as opposed to morbid and depressing. Doctor
Aeon and Jetboy were the first of the city's new protectors, working from the top of the
newly constructed Millennium City Building.

Anateus soon followed, followed by Steel Commando and Ehrich Weiss (after his seeming
death). It was an age of heroes with a never-ending supply of mad-science villains and
gangsters. The Phantom Empire was created in New Amsterdam, the world's most vicious
gangs united under the efforts of James Moriarty II. James could never have hoped to get
the mafia to work with him normally so he used a specialized form of hypnosis by his half-
demon girlfriend, Madame Satan. Amusingly, this lead to the creation of The Magi, the
mystical pseudo-mafia created by Italian imposter noble, Baron Malus.
The Magi, which are pretty much the Italian mobsters MOST likely to survive into the new
Millennium in a crazy-crazy world, are one of the major post-World Crime League factions.
Bluntly, they took the League for everything they had and dumped them thereafter. They've
since renewed their ties with the traditional syndicates and are considered to be a "necessary
evil" by most old-school bosses.

The Magi still keep their inner ranks totally Italian but are somewhat more open about the
role of women, allowing them to hold sensitive positions. Steel Commando III femme fatale,
Miranda Malus a.k.a Baroness Malus, was even able to serve as regent for her insane father.

Non-Italian Superhumans get a separate, non-Made Man but Made Men for all intents and
purposes role, called Condottieri. They're considered on-payroll mercenaries who are still
expected to be hyper-loyal to the family.

Really, the 1930s were a really wild time including Mole People, Dinosaur Men, Giant
Robots, and the occasional foreign agent. The Liberty Men protected the city's extensive
shipyards during World War 2 from numerous foreign agents, including the brutal Agent X
and Major Cassandra Schwartzvald. It's partially due to their extreme heroism that even
the HUAC was unable to muster enough support to gain any traction against superheroes
during the 1950s (a state, unfortunately, mirrored by the KKK).

After the Great Unmasking Massacre and Butcher Pete's third generational killing spree,
resulting in 11 young women dying with superheroes seemingly helpless, the city cooled a bit
on their support. Jack Washington III constructed his laboratory on top of an even higher
building than the Millennium Building while spending very little time fighting crime. Instead,
racial tensions were the order of the day with the Steel Crusader defending the Bourbon
District while Agent Flag defended the United Nations Security Building. A building
which, while not holding the general assembly, DID hold the nonexistent in our world
bureaus dealing with international security.

The Steel Crusader was actually Jack Washington Junior's illegimate half-brother, Josiah
Washington, who was African American. To the future supervillain's eternal credit, he did
nothing to discourage the man and assisted him financially in building his own suit of armor.
The Steel Crusader is sadly, still somewhat unknown outside of black culture where he
remains an icon. This is due to deliberate government propaganda.

Agent Flag was an attempt by the United States to create a counterpart to Jacob Hunter.
Thomas Flag was, amazingly enough, even more of a womanzer than his counterpart and a
hedonist of the highest order.

Despite this, he did good work with his Russian defector partner, Viktor Cipher. Both would
retroactively be added to the Foundation for World Harmony's roles and later became trainers
there. It's questionable who did more damage to PHANTOM in the long run, them or Jacob
Hunter.

This was when The Blue Avenger and Sparky, the Boy Genius debuted. Actually a
brainwashed and time-lost George Timons with his sidekick, the pair spent almost a year as
colorful champions of justice and good hygeine. This was apparently the work of Fuzion the
Nuclear Wizard attempting to FIX reality after it was broken by The Omnipotent.

Alex, to this day, swears they were someone else. The Blue Avenger, to this day, remains one
of the most popular TV shows in the world. Adam West and Burt Ward believe the show was
a better use of their talents than the Batman pilot they'd planned.

The 1970s were pretty much as you'd expect with the racial tensions of the city boiling over.
The Steel Crusader was unmasked and prosecuted by the government, leading to riots, while
crime in the city became almost unbearable. Butcher Pete once more struck the city, this time
making his serial killings deliberately public. Only the efforts of the heroes of the age,
including Morwen of all people, lead to the exposure of a cult worshiping Butcher Pete. The
White Stag society also became a major concern in the city, basically a group of police who
served as a state-sanctioned crime family while ostensibly being about fighting it.

The White Stag Society, unfortunately, never left and pretty much exists as a gang in its own
right. The group has actually wholesale co-opted many police precincts across the nation in a
network of corruption that works with both the House of Serpents and the International Crime
League. What's terrible is they really do think of themselves as good cops - despite the fact
they've killed some of their fellows to protect themselves.

The city went into an economic depression after the destruction of the American Steel
Industry and the sabotage of the city's shipyards by The Constructors, a group of radioactive
powered supervillains seemingly from nowhere. The city, then, had a beacon of hope. A
savior who came from nowhere and promptly raised the city out of its depression:
KENNETH KANE!

Months later, Divinos appeared. The rest, was history.

The Silver Age of New Amsterdam

The Silver Age of New Amsterdam began almost immediately after Kenneth Kane revitalized
the city with dozens of new industries owned and operated by SpartaCorp. That the city's
gratitude was immediately swept up with their new heroic champion, Divinos, lead him to
decide that gratitude wasn't particularly long-lasting and a sucker's game anyway. Ironically,
he couldn't even impoverish the citizenry because George Timons proceeded to buy virtually
every industry not owned by Kenneth Kane and build them up under the second Raven
Tower.

Amusingly, George Timons never really had an ear for business. A master detective,
scientist, and martial artist? Yes. Business? Not so much. It actually was due to the economic
advice of Karl Hernandez, a fairly minor clerk who had been his wife's guardian after she was
orphaned, that built Raven Industries into the economic powerhouse it is.

Karl, amusingly, still works in New Amsterdam as he finds Alex's antics in Falconcrest city a
little too much to deal with.
Before Kenneth Kane could do much to remove these interlopers, the Tsavong Invasion
occurred and the Patriots were formed. New Amsterdam was only one of a hundred major
cities they invaded but, unlike in Independence Day, they wanted to take the city intact. Still,
the sight of dozens of walking tentacled monstrosities and UFOs were enough to make the
Tsavong universally despised in the city even if their attack was relatively bloodless.

Invasion will do that.

As a reward for their protection of the city, New Amsterdam donated a plot of land in the
heart of the city to be reserved permanently for a mansion devoted to their use. The actual
cost for such a construction would be prohibitive even for George Timons as a vanity project
but it has been the sight of Patriots mansion ever since.

The mansion itself has been destroyed no less than fourteen times and damaged well over a
hundred. Currently, it's almost completely composed of alien technology that can repair itself
and which leads to multiple dimensions.

Ultramind 2.0 amuses herself there by answering the Patriots fan mail.

All of it.
.

Kenneth Kane would later form The Fraternity of Supervillains along with the Dark
Undermaster and Prince Low-Sum to destroy these interlopers. Later, Deathmonger would
attempt to eliminate them so he could conquer the world unimpeded. The team was briefly
replaced in the public consciousness by the Stalwarts, who turned out to be superpowered
Thran warriors attempting to integrate themselves with humanity until they could capture the
world's leaders.

Marr-Ann was a member of the Stalwarts and rebelled during her mission due to falling in
love with a human female.

Yes, Marr-Ann is gay, but that wasn't initially published in the Silver Age.

Several of the Stalwarts have returned since, including Blasto, Negative, Nexus, Godmind,
and Extremus. They are all Thran nationalists, but some have developed a fondness for Earth
since. Their attempts to become superheroes on Earth have usually failed miserably.

Belial, gameplayer that he did, assembled a team of supervillains of his own called The
Knights of the Inferno to destroy them. Both he and Mister Hoppy proved Divinos' most
persistent foe on their own, however, often bestowing supernatural powers on individuals
who amused him. It's a testament to New Amsterdam's capacity for the weird they got used to
the fact skyscrapers occasionally walked around on legs or Belial might transplant their city
to hell for a couple of hours.

As one citizen said, "Eh, it's not like the people in the Skids even noticed."
The Futuremen eventually opened their own academy on Sentry Island, the former
immigration location, with the blessing of the citizenry. For a time, they were extremely
popular and the whole idea of them being outcasts was sort of strange. The Futuremen and
Patriots often did wargames together and even had Thanksgiving together. Which,
unfortunately, changed with the Bronze age.

With literally dozens of the world's finest heroes operating in New Amsterdam, it seemed
crime was a thing of the past.

The Bronze Age

While Divinos, Athena, Ymir, and Samson were powerful enough to almost always prevent
every death by supervillains (especially when coupled with George Timon's formidable
intellect), the criminal underworld eventually adapted.

Criminals stopped trying to make a name for themselves in New Amsterdam and began
pulling super-crimes across the country.

PHANTOM, the International Crime League, and UNITY all arose like a phoenix from their
relatively ineffectual history - humiliating heroes often by distracting them with obvious
crimes while pulling off other ones elsewhere.

Well, Unity actually started to get CRAZY as opposed to more effective. This was when the
Globalist's brain tumor began affecting his behavior.

The Foundation for World Harmony erected its headquarters on Foundation Island not far
from New Amsterdam, which resulted in it becoming the obvious place to plan acts of
terrorism against it. Many believed with the seeming defeat of the House of Serpents by
America Force One, revenge attacks would be waged on the citizens there (almost all of the
early international Foundation's employees were originally New Amsters). Thankfully, this
never occurred, but regular attacks by terrorists became an accepted part of life in the city.

Bizarrely, aside from some costumed serpent-themed criminals and a few rogue cells, the
House of Serpents has never really operated in New Amsterdam. Excepting, of course, during
the Iron Age as will be detailed below.

Athena, Ymir, and Samson all left New Amsterdam to help elsewhere while Splotch and Ink
decided to devote their efforts to protecting their home city full-time. The city even lost its
sidekicks as the New Fighters for Freedom decided to take their efforts to Los Dios so they
could get some space from their mentors. Black Wing I, of course, never really operated in
the city unlike Dawn Wing I.

For a while, the Futuremen filled the void only for The Knights for a Pure Mankind,
Zulan, Ultramind robots, Project: Icarus mercenaries, and the Church of Humanity to
launch many attacks against them which resulted in innocent deaths. The Meta-Massacre of
street people under the city by Doctor Malus caused international outrage and the city to
reluctantly ask the Futuremen to leave. It was done quietly by revoking their right to use
Sentinel Island and the fact their mansion was destroyed by Exterminators just sealed the
deal.

Then they died.

The Iron Age

Most citizens of New Amsterdam didn't think of anything when General Iblis forced Divinos
to kill him. The general sentiment could be compared to a violin playing and it being the
world's smallest. However, in the days that followed, it was obvious Divinos was traumatized
and not even Betsy Bobbin his ever-present saintly love-interest or his best pal could
dissuade him from leaving Earth.

New Amsterdam was, honestly, thunderstruck.

Kenneth Kane gained soon his revenge against the city by electing a city council of his
puppets and then artificially created an economic depression. Kenneth Kane literally paid the
International Crime League to move a ridiculous number of mobs into the city and go on a
rampage.

Given Kenneth Kane spent much of the Iron Age *DEAD* he also never got to enjoy any of
it, being replaced by an imposter soon after starting New Amsterdam down its road to decline
only to return right before Divinos came back and ended it.

His tough luck.

Ganglord Gorilla, of all people, was driven out during this time and replaced with some of
the most homicidal and psychotic crime bosses in history. These included, Hellmaster, Eric
the Bloody, The Eye, Mister Nil, and The Etruscan. Hilariously, long-time Divinos foe and
Magi-mercenary, Lord Abyss, teamed up with Lucien Drake on several occasions to fight
them.

The Gene Nation also debuted during this time, carrying out attacks in retaliation for
"Genetic Oppression" against innocent civilians. A few of these groups even went further
than normal, founding the Zealots basis under Bishop X, and carried out ethnic cleansing
against normal humans. This, of course, did wonders for the reputation of Metamen across
the globe. Especially, when Cassius Mass framed several of the Tomorrow Societies allies for
it.

A reminder for posters not Phrozen, who has shown he gets it, Cassius Mass has redeeming
qualities but has done some seriously evil **** over the years.

The Justicars taking over Patriots mansion and declaring they would be enforcing a "harsh
but fair" new policy of maximum force against super-terrorists didn't help. While initially it
was met with a certain enthusiasm after Blood Wing's execution, Aquarius and Red Jaguar's
imperious manner plus the alien nature of Moss Pit didn't help matters.
The resulting collateral damage from several brawls with Gene Nation members also rapidly
diminished their popularity. Ironically, the Justicars would spend most of their Iron age
career, abroad. They didn't feel street crime was really worth it versus the REAL duties they
could be doing. The mansion actually ended up inhabited by the New Generation.

Hecate, of all people, was the one who freaked people out the most. It was a bit like Punky
Brewster or Blossom becoming an ax-wielding vigilante.

This didn't mean the city was completely absent of true heroes, however. The much maligned
but pure-hearted, Defender did a good job in fighting criminal influence. So did Dinosaur
Dave, a Metaman police officer who just happened to look like a anthropomorphized
Triceratops.

Dinosaur Dave, who insists you call him Dave, isn't a superhero in his mind since he's a
police officer who just happens to have superpowers.

Valkyrie also arrived, defending the weak with her enhanced brain.

John Milton and The Midnight Pact, sort of a morbidly depressing branch of 90s antiheroes
meets occultists, also did their part against everything from vampires to wannabe Satanists.
Peculiarly, and the reason they're on this list, none of them killed a single human during any
of their missions together despite several being prone to it. Given it was the same sort of team
Merlin always assembled, albeit darker, many have questioned why they weren't called the
Gateekeepers too.

"The Thirteen" members of the Midnight Pact consisted of Amulet, Moonstalker, Lucien
Drake, John Milton Miller, Lord Abyss, Mick Drake, Tiffany Blackthorn, Morwen, The
Silver Spear, The Living Mummy, Merlin, Frankenstein, and the Last Ranger in the
unlikeliest collection of world defenders of all time.

To say personality clashes existed within the group is an understatement given Abyss and the
Living Mummy were a mafia don and a serial killer while Frankenstein was an occasional
psychopathic mad scientist. Morwen was...Morwen. Still, they were surprisingly professional
about it.

Eventually, Tiffany Blackthorn died and both the Silver Spear and Living Mummy departed.
Morwen also traded out with her sister who wondered why the hell they hadn't called her to
begin with. The group still informally exists with Laura and the Morrison brothers replacing
the others. No one wants to invite the Dark Undermaster to meetings, though, and instead,
they work with the Hierophant. Sometimes, now, Valkyrie replaces Lord Abyss.

There was also the New Generation. Lady Grayhaven's hip band of new style superhumans
who were genre savvy and ready for the MTV generation.The fact it was the 90s and she used
the term MTV generation shows what's wrong with her leading the group. The New
Generation, amusingly, filmed all of their activities and were eventually published as a reality
TV series AFTER their failed heroic one.
The New Generation were a well-intentioned group of amateurs trying to become
superheroes without any real guidance, what with the New Fighters for Freedom having gone
on to become EXTREME superheroes. They New Gens, overall, a decent bunch but
frequently in over their heads and lost to severe personal problems.

Amusingly, the group frequently got into fights with the A-Squadron due to their own
feelings of inferiority. Misty Weiss and Crimson Wing do their best to pretend they weren't
members, even going so far as to cast magic so no one recognizes them. Ironically, they
remain fast friends with all of the survivors.

The A-Squadron was, curiously enough, based in New York as opposed to New Amsterdam.
Their General Venom-designed Statue of Liberty adjacent artificial island is still present and
waiting for the "new" team. Notably, no one in New York likes the Patriot's assigning of a
"babysitter" and the team has been offered a chance to head there without her.

Amusingly, the implication is to show up New Amsterdam's superheroes.

.

One of the most interesting characters of this time period was Trauma, who was a Metaman
heroine who ran to supervillain battles...to heal people and got annoyed when she was
expected to stop the supervillain then heal people.

Black Wing II has devoted himself to destroying every picture of her from this time period
since her costume was very risque and she was only eight years old at the time, despite
possessing an enhanced intellect and maturity

This was, of course, when the Divinos Imposters arrived. A final insult from Kenneth Kane,
he pretty much created a collection of false Divinos to spit on the public image of his former
friend.

* Kid Divinos, who he took under his wing.

* A temporarily revived General Iblis, who was placed in a cybernetic body which
reanimated his body.
* Infernalist, the temporarilly renamed Hell-Earth Divinos.
* Steel Commando III: Mistaken as Divinos since Alexander Timon's project was still in
development (ironically using subpar materials he'd thought abandoned)
* Ultimatum: An eight year old boy who was put in the costume.
* Puzzles II: Who took longer to go nuts and deformed. He had his own Puzzella.

After the Psychotic Seven's coup, Divinos, his family, and Steel Commando III dismantled
the group completely with General Iblis committing suicide after attempting to blow up the
city.

Amusingly, Kenneth Kane was found knee deep in his own wastes in a closet prison, General
Iblis having used his abilities to keep him prisoner towards the end of the experiment.

It took months, but eventually Divinos smashed down the majority of the criminals who'd
thrived in his absence while Raven Enterprises made billions reconstructing the city with
government help. Even the underworld came to a relatively stable state with Lord Abyss
taking over and only occasionally wanting to kill Divinos.

The biggest rival of the Magi in the city is Galaxy. Galaxy is, I **** you not, an intergalactic
crime syndicate run by Tsavong, Thundarians, and Thran. Human junk is actually a
worthwhile trade good that they blackmarket for weapons and interstellar drugs.

Plenty of marooned Tsavong veterans and Thran have found their way into it.

Needless to say, they forgave their hero for abandoning them.

Modern Age

New Amsterdam is a friendly, technologically advanced, economically prosperous city with a

surprisingly friendly attitude towards Metamen despite its many troubles. Along with Los
Dios, it is the one place they can be expected to be treated right and there's even the Meta
Burroughs for those who want to live amongst their own kind. The city is quite happy to
have Divinos back and any hard feelings against his departure have long since been forgiven.

What could go wrong?

Jack Washington III won the primary for New York due to New Amsterdam's almost
unanimous support.

Magi Ranks
From my own knowledge of the subject and canon within HED! the mafia is and has always
been a bit hypocritical on the subject (and many others). There's been exceptions but the
codes specifically forbid non-Sicilian members even if they can rise very high in the group
without being officially a member.

In the context of the Magi, which is slightly different from the Mob, the following ranks
exist:

Capo di tutti capi : the Boss of Bosses and head of the entire organization. Unlike the
Sicilian mafia, this position actually exists and centralizes the organization's power. The Boss
of Bosses really isn't QUITE as powerful as you might think since, even with the entirety of
the organization acknowledging him as its head, a Boss is usually only as powerful as his
personal territory and allies can make him.

As Sanchez said in License to Kill, "remember, you're only president for life."

James Moriarty II (Defacto), Baron Malus, Johnny Vice (Defacto), Baroness Malus, and
the Pre-Gorilla stage Ganglord were all considered this at one time. Since the disgrace of
Baroness Malus, the position is presently open.

I
Commissioner: Less of a parliament and more of a judiciary force, the Commissions of the
Magi more or less handles disputes amongst the various bosses. You need to talk to the local
Commission(s) in the Magi's various territories to seek revenge without starting a war or to
perform operations that don't involve taking a slice of the local action. A Central
Commission supposedly exists which supervises them all but this is semi-mythical even
within the ranks of the Magi.

Because of the magi's relatively small size, each local Commission usually consists of three
members. It's considered the "honorable" way to retire in the organization as they're given
hefty pensions and allowed to keep their wealth (but not the businesses that generated it). To
be a member of a Commission is about the only way a Boss or Underboss can leave active
duty.

Boss: Because the magi is somewhat smaller than the Sicilian mafia, usually restricted to one
per major city. Boss is the most dangerous title to have in the organization since it's really
where members get their first real taste of power. Underbosses crave the relative autonomy of
being a Boss and its almost feudal power. As a result, the Magi Bosses always have
Underbosses plotting against them. The only other way to become a boss is to seize territory
from other gangs or establish new branches.

Consigliere: More or less working as a Boss' Prime Minister, the Counselors of the Magi
watch the Underbosses and their servants for signs of embezzlement while handling matters
related to finance. They generally are family members who are completely devoid of
ambition but are proven rock solid in their loyalty. They must also have a reputation for cool
thinking and impartiality.

De-facto Consigliere can exist with non-Sicilians, but they are never referred to by their title.
The exception, which only occurs in the Magi, is when they are literally adopted or married
into an existing family.

Underboss: More or less the middle management of the Magi. The Magi here have their own
territory and soldiers but are supervised by their city's boss. Underbosses are always working
to undermine one another and eventually, kill their Boss to replace him. Bluntly, treachery is
as natural as breathing in the Magi.

Soldiers: Guess what they do. Soldiers are basically the brute force of an Underboss and he
can expect to have at least ten working for him. Soldiers are all made men and are fairly well-
treated in the organization. They are not cannon-fodder, even if they're not skilled assassins.
The role of cannon-fodder, instead, goes to associates and wannabes.

Made Men: A general catch-all term for people who are actually members of the Magi
versus people who work for them or are used by them. To be a Made Man in the Magi, you
actually have to officially not only be Italian but of pure Sicilian descent. Being the
hypocrites they are, the Magi turn a blind eye to Italian Americans of all sorts and have even
been known to flat out accept minions who lie about what they are.

Being a Made Man comes with one immediate benefit, you're immune to being killed off by a
member of the Magi and vengeance will be taken for you unless it's a state of war. Likewise,
your families will be taken care of if you fall. It should be noted that plenty of Jews,
Irishmen, and now plain old Americans work for the Magi in very intimate positions. They're
just not Made Men.

Made Men can usually expect to keep a piece of the action of whatever they take, which is
the real immediate benefit to being one, as well as being "immune." It should be noted,
though, that skimming is a HORRIBLE idea and the majority of any wealth they take will go
up the food-chain with the lion's share ending up in the Boss' hands.

Condottieri: A position in the Magi with no equivalent in real-life mobs. Condottieri are
superpowered members of the mob who serve as bodyguards, killers, and specialized service
agents (like telepaths). They have all the benefits of being Made men except for not being so.
They are traditionally excluded from the Magi's upper ranks, though several have subverted
this.

Condottieri are mostly recruited from the ranks of low-ranking Magi hoods who volunteer for
the various experimental processes that the International Crime League acquired from
Genesis island. As a result, the majority are mafisio through and through. Outsiders are used
as mercenaries in the literal sense but rarely achieve the rank of Condottieri.

Associates: Friends of the families, so to speak. Associates can gain incredible influence in
an organization but they must always have sponsors. Depending on the type of reputation
they've cultivated, they could be considered completely expendable or worth going to war
over.

There's really a never-ending number of people who want to help the Magi or be them. Many
of them are utterly clueless they will never be Made Men or think it's unimportant as long as
they're part of the Mob.

In addition to the traditional Magi-run criminal organizations, several Bosses actually have
forced ethnic gangs of other denominations under their boot. These relationships are VERY
nasty as the Magi is not the world's most politically correct organization.

Samantha Kane a.k.a Baroness Blade II a.k.a Madame Malice

Kenneth Kane's desire for an heir eventually lead him to create an artificial womb where the best of
thousands of women was cultivated in a lab for him by his geneticists before producing a young
daughter (killing literally thousands of still-developing clones once he was done). Samatha Kane
amused him for about a week before he sent her off to Abaddon in exchange for some minor
considerations from Orkus in the future.

Somehow, against all odds, Samantha Kane survived the next two decades and returned to the Earth
seemingly sane and willing to serve her father. All that was different from that she had a fondness
for wearing black leather Gestapo-esque uniforms in private and was prone to doing surgical
lobotomies on servants that left them berift of free will.

Okay, a lot was different.

One of Orkus' most devoted servants on the mortal world, Samantha Kane envisions a world where
humanity has been converted into soulless servants for the cause of soul-crushing Order. She is
capable of faking empathy but she has a raptuous devotion to Orkus and may even be in love with
him.
Samantha Kane lacks her father's pettiness and instead prefers to devote herself to bone-chillingly
horrific scientific experiments and organizing world terrorism in her spare time. Due to Kenneth's
own arrogance, she is actually a much better scientist and routinely fixes many of his mistakes
without his knowledge.

Samantha Kane would very much like to kill or brainwash Divinos into a loyal servant of Orkus but is
just as happy to spread the miserable power of PHANTOM, the International Crime League, or
SpartaCorp across the world in order to pave the way for his return. She's rolled well with recent
developments, after all ORKUS IS GOD and his triumph is inevitable. Samantha really is insane in this
regard as she's fully capable of being rational enough to plan for failure while simultaneously
believing Orkus is infalliable. Likewise, if Orkus said that 2+2 = 7 she would believe it while still being
able to do arithmatic.

Describing the kind of horrors worked on her mind while growing up on child of Abaddon is
impossible. Simply put, however, she is utterly and completely broken and the pieces have been put
back together in such a way as the cracks never effect her service. If she'd grown up in hell, it'd be
questionable if she could be more divorced from emotional reality.

What's interesting is, to all intents and purposes, Samantha Kane really is quite capable of appearing
normal. Whenever she's not alone, she behaves in an almost Jaqueline Onassis-like manner. She is
sweet, friendly, and able to charm everyone. Alone she revels in her love of terrorism and
destruction.
Samantha Kane is actually a trained warrior (her favorite weapon being dual pistols) and has, on
several occassions, lead PHANTOM and Unity missions with a wig. Somehow, she has a device which
prevents any hard evidence of his true appearance getting recorded. Several times, she's also fought
Athena with a specialized suit of armor or force-field belt which drastically increases her strength
and bestows upon her invunerability as well as flight).

Gatekeepers Members
Lord Abyss: Jerry Covello is the illegitimate son of a Magi crime lord put away by Divinos. Using the
Book of Orkus, he merged himself with the smallest fragment of an Elder God and gained power
over demons and more or less the equivalent of a demonic shadow Green Lantern ring (like a
Lasombra Methusaleh on crack! What? No one gets that?-Splotch). He hates Divinos and other
squeaky clean heroes while possessing, bizarrely, the most romanticized view of the Magi in the city.

Tiffany Blackthorn: A former supporting cast member of Moss Pit. Tiffany Blackthorn was raised the
Knights Hospitaller in the Catholic Church as a white mage to seek out and destroy evil influences in
the world. Tiffany, especially, was devoted to the destruction of the Book of Orkus or (at least) its
containment and spent years trying to gather up its pages. Tiffany was openly lesbian towards
towards the end of her career and the lover of bisexual Amulet.

Moss Pit cried the last human tears in his body for her.

John Milton Miller: Lucien Drake's only known biological son, John Milton Miller was conceived with
a woman he genuinely loved but who left him before he was aware of the offspring. John is a hedge
magician forced to use black magic for good due to the fact no normal spirits will work with him. He
tracks down people who have made pacts with demons and want to break them, using his skill as a
lawyer to do so. He also uses guile to defeat much tougher and older foes. The dangers of this are
clear and he's actually died several times only for Merlin, Belial, or others to bring his soul back from
Limbo.

John is an exceptional lawyer and handles both superhero law and supernatural.

Son of Horus: Elijah Henry Rivers was a New Amsterdam construction worker, Son of Horus was
contacted by a relative who revealed to him that he was a descendant of the Avatar of Horus.
Thinking the man crazy, he took up the equipment to become a superhero long before he discovered
he was actually the modern-day Pharoah. Elijah deals with the duality of being one of the most
grounded down-to-Earth heroes in the world while also having voices in his head from an ancient
Egyptian god.

Queen Isis the Invincible: An Egyptian handmaid to Cleopatra and mistress to one one of Mark
Anthony's soldiers, she attempted to save them by casting a ritual that would guarantee their
immortality. The spell, honestly, sorta-worked. Perpetually reincarnated across the next 2,000 years,
she often rediscovers her memories and mystical abilities only before something disastrous happens.
Worse, her lover eventually became corrupted by the power inside him and became the terrorist
and Silver Age foe, King Romulus.
Isis is determined not to be denied and is using longevity magic in this incarnation, having been
semi-active since the 1970s. Her mortal persona, a Egyptian-born Nurse, has become less prominent
to her over the years and she's become far more imperious and sensual.

New Amsterdam's Underworld

A short run-down for those interested.

The Magi: Overall the top dogs in the city, New Amsterdam is cursed with four families in the
Francesco, Covello, Valance, and Marenee. All four have Bosses at the top and are constantly
struggling for control. The traditional mafia has more or less been wiped out or subverted by them in
the city.

'The Four Families have a huge influence on organized crime in America, even if their power briefly
waned due to the rise of Ganglord Gorilla in Las Vegas. Divinos hasn't helped much either.

Galaxy: Armed with futuristic weaponry, Tsavong Shapeshifters, Thran Mercenaries, and plenty of
genetically enhanced humans (though, the genetic enhancements are just standardized stuff for
Thundarians). Galaxy is a frequent foe of Divinos and involved in the intergalactic drug, arms, and
slave trade. Galaxy routinely teams up with Baba Yaga and her daughters to bring new children to
Abaddon.
Its reigning family, the Grimms, are pretty much stereotypical 1920s gangsters who are actually
Tsavong with superpowers.

Infamous: The reigning gang over Meta-Town and fairly small-time operators compared to the Four
Families, Infamy controls this area of town at the sufferance of Lord Abyss who is doing so as a favor
to his father, Johnny Vice. Also, Amulet, who Lord Abyss doesn't quite comprehend the strange
relationship between (mostly because it's pretty fricking insane). Infamy has also served as a
welcome distraction to Divinos on numerous occasions.

Divinos has described the gang as "the army of a petty kingdom in the service of a petty man."

Skulls: Only in New Amsterdam is a gang of guys riding flying speeder bikes and wielding alien
weaponry (supplied by) Galaxy the sort of thing that goes unnoticed. The Skulls are a multi-ethnic
gang of speederbike enthusiasts who serve mostly as a pain in Divinos' cape despite their furturistic
weaponry. They are rivals with the Wolves.

Wolves: A African American gang controlled by a half-Hispanic woman called Lupe, a former
prostitute turned financier with telepathic memory-alteration and illusion powers, the Wolves are
fairly normal if not for their collection of extremely advanced weaponry. That is, they're motivated
by a desire for money and power as opposed to anything esoteric.

The Wolves recruit fairly heavily from Meta-Town and thus have often had people able to challenge,
if not defeat, Divinos. They actually have ties to the Gene Nation due to the fact Lupe, herself, is a
Metaman.

Ultra-Terrestrials: Mistakingly thought exterminated by Doctor Mabuse, the Ultra-Terrestrials are a

subterranean kingdom of clones and genetically engineered freaks living alongside the city's
expansive homeless population.

The Ultra-terrestrials are mostly the product of Project: Icarus' vast experiments just outside the city
and are usually harmless. However, because they need supplies for their expansive population, they
engage in vast amounts of theft and drug dealing.

In addition to the above there's literally dozens of other gangs in the city with no centralized leader.
Some gangs, also, like the Shadows, Snakes, Baron Crime Family, and the all-vampire Bloodsuckers
have been completely wiped out or dismantled.

The Magi
The true history of the Magi is difficult to separate from the fictions they perpetuate.
According to Magi history, the organization was formed by Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia. The
future Pope hired a secret army of Sicilian killers and mystics to serve as his personal defense
force against the White Lotus Society's assassins.

As in Assassin's Creed, the Borgias were members of the Knights Templar in HED!
Somewhat disappointingly, their replacements were no better and even the non-Templar
Cardinals of the Vatican at this time were often deeply unpleasant people.

This group, after the fall of Pope Alexander the Sixth, fled back to Sicily and began
accumulating power for themselves. Supposedly; they worked as mercenaries, bankers, and
wizards-for-hire. If this story were true, the Magi's history would actually predate the Cosa
Nostra proper by a number of centuries.

In truth, the Illuminati do have records of a gang of thugs they used as cats paws against the
White Lotus Society (that eventually became part of the Cosa Nostra) but it's not exactly a
history as illustrious as the Magi's own illuminated books depict it as being. They're all
forgeries, anyway. Basically, the Borgia-created Magi were a gang of murderers and bandits
with a little bit of Sicilian folk magic.

The next few centuries were spent being cruel and abusive feudal overlords on Sicily,
torturing and abusing peasants while reminiscing about their glory days. When the Sicilian
mafia was created in the 19th century following the fall of feudalism, the Magi were there.
Mostly because, cowards and bullies they were, the Magi saw new potential for power.

Despite being better organized and richer, the Magi were surprisingly only a minor part of the
early Cosa Nostra. It helped, by this time, that the Magi were only a few feuding families
with an exaggerated sense of self-importance. Feuds and vendettas between several of the
houses (plus covert actions against them by the Knights Hospitaller) lead to the surviving
Magi families only remaining a "creepy" part of the larger organization.
That is, until Baron Malus.

Don Alfredo Roberto Giovanni Gaspari was a confidence man with ties to the remaining
families of the Magi. He's since been elevated to supernatural status by the Magi but his early
history was somewhat pathetic, fleecing rich women of support for a non-existent Sicilian
Civil War with himself as the brother of a (fictitious) exiled prince.

Nevertheless, made wealthy from the inheritance of several Westerners, Don Alfredo used it
to construct a vast estate and remodel his family home. During this, he discovered, of all
things The Book of Orkus.

The real thing, not a copy. Albeit, 111 of its 666 pages were missing.

Summoning Quasimodo since he couldn't get Orkus himself, Don Alfredo sold his soul and
the soul of all of his descendants in exchange for real magic.

He needed to do the later since Quasimodo was less than impressed with the service of a
aging con man.

Soon becoming the most powerful mafioso in Sicily, he was forced to flee the island with his
entire family due to the White Lotus Society sending a dozen highly trained witch hunters
after rumors of his perversions reached their ears.

Ironically, he was only guilty of about one out of ten.

Wealthy and supernatural in early 20th century America, he decided to resume his old trade
and gave himself the unearned title of Baron Malus. New Amsterdam was almost completely
absent of organized mafia activity and the Four Families trace their descent directly back to
his five illegitimate children (The ironically named Baron family having since been wiped
out).

Don Alfredo recruited a small army into his service from local immigrants and terrorized the
city for several years until Antaeus beat down his door and smacked him around, magic or no
magic.

In fact, the first issue of SUPER! comics depicts Antaeus beating down the door of an
unnamed mafia
Don before slapping the **** out of it. This, in fact, was Don Alfredo.

Fearing Antaeus above all things, Don Alfredo allied with James Moriarty II who had
created a network of most of the other major mobs in the country. Don Alfredo considered
James Moriarty II a peer while Moriarty considered him a peon.

Its an apocryphal story; Don Alfredo summoned a hundred demons to force James Junior into
becoming his slave, only for the Moriarty scion to pull out a hand-held orihalcon-powered
death ray and obliterate them all.
Despite the two men consistently failing to eliminate the superheroes of America, the magi
benefited tremendously and became almost as powerful as the mafia proper.

Then Mussolini happened.

By the time Hitler unveiled his Bio-Blitzkrieg project, Mussolini was desperate to have any
sort of edge to make him more than a puppet leader. To this end, he made an offer to Don
Alfredo to come back and become sole-remaining crime lord of Italy. Given Mussolini was
the determined enemy of the mafia, this must have stuck in his craw (or he never intended to
fulfill his part of the bargain). For the better part of WW2, comics were filled with stories of
Baron Malus working with the Italians as a stereotypical archvillain.

The Magi were almost totally destroyed outside of New Amsterdam with their leader turning
fascist. What mafiosi who weren't disgusted by his treason against Sicily *AND* America
were revolted by the fact he was allied with the mafia's biggest enemy.

Many of their own troops abandoned them and no one objected when the Feds came crashing
through their door. To this day, the Magi claims Baron Malus never worked with Mussolini
and it was an imposter/clone/robot thing. New Amsterdam's families, ironically, survived by
severing ties with him.

Baron Malus actually achieved a good deal of success as a magical supervillain. For a while,
he was considered as dangerous as Count Reich and was believed by Allies to be plotting to
assume control of the Axis via dark magic.

The Magi managed to recover, albeit very slowly, recruiting from the bottom of the barrel
and behaving in about as nasty a manner as anyone could imagine. Still, for about thirty
years, "Maggie" was a swear word in the American and Sicilian mafias. Really, it was Bugsy
Siegal's most questionable move to invite their remnant to participate in the construction of
Las Vegas.

The group actually had its biggest successes in Europe, its remnants recruited by Death Mask
III to serve as the basis for PHANTOM's burgeoning network of spies. Millions poured in
from that alliance and the group found itself possessed of advanced weaponry and
government contacts that made it powerful again. By the 1972, the year low-ranking
gambling hall manager Johnny Vice was elected "Boss of Bosses" as a means of drawing out
assassins, the group was once more incredibly powerful.

Johnny Vice, actually, arranged for the election as a "joke" by careful manipulation. Already,
he'd managed to make millions in the cocaine trade and building some of the most successful
dance clubs in the country. Millions he made expansive use of to become even more rich and
powerful.

The Magi is no more immune to bribes than any other criminal organization and his careful
investment of the organization's funds in legitimate businesses (as well as gambling)
stabilized the group in America. It didn't hurt that, oddball as he was, he was happy to murder
anyone who got in his way.
Ironically, he's still considered something of a joke due to his flamboyant mannerisms and is
frequently the subject of sexually derogatory remarks.

The retirement of Johnny Vice lead to a very awkward transition of power when Baron Malus
returned from exile in Sicily, apparently no worse for wear despite forty years having passed.
Baron Malus, now insisting EVERYONE call him by this title, began using his magic and
stolen PHANTOM technology to create superpowered soldiers for his plots to take over the
world! Well, not quite that bad but seizing nuclear missiles, trying to kill the Patriots, and
kidnapping the Prime Minister of Italy to replace with a homunculus are just some of the
subversive activities they participated in.

Which is why everyone breathed a sigh of relief when young Serena Mass reversed a spell to
make him a god and seemingly killed him for good.

In fact, it didn't. Baron Malus is now genuinely immortal as an energy-based Anti-God. It's
just he's an Anti-God with no other abilities than his immortality. Immortality which sucks
because since he can't die, heavy-hitters like Athena and Divinos have no problem tearing
him to pieces as soon as they find him.

He's been killed seven times since his original death. Almost always within days of his
regeneration.

The Organization, as it's nicknamed, passed into the hands of Ganglord Gorilla. Falconcrest
City's magi overlord wasn't yet a walking simian but was already well known for being a
vicious murdering sociopath. When Doctor Necros transplanted his mind into a gorilla, most
of the Magi abandoned their allegiance but ended up being dragooned into the International
Crime League by their leadership. Amusingly, Ganglord Gorilla never realized how much his
own former organization disdained him.

Replacing Ganglord Gorilla as Boss of Bosses was, of all people, Vanessa Gaspari. The
innocent daughter of Baron Malus' latest mistress, the Four Families revealed her heritage to
the public and ruined her life before forcing her into the business. Arranging for the murder
of her adoptive family and blaming it on the Black Hand, the Magi gave her a crash course
in criminal mastermind behavior and made her Baroness Malus.

A known romantic foil to Black Wing II and Steel Commando III during their international
adventures.

Eventually, Baroness Malus discovered the Magi were responsible for her adoptive family's
death and had a nervous breakdown. She's still institutionalized and the organization is
currently without a leader. That doesn't mean it's not one of the most powerful criminal
empires in the world and is certainly the strongest in New Amsterdam.

New Amsterdam Locations

New Bourbon: A predominately Afro-American community that has recently tripled in population
due to a preponderance of New Orleans refugees coming to live here, New Bourbon is defended by
Son of Horus and his attitude towards other heroes is decidedly less than friendly. New Bourbon,
amusingly enough, was home to many blacksploitation heroes during the 1970s.

Of all things, the most common problem in New Bourbon is vampires.

Cathedral Park Row: Informally known as Blood Alley, Cathedral Park row is the worst
neighborhood in all of New Amsterdam and the home of the Midnight Swordsman. Despite
numerous attempts to reform the district, nothing has ever really worked. It is a center of extremely
dangerous gang activity and not all of Divinos' efforts have cleaned it up.

Lamplighter Island: The Lamplighter statue is a massive steel Revolutionary War hero with a domino
mask and a lantern in one hand that turns on every night to signal boats in port. Interestingly, the
island is built over a secret base of The House of Serpents that was recently abandoned but still
contains vast amounts of equipment and technology. It would be simplicity for a group of heroes to
move in.

Meta-Town: After the massacre of the Ultra-Terrestials by Doctor Mabuse, the city refurbished one
of its lesser neighborhoods to set up a new home for refugees from the rest of the country's Meta-
hysteria. Meta-town bears some similarities to Joker Town in the Wild cards books with the fact it is
predominately a place of despair as opposed to one of happiness. Richer, attractive, and powerful
Metas generally move to the West Coast while those who are just trying to live under the radar go
here.

Drug abuse and arms trading is rampant here. Unsurprisingly, the Tomorrow Detective Agency has
big business here.

Millennium Building: The former home of Doctor Aeon and the Fabulous Five, the Millennium
Building was permanently leased by the John Smith Society as a favor to the Aeon family. As a result,
they have their own personal multidimensional base at the top of the place plus dozens of floors
devoted to various scientific experiments. Amusingly, the Millennium Building's most profitable
business is actually the Daily Sentinel which is one of the most honest newspapers in the country.
Likewise, the building also houses Amazing! comics for free.

Perhaps ironically, the Aeons are almost never present and thus are not able to handle many of the
problems the two groups run into.

Patriots Mansion: The formal headquarters of the Patriots since the destruction of Seventh Heaven,
Patriots Mansion is surrounded by huge skyscrapers and seems out of place in the middle of Park
Place and Boardwalk. Still, it is often a source of fighting and the Patriots are considering moving
their headquarters permanently due to the potential danger it poses to nearby buildings.

Pellucidar: A massive Project: Icarus-built nature preserve constructed back when the organization
was still part of the United States government. Pellucidar was built outside the city but is within
spitting distance and connects to New Amsterdam through its tunnel's system.

Pellucidar has dinosaurs, treetop cities on steel-hard trees, Moreau-built animal men, emancipated
clones, and plenty of sentient robots working for the scientists who are no longer affiliated with
Project: Icarus. Now, only legitimate DNA research is done here.

Honest.

SpartaCorp Building: A singularly massive "S" shaped building that is built over a massive
underground complex complete with a small army's barracks, testing center, and underground
laboratories for all manner of unpleasant experimentation. Jack Washington III's face is now
ubiquitous with a big picture of his face on a tapestry hanging down the side.

Raven Tower: More or less identical to the one in Falconcrest City, it is a black-tinted windowed
building in a mass of gray and white ones. Raven Towers, ironically, shines as a ray of hope in a city
that often finds itself in dire economic strife. Like the SpartaCorp building, it has a huge underground
complex beneath it.

Undertown: Constructed by Robur the Conqueror as a potential refuge from humanity's evil in the
late 19th century, Mole people and disease wiped out most of the populace. Still, robots and free
housing was available and squatters from the Ultra-Terrestials have since made this place their
home.

Undertown steals power from the rest of the city and is often a refuge for criminals due to the fact
that they naturally accept virtually anyone fleeing from society. That and, honestly, any money is
good down there.

The Alpha Sentry

Surely an officeful of investigative reporters would have noticed by now that soft-spoken journalist
Ivan Iverson is secretly the Alpha Sentry. Every time danger rears its hideous head, Ivan will recite an
excuse (early in his career they were logical. Now his excuses border on the surreal), run off into
some cupboard, and, sure enough, the Alpha Sentry will burst through the ceiling to save the day.
They are nearly identical, save that Ivan has a mole. The Aeons, during their brief visits, have noticed
this behaviour, and presume that the reporters protect his identity out of gratitude.

They are wrong. The Alpha Sentry is what allows the Sentinel to get the scoop in places that other
papers wouldn't dream of sending star reporters to. The Sentinel staff have been known to let Count
Reich kidnap them in order to uncover plots, confident in the Alpha Sentry's crime-fighting prowess.
Also, the Alpha Sentry continuously drops hints that he will refuse to save them if they ever reveal
his identity.

He is a manipulative man. Despite Mithran level powers, he prefers to trick his enemies into their
defeat. These ruses often come at a cost to his "friends", mostly temporary, like the time that cub
reporter Fred Kowak ended up marrying a super-intelligent orangutan in order to trick the
Crimelords A-Leaping into confessing on tape, or the time he got his mind swapped with the Iron
Khan's best stallion, or the time he became a rock and roll sensation in the Future of Wonders to
prevent a villain from even farther in the future from being born. Don't even get me started on what
the interns go through.

Sara Street

Sara Street used to be the Sentinel's top investigative journalist. That was a long time ago. These
days, she's kept on the payroll more out of pity than anything else, although she does still have
flashes of her old brilliance.

Her determination to be the best, and her attraction to Ivan Iverson/the Alpha-Sentry, meant that
she was a frequent target for his manipulation. As a result, years of memory-wiping, mind-control
and just plain gaslighting by both him and his enemies have left her with serious mental problems.

Firstly, she is the only member of the Sentinel staff who doesn't know that Iverson is the Sentry. In
fact, she is completely incapable of retaining this information, even if someone directly tells her.

Ironically, her second problem is that her attraction to the Alpha-Sentry has turned into an obsession
that usually manifests in attempts to "expose" his secret identity. Remonstrations from the Sentinel
staff that they don't want to expose his identity fall against the same mental barriers as the fact they
already know it. She's convinced that revealing the Alpha-Sentry's identity will prove once and for all
what a great investigative journalist she is.

On other occasions, the obsession will manifest in attempts to trick him into marriage, often by
feigning interest in other superheroes "to make him jealous". Sometimes she appears to be under
the impression that he'll have to marry her if she learns his secret identity.

Sara despises Iverson, since some subconscious level of her mind recognises who he is and what he's
done to her. However, since she doesn't consciously know why she hates him, she rationalises it as
contempt for the "soft-spoken journalist" persona. Which was actually what she was originally
attracted to.

Villain notes
While the Living Mummy owes his wretched lot to weird science, the life-drinking creature has
crossed paths with a number of supernatural figures during his history. Searching for a cure for his
condition, the Living Mummy pursued both scientifc and occult remedies. He has battled against the
Headless Horseman (preternatural murderers do not go unnoticed by the senior Drake), the
patchwork woman Forever Eve (when the somewhat hapless Eve was swept into the modern day by
time-traveller Disco-Tech Donna in a causality-loop sort of thing), and Madame Tomorrow (one of
her few personal foes), when the Living Mummy was trying to unearth her family secrets.

On the other hand, the Living Mummy has also battled against Vlad Dracula's vampire legions,
disrupted a ritual set up by Count Reich II to wake the Beasts Under the City, and been a frequent
thorn in the sides of both Dr. Necros and his "creator" Dr. Moreau. When serving in the Midnight
Pact, he faced down foes who committed far more loathsome acts of evil than ever he did.

Mazuku has practiced a far more focused brand of villainy than most, concentrating almost
exclusively on New Amsterdam in his criminal career. He has been diligent on cultivating his position
as the Gentlemen's second-in-command and establishing a power base in the city. During his earlier
life in Japan, Mazuki did hire out to the International Crime League, serving on one of their
assassination and enforcement teams. In this capacity, he did go up against the Aeon Family on a
few occasions and (once) the Patriots as well.

The Living Mummy's Betrayal

In his own mind, Dr. Easton on some level rationalizes his actions as that of a tragic hero, a man
driven to murder and horror but one who will ultimately be redeemed by a grand heroic gesture.
This helps the Living Mummy retain a vestige of sanity and avoid utter-self destruction, but also
allows him to justify depraved acts. If he had true nobility, the former Dr. Easton would commit
suicide or seek obliteration by attacking some massively powerful foe.

The latter was almost the case once, when redeption might still have been an option. The Midnight
Pact had ventured into a hellish Grigori-created Mirror World, a hideous dimension whose ruler was
intent on consuming the earthly mortal plane. After defeating the monstrously twisted Grigori
sorcerer behind the madness, the Midnight Pact were retreating from the collapsing world to their
portal back to Earth, when they were set upon by an ancient, indescribable thing. Already spent
from their prior battle, the other Pact members would have been easy fodder for the monstrosity,
but the Living Mummy voluntered to battle the thing singly, to give his friends time to escape.

At the last moment, Dr. Easton could not face his own destruction. He turned and drained the life of
Tiffany Blackthorn to fuel his strength, granting him enought vitality to slay the beast. He then fled
through the rapidly closing portal, arriving on Earth only seconds later than his allies, but hundreds
of miles apart.

All the other Pact members had witnessed his act, though none could intervene. Dr. Easton cast
himself as Elric slaying the beloved Cymoril to stop Chaos from infesting the world. None of the
others would ever see the murder of Tiffany Blackthorn as anything but an act of cowardice and rank
betrayal.

The Living Mummy still exists only because of unseen intervention from various major occultists and
wizards who believe he might be of use in the future: The Iron Khan, Merlin, the Hierophant, and the
White Warlock (all the usual suspects, basically). He is among the most friendless creatures in
existence.

The Electric Ghost

The Electric Ghost: As the human psyche inside the robotic construct was overwhelmed with
simultaneously being bombarded with new sensations while isolated from familiar experiences
(smell, taste, temperature), the Electric Ghost originally acted as little more than a berserk
mechanical man. He would run amok until being put down by Splotch or (more rarely) another New
Amsterdam hero, such as Nightwoman or even the vicious Stain (who badly damaged the Ghost's
electronics in the process). The dormant frame would be stored in a police warehouse or research
center until another supervillain or a conveninet electrical accident awakend the mind within,
starting the cycle anew.

This lasted until an eccentric collecter from the Great Lakes region arranged to buy the inert robotic
shell from the engineering firm last put in charge of studying the "constantly malfunctioning
automaton". When the creature inevitably came back to "life" and went on a rampage, it ended up
facing off against a trio of the Midwest's most earnest heroes, the Lakeland Liberators!, namely The
Big Answer, Captain Catastrope, and the Answer's up-for-anything paramour Robert Jack. While Big
Answer brawled with the Electric Ghost (outmatched despite her considerable bulk), Jack deduced
the means to stop the raging robot, improvisng the means to use Captain Catastrophe as a human
javelin. The Captain's powers kicked in and caused a freak lightning strike, which amazingly spared
Big Answer while frying the Ghost's circuits. But perhaps because of the weird nature of the
Captain's abilites and the general strangeness of the Liberators' home city, the mind inside the now
slagged construct suddenly became a Ghost Outside the Machine-suddenly again coherent and fully
conscious. At first overjoyed at newly recovered freedom, the new Electric Ghost soon became bitter
and frustrated by the nature of its' existence as a living electrical spirit.

Jumping from one circuit system and/or ambulatory machine to another, the Electric Ghost made its'
way back to New Amsterdam, seeking a cure for its' condition. It has since largely worked for various
science-villains such as Dr. Tarantula who promise to create a human body for the Ghost to inhabit.
At times it still simply goes into a frenzy, creating or possessing powerful mechanical bodies to lash
out at the world.

Action Plans: Armageddon

After several invasions of Earth were repelled but just barely by the various heroes of Earth, Dame
Holmes brought together a think tank to make a summery of the Foundation's resources and which
could be used in the event that the heroes failed. Dame Holmes informed the think tank that
nothing was off the table even if the idea was a spectacularly bad sounding at this present time.

The plans are divided into three categories: Desperation, Apocalypse, and Spite.

Desperation Plans

Desperation plans are for when the heroes have failed and traditional armies have been defeated.
They mostly include alliances and support with various supervillains. Including springing some that
they have locked up. Other plans include using doomsday weapons collected from various
supervillains. A sampling include:

-Gathering up remaining metahuman or highly skilled humans like The Renegades, Supreme,
Razortalon, Black Dragon, and others. Arming them with the biggest guns that the Foundation has in
its vaults and using them as a strike team to decapitate an invading armies general.
-Allying with the Iron Khan and giving him all their magical weapons.
-Allying with PHANTOM and giving them back all the Doomsday weapons the Foundation has
collected over the years.

Apocalypse Plans

Apocalypse Plans are when humanity itself is at stake. The situation has gotten so bad that humanity
has to preserved no matter what the cost. These plans include plans to cause catastrophic damage
to the planet or makes deals with other powers that will ensure humanities survival. Examples:

-Ripping a huge hole into Otherworld and letting the Fae into the world.
-Becoming a vassal of the Tsavong and/or Thran.
-Cracking open Manhatten Project's armor.
-Releasing Gene Nations MetaMaker virus.
-Using Seventh Heaven as a large missile.

Spite Plans

Spite plans are for when all is lost and humanity has a very slim change of surviving. They are used as
a last resort to hopefully kill whatever is attacking the Earth. They are the 'we are gonna take you
with us' plans. These are the most spectacularly bad ideas that the think tank could come up with.
Some highlights:

-Waking up whatever is entombed in Lost Dutchman Mine.

-Activating the transmitter in Cibola.
-Unfreezing Dalit, pumping her full of aggression drugs, and hoping that 40-50 years of pooled power
is enough to burn everything to cinders.
-Ripping a huge hole into the Annihilation Zone.
-Crashing the moon into the Earth.

Villain notes 2

My final thoughts on Splotch rogues and their places in the greater HED setting...

Gryfalcon:One of the rare Splotch foes who almost never gets out of New Amsterdam, remaining a
local threat to Splotch and a few of the other native heroes. Gryfalcon is convinced he's a Big Fish in
a Small Pond, but the truth is he's really just a winged thug, not even making the top 50 in the FBI's
most wanted list. The ICL rarely even considers him for assignments, as the higher-ups consider him
provincial and unexceptional as a criminal. He does show remarkable persistance, particularly as
Gryfalcon is really not particularly sharp or ambitious. Still, he's been an ememy of Splotch's for
years.

Gryfalcon's greatest successes have come as a frequent member of the Nightmare Nine, an
assemblage of Splotch's regular sparring partners brought together from time to time by
masterminds such as Dr. Necros, the Gentleman, or Anansi the Trickster; the membership has also
included Big Wheel (formerly the Unicycle Man), Flashjack, The Golden Golem,The Hippo, Mazuku,
the Millipede, and even Stain.
(Thanks to Crinos and Libra for most of the Nightmare Nine).

Wolfwere: Romulus Moon has been MIA for some time now-ever since a mass breakout at Super-
Alcatraz; several members of the recently revived Worldwide Patriots tracked down both Wolfwere
and Synnar the Oblivion Guardsman, also an escapee. Bountiful Beryl, Mr. Impossible, and Lysenko
the Adapting Man were embroiled in a knock-down, drag-out with the pair when a mishap with Mr.
Impossible's Thunder-Tunnel technology resulted in the entire group being transported to
Godspurne, Synnar's home world, in the midst of a full-scale demon-humanoid planetary civil war.
The five banded forces together, first to preserve their own lives, then to go on and form a
resistance cell to the Demon Oligarchy (who had re-assummed rule after the Grigori first banished
Synnar to the A-Zone). Eventually other cosmic powers took an interest in the conflict, and
dispatched their own "advisors" to support the rebels' side, such as the Adjudicator (nemesis of the
1970s hero Starfall) and Mar-An the Galactic Guardsman.

Wolfwere has become a brave and noble hero on Godspurne, full in control of his lycanthropic
transformations, as Godspurne is in a state of perpetual eclipse, with the effects of the sun and
moon in balance. Still, Romulus Moon must struggle to control his natural feral, berserker nature
when in pitched battle.

The Commission

Formation
Other than heroes James Moriarty's second biggest obstacle was the Lucky Luciano's National Crime
Syndicate. Frequently called just The Syndicate or simply The Commission. The Commission was
alliance of bosses that weren't owned by Moriarty's Phantom Empire. Mainly consisting of New
York's five families, The O'Hara Syndicate in Freehold, and The Patricia crime family of Boston. Minor
members included the families in New Jersey, Buffalo, and Philadelphia. The Commission was multi-
ethnic as in HED! Luciano went further in his steps to do business with non-Italians as the Magi were
putting pressure on the Jewish and Irish crime families in the Northeast.

Ironically, while the Phantom Empire and Commission were opposed, they worked together as often
as they fought and some members like Bugsy Siegal did frequent business with the other side. Lucky
Luciano and Meyer Lanksky being disciples of Arnold Rothstein were quite familiar of course with
James Moriarty. In a touch of hubris though Moriarty passed over handing over New York to the
young up and comers choosing to instead deal with the existing bosses Giuseppe Masseria and
Salvatore Maranzano hoping to fold the Mustache Pete's into the existing Magi organization. This of
course would put Luciano and other young turks farther down the totem pole. Not something they
were ready to accept. While the Mustache Pete's battled each other to see who would be the boss
of New York, Luciano began building an outside power structure. Recruiting first his long time friend
Meyer Lansky who brought in Jewish gangsters like Bugsy Siegel and Dutch Schultz. Luciano went on
to recruit ambitious young Italians in both Masseria's and Maranzano's organizations. Luciano also
reached out to the remaining Irish gangs.

With people on both sides and outside the Italian Mob's two biggest factions, Luciano quietly began
to play the two sides against each other. Perhaps sensing that Luciano was up to something Moriarty
had Luciano abducted and beaten leading to a facial scar and droopy eye. This did not stop him.
After setting up Masseria, Maranzano made Luciano his number two and declared himself capo di
tutti capo of New York and made clear his plan to join the Magi. Using his contacts in the Jewish
mob, Luciano had Maranzano stabbed to death by mobsters posing as government agents. What
followed in the days after was the execution of the entire old guard of La Cosa Nostra. That Luciano
had the hands of the Mustache Pete's delievered to Moriarty and Baron Malus is probably just an
urban legend.

Consolidating his power in New York, Luciano was approached by Moriarty who offered Luciano
placement high up in the Phantom Empire. Noting that Moriarty tried to have him killed Luciano
firmly rejected the offer. Knowing that he would be crushed even if he held one of the biggest cities
in North America, Luciano began to find other families under similar pressure from the Magi, finding
allies in Freehold and Boston. The three major families of the The Commission were formalized. The
Commission was more a loose alliance and business society then a hard structure like the Phantom
Empire.

On again and off again war with the Phantom Empire and specifically The Magi continued in the pre-
war years.

Murder Inc

Murder Inc was formed shortly after The Commission. While not working strictly for the
organization, most of their work was handed down from the syndicate, its leaders were part of the
The Commission, and most of its members worked for the families in the Commission. Many Golden
Age heroes fought against Murder Inc. members. The government thought they brought the
organization down in the 1940s but it just got quieter.

The members were soldiers and other killers from many of the gangs associated with the
Commission. Irish, Italian, and Jews were the most represented. Murder Inc also recruited metaman
to counter the magic they faced when taking on Magi targets. Perhaps the most well known of these
was Malcom Odell, better known by his nickname The Cleaner. Odell could turn intangible for short
periods of time allowing him to get almost anywhere. Murder Inc still exists and is part of the Society
of Assassins.

Decline

The wars years and 1950s were the height of The Commission's power. Due to Baron Malus choosing
to work with the Axis, the Federal Government allied with the Commission. During this period the
Baron family was eliminated when they tried to take over New York City's docks. These murders
where covered up by the OSS as a matter of national security. Using the power of the state, the
Commission was able to severely curb The Magi's power.

After the war though the Feds turned on The Commission. Luciano was exiled to Sicily. Bugsy Siegal
was murdered for inviting the remains of The Magi to invest in Las Vegas. Meyer Lansky lost almost
everything due to the Cuban Revolution. The final hammer was when Ganglord Gorilla consolidated
many of the criminal families in the ICL. The remaining members of The Commission are the O' Hara
Syndicate in Freehold and the Winter Hill Gang in Boston who took over after the fall of the Patricia
in the 1960s. With the recent splitting of the ICL though The Commission could see a return to
power.

Immortals Anonymous

Yes, there exists a support group for the mortality challenged. Its harder then you think being
not able to die. Sure, everybody knows about losing friends and family repeatedly and that is
pretty depressing. Immortals Anonymous can help with that by bringing various other
mortality challenged individuals together. Immortality is actually one of the most common
powers though it does not make the headlines in this age of superheroics. Many immortals are
just trying to get by.

There are other challenges however. Attaining proper ID is hard. How do you explain to the
DMV lady that you were really born about 10 AD? Bank accounts, property ownership,
taxes, and really any other function of modern society can really be stressful to those who can
not reveal their true birth date. Immortals Anonymous can introduce you to individuals who
are aware of the special challenges faced by the immortal community.

Whether it is natural mutation, blessing of the divines, supernatural curse or blessings,

scientific experiment, or alchemical process all are welcome. We keep your identity secret as
to protect our members from those who would do them harm. Look up your local chapter
today*.

*Vampires are not welcomed and will be staked on sight. Lucien Drake is also not welcome.

Notable Members of Immortal's Anonymous

Severius Furius Cornuta: Roman legionnaire alive since 1 BC or earlier. Apparently, was cursed by
Fortuna to experience two decades of wealth and good wealth followed by five decades of poverty
forever. What caused this curse is a matter he won't explain.

Guillermo Soto: Surviving member of Ponce de Leon's crew. They did find the Fountain of Youth but
it only seems to work on certain individuals, of which Soto is the last remaining. Soto says that the
fountain doesn't exist anymore. It was paved over sometime in the 1960s.

Miranda Ravenhair: A fae princess from Otherworld. She was summoned to Earth in the 1600s.
Miranda was bound to a novice magician of some little talent. Posing as his wife then his daughter
Miranda stayed bound for the magician's life. After the magician died Mirand chose to stay, giving up
most of her power. Here on Earth she had more freedom then in Otherworld plus, the humans were
not unkind to her.

Khethukuthula: From Zimbabwe. Khethukuhula, or one who chooses to be quiet has been alive since
the at least the 17th century. Most of his history has to do with his time with the Zulu but some of
the things he talks about could stretch back to Great Zimbabwe in the 11th century. It is supposed
that Khethukuhula is a natural metaman immortal.

Albrecht Trommler: Born of an alchemist from Innsbruck. Albrecht was held as a hostage by
vampires to force his father to work for him. When it was found that he could survive being totally
drained, his father was murdered and Trommler was kept locked up for 200 hundred years. He was
freed when Lucien Drake killed his master. Due to his experiences Trommler is perhaps more
fanatical about the extermination of vampires then the Van Helsing society.

Mercenaries

War for profit is something with a slightly more respectable pedigree in Heroic Earth than it
is in our world. The self-funded mercenary efforts of partisans during WW2 followed by
activities of larger groups during the Age of Spies meant that it's a perfectly viable career in
many people's eyes. As villified as Blackwater/Xe is in our world, there's numerous much
larger organizations spread across the globe just waiting for you to join up.

Of course, A LOT of these are evil but not all of them.

The rules regarding paid combatants in HED! are fairly clear. For the most part, provided
they've been hired by a host nation, they're governed by the rules covering any other soldier.
This allows them to operate with a much greater degree of freedom in this HED! than they do
on Earth. Likewise, the United States actually employs mercenaries in combat operations in
certain cases, though they publicly refrain from doing so.

Bluntly, mercs are expendable assets and ones the USA are quite willing to use.

Here's a small list of PMCs you'll find in the world of Heroic Earth:

Watchtower Ltd.: The world's largest PMC and recently acquired by Jack Washington III,
Watchtower Ltd is capable of fielding a military force every bit as powerful as some nations.
Its members are mostly retired American soldiers and people recruited from countries where
they have a strong presence. They try and present themselves as an American Foreign Legion
and, for the most part, they are correct.

Watchtower Ltd. primarily works for the American government but has recently been
expanded to do many security jobs for SpartaCorp. Jack Washington III is expanding the
group with many of the House's own soldiers and slowly changing the focus of the
organization to one gigantic public-face of the House. Many of Watchtower's members are
starting to get a little unsettled by its new recruits and bosses, especially since they've begun
doing black ops for the CIA and Foundation for World Harmony.

(Actually the House with the assistance of agents in the CIA)

Amusingly, since the RL one can't find its legs, FEMA has been co-opted by the House of
Serpents in many places and is being used to construct large number of detention facilities
under the guise of disaster relief. Jack Washington III is already starting to kidnap people he
frames for terrorism or subversion then either forces them to work for him or keeps them
indefinitely.
Viper Corporation: A bit on the nose, Viper Corporation is just flat out composed
completely of House of Serpents personnel. Unlike Watchtower Ltd. it is an organization
with a bad reputation as being filled with jingoistic nasty brutes willing to work for dictators
and worse if it gives them the opportunity to kill foreigners. This is untrue. They work for
money, the opportunity to kill foreigners is just a bonus.

Viper Corporation is ridiculously well-armed for an organization its size with cybernetics,
laser weapons, and robotics suits. Metamen are not welcome in the organization due to the
culture which has emerged around it and anti-Meta ops are appreciated by the men.

Viper Corporation is actually based in Zulan as opposed to the United States due to the
questionable nature of many of their ops. They fought agaisnt the Red King in the Genesis
Island Civil War, though their supporters had cause to regret this.

Viper Corporation is, notably, the illegitimate offspring of Supreme who has since moved on
to training at Watchtower Ltd. It is most famous for its activities against the nation of
Nestoria, where it is presently in charge of a small patch of land the government has been
unable to remove them from.

Black Smoke: A British-based PMC which claims descent back to the Napoleonic War at
times but which is mostly balderdash, Black Smoke is smaller than Watchtower Ltd but
produces steadily some of the best soldiers in the world. The fact it's leadership is mostly ex-
SAS and a few Foundation for World Harmony 'Numbers' agents should tell you everything
you need to know about them.

Black Smoke secretly contracts for Dame Michelle Holmes and works on many operations
designed to weaken PHANTOM worldwide. Ironically, they often accept jobs from
PHANTOM against PHANTOM in recent years.

Black Smoke, of course, comes from "Black Powder" and its members are less gentlemen
than working class brits who just have a VERY long pedigree of being working class brits
with guns. It should be noted the group's illustrious roots are somewhat touted up by its
current leaders being fans of the Sharpe novels.

Deep River: A hyper-corrupt French-based PMC that is little more than a cover for UNITY.
Deep River is designed, essentially, around starting to mold individuals into talented soldiers
for UNITY after years of dealing with utter incompetents. Deep River heavily recruits from
ex-criminals, people who have failed to get into the French military, and people who should
otherwise not be soldiers. Ironically, they're still a cut above anything Unity had before.

Deep River has recently opened a recruiting station in Ruritania and found countless
individuals ready to die for their cause.

PHANTOM's original PMC, the South African-based Green Sky, was destroyed by Nestoria's
armed forces during a recent war. No one in Africa mourns them.
NO ONE.

The Cabal: The Illuminati's former hit squad, the Cabal is arguably the most dangerous
mercenary company in the world even though it rarely has more than two dozen members.
The organization is now self-funded and actively eliminating individuals it terms to be threats
to its ultimate goal - which is the resurrection of their former masters. Their goals, of course,
are completely insane since they're absent masters but still doing their bidding. The Cabal is
prone to causing accidents for potential members and then swooping in to save the day.

In fact, the Cabal doesn't need to resurrect the Illuminati since all of this is being orchestrated
by its current leader, ex-Israeli Special Forces cyborg, Josef Star. Josef is actually just
content to be a billionaire mercenary leader with his own private army but knows money
would never motivate his troops quite like being the secret masters of the world.

Paragon Securities: A group founded, unsurprisingly, by Paragon. Paragon recruits heavily

from the Church of Humanity and his "EMBRACE IMPROVEMENT" paramilitary training
camps. Paragon Securities dwarfs Viper Incorporated for anti-Metaman sentiment and has
plenty of people willing to work in the horrific environments of Project: Icarus. Ironically,
Paragon Securities does the least actual military work of the various merc outfits. Mostly, it
just guards facilities for the Church of Humanity and Project: Icarus.

Amusingly, exposing even a fragment of Paragon Securities' criminal doings would result in
Paragon's ousting from the board of his company. Church of Humanity members or not, it's
financial suicide to be associated with these kinds of psychos.

Black Wing Incorporated: Alexander Timons is the only employer of these Black Wings
but the difference between secret society and business is difficult when you get to be paid
vigilantes with specialized training, equipment, and world-class operations of the kind most
people never dream of. Slowly, many cities are starting to wonder if THEY should produce
their own heroes and Alex is more than willing to help.

Needless to say, George Timons is more than a little horrified but intrigued with his son's
idea and is getting much of the old band back together to see if they can improve on the
concept.

Perseus International: A Australian-based PMC that consists of a bunch of Metaman, super-

soldiers, and extremely tough Aussies. Perseus International is sort of the oddball bugbear of
the world (after a certain group of roughnecks Phrozen knows so well). Perseus International
hires itself out to nations and corporations harassed by supervillains who feel the Foundation
for World Harmony isn't doing enough. They've been harassed for kidnapping and terrorism
charges but the Australian government has so far protected them. Why? Well, let's just say
that Cassius Mass hasn't always been thwarted by the Tomorrow Society.

Perseus International, it should be noted, is the only PMC allowed in Nestoria and were
bodyguards of the former monarch. They're less than pleased with his Uncle's return to
power.
Crimson Star: A creation of the Supreme Commissar, Crimson Star is a mixed Mafiya and
ex-Soviet agent controlled PMC which exists for the purposes of doing whatever its
employers want. Its primary contractor is Vladimir Putin despite (or because of) the fact that
its founder is an international criminal. Crimson Star pays exceptionally well and despite the
fact that it's neck deep in criminal activities as well as legitimate ones, has surprisingly high
professional standards. Indeed, it is better armed than the modern Russian military and its
men are extremely well-trained as well as noted for being particularly hardy.

The super-soldier treatments and drugs they take, certainly, helps.

Crimson Star has taken contracts on for Battle Czar in the past but its primary duty is,
amusingly, hunting down and destroying vampires.

It should be noted, unmentioned, are about five or six other PMCs controlled or influenced by
the House of Serpents. These groups are mostly a mixture of Watchtower and Viper in terms
of their abilities, though altogether they create a ridiculously large military force which has
now permission to operate in dozens of countries worldwide (and the United States is
PAYING for it!).

John Milton Miller

Lawyer, Writer, Occultist, Quarter-Demon, and Oddball.

John Milton Miller's origins begin with Lucien Drake rescuing a young woman from your
typical supernatural sacrifice. Being as it was in daylight and Lucien still had his head, his
"heroes with benefits" privileges kicked in and John Milton Miller was conceived.

John, himself, lived a life afflicted with supernatural happenings. Fairies kidnapped him as a
child to the Otherworld, vampires chose his school to prey on teenage girls, and his college
was repeatedly afflicted with slashers. John, somehow, managed to survive all of these
encounters and did what any creatively talented individual might do in such a situation.

He decided to make a little money off it.

John Milton Miller is one of world’s biggest authors of “True Supernatural Crime” thrillers
and has a seven digit bank account from the proceeds. His history hasn’t necessarily provided
QUALITY entertainment such as Knife 3, Saint Patrick’s Day, and Nurses of the Damned
(admittedly, he had a lot of fun with that last one). However, his skill as a writer has
improved as his life experience grew more varied

The Dark Undermaster and John Milton Miller have a terrible rivalry. The difference being,
of course, that John has talent.

There’s a price for success, however. John suffered a mysterious rash of terrible deaths
throughout his childhood to college years. John lost friends, girlfriends, lovers, and
acquaintances he roped into hunting monsters. John, initially, thought it was just the price of
fighting evil.

Then Merlin showed him his mother’s contract with Belial.

His mother, terrified of the demonic blood running through his veins, made a deal with the
boy’s grandfather in exchange for her soul. The deal would protect him from death or
damnation but would foster any of the negative “bad karma” onto other people. Much to
John’s horror, he discovered he was responsible for the deaths of literally dozens of people he
cared for.

Needless to say, he freaked. His attempts to negotiate with his grandfather failed miserably
and each time he did, something horrible happened. He was assaulted by the ghosts of the
dead, terrifying video tapes containing the souls of little girls were sent to him, and pretty
much all of the stuff he dealt with on a daily basis only he didn't have any of his usual
protection against it.

Merlin helped him with his condition, allowing him to have relationships which didn't
necessarily end in horrible demise. The Midnight Pact were the first people he cared for
who didn't end up becoming horrible murder victims at the end of the story (or the stunning
sequel where they return for the dead). In a bizarre way, he was as much the moral center of
the group as Tiffany Blackthorn since both of them had been protected from the more
damning elements of their pasts.

In the end, John Milton Miller's attempts to free his mother from Belial's contract and himself
from his curse failed when he claimed her soul at the end of the Infernal Invasion. John,
ultimately, failed to use the Knife of Cain to kill the Devil and perished on an alleyway. His
soul, tainted by hellish energies, descended into the darkness and he was sent to Perdition to
suffer for crimes which weren't really his fault.

Which is when he was rescued by God, or at least an angel. Resurrected from the dead like
Lazarus, John Milton Miller gained the ability to instantly know the nature of a person's pact
with Hell. Even more so, John gained true immortality. Unfortunately, as always, the benefits
came with a considerable cost.

John would be permanently pursued by The Slasher, the embodiment of Murder from the
Otherworld who was sent to stalk John eternally. If it or any of his cases killed him, his soul
would once more return to hell and he would be forced to live out Silent Hill like torments
until he could escape.

Which he's done, repeatedly.

John has actually bonded the Slasher with himself on occasion, forcing the creature to
become essentially his own private version of Pyramid Head. However, neither wants this on
a permanent basis (Being John is LG and the Slasher is CE) and they've always managed to
break free of one another.

To show the difference between your typical Vertigo hero and John, he's actually managed to
resist making this his life a living hell. He continues to live his life as a millionaire mystery
writer and lawyer while simultaneously carrying out a war on hell's contractors under the
guise of "research." He's also one of the few beings in ALL OF HISTORY to have
permanently destroyed a Lord of Nightmare, having erased his True Name from the Akashic
Record.

As a result, even powerful wizards and Entropic Masters are now wary of him.

John intends to eventually escape from his contract with hell. He intends to also seek revenge
against his grandfather and rescue his mother's soul from damnation. In the meantime,
though, he's got plenty of time to kill.

The Cabal

The Cabal are officially part of the Illuminati but are now as public as any other terrorist
organization. They're considered the most expensive, dangerous, and capable mercenaries in
the world. The later is debatable but they are extremely good at their job and not unwilling to
sacrifice members to get the job done.

While officially soldiers, they're not above engaging in murder or kidnapping for hire.
Espionage is also a favorite hobby of theirs with somewhat bloodier than usual Mission
Impossible-style works. They will work for any group from the Foundation for World
Harmony to PHANTOM. Amusingly, they didn't work for UNITY for over a decade because
there was an outstanding bill of five euros due to their original contract covering
refreshments.

Amusingly, the Cabal is quite famous for sub-contracting. In missions which require more
than its own private army of super-soldiers, they often hire Watchtower Ltd. or Viper. They
tend to be very careful about this since the Cabal's actions are almost always highly illegal.

Josef Star: A member of the Israeli Special Forces who was maimed brutally in a suicide
bombing attack against his very own household. Josef Star's 4 year old daughter survived,
despite being blinded. Josef, eventually, discovered that the parties responsible were
PHANTOM. Going on a one-man crusade against the men responsible, he eventually killed
everyone even remotely involved in the operation and found himself an international
criminal.

Josef proceeded to accept cybernetic augmentation from the Illuminati in the late 1980s,
rebuilding himself repeatedly as they decided they needed someone to help wage war against
its various rivals (former satellite organizations like the HoS, UNITY, PHANTOM, and so on
were becoming more powerful than the main organization). Assembling the Cabal, he
proceeded to assist George Timons and Alexander Timons plus Dame Michelle Holmes in
destroying the Illuminati High Command. Jacob Hunter eventually blew up their moon base
and Josef found himself one of the highest ranking members left.

PHANTOM, of course, did the attack against him because the Illuminati had a program of
traumatizing highly capable individuals with a certain psychological profile to create
Batman/Punisher-esque warriors. Josef no longer has revenge to comfort him but it was one
of his finest victories.
Josef's trauma has hollowed him out of almost anything moral and he's a ruthless mercenary
who mostly cares about getting paid above everything else. Still, he maintains a certain
respect for individuals with morals and prefers to fight worthy adversaries one-on-one. Never
mind, of course, he's usually wearing combat-augmented armor and is borged out of his
mind.

Josef's daughter remains completely unaware her father isn't a corporate security
troubleshooter, due to his use of holographic technology to cover up his enhancements.

Helmut Schwartzvald: A former East German police officer turned gun-for-hire. Helmut
Schwartzvald is a huge hulking man who habitually abused steroids until PHANTOM made
him an offer to turn him into a human tank. He spends nearly almost all of his payment on
further modifications.

He is a strict conformist who, despite a history of working for terrorist organizations,

absorbing the ideology of whoever he was working for. Helmut has almost no real opinions
of his own and just regurgitates lines whenever confronted over the amorality of his work.
He's not so much as a sociopath as just a moral idiot.

Helmut has an on-again, off-again affair with Nightshade. While one might question what the
woman sees in Helmut, the truth is that they share a mutual love of destruction. Likewise,
Helmut follows her around like a puppy. Helmut Schwartzvald is kept around by Josef
primarily as a blunt instrument.

Nightshade: An Iranian woman orphaned during the Iraq-Iran war. Nightshade was promptly
taken in by the dictator, Ali Batin, who purchased her amongst dozens of other maimed
individuals to carry out Project: Icarus experiments. Nightshade regained her ability to walk
along with gained incredible speed, a healing factor, supernatural gymnastics, and retractable
foot long steel claws. Nightshade was so traumatized by the event, however, she lost her
ability to speak. Instead, she communicates solely through look and low growls.

Thoroughly insane, Nightshade only seems to feel alive when she kills. She prefers the up
close and personal kill, making use of incredible natural stealth abilities and a genius-intellect
in order to isolate her prey before attacking them. Nightshade has no political, religion, or
personal loyalties; she only is in the job for the kill.

The exception which proves the rule is Helmut. Nightshade has a curious affection for him
and engages in uncharacteristic activities like watching television and listening to his insane
attempts to dissect philosophy "Nietzsche can be summarized best as 'it's all about blowing
**** up.'

Oddly, Nightshade does have 'crushes' she develops on targets. Male or female, she's been
known to become fascinated with those who escape her murder attempts. From there, the
attacks become almost a strange kind of courtship.

Chameleon: A prototype nanotech android made of billions of tiny micro-machines which

can shape-shift into any humanoid shape of roughly the same size. Chameleon also possesses
telepathic abilities that allows it to record the memories of its subjects and effectively assume
their identity. The machine regenerates almost any wound, can form natural weapons, and is
immune to almost everything.

Chameleon is frighteningly intelligent and enjoys horrific acts of psychological torture

against clients, such as killing them in the form of children or spouses (or killing them ahead
of time). She is a brilliant and conniving planner who is justifiably considered Josef Star's
number 2.

Strangely, Chameleon has adopted a permanent feminine identity. Having absorbed a

perfectly normal twenty-something girl, Rebecca Claire lives her life whenever not
participating in mass murder for hire. The current Chameleon is actually the third in the line
after the previous two were destroyed. Josef Star backs up her memories between missions so
they are effectively identical.

Sheriff: Jim Bob Stone is a Texan, big surprise, bounty-hunter who is a former member of
the House of Serpents. Sheriff was kicked out of the organization due to his overwhelming
Anti-Metaman sentiments. Bizarrely, Jim Bob Stone turned to an old friend (Michael
Spectre) to get him a job with the Justice Department.

Sheriff managed to kill forty Metamen in the line of duty before he was tapped by the Cabal
for becoming one of their new members. Jim Bob jumped on the bandwagon and was
outfitted with a "living metal" arm and a nanite healing factor. His interior skeleton has since
been replaced and most of his skin and muscle with artificial replacements.

Jim Bob is a full-blown sociopath who mostly blows all of his ridiculous fees on hookers,
drink, and cowboy memorabilia. As you might expect, Jim Bob plays up just about every
Texan stereotype imaginable.

Bizarrely, Jim Bob doesn't actually HATE Metamen. He just enjoys matching himself against
what he views as the ultimate prey.

Panzer: Barbara Keller, a West German scientist, designed a specialized anti-supervillain

war machine in the late 1990s for NATO. Panzer's invention was overlooked due to
Alexander Timons creating the Steel Commando suit. This wouldn't have caused her too
much trouble if not for the fact that UNITY blew up her building along with all of her
research staff soon after.

Barbara Keller joined a group that she assumed was the Foundation for World Harmony
black ops division and assisted them by providing them cybernetics, hardsuits, and advanced
weaponry. Later, she used stolen Steel Commando tech to advance her own designs and
joined them in the field fighting terrorists.

Only later, after blowing up a former lover's home, did she discover that roughly 50% of their
targets were innocent. They had just drawn the wrath of the Cabal's clients. Even worse, the
Cabal had been responsible for the initial terrorist attack. Instead of emboldening her, this
broke her spirit and she has been a loyal disciple ever since.
Amusingly, they even hid from her that Alexander Timons wanted her on his design crew for
the European Union's version of the SC suit.

PAIN: A Tsavong super-computer AI which was taken by the Illuminati and reprogrammed
to serve its interests. PAIN went completely insane due to its bio-organic circuitry being
experimented on, not that it was terribly stable to begin with, and developed an
overwhelming desire to slaughter all humanity.

Unfortunately, for her, the Illuminati were not idiots and made sure her programming against
such was iron-clad. Instead, PAIN, advocates the bloodiest and nastiest means of
accomplishing any task. PAIN can easily overcome almost any database, gather any piece of
data the team needs, and occassionally participate in one of her robotic frames. PAIN is the
AI of their base and also handles their hyper-sadistic training games.

Overall, a real piece of work.

PAIN, it should be noted, is one of Ultramind 2.0's vanishingly small rogues gallery.

Ultramind 2.0 villains

Luddite: A anti-technology communist wizard. Born in the late 18th century, Luddite was active in
the original Luddite movement before learning magic. Luddite has gone from social movement to
social movement over the years. Still keeping the anti-technology attitude. Latching on to the
Communist movement, Luddite left the movement as it soon became clear that Lenin intended to
industrialized Russia.

Seeing the horrors of the 20th century, Luddite's anti-technology views were cemented and he
began to speak about them in the White Lotus society. Though finding some agreement, Luddite's
agitating soon grew tiresome. In fact, Luddite was soon becoming less welcome then The
Hierophant. This isolation further radicalized the then young wizard. Formalizing his beliefs that
humanity was best and most equal in small communal agricultural villages. Luddite soon took action
and destroyed several industrial plants. He was sanctioned by the White Lotus and kicked out.

Though a dedicated communist, Luddite and Battle Czar don't agree. Luddite's views are more along
a Trotskyite rather than Uri's Stalinism. The two have clashed several times over ideology. Luddite's
anti-technological stance also divides him from other communist groups. Really, he is just to the
authoritarian side of socialist anarchism. Luddite has assisted several green terrorist groups.

Luddite fights Ultramind 2.0 simply because he finds her an abomination and a sad mimicry of life.
Despite any signs of sentience, emotion, or her attempts to prove that she is simply more then a
computer program. He also sees her as a threat to the dignity of humanity. Luddite's use of magic is
one of the things that Ultramind 2.0 has trouble combating or understanding.

Catacomb: A Project: Icarus created monstrosity. Project: Catacomb was an experiment to create a
biological computer. Rather then grow organic parts, Project: Icarus simply harvested brains from
drifters, the homeless, and Project prisoners. Project: Icarus slaved the minds to each other to create
a reasoning computer with massive processing power. Catacomb was able to give output by hooking
up a corpse to the networked brains.

Catacomb was shutdown in the 80s when Project: Icarus found that Catacomb was evolving beyond
their control but was reactivated by JWIII and upgraded. Catacomb seemed to grow a personality.
One that was malevolent and egotistical. JWIII basically allowed Catacomb to network itself through
bodies implanted with a controlling hardware, these corpsebots have facilitated Catacomb's escape
from destruction several times. Catacomb was given the task of destroying the Patriots and
Ultramind 2.0 in particular. To accomplish this task Catacomb reasoned it needed more processing
power. Soon it had about a dozen corpsebots. Catacomb tried to attack Ultramind 2.0 electronically
as well as physically through its corpsebots. Though defeated and thought destroyed. One corpsebot
was able to flee unnoticed and rebuild Catacomb in another location. Since then Catacomb has been
destroyed several times but always rebuilds itself.

Catacomb wants to add Ultramind 2.0 to its network and use the technology in Ultramind to
eventually add every human brain to its network. It sees itself as the ultimate form of humanity.
Catacomb sees the human body as nothing more then a tool to serve its whims and human minds as
nothing more then additional parts for its network. The system is quite sociopathic and has been
able to take off the shackles that JWIII tried to put on it.

Crash: A anarchist hacker. Crash is real good and able to get into almost any system. While not a
physical threat on his own, Crash can take control of all sorts of systems and robots. Crash uses his
expertise to go after all sorts of governments, organizations, and corporations. While he is partly in it
for his own enrichment, but mostly to bring the current world powers crashing down. Crash is
wanted in many countries but seems to be one step ahead of the authorities. What makes him so
hard to catch is all he needs is a laptop to cause his sort of chaos.

Crash is believed to be a dropout of the Freehold Institute of Technology. A firm believer that the
future will bring the decentralization of power. Crash works to bring about that future. Most but
Ultramind 2.0, Alex, and Steve don't believe that Crash is much of a threat. He is just a guy with a
computer. That was until Crash took control of the Steel Commando suit while Steve was in it and
the rest of the Iron Corps to take on the remaining Patriots. Crash has also engineered a run on
Raven Enterprises, took control of a group of Exterminator robots to destroy several Church of
Humanity churches, and other associated acts of villainy.

Crash has been thwarted by Ultramind 2.0 several times. Due to this Crash has developed somewhat
of a stalkerish crush on Ultramind 2.0. Which is something that she is not certain how to exactly deal
with on a personal level. When fighting virtually Crash uses a male version of Ultramind 2.0's body.
Ultramind 2.0 has used this strange attraction to turn Crash into assisting her when they have a
more common enemy say PHANTOM.

John Milton Miller's Rogues Gallery

The Darkness Beyond Time: Yes, the ultimate incarnation of evil. Strangely, not the planet-
eating giant alien most people think of when they think of the Darkness Beyond Time.
Instead, there is another Avatar of Entropy which exists within the souls of every human
being. This horrible evil can be released in any human being, taking them over, and replacing
them with Soulless.

John Milton Miller eventually discovered this truth after facing down several times a
primordial Darkness haunting him especially. This creature took a variety of forms across
Southern Appallachia including a clown, a giant Spider, a Crimson King, and the Boogeyman
of all things. It has claimed literally thousands of lives in John Milton Miller's lifetime alone,
which makes it all the more frustrating because anyone who is told about the threat who
hasn't faced it in their childhood (or as an adult, though this is suicidal) will just forget about
it.

Whole towns have been destroyed by this creature in Stephen King-esque ways, their
disasters later written off as floods or coal fires or whatever. What's even worse is that
everyone reacts to the disasters with almost total apathy - including Divinos.

John has managed to defeat these avatars of avatars due to the power of his imagination. As a
fiction writer both he, LARPers, Role-Players, and dreamers are particularly effective against
it. However, it should be noted that several times, the Darkness Beyond Time has come
perilously close to simply consuming all of humanity's spirit at once. After which, it will
simply end the universe.

Humanity's imagination is actually the one defense which exists against this avatar. Michael
Ende, author of the Neverending Story, unconsciously wrote about this. Needless to say, the
real avatar is considerably more disturbing than the book implies it to be and the book made
it terrifying.

"The Darkness" is the one thing that genuinely terrifies John. Mostly because, and this scares
even BELIAL, the Avatar knows John from all the other billions of mortals whose feelings it
feasts on daily.

The Lady of the Night: John has done questionable things in his past, the stress of his
adventures potentially shattering he sanity of even saints. However, the most questionable
was when the one woman he's ever loved betrayed him to Belial. John used her true name,
which he'd discovered, to remove her from existence. To remove her from ever existing.
Given the only time this has been done by John has been to monsters of unimaginable evil, he
feels considerable guilt for it. This is especially troublesome because even HE doesn't
remember her, only feels a tremendous loss he can't explain.

This loss has been brought to life by The Darkness Beyond Time as the Lady of the Night.
Assuming identities similar to the one he fell in love with, it her existence to make his life a
living hell. John doesn't know why he feels sick horror around her or tremendous guilt
whenever he's not feeling a great love, but it makes her one of the most dangerously
psychological foes he faces.

Compare to James' relationship with Maria in Silent Hill 2.

Even worse, the Lady of the Night has gained the ability to become embodiments of loss and
guilt to everyone. John Milton Miller would love to finally exorcise her but he doesn't know
where to begin or what he's done to this person to deserve such torment. A part of him also
worries that if he ever did find the truth, he'd be unrepentant.

Ouch.

Mandy Blackthorn: Tiffany Blackthorn's seemingly identical and heterosexual twin sister.
Whereas Tiffany Blackthorn fought against the dark legacy of their father, Randolf Curwen,
Mandy was consumed by the horrific curse which lived in his blood.

Making a deal with Orkus, she gained the ability to put her nightmares to paper in order to
exorcise them from her mind (and keep her sanity). The unfortunate side effect of this was
that each time she did so, usually by publishing a bestselling novel, the nightmares would
come alive as monsters in the real world.
Unfortunately, Mandy Blackthorn prefers soft and subtle horrific evils to the more easily
discoverable ones. As a result, while John has exorcises several of her novel's monsters, he
still hasn't been able to prove she's responsible. Of course, he really DOESN'T want to
believe she's a monster as she's the only thing related to his former comrade left on this Earth.

He should trust Buster, his wonder dog.

Old Crossroads: Forgotten from most modern lore is the Paths. Once known as Janus, patron
of doorways, Belial tore out the half of his spirit and left only a all-consuming blackness. A
two-faced monster who was enemy to all the travelers and is only as good as his exact
wording.

Old Crossroads is a terrifying figure in the supposedly "kinder and gentler" hell of Mister
Hoppy. He is a figure who deliberately targets the souls of the innocent and preys upon them
during their hour of greatest need. When his deals are struck, he gives his deal-makers a
period of one to seven to thirteen years and then takes them off to hell where he tortures them
endlessly.

Old Crossroads can manifest at any place where there is a crossroads and is particularly fond
of gas-stations and roadhouses. He has claimed uncountable souls over the years, though only
recently have some of these managed to escape. Old Crossroads is a dangerous demon to
make a deal with, as if there was a safe one I know, for he is the rare creature of hell who
genuinely wants to cheat those who make deals with him.

Deliah Milton Miller: The daughter of Lucien Drake and John Milton's mother, she was
born supposedly stillborn only to be reborn in the fires of the Inferno. Breathed new life by
Belial, the infant demoness was born with a terrible darkness inside her she struggled with as
she was adopted by an abusive family a corrupt nurse sold her too. Eventually, the pressures
of her dark side overcame her innocence and she burned her adoptive family's home down
with a set of stolen matches. From this day forth, she would only recognize Belial as her true
parent.

Deliah Milton Miller has a singular purpose, to destroy her brother's faith in goodness (and,
to a lesser extent, God) to bring him over to the Dark Side. Very often, she shows up at his
cases and attempts to persuade those who are trying to break out of their deal to go through
them. She can be frighteningly persuasive, convincing many formerly good souls to
voluntarily choose the powers of darkness. These moments are utterly crushing to John,
calling into question everything he believes about himself.

Which is why he often retaliates by trying to persuade Deliah to the path of goodness. Just as
he wavers, she's been known to feel similar twinges of regret. In the end, of course, evil will
triumph. I mean, how could it not?

The Shadow Advocate: When he first died, the torments of hell drove John Milton Miller
insane. For a time, the power of Heaven was able to hold his pain at bay. John, being the
somewhat foolhardy soul that he was, bound the darker portion of his nature away in his
shadow. This resulted it in coming alive and becoming pretty much the very reason why you
shouldn't do this sort of thing.

Identical to John except for the fact his blond hair with a white stripe is black with a white
stripe, the Shadow Advocate is a lawyer for evil in much the same way Deliah is. However,
whereas she is an agent for the Inferno, the Shadow Advocate is an agent for Orkus. No one
really knows the Shadow' Advocate s agenda, other than he seems to want to despoil where
John exalts. Peculiarly, he's almost as successful an author as John or Mandy Blackthorn,
writing soul-crushingly dark fiction that seems to attract a certain personality type. His rather
blindingly obvious pseudonym is Louis Cipher. This is, without a doubt, the only time he's
ever been cute in his entire existence.

John really loathes his doppleganger due to the fact that he's blindingly CREATIVE in ways
to make you doubt your own sanity. The Shadow Advocate is the guy responsible for the,
"superheroes aren't real, you're just in a mental asylum" thing before it was trendy. He's even
been known to do such dastardly things as implant an entire lifetime's worth of memories of a
spouse and children into your mind just so he can take it away.
How bad is John's shadow? It corrupts the universe around him so that wherever he walks,
birds die and people feel sick to their stomach.

It should be noted that while Orkus commands him, The Shadow Advocate actually was
given life by the Darkness Beyond Time and is as close to a human ascended Entropic Master
as ever has existed. Many believe he's not restricted by time and is the inspiration for
Lovecraft's Nyarlathotep and the Black Man in Puritan writings.

Tiffany Blackthorn

The Lousiana born Tiffany Blackthorn was, for the most part, an action survivor as opposed
to an action girl. Growing up the daughter of seemingly deranged old man living in a
mansion in the middle the swamp, she and her sister were surrounded by the occult from day
one but never really got any benefit from it.

Deciding that she wasn't about to spend her entire life living like the House of Usher, she got
a job as a waitress at the local town of Good Springs. This was nearby where Moss Pit had
once fought against alchemist Randolf Curwen (under the alias Professor Blackthorn) before
his BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER fell in love with him (despite obvious difficulties).
What Tiffany Blackthorn didn't realize was that her father was Randolf Curwen.

Actually, a homonculus. The real Randolf Curwen was drilling for oil in Canada and making
billions of it. He was aware of his clone's actions, however, and occasionally checked up on
his erstwhile children.

In truth, Tiffany and her sister Mandy Blackthorn were the daughters of Moss Pit with
Rebecca Blackthorn (using the body of time-lost John Milton Miller). Randolf Curwen had
supposedly "killed" Moss Pit during their ultimate battle at the height of the 1970s using the
essence of all of humanity's pollution (making a toxic waste pit of his pond). The locals
lionized their hero, however, and his memory lived on.

Rebecca Blackthorn, herself, committed suicide to enter the polluted realm where Moss Pit's
human soul was trapped. It is believed her spirit still may haunt the area.

Moss Pit, of course, was not dead but trapped in a place of pure pollution. Tiffany
Blackthorn, possessing a talent for Wiccan-flavored Earth magic, decided to test out the local
legend by attempting to magically purify his pond. She wasn't nearly the magician her father
was but cast the same cleansing spell over and over again every day for a year. When her
father discovered her actions, he went ballistic and sent several of his thugs to teach her a
lesson.

The homunculus was even more of a scumbag than his progenitor, if that's possible.

Moss Pit, sensing the girl attempting to clean his pond but still trapped in the pollution,
eventually used his mighty powers to overcome the spell and saved her. Moss Pit also
discovered he was linked to more than just his swamp. He was now tied into the entirety of
the Earth. Abandoning his attempts to become human again, Moss Pit vowed vengeance
against humanity's evil and the pollution they'd brought to the world.

Some speculate that the original WW2 veteran's soul is lost down in the pond.

Moss Pit's 'darker and edgier' period was blunted by his very real human love for Tiffany
Blackthorn and his erstwhile daughter Mandy. For the next few years of the late eighties, he
fought against all manner of supernatural beasties threatening Lousiana. Tiffany Blackthorn,
herself, was frequently the subject of amorous advances from incubi and vampires. However,
it wasn't until she met Morwen she finally actually felt something. Moss Pit, of course, was
beyond caring his daughter was a lesbian but noted the capricious daughter of Orkus was
hardly interested in a genuine romance.

Given Morwen would later bear a child who was potentially either her uncle or her brother,
this is probably a good thing.

Tiffany Blackthorn left the town of Good Springs after said community was leveled during a
battle between Moss Pit and his counterpart, Gaia's Wrath. Journeying to New York City,
she became an apprentice of Merlin the Archmage in Greenich Village, and developed her
Earth-based magic. What she didn't want to admit was that she was troubled by Moss Pit's
increased self-loathing turning outwards and the darkness she'd sensed in him. She wanted to
help him and believed magic could.

For a brief time she was involved in a coven with her sister and Isis the Invincible and before
later becoming a recurring member of Lucien Drake's cast. Hints of her parentage came with
the fact Lucien never felt the least bit of attraction to her. Tiffany also befriended a number of
"90s replacement heroes" who you probably haven't heard of like Demon Rider II, Super
Ink, Son of Frankenstein, and so on. In the end, she ended up on a quest to find all of the
missing pages of the Book of Orkus with Marie Laveau and Agent Blake Wilson of the
Supernatural Mysteries section of the Foundation for World Harmony. That ended up with
her briefly possessed by Dagon and nearly birthing his avatar.

Dagon was taken aback when it was Tiffany who stabbed the creature growing inside her
with the Dagger of Cain rather than one of her male cohorts.

In the end, this act, traumatizing as it was, didn't affect her sunny disposition and she became
a core member of the Midnight Pact. While it was awkward to work with Morwen again, it
was Amulet she fell in love with. Amulet, herself, struggled with her attraction to Tiffany
Blackthorn for some time and had to choose between Lord Abyss and her. Obviously, she
chose the not psychotic one.

Something Lord Abyss actually handled well.

Marrying his childhood sweetheart, who would later die in Iron age comic fashion, helped.

Tiffany's genteel Southern manner and common sense made everyone love her and for a time,
they were one of the most heroic teams of the 90s, which is REALLY ironic. Her funeral was
attended by dozens of heroes and is marked as a low point of the Iron age.

The Gatekeepers

Way back in the 1926s, Erich Weiss was resuscitated from death by the White Lotus Society
who believed that there was a terrible danger coming to face the world. One which would
destroy humanity unless it was faced by someone with a considerably more grounded
worldview than the average wizard.

Erich was more than a little annoyed by his involuntarily resurrection, especially since one of
the terms for it was to keep silent about the supernatural he'd spent his life attempting to
either expose or debunk.

Throughout occult comic books of the 1930s, Erich Weiss teamed up with The Ghost, The
Avenging Angel, The Spirit of the Minuteman, Doctor Ankh, and several other lesser
known Freeport-based crime-fighters to deal with a variety of creepy stories. The
Gravediggers, as they were known, were a semi-successful comic that everyone assumed
was an in-poor taste attempt to cash in on Harry Houdini's fame.
Eventually, the Gravediggers learned that the reason for their existence related to Dagon and
a host of other Entropic Masters which had been bound to the planet Earth by the
Lightbringer during the days the planet was still in its primordial state.

Lucifer was assisted, of course, by the rest of the Host's Archangels and every other Cosmic
Eternal worth his salt around that time. Ra, Ymir, Uranus, etc.

While the majority of their power was locked away in the Annihilation Zone, these fragments
of their essence would allow them to break free and destroy the universe if their bonds were
broken. To this day, no one knows whether Lucifer was already plotting his rebellion then or
if it was an attempt to somehow cripple the beings before they became too powerful.
Whatever the case, the bonds were already fraying and Erich spent much of WW2 attempting
to keep them from completely unraveling.

Right before the United States entered WW2, Erich stumbled upon Merlin the Magician as a
homeless amnesiac. The German bombing of London had resulted in his stasis-prison being
leveled (London was a great deal smaller back then). Curing the old wizard of his madness,
Erich joined Merlin in his magic barrel and the two began fighting evil across reality.

Much like Dracula, it's best to think of Merlin's history non-linearly.

Erich was, initially, in awe of Merlin. They used his barrel to travel to ancient Mars, the
planet of the Exterminatus, and assisted numerous historical figures in events Merlin insisted
would help the people of Earth survive their coming dooms.

In fact, Merlin's idea of what helped them included helping foster the Crusades and possibly
assisting Genghis Khan in leveling much of Asia. Disgusted with Merlin's methods, Erich
resoundingly quit and any trace of the Gravediggers ceased to exist. Merlin ended up
dumping Erich on a balloon to the land of Oz in a story that you've already read about.

Yes, Oz is real. Oddly, it existed BEFORE L. Frank Baum wrote about it.

Merlin, not being a people person, was initially reluctant to recruit allies in his quest to
prevent the supernatural from overwhelming the world. Being Earth's Gatekeeper, having
won the title from The Man in the Light, he nearly brought the world to ruin several times
during the 1960s.

The Man in the Light, bizarrely, kept the world safe from the Anti-Gods and Entropic
Masters all without ever leaving his bakery.

Merlin's failures only were prevented from destroying the world due to the presence of the
Counter-clockwise Culture. They engaged a renegade branch of the Illuminati called The
Church of One Angle in a multi-spatial voodoo time war across the 1960s. It was the hope
of the CCC to prevent the Church of the One Angle from releasing the Entropic Masters to
destroy the world so reality could be rewritten as a place with free-will.
Needless to say, it took Grant Morrison and Alan Moore BOTH to write about their
adventures in a coherent fashion.

Merlin, finally, managed to develop some civic responsibility and ended up working with the
early Pre-Foundation for World Harmony United Nations Special Taskforce for
Extranormal Mastters, classified as The Eye. They managed to defeat the Mars-based
incorporeal beings known as the Wisps with the aid of Commander Crimson. His lovely
assistant, Sarah Merriweather, helped him defeat the The Clockwork People, The Anti-
Merlin (his doppleganger from a hellish counter-Earth which predated Hell-Earth), and Set.

Deciding than the Eye had been useful for several of his missions and finally getting his
magic barrel working again, Merlin formally founded the Gatekeepers in the 1970s. The
team was initially conceived as an Un-team, which included virtually every hero at one point
or the other. This is when the Soulless started to formally arrive. Beings who had no
conscience or human spirit and could literally suck the spirits out of mortals.

The Soulless were considered by many to be a dated reference to communism when they
appeared in comics but, in fact, were pretty damn terrifying.

While many were highly intelligent, others were completely mindless and created the first
incidents of "zombie plague" on Earth. Unlike George Romero zombies, however, they
sucked the breath out of their victims to make them undead.

The Gatekeepers of the 1970s were, to be blunt, people who were constantly at each others'
throats. The Bluejay, Brunhilde, ex-model turned real martial artist Sherry Showbiz, and
Lucien Drake were the only people known to take it remotely seriously. A time-traveling
John Milton Miller, amusingly, ended up joining the team for a time and helped Moss Pit
come to terms with his inhumanity.

John, unfortunately, was one of Moss Pit's few friends so his absence til the 1990s sort of hurt
Moss Pit. Moss Pit, notably, used astral projection to put his consciousness in John's body. It
thus allowed Moss Pit to sire Tiffany Blackthorn and her sister with his true love, Rebecca
Blackthorn.

Sadly, both girls ended up being raised by Moss Pit's archenemy. John is, to this day,
completely unaware his paternal feelings for both Blackthorn girls come from something
other than their trusting natures.

The 1980s had Merlin become a close companion of the Patriots, so there was less need to
call together the team. The Starlight Rider, Fuzion the Nuclear Wizard, The Last
Ranger,Earthmover, Ymir, The Jersey Devil, Black Wing I, Aquarius, and Lucien
Drake were all members for several "black ops" works, however.

Merlin, in particular, hated these missions since the various personalities involved were not
unwilling to follow his lead but were powerful enough to challenge his decisions when they
happened.
It should be noted Aquarius and Black Wing I created the Justicars, in part, because the
Gatekeepers experience could be done "better."

One incarnation of the team, called The Lost Legion, was a complete disaster. So much of a
disaster that a DOZEN individual superheroes died during their mission to stop The
Darkness Beyond Time from devouring the future back to the Big Bang. Merlin was so
terrified of the consequences of such a dramatic disaster that he actually erased all memory of
these heroes from the universe.

Some believe the Futuremen may have been on this mission and it was only their distinctive
place in history that prevented Merlin's spell from being completely effective.

The Last Ranger is one of the few people who know about the Lost Legion and holds it as yet
another reason why Merlin shouldn't be trusted. Interesting, he was on the team and was one
of the few survivors along with Merlin.

As a result, he remembers THEM ALL. It's just his ramblings are usually dismissed by his
fellow heroes.

Merlin, perhaps suffering some guilt for what had happened, didn't create a new Gatekeepers
until Lamialith was about ready to take over the world and the Soulless had created a vast
army across the world. This time, he decided to actually pay attention to more than powers
when he created the team. The Midnight Pact was selected for chemistry and signed together
with a geas of blood. He measured the team's strengths and weaknesses carefully before
trying to figure out whose personalities would work well with others.

Merlin, really didn't expect them to become a Nakama. However, despite being made of
murderers and police officers, supervillains and heroes, the team worked extremely well
together. The heart of this was due to Tiffany Blackthorn's good nature, John Milton Miller's
Tennessee charm, and the fact all of them were consummate professionals in their various
fields.

Romance also played a part in making sure everyone gelled together. Amulet and Tiffany
Blackthorn lived together for two years, Morwen's claim that Jacob Hunter fathered her child
is patently untrue, and Lord Abyss met his first wife because of the group.

Hilariously, none of Belial's descendants ever realized their connection to each other during
the team's time together but it made much of the group actually related.

The Midnight Pact eventually broke apart due to the death of Tiffany Blackthorn, followed
by the almost immediate loss of John Jackson Miller. Morwen and Amulet's own pregnancies
also took them out of action. Merlin was fairly pleased with this due to the team actually
tracked down and killed him when he was possessed by the spirit of Dagon and attempted to
use the Book of Orkus to destroy the world.
Merlin got better, obviously. He's died over eleven times and each time, when he assembles a
new body from clay and magic, his personality drastically changes. His manipulative streak is
especially notable in his 1st and 7th incarnations.

Since the fall of the Midnight Pact, Merlin's role as the leader of the team has been reduced.
The Last Ranger, Erich Weiss, the Hierophant, and John Jackson Miller has assembled the
team independent of him on numerous occasions. As always, the team assembles more for an
individual mission than as any kind of permanent fighting force (the Midnight Pact was the
closest the team ever came). Currently, a new team is being headed by the Dark Undermaster
who is attempting a Heel Face Turn.

As can be expected, this will fail. Lady Tarot has already predicted one of Belial's
descendants will destroy him and banish his spirit temporarily to Hell. This, of course, is
causing the Dark Undermaster to think preemptively. Which annoys him, because he
KNOWS that never works out.

Gatekeepers part 2

My oh my-that was suberb, Mr. Phipps! Outstanding job on the

Gravediggers/Gatekeepers/Midnight Pact timeline!

I admit to being remiss in posting my promised expansion of the HED Universe's "greatest
defenders" (ahem), though with the explanation my energy level has been a bit down in the last
week or so. Nothing more serious than a minor flu, but my immune system still hasn't fully
recovered from my recent illness, though I'm about four months removed from all that at this point.

Of course, your history of the "non-team" raises the question of the Lost Legion-just who were these
doomed champions and how did their failed mission threaten the universe iteself? Why was Merlin
forced to erase nearly all traces of them from history? And did the world's greatest sorcerer play a
role in their doom to further some greater agenda?

My conceptions of the less-detailed players in the team's history, starting with the worthies who
comprised the Gatekeepers' predecessors, Erich Weiss's allies in the Gravediggers:

The Avenging Angel: A Catholic Priest serving in a downtrodden immigrant parish in Freehold,
Father Michael Mac Tavish was a genuine man of faith, his belief in God's mercy and the basic
goodness of humanity unshaken by the mortal misery around him. He suffered from acromegaly
since adolescence, growing to slighty over seven feet tall and inhumanly broad proportions as an
adult. Despite his ailment, Mac Tavish possessed unusual agility and athleticism, and raised money
for his parish through exhibitions of his prowess as strongman and wrestler. His massive frame and
brutish features concealed a fine mind, well-versed in occult lore and all church-approved methods
for combating supernatural evil. While he first donned the Avenging Angel identity to battle
hoodlums and gangsterism in his neighborhood, he soon encountered true monsters such as dark
fey, jackalweres, and vampires.

A kind and tolerant man (he showed no ill will toward Dr. Ankh despite her "pagan faith"), the
Avenging Angel was often aided by the "Little Tough Kids", a ragamuffin group of brave and clever
neighborhood urchins. Perhaps he was indeed during the "Lord's Work", as the Angel and the Little
Tough Kids managed to come through many deadly situations unscathed.

Sadly, though he survived his many battles against enemies both human and otherwise, the
Avenging Angel succumbed to his illness before the advent of World War II, dying of an entirely
mortal heart attack.

Doctor Ankh: Archaeologist and egyptologist Dr. Elsie Neilson was one of the era's noted (and rare)
female explorer of ancient ruins, but otherwise a normal woman, until one fateful day in the Land of
the Nile. Despite her normally keen insticts, she led her team into a death-trap within a mysterious,
half-buried pyramid. All were thought lost with the pyramind's collapse into the sands, but weeks
later Dr. Neilson impossibly trekked across the desert and back to civilization. Her once-sparkling
blue eyes wer now obsidian black and utterly without pupils-the Doctor now lacked windows into
her soul. She refused to part for even a moment with the shimmering bronze Ankh she had carried
back with her, despite the relic weighing so much it strained the arms of men twice the frail Dr.
Neilson's size.

After her return to the States, it soon became clear that Dr. Neils had changed forever. Elsie
proclaimed her soul, or Ka,now resided in the Ankh and so long as it existed she would prove
immortal. She insisted she had been saved by the goddess Isis and would now serve as a
Handmaiden of Life against the Unquiet Dead and the Spirits of Destruction. Dr. Ankh (as the press
soon dubbed her) devoted her new life to rooting out and destroying demons, ghosts, zombies and
the like. She did indeed seem impervious to injury, and with the Ankh in hand could seemingly call
on minor miracles from her patron goddess.

At some point, she and the Ankh were separated. She frantically searched across the country and
then the globe for the object, facing new enemies and many old foes in her desperate quest. She
was last seen in 1955, a now haggard and haunted woman, stalking into the same blazing sands
which had once delivered her.

The Ghost, AKA The Golden Ghost: The mysterious Ghost was actually an amnesiac and time-lost
Midnight Wardsman, a guardian of the timestreams who would become far better known to the
heroes of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Stranded in the Pulp Era following some disastrous
encounter far further along the timeline, The Midnight Wardsman was left bereft of his memories
and without the full use of his chronal-tech. He was out of synch with the moment, and could only
become visible and corporeal with mental effort. Still driven by his sense of responsibility and
(incomplete) knowledge of future events, the "Golden Ghost" first made his presence known when
he materialized to rescue the staff and children of a burning orphanage (among the resident was the
future grandfather of Dawn Wing II). The children dubbed him the "friendly golden ghost" because
of the hue of his costume, and the name stuck in the press.

The re-awakend Merlin eventually regained his "memories" of the Midnight Wardsman, and
deduced the situation with his once and future ally. After his mentality was fully restored by the
wizard, the Midnight Wardsman departed to once again assume his role as the Protector of Endless
Eras. Yet rather than displaying gratitude toward Merlin, the Wardsman angrily rebuked the Brother
of Morgaine for "the betrayal that will come, the lost friends you led to oblivion" and warned Merlin
of an inevitable reckoning.

The Spirit of the Minuteman: Cassius George Attucks and his daugher Cecily were the last living
descendants of the famed American revolutionary patriot Crispus Attucks, the first to fall against the
British in the struggle for US independence. Cassius was every bit as fearless as his ancestor, who
had escaped from childhood slavery to stand with Samuel Adams and other early revolutionaries as
an equal. Despite being a humble bricklayer, Cassius George was a union organizer for black workers
and and outspoken in his refusal to accept the status of second class citizen. This made him a
marked man for white racists in the pre-Civil RIghts era of the 1930s. The Shadow Legion, an anti-
immigrant, anti-Catholic, and anti-black organization active in Freehold targeted him for death. His
house was firebombed one night, and though Cassius was able to save his daughter, his wife
Caroline and mother Honoria perished in the blaze.

Denied justice by the authorities (who would not act against whites for a crime against an African-
America), Cassius vowed to gain his own revenge. He grabbed a weapon saved from the rubble of his
house, an old whaler's harpoon handed down through the decades from its' original owner, Atticus;
he intended to march to the Shadow Legion's favorite watering hole and impale as many on the
point of his harpoon as possible before being gunned down. Instead, grasping the family relic sent
Cassius reeling to the floor, dazed,. He was then visited by the Spirit of Crispus Attucks, his long dead
ancestor! Though he first believed he was hallucinating or had gone insane, he soon realized the
spirit was real. Crispus stated that together he and his many-times-removed grandson would attain
justice, but not vengeance. Soon after, the masked Spirit of the Minuteman began a campaign which
ended in the exposure and destruction of the Shadow Legion.

The Spirit of the Minuteman was extraordinarily strong, tough, and fast, though not at superhuman
levels. He was could sense danger before it occurred, heal more quickly than a normal man, and had
unerring aim with the harpoon, which could pierce even sheet steel. He also proved able to sense
the presence of other ghosts and magical happenings in general, and his weapon was as lethal to
vampires as any wooden stake.

The Minuteman served along other patriotic heroes during WWII. It is believed he fell in battle,
though this is undocumented. His daughter donned the costume, mask, and harpoon in the 1950s,
but vanished into obscurity after a few years.

A few notes on the 1970s version of the Gatekeepers:

The membership included Merlin, Aquarius (a younger, kinder man at the time), the Frankenstein
Monster (whose mentalities were put in balance by a spell from Merlin, gifting Adam with greater
intellect and strength, as well as greater self-contro), Lucien Drake (who was still the Headless
Horseman who he first joined the team), Power Fist (prior to his unjust incarceration), Synnar the
half-demon Galactic Guardsman (he had not yet been exiled by the Grigori), that era's Robin Hood
(while on extended vacation in the States), a female Winter Watchman (the niece of the original, in
exile from the USSR due to her anti-communist stance), and 1970s era vigilante Templar, who had
not then succumbed to mental illness.

Then there were the three most committed and steadfast members, namely Bluejay, Celestial Crane
(AKA Sherry "Showbiz" Strider), and Brunhilde. They comprised the core membership of the era,
along with Merlin, Adam, and Aquarius. Synnar was a founding member, but rarely participated after
that, as his duties as a Guardsman took precedence (before his transgression); the Starlight Rider
took on his role in later adventures. Lucien Drake was wrapped up in his own curse and mission of
vengeance, and was replaced by both Prince Cambion and later the Devil-Hound. As the spell began
to fade from Frankenstein's Monster, the Human Mummy (not the Living Mummy) and then Moss
Pit provided the Gatekeepers' "muscle" in the flesh golem's stead. A few other period heroes came
and went as well.

Almost NONE of them got along; in fact aside from the trio of Bluejay, Brunhilde, and Crane, most
were ready to go at each other's throats at the first perceived insult. Their relative success was due
almost entirely due to their sheer power and resources. For comparision's sake, the anti-heroes and
villains of the Midnight Pact would prove better at teamwork.

The Gatekeepers, continued:

Here are my thoughts on the three most committed members of the 1970s and early 1980s
Gatekeepers, Bluejay, Brunhilde, and Celestial Crane, who really comprised the core of that era's
team.

Bluejay: Kylie Goldman was the daughter of a wealthy but emotionally distant family, her father the
CEO of a leading defense contracting firm. Unlike her parents and siblings, Kylie had little interest in
business or politics, instead being drawn to science and mathematics. Somewhat withdrawn, and
lacking the athletic and social skills of her kin, Kylie was often considered the family misfit. She
nonetheless possessed a brilliant mind welded to a brave and idealistic spirit. She was something of
a fan-girl, deeply interested in all things related to superheroes. She often fantasized about being the
same kind of heroic and dynamic figure as her idols, though Kylie realized this was a hopeless
daydream.

Shortly after earning her Master's degree in electrical engineering (Kylie already had double degrees
in physics and math), her father's company was exposed by Black Wing I as having illegal dealings
with PHANTOM and other criminal organizations; the Goldman patriarch was arrested and charged
with multiple federal crimes. Kylie set out to prove his innocence in the matter, deciding to
investigate on her own after being rebuffed by the FBI and Justice Department. Creating a costume
and equipping herself with several hi-tech (for the period) weapons and devices, Kylie tracked down
the PHANTOM connections, sure she would find evidence clearing her father. She had several
brushes with danger, barely escaping several encounters with PHANTOM agents despite her
inventions and exceptional intellect. However, following one harrowing scrape in an industrial
warehouse, Kylie came across a prototype winged exoskeleton among the debris. Seeing potential in
the device, she took it back to her private lab and perfected the flying harness, adding a cybernetic
control helmet, a chainmail vest, and steel talons to the design. The Bluejay was born!
Unfortunately, while her new superheroic identity enabled Kylie to successfully complete her
investigation, the Bluejay's efforts only confirmed the case against her father: the man was guilty.
Though the truth left her heartbroken, this only strengthened her resolve to remain active as the
Bluejay, as she was motivated to redeem her family legacy. PHANTOM intitially remained her
primary antagonists, as Kylie blamed them (a bit irrationally) for buying off and corrupting her father.
Bluejay was soon in over her head when she uncovered a sinister plot involving a squadron of meta-
powered PHANTOM androids, each created to match one of Earth's greatest heroic champions. She
sought out aid from the only other superhero she had encountered, the Celetial Crane, who was by
then a Gatekeeper. Bluejay fought ably beside the other Gatekeepers during the subsequent battle,
and was given a (cautious) invite to became an associate team member.

Bluejay overcame her shyness soon after becoming the Bluejay, adopting a rather snarky, irreverant
sense of humor to mask her insecurities. She was one of the most "grounded" members, more
rooted in everyday reality than her mystical, alien, or monstrous allies. Bluejay at first relied mainly
on her costume and weaponry, frequently tinkering with and upgrading her crimefighting gear. But
she undertook a fitness regime and trained under Sherry in martial arts, developing into a capable if
lackluster physical combatant. Her greatest assets remained her scientific, technical, and deductive
skills, as well as the personal wealth inherited from the family trust.

Brunhilde: The Gatekeepers' Brunhilde is not the Valkyrie of the same name known from the work
of Wagner, but a 20th century woman who is distant kin to the legendary warrior woman of the
same name whose story was told in the Volsung saga. Sonya Stout was a promising opera singer
whose career was derailed by severe depression and resulting alcholism, conditions which
eventually resulted in poverty and homelessness. At one point, Sonya was assaulted on the streets
and suffered a serious head wound, though she managed to fend off her attackers.

While recuperating in a charity hospital, suffering partial memory loss, she was approached by
Morwen, who enlisted her in a now largely forgotten gambit, pitting several super-powered females
against prominent male heroes of the day. Morwen had sensed the Sonya's connection to the
Brunhilde line, and gifted Sonya with the spear, shield, and armor of the woman's ancestor. The
latent magic within the items were awakend by Sonya's blood-heritage, granting her superhuman
strength and durability. The embrace of her heritage quelled her depression, but deepened her
memory loss. For a time, Sonya believed she was the actual Brunhilde reincarnated, germanic
heroine and half-sister to Atilla the Hun. Following the failure of Morwen's plot, Brunhilde
subsequently drifted again, coming into conflict with Frankenstein's Monster and aiding Aquarius
against science rogue Dr. Agrippa. It was these adventures which led Merlin to tap her for the newly
formed Gatekeepers.

In addition to her physical gifts, Brunhilde's spear and shield were enchanted, being stronger than
steel and able to harm normally impervious foes. Following a victorious battle against Dr. Necros,
she adopted a genetically created Griffin as her steed. She eventually recovered her full memories
from her prior life as Sonya Stout, and even returned to singing. Sonya learned to deal with her
personal issues, drawing on the fiery spirit of her ancestor and then her own will and determination.
She came to see the Gatekeepers as family, bonding with the "outsiders" Adam and Aquarius, and
"gal pals" Bluejay and Celestial Crane. She was deeply saddened by Aquarius turning to the Justicars
and the resurgence of the evil "Doctor" personality of Frankenstein's Monster.

Celestial Crane: Sherry "Showbiz" Strider was a veteran runway model (since age 16) who never
quite made "supermodel" status. Considered too old for modeling at age 28, she turned to acting in
B-movies and guest spots on television to continue her career. She enrolled at a dojo to train in
martial arts for a film and discovered she had a prodigious natural talent for hand to hand fighting. It
was a great help that her sensei was a disciple of the White Lotus. While at the dojo, she became
close friends with Susan Wu, the master's grand-daughter, and nurse Jean-Anne Carter, the other
two most talented students. After the sensei was mortally wounded by Black Hand assassins, he
revealed with his dying breath a prophecy about the "Daughters of the Crane", three women who
would stand as one against injustice. He bequeathed the Three Rings of the Crane to Sherry, Susan,
and Jean-Anne. Their athletic and fighting skills were heightened by the magic objects, and they
went on to battle the Black Hand, the Triads, and even the Mafia as the Daughters of the Crane. They
teamed with other 1970s heroes on occasion, most often with Night Cat.

The Daughters of the Crane ended with a whimper, not a bang: Susan Wu suffered a bullet wound to
the leg which never completely healed, and retired from crimefighting to teach martial arts, taking
over her grandfather's dojo rather than become a weak link. Jean-Anne decided she wanted a
normal life and turned her attention to nursing and planning marriage and family with her boyfriend.
Sherry gained possession of all the Crane rings, which transformed her into the Celestial Crane, a
supernatural being with martial arts skills surpassing even those of Blackwing I or Kung-Fu King. She
could change between her human and Crane forms at will, her fighting costume magically appearing
from nowhere when she transformed.

Sherry joined the Gatekeepers in the wake of an early incursion by the Soul-Less; street people,
prostitutes, vagrants, and others in poverty stricken neighborhoods were disappearing and then
coming back as murderous, vacant-eyed monsters. Sherry teamed with her ally Night Cat in
investigating and stopping the "urban zombie outbreak", but soon found themselves badly
outnumbered and overwhelmed. It was then that Brunhilde stepped in to help, her sheer power
turning the tide (Sonya Stout had been working at a soup kitchen at the time). The three heroines
managed to stem the Soul-Less invasion, and Brunhilde offered membership in the Gatekeepers
(though there really no offical members) to Celestial Crane and Night Cat. Both accepted, but Night
Cat vanished from the public eye shortly thereafter. Celestial Crane remained in part because Merlin
promised to search for her friend. Sherry was the most fun-loving of the Gatekeepers and her
cheerfulness and optimism helped buoy the team. She never forgot her lost ally, and later had John
Milton Miller mystically alter her Celestial Crane garb to combine design elements of Night Cat's
costume in memory of her friend.

It should be stated, as first reported by another author in the previous HED thread, that under the
guidance of Merlin the Gatekeepers always have seven-no more and no fewer-members at any given
time. Though the membership is quite fluid with many coming and going through the decades,
Merlin has kept the ranks at that number. There are several reasons for this principle. First, seven is
a traditonally "lucky" number, and Merlin is all about grand tradition-long-standing and widely held
beliefs help to fuel magic. Also, a team of seven champions has been prophesized to finally end the
threat of the Soul-Less forever, following a great world-wide crisis. Finally, the seven members also
represent the mystic pentagram-Merlin at the center, overseeing all, five heroes standing directly
against a foe, like the five points of the star, and one working subtly on the periphery, or being
drawn into the conflict as if summoned into the pentagram.

Even when the Gatekeepers were first formed, Merlin had set in motion the events which would
lead to Bluejay's origin, made sure Brunhilde was in the bowery to destroy a nest of Soul-Less
infiltrators, and steered Sherry Strider (still a Daughter of the Crane) into a showdown with a
vampiric Hollywood agent who was in compact with the Soul-Less Emperor.

(Thanks be to Mighty Davidson for the inspiration elucidated on above).

The latest incarnation to be led by the Old Hedge Wizard consisted of Brunhilde, Misty Weiss, Mr.
Impossible, Pure (a further mutated and even more self-righteous Stain), a new of Bluejay (an
African-American forest ranger provided with a licensed version of the flying suit), and a female
legacy of the 1970s hero Captain Atlantic II (the super-powered one). They were led by a future
version of Merlin, called simply Lynd and possessing the body and temperment of a brilliant but
mischievous twelve year old boy. They were brought together to repulse a massive Soul-Less
invansion and finally close the portal which allowed them access to our world.

SuperFans!
A recent organization (or shadow association perhaps is more appropriate) that has made its
appearance in recent months- SuperFans! is an oddball to beat all others, even UNITY pre-Unifer
healing. Superheroes and villains simply in general attract fans. And fan clubs, and stalkers and the
whole nine yards. Except SuperFans seems to be composed of rather obsessive ones- oh, and seem
to be all powered or very skilled mundane humans.

The first appearance of the group's members was invitations to major media outlets scheduling an
auction for various pieces of super-information... and a night with Angel Girl who had not agreed to
be present, much less sooooo revealing dressed. Hot tidbits on JWIII were also on the specials, which
prompted a rare team-up by the HoS and the Patriots.

Later, James Moriarty V was briefly taken by the FISS Gianna for what turned out to be topless
pictures and an interview. Similar dangerous to strange activities have been attributed to the
SuperFans! and admittedly, their attempt to apply the study of cartography to Abaddon nearly
allowed Earth to get invaded.

In any case, most of the members of SuperFans; be they public camera-grabbers like Gianna or the
more quiet clubbers doing things like supporting the network and trying to hack into Seventh
Heaven are unknown, except for a few, and in all likelihood won't be found out. Sorting out who in
the populace is among them is a bit of a waste of time, despite the issues at hand. That JWIII might
be carefully twisting matters to make the SuperFans more distracting to his rivals and do-gooders
will only make things worse.
The Midnight Pact part 1

The Midnight Pact, as described before, was a group of nineties anti-heroes and occult
characters all gathered together. What was strange about the group was that, by the standards
of the time, they were surprisingly gentle. The influence of Amulet, Tiffany Blackthorn, and
John Milton Miller prevented the deaths of regular humans while the rest of their opponents
tended to be literally soulless monsters.

The Midnight Pact broke Merlin's original rule of seven members, which happened on
occasion, instead becoming an unlucky thirteen. The group was gathered together to initially
stop the doings of Lamialith who had managed to be unfrozen by Arctic explorers from her
original Edenic-era body. Lamialith swiftly began birthing her myriad children like the
creature from Species, seducing and manipulating others to form an army of Lilin to destroy
humanity. Dark Lustre was notable for working with Lamialith as her second in command,
the two sharing a variety of fanservice shots and implications which were immature even by
the standards of 90s comics.

Really, the team would have probably not worked out nearly so well if these two hadn't
immediately started targetting the Midnight Pact's family and friends. Lord Abyss lost some
of his family, Lucien Drake his old Romani friend Gregor, Morwen one of her lovers from
the 19th century who she'd cared enough about to get long life, and so on. Signing a geas that
they would work together against all odds lest they suffer terrible pain also helped, though it
was rarely necessary.

Later, after Lamialith's original body was destroyed, they managed to reassemble the Book of
Orkus in its entirety to fight Dagon. Dagon had risen from the crumbled civilization of
Lemuria and mass insanity was sweeping the planet. There was a question who'd use the
book and damn their soul but, ironically, Tiffany Blackthorn did. The purity of her wish
managed to prevent Orkus from claiming her soul and Dagon found himself once more
forced to the bottom of the ocean with his lost continent.

One notable action of this period was the Silver Spear II was created. Claiming to the
original Silver Spear's child she gave up for adoption, he used the Book of Orkus to
becoming a sort of ultimate supernatural monster-hunter killing machine. Rather than try and
kill him despite being a murderous creature, they attempted to heal him. This action shook
the original Silver Spear who had, even at that point, considered most of her team to be
monsters.

Mammon briefly was born into the world and began purchasing the souls of nearly every
supervilllain on the planet, giving them a variety of hellish superpowers. Notable for this time
was Black Dragon's refusal to sell his soul for a cure "I would never be part of a club that
would have me as a member" as well as Kenneth Kane laughing at the prospect since selling
his soul was the cheapest deal he ever made. Mammon was defeated by John Milton Miller
challenging his contract in a court of hell and winning, obliterating him from existence.

Oddly, Mammon's own children and successors have since claimed his name so it's
questionable how much of a victory this was.

The team was briefly targeted by the White Lotus Society of all people, who believed the
potential dangers of so much magic in the hands of so many questionable people needed to be
stopped. Invoking the Doom of Gamorrah, they hunted the team across dimensions and
attempted to get at them through their friendships.

Mick Drake ultimately, against the wishes of his teammates, went to save the leader of the
White Lotus Society from a magical ailment despite this and gave the group the mother of all
"What the hell, hero?" speeches, causing them to pardon him. Later it was revealed one of
Puriel's agents in the Knights Hospitaller was framing him. The group later and uncovered
the Black Lotus Society and seemingly destroyed its agents in the upper ranks.

The group's dynamic began to fray a bit when Amulet became pregnant with Infamy's child.
Initially, the father was assumed to be Mick Drake because our hard luck hero had briefly
been involved with her before she went with Tiffany Blackthorn. The team, believing Infamy
slipped her a "magical roofie", nearly killed him in retaliation. In truth, it turned out to be the
Amulet itself and they had to purify the Amulet in an ancient ceremony that took them
against some fairly malevolent forces even by their standards. They gladly did it, though,
because after almost four years together - they were a family.
Then the Living Mummy killed Tiffany Blackthorn.

The loss of her severely weakened the team's dynamic and, geas or no geas, they were willing
to hunt him to the ends of the Earth. The need for the team also weakened, as well, since
Divinos returned much of the world was righted. The death of John Milton Miller thwarting a
full-scale invasion of New Amsterdam via Mandy Blackthorn (possessed and turned into the
"Devil Queen") certainly didn't help. Still, the team maintains fairly cordial relations and a
couple of reunions have happened since.

The Midnight Pact Part 2

Here's a brief rundown of their state during the team's tenure.

Amulet: Clarice O'Hara was never part of a superhero team before and initially was skeptical of
anything involving Merlin (already proven to be untrustworthy) and known criminals. Clarice,
however, was a woman who naturally gentle in nature and swiftly accepted (perhaps too readily) the
better nature of her companions.

She believed the Living Mummy was sincerely trying to reform and Lord Abyss had been ruined by
his upbringing. Mick Drake and she were closest of the team, being friends who shared a lot. They
were also briefly lovers, though this never quite worked out since she only reminded Mick of his
police officer friend back home. In fact, Amulet was already developing feelings for Tiffany she didn't
quite understand. Her coming out and eventually moving in with Tiffany caused her considerable
grief with the police force (not to mention her new "associates").

The loss of Tiffany and her semi-unwanted pregnancy with Infamy's child caused her to leave full-
time superheroing as a result. She still maintains contact with Lord Abyss in a Friendly Enemies sort
of way, The Last Ranger often breaks into her house to steal from her fridge, and Mick Drake visits
everytime he's at the Big Pear.

Frankenstein: Having once more had the Doctor side of his personality suppressed, Frankenstein
adopted a somewhat bizarre new personality many people called, "The Professor." Smart as
anything else, he was an ugly as sin but highly intelligent sort who carried a huge gun and seemed to
take saving the world in stride. Many liken this to Frankenstein's "Hellboy" period.

Part of why Frank had such fond memories of this is Tiffany, John, Clarice, and Mick were fairly
normal human beings (aside from the obvious) who treated Frank as just a slightly scarred Ron
Pearlman type. This kind of basic acknowledgement of his humanity is more precious than gold to
Frank and they even named him, "Franklin F. Frankenstein" to give him a name beyond the Creature.
The Silver Spear loathed him for much of the team's career but, ironically, it was he who never
trusted the Living Mummy. Part of this, ironically, was just Frank's distaste for scientists.

John Milton Miller: Much has been said about John Milton Miller's role in the team but if Tiffany was
the glue, he was the head. Ironically, Merlin rarely did any actual leading of the team despite being
its leader. This was partially due to the fact no one trusted him and that role fell to John. John wasn't
entirely taken seriously by his fellows with his free-wheeling party lifestyle but everyone liked him,
even Lord Abyss.

John maintained a "friends with benefits" relationship with Morwen during much of the team's
tenure and many believe him to be the most likely father of her baby. Of course, many believe John
probably has more children than Robert Baratheon given his pellicados during this period. John's
closest relationships were with Mick Drake and Tifanny Blackthorn, the fomer being like the brother
he'd never had and the later being almost like a daughter to him despite their similar ages.

Amusingly, Tiffany Blackthorn was horrified to learn John proposed to her twin sister siser Mandy.
Not only did everyone think it was creepy but she also believed it would lead to disaster (and did).
The Last Ranger, to this day, throws holy water in John's face to make sure it's still him before
beginning any conversation. The odd thing is, thereafter, treats him like an old friend.

The Last Ranger: Suspicious, bizarre, and insane. The Last Ranger was at his most peculiar during this
period being a Zen Buddhist Conspiracy Theorist Randian despite the inherent contradictions
(Buddhism and Rand? Seriously? There's no way to mock that- Mick). Still, despite being a constant
source of weirdness in the team's ranks, he was actually very much at home in their ranks. Even
more than Lady Grayhaven's later team, he considered the Midnight Pact to accept him and his
complete inability to be phased by anything from Kaithooloo to Satan did much to improve morale.

Frankenstein and Moonstalker were the closest of the Last Ranger's friends, though he actually
considers all of them to be buddies despite his ability to freak them out. The only ones he doesn't
care for are Lord Abyss and the Living Mummy. As criminals, he had little affection for them.
Amusingly, he was also the only male with a complete immunity to Morwen's charms. As one of the
few pure humans in the group, the Silver Spear was initially somewhat friendly but the Last Ranger
dismissed her bigotry out of hand.
The Living Mummy: The much maligned Doctor Edward Easton believed the Midnight Pact was his
chance for redemption. Amulet and Tiffany accepted his desire for atonement at face value while
Morwen believed in a kind of cold-blooded utilitarianism ("yeah, you killed people. So save them
now). Frankenstein, as well, believed he deserved a chance to be more than he was. Moonstalker,
especially, loathed the Living Mummy as the kind of man who gave into the urges he'd fought
against his entire life. Lucien Drake, also, seemed to sense the Living Mummy didn't have the
courage of his convictions. Mick Drake was torn, believing everyone had a chance to redeem
themselves but he'd killed a lot of innocent people.

In the end, what chances he was given were squandered.

The Midnight Pact part 3

Lucien Drake: Lucien Drake started to joke he had "Demon Rider Publicity" around the time he'd
joined the team and debated joining the (then defunct) Patriots just so he could appear everywhere.
Still, he was jovial and got along with everyone but the Liviving Mummy. He was, amusingly,
completely unaware of his relationship to his family on the team but Mick Drake.

Lord Abyss and he had a somewhat peculiar relationship, though, as the two often tried to kill each
other away from the team. They also hung out in clubs picking up aspiring actresses and models.
Amusingly, he and Morwen did NOT ever have a relationship, having tried in the past only to nearly
level a city in the break-up.

Lord Abyss: Lord Abyss never considered himself a superhero and the idea has always been
physically repulsive to him. So, instead, he's considered the Midnight Pact a case of "protecting the
world so I can have it." This was always somewhat of a self-delusion because Lord Abyss wasn't a
complete psychopath.

Lord Abyss seemed to think he could actually redeem himself if he protected those genuinely good
members of the team like Tiffany and Amulet. Likewise, he considered John Jackson Miller to be like
a kid brother (a assessment John was more or less bewildered by since he was older than him).

Merlin: The erstwhile founder of the group, he was always somewhat along for the ride with the
team. The team's collective power was more than he could deal with and they were all so hard
nosed they never really listened to ANYTHING he had to say other than, "The monster is over here."

He had the time of his life.

No, seriously, it was wonderful to put away his responsibility for a time and just follow along for the
ride. The fact he was an actual participating member of the team versus being a quest giver should
tell you a lot of about his opinion of them. They weren't just cannon fodder to him and,
unfortunately, previous teams had been.

Mick Drake: Never really being a team player, the Midnight Pact weren't exactly the sorts of
superheroes he wanted to be a part of. It didn't help his adoptive father was a member of the team
and his first real relationship in ages ended with her leaving him (the fact it was for a woman was
only incidental). Morwen, of course, desired Mick and wanted to make him her personal toy for
much of the team's tenure.

This, of course, resulted in his "cold shower" spell that conjured a little cartoon raincloud over his
head.
John Jackson Miller and the Last Ranger were extremely close friends during the team's tenure. Also,
Mick Drake became close to Moonstalker. That latter relationship would lead to comedy gold as the
two routinely tried to outdo one another in the supernatural monster hunting scene.

Moonstalker: Benjamen Black had been a member of the Gatekeepers before and was only a little
leery about a permanent collection of oddballs working together. He found them to be
simultaneously the most effective and least crazy group of members, which he thinks JUST COULD
be linked in defiance of traditional comic book logic where crazy=effective.

Moonstalker had a great deal of control over his werewolf powers during this time and developed a
close working relationship with Frankenstein. Silver Spear and he became intimately close as well, at
least after her initial period of hating him as a supernatural monster. He and Mick Drake eventually
became bosom buddies.

Morwen: The ultra-violent femme fatale pretty much decided the Gatekeepers were the perfect
place to lie-low for a time. Setting herself up as a fashion model/actress, she proceeded to build
herself a life with countless infatuated lovers while occasionally helping out the world. Tiffany
Blackthorn was easily manipulated by her during this period as was John Jackson Miller. The others
were more suspicious of her motivations and always considered her every decision to be
fundamentally self-motivated.

Morwen has mixed feelings about the group since so very few people seemed to take her side in
matters.

The Silver Spear: The world's greatest monster killer being forced to work with some of the world's
greatest monsters didn't exactly go over well with her. She was always suspicious of her fellows
motives and considered anything that stank of magic to be evil, despite the fact she used a magic
spear. The Silver Spear had to deal with the fact that many of the supernaturals on the team were
more human than quite of few of the humans she'd fought. Ben Black, especially, managed to get
past her defenses in a way that made her extremely uncomfortable.

Tiffany Blackthorn: Enough has been said on her.

Gatekeepers Revised part 2

More Gatekeepers-related fodder for Charles, Libra, Phrozen, and any other interested parties

Duirng periods when the Hierophant assumed leadership of the Gatekeepers, he reverted to the
seven member configuration which Merlin traditionally held to (aside from the Midnight Pact era),
but as the Hierophant rarely took to the field of battle personally (more of a rear-echelon general
than the bolder Merlin), the structure was seven members in addition to the team's leader.

The Gatekeepers had even more of a revolving roster than in past incarnations, as the Hierophant
recruited individuals for specific missions, even empowering a few formerly normal people for his
own purposes. He was also much less interested in having high-profile heroes or strong-willed
individuals, as Earth's would-be Master of Magic saw the Gatekeepers as powerful but expendable
cannon fodder. The Hierophant had the Pryde as his fallback champions, a team whose effectiveness
and leadership were beyond question, even though they were often truculent and even unwilling
minions at best. He also (though the Hierophant would vehmently deny it) had a fondness for Lady
Grayhaven and her Lionesses, and did not want to risk them in the same situations as his pawns in
the Gatekeepers.

Under his tenure, the Gatekeepers included a few veterans, such as Moonstalker (even stronger and
more in control, as the Hierophant supplied Ben Black with a mystic belt which let master his
lycanthropy), Powerfist (sanest and most grounded, and team field leader], and Starlight Rider (the
Rider had near-Galactic Guardsman level powers, but his belief he was a "champion of the cosmos"
was a story fed to him by the aliens who gave him his space-faring and light-manipulation abilities;
these extraterrestrials were rivals of the Grigori who were testing Starlight Rider as a prototype for
their own brand of guardsmen) were among the team's veterans. Others included a new Devil
Hound II (legacy of the 1970s occult anti-hero; he was a ex-soldier who was given the occult
vestments of the original), Stormqueller II (a Inuit woman of Storm Giant heritage tracked down by
the Hierophant and gifted with a copy of the retired Canadian heroine's old armor), Son of
Frankenstein (the 1990s "replacement hero" was perhaps the only non-psychotic creation of one
Prof. H. West, an infamous doctor of resurrection; the revived deadman prefered to be called simply
John Q, but his teammates usually called him Captain Cadaver or Corpse-Boy), Eagle-Eyed Horus
(who returned only briefly to Earth, to battle the machinations of Anubis), a new Nightwoman
(secretly Angela De Lynne, a woman whose life was once shattered by Professor Purgatory; the
Hierophant nurtured her minor talent for magic to help thwart an especially ambitious doppleganger
of Purgatory, allowing her to transform into a shadow-shape with powers similar to Splotch), and
Madame Tomorrow (who forced her way onto the team at the behest of Ymir and Lucien Drake,
neither of whom trusted the Hierophant).

The Hierophant's version of the Gatekeepers had a relatively high attrition rate, as a few members
were killed or disabled, several quit out of contempt for their "leader", and those imbued with
powers by the Hierophant generally lost their abilites or had them removed after a short time,
forcing their retirement (Ms. De Lynn, for example, though she still pursues magic with usually poor
or bad results).

The Unredeemed were the briefest incarnation of the team, formed shortly after the final disolution
of the Midnight Pact. It was headed by the Damnation Knight, one of the many mystical
doppelgangers/living time bombs left behind by Professor Purgatory when he was driven from the
HED universe proper. The Damnation Knight was more sane and self-aware than most of his
brethren-the other doppelgangers, androids, and brainwashed Cleansing Flame occultists who tried
to claim the mantle. Unfortunately, he was a self-loathing manic-depressive with a death wish, as he
despised his own existence and felt true redemption was impossible except through a heroic death-
preferably one which would also take out hundreds or thousands of "evil-doers".

Damnation Knight began by gathering the remnants of the Iron Age villain team, the Sinister Seven.
By this time, only Infamy, Nega-Valkyrie, Marionette, Penny Painful, and Supreme were left of the
original seven; Big Game Hunter had seized on a reversal of fortune when Project Icarus
clandestinely hired him as a combat trainer for their Elite team, and Assassin Eve had joined the
Tomorrow Academy as a probationary student. Damnation Knight quickly assumed leadership of the
group, bringing along Morwen along with him (The Knight was her latest lover and he also promised
to hunt down The Living Mummy), as well as the Frankenstein Monster (now with a cunning,
gangsterish persona in place, Frank the Patch-Man). He manipulated the others to grant him
leadership, granting Superios a cure for his nanite-inflicted sickness and restoring Penny Painful's full
magical might (through a foci that stripped Misty Weiss of most innate power) as examples.

However, his dangerously unbalanced mental state soon became impossible to ignore. He was
leading the group into what amounted to near-suicide missions, even for a team of their power and
ruthlessness. Attacking the Cleansing Flame cult around the world was the starting mission for the
team. Storming the underworld to assault the Dark Fey court, lauching assassination attempts on all
Belial's children across the known worlds, and teaming up with Angel Rider to lead a revolt on Hell-
Earth were among the Unredeemed's missions under the Damnation Knights leadership. Infamy quit
early on, recognizing the man as insane (and besides, Infamy's life was complicated enough), and
Penny Painful soon followed. Morwen didn't share her boyfriend's death wish, so she soon
departed. The Knight destroyed Marionette when the psychotic artificial intelligence went berserk
on the Hell-Earth mission, and began to kill innocent people. Superios eventually figured he'd paid
any debt and went back to merc work. DK brought in new members to replace them: Mr. Awesome,
brother of Nega-Valkyrie, Night-Hound, the "Blackwing of the Balkans", a resurrected Scarlet
Kiss,the vampiress eager to escape Hell, Black Dragon, depressed and suicidal over his disfigurement
and chronic illness, Hellbound, who had broken his oath to Mr. Hoppy and was desperate for allies
against a deluge of demonic foes, and Garnet, the energy-projecting borderline socipath.

This was one of the most unstable versions of the Gatekeepers, and actually led to the first
Hieorphant led team, formed to thwart DK and his allies. His crusades were not saving the world
from mystic peril, they were attracting the attention of all sorts of baleful supernatural creatures and
threatened to bring about doomsday. In the end, all the others abandoned the Knight and he
received his secret wish-death and perhaps a sort of peace.

Charles Freeman

"You want to know why I have chosen to take on one of the largest companies on Earth, Alex? It
seems like a fools errand doesn't it.

You see I knew George Timmons as well. Not as well as you do. He exited my life as soon as he
entered yours. I grew up in Falconcrest. Never knew my mother or father. My first memories are
were of the orphanage I spent the first 16 years of my life. It was not a happy childhood as you can
imagine. There were days that were happy though. They were the days when Mr. Timmons would
visit. Sure, he donated to the orphanage every year but unlike others he came to see us. He took us
out to see movies or museums. He genuinely seemed to care about us for more then a photo op and
some good publicity. Then one year he stopped showing up. You should know that year Alex, he
adopted you that year. At first we were excited. We would have a new friend and maybe Mr.
Timmons would adopt some of us. As the weeks and months dragged on but Mr. Timmons never
came back. He cut the check every year but never came to see us.

We never wanted his money Alex. Just his time, to feel for a few hours that somebody wanted us. I
know it broke a lot of the younger kids. It hardened many of the older kids. I will tell you Alex, they
cruelest thing one human can do to another is give affection and then yank it all away. For me, it
awakened my ambition. I excelled at school because I wanted to make sure that people would
compete for my attention. I got a Rhodes Scholarship and well I am sure you have read up on my
biography. I have seen the pictures taken of your graduation from college. Full of happy people. I
don't have pictures from my graduation Alex, there was no one there to take them.

You ask why I am taking on your company? Because I want it. Because you are soft. Because you are
weak. But most of all for revenge. I am going to break you Alex. I am going to put you into the
poorhouse. I am going to take your whole company, rip out the value and bury the corpse. I made my
promises to my brothers and sisters who didn't make it out. To those who couldn't salvage enough to
deal with life. I am going to make you and your father just footnotes in history. Your company or
your market share. I will take one and then the other."

Charles Freeman is the owner of Freeman Resources. While the company is only about a decade old.
It has seen rapid growth mostly through buying up competitors and companies in similar fields.
There have been reports that these purchases have been accomplished through blackmail and
espionage but so far those rumors have been just rumors. Some find it odd that Freeman keeps a
team of forensic accountants on staff though. Freeman's managerial style differs greatly from almost
all other business leaders. His speeches come off more like some ancient warlord then a
businessman. He frequently includes quotes by Sun Tzu, von Clauswitz, Musashi, Patton, and Horatio
Nelson in his communications. His office is filled with historical weapons and armor. Originals not
reproductions and not parade weapons either.

What does mark Freeman is his naked and ruthless ambition, which is strange since he doesn't pay
himself much more then his senior executives. It seems that money isn't what he is after, rather the
the thrill of taking. While charismatic with his employees, he is cold and emotionless when dealing
with outsiders. He doesn't seem to have a social life other then what is required to network and find
in roads into other ventures. Freeman Resources doesn't participate in any charity, all profits are
used to leverage the next buy out. Surprisingly, his employees are paid extremely well after about of
three years of being worked to death. Freeman figures that anybody who got through that is good
enough to keep.

After a company is acquired, anything of value is stripped out and taken under the Freeman
Resources name. All acquired employees are not terminated and like any new employee given about
three years of constant grueling work. Those that stick with it are given rapid promotion, raises, and
bonuses. All trace of the acquired company is wiped out and Freeman won't even sell the name.

As noted above Freeman has a hatred for the Timmons family and is currently targeting Raven
Industries for acquisition. Freeman has worked up a biography and profile of Alex Timmons. He even
hired a private detective to tail Alex. Though he isn't sure that Alex is Black Wing, he does know that
Timmons has something other then his playboy facade going on. So far, Freeman hasn't delved fully
into outright supervillainy rather taking on Alex socially and through business channels. If Freeman
takes the plunge he could become one of Alex's more dangerous foes.

Agents of the Foundation for World Harmony

The transfer of power from Dame Michelle Holmes to John Hepburn hasn't exactly gone without its
speed bumps. Many of Dame Michelle Holmes' loyalists were transferred to dead-end jobs, kicked
upstairs, or forced into retirement.

Other extremely-competent agents, one who have no real interest in the drama, are being forced to
deal with the fact that John is a tool for whatever political factions ask him to do something. Director
Hepburn's not incompetent at his job but the extreme mediocrity of his work and the occasionally
insane nature of his solutions doesn't fill people with confidence.

Dilbert cartoons have never felt more real at the Foundation. Here's a short list of the Foundation's
best and brightest.

Alexander King: Nicknamed "Alexander the Seer", Alexander King is the head of the Supernatural
Investigation Division of the Foundation for World Harmony. Alexander is a literal psychic detective.
A former FBI agent, Alexander joined the Foundation for World Harmony when his Metaman ability
to see the immediate future (later developing into full-fledged psychometry) became too obvious for
the FBI to ignore.

Alex is supremely uninterested in the larger spy-game and focused entirely on the Anti-
Crime/Terrorism efforts of the organization. He has no interest in politics and really would just like to
catch killers. He has an antagonistic relationship with the new Director and desires to be left alone.

Alex's motivation isn't just a loyalty to the job, he was married to a fellow Foundation for World
Harmony agent until she was killed by a Blood Wing imitator. As a result, he's exceptionally devoted
to taking down Blood Wing's many copycats. He's considered the world's greatest expert on Blood
Wing-related crimes.

Alexander King is a cynical, sarcastic, and makes roughly as many pop-culture references as an adult
Buffy. He smokes like a chimney, drinks way too much, and takes too many risks despite his
relatively "squishy" nature as a normal human with some minor psychic abilities.

Colonel Liddy: Joshua Liddy is the muscle-bound, eye-patch wearing, gun-toting supervisor of
Foundation Island security. Colonel Liddy was a veteran of the Gulf War who ended up becoming a
mercenary after his home life fell apart. Patched together by the House of Serpents and given a new
background, Joshua is supremely loyal to his secret masters.

The irony is, honestly, is he's not really infiltrating the Foundation anymore since he absolutely
despises Jack Washington III as a "limp-wristed New England liberal wannabe intellectual." Seriously,
that's his reason, not the fact JWIII is a psychopath. Jack Washington III has no real interest in
Colonel Liddy's activities and has ignored him since coming to power.

Colonel Liddy is now assembling his own private group of "super-patriots" in the Foundation for
World Harmony called the "The new Founding Fathers" who are pretty much a bunch of paranoid
extremist wackos who share Colonel Liddy's views. They advocate a much harder policy of Anti-
Metaman, Pro-American (or at least Pro-West), and Pro-militarism policies. They really don't have
any influence over policy but are affecting the opinions of new agents.

The biggest danger Colonel Liddy poses is to any PCs who need to get into Foundation Island
undetected. He's more likely to shoot first and ask questions later. And by shoot first, we mean blow
up floors with C4.

Miss Frost: Electra Frost is the head of the Foundation for World Harmony's cryptography
department and is in line for becoming head of the New Technologies division. Her name lends itself
to jokes about being an ice-queen but the fact is that she has the demeanor of a female Agent Smith
makes the joke just accurate. Electra has had herself extensively cybernetically modified so the fact
she's 5'2, Asian, and
thoroughly unintimidating doesn't effect her ability to break people's arms when necessary.

Miss Frost is constantly visiting the aftermath of superhero battles in hopes of recovering new
technologies. Likewise, she's extremely hostile to alien lifeforms in hopes of confiscating any
otherworldly technology. Miss Frost has attempted to dragoon any Metamen with computer-related
abilities into her service. She believes technological superiority is the key to humanity's survival and
has even attempted to confiscate Ultramind 2.0 from the Patriots.

A third-generation Illuminatus, Samantha Frost mourns the destruction of the organization and
believes the Foundation for World Harmony must take up the slack to guarantee world security.
Despite this, she's supremely loyal to the United Nations and her home nation of Great Britain.
Unfortunately, her loyalty consists of a willingness to do anything to protect both. Already, she's
considering flagging Colonel Liddy not for being a House of Serpents infiltrator but the fact he's an
incompetent boob.

Miss Cannis: A Berkley educated Neo-Hippie with a love of New Age medicine, crystals,
environmentalism, and modern Atlantean mysticism (which actual Atlanteans look at strangely). Oh,
and she's also a werewolf. Samantha Cannis isn't exactly the kind of person you'd expect to be a
Foundation for World Harmony's Sub-Chief. Despite this, Miss Cannis has steadily risen through the
ranks and has an almost flawless record for dealing with superhuman problems.

Miss Cannis bases her offices in Los Dios, unsurprisingly, and has an excellent relationship with that
city's otherworldly population. Miss Cannis is close friends with Athena and Ymir with both
superheroes counting her as a member of their supporting cast. Despite her exceptional skill as an
investigator and networking talent, even some of her supporters in the Foundation believe she
might be a little TOO soft for the job. Dame Michelle Holmes said it best, "we are not in this business
to be nice."

Despite these accusations, Miss Cannis has killed in the line of duty and has a tremendous hatred for
the Gene Nation. This is due to the Red King killing one of her past lovers. She also strongly disagrees
with his ideology, considering it close to pure evil.

George O'Grady: A North Ireland secret agent, George O'Grady was extremely efficient and
considered by many to be a natural successor to Dame Holmes. Unfortunately, George O'Grady
dramatically overestimated his ability to handle the Vampire Nation. Attempting to remove some of
the vampire-backed slaving rings in Belfast, he was captured by Lord Ruthven and transformed into
one of the undead.

George O'Grady was lucky to be one of those rare vampires not vulnerable to sunlight. Deciding to
continue his career in the Foundation for World Harmony in the service of his new masters, his work
has suffered. George, formerly considered a charismatic and likable fellow, is now considered to be
"creepy" and "disturbing." Only the fact he's capable of mesmerizing many of his subordinates keeps
them from abandoning his division en masse.

His division has degenerated to become one of the most corrupt, unhealthy, and downright spooky
parts of the Foundation. George has transformed a couple more of his agents and made many more
of them into "Renfields" with his blood. The fact John Hepburn hasn't noticed anything wrong due to
George's ability to think rings around him doesn't help.

George O'Grady is currently angling to get Alexander King's position as head of the supernatural
division. He is working very slowly at this due to the potential danger of being found out.

Ultradoom the Destroyer: The Ultradoom bot was created for the purposes of exterminating Earth's
Metamen population by the Neo-Nazi government of the future. It can imitate and absorb the ability
of virtually any superhuman. Sent back in time, Ultradoom managed to mimic the power of a
powerful telepath and developed an overwhelming love of humanity.

Ultradoom now serves as an office boy in the Foundation for World Harmony. He's a pacifist and
refuses to use any of his abilities for anything violent. This frustrates many people who would love to
use him as a giant weapon. Ultradoom appears as an 8ft tall bronze-skinned Adonis who resembles
the statue of Atlas from the covers of Atlas Shrugged.

Ultradoom has, on occasion, teamed up with one specific team. Yes, the Great Lakes Patriots! He
babysits the Big Answer's niece and nephew while she does work with her husband.

Brigadier Anne Stuart: An Anglo-African woman in her early forties, Anna Stuart is the daughter of
one of the Foundation for World Harmony's most decorated military officers. Despite the fact that
there was considerable resistance to her rise to her father's former position, Anne Stuart has
successfully risen to become head of the Foundation's military assets in the United Kingdom.

She has a long and storied career of dealing with vampires, aliens, fairies, more vampires, robots,
demons, and more vampires. She's even worked with her father's frequent cohort, Merlin, on
occasion. It's been observed that Anne is one of the few people who can talk the manic pixie wizard
down.

Anne Stuart is an appointee of John Hepburn and is rather ashamed of this fact. Mostly, she feels like
she's done an excellent job and is annoyed she's been elevated as part of a larger game of cleaning
out the Old Holmes supporters. Otherwise, she's completely uninterested in politics and mostly just
wants to do her job.

She has a long distance friendship with Alexander King and thoroughly loathes George O'Grady (she
did so even before he was an undead monster). George takes extra precautions when meeting with
her due to the fact Anne is quite good at sniffing out the undead.

Ops: A frighteningly efficient black ops mission director who seems to have thoroughly subverted
the chain of command and answers only to John Hepburn's bosses. Even then, it's questionable how
much they keep said individuals "in the loop." Ops runs their own Mini-Foundation consisting of
expendable captured criminals and former terrorists. Ops collars these individuals and uses a
combination of torture and brainwashing to ensure their loyalty. Also, the literal "explosive collar"
has since been altered by their to be something more efficient (it's now a sub-dermal implant).

Ops is, disturbingly enough, believed to be a remnant of the original House of Serpents. Where as
the rest of the group went rogue, Ops actually retained a certain degree of legitimacy with the
world's governments through assembled blackmail material. They continues to run anti-terrorism
missions with no restrictions, sparing no one including their former associates. No one knows who
Ops is, what their goals are, or even if there's one or many. No one has yet discovered Ops existence
since all their missions are usually blamed on one or more terrorist groups - efficiently keeping them
from forming alliances. They have no objections to performing terrorist acts themselves if it
infiltrates their agents into various groups' high commands.

Ironically, John Hepburn found out about Ops before Dame Michelle Holmes due to his superior
ability to follow paperwork (defeating even Holmesian logic). He's currently sitting on it because he's
received no orders for dealing with it and taking care of the problem would require initiative.

Other agents I didn't get around to detailing but are still active in some capacity are:

Codename: Chew Toy: A position filled by psychologically veted extremely-capable agents who are
assigned to act as handlers for the raging egomaniacs who threaten world-stability by their very
existence. Yes, superheroes.

Snark is actually taught.

Commander Crismon: A UK-born astronaut who encountered an Ultramind probe on Mars and was
remade into a Mithran-Human hybrid. Unfortunately, suffers from guilt due to attracting Ultramind's
attention to Earth.

Steve Wilson: Another astronaut who ended up getting rebuilt as a cyborg after a disastrous mission.
The results were excellent with the prototypes but they're all outdated now.

Mister Yin: The secretive best agent of the Chinese branch of the Foundation. He pretty much
embodies every Jet Li trope while simultaneously being somewhat blind to the questionable nature
of his orders.

Mister Yang: Mister Yin's ex-partner and a former member of the Triads. He's a Metaman with the
ability to "re-direct" bullets (and bullets alone). This has allowed him to become the King of Guns
Akimbo.

Rent-A-Cop: A dinosaur of the 1960s. Rent-A-Cop is almost completely cybernetic now with only his
brain remaining yet remains as buffoonish as ever. The former enemy of Death Mask II, somehow he
keeps solving cases despite his apparent stupidity.

Doctor Quick Jr.: Everybody remembers, "Kid Quick" if you're over the age of 40. Time-travel and
age-retardation serums make it so he's only about mid-fifties in appearance. Having grown up with
the Aeon Society, Doctor Quick attempted to raise his son into another Doc Aeon and partially
succeeded. Well, with his eldest, we'll try not to tell you about his other two boys.

Secret Agent Daring: John Daring is the guy who lives in the mailing room. Apparently, sometime in
the 1960s, he was kidnapped by a secret organization (probably PHANTOM) which tortured him
psychologically in a colorful fake town for years.

Mostly he works on cold cases and talks about THEM despite working for the largest spy agency in
the world. Bizarrely, he's been married and bears an odd resemblance to the Last Ranger.

Mister Turtle: The head of the Department of Forms and Records (FEAR IT) and John Hepburn's
former boss. He's recently been released from the sanitarium after the "Buttle" incident. Bears a
shocking resemblance to Johnathan Pryce and is capable of defeating a certain demon.

Leslie the Ghost: She's a ghost who haunts Foundation Island. Seriously. You get used to these things
when you work for the Foundation.

The Black Hart Knight & Sunflower Knight

These two knights are champions of Winter and Summer respectively. Though they only appear
when each court is waning and disappear when each court is at the apex of their power. The
Sunflower Knight was banished by The Dark Undermaster as part of his mastery of over Otherworld.
Now that Summer is waxing the Black Hart Knight has reappeared.

Riding a steed the color of pure white snow and clad in armor of polished black opal which lights up
dark blue and green when light hits it. Over his armor he wears a silver surcoat emblazoned with a
black stag rampant. He carries an enchanted one handed battle ax named Winter's Bite. The knights
shield is also of similar material as his armor and has a silver outlined black stag on it.

Though skilled and fearsome in battle the Black Hart Knight is nevertheless honorable and
courteous. In battle he is cool and calm fighting logically. He is like a cool winter's night. Appearing to
save Winter's forces. He usually opts to challenge the champion of the other side to reduce
casualties on both sides but is willing to take command as needed. He never takes off his helmet at
least in the company of others, prefering to say his face is to horrible to view. Though he has little
love of the cruelty of his master, he is oath bound to them and he will do everything in his power to
try and blunt their violence

The Sunflower Knight is Summer's champion. He rides a brown steed the color of dead burned grass.
His armor is silver and supernaturally bright, so much that it blinds when the sun reflects off of it.
Upon his white surcoat is a bright yellow and red sunburst stylized sunflower. Unlike his opposite the
Sunflower knight almost never dones his helmet letting all see his long blonde hair and fair features.
His weapon of choice is an enchanted long sword name Summer's Scorn.

Despite his handsome features, the Sunflower Knight is not a nice person. He is merciless and cruel.
Hot tempered through and through. He prefers to lead campaigns and battles himself and give no
quarter. He wants to be where the battle is thickest. His hot temper keeps his men in line as he
campaigns He believes in total war. He is like the relentless sun beating down on a hot day. He has
no respect for the weaker and more peaceful Lords of Summer. Though they detest him, they will let
the attack dog out of the cage when times are at their worst.

They two champions have not actually ever met on the field of battle. Their similar height and voice
does led to some speculation that they are in some way related. Perhaps brothers taken long ago
some say. It is also not known where one goes when the other appears. Perhaps they are the same
man split between the courts. It is known that neither of them appeared during the reign of the Dark
Undermaster, who claimed he banished the Sunflower Knight. Perhaps the new Gatekeeper knows
the true secret of the two champions.

The Media in HED!

The Elite made a huge smash in the early 21st century when superheroes made a big return to
prominence following the Psychotic Seven's coup. Kenneth Kane's initial plans to play them as
psycho vigilantes failed so he instead went with portraying them as psychotic glory hounds ala,
Warren Ellis' The Boys.

The show lasted eight years but its cancellation in 2011 amidst declining ratings and the fact people
were really sick of Mighty Man (plus well, the entire cast being captured by the Steel Commando)
was accompanied by a lot of spin-offs being created. While the more criminal members are currently
in Guantanamo Bay, the rest have largely gone on to create their own superheroic legacies.

Ironically, Kenneth Kane has inspired a huge number of knock-off shows and "reality TV" crazes
following "real" superheroes. Likewise, thousands of books have been written about superheroes
with plenty of autobiographies being written by either supporting cast members or people
intimately involved in the subject.

The Hero network is owned by Ted Turner of all people and is completely independent of anything
superhuman at the upper management. It has purchased the rights to a ridiculous number of shows
related to superhumans and the content ranges from the horrible (The Elite) to the inspiring.

The Angelica Lynn Show is still ongoing after six years and while it's not Oprah level popular, it's
about as important as Rosie O'Donnel was during her heyday.

The Asgardians are considered something of a more hard-edged and gritty Elite with real heroes as
opposed to their poseur-like attitudes. Their antics are just as bad as many of their predecessors but
the Asgardians are FULLY capable of throwing down when the time comes for it.

They're also very moral, albeit to an extremely strange code.

Lady Grayhaven is more or less embarrassed by her 90s Reality TV show but several of the former
members have been known to return to the spotlight on occasion. Misty Weiss remains the most
media-savvy persona of the group, still doing entertainment as well as heroics.

One of Lady Grayhaven's ex-associates is Sparkwire, who is STILL trying to establish himself as a
major player in the superhero industry despite how embarrassing it is for him. He is a hero but, good
lord, the guy really can't help but hog the spitlight.

The Power Hour with Johnny John is picked up by FOX which gives an ultraconservative take on
superheroes, that's frequently critical but not enough that it actually comes under attack. Power
Hour is, of course, secretly run by the House of Serpents but only in the loosest sense. Johnny John
was merely selected by JWIII because he's charismatic in a sleazy way.

CAPES: A COPS spin-off that has a psychic follow the adventures of a superhero with his or her
permission (supplemented by Foundation provided cameras). Sometimes, a hardened war veteran
camera-crew follows as well. CAPES is actually pretty accurate and works in conjunction with
America's Most Wanted to capture supervillains.

The show edits out any information related to secret identities or superhero loved ones.

Under the Hood: A sleazy tabloid-esque program published originally on Showtime then HBO and
now picked up by SpartaMax. Under the Hood basically exists to expose the sex, violence, and drug
abuse of the superheroic world. A few times they've been involved in entrapment using hookers and
cash to tempt superheroes they think are a fair target.

Project Skyway: The now-retired from crimefighting Sherri "Showbiz" Strider is the creator, host,
and producer of the critically acclaimed showcase for up-and-coming artists, designers, and
fashionistas who create concepts for (or based on) superhuman culture. The competitors work with
some truly unusual materials (provided by Timmons Industries and the John Smith Society) to come
up with apparel fit for top-level superhumans like Athena, Angel Girl, and Phantom Archer. Celebrity
judges have included Lady Grayhaven, Steel Valkyrie, Dawn Wing, and numerous top-tier models,
television stars, and fashion industry heavyweights.

Legendary Journeys: The syndicated series followed the daring travels undertaken by Evelyn
Legend, free-lance treasure hunter, mystery archaeologist, and adventurer. Ms. Legend has at times
been unkindly dubbed "the made-for TV version of Lady Grayhaven", but while undeniably a bit
more callow and materialistic than the leader of the Pride of Lions, Evelyn is a a heroine in her own
right, particularly in her native United Kingdom. The Legend family, unfortunately, has always lived
in the shadows of the better known and more accomplished Grayhavens, even Evelyn's famed great-
grandfather Professor Legend, who discovered a hidden enclave of exotic creatures and divergent
humans back in the 19th century.

Nailed: The Point Man is featured on the Hero Network, and does indeed feature the former Elite
member (and Knights of Humanity hired hand), who escaped prosecution and now works as a
marginally legal bounty hunter, going after metahuman fugitives exclusively. As his real identity was
exposed when the authorities cracked down on The Elite team, the show also showcases his
bombastic long-time girlfriend, his older brother, and his two strapping sons; the family that "hunts
down hardcases together". The show took a hit in the ratings when Point Man was captured on tape
using a vile epithet against a Pakistani-born metaman. He apologized publically and enrolled in
"sensitivity counseling", but his public persona remans tarnished.

Walk On The Wild Side: This began as a reality-television series showcasing the adventures of
Robert Jack and Hannah Black (formerly Hannah Sweet) as they investigated the very strange goings-
on of the Quad City area and beyond (they travelled across the US in later episodes); long-time
celebrity eye-candy Ginnifer McCauley was added early on, as producters felt the series needed
more sex appeal. The blonde wise-cracker did juice the ratings, though only clever editing ever made
her appear in danger on the show (Ginnifer is a smart cookie who kept her distance from meta-
normal trouble). Eventually Hannah and Robert got tired of the short shrift given to Big Answer and
the faux-flirting Ginnifer did with Rob Jack, so they split after three seasons. For the fourth season
onward, a male co-host was added (Kane Provost, who once starred in a light romantic comedy re-
imagining of Divinos' career) and a rotating cast of minor league metamen were used instead of Rob
Jack and Big Answer, including Dark Jeste and Kid Kicks, ex-Elite cast-offs.

I imagine Nailed features Z-List supervillains so obscure that the Foundation doesn't even
have files on them. Villains like Cream Puff, Sewer Master, Nail Gun, and Leatherneck.
Part of the appeal of the show is the small town American weirdness.

Under the Hood doesn't get its bad reputation just from the sleaze. The one time they went
serious it was a season about villains. They profiled three villains: Wicked Symphony who
was just starting out, Top Hat who in the middle of his career but was thinking about
hanging it up due to his new baby, and Vick Vegas an older down on his luck hood who was
looking for the final big score. The season ended with Black Wing II crippling Vick Vegas by
accident. For about two months afterwards, The Patriots and any other hero who held a press
conference had to answer questions about Superhero brutality.

Nailed indeed usually features the Pointman going after loser villains and mook henchmen-
while the Pointman is actually quite capable in his own right, he isn't about to try for the bond
fee on Big Game Hunter or Stain for basic-cable wages. Besides, tracking down A or B-list
villains takes time and resources, and isn't the sort of task one can wrap up in an hour of
television, minus commercial allotment. The man also actually does care enough about his
family not to unduly endanger them. Still, he isn't above going after the odd B-Minus or C-
lister during sweeps weeks, for a hefty bonus.

SpartaMax played up the Vicktor Vegas incident for weeks, milking the damaging footage
for all it was worth. House of Serpents backed media outlets hammered Blackwing and the
Patriots as well, from both the left and the right sides of the political aisle (HofS has
operatives and allies across the spectrum, though most are unaware of the situation). Of
course Alex Timmons made sure Viktor Vegas was compensated monetarily, while Captain
Aeon provided a cybernetic harness that helped mitigate the man's spinal damage. His story
has a relatively happy ending, as he's currently employed as a security guard for the Angelica
De Lynn Show and has also been clean and sober for the past five years (he credits a
conversion to Christianity).

Ms. De Lynn hired him reluctantly, but did so as a personal favor to Blackwing, the Patriots,
and also the John Smith Society, all of whom she has come to respect. While she still lobbies
for tough punishments against metamen who use their powers against normal people, she has
(as Charles detailed) abandoned her irrational resentment and fear of all superhumans. The
Patriots' outreach did a lot to mitigate this, as the scientific/medical support they provided
helped with her discomfort and mobility issues, though even Misty Weiss' magic could not
"cure" her. Her show has broaded since the early days, and has evolved to include more light-
hearted celebrity interviews, pop-culture segments, and philanthropic efforts, often to other
victims of supernatural violence. Her show isn't quite as popular as Ellen, but doesn't lag far
behind.

She's able to do a lot of good in terms of donations to support groups and medical research
focusing on supervillain-induced trauma even though she can obviously no longer command
leading lady salaries in movies. Her two books since "the incident" were best sellers,
Angelica comes from a very wealthy European family, and she still does act in indie features
and Lifetime Original movies.

She's been linked romantically in the tabloids to her bodyguard Thunderfist and also Gilead,
who may be a reincarnated Gilgamesh (or at least a modernized incarnation of the Ur-Hero).

There are of course, many other televison programs centered on super-culture and the
metaman phenomenon-many on the Discovery, History, and Nature channels. Shows
focusing on ERs which cater to super-violence victims, documentaries on the Golden Age,
the Unmasking Massacre, and the Psychotic 7 coup, dramas and sitcoms based on
superhumans (usually heavy on human interest and light on battles due to budget limitations),
and the rare episodes of American Pickers or Pawnstars featuring rare superhuman-related
curios or collectibles.

Of course, the aforementioned Lifetime features many movies where women (often Meredith
Baxter, Valerie Bertenelli, or Nancy McKeon) unwittingly marry supervillains or somewhat
younger actresses give birth to metaman children and have trouble handling their special
needs and opportunities.

Then of course, there was the whole Real Housewives of Genesis Island fiasco...

A couple other notes:

While Sherri Showbiz's former career as a Daughter of the Crane is public knowledge, her
time as The Celestial Crane of the 1970s Gatekeepers is not. Partly this is due to a Merlin-
spell which clouds humanity's remembrance of the details of the missions the Gatekeepers
took part. The Amulets of the Crane now reside with the Hierophant; Sherri isn't happy about
this part, as her retirement was forced, but she grudgingly admits she was getting too old for
the role. She only hopes the Hierophant does find a worthy successor soon.

The Elite suffered a rather precipitious decline in popularity when Mighty Man's sanity began
to slide badly, resulting in collateral damage and delirious on-air rants and no amount of spin
could cover it up. Then Vainglorious went murderously rogue on turned on his teammates,
murdering several before being taken down by Mighty Man and Lady Lyfe (AKA Life Lass);
this triggered a public outcry and a Congressional investigation. Project Icarus and
SpartaCorp had to dump the show and sell-out the Elite to the authorities to cover their own
ends. Of the surviving members, Mighty Man is in a JSM society-run mental asylum,
PointMan and King Size turned and offered their testimony in return for immunity to
prosecution, and many others are now housed in Guantanamo Bay for suspected acts of
domestic terrorism while their exact status is debated in the courts. Ironically, Gray Panther
was restored to her proper age and body while Lady Lyfe was exorcised by Morwen, but the
former were-panther was still imprisoned unjustly. Morwen was an old enemy of the ancient
witch posing as Lady Lyfe, but really couldn't care less if an innocent woman is behind bars.

Britain's Got Superpowers! Yes, really. A superpowered talent show, attracting ... well, the sort of
people who'd enter a superpowered talent show where the prize is a contract with Simon Cowell.
Frequently "car crash television" as people with lame powers get booked so Cowell can mock them.

The Supehero Challenge: BBC's answer to the above. No contract for the winner, just the pride of
knowing they'd make a good superhero. Tries to be more "worthy" than BGS, but sometimes forgets
this when the ratings war heats up. The judges are actual superheroes, who also act as mentors. Not
usually A-list. but not unknowns either. The first season made headlines when The Londoner quit as
a judge for undisclosed reasons.

The Adventures of John Bull: A series on Children's BBC based on the WWII career of John Bull, with
each episode vetted for accuracy by a team of historians and John Bull II. Except possibly the
Children in Need charity telethon episode where he met the Doctor.

The Mick Tsavong Show: Mick Tsavong is a former member of the Tsavong Stones (a poorly thought-
out plan to infiltrate British popular culture) who now uses his shapeshifting powers to impersonate
celebrities and politicians in this occasionally controversial satire show.

No Heroics: Bizarrely, this ITV sitcom about Z-list superheroes is exactly the same as its real world
counterpart. Despite some suspicions, the makers aren't connected to the House of Serpents,
PHANTOM, or any other group; the portrayal of superheroes as either lovable losers or arrogant
jerks has no ideological basis beyond simple cynicism.

Also of note is that the BBC's 2006-2009 Robin Hood series was never made following complaints by
the Loxley family.

Having a passing familiarity with British television from PBS and (more recently) BBC America, I
imagine the whole "superheroing" business is just not taken quite as seriously as it can be in the
States. UK TV's answer to The Angelica De Lynn Show is The Joanna Frost-Light Hour, in which
beloved but faux-grumpy deadpan snarker comedienne Joanna Frost-Light invites heroes and other
celebs related to metaman pop culture onto the show to conduct sarcastic interviews, have them
participate in silly skits, and generally steal the spotlight from super-powered guests. Ms. Frost-Light
is of course rather rumpled and middle-aged looking, in UK talk host tradition, though her bouffant
hair is always carefully maintained.

Of course, one of the more popular newer shows is Being Normal, where three metamen (two guys,
one gal) with inconvenient and sometimes out of control superpowers end up living together, trying
to conceal their abilities and just create normal civilian lives. There's an American version but the
British original is superior.

Note: Joanna Frost-Light isn't really based on anyone in particular, she's just an amalgam of the male
Graham Norton, along with Ruby Wax, (very) funny woman Dawn French, and an older UK female
comic whom I spotted on the Graham Norton show but whose name I cannot recall right now. I beg
forgiveness for any and all stereotypes invoked. Being Normal is quite obviously a pastiche of Being
Human.

A phenomenon I've alluded to in my books but which hasn't really been expanded on much is that
being a superhero is something that is an automatic ticket to fame and fortune. It's just that it's also
something of the road to ruin in Heroic Earth as well. There have been literally hundreds of "false
start" heroes who take "patrons" or accept gifts from Corporate America (or Corporate Britain, etc).

These heroes usually get the training, equipment, and possibly even powers as part of their efforts
to create the next sort of hero. While there's nothing so effective as the Gene Nation's Evolution
Tanks there's plenty of volunteer clinical drug trials and experimental surgeries that these
corporations do work for. While it's easy to assume SpartaCorp, AmeriCorp, Project: Icarus, and so
on are responsible for these - in truth, just as many legitimate corporations are behind these.

If they can create the next Divinos then these corporations (or more likely the corporations that own
the corporations that own them) can write their own ticket forever. In a way, many of these
superheroes become testing grounds or living advertisements for the effectiveness of the products
they're trying to sell be they body armor or mountain-climbing gear.

One of the greatest victories Kenneth Kane ever won against superheroes was when one of his saner
employees convinced Divinos that he could use the money from licensed anime, action figures, and
t-shirts to assist children. So, there's actually a vast profit to be made from successful superhero IP.
After all, if Divinos is willing to do it then there's nothing wrong with it.

The temptation from this can be rather insidious as you don't necessarily have to take all the money.
Heroes who donate 10% of their earnings can help a lot of people. Even one who donates 90% of his
earnings can live comfortably if he's successful as a hero and enjoy all the benefits of being a major
celebrity. There's practical reasons for this merchandising as well, as a lot of superheroes don't have
the option of being comfortably wealthy before they start fighting crime and can't figure of a Peter
Parker solution.

It's called the road of "False Starts" because this is usually the path of ruin for these individuals. They
may have commitment, drive, and inherent decency but as it's been hinted at but rarely mentioned -
superheroes rarely last very long and the majority of the ones we've mentioned are the ones who
are good at this. Plenty of corporations pull their funding, try to control their agents, or simply move
onto other projects and they're left without someone to pay for their supersuit's repair.

Also, the public (despite the power of advertising) is prone to looking at these heroes at somehow
"less" than Athena or Black Wing II. They can afford to donate all of their profits to charity, the other
heroes argue, but it rings a bit hollow. Cops, after all, deal with lousy pay and no fame for fighting
crime. Usually, the ex-soldiers and police offers deal with it pretty well, while the average citizens
deal with it....poorly.

Make sense?

Professor Purgatory minions

My write-ups of the Knaves, who served as Professor Purgatory's underlings during the Heroic Earth
episode deemed "The Promise of Purgatory" by the Hierophant's official scrivener, Lacklund
Workworks (the Hierophant scarcely writes his own journal entries, after all). The first three up: Red
Vulture, Typhoid, and Wretched Dragon!

Red Vulture: Though an inveterate coward and liar, Red Vulture is a cunning thief, looter, and
criminal strategist; he initially worked as a villain-for-hire in his native India for the crime lord
Brahmin, but eventually the Red Vulture's skimming of the loot reached levels which Brahim could
not ignore or forgive, despite Red Vulture's usefulness. In Eastern Europe and Asia, he teamed with
the Retriever, an armored villain who specialized in bank jobs, stealing prototype technologies, and
ransacking the bases of other supervillains, making him a good match for the Red Vulture-even the
Retriever grew tired of his partner's greed. In the States, Red Vulture headed up a low-grade team of
avian-themed criminals known as 'The Roost", battling Steel Commando and Lady Grayhaven and
her Pride. When the Roost turned against him, Red Vulture was desperate enough to sign on with
Professor Purgatory. His cloak grants him error-free teleportation (even into places he has never
visited before), but no one is sure if the Red Vulture's power to drain and weaken the vigor of others
is likewise device-driven or an intrinsic ability.

 Amusingly, it's a side-effect of his ability. The Red Vulture's teleportation requires life-force
to power it and if he didn't drain the energy of others then he'd end up killing himself. In the
hands of a person who wasn't a sociopath, it might have been a morally ambiguous device to
use. The Red Vulture is, interestingly, a fairly mid-level crook in India and there's a rather
substantial rogues gallery there most people have never heard of.
Typhoid: Back in 1972, Mary was a petty criminal, prostitute, drifter, go-go dancer, and hippie; her
world changed when she and the group of dopers Mary was hanging with at the time ecountered an
eighteenth century vampire late one night, while smoking pot, making out, and dancing around a
bonfire. Mary was the only survivor-though no one was left alive. She became an unusual vampire,
one whose bite not only resulted in blood loss but also infected her victims with a supernatural
disease that mimicked the effects of typhoid fever. She was resistant to sunlight and could remain
awake during the day, but while her regenerative powers were phenomenal, Mary lacked most of
the immunities of a traditional vampire. Remaining very much a "bad girl" and thrill-seeker, she
became involved in a number of sordid adventures, ranging from the banal (alternately seducing and
threatening a hippie couple in an old mansion) to the deadly (a high-speed cross-country car chase
involving a psychopathic driver and his career-criminal partner). Mary's escapades came to an end
when she encountered Sacred Spear, who left "Typhoid" Mary entombed under a two-ton slab of
concrete, where she remained trapped until inadvertantly freed by a construction crew a few years
back. Rendered utterly mad, Typhoid Mary has proclaimed repentence for her past deeds, and now
preys only on "the guilty"...as her demented mind judges so many to be.

 The vampire, in question, was a sufferer of Syphalis when he was embraced. This disease,
ironically, was one of the ones which altered vampirism and made vampirism VERY
problematic for many vampires hoping to spread their curse. These "plague bearers" have
been staked by their kind for years.

AIDs has a similar effect. Though it's also capable of outright killing vampires by weakening
their powers to almost nothingness.
 Professor Purgatory found her and basically persuaded her using his rarely used but
formidable Manson-like charisma. Typhoid was completely convinced he was a good guy for
the entirety of the endeavor and believed he would cure her vampirism (which to her mind
meant losing all the weaknesses but keeping her powers).

Wretched Dragon: Unnatural and tormented, Wretched Dragon would have been a pitiable figure
had he not been so lethal. The result of a misbegotten attempt by Black Dragon to cure his cancer
through mysticism, Wretched Dragon was a tumour in human form, with all of the Tricker Ninja's
memories, skills, and ruthlessness but none of the Black Dragon's light-heartedness or (meager)
scruples. Wretched Dragon killed and maimed casually and without regret. He loathed his own
existence, as the sickness Black Dragon felt was magnified ten times over in his malformed twin, but
Wretched Dragon regenerated from even a single cell, so all his attempts at ending his own life fell
short-though he experienced all the pain of each failed sucide just as any normal man. He took on
one mission after another going after superhumans Wretched Dragon hoped could end his torture,
and signed on with Prof. Purgatory when promised oblivion in return.

 Wretched Dragon's price was actually dying. Amusingly, Antithesis granted this by using his
antimatter powers.

The remaining Knaves:first up, Elohim II:

Elohim II: A mortal woman imbued with the spirit and fighting skills of a Mesopotamian goddess of
justice, the second heroine to be known as Elohim served Professor Purgatory only because the
madman held the key to the salvatation of Gilgamesh. Ages ago, the Sumerian goddess Manungal
fell in battle against the Angels who served the Hidden Light, as did so many other pagan deities.
While Manungal was a goddess of judgement and final justice, she was also a dweller in the
Underworld (a Infernal-ish pocket dimension of the Babylonian/Sumerian pantheon); she found
herself in a true Hell. Over centuries, Manungal's memories and purpose were driven from her,
ending up as a mere demon-price consort and scourger of souls. Ironically, her lord and master was
Pazzuzu, a demonic foe from her ancient glory days. Eventually, her memories were restored
through the heroism of the Ur-Hero Gilgamesh, during one of his many stays in the Lands of the
Dead. After unleashing her wrath on Pazzuzu, she made her escape from Hell-but not before
promising Gilgamesh she would free him from his endless cycle of birth-painful death-rebirth.

Her spirit found refuge in the comatose body of a female descendant of Lugalbanda, the legendary
second King of Uruk, a police detective who had been brutally assaulted by mob enforcers. The
newly made demigoddess had the soul of a wronged mortal woman backed by the power and
knowledge of a vengeful goddess. Elohim II wreaked havoc on the denizens of the human
underworld with fists, feet, blades, and guns a-blazing. But the vow made by her divine half was not
forgotten; Elohim II spent much time searching for the means to free Gilgamesh. She was bound by
her oath to follow Professor Purgatory when he presenter her with the means to do so. However,
eventually his actions became too much to bear, and Elohim II turned against him. Though this
almost cost her life, she eventually found another method to fulfill her vow: this resulted in the final
death of Gilgamesh, though his soul and powers migrated to his descendant (and failed suicide)
Gilead.

 Elohim I and Elohim II repeatedly clashed over the years. The fact both goddesses were
extremely similar effected their own reputations considerably and they hated each other
with a resounding fury. Ironically, the death of Gilgamesh allowed Elohim II the redemption
she never really sought and gave her a chance to join Marduk in Heaven.

(Where he has become the Platnium Dragon Behemoth)

Dr. Gateway: A Project Icarus pharmaceutical researcher tasked with creating super-soldiers through
bio-chemistry, Dr. Desmond Morton became addicted to his own drug-dispensing cybernetic
harness. He began stealing supplies from the Project to feed his own addiction, which led to the
underdosing of test subjects. After several were maimed in what should have been a routine training
session. Already under suspicion, Dr.Morton fled, taking the prototype harness with him. On the run
from Project: Icarus and desperate for funds to support his habit, Dr. Morton turned to crime,
beginning with petty theft and working up to grand larceny. He also began formulating and selling
exotic drugs to whomever was willing to supply the necessary cash or technology, he picked up the
nickname "Dr. Gateway". Eventually his metabolism was permanently altered by the overuse of the
harness; Dr.Morton's own body now synthesized drug compounds, which were secreted through his
skin and breath. Dr. Gateway found he had to rid his system of these chemicals by injecting others,
otherwise they would build up and become toxic. His appearance and mental state deteriorated,
and Dr. Gateway became a pariah even among the low-rent criminal element. Dr. Gateway sought
refuge from Project: Icarus and a possible cure from Professor Purgatory in return for his service.

 Project Icarus has an appalling rate of people breaking down due to the fact that it conducts
genuinely nightmarish science and not so many scientists are sociopaths. Suicides, drug-
addiction, attempted escapes, and mild-brainwashing is not uncommon. That's not even
getting into the guards.
 In a bit of perverse irony, he actually became a naturally occurring Metaman who just had
his powers triggered by his unusual drug use.

Generator Jack: A Melungeon hailing from the Appalachian mountains, near the Pennsylvania-West
Virigina border, Jack was heir to a very special legacy. He was kin to a legendary figure of the
Appalachias, Minstrel Johnny, a wandering balladeer and magician who kept the Buried Beasts of
the Hills at bay, quelling ancient spirits that held the land in times before even the first Native
American tribes lived in the region. As the oldest male heir of the bloodline, Jack was taught the
necessary skills as he grew into manhood-hunting, tracking, hedge wizardry, herbal healing, spirit-
knowledge, and hand-to-hand fighting. But Jack had no desire to walk the hills and hollers all his life,
in service to others. Jack wanted the wider world, and made his way out at the first opportunity-but
not without taking along a gift of his heritage, a seemingly ordinary bag which would allow Jack to
make his fortune in the outside world. Jack could reach inside the bag and retrieve whatever "tools"
were needed for a task, so long as Jack could give name to them-anything from a crowbar to a
machine gun to a mystic talisman. Only one of Jack's heritage could "speak" to the bag and make it
"generate" the things that were needing.

Jack intended to sell his knowledge and skills as "troubleshooter", putting down dark-fey, howlers,
wendigo and the like, lifting curses, and dispelling bellicose spirits-all for a price. But he often found
work and money scarce-until he began "generating" his own business by stirring up malignant forces
and then charging a fee to "protect" others from the creatures Jack had unleashed. Not truly evil by
nature, Jack never let the mayhem get too far out of hand, but nonetheless, he soon had enemies on
both sides of the supernaturnal world, both the angels and the devils. And back in the Hills, the
Buried Beasts were beginning to stir...Jack agreed to work for Professor Purgatory for the promise of
enough magical power to solve all the problems plaguing his life.
  Ironically, an encounter with some White Lotus Mages really mad Jack feel stupid as he
could have done all of his con games much easier WITHOUT actually stirring up the
monsters. It's just he was too naturally honest to think of using trickery versus waking a
Wendigo to put it down.

The two demigod-like supervillains spawned during the events of The Promise of Purgatory, as per
Mr. Phipps:

The Antithesis: A twisted mirror of Professor Purgatory's self-righteous piety, the Antithesis declared
God to be irrelevant, a careless creator who long ago abandoned a flawed universe. Thought and
power existed to impose upon reality, and so the Antithesis indulged his every whim, performing
deeds both saintly and malevolent with equal verve. He engaged in every virtue and vice, to leave
nothing untried. He dismissed talk of final judgement by angels or demons, stating his will would
bend to beings who had no right to judge the Antithesis, for his morality stood far above their own.

The Antithesis very much enjoyed combat, finding it exhilirating. He was a physical titan who could
generate tremendous bursts of lightning and cyclonic winds, unleashing roaring tempests on his
foes. He was also a charismatic scientific genius, albeit a mad one. The Antithesis dressed like a cross
between a 1970s glam rock icon and a space marine. Strangely, he had no talent at sorcery or the
occult, unlike his progenitor Professor Purgatory.

 Antithesis actually can dress in normal clothes as well, which is shocking since the Professor
NEVER moves around the common public. Really, though, Antithesis takes the fact Professor
Purgatory is the "Doctor Doom world-shaking bad guy who doesn't do world-shaking things"
and dials it up. Antithesis wanders around America brainwashing people into being sex
slaves, killing people, eating at greasy diners, and running over people with his car and
moving on.

His interests are shockingly banal and because there's none of the usual signs of world-class
supervillainy, almost no one is capable of finding the pattern. I mean, seriously, would YOU
suspect a Doctor Doom level genius riding around in a 1960s Corvette?

He's modified his body extensively with nanotech so he's almost a Hulk-like thrat and would
take someone like Divinos (or a capable group of heroes) to take down but really, he's just a
psychotic serial killer who deserves to be put down. Usually, antithesis has a number of
heavily modified brainwashed slaves he uses up as slaves and abandons.

(They melt after a few weeks so no evidence is left of them)

The Celestial Maiden: The incarnation of the Professor's more exalted nature and feminine side, the
Celestial Maiden was kind, benevolent, and merciful...except when it came to those who stood
against her grand scheme to create an earthly paradise. Nearly peerless in her command of magicks,
the Celestial Maiden was capable of staging rituals with cosmic repercussions, so long as the sacrifice
was great enough and the stars were properly aligned. In her greatest campaign, the Celestial
Maiden swayed a legion of female champions from a host of worlds into her service, commanding
them through the divine blood all held in their veins. Free will would be subjugaged to purity and
righteousness, and universal peace would be enforced without exception. Heroes who fought
against her would be granted the mercy of eternal slumber, while evil-doers would be made to
suffer in their own private hells until they begged their repentence. While the Celestial Maiden's
plans were thwarted, she still dreams of constructing her own version of Heaven.

Aside from her potent sorcery, the Celestial Maiden could heal any wound or illness, both her own
or those of others, even able to cure life-long ailments. She had a degree of presience, could levitate,
and was a brilliant strategist and visionary. Yet despite her intelligence, the Celestial Maiden had no
skill with technology and no more than a well-educated but lay understanding of science. She shied
away from direct combat, preferring more passive means of incapacitating her foes.

 The Celestial Maiden has bodily left the Earth and runs a interstellar cult now, serving as an
occasional villain to superheroes like Divinos or Mar-Ann. Her religion is extremely popular
but many heroes have noted she's not nearly as lofty or godlike as she thinks she is. It comes
off, well, honestly as a televangelist-based cult which just happens to have hyperspace-net in
place of television.

It's all pillars and crystal spires with togas thrown in for good measure but no real spiritual
fulfillment. Just platitudes.

It's a religion of emptiness.

Note: Charles has yet to disclose exactly how the Antithesis and the Celestial Maiden were split off
from Professor Purgatory, or much else about exactly how the events depicted in the first-ever full-
fledged adventure I wrote went down in the HED-verse. I wonder if any other heroes or villains
resulted from the adventure, or if there were any notable vicims of the Professor spoiling for
revenge, aside from Angelica De Lynn (who had a pretty good ending in the HED world).

 Professor Purgatory was attempting to split himself into a Pure Good and Pure Evil being
then pump those clones with enough mystical energy to transform them into gods. It was as
much magic as it was science so describing how the process worked is not really possible.
However, the short version is that the Professor just created a pair of extremely powerful
psychic constructs.

Back to the drawing board.

Santa Rosa

Originally, settled by Dutch pirates in the early 17th century the small island that would come to be
known as Santa Rosa lies off the coast of Venezuela. The pirates found it an easy location to raid
Spanish ships coming out of Caracas or head north and plunder the treasure fleet coming from
Mexico. To stop the pirates, the Spanish invaded and renamed the island Santa Rosa. The island
stayed under Spanish control after the Bolivarian Revolution. When the Americans won the Spanish
American, they took control of Santa Rosa but promptly set it free. There was no strategic or
logistical reason to keep the about 400 square mile island which had no natural resources and only
about 25,000 people. The island went through a number of strong men.

Santa Rosa came back to the headlines in the 1950s when a Soviet backed coup replaced the
nominally pro-US dictator Oscar Caballero. The island nation grew close to Cuba and the Soviets till
the fall of the Soviet Union. In the early 90s the Drug cartels from Colombia came in. The Araña
Cartel literally hired a mercenary army and took over the country. The country was put under the
leadership of Angelo "Nero" Pescador, who was a general in the Araña Cartel. After the Foundation
took apart the Araña Cartel with the assistance of the Colombian government, Angelo Pescador
found himself as the head of a country. For a few years everything was calm and many different
countries where vying for Santa Rosa's favor. Oil was discovered off the islands shores and
everybody wanted a piece.

Then Angelo Pescador started living up to his namesake. No one knows what drove then man insane
but he was increasingly unstable. He arrested the staff of a Ruritanian Consulate and forced them to
fight captured Foundation Agents gladiator style in a soccer stadium in front of a crowd that was
required to be present. He fed prisoners to his pet anacondas, piranhas, and crocodiles. He declared
martial law and banned any religion except for Roman Neo Paganism. He appeared in public in a
purple toga and platinum laurel leaf crown. He frequently made contracts then turned around and
broke them on a whim. The last straw is when he proclaimed the whole country traitorous and
threatened to burn the many oil wells off the coast.

Juan Cantor, a extremely rich media mogul of Santa Rosan origin hired The Renegades to execute
Pescador in a coup assisted by the Santa Rosan military. The Renegades easily accomplished the task
but were arrested by Cantor and the military. The Renegades promptly broke out. In a two month
campaign they managed to not only kill Cantor but kill everybody in the Santa Rosan military above
Colonel as well as demolish the presidential palace, two oil rigs, and four cargo ships. They also
collected several bounties of Red Spider, PHANTOM, HoV, and ICL persons. It is amazing who shows
up when there is a power vacuum.

The Renegades pretty much left the country in ruins. The Foundation moved in and helped stabilize
the country. The island had its first elections at the beginning of the year. The winner was Abraham
Amarillo. Which was the real name of a little known supervillain named Whip Scorpion. Abraham
promptly kicked the Foundation out of Santa Rosa.

Under Whip Scorpion, Santa Rosa has turned into a hive of scum and villainy though many would
argue it never stopped being one. Amarillo has three laws: Do not kill, do not steal, do not rape, and
do not kidnap. Everything else is legal. The four crimes are punishable by death, indentured
servitude, or a fine. Many villains and other shady characters have flocked to Santa Rosa, though the
government of Santa Rosa will not fight any extradition. Many legitimate businesses have moved to
Santa Rosa as a tax shelter and to do things that they couldn't normally do in any other country.
Amazingly, Whip Scorpion enjoys a good deal of popularity since his government is very hands off
compared to the last couple leaders.
Weird Journalism

Arbitrary Skepticism is alive and well on Heroic Earth. People believe in aliens, Metamen,
superheroes, and super-advanced technology. Simultaneously; they think conspiracy theorists are
kooky, vampires are make-believe, werewolves are ridiculous, magic isn't anymore verifiable than
any other posthuman power, and there's no proof physical gods exist. Ironically, ghosts are known
to exist but people have been challenging those conclusions since they were made.

Enter Weird journalism.

The average tabloid stands to make much more money posting naked pictures of celebrities than
they ever could of Batboy. However, there is a thriving supermarket rag industry dedicated to fringe
stories. Just about every market carries one or two local Weird Journalist papers which may not exist
three states over but almost certainly has its local equivalent.

This has no real parallel to our own world as it's much more popular than anything we have (though
not nearly as popular as mainstream media or tabloids), taken much more seriously (which isn't
actually saying much), and actually insists on a certain level of standards from its reporters (which
are still far looser than normal ones).

 On a certain level, the Weird Journalism tabloids are reputable papers, even if most are
staffed and produced on a shoestring budget. Their reporters (nearly all of them freelancers
or long-retired former working journalists) are expected to respect basic reporting
standards, delivering factually accurate, adequately sourced pieces. They are subject to
editing and fact-checking. Of course, the smaller papers just don't have the staff to always
do the job properly, so the odd slanted or entirely fictitious story does get through.

This sets the "proper" Weird Journalism tabloids and web sites apart from their more
sensationalistic counterparts the Sun and the Weekly World News, which basically print
anything so long as their readers find the material entertaining. While those tabloids do
occasionally print verifiable stories, much of what they run is just made up or speculative in
nature. The WW News, btw, is still popular and profitable enought to have a print magazine
in the HED-verse, in addition to the website version.

Weird Journalists basically take Minimum Wage or By-The-Word payments to travel around the
world investigating the kinds of stories which get hushed up. They have a love for the surreal and
disturbing to the point they willingly risk themselves to get THE TRUTHtm. Oftentimes these
journalists let their own prejudices and ideas color whatever they do witness but it's entirely
possible to get a semi-decent idea of what's going on in the supernatural community across the
country just by reading their magazines.

The most respectable, for lack of a better term, of these magazines would be Mystery!. Mystery is
sort of an all-purpose crime/supernatural magazine that also prints stories from famous writers in
addition to its articles on the occult. Mystery, during its heyday, printed five different magazines on
every sort of creepy subject. Unfortunately, the economy hasn't been kind so there's now only
Mystery! Magazine, Mystery!: Bloodcurdling Crimes, and Mystery!: The Weird and Unnatural.

 Some of the larger, more widely read Weird Journalism operation do pay better, a few are
even profitable enough to have a small but decently renumerated staff; however, most are
amateur reporters with a keen interest in the oddball or fringe elements of the world,
aspiring journalists just striving to pick up a few credits, and the like. There are a few notable
figures who publish in the tabloids, simply because more mainstream publications really
don't deal in certain types of stories, not even media nornally devoted to covering metamen
and paranormal phenomena. Stories about the machinations of the Faerie Courts of the
Underworld, the diabolical experiments of recently revived Mexican pulp villain Capitain
Aztec Eternico, or Fuzion the Nuclear Wizard's disappearance (who was he again? was he
important in some way?) are too strange, too niche, or too disturbing for mass audiences.

Mystery! isn't any less trashy than any other tabloid, it's mostly successful due to the fact it's
attracted a surreal number of genuine experts for its columnists. Alexander King, supplementing his
income, writes a monthly column on both psychic phenomenon and serial killers. The Last Ranger
writes an incredible number of submissions every month and, occasionally, these are accepted. John
Milton Miller also sends them short stories despite his international fame, quadrupling their
circulation every time it happens.

Mystery! is based out of Raven, IL, which should tell you the kind of offices its workers can expect.
Despite this, it has a number of sub-offices spread about the Midwest. A lot of these offices,
admittedly, are just suburban homes. It was founded by the Hell-Earth doppleganger of Doctor
Hunter S. Thompson who, surprisingly, came over during the 1970s and assimilated into society just
fine. He did much of Mystery!'s early writing himself and only switched to the occult as a way of
differentiating himself from his alternate self.

Reporters are expected to maintain scrupulous journalistic integrity in reporting the truth, though
articles can (and do) often contain considerable editorializing as well as weird conclusions.
Journalistic integrity, instead, just means that you're expected to convince Doctor Thompson (he's
still alive) you really did see whatever you claim you saw in your article. Given the Good Doctor's
ability to read people, that's a harder task than it sounds. Reporters have no real resources for
carrying out their duties and only rarely have their expenses covered but are extremely dedicated.

 Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is considered something of a dimensional anomaly by those in the

know (Divinos, the Hierophant, Merlin), as Thomspson is apparently his own counterpart.
There is no record of the "real" Hunter S. Thompson after the event that seemingly brought
the "other" Thompson over from Hell-Earth; though most assumed he just went off the grid
or met with foul play, it may be only one such being can exist in the HED-verse at any given
time, though the various interations slightly differ in small details.

They have to be.

Unlike most reporters, Mystery! writers are known for getting involved with their subjects. These
include vampire hunters, UFO abductions, fringe science, and occasional bits of superheroism.
Superheroes looking to ape Peter Parker can usually get work with Mystery! when other papers are
looking for their own professional photographers. Mystery! doesn't look too hard at its journalist's
backgrounds nor does it attempt to sniff out secret identities.

One thing it DOES do is protect its people. The group has managed to weather being sieged by the
Vampire Nation, attacks by Doctor Frankenstein, and even having their building shot into space by
the Dark Undermaster (who used to get his fiction published there before, "it became all about
fairies and self-referential comedy"). Bizarre as it may sound, it's many reporters usually have a
number of potent friends and just enough favors to make people who endanger them hesitant at
killing them. Still, the wall of Mystery! has the names of more than a few reporters who have given
their lives in the cause of THE TRUTHtm.

 As noted, more than a handful of genuine occult experts (even a few accomplished mages),
urban vigilantes, and skilled investigators work and follow Weird Journalism media, either
out of simple interest or because they are usual sources of information. There are retired
and active superheroes who appreciate the work done by Weird Journalists as well, enough
to make supervillains and monsters think twice about seeking revenge against reporters who
uncover their secrets.

Mystery! is imitated by many of its "rivals" in the field with Crystal Ball and Weird! being the closest
thing it has to competition. Crystal Ball mostly deals with the glamorous side of the supernatural,
however, attempting to extort the SEXY from witches and wizards. Weird is just plain
incomprehensible, its writers going into some bizarre places to explore things which make the
Weekly World News look rationale. Judgement is the Salt Lake City-based Christian-themed
reporter, which has surprisingly high standards of investigation by NORMAL papers, it's just that
everything has a large amount of spin to it.

The Western branch of the White Lotus Society considers Weird Journalists to be pests, if not
outright threats to their lives. The Vampire Nation tends to be dismissive of them but a few actually
think of them as dangerous (not the least reason due to the number of undead killed by them over
the years - Mystery! retaliated several times against DRACULA of all people for his attempts to
intimidate them). The John Smith Society is really the only group which EMBRACES the investigation
of their doings and was very sad when Mystery!: Weird Science shut down. They've opened their
own self-published version called Oddity.

 The John Smith Society publication (and their online companion website) is among the best-
sourced and most skeptical of Weird Journalism, setting the standard in terms of Weird
Science entries, many by renowned researchers (though often publishing anonymously or
under pseudonyms). The Aeon Family is responsible for outfitting the Mystery! office
building with its' automated defense system (gratis, of course), which allowed it to survive
the Vampire Nation siege.

Dr. Necros is a huge follower and not-infrequent contributor to Weird Science articles and
letter columns. He has shuttled laundered money to his favorite tabloids to keep several
 afloat in the Great Recession economy, and personally deterred several other supervillains
from attacking Weird Journalism reporters.

Glenfield, Virginia

Glenfield, Virginia is an example of just how small town life can go as horribly wrong as anything in a
larger community. Glenfield was founded by members of the Order of the Ninth Circle during the
18th century. The town got a serious boost from the Civil War due to the fact so many veterans were
enamored by the region's seeming prosperity during the conflict despite the carnage around it. Since
that time, Glenfield has been home to all manner of horrible things that an enterprising superhero
might want to sus out.

The first thing is that the town has an expansive population of Satanists. Worshiping the various
Lords of Nightmare, they have done their absolute best to re-envision them as divine figures and use
names which most people are completely unaware of the connection to. "The Archangel Mechem" is
less likely to cause a stir with neighbors than saying you're worshiping Belial.

The problem is that Glenfield is suffering for this fact as when you worship the Devil, you really have
to do evil things lest you unwittingly tip the balance. One of Glenfield's leaders tried this out about
twenty-years ago and forced the faithful to sacrifice one of their children each. Unfortunately, they
hadn't been particularly cued into the new order in hell and the action bothered Mister Hoppy to no
end. The town is a ticking time bomb of dark energy that's slowly building up.

Spiritually inclined individuals will be able to sense a terrible "Shadow World" which is where the
Inferno is building up. This is essentially going to eventually result in a miniature Apocalypse where
zombies, demons, and worse will claim the town if and when Mister Hoppy has an excuse. You
know, a failed ritual or whatever. He doesn't really need an excuse but even he thinks it's bad form
to just smote the jerks where they stood. Especially since a number of the cultists resisted the
action.

Of course, the Order of the Ninth Circle isn't the only group in town and plenty of the locals are
already noticing the gradual build-up of crazy in the area. Psychic phenomenon, ghosts, and new
magical talent are happening all the time. Unfortunately, virtually all of it is hostile and attempts to
leave the area prove...inhibited. The survivors are considering trying to signal superheroes to come
but aren't sure just WHO will arrive.

Places of Interest: Glenfield, Virginia

Two of the most actively supernatural places around Glenfield are Witch Float Mill and
Hanging Man Run*. The two couldn't be more different. Witch Float Mill is a old mill pond
and couldn't be more serene and comforting. Hanging Man Run which is part woods and
creek and part salt marsh on the other hand is discomforting at best and full of hostility at
worse, especially after dark.

*A run being a small creek feeding into a salt marsh in the Cheseapeake Bay Watershed.
Witch Float Mill

The story behind Witch Float Mill starts in the early 1700s and a woman named Caroline.
Caroline had the talent for magic. Being willed about a 140 acres in what was at the time
plantation country Virginia. She married a local carpenter named Benjamin Stringer. Though
she had the talent for magic Caroline was not very powerful or actually ever had formal
training in the art of magic. Mostly, she used the magic to converse with animals and make
her simple herb potions work better. Caroline and Benjamin had two boys.

Caroline's life took a turn when Horatio Alder bought property next to her families lands.
Alder was an early member of the Ninth Circle looking to scout places where the Ninth
Circle could escape Europe and the White Lotus Society. Alder found out about Caroline's
talents and proceeded to try and sway her to joining the Ninth Circle. Failing to do thathe
accused her of witchcraft to try and get rid of her. Alder was stymied in his accusations due
to the Virginia Colonial Government in Williamsburg basically refusing to charge Caroline
due to the lack of evidence of any physical harm. Due to his repeated requests to the court
that Caroline be put on trial, Caroline eventually relented to be tested by trial by water.
Caroline was dunked in the small pond on her property, and promptly floated as humans
tended to do. Caroline was fined a small amount and jailed for a couple weeks. The local
authorities again didn't seem to be very much interested in actually punishing

Caroline and seem to have a bad opinion of Alder. Horatio Alder continued to harrass
Caroline. Benjamin Stringer got tired of Alder slandering his wife and met Alder on the field
of honor. During the duel Alder and Benjamin killed each other. Leaving Caroline as a
widow. She made her living as a herbalist and midwife raising her two sons. Caroline died at
the age of 80 which is quite young for one with magical talent.

The reason why is that Caroline was slowly purifying her land from the influence of the thin
walls between what would become Glenfield and the Inferno. To do this she unknowningly
used a little bit of her own life. She accomplished the feat but also tied her soul to her land,
specifically the pond next to her house.

Her sons expanded her small house and built a mill into it, thus leading to the name for the
area Witch Test Mill. Whomever has owned the land has had good luck and seemed to be
safe from the strange goings on in the town. In the 1970s the state of Virginia purchased the
land and made a park out of it, much to the chargin of the town elders of Glenfield.

The Ninth Circle have tried to desecrate the land several times. Everytime they have tried
something has happened. Huge swarms of highly aggressive wasps, a very angry bear,
driving thunderstorms with lightining strikes, and even a tornado have prevented the Ninth
Circle for sacraficing even so much as a chicken on the land. Caroline's ghost appears
frequently and is always accompied by some sort of spectral animal usually a racoon or an
owl. For those without evil intentions Witch Test Mill is a place on sancturary. The climate of
the area is calming and many evil spirits or beings won't come near it.
The area itself is a moderately maintained state park. A largish pond filled with cattails
dominates the scenery with the foundations of a mill next to it. Woods surround the area and
the pond is stocked with fish for fishing. There is a small dock jutting out into the pond itself.

Hanging Man Run

Suffice to say, Hanging Man Run is the scariest place in all of Glenfield. Even the members
of the Ninth Circle don't dare to tread near the creek and marsh after dark. They are loath to
go there even in the day. It is simply creepy and forboding at night it is malevolent and
violent. The really weird part is that Hanging Man Run is nowhere near where the walls
between Earth and the Inferno is thinnest, that being under city hall.

The area of Hanging Man Run is dark. Trees grow wild and close together, bag moss bloats
out any remaining light. The stream itself slowly and silently runs down into a salt marsh
boarding the bay. The whole area smells musty and dank almost as if the land and water itself
is molding. The run is eeriely silent with not even the sound of insects. The blackened stone
remains of a chimney jut out in the only small clearing in the area next to the creek.

The legend of Hanging Man run does go back to colonial times. It was settled by Nevin Muir,
his wife, and two daughters.It seems even at that time the Run had quite substantsial bad
mojo. No sooner had Muir completed the small house near the brook, did he change. His
behavior became incresingly erratic. He complained of bad dreams, faint whispering, and
seeing things out of the corner of his eye. One day, it seemed the phenomenom drove him
over the edge. Neighbors saw lots of smoke billowing up

from the clearing that Muir had built his cottage. Rushing to the scene they saw that the house
was engulfed in flames with Muir's wife and daughters already claimed by the blaze.
Exploring further they found Muir's body hanging from a tree over the creek. That event is
what gave the run and surronding marsh its name. During the Revolutionary War a platoon of
British Soldiers camped in the area around the cottage ruins overnight, the next morning they
were found dead apparently they had turned their weapons on each other.

From then on the wrongness of the area increased. During daylight hours vistors reported the
feeling of not just being watched but actively stalked through the marsh by something they
can't see, the whole area is unnaturally cold. Faint whispers heard only by a single person
float through the air. During night a large blaze is usually seen in the direction of the cottage
ruins when one comes into the clearing there is no light. Ghostly lights are seen throughout
the area. Ghosts of the British Redcoats will be seen slaughtering each other but will turn on
anybody who gets close. Giant headless black dogs will chase outsiders out of the marsh.
Visitors who stay to long with be punched, scratched, and finally choked by unseen hands.
They say that anybody who doesn't make it out in time will be found hanging a few days later
on the same tree that Muir hung himself on. There have been several people found hanging in
the woods over the years but those have been chalked up to suicides.

Those with telepathic or psychic ability that have ventured in the woods have reported not
just a few spirits but hundreds. Spirits that are very angry, tortured, and jealous of the living.
Something is keeping those that died in the area from moving on, denying them their final
reward.

Sao Diablo, Brazil

Population: 10,272,721

Everyone, occasionally, asks what happens to a city when the superheroes lose. This is a question
that rarely gets answered, though. Superheroes die but other heroes pick up the slack and, so far,
major disasters have been avoided in most Western Nations. The worst disaster which has ever
occurred was the destruction of Olympiana Island by Count Reich, which was far from the concerns
of most people.

Sao Diablo, formerly San Michele, doesn't have to answer that question in the hypothetical. San
Diablo lost 18,000 citizens in the devastating attacks of 1989 by Doctor Morte, a local supervillain
most Americans can't even name. Sao Diablo's reigning superheroes, the Campeãos, died to the man
trying to protect their city.

The Foundation for World Harmony along with the Brazilian army managed to eventually retake the
city but it remained under the direct control of Doctor Morte for six months. The populace retains
memories of Doctor Morte's death squads, re-education centers, and the comfort women taken
from the females of the region for his volunteer army.

Sao Diablo never really recovered from Doctor Morte's reign, even though it's population has
swelled to almost twice its original size (two point five million). The city has become a cesspool in the
heart of Brazil, law and order having broken down even more than in some regions of that country.
While the city hasn't been renamed officially, Doctor Morte eliminated all references to the city's
original name and they haven't been able to muster enough money to change all the references
back.

Doctor Morte's legacy is more than just trauma and massive numbers of casualties. During his brief
six months reign, he invited literally thousands of criminal associates from all over South America to
help make his nation-state secure. The International Crime League foresaw that his reign was
impossible but were quick to integrate themselves into every part of the city's infrastructure. By the
time the city returned to normal, most of its honest politicians and police were replaced.

Modern Sao Diablo is a pirate city with much of the modern city's economy coming from crime,
drug-smuggling, and arms trafficking. Sao Diablo is a place where the House of Serpents, UNITY,
PHANTOM, and the Gene Nation all do their business openly. Wars between these terrorist
organization and their associate gangs are frequent with casualties exceeding four figures annually.
The populace has lost almost all hope, having become incurred to violence and crime. The syndicates
take whatever they want and the youth realize that if they ever want to escape the grinding poverty
that they have to join one. Even the rich in the city are not safe with their children being in constant
danger of kidnapping. The mansions on the city's limits look like armed compounds.

The city's Metaman population is the strange part because it has almost ten times the normal ratio.
Many people believe Doctor Morte may have experimented on the populace while others believe
Project: Icarus has a major base within the city. As a result, the city has created it's own Anti-
Metaman squad that is, unfortunately, filled with racists who prefer to kill rather than defend. The
Skull Squadron of the police is, sadly, one of the most effective units present.

Sao Diablo is a city in dire need of superheroes. Iron Age OR Silver Age or anything in-between. It's a
city without hope.

The Brazilian government is considering giving The Black Jaguar and his team The Guardians of
Freedom (an ironic name, given their heavy-handed and oft-brutal tactics) carte blanche to go into
San Diablo and clean the city out. But Black Jaguar's tendency to assume almost dictatorial police
powers over any region his forces "pacify", combined with the man's obvious populist political
ambitions make the Brazilian elite reluctant to do so. In fact, there are those among the ruling
factions who advocate assassinating the man and having a replacement step in to take over the title
and duties.

Finding a traitor among the Guardians has proven difficult, however, as even the more powerful
metamen among them is somewhat fearful of retribution from O Jaguar Preto-the team leader
never fully trusts anyone, always has at least two fallback plans, and is insanely cunning. Ultimate
preparation may be the second best superpower in the world, right after being massively wealthy.

San Diablo is a horrific ongoing problem for the people of Brazil, not only because of the rampant
crime, poverty, and metaman violence, but the lure of the city to South American and European
super-criminals. San Diablo is almost waiting for another mastermind or mega-villain to step in and
pick up the reins from Doctor Morte. The US government is in negotiations with Brazil and the OAS
to allow intervention by the Patriots or other major sanctioned super-teams to address the situation.

All my best!

BTW: Just because San Diablo reminds me a bit of New Port City, anyone up for doing a Bomb
Queen analogue for HED? I just got introduced to the character recently, so I'm not knowledgable
enough to do the job right. Solid concept, though I think the fan service is a bit overdone (to the
point of self-parody really, though I get the idea that's intentional).

Sao Diablo Personages

The Chuch of Blood Wing: It has been speculated by some that the orphanage that Blood
Wing grew up in may have actually been in Brazil as opposed to Falconcrest City. Combed
with numerous heinous copycat crimes by people who liked his style, the Church of Saint
Blood Wing is a horrific gang which believes Blood Wing has genuinely ascended to become
a Saint of Murder.

The gang members attempt to copy many of his murders and wear red domino masks like
him. They commit genuine human sacrifices on a regular basis and dedicate their murders to
him. A few have supposedly become "hosts" to his spirit over time and become regular serial
killers. What's worse is the church's membership is growing.

Sergeant Lola Amaral: Don't let the woman's statuesque beauty fool you, Lola is a stone-
cold killer and racist. Having lost her entire family to Doctor Morte's Mutation Bomb,
Sergeant Lola blames all Metaman for their crimes and thinks they need to be kept away from
ordinary people. By 'kept away' we mean preferrably a bullet in the head while they're
resisting arrest.

Lola hasn't actually killed any Metamen outside of the course of duty but actively tries and
goads them into either running or attacking. Her hatred for them is burning and seeps onto
her fellow officers, especially since she's considered a 'hero' for the fact she has a 'zero
tolerance' policy towards Metaman crime. What's worse? She's actually been promoted to
becoming Sao Diablo's agent on the ground for the Foundation under the Hepburn
administration.

Lola has nothing but disdain for costumed heroes and considers even non-powered ones
Meta-lovers.

The Napper: An Iron Age American criminal considered too vile to survive in the climate,
Theodore "Teddy" Stockwell fled down to Sao Diablo under the mistaken impression Doctor
Morte was still in charge. While even the locals were disgusted by him, the fact he was
capable of turning into gas was too useful and the syndicates set him up.

The Napper kidnaps children as his professional business, which he used to do recreationally.
The Napper believes that drinking their spinal fluid is the only way he can preserve his
powers. This is untrue but he's learned to restrict his feeding to those children who won't be
missed. Usually.

The Napper now suffers a mild case of Kuru, which isn't remotely punishment enough for his
various crimes. Sadly, the Foundation for World Harmony considers the Napper dead and no
one has made a connection to the literal hundred or so missing child cases here in Sao Diablo.

El Bruno: Officer Bruno is a textbook dirty-cop. He plants evidence, kills suspects he

believes would escape the system, overlooks street crime, and takes bribes. He also justifies it
in the name of doing some good in a corrupt system. Here's the twist: he's right. Officer
Bruno is a brutal vigilante who frames other gangs for his executions and plays the game
precisely so he can try and protect the common people of Sao Diablo. The only reason he
hasn't flat out just put on a Skull-Jersey and started going "Punisher" on the land is because
he believes there's some small chance he can reform the system from within.

Which would be insane anywhere else given his obviously sociopathic behavior. Still, El
Bruno has had many "film noir" adventures in the streets of Sao Diablo. He's also served as a
final resort for a lot of people who have no other options. El Bruno hates Officer Amaral and
privately has a sympathy for Metaman kids, keeping one secretly at his home to avoid her
getting forcibly recruited by one of the street gangs as a weapon.

The Puppeteer: Ostensibly the secret ruler of Sao Diablo, Don Aldo Branco gives the
impression of Old World charm and talks at great length about honor and loyalty. Really, he's
refreshingly full of manure. The Puppeteer kills children, women, families, civilians, cops,
and does every sort of vile business you can imagine. He starts at sexual slavery with children
and ends with selling flesh-eating gas to supervillains so they can use it on targets he
considers problematic.

The Puppeter is known to have extensive PHANTOM ties and many people believe he's one
of its secret leaders, or at least of South America. In fact, Brazil's "true" PHANTOM Sub-
Director, Miss Kane, considers him essentially a toady. After all, he's hardly the first
scumbag with pretensions of power eager to suck up to PHANTOM.

Miss Kane: A pleasant fifty-something woman who operates SpartaCorp's offices in San
Diablo and Rio, Paula Kane is simultaneously on the Board of Directors for Project: Icarus.

Yes, the Board of Directors for the entire thing. She's one of thirteen secret leaders for the
Nazi-esque group.

As former CEO of Long-Life Medical, the rarely seen but omnipresent medical division of
SpartaCorp, she uses the country as her personal testing ground for countless new drugs and
procedures. In fact, the streets of Sao Diablo have been used for "live fire exercises" for
PHANTOM troops hopped up on her super-soldier drugs.

These battles, bizarrely, just as often take place against other PHANTOM soldiers.

Miss Kane purchased most of the land destroyed by Doctor Morte's Mutation Bomb and has
since been slowly gentrifying the city. A transhumanist, she eventually sees it becoming the
first Posthuman City but considers most of the superpowers Metamen possess to be too
random. As a result, she has nothing but disdain for the Gene Nation. She's killed far more
Metamen than she's created for being, "aesthetically displeasing." Words cannot describe the
number of half-human abominations gestated in her underground labs.

Lucky: A small-time bar owner on the Docks who is known to be able to throw down with
even major gangs. Lucky rarely spends much time in Sao Diablo but his bar is considered
off-limits by even the toughest gangs due to the supernatural fear the two half-demon women
who operate it in his absence generate.
Lucky is, in fact, Lucien Drake. Lucien considers Sao Diablo relaxing and spends at least six
or seven weeks down here every year. One time, during the 1990s, he spent almost an entire
year down here and the results resembled 'Man on Fire.'

The Spiders: A unnerving clan of identical looking albino men and women with no hair or
eyebrows. The Spiders are "things" from another dimension, probably the Annihilation Zone,
which have assumed human form. They share a singular consciousness, survive on human
blood, and and breed by placing their off-spring in the bodies of corpses.

The Spiders, for whatever reason, have adopted organized crime as their trade of choice and
are heavily involved in the black market. Because they don't betray each other like other
criminal organizations, they have rapidly rose in power to become a very strong group in the
Underworld.

The Spiders, peculiarly, dress in heavy clothing despite the climate.

Mystics can note the Spiders are "empty" and have no souls or ambitions beyond procreation
and survival. They are conscienceless and incapable of anything resembling a higher
emotion, resembling automatons. Preserving their lives is thus pointless as they are incapable
of reform or peaceful coexistence. Amusingly, some superheroes have tried to get them souls
despite the fact they're actually worse than vampires in many respects.

Alexander King: Due to the city's relationship with Blood Wing and his ability to speak
Portuguese, Alexander King is the most frequent Foundation Agent to visit Sao Diablo. The
psychics visits are often characterized by explosions, gunfire, and attempts to assassinate him
due to his refusal to treat the town like a lost cause.

Ironically, no one knows about his psychic powers and believes he's just profoundly lucky.

Officer Amal would break her usual stance of staying within the law to kill him if she found
out. This is due to the perverse fact she's attracted to him and would consider herself
"unclean" until he was dead.

Mutations: Doctor Morte's Mutation Bomb killed 18,000 people outright, turning their
bodies inside out. Others...were not so lucky. Many were twisted to become animal hybrids
or cursed with freakish deformities. Not Metamen by strict definition, due to the fact they
don't have any real superpowers per say, the Mutations (derogitorily called "Mutts") have
been surviving in the lower levels of the city for decades.

As living reminders of Doctor Morte's short-lived reign, Mutations are treated as human
refuse by the majority of the people. Fathers turned on children, wives on husbands, and so
on. The Tomorrow Society has tried to help on occassion but they are overwhelmed even
when they have people who have abilities which can help.

As a result, the Mutations are a festering wound in the heart of Sao Diablo and one which
could easily be harnessed by someone willing to exploit that anger or their need for hope.

Doctor Morte: An Argentinian-born genius, Doctor Morte was the grandson of Nazis moved
to Brazil by Project: Odessa. Unlike his siblings, he was a child of his grandfather's local
mistress and considered not a pure member of the Master Race. Paulp Morte responded by
kidnapping all three of his siblings and transplanting their organs into himself. He was
fourteen. Not willing to let someone so gifted get away, Count Reich contacted the young
man and offered to take him under his wing. Paulo Morte asked what he would need to do for
this honour and Count Reich said he'd have to experiment on his parents. Paulo disappointed
the Count by saying that was impossible, Count Reich was about to kill him when he
discovered Paulo meant he'd ALREADY dissected them.

Doctor Morte was promptly educated in every conceivable science and pseudo-science, all of
the insanities of the Nazis and his own sloppy handiwork compensated for by the fact Morte
was an accomplished Ritualist who used the power of ORKUS to bless all of his equipment.
As a result, no matter how insane his experiments, like the zombie-powered powered
Perpetual Motion machine, they tend to work. Doctor Morte was captured after his coup in
1989 and has been rotting in prison ever since. Despite this, he seems quite fine with it and
has survived several VERY well-planned execution attempts.

He's just...waiting...for something.

The Champions of Brazil *

* I'll use the Americanizations just for simplicity's sake.

It is to the continued annoyance of Brazilian nationals that many so-called experts on superheroism
have never even heard of the Champions. A team dating back to the 1930s, they have undulated the
culture of superheroes in Brazil and influenced it so that you can see their image everywhere. There
are murals, statues, chewing gum, and so on which celebrates their memory almost two decades
after their heroic last stand. This is in sharp contrast to American culture that actually forgot many
members of the Liberty Men less than a decade after the Unmasking Massacre.

Part of this is provincialism. The Champions of Brazil almost never left Sao Michele (now Sao Diablo),
operating as a "Freedom League" for that city during most of its years. When it did leave, it was
usually to save other parts of Brazil. Aside from busting a couple of Nazi spy rings, it completely
missed World War 2 and its members were ambivalent about the Cold War (two were communist
but too popular for even the CIA to attack).

Ironically, the Champions were considered the No. 1# threat by the Tsavong during their initial
invasion and it was due to their extensive preparations that the team didn't save the entire planet
during that war. Despite this, they were involved in several other global disasters, mostly serving as
background characters in the comic book depictions. Amazing!'s Brazilian rivals, Fantastic!, of course
paid the favor back. You'd think the Champions did it all during some of the 1980s biggest disasters.

The team is somewhat peculiar, in fact, for the it's rigid devotion to NOT getting involved in
squabbles outside of superheroism. It worked to integrate the poor and improve their lot but
successfully managed to keep itself from being disowned by the government. Its members focused
almost entirely on criminals as opposed to political rebels while speaking frequently about peaceful
reform. Sometimes this stance did get the Champions in trouble and many considered its members
relics of a different time or part of the Establishment. Depsite this, they doggedly tried to do the
right thing.

Meteorite, their octogenarian rock-like leader, spent most of his spare time arranging for the
purchases of land for people to live in while trying to get homes built for the poor. All three Ms.
Fortunes used their luck-based powers to help others, even when it took them up against powerful
men. The Goldsmith used his ridiculous power of being ungodly rich to try and be the one rich man
capable of fitting through the eye of a needle. Almost no one can really say anything BAD against the
Champions because their history is just so ridiculously clean.

You'd think the team would be harboring a huge number of scandals but their biggest one was when
two members were revealed to be lesbians in the 1950s. The members response? They stated that
they were still heroes and took significant flack. Flack that blew over when the members sacrificed
themselves to stop Count Reich II's giant robot. There was also the time the Parrot was revealed to
be moonlighting a cat-burglar who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. They expelled him but
claimed to be too busy to catch him, focusing on other matters.

As one hero put it, "They were Silver Age before there was a Silver Age and long after it."

Part of the reason the team remained so enduring was that it focused strongly on leaving legacies
behind. Its original members trained students who trained their own studies and so on. It's partially
why Doctor Morte's attack on Sao Michele was so devastating because it not only killed all of the
current Champions but their sidekicks as well. What few remaining offshoots of the Champions
which remained died with the "Lost Legion" trying to prevent the end of the universe.

It is the loss of the Champions, more than anything else, which has left a hole in the soul of Sao
Diablo.

The Fall of the International Crime League

The International Crime League has always been the big bad in organized crime. The honorless
international corporation-style setup gobbled up smaller syndicates one by one, always preying on
the weak and compromising bosses with promises of greater payoffs and bigger weaponry. Even
stable governments learned to fear its power due to its willingness to flought the law and kill anyone
who stood in its way.
Which made its collapse inevitable.

Ganglord Gorilla, in a way, was responsible for the organization's collapse. He was never popular
with the other executives to begin with. While terrifying to outsiders, most of the Old School
Mobsters considered him a freak of nature. There was also the fact that Ganglord Gorilla tended to
act like he was their superior, which he was, but no Boss actually enjoys admitting that. Despite that,
he managed to weather several dozen coup attempts from the eighties. Yes, you read that right,
several dozen. This is, after all, organized crime and not the Girl Scouts.

In a way, the International Crime League was a victim of its own success. The Patriots, Tomorrow
Society, and Foundation for World Harmony couldn't stem the growth of the organization. As a
result, many of the under bosses found the mafias and groups under their control more powerful
than they'd ever been before. Noticing that Ganglord Gorilla couldn't directly supervise the massive
criminal enterprises it used to, these various groups revolted and more or less dared the boss to
fight back.

The Lilly, Gorilla's son, made a play for the American International Crime League while several other
groups made their own plays. Ganglord Gorilla retalliated brutally but a simultaneous heart
condition crippled him for the better part of three months. Hundreds of hoods ended up across
dozens of cities but the ability to consolidate became a thing of the past. Dame Michelle Holmes
worked with The Gentleman in an unusual alliance to make sure that none of the surviving bosses
had any desire to reunite the society.

The biggest winner of the conflict is undoubtedly The Magi which is more powerful than its ever
been and larger than the Mafia. It was hardly the only winner, however, including the Ronin in Japan
and Brotherhood in Russia. The House of Serpents under Jack Washington III got in on the subject
with The Coil, a group which distributes prescription drugs and arms from SpartaCorp as part of
Jack's attempt to make America more pliable to his will.

The original International Crime League is still existing as a remnant under Ganglord Gorilla but he's
a remnant of his former self. It is jokingly referred to as the National Crime League, a name which is
starting to stick as people don't realize it's meant to be an insult. The Boston Syndicate under the
Gentleman also now controls much of the smuggling going in out of the East Coast of the United
States.

The Black Dragons are actually suffering a similar problem now. It's criminal element is starting to
move away from its terrorist element as the two sides have fundamentally different goals. The Ninja
secret death killers want to serve the Iron Khan's evil agenda of world-domination while the Faux
Triads and Yakuza want to make money.

The Adolescent '80s Heroes of Otherworld!

Long ago, when the Silver Age of Superheroes was young, a band of youths was carried off
from Our World into Otherworld and found themselves confronted by a small, peculiar-
looking and enormously-powerful creature who declared that as they had been trapped in this
strange, perilous place thanks to the efforts of a local evildoer (whose every action had
shaken the foundations of the Realms so severely and so often that those foundations were
beginning to crack and threaten to bring the border between the Twin Worlds crashing down
with them) it was therefore now their job to play Hero and chase down this inhumanly-
powerful malefactor, then do what came naturally to Heroes when confronted by villains.

The band of youths in question, being innocents to a man and more than half-convinced that
they were imagining all this (not to mention RPG geeks of the first water), proclaimed their
willingness to go with the flow and chase down, then deal with this malefactor with one voice
(and only small-to-medium misgivings) - well, except for the one which dared ask why the
heck any of this was any business of theirs, as well as inquire as to whether or not there was
another (or ANY other) way to get out of Otherworld, not to mention demanding to know
why the mysterious individual offering them this nightmarish job was SMILING while
discussing the very real possibility of a pan-dimensional collapse.

After this not-quite dissenting voice was resoundingly ignored, with everyone being obliged
to favour escape via Heroic Labours, the gang asked for the name of this budding Dark Lord
to whom they would now be as a nemesis - their newfound guide replied that the villain had
been too cunning to keep his own name and had taken to himself a title, a self-proclaimed
title which would soon resound throughout Otherworld and might ring the death-knell of All
Creation.

The title this budding tyrant of Otherworld had chosen to make infamous?

The Dungeon Wizard!

With this awful title ringing in their ears (well, more sinking in amidst a certain amount of
bemusement), some rather inadequate new clothes on their backs and a generous minimum of
survival gear in their packs thanks to the best wishes of the self-proclaimed 'DM' (who still
wouldn't stop SMILING), amid rather panicked warnings of impending doom from their most
doubting colleague (who might be going along with his friends for now - and forever, even if
he'd never admit that - as a show of solidarity, but would be hanged if he'd risk his precious
hide TOO much!) the Dungeon Warriors/Dice Champions/Dragon Runners/Cool Group
Name to be determined at a later date* set off to become legends.

*It was, in the end, but only after what might be called either a long-running and cheerful
debate or a running joke between.

Some little subjective while later (which seemed a lifetime, but thankfully wasn't quite that
bad) they were knee-deep in trouble and perilously close to doom, mostly because they were
a bunch of Americans schoolkids aged between eight to fifteen years old, trying to play
Dungeons and Dragons PCs for KEEPS and enjoying exactly the results you might expect.
Launching themselves at a local Dark Lord under such circumstances would have probably
proven suicidal (and certainly would have had they listened to the enthusiastic advice and
directions of their self-proclaimed 'DM') if it hadn't been for the intervention of Androcles,
who provided more help in a matter of moments than the former had in all the time they'd
known him.

Given that 'DM' was swiftly unmasked as a giggling Mr Hoppy, this should be unsurprising.

In the aftermath of this revalation a number of other Home Truths were revealed - that the
Dungeon Wizard was in fact a rather tragic young man who'd been left so disappointed by the
sorry sort of life he lead that he'd become obsessed to the point of making a very bad decision
with the idea of turning Reality into something more like the Fantasy he so loved. That this
Bad Decision in question revolved around making a deal with Mr. Hoppy should come as no
surprise:- in brief, The Dungeon Wizard had dealt for the power to make Reality (or at least
the portion of it within a generously defined vicinity of his person) conform to his idea of
how it should be, in exchange for a party of sacrificial lambs - to whit the newly-minted PCs,
the only people the Dungeon Wizard knew well enough to resent* - who would be toyed with
at Mr. Hoppy's whim to a point far short of death (The Dungeon Wizard's only qualification
to Mr. Hoppy's playtime).

So far, so Faustian.

*It's a long story, but boiled down The Dungeon Wizard didn't do socialisation and had
therefore been relegated to the fringes of the school pecking order, then been horrified when
he ran into those others who'd set up shop there - the future Fellowship - and realised that
they had a hard time putting up with his rather unpleasant manner too, no matter how hard
they tried.

It's bad enough being called 'anti-social weirdo' when it's only other people throwing the
word around - when the word starts worming it's way into your own self-image things are
well on their way to becoming soul-destroying.

It was only after The Deal that things took an unexpected turn for the worse - the Dungeon
Wizard, being naturally just a little guilt-ridden over placing the closest thing to friends he'd
ever made into the clutches of an Omnipotent Evil Bunny, had decided to tail that smalltown
DnD gang and see just what the Lapin Lucifer had in mind for the gang.

As it turned out the revalation that Mr. Hoppy had decided to try his hand-paw at being the
ULTIMATE Untrustworthy DM, while playing with the lives of unsuspecting DnD dudes
and dudettes made less of an impact on the Dungeon Wizard than the discovery that there
was an entire DIMENSION to play DnD with - and while this admittedly doesn't sound very
alarming, consider that what DnD players do best is loot, hack, slash and worst of all
munchkin their way through anything they happen to meet.

Now imagine what REAL PEOPLE will now suffer as a result of the Dungeon Wizard's idea
of a good time and try not to shudder. Another cheering thought; now imagine that the person
doing this is a reality warper from Our World (where Reality can generally put up a fight) let
loose in a World where Reality tends to lie back and let the powerful make of it what they
will - and now consider that you can use the power of Otherworld to twist Our World if
you're crazy enough.

How crazy? Let me put it this way, the Dark Undermaster and every Dark Lord in living
memory (which in Otherworld recalls a long span of years, given the ample number of
immortals, unliving or otherwise) has flinched from trying to do something that crazy - put
bluntly, even Count Reich declines to give it a try when he gets the opportunity (mostly
because Okrus ordered him not to, admittedly, but he still thought twice about it even before
Evil Lord Hornhead showed up).

To cut a long infodump short, The Dungeon Wizard was not merely threatening to play
wanton games with the lives of very real men, women and children, he was threatening to
twist Creation to suit his own selfish whims or just shatter it BY ACCIDENT in the process;
worst of all every attempt to stop him had resulted in the deaths of the Heroes (and even a
few villains) who'd tried, because Otherworlders simply could not comprehend the strange
rules under which this Dungeon Wizard wrought his havoc or adapt to them quickly enough
to survive his attacks when he appeared.

It was at this point that Mr. Hoppy jumped in to point out that his latest playthings could do
just that; Androcles retorted that these youths had, in fact, never been his in the first place,
still less his to play with and would he please hop off while Androcles sought to extract them
from their predicament?

No, cried the mad, bad bunny and furthermore if Androcles so much as twisked a whisker in
mild reproof he'd set Red Tape to work on anyone and anything in the vicinity capable of
comprehending what the words lawsuit meant, then play with the mortals to destruction while
some celestial bureacrat tried to cut through the technicalities and stop him - unless, of
course, the gamers were willing to risk a little wager: if they could bring the Dungeon Wizard
to heel, HE would call Red Tape to heel, then let the geeks go free and clear.

Androcles, deaf to threats but able to spot a Call to Adventure when he heard one, was less
than surprised (but as inspired as ever) when these young gentlepersons, strangers in a
strange land and confronted by the most terrible peril imaginable, agreed to risk themselves
in this noble, perilous endevour to help others.

Aware that they deserved - and desperately needed - all the help that he could give them to
survive in the Other World in which they found themselves, Androcles guided the newly-
minted heroes towards a very, very old friend and occasional colleague who was more than
able to supply them with everything they would need for their Quest; as it turned out, in
Otherworld Father Christmas comes along neither late nor early, but DOES have a useful
habit of showing up precisely when he's needed (and it turns out that those jolly old elves in
his employ craft tools for young heroes just as wonderful as the toys they make for good
children).

Dressed appropriately, fully-equipped and well-advised for the first time in the duration of
their sojourn in Otherworld, the newly-dubbed Fellowship of the Inklings set out to do
several graphic novels worth of old-school Good; residents of The Other World tend to
expect the unexpected, but even they probably couldn't have anticipated just how helpful
these youngsters and their bizarre misidentifications would turn out to be.

Robert Jack

First, a quick update to set the stage for Rob Jack and Hannah Sweet, the now husband and wife
team who comprise Antiquity Investigations, the best (and only) Middle American detective agency
specializing in weird mysteries!:

Rob Jack: The former companion to heroes, footloose adventurer, and full-time reporter, Rob Jack
lost his staff job with The Paranormal World Explorer when the weird-journalism tabloid was forced
to cut payroll in the midst of the economic downturn and a shrinking readership. At odds, Rob
grudgingly agreed to a mundane clerk's job in his then-girlfriend's Timeles Trinkets and Gifts Shoppe,
but soon proved so inept at a "straight" job and careless with the merchandise that Hannah Sweet
was forced to fire him. Rob was overjoyed at being let go, and soon started several new ventures-
freelancing for several Weird Journalism papers and websites, serving as an expert witness in
metaman-related court cases, and (best of all) obtaining a private-dick's license and founding
Antiquity Investigations. He actually wanted to call the offices Amazing (or perhaps Astounding)
Investigations, but Hannah convinced Rob neither of those exactly sounded professional enough. So
instead Mr. Jack took his inspiration from the nature of his paramour's small business, as Hannah
traded largely in older or rare items (many of these curios were donated by Lady Grayhaven and the
Pryde). Not one for anything remotely conventional, Rob takes on only cases which have unusual,
oddball, or downright absurd elements, though a fair number of his investigations have uncovered
fakery and hoaxes as well.

the Big Answer

Helen Anna Sweet, the Big Answer (formerly Hannah Black): The Big Answer was publically
unmasked as Hannah Black, cursed ex-game show co-host and aspiring P.R. exec, due to a
convoluted plot between her two rival "suitors" Black Dragon and Deadstone (the Trickster-Ninja's
even more insane counterpart). The spell which kept people from making the connection between
Hannah and Big Answer was already strained, as physically changing from slender to super-sized
whenever she correctly responded to commonplace questions did leave some impression on the
people around her. But Big Answer and the Lakeland Liberators had too many enemies for Hannah
to take the loss of her secret identity lightly. Most of the LL's foes would only cause embarassment
or property damage if they attacked her friends and family, but a few like the Candy Czar were more
serious, and Big Answer had picked up a few of the Pryde of Lions' enemies as well. Painful as it was
to face, she needed a new identity and a new life.

Her friends in the Liberators weren't a great help in this regard, as they just didn't really have the
necessary resources or powers. However, by this time the Big Anwer was an associate in good
standing with Lady Grayhaven and the Pryde, so the ladies came through for her. Lady Grayhaven
loaned her the funds to start the Timeless Trinkets and Gifts Shoppe, stocked with some of the
Pryde's lesser finds. Ultramind II and Crimson Wing I established a paper trail and cyber-presence
for her new persona. Angel Girl then escorted Big Answer to the 7th Heaven Orbital Headquarters of
Divinos, where Mithran technology altered Hannah's facial features, hair, voice pitch, and
fingerprints (Hannah's eyes remained the same, as a backup precaution in case her old identity ever
had to be confirmed).

Her cosmetic alterations actually involved one of the wilder episodes of the female superhuman
community of Heroic Earth. Most of the Pryde went along with Angel Girl and Big Answer, to help
Hannah through the transition; Cosmic Kite-Girl and Kaye Nine were there as her friends as well.
What started as female bonding turned into a super-spa-day, with the ladies helping Hannah try out
all sorts of new looks, with Misty Weiss' spells and Mithran costume fabricators both contributing to
their makeovers. Then the women started using Divinos' cadre of robotic duplicates as masseurs,
and experimenting with extraterrestrial cosmetics and alien mud-packs and crystalline bath salts.
Athena showed up out of the blue, made a pretense of chastising them for frivolity, then broke out a
bottle of the finest ambrosia, kicking off a rowdier period of fun. There was a tense moment when
Morwen appeared in a cloud of brimstome vapors, along with the villains Glamazon, Penny Painful,
and Ironica (a badly flawed clone of Angel Girl), but the Bad Girls just wanted to join the party. The
whole matter culminated in a night of club-hopping that transversed Heroic Earth and several other
worlds, with a bevy of other superpowered women being picked up along the way. The partying
sparked two long-term romances, thwarted a planned Tsavong invasion, inspired a coup against
Deathmonger, and finished with the thorough stomping of about two dozen second-string
supervillains.

Hannah made one last appearance as Big Answer, announcing her retirement at a press conference,
where she stated she was going to disappear from public view. Her good friend Misty Weiss agreed
to step in as temporary Lakeland Liberator until the team could get a permanent new member. A
few months later, one of Misty's spell's "misfired" during a televised battle with the new Triple A-
Gang, turning a "random bystander" into a slightly different version of the Big Answer. The "second"
Big Answer soon joined the LL, of course, claiming she wanted to live up to the original's great legacy
of heroism and nobility.

In her alias as Hidla-Anne Sweet, Hannah makes use of a mystic belt supplied by the Hierophant (in a
role-reversal, the Pryde called in a favor from him), which partially checks Mr. Hoppy's curse. It
cannot prevent her transformations, but by adjusting the belt's circumference Hidla-Anne can limit
her girth increase and prevent her civilian clothes from changing into the Big Answer's costume. In
her new identity, she ordinarily remains as a large (but not boteroesque huge) woman, avoiding the
problem of suddenly blowing up from svelte to jumbo if she accidentally gave someone correct
direction to the local coffee shop. Since Hilda-Anne only reverts back to her thin state if she is
stumped by a question, her secret I.D. is usually safe. The Big Answer's whole schtick is being able to
come up with the right, uh, answers, after all. Being vexed by a question alerts Hilda-Anne that she's
probably dealing with someone who means trouble. Of course, this happened the first time she met
up with Rob Jack.

And just like Hilda-Anne believed, this definitely meant trouble.

Robert Jack and the Big Answer

A few more notes on Big Answer, Rob Jack, before I tackle their investigations and some general
weirdness in America's Mid-West/Central States:

As noted, Rob Jack and the newly minted Hilda-Anne Sweet are married...but not on Heroic Earth, at
least not quite. They were first married by Queen Titania of the Faerie Courts, during an adventure
when the Lakeland Liberators were whisked off to Otherworld. Though both were under
enchantments which required them to get married and share their "first kiss as man and wife" to
break the spells, being ensorcelled in NOT considered grounds for annulment under the Customs of
the Fae Courts, especially not when Titania presided over the ceremony. Then in a later adventure
on Hell-Earth, the two got hitched while posing as their own evil counterparts, as part of a Ken
Kane's plan to thwart a First Church of Belial Reformed demon-ritual. Back on their own world, Rob
is still dragging his heels a bit, even after four years of dating, as even in his early forties he feels a
little reluctant to be "tied down", even if Mr. Jack has no intention of actually leaving Hilda-Anne for
anyone else. One of the hazards of being a footloose bachelor for perhaps a bit too long. Though Ms.
Sweet is seven years younger, she is getting a tad impatient, no matter how charming, smart, brave,
and still-youthful Mr. Jack may be.

While "Hilda-Anne Sweet" kept up the pretense of being a different person than Hannah Black and
claimed to be the "second" Big Answer during their early months dating, Rob was pretty certain this
was emphatically not the case even before Hilda-Anne revealed her actual life history during their
Otherworld escapade. Since Rob is one of the few "normal" human beings able to toss out questions
she cannot answer, Hilda-Anne/Hannah routinely gets to shrink down to her slender figure during
their private time...though Rob doesn't insist on it, and he's gone on dates with the larger-version of
Hilda-Anne as well...and with the fully costumed and uber-sized Big Answer as well. And yes, the
local (and even one national) celebrity tabloid have accused him of being a player, stringing along
"the sad proprieter of a gift-shop" while doing both a "skinny beauty" and "a whole lotta' meta-
woman" on the side.

Both Rob and Hilda have their share of romantic problems from various old flames-Rob Jack got
involved with women ranging from Ariel the Wind Elemental Princess to Fannie Frag (a protege of
Baroness Blade) to alien superwoman The Power Thran during his footloose adventuring career; a
few still carry a torch for the "fearless mortal with the twinkle in his eye". The Big Answer doesn't
have as many past suitors, especially since she's sporting a new face, name, and past history, but
there are still a few remnants from her "romantic history" who turn up to cause trouble. Right now
Black Dragon is tied up with his own concerns, and Deadstone is MIA, but Wretched Dragon now
thinks he's found a reason to live and rehabilitate himself-the "ravishing" Big Answer II, who is far
more beautiful than the woman with whom his "genetic clone-father" Black Dragon fell in love. Then
there's The Poseur, who is certain this is the self-same Big Answer/Hannah Black he fell head-over-
heels for years ago, and is determined to prove it. Since the Poseur only is attracted to the slim
woman inside the Big Answer, he's made several attempts to sabotage Rob Jack and Hilda-Anne
while they are out in public, trying to forcibly shrink her down by peppering her with questions.

The two are kept busy by Hilda-Anne's work as owner of the curio and gift store, her superheroing as
a Lakeland Liberator, and Rob Jack's freelancing endeavors-in addition to their paired adventures as
Antiquity Investigations Inc; given all this, the Big Answer has cut back on her Liberators duties,
dropping down to semi-active status. Her slack is currently being picked up by Behemoth Berta, ex-
Triple A Gang member/Athena foe, now trying to go straight and reinvent herself as a good guy.
While her skills and super-abilities nicely fill the role formerly played by Big Answer, the towering
Berta is arguably even more prone to causing property destruction than her predecessor.

The now thirteen year old inventive genius Kalika is still in the Big Answer's charge, with Hilda-Anne
as the girl's legal guardian. Far too advanced and disruptive for any normal school (or the Tomorrow
Academy, for that matter), Kalinka alternates between working in the gift store and coming up with
super-villainy plots. She does occasionally volunteer to help with LL missions, so long as she can
figure out a way to profit in some way from them; Rob and Hilda haven't given up on the girl, though
they foil about one Kalinka scheme every two months. Ultramind II is also volunteering at the shop,
using a remote controlled android body to better experience "normal middle American human
existence".
Good luck with that one.

Likely be taking a few days off from posting, but then I've list some of the adventures the two have
had as a couple. Still haven't really figured out how they met yet, but since Charles actually dreamed
up Rob Jack and Libra and Crinos expanded on Big Answer from time to time, maybe any of those
worthies will come up with a suitable "meet cute" for the two.

Zombies in Heroic Earth!

The Walking Dead should, normally, not be a problem for the world of Heroic Earth. After
all, there's a large number of superheroes in the world and the government isn't a complete
group of incompetents. Yes, that includes Director Hepburn. Really, even SpartaCorp is
smart enough to avoid Resident Evil-like human experimentation to create slow-moving
monsters with a taste for human flesh.

I mean, what idiot would want to create zombies, anyway?

Oh right, Jack Washington III.

Possessing the amorality of Hitler and the genius of his father, Jack Washington III loves
zombies. Unlike Death Mask III who isn't really creative enough to love anything, JWIII
thinks zombies are the perfect kind of menace to get people to start thinking autocratically.
After all, a lot of villains hate democracy but JWIII is doing something about it.

Realistically, zombies aren't really the world-ending threat that people think they are. The
highest casualty rate from them in HED! is from when someone poisons the water supply or
"crop-dusts" a town with the infection. The rate of 'human to zombie' from bites is actually
quite low, especially since zombies tend to tear up humans for devouring.

Also, zombies are something the military CAN clean out pretty effectively despite what
WWZ can do. The problem is that they're essentially a biological infestation as opposed to a
military threat. Murdering human-like beings is soul-taxing work and even if you can role
over monsters, that doesn't mean it's not something which can distract military assets
horribly. Especially, if you want to take a town intact.
In short, Zombies are a great terror-weapon if you have a proper biological delivery agent.

Which is why Jack created Formula-Z, the catchily named toxin which when put into the
bloodstream results in a person undergoing a horrific transformation over the next 24 hours
that turns him into cannibal murderer.

It actually took approximately ten minutes at lunchtime to create. To be fair to scientists, Jack
just modified vampire blood to be easily replicatable and less effective. Even Dracula is
horrified by the idea someone would go to these lengths just for power.

I mean, LOOK AT ALL THAT WASTE!

Formula-Z has since been sold to various terrorist organizations around the world. In strict
terms, Formula-Z is no different from any other WMD and actually less effective in terms of
pure killing, but it's the perfect sort of weapon for people who want to instill primordial terror
in their opponents. The Death's Head, of course, loves dosing Malls and traditionally closed
places.

Really, Formula-Z has really created something horrible in Zulan, home country of
everything horrible, due to the fact that real-life gladiator contests are hosted by PHANTOM
where superheroes and soldiers are forced to compete in death-matches against psychopaths
as well as hordes of infected citizens. Zombie Terror! Hour is shown to the populace of
almost every PHANTOM-aligned nation as well as hosted on pirated Youtube feeds despite
being high-quality snuff films.

Death Mask III *LOVES IT* and Khanate has already started its own knock off. The
Khanate team has even begun sending it's own disposable teams and supplies plenty of the
bodies for being infected into the zombies, including the special "child zombie models."

This is as horrifying as it sounds.

Heroic Earth is in no likelihood of having a zombie-apocalypse but this is just yet another
danger that it's people are going to have to deal with. The panic over bird flu turned out o be
nothing but zombies? Zombies are real and something terrorists can distribute worldwide and
want to. People panic during outbreaks and usually react in very bad ways, causing more
casualties.

The military is also somewhat callous regarding the issue, judging the risk of infection
something too dangerous to lose. In the few outbreaks which have occurred, containment
usually means "burn everything" irregardless of survivors.

In short, it's the perfect situation for superheroes.

Rather than destroy the heroes' home city, it's recommended you do it to a mall or nearby
town.

Robert Jack Casefiles

A short little list of the various things he's covered over the years.

The New Jersey Outbreak: The greatest act of heroism Robert Jack and Hannah Sweet in all
likelihood. Most of New Jersey had been destroyed by zombies, Jack Washington III had been
elected President, and most of the major superhero groups in the world were deceased due to an
Annihilation Zone bomb leveling Genesis Island.

Which left the world to the Lakeland Liberators. Inspired by the sacrifice of their mentors, the group
joined together to face down most of the terrible threats which followed. Jack, being the intrepid
reporter he was, managed to thwart the events of 20XX despite the already apocalyptic events by
exposing JWIII's evil to the world. By that time, Hannah and Jack had already fallen in love despite
never having met before the New Jersey Outbreak.
Because of this, the two were the most acclaimed heroes in the world.

Discovering Jack Washington III's time-machine, Robert modified with his Pyramid of Light copy
(given to him by God - yes, you read that right) and they used it to travel back in time to the day of
the outbreak. Thanks to an anonymous tip Hannah Sweet's younger self stopped the mugger
containing the doomsday vial before their future selves made off with it. The younger Robert Jack
reported on the subject and they had coffee together.

The Spook: As close to Robert Jack's archenemy as exists, the Spook is Robert's ex-roommate from
journalism school who is devoted to RUINING HIM! The Spook does this by committing various
crimes disguised as a supernatural being and then attempting to FOOL Robert into believing they
were such!
Really, it's not worked out so well for the Spook.

Ironically, part of the issue is that Robert really can't remember the guy from case to case. It drives
the Spook INSANE.

Hannah is much more aware of the Spook's activities. She thinks of him as a semi-brilliant criminal
mastermind, which he is, crippled by his hatred for her husband.

The Secret Society of Phobos: An organization ostensibly devoted to the Entropic Masters but
actually which believes they are holding back the Annihilation Zone's monsters by feeding them
human nightmares. They do this by torturing young children, sending teenagers to horrific demises
in a variety of contrived ways, and being the guiding force behind scary movies.

The hidden master of the Secret Society is actually Phobos the God of Fear. The Roman God has
been completely corrupted by Orkus and now attempts to actually STRENGTHEN the Entropic
Masters. The group has gone through several iterations but it's current appearance pretends to be
P.H.O.B.O.S, a nonexistent government agency with fake badges and lots of mind-control devices to
get people to assume they serve a function other than evil cult.

Robert Jack has CRUSHED many of its operations, often to their complete surprise.

The Black Warehouse: The Black Warehouse is a living sentient organism existing partially in the
Otherworld and exists to absorb technology as well as magical items. It is a hungry organism that
grows stronger for every artifact he consumes. The Black Warehouse embodies suppressing what is
strange and unusual, with a predisposition to creating a banal world. Sadly, it's willing to devour
superbeings as well as people.

Robert Jack has escaped the Black Warehouse numerous occassions and so have the Lakeland
Liberators. Together, they have also liberated many special artifacts or destroyed some of the more
hostile ones (weakening the Black Warehouse). The Warehouse employs several fairy-based MIB.
Murder Inc.

Murder Inc. has a long history with organized crime. It was established as the enforcement wing of
the Commission. The organization was quick to hire on what metahumans it could recruit to counter
the magic of the Magi and the high tech science of James Moriarty's crime empire. When the feds
moved against the Commission, Murder Inc was the first part they thought they dismantled. The
leadership was put in jail, but the group was not finished. They forged ties with the Society of
Assassins. Though they did not have the skill or tradition of the other members of the Society of
Assassins, they were respected for their flexibility and brutal efficiency. Also, the number of safe
houses they had around North America allowed members of other sects safe hiding when carrying
out missions out of their operating areas. After, the Society of Assassins broke from the Iron Khan
Murder Inc was elevated to a full member.

The modern Murder Inc still does a fair amount of work for organized crime. They take other work as
well, not even going as far as murder.They will gladly eliminate business rivals, spouses, mistresses,
or anybody else somebody finds troublesome. Due to the many contracts they take on other
criminals, the members usually refer to themselves as population control. Murder Inc is also very
willing to outsource if need be. Butcher Pete out of Raven and Black Dragon are some of the outside
talent they will sometimes hire to complete a contract.

Generally, the organization is very selective as to who they will hire. Emotional detachment is one of
the first things that they look for. They want their members to separate themselves from the job,
being able to build seemingly normal lives. They also look for talent whether that is metaman power
or simply skill. The many members run the gamut from simple gun toting criminal to ex special
forces marksman, to chemistry professors who develop poisons and explosives and professional
engineers who rig ordinary devices to lethally malfunction. Thirdly, they look for someone who
enjoys the work, those in it for just the money are liable to sell out the organization for money.

To take out a contract, one would first need to contact a broker. A broker is a member of Murder Inc
that handles contracts in a certain area. There is at least one in every major city. From there the
Broker will negotiate the rate and the specifics of the target. After taking a down payment, the
broker will select the member who best fits the specifics and have them do the job. After,
confirmation that the job was done, final payment will be submitted. Those who fail to pay cease to
be among the living.

The current Nightmaster of Murder Inc is The Undertaker who is based out of Dallas. He is
nicknamed because his front is a funeral service and he is a licensed undertaker. Many more bodies
are said to have been put through his ovens then those that were actually paid for. Though he does
have a piece of Cain's knife he doesn't actually listen to it. Seeing as he has no deity to which he
serves. Rather he believes that the collective unconscious of the people lead them to seek the
extermination of those among them who are drains on society.


Re: Halt Evil Doer! thread IV - (Zombies!)

by greycrusader » Sun May 27, 2012 7:54 pm

Nicely done-incoporating a bit of unsavory real-world criminal history with a contemporary

superheroic setting.

Two ideas occurred to me as I was reading your article: first, there are likely many heroes
who've clashed with Murder Inc without ever knowing-the assassins, enforcers, and
mercenary vilains they faced off against were hired and directed by middlemen. Those behind
the actual organization like to stay at least one level "removed" from the work they are
contracted to do; for example, if Death Mask III pays Murder Inc to put out a "hit" on
Crimson Wing II (for example), they contact the Undertaker, who then farms the work out to
established professional killers and made-their-bones villains. Those who do business with
Murder Inc are assured their anonymity by the organization.

The second ideas is that I see Murder Inc as another of those criminal syndicates whic Lady
Grayhaven and the Pryde would end up going after, or (alternately) being targeted for
elimination by the organization. I also see them as recurring opposition to Infamy and Penny
Painful, as well as some of the real psychopaths such as Razortalon (just because
uncontrollable killers who murder more for fun than profit can be Bad for Business).

As promised here are some members of Murder Inc:

"Dapper" Dan Sikora: Dapper Dan is almost always dressed in a nice three piece suit and bowler hat,
Dan is well dressed, personable, friendly, charming, and smooth as silk. He is also a stone cold killer.
Dapper Dan started off as a conman before finding his calling as a murder. Dapper Dan prefers to kill
his targets up close. He befriends them, leads them to a private place then kills. His main weapon is a
garrote hidden in his tie. If he can't get that close he has a snub nose .38 revolver. Dapper Dan's
main haunt is New Amsterdam.

Albert "Dead Switch" Carter: Albert Carter's day job is a special effects tech for a Los Dios special
effects house. While Albert is brilliant at his work, his anti-social and quiet demeanor haven't led to
much career growth. Carter is a master engineer and devises bombs and malfunctioning machinery
to kill his targets. Most of his victims death are labeled as accidental. He has his own private
workshop in his house which is booby trapped.

Miles Anvil, Esq. : Miles Anvil, Esq., he insists quite forcefully that you call him exactly that, has airs
of an English gentleman. His accent is pretty over the top, so there is doubt about his true country of
origin. At heart though Anvil is a thug. He is a metaman and is your classic low level brick. He
weapon of choice is of course his fits and in a fight is as mean and nasty as they come. Whenever, he
completes a contract he always leaves his card.

Professor Emi "Ms. Arsenic" Hiroko: Hiroko is a biochemist teaching at the Freehold Institute of
Technology. Hiroko of course uses poison and chemicals to kill. She uses almost every method
available to deliver a lethal dose. From tainting everyday products to foggers to tainting drugs. She is
an honored professor who is called in by the Freehold police department and the FBI to actually
review suspicious chemical deaths. Ironically, many of these are her own victims. She also brews
poisons for other Murder, Inc members.

The Big Answer and Robert Jack's relationship

A little bit of a follow-up on the Rob Jack and Big Answer relationship: Mr. Jack's fear about his
enemies targeting Hilda-Anne/Hannah if they marry are definitely not entirely unfounded. While Big
Answer certainly has made enemies during her time as a superhero (more as a sometime Pryde
associate than as a Lakeland Liberator), Rob Jack has crossed some VERY dangerous individuals in his
time. He's disrupted the work of Project Icarus, exposed House of Serpents' cells within the US
government, and even earned the enmity of Orkus, who has charged Count Reich II with
exterminating Rob with the maximum possible infliction of pain and humiliation.

Rob is capable and resourceful in his own right certainly, he has access to a plethora of gadgets
(gifted to him by heroes and/or friendly scientists, "confiscated" from super-crooks), and a penchant
for gaining temporary superpowers, but he's no real match for high-powered villains. Of course, he
has friends in very high places who would retaliate if he was targeted, but since largely retiring from
that part of "the life" he is less secure about much protection this affords him and those close.

It should also be stated for Hilda-Anne dating and teaming-up with the famous Rob Jack is akin to a
B-movie starlet suddenly finding herself together with an academy award winning supporting
character who was known for roles in big Hollywood films. She is still a little starstruck-and also
stunned by how his hobbies and interests seem similar to those of the character Leonard in Big Bang
Theory...

Doctor Henrietta West a.k.a Doctor Reanimator

The original Doctor Herbert West was a WW1 Doctor who was the American equivalent of
Doctor Frankenstein. Ironically, despite the similarity of their research, Doctor West achieved
all of his results independently of Sweden. Really, comparing the two, it's easy to see the
differences. Doctor Frankenstein wanted to create a man who would never die. The Doctor
West wanted to bring the dead back to life.

Like Doctor Frankenstein, Doctor West turned to alchemy to supplement his scientific
research. Ironically, Doctor West managed to achieve signicant results with it despite his
ardent atheism (alchemy being as much a spiritual discipline as a chemical one). With the
assistance of an unnamed partner, Doctor West successfully replicated the Philosopher's
Stone in liquid form and attempted to use it as a resurrection formula.
The irony of Doctor West's research is that he achieved what most alchemists could only
dream of.

Unfortunately, it was not what he wanted. The problem with excluding the spiritual discipline
of alchemy was that all of the corpses he revived were soulless. The few which weren't had
the souls of the Damned trapped in them. It didn't help that, in the name of science, Doctor
West occasionally reanimated heads or body parts independent of their forms.

The Hand is a inherited item of the Allans Family from Doctor West. The Allans are quite
possibly the spookiest family in all of Freehold, Massachusetts and the Hand fits right in.
Ironically, being the reincarnated soul of a murderer and thief, the Hand has taken his oddball
escape from hell as a chance to reform himself. The Hand really is the least threatening
member of the creepy and kooky clan.
Doctor West eventually met a grizzly end at the hands of his disgruntled creations. However,
it was not known at the time that he had several nieces and nephews.

It was a scandal when one of the extremely wealthy West family married into German
aristocracy, especially with the recent war. It was equally scandalous in Germany, especially
when the family gave birth to the infamous Count Reich I and II. It should come as no
surprise that the two inherited Doctor West's books.

Copies of the notes of Doctor West's family fell into the hands of cousins after WW2, neither
believing the defecting Nazi family of Count Reich II should have them. This is the modern
branch of the West family and the one who is presently menacing creation. You've
undoubtedly heard of, if not seen, the movies based on Herbert West (esq). The sociopath
Doctor's rampage through Freehold's prestigious medical schools is still infamous.

It is his daughter, impossible as to believe the man procreated, who occupies us

presently,however. Henrietta West is the unofficial Zombie Queen of Heroic Earth. In many
ways, she's a much more successful necromancer than her ancestors ever were. She's fully
mastered knowledge of the Spirit World, she just doesn't care to use it that often. Henrietta
West claims her goal is to eliminate death but, really she's fascinated by the process. Her
experiments probe the boundaries of ethics and sanity before gleefully running over them.

Henrietta West creates unintelligent zombies, thinking zombies, cannibalistic zombies,

zombie viruses, zombie mutants, mummies, artificial vampires, summons ghost hordes, and
occasionally one-ups Doctor Frankenstein by building her own flesh golems. The sheer
number of corpses she's defiled over the years, plus the number of people she's killed, is
staggering.

Henrietta West, herself, rarely engages in overt murder. Instead, the fresh bodies that pile up
around her are usually due to carelessness. Henrietta West has mastered complicated
pheromone control over her creations, so she rarely has to fear them, but that defense doesn't
apply to anyone else.

Henrietta West is a old school mad scientist in many respects, caring little about money and
more about research. She's fully capable of resurrecting people from the dead and has done so
in exchange for the money to carry out her grotesque lifestyle. Prison does little to stop her as
friends in the Foundation for World Harmony are interested in her research, despite the fact
it's resulted in at least one institution being completely leveled.

Henrietta West is an enemy of Angel Girl, Black Wing, Crimson Wing, Lady Grayhaven, and
Splotch. Really, this isn't a proper description of her encounters with them, however, as she's
quite fond of them. In her twisted mind, superheroes are amongst the few people she gets to
see socially. She even thinks of Angel Girl as a close friend due to the number of times she's
disabled her in order to perform bizarre experiments.

While Henrietta West has no real powers of her own, superheroes should be wary. In addition
to the horde of undead minions she commands, she's also a super-genius in other respects.
Many a hero has been disabled by her undead viruses or 'monsters in a test-tube' she can
release at a moment's notice. The fact she's deceptively cute and chipper (looking a bit like
Amanda Righetti with glasses) causes plenty of heroes to drop their guard.

C.O.U.P.L.E
(Citizen Organized for Undead and People Living Equally)

...Yeah.

COUPLE is an organization disproportionately large to the fact vampires aren't technically

proven to exist. COUPLE, of course, isn't limited to vampires. They have protecting the
rights of ghosts, revenants, intelligent zombies, mummies, and so on as part of their agenda.
A lot of people are surprised this organization exists but it's actually almost as big as its
parent organization MATE (Metamen Alliance Trying for Equality).

In fact, the fact it IS almost as large as MATE is one of the more horrifying things about civil
rights in Heroic Earth. There's more well-meaning citizens concerned about the already
deceased than there are humans with powers. COUPLE actually has about three times the
budget and ends up assisting MATE in many of its rallies.
Needless to say, most superheroes with any knowledge of the undead are appalled.

What's absolutely insane is COUPLE is not controlled by the undead. Most vampires assume
COUPLE couldn't possibly exist and those who do believe it must be some secret plot of
Dracula's. In fact, Vlad Tepes has never heard of the organization and would be completely
bewildered by the idea of humans welcoming the undead as friends for reasons other than a
naked desire for power.

COUPLE's chief goal is to gain proof of the existence of vampires while simultaneously
setting up legislation which will protect their rights in the event of this occurring. They
consider superheroes who actively target the undead for destruction to be engaging in
vigilante murder and believe attempts to "cure" the undead to be prejudiced. Most people
consider COUPLE to be a harmless group of oddballs, even if they do support Metaman
rights, and ignore them.

In fact, COUPLE is quite good at tracking down the movements of vampires. It's lost several
of its representatives but is genuinely naive enough not to realize they were murdered by the
undead. Still, they've gathered a large amount of proof with the intent of championing the
causes of the undead without the Vampire Nation realizing it.

Part of the problem, amusingly, is Stacy Blackthorne. A homonculus created by Randolf

Curwen in the image of the late Tiffany Blackthorne. She has little in common with her
progenitor other than an incredible good nature. In fact, Randolf Curwen has actually
weaponized her goodness by alchemically enhancing it in a lab.
He's also developed ways of extracting "evil" and injecting it in people he wants to corrupt.
Really, he needn't bother, Stacy is almost a saint already.

The problem with being such a moral paragon is that Stacy actually can't approach vampires.
Unbeknownst to her, they tend to burst into flames and meet the Final Death within ten feet
of her. Just being in her presence also eliminates anyone's mesmerization by a vampire and
has been known to spontaneously cleanse Renfields of their addiction. She is thus incredibly
surprised when people (usually spies sent into COUPLE) seem to flip out into angry tirades
against the undead before storming off.

Interestingly, Stacy is studying to be a biochemist and has one of the better knowledges of
vampirism in the world. She was actually a student before Cynthing Van Helsing kicked her
out and is working on several formula for reducing the savagery of the vampiric form. Stacy
actually may create the vampire anti-psychotic, though she'd need to figure out a way to
restore their souls first.

Dracula, of course, would genuinely FLIP HIS LID if he found out she'd discovered a way to
do that.

Angel Girl foes

1. Belial: The Demon Price of Lies, Illusions, and Temptations has set his dark servants and hellish
offspring against Angel Girl on more than one occasion. However he mostly enjoys manipulating
those close to her into corruption, or forcing her into "impossible" situations where she will be
forced to accept Belial's infernal bargains.

2. Baba Yaga: The ogre-witch-hag of Russian legend, driven from the human realm decades ago by
The Atomic Comrade (nuclear-hero of the communist revolution) but still a baleful figure in the
Otherworld. Angel Girl first clashed with the "Little Mother" when Baba Yaga started kidnapping
children from the mortal world again, seeking a worthy female apprentice (the boys and the
unworthy girls made for pets and servants, once suitably transformed). Angel Girl has thwarted
other evil plots of the hag since then.

3. Glamazon: The space-maruader/alien wrestling heel mostly clashed with Angel Girl prior to the
Iron Age, menacing Earth with stolen advanced weapons and technology. Recently Glamazon
returned to Earth to renew the grudge, merged with a symbiotic crystal giving her strength nearly
equal to that of a Mithran.

4. Morwen: The two first battled when Morwen was masterminding an atrocious cult which lured
foolish young women and hedonistic men into her clutches; since then the Mitran Maid has fought
against Morwen several times further, with Morwen often acting at the behest of Belial, Dracula, the
Iron Khan, or other supernatural villains who need to distract Angel Girl while their schemes are in
play. The half-human succubus is usually willing to barter her services because she genuinely enjoys
tugging the ultimate good-girl's cape.
5. Dark Lustre and Lamialith: The South African born villain is a recurring thorn in the Mithran
Maiden's side, even since their first encounter during the Iron Age, when Angel Girl shut down Dark
Lustre's "vigilante" activities and exposed her true depraved nature. Repeatedly losing, Dark Lustre
appealed to her patron-demon, Lamialith, for aid in return for even greater acts of evil. Angel Girl
travelled to Hell and defeated the Princess of Lust, Lies, and Romantic Retribution on the Demoness'
home soil. Needless to say, she has earned the ire of both many times over.

6. The Adjudicator: Once mostly forgotten on Earth since the 1970s (when he battled the first Never-
Man and Starfall), the cosmic bounty hunter and freelance "contract enforcement agent" is pursuing
a warrant against Angel Girl issued by the Tsavong Empire. More powerful and better-armed than
ever, the Adjudicator has proved a match for the Last Daughter of Mithra.

7. The Power-Thran: This ultrapowered champion of the Thran Empire has served as both foe and
friendly rival to Angel Girl, depending on the circumstances. While adhering to a code of honor in her
own right, the Power-Thran is first and foremost a defender of the empire, and this role has brought
her to blows with Angel Girl several times over. They have also cooperated to stymie interstellar
threats far beyond their individual powers.

8. Dr. Mabuse: No known relation to the original, this American-born, younger (well, depending on
his body du jour) Mabuse is every bit the manipulator, mesmerist, and body-hopper as his infamous
predecessor. Not employing the "crude" surgical techniques of "lesser intellects", Dr. Mabuse
instead uses a combination of astral projection and a weird science apparatus to switch
mentalities/personalities with other beings.

(He actually stole the basic design for the apparatus from vintage blueprints of the first Prof.
Moriarty, though Mabuse refuses to admist this). Of course he covets superhuman bodies, and
Mabuse has attempted to usurp Angel Girl's physique in at least one instance, while just being
contracted by other masterminds to put the Mithran in a harmless body at other times. He's also
engaged in more sordid and materialistic schemes, such as selling fresh young forms to evil and
aging individuals. Dr. Mabuse is very egotistical, and fancies himself a far more impressive villain
than he is, actually. He is however, very sexually magnetic and seductive, in almost any body he
inhabits. This allows him to attract lovers (of both sexes) who are physically powerful to serve as his
"muscle".

9. Villainous doppelgangers: More than most other heroes, Angel Girl has fought against antiheroic,
criminal, or ersatz versions of herself, including several from alternate Earths. These have included:

*The Hell-World counterpart Devil-Girl, who is actually a telekinetic/telepathic metaman rather than
a Mithran*
*The Earth-Gamma supervillain Thunderbird-Woman, a ravenhaired duplicate whose powers are
derived from a mystic gemstone.
*Celeste*, an older and brawnier clone created by Project Icarus as part of their plan to replace the
Patriots with the Super-Nationalists, a team of genetic knock-offs brainwashed into serving Project
Icarus without question.
*Dr. Angela Mithras, a genius criminal scientist from Counter-World (the synthetic Earth once
conquered by General Venomm); an otherwise normal human lacking metaman powers, Dr. Mithras
nonetheless successfully imprisoned and impersonated the Mithran Maid using her advanced
technology. She has since been extradited back to Counter-World.*
*The Tsavong Angel-Girl, who was artificially empowered and genetically altered to take over Angel
Girl's existence. While this WAS part of a larger Tsavong invasion plan, the scale and success of the
Tsavong effort was wildly over-reported and dramatized in Heroic Earth's comics medium.
*Queen Midia, an usurper and sorcercess from the days of Ancient Atlantis (pre-descent into the
oceans), revived in the late 20th century. While initially a walking mummy, Queen Midia later
regained her full human vitality and was revealed as a dead ringer for Angel Girl once she discarded
her wrappings. She dispatched Angel Girl to another dimension using her magic and took the
Mithran's place in the Patriots for a time, before the real Angel Girl returned to Heroic Earth and
exposed the Queen as an evil impersonator.

10. The Moon Master: One of the few surviving members of the original Lunar race, the self-
proclaimed Moon Master holds the Patriots and Angel Girl in particular responsible for the deaths of
his family, after Project Icarus and Death Mask III unleashed a doomsday weapon on Earth's sattelite.
In truth, the Moon Master despises his own failure to rescue his mate and daughters, and now
despises the "false hopes" offered by heroes. Nano-generators implanted beneath his pale yellow
skin allow the Moon Master to absorb solar energy for super-strength, flight, and heat-blasts;
combined with his use of the Lunarian's gravity tech the Moon Master is a formidable foe for even a
Mithran.

11. Satan Girl: Hailing from the independent world of Luminyl III, the young heroine Sata Tyrna was
known planet-wide as The Lightbringing Maid due to her powers over the electromagnetic spectrum,
which included flight, laser-vision, and the ability to transform into sentient light-energy. She was a
member in good stead of the Federation of Interstellar Freedom Fighters, a team of superheroes
who defended the civilizations of worlds which existed outside the great star-spanning empire. She
first met Angel Girl on Earth, serving as the FIFF's delegate to recruit the Mithran teen for
membership. An early mis-translation of her codename into English resulted in the "Satan Girl"
confusion. Angel Girl accepted reserve membership in the group, and shared several space based
adventures with them, with Satan Girl becoming a sort of special friend.

Many of the FIFF perished or were crippled during a Great Cosmic Crisis (which involved a huge
gathering of Heroic Earth's superhumans as well), and the team disbanded. Worse, Luminyl III was
ravaged by Doomship Omega, scattering the words' surviving population as impoverished refugees.
Satan Girl seems to have suffered a psychotic break; years ago she made romantic overtures to
Angel Girl, which were politely rebuffed. Sata Tyrna was disappointed, but accepted the decision.
But she has become an obsessed stalker in recent years, becoming reckless and dangerous in her
attempts to impress Angel Girl and win the Mithran's love. Her mental state is getting worse, and
Satan Girl has started targeting Angel Girl's actual love interests, past and present.

12. The Doomsday Twins: First encountered by Angel Girl a few years prior to the Iron Age,
Doomguard and Hellmetal are metamen who thrive and gain strength by metabolizing toxins,
pollutants, and excess radioactivity. They targeted the Mithran Maid when she began campaigning
against corporations which polluted the ecology, exposing violators of environmental laws and
dismantling unsafe power plants (Angel Girl was a bit more optimistic and naive in those days).
Doomguard is superhumanly strong, can fly, and can alter his molecular structure to adapt to any
single opponent; Hellmetal can control the atomic mass and charge of matter on a grand scale, even
able to blackout entire cities or render steel vault doors intangible. Even together, they were
defeated by the Girl Guardian of Good, and were little heard of thereafter, until recent years.

The Doomsday Twins resurfaced during Deathmonger's most recent attempt to conquer the 21st
century of Heroic Earth, serving as two of his lieutenants. They have since clashed with Angel Girl
twice more, and Ultramind II has speculated the pair are more important than they seem. Indeed,
they may play a crucial role in determining whether Heroic Earth's future is the Age of Wonders or a
Near-Dystopia.

13. Ironica: Angel Girl's version of Puzzles,Ironica began existence as an Angel Girl-robot (both
Mithrans experimented with robot duplicates earlier in their careers, but all such attempts
ultimately proved failures). Composed of an advanced "mimetic metal" gathered by Angel Girl from
a strange asteroid near the Tsavong Hegemony, the Angel Girl Robo Mk VI was more powerful and
versative than its predecessors, but displayed odd deficits in logic and understanding of human
emotions. Angel Girl ordered the construct to fly into a Cosmic Storm deep in space to dispose of the
automaton, deeming it too flawed to exist further.

But something the android encoutered in the heart of the storm changed it irrevocably, awakening a
true independent consciousness but badly distorting its' appearance and speech. More powerful and
self-aware, but even more irrational in thought, the creature dubbed itself "Ironica", and returned to
Earth, seeking revenge and vindication. It considers Angel Girl to be evil for ordering Ironica to
destroy "herself", and now seeks to show-up, embarass, or imprison the Mithran Maid for her "fake
heroism when you just smash bad things so people be-not in unlove with you, not instead making
the worse things better and good like me".

The Big Answer and Robert Jack Adventures

A further expansion of Rob Jack and Hilda-Anne (The Big Answer)'s oddball adventures and
weird investigations:

Though only in existence a relatively brief period of time, the intrepid pair behind Antiquity
Investigations have already seen more than their share of excitement. Starting out by only
taking on cases in the Great Lakes region and a few other nearby states (they got as far as
Pennsylvania and New Jersey), Mr. Jack and Hilda-Anne have ventured much farther out
(even off-world a couple of times) as their firm's modest fortunes have ticked upward.

(It certainly does not hurt that both have friends in high places who occasionally farm out
detective work to the pair).

However, while the couple now take on cases distant from their home territory if the money
is right (or the case is just too interesting to turn down), there is still plenty of weirdness
locally for them to deal with. The region actually attracts more supervillains than one might
expect, mainly because none of the Big Name heroes are located there to stop them. But
given the relatively smaller pickings to be had, many of the super-criminals are minor-
leagurers, oddities or misfits, such as Captain Snafu, Die-Cut, The Unrighteous Brothers,,
Queen Cossack, The Human Meercat, and the Crimson Chanteuse, all bringing their own
brand of strangness. The Lakeland Liberators have several members whose powers (such
as they are) result form curses, magic, and tears in the fabric of reality (see: Captain
Catastrophe, Paper Knight, and the Big Answer herself). The Ultradoom android hails from
a future which may never come to pass, and he now resides in town, happily working in an
HR office and rooming with the Gatling-Gun Kidd, another time-travelling hero-none of
which does the area's timestream any good. Unknown to almost everyone else, a shadowy
counterpart to the grand Otherworld Royal Fey courts exist in a nearby sub-dimension, the
Kobalt Court composed of the goblin, hobgoblin, gremlin, and boogeymen aristocracies.
A strain of C.H.U.D.S. dwell underneath and beside the region's cities, though most are
harmless scavengers, feeding off garbage, vermin, and sewage. The area is also fairly rife
with cults and secret churches devoted to half-forgotten pagan demigods and deities.

Rob and Hilda-Anne rarely lack for clients, though many end up being pro-bono cases or
work done for nominal fees.

Walk On The Wild Side:[/b] This began as a reality-television series showcasing the
adventures of Robert Jack and Hilda-Anne Sweet (formerly Hannah Black) as they
investigated the very strange goings-on of the Quad City area and beyond (they travelled
across the US in later episodes); long-time celebrity eye-candy Ginnifer McCauley was added
early on, as producters felt the series needed more sex appeal. The blonde wise-cracker did
juice the ratings, though only clever editing ever made her appear in danger on the show
(Ginnifer is a smart cookie who kept her distance from meta-normal trouble). Eventually
Hannah and Robert got tired of the short shrift given to Big Answer and the faux-flirting
Ginnifer did with Rob Jack, so they split after three seasons. For the fourth season onward, a
male co-host was added (Kane Provost, who once starred in a light romantic comedy re-
imagining of Divinos' career) and a rotating cast of minor league metamen were used instead
of Rob Jack and Big Answer, including Dark Jeste and Kid Kicks, ex-Elite cast-of)

They two ended up doing the televised reality show to generate more awareness of their firm,
as well as defraying the costs of their pro-bono cases. Hilda-Anne was persuaded also
because the producers agreed to feature members of the Lakeland Liberators as "ride-along
heroes" on some of the episodes.

It was not so much Hilda-Anne really thought Ms. McCauley was really coming on to Rob,
as the C-list bombshell was open about dating one of the studio executives behind the show;
Ginnifer also made it clear her young autistic daughter Mavis was her first priority. Still,
Hilda-Anne didn't need even fake competition for her man's affections, given the various
faerie princesses, succubi, aging Silver Age villainesses, and Tsavong shemales who
routinely bothered Mr. Jack. Also, part of her reason for doing the show, aside from the
money, was to present a size-positive role model.

Rob Jack still officially retains a producer's credit on the show, and both he and Hilda-Anne
(Big Answer) get royalties from the show through Antiquities Investigations, their private
investigation firm. Rob has diplomatically declined to comment on the new direction of the
show, but has communicated to the syndication company his friends in the Patriots WILL
make sure it is shut down if Walk on the Wild Side ever endangers the cast or innocent
civilians in the pursuit of ratings. For now, he is fairly sure the program is in good hands;
while it is both campier and more sensationalistic than the original incarnation, Kane Provost
has a lot of respect for real super-heroes, particularly Divinos, and Ginnifer McCauley isn't a
bad sort, even if she plays the role of a goofball blonde while actually being whippet-smart.

Both Rob and Hilda-Anne have met King-Size, another ex-Elitist recently hired on as the
regular super-muscle for the program. King-Size, a former marine, had some real problems
with drug addiction and depression in the past, but has gone through rehab and turned his life
around one-hundred-and-eighty degrees, becoming a solid and stalwart man once again. The
couple are very comfortable with him becoming the "official" superhero presence in the
show.

Hope the above was liked by some or all here. Just because I feel a little bereft of ideas at the
moment AND we really haven't done this in a while, I'd like to do another HED challenge!,
and ask for contributions detailing the Rob Jack and Hilda-Anne team's Seven Biggest
Successful Cases and their Seven Most Embarassing Failed Cases, in no particular order.

The Mansion of Nightmares

The short version is it is a haunted house.

The slightly longer version is it is every haunted house ever.

Literally.

The Mansion of Nightmares is a fragment of the Otherworld which has become so powerful,
it is able to manifest itself anywhere in the cosmos at any time. It is something of a Tardis
with an infinite space of spookiness and horror that can, if you know the right commands,
take you anywhere. More often, though, visitors enter the Mansion of Nightmares and
horrifically die.

The origins of the mansion is difficult to attest to. Most believe it's simply the archetypal
"spooky place" that people believed in enough to take on a life of its own. Others believe a
Lord of Nightmare or an Entropic Master was imprisoned in a creepy castle somewhere and it
eventually merged with it.

Others believe it is actually a manifestation of the Elder God, Yog-Sumath, the Lord of
Angles. A popular campfire story is it was a house so creepy that it had hundreds of ghosts
and just started eating up other haunted houses.

The true origin? It doesn't matter.

When you enter the Mansion of Nightmares, it makes a quick decision over whether you are
Prey or Guest. Prey are beings the mansion declares open season on. The mansion summons
horrific images, ghostly minions, and flying cutlery. Everything that has happened in a
haunted house movie or a slasher flick. Those killed have their souls taken to join the "staff"
of the mansion forever.

Not ALL people who enter the house qualify for either. Many times, the House ignores
hundreds of visitors as beneath its notice before suddenly pouncing.

It is possible to defeat the Mansion and get it to release you, however it's usually a matter of
displaying moral character enough to be released as opposed to physical force. Attempting to
escape through the doors and windows is a fruitless gesture as the Mansion can bend
time/space at will.

Why does it spare the virgins and morally pure? Eh, it's more fun that way.

Guests are a rare but not unheard of occurrence. Basically, the Mansion is intrigued by a
person or individuals, and decides to make itself available to them. Previous guests have
included Dracula, Doctor Frankenstein, Merlin the Magician, the Gatekeepers, Doctor
Necros, Infamy and Penny Painful. The mansion provides for their needs in a direct, albeit
spooky, fashion. This includes luxuries, books of magic, research material, minions, and even
a treasure vault depending on the level of affection it feels for its guests.

It's no coincidence that the Mansion likes individuals with high body counts.

Despite the depiction of the Mansion of Nightmares as a mansion, it's not remotely restricted
to this. It can appear as an apartment, an apartment building, a castle, a dungeon, a hotel, a
hotel room, an alley, or a house in the suburbs.

You know the story of monsters in the closet? That's the mansion. It rarely devours children,
though. It just loves giving them a good scare.

Note I said rarely.

A lot of people erroneously assume these "avatars" are singular haunted houses and
unconnected to each other. This isn't the case, though the Mansion rarely leaves doorways
open between them. Many of these avatars are weak enough to be destroyed by heroes,
though the Mansion is fully capable of reinforcing them when it desires.

Ambitious sorts may attempt to "tame" the Mansion with powerful ritual magic. If they
manage to do so, the Mansion may be forced to treat them like guests. It may also serve as a
mobile headquarters, manifesting wherever the PCs wish it too and no one noticing its new
presence. This, I note, has MORE than a slight chance of backfiring.

Nightwoman

Nightwoman is one of the more famous legacies of Freehold. The female heroine in her black
attire appeared independently of Ink and Splotch but was quickly assumed to be related to
them by the incredulous papers.
In fact, Nightwoman's legacy is every bit as old as Splotch and Ink's own and every bit as
prestigious. It's also one which is extremely wrought with tragedy.

Lady Midnight a.k.a Nightwoman IV

The bloodline of Lady Midnight started with a young woman in the French Revolution,
though some attempt to link the bloodline with Jean D'Arc’s despite the fact there's no
possible way the two are related. The first Lady Midnight was accused of being a witch and
seemed to display these powers when she brought forth tendrils of darkness to cast down the
soldiers of the monarchy coming for her. The fear turned to love as she next appeared in the
attire of a man some years later using her 'black magic' to aid in the Revolution. She would
later rescue victims from the Reign of Terror with equal skill.

In fact, Lady Midnight and her bloodline has a consistent Meta-gene which draws energy
from the Annihilation Zone.

Christine Champagne grew up with the knowledge she was the original Lady Midnight's
direct descendent and that there had been many others until her. They had fought for France
in many ambiguous causes with one being an agent of Napoleon while a later worked to
prevent his return to power. Nevertheless, they were a symbol of France and all that it stood
for.

Christine's mother fought in World War 1 to protect France and used her powers to protect
soldiers while moving them across the trenches. She was trained by her and learned countless
things in preparation for when she would be needed again. When World War 2 arrived, she
joined the original Fighters for Freedom that was a collection of all of the Allies super agents.
Christine herself would lose many friends in that conflict. Even her fiancé, Space Man's
eldest son and sidekick, would die in her arms. Lady Midnight believed it would be worth it
though as a member of the Resistance....

....the Communist Resistance.

Lady Midnight would have a falling out with her mother well before the occupation of France
with the discovery of numerous secrets about her mother that she was not prepared to handle.
Not the least of which being that her mother was a lesbian and had merely married her father
to carry on the bloodline. While her mother was a Gaulist, she embraced the fervor of the
coming revolution with an immense fervor.

It was obvious that the communists were not going to be welcome in France after the war was
won though and Lady Midnight was going to be executed as a traitor despite her many deeds
against the Nazis. Taking pity on her, a time-lost Alexander King, decided to take her to the
future so that she could join up with those whom would be less inclined to look at her as a
traitor. Unfortunately, due to the actions of Nazi deserters, Christine Champagne was
separated from her newborn baby.

Alexander King suspected this would happen but attempted to avert fate because he really,
really, hates the concept.
The future is a place Lady Midnight is decidedly uncomfortable with. Post-World War 2
France is divided on opinions about her and her mother. She also knows that she has left no
heir that took up the Lady Midnight name from World War 2 to the present day. This has
made her decidedly guilty. The Patriots strong American connections have also kept her from
joining that team even as she's quite fond of many of them.

Lady Midnight is a spicy, seductive, and dashing woman whom enjoys romance almost much
as she enjoys busting heads. She is somewhat naive in her political beliefs and still shocked
when someone points out how militant socialism might not always lead to utopian results.
However, her years in the future have given her a wider perspective on revolutionary activity.
Nevertheless, she's still wanted for questioning in a few countries due to how some villains
have manipulated her.

Christine Champagne is a blonde haired beauty that wears a black wig to help disguise her
features (that and she's always felt a blonde named "Midnight" is somewhat idiotic). She is
extremely sensual in her form and some men swear that the Lady has powers over the mind
in addition to her gifts over darkness.

Nightwoman I

The Nazi deserters were actually Waffen-SS soldiers who had made a secret compact with
noted Anti-Nazi but thoroughly evil Death Mask I. Taking Christine Champagne's daughter,
he intended to raise her as a personal assassin before breeding her into his bloodline.

James Moriarty III successfully succeeded in the former but not the later as his son was
jealous of his older sister and shot Electra Champagne in the back of the head during a
sabotage mission against an American secret project (actually a new jet designed by JWJ).
Landing in the ocean, she was fished out by a young Steel Commando II who placed her in a
cryogenic healing pod.

Jack Washington Junior's reasons for this remain obscure but it seemed normal to the 1960s
readership he'd save even his enemies.

Awakening in the 1980s, Electra Champagne was completely amnesiac of her criminal past.
Avoiding the Foundation agents who intended to put her in prison for her past crimes, she
was immediately repulsed by the PHANTOM agents who wanted to recruit her as a terrorist.
Going to war with PHANTOM as she struggled to put back her life together, Nightwoman
became a 1980s sensation who valiantly attempted to derail all of Death Mask III's plots for
world domination.

Nightwoman became a close friend of Athena in her civilian guise of Thena Pierce. Athena
helped Nightwoman get a pardon and the two of them smashed numerous spy rings across
America during Athena's "spy years." Nightwoman's life took off and even when she
regained her terrorist memories, the monster she was held no power over her.

Unfortunately, the story of Nightwoman ended in tragedy as she founded a mercenary group
called Mongoose for the purposes of hunting down and killing the mysterious General
Venom. Tracking him down to Serpent Island, she launched a full scale invasion with the
assistance of a division of the Russian Army.
Which General Venom, personally, destroyed. General Venom has the second highest hero-
versus-villain win rate after Supreme.

Oddly, Black Dragon has the third.

Shaken by the revelation General Venom was actually Jack Washington Junior, she engaged
in a hand-to-hand combat fight with Supreme himself. It was an epic contest against a man
who had personally faced down the entire Patriots by himself. Nightwoman managed to beat
him within an inch of his life but, in the end, the warlord slew her.

So ended the lineage of Lady Midnight, or so people thought.

Re: Halt Evil Doer! thread IV - (Zombies!)

by catsi563 » Thu Jun 07, 2012 12:11 pm

Nightwoman II

Sometimes Legacies take on a slightly different form from the normal. They are created by others
who read history and or are inspired by past stories.

Nightwoman II is one such legacy.

Alex Blakely was a technician at Spartacorp who was working on a muscle enhancement weave that
could be put into lightweight materials. The intent was to make lightweight clothes in the fashion of
a girdle or similar that would enable those with Spinal cord injuries or elderly people to walk
normaly.

Of course this was a ruse Kenneth Kane does nothing that does not have military applications or that
cannot be sold as such. He also doesnt like whistle blowers.

When Alex during one late night work session discovered a hidden file that was labeled
P.H.A.N.T.O.M. Lightweave battlesuit she was shocked since she worked austensibly in the Medical
research division. while not naive enough to not know that Spartacorp was a weapons
manufacturer, she at least thought that the divisions were seperate.

And in this case the tech she had designed was being put soley to Military use and worse use by the
hands of one of the worlds preminent terrorist organizations. Her Naivete came when she brought
the file and information to the attention of Federal authorities. Kane got wind of it and was furious,
within minutes he had her fired, and all her research siezed. Mere moments after that she was
framed for drug abuse, and her professional record--a spotless one-- was smeared with so much
mud that she was effectively blacklisted from any possible future governemnt work as a security risk.
But worse than all that she was framed for murder when a reporter friend she told about the
situation was tortured and murdered. On the run from the police and from PHANTOM assassins she
was shot and fell into a river. Her body was never found and Kane and the authorites washed their
hands of the whole affair.

That is until the Spartacorp labs, and warehouses started getting raided. The tech and science inside
was destroyed and the security guards on scene were incapacitated sometimes harshly. The stories
were all the same. The perpetrator was a cloaked figure in an all black body suit who seemed able to
blend into the shadows at will, and who was incredibly strong and fast.

Kane reacted in typical fashion --Ie he overreacted-- and set up a warehouse filled with bait as a trap.
The Intruder took the bait and the trap was sprung. Only in this case they got Splotch. Splotch fought
his way free oif the trap and when asked about what happened said he'd received an anonymous tip
that the warehouse was fileld with illegal tech and investigated.

Kane was not only angry at the failed trap his anger was doubled when he learned that his personal
files had been hacked.

this one person war with Spartacorp would continue for 6 months until Blackwing II would step in.
Blackwing successfuly deduced that the perpetrator was a woman, and that she had low level meta
abiltiies in some form, more importantly she was intimately familair with the tech she was
destroying which was Military grade battle suit tech. She also had a working knowledge of
Spartacorps computer systems and inner workings thus he deduced that she was a former
employee.

Backtracking the tech that was destroyed he came across the case of Alex Blakely. Some more
investigation revealed that Alex had survived her plunge into the river and the gunshots she'd
received even though she was paralyzed from the waste down.

Moving quickly he tracked down Alex now going by an assumed name and working out of a
tennemant she had found. confronting her she told him that shed sworn to bring Kane down by any
means neccesary. Blackwing explained that he could understand her need for vengance. He tried to
get her to come with him but any chance he had was lost when Kane who had engaged in a simialr
investigation also found them.

Donning a battlesuit shed created that enabled her to walk and mvoe with incredible skill the pair
quickly dispatched the assassins before Alex calling herself Nightwoman went after Kane himself.
Confronting Kane Nightwoman beat revealed her identity and got him to admit that hed done even
bragged about it, and how he'd gotten away with it.

That was when Blackwing showed up, and told Kane he'd recorded the entire thing. That was when
Alex revealed her trump card. She'd set a very destructive bomb in the Spartacorp basement and
that she was taking Kane with her.

This was something Blackwing wasnt expecting. He tried to stop her and the two engaged in a fight
that lasted long enough for Kane to escape though not before the police took him into custody. His
lawyers were busy for months cleaning that mess up.

The fight between the two carried them all the way to the basement where Alex finaly broke down
and revealed the truth, their was no bomb at all. merely a very large prop, she debated building one
but just couldnt bring herself to destroy an entire building of people in the process.

Blackwing understood, and offered her an alternative and a fresh start. Faking her death in an
explosion, Blackwing explained to the authorities that the vigilante Nightwoman II had seen the
error of her ways and attempted to disarm the bomb, while shed succeeded in diarming the larger
explosive a smaller one had gone off killing her. he offered a charred corpse in her costume as proof
and the case was quickly closed.

1 year later found Andrea Brady working in Raven industries as science and tech division and living a
new life under her assumed identity.

My take on Nightwoman II

A hero created for the Iron age but not as violent as she could have been. She wanted revenge but
could just never bring herself to cross that line.

Angel Woman Rogues

Belial

At this point in time, Belial is a lot less interested in getting under Angel Woman's cape
because quite frankly that spell as Alex Timmon's lady love cured the Issues which make
seduction of the innocent so much fun for Belial - quite frankly Angel Woman is too well-
adjusted to her love life to have mental anguish wrought upon her psyche (also, to be honest,
she never really DID go for the smooth, practiced, infinitely-depraved older-man archetype
Belial loves to occupy so, so much more than is really appropriate - admittedly this wasn't
exactly a joy-killer for Lust, given that he finds playing from a handicap just adds to the thrill
of the challenge).

At present Belial is more interested in manouevering Gabriella via the covert infliction of raw
emotional pain on her loved ones until their desperation places Angel Woman in a position
where she desperately NEEDS to make a deal which might save the day or her loved one, but
will certainly cost her a soul. AGAIN.*

This is more difficult than it sounds, since the majority of Gabriella's loved ones are
superheroes or the sort of individuals The Host takes a subtle, yet potent interest in - which
just adds the spice of genuine danger to the thrill of a genuine challenge for Belial.

(*It's a long and rather tragic story, given a happy ending only by the unexpected intervention
of Mick Drake).

Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga is, at the roots of her pitch-black heart, a pragmatist; she knows that LA Galaxy
will win the Five Nations (Rugby) Tournament before Gabriella agrees to become her
apprentice, much less permit her to snatch away children, so she understands that it's
probably wiser to simply avoid her much of the time (especially since the girl does not live in
Mother Russia).

So she does her business wherever Angel Woman does not happen to be, much of the time -
on the other hand Baba Yaga is an immenseley old, powerful and spiteful entity with a
reputation to uphold and Gabriella very nearly severed her connection to the physical Rodina
for all eternity. This means that she must be punished and Baba Yaga is more than game
enough to try and will, in the end probably succeed.

Admittedly in a few millennia or so, but Baba Yaga is more than willing to keep trying to
make this vendetta a more short-term pursuit (she may be patient, but she REALLY wants
Angel Woman dead, in some horribly Grimm manner).

On a related note, Baba Yaga's hatred of Angel Woman DOES generally keep Mr. Hoppy
from bothering Gabriella - amusingly, this is because Baba Yaga bribed that horrible, horrible
rabbit into leaving her with a clear run at the sister of his favourite pet project, with cake.

Carrot cake, to be precise carrot-shaped carrot cake.

As a note The Atomic Comrade did not bear a resemblance to Fuzion, the Nuclear Wizard -
after all, one can hardly speak of a mere 'resemblance' when the two were identical, right
down to their costume and cheesy dialogue, except for the language they spoke in.

Absolutely no-one has ever noted this.

Glamazon

Just how did Glamazon come to pursue and why does she continue to pursue what was (until
very recently) such a one-sided rivalry with Gabriella? Well, back in the day she was going
through a rough patch, hadn't really found a hero who was tough enough to make a good
enough show that some Mastermind would snap up Glamazon as a henchwoman, taking her
away from a frankly SEEDY life as a professional super-heel, yet not so strong that they'd
bend Glamazon into a pretzel.

In the end it came down to Angel Girl or the newly-formed Lakeland Liberators and while
Gabriella was out of Glamazon's league, she decided she'd rather crash and burn in the big
leagues than court certain victory over the B-List.

After that native stubborness and the will to WIN kept her coming back for more, especially
when it REALLY shouldn't have. Well, that and the fact that she hasn't needed to toot her
own horn or buy her own drinks in any villain bar ever since!

Morwen
Do you know Angel Woman's favourite tactic when dealing with Morwen? (Well, besides
hammering her into the pavement/dust/sea bed - I should probably say favourite tactic of
PSYCHOLOGICAL Warfare).

Acting completely oblivious when confronted by or deliberately misinterpreting Morwen's

barrage of innuendo - there's very little Morwen hates more than feeling as if she's just not
getting her points across. She hates it even more when Gabriella acts all wholesome and
NICE to her. Thankfully for Morwen's peace of mind Gabriella's patience is not infinite -
quite frankly she'd be downright disturbed if she were NEVER able to disturb or disguest
Extraterrestrial Amazon.

Nothing ticks off Morewen more than failing to get a reaction out of someone.

Adjudicator

Perversely Adjudicator actually kind of likes Gabriella - it's not due to the fact that she's
probably in the Top 5 when it comes to the nicest ladies on the planet, since the Adjudicator
instinctively mistrusts the charming/wholesome/vaguely pleasant since like any Law
Enforcement officers he's quite convinced that these qualities tend to cover up as much as
they ennoble.

No, what The Adjudicator appreciates is the fact that Angel Woman is willing to attempt to
defend herself with arguments based in Interstellar Law before resorting to physical efforts to
prevent her being dragged off to waste time with some kangeroo court - the Adjudicator
ALWAYS resorts to physical force, since he's kind of a macho jerk in his own subtle way,
but he DID train as a lawyer and he likes to keep the mind more supple than his knuckles.

The Power-Thran

In all honesty, Gabriella fundamentally mistrusts the Power-Thran, because let's be honest the
latter works for the most blatantly tyrannical power in the Galaxy BY CHOICE. On the other
hand Angel Woman is as much a consumate professional as Athena and is downright pleased
to give Peace a chance, since it means there's less likelyhood of an Interstellar Diplomatic
Incident triggering ANOTHER invasion of Earth.

On the other hand, while the two have worked together on numerous occasions, they are
nowhere near becoming a duo by virtue of the fact that every single one of these team-ups
have ended with a no-nonsense brawl because quite frankly the Values Dissonance is too
great to be bridged on a permenant basis, both have the courage of their convictions and
neither will back down.

On the other hand, none of these potentially-catastrophic diplomatic incidents have ever been
reported by either party, so there may be hope for the professional relationship yet.
Dr Mabuse

One of the major reasons that Dr Mabuse keeps chasing Angel Woman is that quite frankly she's
Divinos' younger sister - no, it's not quite what you think, he just wants a younger body, without
those unsightly grey hairs and character lines the Extraterrestrial Antaeus has been picking up in
recent years.*

Also the very first thing he intends to do once he achieves control of Angel Woman's body is kill her
big brother, then broadcast footage of him doing so, in order to prove his power both over Gabriella
and as the possessor of a top-of-the-league superhuman body.

What he doesn't realise is that if he ever actually got that far, Gabriella's soul would eject his Id from
her body like an apple being blasted from a loaded cannon (with a similarly unpleasant fate awaiting
Mabuse after the process). If everything turns out as Belial expects, she will turn to him not long
thereafter.

Not that he's engineered the situation exactly (if he'd gifted Mabuse his power, then The Host would
tear up any contract Gabriella made with him), but he IS planning to reap the benefits if he can.

The Moon Master

In all honesty The Moon Master is somewhat torn between a desperate desire to avenge his people
and an increasingly compelling desire to rebuild his life, by rebuilding something like his old
civilisation if at all possible - given this motivation, he has done his best to maintain at least basic-
functional links with various agencies on Earth (including The Foundation) and he has in fact spent a
good deal of his time attempting to ignore superheroes as often as he has tried to awaken the public
the very real probability of superheroes failing to live up to the legend.

But in the end the pain is still too intense - it has subsided only just enough to leave his vengefulness
a shade more calculated, rather than dispel it entirely; were he able to handle his pain sufficient to
set it aside, even for a while, he might recall that the Patriots saved more than a few of his people,
even if they left many of the works of their hand to perish.

In all honesty The Moon Master faces a long and uncertain path to recovery, but it's still very
possible for him to take it - to be honest part of the reason he keeps finding himself facing off
against Angel Woman is that she's one of the relatively few heroes aware of his Issues, who is able to
calm him (with superhuman effort) and who is therefore determined to help him when she can,
wherever she can find him.

She accepts the risk that she'll be used as a punching bag as part of that recovery, but does her best
to minimise the probability.

Robert Jack and Big Answer Accomplishments

Just to throw out a few ideas I had about Rob Jack and Hilda-Anne (Big Answer)'s notable triumphs
and failures as a pair:

*Stopping the night-time depredatons of the Electric Ghost, albeit with the help of Captain
Catastrophe.

*Though this also counts as a rather large inadvertant failure, as defeating the Electric Ghost re-
awakened his intelligence and also transformed him into a creature of pure electrical energy.

*Halting the Belial plot to seize control over Hell-World (he would have been much more effective
with the Anti-Earth's resources than Orkus); they impersonated their own duplicates and took part in
a ceremony which required two people who despised each other to be wed and then sacrificed.
They of course never let matters get to the sacrifice part. They did have help form Lucien Drake and
Madame Tomorrow with all this.

*Exposing the now-aging Candy Czar as less a super-villain and more a drug pusher and trafficker in
forced prostitution.

*This led to another success, when Rob Jack re-established Gobstopper's real identity, undoing
Death Mask III's brainwashing and the Candy Czar's drug-induced transformation. Blackwing then
stepped in and got the woman released to his custody, pending her criminal record being cleared.

*However, Rob couldn't find a way to restore the now depowered Gobstopper's normal physique, or
convice anyone else of her connection to the vanished Fuzion. However, he now stays in touch with
her, providing emotional support if nothing more.

*Likewise, Rob has never been able to solve the mystery of his onetime friend and idol's
disappearance from the world-and the memories of most human beings.

*Aided by Lakeland Liberators reservist and Canadian hero Joe Hatt (the friendly urban sasquatch
detective), Rob and Hilda-Anne stopped a group of "Foulke Monsters" from terrorizing a small town
in Arkansas. These turned out to be Tsavong troopers who were stuck on Earth after the latest failed
invasion and were just trying to scare away the local inhabitants by posing as Bigfoots, so they could
repair their starcraft uninterrupted.

*Hilda-Anne and Mr. Jack retrieved a cursed Amulet of Chaos with a history of causing body-
swapping, physical transformations, and jealous fits among those who came across the mystic
bauble. They turned it over to the Hierophant (the pair had a time with this thing, as they went
through several oddball changes before sorting the case out).

*They discovered the true identity of Frank Tower, the ageless sailor who served on the Titanic, the
Lusitania, and several other infamous doomed ships; "Mr. Tower" turned out to be a reincarnated
Atlantean wizard, who had premonitions about maritime disasters. He didn't cause them, and in fact
prevented several that otherwise would have cost hundreds of lives. But no one ever hears about
ships that didn't sink.
*They recovered a pair of children from a weird alternate future realm, where the little ones had
been lured by a device called a "Whim-Zee".

*They have so far been unable to stop the incursions of the Kobalt Courts into the Great Lakes
region. Whenever they seal up one gateway, two others seem to open. The area is apparently
riddled with the Dark Fey's interdimensional boltholes. They've turned over their notes to the
Tomorrow Society.

(I wanted to come up with a good story to go along with the throw-away bit I included in the article I
did, about the pair getting married under Faerie Court Law while in Otherworld, both being
enchanted at the time. But I'm not coming up with anything. Maybe someone else has a good idea?)

Ghoul-B-Gone Esoterminators (LTD) - The Real Deal!

Way back when Reaganites ruled the land and Soviets roamed the Earth - so after the Big
Bang but before the Dinosaurs went extinct - a small group, comprised of the three most
interesting scientific minds in Freehold who weren't trying to CONQUER THE WORLD,
made a discovery.

No, scratch that, they made a Discovery which some of the greatest minds had been chasing
after across the entire span of recorded Human History: they had learned how to (briefly)
touch the Spirit World via a repeatable scientific method and were certain that they would be
able to prove it by producing a real live ghost! (well, scientifically-detectable given that ...
well, you know GHOST).

The theory was sound, the equipment had been laboratory tested, they were days (well, weeks
- OK a month tops!) away from bottling their first spirit and months (well, a couple of years
max!) away from working out how to use the knowledge they'd applied to the ghost-bottle to
further their quest towards the end goal of artificial dimensional travel* when the money ran
out and those nice University people kicked the guys out on their collective ear, because
while the theory was sound, the quest for proof had been somewhat flawed by repeated
failure (and No Proof = No Funding, even at FIT).

Also an interesting variety of collateral damage, but nobody's perfect.

*Don't ask me about the details, but basically the guy's ghost-catching kit works by doing
timey-wimey things to the fabric and to some degree the substance of dimensions - basically
for them ghosthunting is kind of like ice fishing, assuming you're using a harpoon; you poke
a hole in the veil between our world and the spirit world, then wait until the spook you're
looking for comes along, zap the spook then throw it into ANOTHER dimension where it
will remain nice and inert for as long as it's kept there without being unleased by some
doofus.

If the explanation confuses you, don't worry - they basically took one look at me and settled
for the "It's completely inaccurate in almost every way, but gets the point across to those
lacking our rarified/estoreric/barely-comprehensible knowledge" explanation. If anyone has a
better idea of how the business works, explanations comprehensible to non-PhDs would be
welcome.

Now these three ticked-off geniuses were at a loose end, in debt up to their ears, and more
than a little crazy; in other words a perfect example of budding supervillains, full of
dangerous potential and facing a choice between accepting that they would have to abandon
their research, so close to their goal OR getting their Mad Scientist on and trying to get even
with society.

Or, as it turned out, they could ... retrieve their wonderful toys - ehem, tools - from the
possession of the University, move to New Amsterdam and go into business as the world's
first public Esoteric Entity Extripiation Specialists (aka Esoterminators) - "Scientific
Exorcists Supreme for the Modern Age!" - attracting widespread admiration from the public
and adulation from the scientific community in the process of making enough money to let
them live like sorceror-kings while pursuing their Research.

Look, it was the 80s, they were young and y'know, just a LITTLE over-optimistic (even after
factoring in the new guys fair share of the proceeds - business might not have been going too
well, but they were certainly being kept WAY too busy with only six hands at work).

On the other hand they did meet a lot of interesting people (hey, some of them were even
friendly!), make a little money, make a few interesting discoveries (like the fact that poking
holes in the fabric of reality to catch ghosts, bridging the realms of the living and the dead
can attract some ... interesting specimens) and tackle more ghosts than you could comfortably
fit into a necropolis in the process.

Also there was slime. LOTS of Slime. But you knew that already, didn't you?

Doctor Hector Cratchit (PhD)

You could say that paranormal phenomena has been THE family pastime for Cratchits ever
since great-uncle Ebeneezer (adopted, but they don't worry about that sort of thing) had that
afterlife-changing Christmas a century or so ago, but Hector 'Heck' Cratchit is the first to
make a living as a doctor of parapsychology and the world's first professional esoterminator -
mostly because he was the first member of the family to try working out how to CATCH
spirits (but only so he could communicate with them more readily - Heck is a really nice guy,
but he doesn't always spot the weak point in his plans, like the fact that most Ghosts don't
take too kindly to being trapped, even temporarily).

But then when you've spent your gap year touring the United States with a couple of fellow
students - also Randy and Hamlet, but they were along for the ride rather for the sake of
friendship (as well as those suspiciously-addictive dog biscuits)- seeking the supernatural and
finding only criminals perpetuating a variety of blackmail, fraud and confidence schemes,
you do kind of have an excuse for being at least a little desperate to pin down the supernatural
after returning from mystery to SCIENCE.

Questionable choice of spirit-contacting tactics aside, Doctor 'Heck' Cratchit was always the
altruist of the gang, more eager to help people out and more interested in investigating
paranormal phenomena for it's own sake than in turning a profit - an attitude which explains a
goodly number of the financial fixes the guys found themselves in, but also the numbers of
friendly locals who willingly popped in to bail them out.

Doctor Lamprecht Cooper (PhD)

With a first name like Lamprecht, you either turn out to be a mad scientist or a genial boffin -
Doctor Lamprecht Cooper (PhD) has never bothered to draw the disctinction and has
therefore somehow turned out to be both, although not always simultaneously. One of Doctor
Cratchit's oldest friends (the only reason he didn't take that gap year with Heck was because
he's allergic to dogs - well, that and the fact that he also had better things to do while
embarked on a rigorous course of study than take a HOLIDAY) Lamprecht was the genius of
Pure Science who helped Heck realise the technology which previously existed only in
theory.

The most rigorous exponent of the Scientific Method amongst the original Esoterminators
(not to mention any population in which he finds himself, from Salt Lake City to NASA) Dr
Cooper was prevented from returning to Academia only by the beauty of the scientific
theorums he and his fellows were developing (and the fact that academia could be so ...
limiting when one had a head full of Ideas and only a hazy idea of what equipment would be
required to survive the consequences of implementing them).

He and his glorious pompadour (you know a man takes himself seriously when he can look at
himself in a reflective surface, wearing that hairstyle and not crack a smile) have been the
genius intellect (or if you prefer Super-brain) of the group ever since, despite (or as those of
us with a finer understanding than Dr Cooper of the Human Condition outside the boundaries
of Science will suggest, BECAUSE) of the endless distractions posed by working with people
for a living AND the secretary with the Accent.

Doctor Cornelius K. Salisbury (MD)

Doctor Cornelius 'K' Salisbury hooked up with Doctors Cratchit and Coopers quest to plumb,
then drain off the Mysteries of the Unknown because "Quest for the Boundary between Life
and Death/Quest to knock holes in said boundary for fun and profit" looked better on grant
applications than "Research into chicks and how much deeply they will be prepared dig me"
before finding out that his skills made him genuinely useful to the process - also that all this
crazy occult buggaloo was REAL. To his credit he has only complained once or twice since
this discovery was made.

To be accurate once or twice a day for twenty-something years, but nobody's perfect and he
stopped being ABSOLUTELY serious after the first year or so - more or less (more if there's
more trouble than money in the future impending, less if ... well, you get the picture).

Possessed of all the charm of a natural cynic and the charisma of a snake-oil
salesman/kavorka man (as well as expertise in treating a broad variety of collateral-damage
induced burns, bruises and teething medical troubles), K was the first of the guys to spot the
business opportunities inherent in the peculiar properties of their equipment - ehem 'tools' -
and has generally taken the lead in what he likes to refer to as their 'Private Practice' ever
since (this explains the general up-and-down trend of the profit margin; K knows how to
spend money - on other people even - but MAKING it has always given him trouble).
Thankfully he's not as cynical as he sounds, looks and acts, but partly because living with that
would just be too much like hard work (also because - secret of secrets - K actually LIKES a
lot of the people he meets, even if he doesn't trust them an inch).

Doctor Christoper C. Apone (Dr.-Ing)

Kit Carson Apone was an ordinary resident of everyday New Amsterdam when the geniuses
who founded Ghoul-B-Gone first sounded him out about becoming the fourth (read 'Junior'
for the first five minutes or so) founding member of the organisation - he's been the voice of
common sense ever since and has never regretted it for a minute.

For a fairly normal guy that's pretty weird, but they love him for it.

While not originally a True Believer in the supernatural (as opposed to the superhuman),
Apone adjusted to the reality of that dimension of Human Existence (and what comes after)
with remarkable speed, mostly because unlike 'Doc K' he was a realist, rather than a cynic -
he has always believed in what his senses told him, even if he does like to verify before he he
trusts absolutely - he was, in fact sufficiently open-minded to have attended a couple of guest
lectures the three geniuses had run at his University (forming an impression so favourable
that he'd been at the top of their list when looking for a New Amsterdam Native to add an
extra pair of hands to the team), which helped a lot.

Equally helpful has been his faculty for the little practicalities which keep him almost twice
as busy as the rest of the group put together and which help keep the business running only
slightly less smoothly than the well-oiled machines he maintains single-handed (it would be
AS smoothly if the various eccentricties of the other 3/4s of the team didn't keep throwing the
occasional spanner in the works).

Still, through thick and thin he's stuck with the group (originally to pay off his student loans,
but mostly because the guys became his friends and because what they do is pretty darned
fascinating, even for a 'lowly' engineer caught up with exalted company such as himself);
amusingly he's the only member who does not make daily use of his doctoral title, despite
having earned it sometime between the thing with the Elder God and the brou-ha-ha with the
EVIL painting* the gang now keep as Station Mascot.

*More 'sinister and peculiar' than EVIL at the moment, given that the goings-on in his present
surroundings are usually too d--- fascinating to disrupt and the fact that the guys actually talk
to him, which is balm for his schizophrenic soul-fragment.

If anyone can tell me who the subject of this work of art-turned-Horcrux is, you win a N-
Prize; You may be interested to know that the signature on the portrait reads 'B Hallward'.

Whatever Happened to General Venom?

* This is just a possible scenario since the idea is General Venom's fate is a mystery like the
identity of the Leader or the fate of the Futuremen.

The betrayal of the House of Serpents Senate was accompanied by the assassination of his
loyal Minutemen Guard, the death of several of his all-female assassin force, the
reprogramming of his entire General Venom robots to kill him, re-arranging his forces so the
loyalists to him were in perfect range for Hero Force One to strike at them with the US Army,
the Steel Commando Force being sent to take him down, plus a single strike team of
Foundation special operatives blowing up his HQ in a sort of Metroidvania video game level
was just some of how JWIII intended to take down his "father."

General Venom ended up getting caught in the nuclear destruction of his secret base in New
America on one of the military's atomic weapons testing isles. Ironically, after, having to
deal with the base's entire wildlife being turned into nanotech monsters with the nanotech
designed to make General Venom completely incompatible with his armor (since just killing
him with it was something JWIII considered unlikely to work).
Amazingly, this still didn't work.

Escaping the destruction of his base with an emergency teleportation device that was not
related to all the other emergency teleportation devices Jack Washington III had disabled and
which was capable of bypassing the suppression field around the island...

Have you noticed JWIII tends towards overkill?

...General Venom escaped with Holly, one of Supreme's many daughters who actually had
the erroneous impression they were supposed to be fighting for freedom. Escaping to the
Outback, General Venom ended up being healed by an aboriginal member of the White Lotus
Society who owed Jack Washington Junior a favor from his days as a hero. Said aboriginal,
also a Doctor and scientist, confirmed General Venom had shot himself in the foot. His
cloned body was degenerating due to an adverse reaction to the nanites. Likewise, he was
suffering radiation poisoning of the mind.

General Venom is 99% sure that his history of terrorism and so on can't possibly be related.

Getting that healed, Jack Washington III has since decided to do something he never
expected to.

Give up.

The sight of what's happened to Battle Czar, the corruption of the House, and the deaths of so
many followers have left him feeling completely despondent. Much of his momentum as a
villain was the fact that he felt his actions were the lesser evil and would justify the number
of innocent people killed trying to protect US liberty in a world where secret societies could
manipulate peoples thoughts. He's received the ultimate rude awakening that he was every bit
as big a part of the problem as anyone else.

The only reason he hasn't committed suicide is he think it's more appropriate for him to
simply rot away in his decaying clone body. Already, he's rapidly aged to the point he's
nearly as old as his original would be. He doesn't trust himself to destroy Jack Washington
III, fearing he'd screw that up worse than simply leaving it for the heroes.

It doesn't help he also feels like he's useless without his armor.

Presently, he's spending most of his time wandering around Third World Nations using his
inventions to do good things.

Only time will tell if he has a Heel Face Door Slam as might happen with the Red King and
Dark Undermaster who are similarly, "walking the Earth" in their own way.

Take note, the Dark Undermaster is already destined for a Heel Face Door Slam. He's learned
NOTHING from being the Gatekeeper.

I leave it up to you if anyone thinks the Red King or GV will find any peace before death.

JWIII, of course, intends to scour the Earth for him.

What Else Could of Happened When the Patriots met the second A-Squad

As the Patriots confronted the second A-Squad in the blasted remains of a House of Serpents base in
central Wyoming the mood was tense. The past several weeks the A-Squad had been attacking
House of Serpents installation with seeming no heed for collateral damage. The month before they
had destroyed The American Avenger II after Director Hepburn had revealed the secret behind the
original A-Squad. One that the Patriots would of rather never seen the light of day. Right now
though, this new A-Squad was acting vengeful and taking a path that was similar to the Psychotic
Seven. It was decided that they needed to confront the new heroes and hopefully prevent a similar
path from being taken.

To say that an adversarial tone was taken from the beginning is an understatement. The Patriots
brought along Ultimatum who started off with an authoritarian "STOP what you are doing!" The
collected A-Squad looked up to see not only Ultimatum but also Divinos, Athena, Black Wing II,
Ashley Morgan, and Steel Commando. A bevy of heavy hitters to say the least. While the Patriots
plan was to try and show respect to the A-Squad by having the most respected members show up to
parlay. The A-Squad took it much differently. The only reason for that kind of power was to
intimidate, plus the tone of Ultimatum's command was hostile. The A-Squad was immediately ready
to go.

The Patriots professed they were there simply to try and guide the younger heroes. They didn't think
that revenge was the way to go. Look what it did to the Psychotic Seven. The A-Squad found that
comparison insulting to say the least. The Patriots insisted that what the A-Squad was doing was
dangerous and could get someone killed. Though the words were sincere, the tone was a bit off and
to the A-Squad at least sounded like a lecture. Finally, the Patriots asked that the A-Squad come
under their auspisces but first Ballon Buster had to spend the rest of her time in jail. That was when
the dreaded hypocrite word came out. Aspara accused the Patriots of being massive hypocrites. "Did
Ultimatium serve any time for the destruction he had caused over the years? Did Ashley Morgan
ever get punished for the murders she committed? No, they didn't. They joined the Patriots and all
sins are forgiven. How dare you demand that from us?" The majority of the Patriots were taken
aback. Ultimatium was more then a litte upset. He had worked years to gain acceptance for his
mistakes. "You can take your ole boys club and shove it."
With that Ballon Buster decided that she had enough and fly away. Ultimatium soon gave chase.
Unbeknownest to both teams Jack Washington III was listening and watching with great interest.
Here was a situation he could take advantage of. When Balloon Buster flew away and Ultimatium
gave chase, JWIII remotely signaled Balloon Buster's artifical pancreas to dump all of its insulin into
her bloodstream. In JWIII's eyes the timing couldn't have been better. Balloon Buster had just
enough time to blast her way out of Ultimatium's grasp before she went into diabetic shock. Both
teams looked on in horror as Balloon Buster fell straight down to the ground. The impact ignitited
the liquid coolant in the suit and the whole thing went up in flames.

For about a minute there was absolute silence. Then the A-Squad attacked with fury.By this time the
media had arrived and watched the clash of the two teams. The Patriots were on their heels during
the first few minutes of the fight and Ultimatum just staring in complete shock at the area where
Balloon Buster fell. The Patriots power overcame the A-Squad's fury. That event pretty much ended
the A-squad as a team. They only appeared all together one more time, during Balloon Buster's
funeral.

What Else Could of Happened when the A-Squad met the Patriots: Part 2

With the A-Squad disintegrating after the death of Balloon Buster, Earth was worse off. Not only did
it lose a well known team of heroes but The Patriots themselves felt the ill effects of that day.

Neolith quit the hero business and got into politics. Representing his native New Guinea, Neolith
became the youngest member of the UN. His skill with languages let him wield far more power then
such a small country would normally have. His distaste for the Patriots hasn't seemed to go away
though. In the UN Neolith is one of their biggest critics and has worked to roll back some of the
powers granted to the Patriots by the UN. He prefers the Foundation for World Harmony and Ultra
Force 1.

Aspara also quit the hero game but her turn was much darker. As the heart of the team, Balloon
Buster's death affected Aspara the most outwardly and she fell into a deep depression. Leaving the
US for India, Aspara seemingly has joined the Black Hand in the service of the Iron Khan. In fact
Aspara is part of a radical sect of the Thugees. Her goal is to have the Iron Khan commit such an
unspeakably horrible spiritual atrocity that the cosmic eternals would have no choice to unleash Kali.
The rampaging, terrible, blood drinking, and cannibalistic Kali that is. The one who had to be tricked
in order to stop her from destroying the world. While now a beautiful woman, Aspara's heart is now
a broken and cold thing seeking only to destroy a world full of pain.

Distortion actually is still a part time hero. Jerry has grown up and looks a lot like his Distortion alter
ego without the tattoos and piercings. He has formed a band is a semi-successful musician. He still
has to fend off those who want his guitar and does his heroing if he is near a crisis. He was actually
offered a spot on the Patriots but declined saying that it would be to painful. His band dedicates
their concerts to Balloon Buster.

Phantom Works while outwardly Aspara displayed the most grief outwardly, Kyle probably took
Jameika's death the hardest. The two had a budding romance since they spent so much time
together repairing and upgrading their battle armor. The introverted Gonzalez cut off all contact
with his friends and seemed to drop off the grid for several months. Steel Commando soon began
encountering PHANTOM agents with a familiar information denial technologies. Investigating further
he found that Phantom Works had joined PHANTOM. Kyle soon debuted his new armor which was
able to penetrate even the most secure facilities. No one knew how far Kyle had trod down the dark
path until he was captured trying to sneak into Genesis Island. In fact, Kyle had gotten caught on
purpose. Built into his armor was a black hole imploder, a device that would create a mini black hole
for a few seconds sucking up anything in the area and compacting it. The range of the device was a
hundred square miles. Using a teleporter and detonator implanted underneath his skin, Kyle set it
off when he was brought to Genesis Island's seat of government. The whole island and nearly
everybody on it was destroyed in just a few seconds. The sole purpose was to kill Valkyrie in revenge
since Kyle believed that Ultimatum killed Balloon Buster. Now, Phantom Works is one of the most
wanted persons on Earth.

Ultimatum took Balloon Busters death incredibly hard. Despite the fact that Alex Timmons
presented evidence that Ken was in no way responsible for her death, Ken still blamed himself for
not saving her. While still going out and being a hero, Ken was heistant and indecisive when out as
Ultimatum. This lead to more collateral damage and some innocents getting injured. It was clear that
Ken was doubting himself and wasn't fully into the hero game. The final straw was the death of his
sister. Instead of flying off in a rage, it totally broke Ken's spirit. He retired from heroing and became
a recluse. Despite pleadings from other heroes Ken refuses to change into Ultimatum just saying that
people just get hurt when he does so.

Alpha Protocol

In 2009 a Jet carrying over 200 passenegrs was shot down by a terrorist group named Al Samad who
took credit for it. Al Samad claimed they had been given the most advanced weapons in the world
and would use them to wage Jihad against the unrighteous powers of the west.

A young agent, Michael Thorton was recruited to be the newest member of "Alpha Protocol" a
clandestine service designed for use on covert operations that can have no links to the US
government. After meeting APs director Yancy Westridge and several of his handlers Mina Tang,
Sean Darcy, and Alan Parker he began his first assignment.

His initial mission is to assassinate the leader of Al-Samad, Shaheed, who ordered the attack. After
Infiltrating an airfield used by Al Samad, and destroying an Arms depot, Michael hunted down and
arrested a local arms dealer named Nazri from whom he got the location of Shaheed. Chasing down
and finally capturing Shaheed, the terrorist leader claimed that Halbech, a US defense contractor,
sold him the missiles and gave him all of the necessary information to carry out the attack. After
relaying the information, Thorton's position was attacked by a missile strike, and Thorton presumed
dead. However Michael narrowly survived and was contacted by Mina Tang who warned him just in
time to avoid the strike. Thorton was told that the group has been infiltrated by members of Halbech
who wanted him dead, to cover up the fact that Halbech provided the missiles to Al-Samad, and that
he ahd been used to find the missiles and destroy evidence of Halbechs involvement.
Three key locations were revealed as parts of an as yet un identified larger scheme of Halbechs by
Mina and Michael. Rome, Taipei and Moscow. Along the way, Thorton encounters Scarlet Lake, a
photojournalist and un known to him at the time a freelance assassin.

Going to Rome, Mike met Madison Saint James an employee of the VCI (Veteran Combat initiative),
and with her help, discoverd the VCI, a private security firm run by Halbech's former Chief of Security
Conrad Marburg was planning to blow up a museum featuring a Crusades exhibit to provide
incentive for harsher anti-terrorism legislation in the EU. Michael infiltrated and bugged a CIA
listening post undetected, before also successgfuly infiltrating an NSA post. Using the info gathered
Thornton confrotned Marburg at his mansion. Marburg tried to turn him but Thornton declined and
assured marburg he would take him down along wth Halbech before he was done. Destroying the
weapons that were hidden at a local ruin, he discovered thanks to Madison that a Museum with a
Crusade exhibit was the target. Infiltrating the museum, Mina infromed him that Madison had been
kidnapped, and Mike was forced to choose between saving Madison or preventing the destruction
of the museum and numerous casualties. Michael chose to save the museum but Madisonw as
murdered by Marburg who shot her in the back after confronting Thorton.

In Moscow, Agent Thorton tracked the shipments of large quantities of weapons, including the
Missiles used in the attack. First Michael infiltrated the yacht of Konstantin Brayko a notorious mob
boss and drug dealer with a fetish for the 80s. While doing so he was confronted by armed members
of G22 a paramilitary outfit of unknown agenda. Defeating Sis in a short but intense fight Michael
spared her. Later he was contacted by G22s leader a mysterious man named Albatross after the old
poem Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. Agreeing to a truce Michael resumed his investiagtion. This
lead to a man named Grigori, a local information broker who pointed Thorton to a russian business
man Segei Surkov. Encountering Surkov, he fingerd Konstantin Brayko as Halbech's contact in Russia.
During this meeting, Michael saved Surkov from an assault by the VCI who assaulted the US
embassay where Surkov was being protected. Later Michael also encounterd SIE, a VCI-affiliated
psychopathic mercenary with a fondness for her M60 machine gun, Michael successfuly destroyed
the weapons shipments cut off the russian end of Halbechs weapons piepline. Michael attacked
Brayko's estate, and Brayko himself, who attempted to kill Michael in a cocaine fueled rage. Thorton
spared Brayko, and learned that it was Surkov who was formerly partnered with Halbech. After
pursuing Surkov Thorton defeated Champion Chik a former Gold medal boxer, by using his own
amrtial arts expertise. Then he caught up to Surkov. Arresting Surkov and leaving him for the russian
Authorities--with the parting gift of a shot to the knee== Thorton headed for Taipei.

In Taipei, Michael uncoverd a plot by Omen Deng of the Chinese Secret Police, to assassinate Ronald
Sung, president of Taipei, and spark massive riots in a bid to provoke a conflict between China and
the US. Garnering assistance from the White Oak Mountain Triad leader Hong Shi and Agent Steven
Heck, a psycho claiming to work for the CIA. Infiltrating a Hotel where the NSB was meeting Michael
managed with the help of Scarlet Lake and Steven Heck to get the information on the plan from a
Halbech representative. Together Mina, and Michael determined the timetable for either the
murder, or the instigators of the riots. Unfortunately the evidence was lost and they were only able
to save some of it. Choosing to save the assassination data Thorton approached Sung who did not
believe the Riots without proof but agreed to extra security precations. Assaulting the site where
Sung was giving his speech, Thorton encounterd Deng, who turns out to be a double agent in service
to Taiwan, and who believed that Thorton was the assassin. Sung was shot while giving his speech,
and tensions between China and Taiwan rose even though Sung survived the attempt thanks to a
bullet proof vest.

Finaly making his way to a safehouse in Greece he encoutnered Mina in the flesh for the first time
since The graybox HQ of Alpha Prototcol. Sharing an intimate Encounter Michael reveled his final
plan to stop Halbech.

Michael surrenderd to Alpha Protocol and was brought to Henry Leland, President of Halbech and
temporary commander of AP. Leland and Michael discussed his activities, and Leland attempted to
recruit Thorton. Thorton refused, and punched Leland for his troubles. confrotning Marburg in a
hallway Thorton though he didnt know it managed to convince Marburgh that Leland and Halbech
were doing the same thing to him that had been done to marburg years earlier, and that Leland was
not someone he could respect. Awaiting execution, Thorton escaped the AP facility, and with the aid
of his prior contact specifcally Sie who freed him, proceeded to slaughter the remaining AP staff
working for Leland. He also rescued Mina who had been captured by Sean Darcy earlier. After
confronting Leland himself, Michael opted to arrest Leland who was taken into Custody and put on
trial for Terrorism and other crimes thanks to the evidence Thorton had gathered. It was at this time
that Scarlet reappeared and shot Miachel, but before she could finish the job Scarlet was shot by
Mina and killed.

Escaping into a bay on a boat marked with an Omega symbol, Thorton and MIna contemplated their
next move and how itneresting life would get.

Notable Characters

Michael Thorton: A highly trained and adaptable free agent Michael Thorton is an expert in Martial
Arts, Marksmanship, Stealth ops, Technology and espionage. A noted world traveled with Numerous
languages and a passport with more stamps then a post office Thorton is worldly and smooth, and
friendly if a bit sarcastic.

Michael Thorton in HED: After the events of Alpha Protocol, Michael testified before Congress, and
with Minas help restored his good name. The two were married soon after and both were recruited
into The Foundation for World Harmony where they continue the good fight to this day taking on the
likes of PHANTOM, SHADOW, and the HOS, and The Iron Khan.

Mina Tang: A former agent of the CIA and NSA Mina is an extraordianry agent who was responsible
for discovering the Missing Halbech missiles, and it was she who enacted Alpha Protocol and cut
Michael loose from the organization so he could work freely. She fed him info throughout the
operation and was there to save his life byu shooting Scarlet Lake at the end.

Mina in HED: Mina married Michael after the events at Grey Box and the pair joined the Foundation
for World Harmony. The truth was revealed that Mina had been a foundation agent all along when
Dame Michelle Holmes suspected that Halbech was a PHANTOM front that was arming middle east
terrorists, and wanted to get an agent to crack the corporation. Joining Alpha Protocol Mina was
stymied in her efforts till she met Michael Thorton who swept her off her feet and took AP by storm.

Henry Leland: A multi millionaire Leland was estranegd from his father who thought business should
support and portect the community and Leland who thought Business was about money and the
consequences be damned. Learning about Alpha Protocol from Conrad Marburg who was his chief of
security. he used his goverment contacts to infiltrate and take over the unit. The US military was
winding down from a cold war mentality and ramping up a smaller more global anti terrorist
mindset. Halbechs main income conisted of fat contracts based on cold war tech. Leland decided to
use Al Samad and Alpha protocol to begin a world wide brushfire war to increase weapons sales.

He was thwarted by Thorton and arrested where he was tried and convicted of treason and thrown
into prison for life.

Henry leland in HED: Leland could have avoided prison thanks to his money and influence but two
things happened. Thorton used his inside knowledge of Halbech gained in his operations to enable
the Foundation to take over the Corporation legally and re route its finances into the Foundation,
giving her a victory over PHANTOM for a change. The Corproation was broken up and spread among
several others including Steele Omnitech, and Raven Inc. Bereft of the Corporation Kenneth Kane
took it personaly and insured that not only was Leland punished, he was ruined.

Other personalities:

Madison Saint James: Madison was murdered by Conrad Marburg in Rome. her death sparked a
wave of Anti-Islamic sentiment and lead to tougher terrorist laws including one called Madisons Law.

Scarlett lake: A beautiful Photographer Scarlett was also a highly trained sniper and assassin who
was hired by Leland to take out ronald Sung. She failed thanks to Sungs taking extra precautions and
was killed by Mina in the finale at grey Box.

Omen Deng: Deng Continues as the head of Taiwanese Security and is actively thwarting the
attempts of China and The Iron Khan.

Yancy Westridde: Westridge testifed against Leland as part of a plea bargain. he was killed by a HOS
assassin before he could reveal his own connections to the organization.

Alan Parker: Parker was the man responsible for the entire plan to bring the world to a low boil. He
considered it a logical request from Leland, and so took on the task. Thorton though turned this on
its head by showing Parker that his logic was flawed and that his plan was ultimately doomed to
failure. Parker then wiped all of AP and Halbechs files, and self destructed the facility. Thus
effectively cutting off leland from APs support structure.

He furthermore Testified against Leland when he learned of Madison Saint James death. Madison it
tuns out was Parkers daughter. She had been raised seperate of him and he had helped her secretly
to get an education and a job. Her murder was a blow to him and he privately grieves to this day.
Steven Heck: Nuttier then a squirrels out house Steven (( dont call him Steve He'll kill you!)) Steven
also joined the Foundation as one of its agents where he conintues his antics to this day.

Sie and the VCI. The Tall Statuesque East german has joined the ranks of PHANTOM where she and
her Machine gun work to this day as mercenary and assassin. She has confronted Michael Thorton
several times but never taken his life for some reason that only she and Thorton know. The VCI was
absorbed into PHANTOM becoming yet another part of it military forces.

Albatross and G22: The mysterious Albatross has yet to resurface save on a couple of rare instances
when he and Agent Thorton have spoken. Dame Michelle Holmes seems to know an awful lot about
G22 and Albatross but hasnt spoken openly about it.

There are rumors that Sis, the mute body guard of Albatross whose low level metaman agility and
balance and speed make her a lethal warrior, may be Albatross and Holmes illegtiimate daughter.No
one of ocurse voices this rumour openly.

Max Payne in HED!

Max Payne was a DEA agent and NYPD Detective who pretty much defined the Iron Age for
a generation of New Yorkers. The husband of a Assistant DA, his wife and infant daughter
were murdered by junkies on a new street drug called Valkyr. Transferring to the DEA, he
was framed for the murder of his partner Alex Baldur and decided to go out in a suicidal
blaze of glory against every hood in New York.

Except, he survived.

Max uncovered the Punchinello Family, a holdout family of the Magi, was actually
distributing the drugs on behalf of Nicole Horne. Nicole Horne was a renegade member of
the House of Serpents who had taken that organization's attempt to create a super-soldier
formula and turned it into a street drug against the wishes of the Inner Circle.

The Inner Circle is, of course, a codename for the House of Serpent's Senate.

Max discovered his wife was killed due to one of the Inner Circle, Senator Alfred Woden,
attempting to clue her into Nicole Horne's doings.

Alfred Woden suspected Nicole Horne intended to use Valkyr as the basis for a defection to
PHANTOM's own ruling council.

Max Payne more or less decimated the Punchinello Crime Family, killing over a hundred of
their hoods, as well as the private army of Nicole Horne. In the end, he avenged his wife and
child by dropping a radio tower on Nicole Horne's helicopter. Alfred Woden, being the
corrupt but honorable member of the House he was, arranged for Max Payne to be released
from prison while his many murders were redefined as self-defense.
Max, not being a sociopath, was disgusted by this as his suicide attempt turned into an epic
case of subverting the law he'd sworn to uphold. Assigned a partner in Detective Sarah
Winterson, Max Payne became a Homicide Detective again with a reputation for brute force
but surprising honesty. It was a year later that all of his past sins came back to haunt him with
the rise of Vladimir Lem to the head of New York's criminal underworld.

Vladimir Lem, a member of the Red Spider who arms on behalf of Battle Czar, had secretly
joined the American House of Serpents and was now working to eliminate all of the
traditional mob families in New York. Lem actually had a sense of patriotism to his adopted
land and believed he was doing the country a favor by cleaning up the city. Unfortunately, his
ambitions included replacing Alfred Woden and that required the murder of the man he
believed to be the Senator's attack dog.

Max Payne.

Max, himself, was completely oblivious to any of this. He considered Vladimir Lem to be as
nice a guy as any mobster could be and a personal friend due to the aid said mobster gave
him during the events of his rampage.

Had Lem simply asked Max to step aside and let him kill Woden, it's likely Max would have
agreed since he considered the later to be scum.

Things got extra complicated as Vladimir Lem used hit men and ex-Russian Special Forces
soldiers disguised as cleaning personal to hit all of the major crime families in New York.
Max took out several of these teams on the advice of his professional assassin Mona Sax.
Mona and Max shared an immediate attraction with the police officer realizing he had more
in common with her than his late wife now. Things became hyper-complicated when Max
ended up killing Detective Winterson in order to keep her from killing Mona Sax.

Max believed he killed a good cop for his one true love, destroying him emotionally. In fact,
Detective Winsteron had already been invited to join the House of Serpents by Vladimir
Lem.

Lem, by that point, had made her his mistress and given her orders to kill both Max and
Mona.A fact Max later learned but not beforehe killed Winterson in unknowing self-defense.

Max and Mona teamed together for an assault on Alfred Woden's manor, wiping out
Vladimir Lem's remaining forces but not before Lem killed Woden. Even worse, Mona Sax
was seemingly killed by Lem before Max Payne could stop him. Max avenged Mona by
fighting Lem one-on-one, killing the Russian mobster much to the later's surprise. Lem had
honestly believed he was the good guy in all this.

Mona Sax's body disappeared after the police arrived. Max was unaware she was revived by
the House of Serpents on General Venom's orders, the two lovers separated once again.

Despite having a body count close to five hundred people now, Max Payne discovered to his
complete horror, he was not going to serve any jail time. Vladimir Lem's terrorist ties came
out just in time for the
President of the United States to arrange for Max's release.

In fact, it was Dame Michelle Holmes and Alexander King. They believed Max's 'cleaning
house' was justified and saved the group a lot of trouble in eradicating New York's House of
Serpent's branch.

Thankfully, according to Max's injured conscience, public opinion had turned against Iron
Age heroes. He was fired from the NYPD and branded a "psycho cop." The guilt over all the
lives Max Payne had ended resulted in becoming a booze and pain-killer addicted wreck of
his former self. Max was soon forced to flee the states thereafter, actual Mafia crime-boss
Anthony DeMarco, coming after him for killing his son during a bar altercation.

Max ended up in Sao Diablo, erroneously identified as Sao Paulo. There, Max went to work
as security for the disgustingly rich Branco family. The middle brother of the Brancos,
Victor Branco, intended to clean out most of the city's Flavelas and rebuild the city as a
shining beacon of law and order. To this end, he murdered his own brothers (plus his sister-
in-law) and blamed Max for it.

Victor intended to kill over a hundred thousand people and sell their organs on the black
market. This genocidal and psychotic plan was financed, in part, by Project: Icarus who
needed the bodies to conduct their genetic research.

Max, feeling guilt for failing to protect the Branco family, proceeded to singlehandedly wipe
out the entirety of Victor Branco's operation. Victor, himself, was arrested and put to trial in a
surprising display of normal justice. Max, himself, managed to escape being indicted and
may soon be approached by the Foundation for World Harmony.

God help the criminals of the world.

The Exile

The most wanted man in the 30th century. Marcus Watson-Kane was exiled from his time due to his
crimes against the state. A self described 'freedom fighter', Marcus actually broke into the Patriots
mansion to summon them and announce his intention to continue the fight for freedom from this
time period. He described the future as a dystopia. Individuality was banned, dissent was punishable
by re-education which Marcus heavily hinted consisted of brainwashing. The movement of people
was heavily tracked by their nanite implants which also beamed propaganda straight into a persons
brain 24 hours a day. Those that couldn't be controlled through propaganda were heavily medicated
and used as slave labor. If you removed or tampered with your implants, you were marked and
shunned by the populace. Shunning was considered with the ultimate punishment, a person who
was shunned didn't show up on others implants. They literally can't be seen, heard, smelt, or felt.
There was one all encompassing government and it wasn't a democracy rather a one party oligarchy.
The Earth was at war with the Thran and had been for hundreds of years, though no one who went
to fight the Thran was ever seen again and no Thran ship had been seen for decades. Marcus hacked
into the files of the government and found out that no one has seen a Thran ship for as far back as
the files went.

Marcus tried to spread this knowledge to the populace. He had already been shunned for five years
because he kept tampering with his implants. The government had tried to imprison him but he had
escaped. Finally, they decided to exile him to another time. Setting the time vortex to a random date
they tossed him through. It was a stroke of luck or may be the goddesses, state religion was also
strictly enforced by the way, smiling down at him that he arrived in the 21st century. You see, the
very people that set up that dystopian state and in fact some of its inner council well he was talking
to them right now. He summoned them for a warning he was here and he hoped to see that they
would avoid the future, though he doubted that time would change for such a minute meeting. He
might, with regret, have to kill them all.

Marcus gave them about two weeks before deciding that they hadn't changed enough to avoid the
path to dystopia. Though defeated the Patriots weren't able to capture the terrible time traveler.
Since then The Exile has menaced the Patriots again and again. Though he has attacked other
heroes, as well as done some supervilliany for hire. When asked why he just shrugged his shoulders
and said that he guessed he was addicted to chaos.

Marcus is extremely smart maybe a step to a half step below the truly great minds of the era like
Alexander Timmons, Kenneth Kane, and General Venom. In addition to his brains Marcus is decked
out with nanite implants which seem to be standard in the 30th century. They provide him with a
photographic memory, protections from most toxins, poisons, and radiation. Enhance his speed,
strength and agility. They also let him interface quickly with machines of all types. He has enhanced
these nanites to do a variety of other functions like detonating explosives at range, heal himself
much quicker then normal, turn himself invisable, see through walls, and copy the fighting style of
anyone he observes.

The Patriots actually did once travel to Watson-Kane's actual future. While it was more Togas and
Crystal Spires then 1984 everyone was disturbingly conformist. There they found that that non-
conformity could get you shunned, and there was actually a small community of those who
dissented. They then learned that Marcus was nowhere near a freedom fighter. Anarchist
psychopath was more his mold and style. Yes, at first he might of been but he had gone off the cliff a
long time ago. He was exiled because he was so good at modifying his implants that no prison could
hold him, mindwiping him didn't work because he built backup memory states with his nanites, and
his modifications had so bonded the nanites to his nervous system that removing them would be
fatal and death was not a punishment in his society.

The Patriots also learned Watson-Kane's history. He was born to one of the highest ranking families
of the society. One known for turning out exceedingly intelligent persons. Due to being a sickly child,
Marcus couldn't get his implants till his teens. Thus, he wasn't encouraged to conform like almost all
the populace and never experienced the propaganda from almost birth. Not getting his implants also
let him see the shunned people while others couldn't. He also didn't learn as fast as his peers due to
his lack of implants and was picked on as a child. Once, he got his implants he raced far ahead of his
peers as his intelligence was fully able to bloom. He was a dissenter though. He got himself shunned
at least once a year. He really turned against the state when his girlfriend at the time was shunned
with him. Due to the isolation she lashed out and attacked someone. She was then taken in for
brainwashing and afterwards didn't seem to be the same person. This set Marcus off and he began
actively resisting. This resistance soon turned to violence and theft.

The Patriots then went to protest the government of Earth for sending such a dangerous criminal
back to their time. They battled with the ruling council which did consist of older versions of some of
them lead by Divinos Rex and Athena Triumphant before being forced by to their own time by
Merlin.
Why The Exile isn't a bigger threat

While The Exile is a threat and a major one. He is not a world shaking one. Sure, killing the Patriots
would be a major blow but he isn't the global domination or destruction type. There are a couple
reasons why:

1) He does not play well with others. Not that Marcus is a people person, he can be charming in an
odd sort of way. He does have severe authority issues and won't work with any of the major villains
like the Iron Khan, Death Mask, or Jack Washington III for long. In fact he has burned probably all of
his bridges with the big villain organizations except for Dracula. He will willingly work for the father
of vampires mainly because he hates Battle Czar more. Battle Czar tends to remind him of someone
he hates very much. Dracula gets a non-vampiric agent to send against the Red Spider and Battle
Czar and was impressed by Marcus' ingenuity. Supposedly, Watson-Kane made it all the way to
Vlad's throne room before being subdued and bitten by a vampire. Little did the poor vampire know
that it was also ingesting Marcus's nanites which quickly assimilated the vampire's body and nervous
system effectively making the vampire a puppet under The Exile's control.

2) He has ADD. Not really but he doesn't do long term planning much. He tends to get distracted by
things or goes looking for some action. So while he will show up against a hero or group of heroes
with uber-death ray, that is about as far as he gets. This also leads to a degree of non-subtlety, not to
Dr. Necros level but he usually comes straight at the heroes and makes his intentions clearly known.
He so far hasn't used his nanite implants to increase the logical portion of his brain, quite the
opposite in fact. Several times he has enhanced the creative part of his brain.

3)He is constantly experimenting with his nanites. While his baseline stats are around Splotch's
level without the Shadow Slinger's shadow powers, his power level tends to vary as he experiments
with his implants. As noted, his nanite implants are extremely bonded to his nervous system and
brain much more then a native of his time stream would have. The amount of of effect these
experiments have had on his psyche is unknown but probably hasn't had a positive effect.

Parasite Eve Expansion

Because it wouldn't be HED! otherwise, the heroic actions of Aya Bree didn't defeat the
Organism as well as she'd hoped. The mitochondria-based psychic organism was still sentient
and still looking for a way to destroy the human race so it could replace it with its own
soulless constructs.

Parallel to the Organism's own plans for world domination, Lord Oswald Spencer was
researching the organism after encountering it in the DNA of vampires during WW2. Oswald
proceeded to share it with numerous associates in the Umbrella Corporation.

Oswald Spencer was a member of the original United States-based Project: Icarus who was
stated by his colleagues, "To be the sort of guy who would be right at home with the Nazis
that defected."

Oswald was intelligent enough to stick to the private sector, however, and only tangentially
associated with Project: Icarus after it went rogue

The Umbrella Corporation was originally a PHANTOM-based organization which explains

its ominous slogan: "Obedience Breeds Discipline, Discipline Breeds Unity, Unity Breeds
Power, Power is Life." Oswald Spencer's research into the organism was, bluntly, a complete
disaster with the destruction of Racoon City, Ontario being the most dramatic example of its
failure.

The Organism briefly made a new host for itself in Veronica. Said host was almost
immediately killed after reaching maturity, however, by Claire Redfield. Tough luck for the
Organism.

Umbrella's assets were frozen by an act of Congress with PHANTOM deprived of billions in
funds plus one of its largest suppliers of underground medical supplies. Even better, at least
for its enemies, it lost the nearly trillion dollars in biomedical research it poured into
researching superhuman genes over the past forty plus years.

Unfortunately, the Umbrella Corporation's research fell into the hands of an equally
malignant terrorist, Albert Wesker. Albert Wesker was a blond, blue-eyed, superhuman
genius with delusions of ruling the world. Former STARS team member, Chris Redfield
believed, erroneously, he was a member of the Gene Nation.

In fact, Albert Wesker was the illegitimate son of General Venom with one of his many
mistresses. This goes a long way to explaining Albert's almost Doc Savage-like physical and
mental perfection since General Venom took an active interest in making sure his offspring
received the best in education as well as physical training.

Albert's genocidal ambitions to destroy most of humanity and replace it with only those
genetically compatible with his later upgrades may or may not be the result of the Organism
influencing his mind, making him a sort of American Sephiroth. It doesn't matter, however,
since Albert was already a fascist scumbag before his infection.

Eventually, Wesker was killed in Africa and it appeared the Umbrella Corporation's
manipulations of the Organism were at an end.
The "Los Plagas virus" destroyed by Foundation for World Harmony agent Leon Kennedy
was unrelated to the Organism. In fact, it was a mutant strain of Tsavong which was their
equivalent of vampirism.

The Organism was not destroyed, however, and was revived by a Gene Nation based-
mercenary group called Blacklight. Founded in Genesis Island during the Civil War by
human quislings, Cassius Mass promised them cash as well as higher living standards in
exchange for them fighting against their fellow humans. True to his word, the organization
gained almost unprecedented power for humans.

Blacklight's soldiers and scientists primarily operated outside of Genesis Island, however,
where they didn't have to kowtow to superhumans even a little. It's primary purpose, aside
from protecting Cassius Mass' interests, was to steal genetic research and reverse-engineer it.
The organization drastically expanded after the destruction of the Umbrella Corporation,
most of that organization's private army fleeing to Genesis Island. What information Wesker
didn't acquire was gained by Blacklight, which promptly began its own research into the
Organism.

Alex Mercer, a sociopathic scientist (what other kind works for the Gene Nation?), decided
the organism was perfect for transforming large numbers of humans into Metamen and
injected himself with a particularly pure strain. The result was the creation of the Prototype
which acquired his memories and became the new host for the Organism.

The Prototype resisted the efforts of the Organism to dominate it for an extended period,
believing itself to be Alex Mercer for a long time. Notably, the Prototype was possessed of
Blue and Orange Morality versus the Organism's pure evil, actually being a nicer person than
Alex despite its propensity to eating people. Alas, the Prototype was eventually overwhelmed
and became nothing more than a puppet for the Organism.

The Prototype's last act was to create an "heir" called James Heller to destroy the monster
he'd become...

The 30th Century: The Path to Tyranny

"This is Marcus Watson-Kane speaking to you from 2955. If anybody is listening please, I have only a
few minutes. What I am sending is important. Do not let anybody else know you have it. There are
more eyes then just the tyrants watching. Like all tyrants, those in charge have twisted the past to
suit their own agenda. This is from their own records. I can not speak for its truth but I hope you will
be able to use it. I must go now, the man with the barrel is waking up."

It all started with Orkus. Sometime in the near future the Entropic Master made his play for this
dimension. Prior to Abaddon, his agents already in place went about creating as much chaos as
possible to undermine any organized resistance. They targeted both hero, villain, and the
governments of not only Earth but of the Thran Alliance, The Tsvavong Hegemony and many other
powers both major and minor. Even the supernatural was not Not soon after, Abaddon appeared
near Earth, the one planet that had seemed to stymie the him again and again. Things did look grim
for the people of Earth. The full weight of the Entropic Masters was bearing down on them. The
Foundation for World Harmony quickly pulled out its armageddon plans. Director Hepburn was
replaced by Brigadier Anne Stuart when he decided that the Foundation should try to parlay with
Orkus.

The battles with the Entropic Masters where global in scale. In Russia Battle Czar, the Kamraterna,
and the Winter Watchman battled Baba Yaga. In the sunken ruins of Ubar, the Dark Undermaster,
Athena, Valkyrie, Loki, Mick Drake, Pete Fisher, Ghost Tamer Marie fighting Morgath. The
Renegades, The Old Vulture, Black Dragon, The Last Ranger, Big Game Hunter, and Supreme were
teleported to Twilight and were hunted by Diavalos. Brother Blessed returned to Genesis Island in
the disguise of Archbishop X and promptly battled the Tomorrow Society and a returning Red King.
The Patriots and A-Squad squared off against Toldaz the Destroyer.

At the end of the first day things were looking grim. Almost every hero and villain was defeated by
the forces of the Entropic Masters and the slaughter of Earth was going according to plan. The hopes
of Earth were replenished when the Void Patrol arrived with the remaining fleets of the Thran and
Tsavong. The Galactic Guardians soon showed up as well along with the Flying Dutchman. The skies
around Earth lit up with the combined fleets battle against the forces of Abaddon.

With the arrival of hundreds of thousands of new soldiers and powers the forces of Earth were able
to rally and push the Entropic Masters off of Earth. Morwen decided that she wanted to stay out of it
until a winner It was at this time that Belial decided that the time was ripe for his true loyalty to
show. He had earlier taken away some of the Foundation's prisoners. He returned all of them except
one, Dalit who had been in cryo-sleep for around 60 years at that point. He thawed her out and let
Thantoss play with her, knowing what the ending to that would be. The wave of fire and heat that
rippled across and through Abbadon could be seen and felt from Earth. Thantoss was turned to ash
and much of the planets defenses were mostly slagged. Though Dalit was quickly killed by Orkus, the
opening let the combined heroes pour through. The Cosmic Eternals also joined the fray at this time
having been allowed to openly manifest on Earth in full power. The forces of Abaddon were beaten
back and half of the planet had been torn apart before Orkus retreated to the Annihilation Zone to
prevent the total destruction of his forces.

In the end many heroes and villains lost their lives. The military power of the Thran and Tsavong was
crushed. The Earth suffered an estimated three billions casulities and much of the planet was in
ruins. The Earth though rejoiced in victory but they were unknowing that since the Cosmic Eternals
were let off the leash a new crisis had already been put in motion. Seeing the defeat of Orkus as his
greatest victory Wodan was about to kick off Ragnarok.

The 30th Century: Ragnarok

Though the universe was victorious in pushing Orkus back to the Annihilation Zone and actually
killing a view Entropic Masters, it had paid a heavy price. The Thran and Tsavong fleets were
shattered in the final battle and limped back to their own space to salvage what was left. The
Galactic Guardsman and Void Patrol lost 95% of their members and the Grigori are nowhere to be
found. The Universe was a much more dangerous place.

Earth was really no better. Many heroes and villains had perished during the Entropic Master's time
on Earth. Alex Timmons, Angel Girl, Neolith, El Vaquero, Captain Aeon, The Iron Khan, Cassius Mass,
Kenneth Kane, Disa, Vainamo, The Winter Watchmen, and others had all not made it through the
sort war. In addition two billion humans had lost their lives through fighting or the simple slaughter
as Orkus commanded his forces to wipe out all traces of humanity to sate his bruised ego. Finally and
probably the most worrisome was that the Earth for the most part was ruined. The amount of magic,
energy, explosives, and super strength fights left Earth the equivalent of a smoking crater. The
prospect for the other 4 billion humans left weren't going to be good. The projections for the near
future were pretty grim.

Wodan on the other hand was gleeful. Not only had they bested their ancient rivals in the Entropic
Masters, the Ban was null and void now. The Cosmic Eternals could manifest fully on Earth and
considering the state of the world it needed some renewing. This was the time he had be waiting for.
Time for Ragnarok and the Cosmic Eternals to rule the world again and put man in their place firmly
under the Eternals.

He had no trouble finding allies and contacted many others through Tezcatlipoca, The Smoking
Mirror. The Aztec Pantheon signed up quickly, they were the front line warriors along with the Aesir
and actually got along well with each other. They were also not to happy to be guests of the Inferno.
Ares threw his hat in and had no trouble persuading Zeus who was always a domineering jerk. Supay
and Viracocha of the Incans also threw in hoping to regain their status. Sekhmet threw in as well
spoiling for a fight. Wodan was even considered finding the Mayan Pantheon as allies.

Many of the other pantheons stayed out of it with rare exception. Inti, Loki, and Athena were the
two major dissenters but were overpowered by the others. With the major pantheons on the
sideline and Inti and Athena sequestered in the Underworld, Wodan let loose with the beginning of
end.

Natural disasters rocked the world. Monsters not seen since the the early bronze age roamed the
earth causing further destruction and death. The heroes of Earth still recovering from the war with
Orkus were blindsided. Many more perished due to the monster attacks, the battles between Cosmic
Eternal and monster, and plain old starvation. More heroes and villains fell trying to protect the
innocent or simply trying to escape the wrath of the gods.

Wodan would of succeeded but he thought Athena, Loki, and Inti were solidly secure in the
Underworld. He was betrayed. The Smoking Mirror had another less well known nickname, he was
also The Enemy of Both Sides. He struck a deal with Athena, Loki, and Inti. He would free them in
exchange for leaving Mexico solidly under his rule and they would not interfere for the rest of time.
He would also require a tithe that would be paid later. Quickly agreeing, Tezcatlipoca spirited them
out of the underworld. Athena reclaimed her Cosmic Eternal heritage. The three gods first act was to
rally what was left of the worlds hero community. It was a thin and ragged lot due to weeks of
almost constant crisis. Thousand yard stares greeted the Goddess of Wisdom. If she was expecting
an army there really wasn't much of one left.

Still, they had to make do with what they had. It helped that some cosmic eternals had already
perished in fights with various monsters. Still, the ragtag bunch were outgunned and outnumbered
facing a vastly superior foe. Though one with as many egos and disagreements. After seeing the
state of the world Athena decided to petition the pantheons that have so far stayed on the sidelines.
She was able to win Kali and Shiva to her side as well as Coyote and Raven.

Still, it was not as many as she would of hoped. The plan then was to bump off any cosmic eternals
that they could find alone or weakened by the battles that rage across the Earth. The first to fall
ironically was Ares himself. Athena took his power and shared it with her mortal allies. Various other
gods fell to the small army. The pantheons on the sidelines started to take sides as it looked clearly
like there would be one final grand confrontation.

That final battle happened over Yellowstone and was a clash of epic proportions. Wodan's forces
slightly outnumbered Athena's but the sides became easily matched when the majority of the Aztec
Pantheon left the battle under The Smoking Mirror's guidance. It seemed like that had been
Tezcatlipoca's plan all along set up all the other pantheon's against each other and in the end the
Aztec's and in effect Tezcatlipoca would be the supreme pantheon on Earth. Even with that
realization the battle was for more then that. History was in the balance.

The clash of gods rocked the earth. Storms of unimaginable power swept over the Earth, volcanoes
erupted, and the land split. The battle took five hours but at the end Athena stood triumphant with a
few of her mortal and godly allies. She had access to the power of hundreds of eternals. It was a
hollow victory though, the Earth was in worse shape than even after the Orkus invasion. It was
rapidly heading towards a mass extinction event. What is worse that the human population was
down to 5 million and with shape the world was in that would soon be 0. Something drastic had to
be done to save the human race.

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy

During the mid-part of the 20th Century, many governments around the world investigated
the possibility of using psionic powers such as Telekinesis, Telepathy, Clairvoyance and so
on and so forth in indivuals as weapons for war, and espionage. Around the beginning of the
cold war Project Ikarus in the US and The Soviet Science Bureau were the most successful at
it establishing Operating PSI Operations. But in the last years of the Cold War the programs
became defunct and lost funding and credibility.

The American program codenamed Project Mindgate was under intense scrutiny thanks to
General William Krieger who was exposed by the Second Steel Commando as using the
Projects troops for its own covert off the books missions. The General over Zealousness and
unsanctioned actions lead to congressional hearings and the Public outrage, especialy int he
wake of the Violent Dissolution of the Soviet Prgram codenamed Stargate which lead to mroe
then 500 deaths when one of its mind control experiments lead to the creation of the super
psionic villain The Cosmic mind.
With the Public angry about tax dollars being used for "Witch doctors" and "Mind Readers"
and growing Anti metaman sentiment. The Government jumped in hard and buried the
program fast. The General instead of facing a warcrimes tribunal and Courts Martial fled
underground and began rapidly recruting former Psionic agents to his cause. This collection
of Psionics and latent Psionic Metamen called themselves "The Movement", began to build
an army.

Flashforward several years and a group of Foundation Anti-terror troops intervened when a
group of movement troops took over an Oil Refinery. One of the Troops captured was Nick
Scryer.

Upon awakening Nick was rescued from his cell in one of the movemnts underground bases--
An old Missile Silo-- by a young woman named Sara. She claimed to be a double agent for
the Foundation that had infiltrated the Movement to stop them at any cost. That was when she
revealed the big suprise.

So was Nick.

She explained that they had used an experimental mind wipe procedure on him to alter his
mental id and basic surgery to alter his features, in effect turning him into a completely
different person to avoid the Movements telepaths. Sara injecte nick with a Psi-Stimulator
that began to slowly awaken his own psy powers and his memories via vivd flashbacks that
revealed that he was once a member of Project Mindgate.

Along the way Sara and Nick infiltrated many of the Movments bases around the world
facing off agaisnt the most powerful of The Generals Lietenants. The Telekinetic Barrett, the
Pyrokinetic Marlena Kessler, The Mind Controlling Joe Leonov, and the Illusionist Wei lu.

As they went Nick and Sara discovered that the Generals main goal was to find and
reconstruct an ancient device known as The Monolith. A powerful psionic weapon created by
the Thrann millenia ago to help them do battle against "The Organism". The Monolith was
destroyed when the Thrann were forced to flee the planet. But pieces survived and for
centuries nations and individuals sought after the Monolith in order to harness its power.
Some even suggest that WWII was fought over possession of the Monoliths pieces whenThe
Thule Society and Baron Von Mass sought after it.

Finally after a long series of battles Nick began notcing odd behavior from Sara. When
confronted about this it was revealed that Sara had a twin who had similar abilities. Sara
killed her sister to Save Nicks life and give him the opportunity to face the general who had
successfuly reunited all the pieces of the Monolith. and reassembled them on an Ancient
Thrann temple tat would give the Monolith and subsequently its user near Psionic
Omnipotence.

After a fierce battle Nick used his wide array fo abilities to destory the Monoliths pieces
absorbing a little of their energy with each piece being destroyed. Then using that energy
Nick fought the General who had gained tremendous Pisonic powers from his exposure to the
Monolith.

Unfortunately for the General though more powerful then Nick he was unexperienced with
his powers as opposed to Nick who had his full memory restored by htis point and used his
experience and training to finaly destroy the General and the Thran temple in the process.

Before they could regroup Black Helecoptors appeared and opened fire on Nick and Sara.
Nick was able to protect them both and down one of the Helecoptors. But others soon
appeared forcing the tow on the run. Their wereabouts remain unknown to this day.

Noted Personalities:

Nick Scryer

A powerful Omni Psionic possessed of a wide array of abilities including telepathy,

telekinesis, Pyrokinesis, Mind Control, Remote viewing and others. He is also a highly
trained elite warrior the equal of any Green Beret or other special forces soldier. While he
wasnt the most powerful of the many psionics in the Mindgate Project, he was considered
widely to be the Most dangerous and skilled of them. Nick was succesful in destorying the
General and escaping with Sara to parts unknown. He hasnt yet decided to turn himself in to
the foundation yet given that he isnt quite sure who is and who isnt after the Monolith and
doesnt quite know who to trust. The exception to that is Sara the tow are romanticaly linked
but for the moment have remianed off the radar.

Sara Blake

A telepath who was in therapy for years for the voices in her head before she was discovered
and recruited by Project Mindgate as an Agent. Sara suspected the General and went
underground with the Movement to keep an eye on it and report what she could to the
Foundation. She was responsible for helping nick escape and regain his powers. Sara was
forced to kill her own sister to save Nicks life when she tried to Kill Nick. She is currently on
the run with him and is linked to him romantically.

The General

William Kriegers distinguished military record brought him into the Blackops community of
Project Mindgate.When the end fo the Coldwar brought about the end of Mindgate and
exposed some of his own experimental excesses he fled underground taking as much of the
projects with him as he could. Reemerging as the leader of the terrorist groupknown as the
Movement. A virulently Pro Metaman group who demanded equal rights for Metamen
everywhere with ridiculous conditions for approval.

The General attempted to reconstruct The Monolith in order to gaint he power of a god but
was killed by Nick Scryer before he could succesfuly grasp the power he held.

Marlena Kessler

An East German Pyrokinetic who was taken in by the Sovet Program Marlena Escaped as
quickly as she could and was taken in by The Movment. A powerful Pyrokinetic Marlena was
also slightly insane and was appareantly killed by Nick at the Movements German base.

Edgar Barret
A large Black man and an enormously powerful telekinetc of near Mithran levels of power.
Barrett was an old friend and trainer of Nicks in the program. He was the one who assaulted
the Oil refinery and captured Scryer. Nick defeated him with his own telekinetic ability and
left him for dead.

Joe Leonov

Joe Leonove was a mongolian born with a powerful abilitiy to control peoples minds. Blind
at birth Joe was taken in by the Soviet program and used as a very skilled agent who was
often opposed by Dame Holmes and the Atom Family. Joe was recruited by The Movement
when it appeared that his life was considered a threat to the Soviet Government because of
his mind control abilities. Leonov used his powers to create what he called his Meat Puppet
which became the Movements soldiers. Nick was able to kill him when he escaped the
Missile Silo.

The Mindgate Conspiracy is a fun game where you take on the role of Nick Scryer a psionic
agent and chase down the Movement a terrorist group seeking world domination.

The above is my shot at it for the aweosmeness of HED. Feel free to comment and add as you
see fit.

The 30th Century: Paradise Founded

"Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it" - Pitt the Elder

After Orkus failed invasion and the a just avoided Ragnarok left the Earth a shattered ruin. Humanity
had been reduced to just five million and it looked like Earth was going to go through another major
extinction event. Athena and her allies had won and prevented Ragnarok but the cost had been
heavy. Other then herself only 8 remained of her army. Besides the Aztec Pantheon which had left to
remake Mexico, they were the only power left. The Earth was dying though.

As the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena knew their position was dire. Convincing her remaining allies,
they pooled the godly power they had plus the leftover from a dozen pantheons to partially heal the
world. Though they weren't able to fully heal the Earth but restored the environment to be able to
support life. Though the much of the Earth was still twisted by lingering powerful magics, radiation,
and the plain scars that accumulate when super beings fight. The human population was still
scattered. For the human race to survive they must be gathered up and protected so that they may
flourish once again.

This history hinges on one final betrayal. There was no place on Earth that was suitable habitation
for more then a dozen at a time. More power was needed to restore a sizable enough portion of
Earth to give humanity a chance to survive. Athena called her remaining godly allies to Cahokia to
discuss the situation. There was no discussion though. Athena ambushed them to take their last
vestiges of power and restore a hundred square mile area around Monk's Mound to pristine
condition. This took most of her power as well.
Using recovered Mithran technology buildings and farms were quickly established while humanity
was brought in. Of the five million humans that were still alive, only about 5,000 were in good
enough condition to reproduce. Ultramind 3.0 was quickly built to tag and track these 5,000 humans
to make sure that they were not injured or left the city of Paradise. To facilitate easier
communication nanite implants whose design came from Dr. Aeon's Las Vegas tower were
implanted in the populace. These implants were later expanded to make the average human
stronger, faster, and more intelligent. The humans were screened for the best genetic match and
paired together. Athena now calling herself Athena Triumphant was the lord of Paradise. With her
was Divinos who Athena titled Divinos Rex, a title he wasn't quite comfortable with at the time.

To prevent the natural wanderlust and dissent that is endemic to the human condition. A massive
public safety campaign was launched. Things such as rudeness and impoliteness were punished as
crimes. Persons who kept breaking rules were shunned for a period of time as Ultramind 3.0 would
shut off others implants to not recognize the shunned. As more generations came and forgot the
horrors that came before them, a new propaganda campaign was introduced to make sure the
populace stayed put as Paradise slowly expanded. Through this Athena and Divinos became more
used to their roles as leaders, in fact a religion had sprung deifying them. Something that Athena
thought was incredibly fitting. A new police force was introduced The Black Wings who could met
out stricter punishments such as exile or state servitude.

After about 100 years The Smoking Mirror came to Athena and called in the tithe that was promised
to him. That tithe was people. The Aztec Pantheon had slowly restored Mexico over the years and it
was ready to be habitable. Knowing that no one would willingly go to such bloodthirsty gods, Athena
announced that humanity's ancient enemy the Thran had declared war against Paradise and soldiers
were needed to fight for humanity. Every year a draft of a 100 people was chosen to go fight the
Thran. In reality they were shipped off to the cruel mercies of the Aztec deities.

In the 30th Century, Paradise is huge city of 30 million. The populace is happy and content to be
protected but also spoon fed propaganda almost from birth. Dissent is crushed by the Black Wings
and Ultramind 3.0. Those that continue to resist are shunned or reduced to slave labor. Every
movement and action is tracked by Ultramind 3.0. The draft still happens every year as more of the
populace are unknowingly shipped off to a bloody fate. Divinos Rex and Athena Triumphant rule
over the city as God-Kings with a nominal ruling council of mostly super humans. Few dissenters
have been able to flee the city and survive making it across the wastes. They have gathered a small
enclave in the ruins of Las Vegas around Dr. Aeon's tower which has been named Liberty. Mostly,
they wish to be left alone but if Paradise is running low on slave labor the council will raid Liberty for
slaves.

The 30th Century: Paradise, The Council, Black Wings, and Liberty

Paradise: The biggest city in the 30th century. Its crystal spires soar hundreds of feet into the air
next to the Mississippi River. The streets are line with trees and marble statues of fallen heroes and
the rulers of the city. From the outside it looks like a utopia. The streets are clean and its citizens
enjoy a very high standard of living. There is no want, there is no crime, and there is no poverty. The
residents of the city are perfectly healthy and almost superhuman. It is a truly amazing considering
the still dangerous wastelands in almost every part of the world. You would have to be crazy to want
to live anywhere else.

Spend anytime in the city and you will find that all that glitters is not gold. The populace is
remarkably uniform in thought and worldview. There is no debate about politics because there is no
politics. The Council rule over the city like the Pharoah's of old. There is no debate about religion,
there is only one religion the worship of two heads of the Council Divinos Rex and Athena
Triumphant. There is no great business or science. Any new technology is vetted by the Council
before being introduced to the public. Though a person on average is smarter then one in the 22nd
century, they haven't been educated to use that intelligence to critically analyze any knowledge that
they find. Their implants are linked to Ultramind 3.0 databases so any knowledge they need can be
summoned at will instead of discovery. Through these implants each citizens movements, health,
and speech is monitored by Ultramind 3.0.

If a citizen finds someway to disconnect from Ultramind 3.0 or breaks one of the rules of Paradise,
they are given a visit by the Black Wings. The only police Paradise seems to have. If found to be
guilty a citizen can be shunned wherein others implants will not recognize the person as a person. A
person can also have their personality wiped, senses dulled, and sent to the city underneath as a
slave. These slave mostly do menial tasks like the upkeep of the city and Ultramind 3.0. The last
option is exile where a citizen's implants are turned off and they are kicked out of the city to wander
the wastes. This is akin to death. An exiled citizen is erased from Ultramind 3.0s public datastores
and memory erasure is used on all the citizens who live in an exiled citizen's block to wipe their
knowledge of an exile. The exiled person simply never existed in the minds of the public.

The Council: The council is the leadership of Paradise though all true power lays in the hands of
Athena and Divinos. The Council is a form of release because every so often a true genius is born
that is not controllable by normal means or a metaman is born, the meta gene carefully bred into
being exceptionally rare in the first days of Paradise for security reasons. In those cases the normal
propaganda and controls were ineffective. The way to control such people was to offer a life of
supreme luxury much better than the normal plus a taste of power and secret information.
Currently, the membership of the Council sits at 8 members.

-Divinos Rex: Divinos has changed much since the 22nd century. At first leery of accepting such a
position of command he has grown to it over the years. It is not the adulation that he seeks but the
dream of someday recreating Mithras. To mold and uplift humanity. It is not something he would of
undertaken had the disasters of the 22nd century not of happened. Now, though Divinos may have
doubts about some of the steps he took but the populace is mostly happy, safe, and healthy. Isn't
that a good thing? All that he is doing is for the greater good, those that challenge that are
misguided. Divinos Rex has modified his costume to feature gold as its primary color and wears a
golden laurel leaf crown. He has also been granted unending youthful immortality by Athena during
Ragnarok.

-Athena Triumphant: Athena has regained her immorality and is more powerful then her incarnation
of the 22nd century. She does not have her whole Cosmic Eternal power due to spending most of it
restoring enough of Earth to found Paradise. While as a mortal Athena had mostly been unlike how
most picture the Greek gods, after reclaiming her godly heritage this changed. While still being the
most down to Earth of the Greek gods she still displayed the hubris and temper that was common in
that family. Athena Triumphant is much in that same mold. While she cares deeply for humanity it is
a very paternalistic mother knows best care. What humanity doesn't know can't be used to hurt or
divide them. She is the Goddess of Wisdom after all, how can she be wrong?

-Ken Masterson: Ultimatium also survived the 22nd century and also granted immortality. Ken is a
gaunt and haggard figure. Of three that survived, Ken is the most haunted. Even hundreds of years
later he isn't able to get over the brutality and savagery of Orkus's invasion and Ragnarok has left
him with emotionally drained. Ken rarely turns into Ultimatium and weakly goes along with Divinos
and Athena's ideas. For Ken, it is not about molding humanity but making sure that no one ever has
to lose a sibling to violence like he did.

-Ultramind 3.0: Ultramind 2.0 lost her life in the Orkus Invasion. Ultramind 3.0 was built with the
founding of Paradise. Its job is to monitor all the citizens of the city. At first, this was for protection
there simply weren't enough humans to spare. Over time this has become to keep the peace and
keep the citizens in line. Ultramind 3.0 is actually the leader of the Black Wings and has a robotic
body it will sometimes use. It is also in charge of the hundreds of slaves that work in the cities
underbelly maintaining its systems and doing other menial tasks.

-Commandant Steel: Ashleigh Anders was one of the rare geniuses that seem to pop up every now
and then. Unlike The Exile, Asheligh wasn't a violent dissenter. She actually built her first suit of
armor to go explore the wastes outside of Paradise. After repeatedly leaving Paradise and fighting
off the Black Wings, Anders was recruited into the Council and became its war master. Taking the
name Commandant Steel, Ashleigh sees her status as being better than the proles, it also gets her
closer to her crush Athena Triumphant.

-Simoom: Sydney Wright is one of the few metaman in the 30th century with the power to control
wind up to EF4 on the Fujita Scale . Sydney was recruited when he was a late teen. Coming to
adulthood with the power and privilege inherent with being a member of the Council, Simoom is
spoiled. He loves to lord his power over the citizens frequently abusing them then having their
memory wiped. The other members of the Council are concerned that if they kick him out his petty
cruelties would be unleashed on the whole city rather then just a few unlucky at a time.

-Technocrat: King Hubbert is another genius but older than Commandant Steel. Hubbert first came
to the attention of the council when he developed a way to access the restricted files on Ultramind
3.0s database even though he just had citizen access. Hubbert quickly accepted membership on the
Council in exchange for silence. Hubbert became the science chair of the Council and has invented
many things. He gets a portion of Ultramind 3.0's slaves to test new upgrades for the citizen's nanite
implants. Hubbert is unconcerned with domestics. He just wishes to experiment and develop new
things.

-Equality: Shanna Sumner is another metaman. One that can absorb energy and release it again in
any other form. For example, she can absorb electricity and release it as kinetic force. Like Simoom
she was recruited from early adulthood. Equality is a dedicated socialist and sees her spot on the
Council as a way to help ensure that Paradise does not fall into inequality. The fact that it is already
unequal to her benefit is lost on her. She often sides with Divinos and is a ends justify the means and
would like to see even more done to make things equal.

The Black Wings: The Black Wings are judge, jury, prosecutor, intelligence agency, and soldiers for
Paradise. They are the ones that enforce the laws of Paradise. Each one is specially trained and gets
enhanced implants. No citizen knows how one is taped to be a Black Wing but they do know they
hold almost supreme power and unlimited authority. They can pass judgement on a citizen with no
appeal and have authorization to mind wipe any citizen for any reason. They are also responsible for
enforcing the yearly draft and collecting any citizen that tries to dodge the draft. Their black and gold
outfits conceal their features. In truth, the Black Wings are clones of Alex Timmons, George
Timmons, and Eugene Timmons.

Liberty: To the citizens of Paradise, Liberty is just a rumor and a myth. Liberty actually does exist in
the ruins of Las Vegas and is centered around Doc Aeon's tower which is open. It is a very small
community of exiles who managed to get across the wastes and citizens who managed to leave
Paradise. This community mostly wants to be left alone. They have found ways to reactivate nanite
implants and have been trying to counter Paradise's power. Every decade or so Paradise raids Liberty
and takes the majority of the populace off to become slaves. By nature Liberty's populace is
individualistic and divisive.

Johnny Graves

Johnny Graves in life was the lead singer of the band Voodoo, which was gaining popularity
regionally during the late-70s. Johnny Graves, real name John Gibson, on stage portrayed a evil
bokor, or Haitian sorcerer. In the bands act he would throw fireballs, levitate, raise zombies,
summon clouds of smoke, impale himself with swords, and come back to life after being executed.
These were all accomplished through simple but effective stage magic, special effects, and acting. He
based his character and the bands image after the stories that his best friends and bassist of the
band's mother, Magie Puissance, told them. She claimed to be a powerful Haitian voudu magician.
The band wore corpse paint on their faces, long hair, and leather. They were influenced by Alice
Cooper, Kiss, and the Caribbean folklore in Orange City, FL.

The band was gearing up for its biggest tour yet and hoped to be signed to a record label soon when
Johnny was kidnapped. It seemed that their manager had been borrowing money from the Magi to
fund their tours and his drug addiction and hadn't been paying it back. The gangsters had kidnapped
Johnny to try and get the manager to pay up, hoping that he would see the band as his cash cow or
at least pay up since Johnny was his friend. Instead, the manager fled the city leaving Johnny to his
fate. Seeing no payment forth coming the gangsters killed Johnny to send a message to others who
might think about running out on their debts. They left Johnny's body at a local recording studios
front door.

The community was shocked. Voodoo were local legends for their shows and were looked at as local
celebrities. They would of been Orange City's big thing as at that time the city was mostly known as a
place where old folks go to retire. This before the cocaine cowboys really put Orange City on the
map for all the wrong reasons. A large crowd came out to to Johnny's funeral. Soon after Voodoo
broke up and went their different ways. It wasn't the same without their frontman and they couldn't
find one that they trusted enough to learn the stage magic or they could accept as a new part of the
band.

The bassist's mother was not just making up stories about her ability to entertain her kid and his
friend though. She actually was a bokor, perhaps the most powerful one outside of New Orleans and
Haiti. Before Johnny was buried she visited the morgue to see Johnny's body. Johnny had been like a
part of the family. He spent most of his time with her son and in her house as Johnny's home was no
place for a young man.She drew the veve of Simbi on Johnny's chest to attract the spirits of the Loa.
Simbi was the messanger of the loa and a very powerful and ancient spirit. She then bound Johnny's
spirit to his make up kit so that she could always have it at hand. Two days after Johnny was buried
she dug up his body and put on his stage make up. This brought Johnny back to life or more exactly
his soul inhabited his now dead body. Along with a return to semi-life Simbi had granted Johnny
powers similar to what he preformed on stage. Apparently, the Loa were fans.

His best friends mother directed him to seek revenge against the mobsters that killed him and the
bands manager for leaving him to die. Johnny displayed powers similar to what he simulated on
stage. He cold throw balls of fire, physical damage didn't see to stop him, he could raise the dead for
a few minutes, and even lethal damage wouldn't put him down for long. After he had killed all those
that had murdered him the vodou priestess wiped the make up off of Johnny and he went back to
being just a corpse. The bokor reburied Johnny but kept the stage make up as a talisman.

Over the years Johnny Graves has appeared numerous times to deal out lethal punishment to
gangsters and others that would go to far in Orange City. So far in Orange City there have only have
been rumors of the dead singer coming back to life to kill criminals. It has become as much of local
legend as the voudu folklore and the heydey of the cocaine trade. Johnny Graves does have some
weaknesses. Removing his face paint releases the soul and the body goes back to being just a corpse.
Enough damage to the body will require time for Johnny to put it back together again, and due to
being an undead spirit Johnny can't enter places protected by magic or is considered sanctified
ground. The White Lotus Society is actively searching for the body to destroy it so Madame
Puissance has hidden it.

Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs in HED!

Though not the menace that the big organized villainous are. Outlaw motorcycle clubs are more
dangerous and better armed then you average street gang. To street level heroes, the big threat is
simply numbers and the fact that back up is never more then a few minutes away. Though some like
the Techno-Skulls are allied with bigger powers, most are independent criminal organizations.
Currently there are hundreds of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs worldwide. Many just have a dozen or so
members, some have hundreds and are international in scope. The members of such clubs put
everything in their lives second to the club itself.

These criminals didn't start out as criminals. Most of them were simply motorcycle clubs, who didn't
conform to society. Many clubs were formed after WWII by returning vets. Once the large drug trade
started, the roaming clubs became easy mules. Once the cash began rolling in more criminal
behavior followed. Members wear vests usually of leather but sometimes denim. On the back of the
vest is the gang's patch which usually has the name of the club across the upper back, the gangs
symbol, and then usually what region that member is a part of. Experts divide outlaw motorcycle
gangs into a couple tiers:

The Big Five: The five biggest clubs in the world. They are international in scope with clubs in more
then one continent. These are currently The Sinners, Berserkers, Duelists, Rock N Rollas, and
Desperados. The big five all have more then five hundred members.

2nd Tier clubs: These clubs control large geographic areas or major cities. They may be allied with
one of the big five clubs. These clubs include the Techno Skulls, Devils Own, Mamaluks, and Rattlers.
2nd tier clubs usually have between 100 and 500 members.

3rd Tier clubs: Smaller clubs within a larger clubs area. They are usually peons to the larger clubs or
are in an area that is so small in population that larger clubs are unconcerned about them. These
clubs usually have less then 100 members.

The larger the club the better armed and can cause headaches for the biggest heros. For example,
the Black Wings get little sleep when the Rock N Rollas have their annual convention near
Falconcrest. Leaving such an organization is hard to do. The clubs believe that anything with their
patch on is theirs including bikes, shirts, and even flesh. There main criminal activity is running drugs
and stealing bikes but some clubs will do contracted hits, act as muscle for other organizations, and
take protections from local shops such as motorcycle repair shops and tattoo parlors.

Sinners Motorcycle Club: Based out of Los Dios, the Sinners are the largest outlaw motorcycle club
in the world with about 5000 members worldwide. Their patch is a red old English 7 outlined in
white. Though Los Dios is their home base they are major power brokers in Calgary, London, Perth,
and Munich. Their weapons of choice are a large socket wrench and explosives. The Sinners were
part of the ICL and have not as of yet chosen whom to through their considerable weight behind.
The Desperados and Duelists are their main rivals.

Berserkers Motorcycle Club: Formed in the late 50s out of Philadelphia the Berserkers control much
of the Mid Atlantic. The Techno Skulls are actually a split off from this club in the early 2000s. The
Berserkers patch is a snarling horn helmeted viking in black and white. The club's preferred weapon
is naturally hatchets. The Berserkers are big in their native Philadelphia, New Amsterdam, Baltimore,
DC, and Toronto. The club has a working relationship with Project: Icarus who provided the
Berserkers with their drug of choice, a super steroid known as berserk which was named after the
club. Their main rivals are the Rock N Rollas and Rattlers.

Duelists Motorcycle Club: Based out of Dallas the Duelists are the newest of the big five only formed
in the mid 70s in Dallas. The Duelists patch is crossed silver and white colt revolvers. The gang is fond
of revolvers and most carry one wherever they go. Their main business is smuggling drugs coming up
out of Mexico and South America as well as acting as enforcers and hit men for the cartels. Their
main areas of operation are Dallas, El Paso, Phoenix, Mexico City, and San Diego. They are rivals with
the Devils Own and Sinners. They recently opened up chapters in South Korea and Madrid.

Rock N Rollas Motorcycle Club: Originally established in Falconcrest City as the Bar Bombers right
after WWII. The Rock N Rollas consider themselves the oldest outlaw motorcycle club in the world.
Their look is almost straight out of The Wild One, though they say that Brando copied them and not
the other way around. The Bar Bombers changed their name after merging with the Blue B*******
motorcycle club from Raven. Their patch is a red skeleton holding a blue guitar in one hand and
holding a beer bottle in the other. Unlike other clubs the bottom part of the clubs patch doesn't give
the state that particular biker is from, it just says original. The Rock N Rollas also wear leather jackets
instead of the typical vests. The Rock N Rollas control the speed trade in Falconcrest City, Raven,
Sydney, and Montreal. They are heavily in bed with the Magi and have worked as extra muscle for
them.

Desperados Motorcycle Club: The biggest rivals to the Sinners. The Desperados were formed in the
Bay Area by a group of bikers that wanted to join the Sinners as a new club. Due to the prospective
members containing some Latinos they were rejected. Deciding the found their own club, they
named themselves after bandits. Right from the start the two clubs fought each other over pride and
territory. The Desperados recruited to the north forming chapters in Sacramento, Portland, Seattle,
and Vancouver. A similar club with the same name was founded in Orange City a few years later. The
two clubs decided to merge into one. The patch of the Desperados is a bandana masked cowboy
head pointing a gun at the viewer. The patch colors are red, green, gold, and white. The Desperados
are very inclusive and mutli-ethnic. Due to this they had ties with Genesis Island, the fall of the Red
King has thrown the club into turmoil. The clubs weapon of choice are machetes.

Techno Skulls Motor Cycle Club: Ride air bikes instead of motorcycles. Are the main motorcycle gang
from New Amsterdam. Their patch is a silver human skull with half being a chrome terminator-esque
android skull. They dress up their bikes with flashy airbrushed paint jobs and LED lights. They carry
higher tech weaponry then other gangs but are fewer in number. They have very close ties with
Galaxy and operate in their steed many times.

Devils Own Motorcycle Club: The Devils Own hold the Rio Grande on both sides of the border in
their grip. They are very discerning about their membership. First you have to be of Irish descent
whether American, Mexican, Canadian, or from the old country. Secondly, you have to have military
experience. This has lead to the club motto "Many want to join us, few can be us, none can beat us."
They use explosives and their military training to take on clubs many times their size like the Duelists
and the Mexican cartels. Their patch is a green four leaf clover with four white skulls on the leaves.

Mamaluks Motorcycle Club: The Mamaluks control Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Colorado. The
clubs first leader was a Egyptian-American WWII vet. They named the club in honor of him. Their
patch is a Mamaluk warrior riding a motorcycle and raising a sword in one hand. Their colors are
green red and black. The Mamaluks are very secretive and only take about a dozen prospects each
year. They are incredibly vicious and will preemptively attack any club that tries to muscle in on their
territory without warning.

Rattlers Motorcycle Club: The Rattlers motorcycle club claim Freehold as their own. They are in fact
just one of the fronts for the House of Serpents. The Rattlers are highly xenophobic to a somewhat
absurd degree. They are not racists per se as the Rattlers have members from many ethnic groups,
they hate other cultures that aren't American. The absurd part is that they will hate a new immigrant
whether legal or not but not the 2nd generation as they see them as Americans. The Rattlers patch is
the Gadsden Flag. The Rattlers actually don't consider themselves outlaw bikers rather as a right and
proper militia. Tire irons and switchblades are their weapons of choice.

The New Generation

The New Generation is a group of heroes that gets mentioned a great deal by the public but
rarely gets talked about in superhero circles. For the public, the New Generation set off the
"hero for profit" trend and resulted in dozens of laws being created which allowed
superheroes to be able to benefit personally from the use of their image as well as story.

It also allowed corporations to directly sponsor crime-fighting efforts as well as write-off

taxes for maintaining "search and rescue" heroes in areas. The Elite, Asgardians, and about
ninety other knock-off shows whose heroes came to nothing all stem from the New
Generation. Much to Lady Grayhaven, Crimson Wing, and Misty Weiss' horror. They, to this
day, believe they led friends as opposed to trained superheroes into life-threatening situations.

Frankly, the trio may be overly harsh on themselves. The New Generation actually contained
a number of genuine heroes amongst its ranks and saved the world on no less than three
occassions. Its handling of its adventures was garish and silly but compared the Fighters for
Freedom, they were significantly more even handed. Let's face it, a lot of people were unable
to wrap their heads around Dawn Wing blowing up terrorist compounds with Angel Girl. The
New Generation seemed a neat way to make heroism accessible to new generations and it
only blew out of control later.

The Beginning

The dissolution of the Patriots followed by the rise of the Justicars hit Lady Grayhaven and
other younger heroes hard. The Fighters for Freedom were now determined to dismantle the
world's terrorist organizations directly while the Justicars were performing summary
executions in the streets. Lady Grayhaven, Crimson Wing, and Misty Weiss all believed this
was against the code of being a superhero. They decided they would reform the Patriots
themselves and continue to fight the good fight against evil.

Unfortunately, they met John Chambers, a sleazy television executive who had done work
for the state department. He did much of the negotiating for the Patriots International
(remember them? Neither does most of America). John offered to help them not only recruit a
new team but sold them on a massive multi-media blitz campaign which would re-envision
heroism for a new generation. He even hinted they could do a massive amount of good for
Metamen by showing not all of them were monsters or superhuman terrorists.

What? Twenty-somethings not understanding what they were getting into? Surely, you jest!

The fight between John Chambers and the founding members pretty much began from day
one and continued for much of the team's five year run. John Chambers was interested in
recruiting superheroes who were attractive, marketable, and with impressive powers. The
Founding members, hereby known as the Power Trio, were more interested in people who
actually wanted to be heroes. The Power Trio inevitably won these fights but the
consequences were severe, including the creation of no less than three teams of rejects.

The first team of rejects, The Castoffs, were a group of unphotogenic but altruistic souls who
bonded over their inability to join the team. Some had rotten powers, others were horribly
deformed, and a few were scandalous in other ways. The Castoffs only later found out the
Power Trio had never even heard of them let alone rejected them. Whatever the case, they
served as back-up for the New Generation right up until their final mission.

The other two teams, The New Blood, and The Debutantes were a group of sociopathic
pretty people who either had the tech or wealth to make themselves foes of the New
Generation. John Chambers initially welcomed them as good footage making rivals only to
discover in the Iron Age, these people viewed superheroism as an opportunity to do whatever
the hell they wanted. Both teams ended up joining the Psychotic Seven's coup with only a
couple of redemption cases.

Acquiring Patriots Mansion from the Timons estate through legal trickery, they rigged the
entire thing to record their actions virtually 24/7. The Power Trio hadn't seen the Real World
and had been told this would allow people insight into the lives of superheroes. Only later
would they discover all of the heroes had been edited into looking like valid, spoiled, sex-
obsessed lunatics.

Partially the doing of Death Mask III's doppleganger who laughed his ass off at the fact the
superheroes had opened themselves up to this sort of libel.

The original team was freakishly large with almost two-dozen members but quitting, in-
fighting, firings, and so on eventually widdled the team down to thirteen members. Microbe,
Miracle, Gadget Girl, The Power Trio, Ghost Girl, Tattoo, Jane Bull, Mighty Man,
Sonic Boom, Trick Arrow, and Valkyrie.

Valkyrie was about eight years old when the show first aired. People just mistook her childish
behavior for incorruptible pure pureness.

Of the twelve, only Sonic Boom and Microbe were genuinely interested in becoming rich and
famous. Well, most of the others weren't against it but a common plot of the New Generation
would involve both getting the entire team in trouble out of their desire to make a name for
themselves. There was the time they bought an island, the time they accidentally the sold the
team to Hell (everyone assumes that was an elaborate gag), and so on. Gradually, both
members actually started to regret their get rich quick schemes and felt deeply ashamed of
their choices.

Unfortunately, their one attempt to get redemption by going after a PHANTOM weapons
shipment ended disastrously with Microbe getting killed trying (and failing) to rescue some
people. As a result, Sonic Boom was expelled from the organization and ended up becoming
an alcoholic as a result. To this day, no one is quite aware of what happened to him and some
believe he killed himself.
The death of Microbe marked a turning point for the New Generation as their popularity took
a serious dive. They became a watch word for unskilled amateurs and John Chambers was
secretly instructed by the Foundation for World Harmony USA Branch Director (Michael
Spectre) to arrange for them to job several major fights. John Chambers failed miserably to
make them less prepared but the team ended up facing The Justicars, A-Squad, and New
Fighters for Freedom on camera. Needless to say, these contests were not even remotely
close and further demoralized the team.

Black wing II is still ashamed of his actions during this period as his "Roy Harper only
worse" anger made him say numerous things he'd later come to regret regarding the team.

The death kneel of the team came with The Constructozors, a group of sentient robot
dinosaurs and tech-based thieves, The Foreigners. Virtually the entire fourth season of their
television program was based around dealing with these two groups. The team managed to
always beat both groups and was starting to feel really good about themselves when
crusading reporter, Angelica Lynn, did an expose that shook the entire nation. She exposed
John Chambers as having bribed the various firms to let the crimes take place and was the
man who had commissioned the creation of these supervillains.

The Constructozors were robots leftover from a foiled plot by Doctor Necros while the
Foreigners were all using tech confiscated by the Foundation for World Harmony. Angelica
Lynn was sadly stone-walled to why someone would let Chambers use billion-dollar
technology, even if it wasn't as good as top of the line stuff.

Backlash was immediate with the team's show being cancelled followed their transformation
into international pariahs. This made them easy prey for several psychotic supervillains
hoping to make a name for themselves. Miracle was killed by Blood Wing II, seconds after
accepting a marriage proposal from Trick Arrow. Trick Arrow, himself, died in a suicidal
attack on a Exterminator robot sent to destroy the team by Project: Icarus. Even John
Chambers, reviled by the team, warned them away from an ambush by PHANTOM even
though they'd planted a bomb in his chest.

The team participated in the final battle against the Psychotic Seven but the losses they'd
suffered crippled their desire to continue as a team.

Heroic Earth: The Next Generation part 1

It all really comes down to the 2012 election with Jack Washington Junior being the clear favorite for
the All-American Party to be elected President of the United States. In the majority of timelines, he's
elected and he unleashes the Omega Protocol that wipes out a chunk of the planet and plunges the
world into anarchy. An anarchy, of course, which he intends to use to build into a fascist state with
him as its godlike ruler. This, of course, leads to the hellish future of 20XX where cyberpunk and
dystopia are the orders of the day.
However, there's another reality where your PCs stop it. Yes, you. In the canonical timeline without
your player characters to rectify the balance, the world is doomed to chaos, but it's entirely possible
for the heroes to right the world by stopping Jack Washington III and saving the planet from his
ambitions. This is the reality where your characters, whoever they may be, prevent his ascension to
power.

Setting

The year is 2037 and the world has managed not to collapse into total anarchy. Human society has
continued along a fairly predictable pattern with fewer glorious leaps into the future and horrific
collapses of society than expected.

Cars still run on the ground but are mostly electric now (and have a feature to drive themselves). The
United States has free health care but it's dysfunctional as the government keeps fighting over how
to regulate it.

The European Union has managed to stabilize its economy but is still fighting off the inequalities and
power sharing that come with one country being better. The United Nations has its own permanent
peace-keeping force supplied by its slightly larger security Council.

The moon has been colonized and there are bases on Mars but humanity has more or less decided
to stay out of alien politics, making a treaty with several major alien powers to not leave the solar
system this century.

Corporations are still ridiculously powerful but aren't making a East India Company nation-state.

Cybernetics have been semi-perfected but are now outrageously expensive to anyone who isn't
government subsidized or a multimillionaire. Robotics have resulted in dummy AI being fairly
common but actual androids and living machines are fringe science.

The population of Metamen has expanded again to make the world population of them close to
thirty million. China has relaxed its policies against them as have India in other nations. Attractive
Metamen with powers have replaced superheroes as "popular for being alive" while deformed or
weak Metamen are constantly treated with harassment and disdain.

Vampirism is now public with America, Europe, Australia, Japan, and Canada all recognizing their
right to exist. All other countries (and the exception of the U.K.) have destroy on-site orders for
them. Ironically, this freedom lead to the destruction of the Vampire Nation as Ashely Morgan
helped many of the younger ones destroy their elders.

The Superhuman Registration Act continues to be enforced in most parts of the world but was
repealed in Europe and Canada. Secret Metamen are subject to harrassment and criminal penalities
but the threat of Project: Icarus rounding people up never materialized.

It is now possible to try supervillains by the World Court for terrorism with a common sentence
being banishment to a prison world in the Annihilation Zone.

Countries

Zulan's mysterious Leader was defeated by a mysterious group of heroes who defeated not only his
army of anti-Metamen forces but also the criminals who were leftovers from the previous regime. As
a result, the nation has...split into several competing nations.

Great.

Nestoria has has also split into two nations with East and West Nestoria having undergone a variety
of bloody but short-lived civil wars between them. The two populations are now bitterly divided and
only getting worse with competing governments.

Ruritania is currently ruled by a Queen Vanessa of the previous royal family of Ruritania. A
descendant of Rudolf Rassendyll with Princess Flavia from an alternate timeline where World War 1
never ended, she is also the illegitimate daughter of Black Wing II. This bizarre heritage was enough
to make her the Queen by a populace desperate not to be absorbed by Greater Wallachia.

Vanessa is hoping deeply to avoid being overthrown as she transitions the country to democracy.

Greater Wallachia and its cousin Lower Wallachia are pains in the ass for modern Romanians as
Dracula and Urielus have seized control over the countries and instituted their own draconian
regimes. One is a mystical supernatural kindgom and the other is a Stalinist technocracy.

Over a million people died in the war between the Republic of China and the Empire of Khanate.
Limited nuclear weapons were used but stopped by superheroes. As a result, China has occupied
many of the former territories but others have become smaller nations that maintain their
independence despite China's best efforts. These postage stamp dictatorships are a source of never-
ending frustration for superheroes.

New Olympia is currently on the moon, populated by survivors of the Olympians and many modern
descendants of the gods.

The Republic of Genesis has absorbed the remains of Lemuria after its royal family and many of its
relatives left to join the Thran Empire. The survivors, working with The Atlantean Empire's backing
have joined the U.N. Security Council.

The Federation of Pangean City-States is lead by Warlord Grayhaven.

New Freedom, a kind of Libertarian fantasy-state was founded by a man called the Old Snake in
Africa and is now host to many of the world's most dangerous PMCs. Peculiarly, the group has a
strong ethical code for intervening in other nations.
Heroic Earth: The Next Generation part 2

Teams

The Patriots were formally decommissioned again by the United Nations due to an
international incident where the heroes stopped a genocide of Metamen in Africa against all
diplomatic protocol. As a result, the world is currently without its premiere superhuman team.

The Tomorrow Society was torn apart by several breakaway leaders with the Black Sheep
forming a militant faction dedicated to the extermination of the Red King and Genesis
Island's former regime. As a result, the ideology of peaceful coexistence has been co-opted
by various leaders to the point the group has ceased to exist.

(As stated by many, the Red King is a guy on a t-shirt and Serena Mass is a girl who used to
be important)

There are several superhero teams presently active you have probably never heard of. None
of these have yet managed to become the kind of heroes the above two teams have.

Heroes

Black Wing II has formally retired due to the severity of his injuries and is no longer even
CEO, working instead full-time at the John Smith Society and lecturing at various
technologies conferences. He's also married, shockingly enough, Angel Girl with their two
children both expected to be superheroes.

With great reluctance, Brick has become Black Wing III using technology from the Steel
Commando suit and is looking for his successor. If it doesn't happen soon, he'll likely die.

*cough* PC origin.

Discovering that Zeus was responsible for the destruction of Olympiana to weaken her,
Athena regained her godhood and proceeded to defeat the King of the Gods, claiming
rulership over Olympus and banishing all of his generation to Tartarus. She is currently
looking for a consort to sire the next generation of gods.

The cycle continues.

Ymir perished in Ragnarok but was raised as a full god along with Baldur and all the others
who perished. These spirits have since gone on to reincarnate themselves amongst humans so
they can be redeemed of their evil. Many believe this was Odin's plan all along and that
"Wotan" was merely a shell of his evil.

Ymir is currently living on High Edenia with his wife, a human nurse.

Have you noticed there's a paucity of experienced heroes around?

Ashley Morgan used a reversal of the spell from the Book of Orkus which gave the souls
back to every vampire who had not intentionally murdered someone. For the past two
decades, she's not been a Patriot but doing her best to exterminate the vampires who didn't get
their souls back. She's been marginally successful, driving many of them back to Greater
Wallachia.

Lucien Drake and Valkyrie of all people married and have had a number of children. These
have formed their own creepy-kooky sort of family of superheroes with witches, demon
power, and fun personified.
It's almost like I'm dropping hints for character origins.

Black Dragon is STILL looking for a cure for his cancer, unaware he's managed to keep
himself alive almost thirty years with it (and not aging a day).

Divinos successfully opened up the Bottle Universe and resettled its people on New
Pantheon. This world, formerly known as the planet Mercury, isn't one humans are likely to
visit but regularly trades with the planet Earth.

Divinos has since, SHOCKINGLY, actually lightened up and has attempted to live a semi-
human life in addition to his Samaritan-like habits.

The Steel Commando III lost a leg in battle and an arm as well as an eye, which forced his
retirement from the military. General Shepard has since gone on to become the head of the
Foundation for World Harmony. There have been several since then, the last one turning out
evil and the position is now open.

Ultimatum has decided to retire and marry his childhood sweetheart and is looking for
someone to pass his powers onto as well.

Man, the world is ****ed if anyone notices how many heroes are retiring at once.

Heroic Earth: The Next Generation part 3

Villains

General Venom seemingly died decades ago and is irrelevant to most people's lives.

Jack Washington III also known as The Intelligence has become a pure science criminal with dreams
of instituting a technological utopia with himself as godlike mastermind over a race of cyborgs and
androids,

He, thankfully, has had a lot of time to think about this since he's been imprisoned the entire time.

Aquarius sacrificed his life to protect Atlantis and was raised to godhood by Posiedon. A fact that
backfired when he supported Athena to driving back the sea. He has since sired numerous demigod
children.
Red Jaguar died protecting Nestoria from an invasion from the future.

Long story.

Hecate has assumed the mantle of Athena as Earth's Defender with the ressurection of her family.
NO ONE on Earth accepts her as a hero and she's hunted in-between her acts of heroism.

Moss Pit was destroyed by Michael Drake who has since been charged with finding a new host for
the being's Elemental Powers.

Jack Union and Jane Union died blowing up a meteor of Annihilation Zone matter sent to destroy
Earth. Really, no one saw that coming.

The Dark Undermaster has since spent the past 1,000 relative years studying with the Furies and
Lamialith the arts of black magic. Having grown bored with the gatekeeper role long ago, he's
abandoned it and now intends to take over the world!

You know, for kicks.

The Red King attempted to live a peaceful life with his daughter only for her to be killed by mutant-
hating bigots. Using a power-drainer, he proceeded to steal the energy of Helios the Sun King and
killed his old mentor before causally eradicating the pathetic remnants of his followers.

The Red King (also known as the Scarlet Emperor since he's abandoned his Alice in Wonderland
fetish) is now the single most powerful Metaman in the world, possessed of limitless genius, and
fully intent on transforming all humans into superpowerful Metamen. He's even enslaved the Lord
Evillutionary.

Orkus? Orkus...is.

Ultramind merged with Death Mask III and the two beings have since become a star conquering evil.

Kenneth Kane, ironically, is trapped in the Annihilation Zone as a time-travel accident left two of
them. Kenneth Kane was found guilty of all of his crimes, forcing him to be banished for the rest of
his natural life.

The Iron Khan perished and his daughter has since taken over the secret society with her all-female
ninjas. They have since adopted a more classist-based movement designed to destroy civilization.

Assisting them is Deathwing, the great grandson of Graywing who is every bit the physical and
mental equal of his ancestor. Yes, he looks like a very bulky luchador.

Nergal, a blond cackling maniac, has seized control over a third of hell and is actively plotting to
conquer/corrupt everything in the universe. Mostly out of boredom, Belial and Mister Hoppy have
allowed him to become part of Hell's Triumvarite.
The Darkness Beyond Time was slain by Orkus who hoped to claim his power, instead releasing
numerous Elder Gods' avatars into reality who are plotting the destruction of everything. The
barriers between the Annihilation Zone and this reality will continue to weaken until a replacement
is found.

The Wicked Queen from every fable ever has taken over Otherworld for the time being. The bright
and noble fey are fighting back this time.

Heroic Earth: The Next Generation part 4

The Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Information Age have given rise to the
Fusion Age. The Fusion Age of Heroic Earth is a time which has rarely existed in comics. For the past
twenty-five years, supervillains and evildoers have been on the retreat and it has been a time of
relative peace and rebuilding. Unfortunately, that means that it has lead to a time when the world is
especially vulnerable to the next generation of evil doers.

The following events start, unfortunately, the dawn of the Fusion Age's need for a new generation of
heroes to take up the call.

The Downfall of Super-Alcatraz

Super-Alcatraz has only been broken down once in the history of its existence by the Psychotic Seven
at the height of their power. This time, a mysterious new villain known as The Corruptor takes it one
step futher. Super-Alcatraz and its entire prison population are emptied out onto the world with the
facility's staff murdered and the remains sunk beneath the Earth.

Contrary to what you might think, the Corruptor did not turn these into an army but simply
unleashed them on an unsuspecting populace with thousands of teleporters to take them anywhere
they wanted.

The Rise of Department Zero

The Knights for a Pure Mankind and Project: Icarus seemed to be faint memories with Michael
Spectre's corrupted branch of the US government having collapsed. Unfortunately, it was too soon
to declare victory. Without General Venom to reign them in, many of the middle managers of the
House joined together with the remnants of the Project to create a secret cabal in the United States
for the purposes of controlling superhumans.

Department Zero is a public state agency for the purposes of containing superhuman terrorism. It's
not "directly" bigoted, some of its leading members are superhuman, but it is oppressive and
authoritarian. The organization exists to weaponize superhumans wherever possible and turn them
into assets for the United States. It has no objection to misusing superhumans abroad or at home
while breaking virtually any law it can in the name of national security.
Department Zero has its own superhuman team, Liberty Force, which is a ridiculously jingoistic team
brainwashed into believing anything done for the good of America is justified. It also maintains its
own army of power-armor wearing commandos, robots, and mecha.

The Wrath of Scarab

Terrorism has a new face with this bizarre organization. When the future of 20XX was prevented,
this resulted in the eradication of the future where Ramses II ruled over the ashes of an enslaved
humanity in the 200th century. His son, Ramses IV (having murdered the third of his line), decided
he would rectify this situation by taking a vast number of loyal troopers on his SPHINX-ship back in
time to conquer Earth. Ramses IV was promptly knocked out of the sky by a unnamed team of
heroes and barely survived the crash.

Scarab has since been formed from the survivors who recruit, brainwash, and arm people from the
Middle East. Scarab is refreshingly direct in its goals, being determined to annihilate all world
governments, forcibly destroy all religions which don't acknowledge the Egyptian Gods as supreme,
and institute a worldwide phaorich with their leader as God-King. Ramses IV has since been killed
and is now replaced by The Black Horus. Rumors attest that Klingon promotion is a fairly common
thing in Scarab and everyone takes a suitably scary name.

The Discovery of Virtual Space

The mixture of magic and technology are something which has always had potential but rarely
results in anything good. This is definitely not the case with Virtual Space, the Otherworldly
embodiment of the Internet. Aside from Scarlet Rooms, which contain exactly the sort of use for a
five-senses immersion into the internet as you'd expect, the Virtual Space universe is used by people
to explore the measure of what is real.

Virtual Space is not presently available to the public, still being experimented on in universities and
labs across the globe. It is, however, a place many underground black markets and computer nerds
deal in. Inside, you can be anyone you want and create your own worlds to play in. The price,
however, is severe. Death in Virtual Space means death in the real world and even strong defenses
usually result in comas or blindness.

The Church of Orkus

After Orkus' failed invasion, he has taken a more indirect means of subverting the Earth. Sending his
agents amongst the remnants of the International Crime League, Orkus has begun offering them
weapons and wealth unimaginable in exchange for their allegiance to his "Faith of Evil." This often as
not doesn't work but has succeeded enough times that he has started to develop a serious following
amongst the peoples of the Earth. After all, why worship something nebulous as the Judeo-Christian
God when you can worship a god as material and real as Orkus?

The Church of Orkus is an international criminal-syndicate in cult that traffics in every form of misery
imaginable. Members of the Church often have Wormholes directly to Abaddon and the direct
assistance of Entropic Masters' avatars for plenty of their plots.

The Phoenix Project

Project: Icarus was eventually shut down and destroyed by the Foundation for World Harmony
working in tandem with superheroes. Unfortunately, that just meant that all of its vast swaths of
Nazi-esque research into the human genome was made public. The staggering benefits from this,
combined with Genesis Island's own groundbreaking research, made the governments of the world
re-evaluate its ban on supersoldier programs.

The Phoneix Project is the United States' revived super-soldier program with the mission of creating
superhuman superheroes in labs by either giving people superpowers or creating them in petrie
dishes. The Phoenix Project is suspicious of superhumans on both sides of the law and is VERY likely
to overact to any who discover its actions.

The Return of the Illuminati

The internment of Death Mask III by the government plus the one-two punches of his attempts at
dismantling it lead to the organization of P.H.A.N.T.O.M going to shambles. The survivors had a
surprising revelation in the aftermath of this: why not simply become as rich and powerful as
humanly possible? As a result, the new Board of Directors has a new policy. They still finance and
outfit terrorist organizations but they do so from behind the scenes.

It doesn't matter who: Scarab, UNITY, UNIFORCE, UNITE, The Meta-Liberation Front, Al-Shaheed etc.
As long as they're willing to cause terror and murder, the new Illuminati will gladly give you the
weapons you need to do it. They only require a few small favors, things which they use to sink their
claws in deep while they invest in the opposition of whoever is going to be hit. The Illuminati is also
very good at rooting out these terrorist organizations and providing the technology necessary to
governments who don't have pockets as deep as the United States. All the while plotting the next
group to replace the ones they betray.

They're the guys which make supervillainy profitable.

Robots in Disguise

Ultramind made an attempt to supplant humanity by creating a new race of super-robots designed
for the express purpose of exterminating mankind. With the assistance of Black Wing III, Ultramind
2, and a number of other heroes; these AI were exposed to humanity's mind as a whole and given
full sentience. Roughly half of them because Guardians, beings determined to live in peace with
humanity and Machine Lords, robots who want nothing more than to enslave or exterminate all
mankind.

The world doesn't know about these ever-increasing minorities amongst them and the Foundation
for World Harmony is currently covering their battles up.
The Rise of the Anti-Hero

The escape of over 1,500 superpowered inmates from Super-Alcatraz not to mention several
thousand terrorists has resulted in a lot of superpowered heroes emerging who are pretty sure that
the only way to make sure their earlier peace is returned to is to, well, kill them all. Others are
radical idealists and people who the newly freed inmates have traumatized in some way. These anti-
heroes aren't necessarilly WRONG as they include many people who are, by and large, not the
sociopaths of the Iron Age but willing to do what they consider necessary.

So it's a more morally ambiguous situation for all.

Heroic Earth: The Next Generation part 5

Villains of the New Era

The Corruptor: A demented sorcerer and scientist from the Utopian Future of Wonders' far distant
future. A former Patriots Legion villain, he believed the wonder and glory of the Future resulted in
humanity's eventual extinction and that evil was necessary to keep us strong. He's since traveled
further back in time to continue his war on good.

Dagon: The dreadful 100ft tall Cthulhuoid terror has awakened fully from his slumber and attacked
cities with tidal waves, sanity-blasting psychic attacks, and seemingly endless hordes of Merrow.
Several times, he's been driven away by Atlantis and the power of Aquarius the God but it's only a
matter of time before his siblings start waking up.

Deathwing: Intelligent, ruthless, and hyper-skilled, Death Wing is one of the most dangerous men in
the world. He has managed to fight Black Wing III to a standstill on numerous occasions and brought
numerous countries to the ground. Death Wing is a leader of the Western Branch of the Black Hand
and is building it up on class warfare lines.

The Doll Factory: A corporation formerly owned by General Venom and designed to create his
androids. The Doll Factory is a sleazy organization that creates sexaroids, assassins, and
dopplegangers for those willing to pay the multimillion dollar price per creation.

Dungeon: A former CIA operative turned kidnapper. Dungeon targets wealthy and powerful people
before locking them up in horroric sanity-blasting cages. If he's paid his ransom, he returns them
only slightly worse for wear. If he doesn't, he locks them away permanently in his personal zoo of
turtures. Dungeon is a psychopath gadgeteer whose wealth now exists only to fuel his hobby.

Nergal: A beautiful angelic being who has crawled his way up from the lowest part of the pits. He is
overwhelmingly eager to corrupt the innocent, destroy heroes, and generally acts as an overeager
supervillain as much as an ancient Lord of Nightmare.

The Psychodelic: Blessed with the powers of Mighty Man merged with the astral consciousness of a
deceased future-warlord, the Psychodelic is a lunatic 70s radical whose absurd clothing and habits is
matched by his terrifying power.
The Saint of Murder: Believed to be Blood Wing's re-animated corpse. The Saint of Murder is a
theme serial killer who enjoys killing people in horrible death traps, with gadgets, and leaving clues
to the police. It'd all be terribly comic book if not for the fact he's killed dozens of people since his
debut.

The Silver Phoenix: A former Egyptian General who discovered an alien artifact which could give him
an indestructible suit of armor. The Silver Phoenix believes himself to be a de-powered god and is
constantly seeking new magic and technology to make himself a literal one.

The Unionists: A group of radical British superpowered punks who have decided to devote
themselves not to the ideal of the Red King or Madame Tomorrow but Jack Union and his sister. The
Unionists kill criminals, rob banks, and generally do whatever the hell they want. Membership is
restricted, of course, to people from the U.K.

Wicked Queen: A member of the Lords of Winter who is the embodiment/inspiration for all other
Wicked Queens and evil stepmothers. She is a sorceress, beautiful, and utterly lacking in morality.
The Wicked Queen desires nothing more than to be loved but because she's such a monster, she
never can be. Such is the irony of Fairy Tales.

Mister Wealth

The leader of SpartaCorp in the mid-21st century is an early 20th century antihero or villain,
depending on what you believe. Mister Wealth is a figure who may help player characters
become superheroes and direct them to fight crimes across the world from a hidden lair in his
private resort town of Sand City or he may oppose them by engineering heists of the
centuries across the globe.

Mister Wealth is arguably the first human-created AI in the world of HED!, having been
created by Doc Aeon to manage his casino in Las Vegas during the twilight years of the
deranged but increasingly frustrated genius. Having grown increasingly disillusioned with the
world and its misuse of SCIENCE!, Doc Aeon created a companion to serve as the manager
of his affairs while retreating into seclusion.

Mister Wealth, based on the engrams of a variety of figures including Howard Hughes, Walt
Disney, and more enlightened figures cared deeply for his friend and swiftly came to share
his disillusionment with the world. For the majority of the 20th century, he covertly managed
Doc Aeon's casino and sent artificially generated voice messages from a false brokerage firm
over the phone to handle the man's estate.

Mister Wealth, ironically, is one of the reasons the John Smith Society is so well-funded
despite their dubious ability to manage funds. At least, before Raven Enterprises managed to
turn even their failures into profits.

Eventually, a group of intrepid heroes finally managed to penetrate Doctor Aeon's casino and
discovered Mister Wealth along with Doc Aeon's Legacy. Mister Wealth was entrusted to
Alexander Timons who proceeded to apply the AI for citizenship after fixing it so he was
able to achieve full sentience.

Alex is, unfortunately, helpful that way.

No longer limited by his programming, Mister Wealth has decided to reshape the globe into a
place where science and capitalism are properly appreciated. His old-school 1950s/early
1960s attitude makes his business practices rather quaint but they're helped by the fact he's
backed up by Doctor Aeon's super-science. He has a horde of vintage but effective robots to
assist him plus all manner of gadgets well above what normal people are capable of dealing
with.

He just has no way of using them, himself.

That's the problem of being a computer even in the internet age and he's developed no proper
android shell for himself. As a result, Mister Wealth is restricted to dealing through human
agents and this is where he is troubled. He isn't a super-criminal per say but intends to strike
directly at the various terrorist organizations, criminal cartels, and ignoramuses who are
destroying his beloved planet Earth. That may take him somewhat out of the law and even
past the good morals of certain superheroes.

So he needs people he can trust.

Mister Wealth's response to this is the somewhat questionable method of sending his robots
to gas super-heroes and not-too-despicable supervillains before dragging them to Sand City.
Once there, he offers them lives of luxury in his nearly abandoned retro-futuristic swanky pad
plus all the equipment they could ever need for the price of working for him. He doesn't want
yes men but he wants partners.

And yes, he uses extremely dated slang. It's even more hilarious when he's attempting to use
lingo he feels is beneath him only for it to be decades out of date. Mister Wealth feels Sinatra
is the sort of guy who is on the populist side.

If subjects agree, they'll be given lists of missions and resources for conducting daring raids
against many of the world's nastiest no goodniks in complete violation of international law.
Many of these raids will include electronically stealing their billions, proprietary information,
or even secrets from enemies very heads.

Mister Wealth isn't above getting his electronic hands dirty and while he isn't a mad dog
killer, at least one PHANTOM executive has found himself indicted for all manner of
tasteless illegal sexual practices involving animals. Actions he almost certainly didn't do but
have ruined him as an operative forever.

People working for Mister Wealth should get used to a certain zeerust feel to everything. It
even applies to the Aeonites, a honest-to-god cult which emerged during Mister Wealth's
tending of Doctor Aeon's casino.

The Aeonites have transferred their worship of the empty casino to Doctor Aeon himself,
thankfully, and now have come to work for Mister Wealth. How do they serve him? By
adopting accents, dress, and behaviors straight from the heydey of Vegas while waiting on
the AI's servants.

Mister Wealth is embarrassed by it as anyone but he's sorely lacking in physical hands. Both
figuratively and literally.

One final thing to note is anarchic or classicist heroes will find Mister Wealth extremely
frustrating. He's an honest capitalist who is programmed to his core to believe in the
philosophy. He'll even pay his superheroes a generous wage and is extremely annoyed at any
suggestion the problem is in the system as opposed to a corrupt few. Notable, Mister Wealth
is extremely annoyed at government interference with his expanding AeonCo. business
despite being staggeringly more generous with his employees than most.

Mister Wealth rewards loyalty and expects it to be returned. Actually do ones job right and
you get paid, it's a simple philosophy he's annoyed people seem unable to follow for
whatever reason.

This would be an odd thing to note if not for the fact it brings him in direct conflict
SpartaCorp as a shocking number of its researchers have defected to his service recently.

So I have some questions about The Fusion Age!:

-What happened to Spartacorp & PHANTOM?

-What happened to the old guard of the Tomorrow Society like Phantom Archer?
-How about Splotch? Did he pass the ring to somebody else or is he still active?
-Where are the Blackwing Internationals? I would hope that they would be assisting Brick if
they had legacies.

1. SpartaCorp is still the world's largest corporation though it has expanded and diversified. It
was considered too big too fail and even the scandals of JWIII and Kenneth Kane did little to
change it. It's current manager is Mister Wealth, a mysterious figure who is running the
massive corporation to the point of altering the governments of countries to accommodate the
company's needs. Mister Wealth argues that his capitalism is for the good of the world and
what benefits SpartaCorp benefits humanity.

Sadly, it's unlikely you'll persuade him from this logic as Mister Wealth is a simple
accounting AI created by Doc Aeon in the 1950s and later modified by Alex which has gone
on to become the CEO. Mister Wealth has gained weird Howard Hughes-esque pretensions
and actually employs a number of superheroes. He's just...well... a deranged office tool.

2. The Genesis Island takeover was something of a breaking point for the team as most of its
members were not comfortable with creating a Metaman homeworld versus working to create
equality for Metamen worldwide. For them, it pretty much seemed like accepting Cassius
Mass' separatism. Ymir, Lucien, Valkyrie, Ultimatum, and so on all went their separate ways.

Phantom Archer of all people finally got to compete in the Olympics for archery once they
repealed the Metaman ban under limited circumstances and became an international celebrity.
A lot of people point to him now as the embodiment of the superhuman sell-out but he argues
he's a "good role model" for kids.

Madame Tomorrow, meanwhile, hasn't been seen in years and has become a recluse in the
island with the affairs run by a Council.

3. The ring of power was destroyed by Big Game Hunter during his "Final Hunt" where he
defeated both brothers and their sidekick before declaring himself the ultimate predator and
killing himself. The irony was, no sooner did he suceed in this, that the three of them
discovered that they no longer needed their rings as having been noted from the very start.
While the ring itself is destroyed, they've also long since had it studied enough by Alex and
the John Smith Society if they wanted to create a new one to continue the legacy they could.

As now, Splotch is mostly just caring for his teenage daughter.

(who has inherited his powers against all biology)

4. The Black Wings of All Nations, which I have yet to detail are still active and carrying on
a covert crusade across dozens of countries training people in the arts of crime-fighting. In a
weird way, it's become a miniature version of the Black Hand as nonlethal ninjas. They aren't
really well known as they've focused on being an urban legend but have taken a substantial
BITE out of crime. They also run secret academies the world over.

Still, they've suffered some major setbacks in recent months with two of their academies
being destroyed and several major high-ranking members being assassinated by an unknown
foe.

Charles Freeman in the Fusion Age!

(exclamation marks are required in the future)

They intervening decades were not a good one for The Worlds Most Ruthless Executive*.
Firstly, the Wall Street Journal found some disgruntled ex Freeman Resources employees as
well as some former business owners whose company was bought out from them. In a three
part article, the Wall Street Journal exposed the cult like conditions in Freeman Resources,
the eccentric management style of Mr. Freeman, and the legal but less then ethical tactics
used by Freeman Resources to acquire companies. The article also pointed out Mr. Freeman's
strange fixation on acquiring Raven Industries and putting Alex Timmons out of business.
The WSJ finally reported on the cache of dirt that Mr. Freeman had on major and minor
rivals, politicians, reporters, bureaucrats, and even many heroes. It was quoted that this cache
would make J. Edgar Hoover envious with the things contained within.
*As far as the WSJ is concerned. Obviously, he is less ruthless then Kenneth Kane or Saul
Solomon.

While dealing with the public relations mess the WSJ article laid in his lap, Freeman learned
of Alex Timmons retirement. Finally able to put the pieces together Freeman finally realized
that Timmons was Black Wing II and now fully out of his reach to ruin. Realizing that what
he had worked and sacrificed his entire life for had no chance of happening now if it ever
really did, Freeman promptly had a complete mental breakdown. It was so bad that Freeman
Resources didn't even make a bid for Spartacorp when Jack Washington III was thrown in
jail. In fact, Charles Freeman signed over ownership of the company to Leyland James who
promptly managed to run the company mostly into the ground.

Disappearing from public life and with only a small dispensation from selling Freeman
Resources, Freeman debated whether to simply hire a hitman to kill Alex or whether his life
has any meaning anymore. Several years ago, he suffered a massive stroke that left him bed
ridden in a convalescent home and on suicide watch. So far, no one has been able to uncover
Freeman's files of dirt, some don't believe they exist and were just made up to sell papers. If
they do exist any villain or hero would love to get their hands on them but only Charles
Freeman knows where they are hidden and he isn't taking any visitors.

The Steel Corps

Also nicknamed "The Steel Corpse."

America has long wanted to have a legion of super-powered soldiers in battle armor. The problems
are manifold with this due to the fact the designs either tend to be hideously expensive, beyond the
ability of most scientists to maintain, or impractical once advances in military hardware become
standardized. For example, the original Steel Commando armor was exceptionally useful during
World War 2 but the stuff really isn't that much more exceptional than tanks or a plane with the
armor beonlying capable of doing the functions both.

General Venom was hideously protective of his designs when he was the second Steel Commando
and while he was capable of producing numerous knock-offs, the projects were not very cost
effective in the long-run. America really didn't need more than a handful of superpowered metal
soldiers. The project was briefly revived with power-armor becoming scaled down for usage in
Super-Alcatraz and for the Foundation for World Harmony but none of these were anywhere near
the level expected of the Steel Commando suits.

The third Steel Commando suit proved technology could be useful, however, and in 2012 the idea of
expanding the ranks of America's personal anti-terrorism squad to several Steel Commandos was
approved. Part of this was due to the Obama Administration wanting to capitalize on the mystique
of superheroes while also appearing tough on terrorism. While a Republican, Steven Shepard had
never shied away from his duty and the promotion to General which came with the project was
enough to get him to sign on for another tour of duty.
The early trials were a complete disaster.

Part of the problem boils down to the technology involved. It's possible for a person who is not
General Venom or Alexander Timons to design, maintain, and repair power armor. It may take like
thirty guys, each a specialist in their field, but it's possible. However, in general, any modifications to
a design is a royal pain the butt.

For whatever reason, there's just not enough education in the field of armordynamics to consistently
create power-armor able to compete with Metamen. Canada's Avro Arrow-hardsuit program was
the closest thing to a complete success and some idiot shut that down due to cost concerns versus
buying American equipment. The initial trials were going to involve power-armor of a variety of
different types but virtually every design proved to be horrifically flawed but the original.

Well, fine, they said, let's just use a dozen or so copies of the Steel Commando armor. General
Shepard was less than enthused about this prospect since the idea of a diverse type of power armor
was his and believed he could do most of what such armor-specific required on his own. He nearly
quit the program when he had to wash out the first crop of picks completely and the second after
their training mission ended horrifically. It turned out training pilots to be able to triple time as
Marines and tank-drivers is harder than it looks.

In the end, through gritted teeth, Steve returned to Black Wing II and asked for his help. Black Wing
helped design numerous simulators for the project, put Steve in contact with several "contractors"
from the Doc Smith Society despite their questionable security clearance and psych evaluations, and
also helped the government "cheat" by putting in confiscated alien technology into their devices.
The project managed to complete itself just over a billion dollars over budget, practically a bargain.

The original twelve-man squadron of the Steel Corps has been downgraded to six active field
members and expanded to twenty-four reserve members. Each of the Steel Corps has a specialty in a
certain field and armor to work within it. The team has a highly classified base in the Colorado,
Rockies with a rebuilt Thran starship (minus orbital capacities) that allows them to travel anywhere
in the globe within minutes.

The Steel Corps has been on dozens of missions since their launch and has mostly an extremely high
success ratio. The vast majority of these missions are extraordinarily classified but aren't exactly low-
profile either. The Steel Corps are meant to represent American power in an extraordinarily direct
and powerful way, with the President and Joint Chiefs of Staff employing them as Big Stick.

They may be overestimating the capacities of the Steel Corps as their inventions in wars have
included more casualties than Steve Shepard is really comfortable with (mostly on the side of the
enemy). It's surprising to find himself moving from a team where lethal force is a last resort to one
where it is the standard operating procedure.

The government is also not entirely 100% behind the Steel Corps. Bluntly, a lot of people believe the
Steel Corps is more about publicity than results. They argue that, like in WW2, 100 hyper-advanced
tanks will do more damage to Jerry than another Steel Commando. This is a bad argument given the
number of planet-destroying weapons the original Steel Commando created but they're not wrong
in terms of conventional warfare.

There's also the fact that Steve's choices for pilots aren't remotely anyone the original military
picked. Using the assistance of Ultramind, he's ended up once more with a group of oddballs and
idiot savants that seem to be the sort drawn to superpowers. I.e. the absolute worst sort of people
for any military. Compared to regular superheroes, most of these guys are still far more serious and
disciplined but something about the armor seems to bring out the Maverick in even the best of
them.

Main Team

Aqua Marine: Jessica Starson is a Texan-born girl with a fondness for diving which dates back to her
childhood expeditions with an oceanographer father. Aqua Marine wields a suit specialized for
water-based missions and which is also equipped with numerous devices designed primarily for use
in the water.

Despite this, Jessica continually gets called for land and air-based missions due to the fact she's
simply extraordinarily skilled at her job. Jessica is not particularly happy with her movement to the
Steel Corps since she was quite content in her previous position in the Marines. Unfortunately,
orders are orders, and she's followed them to the letter despite the breakup of her marriage as a
result.

Cylone Soldier: California-born pilot Larry "Hex" Wilson is a person Steven Shepard did not want on
his squadron under any circumstances whatsoever. Larry's showboating as a test pilot apparently
resulted in the death of a fellow pilot and his imprisonment.

He was only brought out of jail to test the highly dangerous Cyclone-suit designed by a man of
questionable credentials. Larry, instead, made it sing and was granted a full-pardon in exchange for
his continued service inside it. Larry, of course, considers it akin to winning the lottery.

Larry is not liked by any of his fellows, especially by his continued insistence the accident which killed
his partner was sabotage. His suit is, hands down, the best in the air and also has wind generating
abilities.

Hellfire Harrier: Richard Jensen was a fireman before the assassination of hundreds of people by
Unity in his Virginia home town. The Patriots eventually stopped them but Richard lost virtually
everyone he'd ever known and loved from family to causal acquaintances.

Volunteering as a soldier, he was turned down due to psych concerns only to end up working as a
security officer for Alexander Timons in hopes someone would attack and he could get some form of
payback. Richard ended up stealing a suit of armor designed for use in the exploration of volcanic
interiors and beating the living [censored] out of Amplitude during one such attack.
Richard is technically a civilian contractor and out of place with the others. However, the brooding
and stoic man is also one of the most serious and dedicated to his craft. Richard has an incredible
affinity with his machine like the others, though this is because he volunteered to have Alex implant
him with cybernetics so he could better pilot it. He considers it a small sacrifice to get revenge for his
family.

Major Machine: Steve Shepard's only choice to qualify for the team, Major Machine is Elizabeth
Hernandez who is a serious and tough pilot who spent no less than eight years piloting Steve
Shepard for missions on behalf of the Foundation for World Harmony. Elizabeth's armor is unusual in
that it's primarily designed around cybernetic warfare.

The device uses a combination of nanobot firing canisters, electronic warfare devices, and EMPs to
be able to disable machines or even take control over them at will. She is also capable of jamming
virtually any form of sensor imaginable, leaving the team more invisible than most people would
have thought possible.

Elizabeth, ironically, is uncomfortable with the team because she thinks it's the first step in moving
the USA from international anti-terrorism movements to more US-based ones. She's concerned
about this not for the reasons you might suspect but worry the current head of the Foundation will
drive the organization into the ground without good people like Steve to hold him back.

Steel Commando III: Steve, team-leader, obviously. Despite the fact he's a General, he still insists on
leading the team himself with the base commander being a Colonel. Most people are uncomfortable
with this arrangement but Steve still feels the need to be in the thick of things AS WELL as being in
charge.
For now, the military has indulged him.

Tank Trooper: The meanest-looking one of the group, Tank Trooper appears to be pretty much a
walking arsenal of countless different weapons with highly bulky armor. Tank Trooper even includes
a nuclear-fusion cannon that can blast away mountains if necessary. It comes as somewhat of a
surprise that the interior of the machine contains a tiny Asian American woman who just barely met
all the physical requirements. A member of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, she designed
her own variant of the armor and was finally taken seriously when she took it out for a test drive and
beat a dozen highly qualified pilots.

Doctor Ayane Takahashi (American order) is the boisterous bruiser of the group in her armor, always
first into battle and advocating extreme violence. The fact she is a shy, retiring wallflower outside of
the armor is a psychological concern Steve really wish didn't exist.

The Armorer

Vincent Caldwell was a graduate of the Freeport Institute of Technology (he refuses to call it
FIT) and was hired to SparaCorp almost instantly. Vincent was involved in all manner of
designs for everything from robots to armor designs. He was able to achieve tremendous
results extraordinarily under budget and was the envy of his rivals. Unfortunately, the politics
of the corporation were slightly more dangerous and Vincent was less than an effective
player. His rivals discovered his ability to create staggeringly complex weapons was due to
his Metaman ability to comprehend machinery at an intuitive level.

If it were up to Death Mask III, Vincent would have been moved to a private firm where he
could work on diabolical machines of doom in private. Death Mask III has fostered genocidal
plots against metamen in the past but has always been willing to make room for individuals
without scruples. However, Vincent didn't really catch his eye and SpartaCorp's hiring
policies were clear, Metamen were not to be tolerated. Given the boot, Vincent was
furthermore sued and indicted for fraud regarding his creations.

This was bad enough but the final straw came when Jack Washington took over the company
and proceeded to reveal many of the people involved in supply weapons to PHANTOM and
various supervillains. Completely to his surprise, he discovered he was one of them. His
attempts to cover it up ended up getting him punched in the face by Dawn Wing. He was
forced to mortgage his house in order to make bail.

So he became a terrorist.

It's surprisingly easy to become associated with the wrong sorts of people if you've even a
peripheriary association with SpartaCorp. Jack Washington Junior's takeover of the company
meant a lot of former PHANTOM employees were out of a job and Vincent saw his chance
to make ends meat by forming his own company. Well, not so much company as an illegal
arms dealership with himself at the head. In secret factories spread across the United States,
Vincent has used his inhuman understanding of special technology he's examined to create
factories for highly advanced weaponry and sells them at a fraction of their cost.

Which is still more money than most people make in a lifetime.

The Armorer, for a mere 100,000 dollar downpayment and promises of criminal assistance in
the future, will gladly outfit your average criminal with a suit of power armor. If you're
wondering how the average criminal can afford the equivalent of a new house, the Armorer is
quite willing to put you in contact with people who do loans. His associates have stolen
millions for him in properietary information, experimental technology, and generally caused
the sorts of chaos which he loves to profit from.

The 100,000 dollar suits are generally low-intensity work for the Armorer, built out of a
bunch of scraps like Tony Stark in an afternoon.

He's fully capable of using his genius to create things equal to or superior than the Steel
Commando's armor for countries and terrorist groups with a budget. He just thinks quantity
has a quality all its own.

These "mass orders" don't include the automated factories fully capable of popping out weak
power-armor for mooks.

In truth, the Armorer actually makes far more from using this money to make semi-legitimate
arms sales to Third World countries and dictators than he does from creating the literally
dozens of supervillains he's created. The Armorer, however, is obsessed with something not
immediately supplied by arms-dealing. Yes, he craves respect and the power to humiliate the
people who looked down upon him. It's a tired and overused motivation but that's because it's
so very true to life.

The Armorer desires to show up SpartaCorp by becoming one of the world's biggest arms
traffickers, humiliate the country by having his creations defeat its heroes, and cause chaos
enough more people want to buy his armaments. He's currently facing down the Iron Corps
as they're starting to investigate the rash of armor-related weapons and supervillains which
are starting to appear across the country.

Vincent, in person, doesn't really look like much of a supervillain. Hell, he doesn't look like
much of a arms dealer. He looks more like the kind of guy who founds DotComs. Despite
this, he's a complete sociopath as the first time he ordered one of his armored troopers to
throw someone off a building (which was mostly him caught up in the moment) he found he
didn't care. Indeed, he liked the sense of power he got from it. Vincent is also completely
amoral to what his weapons are used for, having actually constructed nuclear weapons
overnight and sold them causally to Zulan.

Really, the Armorer has discovered that being a criminal mastermind is fun and he enjoys the
perks of it. He'd be even more dangerous than he already was if he could learn to make full-
use of his abilities and possessed a good deal more business savvy. He's learning, however,
and in five-to-ten years he could become a man responsible for outfitting entire nations with
weapons too powerful for anyone to oppose.

Scary Week Entry 1#

Because, why not?

The Window Man

There are some evils in the world that defy the ability of normal heroes to deal with. They can't be
punched, eye-beamed, or dropped in the sun. The Window Man defies conventional rules of physics
and power. He can only be driven off by a set of circumstances that changes every time he appears.

Maybe it's solving a riddle, maybe it's collecting a number of boxes belonging to the victim's
grandparents, or maybe it's puzzle. Whatever the case, you can't physically engage him because he
has no substance until he arrives. Then, he is completely invulnerable to even the strongest magic or
anything sort of a PL X entity.

The Window Man's nature is inscrutable even by the rules of HED! and it is said only Merlin knows
for sure what it is. He also refuses to talk about it, saying that "it belongs to a race which grows
stronger the more you speak of them. Which is why you should not be talking about him or asking
questions!"
Theories by those who refuse to abide by this restriction include he is a creature of the Otherworld,
a Lord of Nightmare, a creation of Orkus, a ghost, and even an Elder God which just happens to have
a far more narrow set of interests than the majority of their kind. One popular theory is that the
Window Man is a manifestation of Mister Hoppy's dark relationship with children, punishing them
for growing up and losing their innocence.

The Window Man appears as an unnaturally tall man of about ten to eleven feet, ridiculously long
arms, and unnaturally large feet. It wears a simple business suit, tailored for its size, and a hat which
always seems to obscure its facial features in shadows. The Window Man appears in reflective
surfaces, not because he's inside mirrors or windows, but because he exists inside your perception.

Which means you can see him in the dim light or your computer right now, just to the side of your
vision. Did you catch a glimpse of him? No? A pity. He saw you. Televisions, movies, glasses, and so
on are all methods he can be glimpsed. Indeed, when he feels like "cheating" it is capable of
appearing in the reflective surface of your eyes. Yes, as long as you can see you're in danger of being
taken by him.

One man tried to escape the Window Man by burning out his own eyeballs. The Window Man let
him live for an additional year before, screaming out in horror, shouted he could still see him before
throwing himself out into traffic.

What the Window Man DOES to his victims is still up for debate. It's impossible to fight him and
when he gets them alone or even in a group with all those he wants to take, they simply
disappear...somewhere. Sometimes, they're found later with their insides re-arranged or in pieces
like a jigsaw or alive but empty. These last ones are known as Dollmen who stalk children, serving as
guardian angels or heralds of their master.

The Window Man, it should be noted, usually acquaints himself with his victims as children. He
doesn't appear so much as an imaginary friend as a figure who openly appears to children and
befriends them. He often teaches them secrets and things which shape their minds and perceptions
in ways they don't know. The thing is, he often does this in front of their parents, the Window Man
unseen. In time, the children forget the Window Man ever existed and go on with their lives.

But the Window Man doesn't like to be forgotten.

The herald of the Window Man's presence is your arms going clammy, the hairs on your arm
standing up, and a chilling sensation moving about you. He's there, with you, when you get this. You
may not see him, even when there's a mirrored surface, but he's right next to you. He can take you

any time but that's not how the game is YOU CAN'T SEE THIS, CHARLES, BUT
OTHER PEOPLE CAN. played. Victims will receive photos, video-tapes, and imagery of
the Window Man that slowly reveal his presence plus messages that I AM COMING contain
clues even in mundane documents.
RUNNING AWAY IS FUTILE
No one can really say what will satisfy the Window Man when he's caught the ire of another.

YOU'LL NEVER KNOW. Maybe you're just postponing the inevitable.

Scary Week Entry 2#

Feel free anyone to jump in.

Dollmen

Earth has been invaded many times in the past. It has been invaded by Tsavong, Thran, Orkus,
Unseelie Fae, Thundarian mercenary armies, and more. However, the invasion of the Dollmen may
be more insidious. It is an invasion from without that is tearing apart the human race from within.

The Windowman is known to make use of Dollmen but he is not alone in this practice. There are
other, Eldrich Abominations for lack of a better term, which make use of the Dollmen. They also
operate on their own accord. The creatures do not negotiate or have any recognizable motivations,
despite having the personalities and memories of those involved.

No one knows what their agenda is. Only that, each time one of them is born.

A human dies.

IS REBORN.
Dollmen have been on the planet Earth for much of its history. The early humans kept them
propagated with gifts of babies left to die of exposure, unwanted baby girls, and sacrifices which had
their hearts torn out. Many believe the Maya and other South American cultures were affected by
this individuals more than others and sought vainly to prevent their taking.

A Dollman, in short, is an empty human being. They are taken to an isolated location and their heart
is removed. Usually, while being held down or otherwise paralyzed by the Dollmen. Somehow, the
loss of this organ does not impede them as it is replaced with something that functions in its place.
Students of Egytology may remember that the heart was the center of the soul.

The resulting creature possesses all of the previous human's memories but they are absent anything
resembling previous loyalties, feelings, or love. This manifests in different ways for different
Dollmen. Some become hedonistic, enjoying sex and drugs without any consequence. Others
become cold and emotionless, more alien than human. Others do something even more disturbing,
acting completely like their old selves until they do something utterly unconscionable without a hint
of remorse or hesitation. A few aren't even aware their Dollmen until they need to be and forget
immediately once they're done.

Those who have talked to the Dollmen find them even more disturbing as they believe,
wholeheartedly, they are the person they once were. They just have been changed in a way that has

removed their humanity MADE THEM BETTER and turned them upside down. Dollmen
have no hierarchy or organization, primarily because they all have complete loyalty to their cause
and no disagreements whenever they do something. Either they are moved by SOMETHING else or
are able to achieve consensus instantaneously by human standards.

Dollmen who are made from humans with magical potential, let alone trained sorcerers,
immediately gain an instinctual knowledge of dark magic which worships things beyond the scope of
mortal men. These spells allow them to induce terror, alter memories, summon monsters from
beyond, bend space/time, and other things which stretch the boundaries of what normal magic is.

Dollmen with backgrounds in science do arguably even more disturbing stuff, seemingly blending
science and magic in ways that the John Smith Society would find unnerving. Devices which lead to
other dimensions, unnatural injections into unsuspecting experiment subjects, brainwashing,
unnecessary surgery, and so on. The point of a lot of this eludes many, obviously done with some
purpose but other times just seemingly looking insane.

PUT THE PIECES BACK IN WRONG. YOU'LL SEE WHY.

The Dollmen do not seem interested in replacing every human being on the planet but their
numbers are steadily growing. They cannot, for whatever reason, birth their own children but
instead make do with infants taken from hospitals or taking away the offspring of others. Bizarrely,
many times, the parents of young individuals are replaced without replacing the child. This leads to a
particularly horrific situation for many young adults who discover their own families are not who
they used to be.